“Do you have a car?”

“No, I don’t.” She pants.

“Okay.”

Damn, Baekhyun is so strong. No matter how Luna tries to loosen her wrist from Baekhyun’s long fingers, Baekhyun only just pulls her more. Luna is thankful that there aren’t many students around the hallways that afternoon, thirty minutes more or less after dismissal, because, really, she looks like a trolley bag with his new friend.

“Baek,” She pants, half-skipping and half-tripping as she tries to match Baekhyun’s pace. Baekhyun occasionally looks at her, but still he flashes nothing but that damn smile. “Baek. Baekhyun, wait.”

“Just follow me.” Baehyun tells her, not even turning around.

The sun is soon setting into the horizon, orange and pink and purple tinting the sky. The school gates are soon closing too, and Luna wonders if what the hell Baekhyun’s plan is right now.

“Allow me to breathe at least.” Luna groans. They’re heading to the parking lot, Luna supposes, as she watches Baekhyun searching something in his pocket with his free hand.

“Okay, stay there.” Baekhyun commands, finally releasing Luna in front of a scarlet red Ferrari.

“Is this…” Luna lamely points at the racing car in front of her and glances at Baekhyun who is now pushing a button in a car remote. Before Luna could process what is happening however, Baekhyun is already ducking inside the car after gesturing her to come in too. Luna follows awkwardly.

The interior is so, how Luna could put it into words, so luxurious and cool. The seats are covered with black, shiny leather cases, and the steering wheel and everything looks so totally brand new. She wonders if Baekhyun had just purchased it just a day ago.

“This is a graduation gift actually.” Baekhyun mumbles, starting the car and it obeys into life. Its sound is so smooth as how it looks, totally surreal. He turns, turns and turns the steering wheel, and before Luna knows it, they’re already hitting the highway. The inertia is driving Luna into nuts, but she couldn’t really tell how fast they are running.

“So, are you okay?” Baekhyun asks, focusing on the road again. If Luna would ever really have the opportunity to drive even the cheapest car in the market, she’d never ever try starting a conversation like what Baekhyun’s doing. She doesn’t want to die.

Luna is so speechless she doesn’t even get to answer him immediately. “Y…yeah.”

“Are you nervous? That I’m driving?” Baehyun glances at her for a second and smiles.

“I could say that.” Luna grins sourly. As much as possible she doesn’t want to ride in a car because she is slightly being attacked with paranoia and claustrophobia. Coward, Luna’s inner self mocks.

“You don’t have to worry, Luna. I’ve been driving since I was eighteen.” Baekhyun smiles, and the car comes into a halt at the intersection, waiting for the traffic sign to flash green.

“Uh, I hope you don’t mind but… where are we going?”

The sign turns green now and Baekhyun steps on the revolution, laughing like Luna had just ask the stupidest question that’s ever existed which really isn’t because she is really getting nervous about this already.

“We’re sort of like… going shopping.”

“You mean, you want me to come with you? Shopping?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“But… I don’t know how to… shop. I mean… I haven’t with…”

“Luna, it’s okay. I will help you, alright? They will, too.”

“But…” Luna’s sure she looks like a fish with her current expression. “I thought… why me? Help me for what?”

“Just let me lead you.” Baehyun pulls the car in front of the city mall, turning off the engine then finger combing his hair. He straightens his navy blue uniform coat. “I’ll take care of everything. Trust me.”

….

“Try this…” Baekhyun shoves a sky blue dress into Luna’s hand as she follows him in between aisles and aisles of racks of designer clothes and bags. Baekhyun stops midway and picks up another pink dress. “Try this too.”

He blinks. “Let me see.”

So Luna raises the piles of dresses and bags on her hands and shoulders, all of which are Baekhyun’s choice. “I don’t get it, Baek.” Luna groans in confusion, alternately looking from the piles of luxurious s to Baekhyun and then sighs. “It is getting late. I need to go home.”

“What for?” Baekhyun grins, continues on walking, picks up several dresses more and tosses them into Luna’s hands.

“I need…” Luna digs for possible reason to escape, something like I need to feed my cat (which is a lie because she really hasn’t one) or I need to sweep the floors of our house because they haven’t been cleaned for almost three years. “I need to… eat.”

“Eat.” Baekhyun echoes, almost nonchalantly. “You need to eat.”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

Baekhyun stays silent for a couple of seconds, probably balancing the reason Luna has said. Maybe he is considering it now, especially because Luna’s expression is like she’s having an LBM.

“Can I go home now?” Luna asks hopefully, trailing behind Baekhyun. “And how about these things?”

And so, Baekhyun suddenly raises a lazy hand. It looks so elegant and commanding at the same time.

“Sir?”

A slightly short lady clad in navy blue uniform dress and vanilla makeup approaches him immediately.

“Please punch in all of the clothing from Ms. Luna. Get the money straight from my account.” Baekhyun speaks like the intelligent man he is, and the saleslady fidgets under his hypnotizing stare. No doubt though, Baekhyun looks so good in his uniform.

“But sir…” She squeaks, taking the clothes from Luna nevertheless. “Mrs. Cho isn’t around. No one else has a direct connection to your account, sir. We are not allowed.”

Baekhyun sighs then, pulling out his wallet and taking out his a card. “Take this then.” Baekhyun turns around a second later to continue walking but just turns around immediately to say, “Min, I need to say something.”

The lady walks up to him rather wavily and almost screeches when Baekhyun leans in to her ears and whispers something. Luna couldn’t hear anything, of course, but she could make out the blush on the lady’s face and the smile on Baekhyun’s lips. Soon enough though, after she nodded and walked away, Baekhyun gestures Luna to follow.

Through the glass walls, the city is already drenched with lights and night party goers and strolling couples. Luna checks her phone’s time and it tells her that it’s already 9:42 P.M. Her heart picks up its pace because, really, 10 P.M. is their closing. But Baekhyun doesn’t  seem to care, side glancing at those last minute shoppers as they rush their way out of the building.

“Baek, we’re going home now, right?” Luna murmurs, awkwardly looking on both of her sides and finally to Baekhyun.

Baekhyun puffs his lips. “We’re going to eat first. Let’s have dinner at McDonald’s?”

“But…” Luna stammers, looking like a lost puppy when Baekhyun enters the said fast food stall. There are only two couples left eating (they’re  just chatting over their empty pates) inside. “They’ll soon be closing?”

“No worries.”

Luna doesn’t eat much because she really isn’t famished at all and she is suddenly getting nervous about this now, especially when Baekhyun tells him that he needs to withdraw from his ATM.

“Be fast.” Luna whispers, or probably pleads.  The crew in the fast food is already cleaning up for closing, minute after minute smiling to her way and so she has to give a smile back. The couples are already gone, and she wonders if where they are going after.

The “Be fast.” isn’t fulfilled though, because Baekhyun hasn’t still came back. Some of the stalls’ lights are already out and there are only mall personnel left.

. .

She needs to call Baekhyun.

But then she remembers she doesn’t have the number.

Triple .

She couldn’t just leave Baekhyun because Baekhyun has told her to wait for him. And that is the test idea about it because she is the only one left at the bench outside the fastfood. She thinks she’s completely engrossed to the said test idea that she doesn’t even noticed that they’re already gone. and are the only words which are coming out of , silently.

It is already 10:35.

She settles for Plan B: Call Chanyeol.

“Chanyeol…” Luna is thinking that she sounds like a dying whale, hands trembling. “I’m still in the mall.”

“What?”

“I was with Baekhyun earlier. I don’t know…  he excused himself and he hasn’t came back yet.” Luna suddenly stands up from her seat when she hears a slight hint of footsteps. “ this is creepy.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’m hearing footsteps.” Luna blabbers, looking around in panic. Probably it is Baekhyun. The hairs on the back of her neck are standing. “I think it’s Baekhyun.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll hang up now?”

“No… no.” Luna pleads. “What if it’s not Baekhyun? You need to fetch me, please. I think I can find my way out.”

“Okay. I’ll be there. You just have to endure a bit horror or something.”

“Thank you, Chanyeol. That helps.” Luna groans. “Okay, call me then, later.”

This place, Luna thinks, is like one of those horror movies she’s been watching, like, even the place where zombies appear. Her eyes are wide as she looks around, hands fisted at her sides. She is actually pleading to all of the deities present for her to not to bump into a ghost and…

“Luna.”

.

That doesn’t sound like Baekhyun.

That surely doesn’t sound like Baekhyun.

She wants to cry.

Holy cows and chickes this is the creepiest thing she’s ever been involved at.

“Luna, over here!”

Where over here?

So she looks up: to the right, left. There’s no one.

Oh my God, she curses.

“On the stairs, stupid.”

So Luna looks up with wide eyes and racing heart, which only just gotten worst at the sight that has greeted her. There is a slim man clad in the same uniform as Baekhyun; hair a shade of red under the moonlight escaping through the wide glass walls.

Luna does a double take.

“Luhan?”

…