[Sehun’s POV]

I continued to move closer to Hyemi. 

Rather than meeting her fierce and piercing stare, I saw a look of nervousness instead. She made no attempt to push me away and just allowed me to invade her personal space. The distance between us erased slowly and it seemed like she wasn't going to anything about it.

“Did you hear me, Hyemi? What if I do like you?” I repeated, attempting to get some sort of reaction from her that I was familiar with.

“I don’t like what ifs. Just tell me if you do or you don’t,” she answered with a steady voice. 

We now found ourselves dangerously close to each other. I no longer felt cold. The temperature in the room only rose higher. I no longer heard the storm outside as it was replaced by the loud thumping of my heart. My eyes then travelled down to her lips. They looked so inviting.

“How about I show you instead?” I said.

It was too late to stop myself right there. There was not enough time for me to listen to my own thoughts and worry about the consequences that would follow. 

Without hesitating, I pressed a kiss on Hyemi’s lips. 

[Hyemi’s POV]

PANIC. PANIC. PANIC.

I placed my hands on Sehun’s chest and gripped on his shirt. Our lips parted seconds later and all I did was stare at him in astonishment.

“S-S-Sehun?” I stuttered nervously. My heart was pounding a mile a minute.

I don’t know if it was just my eyes playing tricks on me but he looked really attractive right now. 

Before I knew it, Sehun brought himself closer and captured my lips again. I felt his hand slide up my right arm, continuing onto my shoulder and then found its way behind my neck to pull me deeper into the kiss.

WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO?!

There was no way to know where Sehun suddenly found the courage to initiate such a forward and daring action. I was in complete shock that my mind and body stopped functioning altogether. I didn't know what to do. 

After we separated, I looked back at him in a daze. He searched my eyes for a brief moment before speaking.

“Is the answer clear now or should I try that again?” he asked. My blood rushed to my cheeks and no words came out of my mouth. 

Suddenly, a flash of lightning lit up the sky and a deafening roar of thunder reached our ears. The ceiling lights flickered before it turned off. Darkness immediately flooded the room.

“W-What just happened?” I finally found my voice.

“I think there’s a blackout,” Sehun answered. He made his way to the light switch and flicked it on and off a few times but unfortunately met the same outcome.

I was silently thanking the storm for causing a blackout at the perfect time because now I didn’t have to suffer the humiliation of having a red face in front of Sehun.

“I can’t see anything,” I said as I felt for the wall to get to where he was. 

This was a crucial disadvantage in a blackout. You’re basically blind.

I leaned my back against the wall and carefully slid down to take a seat on the ground. The empty space beside me was then filled with Sehun’s presence. The beating of my heart accelerated again at the close proximity.

“Can this get any worse?” he rhetorically asked.

Since my eyesight was temporarily lost, I had no choice but to rely on my other senses. Right now, my hearing was sharper than ever. Sehun’s deep and husky voice sounded good in my ears.

“You’re not scared of the dark, are you?” he randomly asked. I turned my head to him even though I knew I couldn’t see his face.

“Of course I’m not. I’m not a kid anymore,” I replied.

“But you’re afraid of ghosts. Remember that time when we watched a ghost documentary together? You freaked out,” he laughed lightly.

The mention of ghosts sent chills down my spine. 

“Stop right there. Just don’t,” I said in a firm voice.

“Imagine if this building’s haunted.”

WHY?!

“What the heck?! Shut up! Just shush! Lalalalalalala!” I covered my ears while I pressed myself on to him in fear. His arms automatically secured themselves around me.

After clearing my thoughts of ghosts, vampires and other scary mythical creatures, I just allowed myself to be embraced by Sehun. Nothing else was said or done as we stayed in this position. I loathed the fact that he was here, yet I was still thankful that he was for giving me a sense of security.

“You’re so mean,” I said without hatred or anger in my voice. It was rather just a plain statement.

“No, I’m not. I’m the nicest guy in the world,” he replied. 

“Really now?” I asked, unconvinced.

“Yeah, but you wouldn’t know that because you don’t actually know me."

Right. I almost forgot about that.

“If you think about it, you’re the one who’s mean,” Sehun stated.

I lifted my head that was resting on his chest, “What? That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is. You haven’t made any effort to get to know me. At least I know some things about you.”

I didn’t argue. We both knew he was right.

I inhaled deeply, making up my mind, “Alright.”

“Alright what?” he asked, puzzled.

“Let’s start over. Pretend that this is the first time we’re meeting. Tell me everything about yourself.”

♦ ♦ ♦

Time flew by so fast. I discovered many things about Sehun. I learnt everything; from all the simplest to the most complex details of who he was. It surprised me that we shared so many things in common. 

I started to see him differently.

After a while, our laughter and bickering ceased as we entered a more serious conversation.

“Hyemi, things will be different after this meeting with my dad. I’m just letting you know now,” Sehun began, his voice softening.

What time is it right now, by the way?

“What do you mean? What’s going to change?” I questioned. 

“I don’t think I’ll be able to see much of you and Exo afterwards,” he answered.

“Why?” an unpleasant feeling started to stir inside me.

It took him a moment to announce what the reason was; contemplating on whether or not he should say it.

"Just tell me. It's not like it's bad news or anything," I said. 

“I’m moving to America.”

He dropped the bomb just like that. 

“What?” I breathed out.

“My family and I are leaving in three months.” 

My heart sank a little. “You can’t be serious.”

I hated how I couldn’t see his face at this moment. I prayed that the lights would miraculously turn on so that I could witness his expression. 

We remained quiet for a really long time. I was feeling a mixture of different emotions. 

“You’re so selfish,” I finally spoke.

“What?” Sehun sounded surprised.

“Why would you do this? Why would you talk to me about us being strangers, convince me to get closer to you and then just say you’re leaving?”

“Hyemi, that was never my intention. You know that.”

Suddenly, a very loud thud was heard downstairs as if a door had just burst open. Sehun and I instantly froze.

“What was that?” his voice sounded alarmed.

He took hold of my arm and made me stand up with him. We opened the door slightly and peeked through the small gap. I noticed shadows walking around and flashlights aimlessly pointing around the place. 

"Let's search the apartments one more time. Go upstairs," a man ordered. 

What?! 

We shut the door quietly before panicking. The sudden news of his future departure became less significant as we focused on the issue at hand.

“How do we get out of here?!” I whispered loudly.

“Let’s hide first!” Sehun suggested. I spun 360 degrees, but saw nothing but pitch black.

“There’s nowhere to hide!”

Sehun immediately cupped my mouth with his hand when chains were heard rattling at the other side of the door. 

"Are you sure there's people in this building?" a voice asked.

"Yeah. People spotted two teenagers go inside this afternoon. Also, a light was in one of the rooms," another man answered. 

Fear instantly took over me. 

Without warning, the door of the room we were in swung open. Sehun urgently pulled me into his chest, enveloping me in his arms protectively. We were behind the door and were hidden from their sight. A bright beam of light suddenly darted through the room. The flashlight roamed the floor and the walls, seeing emptiness under the spotlight.

"No one's here."

"Good. This building needs to be clear because it'll be demolished tomorrow morning," one man answered. 

Seeing that nothing was out of the ordinary here, the two men left and climbed upstairs. Sehun and I heaved a huge sigh of relief. We let a few minutes pass to ensure that they weren't going to return and that no one else was in the hallways. When it was safe, we exited the room in a hurry. I remembered we had our cell phones with us and used the screen light to guide us in the dark. 

"Wait!" Sehun abruptly stopped. I turned to him in alarm. 

"What?!" I asked. 

"I found a penny. Look," he knelt down and casually picked it up from the ground. I gawked at him.

Who would even bother in this situation?!

"Sehun, do want us to get caught?! Put that stupid penny back!"

"No! I found it. It means it's lucky."

I grabbed his arm and we proceeded to make our way downstairs cautiously.  

Movement near the front door of the apartment complex instantly caught my eye and more shadows appeared around the corner. Sehun noticed and immediately slammed me against a wall when we entered the nearest hallway on the first floor to hide. He then cautiously poked his head out to evaluate the scene. 

"It's the police," he whispered. 

I swallowed a huge lump in my throat, scared at the thought of getting caught red-handed and arrested on the spot. 

"They went in a room and the building's front door's already open. We can just run for it," he continued to plot our escape. 

At that moment, all the lights in the building , causing both of us to squint. The power was back on.

"This is all your fault. This wouldn’t have happened if you had listened to me in the first place," I said through gritted teeth. 

"Can we not do this right now? Let's get out of here first," he said as he held a firm grip on my wrist. "Get ready."

I looked at him with wide eyes, "N-Now?!"

"No, tomorrow," he replied sarcastically. 

"Why can't we wait for them to leave first?!" I suggested. 

"Where's the fun in that?"

"This isn't a game! How can you be enjoying this right now?"

He scoffed. 

"I'm not, okay? I'm scared. Not for me, but for you. This was the last thing I wanted to happen and I feel guilty for dragging you into this. I'm sorry," he said wholeheartedly. 

"Wait. I think I heard voices over here," one of the policeman suddenly said. Their footsteps came nearer. Sehun and I gave each other one final glance. 

"We need to go," we said in unison. 

♦ ♦ ♦

I don't know how but we managed to escape the abandoned apartment complex without getting caught. The only thing preventing us from actually making it to the open street was the tall wired fence surrounding a construction site that we unknowingly entered.

“Climb up first. Hurry,” Sehun said, constantly looking back to see if we were being chased.

My fingers grabbed onto the thin, metal wires and I secured my foot in the small gap before hoisting myself up. Sehun placed his hands on my waist and assisted me.

“Kids! What do you think you’re doing over there?!” a voice shouted from a distance. 

Sehun’s grip on me tightened and I knew I had to quickly climb over this fence so that he could get a chance to make it too. Police or not, there was no way we were letting ourselves get caught. I successfully jumped to the other side and Sehun already reached the top when I looked up. 

“Be careful!” I shouted when he almost lost his balance. He hissed in pain when he leaped off the fence. 

Once his feet landed on the ground he squeezed his arm and silently cursed. There wasn’t time for me to ask him what was wrong as he grabbed my wrist and made us run out of the place.

“I think we can stop now,” Sehun slowed us down after we mixed with the crowd of people walking up and down the street. The rain has stopped. We were both panting and out of breath.

“Remind me to never go anywhere with you ever again!” I said in between breaths, glaring at him.

“Hey, at least nothing extremely bad happened. This lucky penny saved us,” he pulled the coin out from his pocket and tossed it in air.

“It made everything worst!”

I started hitting him. 

“Ow!” he immediately grabbed onto his left arm when I hit a particular spot. I gasped when I saw a large bloodstain on his white sleeve.

“S-Sehun,” I began to panic.

“I’m fine,” he assured, attempting to hide the pain he was feeling.

“No, you’re not. Let me see,” I quickly rolled up his sleeve to examine his injury. There was a huge cut on his forearm. “Oh my god.”

“It’s not that deep. My arm just got caught in the wire before I jumped off the fence,” he said. 

I led him to the nearest street bench and sat him down.

“Wait right here. I’ll find a first aid kit,” I told him before rushing inside a pharmacy store.

When I returned, I opened the kit and took a cloth to wipe off his blood. Sehun would occasionally hiss in pain each time a dab of ointment was placed on the cut which cause me to quickly retreat in fear. 

“It hurts,” Sehun whined for the fifth time.

“Hold still,” I said.

“You’re not even being gentle! Why are your hands shaking?!”

“I’m doing it as painlessly as possible!”

“Well, you’re not doing a good job!”

After cleaning everything, I wrapped a bandage around his arm. 

“There,” I gently caressed it. 

“Thanks,” he said as he cradled his injured arm.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” my eyes travelled him from head to toe.

“No,” he replied.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I sighed in relief.

“What about you? Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re such a mess,” he moved a strand of hair away from my face and then dusted my clothes off.

Then he paused.

"Wait, what time is it?" he asked. I took my phone out and looked at the screen. 

"6:15. Why?"

"I'm late," he spoke with a worried expression. 

"For what?"

"My six o'clock meeting. I'm late! Come on, we have to hurry!" he grabbed my wrist and dragged me for another run. 

"Hold on! Argh! I stepped on a puddle! Sehun!" I cried as I felt the cold water seep through my left shoe. 

We finally made it to the building where Sehun’s father's office was located. A man in business attire was waiting in the lounge in the lobby. Once he saw us, he stood up and carried his briefcase. Sehun and I just watched as he approached us with a stern look on his face.

"You missed the meeting," he went straight to the point without a greeting.

There was no need to guess who this person was.

"I know. Sorry, dad," Sehun apologized. 

"I specifically told you to come right after you finished school. We talked about it this morning. You weren't answering my calls either," Mr Oh said.

"I had something to do after school and there was heavy traffic along the way. Not to mention there was a storm an hour ago. There was no reception."

It seemed like Sehun had all the answers prepared. Throughout this whole time, I had my eyes fixed on him. I studied his facial expressions; how his jaw clenched, how his forehead creased in a frown and the way his lips moved when he spoke.

"And who’s this young girl you brought along?" 

I then locked eyes with Sehun. I realized their attention was on me now.

“What’s your name?” Mr Oh’s voice pulled me away from Sehun’s gaze.

“Hello. I’m Park Hyemi. It’s nice to meet you,” I bowed to him.

“Pleasure,” he slightly bowed in return. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Hyemi, but are you the reason why Sehun is late?”

"No. She's not," Sehun abruptly spoke.

"Actually, yes, it is. I made him go everywhere in the city with me and I forgot he had someplace important to be. He would've made it on time if I hadn't forced him. I'm really sorry," I told him with sincerity.

"Is that so?" he glanced at Sehun before returning his eyes on me. Politely, he said, "Thank you for being honest. But I'd appreciate it if you didn't do this again."

"It won't happen again," I obediently answered.

"Okay. I'll take you both home now. Follow me," he said before guiding us to his car in the parking lot at the back of the building. 

♦ ♦ ♦

Sehun invaded my thoughts that night. I couldn’t sleep because of him.

I was left with so many unanswered questions like: Did he have a fight with his dad when they got home? Does this mean he’s not moving to America anymore? Why is he even moving to America? Is his arm feeling better? 

Despite not knowing the answers to any of these questions, there was one thing I was absolutely certain about.

Sehun likes me.