She heard it-the whistling.

At first, Haru ignored the sound. She didn’t care about who was whistling or what they were whistling for. It was probably just to get the attention of a dog or kid.

“Hey honey, alone here?” A guy called her.

Sure enough, when Haru looked up, she spotted the two guys leaning against a car. She ignored the catcalls, and started to speed up her pace. They nudged one another almost playfully and began to follow her.

I shouldn't have taken this route to home, she thought.

Walking past a darkened alleyway, suddenly, she'd been grabbed by a pair of strong arms, the smell of tobacco strong on the man's clothing. Before she could shout out for help, another man's hand clapped over his mouth, stifling her yell.

“Didn’t your mother teach you? It is very dangerous to walk alone at night?” One of the guys said, amused. Haru’s heart started to palpitate in her chest, her anxiety seeping in her veins. She began to assume the worst is about to happen to her.

Seeing her, the guys howled with more laughter, like it was some sort of joke.

She stepped back, but one of the guys grabbed her hand roughly, pulling her close. “Come on little bird. It ain't no fun if you don't play along.”

“Leave her alone,” someone said aloud. Nothing sounded except his footsteps. Haru turned around and sighed in relief when she saw Sehun walking towards them.

She silently said a small prayer, then looked at the two guy’s twisted face when Sehun approached closer. 

His eyes dart back and forth from Sehun to those guys. Comparably, Sehun was taller and had more muscles than the two boys.

“Are you hurt?” Sehun asked Haru, his voice uncharacteristically soft. She gave him an unconvinced look and her left hand was holding her sprained right wrist.

Sehun shot them a glare, and before Haru could even comprehend what was happening, a fight had erupted.

***

“Hey, are you okay?” 

“I think so.” Haru replied, attempting to straighten her legs. She managed to stay balanced for precisely a second then started swaying dangerously, her legs giving up. Sehun put his arms out and caught her before she collapsed to the ground.

“Nope, you are not okay,”

She grabbed on to his sleeves, her voice strained, “I can’t feel my legs,”

Her heart was still beating fast from what had happened. 

He looked at the state she's in, “I think it’s best if you ride with me.” he stated. She was in no position to refuse his offer, and so she accepted it hesitantly. She felt the arms around her tightened, as Sehun helped her up. She craned her head to look at him and immediately felt guilty.

“Are you okay?” she asked, strangely dry.

He let out a small laugh. 

“Let's worry one thing at a time,” Sehun replied light-heartedly.

//

The guard tapped his knuckles on the driver’s window of Sehun’s black Audi. The dark tint on the windows made it hard to see what was going on inside, but the soft hum of the engine indicated to him that someone was still in the car even though it was parked probably for 10 minutes.

"Hello," The guard called, an octave higher. He knocked again.

Sehun rolled down the window, eyes glaring. "What?" he asked in a subdued voice.

The guard took a look inside Sehun's car. Haru leaned her body sideways towards the door, head pressed against her side of the window. She looked like she was deep asleep.

"Sorry sir," the guard whispered along. "Visitors cannot park here,"

Sehun lifted his hand and made a gesture at the guard that roughly translated to, ‘Can’t you see I’m preoccupied at the moment?’. He reached for his pocket and pulled a hundred dollar bill.

“Get lost,” Sehun mumbled, tossing the bill at the guard. The guard nodded silently and stepped back.

All that commotion stirs Haru from her sleep. She regained consciousness slowly, remembering what happened.

“Alright, we're here." Sehun cut the lights and the engine. They were at the corner up the block from Haru's house.

She took a few seconds to look around, and turned her head to face him.

“Your face,” Haru muttered softly, taking a good look at his bruised profile.

The split lip will probably hurt tomorrow, but right now he’s sitting on the edge of the car seat and Haru's looking at his cheek. They were in the enclosed space, and her face is so close; Sehun can smell her breath, warm and candy-flavored.

And it is intoxicating.

Haru's talking, —but Sehun wasn't paying attention.

“Does it hurt badly?”

“No,” he says in a whisper, ignoring the throbbing pain in his left cheek. An uncharacteristically serious frown appeared on her face and he pathetically admitted, “Alright, it hurts a little,”

“Show me your hands.”
 

Sehun obeys, stretching his hand slightly at her, and Haru examines his bruised knuckles. That’s also going to hurt tomorrow, probably. Sehun barely spares his hands a glance, though, busy staring at her face. He likes having her undivided attention.

It does something stupid to his stomach.

This is how you should've treated me from the very start, he thought.

"It's gonna be painful for a few days,” she mutters, straightening her back. “Try not to tuck your thumb in,"

“Okay,” Sehun says, eyes still staring.

"You really knocked him out," she smiled, her face lights up, "Thank you, I didn’t know what would’ve happened if you weren’t there,"

Hearing her thanking him with such a sense of assuredness gave Sehun a warm feeling inside, a sense of sincerity he hadn't felt since early childhood.

"Hey,"

"Mm?" Haru asked, with that naive confusion that Sehun had found annoying from the start now looked a little endearing.

"Let's meet again," Sehun said quickly, too quickly. "The tests are coming up, and I want to go through some things. I don’t want to wait till the next meeting,"

She smiled upon him, and nodded, “Sure,” she unbuckled the seat belt, “I’ll see you tomorrow,”

Tomorrow is never promised, and Sehun wasn’t thrilled about it either. But something in the way she says it, a little glitter of excitement ignites in him. Perhaps in a very long time, Sehun was anticipating the birth of a new day.

She thanked him once again before leaving his car. His eyes followed her as she bowed slightly at the guard who appeared previously before entering the apartment.

He turned to the passenger seat, and chuckled, “She does talk a lot,”

A small beep sound breaks him from his reverie. Sehun receives an incoming call from a private number. He sighed, looking at the screen of the dashboard briefly, immediately recognizing the caller.

“You punched me,” he said accusingly, “You punched me in my face,” he pronounced every word offensively, touching his bruised lip.

“I’m sorry boss,” the person on the other line speaks, “That was an accident. I didn't mean too”

Sehun huffed, resting his head on the headrest, “And I didn’t ask you to touch her,”

“I had to make it look believable,”

“Just do what I asked,” he cuts him off rudely, “Whatever. Your little acting sketch did help in the situation. I’ll wire the payment later,”

“Let me know if you need my help next time,” The guy chuckles, knowing a hefty amount of cash will be deposited into his account soon.

Who knew doing mundane stuff for a rich heir would be so profitable?

Sehun smirked, “I don’t think I need anyone’s help after this,” he said, a little hint of proud and arrogance in his voice.

He cut the call and stared at the building in front of him.

In the dead of night, Sehun's black car was parked in front of the weary apartment, hiding it like a predator in the bush.

He knew where she lived. He got all her personal details from the school’s clerk by a form of intimidation.

How many times had he driven past since the day he saw her for the first time?

How many times had he then parked down the street, staring at the front of her house?

He knew how to get to Haru's house as readily as he could get to his own home.

Sehun knew the schedule of Haru’s life like clockwork now.

He knew when she’d leave for work.

He knew which days she went to study at the college library.

He knows she likes to pet her neighbour’s dog every time she sees him.

He knew when the postman delivered the mail.

He knew exactly the days Haru would take the trash out.

Sighing, he let his gaze and mind wander a bit. He’s unsure why he’s taking this game way too seriously.

"Get it together," Sehun warned himself in the rearview mirror.

***I DO NOT CONDONE, SUPPORT, AGREE OR ROMANTICIZE STALKING AND MANIPULATION AS ROMANTIC GESTURE. THIS WORK IS PURELY FICTION AND READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED. IF YO MAN START DOING LIKE THIS, RUN SIS. ***