[Chapter 15]

The one and only, Zhong Chenle, had agreed with Gayeon to stargaze outside of their home. So, there they were, lying on a large blanket that Gayeon brought out to overlay the spot they chose in the grass. It was a rather calmingly nice kind of night; not too cold nor hot.

Gayeon giddily lied on her back as her eyes were immediately infatuated by the stars from above. Chenle copied the girl and stared up at the sky, not because he enjoyed doing so like her, but because he wanted to avoid looking at her. Despite his goal to attempt to avoid her, his mind somehow convinced- or perhaps forced him to steal a glance. It was a rather big mistake; he caught her having the largest smile she has ever displayed since they’ve met. It was so wide, he wondered if her cheeks hurt. Was she that happy from simply stargazing? He actually didn’t see the point in it, to be quite honest.

Gayeon managed to catch the boy red handed. Her sweet smile switched to a smug smirk seeing how the Zhong Chenle took the time to steal a glance. He whipped his head back to its original position so fast that his vision became a blur for a split second. “It’s super relaxing when you just lie back and look at each star, by the way.”

His face was extremely hot from the embarrassment; it was a miracle that the moonlight wasn’t enough to reveal the shade of pink dusted over his cheeks. Pulling himself together, he brought back his rather serious demeanor. “I don’t feel anything.”

Her lips brought themselves into a thin line as her eyes continued scanning the endless sky. She spoke the truth when she said it was relaxing; at least it was relaxing to her. For some reason, the moon and stars always somehow works their magic on her. “Watch, you’ll like it. I did this a lot back then after Jisung left me. I couldn’t really do it after meeting you since...you know, locked me inside. Lately, Jisung’s been letting me do this again though...”

“So what you’re saying is that I should beat your brother up for breaking the rules and letting you out alone?”

“What? No! I just wanted to say that it’s helped me a lot. After, you know...the whole attack on the old house...”

Gayeon wasn’t lying about this either. After what happened a few days ago, she kept on having this recurring sense of fear rush through her veins. It followed her everywhere throughout the day. No matter what she was doing, those fears kept haunting her- even while she slept. As a matter of fact, Gayeon couldn’t sleep tonight and the last one because of it.

She lied there stiffly, only fidgeting her fingers as the awkward silence engulfed them. “I’ve also been meaning to say this...uh, thank you for coming to get me that night...”

Once again, Chenle felt embarrassment overwhelm his heart, cueing the blush to form on his cheeks. “Oh, shut up.”

“Also...I’m sorry for what I said to you that night. I just felt so angry with how you treated me that I didn’t realize I crossed the line.”

“It’s fine.”

Just from a simple mention of it, Jia, Hana, and even Gayeon herself, intruded his mind. Chenle gulped nervously as he felt all of his memories and dilemmas swarmed himself within seconds. He felt vulnerable as they continued to haunt him and he hated appearing vulnerable, especially to her. Too embarrassed and humiliated to face the girl, he chose to stare up, searching for comfort and protection from those glimmering dots splattered among the darkness.

The lad never felt scared nor vulnerable, but he does now. Because of that, the male was searching for help from the stars themselves; if Gayeon said th