AN: If you haven't heard of Baekhyun and Chanyeol's cover of Love Song, kindly listen to it first before reading this chap. :)  x

CHAPTER 44

[Byun Baek Hyun’s POV]

We’re almost halfway through with our breakfast when Hanna came down to the living room, her eyes still puffy from a long sleep. She automatically sat down beside me and gave me an apologetic look. I understood her. She must’ve felt bad about ditching me last night on our usual “secret date” but I don’t feel any grudge about it so I gave her a slight smile and a nod.

“Good morning, Hanna,” Chanyeol greeted firsthand.

“Good morning, oppa,” she replied naturally. This has always been our everyday mantra – the boys would greet her good morning and she would answer them the same thing over and over. And though it’s really quite tiring to hear it every single day, it’s one of the boys’ ways to show her how much they love her and I think it’s really very sweet.

“What time did you came home last night?” Chanyeol asked while enjoying his cup of coffee. “You’re already asleep when we arrived.”

Hanna reached out to grab a sandwich before answering, “I think it’s around 9 o’clock, oppa.”

“You must’ve been so tired to fall asleep that early,” Xiumin commented, knowing full well that among all of us, Hanna is always the last sleeper.

“Yes, oppa,” Hanna agreed while munching the bread absentmindedly. My eyes that were glued to her don’t seem to want to look away. “I was really exhausted by yesterday’s filming.”

“What did you do anyway?” Luhan asked, honestly curious.

Hanna went silent and it only made me observe her more closely.

What had she really done yesterday? The question has been bugging me ever since last night.

Hanna seemed hesitant, but still answered, “We went to the zoo.”

“The zoo?” Luhan repeated and the living room went dead silent for a few heartbeats before we finally erupted into fits of boisterous laughter.

“He took you to the zoo, noona?” Sehun exclaimed, choking in his laughter. “L sunbaenim took you to the zoo? For a date?”

The boys are going out of their minds and I can’t help but stifle a laugh too, which only made Hanna cast a deadly glare at me.

“What does he think of you? A seven year-old?” Tao demanded, clapping his hands in exhilaration. Hanna didn’t answer and I’ve realized that she’s been strangely quiet. She has her hands folded on her lap and she looked embarrassed. I immediately stopped laughing.

“Maybe L sunbaenim really doesn’t have---“

Kai was about to say something when Hanna’s words cut him off.

 “I haven’t entered a zoo ever since I was in third grade,” she said, her voice low.

This made the boys stop.

“I’ve only seen a giraffe, a lion, an elephant, and other sorts of zoo animals once in my twenty one years of living,” Hanna continued, sounding more and more offended. “I’m sorry if it’s a wrong thing to take a lady to the zoo for a date, oppa, but I honestly had so much fun yesterday and to me… it doesn’t really seem like a bad thing.”

The boys were quiet and all I could do is to stare at Hanna. It actually looked like we had offended her. She has her head down and I can see that her hands are shaking. She looked like she’s about to cry.

“L oppa only granted my wish. You don’t have to make fun of him just because he did that,” she said and left her seat. All of us can do nothing as she walked past us and boarded up the stairs without another word.

“What have we done,” Chanyeol muttered as soon as we heard the door to Hanna’s room banged shut. I felt the strong pang of guilt hit me but there’s something more to it that’s actually tearing me inside – pain. Did Hanna just defend L like that? Did she actually take his side like that? And just by the way she talked… Was it really possible that she had gotten so much closer to him like that?

A huge wave of jealousy washed over me and I suddenly felt nauseated.

Is Hanna slowly slipping away from me?

***

“I heard Hanna’s mad at all of you,” Manager Song said as I entered her office. I had just received a call from her, asking me to meet her up here and I’m actually dreading that this would be the reason for it.

“She sure is,” I replied as I took the chair opposite her desk. I cannot help but sigh.

“What did you do to her?” Manager Song asked though I’m a hundred percent sure she already knew the whole story.

I cleared my throat and explained anyway, “She told us L took her to the zoo and it just made us laugh. I don’t know. It was just hilarious. I didn’t think it would offend her like that.”

“Hanna has ever been to a zoo once in her whole life,” she spoke, her gaze steady. “Of course what you did would offend her. You’ve literally just laughed at her dream.”

“But we didn’t know, Manager,” I reasoned. “We wouldn’t have done that if we only knew.”

Manager Song sighed and leaned towards me on her desk. She muttered slowly, “Baekhyun. You of all people should know how Hanna is. You know what kind of life she had right before she got here. You of all people should know that somehow… Hanna’s life is… lacking.”

Manager Song’s words cut through me like a sharp-bladed knife.

I flinched.

“Did you know that she’s also ever been to a cinema once?” she asked and my eyes widened in surprise at the new information.

Manager Song looked quite disappointed.

She continued, “And did you know that she’s never ever been to a carnival?”

My jaw went slack.

“N-Never?” I blurted in both surprise and disbelief.

Manager Song only sighed and shook her head at me in disappointment.

“Wow,” was the only thing I could say.

I feel stupid.

I feel so utterly stupid.

How could I possibly say over and over how much I love Hanna and not know those kinds of things about her?

Have I only been blabbering nonsense all this time?

“You know what? I’ll tell you something,” Manager Song spoke, her eyes serious. “Hanna had already figured out that L feels something special towards her. She’s already begun admitting that to herself.”

I felt my hands slowly began to shake but I kept my silence and listened.

Manager Song continued to speak, “And I’m doing this to help you, Baek. I’m saying this to wake you up and let you open your eyes… L is really serious about Hanna. I can feel it. I can see how much he’s willing to fight for this. And I swear, if you continue on doing this… on lying low and comfortable on your ground… I won’t be surprised if L succeeds in taking away Hanna from you in the future.”

Once again, Manager Song’s words hit me like a brick on the head, like a knife to the chest. I opened and closed my mouth, aching to speak, but failing miserably.

“Wake up, Baekhyun. Just because Hanna tells you she loves you now, doesn’t mean she’d feel that way ‘til the end. L is slowly making his way to her heart. That day at the zoo proved that. And I know L’s planning to make more of Hanna’s dreams come true which he can through the program.”

Manager Song leaned forward on her desk and looked straight at me.

“Do what you have to do, Baekhyun, or just watch the person you love leave you for someone else,” she said s