The first time Sulli saw Chanyeol, was a pleasantly sunny day at school during the last week of senior year.

She was jolted from her daily daydreams by the ringing of the school bell. The boy seated in front of her with large ears and enormous, long-lashed eyes stood up, and grabbing his camera, he walked out the back door, the way he usually went.

And as usual, she followed him, retracing his steps one by one as the charms on her bracelet tinkled softly. One, two, one two. Out the door, past the corridor, past the gate. One, two, one, two. One, two, one, two.

Her small feet met green grass, and she walked in the shadow of the boy like a curious kitten following a dog. The translucent leaves dangling from tree branches cast smoky hearts onto the dappled grassy floor, and the sunlight filtering through the trees turned the boy’s dark hair a chocolatey brown.

He stopped under the shade of the knotty tree, and rummaged in his bag. Leaning against the tree, he took out his camera, and laid it gently onto the viridian grass.

She sat down by the willow. Taking out her sketchbook and a pencil, she leaned against the tree, watching as the boy positioned his camera with those long, long, fingers, and very carefully, snapped a photo of the canopy of leaves above him.

She began to sketch him, glancing back every few seconds to capture the look of utter seriousness and tranquility on his face.

Time passed, and the only thing that could be heard was the rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds.

Soon, the boy’s eyes appeared on the paper, alert and focused. Then those small lips of this. Then his soft brown hair. Then those adorable elvish ears.

But this time, when she looked back at him, the lens of his camera were facing her, and he snapped a picture. Those eyes, visible when the camera covered the rest of his face, smiled at her. She blushed, embarrassed, and turned away. The boy walked towards her, and her heart began to flutter at a rapid rate, like a trapped songbird. He sat down beside her, and grinned.

The stupid thing called her heart began to beat so loud she swore he could hear it. He leaned closer to her and peered down at her drawing. “May I?”

She could feel his warm breath down her neck, and she nodded slightly. “Okay.”

He took her sketchbook out of her hands, and their fingers brushed for a split second, sending a jolt of electricity down her back.

The boy looked at the sketch for a moment, appraising it, then handed it back to her, a wide smile on his face. He remarked, “This...is really good.”

She blushed, and said, “Your pictures are really good too.”

He looked at her strangely. “And how would you know?”

Blushing even harder, she retrieved a few small photographs out of her bag, and said, “You...um, you dropped these a while ago, and...I-I-I was too, um, shy to return them to you. Plus, they’re really pretty!” She handed the pictures back to him. “Um, here you go.”

He patted her hand and put the photographs back into them. “No, it’s ok. Keep them.”

She looked up at him, eyes sparkling. “Really? Really? Are you sure?” Her hands gripped the photographs uncertainly.

“Sure, why not? I’ve got plenty more back home.” He laughed, smiling at her and exposing his white, even teeth.

She blushed again. “Okay. well, thank you.”

He winked, and stood up. “Don’t be.” Hoisting his bag up his shoulder, he saluted her and said, “Until next time, pretty girl.”

Then he disappeared, the only thing remaining being the scent of his cologne.

The second time Sulli saw Chanyeol, was five years later during a windy day in Starbucks.

The weather was horrible, with sudden bouts of heavy rain and gusty winds that blew hats and scarves off unsuspecting people.

Sulli walked in the cafe, tired, stressed and unhappy. Unwrapping the bird-patterned scarf from her neck, she shoved it into her bag, readjusting her cashmere jumper to hang loosely on her shoulders.

"A grande vanilla frappuccino, please." She ordered.

The order came quickly, and Sulli sat down, nursing the drink in her hands.

It was cold, much too cold, sending flurries of frosty ribbons down her spine. Coughing, she put her tongue to the roof of to warm it back into feeling again.

A finger tapped her shoulder, and she turned, annoyed. "What?"

It was that boy from school, the boy who seemed to be from a distant memory, the tall boy with the big ears and sparkly eyes like children’s Christmas cards completely smothered with glitter glue. He smiled at her widely and said, “Hi! Remember me? I’m that creepy photographer dude from school.”

Sulli giggled. “You weren’t creepy, I was. I was stalking you, for goodness’ sake.”

“Staaaalker,” He mock-whispered. “What a stalker.”

She laughed.

He sat down in front of her, and, without asking, took a sip of her drink. “So, how’s life?”

Sulli sat back, kneading her temples. “Not so good. Work’s stressful. I’m a journalist, and my boss never really stops screaming at me to improve my articles. He tells me 24/7 I write like a depressed teenager.”

He stared at her, luminous brown eyes stretched wide. “You write?”

“Yeah. Surprising, right? I wanted to be a painter, or even a makeup artist, but, well, I just ended up writing and becoming a journalist.” Sulli smiled at him. “I guess things don’t normally turn out the way you think they will.”

“True, true,” he agreed. “But I, on the other hand, did become a photographer. I photograph pretty ladies like you,” Sulli laughed at his playful teasing, and he continued, “See? I even have a business card.” Rummaging in his bag, he drew out a slightly crumpled cream card made out of a heavy, coarse paper. Printed on it were a few words including his name in a bold, goudy font. It read: PARK CHANYEOL.

“So that’s your name. Chanyeol. I like it,” mused Sulli, the edges of the card.

Chanyeol stared at her in disbelief, batting his impossibly long, feminine lashes. “You didn’t know my name beforehand?”

Embarrassed, Sulli looked down, cheeks flushing a pale red. “Yeah, well, I never asked you, and you never told me. It’s not like you know my name either, is it?”

“On the contrary, I do. Your name is Choi Jinri, isn’t it?” Chanyeol grinned at her. “See, I know things.”

Sulli winced. “Actually, it’s Sulli. No one calls me Jinri, though that’s my legal name. I prefer Sulli.”

He ran his fingers through his tousled hair, doe eyes apologetic and abashed. “Ah, oops. My mistake. Sorry.” He stood up hastily, picking up his leather messenger bag. “Anyway, I really do have to go now. Pleasure meeting you!” Giving her his customary salute, he walked out of the

shop, leaving a slightly more cheerful Sulli to finish her drink.

“I still have your photographs,” she called after him.

The third time Sulli saw Chanyeol, was six months later at a convenience store late at night.

Sulli was buying some midnight snacks with her cousin Baekhyun, when a familiar, chocolate brown head entered the store. He stopped next to them and knelt down to look at snacks, seemingly oblivious of Sulli and Baekhyun’s presence.

“Girl, that boy is yum-yum. I would pay loads to get my hands on him.” Baekhyun whispered in her ear, not-so-subtly pointing at him with a long, thin index finger.

She sighed, ruffling Baekhyun’s hair. He glared at her through kohl-lined eyes. “Oi! Don’t do that, it’s weird, and it makes my hair look weird too.”

“The yum-yum boy, for your information, is my, er, friend Chanyeol. He’s a photographer.” Sulli informed a blatantly staring Baekhyun.

“Photographers are hot,” Baekhyun decided. “Hotter than professional swimmers or CEOs of huge, powerful companies.”

At that exact moment, Chanyeol looked up and smiled at Sulli, and Baekhyun clapped his hands over his mouth. “Sulli! It’s you again.” He wrapped her in a bear hug, leaving Sulli gasping for air. She hit at his shoulders weakly. “Can’t...breathe…”

“Right.” Chanyeol released her, embarrassed. He then turned his attention to Baekhyun. “Is this your boyfriend?”

Baekhyun flushed a light red. “No, I’m her cousin, Baekhyun. Nice to meet you.” He stretched his hand out to Chanyeol, who shook it vigorously.

“I’m Chanyeol. Park Chanyeol.” He introduced, giving him a mock bow. “Pleasure to meet you too.”

Baekhyun nudged Sulli. “He’s charming. Eat him up when you get the chance, girl,”

She shushed him, and turned her attention to Chanyeol. “So, how’s life? How’s the photography going?”

He scratched his head and smiled weakly at her. “Well, it’s going okay. One of the good things about being a fashion photographer is that you meet a lot of famous people.”

“Who have you met?” Baekhyun piped up, excited like a puppy given new toys.

Chanyeol pursed his lips. “Well, uh, I don’t remember them all, but I have met Wu Yifan, and Hyuna of 4MINUTE.”

“Ohmigosh. You’ve met Wu Yifan? That guy is, like, sooooo hot, and soooooooo tall, and sooooo totally my ideal type-”

“We get the idea, Baek,” Sulli interrupted, a slight smile on her lips. “Shut up already.”

He pouted, and stayed silent. Sulli beamed at Chanyeol, and said, “We probably need to go now. See you!” Grabbing Baekhyun’s hand, she dragged him to the cashier.

“At least let me pay for your snacks. My treat.” Chanyeol pleaded, pressing his lips together and handing her a bill. “Come on, just for old times’ sake.”

“Old times?” Sulli questioned.

“Old times,” He said, smiling. “See you!” Whistling, he stepped out of the convenience store, leaving Sulli and Baekhyun to pay.

Baekhyun winked at Sulli, elbowing her. “Wowee, Sul, that guy is so into you.” He slid the snacks onto the counter, taking the money from Sulli’s hand.

She frowned. “Why would you say that?”

“Because he left you his phone number.” Baekhyun drew a small slip of paper from within the bills. “Didn’t you notice?” He then gave the money to the cashier.

Eyebrow raised, Sulli gave him an approving glance. “That was very...perceptive of you. Thanks for telling me.”

He snorted. “You’re just really thick, that’s all. Now let’s get back and you can spend the night listening to his dreamy voice on your phone, blah blah…”

She smacked him on the head.

The fourth time Sulli saw Chanyeol, was at her uncle’s funeral.

Sulli walked in the girl’s toilet, and looked into the mirror at the tired, worn-out girl in the glossy glass. She looked terrible, eyes swollen, mascara running, cheeks pale with flecks of red, hair dishevelled and dress are wrinkly and lopsided.

Sighing, she splashed cold water onto her face, hoping it would invigorate her, and retouched her makeup, pulling the elastic band from her hair. She walked out and bumped right into a very hard, broad chest.

“Watch where you’re going!” She snarled.

“That’s not very nice, is it?” She looked up to see Chanyeol smiling at her.

Sulli mentally slapped herself. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you.” she eyed him strangely. “Why are you standing outside the girls’ toilet though?”

Chanyeol went a bright red. “N-n-no, it’s not what you think, I’m waiting for a friend. Oh, there she is!” A pretty young girl with long, dyed brown hair stepped out of the toilet and walked up to Chanyeol. “Sulli, this is Irene. Irene, Sulli.”

Irene smiled (albeit rather coldly) at Sulli. “Hello, Sulli. Why are you here?”

Annoyed, Chanyeol nudged Irene. “Irene, this is a funeral parlour. Why do you think she’s here?”

“My uncle just died,” Sulli clarified.

“I’m sorry,” said Irene, not sounding sorry at all.

"You don't have to be," replied Sulli, tilting her head and eyeing Irene coolly, who sniffed and tugged on Chanyeol's jacket.

"Channie, let's go. We're going to be late for the ceremony." Irene whined, flipping her hair over one shoulder. "Come on."

Chanyeol smiled at her and gave her gentle push. "You go first. I'll catch up with you."

Thoroughly annoyed, Irene shot Sulli a cold glare and stalked off, leaving Sulli and Chanyeol alone.

There was a moment of awkward silence. Finally, Chanyeol broke the silence by asking, "I'm sorry I haven't been answering your calls lately.

I've been really busy."

She laughed. "That's okay." Punching him lightly, she remarked, "You seem to spend a large portion of your time apologizing."

"Well, I normally have a lot to apologize for. I'm a total klutz, knocking down everything in my path like a steamroller." He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"That I already know." Sulli straightened his lapel, and Chanyeol blushed. "Shouldn't you be catching up with Irene now?"

"Yeah, I suppose so." Chanyeol scratched the back of his head. "When I talk to you, I just seem to lose track of time."

She winked at him. "Ooh, nice one." Wiggling her fingers at him, she turned and walked away.

"Wait! Sulli!" Sulli turned to see Chanyeol walking up to her, cheeks tinged a rosy carmine. "Ummm...are you free next Wednesday? We could, um, go get a burger together or something."

Unable to help herself, Sulli doubled over with laughter, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. Chanyeol stared at her in horror. "What did I say wrong? If you're not free, that's ok, I just-"

"Park Chanyeol," Sulli choked out through paroxysms of laughter. "We have each other's number, and we've bumped into each other multiple times, and it takes you THIS long to ask me out."

He offered her a lopsided grin. "So you comin' or not?"

"I would be a fool to refuse your offer." She stood on her tiptoes and pecked him on the cheek. "See you then!"

"See you," Chanyeol called weakly after her, pressing his hands to his burning cheeks. "I'm such a klutz," he muttered under his breath, walking away with a smile on his full lips.

~end~
 

the enddd!!!!! so, how was it? was it really random? please do tell me if i've made any typos etc. :)))))