Chapter 43

"What are you doing here?" Se Hun asked as he pulled me behind him.

"I was wondering the same." Yoo Ra tilted her head as she crossed her arms. "Ahn Soo Jin, I thought we had this talk already..."

"What'd you say to her?!" Se Hun growled angrily, making me flinch.

"It's none of your business, Se Hun honey." She smirked at him.

I let go of Se Hun's hand and stepped away from him as far as I could. He turned around and looked at me confused to what I was doing, but I had no choice, but to run outside because that was the only place I could get through. I could hear Se Hun calling out for my name, but I kept running until I was out of breath. I hid behind the dumpster when I got out and held my breath, just in case he did manage to chase after me. I didn't want him to find me, but I guess it wouldn't work because my phone started to ring.

Great timing, Jung Ah. "Hello?"

"Where are you?" She asked.

"Behind a dumpster." I laughed realizing that I looked stupid so I stood up.

"What happened?" She would ask this question.

"I'll tell you later. I have to..." I stopped talking when I saw Yoo Ra standing before me. "I'll call you later." I hung up the phone and placed it into my pocket. "What are you-"

Before I could even finish my sentence, I felt Yoo Ra slap me across the face.

"Didn't I tell you to stay away from Se Hun?" Yoo Ra glared at me. "You think that you can just go behind my back and do whatever the hell you want?"

"I didn't even do anything." I wanted to rub my face, but I couldn't do it in front of her. "I already told you, Lee Yoo Ra, I don't want him. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Actions speak louder than words, Ahn Soo Jin." She hissed. "When are you going to realize that you won't ever be good enough for him?"

I blew out a sigh and ran a hand through my hair frustratedly.

"What? Do you have something to say?" Yoo Ra asked staring at me.

"Actually, no." I thought about the things I could say, but that would probably only cause me to actually finally uppercut someone in the face. "You know what? You win, Yoo Ra. From now on, I'll finally stay out of your lives, but it's your job to make sure Se Hun stays away from me!"

"That'll be easy." She smirked, probably happy because of what I had just said. "Now, will you stick to your words or contradict them?"

"Contradict them?" I looked at her confused.

"I don't know. You don't seem to stick to your words often." She shrugged.

"At least I played fair." I had no better comeback but to hit her.

"You're just another girl, Soo Jin." Yoo Ra shook her head. "He's chased me before like this too; you're nothing."

I was so frustrated, but I had nothing else to her. If I was going to keep Se Hun, that would have been another story, but I wasn't. I hated how Yoo Ra made me feel so weak and pitiful. I hated it and I wanted to scream and seriously punch someone in the face, but I couldn't. Yoo Ra finally walked away, as if she had just won. She didn't win. At least... Not yet.

After taking a nap, I made myself get ready so I could go out. I couldn't make myself stay in my room forever. I would only suffocate in my feelings and that's not waht I needed right now. I quickly ran out of the door before my parents could see me and got into a taxi. The taxi me down to Myeongdong and I got out to walk around. The breeze was cool, but it felt really good against my warm skin. I needed something like this so I could relax. It was a good thing I came out.

I passed by a food stall on my way to who knows where and bought myself odeng to eat. Even though I liked that it was already dark out and the city lights were out, it wasn't making me feel any better. I walked by a bench and sat down. I crossed my leg, placed one hand in my jacket pocket, and leaned back against the bench. I watched as people passed by me; children, adults, seniors, couples, etc. Seeing couples walk by made me cringe. They showed so much affection towards each other. I even saw one of them kiss each other. 

I don't know if I was just judging or that I was jealous, but I knew that seeing couples walk by me made my heart feel heavier and heavier. It seemed as if they wanted to show it to me. They were rubbing it in my face, but why do I care? I don't care about relationships. Now that the bet is all over, my life can go back to normal and I won't have to bother with guys or Se Hun. That means I can go back and study with no worries. No worries, no Se Hun... No Se Hun... I bit the last bite of my fish stick and swallowed it as I started to tear up.

"Why are you so easy to find around here?" I heard a raspy voice say behind me.

"You should have chewed before you swallowed." A lower voice said.

"Or you should have given me the last bite... I was kind of hungry." Another one sighed.

"You guys are stupid." I heard an angelic voice say.

My attention finally turned to the side where I saw Lu Han, Chan Yeol, Baek Hyun, and Kai. Baek Hyun was standing behind me with Kai leaning back against the bench and Lu Han sat beside me with Chan Yeol beside him. I was really surprised to see that out of all the people who had found me, it was them. I'm sure they noticed my facial expression because one of them had scoffed, but I couldn't tell who it was.

"You like walking around alone, don't you?" Kai said staring down at me. "I'm surprised to see that even after all of the things you've gone through, you're still brave enough to be out here."

"Not that you should be afraid for the rest of your life and stay home..." Baek Hyun added, as if what Kai had said to me was a little too straightfoward, which it kind of was.

"I guess since we're starting it out this way anyways, how about you guys tell me what you guys want to say?" I asked turning my body so I could see the four of them better. "I mean, that's the only reason why you guys are talking to me, right?"

They all stared at me, surprised to see how straightfoward I was being.

"Sure. Let's do it that way since we're comfortable around each other, right?" Chan Yeol leaned forward to get a better look at me. "How was your kiss with Choi Jae Hyun? Did you like it?"

I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"Why'd you lie to Jae Hyun and say that Se Hun didn't fall in love with you?" Lu Han asked under his breath. "You could have easily told him and he would have shaved his head instead."

"I'm bad at lying." I shrugged, trying not to let my emotions get to me. "I couldn't lie to him."

"You're lying right now." Lu Han rolled his eyes at me. "You know Se Hun is in love with you."

"You're in denial, Ahn Soo Jin." Kai said crossing his arms.

Why was everyone saying I was in denial? That word was starting to become annoying now that I've heard it from every damn person in the world.

"You guys didn't even kiss, huh?" Baek Hyun scoffed. "It just didn't seem real enough."

I bit my lip, not saying a word.

"But then again, wasn't he dying to kiss you? That guy looked so in love with you." Baek Hyun shook his head. "If anything, he made it obvious that he was interested in you."

I perked up and looked up at Baek Hyun. Jae Hyun made it obvious that he liked me? How come I didn't notice it? Did anyone else notice it? Did Jung Ah notice it?

"Wow. You didn't even know that Choi Jae Hyun liked you?" Chan Yeol scoffed and hit his knee. "You really don't know anything about relationships or love, huh?"

"How's it even possible that you guys noticed he liked me?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "All Jae Hyun and I ever did was argue."

"The guy stood up for you and beat up Soo Hyuk when he heard what had happened to you." Kai said turning his body. "Even before that, when he heard you had gotten hurt, he wanted to beat up Se Hun because he thought Se Hun had hurt you."

"If Choi Jae Hyun really hated you, he would have never interacted with you." Baek Hyun said. "If anything, the guy showed that he was practically in love with you."

"But he's not what matters right now." Chan Yeol coughed, as if he was trying to tell the guys that they were off topic. "The point that we're trying to get at is you."

"Me?" My eyes widened. "Why me?"

"Was Se Hun really just a bet to you?" Lu Han asked, finally talking again. "Was your mind really just on about the bet and winning it?"

"He was a bet to me..." I said quietly.

"Did he really mean nothing but a bet to you?" Lu Han asked again. "Throughout this whole thing, did you not once feel anything?"

"Why are you asking me these questions?" I asked looking at Lu Han.

"Because even if your mind said that it was a bet, I know that you were feeling something else. Se Hun wasn't just a bet to you. I know somewhere... Somewhere in your heart, there was something there." Lu Han said looking up at me.

"Like we said, you're in denial. We don't understand what suddenly went through your mind to make you push him away on the last day of the bet." Kai said raising his brow at me. "Did something happen?"

"No..." I said looking down at my hands.

"You're lying." Baek Hyun scoffed.

Was I that bad at lying that even these gangster kids who I barely talked to knew that I was lying?

"He told us everything that you said to him the day you broke it off." Chan Yeol clasped his hands together in an angry manner. "You didn't mean it, right? You were just out of your mind, I'm sure."

"He told you guys about what happened?" I looked at all of them, trying to read their faces, but I got nothing.

"We forced it out of him when he was able to move properly again." Lu Han glared at me. "You came to the hospital, but you didn't even come into his room to come see him at all?"

It kind or hurt seeing Lu Han stare at me like that.

"He knew you came, but he didn't say anything even though we all knew how he was feeling." Lu Han heaved a sigh. "After he came home, he stayed in his room and he wouldn't even speak a word to us. He wouldn't even eat. He won't do anything at all."

"What... What do you want me to do?" I whispered.

"Think about it, Ahn Soo Jin. What do you think we want you to do?" Baek Hyun scoffed.

"I think we're making it pretty clear, unless you're that stupid to understand." Kai added.

These gangster kids were really mean when they spoke.

"You... You need to get a hold of yourself." Chan Yeol said, being one of the nicer ones.

"Who cares about me. And tell Se Hun that we're nothing, so I hope he doesn't misunderstand anything..." I was starting to hurt myself and I didn't know how much I could take anymore. "And besides, he has Yoo Ra. I know he's still in love with her."

"Why are you bringing Yoo Ra up? What makes you think that he's in love with her?" Baek Hyun scoffed angrily.

"She'll always be someone Se Hun's in love with, but that doesn't mean that he wants to be with her." Kai groaned. "I guess that's one thing you didn't get out of this."

"What?" I was confused at what Kai was saying.

"He and Yoo Ra will never be anything anymore." Chan Yeol said shaking his head. "It's done and over with and now that he's accepted that fact, Lee Yoo Ra has to too."

"But Yoo Ra had a reason..." I said quietly.

"Reason? What reason did she have? That she couldn't stand being by his side knowing that she had cheated on him?" Lu Han growled angrily as he stared at me. "Good for her that she left; it only made Se Hun a stronger person. Why is she even coming back and wanting to be his girlfriend again? Does she think that just because time passed by means that everything will be forgotten?"

It was really odd to see Lu Han sound so cold and since it was kind of directed towards me, I felt like every word was hitting me. Lu Han was just being a good friend, so I couldn't blame him. He was standing up for Se Hun and supporting and caring for him. These were the guys who were always there helping Se Hun out since day one.

"In case you haven't noticed, she's been out of the picture for awhile. Se Hun doesn't want to be with her no more since he's already decided on who he wanted to be with." Kai said. "You don't need us to tell you who it is, right?"

I glared at him, making him smirk at me in response.

"Quit lying to yourself, Soo Jin." Baek Hyun stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared down at me. "And quit denying your feelings that you have. You're only hurting yourself."

"And Se Hun..." Chan Yeol added in a whisper.

"What you said to him..." Lu Han began quietly. "Did you mean it? Did you mean everything you said?"

I thought about what I had said and remembered everything. It hurt my heart.

"Do you know what a wreck he is?" Lu Han asked. "Do you know how he's living right now? He's so weak and it's so hard on us, seeing him like that because we can't do anything about it!"

I flinched. Lu Han has never sounded so scary before.

"You didn't mean it, right?" Kai asked.

"You and Jae Hyun... You two aren't really talking either, right?" Chan Yeol asked this time.

"Get your together, Soo Jin." Baek Hyun raised an eybrow at me.

"Stop making yourself feel something that isn't there." Lu Han stood up from the bench, followed by Chan Yeol. "And stop hurting Se Hun over your stupid feelings, Ahn Soo Jin. It's not like Se Hun to be like this."

They walked away from me with Lu Han's last words. I sat there on the bench and watched them walk away from me. Did they come find me just to say these words to me? Stupid gangster kids, telling me about love.

**A/N: Because I said I would, here's the second update for you all, making it a double update for today <3 Enjoy enjoy because there are only a couple more updates and then it's finished :( What am I going to do?! Lol. But other than this story, tomorrow's EXO's anniversary (Korea Time) <3 and the teaser is coming out later today so let's all wait for it! Also, I have another story that's going to come soon after I finish this one. It's called Goodbye Autumn. It features Chenchen <3 But note that I won't be posting until I'm done with this story though, but please still support and read :D. Please read and comment. I'd love to hear about your opinions, so please don't be a silent reader. Thank you and read with lots of love! Keke~! Muah!