Do you like strawberries?

Wanna catch a movie?

Oh yes, me too, always earnest

But girl problems in both hands

Do you like chocolate?

Is it sweet on your lips?

Oh yes, me too, it’s only you

But they’re real, girl problems

My phone won’t stop ringing

Too many unread messages

Tonight where should I go?

There’s no way I can escape

These are my girl problems

Reverberating high heel sound

The knocking on the door

Tonight, anywhere

There’s no way I can escape

These are my girl problems

Baekhyun has been staring at his phone for hours on end each day. While messages from all his buddies keep coming in, he doesn’t receive a call from the very girl he has been waiting for. And it has already been two days since his first Taco Night. His heart jumps at every phone call he receives but the letdown is terribly great when he realises that she isn’t the caller. Then he would totally ignore his ringing phone and glare at the TV screen with his arms across his chest. (If Jongdae saw him, he would laugh at him for looking like a pouty child because he does look like a pouty child.)

Baekhyun is sitting on the ground at his messy coffee table on Thursday, three days after Taco Night. His mouth is busy chewing on his ramyeon noodles while his eyes and hands are busy referring and writing down music notes on some score sheets. It has only been a week but he has stopped chasing the temporary pleasure from now. Surprisingly to him, he hasn’t had any withdrawals like he thought he would have. He doesn’t feel ually frustrated, actually. In fact, he actually enjoys the time he has to himself. He doesn’t have to deal with the whiny girls and he gets to find a good head space. He also hasn’t had much time to himself anymore since his playboy lifestyle started so this is quite refreshing and tranquil. He wishes he had figured this out sooner than now.

He is tapping his forehead with his fingers, bottom lip bitten, eyes shut, as he tries to compose a music piece for his lecturer when his phone rings. He lets it ring for a while, hoping that the persistent girl who has been calling him since yesterday afternoon would end the call, just like she always does after eight seconds of ringing. But this time, his phone just keeps buzzing, so he rips out a frustrated sigh and drops his hand to grab his phone. He glares at his phone, only to completely blank out when he sees the name of the very girl he has been waiting for to call.

Not wanting her to hang up after waiting for so long, Baekhyun quickly answers the call without even giving himself any prep time so that when he hears her say his name, his heart starts to race and his entire body gets all hot and prickly.

“I’m sorry I haven’t called since Monday,” she apologises, sounding so sweet that Baekhyun just completely forgives her for torturing him then and there. “I’ve been busy with preparing for an interview and I’ve only just finished with it.”

“How was it?” he asks, genuinely wanting to know and hoping with all his heart that she did well for it.

“It went well, I think,” she chuckles. “I don’t know. Maybe we can go for lunch or something, and I’ll tell you about it. I haven’t eaten.”

Baekhyun glances at his ramyeon which he barely even made a dent in. His answer is immediate like he didn’t even need to think about it the moment she proposed that idea. “Yeah, lunch is great,” he breathes, quickly capping his pen and standing up from the floor to rush into his room. “Where shall I meet you?”

He is frantically searching through his wardrobe for something nice to wear as she answers, “Hmm… I’m craving for Japanese food. Know of any good place?”

“Yes,” he mutters, clamping his phone between his shoulder and his ear as he picks out a pair of light denim jeans and a simple white shirt. “Send me your location and I’ll get you.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll meet you there,” she tells him, finding it quite unnecessary for him to go to her first if they could just meet at the restaurant.

Without her around physically, Baekhyun feels a lot braver. So he says, “I’m taking you out on a date. So I’m going to have to fetch you from wherever you are.”

“Baekhyun,” she laughs. He can see her shaking her head. “There’s really no need—”

“I’ll be waiting for your location,” he simply cuts her off, hoping he doesn’t sound too rude. “I’m leaving my house in five.”

Baekhyun really, really hopes he is being cool and not rude when he ends the call like that. He wouldn’t want her to think that he is a douchebag, especially before their first date. But then he receives his very first text from her, which is an emoticon that is squishing its cheeks, and a following one that has her location. Baekhyun grins to himself, feeling a surge of confidence recharge his body. He gets ready for the date and leaves the house rushing, still pulling on a shoe as he hops towards the lift.

And his bowl of ramyeon is left sitting on the table, soggy and barely eaten.

Baekhyun’s eyes are roaming the streets, bending his back slightly, a hand on the wheel, the other holding onto his phone where his chat with the girl is open. Then he spots her, sitting lightly on a hoop bicycle rack in a pastel yellow blazer over a white shirt and a skirt in the same shade of yellow. She has tied up half her hair with a white ribbon and her earlobes are dotted with white daisies. Baekhyun thinks to himself that if she had gone to an interview with him in that, she wouldn’t even need to worry about failing it. But then again he isn’t her interviewer and he just hopes they saw how smart she is.

He slows down the vehicle next to her and winds down the window. She peers into the car with a smile despite the heat. Baekhyun doesn’t quite understand how she is smiling in summer but he realises that it is because she is in her element. That only kindles a passionate fire in his chest, wanting to preserve her radiance and shine even in the winter.

“Hi,” she grins when she waits for Baekhyun to say something, only for him to stare at her and keep quiet.

He blinks and snaps out of his stupor, berating himself for already acting so dumb. He feels his cheeks reddening. “Hi,” he says back shyly. “Get in, it’s too hot outside.”

“I like the weather,” she tells him but nonetheless gets in the front seat anyway.

Baekhyun winds up the window. She shuts the door once she is in the car. Suddenly, Baekhyun is too aware of how confined his car is and just how big her presence is. Just like the brightest, biggest star in the universe. He is staring at her, watching her buckle herself up, his lips slightly parted, in awe of her beauty. She clips on the belt buckle and turns to him with a bright smile.

“Where to now, Prince Baekhyun?”

“I think it went pretty well overall,” the girl hums, smiling a little.

Baekhyun is staring at her, chewing slowly, his one hand holding his chopsticks in the air, his other holding a spoon, as she tells him about her interview to be accepted into the masters course for speech therapy. His eyes zone in on the amused look on her face as she watches him gape at her wordlessly. He blinks and look away quickly, feeling a blush growing on his face. Yet every time he flutters his eyes shut, he sees her smile in his head. He really has it bad and he can’t even lie about it.

“When will you know your results?” he asks, trying to play it cool even though he is sure she has seen him nearly drooling over her.

She tips her lips into a faint smile as she picks up some ramen to put onto her spoon. Baekhyun his lips and swallows. He reaches for a gyoza and places it on her plate. She beams at him, eyes crinkling.

“Thank you, Baekhyun,” she murmurs. His lips automatically turn up into a smile at the sound of his name coming from her lips. “They said they’ll get back to me in a few days.”

“That’s a good sign, isn’t it?”

She shrugs, still smiling even as she says, “Maybe they say that to every interviewee.”

“But you’re so pretty, surely they’d give you priority,” he blurts.

She quirks a bemused eyebrow. Baekhyun blushes. Baekhyun has never really thought before he spoke but this is getting way out of hand. It is like he is under her spell and all he sees is her and even all he says is her.

“So you think they’d take looks into consideration?” she teases, laughing slightly.

He is still blushing when he mumbles, “No but if I was the interviewer I’d accept you without question.” She laughs her melodic laughter and Baekhyun decides that it doesn’t matter if he sounds lame and stupid. He wants to hear more. So he continues, “And maybe get your number.”

She giggles now, curling her hair behind her ear before resting her elbow on the table. She gives him a teasing look. “Without even judging my qualities?” She shakes her head playfully. “A playboy never changes its spots, huh?”

“No!” Baekhyun denies immediately, desperate to let her know that he’s not what he used to be anymore. “I said that only because I already know how smart you are!”

“I’m only joking, Baekhyun,” she chuckles, her eyes now swimming with affection as she looks at him, a fond smile on her lips. “Are you always this jittery when you’re with girls?”

He explodes in a red face now. God, she must think that he’s an idiot. “N-No,” he squeaks.

She watches him for a moment longer, observing how he would try not to look at her, only to peek a glimpse of her face as if he can’t help it and then promptly look away again. She chuckles softly and goes back to eating her ramen noodles. Baekhyun lets out a deep breath, no longer feeling trapped by her gaze.

“So since this is a date,” the girl starts a fresh conversation. “Have you planned the day out?”

Baekhyun is embarrassed when he admits, “Not really, but!” He looks at her in hopes that she isn’t giving him a disappointed look. She isn’t. In fact, she is simply looking at him with her undivided attention. His heart swells. “But there is a nice movie out in the cinemas…” he tries. But when she doesn’t say anything, he asks nervously, “Do you wanna catch a movie?”

“I don’t mind,” she tells him with a soft smile. “We can watch anything you want since you had to watch a chick flick with us the last time.”

Baekhyun shakes his head, smiling shyly. “It’s okay.”

“We just need to stop by somewhere to get strawberry milkshake though.” She gives him a sheepish smile. “I’m kind of craving for it.”

He grins teasingly. “Of course, Princess.”

The girl next to him is slurping on her milkshake as they wait for the movie to start. Baekhyun’s phone buzzes and he pulls it out, only to see a whole bunch of unread messages on his phone from different girls. He is scrolling through them, trying to search for a message from Jongdae or Minseok (he told them about the date the moment he got off the phone with her), when he feels the girl next to him lean over, slurping quietly next to his ear. He stops breathing for a moment.

“You’re so popular, Baekhyun,” she teases. He risks death by glancing at her, only to tense up when he notices her face close to his shoulder as she grins up at him. “That’s a lot of unread messages. Aren’t you going to read them?”

He swallows and shakes his head. “They’re not important,” he breathes.

“Really? Why do they keep messaging you then?”

Baekhyun turns to her and sees her quirking a teasing eyebrow at him, trying to bait him into telling him his secrets as a playboy. He really thinks that she is intelligent. She knows just how to mask her investigative questions to make them sound like playful questions. She doesn’t sound accusative because that isn’t what she is, Baekhyun has long figured out. She is simply curious, wanting to understand things as she sees and understands it, not from the rumours she hears from other people.

So no matter how embarrassed he is to have to explain his situation to her, he knows that in order to gain her trust, in order for her to believe that he is serious about her, he tells her the truth.

“They’re trying to get me to go out with them,” he mutters, glancing down at her lips when she them.

“Ahhh,” she drawls out in understanding, nodding her head. “Byun Baekhyun’s girl problems?”

He stares at the playful look on her face, her brown eyes reflecting the light from the movie screen. Baekhyun lets out a controlled sigh.

“My only girl problem right now,” he says quietly, more to himself than to her, “is you.”

“Me?” she repeats, surprised.

“Yeah,” he mumbles, looking away with a blush on his face. “It’s hard to impress you.”

She is quiet for a second before she lets out a quiet chuckle. “Baekhyun,” she calls gently. “You’d already impressed me the moment you told me you’d meet Jinju.” Baekhyun turns to look at her, eyes wide at the truth. She is smiling gently at him as if trying to soothe his insecurities. “And I have never met someone that Jinju liked so much, much less on the first meeting. I’m pretty sure she never liked my ex from start to end,” she laughed.

“So I’m currently at number one place?” Baekhyun asks, hoping he doesn’t sound as excited as his heart is beating.

She nods, her smile so reassuring and beautiful. “Not that you’re competing with anyone, but yes.”

He can’t help it when he mumbles, “I wouldn’t be surprised if half the boys at our campus are head over heels for you.”

“Well, I am already quite surprised the hottest boy on campus likes me.”

“I don’t like you.”

“You don’t?” she asks, blinking in surprised. For the first time, she feels slightly embarrassed, like he is teasing her instead (though Baekhyun would never have the guts to). But when he answers her, she realises that she should be a lot more embarrassed.

“I think I’ve fallen in love with you.”

They have been on their second date to a strawberry farm where they had a competition on who ends up picking the most berries that are ripe and yummy (Baekhyun kept peering into her basket to make sure he was at least a berry behind her).

On their third date, the girl begs Baekhyun to bring her clubbing. And no matter how much he tries to forbid that from happening, he has already known how powerful love is, and how submissive her brown eyes make him.

So here they are, on a Friday night, going straight to the front of the queue of a club Baekhyun thinks isn’t too bad. The bouncer lets them in (that includes her friends because she invited them along) because of Baekhyun’s status of being a Regular. They enter the club and Baekhyun finds himself being pulled by the hand as the girl follows her friends to the bar. They already had pre-drinks at her friend’s place but he guesses it’s just a ritual to drink once the moment they enter a club. He is standing behind her, a hand holding hers as he frames her body with his, while she stands next to her friends. He nibbles on his bottom lip, his eyes darting this way and that, hoping not to spot any of his previous acquaintances.

Baekhyun panics a little when the girl lets go of his hand. But when he looks down, he sees her looking up at him with a pretty smile. He is pretty sure the alcohol in his system is making him see things because he swears there is light shining from her very body. She tips her toes and cups her hand by his ear.

“My friends bought you a drink to thank you for the free entry!” she shouts over the music.

He leans down and presses his nose to her hair, blaming it on the alcohol for being so tipsy and unable to keep his balance. He says back, “Tell them thank you!” She nods, about to pull away, but he circles her waist and pulls her back. “What about you? How are you going to thank me?”

She laughs, slapping at his arm around her waist. It is a playful hit but Baekhyun lets go of her anyway, not wanting to disrespect her. He watches her twirl around to face him, tilting her head up at him. Her grin is cheeky and cute.

“What do you want?”

Baekhyun knows it has to be the alcohol this time when he taps his lips. What he doesn’t know, is whether or not the alcohol is the influence for her when she goes on her tippy toes and pecks him on the lips, for the first time ever. And now his heart is no longer pounding in sync with the loud music. It is running at its own rhythm that might make doctors think he has a cardiac arrest. But still, he doesn’t let this opportunity slip by. He grabs the sides of her face and brings her in closer, about to kiss her, when he hears someone screeching his name.

His eyes widen and he turns his head to the entrance of the smoking area of the club, noticing a few girls glaring at him, looking very much like a pack of hyenas. He curses under his breath, returns the confused girl a quick peck on the lips, and grabs her hand. He takes the shot of whatever her friends got him and downs half of it before shoving it into the girl’s face. She stares at him in surprise but takes the remaining shot anyway. And when she passes the empty glass to him, he makes sure she drinks water to clear the acidic taste before dragging her away from her friends and his scary, obsessive girlfriends.

He pulls her to the dancefloor, his hand tight on hers, making sure she doesn’t get lost. He brings her to the middle of the crowd and holds her close, staring past her shoulders to see if the girls who had shouted his name are following. They aren’t. So he looks down at the girl, who is staring up at him, confused. He makes a face.

“Sorry,” he apologises sincerely. “I just—”

“Your girl problems, again, Baekhyun?” she teases, her words slurring together quite a bit.

He chuckles and smiles down at her, watching her with endearment in his eyes. Even in the bad lighting and with the alcohol clouding his thoughts, Baekhyun thinks she is beautiful with the way she is smiling up at him, so cute and so pretty, and so breathtaking.

“Not mine anymore,” he answers, shaking his head. “They’ll have to settle it themselves. You’re my only girl problem now.”