Chapter 69

"Why are you hesitating? Stick it in!"

"Now?" Jongin glanced at Lin unsure.

Lin rolled her eyes. "Yes, now!"

"Alright, alright. I'm just nervous."

"You said you're good at this."

"I usually am. But we've come this far, and it still hasn't popped off." Jongin gulped when Lin glared at him. "You're scary! Fine! Here?"

"No, not there! The other other hole, I've told you!" 

"For coke's sake!" Jongdae groaned. "Just put the goddamn sword in! This game doesn't even need a skill!"

Sunhee and Yeojin laughed while Sehun tried so hard to hold back his laughter by pretending to cough.

"Hey! Why are you yelling at me? I'm older than you, remember? Be polite to me!" Jongin retorted and pointed the little sword he held between his thumb and index finger at Jongdae. "Or I'm going to take my cousin away from you."

Jongdae scoffed loudly. "She's dumping me anyway." He shrugged and got the back of his head smacked by Sunhee.

"So you're taking out your anger on me?"

"Oh my gosh!" Lin whined and smacked Jongin's arm. "Just put the sword in!"

Sehun smirked as he lightly shook his head. "You guys are loud," he casually commented.

"You got problem with that, kid?" Jongin raised a brow and crossed his arms mimicking Sehun.

"PUT THE SWORD IN ALREADY!" Jongdae, Lin and Yeojin unanimously shouted causing Sunhee to laugh even more.

"Geez! Chill!" Jongin raised his hands in surrender. "Kids these days," he muttered while finally sticking in the sword to the hole on the barrel.

A corner of Sehun's lips tugged up.

When Jongdae called him in the morning, he only accepted his invitation to hangout because he just wanted to stay away from his dad as much as possible. After that argument regarding his choice of major, he really felt suffocated at home. He didn't know that when Jongdae said "let's hangout", it meant "let's have a triple date." Though really, should he counted himself and Yeojin still as a couple? It was really more like a double date with extra two third-wheelers.

Yeojin looked no less surprised than he was when he arrived. Also, Lin looked like she wanted to run away that instant if it weren't for Jongin beside her. He remembered asking for the guy's help once to give him time to talk with Yeojin. It seemed like Jongin had turned into Lin's current crush.

One thing Sehun immediately found out when they were eating was this bunch (except for Sunhee) was loud!

His brain told him that these people were just too loud and chaotic to his liking, but he surprisingly didn't dislike their company at all. He found them... decent. Maybe it was because these people are those closest to Yeojin besides Kris, and it made him feel good to be part of her close circle. Whatever the reason was, Yeojin's friends weren't hard to be with. He never had any close friends, he realized. Perhaps... He would miss this too once he left.

"Sheez!" Jongin cussed when the toy pirate's head finally popped out from the barrel. 

The others laughed and Jongdae clapped his hands. "Woots!" He happily exclaimed. "Sorry, Lin. But we've agreed the girl of the losing pair should pay." He handed the bill to a frowning Lin.

"You said you always win this Pirate Roulette game!" Lin protested to Jongin.

"Hey! This is a game of luck, not skill! Besides, you chose that hole!" Jongin retorted gaining a glare from Lin.

Chuckling, Yeojin nudged Jongin's shoulder. "Be a good boyfriend and pay in her stead, will you?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Lin countered with a pout.

Jongin immediately smirked at her remark. "Not yet." He winked at her and took the bill from her hand. "Fine! I'll pay. I'm the oldest among us anyway."

Watching how Lin was trying hard to hold back her growing smile, Sehun realized she might really liked the guy. He was glad. It was a relief that Lin wasn't one of the girls who couldn't move on from him when he rejected them. Honestly, he had been feeling guilty for giving Lin a false hope before because she was actually a really nice girl. It was good that she had found someone else who could give her the attention that she deserved.

"I didn't know you would come," Yeojin spoke beside him as they walked out of the restaurant. 

"I didn't know Jongdae invited other weirdos like him," he joked and Yeojin laughed causing his heart to skip a beat.

He mentally cursed at how his heart just couldn't stop reacting this way toward her.

"Well, at least you had fun with us weirdos, right?" She asked while nudging him.

Smiling, he admitted, "Yeah."

Suddenly, he was shoved to the side and Lin appeared between them. "Don't get too close to my sister, you!" The younger girl pointed a finger at him while linking her arm with Yeojin's. "She belongs to my brother!"

"Lin..." Yeojin sighed while rolling her eyes.

Raising his hands, Sehun playfully nodded. "Alright, Ms. Security!"

"Why didn't you go with the guys to look for video games?"

"Our president here isn't a gamer, remember?" Sunhee giggled falling into steps beside Yeojin. "Besides, didn't you notice he was about to pass out listening to those two chatterboxes? We don't want a deaf valedictorian at the graduation, so we?"

"True!" Yeojin laughed.

"Fine!" Lin clicked her tongue then pushed him by his shoulder again. "But stay away from Yeojin eonni! Shoo, shoo!"

"By the way," Sunhee spoke up again. "Which university are you going to, Sehun?"

Stumped by the question, Sehun took a beat before he answered, "I don't know." He shrugged and noticed Yeojin's questioning look. "It's a secret," he added with a smirk.

"What about you, Eonni?" Lin asked Sunhee.

"I've applied to several universities. I don't mind whichever will accept me since they all offer interior design," Sunhee answered with a smile then nudged Yeojin. "Are you going to apply to that university in London?"

"London?" The question slipped out of Sehun's lips before he could hold himself.

"Yeah!" Lin answered instead. "Yeojin eonni always gushed about London and wanting to live there back in junior high. But she never talked about it since—" She stopped herself as she turned to look at Yeojin who forced a laugh.

"Hey, that was like a long time ago! I can't even remember why I wanted to live abroad. Haha! I mean living here is much better! I can see you guys every now and then. So nah! I'm not leaving Korea!" A nervous grin decorated her face.

Sehun didn't buy that grin for a second! She totally still love the idea of going and living abroad, he was sure. Something was just holding her back. Could it be that she was just...scared?

Turned out, he wasn't the only one who saw past her fake grin. Sunhee was looking at her friend with a frown. "So you didn't even try to apply to a university there?"

Yeojin looked taken aback. "N-no."

"Why?"

"Because I want to be here?"

"Really?"

Sehun saw her gulped. "Y-yeah. Why? You don't want me close by?"

Sunhee sighed. "It's not that. But, Jin, if this is because you're scared of los—"

"Oh look at that dress!" Yeojin suddenly exclaimed and strutted away from them before entering a shop.

Clearly, she was avoiding that talk.

Sunhee rolled her eyes and huffed before following her friend with Lin in tow. Left alone, Sehun decided to look for a bench to sit on. After walking around for a while, he finally found a bench and immediately plopped on it then threw his head back to sigh.

A lot of things had happened in the span of few months bringing changes to his life. To everyone's life. 

There was that news about most of the Frost members including Xiumin being jailed for selling drugs, which he speculated to be Park Changsun's doing. Tao's name wasn't mentioned, luckily. Sehun could only assumed his friend was safe. He wondered if that news was what Emi wanted to tell him. Besides that, graduation was around the corner. Life after that was certainly fast approaching.

Yet, still, some things never change. He was still hard-headed as ever, he realized. Yeojin remained someone else's wife. And apparently she still feared losing Kris.

Something cold suddenly stung his right cheek. Hissing from the sudden coldness, he looked up to find Lin smirking and handing him a bubble tea.

"My last treat before you graduate," she told him.

Yeah, some things never change. Sehun thought as he took the bubble tea with a small smile. "Thanks." He immediately sipped his favorite drink.

"Actually that's a bribe." She sat down beside him; her lips curled into a triumphant grin. "And since you've drunk it, you can't back away. You have bound yourself to an agreement that you will stay away from Yeojin eonni."

Sehun scoffed to the side then softly chuckled. When his eyes glanced at her, he pursed his lips then exhaled. "You know"—he lowered his gaze to the ground—"I never get to say how sorry I am to you." As he glanced at her again, she stared at him with raised brows. "Oh you know... For leading you on? I'm really sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

"Psh!" Lin waved her hand dismissively. "I knew it was too good to be true from the start." Sehun snorted and she laughed. 

"What are you two laughing at?" Yeojin asked as she sauntered to them.

"It's a secret!" Lin chirped earning a questioning look from Yeojin. "You're not buying any dress for the prom?"

"Your brother said 'no' to every dress she sent a picture of," Sunhee replied with a teasing smile. "Apparently, your brother has bought one for her. He said—" Yeojin jabbed the side of her stomach to stop her from revealing more.

"My gosh! How corny!" Lin rolled her eyes, and the other girls laughed while Sehun, enjoying his bubble tea, just silently watched in amusement.

The car came to a stop in front of her house. The ride had been silent ever since they entered the car. Still, none of them seemed willing to break this silence which was neither awkward nor comfortable. Sehun only looked ahead and pursed his lips. While his hands clenched and unclenched the steering wheel, hers gripped on the seatbelt strap.

It had been long since the last time they share a closed space together, and Yeojin didn't know what to say to him. She should say goodbye and go, but she wanted to say more. What exactly she wanted to say, she herself didn't know. The last time she talked to him before this day was when she called to thank him. And that was two weeks ago. She wondered if she should thank him again in person.

"Aren't you going to get down? We've arrived," Sehun's voice startled her.

"Huh? Oh—um—yeah. Thanks!" She cleared and carefully unbuckled the seatbelt. She hook the strap of her bag on her shoulder and reached to open the door but suddenly stopped. Gulping, she turned to him and smiled. "I'm really glad you came with us, Sehun. I'm sure the others are as well. I know we're loud, but—"

"I like it," Sehun cut her off; the corner of his lips tugging up. "Well yeah, you guys are loud. But you guys are okay, I guess."

Yeojin softly chuckled. "Good then. Crazy how we're all graduating this Saturday, huh?" She randomly asked the question to which Sehun smirked and shrugged. Heaving a breath, she said, "Well then... Thanks for dropping me off." 

Sehun nodded and Yeojin knew she should really alight the car now, but she took a second longer to stare at him. This, she perceived, would probably be the last time they could be this close. Their pretend relationship was done the day her marriage was announced, but stepping out of this car would feel like marking the end of their charade. She wanted him to know that she was both grateful and sorry to him for the pretense despite what a nonsense it was. She itched to tell him that he wasn't meaningless in her life at all. Yet in the end, she only uttered a goodbye.

"Thanks again," she repeated as she turned away from him and opened the door.

She was just walking to the gate when Sehun alighted the car and suddenly said, "Don't let your fear take over you."

Yeojin halted then turned to him with a raised brow. "Huh? What do you mean?" Rolling her eyes, she asked, "Oh! Is this about my choice of university?"

Sehun shrugged. "You said fighting for what we really care about is worth it. I'm not exactly sure what your fear is, but I really hope you don't let your fear take over your decisions."

Yeojin sighed as she darted her gaze down.

"Fears are supposed to be faced. That's the only way to defeat it." Sehun gave her an encouraging smile and her heart clenched.

"It's not that easy—"

"I know." He buried his hands inside his pockets as a heavy breath escaped his lips. "My dad is sending me abroad to study business."

Yeojin's eyes rounded at the sudden reveal. "Where?"

"U.S." Sehun's lips curled into a sad smile and he shrugged. "I've spoken to him about wanting to become a doctor. You once told me to tell him. But just as I predicted, he didn't let me. We even argued."

Yeojin immediately pursed her lips; her eyes darted to the ground again. "Oh... I—I'm sorry. I shouldn't have urged you to do it."

"You don't have to be sorry. I'm glad I did it!" Sehun smiled making Yeojin stare at him in confusion. "At least he knows now what I really want to do. I don't have to regret hiding it from him."

Gulping a lump in , she asked, "H-How long? You'll come back after you graduate, right? Or maybe every now and then?"

"I don't know. My dad wants me to find work experience there first. He's probably going to open up a branch there too. So yeah... But that's not what I wanted to tell you." Sehun's lips curled up again, but this time, in a genuinely happy smile that Yeojin couldn't understand. "I faced my fear thanks to you."

Her lips parted in surprise. She did not expect him to say that.

"I'm sure you can too," he continued and Yeojin felt a gush of warmth filling her. 

Sehun fished out his phone when his phone rang. He took a moment longer than he should, staring at the screen before he decided to pick it up. "Mm. I'll be there." Ending the call, he looked at Yeojin again. 

A breeze blew by and Yeojin felt a sting in the back of her eyes. She knew that it wasn't caused by the cold wind. Trying to collect herself, she dug her nails to her palms and bit down her lip. 

"I may not get another chance to talk to you," Sehun started softly. "So"—he exhaled loudly—"Goodbye, Yeojin."

Goodbye, everyone!



 

NOT!
Hoho! I think saying sorry for a long overdue update is redundant because I've been doing that a lot, so... Besides an update (which I will do), is there anything you guys want me to do?