It was a warm Sunday evening as you moved the last of your belongings to your new apartment complex. After walking through the automatic doors, you headed straight towards the elevator as you were far too tired to take the stairs. The last couple days had been hectic, to say the least. It had taken over a year for you to save up enough to get your own place, and as you did, another problem arose. Your mother wasn’t happy with the idea of you living alone, but, you somehow managed to convince her that it was perfectly safe. Besides, the apartment building was only 10 minutes away from the university you attended. Though, it was still a stretch considering your last accommodations at the university dormitory, you were excited to begin this new chapter of life.

Although the moving process was exhausting, you were thankful that your good friend Oh Sehun offered to help you move in. As usual, you felt terrible asking him for favors because on the rare occasion you did, the boy would drop everything he was doing and take care of what you needed. Aside from his selflessness, Sehun was also the type of friend that worried about every little thing concerning your safety. You weren’t sure what made him so protective of you, but it was nice to know that he cared regardless.

The two of you met when you first arrived at Royal Oaks University in Victoria Canada two years ago. After sitting next to each other at the student orientation, the two of you seemed to hit off right away. Sehun appreciated your taste for the arts and you loved the way he would sing and play the piano so effortlessly. In fact, your music tastes were so alike that you would often ditch the dorm parties and spend your Friday nights with him while he tried to teach you how to play the piano and you helped him with his English pronunciation.  Although Sehun was an international student from Korea, you were pleasantly surprised at how well he spoke English. Nevertheless, Sehun being the perfectionist he is, often asked for your help to improve his English pronunciations and you were happy to oblige. While you were of Korean background, you spoke perfect English as Canada was your place of birth.

“Would this box be okay over here?” Sehun asked as he placed the heavy box of books down in your new living room.

“Yeah that’s fine." you said, weakly smiling at the tall boy.

While Sehun was the one carrying all the heavy boxes, you hadn't realized how tiring the moving process could get. Sehun seemed to notice this and he walked over to you, lazily slumping his arm over your head.

“Ahh!” you protested.  

Sehun was a skinny that was for sure. But he was much taller, stronger, and much more coordinated—no surprise there—than you.

“Didn’t I tell you not to stress about this whole moving out thing?” he rolled his eyes.

“I know but… I just feel bad that I’m dragging you into my problems.” you admitted. “And on top of that I know you have that big final tomorrow and I just…” your sentence was cut off when Sehun covered your mouth with his large hand.

“Shhh.”

He moved his hand from his original position and placed his hands on your shoulders. “You worry too much, didn’t I tell you I would always be there for you?” he asked.

You blinked cluelessly; unaware of whether or not that was a rhetorical question.

“Well?” he lightly shook your shoulders.

That answered your question.

“Yeah.” You stated, unable to meet his eyes. He smiled and brought his hand up to lightly ruffle your hair. “So stop over thinking things and let’s finish up quickly so we can go to that new restaurant, okay?" he suggested, giving you that warm smile that could make any girl weak in the knees.

“T-The one on 4^th?” you asked, anticipation evident in your tone. He gave you a look then let a chuckle slip past his lips. “Yeah. The one on 4^th.” He smiled.

“Okay.” You smiled, heading towards one of the unopened boxes almost immediately. The boy chuckled at the sight before him. Food was surely one way to get you to do things. His laugh was cut short however, as he noticed you struggling under the weight of one of the boxes.

“Yah! You’ll fall! Don’t lift that.” he laughed, running to your side.

When you first met Sehun, you had to admit that he was popular. Women of all ages weren’t his only fans however; you swore you saw some men stare in his direction as well. He had that boyish charm that made women blush and men rage with envy. Even though he had women following him around left and right, he never seemed to pay much attention to them.

You always wondered what made you so special. Other women on campus would often scowl at the friendship you shared with him. Although, you didn’t exactly know why, after all, you and Sehun were just friends. But sometimes you caught the way he would speak to you, his eyes directly looking into yours. The way he would lovingly watch you as you miserably tried and failed to play the song “Miracles In December” on his piano. The way he ruffled your hair and chuckled while you stuffed your face at the buffet on 17^thstreet, completely oblivious to the envious stares around you.

✥✥✥✥

“Wah! That food was better than I had expected. I’m so full I can barely walk." you happily exclaimed as Sehun walked you back to your apartment after having had a successful dinner.

The boy chuckled, glancing at you from the side of his eyes. “I knew feeding you was the way to make you feel better. Although, doesn’t the saying go ‘a way to a man’s heart is through is stomach?’, so shouldn’t you be the one feeding me?” he laughed, unafraid of the flirty tone in his voice.

“I’d love to!” you shouted, not noticing the change in his tone. Suddenly, however, you felt yourself cringed as you began to recall the last time Sehun let you cook at his apartment. You nearly set his entire kitchen on fire trying to make a bowl of Ramyeon. “Umm... maybe we can just order some take-out?” you added, quite obviously trying to change the subject.

The boy hadn’t replied, so you glanced over at him only to notice that he was busy staring at the night sky that looked especially beautiful tonight. There were so many stars scattered all over the sky that it reminded you of a painting you had once admired at the local museum. As your eyes surveyed the night sky, you suddenly felt Sehun’s warm hand interlock with yours. By reflex, your head turned to the said boy; his attention was still focused on the sky, a light pink hue appearing on his cheeks. Without delay, you too felt your face grow hot, so you focused your gaze back on the moon, ignoring the rapid beating of your heart.

When the two of you arrived at your apartment, you realized you hadn’t spoken a word to Sehun since he’d entwined his fingers with yours some time ago. Glancing down at your hand, his hand twitched in yours and he squeezed, involuntarily you assumed.

“I really needed that walk! I feel about 400 pounds lighter.” You awkwardly laughed in an effort to diffuse some of the tension that was now lingering in the air. Sehun chuckled, the hold on your hand briefly tightening.

“I still can’t believe a little thing like you finished that entire sundae” he teased, pinching your left cheek with his free hand.

“Yah! I skipped lunch okay, I was hungry.” you pouted, relieved at the fact that the tension had virtually disappeared.

Sehun smiled and ruffled your hair until you literally begged him to stop. But, in reality, you didn’t mind all that much. His smile was always so warm and comforting that it was worth every bit of teasing. As you were fixing your hair using the front camera of your phone, you caught a glance of the time and a gasp left your lips. It was already midnight and you still had to unpack the rest of your things and finish your Economics term paper. Sehun had his final exam in the morning as well, and you began to feel guilty for letting him take you to dinner.

“Sehun I think it’s time I go in.” you said, noticing how his smile faded as he glanced at his watch and nodded in agreement. He let go of your hand and placed his deep within his pockets, feeling how sweaty they had become. Was he just nervous? It’s not like ever sweat this much before. Nevertheless, you shrugged off the questions that lingered in your mind and bid him farewell.

“Goodnight Sehunnie." you cheered, trying to mask your flustered state.

As you your heels and began walking towards the entrance of your apartment building, a pair of hands s around your waist and pulled you backwards. A gasp escaped your lips at the sudden contact and you glanced down to notice Sehun’s arms around your waist. His head was firmly placed at the crook of your neck and you could feel his warm breath on your skin as shivers ran through your body. His lips slowly made their way from your shoulder to the side of your neck, and finally to your ear. He whispered ever so slightly, causing your heartbeat to escalate. “Goodnight.”

And just like that, Sehun let go of you and ruffled your hair until it was visibly messy. He made sure to remind you not to stay up too late and to call him if you couldn’t sleep. It was your first night at the apartment after all, and he wanted you to know that he was just a call away. As he said the last of his goodbyes, he gave you that warm smile again. Except, this time it was different. This time, it almost felt like Sehun was trying to tell you something with his smile. Something he’d been wanting to tell you for a long time.

✥✥✥✥

As Sehun walked away, you couldn’t believe you were still standing upright. The burning sensation on your cheeks wasn’t diminishing.  You placed your hands on your cheeks, lightly tapping at the warm skin.

As you pressed ‘floor 4’ on the elevator display, you inhaled deeply. What was that? Did Sehun really just give me a back-hug? 

Did that... mean something? Or was it just in the heat of the moment?

As you contemplated Sehun’s strange behavior, the elevator stopped at floor 3 and man with bleach blonde hair walked on. He was much taller than you and had these plump lips that you couldn’t rip your gaze away from. He glanced over at you when he noticed you staring and gave you a shy smile.

Suddenly you felt as if your heart stopped, just for a mere second. An intense blush soon followed and you quickly glanced away. With your gaze now focused on the elevators doors, you desperately waited for the doors to open. The two of you stood there, quiet and conscious of each other’s stares, but neither said a word. Soon however, floor 4 arrived and you quickly stepped out. As you headed to your door, you let out a breath of relief. That is, until you glanced to your right, noticing the said boy inserting his key into the door next to yours.

Oh.

The man opened the door and walked inside. You did the same, though you found yourself leaning your back up against the door once it shut.

What just happened? 

I mean, it wasn’t the first time you had seen a good looking guy. In fact, many of the men in your club council were model-worthy; indeed you figured they might be models in their spare time. But something about this guy, something about him completely caught you off guard. Was it the way he was looking at you? Or was it his voice?

All thoughts were disregarded as your eyes fell towards the abandoned textbook on the floor. Aishh—focus please!

As you sat down on the carpeted floors, you flipped open the book, picking up where you left off. Minutes later you realized you couldn’t concentrate, countless thoughts ran through your mind. Primarily they were focused on the chores that were left to do, but mostly they lingered on Sehun and the embrace that was shared between the two of you. For two years now, Sehun had always been a friend in your eyes. Although you sometimes noticed the way Sehun looked at you when you two were alone, in the end that feeling was always brushed off because you were so close. But this, nothing like this had never happened before.

Suddenly, a light knock interrupted your studying (more like thinking) session. You glanced over your shoulder to the door. Who could it be at this hour? 

As you headed towards your front the door, you found yourself praying that it wasn’t some crazy trying to murder you on your first night living here. There was far too much studying left to do you couldn’t die just yet. Actually, scratch that, you'd have preferred that over studying tonight.

As you half-opened the creaky door, your eyes fell upon a man with tan skin and blonde hair. His features were so simple, yet so alluring. It’s him! 

The man smiled at your reaction, but soon returned to his original expression. “Hello, sorry to bother you at this time, I know it’s late. I was just wondering if I could borrow a cup of sugar.” He asked.

“A-A cup of sugar?” you stuttered, suddenly feeling as If you were the main lead of a poorly directed Korean drama. “Yeah. You see, I was making myself a cup of tea when I noticed I ran out.” He smiled, pointing at the empty Mason jar in his hands.

“O-Oh okay. I’ll be right back.” You said. Shutting the door, you jogged to your pantry and reached for the sugar jar at the top shelf. As you brought it down, you realized it too was basically empty. Oh, well this is awkward. Now what?

Soon you began searching through your other pantries, hoping that somehow somewhere you could find some sugar. He must’ve really needed the tea if he was willing to knock on a neighbor’s door during the early hours of the morning. Luckily, you were able to find a bag of sugar hidden behind some pots. You then rushed to the door, making a note to fix your hair and straighten yourself. Though, you found yourself wondering why that mattered.

“Here you go.” You said. He smiled, as he let you pour the sugar into his jar. He then shut the lid and stood there awkwardly. “Right, I’m sorry for not introducing myself. As you might’ve guessed, I’m your next door neighbor, Kim Jongin.”

His lips curved up into a smirk that faded as soon as it arose. But, not before you caught it of course.

“Well, goodnight then.” He said, turning on his feet and heading for his door. Just before he stepped inside, however, you caught sight of that smirk again. After hearing his door shut, your eyes widened, almost as if you remembered something, or someone you had forgotten a long time ago.