"Take it off and throw it away."

"No, I like them."

Baekhyun slapped Chanmi's hands away as he pulled off his own glasses and glared at her as she sipped more of her milk. She crawled away from him so he wouldn't take off her own glasses, narrowing her eyes as she dodged his hands. They faced each other, Baekhyun's hands poised for an attack while Chanmi's legs were ready to defend.

"Promise me you won't wear them outside," He sighed in defeat, "Don't let anyone else know."

"Fine," She huffed, "Only if you won't take them away."

"Deal."

"Okay."

She took off her glasses and ran towards her room, quickly cleaning them before stuffing it inside her precious box. Baekhyun took his off and stuffed it inside his suit jacket, chuckling softly to himself. He took out a small envelope and walked towards the wall, taking down the previous 3 profiles before putting up the newest 2. There was a loud scream and Baekhyun fell to the floor. Chanmi stared at him with disbelief as she patted her shoulder, laughing as he struggled to get up.

"That's not funny."

"You screamed like a girl."

Chanmi taunted him once more as she wiggled her fingers. Before she did anything, her eyes landed on the profiles on the wall. Her breath caught and there was a bright light shining from the pictures. It was the first time she saw such beauty, making her knees go weak. drooled as she stepped closer, practically hitting her face against the wall.

"Who is this magnificent creature?" Chanmi breathed, "Those eyes!"

"He's Kim Minseok," Baekhyun blinked, "The oldest one out of the eleven guys."

"Minseok. Xiumin. Minnn-seokkk. Xiuuu-minnnn."

"You like him?"

"This is beauty right here. Imagine the body hiding underneath those clothes."

Baekhyun pretended to throw up and sat down as Chanmi read over the profiles. She stepped back in horror and pretended to be a vampire as she hissed at Xiumin's profile. Her foot caught on Pororo and she fell back, covering her face.

"Are you okay?" Baekhyun nudged her, "Did you get hurt?"

"Did you see that?" Chanmi gasped, "OCD!"

The light left Chanmi's eyes as she shook her head. She had already been on a date with a tidy person, but this time would be different. Unlike D.O who just liked being tidy, Xiumin was at a different level. A whole new level that she was too scared to cross. He was gorgeous but being too clean was enough for Chanmi to pull back.

"Come on Chanmi, calm down."

"Right, I should. It's just that I don't think I can handle someone judging me if I don't clean right."

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and shrugged, "You can choose Mr. Zhang first if you're scared."

"He does look cute," She nodded, "And men with dimples are hella y."

"I'll go make the call. And don't say that to his face."

"Well it's a compliment."

Baekhyun stood up to make a call as Chanmi went back to staring at the pictures. Her eyes kept drifting towards Xiumin but she stopped, arguing with herself on whether she should go with Lay or Xiumin.

'He has dimples,' She furrowed his eyebrows.

'But the other one looks so cute and fluffy.'

'The other one looks like a unicorn.'

'But Umin-oppa looks like a puppy you want to cuddle with.'

"Ugh!" Chanmi screamed, "Why are guys getting so hot these days!? Can't let a girl make up her mind!"

•••••••••

Lay stood patiently waiting outside the Chinese restaurant, his eyes glancing at his watch every once in a while. He barely had enough time to eat before he needed to get back to work. A young girl stepped off the bus and walked towards him. Her soft brown eyes landed on his and she blushed softly, fixing the flower headband on her face. Her simple purple dress accentuated her curves, tight enough to make men glance but modestly loose enough. Her makeup was natural, emphasizing her large brown eyes and long eyelashes. 

She looked perfect.

Except when she tripped over her own two feet.

"Are you okay?" Lay smiled, his two dimples popping out, "Did you get hurt?"

'Jesus take the wheel,' Chanmi blinked, "Yes, I'm perfectly fine. Thank you."

His eyes landed on hers and he smiled wider, noticing how innocent they looked. He held open the door and waited for her to step inside. She bowed at him and headed towards their seat, ignoring the stares she was getting. Chanmi wasn't the only one to notice. Lay covered her back and frowned at the men gawking at her. Like the gentleman that he was, Lay spread his jacket over her lap, making sure she was covered up.

"Thank you," She blushed, "You didn't have to."

"It's fine," He chuckled, "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

They went back to the menu, the awkward silence growing deeper. Chanmi tried to make sure Lay wouldn't notice her stares. She could feel her fangirl mode turn on when she noticed his innocent blinks as he surveyed the menu. His pink lips curved into a smile whenever she wasn't looking, laughing to himself every time she glanced at him.

"What do you do Chanmi-ssi?" Lay piped up, "I saw that you own a bookstore."

"I do actually," Chanmi's ears perked up, "It's been in my family for a long time."

"So you like to read?"

"Yes, it's the only thing besides food that really interests me."

Lay grew more interested, "You like to cook?"

Chanmi looked away and grew red. She didn't know whether to lie or not. Yeah, she liked to cook but having Baekhyun ruin her dream of being a master chef made her realize how terrible she was. Now all she had was being a writer or a food critic.

"I do like to cook," She confessed, "But I'm terrible at it."

"I love to cook," He agreed, "And I'm amazing at it."

"Show off."

"Why? I thought you would be impressed."

Before she could say anything, his phone rang. Lay reached out to silence it but it rang once more. There was a look of embarrassment on his face as he debated what to do. He grew relieved when Chanmi motioned for him to take it, innocently waving goodbye as he dashed to the bathroom. She started to sniff his jacket but stopped when he came back, his lips curved downwards into a pout.

"I'm so sorry," Lay sighed, "Something happened at work."

"Oh," Chanmi stood up," It's fine. We can schedule again next time," She bit her lips and looked at the floor, "If you want."

Lay noticed her crestfallen expression and he felt his heart begin to break. It was like looking at a lost puppy trying to not get wet from the rain. She smiled softly at him as she handed back his jacket. 

"You can come with me if you want," Lay blurted out, "It shouldn't take that long."

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, it'll be fun."

They walked towards the company, their bodies sticking close together. Lay carefully placed his arm around her, protecting her from the large crowds. The door was surrounded by screaming fans, desperate to see their oppas. Chanmi grew red when Lay wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her inside. The hallways were quiet as they headed towards his office. The entire room was full of music sheets lying around, empty coffee cups piled high in the trashcan. But what made her giddy was the large piano in the middle of the room.

"You can sit here," He pushed away the papers off the couch, "I won't take long."

Lay poured her some water before dashing out of the room. Chanmi looked over some sheets that were dumped in the trash can and stood up, hesitating slightly as she sat down on the piano. Her fingers fluttered lightly over the keys, making sure she didn't make a lot of noise.

"This sounds really pretty," She murmured, "But why was it thrown out?"

"Because it's not good enough apparently."

Chanmi turned towards the door and noticed Lay leaning against it. He walked towards her and sat down, a stack of music sheets in his hands as he placed them for her to see. He began playing, his face completely blank. She frowned when she noticed how empty it sounded, without emotion. The music abruptly stopped, going dead silent as Chanmi changed the sheets. Her fingers expertly smoothed out the crumpled sheets, a wide smile on her face.

"I really like this part," She played a piece of it, "But don't you think this sounds too sad?"

"I don't know," He frowned, "I thought it fit nicely."

Lay continued to play, making notes here and there as Chanmi watched. He turned to look at her and she played once more, her pace slow and childlike. She immediately stopped once he placed his hands on top of hers, motioning for her to keep playing. 

"You're good," Lay's breath was hot on her face, "But you must have stopped playing for a while."

"I was never good growing up," Chanmi murmured, "I made a lot of mistakes."

They sat in silence for a while before it was broken by a loud rumbling noise. Lay bit his lips as he tried to stop himself from laughing, looking away as Chanmi felt her entire body go red. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and winced.

"Are you allergic to anything?"

"Huh?"

Lay leaned in closer and tilted his head innocently, "I'm thinking some Chinese."

Chanmi slowly nodded and giggled, "I like the sound of that."

•••••••••

author's corner;