Leaving Me Again?

I was glad that Yixing decided to sit with me the entire time I studied, but honestly? He was starting to become a distraction. It was a good kind of distraction, though, and I didn't mind it at all when he would suddenly interrupt my train of thought by recounting something funny that had happened to him or around him, and I found myself immediately forgiving him every time he apologised for disturbing me.

"I'll be right back, I need a reference book," I said after a while, standing up as I smiled at him. I already knew exactly which book I would need, and I made a beeline towards the right shelf, tilting my head back to read the names of the volumes kept on the topmost row of the shelf. Great, why did every single thing have to be out of my reach, especially when I needed it the most? I stood on tiptoe as I stretched my arm above me, trying to reach as far above as I could before I saw someone's hand come out from behind me. Turning around swiftly, I ended up almost burying my face in a sweater-clad chest, and froze as I realised that it was Yixing who had snuck up on me.

"If you're that short, you should have asked me for help," he teased with a chuckle as he grabbed the book, holding it out in front of me. He gazed at me intently as I lowered my head, staring at the floor, and I was sure that me face was flushed, more so because of how close he had been standing to me just a few seconds ago than because of his teasing.

"I'm not short, I'm five-six," I mumbled as I took the book from his hands before walking back to the table. I wondered if he had heard me.

"That still makes you short." I could hear him laughing softly as he followed me. Okay, so he had heard it.

It wasn't long before it was almost time for me to leave for my classes, and I managed to put the whole Yixing's-covered-chest-being-so-close-to-my-nose incident behind me as I began packing all of my stuff inside my bag. In front of me, Yixing was rummaging through his own backpack, and looked up at me sheepishly. "What's the matter?" I asked, my brows knitting together in a frown.

"Remember that book I had been reading a few days ago? It was in Mandarin, red cover?"

Now that he mentioned it, why could I remember the book so distinctly? With a start, I realised that it was lying on my desk back at home, and I groaned out loud. The guy looked at me with a puzzled expression, his eyebrow arched.

"It landed up in my bag by mistake that day," I explained, shrugging slightly. "I was going to bring it over the next time we met, but I guess I forgot."

The lines of worry on his face faded away in a flash as he grinned at me, looking obviously relieved that nothing had happened to his precious book. However, he was quick to frown, biting his lip as he looked at me. "I needed it today, though..." he trailed off, looking down at the table as he pushed the bangs off his forehead, only to make them land back over his brow. "Could I maybe, I don't know... come over to your place today to get it back?" He asked. "I promise I'll not take long!" He added, obviously having seen the slight shock on my face.

"Oh, no, I wasn't worried about that." I hurried to reassure him, shaking my head. The real problem here was my mother. While she didn't have any issues with boys in general, she usually tried to keep me from getting close to any of them, and I wouldn't even be able to imagine her reaction if she saw me bringing a boy home. I could always explain things to her, but would she even listen to me? Kyungsoo was an exception, however, because she had known him for years, practically since the two of us were babies. But I figured it wouldn't hurt; besides, Yixing would leave after getting his book back.

I promised to meet Yixing at the bus stop near the university after I was done with my classes, and as I walked over in the evening, I could see him waiting for the bus. Well, not really, he was just waiting for me. The bus ride to my place was pretty quiet, but we didn't mind this silence between the two of us. As we got off at the stop closest to my house, I took a peek at my watch. It was still a bit too early for my mother to be home, and if luck was on my side, she would never have to see Yixing.

I must have been the unluckiest person on Earth.

I reached home with Yixing in tow, only to discover that the front door was unlocked. Mom had found the perfect day to get back home earlier than usual. Sighing softly to myself, I pushed the door open, and as I stepped foot inside, I could see a pair of shoes in the doorway that neither me or my mother used. Did we have a guest at home?

"You're finally home!"

I looked up from the shoes to see my best friend grinning at me. So that's why the door was not locked.

"Kyungsoo?" Yixing asked from where he stood behind me, and I looked back at him in surprise.

"Do you know him?" I asked, tilting my head to one side before I realised what a stupid question that was. Of course Yixing knew him. Being a double major in dance and instrumental music, he went to the same college that Kyungsoo did.

Kyungsoo looked astonished, in the least, to see Yixing with me, before his face broke into a wide smile. "He is from my college, Daeun," he said in an amused voice as he walked forward, outstretching his hand. The two males shook hands as they bowed to each other, smiling as if they had been long lost brothers who were finally reunited. I never understood what it was with men and their handshakes. Why couldn't they be like us girls? Just a polite bow and a smile, and the greeting was over. I couldn't even begin to imagine the amount of germs that would probably get transferred in a single handshake. Sometimes I was so glad I wasn't a boy.

Shaking myself mentally from my internal ramblings, I turned my attention to Kyungsoo, who was happily chatting with the other guy. "Did you let yourself in?" I asked. Mom had deemed it safe enough a few years ago to give him a set of our house keys, since during our high school days, he would most often land up at our place, and we would end up playing and talking for hours.

He frowned slightly with a shake of his head. "No, your mother is home." My eyes were as wide as they could be as I stared at him, and I could almost feel my brain shutting down for a second before it clicked into overdrive. Darn it.

I gripped at Yixing's arm tightly with both hands as I began to drag him back towards the door. All the while, he stared at me wide-eyed and Kyungsoo just stood where he was, a confused look on his face. "I can't let her see you," I hissed urgently as I started pushing him out the open door, only to wince as I heard a voice behind me.

"Daeun, who is that?"

I could hear the anger and doubt in her voice, but I also did not miss the slight tinge of fear as she called out to me. Slowly, I turned around, one of my hands still clutching onto Yixing's arm as I gave her one of my innocent-but-sheepish smiles.

"H-he's no one, he's just leav-"

"Daeun."

I visibly flinched as her voice rose, and I let go of his arm as I lowered my gaze, biting my lip worriedly. I could sense Yixing getting uncomfortable next to me as I heard my mother sigh.

"Come in, young man."

Wait, what? My head snapped up, and I found myself gaping at her as she turned, heading over to the couch in the living room. Wasn't she going to yell at him for trying to get close to her daughter, and then order him to stay away? I mean, that's what she had been doing for all these years!

Kyungsoo and I dared not say a word as we mutely followed her inside, and I nudged Yixing, lightly pushing him ahead of us.

My mother sat right in the middle of the couch, leaving Yixing no option than to occupy the lounge chair next to it. Kyungsoo sat on the other chair facing Mom, while I just stood behind him with a hand on his shoulder, feeling too nervous and jumpy to be able to sit down. It seemed that Kyungsoo could sense the tension radiating from me, and he moved his hand to lightly pat mine, before giving me a faint smile. I couldn't smile back, though, and wondered what exactly she was going to say.

"Since how long have you been dating her?"

I was extremely relieved of the fact that I wasn't eating or drinking anything, or it would have landed right on her and my childhood friend. That didn't stop me from choking on air, and I blushed a deep shade of red. Yixing was staring at her, mouth hanging slightly open, and his face had turned a similar colour as mine. Looking down, I could see that Kyungsoo was actually laughing. I gave him a light punch on his shoulder, which just made him laugh louder, and pretty soon, all three of us were glaring at him.

"Sorry," he mumbled, though he didn't sound in the least bit sorry, and there was a huge grin plastered on his face.

It took some time, but with a little help from Kyungsoo -- although how he knew about the entire situation, I had no idea -- Yixing and I managed to convince my mother that no, he was not my boyfriend, and that we were just friends. She had seemed wary at first, but soon, I could tell that she was satisfied with our explanation. Yet, why did I get the feeling that she was going to grill me about it later?

She never forgot her hospitality, and Yixing was asked -- or forced -- to have some tea with us before leaving. I had almost forgotten his reason for coming over, and it was a good thing that he reminded me while he was at the door, about to leave. Muttering an oops, I ran over to my room, bounding back with the book in hand. Kyungsoo said that he would have to leave as well, and I leaned against a wall, watching as the two boys put on their shoes.

"Oh, I met Hyerin today," I began, grinning mischievously as I saw the way his shoulders slumped. Looked like she had told him about having talked to me. "She said something about you going for some wedding with her, and..." I trailed off on purpose as I saw the pout beginning to form on Kyungsoo's face, "she added something about how she wanted to tell me before you did."

He groaned audibly, and I had to resist the urge to laugh. I was aware of how competitive Kyungsoo could get about the silliest of things, and now his girlfriend knew it, too. I could see Yixing glancing back and forth between the two of us, taking in the whole exchange with curiosity.

"I wanted to be the first one to tell you," Kyungsoo muttered under his breath, pouting at me once again like a pitiful puppy. At the next moment, a bright grin creeped up on his face, and he let out a short laugh. "I'm quite happy, though, and I can't wait till I go with her," he admitted, which led to me grinning back at him.

"I know, I can clearly see it on your face." I chuckled, stunned as another emotion took over completely, and I could feel my eyes b with tears. Before I knew it, I had broken down pathetically and if I could add, unattractively, right in front of the two guys as they stared back at me, utterly confused.

Kyungsoo was the first one to snap out of the shock as he immediately rushed forward, grabbing both of my shoulders as he leaned down slightly until his gaze was at the same level as mine. It would have been if I was looking at him, though. I had hidden my face in my palms the instant I realised I had started crying. "What's wrong, Daeun?" I heard Kyungsoo ask, and he sounded alarmed. Who wouldn't, if the person in front of them was happy at one moment and crying the next?

I felt another touch to my arm, which was probably Yixing. After what seemed like ages, I looked up from my hands, wiping some of the tears away with a sleeve. Both of them had looks of concern on their faces. I would be lying if I said I didn't know why I had suddenly started crying.

When he realised that he wouldn't get any answer from me soon, Kyungsoo opened his arms wide to envelope me in a hug, but I just pushed him away. Yixing was starting to look scared as he stumbled back a few steps, but I ignored him for the time being as I focused on Kyungsoo.

I mumbled something incoherent as I averted my gaze, my words tumbling out unclear and muddled while he just frowned at me. "What did you say?" He asked, and with a sigh, I turned back to him.

"I don't want you to leave me!" I yelled out, surprising myself at how harsh and cold I sounded.

He took one look at my face before understanding exactly what was on my mind, and stepped closer again to wrap me in a warm hug. I didn't stop him this time as I hugged him back tightly, welcoming the familiar feeling that washed over me. I could smell his scent mixed with some cologne, which made me realise just how much I had really missed him. We stayed like that in the doorway, lost in the embrace and all the while, Yixing stood in the doorway, shuffling his feet as he looked away uncomfortably.

"I will never leave you, Daeun," I heard Kyungsoo whisper in my ear. "I will be back before you know it, okay?" He broke the hug slightly, looking down at me with the warmest of smiles. I sniffled a bit, nodding as I returned his smile with a faint one of mine.

Kyungsoo and Yixing left right after that, and I closed the door before walking to my room, feeling a lot better than I had since the past few weeks.

Author's Note:

I really don't know what came over me when I suddenly shifted gears towards angst, but I felt that this one scene had to be written.

To anyone who's thinking that Daeun has any romantic feelings towards Kyungsoo, I'm afraid you're wrong :P

Thank you so much for the comments, subscriptions and upvote (karmachameleon, I'm looking at you!), and I hope you liked it!~