Exo visited her for an hour. They asked her random questions about her health, which Kris was in charge of answering since Aecha couldn’t talk. Aecha and Chanyeol kept glancing at each other when the other one didn’t notice. They were both afraid of getting caught by the other partner, not that it was a bad thing.

Chanyeol saw that, except for her jaw which was swelling quite bad, she looked quite well. She was a bit thinner than he remembered; it was probably because she couldn’t eat well for the time being. She smiled now and then at some jokes the guys shared, but her smile seemed tight and her eyes looked sad. Whose fault was that again?, Chanyeol frowned. It was because of him, wasn't it? Because he was avoiding her, obviously.

Alright, he had made up his mind. He would try if he could be with Hana more this summer. Maybe, summer came and the girl would have more free time, and he could hang out with her more. After he could set his feelings straight, Chanyeol would be friends with Aecha again when the next school year started; they'd be back to normal. Then, they would try harder the second year to make Hana fall for him. Ok, that was it, he would follow his plan.

Even though he didn’t admit it, Chanyeol missed hanging out with Aecha. And, Chanyeol didn't want to make Aecha suffer from his cold shoulders without any reason. Seeing her sad face now already made him feel uneasy.

Aecha cherished the rare chance of meeting Chanyeol since summer holiday started, she used it to watch him attentively. She had missed him and his carefree self around her. She missed dearly. Now, he was out of reach, he seemed restless; she wondered what the reason was.

Once or twice, their eyes would meet for a brief moment, then both partners would look away. Aecha thinking that he didn't want to look at her, so she looked away. And, he looking away proved that what she thought was right. They really had problems, it was just Aecha didn't know what the problems were. She wondered if they would ever be normal around each other again? 

An hour later, Exo excused themselves and left, so Aecha could get some rest. Hana was there with all her classmates, but she also went home to do her housework. Because Aecha still couldn’t go around, Kris would see the guys off. That made Aecha stay in her room alone. Aecha looked at Chanyeol's back longingly when he got up to leave. When would she meet him again? Or, would Chanyeol want to meet her ever again?

While they were walking along the corridor of the hospital, Kris could sense that Chanyeol wanted to stay longer because he kept glancing back at Aecha's room from time to time. He also lingered at the end the group of people. So, Kris intentionally shooed the guys ahead and left Chanyeol behind, for which Chanyeol was more than willingly to stay. No one noticed he was left behind, until they reached to the front gate, Baekhyun suddenly took note of his close friend's absence,

“Hey guys, wait! Where is Chanyeol? Did we leave him back?”

Baekhyun stood on his tip toes, trying to scan the group for the tall figure but he couldn't see Chanyeol.

“Now that you say it, I also notice. Where did we leave him?” Lay nodded slowly, agreed with Baekhyun.

“No, guys. You just didn’t notice. He said he had something to do and he had gone home first, even before we left the room. You guys should leave as well.” Kris jumped in to save the situation, also saving his plan.

“Did he really leave? I didn’t hear anything.” Suho suspected, but then he shrugged, " ok then. We’ll leave, Chanyeol can go home by himself anyway. Take care and have fun this summer.”

Patting Kris's back and waving their goodbyes, Exo left Chanyeol behind and went home. Kris stretched his long arms tiredly, enough with caring for ugly duck, some personal time to care for this godly body. Like that, Kris trusted Aecha in Chanyeol’s hands and also went home. He had been staying in the hospital to look over Aecha for days now, it was very tiring for him.

Aecha laid in her bed and thought about nothing in particular. The room was quite, void of people; it’s boring staying in here all day. She glanced at the door now and then to see if there were anyone coming in to visit her. She liked to have people around at times, it was less boring for her. Anyone coming in was fine, even the nurses; it was good enough to have any person around her at all. But, she hadn’t expected to catch that familiar pair of eyes looking at her from the crack of her doors. Aecha's heart skipped a bit, then it beat frantically in joy.

Chanyeol wanted to linger around for a bit longer, he just didn’t know why; but his heart just made him stay. So, when he had the golden chance that Kris gave him, he took it instantly and slipped out of the group without notice. Returning to Aecha's room, he didn’t know what to do after that. Alright, he would observe her for a bit then. And, he watched Aecha from the crack of the doors, he didn’t want her to know about his presence. He had thought he could stay invisible to her then; but he froze when their eyes met. Looking away, Chanyeol scratched his nape awkwardly, he desperately looked for something to do or to say; so that he wouldn't seem like a stalker. 

In panic mode, his brain couldn't work fast enough. Chanyeol sighed, he would just step in then.

Pushing the doors, Chanyeol waved at her awkwardly and smiled,

“Hi to you. I stayed behind.”

Aecha smiled broadly, pursing her lips slightly, she nodded. Pointing to a chair beside her bed, she wordlessly invited him to sit. Chanyeol stood still for a bit, he then sat down on it.

“Thank you. You looked like you are in pain. Are you ok?"

Scooting the chair closer to her bed, Chanyeol asked the question that had been on his mind all the time.

Aecha smiled again and nodded. Well, she didn't feel good then, but it would be fine eventually. Reaching for her phone, she wrote him a question.

_Why do you stay behind?_

Chanyeol blushed a little, being asked such an honest question; he didn’t have any particular reason. He looked down, avoiding her eyes again. When he looked up again, the girl was looking at him closely, smiling slightly, waiting for his answer. Chanyeol couldn’t help but smiled back, her smile was spontaneous. Patting her cheek lightly so as not to hurt her, Chanyeol countered back playfully,

“Why do you ask? Am I not allowed here?”

Chanyeol completely forgot about distancing himself and teased Aecha. His body just acted in its own and didn't listen to his head, which was screaming for him to stop.

Aecha smiled again. The girl couldn’t contain her stupid smile now that Chanyeol was around her again. Even though her wounds hurt when she smiled, Aecha didn't care. Shaking her head in denial, Aecha typed.

_You can stay, of course. But, you have been distant lately. I thought you hate me for something I did. So, I am a bit surprised to see you here._

“What? No, you didn’t do anything wrong. It was just about me. Don’t think that way.”

Finishing reading her text, Chanyeol exclaimed loudly in an instant, waving his hands to prove his point.

Aecha could feel relief flood her body, looking at him timidly, she typed her reply,

_Were we still friends?_

Aecha hesitated for a moment before finally showing him the text. She was afraid of his answer.

Chanyeol felt his heart clench when he read her words. Does Aecha really feel that they aren't friends anymore? He hadn’t cared about her feelings at all; he was suddenly out of her reach. But, Chanyeol didn't think Aecha would be that negative about their relationship. Still, he had been a selfish jerk. He had made her feel that bad all along.

She must have been treated like that by all the guys she had helped. She must be tossed aside by them when they couldn't make Hana fall for them. It must be the reasons of her insecurities. Chanyeol wouldn't let Aecha think that way. Taking her hand in his again, he said gently,

trying to assure the worried girl.

“Of course, we are still friends. Even when I don’t like Hana anymore, we will still be friends so don’t worry, alright? Like I said, it’s just me acting like a jerk. It has nothing to do with you why I act that way. It's my fault, I'm sorry. I promise you that after this summer, everything will be like fine. Don’t worry, ok?"

_Really? But, why does it have to be after the summer?_

“I have my reasons. Wait for me, ok?” Chanyeol smiled reassuringly at Aecha.

Looking at him, Aecha tried to see if he was sincere or not. Finally Aecha smiled back at him, she tightened her grip on his hand and nodded. She didn't know his reason, but she would trust him.

Chanyeol patted her cheek once more in relief,

“Good girl.”

Then, they chatted for a long time, catching up on each other's life. Both of them treasured this small time of being together. It would be the last time they saw each other, until after the summer. 

They both knew they would miss times like that, definitely!