Byul was spread out and face-first on the couch, pure disappointment and sadness weighing her body down until she was practically part of the couch itself.

Jangmi was shaking her head at the image on Byul’s phone. “I can’t believe that guy! How dare he? What an ! I told you not to date him, Byul. I told you.”

She couldn’t believe her eyes when she got the picture message from Chanyeol. Byul thought that she was maybe only imagining things and told Jangmi to take a look. Unfortunately, her eyesight was perfectly fine, meaning that Sehun had been at a bar somewhere getting comfortable with a woman that wasn’t her. Byul was hoping to get some words of comfort, but instead, Jangmi was talking about how right she was about Sehun for twenty minutes straight.

Byul’s face was pressed up against the cushions in case she’d cry. At least something would soak up her tears. First, she was worried about dating someone with a sinister secret, but now she was dating a cheater. How did everything turn out like that suddenly? They were so good. She sincerely loved him. Sehun was a big part of her life and it was nice to think that she was a big part of his.

Apparently not.

Was it something she did? Something she said? Was she becoming too nosy? Was she just not enough?

Sehun had mentioned having to work late at night that day. Byul hadn’t thought much about it because everything seemed normal when she was keeping an eye on his meeting with a client. It had seemed boring and mundane. Apparently, instead of working, he was being kissy-kissy with some other girl.

“I hate him,” she mumbled against the cushions.

“Good! You should. He probably drives around those fancy cars to lure girls in. He probably has multiple girlfriends and you’re just one of them!”

Again, Jangmi’s words weren’t helping so Byul tried to ignore her. If anything, she was making her feel worse. Maybe she was right though. Byul always thought that Sehun and her were too good to be true. It always felt like one day she would wake up and the existence of Sehun had all been one long dream. They were a good match. She didn’t know how to start getting over him. He’s left too much of a dent in her life—

There was a knock on the door that interrupted her thoughts.

“Byul, are you there? Can we talk?”

Jangmi gasped, recognizing the voice. “I can’t believe he has the nerve to show his face here!”

The last thing Byul wanted at the moment was to see Sehun. Hearing his voice alone was enough to make her stomach feel like it was trying to squeeze itself up against her heart. “Can you get rid of him, please?”

“I will. Just go to your room.”

Quietly thanking Jangmi, Byul picked herself up from the couch to lock her bedroom door behind her. She threw herself on her bed. The walls were thin enough that she could hear the commotion happening from the living room. Byul couldn’t help but listen intently after she heard the front door swing open.

“Jangmi, is Byul around? I need to clear up something with her.”

“Get lost! She doesn't want to hear your excuses.”

“Look, if you let me explain to her, I’m sure everything will be fine—”

“Fine? Do you think this is fine? You were with another girl!”

“That’s what I’m here to prove wrong. Let me talk—”

“Get away from the door. I’ll call the police, I swear.”

“Jangmi, just let me see her.”

“Go away!”

The door slammed shut and silence followed after that. Byul was relieved Jangmi didn’t try comforting her in the bedroom. At that moment, she just wanted to be alone. Byul sighed deeply, wanting to sleep and just put the whole day behind her and then maybe wake up on a different day where everything was actually okay. Instead, because she was finally alone, she let out the tears that she was holding in.

Her tears stained her bedsheets, showing up against the white in ugly grey splotches. Byul hated crying and she hated herself more for crying over a boy. No one told her how much heartbreak could hurt. Especially since it was Sehun. Everything hurt—not just mentally, but also physically. Her chest had felt so clogged up. She realized she had fallen for Sehun harder than she thought.

Byul picked up the sound of her window sliding open and then there was a thud.

Turing at the noise, she saw that it was Sehun making his way into her room by stepping through the window and ducking under the panel.

“What are you doing here?!” she demanded in a harsh whisper, sitting up quickly. He looked especially handsome in the suit he was wearing, but she quickly cursed herself for thinking that.

He brought a finger up to his lips. “Shh.”

“Sehun, get out! How did you even get to my window?”

When he was in, he pulled the window pane down until it clicked shut. “The fire escape. That doesn’t matter. I just—” His face fell at finally taking a good look at her. “You’re crying.”

“No I’m crying. Sehun, get out.” Byul didn’t even bother wiping away the tears anymore. “I mean it! I don’t want to see you. Ever.” She had no energy to get up and shove him out where he had come from. Seeing him again had knocked all the power left in her until her muscles felt useless.

Sehun immediately made his way across her room in long steps and got on his knees in front of her, matching their eye level. “Can I explain to you what happened? I promise it’s not what you think.”

She pushed away his hands that were on her thighs. “Then what do you call that girl you were with? Don’t say you’re just friends or she’s your cousin. That’s a pathetic excuse. I’m not going to fall for it.”

“But we’re not friends. She’s… I don’t even know her name. I was supposed to meet her for work because she has the information I need. She was coming on to me, but I promise that I backed away before it got too far. That photo was just taken from a terrible angle.”

Byul turned her head to look away, unable to meet him in the eyes. “I really want to believe you, Sehun.”

“Then believe me.” Sehun held her hands and surprisingly she didn’t try to resist. “Byul, please. I’ve never lied to you. I swear on my life. Chanyeol meant to send that to me as a joke because it made me so uncomfortable.”

Byul sighed for the hundredth time that night. “I don’t know, Sehun. Maybe we should just—”

Sehun cut off her words by pulling her into a crushing embrace. “Don’t say it. Don’t break us up. Please believe me. I’m literally begging you on my knees,” he pleaded quietly at her neck, his voice cracking.

Byul stiffly let him hug her, his arms wrapping around her so tightly and desperately that it kind of hurt. His chin was digging against her shoulder. She didn’t want to be easy and forgive him. She didn’t even know if she believed him. Byul wasn’t in the right state of mind to accurately judge the situation.

“I don’t know where to begin apologizing, but I promise that I didn’t let anything happen.”

She struggled against his grasp. “I can’t move.”

“Sorry.” Sehun loosened his arms and moved back to look at her with sad eyes, waiting for a response.

“So you met for work?” Byul asked, her expression unreadable.

“Yes.”

“What work, Sehun? Stop being so cryptic when you talk about work. I know you’re hiding something.”

She didn’t fail to notice how he froze for a second and something on his expression twitched. Sehun spoke after a moment of hesitation. “I-I’ll tell you everything you need to know about me, okay? Just… Just not right now. It’s a lot of taking in. I don’t want you to be overwhelmed, but I promise to explain what it is I do exactly.”

“Really?” Byul met his eyes, measuring his expression. Sehun had caught her by surprise. Was he actually just going to come clean to her? So willingly and just like that?

“Yes, I swear. I’ll explain everything tomorrow if you want,” he said, sounding a little desperate by then. “You deserve to know everything and I should have already explained it a long time ago. I’ll answer all your questions.”

Byul studied him for a while. He didn’t seem to be lying. He wasn’t avoiding eye contact or did any odd habits like she noticed a lot of other people did when they weren’t telling the truth. Chanyeol would dip his eyes away for a millisecond whenever he lied. Jangmi would begin her sentences with an awkward, “Oh, you know…” Her neighbor across from their room would nod frantically while she talked.

“Tomorrow you’ll explain,” Byul told him firmly.

Sehun took a deep breath. “Whatever you want me to explain. I won’t hold back. Ask me whatever you want.” He hesitantly reached to hold her hands in his again. When she didn’t pull away as he feared, Sehun squeezed them in content. “Byul, I… I…”

Byul stared at him in bewilderment. It wasn’t often that Sehun struggled with his words after all. She knew it was taking him a lot of courage to speak at that moment. It was a side of Sehun that only she’s seen. He only allowed himself to be this vulnerable around her and only her.

“I care about you a lot, Byul. You’re very… important to me. I just need you to know that I intend to keep you in my life for a very long time.”

Byul felt her cheeks warm at his words. “Sehun…”

His eyes shifted between hers as if looking for something in them. “And because of that, I want you to know everything about me. I promise you can ask me whatever you need tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay,” she nodded, her voice coming out in a whisper. Pleasantly surprised, she let a smile break through the poker face she had been trying to keep up. Byul wondered how she went from feeling