…

…

…

Sigh.

Just when you thought that the awkwardness would disappear with Kai not there, – as horrible as it sounded, it was true! – it only seemed to be heightened with the addition of one more person for Miya.

… Or perhaps it was just the fact that she was with Chan Yeol and Baek Hyun…?

While Miya and Baek Hyun were seated on the small cream couch that was situated in the small living area space, Chan Yeol was sitting across from them, rather uncomfortably, on a small chair that was meant for a child. The stern brother figure insisted that he sit on it despite Miya’s pleas to go easy on him. However, her request was, of course, voided with a strict glare against which the younger dongsaeng could not rebel.

Considering what had happened, Miya was sure Baek Hyun was more than furious at her…

“Baek Hyun, are you-”

Miya instantly froze at the sight in front of her.

… Um…

“… Miya… you have some explaining to do… and get this giant off of me!”

Chan Yeol must have been too cramped and, with one slight movement, he must have busted the closet door open and fell onto an unsuspecting Baek Hyun who was inspecting the noise from the storage space. As the giant had slipped out, expecting a hard and painful fall, he was instead landed on something that would ease his crash. However, that “something” turned out to be the said curious Baek Hyun and, while having the subject as a shock absorber was beneficial for Chan Yeol, it only caused unnecessary hurt for the former.

… And a very awkward situation for Miya to walk into with a stranger she had just met on top of and trapping her smaller brother figure.

… Oh my…

“Lee Miya!”

“A-Ah! Chan Yeol-sshi! Baek Hyun!” Miya scurried to help Chan Yeol get up while, at the same time, checking to see if Baek Hyun was injured in any serious way. It seemed that, other than his pride hurt, Baek Hyun was fine and Chan Yeol seemed to be doing well, despite the collapse.

As Miya’s best friend began to brush off some of the imaginary dirt on his lightweight jacket and Chan Yeol began to scratch the back of his head out of nervous habit, Miya realized the situation that came to light, looking at the two people in her bedroom.

… How am I going to explain myself now?

After a good fifteen minutes of nonstop scolding and a few glares, Baek Hyun decided to stop and have some explaining done in a more “comfortable” area, where they could sit – well… where two could sit and one could squat – and become more “relaxed”.

Oh the irony.

The eerie silence was beginning to eat Miya up and she felt extremely guilty for dragging Chan Yeol into such a predicament and sent him an apologetic look, hoping that her words and feelings could get through to him. The receiver seemed to notice the sender’s attempts and sent a warm smile, hoping that he was able to get his message of “Don’t worry about it,” through to her.

Baek Hyun seemed to notice their little exchange and imitated a cough, in order to get the two’s attention. He began to wonder as to who this tall giant could be and, judging by the way the two were interacting, he could only conjure one very likely and plausible conclusion.

“… Why didn’t tell me you got yourself a boyfriend?”

It would clearly explain why Miya was being so defensive and insistent that he couldn’t visit her apartment if there was a guy already there! She knew very well, due to the numerous times that Baek Hyun had drilled the rule into her head, that she had to get a guy approved by him before the potential boyfriend and Miya could start dating. It was a type of standard set up since, back then, Baek Hyun’s dongsaeng would have a few guys hit on her and she was unable to fully get her answer through to guys without his help.

He had to be there since no one else really was.

It just seemed that Miya decided to go through a rebellious stage and start dating guys without Baek Hyun knowing it.

“W-What!?” At this, Miya felt her cheeks instantly flare up and she attempted to defend herself, waving her hands in a sideways motion to deny the question.

How in the world could he think of that!?

… Well… actually…

“N-No! I just met him today!”
 

“What!? You two hooked up that quickly!?”

“Oppa! That’s not it! It’s just that-”

At the rate the conversation was going and in the direction it was heading towards, it seemed that Miya’s real situation would be revealed and, if Baek Hyun didn’t seem to be handing this situation well, how would he deal with the fact that Miya now had a guy actually living with her?

“Um, Baek Hyun, is it?”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty one years old,”

“Month?”

“November,”

“Yah, address me as hyung,” Chan Yeol’s large eyes widened even further at Baek Hyun’s statement. “You’re older than me?”

“I was born in May!”

“Hey, that’s not fair, we’re chingu then,” Along with the sentence, the disappointed giant had made a pouty face causing Miya to slightly giggle at his successful attempt to brighten the atmosphere. Seeing this, Baek Hyun shot a disapproving look to his dongsaeng and the latter immediately cowered back and a straight line replaced the once curved one on her lips.

The suffocating atmosphere only seemed to become thicker despite the few moments in which the air would lighten slightly. Miya let out a sigh as she excused herself to attend to the ddeokbokki which she had left cooking for a slightly longer than usual time. This left the two young men to talk out whatever problems the two had – well, with the problem only being Miya.

Baek Hyun was tempted to start interrogating the younger giant in front of him with a plethora of questions, but was slightly hesitant in doing so, simply because… well… this dude was huge and… who know if he had a short temper or not? He certainly seemed friendly with Miya, but that may not be the case, at all, with Baek Hyun.

Chan Yeol, on the other hand, was feeling a little more than out of place and began to question himself as to how he had gotten himself into such a situation.

… Oh… that’s right…

… Jong In… you owe me big time!

The silence seemed to continue until Miya was able to break it once she announced, “The ddeokbokki is ready!” Her announcement was done partly because, it was true, the Korean rice cakes were finished, and, also, she was all too aware of the more than weird and stressful ambiance that the room had.

As she turned her head to look at the two guests in her house, Miya couldn’t help but let out a sigh as her own thoughts caused her to question what in the world she was doing. Finally, as a last resort to possibly end and cause the previous occurrence to be erased, she offered the suggestion, “Let’s eat guys, okay?”

“…”

“…”
 

Oh.

That silence wasn’t good.

“… Please?”

“… Okay,”

“Really!? S,o you’re living with someone!”

“… Yeah,”

“What’s his name?”

That is where the conversation had shifted from being rather simple to much one that was much more complicated and laced with lies. Kai slightly cringed, silently asking for Soo Yun’s forgiveness for lying to her so blatantly. She seemed so interested and was genuinely concerned for him, which was why his girlfriend was asking so many questions about his new living mate, in the first place. It was also during this pondering moment that Kai also realized…

This is the first time I’ve told such a big lie to her…

There were a few little white lies, but Kai honestly knew that they weren’t significant ones and wouldn’t really change anything if Soo Yun were to find out about them. Just little things such as the time he had told her that he did great during a volunteer school performance, when, in fact, he failed epically and ended up messing up the dance steps quite a few times.

Lies that were told to save himself a bit of dignity, that’s all.

Telling her that his new housemate was a guy, rather than a girl, was something that would seriously question the trust in their relationship.

However, it was all done for Soo Yun’s sake so that she wouldn’t have any more worries. – Kai reminded himself.

The information session did not last too long as Kai was beginning to run out of things to talk about Mi- Ji Min. The interviewee figured that he had already told such a big lie, he would, at least, add in some true things about Miya.

Things like...

Short.

Good at cooking.

...

...

Maybe he did end up throwing in a few more fibs...

“He sounds pretty nice, especially if he’s cooking for you all the time! And is he really shorter than me!? That’s so cute!”

“Um... yeah...”

Cute?

Is she really that cute?

“Yeah... I guess,” In an attempt to end the conversation and forget it, Kai rolled up his cuffed sleeve, which had fallen during the dinner, in order to check the time on his watch. It was late into the afternoon and the boyfriend had promised to add in as many events as possible before returning his girlfriend home at an appropriate time. He took out his chained leather wallet and took out a few bills to pay for the meal and stood up, fixing himself up and lending his hand out towards Soo Yun. “Let’s go, we’ve still got lots of stuff to do,”

Soo Yun looked at his outstretched hand and couldn’t help but smile and graciously took it, giving it a little squeeze.

Kai let out a sigh of relief as his plan seemed to work.

“Okay! Let’s go!”

The rest of the day was spent at an aquarium where the couple ended up watching a few shows that were provided with the tickets they were given and just spent time taking in the peaceful and beautiful ambiance that some of the exhibits gave.

Kai couldn’t help but grin as Soo Yun wrapped both of her arms around one of his and pointed excitedly to the various animals that were in the imitation marine habitats. His right arm, admittedly, was being constantly dragged as his girlfriend couldn’t seem to wait to see the “cute sea turtles” or “adorable penguins”, but it was all worth it to see the look of joy on her face.

Time almost seemed nonexistent as the two finally got to the last section of the aquarium, which was a midnight black exhibit in which only a few people were allowed to go in at a time. With the attraction’s closing time approaching, the number of people had depleted significantly and it seemed as though Kai and Soo Yun were the only ones left in the aquarium.

“It’s really dark in here, Kai,”

“Hold on to me, alright?”

The lead seriously began to question what kind of exhibit this was as there seemed to be no animals, no displays, nothing around as he continued to walk through the almost pitch black hallway of the area. Soo Yun clung tightly, almost cutting off circulation to his arm, onto Kai as she tried to feel her way around and was beginning to wonder the same thing.

Finally, Soo Yun felt some type of handle and questioned Kai, “I think this is the exit?”

The latter motioned the former to open it, which she did, and a burst of light practically blinded the two as the door was fully opened.

Kai instantly closed his eyes at the sudden brightness, but quickly opened them once he heard a gasp from Soo Yun, thinking that she had seen something terrifying. Instead, it turned out to be a gasp of pure amazement, Kai found, and, as he turned his head in the direction of his girlfriend’s gaze, he, too, began to stare in awe.

Opening the entrance had revealed a whole room which walls were simply glass and showcased a whole marine habitat filled with beautiful fishes and colorful creatures. The actual flooring seemed to be sand and the clarity of the walls and the entirety of the room just gave a feel of actually being underwater.

Soo Yun immediately turned her head towards Kai and gave a sweet smile as she murmured, “It’s amazing, thank you,” and gave a quick peck to his cheek which Kai couldn’t help but smile at, giving an equally quick kiss to her lips as the two took their last moments in the aquarium, taking in the feel of being underwater.

The day had ended and it had gotten quite dark as night had taken over the day. Kai walked Soo Yun back to her place which was a decent distance away from his new place, but it was all worth it. Both felt the same and were glad to finally be able to spend some time together after all that happened.

However, now that the day was over, it also meant going back to the reality that they were able to momentarily forget.

Kai had run away and their normal lives were no longer normal.

As the couple had approached the entrance to Soo Yun’s house, both had bittersweet looks on their faces and the atmosphere seemed to be uncharacteristically tense and awkward. Taking the initiative, Kai began to scratch the back of his neck in a nervous habit and muttered, “Well then, good night,”

“Good night...” Hearing the fading out of the sentence, Kai took it as his signal to leave, until Soo Yun quickly asked, “Would it be alright to go on another date soon? And... can I meet your roommate?”

“...” The question instantly stopped Kai’s in his tracks and he seriously began to wonder just what his response should be.

It had also told Kai that his mission in helping to erase the conversation failed.

He had already told her that Miya was friendly and easy going so... he couldn’t possibly make up the excuse that she didn’t like strangers... nor any other one because...

Soo Yun won’t take “No” for an answer...

“... Alright,”

“Great! So, I’ll see you again soon?” Seeing Soo Yun’s delighted expression, the boyfriend couldn’t help but ease his anxiousness and nodded, also trying to hide his uneasiness.

Ah! That’s right!

Kai had forgotten something crucial on all of their dates and would certainly have Soo Yun forget anything that happened.

He leaned in slowly as Soo Yun seemed to have gotten the signal quickly and instantly closed her eyes, doing the same thing as she anticipated the tradition that always occurred at the end of their dates.

His plump lips smoothly connected to hers as it was a sweet, yet, passionate kiss – filled with emotions that were kept inside from the two for the past month. Kai pulled away after a few seconds of the magical moment, still keeping the distance between the two very short, and murmured a loving...

“Good night,”

And that is the end of chapter ten!

Thank you to all those who voted in my poll regarding the progression of the story! Every vote really helped and I definitely needed all of your inputs to help me decide! I'm seriously the most indeicisive person you will ever meet, hehe~ ^^

I have to apologize, once again, for the late update, but I hope to be updating a little bit more in the next few weeks since I am on my winter break. One good thing about college xD Oh and don't mind me playing around with my story background and stuff. I can't seem to decide OTL Hope you guys do not mind ^^'

Oh! And~ I hope you guys liked the little Baekyeol moment in there, hehe~ I'm not sure what I'm trying to do with the tone of this story xD Oh well~ there is much more drama to come! Hope you guys are looking forward to it! As always, feel free to subscribe, comment, etc. Like, what your thoughts are on the characters, what do you think will happen, do you like the moments between the characters~ They are always loved~! <3

Happy New Year!

I hope that everyone has enjoyed their holiday! ^o^