Minhyuk seemed to have gotten even more nervous as he didn't get any response from Miloh who simply stood there and stared. Just when he was about to say something, the girl weakly called out for her coworker. "I have an emergency, I'll finish early today, I'll stay longer tomorrow." she said, not looking away from the boy in front of her. The coworker seemed to have agreed already when asked but when she saw the scene, she poked at Miloh's side as if prying for any explanation. "Going on a date with your boyfriend?" the girl bitterly asked and Miloh couldn't blame her. Minhyuk was even more handsome in real life. However she couldn't care less about the coworker whom she only pretended to be friends with to keep it comfortable at work. In a blink of an eye, Miloh was in the backroom and rushed to collect all her items, afraid that he'll disappear if she takes too much time. She rushed out with her coat ed, scarf barely hanging onto her neck and hair an unorganized mess. She mumbled an emotionless goodbye to her coworker and grabbed Minhyuk's wrist, pulling him all the way to the exit, out on the street and walked along the street for a while just in case. 

"Hey..." Minhyuk softly said, guilt reflecting in his voice as he tugged on her hand, making her stop and turn around. "Are you mad at me?" he asked and then pulled her coat closer to her body before buttoning it. Miloh was taken aback by his words, it almost broke her heart that he was worrying about it while clearly there was something more important going on.

"Are you kidding me?" Miloh asked, feeling the bottled emotions finally surface. "My favorite person in the world from the other side of the world who just disappeared for two months is standing in front of me, looking tortured and I am supposed to even remember that I'm mad at you?" Tears filled her eyes, it was something she could not fight. "Where did you get the money? Where are you staying? What happened? Where were you? Why aren't you dressed appropriately? Why are you here?" the questions started to pour out but were cut off by the boy's arms wrapped around her. Miloh's face was now buried in the male's chest and the tears retreated, she was now staring ahead into the black hoodie, eyes wide open. When she inhaled, she realized that she learned a fact about the boy that he never could have if he weren't there - his scent. It made her heart race and knees feel wobbly. Knowng how he smells was a privilege she was thankful to have. So just in case, she exhaled and deeply inhaled once more, trying to have more of his scent.

"I'll answer all your questions. But I don't want to do it in the middle of the street. Can we go somewhere?" he asked and the girl felt a hand on her head, her messy hair. She gasped as quietly as she could, trying to digest everything and nodded. The closest restaurant happened to be an Asian fast food one. Probably the most embarrassing place to take a Korean boy for a meal in a foreign country but Miloh had no time to spare. She let go of his hand, feeling her palm get cold but she had no courage to reach out for it again and nor did he. The restaurant was very close, the sign could already be seen from where they were and the girl simply stode through the maple leaves toward it. 

"I'm sorry." she could hear the boy say and she had already forgiven him. Before he asked. Before he even appeared in front of her. 

--

After ordering the food, they sat at the small table, on opposite sides and stared into each other's eyes. Neither said a word until Miloh spoke up. 
"Why are you here?" she started, making it feel a little bit like an interview. 
"I lost hope in Korea. I came to the only place where I knew I'd find hope for sure." he simply said, not once looking away from her eyes. He was serious with his words.
"How long are you planning on staying?" she asked the next question, afraid to hear the answer to that. Now that he is here, she wasn't sure how she'd deal with him disappearing next week.
"As long as I can. I'm planning on staying here for now." he replied with the same kind of calmness and seriousness as before. Was she hearing right? 
"What happened in Korea that made... you want to do that?" 
"My parents." he said. It was clear from his eyes and the tone of his voice that he doesn't want to talk about the details. Not yet, at least, she thought. 
"Where are you staying?" she asked, assuming that he might have some friends here. 
"A hotel." 
Before Miloh could even digest the thought, she burst out into a nagging fit. "What?? That's so irresponsible of you to waste money like that! You're checking out TODAY! There's a couch in my apartment and it better ing be good enough for you!" 
"I was hoping you'd say that." Minhyuk then said and his face softened up, a playful smile stretching on his lips. Miloh had always loved his smile, it was his favorite smile in the world and seeing it in real life, in front of her, melted her heart and made her forget what she was nagging at him about. 
"But you have to get a job for sure." the girl said, her voice now weaker as she was still blown away by Minhyuk's picture perfect features. Their meals were taken to the table and the boy bowed politely, feeling a little flustered about being the only one to do so. He cleared his throat and they started to eat. The beginning of the meal was quiet but by the end it seemed like they had known each other in real life all this time. They laughed heartily together, slamming their palms against the table and wiping tears of joy as they tried to make up for the lost time. 

--

Miloh sighed as she opened the door to her tiny apartment and stepped out of her sneakers. It was already dark outside and probably late enough for her to sleep. Minhyuk had a surprisingly small luggage with him, she stopped to think of what could possibly be the items that he chose to be important enough to take with him. 
"Oh, -" the girl facepalmed herself as she looked at the couch. She only had one blanket and one pillow. And the apartment didn't have the best heating system. 
"What, what?!" Minhyuk got curious more than worried as he stood in front of her. 
"Okay.... here's the situation. We kinda have to share the bed tonight." she said, blushing deeply. Minhyuk was a friend after all and although it was the first time they met, she trusted him. She knew him for a long time now and it should be okay for friends to share a bed. Right? Minhyuk, in reply, gave a warm and calm smile. 
"That's not a problem, Miloh." he assured and after taking turns in using the bathroom, they made their way to her bedroom. Miloh was happy that she had just changed the bedsheets, assuring that her bed smelled like fresh heaven and she slipped under the covers, facing the wall as she was a little scared of actually watching Minhyuk get in the bed. Right, damn. She only had one pillow. She pushed it towards the boy and rested her head on the matress, mumbling at the wall.
"You can use it. I don't really need it." she said and stared at that one imperfection in her wallpaper.
In the dark she could see his hand in the corner of her eye and she froze in place, getting a little scared for a moment. With no reason, apparently, as the boy had scooted closer and carefully lifted her head, moving his arm under it, lending his bicep as a pillow. 
"Good night, Miloh." he whispered and the girl didn't even have the lung capacity to voice out a proper sentence. "Uh-huh." she said and bit by bit her body relaxed. She turned her gaze towards the elbow that peeked out from the corner of her eye and thought to herself that there is no way she is getting any sleep tonight. Minhyuk on the other hand seemed to have fallen asleep, his other arm resting on his tummy, as if to keep it from wrapping around her instead.

 

[Author's note]
So... is anyone else going all teen crush over Minhyuk? It's probably the reason why I can't stop writing. 

I MEAN WHO SAID THAT THIS IS OKAY! 
Not that it's my desktop picture right now, ahem.