Jung Daeun stared blankly at her phone’s screen while receiving unending bashes from anonymous to non-anonymous and local to international haters all over the world. Her notifications kept dinging and are getting flooded and even if she read every single comment bash there is, she wouldn’t even understand a good eighty to ninety percent of it with reasons being first, it’s in English alphabet and lastly, if it’s not in English alphabet, it’s Korean with a possibility of coming from Google Translate but she’s not that stupid to not understand what the haters were trying to say.

   “Who are you?”

   “Go die!”

   “Stay away from Sehun!”

   “Ugly!”

   Daeun’s eyebrow twitched. If the comments were not to drag her confidence down, it were about her being best friends with Sehun. What’s the big deal anyway? She blew out some air and her lips.

   How immature. She thought.

   A light knock was heard from Daeun’s door and when she said it’s open, Yeonjoon, 2EYES’ maknae, peeked inside her room and said, “Unnie, it’s dinner time.”

   Daeun forced out a smile and shook her head, “I’m not hungry. Go ahead and eat without me,”

   Yeonjoon furrowed her eyebrows, “Are you sure?”

   “Deh,”

   “Arasseo.” Daeun’s door softly clicked close.

   After awhile, Daeun stood from her bed and went to her closet; she pulled out a big hoodie and wore it. She tiptoed her way downstairs and when she saw the rest of the members busy eating and talking with each other on the dining room, she headed to the door, quickly pulled on her sneakers, and went out of their dorm.

   Daeun pulled the hood over her head, her eyes almost covered, and stuck her hands inside the jacket’s pocket. She honestly didn’t know where to go but whatever; she needed some fresh air and wanted to be alone.

   Badly.

   Daeun kept walking and walking as the night got chillier. She could already see her breath and silently cursed for not bringing some gloves to keep her hands warm. She pulled out a hand from the pocket to peek over her wristwatch and found that it’s already ten minutes before nine o’clock; so I’ve been walking for almost an hour or so now, huh?

   After awhile, her phone started to ring. She fished it out of her baggy pants’ pocket and saw Sehun’s name flashing on the screen. Daeun contemplated on whether she should answer his call or not and decided on the latter.

   I wouldn’t want to bother Sehun anyway.

   Her phone stopped ringing and a text came after a few minutes.

Dani, please answer your phone. – Sehun ; 8:58 pm

   Daeun was about to ignore it when another text followed.

Your members told me you’re missing. Where are you? – Sehun ; 8:59 pm

   Then another and another and another. She would ignore it but the boy wouldn’t stop.

Pabo, I’m getting worried! – Sehun ; 9:05 pm

Are you ignoring me? – Sehun ; 9:13 pm

Yah! Are you alright? – Sehun ; 9:25 pm

I’m in front of your dorm right now. – Sehun ; 9:47 pm

   Daeun stopped on her tracks.

Your members don’t know I’m here. – Sehun ; 9:52 pm

Oi! It’s getting cold, where are you? – Sehun ; 10:05 pm

Dani.. – Sehun ; 10:13 pm

I’ll wait for you. – Sehun ; 10:27 pm

   “Idiot,” Daeun whispered to herself and sighed. She continued to walk around before deciding to go back to the dorm. Surely, Sehun wasn’t serious when he said he’ll wait, right? It’s getting late, it’s dangerous, and he’s an idol.

   The girl scoffed to herself, as if I’m not.

   It was already half past eleven when Daeun reached her dorm’s street and even from a far, she can make out Sehun’s figure sitting on the side of the street. He was wearing a scarf around his neck, covering until his nose, a cap, and sunglasses, and he was rubbing his gloved hands together. The girl would have chuckled with the thought that Sehun looked like a kidnapper in that state if it weren’t for the fact that she remembered how he’s still waiting for her outside.

   Daeun saw Sehun fumble with his phone and her own phone rang after awhile, making her widen her eyes, “.” She quickly answered it as she ran behind a parked car nearby. She peeked at him, her heart pounding fast. She could see him looking at where she was awhile ago. Did he possibly see her? Did he hear her phone ringing?

   “Dani..”

   Daeun leaned her back on the rear of the car, placing the phone against her ear. She bit her lower lip and tried to calm her heart down.

   “Dani, where are you? I’m still waiting here.”

   “Go home,” was the only thing Daeun said. She doesn’t know why but she feared her emotions right now. Hearing Sehun’s voice made her want to cry. This was her best friend she was talking to; her best friend since high school. Why was she supposed to stay away from him?

   “I want to see you, Dani.”

   “I don’t,” The more limited her answers are, the better. It wouldn’t give out much of what she was feeling.

   “You’re lying.”

   “I’m not,”

   “Dani, please. I’m worried. I’ve been waiting here for over an hour, I—”

   “Who told you to wait?”

   “Don’t be like this,” Sehun sighed on the other line.

Please play this if you want. ♡

   “. . . Of course” Daeun forced out a chuckle, “Of course, I shouldn’t be like this. Of course, I shouldn’t be affected with how people bash me. Of course, I shouldn’t care because for all I know, I’m not doing anything wrong. But I can’t,” She didn’t realize the tears were already streaming down her cheeks until she let out a small sob. “Yes, I act manly; yes, I’m boyish. Yes, I seem tough but that never meant I’m not hurting. Yes, it’s not your fault; yes, you’ve got nothing to do with this but where am I supposed to stand, Sehun? I understand if this is all work but things have gotten very personal. Since when was it a crime to be your friend, huh?”

   “Dani..”

   Daeun quickly turned her head to the side, straightening up in the process, when she heard how Sehun’s voice sounded so near and true enough, he was.

   Sehun was already standing beside her, looking at her intently. His sunglasses were long gone and his cap’s peak was already turned back; his worried expression was clearly visible. He didn’t miss out on the sudden ringtone he heard earlier and he definitely didn’t miss out on how she hid behind the car. He was already making his way towards her when she told him to go home.

   Daeun dropped her hand holding the phone on her side as she looked away, adjusting the hoodie to cover her eyes with her other hand. She didn’t want him to see her on that state but he saw through her; he always did.

   “It pains me to see you like this,” Sehun whispered loud enough for the girl to hear, his eyebrows furrowed.

   “Good night, Sehun.”

   Daeun was about to pass by him when he grabbed her arm and yanked her towards him. Sehun quickly wrapped his arms around her and he only tightened his hug when he felt Daeun trying to get away. She later on gave up and let her arms hang limp on her sides when she finally figured Sehun was not going to let go of her any time soon.

   “I’m sorry,” said Sehun as he buried his face on her shoulder. “I’m sorry that this happened to you but I’m not sorry for having you as my best friend.”

   Daeun’s sight started to blur once again.

   “I’m sorry if it has to come to this, I’m sorry if you’re hurting, I’m sorry if they don’t understand, I’m sorry for not protecting you enough but please, Dani, don’t give up. Don’t give up on me.. You can’t.”

   “Why shouldn’t I?” Daeun weakly asked as she stared blankly up at the one star in the sky that looked just like a very small dot, her chin leaning against his shoulder. “You’ve gone too bright for me, Sehun; you’ve gone too far for me to reach.”

   “No,” The boy tightened his hug, not wanting to let Dani go; not wanting his arms to feel empty once either of them pulled away. “I’m still the same Sehun you’ve met in high school, Dani.. I’m still your best friend. That’s why you can’t give up on me; because I’m not giving up on you. I’m not giving up this friendship.”

   Daeun bit down on her bottom lip to stop herself from sobbing but she couldn’t. Her arms quickly wrapped themselves around Sehun, hugging him just as tight as he did and just continued to sob. That was what it all took just to get her back to him. Then again, she could never stay away and ignore him forever and knowing Sehun, he’s pretty much a persistent guy and that is going to be one of the million things Daeun’s going to miss if they ever did part ways.

   And she figured she will never be ready for that day. Sehun was right, she can’t give up.

   “I will never leave you, Dani.. Always remember that, okay?” Sehun said after awhile, releasing her from his warm hug and cupping her cheeks to wipe her tears away with the fabric of his knitted gloves. He kissed her forehead and hugged her tight again in which she quickly returned.

   “Okay,” Daeun sniffed and let out a small smile, contentment already washing away her doubts and fears.