"Love is keeping the promise anyway,"

- John Green

Soundtrack: (x)

“So, she basically looked at me and gave this little side eye and she had on this smile and it’s haunting me, Jongdae, I can’t get it out of my mind-”

There are times when Baekhyun would speak twenty words per second and this would be a perfect example of those times. He was talking about the senior in his vocal class and about how drop dead gorgeous she was (as always). Jongdae was probably nice enough to tolerate his shenanigans, offering his occasional ‘ohs’ and ‘ahs’ but Chanyeol wasn’t in the mood for it.

It has been a week since he last saw Mina, and it was slowly killing him inside. He heard from the nurses that she was finally well enough to leave the hospital, and Chanyeol knew that he promised to be there for her (though now he doubted whether his presence would actually help or not) but something in his bruised and inflated ego held him from doing so.

He held onto one of the straps of his backpack whilst his other hands gripped the handle of his guitar case, slowly zoning out on Baekhyun and his rambles. The three of them had a three hour gap in between their classes, and Chanyeol was already thinking of his usual plate of ddeokbokki, just to occupy his thoughts. His silent slouches and draggy feet were enough for his other two companions to notice the strained silence in the air (albeit Baekhyun’s never-ending spazz over his lovely Taeyeon noona).

“Chanyeol-yah, it has been a week,”

“A week of what?” Chanyeol shrugged off Jongdae’s seemingly accusatory statement, adjusting the straps on his shoulders.

“I know playing dumb’s like your go-to move, but seriously- don’t act like you don’t know. It has been a week since that thing with Mina happened, and you’re sappier than a lost puppy,” Baekhyun turned towards him, pushing a hand against Chanyeol’s chest.

“What? No I’m not playing dumb, this has nothing to do with Mina at all-”

“Come on, how long have we been friends? What, five years now?” As though Baekhyun wasn’t enough, Jongdae stepped around and placed a hand on his shoulder, patting it in an almost sympathetic manner. Chanyeol merely raised both his eyebrows, halted in his steps as he stared at his other two friends.

“What, is this another one of your BaekJong interventions again?” Luckily, he was tall and strong enough to shrug from the grasp of his two friends. Chanyeol walked away in flustered steps when he felt two different hands grabbing his arms and leading him towards the nearest bench despite his objections.

“One day I’m going to beat you shorties up and hang you both off some goddamn tree-”

“Don’t talk your friends, Park Chanyeol. You’ll be thanking us someday,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes dramatically, settling comfortably next to him on the bench.

“Chanyeol, seriously- it has been a freaking week. We get it now that you want to help Mina and we are honestly really fine with that, but you pulling the hurt puppy card is not helping her, us and even yourself. If you miss her so much, just pay her a visit- what’s so hard about that?”

Chanyeol stared at Jongdae who was standing right in front of him with sullen eyes before pressing his palms to his face. It was true- he did miss Mina, and as angry and hurt as he was with her, there was no way he was going to stay that way forever.

“I don’t know guys… I cried in front of her. That’s already embarrassing as it is,”

“What’s so wrong about crying anyway? It just shows that you’re a sensitive guy. Girls dig that,” Baekhyun nodded in a convinced matter-of-fact tone.

“Baek, girls don’t ‘dig’ sensitive guys just because you cried watching Nicholas Sparks movies-”

“Ugh, shut your crap up Kim Jongdae- I don’t have the capacity to deal with your nonsense today. Chanyeol’s more important right now,”

Chanyeol supported his chin with both his hands, letting yet another Baekhyun-Jongdae sass battle commence while he sighed loudly, wondering what would Mina do at that hour…

“Yah! Park Chanyeol!”

“Yes?”

Mina, as though caught red-handed, immediately blushed at the sight of the handsome man staring back at her. His eyes were dreamy and soft, complete with a perfect nose, a rosy pair of lips and lovely dimples to match. She didn’t know what it was about him except that he was just so mesmerising and that she couldn’t take her eyes away from him.

“I-uh-I’m… I mean… where is the… where is the cafeteria, by any chance?”

If she could slap her face repeatedly for stuttering in anxiety in front of a complete stranger, Mina would. She hated that she felt as though she came out of a teen chick lit book with the stuttering and the warmth in her cheeks.

“The cafeteria, you say? Ah, it’s kind of far from here. Do you want me to walk you there? I’m about to go there myself too,”

Mina nodded, hands sweaty from the anxiety. She followed as the taller boy lead the way, handsomely walking with his guitar case in one hand. His strides were long and it seemed hard to keep up, so she settled for a brisk walk instead, just barely managing it.

“I’m Yixing, by the way. Zhang Yixing, from uh- from China,”

Zhang Yixing. Zhang Yixing, from China. Realisation dawned upon Mina and she smiled wider this time, nodding almost enthusiastically. “I-I see. Well, I’m Lee Mina… from Seoul,”

She offered a handshake, and shook Yixing’s warm hand when it came in contact with hers. Mina felt tingly inside and her blush came again, but she snapped out of it before it got the best of her.

“So… uh… Yixing- I’m searching for a friend of mine, he goes to college here at Konkuk, in this very faculty. I was um- wondering if you’d know him by any chance?” Mina asked as they continued walking down the hallway, in much, much slower steps.

“That depends- what’s his name and how does he look like?”

“Oh, well- he’s tall, really tall and he’s got round eyes and a very deep voice. He’s got Yoda ears, it sticks out a bit. His name is Chanyeol-”

“You had me at ‘Yoda ears’, Mina. Of course I know Park Chanyeol, he’s my classmate!” Mina’s face instantaneously lit up, happy that she found the right person to talk to.

“Chanyeol’s your classmate? Really? I’m his friend from the hospital and uh… I brought something over for him, you see,” She lifted the clothed bag, proudly displaying it in front of Yixing, a smile etched on her lips.

“Ah yes? Well, it’s smart that we head out to the cafeteria. He’s most probably there if he has a gap,”

“If you say that you were from the hospital, you must’ve known Hana as well, right?”

That garnered Mina’s interest. She shook her head, almost immediately. “Oh, Hana? Oh no, I don’t know any Hanas. Hana was Chanyeol’s ex-girlfriend, right?”

She watched as Yixing nodded before continuing on. “His girlfriend… our classmate… my friend- all of it. Everybody loved her- don’t get me wrong, she’s not your typical high-maintained popular girl. She was just really sweet, and everybody loved being her friend. Among all of us, Chanyeol’s the lucky one since he was the one who ended up with requited feelings. And then cancer happened,”

Mina gulped silently at the mention of cancer. This was the reason behind her fight with Chanyeol. This was the reason she had a fallout with him, and the worst part was- she had no one else but herself to blame for it, and that did not exactly make her feel a thousand times better.

“Before she passed, Chanyeol was a very different person. He was so lively- he made everyone laugh, he was a true prankster, and he just wouldn’t stop talking. I mean, of course he still talks a lot now, but I think a part of him died along with Hana. He’s different no