“…it’s me, Bunny. It’s Chan.”

She stared wordlessly at him, hearing his words repeat itself like a broken record in her ears. Bunny… when’s the last time she heard someone call her that? There was only one person in the entire world who knew that nickname of hers; the same person who had given her the nickname in the first place, the same one who she had not seen for the past sixteen years.

Yet here Park Chanyeol stood, an idol from the famous boy group EXO, holding onto the dirty stuffed animal she had given to her childhood friend on the day they were separated and calling her with the name only Park Chan would know.

No, it couldn’t be, she denied to herself.

“Seriously, you’re really slow-witted, aren’t you?”

No, I’m not, she thought as she recalled Chanyeol’s words that morning when she pretended to be asleep in his bed.

“I’m glad some things haven’t changed.”

Yes, Chanyeol said that. He knew it was me all along, she realized as she stared unblinkingly at the tall guy standing across from her. Then something else dawned onto her; the feeling of familiarity like as if she’s met him before, like as if she’s found comfort from him before. That’s because you have, Moon Ga Young. It’s Chan… he’s Chan!

Then her memory brought her back to just minutes ago when she had found him sitting on the swing, bundled in his jacket in the cold night, and how he smiled when he saw her.

“I used to play here a lot when I was a child, did you know that?”

“And this swing too. It was my favourite here in this playground.”

Yes, Chan’s favourite was the swing. But he didn’t like sitting on it, she recalled. He’d make me sit on it and would push me, and I’d tell him to push me higher and higher. The swing was my favourite too.

“Ga Young?”

At the sound of his voice so close to her, Ga Young blinked and slowly came back to the reality where she was facing EXO Park Chanyeol– no, Park Chan, the kid she had grew up with. The man had been with her for the past two months, and only now she knew.

You really are slow-witted, Moon Ga Young.

“Ga Young-ah…”

“Why?” Chanyeol’s words remained stuck in his throat at the sound of her broken whisper. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He swallowed. “I tried to… Bunny, believe me. I tried to, but I couldn’t.”

“Do you know how long I waited for you?” Chanyeol felt his heart crack at the sight of her glassy eyes. “Do you know how much I’ve missed you? How I waited for you to come back and find me?”

“Bunny–”

“You knew it was me all along, right?” He swallowed and slowly nodded his head. He didn’t want to lie to her anymore. No more. “And I even told you how much I missed you, that night at the grocery store. Still, you didn’t tell me.”

“I’m sorry, Bunny. I tried, I swear.” Chanyeol said, wanting to let her know that he meant it. “I tried to tell you so many times, but I couldn’t.”

“Why? Why was it so hard for you to tell me?”

“Because I forgot about you!”

Ga Young felt her heart drop at that. “What?” she asked, her voice breaking. Chanyeol looked broken, hurt and scared, and she was sure she mirrored his expression. “What do you mean?”

Chanyeol sighed and looked away. “When I first saw you again, I didn’t recognize you because you looked different, and when I did, I was too taken aback to say anything. Then we somehow got off on the wrong foot, and I was sorry for making you wary and awkward around me.” He sighed again and looked down at the stuffed animal in his hand. “And then I realized that you never forgot me; the promises I made, the foods I like to eat… and I thought I was a disappointment because I didn’t remember.”

“You didn’t… remember.”

He closed his eyes at her dazed tone. “I didn’t mean to. Deep down, I still remember you and I kept you close to my heart all this time, but I didn’t feel like I had the right to just bounce back to you to tell you that I was Chan. So I kept it to myself and just... said nothing.”

“You acted like you didn’t know me before,” she said quietly. “You didn’t say anything, even after we became close, and you kept me in the dark. So you played me all this time?”

Chanyeol’s head shot up at that. “N–No! No, Ga Young. I didn’t mean to–”

“But you did,” she cut him off sharply. “You did, Chanyeol. I feel like I’ve been played for a fool right now.”

“I was just scared you’d be disappointed in me.”

“You should know me better than that!” she exclaimed, tears streaming down her face. “I wouldn’t have blamed you because you were a child, Chanyeol. Children forget.”

“But you didn’t!”

“How could I when I’ve been staying at the same place filled with our memories?” she argued back. “How could I forget when with each step I take, I remember the things we did or the things you said? How can I when your house is just right next door?” Chanyeol looked away at that. “Chanyeol, I understand if you forgot about me for a few years because you moved to an entire new place, a place you and I didn’t get to explore together. There were no memories of us there, and I wasn’t physically there to remind you about me anyway.”

Chanyeol closed his eyes, finding the truth in her words. But he couldn’t stop blaming himself still. I should’ve remembered still. She was my first love too… how could I forget my first love?

Seeing Chanyeol looking so broken, Ga Young realized that the man was still blaming himself for forgetting her. Sure she felt slightly disappointed that he didn’t remember her, but she understood. She meant it when she said she understood. What mattered to her was that he remembered her in the end and was there with her, but she still felt disappointed that he chose to confuse her with his presence instead of just telling her his real identity.

But I should’ve recognized him too, she thought with a sigh. I claimed to have missed him all these years, yet I didn’t even know it was him that stood in front of me for the past months.

Looking back at Chanyeol, Ga Young couldn’t help but to tear up again. He’s here, she thought as Chanyeol silently rubbed his watery nose and sniffed, something which reminded her of her Chan, and smiled to herself. Chan’s here.

Chanyeol stilled when he felt arms around his neck, and his heart began beating like crazy when he realized that it was Ga Young hugging him close. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist, afraid to say anything that might make her walk away, and she chuckled quietly against his shoulder.

“Hold me tighter, Chan,” she whispered. “Let me feel you close to me so I know that this is not a dream.”

He didn’t hesitate this time as he brought her closer and tightened his hold, and he closed his eyes as her warmth seeped through his clothes and into his heart. She’s here, he thought and buried his face in her hair. My bunny’s here...

***

“I can’t believe you still kept this.”

Chanyeol glanced at the girl sitting beside him and then to the stuffed animal she was holding in her hand. The two had moved to sit side by side on his bed, shoulders brushing, and Ga Young had taken her old stuffed animal from him to play with it wordlessly on her lap.

“I used to sleep with it when I first moved to Seoul,” he admitted to her, rubbing the bunny’s long ear with his index finger. “Then one day I stuffed this little guy in the closet because I had some friends over, and my sister made fun of me for having a stuffed animal on the bed. She said she’s going to tell my friends about it so I hid it. Then somehow, I forgot to bring it out again.”

“No wonder it smells stuffy,” she commented lightly and rubbed the bunny’s head. “It looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in ages as well.”

“I didn’t want to. I wanted to keep your scent on it.”

Ga Young smiled, turning her head to the guy who kept his eyes on the bunny, obviously a little shy and embarrassed at his own statement. She chuckled and leaned her head against his shoulder, noting how he stiffened for a bit before instantly relaxing. She smiled.

“At least you kept your promise,” she said. When Chanyeol made a sound of confusion, she explained. “You said you’d give it back to me the next time we meet.”

“Oh yeah… should’ve taken better care of it though.”

“It looks fine to me.”

Chanyeol chuckled ridiculously at that. “Are you serious? Its fur is no longer white. This thing is grey now.”

“And whose fault is that?” she laughed and wiggled the toy at his face. “You neglected it, Chan.”

Chanyeol smiled at the sound of his old nickname, feeling his heart warm at the sense of familiarity and comfort it brought along with her laugher. He stared at her as Ga Young whispered something to her old stuffed animal and he heard her say something suspiciously like “You’ve suffered a lot” which made him snort in amusement.

Ga Young glanced at him and snuck out her tongue at him, making him laugh before he took the bunny from her and held it in his hand delicately.

“I missed this,” he quietly confessed.

“Me too,” she sighed. She leaned her head back onto his shoulder, smiling to herself when he rested his cheek on her head. “I can’t believe you’re a freaking idol, Chan.”

Chanyeol chuckled to himself at that. “Trust me, I still have a hard time believing it too.” He caressed the bunny’s grey-ish white fur softly and muttered, “I’m sorry I came back so late.”

Ga Young lifted her head at that. “Forget it, Chan. No more apologizing,” she said softly although Chanyeol could hear the warning in her tone. “You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”

“Yeah.”

They continued to lean against each other in silence, staring blankly at the dirty stuffed animal sitting in their laps, just enjoying each other’s company and the familiar warmth that came with it. Memories and endless thoughts ran through their minds at the same time and even though they didn’t say it out loud to each other, they both knew what they were thinking and smiled warmly at each other, sharing the nostalgic feeling.

“Hey, Chan…” Chanyeol hummed in response, inwardly grateful that she broke the silence since he wanted to hear her voice again. “Why did you guys move here?” she asked, slightly tilting her head on his shoulder so she could look at his face.

Chanyeol frowned a little at the reminder and then sighed. “Well, at first it’s because we needed a new dorm. Fans had always known where we lived, but this time they’ve even found a way to break into the building and bothered not only us, but the other tenants as well,” he explained.

“Ahh… then why didn’t all of you move here?”

“Because the M-members are currently promoting in China, so they’re hardly around. Even when they are, they stay at another dorm which is closer to the company.”

“What about Kai and Suho?”

“Someone did her research,” Chanyeol noted in amusement, making her look away with a blush. “So you know who the M-members and K-members are now, huh?”

“I didn’t do research. Rather, my friend told me.”

“Ahh… thankfully she did then.” Ga Young rolled her eyes at his teasing tone. “Kai has been going back and forth from Korea to Japan to sharpen his dancing skills with this dancer named Koharu Sugawara with SHINee Taemin.” Ga Young made an impressed sound at that. “Yeah, so he’s hardly around too.”

“And Suho?”

Chanyeol sighed quietly, making her peek up at him in wonder. “Suho hyung is staying with his parents at the moment. He’s… not fit to stay with us right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Seriously, don’t you read the news?” Chanyeol scoffed and shook his head. “Suho hyung got injured and that’s why we’re all still scattered around when we were supposed to prepare for our concert tour.” His tone had slowly turned sad and Ga Young could obviously tell that he was upset, so she sat up and lightly placed a palm on his right cheek. “It was my fault,” he quietly whispered.

“What do you mean?”

So he told her about the incident, and Ga Young listened without saying a word. Chanyeol looked really upset and hurt by it, and even though he told her that Suho did not blame him for it and that no one thought it was his fault at all, he had yet to forgive himself for it. So she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, letting him quietly sob against her collarbone as she gently rubbed his back to soothe him.

When he pulled away, he looked better and was able to smile a little. “Thanks, Bunny.” he whispered and she smiled.

“I’m always here to listen to you, Chan.”

He responded by hugging her close again.

***

Kyungsoo woke up early because he intended to head to the supermarket to buy some groceries and cook for s, as he has been busy lately and hadn’t been able to make anything for them. He missed cooking in the kitchen as well and decided to use his free day to get some grocery shopping done and make something delicious for breakfast.

He made his way downstairs with his coat draped on one arm and a list of things to buy in one hand, and he bumped into Ga Young who had just walked through the front door for her cleaning duty. The girl smiled brightly when she spotted him.

“Kyungsoo-sshi, where are you headed?” she asked.

“The supermarket,” he said with a smile on his face. Kyungsoo felt his mood already building just at the sight of her first thing in the morning. “Isn’t it too early for you to start working?”

“Kwang Soo is sitting for his last paper today, so I decided to wake up early and prepare breakfast for him. Since I had nothing to do after he left, I decided to just come over.”

“Well, why don’t you accompany me then? The other members are still asleep too, so let’s bother them with all the noises once it’s time to wake them up.”

Ga Young nodded at that.

***

Kyungsoo slowly followed after Ga Young, from one aisle to one aisle, as she read the list he had brought and dumped whatever she’s found into the cart he’s pushing. He liked to be able to spend time with her like this, even though it mostly consisted of him following her around with a silly smile on his face, but at least there were no other members to in their alone time.

“Kyungsoo-sshi, we’re almost done,” Ga Young announced as she turned to dump a big bottle of Coca-Cola into the cart. “We just need to get Oreo and whipped cream, and I know where to find them!”

Kyungsoo chuckled at that. “Then lead the way,” he said, chuckling a little when she giggled in response.

After getting everything there was on the list (and whatever else they thought the house needed) and made their payment, the two made their way home with the coffee they bought from a café not far from the supermarket.

“Do you have a schedule today?” Ga Young asked after taking a sip of her drink.

“Not today,” he replied, smiling. “None of us have schedules today actually.”

“Oh really? Then it means Chan will be home too,” she said, mostly muttering the last part to herself but Kyungsoo heard her.

“Chan?” he parroted, looking adorably confused.

“Ahh… I meant Chanyeol, actually.”

The smile dropped from his face in a second, but he tried not to let it show and looked away. “Oh, I see. You guys must be really close to call each other with nicknames now,” he said, feeling the bitterness on his tongue.

“Well, not really. I mean, it’s not because we got close lately,” she said, smiling softly. “Turns out that Chanyeol is Park Chan, the little kid I grew up with.”

“Huh?”

“Shocking, isn’t it?” she giggled as she took in his expression, unaware of his inner turmoil. “That prick knew who I was all along, but he didn’t say anything! I found out just last night, and we talked about our childhood memories for hours.”

“So, you’ve known Chanyeol for a long time?” Kyungsoo confirmed, and she nodded. “But you didn’t know it was him when we moved here?”

“Uh-huh, I had no idea at all. He’s a bit grumpy and bossy now, but back then he was so adorable and was a bit chubby too.” Ga Young chuckled to herself at the memory. “Now he’s suddenly so lean and tall, and better looking than he was before. Which was I couldn’t recognize him.”

“So that’s why he acts all weird around you,” he said, or more like mumbled to himself. Ga Young turned to him with a questioning look but he smiled and shook his head. “So how close were you guys?” he asked.

“Very close,” she replied instantly. “We met when we were about six, and were inseparable for two years. When he left, I cried so much that I was inconsolable. I mean, he was my best friend and losing him was like losing a part of myself.”

Kyungsoo swallowed hard at her sad tone, feeling the pain in his chest at the sight of her sudden somber expression before it disappeared and she turned to him with a smile.

“Sorry about that,” she said sheepishly. “I always feel sad whenever I recall the day he left, but now I guess I don’t have to anymore. Chan’s home now, and I’m happy that he’s back by my side again.”

Kyungsoo smiled but it was more like a grimace instead. They’re already so deeply connected to each other, he thought, sighing quietly as they continued to walk side by side in silence. He gave her another side glance and saw the small smile on her face, and Kyungsoo felt a stab in his heart when he realized that she must be thinking of Chanyeol.

“Ga Young-sshi…”

“Hmm?”

“Since you and Chanyeol are friends, we can be friends too, right?” Ga Young slowed to a stop and turned to him at that. “I mean, we’re all of the same age. And I realized that I’m the only one you’re still uncomfortable with and–”

“That’s not true,” she suddenly interrupted him, making him look at her in surprise. “I feel the most comfortable with you compared to the others.”

He smiled, feeling a little flustered and proud, and nodded his head to himself. “Then I’m sure it’s okay for us to be friends then? Speak comfortably, and you know, become closer.”

Ga Young smiled and nodded. “Of course… Kyungsoo-yah.”

He smiled wider, showing her his beautiful heart shaped smile, and chuckled pleasantly at the sound of his name.

check it out on Wattpad! ^^