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as if my heart is dancing // as if it stopped by your hand // you took my breath away

It was love at first sight.

Her eyes were glued to the angel that was only meters away.

He was laughing and smiling and making her fall in love.

Hyori placed a hand to her heart and let out a dreamy sigh.

His hair was a lovely shade of blonde that reached up to his shoulders. His posture exuded out confidence. He radiated both masculine and feminine charms that could no doubt steal anyone’s heart! Just one look at him had already captivated her! And his face! It was as if it was crafted by the angels of heaven themselves! While admiring him, she noticed him look away from his friend briefly and-

Their eyes met.

The noise in the shop disappeared. Their surroundings suddenly changed into a lovely meadow, the wind blowing through their hair and causing the flowers to sway. The sun was casting a lovely shine to the area and Storybook Girl was playing in the background.

He smiled at her.

And just like that, her life was now complete.

Hyori staggered back at his beauty, clenching onto her heart in both pleasure and pain.

“… Are you alright?” he asked with a laugh – lovely, lovely music to her ears!

“I feel so blessed and wonderful!” she said in reply, nodding with a huge grin.

The two boys raised an eyebrow at her words. “Um… okay… We’ll have one Magical Rainbow Unicorn Surprise and one Jolly Merry Jubilee. And two glasses of water,” the construct of angels said.

“Of course! Right away!” she said, writing it down in her pad. She bowed and turned to head to the counter. She placed the small paper on the rack and leaned on the tall counter, resting her chin on the palm of her hand as she stared at the two boys seated by the window. She sighed again.

“What’s with the sigh?” her co-worker said, leaning on the counter beside Hyori.

“I’ve fallen in love!” she said, not looking away from the light-haired gorgeous boy.

“Oh? New record! It’s only been two weeks since your last love!”

“Twelve days, actually!” Hyori said proudly.

“That’s nothing to be proud of,” her friend replied with an amused chuckle. She followed Hyori’s gaze and saw the two boys’ table.  “Which one? The blonde or black-haired guy?”

“The angel that God bestowed upon us!”

“…”

Hyori pouted at her co-worker’s blank stare. “The blonde one.”

“His name’s Ren.”

Her frown shifted to a smile in an instant. “Oh~! What a wonderful name for a wonderful being!” she gushed… but then stiffened. Hyori took hold of the collar of her friend’s shirt, shaking her. “You know him? You know him? You know him!” she exclaimed, before looking back at him. Then back at her friend… but then back at him. She was speaking to her friend, but she didn’t want to waste any second that could be spent admiring him!

The other waitress placed her hands on Hyori’s own to stop her movements. “They were my classmates in philosophy last semester-“

“They go to our college?! How… How could I have not have been blessed to see them before?!” Hyori wailed in despair. “Do they go here often? I know I said I’ll only work here for semester break, but I’ll stay here forever if-“

“First time they came, I think … Not a lot of guys come here,” she said with a laugh, gesturing to the pink and girly interior of the L.O.V.E. café.

Hyori let go of her and regarded the gift of heaven and his friend again. “… I haven’t seen him once last semester.”

“Our college is big.”

“How do I meet him again then?”

“… Maybe you could introduce yourself?”

“Perfect idea!” she said with a thumbs up. Hyori went back to the counter and placed their orders on a tray. She went back to them and set their food down. She hugged the pink tray to her chest, staring intently at the gorgeous being called Ren.

He looked at his food briefly before facing her. “… We’re good. We’ll get your attention if we need anything…”

“My name’s Hyori!” she said with a bow.

The two stared at her. “… Ren,” the angel said.

“My name’s Minhyun!” his companion said with a smile.

Still staring intently at Ren, she grinned brightly at him.

“I’ve fallen in love with you!”

“… The engineering department is on the other side of the campus.”

Hyori was sitting cross-legged by the door of a classroom the speaker came out from. She quickly lowered her book to hide the title –the telltale sign that she didn’t belong in that building. She smiled up innocently at the student that had passed by her. “Just waiting for a friend!” she said with a smile.

The second semester resumed a few weeks ago and encountering Ren was so difficult! He had laughed off awkwardly her confession and rejected her. She had hoped on making him fall for her once classes resumed, but their buildings were on different sides of the campus! Not to mention she had so many rivals! She had settled with just taking discrete photos of him or waiting for him when her classes ended earlier than his.

The girl frowned down at her. “Class was dismissed a while ago. Your friend shouldn’t leave you waiting like this.” She glanced back inside the classroom. “Shall I call them? The only one left inside is… Oh.” Hyori laughed sheepishly, aware that her crush had been discovered. The girl laughed. “No, I totally understand! Ren has admirers throughout the entire campus… You’re just the first I’ve met that’d go all the way here.”

Before Hyori could reply, Ren was out of the classroom, eyes focused on the documents in his hand. She raised up her book again to hide her face. The only visibly thing was her secret gaze.

Her day was now complete.

When he had turned a corner and was out of sight, the girl bent down so they were eye-level. “I’m friends with someone in his fan club. Want in?” she offered kindly.

Hyori’s eyes widened and she grasped the girl’s hands in thanks. “Yes! He has one? Thank you! I wasn’t sure how I’d get information on him! I was thinking of even approaching the head of student affairs.”

“… You’re probably the most creepy fan girl I’ve met.”

“Love makes you do crazy things!”

“So you’re not going to deny it?!”

“Don’t mess up. Stand straight. Don’t say anything stupid. Act cool. Act cool. Act cool,” Hyori muttered her friend’s instruction under her breath as she leaned on the wall by Ren’s apartment. Most of the girls had given them his gift before or during classes – she had opted on being the last of his admirers to give his gift, which was why she was here a bit late in the evening. She had ‘overhead’ (eavesdropped) on his conversation with friends earlier that they’d have a night out. He’d be leaving his apartment any moment now!

She hugged the box closer to her chest, smiling fondly down at it. It was a small red velvet cake, iced with a birthday greeting. It had taken quite long to make since she kept messing up and cowering whenever her culinary friend threatened her with a knife at her several mistakes.

“Where are you going?!”

Hearing Ren’s distraught voice, Hyori quickly went to the side of the building to hide. She peered at him and his companion as they left the building and were now in front of the stairs by a car parked in front. The man he was speaking to was a stranger to her (she was already very familiar with how his group of friends looked like) and it was Ren’s face that she could clearly see-

She felt her heart clench tightly in her chest.

Ren was crying.

That guy made him cry! He made him cry! He made him cry!

Her eyes set into a deadly glare. Blood was going to be shed later tonight-

“You’re breaking up with me?!” Ren exclaimed.

… What?

The taller guy sighed and looked away. “I’m sorry… but I can’t do this anymore. You’re a great guy, Minki… But that’s just it… You’re still a guy-“

“You said that didn’t matter!”

… What?

“… I tried to like you. I really did. I’m sorry-“

“Don’t apologize!” he said, taking hold of the man’s wrist. “Don’t say sorry for breaking up with me –  because you aren’t. We can work this out, can’t we?”

… What?

The man removed Ren’s grasp on him. “… No. We can’t. Bye,” he said before getting into his car.

Ren stood there on the sidewalk, hands limp on his sides and cheeks stained with tears.

He looked so sad. The sudden events that had happened were surprising, but right now it was his dejected face that was more prominent in her mind. Hyori took a few steps towards him. The sound of her heels on the cement floor caught his attention. He looked up at her.

Her feet stilled when she saw the sad expression in his eyes.

Anger welled up within her. “That bastard, bastard, bastard!” she said under her breath, trying not to clench tightly onto the box in her hands. “Breaking up with you on your birthday?! … Heck, breaking up with you at all! What the hell was he thinking?!”

Several girls would love to be in his place! Like her!

“… You saw everything?” Ren asked.

She frowned when she heard the crack in his voice. “… Yes. I didn’t mean to, but I was nearby and uh…” she looked down at the gift in her hands.

Ren followed her gaze. He went towards her until he was right in front of her. He was no longer crying, but there was still evidence of tears on his cheeks and a slight redness in his eyes. He took hold of the small box in her hands. “… A birthday gift,” he whispered.

She nodded. “Yes! Happy Birthday, Ren!” she said with a grin.

“… Happy… birthday?” he muttered, gaze still down at her gift.

“I mean- uh… Thanks for being born!” she said with a firm nod. She raised up her hands to her chest and smiled at him. “Don’t let that jerk ruin the day you were brought into this world!”

“… You saw everything.”

She tilted her head in confusion. “… Yes. We already talked about this, right?”

“So you know… about my preferences…” His voice was no longer stained with sorrow… He was sounding like he was suspicious of her now.

Hyori nodded slowly. “Um, yes. That you’re uh… biual.”

“No… I’m homoual.”

She groaned and let her head hang low. “Damn it! How low have my chances gotten?!”

Ren chuckled. She quickly brightened up when she heard it. She was helping him feel better! “… Hyori, right?”

He remembered her name! This is going to have her smiling widely throughout the entire week! “Yes!”

He wiped away the stray tears on his cheeks and smiled at her.

She smiled back.

“You don't have low chances - you have none at all,” came the harsh words said in cheery voice. “I appreciate the sentiment, but you don't interest me in the slightest.”

“… Eh?”

Realization hit her like a slap to the face.

Her angel was not as nice and good as she had dreamed.

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you're my storybook girl // you're my storybook girl // you're my girl