She is a creature of habit.

Chanyeol is not and, at first, she doesn't appreciate his unpredictable ways.

 

The first time they meet, Chanyeol is perched in a tree, and she is only a passerby.

"Hey!"

A voice distracts her from her thoughts; she looks around aimlessly.

"Up here!"

She shifts her gaze upwards and spots a boy, around her age, sitting on a branch. His voice doesn't suit his face and neither does that terrible mess of curls, which she assumes is his hair. She recognises a little boy from her neighbourhood standing underneath, his eyes tearing up.

"Do you happen to have anything similar to a rod on you?" He gestures to the kite, which she only just notices, caught in between the branches, "I'm just a little short of reaching it."

She flips through her bag and pulls out a 30cm ruler, tossing it towards the boy in the tree, who barely catches it. "That was close," he chuckles. She silently watches him poke at the kite until he successfully loosens it from the leaves, the kite falling to the ground with a gentle rustle. The younger boy thanks the older boy, when the latter hops down from the tree, before running off happily with his kite in hand.

Now left with the stranger, she nods when he hands her ruler back and turns on her heel to head back in her original direction.

Heavier footsteps follow her own, "I'm Chanyeol." She continues walking. "Thanks for earlier," he attempts to start conversation. They walk in silence for another minute before the boy, now known as Chanyeol, adds, "You're not much of a talker, are you?"

She stops abruptly and looks him in the eye, "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we're acquainted, so why are you following me to my house?"

He pauses. Her soft voice doesn't really match her words, he observes. "Oh," he grins, "I actually live in the same direction."

She gives him a skeptical look and they continue the rest of their walk in silence.

 

Their second encounter occurs two months later when Chanyeol is chasing oranges down that very same street.

She halts her step when she feels something hit her heel from behind. She picks up the orange, only to find many more rolling towards her. There's a familiar boy running with an empty shopping bag, who stops when he sees her. He scratches the back of his head in frustration, muttering an, "Ahh! I give up." He slowly walks up to her, still panting from his grocery chase earlier, and takes the orange from her hand with a, "Thanks." Chanyeol glances her up and down before it finally hits him, "You're that girl that helped me with the kite last time."

She now remembers too, "Chan.."

"..Yeol," he finishes for her.

She nods her head curtly and states, "You got a haircut."

He beams, flashing a straight set of teeth, "Yep, do you like it?"

"It suits you." 

Chanyeol walks her home again. He explains that he tripped while he was staring at a passing airplane and the oranges just rolled down the steep slope in front of him. She mentally notes that the guy is clumsy. He is also good-looking.

 

The third and last time they meet by mere coincidence is at the neighbourhood coffee shop.

"Hello, how may I help you today?"

He recognises that voice and looks up from the menu placed on the counter. She nods, acknowledging that they're acquainted. "Uh," he awkwardly stumbles over his order, "I'd like a large mocha with extra whipped cream. Thanks."

Chanyeol glances at the nametag pinned to her shirt, while she places his order, and smiles. "That'll be 4,700 won please."

He takes out some change from the front pocket of his jeans and counts out the coins before moving to the other side of the counter to collect his drink. Chanyeol observes her from over the bench while she makes his beverage, "What time does your shift end?"

Without looking at him, she replies, "I'm not allowed to communicate with friends while I'm at work."

"You don't consider me a friend though," Chanyeol beams at her.

She pushes the lid on the drink before scribbling something on the side of the paper cup and placing it on the bench. He turns the cup around to see a note written, "L mocha + 2 x cream" and underneath that, "5:30PM."

She's not exactly sure why she doesn't question the fact that he waited an hour just to walk her home. It turns out Chanyeol studies at the same College of Arts as her, though he majors in Performing Arts while she majors in Fine Arts. It explains why she's never seen him on campus. He tells her that he'll be moving into an apartment closer to college that weekend.

She doesn't expect to see him again.

 

A week later, she arrives at work and notices that the 'Hiring' sign has been stripped off the front window. She steps in, the jingle of the wind chime welcoming her. Her manager rushes out from the back and heaves a sigh, "Oh, it's just you. Come here and meet our new employee!"

She pops her head into the staffroom down the back of the shop and almost chokes on the air she's breathing. Chanyeol is standing there, in uniform, with a nametag pinned to his shirt. He waves casually, "Hey."

 

From then on, seeing Chanyeol becomes part of her weekly routine.

 

Chanyeol insists on walking her home everyday they work together, though he now lives in the opposite direction. They learn a lot about each other; similarities and differences. They're both trying to make it big in their respective fields. Chanyeol is a social butterfly in comparison to her, who is better described as a social.. worm. He's crazy optimistic, while she tries to perceive everything in the realest way possible.

Chanyeol tells her that he thinks she's fun, which she thinks is nonsense. He says she makes up for the things he's missing, but she believes that there is no such thing.

She thinks he's perfect.

 

 

Their relationship develops at a steady and comfortable pace. Sometimes Chanyeol will subtly reach for her hand and hold it in his own; she doesn't object, so he continues doing so. Occasionally, he uses the cold weather as an excuse to hold her, though she knows better. It's only Autumn.

Their little parting phrases, "Good night" and "See you tomorrow," soon become whispers of "I love you."

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol is unpredictable, but she realises that they would not have met if he had been any other way.

She, on the other hand, is a creature of habit, and loving Chanyeol had become one of her habits.

 

 

*

Hi! I'm kind of back, but not really. School work is really crazy, so I drop by now and then, but consistent updates are difficult. ;;

Um, I don't know what I think about this haha. I feel like the ending was rushed. (Also, I never knew there was a tag limit.. I can't tag all the members I plan on writing about then.) The girl is nameless for once, but I didn't think a name was really required in this one, so yeah. If you got this far, thanks for reading!