TIP #8: “Il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu”
(There isn't smoke without fire)

[Note: In Hya is singing EXO’s Black Pearl from their XOXO album]

“Nan docheul ollyeo kkeutkkaji barame nal sitgo oh oh woah oh oh woah oh oh oh woah.”
(I raise the masts and I’m carried by the wind oh oh woah oh oh woah oh oh oh woah)

“Stop singing.”

“Geochireojin sumyeonui yodongeul jaewo!”
(Put the water’s roughening surface to sleep)

“You’ve been singing this stupid song on repeat for the past one hour dammit! Aren’t you tired?”

“Eodum soge pin kkot, bada wie tteun dal.”
(Flower that bloomed in the dark, the moon above the sea)

“Gah please! You’ll wake my dog up, should I just leave you here?” Baekhyun sounds like he’s about to cry pleading for some quiet. The girl has been going on for God knows how long already and he’s losing it.

“Bimil gateun geu got, my beautiful black pearl!”
(A place like a secret, my beautiful black pearl)

“Yah In Hya!” He shakes the sleeping girl lying on his back in exasperation.

“Ah-Ahjussi! H-How my sing-ging? Rate out of 5 stars!” She exclaims while stretching his ears out of joy and rocks from side to side.

“Stop it! It hurts! In Hya! Argh!” Baekhyun groans while trying to steady his balance.

“First you criticize my night job when all I’m trying to do is make ends meet, and now you say my singing hurts! How could you!” She wails in her slur.

“Okay okay fine! You’re good! Now release my ears!”

The elevator doors open and he scurries to his apartment door before sliding his keycard.

Baekhyun barely makes it back home with all the fits In Hya was throwing in the car. God, she was like a multiple disorder patient.

One moment she was screaming out of the car window attracting the pedestrians, the next she was hurling her pent-up complaints at stupid Ahjussi Baekhyun, then she was complimenting about the beauty of snowfall, and also not to forget about how she complained that Jongin was a way, way nicer guy as compared to him.

Nevermind that she almost caused them an accident when she hurled a punch across his face when he told her to zip it.

If this is how difficult and rowdy she’ll be when she’s NOT sober, Baekhyun will rather not encounter it anymore.

He flails his leg to swing open the door and piggybacks the drunken girl inside his house.

“You’re lucky Jongin has a thing for you. If not I won’t even bother bringing you here.” He grumbles while peering into her sleeping face drooping over his shoulder.

Baekhyun drops her on the couch without a care, causing her to directly hit onto the arm ledge and wince in pain. He rolls his shoulder and massages his sore muscles before rubbing the swollen bruise on his cheek.

“That was tough—“

Baekhyun immediately turns behind horrified when he hears In Hya making revolting sounds and panics.

“No no! You can’t throw up here!“ He frantically presses a hand over but to no use. Within seconds, Baekhyun feels a disgusting icky warm sensation moistening his palm and sees the liquid drip onto his pants.

He stays stagnant for a moment, feeling mortified and worn out, sighing with eyes shut regretfully. The pungent stench invades his nose and he closes his eyes in frustration.

Please say this is totally not really happening.

In Hya opens her groggy eyes and giggles, making Baekhyun even more irritated, “Oops. Hehe.”

“Gah Jongin! She’s such a troublemaker!” He chides before standing to wash his hands at the sink.

“I-Is t-this y-your p-puppy?” In Hya starts crawling over to the dog bed, “Aigoo aren’t you cute..”

Baekhyun sprints as fast as lightning over to the living room and pulls her back before she can even wake Chunchun up.

“Shush please!!” He clips on desperately, “You’ll wake her up!”

In Hya mindlessly nods her head and leans against the sofa edge, “Ah, it’s a g-girl.. N-No wonder it’s s-so c-cute.”

Baekhyun heaves a sigh of relief when she drifts into sleep after that. He looks at her napping soundly without guilt like she had never really threw him in a state of frenzy in less than an hour.

“Unbelievable. How did you even manage to attract our Jongin?” Baekhyun whispers to no one in particular and takes a fresh towel before heading to the bathroom.

**

Baekhyun steps out of the cool shower as he wipes his wet hair with the towel around his neck. Finally, after loads of scrubbing, he managed to get rid of that terrible stench that In Hya had thoughtfully imprinted. He sets the lavender aromatherapy and the air begins to exude its sweet scent.

He rubs his face, feeling all the exhaustion sinking into his weary body but pauses when he sees the comforting scene before him.

It is Chunchun. She is out of her dog bed and what’s more unexpected is that she is still sleeping, but this time, cradled in In Hya’s embrace.

It’s a rare sight to be honest. Chunchun especially abhors strangers since she rarely goes out, much less to jump into their arms. And she’s actually sleeping peacefully. How did In Hya even manage to get Chunchun to sleep right after cradling her?

To begin with, how did In Hya even manage to get Chunchun within her touch?

It will be a lie to say that Baekhyun didn’t melt at the cute scene, a fuzzy feeling whirling deep inside. They look like a pair of longtime companions. As the saying goes, even a cold heart can lose its strong barricade after several attempts of knockings.

He gently places a soft pillow under her head, careful not to startle her. Baekhyun contemplates to let her sleep on the sofa but is afraid that Chunchun will wake up instead so he just lets her be. If that happens, it will be another round of rollercoaster and he’ll never get to rest.

“That’s good then. This way, you can get along with Jongin’s dog too.” Baekhyun breathes out.

He drapes a wooly blanket over her body and is about to leave when he feels her hand tugging onto one of his fingers.

Baekhyun stiffens and looks at the sudden contact, then down to In Hya. His heart is pounding against his chest and perplexity rings in his system.

“Appa.. I’m sorry.” She sniffles in her slumber, her face as white as sheet. Her voice sounds painfully beaten, “For being late..”

Baekhyun slants his head in confusion. Is she sleeptalking?

He has never encounter anything like this so he feels a bit nervous. Should he wake her up? Or continue letting her hold his finger? What should he do?

“Her father just passed away a few days ago, so she’s probably still grieving..”

Baekhyun notices her hand trembling, like a broken doll, a scared broken doll, and clasps over it firmly.

For once, it actually dawns upon him that he never appreciated the fact that he is blessed with parents, both still alive and healthy.

He had always thought his nights were lonely, so terribly lonely that he could hear looming shadows call, so he can only wonder how unimaginably alone she must’ve felt after being slapped with her parent’s departure.

The next thing he does is a sub-conscious act that might not only surprise In Hya but himself as well, as he crouches down on his knees to pat on her head.

“You’ll be fine. I promise.”

After staying with In Hya till she went back to being calm again, Baekhyun goes to his own bedroom and locks the door while falling back on his bed. He gazes towards the ceiling, now understanding why Jongin has taken an interest on her.

She is different, Baekhyun has to admit it, out of all the women they had met, mostly from the pub they frequent, she is different.

She’s not the type that is easy to read, or put forward what she wants in words.

Prudent, but discreet and mystic. Often portraying behaviours that do not accurately reflect on her real emotions. Or rather, there’s a reason why she is holding back.

A reason that Baekhyun can’t exactly point his finger to.

One moment she’s being tough and independent, capable to fend for herself, but the next, she crumbles and holds onto something when she’s dearly gasping for air to breathe.

So then, which of these masks is her real one?

She probably wasn’t the type to have people looking after her, which is why she often gives than receives.

She knows how it feels. How it feels to be left with no one by your side.

It would be fair to deduce that Jongin probably felt protective over her to make up for the same thing he thinks he should’ve done for his sister.

Baekhyun can only hope it isn’t, lest he misunderstands the “love” he thinks he owns.

Baekhyun scratches his hair and groans. Why is he getting involved in their affairs? Get out of his head both In Hya and Jongin.

He takes out In Hya’s phone from the drawer and switches it on, a beeping sound lighting up the screen.

“Should I inform her Mum she’s here?” He tugs down his lip.

The phone vibrates and 3 incoming messages flash on the screen.

11:11AM
How does it feel to be separated by your loved ones?

01:08PM
This is not the end, Bae In Hya.

07:16PM
What will you do when she’s gone too?

“Why does she keep on getting these kind of messages?” He mutters while frowning hard at the phone.

Baekhyun soons forget about calling her home. Again, he moves all 3 weird messages to the thrashbin but that night, something compels him to check it.

True enough, the messages aren’t exactly deleted, but rather they are stored until prompted again to delete permanently. Baekhyun takes a deep breath before he opens it up and is surprised to see a string of messages hidden.

It goes all the way dated back from 2 weeks ago and he starts reading it from the very first message in the bin. His breath hitches as soon as he reads text.

12:03PM
It’s been a while sweetie, I’ve missed you.
I’m finally out.

“Sweetie? She has a boyfriend?” He quirks. Omo omo, poor Jongin then!

04:35PM
Are you ready?

06:24PM
You’ll see how I feel..

06.45PM
KARMA

07:00PM
I’ll be there

09:00PM
I’ll be there

11:00PM
I’ll be there

01:00AM
I’ll be there

03:00AM
I’ll be there

05:00AM
I’ll be there

“What the ?” He cusses, feeling the hairs at the back of his neck rise as he scrolls through the thread of endless identical taunt messages, “It’s just the same thing over and over again.”

Either her ‘boyfriend’ is an extremely obsessive or freaky dude or both. He scrolls and scrolls until a different text finally catches his eye.

12:39AM
Come to Hotel Opal, Room 39 Level 5.
You’ll be in for a huge surprise
I’ll be waiting for you..

“Hotel Opal?” Baekhyun mentions it like it rings a bell. He taps his fingers on the quilt when he decides to check the date when this message was sent.

‘3 December 2015’

Oh right. That was the exact same date when he had met In Hya in the rain. But then again, why did the texter decide to break the chain that night?

Baekhyun grows in