29 Brown is for being dogmatic    “Hey,” Chanyeol greeted when he saw Soojung sitting at the far end of the lake bridge, her feet dangling but not touching the water. The wood creaked under Chanyeol’s feet as he walked towards her.

Soojung craned her neck to look up at him. She smiled faintly before looking back at the water under her. “Hi,” she greeted back.

He returned the smile although she didn’t see. “Do you mind if I sit next to you?”

“No, it’s okay. Go ahead.”

He untied his shoelace, removed his shoes quickly, and let out a grunt as he sat down, his pelvic bone cracking like an old man’s. Soojung couldn’t help but chuckle stealthy but just right after he settled down beside her, a pregnant silence entirely engulfed them, leaving nothing but the whistling of the wind, sweeping away the leaves and branches.

“I just want you to know that I won’t do it,” he finally said, breaking the stillness.

Understanding he was referring to the dare, a smile crept across her face. “Yeah, I know.”

“I did it because I thought he’ll say something when I ask you that, but he kept quiet. I’m sorry.”

She turned her head sideways to look at him. “That’s so thoughtful of you and I’m grateful. But really, I know Sehun. He won’t say anything when he’s in front of everyone but he’ll go nuts when all alone. See, he just went bananas awhile ago on me.”

“Did you, guys, talk?”

She kept quiet and bit her lips.

Sensing that sharing was the last thing on her mind, he said, “It’s okay if you don’t want –”

“It’s fine,” she interrupted. “I just told him I’m letting him go. Not even a single string attached anymore, no responsibility over me, no weigh on his shoulders. He can chase Jinri if he wants now. I won’t drag him back any longer.”

“Jinri?” he asked, confused and surprise all at once.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “He’s so into her.”

Chanyeol was lost for words; his lips formed nothing but an unfounded ‘oh’. The least he expected was an Oh-Sehun-liking-Choi-Jinri happening. Surprisingly though, he wasn’t as upset as he thought he’d be, maybe because he was confused of whether to be troubled by the fact that he got rival or to be upset for Soojung instead. But either way, he surely felt bad for the girl in front of him.

“I think you’ve gone overboard with your dare though,” she teased, looking down to avoid his gaze as a smile and a blush crawled on her face. “What the hell was that?”

He stared at her and chuckled. “You’re all red.”

“It’s not every day someone ask you so bluntly to have , you dimwit. That’s very… I don’t know… brave?” She laughed, unsuccessful in finding the right word. “If you’re that confident, you could get any girl to jump on you.”

“Are you willing to?”

She looked at him, surprised. The sides of her eyes creased when she smiled and chortled. “Stop flirting with me.”

He snorted. “Not before you did first.”

“I didn’t expect Laura’s drummer to be so smooth,” she mocked.

“Well, I surely didn’t expect top model Jung Soojung to be this pretty. It just makes sense if I make a fool of myself like this while trying to get her attention, right?”

She buried her face on her hands, laughing. She tried to suppress the laugh but she just couldn’t. She was supposed to be upset and sad and depressed now that she, herself, had killed the slightest hope she had with Sehun, but here was Park Chanyeol being all hilarious and amusing. She couldn’t help it.

“Oh god, you’re such a flirt,” she cried, face still buried in her hands.

“You like it.” He grinned, not even sure if the corner of his lips would rip for too much smiling.

“Do you do this to all the girls you try to pick up?” she asked, looking straight at him, beaming.

He returned the gaze, face serious and straight. “No, just you.”

Soojung looked away, laughing again. “Flirt. But that’s cute.”

“Yeah, I flirt cutely.” He sounded as if he was so proud of himself.

She burst out laughing even more. “What are you talking about?”

“I always try to flirt sweetly so I won’t scare away girls with my hostility, especially with my creepy laugh.”

“I think your laugh’s endearing though.”

He turned to her. “Like seriously?”

Soojung nodded. “Yeah.”

And then suddenly, he laughed his creepy, I’ll-burn-the-house-down laugh which took her by surprise.

“Oh no, that’s ugly,” she blurted, pointing at his face.

He stopped and pouted. “I thought you like it!”

“I think I have to take my word back. I didn’t expect it to be that hideous!”

“Not so quickly, you little tease,” he cried, suddenly grabbing her by the waist to tickle her but failed completely because Soojung was so surprised she jerked forward and before they knew it, they were both falling down the lake, a loud splash followed as their bodies create a ripple over the once still water of the lagoon.

Soojung was the first to pop her head over the water, wiping her face. “What the hell, Chanyeol!”

He appeared immediately right beside her, pushing his hair back and mopping away the drizzle from his eyes. “Why did you freaking jump?!”

“I did not jump! You scared me that’s why!” she yelled back, turning around to face him. What greeted her eyes the next moment was utterly heavenly, almost from-the-gods-like heavenly. His hair was pushed back away from his face, his wide forehead showing, his prominent ears propping on the sides, his lips parted, taking in air for deoxygenated lungs, and his eyes, god, his eyes – they were uneven in size – the other larger – but instead of him looking comical, it was… imperfectly god-like. He was panting and a breathless Chanyeol was super, out-of-this-world hot.

Surely, Sehun was beautiful, breath-taking and worth another look, some of the hundred reasons Soojung fell for him, but at that moment, Chanyeol was way beyond words.

“What?” he asked, snapping Soojung away from her thoughts. He swam across to reach the bridge back and pushed himself up. When he landed perfectly on the wooded deck, he offered his hand to her. “Come on. The water’s cold,” he muttered, waiting for her hand.

She wasn’t the checking-out-guys type of girl at all, but her eyes couldn’t help but wandered on the wet shirt latching on Chanyeol’s skin.

“Claudia, come on,” he spoke again, cutting her train of thoughts.

She reached for his hand and then he hoisted her up.

“Let’s go back and change,” he said, shaking his head vigorously to at least dry his dripping hair. He looked like a puppy though. A hot one, that is.

She nodded at him, her mind on a total haywire because it’s just amazing how this guy could make her laugh and feel better in an instant. And what was even more surprising was that he’d managed to do it since this morning.
 
“Jongin, can you please calm down?” Jinri cried, standing next to her boyfriend who was sitting on a huge chunk of rock by the bank of the lake. Right after the clash, she immediately dragged him somewhere private, just anywhere far from everyone else because she knew a Jongin-after-a-fight wasn’t at all pretty and was certainly much, much worse than when he’s throwing punches instead of words. And that says something. No one would want to see the end of it.

“How can I calm down, Jinri? I can’t even comprehend right now,” he spat angrily; one leg propped up the rock, the other dangling. His face was all cut and bruised and there surely were more to show later on. He wasn’t just angry. He was more than angry there was no word to describe the feeling anymore.

She grunted. “You shouldn’t have hit him, you know. This is Joonmyun’s spree and we shouldn’t have spoiled it.”

He scoffed and shot his eyes at her in sheer disbelief. “You’re thinking about that now? Seriously, Jinri? That’s what you’re thinking about right now?” He faked a chuckle, turning away. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Her eyebrows twitched. “Are we going to argue right now, because believe me, Jongin, I am tired and –”

“You are tired. You are tired, Jinri? That’s all you’re going to say? Well, guess what, I am not even tired at all! I’m not even feeling any !”

“Jongin, what are you squabbling over?!” she asked, frustrated.

Jongin stood up, towering over his girlfriend, spitting all over her face as he shouted massively. “Some bastard just kissed my girlfriend right in front of me and she wasn’t even upset about it and you’re asking me what I’m squabbling about?! Great,” he sneered sarcastically. “Real great, Jinri.”

“Jongin, what do you expect me to do?!” she yelled back, starting to realize they weren’t going anywhere. “God, I have no control over him, Jong! I don’t own Sehun and I didn’t know he would do that nor did I expect Junghong to ask him that!”

“Jinri, Sehun likes you,” he breathed. They were now standing face to face and he didn’t know what hurts more, seeing his girlfriend almost unconcerned about the fact that he was upset or seeing the tears b in her eyes because of guilt. Both tore him apart in all ways possible.

She looked away and sighed, running her fingers through her hair. And then it clicked to him.

“You knew?” he asked, but it wasn’t a question of whether she really just does know. It was a question of whether he confessed or not and his voice was so desperately begging her to say ‘no, no he didn’t’. But it was more than clear Sehun did. “All along you knew?”

“No,” she cried immediately, sounding so defensive. “No, I only learned it now.”

He didn’t want to hear any explanation but he just had to ask to keep the conversation going. “When?”

“Earlier, when we got lost. He told me.”

“And?” His voice was expecting so much Jinri couldn’t look