Ga Young had offered to prepare the dinner for them after they stood in an awkward silence in the middle of the hallway, and Chanyeol nodded before moving to sit on the couch in the living room. He had also informed her that Kyungsoo was in Busan for filming and told her to eat his portion instead, and Ga Young didn’t argue because something was telling her not to.

Instead of laying down the food at the table, she divided the portions equally for both the soup and spaghetti and brought them to the living room, and Chanyeol watched in confusion. However, he didn’t argue and Ga Young figured that the man was too tired to argue by the look on his face. He also seemed distracted with the way his unfocused eyes were following her every move.

He actually looks sad, she thought as she came back with two bottles of water.

“Uh, the food’s ready,” she told him and Chanyeol blinked before lifting his head to look at her. Why does he look so sad?

“Thanks,” he quietly said before taking the bowl she’s passed to him. She tentatively sat next to him on the couch as he took a sip of the warm mushroom soup. “This is good,” he said.

“Thanks.” She looked around awkwardly for a bit, trying not to stare at the obvious distracted look on Chanyeol’s face before her gaze stopped at the TV. “Hey, should we put on a movie or something?”

Chanyeol was scooping a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth when she asked, and he turned his head to her with the noodle hanging past his lips. She chuckled when she saw this and Chanyeol quickly slurped the noodle into his mouth.

“Yeah, sure. The DVDs are in the drawers on the right.”

“I know,” she absentmindedly said as she headed over to the said drawer and knelt on the floor.

Chanyeol quickly realized his mistake. “Ah, right.”

Ga Young browsed through the selections, pursing her lips when she found nothing that she was interested to watch, and dug further inside the drawer for something else. She let out a triumph cheer when she finally found something that she wanted to watch.

“What is it?” Chanyeol asked, raising his brow in curiosity.

“Zootopia!” she exclaimed with a bright smile. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Chanyeol shook his head. He actually loved Zootopia and has watched over three times already, and he secretly felt great when he saw the obvious excitement on Ga Young’s face as she slipped the disc into the DVD player before bouncing back to her seat beside him. Their shoulders brushed but Ga Young was too excited to notice it, but Chanyeol certainly did and he stared at the close proximity of their shoulders before glancing up to her face.

Ga Young has a nice side profile, he thought. She always had. Chanyeol had always staring at her from the side like this, especially when she’s distracted by something, because the view was simply beautiful to him. She’s smiling giddily at the screen that was beginning to light up, and she looked so child-like and carefree, an image she used to carry back when she was a kid. She was always smiling around him, and he loved it.

Just how he loved it now.

Ga Young felt his eyes on her when she moved to grab her abandoned food, and she stilled for a second before turning to look at him. Gone were the annoyance that she’s used to see in his eyes, and so were the sadness she saw just moments earlier. Chanyeol was staring at her with a soft gaze, and it made her heart beat fast in her chest.

There was also something familiar with the way he’s looking at her, but Ga Young couldn’t figure out what it was quite yet. She wasn’t uncomfortable by it but she felt slightly curious as to why he was looking at her that way. It was only when her phone vibrated in her pocket did Ga Young snapped out of her trance and she quickly fished the phone out of her pocket to read the message.

“Ah, my parents are looking for me,” she said and quickly placed the bowl back onto the table before standing up. “I have to–”

“Don’t,” Chanyeol cut her off and Ga Young turned to him in surprise. But what surprised her most was the hold he had around her wrist. She stared at it before lifting his gaze to him again. “Please stay for a while longer.”

Her heart skipped a beat before it began racing again.

***

“Huh.”

Mr Moon glanced at his wife and tilted his head when he saw the amused look on her face. “What? What is it? Was that Ga Young-ie?” he asked.

“Uh-huh,” she replied before moving to take a seat across from him. It was just them at the dinner table since Kwang Soo was staying over at a friend’s house after attending his night class. “She said she’s having dinner next door.”

“Next door? With who?”

“Chanyeol, of course.”

Her husband gave her a sceptical look at that. “And how did you know? Did she tell you that?”

She snorted. “No, but he’s the only one at home at the moment.”

“And again, how did you know that? Honey, have you been spying on our neighbours?”

“Oh please, I do not stalk anyone.” Mrs Moon scoffed and took a sip of her juice. “I saw the others leaving today and only Chanyeol came back about two hours ago.”

Mr Moon sighed and nodded at that. “She still doesn’t know he’s Chan, does she?” he suddenly asked.

“Do you see her crying rivers over their reunion?” she asked back. “Obviously not. I don’t know why he’s hiding it from her, but I bet he’s waiting for her to recognize him.”

“Maybe if we give her some hints–”

“Hints? Honey, she should’ve known it was him the moment she saw him. I mean, we knew it was him immediately but our oblivious daughter, who claimed that he was her best friend, doesn’t.”

“He does look different though,” Mr Moon pointed out as he ate.

She sighed. “Yeah, he does. Oh, Ahreum must be so proud. Her daughter in a TV announcer and her son is a famous pop star,” she said with a hint of envy in her tone. “That woman must’ve saved a country in her previous life to have such amazing children.”

“Our children are amazing too,” Mr Moon reminded her. “Stop being jealous of other people’s kids.”

“I wasn’t being jealous,” she denied and rolled her eyes. “Anyway, what are we going to do about Ga Young? When do you think she’s going to realize that EXO’s Park Chanyeol is her childhood buddy, Park Chan?”

Mr Moon sighed. “I have no idea.”

***

Baekhyun sighed as he failed to reach Chanyeol once more, and he frowned at his device after pulling it away from his ear. He briefly glanced out the window just to check their whereabouts before turning to the manager driving.

“Hyung, are you sure Chanyeol went back already?” he asked.

“Yeah, he left hours ago. He should be at home by now,” the guy replied. “Why? Did you call him yet?”

“He’s not answering his phone,” the younger sighed, feeling worried now as he stared at Chanyeol’s name on his screen. “What the hell is the guy doing, not answering my phone?”

Baekhyun sighed and tried to call his best friend once more, but he was led to the voice mall yet again, making him sigh heavily. “Hyung, let’s just go home. There’s a supermarket nearby and we can get ramen there for dinner. But right now, let’s go home and check on Chanyeol.”

“Alright, bud. Hang in there.”

Baekhyun could only lean back in his seat and worry about his best friend.

***

The vibration sound stopped, and immediately the lines on Chanyeol’s forehead disappeared. The sound had been bothering his sleep and he hated it. He was tired, physically and emotionally, and all he wanted was a peaceful sleep. He snuggled back to the pillow and felt sleep invading him again, but then something felt oddly wrong. He nuzzled his face against the pillow again and–

Wait, this is not a pillow.

Chanyeol’s eyes snapped open and he slowly turned his head a little to look at what he had been leaning against, and his eyes widened when he saw the crown of someone’s head. It was a girl, by the looks of it, and her hair had fallen over her face which prevented him to recognize her. But he could make out the thick, puckered lips and the gears in his brain began to spin.

I was eating dinner, and then watched a movie… and there was someone… with… me…

He carefully reached over to push back the girl’s hair so he could see his face clearly, and a breathless gasp left his lips when the sight confirmed his thought. It was Ga Young, and she was sleeping. Her head was placed on his shoulder as she slept, and in return, he had rested his cheek on her head. Chanyeol watched her peaceful expression and felt his heart stutter in his chest.

Unknowingly, his fingers came up to tuck her hair behind her ear, and he smiled when he’s able to see her face clearly now. Her cheek was rosy, probably because it was getting a bit chilly, but she remained asleep with her lips puckered a little. Chanyeol chuckled quietly to himself when he realized that that habit of hers has yet to change, and it brought him a feeling of nostalgia.

“So close… yet so far,” he muttered quietly. “Why don’t you recognize me, bunny?”

Chanyeol continued to stare at her, lost at the sight and the nostalgic feeling creeping up his skin. He was careful not to move too much so she won’t be jolted awake by his movement and continued to watch her sleep for the next few minutes. He seemed to be lost in the moment until he heard the familiar vibration again, and he turned to see his phone vibrating on the table.

Carefully, he reached over and answered it before it could wake her up. “Hello?” he whispered.

“Chanyeol? Thank God you finally answered!” Baekhyun exclaimed from the end of the line. “Where have you been?! Do you know how many times I’ve tried calling you?!”

“Baek, calm down.” Chanyeol whispered, glancing at the sleeping Ga Young. Baekhyun’s voice was a bit too loud and he was sure anyone could hear him screaming through the phone. “Sorry, I fell asleep.”

“Idiot. And why the hell are you whispering?”

Chanyeol froze at that. What the hell am I supposed to say?, he thought as he glanced at Ga Young again. “Uh…”

“Park Chanyeol.” Chanyeol tensed at the tone. “Where are you? Who is with you right now?”

Of course he'd know that something's up, he thought with a fond smile. Chanyeol was glad that Baekhyun was whispering as well. and he immediately knew that the other was not alone, probably on the way back with the manager. He sighed. “Ga Young,” he replied curtly. “She’s asleep.”

“…do I want to know?”

He quietly groaned at that. “It’s not what you think, doofus.”

“Uh-huh, sure. Look, I’ll be there in five minutes. You owe me an explanation.”

The line disconnected and Chanyeol inwardly cried for his life.

***

Baekhyun lied.

In less than three minutes, he was already standing in front of Chanyeol with a raised brow and an amused smile on his face as he stared at his best friend and the sleeping girl. Chanyeol sighed at that and looked away, but he turned back to the guy when Baekhyun snickered.

“You two look cozy,” he noted.

“Shut it, Baek.” Chanyeol snapped back, still whispering. “This is not what it looks like.”

“Were you guys watching a movie?” Baekhyun asked, glancing back at the TV behind him that was showing him a blue screen. He reached for the remote and switched the device off before noticing the empty bowls on the table. “Oh, a movie and dinner.”

“Baekhyun…”

“It seemed like you had a rather pleasant night, Yeol.”

Chanyeol sighed. “I hate you, Baek.”

Baekhyun snickered at that. “No, you don’t. Anyway, are you going to wake her up? She looked too comfortable though. I feel bad just thinking about it.”

“Then what do you suggest I do!?”

His whisper was a tad bit too loud and they both froze when Ga Young stirred in her sleep. Luckily, she fell back asleep and Chanyeol released a breath he didn’t know he had been holding in. Baekhyun smirked to himself when he noticed it before he glanced at the time on his wristwatch.

“Yeol, I think it’s too late to wake her up and send her home–”

“She lives next door, Baekhyun.”

“–so I think you should carry her up to your room and let her sleep.” Chanyeol blinked stupidly at him, making him frown. “What?”

“Did you just hear yourself? You want me to carry her to my room?!”

“Well, duh. Unless you want to walk her outside to her house, deliver her into her own bed, and get caught doing so by the neighbours who may or may not recognize who you are and spread the news to our fans.”

“Manager hyung will kill me if he finds out!”

“If,” Baekhyun emphasized the word with a smirk. “But he won’t.”

Chanyeol groaned at that. “I hate you.”

“No, you love me. Now come on, pick her up and carry her upstairs.”

“Why can’t you do it?”

“She’s your childhood friend, not mine.” Baekhyun reminded him, glancing at Ga Young at the corner of his eyes. Even though he didn't really understand his best friend's excuse of not revealing himself to her, Baekhyun still chose to respect his wish. “Go, and I’ll clean up the plates.”

Chanyeol sighed but carefully moved, making sure not to jolt Ga Young awake before carefully picking her up in his arms bridal style. But then he frowned and turned to Baekhyun. “But why can’t she stay in Kyungsoo’s room instead? He’s not here and–”

“Park Chanyeol, leave.”

Chanyeol groaned silently at the demanding tone and head to the stairs. He frowned a little to himself when he realized how light she was even when he was making his way up, and he carefully opened the door to his room before walking over to the bed and gently lying her down on the mattress. He sighed once he removed himself from her, and Ga Young stirred a little before eventually burrowing her face in his pillows.

Chanyeol blushed a little at the sight.

He’s had girls in his bed before, of course – or rather, he had been in girls’ beds before – but none of them meant anything to him. But Ga Young, his childhood friend Moon Ga Young, was different. They had been inseparable when they were younger, and life had kept him from going back to the neighbourhood to find her which made him feel guilty for only showing up after sixteen years. Despite the years, Ga Young had remained as a special person to him and seeing her in his bed made him feel odd.

He quickly looked away before he could think of any dirty thoughts and do anything that he might regret. But after a while, he couldn’t help but turn back to the sleeping girl and carefully, he leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Sleep tight, bunny.”