Alex, who had craved solidarity all day, found herself around 7pm bored.  She had written all she knew she could write, she was hungry, and she was lonely. 

Although she didn’t want to admit it, she had gotten used to the EXO boys, with all their drama and quirks, and part of her missed the company they brought with them.  After deliberating for some time, she made a bold decision, grabbed her coat, and left the apartment. 

The hallway was empty.  There was no noise, just conspicuous silence.  Swallowing hard she proceeded with her plan.  Taking steady controlled strides, she walked up to apartment 420 and pressed the buzzer. 

She waited patiently, bobbing her leg and drumming her fingers on the side of the white doorframe.  After several seconds she pressed the buzzer again, and again, losing patience, and her determination. 

Eventually, after several minutes, she heard movements behind the door, and the lock unclicking.  With her heart pounding in her chest, she took a deep breath as Chanyeol opened the door looking disheveled. 

‘Alex?’ he grumbled, his throat was hoarse like he had just woken up.  ‘Baekhyun isn’t here,’ he told her rubbing his eyes. 

‘It’s not Baekhyun I’m here to see.’ She told him, forcing the wobble out of her voice. 

He stared at her, baffled for a few seconds like he wasn’t exactly sure why she was there then. 

‘I’m hungry.’ She explained, ‘Do you want to come and eat with me?’ She just about managed to keep the fear out of her voice. 

He looked at her very strangely, his lips almost pouting down at her, like she was speaking some language he didn’t understand.  She was determined to maintain eye contact with him.

‘Chanyeol?’ she pushed, her voice showing more authority than she felt. 

‘I’ll get ready.  Come in.’ he said, opening the door more for her to step inside. 

She walked into the unfamiliar apartment, all laid out in similar ways to her own.  Chanyeol’s and Baekhyun’s was a lot cleaner than Junmyeons and Sehun’s, but still not perfectly clean.  The odd rogue shirt was lying about in the mess of laptops, cables, discs, and musical instruments.  There was not a lot of light in the apartment.  One lonely light seemed to shine out from one of the bedrooms, she guessed Chanyeol’s since he was the only one here. 

‘Where is Baekhyun then?’ she asked following him inside. 

‘Gone to see a friend with Jongin.’ He muttered walking through the living room and removing his shirt.  ‘I’m going to take a shower first ok?’ He turned to ask her. 

She was distracted by his semi-ness, and the raging flashbacks, as her eyes traced the contours of his far too toned body.

‘Ok.’ She managed to get out as she settled on a space on the sofa. 

He turned a light on to illuminate the living room as he walked off towards the bathroom.  She waited awkwardly in the silence for him.  She could hear the shower running, and his distant singing.  Cute, she thought idly, he sings in the shower.  Her eyes cast over all the rubbish they had laying on the coffee table.  Games and laptops seem to be fighting for a place, as they were piled high on one another. 

There was a pad, with scrunched up bits of paper that scattered over it, and down onto the floor.  What looked like music notes, and what she only assumed might be lyrics, in the mess of Korean words that dotted the discarded bits of paper, she saw an English character on one.  She looked around checking the water was still running, and he was still showering before bending to pick it up to see the word more clearly. 

BUTTERFLY

She silently gasped.  Fear ran through her like someone dropping ice down her back.  Whipping around she heard the sound of the water cease, and Chanyeol, emerging with a towel around himself, walking through to the bedroom. 

This wasn’t a coincidence.  Maybe it was Chanyeol.  She wanted to run and hide, but if it was him, she had to find out.  Forcing herself to relax, she took the now almost empty packet of cigarettes out of her bag, pressing one between her lips trying desperately to find a lighter in her bad.

‘Alex, you can’t smoke in here.’ He said, walking over to her, and pulling the cigarette out of , throwing it into the trash can in the corner of the room.

He was wearing sweatpants, a simple t-shirt and was pulling a grey sweater over his head. 

‘Fill your lungs with that outside, but not in here.’ He told her grabbing his coat.  ‘Ok?’  His voice was not hard, it was soft and deep, almost caring. 

She nodded at him carefully as he hovered by the door. ‘Ok, let’s go then.’ He motioned to leave. 

She got up quickly, stepping out of the door in front of him, and the few steps towards the elevator. 

They didn’t have to wait long for it to arrive, and before they knew it they were outside the apartment building.

‘What do you want to eat?’ she asked him, practically jogging to keep up with him.  He looked down at her and realising how quickly he was walking he slowed his pace to suit her. 

‘Do you trust me?’ he asked her. ‘There’s a place I know if you want to try it?’

She nodded up at him, something in the way he had asked her if she trusted him made her want to say yes and she was grateful he had an idea, because besides asking him to go and eat, she hadn’t thought much about what exactly they were going to get. 

They walked a short distance, listening to the passing cars and traffic noise, in passive silence.  He slowed as they approached the restaurant, holding the door open for her. She walked in, the heat of the restaurant making her cheeks flush with the sudden temperature change. 

The restaurant was small but bright.  There were several tables lining the walls that you obviously had to sit cross-legged at on the floor.  Each table was separated by a woven bamboo divider, making it quite private.  There was almost no one else there, as they were greeted by a waitress who directed them into the corner of the room.  Chanyeol sat against the wall where he would be well hidden by the divider.  He was a little awkward as he sat himself down, his limbs too big for this kind of seating, he had to push the table out a little to get himself in.  Alex followed him, sitting against the back wall, crossing her legs a little more easily as her legs were only about half the length of his. 

‘You come here a lot?’ she asked him, unable to imagine it.

‘Yeah, this table has the most space for me to sit.  I always sit here,’ he smiled a little tensely. 

She snorted though she didn’t mean too.  He looked at her like she had gone mad, but then suddenly, like the sun streaming through the clouds, his face lit up, and his booming laugh filled the empty restaurant.

‘I deal with it because the food’s good,’ he explained with a smile, he knew it must look insane him cramming his oversized self on the floor like this. 

‘Ok, so what is the best thing to eat?’ She asked looking at the menu, but unable to understand it at all.  It was all in Korean.  He smirked at her as she frowned, his dark eyes lighting up. 

‘If you trust me let me order.’ He told her, his voice lowering an octave. 

There was something special in the way he addressed her, the way his eyes