Oh, they do go for another date and many other dates. Baekhyun has been taking her out on various occasions and doesn’t even subtle in hiding his feelings towards Iseul. Constantly waiting on her so they could walk to the locker and the class together, sitting beside her in the class whenever Soyeon’s late (which happens at least twice a week but Soyeon mostly chose to either sit with Chanyeol or Sehun nowadays), even waits on her after their club. Everyone seems to notice that even Chanyeol who seems oblivious at times knows something in the air. Baekhyun keeps teasing Iseul and often makes a remark about their relationship but Iseul simply laughs it off, brushing it as if it’s nothing but hints of pinks on her cheeks tell everything.

“What’s this?”

Baekhyun tilts his head when she gives him a blue box with a ribbon on top of it. “It’s your birthday, silly.” Iseul chuckles as she takes a seat in front of him. It’s their ninth (or tenth, both have lost counts already) date and it falls on his birthday. He looks excited to receive the gift.

“Can I open it?”

Iseul nods, “Nothing expensive though, I hope you like it.” she says softly as if she’s warning him. “Honey, you could give me a rock and I’d put it on my desk.” he smiles as he untangles the ribbon. Iseul shakes her head at his nickname for her while sipping the lychee tea he ordered for her before she arrived. He’s been calling her nicknames and she’s fine with it, although the butterflies in her stomach always make her giddy.

Baekhyun opens the box’s lid to see brownies in white tupperware with a piano keychain on top of it, he picks up the keychain and sees his initials and birthdate engraved on it.

B.B.H

May 6^th

“There’s this cute shop around my neighbour who made it, I thought it looks cute.”

Iseul explains and he looks at her, “It is, thank you!” he beams a smile at her and she feels relieved that he likes it. “You baked this?” Baekhyun then takes the tupperware and she nods with a smile, “I wanted to bake you a tart but my skill’s not that great so bear with those brownies.” he laughs as he opens the tupperware to try the brownies.

“My mom would love this, you should come by and tell her how to make this.” Baekhyun says after finishing a piece of it, Iseul just laughs as she shakes her head. “Tell me, why did you decide to spend your birthday with me? Aren’t Soyeon saying she wants to celebrate it in the den a couple of days ago?” Iseul asks as he closes the box and put it neatly on the table.

“I’m the birthday boy, I get to choose my gift.”

Baekhyun shrugs and Iseul chuckles at the reply, “Besides, she still throwing it anyway tomorrow in the den, you’re coming right?” Iseul nods to the question.

“Since I’m the birthday boy, I also get to choose what we’re about to do today, right?”

“Sure, birthday boy. Whatever you want,” Iseul gushes and he just laughs, “What do you have in mind anyway?” she asks him as she stirs her drink.

“Let’s just say I get a little extra today,”

Iseul tilts her head in confusion but he grins, not giving away anything. He then takes her to see a movie and then they go to the 63 building where they go to see aquariums, an art gallery, and get to the observatory deck. They take a couple of pictures together although mostly it’s just Baekhyun taking pictures of her. Iseul really enjoys the aquarium viewing and doesn’t realize that Baekhyun knows a lot about some of the art pieces displayed in the art gallery. They spend a lot of time in the sky tunnel thrill deck. They also put up some wishes on the wishing wall. Iseul thinks for a while before writing her own wish while Baekhyun smiles as he watches her before writing his wish on the heart-shaped paper. When she thinks they’re going to the ground floor, Baekhyun presses the 59^th floor. She furrows her brows but he just smiles as he tightens their intertwined hands.

Baekhyun takes her for an early dinner (it’s just a little bit after six) and the whole staff seem to know him well, they greet him and Iseul politely as they’re being ushered to a table set for two.

“How….?”

Baekhyun laughs as they take a seat and the waiter announces that they’ll bring the food out in a moment.

“My mom is their interior designer so a little bit of this and that,” he shrugs as he types something on his phone, Iseul laughs. Throughout their dates, he doesn’t take her on expensive date experiences but just casual dates. Iseul never expects him to take her to one though, she enjoys anything they do together even as simple as walking around the street food market in Itaewon or café dates around Hongdae including going to a dog café.

The food served in the restaurant is amazing and they have the best time just laughing at how different their date for the day from their previous dates. He simply laughs, saying he wants to take her on a special date on a special occasion.

“This is a sneak peek of our date in August,”

Baekhyun quips as they’re finishing the desserts, Iseul raises her brows at his statement. “Your birthday, sweetheart.” Iseul chuckles, “You think we’re still doing this then?” she asks but he can feel the uncertainty in her voice. So he holds her hand across the table and throws her a smug face that he uses to , “Oh, you won't be going anywhere, you’re stuck with me.”

“I’ll get it,”

Baekhyun tells Iseul to stay seated while he orders another drink, they’re currently eating some junk food with the others. Soyeon says she’s about to order more coke and Iseul offers to get them because she’s out of hers also. But Baekhyun already stands up and tells her to just stay put, asking the others whether they want some other things and quickly standing in the line to order. Iseul looks at him before smiling and gets back to her previous conversation, oblivious to how Sehun tilts his head in amusement and Eunji takes a look at Baekhyun as she sips her coke, quirking a smile at the two.

“Zurich?”

Iseul asks Kai who nods, “I hate stifling summer so we usually would stay around Pyeongchang, this year my grandparents offered us to tag along to Switz. They know I hate summer,” Eunji explains. “You aren’t spending the summer with your family?” Iseul asks Kai who just chuckles at the question, “My parents rarely take a break and even if they do, they’d usually spend it at home. My sisters also would be busy during summer so we don’t really go vacationing together. They only take times off in winter,” Kai explains while taking some nuggets from the centre of the table.

“Eunji can be really mean during summer, three times than the normal one. So Kai should be there to tame her,” Soyeon quips, earning a glare from the girl but earning waves of laughter from the others.

“What about your guys? Do you spend summer together too or….?”

Iseul turns to Soyeon and Sehun, “As much as I love spending time with him than my sisters, nope. I usually have to do work stuff or accompany my mom who’s definitely bored somewhere in the world. But, we’d hang out a week before school starts.” Soyeon answers while dipping her fries.

“I usually do some errands for my father or brother, whoever needs me the most.”

Iseul nods then look at Chanyeol who’s busy with his second burger, “I’m going to Iceland with my family later,” he answers after gulping down his burger and then back to enjoy it.

“Lucky you, such a nice family.”

Sehun comments and the giant male chuckles, “I thought you guys would take off from Korea as soon as the vacation starts. I guess I should stop watching dramas then?” Iseul speaks about what’s been on her mind.

“Well, if you have a healthy relationship with your whole family, yes, you’d go on a vacation like Yeol and sometimes Baekhyun also do. For me, I have to keep working my off until I beat my sisters,” Soyeon shrugs, “Or you have a family of workaholics,” Sehun adds. Iseul nods along to the question, Soyeon tells her how she spends the first summer during junior high school studying business terms on her own and begins to work on projects last winter. Soyeon’s father spends almost more than 12 hours in the office but at the same time generates billions in revenue. From Iseul’s understanding, Soyeon and the others are old money. The company owned by their families are passed down from one to another (probably great-great-grandparents or three-time great grandparents, Iseul doesn’t know for sure), not all cousins are happy with the will left behind by their predecessors. That’s why their parents want them to involve in the company as early as they can to prepare themselves.

“What about you? How would you spend your summer?” Chanyeol asks Iseul back. “Well, my dad and I usually take Yiseo to the amusement park or the beach. It depends on my sister’s mood, we’re simply her servants.” Iseul answers and they all laugh together at the answer.

“You guys should have seen Yiseo, she’s adorable.”

Baekhyun is back with two cups of coke and Sehun’s fries, Iseul thanks him as she passed the other coke for Soyeon and the fries to its owner. “Aw, I want to meet her. She must be so cute,” Soyeon claps a little, imagining Yiseo from all the photos she’s seen, “How old is she again?” Kai asks and the conversation turns into a QnA about Yiseo.

“Oh, oh! We can go to this ice cream fair near one of the parks in Han River!”

Soyeon excitedly claps her hands, “Oh yeah, read about it yesterday. Maybe you can take Yiseo with us, if you don’t mind.” Baekhyun suggests. Iseul smiles at the suggestion, “Do you guys really want to see Yiseo that much?” she asks them and they all excitedly nod.

“None of us has younger siblings so excuse that,” Chanyeol shrugs as he wipes his mouth from the barbeque sauce, Iseul laughs and then nods.

“Fine, I’ll ask her. Just a little warning, she could get cranky at times.”

“As long as she doesn’t turn into an Eunji, I think we all can live with th—Ow!”

Eunji throws a cube of ice from her empty cup at Sehun, Kai sighs while the others laugh.

“I’m serious, go home.”

Baekhyun seems reluctant at the suggestion but Iseul just laughs at him not wanting to let her hand go. The others have gone home after their junk food stop while Baekhyun and Iseul go to a supermarket. His mother calls him while they’re eating to buy some things that she forgot and Iseul needs to buy some ingredients because it’s her turn to cook dinner. He’s about to follow her but she stops him, telling him to just go home because they’re taking a different bus.

“I’m not a child, I won’t go missing, Baek.”

“You know that’s not the only reason I want to come with you.”

Baekhyun raises his left brow, earning laughter from the girl in front of him, “Well, as much as I do love spending time with you, we’ll see each other again tomorrow.” Baekhyun resigns in defeat.

“Fine, see you tomorrow. Don’t forget to ask Yiseo about the ice cream fair,” Iseul nods at the reminder and then pulls her left hand that he’s been holding, Baekhyun reluctantly lets her go but smiles. “Get home safe,” she says and he nods, she waves her hand and walks to her bus stop. Baekhyun keeps still for a while before then walking to his bus stop on the other side of the street.

Iseul can’t help but smile, she realizes her interaction with Baekhyun is more than friends. She knows that but she doesn’t want to quick admit her feelings, they haven’t talked about the state of their relationship nor has he ever brought up those words. She’s content with their current relationship, slight teasing here and there, casually holding hands, or he puts his arm around her shoulder while whispering some corny jokes. They even have their own jokes now, casually throwing them during a conversation and both laughing together. He knows a lot of things about her, what she likes and dislikes, just like how she knows him. She catches the teasing look Soyeon has on her or how Chanyeol would throw some funny looks whenever Baekhyun gets her something. But she also recognizes the stares from Jiyoung and her minions, Soyeon says to ignore them but then again how could you ignore the looks they give her. The kind of look you give someone who did wrong to you although there has never been any interaction between them, the only communication Jiyoung has with the group is either with Soyeon (who simply greets her when Jiyoung greets her first) or with Baekhyun himself who simply greets her back or replies her questions.

“Hey sweetie, what are you cooking?”

Mr Jung comes out of Yiseo’s bedroom with the little girl in his arms, still quite sleepy from her nap. Iseul smiles as she turns off the stove, “Kimchi fried rice, not just any fried rice but mom’s kimchi fried rice.” She points at the opened recipe books that belonged to her mom. Her father smiles and goes around the kitchen to get to the refrigerator, taking out some probiotic drink that Yiseo always drink after her nap time. The little girl yawns as she takes the drink from him, Iseul softly smiles at her sister and remembers the ice cream fair that Soyeon told her.

“Hey, Dad, can I take Yiseo out on Saturday? Soyeon mentioned this ice cream fair right near the Han Park River and they want to meet Yiseo.”

Mr Jung raises his brows while Yiseo’s eyes gleam at the mention of ice cream, Iseul laughs at her sister’s reaction. “Well, do you want to go, little pea?” Mr Jung turns to his daughter in his arm, Yiseo ecstatically nods at the question.

“Do you want me to take you there?” her father turns back to Iseul who just shakes her head, “You take a rest, dad. I’ll take Yiseo on the subway,” Iseul says as she takes a blue trivet out of the overhead cabinet.

“I assume Baekhyun will fetch you from the subway station?”

Iseul chuckles at her dad’s guess, “How did you know?” she asks him back as she puts a wok full of kimchi fried rice on the trivet in the middle of the dining table. Mr Jung puts Yiseo down on one of the seats, the little girl rubbing her eyes while finishing off her probiotic drink.

“Well, seeing how he has been taking you home during midterm weeks, accompanying you all the way here every Friday, and buying snacks for Yiseo, I take my chances.” he asserts as he takes out plates for them. Iseul laughs at her dad’s observation, “Also, I’m not deaf or blind, fellow teachers in junior high and high school mention his behaviour towards you to me, including Coach Im.” he adds. “He’s a friend, dad. They all are,” she shakes it off while taking the drink that her sister has finished and throwing it into the bin. Baekhyun does buy things for Yiseo, although they rarely meet, Iseul always brings her some things that either she bought or Baekhyun bought and told her to give them to Yiseo and father too sometimes. On Fridays, their clubs’ day, he’d accompany her all the way to her home, doesn’t know how he manages to persuade her to let him do that but Mr Jung always opens the door on Friday evening for the both of them. Baekhyun greets the older male politely, greets Yiseo who quickly recognizes his voice, and then bids goodbye to take his leave. Several teachers at Hansaem who know Iseul is his daughter also notice the interaction between Baekhyun and his daughter, telling him little crumps of those here and there.

“I don’t think someone who’s only a friend would do all those things, honey. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with that. he's a nice kid, a great kid and you have been taking care of your sister these past years. You deserve to have fun, I’m sorry that the situation demanded you to grow up faster than you should and your old man owes you a lot for taking care of Yiseo all these years.” Mr Jung smiles at her before disappearing to the bathroom.

Iseul looks dumbfounded by the things her father has said, it’s true she’s been taking care of Yiseo for the past years. She does hang out with her friend but not as often as she does now because she prefers spending time with Yiseo at home. Her little sister just starts to talk when her mother passed away, Iseul doesn’t want her sister to feel alone and keep spending time with her for the rest of her junior high school years. Her father doesn’t have to ask her to take care of her sister, she is always ready to take care of Yiseo especially when he needs to go on a study trip with the eighth graders which happens every year. he’s thankful for that and feels that his eldest daughter might grow up faster than she’s supposed to, although there’s no one to blame for that.

“Do you need me to fetch you after club tomorrow?”

Mr Jung asks as he comes out of the bathroom, “Nah, I’m fine.” Iseul answers while scooping the fried rice for him and he smiles at the response.

“People with a uterus,”

Iseul stops her conversation with Baekhyun and Chanyeol while Eunji looks up from her ipad. Soyeon’s face is turning pale and her hand clutching her stomach shows what’s happening.

“Do any of you have….” Soyeon says softly, Sehun’s holding her arms.

“I probably have some pads but I don’t think I have any painkiller,” Iseul says as she stands up, “I have some in my bag, let’s go.” Eunji puts down her tablet and holds Soyeon’s arms. The three girls left the classroom together with Soyeon complaining about the pain, citing she never felt this much pain before.

“So, can we talk about what’s going on in the air right now?”

Chanyeol says as only the boys are left in the room, Kai and Sehun turn to him and Baekhyun with funny looks on their faces.

“What’s in the air?”

Baekhyun asks as he takes a look at his phone, Chanyeol tilts his head in amusement. “Love?” Sehun quirks up a smile and Baekhyun turns to him, Kai laughs at the remark.

“Are you guys like official right now or what? What’s the state of your relationship? Gosh, why do I sound like those reporters…..” Kai mutters the end of his sentences, realizing he’s mimicking the words that reporters usually ask him and Eunji about their relationship.

“We’re just getting to know each other, enjoying everything together. Besides, we haven’t said the words and I just want to be sure that she’s feeling the same way I feel for her.” Baekhyun simply answers them and types away on his phone, “Oh come on, even blind people can feel the love in the air.” Chanyeol taps his friend’s arm slightly. Baekhyun just laughs and finishes off his email, “I’m just saying, I don’t want to rush things.” he looks at the others who are looking at him as if he’s talking in foreign languages.

“Rushing things? Dude, I take girls out for a date after knowing their names in two days. If you’re rushing then I’m simply travelling at the speed of light.” Sehun snickers at his dating style, “True,” Kai and Chanyeol nod together in agreement.

“I’ll probably ask her this summer vacation, I just…. I just want to be sure,” Baekhyun shrugs and the boys throw some teasing remarks.

Baekhyun doesn’t want to make Iseul feel like they’re rushing things. Although they’ve known each other for months now and he’s been sort of courting her for more than a month now, he just wants to make sure she’s comfortable with the pace and state of their relationship before going further by asking her that question. But he can’t deny they match well, how he’d throw some jokes and she’d sheepishly smile at him. How she’d match his jokes, letting him hold her hands or hold her close whenever they were in some crowded area. As time goes by, Iseul seems to let him coax her to accompany her home. She’s comfortable with him asking her out on weekends, buying her sister (and sometimes her father too) treats, or simply hanging out just the two of them in the den when the others have some other place to be. She may seem shy at first but she’s been more comfortable with him to the extent that she’d be the one who pokes fun at their relationship.

“However it is, we’re just happy for you dude.” Chanyeol says, “Yeah, also kind of relieved that you don’t turn into Sehun.” Kai remarks. Sehun is nodding along but furrows his brows at Kai’s statement and hit him.

Meanwhile, Iseul and Eunji are waiting for Soyeon in the bathroom.

“Are you feeling okay now?”

Iseul asks after she hears Soyeon flushing out the toilet. The girl gets out of the stall and leans on the door for a while before continuing to walk to wash her hands.

“Yeah, much better. Thanks, gosh, I never feel this way before.” Soyeon groans as she turns off the tap, “Keep the painkillers, you might need them for today.” Eunji tells her and the girl nods.

“You don’t want to go to the nursery?” Iseul offers her but Soyeon shakes her head, “Nah, I should be okay by lunchtime I guess.” Soyeon assures them she’ll be okay. “At times like this, I hope anyone who left chocolates in my lockers would put pads or painkillers instead,” Soyeon remembers two boxes of chocolate someone left for her, Eunji just shakes her head and Iseul simply laughs.

“I don’t know whether this would make you feel better or not but Yiseo’s coming tomorrow so hang in there,” Iseul says and Soyeon’s face lit up. “Oh my God, finally! Baekhyun has been gloating about how he’s the only one who’s seen your sister. I’m going to beat his after this.” she pumps her fist in determination and the other two girls just laugh.

“Speaking about Baek, how are things with you guys?”

Eunji turns to Iseul who just smiles, “Things been….. great? I don’t know any other words to describe it. He’s been flirty, to say the least, and very sweet, I think.” Iseul describes her interaction with the said boy. “Aw, that’s so cute, you know if he ever hurts you in any way, tell me. Tell us, we’ll kick his for you.” Soyeon says as they’re walking out of the bathroom, “Even though you guys have been together since diaper?” Iseul asks in amusement. “Yeah, but if he’s being a jerk, he deserves it.” Eunji shrugs and Soyeon nods off.

A moment later, Jiyoung gets out from one of the stalls in the bathroom and scans the empty bathroom before throwing glares at the main door.

Baekhyun looks up from his phone and smiles as soon as he sees Iseul walking out of the locker room with her bags, she’s talking to a girl who then bids goodbye and they separate. He waves at her and she just smiles, “Where’s Sehun?” she asks while looking around because the said boy usually would wait with him so they’d go home together.

“He said something about a date with….. I don’t even know who but then again, it’s Sehun.” he tries to remember what Sehun says earlier while changing clothes after the club. Iseul lightly laughs as they walk out of the swimming pool building, he walks closely beside her and they talk about the swimming club that day. The coach told the ten graders to get ready because after the summer vacation, they might start scouting some of them into the main team as the twelve graders will eventually retire for their SAT preparation. Both Iseul and Baekhyun are excited because then they’d start to go on competitions with the team and the talented eleventh graders. They keep talking until they reach the school gate, Baekhyun offers her to go to the tokpokki stall because they have been craving it. he keeps listening to her as they’re about to cross the street, holding her hand and looking around as he asks some other things before crossing the street. Iseul replies with some stuff while also looking around the street, they reach the auntie’s stall in no time.

“Ah, my favourite couple!”

Baekhyun simply laughs as Iseul just smiles, he orders for them and they take a seat at a table for two. “What times are we meeting tomorrow?” Iseul asks Baekhyun as he set the utensils for both of them. “Sehun said one, you’re taking the subway?” he asks her back and she nods before thanking him for the chopsticks.

“Yiseo’s going to be on a huge sugar rush tomorrow, prepare yourself.” Iseul says but he just laughs, “There’s six of us, don’t worry. Do you want to have some lunch before that?” he asks. “Sure, meet at eleven then?” Baekhyun nods at the suggestion, their foods come in after that and they dig in it. Iseul mentions how Soyeon would kick his for gloating about being the only one who has met Yiseo, he laughs at the remark. They dig in the food while talking about various things including what they’d eat for lunch tomorrow. Iseul enjoys talking with him and doesn’t feel as awkward as in the first few weeks, letting him simply wipe a trace of sauce off the corner of her lips. She smiles as she listens to him talking and chuckles at how he throws some tease, brushing her legs on him to tell him to stop teasing but he just smiles at that. They’d spent an hour before leaving the auntie’s stall and going to the bus stop, unlike the first few times, she doesn’t stop him from coming with her anymore because she knows she’d lose in that argument. He holds her small tote bag in his right hand while his left hand holding her hand, he keeps smiling as they keep talking while they’re waiting for the bus to come.

“You’ve been travelling to my house so often, aren't your mom worried her son keeps getting home late on Fridays?”

Iseul asks as they take a seat on the bus, Baekhyun laughs as he shakes his head. “She knows where her son is going, besides, she wants you to visit again. She’s been dying to give you more cookies,” he answers her. Iseul laughs at the mention of his mother, she has visited his house several other times since the first time she comes for the group project. His mom is always happy to see and greet her, sometimes telling her own son to go away so she could take her to bake in the kitchen. Mrs Byun also never forgets to give her a bunch of cookies before she goes home. Iseul meets Baekhyun’s older brother several times, he looks like the older version of his brother and she wonders how Baekhyun might look in the future. The ride to her neighbourhood is almost an hour long but she doesn’t feel it’s that long. They get off the bus together and then walk for a couple more minutes until they get to her house.

“You sure you don’t want to come in? I always feel bad you have to travel this far,” Iseul asks her as he hands her tote bag, he just smiles. “If I come in, I don’t feel like leaving and it would be hard for both of us and your dad.” he pushes a strain of her hair to the back of her ear. “Also, we need to wait two more years so this wouldn’t feel so miserable,” Baekhyun mentions about getting a driver’s license several times. She knows he knows how to drive but his parents won’t let him drive. Iseul sheepishly smile, “All right, see you tomorrow?” he nods and tells her to go in first. She smiles before waving her hand and then entering her home.

“Damn you, driver’s license.”

A/N: 

Heyy everybody! I'm back ahahaha I'm trying to finish this and also I don't seem to be able to stay away from baek and seul omo I hope you enjoy this update! Don't forget to subscribe and leave your comments down below, tell me what you think! I also would love to thank all the readers who has been actively commenting, I loooovee you!! Also for the upvoters and new subs, thank you!! 

Alrightyy, see you o the next chapter!!