“But mom, why me?” Ga Young groaned first thing in the morning. “Can’t you go get the groceries on your way back from work, or ask Kwang Soo to do it while he’s out?”

“Because I’m your mother, and I just asked you for a favour,” was her mother’s reply as she got ready for work.

“But Kwang Soo–” she tried to protest again but was cut off by her mom.

“I swear to God, Ga Young, if you don’t do as I say, I will not pay for your tuition fees,” her mother threatened her, making her close with a click. Her father had given her a sympathetic look before leaving the two of them alone. “So do you or do you not want to study in Manchester?”

And that’s how Ga Young found herself at the market, buying everything that was on the shopping list her mother had given her. She had to walk a far distance to get to the wet market, buying fresh fish, vegetables and everything else on the list at nine-thirty in the morning, and she didn’t like it one bit.

What she hated most was the fact that she had to walk home with her arms full of heavy plastic bags, and the distance was a bit too much for her to handle. She could’ve driven her car to the market but apparently Kwang Soo had stolen her vehicle in the early morning to head to campus instead of riding with his friends as usual, and Ga Young swore she was going to hide her car keys from now on.

She had three plastic bags in her right hand and four in her left, and she ended up waddling after twenty minutes of walking due to exhaustion. The air had been chillier these days too so she was shivering and tired, and it was starting to make her grumpy. At one point, Ga Young finally burst when someone ran into her and made her fall onto the ground. Instead of helping her up, the guy quickly ran away without even apologizing, and she cursed aloud when she saw the tomatoes rolling out of one of the plastic bags.

“This has got to be the worst day,” she grumbled as she picked up the scattered tomatoes. “And it’s not even noon!” Her anger boiled further when she recalled her brother stealing her car that morning which resulted her into such mess, and she gritted her teeth before throwing away a rotten tomato to the side with so much force. “Aish, I’m going to kill that kid.”

“Moon Ga Young?”

She froze, and then slowly turned her head to see a face she recognized and had not seen since she left high school. She swallowed hard as the guy smiled at her. “Minhwan…”

Cho Minhwan – her first love and ex-boyfriend from high school. They had been classmates in their last year of high school, and eventually fell in love with the guy when he approached her and became friends with her. She was on cloud nine when he confessed to her and asked her out, but poor Ga Young never knew that he only did so to win a bet he had made with his friends.

It was pure coincidence on her part when she stumbled into him and his friends talking in the school gym, and she was so hurt and embarrassed that she avoided him at all cost. Ga Young didn’t even look at him when he came to congratulate her on their graduation day, and that was the last time she had seen Minhwan.

But that had happened years ago, and Ga Young was glad that she didn’t feel hurt or betrayed anymore now that he’s standing right in front of her. Minhwan was still as good looking as she last saw him, maybe even better, and she’s super thrilled that her heart’s no longer beating like crazy for him like it used to before.

“It is you,” the guy chuckled, sounding pleased that he’s got the person right. “How are you? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it has,” she replied. “Are you on leave?” she asked, not realizing her mistake until he smiled meaningfully at her.

“Oh, you even know that I enlisted in the army, huh? I’m touched, Moon Ga Young,” he chuckled, and Ga Young had to stop the urge to roll her eyes. “I’ve been discharged, actually. Just two weeks ago. Didn’t think you’d be interested to keep tabs on me.”

This time, she didn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes at his smug tone. “No, I did not keep tabs on you, Cho Minhwan. I heard about it from my mother who was talking to your mother when you just left.”

“Ahh… did you miss me?”

“Pardon?”

“Well, we did have a history together–”

“A nightmare you mean,” she mumbled to the side.

“–and it’s normal to miss your boyfriend once in a while,” he continued like as if he hadn’t heard her. “You look pretty, by the way.”

Ga Young would’ve swooned and melted into a puddle of goo if he had told her this five years ago, but now she felt nothing but disgust. She also noticed the way his eyes seemed to be scanning her figure from top to bottom, although she’s glad she’s not dressed up or anything for she’s sure he would’ve undressed her with his eyes alone.

“Thanks,” she muttered then picked up her groceries. “I’m sorry but I have to go–”

“Are you still angry about what happened?” Minhwan suddenly cut her off, and Ga Young stilled at the topic. How dare he ask such a question, she seethed and was about to open when he continued, “Oh come on, it was five years ago. We were young. It was just a game, anyway.”

“A game?” she scoffed and looked away in irritation. “Were my feelings a game to you?”

“I said I was sorry.”

“You didn’t mean it, you .”

“Come on, Ga Young. It was just a joke anyway. Here, I’ll make it up to you. Why don’t we hang out tonight? There’s this new club opening in the city, and we could go have some fun there. What do you think?”

Ga Young couldn’t believe what she’s hearing. Minhwan was no longer the kind, charming guy she fell in love with and all she could see was an . And the fact that he’s acting like everything was just fun and games to him broke her heart once more, and without her consent, her eyes began to water.

Minhwan panicked when he saw this. “Y–Yah, why are you crying?” he asked, looking around in alarm. “Yah, people will misunderstand us. You could’ve just said yes instead of–”

When his words got cut off, Ga Young couldn’t help but to glance at him in confusion before her eyes widened like saucers. Looming beside Minhwan with a menacing aura was Chanyeol, and she gasped when she saw the murderous look in his eyes.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, or more like growled to Minhwan.

Ga Young gaped, watching as Minhwan suddenly began to tremble yet he didn’t make it an effort to move away. She belatedly noticed Chanyeol’s arms around his shoulders although it looked more like a threatening action rather than a friendly one.

“I asked what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Chanyeol repeated, his voice loud but slightly muffled by the face mask he was wearing.

“Did you, perhaps, made our Ms Moon cry?”

Ga Young blinked in surprise at Sehun’s voice and watched as he appeared on Chanyeol’s left, covered from head to toe like was. She turned when she saw Baekhyun and Kyungsoo next, both standing on Minhwan’s right. What is going on?

“I–I was just… we were… uh… we were just catching up, right Ga Young-ah?” Ga Young heard the way he emphasized her name, noting the hopeful look in his eyes as he continued to tremble at the presence of the four men.

“What’s this? You guys know each other?” Baekhyun asked, looking back and forth at them. “Ga Young-ah, are you guys friends? Or was he bothering you?”

“O–Of course, not. Right, Ga Young?” Minhwan was literally pleading her with his eyes now.

Ga Young felt herself stuck in the middle, unsure whether to tell them the truth or lie and get Minhwan into trouble with the EXO members. They did look like they were ready to beat him up if he had been bothering her, and for some reason, she didn’t want that to happen.

“Yeah, we’re friends.” she lied, smiling at the guys. “And he was just leaving,” she added before looking pointedly at Minhwan. “Right, Minhwan?”

“Wait, so you guys do know each other?” Kyungsoo asked, stepping in when he saw the pointed look. Ga Young nodded a little, eyes still on the stranger. Kyungsoo frowned at that, no doubt noticing that something was wrong there. “Well, if you’re done here, why don’t you get a move in?” he suggested to Minhwan, noting how the guy kept glancing at Chanyeol’s arm around his shoulders.

The guy nodded frantically before he stiffly bowed at the four guys, effectively removing Chanyeol’s hard grip. “I’ll get going now. Nice to see you again, Ga Young. I’ll text you later!”

And then he was gone.

“Wow, he ran like an ostrich,” Sehun commented with a snort.

“Are you alright, Ga Young-sshi?” Kyungsoo asked, and the girl turned to him. “You didn’t look like someone who had been catching up with a friend.”

“You’re right,” Ga Young sighed and then shrugged. “He was bothering me and I needed to get him to leave. Thank God you guys showed up.”

“What did he do?” Baekhyun asked, tilting his head. He looked adorable with the frown on his face, the bottom half of it covered by the mask. “Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I’m fine. He didn’t do anything,” she said, lying through her teeth. “Anyway, I need to get home before this fish starts rotting and then I’ll be at your place in a bit.”

“I’ll walk you,” Chanyeol suddenly announced, making everyone turn to him. He had his arms crossed and he had a hard look on his face.

“What? I thought you wanted to–”

“I’m not hungry anymore,” Chanyeol cut Sehun off before grabbing the plastic bags off of Ga Young’s hands, surprising her. “Come on, let’s go.”

She stared in surprise as the guy walked on ahead with her groceries, and when she glanced confusingly at his friends, they all looked equally confused – except for Baekhyun.

“Well, what are you still doing here? Get going already,” he said to her and shooed her away.

Ga Young chuckled and quickly ran off to catch up with Chanyeol.

***

The walk to her house was a quiet one. She had tried to make conversation with the guy by asking him to let her carry the plastic bags herself, but Chanyeol merely glanced at her with a cold gaze that promptly shut her up. Still, the walk felt nice and the weather was just right. She glanced at him a few times when she finally realized that the man was looking better than he did the day before, making her smile to herself.

“Is there something on my face?” Chanyeol asked, surprising her, when she took another peak at him for the umpteenth time.

“No, nothing.” she quickly said, looking away.

Chanyeol scoffed at that. “Right. I must be that good looking, huh? You can’t even take your eyes off of me.”

“Pfft, please. I’m just glad you don’t look as pale as you did before,” she replied. They happened to have reached her house by then and she was about to make her way to the door when there was a light grip at her elbow, making her turn to Chanyeol. “What?”

“You were at the house yesterday?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Did you stay the whole day?”

She looked away at that, and Chanyeol tugged at her elbow again, making her sigh and turn to him. “What?”

“Answer my question.”

“Yes, I did.”

Chanyeol looked stunned at her reply but she shrugged it off and walked to the door of her house. She unlocked the door by pressing onto the passcode and pushed it open before turning to the man who still stood frozen at the end of the driveway. “Are you coming in, or what?” she asked, holding the door wider as an invitation.

Chanyeol blinked and followed her inside.

***

Chanyeol looked around the house, feeling a little breathless and nostalgic. It had been years since he last stepped foot in the Moon’s house, but despite that, everything seemed familiar to him. Of course there were lots of changes in the furnitures and the pictures hung on the walls, but everything still reminded him of the second home he had.

Chanyeol used to be around at the Moon’s a lot that he knew every crook and cranny, and when he entered the kitchen, he realized that they’ve renovated the space, giving it a larger space and a kitchen aisle. He could imagine the sight of Ga Young eating her meals there whenever she’s not having them with her parents, and for some reason, it made him smile to himself.

“You can just put the things on the counter,” Ga Young said, breaking him out of his trance. His smile was gone the moment she turned to him. He nodded, letting her take the plastic that kept the wet things and watched as she began storing them into the freezer. When she was done, she turned to him and chew her bottom lip. Chanyeol watched her do so and quickly looked away. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For earlier… and for helping me carry my groceries.” He nodded. “Were you guys going for breakfast earlier?” He nodded again, still not looking at her and staring blankly at the fruit basket on the kitchen counter. “Why didn’t you just go with them then?”

He sighed. “I didn’t feel hungry anymore,” he said. That’s when his stomach gave a loud growl, surprising both occupants in the room.

Ga Young stared at him in surprise, her eyes wide just like his, before her lips stretched into a smile and then she’s laughing. Embarrassed, Chanyeol coughed to the side and angled his head to the door.

“I’ll just go,” he announced, or more like quietly muttered.

“Wait!” she stopped him before he was even halfway out of the kitchen. She couldn’t help the wide smile on her face as she stood blocking his path, head tilted up to meet his eyes. “If I apologized for laughing, will you let me make you some breakfast? It’s the least I could do for carrying my things and walking me home.”

Chanyeol blinked and looked away, feeling himself turning red at the close proximity. He had forgotten how those big pretty eyes would sparkle whenever he looked at them closely like that, and his heart raced fast in his chest. He nodded his head then, and her smile stretched further.

She was literally beaming.

“Okay, I’ll go make something real quick.”

He felt truly hopeless as he watched her bounce back towards the kitchen, listing some ingredients to herself. Chanyeol remained standing there for a little while with his hands tucked in his coat pockets, watching with amusement and adoration as his childhood best friend worked diligently on making the food for him. Only when she glanced at him and gave him a questioning look did he moved to sit on the stool at the kitchen island.

“What are you making?” he eventually asked, making her turn to him.

“Banana pancakes,” she replied.

“Banana pancakes?”

“Uh-huh… is that okay? I used to help my mom make lots of banana pancakes for an old friend of mine, and today you suddenly reminded me of him, and I just felt this urge to make it. Is that okay for you?”

Chanyeol smiled. She remembers… “Sure.”

guys, what do you think of the new poster? do you like it? ^^