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Oh butterflies, you steal my sleep each night

“Wait, hold on.” Chanyeol cleared his throat before he began. “What, really?”

“I said yes, Chanyeol.”

“Thank you.”

Baekhyun had it all well-planned: behaved normally, enjoyed the dinner and went home.

Right. Of course.

Except, the dinner went off surprisingly very well. Chanyeol had chosen a good place, good menu, and definitely good wine.

Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun clicked instantly as if they had known each other for years. Right of the ball, they could talk about anything. They just had so much to share.

Somehow despite the cold weather they decided to have a night stroll after dinner since the restaurant was just a few blocks away from Baekhyun’s apartment. They traversed the sidewalks with all the stores decorated for the holidays. Christmas tunes played everywhere they went.

Chanyeol noticed Baekhyun shiver slightly and asked, “Are you cold?”

“Probably because I am cold.” She rolled her eyes playfully at him and wrapped her arms closer around her body, pulling her coat as close as she could. “How about you? Aren’t you cold too?”

“I’m all good. This jacket is reversible. I’m wearing the warm side now. You, on the other hand, need a better coat.”

“This is my dad’s.” She said softly.  

“I’m sorry.” He eyed her cautiously, anxious that he had stepped over a boundary.

She shook her head. “Don’t worry. It’s not your fault.”

Chanyeol heaved a sigh of relief. “What was he like?” said Chanyeol after a while.

“I guess he was a lot like me? Dark hair, flat chest.”

Chanyeol laughed. A glimmer of amusement could be seen in his eyes. “No, silly. What do you remember most about him?”

“Oh! That,” she giggled, a faint tinge of pink coloured her cheeks, “Well, he likes maps.”

“Yeah?”

“Yup, he used to hear of a place on the TV, we would quickly pull out the atlas, find where it was and we would route out this little way to get there. So the atlas would be full of routes from where we lived.”

“If there was one place in the world, where would you go?”

Baekhyun hummed before answering, “Naples.”

“Italy. I haven’t been there but I’m told it’s nice,” said Chanyeol.

“Yeah. Here, I do have my passport with me.” Baekhyun fumbled open her bag and began to search for her passport. “Tada!”

“Goodness, Baekhyun. Why would you have your passport with you now?” Chanyeol took the passport from her and flipped through the pages.

“Well, in case I need to quickly leave the country.” Baekhyun sheepishly grinned and Chanyeol just barked his laugh, a sound that made Baekhyun bit her lips to hide her foolish smile.

“Hmm, you’re not photogenic at all.” Chanyeol placed the passport next to her face.

“How dare you!” Baekhyun snatched the said passport from Chanyeol. She pouted and Chanyeol hastily apologized. “Just joking.” He nudged her arm with his elbow. Baekhyun smiled, knowing too well that Chanyeol was really joking.

“There aren’t any stamps in that.”

Baekhyun nodded. “I haven’t gone anywhere yet. I’m still saving up. Perhaps after I’m done with college.”

“I’m sure your dad will be proud of you.”

“You know, in a very small way, you kind of remind me of him a little bit.” Baekhyun even used her fingers to stress it. “Very small, a little bit.”

“Really? So he was a classy guy, always a gentleman then.” Chanyeol shrugged smugly.

“Huh?” Baekhyun glared sharply. Chanyeol simply pinched her nose and she swatted his hand and shook her head, making a tsking sound.

Baekhyun was surprised at how much she enjoyed her night with him and somehow, albeit she strangely refused to admit, she had quietly regretted the parting when they reached her apartment.

“This is me. Thank you so much, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun turned to look at him. She then slowly walked up the stairs to the front door. Chanyeol followed tentatively behind her when she stopped and turned around to face him. She stood one step higher than him, almost at his chin level. They smiled at each other and somehow their smiles lingered for few seconds longer than strictly necessary.

Now that she was a step higher than him, he took the opportunity to admire her properly in the yellow light of the street lamps. Wrapped in her father’s coat, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, rosy flush tainted her cheeks; Chanyeol was completely transfixed by her beauty.

“Chanyeol. Chanyeol?” Baekhyun waved her hand in front of his face until he snapped to attention.

“Huh?” Chanyeol sheepishly smiled and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand before clearing his throat. “W-what were… were you saying again?”

Baekhyun giggled cutely, covering to stop herself from laughing too hard.

“Goodnight, Chanyeol.” She softly said.

“Oh. Good night then. Baekhyun.” For some unknown reason, her stomach was by this time awash with butterflies and she even liked the way her name rolled off his tongue.

She gave him one last look before waving him off as she unlocked her apartment door and stepped inside.

Once inside, Baekhyun leaned against the closed wooden door for a moment while her heart beat furiously and her mind reeled.

What the hell was wrong with me?

That night, lying in bed, Chanyeol could not stop thinking of her. A small smile made its way to his lips. It had only been one night with Baekhyun and as silly as it sounded, he had relived every moment of the night in his mind a hundred times.

He was very much confused and puzzled as he had not felt this alive ever, and to be honest, it scared the out him. How could anyone affect him so completely in a so short time?

Chanyeol could still remember how some of their conversations involved her snapping at him and that he was quite late to realize how much her face lit up when she smiled. He was completely mesmerized by her smiles and laughter. Baekhyun was already a beautiful girl but tonight she was breathtakingly glowing. Thinking about her made his heart beat wildly and his chest tighten.

He blindly searched the bedside table for his phone. He willed himself to press the send button.

Hi. It’s me, Chanyeol. Are you still up?          00:31

Baekhyun bit her bottom lip as she read the message. The tips of her fingers hovered hesitantly over the keys, unsure. “To reply or not to reply?” she whispered softly. This man really intrigued her. Everything about him intrigued her and he could be a lot of fun to be with once you got to know him. It was impossible to for Baekhyun to ignore him.

Yup.     00:40

Chanyeol grinned when he saw the message before quickly typed.

  Can I call you?            00:41