When Night And Day Become One

|| Fifteen ||

"Hey! We're getting off-topic here! Who's the girl?"

Lu Han sat up and suddenly looked serious. "Are you happy, Yeon?" he asked instead of answering, totally throwing me.

"What? That's still off-topic," I answered.

He shrugged. "Are you happy?" he asked again.

Realizing he was very much serious, I answered, "Very," just as seriously. "Just like how I said I would be. Remember?" I thought back to our conversation at the treehouse when he asked me if liking Kai would make me happy. Though Kai was only a part of the reasons now.

A distant look crossed Lu Han's features as if he was trying to remember as well. "Ah," he said, recalling it. "Because of Kai."

"Not entirely."

He didn't seem to hear me as he got out of bed and returned the chair to my desk. "Well, listen, Yeon. I have something to ask." He seemed to be nervous.

I motioned for him to go on.

"Will you-" He hesitated and then shook his head. "It's about the dance, um... will you go to the Year-End Dance with me?" he said in a rush.

I blinked at the question. It was certainly a simple sentence and yet one that I couldn't answer without considering many factors.

First, there was Kai who, I was pretty sure, would ask me as well. Second, there were Lu Han's fangirls who would bury me alive if they would see me with him at the dance. Third, there was my heart. For some reason, it had beat rather loudly after Lu Han asked his question.

"Uh-" I said, stalling.

Lu Han smiled then, but why do I feel that he wasn't really smiling? "It's okay, Yeon. I already know your answer."

"I didn't even answer yet."

"I could already see it in your eyes. It's okay. It makes sense anyway that you're going with Kai."

Did he also see my hesitation?

"Be my practice partner then," Lu Han said, taking out his phone and fiddling with it for a second. Before I could ask what he meant, a soft melody was already coming out of it.

I watched with wide eyes as Lu Han offered me his hand. "For the Year-End Dance. For practice."

"You mean now?"

"I don't think there would be another chance," he said, his tone wistful.

I squinted at his hand suspiciously but put my hands in his nonetheless. "You're acting weird, you know?"

Instead of answering, Lu Han pulled me into the middle of the room, and just like that moment once upon a time in the beach, minus the awkwardness, Lu Han placed one hand on my waist, the other gently holding mine.

We waltzed around, with Lu Han's eyes never leaving mine. That goes to say that my eyes never left his as well. As the melody reached its end, Lu Han immediately let go of me.

"Something wrong?" I asked. Lu Han was being uncharacteristically out of character if that made sense.

Lu Han smiled and shook his head. "Nothing's wrong. Thanks, Yeon."

"For what?" I asked.

"For the dance."

"You're not welcome at all. You basically forced me into it," I joked and grinned at him.

Lu Han didn't grin back. He just looked at me, like really looked at me, as if trying to memorize every detail of my face.

My cheeks were starting to warm under his scrutiny when he suddenly blinked as if realizing what he was doing and turned around.

"Have fun with Kai at the dance, Yeon," he said, and then he began climbing his way towards his room.

Kai didn't even ask me yet. I wanted to say. "Wait Lu Han, what does that mean? Are you not going?"

He shrugged. "I might or I might not. It depends whether I could think of an epic prank for you at the dance." He finally grinned and I sighed in relief because he looked like he was back to normal.

"Hey! Don't you ever embarrass me during the dance! Or else-" I said, giving him an empty threat.

He just laughed. "Alright, Yeonie. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Lu Han."

The night of the dance came, but Lu Han didn't. In fact, he didn't come to our recognition as well. In addition to that, he disappeared for the whole summer that followed.

My heart ached, not knowing why he disappeared. It ached even more when I thought back to the last night that we talked, thinking I could have done something to ask him to not go had I known he would be leaving. Because how dense could I really be? Why couldn't I pick up that something was wrong that evening?

No amount of thinking brought Lu Han back though. All I could do was to wish every day that he would return.

All throughout that summer, it was what I did. I kept looking out of my window, hoping his curtain would one day lift and I would be able to see his grinning face again.

All throughout the summer, I waited, waited and waited. All because of him.