He Was Right

I could still remember the almost teary eyes he had the previous night. As clear my memory was, there was no such incident. Yet the way he claimed it to be made me falter. I had no idea, no idea at all. And the only person who could clarify and clear my doubts – Byun Baekhyun – I called him up.

It was almost three in the Saturday afternoon and we decided to meet at our usual hangout place. It was a bad hair day. Together with that distressed look I had on my face, I probably looked both unkempt and gaunt. It didn’t really bother me anyway. The café we were meeting at was only five minutes away from home and Baekhyun was a very close friend.

The shop bell rang, it sounded loud in the quiet place. Having a guy friend like him made me very proud. He was Mr Charming, Mr Humorous and Mr Smiley. He was that one man that my girlfriends just could not stop asking me to introduce them to. In contrast to what I wore, he had a very stylish blazer accompanying with that slim-fit jeans. He even styled his hair to finish that perfect look.

When I was greeted with the cute wink he sent me, I only threw him a sheepish smile while doing a light wave with my right hand.

“Jieun, what’s wrong with you?” he started off immediately when he took his seat.

“Hmm?”

“Well, you know. Today is a Saturday and you are not spending time with Yixing?” He explained, “this is strange.”

I faked a smile and shrugged, “can’t I just spend my Saturday with a friend?”

Baekhyun sat up straight suddenly and looked at me with sincere eyes, “what happened?”

I stared into his eyes. It was different from Yixing’s ones. It was one with so much love and trust. Something that just couldn’t be found in Yixing’s eyes anymore. A bitter feeling soar up and I felt every urge to just spill what happened exactly. Besides, wasn’t this the reason why I called Baekhyun? – To clarify and to find ease.

After finding courage, I spoke up. “Baek, you remember that night at the pub?”

He lay on the back of his chair and averted his eyes around. “Yeah?”

“Well, Yixing misunderstood something. I mean, this could never happen but that look he had, was like he was so sure and certain about it.”

Baekhyun didn’t make a sound; instead he reached up to his cup and played with it.

“He said he heard you calling me ‘baby’.”

It took a while for Baekhyun to react, "nonsense!" He quickly gulped down his ice latte before laughing a little too loudly, "how could it be possible?"

"I thought it's absurd too." I nodded my head in agreement before taking the first sip of my iced mocha.

I smiled in relief. I knew that it was impossible. How could it be? Yixing must have misunderstood. There were such circumstances that he could probably mistake us for someone else or even heard it wrongly.

"But the look in his eyes when he said that," I took in a deep breath before meeting him the in eye. "He spoke like it was true."

This time, Baekhyun gave a few scratches at his neck and glanced outside then at his cup before taking another sip, "how can it be?"

I raised an eyebrow upon seeing his unusual and awkward behaviour. This was weird. Baekhyun was acting strange. Baekhyun was a close friend and we knew each other long enough to know our little habits. And what I was seeing here were the little things he did when he was lying or hiding something from me.

"Baek," I said sternly as I could see him holding onto his breath, "look at me and tell me the truth."

The moment how his eyes fluttered when he meets mine, my eyes widened too. "I'm sorry, Jieun." He muttered. Though almost inaudible but I managed to catch it.

"Come again?" I could see him swallowing hard as his Adam apple moved.

"I did it on purpose, in front of Yixing, when you're drunk," he confessed suddenly.

Gasping in shock, I blinked my eyes thrice in a second as I felt the breath caught in my lungs, not able to let go. "You did not," as much as I wanted to know the truth, I never expect to be something... like this.

"I like you, Jieun."

With those words leaving his lips, I could barely move and as if he caught me in the right moment, he cupped my face and pulled me in, towards him, till our lips meet, with his eyes closed.

Being utterly shocked, I used all the strength I could gather to push him away and stood up from my seat with a loud dragging noise. With nothing but astonishment, guilt and shame, I stood at that spot not knowing what to do. Then I realised the things Yixing said.

He was right. Yixing was right.