There were text messages here and there but after that night Baekhyun came to see me at Aerin and Gaeun's dorm room, I haven't seen him. We try to meet up but with his practices and my practices, we are always busy. I finished my exams so now it was tonight that I had to pack up my stuff for my leave to Gyeongsan tomorrow. Gym shoes. Check. Team uniform. Check. Lots of deodrant. Check. Tape. Check. Knee pads. Check. Epic playlist of music for me to get pumped up before games. In the process of doing that on my computer.

I need badass songs to get me in the zone so I can take that emotion and use it on the court. It has been sort of a ritual since I started playing competively. Doesn't matter the genre or the language, if it has a sweet beat then I like it. 

Oh and Luhan told me good news the other day. He will be able to make it to my games. He got his mom to switch his flight to depart from Busan so we could stay with Chanyeol in his hometown for the few days and then they will come down to watch my games alongside with my brother. Then the next day, Chanyeol will drive Luhan to the airport so he can leave. I'm just glad to have somebody else there instead of just Chanyeol and my brother. I mean they get along great but no doubt my brother will question why Chanyeol and I broke up.

And after I got back from the tournament, my dad was picking me up from the dorms to bring me home because I won't be back until February. Thats 6 weeks without seeing my friends everyday. (Or atleast when I decided to leave my dorm room)

That means I have to also work at the restaurant for the next 6 weeks as well. It is the busy season too because all the holidays and I wasn't dreading it but I just want to hang out with my friends. I didn't really have a lot of friends at home because I kind of lost touch with them after graduation. Gaeun and Aerin as well as Sehun didn't live to far from me, maybe an hour on the bus, so we planned to hang out quite a bit between all our work schedules.

I was in the middle of packing up all my things while I came across a box in my closet. It was a shoebox. Plain on the outside. I don't remember ever having this. It was piled under a bunch of old shoes that I was going to donate. It must have been here for a year or two. Maybe ever since I started university. 

Taking the box, I placed it on my lap and opened it slowly. It was filled with pictures, trinkets, and letters. Most of the pictures were from my childhood. Like pictures of my brother and I holding our little sister. Then pictures of years later of the oldest three with our new baby brother. There were pictures of my parents when they just opened the restaurant. Even my grandparents were seen in some pictures. I looked through the box more and read some letters that were sent from my parents to cheer me up. My little sister and brother even tried their best to write letters about how much they missed me.

"I remember now..." I spoke to myself. I brought this old shoebox with me to get over my feeling being being homesick when I first started university. 

I dug through the box even more and then at the very bottom of the box was polaroids taken with the camera I got from graduating high school. They were of Gaeun, Aerin, and I when we first started becoming good friends. It was of our very first sleepover in my room because they had a small dorm room back then and I had a bigger room. (Which made no sense because they were in a double and I was in a single)

But that was also the night where Chanyeol slid a letter underneath my door, confessing to me. He was shy and awkward then. We only talked when we saw each other in the dorm hallways. I thought he was really cute but since he was so shy I thought he didn't like me. 

I thought his letter was cute and I really liked it. On the sheet of paper there was a time and place where he was going to wait for me and my answer. Gaeun and Aerin freaked out because I was confessed to. So the next night, I remember, that Chanyeol smiled so brightly when I showed up.

And that was the start of my three year long relationship, that I will never regret.

Next to the polaroids was the letter that Chanyeol gave me in with the envelope that had a very messy 'Junhee' written on it.

I put all the letters, pictures, and trinkets back in the old worn out shoebox. Smiling, I placed the box back in my closet with a warm feeling in my stomach. 

Reminding me of all my old memories, I remembered the new ones I wanted to make so I searched for my phone. And once I found it on my bedside table underneath the book I was reading, I started writing a message.

~ * ~

-I'll be there in 20 minutes.-

I waited so patiently for him to get his here. This was maybe the last time I would see him before I come back to school. I didn't even know if he was going home for the holidays or where his hometown was. He didn't like telling me about his family. But truth be told, I wanted to go visit him or have him visit me. He can come eat at the restaurant like he has been nagging me about.

My door suddenly opened and in walked the boy I was waiting for. "I brought food." he chimed as he laid down the plastic bag filled with food on my desk.

"Well thanks for knocking..." I mumbled as I watched him unpack the take out boxes and bring one of them over to me. 

Baekhyun shrugged. "Well you didn't lock it, did you?" he mocked me in a joking manner.

That made me shut up. Once Baekhyun noticed, he started chuckling. 

"Here." he gave me the take out box and I opened it to see a cheeseburger and fries. My mouth instantly watered at the smell and sight. I never realized how hungry I was until this beautiful cheeseburger was in front of me. "Must be hungry, huh?"

I nodded and thanked him. As I took a bite of my burger, I watched Baekhyun look around my room. It was a complete disaster, I know that much. I had maybe two suitcases filled with clothes and I was in process of doing some laundry so there was still more. My shoes were shoved into backpack that was laying against my CD shelf. "I'm going through my wardrobe and seeing what I want to keep and take home and what I want to donate." I mumbled once I finished chewing.

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting about winter break. I can't believe it is so long." Baekhyun sighed. I wondered if he was thinking the same thing as me because I was sad I wouldn't get to see him. "I'll be stuck in that house while all my roommates are at their homes with their families."

He is not going back home for the holidays? And he is going to be alone for all that time? I was now curious. 

"Baek..." I said, turning to face him. "Are you not going home?" How much I wanted him to tell me the truth but I didn't want to push him.

"I will be home, at the house." The way he said it was like he was so carefree about the topic. "You'll promise to see me, right? I don't think I can be away from you for that long."

Baekhyun continued eating while I didn't want to push the topic further because I don't know what would happen if I did continue to question him. So I left it there and started eating again. The low sound of the music coming from my stereo filled the room and replaced the silence. This was better than any night going out to a party or a club because I got to sit in a hoodie and leggings while Baekhyun and I just talked. I have noticed from all our past experiences was that we were talkers. We weren't people to want to go out. We would rather just sit and watch movies while eating popcorn. 

"Yeah, I guess. Only if you come to see me at my family's restaurant. I'll give you a meal on the house because you know the owners daughter." I gave him a sly wink, hopefully that will get him to come see me because I don't know if I'll have the time to come out to Seoul.

He leaned over placed a greasy kiss on my cheek. There was residue of the grease that I still felt on my cheek. I used my sleeve to wipe it off and then laughed because he totally did that on purpose. 

"Ahh my girl treats me so well." Baekhyun teased. What he said made me feel all warm inside and I swear my cheeks were going to go red. Something about being called his 'girl' in that endearing tone of voice just nice to hear.

I motioned to the food that was sitting on my lap. "And my man feeds me well." I shyly said because it was kind of hard to actually say. We were in that stage where we were finally acknowledging as being together but not officially yet. We didn't use the terms boyfriend and girlfriend. Which I liked because I still didn't feel like getting into another relationship right now. Everything was going slow which was what I wanted and hopefully Baekhyun knew that. 

We sat there and continued eating just letting the music still play. Once in a while I would sneak a glance over at Baekhyun who was happily munching on his own food. Other than the soft melody of classic rock love ballads, all I could hear was my heart beating quickly. 

I opened my mouth to start talking again but Baekhyun was the first to speak. "Do you by any chance have a few days that you can take off from work?" he asked me.

"Well considering my boss is my parents I'm sure I can get three or four days off in a row... why do you ask?" I looked at him in curiousity because what my initative thought was that he wanted me to stay with him for a weekend in Seoul so he wasn't lonely.

"Jongdae's family owns a small house in the mountains near a ski hill and what we usually do is spend a few days after the new year begins to have some winter fun like skiing and sledding. Though this year, I want to bring you along." he took my empty take out box and his as well then placed it on my bedside table. Baekhyun then wrapped his arm around my shoulder and brought me close to him. I snuggled up close to him and was surprised that he had asked me something like that. "It'll be me, Jongdae, Jongin, Kyungsoo, hopefully you, and Gaeun if she says yes to Kyungsoo's invitation."

"I have never been skiing before though." I was a bit embarrassed but willing to try it out.

"I'll teach you."

"Okay then I'll come." I grinned and was already starting to get excited. The last time I went on a vacation was a long time ago. Because of school and work, my family or friends haven't had the time or money to spend a few days at the beach or in the mountains to relax. "Let's hope my parents like you enough to let their daughter spend a few nights with a boy they haven't approved of yet."

That statement made Baekhyun widen his eyes. He must be scared of parents or worried that my parents won't like him. There was nothing to be afraid of though, my mom and dad were incredibly easy going. They had a good sense of humor and barely got angry. It takes a lot for them to dislike someone. If they liked my old high school boyfriend then they would like Baekhyun hands down.

I placed my hand on Baekhyun's cheek. "Don't be scared. My parents are going to love you. There is only good things to tell them." I leaned to place my lips on his. I always forget how soft they were. But the kiss was simple and quick. I pulled away before we could go any farther. "Trust me."

"I'm trying not to be nervous but this will be the first time I'll be meeting any girls' parents. What if I say the wrong thing? I mean I'm a great talker." (That's for sure.) "But when I'm under pressure I don't know what to do or say. Remember when you almost passed out? I had no clue what to do in that moment. I froze and I felt so guilty. So what if I say the wrong thing and your parents start to hate me? I don't know what I'll do if they don't approve of me to be with you."

It is weird to see Baekhyun like this. He wasn't the person to get nervous, maybe about a performance or during a big event but not abouting meeting parents. Was he hiding something that I should know about? Would his secret (or whatever he was hiding) be that bad that my parents wouldn't like him?

Even if my parents weren't fond of him, I was. So if they were my parents then they would see how much I liked him and hopefully understand.

"I believe that you will do just fine. Don't even worry." Because you aren't as worse than my old high school boyfriend. 

"Okay, I'll try." Baekhyun moved closer than he already is to me. There was something about his self esteem that seemed off with me. He was usually somebody who tons of confidence but now talking about parents the whole wall felt like it was being torn down.

"Thanks Baekhyun. Do this for me and I will come to the mountains with you guys." I snuggled up into his arm and leaned against his shoulder. "I promise I will make it worth your while." Looking up, I sent him a wink.

"Now that is what I like to hear." He kissed my forehead. 

~ * ~

I was waiting outside of the big bus that was taking us to Gyeongsan with my gym bag over my shoulder that was filled with all my equipement and uniforms. My suitcase was on the ground with everyone else's ready for the bus driver to throw them in the storage compartment. A few of us were standing around with friends as we said goodbye to them because exams are officially over tomorrow so we would most likely not see them on Sunday when we returned. With me it was only Sehun and Minseok. Everybody else had already left earlier this week after they finished all their exams. 

"Good luck tomorrow. I expect to see a gold medal hanging around your neck when we see each other next." Minseok patted my shoulder and sent a kind smile to me.

"You guys are staying till Sunday right? Maybe I'll be back in town before you guys head out so we could possibly have one last coffee before winter break officially begins. And also so I could show off my medal." I replied in a cheeky tone. Adrenaline was already coursing through my vines just thinking about tomorrow. 8 teams. 3 games. 1 winning team. Then no more volleyball till March. Just consistent excerise.

Sehun came in for a hug and he squeezed me tightly, I thought my eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. "I'm sorry we couldn't be there. But I'll send you a bunch of reassuring text messages so get ready to be spammed with texts." he said, pulling away from me. Oh gee.... great.

I took in a deep breath and exhaled to gain back the oxygen that Sehun squeezed out of me. "And you'll also record Baekhyun's performance at the charity concert because I didn't give you my ticket for nothing." I gave him a stern look, placing my hands on my hips. Hopefully he remembers who Baekhyun is and what he looked like otherwise I'm S.O.L.

"If he forgots, I'll make sure to record for you anyways." Minseok reassured me. You could always count on Minseok and it why I was thankful that he was also attending the concert. (And also that Yixing is performing and they are good friends too.)

"Thanks Minseok. And before I forget to tell you, my tournament will be livestreamed on the school's website and the game schedule will be on there as well to keep everyone up to date. So if you want, you'll be able to watch it." But lets be honest, my brother and Luhan will be taking enough photos and videos anyways. Because that is just like them.

"Okay girls! Starting piling into the bus! I'll take attendance and then we are off to Gyeongsan." Ms. Hwang shouted out to everyone around. The poor bus driver was taken by surprise when she start yelling out so he ended up flinching.

"I guess it is time to say goodbye." I mumbled out because hopefully I do get to see them before they leave.

"We honestly wish you luck, Junhee." Minseok said to me.

"Kick their asses." Sehun cheered.

authors note; is it bad that i actually made a playlist of old classic rock songs like the ones mentioned in this chapter? well thats 3 out of 4 chapters posted for today. the next one is good and funny!

also if you want to see that playlist, i'll post a link in the next chapter!