“Oh, Juliet, please let down your hair.”

Kyungha covers her face, feeling the secondhand embarrassment hit her at an astronomical rate. She opens her window, peering down to see Sehun waving at her. “Are you a moron?” She hisses. “It’s two in the morning, and it’s Rapunzel, idiot.”

Sehun winks. “But Rapunzel didn’t get a kiss from the balcony, Juliet did.”

“Do you realize how stupid you sound?”

Silence.

Sehun bends over, laughing. “I guess we're doctors for a reason.”

Kyungha relents but fails. She ends up laughing too. “We? Who is we?“

He wiggles his index fingers. “Me and you. On a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g.”

“What are you doing here, ?” She asks, hanging her head out the window.

“I’m here for my goodnight kiss, Juliet,” he teases.

Kyungha glances at him and her roof, calculating the distance it would take to jump from the second floor to the ground. “Then, I triple dare you to catch me.”

Sehun opens his arms, and she recklessly leaps off to which he yelps and stumbles to catch her before she faceplants into the asphalt. “Are you out of your ing mind?” He scolds, letting her down from his arm.

She stifles a giddy laugh. She’d missed him. So, so much. “To be fair, the worst that would happen is me breaking a leg.”

He shakes his head incredulously, pulling her into his arms. She releases a happy sigh, tightening her arm around his waist. “You smell like dirt,” she murmurs after a beat.

“Way to ruin the moment,” he deadpans.

Kyungha snorts out a laugh. “I’m just being honest with you, Hoon.”

“I may or may not have showered in three days,” he notes.

She ducks away from him. “Maybe you should’ve started with that, ew.”

Sehun ignores her, wrapping his arms around her neck. He laughs in a troll-like manner. It tickles her ears. “I wanted to see my sweetheart, sue me.”

“Sir, I’m going to have to actually sue you if I get head lice from you,” she mocks playfully. Kyungha groans in distaste when he begins rubbing his head of hair all over her head. “Get off of me, you animal.”

He stops teasing her and leans his forehead against her. Sehun tilts his head, giving her an Eskimo kiss. Their noses graze, and Kyungha can see the specks of brown in his eyes clearly. Her heart pounds. She’s never been looked at with so much…affection. It makes Kyungha think about what else she missed out on after spending four years, denying herself of him.

Sehun looks absolutely ethereal up close. His lashes are thick and long, and his skin complexion is milky white. He’s the most gorgeous human being she’s ever been graced with. Kyungha doesn’t know how she was able to survive twenty hours without him—hell, she doesn’t know how she survived four years.

She wasted so much time, and Kyungha will never forgive herself for that.

“How was work?” She asks, threading her fingers through his hair. He moves his arm back around her waist again, resting it just above the curve of her .

Sehun sighs, eyes growing distant. “I had to declare a thirteen-year-old boy brain dead.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs sadly.

“Sometimes, I hate my job so ing much.”

Kyungha purses her lips. “It’s not always rainbows and unicorns. Did his parents allow him to become an organ donor?” Sehun nods. “Think about how many people he saved. He gave his eyes to someone, which means there’s someone in this world who can see again. And if the rest of his organs are healthy, it means he gave someone their chance to live a normal life again. You’re a superhero, Oh Sehun. Maybe not in the eyes of his parents, but you did something good for humanity. Hell, you’re a pediatric surgeon. Do you know how many people steer away from that job? It’s basically dubbed as the devil’s work.”

The corner of his lips lift. His eyes are glossy, but he’s looking at her like that again. Eyes b with appreciation. He leans in, capturing her lips. Kyungha moans at the unexpectedness of it. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he says against her lips.

Kyungha feels his arms drop lower, under her . She jumps and he catches her, letting her hook her legs around his waist. He groans at the contact of their . “Are you too tired to me?” She murmurs back.

Mischief passes through his eyes when he opens them to gauge her expression. “Bet.”

Luckily for Kyungha, they were at the beginning of their relationship—or whatever this was—which meant, they were still basking in the honeymoon stage.

Jungkook shrieks, “my eyes!”

Kyungha sleepily yawns as she wonders why her nephew is screaming. Her answer comes in the form of Sehun quickly throwing her covers over both of them.

She frowns, rubbing her eyes. Wait. Kyungha glances down and then to Sehun who is wearing—yep—nothing. Right.

They had again.

“This is the fifth time, noona!” Jungkook whines, stomping his feet. Sehun ignores his tantrum and pulls Kyungha onto his lap as he props himself upright. He makes sure to protect her from Jungkook who is currently fuming.

Kyungha is relentless when she inquires, “that’s why you don’t burst into my room, J.”

Jungkook groans, “do you guys not sleep with blankets or—“ He makes googly eyes to mock them. “I don’t know? Clothes!”

Sehun answers, “it gets hot at night.”

“Because you’re always busy exchanging body heat!”

Kyungha rolls her eyes. “J, stop shrieking. What are you even doing in my room? Shouldn’t you be getting ready for school?”

“Noona, I am here to beg you, my gracious queen, please keep it down at night. I cannot sleep with you two going at it like , deprived rabbits.”

She hums, “you aren’t wrong. I’ve had a dry spell for a couple of months now.”

Sehun blows air onto her skin, making her jump. “Who did you have with?”

“Er—“ She freezes like a deer caught in headlights. “I don’t remember.”

He gapes at her. “You don’t remember who you sleep with?”

Kyungha scratches her nape. “Look, they weren’t that memorable.”

“And I’m memorable?” His lip twitches.

“Very,” she purrs playfully to which he responds by kissing her neck.

Jungkook screams again. “I’m still here!”

Sehun blinks. “Why is he still here?”

And then her nephew gives up. He throws his hands up dramatically, whirling around to march out her door while muttering, “impossible. They’re impossible.”

Kyungha turns around. “How many condoms do you have left?”

Sehun’s eyes twinkle. “One more, princess. May I?”

“Be my guest,” she insists with a lazy wave. He pushes her on her back, diving straight onto her tummy and kissing downward. Kyungha throws a hand over , laughing.

At sixteen, she’d discovered that he was magic with his tongue in . At twenty, she’d discovered that he was magic with his tongue swirled around her .

Disney could never, and he was simply her multitalented king.

“When are you going back to work?” She asks, her face sticking to his chest because of their after- perspiration.

He hums, “another hour.” Then, he narrows his eyes down at her. “Why do I feel like I’m your hook-up?”

Kyungha replies casually, “you’d be a good one.”

Sehun squeezes her left not so gently, and she jerks away from him. “I guess that’s all I’m good for. Being used as a toy.”

She shifts onto her stomach, hands propped on his chest so she could look at him. “To be fair, you’re a lot better than Valentino.”

His jaw drops. “You’re cheating on me?”

She snorts, slapping his chest. Tilting on her side, she pulls open the drawer of her nightstand. “Meet Valentino, my other man.”

Sehun's abs tighten as he bursts into a fit of laughter. “You named your ?”

Kyungha flicks her eyes across his face in amusement. “What? And you don’t?”

“The more I get to know you intimately, the weirder you become. Who are you? Do I know you?” He discloses, wiping a tear from his eyes.

“The next time you come back, buy more condoms. I’m positively sure that my older brother’s condoms won’t do the trick.”

Sehun has a smug look on his face. “If you know, you know.”

Kyungha shakes her head. “What? That you have a small ?” He coughs, and an unrestrained laugh tickles . “I’m kidding. es make a man, and you definitely are not a boy.”

He tsks, flicking her forehead. “Don’t discriminate against small pee-pees. They have their charm too.”

She opens , but only an incredulous laugh comes out. “How do you know that?”

“College, babe.”

She snorts. “Oh my god, you’re weirder than me.”

“Come on, you’re saying you didn’t experiment in college?”

Kyungha straightens. “I mean do strap-on s count?”

Sehun his head in bewilderment. “Is this a contest about who has a more bizarre life?”

“I’m joking, you troll. You should’ve seen your face.” She laughs. “I’ve had drunken with a girl before, but when I woke up, the only thing I remember telling myself was ‘I am definitely straight.’”

He scoffs. “Great, now I’m again.” Then, his face falls as he realizes. “Sweetheart, we’re out of condoms.”

Kyungha rolls her eyes. “You have work in thirty.”

“Hey, hey. Don’t underestimate me. All I need is ten.”

“You sure about that, grandpa?”

“I meaaan if that’s what you’re into. You do you, sweetheart. Besides, I’d be the hottest grandpa you’ve ever seen. Admit it.”

She gags. “Aaaand, now I’m turned off.”

“You’re hot,” Kyungha grunts.

“I know I am, but what are you?” Sehun says snidely, laughing and applauding to himself for his kiddy joke.

She rolls her eyes, snapping her elbow back and jabbing him the stomach. He yelps. “I’m serious, you’re overheating me. I can’t sleep.”

“Are you on your period?”

Normally, she would punch someone in the face for the comment. But he was right, she was. “How did you know?” Her voice lifts into the territory of surprise.

Sehun bites her nape, making Kyungha squeal. “Because you get hot easily when you’re on your period.”

Kyungha is quiet. Sometimes when she thinks Sehun can’t surprise her more than he already does on a daily, he easily proves her wrong.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, tracing his fingertips down her spine. She shivers.

“Nothing—I just—“ She stops, staring off into the distance. “I don’t know how you do it. You just know me.”

Sehun laughs. “What are you talking about? Of course, I know you. I—“

“No, that’s not what I mean. Kyungsoo knows me. He knows I don’t like chives. He knows I’m allergic to shellfish, but you—you know me. You know the inner details of myself that I don’t even know. It’s mind-boggling. It terrifies me.”

He traces a line to her stomach. “Why would it terrify you?”

“What if I never find someone like you again? What happens if I lose my heart?”

He stops. “Why would you lose me?”

Kyungha hides her face in her hands. “Stop asking me questions. What are you? Dr. Phil?”

He chuckles as he urges, “just answer the question, sweetheart.”

“Because I’m me, and you’re you. You’re smart, handsome, and you’re all of these things. You entice people. You have this charm that everyone wants, but then…”

“But then?”

Kyungha sighs. “Why are you with me? You were engaged to someone like Minjung. Bright, bubbly, a people-person. She’s basically the female version of you.”

Sehun is quiet as he thinks. Thanks to the long stretch of silence, Kyungha feels like she misstepped.

“Forget what I said, it’s stupid—“

He kisses her shoulder. “It’s not stupid. I think it’s a reasonable question. I know the answer. I just needed to think of a better delivery than ‘because you’re a smoking hot babe.’”

It already makes Kyungha laughs. He’s done it again. He’s managed to dissipate the tension. His ability to gauge the situation and make light of things is incredible. Then again, he’s always been a socialite.

Sehun prompts, “Kyungha.”

“Hm?”

“You’re everything she isn’t. I told you. You’re selfless, gorgeous—in my standards—and you know what I really like about you? You aren’t afraid to voice the truth. It’s easy for people to forget that I’m their equal. They put me on this pedestal, and they never go against my opinions. I’m not a god—I know I look like one; I see the way you look at me—“

He gets a smack on the thigh for that. Laughing whimsically, he continues, “as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I like that you treat me as an equal. You don’t care about how much money I have. You don’t care if I’m better looking—ow! I was joking, Jesus. Woman, you’re abusive as hell.”

Kyungha turns around to face him. He welcomes her wandering eyes with a toothy grin. “What’s your point, ?”

Sehun nuzzles his nose with hers. Her expression softens. This man. She couldn’t even stay annoyed at him anymore. “My point is you’re ing fantastic. I want someone who treats me like you do—minus the abuse,” he coughs. “You yell at me when I up. You smile at me when I’m doing something right, which makes me feel like I’m definitely doing something right. Goddamn it, your smile is godsend. You’re just it for me. I’m—“ He kisses the corner of her lips. “—lucky to have you. It’s not the other way around.”

To say the least, Kyungha is free-falling, and she’s not afraid of it anymore. She remembers her mom’s words, you can be afraid, Kyungha. That’s perfectly okay. But don’t run away from it.

There was no way in hell she was missing this. Their development. His kisses. His touches. His stupidly, cute, eccentric midnight ramblings about stale bread.

And if there was one thing that Sehun liked more than dicking her down, it was his bread.

She bites his nose, and Sehun blows air into her eyes as retaliation. But, he immediately apologizes and kisses her boo boo better.

“How do you feel about period ? He asks in a serious voice.

Kyungha drawls, “let’s do it in the shower. I’m too lazy to clean up the blood.”

Sehun proceeds to pick her up, tossing her like a rag doll over his shoulders. She shrieks into her hands, suddenly remembering Jungkook’s words. She mentally apologizes to her nephew, but Sehun is a god, and no amount of self-control was going to keep her from letting him bend her over.

Even though she wasn’t at work, Sehun made the point to see her as often as he could, which meant even if his stomach was rumbling or his eyelids were on the verge of drooping, he was like Usain Bolt when it came to seeing her.

It was Friday again, and this was Sehun’s third visit at the elementary school. At this point, Kyungha’s practically memorized the nursery rhyme.

Kyungha and Sehun sitting on a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in the baby carriage!

“Why are you here again?” Kyungsoo groans, hiding his face as his class finally settles down from singing.

Sehun makes a show of obnoxiously smooching her cheeks, inducing the entire class into a harmony of gushing and squealing. Kyungha pushes him away. “Hoon, what the hell?”

“Language, sweetheart.” She ignores him, so he continues, “I brought you guys lunch again. I’m awesome, I know, save the applause.” Then, he does a curtsy.

Kyungsoo clucks his tongue. “I shouldn’t have counted the eggs before they hatched. I almost wish the old Oh Sehun came back.”

He laughs haughtily. “I am a changed man. I have been given the mission of protecting my queen’s heart.”

Kyungha shuts her eyes, grimacing. “Imagine dating him. It’s a barf fest waiting to happen.” And then she freezes, and Sehun freezes. She’d mentioned the d word and it wasn’t . Oh god, did she it up already?

She didn’t have to be an intellectual to know that the two of them had serious commitment issues. Kyungha was mellowing out, but Sehun’s never mentioned anything about the status of their relationship since all of this played out.

She can feel the cogs turning her brain. She was overthinking it. Yep, she was definitely overthinking everything because , she either screwed up whatever this was—and Kyungha liked him a lot—or she just made everything more intense.

She didn’t want to lose him. That she knew. Like day and night. It was clear. She’d liked him, and it didn’t help that she was falling in—in love.

So it’s horrible when Kyungha turns to see Sehun shoot the two of them a wobbly smile. She’d definitely didn’t imagine that.

“Alright, duty calls. I’m going back to work. I’ll see you both later.”

Kyungsoo and Kyungha exchange a nervous look. Yep, it wasn’t just her.

They didn’t talk about it, and it was starting to worry her. Sure, she made him promised not to lie to her, but that didn’t include hiding things from each other. She didn’t even know what questions to ask.

This was definitely not it. Kyungha was afraid of losing him, but she was more afraid of them regressing back to the mess before.

She didn’t want to hide under another facade to protect herself, and she didn’t want him to smile like everything was fine, but clearly, everything was not fine.

So Kyungha was determined to get him to talk. Sehun came over for Movie Night. Jungkook had wanted to marathon Star Wars, and at first, it made her miss Dani so ing much that it was hard to breathe.

But when her phone buzzed, relief had flooded her system. Sehun was here, and he’d always made her feel better.

Kyungha gets up to open the door, and he doesn’t even let her breathe when he throws his arms around her, inhaling her as if he’d been deprived.

She smiles into his neck. “It’s only been eighteen hours.”

“Eighteen hours too long,” he protests, lifting her up into the air.

Kyungha slaps his back to let her down. “Why are you such a child?”

Sehun wrinkles his face. “Like I said, you bring out sides of me that I didn’t know I had.”

“No, I think you’ve always been immature.”

He winks. “If said immaturity is satisfying your ual needs, then, sweetheart, I don’t care what you say.”

Kyungha rolls her eyes endearingly. “You’re such an idiot.” Then, she grows serious. “We should talk.”

Sehun pauses. “About what?”

She feels cold sweat pricking her skin. “Um, what we are? Our relationship?”

He looks uncomfortable, and quite frankly, she was too. “Not tonight, sweetheart. It’s Movie Night. Star Wars, right?”

Kyungha purses her lips. She opens the door to let him in any way.

Her stomach falls. She’s not imagining the sudden distance between them, right?

“Sehunnah,” Jongin bellows like a frat boy. “We missed you.”

Kyungsoo makes an exasperated sound. “I see him more than my mother nowadays, for ’s sake.”

Sehun ignores him and sits down. Kyungha blinks. He’s not pulling her into his lap? Like always? “What are you doing, sweetheart?”

She stumbles out of her stupor. “Huh? Oh.” Trying not to overthink, she simply sits down next to him. Kyungha offers her hands, but he doesn’t look at her. “Hoon,” she calls softly.

He glances at her briefly. “What?”

“Are you okay?”

Sehun scrunches his face. “Of course, I’m okay. Are you?”

Kyungha is confused. Beyond confused. She cannot comprehend what the was going on. “I’m okay,” she answers.

He nods as if it’s something to be sure about. “Cool.”

Kyungha grows frustrated as the movie goes on. He’s acting all weird and distant. She doesn’t understand why. Did she do something wrong? She’d only brought up the d word and then he went on full shut down.

Halfway into the movie, she stands up, finally fed up with his aloofness.

“Kyungha?” Her brother questions with concern. “What’s wrong?”

She shakes her head, plastering a smile on her face. “I’m just tired. I’m going to bed. See you tomorrow,” she assures.

Kyungsoo nods with reluctance, but he doesn’t continue interrogating. Kyungha slams her door when she gets to her bedroom.

This was unbelievable. What the hell was happening? She’d really like to know.

It’d seem that Sehun had followed her because her door opens five minutes later. Kyungha whirls around, attempting to control her irate expression. He his head. “Sweetheart, is everything okay?”

She scoffs. “I’d like to be asking you that.”

“And I told you, I’m fine—“

Kyungha glares at him. “You promised me we wouldn’t lie to each other.”

“I’m not lying,” he insists.

“Then why the are you being so standoffish? You’re treating me like I’ve done something wrong!”

Sehun clenches his jaw. “You haven’t done anything wrong. What the hell are you talking about?”

“Of course I have! You’re being weird because I threw the d word at you.”

“The d word? ?”

“No, you dirty-minded ert. Dating!”

He’s silent. She’s silent, mostly heaving large gasps of air. “I don’t know if it’s a good time to talk about it.”

Kyungha wants to slap him. “Then when should we address our ambiguous relationship? What the should I tell Joohyun and Seulgi when they ask me ‘are you two official?’ Should I say, ‘no, we’re actually just ing and you know, doing other intimate things, but no, we’re not dating?’”

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” He asks, voice tight. Kyungha is stunned into silence. “Yes? No? The last time I brought this topic up, we fought and you ran away. And it was the last time I ing saw you. Do you know how heartbreaking that was? So, no, Kyungha, I’m not ing ready for this. I can’t prepare my mind for this, knowing that there’s a possibility that you’re going to dip.”

Then, he leaves. And her heart cracks.

Kyungha sighs, pacing her bedroom. It’s been three days, and he hasn’t returned a single text message. She’s slowly losing her mind. Was it over? It’s only been a week and that’s how long they were going to last?

She sits down on the ground, hanging her head between her legs. Kyungha wants to see his cheeky smile again.

Then, she hears a thump. Kyungha jumps to her feet, leaping to her window. She sees Sehun. She opens the window. His eyes widen as he shakes his head. Everything is in slow-mo, and crack, the second rock that was meant for the window comes sailing into her forehead.

She falls back, clutching her head and hissing. Sehun begins scaling the wall, reaching Jungkook’s room. He knocks and a few minutes later, Jungkook’s window opens. Then a few minutes pass and he’s in her room.

He tosses his scarf into oblivion and jumps to her on the ground. “Oh my , I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—does it hurt?”

Teary-eyed and woozy from the pain, she snaps, “of course it ing does! You better have a good reason for breaking into my house.”

Sehun sighs, pulling her into his arms. Kyungha gratefully takes it. Any sign of skin contact after three days of no show is staggering. She inwardly groans. Oh . She was turning into an addict, except this wasn’t —it was a million times more addicting and it went by the name of Oh Sehun.

“Sorry, I’m here to say sorry.” He winces. “That was the stupidest sentence I’ve ever said.” Kyungha bites back a laugh. Why was he irately funny when she was supposed to be pissed? “Okay, okay. I got this. Kyungie, I know I yelled at you for running away, but I’m the one who ran away. I got scared, okay?” He sighs. “I really, really like you. And I already told you this, but I can’t think of anything else, so I’m just gonna recycle my words because honestly, I am the smoothest motherer—“

She clears .

“Sorry, I’m rambling. I’m nervous as .” He drops his head on her shoulders. Then after a beat, he continues, “you make me feel a million things in the span of nothing. In these three days, I was thinking. Constantly. And spoiler alert: you equals every part of my brain cells. God, do I hear myself right now?”

Kyungha laughs incredulously because Sehun is currently out of his mind wack. When she calms down, she pats him on his back. “Continue,” she urges.

“I was thinking about our relationship. You’re right. It is ambiguous. Our relationship has always been a mystery, and that makes me the most irresponsible bastard in the history of mankind, but I’m here to change that.”

Her heart thuds against her ribcage. Sehun pulls away from their hug, digging in his pocket. She hears the crinkling of paper.

He pulls out an extremely damaged and wrinkled piece of paper. Then, he flattens it on her floor, slapping it for good measure.

Kyungha tries to read the print, but it’s too dark and she can’t make it out very well. “What is that?”

Sehun meets her gaze, determination shining in his eyes. “HR relationship disclosure form.” He says this in a solemn manner, and it makes the situation more bewildering.

She loses it. Like hysteric turned up to a hundred. Kyungha falls on her back, howling with laughter. “Are you crazy?”

He laughs nervously. “I couldn’t think of any other way to ask you to be my girlfriend without you turning it on me and saying ‘you’re only asking me because I made you.’” She can't take him seriously because he tries to imitate her voice but he's terrible at and it doesn't sound like her at all.

God, Oh Sehun was ing crazy, and Kyungha didn’t give a . He was hers, and she’d humor him.

Kyungha clutches the pen conveniently placed on top of her desk and scribbles her signature on the document. Then, she hands him the pen. He beams, doing the same. Once he finishes, he turns back to her with the cutest smile on his face.

A whole zoo stampedes inside her stomach. “Will you be my girlfriend?” He asks, offering his arms.

She leaps into them, knocking both of them on the ground. Sehun doesn’t seem to mind because he wraps his arms behind her back, chuckling adoringly. “Will you be my girlfriend?” She asks in return.

“Anything for my sweetheart, even if I have to fulfill her trans fantasies.”

And it was then that Kyungha realized, ladies and gentlemen, that he was the one.