Playboy

Vingt

Sehun

Sehun watched with soft eyes as Eunji slept, leaning against him. He had his arm around her, caressing her silken hair. He watched the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, the small twitches in the corners of her mouth as she dreamed. He could have watched her for a lifetime, studying her every detail. Even though they had been dating for so long already, Sehun still felt that he had so much to learn about Eunji. Of course, there were things that they would share verbally like stories from their pasts or their favorite things, but there were also things that had to be learned over time by watching each other. Like when Eunji slept and she would often times tap her thumb to her middle finger in a seemingly random pattern. There were little behavioral things that Sehun noticed in Eunji in times like these when he could watch her silently.

"Sehun?" Eunji mumbled and turned her head to look at him with sleep misted eyes.

"Mhm?" He raised an eyebrow.

"How long was I out?" She asked, licking her lips.

"Maybe an hour," Sehun said, pulling his arm back as she sat forward.

"You stayed in that same spot for an hour? Isn't your arm tired?" Eunji asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"I don't mind." Sehun shook his head lightly.

"What do you want for dinner?" Eunji asked, standing off of her bed and stretching.

"I already ordered take-out," Sehun said.

"Chinese?" Eunji raised an eyebrow.

"Yes ma'am." Sehun nodded.

"From that one place by the shop?" Eunji folded her arms.

"Of course." He nodded again.

"Did you order a side of dumplings?" Eunji pressed.

"I ordered two." Sehun smirked.

"With my favorite dipping sauce?" Eunji let a smile touch her lips.

"You know it." Sehun grinned from ear to ear and moved so he was on his knees on the bed before Eunji, resting his hands on her waist.

"You're too good to me," Eunji giggled.

"Only because you're good to me." Sehun beamed.

The doorbell rang and Eunji left to answer the door. Sehun presumed it was the take-out delivery, so he went into the kitchen to set the table for their meal. He looked out the window to see rain pelting against the glass. He quite liked summer rain. It had a sort of paradoxical feeling to him for some strange reason. One usually associated summer with sunshine and rain with being cool, but when it rained in the summer it was hot and dark.

When Sehun was finished setting the table, he heard the door shut. He exited the kitchen to see Eunji standing by the door, empty-handed.

"Eunji? What's wrong?" Sehun asked when he saw her distraught face.

"It's Sunmi." Her hands were shaking, so she balled them into fists. "She was driving home from classes and someone lost control in the rain and crashed into her."

"Oh my god!" Sehun rushed forward to envelope Eunji in his arms, placing his chin on top of her head. "Is she okay?"

"It was Suho at the door. He's her next of kin, so the hospital called him. They said she's alive. He's waiting outside for me, he's going to drive me to the hospital." Eunji spoke slowly, muttering into Sehun's chest.

"You go, then," Sehun said, grabbing her shoulders and pulling away from her.

"Yeah." She nodded slowly. She turned away to grab her raincoat and her shoes, stopping to kiss Sehun before opening the door.

"Be safe, okay?" Sehun said with his brow furrowed in concern, holding the door open for Eunji.

"I will," she said, clearly preoccupied.

"I love you," Sehun said suddenly as Eunji stepped out of her apartment.

She paused and Sehun could see her frozen back. He wasn't quite sure what had possessed him to say it, perhaps his realization that he could lose her at any moment. But it was so strange. Sehun had hoped that it would be a special moment where they both realized they were deeply in love and confessed it to each other. Here, it sounded so plain to his ears. It felt like something you would say to your mother before leaving for school for the day. But as Sehun worried over this, Eunji turned around and looked at him with a soft smile.

"I love you too."

***

Eunji

"He said he loves me," Eunji said absently as Suho drove silently, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his steering wheel.

"What?" He asked, puzzled.

"I was leaving and he just said he loves me," Eunji half laughed. It was a little absurd that he said it now of all times. "I kind of wonder if he meant it or if he just said it because he thought it'd make me feel better."

"Sehun may have changed, but he still has the same sense of pride that he had back in college," Suho said, "he wouldn't have told you if he didn't mean it."

"It's sort of strange, you know?" Eunji turned to look at Suho's profile. "I never really thought he'd say it."

"Did you say it back?" Suho asked. "Do you love him too?"

"Yeah," Eunji sighed, "yeah, I do."

"That's good." Suho nodded.

"Terrible timing, though," Eunji laughed bitterly, "my best friend is in the hospital and I'm here worrying about my boyfriend finally saying he loves me."

"Well, now you'll have something to tell Sunmi to lift her spirits," Suho said softly.

"I suppose so, yeah." Eunji smiled.

They drove the rest of the way in silence. Eunji let her mind wander as she thought about Sehun and his confession of love. It was so casual, so spontaneous. Eunji felt strange about that at first, but she thought that maybe that was best. It clearly hadn't been something that Sehun planned, so it could mean that it was more sincere. But at the same time, Eunji had hoped for something more special. She knew it wasn't going to happen like in the movies, but Sehun had been a playboy who hated love. She had hoped that he would take time to plan it and think it out and confess it to her one night when they were sitting on her bed, just the two of them.

Eunji had to admit, thought, that his words had struck a chord in her heart. When he said that he loved her, she felt this warmth spread through her being like when you drink hot tea on a cold day. She was so startled by his sudden confession that she almost forgot to reply. And even then, she faltered. For a moment she thought, do I love him? She hadn't thought about it in depth, really. Eunji wanted to take it slow and not rush the idea. She wanted to one day just realize 'I love Sehun' and then tell him. But Eunji blurted out the first thing that came to mind. She should have thought it out, but she believed that the first thing you wanted to say was what your heart wanted. And so she said it.

I love you too.