They have been on the phone for almost an hour, but it only felt like fifteen minutes or so. It was like time had warped within them and nothing else mattered much. 

"I like it.. a lot," she traced her finger on the seashell-shaped charms dangling loosely from the bracelet. "It’s so cute. When did you get it?"

"Of course you'd like it. I went out of my way to get them," Kyuhyun . He had been doing so for the pass hour and loving it. He loves the way how Mi Ra would snap at him after he , thinking how cute she must look with an annoyed expression plastered on her face. "Give it back if don't like it." he chuckled. 

"Hmmpphh~ Meanie! You already gave it to me, it's already mine, arraso?!" she hissed, holding the urge to shout over the phone, not wanting to wake her grandmother and Sehun who had fallen asleep ages ago. 

"Arra..arra..arra.." he chuckled again and wished that she could be by his side at that moment, lying with him on his bed, so that he could pinch her cheeks, or just simply caress it. "I have to see you tomorrow, Mi Ra," he cooed to her as he shifted his position and hugged his favourite pillow. 

"Have to? Wae?" she really didn't have to ask, acknowledging the countless times Kyuhyun avidly stated how much he misses her, but a little bit of teasing won't hurt. "Graduation day is just two days from now, we can see each other at the Uni, right?" she bit her lips, holding in a giggle.

"Aahh~" he frowned to himself and hated how he just made that aegyo slip from his mouth. Why is he always so mushy when he is with Mi Ra. The things you make me do, Mi Ra.. "But-- you have to come with me. I need to get some stuff for graduation. I-- umm-- need to get a new shirt. yeah. A new shirt," he glanced towards his closet full of shirts, ungracefully stammered, making it so obvious that he just made that excuse up- literally like, three seconds ago. Only a pabo would buy that excuse.

She couldn't stand it any longer and giggled as silently as possible. Kyuhyun is being such an open book and she loves that. This fluffy side to him is sure one of the many that she adores of him.

Just listening to her giggles made Kyuhyun smile and contented. "It's a date, ok?"

"Ok.. wait-- what? A date?" she smiled, contrary to what she sounded like. She knew where this was going. However, a confirmation would definitely be nice to hear.

"Yeah, a date," he answered and mustered up his courage, complying to a lady's need of wanting to hear exact words of confirmation about their current status. "I'm asking you to go on a date with me," he tried his best to control his rapid heartbeat and breathing. "I'm asking you to go out with me, and--" he paused in case Mi Ra wanted to say something, but there was just pure silence across the line. "I'm asking you to please stay by me.. always.." He hoped Mi Ra would break the silence by answering all his questions, so he waited patiently for her reply.

Mi Ra's eyes were on Sehun, who had just changed his position to lie on his back with his arms and legs spreading all over.

Kyuhyun had asked her to be his girlfriend. She heard everything he said, loud and clear. Somehow, she knew this was coming and could feel that he wants her ever since Mokpo, and the feeling was mutual. But. Sehun.. What if he finds out about Sehun? Will he accept him?

"Kim Mi Ra~" he called her name teasingly and she just giggled at his childish act, snapping her back to reality. Kyuhyun always seems to be able to wash whatever worries she had about life away.

"Mmm?" she just hummed, pursing her lips together in an attempt to not sound too giddy. 

"You're not going to answer me, are you?" he chuckled as he ran his hands through his hair in slight frustration. "Fine. But tomorrow is still a date." he firmly said, forming plans on what he'd do to her already. Little does he know that Mi Ra too can't wait for their date tomorrow. 

Mi Ra lied on her mattress and finding it really hard to wipe that smile off her face after listening to Kyuhyun's 'sweetdreams, sunshine' before they hung up. In love.. I'm in love.. She closed her eyes as images of Kyuhyun began to form in the darkness.

***

She uncomfortably tucked her hair behind her ears once in every five minutes and tugged onto her knee length dress once in a while. Why is he torturing me? She thought to herself. Apparently, walking side-by-side with a casual looking Kyuhyun is considered a torture for her. Perhaps it has something to do with him glancing to her every now and then, and giving her meaningful smiles isn't helping either.

He, on the other hand, is enjoying every bit of second. He realizes how uncomfortable she is now and felt slightly at fault. Right after he complimented her looking nice today, eyeing her up and down a couple of times, she became agitated. No, he had never seen her in a dress before and the view of that is just breathtaking, complementing her body structure in a hell of a way. No, she had never worn mascara or eyeliner before, and he didn’t see the need of her to- except for the fact that those accentuate her pretty eyes, as he finds it rather hard to not bore into them. Yes, he would very much like to stare at her for ten minutes if it was possible, but that would horror her and he didn’t want to scare her off.

The minute she raised her hands to tuck her hair for the n-th time, he swiftly pulled her hand down and continued walking, with her hand in his. "Stop it. They look fine," he chuckled.

They stepped into an elevator with glass windows, so people could look at the view of the mall from inside. As soon as Kyuhyun led her to stand in the furthest corner of the elevator, he leaned a bit closer to her and whispered, "Does this mean you agree?" and earned a light punch on his arm.

"Yahh.." she whinned softly and Kyuhyun just couldn't take his eyes off her. He wondered how she could look so beautiful being embarrassed and shy altogether. However hard she tried to show the strong side of her, Kyuhyun had always seen Mi Ra as if she was made of pink cotton-candy and strawberry vanilla shake. She has the softest touch, the softest voice, the sweetest smile, and fluffiest heart a girl could have. Please don’t show that expression in front of some other guys. I can’t guarantee they won’t falter.

"That is a yes, right?" he continued to tease. A slight nod and a wider smile was enough as an answer for him. He inhaled a deep breath and looked out of the window before the elevator stopped, trying to contain the feeling of joy overiding his system.

She looked at him innocently, asking if this was the floor they intended to go. He smiled before saying, "let's go together," and laced their fingers together, giving it a little squeeze before they walked off. 

The rest of the day was just spent doing cheesy stuff. Kyuhyun would ask her opinion on every single shirt he took out from a rack. He just couldn't help it. He loves the way she helped him buttoned the collars of the shirt, the way she would slide her palms across his chest smoothing out the soft wrinkles, taking a few steps back, admiring him and only him in the various colour of shirts he picked out, listening to her nag about how to take care of cotton materials. I could so make you my wife now, Mi Ra.. he sighed as he smiled.

***

"Are you sure you can go back by yourself?" he rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. Mi Ra had told him to go back first because she had some errands to be done. 

"Yah.. I'm 24 years old ok?" she pretended to be irritated, as her hands tugged on Kyuhyun's and then chuckled. "I'll be fine, Kyu," she nodded to him, appreciating his concerns for her. 

They were standing facing each other and Kyuhyun could see that the bus he had been waiting for is just around the corner. It was just half past four in the evening, but the cold and cloudy weather made the sky looked a bit dark. "Come home with me," he casually pleaded to her, as he took off his muffler scarf and draped it around her neck. 

"Mwoya.." she looked down, blushing at what he just suggested. She then caught sight of the bus drawing in near the bus stop. "Your ride is here. Ppali ppali," she urged him, running away from the subject.

"Next time, I'm definitely bringing you home," he said, eyeing her and gathered his stuff before he gave her a light kiss on her jaw lines and ruffled her hair- leaving her awestricken when he gave her a playful wink from inside the bus as it begin to move away from the bus stop. 

She stood there, her hands slowly reached the place where her boyfriend had left a bit of him with her. She felt warm and just wanted to roll around in happiness if she wasn't in a public place as such. Heaving a deep breath she had been holding in since just now, she strode off- to the university.

***

The clerk was definitely acting weird, Mi Ra thought. It made her feel terrible. Usually, this was the clerk that she could slow-talk to. The clerk would usually extend the due date of her fees secretly and there would be no problems. But today, might be different.

"Uhh- Nara unnie.." her calling the clerk unnie suggested that they were close. "I know it still is short of a few hundreds, but I was thinking since tomorrow is Graduation day, and—uhh-- the Uni could accept this and I will definitely settle the remaining amount. Soon." She bit her lips, waiting for a positive feedback. 

"Uhh.. ok.. but.." it was evident that Nara unnie herself is nervous from what she is dealing with. She precisely remembered how Kyuhyun made her promise to not leek any bit of information about the payment he made for her. She promised. "..but we can't accept this check, Mi Ra ya.." she looked away from her and pretended to be busy shuffling through papers on her desk, thinking of what excuses to give next. 

Mi Ra just kept her eyes on the clerk’s desk, quietly observing the slightly panicking lady, when her eyes landed on a familiar looking piece of document. It was her tuition agreement and at the bottom, stating that all payments have been made was a signature she had seen somewhere. She squinted her eyes, thinking hard.

The flashing image of Kyuhyun's library card surfaced in her photographic memory. She slowly reached for the document when suddenly Nara unnie's hand slammed onto the paper. "Mi Ra ya.. you're not supposed to know," she looked at her straight in the eye, making her understand that an agreement has been made between her and whoever is was that had settled her fee for her. 

"Was it Cho Kyuhyun, unnie?" she asked, trying her hardest to not let her voice shake. The clerk did not answer. Instead, she just told her to go home and be happy that she was in debt no more. She should focus on Graduation day and get prepared to start her placement soon. 

But that was all easier said than done. Especially for a person who had gone through so much, like Kim Mi Ra. Nonetheless, she left the university, not knowing what to feel. 

Should she feel sad? Or angry, because Kyuhyun kept it as a secret from her. Perhaps she should go to his house to thank him for his kindness. She felt puzzled, that was for sure- embarrassed by the fact that she couldn't handle her own situation in life that somebody had to barge in and take over. Heat started to crawl up her face. Was she angry? 

***

Graduation day was sefinitely the most happening day in university. It was a day to celebrate and be cherished forever. A day which marked the end of an undergraduate and the fresh start of work life.

“See, I told you. There was nothing you had to be worried about,” Kyuhyun chirped as he shamelessly readjusted his girlfriend’s graduation cap and tucked in the loose strands of hair to the back of her ears, earning some jelly-stares from their mates.

Of course you didn’t worry. It was you who had to pay for my debt. And how could you even accept me as your girlfriend after paying $14000? Are you that rich?

Mi Ra still had not decided how to confront him regarding the fee. Seeing how attentive he was to her didn’t make things easier. Keeping quiet was her way of dealing with the current happening. She just quietly smiled as they and her about their relationship, while Kyuhyun, on the other hand, was laughing and hoarding Mi Ra to himself, very much happy to display that they were together and openly accepts their teases. He was that happy.

“Come on, muk-ja?” Sora whinned, rubbing her belly.

“You’re buying us lunch? I’m in!!” cheered Ryeowook, only to yelp in pain when Sora pinched her arm.

“Yah! When did I say I’m buying?! You should buy, since you’re gonna debut as an idol soon,” she hissed at him. But before they could continue to bicker, Kyuhyun stopped them.

“I’m buying. Where should we eat?” he smiled excessively as he raised both hands. He was happy. He has all the reason to be happy. He finally made Mi Ra his girlfriend. They graduated. He was in love. Everything was going well and he felt that he should be thankful for that wished to celebrate it with his close friends.

As they were fighting and deciding where to eat, Mi Ra looked at Kyuhyun. He noticed that she wasn’t much of herself today. Maybe she’s not well, he explained to himself.

“Why are you spending so much?” she whispered to him as he bent down a bit to reach her level. He was surprised that she suddenly asked about that. Mi Ra should have known by now that buying each other food was normal for them. That day, Changmin bought them the daeji galbi, and after that Sora bought fried chicken for them. What’s so wrong about him wanting to pay for the food today?

“Wae? You don’t want me to buy them lunch?” he asked her, with his eyes as soft as ever looking to her. He wants to know why she is questioning his intentions.

Her breathing was growing faster, she felt like she wanted to puke.

This wasn’t about buying them lunch anymore.