The sound of my deep breaths filled the room and my mouth felt dry. I knew I had to say something, anything, in response to what Kris had said. But my mind was constantly changing from having a million flitting thoughts, to having none at all.

Kris’ head was still bowed down; seemingly afraid of what I was about to say.

I looked down at this shell of a man, kneeled down in front of me and my heart broke. I gingerly reached out and cupped his cheek.

The words slipped out before I could even register them, “I forgive you.”

It only took a millisecond for Kris to break character and his head lifted up and his face broke out into a grin.

“C-can I hug you..?” He hesitated.

I nodded slowly and found myself in his warm embrace a few seconds after.

I breathed in his comforting scent of vanilla cologne and rested my ear next to his quickening heartbeat.

Just as I was getting comfortable, Kris pulled back suddenly and scribbled down an address on my notebook.

“I’m sorry to do this to you Chanyeol, but I can’t be seen here, with you..right now.. Agh, I’ll explain everything tonight. Please, just meet me here tonight at 10 o’clock. Please.” Kris said worriedly.

I could barely comprehend what was happening; everything was moving so fast but I nodded dumbly and Kris gave me a quick peck on the cheek before opening the door and running outside.

I gently touched my cheek; the place Kris’ lips had been only moments before and smiled to myself. I had definitely made the right decision.

I pulled out my phone, ready to tell Sehun and Kai about the happenings that had just unfolded, but looking at my phone, I saw 5 missed calls from Kai and I my brows furrowed in concern.  I quickly dialled Kai’s number and waited with bated breath for him to pick up.

After what seemed like forever, he finally picked up.

“Yoboseyo?” He said breathily.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON KAI?!” I shouted.

“Yeah uh you might want to uh,” He said in between breaths, “You might want to avoid Sehun and Luhan for a while..”

“Wait, what?!” I frowned, “What’s going on? And why do you sound so out of breath?!”

“I uh may have instigated the break-up of the century and am currently running for my life right now..”

I gasped, “What?! Sehun..Luhan…break up?! What did you do Kai??”

“Look,” He took another deep breath, “I did what had to be done okay? Anyway, I’ll talk to you soon…Unless I end up skinned alive by a furious Luhan.”

I groaned in frustration, “Ughh Kai, I thought you said you’d never get involved!”

“Yeah well..I lied… I’ll talk to you soon Yeollie.”

I sighed and wished him luck before hanging up.

I massaged my temples in annoyance, just when I thought things were going well and everything was happy and harmonious, Kai has to go wreck havoc on Sehun and Luhan’s relationship.

I tried to clear my head and calm my thoughts before calling Sehun. I couldn’t imagine the pain and hurt he must be going through right now and I needed to see him as soon as possible to try and clear some things up for him.

He didn’t answer the first two calls but on the third try, he picked up and I could hear the clear distress in his voice.

“What?” He muttered.

“Sehunnie, oh god I’m so glad you picked up. Where are you???”

“Why does it matter…” He sighed.

“Sehunnie, please, just tell me where you are right now.” I said anxiously.

“Whatever, Chanyeol, just..stay out of this.”

“OH SEHUN. You tell me where you are right now, or god forbid I will do something stupid like drive up and down the streets of Seoul shouting your name through a megaphone.” I shouted.

I heard him pause before sighing again.

“..Ugh fine. Just because I wouldn’t put it past you to do something like that.. I’m sitting on the swings in the park opposite uni.”

“Good, stay there. I’ll be there soon.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was easy to spot Sehun. He was the only person there and you could almost spot the misery irradiating from his solitary figure. I ran over to him and hugged him gently.

I lifted his head up and wiped the excess tears on his face with the sleeve of my jacket.

“Sehunnie, please, just tell me what happened.”  I said softly.

Sehun sniffed before speaking hoarsely, “One minute I was arguing with Luhan about why he won’t accept my gifts, and the next minute Kai butts in and is saying horrible, absolutely horrible things about Luhan.”

I his back in smooth circular motions as I asked hesitantly, “What kind of things…?”

“Things like how Luhan has been cheating on me and stealing from me..” He hiccupped.

“Oh Sehunnie….” I said sadly.

“And you know the worst part?” Sehun croaked, “He didn’t deny any of it!! He had the nerve to stand there and listen to all this in silence!”

I pulled Sehun to me and hugged him, “Shh, shh Sehunnie, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

“H-hyung,” He stuttered, “How could I be so stupid? This was all happening right under my nose! And everyone knew except for me!!”

He suddenly pulled back, “Wait, did you know too?!”

My eyes widened, unsure of what I should I say. But the silence gave me away and Sehun burst into fresh tears, “I can’t believe you knew too and you didn’t say anything!!!!!”

“Please, Sehunnie, please you have to believe me. I really did want to say something; but Kai made me promise not to for the sake of your friendship.”

Sehun snorted, “Yeah, fat load of good that did!”

I pulled him towards me again, “Please Sehunnie, please understand us. We thought we were doing the right thing. We could all see how in love you guys were, we didn’t want to ruin anything…”

“How could you let me be with someone like that though!?!” He said angrily, “He was sleeping around and taking my money and still everyone thought that it was a good thing that I was with him?!”

I cringed at his outburst and nodded, “You’re right Sehun. I’m sorry, I really am truly sorry. I thought we were doing this to protect you, but..obviously we failed.”

“Yeah, obviously.” Sehun said bitterly.

I paused, unsure of whether to tell him about Luhan’s recent changes. But seeing Sehun already having reached rock-bottom, I thought I might as well since there was nothing to lose.

“Sehunnie, I uh, am not sure if I should be telling you this..but for what it’s worth; he wanted to change for you, in fact he did. For the past few weeks he’s been working odd jobs to try and pay at least a fraction back for what you gave to him. And um, the only reason he needed money in the first place was for his sick mother back in China..”

Sehun stayed still, still digesting the information.

“Look, fine, I get it. People go to great lengths for the ones they love but that still doesn’t excuse the fact that he slept around when he was still with me!” He seethed.

“Look, I know it’s not my place, but I just..I want you to know the facts. Well, I’m not even sure they’re the facts, I mean they could be lies for all I know but-“

“For god’s sake Chanyeol, just get to the point!”

“Okay, um, well in Luhan’s words, the reason he slept with other people is because he couldn’t risk falling in love with you. He thinks you’re too good for him and that he doesn’t deserve someone like you…”

Sehun had fallen silent and tears were falling from his eyes again.

“I’m sorry Sehunnie, I shouldn’t have said anything..” I whispered.

Sehun shook his head quickly, “Anni, anni, I’m glad you did. I’m…sorry you have to see me like this.. You’re a good friend Yeollie.”

I smiled wryly and pulled him in for another hug.

Sehun sighed into my chest and mumbled, “Why did I have to fall for the complicated ones?”

“I’m sorry Sehunnie. But that’s what makes life interesting right? You meet all sorts of different people along the way and then it’s your decision whether you want to keep them or leave them.”

“I have to decide what to do with Luhan don’t I?” Sehun winced.

I nodded gently and Sehun gave a small groan of frustration.

“I think, I’m going to go home and just mull things over for a while.” Sehun said slowly.

“Yeah, of course. And I’m here if you need to talk or cry or anything.” I smiled.

“Thanks Yeollie, I owe you big time.” Sehun hugged me one last time before walking off towards his house.

I ran my hands through my hair and let out a long sigh. It felt like I had been on a rollercoaster ride of emotions today and I was sure that tonight would be no different.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The address Kris had scribbled down was near the Han River and since I lived so close to it, I only needed ten minutes to get there. It was hell waiting for the clock to tick to 9:50; it seemed like all I was doing the whole night was watching the second hand move on my grandfather clock.

A short brisk walk and I had arrived. The night air was chilly and I regretted only wearing a thin cardigan. Before I had even crossed my arms to conserve heat, a pair of arms encircled me from behind and the familiar scent of vanilla greeted me.

I turned around quickly and ended up looking straight into Kris’ sparking eyes under the moonlight.

“You came!” He exclaimed.

I smirked, “Of course, you left me all of a sudden today. I wasn’t happy you just left after only kissing me once.”

Kris blushed and scratched the back of his neck nervously, “Oh um, again, I’m sorry about that…”

“Hmm,” I pondered out loud, “There is a way to make it up to me..”

Kris nodded quickly, “Anything.”

“Kiss me again.”

Kris paused for a second before pulling my waist close and kissing me gently on the lips.

I felt my entire body melt into his and let out a small moan of satisfaction. Before I could deepen the kiss, Kris pulled back.

“I’m sorry Yeollie, but, I have to tell you something before we continue.” He said regrettably.

“Well..make it quick! I don’t like this kissing and stopping business!”

“Chanyeol, I really really like you.” He started.

I shook my head in confusion, “Uh, I also really really like you?”

He smiled faintly before continuing, “But the thing is, Chanyeol…we…can’t be together…”

I took a step back in shock.

“What?! First you say you like me, and then you force me away. And then you kiss me and tell me we can’t be together?! Make up your freaking mind!” I scowled.

“No, Chanyeol, please listen to me,” Kris said whilst pulling me back towards him, “A week ago, a colleague of mine saw us together and blackmailed me. My supervisor found out and threatened to cut me from the Honours programme..”

I gasped before cringing, “Oh god, I’m so sorry Kris, I had no idea it was like that..”

“Please don’t apologize Chanyeol, this is utterly my fault and I’m so sorry I caused you so much pain over the past week.” Kris said as he gently caressed my cheek.

“Yeah uh, I wasn’t in thaaat much pain..” I muttered.

“What?” Kris said in a small voice.

I rolled my eyes, “I’m kidding pabo! I cried for days okay. You broke my heart.”

Kris pulled me in for a tight hug and mumbled, “I’m sorry, I will never ever do that again.”

“Good,” I smiled, “Okay now what’s this about your colleague? Why would he do something like that?”

Kris bit his lip in hesitation, “Um, he was uh actually my ex.. The one you saw me breaking up with in the pizza parlour..”

“..That son of a .”

Kris laughed heartily, “Yeah, my sentiments exactly.”

“Well, what are we going to do about this?? Surely he was trespassing on our privacy?! Can’t we do something about it?? We should ask your friend Yixing for help! Isn’t he one of your colleagues too?” I said frantically. 

Kris flinched at the name of his friend and I had to ask, “What..what’s wrong with Yixing?”

“Nothing, nothing we uh just..aren’t really on speaking terms right now.” Kris sighed.

“…What happened?!”

“I may have…accidentally..accused him of doing this…” Kris mumbled.

“ARE YOU STUPID?!” I shouted, “He’s your best friend!!!!!” 

Kris ducked his head in shame, “I know, I know, I just wasn’t thinking straight and I was so angry and ugh, I regret it so much!”

I sighed, “Okay, what’s done is done.. But I think you should apologize to him.”

“I’ve tried!! This past week, I’ve literally called him every hour and driven to his place every day. But he’s giving me the silent treatment and ignoring me on every single level.” Kris said sadly.

I squeezed Kris’ hand gently, “Don’t worry Kris, I’ll help you. We’re gonna get you your best friend back and then we’re gonna plow down your ex, okay?”

Kris chuckled and replied with a soft kiss before pulling me towards his car.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” He smiled.

“I know, I know.” I sing-songed.

“I think...you should be rewarded for being such an amazin person.” Kris winked as he opened the car door for me.

“Why thank you kind sir, I do enjoy being rewarded.” I smirked as I pulled him into the back seat with me. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Author's Note: eeee you guys were so awesome last chapter, i absolutely loved reading all your comments, they kept me so happy throughout the week! <3 and helloooo to all my new subscribers!!! thank you so much for subbing, i hope you guys are all enjoying it! i'm not gonna lie, i have no idea how i'm going to end this but um the next chapter maaaaay be the next chapter?!?!?!?! idk idk hahaha i'm gonna miss writing for you amazing people though!!! :'( much love to all of you!!!!! <3