The next day, when she walked into the classroom, Sehun was already seated at his desk, chirping away with a classmate. Usually, the sight made her stomach twist in knots and she would sneer, but today Ara couldn't help but replay the scenario from yesterday, inspiring a light smile to tug on her lips. She kept quiet and went about her own business. She would keep this secret. No, she wasn't the type to humiliate people, not especially someone with an untarnished reputation, however tempting it was. Ara was happy enough with the sense of ease the knowledge provided. Her apprehension towards him had thinned in a moment. Besides, it was a personal matter and if anyone ever found out about her mother and ratted it out to everyone, she might spiral into her own dark abyss of chaos and destruction. Now, that wouldn't be too good. 

As she sat in her own desk, kicking it a little to the side, Mr Kim waltzed in and greeted the class with his usual cheer. Not long into the lesson, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned her head, wincing at the sudden movement, only to see Sehun leaning towards her. She flinched automatically as she caught sight of his face, back to its perfect state with a sheepish smile plastered on it. Her eyes caught sight of the folded scrap of paper he held out to her. She took it, though not without hesitation, and turned back around quickly.

Would you like to go to the pet store with me today?

Why on earth would he even ask me that? she thought. Then she remembered about the rabbit he was crying over yesterday. She couldn't help but scoff at his neat handwriting, a sound Sehun did not miss and took instantly as a "no." 

He supposed it was because she hated him. He never failed to recall their first meeting and the scornful look on her face. The boy leaned back in his chair, disappointed and feeling foppish for even asking as Ara merely shoved the note in her pocket, too interested in the topic of the holocaust that Mr Kim was discussing.

"Why?" she asked him after class. He looked at her, puzzled as Ara stared at him, impatient. It took him a few moments to realise what she was referring to. 

"I... I thought you could help me pick a new pet," he replied in a meek voice. She was a little surprised by his demeanour, more so than his question. He'd always spoken with confidence when he conversed with others. She figured it was because she had seen him in a state he never wished for anyone to see. He probably thought that I would use it against him. 

She shook the thought off and nodded for him to keep talking.

"You're the only one from school who knows about my rabbit," he told her, a little more confident this time.

Again, she nodded. "All right, I'll go with you after school," she said before smiling weakly at him. Surprised, Sehun returned the gesture in thanks. Cringing to herself, Ara her heels and left the class room.

After school, they walked in silence. Ara really didn't know what to say, she didn't even know why she agreed to go with him in the first place. She felt something close to guilt though there wasn't any reason for her to feel as such. I didn't kill the blasted thing, she thought.

"What happened to it--him… her?" she asked. 

He chuckled lightly but turned somber all of a suddenly. "My  mum had left the back door open for a bit and he got out of the house and was ran over by a car. My mum called me when it happened. I was only a few houses away from home," he explained.

"You live on my street?" she asked, surprised, the dead rabbit forgotten.

"Ever since we moved here. I live just five houses from yours," he stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She nodded, trying to remember ever seeing him on her street, but to no avail. "I thought you hated me, Ara," he blurted out, pulling her out of her thoughts. She looked over to him as he continued, "You always gave me the cold shoulder and for the last science project our class did, you asked to change partners when we were paired up."

Ara felt uneasy as she heard the dejected tone in his voice. What was she supposed to say, that she was afraid of him and his flawlessness because it reminded her of the mother who tried to mutilate her face? Yes, that sounded nice, maybe they could bond over their affiliation with perfection; be the best of friends and dash off into the sunset. No, she wouldn't tell him that. She quickly apologised for ever acting that way towards him and making him feel uncomfortable.

"I'm not good with people, Sehun," she sad.

"People love you," he said, matter-of-factly. 

"They love me?" Ara scoffed. "They crowd around you," she said as Sehun pulled the door open for her.

"They do," he nodded furiously as she turned to him with an incredulous look; she thought he was talking about himself.

"Yes, everyone admires you."

He shook his head. His cheeks were tinged with a light flush and he looked like a doll. Ara had to put everything into not cringing. "People love you. You get along with them so easily, and you don't even have to try. You can joke around with them and say what's on your mind and they accept you for you."

Ara made a face as she walked over to the reptile area, choosing to ignore his nonsense. No, they mock me for being a little weirdo.

"The fluffy animals are over here," Sehun called out from the opposite side of the store. She gave him a thoughtful look, studying him as he picked up a puppy from the pen. Taking one last glimpse at the chameleon, and thinking of a prank for her dad, Ara trudged over to the boy. 

"And you try so hard to get people to like you." Her voice was thick with sarcasm.

"I want people to like me," he said.

"But people do like you," she corrected him.

"No," he shook his head, "they like who they think I am."

She was silent for a bit, watching him pet a tiny daschund. Not being able to resist, she flipped its floppy ear.  "Who do they think you are?" she asked.

"Mr Perfect," was his immediate reply. 

"But you are--well, I thought you were. Until I saw you crying in front of my neighbour's house."

When she looked up, he looked as if he was about to say something but she cut him off. "I did hate you." She didn't miss the look of dejection in his dark eyes and flinched when the puppy jumped out of  his grasp, back into the pen. "I hate the idea of perfection and you--every bit of you was perfect. Perfect grades, perfect looks. You're ing flawless."

Sehun could only scoff, "I am not perfect!"

"No, you're not," she agreed. "You looked like an overgrown child yesterday. It was kind of hilarious. Not at all like the cool guy you are at school," she chuckled. He smiled at her briefly before picking up the same puppy. His sleeve rolled up just enough for her to see the scratches on his arms and his hands. "What are those?" she asked him. He looked at her puzzled. "The scratches on your arms," she pointed out.

"Oh," he said looking down at them. "I have two kittens and a dog, they get a little rambunctious."

She nodded slowly. "So you're an animal lover, huh?" 

"I guess you can say that," he said smiling at her. Subconsciously, her hand went straight to her neck, tracing over the scar she was given when she was twelve, when her mother got "a little rambunctious."

"So are you buying a dog or a rabbit?" she asked, eyes flitting over to the reptile section.

"I want to buy both." Ara only scoffed.