A month had passed, and by then MiKyung had changed her number—twice.  ChanYeol somehow managed to acquire her personal phone number both times, and MiKyung was more than certain that JoonMyun was the one giving it to him.

“Stop telling him my number,” she bitterly stated out of the blue one day in the office, writing on a copy of one of ChanYeol’s manuscripts.

“Who?  Me?” JoonMyun innocently asked, his eyes focused on the computer screen as he typed up a document.  The younger frowned a little before shooting a glare at her senior and answering,

“Yes, you.  I’ve changed my number twice, and I know you’re the one giving it to that doorknob-collecting guy.”

“…He collects doorknobs?”

“He changes them out when he needs to change the lock on the door.”

“…And he changes the lock?”

“Every deadline.  He likes to make it harder for me to get into his apartment,” MiKyung explained dully, a grimace etched onto her face.  “But that’s not what I want to talk about.  Don’t tell him my number.  I’m serious, Sunbae.”

Before JoonMyun could answer, MiKyung’s cell phone started ringing, the Caller ID flashing an unknown number.  The younger editor closed her eyes and bit on her lower lip, while JoonMyun struggled to contain his laughter.

"I’m sorry, MiKyung.  I won’t tell him anymore—I promise.”

The female merely sighed and answered the call, putting the device up to her ear.  Immediately, ChanYeol’s deep voice was heard on the line.  “MiKyung-ah, let’s go eat ice cr—”

“No,” the editor interrupted.

“But MiKyung-ah—”

“I said no.”

Silence followed MiKyung’s last sentence, and she had to check the screen of her phone to see if ChanYeol was still on the line.

He was.

“I’ll work on the manuscript afterwards.  I really will.  I just want to eat ice cream with someone right now.”

“You need to finish your assignment, so stay in the apar—”

“I’ll go there.”

MiKyung was silent for a moment, imagining all the chaos that could possibly ensue from ChanYeol’s presence in the editorial office.  Needless to say, that vision included not only the building engulfed in flames, but also a llama wearing a tuxedo jacket and running amok in the hallways.   Recollecting her composure, MiKyung took a deep breath and spoke into the mouthpiece of her cell phone.  “You wouldn’t walk out of that apartment even if it flooded.  It isn’t even noon yet.”

“I want ice cream,” was ChanYeol’s only reply.

----------

With her legs and arms crossed, Yoo MiKyung found herself sitting at a table in a small ice cream parlor within walking distance from the office.  It was one of those establishments where customers could order whatever they wanted and paid by the ounce.  At the moment, ChanYeol was off purchasing ice cream for the both of them (MiKyung crazily trusted him to get her something simple).  She didn’t want the previous nightmare of llamas and fires to become reality, so as soon as ChanYeol ended the call, she ran to the entrance of the building so as to prevent the hazard of an author from entering her one and only workplace.

“I didn’t know what you liked, so I got you a little of everything,” ChanYeol sheepishly informed his editor, placing two plastic cups of ice cream on the table.  MiKyung blankly stared at what ChanYeol had gotten for her, and indeed, he got “a little of everything.”  That included (but was certainly not limited to): lemon, carrot cake, green tea, and red bean-flavored ice creams, waffle cone crumbs, gummy bears, strawberry drizzle, coconut shavings, pistachios, and a generous dollop of peanut butter.  And as if it would make the concoction look fit for human consumption, ChanYeol added two cherries to the top, turning the stems inward so that they formed a slightly misshapen heart.  MiKyung looked at the bespectacled author, wondering only momentarily what kinds of things ran through his head.  But her thoughts were cut short when the said man grinned and exclaimed happily, “Let’s eat!”

ChanYeol went ahead and consumed a large spoonful of his ice cream, which—quite frankly—didn’t look any more appetizing than MiKyung’s.  With a small sigh, the younger took her spoon and took a small bite of peach-flavored ice cream with chocolate chips in it.  When asked why he skipped working on the manuscript to eat ice cream, ChanYeol replied, “I wanted to try something new.”

MiKyung knew the man’s response answered more than one question.  It explained why he stepped foot out of his apartment outside his usual times; why he tried so hard to get his editor to go somewhere public with him; why he was currently eating coconut-flavored ice cream with peanut butter and pineapples on top.  About ten minutes of silence passed as the two ate (well, MiKyung picked at) their ice cream; it wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, which surprised MiKyung a little.  When the older wasn’t trapped in his stygian apartment and making a fuss over his bottle of forks (he really treasured that thing), he was a relatively normal person, despite his choice of toppings that day.

Absentmindedly digging through her ice cream for something edible, MiKyung stole a glance at the author who was, luckily, busy being fascinated with how gummy worms were shaped.  His smile was toothy, but if she didn’t know his personality any better, MiKyung would have smiled every time she saw it.  ChanYeol’s hair was messy and random strands stuck out here and there, but for some reason it was endearing, and when he was wearing his thick-rimmed glasses, the man gave off the image of an average college student.  The said author laughed at something, allowing MiKyung to notice that he bounced up and down in his seat, slapping his knees, and his nose crinkled up accordingly.  In addition, his eyes turned into thin crescents, one slightly smaller than the other.  It was quite a sight to see, and MiKyung found herself having to bite her lower lip from cracking a smile.

As he calmed down, ChanYeol devoured the gummy worm and looked at the younger’s ice cream, then at the girl herself.  He tilted his head to the left, and inquired, still grinning, “Why aren’t you eating the peanut butter?”

It took a while for MiKyung to react, but she replied casually, “I’m allergic to peanuts.”

The other’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped at the revelation as he stammered, “A-Are you okay?  Do you need to go to a doctor?  There’s a hospital nearby if—”

“I’m fine, ChanYeol,” MiKyung reassured, pinching her eyebrows together.  “As long as I don’t consume any of it, I’ll be okay.”

At her words, ChanYeol visibly relaxed, sighing heavily and hanging his head low.  He mumbled shamefully, “I’m sorry, MiKyung-ah.  I didn’t know…”

ChanYeol had never apologized for anything before, and the editor found herself blushing for reasons unknown to her.  She waved her hand and looked away, dismissing the subject.  “It’s fine.  I’m not in a coma right now, so don’t feel bad.”

Shyly, the older looked back up and smiled at the other.  MiKyung wondered why she had never seen this side of the man before.  After a glance at the other’s nearly-finished ice cream, she quickly remembered why.  She remembered how he liked to put lemon wedges on the toilet seat because he claimed it was cheaper than buying scented chemicals inside of an aerosol can.  She remembered how he enjoyed linking felt-tip markers by the caps and filling the hallways with them.  She also remembered how much he valued that bottle of forks.  It wasn’t even a special fork of any sort.  He simply one morning took a fork from the kitchen drawer, fished out an empty Starbucks cappuccino bottle from the trash can, and put the two together.

Park ChanYeol was not, by any definition, a normal person.

I apologize for this chapter being a little shorter than the previous two.  (About a 200-word difference...)  I'm also sorry for the first part of this chapter being so dialogue-heavy.  I try not to do that, but I wanted to see how conversational I could make MiKyung and JoonMyun's relationship.  Gah, I really love ChanYeol.  I have to tell myself every day that Tao is my bias, because this guy is always threatening to ruin my list.  Anyway...a little fluffy moment for these two characters~  I was listening to "Into Your World (Angel)" while I was writing this.  It suits it, doesn't it?  No?  Oh...  ㅠ__ㅠ

Replies to comments:

@pearl-blue-diva: A-Adorable?  ( ; ㅅ;)  If you say so...  /// But I am so happy you are enjoying this story and the cookie!  ^^  It truly brings me so much joy to see reactions such as yours.  ♥  Thank you so much!

@kyuhyun-eonnie: Like a novel?  I'm flattered, really!  \( ; ㅂ;)/  Perhaps ChanYeol (in this story) and I should collaborate?  ㅎㅎㅎ  I would die just by seeing him in person.   I hope you found this chapter to your liking~  ♪

@Serene: Hello!  I'm very happy that you like my story!  And yes, ChanYeol is just quite the quirk master, huh?  I sometimes imagine he could actually act this way...which both frightens and excites me at the same time.  Hahaha.  Thank you for subscribing and commenting~  I appreciate you giving your time to this crazy concoction of a story.  xP

And wooow, four more subscribers!  :D  Looks like four must by my lucky number this week.  Without further ado, I now present today's delicious, chewy cookies to:

afterk-pop
Spppiltmilk
kyuhyun-eonnie
Serene

Thank you all sooo much!  Like I've said before, I'm so grateful to all of you.  You are all the reason I continue to write.  ♥