Chanyeol had wanted to rush to Aecha's side the moment she was out of the operating room. But, he couldn’t, could he?

He was still avoiding her to set his mind straight, or this was what he believed he should do. But, just her being in pain made his head reeling. He wanted desperately to be by her side, or just took a glance at her to see if she was alright or not. However, he couldn’t, not yet.

First day was for her family, Chanyeol thought, it was not time for an outsider like him to visit her. So, maybe texting Kris to know her condition was enough. That's what he did, Chanyeol wanted to keep track of Aecha's condition. Even if he couldn't see her, he had his way to know it.

Second day was for close relatives, Chanyeol still found it a bit inappropriate to go to her. Just a little more waiting, Chanyeol.

Third day, it was ok for him to go then; but if he went to her, it would be too obvious that he really cared for her. Though his heart was dying to do so, his head forced him to act otherwise. She was just a friend, nothing more, so there was no need to care so much for her like that like that. It's a white lie, Chanyeol knew it himself, he just didn't want to admit it. Chanyeol couldn’t help but having to text Kris again to know how she was doing like he did two days before. A little of texting doesn’t count as caring, Chanyeol assured himself, Beside, Aecha is in crucial time. After that important time, I wouldn’t care about her anymore and return to Hana's side. Ok Chanyeol, just this time. 

After Chanyeol had debated with himself, he was determined to visit Aecha.  But, he would still make it less obvious that he wanted to see her by calling Exo to arrange a visit. They would come with him.

Life wasn’t always what we wanted it to be. Though Chanyeol really wanted to visit Aecha already, some of Exo's members were busy with their own life. Because they didn’t really care about Aecha like Chanyeol did, they weren't as eager to visit her. Besides, they were on summer holiday, some had planned to travel around, some spent it on visiting their relatives, their friends. The guys were all busy. It was hard to gather them all and arrange a visit. After trying to persuade them, beg them or even whine to them, Chanyeol had finally managed to arrange a visit on the fifth day after Aecha’s surgery.

It had been five days, Chanyeol's anxiety was killing him. He wanted nothing more than to see her. If only his stupid mind weren't stubborn and he could act normal around Aecha, Chanyeol would join Hana in taking care of Aecha already. He was just afraid his attraction to Aecha would grow if he did so. He still needed to keep his distance.

The night before the visit, Chanyeol tossed and his bed. He hadn’t seen Aecha since summer started, which was two weeks ago. He did miss her, but he kept denying it himself. He wondered how she looked like now, especially after the surgery. Would she miss him too? They didn’t talk much at school in the last few weeks. Hah, whose fault is that? If you wanted it that much, why not just come and talk to her already? Chanyeol shook his head, dismissing the question popping in his head.

Alright, enough with thinking about Aecha, he should think about Hana instead. Hana with her determination in studying, it was also how he got closer to her, to help her with her studies. Her pretty face and angelic smile that Aecha would never get. Would Aecha’s smile be different after the surgery? How would she look when she wears braces? Would she be like some nerdy girls with braces in movies? Chanyeol smiled at the scenes he imagined.

Like that, his thought wandered back to Aecha and he slowly fell asleep. God, he couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come.

Next day came much to Aecha and Chanyeol’s delight. They couldn’t wait to meet each other. Kris had informed Aecha about Exo’s visit and Aecha was so happy. She would squeal if it was not for the bandages around her jaws. Being alone in her room was boring, and Aecha missed the guys; she especially missed a special guy. She wanted to see him, very much.

As Chanyeol walked with the guys to her room, he just wanted to shoo them to go faster. Gosh, did they want to show off there long legs in the hospital or not? Could they go any slower? Scrunched his nose petulantly, Chanyeol merged himself among the ten other guys, praying in his head for them to pick up their pace. This way, he could secretly watch her and no one would notice, not Hana and not Aecha, either. As they neared the room, Chanyeol’s heart beat erratically.

Why was he so nervous?

Entering the room, his heart tightened painfully at the sight of her lying in her bed, her face wrapped in bandages. Her swelling had ceased, but it was still very bad. It made her face change. If he hadn’t been informed from Kris before, Chanyeol wouldn’t have recognized the girl. Chanyeol wanted so much to take her hand in his like when they were on the ferris wheel to comfort her. Chanyeol wanted to make Aecha feel better, but he restrained himself. With clenched fists by his sides, Chanyeol sat down at one of the chair far from Aecha, between Lay and Baekhyun.

He looked at her attentively from time to time, until their eyes met and he looked away.

When the guys entered the room, Aecha sat up a little, looking around for the tall figure and the baby face. But, the mass of bodies were all at the entrance, one was hidden by another. Aecha couldn’t see him until they settled in their seats. Her eyes lit up when she caught sight of Chanyeol. Finally!

You couldn’t even imagine how much she had missed him. But, just as their eyes met, Aecha’s face fell because Chanyeol looked away. He couldn’t even bear to look at her in the eyes? Did she do something wrong after her birthday that made Chanyeol want to avoid her so much? Or, was it because how terrible she looked right now with all the bandages and tubes that Chanyeol didn't want to look at her?

Whatever his reason was, Aecha felt sad.

But, Aecha would never know why Chanyeol was afraid of looking in her eyes. It stirred feelings that he wanted to bury, feelings that he wanted to dismiss all those weeks.