Chapter 6

"What're you..?"

Roy paid no mind to my question when he tucked his long fingers through the loops of the face mask in his hand.

Helpfully, he said, "I can help you put it o—"

"No need," I blurted out, head rearing back when those large hands of his actually started coming near my face. Just what the hell was going on? Why was he trying to put a mask on me?

Smack.

I gave MJ a look when she pulled her hand back after having slapped Roy on the arm. I was glad to be saved, but did she have to resort to violence?

The smack seemed to be a light one, seeing as Roy only laughed in response. "Wow, what?" He made a show of rubbing his arm, acting like the slap was worse than it was. Yet MJ was unmoved; she only gave him a look of such clear irritation that I had to wince.

Roy's smiling eyes were unwavering despite this. I had to admire him for a bit, more so when he began pulling his face mask down to reveal his wide smile. Shameless, teasing, and a little childish—yet all I could think was that he's cute like this. Taller than me, sharper around the edges than me, but that gap only made his cuteness stand out a lot more.

Roy asked, "What was that for?"

MJ's eyes bore a kind of anger that felt out of place considering how Roy had only just asked me to wear a face mask. It wasn't like he'd asked me for anything shady. "For weirding her out, you punk!" MJ snapped. The crudeness of her words was novel to me, enough that I couldn't help from staring a little in surprise. "What the hell are you doing?"

This wasn't worth fighting over, was it? It was just a face mask...

"I just really need to confirm something," Roy insisted. His almond eyes were bright with something eager that I couldn't quite explain. Seeing this much excitement on his face reminded me of how he looked whenever he was given toy collectibles from his favorite animated series, though the context for our current situation was...

"Please give it to me."

I held my hand out to Roy, deciding I'd just play this casually. It was one day, and it would be the final day we'd see each other. I could go along with a bit of his confusing whims before we parted ways, couldn't I?

He smiled at me and my heart promptly decided to pause, all to take a well-needed break from the sudden assault of handsomeness. This was painful. How do people deal with seeing him every day? Even his smile felt like a personal attack on my person.

And yet, I had to act clueless on his charm. It wouldn't do to embarrass myself by acting too obvious now.

"Here," he said. He neatly placed the face mask in my hand.

I put it on. I emphatically didn't mind the small voice in my head that was in shambles at the knowledge that I was wearing something that had come from Roy's own bag, his own hands. It was just a face mask; there was nothing to panic over.

When I looked up to meet his gaze with the face mask on, I was met with a smile brighter than the sun. It was so bright that I struggled not to squint, even.

Bafflingly, he said,

"It really is you!"

"Huh?"

My hands were already in his hold before I could even react properly. I felt cold sweat forming on my nape, a cold wave washing over my whole body, at the realizations that quickly passed through my head. Namely:

(His hands were so big.

His palms were so warm, what if I start sweating? Please, no.

What were his fingers so long for?

Why the hand-holding, all of a sudden..?)

Then I blinked, and found that he was still holding my hands. It wasn't a delusion, or a dream. The fact that he was holding my hands was real.

I'm going crazy.

"You posted a dance cover for my last music video project, right? You were wearing this exact same thing you're wearing now," Roy explained eagerly, shaking my hands up and down in his grasp. His eyes were so bright, so warm, I couldn't help from falling into a slight daze. "You deleted the cover too quickly so I couldn't like it! I was really disappointed..."

I vaguely started to regret wearing my long-sleeved black top and dark cargo pants for today's outing.

And, because I couldn't take Roy's heavy gaze, I turned my head away. A glance over to my side revealed to me the auntie's intrigued grin, and MJ's wide-eyed, betrayed little frown. Ah, right...

I hadn't told anyone that I'd posted that cover. Even Hyerin had only found out because she'd seen it on her feed in passing, having been awake in the middle of the night. Since it was late, I'd been a bit more prone to making thoughtless decisions—it was a moment when everything was quiet and I felt like I was the only person in the world, and I believed it wouldn't matter if I posted one dance cover.

By morning, I'd already regretted it enough to immediately delete the video. It had been easy because I was the only one who knew, and because it wasn't something I'd planned out in the first place. The dance cover that been born into the world because I already had Roy's dance memorized on a whim, and I was high off of moonlight and the evening air—it wasn't something that was ever meant to be permanent.

There was no way that video would get deleted had MJ known that I'd posted such a thing. Maybe Roy could have liked my video too, and this meet-up of ours might have happened at an earlier time.

...yeah, no way. It was definitely better off that I'd deleted it then.

Roy released my hands from his hold, only to tuck his right hand into his pants' pocket. He said, "I promised myself I'd get that person's number if ever I met them in person."

I stared at him for a moment, confused and slowly digesting the words he'd just thrown at me.

Then, once it all sunk in, my heart felt like it had stopped. My breath, cut short. This was not the development I was expecting here. Surely, he's not that reckless with his contact details? He must be joking.

He pulled out his phone, then looked to me expectantly.

He wasn't joking.

"Um," I swallowed. "I'm not sure you should be giving your number away that easily."

"Well, you're MJ's friend, aren't you?" he asked, seeming to not get my point. "I'd get your number eventually. I'm just asking earlier because I really want to connect with that cool dancer I saw in a clip."

My mouth still felt dry no matter how much I swallowed. I wanted to drink from the water bottle I'd brought along, but it felt too damning for me to do it now. A cool dancer? That was what he thought of me? But it had only been a short clip. There's no way he actually thought that from a minute or less of me dancing...

"I'll type it in, so give it to me," MJ said.

"Hey!"

MJ didn't mind me as she took Roy's phone to type in my name and number into his contacts. This wasn't what I wanted, but how could I fight her in front of Roy? It wasn't his fault that I was this kind of person.

"Thanks!" Roy was smiling as he said so, looking all too happy for me to ever say no to him. Damn it. With a soft smile as he tapped something out on his phone screen, he said, "I'm really glad I came here. It feels like destiny that I found you again, doesn't it?"

How could he be so blunt about something that sounds so romantic?

Buzz.

I pulled out my vibrating phone from my pocket, and unlocked it with a finger to the scanner.

In my phone inbox, an unknown number had sent:

+ 63 9xxxxxxxx

Hey! This is Roy ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

...what was this cute creature, and why was it texting me?

I snapped out of my thoughts with a slight shake of my head. Get a grip, Fia.

Roy was giving me a hopeful look when I glanced over at him. The kind of hopeful look I saw on variety shows whenever he really wanted something, but he was hesitant to voice it. Because he felt shy, because he was trying to hold back, or because he knew exactly what it was he was doing and he wanted the other person to understand his desire without him speaking on it.

Ah, really.

Had he been literally anyone else, I wouldn't be having such a hard time. It was far too easy for me to say no from personal experience, and yet, it was different with this guy.

I ended up smiling slightly as I looked back down at my phone screen; I even felt thankful for the mask that was covering my face. I typed out,

ME:

Hello! Nice to meet you (*´ ♡ `*) ﾉ

"The heart mouth is cute," Roy said, smiling down at his phone. "I'm copying that."

"Is that advisable?" I asked, a little distracted as I typed in Roy's name—just his first, as I didn't want to risk someone seeing him in my contacts—and saved his number to my phone. "You're already too cute as is."

Someone gasped.

I looked up at MJ when I realized the sound had come from her. "What?"

"Wow," Roy said this time, turning my attention away from MJ and to him. He was smiling up to his eyes, making my chest squeeze with pure fondness at how cute he looked. "That's the first time someone has said I was cute to my face."

"Impossible," I blurted out.

He laughed. The sound was melodious, and his laughing face—with closed eyes, scrunched nose, and a wide-open mouth—was too precious for words. He looked young like this, nothing like his age, and I loved it. I was happy that I got to see such a sight even at the cost of my pride. "No, really," he insisted. "I get being called handsome, hot, or attractive—but being called cute is new."

Then he stepped back, straightened up to his full height, and observed me. Had the once-over been done by any other man, I might have been grossed out, but he just gave a brief nod like he'd only observed my height and nothing else. "It's not often I meet someone who can come close to my height either." He smiled at me. "You're pretty tall?"

"Five foot seven," I confirmed with a nod.

"Wow," he said again.

"How many times are you going to say "wow" like a broken record, Roy?" MJ scoffed.

"Your friend is really cool, I can't help it," Roy said, a nigh helpless smile on his face as he looked to MJ. "You didn't tell me she'd be this cool."

"What kind of standards do you have, to think I'm cool? You've only seen a minute of my dancing, and my height." Maybe I was teasing a little. It wasn't like we'd meet up often, and I didn't want to give the impression of being a mindless fan. I could be calm just for today, I'm sure.

"It's the general vibe," he answered, not at all ashamed despite being called out on his odd behavior towards me. "You feel confident, if I had to put it in words. It's the way you carry yourself even with all that height. You're not making yourself any smaller even when next to someone much shorter you."

I barely managed to process MJ's snapping complaint at her height suddenly being brought into the conversation. It was just... too warm inside me. Like a slow flame was growing in my chest and flowing through my body, simmering right under my skin to the point that I wanted to cry from the sheer, comforting heat.

He noticed my efforts to look confident. He'd pointed it out so simply, as if it were only obvious, as if it made sense to just notice such small things.

I breathed in. I bit my lip under the black face mask he'd given me, and struggled to hide my tremulous smile.

When he looked back at me, he smiled back. Nothing else was said, like words weren't even necessary.

Really, how could I not love him? When he was this full of warmth, this kind, regardless of us being mere strangers?

How was I ever supposed to stop?