Meanwhile, Seryung stared at the wall, then at the ceiling and then where the owl cage used to be. The room was abnormally quiet. Silent enough for her to hear her thoughts and quite possibly act on them. Normally she had an owl squealing away, and a ghost talking about the wonders of the world. Today, there was neither. She felt lonely in their absence. The house truly felt empty.

No parents. No brother. No nothing. The housemaids didn’t count. They were just people doing their jobs. She and they had no correlations.

It was now that her mind was nagging at her.

Perhaps she’d been too much?

 She looked toward the phone clasped in her fingers. She would have called him if she thought he wouldn’t hang up on her.

Was she just a bother to him?

She wanted to find out, she really did! Especially after Sehun and Hana had become an item, of course Seryung wanted to know how Tao felt towards her. A dislike that he thought may be mutual. A friendship that was unusual. Or acquaintances that were nonchalant buds. Whatever the case. first and foremost she needed to relieve that biting thought.

“I’m sorry for bothering you during practice – Seryung”

She bit her lip, and stared intently as if the reply would be immediate. She counted the seconds tick by. It was a painful and slow process. Waiting was hell, but she beared with it, clenching her fist ever so slightly and watching the time go by.

The interlude was enough to whiz a new notion into her head.

 What if at this very moment he were in bed?

Had the ring annoyed him?

She didn’t dare click her tongue in case she missed the ring of her own phone over it. Still nothing…

Slowly she risked a sigh and hid under the covers of her bed. Perhaps he’d just left his phone somewhere. She was over reacting a little too much.

The phone vibrated in her hand, making her sit up and stare at it. The moment of truth had arrived!

“Whatever – Tao”

She pressed her lips together in disdain. Did he even bother to think about how much lamenting she’d done while constructing her message? How could he reply so late, and with just a single word? Had there been anyone to complain to, Seryung would have caviled to her hearts content. However, a sinking feeling told her she was alone.

After much contemplation, silent cries, and wondering if her text was too troublesome she sent her next sentence.

“You’re not angry are you? – Seryung”

She awaited a response with bated breath. If he was holding a grudge he would say ‘yes.’ That in turn would mean that he disliked her. If not he would be warm to the idea of her as a kind-of friend.

Seryung didn’t know what ‘friends’ actually were. What defined a friend? What was the big deal of having them? What did friends even do? She might have known this a long time ago, but right now there was no classification of ‘friend’ in her dictionary. It was merely a word that people applied sentimental attachment to.

What were friends?

Her brain tried to construct a list of connotations to apply to the word, but even then she felt it was useless.

Friends… Hadn’t they bullied her recently? Then again, they weren’t close to begin with… The concept confounded her. She would have to ask Sehun what the ordeal was about ‘friends.’

 She needed a distinct definition that expanded beyond ‘bonds of mutual affection.’ For example, where did bonds come from? And ‘mutual affection’ could happen anywhere. It was shared…

She had tried with her classmates. They’d jointly voiced their ‘friendship.’ They had ‘bonded’ over lunch.

Seryung was on the verge of concluding  friendship was fickle, like the rotation of seasons when she was pulled out of her thoughts.

“No – Tao”

‘What’s no?’ Seryung pondered arching an eyebrow. Had the boy dug into her head and ruled out her hypothesis? She would soon find out after reading her last sent message.

It perplexed her. Her apt mind had suddenly been clogged like a drain. Did Tao’s text indeed mean that they were ‘friends?’ Something of the like, perchance.

The next question to plague her was, did she want to be ‘friends?’ After her recent experience with friends, did she want to add Tao to that category?

The answer was no, she didn’t. If Tao were to one day turn his back to her, she would rather not be ‘friends.’

Slowly she erased the message she’d subconsciously typed, and decided to abandon the topic of friends. Sehun would know what they were. She could ask him later.

“How did training go? – Seryung”

“Fine – Tao”

The reply came immediately after. If that was meant to elate her, it had the opposite effect. Her shoulders sagged. His one-word answers burdened her. They spoke invisibly, telling her that he didn’t want to speak to her. That he was finding excuses to avoid her.

He probably thought of her as a brat. That conception seemed most real. She stared at the message she’d typed to erase. Her lip curved upwards. Something so desperate wasn’t meant for his eyes to see. She chucked the phone and lay on her side closing her eyes, and hoping when she opened them mirth would return to her bedroom.

The phone buzzed making the bed shake. She wondered who was bothering to talk to her.

“I always look handsome – Tao”

“I always look handsome?” She repeated aloud, puzzled that he would send her something out of the blue. She chanted it like a mantra until her eyes widened in disbelief.

Seryung jumped, and in her haste almost slid off the bed. She stared at the screen with agape.  Groaning softly at herself she dared to unlock the smart phone to see if she’d accidently sent something.

Lo and behold was the incriminating evidence: “You looked handsome – Seryung”

She wondered if there was an app to remove memories. She needed to remove hers and become a vegetable. Anything was better than knowing that she’d accidently tried to hit on him!

She wished she was dreaming, but even after pinching herself the text didn’t vanish out of her sight. It had happened!

She took a deep breath to calm herself.

“Whatever – Seryung”

“Are you confessing? – Tao”

She was never nervous, not even when she saw spirits was she this nervous. Right now, it felt like her raw self had been brought out into an inquisition. One that she would lose shamefully.

She covered her face with her hand, too embarrassed to face the phone. Eventually an idea clicked into place. Should she confess?

She curled her legs under her, and held the smartphone in two hands. Feeling both cowardly and brave, she attempted something that was alien to her.

“Maybe. Should I? – Seryung”

“So it is a confession lol – Tao”

Seryung frowned. All bravery lost, her eyes repositioned themselves onto the ‘lol.’ Was he seriously laughing at her right now? Was it all a joke to him?

Her pride crashed like waves over the shore of humiliation. Her ego was too large to be contained. It was too big to be placed in a single vessel. It was vaster than the galaxies. If she was going down, she would take everyone down with her. Nothing should be allowed to make fun of her.

A tremor of rage passed through her. She snorted. A shadow of darkness stood witness. With it came light in the form of recovery. And silently stood two angels.

“I love you – Seryung”

“The hell? – Tao”

They watched her expression crumble. Neither lifted a finger. However, they were both attune to the inner happenings of Oh Seryung.

“It’s a joke – Seryung”

“I hope so – Tao”

“Of all the guys out there, why would I fall for you? – Seryung”

“You have fallen – Tao”

“As if – Seryung”

“Don’t lie. You love me – Tao”

Here her thumbs paused. She fretted needlessly about what to say with both hope and dread at her heel.

“I do – Seryung”

Yi Xing cracked a smile.

With unfathomable speed, she typed her proceeding line.

“Okay, I won’t lie. I like you. You’re on my side – Seryung”

Yi Fan closed his eyes.

“I like you too, since you like me. Training went ok. Lost my balance a bit and fell. Hurt my foot. Nothing big. I can still walk. How was your day? - Tao”

Another winged-being materialized with a sultry grin. His head bobbed, and he pressed a finger to his lips as if his speech would impair his work. He flashed two thumbs. And like that, the angels dematerialized.

“I didn’t do much. Just chilled and enjoyed the day off – Seryung”

Seryung sighed. She wanted to inquire about his health, but knew he would stop responding to her. Right now, he was water and she was soil. She was in need of his company. The pitter-patter of her heart sounded pleasurable.

“It’s good to chill. Relax your mind a bit. Take a deep breath and think of one thing at a time – Tao”

“Is this advice? – Seryung”

“It’s the best advice – Tao”

“Thank you – Seryung”

She held her phone close, kindliness ran through her blood as if she’d acquired a new feat to her system. It was because of him.

“Thank you, for caring,” Seryung whispered.

A new message broke her reverie.

“You’re always welcome – Tao”

Seryung pressed her lips together to contain a squeal. Her eyelids were heavy, but her heart was as light as a feather. As if she’d been bruised, and healed, she felt elated. She might as well try travelling around the world in forty days.

“Good night – Seryung”

“Good night – Tao”

Seryung hugged her phone.

‘I love him! I should confess... I should just go for it, take a deep breath and go for it. If Hana and oppa can date, then we can too. I can do this too.’
 

-

“The seeds have been planted!” The Angel of Love clapped his hands together in joy. He enjoyed making personal visits. Right now, he was boasting about his most recent couple.

“It’s destiny! The thread of fate binds them!”

His companions smiled out of courtesy. ‘Cupid’ was on a roll.

“Min Seok, please. I have souls to plunge into the afterlife,” the Angel of Death massaged his temples out of habit rather than need. This was to illustrate his displeasure, at having ‘Cupid’ prance around the same vicinity where terrified spirits reaped, what they’d sowed in life.

“They are in love. Love is sweet. It cannot be avoided. Consequences are grave,” the Angel of Love sang sweetly like the sound of tinkering bells.

-

Tao lay on his back. An epiphany had stuck him like thunder, easing the fog around his thoughts. He’d known it all along, he would just never admit it.

He couldn’t!

Or perhaps he would?

Out of all Shakespearean heroes, he had been graced with the personality of Hamlet, the procrastinator. And indeed Tao procrastinated up to the point where he battled with himself.

It was nothing new. A feature of his personality that lay hidden in the confines of his mind.

He loved her. Should he tell her? Should he not? It haunted him on a daily basis. Why else would he take great pains to ease her troubles?

He was ill with a disease called ‘love.’ He often overlooked it, but today his thoughts were stronger. As if Cupid himself had pulled a bow, and smacked him across the head with it.

He re-read the messages as if he didn’t already know them off by heart. He was conceivably a fool. He tried lying to himself, but had remained unconvincing.

It was too much for him. Everything was too much from the start, since birth… In an alternate universe where he were born rich, he might have courted her. He might have been Romeo instead of Hamlet. They were both tragic heroes.

In the end, it was up to him to decide. Which peril did he prefer? Truth be told he wanted neither. He wanted a quiet life, a peaceful one where he could enjoy the sunshine on his skin, but the more he asked for it, the more he was down the deep end.

How did he want to live his life? He wasn’t sure, or maybe he was. What if he was glued to vacillation?

 

Gosh this pair. They're dating, but don't know it yet. Quite slow if you compare them to Sehana who have concluded their first date. The problem lies in both of them lol. They're so stubborn!

Tao has his grievances to deal with. He's developed a complex because he's not as rich as the others and therefore has convinced himself he can't date a rich girl. And the reason for that lies with his ge-ge, who will probably never get assigned a name and remain like the protagonist in 'Rebecca.' Of course this doesn't redeem Tao-Tao but it gives an insight into his erratic behavior. He's in denial of everything. Life is tough if you're poor. Not like being rich is better...

As for Seryung. She had plenty of headaches of her own. She doesn't know what 'friendship' is. How can she be sure she knows 'love?' her pride is 'as vast as the galaxies' << hint, hint, she doesn't like people laughing at her. Who has laughed at her recently? Maybe her classmates, or the school? Hmm... How will she take them down? 

SeTao will be extreme. These two usually get two types of reactions: you either love 'em or you don't. They get on your nerves either way.

Just look at those angels go dropping bombs everywhere. SeTao got bitten by the love bug **cough** Cupid. That part about Tao getting whacked by the Angel of Love is about 99.99% true btw. Just gonna leave that to your imaginations haha.

He might not have been needed here, but I love Kyung Soo too much to not give him his limelight. This boy snuck onto my bias list without warning.

Time to add 2nd male leads to main pairings, me thinks ;) The minute I start that everyone's going to play the Sinister guessing game. That boy is like a snake. He's deadly. A chameleon by birthright lol.

Tell me, would you rather have me give a slip of his identity in the coming chapters, or should he be hidden till he gets caught? Which do readers prefer, worrying about how close this evil guy is to the leads as he does things with them, or not knowing who he is, and finding out when the mains find out? I sometimes think I should give him to you, so you can fear for the mains, but the thing is, if you guys chose to hide him, I will play the mystery game because I have misleading characters. So pick, or else I'll pick!

After you solve that riddle and figure out how SeTao can be together, feel free to indulge in the visuals.

   ~ adieu for now, don't forget to comment. Yours, snowflake :)