A person that one tried to avoid would always show up at the most unexpected time.

            Gayeon had her blanket covered over her head, as if this action could protect her from reality. She wished all her feelings could be turned off with the flip of a switch.  Of course, it was a foolish thought.  She knew life was never that simple.

           She sat up and her phone again to check if there were any new messages, especially from Chanyeol.  There was none.  Her eyebrows contracted in a state of worry.  Now, she regretted that she had turned off her phone instead of sending back a reply.  She roamed over the message that he sent a couple of hours ago.

            Chanyeol: Let’s meet at the park.  I will wait for you.

            ‘What if he’s still waiting…?’ Then she shook her head. ‘There’s no way anyone would wait that long.’

            Though, still worried, she called him.  She became anxious when he didn’t pick up the call.  Worried that he might fall ill again, she changed into a black hoodie, a pair of shorts, and headed out to find him.

            Gayeon slowed her steps when she saw Chanyeol up ahead sitting on a bench with his back facing her.  He seemed to be enjoying the night sky view.  As the day got closer to Chuseok, the moon became fuller and brighter.  The nearby stars looked like sapphires accompanying a rare pearl. 

            “Oppa.” She called out when she was confident that she could keep her voice even.

            “Oh, you’re here!” He grinned widely.  His tired eyes brightened up.

            He pulled her by the wrist and sat her down on the bench.

            “I can’t believe you’re still here.” She frowned. “What if I didn’t show up?”

            “But still, you saw my message and now you’re here, right?” He extended his arms out to make a point.  The smile was still playing on his lips.

             “You didn’t even bother to check if I’ve received your message.  What if I didn’t?”  Now, she stared down at the back of her hands, guilty.  “How can you be so confident?”

            “Because our Gayeon-ah, is so attached to her phone that there’s no way she would have missed it.” He answered easily.  Though, he didn’t tell her he was afraid to text her again after that message, in case she replied differently than he anticipated.

            Her cheeks became tomato red.  Trying to deflect the focus away from herself, she asked, “So, why are we here?”

            “Because I want someone to eat this with.” He suddenly pulled up two containers of chocolate ice creams from under the bench.

            She finally cracked up a smile and laughed.  She gave him a funny look before taking the ice cream from his hands.

            He sighed, though without missing a beat of playfulness, he said, “Finally, I don’t have to worry about eating this alone.”

            She almost spat out the mouthful of ice cream.  He always surprised her with strange remarks or remarks at strange times.  If he wasn’t an idol, she thought he would succeed as a gagman.

            “Oppa, you like eating ice cream in the middle of the night?” As delicious as the ice cream was, the question had bothered her from the moment he pulled out the containers.

            “Not exactly.” He responded as he scooped out another spoonful. “But if we don’t eat it now, it would be too cold to eat it once the season changed.”

            She nodded.  Autumn was slowly paving its way.  Suddenly, she recalled the bet that they had made at the Road FC gym awhile back.  Carefully, she asked, “Does coming here fulfil my end of the bet?”

            He looked at her mischievously, “What do you think?”

            She smiled sheepishly, “Yes…?”

            Catching her by surprise, he closed in on her.  Her heart beat rapidly.  Slowly, she casted her eyes down and turned to the side.  Then, she felt a flick of pain her forehead.

            “Ding!” He announced.  Then he smirked, “You came here on your own.  I didn’t compel you.”

            “Aish!” She punched him lightly on the arm out of annoyance.

            “Aish…?” His eyes widened in shock at her language as he rubbed off the pain from her punch.  Suddenly, he was glad that he had held himself in check earlier and did not blindly go with the moment.  What if she had punched him out of reflex?

            “N-no!” She quickly denied. “You heard it wrong.”

            “No?  But you were like this.” He mimicked her earlier action. “Aish!”

            “Oppa,” Her voice became serious. “You want a low kick, don’t you?”

            He gulped at the sudden change of atmosphere and so he quickly straightened his back. “Sorry.”

            The mood was tensed with silence.  Only the sound of ladybugs’ wings flapping every now and then.  However, the two, as if they could read each other’s mind, burst out into a fit of laughter.  Through the moment, Chanyeol leaned back and hit his head against the tree behind him accidentally.

            “Ack!” He had his hands covered over his head.

            “Are you okay?” Though Gayeon was concerned, she couldn’t stop from laughing.

            Rubbing the pain away, he said, “Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying this and not sulking anymore.”

            “Huh?  Did I look like I was sulking?” She was confused.

            “Today you were…” He stopped midway and quickly regretted his big mouth.  He was supposed to cheer her up and cleared her mind from this afternoon’s filming and Minwoo’s unprecedented stint.

            Gayeon was waiting for him to finish his sentence.

            He cleared his throat, “Because you didn’t seem to be enjoying yourself in a Hanbok…” Thinking that the atmosphere had become awkward again, he took out his guitar from the case lying next to the bench. “Oh yea, I taught you how to play before.  Did you practice at all?”

            Confused, but glad at the sudden change of direction, she responded, “Why?  Are you going to give me a test?”

            “Yes.” He continued on without hesitation, “How embarrassing it would be if you still can’t play after a musical genius taught you?”

            She felt a bit guilty, especially since she did have some free time after her debut match.

            “But…” He smiled. “Since you’re the Queen of Low Kicks, I’ll cut you some slacks and teach you an easier song tonight.”

            Her eyes perked with interest as he began to play.

            The rhythm produced from the lower octaves echoed longingly into the night sky.  It was Stand by Me by Ben E. King.  Coincidentally, the Deadly Beauty knew this song well enough from the memories of her childhood.  Her father used to run Ben E. King’s cassette tape on the audio sets from time to time when he cleaned the house on one of his rare days off.  It was a simple yet powerful melody.  She knew a bit of the English lyrics.  From the words she knew and the melody, she gathered the song’s meaning was about a man being able to move forward in life as long as his love one was by his side.

When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we’ll see
No I won’t be afraid
Oh, I won’t be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

            She was completely captured by his performance.

             When the song ended, Chanyeol let a moment of silence settled in before he mustered the courage and said, “Gayeon-ah, you don’t have to rely on Minwoo hyung…” He cackled out of uneasiness.  He was afraid to look at her, but decided to continue on, “Actually, I wish you wouldn’t look at him or any other guys at all.  I’m here.  So, look at me instead…You can rely on me instead.”

            He kept his eyes shut, anticipating her reply.  When there was no response, he said, “You know what that means, right?  Anyways, you don’t have to give me an answer right now.”

            Silence.

            “Gayeon?” He carefully opened his eyes.

            It seemed that she had fallen asleep.

            Disappointedly, he sighed, ‘Such perfect timing…’

            He thought she was probably the first and only one who would fall asleep on his performance.  However, when he turned and looked at her sleeping face, he couldn’t stay frustrated at his failed confession.  He reached his hand over and rested her head on his shoulder.

            The butterflies in her stomach went wildly.  She had heard every word and she didn’t think she deserved any of it.

            ‘Oppa, sorry for being selfish…’ She felt guilty, but pretending to fall asleep was better than stuttering her way through a response.

            After Gayeon dropped down her training gloves, Dowon gestured her over away from the crowd.

            “What is it Oppa?” She asked with her hands on her waist, still panting for more oxygen.

            “So have you decided to leave the show yet?” Dowon asked.

            She bit her lower lip in hesitation.

            The older man sighed, “Gayeon-ah, you can’t delay it like this.  It’s either Roommate or Crying Fist.  Of course, I recommend the latter not only because it’s the company’s best interest, but also for you as well.  It’s better for your training schedule.”

            “I know.” She responded, her voice a bit quieter than usual.

            “It should be an easy decision.  What’s holding you back?” He questioned.

            She froze at the question, even though it was meant to be rhetorical.

             “Whatever it is, you can’t just dodge it.  You’re a fighter, Gayeon.  Avoidance is never the answer.  You should face it head on.”

            “I know.” She gave a reassuring smile. “Oppa, just give me a bit more time to think about it.”

            “Woohoo!  Haunted house!” Nana threw her hands up in joy at the Roommate event given by the PD.

            “Do we have to do this?” Kangjoon’s spirit already flew away as he asked.

            “So we have to complete all the missions first before coming out of the haunted house?” Minwoo wanted to confirm.

            “Yes.  Let’s divided you guys into teams now.” The PD announced.  “The fastest group to complete the missions will win a prize.”

            At the mention of team division, Gayeon stealthy moved further away from Chanyeol as if she was not already far enough.  Chanyeol was paying attention to the game rules and didn’t realize that they were now at the opposite ends.

            She prayed that they would not end up on the same team because she did not have the confidence to face him.  She admitted that she was being a coward.

            She relaxed when she was assigned with Dongwook and Seho.

            Meanwhile, Sojin was utter disbelief when Minwoo was announced to be on the same team as her.  Frankly, going to a haunted house was already one of her least favourite activities.  She almost rolled her eyes when Minwoo winked at her just to annoy her.

            One by one, the group entered the haunted house at a five minute interval.  Nana, who was in the same group as Minwoo and Sojin, led the way excitedly.  The older boy trailed behind the two girls, carefully looking into corners and rooms to find their missions, as well as covering any tracks behind.  Sojin, in the middle, tugged at the hem of Nana’s shirt while scanned around warily.

            Suddenly Sojin shrieked and jumped back, bumping into Minwoo.  The actor held on her shoulders to help her stay balanced.  She caught her breath when she realized it was only a piece of paper dropped from the ceiling.  It looked like a mission card.  Minwoo felt uneasy when she turned.  Her eyes seemed watery and that she could break down at any second.  He thought it was ironic considering her tolerance for methods of getting things done.

            Gayeon, showing her competitive spirit as an athlete, decided to separate from Dongwook and Seho in order to complete the missions quickly.  She thought it was funny when Seho attached himself to Dongwook while tugging on her sleeve and begged her to stay with the group.  However, Dongwook, who had a far-sighted mind, pushed Gayeon to go ahead so that they could all leave the haunted house sooner.

            Even if there were no staff acting as ghosts and monsters, the place was already a maze and it was difficult to navigate through.  She had completed two out of three missions as agreed amongst her team.  She only hoped that her teammates are doing well with the remaining four missions.

            She saw a metal door when she turned the corner.  Deciding to check out the room, she opened the door.

            “Don’t let the door close!” A voice spoke out from across the room.

            Gayeon turned and it was too late — the door was already tightly shut.

            “What the…?” She pulled on the doorknob but it would not budge.

            “Gayeon?” The voice became closer.

            She recognized that the voice belong to Chanyeol. “Oppa?  What’s going on here?”

            “I don’t know.  I came in thinking a mission card must be lying here somewhere.”  He shook his head.  “This room looks like a props room…I can’t seem to find any camera here either.”

            After taking in what she heard, she suggested, “Let’s switch on the lights, maybe we can find a key or something to open the door.”

            “I tried.  The lights are busted.”  He said.  Even though it was dark, she could make out the outline of his smile.  “But, you’re right.  We shouldn’t be sitting ducks here.  Does your phone have enough power for flashlight?”

            “Yep.” She nodded.

            They spread out with the tiny flashlights from their phones and searched through the room for fifteen minutes.  Unable to find anything useful and tired, Chaneyol slumped down next to the door.  He listened closely for any sound outside, in hope that someone would pass by.

            On the other hand, Gayeon refused to give up and decided to search the room one more time.  She turned away from the props shelf and suddenly felt a pull.  Her hair got tangled with the metal shelf somehow.

            Seeing that she was struggling, he walked up to her and asked, “What’s wrong?”

            “My hair got stuck.” She tried to turn around to get a better look at the situation.

            “Stay still and let me help you.” He tried to hold back a smile, especially when she looked like a lost puppy trying to catch its tail.

            “O-okay…Thanks.” She looked down shyly as his body leaned closer.  She bit her bottom lip out of nervousness.

            When their faces were only an inch apart, an image flashed in his mind.  He stared at her lips, “Maybe I’m being strange, but are you getting a déjà vu like me?”

            Meekly, she glanced up and stared into his eyes.  The accidental kiss crossed her mind.  “What do—”

            He leaned in and kissed her.

            Her mind went flying all over the place at the suddenness of his action.  Never would she dream of kissing him, let alone for the second time.  However, slowly she closed her eyes.  It was as if her body got a mind of its own, she wrapped her arms around his neck.  His kiss was gentle and passionate.

            Suddenly, he pulled away, gasping for air.

            She stared blankly at him, unsure of what had just happened.

            “You…kissed back.” He pointed out, astonished.