My mom always told me that I had to have self-confidence, that that was the key to all success and for a while I had that confidence, that courage to believe in myself. However, that was past history, because I no longer had that confidence. It was as if life had been commissioned to take away all the courage I once had and it continued doing so constantly. I was surrounded by people who all they did was judge me and the worst part was that they did it all the time. I didn't want to sound self-centered, I knew people had other things to do besides giving me their attention, but I could hear the whispers, the murmurs, every time I walked through the school’s corridors. Being popular was more difficult than people tended to believe and I could say with confidence that it hadn't brought me a single benefit in my life, in fact quite the opposite. There were girls in every corner, speaking ill of me behind my back, cursing me and envying me obsessively, leaving me with less and less confidence. There were guys who observed me all the time, making me uncomfortable with their suggestive looks, startling me each time more and more. I was starting to feel like an object.

On the outside I tried to appear nonchalant, but that mask was falling off my face by each passing day and that scared me, because people couldn't know how weak I was. A girl already found out about my lack of guts and now she was using it against me, and worst of all it’s that she was winning. Because of this I was obliged to avoid Sehun the whole blessed day, which was a rather difficult task considering that we had the same classes, but I did my best to avoid him. Every time I ignored him I felt how my heart ached, because the face of bewilderment and pain he put every time I fled from him got stuck in my head, making me feel extremely guilty, but there was nothing I could do about it. I was a coward and Sohee knew this perfectly well and now she was using it to get me out of the way. I knew it was going to be an ordeal for me to be without my best friend, but I never thought it would be this lonely and depressing. I always knew that I depended on him in many ways, but I never imagined it could be so sad to stay away from him, and I had only been avoiding him for a few hours.

It was lunchtime and I was sitting in the cafeteria with my tray of food untouched. I didn’t feel like eating, since eating alone didn’t excite me that much, but there was something I could do about it? Not much, really. Furthermore it didn’t help the fact that everyone were looking in my direction, maybe every student was wondering why I was alone instead of being with my best friend, since we are always together and everyone knew it. I felt uncomfortable, as if I was a freak under observation and I didn’t like it one bit. I knew that sooner or later a boy was going to approach me to take advantage of the situation, since when I was with Sehun guys didn't dare to approach me, Sehun could be quite daunting and overprotective. So I was sure that at some minute a guy would interrupt my supposed lunch.  And my speculations were correct when I saw how a guy was approaching my table with a smug smirk on his face and there was when I knew that it wouldn’t be easy to deal with him, I just needed to look at his haughty expression to know he wasn’t going to get a no as an answer. I tried to remain indifferent, but as he got nearer I could feel how my hands began to sweat because of the nervousness. And just when I thought I was going to have to deal with the guy, I spotted Kai. He was with his tray in his hands as he approached his usual table, which was crammed with girls. Kai sat with his fangirls every day and I didn't know how he could do so considering that those girls were quite noisy, I mean very noisy.

Panicking and without much thought to what I was about to do, I put my hands in my mouth to serve as a megaphone and then I shouted Kai’s name loudly, making everyone look at me with surprise, after all I was the silent type so I never shouted, much less in front of so many people. The boy in question looked at me just as surprised as everyone else, perhaps wondering why on earth I called him out of all these people.

I was blushing, since almost everyone was looking at me curiously and I hated the attention, remember? In fact my nervousness only increased, because if Kai ignored me and kept walking it would be a great embarrassment, although it would be understandable, because even though we had a good "relationship", we had never spent so much time together, we had never talked for a long time and certainly we never had interacted in the cafeteria, so I expected him to react as I said earlier. However, a great relief came over me when I saw how Kai started walking in my direction immediately, as if it were no big deal, as if he had done the same thing a thousand of times already.

The truth is that I didn't know why I called him so urgently, I just thought of how to avoid the confession and Kai appeared in my visual field, my body acted by itself actually. It was weird, but at least it worked, because just when Kai stood next to me, the other guy had simply disappeared. Yet – unintentionally – I got into another mess, now I had to deal with the guy next to me, who looked at me with amusement and curiosity at the same time, something told me that he knew what incited me to act how I acted seconds ago.

“It’s surprising seeing you without Sehun.”  He began to say as he placed his tray on the table slowly, as if he had all the time in the world.

“We aren’t glued together. I don’t know why everyone is making a fuss about it. We are two independent individuals, we can be apart from each other from time to time, you know.” I said defensively.

Eventually he sat down in front of me. He looked at me with amusement, with a grin that I didn’t like at the moment.

“You're not a good liar, you know that? Plus we’re talking about Sehun, he can’t be without you.” He said with a smirk.

Can someone remind me why I called him in the first place?

“Can we talk about something else, please?” I asked sheepishly as I fixed my eyes on my tray.

I heard how he chuckled. “As you command princess, but I just want you to know that you owe me a favor.”

I lifted up my gaze quickly and I frowned. “A favor? What are you talking about?” I asked a little upset because I hated owe favors.

The boy raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t I helped you chase away the boy who was about to confess? I think I deserve a reward, don’t you think, princess?” He asked feigning innocence when I could clearly see the amusement in his eyes.

I sighed with resignation, he was right. He did help me after all. “I'm sorry for calling you so suddenly, it was the only thing I could think of. If you want you can go back to your girls.” I smiled timidly, but with sincerity.

“It’s fine. I’ll just eat with you, princess. They can have me any other time.” He said winking at me.

I shook my head as I smiled amused. Then my eyes fell on the table on which his fangirls were sitting. They were staring at me with narrowed eyes, clearly irritated with me by having stolen Kai away from them and I didn’t feel very comfortable with that, I mean I didn't need more haters on my list.

“I think you should go, Kai. Your girls are killing me with their eyes right now and I don’t want any trouble.” I said still with my eyes on them.

“Nah, they will be fine.” He said dismissively. “Oh, and don’t you dare to change the subject again, princess. You owe me.” He said smirking.

“I don’t know why I feel that you are enjoying this way too much.” I said smiling.

“You know me so well.” He said wiggling his eyebrows, which made me giggle.

“You’re crazy, Kim Kai.” I said still giggling.

“Crazy for you, princess.”

“Liar!” I said smiling.

“Why can’t you accept my heart once and for all?!” He said whining cutely.

Oh.Dear.Lord…I couldn't with this. I was about to say something, but before I could open my mouth, Sehun and his girlfriend with trays in hand, sat at the same table as us. I opened my eyes wide in surprise and looked at the newcomers in disbelief, I couldn’t pretend nonchalance. First I looked at my best friend, who stared at me with resolution, he seemed pretty angry as well. I could guess why of course. Then I looked at Sohee, who stared at me with a blank expression, but I knew better than anyone of the hidden message that resided in her eyes. She didn’t want to be here, let alone wanted me near her boyfriend.

“Oh, the best friend finally appeared.” Kai said with a fake smile.

Sehun managed to ignore him and laid his eyes on my face, he wanted answers. “This is funny, you’ve been ignoring me the whole day and now you’re with this guy. Why?” He asked going straight to the point. He was hurt, I could see it in his eyes. He felt betrayed because I was interacting with his nemesis, but in my defense I must say that I had no reason to avoid and hate Kai, and Sehun knew it, but he was very stubborn to give in. The only one who was playing the role of villain in all this was his own girlfriend and he didn't even suspect of her.

I didn’t want to answer, because once I started talking to him the conversation would inevitably lengthen and again, I was trying to avoid him, so talking to him was out of the question. Hence my eyes immediately fell on Kai, who was already staring at me intently. Maybe my expression of despair was enough to move him and help me get through the situation, or perhaps he wanted to take advantage of this, because when our eyes met, he understood the message.

“Well, sorry to leave you guys this suddenly, but we have things to do. My princess wants time alone with me, you see.” The tanned boy said as he got up from the table to reach me.

When he was close enough to me he grabbed my wrist with his hand and pulled me so I could stand up, and so I did. I noticed how Sehun fixed his gaze on the hand that held my wrist with a frown.

“What do you think you’re doing? Let her go, I have to talk to her now.” My best friend hissed possessively.

“Didn’t you hear me? She wants to be with me right now. Common, man…give her some space.” Kai said with a bored expression.

Sehun was going to say something, but before he could protest, Kai was already dragging me outside the cafeteria. I looked back and I saw how my best friend was staring at me with longing in his eyes.

As we walked I watched how Kai held my wrist with gentleness, his grip wasn’t harsh nor uncomfortable. Well, maybe after years of devoting himself to study the female gender had been effective for him. We stopped walking only when we were far from the cafeteria. He released my wrist and looked at me with an amused smile.

“Now you cannot tell me you're not avoiding him, beautiful.”

He caught me. I blushed slightly as I scratched my right cheek awkwardly, making Kai smile from ear to ear giving me a you-can’t-hide-anything-to-the-amazing-me look, which made me laugh still with flushed cheeks. And – without stop smiling – he put his hand on my head and ruffled my hair affectionately.

“Now tell me, why you're avoiding your best friend?” He asked me after a few seconds of remain silent.

I stopped laughing barely I heard that question. I knew he would ask sooner or later, after all this guy could be really curious sometimes and now that – somehow – I had involved him in this, I knew that he wasn’t going to let it go that easily. But when he noticed my wavering expression, he added.

“I need to know, after all if I'm going to help you I have to know the reason behind all this.” He said with innocent eyes.

I knew this was just an excuse to approach me. No ladies and gentlemen, I wasn't being self-centered over here, but I already knew his tactics by heart, after all he had tried to hit on me since I came to this school, so I knew all of his tricks. But I had no choice, because if I thought more thoroughly perhaps I was going to need him in the near future and he knew it, that's why he cornered me in this way.

“I don’t feel very comfortable with this, Kai.” I confessed as I played with my fingers.

He smiled at me sincerely. “I won’t tell anyone, beautiful. You can trust me.” He told me so sincerely that I found myself believing in him instantly. Besides he had never given me any reason to be wary of him, quite the opposite in fact, so I agreed to tell him.

“Well, I just want to give him space, you know. I realized that I could no longer be as close to him as I have been doing, not now that he has a girlfriend. I realized that it was wrong. That's why I'm trying to distance myself from him.” I said absentmindedly, still playing with my fingers. I hadn’t told him the whole truth, but I didn’t lie either, since that was the main point; giving him space with his girlfriend. Besides I just couldn’t say that Sohee threatened me in a rather creepy way the day before, it wouldn’t sound right.

The boy stared at me with a blank expression for a few seconds, then smiled at me condescendingly. Somehow I felt that there was something more beneath that stare, I didn't know how to describe this suspicion, but it was as if he knew that I was omitting information, as if he could see through me and I felt self-conscious. And perhaps sensing my wariness, he smiled at me kindly.

“I will help you to avoid the guy.”

And just when I thought I was going to hug him for helping me, he had to open his mouth and ruin everything. “But with one condition.” He said returning to his playful self.

I pouted as I crossed my arms. “Can’t you just help me and let me be happy, Kim Kai?” I said whining like a little girl.

He laughed heartily. “Not my style.” He said shaking his head.

I pouted again. “You’re such a bad boy, Kai.”

He chuckled as he flicked my forehead. “Acting cute is not going to work, you know.” He said with a teasing smile.

I blushed as I frowned. “I wasn’t acting cute.” I said looking away.

He chuckled again. “Okay, whatever you say. Anyways, back to the main subject, I only ask one thing in return, is not much.”

I narrowed my eyes, a little suspicious. “What do you want from me?” I asked bluntly.

“I want a date. Today I’ll hang out with some friends and I want you to come with me.” He replied with a huge grin.

A date? I knew it! I knew he was going to take advantage of the situation to ask for a date, I mean we are talking about Kai over here. I was starting to regret having asked for his help, really. Although there was nothing wrong with a date, right? It didn't mean anything anyways, not to me at least. I tried to ignore the fact that he wanted to ask me out on a week day, a Tuesday to be specific.

“Okay, just because you're willing to help me. But it doesn’t mean anything, alright? I’m not going out with you anytime soon, clear?” I said cautiously.

“Soon you'll be begging for more, but yeah, deal.” He said with a cocky smile. “Give me your phone, princess.” He said taking his phone from his pocket.

I couldn't believe that after I refused to give him my number for many times already I was going to tell him now, the irony of life. In the end I gave him just my number because my phone wasn’t with me at the moment to exchange cellphones with him, since due to the school uniform I had no pockets to keep it with me…stupid skirt. After he save my number he smiled at me one last time and started walking toward only God knew where. I stood there in the middle of the corridor for a few seconds without knowing what to do since I had no place to go, and returning to the cafeteria was out of the question, so I started walking to where my feet took me. I hadn’t realized that I was walking in the same direction in which Kai had gone.

I was surprised when I saw Chanyeol’s car parked at the entrance of the school. He was outside the car, leaning on it with crossed arms as if he were posing for a magazine. The girls were eying him and then they giggled among them shyly. I just rolled my eyes. Okay, the guy was good looking, but if they only knew of his cold attitude they would change drastically of opinion.

His gaze was fixed on his shoes, so he hadn’t noticed my presence yet. Determined to have some fun, I started walking in his direction carefully and slowly. I was walking on tiptoe trying not to attract attention and when I reached him I prepared myself to scare him, but before I could even lay my hands on his broad shoulders the boy raised his head and looked at me with his usual poker face.

“Don’t even think about it.” He said in a monotone voice.

I pursed my lips while I frowned. “You are no fun.”

He shrugged. “Can we go now?” He said straightening up, looking away.

“Okay, Mister grumpy.” I said as I walked around the car to get into the passenger seat.

When I sat Chanyeol had already adjusted his belt, ready to start the car.

“Why are you here anyways?” I asked as I buckled the belt.

The boy turned the keys and the engine, putting the car in gear. He was looking straight ahead, so he didn’t look at me when he answered me. “Hyung told me so.” He merely said.

Obviously, he wouldn’t come for me if it weren’t for the request of his older brother and is not that I felt offended anyways, I didn't like his presence either. “Oh, are they here already?” I asked, unable to hide the emotion in my voice, since I missed my sister very much and Baekhyun too. Baekhyun.

The boy glanced at me with a frown and then he nodded slightly. I didn't know why I felt that he was more grumpy than usual, but I let it go, since I wouldn’t know what to ask.

We were silent the whole way, as usual. It was always the same, we didn't have much to talk about anyways, the only thing we had in common was Taeyeon and Baekhyun. Fortunately we reached our destination quite fast, so I didn’t have to endure the awkwardness for too long thankfully.

When I got out of the car I made my way to the entrance of the house immediately, since I couldn’t wait to see my sister, it's been just a day and I was missing her like crazy. Yet I didn’t even managed to get the house’s keys when the door burst open, and before I could react I found myself in a warm embrace. I just had to smell the feminine scent for me to realize that it was my sister, her perfume was unmistakable. She had her arms around my neck while I held her by the waist.

“I missed you so much.” My sister said my long hair gently.

I chuckled. She was so sweet, no wonder everyone loved her, she was just too adorable. “I missed you too, unnie. But I cannot breathe.” I said, since she was squeezing me tightly.

She immediately let go of me with a sheepish grin. With a smile I put my arm around her shoulders easily, since we have almost the same height – being her a little bit taller than me – and we entered the house like that, as the best friends we were, completely forgetting about Chanyeol, who was still outside.

“How did it go with your in-laws, unnie?” I asked curiously.

I really wanted to know how Baekhyun’s parents were. Since his parents lived in his hometown I had never seen them in person, only in photographs and that didn't tell me anything, so I was anxious to hear what my sister had to say about them. The image I had created of them in my head was of a happy and friendly couple, just as Baekhyun. I could only imagine them like that, after all we are talking about the people who gave life to the said guy, the happiest and sweetest boy I knew, but there was the possibility that they were the same as Chanyeol, but I preferred to be optimistic and view them of another way. However, my enthusiasm faded upon seeing Taeyeon’s expression, because when I uttered those words her face twitched, losing the sparkle in her beautiful eyes. I frowned in confusion, I didn’t like that lonely expression, not at all.

“What’s wrong? Why the long face?” I asked with concern.

Taeyeon looked me in the eyes hesitantly, unsure whether to tell me or not, but in the end she just let out a long sigh. She couldn’t hide things from me and she knew it, because I was going to end up finding out anyways, because she was quite easy to read, really.

“It didn't turn out as I had expected.” She confessed crestfallen, totally disappointed.

I raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, let's just say that they didn’t like me that much.” She said with a sad smile.

My first reaction was disbelief, since everyone loved my sister. She was polite, caring, sweet, adorable and beautiful. She was wife material for crying out loud, so the sentence she had uttered seconds ago made no sense to me. My second reaction was annoyance, were these people in their right mind or what? Were they blind and deaf? Did they even know differentiate what was good? I couldn’t believe that they didn’t approve of her, it was simply a blasphemy. And my last reaction was sadness, knowing that it was very important for her to be approved by her boyfriend’s parents, after all she was quite traditional, so I knew that she wasn’t only sad for not been approved by her in-laws but her self-esteem had also dropped because of that, thinking that maybe she wasn’t good enough for Baekhyun. My sister was this vulnerable, just like me, we both were weak of mind.

“Don’t worry, unnie. Maybe their parents cannot see how wonderful you are, but Baekhyun oppa does. He loves you very much and he won’t leave you just because his parents think you're not the one, because believe me, you are. You are the one for oppa.” I said with a small smile. Everything I said is what I really thought. I knew I would never be with Baekhyun. I knew he loved Taeyeon and I also knew that he wasn’t going to break up with her anytime soon, they had been together for 2 years and they were going strong. Everything I said I meant it, but every syllable burned in my throat, it was the truth, but it hurt so damn much.

Taeyeon smiled at me sweetly and hugged me again. “Thanks, Mimi. I don’t know what I would do without you, my baby sister.” She said sweetly.

I hugged her back with a smile in my face. I hoped that my words had been able to fulfill its purpose because I didn’t want to see her depressed about this. Now I could say for sure that I wasn’t interested to meet Baekhyun’s parents anymore, not after this. Maybe it was very immature of me to think like that, but that was what I was feeling right now. My image of them changed dramatically for the worse, now I imagined them as Chanyeol, but I had to admit that the respect I had for the latter was much more than the one I had for his parents.

After our little chat we headed towards the living room. I wasn’t expecting to see Chanyeol there, I mean a seconds ago he was outside and now here he was, sitting on the couch like a boss.

“What? Do I have something on my face? Stop staring at me like that, will you? It’s creepy.” Chanyeol said when he realized of my stare.

Before I could say something, someone spoke first. “Yah, don’t you have manners? That’s not the way to talk to my baby, brat.” Baekhyun scolded his brother.

The tall boy just rolled his eyes and looked away. I just stood there, looking Beakhyun’s bright and beautiful smile. I felt how my heart began to pound at breakneck speed. And when we made eye contact I simply melted, his eyes were too sweet that I thought I was going to lose my sanity. I felt how I was blushing slowly. I wanted to approach him and hug the life out of him, because I had really missed him, it had been only one day, but it seemed an eternity to me to be honest. However, before making the mistake of revealing my feelings, I ducked my head to break the eye contact with him and headed towards the couch that was opposite him, sitting next to Chanyeol, who was staring at me with narrowed eyes for some unknown reason. My sister meanwhile sat next to her boyfriend, putting a hand on his left leg while he put his own above her hand. I stiffened immediately upon witnessing this small gesture, because I knew that this was just the beginning, so I set my eyes on my hands, which rested on my lap.

“What is this?” My sister's boyfriend asked all of a sudden. I looked up immediately. “This is the worst welcome ever, aren’t you happy to see me?” He asked me frowning cutely, feigning an infinite disappointment.

I blushed while smiling shyly, not knowing what to say or how to react. Baekhyun sighed as he shook his head, disapproving my attitude. I quickly looked at my sister, screaming with my gaze for her to help me with this very familiar situation. I hated when this guy made things harder for me, it was already difficult to me to control my emotions when I was around him so he didn't need to add fuel to the fire. Taeyeon – understanding the message as always – hit his leg softly, indicating him to drop his childish attitude.

“Ouch, what was that?” He groaned looking at his girlfriend.

She just rolled her eyes. “Take it like a man, Bacon. You’re so weak.”

He scoffed. “I just wanted a hug and you hit me, you violent woman.” He said frowning cutely once again. He was too cute!

“Stop it. Besides everyone know that she didn’t even miss you.” Taeyeon with a smirk.

The boy gasped and put a hand on his heart, acting like he was really offended and hurt. “Do you really think like that, baby?” He asked me looking at me with sad puppy eyes.

If before I was blushing, now I was burning. It wasn't my fault, I swear! I tried to control myself, but common! Just look at those beautiful features! How could you resist those eyes? How could you resist that cuteness? How could you resist Byun Baekhyun? Exactly! It was impossible.

I shook my head vigorously. “I don’t! I really missed you, oppa.” I said in my state of shock.

He grinned from ear to ear, fully satisfied with my answer. “I missed you too, baby.” He answered me with a sweet and gentle tone of voice, making my ears turned red from the embarrassment. Ugh, I loved him so much!

Baekhyun and my sister chuckled at my reaction, enjoying my misery as always. Seriously, I didn't know why they liked seeing me all nervous and flustered. They say it was cute, but I believed they were just blind.

“Stop it.” They guy next to me hissed all of a sudden, pushing slightly my knee with his.

I looked at him with a confused frown. “Stop what?” I whispered so only he could hear.

He stared at me with indifference. “With all the blushing, it's disturbing.” He said coldly.

I was taken aback, I mean he knew about my shyness so he shouldn’t react like that, but before I could replied my phone – which was in my backpack – rang, indicating a new message, quickly I pulled it out and looked at the screen. The message was from an unknown number, but judging by what it said the message was sent by Kai. I smiled amused, since he had saved me three times today, first with Sehun, then with the confession and now of an awkward situation with Chanyeol. I didn’t hesitate to texted him back, saying that I had received his message and that I would be ready by the time he pick me up. I didn’t expect him to reply so quickly, for what I saw someone was exciting to see me. That thought made me chuckle and before I knew it we were texting each other. I laughed now and then because of something he had written, who would said that he could use so many smileys? I must say this is the first time I did something like this with someone other than Sehun and my sister, so it felt really weird. I was so focused on what I was doing that I didn’t notice that everyone was watching me intently, so when I realized that the three of them were looking at me with one eyebrow arched, I just smiled shyly.

“Why are you smiling like that?” My sister said with a teasing tone. “Who is texting you?”

I scratched my head awkwardly. I didn’t like this conversation, because I knew where it would lead to. “With…mmm…” I didn’t know what to say, because Kai wasn’t my friend, so I didn't know how to address him. “With a schoolmate.” I answered finally.

“Girl or boy?” Baekhyun asked narrowing his eyes.

I didn’t want to say that it was a boy, not wanting him to think that I had something going on with Kai. It was kinda stupid of me considering I didn't have that kind of relationship with my sister’s boyfriend, but I didn’t want to be misinterpreted by Baekhyun. However, on the other hand, I had to ask permission from my sister to hang out with Kai, so I'd have to tell her about him sooner or later, and thanks to the fact that the lovebirds were glued together, I wouldn’t have an opportunity to tell her alone, so I had no choice. I would have to talk about Kai in front of three people, although Chanyeol didn’t count, he wasn't interested in participating on this conversation anyways.

“It’s a boy, Kai it’s his name.” I informed them with the best poker face I could. I needed to take lessons from the giant urgently, he made it look so easy when in reality it was so hard.

My sister's face immediately brightened up. Now she was totally interested to know more about this boy and I could understand that, after all I never talked about boys with my sister for the simple fact that no boy had ever attracted me, until I met Baekhyun of course and I couldn't talk about my crush with her, it was impossible, so this issue had remained untouched until today. Taeyeon loved to talk about boys, makeup, clothes, romances and that sort of thing. She was very feminine in that sense – and in every way really – so I could see the excitement in her eyes.

“Kai? Is this the guy you like? How is he? Is he attractive? Is he sweet? Does he treat you well? Have you confessed?” She started asking nonstop. And just like that my older sister turned into a teenager.

Before she could continue bombarding me with questions, I clarified loud and clear. “I don’t like him, unnie and I never will. He's just a boy who is helping me out with something and that is why we have a date today…well not a real date, is more like a…we’re hanging out, that’s it!”

“Do you have a date with him?!” The lovebirds exclaimed at the same time, though their expressions were very different from one another.

While Taeyeon was grinning from ear to ear, Baekhyun was scowling, completely unamused with the situation. Ugh, this will be very tedious to explain. I turned my head to look at Chanyeol and ask for help, but he just shrugged, uninterested in the conversation.

“Gosh! I’m so excited! My little sister will have her first date today!” She squealed as she clapped her hands like a little girl.

My cheeks flushed. “Unnie! It’s not a date, okay? So please calm down.” I said embarrassed by the fact that she shouted that it was my first date in front of these two guys. I didn’t like the idea of her shouting to the heavens about my love life, much less in front of her boyfriend, because I didn’t want him to know that I hadn’t dated before nor do I wanted him to know about my inexperience in love.

And before Taeyeon could say something else, her boyfriend spoke first. “Okay, too much to process. First of all, I didn’t know you liked someone, baby.” He said with a serious expression, an expression I had never seen in him, because he always was smiling and playing around.

“Oppa! I don’t like him, really.” I said pouting exasperated.

Judging by his expression he didn’t believe me, but he let it go. “Second, how can he ask you out on a week day? You have school tomorrow, missy and you have to do your homework.” He continued with the same serious expression. He was acting like my father right now. Thanks Kai, I knew it was weird of you to inviting me on a Tuesday.

“Anyways, when will he pick you up?”

“At eight p.m.”

The boy looked at his watch to see the time and sighed with disappointment. “I won’t be here to interrogate the guy, what a pity. Chanyeol and I have things to do.”

I sighed with relief. I didn’t like the idea of Baekhyun questioning Kai, besides of being unnecessary it would be totally uncomfortable for everyone, especially for me.

I heard how Chanyeol scoffed at my side upon hearing his brother’s words, making me look at him with confusion, what was the problem now? He was being more moody than usual.

The giant gave him a long, cold stare. Bewildered by his sudden hostility toward his older brother, I turned my gaze to the latter to see his reaction. Baekhyun only stared at his brother with an unreadable look, now I was really confused. I mean Chanyeol always gave him the cold shoulder, but what was definitely not normal was Baekhyun’s attitude, he was just staring at him with something that I couldn’t identify. It was weird.

My sister, ignoring the strange exchange of glances of these two boys, stood up and looked at me with sparkling eyes. “I'll get a perfect outfit for your first date. You have to look beautiful, but it can’t be too much, we don’t want to be that obvious, do we?” She said with an amused smile.

“But unnie!” I whined.

“No buts, young lady. I'll pick a perfect outfit for you and you will like it.” She said with narrowed eyes as she pointed at me with her index finger. Without wasting time she ran upstairs probably to go to my closet.

Then a silence took place. The atmosphere had now turned awkward for some strange reason. Baekhyun always did his best to get rid of the awkwardness of the situations, but this time he stayed silent while he looked at me absently, as if he were in deep thought. Needless to say I felt very uncomfortable under his gaze, since I felt how my heart started pounding rapidly against my chest.

“Well, I think is time for us to go.” Baekhyun announced all of a sudden standing up.

He walked in my direction with his eyes fixed on mine, making me very nervous. Then, when he was in front of me, leaned a little to be at the same height of my eyes. He was looking at me with gentleness.

“Be careful on your date, alright? Remember that men are wolves, so don’t get too close to that boy. Besides, no one is allowed to touch my baby. Not yet.” He said with a caring but serious tone of voice and I loved it.

I knew I shouldn’t think like this, I knew it was wrong and shameful, but the tone of the voice with which he said those words made think that maybe he cared more than a simple big brother could care. The stare he was giving me made me think that maybe, just maybe he was jealous. Yet I knew I was being naïve and desperate, trying to see thing that weren't there, it was just an illusion. A lie created by my pathetic self. I had to remind myself that he was just acting like an overprotective big brother, nothing else.

I just nodded shyly.

He chuckled. “Good girl.” Said patting my head softly. Then he turned his head to look at the guy next to me. “Yeol, common.”

The boy in question shook his head with his typical expression of indifference. “I need to have a little chat with this girl over here.” He said referring to me as if I were a stranger, but what else could I expect from him anyway?

Baekhyun looked at his brother intently for a few seconds and then he nodded. “Okay, don’t take too long. I’m going to say goodbye to Taeyeon.”

And before he left, he looked at me again and placed a short but sweet kiss on my forehead. I could only smile like an idiot, still feeling his lips on my skin.

“Listen, Seulmi.” Chanyeol said once we were alone in the living room, pulling me out of my reverie.

I looked at him immediately, almost surprised, because I had forgotten about his presence for a few minutes. That was the effect Baekhyun had on me. When I saw his expression I frowned, because he had a defiant stare, a dangerous one in fact.

“I was debating with myself if I should tell you this or not, but I want to tell you...” He started saying. I didn’t like that tone of voice. “You can’t do this anymore, Seulmi. You really need to stop now.” He said quietly, so only I could hear.

“Stop with what? What are you talking about, Chanyeol?” I asked puzzled, totally confused.

The boy rolled his eyes, as if he were dealing with a stupid girl.

“You can’t love Baekhyun Hyung. Let him go before it's too late. You seriously need to stop loving him, Seulmi.” He whispered harshly.

I opened my wide eyes in shock. I was literally speechless. I was shocked and confused, not knowing what to say or how to react to this bleak situation. I didn’t know what was worse, the fact that the brother of the man I loved knew my feelings towards Baekhyun or the fact that he could read me so easily. Was I that obvious? Did everyone could clearly tell that I was in love with my sister's boyfriend? Because if that was the case, I was really doomed.

“Don’t make that face, you are pretty obvious, you know.” He said.

I could feel how my eyes teared up. This wasn't happening. Oh, no. I felt ashamed, pathetic and humiliated for some reason. No one should know about my feelings towards Baekhyun, it was supposed to be a secret, a secret that I would take with me to the grave. Chanyeol shouldn't know the most treasured and dark secret I had. I felt vulnerable, weak. I didn’t like. I didn’t like it at all.

I was so immersed in my thoughts that I didn’t realize that Chanyeol had approached me to cup my face with his big hands.

“Don’t cry, Seulmi. I won’t tell anyone.” His expression was cold, but his voice was soothing and gentle.

I looked into his eyes and begged him with my eyes for him to keep that promise.

“I promise.” He said understanding the message. “Just…get yourself another guy, alright?” He said softly, looking at me with compromise.

Look for another guy? Easier said than done. It wasn't easy, it wasn't that simple, it wasn't that insignificant, because my feeling for Baekhyun were very real and strong. I wanted to tell him that I couldn’t just stop loving him, not when every fiber of my being longed so much for him. I wanted to tell him not to talk about this subject so lightly, because it was a serious matter. And finally I wanted to yell on his face that I didn’t want to forget his brother, because…I just wanted to love him, I didn't ask for much. Since I met him I had only lived into resignation, I was resigned to love him in secret and I wanted it to stay in that way, because Baekhyun is all I had ever wanted and that won’t change anytime soon. So I just wanted to love him in the shadows, but now Chanyeol confessed me out of nowhere that he always knew about my feelings for his older brother and that I had to stop loving him out of nowhere? Was he serious? Couldn't I even do that? Was I doomed to tint my love with the colors of the illegality of my feelings? Who did he think he is? Who did he think he is to order me around? I was the owner of my own feelings and I won’t let anyone to tell me what I needed to do with them.

Nevertheless, just when I was about to give him a piece of my mind, I came to my senses. I couldn’t refuse, because he had me in his hands, he knew my secret and he had the power to make with me do whatever he wanted, but even though I knew he wouldn’t reach such extremes, I was anxious about it anyways. And suddenly I felt weak again. I didn’t have the courage to say what I really wanted to say, so I just nodded weakly with watery eyes.

“Good.” He said with a small but genuine smile. “I'm doing this for your own good, you know.” He continued with his usual cold voice. “Hyung is not the right guy for a girl like you.” He said enigmatically.

I looked at him with confusion. “A girl like me?” I said frowning. Those were the same words that Sohee had said to me. I was seriously getting tired of hearing those words, what did he mean by a girl like me? Was I that incompetent? Was I that insignificant?

For a few seconds I saw how his expression wavered, but it was only for a moment. “Just do what I say. Stay away from Baekhyun Hyung.” He said wiping the tears that I had dropped without me noticing.

And once he made sure that my cheeks were dry, he stood up and walked to the entrance. He didn’t say goodbye nor did he look back, he just left, leaving me with a heavy heart and more confused than ever.

Surprisingly Kai had arrived punctually, contrary to all my expectations may I add, since due to his bad boy image I thought he would be late to keep his image or something, but it wasn’t the case. When he first saw me there was no reaction on his part, he just stood there checking me out with a blank expression, which made me super nervous because I had never been in a situation like this, so I was going to suffer of a mental breakdown if he didn't like what my sister picked for me. I really liked what she chose for me, it was really cute and fashionable, which was understandable considering that my sister was a designer, she really had fashion sense. I was wearing a flowered blue skirt that reached my thighs and a white top with a lace blouse of the same color, simple yet beautiful. However I didn’t know if Kai agreed with me, after all he wasn’t saying anything.

“So, what do you think?” I asked him nervously. I didn’t even know why I was interested in his opinion to be honest, the only thing I knew is that I wanted him to think that I was pretty. Yeah, I didn't understand myself, maybe it's because it was indeed my first “date”.

Upon hearing my voice he came out of his state of non-reaction to look at me in the eyes. “Y-You look…cute.” He said timidly as he looked away embarrassed.

This was the first time I saw him like this, all flustered and shy, since he was always so cocky and self-confident. It felt so different somehow.

“So, let’s get going.” He said regaining his normal attitude. “My friends are waiting for us, they really want to meet you.”

I forgot about his friends. I wasn't a very social person, so I knew it was going to be a tiring day.

He chuckled upon seeing my expression. “Don’t worry, you will like them. They’re nice.” He said smiling.

“Okay.” I merely said.

We took the bus and it wasn’t that full fortunately. I sat on the window side and he sat beside me. I thought that it would be an awkward ride since we had never done something like this before, I mean I didn’t even considered him my friend, but I was so wrong, because we were talking nonstop and not just that, but he made me laugh a lot. I got to know a little bit more of mister playboy and he was pretty funny actually. I never thought I could feel so close to him, since I always thought that our worlds were very different. Yet Kai proved to be much more than just a playboy and I realized that this title didn't define him as a person. I had been unfair to think of him as a superficial person after all. He may be a teen heartthrob and a playboy, but he was much more than just that. Maybe he wasn't boyfriend material, but he definitely was friend material.

After twenty-five minutes we arrived to our destination; an ice cream parlor I had never seen before. There were two guys waiting for us. The first guy I noticed – due to his tallness – was blonde and intimidating, he appeared to be distant and cold, and his dark circles didn’t help much to clean his image. Then my eyes fell on the other guy, who was a lot shorter than the first one. He had a sweet and adorable face, he was very huggable and squishy. As soon as we approached them, the two boys greeted his friend with a huge smile.

Then – unfortunately – all the attention was on me.

“Guys, this is Seulmi, the girl I told you guys about.” He introduced me with a cocky smirk, as if he were proud, of what? I didn't have idea.

His friends were staring at me intensely without any shame. They were checking me out and I was so nervous. I wasn't very good at making friends because I was way too shy for that and their stares didn’t help either, so I was more than uncomfortable.

“Good job, Kai. She’s really hot.” The cute guy said with a satisfactory smirk as he looked at me from head to toe. He was looking at me so intensely. He may look innocent, but his attitude was another story.

Kai chuckled as he turned his head to look at me. “Yeah, she’s really cute.” Said smiling sincerely.

At this point I was blushing madly. I wasn't very good at dealing with compliments. I tried to ignore the fact that Kai called me cute instead of hot like his friend, because somehow – at least for me – cute was more sweet than anything else. He was being sweet with me and that made me a little happy to be honest.

The tall guy was just staring at me and just when I thought he didn’t like me at all, he smiled at me. “Your flushed face is cute. You’re so pretty.” He said smiling as a little kid. Okay, his attitude didn’t match with his image and once again appearances were deceiving.

Now I was dying of embarrassment. I felt so observed that I wanted to run away. Embarrassed I hid myself behind Kai, who started laughing at my childish attitude. I knew I was being rude, but I was too self-conscious.

“Don’t be shy, princess. You're with me, I'll protect you from these idiots.” He said gently.

“Yah!” The "idiots" said in unison.

“What? You two are indeed idiots. Didn’t I tell you not to scare her? I said clearly that she is shy.”

I didn't know why, but I found myself smiling at those words, did he really said that? That’s…sweet. With a sigh I left my hiding place and looked at the two guys in front of me with decision. I couldn’t continue acting like this.

“Hello, I’m Kim Seulmi. Nice to meet you guys.” I introduced myself shyly.

The two boys smiled at me kindly. “Hi there, my name is Kyungsoo and this guy over here is Tao.” He said with a cute smile.

“Well, enough introductions. We better go.” Kai said placing an arm over my shoulder to make me walk with him.

He was definitely taking advantage of the situation. I didn't like being touchy with people that I wasn't familiarized with, but I let it go just for today.

“But I haven’t even bought an ice cream.” I said with a pout.

“Maybe another time.”

“But we are already here!” I whined as a little girl. 

“This was only the meeting point. Now the real fun begins.” He said smirking at me.

“What kind of fun if I may ask?” I asked suspiciously, since it didn't take a genius to realize that the definition of fun for him was very different from my definition of fun.

He didn’t answer me, he just smiled at me and that was enough to let me know that he wasn’t going to reveal anything by the time being. Nonetheless, my suspicions turned out to be correct when I recognized the place in which we were. I didn’t even have time to react when Kai dragged me inside the club, his friends following us closely behind. The music sounded noisily, making my ears ache. I could feel in the air the smell of sweat and alcohol. This was just the kind of place that I would never come voluntarily, it wasn’t for me. Actually Sehun had tried to convince me to go to clubs more than once, but I always refused his offer. I didn't like this kind of places and one of the reasons was because I didn't drink nor did I know how to dance. And yet here I was, with three guys who clearly enjoyed very much this kind of entertainment. I wanted to tell Kai that I didn’t feel comfortable in this kind of environment, but I decided to stay quiet, because after all we had a deal and I accepted it, so I had to put up with this without complaining that much.

The tanned boy held my hand gently and guided me towards the bar. I could feel how his friends were following us like puppies. When we reached the bar Kai ordered four drinks. I looked at him with narrowed eyes, because we were minors and none of us could drink, but considering the fact that they let us in without problems made me think that this guy had some contacts or so I assumed at least. When he received the glasses he gave each of us our respective drinks.

“Here you go, princess.” Kai said handing me my glass.

Hesitantly I took it in my hands and immediately brought it to my nose to check what the content was. To my surprise it didn’t smell of alcohol, so I looked at Kai with a questioning look.

“What? Do you really think I was going to let you drink alcohol? Do you really think of me as an irresponsible guy, beautiful? Besides I also know that you don’t like it, so I ordered soda for you.” He said smiling kindly at me.

I smiled back. I liked it, because with his actions he showed me that I could actually trust in him. Perhaps this "date" may not be entirely disastrous. Plus, thanks to this outing I could clear my mind from the events of this afternoon, in other words, I could forget – even for a little bit – of what Chanyeol had told me. I still couldn’t believe that he knew about my feelings, it was totally humiliating. I just hoped that he could fulfill his promise and not say anything to his brother, or anyone else for that matter.

“Thanks, Kai.” I smiled sheepishly.

He chuckled. “You’re welcome, princess.” He said ruffling my hair.

“Oh yeah. I just found the girl of my dreams. A girl with a nice and round .” Kyungsoo remarked as he fixed his gaze on a girl with an enviable figure, who was dancing not too far from us.

Tao rolled his eyes. “Dude, do you know how many times you've said the same thing just today?”

The other guy just shrugged, all his attention was set on that very hot girl. “Whatever. Okay, don’t wait for me.” He said with a smirk as he walked in her direction.

I stared at the boy's back until he disappeared into the crowd. “It’s so weird, his appearance doesn’t fit his personality at all. He looks too innocent.” I muttered before taking a sip of my soda.

Kai and Tao snickered while they nodded their heads, agreeing completely with my comment.

“I think that Kyungsoo is just like Kai when it comes to getting into girls pants.” Tao said with a smirk, but when he realized what he had said he looked at me immediately with wide open eyes. He looked totally repentant and I knew exactly why.

“That’s not what I mean.” He hastened to say. “Kai is definitely serious about you…so…eh…” He started to say uneasily.

Tao was really adorable, especially in his state of panic. I smiled at him kindly and shook my head. “Don’t worry. I know about Kai’s affairs. How I wouldn’t know if we attended the same school? You know how girls are, the gossips are no joke.”

The boy, now more relaxed, looked at me with confusion. “So if you're aware of his narcissistic and immature nature, why are you dating him?” He asked as he pointed to his friend as if he were piece of garbage, which made me laugh slightly.

“Yah, how did you called me?” Kai said frowning.

“I'm not dating him, it's just a date between schoolmates, I think.” I said ignoring the tanned guy.

Tao nodded in understanding and then he smiled relieved. “Thank God! I felt so bad to hide his true nature. From the moment I saw you I knew you were an innocent and sweet girl who didn’t deserve to suffer for a guy like this.” He said pouting.

I giggled because of his adorable attitude. “Don’t worry. I would never be with someone like Kai, he’s just too much.”

The said boy scoffed. “I’m still here, you know. Don’t talk about me as if I wasn’t here! I’m a human being and I have feelings too.” He complained.

“Yeah, yeah, feelings…sure.” Tao said sarcastically, which made laugh.

Kai looked at me with narrowed eyes. “You deserve a punishment right now, princess.” He said with a smirk.

I stopped laughing. “Punishment?” I repeated nervously. What was he going to do?

He just nodded. “Come here, you bad girl.” Said holding my hand tightly, dragging me to the dancefloor.

I wanted to say no, but judging by his expression I knew he wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I had no choice but to accompany him to the dance floor. The boy put his hands on my waist and started dancing sensually. I wasn’t comfortable with his arms around me, and the fact that he were dancing in a so provocative way didn’t help much either and last but not least he was quite close to me, so I could feel his breath on my ear. Yet I tried to bear it for a few minutes since I didn’t dare to push him away, not wanting to be rude. But as the minutes passed, he started getting closer and closer and I seriously needed some space. The only thing I could think of to not bother him and appear as an annoying girl was telling him that I had to go to the bathroom, so with an unsatisfied smile, he let me go.

I had never been in this place, so I had no idea where the blessed bathroom was, so I had no choice but to look for it by myself. I realized that more people had arrived, which translated in that I could barely move through the tumult. I didn’t like the feeling of touching other people’s sweaty bodies and once again I found myself hating this place. When I finally found a space in which to slip away I saw something that left me with my mouth open, literally.

My heart started beating quickly and my legs started shivering slightly, making me weak. I could feel a lump forming in my throat and suddenly I couldn’t breathe properly. I was shaking, I was really shaking.

Before me was none other than Baekhyun and a girl – who wasn’t my sister – making out passionately. He had his hands on her , squeezing it and massaging it at his will. She had her arms around his shoulders while she played with his hair. They were devouring each other with despair and both of them were clearly enjoying it. It was disgusting. So filthy, so wrong.

I didn’t know what hurt me more, the fact that he were cheating on my sister or the fact that I couldn’t recognize the Baekhyun that was in front of me. The Baekhyun I knew would never cheat on my sister like this. The Baekhyun I knew loved Taeyeon too much to be doing this. What happened to the Baekhyun I knew and loved?

“O-Oppa.” I murmured in a broken voice.

My voice was just a whisper, but unbelievably he managed to hear me. He pulled away from that girl to look in my direction. When his gaze fell on me, his eyes widened in shock. His mouth and his lips were tainted with red lipstick; it was disgusting. For a few seconds he seemed repentant – or that's what I wanted to think desperately – but then he stared at me with a foreign feeling to me. His eyes were cold and empty and that scared me so much, because this guy wasn’t my Baekhyun oppa, not anymore.

“Seulmi.” He muttered without any emotion.

I knew something had changed when he called me by my name. He didn’t call me baby as he always did, not even Mimi came out of his mouth…just…Seulmi. And right there I realized we had turned into strangers, at least he was a stranger to me now.

Hello good people! ^^ Here is another chapter for you guys :)

First I want to say that I didn't edit it because is super late on my country and I'm really sleepy right now >.<

And what do you guys think about the chapter? Did I surprised you? :O

Or were you expecting it? >.<

So, yes! Let's start with some drama, shall we? ^O^

Oh and Kai appear a lot in this chapter, what do you think about him?

Well, I hope you enjoyed it!!! And please don't forget to leave a comment! I wanna know what you guys think ^^

I'm sleepy and I want to go to bed! T^T I can't even focus on the author note, aish really...okay, see you soon my friends! I love yo guys!!