On the way back to the dorms, Jihyun couldn't stop thinking. 

Why did he come back? Why did he come to this school? Did he come to find me? 

Sehun could tell she was thinking about something, and as much as he was curious about it, he stayed silent. He respected she might need some alone time, but he couldn't help but wonder what was it about. 

As they approached the dorms, they spotted a tall and slender figure standing on the steps of the dorm entrance looking towards them. Sehun squinted his eyes to get a better look, while Jihyun halted in her tracks and held onto his arm. He turned to her and he could tell she was on the edge of crying. 

Suddenly he wasn't so curious about the person standing there anymore. 

"What's wrong?" He asked with concern evident in his voice. Jihyun gaped, and she stood rooted to the ground without saying a single word. A shadow casted over her and he turned to look at the person who had just arrived. Lee Eunhyuk? 

They stared at each other intently and Sehun felt weird being present there. "You guys know each other?" He asked without directing the question to anyone. 

"Yes." 

"NO!"

Two responses came out at the same time, with the former from Eunhyuk and the latter from Jihyun. He was confused again. 

"Jihyun, can I talk to you?" Eunhyuk said and Sehun raised his eyebrows in confusion. "But she said she didn't know you." He responded before Jihyun had the chance to. 

"That's right, I don't know you. Don't look for me anymore." She turned to walk away but her arm was held back. "Jihyun, please." 

"I don't want to listen to anything you say." He stayed silent upon her cold words. 

"Let's go, Sehun." She said as she pulled him away, leaving Eunhyuk dumbfounded.

When she entered the building, her eyes were b with tears. "I told myself I will never cry over him again." She murmurred softly but Sehun caught it. He still couldn't piece the pieces together, but he knew that something definitely happened between Jihyun and Eunhyuk before. He felt a tug at his sleeve and he turned to his side to see Jihyun looking at him. 

"I know this might seem a lot to you, but do you mind lending me your shoulder for a while?" He was surprised, this was the first time she asked him something like that. Before he could react, she continued, "Ah, it's okay. What am I saying? I should go." She mumbled again before turning to head towards the door. 

His body reacted faster than his mind. Within seconds, he pulled her into his chest, and a sense of warmth filled her body. Feeling like she was in her safe haven, she let out all the tears she had been keeping the entire time. Many thoughts were running through her head before this, but when she buried herself in his arms, everything came to a standstill. 

She was trying to stifle her sobs at first, but they eventually turned into loud, wailing cries which aroused the attention of the people who were walking by. Sehun bowed in his head in embarrassment at the glancing looks from passersby but continued holding her in his embrace. her hair lightly with his thumb, he could see she was slowly calming down as her loud sobs turned into softer sobs and she was no longer gasping for air. 

Then the crying stopped. He looked at her and realized she had fallen asleep, with streaks of tears painted on her face. 
"Jihyun?" He called softly. She merely stirred in her sleep before clutching him closer to her. 

Realizing that she wasn't going to get up any time soon, he carried her in bridal style, just like he did when they came back from his grandmother's house. He couldn't help but smile to himself.

The door flung open quickly after a couple of knocks, and Hyorin stood there with a worried-stricken look as she saw the sight. 

"What happened?" She asked worriedly before directing him to Jihyun's room. "I'm not sure, maybe you should ask her when she wakes up tomorrow." He said as he laid her down in her bed slowly. 

"Thanks Sehun." Hyorin said gratefully and he shrugged. "Anytime." 

After tucking her in and taking a last glance at her, he bade goodbye to Hyorin and headed out. He was secretly glad he lived next door, as he was drained and just wanted to head home.

"You're back." Luhan said before continuing to work on something at the dining table. "Yeah, I'm so drained." He crashed into a seat beside Luhan. Luhan merely hummed in response and he peered over to look at what he's concentrating on. 

"What are you working on?" Sehun asked curiously. "Jihyun's birthday is coming up, we're preparing a card for her. Oh right, you can write your wishes on the card over there." He pointed at a huge card filled with scribbles and messages from the rest of the boys. 

It's her birthday?

"When is her birthday?" Sehun asked before he could stop himself. "I never thought you'd care about birthdays that much, Sehun. Anyway it's tomorrow." Luhan replied. 

"If I'm supposed to write there, then what are you doing?" He asked as he looked at the pink card which Luhan continued writing on. "I'm working on something for Jihyun, it's a personal gift." He said and Sehun was surprised. 

"You like her?" Sehun asked with an unknown dread in his voice. Luhan looked up this time and stayed silent for a whole minute. 

"Let's just say she makes me happy." He shrugged and smiled before continuing his card.

It wasn't a direct reply, but Sehun knew there was more to it. He didn't want to know any further and shuffled to the room after bidding goodnight to Luhan. Lying on his bed, he thought about the night's events and he continued wondering about what actually happened between Eunhyuk and Jihyun. 

Was he a classmate? A friend? A lover? What was he to her and why was she so affected by it? 

He didn't understand why he was feeling this way. When did Jihyun become so significant in his life? 

Then he was reminded of the conversation he had with Luhan in the living room. Luhan's response caught him off guard. He hadn't expect a response like this, and when he said that, Sehun could feel his heart sink. It came unknowingly, and Sehun was surprised that he felt this way. Even if Luhan did have feelings for Jihyun, what has that got to do with him? 

Caught up with his thoughts, he thought about Jihyun's upcoming birthday as well. Ironically, Sehun had never been one for birthdays nor surprises. He always felt that birthdays were just a form of growing old, and he didn't find it necessary to celebrate it. However, seeing Luhan doing something for Jihyun irked him, and he wanted to do something for her as well. His own thoughts surprised him, but he pushed them away, convincing himself that he was doing it because he wanted to make it up to her for the suffering he put her through after claiming her as his girlfriend in front of Minjung. 

Yes, that must be it. 

--

Hello everybody! I'm back after a longgggg hiatus. I've been so caught up with school and work that I didn't have time to update this space at all. It's been almost a year, I've missed writing so much and I decided to continue this story! Really hope that you guys are still here and for every new reader who comes to read this story and is willing to give it a chance, Thank You! I hope you enjoy my latest update and I'll be coming back with a lot more! 

Let me know what you guys think about it in the comments below! :)