“Hey! Why are you sulking like that? It’s not good for the business.”

            Baekhyun looked at his soon-to-be sister-in-law, Sunny. “I don’t believe in that superstition.” He sighed. “My friend Chaeyoung just left. Her son is my godchild.”

            “Sorry. You looked like there’s no hope left in this world. What happened?”

            “I just found out that my very first godchild has a tumor on his brain. The news is very depressing.”

            “I’m sorry to hear that.” Sunny said.

            “He’s just seven years old.” He sighed for the second time. “I wish I could do something for him. He is too young to die. He’s cute like me, you know?”

            Sunny tapped his shoulder. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. There are so many good doctors in this world. I’m sure that his parents will be able to look for a cure for him.”

            “You’re right. Chaeyoung said that if Minwoo will undergo surgery immediately, he will be cured.”

            “See? So don’t be sad because I’m getting sad too.”

            Baekhyun smiled at last. “By the way, what are you doing here? Did you and Sungmin hyung got sick of each other?”

            “Yes. In fact I have found someone cute outside.” Sunny laughed. “Nah. Your cousin’s too in love with me. I will be heartless if I’ll leave him like that, right?”

            He smiled again. He knows how his Sungmin hyung and Sunny noona loves each other.

            “Ah, I’m looking for a florist for our wedding.” Sunny said, blushing. It looks like she was still “high” about the proposal of his Sungmin hyung last night. “I was about to ask Jonghyun but I know that he’s busy for his and Key’s wedding.”

            “Yeah. That man is like you, noona. I can’t have a proper conversation with him because he’s “high” in love.”

            “So, would you do it for me, Baek?”

            “To be the florist for your wedding? Sure. Sungmin hyung is rich so I can ask for a high payment.”

            “Take it easy, Baek. Your focus is just on your business.”

            “I want to be rich in my own way.” He noticed Sunny’s engagement ring. “Congratulations, noona. Sungmin hyung’s proposal is so sweet, huh. I don’t know that he has a romantic side.”

            “Me too. I didn’t expect that he can do something as sweet as that. He even made my friends go here at the riding club.”

He remembered something. “Ah, by the way. Your friend is the drummer of the band that performed las night, right?”

            “Yes. That’s Victoria. My other friend is Yoona. The model that looks like a nerd.”

            “Are they having an affair with Kyuhyun and Heechul?”

            “I don’t know. I don’t know that my friends knew that two men. I mean, Yoona and Heechul have met before me and Sungmin got together. But I haven’t seen them talk or something. Why did you ask?”

            “What happened at your engagement party is a bit weird. Kyuhyun’s reaction is a bit unusual for a Casanova like him. It’s the first time that he gets offended with a woman.”

            “Well, we know that Kyuhyun is a playboy, it’s just that he chose to pick at the wrong woman. Victoria is the type of woman who doesn’t get impressed with a guy that easily. And knowing Kyuhyun, he’s not used of someone ignoring him.”

            “What about Yoona?”

            “What about her?”

            “She said she’s in love with Heechul.”          

            “What’s new? All of the women are in love with Heechul.”

            Baekhyun thinks for a while then shrugged. “You have a point.”

            “How about you, how are you and Tao?”

            His elbow that is leaning on the counter slipped when he heard the name of the man that has been on his mind at the moment.

            “Why did Tao get in the picture here? We’re talking about Heechul and Kyuhyun.”

            “But you two were having your own private world back then.” Sunny’s smile is teasing him. “Don’t think we didn’t notice, Baekhyun. Since Kyuhyun passed you to Tao, you two have been the center of attention at the Exo Lounge.”

            Baekhyun busied himself with fixing the display above the counter. “We’re just friends. Ask Tao if you want.”

            “Tao doesn’t have any close friends. The club members are just part of his social circle. But he doesn’t consider them as his friends.”

            “Well now, he has a friend. Me.”

            “Okay, tell me. If you two are just friends, why did he let you ride on his horse?”

            “Because I need immediate first aid. And his horse is the fastest mean of transportation that was available at that moment. And besides, that stupid superstition is not real.” They say that if a member lets someone ride with him with his horse, that someone is the one that the member chose to spend his life with.

            “Why did Tao brought you to his house instead of the clinic? Exo Clinic is nearer.”

            “Really? The clinic is nearer?” He cleared his throat when he saw Sunny’s teasing grin. “Tao just panicked. He’s just worried that I might go blind or something.”

            “He’s a doctor, Baek. He’s used to emergencies like that so why will he panic?”

            “W-whatever. He just panicked at that time.”

            “How about you? Why is it every time you look at him, you couldn’t help but smile?”

            “I like looking at his face.”

            “I said that before to your Sungmin hyung. But look at where I am now. Happily engaged and in love with him.”

            “I like looking at his face.” He restated. “That’s it.”

            “The habit of staring at someone can lead to two serious consequences—an intense addiction with paranoia,” Sunny noona said, smile never leaving her lips. “Or to falling in love.”

            Baekhyun thought about it. Everything that he does, it points out to the way Sunny was talking about. Their conversation answered something that was bugging him for the past few days. If why is he happy with Tao despite his grouchiness. If why he can’t say mad at Tao even though the other drives him away. He will get mad, yes. But after a while, his anger will be gone. That was unusual for someone like him who couldn’t forget a fault.

            So he was in love with Tao then?

            No, he rejected the idea. He remembered Tao’s handsome face. Well, sort of. Baekhyun wants to laugh at his own answer. Is it possible? He was… sort of in love with Tao?

            “Hey, talk to me.” Sunny piped. “Don’t talk to yourself. You won’t gain anything. You will just get crazy.”

            Baekhyun looked at his Sunny noona. “I’m not in love with Tao. I have my Minho.”

            “Okay, just talk to yourself then.”

             -----------------------------

            “Baekhyun.”

            Baekhyun stilled when he heard that voice. When he turned around, he saw Tao walking towards him. His heart gets wild. And everything that he is doing to calm himself is not working. However, he still can’t help but to stare at the face that he has somehow get addicted to. But he’s not paranoid. So… has he fallen for Tao?

            “Hey.”

            Baekhyun tightened his hug on the bouquet of roses that he is holding. He just felt that his arm is pricked by the thorns.

            “Ouch…” He glared at the poor bunch of flowers before turning to Tao. He was fighting the intense feeling inside his chest at the same time. “Ah…Tao, hi! What are you doing here?”

            “I’m the acting director of this hospital. You, what are you doing here?”

            “I’m visiting my godchild. He’s admitted here.”

            “Really? What floor is his room? I’ll bring you there.”

            “Fourth floor.”

            “I see. This way to the elevator.”

            While they are in the elevator, he can’t think of anything to say. So they ended up having that awkward silence between them. The two of them are the ones that are inside the elevator so the silence is deafening between them. So he started humming. Tao looked at him. He was smiling.

            “You’re still singing that song?”

            “Huh?” Ooh,  what a handsome face…

            “That song. That was the love song that we danced with during the engagement party of Sungmin and Sunny, right?”

            Baekhyun gulped. Darn! Why did his mind choose that song? “Uh… I may have a Last Song Syndrome. I can’t get it out of my head.” He reasoned.

            “Hmm.” Tao looked at the indicator of the floor they are currently at. “I remembered humming that song myself one day.”

            “Really?” He feels like walking in the clouds at Tao’s statement. He hugged the flowers to himself. “It’s a nice song, isn’t it?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Especially when you are thinking of the person that you are dancing with…”

            He wasn’t able to see Tao’s reaction to his words. You’re really crazy, Baekhyun! What are you saying? He thought that Tao is going to ignore his words so that he just bit the nearest rose in his mouth. But then Tao slightly turned to him. He almost fainted when he saw Tao’s beautiful smile.

            “Yeah.” Tao’s simple answer, then removed the petals that is glued on his lips.

            Tao got out of the elevator first when they arrived on the fourth floor. Baekhyun absent-mindedly followed Tao and since his mind is obviously focused on how Tao recently touched his lips, he stumbled on his way out.

            “Ouch, shi—” Tao caught his arm. At the same time, Baekhyun caught his words. “Wow! This elevator is really—my foot hurts!” When Tao moved to inspect his foot, he straightened. “Ah, it doesn’t hurt now.”

            “Are you sure?”

            “Yes.” Gosh! Don’t be like that, Tao. You’re making me fall in love with you more. Fight fair, dude. He took back his arm from Tao. He saw the poor petals fell off. “Thank you. Okay, you can go back to whatever you are doing before I bothered you. Thanks again.”

            “It’s not a bother. `Glad to help you. Do you know the room of the patient that you will visit?”

            “Yes.”

            “Okay. I’ll see you then.”

            “Okay.” Tao is about to turn back when he grabbed the sleeve of his white long-sleeved coat. That he immediately let go when Tao turned to him. “Ah…sorry. It’s uh… Uhm…”

            “Yes?”

            Okay! Fine! I love you! Shi— “I have a weak heart in this kind of situation. When I see someone close to me battling with a life-threatening illness.” I hate this! I shouldn’t be feeling like this towards you! I’m in love with Minho! Why am I having feelings for you? It shouldn’t be like this. Someone should only love one person to be fair. “Can you go with me to my godchild’s room? I don’t know if I can face him alone.”

            Baekhyun’s ready if ever Tao rejects him when he removed his hand on his sleeve. But to his utter surprise, Tao clasped their hands together, and then took the flowers from him.

            “What’s the room number of your godchild?”

            “Heaven.” He whispered.

            “Huh?”

            “I mean…” Baekhyun shook his head. “Room four one seven.”

            Tao walked first. Baekhyun just looked at their clasped hands while following Tao’s lead. Unlike before, when he was scolding himself the moment he fell in love with Tao, now, he is praising himself because falling in love with Tao feels like heaven. And the scene with their holding hands, it was incredible! He can’t complain of anything.

            It feels good loving Tao.

            “Here it is.” Tao said. They are now standing in front of a closed door.

            That’s when he remembered that they are going to visit Minwoo. Tao was about to open the door when he stopped him.

            “Wait! I’ll just… breathe.” Baekhyun took a few deep breaths. “Okay, go.” But he stopped Tao again. “Wait, whew! This is so hard. Uh, okay. You can—wait!”

            Tao looked at him with a knotted forehead. “Maybe you want to perform a ritual of some sort before I open the door?”

            “Can I?” Tao let out a frustrated sigh. Baekhyun was immediately kicked by his conscience. “Sorry. I told you before that it is hard for me to face this kind of situation.”

            “Why did you come here in the first place if you can’t face any patients? And even by yourself?”

            “I really wanted to see him. But I might cry when I see how he is.” Baekhyun scratched his head. “Maybe it has to do with how afraid I am to see my mom when she was confined in a hospital before she, you know, had a conference with God in the heaven. I know it’s stupid to go here when I can’t even face who I visited. But I was afraid that I will be the same scared boy before who wasn’t able to see his mother before she died. And she was asking about me the whole time. Minwoo, my godson, he was asking for me. That’s why his mother, Chaeyoung visited me at my shop yesterday…” He took back his hand from Tao’s hold. “I’m sorry of I bothered you.”

            He tried taking the flowers from Tao but the doctor didn’t give it to him. “This one is withered. Let’s change this one. It’s embarrassing when your godson see that this is the only thing that his crybaby godfather can offer.”

            “What crybaby? I’m not a crybaby!” Baekhyun sniffled. “Well, just a bit. Still, it’s not—”

            “There’s a flower stand outside the hospital.” Tao held his hand again. They went back towards the elevator, holding each other’s hands. “This time, I will be the one carrying the flowers. Because you might eat them again.”

 -----------------------------

Hi everyone! Happy new year to all of you! I'm sorry if I just posted this chapter just now. I just want to maximize my vacation as much as possible. Anyway, 20 days to go before the boys will go here in my country for a 2-day concert! I was one of the lucky people who got a ticket on their first day of concert. ExoLuxion in Manila FTW!!!