Ga Young was surprised to receive a message from Kyungsoo one evening while she was watching TV. The idol had asked for her help to get a script he’s left at home and bring it over to him if she had the time. Honestly, she’s been asked to bring things to the EXO members for a few times ever since she started working for them, but the caller would always be Chanyeol (the calls got more often after he revealed himself to her), and sometimes Sehun (although he’d usually just ask Kwang Soo to do it and Kwang Soo would have to ask her for their house key), so she didn’t expect to receive the text from Kyungsoo of all people.

Still, she assured him she had the time and quickly got dressed before dashing to the house next door to grab the said script, and once she’s found it on Kyungsoo’s bed, Ga Young hurried to her car before driving off to the location he’d sent her. Halfway to her destination though, Kyungsoo suddenly called and asked to meet someplace else.

“The fans found out where I was so my manager had to take me someplace else,” Kyungsoo had told her over the phone. “Just go to the address I’ve sent you, okay?”

When she reached her destination, which apparently was a café, Ga Young warily looked around her before entering the building and made her way to the second floor of the café. There were only a few people occupying the café, and when Kyungsoo waved at her from a more secluded table by the wall, Ga Young hurried to him and occupied the chair across from him.

“Hi,” she greeted him cheerfully.

Kyungsoo mirrored her expression and chuckled. “Hello,” he said. “I’m sorry to trouble you like this.”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind.” she assured him before snorting. “Besides, Chan does this all the time. I swear he leaves things on purpose so he could make me run to him like that.”

Kyungsoo smiled bitterly at that and quickly hid it with a more genuine smile when her gaze landed back on him. “Did you bring it?” he asked.

“Uh-huh.” Ga Young took out the script from her handbag and placed it on the table by his hand, and Kyungsoo smiled gratefully at her before pulling it closer to him. “Do you have to shoot that soon?”

“Uhh… no, not today. But I, uh, needed this for reviewing.”

“Oh, okay. I should leave you to it then.”

“No, wait.” Kyungsoo said as he quickly grabbed onto her wrist, surprising Ga Young. He immediately pulled away when he saw the shock on her face. “Uh, I still have time actually. I was thinking that we could… uh, have some coffee before we leave,” he admitted. “If that’s okay with you, of course.” he added as an afterthought.

“Oh…” Ga Young settled back into her chair and smiled at him. “Sure, I don’t mind. It’s if I’m not holding you back from anything.”

“No, you’re not. Don’t worry about it,” he quickly assured her. Kyungsoo had to supress his excitement that she’d agreed to stay for a bit. “Uh, what would you like to drink? I can go downstairs and order for the both of us.”

“Actually, I think I’ll do that. I don’t want fans spotting you and making things difficult for you.”

Kyungsoo was about to argue but thought better of it. Ga Young was right after all. He didn’t need to be spotted by fans yet again and ruining his time with his crush when he’s finally got to spend some time with her. Being able to see and spend time with her while she’s not working at his home was much better to be honest. Kyungsoo felt like they were on a date – which he was hoping that they were – and it made him happy.

So, he nodded and gave her his order and Ga Young gave him a chirpy response of “I’ll be right back!” before going back down to the first floor of the café to order. It left him with the time to smile widely to himself, happy at the prospect of just enjoying some alone time with her, although he chided himself for not being straightforward about it.

Kyungsoo had left his scripts at home on purpose early that morning, wanting to use the excuse to get Ga Young to come meet up with him alone without any of s around, and he had been nervous when texting her as he was worried she wouldn’t be able to come after all. But she did, and Kyungsoo was glad that she did.

Still, he felt bad about making her come to him instead of doing the opposite, and he figured he should just man up and ask her out for dinner before he lost his chance altogether. When Ga Young came to the table again with a table buzzer in her hand, he took a deep breath and smiled at her.

“Hey, Ga Young?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you… uh, free tonight?”

Ga Young blinked at him, surprise evident on her face before she tilted her head like as if she’s thinking. “Yeah, I should be free tonight. Why?” she asked.

“Well, I was wondering if you’d want to go out for dinner with me.”

“Just you and– “

“Yes,” he interrupted, smiling apologetically at her when he realized what he’s done. Kyungsoo was a bit too nervous and too excited at that point. “Just, um, just you and me.”

“Oh… sure, Kyungsoo.” Ga Young replied, and it was his turn to be surprised. “What time do I meet you?”

“Actually, I have a short meeting after this and I was thinking that we can immediately go grab dinner once I’m done. Is that okay?” he asked. Should’ve planned the day better, Do Kyungsoo, he chided himself.

“That sounds good actually. I’ve been meaning to get new novels to read lately but I’ve been too lazy to leave the house, and now I can do that while you go to your meeting. I’ll just meet up with you once you’re done,” she said as she nodded to herself. “What do you think?”

“That’s a great idea, Ga Young.” Kyungsoo replied, smiling widely as she does the same.

***

Kyungsoo had booked a private room at a rather expensive looking restaurant for their dinner, and despite the money he had to spend for their privacy, it was worth it to him. He couldn’t get the smile off his face as he waited for Ga Young to arrive; she had to pick Kwang Soo up from his campus and sent him home after her trip to the bookstore and Kyungsoo made sure to remind her to change into a nicer wear so she wouldn’t feel underdressed at the restaurant. He, himself, was dressed in a dark blue sweater over a white button down shirt, black pants and black dress shoes.

For a second he wondered if he was a bit too overdressed but he did just arrive from a rather important meeting and hadn’t bothered to change, but once he saw the way Ga Young seemed to eye him up and down when she arrived, Kyungsoo inwardly thanked his stylists for styling him up so nicely before eyeing Ga Young’s attire. She had worn a dark blue dress that reached her knees and black short heels sandals, and Kyungsoo had to stop himself from smiling so widely at the sight of her.

“I can’t believe I finally get to dine here. I heard it’s super hard to get reservations here,” Ga Young said in awe as Kyungsoo pulled out a chair for her like the gentleman that he was, and she thanked him shyly before taking her seat. “Have you been here a lot, Kyungsoo?”

“Not really,” he replied as he sat down. “I was here once with one of our company directors, and another time with the director of the movie I was working on.”

“Oh… I’ve never been to a place like this before. So I don’t know what I should order.”

Ga Young looked embarrassed and awkward as she mentioned this, and Kyungsoo felt his heart flutter at the fact that her first time dining in a lavish restaurant such as this was with him.

“It’s okay, Ga Young-ah. I’ll help you,” he told her gently, earning himself a beautiful smile in return. I definitely made the right choice.

Kyungsoo ended up ordering for the both of them. They chose to have a Western meal for their dinner, and as they waited for their food to arrive, they started talking about the dramas and movies Kyungsoo acted in, and the types of characters he would like to portray in his future works. Kyungsoo was super proud of himself for being able to make Ga Young smile and laugh so much, but even his ability to entertain her was not enough to distract her when their foods arrived.

Kyungsoo had to stop himself from smiling too much when he saw the light dancing in her eyes as she took a bite of her steak, and he found himself feeling silly as he ate and lightly made conversation with Ga Young who was too distracted with her food. He felt really glad to have gathered the courage to ask her for dinner that night as he saw the way her eyes lit up with every bite of her food. She spoke more to him as well, telling him more about herself which he had been dying to know about, and when she told him about her class’ pet fish which she accidentally flushed down the toilet, Kyungsoo guffawed, almost choking himself on his grilled salmon while Ga Young blushed.

“H–How could someone accidentally flush their class’ pet fish down the toilet?” he wondered, laughing as Ga Young ducked her head down in embarrassment.

“I was five, Kyungsoo. I was supposed to change the water in its bowl, but I forgot to take him out of there and dumped the whole thing inside the toilet bowl. When I saw the fish in there, I panicked and accidentally pushed down the handle and whoosh!, there goes my fish.”

Ga Young groaned in embarrassment as Kyungsoo laughed again, but then she ended up laughing as well as she recalled that moment many years ago. Too bad mom wasn’t there to take a video. Kyungsoo could imagine a five-year-old Ga Young panicking and screaming as she watched her fish get down the toilet and the image made him shook his head as he laughed again.

“God, that sounds like something Chanyeol would do,” he unconsciously commented, making her laughter die down. He chided himself for bringing up whom he had regarded as his rival for Ga Young’s heart, and he hated it most when he saw the soft smile on her face upon hearing her childhood best friend’s name.

Stupid Do Kyungsoo!

“To be honest…” Ga Young started, and Kyungsoo noticed her smile suddenly widening. “I still can’t believe that the little Chan I knew is now a star, conquering the hearts of girls all around the world as EXO Chanyeol. It just feels so hard to believe! And weird. Like, super weird.” She then chuckled and gave him a bashful smile. “I didn’t make sense just now, did I?” she asked, laughing again.

“I get it,” Kyungsoo assured her quietly, keeping a smile on his face for her sake. “The people around me said the same thing about me as well.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

“Well, they just couldn’t believe that I, Do Kyungsoo, is singing and dancing on stage.Oh, and like you said, ‘conquering the hearts of girls around the world’ as EXO D.O.,” he said, quoting her shyly which made her laugh.

“I’m curious,” she said as she leaned forward at the table, earning a questioning look from Kyungsoo. “How were you like growing up? I want to know more about little Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo felt distracted as he saw the playful gleam in her eyes, the beautiful smile on her lips, and the expectant look on her face that, and he suddenly found himself speechless. He felt his heart beating faster and faster the longer he stared at her, and when there was confusion painted on her face, Kyungsoo finally noticed that he had been staring at her for too long. He blushed, cleared his throat and looked away in order to regain his focus.

“Sorry. Uh… you caught me by surprise with your q–question,” he lied and then chided himself.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to,” she said with a small smile, pulling back to sit properly in her chair again. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” But then her playful smile returned and Kyungsoo felt his breath hitch. “Because I might just write an article under an anonymous name and tell all your fans about it.”

I don’t think I’d mind, Kyungsoo found himself thinking as he took in the sound of her laughter and the delight on her face. He knew she was just joking, and he’s super grateful that she was actually comfortable around him to even make jokes with him now. Kyungsoo realized that was falling deeper and deeper for his neighbour, and as his heart pounded hard in his chest, a voice began to whisper,

Tell her, Kyungsoo. Be a man and tell her how you feel!

No, it’s too soon. What if she–

Come on, Kyungsoo. Tell her now. She’s right there!

“Kyungsoo?” Her voice snapped him out his trance and he noticed the frown on her face and the worry in her eyes. “Kyungsoo-yah, are you okay?” she asked, tilting her head a little as she stared at him.

“O–Oh, I’m fine. I was just… thinking.”

“About what?”

“I…” He took a deep breath and dared himself to look into her eyes, and he could feel his palms and forehead sweating as his heart pounded faster in his chest. “Ga Young-ah…”

“Yes? What is it, Kyungsoo?”

He swallowed. “Do you remember… not long ago, I asked you who your favourite member was, and if that person could be me?” he slowly began, and he saw the surprise and uncertainty in her eyes before she gently nodded her head. “You never answered me, you know.”

“Kyungsoo-yah, I–”

“But this time I have a different question for you, Ga Young-ah.” he interrupted her, giving her an apologetic look which she understood. “Can I ask you a different question this time? I hope– no, I want you to reply this time.”

Ga Young looked confused and nervous, but she nodded her head nonetheless.

***

Chanyeol knocked on the door, waiting for a few seconds before giving it another few gentle knocks of his fist, but when the door remained close, he frowned and opened the door to take a peak. The room was dark and slightly chilly, and Chanyeol realized that the owner had yet to return home and might have left his window open. He strode inside to quickly shut the opened window before going over to the room next door, opening it without bothering to knock. The owner of the second room was only clad in a boxer and was in the middle of putting on his shirt when he turned and noticed Chanyeol’s presence.

“Seriously, why don’t you ever knock when you come into my room?” he asked, huffing as he tugged his shirt down. “You obviously know how to knock on doors; I see you doing that whenever you want to enter the other members’ rooms, but you never do that with me. Don’t I deserve the right to tell you not to enter my room?”

“Like as if you knock on my door before you enter my room, Baek.” Chanyeol scoffed as he made his way to Baekhyun’s bed and made himself comfortable. “And before you argue about privacy, let me stop you right there. You use chopsticks to unlock our bathroom doors and simply showered with us without prior notice.”

“That was back at the dorm, doofus.” Baekhyun retaliated with a roll of his eyes as he went to sit at his computer desk.

“Yet.”

“Whatever, giant. What brings you here anyway?”

“Ah, I was looking for Sehun. I haven’t seen him the whole day,” Chanyeol said. “I don’t think he’s been back at all because the window in his room was still opened when I poke my head in. Do you know where he is?”

“First of all, I am not his caretaker so no, I don’t know where he is. But I do know that he has no schedules today, so either he’s at Suho hyung’s house or next door playing games with Kwang Soo. I doubt he’s at the company on his day off anyway.”

Chanyeol nodded at that before another thought hit him, and he quickly fished out his phone to check his messages, frowning when he realized that amongst all the notifications, there were no messages from Ga Young.

“Hey, have you seen Ga Young today?” he asked, looking up at Baekhyun who had his back turned to him.

“Nope, why?”

“Nothing, it’s just that I haven’t heard from her at all.” Chanyeol said before frowning down at his phone. “And Kyungsoo… I haven’t heard or seen Kyungsoo today as well.”

“Didn’t he have meeting today?” Baekhyun asked as he glanced at his best friend from over his shoulder. “Maybe he went to have dinner and drinks with them.”

“Oh, okay…”

But then, where’s Bunny?

hey gais, long time no see! i hope you haven't forgotten this fic yet hehe. sorry to have kept you guys waiting for so long! to make up for the super late update, i decided to write a slightly longer chapter for you guys. i hope you enjoyed it! ^^