( fifteen )

With somewhat a nosy feeling, Ara watched the clock as its hands add one to the time. She waited for a few minutes more. How she had wished that time would speed up. Curving her thin lips, it was shown clear that she wanted to talk to him – to explain. But she can’t just do that. As for the moment, they are in class.

Turning to where Chanyeol was sitting, she awkwardly glanced at his back, waiting for a possible instance for him to look at her back. But he didn’t. Instead, Chanyeol was serious in jotting down notes and for the record he didn’t talk so much today to anyone of his seatmates or to generalize – not even to anyone from the class.

It was weird. Chanyeol was the class’ mood maker.

Ara felt guiltier. ‘Should I have told him beforehand?’ She thought, puffing air inside her cheeks and furrowed her brows. Worry was there. She counted all of her friends. There was Miyoung, Kai, Chanyeol, and her three brothers who were her closest. If Chanyeol would withdraw being her friend, then her whole life will probably be just connected to five men. And the fact that they (the four) aren’t really humans at all (not that she knew of Miyoung and Kai being supernatural creatures)… what more can she do if they left her alone?

She wouldn’t want that. In fact, she aspires of having many friends as possible. But yet she can’t. Ara fixed her hair, brushing it away from her pretty face. She was restless. Upon flipping pages of her notebook, she accidentally opened one where there was a doodle of him and her.

Is fate testing these two?

Moving her head to the window beside her, she saw the bright sun. But it wasn’t that the sun would give her the chance to speak up to her long lost childhood friend. She peeked at Chanyeol again. Chanyeol happened to turn to his left, passing a paper to his seatmate and accidentally glanced at Ara.

Affixed there was a strong glance for Ara. It was an awkward eye contact between them. Ara was glad it didn’t last for long because he shifted to his desk just after their “cold” way of saying “Hi”. Normally it was Chanyeol who would give Ara a last reply. But for now, it seemed like it wasn’t the case.

Ara felt as a stone. She felt broken when she saw Chanyeol not greeting her warmly. But of course there was a reason behind that. ‘Chanyeol...’, she mentioned his name silently as he turned away.

---

After class, Ara and Miyoung would go bond together at the caf. But Miyoung deliberately called her last night saying that she can’t go to school today for some errands. Ara didn’t take the time asking her friend about it. She knew Miyoung was a strong gal, and even thought she wouldn’t go to school, Ara bet that she will make it up to the top.

But there was still a slight of her missing her friend.

“I’m here at the caf. Forever alone.”, she typed in her keys and sent the message.

“Sorry. I’ll shall treat you tomorrow.”, Ara didn’t expect that Miyoung would reply so fast. But on the contrary, she was glad that she did. She was in the middle of completing her reply: “Where are you?” when a silhouette of someone, from her peripheral vision, stopped her.

“Chanyeol.”, she immediately stood up from her seat.  Ara knew that it was the same benevolent Chanyeol, the same kind-hearted man who has been her friend ever since she was a little Bambi.

He formidably looked at her, just a small amount of Channie was there. ‘Is it possible that in an instance, he could change?’ Chanyeol strode past her table, not wanting them to meet halfway.   

“Wait,” Ara was about to take a step forward but upon recalling what happened yesterday at the park, she warned herself not. Chanyeol icily responded at her and continued walking. “Chanyeol please wait.”

When there’s no more to make him stop, Ara dictated. “I know you’re mad at me, but please don’t treat me like this way.”, she felt weak, then weaker as she almost can’t see what’s happening around the two of them. Eyes focused only to him, she didn’t mind the few students inside the caf who were there.

What’s more irritating is that she, a girl, was looking like the one who’s courting him.

She wasn’t this kind of person before. But for him, for him to understand that it wasn’t her intention to hurt his feelings, she did.

Stoning his emotions, Chanyeol squinted at her. He shrugged before opening his mouth, “Bambi,” Shiver made its way to Ara’s spines. She hadn’t imagine herself having this kind of feeling towards hearing his deep voice pronouncing that name he used to call her when they were still in their kindergarten days.

“I think I have to set you off today.”, He gulped, pushing his Adam’s apple down and returning it to its normal position.

From the normal bubbly Chanyeol, there was a different side of him. Totally different. He was honest and straightforward. Ara didn’t think he could be like that.  Maybe, she hasn’t just seen his way of being mad that’s why she isn’t used of him reacting like a cold man.

He was Chanyeol. Surely it was him. But there were some points in their relationship that are ambiguous, missing, and lost. They haven’t seen each other for years. Saying years, it wasn’t that cool. What is a decade of not seeing each other? Is it possible to save what they had?

---

Miyoung locked herself into her room. Again, to search for evidences about the three aliens. They were sent to Earth, but it doesn’t mean that they were sent to relax and chill. She must focus in doing her mission. Starting with a pile of books, Miyoung lifted the thickest and put it on top of her desk table. Only to find Kai was knocking at her door. She put on her slippers and opened it.

“Miyoung”, Kai panted in horror.

It wasn’t that he was hurt. Aliens cannot be. But his eyes were greatly of the color of bluntness. It was turning a shade lighter and lighter, and his skin was saturating from tan to somewhat a bluish pale. His held onto Miyoung’s door frame loosened, until he can’t stand up that firm anymore.

“What happened?”, Miyoung looked at just how Kai shown her how weak he was at the time. With the moment given, Kai wanted to tell her the whole story but he drowned to the floor. All what Miyoung can do was to accommodate him inside.

She hadn’t dreamt of this moment, and nursing him wasn’t what Miyoung planned to do. Seemed like it was given. Miyoung was hesitant of touching Kai’s body at first. But she had to, or else, if her neighbors saw Kai’s body lying onto the floor they would have a different picture in their minds.

Pulling his body to her couch designated only for one person,  Miyoung went to search for a patch which Kai could make use of. She placed a hand on the side of his neck. He was shaking.

 “What did you do?”

“I don’t know. Aaah.”, he was screaming in pain.

 “What are you feeling?”, Miyoung didn’t know what to do. In fact, she didn’t know how to nurse an alien. She hadn’t had an experience of having alien fever.

But there was one instance when she happened to find a book about that. “Wait,”

“What? You can’t just leave me here!”, Kai raised his voice.

“Just wait. I think I can help you.”

“You better do.”

Miyoung pouted her lips. Hearing Kai say ‘you can’t just leave me here’ made her mood, yet, he was still stark towards her.

“Okay, I changed my mind. I won’t help unless you say please.”

“Are you freakin’ serious?”, he looked at her with only one eye open.

She made a stand and leveled her arms at the middle of her chest and tummy.

“Fine. Please.”