“Why are you here?”

“Why are you still awake?”

They both said at the same time. However, before Baekhyun could answer her question, Ahreum successfully preceded him.

“I’ve seen the picture.”

She said in a soft voice that was way too calm in Baekhyun’s opinion, and made him froze in front of the door. The living room was currently quiet dark, as the only source of light in the room came from the twin desk lamps beside the couch, making Baekhyun unable to see her face clearly from the place he stood at the moment. All he knew was she never looked so sad and fragile to him as she was right now.

At that second, Baekhyun wanted nothing else other than sprinting to her place and hold her in his arms again as he had imagined everyday in the past month, but he got a feeling that she wouldn’t welcome him, at least not at that moment. So he stood his ground, forcing himself to keep his distance from her while trying to answer her question as best as he could.

“Do you believe in the picture?”

Baekhyun asked her back carefully, instinctively knew which picture that she had told him she had seen. A temporary silence lasted before he finally heard her voice again. A few minutes in which Baekhyun got a sudden fear that she would say she believed in it, and then told him that she never wanted to see him again.

Being a member of the highly popular boy group, Baekhyun had his fair share of false rumors regarding his relationship with women. However, up until that moment, he still succeeded in preserving his real relationship with his real girlfriend, and her trust.

This was however, the first time that a real, definite, and unfortunately, highly scandalous picture of him with a woman surfaced. This factor, along with the fact he and Ahreum were away from each other for one full month, brought their relationship to a situation that they had never encountered before. The unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach told Baekhyun that this situation was apparently not a good one.

“I haven’t decided yet, thought it’s hard not to believe in such a picture when it was all that I saw when I opened most of the EXO fan sites and ‘Baekhyun’ tag on tumblr, isn’t it?”

Her soft voice was full of sadness and disappointment, making Baekhyun felt guilty even though he basically did nothing wrong.

“However, I want to hear what you honestly have to say first about it, so are you-“

“All I did was helping the drunk actress for a moment before her manager came and took her away. I didn’t even know her name. So, no, I’m not cheating on you.”

Baekhyun cut Ahreum off before she could finish her question.

“But the picture-“

“Is a very definite, yet a very misleading picture at the same time.”

It was rather dark, but Baekhyun could feel Ahreum’s sharp gaze towards him, trying to decide whether he was telling the truth or not.

“I’m not lying, okay? Please, believe me. I’m not cheating on you. Just ask the other boys, they were all there and witnessed everything!”

Baekhyun unconsciously raised his tone in his attempt to convince her. However before Ahreum could react, a gust of cold wind suddenly came through the open door, making the papers that scattered around the floor flew all over the place.

Ahreum let out a yelp and diverted her gaze, immediately trying to gather all the papers while Baekhyun reflexively closed the door and then walked towards her in order to help.

“I’m sorry I forgot to close the door, here let me help you with the pa-“

Baekhyun froze as he looked at the things in his hands that he had managed to collect. They weren’t papers, as he presumed before. They were pictures. Their pictures, with what Baekhyun recognized as Ahreum’s neat handwriting written on the back of each of them.

He randomly read what was written on the back of one picture.

July 29^th, 2014.

Hyunnie came to my place and we watched some tvs together before taking this pic <3 But then he suddenly had to go *pout*. But that’s okay, I’m just so happy because he still spares some time for me despite his busy schedule.

Baekhyun’s eyes scanned upon the back of another picture.

December 31^st, 2013.

We met for a few moments before Hyunnie had to go to perform at another year-end music show. Huft, I thought I’m already used to spend new year’s eve alone, but I’m not :(. But that’s okay, I have the cute teddy bear he just gave me to keep me company :).

Before Baekhyun could take a look at another picture, Ahreum hastily snatched them from his grasps, and Baekhyun just let her. His mind was still busy processing what he just found out.

She uses the pictures like some form of diary, filling each of them with her thoughts and emotions, but why? Why is she so eager to capture every moment we are together? Why didn’t she just tell me about this when I asked her?

“You aren’t supposed to see all of these…”

Her soft voice softly penetrated his ears, making him snapped out from his conversation with his own mind. Baekhyun stared at the girl in front of him. She seemed more upset than ever, and Baekhyun didn’t quiet know the reason. He intended to rectify that situation immediately though. He gazed down at his girlfriend who’s still sitting on the floor. She had her back leaned onto the couch, tears threatening to spill from her usually bright eyes.

“Why?”

He asked her in a low, confused voice.

“What?”

“Why do you always insist to snap pictures every time we are together, no matter how unbelievably short it is? Why the writings? Why can’t I see all of these?”

Baekhyun’s voice was soft, coaxing her to open up to him, yet firm enough to show her that he demanded only the truth. He watched as the woman hunched her shoulder in defeat and avoiding his gaze.

Ahreum looked straight at the dead television in front of her. Her gaze was blank, and when she spoke, her voice was so low and shaky that Baekhyun had to lean his body down to hear what she said.

“It’s because I am afraid……”

Care to guess? ;)