Baekhyun winced as the first host’s voice rang through the auditorium. God, I shouldn’t have drunk anything! Like every other hangover he’d had, he was regretting the drinking spree too late this time too.

“How’re you feeling bro?”, Chanyeol asked as he took his seat beside him and Baekhyun flinched again. “Can you please quiet it down a bit?”

Chanyeol laughed drily. “That’s rich coming from you” Baekhyun turned away and rested his head back on the seat. Soon Jongdae joined them too, having completed the duties he’d been assigned for the ceremony.

“Hey about what I was telling you earlier – “, Chanyeol started and Baekhyun turned to his friend.

“Good Morning, Ladies and Gentlemen!”

This time the voice speaking over the microphone didn’t make him wince. His eyes turned to the stage and his mouth fell open. Is that….?

“Taeyeon?!”, He squeaked, standing up in his seat and immediately sitting back down as a wave of dizziness swept over him. “What is she – “, Chanyeol hushed him before he spouted more nonsense. He could tell he’d already attracted enough attention by standing up, considering his get up with the shades and all.

Over the last few years that he’d been abroad, Baekhyun had often wondered how he would meet Kim Taeyeon again. If he would meet her again. His gaze had strayed to crowds, to girls in baggy clothes and spectacles, when he’d visited Korea in summers, hoping or rather not, to catch a glimpse of her. It had always left him with a strange mix of disappointment and relief when he never found her.

But now that he was seeing her, that too in circumstances he’d not imagined in his wildest dreams, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She’d changed so much. The glasses were gone, her hair were highlighted and lighter brown in color, and she exuded such….confidence. Where did that shy, nerdy girl go?

"Is that really Taeyeon?" He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Yes and she's our senior here, last year Masters in Journalism like Yixing hyung", Chanyeol whispered in answer, not meeting his eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell – “

“Yah, look up”, Jongdae’s whiper-yell made him realize how quiet everything around them had gotten, and he looked back towards the stage to find Taeyeon staring right back at him, the disbelief and panic evident on her face.

………………………………………………….

She was supposed to do the opening speech and had walked up the stage feeling confident, having done it during the previous two years too. She had just finished greeting when she saw some disturbance towards her left, a guy wearing shades had gotten up loudly from his seat.

"A very warm welcome to all the freshmen and new faculty - " She started but her eyes caught the guy as he sat down.

Baekhyun.

“Today marks - ", she tried to continue but it felt like all the air had rushed out of her lungs. She looked at him again and this time he met her eyes.

It is him….!

Feeling weak in her knees, she swallowed hard and tried to continue, but her stomach was in knots and she felt like she was going to be sick. How...Why is he here?

A wave of dizziness swept over her and she sat down using the podium for support, the gasps that followed from the audience hardly registering. Her palms were sweaty and her heart was hammering so hard against her chest she felt it was going to explode. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. Just like the doctor had told her. Breath Taeyeon. Its Okay. Just breathe. Her temples throbbed as she rocked back and forth, rubbing her hands on her thighs, her panic growing with each passing second.

She barely registered Seungwan and Yixing coming up to her. "Look at me Taeyeon! What happened?", Seungwan asked cupping her face in her hands.

 "I...", She looked up at Seungwan and wanted to say more, but was too dry to speak. Seungwan hugged her, as she rocked back and forth trying to calm down, Yixing rubbing circles on her back. "Its Okay, Tae. Everything's fine"

Someone put a water bottle to but the water felt too cold, or was it too hot? She began to cough.

The last thing she remembered in her barely conscious state was Yixing taking her place behind the podium and telling the crowd everything was fine, before she was led out of the auditorium.

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

Baekhyun sat holding his breath as Taeyeon tried to continue her speech and failed. He met her eyes and saw a flood of emotions there: sadness, panic, fear, anger......longing.

She started taking deep breaths, and despite himself, his worry grew. What was happening to her? He turned to look at his friends and they all had same expression on their faces, concern mixed with confusion.

When he saw her fall to her knees, he panicked. Murmurs and gasps ran through the crowd. What’s happening to her?

He started to get up but Chanyeol held him by the arm saying "Don't". Baekhyun couldn't understand the meaning behind his friend's word but he restrained himself. Especially as he saw Yixing and a girl rush up to Taeyeon's aid. He couldn't see what was happening behind the podium and felt jittery the whole time, his hands clenching and unclenching by his side and then the girl in the ponytail led her towards the back of the auditorium.

His mind was going haywire with questions. Should he go after her? But what would he say? And why had she panicked like that? Was it because of me? It can’t be…..

After thinking for another few minutes, he rushed out of the auditorium as Yixing’s speech finished, unable to restrain himself.

I need to see her....

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A/N: Whoo, that was intense. What do you all think?

Do say something guys, tell me whether you like how the story is progressing or not. I seriously need your opinion, how else will I know if I'm doing okay or blowing it up?

That being said, thankyou so much for reading, and special thanks to the two who voted, I really appreciate it. I'm sorry the update came after a while this time, university life is hard.

Stay blessed!