CHAPTER 27

all that glitters is never gold

Could you know someone so well, and then never know them again?

It must have been almost noon when Sehun woke up. The sun flooding through the open window strained through his closed eyes and he was sweating profusely. The damp warmth on his neck made him feel uncomfortable.

The bed he lied on felt less spacious than usual, and Sehun was almost convinced he was 15 and had at last defied his own self-control by sleeping with a girl he barely knew. How relieved he was to recognize the face that lied so sweetly next to his. He let out a gentle sigh. Though his head felt heavy, he was glad he woke up.

It was the exact opposite of waking up from the most beautiful dream. Sehun woke up from a monotonous, dreamless sleep to a tingling sensation inside his chest upon seeing the girl lying next to him. He shut his eyes again.

He inhaled, then he remembered.

Damn!

He slapped his face with his left hand. His eyes opened wide as he recalled the one thing that caused this very scene of a boy holding a sleeping girl. Sehun knitted his eyebrows and felt unsettled with a growing guilt from his rash actions last night.

Damn you, Oh Sehun, this is exactly why you swore you wouldn’t drink this badly anymore. Pretending to be a plant clearly isn’t the most embarrassing thing you can do.

He bit his own lips and almost surprised himself when he heard her grunt a soft grunt. She shifted, closer to Sehun and he could feel one of her legs sliding on top of his. She had laid her head on his chest all night. He was reminded of what followed after their kiss – her tears.

Sehun mustered the courage to look at her. The sheer sadness he saw her go to sleep in had shed from her face. Her cheeks were tinted with a blush of exhaustion but overall she looked peaceful.

I hope she really is alright, he thought, less curious about the reason behind her sudden tears. Sure, he wanted to know. There was nothing he did not want to know about Rei, but he was more concerned of her welfare. For someone who barely appears to feel anything besides peace, to see her cry was an overwhelming experience.

All Sehun could think of now was how he could rise from bed without waking her up.

Would you rather make yourself feel better or let her sleep?

As if you’re sad she’s lying right on top of you in the first place.

Let the boy practice guilty conscience.

Boys don’t have guilty conscience.

Sehun curled his fists but remained in place. I might as well catch a few more hours of sleep while she’s still not awake yet, he decided.

‘Hey.’ It felt like only a blink later that Sehun awoke, or was he truly awake? He was not sure, his head felt heavy and there was a throbbing pain like his head was about to explode. He opened his stinging eyes and saw Rei looking down at him, smiling with the beam of the morning sun. ‘Do you feel any better?’ she watched him shield his eyes from the sun, irritated.

‘What time is it?’

‘Only 10.’ She answered. ‘They plan on leaving at 12, but I thought you might want to eat something to reduce your hangover.’

Sehun squinted his eyes at her. She had changed her clothes and looked fresher and livelier (and much more like herself) in a white sleeveless top tucked in a pair of white denim shorts. Her hair was braided to one side.

For a stranger, it would be hard to guess she was the same person dressed in all black last night.

‘What time did you wake up?’ he was curious.

‘Three.’ She got up from bed.

‘Three?’

‘Your temperature shot through the roof last night. You didn’t look like you were sleeping well, so I tried to cool you down again.’ She said. Sehun felt the slightly wet towel sitting neatly on his forehead.

His comprehensive skills were failing him and he was torn between her words and what he remembered. Did they not wake up at noon? Was she not still asleep when he rose from sleep? ‘We did sleep together, didn’t we?’

‘If you mean together as next to each other, then yes.’ She answered calmly, picking up the towel again and rinsing them in a bowl of cold water. ‘I suppose an hour counts.’

An hour.

‘Did we-‘ Sehun was about to blurt another question when Rei looked back at him with a monotonous glance. He held back his tongue. ‘Aren’t you tired?’

‘I can’t get that much sleep when I drink too much. But I’m alright.’ She smiled reassuringly.

She looked…normal, he thought.

Was that not a good thing?

It was, he supposed. Yet, there was a lingering confusion inside him. The whiteness of her outfit, her almost perfect fresh pair of eyes that seemed tearless and her constant smile. Was last night merely a dream?

‘I’ll get some more aspirin.’ She said after laying the newly rinsed towel on his forehead.

‘Did we kiss?’ he asked out loud as she was reaching the door. He expected her to hesitate, maybe even lie. For a moment, he thought she came to a halt. She coolly turned to him.

‘We did.’ She simply said.

Great going, Sehun. There was an imaginary applause inside his head. He realized what he had just done made it more likely that their next interaction would be awkward (for him especially; he doubted Rei knew what awkwardness felt like). He abruptly touched his lips. They were no longer warm and there was no lingering sensation from her lips, but the thought that he, Sehun had kissed Rei made him feel feverish again.

Rei, aware and never oblivious, ignored his faint-like face and gave him the medication he needed. Sehun sat up, not wanting to look weak to avoid prompting her to nurse him further. ‘Thanks.’ He said without looking at her.

Although he asked, Sehun was back to doubting his memories as he watched her go about her business in nonchalance.

‘Do you still feel unwell?’

‘Am I the only one with hangover?’

She shook her head. ‘Kyungsoo is worse. He’s been vomiting ever since he woke up.’

After everyone was able to at least stand up and walk, they left the apartment. Rei and Kyle looked the most unaffected by drinking. They chitchatted a lot more than any of them were used to, but the rest were all either too hungover to care or too exhausted. ‘Try to get some sleep.’ She told Sehun as they parted ways to their own dormitories.

Sehun solemnly nodded, too nervous to properly thank her, and he disappeared into the building.

‘Lovely, isn’t she?’ Kyungsoo surprised him.

‘Who?’

‘Who? Rei, of course. She made me breakfast and some herbal drink because I got sick from all the drinking last night.’

‘She was the one who cooked breakfast?’

‘Breakfast, lunch, brunch. Whatever you call it. She went out to the market in the morning. God forbids that apartment ever has anything else besides wine. I thought people get hungry after .’

‘Oh.’

‘I guess since she’s in the wine business and all she’s probably used to drinking.’

‘She’s in the wine business?’

‘Isn’t she? I thought I heard someone say her family owns one of the largest breweries or something. I wouldn’t be able to tell looking at her, to be honest. You know, that she’s from those extremely rich families.’

The more you know, Sehun thought.

‘I got really drunk last night. It was the worst. I started hearing music coming from somewhere.’ Kyungsoo went on. ‘Was I loud last night?’

You’re pretty loud now, Kyungsoo, Sehun kept to himself. He was also thinking about Rei, for some odd reason.

She’s rich?

Maybe it was the fact she appeared so foreign to him that learning something new about her made him feel even more distant. He thought he knew her; sure, she never talked but they were close. That had to mean something, right? Was he even close to her?

She knows everybody but nobody knows her.

Rei waited in front of the dormitory building when a Porsche revved and stopped right in front of her. Typical, she murmured without moving lips. The driver opened the door for her before she could resist his chivalrous, gracious act. Some passing students stared, either at the car or at the couple, depending on which interested them more – the prettiness of the boy and the girl, or the fact that an 18-year old boy was driving an expensive car.

‘Are you ready?’ Jaehyun looked at her.

Rei nodded, a smile just as gracious as he was, and he sped away, leaving the compounds of school. She was wearing a white satin halter sleeveless dress that reached halfway above her knees.

‘Nice shoes.’ He glanced down at her white sneakers. Rei carried a pair of velvet heels to wear to the event they would be attending but did not bother to correct him.

He drove all the way to Gangnam. Rei watched the highway stretch beneath the dark unclouded sky like a magnificent painting above the horizon. She untied her braid and let her grand black hair fly loose like a raven.

They arrived at Le Meridien and Rei reluctantly let Jaehyun lead her. Now in her heels, she matched Jaehyun’s similarly simple but classy attire. ‘There you are!’ they were greeted by an older woman. ‘My two dolls! Don’t you look wonderful.’ She beamed proudly. ‘Oh, my, you’ve grown!’ she looked at Rei from top to bottom. ‘Such a fitting pair. Almost like you two were cut out from a fairy tale’s book.’

Rei did not see any truth to her words, but Jaehyun had a slightly proud smile on his face, despite agreeing on the absurdity of her example.

Rei drifted into her own thoughts as she entered a new world – a world of diamonds and gold….and expensive wine. Her eyes roamed around the grand dining hall as Jaehyun took her to greet every single person he knew.

When she spotted the people she was looking for, she almost slipped Jaehyun’s arm. The man who saw her staring at him from across the huge hall gave a warm smile and gestured her to wait, and Rei shrunk back next to Jaehyun.

‘I see you’re here too.’ Rei was alarmed by Bae Yoori, who slipped next to her when Jaehyun was busy entertaining someone else. She was holding a glass of champagne and had on a violet cocktail dress. ‘It feels just like last year during the Athletes’ Appreciation Dinner.’ She smirked.

‘Why do you say that?’

Yoori tilted her head towards a direction. When Rei followed, she saw a group of loud boys – and their head, none other than Jinwoo Adams himself.

Suddenly Rei felt as if she had not left school at all.

‘Pretty cocky for someone’s who’s about to go to juvie.’  Yoori’s grey eyes were threatening.

‘How is that going?’

‘Pretty alright, in my opinion. Of course, his father’s going to try do all he can to make sure his son doesn’t land in prison but as long as everyone knows what a true son of a jerk Jinwoo is, I’ve won. Men don’t fall that easily, mind you.’ She took a sip of her champagne. ‘No matter how many terrible things they do.’

Home, sweet home, Rei thought to herself.

‘Be careful, anyhow.’

‘And you.’ She placed her gaze on Jaehyun. ‘You’re on the swimming team again this year, aren’t you?’

‘I will.’

The gala was boring, as it always was. Rei had no interest whatsoever with the guests except for Yoori, but she too had a hard time trying to fend off rich boys who flirted with her when all she cared for was to eat.

All the smiling and scripted talking made Rei’s head turn, but the man she wanted to see was far busier than she was. He, with the woman who accompanied him were constantly being dragged from one conversation to another.

Restless and dizzy, Rei took to the restroom.

It had been a while since she had attended galas. Even though she still had her grace and social skills still encrypted into her head, Rei had lost interest for these over-the-top, luxurious events for so long.

After taking her time, Rei decided to return to the hall.

‘Rei.’ She was stopped at the corridor. ‘What are you doing out here?’

Rei threw a wary glance at Jinwoo, who was leaning against the wall. She walked away.

‘Ignoring it is, then.’ She heard him mutter, then footsteps followed. ‘See how long you can ignore me-‘ he reached out for her wrist.

Quicker than he had anticipated however, Rei snapped her hand free and grabbed Jinwoo’s arm, standing up to him although from a shorter height. Her eyes were static and her lips were tight.  When he tried to use force against her, she averted it and held it like a wall against himself; the more he pushed, the stronger her grasp. He had expected her to attack him – throw a punch or a hard slap but she did not. Instead, she stood there, refusing to move or give in, her stare and hold on him only hardening the more he tried to attack her, and Jinwoo was physically strong.

She was not threatening; nothing about her eyes were close to frightening, and she only muttered a quiet, ‘Please.’ before she released his arm and calmly returned back to the hall.

‘I was looking for you.’ Jaehyun appeared out of nowhere next to her but Rei barely responded to him. ‘Did you run into Jinwoo?’

‘Huh?’ she wondered why he mentioned his name. Jaehyun scanned their surrounding before he pulled her securely by the waist and took her to a more secluded area.

‘You look pale. Are you alright? Did you run into Jinwoo on the way out?’ he raised her chin as if to look for any scars or bruises on her face.

‘Why do you ask about him?’ Rei hid an amused anticipation.

He sighed. ‘I saw him follow behind you. With the charges Yoori is pressing against him, I’d say I was worried he’d do something to you.’

‘You don’t trust him.’

‘I’d be a fool if I did, and you would too if you trust him.’

It was trusting you that made me a fool, Rei tore her gaze. She felt trapped inside the gold-lit walls and showers of magnificent light. Her feet was bound to the squared marbles, like tiles on a chessboard. She was stuck in a game she could never leave, and until she is pushed off the board by another player, she could never hope for escape – and by that her only means of escape was through being defeated, either into shame or into death.