Baekhyun just finished unpacking when he heard the familiar voice of Jeongsuk.

"we're home!" he shouts. 

Baekhyun sighs then takes a long, deep breath. He hasn't seen his mother in so long and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious about how she was doing and what she looked like but the rise of anger in the pit of his stomach didn't go unnoticed and he took another few deep breaths to calm himself down, it wasn't the time to make a scene. 

He pushes himself off the bed and goes downstairs. As he makes his way to the kitchen where he heard the crinkling of plastic bags he remembers the encounter he had not too long ago and makes a note to tell Jeongsuk about the intruders. He walks into the kitchen but stops short at the scene in front of him, Baekhyun stares at Jeongsuk's hand on his mother's waist and her arms wrapped around his neck. They both stared at each other so intently like they were the only people in the room and Baekhyun started feeling sick, the feeling returning in the pit of his stomach threatening to consume his body a mix between sadness and betrayal. 

He coughs loudly and watches as the two adults pull away quickly as if they were doing something horrid. 

"we didn't hear you come down" Jeongsuk reasons 

His mother turns to look at him and Baekhyun hears her gasp. "Baekhyun?" she slowly approached him as if he would disappear if she moved two fast.

Baekhyun took her in, her hair was a soft brown and she wore it straight having it fall over her small shoulders, her frame was thin and petite and had Baekhyun wondering if she was eating well. She had some wrinkles but besides that she looked young and full of life and those eyes were hard to mistaken, he saw them everytime he looked into a mirror, those soft brown orbs.

When she reached him he was engulfed into thin arms, he had to bend down a little to accommodate to her. He felt her body shaking only to realize that she was crying, 

"it's been so long" she says softly.

Baekhyun fought the urge to say something witty and rude because he too was feeling a wave of emotions having her arms wrapped around him.

"it has" is what he settles with. 

She leans back and holds him at arm's length tears streaked down her small face,

"look how big you've grown" she admires "not as tall as your father though" she adds and Baekhyun couldn't help the scoff that escaped his lips. 

Yes he was short, but he didn't need to be reminded all the time of that fact. 

"I'm having a cookout for you tonight, I invited friends and neighbours" she states going back to unpack the rest of the groceries.

Baekhyun opens his mouth ready to tell her that he didn't want a cook out, that he didn't even want to be here when he glances at Jeongsuk who glares at him warningly. Baekhyun was so caught off guard by the sudden reprimand that he shrinks back, what was that for? What did he do? Did he somehow know what he was going to say?

"Baekhyun, would you like to help me in the kitchen?" his mother asks while washing some vegetables in the sink. 

He rubs the back of his neck still feeling eyes on him, what was his problem? Baekhyun felt a bubbling anger, who was he to be looking at him like that?

"no" he says "I'm not much of a cook and I wouldn't want to burn down your kitchen" he declines. He looks over at Jeongsuk giving him a glare of his own before walking out of the kitchen. 

The house starts to feel stuffy and suffocating, Baekhyun was in need of some fresh air so he makes his way down the hall to the back door. The sun beamed down into his face as he stepped outside and he throws and arm up to block it, he notices that the barn he saw wasn't too far from the house just a few feet out into the field. He hasn't been in a barn since that time in first grade his class went to one as a field trip, well, they went a farm and Baekhyun remembered he hated the whole trip, the smells, the sounds, the mud that was made from the spring showers. He remembers he cried to his teacher about wanting to go home, that she should call his dad to come pick him up, in the end he had ended up standing off to the side watching the other kids laugh and play with the animals.

He reaches the barn door and already the smells swirl around his nose making him scrunch his face up in disgust but he didn't want to go back inside with Jeongsuk's glares and his mother's stifiling happiness, he also didn't know where else to go so he opens the barn door and steps inside. 

The barn was huge, you could tell from outside but being inside was a different the story, the ceiling was high above his head and there was a whole second level where he saw stacks of hay and equipment he didn't know how to use. Baekhyun didn't know if he was allowed to be in here but following the rules was never something Baekhyun did, he walked further in looking at all the stalls. There were pigs, sheep's, cows, and goats, he kept walking down further his shoes swishing in clumps of hay all over the floor. He then comes across four horse stalls and he recognizes the two horses he saw earlier in the field, one was a caramel colour with white around it's ankles and a stripe coming down it's nose, it's mane and tail were also white. The other horse was a deep brown with a black mane and tail.

Baekhyun approached the caramel coloured horse and as if it senses an unknown intruder it rears and huffs as if saying stay back. Baekhyun reaches out his hand to pet it but it backs up further into the stall far enough so he couldn't reach. He stares at the horse retracting his hand,

"what are you doing in here?" Baekhyun jumps, startled then swirls around at the presence of another person.

But as Baekhyun looks around he doesn't see anyone, was he imagining it?

"up here" the voice says again and instantly Baekhyun's head inclines up. 

There leaning against the rail of the second level was the boy from earlier, Baekhyun could see he wasn't wearing the baseball cap anymore, his black hair was messy and some strands stuck to his forehead with sweat and suddenly Baekhyun found it hard to swallow, he found the disheveled look on the boy hot despite his mind telling him to stop letting in these thoughts. Baekhyun again didn't know what to say,

"I asked what are you doing here?" the boy asks again now coming down a ladder that was perched near the free space of the upper level.

Baekhyun watches as he descends down the ladder his muscles bunching as he grabs the sides and he subconsciously his lips. What was wrong with him? He's seen tons of guys with toned muscles why was this guy any different?  But even so Baekhyun's mouth goes dry as the boy jumps down to the ground.

"I-I wanted to see the barn" he stutters. 

Baekhyun kicks himself for the way he was acting, he's seen a lot of attractive men before, this boy should just be another face, so why?

The boy looks at Baekhyun and he can feel himself weakening under the stare of those pretty, dark brown eyes.

"well you've seen it, now go" the boy says coming closer 

Baekhyun collects himself and folds his arms at the rude tone in the boys voice "you don't own this barn" he says 

The boy watches Baekhyun and his stomach churns at the intensity of his gaze "I work here everyday, so in a way I do. This isn't a place for princesses" he says nonchalantly 

"I'm not a princess" Baekhyun argues 

The boy scoffs and walks passed him towards the horses stall, he reaches out his hand to the caramel horse Baekhyun was just trying to pet, he was ready to say that that horse wasn't particularly the loving type when the horse suddenly nuzzles it's nose to the handsome boys hand. The boy then proceeds to rub the nose of the horse gently 

"Lilly doesn't like strangers" the boy says in low voice "so you should probably go, your causing her distress" the boy glances back at Baekhyun and his chest does little flips flops.

Baekhyun was already ready to leave, these different feelings that were surfacing and attacking him at once were overwhelming him, he's only been here one day and he has already had enough of the place. He walks back to the entrance of the barn all the while feeling the boys eyes on him.