'I- L-Leo-' You unconsciously stumbled over your words when you realised the identity of the person before you. You could barely remember when was the last time you felt this way, but it was the same familiar chill down your spine when the darker shade pair of eyes stared straight at you, as though it could see into your soul.

'Do I have to repeat myself?' His neck veins were quickly making a reappearance again as his grip on your wrist tightened, not removing his gaze from you for a mere second.

It felt as though it has been a long time since you last saw him - the aura he exuded, you didn’t experience it even during your last few encounters with Leo. Which could also have been the same reason as to the occasions where you found you doubting yourself as to whether it was really Leo.

'I- Y-You-' You still did not manage to get your words out as you tried your best to look back at him. 

‘You were hugging onto him weren’t you?’

For a brief moment, you contemplated between lying and telling the truth. But you knew it would go nowhere if you lied. It will only blow into something bigger eventually. 

‘I- I was sick and he brought me to see samchon, and brought me back. I tried shaking him off but I didn’t manage to.’

‘Sick?’ The skepticism in his tone was loud and clear. Leo was barely okay with Hakyeon and the band, and your samchon. But definitely not Taekwoon, and you knew that well.

‘I wasn’t in the right state of mind- I think I nearly got ran down by a van.’

‘Who was it-‘ You looked at him, you thought he changed. But seems like he didn’t. He should have asked about you first, but- ‘I’m going to-‘

‘Oppa don’t! It was my fault- I walked onto the road without thinking, it wasn’t the driver’s fault!’

Only then, a knob turned in his head as he finally loosened his grip on you, his eyes scanning you slowly, and you saw his adam apple bobbed up and down shakily. 

‘Were you trying to hurt yourself?’

‘N-No.’

‘Don’t do anything. I don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to you.’ As though a switch was flicked, the coldness from mere seconds ago was gone as you found yourself pulled into his embrace, his arms tightly wounded around you as he mumbled into your head. 

‘L-Leo-‘

‘I mean it. If anything happens, who knows what I’m capable of doing.’

At least he seems like he forgot that Taekwoon oppa- Never mind that for now. 'I'm alright, you don't have to worry about me. What about you?'

'What about me?' Leo threw the question back at you as he loosened his grip around you, not accustomed to someone asking about himself. And his eyes spotted a lifeline as he grabbed the nearby cookie jar off the shelf, a pathetic attempt to distract himself from your questions.

'I didn't see you since that day when you insisted that I shouldn't forget about it-'

'Wait-' You stilled when a serious look appeared on his face, before he looked around your surroundings, his hand halfway into the jar. 'What day is it today?'

'It's Sunday.'

'I didn't come out for two days?'

'Shouldn't it be six? The last I saw you was-'

'I remember being on the way to your place- Then what happened?'

'What what happened?' You asked, the flashback to the day at the hospital, and the kiss that night came back to your mind. Taek-

'Did I keep you waiting the entire night?' His eyebrows scrunched up as he tried to dig out his memories, but his attempts were futile - trying to find something that didn't exist. 

‘Yeah I waited-‘

The ringtone from your phone blasted through the room as you felt it vibrating in your pocket, that unique ringtone that you've set only for that one important person, and another wave of fear went over you.

'Umma?'

'WHAT?!' The instant when the colour drained from your face was hard to be missed. And instead of getting worried, Leo was lowkey getting amused. How bad could a phonecall with your mom get anyway? 

'NONO Of course I'm at home where else would I be.'

'Okay!'

But she does not sound the slightest bit okay. Leo side-eyed you when you started whacking his arm once you were done with the call. 'I'm not your punching bag.'

You held your breathe for a breathe moment as you glanced quickly at the clock, your hands keeping its constant beat whacking on Leo's arms. 'My mom is at the bus stop!'

'So?' Leo muttered, unfazed, as he shoved another cookie into his mouth.

'Oppa!' You shouted, the sound of the second hand ticking seemingly blasting in your eardrums. 

'Not working.' And in goees another cookie. 

You pouted as he remained oblivious to you, not knowing that he was enjoying how uptight you were getting. All that was in your mind was that your mother was reaching in minutes, seconds, and Leo is- 'WE SHOULD AT LEAST GET OFF THE GROUND!' You were getting increasingly jittery as you dragged him up, the latter still having the sacred jar in his hands. 'Leo you have to-'

'Not leaving.'

'Leooo!' 

Chomp. Chomp. 'Not hiding either.'

Leo had to hold in his chuckle as he watch you snap your eyes shut, before you took a huge breathe in. And directed your full attention back at him. 

'Okay, you don't have to leave or hide.'

'That's great.'

'But you can't speak later.' 

He looked at you as if you've just thrown the worst insult at him, and he couldn't be far more in awe. 'What makes you think that I'll listen to you?'

'If you don't listen to me,'

'Yeah?'

'I wouldn't see you for a week!'

'Sure.'

'I'll change my passcode and lock my doors and I wouldn't leave my house. That means no seeing me and no holding hands and no kissing.'

'You know what happens if I don't see you.'

'I don't care! You have to listen to me. Please oppa?'

'What do I get if I listen to you?'

'You get to see me and hold my hands and-' You were starting to jump up and down on the spot as your whacking got even more intense, and Leo was continually amazed at your sense of beat throughout the entire mayhem. 

'Double it.'

'Double what?'

'Double the hand holdings and kisses.'

And at that instant, all sense of rhythm left your body as you immediately froze on the spot, all thoughts running through your head. 

Before the doorbell starting ringing.

'But you have to behave yourself later okay!' You frantically added as you gave his hand one last tug before heading to the door. 

'Yeah yeah.'


 

‘Umma-‘ You barely greeted your mother properly before she shot the billion dollar question. 

And of course, the person under the spotlight was more than satisfied. 

‘Who’s that?’ She smiled as she eyed Leo creepily, and how you wish that there was a tunnel you can burrow into at that moment. 

‘Uh- He’s-‘

‘Jung Leo, I’m Jieun’s boyfriend.’

‘No he isn’t, he’s just a close friend-‘ You plunged your elbow into his stomach, but before you could say anything else- 

‘Jieun, how could you say that? Your boyfriend wouldn’t be happy if you simply introduced him as just any other close friend. You said your name was Leo, right?’

‘Yes.' Where did he learn that tone from?

‘So Leo, how long have you been together?’ You stared in aghast as your mom pulled Leo by his elbow and dragged him to the kitchen. And you caught that one millisecond where he turned to smirk at you.

Its an understatement to say that your mom and Leo became best friends instantly; it was as if they were long lost friends, and you found yourself questioning where he got his interpersonal skills to actually communicate properly with your mom. 

‘Finally, do you know how long I’ve been wanting her to get a boyfriend? There was Hakyeon, and Jaejin, and the band but they all said it wasn’t it!’

Your mother might have missed it, might that slight flinch of his eyebrows and smile told you that he wasn't too pleased with the mentioning of those people. 

‘So, I guess you were the one that made the first move?’

 

You glared at Leo as he followed you around the kitchen. You did not know how things progressed from the moment your mother entered your house, but all you know for now is that you were supposed to prepare dinner for the three of you. And Leo was being freakish-ly smiley the entire time. But no, you were not going to be fooled by that facade he was puting up. 'Just sit there and stay quiet!' You mumbled under your breathe when you figured that your mother was out of hearing distance.

Unfortunately, you were so wrong. Leo asked loudly, and your shoulders immediately slumped in dispair.'Is there anything that I can help with? But I don't know how to...'

'Aigoo, Jieun-ah, where did you get such a cute boyfriend.'

And there they go again. I'm not even going to try anymore. 

'Leo, if you insist, you can just wash the vegetables or something.'

'Sure!' 

But following that, you felt freezing cold water getting sprayed on yourself instead. 

'JUNG LEO.' You spat. 

'YOON JIEUN.' Your mom answered. 

Strike! And you were certain Leo's smile couldn't get any wider. 

‘I like your mom.’

‘No you don’t. You like me.’ You muttered unconsciously, annoyed at the entire situation you ended up in.





 

'Taekwoon, it's not formal. Relax a bit.' Minhyuk told the younger male who was seated up right, stiff and nervous, in the chair before him.

But the latter only gave a slight nod, without loosening his tensed muscles.

‘Okay then. Do you know how it started? When it started? You can stop whenever whereever you feel uncomfortable.’

‘I was abused as a child, I was brought up by a single mother. She said I reminded her too much of my dad who left.'

'Then a neighbour reported it and I was sent to the orphanage.'

'Then there was the bullying, and I think the adults kept me away from the others when I started thrashing things. It was when I was six?'

Minhyuk took Taekwoon's longer than usual pause as a sign that that was about it - the 'brief cause' that he asked of Taekwoon to tell him, that could have let to his disorder. 

There's only two possibilities, and he got both. No wonder he was so repulsive- ‘What about treatment?’

The slight shaking of his pupils told Minhyuk that Taekwoon wasn't as comfortable as before now. 'I tried once.'

'Only once?'

‘I was warned that he shouldn’t know that I was getting treatment, but he happened to come out during one of the check-ups- Then the doctor got injured- and, I just couldn’t anymore.’

Taekwoon watched silently as Minhyuk scribbled in his notebook. This isn't counted as treatment right? I'm just having a talk with her samchon. Taekwoon, breathe. Breathe. 

‘Is it better recently?’

He looked down at his own arms, and ran his hand over his slightly scarred skin, the blue-blacks at certain portions still visible. 'Just recently, he still comes out, but he's not doing anything.'

'Because of Jieun?'

'I think so.' But Taekwoon hated to admit it - That through her help that he was improving. Because that meant that the risk he was causing her was increasing too. 

‘Did anything else trigger it? Like other than your childhood?'

It became slightly worse after Hakyeon- Never mind. That was my fault. I shouldn’t have- 'Not really.' 

The hesitation was noted, and the topic was quickly changed. ‘Are you eating well?’

'Yes.'

‘Let me know, if you change your mind on getting treatment. If you need anything, let Jieun know, she’s the best at helping people.' Minhyuk paused slightly before adding, 'Especially if they didn’t ask for it.' 

'Have you gone for lunch?' Minhyuk as the nurse at the counter as he followed Taekwoon out of the consulting room. 

'I've just came back, did Jieun not pass you your lunch? She came by just now right after the both of you went in.'

And the black plastic bag along with a bottle of pills on the counter top caught their attention. 

'Right after?'

'Yeah, she said she brought you lunch and will be surrendering some of her pills.' 

And in the next few moment of silence, it finally sinked into both males. 

‘She didn’t know, did she?’ Minhyuk slowly turned to Taekwoon, his hands unknowingly running over the bottle of pills. 

‘She probably knows now.' 

 

Yoon Jieun-

‘I want to be your friend.’

This strange little girl in a white blouse and pastel blue skirt said, looking directly at him.

First, he did not know how she managed to find him, a hidden spot beneath the lowest slide, furthest away from the open space and sand pit that kids played around in.

Second, how did she get there without making a sound, without getting mud on herself, without any stray leaves getting stuck in her hair.

Third, he was certain he had never seen her in the neighbourhood before, and Taekwoon could only look back blankly at the little girl before him.

Does she even know what she’s saying?

‘Having friends make you happy.’

This kid is weird. He remember thinking to himself. It’s as if she wasn’t taught the pledge of not talking to strangers. And the untold saying of leaving orphans alone. Well at least that was what Taekwoon always thought since he was young.

‘Aren’t you hot?’ You curiously tugged onto Taekwoon’s sleeves, which he retracted immediately in reflex.

‘I’m sorry.’ You frowned slightly, lowering your head. And in that moment, he seriously thought that you were going to cry.

Where did she come from?

But it was barely a minute before you looked back up at him with a smile as bright as the one from before. ‘I really like you.’

Why? He continued his unwavering stare at this foreign creature before him who did not fall into any of the categories of the types of people he has met in his short six years on Earth. 

‘I like people.’

‘Yoon Jieun!’ The loud unknown voice broke his concentration on the girl before him, and he quickly pulled his guard back up, not even aware that he had taken it down during your 'interrogation'. 

‘Oh!’ Taekwoon watched as you turned around, spotting a lady peeking through the gap underneath the playground as she bent down to the best of her ability without ruining her dress.

‘Jieunie, come out here.’

‘See you soon!’ Was all you said as you waved to him. And he made sure to watch as you made your exit, determined to see how you could have caught him off guard when you came.

But contrary to his thoughts, the leaves on the ground started rustling and the twigs cracked. And a stray leaf got caught on your blue hair clip as you crawled your way out.

But before he could think more about it, your chirpy voice clouded his thoughts once again.

‘Umma!’

‘I told you not to wander off by yourself!’

‘Umma, I met a new friend- His name is-‘ He saw a frown form on your face immediately. ‘I didn’t get his name! Umma, can we go back?’

‘We're running out of time already, don't you know how late we are? I had to look for you for about ten minutes!’

‘But I need to know my friend’s name!’

‘Your dad really shouldn’t have told you to make friends with whoever you see.’

‘Taekwoon.’ Taekwoon looked at your disappearing figure as you held tightly onto your mom’s hand, ‘It's Jung Taekwoon.’

 

He looked at the door before him in silence, contemplating whether or not to knock. She can’t possibly remember right? A kid in long sleeves in the middle of summer at a playground.

So what if she remembers? It doesn’t mean anything to her.

I was just a nameless boy who refused to talk to her. 

The name ‘Yoon Jieun’ sparked his interest when he first heard it at the cafe he frequent.

And of course, it was a common name, and there was such a high possibility that you weren’t the Yoon Jieun that he was looking for, and he didn't want to keep his hopes up.

In fact, he wasn’t looking for you, it’s just that he always kept you in his mind. The outgoing little girl who tried so hard to get him out of his shell was a stark contrast to the treatment he got from all the people he met years before he saw you. 

But as he spent more time watching you, the more he got reminded of the little girl back then. The way your fingers drummed on any surface possible, at the counter when you're ordering, when you're thinking, when you're talking.

It wasn’t that smooth when you were a kid - you were smacking on the slide when you were talking to him back then. Maybe, just maybe, he thought, it was a mere coincidence, and he was pushing his hopes too far. But everything about you reminded him of the the little 'foreign creature' back then. 

The way your right dimple shows when you smile.

The way you always reached out to him.

The way you never left him alone. 

[A/N] HEY GUYS. IM BACK AND STILL ALIVE. I'm not done with my national exams though, I'm left with 3 out of 12 papers and they end on 1st December. But YAY UPDATE (because today's paper went fairly well) (and since I've been making incremental progress with this chap since I last disappeared)

This is a much longer than usual update (to maybe cover for the months that I've been missing), and I hope that it wasn't disappointing! 

Do keep the comments and subscribes coming in~ And I really hope that this isn't boring you so far. 

(I hope that I didn't overlook any typos or mistakes in this chapter either) (my language skills have dropped drastically after I ended my language papers) 

AND OMG IM SEEING VIXX ON 2ND DECEMBER (after like 1.5years) AND IM EXCITED!!

As usual, comments will be greatly appreciated!! 

Thank you <3