Chapter 1(2)

“Ah… Are you ok?”

She didn’t make a sound and Chanyeol blinked blankly, looking around. They were kind of stuck in the middle of the entrance hallway. Through the blurry windows on the inside wall he could see the dimmed lights and very soft jazz music atmosphere and a group of six maybe seven people around a table, but the bar was much larger than one could predict from outside and honestly he had no idea who those people were, he couldn’t even hear their voices just to make sure they were his friends. Instead the trembling girl caught his attention again. She had de-shriveled and was now holding her left hand with her right. A red welt on the back of the held hand was made visible when she slowly got up from her semi-squatting position from earlier. Her face got more light and her long-short hair that came to a stop under her shoulder was no longer obscuring the view to her face. She had cute features with her round face and eyes and plump lips tinted with a color between pink and orange. Besides her lips she had no make-up anywhere else on her face though one could easily be mistaken by her long lashes.

“Ahh, I think it’s broken” it was the first time she was speaking, she didn’t seem threatening, but after speaking she did a little flip of her bangs for them to stop upsetting her eyes and a flicker of recognition passed through her dark gaze. She knew who he was by then. But she didn’t make much of a fuss, instead she huffed and massaged her left hand firmly with her right. “you should seriously be more careful opening doors, you never know what could be on the other side of it, Chanyeol-ssi”

Her eyes were shadowed by those long lashes as she shook her hand as if trying to shake the pain away but the welt on her hand was growing redder and even a maybe bluish as she did so. The throbbing in her hurt hand was visible even to him. Pulling his mask down slightly since the girl had obviously recognized him already, he scraped the back of his neck blinking, not understanding the whole situation until it finally clicked.

“Wha-What? I did that opening the door?”

Chanyeol in all truth hadn’t really “opened” the door, rather thrown it open or bang it open would be closer to reality, and it seemed this young woman’s hand had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Chanyeol was quite used to break things or hurt some of s with his unusual or unexpected strength at times. Like that time in Happy time that he had ripped the tail of the little chick by mistake or when he broke the mike on Weekly idol… or when he accidently ran into Luhan hyungs newly bought ipad when he was running away from someone (D.O, probably)and the thing had split in two. But to actually hurt a person he didn’t know and because of such an embarrassing situation as what had almost happened outside made his cheeks fill with hotness. Especially because she was cute and even though he was most of times pretty confident with himself, girls, unknown girls were never a subject any guy was absolutely confident with.

“More like you threw it open, really.”

She was murmuring displeased, flexing her hand and trying to close and open it repeatedly just to make sure everything was working fine. Chanyeol’s ears were starting to get red as well when he started to bow apologetically and fumble with his phone, discouragingly repeating that he would immediately call his manager to take her to the hospital. But she just brushed it off with another flick of her hurt hand that made her eyes squint a little in hidden pain.

“Anyway, its fine you can come in already and really, stop worrying about it. It was a mistake I get it.” Smiling softly and not very brightly but still sincerely she indicated with her right hand the spacious room of the bar “They were mentioning you just now. I’m sure they’ll be happily surprised Chanyeol-ssi came by after all.”

So he hadn’t come to the wrong place after all, and it seemed the whole place was empty except for that lone party on a corner having fun by themselves as he noticed by walking forward and leaving the hallway to finally find himself in the large room. The girl was by his side a little behind him, breathing on his neck a little, making his skin get all tight and taking his attention off of the table up ahead.

He turned around and almost collided with her who was also observing said table with keen eyes. And suddenly she laughed again, a little less forced, still sincere as if she had really found it funny to the occurrence. Probably it had been his somersaulted expression or how his mouth opened and then closed again suddenly.

Amongst s he was never like this. Instead Chanyeol was regarded as the hyung who never behaved like one by the younger and as one of those people who should just be quieter by the oldest. Except maybe by Suho hyung (maybe even by him) and probably including Kyungsoo who always watched him with annoyed and lazy big round eyes when he and Baekhyun and Chen were making a ruckus or when he along with the maknae line decided pranks had been too little lately. But still, he was the confident member who could take all of the reporter’s questions, the person who was most requested for reality shows and who bravely took on the task without ever letting his group down. He was the person who stood in front of Baekhyun when he knew was tired from spending the entire night arguing with Taeyeon noona and who always was the perfect example of politeness towards his elders and sunbaes . But girls... he always had been a little awkward with them, though they seemed to find that charming and mostly fall for his friendly prodigies rather than because of a first physical connection.

And that was ok, but still, pretty human beings of an approximated same age and different ual genre which he absolutely didn’t know most of times left him a bit nervous. At times like these, all he had to do was put on his EXO mask and the confidence would boost up and Chanyeol wouldn’t have to hurry. But that thought sounded foreigner and aloof in the middle of hearing her melodious little laugh and with the way she shook her head, passing him and ushering him with her hand with a follow me sign.

“Guys, here’s the person you all have been waiting for.”

Her voice was soft and high pitched, if he had to think about it it sounded something like the female version of Jongdae’s voice. That thought made him chuckle. When, with the help of the glasses, Chanyeol finaly recognized his old classmates his smile stretched so greatly it split his face in two. Taking his lowered mask completely he shouted a happily “Guys, annyong!”  He ended up saying hello with both of his hands and his characteristic goofy smile. The girl by his side which Chanyeol had never seen before apparently found that amusing and smiled along subtly before excusing herself to behind the large dark wooden counter. But Chanyeol was no longer paying attention forgetting the hurt girl momentarily to regard his old friends slowly. They weren’t that much different from what they looked in high school. The Sa twins were thinner than they used to be. Dal Soo beamed at him with his cheeky smile and he couldn’t help but to smile back. In his right hand there was an obvious couple ring, at his side his sister was the first one to call his name with a goosebumps inducing fake aegyo which made his hair stand and his insides twist but because it was so familiar, also made him laugh happily.

“Chanyeeeeeeeeol-ah~~ you came?!”

He moved towards them, intent on giving a great greeting but before that…

“Yah!!! Let go! let go! let go! let go!”

“Why are you only now sending me texts about these meetings?” stuck in a head lock learnt from the master of head-locks himself, Do Kyungsoo, Go Yeon Woo couldn’t even breathe properly much less look up at his much taller friend with his taken aback one-lid only slanted eyes, as he shouted for his release, Chanyeol continued his rant of annoyances with his high-school best friend. “And what kind of message was that? Talking formally to me too! You crazy bastar…”

While continually complaining, Chanyeol had released the hand pushing the head and neck of the victim down towards the arm bent in the lock to rub his knuckles harshly on Yeon Woo’s scalp- to which he released some virility-questioning yelps. But after that, making use of the movement allowing harassment, Yeon Woo looked up to stare right into his old friend’s eyes. Silence sat in. everyone anticipated their next move. Until finally, Yeon Woo who had been staring intently at Chanyeol’s eyes blinked and opened his mouth,

“Are you wearing foundation right now?”

And that was how the tension had dissipated smoothly, with Chanyeol mocking punch and a “I had a schedule before!!~” shout that filled the entire bar along with the high laughter from his old friends. After some few drinks while he dove into a difficult explanation on how sunbae had fallen out of love with Noh Sung Woo– who actually laughed loudly to which Min Jung thoroughly ignored him. Min Jung sunbae had then eventually not only started liking someone else but after years of high schooler unrequited love had finally snatched the man she liked into a relationship. And that poor guy was none other than Lee Hyun Seok the strange loner who liked doing what no one else liked to do and who spent hours with his head buried in teaching books to learn his new ideal aptitudes, whether it was dancing or Art history, Hyun Seok belived everything could be at least at first, learnt from books.

The guy in case smiled slightly and shyly when the story ended and patted his girlfriends hair silently as he got up to the counter and speak with the girl from before. She had her hair tied up and as Chanyeol saw her from the side there was a little mole peeping from just under and behind her left year. He found it strangely appealing.

They had once seen each other every week for something like three years; they had been the closest persons he had had until he had entered SM and now it wasn’t like this anymore at least with him (because they still seemed extremely close with each other).Chanyeol reflected. Nonetheless the great length of time that they hadn’t seen each other, he was satisfied that they weren’t awkward with each other. If something a little more polite than when they were in school and saw each other everyday. Now they were grown-ups, everyone (or at least the majority) had a job and a profession to be dedicated to and they had to face it properly but that didn’t stop them from acting out their childlike antics one in a while. Especially since the most childish of them all had just returned to the group.

Any way they weren’t s whom he had known for four, five, six years. They weren’t s, who had been as much family to him as his real family (since everyone, lately, couldn’t spend that much time with their real family), s were his everyday, he woke up to the sound of them and fell asleep surrounded by them in the dorm. They were the ones he was most comfortable and with whom he liked to spend his time the most. Still, it was nice to know that amidst the fame and popularity it was still possible for his high school friends to be part of his life as well. Though fame and recognition as a national idol had always been his dream, It was nice to know there could still be some normality in it, that the dream did not encompass his whole life. It was the same feeling he got when he left the dorm by himself and was left alone, no one noticing him, though that happened mostly around quiet neighborhoods and with his usual “disguise”. Or when he met his parents and his mother or noona pulled his ears while scolding him. It was the perfect balance of normality in his life, and it was nice.

The girl from before was finally returning to the table, her hand wrapped in gauze while she deposited four soju bottles unopened on top of the table, making small conversation with the girls.

“You should come over on Sunday, Myung Bak sonsaengnim and Soo Jin unnie are coming over, since they made up they promised to show off and brag”

She had a nice laugh and her big round eyes got reduced to two moony halves. And that was how Chanyeol first found himself starting to notice her. That her voice was entrancing and her smile was beautiful, that she was a little taller than most girls, that the mole behind her ear was tantalizing, that her lips were plump and red because she had the habbit of biting them, sometimes they bled a little. She, apparently knew his friends and was close to them since she addressed them all by unnie and oppa which made it stand out that the was younger than them.

He was about to apologize again for what had happened before when Eun Joo cut him off, by nodding fervently and relaying how much she couldn’t wait to see them perform together again.  Min Jung sunbae who was an eternal romantic sighed and looked up at her boyfriends who blinked and looked away. Chanyeol lost the way the girl’s eyes lingered for just a heartbeat longer on Go Yeon Woo, but the target of her glance did not notice either. Until Hyun Seok noticed her hand was hurt.

“Oh? Ji Woo-ah…” her large very dark eyes found her questioner's eyes, who was sitting right next to him. Since the whole ordeal she wasn’t exactly acknowledging his presence. Though she wasn’t apparently uncomfortable or something of the like, she rather acted as if his presence was customary and not surprising at all. Following her curt though formal neh, Oppa? Hyun seok grabbed her wrapped hand and Chanyeol immediately felt his face heating up. “You hurt your hand?!”

And that was when things started to get extremely weird. Because all of them stopped their conversations to watch her (to his eyes, no more than slightly) hurt hand held by Hyun Seok’s hand, and they were freaking out. Actually after Hyun Seok spoke and asked how in the world had she done such a thing, Min Jung released a small high toned vocalization and the older twin Dal Soo grabbed his keys and wallet and grabbed his coat.

“C’mon, I’m taking you to the hospital!”

“Guys, Guys, Guys, You’re exaggerating, seriously. Look at Chanyeol-ssi’s face. He’s totally not getting what’s going on right now.”

 Her healthy hand came up and rubbed her nape while she looked embarrassed at him and bowed nonchalantly with a small apology, getting rid of the multiple holds on her she cleared .

“I put my hand in the door when Chanyol-ssi was coming in, it was no one fault really, we just had bad fate I guess”

“Chanyeol! You did this to her???” Yeon Woo

“How could you not say anything?” Eun Joo

“Why didn’t you take her to the hospital?” quietly, Hyun Seok.

“I said I didn’t want to go!” she assured everyon