Do you like strawberries?

Wanna catch a movie?

Oh yes, me too, always earnest

But girl problems in both hands

Do you like chocolate?

Is it sweet on your lips?

Oh yes, me too, it’s only you

But they’re real, girl problems

My phone won’t stop ringing

Too many unread messages

Tonight where should I go?

There’s no way I can escape

These are my girl problems

Reverberating high heel sound

The knocking on the door

Tonight, anywhere

There’s no way I can escape

These are my girl problems

Even as summer comes and goes with fall taking over its place, Baekhyun feels like he is constantly sitting in front of a fireplace when he is with his girl. It is the stupidest example but it is the closest representation of what he feels. When she said yes to being his girlfriend, Baekhyun honestly didn’t think that his feelings for her would change. But it does.

Baekhyun doesn’t get to have her over very often because she has to be home for Jinju. But then Jinju was invited to her best friend’s sleepover party last night and so Baekhyun has the privilege to have his girlfriend stay with him for the night. He never thought she could get any more beautiful but she did when she undressed, and she did again when he watched her sleep, and now, with her sitting on the floor of his living room in just his dress shirt as she eats the ramyeon Baekhyun cooked, he thinks this her right now has to be the highest level of Beautiful a woman can get to. Her beauty is just so unreal.

He sits next to her, his head resting on his palm as he watches her eat with her eyes focused on the TV screen. The sun streaming through the window, acting as her backdrop just makes Baekhyun’s heart pound with so much love for her that it is crazy. And when she curls her hair behind her ear every time it falls, it is instinctive for Baekhyun to reach out and gather her brown locks, holding her hair in a ponytail. She stops and glances at him staring at her, his earnest eyes soft and brown. Her lips tilt into a grin.

“Thanks,” she murmurs.

He doesn’t say anything, simply staring at her. So she goes back to eating with Baekhyun holding up her hair, resting his hand lightly on her back. He doesn’t eat because he isn’t hungry, so he sits there to accompany his girlfriend, just basking in her presence. And when she is done eating, she puts down her chopsticks and spoon, and turns to Baekhyun with a big smile. She pats her tummy and leans back against the couch.

“I’m full,” she announces to him happily.

Baekhyun lets go of her hair and lets his fingers brush her smooth skin as he retracts his hand. He drops his hand to her lap, resting his palm on her warm thigh.

“What time do we have to get Jinju?” he asks.

The girl hums and moves so that she is leaning more towards Baekhyun, her legs now pressed together with his hand between them. He moves closer to her unconsciously, just like how sunflowers follow the position of the sun. The girl smiles and entwines her hand around his arm, hugging it loosely while she rests her head on his shoulder. She presses her nose into his shirt, taking in a deep breath of his scent, and suddenly Baekhyun feels lightheaded and too happy in love knowing that it isn’t just him that is intoxicated with her smell.

“Probably around five,” she mumbles with her lips on his shirt.

Baekhyun swallows, his heart racing when she tilts her head now to rest on his shoulder. “We can bring Jinju out for dinner. And then maybe a pet café.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” she agrees, grinning up at him. “Jinju likes animals.”

“Where do you wanna go before that, then?” he mumbles, dipping his head to look at her.

She has her eyes shut in bliss, just snuggling up with her boyfriend like that, and Baekhyun just has to hold his breath because one, his heart is going to explode and two, his love for her is too overwhelming. He manages to lean in and press his lips softly on her temple but when her lips tilt into a small smile, he has to tighten his hands to stop himself from squealing. But he also forgets that he has his hand on her thigh, making her open her eyes to look at him in amusement when he squeezes her leg.

“I don’t know,” she mumbles, pinching his arm lightly. “Wanna catch a movie?”

“What movie?” he breathes, staring at her. But then he frowns when he feels her hands pinching at his arm. “Baby, what are you doing?”

She grins at him, shrugging. “You were pinching me.”

He frowns even more. “No, I wasn’t—”

He stops himself though because if he said no, he wasn’t, then he would have to explain to her that he “pinched” her because he was entirely too mesmerised and caught up in the moment with her. So he doesn’t say anything to that, simply letting her think that he had been pinching her just because. But then she starts pinching his bicep, close to his armpit, and he yelps at that ticklish sensation. It only makes her laugh.

“Scared of tickles, are you?” she teases, unlatching herself from his arm.

Baekhyun stares at her devilishly playful look. A taboo starts to pound in his chest, hard and loud. Has he mentioned before that she is pretty? Beautiful? y? Cute? God, how did he get so ing lucky?

He can’t even stop her from climbing over him as she starts attacking him with tickles. He would normally hate it when people do this, but he lets her poke her fingers into his sides, especially allowing her to nuzzle her face into his neck to tickle him with her nose. He is laughing and trying so hard not to throw her off just so he could breathe because he had already been so breathless at her beauty and now she is just stopping him from breathing because of her tickles. But Baekhyun keeps her there with his hands on her hips.

It is only when her fingers start to tickle his stomach, his brain starts to go haywire and he feels like a teenage boy undergoing puberty all over again. His face is red, especially when she quirks an amused eyebrow at him since she is sitting on his lap.

“Okay, okay,” he chokes out, squeezing her waist. “Stop, stop!”

“Who’s the prettiest girl ever?” she teases, lifting her head to look at him, her fingers hovering around his tummy.

Her name is about to roll off his tongue instinctively but he stops himself. He gives her a cheeky look. “Jinju.”

She gapes at him for a second before pouting. “I can’t even say that isn’t true,” she grumbles, though she isn’t really upset.

She does stop tickling Baekhyun though, and he is grateful for that, though still quite uncomfortable that she is sitting on him. He doesn’t want to seem like a grown man who can’t even keep his hormones in check. But the smile on Baekhyun’s lip grows anyway when he sees her glaring playfully at him. He chuckles softly.

“You’re the prettiest,” he finally admits, poking her cheek lightly. He watches her lips stretch into a big, happy smile at his compliment and he feels himself drunk on his love for her. “You’re so pretty like the sun.”

She chuckles, shaking her head. “You can’t even look directly at the sun unless you want your eyes to burn, Baekhyun.”

“You’re that kind of pretty,” he simply says.

She frowns, wondering what on earth he is saying. Baekhyun curls her hair behind her ear, the smile on his face affectionate and full of adoration.

“You’re the kind of pretty that makes people want to stare at you even if it hurts them to.”

It is Baekhyun’s last semester but also his best one in his entire uni life, ever. Because he has finally stopped chasing temporary bliss, instead basking in the permanent warmth and brightness that is his girlfriend.

Just leaning against a pillar, watching her walk away for her classes, gives him a sense of satisfaction that cannot even give him. Or just bringing her out for a quick ice cream run during a one-hour break because she is upset and needs some sugar to cheer her up. Going to uni had been a chore for Baekhyun because every week was the same as the last. But being with this girl, everyday is never the same. Sometimes he encounters an extremely sassy and cheeky girl, sometimes an overly energetic girl, sometimes a doting and affectionate girl. And her outfits. Baekhyun has realised that even though she wears the same clothes, she never recycles an outfit. Everyday is like a surprise to him because one day she might wear a standard leggings and hoodie outfit, and the next she might wear one of Baekhyun’s white shirt (that she stole) with a denim skirt that has paint all over it. Baekhyun loves it.

Presently, Baekhyun has to bite on his bottom lip to keep from smiling when his phone starts to buzz like crazy, reminding him of the times when he used to be a playboy. He leans slightly to the side to check his unread messages, reading the previews of his girlfriend’s texts that just consist of ‘Did you know that lionesses do most of the hunting for food?’ and then, ‘Is that why I’m always the one cooking?’ and then, ‘Oh wait, never mind. You actually can’t cook.’

“One of your girl toys again?”

Baekhyun snaps his eyes upwards to look at Jongdae, who is glancing at the screen of his buzzing phone in amusement. Baekhyun scowls and grabs his phone off the table quickly. “No,” he snaps. Jongdae is amused when his lips tilt into a small, cute smile, almost like he doesn’t even know he’s doing it. “It’s my girlfriend.”

Jongdae would actually tease the hell out of Baekhyun if they weren’t in class and if Baekhyun didn’t look so deadly smitten over the mention of his girlfriend. So he settles for a grin and a pat on Baekhyun’s back.

“Jongdae, please,” Baekhyun begs desperately. “Taco Night, please!!!”

“Baekhyun,” his friend groans. “We just had Taco Night two weeks ago. Remember? You and Jinju had a ing food fight with guacamole. Aera is even contemplating calling you over for next month’s one.”

Baekhyun scowls. “I helped clean up afterwards,” he grumbles.

“Yeah, most of it,” Jongdae glares at him. “I opened the fridge the next day and saw a blob of guac in there. How?!”

“That wasn’t me, it was Jinju!”

“Blaming on the child now, are we?”

Baekhyun huffs at Jongdae’s sneer. He goes back to pleading him. “Please, Jongdae! She’ll definitely go for Taco Night even if she doesn’t want to see me.”

“What did you even do that made her mad?” Jongdae asks, interested in how the kindest girl he knows would get mad at anyone.

Baekhyun sighs loudly. It wasn’t his fault, he knows that. But she doesn’t seem to believe him and honestly, Baekhyun understands why. Because if he had seen her kiss another man, he would have gotten equally mad.

Like Baekhyun said, it wasn’t his fault. One of his loyal buddies had gotten so bitter over the fact that Baekhyun has now left the playboy lifestyle in the dust, never turning back again, that she was determined to ruin his life. And Baekhyun could relate to that. He had been playing so many different girls before and while they knew that he wasn’t serious with any of them, the revelation that he had stopped cold turkey, dropping all the girls that laid at his feet at the snap of his fingers, would definitely make at least one of them angry. Because how dare Baekhyun find love in someone so different from all the girls he ed, how dare he love someone who isn’t any one of them, how dare he find love? What Baekhyun deserves is no love at all, just , for what he had turned these girls into — easy women who leave their legs wide open for Byun Baekhyun to visit and have his fun with them. And that was what one of the girls truly believed in.

Baekhyun’s relationship had been going well. Even in the fourth month, he found himself falling for his girlfriend all over again, especially when she had gotten so comfortable with him that she started letting out small burps in his presence, which only made Baekhyun watch her lovingly like she was a child reciting her ABC’s for the second time ever. It was a Wednesday and he had been waiting outside the girl’s tutorial room for her to finish. He had a hand in his pocket, his other on his phone. He didn’t notice the creeping girl along the corridor. It wasn’t until the door of the tutorial room that he looked up from his phone, heart still pounding with excitement at meeting his girlfriend. His eyes were so focused on the people leaving the classroom that he didn’t even notice someone standing closely next to him. And the moment he saw his girlfriend, he felt a harsh tug on his wrist, causing him to turn to the girl smirking up at him, an evil glint in her eye. She pulled his hands and placed one on her , the other on the back of her head. And the next thing he knew, she had her face in his, their lips in a kiss.

And of course his girlfriend pretended that everything was fine when he tried to explain himself. But Baekhyun knew better. She wouldn’t go out for dinner with him because she had to “take care of Jinju”. She didn’t say anything the entire ride home either. And when Baekhyun tried to call her that night, she hadn’t picked up the phone. She didn’t respond to his messages either.

This has been happening for three days now and Baekhyun thinks he might actually go crazy. Not like the kind of crazy he feels when he is with her. But actual, I-might-go-bald-from-pulling-at-my-hair-so-much crazy. It feels like the world he lives in has lost its one and only sun.

Jongdae cringes when he hears Baekhyun’s story. “That’s rough, mate.”

Baekhyun can only snort a dry laughter. Jongdae watches him ruffle his hair in frustration and takes in the dark circles under his eyes. He sighs quietly and rolls his his eyes at himself for being so ing soft for Baekhyun and his stupid problems.

“Fine. Taco Night. Sunday.”

Baekhyun is wrecked with anxiety and he feels afraid. He is standing before Jongdae’s apartment, a bag of presents for Jinju (he always gets her stuff every time he sees her) in one hand, and a box of handmade chocolates (again, ugly and salty, and Baekhyun thinks, How?!)in his other. He does some breathing exercises for a whole minute before closing his eyes and actually meditating for 20 seconds. Then, he knocks on the door. His heart is pounding loudly and painfully against his chest.

The door opens and he is somehow disappointed and glad that it is Minseok who gets the door. His friend looks him up and down before giving him a wry smile.

“She dropped Jinju off,” Minseok tells him. “Said she’s not feeling very well.”

Baekhyun’s shoulders deflate. He shuts his eyes in frustration, actually feeling this close to crying. Minseok sighs at the state of his best friend and reaches out to pats his shoulder. Baekhyun opens his eyes and stares blankly at him.

“Just knock on her door and apologise, Baek. She’ll listen.”

“She won’t even answer—”

“Just try.”

So with a smile and an encouraging prod towards the apartment opposite Jongdae’s, Minseok shuts the door on Baekhyun. The anxious man has to take himself a much longer time this time to get ready to just knock on the door. And in the time that takes the door to be answered, he swears that his heart might just break the bones in his ribcage with how hard it is beating.

The door finally opens and for the first time in a long time, Baekhyun finds himself speechless and totally breathless at the sight of the girl with her hair in a messy bun and a pink pajama set. She frowns and waits for him to say something. But he only stares at her, trying to fill his brain with her image that has been deprived of her beautiful face for five days now.

“Why are you here?” she asks, not rudely, just bluntly.

Baekhyun gulps. “Baby, you need to hear me out—”

“I’m not done being mad yet,” she mutters, her frown deepening.

Not expecting her to say that, he pauses for a bit. “Then when will you be done?” he asks breathlessly. She shrugs, looking away. Baekhyun sighs loudly, desperate to have her back in his arms again. He steps forward and enters her home, causing her eyes to widen at his sudden bravery. “You’ll be done after I explain what you saw.”

“Baekhyun—”

“Please, babe.”

She glares at him and huffs, stepping back slightly. And while that isn’t an okay, he knows that it is consent nonetheless. He enters the house, the door slamming shut behind him, and goes to set the box of chocolates and Jinju’s bag of presents on the dining table. Then, he turns to the girl who is staring at him with her arms across her chest, face blank. So desperate to have them open and spread for him to nestle in, he doesn’t even have to prep himself when he starts explaining the whole situation to her. It takes ten minutes to explain himself and another two as she stares at him, not saying anything. He takes a tentative step towards her.

“You have to believe me,” he begs. “You know how I feel about you. I’ve never been this crazy over anyone before.” He sees the expressionless gaze in her eyes cracking to show him a hint of amusement in them. He quickly adds, “And look, I’ll even punish my lips for letting another girl kiss me.” He starts smacking his mouth with his hand in an attempt to “punish” himself.

He stops when hears her quiet chuckle as relief floods through his body. He stares at her as she comes closer. “Here, let me help too,” she mumbles.

Baekhyun nods and puckers his lips, making her laugh as she pats his lips with her fingers lightly, not quite wanting to hurt him. His lips stretch into a wide grin as he bites down on his bottom lip. She stops for a while and looks at him seriously.

“So you didn’t kiss her?”

Baekhyun holds her hand lightly and kisses the tips of her fingers. “No,” he says softly, his twinkling eyes only on her. “She’s not you.”

The girl looks at him for a long moment, once again analysing the truth in his expression. When she deems him clean of any lies, she sighs and steps closer towards him, snaking her arms around his neck.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers into his ear sincerely.

Baekhyun shakes his head as he wraps his strong arms around her body and buries his nose in her neck. “I’m sorry about my past,” he mumbles against his skin.

She hums and pulls her head back to look at him. He feels his heart strings tremble with a passionate love for this girl before him. “Your past doesn’t define you, Baekhyun,” she whispers.

“I know,” he says back softly, eyes flickering between her eyes and every other feature on her pretty face. They don’t say anything for a long moment, the both of them taking in each other’s countenance at such a close proximity. Baekhyun is the first to break the silence. “You used to call these things girl problems, remember?” She nods with a small smile. “Well, they’re nothing compared to the problems I face when I’m with you.”

“What does that mean?” she laughs, hitting his chest.

He chuckles, pulling her in closer, dipping his head to press his nose to her cheek, his teeth grazing her skin. “It’s a good thing, baby,” he murmurs. She smiles at the affection in his words, the love in his smile against her skin. She rubs his back lovingly, though still playfully trying to pull away from him. He only tightens his arm around her, pressing a kiss to the side of her lips. “You’re the only girl whose problems actually matter.”

“Wow, actual playboy words,” she mutters cheekily.

Baekhyun whines, making her laugh. She hugs him close and lets him carry her to the couch where he gives her a very passionate and loving apology. And when they go over to Jongdae’s apartment hand-in-hand, face flushed and glowing, Jongdae and Minseok aren’t sure whether they want to congratulate Baekhyun or actually punch him in the face for missing the first hour of the Taco Night he begged for.

A year has passed and it is summer again, Baekhyun’s favourite season of the year because he gets to see his girlfriend shine the brightest in her element. And also because it is flea market season and he has come to enjoy visiting new ones every weekend.

“You look so handsome, Baekhyun,” the girl giggles.

Baekhyun grins and pushes up the circular sunnies further up his nose bridge before pointing at her and winking sleazily. She only laughs and slaps his arm. Then, she turns away because he is so embarrassing. Baekhyun chuckles, taking off the sunglasses to put them back on the table, and follows her, wrapping his hand around hers, sliding his fingers between hers. He traces her fleeting gaze and notices a bright yellow, floral romper. He leans towards her, his face close to hers, as he points at the clothing apparel with his free hand.

“That’s really pretty.”

She points at the romper. “That?” Baekhyun hums, turning to look at her. She tilts her head to glance at him. His lips tilt in a soft smile all on its own accord. “I thought I told you my friends think yellow is an ugly colour on me,” she mutters.

“Well, I still think yellow looks breathtaking on you.” He grins at her. “And every other colour in the universe.”

She blushes. “You’re killing me,” she grumbles, though her lips are actually in a happy smile. He watches her fondly as she stares at the romper. “It’s pretty…” she admits.

Baekhyun squeezes her hand and tugs on it as he leads her towards it. He shouts to the busy auntie attending to a group of teenage girls, asking her for the price of the romper.

“That’s $12!” she shouts back, peeking out behind a girl’s head. “Because you’re a handsome boy, $10!”

Baekhyun grins and turns to his girlfriend who has been watching him, a smile on her lips. “Can’t beat that $8 dress I saw you wearing the first time, but I’m highly positive it will still take my breath away,” he tells her in a playfully serious tone, firmly nodding his head once.

She laughs. “Baekhyun,” she shakes her head, still chuckling. “I don’t know… I look ugly in yellow.”

“Nonsense!” is his response. “A sun doesn’t look ugly in yellow.”

“Well, in case you haven’t noticed, Baekhyun, I’m not the sun,” she teases.

But Baekhyun only gives her the softest, most loving smile. He reaches out to tap lightly on the necklace he got her last Christmas. It is a small sun symbol, so simple but still signifies so much to Baekhyun.

The girl stares at him, mesmerised by the love in his eyes, just as in love with her boyfriend as he is with her. Everything about Baekhyun is alluring like the silver moonlight at night that seems to make everything more enchanting. He makes even the darkest of nights bright and beautiful with his sparkling eyes and his captivating smile. And his presence guides her in the dark, just like how the moon always seems to follow her no matter where she is. She would never get lost in darkness as long as she has him with her. And when he speaks, his voice is soft and velvety, reminding her of warm nights in winter, like a thick blanket wrapping snugly around her.

“You’re the sun to me.”

And she thinks that if she is his sun, Baekhyun has to be her moon.