Haemi clenched her fists tightly, nails digging into the palms of her hands until it left an indent. The only thing she was aware of at the moment, was the sound of her rapid beating heart. Acknowledging the panic in her eyes, Sehun extended a hand out to her but pulled back midway. He didn’t want to make Haemi uncomfortable by all means, even when it hurt him to see her this way. 

“Don’t think too much,” Sehun advised, taking a few steps back to give her the much needed space.

With a soft smile on his face, he continued, “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll take you home.”

Sehun took the girl home shortly after she picked up her belongings. Being alone with him was dangerous for the time being, his overflowing aura sent too many mixed signals for her own good. She left in a hurry that night, scrambling out of the car without a second thought. The last thing she remembered was her name being called very faintly after exiting his car, but she eventually brushed it off as her own imagination. 

Forcing herself to get up the next morning, Haemi stumbled out of bed for another work day ahead. She threw on a light sweater over a pair of leggings to optimize her comfort, as well as her lack of effort in trying. The editor greeted her colleagues on the way in, evidently bumping into Mina then. 

“Feeling better?” Mina greeted her first thing by leaning in closely to observe the girl. The concealer did its job of hiding her dark circles today, giving her a much healthier complexion than yesterday. As a matter of fact, a lot of things were said last night without much context. Luckily they had 15 minutes left before work, and the short time was enough for now. Haemi pulled her friend into an unoccupied conference room for their own privacy, her hands beginning to sweat profusely. She didn’t want Mina to think differently of her in any way, but she figured it was time to reveal a piece of her life. 

“About last night,” Haemi began, “…I haven’t been very open about my past, but there are some things that I wanted to tell you.”

To the best of her effort, Mina listened. She carefully opened her heart and mind in order to digest the heavy narrative. Heavy was an understatement though, as she soon realized how dark the innocent childhood story turned out. It was scary, chilling, and unknowingly heart wrenching. She would have never expected this vulnerable side of Haemi, who still attempt to make dad-jokes at their work socials. The amount of pain she must’ve been in, but Mina refused to pity the girl. Her friend wouldn’t like that either, she thought. Rather, she wanted to provide a safe haven for Haemi, whenever this part of her life becomes too unbearable. 

“For Oh Sehun to be your ex-husband, now I know why you always turn down those blind dates…” Mina teased to lighten up the mood. It did its job well, landing an embarrassed smile on the girl’s face as a result. The two hurried back to work, not wanting their boss to show up before they do. But for a miraculously reason, the man showed up early to work for once. 

“We’ve been looking everywhere for you two!” he exclaimed out loud, catching the attention of others around. Though it wasn’t him who caught their curiosity, it was the author standing behind. 

“Speaking of the devil,” Mina murmured quietly to Haemi, who was too busy gawking at the unexpected guest. She took notice of the coat in his hand, her coat to be exact. It made her wondered if this was the reason why he called her name when she got out of the car.

“You left your coat in my car last night,” he casually announced, earning both of them everyone’s undivided attention in no time. 

“Ah right! After our work meeting!” The flustered editor blurted out as a cover up. She didn’t think he would show up unannounced like this. Swiping the outerwear off his hands, Haemi pulled the writer by the fabric of his blazer to lead him elsewhere with less bodies around.

“What are you doing?” Sehun refused to budge, a sly smirk cre