groupie

-twenty-

Chan: 527. Apartment 527 in my dorm building.

EunChae awkwardly makes her way down the hall, her eyes watching each number tick up by one as she passes by door after door. 520. 521. 522.

A loud noise startles her, forcing her eyes to fall on the source.

"Shit." Chan groans, staring down at the collection of boxes he'd dropped.

EunChae picks up her pace the moment she lays eyes on him. She kneels down and begins to collect them for him, not at all worried about someone seeing the two of them together. Chan panics and quickly pulls her up onto her feet. He swiftly delivers her inside the apartment before snatching up the last of the boxes and rushing in after her.

Chan gently presses her back to the wall, his arm encircling her waist as he looks down at her. His eyes take in her face, analyzing every little detail in search of confirmation that she's alright.

"Hi." Chan whispers softly, his hand reaching up to cup her cheek.

"Hi." EunChae shyly returns the welcome, her gaze glued on Chan's chest, too afraid to meet his.

"You were crying." Chan mumbles, his thumb gently caressing her cheek. He leans in a bit, resting his forehead against hers.

"No—I—I wasn't." EunChae denies, refusing to admit how hard it'd all been on her—even after she got home.

"Your eyes are red and puffy. You can't lie to me." Chan states calmly. He hadn't meant it in a bad way, he was truly just commenting on the fact she looked tired and emotionally drained. No one is to blame for it. She just had a hard day.

"I—I'm fine." EunChae insists, attempting to pull away from him out of fear that he'll pry more.

"I don't know if I believe you're fine in this exact moment, but I know for sure you will be." Chan pulls back a bit to press his lips to her forehead.

"I—I just missed you." EunChae admits, wrapping her arms around Chan and forcing him to bring her closer.

"I missed you, too. Did you eat something, love?" Chan questions softly, gently tangling his fingers in her hair to keep her close.

"Yes." She responds obediently, nuzzling her face in the crook of his neck.

"Did you eat with the boys?" Chan continues to lay out a single question at a time, not wanting to overwhelm her all at once.

"Yeah." EunChae confirms, her voice a bit muffled by his warm skin.

"I'm glad you didn't eat alone." Chan mumbles. He can't help but want to pick her up and carry her toward the couch—but he won't. She's already a bit tense in his grasp—probably just from her hard day—but still—if he pushes her too far it may make things worse on her.

EunChae doesn't respond, too caught up in the sight of his hands on her—the mirror in the next room the only way she has of seeing them. The way his skin stretches over his veins and muscles has always been fascinating to her. She's always wanted to trail her fingers over them just to see how it feels, but she's always been afraid it was going too far for their friendship.

"You okay?" Chan asks hesitantly, not wanting to be the reason she's having a hard time.

EunChae silently pulls back, taking his hand in hers and lifting it up to her face to examine. Chan can't help but chuckle in amusement as she shyly runs her fingertips along his veins.

"So that's what you're into." Chan teases, playfully poking at her waist with his free hand. She squirms, looking away as her face heats up in embarrassment.