(editing) friends | dino | lee chan

Chapter Four

Chan

"Take care kids," Jeonghan hyung waves out the window as he drives away.

Aera and I watched until he turned at the intersection and was out of sight.

"So, did you like my hyungs and Jungyeon noona?" I turn to Aera.

She smiles and nods and then says, "Jungyeon unnie and Wonwoo oppa... why are they married this early?" She looked shy asking. "I mean it does't matter that they're young it's just... interesting?"

The subject was a little touchy and I couldn't tell her the whole story. "It's a business thing." I said bluntly. "Their parents are both company owners and so-"

She gasps before I could even finish. "I thought that only happened k-drama's!" She looked a little too excited. "Do they like each other though?"

I chuckle lightly and shook my head. "They decided to be good friends before they even got married." I was going to leave it at that but her reaction was so priceless I couldn't help but stir her imagination a little. "They like other people," I whispered.

She gasps for so long it looked like she was going to faint. She's let her guard down a lot since the start of today.

My quest to changing her was progressing fast!

"This really is a k-drama..."

"You should write about it on Wattpad," I teased. "Write an EXO fanfiction starring your one true love... Kim Jongin!" I start dancing Kai's part on Love Shot making her blush a little. I'd found out a lot about her just form today. She loves k-pop, especially EXO. Her ultimate bias is Kai. She loves bubble tea and kimchi fries. She only ever wears baggy clothes especially hoodies. And she tends to be quite when you don't start the conversation first.

"Stop making fun of me!" She starts to whine. Did I mention she's cute?

"I'm not! I'm not!" I start to ruffle her hair roughly to the point where it knots. I stand back and laugh at her now puffy hair.

She just looks back at me annoyed and tries to fix her it.

"I'm sorry," I tried to act cute. I then take her fumbling hands off her head and petted her hair back down myself. "You suit this hairstyle though."

She starts hitting me but it felt like being tickled instead since her punches were so soft.

"Aera?"

She stops immediately and turns around. "O-oh, mom!"

I bow at the lady who was now at Aera's front door.

She tilts her head slightly back at me.

"This is Lee Chan," Aera says softly. "He's Mr and Mrs Lee's son from next door."

"Hello," I say politely.

"Oh!" She starts walking towards us a little hurriedly. "Why don't you join us for dinner? I made some kimchi fries," she says to me.

"Oooh, really?" I eyes widen in excitement. I hadn't really had a proper homemade meal since I'd come back home. I always ordered takeaways since my parents came home late most nights.

"Of course, of course! Come in," she ushers me inside.

Aera groans from behind me. Guess she didn't want to share her fries?

-

"Your parents like me," I said proudly as I looked up into the night sky. An hour ago I was praising Aera's mother's cooking and talked to her dad about finishing and boating. Then after dinner I pretended to go home but actually climbed the vines of the house and came back to see Aera. 

We were now sitting on the old couch on her balcony. Now that Aera lives here, this small space is filled with green potted plants and a few flowers here and there. Before, when Nari noona owned this place, it was empty apart from the couch. It became old through time but we had the best memories on it. It was a place where jokes were made and tears were shed. Our childhood was created on this couch. We even had our first and only kiss here. I was fourteen and she was fifteen. Thats's the age of curiosity I guess.

"They like anyone I bring home really." Aera finally replies after a moment of silence.

"Ouch," I clutched my heart dramatically then slowly fell onto her lap. "That hurts Kitty. I thought I was your only one..."

She 'tsks' but I knew she liked stuff like this. She's a k-pop and k-drama fan after all, they live on imaginations where this kind of things happen to them.

I reposition my head on her lap so I was now looking straight up at her. "Hey," I poke her cheek.

She looks straight down at me causing her the ends of her hair to poke my face. She moves them behind her ear immediately.

"My friend back in America is having problems with a girl and I want to hear your opinion," I said.

"Okay," she says softly.

"So there's a girl he likes but he can't initiate anything because he knows that she doesn't like him like that," I started.

"How is he so sure?" She sounded a little defendant. "He'll never know for sure until he says some-"

I wave my hand in front of her face. "He just knows. He knows her well so he just knows. Plus, even if she hasn't said it in words he knows that he doesn't have a chance."

"Oh," she leans back onto the couch slowly and looks up into the night sky.

"Anyway," I continue. "The guy goes away for a while. On a trip. And when he comes back she changed. Her personality, her clothes even her hair. When they saw each other again it was like meeting a whole new person."

She stays quiet but I know she's listening.

"My friend... he doesn't know what to do with her. He doesn't know where he stands in her life. Does he act the same way he did like he never went away at all? Should he let everything just flow and see what happens even if it hurts him a little because he thinks she doesn't care for him as much as before? Should he confess..." My voice trails off. I had upset myself talking about it.

Aera doesn't respond and all could see from the dim light that the street lights were providing was her chest rising and falling above me.

I couldn't continue talking anymore. I was tired, mentally.

"People tend to change us when we're not around them anymore," she finally says.

I didn't know what she meant. Shouldn't people change when they are with each other?

"When you meet someone new, you tend to want to impress them right? You want to make a stranger like you and thats how you make new friends." For the first time Aera's tone of voice was not the usual unsure tone. She believes in what she was saying at this point in time. "When your friends leave and are not a part of your life anymore you lose the person you made yourself into when you were with them. Because they don't impact the way you live your life anymore, you change."

That's when it hit me. I was in love with Song Nari because I affected her life in the way that it fitted mine perfectly. We lived in harmony together because we made each other into the people we wanted to be around. I guess she wasn't the only one that changed. Maybe I did too.

-

A/N: I take it back. I can't write fluff at all. This shiz is too... deep? Idk tell me what you think readers, I need feedback uwu