In the early morning the next day, Eunsung walked out of her house to begin her journey to school. Before she left, she had already messaged Sehun but strangely there hadn't been any reply from him (he tended to answer promptly). She assumed that he was on his way so she thought nothing more of it. They usually met at the big oak tree that happened to cross both their paths from home to school and then they walked together the rest of the way.

Eunsung put her earphones in to distract herself and make the lonely walk a little more entertaining. For some reason, the sky was unusually grey today despite the rest of the week being filled with sunshine. In addition, except for some other students also going to school, the streets were mostly empty. Something made the girl uneasy and she decided to check her phone for any messages from Sehun when she saw the oak tree ahead.

Unfortunately there was nothing.

A frown made its way across her face and she pulled out her earphones - somehow music didn't seem too appealing anymore. She scrolled down her contacts until she found his name. Calling him once made her furrow her eyebrows, calling him twice made her worry and then calling a third time left her disappointed. Each time she called brought her to voicemail and after calling the third time, she decided to just wait for him. He couldn't be that long right?

So she stood by the oak tree and waited, and waited, and waited.

Each second adding to her worry, each minute adding to her loneliness. Many students walked past her in the last twenty minutes and she still could not catch sight of any chocolate brown hair. Could something have happened over night that she didn't know about? Too caught up in worrying about him, she didn't notice that it was raining and it wasn't until the strands of her hair were dripping with water that she realised it was. School was starting soon and she had no umbrella or Sehun. A little saddened by this thought, she deemed the most sensible idea was just to get to school first and worry about the other things afterwards.

Just as she walked out from under the tree, she heard her name being called and for a split second, she thought and hoped it would be him.

Instead, it was Zelo who greeted her and sheltered her from the rain with his umbrella. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed but still forced a smile at the latter.

"You didn't bring an umbrella? We can share this one together," Zelo suggested, gesturing at the one over their heads, "Come on, we're gonna be late for school."

Eunsung nodded but hesitating, gave one last glance back at the oak tree before walking away with him.

Sehun wakes up half an hour later than the time his alarm usually goes off at by which time all his friends have already left the house. Suho had poked his head around his door earlier and Kai had called his name before they left but he told them to go on ahead without him. He's extremely tired due to the lack of sleep he's had last night as a result of thinking about the things that had been clouding his mind recently. And since he's woken up late, he leaves the house late and it's not until about halfway through his journey to the oak tree, he belatedly realises that in his hurry, he forgot to take his phone.

By the time he does reach the oak tree, the girl is nowhere to be seen. As well as that, it's pouring with rain and Sehun didn't bring an umbrella. He groans because could this day get any worse?

"Sehun sunbae?" a voice calls out and Sehun looks at the owner of the voice, "Are you waiting for Eunsung unnie?" It's a young lower school female student who's curiously looking at him while holding her umbrella. Sehun nods awkwardly, not quite sure who she is.

"She already left a while ago with another guy," the girl replies, feeling bad when she sees Sehun's crestfallen look afterwards. She holds the umbrella over his head to prevent him getting even more soaked in the rain. Sehun doesn't even need to ask who the guy was because he knows and that alone causes him to feel uncomfortable. It was his own fault that she wasn't with him and with Zelo instead. He's disappointed in himself that he allowed his awful thoughts to become reality.

"We should get going, school's starting in a couple of minutes," the younger points out, "...sunbae?"

Sehun breaks out of his thoughts and nods absentmindedly, following the other. He murmurs a small 'thank you' to her to which she hums in approval and the rest of the walk is silent. Even though he's with another person, his morning walk never felt more lonely. It just wasn't the same without her warm smile, her strawberry scent that filled his senses whenever she was close, her presence and most importantly, just her.

Eunsung gathered her books from her locker upon reaching school before registeration while Zelo waited beside her. The latter was thinking about how he had walked her to school this morning and a tiny smile crept on his face: this was what it would be like if he was with her. Although it was wrong of him to be thinking this way, why did it feel so right? And that wasn't even the bad part - the bad part was the fact that he felt no remorse for feeling that way. Before, he would've felt guilty towards Sehun but now he couldn't care less about what Sehun could be feeling. Sehun was dating Eunsung so he shouldn't even be worrying about him, it was more like he had to worry about himself. 

It had been a mere coincidence that he bumped into the girl this morning - Zelo just happened to be at the right place at the right time (or the right place at the wrong time, others would argue).

The girl, who was oblivious to these thoughts, checked her phone once again. Still, no reply. Biting her lip, she composed a message to him.

To: Sehun-ah

Sehun-ah, are you okay? I didn't see you this morning and... I'm really worried.

Call me when you get this message TT TT

I love you.

After hitting the send button, she slipped her phone back into her blazer pocket, her heart feeling heavier than before. It was strange how she had become so used to Sehun's presence - in a way, he was like the air she breathed. Since he wasn't here today, she felt uncomfortable, suffocated and desperate to have him close by.

When they both enter their homeroom, their classmates are chatting amongst each other. Eunsung sits in her seat and takes out her notebook and pens in preparation for the first lesson. She then turns around to look at the empty seat behind her and a small sigh escapes her lips. The pitter patter of rain drops hitting the window pane diverts her attention to the window and she notices how the rain has continued to pour and hasn't stopped since she left the oak tree.

Miss Chae comes in to take the register shortly afterwards and when she gets to Sehun's name, there's obviously no answer. There are murmurs across the classroom about his whereabouts but they soon fade away when the next person on the register is called out. After registration, Eunsung excuses herself to go to the bathroom - she wants to go somewhere quiet so she can clear her mind.

She looks at herself in the mirror. He probably just overslept, you really worry too much. She lightly smiles as she remembers a conversation with Sehun last week where he had  about worrying about him so much that she would probably get white hairs before he did. That's right, he's just late. She leans over and washes her hands in the basin, ready to go back to class when she hears the conversation of two girls in the cubicles.

"I wonder where Sehun is though..."

"I heard he was with a girl in the morning."

"Who? Eunsung?"

"I don't think it was..."

She leaves the bathroom promptly after hearing those words, unable to listen to any more. She knows that she shouldn't believe rumours and she wholeheartedly trusts Sehun but that doesn't mean she doesn't feel shaken by what she's just heard.

When Sehun arrives at school, his hair is rather damp from the rain - he told the younger student to go on ahead first since her classroom was on the other side of school, so he had to walk the remaining distance in the rain. He was already thankful towards her for letting him share her umbrella and didn't want to use any more of her time. He's aware he's just missed registeration but he can just make it in time before the first lesson begins.

Upon entering the classroom, his eyes immediately dart over to girl's seat and confusion flashes across his features when he notices it's empty. Shouldn't she be here by now? On instinct, his eyes move over to Zelo's seat and to his surprise, the latter is there. Even though he doesn't want to, he reluctantly walks over to Zelo's seat. Standing beside the other's table, he waits for Zelo to acknowledge him.

Zelo looks up when he senses his presence, "What do you want?" His voice comes out unusually cold, nothing close to the usual laid back tone he has.

"Where is she?" Sehun asks trying to remain as calm as possible.

"Why are you asking me? Aren't you her boyfriend?" Zelo crosses his arms and smirks. For some reason, he wants to make Sehun feel as bad as possible. He wants him to feel some pain for once - besides, this pain isn't a bit close to what he has had to go through. He tilts his head and adds, "Or... did someone forget that today?"

However, Sehun's in no mood and grits his teeth, "I asked you a question, answer it."

Zelo laughs as if the latter has just made a funny joke, "Why should I do something just because you asked me to?"

Sehun ignores his question and asks, "Did you walk with her today?"

"Did you know how long she waited for you?"

"Did she have an umbrella?"

"Did you know she was soaked when I saw her?"

Even though Zelo didn't directly answer his questions, Sehun's gotten all the information he wanted. In all honesty he can't stand his presence so is about to return to his own seat when he hears the other's words, "It's a waste that she's with you. You don't even appreciate her. It's better if she's with me; at least I don't forget that she's waiting for me."

Sehun clenches his fists, how badly he wants to wipe that smirk off the guy's face but he holds back from doing so. "I didn't forget and before you say anything, don't forget who you are in her life," Sehun says with a glare, "I don't think I need to say anything else." He leaves the other and returns to his seat. He knows he shouldn't be affected by Zelo's words but why does he feel so shaken? What if Eunsung is better off with Zelo? A collection of flashbacks cross his mind as he recalls the moments in China where he watched the two interact playfully while he stood watching them both from afar, like an outsider. He balls his hands into fists.

Eunsung returns to the classroom and notices that Sehun is there. She breathes a sigh of relief, almost forgetting what she just heard, almost. She wants to talk to him but just as luck would have it, their teacher arrives and begins his lesson. Slipping into her seat, she obediently listens to the teacher - somehow Sehun's presence alone allows her to concentrate fully.

Just like that, the first lesson ends two hours later by which time, the students are allowed to have a twenty minute break. Eunsung turns around in her seat to greet Sehun when she notices that his hair is still wet and he's slightly shivering.

"Sehun-ah, wait for me," she says and then leaves the classroom. Sehun barely registers what the girl's just said when he notices she's gone again, just like the wind. What if one day she disappears like the wind too? Sehun's left to drown in his awful fears - what if he loses her too?

Eunsung goes to her locker and s her gym bag - she remembers that she packed a towel in there earlier this week but hadn't used it yet. He must be cold, that fool. A smile graced her lips as she thought about him. After retrieving it, she runs to the opposite building to buy a warm drink. Fishing out her last few coins, she has just about enough to buy a warm cup of tea. With a grin, she hurries back and catches sight of Sehun just walking out of the classroom.

"Sehun-ah!" she shouts, causing the latter to stop in his tracks in the corridor. He slowly turns around to see the girl coming towards him.

"Where were you today?" she says unaware of the blank expression that's on the other's face. She teases him, "Did you over sleep again?" Sehun doesn't answer her and instead notices how Zelo has stepped out of the classroom to watch them. Sehun's expression darkens as he recalls his words earlier: 'it's better if she's with me; at least I don't forget that she's waiting for me.' In addition to that, he remembers the times Zelo was there for Eunsung and can't help but feel like he's just a burden.

Eunsung holds the warm cup of tea out to him, "Here, drink this. It's still warm." Overwhelmed with anger, sadness and jealousy, Sehun swings his hand and knocks the cup out of the girl's hands and it falls to the ground with a loud echo. There's a moment of silence that follows.

The empty cup rolls on the ground, its contents all spilt across the floor.

"I don't want it so stop wasting your time on me!" Sehun shouts at her - it comes out louder than expected, causing even their classroom to fall silent. The girl who's shocked by his outburst just stares at the cup that lays on the ground. When she gathers enough courage, she looks up at his angry eyes full of hurt. She awkwardly laughs to cover up her embarrassment, "Sorry Sehun, I didn't..." Her eyes are starting to form tears but she doesn't dare let one fall so she bites her lip hard. The last thing she wants is to cry in front of him and look even more pathetic.

She wraps the towel around his shoulders before taking one step back, "Even if you're angry at me, at least dry your hair. You could catch a cold and I'm worried-"
She doesn't finish her sentence and shakes her head with a sad smile, "Nevermind."

She bends down to pick up the fallen cup and walks past him without another word, tossing the item into the bin. It takes Sehun a while to process what has just happened. His eyes widen - what has he just done? And more importantly, did he hurt her? It's not only him but even Zelo is angered by what he's done as the latter glares at him before storming off.

Sehun reaches his hand to touch the towel that the girl just wrapped around his shoulders and feels so guilty. "Damn it," he mutters under his breath. Turning on his heels, he runs to find her. He needs to apologise, explain himself and most of all, see her.

He spots her in the middle of another corridor but she's not alone: Zelo. Sehun watches the scene in front of him.

"Eunsung-ah, are you hurt anywhere?" Zelo asks in a soft voice. (He means if the tea accidentally scalded her skin). When he gets no reply, he turns her around to face him. The girl's eyes are filled with tears and a prominent frown is on her face. Sehun's heartstrings tug as he sees her sadness especially because he's the cause of it all.

Zelo puts his two thumbs on the corners of her lips and lifts it upwards, "There, that's better." He smiles at her warmly, "Don't cry because of him anymore, okay?"

The girl's tears roll down the sides of her face but she makes no sound.

"Eunsung, tell me, where does it hurt?" Zelo repeats, frowning when he sees her tears flowing endlessly.

Eunsung shakes her head before letting out a feeble sob, "It hurts Zelo, it hurts so much. What do I do?"

Zelo comforts her by bringing her closer to his chest and pats her hair soothingly.

Sehun leans back on the wall behind him as Zelo's words from earlier haunt him: "It's a waste that she's with you. You don't even appreciate her. It's better if she's with me."
 

♥ AUTHOR'S NOTE;

*peeps out from my hands* Hi guys, please don't hurt me! Sorry for such a angsty chapter sobs I promise the next update will be nicer / fix things up. Ngl I teared up when Sehun knocked the cup out of her hands TTTT

But anyway it's 2AM omg ; A ; I'm gonna go and watch School 2015 now LOL (who do you guys ship in this kdrama?)