All’s Fair in Love & War

Slam.

My head shot up at the sound of my front door crashing shut against the frame, leaving shudders running through the house as the after effect. I rolled my eyes, flopping onto my back. Looks like my glorious dramas will have to wait. I turned away from my laptop, lifting it off my pillow and setting it onto the ground, and sat up. I wrapped my blankets around my frame and allowed myself to snuggle in them lazily for a few seconds, before heaving a dramatic sigh.

“What do you want Yeol?” I hollered, and I heard him violently opening up my fridge. My eyes widened in alarm, and instantly, I leapt up and flew down the stairs.

“No no no, Yeollie. Calm down,” I pleaded nervously. “Step away from the fridge, and put my- put the ice cream down,” I whispered, holding up my hands, and he glared at me.

“I know you love this,” he smirked, and revealed a flipping ladle. My jaw dropped, and frantically, I waved my outstretched arms.

“No! Yeol-ah, you can’t do this,” I shrieked, lunging at him. “That’s my favourite flavour! I need it for my dramas later! Yah!”

He ignored me, avoiding my attacks, and held the tub of ice cream above his head. I let out a growl.

“That’s not fair! You giant jerk, give it back! Don’t you dare open it- PARK CHANYEOL!”

I let out a wail as he tore it open with a triumphant grin and dipped his ladle into the once-perfection. He cleaned out the entire scoop in a single bite, beaming at me exultantly.

“You sadistic poopface,” I cried, and he just scoffed.

“I’m the poopface? Excuse you,” he retorted, and I fought down the urge to huddle in the fetal position and cry, or to spring at his face and rip all his hair (eyebrows and lashes included). Instead, I let my bottom lip tremble, and my eyes water. He peered down at me, and just when I thought he actually felt sorry, he had the nerve to laugh.

And pinch my cheek. Oh, he’s going down.

“You’re so cute when you act sad,” he teased, then pretended to vomit and wipe the fingers that touched my face on his pants. That was the last straw. My entire body shook from anger, and I launched myself at him, catching him off guard with my tackle. He yelped, falling under my weight, and I snatched the tub out of his hands with a smug smile.

“No more ice cream for you. I don’t even know why you’re here. I hate you,” I stated monotonously, but I couldn’t keep the victorious smile off my face. But he didn’t look fazed at all; instead, his eyes traveled down my body pointedly, and I followed his gaze. I was sitting on his chest, legs on either side of his torso.

I smacked him on the chest, hard, and he yowled in pain, hands flying to his new injury.

“I hate you,” I declared again, and he rolled his eyes. I bristled. That attitude!

“I hate you too, you manly pig-brat,” he snapped, and I glared daggers at him. “Then why are you even here?”

He gave me a judging once over, as if he couldn’t believe my (nonexistent, imaginary) stupidity. Well, excuse him.

“What do you think? It’s clearly not because I missed you.” We both gagged at the idea. “I’m obviously here to ruin your day by disturbing your drama marathon and eating all your ice cream,” he replied snarkliy, the duh, are you stupid? clear in his tone. I gaped at his offensiveness, but then I noticed that his normally bright eyes were dull and rimmed in red, and his normally silky, voluminous hair was messy and untamed. Against my better judgement, I sighed and set down the ice cream onto the table. “Yeol-ah, what’s wrong this time?”

He wrinkled his nose at me, and I couldn’t control myself and lifted my fist threateningly. He scoffed in answer, as if saying, I’m so scared.

“Don’t make me regret showing you mercy- no, kindness,” I snarled, and he shot me a nasty look.

“Kindness? Yeah, right. If you’re kind, then Tae-” He stopped abruptly, and I eyed him suspiciously. “Taeyeon-unnie?” His girlfriend? “What about her?”

He looked me straight in the eye. “If you’re kind, then she’s an angel,” he whispered, voice cracking. He let out a quivering breath, and I spotted moisture in his eyes. I smirked. His pain was my happiness.

“I don’t even know why I’m talking to you about this, of all people. If only Jongdae wasn’t in China,” he moaned, and I flushed a bit at the mention of one of his best friends. But then the intention of his words hit me, and I stood up.

“If you’re just going to complain about me, then you can get out,” I sneered, but he jerked back, hands going to his chest. “What happened to your so called kindness?” He tilted his head slyly and smiling, he held up his keys and spun the ring around a long finger. “You forgetting your parents gave me this? ‘Mi casa es su casa’,” he quoted, and I groaned. Why, mom and dad? Why did you guys have to befriend people with a devil as their son?!

“Go on,” I told him grudgingly, not wanting to justify his statement with an answer. He sighed, getting off the kitchen floor and towering over me. We made our way to the living room, and we plopped down on the couches, across the room from each other. Wouldn’t want to get too close to this jerkface.

He was silent for a few moments, just eating my ice cream and gathering himself, and I (not-so) patiently waited for him to talk. Finally, jerk opened his mouth to speak.

“Taeyeon, she-” He broke off to exhale, and I raised an eyebrow. “Did she finally get tired and dump you?” I nodded in appraisal. “Good for her.”

He didn’t even have the heart to glare at me. He kept his gaze trained on our fluffy rug, and idly, I thought about how he’d hate the rug immediately if he knew that I was the one who picked it out.

“She didn’t dump me,” he murmured, and I grumbled exasperatedly. “Then what?”

“We didn’t even break up,” he continued sullenly as if I had never spoken. Well then.

“Well?” I bit out, patience swindling down like the amount of ice cream in my once-full tub. “What is it?”

He looked up at me with hurt eyes, and at that moment, I remembered that behind the cheerful front of the boy that made my life a living nightmare, there was a person who was capable of being hurt as well.

Not.

“Don’t give me that retarded look, Yeol. If you’re not going to tell me what on earth happened, then give me back my ice cream and Skype J-J-Jongdae or something.” I cursed inwardly for stuttering over his name. I didn’t need to give Park Dumbyeol more leverage over me.

As expected, his ears perked up after hearing my mistake. “’J-J-Jongdae’? What, do you like him or something?”

Yes. As a matter of fact, yes I do. “NO! What the heck? Of course not! Ew. I was just disturbed by what you guys would talk about.”

He just grinned evilly. “Aw, our she-beast Sooyeonie is human after all! I’m so proud of you! How are you going to confess?”

I shot to my feet, face burning up. “I don’t like him, okay? Geez Chanyeol, I’ll never like him, just like Taeyeon never liked you!”

The second the words left my mouth, I knew I was being way too harsh. The words seemed to echo around the room, and no matter how much I wanted to take my words back, I knew I couldn’t. So wincing, I slowly walked up to him and sat beside him. “Yeollie, I’m so, so sorry. You know I didn’t mean-”

“Yeah. I think you’re right.”

My guilt stopped for a moment and I stared at him, confused. “What? What am I right about?”

He finally turned to face me, his eyes glazed over. “Was I that stupid? That even you could tell that she never liked me?”

My first reaction was to lash out at him again. So even when we’re being serious and having a grown-up, adult talk, he manages to insult me? I bit my indignant, What’s that supposed to mean? Instead, I swallowed down my irritation and patted his back soothingly.

“Tell me about it,” I smiled through gritted teeth, and he just pushed my hand off his shoulder with a sigh. “I-I caught Taeyeon-”

He didn’t finish, because a tear escaped his death grip at last and trailed down his cheek. My eyes traced its path, over his flawless jaw, and down onto his large hand, calloused from years of playing the guitar. He inhaled shakily, and let out a small chuckle. My brows furrowed at his poor, and obvious attempt at looking okay, but I waited for him to continue.

“I- she-” I grimaced as more tears leak out, and I handed him the tissue box. But he shoved it away angrily, and I nodded. Finally, he could vent instead of being all sad.

“I CAUGHT HER CHEATING ON ME!” He exploded, but I didn’t flinch. Instead, I passed him a stress relieving toy silently, and he grabbed it and squeezed the living poop out of it. I scowled at him disapprovingly. It was a cute puppy, with downturned, bobbly eyes, and he was squishing the eyes right out of the poor thing’s body.

His lip trembled, and he hurled the thing across the room. “She was cheating on me,” he repeated brokenly, and buried his face in his hands. “She cheated on me,” he repeated once again, and I crossed my arms over my chest. “Get over it. If she cheated on someone like you, then she’s not worth it.”

It was true. I had the great infortune of living right next to him, with his room being an arm’s length away from mine. Most nights, I could hear his exclamations over their texts and Facebook messages, his laughter during their Skype calls,  and his humming as he composed songs for and about her. He’d strum and pluck at his guitar late into the night, and I hate admitting it, but many nights his singing and playing had lulled me to sleep. (Of course, I wasn’t so grateful when he yelled right beside my window in the mornings to wake me up.)

“You’re right. Darn, you have to stop being right. I hate admitting it.”

I blinked, snapped out of my thoughts.

“You hate saying what?” I didn’t exactly pick up his first statement.

He looked at me flatly, and then ignored what I said. I narrowed my eyes.

“I really didn’t hear it,” I protested, but he turned away, crossing his arms. “You jerk- tell me!”

I stretched out my arms to tickle the answer out of him- I knew how he was as sensitive as a snail’s eye. As soon as my fingers brushed his side, he instantly yelped and jerked away. Laughing wickedly, I stood up and advanced towards him, tapping my fingers together.

“S-Sooyeon-ah, aren’t you taking this too far…?” He looked absolutely terrified, crawling away on his hands and feet while his body still faced me. I snickered. “Never.”

He screamed, something I would’ve never thought possible with his low voice, as soon as I assaulted him. The giant tried to fling my arms away, but his flailing wasn’t really bothering me.

“This isn’t about what you said anymore,” I cackled. “This is for the time set loose spiders in my room! And the time you sprayed me with your water gun in the middle of my piano recital! And the time you drew a mustache on my face during the sleepover-” I cut myself off hastily. While Jongdae was there, was what I didn’t say. “In seventh grade,” I finished lamely.

He just rolled his eyes, exhausted from screaming and thrashing around like a fish out of the water. “Whatever. Now that you’ve had your revenge, never do that ever again.”

I smirked. “You still have an entire queue of crimes on your list,” I sniggered, and he groaned, raking his fingers through his unruly hair. But to my surprise, he then flashed me a smile. Huh. I never noticed what nice teeth he has.

“Thanks, Yeon-ah. For cheering me up,” he said softly, and patted my head, looking down at me. My brows furrowed. What…?

I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed quiet as he made his way to the door and put on his shoes, flashed me another small smile, and left.

I could only shake my head after, wondering what had just happened.

I had known Park Chanyeol practically since we were born. Apparently, our parents were friends from way back before we were even fetuses, and we were born in the same hospital. We’ve been living beside each other for our entire lives, and we knew every single embarrassing secret about each other. But for some reason, he always liked making fun of me, and playing pranks. He revealed my secrets, so I retaliated and harassed him whenever I could. My first thirteen years of living were like a war where I had to keep my guard up every single day he was around. Our elementary school was too small, and we were in the same class every. Single. Year. (Well, there were only two classes per grade, and there was only one class with three grades, but still.) Then he entered high school and I followed right after, where there were so many more people, and we settled into our respective social circles. He quickly befriended the cutest guys of the school (how they ever accepted him, I have no idea, and never will), and I found my own girl and guy friends. However, I still couldn’t escape his malevolent clutches; our parents forced us to bus home together every possible day, and whenever either of us had parties or gatherings, we were forced to invite each other. We had the keys to each other’s houses, and took food from each other every time we could- much to the disdain of the other. I hated his company, but I couldn’t deny the company of eleven other cute, single boys.

This was how I got to know Jongdae.

He was from Yeollie’s youth music club since long ago, and so he had quickly become who I was looking forward to seeing at every meeting with Chanyeol. He was handsome, considerate, and had the best sense of humour (he liked to bully Chanyeol!). I even heard Yeol talk about how he was nice to the point of being borderline idiotic, and that was when the swooning and blushing started. I mean, what kind of girl doesn’t like the flower boy who’s only a gentleman to his girl? A crazy one, obviously.

But after Yeol had met Taeyeon, a senior who was three years older than him, he had stopped bothering me. Instead, his days became dedicated to chatting with her, and performing duets through Skype calls. I remembering feeling a wash of relief, although that quickly faded into annoyance when they stayed up laughing together, disturbing my beauty sleep. At the same time, I had finally gotten Jongdae’s number, much to my excitement. However, I had been too shy and nervous to text or call him, and had spent nights staring at started message drafts, listening to Taeyeon and Chanyeol’s pretty melodies through my window.

The day that Chanyeol announced he was dating Taeyeon was just a normal, typical day on a weekend in November. It was the day after his birthday, and he had burst into his living room where his best friends Byun Baekhyun and Kim Jongdae, and I were playing CoD. He was grinning from ear to ear, and he was practically glowing with elation. We had all looked at him weirdly, but then our gazes had shot to the TV screen when our characters were ambushed. Chanyeol had shot forward to block the screen, and we had all glared at him.

“Taeyeon said yes!” he had exclaimed, giddy with glee. “She said yes to dating me!”

Our reactions were mixed. Jongdae, ever the nice guy, had congratulated him sincerely and smacked his back while teasing, “I would’ve never expected you to date a noona so quickly, Yeol-ah.”

I had rolled my eyes, expecting this to happen, and turned back to the screen to pummel Baekhyun’s character. But he hadn’t reacted to the brutal shooting, and I had turned to him, half curious and half irritated. However, one glance at him had shut me up. He was staring at the television blankly, his puppy eyes looking shattered. He had then looked down at the hardwood floor darkly, clenching his fist around the controller. His jaw had jumped, and he had set down the remote abruptly. I instantly looked back at the screen, pretending to be immersed in the killing, and I felt him get up.

“Soosoo-yah, I’m going to get a drink. Don’t play dirty and kill me off,” he had joked, but I hadn’t missed how broken his voice sounded, despite his attempt to sound cheerful.

Which is probably why I wasn’t surprised when Chanyeol had knocked on my window that night, holding up a paper than read, open up. I shot him a scowl, but opened my window anyways. “What do you want now?”

“I need someone to listen to what happened,” he replied simply, and I grumbled, but climbed over to his side. I plopped myself onto his bed, shoving him off when he tried to sit beside me. He just pouted from the ground, and I resisted the urge to throw up. “Why don’t you talk to your parents?”

He gave me a scandalized look, and I snickered. “Or you could’ve called Jongdae.”

I was proud of myself for not tripping over his name, but he didn’t even look a bit amused.

“Taeyeon- she cheated on me,” he started, and I watched him, feeling sorry for him. He had been so in love. (But at least he seemed a bit better now.) “I know,” I commented. “And I said that she didn’t deserve you anyways.”

He let a small smile play on his lips, but it disappeared with his next confession.

“She cheated on me with Byun Baekhyun.”

I didn’t say anything; I had already suspected this would happen from the moment I had saw Baekhyun’s expression that day; and earlier today, when he told me what happened, I knew my suspicions were right. Apparently, Chanyeol noticed my silence. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

I didn’t reply; I didn’t know how to.

“Yah, Han Sooyeon! Don’t tell me… you knew?”

I didn’t meet his gaze. Instead, I let my eyes wander to my arms- wait.

“Park Chanyeol!” He gave me a surprised look, probably wondering why I had snapped when he was supposed to be angry. “What’s your problem?”

I gestured down at what I was wearing- a tank top and shorts. He followed my gaze, and, feeling violated, I wrapped my arms around myself. He snorted.

“Relax, there isn’t anything to see anyways,” he laughed, and I kicked him. “OW! What was that for?!”

“Get me a shirt, you tree! Hurry! What if your parents come in?”

“They’ll be happy; you know how much they want us to be together,” he retorted, and I bit my lip. That was true, although it’d never happen. I frowned, exasperated, and leapt off the bed to raid his dresser. “Sooyeon! What on earth are you doing?!”

I ignored him until I found the t-shirts. Darn, he has more nice clothes than I do. Like, what?

I quickly pulled the shirt over myself, sighing in relief. Wouldn’t his nasty gaze on me. But his shirt smelled nice. Note to self: ask Auntie Park for their detergent later.

“By the way, that shirt isn’t washed yet.” I disregarded his blatant attempt to gross me out, and sat myself back down onto his bed.

“Well,” he grumbled. “Suit yourself.”

“So, tell me what happened,” I started, and he twiddled his fingers. “You were the one who wanted me to listen,” I shot spitefully, and I wondered why I even agreed to coming over. We were self-proclaimed enemies, for god’s sake!

“Sooyeon-ah.”

“What.”

“Have you ever had your heart broken before?”

Yes, I have, I wanted to retort. My heart shattered when Augustus died in The Fault in Our Stars. Or when Kim Woobin started dating Shin Minah. But I knew this was a serious conversation, so I replied seriously.

“No.” I paused. “But it must hurt a lot,” I added, almost as an afterthought.

“It does,” he agreed detachedly, and I tilted my head at him. He heaved a heavy sigh, and started to explain.

“I was supposed to go on a date with her today,” he began. “I was going to meet her at the open market, and then grab lunch and maybe take a walk. Then we were supposed to go to watch the movie she really wanted to watch for a while.” I nodded as he continued.

“I spent an hour getting ready, running around town to collect the money from my part time jobs so I could treat her to lunch like a man, and I arrived fifteen minutes early so I could calm down. But then I waited for another half an hour past our meeting time, and she never showed up.” I tsked at both his and her behavior. “And guess what? Forty-five minutes after our scheduled time, she sends a text saying that she’s busy. That’s it. No crappy reasons, or excuses. Just a freaking, ‘I’m busy.’ And then, that’s when I turned around to go home, all disappointed and crap. I see her, who’s supposed to be busy, on a date with Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun, who’s supposed to be my best friend!”

His voice cracked at the end, and I shook my head sympathetically. “It’s okay, Yeollie. There’s going to be better people out there for you. Besides, you have an entire legion of fangirls at our feet at school.”

His head whipped up at me, and startled, I stepped back at the intensity of his gaze. “It isn’t okay. I want her to feel the same way I feel right now.”

My eyes widened, and I looked at him in alarm. “What? Yeol-ah, you want… revenge??!”

His eyes darkened, and he nodded firmly. “Yeah. Definitely.”

I studied him. “Then how are you going to get revenge?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. His eyes slid to meet mine.

“I haven’t broken things off with her yet. I was planning to, but now I’m kind of glad I didn’t,” he muttered, and I raised an eyebrow. “So?”

He lifted his head confidently. “I’m going to date a girl behind her back too,” he declared, but I just wrinkled my nose.

“That’s your amazing plan? It’s so childish,” I remarked snidely, and he glared at me. “Yeah? Just like how your crush on Trolldae is childish?”

I recoiled, embarrassed, and he chuckled darkly. Then suddenly, he shot to his feet, snapping his fingers. “You know how you get Jongdae’s attention?” Interest piqued, I looked at him. “Go on,” I encouraged.

“You pretend to have a boyfriend,” he smirked. Dubiously, I eyed him. I doubted that. That plan never worked in stories and shows. “Yeah? And then what?”

He cleared his throat, and his eyes seemed to drill holes into my face.

“Pretend to date me.”

I choked on my spit. “What?! Are you insane? Why would I do that?”

He shrugged. “It makes a lot of sense. I mean, I can get back at her, and you can get Jongdae to notice you,” he pointed out, and I had to admit that his plan had a point. “But we hate each other.”

“That, I do concede,” he sneered after a brief pause, and I rolled my eyes again. “You’re such a loser, you freak of nature.”

“And you’re a crazy midget, you manly buttface,” he replied huffily. I stepped on his toe maliciously, and clambered out his window before he could get me. I slammed my window shut and threw the curtains over it, and collapsed onto my bed. I rolled over and checked the clock. 11:29 PM. Oh my god, how did we end up talking for two flipping hours?

***

The next morning, I woke up to an insistent mumbling. I peeked my eyes open, and nearly had a heart attack. Chanyeol was leaning over me, his face less than ten centimeters away from mine. Instantly, I scrambled back, pressing myself against the headboard and clutching my blankets to me. “What on earth are you doing, Park Chanyeol! And how did you even get into- oh, never mind.”

He examined me carefully, then scrunched up his face. “Ugh. How am I ever going to get by acting as your boyfriend without puking?”

Offended, I scoffed. “Puh-lease. More like I’ll be trying to sanitize my eyes from seeing you up close everyday- not to mention any part of me that so much as touches you.”

He laughed disbelievingly. “Whatever. And keep my shirt on; it’ll be convincing when we tell everyone we’re together.”

My jaw dropped.

“We’re doing that today?!”

What the poop? He never told me! And wait- his shirt?! I looked down quickly. Oh my god. I’m wearing his t-shirt?! (As you can see, I wasn’t really such a morning person.)

“Yeah,” he said bluntly, and dragged me out of my room by my wrist. “Ow ow- JEEZUS YEOL I JUST WOKE UP!” I shrieked, and wrenched my arm out of his grasp. Darn, he had a surprisingly strong grip for such a skinny wimp. Then I noted what he was wearing: a wife beater and khaki shorts. My arms trailed up his arms, from his large hands to his slightly-veiny forearms to his lean-but-defined upper arms. I pretended to gag. “Ew, Yeollie, do you lift or something? It’s nasty, and it doesn’t suit you at all.”

He crossed his arms, making his muscles even more prominent. “Oh, and Yeol- are you going to school like that?”

“Yeah,” he snapped, and I glowered at him. Brat.

We hurried down the stairs to the kitchen together, and my mom beamed at him. “Wow Chanyeol-ah, you managed to wake our Sooyeon up! She’s a really heavy sleeper, so that’s a surprise,” she chuckled, and I groaned. “Mooooom!”

My dad sipped at his coffee, and he smiled at Chanyeol as we approached. “Morning, son.” I shuddered. Son? Over my dead body. “Morning,” he chirped in response to the two.

Yeol and I sat down at the living room coffee table, and he pulled out a notebook from his backpack.

“I made a timeline of our goals and plan of action,” he said solemnly, and I couldn’t help but bark out a laugh.

“Yeol. You made a timeline? Oh my gosh, you’re hilarious.” I paused, letting it sink it. “Hilariously stupid,” I delivered with a smirk.  But he shrugged it off, and flipped the notebook open. I glanced at the first page.

Day 1: Dropping the bomb

There were plans scribbled underneath the title, and I skimmed them, scoffing disbelievingly. He had arranged what clothes to wear and why, what we would say to our classmates, teachers, and each other, and how to drop hints for Taeyeon and Jongdae. I rolled my eyes in annoyance. “I am supposed to freaking memorize this?”

“Yeah,” he hummed distractedly, going over his notes. Then he handed the notebook to me, and grabbed my arm again. Without even looking at him, I stomped on his bare foot. He hissed, and I smirked in satisfaction. “Next time you do that, plan or not, it won’t just be a step on your toe,” I warned him.

After yelling goodbye to my parents, we hurried to the bus stop together. He was still wearing his stupid revealing wife beater, and I wanted to laugh at the reason. I was supposed to fuss over him, and he would ask if I was jealous. I would say that I was worried that he’d catch a cold, and he’d pull out the plaid button up he had in his bag. He’d admitted during breakfast that he had only worked out to impress Taeyeon, and I had scuffed the back of his head. The brat was so stupid. Baekhyun obviously wasn’t that well-built, and she still liked him. He also forced me to keep his shirt on- for what reason, exactly, I wasn’t sure. We sat beside each other on the bus reluctantly, leaving as much space in between us as possible. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any of our classmates on the bus.

When we got to school, the first thing I heard was a high pitched squeal. Chanyeol and I, both already irritated by the uncomfortable bus ride, jerked towards the sound simultaneously. “What?”

“Oh my god!” I winced at my friend’s giggle, and eyed her seal-like clapping. She gestured excitedly at my shirt, and I scowled. Chanyeol’s hand found mine, and he squeezed harshly. I dug my nails into his hand in revenge, and he growled under his breath. I looked down at my shoes, not wanting to be the one to say it. But my friend took our silence the wrong way.

“I knew it! You guys are totally a thing now, aren’t you?” When we didn’t respond, she engulfed us both in a huge hug. “I knew this would happen! I’m so happy for you guys; you’re so cute together! Tell me all about it,” she exclaimed. By now, a crowd had drawn around us, and I wanted to slap her. Why did she have to start screaming in the middle of the front foyer? Dear god, please save me.

People around us were gawking, some looking disappointed. I wanted to scoff at that. It was still really hard to believe he was that popular. Hey, I wasn’t unpopular myself; he just had more fans.

Finally, Yeol cleared his throat. “N-no,” he protested weakly, and I followed along our script in my head. “We aren’t dating. I was just afraid we’d be late, since Yeonnie here was so slow.” He looked away shyly, and we let go of each other’s hand at the same time. I discreetly wiped my hand on the back of my shorts. Ew.

My friends rolled their eyes, clearly not believing it, and I resisted the urge to spill everything. Think of Jongdae, Sooyeon-ah. Think of his smile. Ahhhh. Yes.

Yeollie shot glances at me awkwardly, and I snuck glares at him in response. When he stuck out his tongue, girls cooed- but a voice was louder than the rest.

“AW, are you guys dating?” Everyone looked up to see the familiar faces of Chanyeol’s eleven friends. One of them, a short, round-faced one, beamed at us.

“When were you planning on telling us?” he whined, and a dark skinned one laughed. “Come on, hyung. We all know that he’s still dating noona.”

He turned to me. “Thankfully, thank means you’re free?” He took my hand and pressed his lips on it. “Call me Jongin. Everyone else calls me Kai, but you’re special.” He winked, the corners of his lips lifting, and I smiled shyly. He was really attractive, okay? “So, what’s your name? Don’t tell it’s ‘beautiful’, although I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Jongin,” Chanyeol hissed warningly, although I could see the amusement dancing in his eyes. “Watch it.”

Jongin held his hands up, surrendering, and I stifled a laugh. “My name’s Sooyeon. And don’t worry, we aren’t dating,” I told him bravely. He smirked, and looked the other guys. By this time, the crowd had already dispersed, and the thirteen of us were left in the foyer. Someone else cleared his throat, and I turned around expectantly. “See, Yeollie here is still dating the pretty noona, Taeyeon,” another lean, foreign looking one said. He caught my gaze, and flashed me a dimpled smile. “I’m Yixing,” he introduced, and offered his hand. I shook it timidly. “My name’s Sooyeon,” I repeated, and he laughed. “I know already.”

The rest of them introduced themselves, and I bobbed my head politely at each of them. It was difficult to remember all their names, and I wasn’t about to try; even if they were eye candy, they were friends with the tree-beast.

At lunch, Chanyeol was waiting outside my classroom. My classmates giggled and whispered, and my jaw dropped when he slung a long arm around my shoulders.

“How did you even know my schedule? And let go of me,” I hissed. He ignored me and led me by the shoulders to the cafeteria quickly. I noticed he was still wearing that stupid white wife beater, and shuddered inwardly in disgust. Ew. His bare skin’s touching me. Yuck.

“Pretend I’m telling you something funny, and we totally have secret crushes on each other,” he muttered. I rolled my eyes, but forced a laugh out of my throat. He smiled down at me, but I saw the underlying menace. I glared daggers back at him, while smacking his arm like he was too funny. In fact, he was; for wanting to drag me into this plan.

I laughed genuinely at this, and he glanced at me in surprise. My laugh wasn’t the nice type, and he could tell. But he just beamed back at me, running his hand over my arm. We both gagged discreetly at each other.

We walked up to the guys’ regular table, right by the huge floor-to-ceiling windows. And smiling at each other through gritted teeth, we sat down. Everyone looked at us curiously, wondering why we were suddenly getting along so well. (Heads up- we weren’t.)

The first thing I noticed was that Taeyeon was sitting next to Baekhyun, on the other end of the table from us. They were so immersed in their conversation; they didn’t even take in that we arrived. I could see Chanyeol eyeing them every once in a while, the hurt emanating off him in waves. I rolled my eyes, and patted his arm. “Yah, Yeol-ah.”

All heads turned to us, even Taeyeon and Baekhyun’s. I steeled myself, and gave him a sincere smile, pretending I didn’t see all twelve (only including our table) faces watching us. I took his hand and rubbed my thumb over the back of his hand, and he looked at me sharply, surprised at me spontaneous action. Yeah, that’s right. See how nice I actually am? It’s just you who’s the monster.

“Aren’t you hungry? But you’re always hungry; it’s cute.” Resisting my gag reflex, I took his chopsticks, picked up some of his lunch, and guided it gently to his mouth. He gaped at me, and I forced a giggle. “Say ah, Yeollie.”

He quickly snapped back to his senses, and rubbed the back of his neck shyly. “Yeonnie, I’m old enough to feed myself. It’s fine, I feel hungry now anyways.”

I rolled my eyes, the action completely heartfelt.

“All the more reason to, then. Come on, just one bite,” I whined cutely, and he uneasily opened his mouth. I tried not to shove the chopsticks up his throat; instead, I directed the food cautiously. He clamped his lips around the chopsticks suddenly, and I stared at him in surprise. He smirked playfully, and my brows furrowed as I tried to pull the chopsticks out. “Yah. Let go!”

He shook his head, causing my hand to follow his action. I growled at him quietly, not in the mood for games. He just winked, and pinched my cheek.

“Our Sooyeonie is so adorable when she’s mad,” he cooed, and I whacked his arm as softly as I could.

“Let go, Yeol! You still have to eat,” I pointed out, but he shook his head again stubbornly. I pouted, looking up at him with doe eyes. But when he didn’t let go, I poked him in the side warningly. He yelped, and I yanked the chopsticks out. “Jeez, why are your lips so strong?”

“All the better to kiss you with,” he teased, and the entire table fell silent. I mentally smacked myself in the forehead at his stupidity. He was progressing with the plan to quickly! Jongdae was the type to back off if a girl was taken, according to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol noted the stillness, and awkwardly, he laughed. “Of course, I’m just kidding. Right, Taeng?”

It was the first time he had addressed her for the entire lunch, and she jumped.

“Y-yeah, of course!” She turned to me reluctantly. “He’s taken, you know?”

I wanted to laugh, but instead, I held my hands up innocently. “Don’t worry, unnie. He’s all yours.”

She didn’t exactly look like she cared, but she gave me a courteous smile anyways.

For the rest of the lunch, we were under interrogation by the rest of the guys, while Baekhyun and Taeyeon were in their own little bubble. I frowned at their intimate smiles, and pretended to drop my chopsticks. Subtly, I ducked beneath the table to pick them up, and I took a glimpse of them. Their fingers were intertwined, each other’s hand lovingly. I noted the way they bumped their legs against each other flirtatiously, and he soothingly patted her leg. I rolled my eyes and popped back up. How could they be so blatant about it, and why couldn’t she break it off with Chanyeol first?

I leaned close to Chanyeol’s ear, cupping my hand over so the others couldn’t see.

“Not to hurt your feelings or anything, but they’re totally getting chummy under the table,” I whispered, and he jerked back and looked at me in alarm. “They’re doing this.”

I imitated what I had seen earlier, grabbing his hand and caressing it softly, and bumping my leg against his. His gaze burned into my head, and I looked up- wait, was he blushing?

Must be my imagination.

The others were staring at us, but I ignored it. “Remind me why I’m doing this,” I hissed under my breath. 

“It’s to get Jongdae jealous,” he hissed back. I snuck a peek at Jongdae, only to look back down immediately. He was watching us, expression unreadable. “And aren’t we supposed to be ‘dating’, not just ‘crushing on each other’?”

He looked at me scornfully. “Do you really think I’d date someone while I’m still dating someone else?”

“Well, your so-called girlfriend definitely is,” I grumbled. He stiffened, and looked away. I really did roll my eyes this time; screw it all.

I reached up and patted his back soothingly, and gritted my teeth. Man, I really deserved like the Nobel Peace Prize or something for this.

“Cheer up, oppa,” I crooned, batting my eyelashes at him cutely. I cringed on the inside at the aegyo, but what else could I do? However, this caught everyone else’s attention.

“'Oppa'?” It was Joonmyun, I think, who repeated it incredulously. “Sooyeon, you’re younger than him?”

“Yah hyung, she looks like she belongs in elementary, with that face,” a tall, dark one argued. Tao?

“Tao’s right,” another agreed, nodding his head confidently.

“But Luhan-hyung, you look like you belong in elementary too...” Luhan raised his fist threateningly, and the offender- Sehun, I think?- flinched back.

“Well, sorry for telling the truth,” he muttered, and I giggled.

“Yeah guys, Soosoo’s two years younger than me and Chanyeol.”

We all looked up to Jongdae, who smiled at me amicably. I forced the flush down, and nodded vigorously.

“Right. I’m born in 1994,” I confirmed. They all stared in shock. “You’re the same age as me and Sehun?” Jongin cried, and I laughed. “Did you want to call me noona or something?”

“Please guys, she looks like she’s like ten or something. It’s why I can never take her seriously,” Chanyeol snorted, and ruffled my hair. I whacked his arm away and pouted at him, while I shot knives through my stare. When he got the message, I turned around and gestured at Luhan and Minseok. “But you guys look younger than your age, too!”

They glanced at each other, and burst out laughing. “Yah, Sooyeon-ah, we’re from the university department!”

I gaped at them, trying to decide if they were joking. “No way!”

“It’s true,” Kyungsoo piped up. “Surprising, right? Kris and Joonmyun are from the university department too.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Then why are you guys here?”

Kris shook his head. “We were close with these brats from a long time ago,” he explained. I ahhed in understanding. “Wait, when’s your birthday?” Sehun demanded. “December,” I answered cautiously. “December 21.”

“Ooh, the winter solstice,” Tao exclaimed, while Sehun beamed at me, elated. "Happy early birthday, maknae!" 

Jongdae eyed me. “It’s coming up soon. We should celebrate it together,” he suggested.

“Just the two of you?” Yixing teased. Chanyeol flinched, glaring at Yixing. “Of course not, hyung!”

They all laughed, and I glanced at Baekhyun and Taeyeon. They were laughing along, but they didn’t seem to have followed the conversation. Baekhyun suddenly looked up at me and flashed me a smile.

“We spent her birthdays with her anyways,” he said. Taeyeon looked at him in surprise. Please. Could you guys get any more obvious?

“Anyways,” Minseok interjected suddenly with a grin. “You have to call us all oppa from now on too! Even those punks, Jongin and Sehun.” I looked at him, hoping he was just kidding, but his grin just widened. I sighed and threw my hands down. “Fine. Oppa.”

They beamed at me, and I found myself warming up to the dorks. They were completely different from their untouchable appearances. Huh. Maybe spending time with the tree-beast has its perks, after all.

***

“Yah! Park Dumbyeol, you lying liar!”

He whipped around me, the permanent scowl (reserved for me) on his face. “What is it this time, you brat?”

I crossed my arms, and he let out a frustrated groan, sneaking glances at his house. We were just outside our houses, and we had instantly dropped the act. “What is it this time? Oh, I don’t know… maybe it’s that we didn’t follow the plan at all?”

He rolled his eyes, and I curled my fist.

“Well, obviously we couldn't say that we’re dating when everyone still thinks I’m dating Taeyeon,” he snapped. I raised an eyebrow, impressed at how calmly he said her name. “But still, it means that you didn’t think it through.”

He gnawed his lips, and then threw his hands up. “Fine! I didn’t exactly plan it out perfectly, okay? Jeez! You happy now?”

I nodded smugly. “Yep. Very.”

That evening, he ordered me to go over for dinner. My parents practically shooed me out of the house, way too eager for me to get out. Rude. His parents weren’t home either, so I was worried.

“You can't cook at all! I can't cook at all! What are we going to eat?! Have you even thought that I’m still a growing teenager?” I griped, and he waved it off. “You’re such a pig,” he said snidely, and I kicked him in the shin. “Ow!!”

Ignoring him, I picked up the phone and dialed the nearest Chinese takeout service, ordering enough for myself. I heard him shout in protest, but I smiled. “Yes, that’ll be all,” I said sweetly. Ah, revenge.

Angrily, he stormed up to me. “What was that?! I need food even more than you do!”

“No you don’t,” I argued, craning my neck up to see him. “You’re already way too tall for your age. In fact, you need to eat less, you overweight tree!”

He scoffed. “I’m not fat. You should look at yourself before you talk,” he retorted. “Besides, I’m not overweight at all for my height. And most of my weight is muscle,” he bragged. I sneered at him.

“Oh yeah? But that muscle ain’t doing anything good for you, or your love life. Girls don’t even notice you,” I replied sharply. He gave me a disbelieving look; we both knew that was a lie.

“Whatever floats your boat,” he sang mockingly, and I made a face at him. He made a face right back, but before the fight could escalate, the doorbell rang. I immediately jumped up, overjoyed. “My precious food! Mommy’s coming for you,” I cried and rushed to the door. I heard Chanyeol’s footsteps pounding behind me. Never. I sped up, and threw the door open. “You’re mine, my precious~”

My eyes bulged open. Nope, it wasn’t the delivery. It was Jongdae.

He blinked, confused. “Isn’t this Yeol’s house?”

I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly. “Umm… yeah, it is.”

He laughed good-naturedly, and patted my head. I instantly flushed, and bowed a bit.

“S-sorry about earlier,” I stammered. “I thought you were-” I stopped. No guys liked girls who had huge appetites, right? “Someone else,” I finished lamely.

He raised an eyebrow. “So you’re disappointed to see me?” he teased, and I shook my head vehemently. “No! Of course not!”

Suddenly, arms wrapped around my shoulders, pinning my arms to my sides.

“Love, you weren’t planning on eating by yourself, were you?” a voice crooned, and goose bumps ran up my arms.

I forced a smile. “Of course not, dummy,” I said through clenched teeth, accentuating the thinly veiled insult with a harsh knuckle to his head. He flinched a tiny bit, before knocking my head in response, even harder than I had.

“Good. Because then you’d have to get punished,” he hissed, and I shrugged him off as affectionately as I could. “Yah, Jongdae-oppa’s here,” I told him,  rubbing my forehead, and he rolled his eyes subtly. I mirrored his action. Like, obviously I knew that he knew. It was just for the benefit of our act.

“Jongdae-yah! What are you doing here?” he asked brightly, pleased to see his friend. Jongdae looked at us, his expression shocked. “Are you guys… together? Like, for real?”

I shook my head shyly. “Of course not. He just invited me over for dinner since his parents aren’t home,” I revealed. Chanyeol nudged me not-so-gently.

“That was our secret, Soo,” he whined. I laughed at how ridiculously over the top he was making things, and Jongdae shifted uncomfortably. “Well, Chanyeol asked me to help him with homework. I was going to make him dinner, too,” he said innocently. I swooned. He could cook, and had good grades? Plus, he was nice. Really nice. And handsome. And-

“Sorry Jongdae, maybe another time? I just really want to spend time with Sooyeonie today,” Chanyeol said while doing aegyo. Jongdae scrunched up his nose. “Ew, Yeol. It may work on Sooyeon-sshi here, but not on me.”

I frowned. “Oppa, you can call me by my name,” I offered, and immediately wondered how I could be so bold. Oh my gosh, we weren’t even that close- what if he took it the wrong way?

Thankfully, he just beamed at me and ruffled my hair. “Sure then, Sooyeon-ah.”

I just nodded rigidly, waiting until he waved goodbye and disappeared behind the walls. Then, I let myself melt.

“OH MY GOD DUMBYEOL DID YOU HEAR THAT?” I flapped my arms around, giddy with happiness. “Sooyeon-ah,” I repeated, overjoyed, and jumped on the spot. “The way he says my name,” I sighed dreamily, and fell onto the giant’s couch. I let out another shriek of glee, muffled by the pillows. Chanyeol plopped down on the couch beside me, throwing his legs over me. “Ack! Get off, you overweight moron!”

“Shut up,” he huffed, and I smirked victoriously. I totally won that argument. “Oh yeah- Sooyeon-ah, why-”

I cut him off by whacking my elbow against his shin, and he growled in pain.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Call you what?” he asked, exasperated. “What now?”

“Don’t call me ‘Sooyeon-ah’,” I barked. “It’s what Jongdae calls me,” I finished blissfully. Treeyeol rolled his eyes impatiently. “Fine. Whatever. But I don’t think he’ll ever like you,” he said nastily, giving me a disgusted once over. I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Whatever makes you happy,” I retorted.

“Okay then, Yeonnie. Tell me, why do you call Jongdae ‘oppa’?”

I flushed, forgetting my disdain. “I don’t know… it just comes naturally. Besides, I knew him for so long.”

“You don’t call me or Baekhyun that,” he argued, eyes hardening at the name of his friend. (Or was it ex-friend now? I have no idea.) I shrugged. “Maybe that’s because I don’t like you or Byunbaek in that way,” I commented nonchalantly. He rolled his eyes. “Thank god.”

I decided not to justify his statement with a response, and instead sprang off the couch and made my way to the kitchen. I spotted his wallet lying on the table, and snatched it silently. I had forgotten to bring money, so I was just going to use his.

I opened it, checking if there was enough. When I peered at it, my jaw dropped. Yeol was loaded! Yep, I thought confidently. There’s definitely enough to pay for my meal.

I was about to close it, when a Polaroid caught my eye. Slowly, I took it out. It was a candid shot of Chanyeol with Taeyeon, both of them beaming at the camera, their arms around each other. In the next one, they had their lips puckered, facing each other. The frames for the pictures were cute, with Pororo gracing the edges. I remembered when this was taken; the setting was my living room. And it had been Baekhyun who took the pictures- I knew that because I had been standing beside him, laughing while they posed. I winced. It must have hurt, watching the person you loved and your best friend together.

But the problem was Chanyeol. I mean, why on earth was he keeping these photos with him? Didn’t it hurt? If it were me, I would’ve burnt them a long time ago.

“What are you doing, Han Sooyeon?”

I jumped to the ceiling, and hastily shoved his wallet away. “N-nothing?”

Chanyeol looked at me expressionlessly, his mouth set into a grim line. “Give me my wallet,” he said flatly, and I gulped. “H-here.”

He didn’t even look at me, and turned away briskly. He vanished up the stairs, and I exhaled. He wasn’t as pissed as I thought he’d be. Instead, he seemed more… sad. I looked up the stairs, determined, and rushed up them. When I opened the door cautiously, I spotted him lying on the bed, staring at the photos longingly. I grunted, then barged in and leapt on his bed. “Dumbyeol!”

He glared at me. “Get out.”

“No!” I cried between my laughter, and latched onto his arm. He shrieked like a girl, clawing at me while trying to get me off. “Get off me, you insane brat!”

I whacked him, and he whipped around to glare. I pushed the corners of his lips upward with my index fingers. “Smile, Yeollie! A frown doesn’t suit you,” I sang. It was true. As much as I hated him, it wasn’t like I’d willingly wish for someone’s unhappiness.

He looked away, but his lips twitched. I clapped excitedly, and grabbed his guitar. “Here, I’ll sing a song for you,” I offered, and without waiting for his answer, I started strumming.

“When you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while. ‘Cause you’re amazing, just the way you are~” I crooned, and Chanyeol slapped his hand over my mouth. “Stop, please,” he begged, and I cackled. “Never!”

He snatched his guitar away, and then tackled me- but I dodged and laughed at him. He looked at me in concentration, and then suddenly relaxed. I eyed him carefully. “Look, your food is here,” he cried, and I whipped around. “It is?!”

Then I felt a weight hit me, and I turned around instantly. Oh no you don’t.

We hit the floor together, and everything went black for a second. You’re too heavy, I tried to shout, but there was something blocking my mouth. Slowly, I opened my eyes, and nearly got a heart attack. His face was millimeters away from mine, and my eyes widened when I realized what was pressed against my mouth.

His lips.

Immediately, I started flailing, and he jumped off, horrified. But instead of his disgusted reaction, he just looked… shocked.

“Oh my god… Peroxide, I’m so sorry,” he mumbled, fingers flying to his mouth. He rushed out of the room wordlessly, not meeting my gaze.

My mind replayed the scene over and over again, no matter how I tried to think of something else. But… that wasn’t my first kiss, right? It didn’t count as a kiss- it was unintentional. And also, peroxide? Did he call me Peroxide? Wait- that’s right. It was his nickname for me from before he started being mean- it was for my pale skin. I remember how he had read, “Puh…Per… Pricks…Sid. Perock side.” Then he had immediately ran to my mom with the bottle of bleach, asking her what it meant. She had explained it was for making stuff whiter, and he had pointed to me. “Did you use it on Soongie’s skin?” From then on, he had called me ‘Peroxide’, almost affectionately, until he got older.

I shook my head firmly, deciding to forget what had happened. It was an accident, anyways. I hurried down the stairs to find Yeol, and I caught him coming out from the washroom. As soon as we saw each other, our faces reddened.

“Umm… Yeol-ah, let’s just forget it ever happened, yeah?” He nodded enthusiastically, hair flying up. “Yeah. But… I’m sorry, Soong.” I started at the old nickname, but gave him a smile. “No problem, Yeolchan,” I managed.

Finally, the takeout arrived, and I made a mental note to never order from them again- they took way too long. Chanyeol paid the girl, who gave him a suggestive smile, but he closed the door in her face, making me feel oddly satisfied.

I sat down, distracted by my thoughts, while Chanyeol opened the containers. He took out bowls and chopsticks soundlessly, and set them out in front of us. I poked at the food, while he inhaled it. Finally, I looked at him. “Yeol-ah, why do you still keep the pictures of Taeyeon-unnie?”

He stiffened, and stopped eating. “Why?”

“I saw the pictures in your wallet,” I admitted apologetically. “But… do you still love her?”

“No,” he said after a pause. “No. I don’t.”

“Then why did you keep them? Doesn’t it hurt every time you see them?”

He looked down at his noodles, and grimaced when he saw the mess he had made beside his bowl. I passed him the napkins, and he wiped the sauce up neatly. “It does,” he said at last. “But it helps me recover.”

“How? If it were me, I would’ve thrown them out a long time ago,” I confessed, and he glanced up at me.

“That’s the cowardly way of getting over it- but in the end, it doesn’t help; because you’ll just keep thinking of the person. I look at the pictures to remind myself of what had happened, and how I still have a long time to make new, better memories,” he told me. I looked at him, impressed, and slurped my noodles. We didn’t say another word, and when we finished, we cleaned up noiselessly. I waved at him from the doorway, ready to go back to my house. “Bye, you tree! Don’t expect me to ever be this nice again!”

“Wait, Sooyeong!” I hissed at the nickname, and glowered at him. “What.”

He rested his hands on my shoulders, and I glared up at him who was a good twenty centimeters taller than me. “I wanted to take back something.”

Before I could comprehend what he meant, he bent over, and pressed a chaste kiss to my lips. I jerked backwards, dumbfounded, and he smiled softly. “I’m taking back the earlier kiss.”

“B-but… I didn’t count it as a kiss…”

“But I did,” he stated, and I looked at him, jaw slack. “If you didn’t count the earlier one, then I can take back the one I just gave you,” he teased.

“N-n-n-no,” I stammered, confused. Where did this Chanyeol come from? He beamed at me, but abruptly, it faded when his gaze flickered past me. I turned around, and my hands flew to my face. “B-Baek?”

He was staring at us, brows furrowed. The plastic bag in his hand dropped and landed with a crack. “Park Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol’s eyes hardened, and stepped past me and out onto his porch. He walked down the stairs to stand directly in front of his friend (Or was it ex-friend? I had to ask him, when he was over it). “Byun Baekhyun.”

They were both silent, facing off with a tense energy coming off them. Then suddenly, Baekhyun launched a fist at Chanyeol. “How could you cheat on your girlfriend?!”

Chanyeol didn’t even hesitate and hooked Baekhyun back in the cheek, like he had been waiting for the chance. “How could I? How am I the one at fault? I wasn’t the one that went out with my so-called best friend’s girlfriend behind his back!”

Baekhyun staggered back a few steps, and glared at me. My eyes widened, and I ducked behind the doorframe.

“I love her, okay? I love her- I always have, and I always will! I love her more than you ever did!” he roared, and clubbed Chanyeol in the jaw. Chanyeol didn't move, comptemplating Baek's words. I gasped, and hurried to the kitchen to get two ice packs from his fridge. When I got out, they were screaming incoherently at each other.

“That doesn’t mean you can just go and date her! If you had told me how much you liked her beforehand, I wouldn’t even have asked her out!” Chanyeol yelled viciously, and Baekhyun stared at him, lip trembling in guilt. 

Well, that escalated quickly.

“How could I have done that to my best friend?” he demanded weakly, and Chanyeol glared at him. “You should’ve thought about that when you went out with her! How is that not worse?" 

Baekhyun growled, and I winced when I took in the two’s injuries. Baekhyun took Hapkido, so he’d clearly have the advantage, but he looked as battered as Chanyeol. I didn’t know if Chanyeol’s hurt and anger had made him stronger, or if Baek just hadn’t wanted to hurt Yeol.

“I can’t believe you,” Chanyeol whispered, his eyes reflecting how betrayed he felt. “Yeol, you have to hear me out,” Baekhyun pleaded.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Chanyeol declared, and Baekhyun snarled, drawing his fist back. “Listen to me, god-”

“Stop!” I shouted, annoyed. I ran down to them and handed them the ice packs hastily. “Stop, okay? Let’s go inside. And no violence.”

They glared at me, but went inside anyways. I sat them down on the couches across from each other, and Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun, while Baekhyun looked away from the intense gaze. I sat down in between them.

“You guys have to talk it out,” I snapped, and turned to Baekhyun. “First you, Byunbaek. What happened?”

He took a shuddering breath. “It’s a long story,” he muttered, but I crossed my arms. “Can you guys act your age for once?”

He didn’t even have the heart to retort, and sighed. “Well, I asked Taeng out.”

My jaw slackened, and I looked at him, dumbfounded. “What? How?!” How could you do that? Baekhyun laughed a bit, albeit bitterly. He understood what I meant. 

“I don’t know. I just couldn’t watch her, the only girl I love, and my best friend be like that anymore. So I did. You remember that time, about half a year ago, when Chanyeol walked you home because you forgot your umbrella?”

Yeah. I did remember that. That day, it had been raining lightly, but it was still enough to soak someone. Chanyeol had grudgingly held out his umbrella.

“Your mom asked me to walk you home,” he had admitted, scratching the back of his head. His cheeks had been a bit pink, but I had credited that to him running over from his locker.

“On that day, after you guys left, I told her to meet me in pavilion in the garden, and I asked her out. I told her I couldn’t help it, and I really liked her.” Baekhyun chuckled cynically. “I was expecting her to flat-out reject me, so imagine my surprise when she agreed without even hesitating.”

“Taeyeon did that?” Chanyeol whispered, and I patted his back sympathetically. “Your eyes, your eyes, make the stars seem like they’re not shining,” I reminded him, and he looked down, cheeks red. Baekhyun tilted his head, but decided not to ask about it.

“She did,” Baekhyun agreed, shaking his head. “Even I was shocked. But I didn’t want to be suspicious of her, and just dated her secretly instead. But then she told me why she consented in the first place.” He looked straight at Chanyeol. “It was because she wanted to make Chanyeol jealous.”

Chanyeol and I whirled around to him in unison. “What?!”

“You never noticed, did you?” He shot Chanyeol a look, but he seemed more tired than angry. “You were good to her, sure, but you never really gave her what she wanted. She wanted to be the only one who held your attention.”

“But she was,” Chanyeol and I protested simultaneously. “He really was completely crazy for her,” I reinforced incredulously, and Baekhyun shook his head. “It didn’t seem like it,” he murmured, and Chanyeol scrutinized him disbelievingly. “She wanted more? What else could I give her?” I nodded in concord.

Baekhyun lifted his head to gaze at me. He pointed at me, and then turned to Chanyeol. “Her. You were always with her. Even I could see it.”

“I-he-we weren’t-what… no,” I sputtered, and Chanyeol narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“You were always with her, and paid so much attention to her- even if it wasn’t the good kind of attention, you still spent a lot more time on her anyways,” Baekhyun revealed, and Yeol and I glanced at each other.

“But we hate each other,” I complained, wondering how she didn’t see that. “Yeah,” Chanyeol agreed, his tone matching mine, and we glanced at each other.

"No, you don't," Baekhyun snapped and gave us the stink eye. “You see? When this is your definition of ‘hate’, how is anyone supposed to know if you guys really do?”

I scowled. “So… She wanted to date you because she wanted to make Dumbyeol here jealous, so he’d stop harassing me and stick to her all day instead?”

Baekhyun nodded reluctantly, frowning. “You don’t have to put it like that, but basically, yeah.”

I rolled my eyes. “I can’t believe it. So she still likes Yeollie here?”

Baekhyun winced and I immediately stiffened guiltily.

“I would think so,” he spat, and Chanyeol tensed. I looked at him to gauge his reaction, but he didn’t seem as happy as I thought he’d be. He met my eyes for a brief moment, but then looked away. “Stupid,” I heard him whisper at me. “Moron,” I muttered back.

“See? You guys are doing it again.” Baekhyun whined, wiggling his torso. I bit back a sarcastic reply, and Chanyeol laughed nervously. “What are you talking about?”

Baekhyun just stood up, obviously wanting some time on his own. I patted Yeol’s leg warningly when I felt him wanting to get up, and I faced Baek instead. “Don’t worry. You guys should keep talking it out, instead of beating each other up. Chanyeol will understand if you don’t want to talk for a while. Right, Chanyeol?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” he stuttered, giving me a nasty look. “Just- just take some time and think it out. But,” he took a deep breath, and looked straight at me. “I definitely do not like Taeyeon in that way anymore.”

Baekhyun gaped at Chanyeol, anger starting to bubble over again. But before he could do anything, I pushed him by the shoulders out to the doorway. When we were out of Chanyeol’s earshot, I whispered to him. “Don’t do anything rash, and believe Chanyeol. If he says that he’s over her, then he is. And think carefully if you want to tell Taeyeon anything.” With that, I shoved him gently out of Yeol’s house, and closed the door.

It was already dark, so I bode Chanyeol goodbye and dashed back to my house. My mom raised an eyebrow as I burst in, but I shook my head, and went upstairs.

The next day, the entire atmosphere surrounding Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Taeyeon was awkward. I had a feeling that Baek didn’t tell her yet, but she knew that we knew. I watched her as she subtly tried to talk to Chanyeol, and how he kept carrying a polite conversation, not going past platonic. Before, when we had tried to make her jealous, she hadn’t shown much of a reaction- instead, she had seemed perfectly content with Baekhyun. So could it be that she was starting to move past Chanyeol as well? Maybe, she thought that she was supposed to still chase after Chanyeol, but her heart was starting to change and like Baekhyun for real?

Nah, I sounded like a philosopher.

Chanyeol unexpectedly turned to me to give me a soft smile. “Let’s go,” he said simply and took me by the hand. I was too shocked to say anything, and looked at his friends helplessly. Jongdae caught my gaze and gave me a sweet smile, but then turned back to the university department guys. I wanted to groan. What was Chanyeol thinking?

One word: teasing. It was all I went through when I got to my class. My friends squealed when they saw me, blabbering about how lucky I was to be dating the thing. Even Sehun and Kai cackled at my discomfort; I wanted to cry.

“You guys aren’t dating?” My friend Rina tilted her head at me inquiringly. “You sure?” she asked, tone playful.

“We aren’t dating,” I snapped at last, and she chuckled and hit me coyly on the arm. “If you say so,” Rina sang. My other friend looked sideways at me. “Then can I go after him?”

“Please, you don’t have a chance. You’d probably just run away,” Rina retorted playfully, and my friend pouted. “That’s not true! He seems a lot more approachable now, after seeing him with Soosoo.” She turned to me. “But didn’t you guys hate each other?”

“We still do,” I protested. “He’s just trying to make me warm up to him so he can pull another prank, that jerk.”

The teacher came in, and we all moved back to our seats reluctantly. But the teacher looked elated, instead of the usual get me outta here face. “Class, we’re going on a field trip! Today!”

I choked on my saliva. What kind of school tells us we’re going on a trip the morning of? But my friends just rolled their eyes.

“Yes, we know.” I stared at them in surprise.

“We’re just going to the nearby park,” Sehun mouthed. “To relax student body and minds, apparently.”

I scrunched up my nose. Was I really that out of it? Why didn’t I hear of the news?

Much to my dismay, Chanyeol’s grade was going as well. Meaning Chanyeol and Baekhyun would be going as well- Jongdae was the silver lining to the dark cloud.

The park was really mediocre. Flowers, trees, grass. That was it. There were some dirt paths, and a beat up playground as well, but most students didn’t look that pleased to be here. Chanyeol suddenly appeared behind me, and motioned for me to follow him. Suspiciously, I glanced around and slipped out of the group. We sat on the bench in a quiet, secluded clearing. “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to get away,” he pouted. “And you looked bored, too.”

I sighed- was I that transparent? I rummaged in my bag for my mp3 player, but to my surprise, it wasn’t there. “Oh… I think I left my iPod at home,” I mumbled. Chanyeol glanced at me, and smiled slightly. 

“I’ll be your iPod,” he offered, and I mentally recoiled. Why on earth is he being so…nice?!

“What do you want to listen to?”

“Whitney Houston,” I snickered, and he gave me a flat look. I raised my hands in surrender. “Okay, fine. What about Jason Mraz?”

He smiled a bit, and opened his mouth. The familiar lyrics of I’m Yours rang in the clearing.

“I won’t hesitate no more, no more; it cannot wait- I’m yours.”

I watched him soundlessly, taking in his smooth baritone voice, and I wondered what we’d be like if he hadn’t turned to the dark side. (I’m not kidding; I really thought that way when he first started making fun of me. We were close, and he suddenly turned mean- what was I supposed to think?)

He finished singing, and threw his hands to the grass to support his weight. “Aw. I should’ve brought my guitar…”

I stopped him. “Yeol, why did you start making fun of me and playing pranks?”

He blinked at me in surprise, and when my question finally sank in, he pinked and looked away. “You know, you were just fun to tease.”

I crossed my arms, displeased, and he rubbed his neck awkwardly. “Tell me the truth, Yeol.”

“That is the truth! But I feel really guilty,” he admitted. “So, you can get used to me being nice from now on,” he concluded, and I scoffed inwardly. That was such an awful reason. But I didn’t want to force him, so I just nodded, lifting my eyebrows. “Okay.”

We continued to sing absentmindedly, and time flew by. He messed up the lyrics on purpose, re-writing them, and I bust a gut laughing. Before I knew it, the sun was starting to set. Oh, poop.

“Yeol,” I shrieked. “School ended a long time ago!”

He shot to his feet, looking at the sky in alarm. “Shoot! How did we not notice?!”

We ran out of the park, and dashed towards the school. “Wait, Yeol,” I huffed, envious of his long legs. But instead of waiting for me, he scooped me up and continued running.

“Yah, Dumbyeol! Put me down,” I yelled, but he just laughed and continued running. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, embarrassed. Was this his definition of nice? If it was, he needed to check a dictionary. This was being too nice!

We gave up on the school, and headed home instead. He let me down on my porch, and I beamed up at him.

“Thanks for today,” I chirped. He wrapped me in a hug in response, and I froze. However, when he didn’t let go, I nervously circled my arms around him, hooking my fingers together behind him. He finally pulled away, and gave me a warm smile. Taken aback with the affection in the gesture, I waved hastily and shut the door. Behind the door, I flushed and fanned myself. Calm down. Think of Jongdae, and his wonderful voice. But Chanyeol’s voice is nice too…

I slapped myself just as my dad walked in, and he laughed at me. I stuck out my tongue and hurried to my room.

I had no idea what was wrong with me. I thought I hated him, but no matter how much I thought about it, I was pretty sure that hate didn’t feel like this. But one thing was for sure- I didn’t like him. Do I? Nope, not even as a friend. But…am I sure?

The week whizzed by, and Chanyeol, Taeyeon, and Baekhyun still didn’t resolve their issue. I had pushed Yeol and Baek discreetly, but nothing had happened. Chanyeol hadn’t even broken up with Taeyeon yet, and apparently, neither had Baekhyun.

***

“Ow,” I growled and brought my finger to my lips. I had been trying to cut the vegetables for the ramen, when I had accidently cut myself. At that moment, I heard my door slam open, and Chanyeol burst in, heading for the fridge. He whipped open the freezer, reaching for my ice cream. Alarmed, I dropped everything. “No, Yeol- you don’t want to do this.”

He cocked a brow. “How do you know what I want? You have absolutely no idea of what my heart wants,” he stated, and although his tone was light, I got the feeling he wasn’t talking about the ice cream anymore. However, I just shrugged it off and glared at him.

“Even if you want something, it doesn’t mean you can have it,” I said sharply, and he looked away, looking uncomfortable all of the sudden. “I know. I knew since a long time ago.”

“Then you’ll just have to it up,” I replied, pointing at him. He smirked. “What if I don’t want to?”

Then, he seemed notice something. “Yah, Soong! You cut your finger?” Surprised, I glanced at my finger. Oh right! I did! 

“Yeah,” I answered distractedly, and he tsked and shook his head. “You have to take care of yourself, Yeon-ah.”

He led me delicately to the sink and washed my finger, then went to get a bandage. I stayed standing in front of the sink, dumbstruck. He jogged back with the bandage, and carefully peeled it open and stuck it on my finger. He patted the wound lightly, and kissed it. Shocked, I jerked my hand back. I stared at him with wide eyes, jaw gaping like a fish. He just shrugged, smiling at me. 

“A kiss makes all boo-boos better,” he hummed, and I gawked at him. He waltzed back to the living room to take off his shoes, and I stared at my hand, feeling my cheeks heat up. Like the ramen.

“Oh shoot,” I cried as the water started boiling over. I lifted the lid hastily, but Chanyeol was right behind me. He quickly took it from me and shooed me out of the kitchen. “I’ll take care of it,” he promised, and reluctantly, I grabbed the utensils and sat down.

After a few minutes, he brought the pot to the coffee table and set it down in front of me. “Let’s eat,” he sang, and poured the ramen into the bowls. He whistled cheerfully as he divided the portions, making sure the vegetables were split evenly.

“Wow, Yeong. Were you planning to eat all this by yourself? You need to be careful- you’ll get fat. And your skin will break out.” I bristled, but then he continued. “But you’d still be pretty.”

My jaw dropped to the ground. “T-thanks,” I replied shyly. But then I realized what I had just said. “Wait-what?! Park Chanyeol, what’s gotten into you?”

He shrugged. “I’m just telling the truth. Hurry and eat- the ramen isn’t good anymore when it’s cold.”

I continued to stare at him, but when he didn’t show any signs of acknowledging my astonishment, I hesitantly continued eating. Slowly, a smile made its way onto my face as I slurped the noodles happily. This side of Chanyeol isn’t bad at all.

A few days later, Chanyeol suddenly grabbed my hands as we approached the school. I was already used to the abrupt, for-no-good-reason-at-all contact, and looked up at him. “What?”

“I’m going to confront Taeng today,” he declared grimly, and I raised a fist supportively. “Fighting!”

Even though I was so nonchalant about it, during class I found myself thinking about it. What if he couldn’t do it, and they stayed together? What if he found himself wavering and liking her again? I wouldn’t like that- but I didn’t know why.

After class, Kai and Sehun walked with me to the lockers.

“Are you sure you aren’t dating hyung?” they probed doubtfully. I flushed, and they clapped excitedly at my reaction. “It must be true this time! Or at least you like him now!”

I shook my head forcefully, feeling my face burn. “I do not like him!”

“Who don’t you like?”

Jongdae stood in front of us, hands in his pockets, with a playful smile on his face. I studied him, waiting for the butterflies to hit me. But they never came. Did that mean I was over him?

“Chanyeol-hyung, apparently- but we don’t believe Sooyeonie at all,” the two idiots blurted. I slapped my forehead internally, while Jongdae glanced at me, pouting.

“You don’t?” He laughed. “Then maybe I should ask you out.”

I froze as the words left his lips. I had been waiting for any hint from him, and now that he mentioned it, I didn’t know how to feel. But I found myself thinking of what it’d be like if Chanyeol said those words to me.

“But hyung- you have-”

I suddenly snapped my fingers. It dawned on me all of the sudden- why I felt nothing for Jongdae now, why I flushed and felt butterflies whenever I was with Chanyeol, why I was so happy whenever the tree did anything for me.

I liked him.

How on earth had I started liking him so quickly? But I was going to tell him.

“I have to go,” I called to them over my shoulder as I took off. “Yah, Sooyeon-ah! Chanyeol’s with Taeyeon!”

I knew. And I didn’t care.

I reached the place he had texted me about, and halted in my tracks. Taeyeon was holding Chanyeol’s sleeve, tears glistening in her eyes. “Please, Yeollie- give me another chance,” she begged.

“Don’t call me that,” he said flatly, and gently pried her fingers off him. “Taeng… I’m really sorry, but I just don’t feel the same anymore. And you really hurt me when you went behind my back with Baekhyun. Think about it- would you get back together with me if I did that?”

She sniffled, looking up at him. “Chanyeol-ah, I’m so, so sorry. Can you forgive noona?” I shuddered, fighting the urge to burst into the scene.

“I already forgave you,” Chanyeol told her. “But I just don’t like you in that way anymore. And think about Baekhyun- he loves you so much more than I ever did.”

“B-Baekoong?”

“He’s a great guy. Give him a chance, yeah?”

She didn’t meet his gaze. “Fine… But Chanyeol, can I just ask for one last thing?”

He nodded.

“C-can… Can you just give me one last kiss? I’ll forget everything after it.”

My blood ran cold. K-kiss…?

He studied her, and my heart palpitated. If he said yes, my heart felt like it would stop.

He sighed and slowly leaned in, and I looked away, heat prickling at my eyes. Great timing, I thought bitterly. Just as I found out, he does this.

“I’m sorry, Taeyeon-sshi. But I can’t.”

My eyes widened, and I peeked at her. Taeyeon looked like she expected his answer, and laughed softly. “I knew it. It’s her, isn’t it?"

Chanyeol remained still, but sighed. "I really was happy with you, but I think that was because you distracted me."

"Well, I don’t want to hurt Baek as well, so please don’t tell him of this.” With that, she her heel and walked away from him… towards where I was. I quickly dove out of the way, behind a hedge, and watched as she strode past. I caught her brushing a stray tear away, and then she lifted her head up, offering an affectionate smile to someone. I nodded. Hopefully it was another good guy, the right one for her.

I waited until she disappeared, then hurried up to Chanyeol’s side on the bench. “Hey, Yeollie. You alright?”

He looked up at me with a firm smile, giving me a thumbs-up. “Just peachy.”

I didn’t miss the moistness of his eyes, the sad slump of his shoulders. I patted his back, and sat beside him. “I… I listened to your conversation,” I confessed. “I’m sorry.”

He took my hand and it lightly. “I know. So don’t worry about it.”

I laughed, smiling at him. Was he always this handsome?

“Say, Sooyeon-ah,” he started. “I have to tell you something. It’s the reason why I started being mean to you.” I glanced up at him, interested. But he spun me around so my back was facing him, and he hugged me from behind, burying his head in my hair. I squirmed a bit.

“That tickles,” I giggled. He rested his head on top of mine, and exhaled deeply. “It was the only way to get you to notice me.”

I turned around and squinted at him. “What do you mean? We were like best friends,” I pointed out. “Yeah, but that was it,” he sighed. “That was all we’d ever be. So, I wanted you to notice me in a different way, and I just got used to it,” he admitted. “I know, immature. But I was immature.”

“Yah, Park Chanyeol,” I sang gleefully, wiggling my eyebrows. “Are you implying what I think you are?” He groaned, raking his fingers through his hair, and I smiled blissfully at him. 

“This is why it was so easy to be mean to you,” he grumbled. I jerked away from him with my hands clutched over my heart. “I’m hurt!”

“I’m kidding,” he amended quickly. He held me by the shoulders, looking into my eyes unwaveringly. He paused, and then took a deep breath. “But Soong, I’ve always-”

I cut him off by shaking my head. “Me too.”

He looked at me in surprise and doubt, but at my smile, it melted into fondness, and- dare I say it? - love. He leaned in slowly, but I gave him a teasing peck on the cheek and broke out of his grip. He growled and stood up, breaking into a run towards me. I squealed and ran away from him, the both of us laughing. He finally caught up to me when we reached the rest of the guys, and he locked his fingers through mine. They raised their eyebrows, wondering if we were going to deny it again, but it was Chanyeol who piped up. “Don’t worry guys; we actually are dating this time.”

They stood in a stunned silence, before shrugging and breaking out into a cheer.

“Let’s go celebrate!” they exclaimed (though it was probably just an excuse to hang out). Chanyeol and I smiled at each other tenderly and at that moment, I never wanted it to end.

Yep, no matter how we played our cards- in the end, all’s fair in love and war.

Fin.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Leave comments!!! Hope you liked it <3

I know it's really long

but

I just couldn't split it into chapters

KKAEBSONG~