{Jihae}

“You like me?” I ask in disbelief after a long period of silence.

“I think you should just leave.” Baekhyun’s eyes dart away from mine.

I look at him, an array of emotions gnawing on my insides. First he stops me from leaving and now he’s suggesting for me to get out of his house? Unbelievable.

“I guess I should then.” I shoot back. Grabbing my bag, I garner whatever pride I have left and walk out of his house. Don’t look back, don’t look back. I mentally chant as I exit the gates. I hear them close behind me.

But somehow my head chose to ignore direct orders from my brain. And so when I hear the metal gates cling shut, I steal a quick glance behind me and catch Baekhyun face palming himself.

My first instinct is to burst out in laughter, but that will be weird and just plain stupid. So instead I stifle a laugh and walk away from the house. You deserved to be hit. I smirk to myself.

No wonder. No wonder he sat beside me. No wonder he saved me from drowning. No wonder he didn’t mind doing mouth-to-mouth. No wonder he was so concerned about me. No wonder he didn’t reject me when I wanted to go to his house.

And then I realise how stupid I was not to have found out about him liking me earlier. I had thought it was just Baekhyun being Baekhyun. Him being exceptionally nice and friendly. I guess all that had a reason. And that reason is because he likes me.

The thought of that makes me smile, even though I’m unsure why. And then the question hits me. Do I like him? Perhaps I do. Perhaps that’s why I asked to go to his house. Perhaps that’s why I’m always so happy to see him.

“GAHH!” I shout aloud, then quickly shut my mouth. I look around me, heaving a sigh of relief when I see that there is no one around in this dark alley. I’ll admit that it’s been a crazy day and it doesn’t help now that I’m walking along this deserted pathway with the wind blowing at me.

The frustration hits me again when I think about the incidents from earlier on. Why do I have so many ‘Wonders’ and ‘Perhaps’. Since when did I get so doubtful and inconclusive? But then again, hasn’t my life revolve around dozens of unanswered questions?

Another shot of chilly breeze passes by, leaving me shivering to the bone. “Stupid Baekhyun.” I curse softly even though I know he can’t hear me. So much for being the nice gentlemen that he has been. Chasing me out of the house like that when the sun has already set is definitely not a noble thing to do.

And at this moment, I see a shadow lurking from behind. A silhouette of a man cast on the wall in front of me. At first everything seems normal, but then I see him pull out something. Something with a slick curved body and a pointy edge. A knife.

My pace quickens and I break into a run. The thumping footsteps behind tells me that there is more than one person after me. Fear grips my heart and I’m so afraid that I don’t even dare to look back. I just run as fast as I can, thinking of nothing else at that moment.

But those people behind me are running at an incredibly fast speed and I sense that they are catching up with me. With hushed prayers, I keep running. But at this point, I trip over something and I fall.

Really? Of all the times I could trip it had to be now? I think as I stumble to get up. I whip my head around but just as I do, the image of a knife scares me and I fall back to my sprawled position.

I muster as much courage as I can and tilt my head up in an attempt to see who was after me. But the four men surrounding me are all masked and the dim lighting has little aid.

“W-what d-do you want?” I mumble. I had meant to be firm sounding, but panic had gotten hold of my vocal cords and so my speech is slurred.

One of them squats down until our eye level is the same. He draws out a knife from behind and I notice a dragon tattoo imprinted on his left bicep.

“We don’t want anything.” His dangerous eyes stare deep into me, as though they were deadly daggers of their own. “We’re just here to send a little warning to Baekhyun.”

“W-what?” Confusion sweeps through me as I distant myself from them as much as possible, which isn’t a lot considering my is rooted to the ground.

“Where shall we start?” He grins. “How about those pretty lips of yours?”

This is it. I feel my lips trembling as I close my eyes shut. The knife blade slowly comes into contact with my cheek. I feel it pierce through the thin layers of my skin wall, it slowly swipes downwards and liquid gushes out.

A different type of liquid trickles down the corner of my eye. I’m crying and I can’t seem to stop.

“Aw! She’s crying guys! Won’t you like to kiss Baekhyun goodbye?” Another man laughs.

“POLICE! Freeze!” A familiar voice rang in the air.

“ guys lets go.” One of them says and I watch them make a run for it.

As quickly as I hear the footsteps getting fainter, a new set of footsteps ricochet in the surroundings. Even under the dim moonlight, I see the unmistakable worry on Baekhyun’s face.

But he doesn’t say anything, rather he picks me up and leans in for a hug. Stunned, I remain numb, quickly taking this time to wipe away the blood from my cheek and the tears in my eyes.

He probably realises the awkward tension that has built up and so he pulls away. He looks at me before saying, “You’re hurt.”

“Nah it’s only a small cut.” I reply as though it is nothing. But the truth is it really hurts. The wincing reaction when he touches the cut reveals that.

“I-I’m sorry.” He lowers his head.

“For what?”

“For all of this.” He whispers.

“Baekhyun, what did those people mean when they said they’d send a warning to you?” I ask.

“N-nothing.” He refuses to tell me.

“Tell me.” I insist. “I think I deserve to know it considering my face almost got disfigured earlier on.”

Baekhyun bites his lip in hesitation. But finally he says, “I just have some debt that I owe.”

“You owe them money?” I question him in suspicion. “You live in a mansion.”

“Just don’t ask so much okay. I just do.” He looks as if he is hiding something. And just then he turns to walk away. This time I’m the one that pulls him back.

“W-where are you going?” I ask him.

“Home.”

“Don’t leave me here! I-I’m scared.” I hate to sound like a useless frightened female but at a situation like this, there is no time to uphold any image whatsoever.

“Fine. I’ll walk you home.” He replies coldly.

As we start walking, I keep stealing glances at him. He doesn’t feel like the Baekhyun I know anymore. He feels distant. Like somewhere far away and out of reach even though he’s just right beside me.

And then I decide to pop the question that has been bugging me all this time. “Were you following me?”

“I thought you might lose your way.” He answers. I smile as I hear his words, though inwardly I hope he doesn’t notice. I feel the caring Baekhyun drawing closer.

“Thank you.” I say. “Thank you for being there Baekhyun.”

But just as I thought Baekhyun reverted to his old self, his next sentence shocks me once gain.

“Just stay away from me next time.”

And in those seven words, I feel as though my whole world comes crashing down.