Tzuyu washed her face with cold water, wanting to wake up from the deep slumber she had taken. For it seemed to her like she was dreaming a dream, one without end- although she ironically found no trace of sleep the night before. She was a wretch, ambivalent in her current standing. To love or not to love.

She threw herself flat on her face upon her bed. She was tired. She thought about Sungyeol and considered why she had fallen so deeply, so madly, so intensely, so sincerely in love. She took out her phone and began streaming some music. It brought her peace, at least to a certain extent. Then the lyrics that spoke about love all of sudden seemed to speak about her and Sungyeol. It drove her crazy, so she yanked her ear buds out of her ears.

 "Leave me alone!"

Her dream from the night before seeped into her mind and she began to enjoy it, but then she burried her face in her pillow and let out a yell- a yell so loud that her  downstairs neighbor pounded on her floor. She was embarrassed. She desperately fought against the idea that she had fallen for Sungyeol.

 Miraculously, a peace, a gentle wave of tranquility more soothing than a breeze on summer's day, swept over her. 

She drifted slowly, but surely, into a deep sleep.

When she woke up she was greeted by Sungyeol looking at her drool. She thought it to be a dream, until Sungyeol pinched her cheek. He really could not help doing so, he always wanted to pinch her cheek and was happy to have done so. It reminded him of the way a marshmallow feels.

She punched him based on instinct, and she quickly wrapped herself with her blanket when she came to. "What are you doing here?!"

 Sungyeol was caressing his cheek, "You looked bad at work and I just wanted to check on you."

 Her eyes, wide as they were, cried out her embarrassment, "How did you get in?!" She threw her pillows and even her phone at him, "You !"

Sungyeol backed away, blocking all attacks. "You left it unlocked!" Sungyeol was stupefied once he realized he had just committed a crime called breaking and entering, "I am an idiot, aren't I?"

 Tzuyu rubbed her face with her hands, "Don't let it keep you awake at night." 

 He stared intently at her, "So you okay? What happened to you at work?"

 Tzuyu felt a condescending voice speak in regard of Sungyeol, there is no way possible to have fallen in love with him. I was just mistaken. 

Sungyeol persisted, "So you need to see a doctor?"

 "No, I'm fine, thank you." Tzuyu kept her eyes on her wriggling toes, refusing to even look at him for a split second, she was afraid her emotions would go unchecked.

The two continued to speak in regards of Dongwoo selling the shop and the prospect of having to find a new place to work.

 "I already have an idea of what I'm going to do," Sungyeol carefully said, almost wanting to not be heard.

 Tzuyu joked, "It's not with that Irene right? "

Sungyeol had kept his gaze fixed on her the whole conversation through, but now he was writhing in a type of shame and guilt. Irene had reeled him in to consider a new life away from his current standing, and Sungyeol had begun to consider it. He began staring at the ceiling, not speaking as little as one word.

 Tzuyu felt her breath being taken away. She felt troubled again.

Sungyeol definitely felt  guilty now, but it was what it was, "I think I'll leave, now that you're fine."

 Sungyeol got off the chair he had pulled up and left, Tzuyu reached out for him, but he failed to notice. She was left distraught with contradicting feelings and thoughts.

 One month later...

Tzuyu still needed to find work somewhere else since Dongwoo had told her and Sungyeol the new owner wanted fresh blood, while Sungyeol, on the other hand, was about ready to embark on the next phase of his life.

After enough agonizing, Tzuyu resolved to know for herself whether or not she actually liked Sungyeol. Tzuyu had spent the last month debating whether or not to have him play a bigger role in her life. She wanted to know whether he had orbited from the sphere of being just a friend to potential love interest. He already had, she just denied it. She was blind to miss the scarlet cord wrapped around her little finger connected to Sungyeol's.

Sungyeol, in contrast, began distancing himself from her. He pained over how just some months ago she had begun to open up to him, but now she was quiet again, resembling the time he had first met her. He was dense,  he failed to see the bigger picture. He failed to recognize her feelings. Sungyeol was illogical, he felt he should let Tzuyu be, rather than ask why she was behaving differently.

 

During a quiet evening at work when even the sound of dust hitting the floor could be heard, Tzuyu breathed in, prepping herself to talk.
Sungyeol spoke first, "No job yet?"

 Tzuyu dug her fingernails into her palm. She was very nervous, still unsure whether or not she was doing the correct thing. All these feelings, this doubt, this misery- it'll won't stop at this rate. Nothing's over until I tell him.

She finally said it, "You want to," she could not bear to even glimpse at him, "take me out on a date somewhere?" 

 Sungyeol was shocked, "Sorry, what?"

 Tzuyu's pride desired to protect her, "I'm not saying it again." She began to hate herself for saying those words, thinking she gave Sungyeol the wrong idea.

 Sungyeol rubbed his jaw, he snickered a little.

Tzuyu took a small gander at him, "Why are you laughing?"

Sungyeol backed himself to a wall and continued to laugh.

Tzuyu began to laugh along, Sungyeol's laugh was annoyingly contagious.

Sungyeol caught hold of himself and the two were quiet again, "Of course I want to take you out on a date!"

 Tzuyu clenched her fist as a manner of holding back her joy and excitement.

Sungyeol sought to know why she asked, but bridled his tongue. His mind was romantic in that it delighted in the sense of a little mystery.

 "I know just the place!" He told her.

 Tzuyu let her feminine appeal shine through her gentle grin.

 

Sunday that week...

Sungyeol woke up several hours before the date after battling to find some sleep the night before; he only slept for 2. He skipped breakfast after retching last night's dinner. He was just so humorously and charmingly anxious. Sungyeol got himself ready as soon as he could, making sure to not forget brushing his teeth and to carry a pack of gum in his pocket. He also carried his golden pocketwatch to fiddle around with when he got nervous, along with a little notebook to write stuff on.

When he reached the place he set up with Tzuyu, the same place where Jinyoung and the two saw a movie months before, he was disappointed to see Tzuyu already there.

 Tzuyu had her arms arrogantly folded together, "You're late."

 Sungyeol was still gasping for air after running several blocks to get there, "Nah uh!" he checked the time on his phone, "You're early! It's not even 2pm, it's 1!"

 She let her eyes scan him head to toe, "The rule is that the guy always has to be first and never late," she took a step forward, casually remarking, "You forgot to shave. I could see a little stubble. It looks bad."

 Sungyeol sighed while running his finger through his mustache area, "I knew I forgot something." 

He laughed it off as he led the way and gestured for Tzuyu to follow him.

When they reached the movie theater Tzuyu's eyes grew dim, disenchanted over the idea of seeing another movie. But she held in her complaint, she didn't want to ruin their first date.

Sungyeol was able to catch the gist of her disappointment, but still bargained "Come on, it's a new release that broke records." 

They bought their tickets and sat near the middle. Halfway through the film, Tzuyu let her vision drift away to look at other couples there, they seemed to be having a good time, while she, in turn, was bored. Sungyeol was paying all his attention to the unfolding plot of the story being told on screen; he failed to look at Tzuyu.

 "I think I'll buy a drink," she told Sungyeol, forcing herself to sound somewhat happy.

 Sungyeol nodded without even looking at her.

Around 10 minutes had passed until Sungyeol began to question whether she had decided to use the bathroom as well. Another 5 minutes passed, Sungyeol looked all around, but Tzuyu was nowhere to be found. Although he really wanted to see what happens next for the on-screen hero, Sungyeol got his off his seat and began to search for Tzuyu in the lobby.

He saw her standing outside the entrance, sipping on her drink. Sungyeol approached her from behind ever so silently. He wanted to play a joke and scare her.

He clutched her shoulders from behind, prompting Tzuyu to hit him with a backwards elbow shot.

Sungyeol stepped back as he rubbed his pained nose, "I'm sorry, I deserved that."

 She was relieved to see it was just Sungyeol, but still felt bad, "I'm sorry," she looked at her phone, "I'm sorry, time flied by so quickly. Did I worry you?"

Sungyeol had already managed to figure her out, "You didn't want to see a movie, huh?"

 "It's not that-"

Sungyeol interjected, gesturing that it was fine, "No, don't lie. I was selfish not to ask what you wanted..."

 "I mean, doesn't you get sore from sitting for three hours?"

 "Yeah," he laughed.

 "What do you want to do now though?"

 Sungyeol pulled up his phone, "Dahyun told me about this one aquarium nearby, want to go there?"

 She sipped on her soda, it was all finished though, to the point you could hear her just up air through her straw, "So you talked to Dahyun, alone?" 

 Sungyeol was flustered, "Jinyoung was there too! It was a group chat!"

 Tzuyu wanted to pick on him, "So you discussed our little date with them?"

 "I'm sorry! Did I do wrong?"

 "You better make it up."

Sungyeol took in a deep breath, happy to know she wasn't overly angry with him.

Sungyeol led her along a secluded street, a shortcut, to reach the aquarium even quicker. Being all alone made the tension increase between the two of them. Sungyeol noticed he was walking maybe too fast for Tzuyu so he slowed his pace down. There was only several centimetres' worth of distance betwen them. Sungyeol could hear her breath depart from her, he could see how beautiful her hair was, simple yet perfect, he saw the rich color of her eyes, and just as important, he could inhale the scent of her shampoo or whatever it was - whether lotion, perfume- all that mattered was it's soothing, delicious scent of berries and cream.

Tzuyu was tense, she appreciated him slowing his pace, but now he was too close. The sight of his lips seized her. She slapped her neck on account of the traumatizing dream she never forgot.

 "Mosquito?" Sungyeol began to clap randomly at the air, hunting for an (unbeknownst to him) illusionary pest.

Tzuyu snickered a little at his sincere concern for her safety.

 "What is it?" Sungyeol grinned, "Do I look funny? "

 "Like a total fool!"

 His feelings overcame him, "A fool that has fallen for you."

Tzuyu had her words stripped away from her.

The air had changed, everything became even more quiet than it already was. Sungyeol bit the inside of his lip as his eyes beckoned to face Tzuyu. He wanted to kiss her, Tzuyu knew this. She could only look at the pavement as they further slowed their pace.

Sungyeol held onto her hand, Tzuyu chose to keep her eyes from him.

 "Tzuyu, I..."

 Tzuyu felt the heat exude off her.

Sungyeol couldn't do it. Not yet, at least. He changed the air by sharing the most random thing, "I had a weird dream where Dongwoo hugged me from the back and kissed my neck. I think I'm happy to leave the place. I just can't see him the same way. It's all weird now."
Tzuyu was amused, she was relieved the air had lost its "magic". She was more familiar with the current atmosphere of the mundane, she was not ready to embark to a higher ground called love. Not yet.

 

The end jk lol

 

Sungyeol and Tzuyu continued their walk to the aquarium in harmony. Just before they entered the aquarium, though, an old lady scoffed at their skinship; they failed to realize they never let go of each other's hand.

Tzuyu withdrew her hand and felt it grow sweaty. She was obviously embarrassed.

 Sungyeol wanted to shake off the shame, "Hey, do you want to check the dolphins first?"

 "I like sharks more."

 Sungyeol wasn't taken aback; sharks are cute too in their own special little way.

The lights were dimmed inside of course, all part of the wonder used to enhance the experience of the great seas. Sungyeol enjoyed seeing Tzuyu 's eyes gleam with awe as she took in the marvel not encountered on dry land. 

The pair walked at a leisurely pace, two drifters off to see a world hidden beneath the great expanse of the deep. 

 "Look!" Tzuyu happily pointed for Sungyeol to see a clown fish that resembled Nemo.

 "I see, I'm right here."

 In reality, Sungyeol was too busy fixating on the pearl that laid before his eyes. 

They walked pass the dolphins and Tzuyu remarked how they are very intelligent creatures, "smarter than you, maybe," she jested.

 Sungyeol pretended to be angry, "Well, at least, I bet, they sing better than you ever would."

 Tzuyu followed along, slowly falling deeper into the ocean of his eyes, "Well, I think they're cuter than you!"

 Sungyeol grinned and walked forward, wanting for her to enjoy the day some more. Tzuyu walked behind him, taking in the sight of his broad shoulders- he looked dependable from just looking at his back, strong and able to protect. She was distracted by him, so that when he told her to look at some turtles, she did not hear even a word.

Sungyeol turned around, "Tzuyu, how come you're not talking? Are you too tired from walking?"

 "Huh? No!" she had her guard down, "I was just..." She could not admit she was admiring the aesthetic wonder of his physique. She looked for the way out, settling on the cutest thing in sight, "Look, I think I see penguins there!"

 "Where? You want to go there?"

 Tzuyu briskly led the way ahead, she hated the thought of him seeing her red cheeks.The penguins were adorable, so much so that Tzuyu made cute faces and babyish sounds to get even the smallest bit of their attention. When she was not noticing, he quickly took a snapshot of her pressing her face against the glass barrier in front of the penguin exhibit.

He forgot to turn off the shutter sound, though, so Tzuyu quickly faced him and asked what he was doing.

 "Uhmm," he thought about all possible excuses but settled with the stupidest one, "Seeing a lot of water makes me want to pee. Gotta go!"

Tzuyu laughed a little and let him off this one time. She felt happy, just a little happy, at the thought of having her picture taken by him.

 She stood, looking at his long shadow as he walked away to find a restroom,  "He's not a bad guy. I think it's okay with him..." 

Sungyeol went inside a stall, locked the door and checked whether he had taken a good picture. She was lovely there. He praised himself, "You're an awesome photo person, Sungyeol!". He stared a little longer, admiring the woman that had stolen his heart. Then a person knocked on the door, and he quickly came out.

He was about to head out the door, but noticed the urinal stall empty and took advantage of it. While washing his hands he noticed there was no stubble on his face. "She was just joking, huh?" he said as he rubbed his chin.

Once he left the restroom, Sungyeol was able to make out a guy speaking to Tzuyu. Jealousy stirred inside. He ran to her and pulled her away from the man without saying a word to the man she was with.

Tzuyu pulled his hand away from her, "What are you doing?"

 "You can't talk with other guys while on a date."

 Tzuyu was annoyed by his unpleasant demeanor, "Well, how come you talked with that Irene all those times during work? Didn't she give you her number too? I saw when she slipped you her card!"

 Sungyeol was speechless.

Tzuyu felt her heart rate increase from the argument. She hated feeling like this, especially on a day like today.

 "I'm sorry, you're right... But I don't like that Irene. She just runs the new place I'm going to. You know, she's just wants me for a model and nothing else!"

 Tzuyu turned to look him in the eye, and he could very well see that she was upset. He needed to make it up. His display of machismo had caused a rift between the two.

 "I'm sorry, how about I buy you some ice cream, or something afterward? There's a bakery nearby- I hear they make a good red velvet cake."

 "I hate red velvet cake."

 Tzuyu turned away and began to look at other exhibits, Sungyeol quietly followed by. He thought of other ways to make it up, but everything he came up with was pathetic.

After enough walking and looking at the creatures of the sea, the two began to head out for the exit. 

 "Just a moment!" Sungyeol noticed a gift shop, and sought to get something for her there.

 Tzuyu sighed and gestured for him to go, "I guess I'll wait."

 When Sungyeol came out, the first thing Tzuyu noticed was the two gift bags full of trinkets tightly gripped by Sungyeol's right hand. He had bought a pair of turtle earings and a nice, fancy orgel for her, along with some toys for himself that caught his attention-a bubble gun,  a model kit based off a shark's skeleton, a penguin wind-up,  and a small puzzle.

 Sungyeol stretched out his hand with his head bowed, "I got you some gits, it's not much, but please take my apology!"

 Tzuyu took a deep breath and was seized by the charm of his petty apology, "Lets see what you got first," she was being coy, she couldn't stay angry at him.

 Tzuyu saw the bubble gun poke out of the bag and immediately chose that bag full of the other toys for herself. Sungyeol couldn't help but feel disappointed, but he it up once he saw Tzuyu so happy.

He stretched out his hand again, "You can have these too."

 Tzuyu claimed her gifts and took out the orgel, amazed by its nuances and intricacies, at the relaxing song it played; she still got more of a kick out of those toys, though. 

 "I accept your apolgy," she said with her chin held high.

 Sungyeol was in the palm of her hand, he knew it, but he couldn't do anything about it. 

 "Where do you want to go next?" she asked, genuinely wanting the date to never end.

Sungyeol looked at the digits on his phone's screen, "It still rather early, 5:29...5:30."

 "What else is there to do around here?"

 Sungyeol scratched the back of his head, honestly having no other idea, "I mean, we can eat something together if you want."

 She wasn't hungry, "Is it okay if we go back inside and," she gave her best shot at imitating a fish swimming, although it looked like newborn chick feebly flapping its tiny wings, "And look at the fish some more."

 Sungyeol had experienced second-hand embarrassment, he began to laugh a little. Tzuyu shrunk back in shame, biting her lip, and regretting she ever did such a silly thing.

 "I'm sorry, it's just you looked so cute!" He had his mouth open, hoping she would unconditionally agree to his upcoming request, "Can you do it again?"

 "No!"
Sungyeol got a kick out her little tantrum, but he decided to embarrass himself too, "Look!"

 Tzuyu swayed her head to catch a glimpse of what he was doing; he had his hands up to his cheeks, pretending they were gills as he moved them, his lips were puckered up, and his eyes were nearly popping out of their sockets. She laughed and thus the two were reconciled.

After another hour and a half inside the aquarium, the two went for some coffee and pastries at this one cafe a block away. The cafe had tables inside and outside as well, Sungyeol wanted to feel the nice cool air the evening had to offer so they sat and chatted there together for a while. He was, of course, attentive enough to pull Tzuyu's seat for her this time around.

 "So," Tzuyu was curious, but asked herself whether she should ask the following question, whether it would ruin their date or not. She still asked, "Since you're leaving, I guess that means you're quitting on the idea of college, right?"

Sungyeol felt awkward, "For now, I guess..."

 "I'm sorry for asking." Tzuyu sought another topic, "I'm not all surprised Dongwoo's selling the shop, though. We weren't doing so well in profits."

 "Yeah," Sungyeol added, "The customers were decreasing by the day. Maybe we should've sold something else besides only ice cream. Bad business plan..."

There was a quiet moment between the two, the air had grown heavy.

Sungyeol wanted to break the ice, "It seems Dahyun's forcing Jinyoung to go to bible study," he nibbled on some of his sugar-glazed bread, "she says it's to make sure he doesn't fall back to his old ways."

 "Oh yeah?" Tzuyu was interested, "He's not a bad guy though. I don't think Jinyoung would fall to evil ways."

 He was talking while chewing, "Yeah, I said that too, but she told me it's because she doesn't want Dongwoo to rub off on him. I mean, and I get it, but everyone drinks and smokes, it's no big deal."

Tzuyu was slowly stirring her coffee swooshing it to and fro in the form of figure eights, "Maybe she just wants to spend some more time with him."

 "You think so? I kind of got that too from her, I think she was just using Dongwoo's bad influence as pretext."

 "I still don't like smoking though. Drinking is okay if you don't become a drunkard."

 Sungyeol took out a pocket-sized notebook and wrote down what Tzuyu said. 

 "Are you writing stuff down?"

 Sungyeol was nonchalantly the sugar off his fingers, the bread was too good, "Yeah, I want to make sure I get everything down for the future."

She was intrigued to discover the contents of his book, "Can I see?" Tzuyu leaned over to pull the notebook away from him.

Sungyeol was reluctant at first, but he came to believe he had nothing to hide so he handed it over.

Tzuyu began reading pages full of notes that had been jotted down rather messily. The notes were all about her and her preferences. She smiled at the penmanship, knowing he must've written the details he noticed while simultaneously attempting to hide the act.

Sungyeol regretted handing over the notebook, he felt embarrassed as Tzuyu peeked at him every now and then while reading.

She pointed at a page, "You said I'm 'kind of masochistic'. That's not true, you better change that."

 Sungyeol smiled while shrugging his shoulders, "I write as I see."

 Tzuyu kicked his kicked his shin, prompting him to apologize and afterward play jokester, "What I tell you?"

 Tzuyu rolled her eyes and read a few more pages before she suddenly closed it, "There's more to me than that, but," she was shy to admit she liked the fact he admired her so much, she was bashful, "thanks..."

 "It's moments like these that make me fall in love with you."

 The couple's eyes were glued to each other's. Tzuyu had her hand lying on the table, an act led by fate. Sungyeol could not escape the tugging of his heart, his hand gravitated toward hers and came to hold it, his thumb began caressing her own. The two were trapped in a moment unlike any they had ever known. The mystique of the word called love had taken them to cross the river on the moon.

Then a dog, let loose by its owner came and knocked out their table, the two were startled out of the magic world they had travelled to.

But Sungyeol wanted more time with her. Tzuyu was taken by his words, she agreed to let him walk her home one last time.

Right before they reached the corner, the corner before reaching her apartment complex, Sungyeol pulled Tzuyu away to a very small park he had noticed his first time walking her.

Under the starry night sky, the two took a seat on a bench. They were silent. The instance one would attempt to speak, they would hiccup as the other met their gaze. They were overwhelmed by each other, but maybe it was better that way...

Their two hands were gradually coming closer together until their fingertips touched, at which point Sungyeol asserted himself as a man and held her hand, firmly yet gently. Tzuyu stopped pulling away her hand and enjoyed his warm touch.

 "It's not fair, Tzuyu." Sungyeol took in a deep breath , "I chose to accept Irene's proposal to leave for Hong Kong because I thought you had begun to hate me. I can't back out from it now that I signed a contract."

 Tzuyu's nostrils flared ever so subtly, in the guilt, "I got quieter because I had trouble acknowledging my own feelings."

 Sungyeol pulled his hand away from her and ran that very hand through his hair, "I felt forced to accept her proposal because I didn't want to be around you any longer, not if you would not be mine. The love I had for you worked against me and became vile."

 "Why?"

 He hesitated, "Because you had begun to kill me slowly. I could not handle being around you if you were not going to return my feelings. I'm not that strong," he clicked his tongue in frustration, "it's not healthy to fall into delusion, it gnaws at you, the heart pains. It's just bad, an unending dilemma full of only tears. It's not love if it's platonic. The times our eyes met that were once like heaven's touch became hellish to me. When it came to the end... at the last, Romeo killed himself when Juliet died. Because, as far as he knew, she died, never to come back again. He couldn't live  in a world without her. It was like that for me, too." He rubbed his eyes, his whole face, afterwards venting out a deep breath of air through his nostrils, "I don't even know if you get what I'm trying to say. I'm sorry. "

 "It's okay, I get it. I'm sorry."

Talking about his hurt made Sungyeol feverish, he felt his whole body hot. He looked up at the sky and asked Tzuyu for a small request, "Can I," he swallowed his spit, "Can I lay my head on your lap and rest a little?"

Tzuyu was flustered. But Sungyeol, he had a look you could not say "no" to; he gestured with his fingers, "For just a little?"

 Tzuyu sighed and consented, "Only for a little. I don't want to get caught."

 Sungyeol was quick to bring his feet up on the bench and to lay his head down on her lap. He looked up as she looked down; they were smitten. 

He twirled the lock of her hair that was cascading downward, "You looked prettier yesterday." 

She was curious, what had she done the day before? She furrowed her brows, "Why? Tell me."

 He grinned, "Because you were one day younger!"

 Tzuyu pushed him off, Sungyeol was quick to stand on his feet and dust the dirt off his pants. Surprisingly, she gestured at him to lay his head on her lap again.

She pulled his cheek, "I'll miss your jokes."

 "Is that the only thing you'll miss from this man in love?"

 Tzuyu was swift, "No. I'll miss all of you. I can't take my eyes off of you." 

 Sungyeol took out the golden pocketwatch and handed it up to her, "Keep it. I broke it. But it means a lot to me. I got it on the day I met you. The time is stuck on it, but that's fitting because I will be living a still life, frozen in time, without you. At least, I hope you'll wait for me."

 Tzuyu looked at it, and remarked, "3:31? Isn't this around the time you leave tomorrow?"

Sungyeol was silent, his eyes were closed.

Tzuyu's lips quivered, "I guess that's the moment time stops for me, too." She knew he wasn't listening, but still wanted to complain, "Wow, you're good at breaking things, " she whispered, "like my heart."

 Sungyeol had fallen asleep on her lap. He had a big day tomorrow. Tzuyu slowly, gently, his hair over and over. Then she pulled her hair behind her ear and ducked down to kiss him on his cheek, and then softly, tenderly, on his lips. The two were taken away to paradise, the place that destiny had prepared for them since before the dawn of creation, the land where the chaser and the chased are at peace, the garden where the four rivers meet. 
 

"I love every single little piece of you."

 

The end.

 

thanks for reading ^^