Missing a Full Moon

 

(Soundtrack Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLeWk_zK2No&list=PL5xatkMRVIG9mtAvGtHNsNrz2AyAqNvqF)

---

'그래 Wolf 내가 Wolf 아우우, 아 사랑해요

난 늑대고 넌 미녀

그래 Wolf 내가 Wolf 아우우, 아 사랑해요

 

난 늑대고 넌 미녀'

 

As EXO finishes up the dance, the music stops. All twelve boys are drenched with sweat from head to toe. Almost everyone collapsed from exhaustion as the music fades out.

 

"我是 Wolf    一头Wolf    Awuuuu~  Saranghaeyo!" a red-headed Tao laughs as he falls flat onto his back. A white towel falls over his face and he lets it lay there instead of wiping away his sweat.

 

"Please, not another word!" Baekhyun props himself up against the wall, holding onto a bottle of cold water, his light curly hair stuck to his forehead from all the sweat.

 

"Thank you for your hard work!" A young trainee frantically runs around, handing each member a cold bottle of water. LuHan and his (half) pink-haired best friend lean against each other's backs in the center of the practice room gulping down their plastic water bottles until there's barely even a drop left. While everyone is sprawled out around the room, Tao is already up and about in a minute, wiping his face and checking his phone for any new messages. It was almost as if he had just pretended to be exhausted. 

 

Everyone is too tired to think, gulping down the rest of their waters and wiping themselves dry only to drip more sweat. It is no surprise when the managers tell them they're done and everyone yells out in joy.

 

"Finally!"

 

"YESSS!!"

 

"I need a bath..."

 

"Bed, here I come!!!"

 

"Dinner! Someone get me food!!!"

 

While the others are happily chatting as they walk out of SME's building, one boy lags behind the rest, deep in thought. His short blond hair stuck to his scalp from sweat. He shifts his backpack on his shoulders as he walks out the door. He mumbled a thank you when Chen holds the door for everyone to walk through. He gets into the very back seat in one of the two vans, beside LuHan and SeHun.

 

SeHun turns his head with a curious expression, "What's wrong with you?"

 

"Missing your girlfriend, Xiao Zhang?" LuHan coos in a teasing manner.

 

Lay rolls his eyes propping his elbow against the back window and staring up at the sky. The moon is round and pale tonight, a single thin cloud floating past the big white circle. He turns back to his phone. The top of his line of messages reads:  'Zhou ShuLing ^-^'.

 

He could still hear her yells from the last night they had seen each other. YiXing couldn't remember what it was they were arguing about, but he couldn't help but think that it must have been something stupid, because it was definitely not worth how the two of them haven’t been talking in the last month. It felt strange...not to hear the soft voice of his best friend.

 

~~~

 

“Gu jie!” a young boy with a head of pitch black hair sprints over to her as she washes the dishes from their recent dinner. ShuLing looks down at her nephew holding her soapy hands away so that it won’t drip on the 6-year-old’s already clean head.

 

She quickly washes her hands and wipes them clean, "hmm?"

 

"Teach me how to play chess! The English one!" XiaoChong looks up at her with pleading eyes.

 

That morning, ShuLing had received a call from her brother asking if she could babysit for the evening. Of course, she had had no problem with accepting this small task. After all, she loved to see her young nephew's smile.

 

"Only for a few minutes. Your Daddy told me that you need to sleep real soon," the girl took the child's smaller hand and he lead her to the living room where he had already pulled out the old chess set her brother had since the two of them lived in Hong Kong. It had been a gift from an English boy who had been around her brother a lot. At that time, ShuLing had been very young, so all she remembered about that boy was that his name was Ciel, he had clear blue eyes, shiny black hair and was extremely good at chess.

 

"So, this can go...here?" XiaoChong pursed his lips as he moved one of the old white bishops diagonally across the board to take one of his aunt's pawns.

 

She nodded, smiling at how quickly her brother's son seemed to understand things. A few minutes later and ShuLing slowly moved one of her old wooden, black knights. "And that's..."

 

The black-haired boy gave her a goofy grin, "checked, right?"

 

"Close, it's Checkmate," ShuLing ruffled the boy's straight hair. "Let's get you to bed; your daddy will yell at me if I don't." She made a face of discomfort as she stood up to take the boy to his room.

 

When she pulled the Doraemon covers over the child, XiaoChong took her hand in his, "Gu jie...can you stay until I fall asleep? It's scary in the dark..."

 

Her eyes softened and she reached her other hand to brush the boy's bangs aside, "of course. I'll stay here as long as you need."

 

The 6-year-old boy closed his eyes to sleep as ShuLing shifted on the ground to be a bit more comfortable. She continued to hold his tiny hand in hers as she stared out the window. The moon was a big and bright full circle that night. The young girl couldn't help but admire it's shining beauty and pale surface. She suddenly found herself thinking about a certain friend of hers.

 

It had been nearly a month since she last saw YiXing. It bothered her, but she refused to break first, being the stubborn girl she was. The very first week, he had sent her about ten messages a day, but it became less frequent and he stopped it after two weeks when she didn't answer. Now, if someone were to ask her what she had been arguing about with her best friend she wouldn't be able to answer. Her anger had long since faded after two weeks. ShuLing couldn't help but think that it was something petty and not worth this silent barrier between them.

 

An hour passed, and it wasn't until a hand on her shoulder shook her gently that ShuLing realized that she had fallen asleep. "Ling-ah...wake up..."

 

She blinked her eyes drowsily, her eyes refusing to open at first and look at who it was. Shifting her arms to stretch, she realized that it was twisted in an awkward angle to hold onto XiaoChong’s outstretch hands. ShuLing yawned, “what time is it?”

 

The man who had woken her up chuckled, “it’s almost 10:30.” 

 

The man habitually pushed his thin-framed glasses up his nose. He had loosened the tie he was wearing and his dress coat had been draped on XiaoChong’s desk chair. “How was the party?”

 

ShuLing followed her brother to the door, closing it softly behind her. Feng chuckled and ruffled his sister's hair.

 

"Hey, hey...my hair," she pouted, crossing her arms across her chest like a child.

 

A voice interrupted the two of them, "oh, ShuLing, you're still here?"

 

The long-haired girl bit her lip, facing the older woman, "I fell asleep, hehe."

 

Her sister-in-law just shook her head, scolding her husband, "Feng, you should've just let her spend the night."

 

Feng opened his mouth to speak, but it was Ling who shook her head, "no, it's fine. I need to drop by some places before I get home."

 

"Why don't you stay for some cake? We brought some home," Ling looked up at her brother who was rubbing his eyes underneath his glasses.

 

"No thanks, I should get going," she tapped him on the shoulder and proceeded to the door to put on her shoes. As she was opening the door, Feng called out to her. "Huh?"

 

"You forgot your phone; thanks for watching Chong tonight," he hands her the green-cased device with a grin. She thanks him and fixes her small purse that is strapped across her body. Feng's expression changes to a more serious one, "so...how's XingXing?"

 

At the mention of her best friend, ShuLing turns her head to avoid his gaze.

 

"Are you still hung up over that small fight?"

 

"..." She bit her lower lip out of habit.

 

"You are–"

 

"Of course not! That's childish," she turns back to defend herself, her eyes wide in her attempt to correct him.

 

"ShuLing..." Feng says sternly. He never calls her by her full name unless he is totally serious. Ling couldn't even remember the last time he had called her by her full name. "You need to call him back or at least answer his texts. He tried to make up with you, you shouldn't just push him away."

 

The younger girl turns away to avoid his harsh gaze, "I'll talk to you later. Good night, Feng."

 

She steps out of the house and walks down the bright hallway to the elevator without looking back at her sighing brother.

 

~~~

 

YiXing stares at his cellphone which reads 10:28 above the picture of him with his arms around a laughing Ling’s shoulders. He crosses his legs on the couch he’s sitting on, not paying attention to his bandmates who are arguing about what kind of takeout to order for dinner. The dancer is so out of it that he doesn’t take notice of the Korean singer who plops down next to him. 

 

“Hey,” the brown-haired singer nudges the other lightly with his shoulder.

 

“Huh? Oh, hey ChenChen...” he mumbles, gripping his phone tighter unconsciously.  Lay scoots over on the couch to leave some space for his bandmate. 

 

Chen puffs his cheeks, unsure of how to start what he wants to say. He opens his mouth, speaking Chinese, “what do you want to eat? Barbecue, Pizza, or McDonald’s?”

 

“Anything is fine,” YiXing stares back at his phone, unlocking it only to lock it again and stare at his background. He fiddles with his phone some more as JongDae turns back to tell the others of his choice.

 

The singer puffs his cheeks again, worried about his friend who seems to do nothing but stare at his phone. “You know...” he frowns, not knowing how to continue in Chinese. Chen switches to Korean to better get his point across, “How are you and LingLing?”

 

YiXing gives an emotionless chuckle, “what do you mean?”

 

“Well...she hasn’t been coming over for a while,” he bites the corner of his lips, not wanting to tread on dangerous territory. “Are you two still fighting?”

 

“Fighting? She doesn’t even answer my text, how can we fight?” Lay, drops his phone in his laps and crosses his arms. “People can’t fight...if they don’t talk...”

 

“You know, friends...shouldn’t fight,” JongDae speaks slowly, clasping his hands together nervously. “They’re too precious...especially when you’re so busy with EXO’s business.”

 

The dancer shakes his head, “I told you, we aren’t fighti–”

 

“This little...thing...can be fixed easily.”

 

“I’m already trying, but she’s not–”

 

“You’re not trying hard enough, YiXing.”

 

The lighter-haired man turns to look at the suddenly bold Korean. He opens his mouth to shoot back an answer, but then realizes that he’s right. Chen stands up to walk back to the others, leaving him alone to think.

 

Unlocking his phone, YiXing begins to type a message to send her. He reads it over, thinking about how to continue it. He erases it, unsatisfied by what he’s typed. He repeats this several times and groans in frustration.

 

~~~

 

The car of the subway rocks from side-to-side. Ling brushes her hair behind her ear, gripping tightly onto a handle that’s hanging from the ceiling. The voice in the speakers announces the next stop as it slows at the station. 

 

A girl with light brown, wavy hair jumps onto the car just as the doors slid shut. She’s out of breath, gripping the bar beside the sliding doors as the train begins to move again. When she looks up, her warm brown eyes widen in realization. “Oh, Ling!”

 

ShuLing turns her head to the girl in surprise, “Mikoto?”

 

The Japanese student grins, straightening the backpack she’s wearing. Her Chinese is slightly accented as she speaks, “what are you doing here at,” she glances at her red watch, “10:45. Isn’t it kinda late to be out?”

 

“I could say the same for you,” Ling rolls her eyes. “You look like you’re in a hurry.”

 

“Well, JaeHee is waiting for me back at our apartment. She was bugging me about how the food was already getting cold,” Mikoto blows a strand of her hair up. “So what about you? Where’d you come from?”

 

“My brother’s. He and his wife went out, so I was watching XiaoChong for the night.”

 

“Aww, your nephew is the cutest ever! I wish I had an older sibling, being the oldest isn’t always fun...” The Japanese girl crosses her arms, leaning against the back of the unoccupied chairs. The two of them look at each other for a second, then burst into giggles.

 

ShuLing is the first to calm down, she rubs her thumb against the black screen of her phone. Mikoto takes a small breath and opens to speak again, when she notices her friend’s mellow expression. In attempt to lighten up the mood, she digs in her pocket and pulls out a piece of candy. 

 

“Here, want one?”

 

Mikoto drops it in her friend’s outstretched hand as she unwraps her own. Ling is about to unwrap it when she realizes that it is the same candy that YiXing had brought every time he came over to visit. She slips the candy into her small purse and stares out the windows of the car, even though there is nothing but her own reflection against the blackness of the tunnel staring back at her. 

 

“What’s wrong?” the wavy-haired girl blinks at her. When she doesn’t answer, she looks back at her wrapper and notices her mistake. Biting the inside of her cheek, Mikoto leans her head to the side as if to get her attention. “Is this about YiXing?” she says softly so that no one else in the close to empty car could hear. The Chinese girl lets out a drawn out sigh, but doesn’t answer. “It is, isn’t it?”

 

The subway car slows to another stop, and ShuLing looks up to see that it’s her stop. “This is my stop. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, Mikoto.” She steps off, and the Japanese girl purses her lips in disappointment as the doors close and the train starts again.

 

She steps out into the open city streets and feels her phone ring in her hand. She doesn’t read the message until after she unlocks her screen. It was a message from Mikoto:

 

‘This little fight is ridiculous, Ling-chan. You need to call him.’

 

~~~

 

‘...I’m in Korea starting EXO’s promotions for Wolf. How are you doing?...’

 

Taking a deep breath after rereading the entire, long message, Lay finally presses the blue send button on his phone just as the doorbell to their dorm rings. 

 

“XingXing-ah! Can you get the door?” Someone yells from inside the kitchen. With a small weight lifted off of his chest, he stands up from his spot on the couch and picks up the money left by the door to pay for the food. He opens it to see a boy juggling five boxes of pizza. He raises his eyebrows at the amount, wondering if the other boys really needed that much pizza. 

 

“Thank you, enjoy your food!” the delivery boy smiles when the boxes are taken out of his hands. He turns around to head for the elevator, recounting the money he was given. YiXing takes the five boxes to the living room where everyone had seated themselves.  

 

“Yay! Food!!!”

 

“Finally!”

 

“I’m starving!”

 

“Waaaah!! Pizza!”

 

The dancer takes a piece of cheese pizza and returns to his spot on the couch, now beside Tao who is already halfway done with his own piece.  The youngest of EXO M gobbles down the rest of the piece, speaking before he swallows all of it, “are you not hungry?”

 

Taking his time to answer, YiXing nibbles on his piece slowly, “No...not really...” He continues to take small bites, unconsciously glancing down at his phone every few seconds, anticipating an answer from Ling even though he knows she hasn’t answered him for a whole month. 

 

He doesn’t take notice of EXO K’s leader sitting on his other side until he nudges him in the shoulder with his elbow. Lay turns to see SuHo taking his third or fourth piece. “What’s with you? You’ve been looking at your phone often lately. Something up? Got a girl?” JoonMyeon teases, bitting into his piece of pizza. 

 

Before he can answer, Kai is leaning over the back of the couch with his signature smirk. “Isn’t that obvious? I bet YiXing’s finally got a girl, he’s just hiding it from us ‘cause of the company, right?”

 

The dancer opens his mouth to deny both of their questions, but Kris doesn’t give him a chance as he takes a sip of his coke, “Leave him alone, you two.”

 

“Tch, spoilsport...” Jongin sticks his tongue out at the other leader, leaping over the back of the couch and forcing himself between SuHo and Lay. “Someone turn on the TV, it’s kinda quiet...”

 

“Quiet? What the heck are you fussing about?” BaekHyun walks back into the room, holding two packs of Coke. He looks around the loud group of boys in front of him and shakes his head at their maknae’s comment.  The Korean singer places the packs on the table in front of the couch just as YiXing’s phone rings. All falls silent. Kai pauses, his finger about to press the button to turn on the TV, and turns his head to look at Lay. SeHun’s finger is midway through pulling the tab on his Coke can to open it. LuHan freezes, in the middle of biting off his pizza. 

 

YiXing stares at the others with a raised eyebrow. He opens his mouth to ask what they’re staring at him for, but KyungSoo interrupts, “What are you waiting for? Answer it!”

 

The Chinese boy leans away from the wide-eyed boy, anticipating for the answer. “Okay, okay...geez...” He slides the bar to answer blindly. Pressing his phone to his ear, he speaks slow and softly, “...hello?”

 

It is so silent around the room, that he could hear his own heart beating quickly, anticipating his best friend’s voice. “What took you so long!” 

 

YiXing’s shoulders drop in disappointment at the man’s voice. It was just their manager. “Uh–”

 

“Never mind. Tell everyone else that I’ll be late tonight, my sister asked me out to dinner since I was in town,” and with that, HyunKyun hangs up with an irritated groan. Lay purses his lips in disappointment as he pulls his phone away form his ear.

 

“So...?”

 

“It was just HyunKyun-hyung...” he answer the others.

 

“Aw, dang! And I really thought it was her.”

 

“Really? What a let down...”

 

“What’d he say?”

 

He turns to Kris who had asked, being the responsible one he is, “he said he’s going out to dinner with his sister.” YiXing fakes a yawn and stands up, “I’m gonna be sleeping if you guys need me.” He stretches his arms and rolls his shoulders before walking down the hall to his room. 

 

“Aww, come on XingXing.”

 

“Already? It’s not even 11:30 yet!”

 

“You can’t really be that tired, Lay!”

 

~~~

 

Ling turns her head to the brightly-lit grocery store in the side of the tall building. She tilts her head to the side, feeling like she had missed something. She twirls a strand of her hair in thought, opens in surprise when she remembers. She needed milk. That’s what she needed.

 

She quickly walks through the store to the milk section, grabbing a small jug that would probably last her the rest of the week. As she walks out, she passes by the ice cream section. Her eyes catch sight of a small box of popsicles and couldn’t help smile as she recalled the times when she and YiXing would share the double popsicle during this time of year.

 

“Xing-ah, why don’t you ask her if she wants her own ice cream?” a 5-year-old YiXing turns his head to his mother with a goofy grin.

 

“I’m sharing with her,” he turns back to run off to his room. He finds Ling, on the floor in his room, trying to finish the puzzle they had pulled out about half an hour ago. “LingLing-ah!”

 

“Hmm?” ShuLing looks up at her best friend. At that time, she had had short, black hair, cut to chin-length. A small red flower was clipped into her hair to pull back strands of her growing bangs. 

 

Young YiXing unwraps the popsicle and takes a hold of both sticks after throwing away the wrapper. He cleanly breaks the blue popsicle in half, handing her one of them by the thin wooden stick. “Here.”

 

“Waah! I love these!”

 

“Really? Me too!” the boy grins at her, sticking the blue popsicle into his mouth as he sits down beside her. 

 

ShuLing grins at the memory. Ever since that time, the two of them shared one each time they met. He was usually the one who brought one with him to their meetings, but she hadn’t had one since their argument almost over a month ago. She stared at the small pack in her hands and started for the checkout. Her phone rang with another text message as she stood in line to check out. 

 

A smile graced her lips when she realized that it was from the person she had just been thinking about. She couldn’t help the smile as it widened while she read through the long message. She was just about to type back an answer when her her phone rings and makes her unable to type back her reply. 

 

~~~

 

Sitting on his bed, the blond boy stares out the window and up at the full moon again. YiXing glances at his phone every now and then, still waiting for her to answer. He checks the clock beside Chen’s bed. It’s been over 30 minutes since he had sent his text now, and he gets the feeling that she probably won’t reply. 

 

“You’re not trying hard enough, YiXing...”

 

Chen’s words continue to repeat themselves in his mind, like a song on replay in his IPod. 

 

Lay falls onto his back with a frustrated groan. He stares at his screensaver before letting his hand drop to his side. He closes his eyes, pulling his other arm up to cover them. It isn’t long before he checks his phone again, only to see that it’s barely even been a minute since he had last checked. 

 

He had had enough of waiting now. He sits up, propping his back against the wall while dialing her number. One ring. Two rings. “Hello?”

 

There’s her voice...the voice he hadn’t heard in over a month. YiXing releases a breath he hadn’t known he was holding and begins to speak. “Hey–”

 

“It’s ShuLing. Sorry, I’m kinda busy right now. Leave a message, and I’ll call you back later. Thanks!”

 

“It’s me...”he frowns, when he realizes that it’s just her voicemail recording. Instead of leaving a message, he hangs up. Almost immediately, he dials her number again. This time, it doesn’t even ring, but goes straight to her voicemail. Again, he was about to answer, when she says ‘Hello.’

 

He makes a sound to express his annoyance. He places the phone to his ear for the sixth time now. Someone knocks on the door. Tiredly, YiXing stands up to open it, throwing his phone on the bed when he is greeted by her voicemail a sixth time. 

 

“XingXing-ah, we’re gonna go outside since no one’s around now. Do you wanna come?” The shorter male looks up with curious eyes. MinSeok has his hands in his pockets, puffing his chubby cheeks in anticipation for the dancer’s answer. 

 

Lay opens his mouth to refuse, to tell him he’s tired, but is interrupted by two others who trod up. 

 

“Lay! You’re coming right?” asks the curly blond-haired singer. 

 

D.O nods with eagerness, “come on, it’s the last night until we become even busier again!”

 

The Chinese dancer turns his head back to see that his phone hasn’t lit up from any recent messages. Sighing, he nods his head, “Give me a sec, let me get my phone.”

 

~~~

 

“Ge ge...” Ling rolls her eyes as she sticks her key into her apartment door. “I know, I know. I’ll do it when I get home.”

 

“That’s what you always say!” she imagines her older brother scrunching his nose up as he says so. “Just make sure that y–”

 

“Huh? What’d you say?” Confused at his sudden breaking off, ShuLing takes her phone away from her ear to see a red icon flash across the screen, telling her that her phone is out of battery. She makes a face of discomfort before slipping the small device into her purse and fully unlocking the door. 

 

Ling steps inside, not bothering to flick on the lights as she slips off her sneakers. She blindly makes her way to the fridge to put away the milk and ice cream she had just bought. Flexing her fingers after putting up the plastic jug, Ling glances at the clock to find that it’s almost 11:30 now. 

 

“A shower would do me good...” she mumbles to herself as she walks to her room. ShuLing plugs her phone in her charging station before she gathers her things and walks into the washroom. 

 

She twists the knob so that the water starts to run and heat up while she rids herself of her sweatshirt. After a few minutes, the water is finally warm enough for her to step in. Ling stands underneath the pounding, steamy water, rolling her shoulders while massaging one side. The tired girl closes her eyes, ing her head back to fully immerse herself in the hot water. In doing this, she doesn’t hear her phone, now charged enough to turn back on, ringing inside her room. Ling hums a tune that suddenly comes to mind, a small smile on her pale lips. 

 

~~~

 

“And then...and then...you know what Key hyung did? He screamed when he saw it! Hah! You should’ve seen his face!” SeHun falls onto his back in the grass beside the swings.

 

EXO is sitting around the abandoned playground in various places, the stars and moon as their only light. LuHan is laughing and commenting on SeHun’s little story about his prank, but YiXing does nothing but listen half-heartedly, only turning the corners of his lips up every now and then to fake a smile.

 

SuHo stands beside XiuMin who is sitting in the center of the slide. Lay watches as JongIn comes up from behind and kicks him so that he slides to the bottom. The youngster cackles with laughter as Kris scolds him from his spot between Tao  and Chen, on the steps across from the single slide. Tao jerks his phone to the side, then yells in complaint about how he lost on his game again, blaming Kris for yelling out of nowhere. JongDae rolls his eyes at EXO M’s maknae’s petty complaints, leaning back and resting his head on his folded arms.

 

LuHan glances over at YiXing who is staring up at the sky with a tired expression. He pushes his swing sideways, lightly knocking into the latter’s swing and effectively catching his attention.

 

“What?”

 

“You should call her,” the older boy nods his head at the other’s hands.

 

The guitarist tries to act like he doesn’t know who he’s talking about, but it’s too hesitant to be convincing. “...who?”

 

“You know who, LingLing!”

 

He scoffs at this, “I’ve tried. What do you think I was doing in my room? Sleeping?”

 

EXO K’s maknae rolls his eyes as he sits back up, crossing his legs and putting his arms behind him. “Well...you did say you were gonna be sleeping if any of us needed you...”

 

YiXing pushes his swing back, pretending to aim at the teen’s face as he swings forward. “Hey, don’t attack the little baby,” LuHan pulls onto his swings’ chain while SeHun complains that he isn’t a baby.

 

“You certainly act like one,” the dancer mumbles under his breath.

 

“Just call her, XingXing,” the youngest of the three of them sticks his tongue out, mocking the nickname.

 

“Fine, fine,” the dancer unlocks his phone to call the girl they’ve been talking about. Both boys stare in anticipation, but YiXing only alternately kicks his feet as he listens to the rings. He isn’t even expecting her to pick up anymore after his many tries. When her voicemail answers, he presses the speaker button.

 

“Hello? It's ShuLing. Sorry, I’m kinda busy right now. Leave a message, and I’ll call you back later. Thanks!”

 

“See...what’d I tell you?”

 

His Chinese roommate shakes his head as he takes the package that ChanYeol hands him, “whatever, just try again!” LuHan unwraps it, and breaks apart the double popsicle.

 

Lay stares at the popsicle, recognizing it as the same one that he shares with Ling all the time as he holds his phone to his ear.

 

"Here," he is snapped out of his thoughts when LuHan s half of the blue treat in front of him.

 

"Thanks," YiXing mumbles, taking the popsicle between his index and middle finger. He lets it hang in his fingers as he returns his gaze to the moon and stars above them, the dialing tone echoing in his ear. 

 

~~~

 

Ling ruffled her long, black hair underneath a big white towel, drying it as much as she could. Her phone faintly rings in a call, and it takes her a second before realizing it. Letting her towel rest on her shoulders, she picks up her phone. "Hello?"

 

She straightens the bottom of her tank top as she walks into the kitchen. Furrowing her eyebrows when all she hears is laughter, ShuLing pulls the device away from her ear to look at the caller ID.

 

'Zhang YiXing ^_~ ' it reads.

 

"YiXing?" She pulls open her freezer's door and she hears a deep breath being let out. "Are you okay?"

 

"Mmm..." He hums his response. There's a small pause between them before he continues. "Do you want some ice cream?"

 

"Huh? And how are you supposed to give it to me," she giggles at his dazed question.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"You're in Korea aren't you?" Silence. She laughs, "don't worry. I have some with me."

 

"How did you know?" YiXing's voice is curious, and she can almost picture him biting his lips.

 

"Your text. You forgot that you sent me a text?" She raises an eyebrow in mock surprise.

 

"Oh...y-yeah..." There's another silence and Ling can hear laughter coming from the other line. Lay speaks in a low whisper, "how's the moon on your side?"

 

ShuLing pauses at his question, throwing the wrapper of her popsicle away as she makes her way to her balcony door. "The moon?" Sliding the door open, she steps out into the cool, night breeze. She leans against the metal railing, dangling her popsicle over the edge with her fingers, "well...it's big and round. It's white...full and..." she lets out a small sigh, "beautiful."

 

"I think so too..." His words are followed by another silence, this time it isn't as heavy. It's more...comfortable. "Hey, Ling-ah..."

 

"Hmm?"

 

YiXing takes a deep breath, "are you...are you still mad at me?"

 

She chuckled, "about what?"

 

The dancer purses his lips on the other end, his ice cream still untouched. The formerly frozen blue treat drips onto the dirt underneath the swings. "You know...that."

 

"I'm not mad at you. I forgave you a long time ago..."

 

It's almost as of he stopped breathing after her words. His lips curl upwards in a smile. He leans backwards in the swing, then sits back upright to see the others getting up from their spots. LuHan and SeHun had left him to his privacy after they heard her pick up.

 

"So...is the moon full on your side?" ShuLing whispers, staring down at the empty street below her. She spots a couple walking together on the opposite street and she can't help but smile wonderingly.

 

"Yeah..." Lay looks up at the moon with a nod. "You know what?"

 

Ling props one elbow on the railing, resting her chin in her hand, "yeah?"

 

"I really missed it."

 

"Missed what?" She closes her eyes, feeling the cool breeze blow through her long hair.

 

"...hearing your voice...being with you..."

 

ShuLing stops breathing for a moment, her heart begins to race in her chest. She bites her bottom lip out of nervousness. He can't have a girlfriend... She tells herself, but she can't help but wish, right?

 

"Mmm...I miss you too..." She finally answers after a long, drawn out moment of silence, trying to keep her voice as level as possible.

 

"Will... Will you be busy next week?" He asks.

 

"Hmm, no. I might be watching ChongChong again soon though," she answers, thinking about her nephew who is always eager to learn new games.

 

"Why don't you drop by then? You should bring XiaoChong with you..."

 

Ling isn't given time to answer, when she hears another voice; a voice that's loud and clear on his side.

 

"YiXing-ah! We're going back, come on!" The called man looks up at the tall leader, waving his hand to call him over.

 

"Is that WuFan?" The voice in his phone chuckles. He nods his head as he stands up to walk over,

 

“Yup."

 

ShuLing puffs her cheeks, not wanting to end the call, "you should get going. You'll need your sleep for tomorrow. Good luck, by the way."

 

"...thanks..." YiXing closes his eyes, almost as if to relish the moment. To cherish her soft voice. He whistles lightly and whispers, "I almost missed our full moon..."

 

"What?"

 

YiXing takes another deep breath, "nothing...I...just miss you...that's all."

 

The two best friends don't even realize that they're smiling together. Unable to because of all the miles, but wishing to see one another.

 

Three Weeks

For

Two Smiles

Under

One Moon

 

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A/N: Thanks for Reading! Hope you enjoyed it! ^_^