“Her name’s Dara, a third year,” Luhan said, his voice sounded a little excited from the other end of the call. I breathed into my phone, looking at the clock by the fridge. It was nine in the morning. I sent Luhan the picture of the girl last night after my eyes got tired of leaking. He seemed to grasp the urgency of the matter because immediately after I woke up, I saw ten missed calls from him and a message saying he found the identity of the girl. “Damn, she’s stunning. No wonder Chanyeol’s head over heels for her,” he said as a side note.

 

“Sometimes I’m curious whose side you’re own,” I grumbled. His laugh roared from the speakers. I wanted to strangle his neck. The tiredness hasn’t left me yet but I thought I could give him a good choking with the strength I had left. I was standing in the kitchen, a cup of tea in my hand and in that moment I had the urge to pour my drink on my phone hoping the hot liquid reached the other end of the line. I pleased myself with the thought of Luhan’s disbelief. The bread toaster dinged and brought me back to my senses.

 

“Don’t get too worked up, Baek. It’s just a crush.” He continued while I removed the toast and placed it on a nearby plate. The bread was hot, so were his words to my ears. The sleep in my eyes vanished right away and when the words came out of my mouth, I couldn’t recognize myself.

 

“How can I not be upset when right at this very moment, there’s a high probability he’s rolling on the floor swooning over her picture, leaving smooches on it. Heck! He might even have built an altar by now!” I said at the top of my lungs, my hands clutching my cup hard.

 

“Woah. You sound like a jealous .” A nervous chuckle followed which ended quickly with a sudden seriousness in his voice. “I get it that you like him and you’re jealous with the apple of his eyes but face it, Baek. He’s at the same situation with you. He’s just… admiring her from afar.” Luhan lowered his voice.

 

“He got her selca, Luhan. How’s that admiring from afar?” I defended myself.

 

“It was a metaphor, Byun Baekhyun.” I could imagine him squint his eyes.

 

I leaned on the counter anticipating his next words but nothing came. I was quick to recognize the sudden guilt in my head and the embarrassment of making too much fuss about a simple infatuation.

 

“You’re good at these situations, Lulu.” I said when my thinking failed my ability to argue. “A ‘thank you’ would suffice,” he answered, a hint of amusement in his voice. I rolled my eyes. I decided to let go of the topic indefinitely.

 

“How’s your little experiment with baseball boy Sehun?” I teased, chomping on my buttered toast.

 

“We’re doing fine, glad you asked. He’s been compliant actually, after I told him I wanted us to be discreet,” he hummed a little which I took for some sort of calm before the storm. “We did a little extra curricular too, if you know what I mean.” The tea rushed up to my nose. I coughed, gasping for breath while Luhan’s glee escaped in a rage from the speakers of my phone.

 

“He’s a minor Luhan!” I exclaimed while wiping my face with the hem of my sleeves.

 

“Duh, we both are. He likes it and, Baek, it’s not as if we’d get ourselves pregnant. We’re just fooling around. You know what? I’m starting to enjoy boys now because of him.”

 

I covered my face with my hands.

 

“I’m ashamed I’m your friend.”

 

“I love you, too. I have to go now. See you at the bar later.”

 

“Wait.. What? I thought you said you had a date with your lab rat?”

 

“Precisely. And we’re taking it to your little concert. I heard Kai’s bringing the whole basketball team, too.” My jaw tightened. “I’ll definitely strangle all your necks later,” I said banging my head on the table. Luhan ignored my overreaction. “I’m hanging up now. Bye!” And just like that, the whole campus decided to go to my gig.

 

I spent the rest of the day thinking of what to wear. Luhan did everything else like talking to the owner of the café and picking the songs I was going to sing so that I ended up doing nothing except practice the songs and thinking about my outfit for the night. The ghosts of my sorrow were still inside me but it didn’t hurt as much as last night. Embarrassment overpowered them and now I just want to curl into a fetus and go back to my mother’s womb. But that could wait. I have a performance to prepare and the rest of the day to actually feel good about myself.

 

A pencil laid lazily on my philtrum as I stared blankly at the ceiling. I sat on my rotating chair, turning it back and forth imitating the hypnotizing emptiness of my thoughts.

“Baek, I’m off now, take care in your gig!” Mom suddenly blared from outside.

“You too, mom!” I shouted back just in time as the front door slammed shut. Moments later, I could hear the engine of her car starting. Few honks later and she was gone.

It was too boring in the house and I could no longer shake the thought of actually performing later that night. I was thinking of ice cream and salted popcorn and the scent of minty hair tousled between my fingers when my phone rang. The pencil fell off somewhere but I didn’t bother to know where because I was already hunting for the ringing in my room.

 

When I found my phone, I instantly looked at the screen while I dragged myself back to my chair. The numbers 5, 3 and 0 screamed at me and below that, the name of my caller. I clicked it.  

 

“Hello Yeol,” I said carefully trying not to touch my freshly blistered emotions.

 

“Hi Baek,” my heart almost fell out because his voice was a sultry timbre and I misheard it as “Hi babe”. The schoolgirl inside me almost flipped in delight. But I shook my head and tried to gain my senses. This boy broke my heart twice. Thrice. Whatever, I lost count. He can do it again at any moment.

 

“What’s up?” I asked.

 

“Nothing, I was just checking if you’re now okay. You know, the thing you had yesterday.”

 

Which was it Park Chanyeol, the part where I lied or the part where you smashed my heart with a bulldozer? A quick breath escaped my lungs and I almost choked trying to form my words.

 

“Yeah I’m fine now,”

 

“That’s good! So you’re definitely performing later, right?”

 

“Not if you stop me.” He laughed. It was infectious.

 

“What are you singing?”

 

“It’s a secret,”

 

“You’re keeping a secret from your best friend? Unforgivable.” Uhm.

 

“You’ll spoil the surprise,”

 

“Come on, it’s just a song!”

 

“Can you stop being hard headed for once?”

 

“The song.”

 

“No.”

 

“The soooong.” He was starting to sound desperate. I can’t help but laugh at his helplessness.

 

“Stop or I’ll hang up.”

 

“Baeeeeeeek, the sooooong.”

 

“Tuuut tuuuut tuuuuut tuuuut tuuut”

 

“Baek? Hello Baek?” I fell off my chair laughing.

 

“Yeah right, that was hilarious.” I could hear his little chuckle. “What time am I gonna pick you up?”

 

I totally forgot he wanted to go together.

 

“7PM sounds fine. The ride’s quite long and I think I have to prepare in the venue itself,”

 

“Okay. Should I take my car?” I scoffed.

 

“You don’t even have a license yet, Yeol.”

 

The last time we rode his car, we got in trouble after he accidentally bumped a trash can. We were just in their neighborhood back then. I couldn’t imagine what will happen to us in the highway.

 

 “But Baek I know how to drive and I’ll be turning 18 next year!”

 

“I think I’ll wait for another year.”

 

“Ugggh. It’s the bus, then.”

 

“Y-yep.”

 

“Okay, Be at the door at the first sound of the doorbell.”

 

“Yes, you’re majesty.” I rolled my eyes.

 

“And wear a scarf I think it’s going to be chilly later. You won’t want to get sick again, would you?”

 

I smiled. “Thanks Yeol.”

 

“Bye, Baek.” Bye, babe. Uggh I thought I was going insane.

 

“Bye.”

 

 

 

 

 

After that, I spent an hour buried in my closet looking for the perfect outfit. I decided to go with a plain white v neck, a metal studded belt, and a pair of bleached skinny jeans. A fat black scarf hanged on one of the posts of my bed away from my choices but I remembered Chanyeol’s words and resolved to wear it too. By 6:30, I was standing in front of my mirror fixing my look, hiding the creases of my shirt and deciding how to wear the shawl. After that I started fixing my hair, donned myself in perfume and put eyeliner on my still puffy eyelids. By the time the doorbell rang, I was good to go.

 

When I opened the door, Chanyeol was standing with his back to me. When he turned, he was holding a bouquet of flowers.

 

“Daffodils,” he said trying to suppress a smile. I wasn’t so sure about seeing a faint blush on his ears. Hell, I wasn’t so sure about anything anymore because there was Chanyeol on my porch looking damn fine with a button down gray top, hair slick with wax, wide rimmed specs resting on his face and bouquet in hand looking at me like a nervous boyfriend on a first date. I prayed to the gods that I wasn’t blushing right now.

 

“I… I didn’t know how to bring it without you noticing so I’ll just give it to you this early,” a wide grin on his face as he scratched the back of his head. My hands trembled when I took the flowers from his hand and admired it. I muttered a simple thanks but my heart was fluttering I had to play it off with excusing myself to lock the door of the house. A few minutes later, we started our trek to the bus stop.

 

We walked side by side with Chanyeol to my right. I found it hard not to stare at him and soon enough I was admiring how he looked sophisticated with the specs on his face. Later on, he took the bouquet from me when he saw I was having a hard time holding it. “See? This is the reason I wanted us to bring my car.” I just rolled my eyes at him saying he treated me like he was my father when actually I wanted to tell him he was acting like my boyfriend. I didn’t find time to dwell on my giddiness because it seemed like a flash when we reached the stop. The bus arrived soon after and we picked a seat at the far back. He took the liberty to pay for the ticket saying it was on him as a good luck token for my performance.

               

I found myself sitting by the window. He adjusted himself beside me, the bouquet dominating his lap. I suddenly felt bad for agreeing on him getting me the flowers. The bus was just nearing the next stop when he suddenly turned to me. “Baek is it okay if I drink some tonight?” he asked, an uneasy smile on his face. That’s when I noticed a faint sadness in his eyes. “What happened?” I asked, hoping it wasn’t about Dara because I was going to drag her hair in a shredding machine if she breaks my best friend’s heart. He looked stunned but eventually smiled.

 

"Nah it’s just… Something’s up at home,” he fixed his eyes on the flowers. “Grandma told me that mom called today. Mom and dad… they were fighting,” He crunched the paper surrounding the bouquet. I placed my hand on his lap. He looked at it and smiled. He continued talking.

 

“Grandma was frantic. I just came home this afternoon after buying a melon popsicle when she met me at the door and said they were going to visit me next week. I was happy for a second but then she told me they were planning to talk to me about deciding for a divorce.” His voice cracked and I feared he was going to cry, I squeezed his knee. He cleared his throat. It was my turn to speak.

               

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked. He laughed weakly. “Maybe, if I get some alcohol in my system.” I snorted.

                “

"Okay but just a few shots, understand?” I said. “Come to think of it, the whole basketball team’s there. They could bring you home if you knock yourself off. Go on and drink as much as you want.” This time his laugh seemed real enough.

               

“I’m sorry about that. It was Kai’s idea.”

 

“You know I won’t forgive the both of you for this.” I continued, resting my arm on the window’s ledge. “But seriously Yeol, just a few shots, okay?”

 

“Okay, babe.”

 

I froze. When I looked at him, my eyes were wide open; his mouth hung open trying not to laugh. I heard him right this time because he defended himself.

 

“What? It’s ‘cause you’re acting like my girlfriend again!” He said, a hint of playfulness in his voice. I was quick to reply.

 

“But you asked me first! Come to think of it. It seemed like.. like you were asking permission from your girlfriend!”

 

He rubbed the tip of his nose with his index finger a teasing look on his face. “No I wasn’t.”

 

“Yes you were.”

 

“You liked it.”

 

“What the ? Can you actually hear yourself?” I swear my face was steaming because all my blood rushed to my face. He tilted back his head laughing.

 

“Oh my god you actually liked it!”

 

I fell silent because I didn’t know what to say. I focused my gaze on the moving images of buildings and people outside, waiting for the blush on my face to go away. That’s when he stopped.

 

“Okay okay. Sorry.” He said but a suppressed chuckle escaped his lips for a moment.

 

“Ugggh you’re the worst” I said.

 

He started laughing hysterically again when suddenly the woman next to us shushed him up. He apologized. I poked his ribs. He mouthed an ‘Ouch’ and it was my turn to subdue my amusement. He never called me “babe” again for the rest of the trip.   

 

 

 

 

 

The bar was bustling with people. It turned out to be the biggest in town. What I imagined to be a small pub full of tired adults looking for a few round of drinks was wrong. Everyone looked young and ready to party. The whole street was filled with people it was almost dizzying. Chanyeol on the other hand looked perfectly at ease.

 

I found myself swimming in the crowd looking for the entrance. People bumped at me. They pushed and I shoved. My lungs were filled with the toxic mix of different perfumes and for a moment I wanted to leave the place. If not for Chanyeol who was holding my hand tightly leading the way, I would have been crushed in the stampede.

               

“Excuse me, but my friend’s here to perform for the event,” he told the big hulking guy who just gave him a side stare. He looked like the wrestler, Batista. “Sorry pal, we can’t let you in yet.” Batista said. 

               

“What’s with the hold up?”

               

“Apparently, the guitarist for the night called in sick just a few minutes ago. Now the organizer’s panicking. We might even cancel the show.” I was stunned. Chanyeol was silent for a minute.

 

"I can do it.” He said suddenly his gaze intently at Batista. I forgot Chanyeol was good with his fingers. (That sounded weird, by the way.) He played the guitar as a hobby. Batista’s face beamed and let us in immediately.

 

“Sir, I found your guitarist,” he said holding Chanyeol by the arm as we walked towards the stage. The man standing onstage looked worked up. Around us, people were busy preparing the lights and the other equipment. When the man Batista referred to as ‘sir’ saw us, he couldn’t contain his joy. “Thank goodness!” he literally jumped his way down the stage and started hugging Chanyeol. Chanyeol just laughed. He looked at me and then the bouquet in Chanyeol’s hand.

 

Like a dart, he asked. “Is this your boyfriend?” I wanted to stuff the flowers in his mouth. Chanyeol looked at me wiggling his eyebrows. I shrugged. He looked at us and laughed.

 

“You definitely are a couple.”

 

We had no time to react because he told us urgently to go onstage and practice. So as the people around us took care of the wires, I taught Chanyeol the three songs I was going to sing. We were the opening of the event and time was running out. The first two songs were a breeze but the last one proved to be a feat. He never heard of the song.

 

“It’s Maria by Kim Ah Joong. I’m surprised you never heard of it.” Chanyeol frowned on the music sheet. I sang it to him. He pursed his lips while his fingers were tapping wildly on the guitar. “Do you think I could do this?” he asked with worried eyes. I patted his shoulder.

 

“Really, Yeol? The Chanyeol I know isn’t afraid of a piece of paper,” he chuckled. Just then, the organizer told us the show was about to start.

 

Chanyeol held my hand. “Look at me when you sing,” I melted.

 

“Sure.” I said before my voice was drowned by the rush of people entering the establishment. It all happened in a blur. The host came up onstage and threw us a good luck. And then the spotlight beamed on us. It was blinding. I could hear my heart in my ears. I looked at Chanyeol. He mouthed the countdown. And then I could hear my voice booming from the speakers.

 

My lungs breathed in Chanyeol’s strumming in harmony with the beating of my heart. The drums thumping on my chest like big heart beats. The usual rush of adrenaline came in gushes like the steady flow of the people inside. The people were screaming and it was all I needed before drowning myself in what I was singing.

 

The two songs ended in a matter of minutes and the crowd was wild.

 

“YOU WANT MORE?!” I screamed on the top of my lungs.

 

“YEAAAAAAH!”

 

 It was pandemonium inside. Just a few minutes into the party and I was already feeling the heat. I scanned the crowd and found Kai and the rest of the basketball team. They were screaming words I could not comprehend. I looked at Chanyeol as if to say ‘You can do this.’ He smiled. The spotlight was hitting hard on him and he looked like he was shrouded in white. It was intoxicating. He started strumming the intro. I counted.

 

One.

 

Two.

 

Three.

 

It was time for the finale.

Alright, let's start now 

Little by little, passionately,

 
Oh~ Don't be afraid 

 

I looked at Chanyeol He was grinning and the sparkle in his eyes seemed to tell me that anxiety of performing was slowly disappearing.

That road the sun is shining on,

Is laying outstretched before your eyes

Oh~ Never stop 

 

I moved closer to the edge of the stage. The crowd was enthusiastic and the sound of their anticipation was exhilarating. I took all the voice that was in my chest and screamed like I’ve never screamed before.

Maria, Ave Maria 

Fly to the end of those white clouds 

Maria, Ave Maria 

It doesn't matter if you go through like the waves 

 

The last line hung in my lips forcing for sweet escape. “Baekhyun!” Chanyeol yelled. He started walking to me and I held his face. I rested my forehead on his so that the space between our lips was just a fist apart. He smiled, his hands vigorously jamming the guitar.

 

“Now!”

 

 

Mariaaaaa, Ave Maria!

 

 

 

 

“GIVE IT UP FOR OUR PERFORMERS TONIGHT!” I heard the host say while the crowd boomed in a frenzy. We walked hand in hand down the stage, the people screaming at our faces. It felt great to see the happiness on them and the warm hand that was wrapped around mine. When I looked at Chanyeol he was staring intently at me. I smiled at him which he answered with a soft rustling of my hair.

 

“That was awesome Baek! OH MY GOD!” Kai shouted as soon as he saw us heading their way. Chanyeol immediately let go of my hand and went to the bigger group of boys. The whole team congratulated us giving playful punches all over Chanyeol’s body and polite smiles at me.

 

“You think you're lucky now having me as a friend?” I teased, he scoffed. "Where's Luhan?" I asked. He was now holding two glasses of colored drinks. The music and the people and the host were loud so that we ended up yelling too just to fully comprehend each other. He gave one of the glasses to me before answering.

 

“What? Luhan’s here?”

 

“Yes. He said he’s with a…friend” I said, the drink lazily hanging in my hand.

 

“Who?”

 

“The first year, Oh Sehun.”

 

Kai shrugged. “Haven’t seen them since the party started.” I dropped the topic. He then left me to go to the dance floor. I found an empty table nearby and leaned at it watching the throngs of people around.

 

The drink in my hand was too tempting so I took a gulp. The adrenaline from the performance earlier slowly calming down as the warmth of the alcohol flowed down the insides of my chest. Then I remembered Chanyeol. The memory of what happened onstage crystal clear in my head. I smiled to myself and then traveled my gaze around looking for him. I started in the basketball team. He wasn’t there. Neither near the bartender, nor with Kai. I removed myself from my place and started walking unable to determine where to go. I craned my head left and right looking for him. Later on, I found myself moving towards the entrance.

 

And then I saw him.

 

He was leaning on the wall, his head bowed. It was dark, but I could make out the phone he was holding in his right hand. He muttered incoherently to the phone. I started walking towards him and when he saw me, he adjusted his stance and kept his gaze at me. His eyes were welling up and from the looks of it, he was already dismissing the caller on the other line. When I was just a few steps away from him, he dropped the phone into his pocket and planted his gaze on the floor.

 

“Yeol, what’s wrong?”

 

“Mom and dad’s home.” he said, his voice a mingling of anger and grief in one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“They’re getting the divorce.”

 

---

 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I found out we don't have classes in my first subject tomorrow so I did this! Oh my, the longest chapter yet! I wasn't able to put Dara and her first meeting with Chanyeol in this chapter without it looking forced. I'll do it in the next chapter ;A;

Thank you for the support guys. All your comments are really appreciated. Please don't leave me if I update too slow. Promise?

Take time to read my Seasons Project, Autumn Hearts and Melting Snowflakes.  

The seventh chapter's still vague but I'll do the best i can. 

The song's "Maria" by Kim Ah Joong from the movie, 200 Pounds of Beauty. Listen to the song!