She swiped her screen open, then clicked the lock button. Swiped it open, then locked it again. Swiped it open, then locked it again.

 

She's been doing this for the past quarter of an hour, not really sure why she's feeling anxious. After the millionth swipe-and-lock, she finally decided to just go for it. Scrolling down her contacts list, she found the name and tapped it. There. Now calling: EvilBastardKyu.

 

Lily almost dropped her phone when Kyuhyun's voice filled her ear. Her surprise was quickly replaced by a mix if annoyance and amusement at the realization that he actually used one of his solo songs as his ringback tone. Lily couldn't help but smile to herself. Cho Kyuhyun. How can someone be so full of himself yet be so awkward at the same time?

 

The song ended and a robotic, female voice delivered the usual "no answer" spiel in Korean. Pouting, Lily pressed the red end call button. Why didn't he answer? Maybe he was in the middle of a schedule right then. Or gaming. But it's the middle of the day so probably a schedule. Or he's asleep.

 

Wait, why am I thinking too much about this? Lily caught herself. Why do I even care?!

 

"I do NOT care!" Lily answered herself out loud as she tossed her phone on her bed with a grunt. She was just bored and wanted a break from doing her project. If she sees one more keyframe, she might very well go mad. Frustrated, she grabbed her phone and her keys and roughly jammed them inside her bag. Pulling on her trusty Chucks, she gave a perfunctory "see ya later" wave to her flatmate and went out the door.

 

It's the end of November and Sydney was already hot and dry even though it was still technically spring. The sun was brightly shining through the fluffy white clouds drifting against the brilliant blue sky. It was a beautiful day, but Lily couldn't bring herself to feel as cheery. The heat wasn't helping lift her mood either.

 

On autopilot, her feet followed the usual route she went on whenever she goes out for a walk. It was one of the things she was going to miss: the long, aimless walks without the fear of getting mugged, stabbed, or . She could never do this back in her hometown. She sighed. She only had a little over a week left to enjoy these walks.

 

With long, forceful steps, Lily crossed a third street without any improvement in her mood. Usually, the exercise helped, but she woke up feeling irritable that morning and, no matter what she did, she just couldn't turn it around. She’s been this way for almost all of November, and for the life of her, she could NOT figure out what’s causing it. She chalked it up to stress and lack of sleep because of her marathon studying and final project-making. It just was frustrating her more than ever that no matter what she did, even her surefire anti-stress remedies (hello chocolate ice cream and Cheetos and F.R.I.E.N.D.S. marathon!) all failed to make her feel any better.

 

Just hold on, Lily, she encouraged herself. Only a week left and you’ll be free.

 

Reaching into her bag, she took out her earphones and plugged it into her phone. Maybe some upbeat music would help. Without looking at the screen, she double-clicked the earphones' remote for an instant-play. It picked up from where she paused the last song she was listening to: right on Kyuhyun's part in Marry U. She clicked it off right away. URGH! Of all the parts of all the songs!

 

Lily yanked the earphones off of her ears and stuffed them back into her bag. Looking left and right, she crossed the fourth street, after which stood the supermarket she usually goes to. She breathed a sigh of relief upon entering the air-conditioned place. At least for now, heat was one thing off the list that’s contributing to her bad mood. She didn’t really need anything in there, but she didn’t want to be back in her room that’s beginning to feel like a prison cell just yet either. Shrugging, she proceeded to walk aimlessly along the aisles, grabbing random things she can munch on and putting them in her basket.

 

Her mind wandered as aimlessly as she was walking. Random moments from the past five months popped in her head, making her chuckle under her breath. It really has been a crazy year. A year ago, she was leading one of the most boring lives conceivable, feeling trapped in a useless position, perpetually dreaming of an adventure that would change her life. She escaped the monotony of it all by watching tons of TV shows, her only adventures undergone by living vicariously through the characters in them. Her parents allowing her to study abroad was probably the most exciting thing she’s ever experienced, even though the first couple of months in this foreign land was painful for her. She did it to leave her suffocating life for a moment, to gain some perspective, to grow, and hopefully change enough to not end up falling into the same dreary existence again. Never in a million years could she imagine that she’d bump into a group of dorky strangers that will give her the adventure she so longed for.

 

Never in a million years could she imagine feeling things she felt throughout those months. She smiled at the memory of the race around the world with Donghae. Wasn’t that something worthy of being in a drama? It was the first romantic thing she’s ever experienced, which was why that man will always have a special spot in her heart. She frowned, remembering the conversation they had a few days ago. She tweeted a mini rant about just giving up and going home because she’s so done with this whole project. A few minutes after posting the tweet, her phone flashed with Donghae’s name on the caller ID. She didn’t feel like picking up, but guilt won over after the third ring so she did. She wished she didn’t though, for it turned out to be such a headache trigger.

 

*flashback*

 

“So what’s the score between me and Siwon now?” Donghae asked when they ended up joking about the ‘guy best friend’ competition.

 

“Hmm. He’s still in the lead,” Lily replied, going on with the joke.

 

“Aish. What do I need to do to at least tie with him?” Donghae questioned.

 

“Well, you can run to a store and buy me pads when my period suddenly comes. Siwon did that,” Lily answered, laughing inwardly at Donghae’s audible shudder at the mention of “period”.

 

“YA, you have to get used to these things,” Lily reprimanded. “When you get married, you’d have to deal with that every month with your wife!”

 

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get there,” Donghae answered. “Anyway, I have a better idea.”

 

“Alright, let me hear it,” Lily challenged.

 

“I... can’t tell you over the phone. When are you not busy anymore?”

 

Confused yet curious, Lily replied, “School ends in a week. I’m going home after that.”

 

“Perfect. Come to Seoul before going home. I’ll send you a ticket,” Donghae instructed.

 

“Wait wait wait, what for?” Lily demanded.

 

“Just come, okay?” Donghae pushed.

 

“Aw, Bada, you miss me, don’t you?” Lily teased.

 

Donghae chuckled. “Not so much, no,” he joked. “But I know someone who does.”

 

A face flashed in Lily’s head, startling her. What was that? Why him?!

 

“You miss him, too, don’t you?” Donghae teasingly asked.

 

“Who, Hyukjae?” Lily returned, spurting out the next person that popped up in her head. No, anybody else but that first one, please. She seemed to need to get her neurons rewired. They’ve been misfiring so much these days, making her have the most unusual thoughts.

 

“Psssshhh... Still in denial, I see,” Donghae commented, aggravating Lily’s disconcertion. Why was he being like this, like he knew something she didn’t?!

 

“If you don’t stop being mysterious, I’m not coming,” Lily threatened.

 

Donghae laughed out loud at that. “Oh, I’m sure you will. Alright, go back to studying. I’ll see you soon. Anyeong, Lil!”

 

*end flashback*

 

 

 

 

Afternoon turned into night without the heat relenting. The ceiling fan in Lily’s room was on high, making it sound like a landing helicopter. Still in a less-than-awesome mood, she closed her laptop screen a little more forcefully than necessary, completely exhausted, even though she only managed to do half of what she planned on accomplishing that day. It was the weekend after all. She still had two whole days to make up for it. Sighing, she heaved herself off of her desk chair and plopped face-down on her bed, her head landing on the only pillow she had. She lied still for a couple of minutes, too tired and too irritated to move. Grunting, she flipped herself over, placed her hands at the back of her head and stared up at the ceiling. Various thoughts ran through her mind, each so fleeting that at the moment she tries focusing on one, it already was replaced by another. Inevitably, her mental whirlwind lead to a headache, which Lily tried to quell by falling into a fitful sleep.

 

The sound of metal vibrating against metal woke her with a start. Eyes squinted, she dazedly stumbled to her desk where her phone rested on top of her laptop, its screen flashing with a call: EvilBastardKyu. Like someone snuffing out a candle, her sleepiness was blown right away when she read the name. He’s calling. Finally. Curiously, a wave of relief washed over her. The phone’s clock indicated that it was five past one in the morning. Normally, being woken at this time would irk her to no end. This time, however, she almost instantly swiped to answer the call.

 

“What do you want?!” Lily demanded grumpily, choosing to sound the opposite of how she’s feeling.

 

“Wha- you called me first! I’m just returning it!” Kyuhyun cried from the other line. “Geez, Lil. I’m dead tired. I had 18-hour days for the past week. I just needed to...” He sighed. “I’ll just hang up now.”

 

“No, don’t,” Lily blurted out automatically, which made her facepalm herself. If he wanted to hang up, why didn’t she just let him? It’s late, after all. He also said that he’s tired, so she should let him rest. But it’s been a while since they talked, and she wanted to say something consoling. But for the life of her, she couldn’t come up with the right mix of words that would do the job and not sound syrupy sweet. Kyuhyun stayed silent on the other end. All she could hear was his breathing.

 

“Do you wanna play one game?” Lily finally managed to say. She knew that there was one thing that could relax him and a game of Starcraft was it.

 

“Just one game?”

 

“You said you’re tired! And I was already sleeping!” Lily said.

 

“Arasso, arasso, one game,” Kyuhyun agreed, a hint of laughter in his voice.

 

An hour later, they finished what probably was the shortest game session they’ve ever played. Even though they lost once again, Kyuhyun didn’t ask for an extension, which, to Lily, was a testament of how tired he was. A thought from out of nowhere, a wish, that she could email herself to him so she could be there with him, crossed her mind, making her shake her head. Where was this fluffy cheesiness coming from? She blamed Clare for making her watch all those melodramas.

 

Lily went back to staring at the ceiling and chasing random thoughts running around her head. What was curious to her was how every few minutes or so, her mind keeps on straying towards Kyuhyun. Did he really have that brutal of a schedule this past week? That’s why he hasn’t been bugging her. Poor boy, he must be so tired. Still, he had the worst timing. If he wanted to return her call, he should’ve checked the time and knew that 1AM is not an appropriate time to return a call. But maybe he was too tired to consider the time difference. If she really thought about it, he was actually... sweet. To return her call, even though he’s exhausted. A small smile began to twitch the corner of her lips upward.

 

Wait, what’s going on?! What am I thinking about?! Cho Kyuhyun?! SWEET?! Lily mentally screamed.

 

She yanked her only pillow from under her head and placed it on her face. She needed sleep. That was it. That was why she’s been getting all these incongruous thoughts. He wasn’t the only one who had jam-packed days. Lily took a deep breath and urged her brain to shut the heck up so she could fall into unconsciousness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An hour later, she was facedown at the foot of her bed while her feet rested on top of her bed’s headboard. Scratching her head irritatedly, Lily sat upright and grabbed her phone. It was one of the things she hated the most - not being able to fall asleep when she so wanted to. It was all his fault. Screw his tiredness. He had to pay for this.

 

 

1:23AM KST/3:23AM AEST

 

Lily: I hate you.

EvilBastardKyu: I'm used to it.

Lily: Well then it just got upgraded to abhorrence.

EvilBastardKyu: And to what do I owe the upgrade?

Lily: I can't get to sleep.

EvilBastardKyu: That's because you're texting me.

EvilBastardKyu: Put your phone away and go to sleep.

 

 

2:10AM KST/4:10AM AEST

 

Lily: Still can't fall asleep.

Lily: This is all your fault.

EvilBastardKyu: I can't help it if you keep thinking about me.

 

 

2:45AM KST/4:45AM AEST

 

Lily: Are you asleep?

Lily: You can't fall asleep if I can't.

Lily: Kyuhyun.

Lily: Cho Kyuhyun.

Lily: Cao GuiXian.

Lily: GaemGyu

Lily: Do you know that your name in my phonebook right now is EvilBastardKyu?

Lily: Hey.

Lily: I CAAAAAAAN'T SLEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!! GAH!

 

 

 

Lily's phone screen suddenly started flashing. Mwahahahaha. Now he's awake, too. She slid the lock to answer.

 

"I'll sing you a song then," Kyuhyun said.

 

"What?" Lily asked.

 

"I said I'll sing you to sleep," Kyuhyun repeated.

 

"What the heck are you talking about?!" Lily demanded.

 

"Will you just shut up and put me on speakerphone?! And close your eyes!" Kyuhyun commanded.

 

Wo pa lai bu ji (I'm afraid I'll be too late)

Wo yao bao zhe ni (I want to hold you)

Zhi dao gan zhue ni de zhou wen you le xui yue de hen jing (Until your wrinkles start to show the signs of age)

Zhi dao ken ding ni shi zhen de (Until I'm sure that you're real)

Zhi dao shi qu li qi (Until I lose my strength)

Wei le ni wo yuan yi… (For you, I'm willing)

 

Lily stared at her phone. He really is singing. For her. Only. So she could sleep. She put it on speakerphone and placed it on her bedside table. She pulled her blanket up and snuggled down her pillow. Then, she turned and continued staring in amazement at her phone.

 

Ru guo quan shi jie wo ye ke yi fang qi (If I can let go of the whole world)

Zhi shao hai you ni zhi de wo qu zhen xi (At least you're still here who deserves my love)

Er ni zai zhe li (And you being here)

Jiu shi sheng ming de qi jing… (Is life's treasure)

 

How did he know? That this was her favorite song out of all their songs? She can't remember ever telling anyone that. It wasn't really a popular one. And he's singing the original Chinese version, which she loves…

 

Floating. She felt like she was floating. His voice was so gentle yet captivating. She closed her eyes, savoring the beautiful feeling. What was that feeling exactly? She fell asleep before she could figure it out.

 

Just as he was singing Henry's part of the song, he heard light snoring from the other line. He smiled. She's fallen asleep at last. He chuckled, hoping that her phone was away from lest she shorts it out with her drool. He listened to her sleep for a minute more before deciding not to end the call. Instead, he put his phone in speakerphone and placed it on his bedside table. Soon, both were snoring in unison.

 

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

 

Lily felt a smile on her face as she gradually entered consciousness. The image was slowly fading into white but she could still see it. She had on that graceful, pale pink dress, and he was in the same debonair suit and bow tie. They were on the dance floor once more, but the people around them were just blurs who weren't near enough to step on her dress and ruin the moment. It was a strange feeling she was having, especially in his presence. What used to be so annoying about him were, yes, still annoying, but now in an endearing way. She didn't feel like punching him in the face anymore when he's smiling at her like that. Instead…

 

As if dream Kyuhyun read her mind, he lifted his right hand from her waist and rested it on her cheek, never taking his eyes off hers. Then, slowly, as if they had all the time in the world, he leaned closer and closer until Lily felt warm softness against her lips. Her eyes drew shut as she drowned in this curious sensation. What was it? What was air? She couldn't seem to breath, but she felt like she was floating.

 

Gradually, Lily's eyes fluttered open. A soft, satisfied moan escaped her lips as she woke up.

 

Mmm… Kyuhyun… sighed her subconscious, which was still fighting for control. But her conscious (not to mention most sane) mind sounded a deafening foghorn blast of warning that sent Lily scrambling to her feet, almost throwing her out of bed. Panicked, as if she was in a life and death situation, she searched for her phone and punched in Clare's number.

 

"OHMYGAAAAAAAAHHHH CLAAAAAREEEE!!! CLARE CLARE CLARE CLARE CLARE! KILL ME NOW PLEASE GAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Lily screamed into her phone the moment her best friend picked her call up.

 

"Will you shut the hell up and tell me what happened without rendering me deaf?!" Clare snapped after a short pause when she probably held her phone at a distance because of her friend's insane yelling.

 

"I had - I had the MOST HORRIBLE, horrible, horrible, HO-RRI-BLE dream - NIGHTMARE," Lily said emphatically, getting a flashback of that last moment. She anticipated a shudder of revulsion to come, but it didn't. An anomalous feeling, her heart jumping to and constricting her breath, came in its stead. What the heck was wrong with her reactions today?

 

"OK, I get it, it was horrible," Clare replied. "So what was it this time? Cyborgs chasing you in a mall? A serial killer stabbing you? Dinosaur in your shower? A serial-killing cyborg dinosaur eating your flesh?" Clare was used to Lily's weird nightmares. Those were some of her favorites.

 

"No! It's-" Lily stopped. She couldn't bring herself to say it. She was afraid that if she said it out loud, it'd make it real, even if it was only a dream. Or nightmare. Dreammare. Kyumare. She should change his name in her contacts list to that.

 

"What? What was it?" Clare urged.

 

"Will you.. promise not to laugh?" Lily asked tentatively. She knew it was useless to ask that because she herself found this whole thing completely hilarious in an I've-gone-crazy-please-take-me-away kind of way.

 

"Now I'm intrigued," Clare commented.

 

Taking a deep breath, Lily came out with it. "I dreamed that I kissed Kyuhyun and LIKED IT ohmygosh this is so ICKY I don't even - I CAN'T EVEN - this is so screwed up I mean it's KYUHYUN what the hell!"

 

She waited for her best friend's response with baited breath. It was taking a long time. Lily felt knots forming in her stomach. Then, boisterous laughter came. Really really loud, rolling-on-the-floor-pounding-her-fist kind of laughter, like that one emoticon in Yahoo! Messenger.

 

She knew it. She KNEW it. She knew that Clare would laugh at her misery. What a friend.

 

"Tsk. Clare. Hajima… This isn't funny ha-ha," Lily whined. "This is disturbing. I might need to see a psychiatrist about this."

 

It took Clare a minute more to calm herself down and speak. "I told you you’d flip out big time when you figure it out. Took you long enough."

 

"The hell are you talking about?!" Lily demanded.

 

Still chuckling, Clare asked, "Lily, let me ask you something. Were you talking to him until the wee hours of the morning again?"

 

"Well, yeah. But that's because the idiot woke me up again and I couldn't fall back to sleep! So I kept him up, too. He should suffer with me," Lily replied.

 

"And when you were talking, what did you feel? Pissed off? Annoyed? Can't wait to see him and bash his face in with your phone?"

 

"I…" Lily trailed off. Come to think of it, those were her usual reactions to Kyuhyun's late-night disturbances. But last night, even during the recent weeks, she didn't feel that annoyed at all. She even... oh my goodness. Was this real? That she actually looked forward to it? That the reason she was in a foul mood the previous days was because he had a jam-packed schedule that kept him busy almost 24/7, and he didn’t have time to wake her up in the middle of the night anymore?

 

Did she... miss him?

 

Did she?

 

Yes, you miss him, you idiot, said a sassy voice that sounded a lot like Ryeowook in her head. In fact, you more than miss him.

 

What? What do you mean? Lily asked sassy!Ryeowook in her head. At the same time, she couldn’t even begin to understand how she ended up talking to a voice in her head.

 

Pssssh! You know it already. Stop fighting it! sassy!Ryeowook ordered.

 

Like a drunk standing in the middle of a railroad with an approaching train, it hit her.

 

Oh. My. God.

 

I’m in love with Cho Kyuhyun.

 

After a long, stunned silence of denial, Lily whispered weakly into her phone, “Clare. You bring me to a mental institution right away. This can’t be happening.”

 

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

 

SPLASH!

 

"Blwah!" Kyuhyun cried, sitting bolt upright and wiping water off his face. "HYUNG! What the heck was that for?!"

 

"I cannot sleep. You keep tossing and turning and making… strange noises," Sungmin replied, still holding the bucket that was filled with ice-cold water just a moment ago. "Go take a cold shower."

 

"You just gave me one," Kyuhyun hissed, shivering a little. Glaring at his friend, partly for the nasty ice-cold bath so early in the morning and partly for waking him from a perfectly perfect dream, he threw back his drenched blanket and, grabbing a towel along the way, locked himself in the bathroom.

 

He felt drowsy yet he was wide awake; it was as if half of him remained - or wanted to - in that dreamlike state. He has dreamt about Lily a few times since they've met. Some were pleasant, where she was sweet towards him like how she normally was towards Donghae. Others, the gut-wrenchingly horrible ones, ended in her laughing in his face and then kissing Donghae passionately right after he, Kyuhyun, confessed his love for her. This one - the one Sungmin hyung ruined for him, that buttmunch - was different.

 

It started off the same way that the horrible ones did: the two of them walking, talking, and laughing together along an endless road lined with flowers and grass on a bright, sunny day. The seasons changed accordingly, but it was always a pleasant day. Lily would be smiling warmly at him, which would make his heart feel like exploding. He'd say something stupid and she'd playfully punch his arm while laughing it off. It'd be the perfect walk, so perfect that at the end of it, when they've reached the beginning of a certain bridge, he'd stop, take both her hands in his, look into her eyes, and tell her he loved her.

 

That was usually the moment when Donghae appears, walking towards them across the bridge. Lily would throw his hands down and, linking her arm with Donghae's, laugh at how pathetic he was. And then they'd make out right in front of him. He'd usually wake up cranky after those dreams.

 

But this time… This time, when they reached the bridge, just as he was about to stop and do the routine, Lily grabbed his hand and pulled him all the way across. They somehow ended up along the Han River and the day has turned to night. It was the day when Leeteuk went into the army, when they spent the whole day together. It was that moment when Lily paused, looked at him sideways, and said, "You're not such a bad date after all." It was the first time that she kissed him willingly, only on his cheek, but it was still a kiss from her heart. But before he could utter his cheeky remark, instead of drawing away, Lily kissed him once more, a little lower and to the side of the spot she kissed last, and then once more, her kisses moving in a single line until finally, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss that rivaled (and in his opinion, completely trumped) the ones she shared with dream-Donghae.

 

Just as they were really getting into it, freezing water violently brought him back to reality. Ugh. Sungmin seriously owed him for that. Kyuhyun lifted his face towards the steady stream of cold water for five more minutes and then dried and dressed himself. When he came out, Sungmin was lying in bed with his eyes closed, but his breathing indicated that he wasn't yet asleep. Kyuhyun gently laid back down on his bed and, propping his head up with one hand, turned his body to face his hyung.

 

"Hyung."

 

Sungmin stayed silent, trying to feign sleep.

 

"Hyung. I know you're awake."

 

Still nothing.

 

"We've been roommates for years. I've seen you in pink girly pajamas. Do you seriously think you can fool me?"

 

"What do you want?" Sungmin finally replied in monotone.

 

"Hyung, how do you… How do you know if the girl you like feels the same way? I mean, is there a foolproof method of knowing? Some sort of guideline?"

 

"I don't know. Maybe there's a book about it. If you find a copy, buy me one," Sungmin said, sounding disinterested.

 

"HYUNG! I'm being serious. Help me out," Kyuhyun scolded, throwing a pillow at his roommate.

 

"Aish!" Sungmin spat, taking the pillow and throwing it forcefully back to Kyuhyun. "You wanna know the surest way to know if she feels the same way?"

 

Kyuhyun nodded enthusiastically.

 

"Give me your phone."

 

Confused and curious at the same time, Kyuhyun obediently handed his phone to Sungmin. What, was there some sort of article online that he needed to check? Sungmin swiped and tapped the screen a few times and then handed the phone back to him.

 

"So what is it?" Kyuhyun asked.

 

"Ask her."

 

Realizing what he meant, Kyuhyun quickly looked at his phone and saw it: Calling: Lily.

 

"AISH! HYUNG!" he exclaimed as he fumbled to end the call.

 

 

 

_____________

 

 

LOL. I had so much fun writing this chapter! ^^ How did you like it?

 

Yeah, resist all you want, Lily. :p As if you could. Hahahaha!

 

I’m so sorry for taking another couple of weeks to update. Went on a week-and-a-half holiday. :) Now I have more material for the stories! ^^ Hahaha!

 

Thank you thank you thank you to every reader out there. Thank you so much also to those who comment and those who subscribed - not being cheesy, but you guys keep me going. Sometimes I want to just leave it coz it feels like it’s just dead, but I know there are still a few of you out there who are waiting for the conclusion. So I will persist and finish this! :D

 

I'm assuming that all ELF know the song Kyuhyun sang? If not, it's totally fine. Lol. It's SJ-M's rendition of "At Least I Still Have You". Click play to have a listen! :) (I spazzed so much when they sang this in the super showcase in Malaysia last dec. 11! My dream come true - hearing this song live!!! but there was so much screaming that I didn’t really hear Kyu’s part well T.T)