I let out a relieved sigh when I enter the warm hotel lobby, the quality heater already warming up my frozen cheeks. The place is busy and filled with people as per usual. My eyes can hardly focus on any one person, especially with tourists checking in, kids running about, hotel staff doing their jobs. I glance at the clock at the concierge and see that there is only seven minutes to 7PM. My eyes widen a fraction of a centimetre as I quickly make my way to the hotel bar.

The moment I step out of the elevator, I once again come to a realisation that wherever there is liquor and alcohol, there will always be people. And by people, I really mean a lot of people. Maybe it's the weather — so cold that people just want to drink to let the alcohol warm up their bodies. Or maybe it's the season — the aftermath of a long holiday where people just can't seem to stop drinking. Whatever it is, winter will always be the busiest season of the year, even if it is already January.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" I apologise frantically when I get to my supervisor.

Junmyeon looks at me for a moment, then at the clock. He an eyebrow. "You're actually two minutes early." I freeze and look up. 6:58PM. He's right. He gives me a rather fatherly smile. "Clock in and start work, then. Today's going to be busy."

 

.*˚‧♡‧˚*.

 

Busy, Junmyeon said. I almost want to laugh.

It is only 9:14PM yet I have never seen our bar this crowded with people. There are four other bartenders working with me tonight yet we're already worked down to the bones. I can tell not just from their haggard expressions, but from the fact that we don't have the time to chit-chat. We normally have the time to stay behind the counter to talk, but today, we're just bustling about like worker bees, taking orders and serving the orders. We're more than busy.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice someone raising their hand, calling someone to to attend to them. The table is at the other end of the room. Now, please know that I am not a lazy person. But the need to go through a sea of people just to get to that table? I really don't want to. But the others are busy and I'm the only one who's free at the moment. So I take in a deep breath and brace myself before worming my way through the sea of bodies and tables.

I hear someone else calling out for a waitress to serve them and I can't help but let out a little groan. Some people just need to be more patient and understanding, I swear... I finally find an opening to get to the table and just as I wiggle out of the crowd and smile at the patrons, another colleague of mine speaks up, providing her service.

Normally, I would have glared at her playfully for stealing my customers and my potential tippers. But my eyes are only on the man sitting at the table, opposite a beautiful lady, his hand still up in the air, his eyes locked with mine. My gaze drops to his attire; a white dress shirt with a black tie and a striped vest over it, his hair gelled up suavely. I return my gaze to his eyes and notice the intensity of his stare on me.

"Sir?" My co-worker bends a little, staring at the man. "How may I help you?"

I blink when I hear her voice, as if breaking out of a spell. The man looks at me for a second longer before dropping his hand and turning to my co-worker.

"Yes, sorry," he apologises, his voice low and husky, rekindling the burning fire within me that I have been trying hard to extinguish.

I snap out of it quickly when I catch the eye of the lady opposite him. I quickly turn away. She would probably have me fired for staring at her boyfriend. Not to mention how she probably has the status to have me fired and more, just based purely on how many diamond jewelry she has on her body.

Just in time, someone calls for the bill a few tables away. I take this opportunity to escape. I conjure up a smile and while my smiles had previously been tired smiles, the smile that I am wearing now feels shaky, like I am trying to smile even after seeing a ghost. After all, it's not exactly untrue.

I try to busy myself with work. I should have realised that I don't really have to try at all. The moment I get back to the bar after that incident, Junmyeon stations me behind the bar since it is getting more crowded with people coming in for pre-drinks before going to the club just next to our hotel.

It is almost 10PM now and yet I am still serving up drinks. Unlike bartenders at clubs though, I have it more laid back since we don't have as many people here as they do there. But the fact that it is only just me working behind the bar, I am a little busy. I barely even have the time to look at my customers and register their faces.

However, when I look up this time, I come face-to-face with the man from before. I may not have the time to register new faces but familiar faces are not difficult to make out and memorise. I drop my gaze to his black cashmere coat that seems to accentuate his broad shoulders. Hearing another customer call out for me reminds me that tonight is a busy night and I should be working fast and hard. So I plaster on a polite smile at the man who is staring at me with no hint of any expression on his face. Maybe he has forgotten about me, about us.

"Whisky on the rocks," he murmurs and I find myself wondering how I could have heard him so well despite the volume of everyone in the bar. As if remembering his manners, he adds, "Please."

I swallow and nod, stretching to get a glass. I add the ice and then pour in the whisky before extending my hand to place the drink in front of the man. He gives me his card in return to pay for his drink. I take it politely and as I walk to the card reader, I subtly read the name etched on the plastic card.

Oh Sehun.

It’s him.

The ghost of my past.

 

 

The first time we met was unconventional, really.

We met on the train. It was peak hour since everyone was rushing to get home for dinner. We were standing close to each other at the end of the carriage where there weren’t as many people as compared to the area right in front of the door. Sehun was a lot taller than me and even though we were standing with a respectable distance between us, we were still pretty close since we were squished together to create more space for other passengers to get on. I remembered staring at the little Nike tick on the left side of his chest, noticing how it moved every time he clenched on the hand support whenever the train moved.

We probably stood together for a little more than ten minutes before we reached a central station with a few transfer lines. Since we were at the end of the carriage, we didn’t get pushed a lot. However, an old man got up from his seat just next to us and started shoving people around him. He also pushed me aside, ultimately making me tumble into Sehun’s chest. I gasped in shock and though he was just as surprised, his arm quickly reached out to stop me from falling.

I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t even look up at him or even say a word of sorry. It was only when alighting passengers had gone and the boarding passengers were coming in that Sehun spoke.

“Are you okay?”

My face flushed even more at the sound of his low voice. I dropped my head even lower to hide my probably flaming red cheeks. I nodded as I murmured, “Thank you.”

Unable to hear me, Sehun bent a little to my height. “Come again?”

I raised my head slowly and the moment I met his eyes, I felt my entire body heating up and my heart fluttering. He blinked once and then twice, as if he felt the same thing I was experiencing. When someone from behind accidentally nudged my elbow, I snapped out of it and swallowed.

“I said thank you,” I repeated softly.

“Ah…” he nodded, standing up straight again. After a short awkward moment, he playfully said, “I thought you called me handsome…”

I looked up at him with wide eyes, a little uncertain on whether or not he wanted me to continue this conversation (or flirting?) with him since most Koreans preferred minding their own business instead of going around and talking to strangers. However, Sehun had been staring me, a hint of smile on his lips, his hair falling perfectly over his forehead. And the moment our eyes met then, I knew that wasn’t the last time I was going to see him.

 

 

 

I really expected him to leave. After all, the girl he was with isn't here anymore. Not to mention how he has been sitting there at the bar counter for almost an hour, now on his second glass of whisky. He has been drinking really slowly as he observes the people around him, not doing much of anything else except occasionally checking his phone.

When the crowd has died down and I am no longer besieged with orders and customers, I start to clean up the sticky bar counter. Looking distractedly at the clock behind me, I see that it is already 11:13PM. Almost three more hours until my shift ends.

"Is this your full-time job now?"

My head snaps to the front when I hear someone speaking to me. I stare unblinkingly at the man before me, his hand wrapped around his glass of whisky. Sehun returns my gaze, eyes sharp and piercing. He doesn't have that look of recognition in his eyes or that shocked expression you wear when you see someone you haven't seen in a long time. But if he doesn't recognise me, then why is he asking me such a question?

"How long have you been working here?" he asks, voice low and quiet like a rumble.

"Uh..." is all that comes out of my mouth as I gape at him.

Seeing how I am not speaking, he quirks an eyebrow. I can tell that he is about to say something else but at the same time, someone calls out to me, wanting another drink. Sehun turns his head to where the customer is and I sigh inaudibly, muttering a soft apology to him before walking over to the man who had called for my attention. He orders a dozen of tequila shots and while I am pouring the shots and listening to the man engaging conversation with me, I subtly turn my head to take a peek at Sehun. He is staring at me as his fingers tap against the side of his glass, a habit he always had whenever he is getting impatient.

However, once I have served the man and have gotten his payment, I linger, not really keen on going back to standing in front of Sehun. But then a lady sits on the empty stool next to him and I notice her trying to engage Sehun in a conversation. I stare for a moment, watching him turn his head to talk to the lady, and making her giggle at something he has just said. I guess that lady from before isn’t actually his girlfriend, then. A wistful smile falls on my lips. He's still as good-looking as before, it's no wonder how many ladies he attracts — then and now.

I look away before I am caught staring. I start cleaning the bar counter in front of me. But a few moments later, a voice that still induces butterflies in my stomach calls out for my attention. I stop and turn to Sehun and see that he has his dark eyes on me while the lady next to him is smiling dreamily at him. I swallow and go over to stand in front of him. I wonder if I am the only one who feels the tension.

"A strawberry martini for the lady, please," he murmurs.

I nod and get out a glass. I normally talk to my customers while I'm getting their orders ready, but this time, with Sehun, I stay quiet. Not only because I don't know what to say to him, but also because there is a lady next to him and they should be speaking to each other, shouldn't they?

"You haven't answered my question."

I hear the lady giggle in a way that I will never be able to. "I did! I told you that I... Oh."

Trying not to seem like I was eavesdropping, I lift my head slowly and glance up, only to freeze when I see Sehun pinning his gaze on me. Did he find out that I had been eavesdropping? But when he raises an eyebrow at me, I wonder if I had even been eavesdropping, or if it was the lady next to him who was.

"How long have you been working here?" he asks again.

I set the knife down from cutting the strawberries and just hold his gaze. Sehun doesn't back down as he waits for me to answer.

I didn't think we would be seeing each other again, much less talking to each other especially since he has never contacted me ever since we broke up. Seeing him here now after four years, taking in his appearance, I feel like I am looking at the result of our relationship ending — him being rich and successful, and me being just a normal university student with a part-time job. Well, but at least one of us is having a good life now.

I give him a genuine smile, which seems to surprise him. He only lets on that surprise with a slight crease between his eyebrows before it smooths out just a second later. Instead of answering his question, I ask him one of my own.

"You're looking really good," I tell him, a slight teasing in my voice. "Have you been working out?" I tilt my head slightly as I look at him.

We both know that I am in no position to say that like I merely had not seen him in a month when in fact we haven’t seen each other in four years. But if he is the same Sehun I know, he would know that I am just joking with him, just trying to ease the pain in my heart and helping to dissipate the tension in the air.

He stares at me for a long time before he lets out a soft chuckle. I have to keep my smile to myself and look down as I go back to preparing the drink for the lady. He’s the same Sehun four years ago. He may look different, dress different, give off a different vibe even. But the fact that he is still the same guy I have always been in love with on the inside is clear.

"Just a little," he answers with the same amount of playfulness in his tone. "And you? You look prettier than when I last saw you."

I can't help the blush creeping up my cheeks. I look up and notice the lady next to him glaring at me. She probably thinks I'm trying to flirt with him. If only she knows we're way over that stage. I give Sehun a small, polite smile and as if he can tell that I am trying to end our conversation there, he frowns. I turn away this time to prepare the martini slush. When I am done, I return and place the drink in front of the lady, who gives me a rather smug smile. I glance at Sehun just in time to see his eye roll. When he notices that I am looking at him, he clears his throat and passes me his card.

I give him a berating look. The lady is obviously interested in him, he shouldn't be acting this way. But I take his card anyway and once the payment is settled, I return the card to him. Sehun stares at me for a long time, so long that I just have to leave his card on the counter in front of him. He glances down finally at his card before looking up again.

"My question—"

Before he finishes his sentence, I quickly answer before he gets annoyed with my discretion, "I've been working here for eight months."

He nods thoughtfully. I take a peek at the lady and see that her nostrils are flaring. As a woman, I know jealousy when I see it, so I return to cleaning the bar counter. I intended to slowly move farther and farther away from the two of them, but I actually didn't have to because another customer on the other side of the counter orders a beer. I briefly excuse myself to attend the patron. It gets busier from that customer onwards and when I do get a break from serving customers almost 20 minutes later, my manager calls me to the side.

"You're done for the night."

I stare at him. Then at the clock. It's only 12:10AM. "But my shift ends when we close," I remind him.

"We have enough people for tonight, it's fine."

I look around the bar and see how, despite the late hour, there are still quite a number of customers. We only have five people working today and if I am gone, there will only be four. I give Junmyeon a look. He sighs and leans in closer.

"Okay, honestly, that guy at the counter—" my gaze immediately turns to Sehun when Junmyeon subtly tips his head in his direction. He is now alone with no girl next to him, and is staring at us. "—he paid to have you knock off early. So you'll still be paid for your hours." My eyes widen. Junmyeon sends me a questioning look. "Do you know him?"

"Better than anyone else," I whisper, my eyes locked on Sehun's.

 

 

"Sehun, wake up," I sat on the edge of the bed next to him as I tried to fix my necklace. My boyfriend only groaned and flipped around so that his face was in my pillow. I clucked my tongue and slapped his . "Baby, get up. We're meeting your brother in an hour!"

"He's gonna be late anyway," Sehun answered back in a sleepy drawl.

I sighed and stared at him going back to sleep, rubbing his face into my pillow. "At least get up and help me fix my necklace for me."

He didn’t answer to that. Before I berated him even more for going back to sleep, he muttered, "Which necklace is it?"

"The one you got me on my 21st birthday. The diamond heart."

"As expected from my girlfriend," he mumbled as he flipped around and sat up, looking very much like a toddler just waking up from his sleep. "You have good taste."

I laughed and rolled my eyes at him. Sehun shifted down the bed so that he was sitting behind me. He gathered my hair and swept it to the side to bare my neck. He held his palm out to me and I dropped the necklace into his hand. He caressed my shoulders with his calloused hands as he hung the chain of my necklace around my neck. I waited until he secured the clasp before turning my head to look at him.

Sehun was staring at me with slightly squinted eyes, having just woken up, one of his hands still on the curve of my neck while the other had dropped to rest on my lap to frame mine. He took my hand in his, and I immediately felt a great sense of security and warmth wrap around me. He lightly massaged my fingers, at the same time clenching and caressing my hand. But when he started leaning in, I knew exactly what he was trying to achieve. I narrowed my eyes on him and pulled my hand away quickly. I stood up and pointed a stern finger at him.

"No."

Sehun stared at me for a moment. Then he broke out in a chuckle, shutting his eyes. "How did you know what I was going to do?"

Before he let himself fall back on the bed, I grabbed his wrist and pulled him to sit up. “Because we have been together for a year and a half and you’re practically a baby I magically gave birth to since we got together.” When he groaned and tried to tug against my hold to lie back down, I clucked my tongue and hit the side of his hips. “Come on, Sehun. You only have 20 minutes to get ready.”

So Sehun got out of bed very reluctantly. He was still complaining while he was showering. Even though I wasn’t in the bathroom with him, I could still hear everything because we never showered with the door closed unless there were guests in the house. So I heard every complaint that he had ranging from waking up too early in the morning just to meet his stupid brother, to having a girlfriend who doesn’t care about his beauty sleep. It was honestly always amusing for me whenever he acted like this, especially since he was two years older than me, yet was acting so much like a child.

We finally got to meet his older brother and his girlfriend an hour later. We were already ten minutes late, but thankfully, his older brother knew that such a thing would happen, so he didn’t keep his hopes up. We walked to the American diner his brother booked a table at and took our seats. Sehun sat opposite his brother, his arm already resting on the back of my chair, his fingers in my hair, gently massaging my scalp. I was going through the menu when his brother spoke to me.

“You look so much prettier in person!” Hyunsoo complimented.

“Ah, no…” I muttered, giving him an awkward smile before looking to Sehun shyly.

He chuckled when he saw the uncomfortable look on my face. “She’s not very good with compliments. But I’ll say thanks on her behalf.”

Hyunsoo laughed and shook his head. We perused the menu even as they continued their conversation. I was pointing out some food that looked nice to Sehun while he made faces depending on whether he was keen on sharing it with me or not. When Hyunsoo saw Sehun glancing at the menu before crinkling his nose at me, he decided to put their talk on hold.

“Oh, how about sharing a salad?” Hyunsoo’s girlfriend suggested.

“Sehun doesn’t really like vegetables,” I murmured, giving her an apologetic look.

“Still?” Hyunsoo faced him in surprise.

I laughed. “He only eats carrots now because I told him it would give him pretty eyes.”

Hyunsoo shook his head at Sehun almost mockingly. “Such a baby.” As if being reminded of his brother being a baby, he asked me, “Does he still like drinking milk?”

I rolled my eyes, though in an endearing manner, causing both brothers to laugh. “He drinks milk every day. Sometimes I even have to put it into a milk bottle so he can drink it in bed.”

Sehun sighed at my dramatic nature. “Stop lying to him.”

“I’m not,” I swore as I gave Hyunsoo my best straight face.

But of course, I was. And he knew because of the grin I was trying to keep in. Sehun leaned in and bit my earlobe, making me whine. Hyunsoo laughed, shaking his head at us.

“It’s like I’m watching a married couple’s playful fight,” his girlfriend mentioned.

Hyunsoo nodded thoughtfully as he looked at me. “And just like a married couple, you know my brother even better than I do.”

I glanced at Sehun to see him staring at me with a gentle gaze; a look I was familiar with whenever I turned to him and realised that he had been staring at me even before I was aware of it. I placed my hand on his thigh and gave him a light squeeze as I crinkled my nose at him. He grinned at me.

“Well, I guess it’s expected since she takes care of me like I’m practically her baby.”

There was a short moment of silence in which Hyunsoo just looked between us while smiling like the proud brother he was.

“You’re a lucky man, Sehun-ah,” he said, no longer in a joking now.

Sehun sobered up as he returned a rather confident response. He covered my hand that is on his thigh with his own, slipping his fingers through mine and giving my hand a little squeeze.

“I know,” he murmured.

 

 

 

"I didn't know you were working at a hotel bar."

"I didn't know you were a CEO."

Sehun stares at me from across the table. I look down and wrap my hands around my cup of hot chocolate.

After Junmyeon told me about Sehun buying my time, I went up to him to ask him about it and somehow I was baited into having a cup of hot chocolate with him at the 24-hour Starbucks just downstairs. So here we are, sitting opposite each other in an empty coffeeshop.

"Guess four years is a long time, huh?" The scoff that leaves my lips is soft but not inaudible. Sehun sighs. "I know I broke your heart. Moved away with a hasty explanation... Four years, no calls..." He tilts his head slightly as if to view me from another angle. I stare at him, wondering what he will say next. A small, almost proud smile graces his lips as he murmurs quietly, "And now you're looking pretty in a hotel bar."

Heat rises up my cheeks. "I'm just working there, it's not like—"

"Well," he cuts me off. "It still doesn't mean you're not pretty." When I don't say anything but look down at my hot chocolate, he chuckles quietly. "Still bad with accepting compliments, huh?"

I don't reply him. Instead, I ask him softly, "So what happened in the past four years since you left?"

Sehun rubs his face and I can't help but notice how tired he looks. Being a CEO must be exhausting.

"My family moved to the States the next day we broke up. I finished my studies there, came back last year to open my own company and I've been here since." I nod thoughtfully. When I don't follow up with more questions, Sehun speaks again. This time in a soft voice. "I lost your number when I dropped my phone at the beach three years ago."

"It's fine, Sehun," I say, laughing just a little to let him know that it's really no big deal.

But we were together for almost two years before he left and he knows me better than anyone else, even if we have been apart for four years. We have both changed over the years but really, we still understand each other so well that he knows when I am lying and when I am not.

"I wanted to look for you when I came back," Sehun continues.

"What would you do if you ever did look for me?"

He stares at me for a long time. His gaze, however, is unreadable and I guess that is a skill he picked up over the years as a CEO. He has to learnt how to keep a poker face, just so no one sees his weak points. But then he finally says something. Words that I never thought I would hear from a man like him.

"I wanted to get you back."

 

.*˚‧♡‧˚*.

 

He once told me he has never gotten back with any of his exes before. He told me he wasn't going to break that "tradition." He told me that when a relationship ends, it ends for a reason.

He said a broken relationship can never be salvaged.

That's what Sehun said.

He never understood his friends whenever they got back with their exes. He thought it was a waste of their time, a waste of their youth. He said he wasn't going to be like them. He swore and promised to himself that he wouldn't.

Sehun was a man of his word who always went through with whatever he set his mind on. It really isn't a wonder that Sehun has gotten so successful. As long as he has committed himself to something, he will strive and work like a slave until he reached his goal. And since Sehun never believed in repairing a broken good back to its original state, he was dead set on never getting back with his exes.

That's just how Sehun is, it's in his personality.

 

 

Sehun sighed loudly as he entered the kitchen. I looked up from my phone as I stood before the opened refrigerator. Sehun was just putting down his phone on the island before he made his way over to me.

“What happened?”

Sehun sighed again, now leaning against the freezer side of the refrigerator as he stared at me while I scanned the fridge to look for ingredients to bake some cookies. “Chanyeol’s girlfriend broke up with him,” he mentioned.

“Again?” I mumbled as I held out two blocks of butter to my boyfriend.

“Yeah,” Sehun rolled his eyes, taking the blocks of butter from me. “He seriously needs to grow a backbone, that idiot.”

I gave him a look even as I passed him a container that held all the food colouring and flavouring. He took it and went to the kitchen island to wait for me. I got four eggs and closed the refrigerator. I stood next to Sehun.

“No, but seriously. Chanyeol—”

“Can you get me the big bowl, please?” I interrupted him with a hand on his arm as I pointed to the bowl at the top shelf of the cupboard. Only he could reach it without a chair and he always helped out without a complaint. When he got it and placed it in front of me, I said, “Thanks. What about Chanyeol?”

He groaned softly, now coming back to stand next to me. “He has only been with that girl for a year. I know it’s not a very short time, but it isn’t a very long time either… He shouldn’t keep begging her to come back to him, it’s just going to seem like a game to her now.”

“This is their second break-up?”

“Yeah!” he answered rather heatedly. “She’s having fun making Chanyeol feel like , isn’t she?” I didn’t know what to say to that, so I didn’t say anything, which made him come closer to stand behind me, his hard chest pressing against my back. “What are you making?” he wondered, bending a little so that his face was next to mine.

“Rainbow butter cookies,” I murmured, reaching out for the dry ingredients.

“Who are you making them for?”

“For myself. And you, I guess.”

“You guess?” he repeated in a teasingly angry manner.

I giggled and squirmed when his fingers started tickling and poking my waist. “Stop it, Sehun!” I laughed as I tried to escape his tickling fingers. “You said you don’t like cookies!”

“I don’t,” he nodded, finally relenting. I glared at him as I caught my breath. He smirked, leaning in to peck me on the lips cheekily. “Don’t look at me like that. You make me want to throw you on the bed and do things to you.”

“Sehun!” I gasped, slapping his chest in scolding.

He laughed, circling his arm around my waist and resting his cheek on the side of my head. He watched me work for a while before letting out another sigh.

“I really don’t get people who get back together after a break up, you know?” he muttered.

I wasn’t sure if he was speaking to me or if he was just musing to himself, but still, I mentioned, “Maybe they love each other too much to just let the relationship end like this.”

“Then why break up in the first place?”

“Maybe it was a spur of the moment.”

“Then they shouldn’t have been so rash to end it for real. A broken relationship can never be salvaged.” I gave a grunt, obviously disagreeing with him. Sehun moved his arm to sling around my shoulders this time, nudging my jaw lightly with his bicep so that my face was turned to his. “Look, baby. Remember that time when we had a huge argument over that close guy friend you had?”

I gave him a little of a death glare. “Yes.”

“I still thinks he used to like you,” he muttered to which I rolled my eyes at. He continued anyway, “And remember how mad you got? Especially since it was the week before your period?” I didn’t say anything and he knew that I did remember. “You wanted a break-up too. You were so mad at me that you wanted to break up with me.” I looked at him now. He had a serious but loving look on his face. “And I said no. I was so, so angry but I said no. Because I love you and I didn’t want you to leave me over a petty argument.”

We stared at each other for a long moment. His eyes were pinned on mine, his brown orbs piercing through my soul, conveying the sincerity and truth in his words through his gaze. I put down the sieve and turned slightly in his arms, tipping my toes to circle my arm around his neck and bring him in closer. Our lips touched and as if he was impatient, Sehun pushed my body closer to his, deepening the kiss. I smiled as he nipped on my bottom lip, his big hand caressing my back. Just before he slipped his hand under my shirt, I pulled away from the kiss and stared at him. He stared back, our lips just barely touching.

Finally, he let out a deep breath against my lips before murmuring, “I never understood people who get back together after a break-up. I think they’re stupid. So I swore to myself never to be like them. Which is why, darling, we can’t ever break-up.”

“Because you won’t ever get back together with me after a break-up?” I whispered, my heart pounding at the expectation of his answer.

He kept his eyes on me, his gaze flickering down to my lips. Instead of replying to that, Sehun brought my face closer to his. He kissed the side of my lips with the tip of his nose in my cheek.

“No, but because I can’t go to sleep without your hot chocolate,” he murmured against my skin, making me giggle at the ticklish feeling.

Sehun was smiling against my mouth when he pressed our lips together. My stomach flipped when he rubbed the pad of his thumb on my cheek. But even when he moved away and we started on baking together, I couldn’t help but wonder if we ever broke up, would Sehun really give up on us, give up on me?

 

 

Sehun drove me home last night after our little catch up session. I gave him my number, only because he said would be going back to the US in a few days and he wanted to meet up with me again before he left. I thought it would be better to leave our relationship now as it is — no more accidental or planned meetings, no getting back together. After all, I am only a university student still finishing my masters and Sehun is already a successful businessman who should really be looking forward in his life, not back.

But I have never been able to say no to Sehun. He is two years older than I am and though it is also about respecting someone older than me, I will not deny the fact that I loved him, so, so much. And even after four years, even though I haven't seen even a glimpse of him in that time, I still harbour that affection and love for him until now. After all, how easy is it for someone to forget their first love?

I am still in a lecture when I receive a phone call from an unknown number. My heart starts pounding because even though I tried not to wait on his text or phone call, I am still unconsciously doing it. So I try to appear like I haven't just been staring at my phone waiting for his call as I grab the buzzing device and leave the lecture theatre. I clear my throat and pick up the call before he gets impatient and hangs up.

"Hello?" I almost want to slap myself for sounding so breathless.

"You bastard, where are you?" I frown at the crudeness of this man on the phone. He doesn't sound like Sehun, and definitely not like anyone I know. "We're all waiting for you, Minho-yah, you ing !"

"Um, I think you got the wrong number..." I mutter, trying to sound polite despite the annoyance bubbling within me.

I waited just for some idiot to call me names. I even left the lecture theatre just to answer a call meant for someone else. I had my hopes up for nothing.

"Oh..." the man on the other line mutters, sounding rather embarrassed. “I’m so sorry… I’m really sorry.”

I try to give a polite grunt before hanging up the phone. Sighing, I pocket my phone and return to the lecture theatre. I sit through the entire two-hour lecture without another glance at my phone. I normally would be going through Facebook during the 10-minute break my lecturer gives us, but this time, I had a few questions for her so I basically didn’t have much of a break. When the lecture ends and I check my phone for the first time after that wrong call, I notice a few missed calls by an unknown number. I understand that sometimes, when someone calls the wrong number, they would call back again just to confirm whether or not that number belongs to the person they had wanted to call. And so thinking logically, I leave the missed calls as they are.

I make my way back to my place, which is pretty close by since I decided to move closer to my university after Sehun left. It is already dinner time by the time I reach my apartment building. I already have in mind what I am going to make for dinner, but when I step out of the lift and onto my floor, all thoughts fly out of my head at the sight of someone in front of my door.

Sehun had sent me back up to my apartment personally last night because he was too worried for my safety and wellbeing. So I am not at all surprised that he knows my unit number, but I am more than surprised by the fact that he is standing outside my apartment right now. I have to halt in my steps when he turns his head. My heart is beating like a drum in my chest and my head is pounding. I notice Sehun’s Adam apple bobbing in his throat as he moves away from the door to face me. Swallowing my nerves, I start walking again, until I am just a few steps before him.

“What are you doing here?”

“I called you but you didn’t answer…” Sehun trails off when we speak at the same time. When I stay quiet and only stare at him, he continues, “So I thought I’d just come over and try my luck.”

I open my mouth to return something to say, but when he coughs, I suddenly notice his flushed cheeks and his slightly red nose. Quickly, I move to unlock the door.

“Come in,” I invite, opening the door for him to enter.

He doesn’t hesitate. Sehun enters and I follow after him. As he stands at the door, just looking around my apartment, I slip off my boots and turn on the lights as well as the heater.

“Have you eaten dinner?” I ask as I drop my bag in my room before coming out again, just in time to see Sehun shake his head. “I was planning to cook kimchi stew, but since you’re here… Shall we have pizza?”

 

.*˚‧♡‧˚*.

 

Sehun sits on the ground next to me, our knees barely touching, the both of us facing the TV that we’re both obviously not watching. I look up from my pizza and glance at him. He sees the movement of my head, making him turn to face me as well. I look away quickly.

“So you work two part-time jobs?” Sehun asks after a while.

I shake my head. “I was actually in uni when you called.”

When I glance at him, I notice that he is frowning. “Still? Weren’t you supposed to graduate two years ago?”

“I’m doing my Masters. This is my last year before I graduate.” Then I add, “For real.”

He smiles a little as he nods. “And you’re still in the same university? Ehwa?”

“Mmhmm,” I hum. “Getting kind of bored being in the same campus for six years.”

Sehun chuckles. “Well, you’re graduating this year. Soon you’ll be complaining that you miss uni.”

I sigh. “I know.” I take another bite out of my pizza. Only when I have swallowed my food, I ask, “Is working life hard?”

“Oh, yes,” Sehun nods seriously. “Even harder when you’re a CEO starting from scratch.”

“Are you boasting now?” I tease, unknowingly shifting my body so that it is tilted to face him.

He adjusts himself a little towards me too as he grins. “Well, we should always grab a hold of every opportunity we have, you know?” I give him a look, to which he bursts out laughing at. “No but really. After going out in the working world, I’ve realised that studying was so much easier and so much more fun…”

“You can study for me, then.”

“I would love to actually.” When I roll my eyes and call his bluff, he laughs. He shakes his head fondly, looking at me from behind his fringe. “You know, I thought you might have changed over the four years but sitting down with you and having pizza from our favourite pizza joint, everything feels so…”

He trails off there and I feel like I can hear his thoughts. He is wondering if he should say this. He is wondering if saying this will be too soon. He is wondering if our barely-even-there relationship could still be saved. And honestly, I too am wondering if we’re already being too close for two people who last saw each other four years ago after ending our two-year relationship.

But I guess I have nothing to lose now when I have been in love with Sehun in the two years that we were together, as well as four years later in which we didn’t even contact each other. He said he wanted me back. But if I told him that I want him back too, would he chicken out, knowing that he would be going against an oath he made to himself? But then again, what do I have to lose? I have already lost him four years ago, I can’t really lose him again, can I? After all, he isn’t mine anymore.

“Normal?” I suggest quietly, looking up at him. “Like there isn’t a four-year gap between us?”

Sehun stares at me, eyes dark and penetrating. Then, a small smile forms on his lips as he nods. My heart reacts wildly to that like I have never seen a smile like that before. It is not untrue though. After all, I haven’t seen a smile like that in four years.

“Like we’re still together,” Sehun says quietly, yet with so much emotion in his voice.

 

.*˚‧♡‧˚*.

 

I smile at the customer waiting for his drink as I get an empty glass. He returns a rather flirty smile, which makes me want to laugh. He is probably old enough to be my dad, but because of the amount of botox injected in his face, he looks young enough to pass as a man in his mid thirties. I chuckle a little to myself as I look down to get his drink ready. It doesn’t take me too long before I am finished. I place his glass on a coaster as he leans over the counter a little with his hand holding onto his credit card.

I move closer to hear him over the music as well as the loud chattering in the bar. “I think you’re—”

“Darling.”

I snap my eyes to the side, entirely too familiar with his voice. There Sehun is, standing next to Botox Man with another man beside him, probably a business associate. I grin at him. He walks towards the counter and leans over just as I tip my toes to greet him with a kiss. He hums against my lips before I pull away. He has a smile on his face when I open my eyes. Lately, he has been wearing this smile a lot, like he is very satisfied with his life right now, not to mention how his eyes seem to sparkle every time he sees me.

“I’ll come back to you in a bit,” I tell him before turning to Botox Man, who looks rather embarrassed. As I read his card for the payment, I ask him, “What was it that you were saying?”

He quickly shakes his head and when I hold out his card and the receipt out to him, he snatches them from me and pockets them before settling himself heavily on his seat at the counter. I have to try not to skip to the centre of the bar counter where Sehun and his client have found two empty seats. I grin at them.

“This is Mr. Kim,” Sehun introduces the tan-looking man to me. When Mr. Kim holds his hand out for me to shake, Sehun smiles lovingly at me before turning to the business associate. “And this is my girlfriend.”

 

 

Since that pizza dinner we had together, Sehun promised to court me again into being his girlfriend. I didn’t think he would go through with it, but he did. He texted me every half an hour everyday at least, which was saying a lot for a CEO running his own company. He always came over for dinner too, and he would bring me out on dates every few days. And days when I am working, Sehun would come with a business associate if he had a social meeting before that, or he would just drop by an hour before closing just so he can drive me home. And honestly, I didn’t even try to play hard to get. By the end of first week, Sehun was already sleeping over and waking up just to fetch me to uni. And by the end of the second week, when we were already sharing playful kisses from time to time, Sehun dropped the question that I thought I was ready for but obviously wasn’t.

 

.*˚‧♡‧˚*.

 

We were in his car with me laying on top of him then, our bodies sweaty and sticky. I was laying on his shoulder, the side with the tattoo of the phrase Fall down seven, stand up eight in Japanese. It was slightly red now because I had been biting on it when we were making love in the back seat of his Rover, trying not to make too much noise since we were parked outside. Sehun had his arm around my back, his fingers in my hair. His lips were by my ear when he asked the question.

“Is it a good time to ask you to be my girlfriend again?” I froze up in his arms. Sehun sighed, caressing my back. “I know I’m busy with my company… I know I might have to go for overseas trips sometimes… But I promise I’ll always come back to you. No matter how long I’ll be away.”

Slowly, I lifted my head and looked at him. Sehun pushed my hair behind my ear before rubbing his thumb on my cheek.

“How long are your trips?”

He stared at me for a moment before a smile grew on his lips. He knew it was a yes. Even after four years, he still knew me so well. It was like he was reading my mind when he answered me.

“A week, max. Definitely not four years. But I won’t be gone any longer than a week. If I do, I’ll have to bring you with me.”

“A week’s still kind of long though…” I muttered with slightly pouted lips.

Sehun chuckled as he slid his hand down to my bum. He pushed my body up, bringing my face closer to his as he kissed my pout.

“What’s a week when we have forever, baby?”

 

 

---

Author's note:

NO SEQUEL