"Noona!"

I sighed, taking a moment to frown before turning around to the familiar voice.

Baekhyun walked up to me, smiling that happy, twinkling smile of his whenever he saw me. He was still in his school uniform, which was no surprise since he probably came here immediately afterschool.

 

I stared back at him emotionlessly, not at all happy. Baekhyun noticed, and seemed hurt.

He gave a weak laugh.

"You in a bad mood?"

I flinched at his voice thick with hurt. Usually, I would've immediately smiled and reassured him again. But today, I didn't. I clenched my jaw and forced myself to act harsh.

"No." My voice sounded even worse than I planned it to be. I bit back an 'oops, i'm sorry' and stayed still.

I was determined to succeed this time. Right this second. I had waited too long for this moment.

 

The moment of rejection.

 

Before I could start to recite the words I had practiced last night, Baekhyun held out a small piece of candy wrapped in golden wrapper. He smiled.

"Here. I found it lying somewhere by chance. It's clean, though. No one opened it."

I took the candy and looked at it.

"You found a candy with 'To my Love Baekhyun' written on it by chance?" I raised an eyebrow.

Baekhyun immediately blushed, taking it back and checking for himself that it was true. When he confirmed it, he cleared his throat awkwardly and stuffed the candy into his pocket, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Um.... Nevermind. I'll get you something better tomorrow..."

I sighed. This was why.

I looked up at Baekhyun, suddenly deciding to forget about the practiced speech I had prepared last night. I was just going to say this from me.

 

"Look, Baekhyun, I really think you should stop. You heard this from me many times before, and yet you're still stubborn. I'm being nice to you because you're my dongsaeng, not because of any other reason. If you truly were just respecting me and treating me kindly just as a mere dongsaeng, you wouldn't stick with me so often like this. And I'm getting really annoyed of it."

Baekhyun stood still, looking back at me with hurt written over his eyes. He was like this everytime I adressed this topic. But this time, I wasn't going to give into anything.

I took a deep breath, feeling harsh, but knowing I needed to be.

"And that's why I want you to stop coming here everyday after your school. No, you have to stop coming here afterschool. Again, you should focus on your studies more and--"

"But Noona, I am studying--"

"I know you are. But that was because of me. Because I told you to. Why don't you want to try doing things for yourself? Baekhyun, I know this little crush seems to be everything to you right now but--"

"It is not. A little crush."

I paused, a little taken back by his sudden serious tone. But I cleared my throat right away, getting back on track.

 

"You may not know because you're young, Baekhyun. I'm not judging you because of your age, but... it's a fact when I say that older people know more about life. I experience much more than you, and I know for a fact that you shouldn't be doing this."

Baekhyun slightly frowned.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

Well, not exactly, I--

"Yes. I am. I don't have any feelings for you, Baekhyun. It's time for you to know that."

 

Yes, Taeyeon. Be harsh. Get it over with quickly.

 

Baekhyun was quiet, which I had been expecting. What I hadn't been expecting was the word he said after.

"Why?"

Huh?

I blinked a few times, not having really practiced what to say to a question like this.

"... Um... Well...." I hestitated, racking my brain to find a mature, appropriate answer.

Baekhyun waited patiently, and I cursed to myself when I saw that he wasn't going to go without an answer.

 

".. You're.... Um.... You're younger than me?"

The second I said that, I knew it hadn't been the correct answer.

Baekhyun's face fell flat, a pure form of dissapointment taking over it.

"Seriously?" He was dumbfounded.

 

I stuttered upon the right words to say, weirdly feeling somewhat regretful and sad.

"No, wait..."

"Alright. I see." He suddenly muttered. I widened my eyes, surprised at his words.

 

"I get it. I can't do anything about it, then."

Before I could be contented with more words of his answer, he turned around and walked away, leaving a bitter feeling inside of me.

 

No, wait.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. I was supposed to be harsh, yes. But he wasn't supposed to be....

 

Oh, what was I worrying about? I had wanted to get rid of Baekhyun. And I did. He wasn't going to bother me anymore. I had succeeded.

But why did it feel as if I had totally, utterly failed?

-------------------------------------------------

I didn't get a blink of sleep that night.

 

A slight, faded color of darkness was under my eyes. It wasn't visible enough to cover with makeup, but still annoyed me to the end.

Why was I stressed?! Why was I getting any form of stress right now?!

Baekhyun wasn't that much of a big part of my life. He was just something that stuck to me for a long time. I had wanted to get rid of it, and that had just happened yesterday!

I sighed in frustration, grabbing my handbag to leave for my college.

 

The second I walked out of the door, I stopped. Out of habit, I found myself pulling out my phone to look at it.

The screen was blank. No text messages from Baekhyun.

I raised my eyebrows, feeling surprised even though I knew it was coming. I mean, I rejected him yesterday, right? Of course he wouldn't text me or anything...

 

With a relieved smile, I continued to walk and arrived successfuly into class in a bright, calm mood. It was going to be fine. Maybe I had been too drawn into this small drama incident. Nothing was going to happen now...

Time flew by fast, and the day ended quickly. I walked out of my last class, having gathered my things to go home.

 

Home.

I was supposed to go home.

So why was I here?!

I looked around me, widening my eyes. My own very legs had shocked myself. They had brought me into the side of the school where Baekhyun usually came and collided with me.

I frowned.

I should pass this place easily. Baekhyun's not going to come anymore, so there wasn't any reason why I needed to wait for anything...

 

But what if he was going to come?

Maybe he was running here right this second, because his last class had finished late... That had happened before. And he had still managed to meet me.

 

Despite my other thoughts of common sense, I walked over to a bench and sat down.

Was I really waiting for Baekhyun?!

The phrase 'What are you doing?!' kept on popping inside my head.

Quickly, I made an excuse to myself that I was here just to rest for a few minutes. Besides, college was tiring. I deserved a few moments of rest on a simple bench....

The small 'rest' extended to thirty minutes. Then to an hour. Soon, I was the only one there in that spot.

 

"... Oh... What am I even doing?!" I snapped at myself.

With a humph, I quickly stood up and straightened my hair, grabbing all my stuff and stomping out of the place.

God, why had I been sitting there for the past hour and thiry minutes?!

 

"Shoot... I just waisted half of my available free time for today...." I groaned inwardly, still feeling that ignition of anger inside of me.

The thing was... I wasn't angry at myself for waiting. I mean, I was. But it wasn't why I had that ignition of anger.

 

I sighed, realizing why I was feeling this. And I immediately scolded myself for it.

I was mad that Baekhyun hadn't come today. That he hadn't popped his face out of nowhere, calling out my name with his voice and smiling that happy smile of his.

I frowned, walking into my house.

Whatever.... Just.... Whatever.... Who cared if he didn't come?!

 

I froze in the middle of stomping up to my room. Because no matter HOW much I thought of it...

I scoffed.

Was he really going to give up just like this?

I mean... It was a good thing, but.... He was Byun Baekhyun.

 

He wouldn't just let go of everything so quickly and easily.

 

I frowned.

It had really taken just a few strong words to get rid of him, huh.... Just for me to stop being nice to him, and to be clean and downright with the rejection.

 

And he had really left. Just like that.

I bit my lower lip, trying to get rid of the feeling inside of me. The feeling of dissappointment. Because who was I to get dissappointed with him? He had just followed my orders from yesterday....

 

Yes. He was in his last year of highschool. The most important year. I had been right to do this. He had to study, and he will study better because of this.

I smiled genuinely for the first time that day. Somehow, this fact actually comforted me.

 

With a deep breath, I walked up to my room, washing up and slipping under the covers. Everything in my mind told me that I was fine, and that everything was going to be perfect now.

 

And yet, I still didn't get a wink of sleep.

---------------------------------------------------------

The next few mornings were just pure forms of pain.

 

I just wasn't in the right state of mind.

Everything about the days, my lifestyle, the place I was in.... It just didn't seem right.

I sighed in frustration, stomping into the kitchen to make myself breakfast. The sudden wanting of my Mom to come here and make me decent food attacked me, and I frowned in sadness.

Why was I feeling so sensitive today? Everything that hadn't bothered me so much before was popping out all over again, messing everything up.

 

I grabbed a cup of water and gulped it down, trying to refresh my brain.

But no matter how much I tried to shake everything away, I always got that queesy feeling of.... Of not being loved.

I immediately scoffed and mentally slapped myself.

Because here I was, being completely selfish now. Was I really wanting the feeling of being crushed on by Baekhyun?!

 

I widened my eyes.

 

Because I was. I was wanting it back. And the feeling was just there, poking at me like that.

Was it because of a selfish reason? I asked myself. Was I just being a girl and relishing the feeling of being crushed by someone?

... No.... I wasn't. I couldn't care less about stupid crushes.

 

Then why did I want Baekhyun to still have feelings for me? Why was I missing him? Why was I regretting right this second, right this moment of having rejected Baekhyun a few days back?

I set my cup down, the painful, but relieving at the same time feeling of realization attacking me.

 

Maybe.... Just maybe....

Maybe I liked him?

 

I gasped and slapped my palms over my cheeks, shocked at the thought.

"Ow..." I rubbed my now red cheeks from the slaps, still thinking about my feelings.

 

Really? Was that why? Did I like Baekhyun? Did he actually grow into me just like that during the past time?

I blinked, seriously having never had thought about this before. Because Baekhyun had been the one following me and showing love for me. I never had. I was the one sighing and rolling my eyes at him.

But yet, in the end, I had actually liked him doing that.

 

I liked Baekhyun.

I like Baekhyun.

 

I stood in that same, very position for a long time. It was the alarm of my watch that brought me back into reality.

Baekhyun hadn't graduated highschool yet. He was younger, and he really may be inexperienced. The love he had for me may actually be a little crush that he had been too drawn into.

And I had rejected him already. Everything was over.

 

I sighed in sadness, the pain of the reality grasping me. I didn't have any chance now... He probably hated me for rejecting him like that. He was still a kid, no matter how I thought of him like this.

Nothing may have been true.

He.... Baekhyun might've not actually liked me like that.

 

The thought pained my heart, and I felt something collapse inside of me. Denial, anguish, regret.... They all stabbed at me throughout the walk to college.

By the time I arrived at the campus, my eyes were slightly red from having gotten glassy quite a few times. The dark circles under my eyes got more visible, and cramps were attacking me just for the evil of it.

 

I was on the brink of collapsing and just ditching everything in my next classes. But yet, I still walked, figuring that I still had to stay strong for the better of everything.

It was then a distant, faint voice reached my ears.

 

"Noona!"

I shook my head from left to right, refusing to imagine his voice. I didn't want to get any more stressed. I couldn't.

With a deep breath, I started walking again lifelessly.

"NOONA!"

"Ugh!" I grabbed my cheeks with my palms, walking even faster out of anger. What was wrong with me?! Was I really going to be an idiot and hallucinate?!

 

"YAH KIM TAEYEON."

I stopped midstep.

And I frowned.

That was weird... I could've sworn Baekhyun's voice had said my name in informal form.... I wouldn't have imagined something like that...

 

A spark of hope suddenly formed inside of my chest. I tried to wave it off, but it only grew bigger as I heard the footsteps running towards me.

.... No way.... He wouldn't be....

I turned around. Immediately, my heart pounded with excitement.

"B-Baekhyun?!" I blurted.

Sure enough, the figure walked up to me with the familiar, warm smile and the puppy-like face. I was way too shocked to smile back.

 

Baekhyun stopped right in front of me, his face holding something different from before. Confidence.

Before I could make any move, he suddenly pulled out a slightly crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket. He straightened it out and held it in front of my face for me to see.

I parted my mouth a little, confused.

"What--"

"It's a contract."

I blinked.

"...... A contract?"

"Mhmm." He held the paper down, looking at me.

 

"My dad's been trying to convince me to take over his position later in his car company. I didn't want to at first, and I kept on going against them, but..."

He smiled.

"I finally agreed. I passed the official test, and I'm officially the next CEO of the Byun Car Company. So NOW will you reject me without hestitating?"

 

I blinked a few times, at loss for words.

".. I... I......."

This.... This kid....

The alarm from my watch suddenly sounded, and I again was brought back into the right mind by it.

I looked at Baekhyun's prescence with wide eyes. So many questions wanted to fly out of my mouth at once. I couldn't blurt half of them out so quick.

 

"W-Wait what are you doing here?! Shouldn't you be at school?!"

Baekhyun smiled in amusement, eyes twinkling.

I stopped, a sudden surge of emotions waving over me just from that one smile.

 

"Why didn't you come for the past few days?" I said quieter.

Baekhyun blinked a few times, looking a bit confused and taken back.

".... I thought that--"

"And no, I won't accept that becoming a CEO excuse. Am I more important, or is the car company more important?"

For once, Byun Baekhyun was at loss for words.

 

".... You.." He blurted.

I softly giggled, finding his baffled expression funny.

Baekhyun cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, looking down.

"Well... Ah..... I know that the isn't something to change... But if I get you to actually like me, nothing matters from then on. So... I tried to look better and stuff..."

He suddenly stopped.

"Because, I mean, what kind of girl wouldn't regret rejecting the CEO of Byun Car Co., right?" He practically pleaded.

 

"..... And... I also thought about what you said to me.. About how this might all be just a stupid crush and nothing more.."

I widened my eyes, not having known that he had been going to address this.

He wasn't going to... He wasn't going to be inconfident about it, right? Was he just going to say sorry and go right this second?!

 

All the worries vanished at once when Baekhyun's face sudden turned to a smile.

"But about that part, you're wrong. I like you, noona. A lot. And I don't think I'm mature or old enough to let you go, as you said."

He crossed his arms.

"So I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to somehow fall in love with the CEO of a car company, with a handsome face like this and the popularity that soars the sky and the most charming personality ever--"

"Seriously, Baekhyun. You sound like you're auctioning yourself off." I laughed.

He smiled. It melted my heart for the fiftieth time. And this time, I acknowledged it fully and openly in my mind.

 

Finding no reason why I couldn't, I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around Baekhyun's waist. It was then when I realized how taller he was then me, and that my face only went to his chest.

"Baekhyun, I don't care if you're the CEO of a car company or not. I'm just glad you came back for me."

".... So you're accepting me?"

"I'm not accepting you. I like you."

A blissful, peaceful silence took over us, and I felt Baekhyun's arms wrap around me as well. I didn't have to look to see that he was smiling like a clown.

We were both already late for both of our classes, and Baekhyun was already ten minutes away from his school itself. So we both relaxed in that position, in each other's warmth and arms.

 

The silence was consistent until even later.

".... Wait. Does that mean I did all this CEO work for nothing?"