▲▼ CHAPTER 34 

     The night went by fast as the temperature of the atmosphere cooled down. You walked to and fro in the room, mumbling incoherent words under your breath. Walking towards the bed side, you settled down with a sigh. Slowly, your anger simmered down and you were able to recollect your thoughts. You let out another sigh, your mood had been changing drastically and it had been affecting the people near you. Most of all, Daehyun. But it was helpless and it was hard for you to control it. Numerous thoughts ruffled through your mind. Why was Daehyun so tensed on you moving? Did he thought that you would not have the energy to take care of yourself? Maybe he thought you were not independent enough. Maybe he pitied you knowing that all these while, you needed someone to depend on and he can barely trust you on taking care of yourself. He pitied you, that was the problem. It was not as if you were expecting him to do all of these out of the affection he had towards you. Heck, does he even like you?

         You woke up to the sudden jolt of what sounded like a knock. The branches right outside your window rustled upon the cool breeze as it continuousy hit your window pane. You sat upright, ruffling your hair and trying to put it into place. You walked towards the door, placing your ear onto it and pushing yourself to hear any vivid noises of Daehyun. As you pushed yourself out of the door, you tip toed your way through the living room in attempt to get away from Daehyun. You just did not want to face him. The both of you had not been talking for almost three solid days which was really peculiar. None of you bothered to even greet whenever you passed each other through the living room. You were not angry at him but you were somehow embarrassed and guilty that you were not able to face him. With the sudden outburst during dinner, you felt that you were clumsy enough to scold him when he was merely being caring. Daehyun on the other hand was frustrated at himself. It was slightly comical how the both of you would eventually avoid being on the same area to prevent any further conversations because none of you wanted to bring up the topic again. You let out a light sigh, without any signs of snores, you knew that Daehyun was not home. Walking through the hallway and into the toilet, your eagle eyes caught something.

         Right at the coffee table - where a bunch of magazines were stacked - laid a piece of neon yellow stick-it paper. You ripped it off the table and there printed a neat and precise handwriting. "Get ready, wear something comfortable. I'll be back soon." You read aloud.

         Unknowingly, a small smile was pulled onto the end of your mouth and there was this certain tingle that itched onto the end of your stomach. Pushing the note aside, you rushed to get ready. It was unusual how you took so much time and dedication to get ready. Well, it was not even a date. Or maybe it is? You held up the floral dress and scrunched your face upwards. "Too ty." You mumbled, throwing it onto the bed. Then you held up another outfit, a slightly cropped cardigan together with a simple creamed tone t-shirt. "Too plain." Yet again, you hurled it to the other end of the room. Without you knowing yourself, you were enjoying yourselves on getting ready and it had been awhile since you felt this way. In other words, you were looking forward to this so-called 'date'.

         Soon, the sound of jingling of keys was heard and you sprang from the couch - immediately knowing that it was Daehyun. He was well-dressed, a top notch dark leather jacket swung from his shoulders and his light brown highlights stood out from the well-broomed flat top hair. He was, stunning. Eventhough he was not dressed in a crisp navy suit, he still looked dashing and it was just mindblowing. You looked down to your plain old, feet length cardigan which was covering your floral printed top together with your black skinny jeans. Daehyun's eyes glowed in the dark as he saw your presence, slowly rising from the velvet couch. His stomach never fails to give those tiny little butterflies. "You look great." You rolled your eyes, what a great sense of humour Daehyun has. "What? I'm speaking the truth."

         As the sun starts to set and the salmon sky started to turn itself into a dark blue one, the both of you went off for adventure. You were not sure where Daehyun was planning to bring you but you were slightly excited for it. With the uplifting atmosphere in the city, both of you had almost forgotten about your small quarel before. You let the silence lead the way while you held onto Daehyun's jacket, walling through the once again bustling street. You had to admit it, it was starting to get annoying how all of these people are always huddling at the same spot and stopping the traffic. Daehyun then slid his warm fingers to interlace into yours, squeezing them tightly. He turned the corner where there was a slightly narrower alley in between two huge bricked buildings. It was not like any narrow alley that was empty with mysterious fogs but this in particular was filled with vibrant lights and was in fact, crowded with people. Different types of aroma started filling your nostrils as you entered the alley. Your eyes were everywhere, there were different kiosk-like stalls stationed at every corner and people busying themselves into the readily served food. It was crowded and definitely uncomfortable. Daehyun stopped to a halt,

         "This is my favourite stall. Just choose something and I'll pay, it's my treat." He pointed out towards the stall right in front of you. An old lady who had a pink apron was hollering offers of her fried food while the other worker was so focused on his cooking. You had never went to a place as hectic as this. "I can't afford a restaurant like those rich guys. I'm sorry." Daehyun's gaze lowered by itself. He was right. He was not able to afford such high end restaurants like you used to go to but this was way better in your opinion.

         Eventhough this was not as classy or as clean like those restaurants, this was more... genuine, if that made sense. You bit your lower lip, looking through the board where it had it's menu and turned to Daehyun in slight confusion. "Choose for me?" His smile widened as he ordered two similar foods from the menu, fishing out a couple of bills from his wallet. Soon the both of you were far away from the alley and the bustling crowd. With the moonlight hovering above your heads, the both of you were enjoying your small dinner at the park.

         You your lips and let in a huge breath before digging into your food. It would probably taste disgusting, you thought to yourself. Amazingly, that proved you wrong. Your eyes lit up and you squealed in delight. "It's nice, isn't it?" Daehyun then dug into his food heartily. This kind of food was way better than those in the restaurants. It tasted so original and the flavour just popped out. The night passed even faster as the two of you continued on talking about unimportant things while laughing at your own stupid jokes. You smiled, staring towards the open lake while the moonlight lit towards your skin. Times like this, you wished it would last longer. It had been awhile since you felt the sense of genuine happiness. It had been awhile since you felt free agiain. Your eyes stung, you almost forgot what it feels like to be happy again.

         "Beautiful..." Daehyun muttered under his breath. You turned with a raised brow, "What?" He just smiled and shook his head slightly.

         "Nothing. It's just.. you look beautiful when you're smiling." You blushed, your cheeks rising than before and your stomach twisted a tight knot. Daehyun cleared his throat, "Smile more please. I like it when you smile." Another smile came spreading across your face as Daehyun flashed his.

         You sighed, the way Daehyun knot his words into sentence never fails to bring butterflies into your stomach. At that moment, you knew your affection towards him had grown from being an acquaintance. He was even more than a close friend. After all the tears and laughters that you had shared, you recognised him as your pillar of strength. Most of all, he was a part of your happiness. There it was, you liked him. You liked Daehyun. You were not sure which part of him you liked the most. Was it the way he flipped his hair everytime it covered his eyebrows? Was it his dashing smile that would instantly allow his cheekbones to rise and allow every woman's heart to flutter? Or was it the way his dorky laugh would echo through your eardrums? You could not choose. Maybe you liked almost - no, everything - about him.

         You then opened your mouth to answer your troubled thoughts, "Do you pity me?"