Sehun called and the man stood up before turning back to face him. 

 

“Sehun-ah, what took you so long? Asking to meet me in the middle of…” he trailed off as he saw the person next to Sehun. It was clear that he didn’t expect Jinri's appearance at all; his eyes were widened and his mouth was slightly agape at the sight of her. 

When he had recovered from the shock, he looked back at Sehun who smiled widely at him; Sehun’s eyes were in the shape of a cresent moon. Sehun walked closer to Luhan and pulled the almost-crying Jinri along with him. He let go her hand and went toward Luhan to grab Luhan’s arm. 

 

“Hyung,” Sehun called Luhan; Sehun's voice slightly wavered, his hand slightly trembled as he squeezed Luhan’s arm determinedly, “you owe me now. Big time.” Sehun’s hand grazed down Luhan’s arm before he let go it and walked past Luhan without looking back, leaving the older man frozen on his spot.

 

 "Sehun...." Luhan whispered in disbelief; worry was shone through his dark orbs as his trained eyes followed Sehun's retreating back slowly engulfed by the dark night. Luhan unthinkingly touched the arm where Sehun's were before in poignant manner. 

 

When Sehun was no longer in sight, Luhan looked back at Jinri with unreadable expression painted on his handsome face. As Jinri's eyes met his, she felt her vision became blurred by tears. She felt her cheeks were dampened and heard footsteps hurriedly came closer to her. She felt a pair of familiar warm hands embraced her tightly in urgency and recognizable cologne greeted her senses.

She cried against his firm chest, shaking with overflowing feelings that she had kept for the last few days.

 

 

 She didn’t want to admit it but she was glad to meet him again.   

---

 

Jinri didn’t know how long she cried nor did she care about it. When her crying had subsided, she realized that she was seated next to Luhan on the bench, her head was laid on his chest while her body was enveloped by Luhan’s arms. His chin was resting on top of her head; his lips sometimes grazed her hair. The park was really quiet; it was probably sometimes after midnight. All she could hear was Luhan’s calm heartbeats and steady breathing that were synchronized with hers. The stillness was both relaxing and soothing but there was still some questions bubbling in her mind.  

 

“Oppa, do you like me?" Jinri waited for Luhan to answer her but she heard nothing from the him. Nevertheless, she could hear that his heartbeats gradually sped up at her question. She looked up at him inquiringly and saw him turned his face away hastily, his face were graced with hints of scarlet. It was amusing to see the usually collected Luhan flustered like a teenager he once were.

 

“Do you really need to ask that?” She heard him muttered lowly and saw his white cheeks flushed even more. She shifted in his arms and he calmly tightened his hold on her. His heart, on the contrary, beat in an erratic speed just like hers. Jinri smiled; even if he didn't say anything, his body had answered her. It wasn’t enough for her—no, she needed a clear statement from him after he broke her heart again and again in the past half a year—but she was going to leave him and Seoul in less than 24 hours so she didn't think that any explanation from Luhan could make her feel better. However, her curiosity got the better of her. 

 

"But, Oppa, aren't you in love with Sehun? I'm getting confused."

 

Luhan took her deeper into his embrace while his left hand ran its fingers through her long tresses. "You are not the only one who is clueless here, Jinri-ah." Luhan honestly answered; his gaze was directed to the not so stary sky in a pondering manner. "I did like Sehun and I'm quite certain about it but with you..." He paused as he encircled his fingers with her black locks and took them closer to him before grazing them on his lips. Jinri's heart pace quickened at his act of intimacy but she struggled to keep her composure and looked up at him, only to meet his troubled expression; frailty were screaming from his eyes. It piqued her that someone as matured and composed as Luhan could be seemed so vulnerable all of a sudden. It amazed her, how love could strongly affect a man. 

 

Luhan untangled his fingers from her hair to softly brushed her bangs away while staring down at her lovingly. "I... To be honest, I have never had an interest in the opposite gender before, Jinri-ah. It took me some time to realize that there could be an exception. That you are an exception." His eyes looked at her with such intensity that Jinri had to tear her gaze from Luhan and leaned on his chest again.

 

"I used to be uncertain of where my heart lies but when I saw you cried that day, I know that I just want to see your bright smile again," he paused his whispering to rest his chin on top of her head. "I know that an apology wouldn't make up for all the tears and pains you have gone through because of me but I am really deeply sorry," he softly apologized before before kissing the hair on top of her head affectionately. 

 

Jinri unthinkingly sighed to his shirt. She had finally started to understand him. He was as confused as she was about his own feelings. Love is such a mystery that even people as smart as Luhan and her were still hopelessly mystified by its complexity.

Jinri leaned more into his embrace to cherish what might have been her last moments with him. His steady heartbeat was comforting her and his warm hand that had moved to caress her hair soothed her. Her eyes slowly fluttering close as the relaxed atmosphere lulled her to sleep. She was already halfway asleep when she heard Luhan called her faintly, “Jinri-ah, let’s get you home.” 

 

She lazily opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Can’t I just sleep here?” she spontaneously blurted out without thinking. Luhan’s chuckles reverberated on his chest, sending her a warm and fuzzy feeling. 

 

“No, Jinri. You need to go home. It’s cold here. Come on.” Luhan tried to stand up but Jinri’s weight kept him down. 

 

“Jinri-ah…” he called her but she didn’t budge. So he lifted her up with his one hand under her knees and the other at the back of her neck. 

 

“Oppa!” she exclaimed in panic as she could feel her feet no longer touching the ground. Her hands instinctively encircled his neck in a tight hold, fearing of the sudden increase of height. 

 

“You have a plane to catch tomorrow; you mustn’t catch a cold now. Besides, your parents will be looking for you.” He continued to carry her and Jinri blushed as she realized how he had carried her: it was the bridal style. He stopped in front of his black sedan and gently dropped her down in the passenger seat. He buckled the seat belt for her before going to the driver side. He quickly started the engine and the car light. 

 

Familiar jazz tune filled the car as soon as they left the park. Jinri stared at the view beside her—Luhan in his black jacket was driving casually, his slender fingerswere  drumming the steering wheel to the beat, and his brilliant eyes were focused on the road—and wondered if this would be the last time he drove her like this. She was going to fly to Beijing soon and there was no guarantee that she would be going back to Seoul someday. The feeling was finally mutual but she had to leave him. How ironic.

 

“Oppa, I like you.”

 

A soft smile formed on his lips.  “I know,” he gently answered. He no longer refused; he no longer rejected; he had finally accepted it.

 

 “Can’t I just stay in Seoul with you? Or can’t you go with me to Beijing? That is your hometown, right?”

Luhan his lower lip again—sometimes Jinri wondered why Luhan and Sehun had such similar habits—without saying anything. His eyes, though, seemed like he was seriously contemplating on which option he should choose. 

 

“You are seventeen, Jinri-ah. You need to live with your parents. You can’t live on your own, at least not now,” he slowly spoke. When she didn’t respond, he continued. “And about me going back to Beijing… Well… I… work here.” He ended his reply with a bitter smile. There was something else in the way Beijing rolled from his tongue—something that piqued her for unknown reason—but there was also finality in his tone so she knew better than to pry into his private matter. Nevertheless, she understood: it was the end for them. It is very funny, she thought, how a happy ending ends so quickly. 

 

“By the way, aren’t you grounded? How could you get out of your house?” Luhan nonchalantly started a lighter conversation while making a left turn. Jinri giggled at the question. 

 

“Ah. Do you remember that big tree next to my room?” 

 

“Yes, why? Oh no. Wait. No way. Don’t tell me you…” 

 

“Yeah. It has been my gateway from hell since I was a kid.” 

 

“Oh my God, Jinri-ah. I can’t… You’re not… For God sake, you are a girl, Jinri!” 

 

“Yes, I am but I also have two fully functional legs. I may have the long hair but I’m not exactly the princess-kind of girl. I can climb, you know?”

 

Luhan was silenced for a while before he spoke again. “So… when I drop you off in front of the house tonight, you will…” 

 

“Yeah. It’s not like my parents would gladly open the front door for me. I’m supposed to be inside right now, sleeping soundly before my flight tomorrow.”

 

Luhan scratched his head with one hand; he was clearly disagreeing with her climbing her way in to her room but she didn’t have any other choice. He kept his mouth—unusually—shut during the rest of the ride. He slowly decelerated the car and stopped it in front of her house. 

 

Jinri was unbuckling the belt when she heard him spoke. “When will your plane be leaving tomorrow--no-- later today?”

 

She looked up at him in the eyes and saw him stared at her expectantly. 

 

“I’m going to depart at 1 pm but I need to check in somewhere around 11 am. Why? You’re not coming to see me off anyway, right?” She didn’t mean to sound so rude but it was the truth. Luhan wouldn’t—he couldn’t—come to see her off because her parents would gladly bit his head off if he showed up anywhere near their precious only daughter.

 

He smiled sullenly while unbuckling his own seatbelt. “Yeah. I guess this is goodbye, then?” 

 

Jinri bit the insides of her cheeks to hold the tears that were threatening to come out again. 

 

“Yeah.” 

 

She didn’t want to sound so weak but her voice was trembling. This would probably be the last time she saw him. 

 

“Can I kiss you one last time?” 

 

Jinri nodded wordlessly, a lone tear sled to her cheek. Luhan propped himself by placing one of his hands on the rack between their seats. He slowly leaned down to her; his other hand gently caressed her cheek. His eyes fluttered close, triggering hers to do the same and letting the tears fell from her eyes. She could feel his breath fanning her before his soft lips landed on hers. It was a sweet and gentle kiss, soothing and calming like the kiss he gave her when she cried the other night. 

 

Luhan pulled back and placed his forehead on hers--a lovely yet poignant smile graced his lips. His eyes looked at her longingly for a split seconds before his long eyelashes fluttered close for the second time. “Jinri,” he murmured softly into her lips before he closed the gap between them again; this time more forceful and needy. His lips moved deeper with hers in passion and desire. It was a kiss that left her breathless when he finally pulled away from her. He kissed her cheeks—where her tears were—and then the tip of her nose before he retreated back to his seat. 

 

Another warm eye smile was displayed on his pretty face. It was the kind of smile that she hated because it hindered her from looking directly to his heart but it was also contagious as she found herself subconsciously smiling back at him. She didn't want to go out of his car but she had to, so she reluctantly opened the door and step out of it.

 

“Thank you for everything,” she said without looking back as she closed the car door behind her. She first climbed the fence before she went up to the tree. When she arrived at her balcony, she looked down to the road and found his car was still there. She saw him rolled down his window and waved at her—she couldn’t see his face or maybe she just didn’t want to. She waved back as the car slowly gathered its speed and disappeared at the end of the road. She soundlessly opened her balcony door and entered her room. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she leaned against the balcony door. 

 

 

It was the last time she could see him. She probably would never meet him again.

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TBC

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AN:

Finally, I wrote an update. I'm sorry that it takes so long. I am really busy with my new job and could hardly make time to write anything. Thank you so much for all the comments for the previous chapters because those are what keeping my energy to write this one. Thank you for the support, the votes, and the subbs. I hope you could shower this chapter with much love as well. The next chapter will be the finale, please look forward to it. 

With many-many thankful love,

himalayancat