Chapter 09:

*.☽.*

I saw the corner of his lips curving into a smile and right at that moment, I swore the butterflies in my stomach had turned into birds. Gosh, this man and his words.

I forced my brain to think coherently and come up with a decent reply.

"I-I told you, you should stop saying things like that."

"Because you might go crazy about me?"

"No," I said letting out a little laugh for it not to sound too serious.  

He immediately moved his head to his side, trying to look at me.

"If you tell me I'm more beautiful than that..." I paused and struggled to point at the view in front of us. "I’m afraid it might get jealous and make me ugly."

He moved his head sideways as he laughed.

"If that happens, I will never forgive you. Even though you're Byun Baekhyun." I added smiling.

It was a relief that he somehow found my remarks funny and because of that, I was also able to relax a little bit.

After a few seconds, I told him that my legs didn't hurt anymore. So, I asked him to put me down. He agreed, bending down a little so I could have my legs land on the ground.

"Thanks," I muttered and I got a smile from him in return before he focused his eyes on the view.

"Don't you find it hard?" I asked him wanting to ask him something that I have wondered about.

He looked back at me but didn't say anything. He was probably waiting for my next words.

"I mean, you have to go up here. And you have to make sure no one sees or recognizes you. I'm pretty sure you have to do it all the time, wherever you go. You know, paparazzi? Your fans too. How do you manage all of it?"

"Well..." He paused as he shoved both of his hands inside his pants' pockets. "I got used to all of it already. It's hard...yes, but I know I signed up for this. And the fans, well...it's all about them." He paused to make way for a shrug. "I mean, if not for them, I wouldn't be who and what I am right now, right? I like to make people happy...with what I have or what I can do."

Those words he just said gave me a glimpse of how sincere he seemed to be.

"Now, I understand why my cousin and all your other fans love and adore you."

"Believe me, I love them too." He answered smiling.

I smiled at how genuine he looked and sounded when he said that. It made me feel so soft.

"You deserve it," I told him. "You deserve all the love of your fans. You work hard. You're also very talented and I kind of think you have a good heart." I added smiling at him too.

"Stop, or you're going to make me cry!" He said as he lifted a hand to his eye and pretend like he was wiping his tears, his mouth pouting like a baby. 

I burst out laughing. I laughed so hard I almost forgot who I was with. I momentarily glanced at him and saw that he was just staring at me with a smile fixed on his face.

*.☽.*

Time passed and none of us seemed to notice it.

The beautiful sunset that we witnessed turned into an afterglow and was eventually replaced by stars as the night fell. It was already about thirty minutes past six when we realized that we had to go back since it would be very hard to take the way down due to the absence of light.

We were trying hard to follow the trails since it had quickly become so dark. The only thing that provided light was the pale moon which also struggled to provide lumination due to the heavy layers of the forest trees.

This was why I always made sure I would be able to go home before sundown. I knew how hard it would be for me to go back when it was already dark. Without seeing the trails properly, I could easily get lost.

I saw Baekhyun turn on and used the flashlight feature of his phone. He was walking ahead of me and I tried to follow his steps as I tail right behind him.

Once in a while, I would try to look around and I didn't know why I had to do that. Maybe I wanted to make sure that we were safe. It almost felt like we were starring in some suspense movie with this kind of setup. I was busy doing this while I continued to step forward. I was unaware that Baekhyun stopped on his feet, so when I got to him, I crashed against his chest.

I was so surprised I almost lost my balance that he immediately placed a hand right on the small of my back, holding and pulling me close to him.

Our faces were less than an inch away from touching. My eyes were glued to his lips first before I looked a little bit up to meet his eyes. Sure, I couldn’t see his face clearly because of the dark but I could feel his warm breathing which made my heart beat a little too fast than necessary. I was even so scared to move because I was aware of how close his lips to mine were.

"Are you okay?" He asked while he looked at me intently.

"Y-yeah," I replied as I grew a little more uncomfortable with the minimal space between us again.

It was starting to get cold and having his body next to mine, which I must note felt so warm, was hard to resist. So, before I could do something crazy like wrapping my arms around him, I slightly pushed our bodies away from each other.

"Sorry," I muttered, tucking my hair behind my ears. "I didn't see you right there."

If there was anything I was thankful for with all the darkness, it would be for concealing my probably-already blushing face. I could feel my ears slightly burning. 

"Are you scared?" He asked one more time.

I looked up and because of the small amount of light coming from his phone, I saw how his face looked a little confused.

Was he asking me if I was scared of him? Did I offend him somehow? 

"Ah, no no no…" I answered, using my hands to signal him. "Of course, I'm not scared of you Baekhyun." I laughed nervously. "It was the just really..."

"I mean of this. It's dark and it's cold." He spread his arms sideways as he must have sensed that I was blurting out nonsense again so he intercepted. "But thank God, you're not scared of me." 
Swear, there was a hint of amusement with the way he said the last sentence. 

"Ah," I uttered. "Well, if I were alone right now, I'd be crying already," I told him, trying to sound casual. “Like crying for my dear life.”

He smiled at me and I saw how his eyes glistened because of the struggling lights from the sky.

"You're just wearing a T-shirt Baekhyun," I said as my attention fell to his clothes. Very thin clothes.

He looked at me, probably wondering why I said such a thing. 

"You're right, it's cold. We have to reach the entrance immediately or else you're going to catch a cold." I rambled as I my phone to light my way. "Let's go," I added, walking quickly, passing him by along the way.

I didn't hear any response from him behind me while I tried my best to make sure we were still following the trails. Then I almost jumped on my feet when he suddenly grabbed my wrist.

"Hae Won, wait!" I heard him say.

My attention instantly fell to his hand on my wrist before I looked up at his face.

"You're right. It's quite cold." He told me as I felt his grip on my wrist loosens before he gently held my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. 

I slowly detached my attention from his face as I looked at our hands.

The butterflies in my stomach made their presence known again. Howe