You were sure that it hasn’t been five minutes to actually see that desert is disappearing before your eyes. Yep, almost there, Minho-ah. You laughed to yourself at how shameless he still his when it comes to food. A part of you glad that he’s comfortable enough to do such thing despite not seeing you for quite some time. He looks up to see you staring at the bowl, dimples digging your cheeks as you try to hide a smile.

“Mianhe, I practically inhaled this didn’t I?” He looks at you, embarrassed.

“It’s okay.” You shook your head in response as you place the back of your hand over your mouth, trying not to laugh.

“I guess I owe you another one sometime.” He grins, rubbing the nape of his neck. You almost snorted, mentally giving him an applause, Smooth, ten points for Song Minho.

The both of you diverted your attention away then, to his phone that was ringing urgently. He let it ring a few more times, before glancing at your direction.

“You should get that.” You said quietly as you avoid his gaze. He apologized, hold on, yeah? before he stood up, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head as he walked outside. You sat there for a few minutes when you feel your chest tighten, feeling a sudden rush of emotions you thought you had locked away. You laughed at yourself, realizing of course nothing’s changed, you need to get over yourself. Flustered, you stood up walking briskly towards the exit. Minho had his back towards you, absorbed in his conversation. The air was colder than usual, you fidgeted contemplating if you should just run away vowing to never cross paths again, yeah that seems plausible right? You didn’t realize that he had ended his call, almost knocking you over,

“Sorry! I didn’t see you there…” Your height had allowed him to see past over your head. He steadies you as he grabs your shoulders. Startled by how close you had gotten to his chest, you took a few steps back to avoid him. He only looks at you in return, perplexed at your sudden reaction to his touch.

“I have to go, it’s getting late.” You breathed, tucking your hair away behind your ears.

“I’ll take you, there aren’t buses left at this hour.” He frowned, worried.

“I’ll take a cab, besides I don’t live there anymore.” You looked at him, properly this time and you can physically feel your heart thump against your chest. You wish that he’d stop looking at you that way, hating the things it does to you, how your ears heat up and how you start to forget things like how to stand properly.  Unlike how it used to fizz your senses in a good way, it felt painful this time. 

“Don’t.” You look at him, your face stern.

“What is it now?” His thick eyebrows furrowed as he tilts his head.

“Don’t look at me like that.” You whispered, tucking your knees to your chest. 

“Like what exactly?” He chuckles, poking your shoulders.

“Like I’m the only thing that matters.” You felt his eyes burn into your skin.

“You are.”

“It was good seeing you.” You said over the awkward silence, unsure if that was a lie or not. He stood there not saying anything, but his expression said otherwise. Biting your lips, you gave a small wave as you turned your back wishing that was the last time, ever. You made a choice to not say the typical and expected I’ll see you around, because even if you wanted to, you’d rather save the heartbreak. You didn’t want to go through the same thing again, because it was unbearable to miss someone even when they were right there with you. Motioning a cab over, you looked down as you entered the vehicle, closing the door shut. The lump in your throat burned and you gasped as you cried silently, unable to hold it in any longer. Seconds after you buried your face into your lap, Minho made the choice to run after you this time.

Only to find out that he had missed the chance to get a hold of you. He laughed at his idiocy realizing that this isn’t some drama he’s in, you’ve got to be kidding me, man get your together cursing under his breath. Minho stood there for quite a while, even after seeing the cab you were in turn left, no longer in sight. He looks ahead with his mind elsewhere, still clear with the image of you. He noticed that you’ve changed, how you decided to get a fringe and your hair had grown longer. You were a little more reserved, realizing you were just like how he had met you the first time. Minus the sass, the attitude and the witty obnoxious things that came unfiltered from your mouth. At the same time, he knew you well enough to notice the way your eyes refused to look at him when you lied just as you did when you bid your goodbye. He noticed how you kept tucking your hair away when you’re nervous. He could tell you had a lot in your mind and it frustrates him to this day that he just can’t figure you out.

“Excuse me, sir? You left your phone on the table.” He sees a waiter approach. Confused, he digs into the pockets of his jeans.

“Uhm, I don’t think I did. You must have the wrong person.” He smiles and lifts his phone up.

“Table number three? The one at the corner there, your friend ordered shaved ice?” Minho follows the direction of the table the waiter pointed at. His eyes widened realizing,

“Aah, it must be hers. Thank you!” He took the phone, grinning like a child at the sudden opportunity.

~

It wasn’t until you had overslept without an alarm, realizing your phone was no where in sight. Physically and mentally exhausted, you didn’t think it was still possible to cry out of irritation at your repeated clumsiness. You sat down at the edge of the hotel bed as you feel the panic slowly rising. That phone has everything in it. Besides the important work related stuff of course, it had every conversation, every photo and even unreleased tracks that Minho had made for you. Anxious, you started to think of every possible scenario and probably the worst, if someone had gotten a hold of it. You knew no one in this hotel thus deciding to go to the main desk and ask if they could call up your phone. You hear the phone in your hotel room ring, startled although slightly impressed at the perfect timing. Crawling towards the table you answer,

“Hello?” You hear your voice crack, your throat dry.

“Good morning, Maam. There’s a guest waiting for you, shall I send him up?” You paused, straightening your back. You were sure you had met and finished up with any work related matters yesterday evening. Oh come on, at this state you weren’t sure about anything at all.

“Yes- I mean no. I’ll meet them in the lobby. Thank you.” You wanted to slap yourself as you closed the phone forgetting the one thing you wanted to ask. Scrambling through the room, you threw on something decent almost forgetting when you proceeded to walk out with your pyjamas on. You brushed your hair with your fingers as you moved downstairs when you suddenly halt to see Minho sitting down in the hotel lobby. You trailed slowly towards the main desk, praying silently that he’s waiting for someone else. You know Minho has his ways, but he can’t possibly pull this off.

“Uhm… excuse me? You called me earlier, I have a guest in the lobby?” The receptionist perks up and asks for your name. She gave you a smile once confirmed, and motioned towards the sitting area. “That’s the one?” You whispered as you pinched the bridge of your nose. She gave you an amused smile, yes maam. 

He had his back towards you, you eye his broad shoulders and his hair, shaved perfectly straight as it lined the small curve of his neck. Why is he here? No- how? 

“Hi?” Your voice quiet, as you sat on the chair next to him.

“Hey…” He gave you that smile of his, and it melts you. For a moment you forgot the things that circled your mind the night before. He holds up something familiar in his hand and you notice it straight away. He laughs softly at your reaction as he holds it out for you. “I’m sorry, I opened it to find out where you were so I could return it for you.”

“How did you know the pass code?” You looked at him, taken aback.

“It’s the same one, I still remember.” He gave you that one sided smile, taking his hat off to fix his hair swiftly putting it back on. “I saw your last call, and it was to this hotel so I figured you were here.” He continues, seeing you were still caught off guard. “You left it at the coffee shop.” He leans slightly, trying to get a good look at you.

“Thank you. You had to go through all this trouble.” You grinned ear to ear, embarrassed for some reason. He stops to look at you, finally seeing and hearing something sincere from you, your cheeks blushed he finds it hard not to stare.

“How long are you here for?” He shakes off his distraction.

“Not for long, I leave tonight actually.” He looks up to your reply and you see his disappointment. He nods slowly, biting his lips as he looks down. The two of you sat in what seemed like endless silence. It felt foreign to you, to be with him and actually feel how uncomfortable it was. Back then, there were days where the both of you preferred to spend the silence together rather than alone. You were so used to each others’ presence even without any effort. Your head hurt trying to find the right words, it shouldn’t be this hard. The things going through your mind overwhelmed you, and you feel tears pricking the inside of your lids.

“I appreciate all this, I really am, but I have to-”

“Please stay.”

Just as you were about to stand up, you hear his voice low, direct and honest. He wasn’t looking at you, his jaw clenched as he looked the other way. The two words echoed through your ears after seven god damn months.

“And even if it gets hard, I’ll tell you this.” You whisper, you cupped his damp face, as he held back the tears. He held your forearms so tight you were sure they went numb.

“Even if you tell me to leave.” He was shaking and your heart hurt seeing him this way. His charisma disappeared, his walls stripped down.

“Even if you tell me I deserve better.”

“I’ll tell you I’m staying… and I’ll tell you to stay even if I have to fight for it.”