“Aw, it hurts there.”

“Sorry.”

Heerin stressed the compress on Chanyeol’s eyes more gently and even slowly. If Chanyeol began grimacing, Heerin also winced out of reflex. Junmyeon just pacing in front of them while biting his thumb nail until nothing was left there.

“Eee, hyung, what are you doing?” Chanyeol wondered.

Junmyeon threw a worried look at him. “Nothing. It’s just, I can’t lie but to think of how are we supposed to avoid our way from those wolves tomorrow.”

And it made Chanyeol unconsciously crying again because Heerin pressed the compress way too hard for the nth time. “Sorry, again.”

“It’s fine. Hey hyung, I don’t think it’s a big deal now. I mean, Kris knows Heerin is on our side and—“

“Wait,” Heerin abruptly stopped. “Since when do I get involved with this?”

Chanyeol and Junmyeon shared the same look. They then shifted their gaze at the now confused Heerin. “Since you saved us, about 30 minutes ago,” they answered almost in the same time without feeling guilty at all. Earning a deep sigh from Heerin.

★ ☆ ✮ ✯

“Are you sure you’re okay? I can get you home if you want.”

“Nah, I’ll just go with her,” Chanyeol turned toward Heerin who was chatting with several other students, and looked back at Junmyeon.

“Of course,” Junmyeon slowly nods, then he chuckles when he sees his best friend’s expression while staring dumbly at Heerin. “Speaking of Heerin, you two seem very close?”

“Hyuuuungggg, we’ve been going to the same high school for almost three years and yet you just realized it? Where have you been?” Chanyeol flicked his fingers right in front of Junmyeon’s smiling face.

“Oh, just around. Good grief she saved me from Zitao earlier. That damn junior needs to be shoved with more Korean attitude of how to respect older people. But anyway, tell her I owe half of my life.”

“I’ll do it.”

Junmyeon started the engine of his motorbike and bid Chanyeol good bye, leaving him in the crowd of SM Academy students who were also going to get home soon. A soft smile was visible on his face, alongside with some bruises from the previous accident. Some strands of his hair were still sticking out, making him looked like as if he had just gotten out of bed.

“Chanyeol!”

Chanyeol turned and saw Heerin waving at him, signaling him to run toward her so they could walk home together. As if millions of butterflies and insects that could fly went into Chanyeol’s stomach and tickled his belly. He couldn’t hide that happy feeling every time he could walk home with Heerin because usually, Kris had barged his way to offer Heerin a ride home with the endless collection of his sport cars. Same old tricks he used to other girls at school. And Chanyeol thought everybody knew that.

 “How’s your eye?” Sora asked, she was another very good friend of Heerin.

“It’s just light bruises. Heerin takes care of me very well,” he replied proudly, patting Heerin’s shoulder in gratitude. She quickly covered her face that was starting to change its color into blossom red with her thick science books. “Oh my god, stop it, Chanyeol.”

“I’m not lying! You have the ability to cure others,” Chanyeol tried to praise Heerin, which was replied teasingly with a tickling pinch on his side belly by her. Sora could only laugh at their childish behavior whenever they were together. Not so long after, the appearance of a black SUV in front of them surprised them three. It was Luhan.

“He’s here. I gotta go now. See you tomorrow, Heerin. And get well really soon for your eyes, Chanyeol. Stay away from troubles, okay?”

“Aye aye,” he chirped. Heerin could only stare from afar at her best friend hopping into the car with Luhan. But for a split few seconds, Heerin’s eyes met Luhan’s, before finally they were separated by the car’s window. It was as if he was giving a dead stare at her with so much hatred. Well, what could she do? The scene at the basketball court earlier today had ‘slapped’ Xueshenghui’s perfect image. She was sure she never made any trouble with Luhan—even if sometimes she couldn’t hold back the irritation of seeing him around (especially after Sora became his girlfriend) because he was one of Kris’ sidekicks.

“Annyeo~~oong, Heerin!”

Heerin waved at her for the last time before Luhan’s car disappeared in the next turn. Now there were only her and Chanyeol at the gate, only a few students were left waiting to be picked up after school.

“Sooo, shall we?” Chanyeol offered his hand as if he was asking her to dance with him, he even bowed a little and that made her giggled at the effort.

“Haha, right. Come on.”

“No, no, no, I’m sure you were going to say, let’s dance,” Chanyeol repositioned Heerin’s arm around his own and he straighten his body, walking away as if he was a nobleman in the classic movies ready to dance with his lady. She couldn’t help but to burst into laughter.

“You’re crazy you know,” Heerin playfully slapped his arm.

Chanyeol wasn’t planning to let go of Heerin’s arm any sooner even if she was struggling so hard. Heerin liked being held, especially if that man was Chanyeol because if it was him, she didn’t need to feel scared of worried that something bad would happen. She could trust him just like that. The laughter that was shared kept getting louder and louder, it even echoed through all the way home.

But without they realized, a pair of eyes were spying at them from afar.

“By the way, Junmyeon said he owe his life to you.”

“Yeah? Then tell him he doesn’t owe me anything at all.”

★ ☆ ✮ ✯

The sun almost went down but they still had half of their way home. Only the sound of their footsteps that filled the silence in between them. Heerin’s arm was no longer around Chanyeol’s because it would make her difficult to bring her books with just one arm being free while the other one was tied around his.

“It’s been a while isn’t it?”

They stared at each other while still walking side by side. Chanyeol definitely knew what the girl beside him was talking about.

“Yeah. It’s been a while,” he kicked a pebble out of his way.

“I gotta admit it, Kris isn’t the right type to drive a girl home romantically. I mean, he’s more interested in showing off his sport cars instead of talking to me—well, he does talk a lot about cars and all which I can’t quite relate. I thought at first with such endless effort to drive me home he would at least be interested in me, or my hobbies, or I don’t know... Maybe about you.”

Chanyeol looked at her again, waiting for her explanation why Kris would ever bother to bring up his name in between their conversation.

“Why me?”

“Well,” Heerin sighed before she continued. “because I fully believe that he knows about our childhood stories, especially because the entire school also knows that we’re best friend for life. Right?”

“…uh, right.”

He was kinda hoping she would say something that went along with this line ‘that Kris should realize there’s someone else in her heart already’—which was none other but Chanyeol himself. But she didn’t say that. So he only smiled weakly. Best friend for life. How if Chanyeol wanted something more than that?

“Honestly, I kind of miss our childhood.”

“Really?” Chanyeol had stopped walking and turned his gaze at Heerin. Her face now looked yellowish from the reflection of the sunset. Still as beautiful as ever though.

“Yeah,” she responded. “Don’t you?” She asked back. They had stopped by now, body facing each other. Chanyeol scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. He just nodded and continued walking.

“I still remember when you tried to help my grandma with our cat, Shu, that was stuck on a tree. And when the neighbour came…”

Chanyeol snorted when she tried to bring that stupid accident up again. Heerin’s family cat was stuck on a tree and her grandma had called out for help from the neighbor. Chanyeol being the overly confident little kid that he was, he climbed the tree by himself but couldn’t help himself to climb back down. At the end of the day, everyone was helping him instead of Shu.

“Hahaha, okay, clearly I still remember that part. Really, I was definitely the one who needed help, not Shu,” Chanyeol laughed so hard he even jumped around remembering how stupid he was at that time.

“And I remember on that day, you cried.”

Heerin slowed down her pace when he said that, as if it was her first time acknowledging that back in the days when they were still children, Chanyeol would magically always be there when she cried.

“Did I?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Why did I? It was only Shu,” Heerin furrowed her eyebrows until they were knitted together.

“Because I was stuck on that tree and couldn’t come down. And you tried to call for help, but no one came. You became panic and even tried to call the police,” Chanyeol chuckled. The reason behind his stupid heroic action created another smile on her face.

“Oh, oh! Remember this one?” Chanyeol said it loudly. “The day when a new neighbour moved in.”

“Oh no, Park Chanyeol, not that story again!”

Heerin bursted into a big laughter. She even had to hold onto Chanyeol to keep her body remained balanced and didn’t fall while laughing.

That day, a new family just moved in into the house right next to Heerin’s house. And like normally new neighbors, this new family paid a visit to the houses around the block. When they arrived at Chanyeol’s family house—which of course to get there, they had to pass Heerin’s house first—the new neighbor thought Chanyeol and Heerin were siblings because they had the same surname and their face kinda looked alike. The new neighbor didn’t know the truth until their first two months living there. It was pretty epic.

“Okay, enough. Gosh, Chanyeol you make my belly hurt from laughing!”

“Hahaha, isn’t that great? Thank me.”

“Thank you, really,” she was getting tired of laughing already. They kept telling stories of each other’s childhood until they got home. A beautiful psat. No competition whatsoever in their world.

“I haven’t laughed much since that cold-guy came into my life.”

Chanyeol patted her back. “I’ll be here to melt his ice, don’t worry.”

Only Heerin, and Chanyeol, and all the happiness they needed.

★ ☆ ✮ ✯

Heerin started opening her text books one by one, checking for homeworks that she hadn’t finished and the ones that had to be submitted tomorrow. She was just about to begin doing them when her phone rang, showing the name ‘Park Chanyeol’ on the crystal screen.

“Annyeong?” She chirped.

“Annyeong~ Just wanna ask if there’s any homeworks for tomorrow,” Chanyeol answered. Heerin could tell that he was eating his chips while calling, again. That cracking sound from the chips was too clear to be heard.

“You better call me after you finish your dinner, Chanyeol.”

“Just go on with the homeworks,” he chuckled, ignoring Heerin’s grunt.

“Aaah, you lazy bum,” she said jokingly while flipping her notebook that kept all the formula and her secrets in studying. There were also her schedule written neatly. Important details like what shoes she was gonna wear each day in a week or what clothes she was gonna wear to classes, things like that were also written down in the notebook. She couldn’t live without her book, her life would be a complete mess.

“I’m not sure you can remember all of this, I’ll take a picture and send it to you right away. Just hold the line.”

“Is it that many?” His voice was filled with burden.

“Not really, if you don’t procrastinate things like you always do,” she sent a few photos of the homework list she just captured to Chanyeol. Heerin laughed at how desperate Chanyeol sounded afterward.

“Oh .”

“Do it all, okay? Don’t be hesitate to ask me whatever stuffs that you find difficult. We’re just like 10 meters away from our bedroom windows, you know.”

Heerin looked away to her bedroom’s balcony that was wide open and the next thing she saw was Chanyeol, also looking at her from his room’s balcony with just one eye because his other eye was still wounded.

“Haha, alright, alright. I see you. Annyeong, Heerin.”

“Annyeong. Last warning, do all the homeworks wholeheartedly.”

“Aye aye, captain,” Chanyeol waved at her before ending the phone call, he then went back to his desk and started doing all the homeworks. Tonight was going to be a long night for Chanyeol, if he could really make it to the end.

★ ☆ ✮ ✯

“Chanyeol, quick! You’re going to miss it!”

Chanyeol ran with all of his might to meet Heerin uphill. She was laying at the grass and was hiding between the bushes. Eyes fixated on something else.

“Oh my, what is it?” He asked with labored breath.

“Ssshhh, lay down!” Heerin pulled his feet so he could be on the same level with her. “Look over there,” she pointed at a bunch of rabbits that were playing down the hill. Those were wild rabbits and they were gatehring in such huge number.

“Rabbits?” Chanyeol cocked an eyebrow.

“Uh-hm. Wild rabbits,” she acclaimed with enthusiasm.

“So, that’s it? I ran all the way here just so you can show me these rabbits?”

Heerin stared at him in disbelief. “Uh, ing Park Chanyeol, don’t you ever feel like you wanna hug them and keep them fluffy animals?”

He just shook his head, what else could he do? But deep inside, he was nodding. For Park Chanyeol, the only thing he wanted to hug and keep forever in this world was the girl before him right now.

“Whatever. I’ve never seen a rabbit that many before.”

“Well, maybe they’re migrating to somewhere?” Chanyeol quibbled.

“What?” Heerin was confused. “Since when do rabbits migrate? What do you think they are? Southern birds?” Her respond was harsh. Chanyeol prefered to stay quiet.

“I’m just guessing,” he said in a weak tone. Heerin now felt guilty for shouting back at him.

“Ah, I’m sorry. You answered it well,” she patted his shoulder, but little did she know, the sound from the patting echoed throughout the hill and that caused the wild rabbits to quickly entered their holes in the ground. Heerin had accidentally surprised them.

“Aaah, no, I didn’t mean to scare them!” She screamed, but her action alone made the rabbits even scared that the meadow quickly turned quiet.

Seeing Heerin was about to cry, Chanyeol quickly ran downhill and tried to chase the wild rabbits before they got into the holes. But oh sweet child, he scared them truly. Those wild rabbits thought Chanyeol’s foot steps belonged to a predator. After a few moment, the crowded hill was so crowded anymore with wild rabbits. Chanyeol looked away at his best friend whose face now looking so pale and her eyes were starting to b with tears.

“Heerin?” Chanyeol was now sitting beside her.

“Heerin, it’s okay. They’re animals. It’s their nature that they will run away when they think there’s danger. It’s their instinct. I believe they will come out from their holes, soon or later,” Chanyeol tried to calm her down.

“Are you sure? Promise me they will show up?”

“Well,” Chanyeol awkwardly scratched his head. “It’s not something I can promise you, but this one thing I can promise; when they finally come out, I will be there with you.”

A smile finally appeared on little Heerin’s face. Chanyeol finally took Heerin home because the sun was already setting and their parents were already looking after them.

★ ☆ ✮ ✯

A very. Loud. Honk.

Chanyeol opened his eyes to a loud sound of a car’s honk which he didn’t know who it belonged to, he muttered something and cursed under his breath. The abrupt movement hurted his bruised eye. He then looked over his nightstand and reached out for his alarm clock. It was 7 am when he finally came to realize that class was about to start in a half hour.

“Oh, !” Chanyeol rushed to the bathroom, washed himself and quickly put his clothes on. His notebooks were still scattered across his desk. Chanyeol remembered he had a homework to be done today, so he checked one by one his notebook with cold sweats. But his worry didn’t last long, seeing that apparently he had done all of them.

“Okay, this is weird. I don’t usually stay up late to do any homeworks,” he said much to himself, but he paid no mind and just put the books inside his bag. Chanyeol quickly checked out of his balcony to see if Heerin had gone to school first.

But right at that moment Chanyeol could feel his blood pressure was flowing hard through his head. He clenched his fingers seeing a very familiar black Ferrari was parked in front of Heerin’s house.

Kris.

OH MY GOD.

HELLO GUYS *waves frantically*

I knowww, I know, it's been years since I last wrote something here in AFF. And I know I've neglected this account and many other fanfictions of mine. I just got back one day and realized that people are still subscribing to my stories :') And for that I wanna say thank you to you guys. Your support means everything to me. But now I'm back! I miss writing honestly :( I'm not a big fan of kpop anymore now as I used to. But my love for writing fanfiction (especially EXO-related fanfction) is still there. So I guess be prepared for more stories and I promise I will update my stories this time. I'm sorry that this takes up so much time...

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