The first week after Jinri officially became Sehun’s girlfriend went smoothly. She wasn’t surprised that there weren’t many changes in their relationship after they became a couple. In fact, no one seemed to become aware of the new couple, since, after all, they had always been really close. Jinri did notice though, that Sehun tended to let his arm linger longer on her waist – a part of her that he had never touched before – and ruffle her hair more affectionately than he used to. The most obvious difference was that Sehun always asked Jinri to wait for him after school and walk home with him on a daily basis. Since Luhan often spotted her on and her way home and gave her a ride, Jinri made Sehun take another route to her house to avoid Luhan – while reasoning that the longer road was more beautiful in the evening. The longer route, however, made her constantly late for her lessons with Luhan. Luhan didn’t make a fuss of it at first, but after she was late for five days in a row, he started questioning her.

“You do know that was start 7:30 sharp, right?”

“Ah, yes.” Jinri scratched her head guiltily. “I’m sorry.”

“Saying ‘sorry’ won’t give you your 30 minutes back, you know. It’s your loss, actually – I get to do nothing for half an hour and still get paid – but it’s worrying me as a teacher; because with your current fluency in Mandarin, I think you need that extra 30 minutes. Where have you been, lately?” Luhan asked her, his arms crossed in front of his chest, finger tapping impatiently, and a mix of irritation and concern displayed on his face.

“I’m sorry. I promise I won’t be late for our next session. I’ll make it on time.” Jinri said, looking down and avoiding his eyes. She quickly pulled her Mandarin workbook off the shelf and put it on her desk, but Luhan stopped her. He grabbed her hand and yanked her to look at him.

“Jinri, look at me. Where were you? Is there something wrong? Not only were you late, but you also seemed to be preoccupied most of the time. You can tell me and I’ll try to help you, okay?”

Jinri looked up at him and the genuine concern in his eyes stabbed her heart. It hurt her that he cared so much, while she had taken Sehun from him without him knowing. How could she be so cruel to such a kind man?

How could she be so cruel to the kind man she loved?

She forced a weak smile and shook her head.

“I’m fine, Oppa. I’m fine. I’m just a bit sad about leaving Seoul, so I’ve been spending more time at school. I’ll be sure not to be late again, Oppa. Don’t worry.”

She knew that she couldn’t hide the fact that she was dating Sehun from Luhan forever. Luhan would find out somehow. He was, after all, a really nosy person.

Therefore, she wasn’t surprised when Luhan greeted her all-too-happily the next Monday.

“I heard someone is dating Sehun~” Luhan said in a sing-song tone, grinning widely as he entered her room for another tutoring session. Fake merriness was dripping from his voice. Jinri looked up and face the smiling Luhan, who was smiling a little bit to cheerfully for comfort. Jinri bit her lower lip; the sight in front of her was too painful to bear.

“Ah, yes. Did Sehun tell you?”

Luhan shook his head while getting his books out from his bag, a little more eagerly than he usually did.

“Jongin, actually. Sehun was too shy to break the new.” He grinned, his eyes crinkling and making it difficult for her to encrypt the emotion behind the grin.

“Oh, I see.’ Jinri commented, not really sure as to what kind of response she should give.

“How long has it been? Jongin told me you’ve been together for almost a week. Is that true? How come you haven’t told me yet? Aish, you’re such a cheeky kid.” Luhan pestered, playfully nudging her with his elebow, mischief glinting from his eyes. However, Luhan’s over-the-top enthusiasm was getting on her nerves. It irked her how he could act oh-so-gleefully while his heart was, in actuality, breaking.

“Stop it!” She shoved Luhan’s hand away harshly, surprising him. His grin faded and his eyes widened – showing her a glimpse of the pain in those brilliant orbs, She felt guilt engulf her at the sight and turned her head away.

“It’s complicated, Oppa. Let’s just start the lesson, okay?” She begged as she opened her book, not looking back at him.

However, the lesson Luhan gave that day wasn’t effective at all. Luhan was somewhat distracted. He continuously made mistakes in his explanations, while Jinri wasn’t even paying attention to what he was saying. Jinri was lost deep in thought, wondering if she had made the right decision by trying to save Sehun’s heart.

She sighed in despair. Why should her last days in Seoul become so painful?

TBC

AN: another supershort update >_<

I hope you'll enjoy it, though.

Thank you for all the subbies and comments :D

And of course, thank you to Dear RaspberryTaffy for beta-ing. :)

With many-many thankful love,

himalayancat