Not wanting to roam too much on the road, you two ended up at another coffee shop.

“So, how’s the album going?”

“Pretty good, we’re working on a few finishing touches!”

“Ohh, what kind of concept are you guys doing this time?” you’re trying to dig some spoiler from him.

“Yah! It’s a secret!” he hushed own his lips, smiling when you pout out of disappointment.

“Come on, giant! Give me a hint?” you’re being indelible.

“Umm…” Chanyeol thought for a moment. He then leans closer to you, as if wanting to whisper it to your ears. Automatically, you also lean your body forward, your head meeting his. Eager, you tilt your head to the side so that he can properly gaze his lips over your ears. Shivers travel down your spine as his breath softly touch your earlobe. One breath. Two. You’re getting impatient so you turn your head to sound your protest.

“Chan--!”

“Bimil(it’s a secret)!” he whispered fast, than kissed your cheek. Yup, his lips touched your cheek. Just slightly, just for a split second, just like that. ‘just like that’ are however enough to make your heart race, your cheeks warmer than your body, your brain to stumble against itself, making it harder for you to think than when you’re facing your final test of becoming a doctor in which you studied the last whole year for.

Seeing your whole flustered body, Chanyeol lean back and chuckle to himself.

“Aigoo, this cute bunny~,” he folded his arms.

Taking back your self-control, you eyed him and folded your arms as well. “You sly fox,” you mumbled.

“Ehehehe,” he laughed his usual signature laugh.

All these years since you met him, since your little jungle adventure; his laughs never change. His smiles, his ways of making you feel happy. Never has he failed to do so.

You were looking at each other’s eyes, unable to wipe the smile on both of your faces. How thankful you were to have him. How thankful he is to have you. The sweet innocent looks were slowly turned to a competition. Well, that’s what happen when two competitive man and woman met anyway.

As if you share some sort telepathy, without a single word the competition has begun. Blink first, loser.

Complete silence and concentration for the first 15 seconds.

Then, he starts carefully making faces, trying to make you laugh. You bit your lips to hold yourself in.

Another 5 seconds passed.

That’s when you heard a blunt thud behind Chanyeol. Just over his board shoulders, you saw a man fell from his chair, clutching his left chest.

“I WIN!!” Chaneyol claimed his victory as you blinked when you avert your vision to take a better look at the fallen man.

Finding your priorities straight as a medical graduate, you ignored him and rushed nearer to the scene. Finally looking at where your attention was taken from his, Chanyeol rose from his seat. He took a step back.

- - -

“Excuse me, I’m a doctor. Please let me have a look!” you broke the gathering crowd. Acting fast, you kneeled down and checked on the middle aged, definitely over-weighted, and now unconscious man. You can’t feel his carotis pulse.

“Ambulance!” you said to yourself first. Then, louder. “Ambulance!! Someone please call the ambulance!” you then turn to the only person you knew in the room. “Giant! Chanyeol-ah! Please call an am--“

He’s gone. He’s no longer at where you were seated. You tried to look for him, but as the crowd is gathering and a dying man is in your hands, you have to let him slip out. At least for now.

“Please call the ambulance and ask them to bring a defibrillator,” you finally talked to the young worker girl that still held her serving pan. She quickly nodded and ran back to the counter, frantically asking for the telephone.

Another man; in glasses, slighty younger but equally over-weighted, and seemed to be his companion, kneeled beside you, confused and panicked as he kept on patting the buddy’s cheeks, asking him to wake up and answer him.

“Ajusshi, is he your friend?” you asked. Trying to calm him down.

“Ne, ne, please do something! You said you’re a doctor, aren’t you?”

“Does he have a history of any heart disease?” you asked while ripping the fallen man’s shirt off, lying him flat on the floor.

“Uh.. uh.. Hypertension! He has been taking hypertension pills,” he finally blurted out.

“Thank you,” you simply answered as you started your chest compression.

*     *     *     *     *

Chanyeol looked from outside the window as you do what you have to do. He ran away from the scene. Yes, as the crowd is gathering, he didn’t think of anything else but to back out of the coffee shop. Afraid, perhaps? He then regretted it as soon as he sees you work there alone.

“Pabo!” he scolded himself. “Why did you ran away?!” he hit his own head, not believing that he has just left you there by yourself. He took some distance off the glass window, a little far but enough to still recognize the image of you doing your resuscitation. Another image flashes his mind.

-

Both you and him on the wrecked, torn, crashed airplane. You, trying desperately to bring back a dead friend. Him, stopping you before you waste too much of your own energy. How he was so amazed at everything that you did. How he can’t believe that this tiny fragile girl is trying to bring life to her friend. How his heart broke seeing you cry. How you fought his hand that prevent you from hitting your friend’s unmoving chest. How much he wanted to just hug you at that moment and be your shoulder to cry on.

-

He bit his lower lips. He can’t leave you again. What if you didn’t succeed this time around? Who will you lean on? What if you succeeded? Who will comfort your aching hands? It has to be him. He doesn’t want anyone else to be beside you.

It simply has to be him.

He slowly walked closer to the door, careful not to bring any attention to himself.

Something stopped him, however.

A man, just about his age, looking clean, neat, and smart too, tapped your shoulder and exchange a few words with you. Chanyeol is outside hearing range, so he just stilled and watch from outside the door. He saw you nodded and exchange places with the guy. The new guy is now compressing and you’re on the fallen man’s head, giving mouth to mouth breaths every time he stopped compressing. You and the unknown young man exchange places every now and then. Chest compression and breathing. Working in sync with each other. Something tightens around the unmoving giant, but he just hasn’t realized it.

He didn’t know how long he stood there, but a shouting from behind him finally snap him out, moving him to make room for the door. The ambulance came. As soon as the paramedics came, he saw the young lad tapped your shoulder and help you clear around the dying man. The job is now in the hands of the paramedics. You and the guy backed off, wiping your sweat off your forehead. Just then, the young man offered his handkerchief and you gladly accept it, before shaking hands with him with a smile of pure thankfulness.

Chanyeol’s hand hurts. He didn’t realize he has been holding to the doorknob, somehow squeezing it so hard until his cramps himself. “This feeling. I felt it before. But it’s stronger now, so much stronger,” he thought to himself. His hands were cramping, but something else has made his breaths shorter, harder to maintain. His chest felt like it was tied with a steel chain. His heart beating like it wants to escape his ribs and ran to your direction.

“Why did you leave her? Why can’t you see she was looking for you? Why are you so afraid of getting recognized? Isn’t she more important to you than a few fan accounts that SM can easily take down?” He questions himself over and over again, regretting this action of running away. Well yeah, the agency might scold him for going on a ‘date’, but for the sake of being with the one he loves, shouldn’t he stayed? Then, everything worsen when he sees you with that man. “I should’ve recognized this feeling earlier. So this is it.. It’s really … I’m -”

“Oppa? Chanyeol oppa?!”

*     *     *     *     *

The dying man is now going to live. Jolts of electricity were sent through his heart and the machine has finally detected a steady though weak pulse. The paramedics came to you and the young man beside you, asking a few question regarding the events.

“So, based from your name, you’re not from here are you?” the man who helped you just now asked, flashing an extremely charming smile. His name was Jung Jinhwan, as he has just announced it to the paramedics just now.

“Ne, I’m here to study for skin and beauty specialist, you see,” you replied politely.

“Ah, how long have you been here?” he asked, surprising you with quite a fluent English and without much accent.

“Only four months,”

“Oh, your Korean is really good, then!” he complimented your language skill.

“And you English too!”

And so the conversation goes. Turns out this handsome young man here is two years older than you and is a fellow doctor, working at the same hospital as you do, meaning he’s your senior. He is taking a surgeon’s specialist and was going for coffee when he saw you struggle alone.

“How am I supposed to leave a lady performing such tiring job by her own?” he opened the coffee shop door for you. Why does Korea has so much gentleman around? “Why are you here alone anyway?” he asked once you both stepped out of the shop.

Instantly, your mind snap and you look around for that particular giant. Chanyeol was, unfortunately, nowhere to be found.

“You’re looking for someone. You’re not alone then? Where is your friend?” he asked again based on your actions.

“Ah, no, I’m here alone. I’m just reminded of something. I need to go, thanks for the drink, sunbaenim,” you shook the drink he just bought you and bowed, intending to go and find Chanyeol.

“Wait, where are you going? Let we walk with you!”

So you let him walk with you, for your own ‘friend’ were nowhere to be found. you lied to him and said you’re just going back to start your night shift at the hospital. Little that you knew, Chanyeol has escaped from the little girl that recognized him and was now going back to fetch you up. The guilt he felt were too much for him to stayed back even when he knew he only had a little time before practice starts again.

His intention was never fulfilled.

Another wave of regret washes over him when he saw you walk with the young man. You, looking equally happy as the man, chatting and laughing as you walk.

“I shouldn’t have come back. She’s with a better companion. I should have just gone back to SM and pretend that I didn’t see anything,” Chanyeol sighed. Once again, his hits own head as a little punishment for leaving you which results in his own jealousy.

With his chest heavy, his head hung down, his heart sunk and his brain fumbled against itself, he put his aching hand in his pocket and turns his back on you; walking back to his dear dungeon where he has to sing and dance along with his fellow band mates.