He sits at the table comfortably chattering with Taeyeon and Baekhyun.  How can he still smile like that?  Smiling so warm and carefree, as if nothing else matters in the world.  I hate how the navy blue turtle-neck sweater fits him so perfectly.  It gives him a rather boyish look.  The same playful look still radiates about him.  It makes him look cute...Snap out of it, Gayeon!  I am not going to contradict myself.

"Gayeon," I turn to him. "Your cooking has never failed me yet."

"Still as charming as I first met you, Mr. Park," I reply, hoping he won't see me blush.  A memory strikes me and consumes me, suddenly.  "So how are things with you and Krystal?" I ask, trying to sound uninterested.

"Krystal?  Hey bro, I thought you..." Baekhyun stops in mid-sentence.

"We broke up a long time ago," Chanyeol says. "You know me.  I change girlfriends every now and then."

'I change girlfriends every now and then...' I mimic in my mind.  He thinks he's all that.  Sometimes, he can be so arrogant.  "Same old Chanyeol," I say, jokingly.

"Did you two ever dated?" Taeyeon suddenly asks.  Her eyes widen with anticipation for the answer, especially for the 'right' answer.

As if my life depends on it, I quickly explain to her, "No.  No way.  Not in a million years.  Friends just don't date friends.  That's an unwritten rule."

My heart skips a beat as I glance in his direction to see his reaction.  Our eyes meet.  Old folks once said that curiosity of a cat could mean her death.  Therefore, even with nine lives, it would still be barely enough to spend a long enough life time.  I only have eight lives left now.  I quickly shift my eyes back to Taeyeon.

"Yeah..." Chanyeol replies, hesitating.  "An unwritten rule.  Didn't you know that?"

What is he hesitating?  He was the one who told me the rule, after all.

"What kind of rule is that?  Baekhyun and I were friends and we're a happy couple now.  Aren't we, my dear?"  Taeyeon looks toward Baekhyun with affections fill in her eyes.

"Of course we are, you silly, honey bunny." Baekhyun reaches over to kiss her.

I roll my eyes.  Though, I couldn't help but smile a bit at them.

"Oh come on, now!  We're eating here," he looks at them in disgust.  "Do that in your own time."

"Whatever." Taeyeon leans back on her chair.  "Really, I seriously think you two will look great as a couple.  A cute couple..."

As a couple, and a cute one nonetheless?  I admit that I have used to picture that all the time...But that is so long ago, at least long enough to think that I am too naive back then.  Ha!  With Chanyeol?  Even Death would think that is laughable.

"Screw the 'friend' rule," Baekhyun's words surprise me.  He must be having too much wine.  I've never knew Baekhyun for abruptness like this.  "You two are not dating anyone else right now anyways.  We're not planning to waste our night here just to talk 'friend' philosophy with you two," he quotes the word 'friend' strongly.

Park Chanyeol is not dating?  That is rare to hear.  I glance at him and he is blushing in embarrassment.  I catch myself smiling at his expression.  For heaven's sake, stop allowing yourself to think of him that way, Song Gayeon!

Focus!

No matter how much I focus, him being single just strikes me as weird.  I finally have to ask, "You're not dating?"

"Of course he's not..." Baekhyun gives me a funny look.

"Yeah, I'm not at the moment," he replies and revives that over-confident smile of his.  I try to stay calm as he leans a bit closer to the table.  "Interested?"

"Oh, just save your charms for someone who cares," I roll my eyes and respond with a small chuckle, because I find it funny that he would ask me that.  Everything is a joke to him.  "You know that our definitions of relationship are extremely different."

I wait for his answer, actually more of a confirmation and signaling the end of the joke.

"Oh yeah, whatever happened to Park Minwoo?" he asks, unexpectedly.

I glare at him but his eyes don't even flinch from mine.  So I shift mine on the table instead, touching the edge of the wine glass, trying to buy some time.  Minwoo...his words still linger on my mind as if he had just said them yesterday.

"It's because of him, isn't it?  I knew it!  I knew it, but all this time I was lying to myself anyhow because I thought you would...you would start to like me and that nothing else would matter."

Minwoo, poor Minwoo.  I owe him so much.  I shake the thought away and calmly pick up the glass of wine.  "He's not my Mr. Right and I'm not his Mrs. Right," I answer nonchalantly.

"Took you long enough to figure that out," he says underneath his breath.

I almost choke on the wine.  "Excuse me?"

Before he can respond, Taeyeon saves perhaps the worse dining conversation ever in the history of conversations.  Although at times, I try to ridicule him throughout the rest of dinner for his mention of Minwoo, he merely laughs off my every attempt.  Why that nerve of his.

"Taeyeon, I will help with the dishes," I announce as dinner is finishing up.

"Gayeon!  You should stay --"

"I will help with the dishes and that is final." I force a smile. "Two people are always better than one."

"Alright, but you don't know what you're missing out, Gayeon," Taeyeon put an emphasis on my name as I ignore her death glare.

'Oh trust me, I know what I'm missing out and it is perfectly fine with me,' I want to tell her that, and especially telling him that.

The guys decide to watch television in the living room, while Taeyeon and I clear the table.

"What is it with you?  You hit your head or something?" I foresee another pointless lecture coming.  "What's so bad about Chanyeol?"

"Nothing is wrong with him.  He is just not my type."  And he will never be.

"Whether you admit it or not," she starts after we enter the kitchen, "I feel there's something suspicious between you two."

"What makes you say that?" I load the dishes into the sink and turn on the water.

"You seem to be more on the edge tonight and he seems mad, especially when he talked about Park Minwoo.  And who the hell is Park Minwoo anyways?"

"Just a friend," I reply.  "It's really long ago."

"I don't seem to know a lot about you like I used to." She leans close to the sink.

"I thought I'm only helping with the dishes and not the one doing all the dishes," I hint to her.

"You're almost done anyways." She smirks.

Sometimes, I really want to strangle her.

After I dry every plate, with (more like without) Taeyeon's help, I grab my handbag.  I am ready to go home.

"You're leaving already, Gayeonnie?" Baekhyun asks as I head for the door.

"Yeah." Then I force up a smile. "Nice to see you again, Chanyeol."

"Actually," he gets up from the sofa, "I should be going as well.  Why don't I go downstairs with you."

He is not asking me, but rather that he is telling me what he will do.  I answer him with uneasiness, "Sure..."

It's going to be a long walk.

I want to dash right into the elevator fast enough to shut the door on his face.  But I can't -- curse these damn high heels!

"You're okay, Gayeon?" he asks.

"I'm fine," I reply and wait for the elevator leveling up.

Neither of us talks during the trip of the elevator ride.  It is an uncomfortable silence, but as long as I don't have to talk to him, then it's fine by me.  Why couldn't the elevator go any faster?

I feel his gaze behind me as I walk ahead once we reach the main floor.  Isn't it so impossible to avoid him?

"Are you avoiding me?" his question stops me. "Answer me, Song Gayeon.  Why are you avoiding me?"

He knows I'm avoiding him and my mind is suddenly blank at the moment.  No excuse can save me out of this one.  All I can do is to collect posture.  Breathe Gayeon, breathe!

"What makes you think that, my dear friend?" I stare at him straight in the eyes.  I hope I will last.

"I don't know," he sounds sarcastic, "maybe because it is painfully obvious?"

"Look, stars!" I point out when I first notice the blue, shinning beauties in the sky.

I almost want to shout out thanks to them for ending Chanyeol's painful interrogation.  However, it doesn't take long for the stars to hypnotize me.  The way they spark is so attractive and really full of hope.  It is kind of amusing, but they remind me of his charm.  I steal a glance at him as he quietly enjoys the view.  I quickly look to the stars again when he turns to me.

"Hey Gayeon," he says, "Was your father ever a thief?"

"What...?" I look at him funny -- curious to see where he is going with this. "Of course not."

"Oh my bad." He gives me a sheepish grin.  "Because I thought he must have stolen the stars from the sky and put them in as your eyes.  Your eyes are like the stars upon the sky."

Is he serious?  I actually laugh at this one.  Sometimes, he really surprises me.  "Oh Chanyeol, I have enough charms from you for one day.  Save it for your girlfriends."

I'm not sure if it is my saying about the last part that brings a sudden stiffness to the atmosphere again or is it that because it is the fact that it is impossible to go back to the time that causes the tension to consume this moment and onward.  I gaze toward the waning moon.

"If I was never your friend to begin with..." he hesitates.  "Do you think I would be your boyfriend type?"

I stop walking but don't look at him because I am afraid of what I might say.  I shake my head, "No.  I don't think so.  As I said before, our definition of relationship is too different."

"How different?" He catches me by surprise by standing directly in front of me.

"Well, I like to take relationships seriously, while you..." I avoid his gaze, "You don't."

"Then maybe, you don't know me as well as you think you do." He takes a step closer.  We are now only inches apart.  I feel my face reds up.  "Maybe we could try it just like what Taeyeon and Baekhyun said."

My eyes flicker to see his face.  Doesn't he know that Baekhyun cherishes Taeyeon like a treasure?  That is why it is natural to work out for them.  Baekhyun is willing to give up all the other girls just for Taeyeon.  Compare to this situation here, all I can say is that I will never be sure if I would be just one of his disposable girlfriends.  I would probably be just another name add to his list.

I push him away.  "Park Chanyeol!  What do you take me for?  One of your disposable girlfriends?  I can't believe you!"

"Hey, I was just suggesting..."

"I hate you." There, I've said it, and there is no going back.  Like how I gave him a chance a few years ago and he didn't take it.  I'm not going to give him another chance.  He had his chance and he didn't take it.

"What?" He looks shocked.

"Don't put up that stupid act, you heard me clear -- I hate you.  I hate the way you treat relationships and I hate the way you treat me!" I shake my head mildly.  I can't believe it, but he is trying to take me for a fool here.

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Author's Note:  My head hurts everytime I edit/write this story....I feel like I don't know who I am anymore everytime I finish writing/editing the chapters...@___@ However, hopefully I bring out the characters well enough. 

Will they ever be on the same wavelength?  Or will misunderstandings keep piling up from this moment forward?  Well, until next time~!

Comments/criticisms are welcome!