­­­­­­­­­­­

The following day, Chan Yeol was at Ji Yeon’s doorstep bright and early as usual. Knowing that she had spent time with Baekhyun yesterday, he was expecting her to share some details about how the tutoring session went. He put on a determined looking face and punched a fist in the air—preparing himself for what Ji Yeon would say after being with her ideal type; he promised himself that he wouldn’t get jealous no matter what. He prayed to God last night—telling Him about his jealousy problem and how he wanted to change for the better; he was only allowed to get jealous once he had succeeded in making Ji yeon his girlfriend. Now that Chan Yeol thought about it, it was actually the first time Ji Yeon had ever spent with Baekhyun…

“Hmm… does she know what happens to Baek when he eats cookies?...”

Interrupting Chan Yeol’s thoughts was the sound of a door opening—Ji yeon came out the house. She quickly ran to Chan Yeol and buried her face in his chest as she hugged him. Chan Yeol was so surprised he was about to yell out nonsense, but decided to play it cool and act like normal… (even though he’s hyperventilating on the inside).

“What’s up Ji Yeonnie? You’re not one to suddenly hug people in the morning; that would be me (^_^)”

“Chan Yeol… I think I’m gonna die!”

“WHAT!? (0_0) Then let’s go to the hospital right now!”

Chan Yeol lifted Ji Yeon in a bridal carry.

He was about to run full speed to the nearest hospital when…

“DUDE, CALM DOWN! It was just a figure of speech—I’m not gonna die! (-_-)”

“Oh… whoops…”

Chan Yeol puts Ji Yeon down.

“So what were you really implying?”

“I think… that… well… let’s talk about it on our way to school.”

And so the 2 start walking.

“I think that for the first time, I’ve felt it Chan Yeol…”

“Felt what?”

“That I like someone… and not just as a friend… I mean… you know… I like like someone…”

Chan Yeol glanced at Ji Yeon… her cheeks were starting to turn red as she continued to look at the ground while walking. This was a different side of her—one he didn’t really see that often. Since when did she have this kind of side to her? Even though she blushed plenty of times before, mostly because he kept saying cheesy and sweet lines that made her embarrassed, this time it was different… it’s a different kind of embarrassment… sort of like… like…

… how he feels around Ji Yeon…

“Chan Yeol…”

“I think I like Baekhyun Oppa”

Chan yeol stopped walking, eyes still fixed on Ji yeon as a small frown began to appear on his face. He caught himself and immediately replaced that frown with a fake smile.

“Hey Chan Yeol, why did you stop walking?”

“I’m sorry Ji Yeonnie, but could you repeat what you said again? (^_^) I think I might’ve heard something else.”

“Huh? Oh, sure.”

“I think I like Baekhyun Oppa”

Chan Yeol laughs out loud.

“Ahahaha! I’m sorry, one more time please? I couldn’t quite hear you; I was distracted.”

“Geez dude (-_-), if this keeps going we’ll be late for school. So I’m going to repeat it for the last few times.”

“I think I like Baekhyun Oppa”

“I think I like Baekhyun Oppa”

“I think I like Baekhyun Oppa”

“Did you get it?”

“…”

“Crystal clear.”

“Great! (^_^)”

Ji Yeon pulled on Chan Yeol’s arm, dragging the blank faced boy along. She proceeded to telling him how she had never felt this kind of thing before—having a crush was all new to her. She told him about the new things she learned about Baekhyun, and about the silly cookie incident where she made Baek sing and dance to kid songs (without telling him that Baek was on her lap and the other embarrassing stuff like combing his hair and tickling him). She was so excited about telling Chan yeol what her first crush experience was like—Chan yeol on the other hand, nodded occasionally, remarked with “Ok…” or “I see…” a few times and continued to smile in the same manner… in a fake manner.

“Gosh Chan Yeol; I seriously don’t know what to do in front of Baekhyun Oppa now (>_<) I’ll try to stay as natural as possible. Hehehe! Thanks for listening!”

“Of course (^_^); you can always count on me Yeonnie—you know that more than anyone else (^_^)… even with a heavy heart, I will always be ready to hear what you have to say.”

Ji Yeon hugs Chan yeol

“Thanks for not complaining, for not interrogating me… thanks for not being jealous (^_^) (pinches Chan Yeol’s cheek) I’m so proud of you!”

Chan Yeol chuckles. Ji yeon looked so happy—this was his favorite side of Ji Yeon. To Chan yeol, a Ji yeon that was laughing, that was enjoying herself, that was happy—this Ji Yeon was the prettiest.

“Speaking of which, are you free after school?”

“Hmm? Me?”

“Duh; does it look like I’m talking to anyone else? I want you to accompany me to the café my cousin is working in (^_^). Do you know the Mint Flower Company?”

“The Mint Flower? Of course! They’re a famous company that owns cafes, restaurants and bakeries. Your cousin works there?”

“Yup; and since I haven’t gone there for a while, I thought I’d pay a visit. The Mint Flower Café branch she’s working in is a bus ride away from my house. Is that alright?”

“Sure (^_^)”

The 2 arrive at school and coincidentally bump into Baekhyun and Sehun.

B: “Oh hey guys! Good morning! (^_^)”

S: (waves)

J, C: “Morning.”

B: “So Ji yeon, still remember everything I taught you?

J: “of course, you ripped my practice test paper apart (-_-); who could forget that? All my hard work, gone like the wind! After you left, I practiced solving each number again by following the book. Although the test paper you made was much more challenging.”

 (clenches her fist) “I’ll definitely make you proud Oppa! I will certainly do my best.”

B: “(chuckles) Ahahaha (>_<). Of course, you will. (pats Ji Yeon) you did work hard after all, didn’t you? Make sure that I’m the first one to know the results, ok? Well, aside from God that is (^_^); He knows everything. Well, see you later guys! I can’t wait for you to tell me good news Ji Yeon.”

Baekhyun waves goodbye at Ji Yeon and Chan Yeol, with Sehun following him. Sehun took out his phone waving it at Ji Yeon, probably implying that she shouldn’t forget to text him about what happened during the tutoring session. Ji yeon happily nods as Sehun too starts to wave goodbye at her and Chan Yeol.

“You know Sehunnie’s number?”

“Yeah… I think it was around a certain time when I was grouped with him in class for an assignment. I asked for his number in case I needed it, but in the end I never really had to use it since he was quite punctual and always ready to contribute. I think that was around 5^th grade…”

“Yup; that’s our Sehunnie, alright (^_^) He’s very disciplined… hey, you didn’t look the least bit nervous around Baek; are you sure you like him?”

“Well… it’s easy to act normal when other people are around I guess… it only gets difficult when we’re alone… or I don’t know; maybe it’s because I’m new to this whole crush thing. (>_<) Anyways, let’s hurry up and get to class! I’m seriously excited about the math test.”

And so Ji Yeon and Chan Yeol entered school, then parted ways since their sections were different. The day went on, until finally it was time to take the math test. Ji yeon prayed to remember everything she had learned from Baekhyun, and proceeded to answering the test. Sehun, being seated behind Ji Yeon, saw how quick Ji Yeon’s hand movements were—meaning she was solving each number with ease. The thought of that put a smile on his face, thinking that Baekhyun and Ji yeon had a good time yesterday. He couldn’t wait to receive a text from her. After all, he already heard from Baekhyun that perhaps Ji Yeon likes Baekhyun; now all that’s left to do was confirm it. Kai, being seated beside Ji Yeon, was wondering just how Ji Yeon seemed to be answering each number so fast.

Later during dismissal, she told everyone how she finished the test ahead of anyone else in the class; Baekhyun, Kai and Sehun were witnesses to this. To think that she even finished ahead of Baekhyun, he was so proud of Ji yeon that he immediately pulled her into hug. She hugged back too, trying to hide how she was enjoying the moment. Pretty soon, the whole EXO gave Ji yeon a hug, expressing their congratulations. After all the congratulating and thanking Baekhyun for the tutoring session, Chan Yeol and Ji yeon went on their way and rode a bus to one of Mint Flower’s cafés.

They arrived in a cute-looking café welcomed by a girl in a semi-formal attire…

“Ji Yeon!”

“Onii! (older sister)”

“Wow! Thanks for stopping by again! Which is strange because you were here just recently.”

“Well, what can I say? This place is really one of the best! (^_^) ”

“Just recently? But I thought you said you haven’t been here for a while.”

Chan Yeol stands beside Ji Yeon, giving her a questioning look.

“Oh wow, is this your boyfriend Ji Yeon?”

“Nope; he’s the guy I was talking about Onii (^_^) Did you ready our table and orders?”

“Oh I see; so this is the Park Chan Yeol? Thank you so much for taking care of Ji Yeon (^_^) I’m Park Hyomin, Ji Yeon’s cousin; it’s nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you.”

“O…K? You’re welcome I guess. And as you already know (?), I’m Park Chan Yeol. It’s also very nice to meet you (^_^)”

“Alright; will you 2 please follow me to your table? (^_^)”

Hyomin led Ji Yeon and Chan Yeol to the table at the middle of the café. They were seated and pretty soon, all sorts of delicious food were placed on their table: there was bibimbap, jabchae, kimchi stew, and the specialty of the café—mocha latté. Obviously, Chan Yeol was confused.

bibimbap

 japchae

kimchi stew

mocha latte

“Ok! Let’s start digging in Chan Yeol! (>_<)”

“Wait a second! Hold up! (-_-) Ji Yeon, what’s going on? I thought you said you haven’t been here a while, but your cousin said you were here recently. And now there’s this amazing spread of food in front of us, not that I don’t appreciate it, in fact I’d very much like to gobble it all up; but if you didn’t give me the real reason, why did we come here today?”

“Why?...”

 “…well, this is my secret gift (^_^)… to you, Chan yeol. Do you even have any idea what day it is?”

“Um… Thursday?”

“Well, yeah… it’s Thursday alright, but that’s not what I meant (^_^)”

“Today was the day we first met.”

Chan Yeol’s eyes widened and he just couldn’t believe what he heard… Ji Yeon actually prepared a feast in celebration of the day they first met?

“Wow… (blush) I’m flattered that you remembered all this time… But Yeonnie… we never celebrated before—how come you thought of celebrating this year?”

“Well, just for the very reason we’ve never done it before (^_^). I looked at the calendar last night and remembered this was the day we were having that test in elementary, where you dropped your pencil and I returned it to you. I guess since we were just kids before, we never really thought of celebrating this day. So I thought, why not celebrate now? I immediately phoned up Onii to reserve us a table and some food, since she works as the manager of this branch. (^_^)”

“Chan Yeol…”

“You pick me up for school and walk me home as well. You listen to everything I have to say, be it negative or positive. You were a gift from God— I never imagined I’d have such a nice friend like you. I openly told you before how annoying and talkative you were—maybe that was because I wasn’t used to all the attention you were giving me. But now that I look back on all that, I want to say that I’m sorry for the times I pushed you away. Thanks for understanding me all this time, and taking care of me. Chan Yeol, I really really like you. Much like your name, when I met you I didn’t know that you would bring so much brightness—so much brilliance into my life. Thank you so much for staying with me all this time. I love you a lot Oppa (^_^)”

Chan Yeol was on the verge of tears; he quickly stood up and went to Ji yeon’s seat, and gave her a hug. The rest of the world disappeared—he could only see Ji Yeon and himself. Never was he so full of happiness that he didn’t even know what to say or do. His tears finally came out, still hugging Ji Yeon. She softly patted his back as he continued to sob quietly on her shoulder.

“Ji yeon…”

“All I can say is I Love You. And I always will. Even if we grow apart, I will never forget you. Or if we go to different universities in the future, I will still pick you up for school and walk you home. I will never forget to text you and call you at least 3 times a day. Even if the time comes when you get married to someone… I will be the Best Man at your wedding. I will always… always… be beside you… so please, tell me you will too.”

“Of course I will, you silly drama queen (^_^) Now come on; let’s eat.”

Chan Yeol and Ji Yeon ate together, enjoying each other’s company—reminiscing about the days they were still in elementary. It was indeed a day to remember.

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Hey all! ^_^ Sorry I couldn't update earlier today, but here it is! Happy Valentine's day everyone! By the way, did you guys notice the background of the story is pink now? hahaha (^_^) Yep~ I'm trying some layout, that's why the foreword page looks prettier (I think?); I haven't put the layout in all the chapters yet, but I'll try to fix it when I have the time. I'm sorry I couldn't finish a Valentine's special chapter :( But I'll be sure to make one! If I don't finish it by tonight, probably by tomorrow ^_^ Have a great day!

Also, Hyomin as Ji Yeon's cousin hahaha ^_^ and the Mint Flower Company is a fictional company I also used in my first story. So I think it definitely comes in handy ^_^