Chapter 72

Running had been a part of Yeojin's life for a long time. Like in other races, one thing the runners look forward to in a running race is the finish line. To Yeojin, it didn't matter if she finished first or last. What mattered was finishing the race. It was the journey from the start to the finish line that she embraced. The wind beating her skin as she ran, the sweats, her feet forcing her to run even faster and push her limit— she loved those moments.

Now she felt like she just finished another race. This time, the finish line was the graduation.

"We did not just learn the subjects from our teachers. We have also learned about life," Sehun continued speaking at the podium as a valedictorian in front of his batch mates, the parents, and the teachers.

A small smile played on Yeojin's lips. Meeting and getting to know Sehun was something she didn't think she would have to face along the journey of her high school year. She remembered watching him stand at the very same spot when he was inaugurated as the new President of the student body. He was just a stranger to her as she was to him. Funny, she thought, how this time round, the guy standing at the podium was no more a stranger to her. 

And yet, she had to let him go. 

Holding back a sigh, she momentarily closed her eyes to drive away the bittersweet feeling as Sehun continued to speak at the front.

"We learned to make friends, to work together, to take a lead, maybe to follow orders, to negotiate with teachers regarding punishments too probably," he nonchalantly said with a shrug and everyone laughed at that. Sehun's lips curled into a lopsided smile before he continued, "Some of us might have also learned about heartbreaks." Some voiced their agreement while others laughed again. "As well as about love." 

"Aye!" Jongdae shouted and pumped his fist in the air while others cheered and whistled.

Only Yeojin felt like she wanted to hide her head inside the graduation gown when she felt Sehun's gaze lingered on her. She caught sight of his small smile before he turned his attention to the rest of the audience again.

"Most importantly, we learned to grow. All those lessons help us to be the better version of us. We wouldn't be here today for this graduation if we were still the same person we were when we first came to Jaesan High School."

"Today marks the end of our high school days," Sehun continued. "But today also marks a new beginning. It had been a long journey of learning, but this is not the end. Whatever we choose to do after this, may we not forget to learn and keep on growing."

"I'm so proud of you!" 

With a smile, Sehun watched Yeojin's mom hugging her from a distance. Yeojin proceeded to taking pictures with Sunhee, Lin, and her family, and then some with Jongdae and Jongin. But Kris was nowhere to be seen. He remembered seeing him earlier in the auditorium during the ceremony though.

"That's someone else's wife you're staring at," Luhan whispered with a nudge of the shoulder followed by a teasing chuckle.

"Tch." Sehun rolled his eyes in response.

"Hey, President!" Jongdae shouted gaining his attention. He beckoned for him to join the group he realized was ready to take a picture.

Sunhee was standing sandwiched between Yeojin and Lin while Jongdae stood right behind his girlfriend with a hand rested on her shoulder. Sehun noticed later that Jongin was standing a few distance in front of them while raising a phone in his hand high with the front camera facing them.

"Nah... I'll pass—"

"Oh come on!" Jongin rolled his eyes. "You're a part of us now! You're our friend too!"

Sehun was left stumped by his words. A pleasing warmth spread across his chest, and before he could reply anything else Jongdae already came and dragged him by his arm. He stumbled a bit when Jongdae released him to stand next to Yeojin who gave him a smile. 

"Hey, Sehun! Scoot closer to Yeojin! You're not in the frame!" Jongin instructed while monitoring the screen of the phone trying to make sure all six of them were in the frame. "Alright! Oh wait! A little closer. Closer, Sehun!"

Sehun clicked his tongue and mindlessly put an arm around Yeojin. "Geez! Just take the goddamn picture already!"

"Alright! Smile!" 

Jongin finally snapped some pictures. Once they were done, Sehun was caught off guard by the hug and pat on the back he received from Jongdae and Jongin. It was something he wasn't used to, yet he couldn't help the smile forming on his lips. What are the odds that knowing Yeojin would lead him to meet these people? 

"Where's your husband?" He asked Yeojin when they were left alone because Jongdae wanted to take Sunhee to his parents while Jongin was trying to get Lin out the circle of boys who were suddenly approaching Lin for pictures.

"Oh. He's taking a call." She averted her gaze to the ground and bit down her lip. Sehun could tell that she was a little awkward around him.

"New hair?" Yeojin asked pointing at his now shorter hair.

"Yeah." He awkwardly rubbed his nape.

"Looks good on you."

"Thanks." 

Then they fell silent again. 

Despite his heavy heart, he mustered a smile. "Well, this is it, Kwon Yeojin." He offered her a hand and Yeojin stared at him with confusion. "You're no longer my girlfriend. Well, we're over a long time ago, but we did agree to end it once the school year ends. I mean... It's not...It's not like we were ever really dating to start with." Sehun felt stupid for stumbling over his words so much and ended up laughing at himself. "You know what? Let's just shake our hands and call this stupid game we're in officially over, shall we?"

Yeojin giggled and Sehun could feel both the butterflies in his stomach and the shatter of his heart. She took his hand for a handshake with a smile. For a second, he gripped her hand tighter. He was so tempted to pull her into his arms and kiss her lips.

God! Get a grip, idiot! He tried to keep his thoughts at bay and offered her a smirk. "For the record, if we put money as a bet on this game, I would have won the money because you failed to keep your identity as Kris Wu's wife a secret."

Yeojin scoffed amused. "Hell no! I didn't fail to keep it a secret. Kris did! And excuse me, we didn't make a bet. We made a deal. So, it wasn't even a game we should be winning for."

They laughed at this silly banter, realizing later that their hands were still in each other's. Looking down at their hands, Sehun sadly smiled.

"Congratulations on graduating, Kwon Yeojin!"

Yeojin took a deep breath before smiling back at him. "You too, Oh Sehun."

Someone cleared his throat, breaking them apart. "Mind if I borrow my wife?" Kris asked with a lopsided smile; his arms already snaking around her waist. 

Sehun smirked then bobbed his head in greeting. "She's all yours!" He replied. Never mine. He brokenly added in his heart. "I'll go back to my family," he told them before turning his attention to Yeojin and said, "I'll see you at the prom tonight." He glanced at Kris and added, "You too."

"Congratulations, by the way!" Kris shouted as he walked away and he briefly looked back to nod.
 

Once Sehun was far from them, Kris pecked Yeojin's temple. "Congratulations, Mrs. Wu!"

Yeojin was clearly flustered and he took joy in watching her blush though it meant getting a slap on his chest. "Don't do that!" Her eyes darted around while squirming to get away from him.

"What?" Kris raised a brow. "It's not like everyone here doesn't already know I'm your husband." 

Yeojin clicked her tongue annoyed. She tensed when Kris dipped his tilting head to kiss her lips. To his disappointment, she turned her head away dodging his attempt. He felt a prick inside but understood that she was still a little uncomfortable with having him so close after that night. 

Or was it because of Sehun? He wondered; eyes traveling to where Sehun was taking a picture with his parents.

Kris lightly shook his head and mustered a smile before planting a kiss on her forehead. "I'm proud of you."

Yeojin lowered her head, but he had caught sight of her blushing cheeks. "Ugh! You're so cheesy!" She pinched his waist to free herself from his hold.

"Goodness! Stand closer, you two!" Mrs. Wu complained seeing Kris and Yeojin standing a distance away from each other when she wanted to take a picture of them.

Even in a simple white dress shirt, Kris looked dashing. Yeojin beside him was already wearing the long-sleeved white dress he bought for her. Her long hair was untied, and her wrist was adorned with the corsage he showed her last night when they danced. In short, they both looked ready for the prom. However, strangely, none of them wanted to look at each other's eyes from the moment Yeojin walked down the stairs.

"Did you two fight or something?" Mrs.Wu asked in suspicion while gesturing for them to get closer urging them to comply.

"They probably wrestled, Mom," Lin who was also prettily dressed in her navy blue dress chirped beside her prom date, Jongin. "In bed," she added with a mischievous grin.

"Wu Lin!" Grandpa warned.

Lin pouted a little for being chastised in front of her prom date. "I saw her applying concealer to cover some marks on her neck earlier."

"Y-Ya!" Yeojin's eyes rounded, and she felt heat creeping up her cheeks. "Don't listen to her, Mother."

"Mind you words, Lin." Kris cleared his throat before putting a hand on Yeojin's waist to pull her a little closer. "Can we just take the picture and go, Mom?"

The mothers and even Grandpa cleared their throats to recollect themselves after just staring at the pair of young husband and wife with mouth agape.

The two couples took turns taking a few pictures and soon went on their way to the school in separate cars. Yeojin and Kris fell silent once they entered their car. None of them dared to say anything after that embarrassing moment earlier. Kris would occasionally glanced at her, but that was all. After one long silent ride, they finally arrived at Jaesan High. 

As they walked through the decorated hallway to the indoor court, Kris decided to be bold and held her hand. Yeojin flinched and stopped in her track. She blinked up at him then quickly lowered her eyes when she saw him smile.

"I can at least hold your hand, right? And let's put aside that night for a while and go through this night without awkwardness, shall we?" Kris whispered to her ear so as to not be heard by other passing couples.

Yeojin eyed Lin and Jongin who were walking ahead of them, then subtly nodded and let Kris lead the way as he intertwined their fingers. Booming music greeted their ears when they entered. The room was field with the graduated seniors and also the juniors. Some were already eating, others were just chatting at a corner, while some others are dancing at the cleared space in front of the stage where the DJ was.

It had been long since the last time Kris experienced this kind of school event. Four years ago, Kris came to the prom without any date because he and Yoora had broken up, and he couldn't bring Yeojin either since they were falling out of their friendship. A smile crept up on his face, then he glanced at the girl beside him. 

And now you're by my side. He thought.

Yeojin immediately beamed when she spotted Lin waving for them to come to their table where Sunhee and Jongdae were already sitting at. Once they were seated, Kris didn't talk much, only talking when asked. Yet, he didn't mind. He was just glad to see Yeojin happily talking with her friends. He was glad that when their friendship went downhill, she had these people beside her.

After a while, Kris noticed Yeojin occasionally looked around. He realized later that this group was one member short. 

Sehun wasn't there.

He let his gaze wander around until he caught sight of the guy standing beside the beverage table with a glass of cocktail in his hand. Alone. Sehun was just silently staring at the student body in front of him.

Kris clicked his tongue. That idiot.

When some people was approaching Sehun, Kris' gaze fell back on Yeojin. He caught her looking at the same direction he looked earlier before averting her gaze back to Lin who was still talking.

"Jealousy looks ugly on you," a voice whispered beside him earning his attention.

He rolled his eyes at Jongin then sipped his cocktail while the younger guy chuckled.
 

"I'll be going to the restroom," Yeojin told Kris and stood up from her seat. "Can you hold my purse?"

"O-okay," he replied receiving the said purse.

The event was still on-going and the MC was just about to announce the prom King and Queen—something she was not excited or even curious of. Honestly, Yeojin was already tired from the morning's graduation ceremony and wanted to just go home. But at the same time, she didn't want to go home because going home means going to their house, not the mansion. And going home means being in the same bed with Kris again which means incoming awkwardness all over again.

Returning from the restroom, she took her time walking down the hallway, running her hand on the lockers she passed then momentarily stopped in front of her locker. She just couldn't believe that tonight would mark her last day as a high school student. She smiled reminiscing her days in this school—both the good and the not-so-good ones. Despite the dramas on her last few months in the school, thinking back, she didn't really see any of them as a bad one. At the end, whatever experiences they were, they all helped her grow somehow.

Her feet came to a stop in front of the student council's office. The door was slightly ajar and Yeojin heard noises from inside the room. Curious, she peeked in and saw Sehun zipping up a duffle bag. Taking a deep breath, she strode inside with a smile.

"What's the bag for?" She asked startling Sehun.

"Oh. It's you." A breath of relief escaped his lips.

Yeojin just smiled at him. "Going somewhere?" She asked again gesturing at the bag with her chin.

His eyes darted back to the duffle bag on top of the desk he usually sat on as the student's president. Scratching his ear, he cleared his throat and looked at her again with a small smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh! I just returned from the restroom. Haha."

"Ah. I see." He nodded averting his gaze from her again.

"Haha. Yeah." Yeojin took a deep breath as her eyes looked around the room again. She remembered the day she accidentally left her wedding ring there. "It all started here, didn't it?" She chuckled before adding, "Us, I meant."

"Oh. Yeah." Sehun awkwardly chuckled while scratching his ear again. "Hey, listen. Yeojin... Uhm... I gotta go." He jabbed his thumb back at the duffle back on the desk behind him.

"Oh?" Her eyes blinked confused. "You're not staying until the end?" 

"No, I... I got something I need to take care of."

"A-Alright. I-I was just about to invite you to our table, you know? I mean you were just kinda standing alone the whole time earlier. You don't wanna join us for a bit? Jongdae and Jongin will love to talk with you, I'm sure."

Sehun let out a long sigh and smiled. "I really need to go now."

"Oh." Yeojin her lower lip and stared down dejectedly. "Alright. I'll go back to the prom then." 

"Okay."

"Yeah. Okay," Yeojin repeated; her eyes never leaving his. Her feet didn't really want to leave. Her heart felt heavy knowing this would probably really be the last time she could see him before he went abroad to study. Should they really just go on their own way like this? 

Maybe they should.

Yeojin recollected herself and breathed another smile. "Alright. Be careful on the way, Sehun. I'll get going then. Bye!" She cheerily waved at him.

As she turned to leave, Sehun suddenly caught her wrist. Surprised, Yeojin turned back to look at him with wide blinking eyes. For a moment they just stared at each other in silence. Sehun opened his mouth only to close it again soon after for several times. Gone was the valedictorian with moving speech from the morning. Now in front of her, he looked like just a regular guy who didn't know how to speak his mind. And that somehow made her nervous.

Eyes downcast and voice low, Sehun finally spoke, "Do I still have a chance? Have I... Have I ever had a chance?"

His questions brought a lump to . Sehun didn't have to elaborate more for Yeojin to understand what chance he was asking about. Slowly he raised his gaze to meet hers. His eyes were somber and only felt more constricted.

Yeojin swallowed the lump in and forced a smug smile. "Didn't you say some things are better left unsaid?" 

A breathy chuckle left Sehun's lips at her reply. "Yeah. You're right." He nodded. "You're right. But"—his hand slid from her wrist to her hand—"what about in two years' time?"

Her smug smile gradually disappeared as her heart felt pressed by a force. They both couldn't bear to look at each other, and so their eyes found the ground. 

All this time, Sehun didn't want to think of the what-if scenario Kris had been telling him to consider. What if Yeojin choose to divorce Kris after their third anniversary? What if Yeojin like him more than Kris? What if Yeojin truly love him instead? He didn't want to think of any of those. 

Even if they were all true, Sehun just wanted to stop having feelings for her. He just wanted to get out of this tangles. To step out of someone else's relationship and put it to rest in his past. He still couldn't wrap his mind around the reason why Kris even had a thought that these what-if's might be true.

But right now, for an unknown reason, he suddenly wanted to believe in the what-if. To hold on to a string of chance that it might be true. To keep his feelings for her if it were true.

"In two years, will I have a chance with you?" She saw him gulped, before he added, "Yeojin... Should I...keep these feelings for you? Or should I let it go?"

Words died in . She realized that he was asking on the probability of things not working out between her and Kris. But she didn't understand why he was asking her this now when he didn't want to hear what she thought of him weeks ago. What even made him think there was a chance of her falling out of her marriage?

She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling a sudden headache from not knowing what to reply or how to let him know where her heart was.

"I'm sorry," he suddenly said with forced laughter as he let her hand go. "I must have lost my mind for a second there." He then mustered a lopsided smile. "Don't mind what I said. You should go back to—"

"I like you."

Sehun paused. Their gazes met again.

His world stopped for a second. "What?" 

"I like you, Sehun." A tear escaped her eye, but her lips curled into a smile.

WHAT?
YEOJIN SAID WHAT?
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

It means see you in the next chapter.
Bye! Hahahhaa