Onism || Oh Sehun

Chapter 13: It Was Odd

It was all so odd.

Interacting, conversing, and laughing with other people. Besides the people from her apartment building, Mirasol was someone to avoid any other source of contact. She just wasn't one to be so social like her bright, naturally friendly sister. But right now, chatting with Jovelyn's coworkers as Jovelyn, was something... new. It was fun. She really enjoyed being with the people, eating delicious food and drinking good soju.

Wasn't this exactly what Jovelyn was pushing her to do?

And in a way, staying here and doing all this, made her miss the life she used to have before the move to Korea...

"Jovelyn-sshi, please help yourself, okay? It's okay to have a cheat day as a model, hmm?" Sehun's father bellowed at the end of the long table, his cheeks rosy from the alcohol and his teeth bared into a wide grin. Jovelyn liked the company's CEO, kind and jolly. It was such a wonder that Oh Hyun Min and Oh Sehun are blood related, father and son at that. With CEO so chatty with everyone at the table, he might as well pass off as Sehun's older brother instead with the youthful aura he emitted.

"Here you go, Jovelyn-ah~" Sitting from her right was Luhan, who picked off a cooked piece of pork from the grill and set it nicely in her bowl of rice. "I always liked a girl who could eat well, so eat up."

He shot a wink. Mira was quite flustered over the action. She had heard a couple stories of Luhan from Jovelyn from time to time. Her sister always mentioned how cool the Chinese man was, but was he always this flirtatious?

Was Jovelyn flirtatious back to him? She would, right?

"I guess I'll have to keep eating then," Mira chimed, shooting the man a soft smile before taking a gracious bite of her delicious food.

Then there was the other Chinese man, the photographer, Tao, who would engage her into conversation so she wouldn't feel awkward at the crowded table. He was sociable in his own sense and he had his own cool atmosphere to him that Mira was jealous of. Yet, he was a sensitive man, one who was more innocent than she initially thought. And she never knew he would be the one she could talk about dramas so animatedly with, along with a few other of her female coworkers.

"Oh my god, I'm so happy to have someone to talk about dramas to," Mira beamed over to Tao. "I've been dying to rant to someone else about it."

"Really? Don't you have a sister to talk about it to?"

"I do, but she's just so busy and..."

Wait.

Am I talking as Jovelyn right now or as Mirasol?

"And, yeah, she hasn't caught up so I can't really spoil anything to her," she trailed off, the more she talked, the more she felt like herself, rather than playing the charade she was meant to go along with. She winced at her own thoughts. That sounded weird, didn't it? Did...

Her eyes drifted over to Oh Sehun, who sat right across in front of her. He actually had been quiet this whole dinner, silently eating and drinking soju like a ghost, only replying when necessary. And she had noticed, he had been glancing at her as she talked to the others around her. What did she do to make him look at her like that?

Fucking creepy was what that was.

"Jovelyn-sshi!" Mirasol snapped back into reality, and averted her gaze over to the owner of the voice. Hyun Min laughed for some odd reason. "I've been calling you for a while now. Are you that entranced with my boy?"

Mirasol's whole body flared up. And across the table, Sehun's own cheeks flushed at the audacious claim. "Oh, no, no, CEO-nim, it's nothing like that!" She squeaked out in response, despite everyone else giggling around them. How embarrassing, was she really staring him down that much to get that kind of reaction? "I apologize, but what were you calling me for?"

"Ah, I was just wondering if you liked playing tennis, Jovelyn-sshi. I can't seem to find enough people to play a doubles match with me, Sehun, and Luhan."

Tennis... She could feel a dull pain in her head just at the mere word.

"I do know how to play it."

"Oh, do you?" Luhan quipped from her side. "You should play with us some time, then! How about it?"

"Oh, um, sure. Just lemme know when."

"Fantastic!" Mister Oh boomed with glee. "I'm so glad! You don't even have to be decent, Jovelyn-sshi, it's all in good fun!" He suddenly paused, eyes narrowing once seeing the changes in Mirasol, ahem Jovelyn's face. "You don't look so well, my dear."

Mirasol knew she was tipsy, but that wasn't what caused the throbbing pain in her head. It was maybe a good time as any to leave. "Yeah, um, I'm sorry, but can you all please excuse me? I'm suddenly not feeling too well, I think I drank a little too much."

"Someone should escort you home, Jovelyn-sshi," Hyun Min uttered, the worry clearly evident in his slurred voice.

"I can do it!" Luhan cut in, his hand raised just a bit to show how ready he was to help the lovely girl back to the safety of her home.

"What do you mean? Don't you live at the opposite direction?" Tao asked, his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "And wouldn't it be more convenient for Sehun to do it since they live in the same building?"

This definitely gained the interest of the older man. He leaned in close to his son and asked out of curiosity, "Oh? You two live in the same building?"

"We... do," Sehun replied meekly.

"That's perfect! Sehun-ah, you should escort the lady home!"

Mirasol could already feel worse at the mere idea. "No, it's okay, I can get home by myself--" Before she could finish her sentence, Sehun had stood up from the table, glanced at her to follow him, and bid everyone his farewells before strolling out the exit. Without much else to do in the situation to not make it even more uncomfortable than it already was, Mirasol did the same and rushed out the restaurant after the young heir.

The taxi ride to their apartment complex was silent, however not as awkward than Mira had expected it to be. The passing scenery of skyscrapers, closed buildings, and twinkling lights of the road and cars had helped a bit, leaving Mira to fully put her attention to staring outside. And even as they made it to their home, right up to the doorstep of their neighboring apartments, it had been quiet. Mirasol thought that she was home free, safe from any surprise conflict, until Sehun decided to surprise her.

"You did well today... so go in and rest."

Then, he entered his apartment with nothing else, leaving Mirasol astonished outside her own.

A compliment from Oh freaking Sehun?

I must be dreaming.