Lesson Five

Sehun may have been one whom others considered immature (though if you asked him, he wasn't), but he was certainly brought up with the mindset that every female, regardless of age, appearance, intelligence, and others, should be treated equally, and with proper manners. His mother had practically drilled this into his mind ever since he could talk; You must treat a female with respect, she said. Help her whenever she needs to, and don't complain. It's basic courtesy that should be instilled in every men.

And Sehun certainly did take his mother's words to heart - he helped them in areas he could, be it carrying books, solving maths equations, or holding up an umbrella. He never discriminated against girls. He had always politely declined the many proclamation of love by his so-called fangirls in his school. He was a gentleman (no matter how self-proclaiming that sounded), and he was proud of that.

But Sehun most definitely did not learn how to comfort a girl when she was crying. And that was why he only froze when he saw Jung Soojung curling up in a corner of the practice room, sniffling to herself and for Sehun to see.

He immediately shut his gaping mouth up and tried to mentally figure out what had happened. Why would Soojung cry? In the two years that he had known her, she was not one to let her smile leave her face. Even in face of the toughest difficulty, she had never given up, always choosing to strive harder.

"Why don't you ever cry?" Sehun asked her about a week before her official debut. This question was in his mind for quite a while now. They were sitting on the benches right next to the vending machine, where Sehun had encountered a sweaty Soojung who was having a short break from practicing while buying a bottle of water.

A momentary silence ensued and only Soojung's loud gulps were heard. As she capped the now empty bottle in her hands, she replied, "That's because crying is so insignificant. Sure, I don't mind crying tears of happiness, but I don't see the point in crying because you've failed. I'd rather it up and then cry afterwards when I see the fruits of my labour."

Sehun, in deep thought, nodded to her words. With a quick swipe, the water bottle in his hands were now in Soojung's, who had wiped out the whole bottle as quickly as she had to her own.

"Sorry, I was thirsty," A cheeky grin emerged on her face and she playfully punched his shoulders, as if that would take away the horrified look on Sehun's face.

So Sehun was stuck wondering whether it was appropriate to interrupt her crying at this point in time.

"Um... Soojung...?" He softly muttered, almost inaudibly, as if afraid that his words could potentially hurt her.

Just like a deer caught in the headlights, she lifted her head up quickly. Her sniffling immediately simmered down to nothing and she furiously rubbed her face with the back of her hand. (Sehun couldn't really see, since she wasn't facing him, but he suspected that she was rubbing her eyes. Rubbing her tears off, to be more exact.)

It wasn't until the silence had actually settled down and turned into a comfortable type of silence, unlike the tense one before, did Soojung turn around, face already etched with a smile. Sehun frowned, for he could see her swollen eyes and nose all red. Her smile was also wavering. She definitely cried.

"Oh hey! Sehun oppa, what's up?" She tried to sound as light-hearted as possible, which unfortunately did not effectively turn out that way; if anything, it sounded hoarse and full of fake optimism. If Sehun couldn't even tell that, he wouldn't be able to consider himself her friend, a very trusted one at that.

Slowly, he walked up to her, stopping only when he was right in front of her. He bent down to her eye level and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. Softly, as if he Soojung would break if he asked any louder, Sehun asked, "Soojung-ah... What happened?"

"What are you talking about? I'm fine..." She waved him off, but Sehun could immediately hear her voicing cracking, just so slightly.

If anything, Soojung was a strong person, Sehun would attest to that. It didn't make sense for her to cry if it was really nothing at all.

He stayed in the crouching position for a while, eyes averted to the area of floor next to Soojung, hands still on her shoulders. She, in turn, kept her silence, save for the occasional sniffles that she couldn't hold in. None of them moved. No one made a first move.

Sehun sighed defeatedly. He slowly stood up, stretching his stiff muscles and dusting his sweat pants. With one last look, he murmured, "Well, if you say there's nothing..." And he turned around, eyes only on the door which was firmly closed shut.

It wasn't until he had taken a few strides before Soojung croaked out, "Wait." Straight away, he spun around. Soojung seemed willing to talk now, and he wasn't about to let this chance slip away.

Briskly walking back, Sehun plopped himself right next to her. He gave her a thumbs up and a nod to indicate that he was ready and she could start talking now. Soojung couldn't help but giggle through her teary eyes.

At that moment, Soojung looked like a precious fragile doll, different from what her usual image was. Her usual walls of defenses were down; no longer was she the quirky, optimistic Soojung that held her head and pride up high - no, she was now a toned-down, sniffling Soojung that was in desperate need of a cup of hot chocolate (which Sehun was definitely going to buy later).

Gently, he patted her hair. To be honest, he wasn't quite sure where this was going, but he still tried to make himself sound as much as someone she could count on at this point in time; There wasn't anyone she could spill out to now.

"So... Mind telling me what's wrong?"

Soojung's laughter was now gone, and was pursed in a straight line. Her focus was now concentrated on her fingers, which had started to draw circles mindlessly on her propped-up knees.

Sehun kept his silence, for he knew that it would take some time to get her to open up.

It's okay. I have all the time in the-

"Well," Soojung's sweet voice broke his train of thoughts, but he was quick to abolish them. His ears were all on her now.

She shifted in her position uncomfortably, biting her lips from time to time. "You see... Recently, the news outlets have been criticizing me of my behaviour... They say that I'm rude, that I've no respect for my seniors, that I shouldn't participate in variety shows anymore."

Sehun almost dropped his jaws. Soojung? Rude? Disrespectful? She was possibly one of the sweetest girls he had ever met! She always bowed a full ninety degrees to anyone she came across, and never failed to give a smile. How could they say such bad things about her when they weren't true?

Her lips trembled noticeably. "I was tired that day- I mean, I'm always tired but I was especially tired that day because we had just wrapped up an overnight filming and I had to rush off for the next one and-" She stopped herself in midsentence.

"I'm probably complaining too much, right?"

Her sudden mutter rang an alarm in Sehun's head. It was silently calm, as if blaming herself for what had happened.

She puffed her cheeks out and scrunched her hair in slight frustration. "I mean, I'm an idol, and taking negative remarks are what idols are meant to do."

"But sometimes, it's hard."

Sudden jolt to his memory reminded him that it was never him giving all awe-inspiring speech to motivate and cheer the other up, but always the other way round. He had never seen her getting upset about anything, or at least, not to this extent.

It was guilt tripping him. He had to help Soojung. She had helped him way too many times already.

He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but inside, he wasn't sure of what to do at all. His talent was never counseling, and he couldn't give people constructive advice even if he squeezed his brains out for it. But this time, he had to try.

"Look," he started. "Maybe you shouldn't think this as negative remarks. Think of it as criticisms. Advice. Whatever. Think that they're trying to help you, not out you down."

She turned to him, her dark brown orbs looking into his. "But... How?"

"Well, um," he was caught off-guard. "You know... Instead of thinking about it as, 'Hey they're saying that I'm rude and disrespectful', think about it as, 'Hey, they're saying that I should learn how to act better in front of the camera'. Thinking positively does work."

Soojung nodded slowly, digesting his every word. "Ah, you're right! It does sound better when you put in that way." She smiled, eyes curving into crescents. Sehun instantly became brighter as well. That was the Soojung he had always known.

Oh yeah. One more thing. "Soojung-ah," he called out. The said girl gave him a questioning look.

"Stop blaming yourself just because you're an idol. Even idols make mistakes. We're all human, anyway."

That moment, both of them looked into each other, understanding shown on their faces. And they smiled.

Soojung stood up, and Sehun did the same. "Okay! I shall be happy Krystal from now on! I shall not be affected by the criticisms that the media gives!" she pumped up her fists.

"It's Soojung, not Krystal," Sehun gently reminded her, with a slight smirk on his face. She responded by sticking out her tongue and wagging her finger at him playfully.

Now that things were sort of back to where they were...

"How about a cup of hot chocolate? My treat."

~~~

[A/N] WOOHOO! The MIA author finally updated! :D Okay I got guilty, and I had inspiration today (or night), so I finally finished typing out the other half! It's actually longer than most chapters by a few hundred words, but you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference ahaha ;)

Okay, back to the story. I didn't explicitly state it, but Sehun learnt how to give advice. It's obvious, but yayyy! :D And Krystal learnt something from Sehun! Omigosh finally I know haha XD But I didn't elaborate as much on it as I had wanted to, but I think it's not that bad this way either :>

And notice how Sehun jumps to Krystal's defense very quickly. A little bit overprotective huh? But it's because they know each other well, that's why.

I'm sorry once again for such a long delay. My exams are next week! :O I'll update again after that. If my hands are itchy... Well, I make no promises! :P Oh yeah, check out my YoonKai contest fic Of Circles & Of Stars if it sparks your interest and you can always message me here on AFF or tumblr to give me ideas! I welcome them all :>

One more thing before I go:

This is important kays IMPORTANT

kthxbai