“Bye.” Ara waved at her boss before letting go of the door-handle, thus snapping it shut. Her hands made their way to the pockets on her jacket, seeking for warmth and she began to walk away from the restaurant. Before she created a proper distance to the restaurant, a hand pulled her back by grabbing her arm. “Where're you going?” She heard Sehun ask and turned around, giving him a not uncomprehending look. “Home … ?”

“But –” Sehun silenced himself before he'd say anything unexpected – he had been acting slightly weird the whole evening already. When he realized that his car was still parking at the school, he flicked his tongue. He would have driven her home, if he could.

“What?” Ara raised her brows and gave him a questioning look.

The male cleared his throat and took a step, shortening the distance even more as it was. “I can call my driver to drive you.”

Ara shook her head almost immediately. “I want to walk,” she said, shrugging her shoulder. Sehun pressed his lips into a firm line. It was a pitch-black night, so why the hell was this girl so comfortable with walking home alone? Barely noticeably, he narrowed his while he watched Ara walk away. A sigh slipped from his lips and he quietly followed her.

Furrowing her brows, Ara glanced to the side. “Aren't you going home?” She asked Sehun, and averted her gaze as he looked to the side as well. Their eyes had only met for a millisecond, but it had felt otherwise.

“I want to walk,” Sehun replied in an almost mocking tone, repeating what Ara had said before. He shrugged his shoulder while the edges of his lips twitched – a smirk formed upon his lips. Just then Ara stole a glance at him again and unknowingly, a chuckle escaped her lips and her eyes widened for a moment, before she turned her head away. Did she just chuckle in front of a male? A male? The gender, she still disliked. She wasn’t exactly afraid of them, but not fond either. Certain happenings had made her suspicious and cautious of males.

How long had it been since the last time she smiled in front og them? It felt – her trail of thoughts was interrupted by Sehun as he said, “You should do that more often,” his voice quiet.

Ara bit her lower lip as she heard what he said. What? She pressed her lips together. Why was it that he could say such things and she didn’t feel like punching him, like she would have felt with other males?

Clearing , she mumbled an almost incomprehensible 'maybe'.

Sehun halted, his gaze on the ground, his cheeks feeling warm. When he looked up, he saw Ara walking away, slowly increasing the distance. For several seconds, he just watched the moonlight frame the figure, that was slowly becoming smaller. She didn’t turn around, her gait didn’t waver. She was like a lightening. Always straight forward, not stopping.

If you're too slow to look, the lightening is gone.

If you hesitate, she'll be gone.

Almost instinctively, he began walking again. His pace quicker than before, his legs just brought him next to her again. His gaze was completely fixated on her profile, on those clear eyes. A thud could be heard – his heart.

Shaking his head in an attempt to snap back to reality, he closed his eyes for a moment. Where had his mind just been? Attempting to change his thoughts, he suddenly asked, “Is it always like this?” It was a random question, but it had been the first thought he'd been able to grasp in the train of weird thoughts that were now rushing through his head.

“Huh?” Ara turned her head, facing him.

“I mean your daily routine,” Sehun quickly added. “School, part-time and then you go home and probably do homework.”

The girl sighed, her gaze still on him. “Yeah.” She nodded and turned her face away again, looking straight forward.

“Isn't tiring?”

Ara halted for a second. After several seconds of silence, a sigh could be heard. “Mhmm,” Ara's hand clenched into fists, “but it's inevitable anyway.”

Just as Sehun wanted to ask more, the girl suddenly spoke up, though her voice was muffled into her scarf. “Do you … feel better?” He heard her voice ask. Four words, spoken with hesitance and quietness. Almost drowned in the engine noise of the car that just drove p