When Kyungsoo woke up the next morning, he was alone in his bed. Maybe it was just a dream, he thought, remembering the events of the previous night. He realized he was wrong as soon as he reached the kitchen. Chanyeol was there, eating the pancakes his friend's mother had cooked before leaving a little earlier. “Hi,” the shorter male muttered.

“Hey Soo,” his friend greeted back, mouth still full and maple syrup dripping down his chin. Why do I think he is cute like that?, Kyungsoo wondered. “You're disgusting!” he exclaimed, putting his hand in front of his mouth as if about to vomit. The tall boy kept on eating like he had heard nothing. The younger male soon joined him, sat down at the table and began eating too. “Ah~! I like pancakes,” Chanyeol cheerfully cried. Kyungsoo froze. Suddenly, he had remembered something. Just before falling asleep, his friend had muttered confusing words. Wait! Did he say...? “Hey, are you okay?” the older male asked him, his face suddenly very close. The shorter boy moved back. “Y-Yeah.”

“Are you sure? You seem... bothered by something,” the older male insisted, clearly worried.

“I'm okay. Don't worry,” Kyungsoo reassured him. He then added, “By the way, what did you say last night?” He knew he was taking a risk asking his friend but he wanted to know.

“Huh? I remember saying different things...” the tall boy chuckled.

“When I was falling asleep, you were saying something but I can't seem to remember it. Something like 'I l...' I think.”

“'I l...'?” Chanyeol didn't seem to remember either until it hit him. “Oh. I remember. I was telling you I liked your smell.” Kyungsoo was dumbfounded. I'm going to have a heart attack soon if he keeps doing things like that. “You like what?” he succeeded to ask incredulously.

“Your smell.” the taller boy repeated, as if his friend hadn't heard what he had just said. “You smell like strawberries... Sweet,” he explained, a slight pink painting his cheeks. Kyungsoo was so nervous he was trembling. He got up and managed to take the dishes and put them in the sink without breaking anything. He started to wash them, his back facing his friend to hide his reddened face. “Let me help you,” Chanyeol told him and in a second he was standing beside him. “There's no need. I'll finish this. You can go home,” the younger male retorted a bit harshly.

“Oh... Okay.” The older male seemed disappointed. “See you then!” he said as he left the house. Kyungsoo sighed heavily upon hearing the door being closed. This has to stop, he thought. He knew he wouldn't be able to last long like that. Chanyeol kept getting closer to him and Kyungsoo didn't know how to deal with it. There was only one solution the boy could see. He had to be direct. No more strategies to make his friend understand he loved him. Next time he would say those three words. If Chanyeol didn't love him back, at least he would know it. This was worse than rejection. In fact, Kyungsoo felt like he was rejected every single time Chanyeol reminded him he was his best friend. Kyungsoo cherished their friendship but he just couldn't go on like that.

***

Kyungsoo couldn't wait any longer. After eating lunch with his parents, he decided it was the right time to tell Chanyeol how he felt about him. He told his mother he was going to see the tall male for a moment and left the house. He crossed the street, trying to choose the words he would tell his friend but stopped in his tracks at the scene taking place in front of him. Chanyeol was at his front door. With a girl. Hugging. Then the girl stood on her tiptoes and kissed his friend's cheek lovingly. It was too much for the short male. He felt his heart breaking in million pieces. Tears started to fall down his cheeks as he turned around, leaving before one of the two lovers could see him.

A/N: hello dear readers~ Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed the last days of 2013 and that this year will be as best as it can for you. =) 

I'm sorry I didn't update earlier. I know I said I would update as soon as possible and I keep apologizing but I just couldn't find the time to update sooner. Hope you didn't mind the wait and you enjoyed this chapter. There's only one chapter left. Actually, I've split the last chapter in two parts, because i like it better like that. I want to keep you in suspense a bit. ^^ That's why this chapter is shorter than the others. Anyway, I'll post the last part in a few days. See you then~