The next morning, Haru headed out to the coffee shop, mostly because it’s a nice out. Sehun wanted to take her out for dinner, so he won’t be coming in the morning  and Minzy sadly informed her that she’s actually busy with work. That left her wandering the street alone, sighing forlornly to herself.

She was paused outside of a used book shop, when:

 “Well, if isn't Kim Haru,” came Luhan’s silky voice. She glanced up, catching sight of him in the shop window's reflection, and he smiled at her. “Standing outside a book shop. Astonishing.”

“Oh god it’s you,” she teased. At his expression, she turned, huffing a soft laugh. “Sorry. Luhan. Good morning,”

His face casted an indignant look, eyes narrowing as if he’s eaten sour grapes. 

“Come on,” she cajoled. “It was a joke,” Impulsively, she reached across to poke his nose. He startled fantastically, blinking at her in utter shock. Realizing that perhaps she'd maybe been a bit too familiar, she reddened, letting her hand drop. “Sorry, I just-- Just a habit.”

 A habit she had with Sehun. And this wasn't Sehun, as she felt the need to remind herself. Sehun was the one who always laughed, even in his worst moods, when she poked his nose.

 “You're weird,” he commented. “No plans for the day? It's odd to see you out and about without your boyfriend,” he said, gesturing at the empty space on either side of her.

She huffed, ready to start feeling sorry for herself again. “He's not always with me and besides he might be in the office now,” she explained. She looked at him, eyebrows raising, “And you?”

“I'm frequently seen alone, actually,” he assured her. “I tend to get easily annoyed by social situations,” he paused to look at her, amused, “Introvert problems,” he shrugged. 

She found herself smiling. Luhan had been less vocal about himself at first, but she'd always assumed he'd had troubles of expressing, now he seems to be more open and honest.

 “I'm an introvert, too,” she informed him.

“I know. Buy me coffee. Since you're a hotshot’s girlfriend now,” he said, watching her face for a reaction.  

She hesitated a bit, and then gambled on being direct. “Are you purposely trying to rile me up?”

 Luhan’s eyes went half-lidded, although she couldn't tell if his expression was smug or amused. He masked it quickly, either way, and shrugged. “Lets go. I know a good place to drink coffee.”

**

“The Oh’s are now expanding the business to downstream,” Luhan was saying, as he sipped his second cappuccino. “One could almost lose themselves in that kind of money,” 

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 he talked passionately about everything, from the cleanliness of  his house to his work to his life. She couldn't remember a time when Luhan talked so much. 

“What kind of money?” she asked, amused while eating her vanilla cupcake. 

“The kind most of us aren’t fortunate enough to see,” he said, eyes wandering elsewhere. “I didn’t see you around for a long time, where were you?” he randomly switched the topic, his hand supporting his chin in a lazy manner. 

The comment was such a non sequitor that she just blinked up at him, failing to remember what he was talking about for a moment. It hit her, and she frowned a bit. That had been days ago. “Oh. I'd forgotten about that,” she admitted, with a faint shrug, “I was in Japan,” 

“With Sehun?” 

“No. With Baekhyun, his friend,” She felt compelled to add that, not wanting to give him the wrong impression. 

Luhan’s eyebrows shot up, his lips carve small teasing smile. “What's going on, Haru?” His eyes narrowing as if he’s demanding an answer. 

“Its not like what you think,” she scowled. “I don’t even know why I was there,” she said slowly, realizing how ridiculous the truth sounds like. “It has something to do with his father, I guess,”

He watched the battle take place on her face and continued. He didn't have the patience to wait for her to come to terms with it, “And it doesn’t bother you? That you’ll always have to be on your toes when it comes to him?”

She fell silent, looking up at him with a faint frown, “It used to,” she admitted honestly. “But I’ve grown to need him too, so it doesn’t matter,”

//

She was instantly alert, “Your house? You want me to come to your house?” she asked slowly this time, really hoping for a different answer. 

“Yes,” he replied sincerely. “I want you to be there. It feels weird, knowing that you don’t even know what my bedroom looks like when I spend almost everyday in yours,” 

She still looked unconvinced. He didn't say as much, but she rather thought he enjoyed it, even when he was rolling his eyes in exasperation when she came up with reasons every forty seconds to turn down the request. 

“My father’s not in Korea and there’s hardly anyone there,” he said, pulling the last string. “I’ll introduce you to my cat and you can even drive around the compound. No one's going to say anything,” he said too sweetly, ignoring the disapproved look Haru threw at him. “We can leave immediately if you don’t feel comfortable,” Sehun drawled, and she thought she could detect the faintest hint of amusement in his tone – the hidden, excitement  behind the lazy drawl. He cast her a haughty look, making sure to use his height to full effect so he could look down his nose at her, and she backhanded his shoulder softly. “You can’t say no to this face,” he smirked. 

She caught him and glowered a bit, “Alright,” she said, sounding a little too strained. His sullen expression lessened as he thought, and his eyes flicked up to her. 

 “But-“

He grumbled a bit, sitting down as he slouch slightly. It was the first time she'd ever seen him with less than absolutely perfect posture.

“There's always stipulations with you,” he complained.

She closed , regarding him suspiciously. Finally, she said, “Alright. Don’t sulk. I'll come.” She'd been about to add something but then he'd lit up like a Christmas tree, a broad smile forming on his face, so she didn't.

//

The drive to his house had gone fantastically, and he was in a positively bubbly mood.

It's strange how money seems to silence a neighborhood, she thought quietly. On her street, when she was growing up, where no one has money, it's so loud. Sirens blaring, people shouting, car doors slamming, stereos thumping. There's always someone, somewhere, making noise. 

He parked the car outside a huge mansion. It looked too surreal to be a residence.

“My goodness,” Haru gaped, “This is where you live?”

“Yes, now come in,” he invited warmly. 

***

Sehun huffed in annoyance at how Haru openly stared in awe at everything they passed. The exquisite carpets, the old statues and vases and all the other expensive nonsense that decorated that home. She'd never really let on just how rich Sehun was, although she'd known that he was wealthy. But now she had an alarmingly good idea of just how wealthy.

Outside, the garden was perfect, overflowing with flowers even in the middle of , November. She examined the stone walkway, glancing at the statues that dotted the garden on the way to an ornate glass table.

“Let' s go inside,” Sehun said, taking her arm in a gentle, but leading grip and headed up the stairs. She knew from looking at it from the outside that there were five floors to the building, not counting any attics, but all the main guest spaces were located firmly on the ground floor: The dining room, the ballroom, the guest room, the study, and the other ten or so rooms that Haru was sure had proper, official names. All she knew about them was that they were meant to entertain people in.

 The kitchen was below, adjacent to the vast collection of cellars, only one of which had a nefarious purpose. Haru wondered, if it was used for that since Sehun barely eats at his own house.

 They bypassed the first floor and went straight to the second. Haru stopped in front of a door, “What's this?” she asked. 

“The study,” Sehun answered, twisting the doorknob, and the door swung open.

Inside, a vast bedroom greeted her. Haru stepped in slowly, turning a bit as she went.

The massive window – which overlooked the front gardens and the driveway – was rimmed by dark blue curtains hung on a silver rod which had been shaped like a twisting vine. The window itself had a seat built into it, and some shelves built beneath the seat that were already holding an array of books.

Then, there was the bed, which was larger than the one in her own flat, a four-poster also hung with dark blue curtains. There was a desk, another bookshelf, and a small table within the room – all the furniture was crafted out of a dark, gleaming wood. The rugs laid beneath each piece echoed the dark blue design of the room, and the tree-vine-apple motif was present all over the room – carved into the wood, woven into the rugs.

Curiously, Haru investigated the three doors in the room. One led to a washroom, which boasted a massive tub that she could probably drown in, a sink, a vanity, and a toilet. Unlike the dark colors of the bedroom, everything here was gleaming red-and-white marble. The second door she tried led to another room, and she peered in, blinking.

“That was my play room when I was a kid,” he explained, as Haru stepped in. As she glanced around, Sehun admitted, wryly, “Although it hasn't been used as such in years, as you can see.”

 The room held two desks, facing each other, and the walls had bookshelves built right into them. Some chests that doubled as benches were set beneath the large window, also facing the front drive. She presumed the chests held toys of some sort. A rocking horse, a children's ride-able train, a few storybooks and some other unused toys were shoved into a far corner, long forgotten. 

**

The servants were already at the dining table when they arrived. They stood promptly when Sehun and Haru entered. The chairs had been gathered at one end of the table, which Haru was glad of; she couldn't imagine trying to have a conversation over fifteen straight feet of table. She found herself sitting carefully as Sehun moved her chair in beneath her.

Then he was sitting himself down beside her, arranging his napkin on his lap.

 Haru followed suit, feeling rather odd. It was weird to be having dinner  in an ornate dining room like this. That wasn't just her. She was pretty sure nobody else in the world did this.

**

“There's a library in your house,” she gasped. “How big would you say it is?” she asked. “Say, if you were to compare it to your dinning room.” 

He thought for a moment. “I suppose in area, it would be approximate to the dinning room. However, it is only one floor in height, and it is divided into a few rooms.” At her questioning look, he explained, “It was once one large room, but the collection exceeded the limitations of the space, and what used to be outlying studies were converted into further libraries. Those areas are further organized by the type of book.”

All amusement left her as she stepped in, her face going slack as she turned, looking up at all the shelves. There were masses of them. 

“Oh, my God,” she breathed. Then she smiled. “This is amazing. I can't believe you have this in your house. Do you have any idea how lucky you are?” she demanded, turning to stare at the shelves lining the walls from ceiling to floor.

“I'm getting an idea,” Sehun murmured, but he was watching her, a soft smile on his face like he always did whenever he sees her being fascinated with something. 

For the next hour, Sehun was remarkably patient as she ooh'd and aah'd and exclaimed over what seemed like every single book in the entire library. She smiled, said that she loved books more than anything, and started telling him excitedly about the books she loved. And Sehun realized that he doesn't mind hearing her talking even if the topic didn’t excite him.  

“I could live here. I could really live here,” Haru was gushing, flipping through a book.

“You will, after we get marri-“ he stopped himself before saying the word, eyes immediately lifting up to hers. She too, looked at him, and there was a long awkward pause between them and neither of them did anything to put an end to it. 

“Lets go upstairs,” he said, walking first, his face turning beet red from the embarrassment. Haru felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown on her. Stiffening up a bit, she said, with forced nonchalance, "Okay,”

//

She blinked at the door they were in front of, and realized they'd been stopped there for almost a minute. “Where is this?” she asked, touching the door.

“This is my room,” His smile was a little shy, and he shrugged a bit, trying to seem nonchalant. 

She scoffed and tried to push past him, but he held them together, blocking her out. When she pouted at him, he smiled, looking expectant.

 “What?”

“There's a password.”

“Open sesame.”

 “It's not that kind of password,” he said, and his eyes brighten up. “I’ll let you in if you called me handsome,” 

“You're not handsome.”

He shook his head, slowly, tsking. “What have we said about your fibbing skills, Haru? Not that great. These cheekbones.” He traced a finger down one of them, ignoring Haru's emphatic eyerolling. “This jawline. This hair. I'm a vision.”

She scoffed out, her hand grabbing her chest as if she couldn’t digest what he was saying. 

“Compliment me, else I won’t let you in,” he threatened.

“A compliment under duress isn't a real compliment.” 

“I'll take what I can get.”

Haru glared at him, her cheeks still flushed. He waited, smiling cheerily. “Fine. You're not completely off-putting.”

“No,” he said, raising a finger to stall whatever she was about to say next. “Nicer.” 

She rolled her eyes hard, her eyelids flickering a bit with the force of it. “You're somewhat good-looking,” she tried, folding her arms in front of her chest.

 “That's better, but I don't think you're there, yet.”

She made a face at him, scrunching her nose at him in silent protest. “Fine, you're very handsome, alright?”

“You ruined it by not calling my name,” he said, laughing. “Try again.”

“You're handsome, Sehun.” She said meekly, in defeat. 

 He laughed a little harder, and when it died down, the bout of amusement left his dark eyes sparkling as he regarded her, the smile softening with fondness. “You're beautiful, Haru.”

“Shut up,” she muttered, flushing, but she was biting back a pleased smile.

 Sehun was shaking his head. “No,” he promised, with a wide smile. “Come in,”

//

His room is massive. She wondered how huge it must have been that a gigantic piano, an enormous bed, and a 7 foot tall electronic dart machine were in and the room still managed to look half empty. 

She saw a medieval chess set on his piano, that looked like it costed a fortune and some scattered puzzles on a round glass table. There were a few trophies that he won in some basketball  games when he'd been a teenager. He had little figurines of Batman that had a well-loved look to them.  

Well, that was just adorable. And so unexpected from him.

She then came across a leather photo album. It was hidden amongst all the trophies that he won, completely out of vision. She took them out, and looked at him. “Can I?” she asked first, and waited for his answer. 

He simply nodded, tucking his hands into his pockets. His dark eyes looked slightly troubled, but he didn’t protest it. She smiled cheerfully as she hoped on his bed, crawling under the covers and piling the pillows up behind her. At his look, she said, “Come. You can get under, too, if you want,” she invited innocently. “Tell me about all the pictures inside,”

 “How childish,” he sneered. But he did get up and crawl under, settling beside her. After a moment, he put his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him a little.

He began describing about all the photographs she saw and Haru couldn’t help but to feel a little twinge of sadness when there weren’t even a single photo of his mother. She remember him telling her that his father threw all his mother's remembrance out of the house. She decided not to ask him anything further about it. 

She then stopped at one Polaroid, pulling it out and staring at it wide eyed. “This is you,” she chuckled. He looked the same, she thought. He had the same smug expression on his face, as if he’s better then everyone else, and his hair was combed to perfection. 

“You're so cute,” she said fondly, and she continues to  stare at it, before he snatch the picture from her hand, “Don’t stare too much,” he said, a bit flushed. 

She snorted, and then a second later, she was laughing. It persisted for a minute before it died down into lazy chuckles. She flipped over another page and her eye caught a black and white photograph. It was wrinkled as if it had been crumpled many times and her fingertips slides over to smoothed it. Sehun went strangely quiet, which was unusual for him. “That’s my father,” he said. 

Haru looked intently at the picture. Sehun’s father has the handsome look from a different time. His wholesome appearance looks more like yesterday than today.

 He could be a dashing world war I soldier. He was handsome enough that a girl would wait for years for him to come. So handsome she could even wait forever. 

“Your father is really good looking,” she said truthfully. Sehun jerked his head down to stare at her in open shock, his face in pure disgust, “Don't say that,” 

“I mean, he’s really handsome,’

“Do me a favor. Stop saying that,” he sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing circles into him temples, feeling incredibly annoyed, “Why do I get called cute and not handsome?” 

“I did called you handsome just now,” 

“That’s because I asked you to! You didn’t just say that willingly,”

Haru laughed, delighted.  “Now I can see where the good genes came from,” she added, to provoke him further. 

“So where is he?” she asked, and then began shrieking as his fingers found her sides and dug in, tickling her. “Sehun!” Her screaming reached a shrill pitch as she kicked, but the blankets twisted around her legs as she struggled. “Alright, I’ll stop! Please!”

He stopped trickling her, huffing an incredulous laugh, and crawled over her, looking smug as she caught her breath. She fell silent, after realizing how close his face was from hers, and for a second, all she could hear was him breathing. She could feel it against her lips too. Sehun, too, seemed to notice that as he inclined his head, his expression turning serious. “I'm going to kiss you now, and I don't know if I'll ever stop,” he said, then his hand smoothed past her jaw and around the back of her neck, and he leaned down without a further word and kissed her. This wasn't like the sweet kiss before, but something harder, and a little darker. 

He cupped her chin and tilted it back, deepening the kiss, wanting to somehow claim her very soul. Funny thing was, it was his soul that was being claimed, his breath that was being stolen, and his heart that was pounding crazy fast in his chest. 

As he was bringing his hands up her sides, his fingers just barely brushed the outer curve of her s, and she gasped into his mouth.

Sehun immediately got away from her and moved to the other end of the bed as if he was thrown. His face was flushed; his eyes were bright. “I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to- ” he stuttered awkwardly. Haru pressed her lips together from barking out a laugh. Instead, she just nodded at him, feeling incredibly amused with his behaviour.