“What if I say I do? What are you going to do?”

Sehun stared blankly at the horizon as his own words echoed inside his head. Jongin’s reaction back then was unexplainable and he wasn’t even able to hear an answer from him because Baekhyun decided to interrupt at that exact time. Sighing, Sehun ran his fingers through his hair before leaning on his back.

What the hell did I put myself into? Why did those words leave my mouth?

“Hyung~”

Upon hearing that voice, Sehun lifted his head and stood. A smile automatically formed on his face as the younger boy approached him with the same smile painted on his face. “Hyung~ You came!” Jaehun commented as he continued running towards Sehun.

“Of course I came. I promised, right?” Sehun replied, patting Jaehun’s head lightly. The younger boy stood inches shorter than him but Sehun can’t deny that his brother’s tall for his age. He’s already standing 168 cm at the age of 11. “What time is your game?”

“4 this afternoon but we have to be there around 3 for practice,” Jaehun replied right away. “We should go. Mom’s waiting at home. Uncle went fishing yesterday and caught a big fish so we’ll have a feast.” Sehun wrapped his arm around Jaehun’s shoulder as he hiked his bag on his other shoulder. Their little chat continued as they walked home. Visiting Jeju after a long time is like a breather for him. He wanted to leave Seoul and just stay in Jeju but there are things that are holding him back. There are things that he wanted to fix first before leaving the city for good.

Seoul’s a strange place for him though at a young age, he dreamt of living in the city. That was when he was young – when he knew nothing of the coldness and harshness of the world. Now, Seoul’s a city of nightmare for him.

“Hyung, how’s your shoulder?” Jaehun suddenly asked.

“It’s fine. It’s been a long time since I finished my rehab. I can actually play basketball now and I think I got even better,” Sehun replied with a smile. Jaehun couldn’t hide the worried expression on his face. Even at a young age, Jaehun’s already aware of the things happening around him and even if his older brother hides everything with his smile, he could see past that.

Jaehun kept quiet for a long time before breaking the silence between them. “He came again,” he muttered. “He came to my school and tried to talk to me but mom happened to be there so she stopped him from approaching me.”

Sehun’s expression suddenly changed. Jaehun noticed how Sehun clenched his jaws. “No matter what happens, don’t ever talk to him. We have nothing to do with him, okay?”

He’s heard those same words from Sehun multiple times. Jaehun nodded in reply and Sehun ruffled his hair as that small smile came to his face once again.

“Sorry that you have to go through this.”

“Mom said that she will visit grandma tomorrow. We closed the shop earlier today so I’m on my way home.” Jieun looked in front as the elevator dinged open. With her free hand, she grabbed the grocery bags and stepped out. “What time are you coming home? Dad tried calling you a while ago but you were not answering your phone.”

Jieun stopped on her tracks when she saw a familiar person standing at the end of the hallway. “Okay. Take care.” Pocketing her phone after the phone call, she stared at Ayoung. Was she waiting here the whole time? Sehun said he’ll be going somewhere. As far as she could remember, she saw Ayoung standing there an hour ago when she went back home to get something that she forgot. Was she waiting for Sehun for an hour?

She slowly turned towards the door and slowly punched in the pass code. As she entered, she went straight to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients that her mother will use to cook their dinner. She quickly finished what she was doing and she looked at the clock. I wonder if she’s still there. Making up her mind, she went back outside to check on Ayoung. A soft sigh left her lips when she saw that she was still there.

“Hi.”

Ayoung lifted her head and looked at Jieun. “Hello,” she greeted back. Jieun awkwardly rubbed her hands on her pants as she walked nearer. Ayoung’s as tall as Jieun and she has a small body frame. She has a fair complexion and long, straight, jet blank hair. She’s pretty. Jieun noticed right away that there’s something in her that makes her look timid and fragile.

“Are you waiting for Sehun?” Jieun asked.

“Yes.”

“I see,” Jieun muttered, nodding her head slowly. “He said that he was going somewhere so he might not be home. He might return late at night.” Jieun noticed how Ayoung softly sighed as she looked at the bag that she was holding.

“He was not answering his phone so I just decided to wait. I did not know that he want somewhere,” Ayoung confessed as she forced to make a small smile. Jieun pursed her lips as she started thinking of what to do next. She just can’t leave Ayoung there just like that.

“Do you want to wait inside? It’s getting cold here,” Jieun offered after some time and Ayoung looked at her in surprise. Ayoung shook her head.

“I don’t want to bother you. I’ll be fine waiting here,” Ayoung replied. Jieun could see that her hands were already shivering and her lips were turning purple because of the cold weather.

“I insist. Come inside and wait for him there. I’ll feel bad if I just leave you here.”

After some more time of convincing Ayoung, Jieun found herself serving the other girl a mug of hot coffee. Ayoung was sitting silently at the living room as her eyes shifted from one corner of the room to another. “I heard that you were classmates back in Daewon,” Jieun said, starting to make a little chat with Ayoung. The latter nodded her head slowly. Jieun’s eyes went to the bag that was placed on the table. Ayoung noticed what Jieun was doing.

“It’s for Sehun. I packed some side dishes for him because I know that he does not cook that much when he’s alone,” Ayoung explained with a soft voice.

“You must be close friends,” Jieun commented, smiling a bit.

Ayoung paused for some time before shaking her head. “I can’t say that we’re close friends. The two of us never actually talked to each other when we were still in Daewon except when there were school activities.”

Jieun couldn’t hide the quizzical expression on her face and Ayoung caught that. “I owe Sehun so much and bringing him these side dishes is the only thing that I could do to thank him.” Another small pause came. Jieun intently stared at her, listening to every word that she’s saying. Ayoung started tapping her fingers around the mug that she was holding.

Lifting her head slowly, Ayoung met Jieun’s gaze. “I actually heard the students in your school talking about Sehun – about how he sent a teacher to the hospital with four broken ribs. They talked about him in a bad way but that teacher deserved what happened to him.” Ayoung’s expression changed and Jieun noticed the hatred and disgust written on her face.

When Jieun came up with a conclusion inside her mind, she gasped internally. Don’t tell me that teacher-

“Sehun saved me that day and he’s still saving me up to this time.”

Flashback

“Your scores are getting lower and lower,” Mr. Jung commented as he put his record book on the table. Ayoung had her head down, feeling depressed that her efforts are not bearing fruits. Because of her family’s current situation, her time’s being consumed by her part-time jobs that she couldn’t find enough time to study. Mr. Jung sighed before standing.

Inside that empty faculty room, all that she could hear is the sound of his shoes meeting the floor with every step that he was making. “Do you want to improve your grades?” he asked in a soft voice. Ayoung lifted her head when she heard that.

“Yes sir,” she replied right away. Mr. Jung stood in front of her and stared at her for some seconds.

“Will