Yet that felt natural.

  Chanyeol emerged from the bathroom, his shirt and hair both damp, and I glanced at him cautiously.

 "Alright there?"

  He shrugged. And then there was this silence. I shifted from foot to the other, and he eventually cleared his throat.

 "I, um,"- he started, hesitantly, avoiding my eyes, "I think you should go."

  An unusual wave of disappointment surged through me, although it wasn't clear why, I nodded. "Okay."

  I followed him downstairs, and refused when he offered me a ride home. 

 "I don't live far, I'll just take a bus."

  With this, I turned away when suddenly his voice stopped me.

 "Hey."

  His shoulders were tensed, as if it took him an effort to force the word out of his mouth, but his eyes were soft, unguarded. "Thanks."

  Something in me tugged and I found myself coming closer to him. "Give me your phone,"- I said, my palm outstretched and lifted towards him.

  His eyebrows shot up, but he dug around in the pocket of his trousers, before fishing out a sleek white cell. He pushed it into my hand, our fingers brushing briefly. Studying the phone, I pressed the bottom, and the screen lighted up.

  A picture of Chanyeol and a brunette came into view. She was a vision of pure beauty, her eyes sparkled and her lips full. His arm draped around her; they seemed utterly blissful.

  A keypad flashed on the screen, and I handed the phone back to Chanyeol for him to key the password, but he shrugged.

 "Two-zero-zero-one,"- he informed me , simply.

  I keyed the numbers in, my mind reeling with two newly found revelations. One- I've just seen Chanyeol's girlfriend, and two- that he didn't hesitate giving me his password. Finally his full, blind faith in his girlfriend's goodness made sense to me.

  When I was done entering my cellphone number into his contact list, I have his phone back.

 "Don't ever prank call me,"- I warned, a trading smile on my face. "Call me in case you are dying, or not being a pain in the neck."

  He nodded silently and I watched him before doing something that completely surprised both of us. Winding my arms around him, I pulled him into a hug. He kept silent, but his palms against my back and his soft breaths against my hair as he pulled me tighter against his chest. His grip was painful, almost demanding and I felt the desperation that I felt in its force. 

  But I let him hold me, maybe for a moment, or two, before eventually pulling back. 

 "You are going to be fine,"- I repeated, gently. "I promise."

  Letting my words longer in the air, I left, feeling the heavy and intent gaze of his eyes boring two holes in my back until I passed the driveway.

 

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

 

  The sound of my cell vibrating against the hard wood of my desk, woke me up in th middle of the following night. I my side, wondering who could possibly be on the other line at such an ungodly time at night - or morning, as I realized when I flicked the switch of the bedside lamp and saw the time.

  Stifling a groan, I reached for my phone and pressed it to my ear, opening my mouth to rasp, when the other person spoke before I could.

 "Please listen, I know you said not to call you ever again, but please just hear me out, don't cut me off, just listen."

  The voice was vaguely familiar and I came to realize that it wasn't just anybody on the other end of the line. It was Chanyeol, and he had dialed my number by accident. He thought he talked to his ex-girlfriend.

  And maybe I was being a very, very terrible person then, listening to words that weren't meant for me to begin with. Listening to a boy, opening up his heart, a boy I knew nothing of. Sometimes all you needed to figure a person out was just listen.

 "I-I don't even know what I've done wrong. I know I messed it up, somehow, someway,"- he continued. His voice was hoarse, thick with emotion and filled with pain. "And I know, you would always expect it from me, because I'm probably the worst person you ever knew. I'm a massive screw up, I've toyed with the feelings of so many girls and broke their hearts. But that was all before I met you. You are different. You should know it, though I repeated it many times before. I love you."

  My heart constricted. My head replayed his words over and over again, a thousand times, a million times. Those three words could be repeated over and over again and yet I would never be tired of hearing them.

  No one ever gets tired of hearing them

  "I love you so much, I wish you would know how much I do. I close my eyes every night and all I see is your face. I hear your voice in my head everyday. So please, I-"

  His voice broke, and I knew he was crying, but so was I. It happened unconsciously, tears streaming down my face as I pressed the back of my palm to my lips, so I wouldn't start sobbing out loud.

 "- I just want to hear your voice one last time. Just say something- anything. Just give me a sentence, a word. Please."

  I inhaled shakily, and took all my willpower to stay silent. This was when I needed to tell him it was me, not a person he was longing for. 

  I knew that the words had a way of giving hope, like no other force in the world could. The words streamed out of my mouth, each word pronounced slowly and I knew I would regret it.

 "I love you,"- I whispered, the words were simple, easy to say. It surprised me for I thought I would never tell those words again. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to continue: "But you need to move on. You need to forget about me."

  I ended the call before he could even reply and pressed my cell to my chest. My breaths were uneven, my cheeks starched from the tears. Just when I thought I had gone throught the pain, it came back again.

  Chanyeol couldn't fix me, just as I couldn't fix him, and maybe there was no viable way of fixing a broken heart. Maybe you just had to live in tiny fragment that an never be pierced back together.

 

☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙

 

  It was difficult to meet Chanyeol again, to see him and pretend that nothing was wrong, pretend like he didn't affect me the way he actually did. So I hadn't contacted him after that. Instead I went back to work the following day.

  My job at "Bloom and Goute" wasn't just manning the cash register. At times I worked as a waitress and had to clean the tables as well. So I was in the corner booth that morning, stacking up a pile of plates with great care, when the doorbell gave a tiny jingle.

  I didn't bother myself to look whom it was- hearing the bell hardly bothered me anymore. It just meant one additional customer to serve- but I was startled when a hand snuck out to take the plates from me. 

  Turning around, I found myself face to face with Chanyeol, who was looking at me, a basketball cap pulled backwards over his dark hair.

  Forcing a bright smile on my face I said, in the most casual tone I could possibly muster: "Hey Chanyeol. What brings you here so early in the morning?"

  He shifted away when I tried taking the dishes back from him.

 "What time do you get off your shift?"

  I shrugged and reached up, curling my fingers around his arm. His muscles were taut, smooth under my skin, and I gently guided him towards the counter. "About two. When the crowd leaves."

 "If I help, will you be able to leave earlier?"

  I found myself smiling at his innocent question. 

 "I don't think it's going to make much of a difference."

 "I'm sure something can be arranged,"- he returned briskly, before setting the plates down. Placing his arms on the counter top, he was ready to leap over it, and I quickly tightened my grip around his arm.

 "Go around the counter, please"

  I watched rather surprised that he listened to me and headed to the kitchen. It took me a good ten seconds to realize that I gave a permission to go into a place that was solely reserved for workers.

  Kyungsoo definitely wasn't going to be happy.

  Before I could rush in to drag him out, a customer signaled me over and I had to go. It took me a good ten minutes to describe the breakfast he wanted with every detail possible. 

  By the time I got back, Chanyeol was out of the kitchen, a disgruntled expression on his face that somehow seemed almost comical. As I walked nearer, I saw the reason of his annoyance. An apron was wrapped loosely around his waist, the signature pen and notepad in his hands.

  Kyungsoo was smart- instead of losing a worker during the lunch crowd, he had gained another one- and Chanyeol walked right into the trap. 

 "So did Kyungsoo kick you out?"- I asked, my voice sympathetic as I stifled the urge to smile.

  He scowled knowing well that I was teasing him. "He talked me into working here. Before I could reply him, he was tying the bloody apron around me!"

 "You know if you don't want to work, just tell him that,"- I pointed out simply, "He was probably having fun with you, that guy's like that all the time."

 "Well I can't,"- he returned, rather cryptically and I frowned.

 "Why not?"

 "Because you are here,"- he said flatly. "I'm utterly serious about getting over my breakup and I need your help. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get over her, even if it means being stuck here with you."

  I narrowed my eyes at his words. "What is tabby supposed to mean?"

  He sighed before answering me. "I didn't mean it like that,"- he explained. "I just meant that since you can't leave, I'm gonna stay here with you no matter what."

  At these words I turned away, pretending to be busy with a cash register.

 "You said it was going to be fine,"- he continued, when I didn't reply. "You promised."

  Within the depths of my mind I vaguely recalled something that I'd once tried out. It hadn't worked for me, but who was to say for Chanyeol, who was a completely different person?

 "Alright,"- I said, slowly, turning round to face him.

  I saw the glimmer of hope in his eyes, his lips curled up into a slight smile- the first id seen from him. His smile flattered my heart, and it was then that I realized that it could work. Maybe he could help me just as much as I could help me.

 "Let's begin."