Chanyeol couldn’t stay in his place. Milan was with Taemin. That wasn’t a good thing for him. Even though he knew Taemin didn’t have any interest in Milan, Milan might fall in love with Taemin. Taemin was always Milan’s wish and dream. And they were practically going on a date. Perfect.

He didn’t want to go back to rehearsing or training. He wanted to be alone and think about how to tell Milan that he still loves her. She might reject him again. He didn’t want that. He wanted to court her even though it was something completely new to him. Filipino culture was very different compared to Korean culture but he didn’t care. He wanted to get her.

Chanyeol went out of the building after asking permission from his vocal trainer. He wasn’t sure where he would walk to. He wasn’t sure where he’ll end up but he was sure he didn’t want to be anywhere near the company building or the restaurant Milan and Taemin were going to eat in.

He jumped into his car and drove aimlessly through the streets of Seoul. He turned his radio up and listened to the pop music, to the product of the industry he was in for almost ten years. He didn’t mean to go there but he ended up by the Han River.

Chanyeol slowly went out of his car, wearing his cap, mask, and shades and walked along the river. It was peaceful. The river was peaceful. The weather was fair. It was perfect for Chanyeol to think things through there.

“I can’t control her,” he confessed to himself. “I can’t manipulate her feelings. She’s human. She has her own mind. She can decide on her own, whether to leave or love me.”

It was harsh on Chanyeol but it was true. It was her choice. It was her choice to reject him back then. But who was to blame? Milan? No, it wasn’t her fault. Chanyeol was the one who decided to give his all to her. He was the one who decided to love her and to accept whatever may happen.

“But I can… change the odds. I can somehow convince her I’m not like the others,” he tried cheering himself up. “I may not be as famous as Luhan-hyung or as perfect as Taemin. I may not be even better in anything compared to all the guys she likes but I’m the one she trusts the most. I’m her best friend and there are privileges that come with it.”

Chanyeol kept on talking to himself as he walked along. Lucky for him, there weren’t any fans loitering around. Maybe because it was a school day.

When Chanyeol decided going back to SM, he received a call from Milan.

“I need to talk to you.”

Chanyeol suddenly felt nervous. Usually, in dramas, when people say this, the protagonists are in deep trouble. Milan sounded urgent.

“Why?”

“Just go to the recording room at the end of the third floor. I’ll be in there.”

Then she hung up.

Chanyeol slowly removed his phone from his ear and gulped. Though they weren’t dating, this felt like one of those break-up scenes. And Chanyeol wasn’t ready to break up with Milan. He didn’t even have the chance to date her!

Chanyeol quickly went into his car and drove to the building. When he passed by Baekhyun, the vocalist couldn’t ignore the look on Chanyeol’s face.

“What are you doing? Where are you going?”

“Milan, going to see Milan. I think Milan’s breaking up with me.”

“You’re not even dating. Didn’t she grab lunch with Taemin?”

“That’s it! We haven’t dated but she’s already dumping me,” Chanyeol panicked.

When Baekhyun understood the situation, he snickered. Chanyeol may be Milan’s best friend but he can’t guess how that girl thinks sometimes. Luckily, Baekhyun was a master of womanly arts. He already guessed Milan was just playing games with Chanyeol and she was actually going to tell him something good.

“Just… Get going, Yoda. May the force be with you,” Baekhyun said before going to his next schedule, leaving Chanyeol wondering what Baekhyun’s smile was for.

Finally, Chanyeol arrived in front of the door of the recording room Milan told him to meet her. He was nervous. His hands were shaking. He was sweating buckets. He couldn’t put himself to open the door. He couldn’t even touch the doorknob.

Chanyeol heard something being played in the recording room. It was as if Milan was having one of her composing sessions. But Chanyeol knew it wasn’t a composition of hers. It was an old song, an old BEAST song but Chanyeol couldn’t pinpoint which.

Chanyeol opened the room. The lights were dimmed. The walls were covered with various paintings. There was a red couch at the right of the room. Chanyeol then remembered this was the recording room Milan was given. She would only come here when she wants to concentrate or when she wants to be alone. She records her demos here and gives them to the idols.

Milan was seated on the couch and was playing her piano. When she noticed the door opening, she looked at Chanyeol and warmly greeted him with a smile, a smile Chanyeol always loved.

“Annyeong, oppa!” She said, moving herself to give Chanyeol space to sit next to her. Chanyeol did sit next to her and relaxed for a bit. She didn’t look mad. She didn’t look sad. She looked happy actually. Maybe she had good news concerning Taemin. Chanyeol suddenly wondered where Taemin was.

“Hey, oppa,” Milan pressed another key. “I’ve heard things from Taemin-oppa.”

“You call him oppa already?”

“He let me. He said it would make me more comfortable with him and vice versa. Anyway, I call him oppa in my SNS accounts so it’s better.”

“So why did you call me out for?”

Milan showed a small smile and pressed consecutive keys, playing “No More”.

“Chanyeol-oppa, were you lying to me? Do you still love me?”