Chanyeol adjusted the plate of meatball spaghetti so that its most decorative view was facing the camera.  He did his infamous victory sign and took the picture.  Unsatisfied with the blurriness of the photo, he took another one.

            “Yah, can we eat yet?” Baekhyun asked impatiently.

            “Yeah, you can eat.” Chanyeol replied as he sent the photo.

            “You’re becoming like Tao.” His friend commented.

          “Keep being clingy, Hyung.” Kyungsoo added spitefully, “Gayeon-sshi will definitely get tired of you soon.”

            Chanyeol kicked the younger boy from under the table. “Yah!  Dream on, kid.”

            Baekhyun shook his head. “Kyungsoo-ah, you got to know when a man is in love, he can commit some of the weirdest crimes – for example, acting like an overly attached girlfriend.”

            “Speaking from experience?” A smirk formed on the rapper’s face as he retorted.

            “Well, if you consider being on the other side of the situation, then sure.” Baekhyun responded smugly.

            Chanyeol stabbed one of the meatballs with his fork and pointed at his same-age friend’s face, “Shut up, shorty.”

            “Tsk.” Baekhyun shook his head.

            Even though it was meant to be a light-hearted conversation, what Baekhyun said did strike a chord in the back of the rapper’s mind.  Unlike most girls, Gayeon was not the expressive type in terms of affections.  She was an introvert who was more of a workaholic than she was willing to admit.  She also worked in a male dominant field, inevitably dulling her sense of any ordinary man’s motive.  Chanyeol never considered the word insecurity would ever be tied to him.  Though, he admitted his more extrovert nature did come off (mistakenly) as desperate comparing with his girlfriend’s quiet nature at times.

            “You two are so whipped.”  Kyungsoo made a disgusted face before digging into his plate of lasagna.

            “You too, shorty number two.” He made a metal note to keep Gayeon away from Kyungsoo.  This particular team member had been acting strangely bitter ever since the news that he was dating the beautiful MMA fighter spread among the group.

            “Whatever.  Hyung, you just let me know when Gayeon-sshi decides to dump you.” Kyungsoo responded, seemingly half-serious.

            “Aish!  Really…” Just when he decided to knock some senses into his sore loser like dongsaeng, his phone rang.  “Hello?”

            “Oh hey, Chanyeol.  This is Dowan.”

            Surprised to hear his girlfriend’s kin-like sunbae on the other line, he subconsciously straightened his back.  “How are you, Hyung?”

            “Is Gayeon with you right now?” Dowan asked, his voice filled with urgency.

            “No…”

            “Shoot!” 

             A sudden loud bang on the other line made the young idol jumped a little.

            “Listen, Chanyeol.” Concern was noticeable in the older man’s voice.  “Gayeon hasn’t been responding to my calls all day…”

            A strange heaviness settled in.  “Maybe she’s—”

            “No, listen.” The MMA fighter cut him off.  “A package was sent for Gayeon today, but it reeked of foul smell, so I opened it and you know what I found?  Pig blood.”

            Chanyeol’s eyes widened.  He felt as though his breathing stopped.

            “That girl has been receiving packages sent from fans, but she is always reluctant in accepting them and that’s most likely the reason why.”

            When the call ended, he quickly checked to see if Gayeon had sent back any reply.

            Zero response.

            “Who was that?” Baekhyun frowned.  “Your face looked as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

            “I-I got to go.” Chanyeol got up from his chair.

            “Yah!  We have a rehearsal soon!  Where are you going?” Baekhyun called after his friend, but the latter had already vanished out the door.

            Gayeon stuffed her hands in the pockets of her orange jacket.  An unexpected breeze brushed against her back, making her realize that summer was finally saying goodbye as autumn was settling in.  As she strolled down the pavement alongside the water, she noticed a small pebble.  She kicked it from side to side as if she was dribbling a soccer ball.  When the pebble went off side more than she expected, she watched, deflated, as it rolled down the grassy hill.  There went her momentary distraction.

            “Gayeon!”

            She turned around and saw Minwoo running towards her.

            “I saw you from across the street and called your phone a couple of times, but you didn’t even pick up.” Minwoo said.

            “Really?” She checked her phone.  “Ah…It’s out of battery.”

            “So…Did you tell him yet?” He asked carefully.

            She stopped, shook her head, and sighed, “No.”

            “Why didn’t you?”

            ‘How could I?’ She wondered.  She knew of the idol’s hectic schedule.  Although she had only caught a glimpse of the idol’s life, she dared to assume the full extent of the pressures faced by her boyfriend was immeasurable.

            “You should tell him.” Minwoo advised firmly.

            “I don’t want to be a burden to him.” Her eyes lifted upwards to the older boy.  “It’s okay, I can handle it.”

            “You can’t.”

            “I can.” She stood her ground, though it did not seem convincing to Minwoo.  “Besides, the noise is probably dying now – it will probably vanish within just a couple of weeks.”

            He shook his head.  “That’s naïve thinking – too optimistic.  You might be able to hold it off for a couple of weeks, but what if it doesn’t stop by then?  What would you do then?  What can you do then?”

            “Oppa, if I tell him, the situation will still not change – it will only be an unnecessary thing for him to worry about.” She looked down at the ground.  “It’s not like there’s anything we can afford to sacrifice.”

            Minwoo wanted say something back, but he couldn’t.  He thought he was perhaps the one who was naïve and optimistic, believing that everything could be solved easily.  He was only a spectator after all.

            Realizing the atmosphere had suddenly become tensed, Gayeon decided to change the subject.  “You’re being rather close with Sojin eonni lately.  What’s up with that?”

            “Huh?” Taken aback by the question, he scratched his head.  “Yeah…It turned out that way somehow.”

            He was suddenly reminded of the newly debuted actress’s odd behaviours lately – not that she was normal to being with.  If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought she was demanding his undivided attention at all times – making known to the world that he only belonged to her.  He shook away the sheer horror of the thought.

            Chanyeol managed to stay hidden at the corner of the street, away from Gayeon and Minwoo’s view.  His arms hung languidly at the side.  He wished he could erase the conversation from his mind.  Words pointed to his helplessness became the haunting ghosts.

            “You’re not doing yourself or Gayeon-sshi a favour.”

            “You’re acting like a child.”

            “Who’s protecting you by the end of the day?”

            “It’s not like there’s anything we can afford to sacrifice.”

            He was incompletent and had been a willing fool to sugar coat the reality that he could not change.  Even though Gayeon knew, she still chose to take everything upon herself so that he could continue to live in his fantasy.  Just what had he done so far, except for making everyone’s life miserable, especially endangering the Deadly Beauty’s life?  He smiled bitterly.

            Gayeon picked up her charged-up phone after her shower.  She smiled at the new self-taken photos of her boyfriend.  She traced the outline of his smile on her phone screen.  She muttered, “Smiling like that has to be a crime.”

            She was elated when a new message suddenly popped up, sent from her boyfriend.

            ♥Oppa~♥: Can we talk?  Let’s meet now.

            Soon after she sent back a reply, she put on her hoodie and headed out of the house.  She walked alongside the lights shining on the street until she reached the small hill at the local park, the perfect spot to observe the beauty of the whole neighbourhood.

            “Chanyeolie oppa!”  She called out to him happily.

            “Oh, you’re here.” He responded rather dully.

            She thought his voice was suddenly weak and drained out of energy.  He was never like this before.  She wondered if she had just imagined it.

            “Gayeon-ah,” He took her hand in his.  “Let me see that ring again.”

            She looked at him blankly as he transfixed on the couple ring that he gave her a few weeks ago.

            “Oppa!” She gasped when he abruptly pulled the ring out of her finger.

            Before she could stop him, he made a hard throw at the sight of the peaceful neighbourhood.

            She stared at the backside of her tall boyfriend, disbelieved.

            “Gayeon-ah,” He spoke up, his voice was even, “Let’s end this now.”

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Author's Note:  Woohoo!!  Gayeon's back in the battle cage --> December 14, 2014!!  =D