❝Unsought And Unexpected❞

∞

9:01 pm 

"No." 

Baek Daewon affirmed, as he looked back at his daughter's incredulous expression toward him, as if she wasn't expecting this reaction from him where Inha's mouth was in a jaw drop frown. "Why?!" 

"It's cold." 

"It'll be fun." 

"You're sensitive to cold." 

"I'll be in front of the fire place." 

"Bubble." 

"Dad." 

She whined, her puppy eyes toward his frowning ones which were at the verge of melting him and he knew that she knew it, hence, she was adamant to make him agree to change his words. 

The permission of going to Jeju for the new year's eve festival. 

It didn't happen long ago that the last ten days of December were off; given to the students of schools and colleges to have holidays to celebrate the new year and the Christmas celebration which, at the moment, was happening in the very house of Baek as the decorations of the trees filled with red and white mixed colors were beaming throughout the whole place of the living room. 

The weather was getting colder day by day as the pouring snow outside was the perfect proof of it and in the midst of the celebration with their neighbors and the newly acquainted couple; who were Sehun's parents, were present to celebrate the celebration together. 

However, the celebration emerged with the chatters of the people had halted the moment Inha had asked for a permission to the trip to Jeju along with Yoojung, Jinsoo and Sehun, who had already got the permission for it yet Inha was being refused to go but, in no way she'd let that happen. 

The trip was once in a lifetime for her; as in two months, they'd be graduated students who'll be busy in their own studies and this moment and opportunity might never happen again, so she was not going to let go of it. 

The next moment, her head turned to the trio having their hot chocolate on the couch opposite of where she was settled, beside her father who was sitting in a leaned back position with his arms crossed to his chest; his biceps still in a better intact yet his expression were in a frown, a deep one. 

"Say something!" 

Inha signaled them with her eyes to put in convincing words for her father to agree yet all she got was a playful pretense of a nonchalant shrug as they continued to drink their hot chocolate. 

Little pricks!

"Fine then, go ahead!" 

Inha huffed, standing up with a stomp of her foot to walk in the kitchen, not before shooting her friends a fancy glare of hers who flinched but sighed afterwards as the joke really went a little far considering the fact that coaxing her father wasn't an easy thing to do. 

Yoojung swallowed the gulp of her hot chocolate to look at Daewon with pleading eyes. "Uncle, don't be so hard on her, and we'll be together anyway." 

Daewon sighed. "Yoojung, sweetie, it's not that easy to send you all kids alone to Jeju like it's not hours away from home." 

"We're not alone uncle," Jinsoo said, as a grin spread on his lips, "We have Minho hyung with us and his face speaks," He trailed off, bringing his palm against his cheek. "Safety." 

Sehun unconsciously let out a chuckle with another chuckle merged with him as he and Daewon locked eyes as Sehun nodded. "Yes, uncle," He trailed off, his eyes averting to the kitchen to get a glimpse of Inha but he got nothing to meet his eyes again. "Let her go with us because you never know when she will get this chance to enjoy." 

Jinsoo and Yoojung stared at Sehun for a moment with a surprise expression; they remember him saying that he wouldn't get to say anything to Inha's father yet here he was, putting his words like he meant it; for her. 

Daewon stared at him for a moment wordlessly; as his words got him to reflect on his behavior of how overprotective he was being at the moment to prevent her daughter from enjoying her life as he sighed afterwards. "Okay." 

"I love you, handsome!" 

Inha's exclamation beamed through the kitchen door, flinching everyone as the next thing Daewon found her jogging to him with a quick bone crush hug to him. "Thank you!" 

"You have to be careful." She felt him patting her head and Inha nodded. "I'll have Jinsoo look after me." 

"Yah!" 

Daewon couldn't help but chuckle as Jinsoo pouted, and Inha turned to her friends with a victorious smile where her eyes immediately met Sehun's who happened to be already looking at her; a soft smile on his lips but a different glint in his eyes which she couldn't decipher but it was enough for her to feel the familiar wavering sensation in her stomach. 

Yet, there was something different in his eyes, something unknown but something so evident, and it was the conflicting emotion in his eyes and in his behavior she had noticed since the moment he had arrived in her home. 

Something she couldn't ignore; she just couldn't. 

The time was passing by as the celebration of the Christmas continued, as the laughter of the elders continued over something they had been talking about which apparently began by Jinsoo's grandfather followed by men having a fit of laughter on it while the women of the house were having their own conversations which also ended in a fit of laughter by the mention of Inha's wrong perception of calling the broccoli, a cauliflower vegetable. 

The girl didn't know the basics of cooking yet. 

Inha had to roll her eyes at them while the trio of her friends surely were enjoying it yet she couldn't be annoyed as the moment happening right now felt so heartwarming; somehow so much to remember in the future. 

At the moment, a person walked in; Minho was dusting off the snowflakes off his shoulders but there was another familiar person behind him, Kang Si-woo. 

"You're here." 

Ji-Hye walked to him with a warm smile which was reciprocated by the latter as he greeted her back. "Merry Christmas, Aunty." 

Ji-Hye nodded with a smile. "Come, join us." 

The squad of four were seated on the dining table; having a chit-chats of their own until Si-woo had approached them and getting the reciprocation of theirs, he had taken a seat beside Inha while on the other side was Sehun settled beside her; a neutral expression on his face as it wasn't that he disliked him but it was another unknown feeling that him having a pleasing moment with the girl beside him wasn't something pleasing for him. 

Like right now. 

It displeased him to the point he couldn't shoo it away. 

"Congrats, Inha." Si-woo smiled, before his eyes averted to Yoojung, and Jinsoo, "And you two as well, I heard you three passed CSAT together," He trailed off, as his eyes looked over Inha behind Sehun with a little smile. "And you too." 

Yoojung and Jinsoo were quick to return his warm gesture along with Inha who smiled yet the boy beside her remained silent as she turned to him with a look only for Sehun to meet her eyes with the confused look where Inha rolled her eyes gesturing towards Si-woo for the reciprocation. 

Sehun gave her a look but immediately complied as he nodded toward him. "Thanks." 

Inha shook her head; this boy still has a long way to go. 

"Did the notes help?" Si-woo questioned, and Inha smiled at him with a nod. "Yeah, thanks to you, it made it easier for me." 

"I'm glad," He trailed off, tilting his head, "You can ask me for help in the future since you're going to be my junior now." 

Inha raised her eyebrows. "You're asking for it." 

"Gladly." 

He reached out with a chuckle as his hand almost collided with her head for a pat but another hand had stopped him; Sehun had slapped his hand away startling the people around the table, including himself by his own unexpected actions. 

Inha tilted her head towards him as her rounded eyes met his surprised ones and Sehun was quick to pull back his hand to quickly look away. "There was a spider in your hair." 

What? 

"What?!" 

Inha exclaimed, immediately ruffling her hair with her as she stood up while her actions didn't stop his lips from smiling where Yoojung rolled her eyes. "Inha, he's pulling your leg!"

Inha stopped to find him smiling and somewhere she was glad to see it; unaware that only she was the one who was able to do, for him, only she could. 

Jinsoo was laughing his heart out. "Gosh, Inha, you look so funny right now." 

"Shut up!" She glared at him; her hair messy on her shoulders before she looked down at the boy smiling to himself until she grabbed the neckline of the sweater he had been wearing with her sharp eyes. "You did this because I drank your hot chocolate, didn't you?" 

Sehun took a hold of her hand; his lips still in a soft smile. "Am I that childish?" 

"Yeah, you're that childish." 

"And you're a scaredy bear." 

"Yah!" 

And he laughed out loud while Jinsoo and Yoojung were busy stopping Inha from killing him, there was Si-woo sitting still, smiling at the sight especially toward the duo having a moment of theirs; something they weren't able to see or maybe the people around as well but he could see it. 

There was no way he couldn't when he was feeling like that months back with a heart of burying it back yet hoped that they wouldn't; they shouldn't. 

Only if he knew. 

Not long before, Si-woo had left as he had a bus to catch since he was going back to his hometown to celebrate the new year with his family where the elders were still busy in their own chit-chats; Sehun's parents had left to their home but he was still there; the squad of four was settled in the rooftop room which Inha uses occasionally. 

This time the room was silent. 

Something surprising but it wasn't that they had to have chaos whenever they were together because sometimes having a silent atmosphere was a good thing; comforting one to be said, as the four of them were too tired to do some activity besides, the silence among them was a comfortable one. 

Yoojung was reading a novel, and Jinsoo was having his time of playing a video game in his phone whilst the room was warm but they wanted something more warmer so Inha had left to bring them another mug of hot chocolate where Sehun was outside; in the rooftop as he had excused himself which the duo didn't mind yet could see him having a conflicting of his own so they let him be at the moment. 

Sehun was standing by the wooden railing; his torso almost leaning forward with his headphones plugged in his ears as he listened to the music of his choice; something enough to comfort him at the moment, something to help him calm the chaos his mind was on at the moment. 

A sigh left his lips; his eyes staring ahead at the dim lights of the houses illuminating the street, the white snow still in a frozen state around the trees and somehow, he enjoyed it as he enjoyed nature; it comforted him. 

Yet, at the moment he couldn't find it. 

The realization was slowly evoking his senses of how the days have passed; things that had changed his life, his mind, his emotions and his relationships with the people around, here, in this own place followed by the dream of his, the dream he never thought he would ever have, but here he was, on the way of fulfilling it; and a way to explore more of it. 

An opportunity for it but his mind was conflicted and he wanted to gather his thoughts about it; yet it didn't seem to be possible at the moment. 

"I hate this!" 

Inha grumbled under her breath; her voice shaky behind her words because of the coldness engulfing her as she was climbing the stairs to the rooftop, her cold hands holding the tray of four hot chocolates with a firm grip to stop by the entrance door of it only to find the familiar figure standing by the wooden railing of it. 

Her head tilted with a curious yet concerned glinted eyes toward him; somehow her eyes were noticing how broad his shoulders appeared right now or they always were but she was realizing it just now but why? She didn't know; it was strange that she found herself more curious about him, more concerned about him. 

And it was different. 

Something was different but she couldn't decipher that different. 

In a moment, Inha went to the room to give the duo their hot chocolate where Jinsoo asked, as he took the mug from Inha. "Don't you think Sehun's been silent throughout the day?" 

Inha found herself nodding. "Yeah." 

"Why don't you talk to him?" Yoojung suggested, grabbing the mug from Inha's grasp, earning a confused look from her. "Me?" She turned to Jinsoo. "Aren't you his best friend?" 

He shrugged. "He hardly talks about his worries with me," He trailed off, as a soft smile curved on his lips with a quick nudge of his chin toward Inha. "But it's different with you." 

Inha blinked a couple of times. "That's not it." 

"We know what we see, Inha." 

Yoojung uttered, her words had an emotion of firm; something which had been seeing by her from days but now she was slowly getting the grasp of it; and no matter how much she thought it to be different, it wasn't, and them, who weren't even aware of it was shown how oblivious they were being. 

Sehun unfolded his arms as the next minute, his hands were shoved in his jacket pockets; to warm his cold hands inside the warmer cloth but, at the moment, a black mug was presented in front him; hot chocolate, in fact, placed on the top of the wooden railing with the steam of its flowing up in a haze. 

"It's the compensation for drinking yours earlier." 

And before he could have seen that person; the familiar voice had beamed in his ears since the volume of his music was low and for some unknown reason; the voice sent a wave of warmth, a relieving giddiness. 

His head tilted to the side to find Inha standing beside him, clad in her black hoodie with her hands hidden by the sleeves of it, holding the same black mug of hot chocolate in her hands as she looked at him; meeting his eyes with a smile. 

A smile graced his lips unknowingly. "Should I be thankful for this compensation?" 

"Obviously." 

He shook his head to look ahead, and Inha leaned forward against the railing with a quick sip from her mug to find him doing the same while turning off his music as he plugged out one earphone. 

There was a silence; a comfortable one. 

Both of them stood close being unaware of the proximity; their shoulders almost leaning against each other's yet stood unaware of it, their eyes seemed to be admiring the illuminated lights in front of them together with a moment of their own. 

Yet they stood unaware. 

In the moment, Inha had felt a sudden shuffling through the hood of her hoodie and the next second, her head was covered by it as she met Sehun's eyes with a confused look. "What?" 

His eyes squinted. "Your nose is red." 

"Your ears are red too." 

"I like winters." 

"And I-" She stopped the moment she realized she couldn't win this argument and found him smiling smugly at her to which she let out a scoff; her eyes rolling as she took another sip. "You seemed to be pulling my leg now and a while back when I was talking to Si-woo-" She paused, to give him a squint of her eyes. "Aren't you a bit rude with him?" 

He stared back at her. "And aren't you too comfortable with him?" 

Her forehead creased. "I'm comfortable with almost everyone." 

He pressed his lips together; and nodded. "Right," He trailed off, looking away with a trance of his own as he took a sip. "But why do I dislike it?" 

"Huh?" Inha frowned. "Is it because you can't do it?" 

He frowned back. "I don't think so because I like how I am." 

"So what's keeping you so conflicting?" She asked, her head tilted with a soft glint in her eyes and his eyes widened a bit. "You can tell?" 

Her lips graced in a warm smile. "I can." 

He sighed, swallowing another sip to look ahead. "There's just something, something I just didn't see coming like winning a swimming tournament," He paused, with a chuckle to himself. "But there's something else too, but I feel like I have to give it some thought and then I want to tell you about it." 

He tilted his head towards Inha. "Is that okay with you?" 

Inha smiled; her eyes understanding and patient. "Of course." 

He nodded; somehow feeling lighter as if he really wanted to have someone listen to him or maybe it was her whom he felt comfortable enough with. 

"Can I listen to your music?" Inha pointed at his earphone and Sehun's lips curved in a smirk. "You really like my music taste, huh?" 

"Shut up." 

She rolled her eyes but couldn't hold back her giggle which made him giggle back as she plugged in the earphone with music playing through it; and their eyes met with a glint of glow, as if liking the song, as if being together at the moment was likable. 

Their smiles toward each other was enough. 

"Yah, you two are still out in the cold?" 

Jinsoo exclaimed, and Sehun was immediately pulled in a side hug by him. "Sehun-ah, I'm cold!" 

Sehun didn't protest against it as he let him be where Inha had wrapped her arms around Yoojung's shoulders for a hug as the four of them stared ahead; the cold didn't seem to be bothering at the moment as their nonsense conversations of nothing which ended up being in a fit of laughter was warm enough. 

The people were warm enough; warm enough to cherish. 

______________________________________

1:03 pm

"We're here!" 

Inha's excited exclamation was louder than the music playing in the car as the four people seated inside had to close their eyes with a startle yet the girl had giggled it off; too exciting for this trip to mind them as the next minute she was tapping Sehun's shoulder or say smacking for him to get out of car for her to be out of it. 

The excited girl was sandwiched between him and Yoojung. 

"Stop hitting me!" Sehun grumbled, behind a hiss as he got another one to get off the car with Inha jumping out the next second with a smile; her smile widening. "Finally!" 

Sehun had to take a moment to himself as his eyes gazed at her excited self in a lost trance; a smile gracing his lips on its own at it, or at her. 

Yoojung got off the car to look at the located apartment not so far away from the beach; her eyes looked around to find some people walking around the streets with few cars passing by the spot where they had been standing at and a smile crept on her lips as she walked to the front door of the apartment with a quick brush through her hair. 

"Yoojung, you have to find the best room for us!" 

Yoojung had to shake her head at Inha's words to look over her shoulder at her. "I didn't get the keys yet." 

"We have it!" 

The keys were thrown towards her which she caught while almost losing it by the sudden action where the person whom the keys were snatched from was standing with a gaped look; a glare toward Inha who did the deed. 

"Inha-" 

"Yoojung, get the best room!" 

Inha ran past Minho with a squeal as Yoojung had opened the front door with a smile to walk inside with Inha behind her where Minho who was about to yell again was interrupted yet again. 

"Sehun-ah, stop them!" 

The next moment Minho found Sehun jogging inside with a smile and he had to chant the word control multiple times before shooting a glare toward his brother who was grinning like the world never seemed so beautiful before while taking out the stuff from the trunk. 

Minho sighed; his eyes looking at the sky. "Let's not lose control, Minho." 

As soon as Sehun entered inside, he found Inha climbing the staircase; her hair behind her shoulder in a mess of continuous finger brushes but his eyes noticed something more; her hair seemed to have grown more than before as he walked towards her to stop just a few steps on the stairs behind her only for her to turn around. 

"Let me through." He said, though he couldn't shoo away the unknown waver in his heart the moment his eyes met hers with a warmth as he attempted to walk past her only for her to block his way as Inha stared back at him with her arms opened as if blocking his way. "Nope, not until we find our room." 

He rolled his eyes at her pose. "You think this will stop me?" 

Her forehead creased. "Of course." 

His head tilted with a look. "Baek Inha, move." 

Inha felt her heart skip a beat the way his eyes bored into hers intensely enough; as her lips parted. "Make me, Oh Sehun." 

And this time, he couldn't shoo away the feeling of that beat skip in his heart and he his lips before climbing one step as his eyes didn't break the eyecontact with her. "You really left me with no option." 

Before Inha could have adapted his sudden action, Sehun was quick to grab her wrist to bend over and the next moment she was being carried over his shoulder behind a loud gasp of her. 

"Yah, Oh Sehun!" 

"Are you crazy? Put me down!" Her legs wriggled as she protested but he climbed the stairs nonchalantly with his arm around the back of her knees before a yelp left his lips as she straightened herself making him stop his steps to find her torso hovering over him; her hands either side of his shoulders as her glaring eyes met his surprised ones which slowly turned intent. 

"Inha, I found the perfect room for us!" 

Yoojung's shout flinched them enough, enough for Sehun to stumble back with Inha's foot being swayed to the side only to swing something against it which fell on the floor with shattered pieces of glasses as the trio gasped together. 

The shattered vase was lying on the floor in a broken state. 

"What did you do now?!" 

And it wasn't enough so Minho climbed the stairs with a panic state to gasp loudly at the sight, he didn't know which sight he should be being more attentive; the broken vase on the floor of his friend's apartment or the sight where her sister was in a carried state by his brother like kid. 

"Aren't you going to put her down?" 

He looked at Sehun, and the two of the youngsters had to look at each other with an awkward look as Inha gestured him to do so but to her surprise, he walked a little further from the shattered vase to place her down gently as the next minute he looked away; scratching his nape with an embarrassed manner. 

"Did you guys find the room-what is this?" Jins