Chanyeol doesn’t know whether she will really come or not.

It was already six-thirty, just thirty minutes away from their performance but she didn’t even message him if she was on her way or if she really can’t make it.

And yes, he had finally found the reason to contact her.

It was embarrassing at first. After all, he got her number from a third party and not directly from her. He knew she wouldn’t be mad but he somehow thought that she probably won’t answer but to his amusement, she really did reply the next morning, like how Sehun told him. He’s not sure what’s with her checking her phone only in the morning but it didn’t matter because at least, he was able to relax. His friends would stop bugging him about messaging her.

And, somehow, after he replied ‘Good morning to you too. No problem. Sehun already told me. Hahaha. Kidding. Have a good day ^^’, it was followed by another text message then another and another, until it began to be just a usual thing.

“Is she okay—Of course she is! Park Chanyeol why would she not even... Ugh.”

He has been checking his phone over and over for the past hour but there wasn’t a single message coming from her. More than anything, he was worried that something might have already happened to her because she told him on a message just the day before that she would message him if she’s coming or not on the day itself. Since nobody else knows that she might come and she didn’t want anybody to know in case she would disappoint them, he doubted she’ll be texting Sehun or Seulgi. That left him the only person she could message but it was already twenty minutes away from their performance but she was still not anywhere in sight.

A call from a distance made him divert his attention from his phone to the direction of the voice. He saw Joonmyeon, Minseok, Sehun, and Jong In coming. He smiled and waved at them, the phone forgotten for the mean time.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with the others, rehearsing or something?” Minseok asked, raising an inquiring eyebrow.

“Nah, we’ve already practiced a lot for the past days,” he replied, brushing his hair up with his hand before patting it down.

“Where are the others, anyway?” Joonmyeon asked, looking behind him and Chanyeol glanced back.

“They should be in the tent. Yixing’s making sure his guitar is in a good shape. Kyungsoo went with Baekhyun to the restroom but they should be back by now.”

“You, why are you just standing here? Waiting for us?” Sehun grinned mischievously at him and he rolled his eyes.

“You wish.”

“Then what are you doing here?” Jong In asked, a sly smirk on his lips. “You’re waiting for a girl aren’t you?”

Chanyeol swallowed. He didn’t know he looked so obvious that he was waiting for someone.

“Oh, he is, he is!” Joonmyeon said, laughing.

“Shut up. I’m not okay. I’m watching the others’ performance,” he said, waving them off.

“Oh! You guys are here!” They heard a voice come from behind Chanyeol and saw Yixing coming out of a tent holding his guitar followed by Baekhyun and Kyungsoo.

They greeted each other with bro-hugs and Chanyeol was thankful that they had already forgotten their conversation a while ago.

“We’ll be performing in fifteen minutes. You guys should already find your spot. There are a lot of people so you might have a hard time looking for a good place,” Kyungsoo said.

Minseok looked at his wrist watch and nodded. “I guess you’re right. We should go.”

“Good luck guys! Treat us afterwards, okay?” Joonmyeon said grinning.

“We’ll see you from the audiences then,” Jong In said, giving Kyungsoo, the closest to him, a pat on the arm.

When the boys turned to leave, Sehun remained, smirking at Chanyeol who looked weirdly at him.

“What?”

“If you’re waiting for her, don’t even expect it. Seulgi invited her but she has to fly to China today so nope, she can’t,” Sehun said, patting him on his shoulder before turning and jogging towards the guys.

Chanyeol stood there a little surprised at what he just heard.

China?

He stared at the distance, as if waiting for her to suddenly show up but ended up laughing at himself. “What am I even doing? Why does it even matter if she came or not?” He sighed and shrugged. He already knew that she might not come but he still hoped that she’ll make it.

Turning, he went back to his respective tent, a little disappointed, and waited for their band’s turn on stage.

 

“EXO band?” A coordinator called, peeking inside the tent. The four members of the band looked up from the game Baekhyun was playing on his phone and to the person who nodded at them. “Go to the backstage. You’re next.”

The boys stood up, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo warming up their voices as Yixing made last minute adjustments to his guitar and Chanyeol checked his phone for one last time, a habit he developed for the past one or so hours that he had been doing it.

“You’ve been looking at your phone since earlier. Are you waiting for a call?” Baekhyun asked beside him flexing his long beautiful fingers and looking over the boy’s phone.

It startled Chanyeol a bit as he placed his phone on silent and vibration (just in case someone messaged him), locked it, and pocketed it. “Nope. Just checking if the guys would message us,” he lied. He wasn’t sure if Baekhyun would buy it but he didn’t want to tell him the truth either, not now at least, because he’s sure the boy won’t stop bugging him about it. Baekhyun looked suspiciously at him so Chanyeol rolled his eyes before holding the boy on his shoulders and turning him to the direction of the backstage.

When they reached the backstage, waiting for their group to be called, they could hear the cheer of the people outside as the group who just performed ended their performance. They peeked out through the side of the stage and were in awe at how many people were there.

“Didn’t think there will be so many people tonight,” Baekhyun said in astonishment.

“Oh, there are the guys,” Yixing said, a large smile on his lips. They waved at them when the four boys saw them.

Chanyeol could feel a gaze on him and he glanced down to see Kyungsoo watching him. “Who are you looking for? They’re there,” Kyungsoo said, pointing somewhere in the middle of the crowd.

“Are you hoping she’ll turn up?” Baekhyun asked stepping back and giving the boy a knowing gaze, a hint of tease in his voice.

Chanyeol felt his cheeks warm up as he shook his head. “No, what gave you the idea?”

Baekhyun smirked, leaning up to his face. “I can read your mind.”

Chanyeol scoffed, pushing his face away before looking away.

She probably really left for China.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when someone tugged at his arm, only to realize that they were already called on stage.

He doesn’t know what’s up with him but he surely needs to concentrate if he didn’t want to mess up and embarrass themselves onstage.

When they got onstage, the lights were all off as they immediately fixed their instruments, plugging in all the necessaries. Chanyeol looked on the crowd again, an urge he can’t control. But still, she was nowhere in the crowd nor anywhere near so he told himself that he should just stop thinking about it and concentrate.

And that’s what he did, after another peek at his phone. When the lights slowly opened and Yixing started counting, he’s one again with his instrument.

They would be playing a total of three songs. For the past few days, they would allot a few hours to rehearse to get ready for it. With the presence of their friends who are cheering for them so loudly they already caught the attention of more people, as their obvious head-turning looks already earned them stares since they stood there, they felt more pride in what they were doing.

Chanyeol had already momentarily forgotten about the actual disappointment that Jinhae wasn’t able to come when someone panting hard at the far back of the audiences met his eyes, catching him by surprise that he almost messed up his playing.

A short sigh of relief left his lips. He felt a smile tugging on the corners of his lips as he felt a surge of an emotion he couldn’t place take over his body. He still can’t believe it but he can’t be wrong because like he said, he could recognize her anywhere.

Even at the distance.

 

“Are we there yet?” Jinhae asked a little jittery as she looked at Kang Joon. She already leaned over the dashboard of the car, peering out.

Kang Joon stifled his laughter as he glanced at her.

“We’re near but I don’t think we’ll be able to get there on time. Relax though. You look so anxious.”

Jinhae bit her bottom lip in embarrassment and Kang Joon smirked.

In the end, she was able to move her flight although that would leave her rushing to the airport around eleven in the evening to catch her flight at one in the morning. After being dismissed from her class around four in the afternoon, she already got ready to leave for the festival but got held up because of traffic and the travel would take at least an hour and a half.

And she can’t even message Chanyeol because someone who hated her ‘accidentally’ bumped into her while she was standing by the fountain, making her drop her phone to the water. She knew she could borrow Kang Joon’s phone but she haven’t memorized Chanyeol’s number so her only choices were Sehun and Seulgi since regardless of how she memorized their numbers or not, she was sure the older boy have them, but then they might find it malicious if she suddenly asks for Chanyeol’s number and she knew her cousins won’t stop bugging her about it until she says the answer they wanted to hear and she wasn’t up for that. One because it isn’t the case, and two because it was just impossible. Also, Kang Joon would get suspicious if she suddenly borrows his phone and because she didn’t want to lie to him, she’d just have to pray to God that she’d get there on time.

But the traffic wasn’t letting her do that.

It was already a little bit past seven when they finally pulled up at Kyung Hee University’s parking lot where the festival being held can be spotted. Without even wasting a second and thinking twice, she opened the door to her side and stepped out. She was already half walking-jogging, when she heard Kang Joon call her.

“I’ll wait for you at the parking lot. Tell Sehun to you there.”

“Okay, thank you oppa.” She smiled, giving Kang Joon a quick hug that froze the older boy to his position from surprise.

When she stepped back, she grinned at him before turning back and jogging away, Kang Joon snapping back to reality as an amused smile came to his lips. Before Jinhae could even enter the entrance to the festival, he shouted, “Take care!”

Jinhae waved a hand without looking back.

When she got in, the amount of people that were walking in all directions took her by surprise. It wasn’t her first time going to a university festival. She had gone a few times before when Jongdae would drag her when she was on break and that would be in the early hours of the day or sometime in the afternoon so there wasn’t that much people as there would be at night. Never had she went when it was already night so the sight that welcomed her stunned her for a moment.

There were a lot of stalls scattered around and people eating or playing with whatever was available. Friends hang-out here and there and couples walking hand in hand could be seen everywhere you look. Even if it wasn’t her first time, she felt like it was actually her first.

“Hey, I think the EXO band is already playing. Almost everybody is already heading there,” a guy said to his friends as they passed by her which snapped her out of her trance.

“Right. The boys…” She looked above the heads of the people which was in vain because she wasn’t even that tall to begin with and guessed that following the direction where the earlier group of boys went was where the performance is being held. Hurrying over that direction, she was jogging until she already broke into a run which she hadn’t done in a long time.

She doesn’t even understand why she was this persistent but she doesn’t have the time to think of it nor would she like to think about it because she was sure enough that it could just mess her mind up.

When she finally saw the end of the crowd, she sped up a little bit more until she finally got a view of the stage meters away to the point that she can’t almost see their faces clearly. The noise of the people singing along or cheering was so loud that it almost hurt her ears but her focus was on the boys. She could only sigh in relief when she found them still performing. She stood there, knowing trying to squeeze through the people was near to impossible and watched, feeling the same as she did the first time she saw them, if not more astonished. Compared to the small-scale performance they had in the restaurant-café, the audiences they have here were ten times more than the last time, just proving to Jinhae that the boys were really that popular.

And it wasn’t something she would even doubt, not with their talents…and well, looks.

She wasn’t sure if the boys on stage could see her amongst the crowd. What’s more important for her is for them to enjoy their performance though. It wasn’t like they would have a time to call her name out nor wave at her or do some kind of fan service like how they are doing to those near the stage (although she wasn’t asking for any of that), when they were all busy with their own instruments. And she knew she wouldn’t like the attention either.

They performed one more song after she came before they finally bowed to the people. When they faced the crowd once more, she was surprised when suddenly the four boys started waving and she wasn’t sure if it was directed to her but they were looking at her direction. She looked back, out of habit, and saw everyone behind her, mostly girls, or rather fangirls, were also waving back, squealing so much she wondered how their throats were holding up with it. She bit her lip and looked forward again and saw the boys leaving the stage.

Some people started dispersing and it hadn’t occurred to her until then that she didn’t have any way to contact anyone. Her social awkwardness didn’t help and everyone looked so busy having fun that holding them back for a while seemed like a bother. Biting her lip from anxiousness, she looked up to the stage and saw a new group setting up. She tried to look over the heads of people hoping to spot any of the boys or Seulgi since she was sure they came but it wasn’t an easy feat given that she didn’t have that tall of a height.

Not wanting to just stand there knowing staying won’t help look for them, she started to walk to the side where she would have a better view of the people walking out of the barricaded area. It wasn’t easy either since the place allotted for the audience was so huge but as of that moment, that was the only thing she could think of doing.

Did they leave already…Ugh…If only I have my phone…

It was a little later when she spotted the tents which were almost secluded to her vantage point. A little smile lit up her face.

“They could be there…” She mumbled to herself.

As walked and watched for any sign of the boys or Seulgi, she can’t help but also look at others with their friends, a swelling feeling growing inside of her. They all looked so carefree for a university student getting ready to face the real world. She got no idea how it would feel because ever since she started studying in college or even when she was in her late middle school years, her time for any other things including going out with friends were all taken away from her, leaving so little to nothing. Making time for anything else wasn’t easy when as early as she was in high school, she was already exposed to their business and when she started college, her father started giving her small tasks to train her.

It wasn’t also as if she had any friends to hang-out with to start off. The only friends she had in the past years were probably Seulgi, Sehun, and Kang Joon and she hadn’t met Jongdae and Minseok until she entered university. The others were more like acquaintances more than she could call them friends. Whenever Seulgi asked her out, she would decline because more often than not, she would ask her when there’s a list of things she had to do and that was almost all the time. If ever she goes out with Sehun, it would only be a short while, sometimes after she finishes her classes. They would just eat dinner together and Sehun would have to even force her to stroll for a while. She was always around Kang Joon since he was first of all tasked by her father to guard over her and help her especially with company stuff. He was also the one who drives her wherever she needs to be and they practically grew together. Lastly, Jongdae and Minseok were friends she’d meet occasionally around the campus.

It has been long since she minded about her social life because she was too busy to even think about it and now at that moment, she realized how it was so dull compared to what she was witnessing then.

When did I even…

Her heart jumped to when she felt a hand on her shoulder and she spun around, surprised.

She could only sigh in relief when a face familiar met hers.

“Here you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

 

Four boys lagged behind the group as they watched their tallest friend act so accommodating to the oblivious girl who would just smile and nod at him every time.

Baekhyun smirked. “He likes her. He tooootally! Likes her!”

“But Chanyeol hyung has always been nice. If he invited her, of course he should treat her nice. Especially if Jinhae delayed her flight for this,” Jong In said, shrugging it off as he bit on his chicken skewer.

“True. But Chanyeol is sticking to her like a gum. Got to agree with Baekhyun here,” Kyungsoo said.

Sehun bit his bottom lip, looking a bit anxious as he watched his cousin and his best friend getting along. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy that Jinhae has met another potential friend but… “Don’t think so much about it, Sehun. It’s gonna be fine…” He whispered to himself, catching the attention of the other three walking with him.

“What are you doing talking to yourself?” Baekhyun asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Huh?”

Kyungsoo smirked, “Are you worried of Chanyeol liking Jinhae?”

“I won’t be surprised if you are. After all, its Chanyeol hyung, the girl magnet,” Jong In said, grinning.

“You’re one to talk,” Baekhyun snickered playfully.

“Loosen up Sehun. Chanyeol knows better,” Kyungsoo said, patting the younger boy on the back.

Sehun took a deep breath before scoffing. “I’m not worried, okay? They both needed that anyway.”

Yeah, she needed that.

 

Jinhae knew she made the right decision when she met them.

When Chanyeol led her to where the others were, the surprise in their faces and how they welcomed her warmly was enough to convince her that there’s no regret in going there. Although Sehun looked at her suspiciously and Seulgi didn’t turn up because of some matters, it didn’t feel that bad as it did on their first meeting. They were all nice and friendly as they were before and she just felt so good. Something she hadn’t felt in weeks.

“Is this really okay?” She heard someone ask as she watched the boys play against each other at a dart game where they had to pop the balloons. She turned her head and saw Chanyeol by her side, hands tucked in his jeans pocket and watching his friends.

She looked down and nodded. She looked at the boy again and then at Sehun who looked like he was having the best time of his life. “It’s fine.”

This time, Chanyeol looked at her and feeling his gaze, she looked at him. Jinhae noticed it again. The way his eyes would sparkle as light hits it and how clear it was, you could already see yourself reflecting on it. For others, it might look like he’s about to cry but for her, it looked really nice.

She smiled softly. “I’m fine. Sehun shouldn’t have told you about it, really.”

Chanyeol bit his lower lip and sighed. “You could’ve taken a rest even a bit if I didn’t…”

“If you didn’t invite me, I’ll still be restless so don’t be sorry. I’m actually thankful you invited me here. Thank you. It means a lot,” she said, smiling more brightly at him, hoping she’ll convince him to stop being sorry.

Chanyeol stared at her for a moment before giving in and nodding. “Alright but I’ll surely make this up to you. Since you’ve taken time to come here, you can call me whenever and I’ll surely be there, no matter how busy I am. That’s a promise!” He grinned.

Jinhae looked surprised as she shook her head. “No, it’s fine—“

“I’ll not feel better unless you accept it,” Chanyeol shrugged his shoulders, an unconscious pout on his lips, “It’s either you take it or I continue being sorry. I don’t mind either.”

Jinhae was speechless for a while as she stared at Chanyeol who did the same stubbornly. She finally chuckled, shaking her head. “Okay. I didn’t know you could also be mean, Chanyeol-ssi.”

Chanyeol grinned, “Only if it’s for you.”

Chanyeol finally turned forward again while Jinhae was stunned at the words he just said, her cheeks turning warm against the cold wind.

For me? What did that mean?

Slowly, a smile came to her lips. Regardless, it sounds good.

“Jinhae, you should try this too!” Yixing’s voice cut through her thoughts before a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her to the front.

 

Chanyeol knew bringing her was a good thing. But that was before he found out that she has to wake up early tomorrow for the conference. Nevertheless, seeing her relaxed compared to that night he saw her told him it was still worth it. He just has to pay back the stolen sleep she would miss, although he wasn’t sure how he would do that.

“Uh… I don’t know how to play it,” she said, staring at the dart board in front of her.

“Chanyeol will teach you!” Baekhyun said before he was pulled to the girl’s side. Chanyeol stared wide eyed at Baekhyun who grinned at him, winked and nodded towards Jinhae mouthing, “Go.”

Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows at him and Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Now’s your chance, stupid,” he said as softly and unnoticeable as possible with gritted teeth.

Chanyeol groaned inwardly. He should’ve already figured that his friends wouldn’t stop with the match making game they’re doing. No matter how many times he told them he doesn’t like her that way, they would still insist to pair them up. He’s the one who feels sorry because obviously Jinhae isn’t someone who’s looking for anyone and was too oblivious with what the boys were doing.

“Hurry up, Yeol. Jinhae’s waiting!” Yixing exclaimed and he finally turned to Jinhae who was fumbling with the dart in her hand.

Sighing, he grabbed a dart and stood beside her.

“Have you played dart before?” Chanyeol asked, angling his aim already.

“Not really but I’ve watched some play it,” Jinhae said, watching Chanyeol’s hand.

“Okay. Uhm… It’s just the same. But you have to aim for the balloons,” he said, before throwing his dart and it hit a balloon, making it burst.

Chanyeol turned towards her. “Try it,” he smiled and Jinhae nodded.

He watched her as she bit her bottom lip as she focused on an aim, making him softly smile to himself unconsciously.

She finally threw the dart but missed her target, the dart tumbling to the floor. Her face flushed.

“I don’t think this is a game for me,” she said softly, and Chanyeol chuckled. She felt her shoulder slumping and Chanyeol cleared his throat, in an attempt take back what he just did.

“Sorry… I didn’t mean to laugh…” Chanyeol said, rubbing his neck.

“No, it’s fine. I’m not really fit for this, I guess,” she forced on a smile and Chanyeol pressed his lips together, shaking his head.

“It’s your first try. Everyone could fail at their first tries. Here,” Chanyeol grinned at her, before grabbing a dart and positioning it on her hand. He went behind her, her long arms outstretched to her hand as he both held her hand and the dart and positioning it properly.

Jinhae stiffed under him but Chanyeol was too preoccupied to notice as he looked for an aim.

“Okay. In the count of three…” Jinhae focused back on what is on hand but still had a little hard time with the boy’s hand on hers. “You ready?” Chanyeol asked and she nodded her head startled. “One… Two… Three!” Chanyeol directed her hand and the dart went flying to the board and a balloon burst, making her eyes widen in surprise.

“It hit a balloon!” Jinhae exclaimed in delight as she turned to face him, forgetting how he was standing so close to her. Chanyeol smiled widely before looking down at her, his face warming up realizing how close they were and stepped back.

“Uh… Sorry…” Chanyeol said in an embarrassed voice and Jinhae avoided his eyes, swallowing.

“It hit it,” she said, trying to forget about how awkward it was while Chanyeol slowly smiled and nodded.

“You did it,” he said, nodding. “Should we try one more?” He asked and Jinhae nodded, turning back again to the game.

Chanyeol took a deep breath. His heart beating so fast in his chest. “What’s wrong with me,” he mumbled to himself.

“What?” Jinhae asked, looking back at him and he shook his head, smiling.

“Should try and get a toy?”

“That’s sounds great.”

As they played, they hadn’t noticed that their friends who were supposed to be with them had gone and left them.

---

A/N

Hi guys! 

Okay... I don't know if there are anybody reading this right now but I know and I understand if most of you have already got tired waiting for this story. I'm sorry for letting you guys wait and thank you if ever you are still here. I don't know how long until I can update again but I'll do my best to post a new chapter as soon as I can. 

Thank you and comments are welcomed!