Sehun woke up first. He did sometimes, even though very rarely. It was always Yunhee. He realised how the morning was empty, peaceful yet something was amiss. He hadn't woken up to her slippers slapping the floor, her hair dryer making that ugly sound he used to hate, and her constant wake up, Sehun's. Instead, he had opened his eyes to her back. The way she slept was hilarious. She was maintaining the usual space they kept between them yet one of her hands was poking him in the crook of his neck. Because of her weird sleeping style, it took the whole blanket to fully cover her, which explained why Sehun woke up feeling chilly. He found himself huffing out in disbelief at the way she was showing her demanding attitude even in her sleep. When he listened to her little snores, he couldn't help but smile. She could be adorable in her own way, taking the whole blanket with her to make burrito out of herself. He got up, thinking about the unchangeable, impossible Yun Hee.

Since he was early to wake up that morning, Sehun had a lot of time for himself. He went to the washroom and looked at the mirror to see his reflection. Dark bags under the eyes, the new pimple on the side of his cheek and an absolute chaos of hair on his head. He was thinking about going to the salon and fixing himself when a thought suddenly struck him. If it had been even a month ago, then he would not have bothered to spare a look at his disheveled state. And now he wanted to look good, put on some cologne, style his hair up, wear that black button down that Jieun said he looked the best in. He wanted to look good.

He convinced himself that he really didn't need a reason to do so, he was simply feeling better and fresh. But he decided today was not the day. Because now he was running late. So now he just picked up his brush and started brushing his teeth with his hand moving faster than ever, making the action look almost violent.

Yun Hee was yawning and stretching her body in the bed, when she heard some weird noises coming from the bathroom. She slowly got out of the bed and made her way towards the washroom where she found Sehun wrestling with his toothbrush inside his mouth. She scrunched her nose before saying, 

"If you keep this up, then you would end up losing all your teeth soon, before you even turn thirty." Sehun arched his brows at her, looking at her yawn.

"Imagine a toothless you," she smiled slightly. "Looking like a sixty-year-old while I stay my young self. So for my sake, don't do that to your teeth." Sehun huffed, looking at her. Yunhee didn't smile. As if she was serious. But then her lips broke into a slight smile, eyes droopy like she had forced herself to wake up. "I still would have to introduce you as my husband to people and they'd think you're a e."

Sehun made a face at her. She pushed him aside slightly, grabbing her own toothbrush from the holder and putting on the toothpaste. Her half closed eyes could barely make out their reflection but still she smiled inwardly by seeing themselves in a situation where they are not pulling at each other's hair.

"By ab bate," he said without rinsing his mouth, which mad Yun Hee furrow her brows for not understanding his words.

"Bwat?" she asked.

"By ab bate, byunbee," he said again, his toothbrush still inside his mouth. Yunhee sighed, finally understanding what he was trying to say. She rinsed her mouh and burst out laughing. He meant I am late, Yunhee.

"Wait. If you are late, then I am super..." Yun Hee's eyes doubled in size and her speech stopped midway when she realized what she was about to say. She ran to the room and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. The sight almost gave her a heart attack.

"Alright, not as late, but still late," And soon she was running around the room arranging her stuffs and cursing at the damned alarm. Then she ran to the bathroom and shouted at the still brushing Sehun in front of her. "Why didn't you--" 

"Why are you shouting at me when you could be getting ready?!" Sehun cut in, his eyes wide. Yunhee blinked, a little taken aback. But then Sehun's eyes softened, "I'm sorry, alright?"

Yunhee regained her anxiety when he apologized, "You brainless bafoon! Why didn't you wake me up when you knew that we are late? Now will you take the responsibility if my chief kills me, which I am sure that he will? Do you even have a brain?"

"By hab ba bain," he argued and made her even more frustrated. He finally rinsed his mouth and shot her a look, "I have a brain," he said in a tone of finality.

Yun Hee faked a disbelief, "I didn't know that, Sehun," she said, muttering the words in a dangerous tone.. "Oh my, how can you have a brain? I thought human beings were born without a brain. You must be very special, Sehun. God's gift to the world, the human with The Brain."

She left the bathroom first, leaving him in a desperation of getting back at her. He washed himself and came out with a mind to give her a befitting reply, but stopped in his tracks when he saw her running around the room like a mad woman.

"I hope you do know that you are looking absolutely stunning now." And he smirked, hoping that she would get riled up at his sarcasm.

Yun Hee just gave him a small glance before saying, "Well, I always do. Tell me something new." Then she left the room with her stuff with Sehun following her still wanting to get back at her. When they reached the hall, Sehun was about to say something but was interrupted by Mr. Jun.

"Young mistress, your breakfast has been packed and placed in your car. I hope you have a good meal on your way to the hospital."

"Thank you, Mr Jun. Now please make sure that this idiot here eats his breakfast before leaving, okay?", Yun Hee said, pointing to Sehun who was standing behind her. Then she turned to him and said, "Don't be a brat while I am gone, alright?"

She nodded at Mr. Jun who bowed to her and left the house while waving a goodbye to Sehun.

Sehun clicked his tongue in annoyance but soon found his lips dissolving in a smile and somehow, the thought that Yun Hee's company was not all too bad crossed his mind.

He ended up being late for work anyway but it wasn't like someone was keeping his salary in check and cutting off money every time he ran in late. However, he was afraid that he was setting up a wrong example for his employees, so he sneaked into his office as unnoticably as he could manage. Plopping down on his roatating chair, he heaved a sigh. He had ran up the stairs because he couldn't risk getting into an elevator and hearing, Uh, Mr. Oh, you're late today.

"Mr. Oh."

He wished his assistant could speak in a more animated voice. Her robot tone was something he wasn't in the mood of today. She started to recite his monotonous schedule but he stopped her, raising a hand. "I'm going to get a new haircut. What do you think will suit me more? The regular?"

"M-Mr. Oh, you really don't have any free time today---"

"Cancel at least something, Ms. Bae." Sehun turned his chair around and faced the large glass window, overlooking the city. A miracle really, how he had climbed all those flights of stairs just so that his workers didn't catch him being unpunctual. "Do you know any flower shop nearby? That delivery guy doesn't really look happy whenever I see him, I think he doesn't want to step inside this building. I should go buy the bouquets myself."

"Flower shop?" She repeated. "I could ask Jin to buy it for you, Sir--"

"Nope, you're not being any help, Ms. Bae." Sehun clicked his tongue and abruptly turned to the girl who had her brows furrowed to the point of meeting her forehead. He chuckled slightly, amused at the confused state of his secratary. "Okay, I get that I'm being a little weird but don't give me that look."

She just smiled lightly, "I will be updating you on the flower shop soon. And about the trip to the salon, I'll see what I can do."

"No promises, huh?"

"No promises, sir," she smiled sadly but soon after she was back to her professional self. She excused herself and asked for the permission to leave. She turned to the exit and kept walking towards it. Just when she reached the door, she faced Sehun again. "It's nice to see you happy again, sir." Then she smiled at him and closed the door. 

Sehun watched her leave, tapping his pen on the rosewood desk, eyes hovering until it stopped on their wedding picture. He definitely didn't like her forced smile but then there was him beside her, looking like he was on the verge of dying. He really had been there, but something was changing now. Because unlike before, he was not feeling remorse looking at the picture and resisting his wish to replace it with the previous one. The thought that was going around his head was how the picture would have looked so much better if Yun Hee had been wearing that signature smile of hers.

​​​

"Where are my flowers?"

Jongin smirked at her extended hand, "No flowers for you today, Mrs. Oh."

Yunhee frowned, "Seriously? Why not today? I was expecting it today and I was planning on being a little dramatic when I'd recieve it, I was going to actually read his note and send him one in return maybe. Why not today?"

"Because I didn't get to meet your super busy husband today. This is so unfair. We are having a casual meeting for the first time since your wedding and the first thing you ask of me is a sign of love from your hubby. This is why I hate newlyweds. They all are the same, whipped. Maybe I should have brought a flower myself so that I could be noticed by you." Jongin shook his head, faking annoyance.

"And get a firm kick from me, huh? Dude, I hate flowers when they are used as presents and you know it very well."

"I was just kidding, Hee. I know it very well. But it seems like you are the one who is growing a fascination towards it because of a certain someone," Jongin said before crossing his arms over his chest.

"Aww, don't be sad, Jong. I am not changing for anyone, not even for him. I will forever remain the Yun Hee you love." Then Yun Hee slung her right arm over Jongin's shoulder, which made him bend a little, but he enjoyed the attention he was getting. "Now chill, will you?"

"You are right," Jongin poked her cheek, "You will forever remain the one I love." He mentally scolded himself for being so hopeless.

"Well, love you too, buddy", Yun Hee loosened her hold over his shoulder, "Now get over it. You are being a cheeseball now."

A sad smile took over his face when he saw how quick she was at shrugging away his words and calling a waiter to place their orders, as if he didn't say anything at all. But he quickly shook it off. 

"So . . . are you two getting along now? Or are you still at each other's throats? Trust me, I was quite surprised that you didn't already kill each other. Sehun also sounded happy, as in not depressed in the last few days, so I hope you're getting along."

Yunhee shrugged, "I don't know, Jong. It's weird. Your friend is a little too hard to read, being the bipolar person he is. But I think we're doing a good job. We're living together and not strangling each other. Isn't that a good progress?"

Jongin laughed, "Sehun's always been like that. But I think his face muscles permanently froze after Jieun left him. They were too deep into it, Yunhee, and Sehun's head was totally in the clouds. He would smile so much and even make jokes. But now he's like a shell."

Yunhee didn't know what reaction he wanted from her. She looked around the cafe, taking in the geometric interior that made her feel like she would never come here again for a meal, no matter how close to her workplace this cafe was.

"Why do you think she left him?" she asked in a small voice.

Jongin looked at her cautiously. Her face was showing no expression, but he knew that she was curious about his answer, yet afraid of it.

"Sehun told me that all three of you were childhood friends, so I hoped that you knew."

She was trying so hard to keep herself composed that Jongin had to bite his tongue to stop himself from asking her not to do that. He didn't want to make her feel more uncomfortable than she already was. He knew about the hopes she had placed on this marriage and how they were all broken at the first night of her wedding life. He knew about her fear of hoping again, her desperation to be sure this time before betting her feelings.

"Honestly speaking, I don't know. They were going perfectly strong. Both of them too much in love with each other. A couple that had the capability to make anyone jealous. But yeah, Jieun was going through some emotional turmoil for a few days before she broke up with him, something she was hell bent on hiding from all of us."

Yun Hee's eyebrows were scrunched, indicating that she was listening to him attentively. "Didn't Sehun tell you anything?"

Yun Hee sighed before saying, "He most certainly did. But it was clear from what he said that he himself has no idea about this, Jieun has left him without any kind of closure."

Jongin stretched his hands and held Yun Hee's ones that were placed atop the table.

"She is gone from our lives and she chose this for herself, Yun Hee. I have lost a friend, true, but I have accepted the reality because this is what she wanted. 10 months is a long time, Hee. She is happy now. You and Sehun are also making a progress, though a slow one but at least an effective one. From what I can see, this progress is making both of you happy, so what is worrying you?"

"I don't know, Jong. I don't know. I can't help myself feeling wary of this progress. I am feeling conflicted because of my own rational and irrational mind. I don't trust him fully yet, but I want to trust him. Everytime I convince myself to not get used to this Sehun, I somehow end up getting more and more intrigued by the present him. I don't want to forget the person he was at the early days of our marriage, yet cannot help taking notice of the person he is now. I am getting habituated to the life I have been leading for the last few days. This is what is making me afraid. I know that I cannot be happy without risking my all, but I am still afraid of risking my feelings, I am afraid of loosing control over them." 

Jongin looked at the person sitting in front of him. She was still very much the Yun Hee he knew, yet something was changing about her. She was walking towards an abyss he knew very well was dangerous for her, but didn't have the heart to say it to her.

Yun Hee  opened the door to her home and saw that it was pitch black without even a sign of light. She closed the door and was about to take out her phone from her bag when suddenly the lights of the living room .

"Surprise!"

Yun Hee felt her heart leaping out of her chest at the sudden shout. She held her furiously beating chest and looked at the criminal, who was grinning from ear to ear, feeling very proud by giving her a heart attack.

"What is so surprising about blowing my ears, Sehun?", she said, still glaring at him.

Sehun furrowed his brows at her reply. "Don't you see any difference?"

"What difference..."

Yun Hee stopped as soon as she gave him proper look and saw the change he was refering to. His black hair was shorter than before, making his forehead visible. His messy bangs were replaced with perfectly trimmed hair. the sides were shaved slightly, giving him a sharp look. His face was more visible now, his jawline more prominent because of being cleanly shaved. He was looking extremely fine with this new haircut, more manly. Yun Hee could feel her breathing getting unstable for the second time, but this time it was definitely not because of fright. 

"Stop staring like you are thriving for me. I know that I am handsome. So, like what you see?"

Yun Hee closed her gaping mouth and snickered at his words.

"Well, I must say that you are looking better now, that you are not looking like a hairy monkey. Your face is looking clean now."

"You mean to say that I am looking handsome? Thank you so much."

"Did you do this for me?", Yun Hee spoke in a hushed tone, suddenly growing too quiet. Noticing the change in the mood, Sehun attempted to lighten the mood by joking.

"Don't give yourself unnecessary credits. I did this because I wanted to impress my wife. Do I even know you?"

"Whatever," she said, still in a daze. Then Yun Hee took a step towards Sehun and soon she was standing right in front of him.

"What are you doing..." Sehun lost his words when Yun Hee held out one of her hands and touched his face. She cupped the side of his jaw. "I am putting my trust on you. Don't ever break it."

Yun Hee stepped away from him and started walking towards the staircase. When she reached there, she turned to face him once again. 

"How come your face is softer than mine? Remember to share your skincare routine with me." Then she was off to their bedroom.

The night was not a magical one, yet it was to them. Because that night, Yun Hee felt her legs and palms getting sweaty without any reason, something she had never felt before: while Sehun felt his heart skipping a beat, something he had thought he would never get to feel again.
 

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