Chapter Twenty-Three

Updated on 30th of November 2013.

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"So... I heard Minhyuk met up with you today." Kyungsoo spoke up when the two were seated on the swing. The atmosphere felt incredibly pleasant. The night sky above filled with tiny lights, the temperature of their surroundings wasn't too cold and it wasn't too warm either - it was just perfect. It definitely formed a type of feeling between the two who were sitting side by side after a long day of going around like mad people together - even with that, they were happy.

"Yeah..." Hae Lynn mumbled softly looking down on her lap as she used her feet to gently rock back and forth. "What happened?"

She bit her lower lip as she clenched onto the swing chains tight - she didn't even want to talk about it but considering he asked, she might as well tell him. "He... sort of confessed." Kyungsoo pretended to look calm on the outside but on the inside he had already killed Minhyuk five times in five different ways starting from different body parts. He'll probably start with the head and- "Kyungsoo,"

His eyes widened as he gulped, lifting his head to turn it to meet with her eyes. Need he describe how she looked at the moment? She was wearing a simple black t-shirt along with a pair of sweats with her hair tied up in a pony tail - she still looked flawless nevertheless. Her eyes sparkled under the moonlight and the way she pressed her lips together in a fine line looked so endearing - how did he didn't notice this earlier? How did he let this beauty she owned slip away?

"Yeah?" He tried not to sound nervous but it failed terribly - he was literally shaking.

"Did you... mean every word you sang to me just now?"

He felt his heart skipping a beat, but he managed to lock gazes with her when she lifted her chin to look at him. She too, felt complete just sitting by his side like this. If her nights were like this everyday - she wouldn't mind staying here for the rest of her life. "Should I be honest?"

She gazed away for a moment but when she met eyes with him again, she gave a slight nod. He knows that he should just burst out and just tell her the truth - tell her what he's feeling all this while but he can't. No, he couldn't. He didn't want her to feel pressured into choosing between him and Minhyuk - he wanted to be fair for once. After all the things he's ever done to her - adding more pressure into her life was one of the things he wanted to take off the list. He wanted to take things slow and most importantly, he wanted to see if she liked him back enough to reject Minhyuk.

"Before I tell you, can you answer one of my questions?" She bit her lower lip and sighed but she nodded nevertheless - there was nothing for her to lose already. Coming this far to let someone know everything about her, one simple question couldn't possibly hold her back when he has all the information he needed to know about her.

"Do you like Minhyuk?"

He felt his heart beating so fast and so loud, he could actually wake everyone up but it was just pure silence around them. Deep down inside, he didn't want to ask but he knew he had to - he needed a sign and a confirmation. He needed to know if he could still have a chance at getting her - her heart. An answer that he only wanted to hear consists of two letters with one huge meaning that would grant him the chance. He swallowed hard when her lips parted to answer and he played with his fingers nervously.

His eyes closed momentarily as he prayed inwardly that she would answer, "No."

His eyes popped open like saucers when she had answered the answer he had said in his mind the same time she answered. "What?" He blurted out unintentionally as she turned her head to meet with his eyes again but she jerked backwards when he stared at her with a shocked expression on his face as if he saw a ghost. "A-Are you alright?" She waved a hand at him and he broke out into a smile. Pushing himself up from his swing, he stood behind her and he held her by her shoulders. Her eyes widened, her cheeks blushed and her heart skipped a beat feeling the warmth of his hands on her shoulders. "K-Kyungsoo...?"

As if he never asked her a question in the first place - and not answering hers either, "Shall I push you?" He offered with a warm tone and she managed to blush and smile wider without him seeing but based on how her body reacted to his hands on her shoulders, he felt really good. It was as if the crack he felt in his heart patched up triumphally. "S-Sure..." Hae Lynn answered quietly, hoping he would let go of her shoulders but at the same time, she wanted him to hold on just a little while longer - it made her wash the worries she had in her head.

"Hey you," Kyungsoo broke the content silence as he pushed her back and forth, her giggles entered his ears and he loved hearing them - ironically. "Yeah?" She replied, trying to look at him over her shoulder but with her moving back and forth, it was almost impossible. "Describe me with five words."

Snickering, she retorted, "How about you describe me with five words?"

"Yah," He pushed her rather a bit harder this time, "I asked you first."

"Then we'll answer together." She came up with a fair solution and he breathed out a soft 'Fine' before continuing to push her as they thought for a moment.

"Are you done thinking?"

"Wait!" Hae Lynn demanded for more time as she chuckled softly - she needed the perfect five words to describe him and she's not blowing this up. "I asked for five words, not five essays." He retorted back with a grin and she sighed softly. I want to make each word meaningful or at least have the right words...

She abruptedly stopped swinging as she planted two of her feet on the ground. "I got it!"

Kyungsoo jerked up a little but chuckled slightly - she was just so cute. "Tell me."

With her head hanging low, her insides were just urging her to say it out loud with the thoughts of 'Why are you being so shy?'. Even with that, those were only the confidence she felt on the inside that she wasn't ready to expose it to him. All this while whenever she felt something for someone, even a little irk of dislike, she could never get it off her chest. And just think about it, if she can't tell someone that she doesn't like them, how will she have the guts to tell someone she likes them? Though, this is her first time actually admitting something close to that point because Kyungsoo is her first... crush.

With that, she managed to say, "You are important to me."

Unknowingly, it got so quiet as all of a sudden, a smile crept onto Kyungsoo's face - he was beyond satisfied just hearing those five words. She really did find the right words that blew his mind away but managed to make his heart beat so fast. She rubbed her arm nervously - was that too cheesy? Gulping, she tried to break the tension by trying to bring up a funny joke but, "Graceful, beautiful, loveable - that's you."

Her eyes blinked rapidly as she turned to eye him with her lips parting slightly, cheeks evident with a faint blush despite their dark surroundings - he caught that. She swallowed hard when he moved closer towards her and she faced forward with her head hanging low as she gripped onto the swing chains nervously - her heart was beating ten times faster than it's supposed to. Kyungsoo smirked upon seeing her act this way. One minute she could be strong, bold and confident and the next, he has her under his spell - she amazes him sometimes.

And by sometimes - it's all the time. Now it's time for him to do the same to her.

"You know," He breathed out as he crouched down in front of her to level their eye levels at the very best with a small smile. "I think it's time I show you what I did when you slept."

Her head lifted slightly with curiosity and confusion as she looked at him weirdly. "When I'm a-asleep?"

"Yeah," He breathed out as he stood up but bent down a little so their gazes locked. "I'll show you."

With that, he took the bravery to step closer until his knees lightly brushed against her as his hands raised to frame it on her cheeks as he held it gently to assure her he wasn't going to hurt her. Instinctively, her eyes fluttered shut as her hands fell onto her lap - trying to calm herself down but there was no way she could do it - he was driving her insane with everything he's been doing since the day they met. His thumbs lightly carressed the under of her eyes lovingly as he leaned in closer, planting his supple lips against her forehead, causing her heart to feel warm.

Tingles of joy spreaded through her veins - she felt loved.

He leaned away just a little to whisper against her skin, "Goodnight, Hae Lynn."

With that, his hands retreated from her cheeks and her eyes opened carefully to see him looking down on her with a smile.

A smile that was totally different from the first one she's seen from him. If you were to ask her to describe his smile when they first met, she would give a simple answer which is : his smile, is just a smile. If you were to ask her now, you would need to listen for a long while as she explained the feeling she felt as she saw his smile and the emotions she could see behind his angelic smile.

See? She even thought his smile was angelic. Ask her that months before and she would call it a devil's smile.

"Go sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

She gave a mere nod when he smiled again - with his perfect set of teeth this time. He fought back the urge to just go up and kiss her but he knows that maybe, just maybe, he has a chance to do things the way he wants to. He doesn't want to rush it and just blurt out that he likes her. He wants to do it when he's ready. For now, taking a huge step to kiss her on her forehead with her knowing, was more than an accomplishment to him. He walked back to his tent feeling proud while she simply squealled to herself as she played with the swing a little while longer - not being able to sleep yet because finally, for once, something that she wanted happened in real life that she didn't need to sleep just to feel it.

Because she had already felt it.

"Grandma! I'm back!" Hae Lynn hollered but slapped her own mouth when she realized that maybe her grandmother was still sleeping. She hurried upstairs even though her body felt sore but she managed to dump her bags in her room before she head on over to check on her grandmother. The moment the door opened, Mrs. Do lifted her chin with a smile on her face and a finger on her lips as she stood up from the chair beside the bed. Ushing her to go out, Hae Lynn and Mrs. Do stood outside of the closed bedroom, "Welcome back, Hae Lynn." With that, Mrs. Do welcomed her back with a warm hug.

"Thanks Mrs. Do. And thanks for taking care of grandma when I was gone."

Chuckling, Mrs. Do broke the hug to smile caringly at Hae Lynn. For someone so young as Hae Lynn, she was amazed that Hae Lynn was mature enough to take care of herself to the extend where she has to take care of her grandmother as well. "You should go see your son, Mrs. Do. I bet he misses you."

Mrs. Do laughed softly before placing a hand on Hae Lynn's cheek, "My dear, he would be glad if I didn't come home."

With that, Hae Lynn held onto Mrs. Do's hand before she politely put it down so she could lift her hands to cup Mrs. Do's cheeks. "Don't say that, Mrs. Do. Anyone would be blessed to have a mother like you. Deep down inside, I know Kyungsoo is proud to have a mother like you - I'm sure of it."

Mrs. Do felt her heart warming up just feeling this sort of love from Hae Lynn. The type of love Kyungsoo never shown but with the words of assurance from Hae Lynn, she believed her truly that her son loves her just as much as she thought he would. "Hae Lynn," Mrs. Do breathed out as she held onto Hae Lynn's hands to bring it away from her cheeks. "Do you think you'll be able to do a favor for me?"

Tilting her head, she smiled a little - "Of course, Mrs. Do."

"Could you... celebrate Kyungsoo's birthday? Just you and him?"

Her eyes widened as she pouted a little. "His birthday? When is it?"

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" With that Hae Lynn hurriedly entered her grandmother's bedroom, planted a kiss on her forehead before she dashed out of the bedroom and ran down the stairs. "I have to get a present!"

"Hae Lynn! Wait! I'll come with you!" 

Mrs. Do hurriedly chased after Hae Lynn before the two went out to get a present for Hae Lynn.

Meanwhile...

"Where the heck is she going? Shouldn't she be resting?" Kyungsoo muttered softly as he stared out of his window in disbelief. His eyes bulged when he saw his mother walking beside her as they made their way towards Mrs. Do's car and from there, Mrs. Do drove of to God knows where. He hissed softly and spun around only to widen his eyes when his father was standing by the door frame.

Shouldn't he be at work?

"Hey kiddo," His father greeted as he entered his son's bedroom. "Hey." Kyungsoo smiled slightly and his father's eyes widened - it was his turn to think this is weird. "Y-You're smiling." His father pointed at his face with a shocked look.

"Well, yeah. Is there something wrong about it?"

Shaking his head, his father smiled wider. "Of course not. It's just... how do I say this..."

"New?" Kyungsoo answered and his father snapped his fingers. "Yeah. It's something that I rarely see you do."

Kyungsoo managed to break out into a wider smile as he gazed to his other window that was opposite Hae Lynn's window. His heart warmed at the thought of seeing the paper cups that was still connected with hers with the thread.

"Because I finally have a reason to."