Same day…

No, no, no. The only thought that was running through Nari’s mind. No, no, no. There was no answer to the question. No, no, no. Her indecision was too upsetting.

Her best friend was in love with her. I’m so thick… she thought hopelessly.

Her feet dragged along the ground. Her fingers fiddled shakily. Her eyes focused on a single spot on the ground and it blurred as she kept walking. Her mind was preoccupied until she felt her shoe hit a dent in the path and her knees fell to the ground, hands following. Baekhyun, who she had mostly forgotten was walking with her, knelt beside her, mumbling frantic words. Nari looked at her palms, red dotted lines drawn into her skin. She took a deep, shaky breath as she wiped them on her skirt and stood up. She brushed off her knees and kept walking, lips pressed together.

"Are you listening to me, Nari?" Baekhyun called out.

She stopped. Her mind clicked and her stomach sunk. She turned to look back at him.

"I'm sorry, oppa. I missed everything you said..." she apologised.

He shook his head with a sigh. "Let’s go somewhere."

"Like where?"

"Like somewhere fun."

Baekhyun grabbed her hand, speeding their pace. He dragged Nari along many roads until they made it to a park. It was cut out in between two humungous office buildings, stretching for a kilometre but only twenty metres wide. Market stalls adorned the path. Lights hung from tree to tree like sparkling cobwebs. Masses of people crowded all of the stalls.

Baekhyun led her through the masses, never once letting go of her hand. They browsed the stalls, every once in a while stopping to look at a cute trinket or piece of clothing or tasty-looking food. There were so many things to see, it felt like the park would never end.

He kept her close. Nari was very aware of the heat from his body. She could barely focus on his voice as he excitedly browsed a t-shirt stall, determined to find the punniest print. Her hand was clamming up in his hold but he didn’t loosen his grip one bit. The thoughts of Sehun were being muffled by Nari’s racing heart. She took deep, slow breaths.

As Baekhyun turned to her with his bright smile, her breath turned sharp and stopped all together.

“Should we get something to eat?” he suggested.

Nari nodded softly.

Leading her away from the clothes stalls, they arrived at an orange tent-like restaurant tightly fitted under the two shortest trees in the park. He sat them down at a table and yelled their order to the workers. His hand finally left Nari’s and she gradually wiped the sweat from her palms onto her skirt.

Turning to her again, he rested his head on his hand with a cheerful smile. Nari avoided his eyes at all costs.

“So, I feel like I should ask you what’s wrong.”

She let out a shaky breath finally.

“Your hands were really sweaty.”

Why did you keep holding them then? she thought.

“It’s not Chanyeol again, is it?”

“No. It’s not him,” Nari said.

Baekhyun suddenly sat up straight.

“Um, something kind of, uh, happened after rehearsal today. It’s not your problem so, um, you don’t need to worry about it.”

His smiled faded. “Of course it’s my problem.”

She met his eyes. That was a bad decision.

“Sehun, he, uh – I met him after rehearsal today. And he told me something. He told me that … he likes me.”

Nari sat with nervous anticipation. She’d thought it wouldn’t be that easy to say it but, with Baekhyun, she felt like she could say anything now. She couldn’t hide anything anymore. Not when he’d seen her break down like that.

He raised an eyebrow. “He likes you?”

“Yeah…”

Avoiding his eyes, waiting for whatever advice he’d try to give that she probably wouldn’t end up listening to, Nari was left hanging. Baekhyun was silent. For more than a few seconds. She didn’t know if she could handle this out-of-character behaviour. Her mind scrambled for words. Something, anything to make it less awkward. When she finally looked at him in the eyes, he spoke up.

“What did you say back to him?” he asked.

Her eyes widened, her heart beating tenfold. “Um, I don’t know. I kind of just ran away.”

He gave a slight chuckle, leaning his chin back on his hand. Nari could relax for now.

“What a mess you’ve made.” He smirked.

Her stomach churned as she remembered Sehun’s fallen face as she ran away.

“What should I do, oppa? I don’t know ho