14. Promise

(A/N) Warning : Loooong chapter ahead...

(Chanyeol's POV)

 "The number you dialled has not responded. Please call again later-" Aish! I flung my phone onto the sofa in frustration. The other members looked at me worriedly as I sighed and sat on the ground with my back to the wall.

  It had been a whole day since our argument and (Y/N) hadn't picked up any of my calls nor replied to any texts. I wanted to talk to her personally but I was tied up with practice and other schedules.

   I refused to accept that she broke up with me. It didn't even last a week...I thought miserably. It's all my fault. I couldn't believe I lost control and vented out my anger on (Y/N). It wasn't her I had been angry at, just my life in general. I had been so stressed, but that didn't excuse the incredibly mean and hurtful things I'd said to her. Aish. You. Pabo. I hit my head on the wall behind me with each word. (Y/N) was right. I am a jerk. I closed my eyes to try and block the tears that stung my eyes.

    "Yah! Are you gonna mope around all day or are you going to man up and do something about your problem?" someone said. I opened my eyes and saw Sehun glaring down at me. The other members were crowded around me too.

  "What can I do?" I asked gloomily "I've messed everything up"

  D.O. rolled his eyes. "Tch this idiot," he said extending a hand to pull me to my feet "You messed everything up? Fix it."

  "W-what?" I asked confused as they started dragging me out of the practice room and down the corridor. "Where are you taking me?"

  "To do the right thing," Luhan hyung said as we came to a stop in front of the director's office. I looked at the others with wide eyes. They want me to change my decision?!

  "B-but what about you guys?" I asked. As much as I want to make things right, there is no way I was sacrificing EXO for my happiness. "I can't-"

  "Shut up hyung," Sehun ordered. I shut up. There was no going against Sehun when he was determined. "You are going to go in there and tell the director that you changed your mind," he said pushing me towards the door. "And you're not coming out till you've convinced him"

  I started to protest but they opened the door, pushed me inside and closed it again.

  "Chanyeol," said the director "How can I help you?"

.  .  .  .

  "So please director-nim, please let me change my statement," I finished my speech. The director sighed. 

   "You really like making my job difficult don't you?" he asked. Before I could say anything, he continued "Look, I know how you feel, but we can't just change an official statement like that. We already told the public that the rumors were false and you spoke about it too. And this was all with your consent"

  "I know...but please let me tell the truth," I implored " I can't pretend I don't love her. And I hate deceiving my fans. They deserve to know the truth. Think how much bad publicity it would be if this lie goes on and fans find out the truth. The company's image will be ruined"

  The director's expression changed as my point struck home. "All this is true. But this is not just your call. Neither is it mine. The top management must agree to this too and the rest of EXO since it directly affects them-"

  "We all agree with Chanyeol," Suho hyung walked into the office with the rest trooping after him. "We will stand by him and face whatever comes our way strongly, together."

  I looked at the 11 of them facing the director and my heart filled with immense love for all of them. I felt a lump in my throat. They were like my family and I didn't know what I would do without them. I flashed them a grateful smile and they smiled back.

  I turned back to the director. "Please director-nim just let us tell the truth. Please." The director sighed. "Arasso. I'll talk to the top management and see. You guys better find me another job if I get fired."

  "Kamsamnida!" I bowed excitedly. The others thanked the director too. "Don't get your hopes up. You still need the all clear from the top. Now leave me alone, I have some calls to make" the director shooed us out of his office.

. . . .

  Back in our practice room, we waited impatiently for a call from the director. Shortly, our manager's phone started to ring and we all gathered around him. He answered the call and put it on speaker mode.

  "I talked with the CEO. He didn't seem too keen on the idea to be honest-"the director said and we all started groaning and protesting loudly.

  "Let me finish," the director continued over our voices. "He wasn't very keen but I managed to persuade him. You are free to tell the truth."

  "Kamsamnida director-nim!" I said gratefully as the others erupted into cheers.

  "Do what you have to do. I'll go tell the PR team to be armed and ready..." he said before hanging up.

  "So now that we have the all clear, how do we tell our fans?" asked Kai.

  "Let's do a livestream," Baekhyun hyung said grabbing my phone and handing it to our manager. "Can you record us hyung?"

  The 12 of us stood in the middle of the room and when everything was ready, manager hyung gave us thumbs up.

  "Hana, dul, set," Suho hyung counted. "We are one! Anyeonghaseyo EXO imnida!" we all chanted.

  "We have some important news to tell our fans," Suho hyung said and then looked at me. I took a deep breath and stepped forward. I explained everything- how I had gone out with (Y/N) and how I had denied the rumors because I had been scared that the news would hurt EXO. When I was done explaining, I bowed 90 degrees.

  "Please forgive me for deceiving all of you," I said sincerely "I couldn't lie any further. That is why we are here today. Please forgive me for breaking your trust and hurting you in any way. And please accept (Y/N) with love." I straightened up.

  "She is a special person and is part of our family," Suho hyung said "She means a lot to us, especially to Chanyeol but our love for you will never change."

  "We will continue to work hard and make you proud. Please show us your love and support as always. Saranghae Exo-l!" Xiumin hyung said.

  "Kamsamnida!" we all bowed "Annyeong!"  Manager hyung ended the livestream and everyone crowded around the phone to see the comments.

  "Yah it went well!" exclaimed Chen hyung "A lot of them are understanding and are happy that we told the truth!"

  I felt like a weight of thousand pounds had dropped from my shoulders. I sighed in relief. "Do you think (Y/N) saw it?" I asked "Will she forgive me?"

  "There's only one way to find out," Kris hyung said.

  "Go get your girl hyung!" Sehun said. I nodded and went to the door. "Fighting!" Tao cheered after me.

  I'm coming (Y/N), I thought as I started running.

(Y/N's POV)

  I walked home slowly from the grocery store trying not to think of Chanyeol or the break up. But it was no use. He was all I could think of.

  I was turning the corner when someone suddenly slammed into me, sending me crashing to the ground.

  "Yah! Watch where you're going!" I exclaimed angrily. My bag of groceries had burst open, its contents spilling onto the ground. The person who knocked into me bent down to collect them. A sudden feeling of deja vu came over me and I looked up to find myself gazing into a pair of soft brown eyes.

  Chanyeol.

  Startled, I tried to get up quickly and stumbled. Before I could fall on my face, Chanyeol caught me gently by the shoulders and helped me up. He held me at arm's length for a moment and looked at me silently. Suddenly, he pulled me forward and hugged me tightly as if he never wanted to let go. All I wanted to do was melt into his arms too, but I pulled away.

  "Why are you here?" I mumbled not looking at him. If I did, I knew I would break down and cry.

 "Check your phone."

 "What?"

 "Just do," he urged.

  I took out my phone and switched it on, not sure what I was supposed to check.

  "Give it here," Chanyeol plucked the phone out of my hands, fiddled with it and handed it back.

  I stared at the video that was playing. "You told the truth?"

 Chanyeol nodded. 

  "Oh," I said not sure what to say.

 He studied me for a moment. "I'm so sorry... " he whispered "I was such a jerk. I didn't even know what I was saying. You know that I never meant anything I said right?"

 I said nothing.

 "Please...you have to know that I didn't mean any of it..." he implored "Please.."

 "I know you didn't..." I said quietly.

 "I so so sorry," Chanyeol said again "You do know that I love you right?"

 "I guess..." I said, still not looking at him. "I'm sorry too. I lost my temper instead of being understanding."

 "It wasn't your fault. So... do you want to start over?" he asked hesitantly.

  I finally looked at him, feeling a thousand emotions at once. He looked so hopeful that it broke my heart. "I don't think we should..." I said. His expression changed instantly.

 "W-wae? Are you still mad?"

 I shook my head. "Ahni. I'm not mad at you. I just feel that us being together will only bring problems. I hate being such a burden to you..."

  At this, Chanyeol stepped forward and cupped my face with his hands, caressing my cheek. "You could never be a burden to me," he said seriously, looking into my eyes. "Not now, not ever. I love you and it will never change."

  "See how much trouble you had to go through," I said "You will lose your fans and we will always be the subject of controversy."

 "I will lose some fans," he admitted "But hundreds more will support me and respect my decisions."

 I turned away, still feeling unsure. 

 "No, look at me," Chanyeol said, turning my face towards him again. "Look at me and tell me what you see."

  The person I love...

  Chanyeol smiled like he could read my mind. "And it seems like fate wants us to have another chance," he said "Look at the way we bumped into each other, just like the day we first met."

  "That hurt!" I pouted "The ground is hard if you didn't know. Falling onto it is not comfortable at all. "  Chanyeol laughed.

  "If you fall, I will always be there to pick you up," he said pulling me closer "Always. I promise." He dropped a kiss on my forehead. "So what do you say? Shall we give it another shot?"

  I looked at him. "I'd like that..." I said with a smile. Chanyeol broke into a wide grin and hugged me fiercely. Then he pulled away and looked at me expectantly.

 "What?" I asked.

  "Where's the kiss?" he asked playfully.

  "You're not getting any," I said blushing profusely and trying to get away. Before I could escape, he snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me close till there was no space between us. I looked up at him shyly.

  "You're not getting away that easily," Chanyeol said and leaned in, meeting my lips with his. I stood still for a moment, then reached up and clasped my hands behind his neck, winding my fingers through his soft hair.

  I didn't know what the future held. There will be good times and there will bad times. Maybe people were hating us right now, maybe they didn't want us together. I didn't know. But what I did know was that it was OK. Just then it was just the two of us and nothing else mattered.

   So I let go of my fears, closed my eyes and lost myself to the kiss. A kiss that was also a promise...

THE END

(A/N) Well there you have it folks! The Boy Next Door! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Aish I felt so weird writing that kiss just now😅Hope it was ok. Thank you so much for putting up with my silly fanfic and voting and commenting. It means a lot! So yeah... I guess that's it. Oh and I have an idea for another fanfic but...should I write it? I dunno lol. I'll see. Thank you again for reading and see you next time! Stay safe all of you! Saranghae!❤