I had had enough of being surprised and taken aback by things suddenly happening. Consequently, I decided to prepare myself for the worst come morning, expecting my social media apps to blow up with questions and accusations, maybe even one or two hateful comments for those obsessed with Baekhyun.

But just as I prepared myself for any incoming impacts, there was nothing. The apps only showed normal notifications of tagged pictures and some followers, a tweet or two about me, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

I was quite appalled for a second or two, stunned to my bed where I had woken up a good 15 minutes before the alarm was supposed to ring. It was really weird and I had even began to think that the people didn’t care as much. Maybe what we all had thought was wrong.

I quickly opened my group chat with Songhyun and Jaeyeol to ask what they thought of the situation (mostly Jaeyeol’s opinion though):

Me:

Why is it so quiet?

Song-babo:

Wdym?

JaeJae:

Rlly Song… R u still not fully awake yet?

JaeJae:

Mimi is asking why her SNS isn’t blowing up, the rumour is supposedly spread already

Me:

Idiot

Song-babo:

Oohh, well I dunno

Me:

Why do I even bother with u?-,-

JaeJae:

U need to let it soak for a little while, it shud spread by the end of the day. The ppl hvn’t a chance to gossip abt it yet

Song-babo:

Wht he said

Me:

I guess ur right Jae… I shud mentally prepare for today

Me:

Ur useless Song istg

Song-babo:

Y’know ya love me<3

Me:

Ew, no thanks

JaeJae:

U should Mi, but u shud be okay. We’re here for u:)

JaeJae:

Just hit the shower girls, c u in school

Song-babo:

C ya

I didn’t bother to reply anymore and put down my phone while waiting for the alarm to ring. I let myself think about what might happen in school, as there are a lot of ways that things could go down. Mostly involving the 4 es of course, they would be the ones to blow the rumour out of proportion anyway. But of course, how things go would be determined by how those es react to the rumour.

If they choose to stay silent, then the rumour would only be spread through whispers. Everyone would know about it but no one would talk about it openly. It would most likely be akin to public secrets.

But, the es could also choose to make a scene. They could suddenly blow up in my face and accuse me of stealing their oppa or some like that, all the cliche stuff.

Knowing my luck, the second scenario would be the most likely to happen. I could only pray to all existing Gods out there and hope the es would be late to know of the rumour, so the plan would move a little before anyone actually spits in my face.

The alarm finally rang and I quickly made a move to shut it up, the shrill voice was way too annoying for moody mornings like these. Mrs.Gyo’s entrance to my room signalled the official start of the day, and with that I got off of the bed to begin my morning routine.

I dragged out every single thing I did, finding myself extremely discouraged to get to school early like I always made the effort to on any other day. I especially took my time when I showered and ate breakfast, purposefully wasting time. But at the end of it all, I still had to get in the limo and set out to school.

Mr.Kang must have had taken note of my sour mood that morning, because he didn’t attempt to make conversation with me like he always used to. But I kind of appreciated the silence, knowing that unanticipated things that may or may not happen later, would probably any energy I had left for the day.

I had a hunch that even though my SNS wasn’t on fire, the people would still know and would whisper about it as I walk through the halls. I was actually quite scared of that, I never liked to be in the center of attention.

We eventually reached school, and I got off meticulously, not quite ready to walk through the lawn. I was aware that the school was bustling with students already, considering the fact that I did leave home later than usual. I took a deep breath and walked towards the school gate, head hanging a bit low to avoid any pair of eyes that might be interested to stare at me.

Just as I passed the school gate, my arms were suddenly tangled into two different ones. I looked to my left and right, and found Songhyun and Jaeyeol smiling at me with their annoying faces. I wanted to hug them so badly then and there, feeling grateful for being so thoughtful towards me.

Songhyun rolled her eyes with a smile, “Seriously dude? I could literally see the storm cloud above your head from a mile away.”

I shook my head with a small laugh in response, “Shut the up, you idiot. How could you have seen it anyway, I got here on a car”.

Jaeyeol clucked his tongue in annoyance, “Yeah Mi why the long face? Plus, you’re late. Did you know how long we waited in front of your locker like a pair of hobos? I don’t want to be categorized together with that.” He gestured towards Songhyun at the end of his statement, and that caused Songhyun to frown at him, “Hey! What do you mean ‘that’?! I’m a person too you .”

I laughed happily watching them bicker, if they weren’t there I might have had a mental breakdown or something. Because even as we walked apathetically through the lawn, I could still feel the stares and glares of the students we passed. Not to mention the small movements they made to come closer to each other, no doubt to whisper about me.

“Thanks a lot guys, I didn’t know you can be this sweet. Well maybe Jae, but not you Song.” I announced gratefully, smiling and tightening my hold over their arms.

Jaeyeol cooed at me, “Aw Mi, you’re always welcome. I told you we’d be here for you, although that person over there needed a bit of persuasion before agreeing to get you by the gates.”

I turned to Songhyun with a pout, “You had to be persuaded to help out your best friend?” She looked guilty for a second before frowning, “Oh shut it face, be grateful we even thought to do this in the first place.”

Jaeyeol shook his head resolutely, “You mean, ‘be grateful I even thought to do this in the first place’. It was all me Song and none from you.” 

Songhyun was about to negate him but I stopped them before they started a full-on fight by the lockers, “Okay guys, I get it. I’m thanking both of you regardless of who thought of what. Now let me fix my books in peace, and be on our way to class okay?”

I took their silence as a yes and adjusted my books according to the day’s schedule. I slammed the door shut afterwards and dragged the silent duo to class. To my misfortune, it was a mistake to turn off the bickering, because this way I could see and hear what the people were doing as we passed through the corridors. Jaeyeol was spot on, the rumour had spread, but maybe none of them dared to do anything because it was unconfirmed.

I could tell that it was going to be a long day indeed.

I’m almost always never wrong when it comes to my intuition, and that day wasn’t an exception. My classmates stared a lot and the Exo members who met me throughout the day gave me apologetic yet encouraging smiles, knowing how uneasy it was with all those stares. 

I could only sigh and kept my head down, only acting naturally when Songhyun and Jaeyeol were around. Classes seemed to drag on forever and I had a mind to give up and call it a day, but just as I was about to stand up and leave, my phone buzzed on my lap.

The screen lit up with a message from Baekhyun, “You know where my office is right? If you don’t, it’s on the 5th floor, my name’s on the door. After lunch should work.”

I sighed after reading it, feeling the burden starting to set in. It wasn’t that going to his office was such a hassle, it was more towards the fact that I might not know how to act around him. I wouldn’t say we’re that awkward with each other, it’s just that, he’d suddenly changed over the previous texting episode. I didn’t know what he would do, or how his making an effort would change the way he interacts with me.

Hell, I didn’t even know what we were going to do in there, for a solid 30 minutes, alone. I’m not implying that something was supposed to happen, but I was unsettled by the slight tinge of fear that we were going to be awkward with each other, given the fact that I didn’t really know what Baekhyun was like. He seemed to close himself off for the past 2 days that I had known him personally.

The last class before lunch was English, a subject that I had particularly liked, but even that didn’t successfully take my mind off of my “office appointment”. I felt suffocated and wanted to just walk out of there, and thankfully, time was on my side on that short period, because the bell rang, signalling lun