Chapter 36

Outside, Sehun discussed the next activity with his council members as the committee while waiting for the chairman to come out of Yeojin's room. He was equally dumbfounded when the guy suddenly appeared from amongst the students earlier. For a moment, he thought Kris would take Yeojin away. But then, he realized that the guy would probably think twice to do so in front of the other students. They were, after all, trying to conceal their marriage.

Though he didn't wish anything ill for Yeojin, Sehun was rather relieved that she had a sprained ankle that needed to be taken care of. He could see the look on Kris' eyes that wanted to speak to her and possibly carry her off his back; but before any of that could happen, he quickly pointed out that her ankle needed to be treated immediately. Sehun even treated her ankle himself to stall the time. In all honesty, Yeojin didn't seem to want to talk to Kris either. Judging from the hurt in her eyes, Sehun realized that Kris must have been the one who made her cry last night.

"I still don't understand why Kris Wu would come for that girl though," one of the council members commented after they were done discussing about the next activity.

"Well, isn't she friends with his sister?" A guy replied.

"Still." The first one shrugged. "It's weird, don't you think?" Her eyes suddenly rounded. "Wait. What if that rumor about him having a wife is true, and..." She gasped, covering with a hand. "And that girl is his wif-"

"She's not!" Sehun, who had been silent, snapped at them.

The others flinched but the guy earlier dared to ask. "And how do you know she's not, President?"

Sehun gritted his teeth. "Because.... Because she's my girlfriend." His reply elicited gasps from the members. A part of him regretted saying it, but another part of him believed it was necessary. "Now if you all wish to be gossipers, I suggest you resign from my council."

The others clamped their mouth shut and lowered their heads. Just then, Sehun saw Kris coming out of the hotel with slumped shoulders, heading for his car. He looked back at s and threw them a sharp gaze. "Go prepare for the next activity."

Without taking a second glance at them, he turned around and headed inside the hotel. When he was in front of Yeojin's room, he could hear Sunhee's voice and he paused from entering the room.

"Did you guys fight again? I assume it's a huge fight this time or else he wouldn't come all the way here just to talk to you." Sunhee sounded concerned. "What is it this time, Jin? What did he say?" There was no reply from Yeojin and  Sunhee sighed. "Jin? Are you even listening to me? Jin-" She stopped shaking her friend's shoulder when she heard the door creaked open. She whipped her head around and found Sehun entering the room. "Oh. It's you. H-hi."

Sehun just gave her a nod before his eyes landed on Yeojin who was sitting on the bed. Her eyes was blankly staring at the wall in front of her. Sunhee noticed Sehun's eyes on her friend and pursed her lips.

"She's fine. Just a little dazed," Sunhee told him, snapping him away from staring at Yeojin. "Thanks for finding her, by the way." She smiled.

Sehun cleared his throat. "Uhm. Yeah." He moved to join them sitting on the bed close to Yeojin's feet. "I'm her boyfriend anyway." It felt weird even to himself to be saying this so often today. But he couldn't help it. He felt the need to claim her. Even though he knew she was not his, he wanted to believe that she was. At least for now.

He rearranged the pillow under her bandaged foot, gently lifting her leg. That seemed to cut Yeojin's train of thoughts. She blinked and then directed her eyes to stare at him. Sunhee silently watched the two and narrowed her eyes on her friend.

Sehun looked up afterwards and saw her giving him a small smile. "You need to lie down and rest. Your ankle should be above the level of your heart."

Yeojin nodded and moved to lie down. "So what now? I can't participate in any of the activities?"

"Yes, you can't."

"Can't you carry me to the venue like earlier? I'll just sit down or something and-"

"No." Sehun cut her off. "You need to rest."

Yeojin sighed with a pout. "I should've just gone home with-" She paused when she realized what she was just about to say. No, I don't wanna go home with him. She cleared . "Fine. I'll just stay here."

"Good." He nodded as he stood up. His face softened when he saw how disappointed she looked in not being able to have fun. "Don't worry. I guarantee you it's no fun activities. Just some boring bonding games and boring campfire afterwards."

Yeojin softly snorted. "Yeah, that sounds so boringly fun." She rolled her eyes.

Sehun only smirked at her sarcasm. "Just rest for now. You'll have fun with the last project once we're back at school."

"Wow." She rolled her eyes. "Thank you very much for easing my worry, Mr. President."

He smirked again and- to her surprise- patted her head. He then excused himself, leaving the girls alone.

"You two seem to be getting much closer," Sunhee who had been silent the whole time noted with narrowed eyes.

Yeojin flinched a little under her friend's gaze and she cleared . "Yeah. Uhm. I supposed so."

"Jin." Sunhee sighed. "I told you to be careful. I know he's nice to you and all, but don't lead him on. It's not fair for him anyway. Not when you're married to-"

"I know, I know," Yeojin cut her off, turning her head the other way. If only I weren't married. She squeezed her eyes at the thought, but she couldn't deny it. Sehun had been making her feel like a normal high school girl. He made her feel like everything would be much better if she weren't married. Especially after what happened last night. But Kris said-

"I just don't want you to be entagled in a much more complicated relationship than you already are in, Jin." Sunhee softly stated and lowered her head.

Hearing how worried her friend sounded, Yeojin bit down her lip and turned to look back at her friend. "I know." This time she smiled as she patted Sunhee's hand. "You better go and have fun with the others. Or have a huge amount of boredom as Sehun had put it." She grinned and Sunhee giggled.

But then Sunhee frowned. "Are you sure you'll be alright alone? I can accompany you. I'm sure Sehun wouldn't mind."

"No, it's okay." Yeojin smiled, assuring her. "I'll be okay. Besides..." A smirk grazed her lips, "Jongdae would want you there."

Sunhee's cheeks turned a few shades of red. They both giggled and laughed before Sunhee left Yeojin, only after giving her a hug.

Yeojin let out a sigh and her grin slowly faltered when Sunhee had closed the door behind her.

"Yes, order a a pair of crutches and have 'em ready here by tomorrow, Mr. Lee." Kris paced around the room as he spoke over the phone. "No, it's not for me. Just do what I said." He ended the call and shrank down to the bed.

Kris had decided to stay at another hotel not far from Yeojin's in case anything else happened to her. He couldn't let another guy take care of his wife again if anything happened to her. He couldn't even forget how Sehun carried her and tended her sprained ankle himself earlier. If this happened months ago, he wouldn't give a damn about it. But after what he had told her, he would gladly admit that he was jealous if it meant keeping her.

Earlier
Kris bore a hole on Sehun's back with his gaze as the latter took care of Yeojin's sprained ankle. He knew it wasn't really that long, but it felt tortuously so to him. He couldn't stand seeing someone else took care of her while he could only helplessly watched from the side. After bandaging her ankle, with evident reluctance Sehun left them alone per Kris' request.

"Are you crazy?! Do you know that people will question your presence here?" Yeojin crudely snapped at him with crossed arms. "Why are you here, Kris?"

Her tone was biting, pricking his heart. But Kris knew he deserved it.

"I know why you're mad at me."

Yeojin scowled. "You do? Why do you think it is?"

Kris harshly ruffled his hair. "I messed up."

Her frown only deepened. "How?" She challenged him to elaborate.

Kris groaned and paced around before he stopped and tried to take deep breath to calm himself down. "You saw me.... and her."

Yeojin kept silent. The frown was still intact to her face, but her now moist eyes spoke a different thing. God! Why does it hurt so much?! She asked herself. I was the one ruining their relationship! I'm only his temporary wife. Why do I care if they kissed? She scolded herself, giving him a pointed look.

Because though temporary, you're his legal wife. And he kissed you. And you liked it. A small voice in her head said.

Kris couldn't stand seeing the hurt in her eyes. Before she could blink, he was already sitting down on the bed.

"I messed up," he said again.

Yeojin let out a dry chuckle. "Congratulations!"

"I'm sorry." He tried to hold her hand but she pulled it away. "Look, I'm not here to ask for your forgiveness because I know I f-ed up big time. I'm here to apologize and to explain."

Yeojin silently glared at him for some time before she turned her head to look away again.

"And to confess," he added.

Yeojin whilpped her head back to him and blinked several times at that.

Kris sighed before he continued, "Ever since...." He bit his lower lip. "Ever since we kissed, I-it's-we-I-I was confused." The wrinkles on Yeojin's forehead eased a little. "I know we agreed that we were just carried away, but it wasn't just that to me, Jin." Her eyes widened by a fraction when he said that. "At least, that wasn't what I felt. At first, I thought I would feel whatever I felt if I kissed any other girl. But when I kissed Areum, I felt..." He lowered his head. "I felt... nothing." He lifted his head again and stared at her in the eyes. "I was only testing it on Areum."

He gently grabbed her hands into his. This time Yeojin was too stunned to retract them.

"I know that was a god-damn stupid move! I don't blame you for hating me for that. You can ignore me, punch me, or do whatever you like to me, but please believe what I'm about to say."

She blinked several times when he said 'please'. Yeojin knew Kris wouldn't say that word unless he's desperate. And that was exactly what she saw in his eyes.

"I... I realized that I..." Kris swallowed the lump of nervousness in his throat; but when he found his determination again, his eyes that held hers turned dead serious. "I like you, Jin," he said with no trace of doubt. "More than a friend," he added.

Yeojin's jaw dropped, taken aback by what he confessed. She had a hard time processing what he just said to her.

"I don't care if you're going to ignore me and all that or if you don't want to forgive me. But know that I'm NOT going to hold back my feelings any longer either."

Yeojin opened and closed like a fish, not knowing what to reply. He must be joking! She told herself. Yet, when she looked at his eyes, she knew she was just in denial. After a while, Yeojin finally got a gripped of herself and looked away, pulling her hands from his. "You're lying!"

"I wasn't. That's the truth." He stated firmly.

Yeojin still didn't dare to look at him as she bit the inside of her cheeks. She closed her eyes to calm the fast beating of her heart.

Kris finally sighed and stood up. "I've said what I need to. I'll go now and let you rest. Be careful with your ankle, alright?"

He walked to the door and took a second glance at Yeojin who didn't want to look at him. He closed the door behind him and let out another sigh, this time, of relief. Even though he could still feel the tension, he was somewhat relief because now he had said what he wanted to say to her. 
 

"Damn it!" Kris cursed himself when a realization belatedly hit him. "I forgot to give Beavie to her."

Students ran to the meeting hall for shelter when thunder clapped at a distance. The meeting hall was located few feet down the hill from the hotel and near the campfire site.

"Guess there won't be campfire now," one of the students mumbled with a pout.

"We'll continue with our planned activities here minus the fire," Sehun announced loud and clear.

He arranged a quick meeting with the committee to adjust the activities.

"It's about Yeojin, Miss!"

His ears perked up when he heard Sunhee's voice. He craned his neck looking for her and saw her talking to her class' home room teacher. Jongdae was by her side, her back to calm her down.

"She shouldn't be left alone! Especially not when it's raining." Worry etched in her voice.

"Why?" Mrs. Han raised her brows in surprise.

"Because..." Sunhee bit down her lip. "Because she- she has a trauma with rain and she can break down into panic attack if she's alone."

Right after hearing that, without second thought, Sehun ran out of the hall and braced himself for the attack of pouring rain.

"Oh Sehun! Where are you going?" Mr. Yoo, who was nearest to the door, shouted at him as he ran farther and disappeared out of sight.

"Ugh!" Yeojin took Sunhee's pillow and buried her face on it, groaning. "Why the heck can't I forget about it!" She grumbled to herself.

Ever since Sunhee left her, she couldn't stop thinking of what Kris said to her. His words got replayed in her mind like a broken record until she couldn't take it anymore.

Yeojin uncovered her face, hugging the pillow instead. She then stared at the ceiling, again recalling every word Kris said to her. "He likes me?" She felt her heart skip a beat. "More than a friend?" Her heart skipped another beat and its pace quickened. She brought a hand to where he heart is. "No, no! That can't be true!" She denied with a sigh. "He likes Areum eonni and he was just making an excuse!"

Was he? A small voice asked her.

Suddenly, she heard thunder clapped and flinched a little. She gulped, only now realizing that she had no Beavie to hug. She hugged the pillow tighter instead.

"I'll be okay. I'll be okay," she chanted in her mind. "I was getting better anyway. Breathe, Yeojin. Breathe." She was determined not to break down into panic attack.

When the pitter patter of the rain started, she took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.

You can do this, Jin! Think happy thoughts. She told herself, letting the rain lull her.

It was hard at first. To think of happy thoughts, that was. But soon, it was as if a movie of her past was played in her mind. She saw her dad chasing her around at the playground while her Mom sat down on a bench with baby Jinho in her arms, laughing. The memory then swirled away replaced by another memory of her playing under the pouring rain with Lin while Kris tried to pull both under the umbrella.

Yeojin's closed eyes twitched a little at the presence of Kris in her memory.

That memory swirled away too and now she was remembering all the times she spent with Kris. She felt her heart hammering against her chest when she remembered his lips crashing with hers for the first time that one rainy day at the bus shelter. Suddenly, the bus shelter and their surrounding morphed into their living room. She was lying down on the couch instead and Kris was on top of her. Their lips never left each other.

The memory felt so real, she could almost feel his lips on her. She furrowed her brows as her logic told her that she shouldn't be feeling this blissful at the memory. But her heart said otherwise. Her heart was beating fast, and she knew it wasn't because of a coming panic attack. Surprisingly to her, the memory eased her fear of the rain.

Suddenly, her eyes flew open and she sat upright. It wasn't because she disliked the memory, but because she heard a click on her door. The door flung open and before Yeojin could even register what was happening, she found herself engulfed in the intruder's arms.

Kris stepped on the gas even more when droplets of rain started staining the car's winshield. Once he arrived at the lobby, he grabbed Beavie and ran to the reception desk. Not giving the receptionist a time for friendly greetings, he demanded for a key to Yeojin's room. The receptionist looked surprised and was about to say something, but Kris demanded it again saying it was urgent and giving no room for any more argument.

Once he got the key, he quickly ran up the stairs, heading for Yeojin's room. His feet came to a stop in front of her room whose door was already ajar.

"You're okay." He heard a guy's voice breathed out. "You're okay."

"Sehun?"

Kris was already opening the door a little wider, but then paused when he heard her voice mentioning the guy's name. He peeked in and saw the very guy hugging Yeojin. His back was on him and she was resting her chin on his shoulder.

"W-why are you here?" She asked as she tried to carefully wiggle herself away from Sehun's hug.

But he only tightened his arms around her.

"Sehun, you're soaked!" She noted. "Sehun, let me-"

"You're okay." He said over pants of breath as he pulled her closer. He sounded more like he was telling himself than Yeojin that she was okay. "Please." His voice came out shaky. "Just... Just let me hold you for awhile."

Yeojin blinked surprised, but she stopped wriggling in his arms. And after awhile, she let herself sank in his embrace. It was awkward but at the same time oddly comforting for her to be in Sehun's arms.

"I thought you- but you're alright," he breathed out again.

Her arms slowly encircled him, and she gently rubbed his back over his soaked jacket.

"Yes, I'm alright."

Kris' hand on the door knob slid down to his side. He felt hundreds- or maybe even thousands!- of pricks in his heart at what he saw. He swallowed the lump in his throat while closing his eyes to ease the burning sensation stinging them. When he opened his eyes again, he stared at Beavie in his arm. He stooped to place the large plush down on the floor in front of the door and patted its head.

When he straightened up, he blankly stared at the door for a moment. It was as if words of woes were written on the wooden door to hurt his feeling. His gaze fell down and he slowly took steps back before turning around and walked away, leaving the large plush to guard the girl he failed to guard.

Was this chapter longer? Haha
Anyway, I think I'll be updating slower than I already am again now. I want to update my other story too :) But I've been pretty generous with updates lately, right? ^^

I'll still update this story, don't worry. Just that the update will be much slower. In the mean time, do you guys want to do a Q&A of this story? Just wondering :)