If I Can't Have You... (An EXO fan fiction)

Chapter Thirty One

"Lee Insung? Is that you?", my eyes almost bulged out from their sockets. It was just this morning that I thought of him during my songwriting process and he actually appeared in front of my eyes. No, actually we met yesterday, but I didn't know he was THAT Insung. The one who taught me unrequited love.

I was sure it was love. I still remember the tree incident very well. I was eating lunch under the great willow tree in our school front yard. Not a lot student liked sitting under the trees because a lot of bugs would suddenly pop down from the branches and shock the girls to death. Not me, though. I didn't mind the bugs, as long as they didn't bother me, I wouldn't bother them as well.

It was another dull Monday afternoon. I took my usual seat near the tree's biggest trunk, where a groove perfectly shaped like a chair had always been one of my favorite spots at school. It was where I could feel like I belong. Even a tree could accept my presence, so that must be saying something.

I noticed someone's presence above me. I was quite startled because 90% of the time I was here, I was sure I'd be alone. I dared myself to look overhead. It was said that you'd better not look up to trees because you might see the 'otherworldly' spirits. I took a small peek from my eyelids and I saw a boy climbing the willow's branches. He was well-concealed, due to the thick and heavy vegetation of the willow, but I was able to make out his figure from below. He was wedged between two thick branches as his hands extended to a bunch of dark brown wheat amassed near the intersection of smaller branches. "Oh, it was a nest", I thought.

My eyes were trailing his agile movements as he advanced his left leg towards the nest's location. His expression showed effort as he tried to reach into the next. It was clear that he was struggling towards the nest. I saw something drop from his palm—I assumed he was putting the baby bird back to the nest. He smiled with relief as the bird chirped back at him. My heart warmed at the view. Not many middle school boys would do the same as he did. Most boys would play with the baby bird until it was weak enough to pass on. It was depressing to think.

Before he could reach a stable footing, his right foot slipped from the branch and his reflexes willed him to grip onto the nearest branch. He lost both footing and was only dangling from one hand. He was struggling to bear his entire mass.

"Hey!! Hold on!!", I got up from my seat and estimated his landing site. I laid my dosirak wrapping cloth on the estimated site.

"If you could land here, I'll try to catch you!", I screamed once again. He was looking desperate and in the last few seconds his strength had run out, he let go. I jumped towards him to help support his weight in a swift fashion.

He fell directly on both of my extended limbs, which meant my target was on point. He looked like a mess, with leaves and branches sticking out from his jacket. He winced and groaned at the impact. I was closing my eyes as he fell and I opened them back.

"Hey...you're bleeding...", I pointed at his lips. The blood was flowing too much from his upper lip. It looked lacerated. I quickly fumbled into my jacket pocket for something to wipe it with.

"Hey, are you crazy? How can you support my falling weight? You could've gotten hurt too!", he winced again.

"I'm sorry, but if it weren't for me, not only you'd bleed from your lips, you'd suffer a few broken bones too!", I scolded him as I shoved my handkerchief at him. He didn't take it from my hands as he was trying to find back his balance. I pushed my hands towards his bleeding lip to stop the blood from gushing beyond control. He gripped the handkerchief, with my hand still holding it.

"But...thank you. For helping me land. And for this.", he said as he averted his eyes towards the side. He cleared his throat as an attempt to hide his blushing.