The pilot episode of Life & Style was being aired.

Jinri was sitting silently on her sofa, eyes on the TV in front of her. The people being shown on the screen were laughing about something but she couldn’t seem to get what it was about. The funny thing is she was the one who threw the joke back when they were recording for that episode.

Her mind was somewhere else.

And so was her heart.

Sehun’s expression has been etched in her memory. His tense voice kept on ringing in her ears. She couldn’t shake those things off her head.

When she saw Inho in bed with a lady she has never seen in her life, she felt her heart being smashed into pulp. It was very painful. Her heart had all the right to feel that. They were in a relationship.

She’s not in a relationship with Sehun. But why does her heart feel that same pain? Why does her heart feel like it was crashed? She was not supposed to feel that way. Her heart had no right to feel that.

It’s not like she did not know that Sehun has a very different lifestyle from her. She knew that he has ladies lined up before him. She knew his kind. They don’t settle down. They play around a lot. They flirt and sleep with different ladies like it’s the normal thing to do. She knew all of that. So why did she let herself develop the tiniest interest on him?

Was it because she thought that maybe he’s different from his species? Was it because she believed that he’s not bad? Was it because her clouded judgment told her that he has good traits in him which are just being overlooked?

She was swayed by his unexpected actions. And her stupid heart hoped for something more. That was her mistake.

The TV screen showed a smiling version of herself.

That’s right. I need to get a hold of myself.

She tapped on her cheeks lightly. She forced herself to smile. She shut her eyes and put her hand over her chest. She took a deep breath.

It’s just a temporary feeling. It will go away. It will go away.

When she opened her eyes, she felt like her whole body became a lot lighter. The smile on her face was not forced at all. She kept her eyes on the screen, taking in everything that’s happening until the very end.

Her phone started buzzing like crazy. She looked at it and saw text after text popping on the screen. She picked her phone and checked all the messages.

From Minjung unnie: Congratulations! You did a great job. See? I told you that you’ll do just great. I’m so proud of you.

From Jongin oppa: Good job! Congrats! Drop by the restaurant. I’ll prepare something good for you.

A couple more of similar messages made it to her inbox. She took her time replying to every one of them. She let the time past without thinking of Sehun. And that was the right thing to do.

“No one.”

Sehun sighed as his own words echoed in his head. Jinri’s expression when she saw his lady companion yesterday has been invading his mind. He felt bad for what he did. But he knew it was what he needed to do. What he’s feeling is not just a surge of the moment kind of thing. And it’s not supposed to happen. Not to him, at least.

Last night, curiosity hit him hard and he ended up watching the show where Jinri was in. He knew it was the wrong move to make but he did it nonetheless. Talk about being confused and undecided.

He pushed himself up from his bed and headed to the bathroom. He thought skipping another day would not be the best decision to make. Junmyeon has been contacting the whole night, asking him why he did not show up. He knew he’s going to take an earful from his cousin once he gets to the office.

Fifteen minutes later, he was already standing in front of the mirror. With a plain black shirt under a white jacket paired with dark colored jeans, he completed the look for the day. Lazy to style his hair, he left it as is.

After saying goodbye to his little cloud, he proceeded to the basement to get his car.

He barely made it to the parking lot when his phone started ringing. He answered it right away.

“Are you thinking of skipping this day again?” Junmyeon asked right off the bat, skipping any morning greeting.

“I’m not skipping. I’m on my way.” That reply came out like a sigh. Sehun made it inside his car.

“Then go straight to the broadcasting station.”

Sehun stopped midway from starting the car. His brows were drawn together. “Why?”

“Jinri’s there. She had to meet with the writers for some recording stuff. She’ll be going straight to the factory after the meeting. She will need a ride. You’re her assistant slash driver, aren’t you?”

He shut his eyes, internally sighing.

“Hey,” Junmyeon called out when he did not reply.

“Why?”

“Are you two dating?”

“No.”

“Hmm, interesting,” Junmyeon mused. “After bringing her to the party, I thought there’s something going on with you two.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Sehun, don’t-”

He ended the call right away, not bothering to wait for Junmyeon to finish talking. He couldn’t blame his relatives if they would think that he’s got something going on with Jinri after what happened in the party. It was the first Charity Party he has attended and he was with Jinri.

With a lot of thoughts, he drove to the broadcasting station. He has put himself in that situation. It’s his job. After what Jinri saw yesterday, he’s not sure if he’s just going to play it cool.

He made it to the broadcasting station just in time to see Jinri exiting the building. She looked pretty with her simple getup which consisted of a plain white shirt paired with faded jeans and white sneakers. She had her black backpack hanging on her shoulder.

“Jinri,” he called out as he got out of his car. Jinri turned to him in surprise. She blinked at him for a couple of seconds. He remembered how she looked like yesterday. He shooed the images away. “Your ride to the factory’s here.”

She looked like she was hesitating when she walked towards his car. He noticed how she held the strap of her bag tightly.

“I thought you were not coming,” she commented after some more seconds.

Sehun gave her a lopsided smile. He has decided to just play it cool. “Junmyeon hyung’s nagging will be the death of me.” He looked down at his watch before gesturing for her to get in the car. “We should get going. The traffic’s going to be a headache.”

“Yeah, we should,” Jinri agreed with a soft voice. She looked so reserved and so out of it. He wondered if she’s feeling sick.

Once they both got inside the car, he started the engine and hit the road. It was so quiet to the point that he was starting to get suffocated by the silence. He wanted to say something and make the mood lighter but he stopped himself from doing so. He couldn’t let himself get attached.

“Sorry about yesterday,” Jinri suddenly stated. He looked at her for a second or two before looking back at the road.

“What about it?”

“I should’ve told you that I was going to drop by to give your clothes back. I didn’t know that you were with your girlfriend. I-”

“She’s not my girlfriend. I don’t date.” His tone sounded so nonchalant.

“Ah.” That reply came out so dry. “I forgot that you’re that kind of guy,” she muttered to herself.

Sehun heard that but he did not dare say a thing about it. Jinri was right anyway. He is that kind of guy.

The recording for the next episode of Life & Style went smoothly just like before. They had some celebrity guests and she found herself star struck from the beginning to the end. It’s not everyday that she could