"Oh my God." I take a step back instead, realizing I'm only wearing short pants and t-shirt.

          "Welcome your guest, Jia, what are you doing?" Heejung pulls me to the door. "Come in! Be careful, there's a step here."

          "Ah, yes, thank you. I tripped a bit when I came here for the first time." Chanyeol says.

          Heejung shoots me a look, and I avert my sight to the floor. "Alright, I'll leave you two, I'm catching my bus. Goodbye!"

          Heejung closes the door, and silence washes over the two of us. My eyes meet Chanyeol's, and I swallow. "Uh—dinner. Wait, let me change first—"

          "What about ordering deliveries and eat here?" Chanyeol suggests when I'm halfway to my bedroom.

          "Oh, it's fine for me." I answer. "What do you want to eat?"

          As we wait for the food, Chanyeol excuses himself to wash his face and he comes back with barely any difference. "How long did you practice today?"

          "I only had one class, so basically I've been practicing all day long." he says as he combs his damp hair with his fingers.

          "You must be so tired, what to do..." I'm sitting cross-legged on the sofa, and Chanyeol sits next to me.

          "I am. I'm hungry, but I hate to eat alone, so..." he stares emptily into space. "Sorry to come here unannounced."

          "It's okay." I tilt my head. "It's good to see you after awhile."

          He turns to me, and smiles. "It's good to see you too."

          The bell rings, and I come to the door to get the food. Chanyeol helps me to arrange the utensils, and we sit on the floor behind the table to eat.

          "How long is it until the match?"

          "Two weeks." Chanyeol answers, cheeks filled with rice. "How are you? Are you busy nowadays?"

          "Well... Tomorrow I'm going to ship a batch of orders, most of them are from Ahyeon's bridesmaids. I thought Allegra didn't leave an impression, but orders came recently."

          "That's great. So are you packing them?"

          "Yep. It should be done tonight."

          "Are there many? Do you need help?"

          "It's manageable, don't worry." I smile. We finish eating, and after tidying up the dishes we sit on the sofa again. Chanyeol still seems exhausted. "Are you okay?" I ask.

          "No... I'm just... I need to take a breather." he closes his eyes.

          "Is practice going well?"

          Chanyeol pulls the sides of his mouth. "As I said, my coach is pretty hard on us... The target's set higher this season, and everyone's on edge, but the team dynamic is good so we're working on the rest."

          "How about your condition? You're not injured, right?"

          Chanyeol lifts the right hem of his pants and showed a lengthy red scar. "I got a scratch last week, but it's drying."

          "Oh God—" I look at his leg in shock. "That's not a scratch."

          "It happens often." Chanyeol chuckles.

          "So practice's over for today?"

          "Today, yeah. Tomorrow I'm going again. Sunday too."

          I touch my temple in disbelief. "When are you resting?"

          He laughs a little. "Now."

          He looks like he has zero energy even after eating, and I stare at him. "Do you want to lie down?"

          "Where?"

          "Uh..." I later realize I spoke too fast. "My bedroom?"

          Chanyeol looks at me, a bit hesitant. "...can I?"

          I press my lips together as I open my bedroom, which is thankfully in a visually acceptable state. My bed is a low platform type that’s very close to the floor, and Chanyeol looks at it, slightly fascinated. “Oh.”

          “There you go.” I say. Chanyeol turns to me once, his eyes asking if it’s okay. I nod, and he slowly walk to the bed and carefully lie down. Due to his height, his heels are only two inches away from the end of the bed.

          “You can sleep here.” I tell him as I take a few books near the pillow. “I can stay in Heejung’s—”

          “No.” Chanyeol holds onto my wrist, and I freeze on my spot. “Let’s talk here for a bit. I don’t want to sleep yet.”

          I let out a long breath and sit on the floor. Chanyeol lies on his side, facing me with his eyes half closed. “Alright.” I answer.

          For a second we’re only staring at each other, then I look down. “Was that your roommate?” he asks.

          “Oh… Yeah.” I got reminded of something, and lift my head. “She said she saw our photo on social media. Posted on your account.”

          Chanyeol opens his eyes wide, they go round like a kid caught from secretly eating a candy. “Oh—right.”

          “No wonder Siwoo teased me a lot in class.” I chuckle.

          “Ah… That… I just really like that photo. I wanted to tag you but I didn’t find your account. I can delete it if you want.”

          “I’m more active on Allegra account. No, it’s okay.” I gather the boxes I was packing to my side. “It’s indeed… A nice photo.”

          Chanyeol smiles, and closes his eyes. “You’re sure you don’t need help?”

          “It’s finished soon. You’re not my part-timer anymore.” I laugh a little.

          “Then what am I?”

          My hands stop cutting the tape, and I look up. Chanyeol has his eyes open again, intently fixes his sight on me.

          I blink twice. I slowly raise my hand to the direction of his face, and swipe his eyes to close. “Go to sleep.”

          Chanyeol’s body vibrates as he laughs, and he opens his eyes again. “Jia, do you think I’d do well this season?”

          “I heard that you’re one of the best players in our university.” I say. “Maybe I’ll be able to witness it in person soon.”

          His lips curl, but the smile fades soon after. “I’ve always done my best, and people around me always give their whole support. But I’m afraid I’ll disappoint them.”

          “Any result will make them proud, because they know how hard you work. You should focus on the good possibility. Your efforts won’t betray you.”

          “I’ve lost before even though I had practiced so hard. What if I lose again?”

          “You’re going to move on, and win the next ones. And during that time, your people will always be there.”

          A side of his mouth goes up, and he places a hand under his cheek. “Look at me, crashing someone’s apartment, seizing their bed and burdening them with my worries. I’m sorry, Jia.”

          “Someone said if you feel better after expressing your emotions, you don’t need to feel sorry.” I shrug. “Someone also said we should let our heart out once in awhile. I wonder who said that to me.”

          Chanyeol blinks, and his eyes close as he comes into a realization. “Ah.”

          I grin, and continue packing. I realize the sounds might disturb him so after some time I pack the materials and prepare to move to the living room. “I’ll finish this outside and stay in Heejung’s room. So feel comfortable and rest.”

          Chanyeol nods. It pains me a little to see him not being his energetic self.

          "Sleep well." I say as I stand up.

          "Have a nice dream, Jia.”

          Coming from someone who knows my troubles about this matter, that simple wish touches me more deeply than it should be. I smile, and feel a rush of affection towards the tall man on my bed.

          I lightly place a hand on his curly hair, and pat his head. “You too.”

          Chanyeol takes my hand, and holds it for a few seconds. His hand is so warm. “Thank you.”

          I squeeze his fingers, and leave the room with a full heart.