“Jongdae? Are you even listening?” she sat up, stretching her arms far above her head to the stars above. The night air was humid and thick around her, cicadas complaining about the late august heat. Beside her, all she heard was light snoring—he was so dead, she had been talking nonstop for the last five minutes—

“Jongdae! I can’t believe you!” Jongdae woke with a start as she began thumping his chest furiously. “What? What’s going on? Did I miss anything important?”

“You’re impossible! We’ve been friends since elementary school and you still fall asleep when I talk. How are you ever gonna get a girlfriend?”

Jongdae frowned and rolled over. “I’m technically a trainee now, a girlfriend is out of the question. You know that. Besides, I’m moving to Seoul in a couple months, then I’ll be out of your hair. Put up with me.”

“Maybe I’d be better at putting up with you if you weren’t such a little …” Jongdae’s laughed echoed as he sat up, shaking the twigs out of his hair and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “I don’t even know why you’re still going to school right now. You might as well go train…you’re gonna be a big star someday, you know that?” she smiled at him sadly, thinking of the time when he would leave her.

“I mean, I’m almost done with high school, so I might as well stick it out.” He looked at her sheepishly. “You don’t really want to get rid of me do you? You’ll call me when I’m in Seoul and you’re off in college right?”
“You won’t forget, right?”

“Of course not, Jongdae. I’ll call you so much you won’t want me to call anymore.”

Chen was late.

Not the super, Joonmyun-hyung-is-going-to-kill-you late, but late nevertheless. He shoved his earbuds in his ears, pulled his hood tighter, and set off at a brisk walk for the SM building, where his nine brothers were probably lounging in a practice room cursing his name.

The streets were busy, not surprising for a Saturday in December. Chen wove through the crowd naturally, avoiding too-long glances that meant getting recognized, and subsequently, mobbed. The rain went from a light drizzle to a more consistent shower, making the roads wet and people huddle together for warmth. Chen was making good time, maybe they would just laugh at him a little and then they would be on their way—

The next thing he felt was pavement—specifically his face in it. Chen groaned as he raised himself up from the ground, looking grouchily for the person who knocked him over, but he saw no one. Jerk must have run off, he thought as he got up and dusted himself off, adjusting his hood before looking up.

She was on the other side of the street, doing something on her phone under the overhang of a candy store. All of a sudden, he was filled with memories—her weaving him a chain of daisies, her laughing because he had tripped, the brightest smile he had ever seen in his life when he told her yes, he’d finally made it, the cake they shared on his last day before he went to Seoul, the smell of her hair before he got on the train, the countless times she had comforted him over the phone when he came to her crying about the difficulties of being an idol, when she had called him crying when she heard about their first win—time had frozen as Chen was standing there, staring. People ceased to move, the world got dimmer, time stopped when he saw her. He saw her lift her phone up to her ear, smiling slightly.

Chen was knocked out of his reverie when a loud ringing filled his ears. He picked up his phone slowly, still trying to get over the fact that she was across the street from him. “Hello?”

“Jongdae!” there she was. She was the only one who still called him Jongdae; even the members called him Chen most of the time. He could practically her smile, and surely enough, when he looked up at her she was grinning. “You’ll never guess where I am!”

“In front of the candy shop that I told you about. With the good chocolate that I bought once for your birthday.” He smiled as she frowned, obviously confused. “Look up.”

Their eyes met and it was like they had never spent any time apart. She was still the same bright sun that lit up his life, still the reason he hadn’t bothered dating (or rather trying to date) the four years he’d been in exo. She was radiating joy, obviously not expecting to see him here. “Jongdae, get over here!”

Joonmyun hyung was going to be so mad.

[a/n] it's eh, not as much straightforward romance as it should have been (i guess) but i'm still getting back into it. will probably improve/revise once i actually get good at this again haha...it's been a while. comments/feedback is appreciated! try to guess who is next for transformer haha...stay cool everyone

[[sorry had to edit an error pointed out by a friend of mine]]