Sehun was seated across his father in the luxurious lounge of the hotel, clad in black suit and tie. He was actively avoiding his father’s gaze while he sips on his coffee. The steady murmur of customers and waiters keep him meditating, far from the world he had run from. 

“Why am I here?” Sehun exhaled every breath from his lungs to expel his frustrations with it, his hand messing his shiny black hair, growing agitated with every passing second. This , he thought for the millionth time in as many as ten minutes since he sat himself there.

“You'll know,” he father replied gently. The old man's eyes now roamed at the newspaper placed on the small glass table situated between them. Sehun sighed out lazily, as he mildly wave his hand into the air, signaling the waiter to come close. “Another coffee, black.” He ordered curtly. 

He pulled off his tie loosely when the waiter places the dark beverage in front him and sipped from the cup. The rich, heady flavor of the coffee, first too bitter on the tongue and then melting into something infinitely pleasurable. He would normally spend his Mondays at the office, supervising the already completed work or placing his signatures in a few important documents. It was the only job reserved for him, although he didn't really like it that much, he later felt relieved after he discovered that he didn't have to spend much time with his father. 

“Haru!” 

Someone called out the name, and Sehun quickly turned his head back towards the direction, his mind racing as he frantically searched. 

His eyes calmed down when he saw a little girl, bouncing happily on her feet, running towards her mother. He smiled fondly looking at the small girl, but it disappeared moments later. What's left is just the bitter taste of the reality that reminds him constantly. The real Haru is not here with him. 

"You have a weird look on your face," his father's voice brought him back from the gloomy thoughts. 

The smallest wisp of steam curled towards Sehun's chin where he had the cup poised beneath his apprehensive frown. "Actually this is my happy face," he replied condesendingly. He took a sip, retracting the ornate porcelain after a pause to recollect himself. He later raised his eyes seconds later, meeting new companions. 

"Mr. Oh," the elderly guy first spoke, extending his hand to his father. "It's a pleasure," 

His father formed out a small gentle, extending his hand to the man. He later gestured the man to sit down beside Sehun. Sehun was confused as he looked at his father and the other back and forth, not recognizing the person next to him. 

"This is Mr. Bae," his father introduced. "The president of Bae company." He smiles slightly before turning, "And this is Irene, his only daughter," 

Sehun diverted his gaze to meet a petite young woman with red auburn hair, probably in her 20s, smiling beautifully at him. She nodded gently before speaking, "Its a pleasure to meet you,"

Sehun nodded at her back wordlessly, his eyebrows knotted in confusion. He looked at his father. His father gave him a carefully crafted smile, the crinkles by his eyes appearing only momentarily before they were gone again in a flash.

"Your future fiancee, " he said, ending the sentence. 

Sehun sighed deeply through his teeth, inwardly swallowing the anger that came to him as he slowly regards the situation. 

His father had finally started to move the piece. 

The air his lungs have managed to hold on to escapes between his lower teeth in a hiss. Sehun cursed under his breath and fighting the urge to let it out. He needed to get away, away from them. He knew what he wanted to do was an act of cowardice but honestly, he wasn't sure if he could look his father in the eye and have a rational conversation.

Sehun inhales sharply, pressing the his heel to stand up. "I'm sorry," he apologized genuinely, his eyes meeting Irene's, "I'm not interested."

He walked away without as much as a backward glance in their direction.

//

As Haru stands in front of his room door, she squares her shoulders before raising a small fist to knock. Baekhyun opens the door before she makes contact with the wood and audibly sighs when he sees her. 

She quickly pulls her hand back in surprise before it hits his chest and takes a step back. She feels herself smirking as his ever-present scowl appears.

"I'm bored," she says brusquely, brushing past him to enter his room.

"What can I do for that?," he asks in a dull voice, closing the door and turning to face her.

She looks around his room and is a little surprised at how bare it is. It's a simple room with a large bed and a small couch. She turned to him, the small teasing smile never leaving her face, "Well, you can talk to me about yourself."

She sees something like surprise flicker in his brown eyes for the briefest of moments and she wonders if maybe he didn't expect her to actually care about him.

Then it occurs to him exactly what she's doing. The same thing she attempted to do last time. She's putting on a façade of caring about him, trying to humanize herself to make him sympathize with her.

She's trying to use his compassion in her own favor just like everyone else does.

He chuckles slightly at that thought and says, "Why, so you can use it against me then?," and then his grin is razor sharp, conniving and cruel; the mere fact that these two versions of Baekhyun can exist at the same time is nearly unfathomable. But then again, spending days on end with only one person leads you to accept a lot about them, and Haru just doesn't have the time or energy to hate the man.

"You're being paranoid," she snorted at him. She sits on his bed and tapped the space beside her, signalling him to sit. "Okay. If you don't want to talk about yourself, you can talk about something else,"

When she realize that he's not going to play along, she sighed as her mind wanders elsewhere. "I miss him. Sehun." She said, her eyes looked a bit sad and away. "I think about him even when I try not to," 

"If you care about him, then you should let him go," Baekhyun suddenly said, his voice cutting her through her rampant thoughts.

"Call me mad, but why is the things I see clearly is so difficult to you?"

"And what is that?" She asked flatly. She had meant to sound tough, but instead she sounded exhausted. 

"You and Sehun," He looks amused and Haru knows that that doesn’t bode well for her.

No matter what, he always ends up with the perpetually same reason to show for his effort of breaking her and Sehun apart. Haru resisted the urge to smirk at him. 

"Why do you care about Sehun so much?" She asks him, genuinely baffled with his concern. 

"He's my friend."

"Or perhaps your heart might be a little bigger than you want to led on," she said softly. Baekhyun shut his lips in a thin line, eyes wandering to everywhere but her. 

"You take care of him." She stated, tilting her head slightly, "But who takes care of you?"

She finds herself looking at him as if she's never really seen him before. Despite being one of the most volatile person she's ever met, she finds herself starting to see some seemingly human layers and she finds herself wanting to peel away at them just to find out who Byun Baekhyun really is.

"I don't need anyone." There is harshness in his tone but not in his eyes. Haru smiled at his guarded demeanour. 

"Compared to Sehun, I think you need care the most. Do anyone ask you how you are doing?" She asked, not changing her expression. "You can tell me anything. Things that make you smile and things that make you cry," 

She shakes her head slightly, still smiling when Baekhyun raised his eyebrows at her. "I wish I met you sooner," she said, "I like talking to you."

Baekhyun stared, chosing not to respond to her. It is the most he’s ever talked with anyone and it scares him how much he looks forward to even a few minutes of conversation.

"Do you talk to Sehun like this?" He asked in rebuttal, his voice a little hoarse than he intended. 

"All the time!" She laughed out loud. He noticed that her eyes twinkle every time she laughs. 

And he noticed a lot of other things too. 

In the morning sun, she almost looks like a completely different person. Her skin is radiant, glowing in the sunlight piercing through his room window. Her black eyes are glimmering like starlight, flashing each time she moves or smiles. Her black hair is shiny and wavy, so long it runs down the entire length of her back. 

"I got my emotions mixed up," he thought internally as his heart thuds in his chest so powerfully that he presses his palm against it, scared at how fast his pulse is, and confused as to why.