“Haemi!” Sehun called out to his childhood friend after she ran off in shock. Approximately 5 minutes ago, her mother had announced some baffling news to the pair. Haemi had a hard time adjusting her thoughts around it since the moment it was revealed. As her feet gave out, Sehun eventually caught up to her a few blocks down from their homes.

“My m-mom…she can’t marry your dad!” her voice began to shake with tears on the brim of pouring out. The teen had trouble phrasing her words, but it was enough for Sehun to understand. Those two together...would be an absolute self destruction, and their children were aware of that. It was also during this exact moment when a rational idea crossed Sehun’s mind.

“Marry me first then,” he suddenly suggested, taking on this dangerous plan in order to cease a potential nightmare.

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Haemi fiddled with the strap of her handbag nervously as she formatted a formal apology to the author. Upon realizing— once the elevator stopped on his floor, she cursed quietly under her breath for taking the wrong corner. The elevator leading right up to his place was on the opposite end. Unable to accept her unlucky faith, Haemi defeatedly dragged body towards his way. When she made that last turn, her feet automatically picked up its pace. The image of Sehun jolting towards a woman, who she later registered as her own mother, was all too familiar. At the time, she couldn’t quite understand his rage when they were children. But the more time she and her mother spent with his family, she came to recognize how influential his father was towards the people around him. Her own mother, caving in to this dangerous obsession with Oh Junsu became an eye-opening experience for her. It was also then, when she fully understood that the demon inside of Sehun was simply just a cry for help. 

“Sehun…” his editor called out, maintaining the gentleness in her voice to ease his tension. Haemi continued to advance forward in small steps until he fully let go of her mother’s neck. The distress look in Sehun’s eyes was enough to make her switch on protective mode, and she did just that by pulling him behind her naturally. 

“You’re not going to greet your own mother?” 

Haemi could not even bat an eyelash to see her mother gasping for air. Most of her childhood traumas were greatly contributed by this woman here, who still proudly call herself a mother. 

“Let’s go,” Haemi tugged the writer along, ignoring the malicious comments made by her mother in the background.

“Show some respect to the woman who raised you, ungrateful brat!” her mother spat. Haemi had to forcefully hold Sehun back from another attack as she felt his body wanting to jerk forward. They finally let the door slammed behind them, muffling out her mother’s voice in the process to fully enjoy a moment of peace. 

“Are you okay?” she asked, the tenderness in her voice showed obvious concern. Even after so many years, this girl never fails to prioritize his well-being first. For so long, he wondered what she saw in him that doesn’t make her flinch when he react a certain way. If she wanted to scream at him or question his morals, it would have been a more accurate approach.

“What are you doing here?” he dodged her question.

“I came to apologize…about last night,” Haemi diverted her gaze, anything related to that event automatically make her fluster. In a sense, the silence between them was even more uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry!” she suddenly blurted out, “That’s it, that’s all I wanted to say. I’ll take my leave now.”

Before she could scramble out, Sehun caught her arm in one swift motion. “Stay,” he simply said. 

How did a single word stir up her heart so rapidly, the fist-sized organ felt as if it could jump right out of her chest at any moment now. You’re just nervous, she tried telling herself until Sehun spoke up again. “Stay, for now. I don’t want you to bump into that woman,” he added. 

And that was all it took to coax Haemi into staying. Sehun slid a glass of water over to her side of the table,