The corners of Chanyeol’s lips curved upward as he read through the recipe on his notebook one last time before reaching the Roommate house.  He wondered what kind of expression Gayeon would make.  ‘She will probably look up with those puppy eyes again…Since she’s so short, she would have to look up.’ The mere image in his head made him chuckle.

            “Okay, we’re here.” The manager said as he glanced at the rear mirror.

            “Thanks Hyung!” Chanyeol stuffed the notebook in his backpack.  He went to the back of the van and took out several bags.

            “Chanyeol, wait!” The manager waved for him to come to the front of the van.  “Come here for a sec.”

            “Yes Hyung?” Carrying several bags in both hands, he walked awkwardly to the front.

            “You’re a smart guy and you’re really the last person I should be saying this to…” The manager started off.  “But as you are the main visual of EXO, I want to remind you to stay mindful of how you behave in these types of variety shows.”

            Clueless, Chanyeol asked, “Did I make any mistake that I need to be aware of?”

            “Well no, but I keep getting this ‘schoolboy-in-love’ vibe from you lately.  I hope I’m wrong.  However, even I’m right — I certainly hope it’s not anyone from a variety show such as this.  Even though we have a deal with the PD to ensure you have no ‘love-line’, it would still be a burden for the editing team, don’t you agree?”  The manager explained.

            “Hyung, that’s what you’ve been worrying about?” Chanyeol laughed in relief.  “I’m not sure why you’re getting that kind of vibe from me, but I can guarantee you’re wrong.”

            The manager nodded at Chanyeol’s words with satisfaction.  “Alright, I have to get going.  Just give me a call if anything happens.”

            “Yes Hyung! Drive safely!” Chanyeol waved his manager goodbye.

            After the van disappeared, he sighed and carried the bags to the front door.  He finally got the key from his pocket after some struggle with the bags still in his hands.  He was about to turn the key when the door flung opened unexpectedly.

            “Ack!”

            Instantly, he dropped the bags and caught the person who bumped into him.

            Ba dum, ba dum…

             He froze.  There it was again – a rhythm that was strong enough to ring through his ears.  He felt it last time when he was at the gym with Gayeon.  The feeling was suddenly rushing back like the ocean wave.  Slowly, he casted his eyes down to the person caught in his arms.

            Ba dum, ba dum…

            It was not his imagination after all – it was Gayeon.

            There was a mild tangerine fragrance from the shampoo she used.

            Ba dum, ba dum…

            When she lifted her head to see, he noticed for the first time just how long and thick her eye lashes were.  They naturally curled up slightly too.

            Ba dum, ba dum…

            “Oppa.”

            At the sound of her voice, he immediately let go of the embrace.

            “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were behind the door.” Gayeon apologized.  She kneeled down to help pick up the bags he had dropped earlier.

            “That’s alright.” He started picking up the fallen items as well.  Just then, his hand flinched at the meeting of the Deadly Beauty’s hand.  For a brief moment, it was if an electric shock buzzed through him.  He got embarrassed but relieved at the same time when he realized that she didn’t notice.

            She helped him carry a few of the bags back into the house.  The house seemed to lack the presence of other roommates.

            “Alright, I’m gonna head out for a jog.” She announced.

            “Wait, when are you going to be back?” He asked before she headed out.

            “Probably in an hour?” A blank look was on her face.  “Why?”

            “Oh nothing.” He smiled. “Fighting!”

            She humorously did the fighting pose before leaving the house.

            He was glad that he had more than enough preparation time.  However, what happened earlier troubled him.  Carefully, his hand covered over where his heart was.  The ridiculous drumming was not calming down.

            When Gayeon came back from her jog, she noticed there was a scent in the air that strangely reminded her of her home by the water long ago.  It was a familiar and comforting aroma.  Curiously, she followed the scent.

            “You’re just in time.  Come and try this.” Chanyeol put a plate of kimchi omelette on the table.

            “What…what is this?” She felt goose bumps all over her at the sight of the familiar dish.

            “Sit down and try it.” He pulled the chair out for her and pushed her into the seat.

            “Oppa, you made this?” She looked up to him for confirmation.  She stared back at the plate, still unable to believe it.  “Why…? How…?”

            “Shh!  Don’t say anything and just take a bite.” Then he exasperated jokily, “Hurry, hurry!”

            Finally, she picked up the spoon and delicately cut off a small portion of the omelette with the edge of the spoon.  The moment the omelette was cut, a second wave of delicious aroma flowed into the air.  The texture was a little bit drier than what she was accustomed to.  However, the taste was right on.  It was the same taste she had experienced many times over since childhood.

            His eyes looked on with anticipation. “So?”

            She nodded and smiled. “It’s good…It’s really good.”

            “You’re not lying, right? You’re not making that expression just to convince me?”

            “No, I’m not lying. It’s really good!”

            “Really?  Can I take your words for it?” Then he confessed, “Actually, I don’t know what it tastes like since I’m not good with spicy food.”

            “Really, it’s delicious!” She stated firmly with an earnest expression on her face.  She scooped up a spoonful of the omelette and extended it across the table.  “Here Oppa, try it. It’s not spicy at all.”

            Ba dum, ba dum…

            The cursed sound was there again, drumming from his chest.  She looked completely unaware of the effect from her innocent and childlike gesture.  “It’s unfair…are you seducing me right now?” By the time he realized, the words already escaped from his mouth.

            She was taken aback. “T-that’s…n-not…” Completely flustered, she slowly drew back her hand.

            ‘Ah, screw it!’ He decided whatever would happen next, the PD would edit it out.

            Just before she completely retreated, he grabbed her wrist and stopped her.  He took the spoonful of omelette into his mouth.  Her eyes widen in shock at his sudden action.  His gaze never left hers.  Her heart skipped a beat.

            “It’s delicious.” He commented as he relaxed back in his chair.

            Dazed, she only nodded at his comment.  She looked down, trying to focus on finishing off the omelette.

            He secretly smiled as he watched her trying to avoid his eyes.  He wanted to make a comment about ‘indirect kiss’ just to further.  However, he held back.  He had meant this just as a small revenge anyways.

            ‘What should I do?’ She panicked.  Her heart had never beaten this fast before, albeit training at the gym.  It did not seem to be calming down anytime soon either.  Suddenly, just knowing that Chanyeol was sitting right across from her had made the whole situation all the more suffocating.

            “Gayeon-ah.”

            “Yes?” Her head shot up abruptly at her name.

            He almost laughed out loud at her reaction.  She looked like a deer in headlights.  He said, “I’m sending you something, so don’t pick up your phone yet until I say so.”

            “What?” She was puzzled at his request.

            He looked up from his phone.

            She quickly looked down at the plate of omelette again.

            He smirked. “Just be patient and listen to this oppa.”

            After a few moments, she felt her phone vibrated in her pocket.  She took out the phone.

            “Don’t look at it yet.” He took the phone from her hand and lay it down on the table.

            After the phone vibrated for several more times, he finally gestured for her pick it up.

            She noticed several message notifications all sent by Chanyeol.

            She found several picture files and a video clip attached to the message.  She was at a complete loss for words when she opened the first picture file.  There was a young teenage boy with a gummy smile.  He was wrapping his arm over the woman standing next to him.  The woman was in her late forties and had an apron on.  They were standing in front of a convenience store.

            As she scrolled through the photos, a smile was beginning to emerge from the initial surprise.  She finally laughed at the last photo.  It was a rather goofy one.  Besides the woman and the teenage boy, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were also there as well.

            “It’s my aunt and cousin.” She finally spoke up.  Then she sighed heavily.  “The last time I saw them, I had a big argument with my aunt.  She was against the path I choose to take…She probably still is.”

            “You should take a look at the clip.” He told her softly.

            She nodded, but still ended up hesitating for a few more moments before she mustered the courage to press the play icon on the video clip.

            “Gayeon noona!” The teenage boy in the video waved frantically at the camera.  “Daebak! You know EXO?  You’re the best!”

            The woman who was standing behind smacked the boy’s back.  She gave the boy an annoyed look.

            “Omma!  It hurts!”

            Gayeon laughed at the familiar interactions of the two.  The video clip continued to play.

            “Gayeon.” Her aunt had a stern expression on her face when she called her niece’s name.  “Have you experienced enough hardships yet?  Are you in pain right now?  Are you regretting right now?”

            Guilt surged through Gayeon at her aunt’s words.  She knew her aunt hated to see her niece to follow such path, especially after the young fighter’s father had passed away.

            Suddenly, her aunt’s expression softened.  She sighed.  “I wish you would say you’re regretting your decision and that you want to come back home…But I guess that’s not possible now, right?  How I wish for you to be more lady-like.”  She smiled.  She seemed to be reminiscing the past.  “After all, you are your father’s daughter.  Both of you are stubborn to the bones.  So what can I do now?  I guess I’m getting old now…The world is probably changing a lot more than I anticipated.  I probably don’t know the rules anymore, so all I can do is pray.  I pray that you won’t get hurt and that you will continue to grow up healthy.  I wish you will answer my prayers.  Gayeon-ah, you are a fighter, right?  Then the only way for you to grant the wish of this old fool is to win your matches and come home safely.”

            Gayeon tried to hold back her tears at this.  However, all effort was for nought.  Tears already found its way to stream down her face.

            “Yah!” The video continued.  Her aunt suddenly made an angry expression.  “You better win and come home once in a while, you understand?  We’re family and what good is family when they can’t even see each other?  So that’s all I’m going to say…win and come home.”

            “Omma, you’re saying a lot already.  Noona is going to fall asleep.”  The teenage boy found his way back into the camera view.  “Noona, I didn’t know you became a celebrity until now.  Wait until I tell my friends!  By the way, can you please bring a few female idols to visit when you come home?”

            The video soon came to an end with another smack on her cousin by the aunt.

            Gayeon smiled softly at the scene.  Watching this video clip, she felt as it was just yesterday that she saw them.  It seemed nothing had change except for a couple of things — how the two have aged and her aunt’s support at last.

            “Thank you.” She dried off the tears in her eyes.  “Really, thank you Oppa.”

            “No problem.  It’s my present to you since I can’t make it to your debut match.”  He said.

            “But…” A question bugged her.  “How did you find the place?  It’s quite secluded…”  It had probably been one of the reasons why the convenience store business was not doing well.

            “Yeah, I admit it took some work.  But then again, there’s nothing that’s impossible for me.” He grinned.  “Besides, I think it’s all worth it…I get to see a different side of Song Gayeon.  Also, there’s free home-made kimchi as well.”

            “Thank you.”  She said again as she did not know what other ways she could possibly express just how grateful she was for what he did.

            “Daebak, daebak, daebak…” Nana whispered to herself.  She thought she had made the right decision to hide herself from their view.  Otherwise, she would not have witnessed their interactions.  “Something is definitely up with them.”

            “What’s up with whom?”  Kangjoon suddenly popped up beside her.  “Noona, why are you walking around with a facial mask still on your face?”

            Nana quickly covered his mouth and motioned him to stay quiet.  “Fool!  Chanyeol and Gayeon are there…do you want to appear as a light bulb?”

            He was confused at what the older girl was saying.  “Noona, I have to leave for my schedule, so I want to grab a bottle of water.”

            ‘Go buy one instead!’ She tried desperately to get the message across through hand signals.

            However, Kangjoon didn’t get the hint and walked into the kitchen anyways.  He announced rather awkwardly, “Hi everyone, just pretend I’m not here.  I’m just going to get some water and leave.”

            Nana pinched the bridge of her nose behind the wall at Kangjoon’s awkwardness.

            Both Chanyeol and Gayeon were surprised at Kangjoon’s sudden appearance.  Especially Chanyeol, he thought no one else was in the house.  Suddenly suspicious, he got up from his chair and looked at the area around the stairs.  However, he didn’t see anybody.  He concluded if it was just Kangjoon, then he probably didn’t hear much.  After all, the young actor was a bit of an oddball at times anyways.

            Gayeon walked up to the door.  “I’m going out for a jog.”

            “Again?” Chanyeol responded, dumbfounded. 

            “Yeah, to shed off the omelette weight.”  She smiled awkwardly. ‘And to clear my head.’

            All this while, Kangjoon began to wonder if he did do something unnecessarily.

            Nana thought she just lost ten years of her life when she bolted back to her room.  Being a spy was not as fun as she thought it would be. 

            “Nana-ah, what took you so long? Did you get the wine?” Soohyun was lying on the bed with a mud mask on.

            “Eonni, you should stop drinking so much.”  Sojin also had on a facial mask.  She was flipping through a fashion magazine on Nana’s bed.

            “Yeah, forget the wine.  I just witness something better.  It’s about our residents — Gayeon and Chanyeol!” Nana smiled.

            Sojin put down the magazine.  Her ears perked up at the mention of those names tying together again.

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Author's Note:  For those who might be interested, a new gayeol story by me:  I Don't Care About Her/Him

Have a great day!