CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

What Matters

 “Attention all students. This is an announcement of a routine uniform check that will be held in the school auditorium in fifteen minutes. All students must attend – anyone who is absent will be punished accordingly. Attention all students. This is an announcement of a routine…”

As the automated voice crackled through the school’s speakers, Jaehwa was so sure that God finally had decided to have mercy on her poor soul. In a classic scenario of being saved by the bell, she had just missed a confrontation she was not ready for.

In the vortex that was Sehun’s eyes, Jaehwa lost herself to their past. She finally let her hair down but ironically, Sehun wasn’t the least bit relieved because he realised that her attempts at perfection were made to hide away the scars he had left behind. She had tried to protect him from the cruel reality of who he was; tried to be brave in the face of rejection. Now, fifty years later, he was witnessing the way his mistakes had marked her.

How many times would Sehun’s mistakes reveal themselves? How long would she have to wait to find peace because now, it wasn’t just him, it was her. She wasn’t ready for him – she wasn’t ready to face him when all the shrapnel from their past relationship was still engorged in the deepest parts of her wounded soul.  

“Jaehwa-“ Sehun reached for her hand but the moment his fingers closed around itself, he knew that she was already far, far away. He stared down at the gaps in his fist and the way his futile attempts to reach her were always made moments too late. Was this his punishment? If so, how long would it last?

“You need to get ready for the uniform check.” She sounded too calm and too collected, as though everything they had put her through had numbed her senses. No one in that room knew what to say to comfort her because no one could deny HyeRyung’s existence in Sehun’s past.

“Jaehwa, please.” He was begging her – he was begging her for a chance but she refused to look at him or even acknowledge his presence. Somehow, the tables had turned. Jaehwa had spent enough time tiptoeing around Sehun’s temper and abiding by his rules, it was his turn to consider her feelings.

“Uhmmm…” She cleared , “We need to fix those pants, Yeol. You’re never going to pass that check looking like that.” She laughed but it was empty and when she turned her back to Sehun, Chanyeol threw his brother a look of sympathy. Not even Chanyeol had the capacity to lighten up the mood.

Sehun had never thought that he would ever have to face an old lover before Jaehwa – not like this; not when he had feelings for her. He had always been aware that Jaehwa knew of all his flings during their marriage – how could she not have when he flaunted them? He hurt her endlessly in the hopes of driving her away because his pride would not let him accept a human wife.

She knew every single time he came to her bearing the scents of another woman but she never uttered a single word of complaint. She stayed and endured and taught him what it was to be loved and to be forgiven time and time again. Back then, he had thought that she was naïve and stupid but somewhere deep inside, he was touched by her loyalty. Without him even realising, he stopped seeing other women.

Somewhere along the way, the only woman he ever wanted to see was Jaehwa – his wife. He would never admit it but it was so clear to the people around him. His brothers had witnessed their youngest brother fall in love. They saw the way his endearing gaze always found her in a room full of people. They saw his smiles, his gentle touches, his flushed cheeks and his quiet sighs every time she turned her back.

Jaehwa made him nicer – more humane, more loving and in her tireless efforts, she’d bestowed life upon a soul so rooted in death. It was hard for all of them to admit that they had hoped to change Sehun the way she had and somewhere deep down inside, they respected the human girl who had thawed the ice to their brother’s heart.

“Give him a chance to explain himself, Jaehwa.” Chanyeol uttered quietly as she kneeled on the floor, doing the best she could to lengthen his pants by undoing the hemming.

She froze momentarily at Chanyeol’s soft urges but then continued as though she hadn’t heard, “Someone help Soojung get ready.” She uttered quietly as she brushed her hair from her face, ignoring the throbbing sensation that was growing in her kneecaps from kneeling.

Lay had already started helping Soojung up and though she pretended she was fine, he saw through her amateur acting. Each time she closed her eyes to bite back the moan of pain at , he felt himself tense with her. “Are you going to be ok?”

“I’ll be fine.” Soojung managed to say through gritted teeth, “We just need to get this damn thing over and done with.”

“Does anyone know why there’s a uniform check at this hour anyway?” Baekhyun tapped his feet impatiently, glancing at his watch.

“I think they’re looking for a culprit for what happened in the library.” Kris stated, still standing close to the window. Without them even knowing, he had been monitoring the library because if anything suspicious was going to occur, it was going to take place at the site of the wreckage.

“In that case, you better get yourself together.” Luhan muttered under his breath, trying as hard as he could to put the HyeRyung situation in the back of his mind, “It doesn’t make sense that you’re so weak after you got all that blood from the maintenance girls.”

“What the hell even makes sense anymore?” Xiumin smoothed his face with his hands, “This is so frustrating.”

“I’ll be fine, Luhan.” Soojung shuffled into her shoes with Chen supporting her on one side and Lay on the other. “You really don’t have to worry about me. You should keep your thoughts with the star-crossed lovers over there.”

“Hey, at least we’re still alive.” Chen pointed out, “That’s always a good sign.”

“I second that.” Soojung raised her healthy arm, trying her best to crack a smile and as Jaehwa snuck a look at her from over her shoulder, she realised that the girl was trying to raise their spirits. Jaehwa hadn’t missed Soojung’s star-crossed lovers comment but somewhere between her sarcasm and her quiet anger, there was hopeful optimism. At a time like this, that was all she needed.

“Will you quit moving so much?” Lay scolded, “You’re injured. Act like a sick person.”

“I have for the past hour. Gimme a break, doc.” Soojung rolled her eyes playfully and slapped him teasingly with her good arm.

“Also, I’d hate to break it to you girls but technically, both of you are dead.” Lay smiled and if Jaehwa hadn’t been so caught up in her thoughts, she would have laughed at how nerdy he was being. There must’ve been something exhilarating about being able to poke fun at death but Jaehwa felt none of it.

“Done.” She