"So, everything going well at the Uni? I'm sorry I haven't gotten to spend much time with you guys recently. It's just the job, it's been a bit crazy lately", Mrs. Do sighed, recounting her stresses to her son, as she marinated chicken on the kitchen counter that Thursday night.

"Mom, you don't have to worry about us. Just don't over-work yourself please" Kyungsoo replied, taking a momentary break from cutting the vegetables on board. "I'm sorry I haven't been to the office the past month. I'll visit after the monthly assessments, hopefully", He often helped his mother with business matters, especially since he started his degree in the subject. He wanted to be fully prepared and up to date with everything when he joined next year.

"And how's Seungwan? Everything going well with her?", Kyungsoo's heart skipped a beat, hearing the girl's name from his mother as their poetry reading ran through his mind.

He had been in a daze the whole day thinking about Seungwan, smiling like an idiot occasionally, feeling a different kind of happy he hadn't felt before. Maybe it was because he had decided to accept whatever was going on in his mind and heart and to just let go and live with it. A part of him told him to stop with whatever he was feeling, but a greater reckless part of him told him to just accept it. And he did, which made him feel strangely at peace, like this was his destiny all along.

"Yeah she's fine", Kyungsoo quickly replied to placate his mother.

"So, you people are going on dates and everything?", Mrs. Do wasn't in the mood of letting the topic go so easily.

Kyungsoo stopped cutting the vegetables. Should I just tell her we aren't dating? The thought crossed his mind but he had to brush it away. He couldn't just tell his mother now, without first discussing it with Seungwan.

"Yeah, it's good", Kyungsoo lied, hoping his mother won't probe any more. But his prayers weren't answered.

"Really? When was the last time you people went on a date?"

Kyungsoo sighed. "Seungwan and I are in the same university, Mom, remember? I see her everyday!"

"Her and 500 other girls. Are you dating all of them?", Mrs. Do had now left the task at hand and folded her hands on her chest. Kyungsoo closed his eyes in exasperation, and then turned around to face her.

"You people haven't been on a date since that lunch, have you?", Mrs. Do asked rhetorically. Kyungsoo opened his mouth to make up some excuse but was stopped by his mother's hand gesture.

"It's Okay, Kyungsoo. There is no need to say anything. I already know", Mrs. Do sighed.

"What do you mean?", Kyungsoo looked away quickly, not wanting her to be any more suspicious. His mother was his friend, before everything else, and he often wondered how she seemed to know exactly whatever was going on with him even when he himself didn’t. Today was no exception.

"What I mean is – “ Mrs. Do took a few steps in her son's direction, her expression solemn as she looked up at him intently. "-that I know you, dear. You're my son, how could I not? Do you really think I don't know how you feel? That why you're holding back, feeling a burden that isn't yours alone in the first place?"

Kyungsoo still didn't lift his gaze. "I don't know what you're – “

"You don't have to keep pretending. I know. And I beg this of you, don't feel that way. I know you want to become responsible and assist in lessening my burdens but you don't have to put your life on hold for that!" She paused for a few moments. "You will do whatever it is that you're meant to do when the time comes, but I would hate it, absolutely hate it, if you miss out on the more important part of your life because of that. Because time doesn't wait for anyone" Kyungsoo looked up for the first time in a while to meet his mother's gaze, feeling the intensity of emotion in it and he swallowed.

"You really mean that, right?", He asked intently and a smile broke out on Mrs. Do's face. "With all my heart"

Kyungsoo naturally leaned into her, getting enveloped in the motherly warmth as she wrapped her arms around him and he snuggled closer. "Stop holding back, dear. I don't want you to have regrets, especially in case of love. Because not everyone gets to experience it"

Love? The word didn't feel as alien to Kyungsoo in that moment as it always did and he smiled, feeling lightened from a burden. "Thanks, Mom"

None of the two budged from their position as Jongin came down the stairs into the lounge that connected to the kitchen, and whistled seeing the scene in front of him. "And what do we have here! Is everything okay?", Jongin pouted and Kyungsoo lifted his head from Mrs. Do's shoulder briefly to scowl at his brother before turning back.

Jongin then gasped dramatically. "Oh My God! Is D.O. hyung going to the army?"

Kyungsoo finally separated from his mother sighing, to turn towards a gaping Jongin. "Hyung, why didn't you tell me? Please don't go yet! I thought we were going to enlist together, once I was 25!"

Kyungsoo shook his head, smiling at his brother's concern for him as well his idiocy, as he turned towards the vegetables he was cutting a while ago. "I just decided I should leave first. Seeing as you don't seem to be growing up mentally!"

“Well, at least I’m growing in height! Can’t say the same about you, though”

Kyungsoo shot daggers at his brother. “You see this knife in my hand?”

Mrs. Do stepped in before Jongin could retort. "Stop teasing him Kyungsoo! He's not going anywhere, Jongin- ah. Don't worry"

"You're the one who's way too erted for his age, Kai. Your world revolves around girls and nothing else. How are you even my brother?" Kyungsoo reprimanded him.

"And your world revolves around who nowadays?", Jongin smirked, inching his face teasingly towards Kyungsoo. "Mom, has hyung told you how he’s smitten by this Wendy girl?", Jongin sang turning to Mrs. Do, ignoring a glaring Kyungsoo. "And how he wants to be her one and only Peterpan-Oww!" Jongin flinched as Kyungsoo smacked him on the arm and then picked up his knife in warning. "Shut up while I'm being nice!"

"I should make a video of this!", Jongin took out his cell phone quickly. "I'm going to send this to Seungwan shii and tell her to save herself while she stil –  Stop it hyung!" Kyungsoo ran after Jongin with the knife still in his hand, as Jongin muttered indecipherable apologies and retorts running away, the video still recording on his phone.

_

Baekhyun woke up with a smile next day, the conversation he had with Taeyeon last night the first thing that came to his mind.

Taewitch: Baekhyun? You awake?

He had received her message around 11:00 at night, just after he had returned home to discover his friends had brought a drunk Chanyeol to his house, instead of going to the dorm. He’d settled them in before turning in to sleep himself.

Me: Yeah? Why are you still up?

Incoming call from Taewitch......

He had almost dropped his mobile in alarm, seeing the caller ID, but quickly composed himself sitting up in his bed.

"Hello?", Baekhyun answered the call, trying to be non chalant.

"Hi, Sorry for calling this late"

Baekhyun cleared his throat. "No problem" Awkward "Everything okay?" Baekhyun couldn't help the flicker of nostalgia that hit him, as he remembered how they used to talk on phone till late at night back in high school.

"I just wanted to talk to you about tomorrow – “, She sounded serious. "Let's try and act like adults for once, okay? If not for our sake than for our friends. I don't like being labelled immature so let's keep our tongues under control. Just for tomorrow. Alright?"

Baekhyun was a little surprised at her words but recovered quickly and then smirked deviously. "Aww, you don't like fighting with me, do you?"

 Taeyeon scoffed, probably regretting calling him already. "I’ve said what I wanted to say and you better keep that in mind, Baekhyun! Goodbye!", Taeyeon ended the call and Baekhyun chuckled.

Me: Okiee Taengooo!

He had ended up at the shopping mall after his classes the next day, and had gotten his hair freshly dyed beige blonde. His thoughts had lingered to Taeyeon and on impulse he’d gone looking for a gift for her. He genuinely did want to try and have a good time with her, especially considering she’d called and asked. He knew it must not have been easy for her to let her ego go.

It's just to keep everything friendly between us like she asked, he convinced himself as he paid for the Jack Skellington hoodie he had bought for her and smiled unconsciously as he reminisced how much Taeyeon used to like the Halloween character.

As he passed by the string of shops, a particular yellow flower displayed on multimedia screen of a flower studio caught his eye.

Flower of the day: Daffodil

Symbolism: Symbolizes regard and chivalry. It is indicative of rebirth and new beginnings.

New begginings huh? Baekhyun gave in to the urge to buy them after reading the description. A part of him really did want to begin anew with Taeyeon, to forget any bad blood they had between them. He knew it wasn't possible to completely delete the past they had, but it couldn't hurt to try and make things a little more amicable right?

He didn't register the grin that was plastered on his face and the skip in his steps, as he had walked back leisurely to his car, holding the bouquet of beautiful daffodils carefully in his hands. He couldn't help but feel excited for the evening.

_

Taeyeon returned from the library on an early leave that evening. Much to her disappointment, Seungwan and the rest had already left for the party.

Wendy: Sorry for leaving early, Yixing Oppa called us and asked us to come over a little earlier to get some decorations done. See you there!

Taeyeon huffed in exasperation seeing the message.

Me: How am I supposed to come on my own without the car? On foot?

Wendy: Yixing Oppa will pick you in an hour! Be ready!

Taeyeon put away her phone. She had a strange sense of foreboding that they were up to something.

Me: Krys, where's the outfit I took out in the morning to wear? I can't find it anywhere....

Soojung: Yeah, that one won't look good on you. I left another one hanging for you in the store wardrobe why don't you wear that?

Taeyeon's eyes widened upon seeing the dress. It was a collared black lace dress, the hem of which would reach just above her knees. She had fallen in love with it seeing it on display in a clothing shop a few weeks ago, but immediately brushed away any thought of buying it seeing the price tag. What kind of a person paid a fortune for a piece of cloth? Her prudent-self had refused to indulge in the temptation.

Me: Oh My God, Krys! When did you get this? Thankyou sooo much!

Soojung and Seungwan had given her the cold shoulder when she had demanded her birthday gift from them, saying that they were tight on budget and would get her something next month and she had pretended to be angry, unaware.

Krystal: Haha, surprised? Happy Birthday! Now put it on and get ready to dazzle everyone!

Taeyeon freshened up and got into the dress. It had been so long since she’d last dolled up. Making a pony tail that left a few strands of hair framing the side of her face and putting on a sneaker on her free foot, she practiced walking around in the living room wearing the ankle brace in the other. She was happy to discover that she could now walk comfortably without crutches, all thanks to the care of people around her. It was times like these when she realized how lucky she was to have the family she had in her life. They had given her so much more than her real father ever had and she couldn't love them enough for it.

Alone in the house waiting for Yixing to show up, Taeyeon decided to kill time with nail art. By the time it was done and dried, she had started getting impatient as there was still no sign of Yixing and it was nearly eight at night.

…………………………………………………………………..

"Where are you, Yixing? I’m so late!", came Taeyeon’s voice over Yixing’s cell, as he immediately put it on speaker and hushed the others.

"Ahh sorry Taeyeon-ah! I'm really sorry! I got held up with something here and forgot!", Yixing feigned an apology, and after getting a thumbs up from Junmyeon went ahead. "I'll just call Baekhyun and ask him to pick you, he's still on his way I think!"

"What?", Taeyeon sounded exasperated. "How can you do this?"

"I'm sorry! Really! Gotta go!", He quickly ended the call before Taeyeon could complain more and high-fived the rest of them before proceeding to tell Chanyeol to dial Baekhyun.

………………………………………………………

Taeyeon closed her eyes clutching her phone tightly, frustration building up inside her. She didn't want to get her mood ruined just yet by meeting Baekhyun first as she’d promised she was going to be amicable today. She couldn't really be angry at Yixing either could she? It wasn't his fault. In fact, she should be thanking him for all the arrangements he was doing on her behalf.

Me: No need to ask Baekhyun, Lay! I'll just call a taxi!

The last thing Taeyeon needed was a grumpy Baekhyun on her hands, nagging her about how he had gotten late having had to go out of the way to pick her. She was about to call the taxi service when Hyuk messaged her.

Hyuk: Taeyeon, are you there yet?

Me: No! Are you?

Hyuk: No, just leaving.

Taeyeon quickly thought over her options, and considering the fact that Hyuk lived in the vicinity and was only leaving, it was better to go with him than wait for the taxi.

Me: Well, could you do me a huge favor and pick me up on your way too?

_

Everything had been strangely quiet for Baekyun that day, since he returned from the mall after buying the gift for Taeyeon. He was surprised his friends weren't wreaking havoc at his place, and hadn't rampaged him with calls and texts, that were to be expected in lieu of the party that was going to take place. The first text he received was around 7:00 in the evening, from Jongdae.

Troll: No need to hurry there! We are still getting ready to go so you better not reach before us!

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. He knew his friends were planning some surprise, which wouldn't be so much since he already knew, but he would let them do what they wanted for once.

Me: Sure princess! Take your time!

He killed time playing games, considering he would only need a few minutes to reach his destination on car from where he lived. He was about to leave when he received Chanyeol's call.

"Hello?"

"Hi Baekhyun-ah! Could you do me a huge favor?", Came Yixing's voice.

"Sure hyung, what is it?"

"Would you mind picking up Taeyeon on your way? Seungwan and Soojung came here first without her?"

Baekhyun thought for a moment, trying not to show any kind of excitement at the prospect of picking his arch nemesis. "Umm, I guess I can, if you insist?"

"Thanks so much! See ya!", Yixing ended the call.

_

Taeyeon pulled the trench coat more tightly around her as she stepped out of the house, the late November breeze chilling her to the bone. Hyuk smiled upon discovering her and she smiled back.

"Thanks a lot Hyuk", Taeyeon greeted as she came – limped –  up to him. He kept staring at her without moving or saying anything.

“Hyuk?”, She prodded after a second or two, when it looked like he wasn’t planning on moving from his position.

 “Y-Yeah, what? Sorry!”, The guy in question blushed to his neck, snapping back, rubbing the back of his head lightly as he moved to open the door for her. “You look really beautiful. Black suits you”

“Thanks, you cleaned up nicely too”, Taeyeon replied as she settled into the car and tried to get comfortable. The brace on her foot bothered her more than the actual injury had. She would’ve liked to wear heels.

"No, problem. Be careful!", Hyuk caught her arm, as she stumbled slightly stepping into the car. "You sure you'll be able to manage without crutches?"

"Yeah, it's all better now", Taeyeon reassured him as he settled into the driver's seat. She instinctively reached out to turn on the heating system of the car as Hyuk did the same and their fingers brushed slightly.

"God, your hands are freezing!", Hyuk exclaimed chuckling as he took her hands in his warmer ones and started rubbing them.

“Thanks”, Taeyeon said after a while, pulling her hands away from his. “You okay?”, Taeyeon asked in concern as he fumbled with the keys. The guy looked a little….rattled.

“Yeah, I’m fine!”, he said a little too enthusiastically and turned the heating down a little, as they pulled away from the curb.

.........................................

Not too far from them, stood a dejected Baekhyun leaning against his car as he took in the scene in front of him. He had arrived only a few minutes ago and parked the car a little distance from the house, seeing as another one was already parked out front. He had been slightly surprised seeing Hyuk in front of it, pacing around as if he was waiting for someone.

Taeyeon made her appearance as he got out of the car. She looked as effortlessly beautiful as ever and butterflies erupted in the pit of his stomach seeing her. But that only lasted for so long as he saw her approach Hyuk who, looking dazed himself, settled her into the car.

He wanted to approach them but he felt rooted to his spot, a thousand questions running through his mind. His heart sank further as he saw Hyuk rubbing her hands like a scene out of a romantic drama, through the rear windshield of his car. He only snapped out of his trance as he saw the vehicle drive ahead and he settled into his own, following the same.

Why had Yixing asked him to pick her up when he clearly wasn't needed? Baekhyun felt annoyed. But more so as he started to give way to his thoughts.

Could they be dating? From the looks of it, it wasn't such a far-fetched possibility and he didn't know why he felt concerned at the thought of it. No matter how much he tried to deny it, he felt dismayed seeing them together. One of reasons being the fact that he had been looking forward to the evening's events, particularly to interacting with a certain someone, a little too much. And seeing them together, especially when he had travelled out of his way to pick her up, only ruined his mood.  Why do I care anyway? He tried to brush away the uneasy feeling in his chest, but to no avail.

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A/N: A longggg chapter. What did you guys think? Plz do comment and tell me. I'll probably be a little busy in the coming days, but I'll try and update again whenever I find time.

Thankyou for reading!