Chapter 67

"Gosh! This is so tiring!" Yeojin wiped beads of sweat on her forehead then put the mop away before plopping down on the couch.

Kris had dropped her off at their house because she needed to take more clothes if they were going to stay at the mansion longer. She was planning to just pack up some clothes then waste herself watching TV while waiting for Kris to pick her up again, but it got boring. Having no time for workout the past months, she decided cleaning up the house wouldn't be such a bad idea.

The running club and the track field suddenly felt like a distant memory though it really wasn't that long since the last time she ran. Yet, with the final paper accomplished and the graduation coming up, everything school-related seemed like it was slowly withering into just memories. Her school days had not even ended, but somehow it already felt so nostalgic.

Sighing with a smile, Yeojin fished out her phone from her pocket and scrolled through her photo gallery. She snorted at some of the silly photos she took with Sunhee and Lin and smiled at those with the running club he members. Thinking of it, she realized she wouldn't have met Sehun if she weren't in the club in the first place. Not unless fate decided to pull them together some other way. A wistful smile crossed her lips.

Scrolling again, she came to the batch of photos she took of Kris at Sokcho that day after her birthday. She smiled at a candid picture of Kris. All those years Kris treated her coldly almost felt nonexistent. Those years felt like a fiction.

All those years, she only had one goal for them: to reconcile. To be friends again. It was beyond her expectation to be achieving that and more. Never had she thought of falling in love with her own best friend. Let alone, anyone! 

Somewhere along the way, love just broke down all her walls. But all her feelings were regrettably so untamed; she came to love two persons.

Yeojin huffed and got up sauntering to the kitchen. All those sweeping and mopping got her hungry. Checking the fridge, she found only some bottles of juice and a cup of expired pudding. She clicked her tongue and searched for snacks in the cupboard only to find it empty.

"Geez! I should've gone grocery shopping yesterday." She puffed then bit down her lower lip. "Should I go to the convenience store now?" She wondered while tapping her foot on the floor.

Earlier, Kris had called her and told her to stay put—whatever that meant. He sounded so worried; it had Yeojin confused. She had thought that maybe he was just too nervous of his team's presentation. Although, she couldn't really imagine his cold-chairman self being nervous even for one bit.

"This is a matter of survival though!" Yeojin huffed. "I need food!" She whined to herself. I'll just not tell him I'm going. He's busy anyway. It's not like I'm going anywhere far. She decided.

Although she had convinced herself that it was okay to not let Kris know she was leaving the house for just a bit, Yeojin was a little wary when she walked to the usual convenience store. Luckily, nothing unusual happened and she arrived at the store safely. A huge grin decorated her face when she walked out of the store with a bag of some ramyun packs and snacks.

A childlike happiness was bubbling inside her that she was almost skipping her way to the house. That was until she turned at a corner in her neighborhood and froze. She saw two guys each on a motorbike parked in front of her house. They were just joking with each other until one of them caught a sight of her. Yeojin quickly turned the corner again to hide behind the wall. 

Her gut was telling her something was wrong. That those guys weren't just someone casually resting in front of her house. They couldn't be. Then, Kris' earlier warning pounded her mind. Quickly, she fumbled for her phone while backtracking her way.

The moment she heard the line picked up, in panic she said, "Kris, there are two guys in front of our house. I think they're following me now"—she heard hurried footsteps behind her and picked her own pace—"I was just out for some snacks. I swear I didn't take too much time. But then I saw the— Ack!" She yelled in surprise when one of the two guys caught up to her and stopped in front of her.

She glanced at his ash blonde hair while he grinned then said, "Hey, we've been calling you out, dear. Didn't you hear? Why did you run away? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Ignoring the guy, she turned back the other way but found his friend—a guy with pink hair—already approaching her. "Hi, gorgeous!" He gave her a twisted smile.

Her heart was hammering against her ribcage. The sound of its beat reached her ears and a flash of memory of guys, rainy night, and a necklace flashed in her mind. She gulped and took a deep breath.

No! I'm not going to make the same mistake. And I'm not going to break down into panic here! She told herself then dashed away without hesitation. 

Pressing her phone to her ear again, she chanted Kris' name but later realized her phone was dead. Oh for pancake's sake! Why didn't I charge my phone! Fudge! She cursed herself and looked back finding the guys chasing after her. Cussing under her breath, she threw her plastic bag of ramyun packs and snacks at them to slow them down before picking up her pace.

All her coach's hard trainings felt like such a huge blessing to her in this moment.

The only problem was she was running blindly. She only thought of running away earlier, now she needed to figure out where to run. If only she was clear headed when she started running, she would have run to the main street then to the convenience store. But now, she was just running around the neighborhood. 

Knowing the neighborhood was a territory of wealthy people's houses, Yeojin wasn't sure if these (she assumed) business men or women were at home considering it was only noon. However, she took a chance and shouted for help anyway. She banged some doors and gates she passed as she ran with the two guys still on her tail.

"Help—Ack!" She tripped on her own foot and cursed at the pain. She tried to stand up but fell again. "Oh fudging pancake! Not now!" Wincing she tried to stand up again, but her ankle protested as pain shot up again.

The guys chuckled and approached her with relaxed strides now. "Help! Help!" Yeojin screamed again while sliding on her bum to back away from the guys.

"You sure are one feisty girl!" The blonde guy chuckled while his lips.

"You two better screw off!"

"Or what?" The pink-haired guy lifted an eyebrow.

"You don't know who you're going to deal with!"

They laughed again then crouched in front of her. "Oh we know, sweetie," the blonde spoke up while playing with strands of her hair then caressed her cheek; it made her feel disgusted. "You're the one who don't know who you've been messing with."

A memory, a nightmare slowly crawled out of the vault in her mind that she had closed with so much effort the past months. She could feel the long forgotten panic attack at its door, but she forced herself to hold it back. Masking her fear, Yeojin spat on his face and spotted a queer tattoo on his neck.

The pink-haired guy laughed at his friend while the blonde gritted his teeth. "Why you little wench!" He raised his hand and Yeojin squeezed her eyes in fear.

She never felt the impact and her eyes flew open just in time to see a foot kicking the blonde knocking him over to his friend. Her widened eyes traced the foot up to its owner. 

"Sehun?" Her voice came out above a whisper.

"I can't believe you guys have stooped this low," Sehun flatly said to the guys who were struggling to stand up.

"You!" The pink guy spat as he stood up and threw a fist Sehun's way.

Yeojin flinched and squeezed her eyes shut again. Hearing the sound of beating and grunts, she pressed her hands to her ears. The flashes of memory came in full force. 

Guys trapping and touching her. Sounds of punches. Her dad lying lifeless on the ground. Baekhyun being stabbed.

"No, no!" She quietly told herself. Deep breath, Yeojin. Deep breath. She tried to do what she told herself, but she could feel panic in the pit of her stomach. This is different, Yeojin. No one's gonna die. Think of happy thoughts.

Whether it was because she just saw Sehun or something else, but for once, she thought of those days she sat behind him on his motorbike and those short times she studied with him. She remembered Sehun piggybacking her and drenched Sehun hugging her close. 

Calm slowly seeped in.

Suddenly, she was at a bus stop with a pair of lips pressed against hers. She was then gently pushed down on the couch while the same pair of lips moved against hers. 

The memory helped her breathe normally.

She remembered arms wrapped around her to calm her down on rainy days, little hands pulling her much smaller hands as they ran across a field, arms hesitatingly snaking around her body at nights to keep her close, and the same arms playfully carrying her younger self to spin her around. She remembered the chest her head leaned on and the hand caressing her head as she cried for her father's death for the first time in years. Then, she saw herself walking down the aisle of a chapel. A pair of hands held hers as the owner's voice echoed, "I do" before the same voice whispered broken heartedly "I love you, Jin."

Kris...

Without her permission, tears streamed down and she was thrown into a mix of feelings. She could momentarily tasted the calm but the last words ringing in her ears planted long-forgotten fear that knocked her out of her breath.

Kris, help!

Kris was the last person Sehun ever expected to call him. He probably wasn't even in the list in the first place. The oddity prompted him to pick up the call as he unmounted his bike and walked toward the convenience store.

The guy didn't even give him a chance to say anything and immediately told him, "Yeojin is in danger! I need your help!"

That was all it took to reel him back toward his motorbike. He started his bike while listening to what Kris had to say left.

"On it!" He ended the call, put on his helmet and drove away.

Two guys. Yeojin being chased. Their neighborhood.

Those were the words he could process from what Kris said. Lucky, he was, that the store was not that far off from Yeojin's neighborhood. He saw two motorbikes parked in front of her house when he passed it and drove around until he heard distant shouts of help. It didn't take long for him to locate her—thanks to her continuous shout. Quickly, he unmounted his bike. When he saw a blonde-haired guy raising his hand ready to slap Yeojin, he ran and kicked the guy on his side.

Their Frost tattoo was the first thing he noticed when they were struggling to get up. Frost was supposed to only be a gang of bikers and street racers. But maybe, he just never really knew about Frost and how despicable it really was, he thought.

"I can't believe you guys have stooped this low."

When the pink-haired guy threw a punch, he managed to dodge it and jabbed the guy on his cheek with an elbow. He dodged another punch from the other guy, but he didn't see the coming punch from the other hand. He was just recovering from the punch when he was being kicked on the stomach causing him to fall to the ground. Receiving another kick, he coughed and groaned.

Before one of them could punch him again, someone hit the blonde on his back with a thin block of wood causing him to fall. 

Sehun saw the look of horror in the two guys' eyes when they were about to curse at the intruder. He looked up and saw a female's back on him; her hair tied in a ponytail.

"If you still have even the slightest gratitude for what Xiu has done to you all this time," the female spoke up and Sehun's eyes bulged out hearing the voice, "then you should screw off. Now!"

He would know that voice anywhere. He couldn't believe he still remembered it.

The two jerks scrambled away with curses whilst Sehun had managed to get on his feet. "Emi?" Her name slipped out of his lips; his eyes remained rounded staring at her back.

Here stood the girl who had sacrificed her dignity for his sake to help another girl that was not her. The guilt that had been eating him out the past few weeks was overwhelming him. He really didn't know what he should do or say to her. If it were months ago, he would easily ignore her. But not with this guilt he had now.

Slowly she turned to face him; her eyes not being able to hold his for too long. 

"How—Why are you here?" He asked.

"Sehun... I was looking for you. I—I"—her gaze fell to the ground. "I just wanted to tell you that—"

A soft painful moan and pants cut her off. Sehun's attention was immediately wheeled back toward the girl he forgot he was saving earlier. Sehun quickly left Emi and approached Yeojin crouching in front of her when he saw her pressing her hands on the sides of her ducked head.

"Yeojin," he gently touched her shoulder.

"Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" Yeojin slapped his hand away.

Baffled, Sehun blinked. "Yeojin, it's me. Sehun." 

With breaths coming out in short intervals, Yeojin slightly lifted her head and looked at him with glistening eyes. He reached a hand to wiped her tears, but she raised a hand to signal him to stop and squeezed her eyes shut again. "Stop! Just... Don'! I—Just give me some time! Okay?"

"A-alright." He retracted his hand and helplessly watched her struggling to even breathe. "A-are you alright?" If only she permitted him, he would pull her into his arms right away.

"I'm—o-okay. Just give me some time."

Seeing she was on the ground and only drew up one knee to her chest, Sehun guessed she must have fallen and sprained an ankle. He moved to her outstretched leg and touched her ankle.

Yeojin flinched and yelped. "Don't touch me! Please!"

His heart was wrenched seeing her like this. It was even in more pain knowing he couldn't—wasn't allowed to—do anything to help her. "Okay, okay! But be careful with your leg, please."

A car stopped beside them and out came a horrified Kris. He jogged to them and crouched down beside Yeojin who was taking in short breaths.

"Jin." He touched her shoulder and she reacted the same way and even going as far as frantically hitting him while screaming, but he caught her wrists and tugged them down to uncover her face. "It's me! It's me! It's Kris!"

Sehun wanted to tell him it's useless, but Yeojin froze and her eyes flew open. "Kris?"

"Yes, it's me."

Her glistening rounded eyes studied his face as if to check whether he was really Kris or a ghost.

A stab went through Sehun's heart when Yeojin immediately wrapped her arms around Kris's necks and cried on his shoulders. "Don't go!"

"I'm not going." Kris returned the hug and rubbed her back in circles. "Now, deep breath. Deep breath. I'm here, okay?"

Clearing his throat, Sehun stood up and took a few steps back to give them some space. He suddenly remembered Emi again, but she was nowhere seen anymore. No matter how much he turned around, she didn't appear.

He sighed.

He wondered what she wanted to say before. He would have asked how she was doing, apologized then thanked her for what she had done for him last time if that could make his guilt disappear. Yet now, he could only sighed and wished she was doing fine.

"Thanks."

Kris' voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he silently nodded to the older man.

 

Sehun had never wanted to enter their house again, but he now found himself in it for the second time. And hopefully the last. 

He had declined Kris' offer to lend him their first aid kit. But after some persistent offer, he finally agreed only if he was allowed to help treat Yeojin's ankle. An offer he later regretted.

It was a torture to watch Yeojin, who had been knocked out to sleep, never wanting to let her arm slip away from around Kris' torso while he adjusted her leg and placed a bag of ice on her ankle. Doing this felt like a déjà vu. Except this time, Sehun couldn't pretend not knowing her status as Kris's wife nor pretend he was her boyfriend.

Finishing up, he stood up and bid good bye. Kris was surprisingly able to eased himself away from Yeojin and followed him out of the room.

"Wait," Kris quietly called out and Sehun stopped to turn to him. "Here." He handed him a first aid kit. "At least treat your bruises first before going home."

Sehun gently pushed the kit back to Kris. "No need. I can do that at home. Oh! And her ankle would be alright. It's not as severely sprained as last time." He then bobbed his head. "I'll take my leave now."

"She has a trauma," Kris spoke up stopping him in his steps again. 

"I know." Sehun let out a sigh. "That birthday thing, right? She told me."

If he was surprised, Kris didn't show it and just nodded while putting away the first aid kit. "She has been dealing with panic attacks because of it." Leaning on the wall, he crossed his arms and continued, "It was actually hard for her to accept someone's love. She has this immense fear that the person would either get hurt or leave her in the end."

Sehun dryly laughed. "Well, seems like she's not scared of losing me."

Kris sighed. "But I think she—"

"It's good that way," Sehun cut him off. Burying his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, he lowered his head. "It'll be easier for her to let me go."

"You're leaving somewhere?" Kris raised a brow and Sehun shrugged.

"Well, college is coming up. Aren't we senior students all leaving?"

"Yeah, but..." Kris narrowed his eyes. "You're talking as if you're going to leave for good. Like you're going to leave her."

Heaviness lodged in his heart, and Sehun couldn't reply anything other than darting his gaze away.

"I hate to admit this, but I'm sure you know by now that Yeojin—"

"Likes me? Loves me?" Sehun offered with a raised brow. "Yeah. I know. I guess I know." His heavy heart prompted him to briefly close his eyes. If only doing it could ease his heart. "But that doesn't mean she will choose me. I've seen it earlier. She will never want to lose you. In the end, she will choose you."

"That will be great if it's true, but you don't know that. We don't know that yet."

For some reason, Sehun found himself smiling. He wasn't sure if inside he was laughing at himself, Kris or at them both. "I'll wrap things up with her," he told him.

"You really want to leave her for good?"

Leaving her? No, he didn't want that. For good or for bad or for whatever, he didn't want that. But did he really have any other choice? Not with his situation. Not with her situation.

Sehun didn't know why Kris had to frown so much about this. Shouldn't this be what he wanted? 

Sehun gave him a lopsided smile.

Someone needs to beat my lazy , so I can update more often.

And for once Kris and Sehun are amicable, aren't they?