"There," Inna said as she brushed her sister's hair. Eunhae stood up and quickly put on her shoes, stumbling a bit.

"How do I look?"

Inna smiled at Eunhae. She was wearing a modest floral dress with a thin brown leathered belt wrapped just above her waist, partnered with a salmon colored sweater. She looked simple yet wonderful. "It fits you, sis."

"Alright, let's go." Eunhae said as she reached for her bag before they went downstairs.

Eunhae could hear the voices of her mom and Chanyeol as she went down along with her sister. She saw him seated on one of the couches, having a conversation with Mrs. Lee.

"Oh, she's here." Her mom said which made him turn around and stood up upon seeing Eunhae along with her older sister.

Chanyeol took a deep breath as Eunhae approached him and it made Chanyeol smile; the kind of crooked smile out of pride and awe. Words aren't needed to let Eunhae know that he is amazed, because the look in his eyes was enough to show his adoration towards her.

"Hey," He croaked which made Eunhae chuckle. His nervousness towards her family was too adorable to go unnoticed.

"Hello, Chanyeol." Eunhae replied as she noticed how his polo's long sleeves were rolled just below his shoulders which fitted him well.

"You look beautiful." He said just before a sweet smile emerged from his lips.

"Oh," She chuckled. "Thank you. By the way, this is Inna, my sister."

"Oh yes, she's with you during your ballet recital, right? It's nice to finally meet you, miss."

Inna gleefully shook the boy's hand. "Aw you remembered. It's great to see you once again, Chanyeol. I've heard so much about you."

"You did?" He asked and looked at Eunhae, quite surprised.

"Don't mind her." Eunhae cut.

Chuckling at her reply, Chanyeol handed her the bundle of tulips that he was holding. "Oh, well uhh, this is for you."

"Oh, thank you." Eunhae mumbled with surprise.

"Aww, that's sweet." Inna cooed and gave her sister a dreamy look.

"He also gave us these." Mrs. Lee said as she held out a white box with a bow on top.

"What's that?" Eunhae asked.

"Oh, those are Bakewell tarts." Chanyeol replied. "They're mom's specialty."

"Thank you, Chanyeol...really." Mrs. Lee beamed. "Please do extend my gratitude to your parents."

"I will, Mrs. Lee. Thank you too."

"Alright then, off you go." The oldest one said and she gave her daughter a hug.

~:~

After saying their goodbyes, Chanyeol led Eunhae to his car. Half of the sun had already tucked itself behind the thin layers of cloud beyond the horizon and a cooling purple veil emerged, heralding the entrance of twilight.

"What's with the flowers?" Eunhae asked when the both of them were finally inside as Chanyeol started the engine. "I thought giving flowers is a bit odd to you."

"Oh, that," he chuckled. "I changed my mind."

"Really? Why so?"

"Because I realized something about flowers…I think I underestimated them."

Hearing his statement, Eunhae gave him a look of amusement. "What did you realize then?"

"That flowers are actually beautiful—I mean, beyond their scent and colors. You see, they are ephemeral. But what makes them beautiful is that even though they are in danger of early disappearance, they bring out the best in them."

He took a quick glance at her and saw her staring at him while a smile was plastered on her face.

"It has something to do with their individuality." He continued as he fixed his attention ahead. "I mean, in a meadow, you see an ordinary plain of grass, but what stands out?"

"Flowers?"

"Exactly," He nodded, "the ones whose colors go against the dominant flow of green. Flowers are unique you see, and they stay that way without any human intervention. So for me, that's what makes them beautiful. They don't let their ephemeral state stop them from fulfilling their uniqueness…and there’s something about them that makes people smile in a different way.”

Eunhae smiled and studied how a sliver of light through the window made his eyes sparkle.

"What?" He asked as he sensed her stare.

"Nothing," She chuckled. "I just hope you're aware how lucky I am to have you in my life."

~:~

It took them an hour to reach their destination since it was located in the hillsides of town. A vast cape of black had conquered the sky when they got out of the car.

"Here we are," Chanyeol said as he led Eunhae inside.

It was a vintage themed restaurant with two floors. Its walls were mostly made of bricks decorated with some large framed old photos which emphasized the quaint atmosphere of the place. A faint background music accompanied the both of them as the air wafted a piquant aroma coming from the window that showed the kitchen.

There weren't many people that time which caused them to settle at a table easily.

"Chanyeol, this place looks a bit expensive." Eunhae murmured. "Is it really alright?"

"Hey don't worry." Chanyeol gave her a mirth smile. "I saved a lot of money. So pick whatever you like."

"You have a job?" She asked, surprised.

"Oh, right, I haven't told you before." Chanyeol replied. "I uhm, I paint. And I sell some of my paintings at the town's carnival."

"Really?" Eunhae smiled in astonishment. "Oh! Yes! I remember you once told me that you love art. But I didn't know that you paint. As in...paint.”

Chanyeol chuckled at her expression as she tried to piece her thoughts together. "Well, now you know. I have this small art studio which dad made at our backyard. It's one of my havens."

"I would love to visit it and see your artworks!"

"Alright," he chuckled with a hint of excitement, “it’ll be a privilege to take you there.”

A waitress approached them with a smile and handed them the menus. After listing their orders on the notepad she's holding, she excused herself and proceeded to the counter.

~:~

After a while, when they had finally emptied their plates, Chanyeol stood up. "Come here, I want to show you something."

With a questioning look, Eunhae followed Chanyeol behind as he held her hand. The two went upstairs and wounded their way through the tables toward the open door which leads to the restaurant's terrace.

"Here's what makes this restaurant even more wonderful." Chanyeol said as he gestured the girl outside.

A smile of awe slowly made its way on Eunhae's lips as she took in the view in front of them. From afar, they could see a city wrapped in lights. She knew that it was far from where she was yet as she stood there on the terrace of the restaurant, she thought to herself that the world might not be as big as it seemed.

But what amazed the girl more was the vast night sky that was bursting with so much stars.

"Wow, the sky looks different from here." She said, comparing it to the time when she and Chanyeol were at the park.

"Indeed,"

"It's so beautiful." She said as she breathed in the cool air that reminded her of dewdrops and summer.

"Look closely, shooting stars appear here frequently."

Hearing his statement, Eunhae looked at him with wide eyes then averted her gaze again at the sky with excitement and expectation.

And then, right after a minute, something moved amidst the steady hanged stars—a bright twinkling coin with a tail.

It was indeed a shooting star.

"That's it! Look!" Eunhae cheered. "Oh there's another one!"

Chanyeol heaved a sigh of awe as he let himself be overwhelmed by the countless myriad of bright lights.

As Eunhae fixed her stare above with an unrelenting smile of wonder, her vision started to get blurry and tears threatened to fall from her eyes which made her sniff.

"H—hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah," she nodded as she wiped her eyes, “sorry, I'm just overwhelmed. It's just that…it's been a while since I've last seen one. It's so beautiful."

Chanyeol smiled as he watched her gazing at the sky and thought of how she looked so beautiful from where he stood. Her hair was being blown by the wind and in the moonlight, he could see traces of tears on her cheeks.

Her eyes were filled of awe and wonder as she let her stare bear into the majestic cape of black, unaware that the boy beside her was also in awe…yet not of the stars, but in awe of her.

Indeed, the stars were beautiful, Chanyeol thought, just like her.

~:~

"Is this yours?" Eunhae asked, scanning the cassette tape that she got from the car's drawer. The both of them were finally on their way home when the clock ticked to ten in the evening.

"Yeah," He nodded. "Actually it's from my grandpa."

"Oh, I see...The Everly Brothers." Eunhae said as she read the almost faded words written on it.

"You familiar with them?"

"Hm, not really,"

"They have beautiful songs." Chanyeol pointed out. "That first one in that tape is my favorite."

Just before Eunhae could make a reply, the car stopped.

"What happened?"

"Geez," Chanyeol mumbled as he tried to ignite the engine once again but failed.

"Is something wrong?" Eunhae asked as she tried to peek at the dashboard.

"Wait here," Chanyeol said and went outside of the back of the car to check the compartment.

Confused, Eunhae went out and approached Chanyeol.

"Chanyeol? What's wrong?"

Chanyeol scratched his head and sighed. "Unfortunately, I left the container filled with gas at home."

"What? Why? Did the car run out of gas?"

Hearing her question, Chanyeol nodded and gave a sigh.

"Wait, uh, I'll try to call dad." The boy said and dashed inside to get his phone.

Eunhae, who's confused at the moment, took a seat on the hump which separated the grass from the gravel road.

The cool air brushed her skin as Eunhae scanned the rural road they're in.

There weren't any houses in that area and the possibility of encountering passer-bys was low.

Eunhae took in the scent of wild grass and cold air as she drew her knees forward and wrapped her arms around them.

After a minute, Chanyeol walked towards her with dejected shoulders.

"I talked to dad." He said. "He'll be here in a while."

"Alright," Eunhae beamed, showing that it's really alright.

Chanyeol then sat beside her with his head hung low. "I'm so sorry."

There was silence for a while and the only sound that accompanied them were the rustle of trees' leaves as the wind kissed them. Then, Eunhae began to chuckle.

Chanyeol covered his face with his palms, embarassed. "Oh dear, this is embarassing."

Eunhae continued her giggles and poked him. “You forgot to fill your car’s tank.”

“I know,”

"Your ears are red. Ha."

"I'm really sorry, Eunhae." He mumbled in embarassment. "I was too excited a while ago that I've forgotten to check the gas."

Her chuckles were endless so in the end, as Chanyeol recalled everything that happened, he ended up laughing too.

And their laughter roamed around the quiet road.

~:~

After a while, Eunhae heaved a contented sigh and looked at the sky. Although the car ran out of gas and they have to wait for a while, she didn't mind. In fact, she felt glad. Because she felt something special in the way silence wrapped her as Chanyeol sat beside her.

"Are those...scars?"

"Huh?"

Eunhae looked at where his eyes were and realized that he was looking at her feet. She removed her doll shoes a while ago right after she sat on the ground.

"Oh, that," She replied as she gently touched her feet, "yes, these are scars. It's normal in ballet."

"Normal?"

"Yeah, there was a time when I kept on practicing then my toes started to bleed and all of a sudden I felt numb."

"Really?" He asked, bewildered.

"I couldn't walk for days." She replied and gave a smile as she recalled it.

Instead of giving a reply, Chanyeol held out his hand and touched her delicate toes.

"Do you hate them? I mean, your scars?"

"No," she smiled, "I consider them as a reminder that I am strong and I hate staying at zones of comfort."

Hearing her reply, the boy averted his eyes to her and gave her his familiar grin. "That's my girl."

It's been a while since Eunhae last saw his grin and it made her smile.

"I have an idea!"

"What?"

"Open your car's radio. It's working, right?"

"Uhh yeah, why—"

"C'mon,"

When the radio was finally , Chanyeol gave Eunhae a confused look as she put the cassette tape inside.

"What're you doing?"

Giving no reply, Eunhae waited for a while and when the song finally started, she smiled.

"What song is this?"

"Let it be me," He replied. "It's an old song. I told you, that tape was from my grandpa."

"It sounds beautiful."

"Exactly," he smiled, "it's my favorite."

"Let's dance.”

"What?" He asked. Disbelief was written on his face. "Oh come on, you know I don't dance."

"Let's dance." She repeated then went out of the car and left the door open to make the song audible even outside.

Seeing how serious she was, Chanyeol sighed and followed. He stood across her. There was excitement on her face.

"Look, Eunhae," He mumbled, bashful, "I don't dance."

"Don't worry." She convinced. "I'm not overly fond of waltzes. But we'll try."

Chanyeol wanted to protest yet as soon as Eunhae held his hand, he knew he couldn't say no.

Eunhae hung her arms around his neck as Chanyeol gently wrapped his arms around her waist.

Eunhae chuckled; she felt like she was a ceramic Chinese doll because he held her with so much care as if she was in a state of fragility.

I bless the day I found you~

They swayed and Chanyeol accidentally stepped on her feet. "Sorry,"

I want to stay around you~

"Slowly," Eunhae mumbled while Chanyeol followed and moved his right foot.

And so I beg you, let it be me~

After a while, Chanyeol managed to follow. The two of them just idly swayed from left to right and vice versa yet they didn't care. Just by standing so close to each other and hearing their steady breathing were enough to make their hearts race.

Eunhae let herself get lost in the abyss of his hazel eyes as she felt her heart stir. She never thought that she would meet such man, whose twinkle in his eyes is enough for her to realize how much he loves her.

Then, as they were swaying, Eunhae buried her head on his chest and caught a scent of his perfume. She didn't want him to see that tears were falling from her eyes.

"Hey," he whispered and held her face, "what's the matter?"

"It's just..." she sniffed, “I want to dance with you forever...for a long while."

Knowing what she meant, Chanyeol took a deep breath and tucked some strands of her hair behind her ear.

"Then we'll dance." He smiled. "We'll dance and dance until time got tired of running for the both of us."

Eunhae chuckled and fixed her eyes on him. Hope was written all over his face and that's all she needed that moment. Then, she rested her head sideward on his chest, taking note of how vivid his heartbeat was.

Chanyeol looked up and saw how stars witnessed their dance. Eunhae wasn't aware that tears fell from Chanyeol's eyes, because he knew that he is ephemeral and he won't be able to dance with her like that for a long while...because he's dying.

Yet despite the ness of truth, their hearts were determined to love until the end. They were brave to dance amidst pain, sorrow, and despair.

Yes, they knew that time was limited for the both of them; but they have decided that no matter how short the days were, they won't wallow in desperation, rather, they will dance.

Beneath the endless cape of black complimented with thousands of stars, two hearts were bursting with hope.