universe cafe // exo

- 24 -

Kyungsoo led the way to the center of the festival while Jun-Oh trailed behind him. Chanyeol and Soojin lingered in the back. There was barely a sliver of purple in the horizon as the sun left the sky. Fireworks could go off any minute.

"The night sky is so beautiful," Soojin awed as she tilted her head back to look at the stars.

"You know who's even more beautiful?" Chanyeol asked with a smirk.

Soojin hesitated and felt her head skip a beat. Is he really going to... "Who?"

Chanyeol smiled warmly and returned his blissful gaze to the sky. "Me," he whispered.

Soojin fell silent for a mintue, feeling a bit hurt that he didn't direct it towards her. "You're ridiculous," she scoffed. Ew, why am I disappointed? Soojin crossed her arms and adverted her eyes.

"What?" Chanyeol chuckled. "Why are you scrunching your nose like that?"

Soojin covered her nose from being self-conscious. "I am not."

"I'm so excited for these fireworks," Jun-Oh commented. "Soojin, you know those fireworks your dad sets off every year?"

Soojin's disappointment began to melt away as she laughed. "Yeah, he's really into it."

"I remember one year when he set the trailer on fire."

"He's kind a dork."

Jun-Oh snickered. "Just a little." As the four came across a nice place to stand in the park, Jun-Oh sighed. "I'm going to miss those fireworks your dad sets off when I go to China." In the near distance, she saw someone click a lighter where the fireworks were set up. "I think they're about to start."

A firework shot into the sky with a whistle sound and exploded into bright green.

"Ooh, that one is so pretty." Jun-Oh smiled while taking in the beautiful colors lighting up the night sky.

Soojin smiled and nodded, watching more shoot into the air. Her eyes fell to Jun-Oh, but also caught sight of Kyungsoo. Instead of watching the fireworks, his warm expression had landed on Jun-Oh as she looked at the sky with admiration. Soojin nudged Chanyeol to get him to see the situation.

Chanyeol immediately noticed this when Soojin got his attention. He rubbed his hands mischievously while coming up with a quick plan.

"What's with the mischievous behavior?" Soojin questioned in a whisper.

"Haha!" Chanyeol began to give a fake laugh. "Soojin, that's so funny!" Chanyeol brought up both his hands and gave Soojin a hard shove in Jun-Oh direction. As soon as she collided with Jun-Oh, Chanyeol pulled her back into his arms.

"What the he—" Soojin tried to say, but Chanyeol stopped her by clamping his hand over her mouth.

Chanyeol took small steps while pulling Soojin back with him to give Jun-Oh and Kyungsoo some space.

From the impact, Jun-Oh lost her balance and began to fall. However, Kyungsoo was there to catch her. The two locked eyes as soon and Jun-Oh was steadied in Kyungsoo's arms.

"I'm s-sorry," Jun-Oh apologized to Kyungsoo.

Soojin realized why Chanyeol pushed her and grinned. "You're a genius," she whispered.