It was a few days before the school's charity dance which was normally hosted by the school council. The funds raised from the dance would be used to aid an old age home and an orphanage. Since the event was a huge one, the students were excitedly chattering amongst themselves and huge banners were strung around various nooks and crannies in the campus. Meanwhile, in the hallway, Kyungsoo looked as though she was trying to murder everyone and bore holes through the banners using her invisible eye lasers. Needless to say, she was quite unhappy about the current happenings.

'What's got you so worked up, Kyungsoo?' asked Chanyeol to the glaring dwarf standing beside his arm.

Without a word, she sternly pointed at the banner hanging above them as though it should be burnt down simply because it existed. Chanyeol laughed at how cute her response was.

'It's just a dance. You could just go and stand in a gloomy corner or something...'

'Who said I was going?' she snapped back.

'Wait, what? You're not going!? Why not? It's for charity after all...'

'Charity?! Oh, please! The entire thing is just a really good excuse for students to rub their bodies together and touch each other in inappropriate places. I've already paid for the fund just so I can guiltlessly avoid the stupid dance!'

'You sure about this?'

'Uh huh.'

'Fine. If you're not there, then I'm not attending as well. And I'm sure Baekhyun will be happy to join us!' 

'Actually about that... he is going.'

And at that very moment, as if to prove her point, Baekhyun came swaggering to their side with an arrogant smirk on his face. Huffing quite proudly, he declared, 'Guess who is taking head choir girl Kim Taeyeon out for the dance? Moi!'

'Oh wow, man! That's just amazing!' beamed Chanyeol, 'Guess Kyungsoo and I have to kill time by ourselves...'

'I wish you two would come and then we could have a blast! But sadly, the little she-devil recluse doesn't like loud music and general social interaction.'

'At least I'm not as pitiful as Taeyeon who has to take out a five year old crybaby to the dance,' jeered Kyungsoo.

'I'm not a crybaby!!!' shrieked Baekhyun.

'Are too!'

'Am not!'

'Sure, keep telling that to yourself. Meanwhile,I must say, your dream woman is coming our way.'

And sure enough, Kim Taeyeon was strutting down the hallway in their direction. Catching her attention, Baekhyun gave her a seductive wink and bit his lips slowly, all the while ignoring the gagging and retching sounds in the background, courtesy of his two friends. Taeyeon giggled and set off into a corridor. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo simply gave him a twin look of disgust.

The rest of the days passed by with students going insane with impatience and Kyungsoo tirelessly tearing down Yixing's banners and posters until finally, the anticipated day arrived. Kyungsoo was happy that it would be the last day of torture and quite ecstatically ran out of the campus once school was over. That day, her dad came to pick her up since her usual bodyguards had extra classes. She got home, took a bath and then sat down to study. The clock showed four thirty and she knew that after two and a half more hours, the would start. 

'Aren't you going to the dance, sweetie?' asked her mother, coming in with hot milk.

'Nah. I pass' was the reply.

Not wanting to question Kyungsoo more, her mother left the room quietly. 

By five thirty, Kyungsoo was already tackling the tougher physics problems when her mother called out to her,

'Kyungsoo!!! Baekhyun's on the phone!!!'

Wondering what new drama her bestie had yet to bring, Kyungsoo rushed down and picked up the phone.

'Hey, Baek! What's up?'

'How could you just leave for home? You should be at my house, now!'

'Uhh... why?'

'Because...' drawled Baekhyun, 'I need you to pick out a suit for me!'

Kyungsoo involuntarily erupted into laughter at that.

'What kind of joke is this?!' she heaved over the receiver.

'Hey! I'm being serious here! This is Kim Taeyeon I'm trying to woo and I need your good sense in times like these. So could you come over?'

'What's the magic word, Baekhyun?'

'NOW!' 

'Roll back that attitude, princess! I'll be on my way so don't fret.'

'Stop talking and get out of your house! I don't want to be late in picking her up!'

'You do know that I live in the adjacent street, right?'

'DO KYUNGSOOOO!'

'Alriiiiiight! BYE!' concluded Kyungsoo, smiling to herself as she kept down the phone. Before leaving her house, she told her mother that she had an emergency meeting with Baekhyun and to inform her father of her whereabouts.

'So, how about this solid midnight blue blazer? Much better than that hideous grey thing you got there...' commented Kyungsoo as she sat on Baekhyun's bed, eyeing her options.

'That's good. And what should I wear— a tie or a bowtie?' asked Baekhyun, as he held up the two pieces of cloth for Kyungsoo to see.

'Bowtie for sure.'

'Then bowtie it is!'

Kyungsoo then began experimenting with Baekhyun's brother's colognes, not liking much of them but at last selecting what she thought was best. Spraying it on her friend as he fumbled with his watch, she was pleased at how Baekhyun looked now. If Taeyeon rejected his advances, Kyungsoo could be sure that it wasn't because of any flaws in the appearance department. He stood in front of the mirror putting all his stray locks in place with gel when the doorbell rang. 

'Must be the limo,' came Baekhyun's voice as he finished with the tiny details, 'Could you go down and tell the driver to wait for a few seconds?'

'For sure. I do want to see the kind of luxuries you've afforded for Taeyeon,' joked Kyungsoo as she left the room.

Skidding to a halt in front of the large door, Kyungsoo excitedly turned the knob and opened it—

Only to reveal Park Chanyeol.

Stunned at his sudden appearance, Kyungsoo could barely put her thoughts together. He just stood there, enjoying her reaction.

'Chanyeol, what—'

'I'm here for someone.'

'Please don't tell me you're the limo driver...'

'Kyungsoo, don't be silly. I'm not here to drive those lovebirds around!' cried Chanyeol, only to hold his hand out in front of her and say,

'I'm here for you.'

Kyungsoo looked at his hand, wondering what in the world was going on. What the hell did mom slip into the milk? she thought anxiously.

'OH MY GOD, SOO!!! TAKE HIS HAND ALREADY!!!' whined Baekhyun in frustration as he stood a few feet behind them, clearly the mastermind behind everything.

After glaring at her so-called best friend, who now wore the sleaziest smile ever to grace a human's face, she shyly placed her hand within Chanyeol's. Not raising her eyes to his, she timidly asked,

'Could you please explain what's going on?'

'I'm here to take you out someplace. I mean, it's not fair that the rest of the school makes merry while we miss out on it, right?'

'But I'm not even dressed for an outing...'

'Me neither,' said Chanyeol, gesturing to his casual attire, 'But it doesn't matter...where I'm going to take you, appearance is not going to be a problem.'

Before Kyungsoo could shoot another question, Baekhyun slyly slipped past them, waving down an approaching limo.

'Well, that's my ride! Farewell, you two. I'll fill you in on the details tomorrow!' he blabbered, hurriedly getting into the limo and locking the door, mostly to avoid Kyungsoo's wrath. He pushed his head out of the window when the limo began to leave, and cried, 'All the best, you guys!!!' and made a few disgusting kissing noises.

It took Kyungsoo the strength of every fibre in her system to not throw a potted plant from the porch at his evil, smug face. 

Once the limo was nowhere in sight, Chanyeol stepped out into the street to where his bike was, leading Kyungsoo by the hand. She, however, pulled his forearm with fear and breathed,

'I can't go with you! My dad will surely kill me!'

But Chanyeol just placed a long finger on her lips, silencing her to her utmost surprise.

'It's alright. I asked him. He said yes,' was his casual statement.

Do Kyungsoo had never felt anything like this before. She wanted to scream, cry and hit Chanyeol all at once. It was as though all her breath was knocked right out of her. Gripping onto Chanyeol for balance, she sternly said, 'Park Chanyeol, this isn't funny.'

'And I'm not joking. I did go and see him while you were with Baekhyun. I asked for his permission and he agreed... that is, after a bit of persuasion.'

'What did he say?! Did he mention anything about killing me?' asked Kyungsoo, b with both excitement and fear.

'He was stubborn at first and nearly threw me out of your house. But your mother came and put in a good word for me. She even told him that I was a friend of Baekhyun's,' explained Chanyeol, with Kyungsoo listening to him intently, 'I then promised him that I would take responsibility and do you no harm and that you would be home before eleven. I even gave your father a written slip from Baekhyun with his signature stating that I was a good-natured, decent fellow. And the rest was a lot of cajoling from your mom's side, to whom I am eternally grateful.'

'But Chanyeol, I can't do this to him. He'll be worried and angry and—'

Kyungsoo's statement was cut short by Chanyeol pulling her by the shoulders towards him.

'Kyungsoo! You have got to get one thing clear: your father's not protecting you! Rather, he's protecting himself from any more heartache.'

Shocked at his bluntness, Kyungsoo looked at Chanyeol with hurt in her eyes. But in her heart, she knew he was right. All this time, she kept quiet for her father. But now, everything was about to change...

'I'm terribly sorry I had to put things like that. But this time, you have to trust me,' whispered Chanyeol, bringing her into his arms. Blinking away the stinging tears, Kyungsoo mumbled against Chanyeol's chest, 'It's alright... So let's go now, shall we?'

Just from the feel against the fabric of his shirt, Chanyeol knew she was smiling which, surely enough, made his day. But he still had more to do.

'CHANYEOL, YOU BETTER SLOW DOWN THIS INSTANT!!!!' screamed Kyungsoo hugging onto Chanyeol's waist from behind him, as they sped on his bike through many curves and bends.

'NAH-AH!' yelled Chanyeol back, ignoring the biting cold of the wind against his face, 'YOU HAVE TO BE HOME BY ELEVEN SO I NEED EVERY LITTLE MOMENT I CAN GET WITH YOU!!!'

Blushing after hearing what he just told her, Kyungsoo decided to keep quiet. She hugged him tighter and placed her face sideways onto his back. Closing her eyes, she listened to the drumming of his heart which quite strangely resembled her own heart's thumping. Soon, she felt her surroundings slowly come to a halt. Kyungsoo squinted hard to adjust her eyes to the surroundings. All at once, the clouds overhead made way for the pale full moon and its glow engulfed the darkness that surrounded the two late night visitors.

Kyungsoo looked around, very much astonished at how quaint the entire place looked. They were at the edge of a forested hill that overlooked their town, with a small cataract stream pouring into a pond nearby. An unused bridge, completely covered with creepers, stood amongst the trees. A churchbell chimed somewhere in the distance and Kyungsoo felt at peace. She held Chanyeol's hand and walked upto the bridge. They sat down on the mossed stone and remained in silence, just enjoying the breeze, until Chanyeol nervously cleared his throat.

'Kyungsoo,' spoke Chanyeol, his face and ears a flaming red, 'Will you dance with me?'

Biting her lip, Kyungsoo looked him over. 

'Only if the music is good,' she remarked with a mischievous grin.

Chanyeol felt that if he smiled any wider, he would have certainly torn his mouth. Quickly scrolling down the lists of songs on his phone, he chose his favourite out of all. The one he found most apt to help him convey his love to Kyungsoo. Come Away With Me by Norah Jones. Setting his phone against a nearby tree stump, Chanyeol latched his hand onto Kyungsoo's waist just as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

                                                                              Come away with me in the night

Kyungsoo smiled shyly at that reference, making Chanyeol's heart flutter, both of them swaying gently to the song.

                                                                   Come away with me and I will write you a song

'Did Baekhyun put you up to all this?' whispered Kyungsoo, placing her head against Chanyeol's chest.

'Nope. It's just something I've wanted to do for a while. Needed the right time to execute the plan...' said Chanyeol, mesmerised by how Kyungsoo glowed under the wan moonlight.

                                                                               Come away with me on a bus

'But he did help quite a bit...' he admitted, 'I require a mentor when it comes to you.'

'Am I that stuck up?' she laughed, only to conclude with, 'But it was your initiative...'

                                                                Come away where they can't tempt us with their lies

'...to talk to my dad and to persuade him into letting me go— you don't know how much that means to me,' told Kyungsoo, her voice cracking and tears welling up.

'I just wanted you to have that freedom.'

'And for that, thank you...'

                                                                       I want to walk with you on a cloudy day

'Kyungsoo, I have to tell you something...' began Chanyeol, causing Kyungsoo to lift her eyes to him.  Her orbs shone with the moonlight from above and he could easily count the stars in her eyes. There was also that same emotion in her eyes he saw that day by the river; something Chanyeol simply couldn't decipher.

                                                               In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high

He forgot all that he was about to say; instead, he felt that words just weren't enough. He had to show her...

Chanyeol leant forward, the hand around Kyungsoo's waist bringing her closer. Her hands fell to his chest as his went up her back.

                                                                                 So won't you try to come

Finally losing herself to the moment, Kyungsoo gingerly stood up on her tiptoes and her lips met Chanyeol's at the middle. 

                                                              Come away with me and we'll kiss on a mountaintop

Pulling apart a second later, Chanyeol blurted, 'I love you Kyungsoo. I'm absolutely crazy about you.'

Sliding her thumb across his cheek, Kyungsoo replied, 'I love you too, Chanyeol.'

                                                                Come away with me and I'll never stop loving you

Unable to resist her allure, Chanyeol strongly pressed his lips to hers once more but this time with no idea of letting go. Taking the cue, Kyungsoo threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled Chanyeol closer when he lifted her off her feet, neither caring that they were both out of breath. As the music kept playing in the still of the night, the foundations of a newfound love were established. He kissed her jawline and her neck, not wanting to waste these precious moments lest they end up as a hallucination... Kyungsoo nothing more than a mere spectre.

Despite the phenomenal, velvety feel of Kyungsoo's lips and the pink tinge of her flushed cheeks that nearly lost Chanyeol his mind, promises were made that had to be kept. He slowly broke away, letting much needed air gush into his lungs. Just by looking at her, he knew that Kyungsoo felt the same way he felt too— a bit disappointed yet delighted. Before Chanyeol could take his phone, Kyungsoo laced her fingers between his and began singing the rest of the song.

'And I want to wake up with the rain falling on a tin roof,' she sang, using her free hand to her to set his collar right and simultaneously withdrawing into Chanyeol's embrace, 'While I'm safe there in your arms... so all I ask is for you—'

'To come away with me in the night,' continued Chanyeol, giving her a peck on the lips in the end.

They sang,'Come away with me,' finishing the song together, the only applause being the chirping of crickets.

Suddenly, Chanyeol jolted away from Kyungsoo, hurriedly searching his pocket. He dug deep into his pant pocket and brought out something long and glittery. 

'I can't believe I forgot about this necklace...' he muttered, opening the tiny latch, 'I need you to turn around please.'

Kyungsoo pushed her hair to the front and let Chanyeol fix the silver chain around her neck. She didn't seem to mind that his fingers lingered over her bare skin longer than needed. Noticing a dragonfly pendant at the end of it, she asked,

'Why a dragonfly?'

'Mmmm... because dragonflies are my favourite insects and you are my favourite person. Very symbolic, isn't it?' he joked.

'More like cheesy, Cheesy Chanyeol!'

Nevertheless, Kyungsoo was touched by his sentiment though she would never admit that.

Going back home, Chanyeol rode the bike as slow as possible, letting Kyungsoo count the stars in awe as they cycled by, enjoying the final moments of that special night that changed everything between them.

Chanyeol was a man of his word and surely enough, he dropped off the love of his life right in front of her doorstep just before eleven. Before he set off to his own house, he ensured that he stole one last kiss from his lady love's lips.

On entering her home, Kyungsoo ran past her mother, not wanting to answer anything at all. Her father was asleep so she requested her mother to take rest as well. She then rushed to her phone and rang up Baekhyun. A lot of rings went by but the call was attended at last.

'HEYYYY SOO!!!!' shouted Baekhyun, over the eardrum-bursting music, 'COULD YOU WAIT A SEC? I NEED TO STEP OUT AND— OH MY GOD, TAEYEON! WATCH OUT! THERE'S MINSEOK'S VOMIT RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!'

Once the noise cleared away, Baekhyun spoke, 'Sorry that you had to hear that! There was a lot of booze going around, you know!'

'No, it's fine. I've heard worse from you,' put in Kyungsoo.

'So, what's the development?' 

'Veni. Vidi. Amavi,' sighed Kyungsoo, dreamily.

'What the hell did you just say?!'

'It's a Latin phrase. Go check it up.'

'Do Kyungsoo, do I look like the type to have a Latin dictionary by my side?'

'Alright! Calm down, will you? It literally means, 'I came. I saw. I loved'.'

'FINALLY!!! I don't think I can handle this!!! You guys are too cute!' squealed Baekhyun, with Taeyeon by his side who was busy fending off the weird reactions the others students shot towards them.

'Ask her if they kissed...' hissed Taeyeon from the side.

'So... any lip action?' mewled Baekhyun, ears itching to hear the truth.

'Yeah. We did kiss,' said Kyungsoo, observing her fingernails.

'Thank goodness! I didn't want it to be like all the other times that I've left you two alone yet you guys never did anything at all...'

'Shut up Baekhyun!'

'Seriously, the picnic was too much. I even went to the great effort of picking toadstools and stealing bikes— alas, all was futile.'

'Are you happy now that your masterplan has worked?'

'It was Chanyeol's plan. I was just a mere help.'

'Thanks for the "help", anyway.'

'Anything for you, buddy.'

'So, I guess I'll have to give your attention back to Taeyeon now, eh?'

'Of course. I do have to tell her the amazing story of how my best friend was finally wooed by this wonderful stranger who came into her life out of nowhere.'

'Then I'll leave you to it, Byun Baekhyun, mighty storyteller.'

'And I'll leave you to dream of Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo, or should I say Park Kyungsoo?' teased Baekhyun.

'Whatever!' cried Kyungsoo, before she placed the phone down. 

Going up to her bedroom to retire for the night, she thought of seeing Chanyeol tomorrow. She didn't have to worry about anything with him by her side. Yet she didn't want to sleep. What if everything she felt— his hot fingertips, her emotions, their lips as one— ended up being nothing but a vague dream. With her mind swirling in deep thoughts, she absentmindedly touched that silver dragonfly that lay in the middle of her chest. The only sign that spoke of her tryst with Chanyeol; something that reminded her of her precious moment, her private secret.

The one thing that kept her sane.

With a small smile, Kyungsoo slowly drifted to that calm and peaceful place she was previously so cautious of. Because that's how sleep is. It steals into your mind like a clever thief, taking away an entire day but leaving the memories intact.