“We're still on for movie night, right?” Chanyeol’s deep voice comes from the tiny phone speaker that is pressed against my ear.

I pause to smile at the reminder of our planned movie night, my hand still raised to grab the book I've been eyeing on the YA shelf. “Of course! I’m at the bookstore right now but I'm heading over as soon as I'm finished.”

I can practically hear his smile when he replies, “Great. Text me when you get to the dorm.”

“I will. Love you, bye.”

“Love you.” He echoes before the call disconnects. I slip my phone back into my purse, a small smile on my lips. I haven't seen Chanyeol in almost a month because he has been in China and the thought of seeing him again sends a warm happiness throughout my body.

I turn my attention back to the books in front of me, grab the two I’ve been waiting months to buy, and make my way to the checkout counter.

“I’m sorry, but have we met before? You look SO familiar.” The girl that is bagging my books looks to be around my age and her face is twisted in look of concentration as she studies my face.

I internally sigh but make sure to keep my smile bright as I reply, “No, sorry. I don’t think we’ve ever met.”

She looks almost disappointed as she finishes bagging my books and hands them to me, “Oh… I could’ve sworn I knew you but I guess not. Thanks for stopping by today and enjoy those books, they are fantastic!”

I smile sweetly at the girl as I take my books and quickly exit the shop. I don’t relax until I’m back outside; thanking the powers that be that the girl didn’t recognize me. Ever since Chanyeol slipped up on that variety show and forced us to make our relationship public it has been getting harder and harder to leave the house without at least a few people running up to me and asking if I’m that girl; the one dating Chanyeol from EXO.

It’s not that I mind our relationship being public; yes I’m a private person, but so what if people want to see a few pictures of us hugging? I don’t even mind too much when I see the occasional fan bash our relationship online, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being recognized almost everywhere I go. I’m used to being a very “in the background” kind of person so it is strange to be front and center so suddenly.

I know Chanyeol feels terrible about it because he is the one that accidentally let it out that he was dating, so I try to hide my uneasiness from him but it's becoming more difficult.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts and then look up and down the sidewalk. There are plenty of people out and about since it is such a nice summer day, but thankfully no one has a lingering gaze. I take a deep breath and pull my sunglasses down over my eyes before walking the three blocks back to my car.

I’m on my way to the boys’ dorm, the blessedly freezing air conditioning going full blast, when I get the sudden craving for milk duds. Maybe it was the thought of watching a movie because they are my go-to movie snack or maybe it was because I’m a chocoholic, but whatever it was it made me stop at the nearest grocery store.

I keep my dark sunglasses on until I get inside then I slip them into my bag and pull my hair forward so it covers my face a little. Usually places like these are pretty safe, but I like to be cautious. I make a beeline for the candy isle and don’t stop until I reach the shelf of milk duds, I can’t risk being distracted by the other candy or I will be leaving this store with the whole isle in tow.

I grab a box of chocolaty caramel goodness and, after a moment of thought, a box of Sour Patch Kids for Chanyeol because I know he would steal my Milk Duds otherwise. Satisfied with my choices I spin on my heel, ready to make my way to the checkout, but before I even take one step I collide with a body and both of the boxes go flying.

“Oh I’m so sorry!” I quickly blurt out, my hands reaching to steady the girl in front of me.

She laughs as she regains her balance, “Oh no, it’s fine. I wasn’t paying attention.” She then leans down and grabs my candy before standing and placing them in my hands. “Here you g-“ Suddenly she stops and I look up from the candy to her wide eyes.

“A-are you okay?” I ask, confused by the look on her face.

Her eyes narrow and she studies my face for a moment before she steps back and scoffs, “You should leave him alone. He is a sweet guy and that’s the only reason he’s going out with you in the first place. He is going to realize he is too good for you soon enough so you might as well end it now. Gosh.” She ends the statement with a harsh eye roll.

“I-I what?” I stutter, not understanding her words at first, though their meaning slowly sinks in after I speak and I feel a pang of sadness and anger.

“You’re Y/n, right? The floozy that somehow managed to start dating Chanyeol? Yeah, well you don’t belong with him so you should just leave him alone.”

I feel my teeth clinch in anger, and despite my best efforts I also feel tears begin to well up. Unfortunately I’m an angry crier. I stare at the girl with mild disdain for a brief second before I very calmly say, “I understand that you have your own opinion, but I would appreciate if you kept it to yourself.” I tighten my grip on the candy and march past the girl with my head held high, as I pass by I say “have a good day” in an only slightly sarcastic tone.

I try to breathe steadily so the tears burning my eyes won’t overflow. I reach the self-scan checkout and scan the candy with slightly shaking hands. As the machine calculates my total I reach up and carefully wipe my eyes, trying to avoid any makeup smudges. I then quickly pay and carry my bag back to my car.

I slam the door shut behind me, still fuming over the girl from inside. It’s one thing to see that kind of stuff on a message board online, but that’s the first time someone has said something to my face. I’m usually very good at brushing that kind of thing off, but she sounded so genuinely angry that it’s difficult to forget about it. For a second I want to just break into tears because being yelled at isn’t something I’m used to and I feel angry, sad, and hurt but when this whole thing went public the first thing Chanyeol did was make me promise that I would never let myself be hurt by anything anyone says about us.

“I love you and that’s all that matters. Screw what other people think, this relationship consists of you and me, alright? Nothing anyone else says will ever change that. So promise me. Promise you’ll never get caught up in that crap.” He had said, his warm hands cupping my face as he met my eyes with an intensity I had never seen from him before.

Of course I promised him that day, so that’s what keeps my tears from falling as I slide my sunglasses on to hide my red eyes and drive away with a clenched jaw.
 
                                                                                                                 

~

 
“Y/n, you’re here!” Baekhyun exclaims when he opens the door for me; he pulls me into a bone-crushing hug and mutters “Please go see your boyfriend. He has been shuffling around the dorm talking about you nonstop and we’re ready to lock him in the attic.”

 

I laugh as Baekhyun releases me and steps back to let me inside, “It’s good to see you too, Baek. Where is he?”

 

He just points to the living room and moves to shut the door. I slip off my shoes and shuffle into the living room where I see Sehun sitting on the couch in front of a paused video game screen. “Hey Y/n!” He greets me with a smile and a small wave.

 

“Hi Sehun.” I say as I wave back, “Where’s Chan- oh…” I stop short when I glance down and see Chanyeol sprawled on the ground at Sehun’s feet.

“Y/n!” Chanyeol shouts when he sees me, his face lighting up into the big grin that I adore. He leaps to his feet and pulls me into a tight hug. I laugh when he leans back and lifts me up a few inches off the ground before spinning me around once. “It’s been so long since I last saw you!” He mumbles into my hair when he sets me back down.

 

“I know, a month is too long to be apart.” I reply, enjoying the feeling of holding him in my arms again.

 

“Ugh, get a room.” Sehun grumbles from the couch, making a gagging noise. I peek at him over Chanyeol’s shoulder and see that despite his words he is smiling at us.

 

Chanyeol releases me from the hug but keeps an arm around my waist as he lovingly flips off the whiny maknae.

 

“Y/n! Do you want to play Zombie War Zone with us? I need to redeem myself after last time.” Baekhyun says when he sits down beside Sehun.

 

I glance at Chanyeol before I look back to Baekhyun and say, “Sorry Baek but we’re going to go watch a movie. Remind me later though and I’ll be happy to kick your again.”

 

“Oh yeah, watch a movie, sure. Whatever just keep it down.” Baekhyun replies, waving his hand as if to dismiss us.

 

I feel my mouth drop open and I start to defend myself, but Chanyeol just nudges me away with a laugh. “Come on, I’ve got the theater all set up.”

 

I sigh and follow him up the stairs to where some of their bedrooms and the theater room are. But instead of going to the first door on the left, Chanyeol pulls me to the second door on the right. “I thought we were watching it in the theater, not your room.” I mumble when he opens the door and pulls me in after him.

 

“We are, but I wanted to talk to you first.” Chanyeol says, sounding oddly serious.

 

Uh, oh. Usually when Chanyeol is serious it isn’t a good sign. I quickly glance at the other side of the room to make sure Kyungsoo isn’t here before I sit down next to Chanyeol on his bed. “What’s wrong?”

 

He leans forward and snatches my sunglasses off of my face before I can stop him, when he looks at my eyes his lips press into a frown, “I think I should be asking you that. What happened?”

 

I study his big brown eyes for a moment before I sigh and lean into him. He wraps his arms around me without hesitation and his thumb begins to rub a circle on my arm.

 

The excitement from seeing the boys again is wearing off and I’m starting to remember how I felt in the store. I try to keep my voice steady when I speak, but it comes out tight like I’m on the verge of tears. “It’s nothing really. I just met a “fan” while I was at the store and she wasn’t too happy when she recognized me.”

 

Chanyeol instantly stiffens and his thumb stops moving. “What?” His voice is soft and strained, like he is trying to hold something back.

 

I close my eyes and hug him tighter, “That sort of thing doesn’t normally bother me, but I was just surprised by how angry she sounded.” My voice cracks and I feel a hot tear spill over, a few more soon follow and I sniffle before saying, “Sorry, I promised you I wouldn’t cry, but here I am.” The tears continue to flow and I feel Chanyeol’s shirt start to become damp.

 

“Shh, don’t apologize.” He mumbles, his voice softening as he turns slightly in order to hug me. His chin rests on my shoulder and I feel his voice rumble in his chest as he says, “I’m the one who should be apologizing. It’s because of me that they know about us. It’s my fans who are doing this. I hate that I pulled you into this mess.”

 

At his words I pull back and grab him by the shoulders, “No. You’re not allowed to say stuff like that. I knew what I was getting into when we started dating and when people found out about us I was relieved that we could stop being so secretive. I’m not going to let a few harsh words ruin that and neither can you. I’m crying because it surprised me and I was angry, but please don’t feel bad. Okay?”

 

His mouth tightens but he nods and pulls me with him as he lies down. I feel him press his lips to my hair and his arms tighten around me. We lie there in silence for a few minutes just listening to the sound of our breathing before I reach up and tap his cheek. “Play me a song?” I ask, nodding towards the guitar case leaning against his desk. He follows my gaze before nodding and getting up to grab the instrument.

 

He plops himself down in his desk chair and frees his beloved guitar from its case. He rests it on his lap and plucks at the strings lightly, testing the accuracy of its tuning.

 

I roll over onto my elbow and prop my head on my hand while pulling his comforter over my legs. I study his face as he gazes down at the guitar; I’m constantly in awe of him and I frequently wonder how I came to be lucky enough to call him my boyfriend. When I first moved to Korea I never expected to stay more than a year or so. It was more of an experiment to prove to my family that I could make it on my own, but turned into a real life when I met Chanyeol one fateful fall afternoon. I haven’t even considered returning to the U.S for more than a week or two to visit my family ever since. I always figured the homesickness would get to me after a while and I would return to America; I definitely never expected to meet someone while living here that would give me such a compelling reason to stay. Especially not someone like Chanyeol, a world famous idol with big dorky ears and a smile that makes me weak in the knees, but now I can’t imagine life without him. It’s kind of scary actually. To feel this much for one person. To have them play such a big role in your life.

 

“Everything okay?” Chanyeol questions when he catches me staring at him.

 

“Hmm? Oh yeah, I’m fine.” I smile and turn my attention back to his hands. His long fingers move with quick, easy movements that come from years of practice.

 

 “Any requests?” He asks while he strums a little tune.

I think about it for moment, “Something silly. I need my mood to improve so I can enjoy our movie.”

He chuckles and nods like he already has something in mind. He taps his sock clad foot lightly for a few beats before he starts playing an upbeat tune. I go along with it, tapping my fingers to the beat, but I freeze when he starts to sing in English. Not only because he is singing in my mother tongue but also because of the words themselves.

 

I listen with a few giggles slipping out as he continues to sing, but then he reaches the chorus and I lose it. “Oh my goodness, where the hell did you learn this song?” I ask in between giggles.

 

He looks up at me and smirks, his eyes crinkling from amusement, but he doesn’t stop singing to reply. He reaches a part of the song with no lyrics and he laughs before explaining, “Baekhyun found it and made me learn it on the guitar. We practiced it as a duet, but I thought you might enjoy it.”

 

I snort and roll eyes; of course Baek was the one who found it. “Do you know what the words mean?”

 

He laughs again, “Most of them, it’s a song about cheeseburgers right?”

 

I nod before letting my head fall off my hand and onto his pillow. I try to stay quiet so I can hear his voice, beautiful as always even if he is singing about hamburgers, but my shoulders shake with silent laughter.

 

The song eventually ends and so does my laughter. I pull myself up from the bed and walk over to where he is sitting; I sit on his lap carefully so I don't flip the chair over and wrap my arms around his neck while I press a gentle kiss to his cheek. “Thank you. That’s exactly what I needed.”

 

“A song about cheeseburgers?”

 

I slap his shoulder lightly and he laughs before he steals a quick kiss, “I’m glad you feel better.” He says, his voice serious now.

 

I lean my forehead against his and close my eyes, “I love you, Chanyeol” I whisper.

 

“I love me too.” He whispers back.

 

I roll my eyes and slide off his lap and start to walk away but he grabs my wrist and pulls me back down, “Sorry, sorry I couldn’t pass up on such a golden opportunity.” He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me in for a kiss. When he pulls back he looks me in the eyes and very seriously says, “I love you, Y/n.”

 

I smile and lay my head on his shoulder, contemplating spending the rest of my life sitting here listening to his heartbeat, but then I remember the original purpose of my visit. “I bought you candy.” I say quietly.

 

I have his attention immediately and he looks down at me with eager eyes, “Really? Is it sour patch kids?” I nod and he throws his head back and laughs before he leans down to kiss my forehead, “Ah, you know me so well.”

 

I start to reply, but suddenly he stands up and takes me with him, now carrying me bridal style.

 

“C-Chanyeol?” I stutter because of my surprise. “What are you doing?”

 

“Carrying you, obviously. Is this the candy bag? Will you grab it?” He asks, leaning down so I can grab the bag off the bed and rest it on my stomach. I’ve learned that when it comes to Chanyeol sometimes you just have to go with the flow so I don’t say anything as he carries me out the door.

 

We reach the end of the hallway and Chanyeol nudges the door of the theater room open with his foot before stepping inside. The lights are dim, but they provide enough light for Chanyeol to make his way to the couch that sits in front of the large screen. He leans down and carefully drops me onto the couch. He straightens again and turns around to browse the boys’ prized movie collection.

 

The theater room is the result of what the “men” of EXO chose to do with the spare bedroom that they didn’t end up using. It is really just a room that they fitted with a projector, a bookshelf full of movies, a huge couch that is possibly the most comfortable thing on earth, and several beanbags.

 

“Is there anything you wanted to watch?” He asks, glancing at me over his shoulder. I set the bag of candy down on the couch and walk over to where he is standing; I hug him from behind and look at the shelf, searching for any titles that might catch my eye.

 

“Oh! You have The Woman in Black 2? I’ve been wanting to see that for a while now.” I say, reaching forward to pull the DVD off the shelf.

 

Chanyeol studies the cover with a hesitant expression, “Uh, isn’t that a horror movie?”

 

I look up at him and smile apologetically, “Sorry I forgot. Here I can choose something else…” I reassure him and start to put the movie back, but he grabs my wrist and stops me.

 

“No! It’s alright, we can watch it.” He smiles at me and takes the movie from my hands. He pulls my other arm off of his waist and walks over to place the disk into the DVD player.

 

“Chanyeol…are you sure? I know how you feel about horror movies.” I say, looking at him with concern.

 

He waves off my worry, “I’ll be fine. I’ve got my brave girlfriend with me after all; I’m sure she’ll protect me from any monsters.”

 

I laugh and shake my head at his words, deciding to take him at his word. I plop back down onto the couch and pull my box of milk duds out of the bag, ripping it open and popping one into my mouth.

 

Chanyeol returns a moment later, dropping a huge blanket and pillow on my lap before moving the candy bag so he can sit beside me. As the previews begin to play on the screen in front of us he spreads the blanket over our laps and sets the pillow aside (for now, I’m sure he’ll grab it later when he needs to cover his eyes). He then opens his candy and rests his arm on the back of the couch behind my head. I use the opportunity to curl up next to his chest and grab the remotes. I use the first one to turn off the lights completely and the second to skip to the main menu of the movie and press play.

 

The opening credits begin to play and already Chanyeol’s hand is tightening its grip on the blanket. I laugh mentally and reach up to pull his arm down around me. I keep my hold on his hand and squeeze it once to try and calm him. He squeezes back and I see his grip on the blanket loosen. I smile and turn my attention back to the movie, secretly hoping that it is really scary. I, unlike my faint-hearted boyfriend, adore horror movies. It’s rare for me to find one that really scares me, but I’ve heard promising things about this one from my friends, so I have my fingers crossed.

 
                                                                                                                                                     

 ~

 
“Ah!” Chanyeol yells, flinching from surprise and burying his head in the pillow while gripping my hand a little too tightly. “Is it too late to choose a different movie?” He mumbles into the pillow.

 

I pat his head but don’t reply, I’m too engrossed in the movements taking place on screen. There have been some pretty good jump scares in the movie; one even made me yelp along with Chanyeol.

 

Chanyeol raises his head out of the pillow just enough to reveal his wide eyes. “Why would she do that?” He whispers, horrified as he stares at the screen.

 

I start to tell him what he missed while his face was hidden, but just then there is another jump scare that makes us both nearly jump of the couch. I knock my empty milk dud box to the floor as Chanyeol and I grab onto each other while we stare at the screen with a mixture of fear and anticipation.

 

“Dang it Chanyeol,” I whisper, tightening my grip on his sweater, “You’re making me more jumpy than the actual movie.”

 

 

“Sorry.” He whispers back.
 
                                                                                                                                                   

~

 
“I’m so glad that’s over.” Chanyeol groans when I turn the lights back to their dim setting and the movie’s credits begin to roll.

 

“I thought it was a really good movie.” I reply, picking up the little pieces of trash we managed to drop.

“That’s because you are a steel-hearted girl with no fear.” He mutters in reply, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head.

“Pfft.” I laugh, “Obviously you’re forgetting all the times I’ve called you in tears over the spiders in my apartment.”

 

He chuckles, “Okay, maybe not fearless, but I really don’t know how you watch those movies with such a straight face.”

 

“Practice.” I reply, holding out my hand to pull him up off the couch. We make our way to the door of the room, “Do you think Baekhyun still wants to play Zombie War Zone?” I ask as I pull open the door. “Because I’m in the mood to kic- Ahhhh!!!” I yell and let loose an embarrassingly high pitched yelp of surprise when something pops out in front of my face as I open the door. I take a step back and bump into Chanyeol’s chest; he barely reacts fast enough to keep me from falling over. When I’m back on my feet I glare at the people responsible for the whole situation.

 

“Byun Baekhyun and Oh Sehun I swear one day I’m going to murder you.”  I hiss at the two cackling boys in front of me.

 

“Oh my god, you should have seen your face!” Baekhyun laughs and contorts his face into what I’m assuming is an imitation of me moments ago.

 

 

“Yeah, keep laughing. It’s not like you gave me a literal heart attack or anything.” I grumble as I push past them into the hall.

 “We came to see if your movie was done so we could play ZWZ but then we heard you guys screaming and thought we should say hello.” Sehun informs me with a mischievous wink as we all make our way downstairs.

 

“Well, haha it was just hilarious.” I reply sarcastically.

 

~

 
“Y/n?” Chanyeol’s sleepy mumble is even deeper than usual and I feel the sound rumble in his chest as he speaks.

 

“Yeah?” I reply, trying to keep my eyes from slipping closed.

 

“Are you sleeping here tonight or going home? It’s already 2 a.m.” He mumbles, his voice just above a whisper.

 

We are lounging on the couch surrounded by the other members as we all watch Kai and Chen shoot down hordes of zombies.

 

“I was planning on going home, but the thought of moving makes me want to cry and I think I’m going to pass out any second so could I spend the night?”

 

“Of course. Do you want to go up now? I don’t think I can keep my eyes open anymore.” He replies with a heavy yawn.

 

I nod and force myself to stand up, Chanyeol does the same which catches the attention of the others.

 

“Are the love birds leaving us so soon to go make out in the corner?” Someone, I think Baekhyun, says. Someone hits him in the face with a pillow and breathe a tired laugh.

 

“Goodnight everybody.” I say with a wave.

 

I receive a chorus of ‘Goodnights’ in reply as Chanyeol and I thud up the stairs and into his room.

 

“Could I borrow a pair of boxers?” I ask as I pull off my socks, my t-shirt will be fine to sleep in, but jean shorts aren’t the most comfortable thing.

 

He nods with half closed eyes, walking over to a drawer and tossing a pair of striped boxers at me.

 

“Close your eyes.” I order when he shuts the drawer. He chuckles but obeys and I quickly exchange my shorts for the boxers. “Okay. You can open now.” I tell him as I set my shorts on his desk chair and dive under his comforter.

I close my own eyes as he changes into sweatpants and then crawls into bed beside me. He snakes his arms around my waist and pulls me against his chest. He kisses my neck just below my ear and whispers, “Goodnight Y/n.”

“Goodnight Chanyeol.”

 

 

 

A/N *Sorry if the ending seems a little weird. Like I said I wrote this when I was very, very tired and it skips around. I hope you liked it and thank you again for reading!*

 

Here is the song Chanyeol played in case anyone is curious.