UNSAID

Byun Baekhyun and Choi Soomin were best friends since they were babies. They grew up together and did everything together. For everyone, the bond between the two was just like any other. Baekhyun saw her like how a guy best friend should see his girl best friend and she did the same thing too until that 31^st of January 2010 when she realized that Baekhyun wasn’t just a best friend to her anymore.

January 31, 2010 3:15PM

Soomin was sent to the school’s mini-theatre for the Valentine’s Day musical auditions. She didn’t really plan on trying out but her music teacher Mr. Kim Jaejoong caught her in the music room in the middle of class hours, singing as she sat with a guitar. Instead of being sent to detention, Mr. Kim thought it would be a good punishment to send her to try out for this year’s school play. She greatly denied the offer but Mr. Kim was such a pusher.

“You have talent. You should be proud to show it. I’m also honestly sick of the talentless kids they put up there on stage. It’s a musical for crying out loud!” Soomin perfectly remembered these words from her own music teacher, complaining how there aren’t good enough talented kids who could sing.

She cursed under her breath as she saw how the theatre was half full. She didn’t think many students actually went there to watch auditions or even try out for it. Astounded and scared, she stepped back completely decided to not do it. She then bumped onto someone.

“Woah there,” It was no one but Byun Baekhyun, her best friend, “Where do you think you’re going, Soo?” He arched a brow.

“Baek, there’s no way I’m getting in there. There are far too many people. I’m just going to go to Mr. Kim and get myself in detention,” Soomin said about to walk out but Baekhyun stopped her by grabbing her arm and pulling her back.

“Soo, you’ll be fine. Here,” He handed her the guitar case that he was carrying all along, “I figured there was no way you’d sing without Panpan,” Baekhyun smiled and gave Panpan—Soomin’s guitar—to her.

“Baek I can’t get in there. I’ll just get myself in detention. That’s a good idea.”

“Come on Soo, don’t flake out now. You’re going to be fine.”

“What if I fail? What if I sing off tune? What if they won’t like me? The judges will hate me, Baek,” Soomin’s face was filled with nothing but horror. She has some serious confidence issues but Baekhyun has seen past that insecure girl. He knows she’s talented and probably more talented than any of the girls in there school. Baekhyun is aware of her capabilities. She could sing like really sing. She’s good at it in fact, but she has trouble performing because Soomin has never been a people-person like Baekhyun.

“Soo, I’ve seen you practice and nail that song for a hundred times. They’re going to love you. Trust me,” Baekhyun flashed his signature ‘rectangular’ toothy smile. It’s funny how that one smile calmed her nervous heart and instead felt odd rummaging in her stomach as if butterflies were going mad inside her belly. That was the first time she felt that.

The two of them entered the mini-theatre and sat on the fifth row with an amount of student fully occupying the first to fourth rows of the theatre. They watched a girl stand on stage, sing her heart out and she was really doing a good job until her high note cracked. With wide eyes, Soomin gaped and looked at Baekhyun. She gulped. Nervous. She was about to say something but Baekhyun beat her to it.

He leaned forward and whispered, “That’s not going to happen to you. You’ll do great, Soo.” He smiled.

The girl finished her song and everyone clapped halfheartedly for the poor girl who looked desolated and dejected. They saw her run out of the theatre, crying. And then one of the three judges in front, a woman, stood up. She was holding a paper of what seems to be a list of names. She faced the students and looked at the paper.

“Choi Soomin,” Soomin almost felt like she was going to faint when she heard her name. The judge looked at the ocean of students who were looking around the area for the said person. Soomin hesitated but stood up from her place and picked up her guitar. The students kept an eye on her as she made her way to the stage.

Getting up, she got a good view of how many eyes were watching her. She internally screamed and cursed herself for cutting classes that day when Mr. Kim Jaejoong caught her. She would’ve never been here if she didn’t think music was so much better than Trigonometry class.

The judges eyed at Soomin as she stood front and center. She hesitantly smiled softly at them and from the looks of it the two male judges were the soft ones but the only female judge was clearly not happy. It’s like she’s far stricter than the two other judges.

“Choi Soomin, you didn’t sign up for this but Mr. Kim Jaejoong from the music department highly recommended you. He spoke very highly of you, please don’t let us down,” The male judge smiled at her.

“Please tell us what song you’re going to sing and we’ll have Yixing to play it for you,” The second male judge said as he pointed at the student pianist on the side of the stage. Yixing just smiled softly at her and bowed.

“Umm, I’ll be playing my guitar,” She smiled as the judges nodded.

“Alright then. Go ahead. Blow us away,” The female judge said as if she was actually mocking Soomin.

Soomin took her guitar and strapped it on her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the audience, looking for her best friend. Her eyes landed on the black haired boy sitting on the fifth row. He enthusiastically waved at her and gave her two thumbs up as he mouthed a ‘good luck’ to her.

She started playing but then noticed that three students in front were whispering as they looked at her. It’s almost as if they were talking about her—talking about how she’s going to at it. Soomin gulped and suddenly found her fingers lost on the fret board of her own guitar. She missed a chord and messed up with the intro. Panicked, she looked at the judges who didn’t look pleased, especially the female judge.

“Uh- I’m- I’m sorry. I c-can’t do this,” She bowed and was about to retreat from the stage but before she could go down Baekhyun was already going up on stage. Her eyes widened at the sight, “Baek, what are you doing?” She whispered.

“Excuse me, but who are you and what are you doing on stage with Miss Choi Soomin?” The female judge arched a brow at Baekhyun who just awkwardly smiled at them.

“Good afternoon. I’m Byun Baekhyun. Choi Soomin’s audition is supposed to be accompanied by me but I was late. I’m sorry,” Baekhyun said as he bowed at the judges who looked quite astounded. Even Soomin couldn’t believe he did that, “Can we start again?” He asked when he stood up straight again.

“Alright then. Last chance. Do it right,” The female judge said.

Baekhyun nodded and smiled at Soomin. He took her hand and for the first time, Soomin felt her heart race and she was sure that it was not because she was nervous. Her heartbeat was so fast and she felt like she didn’t want to let go of Baekhyun’s hand. The two of them performed. They both sang Bon Jovi’s hit song I’ll Be There for You. That day, everyone loved their performance, even the female judge stood up from her seat to join the standing ovation. Soomin got the female lead role and Baekhyun was supposed to get the male lead role but he refused to because it wasn’t fair to those who made an effort to actually audition for the show. So in the end, Soomin did the play without Baek and instead she was paired up with one of the school’s best actors.

If she was to tell that story to everyone, people might think that it’s what Baekhyun would normally do because he’s her best friend. It’s only normal to save her on stage. People might see it that way, but for Soomin, it was just more than that, he was more than just a best friend she can run to or play video games with. He’s more than just a guy he could call up at 2 am and ask for ramyun and he’d actually go to her house with instant ramyun packs with him even if it were 2 in the morning or past that. He’s more than just a guy he can pour out all her feelings to and rant about how her chemistry class and how her professor even made it worse. He’s more than just a guy best friend that she can do all things with, without getting judged. Byun Baekhyun was not just her best friend. Byun Baekhyun had always been her source of happiness.

She was happy because Baekhyun was always there for her. They would go watch new movies together. They’d hang out in Soomin’s living room on a Friday night and play video games together or watch a horror movie (where Baekhyun was always the first to scream). At year 2012, when Soomin moved out of her parents’ house after graduation, Baekhyun was the guy who got her an apartment to move into, somewhere close by his own place. He helped her be independent and never left her side even when he got so busy with his own job, running his dad’s music shop. He made Soomin was aware that even though she wanted to be alone and independent, he’d always be there for her.

Present

Soomin was now sitting in the café on a Wednesday afternoon where Baekhyun said they’d meet up. For some reasons the beagle was excited over the phone. He was saying something about some good news when they talked earlier. She asked him about it but he said he wants to tell her personally.

It’s been twenty minutes now. Baekhyun’s late.

She rolled her eyes and picked up her phone to give Baekhyun a call and remind him that her time is limited for she has to meet up with a record label that was willing to look at her demo CD. For about two years now, Soomin has been working on her music. Record labels contacted her and listened to her music. The thing is, she was never offered a contract. They were always interested in just buying her song and have a rookie from whatever entertainment sing it. Soomin did not refuse when those offers came, she needed to make a living and at her state, she just had no right to complain. She wanted her dad to stop calling her on random days asking if she has already done anything right in her life like quit music or actually got a proper job that require eight office hours.

Dialing Baekhyun’s number, which was on top of her contact list, she pressed her phone on her ear and heard the phone ring. Looking at the door, she saw the beagle walk towards the entrance with that bright smile on his face. She was about to roll her eyes at him but something—someone—caught her attention.

It’s the girl that was holding Baekhyun’s hand.

Her heart dropped. Gaping at them with wide eyes, it’s like the nearer they got, the more air she loses. She stopped breathing. She tried very hard to mask that pain. Soomin took a deep breath and plastered a smile as she stood up once Baekhyun was already standing across the table with the girl she was with.

“Sorry we’re late Soo!” Was the first thing Baekhyun exclaimed before he gave his best friend a light hug. She doesn’t know if something changed a bit or was Baekhyun’s hug was just shorter than usual? He pulled away too quickly before she could even hug back. Soomin saw how excited his face looked when he pulled away, “Soo, I want you to meet Lee Heejin. My girlfriend,”

My girlfriend.

There was something about that statement that wanted to make Soomin run out of the café. She felt her heart clench as if it was stabbed over a billion times but she still smiled and held out a hand for the girl, “Hi. I’m Choi Soomin, nice to meet you,”

“Aw, it’s nice to finally meet you! Baekhyun has told me so much about you!” Heejin enthusiastically exclaimed as she pulled Soomin into a hug that shocked Soomin. She wasn’t the type to hug the people she met first but she guessed, Baekhyun’s girlfriend could be an exception to that.

The entire afternoon, Baekhyun explained everything to Soomin how he met Heejin. It turns out that Heejin loved music too but she was forbidden to take up a music course, instead she took up fashion design—which explains why Soomin looks like a fashion idiot just sitting across the beautiful girl—and graduated with honors. Heejin visited Baekhyun’s music shop all the time to check out the instruments and they just clicked from there. He also revealed that he has been secretly dating Heejin for a good six months now and Soomin had mixed feelings about it. Her brows furrowed a bit and her smile almost faded when she found out. Baekhyun said that he just waited for the right time to say it and thought that six months later would be that perfect time.

“Oh, geez. I have to go,” Heejin said as she looked at her wristwatch, “Babe I have to go meet with my mom in the office. I hope you two don’t mind me going first,” The girl pouted and touched Baekhyun’s face but looked at Soomin’s way.

“No, of course. It’s alright,” Soomin said with a small smile.

“Yeah, it’s cool babe,” Baekhyun smiled at her and Heejin locked eyes with him. Soomin prayed they won’t- too late, they were already locking lips. Soomin just wanted the floor to eat her alive or to wake up if this was a horrible dream, “Come on, you don’t want to keep your mom waiting,” He said.

“Okay,” She replied and pecked his lips one last time. Heejin then faced Soomin with a polite smile, “It was nice meeting you Soomin. I’ll go ahead now. Take care,” And so she walked out of the café. The two best friends watched her exit the way she entered and when she was out of sight, Baekhyun immediately faced Soomin with a hopeful smile.

“So,” Baekhyun grinned.

“So what?” Soomin arched a brow as the guy frowned.

“Well, what do you think about her? She’s perfect isn’t she?”

“Baek why would you even bother asking me about what I think when you already think she’s perfect,” She rolled her eyes and sipped on her coffee. The beagle just made a face at her. He just wished she could’ve been more supportive. He just gave her a look, “What?” He arched a brow at him.

“Are we okay?” Baekhyun asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“Aren’t we?” Soomin interjected that made Baekhyun sigh, “Baek if you want her then go ahead. I mean you’ve been dating her for half a year behind my back, why would what I think matter now?”

“I’m really sorry about that Soo,” Baekhyun muttered and grabbed her hands, “I know we promised each other no secrets but believe me I felt bad hiding it too. I just wanted to find the perfect time to tell you. You were so stressed a few months back and I didn’t want to flaunt about my love life on you. I didn’t want you to think that you’d lose me too because I fell in love,”

I fell in love. Something about that statement gave a huge pain in her heart. Baekhyun squeezed her hand to get her attention and he successfully did. She looked at him in the eyes and she just wished Baekhyun could read through her look right now.

“And I promise you, that’s the last. I swear. I’m going to tell you everything from now on,” Baekhyun said and Soomin just wanted to casually tell him not to tell her everything because she’d only hurt every time he’d start talking about her, “So, what do you say, Soo?”

“Okay.”

“Okay? Like that’s it? We’re okay again?” Baekhyun asked as Soomin nodded and a huge smile plastered on his face. He brought her hands on his lips and gave it a kiss and she just chuckled but her heart clenched, “You’re the best, Soo!” He laughed.

“I know I am,” She retorted like how she would normally do only this time, the statement came out like it was forced. She knew she wasn’t the best because if she was, she’d reach her best friend’s standards but that’s just not the case. Soomin saw herself as someone that no guy can see as a girlfriend. She’ll always be in the friend zone.

Soomin just listened to Baekhyun rant about Heejin’s so-called perfection and the more he talked about her, the smaller Soomin saw herself. She just wanted to stop Baekhyun and tell him honestly about how she feels about this. That she’s not comfortable with him dating someone, that he’s going to be frequently seeing Heejin more, that Heejin is now number one on his list and that Soomin would never ever compare to his girlfriend’s perfection and everything about Heejin just made her feel like . And if there’s any more things she isn’t saying, it’s the fact that she’s secretly in love with her best friend, always has been and probably always will be.

“I love you Byun Baekhyun.” And these are her words unsaid.

I know the plot is common (like really common) but I still hope you liked it. This is my second Baekhyun one-shot (the first one I wrote isn't posted bc hahaha that ). I'm fond of bacon lately and I saw this GIF that made my feels for this beagle explode so much. Hahaha. I'm thinking of making a short sequel about this but I don't know...if people liked this then maybe I'd write one. =))

Anyway, I do hope you liked it and if you did please comment, upvote and subscribe (bc who knows I might post a sequel hahaha). :)

P.S I did not proof read this and I wrote it in one sitting for four hours, mianhae~ ^^.v

- chocochoi