Chapter 11:

*.☽.*

Oh god.

For one moment there, it almost felt like everything started to spin around us. It was like everything turned into what seemed to be a faded background and the only thing clear was the two of us. He was gazing at me and it took every ounce of energy I have left to meet his eyes. It was as if I was being hypnotized. My eyes followed his every move. His eyes, his lips, his hair, his hands.

I swore the sound of my heartbeat was likely to defeat the wind because it was all that I could hear. I was just standing there, speechless, yet everything was in chaos inside me. I couldn't think straight. I had a hard time convincing myself that he just confessed, that he just told me the very words I would want to hear. And the fact that I was aware of who he was made everything seem so unreal.  

Then I heard something, it was an approaching sound. I looked behind and saw a car going in our direction. I bit my lower lip as I became more tense and rattled at the same time. I also saw how panic slightly took over the look on his face when I looked back at him. He wasn't wearing anything to cover his face so standing in the open was a very bad thing. He was very much exposed and we both needed to come up with something real quick or else we would both be in big trouble.

"Baekhyun-" I uttered helplessly as I heard the vehicle nearby but he, without any warning, pulled me into a tight hug. He also spun our bodies around so fast that I swore my feet left the ground for a second, making sure he had his back on the road right before the car passed by.

I felt his hand at the back of my head, my face buried in his neck. I had my eyes closed for a while and I only opened them when I noticed how audible his heartbeat was. It was racing, maybe because of what just happened. I spent a few seconds listening to it. His body also felt so warm just like the last time. And yes, I was too focused on him that it was too late for me to realize where my hands were. My hands were wrapped around him. I was hugging him back and that realization instantly made me blush. It also nudged me back to the reality that we were still on the road.

I was sure that the coast was clear yet for some reason, we remained that way for the next few moments. My hands seemed too scared to make any movements just as his hands were also still in the same place.

When I was finally able to convince my entire body to detach from him, he refused to let me go. Hugging me even tighter this time. 

I was about to open my mouth to protest as I removed my hands around him when he started to speak.

"Please let me hold you a bit longer." He said almost whispering next to my ear and it immediately sent shivers down my spine that I could only bite my lips in response. 

"I like you." He paused as I felt him fill his lungs with air. "I really like you."

"Baekhyun, I-" I didn't know why or how I had the nerve to open my mouth but it ended up being cut once more.

"Shhh..." He intercepted. 

"Can I be very honest with you?" I heard him ask as he loosened his arms around me before finally letting me go.

I was too overwhelmed to reply or even nod. But then I guess, he took my silence as an agreement. 

"You know, things seldom turn out easy for me. Especially when it's about how I feel.” He said looking straight into my eyes. “There are just a lot of things that I want to do but I have all eyes on me so I have to be very careful all the time. And whenever I try to think of the possible consequences, I get a little scared…” He paused as he momentarily looked away and took a deep breath. “I'm scared to hurt people around me, especially those who trust me. And believe me, I've lived that way for a while now." He tilted his head down as he lifted a hand to brush his hair up, revealing his forehead.

I felt a tug in my heart. I couldn’t imagine what he had to go through to get to where he was right now. He must’ve sacrificed a lot of things.

When he looked up, he made sure to meet my eyes again and my heart automatically reacted to his stare by pounding. He let go of his hair and he slightly stuck his tongue out to wet his lips before talking once again. 

"But you, the way I feel about you, I know it's something I can't turn away from."

I swore I instantly felt like falling to the ground. My knees felt weak after hearing those words from him. I didn't know what to say or what to do because  I still couldn't think properly. All I knew was that if I didn't say something, I might end up slapping myself to make sure that I wasn't dreaming because all of these felt like a dream. His words were something I'd only heard in the movies. This couldn't be real, could it?

"Baekhyun I.." I stopped and closed my mouth as I failed to come up with a decent reply again. 

Gosh, I felt so stupid right now. I was fully aware that he was waiting for me to say something.

"Do you like me?" He unexpectedly asked.

Surprised, I immediately met his eyes. 

“Please don’t –"

"Do you like me?" He asked me once again, ignoring my attempt to reason out.

I was looking at his face and for some reason, I got distracted by how good he looked and immediately realized that I need to get him out of there.

"Baekhyun, you're not wearing anything to cover your face. You're too exposed here." I told him and was miraculously able to move and step away from him.

I knew that was so stupid of me to respond that way but I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t think properly and I didn’t want to do something that I might regret later.

I walked with my bike towards his car expecting him to follow me but I heard no footsteps behind me. 

"Do you like me?" He asked for the third time, this time a little bit louder since I distanced myself away from him.

I stopped on my feet. I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath. I felt like exploding because of suppressing all these emotions. I slowly turned around to face him again and found him still standing in the same spot. I met his eyes and though I wasn't standing close to him, I knew that he looked a little hurt. 

“Do you like me?” It was the fourth time, his eyes piercing straight into my being. 

I looked at him from head to toe. He's definitely not some ordinary guy for whom I have feelings. He's Byun Baekhyun. He's one of Korea's top celebrities and I didn't know if I could handle this. But seeing him right now made me feel so weak. It made me question if being rational would be the right thing to do. My heart was racing and my face was burning at the same time. I knew I just couldn't contain this any longer.

"Yes," I muttered as I nodded. "Yes. Baekhyun. I like you." I added trying my best to prevent my voice from shaking.

I saw how his face lit up after hearing it from me and I couldn't help but let go of the tears that were already pooling in my eyes. 

"But you’re Byun Baekhyun and I don’t know if I had the right to feel this way about you.”

Hearing it, he suddenly made hasty steps toward me with a determined look on his face. And I almost went deaf because of the pounding behind my chest as I saw him approaching.

“But I like you very much that I can't even think straight right now," I added still trying to keep my composure.