It's been nearly three years since you last saw Chanyeol. That night, three years ago, you vowed you'd stay out of his life, and that's what you did. It hurt at first, almost unbearable, but you slowly became numb to the pain as the months went by. Now, if he ever found his way into your mind, you liked to think that he was happy, and that made you smile.

You sat there, enjoying the spring sun and the lively atmosphere of the outdoor cafe. Suddenly you started thinking about the events that went down that fateful night. Your finger circling the top of your tea cup as you replayed the events in your head.

"It was for the best", you said under your breath.

Even til now you couldn't say that confidently. It was more like a chant to try and brainwash yourself into believing what you did was right. You didn't want to be the reason for a happy couples' break up. You didn't want to be 'that girl', but were they really happy? You quickly shook the thought out of your head, then took a sip of your tea.

"You know, you really look crazy sitting here by yourself, shaking your head like that", said an all too familiarly deep voice, chuckling afterwards.

Your heart dropped and the tea that was halfway down your throat, fought its way back up. You ended up spitting it back out, spraying it everywhere, and coughing up a storm.

"Whoa, slow down, are you that surprised?", he joked.

You saw a hand reach from beside you to grab a napkin. He then made his way next to you and turned you in his direction, wiping the tea from your mouth and then dabbing at your clothes. You saw everything in slow motion. Fluffy, reddish brown hair, bouncing with his every movement, eyes blinking slowly, an amused smile creeping onto his face as he gently squatted down in front of you. Nonchalantly wiping at the corners of your mouth and chin. Then gradually making his way down, stippling your clothes.

"This can't be happening. This is a dream right?", you thought.

After you got over the initial shock, you quickly brushed his hands away and straightened out your clothing. He looked a little surprised and hurt with your sudden actions. He slowly stood up.

"O-oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking, I just naturally responded due to old habits. You must have been surprised", he responded, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"A-a little...", you admitted.

There was awkward silence.

"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you look really good. You must be happy now", he said hesitantly, a hint of sorrow lingering in the last few words.

"So I didn't look good before?", you joked, breaking the ice.

Even though you went through a series of unfortunate events, since you two used to be so close, you couldn't stop your old habit of picking on him. His face turned red and he started sputtering trying to apologize and defend himself.

"I'm kidding! Here, sit down", you said as you slightly kicked out the chair across from you.

He took a big sigh of relief, holding onto his chest as he sat down.

"As much as I've missed your teasing. Don't do that, at least not when we're just now seeing each other for the first time in years", he sulked.

"So how have you been? Are you and your girlfriend still doing okay?", you asked.

"I've been good. Ahh...her and I...we actually broke up two years ago", he said, looking down.

"U-uh. O-Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories", you apologized.

"No, it's fine", he said, smiling gently.

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking".

"I finally realized that she wasn't for me. That I wasn't really happy with her and that the person whom I was truly happy with had already walked out of my life. So I decided to break it off with her. It wouldn't be fair to her if I stayed with her physically, while mentally and emotionally, I longed for someone else right?".

He peeked at you from under his long lashes. You suddenly felt unreasonably nervous and shy. You cleared your throat and reached out to grab your cup of tea and took a sip to calm down. He chuckled at your obvious discomfort.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make it awkward. You've probably moved on by now huh?", he asked.

There it was again, that underlying hint of sadness in his words. You didn't know if you wanted to admit your true feelings or not. Should you?

"Well, actually I--", you hesitated.

"I haven't really, 'technically' moved on. As someone who used to be your close friend, I just wanted to believe that you were happy so I could go on with my life without any regrets", you admitted.

"You're still my close friend", Chanyeol responded immediately.

"That'll never change no matter how many years pass. Even if we've lost contact like we did, don't you think it's fate that we ran into each other again like this?". 

You were quiet for a while, dutifully studying the liquid in your cup. Suddenly you chuckled a bit, still looking at your drink.

"If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they're yours; if they don't they never were, huh?"