Niel’s head snapped up at the sudden noise and he looked towards the door. Lani’s eyes widened when she saw Niel lying across the old couch. She quickly wiped away her tears with her sleeve and stared down at the floor. They were stuck in an awkward silence before Niel stood up. Lani shifted her gaze towards him and they locked eyes.

“Um…” Niel started.

“How did you get in here?” Lani croaked with genuine curiosity.

Niel just motioned to the window and Lani nodded as she took note of the window, that just like the door, was hanging on by a few screws. She returned her attention to Niel and he couldn’t help but wonder why there were tears in her eyes, a thousand thoughts flooded his mind.

“I’ll leave,” Lani said as she gave a small bow, interrupting Niel’s thoughts.

“No, no, I’ll go,” Niel offered as he grabbed his bag off the floor.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s no problem.”

Lani stepped aside to let Niel through. The two shuffled awkwardly passed each other until Lani was standing by the couch and Niel was by the door.

“Yeah… so, I’ll just leave now… so um… bye,” Niel stuttered as he waved to her.

Lani just nodded with a forced smile. She sank down onto the couch and dropped her bag. She looked up to see Niel still standing at the doorway staring at her. She stared back at him and blinked a few times.

“Uh,” Niel hesitated. He took a step towards her, but stopped. “Are you okay?”

Lani nodded once more and gave Niel another smile.

“Okay… so yeah, bye,” he awkwardly said.

Lani sat on the couch with her face buried in her hands. Her tears hadn't stopped falling since she arrived at the shed. The sun was going down and the window no longer let in the bright light. Lani dug through her bag for her phone and only source of light. She looked at her notifications, hoping to see a certain name. To her dismay, all her messages and missed calls were from Woohyun. Just seeing his name made her frustrated. She wanted to just throw something at his head. Instead of reading the messages or calling him back, she just put her phone back in her bag. She noted that she had been sitting in the shed for over 45 minutes, but she was nowhere ready to be leaving. She laid back and rested her head on the arm of the couch as she rubbed her arms with her the palm of her hands for warmth. Her eyes drifted close only to be awaken by the alarming sound of someone entering the shed. Lani shot up from her seat and grabbed her phone. She directed the light towards the door to see a tall slim figure standing there.

"Um, it's me..." the voice said. It took Lani a second to register who the voice belonged to.

"Niel-ssi?" she warily responded. 

"Yeah. I brought a flashlight," he stated as he flicked the switch and the room was illuminated.

He took a few steps forward and placed the flashlight on the floor in the middle of the shed. Lani noticed he was holding something in his arms, but the minimal light made it hard to see details. 

Niel caught her staring and stated, "I thought you might be cold... So I brought you this." He stretched his arms to Lani and held out a folded sweater. Lani hesitated and as she was about to say something, Niel cut her off. "I know it would've been weird for you to wear one of my sweaters, so I stole one from Chunji hyung, since I know you guys are close and all."

Lani was touched by his consideration and accepted the sweater. She easily slipped her arms in and buttoned it up. It fit loosely on her shoulders, but she didn't mind as long as it kept her warm. She caught Niel staring at her and her gaze met with his.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat as he looked away.

"Why did you come back?" she bluntly asked, "you hardly know me."

"Well honestly, after seeing your tear stricken face, I couldn't help but worry. You seemed so sad and I wanted to comfort you, but at the same time I was scared to," Niel replied in a soft tone. He was sure to leave out the part that he felt unbelievably guilty for letting her secret out.

Lani stared at him in awe. She felt much better knowing that there was someone who cared. She noticed a small plastic bag on his arm.

"What's that?" she asked as she pointed.

"Oh this?" Niel responded as he held up the bag.

Lani nodded and Niel smiled at her. "Follow me," he stated before grabbing the flash light, turning and walking away. Lani quickly followed him outside and to the back of the shed. Niel stopped and bent down next to a small metal bowl.

"Is that a cat bowl?" Lani asked as she too bent down.

Niel nodded with a smile and opened the bag to pour some food into the bowl.

"You're taking care of a cat?" she asked with genuine amusement.

"Yeah, well I think so. I've only seen a cat around here a few times, but the foods always gone when I come back," he answered.

Niel stood up and straightened out his wrinkled clothing while Lani remained stooped down next to the bowl. He stared down at her petite figure; this was the first time he ever got a good look at Lani. She felt his gaze on her back and looked towards him.

He was slightly taken aback by the sudden eye contact and hesitated, "Uh... Let's go back in... The cat's not gonna come with us standing around."

Lani got back to her feet and the two walked back into the shed. Niel put the flashlight back down and they both took a seat on the couch, sitting as far away from each other as the sofa would allow. The two sat in silence as Niel contemplated whether or not he should tell Lani the truth. He blamed himself for telling Jungwan in the first place and couldn’t help but feel guilty for the way Lani was being treated. Niel didn't have the heart to confess the truth to Lani. Instead, they both sat there in awkwardness, trying to make conversation, but failing when the other had nothing to say. About 15 minutes passed before Niel spoke up.

“My break is almost over, I better get back to practice,” he declared and stood up.

“Oh, you were at practice?” Lani questioned in response.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m usually at the company building,” he remarked making a point.

“Oh, yeah,” was all Lani said feeling kind of dumb.

“I’ll see you around?” Niel stated more as a question than he intended.

“Yeah, thanks for everything today Niel-ssi,” she shyly said to him.

“Remember what I said about formalities?”

“Oh, right… Niel,” Lani corrected herself.

Niel gave her one last smile before exiting the shed and disappearing into the darkness.

sorry for the late update, i was out prom dress shopping with my bestfrienddd ~

i hope you guys enjoyed the chapter :) Niel is so kind ~ i love him so much :) did you guys see teen top perform grentleman ? woot~ L.Joe's hair is a regular colour now :O i didnt recognize him at first Dx LOL. 

comments are much appreciated~ :)

oh, do you guys think i should make a new poster?