“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”
 - Haruki Murakami

If it hasn't been today, Jiyoon wouldn't know that the boys got into fights. Real fights. But the first fist fight witnessed, definitely will not be the last. Just a few minutes after they returned from the beach, loud shoutings could be heard from the living room. Strange, Jiyoon thought. The boys said they were waiting outside for her while she grabbed her purse upstairs.
 

“What the hell is wrong with you?!”

Jiyoon froze at the stairway. Standing in the living room, were Lay and Luhan in a heated argument.

“Can you at the very least act normal?” Luhan shouted again with a terrified Baekhyun standing behind him. "You're spoiling everyone's mood!"

“Why don’t you put some heart in your problems instead of speaking like you know everything?” Lay spat out, jabbing a finger into Luhan's chest.

“You don’t have to lash out at Luhan hyung, he was just trying to help me.” Baekhyun spoke meekly from behind. It was indirectly his fault for causing the argument and his itchy hands should have been chopped off by Kyungsoo's kitchen knife. “I didn't mean to peep in your diary, I didn't know-”

"Stay out of this, you don't know Baekhyun." Lay glared coldly at him, fingers clutching tight on the black diary with intricate gold baroque designs that his knuckles were turning white.
 

Luhan ran a finger through his hair. He was so sick and tired of seeing Lay like that during this particular period of the year and this is one of the very reasons why he objected going to the beach for their school trip. He had first-hand witnessed what Lay turned into after that incident and it took Luhan a good long while, spending time with Lay and turned him back into something that looked human instead of a walking corpse.  “She is dead. Yi Xing-“

He rarely used Lay's real name.

Anger flashed in Lay's eyes and he grabbed Luhan by the collar, slamming him into the wall with a loud thud. Luhan winced from the impact but Lay did not have any intentions to stop at there. 
 

“Don’t. You. Dare.” Lay gritted his teeth, punching a fist next to Luhan's face. “Say a single word.”

"What?" Luhan challenged, unintimidated by him. "You know very well you're being very childish right now. Just because Baekhyun flipped your diary out of curiousity you don't have to-"

"Shut up-" Lay's fists tightened into a ball.

"Do you think mooping over a dead person will bring her back to life? SHE IS DEAD AND FACE IT THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!" Lay exploded, swinging a fist onto Luhan's face without control. A loud punch resounded in the air but Luhan wasn't backing off. Seeing his own blood that dripped on the ground made him boil and Luhan tackled Lay with his legs, tangling them up in a swift move. It made Lay fall back onto the ground with a heavy plop and Luhan sat atop him who struggled to get him off but Luhan's leg muscles were no joke from his soccer training.

"Her body was never found." Lay heaved, the words escaping his mouth softly. Luhan scoffed, he really didn't know what to do with this stubborn kid.
 

"CAN YOU STOP LIVING IN DENIAL?-"

“O-oppa…” 

Their attention immediately turned to Jiyoon standing at the staircase with eyes widened and a trembling hand cupped over . It was too much for her to see such violence from the smiling oppas who always goofed around. She was scared, terrified even. Luhan instantly released his grip on Lay and stormed off without a word. Lay on the other hand scrambled up from the floor and left the villa by the back door quickly.

“Jiyoon ah-” Baekhyun stepped forward, visibly shaken as well.

"Oppa!" Snapping out of her trance, her legs started moving and she went after Lay who was already running far off in the distance.

Jiyoon panted, palms on her weak knees. She didn't know Lay could run that fast and it took her a good hour to find him who sat at the far end of the beach, away from the people with a can of drink in his hands.

"Is that coke or beer?" Jiyoon crept up from behind Lay and snatched the can away, taking a good sniff. If it was beer, he'd definitely suffer a beating right here.
 

“I would love to be drunk if I was smart enough to bring some money out.”

Jiyoon climbed onto the large flat rock beside Lay and leaned backwards enjoying the summer heat. The soft ocean waves washed up the shore rhythmically bringing along a cooling sea breeze. They sat like that for a good while before Lay broke the silence.
 

“I’m sorry for just now. It was just-” He thought he owed her an apology, reminded of Jiyoon's terrified expression back in the villa.

“I’m perfectly fine.” Jiyoon waved him off, “It's just Luhan-" she bit her lips, quickly changing the topic. "Baekhyun oppa seems very guilty about it."

“I was at fault-” Lay paused, the diary never leaving his hands. "I was overreacting."

“Anyone would have been like that in that circumstance.” Jiyoon smiled, understanding him. "That diary is very important to you, right?"

Lay let out a deep sigh, hands grazing the diary affectionately. Jiyoon grabbed his hands when he tried to open the diary, "I don't want to see it."

"No it's fine." Lay had calmed down from his anger before, "Besides I think I need to get this off my chest."

The first page Lay flipped over gently was a neatly scribbled 6 letter sentence.
 

“You’re everything I see, Yi Xing.”
 

A picture was attached onto the page and Jiyoon could make out two smiling faces. She could actually feel the calm and cheerful aura emitting from the picture itself. The girl in the picture had very fair skin and brown wavy hair which complemented well with her tiny doll like face. The picture was taken on a park bench and she was focused on Lay who was smiling at something or someone out of the photograph.

She looked happy, contented.

“That girl, she’s my girlfriend.” His voice trembled slightly. “It’s her diary.”
 

“I’m from China.” 

“Don’t be kidding me,” Jiyoon's eyes widened in disbelief. But there was no reason for him to be lying. “Are you?”

“My dad’s a businessman. I came from Changsha, Hunan.”

Her eyes squinted with suspicion, “Is this a joke?”

“这不是玩笑 (It’s not a joke.)”

“WOW.” The familiar Chinese rang in her ears. “Say something else!”

He chuckled at Jiyoon's cute reaction.

“Not only me actually. Luhan, Kris and Tao all are.”

“She's Anqi.” He held up the diary. 

“She’s beautiful…”

“We met in middle school.”
 

“Why are you crying?” Yixing was wandering about in his new middle school and found himself in the school garden. There was a pink fluffy ball behind the tree which when he got closer, realised that it was a girl. She was huddled in a pile, sobbing. And when she heard the footsteps coming closer to her, she cried even harder.

"Go away!"

“He-hey… Don’t cry.” He panicked. She was wearing her ballet tutu and he thought maybe she was one of the performers for today’s showcase.

He knelt down, “Are you nervous?”

There was no response from her but there were softer sobs heard.

“I don’t know what I can do but I can sing you a song.” He cleared his throat.
 

My love can't be stopped just by saying stop

It has become something that can't be said that it is the past

You can say that I am wrong

The love has not become real and has not hidden any of the love you needed

"Here," Lay reluctantly shoved a red bean bun into her hands. It was from the pastry store near his house and he was planning to save if for later. The girl looked up with bewildered eyes. "My mum said it's best for curing anxiety."

“Anqi!” her ballet teacher yelled at her. The school performance was in a minute 's time and she was the lead dancer, yet here she was in the school garden instead of being backstage. Scrambling onto her feet at her teacher's angry voice, she took a last look at the boy before leaving hurriedly. 
 

She stopped crying.
 

It was the start of a new school year and her performance ended flawless, her turns and steps filled with strength and grace.

“You’re a great dancer, I’m sure you’ll make it big someday.” Her teacher patted her on the back proudly.
 

“You!” Anqi was surprised to see the boy she met a few days ago taking a seat beside her.

“You speak,” He smiled. Their first meeting was nothing filled with sobs and he has yet to hear the girl's voice. It rang like a sweet melody in his head and he was sure that he'd never get tired of it. “By the way, your dance was great.”

Anqi turned red from the compliment, “T-thanks.”

“I guess we’re classmates from now on.” He held out a hand, “I’m Zhang Yixing.”

“Wei Anqi.”
 

“She was a lovely girl. Everything she did was filled with grace and elegance just like the beautiful ballet dancer she was. I on the other hand was lacking in everything.”

“Xing!” Anqi struggled to carry her bag pack before running after him. “Where are you going?”

“Guitar-” he stopped in his track, “Why?”

Her clutch on her bagpack tightened, feeling betrayed. She even cancelled her dance practice for this. “You promised to go eat ice-cream together!”

“Yixing! Hurry up!” his friends yelled after him as they stood outside the school gate impatiently. 

“I’m sorry,” Yixing didn't want to admit that he had forgotten about his promise. “I'll treat you double next time!”

“Xing! Look over here!” Anqi held a polaroid in two hands. Yixing was waiting for her to end her dance practice. In the meantime, he played random songs on the grand piano in the dance room.
 

"You're so good looking." she laughed, emphasizing every word sarcastically.
 

“Only for you.”

“Really?” she didn’t believe him. There were tons of girls surrounding him all day in school and it was making her jealous although she was his girlfriend and he was rightfully owned by her. "Then am I pretty?"

“You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met,” Yixing whispered, pulling Anqi into a tight embrace. It always felt like she was heaven made for him and he was always fascinated at how she seemed to fit perfectly in his arms. 

Anqi pressed her hands on his cheeks, looking deep into those beautiful eyes she loved most, the one she'll fall for over and over again. “You know what day today is?”

“What day is it?” Yixing asked innocently, “Your birthday is the 18th of July, I remember that.”

“You must be kidding me.” She pulled away from him, rolling her