“No matter how low the rent is, there is no way I can afford it!” Haru complained, slamming her laptop close. “Central of Seoul, the rent must be huge.” She stared at her space and realized that she was perfectly enchanted with the house and its inhabitants, and her stomach curdled like sour milk at the thought of moving out from it. Sighing through her teeth, she walked into the kitchen.

Now, she could see why she liked it. This place was relaxing. The houses all had families in them, with small children playing in the yards. The neighbors waved at her bit as they passed, and there was a sense of community here. Actually, most people didn't even feel it in the suburbs, either.

“I hate to leave this place,” She mumbled. “But I’ll go and just have a look,” she said softly.

//

“Can you believe? The apartment is at the center of Seoul, and the rent is only a few bucks more than my old one. Apparently, the owner wants to settle down overseas, and he just needs someone to take care of the house.” She said excitedly, “The bed is larger than any bed I’ve seen, and the bathroom is massive. And oh my God, it has the dual shower-saunas like they show in movies!”

Sehun was staring at her incredulously as she turned to grin excitedly at him. “That's why you’re excited? The shower,” he repeated, his eyes narrowing. “Out of everything, that's the most impressive thing? I'm just making sure. I want to be sure I understand this.”

“It is,” she shrieked, ignoring him. “There is a little dial, and it turns on steam!”

She saw him chuckling from the corners of her eyes, “Unbelievable,” he muttered.

“You can adjust the heat of the steam!” Her smile widened when she saw him chuckling. “You have to admit, I was quite lucky to get the deal,” she said, smiling when she saw him.

He exhaled roughly through his nose, a rough approximation of a soft laugh for him, and glanced around the coffee shop, and saw the waitress bring their order of coffee. She couched her chin in her hand as she spoke, gesturing as he did so, his eyes lit up. “I’m glad you like the house,”

She watched Sehun put sugar and cream into his coffee, and then watched him put sugar into hers. The movements, she realized, had become automatic. His eyes weren't on his own fingers when he did them, he was looking out the window, utterly detached from his own hands, smiling. “You’ll get your gate access card the time you move in, and there is CCTV’s and guards almost everywhere. The lock is password based, so it’s pretty secure.” He tells her, as he sipped into his coffee.

“How do you know that?” She asked him, raising an eyebrow, “I didn’t tell you that.”

Sehun froze with the coffee cup midway from his mouth, “It’s a common security system for most apartments,” he stammered, but maintaining his face calm not wanting to look fishy. “So how’s job hunting?” he asked, changing the topic.

“Bad,” she answered sadly, “Everyone is looking for experienced candidate and I’m rejected by most companies I applied for,” she said, looking at her cup, “But I haven’t heard from the one company I wanted to go. That is my last hope.” She said, her fingers tracing the letter ‘Z’. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I get rejected again.”

”What company is that?”

She shakes her head, refusing to tell him, “So, what do you want to talk about?” she asked, drinking the remains of her coffee.

“Nothing,” he said casually and Haru caught a glimpse of the waitress standing a couple of tables behind them eyeing Sehun from far. Haru chuckled looking at her.

“What?” Sehun asked, looking interested at her expression. “What are you laughing at?” He looked up when she chuckled, his eyebrows lifting in that imperious way of his, and she felt her heart flutter a bit.

“That girl is looking at you for a long time,” She said, trying hard to contain her laugh.

He looked briefly behind him, “Is it true that girls like tall handsome guys like me?” He asked smugly. “I think girls stare at me if I wear black, which is almost all the time. And when I do my hair like this,” he said, flicking a lock of hair on his forehead.

“You are so full of yourself!” She laughed with him. All in all, they'd spent almost an hour in the coffee shop and there hadn't been a single lull in the conversation as they argued passionately about everything, from how handsome Sehun looks even in a pajama to her moving to her new house.

He couldn't remember a time when he'd had more fun.

Luckily for him, she seemed to be enjoying it, too.

//

Yoona bid her farewells to her friends and exited the shopping malls with lots of bags in her hands. She walked to the nearest cafe and took a seat while waiting for her chauffeur to arrive. She placed all the shopping bags to the chair next to her. Her chauffeur came a few minutes  later, running towards her.

“Sorry.” he bowed and apologized several times. “Great,” she said sarcastically, “Nothing much, I just sat under hot sun whilst you dilly dally,” She pointed the chair next to her, “Take all of this,” she said curtly.

She got up from her seat and turned behind shortly but she caught a familiar figure at the corner of her eyes. Her smile widened when she realized who it was. “Go first.” She ordered the middle aged man, before walking in the opposite direction. She stopped at her tracks suddenly when she realized Sehun wasn’t alone. There was a girl with him and they both were laughing erratically. They were within twenty yards of each other, and so abrupt was his appearance, that it was impossible to avoid his figure. She saw him and his cheeks were overspread with the deepest blush. It pains her physically when she can’t even recall a single moment of him being like that with her.

He always keeps his guard up, and he looked like he couldn’t wait to walk out of the door. But there he was, laughing and looking extremely comfortable with another girl.

**

Haru waved at him before picking her small bag, ready to leave the cafe. She was almost to stumble across a person standing behind but way to close to her, “I’m sorry!” she apologized immediately, then lifted up her head to see the pretty girl she once saw during the basketball game. 

Yoona.

Haru opened to say something else, but she was immediately being cut off, “I have no time for proper introduction,” Yoona snapped, “Do you know him?” She asked.

“Sehun,” Haru said, surprised, frowning slightly. “Yes. We met for a cup of coffee.”

“Is that it?”

She nodded, slowly. Yoona didn’t say or ask anything for a few seconds before pressing her lips into a thin line. Haru blinked at her, taking in her face.

“We need to talk.” she said, flatly pulling in the chair next to her. It sounded like a command. “Sit down. You’re not busy, are you?”

“No,” Haru murmured, a little taken aback at the forceful way Yoona was speaking.“I suppose we can talk,” she said, as she pulled a chair across to her.

Haru glanced at her a few times meekly. Yoona is gorgeous. She has perfect skin, and a slim, tall figure, and all her facial features fit perfectly into her tiny face. Haru was amazed how perfect one can look.

“Who are you?” Yoona suddenly asked, and she sounded rude. “What are you doing with him?”

“My name is Haru,” she explained slowly, unsure what to tell about her next. “We,” she paused, “We’re friends.” Even she realized she sounded unconvincing.

“Friends?” The beautiful lady asked mockingly, “Sehun don’t do friends. And you obviously don’t look like someone he could be friends with.” She said, touching her own hair, as a gesture of arrogance. “Do you who I am?”

Haru nodded, clearly intimidated by Yoona’s presence. “I know you.”

“Good, you made my life so much easier. So let’s get straight to the point,” She said, this time, looking directly at Haru’s eyes. “Stop meeting him,”

Haru glanced at her, feeling unquestionable. It was strange, she thought. She remembered all the things happened in her life. Others deciding on behalf of her. She always felt like her freedom is restricted. She pleased people by doing things they wanted her to do. She’s been forcing that throughout her whole life. For the first time in her life, she wanted to live her life without caring what others think. Even if it makes others unhappy, she wants to be happy. That’s what she decided at that point.

For once she wanted to follow her heart.

She grew tired being the good person. Why must she feel guilty after all? The woman sitting in front of her isn’t even in a relationship with Sehun. Yoona was watching her carefully, and Haru realized with a jolt that she was being calculated. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised.

“Why?” she asked back, “Why must I stop seeing him?” she asked softly.

Yoona glared at her angrily. “You’re the worst.” She said, incredulous, and started to laugh, “You really have no class. There is a name for girls like you, you know."

Haru set her jaw, feeling anger begin to seep into her, “If you’re done, I need to go.” She said, a little sharply, her voice cool.

“I’m not finished yet.” Yoona looked at her face, and made a disgusted noise, “You think you are special, aren’t you?” She laughed, “Just because he drinks coffee with you, you think there is some sort of thing going on between you? Don’t make me laugh.”

“Then there is no need for this, isn’t it?” Haru asked coldly, “Like you said, he was just drinking coffee with me. It’s not a big deal anyway.”

Shocked silence filled between the two girls.

“Do you take me for an idiot?”

There is another significant silence. “How much do you know about me?” Yoona asked, this time she didn’t sound as firm as she did a few minutes ago.

“Quite a bit,”

Yoona glanced at Haru briefly before turning her attention elsewhere, “You must have thought that I am a desperate woman,” she laughed bitterly. “An attention seeking one,”

“I didn’t think of you like that,” Haru spoke softly, fazed by the sudden vulnerability that she detected, “You wanted to be in love again, didn’t you?” She lifted her head up only to meet Yoona's piercing doubtful stares. “You like him. You like Sehun. But I don’t think you should force it. You don’t have to fight for a spot. ”

Yoona’s eyes widen a bit, but she didn’t looked surprised. She looked angry. Her brows furrowed and her face tensed. She was clenching her jaw, and her eyes teared a bit, “Shut up.” She snapped, “You know nothing,”

“I don’t mean-” Haru stopped when Yoona hastily got up from her seat, grabbing her handbag, ready to leave. “You know nothing about me, and you don’t know anything about Sehun.” She said, her lips quiver in anger. “Who do you think you are?” she asked, provoked, looking like she would slap Haru any time, “Talking like you know me.”

Her face softens, and her eyes turns visibly red, “You must have felt nice. To be treated preciously by someone who doesn’t care about anyone.” Her voice trembles, “I had to fight for it! I knew Sehun didn’t like me. I knew right from the beginning. How can I not know? No one pays attention to him as much as I do,” her voice trails off. “Some people are good-natured. They can forgive and forget those who despise them, but I find it very difficult.” She said, “I’ll hurt you for this.”

//

Haru washed her face and stared at her own reflection at the bathroom mirror. She stared at them long and hard that her mind began to wander off to other places, recalling what happened throughout the day. She frowned, knowing she shouldn't feel so put-out nor guilty. She’s living the life the way she want, meeting people she wants to meet. Why should she stop for someone else’s sake?

Slowly, Haru tried to rationalize that to herself. She wasn’t angry that Yoona tried to dictate her life. She was upset that she was forbidding her to meet him. It would make sense, in a weird way. Haru was grown accustomed to being alone. She’s always been alone. All her life, she felt like she’s waiting and searching for something, for someone. But for the past few months, it was different. The emptiness in her life wasn’t there. She shook her head, knowing she has been playing it safe, not wanting to commit to anything after her heartbreak.

“I’m clueless about my feelings,” she murmured. But Sehun is not. He’s honest. And he is not afraid to speak his mind.

He kept coming back. That’s the way he is.

Eyebrows drawing together, she stared at herself, trying to imagine what it must be like if she followed what she wants. It sounded absolutely terrifying.

Haru step back, staring at herself with wide eyes. She seemed to realize what she'd imagined. She realized she is falling for him, if not already.