Chapter 40

You really wanted to talk to Chanyeol again, after what happened at the rooftop. You wanted answers. You wanted everything to go back to how it was. And you knew the only way you could confront him alone was at the café. After the screaming fiasco you had a few weeks ago, Sehun, the young and obnoxious manager/owner of the café made a deal with you to work part-time until the sales improve. So you took that opportunity to talk to Chanyeol. Only that, there’s always someone that has to get in the way of everything.

“So what the heck happened between the both of you…again?”

Baekhyun was leaning against the counter while you were busy wiping the cups with a clean cloth. It was a Saturday and it was before opening time so the café was still empty. Chanyeol hadn’t reached yet, or maybe because you came too early.

“What do you mean what happened, nothing’s happened.” You scoffed and avoided eye contact.

“Oh come on, don’t you bull with me. Who am I? I’m Baekhyun. THE Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s best—no let me correct that—bestEST friend. I know when my buddy is feeling like he just got his balls whipped and right now, his balls are on the verge of separation.”

“Nothing happened okay.” You said firmly. Which was true, nothing did happen. The talk you had with him on the rooftop didn’t even make a difference.

Just then you heard the back door of the café and shuffling sounds in the store room.

That must be him.

“Baekhyun! How many times must I remind you not to leave your stuff lying around on the floor—“

Chanyeol stopped in his tracks when he saw you staring back at him.

“H-Hey.” You tried to act casual.

“Hey. I thought you weren’t going to come here anymore.” His voice suddenly sound so sullen and he avoided looking at your face.

Slowly, he began to rearrange the chairs and table silently. You too continued to wipe the cups but kept your attention on him. Baekhyun who was eyeing the both of you suspiciously, sighed and went back to the store room to clean up. He knew that something was obviously up and also knew that you and Chanyeol needed some alone time together. Once Baekhyun was out of sight, you tried to start a conversation.

“So uh, where did you and your friends go the other day?”

“Just out. Dinner. Arcade. Normal stuff.”

Liar.

You raised your eyebrows. “Oh really? Sounds like fun.”

“Yeah, it was.” He said, still not looking at you.

“So what else did you guys—“

“Hae Ra, why are you even here?” Chanyeol turned around and folded his arms.

“What do you mean why? I work here too remember?” You were starting to get angry but you didn’t know why.

Chanyeol let out a frustrated sigh and was about to say something when Sehun entered the café. Noticing the tense atmosphere in the room, he took the opportunity.

“Good morning my loyal subjects, how are we today? Oh and Hae Ra, I heard the news of your engagement! Congratulations!! What a fine lad he is!” His voice boomed in the room, and to rub the news of your engagement seemed to annoy you even more.

“Oh shut up will you. It’s not something to be congratulated for.” You said and noticed Chanyeol was back to arranging the tables and chairs.

Sehun decided to annoy you even more. He leaned against the counter while eyeing both of your reactions. He knew exactly what was up. Despite his young age, he’s actually very intelligent and very quick to catch on things.

“Hmm? What do you mean? Isn’t getting engaged to a very handsome young man like Do Kyungsoo something every girl would wish for? And to add on, he’s very rich too.”

You slapped the cloth you were holding on the counter and glared at Sehun.

“Look here brat. You don’t know what it feels like to be suddenly engaged to someone your parents thought would be ‘great for business’ and let alone someone whom you’ve just met. So you better shut your trap before I make another scene in this stupid café. And FYI, the engagement is not going to happen.”

Sehun’s eyes widened in interest as he tapped his finger on his chin. You didn’t mean to tell him that last part but you did it just so that he would stop talking about it. Sehun was about to add something else but he took a look at his watch and clapped his hands.

“Well, I’d love to stay and chat some more, especially about the ‘not going to happen’ part,” he winked at you and continued, “but it’s almost opening time and I must be off to a meeting. We’re opening another outlet in Gangnam. Toodles!” He waved his hands and disappeared to the back of the café to check up on Baekhyun before leaving.

You sighed and walked to the front door of the café and flipped the sign to ‘We’re Open!’ when you felt someone staring at you. You turned and saw Chanyeol, looking a little hesitant as he bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Why is the engagement not happening? Did you and Kyungsoo fight?” He said softly.

You scoffed and folded your arms. “Oh now you’re interested in my life? After avoiding me for days? Gee, thanks.” You rolled your eyes and went to the back of the register as the first group of customers entered the café.

After tending to the customers, Chanyeol approached you and softly whispered, “Meet me after your shift. I need to talk to you.”

You rolled your eyes but nodded.

Oh so now you want to talk. Be prepared for a good scolding. Stupid Chanyeol. Jerk. . Douchebag.

“I’m sorry for avoiding you Hae Ra.” He said as the both of you were walking down the street together. He insisted on sending you home.

You just kept quiet. The both of you were finally going to have a serious conversation and you wouldn’t want to ruin it with your bad temper. Chanyeol peeked at your face and sighed. He averted his gaze elsewhere and suddenly his face lit up.

“Hey, the night is still young and I know you’re feeling kinda upset with me, want to go and do something fun?” He said excitedly.

You turned to look at him and furrowed your eyebrows. His proposition certainly was certainly unexpected. “What do you mean?”

He flashed you his cheeky grin and pointed to somewhere behind you. You turned to look at where he was pointing and couldn’t help but let out a slight chuckle. He was pointing towards a batting area.

He’s trying to cheer me up isn’t he?

“Aw come on, I know you want to! It’s gonna be fun! And it’s a stress reliever too!” He was starting to get excited and was already clinging on to your arm and jumping up and down. Somehow you feel that it’s really him that wants to try out the batting area. You laughed and gave in. “Fine, loser flicks the other’s forehead.”

“Deal!”

“Ow! That was too hard! You did it on purpose didn’t you?!” Chanyeol shrieked as he rubbed the bruised area on his forehead.

You laughed at his pain, satisfied that you triumphed over him in the batting game.
And you had to admit, it was a stress reliever. You managed to get rid of all your anger, as though you collected it all in the bat you were holding and it transferred to the ball that you hit, sending it flying away into the distance.

Chanyeol saw you laugh and smile crept to his face. He played with your hair and you didn’t mind it at all. You knew that there wasn’t any hard feelings between the both of you but deep down, you knew that you still had to talk about it. Confront it.

You sat on the swing at a playground near your house and Chanyeol came to you with two ice cream cone in his hands. He passed you one and settle down on the swing beside yours. Both of you sat and ate quietly, enjoying the silence. Just then, Chanyeol decided to speak first.

“I’ve been such a jerk towards you, and I’m sorry.”

“I know. You were such an did you know that?” You joked. You had already forgiven him.

Chanyeol chuckled and he popped the last bit of cone from his ice cream into his mouth.

“And I’m sorry for not telling you about the engagement.” You said quietly.

He smiled and patted your head with his large hand. “It’s not your fault Hae Ra. You didn’t know about it either right?”

You nodded and sighed. “I just, want everything to go back to how it was. It’s like my whole life took a 180° turn. I want to go back to the days where I can just be in the comfort of my pool, in the water listening to nothing but my own heartbeat.”

Chanyeol chuckled. “Those were the days before you met me right? I’m sorry, I know that, ever since you got yourself involved with me, everything had become too chaotic for you—“

“No, I didn’t really regret that part.” You shyly admitted, causing Chanyeol to look at you in surprise. 

You felt a blush creep on to your cheeks when you realized what you said and you didn’t know why you said it either. Maybe it was because it was the truth? Because you really didn’t regret meeting him in the end. As much as you want to say Yeseo, Chanyeol seems to be there for you more than her nowadays. And you don’t blame her, she’s busy trying her best at her father’s company. And you’re not saying that Chanyeol is her replacement.

It was just that Chanyeol was the first ever person that tried to talk to you while everyone else in school ignored you. Yeah, you've had some friends before, but when the bullying got worse, they all just left. But not Chanyeol, he saw the bullying yet he was still by your side, helping you, defending you and making you feel like you belonged.

You were deep in your thoughts that you didn’t notice he was now in front of you and just looking straight into your eyes. You felt the heat on your cheeks and wanted to avoid his gaze but he quickly but gently cupped your face and the next thing you knew, both your lips touched.

It was all too sudden and you had your eyes opened the whole time. After a few seconds, Chanyeol broke away from the kiss but his face was still so close to yours. You could still feel the kiss on your lips. He looked into your eyes and took your hand in his.

“I’ll walk you home, it’s getting late.” He said in his deep yet soft voice as he pulled you up from the swing and both of you started walking hand in hand.

The tip of his ears turned red because of the kiss and you thought you saw him smile a little to himself. You were still trying to process what happened back at the playground. Before you knew it, the both of you were already outside the gates of your house and he let go of his hand from yours. You had to admit, a part of you was a little disappointed that everything happened too quickly. Chanyeol stepped closer to you and to your surprise again, gave you a quick peck on the forehead before walking away.

“W-wait!” Your voice hiccupped and Chanyeol stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at you. His ears were still red.

You bit your lip and avoided his eyes, trying to prevent him to see how red your face was. “S-see you in school.” You said embarrassingly and quickly ran into your house without looking back. Chanyeol chuckled and continued to walk.

As soon as the doors behind you closed and you were in the comfort of your own room, you slid down to the floor, your knees suddenly losing their strength and you sighed. It was the first time ever that you were feeling that nervous. Your fingers traced your lips, feeling what was left of the kiss and you smiled.

Oh Hae Ra, you’re being such a girl over a kiss.