"Huh?" I draw away after hearing his audible voice. I lift my gaze, finding his makes and maintained eye contact. Confused, I don't get what he just says.

"What?" He presses his lips staring at me.
 

"D-did I say something?" He adds. Now avoiding my gaze and froze at the time. He looks like trying to search for word while I'm still waiting. I heard it wrong. Right?
 

"Yeah"
 

"Ah-Umm I-I" He mutters a few words, sometimes shut his eyes probably thinking. I'm narrowing my eyes in an attempt to understand him. Just when he let out a heavy sigh and find my eyes again, he gets interrupted.
 

Ring Ring
 

"Yeah?" I ask ignoring the phone call. I don't think that's important.
 

He drops his head before blinks and raises his brows. Maybe waiting for me to answer but I'm not. "Um your not going to pick it up?"
 

"No"
 

He breathed in a big lump of air and releasing it hard before he starts to speak again "I l--"
 

Ring Ring
 

"Maybe you should" He gives me a faint smile and nods a little. Maybe I don't have a choice but to get rid of this caller. I could just stomp on my phone and throw it away. Urg
 

"Give me a moment then," I say as I'm standing from the bench, taking out my phone that is in the front pocket of my cardigan and walks away for few steps enough not to let Chaengie overheard the conversation. I almost curse the caller but stop when jeongyeon Oppa voice came out. It looks like he wants an answer now. After seven months.

_____________________________________

Chaeyoung eyes followed Mina until he can't see her anymore because of the darkness that surrounds them. He sits back straight turns his body facing the lake upfront. The water is like a mirror, the shimmering reflection of the moon casts a silvery sparkle on the still waters. He curses himself for saying the things that were running his mind, didn't realized that he was actually saying it out loud when he only thought about the word that slips from his mouth.
 

While waiting with wind howling calms as it brushing his hair, he shut his eyes and savour the memory of its gentle touch.
 

=======================
|Flashback|
 

"Weak! Don't play with us again! That's why your mom left you. Weirdo!" A kid pushed a ten years old, little Chaeyoung until he fell on his . As a kid, he always labelled as a freak because of his personality. Chaeyoung was not like usual kids, he was quiet and always alone. He spent most of his time locked in his room, drawing. He tried to bend with the others but it seems like he couldn't when he tried to play his role in football to gain score but his short legs and tiny body make it easy for the opponent to steal. After the match, he needed to face the consequences, trapped in the changing room with his teammates crowding him.
 

"Yyaaaa!" The door swung open revealing little Mina with a broom. She runs towards all of the seven other kid and recklessly beating their . They ran for their lives without any complaint since Mina, the named princess turned into the hulk when she was mad.
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Eleven years old Mina found Chaeyoung hiding in branches of an oak tree "Gotcha!" she shouted from under the tree while pointing at Chaeyoung who found his way to get down.
 

"This is not fair. You're too good for a seeker"
 

"I'm not. You're just bad at hiding" Mina laugh pinching chaeyoung's nose while the younger kept babbling.
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Sixteen years old Chaeyoung asked Mina to wait for him on the bench while he gets ice cream for them. That time he makes sure to told the older to listen to him and not go anywhere or went for a bike.
 

But when he returned, he hoped he had told her one thing he forgot, which is to kick the ball when some idiot tried to hit on her.
 

"Those jerks" Chaeyoung fastened his pace, tried to get there as soon as possible. He didn't want to run and chances for him to stumble and drop the ice cream was high. He kept it cool, never turned his eyes from the guy that holding Mina's wrist as he stood in front of her. A full-power kick hits the guy's side stomach as he fell on the ground growling.
 

Chaeyoung gave Mina the ice cream and smiled before he grabbed the tall guy by his collar and dragged him away. Before they disappear Mina stopped Chaeyoung on his way "Chaengie that's enough. I don't like violence" He sighed and released the grip, asking if she was hurt. When she assured that she was fine, he gave another punch after he saw the red mark on Mina's wrist.
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Seventeen years old Chaeyoung convinced Mina to tried to swim and overcome her fear of water after she almost drowns when she was seven, a year before they met.
 

"Trust me, I'll catch you," Chaeyoung said as he stood in the middle of the not-so-deep swimming pool, but because of the height difference, Mina can't reach the end without disappearing from the surface. He had taught the older to practice using her arms and legs while still gripping hard on the side of the swimming pool. The last step was for her is to swim on her own. "Chaengie. I- I'm afraid. I can't"
 

"Hey, just release your grip and swim using the technique I've taught you. It's only three meters away. Just trust me" Hearing Chaeyoung's word Mina close her eyes in an attempt to stop the pounding heart and calm herself. The attempt failed. But still, she didn't want to disappoint Chaeyoung when he already taught her for hours.
 

With final inhaled and exhaled, filling her lungs with a big lump of air. Mina released her grip and kicked the wall as she swam as fast as she could moving her arms and legs like how she'd practice, head in the water, swam without knowing where she was going. Chaeyoung smiled when Mina starts to swam and when the latter's head hit his chest, he quickly grabbed her by the arms and pulled her into a hug while Mina circling her legs on his waist, arms on his neck, hugging Chaeyoung tightly as she gasped for air.
 

Chaeyoung praised Mina for her courage while laughing as the latter shown no sign to lose her grasp. She was hugging him like koala and refused to get down until they were on the land.
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Chaeyoung ran and pulled Mina closer to him wrapping his arms around her shoulder. The arms that hold Mina were soft yet strong. The feel of her body so close to his soothed him more than he expected. But within seconds, he pulled away and let out a sigh of relief "Yah, I thought you're leaving me. What take you so long?" Chaeyoung had waited for two hours as the latter leave him alone say