chapter three
false hope - song jieun

You didn't know what you were thinking when you agreed to the private lessons with Baekhyun. At the moment, it was like your body was completely ignoring what your mind was telling you to do, and so you ended up doing the total opposite of what you were planning to do. And you weren't sure if you regretted the decision or not.

The next afternoon, you arrived at the practice room earlier than the time you agreed to meet with Baekhyun. You didn't know why, but the way he told you not to come late or else you would be punished, made you fear what would actually happen if you did come late. Maybe that was the reason why you came super early.

You were now sitting on the floor, back leaned against the mirrored walls, legs up as you hugged your knees. You were patiently waiting for Baekhyun to arrive, not really having a reason to be impatient because it wasn't his fault that you came so early. You checked the time on your phone and read 2:15. You were supposed to be here at 3. You burried your head in your knees, closing your eyes with your mind full of thoughts. You were thinking about school, your friends, your dad, your mom, your future, and for some reason, you were thinking about Baekhyun.

In fact, Baekhyun has been in your mind a whole lot these days, and for some reason you just couldn't stop thinking about him.

You unknowingly let out a deep sigh.

"Why so depressed?" A voice suddenly spoke, making you snap your head up in shock. You came face to face with a grinning Baekhyun, who was crouching down, just to be leveled with you. You let out a relieved sigh, hand resting on your chest. "God, you gotta stop doing that."

He chuckled, before standing up straight and extending out his hand to help you up. You gladly reached out for it as he asked, "Doing what?" He easily pulled you up as if you weighed like a feather to him.

"Walking in so quietly that I don't even hear you, and then scaring me." You crossed your arms and faced him.

He just blinked at you, grin still plastered on his face, "Aw, but you're so cute when you're scared." He then cupped your face and softly your cheek with his thumb, his eyes gazing right into yours.

You froze the moment his skin touched yours. Your heart was beating faster than usual, and you swore, you could feel your hands shaking. He was doing it again.

Baekhyun smirked when he saw your frozen state and let go of your face before walking passed you. "Why'd you come so early?" He casually asked, as if nothing happened. You let out a breath you didn't even know you were holding in. You closed your eyes and quickly counted to 5 in your head, just to calm yourself, and your beating heart down.

"Y-You're early, too, you know?" You answered with a question.

He smirked, "Yes, but I didn't think you'd come so early. In fact, I thought you were going to come late." It was like he wanted you to come late. It was like he wanted you to find out what his punishment was.

"Well, I guess you thought wrong." You spoke in a quiet voice.

Gathering yourself together, you walked towards Baekhyun and the two of you started the lesson. There were some things you took notice of throughout the whole tutor session. Baekhyun was definitely going easier on you. He smiled at you a lot, which was a bit odd considering the fact that he was cold and serious when he would do  regular lessons with all the other students. He was calmer and gentlier than he would be when if was just a regular class. Baekhyun was also being touchy with you, holding your waist and your hands when he tried to fix your positions, wrapping his arms around you as he demonstrated a move.

Throughout the whole lesson, you were scared what he would be able to hear your heart beating by how fast it was going. All these actions and words Baekhyun was doing,,, it was all making you confused. It was like he was trying to send you some hints or something.

Did Baekhyun like you? But most importantly, did you like him?

"Sohee, are you okay?" Baekhyun suddenly asked before gulping down his water bottle. He had given you a 10 minute break for working so hard, but instead of hydrating yourself, you just stood there and watched him. Your eyes landed on his perfectly sculptured fingers and how it was gripping the water bottle,  not too hard, but not too soft as well. It made you wonder how it would feel if your fingers were entangled with his, and how soft his hands feel. Your eyes then moved to his neck and you stared at the veins that were slightly popping out, and his adams apple that bobbed up and down with every gulp he took. It made you unknowingly gulp yourself.

Tearing your eyes away from his neck, you moved on to his face, and you couldn't help how beautiful he looked. You looked at how soft his thin lips looked as he slightly kissed the bottle. You looked at his cute and button-like nose. And you looked at his eyes, and although they were shut as he drank water, you always took notice of how beautiful they were when they were open.

You were suddenly snapped out of your thoughts when Baekhyun called out your name again. "Huh?!" You blabbered out.

He chuckled, which you also noticed he did quite often, "You were zoning out again. Are you sure you're okay?"

"O-oh," You stammered before nodding your head, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a lot of things in mind." You answered quietly.

Baekhyun put his water bottle down before walking towards you, his eyes locked on yours. He was coming a bit too close so you started to back up. "M-Mr. Byun, what are you doing?"

"You know, Sohee," He spoke in a low and y voice that made your legs grow weak, "You've been out of it lately. Are you sure you're okay? You're making me very worried." It took all your might to look at him in the eye, and when you did you saw nothing but sincerity.

You gulped. He was worried about you? "I-I'm fine." And just then you felt your back softly hit the wall.

Baekhyun suddenly slammed his hands on the wall behind you, making you yelp in surprise,