Completely drained of energy, Chanyeol let himself collapsed onto the yoga mat.  He blinked at the fluorescent light above him as he tried to catch his breath.  He thought it was definitely a mistake to come here.  He vowed that this was the last time he would make any decision based on an impulse again.

            “Get up Oppa.” Gayeon pulled Chanyeol’s arm.

            Reluctantly, he sat up but was still panting for air.  “Can we have a break?”

            “Come on Oppa, it’s not even thirty minutes yet.  Let’s break for five at the one hour mark.”

            “Huh?  Really?”  He held his head down and groaned when he saw the clock behind him.  He mumbled, “What have I got myself into…?”

            She smiled and shook her head.  He was acting surprisingly like a child.

            Suddenly his head shot up and immediately, he was on his feet again.  “Want to make a bet?”

            She nodded cautiously, “Okay, what’s the bet?”

            “If I hold through today’s training session, then you have to grant me a wish.” He beamed broadly.

            “Otherwise, you have to grant me a wish…Okay, that’s fine with me.”  Then she added, “But you can only take a break when I do.”

            “Okay, call.” He made an ‘OK’ sign.

            “Good, then let’s get going.” She held herself back from smiling at his childishness.

            “Okay, bring it!” There was a hint of arrogance in his voice.

            As soon as the bet was made, it was if Chanyeol had turned into a completely different person.  He was no longer that easy-going oppa that only fooled around.  She was surprised how his eyes shone with a fiery determination that was befitting of his EXO fire concept.  However, she was not going to lose the bet so easily.

            “You know, you don’t have to try so hard.” She taunted.  “After all, we still have an hour left to go.  It will only get harder from here.”

            “Don’t lie.” He was on his last set of push-ups.  He was set on winning.  “That doesn’t become you.”

            ‘Damn.’ She glanced at the clock.  There was less than five minutes left.  Though, she was completely impressed with his endurance.  Minwoo had trained with her at the gym before.  However, no matter how much she had nagged at the older boy, he just took his rests as he pleased.

            Dowon clapped his hand to get everyone’s attention, “Well done guys!  Let’s have lunch now!”

            “Yes!” Chanyeol jumped in celebration at the announcement.  All of his energy was suddenly back again that he even did a small victory dance.  He threw back his head and spread out his arms.  “Yes! I won!  Woohoo!”

            She chuckled at the ridiculousness of the situation.  Sure, he had won.  However, he did not have to make such a big deal out of it. 

            “Gayeon-ah, you have to hold your end of the bet.”  He grinned brightly.

            “Of course.” She responded curtly.  “So what’s your wish?”

            “No idea.” He replied in an ‘as matter of fact’ attitude.

            Her jaw dropped.  “Then why did you make the bet if you have no idea?”  She was used to carry through bets immediately with her friends and oppas.

            “Be patient.”  He ruffled through her hair.  “I’ll let you know when I have an idea.”

            They joined the rest of Road FC members for lunch.  Gayeon sat the end of the table, attempting to stay further away from the boxes of pizza.  She had her cellphone out and started playing Candy Crush for distraction.  Meanwhile, Dowon had Chanyeol sat in the middle with rest of the guys.  They were curious about his line of work, but to put it bluntly, curious about the female idols at SM Entertainment.

            “Chanyeol-sshi, do you mind if I just call you Chanyeol?  Since Gayeon is calling you oppa and all.” Dowon brought up.

            “Yes, please feel free.” Chanyeol nodded politely.

            “Good, a friend of Gayeon is always a friend of ours.”  Dowon smiled and put a couple more slices of pizza on Chanyeol’s plate.  “Don’t hold back.  Eat as much as you want!”

            “Yes Hyung!”

            That response made Dowon grinned even wider.

            “Chanyeol hyung, what do you think of our Noona especially after today?”  Wooyoung asked as he took another huge bite of the pizza.

            Upon the question, he took a quick glance at Gayeon who was focusing on her cellphone. He answered thoughtfully, “I think it’s unbelievable that she is a MMA fighter.  She is really popular among my friends.”

            “Really?” Wooyoung found Gayeon’s popularity hard to believe.  Just then, he saw her accidentally spilled some water on herself when she was taking a drink.  “She’s so sloppy though.”

            At this, Chanyeol almost choked on his pizza.  Everyone quietly shifted their eyes on Gayeon to check if she heard.  It seemed that she was too focused on her game to notice her dongsaeng’s comment.  A few of the men actually outwardly sighed in relief.

            “So I assume we’ll see you coming here again, since Gayeon hasn’t scared you off yet.”  The guy next to Wooyong, named Yunjun remarked.  He had quite a naïve grin on his face while the majority of the men have horror struck on their faces.  He went even further and tapped Gayeon’s arm. “Gayeon-ah, don’t scare Chanyeol off like you did with Minwoo-sshi.  Think of your oppas’ future.”

            Chanyeol leaned back in his chair, trying to hold back his laugh.

            Instinctively, she threw a punch at Yunjun, but the older boy blocked it.  She gave him an annoyed look, “Oppa, if anyone, I think you guys would scare him more.”

            “Hey, hey, hey…” Acting disappointed, Chanyeol chirped in, “Don’t talk as if I’m not here.”  He would have agreed with her, but as he got to know the guys better, he found they were all friendly and warm individuals despite the tough exteriors.

            “Well, are you confident that you will come back?”  She retorted.  She thought the question would silence him for a while.  After all, usually after one’s curiosity was satisfied, he would never want to return – like Minwoo.  She rarely found anyone who would fully accept her world of MMA fighting.

            “Of course I would come back.” He announced confidently without a second thought.  “In fact…Hyung, you don’t mind if I bring a few female friends here right?”

            A round of cheers erupted.  Several people have high-fived him from across the table.  Meanwhile, some either clapped or drummed the table in an early celebration.

            Through the crowd of undying cheers, he looked to the end of table to see her reaction.  She smiled.  However, this smile was particularly different from all the other times he saw of her.  She seemed relieved.  There was also a hint of warmth in the way she looked.

            When they packed up to leave the gym, Gayeon looked to Chanyeol and asked, “Where do you want to go Oppa?”

            Confused, he responded, “I thought we’re going home.”

            “Thank you for coming to the gym today and gave it your all.” She started shyly.  “So as thank you, we will visit a place that you want to go right now.  After all, I don’t buy that going to a gym is how you want to spend your day off.”

            Her consideration made him guilty because he was the one tagging along in the first place.

            “So?”

            He rubbed his chin, “There is a place I want to go.”

            As they walked down the stairs into a hallway with many uniquely designed doors, Gayeon looked at everything in amazement.  It was her first time stepping in a professional rehearsal studio.  The room they entered was well-equipped with various types of instruments, from a keyboard piano and guitar to a complete drum set.  The walls of the room, including the door, were sound-proof with thick black Styrofoam.  There was a mic in the middle with a dimly lit light above as the stage light.  It was a perfect place for indie bands to practice.

            Chanyeol went to the drums and started to improvise a catchy rhythm.

             Gayeon ran her fingers over the shape of the guitar.  Curious, she plucked a string.  A sharp note vibrated throughout the room, startling her.  Embarrassed, she placed her hands behind her back.

            Chanyeol stopped the drumming. “Gayeon-ah, I would love to take you to tour around my company, but since it’s my day off, I don’t want to feel like I’m working. Sorry.”

            “No, this is so cool.”  Her eyes still travelled around the room, trying to imprint each image in her mind.  “It’s my first time in this kind of place.  It’s really like a different world…”

            “Any instrument you want to learn?  I can teach you.”

            “Hm…guitar?  I always think it’s cool to sing and play the guitar at the same time…Actually, why don’t you sing or play a song?”

            “A performance for one?” Then he smiled mischievously.  “Try not to fall me, okay?”

            His hand brushed hers lightly when he picked up the guitar that was lying next to her.  A small shock jolted her hand.  He walked up to the mic with a chair in one hand and guitar in another.

            “Ahem…” He cleared his throat and tested the mic.  “What should I sing…?  Okay, I know!”

            The moment he plucked the string, some short but bright notes filled the atmosphere.  The melody was ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz.  He started to sing, “Well, you done done me and you bet I felt it…”

            It was a lighthearted melody that drove the body to move left and right along with the beat.  Gayeon had seen EXO’s performance live before with the other roommates, but she had never seen Chanyeol performed a song completely by himself before.  He shone coolly as an EXO member on the stage, especially when he rapped in his naturally deep voice.  Here, as just Park Chanyeol, he shone as well.  However, it was a slightly more distinct type of charisma than the one he usually displayed on a grand stage.  It was much warmer and inviting, like his real personality.

            ‘So this is what a celebrity is like.’ She was completely mesmerized by his performance.  She had always seen him as a bright and friendly oppa.  However, it was still difficult for her to adjust to the change the moment he performed.  He suddenly became that distant, unattainable star in the sky despite his warm charisma.  She simply found it hard to believe that she knew Park Chanyeol.

            He let silence lingered the air a few more seconds after the end of the performance.  She got up from her chair and clapped with excitement.

            He spoke again, “So, did I completely capture your heart?”

            “Yes,” She joked. “Now, I think I can’t live without your voice.”

            He smiled.  Somehow, he wished what she said was true.  Quickly, he caught himself and dismissed the thought. ‘I’m definitely not in the right frame of mind today…’

            “So Oppa, are you really going to teach me?” She asked. Her eyes are as pure as those of a child, full of anticipation.

            “Of course!” He replied. ‘Alright, Park Chanyeol, time to get yourself together.’

            “We’re home!” Gayeon announced once she took off her shoes at the door.  Seeing that no one was on the main floor, she went upstairs to find everyone watching TV.  It seemed Kangjoon and Sora were not home yet.

            Followed behind, Chanyeol carried two bags of Tteokbokki that they brought on the way home.  He sat the late-night snack on the table.

            The rest of the roommates froze at the appearance of the two.

            “Daebak…” Nana’s voice was the first to be heard.

            “So what Bom said might be true…” Soohyun mumbled.

            However, Nana who was sitting next to her heard. “What is it?”

            Soohyun whispered into the younger girl’s ears.  Nana’s eyes widen, “Really?”

            “Ah, it’s good to be young.”  Soohyun commented with a hint of envy.

            “Noona, you’re still very young.”  Minwoo smiled at the older girl.

            “Did you two come back together?” Dongwook’s eyes spelled ‘shock’.

            “Wait, wait, wait…did you two spent the whole day together?” Seho joined in.

            “With no camera?” Dongwook followed up.

            “Um…” Gayeon was overwhelmed with the questions.  She knew they might find it a bit surprising that she and Chanyeol came back together since it had never happened before.  However, she didn’t expect this many questions.

            “Yeah, I was curious how Gayeon trains.”  Chanyeol said simply. “Oh yea, I got to learn a few moves too.  Seho hyung, you want to try?”

            “No thanks!” Seho waved his hands ‘no’ to make his point.  “It’s one of those experiences that doesn’t need to be tried twice.  But I will take this Tteobbokki.”

            “Chanyeol-ah, Gayeon-ah, get yourself some soup downstairs before you head to bed.” Sungwoo said as if he was speaking to his own children.

            With that, it seemed the initial shock had died down.  All this while, Sojin was seemingly more interested in her phone than her surroundings.

            Gayeon retired to her room and dropped the backpack at the end of her bed.  She took out some clean change of clothes and was about to head for the shower when she heard her name being called.

            “Gayeon.”

            “Oh, eonni.” She put down her clothes on the bed.  “Er…you want to use the bathroom first?”

            “No.” Sojin smiled. “Do you mind if we chat a bit?”

            Seeing no reason to refuse, Gayeon nodded.

            Sojin sat on her bed and gestured Gayeon to do the same.  She started off, “So how was training?”

            “It’s going pretty well.” The younger girl replied.  She thought it might be oversensitivity, but the atmosphere was somewhat uneasy.

            Just then, Sojin grinned widely, “Seems your relationship with Chanyeolie is pretty close.”

            “Huh?” Gayeon was dumbfounded at the older girl’s conclusion.  “No, I think you misunderstood.”

            “Is that really the case?  He rarely hangs out with any of the girls here…”

            “Chanyeol oppa is just a really nice oppa.  He is like an older brother to me.”  Gayeon explained seriously.  Further misunderstanding was the last thing she wanted.

            Suddenly, Sojin burst in a fit of laughter and pinched the younger girl’s cheeks.  “I’m just joking!  But you looked so serious.”

            “Really, eonni you had me worried for a second there.”  Gayeon’s shoulders finally relaxed.

            “Okay, serious girl talk now.” A tint of mischievous was in Sojin’s eyes.  “Is there anyone your type here?  Chanyeol…?  Kangjoon…?  Dongwook oppa…?  Minwoo oppa…okay, I got it.”  She had a meaningful smile upon seeing the younger girl’s reaction at Minwoo’s name.

            Gayeon’s eyes widen, “N-n-no, i-it’s—”

            “You’re stuttering.” Sojin pointed out.  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell anyone…because after all, I’m going through the same thing as you right now…”

            “Eonni, there’s someone you like here?”  Gayeon didn’t expect that.

            “Yep, it’s Chanyeolie.” She answered without a hint of embarrassment.  “Let’s cheer for each other from now on, okay?”

            Gayeon hesitated for a moment before she nodded.  She was definitely not used to ‘girl talk’.

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Author's Note:  I actually have the story all planned out...I only wish that I can write the entire story in one go so that readers can keep reading without waiting for an update (because I'm personally an impatient person).  However, it seems my limit is usually around 1000 words per day, and that's only when I have find the motivation/inspiration to write.  *Sigh...* Slow & steady it is.

Thank you all for your paitence, I will try my best to update as early as I can!