A Chance Encounter. Chapter Seven.

I’ve decided to work on my Webtoon since I have nothing else to do.  Well, actually I do have something to do – Bona has asked me to call up the florists and see if they could arrange for some seasonal white lilies. And I’m not going to do it. Let her do it herself. I glance at my phone that’s kept right beside me. Do not pick it up. Just don’t pick it up. I need to stop complying with all of Bona’s orders. Like Yixing said I shouldn’t let her boss me around. And…I’ve picked up my phone. I’m scrolling through the contacts to find the florists’ number. Why do I have such a weak willpower? Maybe I’ll just ring Yixing instead.

I find myself feeling a little giddy as I think about our date. I hadn’t expected it to turn out so…nice. I somehow feel as if I’ve known him since a long time. And maybe that’s because he always seems to know what I’m thinking. I really don’t know how he does that. I should ask him next time. I dial his number, and press the phone against my ear. What would I say to him anyway? I’ll probably just say hello! It’s just Yixing, I feel as if I don’t need to be inhibited when I’m talking to him. He doesn’t really invoke any sort of nervousness in me. Okay, that’s not true. I do admit that I felt a little anxious in the morning when he was leaving for work, and I ran after him to ask him for a second date. I would have never done that. Never ever!

I’m someone who firmly believes that the guy should make the first move. At least that’s what happens in the novels that I secretly enjoy reading. But technically, Yixing asked me out first. So I guess it doesn’t count. Now I’m thinking…what if he didn’t want to see me again? And he was just confused because no girl has ever asked him out. Maybe he felt bad for me, and he must have agreed. See…this is why the girl never asks the guy out. At least, anxious girls like myself should never make the first move. I’ve always, always had the habit of doubting myself. If anything, it became worse after Bona moved in with us.

Actually, things were fine later on. We both graduated from high school, and got into college. And I managed to leave Bona behind. In fact, for the first time, my life seemed better than hers. I’d managed to make a couple of friends in college, and Bona, who called me every weekend, actually confessed that she hated college. I was secretly glad, although I felt guilty for feeling so.

It was somewhat like a cherry on top, when Chanyeol asked me out. We were asked to team up with our seniors for a project, and I was paired up with him. I was completely smitten at first sight, to be honest. He stood out among the rest of the guys – he was tall, handsome and smart. He had a great sense of humor (that’s what I thought at that time…I wish I didn’t). He was polite, and even tidy. Within a week, I’d managed to develop a full-fledged crush on Chanyeol. I knew not to expect much, because apparently I wasn’t the only one who harbored feelings for him – there were at least a dozen other girls who seemed to have taken fancy to his elf-ears and nerdy glasses.

I wanted to impress him, so I stayed up late at nights and worked on an outline for our project. I’d shown it to him after perfecting it, and he’d said, “Nice work!” And I was cloud nine. He didn’t speak much, but if he did, it was just to fix any errors I’ve made in the coding. I thought he was shy, but a week after that, I’d seen him on a date with one of the girls in his year. I’d been a little dejected, but I was okay with it. He hadn’t really led me on or anything, so I really couldn’t blame him. Days progressed, I finished a semester and our project was selected as the best one out of the lot. That was when I saw Chanyeol again. He’d got his myopia treated, discarded his glasses, and dyed his hair chestnut brown. And he’d broken up with his girlfriend. It was only a fling apparently, as Chanyeol had told me later on. If I had a little crush on him last time, this time it was worse. Chanyeol seemed to meet all the criteria of my perfect guy list. Well…I feel a little embarrassed to admit this, but when you read so many copies of Mills & Boon, you find yourself getting a little carried away. And you may end up creating a delusional, imaginary scenario in your head, with your idea of a perfect guy. And this time, I could only picture Chanyeol as that guy.

I chose not to say anything to him as I was afraid it’d make things awkward between us if he didn’t feel the same way. But then, one day, out of nowhere, I found Chanyeol standin