Niel sat on the bench and you watched as the little fat man brought out the food you had to cook. You looked down at the ground, feeling a little uneasy and not knowing what to do now that you were alone with Niel. You felt a little sorry for him after what you had said earlier and you wanted to apologise, but you were beginning to feel a little shy now that there was only you and him.

The sun was just slipping down over the horizon and you watched for a moment as it quickly disappeared. Niel didn’t say anything; he simply picked up the kimchi and began to cut it. After a small while he looked up at you and blinked. You suddenly felt a little panicked, not knowing where to go or what to do to help prepare the meal; you simply looked back at Niel awkwardly. He looked back down and resumed cutting the kimchi. You watched Niel nudge his head in the direction of the other bench, which was opposite him. You were still feeling a little flustered about being out here alone with Niel and so you didn’t really understand what he meant by it.

“Look, Fairy-floss.” He began with a sigh, looking back up at you. “We have to make food for 30 people, so are you going to help me or what? Those vegetables aren’t going to wash themselves.” He nodded his head towards the vegetables on the other bench.

You silently walked towards the bench and sat down, feeling awkward as you began to wash the vegetables. The sky was now dark and the silence and tension between you and Niel hung in the air like a thick cloud of fog. You would normally remain silent around people that you were shy with, but despite this, you somehow found yourself searching your mind for something – anything – to say to Niel.

You didn’t know why, but for some reason, you wanted to talk to Niel. You knew that he didn’t like you, but you still wanted to speak to him. Maybe it was because somewhere... deep down inside... a small part of you still wanted Niel to be your bias.

“For what happened earlier...” You found the words tumbling out of your mouth before you even had time to think about what you were going to say next. “Are you alright?” You mumbled, not really sure if what you were saying was making any sense to Niel what so-ever.

“Why? What happened earlier?” Niel asked, seeming un-interested in what you had to say.

“Well...” You struggled to fit your words together. “The fish... and the prince... and...” You trailed off.

“A fish?” Niel asked sounding confused. “When was there a...” He trailed off as he realised what you were referring to. “Yah! Forget it.” He frowned, shaking his head lightly as he continued to cut the kimchi.

You felt a little surprised at Niel’s response, you had expected him to be angry with you and shout, but he hadn’t. He had remained calm, and didn’t even seem bothered about what you had said.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” You asked feeling a little un-easy, like Niel was only telling you it didn’t matter so that he could stop talking to you.

Niel stopped cutting the kimchi and looked up at you, a serious expression on his face.

“Really.” He added. “It’s ok. Now can you stop saying awkward things and just get on with it. I’d like to get this done as soon as possible.”

You remained silent, feeling a little flustered after what Niel had just said to you, and you looked down, beginning to wash vegetables.

“Look Niel, I’m sorry.” You started again, wanting to get it out of your system in an attempt to release the tense atmosphere between the two of you. “It really wasn’t nice of me. I didn’t think. I’m so stupid sometimes, I say things without thinking about them and it just... doesn’t get me anywhere.” You found yourself going on and on, letting it all out. “Everything seems to be going wrong right now, I’m stuck in a team with someone that hates me, all my friends are making fun of me because they’re too busy flirting with your co-members and I’m too shy to do anything about it.” You felt a lump appear in your throat and stopped talking, not wanting your voice to crack, or for you to start crying.

Niel didn’t say anything. You mentally cursed yourself for letting your emotions out so easily, especially someone who you didn’t like, and who didn’t like you. You bit your lip and looked back down at the bowl of vegetables you still had to wash. Picking up a carrot and beginning to vigorously attack it, you tried to swallow the lump which had managed to grow inside your throat.

You stared down at the carrot, scrubbing it as hard as you could, taking your anger out on the veg. Niel stood up and walked over to the bench where you were sitting. You looked up at him, your eyes full of tears he sat down beside you and took the carrot out of your hands, beginning to wash it for you.

“You know, you’re not really that bad.” Niel said after a while. “In fact, I can’t think of a single reason to blame everything on you. I started it first, calling you fairy-floss...” Niel trailed off wincing slightly, his expression clearly showing that he felt awkward. “Yeah...” He added, clearly not knowing what to say next. “Anyway.” He eventually spoke again. “Stop saying silly things like that and get a hold of yourself!”

 Niel smiled a little, looking up into your eyes. Not being able to look at him with the current lump in your throat without bursting into tears, you turned away a little, wiping away imaginary tears in an attempt to stop the real ones spilling. You swallowed hard and looked back over at Niel, who was still smiling lightly at you.

Niel looked back down at the carrot and continued to wash it; both of you sitting there in silence as he did so. You picked up another carrot and washed it in the bowl with Niel. Once you were both finished, Niel stood up and walked over to the barbeque. He took the fire lighter and began to light it, as you began to cut the meat.

As you did this, you began to think about what Niel had said. He hadn’t apologised for what he had done, yet you thought that maybe he was being sincere. After all, what he had said was true, he had started it. Maybe this was enough for you to forgive him. Maybe he was just in a bad mood earlier?

You walked over to where Niel was stood at the barbecue and began to put pieces of meat onto it. Since you were not very good at handling tongs, you ended up dropping some of the meat between the bars of the barbecue.

Niel sighed and took the tongs and the meat from you, putting the meat onto the barbecue. You reached up to get the stick you used to cook it with, but he put his arm out, stopping you and then picking it up himself. At first you thought he was only doing it to irritate you, but then you noticed that he wasn’t smirking, just concentrating on cooking the meat.

Feeling a little awkward, you slipped your hands into your back pockets and in your lips. You weren’t that brilliant when it came to cooking things, and you were a little clumsy in the kitchen; usually burning things, or dropping them. In some cases you managed to do both.

You decided against saying anything to Niel, and instead you simply walked over to the bench, where you sat down and began to watch Niel as he cooked the meat.

This was the Niel you liked.

The one from the variety shows.

The one who always made you laugh.

The good-looking one.

The perfect one.

He stood cooking the meat with one hand, and the other was tucked into the pocket of his hoodie. The wind was ruffling his fringe a little; his eyes were glittering in the moonlight, and soon you found yourself simply staring at him. Niel glanced over at you, lightly chuckling to himself when he noticed that you were lost in your day dreams. He finished cooking the meat, and brought the plate over to you.

“There you go. Now you can take it to everyone, I’m sure they’re very hungry.” He smiled a little as you took the plate from him.

“Are you not coming?” You asked, frowning a little as Niel turned away from you.

“No.” He replied, turning to look at you a little. “I have some things to do first, I’ll eat later.”

You turned slowly towards the house, and made your way inside. Leaving Niel outside alone. Not quite sure what to do once you were inside; you walked into the dining room and placed the plate down onto the two tables, which were now joined together. As you walked into the room, every one applauded you.

“Ah Mélodie! Where have you been? We’re starving!” C.A.P exclaimed, leaning across to look at the meat.

You laughed, not wanting to tell him that all he did anyway was eat and sleep, after all, they seemed grateful for the meal.

“Where’s Niel?” Jae-Hwa asked gesturing to the seat beside her which she had saved for him.

“Still outside.” You said with a dull voice. “He said he has to do something.” You shrugged as if you weren’t really interested.

You sat down between Cho-Hee and L.Joe, and watched the chefs bringing in the vegetables you had previously been washing. You peered over at the stir fry, hoping that they were all clean enough. Everyone politely thanked the chefs, and you took some food putting it onto your plate and beginning to eat.

You could feel the others looking between you and Jae-Hwa, feeling the awkward atmosphere build, but no-one said anything.

***

Niel walked over to the bench beside the wall of the house, sighing a little as he sat down. He wasn’t very hungry, and didn’t want to be inside with the others. So far he had been having a relatively-enjoyable time – filming a new variety show with his friends – but he needed a break from being around Mélodie. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her; just that he didn’t know how to act around her; she was a girl far too easily upset, and it seemed as though Niel couldn’t do anything right.

Sighing and looking up at the sky, he began to let his thoughts wander.

The sparkling of the stars made him think of the way that her eyes sparkled. A smile crept onto Niel’s face as he thought about her. She was perfect.

Her eyes.

Her hair.

Her smile.

Her height.

Niel would never look at another girl the way he did this one. Maybe he was in love. Otherwise, why would he be thinking about her like this? The first time he had met her he thought she was pretty, but was too shy to say anything. Now that he knew her a little better, he knew that he definitely liked her.

Even the way her name rolled delicately off of his tongue when he said it, like the gentle waves of the ocean. Like her hair.

“Jae-Hwa.” He breathed, watching his breath delicately drift up into the cold night sky, before fading away.