Requested by babyesung

Pairing: Baekhyun x OC (Choi SooIn)

Flashback

"Found you!" Baekhyun said, pointing at SooIn. The two of them had been playing a game of 'Hide-and-Seek'; Baekhyun was the seeker while SooIn went to hide. It didn't take him long to find her though; SooIn was bad at hiding. That day, her hiding spot was under the slide which was a terrible choice judging by the fact that she was in clear view.

"How'd you find me?" SooIn asked, pouting. She had thought the slide was a great hiding spot. Well, she thought wrong.

"Magic~" Baekhyun said as he wiggled his fingers in mid-air. SooIn's eyes widened. Apparently, she had bought it. 

"Really?" She squeeked, causing Baekhyun to chuckle.

"No, you dummy. I was just joking." he said, laughing. 

"You're so gullible, you know that?" Baekhyun said as his laughter died down. Realising that she had been tricked, SooIn crossed her arms and harrumphed.

"You're so mean, Baekkie." She said, frowning. Upon hearing her call him 'Baekkie', Baekhyun's chuckles came to an abrupt halt.

"I told you not to call me that anymore, didn't I?" Baekhyun asked. He didn't like it when people called him that. It made him look like a child; which was ironic actually because he was indeed, a child.

Getting an idea, SooIn smirked mischieviously. Coming out from under the slide, she clossed the space between the two of them and leaned in. Surprised at the sudden closure between them, Baekhyun's eyes grew wide.

End Flashback

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SooIn's P.O.V

"Okay, we're here." Umma said, snapping me out of my thoughts. 

"Huh? Oh." I said as I grabbed my bag and gave my Umma a peck on her cheek.

"Thanks for the ride Umma." I smiled and opened the door.

"Enjoy your first day in university!" she called out just as I was about to close the door. Lowering my head so that we were both at eye level, I shot her a look.

"Umma, you know that isn't happening right?" I said, earning a chuckle from her.

"Oh right, I forgot. My daughter hates school." she rolled her eyes while smiling. 

I'm pretty sure everyone does, Umma.

As I bid her goodbye, I made my way to the entrance of the university and eyed it up and down. For a prestigious school, it sure did look the way I had expected it. Everything about the school's exterior design looked prestigious. The fact that the university was more than fifty years old but still succeeded to look as though it was only five years old wowed me. 

Okay SooIn. You're in this kind of university so be sure to not ruin your image. First impressions are important; remember that.

As much as I hated the idea of school, I had no other choices; I still had to go, whether I wanted to or not.

Just as I was about to enter the school's premises, a particular figure running past me took me by surprise. He hadn't bumped into me though; which I was grateful for because I would've fallen and embarrassed myself. Just then, something about that boy appeared familiar to me. The way his hair bounced as he ran reminded me of someone.

Weird. Who has such bouncy hair?

The answer was on the tip of my tongue but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it out. Giving up, I simply shrugged it off and headed for the registry.

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Baekhyun P.O.V

I thought I was late for registration so I ran all the way to the registry, completely unaware of my surroundings.

I hope I hadn't accidentally bumped into anyone though.

Calming my heart rate, I noted the teacher of my arrival. After being told to take a seat, I did so and watched as people came strolling into school. Upon seeing this, I clenched my teeth.

Why the heck did I even run in the first place? My energy was wasted for nothing!

Just then, a particular girl  caught my attention. I cocked my head as I observed her side profile. She had long wavy hair that stoped just below her chest. Her nose was rather sharp and her jawline was pretty defined. Her dimples could be seen the moment she offered a smile to the people at the registry who smiled back at her and greeted her. 

She looks familar though. Who is she? Who do I know that has long, wavy hair like her?

It was right on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't say it. Realising the fact that I had been staring at her for a little too long, I quickly turned away looked at something else; like the wall.

"Your name please, dear."  I heard the person at the registry say.

"Choi SooIn." The moment I heard that, my head snapped towards her direction.

Choi SooIn? No way; she's here?!

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped but as the seconds ticked by and she turned around to meet my eyes, a smile grew on my face when I saw the look of recognition in her eyes.

It's been quite a while, SooIn-ah...

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

Throughout the whole orientation, I was hoping I'd get the chance to at least talk to her but no, apparently, luck wasn't on my side. We were both put in different groups and barely saw each other. Even if we did, it would only last a second. 

So instead, I wrote her a note and neatly folded it up before placing it in my pocket. The next time I saw her, I quickly took out the note and placed it in her hand in a swift of a second. 

Without turning back to her, I went on my way, pretending as though nothing had happened.

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

SooIn's P.O.V

Filled with curiosity, I opened the note secretly and read it.

Meet me at our usual place after school. I'm sure we have a whole lot of things to catch up about.

P.S. I didn't recognise you at first. When did you turn so pretty~?

- Baekhyun

For some odd reason, when I read that last line, I felt my cheeks go red. It wasn't the first time Baekhyun behaved like that. He was always saying such things to me. I guess the distance between us for a couple years changed things. Me and him weren't as close as we were before. I guess when we both went our separate ways in high school, we slowly forgot each other.  It was sad actually. 

Folding back the note, I placed it in my pocket as a small smile made its way upon my face.

It's been a while, Baekhyun...

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

I felt a pang of nostalgia as I arrived at the park; our park. It's been so long since I've been there; since we've been there. All the memories we had at that playground were replaying in my mind and I couldn't help but to smile and chuckle at every foolish thing the two of us did back at that playground.

How'd he manage to slip out of my mind? How'd I manage to be forgotten by him too?

The sound of leaves rustling snapped me out of my thoughts. Casting a look upon the direction of that sound, I saw an outline of a figure approaching me. It didn't take me long to recognise who it was. Soon enough, we were face to face as we both smiled at each other without uttering the slightest word. Right then, I knew we were both thinking of the same thing.

Flashback

Baekhyun stood frozen on the spot. He didn't know why you were leaning so close to him. Just as his imaginations were about to go wild, you said with a grin, "Baekkie!" 

With that, you ran off, chuckling. Blinking a couple times, Baekhyun processed what had happened and got rid of all those other thoughts and ideas he was getting in his mind. Once he had regained his composure, he searched for SooIn.

"Yah! Come here!" He exclaimed as he chased after her around the playground. Eventually catching up to her, he was about to reach out for her when he tripped over nothing and fell, pulling her down with him. As the two fell on their backs, instead of grooaning in pain, they simply laughed their heads off. They had no idea why they were laughing but it happened anyway. 

As their laughter slowly died down, SooIn turned to him and smiled as he did the same. Within a split second, her smile was replaced by a frown and her eyes had turned glassy. Noticing the sudden change in her expression, Baekhyun gave her a questioning look.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

SooIn hesitated at first but eventually said, "What if we have to split up when we go to high school? What if we forgot each other?"

Baekhyun softened. "You know that will never happen."

"But what if it does?" she said, heaving a sigh at the bitter thoughts running through her head.

"If it does happen," he pauses and took her hand in his. "we'll still meet each other in the future and that would mean that we both still play an important part in the other's story"

Just like that, SooIn produced a genuine smile; the best he had ever seen from her. 

End Flashback

"I guess what you said was true." I said as I broke into a smile while looking into his eyes.

"We both still have a part to play in each other's story." I added. I waited for him to say something but he only stood there in silence while smiling at me. I felt my cheeks turning red as each second of that awkward atmosphere ticked by.

"SooIn-ah..." he said all of a sudden, snapping me back into reality.

"Hm?" I replied after regaining my composure.

"I want you to listen to something." he said, which only made me curious.

"What is it?" I asked.

Disregarding my question, he took out his iPod and gave me one side of the earpiece while wearing the other side of the earpiece. Once that was done, he pressed 'Play'. Immediately, I recognised the voice; it was his.

Do you remember when I said I'd always be there,

Ever since we were ten, Baby,

When we were out on the playground, playing pretend,

I didn't know it back then

Now I realise that you were the only one,

It's never too late to show it,

Grow old together, the feelings we had before,

Back when we were so innocent

I pray for all your love, girl our love is so unreal,

I just want to reach and touch you, squeeze you, somebody pinch me,

This is something like a movie,

And I don't know how it ends girl,

But I fell in love with my best friend...

Just then, the music stopped. Slowly meeting his eyes, I searched them for answers but found none.

What is the meaning behind this? Why did he make me listen to that?

Before I could probe him on, he reached out for my hand and said, "I know this sounds crazy, but SooIn-ah, you mean that much to me. I don't want to ruin what we have because love is so unpredictable. But it's a risk that I'm taking. And I hope that you've fallen for your best friend too. That song I let you listen to was a song I write the day before graduation day; the day before we both went our separate ways. I wanted to sing it to you on our final day together but you were taken at that point of time so I didn't want to ruin your relationship. During high school, I tried my best to forget about you and eventually I succeeded. But when I saw you today, I realised one thing. I still love you." 

Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Will you, SooIn, be my girlfriend?"

I was at a loss for words. How did I not know of his feelings for me back in middle school? Was I that dense? 

Processing everything that had happened for the past few minutes, I found myself smiling. That was the moment I knew; I had fallen for my best friend too.

Without saying anything, I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my head in his chest.

"Does this mean I can call you Baekkie now?"