Elevator to 4½th Floor?

“Oh crap, it can’t be him!” I sighed as I hid behind a pillar in the large mall just to see that the person shopping there was indeed the one and only jerk Eunhyuk!
I let him pass and quickly found my way to the store I had to go to. I was shopping for Christmas presents and clearly I wasn’t the only one with that idea. The mall was crowded like you can only see it at Christmas or Thanksgiving time. I had ran into more acquaintances today than I’d seen in the whole year before! Most of them were exes I just ignored, but Eunhyuk couldn’t be ignored, nobody ignores a monkey when they see one… That didn’t mean I wanted to acknowledge his presence or run into him though…

“Excuse me! Can you pass me that box?” I pointed at a box with a large Lego-castle on the cover. My little brother would definitely be pleased to have it!
“Sure miss!” The shopkeeper (or was he just a helper?) said and looked satisfied my choice had fallen on that box. I had to hold back from reminding him I had a budget. If it was too expensive, I wasn’t going to fill his pockets this year!
“Do you have a discount on those?” I asked, seeing that the price they asked was way above the amount I was willing to spend.
The helper (he must be just that, no way he had set up this toy-paradise!) shook his head.
“Then do you have anything like this, but then for half of the price?” I asked, batting my eye-lashes and making my eyes resemble the ones of a puppy. I was convinced the male species was rather oblivious to the tricks women used on them every day to get things done, since guys had always fallen for the eye-lash thing and puppy eyes!
“That would be one of these…” The helper put back the large box as he took out one the size of a shoebox for baby shoes. This wasn’t going to be pleasant…
He looked at me apologetic as he reminded me in a kind way that I had to pay more if I wanted anything bigger. I wanted to leave, but I didn’t want to have the helper to think bad of me, so I faked stomach cramps.
“Ow, ow!” I sat down and grabbed my abdomen. I should become an actress!
“Miss, are you alright?” The helper stared at me wide-eyed. He bought it!
I shook my head violently. Seeing as he took out a cell phone and started punching in some digits, I knew this wasn’t what I wanted.
“No, don’t call for help… I’m…” I needed an excuse. “I’m just having my period cramps…”
Gosh, that was embarrassing! Fortunately, no guy knows these cramps don’t appear like that, so acute.

A mere 5 minutes later…

“Here miss, have a nice day!” The helper handed me a bag with the big box. Yes! Done it again! I got myself a 50% discount.

Unconsciously I started looking around for Eunhyuk once I set one foot outside of the store. He was somewhere in this building. Maybe he had a date, he was dressed so nicely! He must be on a date! I was certain now, Eunhyuk had always been rather easy about his outfit, but now suddenly he looked handsome. He must be on a date with another one of his girls…

It happened a year ago. Me and Eunhyuk were a ‘we’ and they called us a couple. Eunhyuk was more handsome than most of the guys I dated, so I liked the fact they saw us as the real deal. I was ready to really fall in love with him. I was ready to give up everyone else for him. Actually I already had given up on them since I liked Eunhyuk the most. I still met up with them, but I didn’t feel anything when they kissed me… But then one day, I saw Eunhyuk kissing another girl. She wasn’t as beautiful as I, she was also taller than Eunhyuk himself, there shouldn’t have been happening anything between the two of them! They should have ignored each other, or at least Eunhyuk should have ignored her. For some odd reason, something inside me had broken and I repaid Eunhyuk by breaking us up. Did I mention that was one day before Christmas?

Lucky for me, he was nowhere in sight…
Dumping my bag of presents into the elevator, I pressed the top button. On the 10th floor my hairdresser was located and I wanted a new haircut just before Christmas, so that’s where I was heading to. On the 4th floor however, the doors opened again. All the other people got out, but one person was hesitating to go in or not. I saw it was the one I had been trying to avoid. The Lee Eunhyuk was debating whether to step in or take the other one. I prayed he wouldn’t, or better still step in and have the doors crush him. At the last moment he decided to jump in before the doors closed. He pushed the button for the 5th floor. What a wimp! Just one floor?
Before I could comment however, the lights in the elevator went out, the cabin shook lightly and then there was nothing but four walls, darkness, Eunhyuk and me…

It was nothing like the heroic scene I’d often seen in movies. Eunhyuk did not open the top of the cabin, did not drag me out of it and he also didn’t stay calm. Eunhyuk screamed. “Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp!”
“Yah! Don’t do that!” I shrieked. I was terrified of the dark, I have always been, but Eunhyuk was now really testing my calm. I was close to losing it and I knew that.
“Can someone hear meeeeeee?” he kept yelling, until I clamped myself against him. I was scared, crazily scared of letting him go. I saw nothing and if I’d let go of him then there really was nothing.
“Can you please let go? If you want to kill me first, so there’s more oxygen for you, just know I won’t let you!” He said, making a new fear develop in my brain. What if there indeed wasn’t going to be enough oxygen for the both of us?!
“Lee Eunhyuk!” I had planned to yell it as a warning, but the fear reduced it to a mere shriek.
“I know you’re probably relieved your girlfriend will be worried and search for you, but I’m going to be stuck here forever!” I let out. Somewhere in my brain I registered the complete insanity of my words, but I wasn’t acting with my brain, this was my gut instinct speaking.
Eunhyuk laughed. “Silly…” but he didn’t deny his date.
“You really had to have a date today?” I asked, beyond my sane control.
“No, I was just shopping for Christmas. I don’t even have a girl.” He answered.
I punched him in the back, without letting go of him. “The Lee Eunhyuk, without a girl! Haha!” I laughed the way people do when they don’t get a joke, I guess something of sarcasm rang through it as well.
“Funny, isn’t it?” He asked, his arms around me. It was both confusing and comforting, but mostly painfully familiar.
“Yah! What are you doing?!” I bit at him.
“Well, what are you?” Eunhyuk retorted, ignoring my moody ways.
It was silent for a while, until my silly mouth opened again to spill more insanity.
“I’m so deeply in love with you that I’d grab you in every dark alley and this is just another one of those… No seriously, I’m just harassing you…” I wanted it to sound sarcastic, but I was afraid, almost certain it hadn’t quite the right intonation.
“Kim Na-Young… Get a grip.” He warned, I touched a weak spot, perhaps.
“Working on it…” I replied, holding onto him with more strength.
“Nana…” He said, this time less warning, but that might as well be because he used my nickname.
Before I could suppress them, tears rolled down my cheeks. My long hidden feelings were showing and I lifted my head to prevent Eunhyuk from noticing them through wet spots on his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” Eunhyuk asked, sounding amused. I could picture the half-smile that must be on his face now.
“Nothing.” I replied. My voice was still weirdly high pitched, but it now also possessed a light tremor.
To my dismay, my nose started running. I had always wondered why it was that actors and models could cry so beautifully, but when I was in tears it was far from beautiful, I would just snivel and look dreary.
“Don’t cry, we’ll make it out of here.” Eunhyuk said wiping my tears with his thumb.
He thought I was crying about something so insignificant as this elevator?! I punched him in the stomach, to which he groaned.
“I don’t care about the damn elevator!” I yelled and then the tears really came. Eunhyuk stayed quiet and it somehow enraged me even more.
“I’m not crying!” I let out, frustrated that he wouldn’t answer me.
“I’m not-…” I stopped to hiccup and started hyperventilating. I was severally stressed.
“Shh, shh…” Eunhyuk tried to calm me, rocking me slowly in his arms.
“Hyuk-ah…” I sniffed.
“Hmm?”
“I love you…”
“…I-I love you too…”

Just as our lips were softly renewing their memories of each other, the cabin started getting into movement, the lights turned back on and the elevator proceeded it’s way to the 5th floor. Instead of getting out, Eunhyuk immediately pushed the button to close the doors. Together we went to the 10th floor.
“Didn’t you had to get out at the 5th floor?” I asked.
“Not really, I was just too nervous to be around you all the way up to the 10th floor.” Eunhyuk giggled sheepishly.
“Babo!” I hit him lightly on his shoulder, before we walked hand in hand towards the hairdresser.
Oh, did I mention Eunhyuk was being a gentleman, carrying my bag?

~~~