~ Chapter Eleven ~

Chanyeol didn't say anything as he processed the news. It had been a long time since he last heard that name. He hoped he wouldn't have to remember it for the rest of his life, but it seemed like that wasn't going to happen. He promised himself to lock away the foul memories behind it. The anger. The sadness. The lies. The truth. The joy. The happiness. The pain. The trust. The love. He vowed to forget it all.

But in that moment, it all flowed back inside of Chanyeol's mind, constantly reminding him of the things he once experienced. It replayed in complete detail. To every line, to every feeling, to every emotion. It was there. He knew what happened, he remembered what she did. And he hated it. He hated ever trusting her. He hated ever relying on her. He hated calling her name and hugging her with all his heart. He hated holding her hand and smiling at her. He hated loving her laugh, and her passionate kiss. He hated falling for the most beautiful person he'd ever seen, just to be smacked across the face with the truth she kept from him. It hurt him. It really did. But there was nothing Chanyeol could do to stop the constant scenes playing in his mind as that one name triggered the lock, letting loose to all the things he stored far far away in his mind.

What puzzled Chanyeol the most was why he couldn't understand the reason for remembering all of these terrible things. He had told himself to forget. And he did. At least, he tried. Maybe all he had been doing was pushing it away instead of dealing with the reality and moving on.

But he loved her. A lot. Too much in fact. He had carved a special place in his heart. He molded and sculpted a warm beautiful spot, just for her, the one he truly loved. But she just threw it away as if it was the easiest and simplest of things to do. His life had been ripped apart in one of the most painful ways possible.

Chanyeol knew he had to forgive and forget, but how could he do that when it was so hard to forgive the one person who could give him life...then take it all away?

“I was at the bar near our apartment and then she sort of just walked up to me and started talking,” Jongin panicked as he began pacing around Chanyeol's room.

“What did she say?” Chanyeol questioned in a hushed voice. The tanned boy sighed, ruffling his hair in frustration.

“Dude, she asked about you,” Jongin explained. Chanyeol's eyes grew large at that, he stared in astonishment. “She mentioned that she was single many times. Like a lot! I'm not joking Chan. I think she wants to get back together with you.” Jongin rubbed the sides of his temples to calm his nerves.

“She what?” Chanyeol growled.

“I don't know. I don't know. I seriously don't want her messing with you again, 'cause the last time it really hit you hard man,” Jongin frantically spoke as he leaned against the wall. Chanyeol groaned, but then smiled at his friend. Despite Jongin being the douche bag he is, he could really care for the ones he loved and cared for.

“Thanks. But I'm not planning on ever being in her life again,” Chanyeol explained. Jongin sighed after that. He knew Chanyeol would never have any intention of being with his ex-girlfriend, but she was a very sneaky person. She could pull at your strings in any way she liked and you would have never of known.

They both thought in the silence of the room, both sharing the still air between them. Jongin got off the wall and stepped in front of Chanyeol's door. Before taking his leave, he looked over his shoulder to the boy sitting on the bed.

“Be careful Chan,” Jongin muttered.

--

“You saw Tiffany?” Kyungsoo practically screamed out as they entered their school.

“Shut the hell up you idiot, you don't want the whole world to know!” Jongin hissed, waveringly eyeing the students looking at them weirdly due to the sudden outburst.

“Oh, sorry,” the boy apologized, rubbing the back of his neck, “but didn't you say she moved over seas?” Kyungsoo pondered, gazing up at Chanyeol. The tall male nodded his head in response, he remembered her clearly leaving him a note on his bed saying she was moving to Canada. Kyungsoo furrowed his brows in confusion. “Then why is she back?” None of them had an answer to that, unfortunately. They continued walking down the hall of the crowded school, allowing the muffled chatter from the many students to fill their ears.

“Well,” Jongin spoke up as the silence began to get awkward, “she mentioned that she was single.” Kyungsoo cocked a brow while Chanyeol started to feel uncomfortable with the current subject.

“So you mean she isn't with that Kris guy anymore?” Kyungsoo taped the tip of his chin in thought. “I guess she just moved back to Korea because she had no where else to stay.” Jongin hummed at his statement.

“Did she cheat on him too?” Jongin thought out loud. Before Kyungsoo had anytime to reply, Chanyeol frantically cut in.

“Can we not...talk about her,” he spoke up, looking to the ground. Suddenly realizing his current position, Jongin and Kyungsoo both nodded their heads. As they reached Chanyeol's locker, Kyungsoo patted Chanyeol's back in comfort then headed down the hall. Jongin sighed as he watched his friend leave to his rightful class.

“Don't think about it too much. She was part of the past and that's it,” the tanned boy reassured as Chanyeol smiled gratefully towards him. But of course, Jongin could only be serious for so long. “Because there's already a different girl in your present,” he winked, glancing between Chanyeol and a certain figure behind him. Chanyeol raised a brow in confusion before gazing over his shoulder. He snapped his head back with wide eyes and stuffed his jacket inside his locker. Jongin laughed at his friend's reaction slapping his hand against his knee. Chanyeol closed his locker shut, swiftly turning to his retarded friend.

“I told you, I don't like her,” Chanyeol whispered sternly.

“Yeah, okay okay. I believe you,” Jongin teased, patting Chanyeol's arm then running off to his locker not giving the tall boy a chance to fight back.

--

Chanyeol couldn't have been any happier to see Chinsun in class again.

Seeing her eagerly take note of everything Miss Kim was explaining while all the other students pretended to listen. It was back to normal, and it felt good. It reassured Chanyeol that Chinsun seemed quite fine. She probably was just sick with a cold or something. He had nothing to worry about. As long as Chinsun was okay, Chanyeol was okay. Chanyeol just had to take a deep breath and focus on the present.

Jongin was right. Tiffany was now apart of his past. She had nothing to do with him now. He was a new, stronger Chanyeol that didn't believe in bitter lies.

The bell then echoed within the confines of the school, signaling the beginning of lunch. Every student sighed in happiness as Miss Kim's lecture was now paused for an hour. Chanyeol pushed himself up from his desk and immediately looked to Jongin. His friend lazily walked up to him with a grin on his face.

“So,” Jongin began, stretching the sound of the 'o', “are you going to see Chinsun again?” Chanyeol felt his heart leap all of a sudden. He tensed up a bit at the strange reaction. Clearing his throat, he shrugged his shoulders.

“I don't know, I was thinking of maybe meeting her outside,” Chanyeol replied a little lowly, feeling the tiniest bit embarrassed. Jongin only smirked as he eyed his friend in a mischievous way. They both just strangely peered into each other's eyes. Then, Chanyeol had enough of Jongin's usually bizarre behavior and spoke up. “What?” Chanyeol inquired, Jongin's stare beginning to get creepy.

“Huh? Oh nothing,” Jongin said, tearing his eyes away from Chanyeol as he searched around the room. “Seems like you got to hurry up though, she already left,” the tanned boy mentioned as he passed by the tall male and exited the class. Chanyeol was left there dumbfounded. She already left? Chanyeol repeated his words. He turned around facing the front of class. There were many students still remaining within the room, except for one particular one, Chinsun. Chanyeol mentally cursed at himself and ran out the door.

--

“Hey!” Chanyeol greeted as he plumped down beside Chinsun on the usual bench. The girl jumped in surprise dropping her shading pencil in the snow. “Oh, sorry,” Chanyeol awkwardly laughed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, “didn't mean to scare you.” Chinsun blinked nervously down at her lap, snapping her sketch book closed.

“It's okay,” she mumbled quietly. Chinsun leaned over her sketch book to grab the pencil hidden within the pile of white. She reached in the clump and pulled out the wet piece of wood. Rapidly brushing as much liquid with her jacket sleeve, her pencil became as dry as before. Chanyeol searched around Chinsun and noticed that she didn't have her lunch box today.

“Already ate?” Chanyeol asked, peering towards the girl. Chinsun put her hands on top of her sketch book and stared towards the ground.

“N-no,” she stuttered while shaking her head, “I forgot to pack one this morning,” she explained. Chanyeol hummed in understanding as he analyzed the closed sketch book. Neither of them said anything. Chanyeol was beginning to wonder why she wasn't going to continue drawing, but quickly realized the reason for that.

“Can I see what you drew?” Chanyeol then asked feeling quite bold at the moment. Chinsun flinched at his request slightly feeling uncomfortable. Two days ago the whole class had seen one of her sketches but to only mock and laugh at it. She wasn't quite sure she was willing to hear another round of insults from one of the most favored males at school. “You don't have to show me if you don't want to. I was just asking,” Chanyeol then reassured while looking out into the field. Chinsun swallowed quite loudly, but Chanyeol didn't say anything. The breeze hit both of their faces in a calm manner that relaxed the atmosphere between the two. The sun was out, creating a cheerful mood that fit nicely with the sparkling snow.

After a long moment of silence, Chanyeol felt something pointy poking his arm. Turning to Chinsun, he saw that she was gesturing her sketch book to him. Chanyeol could only smile at how shy and secure she was acting. He found it quite...cute...to be honest. He tensed up at that thought though. Shaking it away, he gently took the end of the book, lightly pulling it out of her grasp. Right when the material left her finger tips, she snapped her hand back on her lap clenching her pencil nervously.

Chanyeol flipped it open to the first page. His mouth fell agape at the masterpiece before him. It was a drawing of a little kitten playing with a ball of warn. He couldn't believe how realistic the shapes and forms were molded together or how the shading went smoothly with the objects in the background. The boy was completely awe struck by how magnificent it was. He couldn't take his eyes off something so beautiful. It lured him into every detail. He just couldn't find enough time to fully examine and fully enjoy something so specific and wondrous.

“This,” Chanyeol breathed out, Chinsun squeezed her eyes shut in fear. She couldn't even imagine what kind of terrible thing would slip out of his mouth, she really didn't want to hear it, “is amazing...” he finished, his voice trailing out at the end as he continued analyzing every feature. Chinsun slowly opened her eyes in confusion.

“Y-you like it?” she asked in a hushed tone.

“How can't I?” Chanyeol exclaimed as he brought the book closer to his face and widened his eyes. Chinsun regained her breathing again as she heard the news. The force she used while she clenched her pencil loosened. She could barely even keep her eyes straight at his complement. A small smile pulled up the sides of her lips as her heart started to race.

“Thank you,” Chinsun said in a sweet voice, but Chanyeol couldn't hear her soft beautiful words. They were unfortunately disguised and hidden by the whistling of the wind.

Chanyeol flipped from page to page, complimenting and awing at each one. Chinsun was an artist. An amazing, extravagant, spectacular artist and nothing could change that. She was by far one of the most talented people Chanyeol had ever met in his life. Her perception and attention to detail was astonishing. She took everything into consideration. To every dot, to every shade, to every line.

Chanyeol wondered how she could create these beautiful things (excluding that one portrait that didn't seem to be anywhere inside the sketch book) and have such a terrible experience in life. She had no friends. She was apparently when a child and everyone bullied her at school. If he was in her place, the only things he could ever imagine drawing were anything related to pain and suffering let alone little kittens. It was a mystery to Chanyeol.

The tall boy stretched his arm over to Chinsun, handing back her sketch book. Chinsun quickly grabbed it out of his hands and stared back down to her lap.

“You are an amazing drawer,” Chanyeol spoke up as he observed the girl before him. Chinsun just slightly bowed in thanks. “But can I ask you a question?” Chinsun tensed up, but nevertheless, nodded for him to continue. “Who was that girl?” They both fell in silence as his question lingered in the air. Chinsun opened to answer, but closed it before anything came out. They both knew what Chanyeol was talking about, but it seemed like she didn't want to answer, or she didn't really know how to explain what it actually meant. She her lips as the silence began to make her very nervous. Chanyeol waited a little while longer for her to think. After a couple more minutes, it seemed like she wasn't going to answer, so Chanyeol opened his mouth to speak-

“It was supposed to be a portrait...” she finally spoke up, blurting her words out as her mind finally came up with a reasonable response. Chanyeol cocked a brow.

“Of?” he pondered. Chinsun darted her eyes around her lap debating with herself if she should actually trust Chanyeol and tell him the truth. He did just compliment all of her drawings and had actually sat with him during lunch three times already. Maybe he was trying to be nice. Maybe he wanted to be her friend. Maybe he wasn't going to bully her. Maybe...he was different. Chinsun swallowed up her pride and opened taking a big breath.

“Me...”