“Wooyoung,”

          Her voice was shaky as she uttered out his name which she never thought she’d actually ever do it again in her lifetime. The small smirked that appeared on his lips indicated that he sensed her uneasiness, and Taeyeon wasn’t liking every single bit of the situation she was in. She found it so funny how she was just enjoying the moment and time she was having with Baekhyun and the next second she was all tensed, jittery and scared already. How ironic life could really get.

          “I’m so happy to see you again. It’s been a while.” The smirked on his lips widened which seemed like he was having so much fun making Taeyeon feel uneasy.

          She swallowed the lump that appeared in and forced herself to speak. “Yeah. It’s nice to see you too.” She simply answered. She wanted to puke hearing herself saying that to him because she knew very well and all the gods in the world knew how fake that was for her to say. But she couldn’t just not say anything even if that’s what she really wanted to do because, for starters, Baekhyun was with her, still clasping her hand which she tightly gripped on as she uneasily shifted on her heels. And it was the thing she mostly and hardly prayed for not to happen, for Wooyoung and Baekhyun to meet. But it was too late to pray even harder for it, because they’re here already, standing in front of each other as if they were trapped in a cage with no other way out. She knew she has a lot of explaining to do and she wasn’t exactly sure if she is actually ready for it. But there is no way she could still hide things from Baekhyun; that, she was certainly sure of.

          “So… how have you been?” She totally hated how the smirk on his face seemed like it wouldn’t go away at any moment which just showed to her how much he was having fun doing this at the moment.

          She slowly nodded her head as a response. “Good,” she tried to answer with a fake enthusiasm but she obviously failed. She darted her eyes away from him, taking her other hand to grip on Baekhyun’s forearm as she felt her knees getting weaker as the time went by.

          “You know I was a little hurt when I heard the news of your marriage.”

          Oh well, goddamn, ! She thought. Her mind was in total shambles as the subject of her marriage was finally brought up.

          “But I heard that it was an intimate celebration, so I didn’t bother with my feelings after.”

          Taeyeon knew exactly that Wooyoung intentionally brought the matter up. Of course, he’s going to talk about the marriage. And it was evident enough that he was having too much fun messing around with her.

          She cleared before she brought herself up to respond. “Yeah, it was, um, a small celebration.” She was starting to get conscious of Baekhyun beside her. Though she wasn’t seeing any part of his face at the moment, she could tell that he was probably in all sorts of confusion watching her and Wooyoung converse in a very awkward manner. And that isn’t good.

          “So,” Wooyoung turned towards Baekhyun. “You’re the lucky guy, huh? I’m sorry you are…”

          “Baekhyun, Byun Baekhyun.” He answered.

          Wooyoung stretched out a hand. “Nice to finally meet you, Baekhyun.”

          Baekhyun took his hand and shook it. “Nice to also meet you…” he trailed off.

          “Wooyoung, Jang Wooyoung.” He introduced himself, a smirk slowly forming on his lips as he shook Baekhyun’s hand.

          “Nice to meet you, Wooyoung. I guess, you and Taeyeon knew each other for a long time already.” Baekhyun commented as he pulled his hand away from Wooyoung’s, and Taeyeon wanted to smack her face at his comment.

          Oh my god, you’re about to make things get worse, Byun. Someone, please help me.

          “Oh, yeah. We’ve really known each other for a long time now.” Wooyoung answered with a playful voice as he glanced over at her, which pissed Taeyeon even more. The smirk that once again played along his lips didn’t go unnoticed for Taeyeon and she felt herself shivering a little because of it.

          “So in that case, I'm guessing you two are good old friends of each other.” Baekhyun uttered which obviously, wasn’t doing anything good in the situation. But she couldn’t really blame Baekhyun. After all, he knew nothing. And to top that, Baekhyun had always been a kind person to anyone. Knowing that the man in front of them might be someone who Taeyeon knew before, of course, he would show his kind self to him like what he usually does to people.

          “Yes, yes. Taeyeon and I have been, really, really good friends.” He made a pause, and the smirk on his face slowly turned into a grin which Taeyeon didn’t like in any way. He slowly turned his head back to Taeyeon before he once again spoke. “Am I right, Taeng?”

          Taeyeon felt all of her hair on the back of her neck rising as she heard him call her by her nickname. It was greatly unpleasant for her ears, and she didn’t want to hear it for the second or more time.

          She may have stayed silent for a little too long as she felt Baekhyun glancing down at her and saw Wooyoung raising both of his brows as if he was patiently waiting for her response.

          “Um, uh, yeah. That’s… that’s right.” Her voice slowly faded as she finished. Though she wanted to completely contest what Wooyoung and wanted to still act normal despite the situation, she couldn’t bring herself to do so, as the mere sight and presence of Wooyoung was enough to make her uncomfortable and uneasy.

          The grin on Wooyoung’s lips grew wider and Taeyeon badly wanted to wipe it off of his face. If only I could.

          “How had married life been for you guys? It’s not that long since you two got married, am I right?” He asked, and before any of the two could answer, he was distracted as a waiter with drinks passed by them. He called for the guy and picked up a glass for himself.

          “Do you guys want some drinks?” He asked the two.

          Taeyeon and Baekhyun both glanced at each other and Taeyeon was quick to shook her head at Baekhyun.

          “Well, I guess we’re both good.” Baekhyun politely answered.

          “You sure?” Wooyoung asked in which Baekhyun responded with a simple yes. “Alright then. But going back, how’s married life for you two so far?”

          Taeyeon opened to respond but she couldn’t seem to utter some words properly. And she knew it was all because of Wooyoung alone. She was thankful that Baekhyun was quick to respond and instead answered the question.

          “It’s been pretty decent and fine, as I would say. I mean we’re both busy with things so I think we haven’t enjoyed everything yet at its fullest.”

          Wooyoung raised both of his brows as he was engulfing his drink, and she knew he was up to no good already. “Just decent and fine?” He asked. “I mean, don’t you think that’s a very… generic and dull answer to describe your marriage?”

          When Taeyeon thought he was up to no good, this was what she meant.

          Oh .

          She uneasily shifted on her heels and she tried her best to think of a better way to answer. Right by then she knew he was trying to get them. She knew Wooyoung wasn’t that dumb, and he had probably speculated things already, especially about their relationship and marriage. But of course, she couldn’t let him know the truth in any possible way. Especially him.

          “We’ve really just been busy with things that’s why we haven’t really traveled and enjoyed each other’s company by ourselves. We’re always surrounded by people, you know.” Baekhyun right away uttered. It wasn’t the best answer or excuse but it was enough to at least feed Wooyoung so he could shut up already. But the way his face looked at the moment, Taeyeon was sure he wasn’t going to stop at any moment. Think, Taeyeon, think! Get yourselves out of here! Away from him!

          Wooyoung tilted his head at Baekhyun’s answer, shrugging his shoulders after. “Well, alright then. If you say so.” He commented and Baekhyun and Taeyeon glanced at each other quickly. Baekhyun’s face was painted with a really confused look while Taeyeon was just plainly looked anxious.

          “It’s not that long yet since you got hooked together right?” Taeyeon wanted to roll her eyes so bad with the way Wooyoung was speaking, but instead let out a quick heave before nodding her head at him, at the same time Baekhyun nodded his. “So how long have you guys been together before all of this? How long were you engaged? How did you meet?”

          Baekhyun didn’t need to speak out loud for Taeyeon to feel him panicking as well. As soon as Wooyoung fired out all the questions, Taeyeon panicked immediately. He was digging in. He was getting all of the information that he could get about them. About their relationship. She wanted to say she wasn’t surprised of it, knowing Wooyoung. But nonetheless, here she was, still panicking. As much as she was aware of Wooyoung’s intentions, she wasn’t prepared at this moment, and she knew that she will never be prepared as long as it is anything about Wooyoung.

          None of them were speaking yet as they both rushed through their heads in search of answers to his questions. And of course, they couldn’t just carelessly blurt any answers to those questions, especially when they don’t really have the exact answers. How could they possibly answer them when they were in fact arranged together? But both of them knew very well that they couldn’t just give that away easily. Not to him.

          As Taeyeon and Baekhyun both repeatedly glanced at each other as they tried to find any answers, a sudden voice came behind Wooyoung, suddenly interrupting the three of them.

          “Wooyoung,” the voice called, which immediately made the three of them halt on their stance. “I heard Mr. Jang is looking for you at the lobby.” As the words rolled out of the person’s lips, he finally appeared in front of them; and Taeyeon couldn’t be gladder as soon as she saw who it was.

          Heechul.

          Taeyeon could care less about what her brother was doing there and could only think about how he could get them away from Wooyoung. If there’s anyone who could possibly and surely help them keep a distance from Wooyoung, it’s probably him.

          “Heechul,” Wooyong greeted, flashing a wide smile to the man after. “What a surprise! I didn’t know you’re here!”

          “Well, none of us knew you were here either,” Heechul mumbled and it was enough to wipe the smile off of Wooyoung’s face after.

          “I guess we’re having a little reunion here, huh? Taeyeon, you, and me. It’s just like the old times, don’t you think?”

          Despite Wooyoung’s provoking comments, Heechul just remained calm on his stance, staring intently to Wooyoung in return. “Your father is looking for you at the lobby.” He calmly repeated. “And if I were you I would quickly find my father before his patience runs out.” He added which completely washed away the enthusiasm in Wooyoung’s face.

          Taeyeon couldn’t exactly read Wooyoung’s expression, but one thing she was sure of was that it was nowhere near being glad or any sort of that. He rather looked pissed.

          The two continued to stare at each other’s eyes as if they were planting daggers. As much as Taeyeon wanted to break the tension between the two before anything bad could happen, she couldn’t seem to move any parts of her body. She was almost frozen on her stance, with her hands still clasping onto Baekhyun’s hand and forearm tightly.

          “Well, I guess I’ll see you all around then.” Wooyoung uttered, slowly turning back to both Taeyeon and Baekhyun. “It was nice meeting you again, Baekhyun.” He uttered for the last time before he turned back to Heechul and slowly walked away from the three of them.

          As Taeyeon watched him walking away, she let go of her hands that were holding onto Baekhyun and heaved a rather loud shaky sigh as soon as Wooyoung was far enough from them already.

          “Oh my god.” She muttered with her faint voice as she continued to breathe heavily.

          “Taeyeon, are you okay?” Baekhyun worriedly asked as he held Taeyeon on both of her arms.

          Instead of answering Baekhyun, she turned to Heechul who was also worriedly looking at her and asked him. “Why is he here?”

          Heechul sighed heavily, shutting both of his eyes for a brief moment before glancing up to Taeyeon after. “I don’t know. I didn’t know he was back until I saw the articles online earlier. That’s why I rushed to come here. But enough of the questions, for now, I’ll do what I have to do to keep him away. You both need to get out of here now.”

          Baekhyun furrowed his brows as soon as he heard what Heechul said. “Wait, wait, wait. What is going on here?”

          Instead of answering his question, Heechul just looked at him and asked him instead. “Baekhyun, do you have a car with you?”

          “Yeah. It’s parked in front of the museum.”

          “,” Heechul muttered. “Alright, there’s a door right there where you could exit instead of the entrance in front. I’ll inform everyone about Wooyoung’s presence and have him distracted for a while as you two leave. You should go now.” He motioned for them to leave and make their way to the exit already but Taeyeon held back onto his arm and faced him instead.

          “Heechul,” she just mumbled his name, but it spoke so many things to him. Her face was full of her worries which she couldn’t let out of her head and Heechul couldn’t help but feel a tinge of pain in his heart as he looked at his sister.

          “I’ll handle this, don’t worry.” He knew what she wanted to know and despite things, he would really do anything to keep his words.

          He softly planted a kiss on her forehead before he motioned for them to leave already. “Now go, before he could even get back here.”

          The two did what they were told to and quickly walked towards the door which Heechul pointed at them. As they finally reached the door, Taeyeon took a quick glance back to Heechul and saw that he was still on his place, keeping an eye at them. When she saw him nodding his head at them, she turned back and quickly exited the museum, finding their way to their vehicle in the parking lot in front.

          She wasn’t sure how they managed to locate Baekhyun’s car in a short amount of time, but she could care less about that matter at the moment as she wanted to quickly get out of there, and get away anywhere near Wooyoung.

          As they got inside the car, Baekhyun was quick to start the engine and get them away from the museum.

***

It was already in the later hours of the night when they pulled into the road to go back home as they were told by Heechul to do so. The ride was relatively quiet, and it was not the usual and comfortable silent that they used to have whenever they’re inside the car. It was ironically… deafening.  

          Baekhyun was madly confused with the turn of events earlier. He wanted to ask so many things but he wasn’t sure how to properly address them. He personally wanted to feel a little mad with everything that had happened. But he knew that was not right of him to do so. Probably he could say he was pissed, at least. From being confused about everything. About Wooyoung, about Heechul. And about Taeyeon.

          On the other hand, Taeyeon could utterly feel the change in Baekhyun’s mood as soon as they hopped inside the car. He had been heaving loud sighs from time to time, and she knew it wasn’t a good sign. She thought he has every right to be mad, especially when she had deprived him of his right to be knowledgeable about her situation. She now regretted not listening to her brother, when he told her to tell everything to Baekhyun. She shouldn’t have waited until this moment. But what else could she do? I guess the damage has been really done already.

          They both had been occupied with their thoughts throughout their ride that none of them even realized that they were home already until Baekhyun pulled in front of their house. As the vehicle halted, both of them remained on their seats and sat silently, both afraid to speak up and initiate a conversation.

          As the silence continued to linger longer, Baekhyun faintly cleared his throat which seemed like brought them both back in their senses. Slowly, they found themselves getting out of the car and walking towards the house, with Baekhyun following after Taeyeon quietly.

          It was already dark inside when Taeyeon opened the door. A faint light was coming through the few lights that were left on at the kitchen. Other than that, it was way too silent as well, as if the silence that had been lingering around them since they left the museum hadn’t been too much for them alone.

          As they both walked through the house, Taeyeon immediately went towards the kitchen, suddenly feeling thirsty with everything that has happened. She didn’t know what to do anymore. She didn’t know how she should talk to Baekhyun about everything and explain it. She couldn’t find the urge in her at the moment. Her mind was in total shambles, and all she knew at that moment was she needed a drink.

          As Taeyeon walked her way to the kitchen, Baekhyun slowly and quietly closed the door behind him, keeping an eye on Taeyeon as she walked slowly away from him. As he finally closed the door, he contemplated what he should do next. Should I follow her… or let her be for a while and do my thing as well? He wasn’t sure. He knew he needed answers, and his mind wouldn’t stop thinking until he gets answers. But another part of him was also telling him to take things slowly and let her breathe even for a day.

          But that’s what we both have been doing all along. We’ve been giving each other space and time. Way too much of both. That’s why neither of us could resolve things that are happening. And here I am, confused as hell about everything and I feel mad about it.

          His mind was running wild and it’s killing him, that’s for sure.

          He stayed for a good more minute on his stance before he moved and followed after Taeyeon into the kitchen. He knew it was one of those impulsive decisions that he has made in his life as he didn’t really know what he should do or he should say the moment they come face to face, but he just thought it was probably the right thing to do. He thought they couldn’t just keep on running away from each other keeping things to themselves. It would only cause more damage, not just to whatever type of relationship they have, but also even to the problems surrounding them.

          Taking a canned beer from the fridge, Taeyeon right away cracked open the drink and took a good amount gulps of it. felt so dry as if she hadn’t drunk anything for the day yet. And weirdly, though she could have gone for the cold water in the fridge, she seemed to be drawn to the alcoholic drink instead.

          After gulping down almost half of the drink already, she turned around to the counter and was surprised to see Baekhyun standing probably a foot or so away from the counter, with his eyes intently looking at her. For some odd reason, Taeyeon couldn’t read his eyes. It was rather, a new look. Something she had never seen before from him. And she knew it wasn’t anything near good given the situation they’re in. Because of that, she felt the urge of gulping once more to swallow the lump that suddenly made its way on at that short moment, even though she wasn’t drinking on the can any longer.

          Silence further grew in the room and still, none of them had any clue what to say. As Taeyeon stood on her place longer, she thought she should probably take advantage of this time to try and talk to Baekhyun. Frankly, she didn’t know what she should tell him, and more so, she didn’t know how could she arrange everything in her head and tell it all with clarity. Her mind was a mess, and she clearly hadn’t recovered from what happened at the museum. And I’m not certain that I will actually be able to recover from it soon.

          Taking a deep and silent breath, she slowly made her way towards the counter, placing the can of beer on top of it, as well as both of her arms after. She again swallowed the lump on that couldn’t seem to go away before looking straight to his eyes. But strangely this time, she couldn’t seem to stare at his eyes for so long, and she didn’t exactly know why. There was something in his eyes that made it for her to look at. Instantly averting her eyes away from his, which was still intently watching her, she once again took a deep breath and sighed heavily.

          As she slowly brought herself to finally speak up, she swallow