Waking up early on a Satruday morning is a difficult feat in itself. However, I find myself wide awake at around six in the morning. I blink and let out a soft sight. I’m not going to get any more sleep. I stare blankly at my ceiling, counting the hours until I have to face two people and journey towards the unknown—or in my case, the Hanging Gardens. I take a deep breath and roll over in my bed, excited at the same time nervous for the day.

“You got this, Dohyun,” I mumble to myself, clutching one of my pillows close to my chest. Prior to this day, I asked my parents for advice regarding venue reservations. Usually, if they already booked a venue before, a general layout would have been made beforehand but since this was the first time we would hold a reception at that place, it was alright to take things slowly. The program flow, as pointed out by my mother, would take a while. She recommended talking to the extended family if they had any ideas and for that, I’ll leave Baekhyun to do it. I can feel the stress piling up as I recount all the words of advice my parents said a few days before. my lips, I toss around the bed some more until I’m face to face with my alarm clock.

Even though I was fully aware that getting that eight hours of sleep would do me well, thoughts of Jongdae’s night visit kept me up. The visit in itself was a surprise but even more his reaction after. I didn’t expect he’d leave so abruptly. After that encounter, I haven’t been able to see him around campus. Although I did message him about the reservation plans, he never replied so I wasn’t sure if he even got the memo. While Jongdae’s been M.I.A., Baekhyun, on the other hand, kept appearing. Sure, I’d see him chat with a couple of his friends but I never actually said hello or hi to him. It still felt awkward, knowing that we go to the same school. So, whenever I saw him, I just kept to myself and walked faster.

I sit up on my bed and stare at the clock, watching the seconds tick by. My head starts to make a mental checklist of all the things I have to do today and they include contacting Mr. Yong of the venue and ideas for the program flow. Next, I have to ask my dad again regarding the payment for the hotel. Then, there’s my mom and what her take will be on the food. I stifle a yawn and shake my head again.

Staying up the night before to research about the venue was both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because I’m able to get a better picture of what we have to work with and bad because I lost precious hours of sleep—not that it mattered anyway. I stretch my limbs and practically drag myself to where the bathroom is. Hopefully, after a shower I’ll be able to wake up and focus properly.

As I wash myself up, thoughts of how to proceed on this wedding planning pop into my head. Honestly, the amount of trust my parents have in me is ridiculous—how can a nineteen year old successfully plan a star’s wedding? I frown and scrub my skin furiously, the foam increasing as I do so. Red patches appear but I ignore them and focus on my thoughts instead. So far, all I’m doing is planning the wedding reception. What about the actual wedding?  I squeeze my eyes shut and take a deep breath.

Oh my god.

Biting my lip, I rinse out all the bubbles before stepping out and wrapping a towel around my body. I take one look at the bathroom mirror and instantly cringe at what I see. The dark circles under my eyes are more prominent than usual and my skin is as white as winter snow. While others will argue that this is a good thing, it just makes me look sickly and pale. I shake my head and walk back to my room, ready to pick an outfit for the day.

I walk towards my closet, drying my hair in the process. Despite how some people will argue that first impressions aren’t that important, it’s clear that it’s the exact opposite. Wrinkling my nose, I take out the grey skirt my mom bought for me last Christmas and a peter-pan collared white blouse. It speaks simple yet formal and that’s all that really matters. I dress up albeit slowly while I keep my eyes on my phone—which is still lying on the bed. For some reason, I keep expecting a call or a message. From who, I still had no idea. With a sigh, I move over to my make-up and attempt to look more awake than I usually do.

As I do my make-up, my gaze wanders over to where my phone sits again. Not hearing from Jongdae for over how many days left an uncomfortable feeling in my gut. He can’t be avoiding me, right? My brows furrow at the thought. Okay, so if he really was jealous that night, he wouldn’t go as far to avoid me. Maybe he’s just busy with school and such. I nod to myself, knowing fully that Jongdae’s not that type of person to completely disappear from my life.

But still…

My train of thought wanders yet again and I groan. I should, at the very least, text him and ask if he’s still going. I quickly finish doing my face and walk over to my phone. I type in a short message, asking him if he got my previous message before tucking it in my skirt’s pocket. I take one look at myself on the mirror and grin to myself. For someone who doesn’t dress up most of the time, I don’t look half-bad.

I grab one of my purses from the dresser and shove in my wallet, phone, and everything else I’ll need for the short trip. I push away thoughts of Jongdae, Baekhyun, and wedding planning to the back of my mind and simply focus on going down the stairs with a bright smile on my face. Of course, this proves to be difficult. I smoothen down my skirt before taking a step out of my room and going down the stairs. Immediately, my eyes catch sight of my dad walking across the living room, newspaper in hand. He looks up and I freeze for a second before throwing him a small smile.

“Morning,” I say, as I reach the landing. He sends me his own smile before folding the newspaper in his arms.

“You’re early today,” he comments as he walks towards the kitchen. I follow after him, my nose catching a whiff of eggs and bacon. Unconsciously, I let a smile take over my face despite the stress eating me out alive.

“I have to go reserve the venue,” I mumble which earns a look of surprise on my dad’s face. However, he quickly covers it up with a proud look.

“I’m glad you’re working on this seriously.”

I let out an uncomfortable laugh before shrugging. Of course I’ll take it seriously. It’s not only my parents’ name on the line but also Mr. Yong Kijoon’s. That in itself is enough to make me put a whole lot of effort on my part.

“I just hope they’ll let me reserve the venue with ease,” I reply.

“For the payment, I can always ask Mr. Yong about it. Actually,” he pauses a bit, eyes thoughtful. He glances at me before giving me a comforting smile. “I can handle the financial part for this. I know we want you to do all of this on your own but,” he trails off, eyes looking over where my mom is. She’s in the kitchen, setting the plates with a calm expression on her face. He smiles a little before turning back to me. “I don’t want you to have a hard time. God knows how your mother is when she’s going through it.”

At this, my heart melts due to two things. One, the loving gaze my father had for my mother was enough for me to coo and wish for someone to look at me like that as well. And two, I’m not really alone with this, contrary to what I expected beforehand. I can feel my heart squeeze in happiness over my father’s words and without sparing a single thought, I wrap my arms around him and give the tightest hug I can ever give.

“Thank you so, so much,” I whisper, hoping to keep my emotions in check. The past few weeks are difficult and let’s face it, stressful. Hearing my father’s words is like a breath of fresh air after being underwater for so long. I pull away from him and smile warmly, feeling instantly lighter. He ruffles my hair before nudging me to my mother who’s looking at the two of us in confusion.

“What’s going on?”

“Mom!” I exclaim, rushing over to her and giving her a hug as well. Her eyes widen at my sudden outburst but nonetheless returns the hug, kissing my forehead in the process.

“You look lovely, Dohyun,” she says, grinning at me from ear to ear.

“Someone has to look nice for later,” I say, sending her one of my own smiles as well.

“Any plans?”

I take a seat on one of the chairs and shrug. “Reserving the venue.”

She places the plate of eggs and bacon in the middle before raising an eyebrow.

“Alone?”

I hurriedly pile some food on my plate before shaking my head. “Baekhyun and Jongdae are helping out.”

She sends me a soft smile before nodding her head. My dad walks over to her and wraps his arm around her shoulders. Again, warmth surges through me. Hopefully I’ll be able to experience something like that in the future.

“Baekhyun’s not giving you a hard time, is he?” My dad asks as he takes the seat across from me. I gulp and shrug. Well, he isn’t giving me a hard time per say. He’s only getting on my nerves. Does that count?

“Not really.” He raises an eyebrow while I do my best to send him a reassuring smile. It’s probably because I ended up saying it like a question. With one last look, he goes to his newspaper and starts reading the headlines. I let out a breath.

“He seems like a trustworthy young man,” my mom offhandedly comments. I choke a little on my saliva before taking a sip from my glass of water. My mom eyes me curiously but I wave her off.

“I guess,” I say, chuckling nervously.

“He has been helping, right?” Dad asks, lowering his newspaper a little to give me a disbelieving look. I bite my lip before nodding my head slowly.

“Yeah, like I said. He’s going to help me out later and—“ I gulp when I realize we haven’t really been talking about what to do and such. I fidget a little under my dad’s gaze before letting out a breath. Well there is one thing I plan to do after.

“We’re going to visit Marco soon,” I mumble, more to myself than to him. I’m sure this confession is going to kick me in the later on but whatever.

He nods his head approvingly before going back to what he was reading. I sit still for a moment, acknowledging the words I said, before going back to my food. Damn it. Marco is a whole issue altogether and as much as I’d like to keep Baekhyun away from me, I’ll need as much help as I can get.

I glance at the clock and notice how I have around an hour left before Baekhyun comes to pick me up. My mother sits down beside me, her own plate ready to be filled with food, before placing a hand on my arm.

“You’re going to be okay, sweetie,” she says, her eyes filled with trust and determination. “I just know it.”

Usually, I’ll get freaked out by this words but I push the worries away. I smile, genuinely, and nod my head. “Thanks, mom.” She goes back to her food and scolds my dad a little for not placing anything on his plate. I chuckle at their banter.

We spend the next few minutes, talking about I plan to do for later and what they have for work. Today, I find out that my mom’s helping out in a wedding for her friend’s cousin while my dad’s going around tasting some of the potential caterer’s for said wedding. Of course, this reminds me that I have to ask Ms. Byun and Mr. Yong about the food as well. Will they just opt for the hotel’s food? Or get an outside caterer? Maybe they’ll get—

My phone buzzes in my purse and I jolt in my seat. I shove another mouthful of food before opening it and retrieving my phone. I take one look at the ID and immediately open the message, hoping for good news.

Kim Jongdae: Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I won’t make it later. I’m really sorry. I’ll see you Monday?

It’s only a one-line text but seeing the words make me feel a little sick and all the more disappointed. I type in my reply, fingers skating across the keyboard, before stopping myself. I look up and my mom glares at the phone in my hands. She always disliked the use of phone at the table. I give her an apologetic look before standing up and excusing myself from the table.

I can feel my brow bushing together due to the new and it isn’t helping when my brain is trying to wrap itself around the fact that it’s just going to be me and Baekhyun, going to The Hanging Gardens. Just us. Alone.

My heart thumps a little too loud in my chest.

“Damn it,” I mutter, bring a finger to my lips as I read my message. I sound like a brat begging for her mom to buy a piece of candy. It was obvious that I was complaining to him and practically ranting how he’s standing me up. He couldn’t just back out last minute without even giving a proper reason why. My fingers hovers over the ‘send’ button but I’m well aware that my message may translate as something cross and hurtful.

I groan. I press his number and place the phone against my ear. My feet bring me to the living room and I start pacing back and forth, waiting for him to pick up the phone.

After a few rings, he accepts the call.

“Hello?”

“Ya!” I start, a little too loud. I clear my throat and attempt to soften my tone a little. “Why can’t you go? You got my texts, right?” My brain attempts to rationalize this turn of events. Maybe he really didn’t get my texts. But that doesn’t explain the lack of interaction the past few days. Or maybe he’s just busy? Either way, the good news I was hoping for is gone now.

I hear shuffling from the other and instantly wonder if Jongdae’s busy at the moment. My stomach churns at the thought.

“Uh, yeah,”

“Then why—“ I stop myself again. I should really let him talk. He lets out a sigh—a loud one at that—before replying.

“I’m really sorry I can’t go today it’s just,” he pauses, and I can imagine him scratching the back of his head. “Some plans came up and I really can’t make it. I’m really sorry,” he mumbles, sincerity lacing each and every word. I walk over to our couch and take a seat, well-aware that my legs are getting exhausted from walking back and forth in the living room.

“You really could have told me earlier,” I mutter, a little miffed, but nonetheless understanding. I know he wouldn’t just ditch me without a reason but if he did know about this beforehand, the least he could have done was tell me earlier. Just when I already mentally prepared myself for the day and the two boys who will accompany me, I have to erase that and replace it with a new mindset.

“I know it’s just,” he pauses again and lets out a breath. “My mom told me this morning only. And you’ll just laugh if you know the reason why.” I raise an eyebrow and wonder if I’m sending the wrong message.

“What? No, no. I understand really. I’m just a little sad that you won’t be able to make it.” These words can’t be anymore truer. Although I was vehemently against Jongdae coming along to the trip, I wasn’t going to deny the comfort and security he’ll bring.

He chuckles from the other end and this brings a smile to my face. I don’t know what exactly happened the last time we met that dampened his mood but this is the Jongdae I prefer to listen to.

“Aw, will Im Dohyun miss me?” A teasing tone takes over his voice and despite getting annoyed, I feel a little bit better knowing that he’s back to normal.

I scoff and shake my head, even if I know he can’t see me. “Whatever, Kim Jongdae. You owe me for ditching last minute,” I reply, going along with the teasing. He gasps, a little too loudly to be considered fake, before laughing a little. I let out a few giggles as well, feeling lighter already.

“Ya!” He whines and I laugh some more. “Okay, fine. I’ll humor you just this once, Dohyun. What do I owe you this time?”

I stop laughing and gulp. Is he serious? I blink and rack my brain for something because I was not expecting this.

“Um,”

“Will cake do?”

“From the same place last time?”

“You bet.”

I grin. “Okay. Deal.”

I’m met with silence on the other end and I silently wonder if Jongdae unconsciously dropped the call. “Jongdae?”

“Oh! Yeah, okay. I’ll see you then?” It doesn’t take much to know that he’s probably busy right now. I hum in agreement and mumble a few goodbyes. I’m still a bit disheartened that he can’t make it today but the fact that we’re on good terms again is enough.

“And Dohyun,”

“Hm?”

“I’m really sorry.” Gone is the playful tone he used earlier. His voice sounds more somber and filled with regret. I frown.

“I understand, okay? Don’t beat yourself up over it. You’re buying me cake anyway,” I say, attempting to lighten the mood again. It’s a good thing I succeeded because I hear him chuckle in the background.

“Right, right. Good luck today! And have fun with Baekhyun, I guess.”

I arch an eyebrow at this. “You guess?” But he waves this off. We utter a few more goodbyes before Jongdae finally drops the call. I stare at my phone in silence, a small smile hanging from my lips. I walk back into the kitchen and catch my mom looking at me with an inquisitive look. I simply shrug at her before continuing my meal.

“Was that Baekhyun?” My mom asks, taking a sip from her mug. I shake my head. Why is she so interested in knowing who it was?

“It was Jongdae.”

“Ah. Will you meet each other here?”

I chew my food slowly before swallowing. “Actually, he’s not coming anymore.”

“So it’s only you and the bride’s brother?” My dad interrupts, eyeing me intensely. I nod my head, a little disturbed at his gaze.

“Yes.” I blink at him while he continues to look at me. A knowing look crosses his features before he nods his head.

“Hmm,” Then, he goes back to his newspaper as if the conversation didn’t occur. I stare at him confusedly before going back to my food, finishing all of it.

“How are you going to the venue?” My mom asks, continuing our talk.

“Oh, um, Baekhyun’s going to drive us there.”

“When will he pick you up?”

I blink and glance at my phone. “In fifteen minutes, supposedly,” I say, remembering our agreement a few days ago. She nods her head and takes another sip from her mug. I finish my meal and place the dishes in the sink.

“I’ll just wait in the living room then,” I call out to my parents before departing the kitchen, purse in hand.  

My feet bring me to the living room and I take a deep breath, calming myself. In a few minutes, I’m going to have to walk out of this house and into Baekhyun’s car and most probably face an awkward car ride for approximately thirty to forty minutes. No big deal.

I tap my foot in anticipation as the minutes tick by. I know that after my parents eat, they’ll go to the office and rummage through their documents. Biting my lip, I take out my phone and open its browser to search more about the Hanging Gardens. I’m met with several pictures and I save them to my phone to compare with the actual venue later on. My eyes look over at the time and I can feel my stomach flip countless times. As if on cue, my phone buzzes in my hands and I almost drop it.

Byun Baekhyun: almost there

I stare at the message, eyes wide. This is expected. Obviously. But I still can’t believe it’s just going to be the two of us. I run a hand through my hair and chew the insides of my cheek. How the hell am I supposed to act around him?

I end up lounging in the living room, staring at the ceiling and contemplating on life as the minutes pass by. Any second, Baekhyun’s car will be right outside but here I am thinking how to act as normal as possible and to refrain myself from hitting his face whenever he says something uncalled for. Can I even smack him? I narrow my eyes at this. Are we at that level of closeness already?

I continue to ponder over things, not realizing the time. Maybe it’s because I was too distracted by my own thoughts or I was getting sleepy, despite the eight hours of sleep I got. But either way, this led to the buzzing of my phone and the solid three knocks at my door.

I don’t even have to guess who it is anymore because the moment I look down at my phone, it’s already clear.

Byun Baekhyun: i'm here ;)

a/n:

FUQ I MADE IT IM DONE HAHA. This may not be as eventful but it's still relevant for the next coming chapters. More Baekhyun moments coming up in the next chapter so get ready for that!!! Hehe and to the new subscribers, hello! Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read this. I really appreciate it.

Until the next update! :)

p.s. have not edited so if there are grammar mistakes etc will fix that asap!!!