I wouldn’t say that Baekhyun and I texted frequently after that – far from it. But twice before the university term began, I received a quick message from him. The first was asking me how I was doing, and the second one was to tell me that Sehun had gone out with the three of them one night. Baekhyun went on to say how he was obviously happy about this development, but wanted Sehun to get closure - whatever that meant. I was more than happy to reply to these, keen to keep some sort of tab on how things were doing. And it did honestly made me feel better to know that Sehun wasn't shutting out his friends anymore.

“Should we go in the front or the side?” Luhan asked me on the first morning of our university course as we approached the large building.

I shrugged, “Does it matter?”

He let out a little chortle, “I suppose not. It is strange though, starting somewhere new again.”

“Actually, it sort of feels nice,” I honestly told him.

Agreeing with me, Luhan smiled, “You’re right! A fresh start is just what you need to clear your head.”

The lecture hall was easy to find with Luhan leading the way, and it was larger than I had expected it to be. What was strange about the students was that, thevast majority had no idea who we were, or that we had come from such well-to-do families. Only one or two asked Luhan if he was the heir to GTR Energy. No one - thank goodness - recognised me.

Luhan was beaming as he sat down in the otherwise empty back row with me. “It’s nice not having to bow every couple minutes,” he told me with an exhale. Perhaps Luhan would have done alright in mainstream schooling after all – provided they fixed the dining options.

A squat woman was our lecturer, and she had made us all write our names on a piece upon entering the hall.

“I’m counting twenty-seven names on this sheet,” her shrill voice called out. “There should be thirty. Where are the other three?” Everyone looked blankly at her. With the exception of Luhan and I, no one knew anyone else in the room since it was our first day.

When she received no answer, she pursed her lips into a tight line. “This is a very intensive course. You are all going to be doing the equivalent of four years of study in the space of three. That means you shouldn’t be late, and that you should bother yourselves to turn up for class. I’m not a patient woman,” she continued as if it wasn’t obvious, “and I won’t stand for it.”

The door opened behind us then; a latecomer it seemed. No one bothered looking around.

“You!” the woman accusing pointed at the person. “How dare you come late to my lecture? Take a seat – quickly!” She muttered away to herself as she turned to her computer to get some sort of slideshow working. I made a mental note never to come here late.

The latecomer plonked themselves down a few seats away from me but seemed to make no effort to take out their books. Given the nature of our lecturer, I didn’t think this was particularly advisable.

While our lecturer continued to fuss with the non-cooperative computer, everyone seemed to zone out into their own little bubbles. Luhan was busy sorting out the papers that lay in front of him, mumbling away to himself about folders, and everyone else in the hall was now quietly chatting amongst themselves, new friendships potentially being made. Only the newcomer and I sat doing nothing. From my side vision, it seemed to be a man from the height and short brown hair that they sported. They were tapping their foot against the leg of the chair rhythmically, and probably only loud enough for Luhan and I to hear.

It seemed to annoy Luhan more than it annoyed me since he let out a sigh, gathering up his papers. “Shall we move before it begins?”

I had no reason to either agree or disagree, so I shrugged and lifted my notebook and jacket from the desk.

“Down there,” Luhan pointed to two empty seats, equally isolated from the rest of the group.

Silently obeying, I turned towards the aisle only to feel my body cease up. My notebook slipped from my hand, sending sheets flying everywhere. A few people a couple rows down turned towards the noise, but the person I was staring at didn’t react at all.

“What’s wrong?” Luhan asked, peering around me with searching eyes. It took him a little longer to see it, but when he did he let out a little, “Oh my god.”

Sitting there, still as a statue, was Oh Sehun. Here. On this course, in this lecture hall, at this university, in this city, in this country, and on this earth was Oh Sehun. He was here. Really here. His face was dark and littered with several marks, and his hair was now brown, but it was definitely him. Luhan’s reaction was confirmation enough of that.

Gently nudging my back, Luhan tried to guide me forwards. “Let’s just move to those seats now,” he quietly encouraged. “Just don’t look at him or speak to him and we should be alright.” Luhan was making it sound like Sehun was some sort of criminal.

I still couldn’t move. It was like seeing someone you thought was dead come back to life, not that I actuallyknew what that was like.

Another prod, this time more forceful. “Go. Before the lecture begins.”

On weak legs, I stepped forwards, then again. Sehun hadn’t even acknowledged that anyone was walking near him, or that there were others in the room at all for that matter. I continued walking, guided by Luhan’s hand on my back. There was less than a metre separating Sehun and I when I passed by the back of him. The urge to just reach out and see if he was really there was strong, but Luhan seemed to sense something like that as he briskly hurried me up.

He successful navigated me past Sehun, and then to our new seats without any incident but then, as soon as we reached our seats and he released my back, I whirled my head around; a front-on view was better than a side profile any day.

Sehun’s face was almost ghostly; blank. He looked like he didn’t know what he had been dragged here for, nor did he seem to care. One of his cheeks was slightly swollen, and there was a fading cut on his nose but other than that his face was just as striking as it had always been. His new hair made him look older, more mature – although that could have just been his expression doing that to him.

“Mira!” Luhan quietly hissed when he realised I was staring back.

As if suddenly alert again, Sehun’s eyes suddenly flickered around the room, briefly meeting mine before continuing on like he hadn’t even seen me. They flicked onto Luhan and then back to me again less than a second later, running over my face and then briefly to my body. I felt myself take a sharp inhale of breath as I saw his brow furrow slightly, blinking slightly like he wasn’t sure if what he was seeing was real or not. I mentally cursed myself, knowing I had once again broken my word. The last he said to me was to not show up in front of him again, and yet here I was. Quickly turning my head away, I took my seat and stared blankly at the wall ahead of me. I actually couldn’t believe that this had just happened.

As the lecturer began, Luhan leaned closer to avoid being caught as he whispered, “Don’t worry, we can change the lecture slot for next time.”

Never in my entire life have I felt as tense as I felt in that lecture hall. The entire time I could only just fight the urge I had to look around to check that Sehun was still there. The only thing written on my notepad at the end of the lecture was the date and a note from Luhan telling me to pay attention.

The second the lecture was over, there was a loud banging noise of a door being flung open. Spinning my head, I could only stare at the vacated seat that Sehun had sat in a moment ago.

“Was that-” my voice croak