Did you hear about the new type of broom??

It’s sweeping the nations..

I reread the text from yesterday, smiling. Recently, it’d become a habit of Baekhyun’s to text me awful puns during the little bits of time he had free. It’d make us both laugh - and it seemed like it was something that gave him a little bit of humour during his not so humorous job. We haven't spoken much over the past few days; he’d told me that he had a 36-hour shift on call and usually didn’t have the time to interact, and when he did have a bit of time, he’d be asleep. Even though I miss him more than I would like to admit, I understand that this is Baekhyun’s job. It’s how his life goes, and will always go, and I promised myself that I would be there for the male if and when he needed me, and it is one I’m going to try to stick to. Plus, it wasn’t like I was that free recently, I had exams coming up that preoccupied my thoughts. Which is why, after my third hour of solid studying, I almost jumped out of my skin at a phone call from my mom. She’d just recently visited the hospital for another appointment with my father.

“Hi, honey. What are you doing?” she asks, her voice sounding distant, as though she has me on a speaker phone. I hear the mumble of people in the background, and assume she is on her way home from her schedule.

“I’m just studying, mom. Why? Do you need something?” I mumble, distracted with the notes I am currently reviewing.

“I just saw Baekhyun.” The tone of her voice is teasing, and I pull myself away from my notes, interested now the man has been brought up. “Your father was tense the whole time,” she giggles, and it’s like I can see her roll her eyes over the phone.

“How did the appointment go, though? Is anything wrong?” I worry about her, knowing that she’d been in more pain recently, even if she had brought up Baekhyun. And also, because I know my father is around her, and I don’t want it to become awkward by talking about him for too long.

“He thinks it might be something called frozen shoulder? I don’t know. I have to go for an x-ray, or something. I’ll tell you about it when I’m home,” she drawls, and tells me she’s going to go shopping now, and hangs up the phone with a chuckle. I return back to my notes, immersing myself in the revision I have to do.

It’s almost 10pm when my phone rings again, but this time, from someone I least expect. I wonder what Baekhyun is calling me so late for, when this is usually a time I would presume he would be asleep.

“Do you want to come and bring Mongryong out on a walk with me?” Baekhyun asks over the phone, cutting straight to the point of the call. It’s late – later than I would like to be out at, especially with a slightly early lecture in the morning happening. Suddenly, I remember what Baekhyun had told me during our first café meeting.

“I thought he stayed with your parents, though?” I query, remembering how Baekhyun told me in the café the first time we actually hung out that he had to hand his dog over to his parents care as he was a little too busy for him.

“He does, but sometimes I take him out to clear my mind. It would be nice if you came,” he admits and at a simple sentence, I feel myself giving in to him and moving to pause the documentary I had been watching on my laptop. I had studied a lot today, and I also thought I needed to clear my mind. Plus, I really wanted to see the man.

“Where do you want to meet?” I ask softly, getting out of my bed and moving over to the closet, preparing to put on a warmer change of clothes as the weather is getting colder recently, and I don’t want to risk getting sick. If I got sick and my mom caught it, it would be very dangerous for her, so I do everything I can to avoid getting anything. Placing my phone on the desk, I put it on loud speaker and rummage through the wardrobe to try and find the clothes I am looking for.

“I’ll come and pick you up, if you want. We can just go on a short walk because it’s late.” He answers, as I pull out the pair of tracksuit pants Baekhyun had previously given me as they were the warmest I owned, as well as a black oversized hoodie underneath my pyjama shirt. Throwing them on as quick as I can, I call out to him a noise of agreement.

“I’ll text you my address, then.” I tell him, pulling some fuzzy socks over my feet at the same time. He hums, telling me to dress warm and clicking the phone call to an end. I text him the address and after about a minute, he responds that he’ll be here in fifteen minutes or so.

Approximately seventeen minutes later, my phone buzzes from a text from Baekhyun, letting me know that he’s outside, waiting. Pulling on my coat and pocketing my phone, I silently creep down the stairs, making sure they don’t creek to avoid waking my sleeping parents. I grab my keys from the dish by the front table, pull on my slip-on shoes and soundlessly make my way out of the door.

Baekhyun is leant against his car door, dog in his arms as he watches me walk towards him. His lips tilt into a soft smile as I near him and he greets me with a breathless hello. The corgi wriggles in his arms as I stand in front, as if he is also saying hello. Cooing, I reach out to pet the dog’s orangey fur, making him move in Baekhyun’s arms further. I giggle as I scratch the spot behind his ear, unaware of Baekhyun’s staring as he watches the interaction with admiration. It is hard to see him under the limited light of the street lamp, but his eyes are twinkling, scrunched at the outer corners. His glasses are perched upon the bridge of his nose as his hair sweeps across his face, looking damp; as though he’s recently washed it. On him is a grey hoodie with colourful writing stretched across the middle. Though it is dark and he has glasses, it’s not hard to notice the dark eyebags that accompany his facial features today.

“Told you he likes new people,” Baekhyun softly laughs, gently placing the dog back to the floor as he takes the lead in his left hand. “Where can we go to walk him?” He asks, watching as Mongryong moves about in circles of excitement. His tail is wagging and I can’t help but laugh at how cute it is.

“There’s a park just around the corner,” I motion with my hands the direction of the park and he shrugs, simply nodding in the direction, indicating for us both to start walking. For a while, there is a peaceful but comforting silence, nothing but the taps of Mongryong’s paw hitting the pavement. It’s an environment where I would usually feel unsafe, being dark and late at night, but with Baekhyun here, it feels nothing but safe.

“The moon is so bright tonight,” he hums, looking up at the sky as Mongryong stops to sniff around. The white light is beaming down on him, making his cheeks shine, the reflection of the moon prominent in his glasses. Turning to me to smile, his glasses dig into the chubby parts of his cheeks. He looks so handsome under the moonlight that I feel my heart flutter. The moment is soon over as the dog pulls Baekhyun away, moving to somewhere else that has spiked his interest.

“Did you have a good day?” I ask, wanting to engage in conversation with him. I wanted to be with him, no matter what we were doing, but I would’ve preferred it even more if we spoke. He sighs, looking down at the ground. Taking it as a hint he doesn’t particularly want to talk about it, I move onto anything else I can think about.

“Do you want to come and meet Sehun with me tomorrow?” I blurt, trying to find any excuse to talk to him, and be with him. He turns to me, a brow raised at my sudden question. “If you just had your 36-hour shift, surely you have some time off now? Right?”

“I have two days,” he murmurs, turning back down the look at the dog who is currently trying to pull Baekhyun forward, though he isn’t moving. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

“No! You wouldn’t be!” I defend myself. “Sehun really wants to meet you! You can even bring your friends, if you want.” Though Sehun had never really told me that he wanted to meet him, I wanted Baekhyun to meet him. Plus, it’s not like he would care who I brought, just as long as I paid.

“You can meet Chanyeol too, I guess. He’s free tomorrow,” Baekhyun deduces and I nod rapidly, agreeing at the offer.

“Sure, doll. I’ll be there,” he smiles, though this time, it doesn’t reach his eyes like it usually does. I frown, wondering if I’d done something to upset the male.

“Are you okay, Baekhyun?” I mumble, not knowing how to approach the topic without upsetting him fur