It was a usual Tuesday morning with the sun shining bright as it illuminated the ocean blue sky. It was the start of summer break, just the third day in fact, which meant that the students’ celebrations of their freedom were in full swing. The usually quiet streets of Seoul were unusually bustling with people, majority of them being high schoolers. Everybody, especially the seniors, had swore to make their last summer in high school worth remembering. Every hangout spot which would provide even a tinge of entertainment was overflowing with teenagers.

The arcade that Hana was currently standing in front of was no exception. She was still outside but the sound of machines and cheers could be heard outside nonetheless. She pulled at the hem of her cream cardigan as she waited outside the lively establishment. Hana was feeling insecure. This was the first time in months that she had worn anything that wasn’t dull. She admits that Sehun had a good choice when it came to clothes. In fact everyone had better choice in clothes than Hana. it was always her mother who used to shop for her, or whenever she went shopping alone Yuri would always accompany her. But over the past years, Junmi hardly ever had time, she was too busy trying to secure a good job. Therefore Hana was sent alone, and every time she went she always picked the least colorful pieces. It’s not like Hana didn’t like cheerful colors, but those were the times when she just didn’t feel like wearing them.

But now things were slightly different, and after being dragged around by Sehun, grabbing tops, bottoms, and shoes of various types and colors, they finally managed to add color to Hana’s bland wardrobe. Junmi was slightly surprised (and happy) to see the lively colors, and Luhan stood at the back smiling, to him it was another sign of recovery. The elders were told that Hana was going to the arcade with her ‘friend’. Sehun had already briefed Luhan about Hana’s little ‘crush’. Just because Sehun wasn’t being protective over Hana, doesn’t mean Luhan wouldn’t. The moment he heard the word ‘crush’ escape from his brother’s mouth, he narrowed his eyes at Hana and she gulped. But after Sehun explained his theory to him, Luhan agreed, albeit reluctantly, and Hana brightened. Luhan figured that Sehun had a point, Lay was Hana’s friend and he was there for her when they weren’t. Also, he knew that their mother knew him, and so far what he heard of Hana’s friends they were all good guys. Luhan wanted to drop Hana off, but Sehun intervened and frankly Hana didn’t want Luhan to come either. Knowing the guy, he’d probably stay back and spy on them or maybe even in and the last thing Hana wanted was to embarrass herself or put Lay in an awkward situation. The only obstacle left was to select clothes that would look appropriate for an arcade, the original obstacle.

Hana internally cursed at Sehun. Out of all the shirts they bought yesterday he just had to select the pink tank top. Not only did he select her clothes he also forced her to wear them and what annoyed her even more was that the supposed to be protective Luhan agreed with his brother and provided no help whatsoever. The tank top she was wearing was baby pink in color with horizontal light grey stripes, ending a little below the waist. Paired with the shirt, Luhan suggested she wore light brown shorts and a cream cotton quarter sleeve cardigan. Hana liked what they choose but dreaded the thought of wearing them, especially when they forced her to wear baby pink flats with a small bow at the front rather than the black converse she originally wanted to wear. Junmi upon seeing her niece dressed differently handed her a matching brown strap bag. Her hair were let down, not like she usually tied them anyways, and after intense protesting to prevent the brothers from making her wear a pink headband (the battle ended in Hana’s favor), she and Sehun left the house. It had been ten minutes since she had been waiting, the nervousness refusing to die down.

Lay cursed as he looked around the crowded area. He arrived five mutes late and so far he couldn’t find Hana. Despite Kris’s convincing that his current outfit was fine, Lay changed for the sixth time that day. The previous light blue shirt and red pants were not deemed proper enough for him to wear, therefore, ignoring his brother, he changed out of it. Instead he opted to wear all black. Every time they went out, Lay saw Hana being the only one in black and white, so the idea of wearing the same color as her so they would look alike made him a little giddy. A black fitted shirt with black skinnies as well as a big buckled black belt. The jacket he wore was of the same color, the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and the only color that could be seen on him was the faded purple wrist band. Kris had given him wear a silver chain with a ring in order to add a little ‘swag’ to his outfit, and Lay was all set to go.

Lay decided to text her. Hana was always punctual, which is why it was odd for him to be unable to find her even though he was five minutes late. He grabbed the dark brown leather bag that hung on his right shoulder and zipped it open to fish out his phone. The reply came instantly and he stared at his screen with incredulousness. According to the message, Hana was there already. Then where the heck was she? He spun around looking in every direction but he still couldn’t pin point her.

‘Lay: I cant find you ._. ‘

She looked around after she received his text. He was there already, but the question was where? Still searching she spun around and saw a familiar back clad in black. She recognized him immediately but wondered why did he wear only black, the color that practically heat in such a weather? Walking towards him she tapped his shoulder and he spun around with force enough to make his bag spin with him. Hana dodged the flying accessory and looked towards the boy in alarm. Lay was pretty much frozen in place. Hana too was a bit taken aback but recovered soon. For the first time ever, Lay saw Hana in colors. The light pink of her shirt complemented her skin and due to her clothes being of light colors, they made her look brighter and happier. Hana grew self conscious with the way he stared; did he think she looked weird? Of course he did. Out of all the colors Sehun just HAD to choose pink.  She averted her eyes, looking everywhere but his face but after she heard what he had to say, she was forced to look back.

“You look….pretty today.” He was still a little dazed and Hana whipped her head towards him. Lay thought she looked at him wide eyed because he may have accidentally said something he wasn’t supposed to.

“Not that you don’t look pretty on other days! You look good everyday and I love your looks, those black denim jeans of yours are my favorite and even that shirt with the little white drop made on it but don’t get me wrong you look even better today with the colors and all they make you look beautiful and honestly I’m sorry I didn’t mean to offend please forgive me.”  Lay breathed as he finished his monologue in one breathe, afraid that if he stopped the girl would think something she shouldn’t. In order to avoid that Lay said every word that came into his head and didn’t even bother to wait and think if it was appropriate or not. But now that he had said what he had to, Hana still stared at him and as the reality of what he said sunk in, he internally cursed.

The girl broke into a smile and Lay thought he was imagining things when he saw the faint tint of pink on her cheeks. He chuckled awkwardly when he saw Hana point at him and give him a thumb up. She thought he looked good. Well, she thought he looked absolutely amazing, enough that if she was a hyper active middle schooler, she would’ve squealed the moment he saw him. But Lay didn’t have to know that. After a few more seconds of just standing and smiling (and being judged by people who saw them) they went inside, and Hana marveled at the foreign interior and atmosphere.

The last time she was at an arcade was when she was probably nine. It was one of those days when Hana’s mother came to visit Junmi, and twelve year old Luhan was going to arcade with his friends. Sehun wanted to tag along and when Hana arrived they both latched onto the elder. It had been almost eight years and she had forgotten the experience. Now that she looked at the colorful walls and crowded game stations, she felt excited. So many games, so many sounds, so many things to try, with just Lay. He saw her look around in awe and smiled the look on her face exactly like a child’s. She looked so innocent and cute that he would’ve pinched her cheeks. But he couldn’t, because that would be……never mind. But still, the happiness that was evident on her face made him want to freeze time. He wanted her to smile like this always, to be this happy whenever she was with him. Of course he wanted her to be happy in his absence as well, but he preferred to be the root of greater happiness. He took a deep breath to steady himself for what he was about to do and looked ahead of him with determination. Hana felt Lay grab her hand and her heart began pounding. She glanced at him and he was giving her his famous smile before dragging her further into the arcade.

It had been almost two hours and they had won several coupons. Hana was laughing, playing, giggling, and Lay was beyond happy because he was making the girl he liked have a good time. Lay realized Hana must be hungry, so when he saw her nod in approval they decided to trade their tickets for a prize and leave the arcade and grab lunch. There were stuffed toys, bands, and several other things on display which they could buy. An oversized rilakkuma caught her attention and Lay found her looking at it with childish curiosity. Seeing that she probably wanted the stuffed animal Lay suggested combining their coupons and trade it for the bear. Hana disagreed. This way they’d only be able to get one bear, and knowing Lay she knew he’d give it to her, Hana didn’t like the idea of Lay not getting anything as a fruit of his efforts. Therefore upon Hana’s suggestion they each got themselves individual items.

Hana saw a medium sized stuffed unicorn ice blue in color and huge dark blue eyes. They horn was light blue with a darker line spiraling around The mane, tail, and the hooves were all the same color as the horn, with a cute smile as an ending touch.  A certain someone came into her mind and she grabbed it before Lay could see her looking at it. Lay on the other hand was busy looking for the perfect gift. He wanted something that would remind Hana of him every time she looked at it but everything he saw wasn’t good enough. He walked past an aisle but slowly back peddled when he caught a specific four legged animal in sight. The unicorn he saw was the same as Hana picked, however, the portions which were blue in Hana’s were purple in his. He was aware that Hana knew of his little love for unicorns and even if she didn’t, the unicorn badge on his strap probably gave him away. This would surely remind her of him.

By the time he got to the counter Hana was already there waiting for him. Whatever she had got was inside the plastic bag so he couldn’t see what it was but the smile on her face was enough to tell him that she was happy with whatever it was. Just as they were about to leave the attendant stopped them.

“Since you guys bought couple items there is an offer.”

“Excu-“

“You have to choose one from these.” Lay didn’t like being cut off and he was confused about what he meant by ‘couple item’. However, he let it slide once he saw Hana staring at the items in the glass case. There were several necklaces, each a pair. Hana looked inquisitively at him, asking which he liked. They had a lot of options, there was a yin and yang necklace made entirely out of metal, then there was a lock and key necklace, the most hilarious one was probably the derp and derpina one. A particular pair caught their eyes as they both pointed towards it at the same time. They gave each other surprised looks once their fingers pointed towards the same design and chuckled. The man at the counter grabbed the two necklaces and placed them in a brown paper bag before handing it to them.

After settling inside a random cafe, they immediately ordered. Lay ordered for the both of them and while they waited, Lay pulled out the slim brown paper bag. They choose wings. Both were made of alloy with a different design. One was more like the wing of an angel with details of feathers and stones at the end while the other had a more masculine look and was plain with irregular edges to produce the effect of a wing. They were both different from each other in respect to detail, but when seen together they looked like a pair. Lay pulled out the angel wing and reluctantly looked towards Hana who was staring at the object in his hand.

“You want to put it on right now?” Hana beamed and nodded but before she could reach the necklace he pulled it away out of her reach.

“Should I um…ahem…put in on for you?” He felt like dying. What if she refused to? That would be a bad blow for his self esteem. When he saw her nodding he mentally thanked the heavens and wasted no time to get behind her. Hana felt her cheeks burning as she saw the pendant coming in front of her and on her neck. He latched it and pulled her hair out from behind the chain so the necklace could position itself around her neck. Hana stared at the pendant and Lay helped himself with his own. The chain for Hana’s was shorter compared to Lay’s which is why hers was visible outside her shirt while his could be pulled in if he wanted.

Deciding to distract herself in hopes to reduce the blush she was sure had crept on her cheeks she pushed the plastic bag containing Lay’s unicorn towards the said boy. He looked at it with a questioning look and Hana shrugged while giving him an anticipating smile, her previous state completely forgotten and replaced by excitement. What Lay would think of her present for him made her giddy and nervous. But rather than revealing the object to himself Lay pulled a similar white plastic bag out of his big brown one and pushed it towards Hana.

“For you.”

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and the latter smiled as he urged to open it. The moment her fingers made contact with the soft fur Hana smiled and pulled out the toy entirely. The purple unicorn felt soft in her hands and she stared at wide eyed because it was literally the same as the one she got, just in different color. Sure enough, Lay gaped at his unicorn.

“So that’s what he meant when he said ‘couple items’….” Lay trailed off and she nodded absent mindedly. She still couldn’t believe they got the same toy. He on the other hand was beyond happy, she got him his favorite creature. Hana gave HIM a gift. Yup, the boy was soaring in his head. Hana heard something snap inside and it was like butterflies suddenly went crazy in her stomach. The guy she liked just gave her a gift, and that too, a soft cuddly unicorn that would remind her of him and she could hug it to sleep without being judged. The hugging to sleep part sounded creepy even in her own head but oh well.

Their food arrived and they dug in, Lay saying something every once in a while to make her laugh and smile. Now that he realized his feelings towards her, her smiles and laughs had an entirely different effect on him. Every time a giggle escaped her lips he felt his chest swell. He was the reason she was laughing, it was him who made her smile, and with every second he realized that he wanted to be the only one, that special someone who would be able to lift her mood and make the spark in her eyes, that was hardly present when they first met, burn brighter and brighter every day. But of course he knew he couldn’t have things entirely his way. He’d have to share the liberty to make her happy with his friends since they were her friends too. However, he hoped that one day he would be able to be the special person in her life, his chances of him being the one where high, but his level of confidence wasn’t.

His confidence hit rock bottom when he recalled the fact that she had never said a word to him. They were friends, yes. He understood her position and considered her reasons while keeping what Kris said in mind but he still felt a little frustrated. Now that he thought about it, it had been six months since they met. Is it possible to be THIS shy?

Hana saw felt the silence linger longer than usual and saw Lay looking troubled. He stared at his plate and dragged the piece of sliced tomato from his salad all over the plate. Lay wasn’t usually like this. Not to mention he was fine a few minutes ago, the sudden change in his demeanor worried her. Seeing that he wasn’t going to notice her stare anytime soon Hana reached over the table and tapped his hand. It was a successful attempt, he was out of his world, but the smile on his face seemed artificial to some extent and it bothered her. Lay could feel she caught on to his change. He didn’t want to suddenly act like this but he couldn’t help it. Regardless of the fact that he likes Hana there was still the unusual reality that in six months he hadn’t heard her say a word, neither had any of the others. Kyungsoo didn’t seem to have much of a problem with it but he did express that it was odd. Baekhyun seemed alarmed when Lay mentioned the topic and dismissed it saying it was fine and that he thought that it’s of new use to dwell too much into the topic. Lay felt as if Baekhyun knew something he didn’t. He knew his friend inside out, figuring out the other was hiding something wasn’t hard. If there was something, then what was it? Why was he hiding? Does he possibly know something about Hana the rest, and mainly, Lay was unaware of? If so then why would she tell Baekhyun and not him?

He gave her another uncomfortable smile and Hana became more bothered. Something was up and he wasn’t telling her what. Lay saw how she grew worried and it kind of made him feel a little better thinking that she worried about him but he didn’t want her to feel an emotion that wasn’t necessary for her to feel. She didn’t want him to feel down just because his brain decided to throw all these questions at him. But he was still restless and the only way he could get over it was if he asked her the reason. Mustering up courage he looked determinedly towards Hana.

“Can I ask you something?”  The request was sudden but Hana nodded nonetheless. At least he was talking again. Lay saw her nod and took a deep breath. For some reason he felt like this was a bad idea. The after effects of it could end up ruining their perfect day and maybe even their friendship. However, it was done, the words had already escaped his mouth and if he were to lie and change the topic, he knew she’d figure it out. So instead he decided to stick to the original query, and make sure to word his questions properly in order to not possibly offend her and ruin their day.

“We’ve known each other for six months right….and…it’s just that you haven’t really…said anything to us at all…..why is that..?” the idea sounded a lot better in his head but wording it was the pain he didn’t realize it would be. Her chewing slowed coming to a complete stop at one point. He couldn’t read her expression, Hana had pretty much mastered the art of hiding what she truly felt, therefore no signs of surprise or alarms were seen. Lay was almost sure he messed up big time. Well, he probably did, since Hana was placed under that spotlight she was trying desperately to avoid. Lay hated himself for asking, Hana hated herself for not answering. The guilt stricken look that immediately appeared on his face made her feel worse for some reason. She wanted to take the boy out of her predicament but how could she when she was stuck in one herself?  She had planned to speak today, she really had. Probably a good night or something at the end of their day so she won’t have to continue speaking, but now that he had called her out for it, her anxiety came back, flushing all the chances of her even mumbling a word down the toilet.

As much as she struggled to hide it, Lay could see the nervousness in her eyes. He had developed a habit figuring out what she felt through her eyes. To him they were like an open book. The current scenario that he read in her eyes told him of surprise and a tinge of fear. Why was she afraid? He didn’t know, but seeing as the topic brought about abrupt changes in the girl’s behavior, he decided to change it and pretend as if nothing happened. He forced a chuckle and Hana grew even more confused as he began going on about Baekhyun’s new found (irritating) habit to mimic them for hours. Why he had changed topics she didn’t know but the previous question did have an effect and while she was always the silent one during the conversations, the current silence was eating him up.

Hana saw a napkin slide towards her hand after a few minutes of silence, and on it were letters written in bold black.

‘Sorry.......  L’

A smile automatically broke out and she looked up to see Lay with his head facing his plate as he refused to make eye contact. She silently giggled and flipped the soft paper. Lay refused to even move his head towards a direction that would make his face vulnerable to her span of eyesight. He saw slender fingers pushing the same napkin towards him, however, with the words different from the ones he wrote written on them in blue ink.

‘It’s ok ^_^ you didn’t say anything wrong J’

Lay smiled and looked back at another pair of smiling lips. The topic was no longer pursued. Lay scolded himself during the suffocating silence. Suddenly it didn’t matter to him why she hadn’t talked to them, she probably had her reasons and Lay called him stupid for being insensitive towards them. As hard as it was, he was willing to wait; he waited for six months, a little longer won’t hurt. And it’s not like he was alone in this, Kyungsoo was there, so was Baekhyun, and although Kai wouldn’t admit it out loud, he too wanted to know what she sounded like (in a totally non creepy way).

It was getting late and Hana knew Luhan would come out hunting for them if she wasn’t home before sun down. The brunette brother may have allowed her to go but that didn’t mean he won’t pull over into the ‘overprotective brother’ zone. It was dusk and Hana pointed towards the time on her phone screen. Sadly Lay understood, and as much as he wanted to act dumb and pretend not to know what she meant, he couldn’t, she’ll know he’s faking. Being the gentleman Hana knew him to be he offered to walk her home, an offer she didn’t have a choice but to accept since he started walking in the direction of her house without even verifying her consent.

They strolled side by side in silence, the peaceful one from its kinds. The faint light that remained illuminated the sky, tinting the surrounding a mixture of faint blue and grey. The street lights were on in some areas but even with the coming of night, the roads were as lively as ever. Their shoulders brushed and on occasions even their hands, but none of them didn’t make much out of it, they were busy trying to hide their red faces. They were outside her house sooner than they thought. It was already dark when Hana pulled out the keys from her back pocket and Lay eyed the building with much disappointment. The hours he had spent with Hana were the best he had spent and to think they were ending so soon . Although their first da- uh…outing, had a hitch in the road (courtesy of Lay himself) he had to say that if he could spend the same day the exact way all over again, he gladly would.

He saw disturbance at the curtained kitchen window but all his attention focused on Hana once she spun around and gave him that million dollar smile. It had become a reflex reaction for him to smile when she did and he chuckled as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

“Did you have fun?” all the memories from the day came rushing back and Hana giggled as she nodded. She really did have a lot of fun.

“We should do this again huh?” Hana nodded further and Lay saw something that seemed like a shadow on the curves of the same curtains. He ignored it though and refocused back on the girl. Hana gave him a little bow of appreciation and Lay let out a small laugh as he mirrored her action. The second Hana stood straight her eyes widened as she felt pressure on her forehead, right in the middle above her eyebrows. He pulled back his hand and used the two fingers he poked her forehead with to playfully salute at her as he back peddled.

“Good night Hana…”

Hana watched him walk away into the streets, his figure getting smaller with every step she saw him take. Inhaling deeply, Hana smiled as she exhaled.

Best. Day. Ever.

Hana yelped as she was suddenly pulled inside the house, spun around, and got bombarded with questions she was too dumbfounded to make sense of.

“Hyung stop torturing the poor soul!” Sehun exclaimed as he pulled his hyperactive brother away from the girl. Luhan protested with a ‘Ya!’ and gave Sehun a nasty look but the younger looked least bothered. Instead he sweetly smiled at his cousin.

“So dear, how was your date? Marvelous perhaps? Oh and what’s this?” Sehun asked peeking into the bag containing the plushie but Hana pulled it away from his reach. He pouted for a second but then gave her a formal bow and folded his left arm behind his back and held out his right, his entire posture too formal for their current setting.

“It wasn’t a date.” Luhan supplied grimly and despite Sehun looking weird bending with his hand out Hana still took it and made efforts not to roll her eyes. Once they were sitting on the light brown couch, Sehun spoke again.

“It seems to be that our young darling had a good even-“ Sehun’s remark was cut short when Luhan suddenly jumped between them from behind the couch and sat between the two, staring widely at Hana.

“So how was it?” Luhan cut in and Hana looked at him with surprise. Junmi sadly wasn’t home or she would’ve saved her from her sons. No wait, it’s actually fortunate she isn’t home, knowing her, rather than siding with Hana she probably would’ve ganged up on her with her sons. Somewhere among the siblings' battle Hana had been pulled to sit between the two, and with useless words and unnecessarily loud noises coming from both sides she held her ears and really wanted to tell them to shut up.

The brothers immediately silenced as they stared baffled at the girl. Hana peeked through her lids to see what had made her wish come true and found them staring at her in a way that displayed a cocktail of surprise, shock, and pleasantness.

“You just….You just told us to shut up.” Sehun said with his mouth agape.

She did?

Her eyes widened when she saw Luhan nod in confirmation and a few moments were spent in stunned silence before Hana ran up to her room. The brothers watched her go but didn’t stop her. They still hadn’t been able to register what had happened. Just yesterday, Luhan was told that Hana’s confidence to talk in front of people would take time to develop, the same information relayed to his mother and brother. And then the next day, they hear her talk.

“Her first word to us is….’shut up’?” Sehun said as he stared at the staircase where they last saw her, his shock suddenly turning into incredulity.  He shook his head mumbling ‘ I don’t believe this’ but there was still a proud and relieved smile stretching across his face.

“We came back at the best time didn’t we? It’s just the third day and she’s showing major improvements..” Luhan said relieved and impressed at the same time. According to Fei’s words Hana still had a long way to go, but with the girl’s undying determination and diligence, she was almost through her journey.

“But still…..shut up?” Sehun asked one more time and Luhan shrugged.

“We deserved it anyways.”

-                   

“How did your date go?”

“I wasn’t a date.”

“Then why are you still smiling?”

“Because I saw an old couple walking down the street.”

"At this time?"

"Yes."

“What’s that in your hand? a stuff toy? Did your date give it to you?”

“She’s my friend. And it wasn’t a date.”

The moment Kris saw his brother entering the front door he bombarded him like Luhan did with Hana, difference being that Sehun was there to literally hold his brother back but there was no one coming to Lay’s defense. The query instigated when the door opened and ended when Lay’s bedroom door closed, he’ll deal with his brother during dinner and since his parents were home (both had duties to fulfill) no one would be there to gang up on him.

“Cheh. Yeah right. That was so "not" a date.” Kris mumbled as he shook his head with a smirk and focused back on the magazine he was reading.

-

these are the necklaces

so cute *_*

happy reading ^_^