Baekhyun yawned as he stared sleepily out of the car window, watching with disinterest as the dusky buildings rolled by, darkened with shadow as their inhabitants slept soundly through the night while he was resolved to be awake. He glanced down at his watch, frowning as the numbers 2:48 glared neon-green in the shadowy car. Soft snores echoed throughout the vehicle as his bandmates snoozed on, but Baekhyun was simply too restless to sleep; he had always had difficulty sleeping in moving vehicles anyway, but tonight was worse than usual. Now that his mind was not filled with their tour, his thoughts had been bent relentlessly on Mi-young.

I really hope nothing happened, he thought glumly as he slumped down into his seat, moping as he stared out of the glass and into the night. She’s so clumsy. Various scenarios of the many things that could go wrong began streaming through his mind, and he squirmed continuously as the images grew more and more dire; she could accidentally spill water on herself, or fall into a puddle, or get caught in an automatic sprinkling system, or suddenly get rained on- and everything would be ruined. Groaning aloud, he slid down in the seat and continued to worry endlessly until he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He glanced up to see Chanyeol leaning across the aisle of the tour bus to smile reassuringly at him, his hair sticking up in all directions and rubbing his eyes sleepily.

“Worrying about Mi-young again, I see,” he murmured softly, his voice low so as to not risk waking the others. “Don’t worry. She’ll be fine!”

“But what if something happened?” the pessimistic boy mumbled.

“I’m sure you would’ve heard something by now,” Chanyeol reasoned, and though it was sound logic, it did little to alleviate Baekhyun’s worries. He continued to rub salt in the potential wound for the rest of the ride, largely ignoring the various alarms that began ringing and the grumpy mumbles of his bandmates as they dragged themselves out of sleep. By the time their house came into few, Baekhyun had riled himself up into such a tizzy that he was sitting straight upright, on the edge of his seat. He sprung into the aisle before the bus had even come to a full stop, clambering over bags and other articles strewn in the walkway as he made his way to the front of the bus. Confused, the driver opened the door for him, and he stumbled down the steps and into the cool night air, not even bothering to retrieve his bags as he ran right up to the front door and pounded loudly on the wooden surface. Painful seconds passed, and he unleashed a second volley of fists onto the door until it suddenly sprung open, revealing a very bitter-looking Grandma Lee.

“Confound it all, Baekhyun, can’t you let an old lady get her beauty rest?” the old woman sighed, but her irritation had dissipated, replacing her frown with an amused smile. He forced a shaky smile of his own, but continuously peered over the shoulders of the small old woman, attempting to steal a glance of the mermaid. Where is she? He thought frantically as his heart pounded against his ribcage. The old woman smiled drily. “Oh, I get it. Pining for your girl, I see. Well go on, lover-boy, I won’t stop you,” she chuckled as she stepped out of the doorway. Baekhyun was too preoccupied to even offer a retort, and he hastily kicked off his shoes and stepped into the house.

“Mi-young?” he called softly, his eyes struggling to adjust to the gloom of the house. He heard a faint mumbling and someone shifting on the couch as he fumbled his way to the light switch, flipping it on. As the overhead light glared brightly, he raised a hand to his eyes to shield them from the intensity. As his eyes gradually acclimated to the light, he lowered his arm to see a half-asleep Mi-young sitting up on the couch, smacking her lip with an assortment of bagged candies clustered in her lap. As soon as her hazy sea-blue eyes landed on him, they brightened immediately, and she climbed off the couch with the bags crowded in her arms.

“Baekhyun! You’re home!” she cried jovially as she ran up to him, beaming. Relief flooded through him, and his shoulders sagged as she stopped in front of him and smiled happily. He raised a hand to gently caress the top of her head, smiling slightly. I can’t believe I was worried. She sure makes me a mess…

“Yeah. Have you been good for Grandma Lee?” he asked, cocking his head to the side when he noticed her bizarre knitted attire. They’ve gotten along swimmingly, haven’t they? He thought in amusement as she nodded eagerly and glanced at the old woman, who gave her a knowing wink. It was then that the rest of the boys dragged themselves into the house, lugging their bags and complaining to the high heavens.

“Why do we do this again?” Chen mumbled as he dragged his suitcase over the doorjamb.

“Because we enjoy it?” Lay offered with raised eyebrows, but Chen stared at him in silence for a moment before shrugging and continuing to struggle with his luggage.

“Home! We’re home!” Kai cried as he ceremoniously flopped face-first on the floor, kissing the wood floors and rolling onto his back as he sighed in satisfaction. When he noticed the girl’s presence, however, he rolled onto his belly and pointed at the many tied baggies in the mermaid’s arms. “What’re those, Mi-young?”

“Oh! I almost forgot!” she exclaimed as she glanced down at the articles in her arms. She then beamed brightly at them, as if she were pleased with herself. “In honor of Valentine’s Day, I made all of you chocolate!” Baekhyun blinked in surprise, looking to Grandma Lee for an explanation; the crafty old woman just grinned slyly and winked at him, much to his displeasure. His attention was drawn away when Mi-young began to bob around the room, dropping the little baggies into the waiting boys’ hands. “I was watching the tele-thingy, and then this guy suddenly came up saying, ‘It’s Vaelntine’s Day,’ and I since all of you are so special to me, I simply had to give you all gifts!” she explained rapidly as she waltzed effortlessly through the towers of luggage to deliver her homemade presents. She stopped in front of Baekhyun, and he thought he saw her blushing slightly as she set a palm-sized box into his hands, curling his fingers around the cardboard edges. “I hope you all enjoy it… It’s my first time making chocolate, so…”

“Hey, why does Baekhyun get the big one?” Xiumin complained with a mouthful of chocolate balls, pointing angrily at the box.

“Yeah, that’s no fair,” Tao pouted as he untied the bag and sniffed it experimentally before shrugging, tipping his head back, and emptying the contents of the baggie into his wide-open mouth. He nodded approvingly as he chewed on the chocolate, giving a thumbs-up to Mi-young. As Baekhyun eyed the cardboard box in his hands, Mi-young flushed lightly.

“Well, Baekhyun is the one who saved me, you know? I had to show my gratitude…” she explained quietly. She was shuffling from foot to foot, obviously embarrassed. Something about her bashfulness made Baekhyun very happy, sending a fluttering feeling through his stomach.

“Whatever the case, this chocolate is the bomb,” Suho beamed as he leaned against his suitcase, popping chocolate balls into his mouth one after the other. While Sehun was busy making a smart remark to Kris, he grinned and leaned over to pluck one of the balls from the unprotected bag, making the boy whip around and cry out while the sniggering Suho triumphantly munched on his prize. The grin disappeared as Sehun angrily snatched away the rest of his bag and dumped the contents into his mouth, smirking stupidly.

“Really?” Mi-young asked hopefully, and received a chorus of praise from the gaggle of exhausted boys. As they finished off the baggies one by one, they bid Mi-young goodnight and dragged their articles down to their rooms to collapse into bed without unpacking. “Baekhyun?” came a small, timid voice, and he glanced down to see the mermaid staring expectantly up at him. “Are you going to eat your chocolate?” she asked.

“Oh, right,” he laughed nervously. “I guess I just got caught up iin everyone else’s reactions,” he explained weakly and opened the box, glancing down at the little heart-shaped chocolate within. His name was written clumsily in white frosting, smeared at one end where Mi-young had accidentally brushed it with a finger. “You really did a good job,” he smiled softly as he took the chocolate in his hand and bit down on it, patting her on the head while he chewed thoughtfully and trying his best to play up how much he was enjoying it. Mi-young’s eyes sparkled happily as she watched him eat, saying nothing until he had finished the entire thing.

“Did you really enjoy it?” she asked hopefully.

“Every bit,” he answered, and her eyes squeezed up tight as she smiled excitedly.

“I’m so glad,” she responded, then raised a hand to as she broke out into a giant yawn. Baekhyun chuckled softly and placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her around and steering her down the hallway. “Eh? But you just got home. I’m not sleepy,” she protested weakly as he continued to usher down the hall and into the bedroom. Despite her protests, as soon as he flipped on the lights she shuffled over the bed and flopped face-down onto the soft comforter, breathing in deeply before wriggling under the plush fabric and glancing up at him with tired blue eyes. “You promise you’ll tell me all about your trip tomorrow?” she asked as she yawned once more and blinked a few times to avoid falling asleep then and there.

“Of course,” he responded with a nod, poking her in the forehead. “It’s a promise.” She smiled up at him before rolling onto her side and exhaling heavily. Her breathing slowed into a steady rhythm, and within seconds, she had drifted off to sleep with a small smile on her face. Baekhyun watched her for a few moments, simply staring at the side of her body rising and falling in time with her breaths, before shutting the lights off and retreating from the room. As he quietly shut the door behind him, he glanced down toward the living room to see Grandma Lee staring at him thoughtfully.

“She’s a good girl,” she remarked as he walked past her to throw a blanket over the couch for his make-shift bed.

“Yeah,” he responded quietly, unsure of just where the conversation with his elderly neighbor was headed.

“A special girl,” she added, and he felt all the blood in his body turn to ice, and his heart stopped beating as he looked up at her with slightly wide eyes. Though the panic on his expression was quite readable, the old woman’s face was etched in stone, giving him no clue to what she could be implying. “You take care of her now, you hear me?” she demanded sternly. “You hear me?” she repeated when the stunned Baekhyun responded only with silence, and fearing the grandmother’s wrath, he nodded hastily. She then smiled slightly and tottered over to him to stand up on her tip-toes and peck him on the cheek. “You’re a good boy, too, Baekhyun. She needs someone like you.” Somewhat recovered from the scare, Baekhyun caught the undertones of her comment and blushed, looking away.

“What’re you talking about? It’s not like that. Just friends,” he insisted as he nervously fluffed his pillow for the millionth time.

“Mhmm, keep telling yourself that, my boy,” she teased as she gathered up her knitting things and shuffled over to the door. Despite her incessant mocking, Baekhyun was gracious enough to walk over and open the door for the old woman; after all, she had spent the last week minding his house and watching over Mi-young, and her teasing was harmless enough. She mumbled a gratuitous remark before winking up at him. “Well, if you want to be stubborn, that’s your own problem,” she smirked up at him. “Do send her by from time to time, dearie. I do so enjoy her company. Hope that amnesia of hers clears up soon, hmm?” she finished before hopping down the steps and walking over the stepping stones to her small house. Baekhyun stared after her, trying to calculate the meaning of the knowing smile the old woman had shot him before she turned her back.

“Crafty old crone…” he smiled slightly as he turned and shut the door behind him, pressing his back against the door. It was then that the feeling of nausea he had been suppressing surged with full force, and he grimaced as he held his stomach and wobbled over to the kitchen sink, dry-heaving as he leaned over its metal edge. He flipped on the water, down big gulps of the clear substance as he struggled to appease the roiling in his belly.

“You know, you could have just told her that you don’t like chocolate,” came a chiding comment ffrom behind him. He withdrew his head from the sink, mouth dripping as he stared bitterly at the grinning Chanyeol leaning against the entryway with his arms crossed and his eyes glittering in amusement. “Honestly, I don’t think it would have hurt her feelings that badly. You’ve never failed to turn down a girl on Valentine’s Day- what’s changed now?” Baekhyun ignored the question, ripping a hand towel out of a drawer to wipe off his mouth. Then, he eased himself into a sitting position, leaning back against the lower counters while he closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing. Eventually, the discomfort in his stomach settled, and he opened his eyes to find that Chanyeol was still there, expecting an answer.

“She would be sad,” he mumbled in explanation.

“Yeah, that hasn’t stopped you in the past,” Chanyeol remarked with a sneer, uncrossing his arms as he strode across the kitchen to settle beside him with a heavy sigh. He leaned his head back against the wooden cabinet, staring out at the night beyond the glass window on the other side of the room. “… You like her, don’t you?” he asked quietly after a while. Baekhyun did not answer, but that was answer enough for his best friend. “I mean… How is that gonna work? She’s a-“

“You don’t think I know that?” Baekhyun snapped, then immediately felt guilty. He glanced down at his lap, miserable. “I know that. Why do you think I haven’t acted on it? It’ll just make things more complicated than they already are,” he sighed heavily. Chanyeol stared at him a moment, then bumped shoulders with him.

“Come on, dude. It’s late. Go to bed, yeah?” With a pained smile, he stood and looped an arm under Baekhyun’s, dragging him to his feet and over to the couch before bidding him a good night and disappearing down the hallway. Baekhyun sighed again as he settled down on the couch, resting an arm under his head as he stared sadly up at the ceiling.

She’s a mermaid, and I’m a human. We can’t be together- so why do I continue to feel this way? He thought as he drew his thumb across his lip, frowning as a smear of chocolate came away.