"How have you been buddy?", Junmyeon asked Baekhyun as he took him into a man hug, slapping his back. "And how are Aunt and Uncle?"

"They are good hyung, thanks for asking.", Baekhyun answered as he left Junmyeon's embrace.

"When are they coming back?”, Minseok piped up, hugging Baekhyun next.

"Next year hopefully, once they both retire", Baekhyun’s father was in foreign office, which was why they’d shifted to New York back when Baekhyun was in junior year of high school, while his mother was a college professor.

They had all gathered at a snooker club downtown (Chanyeol’s suggestion) to welcome Baekhyun in the evening that Sunday after he’d gotten settled into his new apartment and rested a bit.

“Hey man!”, Yixing came up behind Baekhyun slapping his , and Baekhyun turned in delight and enveloped the guy in a bone-crushing embrace. Though Baekhyun had only met Yixing a few times (the later had only become a part of their group in university when Baekhyun had already been away in States) and he’d only met the older guy on his yearly summer trips to Korea, but they’d had grown closer quickly.

“Where’s Sehun?”, Baekhyun asked, looking around Yixing, after they were done catching up. He’d been looking forward to meeting the guy he’d only seen through video calls.

Yixing gave him a look. “This is club dude and he’s underage, like Kai. Besides he had a test to prepare”

“Oh”, Baekhyun had completely forgotten the guy was still in high school. He had hardly ever considered Jongin as someone younger than him, they had always gotten along so well. At times even better than Baekhyun did with Kyungsoo.

“Are Kai and Sehun any similar? I haven’t talked to Sehun much?”, Baekhyun asked in curiousity.

“Umm”, Yixing fell into thought. “Well they both love dancing. Apart from that, I don’t know, they never really talk about each other much”

Baekhyun mumbled in responce and they all took to a table a few paces away, upon Junmyeon’s call. "Junmyeon told me you're taking Journalism too. I am going to be your senior at the university", Yixing commented, raising an amused brow.

Baekhyun narrowed his eyes. “You’re not thinking of taking undue advantage of your seniority right? Bullying is illegal”

Yixing chortled at Baekhyun’s remark and they all got settled into the leather benches around the round table.

"How come you haven’t properly answered any of the messages I left these past few weeks, huh?", Jongdae complained.

"Yeah sorry about that bud, I was busy with some things", Baekhyun replied.

"Did those 'things' have s?" Jongdae smirked and they all laughed, well aware of their friend’s coquettish nature.

Baekhyun laughed as well, before answering firmly. "Very funny, but no"

He had been busy because of his Dad's health issues during the past few months. His father had had a heart attack, a few weeks after Baekhyun got his transfer work done to the University in Korea. But he didn't tell anyone about it, thinking there was no pint in spreading undue worry.

It hadn't been a good experience for Baekhyun, seeing his father so close to death. His easy going, happy-go-lucky behavior had changed a bit, as he realized that life wasn't something to be taken lightly. He had been quite unwilling to come to Korea, but Mr. Byun had reassured him that he was much better now and him staying back after planning for so many months would only make him feel bad. And so he had.

………………………………………………………..

Chanyeol walked upto to Kyungsoo, who was sitting quietly at the bar, watching his friends make fools of themselves at the dance floor.

“Hey!”, Chanyeol spoke loudly over the deafening music. “When do we tell him about Taeyeon sunbae?”

Kyungsoo’s ear perked up at the name, despite the noise and he turned to Chanyeol. “I don’t know, you suggest?”

They both looked towards the guy in question at that moment and mentally face-palmed themselves. Baekhyun was busy perfoming on ‘Up and Down’ that the DJ had just put on, clearly drunk out of his wits and the sight was well, unseemly. Yixing and Jongdae seemed amused enough though, along with the rest of the people dancing around them and even Junmyeon was laughing out loud. Minseok, the third and last of the sober people amongst them, was busy recording the embarrassing scene on camera.

“Clearly not right now”, Kyungsoo dead-panned, taking the last gulp from his fruit cocktail, the only non-alcoholic drink available at the bar.

“Let’s get these idiots home”, Chanyeol quickly finished his drink, just as they saw Jongdae start twirking to the chorus and they made a beeline for their friends, hoping to save the little dignity the fools had left.

_

"Why did you have wake me up so early yesterday?", Taeyeon complained grumpily to Seungwan, stifling a yawn as they walked through the university gates in the morning. The weather was quite chilly for an October morning and Taeyeon unconsciously tightened her jacket around herself.

"Early?", Seungwan was incredulous. "I woke you up at 11:00!"

"That's early...for me. On a Sunday especially", Taeyeon replied.

"Well when would I get to spend time with you then, huh? You are so busy throughout the week with Uni and your job. And, didn't we have fun shopping yesterday?", Seungwan asked smilingly, nudging her friend.

"Yeah whatever", Taeyeon rolled her eyes. Seungwan knew Taeyeon had enjoyed, even if her cousin didn’t show it. She appreciated these times spent relaxing. Because hard as Kim Taeyeon appeared on the outside, she had a really soft heart. Too bad not many understood her enough to know it.

As they passed by the fountain located in the centre of the University just in front of the main building, she spotted Kyungsoo walking in with his two friends, Jongdae and Chanyeol. Her heart raced, as usual, especially as she recalled their rendezvous on Friday.

He looked up in her direction just in time and met her eyes. He bowed politely smiling, but this time with a glint of recognition in his eyes.

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

"Who you bowing to Kyungsoo?", Jongdae interrupted his thoughts, looking in the direction Kyungsoo was.

"Just someone I know", he replied casually, and took out his glasses to read the digital Notice Board displayed on the wall of the Main Building of the campus.

"Oh, I see, Wendy shii? Since when did you start knowing people who are 'girls'?", Chanyeol mocked. Kyungsoo sent a glare in his direction, trying not to feel perturbed by the fact that his friend knew her, atleast in name.

“Taeyeon sunbae’s with her”, Jongdae announced and all three of them promptly turned to the notice board, suddenly finding it very interesting. One would think that things would have changed after so much time, but apparently not. They still remained as awkward with Taeyeon as she was with them.

“Where’s Baekhyun?”, Kyungsoo asked, dreading what was clearly coming. But even if they had tried to convince him, Kyungsoo knew Baekhyun wouldn’t have stopped his plans for anything. Not even the thought of studying in the same place as a certain girl. Some fates just had to be met.

“Hungover”, Chanyeol responded and Jongdae snorted. “And in the admin office” The taller guy then looked at Jongdae across from Kyungsoo. “How come you’re not hungover? You drank at least two full bottles”

“Jealous?”, Jongdae smirked.

“Hey guys!”

Even though it was said from behind them, and could have been anyone calling anyone, but the three of them knew it was them who were the intended receivers (victims) for that call.

“”, Chanyeol cussed from between gritted teeth, as they turned around, grinning like idiots at the older guy who’d just called to them.

“Here, guys!”, Yixing waved at them, standing with Tayeon and Seungwan some paces away, and Kyungsoo only had to think a minute before starting in their direction. It wasn’t like they had any other choice. The sight of Seungwan, strangely lowered the anticipatory awkwardness that had always been there in the past four years, in these kinds of encounters with Yixing where Taeyeon was present. And he realized she’d always been present. Beside Taeyeon or beside Yixing, but his attention had never been on her.

Why did I never notice her before?

……………………………………

"So when are you going to confess to that D.O. guy?", Kim Taeyeon asked her cousin, who was blushing after receiving a simple bow from the guy.

Seungwan reddened even more. “W-what confession? Why would I?”

Taeyeon scoffed. She’d have to be blind and brainless to not notice how her cousin got all shy and blushy whenever the guy as much as passed by her. It had been hard at first knowing her cousin had a thing for someone who had been a part of her…past but Taeyeon had gotten over it and asked Seungwan to go and just confess to him. Her cousin had refused to address her demands or answer any of the questions Taeyeon asked regarding how she knew Kyungsoo and after a while they’d just moved away from the topic. It only came up occasionally now, like this. “Just how long are you going to keep pretending you aren’t head over heels for him?”

Seungwan opened to object but then narrowed her eyes. “Until you tell me why you hate those guys”

Taeyeon shook her head. Her cousin was an expert when it came to changing topics that involved her love life. She would know. “I don’t hate them”, How could she, when there had been a time that she’d been such good friends with them. If only it wasn’t for that…

“Oh is that so?”, Seungwan mocked. Taeyeon looked away. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell Seungwan, of course she did. She was just afraid of thinking about that dark time, after having come such a long way, moving on from it. She didn’t want everything she’d built around herself for protection to crumble.

But you’re stronger now, she told herself. You can do it. Unfortunately, her thoughts were cut short by Yixing approaching. She smiled. Her friend had that effect.

“How are my lovely ladies today?”

“One of us is more prickly than lovely – Oww!”, Seungwan’s comment was cut short by Taeyeon’s smack. Yixing laughed.

Their jovial chatter was only interrupted when Yixing spotted his friends not too far away in the dome-shaped hallway, and Taeyeon’s good mood defused. She didn’t fail to notice though how the sight of Kyungsoo lit up Seungwan’s face and she sighed internally as the three of them approached.

Taeyeon always tried to not feel perturbed by such encounters, it had after all been quite a while since Yixing became a part of their group. She remembered how her heart had jumped to the first time she’d seen them at the start of her second year at the uni, her mind running wild wondering if he was there too…..but he wasn’t and that had given her room to breathe and make peace with the fact that the people who had been a part of that time of her life were now her juniors. Again. Then Yixing had made friends with them, and they’d had to interact with each other a few times for the sake of civility if nothing else, though the guys were almost as uncomfortable with it, if not more, as her. Over the years though, the whole thing had started to feel more tedious and boring than nerve-wrecking.

She even wished sometimes she could have become good friends with Yixing earlier to his incorporation into their group, so they would have been saved these edgy encounters too. It made her feel guilty too, thinking like that. Who was she to decide who could be friends with whom?

"Hello hyung", Chanyeol was the first one to greet as he approached them "Taeyeon sunbae-nim", he bowed in Taeyeon’s direction not meeting her eyes and then at Seungwan. Jongdae and Kyungsoo followed suit.

Yixing started telling them of the protocols that had to remain in place during the welcome ceremony for the new admissions that morning, since the Media Society was again chosen to supervise without any say in the matter. They did often wonder what the Debating Society was actually elected for when they couldn’t even be bothered to host such events.

Taeyeon stood by the side waiting impatiently for Yixing to finish so they could leave. She didn’t fail to notice the small greeting exchange between Kyungsoo and Seungwan (she had to resist gaging seeing how much her cousin could smile and blush), and how Kyungsoo kept stealing glances at her.

“That will come later, Taeyeon needs to finish her address first”, Yixing’s voice said in the background.

Taeyeon turned to him. “Shall we leave, Lay? It’s time”, She pointed to her watch.

“Yeah”, Yixing took a breath. “Let’s. I’ll see you guys at the ceremony”

……………………………………….

“Bye, hyung”, They waved the elder off along with the two girls and their smiles disappeared soon as the trio did.

“What are we going to do about Baekhyun?”, Jongdae voiced the question that was on all their minds.

Kyungsoo sighed. “I don’t even know anymore”

“It’s not like we can do anything to prevent them from meeting, it’s going to have to happen sooner or later”, Chanyeol shrugged.

“What is?”, Junmyeon looped an arm around Chanyeol’s shoulder soon as he arrived with Minseok.

“The BaekYeon Encounter”, Chanyeol replied.

“Uh-Oh”

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A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with a nice, long chapter, hope you people enjoyed it. How do you like the story so far? Any ideas on what will happen when Baekhyun and Taeyeon finally meet? It's going to get interesting ;)

Do comment. Your opinion means alot. Thankyou for reading this! Stay blessed you all!