"You ever heard of the saying, 'Rome wasn't built in a day'?" Kai asks in between bites as he tosses another piece of meat on the small grill. He had brought Sehun here after asking where he liked to eat. He used to eat here all the time with his parents before they became too busy to go out every weekend; his weekends are now replaced with movies and a sleepover with his two friends. Sehun shakes his head and swallows before he speaks.
"No, what does that mean?"
"Valuable projects take time," He responds. "It was a French proverb in the late 1100s."
"What does-"
"It means you shouldn't try to rush this stuff," Kai interrupts. "Helping you quote on quote, BECOME cool. You can't just put on a cool new coat and change your hair- you gotta stop being a ing loser."
Sehun scoffs and sets down his chopsticks. "Wow, rude."
"It's not rude, it's honest," Kai chuckles. "Everything in your room is so neat; your manga, DVDs, and even your school textbooks are 
alphabetized..."
"What's wrong with that?" Sehun grumbles. "It's easier to find things that way."
"Your clothing is hung and organized by colour."
"If I want to wear a certain color, I can find it easier that way..."
"Okay, well, you don't have any posters."
"What If I stop liking something? This way, I won't have to take anything down and it's less effort."
Kai leans back against the booth and lets out a long sigh. He reaches over and takes some pieces of beef, setting it on Sehun's plate. Sehun didn't complain, happily eating the food Kai offered. 
"We should start with your wardrobe," Kai says.
"My clothes? Why?"
"Look," Kai sighs. "If you want me to help you, you gotta stop questioning everything, kid."
Sehun blushes and wants to say something, but his mouth is full. He, however, didn't get around to saying it; Chanyeol and Kyungsoo come in, making him forget.
"Hello," Kyungsoo greets them, stuffing into the opposite side of them, Chanyeol beside him.
"Hey!"
"What are you guys doing here?" Sehun asks and Kai speaks up instead.
"I invited them," He responds.
"You guys know him?"
Kyungsoo shakes his head as Chanyeol begins to immediately start eating. "No," He responds. "But I got his number and information. You think I'll let you hang around some sketchy guy you barely know without asking questions?"
 "He was extremely thorough."
"Don't relax yet," Kyungsoo warns him. " I don't trust you and I'll be keeping a close eye on you, Kim Jongin."
Sehun looks at Kyungsoo ins disbelief, "Kyungsoo!"
"No," Kai shakes his head. "You have protective friends. That's a good thing," he says. "I invited them anyway."
"What? Why?"
"He wants to get to know you better," Chanyeol says with a mouthful, which causes Kyungsoo scowls at him. 
"Manners, Chanyeol. Don't talk with your mouth full." Chanyeol smiles at him apologetically.
"Get to know me better?"
"If I only got you to talk to about yourself, it's gonna be seriously downgraded," He explains. "If I want to get to know you without any bias, I'd rather go to someone else."
"Just don't go to his mom," Chanyeol says after he shallows down some beef. "She thinks he's a prince and can't do anything wrong. She didn't even know about his relationship with his ex-boyfriend,"
"Chanyeol!" Sehun gasps. "Why would you say that?!"
"He offered to pay for my meal if I talked!" Chanyeol whines. "I'm sorry!"
"You bribed my friends?!"
Kai just laughs as he adds on more meat. "Only Chanyeol. Kyungsoo wasn't having it. And you know what? You'll be bribing MY friends too."
Sehun narrows his eyes at that. "What?"
"I'm buying you cigarettes and booze," Kai explains. "You'll take it and bribe my friends using it."
Sehun pouts. "Why can't you tell me about yourself? We could walk in the park or-"
"No," Kyungsoo shakes his head. "This will build up your confidence. Being around these people will help."
"I have to do this alone?" He was getting anxious just thinking about it.
"Yeah," Kai says. "The only person you really need to bribe is Taemin, my best friend. He won't sugarcoat anything."
Sehun groans and looks at the grill, feeling extremely nervous. "Kyungsoo, y-you're okay with this?"
"Sorry, Sehun," Kyungsoo apologizes as he finally gets his own food.
"So," Kai sits back and looks over. "Your mother doesn't know you're gay."
"No," Sehun almost whispers. "And I'd like to keep it that way."
"I see...You managed to keep a whole relationship hidden, despite your good-boy attitude."
"It was quite a feat," Kyungsoo speaks up. "It was easy, though, considering  his gender."
"How long ago was this?"
Sehun shyly shrugs. "A year."
"No one since?"
Sehun just shrugs again, obviously not wanting to speak about it. He using chopsticks to push his food around, not hungry anymore. Kai stares down at him for a moment before looking away and dropping it. Kyungsoo reaches over and pats his head.
"Let's talk about something else."
Sehun begins to zone out, all three of their voices becoming distant. He closes his eyes and thinks about him. About Luhan.

Sehun smiles as he smells the bouquet of flowers. He jumps off his bike and doesn't bother to lock it up as he heads through the apartment lobby doors and into the elevator. It was their first year anniversary and he was going to surprise Luhan. Just thinking about his surprised but happy smile makes the cold outside worth it. When it reaches Luhan's floor, he tries to keep himself from running down the corridor. As soon as he approaches the door, he hides the flowers behind his back and takes a long, deep breath.
As soon as he unlocks it, he pushes it open, only to find darkness inside.  

"Strange," Sehun thought. "He must be asleep already." He calls out to Luhan, but no response. He narrows his eyes as the strange noise down the hall, towards the bedroom. "Music, maybe?" He thought. He makes his way towards Luhan's bedroom, a place he'd been several times. He stops and looks peeks through the slightly ajar door. What he saw made his whole body turn cold and freeze up. He stares in horror as a man pants heavily on top of Luhan; Luhan's legs held spread apart and in the air. His boyfriend is gripping on the sheets, biting his lip as he tries not to moan with each . Sehun's world began to crumble, his very walls breaking down into dark reality. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. This tan, red-haired punk of a man writhing of Luhan. Sehun's Luhan. The door slowly swings open, gaining the attention of both of them. Luhan stares at him in horror while the punk just glares.
"Give us some privacy, huh?"
Sehun opens his mouth, any word he wanted to say sticking to his throat like glue. His chest begins to hurt, his heart being broken like glass and stabbing into his chest. Without a word, he turns and runs. He runs faster and faster; through the apartment, down the corridor, almost tripping down and stairs, and into the cold air. He falls onto his knees into the snow and stares at the roses in his hands; the look of them making wounds deeper. He tosses them to the white ground and cries. He cries and cries...and that's all he did for months.

That day gave him terrible trust issues. Not in his friends, but in love. He hates seeing couples and he hates being near them. Whenever Kai questions him about it, Sehun refuses to talk. And so does Kyungsoo and Chanyeol. Even with Chanyeol loud mouth and tendency to never keep secrets. The worst part about the break up was his parents. He'd stay up in his room crying and they had no idea why.

"Sehun, what's wrong?" His mother asks. He only shakes his head. "Did a girl break your heart?" He shakes his head again. He wanted to tell her, he really did but he couldn't. And he knows he never will.