Haru made the cardinal mistake of trying to cross the dividing line that separates the existence of the rich from that of the poor. She made the fatal error of dreaming beyond her means. The bigger the dream, the bigger the disappointment.

She had no idea how much it will hurt.

The only sound that fills her mind is the sound of his voice. She can’t bring herself to look at him.

“Are you listening to me?” he asked, twirling a short curl of hers around one of his fingers.
“Huh?”
“How’s the event?” Sehun thought he’d ask, since he noticed her being obviously distressed, soft tremors easily felt beneath his skin, where Sehun’s other hand rested on her back. “You didn’t say anything about it,”
Haru was quiet for a minute, one hand twisting in the fabric of her shirt.
“It was fine,” she answered abruptly.

“Okay,” he agreed half heartedly, hand moving up and down her back, feeling the tiny bumps of her spine through the cotton. He wasn’t going to push the issue, not if Haru didn’t want to.
“You can talk to me later if you feel like it,” he offered, giving her a small smile.

It makes her chest tighten painfully―the tenderness with which he’s treating her is almost too much to handle. It makes the fact that they have to separate hurt even more, because she knows she’s isn’t the only one who’s going to suffer.
And honestly, the last thing she wants is for him to suffer. She’d rather take it all on herself, than inflicting the pain on him.

“Sehun,” she called and he hummed in response.
“Do you want to sleep with me?” she asked him, her face straight and lacking of any expression. Sehun flinched slightly, an amusing expression crossed his face. “What?”
“We can do it if you want,” she said unabashed.

He blinked his eyes slowly, trying to register what she just said. “I’d be lying if I say I don’t want it.” He said slyly, cocking his head sideways. “Shall we?” he laughs. He looked at her, expecting to see her panicked face. Instead, she stood there, motionless for a few moments. She contemplated what she just offered.

Put an end to it, she thought. I won’t regret it, she said to herself repeatedly.

Haru reached for her shirt and started to undo her button, revealing a bit of her inner clothing.

Surprisingly, she had descended into an eerie calm.

“No, wait,” Sehun’s brow creased, his hand grabbed hers immediately, stopping her. “I was just kidding,” he said, confused. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” he pressed.

She turned away from him, her lips pressing hard, trying hard not to cry, “Consider this a parting gift,”
“What?”
“Let’s break up,”
He took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him, “What are you talking about?”

She bit the insides of and swallowed . “Let’s not talk to each other anymore. Let’s pretend that we’ve never met. Let’s go on our separate ways,”
He cast her a wary glare, “What’s with you? Did I do something wrong?”

She shook her head.

“Did anyone said anything? Is this what it’s all about?” he demanded again.
“No,” she said slowly. “It’s me. I can’t do this anymore,”

Sehun flinched.

“What? You thought whatever between us is going to last forever?” she asked condescendingly. She regretted the words as soon as she spoke them. She hadn’t meant that.

Sehun felt a hard pang in his heart. She felt the bruised feeling in grow stronger when she realized that his eyes were tearing up, slightly. “We can never be together. We are too different. You’re meant for greater things. I am just a pebble in your way. Let’s end this before it gets any harder,” she added slowly.

“You don’t mean that, do you?” he whispered.

“I do,” she said softly, looking away, feeling her breath stutter. She avoided looking at him, certain that if she does, the expression in his face will vaporize her on the spot.

He forced her to meet his eyes. “I don’t care what kind of things I’m meant for. I don’t care even if we’re too different. You were happy with me, weren’t you? You like me. You said so.” He said, a tad bit desperately.

Haru felt her hair brushing her neck and her face, and shoved them out of her face.

She felt claustrophobic.

“Its not easy like that,” she said, her voice shaky.
“It is,” he added, more quietly.

Sehun understood the meaning behind her words. He knew exactly who caused this commotion. It was strange of his father to not do anything after the news went public. Now Sehun knew what his father has been doing all this while.

Then later with a fierce determination, he said, “Let’s run away. To a place no one knows. To a place no one can find us. Just you and me. I don’t care if it’s the North or the South Pole. We’ll go there and we’ll live.”

Felt her heart constrict a bit, feeling as though she might cry. “No. I don’t want you to give up anything for me. I don’t want to live my life thinking that I took something that truly belongs to you,”

Sehun cupped her face and raised it up so she can see him squarely.
"Look at me," he whispered.
Haru moved her face away. He hold on to her hand, tears running down at his cheeks. “Don’t do this. Please.”

What do you do when the one person you want comfort from the most is the one who caused your pain? Haru want so desperately for him to wrap her up in his arms but also want so much for him to leave her alone.

She released her hand from his, tears pooling in her eyes, “I don’t want to see you again,”
///

It’s blissfully quiet, no obnoxious drunks, no complaining bartenders, or whining waitresses. No eardrum bursting band, who think they’re, as yet, undiscovered rockstars. This is Baekhyun’s alone time. Just him, alone in the restorative peace and quiet at the end of the long day. The haze of cigarette smoke is clearing and he breathe again as he sips on ice cold beer. It’s the perfect end to a hectic day.

He was gazing at the wall when someone startled him for behind. “Found you,” Taeyeon greeted him cheerfully, taking the seat beside him. “It’s been so long,” she giggled. “You reserved the whole bar?”

“What are you doing here?” he asked, a little annoyed at her presence, ignoring her question.

“I wanted to catch up with you,” she answered, tapping her fingers on the table. Her long wavy hair is all over her shoulder and she constantly fixes it.

“About what?”

“About you and the girl you had a crush on,” she chuckled. “I was worried about you. I wasn’t in the right mind when I asked you to steal her away from friend. I later realized that it will jeopardize your friendship with him,” she explained slowly. “Anyways, are you over her now?”

Baekhyun twisted the glass of between his fingers, “Jeopardize my friendship with Sehun,” he said softly. He reminisced the time he and Sehun firstly became friends.

He raised his glass, “Haru was the person who noticed that my eyes were different with just one glance. She was the person who told me words that were more comforting than anything else. She was the one who could make me happy just from looking at her,” he mumbled before taking a sip from the glass. He then turn to look at Taeyeon’s bewildered face.

“It’s only over when I decided to end it. Until then it’s not over yet,”

//