Baekhyun is flipping through some documents on a Friday night when the phone rings. He frowns, wondering who it is at such a late hour. Picking up his phone, he sees the caller ID and without even another thought, he answers the awaiting call.

“Baekhyun,” the girl slurs through the phone.

With a panicky heart, the male stands up right away. He is already going to get his coat. “Where are you?”

She takes a deep breath and hums. Baekhyun can imagine her looking around with fuzzy vision and cloudy mind, trying to recognise her surrounding.

“Iunno,” she mumbles. “Kin you come git me, Baekhyun?” she asks softly, sounding so sad that Baekhyun’s heart clenches.

“Of course,” he says. “I’m already on my way. Stay where you are, okay?”

“Okay,” she answers with a little pout that is audible, making Baekhyun smile. She hasn’t let this side of her show since years ago. She lets out a grunt when she plops herself down on the curb.

“You still have your location shared with me, don’t you?” She hums to Baekhyun’s question. “Okay. Stay there. I’m coming,” he tells her as he enters the lift to go down to the carpark.

Baekhyun is cruising slowly down the street, eyes darting between the empty road and his phone. He sees that the blue dot on the navigation map is slowly getting closer to the stationary red dot. Now with undivided attention on the pavement, he tries to make out the silhouette of a girl sitting on the sidewalk. He doesn’t see it. But what he does see is a bunch of boys crowding around something, or someone.

Halting his car, he quickly gets out and walks towards the group where sees his best friend swatting at outstretched hands, her face screwed up in a sort of disgust at whatever they have just said to her. Her eyes are shut and she looks way out of it. Baekhyun knows that if he had gotten here later than the eight minutes that he took speeding down, she would have already been gone with them unwillingly and he wouldn’t be able to find her at where she is right now.

Fastening his steps, Baekhyun towers over the boys who look up at him, blinking. Seeing how he is alone though, a few of them sport smirks. Baekhyun raises an eyebrow intimidatingly, the strong charisma and intimidating aura already emanating from his features and posture. The confidence in the boys falter. Baekhyun crosses his arms.

“Get out of here,” he mutters.

“And who are you?” one of the boys scoff.

“You get out of here,” another brave one says.

Baekhyun lets out a condescending Ha! as he rolls his eyes to the side. He returns to glare at them. He is about to insult them when the only girl among them lifts her lolling head.

“Baekhyun?” she calls, sounding so tired and so cute that Baekhyun feels his face getting warm and his heart jumping.

“Yes, kitten,” he quickly answers, taking a step towards her.

She immediately cracks an eye open to make sure that it is him before she completely trusts him. Her hands are outstretched towards Baekhyun and her eyes are shut again now. Her best friend quickly pulls her up to her feet gently, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. His arm is around her waist as he slightly carries her to his car. He can hear the group of boys muttering curses under their breaths. Baekhyun sits her in the passenger’s seat and buckles her up, making sure that her rolling head is propped up by the seatbelt.

He drives back to his apartment building and brings the unconscious girl up to his penthouse. It is only when she is lying on his bed that he realises how short and tight her dress is. He feels his ears burning and his heart thudding. He doesn’t know if it is because of anger — that she put herself out so skimpily like that — or because of embarrassment — from having to take it off so she could be changed into comfy clothes.

Nonetheless, Baekhyun takes in a huge, deep breath and steps forward to undress the sleeping girl. He is shocked though, when she suddenly grabs his wrists when he is about to pull her dress up. He fixes wide eyes on her misty, hooded ones. She is frowning.

“What arrr you doowin?” she slurs.

Baekhyun is glad that she knows someone is undressing her. And he can’t really help the proud smile playing on his lips.

“Changing you out of your dress,” Baekhyun tells her gently, pulling a hand out of her grasp carefully. Her frown deepens. “Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

She fidgets slightly when Baekhyun pulls a side of her dress up past her hip. She sighs and pouts. Baekhyun kind of likes her drunk sometimes, only when she does cute things like these. But more often than not, he is always sad and disappointed.

“It is, actually,” she grumble, even going to the extent to try to pull off her .

Baekhyun quickly stops her. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, tiger,” he mutters, making her giggle. He sighs softly, brushing her hair back. “No one’s taking off no one’s underwear, okay?”

The girl lets out a deep sigh and within seconds, falls right back into deep sleep. Baekhyun shakes his head in an endearing amazement. He pulls off the rest of her dress off her body, and with his eyes glaring at her face and only her face, quickly wears his shirt over her. And because he likes wearing big clothes, it covers her nicely. Only when she is covered by her new pajamas, Baekhyun relaxes and carries her to lay her head on the pillow.

He tucks her in and turns off the lights in the room, going back downstairs where he had been working in living room. It is already nearly three in the morning but he really has to get this done. He is sure his father would be giving him a new task when morning comes, just as he always does in lieu of “preparing to become a successful boss”.

The house is quiet at the night is dark and peaceful. Baekhyun’s eyes are slowly fluttering to a close. But he is already on his last lap; he just needs to remember what Chan Brothers Pte Ltd does (supply paint), and what kind of paint they need when establishing a building or a house. He skims through it quickly and without even making sure he has memorised it, he shuts the folder with a light heart and immediately lies on the couch.

The moment his head touches the pillow, he falls into a deep sleep that even the clumsiness of his best friend cooking lunch that afternoon doesn’t wake him up. It is only until he feels a consistent shake on his shoulder that he slowly wakes up. The moment he opens his eyes, he has to squint because of the sunlight flooding into the house. His heart jumps when he finally focuses on who is staring down at him.

His best friend is smiling apologetically down at him as she whispers, “Hi. I made lunch.”

Baekhyun’s heart lurches at how soft and gentle her voice is. He shuts his eyes again, trying to steady his heart rate. Thinking that he is trying to get back to sleep, she chuckles softly and shakes him awake again.

“Wake up, Baekhyun,” she whines playfully. “You can’t make me eat alone.”

God, is she trying to torture him?

He lets her pull him up as he groans loudly. He realises belatedly that she had covered him with a blanket when it falls off his body as he stands. She drags him to the island where there is a whole feast laid out. Baekhyun frowns as he takes a seat.

“I just want to apologise for yesterday night,” the girl murmurs, head down in embarrassment. Baekhyun keeps his blank eyes on her, noticing how her lips pout just so slightly. “I was selfish and I didn’t think. I should not have drank so much. I promise I won’t drink more than two shots at one time anymore. And I—”

“You said all that the last time, too,” Baekhyun mutters after taking a sip of water. The girl lifts her head frantically, her eyes showing fear of making her best friend mad. “And the time before that, and the—”

“I know,” she cries desperately. “I’m sorry!” Baekhyun doesn’t say anything. He simply picks up his chopsticks and starts eating. He can feel the anxiety and panic rising in her. “I’m sorry I always disrupt you from your Friday plans,” she apologises anxiously. “But you can’t get mad at me, you’re the only person I trust enough to bring me home and do nothing to me!”

Baekhyun still doesn’t say anything. He wants her to really feel sorry, wants her to know that he is disappointed in her. Granted, ever since she entered college, she doesn’t beg for Baekhyun’s forgiveness anymore. Actually, they don’t even see each other often. But every time they do meet, she is always this tough, uncaring, sarcastic character that Baekhyun has never been acquainted with in the five years they had known each other. Three years later, he still hasn’t been properly introduced but he has seen enough to know that he hates it. He hates her new personality.

Because he knows that her real one is being hidden, suppressed, under it.

Like that first time she came crying to him in the first few months of college, sobbing about how her boyfriend then had cheated on her with one of her friends. Baekhyun saw the real her that day, and the day after that when he brought her out for recuperation.

Or the other time when she was drunk at a party and, even though she had so many friends, never trusted them well enough to bring her home so she called Baekhyun. She was brought back safely, of course. And in her gratefulness, made him breakfast and spent the day with him in her own, comfortable skin. Very much like today.

Baekhyun has always been too soft with her. It isn’t because he likes her. No, that is only a part of the reason why. Though a big part of it. But he is always so forgiving because she knows how to break him. She knows that being cute and rubbing herself all over him would get her some brownie points. And also because she knows that Baekhyun can never resist the girl that he has always known, the personality that he is familiar with. The personality that she likes best, too.

So she gets off her stool and goes over to Baekhyun’s side of the island. She places her hands on his thigh, burning his skin with her touch. She shakes his leg slightly.

“Please forgive me, Baekhyun,” she begs with a pout. Baekhyun grunts. She holds his arm now and jiggles it. “Please, please, please?”

“No,” he mutters in a strong voice, letting her know that he won’t be so easy this time.

She starts panicking. Baekhyun has never gotten this far without forgiving her. She hugs his arm to her body and rests her head on his shoulder, snuggling into the crook of his neck. Baekhyun’s heart pounds painfully hard in his chest, her signature sweet perfume scent making his senses go crazy.

“I promise I won’t call you again when I’m drunk!” she exclaims.

Baekhyun really wants to withhold for a while longer. But how can he let her think that he is annoyed with her drunk calls of help? He is more than glad to save her and be her knight in shining armour. And also, how can he resist anymore with her scent clouding his mind?

The male’s loud sigh lightens her heart greatly. She tilts her head up to look at him, her eyes sparkling. Baekhyun sets his chopsticks down and pulls her off his arm. He turns his chair so that he is facing her. He keeps a stern but concerned expression on his face.

“I want you to call me when you’re drunk,” he says seriously. “But I don’t want you to get yourself drunk and think it’s okay because you have me to take care of you anyway.”

She doesn’t even seem like she’s listening anymore as she grins at Baekhyun, her arms outstretched for a reconciliation hug. He grabs her wrists and pulls them together, bringing them down. She pouts at him.

“Are you even listening, kitten?” he sighs. He looks away this time, knowing he would get her to focus with his next few words. He doesn’t say them just to make her listen either. They are the truth. “I don’t want you to make use of me,” he whispers.

Her heart drops. Shaking her head rapidly, she objects with conviction, “No, no! I don’t make use of you!”

“That’s what it feels like,” Baekhyun says honestly, looking at her with such disappointed eyes that she feels her heart cracking. “You only call me when you need help because you know I will take care of you, and you know I will forgive you eventually. You say sorry all the time but you never repent, and you never do what you said you would do.”

“No, I know,” she says quickly, stepping forward to standing between his legs. “I know and I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. I promise—” she holds up three fingers, Baekhyun letting go of her wrist to let her bring it up, “—never to drink until I am drunk. And I promise I will keep to this promise.” She slips her hand out of Baekhyun’s hold and this time holds his hands in hers. She gives him a wry smile. “That’s two promises broken if I drink until I’m drunk.”

Baekhyun stares into her sincere eyes, seeing only truthfulness and the warmth that he knows she has but just won’t show. He sighs loudly. “Okay,” he mutters. She squeals and throws her arms around his neck, making him bend so she could hug him. He wraps his arms around her body. He dips his face into the crook of her neck, enjoying the intimacy. He murmurs into her skin, “But you still have to call me when you drink. I’ll bring you home.”

“Home, you mean here?” she asks, pulling back to look at him.

He gives her look. “Of course. Uncle would go crazy if he saw you going home drunk.”

His heart flutters when he hears her laughter and sees her beautiful smile and the way her eyes crinkle into crescents. She is so beautiful.

“Thank you, Baekhyun,” she whispers, shining eyes boring into his.

He feels his heart thumping against his rib cage. She gives him a smile and, with his breath held, she leans forward to press her lips to his cheek.

Just like the previous times she woke up in Baekhyun’s house, they spend the day together.

Baekhyun has received his new reading for the day from his father but instead of getting right on it, he is out with his best friend. The girl has also explained to her father that she is spending the day with Baekhyun, so he doesn’t have to worry. And indeed, her father doesn’t. He trusts Baekhyun just as much as she trusts him.

They walk around a shopping mall, share a sundae, and eat dinner together. And because of the way she links her arm with his, there had been a few people mistaking them for a couple. It also doesn’t help that there does seem to have a spark between the both of them. The mistake always makes Baekhyun’s ears red but he always, very calmly, explain that they are only just friends.

At the end of the day, he drives her home and walks her to her house where her maid opens the door to let her in. The servant gives them their private time while Baekhyun stands at the doorstep with his hands in his pockets while the girl faces him with a sad smile. The both of them know that once night comes, things will go back to normal with her hanging out with her rich, frivolous friends, and he would go back to being busy with learning how to take over his father’s business. Quite truthfully, neither of them wants that to happen. But the day has to come to an end sometime.

“Thanks for last night, Baekhyun,” the girl says softly. “And for today. I really had so much fun.”

Baekhyun smiles upon seeing her smile. The both of them stare at each other, just smiling. The summer night air is cooling but it feels stuffy all of a sudden. She clears while Baekhyun nods, feeling so awkward because this just feels so familiar.

“Remember your promise,” he sets playfully serious eyes on her.

She giggles and the tension around them lifts again. “I will,” she bobs her head. Taking a small step forward, she stretches out her arms for a hug. “Good night, Baekhyun.”

He goes forth to embrace her, the both of them tightening their arms around each other, not wanting either one to go. Baekhyun buries his nose into hair while she presses her face into his shoulder. This happens every time they have to leave each other after a night wherein Baekhyun saved a drunk girl and they spent the whole of next day together as the best friends that they used to be.

And just like all the other times, Baekhyun loosens his arms around her when he feels her pulling back. And just like all the other times, she leans in and presses her lips to his, making his heart jump. Even after being in such a situation so many times, Baekhyun still finds it hard to breathe and his entire body feels so hot. He is hyper aware of her soft pillows on his, so perfectly shaped to fit his.

And just like all the other times, the girl parts from the kiss and whispers a “I love you very much” before pressing a last kiss to his cheek. Then, finally, turns around and enters her home, leaving a frozen Baekhyun standing there with a pounding heart. Just like all the other times.

And you know, you know where to find me
Yeah you know where to go when you're looking for love
And you know, you know where I'm hiding
Yeah you know, yeah you know

Baekhyun was driving his car back home when he saw a familiar girl walking towards the same direction. He wound down the window and started to cruise alongside her. She glanced to the side when she noticed his car, jumping a little when she saw Baekhyun grinning at her from the driver’s seat. He tilted his head as they both stopped moving. Without a word, the girl went round the car and entered the vehicle.

“Were you looking for me?” he asked her as she put her seat belt on.

She had already started to wear makeup. It was still light and natural, it hadn’t gotten to the point where she wore thick makeup with dark eyeshadow. Baekhyun thought she looked even prettier with the light makeup though she had already been beautiful even without anything on her face.

“Yeah,” she murmured, sounding too shy for it to be normal.

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

“Yes,” she squeaked.

Now Baekhyun was even more suspicious about her behaviour. He didn’t say anything though, because she had turned all red in the face already. So he drove the remaining two minutes in silence, reaching the big bungalow that belonged to his family.

His parents were delighted to see his best friend. His mother had always liked her because she was polite and always so helpful. His father thought she was very cute and smart. Baekhyun agreed with the both of them. The four of them had dinner together that evening and when they were done, Baekhyun brought the girl up to his room where they spent most of their time together.

“Are you staying over?” Baekhyun asked as he pulled his shirt over his body, getting himself ready to shower. He glanced over his shoulder to see her blinking at his , her cheeks aflame.

“Y-Yes,” she stuttered.

Baekhyun thought it was weird. He had gone topless in front of her quite a number of times already and she never had such a reaction before. He didn’t comment on it though.

“I’m going to take a shower,” he told her before taking fresh clothes to change into. Then he left her in the room, pretending not to notice her blush.

Baekhyun was already in his last year of college while the girl was only in her first. They were in different colleges, which was a pity since they had been in the same school since she moved into the neighbourhood Baekhyun and his family had been staying at previously. They grew to be really close and though Baekhyun was two years older than her, he didn’t mind hanging out with her. He liked her. She was very cute, and she was like a younger sister to him.

But that night, he no longer saw her as a younger sister.

Baekhyun was shutting his door while running a hand through his blow dried hair when he stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide on the image before him.

There on the bed sat his best friend, the cute girl whom he had always seen as a younger sister. Not just that, but she was also wearing a white babydoll lingerie, her s so full and round that Baekhyun couldn’t really keep his eyes off them. When she stood up from the mattress though, his eyes dropped to her bare legs. She started walking towards him and that breaks the trance that he was in.

Baekhyun backed up against the door, eyes wide. “What are you wearing?” he breathed. He could hear someone walking up the stairs. He turned around and locked the door quickly before going forward and grabbing the girl’s wrist. He pulled her to the bed. “What are you doing?” he hissed at her.

“I need a favour, Baekhyun.”

His eyes couldn’t stop dropping to her cleavage. He could even see her s through the sheer material of the lingerie. He couldn’t be this close to her. He took a step back, shaking his head. He gestured to her outfit with jerky movements.

“Whatever that favour is, I think I’d do it even without you having to wear this!” Baekhyun growled in frustration.

“Really?” she asked in a small voice, now sounding so guilty and embarrassed that Baekhyun had to take a deep breath.

He took a small step towards her. “Yes,” he said in reassurance, voice dropping to a gentle undertone. “What favour is it?”

She swallowed and her face burned. “I-I’m still a , Baekhyun,” she stuttered.

He was becoming more frustrated. And she decided to come here in this? “So?” he muttered, trying not to raise his voice.

“I d-don’t want t-to lose my ity to j-just any boy in college,” she whispered, dropping her head.

Baekhyun stood there staring at her. He knew why she was doing this now. He finally knew why she got so red and squeaky before. He could only gape at her in shock. She trusted him because he was her best friend. He wasn’t “just any boy” because he was her best friend. She wanted him to be her first time because he was her best friend.

“Sweetheart, I can’t,” Baekhyun whispered, heart dropping at the revelation of what she wanted him to do.

“Why not?” she asked, hurt.

“Because,” he started, taking her hand to comfort her by rubbing the back of her palm with his thumb. “I don’t want to make this friendship weird. I think you’re very beautiful and very y,” he tells her truthfully, curling her hair behind her ear. “But creates a kind of special bond between two people. I don’t want to lose you as a best friend.”

“But you love me, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course. So much.”

“Then you won’t lose me,” she promised, taking a tentative step towards him. “Please, Baekhyun?” she pleaded.

Baekhyun gulped. He looked down at her, his resolve already breaking. “No,” he murmured.

“Would you prefer some jock taking my ity, then?” she whispered, disappointed as she took a step back.

He could see the pain in her eyes, like she came to terms that Baekhyun didn’t care for her, didn’t care that there was a possibility of her losing the most important thing a girl could have to just a random boy who didn’t know how to treat her right. Baekhyun knew that saying the wrong answer would mean that he would lose her even quicker than if he made love to her.

“Promise me,” Baekhyun murmured, swallowing. Her eyes lit up. “That you won’t avoid me.”

“I won’t,” she promised right away. But then she bit on her bottom lip and confessed, “Maybe for a while but I promise we’ll go back to normal. Like this never happened.”

“No,” Baekhyun shook his head. “I don’t want you to forget. I want you to remember every moment, every second.” His eyes softened as he rubbed her arm lovingly. “It’s your first time and I want you to remember every detail.”

She felt her heart swelling and her cheeks felt a little hot. Her heart was thundering against her chest. “You’ll be careful with me?” she squeaked.

Baekhyun smiled gently, sweetly. “Yes, of course,” he assured her.

With a hand on the side of her face, he pulled her closer. She held her breath and shut her eyes. Baekhyun was only a hair breadth away from her lips. He flickered his gaze between her pink lips and her long eyelashes resting on her cheeks. He took a few seconds just drinking in her features, the reality of being intimate with this beautiful girl, who was his best friend, now dawning on him. But he didn’t get to dwell on it for too long because just as she fluttered her eyes open, he leant in and closed the distance between their lips, causing the girl to let out a soft mewl.

Baekhyun’s heart was beating wildly in his chest and he felt like he was living a dream. His throat closed every time he hovered over her sweaty, flushed face, features contorting with pleasure. The night was magical and he was sure that it wasn’t because of how gentle, how passionate, or how vanilla the was. Because Baekhyun knew what love felt like when he was in the face of it.

Even when dawn came, Baekhyun still felt that same swelling of his chest when he woke up to his best friend’s face. But he knew that the magic of last night was already gone. So, as if to say goodbye, Baekhyun kissed her firmly but sweetly on her supple pillows, not without noticing that she had also unconsciously puckered her lips.

And when she woke up a few hours later, Baekhyun pretended that he was sleeping as he heard her pull on her clothes. And just like what he had done, she gave him a last kiss and whispered a Thank you, Baekhyun. He would have thought that she would leave then, but she only stood hovering over him, her hand on his chest just caressing his milky skin soothingly. Baekhyun hoped she couldn’t feel how fast his heart was beating. She didn’t move, it was as if she was watching Baekhyun sleep. He was about to go pink at the thought of it when she drew out a forlorn sigh.

“It was perfect, Baekhyun,” she whispered to him, thinking he couldn’t hear her still. “Everything that I dreamt of. And I’m so glad it was with you.” With one long, firm kiss to his lips, she murmured, a little louder than a whisper as though she wanted him to hear it, “I love you very much.”

Baekhyun could remember every breath of a whisper, every touch of her lips, every caress of her fingers on his skin. He could still feel it all. Because that was the very night, the very last time he saw her as she really was.

After that morning, Baekhyun didn’t see her until a month later. He had changed; his heart would pound so hard at the thought of meeting her, his eyes could only see her beauty, his lips can only curl into affectionate smiles whenever she was around. But she, too, had changed. she wouldn’t meet his eyes whenever she talked. Her makeup had gotten heavy, too. And the way she dressed, it was so different. Baekhyun still thought she was pretty, of course. But he just wished he could see more of the original canvas, not the edits and alterations done to it.

The consequent month after that, he met the people she was hanging out with. They weren’t good influences. She always went out during the weekends. She was always spending money so freely. Always making out with cute guys just around the corner. She looked and acted different. Baekhyun just couldn’t recognise her anymore.

He already knew he crossed the line when he gave in to her request. But he didn’t think things would change this drastically. But now that he thought about it, it was just like tilting the world off axis; two best friends, who knew each other in and out yet remained good friends because they kept things platonic and stagnant, having . Baekhyun suddenly, finally saw Newton’s first law coming into play: an object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force.

He should not have slept with her. Baekhyun couldn’t help but feel that the only person he could blame for all these to happen, everything relating to his best friend’s change and their distancing apart, was himself.