Annyeong~ please read the author's note below after reading the chapter. Thank you! :)

Sehun

Tao, Jongin and I have not talked for two weeks now. The hyungs are all worried. Even I am. We usually let ourselves cool down for days before we talk but this time maybe the three of us just needed more time than usual. Kris hyung told me Tao wasn’t being his usual self though, as if something was bothering him. But none of us knows, even the hyungs do not know. Jongin on the other hand was doing a pretty good job ignoring me. He would often look at me but then turn to smile at Haerin and greet her instead of acknowledging my presence. It’s bothering me too. The last thing I want is to lose my friends, my hyungs—the ones who always looked after me and picked me up off the dirt when I’m troubled. I honestly feel like I’m bound to choose between my girlfriend and them—which I won’t have the balls to do. I can’t choose one of the most precious people in my life. That’s too hard.

“Sehun?” My mind dragged back to the real world. I was sitting across Haerin as she helps me with my essay due tomorrow morning. I gave her a confused look and she just sighed and closed the book in front of her.

“Sorry,” I muttered as I look down on my empty sheet of paper. Damn this essay. I sighed and blinked twice to get my head working, “What were you saying?”

“I said I went out on a date last night with one of Hyeri’s guy friends,” Her words immediately made me shot her a look, worried and nonplussed.

“What?!”

“I’m kidding, Sehun. You weren’t really paying attention at all, huh?” I darted her a glare and pouted at her, “Is this about Tao and Jongin?”

Yes.

“No. Just thinking of what to put in this godforsaken essay,” I sighed annoyed as I dropped the pen and relaxed my back on the backrest of the unusually uncomfortable couch in Starbucks. She just gave me a look. She knows I’m lying. No matter how much of a compulsive liar I can be, she never falls for them. She just knows me too well. Sometimes even the hyungs can’t tell if I was telling the truth or not and I have victimized all of them.

“Tao told Hyeri everything about why you guys fought,” She said as I sighed. Well . Can’t I have a ing break from these problems? It’s only been two ing weeks since the last time she hated herself. I don’t want her to have another reason to look down on herself.

“Look, you don’t have anything to do with it. Just leave it alone,” I said as I grabbed my frappe and sipped on it. I can feel her stare bore on me as I intentionally ignore it. There was just no way I’m going to talk about it now. I’ve had too much drama recently. Please.

“I can talk to them. I mean, it would’ve never happened if I-” I cut her off by angrily putting my drink back on the table as I send her a cold, annoyed look.

“I said just leave it alone, Haerin,” I sternly said as I shook my head, annoyed. I looked away briefly and when I looked back at her, she was just staring at me with her innocent brown orbs. I felt a pang of guilt for rudely telling her off. I sighed, “Stop blaming yourself for everything. It was his choice to do what he did. You had nothing to do with it, so just leave it,” I said, dismissing the topic.

“Nothing to do with me?” And she just brought it up again.

Can’t a guy just have coffee with his girlfriend while doing assignments without drama? Ugh. this.

“Tao was basically saying that I’m the reason he lost his best friend and I feel bad about that. Maybe it’s because of me that you changed too much and nothing was left of the old Sehun they used to know. The last thing I want to do is change you to someone you’re really not,” She said as I groaned. Fortunately there were only a small amount of customers than usual.

“Well Haerin, what the do you guys want me to be? Yes, I changed. I chose to change not because you forced me to. I changed because you deserve a better guy, not the jackass that I used to be,” I said as I feel myself fuming. I’m pissed. I feel offended, to be quite ing honest.

“And right now you’re making me feel like it was wrong of me to have done that. Would you rather date the jackass I used to be? Because just say so, I can totally bring him up here with you right now,” My tone was almost like threatening her. I let out a breath as I looked away, not able to gaze at her. I won’t be able to handle it if I see her scared face.

I picked up my things and stood up, “I’ll see you later.”

And I walked out on her just like that.

Haerin

What the just happened?

I let my mouth hang open in shock as I worriedly turned my head to see my boyfriend leave me just like that. Nice going, Haerin. The past two weeks has been odd. Ever since after that accidental kiss with Soohyun, it felt like things weren’t really as normal as it was. Sehun was silent most of the time and he’d be staring into spaces. It wasn’t like him at all. That’s when I knew something was bothering him. I tried to ask but he didn’t tell me anything specifically. He just told me “the guys and I are not okay” and whenever I tried to ask why, he’d dismiss the topic immediately.

Of course I was worried about his relationship with his hyungs. Though Sehun was always seen as the evil maknae, he really cares about all of them and he truly loves them no matter what. His hyungs are like his second family. So every time they have a misunderstanding, I tend to worry. Just a couple of days ago, I talked to Hyeri about it and because she and Tao has been hanging out a lot and going to parties almost every night, she figured what the misunderstanding was about.

Tao told Hyeri that he didn’t like what Sehun has become when we started dating. To be honest, I haven’t seen anything bad of what Sehun has turned into because he’s always so good and loving to me but that was from my perspective. I have no idea how they see from their point of view but with the words Tao used to explain to Hyeri, it almost sounded like it was a bad thing that we’re in a relationship—which hurts.

I did some thinking and tried to understand Tao’s side of the story. Maybe he just misses him. I admit, Sehun and I had spent a lot of time together and I mean a lot. There are cases when Sehun would rather choose to hang out with me than be with the guys and maybe Tao just started to feel bad that they don’t get to bond like they used to. I’m a best friend too. I know how it feels to s