Chanyeol stood in front of the building and looked up. It wasn’t that tall, only five floors, but it looked pretty expensive.

There were perfectly grown plants and flowers on both sides of the pathway that lead to the main gate of the building and a few benches a couple meters away.

He didn’t know who the place belonged to because Yerim only texted him the address. She said it was the second floor.

The lights were still on. Actually he knew by that time Sarang wouldn’t be asleep yet. It wasn’t even ten yet, he drove there straight from Yerim’s dorm.

If Sarang was next to him she’d scold him for speeding but he couldn’t help it. He just wanted to see her. He wanted to know where she was staying and with who.

Was she safe? Was she warm? He had to check on her.

Chanyeol took out his phone and dialed her number. It’s not like she had been picking up his calls but trying wouldn’t hurt.

He waited, and waited, and waited. She didn’t disconnect the call, but she didn’t answer either.

“Is she asleep?” he wondered to himself. “Should I go up? Is it too late?”

He ran his fingers through his hair desperately.

In the middle of his many thoughts he heard footsteps coming from behind. He looked back, his brows involuntarily furrowed.

Kyungsoo was approaching but he didn’t see Chanyeol. As he walked, he was holding his phone close to his face, watching the screen with a foolish smile and with the other hand he held a transparent plastic bag. That was Sarang’s favorite chocolate bar in there.

Kyungsoo stopped when he sensed a figure ahead of him. He looked up finding Chanyeol only a few steps away.

The smile that was on his face disappeared.

“Do you live here?” Chanyeol asked directly.

“I do.”

“Is she here too?” he gestured at the building behind him.

“Stop following her,” Kyungsoo started walking again.

He wanted to avoid this whole conversation. He didn’t want to give Chanyeol answers. Sarang didn’t want to see Chanyeol and Kyungsoo didn’t want Sarang to see Chanyeol. It was better if he didn’t give him answers so he started walking, wanting to walk away.

“I asked you a question!” Chanyeol found himself grabbing Kyungsoo’s collars, suddenly feeling like beating him up. It might have been because Kyungsoo didn’t give him answers or it might have simply been jealously. He got to stay with Sarang, with his wife Sarang.

“You should just stop following her around,” Kyungsoo calmly released himself from Chanyeol’s grip.

“This is not for you to decide. She is my wife.”

“She left you. And she was the one who decided it.”

Chanyeol scoffed, almost laughing loud.

“You were really waiting for this day to come, weren’t you?”

Kyungsoo shrugged. He didn’t deny it.

“I was,” he said, “Because she deserved better than you. Even you know it too.”

“And you’re better?” Chanyeol asked, still trying to stay patient.

“I would definitely treat her better,” he said, “If she’d only allow me.”

Chanyeol’s face changed. Yes he tried to hide his rage under a fake laugh at first but now he couldn’t anymore.

“If you even try to touch her,” he warned, “I will put a ing bullet in your head.”

Kyungsoo remained unfazed.

“If she accepted me one day I won’t give a about you and your bullet,” he said. “I have told you once, a million men would die for her. It’s your fault for not appreciating what you had.”

Chanyeol turned around to go up. He couldn’t stand the thought of her staying alone with that in the same place. He needed to bring her back as soon as possible.

“Don’t!” Kyungsoo yelled making him stop. “She needs a little space!”

Chanyeol turned to him, “Won’t you shut the up? Do you want me to beat you up?”

“I’m not scared of you,” Kyungsoo said, knowing that if he intended he could be the one who beats the out of Chanyeol, but he didn’t want to fight. “That night at the hospital she collapsed,” he said, “She stayed in bed the whole night and it took medications for her to feel better. The doctor said she needs rest and no more stress so let her rest tonight.”

Chanyeol’s hands balled into fists. He was angry at Kyungsoo, or maybe just angry at himself. Why wasn’t he there with her that night?

“I’m not going to stress her ou—“

“Yes you are!” Kyungsoo insisted. “Whether you want to admit it or not, you broke her heart! She will get sad and tired and stressed. She will feel sick again. Just for tonight don’t go up.”

Chanyeol remembered how Sarang felt dizzy the other night when they were fighting and she almost fainted. She was tired, he noticed that and he knew he somehow caused it.

He shook his hair desperately. As much as he hated it he knew Kyungsoo truly cared about Sarang and he was right about her. Chanyeol shouldn’t go up now because they’ll probably fight and she might feel dizzy again.

“I’ll leave now only because it’s getting late and she probably wants to sleep,” Chanyeol said, “But I swear to god if you try to go near her—“

“I’ve told you before,” Kyungsoo interrupted, “I don’t view her as an object. I wouldn’t dare to touch her without her approval.”

With that Kyungsoo walked up to his apartment leaving Chanyeol down, his blood boiling.

He hated that Kyungsoo and Sarang were staying together. He got to hear her talk all the time, he got to see her smile and meet her eyes while Chanyeol went back alone. Again.

~

Wednesday after classes, Sarang and Kyungsoo were leaving together, he held her stuff in addition to his. She didn’t want to let him but he insisted.

“Come on, you’re acting like I’m a kid,” Sarang complained.

Kyungsoo laughed, “Aren’t you?” he stuck his tongue.

“Am not!” she slapped his shoulder jokingly.

“Are too!” he tapped her shoulder, teasingly.

The two stopped walking just a little before they reached Kyungsoo’s car.

Chanyeol stood with his arms folded over his chest.

Sarang’s heart jumped, her feet froze. She hadn’t seen him on Tuesday. He didn’t show up.

“I want to talk to her, privately,” Chanyeol pushed off Kyungsoo’s fingertips that were resting on Sarang’s shoulder.

“Yah,” Sarang scoffed, “You can say whatever you want in front of him. Make it quick.”

“I said I want to talk to you privately,” he repeated with clenched jaw. “Go away,” he told Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo waited for Sarang to decide. She knew the look on Chanyeol’s face, his eyes were raging even though he tried to keep his patience.

Sarang gave Kyungsoo a small nod and he immediately got it.

“I’ll be waiting for you in the car,” he said before walking away.

“Why are you doing this?” Chanyeol asked.

“You keep saying you want to talk when I obviously said I didn’t want to talk to you anymore,” Sarang said, annoyed. “What are you doing here? When you didn’t show up yesterday I thought you already understood what I told you.”

Chanyeol’s anger washed away.

“You waited for me to come,” he concluded.

“Pftt I did not!” she breathed a laugh, “It’s just that you’re too annoying, how not to notice your absence?”

“I’ll tell you something,” he laughed, “I didn’t come only because I had work to do.”

Sarang laughed bitterly, “Of course,” she said, “It’s always ‘work to do’,” she said, doing imaginary quotations with her fingers.

Chanyeol lowered his head, getting closer to her face. He studied her eyes.

“So is my presence now annoying you? Or is it my absence yesterday?”

“Y-Yah!” she laughed, nervously taking a step back. She couldn’t take the closeness of his perfect face and his every perfect feature. “You are delusional,” she said.

Chanyeol shrugged.

“Can I take you somewhere?” he asked.

“No,” Sarang answered shortly and turned around.

“I’m not finished talking,” he said.

“But I am.”

Sarang walked quickly and got into the car.

“Let’s go,” she told Kyungsoo.

She glanced at Chanyeol, he didn’t follow her. He wasn’t even looking her way. A girl she had always seen at her university, maybe a senior, approached Chanyeol. She was saying something with a wide smile.

Sarang couldn’t see Chanyeol’s face because she only got a view of his back.

“Jerk,” she said underneath her breath