They stopped at a nearby coffee shop. He left her sitting outside so he could buy her a cup of green tea. They were several students there who recognized him but somehow Chanyeol opted not to mind their curiosity at the moment.

He handed her the hot drink as he pulled out a chair next to her, hoping that she was at least feeling better. Her nose was red and so were her eyes from all that crying. The supplies closet wasn’t really the most romantic of all places but what added to her injury was one of her trusted friends not believing her.

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo said softly. She took one sip and then sighed.

Chanyeol then had an idea. “Wait a sec, okay?”

Then before she could react, he was gone.

Kyungsoo didn’t exactly know which direction Chanyeol went but she was a little concerned. Was he going to leave her here? Should she call a taxi right now?

Then she bit her lip. She didn’t even know if she could face Yixing and Minseok back at the dorm. Minseok had probably told Yixing what she had seen in the closet. How was she going to explain herself now?

She needed to talk to someone, but whom? She couldn’t remember ever being this sad or confused or isolated. Now her friends thought she was keeping things from them. Also, she worried about what this gossip would bring to the play. Everyone had worked so hard to put this production together, especially Professor Hwang.

Worst of all, she was afraid to ask what Chanyeol was thinking of all of this. She hadn’t asked him how he was feeling after he offered to be her pretend boyfriend, when all of that time, she had always been included on top of his priorities in the last few days—fetching her from the dorm, sitting with her at lunch, sometimes even buying dinner for her and taking her to rehearsals. At the end of the day, he would see her safely back to the dorm to avoid the repeat of what had started the whole rumor anyway.

She fidgeted with her hands. If anything, she had been unfair, selfish and inconsiderate, thinking that she was the only one affected. Who knew if Woo Bin was bothering him again? Or other people for that matter? How come Chanyeol didn’t tell her?

Kyungsoo frowned. What kind of a boyfriend was he if he couldn’t even tell her what was going on or how he was feeling?

She was going to change that right now. She got her cell phone out and called him.

Chanyeol felt the vibration by his leg as he fished for his phone from his jean pocket. He was surprised to see her number flashing. “Hello?” he answered worriedly.

“Where are you?” Kyungsoo asked, on the verge of tears.

Chanyeol chuckled softly. “I’m just buying something.” Then he turned serious, wondering why she felt the need to call when he was only a few meters away. He supposed he was out of her view because he was inside the pizza store opposite the cafe. But he could see her from where he was at. She was craning her neck anxiously, as though to look for him. “Why, Kyungsoo? Is there a problem?”

“I just... Please just tell me where you are,” she pleaded, all kinds of extreme thoughts rocketing through her head like with Woo Bin and his thugs appearing out of nowhere and ganging up on Chanyeol. “If you’re somewhere nearby, just tell me where...” she whispered, hoping she didn’t sound too scared, or worse, possessive.

Chanyeol paid for his pizza, holding on to the phone in his right ear. He thanked the guard who opened the door for him as he exited. “I’m just crossing the street now, Kyungsoo.”

Then she saw him looking from both sides before running towards her.

He deactivated the call but didn’t take his eyes off her. “What’s wrong?” he asked in concern, sitting down next to her.

She didn’t even take notice of what he had brought. She even forgot that she was hungry. “I just thought you...” She turned away as a tear fell down on her cheek, which she quickly wiped with her hand, feeling quite silly now. Then she saw that pizza. It took her a few seconds before she realized how paranoid she had just gotten. A smile cracked her lips until it developed into soft laughter. “Oh... you were just buying pizza.”

Chanyeol smiled back, but was still looking at her strangely. “Yeah... d-did you think I was going to leave you?”

She bit her lip as she nodded, her cheeks reddening. “S-Sorry...” Since the mood was lighter now, she decided against telling him about what did pass through her mind all those minutes he was gone. She suddenly felt afraid to complicate their situation if she divulged anything more, especially when now, it concerned him.

Chanyeol grinned just then, feeling as though he hadn’t grinned all week. “No, I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you where I was going.” He opened the box. It was pepperoni. Then it was his turn to feel embarrassed. “I just remembered this was the pizza that you brought for the staff last week.”

Kyungsoo felt touched by the gesture, especially when Chanyeol remembered something of her liking. Then she remembered something else. “Isn’t this your favorite too?”

Chanyeol laughed, getting her a tissue and handing her a slice. “Yeah, it is. It’s kind of funny. Because when I was younger,” he paused, opening his bottle of water and getting a slice himself, “I would take out