“This is ridiculous," 

Haru scrolled down her phone and saw at least 10 articles written about her. The press were considerate enough not to reveal too many information, but nevertheless she was annoyed to see her private life floating in every possible magazines and newspaper. Some of the online forums even suggested that she’s already married to Sehun in a private secret ceremony. 

She turns around, her look cool and impatient. Sehun was standing right behind her, a small smirk appeared on his face. The lip of the sink presses against her lower back, and he’s closer than she calculated. Sehun’s body held a finger span from hers, his hand on the mirror allows him to lean forward a little, meeting her with a amusing look of his own. Slowly, deliberately, he moves. His right hand lands on the edge of the sink, the nudge of his knuckle pressing into her hip, it's a position that ultimately and essentially  cages  her. He's waiting for the next words to fall out of , and she sees it clearly in the empty, tolerant quiet of him. 

When she said nothing, he grabbed her by the waist as he pulls her closer to him. He dips his face at the her shoulder,  his nose softly trailing up and down the side of her neck. Goose bumps break across her skin, her heart beats fast enough for the both of them, its thunderous pulse echoing through her. 

“What are we going to do now?” Haru breathed, hoping to distract him from hearing her embarrassingly loud heart rate. 

“Nothing,”

She pushed her palm against his chest, putting a small distance between them. “Nothing?”

He nodded at her. “Yes. We’re not going to do anything. I’m glad that this news getting the media’s attention. It saved me the time to talk to my father about that stupid wedding. He should have known by now,”

“What wedding?” she asked, her eyebrows raised silently in question. 

“It’s nothing,” he said dismissively. 

She looked at him, clearly not liking how vague and opaque he sounded. “What is it?”

“Is this relevant?” he asked, cocking his head at her. His eyebrows flickered up just barely. 

“Sehun. Please.”

He sighed, deeply. “Alright” he said, gruffly, to cover up the fact that he knew he'd lost this argument the second she brought the P-word out. “My father wants me to marry a girl of his choice. It’s a business thing. Nothing else,”

Her mind went blank as she struggled to make sense of what Sehun was saying. “Why didn’t you tell me about it?” Haru frowned. Something dreadful settled in the pit of her stomach but she didn’t have time to examine it. “Why did you hide it from me?”

Sehun blinked at her, confused. “I didn’t want to bother you,” he stuttered. She looked visibly upset, and he didn’t know why. He settled his hand on hers, his thumb caressing the back of her hand. “It really is nothing,” he assured her. 

“Sehun,” she sighed. “You- You should talk to me about this. I need to know what’s going on. You can’t just hide things like this from me. That’s not how relationship works,”

Taken aback, Sehun’s mouth fell slightly open. He sobered, and shook his head, his expression growing serious, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know-. Are you mad at me?”

“I just wish you don’t keep things away from me,” She crossed her arms, mutinous. 

Swallowing, he looked into her eyes and said, quietly: “You still love me. Right?"

"Right," she muttered, seconds later. 

He nodded, relieved. “Okay,” he said, raising both of his hands mid air as a gesture of surrender. “I promise I’ll tell everything, and that I won’t hide anything again from you,”

Haru pressed her lips together so she didn't smile. “Thank you,” she said, managing to not sound amused even a little. She really was getting good at this. 

He brought her hands to his lips and kissed them. “I like this.” He said sheepishly.  “I like us arguing. It clears out all the negativity between us. I feel like I know something new about you every single time.”

“Let's argue more often then,” Haru smirked. 

“No.” he shook his head. “Arguing with him you makes me miserable too and I hate that, “

“You were miserable?” she asked, somewhat disbelieving. Sehun’s eyes found hers. “More than you'd ever believe,” he said, seriously. She huffed, trying to pull her hands free from his. He was like a human octopus, though – every time she got one free, a hand came out of nowhere and captured her fingers again. 

****

"I couldn't sleep," she said, with a sort of mulish bitterness that immediately filled him with a sense of warmth. An adorable smirk slowly spread across the Sehun’s face, and her scowl intensified. "Not because of you," she snapped, folding her arms.

"So I should probably go?" he asked, smugly, and her nose wrinkled.

"You can stay if you want," she muttered, and the eerie purple glow of the room did little to mask the flush that spread across her cheeks as she glanced away, in embarrassment. He agreed quickly, aware that this was going to be the only olive branch Kim Haru would ever extend. If he refused her, now, she was unlikely to ever do it again. Haru wasn't the sort of girl who kept giving chances to people who squandered them.

Minutes later, she was curled up on the couch, her green blankets pulled up tightly around her face, all the way up to her nose. Her hair sprouted from the top of her wrapped form like a fern.

Despite her complaints about not being able to sleep, she'd fallen asleep almost instantaneously, once she'd settled. She'd watched him dress for about thirty or forty seconds before her eyelids had grown too heavy to keep open, anymore.

She slept like the dead, rousing only a little when she felt herself get lifted and moved about on the couch. She groaned in protest, whining, as he slid beneath her and re-settled the blankets around them both. She pressed her face into his chest, the unmistakable scent of his musk filling her nose, and felt his fingertips glide along her hair, feathersoft. Snuffling contentedly, she soon sunk back into unconsciousness, feeling his breaths start to even out beneath her as her last coherent thought slipped away.

///

The business party Sehun attended a few hours ago were an annoyance, to say the least.

Alright, maybe that was an exaggeration: there was plenty of tasty food and drinks, enough to keep him occupied for some time. But Sehun had never been good at dealing with nobility — which was ironic, considering his own lineage. All those endless pleasantries and smiles could get on someone’s nerves given enough time, and he wasn’t that patient to begin with.

Besides, he was particularly moody that night, so, instead of socializing, he ditched the party to drink with his friends at their usual bar. They had the entire bar reserved for them throughout the night. 

After some minutes of drinking, Sehun noticed someone approach him through the corner of his eye, and he wasn’t too surprised to see who it was. 

Baekhyun looked tired in his casual clothing, and there was a hint of exhaustion on his face only those who knew him well could identify. That was surprising, because he was known for his impeccable self management. 

“Hey, Baek,” Sehun greeted, as he gulped down another shot of vodka. “I didn't see you for quite a while.” He smiled at him, “Come sit here beside me,” he gestured him. 

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun carefully, as he sat down next to Sehun. His face looked a little worried, as if he’s expecting some ruckus to happen anytime. 

It was clear to Baekhyun that Sehun had been drinking — way more than he was supposed to. “Rough day?” he asked, taking a little sip of the wine. He massages his temples, completely ignoring Chanyeol’s constant worried glances at him. 

Sehun said nothing but instead reached for another refill,  turning what was left of the drink in one go. Baekhyun raised his brow, a brief laugh escaping his lips. “Well, that answers it.”

“I’m just sick of being careful all the time,” Sehun muttered. “I feel like someone is constantly watching me. It’s frustrating,”

“You’re just paranoid,” Suho answers. “Relax, everything is going to be fine,” He pulled the chair beside Chanyeol, “Your father might not sit quiet after the news, but you’ll go through it. You always have,”

Sehun let out a chuckle, “Well, I don’t care anymore. I’m settling down for a wild, serious relationship. I don’t want to think about what can happen in a month. I don’t want to think about what can happen in a year. I just want to focus what’s right in front of me. It doesn’t matter to me whether he approves or not, she’s the one I want to be with. If someone tries to take her away from me, nothing will stop me from tearing this entire world apart, and that includes  my father, if he gets in the way,”

Baekhyun swallowed. His eyes caught the glimpse of the ring adorning Sehun’s finger, and he mentally recalled seeing the exact one on Haru’s finger too. Something about seeing the silver band irks him. He drinks the wine from his glass, and it tastes bitter on his tongue. 

“Why do you like her? Haru?” he asked suddenly, his eyes still glued to Sehun’s finger. "I never really ask you that before,"

Sehun looked at him, unsure of what he meant by asking that, “What’s there not to like?” he said, as a matter of factly, “I’ll admit, I wasn’t attracted to her the first time we met, but then she starts talking and with every word, every laugh, she gets prettier.”

He smiled to himself and sips in the vodka a little, “And when she talks to you, it’s like-“ he paused, searching for the right word, “its like-“

“It’s like she’s talking to your soul,” Baekhyun completes the sentence, his eyes looked unusually raw and vulnerable. 

Sehun didn’t reply immediately. Moments like that made him wonder if Baekhyun’s words meant something more than what he say, or if he was just reading too much into it.

They stayed silent for the following seconds, until a wave of nervousness made a brief, humorless laugh escape from Chanyeol’s lips. “Alright guys, let’s not drink too much. We have a-“

“I like her,” Baekhyun announced suddenly. When his words brought a ringing silence across the bar, he looked up, his voice more  determined and strong, “I like Haru,”

“What?” Kai spat. “What the hell are you talking?”

Baekhyun ignored him. “I like her and its beyond any feelings I’ve experienced. She’s all I think about. She’s all I want. I want to be with her,”

"What are you saying?" D.O asked, staring at him.

Sehun’s jaw clenched, eyes flickering dangerously. He said nothing the entire time, but his knuckles going white as his fingers folded tightly around the glass. His eyes threw a calculative look, as if he's analyzing every incident involving Baekhyun and Haru being together. Minutes later, he let out a mocking laugh, his body leaning towards Baekhyun. 

“You failed, didn’t you?” Sehun taunted, his head slightly. “You spend five days with her. You must have tried all your tricks on her. Nothing worked, did they?” he sneered, “She left you with a bruised ego.” He followed along with a laugh knowing he had already won because he had her. 

Baekhyun expression settled into a cold fury, “Careful Sehun. Be on your toes. I'm just a step behind you. If I try harder, she might fall for me,”

“If and might. Your words inspire such confidence,” Sehun scoffed. “This is not a game. She’s not a prize. You won’t understand since you treat people like toys,” He grabbed his black jacket, ready to leave. 

Baekhyun slammed his fist on the table, his lips pressed together so hard they turned white, almost disappearing from his face. When he spoke again, his voice sounded calmer, but a little snappy, as if anger was threatening to explode out at any moment. “I’m not like Lay. He gave up without trying.”

Sehun ignored him, as he reached for his car keys. 

“I love Haru,” Baekhyun finally said. “I love her,”

Sehun stopped and unlike the times he looks at him, there was no warmth in his gaze. He looked gleefully sadistic as he stood and walked towards Baekhyun and Chanyeol gasped when Sehun suddenly punched Baekhyun in the face. 

//

“You’re an idiot,” Chanyeol sighed as he firmly pressed medical binding tape over the bridge of Baekhyun’s nose. He was putting on a brave face, but Chanyeol knew the break must be painful.  

Baekhyun poured himself a glass of whiskey, smiling apologetically. “To douchebags!" he said, referring to Sehun. "And to girls that break your heart," he referred Haru. His eyes lost focus. "And to the absolute ing horror of losing your best friend because you were stupid enough to fall in love with his girlfriend.”

Chanyeol his lips, regarding him, still frustrated but now a little unsure of how to proceed. “Why did you do it, Baek?”

Baekhyun sobered a bit as he spoke, “He's so happy with her. It hurts to watch,”

"I don't like this," Xiumin mutttered, "First, it was Lay, now, it's you. We're breaking apart because of a girl. And she isn't officially his girfriend yet." He said, raking this fingers through his hair, "I really don't like this,"

Chanyeol exhaled roughly, his mind finding ways to amend the commotion between the two. “Don’t worry about Sehun. He’s a volatile person. His anger doesn’t last long,” he said as he keeps the medical tape back to its place. “Just give him a few days time. He’ll come around,”

“No, he won't,” Baekhyun hesitated, “I deserve this. I did something bad,”

Chanyeol froze in his spot, slowly taking in his words. “What did you do?” he demanded.

Seeing Baekhyun being silent, he glared at him, “Baekhyun, what the did you do?”

Baekhyun's guilty eyes meets Chanyeol’s as he whispered, “I told Sehun’s father about Haru,”