“Did you approach me on purpose because of that plan of yours? Did you befriended me and even told me that you like me to have me on your side? Tell me, Oh Sehun, was I just a character in your play? Was it a lie all this time?”

“J-Jieun…I’m sorry.”

“You should really be sorry because I won’t believe any explanation from you anymore. I don’t know anything about you and right now, I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Sehun’s eyes shot wide open when he heard the blaring sound of his alarm. Sighing, he reached for his phone and turned it off. He shut his eyes, feeling suddenly dizzy. He knew right away that he’s being weighed down with guilt once again. His dreams never made him at peace. He opened his eyes once again and stared at the ceiling.

Moving to this apartment, moving to the same school and even getting a part-time job in the shop – everything went smoothly…so why…am I feeling like this? When did it start to get out of hand? Oh Sehun, what kind of situation have you entered?

 His phone suddenly vibrated. Getting up, he picked it up and walked out of his room.

From Youngho: I’m sorry. I did not expect for any of that to happen. I thought he just really wanted to talk.

He stared at it for a long time before typing a reply.

To Youngho: You should’ve known better. Stay out of trouble.

Frowning, Sehun tossed his phone on the couch and went to the kitchen. With his bandaged hand, he’s sure he won’t be able to prepare a decent breakfast for himself again. As he was about to reach for a pack of ramen, he heard the ringing of the doorbell. Quickly, he walked towards the door to open it. He was expecting for a delivery anyway.

He couldn’t hide his surprised expression when he saw Jieun standing in front of him when he opened the door. “W-Why…” he muttered before he noticed the container of side dishes that she was holding. Jieun looked calm and casual and that made him feel better. He was actually worried that with his actions that night, she might’ve built a wall between them.

“Good morning. I brought you some food since I know that you can’t cook with that hand,” she stated. Sehun smiled a bit before opening the door wider, gesturing for her to enter. She looked at him with a quizzical expression, taken aback by his sudden invitation.

“Come in,” he finally said when Jieun did not move an inch.

“Umm…you can just get this and-”

“I insist.”

Despite being hesitant, Jieun found herself entering.  Sehun’s place is neat. There’s nothing much really – just some books lying on the table. Jieun put the container of side dishes on the table as Sehun quickly reached for some bowl from the cabinet. She let her eyes roam around the room. As Sehun transferred the side dishes, Jieun walked towards the living room. There was only one picture frame on the shelf. Curious, Jieun stared at it for some time.

Basing from Sehun’s appearance, Jieun came up with a conclusion that it must have been taken when he was in middle school. His mother looked kind. She figured out that the little boy beside Sehun is his little brother – Jaehun. The resemblance is so obvious. The girl with the bright smile in the middle was his sister. Jieun could see the similarity between their smiles.

Sehun, on the other hand, was busy tidying up the table. When he glanced at Jieun’s direction, he couldn’t help but think of the conversation that he had with Jongin.

“Can I trust you with Jieun?”

“Is that even-”

“Yes or no.”

“Yes.”

A smile crept to his face but that smile suddenly got swept away when he Youngho’s voice echoed in his mind. “You do know that you’re in a messy situation, right?”

“Is everything okay?”

Sehun quickly looked at Jieun when he heard her ask that. “Yeah,” he replied right away. Jieun stared at him as if assessing if he’s really alright. After some seconds, Jieun reached for the empty container.

“I’m going to go then. You should eat and quickly prepare for school too,” she stated and Sehun couldn’t hide his disappointed expression.

“Y-You’re not going to eat with me?” he asked. Jieun did not expect such question and it showed on her face. She could feel her face heating up.

“I already ate breakfast. I should really go…and…get ready for school. You do know that today’s our exam, right?”

“Yeah.”

Jieun awkwardly played with the container as she nodded her head. “Good.” She pursed her lips before counting to three. “Go ahead and eat. I’m going.” Walking away, she could sense him staring at her and it was making her self-conscious.

“Jieun.”

Slowly, she turned around. “W-Why?”

“Let’s go to school together.”

“Huh?”

“If it’s not that uncomfortable for you, I would like if we go together. I’m not pressuring you to give me an answer or anything. I just want to accompany you. Is that okay with you?”

Sehun’s expecting an affirmative answer and Jieun could see that. Although she has reservations, Jieun would be lying if she’d say that she’s not swayed by what he just said. That tingling feeling was there this time.

“Y-Yeah. Whatever. Just…hurry up.”

And when Sehun smiled even brighter, Jieun could feel her heart racing.

Here we go again, Choi Jieun.

Smiling from ear to ear, Chanyeol approached the rest of the boys who were already waiting by the gate. They were all talking about a lot of things and one could see that they all looked happy that exams are done. It’s officially the start of their winter break. “Yo!!” Chanyeol loudly greeted.

“How’s the exam?” Junmyeon asked right away.

“Piece of cake. Studying with Jieun’s really helpful,” he replied with a grin. “Speaking of Jieun, where is she?” Chanyeol asked as he looked around.

“Faculty. She needed to talk to Ms. Song about something,” Minseok answered, lifting his head from staring at his phone. “By the way, nobody said anything to her about what will happen tonight, right?” The other boys nodded quickly.

Baekhyun fished his phone from his pocket, reading the message that he just received. “I think we can go now. Sehun’s going to take care of the rest.”

On the other hand, Jieun took a long, deep breath as she stepped out of the faculty room. When Ms. Song said that she needed to talk with her, Jieun thought that there’s something wrong with her grades or whatever important. To her relief, nothing of that matter came up during their conversation. Her teacher just wanted to double check some of the requirements for a writing contest that will be held next month.

As she was about to take a right turn, she bumped into someone and her bag fell on the floor. “Sorry about that,” she muttered as she quickly crouched to grab her bag. When she lifted her head, she saw Jiwoo staring at her. Without saying anything, Jiwoo handed her the keychain that got detached from her bag. Jieun reached for it immediately.

“Thanks,” Jieun muttered before nodding a bit. She was about to walk away when Jiwoo called her name.

“Choi Jieun.”

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