Misun watched Sehun getting up and climbing back to the cliff to fetch his shirt, her jacket and the bag back. Once she made sure that he won’t be able to see her, she pulled at her hair with both her hands and let out a groan.  She very much wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it and never come out.

Way to go Misun….Way to go…..You just ruined everything……

She quickly smoothed her hair down when she saw Sehun back in sight with their bag slung over his shoulder. He had his shirt back on and her jacket was draped neatly over his arm.

“Here.” He said and handed over the jacket to Misun and then wordlessly entwined their fingers together and tugged her along with him.  Misun trailed behind him since she felt really embarrassed to make eye contact with Sehun. She just kept silent, but her eyes never left Sehun’s back. She tried subtly to gauge his mood with his body language but didn’t make much progress. He looked just like he always did. Relaxed.

You should apologize. A small part of her mind, an emotional one all the same,said. You insulted him.

No you shouldn’t.  Said the dominant, slightly stronger part of her mind. Pretend like nothing happened. If he is a person who has your best interests at heart, he will also do the same. After all, he was the one who said he would wait.

Neither of them talked and the only sounds were that of the forest and the steady breathing of the two. Soon, the trees started thinning and Misun could make out the office at the outskirts of the forest just a few miles ahead of them. When they were almost near their parked scooter, Misun decided to speak.

“Sehun?” Misun asked lightly and Sehun responded with a hum. Hearing Sehun’s voice was enough for Misun to bail what she had initially planned. She decided it’s better not to talk about what happened and ruin the mood again and changed the topic at the last moment.

“What are we going to do about the packed food? We obviously cannot throw them away.” Misun said, slightly faltering at the way Sehun turned to look at her. It was not intimidating at all, but instead was soft and endearing.

“Well, we can give them to the people here.” Said Sehun, nodding his head towards the office.

“Okay.” Said Misun, with a small smile.

Sehun opened the bag and pulled out the food they had packed and led the way towards the office.

Mr.Kim, who gave them clearance that morning, was lightly dozing off on the desk. The others were also in a similar state of inactivity.

“Mr. Kim?” Sehun called softly. Mr.Kim jerked awake and looked at Sehun with dazed eyes and stood up abruptly when his eyes came into focus on Sehun and Misun.

“About time.” He said groggily.

“We are heading back. Thought we would leave this here for you all.” Sehun said as he placed the food hamper in front of Mr.Kim, on his desk.

“Thank you.” Mr.Kim said gratefully and as though to prove his point, his stomach grumbled lightly.

It became slightly awkward for Misun when she got back behind Sehun on the scooter. She wanted to hold on to him for better balance but didn’t know whether she should do it or wait for Sehun to say something.

It seemed like Sehun had the ability to read her mind. As soon as the thought had crossed her mind, Sehun gently reached behind him for her hands and when he got hold of them, pulled them forward and wrapped them around his waist. It reminded Misun of the day they first met and how Sehun had done exactly the same thing when he had offered her a ride on his bike.

“I thought we were past the stage of awkwardness.” He muttered.

The scooter started moving and Misun gently tightened her grip on Sehun’s shirt. After about half an hour, they reached the old man’s house from whom they had borrowed the vehicle and parked it neatly on the side. Sehun bowed and thanked the old man and then handed over the key to him.

The walk back home was the most difficult part. The silence was too hard for Misun to bear. It was awkward as hell for her to walk beside the guy for whom she had feelings but had mercilessly turned down his kiss. She at explaining things and had no idea how to make Sehun understand. Obviously, he hasn’t got a clue about Misun’s previous relationship and it’s disastrous consequences which meant that she would have to make an awful lot of explanations, for which she had no energy. The afternoon’s adventure had stripped her of her strength and she wanted to get to bed as soon as she reached home.

How would you have felt if he was the one who had turned you down? the emotional part of her mind asked, taking advantage of her tired state.

I would have felt like he had slapped me on my face. Misun truthfully thought.

Well then, now you know how Sehun must have felt. You owe him an apology. Her mind said again.

Misun took in a deep breath.

“Sehun, I’m sor-“  Before Misun could finish her sentence, Sehun had knocked the wind out of her by pulling her into a bear hug.

“Don’t.” He whispered. “Don’t apologize, please. I’m at fault here. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of the situation. I should have respected your feelings and shouldn’t have violated your personal space. I hate myself now for being selfish and for caring about my own feelings. I don’t deserve to be your friend.”

“I thought you were mad at me.” Misun mumbled into his chest.

“How can I be mad at you?  You did nothing wrong.” Sehun chuckled a he ran his hand through her hair.

“Then why didn’t you talk to me? it felt like you were avoiding me.” Misun accused.

“That’s because I didn’t want to initiate the conversation. I knew you would be feeling bad yourself and knew you would be apologizing soon and was waiting for you to do just that so that I can shamelessly explain myself.”

“So you are not mad at me.” Misun confirmed.

“Yes and let’s just forget what happened, okay?” Sehun said and pulled back from the hug.

“if it makes you happy, you can also slap me.” Sehun continued.

“You know I would never do that.” Misun scoffed.

“That’s why I offered it in the first place.” Sehun said with a wink and a smirk.

“Stupid.” Misun snorted as she lunged at Sehun, who dodged her expertly.

“You still have a long way to go before you catch me.” Sehun cackled as he danced away from her and Misun knew as she ran after him smiling like an idiot that everything was back to normal between them.

She fell even hard for him than before, knowing the fact that Sehun is the most understanding, loving , caring, selfless guy in the world and that he was just perfect for her in all ways.

“It will start raining soon! Get your down here and help me out!” Misun called out angrily at Sehun who had been dozing off on his terrace garden until then. He woke up with a jerk of his head and stretched and still managed to yawn hugely.

“Whassamatter?” He asked thickly and lazily opened one of his eyes to peek across the iron railings to look below at Misun, who was running here and there to grab the clothes she had hung up outside to dry. Ever since all three of them became close friends, Misun had been doing their laundry together.

Kris and Sehun, as expected of them, were as lazy as one could imagine when it came