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The sun was shining ever so brightly accompanied by songs of birds which heralded the coming of noon day. Eunhae entered La Grazia, earning a surprise look from Miss Mina who was fixing something beside the front desk.

"Eunhae!"

"Good afternoon, miss!”

"The boy…he came back." Miss Mina informed with excitement on her face.

"Who? Chanyeol?"

Seeing the blue paper flower that was placed on the desk, Eunhae smiled. Relief was evident in her eyes as if she's been waiting for this all along. It had been a while since she last received one—a long while.

"He just went out a few minutes ago." The older one informed.

"Really?"

Just before Miss Mina could make a reply, Eunhae found herself running towards the door.

It was at the right side where Eunhae saw Chanyeol who was already a few distance away from her. Just by seeing his ebony hair from afar and his familiar stature, Eunhae didn't have to wonder if it was him.

"Chanyeol!"

Hearing his name, Chanyeol looked back and saw Eunhae dashing towards him.

"W—wait." She bent down, coughing as she tried to catch her breath.

Surprised, he walked to her, giving her a look of concern. "Eunhae, are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said as soon as her coughing stopped. "Hello, Chanyeol."

"Oh, hello."

When she finally straightened herself, Eunhae averted her gaze to him. It was evident on his face that he was stunned to see her at that moment.

"Thank you," said Eunhae.

He furrowed his brow. "Thank you?"

"Yes, for the uhm…for the paper flower."

Hearing her response, his certain grin appeared once again. "Eunhae, you ran this distance for that? Just to say thank you?"

"Well…uhh…yeah."

The both of them chuckled and for a while, they just gazed at each other. The brown orbs of his eyes sparkled beneath the sun. There was something in them that enthralled Eunhae. It’s as if his eyes were full of endless fascinating stories that she wanted to dive in.

Neither of them knew how long it took them to get out of their trance and when they finally did, Chanyeol cleared his throat and tucked his hands inside the pockets of his pants as he tried to suppress a chuckle.

"You came back." She smiled.

"Yeah, I did."

"Well, I have to go. Again, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Chanyeol stared at Eunhae as she turned back and walked away. He was about to start his steps when he looked at her once again, feeling a slight tension rising from his chest. Scratching his head, he bit his lip and convinced himself to walk away yet as he felt the centimeters between them grew, he found himself shoving away boulders of hesitation and nervousness. He jogged towards her, and called her name. "Eunhae!"

"Yes?" She turned without a thought, as if she was waiting for it all along.

"Do you want to watch the stars?"

"Pardon?"

"Later, I mean." He informed.

Eunhae blinked at his simple invitation. It was her first time to encounter someone who invited her just to watch the stars.

"Oh, that would be nice."

"It's a yes then?"

"Yeah,"

"Alright, I'll wait for you there." Chanyeol said, pointing towards the waiting shed that was a few distance away from La Grazia.

"Okay then, see you,"

Hearing her statement, Chanyeol gave a salute. "See you,"

Then, they parted ways with anticipated hearts.

~:~

It was during that day when Eunhae first watched the stars with Chanyeol. Her ballet class finished just before the clock ticked to six. The sun was just about to tuck itself—accompanied by the sky that was gradually being colored by shades of pink and purple. She was the last one to get out of the building, and when her friends finally bade their farewell, Eunhae tightly held her bag as she made her way to the waiting shed.

Chanyeol was seated on the shed's metal bench, bent down as he fiddled some pebbles on the ground.

Hearing her footsteps, he looked up and a smile made its way on his lips when he saw her.

"Good evening, Eunhae."

Then he stood up, confusing Eunhae. "Where are you going?"

"I know a place where it's nice to watch the stars." He replied as he started to walk. "It's just a walking distance from here."

Realizing that Eunhae stayed rooted on the ground, he looked back. There was hesitation on her face.

"Don't worry. I'm not a kidnapper."

"I know." The girl laughed at his statement before tagging alongside Chanyeol.

"So where's this place that you're talking about?"

"The park at Gidae St.," he replied, "Are you familiar with that?"

"Ah, of course," Eunhae nodded. "Eunhye's just a small town."

There were a few people at the park when they came, some were about to leave since the sun has already bade its farewell.

"Let's go to the clearing over there," Chanyeol pointed. "It's the best spot to watch the night sky."

The both of them settled on the ground that’s dressed with blades of grass.

As Eunhae curled her legs beneath her, she looked up. The sky that was once cloaked by thin layers of cloud was now conquered by a vast cape of black.

"Do it this way," Chanyeol informed as he laid his back on the grassy ground and tucked his arms beneath his head. "It's much better."

When Eunhae did what he said, she let out a breath of adoration. All that she could see was the sea of twinkling stars accompanied by the faint sound of crickets from afar. "Wow, they're beautiful."

"Indeed," Chanyeol replied as he let himself be in total wonder.

"What do they look like to you?"

"Fireflies," he smiled. "A myriad of unreachable fireflies."

Eunhae chuckled at his answer as she felt the cold wind brushed her cheeks.

"Did you know that when you look at the stars, you are actually looking back in time?"

"Really?" Eunhae questioned, surprised. "Why so?"

"Yeah," Chanyeol answered, constantly gazing above. "It's because of the finite speed of light."

Averting his eyes to her, he realized that she was confused, which made him elaborate his explanation more.

"You see, light moves very fast; so instant. Like, it only takes a second for light to travel across your room if you turn on a lamp. In space, however, the distances are so vast that the time that light takes to travel is very noticeable."

"I see,"

“Let’s say, a star is four light-years away. When we look at that star, we see it not as it is today, but as it was four years ago."

"Wow, how come I've never heard of this before?" Eunhae said as she stared at the sky, completely stunned.

"Perhaps you don't listen to your Science teacher?" Chanyeol joked, earning a laugh from Eunhae.

"But really, it's fascinating."

"Absolutely," He nodded in agreement. "And these truths, these beautiful stars, this universe that is so wonderfully complex, points us to our amazing God. He’s so creative you know."

Chanyeol chuckled at his statement, earning a smile from Eunhae. “What do you think He’s like?”

"Well, some see Him as someone who's far, some see Him like a tyrant King." Chanyeol said. "But for me, I do not see Him that way. He's like a friend...a loving Friend."

"I see…” Eunhae nodded in understanding, for she felt the same too.

"I mean, sometimes, when I just close my eyes and feel the wind, it feels like He's closer than my skin and bones...it's like He has this desire to be near me."

“Well said, Chanyeol. Well said.” Eunhae pondered his statement deeply as quietude embraced them. There weren't any words exchanged, yet it didn't matter. It's as if the stars, along with silence, connected them in a way words couldn’t.

"So, Eunhae," Chanyeol sat and stretched his arms behind to support him. "Tell me something about you."

"About me? What should I say?"

"I don't know...ballet, books, pet peeves. Anything about you."

"Well," Eunhae sat and wrapped her arms around her knees. "About ballet, it fascinated me ever since I was a kid. My dad, who loves to dance, supported me and let me take summer classes in a ballet school when I was eight. We were in Seoul back then."

"Oh, Seoul?"

"Yes, that's my hometown. We moved here in Eunhye just two years ago. Then we found La Grazia so I took classes once again. It has become a hobby of mine. Ballet, I mean."

"I think it's more than just your hobby. It has become a part of you."

"Yeah," she smiled. "You're right."

"So you really are a dancer huh." Chanyeol pointed out. "A beautiful dancer."

Hearing his statement, Eunhae chuckled and gave him a nudge.

"What? I'm just being honest."

She shook her head and sighed, trying to suppress the possibility that her cheeks might turn red. “Your turn."

"Alright, what do you want to know?"

"Anything,"

"Well, just like you, I'm fond of reading." He explained. "Unlike you, I'm a disaster when it comes to dancing."

"What? Come on, everyone can dance."

“No no,”Chanyeol chuckled, shaking his head in disagreement. "Then I guess I'm not everyone."

Eunhae laughed. "Then why did you watch our school's ballet recital a month ago?"

"Oh, that, well, I just got invited by a friend of mine. He’s a balletomane you see." He replied. "He had an extra ticket and I was free that time, so I agreed. I’m glad I went, because I got to see you.”

Hearing his statement, Eunhae felt her cheeks burn. She then cleared and gave a nervous chuckle, hoping that her face hasn’t turned into the color of crimson. “I see...uh, interests?”

"Art and music," He answered with complete assurance.

"Woah, music," Eunhae remarked. "Do you play the guitar?"

"Yes," Chanyeol nodded. "Actually I do gigs at this certain cafe. I'll take you there if given a chance."

"Awesome! I would like to hear you play."

"Really? Wow…that would be a privilege, Eunhae."

She smiled as she saw his familiar grin creeping up on his face again.

"So, art? You like art?"

"Hm that's an understatement." Chanyeol once again laid his back on the ground. "I love art."

"I see...so I'm guessing you're good at drawing."

He smiled. "It's a hobby of mine."

Chanyeol sighed and stretched an arm towards the sky as if he's trying to reach the stars. "Man, they're beautiful."

Eunhae looked up as she felt the wind shrugged some strands of her hair. "There's this certain book I've read. In it, the character—a pilot—see stars as thousands of little bells that laugh."

"The Little Prince,"

Hearing his reply, Eunhae gave him a surprised look. "You know that book?"

"Yeah, why? Is it your favorite?"

She nodded as a response. "My dad used to read it to me as a bedtime story when I was a kid."

"So your dad reads to you awesome books and he loves to dance," Chanyeol pointed out. "He's amazing."

"Absolutely,” Eunhae replied with so much assurance then her voice slowly softened. “And uhm…I miss him doing that.”

"You miss him…" Chanyeol sat once again, looking at Eunhae. "Would it be okay to ask why?”

Eunhae looked at him and tried to smile. "He died in a car accident when I was ten…”

"Oh…I’m—I’m sorry.”

"No no, it's alright." said Eunhae along with assurance in her eyes. She then averted her gaze to the ground as she idly plucked some grass. "I remember I stopped doing ballet that time…”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Eunhae sighed as she tried to recall her past. She knew that it still saddens her but thankfully, as time passed by, she learned to stand up on her feet once again. “It’s because I suffered from PTSD.”

"You did?” Chanyeol asked as empathy filled his eyes.

"Yeah,” Eunhae murmured her reply. “Don’t worry, I got well much shorter than my family expected. Thank God…Then my mom told me that if dad were there, it will sadden him to know that I stopped ballet…And she has a point."

"So what happened?"

"Well, it took me a while." She looked up. "It was very hard to dance without him being there to support me. But slowly, I managed."

"Seeing you now," Chanyeol said, "I think he's very proud of you."

"Yeah, I think so." She gave a smile. “He always is.”

"You're like a star, then."

"A star?"

"Yeah,"

"Why?"

"Well, stars shine amidst darkness. Just like you, despite what happened, you chose to be strong and to shine."

Hearing his statement, Eunhae smiled as she imagined her father smiling at her through the countless stars that flooded the night sky.

"Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies." --Psalm 36:5