“Stop calling me.”

Jieun stopped on her tracks when she heard Sehun speaking. She was on her way to the storage room with a box of props from their class presentation when she heard his voice. Curiosity got a hold of her and she carefully peeked. Sehun was running his fingers through his hair while sighing. His jaws were clenched tightly and she could see that he’s pissed off.

“How many times am I going to tell you that I have nothing to do with him?” His tone sounded harsh and cold. There was a little pause before Sehun started talking. “Don’t show up in my school like before. I don’t want to see you lurking around. I’m warning you.”

Hearing that, Jieun was able to tie things up - Sehun’s talking with the man in suit who she saw with the orange head not too long ago. Jieun already made an assumption that Sehun’s a rich kid basing from how that man acted in front of him. That’s just an assumption since she doesn’t have any conclusive evidence yet. But…why does he sound so mad? Wait. Did he run away from their home?

“JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!”

Jieun flinched when Sehun’s voice got louder. She leaned on the wall, totally hiding herself. She could hear him sighing deeply. “I don’t want anything from him. I don’t want to be connected to him in any way. If I could drain my own blood and dispose of everything that I got from him, I would’ve done that long time ago. Please, stop coming after me. I don’t want that kind of life.”

W-What does that mean? Jieun fell into a pit of thoughts. There was a longer pause this time.

“Tell him to mind his own business if he does not want to see me dead.” Sehun’s tone was softer this time but the coldness was still there. Jieun peeped again and saw Sehun pocketing his phone before taking in a lungful of air. She could see that he’s really angry. Seeing him like that is actually scary.

She held the box tighter as she turned around. The last thing that she wanted to happen is Sehun seeing her. After that night where he told her that he’s going to help her to prevent her heart from breaking apart, she’s been so self-conscious whenever he’s around. She’s still not sure about what he meant because there really was no any explanation after that. Shaking her head, a sigh left her lips. Why am I so distracted these days? I have too many things in my head.

She continued walking towards the storage room. I better hurry up. I still have to pass my paper to Ms. Song. I wonder if Junmyeon’s going to the academy this afternoon. She started walking faster as series of thoughts came like waves.

“Hi there.”

Jieun squeaked in surprise when Sehun came out of nowhere. Before she could even say a thing, he was already carrying the box that was formerly on her arms. The corners of his lips were curved upwards as he stared at her.

“Hi,” she awkwardly muttered with an awkward smile to match her tone. Just some minutes ago, she saw him so pissed off so seeing him smiling like that makes her doubt herself if he’s really the same person a while back.

“Are you heading to the storage room?” he asked, looking at the box that he’s holding. She nodded in reply before muttering a soft ‘yes’. She’s feeling a very weird sensation inside her body that she can’t explain. Jieun awkwardly kept her distance from him. She was playing with the bracelet around her wrist as they walked in a slow pace.

“I’ll help you…in preventing your heart from breaking apart.”

Jieun’s brows furrowed when that same line and voice echoed in her mind. That’s not the first time that she had that experience. She shook her head, trying to shoo those thoughts away. Sehun was just casually walking in silence while she’s trying to act as calm as possible when she’s actually feeling various things inside. For exactly 2 seconds, she turned to look at him. He looked like he’s in a deep thought. His brows were furrowed.

She was suddenly reminded of the phone call that she heard a while back. I wonder…what that was about. I’ve been with him for months now…but…I know nothing about him. A while back, he sounded really angry. Did he really run away from home? What kind of kid is this orange head? I wonder if-

Halt.

Her musing suddenly came to a stop when she met Sehun’s eyes. She couldn’t explain it but she couldn’t look away. For some seconds, they held each other’s gaze. When she snapped back into reality, she could feel her cheeks burning. She looked away, stepping a bit farther from him.

“Is there something wrong?” Sehun asked and she quickly shook her head.

“Jieun, did you have your lunch already? Do you want to-”

“I already ate,” she answered, cutting his question. The thing that she needed at the moment is space. She could feel her heart beating faster and harder than usual. The conclusion that she came up with is scaring her. Her mind’s in shambles.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you going straight to the shop after class?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not going to the academy?”

“Yeah.”

She was already walking faster. She kept answering ‘yeah’ to his questions to keep the conversation short.

“You’re not going with Junmyeon?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you feeling uncomfortable with me around?”

“Yeah.”

Pause.

She stopped in her tracks as she looked at him. “T-That’s not what I meant. I-I…just…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. She wanted to slap herself for that slip of the tongue. Sehun was just staring at her.

“Is it because of what I said?” Sehun asked. His tone was soft and so was his expression. Jieun could feel her knees melting. She kept quiet. Sehun sighed before putting the box down. “I see. You’re feeling uncomfortable because of what I said.”

“No. I was just-”

“Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

Jieun felt her heart stop beating for a second or so when Sehun suddenly put his hand on her head. “Jieun, you don’t have to think about it. I just want to help you. If you want to, I’ll help you. If you don’t want me to, just say so. Don’t over think. I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable when I’m around. I’m your orange wall after all.”

Sehun smiled at her as he softly ruffled her hair. As he pulled his hand, Jieun just stood there like a statue. He carried the box once again and started walking away. Jieun was glued on where she was standing. She just stared at him as he continued walking.

Why…Why…am I feeling so scared? Why?

Doodle.

Doodle.

Doodle.

Jieun’s mind is somewhere else while her body’s inside the classroom. The teacher’s voice sounded so distant. She couldn’t hear a thing. She was just blankly looking at her notebook as she kept drawing abstract things. Keeping her distance from Sehun for the mean time is the best solution that she could think of. Her feelings are tangled up and it’s scaring her that she might end up hurting herself again.

She snapped back to her senses when a note was thrown on her desk. She turned to Chanyeol and saw him gesturing for her to read it. Looking at the teacher, she slowly opened the folded paper.

Dinner at Baekhyun’s place. We’re all going. Sehun’s coming too.

Jieun looked at Chanyeol who was smiling. She shook her head. The giant’s expression changed and she’s sure that he’s asking the reason why. She put the note in her drawer and looked in front. Chanyeol stared at her for some time before passing another note. Despite know