Chapter 12:

*.☽.*
 

It was almost six in the evening when we got back to the entrance of the hiking place. I told him that I needed to go home because if I didn't, my aunt would be worried, not to mention suspicious of my actions. She knew that I didn’t know anyone else in the town so it was hard to convince her that it was okay for me to go home late because I was with someone. And if that happened to be the case, she would for sure interrogate me with that person’s identity. That would be a complicated scenario so it would be better for me to go home early.

However, I knew that Baekhyun didn't like the idea of us parting this early.

"Can't we stay together a little longer?" He asked with a wistful look on his face

I turned to him and couldn't help but sigh. I might have changed my mind a little too fast when he pulled me into a gentle hug. And I had to already admit the fact that I was such a weak person when it came to him.

"I don't want to go too." I blurted out unconsciously.

"Then can we not leave just yet?" His voice sounded raspy all of a sudden as he tilted and buried his face on my shoulder.

"But you'll have to drive back to Seoul." I reminded him while I bask myself in the warmth of his embrace. 

"Seoul can wait." He said in a muffled voice.

I automatically smiled. His words were making me feel so soft and this side of him was impossible to resist. We stayed that way for a few seconds while I listened to the rustling of the leaves of the trees around us as the night fell right above us.
 

*.☽.*

It was about thirty minutes after when we both finally agreed to leave since the wind began to blow colder. Unlike our ride going to the hiking place a while ago, which was filled with secret glances, we talked comfortably on our way back.

He asked me to tell him something about myself. And of all the things that I could reveal, I told him about the difficulty I had with following and remembering directions. I also disclosed to him that I got lost when I was ten years old and that was when it all started.

"How about now?" He asked as he glanced at me from the road.

"Well it's not that bad anymore but it mostly happens when I'm new to a particular place. Just like how I got lost a couple of times when I was finding my way up there in the mountain.”

"Well, congratulations!" He said, his eyes on the road.

"Huh?"

"You found your way to me." He added ending his remarks with a laugh.

"You're crazy," I told him as I laughed too.

I told him to drop me off at the same place. He knew that I would nag about the risks of him being seen so he immediately agreed. I got out and directly went to the compartment of his car for my bike. I was trying to exert as much effort to carry the weight of the bike as a pair of strong hands took it from me. I didn’t even have time to protest because, in just a matter of seconds, my bike was already right next to him.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked and stared at him unbelievably. “You should have stayed inside.”

"It's dark and no one's around. And this bike is heavy." He explained, emphasizing his last word.

He was right. The bike was heavy and this part of the road was still pretty isolated. And given the time right now, it's quite unlikely to have other people around here. However, I was about to open my mouth to argue when the wind blew. I shuddered.

When I looked at him, I saw how his eyes searched me from head to toe. That, instantly made me feel conscious but then I saw him taking off his denim jacket.

"That dress looks very pretty on you but it's not going to protect you from catching a cold." He said as he moved closer to drape his jacket around me.

I couldn't help but smile because of what he had just done. I suddenly felt a little warm because of his jacket which I must note, smelled exactly just like him.

"Thanks," I muttered, smiling.

"Stop smiling like that." He said looking at me intently.

I did, I stopped smiling right at that instant.

"Or else I'm going to take you with me." He added, his tone surprisingly serious.

I blushed so I looked away fast enough not wanting him to see it. I was afraid that my blushing face might give him some crazy ideas again.

"I should go," I said in a small voice. "Goodnight Baekhyun." I bid as I began to step away from him.

"Wait." He called from behind.

I immediately stopped walking.  I looked back at him and saw him walking towards me. I didn't even have enough time to breathe anymore when he suddenly grabbed me away from my bike, sending it crashing on the ground for the second time today.  

He pinned me next to his body, his arms tightly draped around me. My hands balled into fists, were folded in front of his chest, unable to move because of his jacket.

"You know you can't leave like that." I heard him say as I met his eyes, his right hand cupping my face.

I was taken aback so I blinked a few times as I looked back at him. I was supposed to reason out and remind him that we were outside when he suddenly tilted his head to the side before closing the distance between us, his lips claiming mine.  

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on how he kissed me gently and carefully this time. His lips tenderly brushed against mine. The softness wrecked my ability to think coherently again. I felt my hands slowly unclasped, my palms relaxing right on top of his chest.

"Goodnight baby." He said, his voice above a whisper with his thumb caressing my cheek before finally letting me go.

Gosh, the endearment. I bit my lips to stop myself from overreacting.   

"Text me when you get home." He said as he lifted my bike from the ground and handed it to me so I could hold it. "And don't get sick, okay?" He added, his beautiful signature smile accentuating his handsome face.  

I could only nod in response to everything he said because honestly, his voice, his words, his sweetness, and his presence all left me somewhat intoxicated.
 

*.☽.*

The next few days went so abruptly and were filled with Baekhyun reigning my thoughts most of the time. Everything still felt so unreal that I get to spend a few seconds spacing out after waking up in the morning and having to convince myself that Byun Baekhyun was indeed my boyfriend.

It had been eight days since we last saw each other in person. He tried to visit me four days ago but it got canceled because his manager was not able to inform him about a certain schedule ahead of time.

He was busy but he always made sure to send me a text message just like a normal boyfriend would do.  He would also call me in the morning before his schedule started. Somehow, our relationship felt normal minus the fact that I sometimes see him on TV and hear a lot about him from Ji Hye.

One thing I observed about Baekhyun was the fact that he was very vocal. He was also straightforward, especially about how he felt. He was funny but he also got the right dose of seriousness when necessary. He was cute and charming and I couldn’t blame myself for feeling this way towards him.

To be honest, I felt a little scared. I mean, I guess this feeling would always be present. His life was way too different from mine and I couldn’t fully convince myself to be confident with how things were going to be between us. However, every time I would hear his voice from the other line or read his reassuring messages, I get to shake the feeling away somehow. I didn’t like feeling this way. I didn’t want my insecurities to get in the way. I knew I had to do something about it.

It was a quarter past eight, on a Thursday evening, when I received a call from Lizzie. She’s one of my closest friends back in Australia. She’s also Korean but was raised there. We were in the same University in College, had the same major and since then we became good friends. Though, she’s a little different from me in some aspects. She liked partying and bar hopping which I must note were not my cup of tea. She’s friendly and good with people too. She’s a social butterfly.

“I’m going to be in Korea next week!” She announced using her usual perky tone.

“Really?” I asked, surprised. “Why? I mean, what about work?”

“Well, my mom and I are attending my cousin’s wedding so I filed a one-week leave from the company.” She explained. “So don’t give me your lame excuses and go meet me in Seoul.” She added as if she already knew that I was going to give her an alibi.

“Seoul is four hours away from here Liz,” I told her in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe you, Hailey!” She exclaimed, emphasizing my English name. “We haven’t seen each other for months and you’re also being so vague about your return to Australia, and you won’t even meet me just because Seoul is four hours from there?!” She ranted.   

I laughed at her reaction. For some reason, I knew that this was how she would react.

“I’m just kidding Liz,” I told her immediately. ”I’m going to go meet you there. Happy now?”

“You better show up in front of me Park.” She replied, not sounding so convinced. “Or else I’m not going to talk to you, EVER!” She paused. “And I’m not even kidding this time.”

I laughed once more. “I promise. Okay? I’ll see you next week. Just give me the details.”

“Good.” She muttered, relief evident in her tone. “But will you be okay to travel to Seoul alone? I mean, I wanna see you but I wanna make sure that you won’t get lost or something like that.”

“So you suddenly got worried, eh?”

“Damn, why do you have to have this crazy thing about directions?”

I could imagine her rolling her eyes when she said that.

“I’ll be fine Liz.”

“Okay, I’ll give you a call when I arrive next week.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Great!” She beamed. “We’re going to have a lot of fun, I can’t wait.”

“Your definition of fun scares me,” I noted.  

“And your definition of fun makes me cringe.” She rebutted.

We both laughed. We talked for about another fifteen minutes about a guy she met last week. I was trying not to laugh at her the whole time because she sounded like she was smitten with him but she kept denying it.

Talking to her made me miss my life in Australia. My family, my work, and my other friends. However, I love being here too. And yes, things have indeed changed for me since I came back to Korea.

*.☽.*
 

It was ten to eleven that same night when I received a text message from Baekhyun. I was already lying on the bed so I held my phone right above my face.
 

Byun:
Please tell me you’re still up. I need to tell you