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Your heart get scared too easily, so I give you mine.

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Goals are objectives or aims that we have set for ourselves which we hope to achieve within a given time frame. We may have long-term goals like careers or ambitions to fulfill, which may take years and great effort. Dreams are another part of ‘goals’ that some people have in their life. Everyone was born to dream for different things, may it be living in the pile of money, becoming a highly-respected person, or… just anything we could think of.

Just like other people, that boy, too, had a dream.

Feeling overwhelmed by the paintings that filled every inch of the wall of his room, the boy didn’t realized that the sky outside had long turned dark. Different paintings, but was made by the same person. Well, they could hardly be called ‘paintings’ as they were just some random drawings made by a 6 year old girl, using some crayons.

His rear was getting sore due to sitting on the hard and cold wooden chair for too long, the knock on his door was getting louder, but he couldn’t care less. Even the thunderous voice of his mother who was calling him for dinner failed to took his attention from staring at the posters. Well, until the door was unlocked from outside, probably his mother was using a spare key or something, and a hand dragged him out of the room.

“Mom, ouch! Slow down!” His voice was high pitched, but not even a bit close to sounding like a giggly high school girl, thank you very much.

The woman rolled her eyes at her son, “Well, I wouldn’t have to do this every freaking time if you just come down whenever I call out for your name.” She muttered under her breath, clearly annoyed, “I just have no idea what to do with you anymore.”

The boy pouted. Their little journey to the dinner table ended with him being pushed onto his seat and 3 pairs of eyes were looking at him as if wanting to swallow him whole. The boy gulped nervously. “S-Sorry.”

“Losing in the space again huh, Joonmyunnie.” A low chuckle had him lifted his head up to glare at the owner of the voice. But the person in front of him just stuck his tongue out and laugh, “What? I’m just stating the truth!”

“Mom! Look at him!” The boy, namely Joonmyun, whined sulkily, pointing a finger towards his older brother who was still laughing. Another laughter soon followed, making the boy whined even more.

The early-40’s woman shook her head at her sons childish behavior, “That’s enough, boys. Jongin-ah, Jongdae-ah, stop teasing your little brother. He’s just a baby.” She said.

And that just emit even more laughter from the two older boys, “Yeah, Joonmyunnie is a baby!”

Joonmyun narrowed his eyes to his brothers, before adverting his gaze towards his father, giving the latter a sympathetic look. His father sighed, he could never resists that look no matter how hard he tried. And so, he sighed, “Okay, boys. It’s getting late. You guys have school tomorrow.”

The laughter finally stopped and Joonmyun smiled victoriously. “Oh! Umma, where’s Junhee?”

“She’s already asleep. She already ate dinner though.” She smiled.

*****

The morning sun shone with a diamond hardness and brightness, though the morning was still quite young, it was already stuffy and uncomfortable inside the classroom. The fact that the first lesson was Chemistry didn’t help much either as the teacher was practically talking to herself as nobody out of 40 students in the class would want to listen to her. It was one of the boring days in class where Joonmyun just wish he could fly away from that place and well… do something else that worth his time. Joonmyun was getting sleepier as the time flies. He pinched his thighs, trying to keep himself awake, but the pain was not enough to stop his eyelids from dropping.

But then the door swung open and a slender figure walked into the class with a smile on the woman’s pretty face. She had a short conversation with his teacher and then both of them nodded their heads. His teacher clasped her hands together and announced with enthusiasm, “We have a new classmate today!”

All the eyes inside the class were now focusing to the unfamiliar boy who was entering the class, including Joonmyun’s. He blinked in curiosity at the boy, the urge to sleep that was bothering him just now gone all at once. The boy stopped when he’s few centimeters away from the two female teacher and fidgets at his spot. “U-Uhh…. I-I’m Baekhyun.” He introduced himself.

Joonmyun swear he could see faint blush on the boy’s cheeks. Cute. He chuckled to himself.

“Oh ! Another pretty boy! Hey, Joonmyun, looks like you have a rival here!” A girl screamed.

Joonmyun shrugged, “It’s fine. We can work together and rule this college together with our cuteness.” He winked.

And the squeals get louder.  The teacher shook her head in disbelief while the new boy just blinks his eyes in confusion, “Okay, students. Enough. Now, Baekhyun-ssi, there’s 3 vacant seat in this class, you may choose to sit where ever you want.” She said.

The boy contemplated a little before walking towards a vacant seat behind Joonmyun. His eyes were glued to the floor, maybe too embarrassed to meet anyone’s eyes. Joonmyun turned around and smiled, “Hey there! I’m Joonmyun! Let’s be good friends!”

The boy hesitantly nodded, “I’m Baekhyun. T-Thanks.”

Joonmyun scooted closer to the boy and stop when he’s just a few centimeters away from the boy, to whisper to him, “Know what, looks like you already have fan girls only on your first few minutes in this school. Don’t be so timid, buddy. These girls are scary when they decided to be so. I promise you, I’ve been through that nightmare. If anything, just smile and act indifferent. Be confident, you’re going to need it here. That’s just a free advice, you’re free to take it or to leave it.” He winked snarkily and grinned.

Baekhyun chuckled. “Thank you.” And he finally smiled.

“Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god, I’m late! I’m late! Poor Junhee must be waiting for me!” Joonmyun muttered under his breath, hands shoving all his things into his backpack in fast pace.

Baekhyun who had just finished packing his things walked towards Joonmyun, about to pat the latter’s back, “Let’s go home---“ But suddenly Joonmyun just dashed across him and slammed the door open, before dashing again across the hallway as if he’s invisible, without caring about the people he just bumped onto. All he cared about right now if to get to the kindergarten as fast as he could. And from quite a distance, a flabbergasted Baekhyun had his hand hanging on the air and mouth open agape. “Together…”

Didn’t expect that coming, huh?

“Umma!” A cute little voice chirped.

Joonmyun smiled widely, opening his arms wide to embrace the little girl. “You little rascal. How many times do I have to tell you to call me appa.” He scrunched up his nose playfully.

The girl pouted, “But you’re my umma, not appa. Uncle Jongin and Uncle Jongdae said so.”

Joonmyun sighed. His little girl is so naïve, and too cute. “Shall we go home now?”

The girl nodded, “Yeah! My tummy’s growling~ growling~ growling now~” She sang.

Joonmyun chuckled. His little baby girl had grown up so much…

5 years ago, Joonmyun was just a scrawny high kid, who had no goal in life. Waking up every morning, getting ready to go to school, getting yelled for not finishing his homework, and then go back home to eat and sleep. And then woke up again the next morning to get yelled again at school. Every day was dull and plain. Until one fateful day, he met a little angel.

At school, he’s a prince. But outside, he’s a er for his little daughter. It didn’t matter if no one knows though. And if possible, he didn’t want anyone else to know about it at all, he’s not ready to lose his daughter. Biological or not, he had given his whole heart to the little girl. No one would ever change that.

“Umma?” The small voice broke his reverie.

Joonmyun blinked, “Yeah, honey?”

The girl bits her lips, seems a bit hesitant about something. Joonmyun frowned. He bends down to  her height to lift the girl up. “Will I ever be able to join the class?”

Joonmyun hugged the girl tightly in his arms, “Don’t worry, dear. We’ll try again.”

The girl smiled happily and squeals, “Yay!”

“It’s Saturday tomorrow. Are you two going somewhere?” Mrs. Kim asked.

Joonmyun was about to answer, but Junhee beat him to it, “Yes, grandma! Umma said he’ll take me to the art school!” She said excitedly.

Jongin laughed out of a sudden, and as usual, Jongdae, too. “Woah~!!! Joonmyun umma is taking us to art school!” Jongdae sang in high pitched voice, imitating Junhee.

Joonmyun rolled his eyes. “Junhee-ah, next time if they tell you something, make sure to ask for my permission first before doing it, okay?”

Junhee look at Joonmyun innocently, “But umma, Uncle Jongin said he’s an angel descended from the heaven.”

Jongin’s laughter went louder. And again, dinner that day ended just as merrily as ever. The presence of this little sweetheart in the Kim’s residence did change a lot of things for the past 5 years.

*****

The crowd had not dwindled. He had never been so early to the market in his life. Today was different of course. He agreed to pick up the groceries for his mother, might as well have fun or something with his girl at the market, who knows they might found something fun, and after that went to the art school. But what he had encountered was totally out of his expectations. The narrow road was choked with pedestrians and cyclists, and housewives dominated the scene, jostling and squeezing the way to the hawkers who were eagerly awaiting for their customers.

For one, he just decided that he hated Sunday markets. The din was deafening with housewives haggling loudly over the prices. Right, so much of wanting to pick up some groceries. It’s more like dealing with World War III, literally. He hugged his girl tightly, not wanting to lose her in the middle of the hectic mess, maneuvered his way towards the vegetable stalls. He make a quick selections of the vegetables and went around to pick up some more things, and definitely was more than relieved to finally leave the Sunday market.

“That was fun! Let’s do it again!” Junhee said.

“No, it was not fun. So let’s not do it again.” Joonmyun quickly snapped.

The walk in sync to a certain direction, until a huge white building entered their field of vision. Joonmyun looked around and caught something with his eyes. From where he was standing, Joonmyun could see a tall and handsome young man was putting something on the notice board. His hand which was holding Junhee’s tiny palms tightened. Joonmyun slowly walked towards the young man,

“Umm… hello there?” He greeted the latter.

The man turned his head slightly to him and offered him a smile. “Oh hello.”

“D-Did you teach kids?” He asked.

The latter’s expression changed a little. A small frown was apparent on his handsome forehead. “Excuse me?” This time he had his whole body facing Joonmyun.

Joonmyun’s jaw mentally dropped at the height different between them. He felt utterly small for so many reasons. “I-I’m so sorry, b-but my daughter really want to learn art. She’s young, but she’ll work hard. D-Don’t worry about the payment. Though I c-can’t really afford it, but I’ll manage somehow. Please teach her.” Joonmyun closed his eyes and bowed, silently praying that the latter would agree.

“Your daughter?” He heard the taller man said, “But you look so damn young to even get married.” He stated the matter-of-factly.

Joonmyun’s lips twitched, contemplating whether to keep smiling or not. “I-It’s a long story. So, will you teach my daughter?” He asked the question again, but this time he looks serious.

“Please, uncle! I’ll work hard.” The little girl said.

The tall man kneels in front of her, “Hey there little sweetheart, what’s your name?” His voice changed from deep and husky to child-like.

The girl blushed and gripped Joonmyun’s pants tightly out of nervousness, “K-Kim Junhee.”

“I’m Wu Yifan. From today onwards, I’ll be teaching you art. Let’s get along well, okay?” He said.

Joonmyun and Junhee’s eyes widened in shock. The girl jumped out of a sudden and gives the latter a big bear hug, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” She screamed.

Joonmyun chuckled, “Thank you.”

Joonmyun spun the mechanical pencil in his hand, looking down at his notebook rather seriously.  Since Junhee now enrolled at the art school, it means he had to plan out his routines again. Baekhyun tapped his shoulder lightly, Joonmyun blinked,

“Yes?”

The boy take a quick glance at the teacher who was turning on her back to write something on the white board, and then look at Joonmyun again, “I was so shocked when you suddenly ran off like headless chicken last time, you know?” He whispered.

Joonmyun chuckled, “Really? I’m sorry. I remembered something.”

“Ohh…” He nodded.

The bell rang loudly, signing that the first lecture class had ended. All the students let out a relieved sigh, some stood up in a haste to straighten their sore back bone. The Biology teacher, Mrs. Hwang, smiled, “This is your home work for this week. I expect to see them on my table on Friday morning.” She said strictly, pointing her ruler to the number of pages she just wrote on the board.

Joonmyun groaned, “She’s a devil. I hate her every day.” And pouted.

Baekhyun shrugged, “No can do. She’s the teacher anyway.”

Few girls made their stop at their desks, holding something that looked like lunchboxes in their hands, gripping it tightly to their chests. “Uhmm, Oppa, we brought extra lunch. Have lunch with us?” One of them said with red cheeks.

12:05, that was what written on his wristwatch. Joonmyun politely declined the offer and walked out of the classroom in fast pace. All pairs of eyes were staring at his way as he walked away, until he’s out of their sigh. Another girl sighed, “Joonmyun oppa is always like that, dashing out without saying anything after class.”

“Yeah, but that what makes him more attractive for me.” Another one giggled, followed by fit of giggles from behind her.

“I do like mysterious guy.”

Baekhyun stared at her pensively, trying to swallow what they just said, and then look at the door again. The prince of this college is so mysterious.

*****

Junhee had to go to the kindergarten at 8:30, while Joonmyun’s morning classes started at 9 and ended at around 12 or something, for lunch. He had to go pick Junhee up by then and get her ready for art class, which is at 1:00, while his afternoon class started at the exact same time, which means he had to be hurry. Art class ended at 2:30, Joonmyun’s lectures ended at 2:30 or 3:00. If he’s late, he could just ask his brothers to pick her up. His shift at the coffee shop started at 4:30 and ended at 7:30. After going home and have dinner, he’ll have to finish up his home works and such and get both of them ready for school on the next day.

Every day is a race; he had no time to waste at all. But twice the hardships also meant twice the fun. It’s actually kind of funny to see him running around, chasing the time. Tired body or dark circles around his eyes were never a problem for him. Even when he’s drop dead tired and left with no energy at all to do something, he never failed to wear his best smile in front of his daughter. He might be able to fool the little girl, but not his parents or brothers. They noticed just how tired he was, but never said a thing about it. Joonmyun is the youngest in the family; he looked fragile and vulnerable on the outside. But he has such a strong will to keep on being happy for himself and Junhee. Kim Joonmyun was a coward, but in a sense, he was a lot stronger than anyone else in the family.

The sound of chiming bells stopped his train of thoughts. “Welcome to Coffee D’light! May I take your or------“ Joonmyun’s eyes widened at the man that was now standing in front of him, “der…”

The man chuckled, “You work here?” The man asked.

“Yifan? I-I mean, Yifan-ssi. What are you doing here?” He asked, instead of answering the question.

Yifan shrugged, “To get myself a cup of coffee?”

“I see. I mean, of course you’re here for coffee! So what can I get you?” He smiled.

Yifan inhaled deeply at the adorable sight before him. He make a guttural sound of clearing his throat before answering, “I-Iced Americano.” Why the hell am I stuttering?

“Right away, sir!” Joonmyun punched in the order and walked to the kitchen to make the order. It only took him few minutes to make the coffee. “Here you go. That would be 3 dollar, sir.”

Yifan frowned, “What’s with that ‘sir’ thing? Drop it already. Call me Yifan, okay?”

Joonmyun nodded, “Okay!” The beeping sound of his wristwatch had Joonmyun ripped his attention from Yifan to look at it, “Oh! My shift is over. Finally~” He sighed in relief.

Without looking at the latter who had been staring at him for a while now, he walked to the staffroom and changed to casual clothes and get ready to go home. But just as he was about to step out of the shop, he was startled by the presence of Yifan leaning against the wall, waiting for him.

“Uhhh… you’re still here?”

Yifan nodded, “I’d like to talk some more with you. Come on, I’ll walk you home.” He said, motioning Joonmyun to walk first.

Joonmyun’s cheeks involuntarily heated up at that. He keeps his head low as he was aware of his reddening cheeks, trying to hide them from Yifan. But failed as the latter had already seen them. It’s just so adorable that he couldn’t help but chuckling. Joonmyun lifted his head up to look at him with his large eyes, Yifan cleared his throat and throw his gaze somewhere else.

“I’m curious, how old are you?” After a long moment of awkward silence, Yifan final