Chapter 2 - You're The Brightest Stars

“Live the life you want, Sehun.” 

“What are you afraid of?” 

“Your mind is stronger than you think.” 

“You're avoiding my question.” 

“.......” 

“Sehu-” she tried to grab hold of his hands to explain further but - 

“Forget it,” he shifted his hands away when he felt her soft touch on his, “You’re always avoiding issues when it’s too hard emotionally.” 

That sensation from her still lingered on him.

It has been weeks since the last conversation between Seulgi and Sehun. It was left hanging ever since then. And since then, Seulgi has been avoiding him, perhaps due to her wanting to avoid her feelings or due to her not being sure on how to face Sehun after his outburst.

Sehun looked up from his phone after constantly refreshing Line, he let out a long sigh and flopped down onto the couch in the practice room. As much as Sehun has been friends with Seulgi for years, there are times where he just doesn't get her. She’s unpredictable but yet that’s what gets him hooked onto her. She’s kind, she’s hardworking, she’s selfless to the point that she always puts others before her when she herself is as fragile as others are. 

He turned to the side and groaned. He should have been more patient with her that day.

“Sehun,” a tiny voice called out from far across the practice room. 

Before Sehun could respond, a loud voice beat him to it, “Wendy-ya! What are you doing here?”. 

Sehun slightly lifted himself up from the couch and saw Chanyeol looking at Wendy with unbelievable eyes. Mind you, it’s 2am in the morning and hence that shocking look Chanyeol is having at the moment. 

Wendy bowed to them and apologized for interrupting their comeback practice. Red Velvet is having a comeback at the moment as well - Queendom. 

“Did something happen to Seulgi?” Sehun asked. Wendy shook her head yet nodded her head. Sehun's frown deepened at the sight of it. 

“Seul is okay but…. She's not herself. She’s tiring herself out ever since our comeback. It just seems like she’s trying to tire herself out by keeping herself busy. She’s not sleeping well nor eating as much as she used to. I’m afraid that she’ll collapse if this continues.” Wendy paused and you can see that she’s on the edge of bursting into tears, “She doesn’t listen to us when we urge her to take a rest.” 

Sehun grabbed his jacket and marched out of the practice room without saying anything. “Hold up! Do you know where she i-” 

Chanyeol grabbed hold of Wendy’s shoulder and reassured her that Sehun always knew where to find Seulgi. 

Always. 

Forever. 

Seulgi groaned and hid her face into her hands, she let out a long sigh and breathed in deeply. The sweet fresh air on the rooftop managed to clear her mind, even for just a few seconds. She was caught off guard on the day that Sehun asked her out. All along, she never even thought that he would feel anything for her. All along, she thought that he just treated her as a close friend of his. 

She felt bad sharing with him about her feelings about Kai when he and Kai are best friends as well. She couldn’t help but wonder how he would feel whenever he was listening to her.

“I’m such a fool,” she brought her knee up to herself and closed her eyes as she mumbled to herself , “I’m sorry, Sehun.” 

“If you wish to apologize, shouldn’t you apologize to the person face to face instead of hiding here?” 

Seulgi turned her head around and found Sehun standing behind her with a straight face on. She cleared and tried to shift her focus onto the floor instead. She doesn’t know how to face him with a collected heart after that confession. 

But her heart strangely increased it’s rate by itself, she couldn’t seem to calm down no matter how hard she tried. It has been such a long time since she ever felt this way. The first time she ever felt like this was when she first saw Kai back in their trainee days. And since then, all she felt was more and more pain. But she doesn’t blame anyone but herself as love is a very subjective topic. It’s her own issue that she's having a one-sided love for Kai. 

“That’s strange..” she mumbled once again. 

Sehun raised his brows and walked over casually and took a seat beside her. He took a deep breath, stretched both of his arms out and looked up to the sky, “What’s so strange?” 

Seulgi widened her eyes and shook her head, “Nothing.” 

Since she doesn’t want to say anything, he will not push her further. He doesn’t want this time round to end it like their last conversation. Both of them just sat there silently, looking up at the sky and taking in the fresh air.

“Have you eaten?” he asked without turning to her. 

“What?” 

That’s random of him, Seulgi thought. 

“Shall we go and have some bingsu?” He finally turned to look at her with sparkles in his eyes, just like the stars that’s hanging on the sky. Seulgi unconsciously swallowed her saliva at the sight of those sparkles in his eyes. She always knew that he has a deep set of eyes and she always knows how lots of ladies in their industry go crazy about it but she never really saw those sparkles in his eyes before. 

Not that she knows of. 

Yes, he does have it.

Only when his gaze is focused on her.

Those times on stage when his eyes followed everywhere she went. Trying hard to pretend that he doesn’t care, trying hard to ignore her existence in the public eyes and trying hard to maintain a straight face whenever he sees her. 

He does care about her and he knows she knows about it. 

He cares the most when she debuts. 

But that’s his way of protecting her. 

Protecting her from all the harms. 

“Let’s go, shall we?” He extended his hand out to her. This time round, patiently waiting for her to step out of her comfort zone rather than forcing a reply from her. 

He always knew that she’s an emotional person. She tried to pretend she’s strong but deep down when she’s alone, she needs as much care as others. She tried to be tough and cheerful but he always knew that deep down, she’s an overthinker. 

Seulgi looked at his hand that was extended out to her and back at his eyes again. She carefully nodded her head and placed her tiny hand into his. 

His lip carved into a small smile and pulled her up from where she’s seated at. 

Seulgi always knew that he’s a caring person to people that he cares about. She always knew that he would always be there for her as her best friend. She always knew that she could count on him for emotional support. She knew that he might seem a little cold on the exterior but deep down, he’s one of the warmest people she ever knew. She’s gladful that they met. She knew that there are times whereby he’s short tempered but she also knew that that’s because he cares and hence he’s worried. She knows that he’s logical and she relates more to intuition and emotions. 

They know that if they want to make this friendship into something more than friendship, it could work. 

Seulgi knows that she just needs some time to sort out her thoughts and she knows that she’s worrying people around her whenever she shuts herself away from the world. She made a mental note to apologize to them, including Sehun, personally later on - after she had her bingsu. 

It’s not that she wants to avoid the question but it’s more of her needing some time to think about it and her main concern will be what if it didn’t work out? 

What if this will in turn destroy their friendship?

It’s fear. 

It’s always been a fear that has haunted her since trainee days. Fear that she won’t debut, fear that this isn’t the right path for her, fear that she won’t recover from her vocal chord, fear that she will never be good enough for anyone. 

Luckily, she’s surrounded by four of her awesome friends team mates. It’s them that constantly encourage her and hype her up. She’s glad that there’s Sehun that’s there for her no matter what. He will always look back and extend his helping hand to her whenever she meets a slump and is afraid to go forward.

She smiled brightly to herself by the thought of it and wiped the tears that dripped down while they’re walking along the pathway. 

They came a long way.