-Three Months Later-

 

It was a sunny, fresh morning- the epitomy of lovely. If you could describe a day as being simply 'lovely' then this was it. Chanyeol sat in his usual spot on the couch in the main living area, mouth slightly agape as he flicked through the television channels. Baekhyun leaned over the balcony on his mobile, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. 

"You... what?" Baekhyun said slowly, trying to get a taste of the English words his girlfriend was saying. After taking a direct immersion course in Korea, Maddie was rather good at conversing but it was at times like this that she let her mischevious streak get the better of her. 

"He asked me out on a date!"

"A... what?" Baekhyun repeated, attempting again to de-muddle the sentences Maddie was saying. She had purposely been speaking at the rate of Eminem rapping. "Date?"

"Yes! Date!"

Baekhyun flipped out, suddenly cursing angrily in Korean. "And what did you say to that-... that punk?!"

Maddie smiled on the other end of the phone, winking and nodding as Ahri pulled out a white top to show her. She was getting ready to have lunch with Luhan before everyone headed off to the airport to pick up Tao. He had been away for around three months visiting family in China and helping Huiling feel a little less alone back in her homeland.

"I told him I had a boyfriend, of course!"

Further in the dorm, Kyungsoo was in his room, humming along to the radio as Kai groggily got changed. His hair stuck up in tufts and he groaned at his appearance when he caught sight of his reflection in the small mirror that hung on the wall. After coming home late from getting a nice meal out with Aki the night before, he had fallen asleep straight away, not even managing to wash his face or get into pajamas before he passed out. Instead, he slept in his underwear and it was only in the middle of the night when Kyungsoo woke up momentarily to get a glass of water, wanting to quench his thirst, did he finally get his covers placed over him to keep him warm. 

Chen, having finished a cup of coffee, was sat by Chanyeol's feet, silently working out a way to trip the giant up when he'd eventually get up. He had grown tired of not actually being able to watch anything on the television screen with Chanyeol's finger pressing the clicker every few seconds and hearing Baekhyun's cheesy chat to his girlfriend in broken English and Korean was excruciating as it is. 

"Why are you touching my toes?" Chanyeol asked, looking down at Chen.

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are! Look!" Chanyeol peered at his feet, wiggling his toes. For some reason, his feet seemed a little more free, as if there was more space in his socks. Focusing on the strangely empty feeling in his feet, his eyes widened and he growled as Chen doubled over in glee, gaining the exact response he had wanted.

"You tied the ends of my socks together! What the hell?!"

Chen shrugged, getting up and dodging the pillow Chanyeol picked up and threw at him. 

"Hey, how did you even do that?!"

"For some reason, your socks are really stretchy. Either that or they're too big for you."

"I must be wearing Kris' socks."

"Are his feet bigger than yours?"

Chanyeol nodded wistfully, admitting, "yes," and Chen erupted into fits of laughter again leaving Chanyeol feeling evermore confused as he began slowly untying the knot from hell at the end of his feet.

"You just openly admitted Kris is bigger than you. You know what they say about big feet."

Just as Chen began walking to the kitchen to make himself another cup of coffee, a pair of socks thumped against the back of his head and he turned around disgusted. 

"Chanyeol!"

Chanyeol simply shrugged, "at least I've got bigger feet than you."

 

Meanwhile, Suho was flitting through the library trying to hunt Kris down. It was strange for the tall ex-model to be awake and roaming the university halls at such a early point in the day and Suho finally breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted a small crowd of girls huddling in a corner and a head poking out above them.

"Hyung!"

Kris waved, gently massaging his arms as he stood on the tiny step ladder trying to reach the far right corner. He had been putting up posters for a good hour or so, first starting outside in the plastic cased noticeboards that Mr Park had given him the key for and later moving to the library.

"What are you doing up there?" Suho asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Sehun asked me to put up these posters. It's for the show in a couple of weeks time."

"This early in the morning?..."

Kris sighed, gesturing to the girls below him a little sheepishly. "I didn't want to cause a ruckus in the library..." 

"Well you definitely didn't manage that, did you?"

At that moment, the crowd parted and a red-faced Jinri stepped forwards, clutching her guitar. Her hair was up aside from a few loose tendrils that clung to her face and she fanned herself, holding her guitar between her legs until Suho took hold of it. She nodded her head gratefully before tugging on Kris' shirt amidst the silent squeals of the girls watching him. His shirt had been riding up the entire time and, as an ex-model, he had been displaying a nice flash of skin along with some rather well sculpted abs. It wasn't much, certainly not Chippendale-style flashing, but it had been enough to attract attention.

"Hey! Jinri! Don't pull up my shirt!"

"I'm not, you idiot. I'm pulling it down." Jinri retorted, "I came to give you a message."

"Message?"

"Yeah. Oppa needs you to take down all the posters again. We made a mistake on the date."

Kris froze and lowered his arms from the poster he was about to stick up on the wall. "You're joking. Which oppa told you this?"

"Which oppa do you think, you moron? Taejoon, of course."

Letting the posters fall to the floor, Kris held in his anger. He scooped up the now wasted sheets of paper and dumped them in the recycling bin by the door before turning and heading towards the recording studio where he knew Taejoon would be holed up in. On his way out, Suho tried stopping him to calm him down a little but a hot-headed Kris can never be stopped. He began running down the corridor as Jinri ran after him, trying to get to her boyfriend before him and lock the door in time.

"I swear to God!" Kris yelled, "this is the last time I'll ever help out the Performing Arts Department!"

 

There was a faint humming coming from the bathroom in the dorm, audible from the kitchen but not from the television. As you washed up your breakfast plate, Xiumin slid in behind you, slyly dumping his own crockery into the sink along with your cutlery.

"Do you mind?"

Glaring at him, you pouted and at your teeth. "What do I get in return?"

"I'll make the humming stop."

"You will?" It was tempting. You'd do almost anything to get the humming to stop. Thankfully it wasn't a full on operatic symphony being hummed, just a low, dull tone which was equally as annoying to be honest. "How?"

"Easy."

With a smile, Xiumin walked out and you followed him to the utility cupboard where he flicked the water switch from on to off. 

"Give it a few seconds..." Xiumin said, in his cheeks and bobbing his head as he counted silently.

The humming ground to a halt and you could imagine whoever was in the shower pausing in confusion. Giggling, Xiumin ushered you out and you both stood around the bathroom door waiting to hear what would happen next. 

What happened next was that a blood curdling shriek rang through the dorm forcing Luhan and everyone else who had been hiding away in their rooms out into the living area to see what was going on.

"Did someone die?" Luhan asked sweetly, "oooh, was it Lay? It was, wasn't it?"

He rubbed his hands gleefully and Chanyeol placed his hands on your shoulders. "You're an awful person, Haneul, for doing this to him."

You gawked at him, trying to prove your innocence. "It was Xiumin!"

The door opened and a shivering Lay walked out, a towel wrapped around his waist and another hung around his neck, covering his chest. 

"Haneul, I'm going to kill you."

Xiumin nodded, "that's right, Lay. If there's anyone here you should punish, it should be Haneul."

"You can dry my hair for me. And spend the entire day holding my hand," Lay said, towel-drying his hair and revealing his chest in the process.

You quickly diverted your eyes. His scars had been healing up nicely now that he religiously applied bio-oil on them after your constant nagging. It wasn't that you didn't think he was beautiful the way he was. It was just because he constantly complained about not wanting to go to the pool or the beach with you, despite being completely happy to walk around the dorm topless. After a petty argument, he agreed to apply the scar-reducing oil every morning and night under one condition- that you helped. That remark earnt him a whack around the head.

"P-Put some clothes on!" you said, feeling horrified when you stuttered and the boys around you wooped in delight. "I can't look at you like this."

Seeing your embarassment, Lay removed his hair towel and dumped it over your head. "Now you don't have to."

You pulled it off and threw it at him, it landing with a satisfying thwack in his face. "Score!"

Chen laughed, pointing and nudging Chanyeol who also joined in. The situation was so reminscent of their sock fiasco earlier. Wiping a tear from his eye as Lay draped the towel back around his neck, Chen couldn't help but add fuel to the fire.

"You should watch it, Haneul. If you keep beating him up like that, he might leave you for someone else. A certain someone in China, perhaps? She's coming back to Seoul for a few weeks I heard."

You grabbed Chen's collar and pulled him down before tangling your fingers in his hair and giving it a hard tug. "Don't tease me!"

Baekhyun also joined in. "Is this what Haneul does to everyone that annoys her? Didn't you do this to Huiling too? At the airport?"

"Hey!" Chanyeol wrapped an arm around his best friend's neck, locking him in a tight head-lock which left Baekhyun flailing his arms out.

"Tight enough for you, princess?"

You nodded, feeling happy as Chanyeol dragged Baekhyun away. The others all dispersed; Kyungsoo pulling Kai into the bathroom to force him to wash his face properly and Chen yanking his hair out of your grip, scuttling off and clutching his head as it burned from the pain.

"Don't get so angry. I thought you were cute at the airport- scary but still cute," Lay said, before bending his knees and whispering into your ear, "it was cute to see you being so jealous. I liked that."

"," you muttered, scowling at him, "I still hate you for that, by the way."

Lay smirked, pulling you in for a hug, holding you at the waist firmly when you tried to wriggle out of his grip. He planted a kiss on your cheek just as you slapped away his hands.

"Of course you do."

 

-Three Months Earlier-

 

You ran through the doors to the departure hall and looked up at the big black screens, searching frantically for the flight to China. Lay had been kind enough to leave behind a little bit of information before he disappeared.

"Lay, you're a big ," you muttered as you pointed and read the columns, still scanning for his flight and corresponding check-in desk. 

CN764X, CN765X... Where the hell is it?... CN853J... CN854J! Check-in B! Check-in B!

"A massive, stupid ."

You began running in the direction of B, dodging people and their suitcases. It was dark outside and people were waiting and sleeping, their bodies littering the floor. Everywhere you looked, there was a couple. And everywhere you looked, they were Korean- or Korean looking. 

"I'm never going to see them at this rate," you muttered, "oh god, where the hell are you?"

You arrived at the check-in area for B and began looking around. The airline staff looked at you curiously, wondering what it was you were doing.

"Sorry, maam. Do you need any help?"

"I'm looking for someone. Could you tell me if a Zhang Yixing has checked in?"

"I'm sorry, maam but I'm not allowed to give such confidential information away."

"You're joking," you said, "oh for God's sake, Lay, show up will you?!"

And as if luck would have it, you spotted Lay move forward in the queue, his head down as he did so. Huiling was behind him, typing on her phone. She was dressed in a pair of comfortable jeans and trainers, with a sweatshirt that matched Lay's rather well. He wore a navy jumper and jeans, his bag resting on top of his suitcase.

You scowled when you saw Lay take out his passport and look around. He was checking to see if anyone from the dorm had managed to catch up with him and seeing that there was no one, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Maam?"

You felt your blood boil as you took a few deep breaths, stepping away from the assistant and walking towards the pair. You didn't want to get yourself so angry that you'd end up killing him right there and then. That wouldn't have been good. Instead, you walked with affirmity, trying to sway your hips in a confident model-esque way, as if that would help you find the confidence to carry out the next part of your plan. Huiling spotted you first and tapped Lay's arm. He looked up and instead of smiling or looking semi-pleased to see the girl he liked, he cowered away and looked around, trying to find somewhere to run, already sensing how angry you were.

" alert."

 

Storming over to him, you tried to prepare in your head what you were going to say. Could you take the dramatic route and slap him? Thinking about it made you feel a little uneasy. You weren't sure if you'd have it in you to hit him. A few steps later, you realised that he was now staring at you, waiting for you to make a scene. Well, if a scene was what he wanted, he'd get one. Oh boy would he get one.

"Don't embarass yourself, Haneul. Just tell him you don't want him to go. Tell him you like him too. Tell him you love him." 

When the time came to speak first and you were standing right in front of Lay, your brain gave way. No words came out. Nothing. You couldn't muster the energy to say anything. Perhaps you knew it would be a hopeless case trying to convince someone as stubborn as Lay to back out of his plans in a blink.

"Haneul? What are you doing here?" There wasn't a single sense of nervousness in his voice.

"You left without saying goodbye, you jerk." You said, "you can't do that."

"It's only a few months. You'll live without me."

You felt a sharp pain sear through your veins. You weren't sure if it was hurt or anger at how easily those words had slipped out of his mouth. Did Lay really not see how much you had been suffering because of his decision to leave? Did he really not understand that you had somehow forced Chanyeol to leave the dorm momentarily whilst he dealt with your rejection because you liked him instead?

Clutching Lay's shirt, you gritted your teeth. "Don't check in," you said, trying to sound as menacing as possible. Your voice softened however when Lay placed his hand on yours and you mentally scolded yourself for being so lame, "please, don't go."

Despite feeling his heart waver slightly, Lay took out his passport. "But I have a ticket already, Haneul... I have to go."

"No you don't!" You shouted at him, starting to feel riled up again, "you don't have to go!"

You began hitting him pathetically, wanting to show him how much you were hurting. It was a strange feeling, wanting to hurt someone because they were hurting you but at the same time, not wanting to hurt them because you loved them too much.

"Just give it to Tao! Transfer it and Tao will go to China!"

Lay grabbed hold of your wrists and held them to your chest. "Haneul!"

You couldn't take being shouted at by someone who was usually so quiet and mysterious- someone with the aura of an angel when he was in a good mood. "Why are you leaving?!"

But Lay was an angel playing the role of the devil, purposely trying to make you forget. He was taking the easy way out. "I'll come back when I can-" Lay replied, sighing and letting go of you. He turned around and placed his suitcase on the scales at the check-in desk.

"When will that be?!" you cried, "you know that if you go back to China, you'll be a star again! They're waiting for you with open arms. You know that!"

"And what's wrong with going back to all that?!" Lay shouted angrily, "what's wrong with going back to the path I was on?! What's wrong with turning back time?!"

"It's not the path you want!"

"Who are you to tell me what it is I want or don't want?!"

"I'm... I'm..." you stuttered, trying to think of a plausible argument. "I'm..."

No-one.

Lay held himself together. He didn't want to be weak now. He'd made you go through so much already and figured that he should finish what he started.

"You'll forget all about us... and about me" you whispered quietly, looking at the floor in shame. It sounded so spoilt to say the words out loud. Who were you to force yourself upon Lay anyway?

Lay's eyes glimmered and his shoulders sank. He looked at you, his eyes searching you deeply. "How could I forget about you?"

"That night you confessed and told me you liked me... Were you lying?" you said, hardly able to get the question out, "did you really like me? Please, tell me the truth."

'I wasn't lying, Haneul." Lay said, "I meant it when I told you I really did like you. And I still do. I think I... I think I love you."

A new wave of emotion hit you at the back of your throat and you choked, tears b and overflowing. "And you still told me you didn't mean it? Idiot."

"Haneul, I-" Lay turned to carry on with his check in but you grabbed his arm and turned him to face you again, not taking no for an answer. You pushed the slight feeling of guilt out of your mind when you saw him wince a little in pain when he suddenly yelled at you, sending stares from all around the check in hall directly towards you. "Haneul!"

"If you think you love me then why are you going with her?!" You screamed, pointing at Huiling, "why are you doing this to me?! Why are you leaving me?! Why are you getting my hopes up only to kill me by leaving me a few days later?!"

"Haneul, I'll just go temporarily;" Lay reasoned, "I'll just go to China, help Huiling settle in then come back. I won't let myself be dragged back into fame if that makes you happy. I'll be back before you know it. And then as cheesy as this sounds- we'll be together and we'll be happy."

You wanted to be sick. It was like Lay was the husband and was about to go on holiday with the mistress- and here he was, convincing his wife it'd be all okay. You werent buying it, not in a million years.

"What makes you think she'll be willing to let you go after you're in her grasp?"

"Haneul, don't make Huiling seem like a Shinyeong."

"Whose side are you even on?!"

"This isn't about sides."

"You say you love me but you're still going off with another girl?"

"Haneul, she needs me!"

"I need you!" you yelled, "please. Please don't go. I don't want to lose you."

"And you won't. I promise."

"You're the worst when it comes to promises! You wouldn't keep a promise even if your life depended on it!"

"Haneul!"

"I know I'm being stupid and annoying and clingy. I hate it too," you said, "but I love you.

Lay shook his head, thinking you were just being silly. He took you aside, away from the check-in lady and left you there. "Haneul, I'm sorry but I have to do this."

"Do you really think she'll let you settle her in then leave her when she likes you already?!" You hissed, "why are you such an idiot?!" You began to cry as Lay handed his passport to the lady at the check in desk. "Why do I have to be in love with someone as stupid as you?!"

If something hadn't made Lay's heart stop, that did. His expression changed and although you didn't notice, Huiling did. She placed her hand in Lay's and gave it a squeeze to reassure him. He looked at her and she nodded, as if to give him permission to desert her even when she wanted him to be with her so much. You, howver, went up to the check-in desk, took Lay's luggage off the scales and grabbed his passport back, stuffing it into your back pocket. 

 

Lay, taking his hand out of Huiling's before you turned back around, stared at you. The air stewardess behind the counter watched in confusion and amazement and the crowd began gathering. Kris had arrived along with Jaemin, both of whom made it obvious that they had driven the boys to the airport given the keys in their hands. Tao was next, running up to Kris and dropping his bag on the floor. 

"Haneul..."

"You told me you'd never leave my side, you liar! You've promised me so many times you'd never leave! Every time I had to visit you in hospital, every time you comforted me- didn't they mean anything to you? Am I the only one that remembers those empty promises you made to me?!" You kicked Lay's luggage, stubbing your toe and bent down to rub it gingerly. You felt your cheeks going red in embarrassment as everyone else caught up to you, puffing and panting when they finally reached you. 

Passers by were watching the scene, unsure if it was a drama being filmed or just a desperate girl chasing the boy she loved. Either way, the ground swallowing you up right at that moment would have been rather convenient. Chanyeol also appeared, Jiyoung beside him, and she rested her hand on his shoulder to comfort him as the emotional scene unfolded before his eyes.

"I just don't want to lose you, Zhang Yixing!" you screamed, "I can't lose you like this!"

Tears began to roll down your face again, tickling the underside of your chin. None of the boys moved. Kyungsoo felt a pang in his heart seeing you upset but he knew to stay still. It was what you would've wanted from him. And if this would make you happy, he wouldn't try to stop you.

"Why am I the only one keeping our promise?" you whispered, sitting on the floor like a helpless child, "why doesn't that promise mean anything to you?"

Huiling bent down to gently bring you back up to standing and you pushed her forcefully before picking her up by her hair and dragging her off. You weren't sure where you were going but all you could see was red. You were raging and gasps erupted as Kai covered his shock expression with his hand. 

"Haneul!" Lay shouted, "what are you doing?!" He ran after you and grabbed your free hand, pulling you back so harshly you had to let go of Huiling's jacket collar and hair. 

"Let go of me!" you screamed, "I'm doing what I should have done a long time ago-"

As Lay pulled you away from Huiling, you felt a pair of lips crash against yours as Lay held your arms down by your side. Huiling escaped and fled straight to Suho who quietly asked her if she was alright, checking her over quickly. You felt Lay's fingers move up to your cheeks and he ran his thumb along your jawline, wiping the salty dampness away. 

Feeling you loosen up, he let go of your other arm, bringing his hand to hold the small of your back. Your arm naturally found it's way around his neck but you kept one hand on his chest subconciously, as if you were scared and wanted to know that you could always push Lay away. Feeling your slight hesitation, Lay tilted your face up slightly, deepening the kiss and using his tongue to gently massage where your lips had slammed against his. Your mouth parted slightly to breathe and Lay pulled away for a moment, gazing into your eyes with nothing but an apologetic but happy and blissful look on his face.

"I'm sorry. I love you." He said, gently cupping your cheeks with his hands, "and I should have done that a long time ago too."

 

 

 

 

---

#HappyVirusDay! #ChanyeolVirusDay! (is this a good present for you guys on Chanyeol's birthday? kekeke)

This was in a slightly unusual format for a final chapter but I really wanted to end the story on Lay and Haneul's airport kiss. I mean, isn't it just so dramatic and gaaaaaaaaaaah.

But here we have it!!! The story has come to an official end (pun intended as it's the end of the official ending but not the end of the first alternate ending- wow that's a lot of 'end' in one sentence). Thank you all for being with me on this journey. Really, thank you. I don't think I could have done this without your support. It's the littlest things you guys tell me that make me smile when I'm walking around on the street. Reading your comments has never been so much fun and it's the first and last thing I do in the day. So really, from the deepest pits of my heart, thank you.

Regarding Project Hard Copy, please stay tuned if you're interested. With university applications happening now, I'm under a minor amount of stress and thus haven't been able to edit for a while. Realistically speaking, I don't think the books will be ready for sale until perhaps January or February. I know. I'm so annoying. I keep setting back the date but ah, there's just so much to do. Once I've finished the alternate ending, the chapter after will be updated regularly on the news of Project Hard Copy so please stay subscribed to this story once it's over ^^ That way you will never miss any news!

Alternatively, you can check my blog posts now and then as I'll be putting up a post when the cover design competition starts, when the giveaway (yes, giveaway!) starts and when the books are being sold. Or you can follow me on twitter at @haneul_gateun where I'll be tweeting about any progress I make (although you might miss those tweets given the amount of kyungsoo and chanyeol related poop I tweet)

OH and at the end of the alternate ending, I'll probably post the first chapter of a new school-life romance story to entice you and lure you in ^^ 

 

So, I would say goodbye but well... I'll be seeing you again in the next chapter/ start of the alternate ending lol so it's not really goodbye. But either way, goodbye till then! I love you!