He found her at the same place, sitting at the same spot. Quietly, he somewhat managed to become stealthy and slid into the seat beside her. The moment he sat down next to her, he knew something was off. Usually, she would always kick off the conversation by calling him some random silly name; like she’s been doing for the the past month.

Unsure of what to do, he simply sat there. Being the youngest and the least experience in these types of of situations was a struggle. He spent most of his teen life —- a dating and discovery period, in a square practice room from morning to night. He learned nothing about social interactions or girls to be exact other than the skill to run like the devil is chasing you when you encounter saesangs.

Awkwardly shuffling his feet against the concrete ground, he thought real hard about what to do. Which was certainly a feat, because god knows that he couldn’t hold still long enough to piece together a logical thought.

In these cases, doesn’t compliments work? Girls, liked to be called pretty and stuff, right? Adverting his gaze to the ground and then back up to her pretty little face, he came to a conclusion.

Clearing his throat, he lipped his lips. 

Worth a shot.

"You know…," he began quietly. This was so out of his comfort zone. But for her, he figured it was worth it. “You’re really pretty you know that?”

It was then that she lifted her head up, her eyes meeting with his. Her next response made him completely re-evaluate his life choices, but at least he got a reaction out of her. “Don’t with me brat.”

Despite such scurrilous words, her whole demeanor did not match with them at all.

Her eyes which always held a brilliant gleam in them were dull, completely devoid of light. Her rosy pink lips that were always curled up into a small smile were pale and trembling. Her adorable nose usually red from the cold was irritated as if she’s been crying and rubbed it all too much. 

Instead of asking her if she was okay, Sehun knew better than to ask that. Having an older sister taught him that much. Which why, he continued. 

"You’re really pretty. I’m not joking." And it was true. She was. She was beautiful even.

But apparently she thought he was because a silver of smile appeared on her pale lips, a weak laugh slipping through. “Yah, it’s not nice to use a girl’s beauty as a joke.” Another dry laugh escaped from her as she smiled; a smile that did not reached her eyes. Tilting her head to the side, she joked, “Your eyes alright there brat? Do I need to take you to the eye doctor because have you seen me?”

Okay, this was one thing he never understood about women. Why is it so hard for them to accept that they’re beautiful. So what if society had its own standards, everyone’s perfect in their own way. There’s no definite definition for perfection so stop trying to strive for something that doesn’t exist. 

He knew it right then and there, that he had his signature not amused look on his face. But then as he caught sight of her broken gaze, his eyes soften and his anger retreated. 

Daringly, Sehun reached up and caught a strand of her brown hair. Twirling it around his index finger, he said, “No you are. I know it. Everyone knows it so stop denying it.” Her hair was incredibly soft. And combined with the cold weather, it felt like silk. “Your hair’s really gorgeous you know that?”

He watched as she raised her fingers to her eyes, with a peace sign, she whispered quietly, “Hair on fleek.”

Smiling, he nodded. “Promise me you won’t ever cut it. Not even a trim.”

What happen next took him by complete surprise. 

She cried. She ing cried. 

As if it burned him, he dropped his hand from her hair. His eyes were wide as saucers he was sure. By instinct, he crouched down in front of her, his gaze immediately locking with hers. With a gentle hand on her shoulder, he whispered, “Hey, hey. It’s okay. You can get a haircut if you want, I was just saying. Don’t mind me, I’m stupid and I’m a brat.” Grasping her shoulder lightly, his thumb caressed it. “I have no idea what I said, I blame it on the constant dyes that probably got into my head, but I’m sorry.”

Through trembling lips, her words fanned against his lips, “Sehun… it’s not even something you can apologize for.”

He would never understand what she meant by those words until later, when it was too late.

——

They met again after two months. Once again, at the same place, at the same spot.

Seoul was barely awake, surprisingly. The morning sun had just marked it’s place in the sky, turning the sky a pinkish color. The roads were fairly empty aside from the the occasional taxi horn blaring. No one was out and about, especially in such cold weather. He watched as his breath swirled around him as he sat down. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small box. 

Handing it to her, he said, “Here.”

She took it from his hands hesitantly, he could hear her complete and utter confusion in her silence. Looking off into the distant, he watched as the sun climbed higher into the sky. It wasn’t until she questioned him what it was that he spoke again.

"A crane for everyday we didn’t meet."

"Why do you keep giving me one every time?"

It was then that he turned and faced her. It was also then that he realized something different about her.

She cut her hair.

Shocked, he mumbled, “…you…cut your hair…”

Instantly, her hand jumped up from her lap and touched her hair as if she didn’t realized that fact herself. 

"Yeah… I did."

"Why?"

He loved her hair. It was long, soft and just simply beautiful. Her hair was brown but sometimes if the sun was shining on it just right it was slightly red. Orange on some occasions. And then in the dark, it had a purple hue. It was gorgeous, it was natural. He wished he could have hair like hers. To get his colors, he had to dye his. Which was a pain.

Her once waist-long hair was chopped to a bob; the ends of her hair barely scraped her chin. 

Her slender fingers tucked a stray strand behind her ear as she sighed. “Because.”

Sehun was stubborn by nature so he was quick to question, “Because why?”

"It’s hard to explain…"

Rolling his eyes, he said, “I know I may be stupid but I think I can comprehend your reasoning to why you got a hair cut.” Retucking the strand behind her ears again, he asked, “A new start? An end to the past? Just wanted change? A dare? Something off your bucket list you wanted to do before you died?”

At his last suggestion, she became awfully quiet. And that made him nervous. But what made him want to squirm in his seat was her answer.

"You can call it that, I guess." 

Not wanting to prolong the topic too much, he asked, “Did you donate it Locks of Love?”

If anything, her mood damped. Her smile turned bitter and her expression sad. A film of tears was already forming in her eyes. This set off warning bells in his head. Someone was off. Something was wrong with her. She was hiding it from him, he knew that for sure.

Shakily, she breathed, “Yeah… yeah, of course I did.” And it just about broke his heart as she attempted to pull a smile onto her face.

Sehun couldn’t help but shake his head. “I really don’t want to ask this but… are you…?”

"Yes, I’m okay."

Raising an eyebrow at her quick response, he asked, “Really now.” he highly doubted that her answer was true.

"Really."

He didn’t know what was going on… at all. 

Frowning he wondered, were women always this emotional?

Once again, he never understood women. 

But one thing he did know was that she was not okay and her broken smile told him that much. And he’s going to find out why. But it wasn’t going to be today though. No, he wasn’t that stupid. He’ll find out on another day. 

She was barely holding herself together as is, no need to send her breaking into pieces like shards of glass. He has a heart. Yes, he’s a brat but he has a heart. He didn’t want to say anything else that would break her even further. He didn’t know if she could handle it but he knew that he couldn’t. She was already broken enough, which just about killed him.

Taking her by the elbow, he opened her palm. Placing a piece of chocolate in the center of her palm, he told her as he looked into her glossy eyes, “This is one to wipe away your tears.” Then he placed another piece into her hand, “This is for the road.” 

If anything, his actions made her tears form even faster. As if the water dam behind her broke, tears fell from her eyes. Before a teardrop could drop from her eyes, his thumb caught it and wiped it away. Through her sniffing, he wiped away some more tears. His hand holding her face tenderly, his thumb caressing her cheek.

"And this," a single paper crane was gently laid into her hand. He smiled softly, "This is for luck."