The reflection staring back at Hana made her curse. Baekhyun was right, she was not sick anymore, just weak. But that didn’t hide the fact that her appearance was affected. Her cheeks weren’t as full as they used to be and she could see the extra weight she lost. Falling sick was the worst for her. She’d always get high temperatures and her appearance would always become more fragile and thin. She touched her cheek bone and felt drops of water beneath her fingers due to the splash she had given herself. Well on the bright side, at least she didn’t have a fever anymore. Sore throat was gone as well but her nose was still running a marathon. She figured having a nose with bad piping was better than having a burning body. Sniffing, she turned and flicked off the lights before leaving the bathroom and going to her room.

12:35 a.m.

Sigh. Would it be alright to call him right now? Probably not. He mentioned having practice so he’d probably be asleep, and disturbing him was not even an option. Three days had been, to put it simply, bad. There was the itch in the throat and the irregular body temperatures paired with loud sneezing, but other than that there was also the reality that she had not seen her favorite smile for three whole days. These were just three days, how would she live through and entire semester?

Her mood wasn’t very jolly to begin with and the realization made it even more worse. She didn’t even turn on the lights of her room since the moonlight slipping through the curtains was enough. And so she made her way to stand in front of her mirror instead of her bed.

‘If you ever feel down, don’t let it get to you. Stand in front of a mirror and motivate yourself. You’re only as good as you make yourself to be.’

The wise words of her psychiatrist echoed in her head and took a deep calming breath and she challenged her reflection.

“It’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. It’s not the end of the world is it, only a few months. You can do it. See! You’re not even sick anymore! Which means you get to see him soon! So cheer up!” she tried smiling brightly at her reflection but after a few seconds it faltered.

“Who am I kidding? This …..he’ll be away the entire semester damn it. And here I’m having trouble with three days. Tch, pathetic. Baekhyun’s there to make me happy, Kyungsoo is also there along with Han, Hun and the rest of the group but….”she sighed dejectedly “it still won’t be the same. Whose dimple am I supposed to poke after he leaves?” she wondered out loud and a frown formed on her face. She planned on sulking but then remembered the point of the entire exercise and shook her head.

“You can do this Hana! Chanyeol has a dimple too!” She fist bumped into the air and her reflection gave a determined nod. "But...he's too tall....I'LL HAVE BAEKHYUN AND KYUNGSOO LIFT ME! YES!"

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Hana practically jumped and looked around for the voice. A silhouette barely visible due to the limited light caught her attention, though she didn’t need to turn on the lights to know who it was.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?!”

The lights switched on with a brush of her finger and displayed her boyfriend sitting cross legged on the floor, next to the bed with a calm but weird expression. Hana was too flabbergasted to answers his question and pointed at every random thing she saw while desperately trying to conjure up words.

“How-you-what-I mean- what-“

“How did I get in?” He helped out with an amused smirk. Hana gulped down air and nodded.

“Sehun helped me out.”

“You’re not supposed to be here!” she finally found her voice and almost shouted. His nonchalant behavior made Hana want to kick him in the shin.

“I wanted to see you.”

“Sehun helped you?” the fact just hit her although she heard it fifteen seconds ago.

“Yeap!  He said I could spend time with you and stay over for the night.” He saw her staring at him with wide eyes and he raised a brow. What was so shocking…….? his eyes suddenly widened in alarm, “In his room of course.”

The sigh that escaped her lips was loud enough to make him chuckle.

“Still you’re not supposed to be here.” She eyed him getting up from his position. He stepped closer and she stepped back.

“You step closer and I’ll kill you.”

“You didn’t let me see you for three days to make sure there is no reason for me to skip practice and here you are threatening to kill me.” he sounded amused and took two more steps but this time Hana didn’t step back.

“If you get any closer you may fall sick. To prevent that I’ll have to kill you.”

“Much wow logic.”

“I know right.” they chuckled and stood face to face.

“It’s just been three days and I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages…..do you always look this pretty?” he brushed his fingers through her bangs (courtesy of Luhan and surprisingly Kris forcing her into the salon).

“I don’t know, last time I checked I wasn’t.” he flicked her forehead and gave her a stern look.

“Shut up alright. You’re gorgeous and what’s even better is that you’re mine.” His words were bold but his smile was bashful. She felt like she’d melt under his gaze. He had circles under his eyes and Hana could tell he was tired but his eyes showed no fatigue as they trailed her features. She felt arms encircle around her and she hugged him back. She patted his head and took a deep breath of her strawberry scented hair.

“I missed you.” Her tiny voice rang in his ears and he broke into a wide smile.

“I missed you too.” He pulled back and joined their foreheads.

“How do you think we’d survive the games?”

“I don’t know….we’ll video call right?” she asked and he nodded with a small smile. She mirrored his expression. He leaned in, expecting to finally be able to kiss his girlfriend.

"Nope." she put her hand on and gave him a stern look.

"Why?" he looked confused and she smiled at him.

"Precautions. I was sick. Can't risk your health."

 She leaned out the embrace and asked him to sit, this time on the bed rather than the floor. He sulked as he walked towards the edge and Hana fought back a smile.

“You want something to eat?”

“It’s past midnight princess.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t be hungry.” She shot back and he sniggered. “True that.”

“So you want something?”

“How about we have a movie night?” he suggested. Hana grew reluctant though. He was tired, no matter how hard he tried to hide it; she could tell he was worn out.

“Shouldn’t you sleep?” she asked and he scoffed.

“I got a call from Sehun at 12:15. I hollered Kris that I’d be staying over at a friend’s, ran all the way to your house in my pajamas just so I could spend time with you, and you want me to sleep?” Hana considered for a second and replied opposite of what she concluded.

“Yes.”

“No.” he seriously shook his head, “so how about it?”

Well…… he wasn’t going to sleep anyways.

“Ok.” She sighed, “I’ll go get snacks.”

“Wait!” he called out and she turned towards him. He bounced off her bed and walked past her towards the door.

“I’ll get them. Give me the name and location of the snacks you want.” He smiled widely and Hana stared at him.

“Uh-no. My house, I’ll get them.”

“Hah-no. You’re sick, I’ll get them.” she smiled at him. Lay didn’t see the hand that pulled the door and stumbled as the door opened wider.

“We go together.” she passed by him but he didn’t follow her. Instead he stood for a few seconds and tried to digest how a girl who is supposed to be sick is capable of such force. The moment he gathered his bearings he ran downstairs and saw Hana working her way around the kitchen.

"I'm surprised Luhan allowed you in." she said as she ripped open the plastic covering from the popcorn bag. Lay shrugged.

"He doesn't know I'm here."

"He what..." she froze. "This isn't good...He needs to know or he'll never trust me again." she moved away from the kitchen with frantic eyes. A pair or arms wrapped around her waist from behind, stopping her from going forward and a chuckle rang in her ears.

"I'm kidding Hana, he knows." he felt her relax but didn't let go. 3 days are long you know.

"It's surprising he let you stay the night."

"That's true." he nodded and Hana giggled a little. She could hear the popcorn popping in the microwave, and for a while that was the only sound they heard. She could smell butter in the air and the aroma wafted throughout the living room. She should go. She should unlock his arms, move away and attend the popcorns. She has to, but right now she didn't want to. She didn't want the warmth to be replaced by the cold wind. She could feel thumping on her back and smiled. At least it wasn't only her whose heart went overdrive when the other was near. The microwave beeped and that's when they realized that they had been standing in complete silence in the same position for the last four minutes. Hana felt breath tickle her shoulder. Lay was sighing with his chin on her shoulder. He leaned in again and it took a lot of control to break out of her daze and move her head back.

"I have to move."

"I know." he sighed again but let her go.

-

"What if-"

"No."

"How are you sure-"

"No."

"I think I should-"

"Hyung, no."

"I want to set your room on fire."

"You're too afraid of mom to do that."

" I can't believe you and Baekhyun convinced me to allow this."

"He's got skills."

"Can't I just peek-"

"No."

-

"Which movie?" Lay asked picking her grey laptop from the side table.

"You tell me. it was your idea." she said as she placedthe snacks on the table next to her. Her calm demeanor tensed the  second she saw her  laptop in his possession.

"Can I have my laptop for a second?" she hoped her voice wasn't as tight as it sounded to her. He was about to hand it over but pulled back mid-way. Hana hoped she wasn't too obvious, but his gaze was set on her hands, and her fidgeting fingers were giving her away.

"Why?" his eyes narrowed.

"Because it's my laptop?" she tried to sound convincing. Well, it WAS her laptop, but that wasn't a reason.

"You're hiding something."

"No I'm not." she immediately responded and confirmed his assumptions.

"Yes, you are. What is it?"

"Nothing. I just need my laptop for a second." she reached over to grab it but he pulled it further and got up from the bed. He opened it, much to her horror, and seconds later she blue light falling on his features as her laptop .

"Password protected." he groaned and she visibly relaxed. Her actions made his curiosity rise. What is it that she was hiding? but what could her password be? he saw her lean back into a more relaxed position with a smile that was a little too wide.

Now he definitely has to know.

"Hmmm....." he thought for a couple of minutes before he began typing away. Hana felt more relaxed now. She was so sure he wouldn't be able to figure out her password that when he sat back down next to her, she didn't try to snatch the device away. She was amused to be honest. His furrowed eyebrows and the way he bit his lip in concentration, all too endearing. She leaned over and pecked his dimple. It was just there, she couldn't help it. She giggled leaning away and he shot her a look.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?"

She nodded her head hard enough to make her bangs bounce. He bit back a smile. But just because she was enjoying his struggle doesn't mean he would give up.

"I'll crack into this. Just you wait." he poked her between the brows and she stuck out her tongue at him.

"You can only try a couple of times before it gets locked."

"Shush.." she was right. He only had a handful of tries.

"Stop it." he said out of nowhere.

"What?" she asked confused.

"Staring. Stop staring."

"But why?"

"It's distracting." she giggled and he sniggered despite his strict voice.

This was his fourth try, and based on experience, he only had three more left.

One try.

Incorrect.

Second try.

Nope......

What what what......

but then he remembered something.

"Aha!"

Now while Hana usually loves to see Lay triumphant in any situation, this was an exception. Her eyes widened and she launched herself at the laptop. He leaped out of her range with a laugh that, if wasn't adorable, would've earned him a smack.

"Give it back." she said sternly and he shook his head.

"N-uh"

"Give it!" she was on her feet and he was standing on the other side of the bed.

"What are you hiding anyways?"

Hana saw the screen go black for a second and braced herself.

He fixated his gaze on the screen.

Humiliation hits in....

3...

2....

1.

She peeked open one of her eyes and saw him staring intently at the screen. The corners of his lips twitched and Hana got up with a groan.

"Is this what you were hiding?" his voice had more amusement than she liked at the moment. She grunted as reply and went over to the wardrobe to get some extra blankets.

"You're so CUTE!"

"Could you please shut up?"

"Did you make it?"

"I will injure you.", she threatened. He laughed in response and set laptop down from his lap. She threw the covers over him and collapsed on the space next to him. She grabbed the laptop and immediately opened a tab. She did not want to look at her screen, too embarrassing.

"Hey."

"Which movie?"

"Hana."

"Which movie do you wanna watch Lay?"

"Look at me at least." he reached over and turned her face towards him. His fingers held her face in position but his touch was soft. He stared at her with most adoring gaze and Hana felt her cheeks warm. It felt like his finger pads were charged with electricity as the places where his fingers touched her skin tingled.

"Which....movie?" she squeaked. He only blinked.

Once... twice...four times...

And then he leaned in.

For a while, none of them knew what happened. She realized she forgot a lot of details in three days. The laptop that sat forgotten for the past two minutes demanded their attention when loud notifications from start up applications broke the silence. They pulled away, startled by the sudden sound. Lay's gaze landed on the screen and he smiled widely.

"What if you get sick?" she said breathily.

"Worth it." he shrugged. Before Hana could retaliate he pulled the laptop back onto his lap and faced the screen towards her.

"So.....you missed me that much?" she didn't like that cheeky smile.

"I was sick and half out of my mind with boredom eating me like Sehun eats spaghetti. I didn't know what I was doing."

"So you're saying you didn't miss me?"

"Nope."

"Not even a little?"

"Maybe a little....."

"By little, do you mean enough to make a collage of me and keeping it as your wallpaper?"

"I told you, it was the fever."

"And look! There are also cute tiny unicorn stickers."

"Stop."

"Oh hey when did you take this photo?"

"Please stop."

“You even put these cute little hearts.”

“Please…..”

"Waa! this is a coo-"

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE STOP!"

-

“Did you hear that?”

“What?”

"Sehun she said she wants him to stop!"

"So?"

"WE SHOULD GO STOP HIM!"

"Hyung you need to chill out."

"NO! What if he's being all weird and Hana-"

"Do you hear yourself?"

"............."

"............."

"You're right he isn't that type but-"

"Shh! Listen. Now they're laughing. It was probably a prank or something."

"I want to shoot something."

"Your aim ."

"How about I throw this slipper and see if it hits your face? Just to verify your theory."

"No I think its fine."

-

The next afternoon Hana woke up, she was surrounded by empty cans and bags of chips. The half eaten bowl of pop corn which she distinctly remembered was on her lap last night was placed on her dressing table. Panic struck her for a second and she jolted upright. But then she remembered that she spent last night watching two movies. One and a half actually. It was sad to think that he left without even a proper farewell, but her head turned towards the glass of water and the note placed under it

‘Rise and shine~~

Sorry I had to go.... I didn’t want to push my luck with Luhan hyung :P

See you later today!’

She left her room with a smile and went straight towards the bathroom. The moment she stepped downstairs she saw Luhan sitting on the couch with a mug of coffee and papers that looked more like official documents.

“Good morning Han.”

“Oh! Morning Hana” he said looking through his framed reading glasses. Hana walked over and took a seat beside him. She grabbed his cup for a sip and set it down before looking at him with curious eyes.

“What?”

“Why are you wearing glasses?”

Luhan reached towards the frame and pulled it away from his eyes.

“I don’t know. I was told they’d make me look more mature since no one in the office takes me seriously.”

“Oh, that .”

“I know right? I wonder why though. I mean I have a qualified degree from one of the best universities.”

“It’s the face.”

“The face?”

“Yeap, definitely the face. You’re too good looking for them and they feel jealous ‘cuz they don’t have your face. Problem solved.” Luhan stared at her for a while and Hana took another gulp from his cup.

“I think Lay messed up the wires in your brain last night.”

“Huh?” she asked, her face getting red.

“You’re okay…….right?” Hana peered into his eyes for a while and  saw worry swimming in his brown orbs. She nodded with a genuine smile.

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine.” She glanced towards the papers in his hands. Luhan pulled them more towards his side.

“Nothing just-“

“Divorce papers….”

“Yeah. Don’t think about it though ok?”

“I told you they’d burn!” Sehun shouted and Hana and Luhan looked towards the kitchen.

“Sehun’s making breakfast.”

“Oh.” Hana nodded as she understood the commotion.

“But who is he talking to?”

Luhan almost answered her question but another voice interrupted him mid sentence.

“It isn’t burnt! That’s what it’s supposed to look like!”

Hana looked back towards Luhan with wide eyes. He shrugged and Hana bolted towards the kitchen.

“Oh hey! You’re up!”

“What are you doing here?” she asked a little taken aback.

“Good afternoon to you too.” Lay pecked her cheek and went towards the fridge. She stood staring at his back. Didn’t he leave?

“Didn’t you leave?” she asked.

“I came back.”

It was then when Hana realized she was the only one in the house who was still wearing pajamas. Lay walked over with a glass of milk held it out for her. She took it with one hand and touched the tip of his nose with the other.

“Nice to see you noticed my presence dear cousin.” Sehun spoke. Hana gave him a toothy smile.

“Sorry.”

“Yeah yeah. By the way, mom’s coming back tomorrow. And also, prepare yourself because school starts in two days.”

“Sir, yes sir.” she saluted with fake enthusiasm. He just had to remind her about school. The moment she turned her head she felt two fingers push back her forehead.

“I can’t believe you argued with me to watch that stupid movie and then fell asleep half way through it.”

“I couldn’t help it!” she said gulping down a huge sip of her milk.

“You cracked her password?” Luhan asked entering the kitchen.

“Yep!” Lay smiled smugly.

“How come you got in and I couldn’t?” Sehun asked with furrowed brows and Lay shrugged, the smile never leaving his face.

“Anyways, eat up Hana. We got some place to go.”

“With the group?” she asked biting into the sandwich Sehun had passed her.

“Yes, with the group.”

-

i was on vacations...sorry for not updating.

This chapter doesnt have much. This one of those 'let me ease you into the situation' types.

Still, i hope you guys like it :)

do forgive me if there are mistakes.

i dont proof read. though i wonder why...........