Soojin's POV

It was already noon and Chanyeol was still asleep. Ever since the night before, I've been freaking out about what he said about my lips and getting them ready for today. Seriously, how could I not? Absentmindedly, I flipped through the channels on the television in the living room. After breakfast, Kwonho went to school for the first time in a week, Jina went out to meet some old friends and dad was out too. 

After a few more minutes, I glanced back up at the clock: 12:11pm.

I should probably wake Chanyeol up or he's going to have a hard time going to sleep again tonight. I hesistated for a little while I pushed myself off the couch, slowly heading up the stairs towards the Kwonho's room. As I stepped closer to the closed door, my heart began to beat a little faster for reasons unknown. I was only going to wake him up for goodness sake. There was no need for me to get nervous.

Slowly, I cracked open the door and peeked inside. Chanyeol was still deep in sleep, the comforter was all over the place and his body was sprawled face down across the mattress as his back slowly rose up and down in a slow, peaceful rhythm. I stepped inside quietly and slowly tip-toed towards him. Once I reached the side of the bed, I bent down to just...look at him. I've never seen him sleeping before. It made my heart beat at a stronger pace and I felt a tint of color rise in my cheeks.

How did I get so lucky? This was the guy that I met only less than a year ago. He was rude, arrogant and probably one of the few people in my life that I ever claimed to really hate. But here I am now, here we are now. He's in my home halfway across the globe and he's here for me. I was so grateful for everything he's done for me. He protected me, he made me feel safe. He fought so hard for us to be together, and things had to continue to turn for the worst to further prevent us from happening - and it was my fault this time. All of my intentions were to be with him in the end. He was the first boy in my entire life to make me feel like this: so happy, so cared for, so protected, so safe. When I was with Chanyeol, I felt like I could do anything because nothing would hurt me...because Chanyeol would make sure of that.

Suddenly, Chanyeol shuffled slightly in bed, scaring the crap out of me. I don't know why, but I didn't want him catching me stare at him, so I involuntarily ducked down low, hiding as close to the bed frame as possible. I held my breath to hear any sign of Chanyeol being awake, but there was nothing. Cautiously, I creeped back up to sneak a peak at him. He was on his side now, still facing me, still deep in sleep. I let out my breath slowly and sat back up on the floor in relief. I looked back over at him and bit my lip before I reached out my hand towards his face. Slowly and as gentle as possible, I brushed his bangs out of his eyes with my fingers.

"How much longer are you going to sit there and stare at me?" Chanyeol said groggily with his eyes still closed, scaring the crap out of me. My hand froze at his eyebrow as well as the rest of my body, not daring to let out the breath I had just taken in. I came to shock and didn't know what to do or what to say, my eyes were open wide in surprise, the tint of color in my cheeks turning into a darker shade. I got caught.

Chanyeol shuffled his body back and opened the covers next to the space he had just created.

"Um, I don't think so." I told him flatly, clearing my throuat and brushing my own hair out of my face, looking anywhere but his direction. I knew what he wanted me to do and I wasn't going to do it.

"Just come here," Chanyeol whined tiredly in his deep voice, eyes still closed. One arm was holding the covers open while the other arm was laid out across for my head to lean on. It looked inviting, but there was just no way.

I shook my head, stood up and folded my arms. "No. It's time for you to wake up anyways. Get up or you're never going to fall asleep tonight."

"Just a few minutes." Chanyeol repeated himself, covers still open next to his body waiting for me, this time his free hand waving me over.

"Chanyeol, you know--" I started to protest.

"I know you want to. And I know no one is home right now." Chanyeol cut me off, opening one eye looking to me with a slight smirk. "No funny business, I promise. I just want to lay next to you for a little bit."

I bit my lip. It was extremely tempting. And he made a point - no one was home. 

"At least it'll be on purpose this time," Chanyeol joked.

After a few more seconds of contemplating, I decided to just go with my heart and what it wanted. I nervously took a small step forward and cautious took a seat in the space Chanyeol had made for me trying to take it slow, when he suddenly engulfed me in the covers and wrapped his arms tightly around me as a small yelp escaped my lips from surprise. All of this within, oh I don't know, half a second?

"Wow, you really did it," he chuckled into my temple, getting comfortable, closing the space further between our bodies.

"Shut up," I grunted. My heart was beating out of control and I knew my face was radiating heat which he probably could feel against his own face judging from our proximity, or lack of. I can't believe I just voluntarily got into bed with Chanyeol. In Kwonho's bed nonetheless! What am I doing? And...was it hot under here or what. "No funny business." I mumbled annoyed, at myself more than anything for giving in.

Chanyeol chuckled as he snuggled closer to my temple, burying his face into my hair, his nose resting directly on the side of my cheek as felt his warm breath on my neck. "I promise."

The heat between our bodies seeped through the thin layers of our summer clothes. I've just come to realize that we have never been this close once before. Every part of my body was in contact with his and it felt...so nice. Why had I waited so long to do this? If I knew this was going to be so comforting, so soothing to just lay next to Chanyeol in bed - innocently of course - I would have done this sooner.

A few minutes passed, I nudged his side and cleared my throat awkwardly. "Uh, okay, your time is over. Get up."

Chanyeol sighed, eyes halfway open. "Just when I thought I won."

I slowly sat up from the bed and let out a small laugh. "With me? Never." I was a little disappointed that he didn't fight for more time in bed. If he had, I wouldn't have put up much of a fight this time and just agreed. "Get up, it's almost 1pm!" I looked down over at him.

Chanyeol swiftly lifted the covers from his body and his back as he stretched and let out a big yawn. "Alright, alright." He yawned. "So what are we doing today?"

"Huh?" I asked thrown off guard as I got up from his bed. "What do you mean?"

He sat up starting to fix the blankets of his bed. "Are we not doing anything today?"

"Uh...like what?" I was still confused. Was I supposed to plan something?

Chanyeol sighed annoyed and stopped what he was doing. "You seriously didn't think of what to do? I've been here for what, a day? What did you think - I had things planned to do?"

"Well, excuse me!" I replied slightly annoyed. "What did you expect? You came unannounced!" It's not like I asked him to come (though I was still so grateful). What did he expect from me? A long itinerary waiting upon his arrival? No.

Chanyeol shrugged and finished making his bed. "I don't know. I've only been to the States once to follow my dad on a business trip. So anything. Give me a tour of your town, show me your favorite places, where's your go-to place to eat? I don't know, but I think we both know that you need to get out of the house. So it's a win-win situation."

"Um..." I didn't really know how to respond. It's been quite a past 24-hours, my mind was still taking a while to catch up and process that fact that Chanyeol was still in front of my eyes in my house - not to mention I had just gotten out of a very comfortable (very risky) bed lay with him.

"Great!" He exclaimed as if my confusion answered his question. "I'll go and wash up. I should be ready in half an hour or so."

"But what - " Chanyeol walked past me, but not before pulling my head towads him giving me a quick peck on the forehead, leaving me surprised and lost for words - again. What was I saying?

"Just think of something," he smiled answering the question I didn't get to ask. "We can do anything you want." And with that he left to the bathroom, leaving me with another wave of a mix of emotions.

"Ugh Chanyeol," I groaned as I rushed to my own room to get ready. "Why are you so annoying?!"

*****

Chanyeol's POV

"When I said anything you want, this was not what I had in mind," I huffed, stopping to catch my breath.

"Don't complain!" She looked back at me laughing. "You said you wanted to see my favorite place!"

"Yah!" I exclaimed. "If I knew your favorite place involved climbing a mountain in this hot weather, I would have never agreed to follow you!"

After a brief lunch and more convincing, Soojin finally gave in and said that she would take me to her favorite place at home. It was a nice sight to see because it seemed that she was actually excited and looked forward to going to wherever it was that her favorite place was located. Little did I know, I was not prepared for where she was going to take me.

Soojin let out another hearty laugh and faced forward to continue hiking up. I could have sworn she was tired too from the bread of sweat on her forehead or her cheeks, but her smile convinced me otherwise. "Come on slow poke! I thought you were supposed to be athletic!"

I took another deep breath and wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand before following pursuit. Where is she taking me?

After what felt like hours of avoiding tree branches, drinking liters of water, swatting flies out of my face and even tripping a few times, we finally seemed to have made it.

"Here it is!" Soojin announced excited, arms opened wide. "Man, this is the first time I've been up here since I left for Seoul."

I took the last few steps to catch up to her side. I was about to complain to her and ask why it took so long and what the big deal was all about. But she looked at peace. Her eyes twinkled as the sun shined off her face, making it glow more than usual. I followed her gaze forward and almost instantly, I had forgotten all about my aching feet.

Just as expected, we had reached the peak of some mountain at a nearby park by her house. But this wasn't just any peak of the mountain and I immediately could see why this was Soojin's favorite place. The view was absolutely breathtaking. I didn't think we climbed that high up, but from where we were standing, you see can see all sorts of forest trees, rivers and buildings for miles. The air was clean and crisp and all you could hear was the occasional bird chirping or the few forest animals rustling in the bushes. The sky was clear spotted with a few of the whitest, fluffiest clouds I had ever seen. And even though it was excruciatingly hot coming up here, the sun shined at the perfect temperature, allowing a cooling breeze. On top of that, there was surprisingly no one around, which made this place just that much better. No matter how much I hated the trip coming up here, no matter how much my body was aching before, no matter how much I complained - it was all worth it.

"It's a lot prettier when the sun starts to set," Soojin smiled, taking her eyes off the view to look at me. "So here it is, my favorite place."

"This...is incredible!" I finally managed to muster. It was a lot to take in at once, but I was ready to stay up here for a lot longer. "I can see why you love it up here."

Soojin nodded and leaned on the fence, letting out a satisfied breath. "I come here when I want to be alone and get some thinking done."

"Does everyone else complain as much as me when you bring them up here?" I joked, leaning over on the fence next to her.

"Actually..." Soojin said quietly, biting her lip, suddenly growing emabarassed. "Um, yeah, I've never actually brought anyone up here before. So..uh..yeah, you're sort of the first."

"What?" I asked her, eyes wide. I think I might have heard her incorrectly.

"You're the first person I brought up here," she repeated just as quietly, looking down as a warm color slowly rised in her cheeks.

That same warmth rose in my chest. I was the first person she brought up here? Her favorite place? Her place of serenity, alone time? Where she gets her thoughts figured out? I wasn't exactly sure of the serverity of importance this place held for her, but I couldn't have been more ecstatic that she shared this precious place with me. No one else knows about this place before her. And now I did. Me.

Without hesitation, I grabbed Soojin from the fence and brought her into a big embrace, engulfing her tall, but still small figure in my arms.

"Um, Chanyeol?" she muffled embarassed, looking to see if anyone was around. "What are you--"

"Stop squirming will you? Let's just stay like this for a little bit, hm?" I requested, holding onto her a little tighter. I felt her nod in the crook of my neck as her body relaxed and she reciprocated the embrace, urging me to hold onto her tighter.

Whatever feeling that was rushing over me right now, I couldn't explain it. It wasn't anything I've ever felt before. Even with all the crap that's still going on, I couldn't have been happier than at this moment. I was standing in the most beautiful scenery with the most beautiful girl in my arms. A girl that I realized, was more important to me than I could have ever imagined myself to feel.

*****

Soojin's POV

"So...when are you going to go back?" I asked Chanyeol as we walked back to my house. We stayed at the mountain top for a couple hours, just talking about nothing. It was probably the least worried and concerned I've been in a really long time. I had almost forgetten what a crap-hole my life was at the moment. It was first time in a while I just enjoyed the moment, the company and the scenery - the first time I put myself and my happiness before anything else. It was my only chance to be a little selfish for once and I loved it.

The way back down went by a lot qucker than the way up, like it always is. Once we reached the normal ground, we decided to get an early dinner at a nearby restaurant and walk home on the warm summer day it was. I'm not sure since when, but when we stopped to get ice cream, I realized that Chanyeol and I were holding hands. Suddenly noticing this, I didn't shy away or get embarassed like I thought I would, but I held onto his hand tighter when I noticed, not wanting to let go, not wanting this day to be over.

It's funny to think that in just a day, I had quickly grown to be so comfortable with Chanyeol. Just this morning I was blushing like a tomato that we were lying in bed together, and now my heart only flutters at his hands over mine. Usually I would have freaked out, but not anymore. I wouldn't let go for the world.

"You getting sick of me already?" he asked, feigning offense.

"No, no, it's not that," I told him quickly. That was the last thing I would say at that moment. "It's just...you can't blame me for wondering. I mean, with your dad..."

Chanyeol halted his footsteps and sighed.

"Soojin..." he turned to face me with furrowed eyebrows. Did I say something wrong? "Do you have to worry about that right now?"

"Huh?" I was a little lost. Why did he look so frustrated? Oops, maybe I shouldn't have mentioned his dad...

"I came all the way over here for more reasons that I can probably list right now, but the one reason - the most important reason - is you. I came here for you." Chanyeol took a step closer. "The only thing that matters to me right now is that you're okay, and that I'm here with you to make sure of that."

He looked down at me with soft, yet intense eyes. Usually I would shy away, but not this time. Something was different. I suddenly felt this huge wave of emotions wash over me again and I closed the short distance between our bodies and wrapped my arms around his torso, resting my head on the top of his chest.

"Thank you for coming to see me..." I muffled, trying to hold back the tears. "I didn't know how much I needed to see you until you showed up."

I felt Chanyeol let out a soft chuckle as he returned my embrace, holding me closer. It was warm and felt nice...safe. "More thank yous" he said softly, running his hand on the back of my head. "Anything for you Soojin. Anything."

"Really?" I asked, a pang in my heart starting to form. 

Chanyeol nodded, resting his head on top of mine. "Anything."

"Then you need to go back home Chanyeol," I told him sadly.

He suddenly grabbed my shoulders and broke our embrace, staring at me with shocked eyes. "What?"

The pang in my heart started to slowly spread throughout my entire body. "You need to go back home."

A/N:

my lovelies~~~!!!!
you waited a long time for this update, I KNOW AND I'M SORRY!!!! T-T
i had to spend some time rereading this fanfic over and over again to try and get the feel for writing it again so it took a little longer than i thought
and i realized that i left just a few chapters until the end...WOW I RIGHT?! lol.
i'm sorry for this chapter, i can't help but feel that it lacks...
i haven't written in a while, so i think i lost some of my mojo T-T
nonetheless, i tried to get an update our for you lovelies, so here it is!
i hope it's not TOO disappointing....

again, thank you to everyone who stuck with MBML and waited for me.
i can't express how sorry i am that i jumped ship T-T

can i just say...so much happened with EXO since my last chapter..like...whattttttt O_O"
i'm not even going to try and get into that..lol

let me just bring back gif time and we can all oogle at chanyeol in praise of our MBML reunion <3

like really....

really??!

REALLY?! (this show killed me with chanyeol, forreal, the feels were real LOL)

until next time my lovelies <3

much love, thatxmusic