[title track: utopia - ateez]
[~6k, gonna edit this tomorrow morning lol]

6.

Worry settles deep at the pit of her stomach as Sunhee paces the floor, eyes darting to the front door. She hates waiting and she especially hates the feeling of eyes on her, watching her pace. Still, the anxiety she had felt has not quite gone away. She doesn’t think it really will, not until she’s extracted herself (and Seulgi) fully and completely away from gang activity.

At this rate, Sunhee’s going to start sprouting gray hairs.

“You’re going to a pace a hole into the floor.” Baekhyun’s voice echoes, then. She ignores him, ignores the fact that she’s currently in that gang headquarters—where she watched Seulgi operate on some kid in another room—and both Baekhyun and one of his fellow gang members are lounging about on the couches lining the wall, watching her pace. While Baekhyun is just slouched on the couch, head lolling as his eyes follow her, his friend—Moonbin, Baekhyun had called him—has been eating nonstop for the last hour, his crunching a constant background noise, while watching her pace, as well. Occasionally, Baekhyun chews on a bag of snacks. Sunhee wonders how the hell the two of them could be eating at such a late hour.

“Maybe then we can finally replace this carpet.” Moonbin mumbles around a bite of his burger. Sunhee glances at him—he’s very tall and muscular, significantly larger looking then Baekhyun, especially since the two of them are seated next to each other, his face angular, but his voice does not match his outwardly demeanor at all, it’s high pitched and quiet, makes him seem a million times younger than he looks—and he scrunches up his nose. “It stinks.”

Baekhyun snorts, “You could vacuum it from time to time, you know.”

“That,” Moonbin waves a fry in Baekhyun’s direction, “Is out of the question.”

“Lazy er.” Baekhyun says, though there is no spite in his tone. In fact, Sunhee is almost surprised to hear a hint of affection in his tone.

Moonbin doesn’t respond, just munches on his fries, stuffing his cheeks full in a way that has Sunhee worried he’ll choke. She glances at Baekhyun, who doesn’t seem phased, and she wonders if that’s just how he usually eats. It makes Sunhee a little sad, right then, because it’s such a seemingly irrelevant detail, but it adds a layer of humanity to this gang member who has no doubt murdered someone before, too, and it makes it harder, she thinks, for her to act like these gang members are just horrible human beings. Moonbin reminds her, strangely, of Sanha, and it makes her a little sad. She doesn’t know if it’s for him or for herself or for something else entirely.

Instead, Sunhee asks, “How can you eat so much?”

Moonbin has another bag of food waiting for him in the kitchen—she’d seen him saunter into the house with two bags in his hand, not even phased when she had noticed Baekhyun and Sunhee, before asking, oh, do you want me to order you guys food, too?

“I ask him that every day.” Baekhyun mumbles.

Moonbin shrugs, “I like food. Besides, I have an assignment later tonight. I need to fuel up.”

Sunhee doesn’t ask what he’s doing later tonight, because she thinks he wouldn’t hesitate in telling her and she knows she won’t like the answer.

Baekhyun pats the space beside him, “You should sit down, though.”

“I’m fine.”

Baekhyun shrugs. “It’s your legs, I guess.”

“Your calves are going to be ripped after this.” Moonbin adds.

Sunhee blinks, glancing down at her calves because she’s never thought about her calves that way before. “My calves?”

“He’s a gym rat.” Baekhyun rolls his eyes, reaching out to practically shove a fry into Moonbin’s mouth, “Shut up.”

Moonbin pouts. Baekhyun laughs, patting Moonbin’s head. Sunhee finds this side of Baekhyun surprising, but then again, he’s been surprising her quite a bit in the last couple hours she’s been around him.

Sunhee opens , to respond, when the front door swings open and laughter streams into the otherwise quiet apartment. Sunhee swivels on her heels, blinking at the sight of Seulgi and Kai huddling near the front door, the two of them smiling widely at each other, a flush to their cheeks that makes Sunhee’s heart skip a beat or three. Sunhee glances back over her shoulder, at Moonbin—who is glancing between Baekhyun, Kai, Seulgi, and Sunhee, his burger hovering near his mouth, as if he’s prepared for an explosion, eyes transfixed—and then at Baekhyun and the way he’s just staring at Kai and Seulgi.

Sunhee has to cough, loudly, for Seulgi and Kai to notice the three of them staring at them. Seulgi jumps, hand going over her heart, her cheeks reddening. Kai frowns, gaze flickering past Sunhee, pausing for a moment, before he scratches the back of his neck.

Before either of them can say a word, Sunhee snaps, “Where the hell have you been? I was so worried!”

“, I forgot to call, Sun. I’m so sorry.” The happiness disappears from Seulgi’s expression, replaced by sheepish guilt. Sunhee hates that it makes her feel bad for being the cause of Seulgi’s expression change. She hates the pang of hurt even more at the fact that Seulgi forgot to check in, even though it’s been hours since they were involved in an explosion and Sunhee had tried calling Seulgi (and Kai) plenty of times on Baekhyun’s cell phone, since Sunhee’s had died shortly before she even stepped into that club. Seulgi continues, “We thought we’d wait out the cops and anyone else hanging around, so we went to a small diner and completely lost track of time.”

Sunhee hates how her chest feels tight at that, at small diner and losing track of time and the we.

Moonbin, of all people, cackles, suddenly, breaking the brief, tense silence that had fell over them. “Don’t let Junmyeon hear that. He’s gonna lose his .”

Seulgi grimaces at Moonbin’s words, a dark look crossing over her features, completely out of place and unlike anything Sunhee has ever really seen on Seulgi. Seulgi doesn’t look dark like this. Seulgi steps away from Kai, their arms no longer brushing, as if the mention of this Junmyeon has created a sudden wedge between them. Seulgi stalks off towards the kitchen, her footsteps loud, her back rigid. Kai throws Moonbin a disparaging, deadly scowl that has Moonbin pouting and rolling his eyes as he says, “What? Am I wrong, though?”

Kai just stalks off after Seulgi.

Sunhee turns, frowning at the reactions, “…Junmyeon?”

Moonbin turns his pout on Baekhyun, eyes wide, pleading for a backup. Baekhyun, strangely enough, doesn’t look angry. In fact, he’s grinning. He shoves his bag of chips into Moonbin’s hands and pats his shoulder, as if he’s rewarding the boy. Moonbin blinks down at Baekhyun’s hand and the chips, clearly as confused as Sunhee is.

“Who’s Junmyeon?” Sunhee asks, louder this time, glancing between Moonbin and Baekhyun. She takes care, though, to keep her voice low enough so Seulgi and Kai can’t hear her.

Baekhyun gives her a long, meaningful look, one that makes Sunhee feel like she’s missing out on something very obvious. “It’s Suho’s real name.” He whispers, matching the volume of her voice. He raises a brow, still grinning.

Sunhee’s eyes widen. She glances over her shoulder, where Seulgi had disappeared, and wonders why Seulgi had reacted that way to Suho’s real name. Sunhee remembers Baekhyun’s reasoning, remembers Baekhyun mentioning Seulgi being a distraction to both Kai and Suho. She remembers how angry Suho had been with Seulgi, since the moment Sunhee had encountered him.

Sunhee swivels and locks eyes with Baekhyun, the only sound between them being the distant sound of the faucet running, Seulgi and Kai’s indecipherable voices in the kitchen, and Moonbin chomping loudly on his food. Sunhee whispers, realizations slowly dawning on her as she stares at Baekhyun, “Is there something…going on…between the three of them?”

The very thought of it shocks Sunhee to her core. She can’t wrap her head around how or why or when, and she especially doesn’t understand why Seulgi never mentioned it, if there was.

“What do you think?” Baekhyun raises a brow.

Aren’t they best friends, first and foremost?

“I don’t know.” Sunhee frowns, because she didn’t even know about Suho. She’s starting to feel as if she doesn’t know Seulgi nearly as much as she thought she did. “She never told me she…I…”

Sunhee trails off, confusion and another stranger emotion curling at the pit of her stomach, one that makes her kind-of-sort-of want to scream. For a moment, she swears she sees Baekhyun’s eyes soften at whatever he sees in her expression. Even Moonbin looks a little concerned, despite his stuffed cheeks. But then, Moonbin turns his attention to his phone and Baekhyun’s eyes twinkle with mischief and something else she can’t quite place.

Baekhyun steps close, lowering his voice, a slow, amused grin gracing his features, lighting him up. “It’s our opening.” Baekhyun says, “Our wedge.”

Sunhee blinks, “Oh.”

Baekhyun snorts, reaching out to pat her shoulder, “C’mon, Shin. Keep up.”

Sunhee scowls then, shrugging his hand off her shoulder. Baekhyun glances over his shoulder, at Moonbin. He adds, “And you. Don’t breathe a word about any of this.”

Moonbin raises a brow, glancing between Baekhyun and Sunhee. “What’s in it for me?” Moonbin taps his chin, “I like free food, you know.”

Baekhyun crosses his arms over his chest, “How about I don’t tell Eunwoo about the time you—”

“Hey!” Moonbin reddens, “You promised you’d never mention that.”

“Keep your mouth shut, then.” Baekhyun jabs a pretty finger in Moonbin’s direction, making his pout deepen. Sunhee can’t help the small giggle at the sight. But then, Baekhyun adds, “I’ll throw in a couple free meals, too, okay?”

Sunhee glances at Baekhyun, at how his eyes seem to soften significantly when Moonbin grins. Sunhee stares, for a moment too long, because she thinks she likes this version of Baekhyun that she occasionally catches glimpses of, rather than the rude, mischievous front that’s constantly there. Still, Sunhee doesn’t entirely like Baekhyun. She doesn’t even know him.

(She’s grateful, though, for the small instances of kindness she’s seen from him. After that conversation in the middle of the street, she was grateful for the way he had held out both hands, waiting patiently for her to take them. When she finally did, he had immediately let go and led her towards a convenience store. She was moving on a sort of autopilot while he maneuvered her towards one of the plastic tables outside and then returned from the store with two bottles of water and a chocolate bar. There was a kindness there, in his eyes, that made her wonder what in the world made him decide to become a member of a gang, to become someone who would willingly kill people for financial gain.)

“Yeah, well, we should go.” Seulgi’s voice is loud, right behind her, and Sunhee tears her eyes from Baekhyun, spinning to face Seulgi. She looks pissed, her arms crossed over her chest and her body angled away from Kai.

Kai glances at Seulgi, his expression stoic, just as angry as Seulgi, though he seems worried, as well. “It’s late. I can walk you.”

Seulgi rolls her eyes, “No, we’re good.”

Seulgi widens her eyes at Sunhee, a form of communication they had both perfected from their years of going to college parties, clubs, and bars and needing an escape from some persistent drunk guy. Sunhee doesn’t even hesitate, surging forward. She hooks an arm through the crook of Seulgi’s elbow and throws Kai a very wide, obviously too-polite grin. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Seulgi is the one to practically drag Sunhee out the door, this time. Sunhee finds that she is glancing back, briefly, and Baekhyun is blinking after her, a small smile playing on his lips. Sunhee notices the way he glances sideways, at Kai, who looks absolutely livid, now that Seulgi can’t his expression.

They stumble up the steep stairs and into the cool night. Seulgi doesn’t pull away from Sunhee’s embrace, instead she leans closer.

Sunhee’s heart flips. Still, Sunhee says, “You should have texted or called or something.”

“I know.” Seulgi snaps, tone too sharp, uncharacteristically so.

Sunhee blinks, pulling away a little, her grip on Seulgi’s elbow loosening.

Seulgi lets out a low, audible sight. She softens her tone, sweetens it to the same degree of honey it’s usually at, though it is strained, tight. “I know, Sunhee. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—sorry.”

“Why do you keep…apologizing like that?”

Sunhee watches as Seulgi peers up at the moon, her pretty features awash in silvery-white light, adding an ethereal glow to her that makes Sunhee’s breath catch in .

(It’s painful, really, how utterly otherworldly Seulgi is, how beautiful.)

Sunhee whispers, “Are you okay?”

Seulgi glances sideways at Sunhee and there is a darkness there, in Seulgi’s cat-like eyes, that Sunhee has never seen before. It’s guarded and careful and, for a moment, alarm bells ring at the back of Sunhee’s head. But, only for a moment, because this is Seulgi. She’s gentle and lovable, selfless. There is nothing guarded or dark or hidden about Seulgi. There isn’t. Sunhee knows that if Seulgi is keeping anything from Sunhee, it’s because Seulgi thinks it will protect Sunhee. Sunhee can’t blame Seulgi for that, not really, and she can’t force it out of Seulgi either. So, all Sunhee can really do is provide guidance and opinions and wait.

Seulgi says, “Baekhyun and Moonbin…they told you who Junmyeon is, didn’t they?”

Sunhee nods.

Seulgi lets out a small sigh, “I don’t want you to get anymore involved than you already are and I know it’s ty of me to ask this of you, but,” Seulgi comes to a sudden halt and untangles her arms from Sunhee’s only to reach down and grasp at Sunhee’s hands, her hands warm and soft against Sunhee’s. Sunhee’s heartrate picks up. Seulgi looks her in the eye, utterly sincere, as she continues, “I just want to deal with him on my own. But, after, I’ll tell you everything. Okay?”

Sunhee doesn’t hide her confusion. Seulgi squeezes her hands tightly. Sunhee clears before she says, “About you and…Junmyeon?”

Seulgi nods, the movement vigorous, “Yes. It’s…complicated. But I’ll tell you about it later. I promise.”

Seulgi doesn’t really pose that as a question or an option and Sunhee knows she can’t refuse. It’s not her decision to make. So, Sunhee just nods. Sunhee just mumbles, “Okay.”

Seulgi beams. Though hesitant, Sunhee can’t help but smile back.

~.~.~.~.~

Sunhee stifles a yawn, propping her chin up on the heel of her hand as she stares at her phone, frowning as her finger hovers over the new text from Baekhyun.

(They had been walking back to his place, after the convenience store, Baekhyun kicking at rocks and occasionally checking his phone. She had never been in that part of town that late at night—she and her friends always steered clear of the place during their college years and the habit stuck—and the stillness, occasionally pierced by drunken shouts, keeps her on edge. She figured the events of the past night hadn’t helped either.

But, it was there, somewhere between a group of drunk old men with too loud voices calling out to both of them for extra change for the bus and the streetcar selling late snacks, when Baekhyun had lightly knocked the back of his knuckles against the side of her arm. At some point between the drunk men and the food truck, Baekhyun had sauntered closer, probably because her discomfort around the drunk, obnoxious men had been obvious. The touch had startled her, despite how light it had been.

He had held out his phone, balanced between his long, thin fingers, a single brow raised, and he had said, “I’m going to need your number.”

She had blinked, “Why?”

“To send you Girls’ Generation music videos.” The sarcasm dripping off his tone was so thick and sharp, Sunhee found herself scowling sideways and up at him. Baekhyun met her gaze with an exasperated eye roll.

“Damn. So touchy.” Sunhee mumbled, plucking Baekhyun’s phone out of his fingers anyway. She kept her gaze focused on her typing so she wouldn’t have to look Baekhyun in the eye as she said, “You’re really going to go through with this sabotage thing, huh?”

“Did I sound like I was joking?” Baekhyun had sounded very serious right then and she found she had looked up, holding out his phone for him to take. Baekhyun had looked her in the eye, then, and added, “I wasn’t kidding.”

Sunhee didn’t know what to say, so she had responded, “Just don’t send me music videos.”

Baekhyun plucked his phone out of her fingers, stuffing it into his pocket with a sideways grin and a small, low chuckle. “Too late. You’ve permanently subscribed.”)

Slowly, she opens it. She groans when she notices it’s a link to a video.

To: B

Unsubscribe.

From: B

it's an iconic mv……how could u

Sunhee stares and stares and she gets this strange twist at the pit of her stomach, because he sounds so…normal. It adds an element of horror, knowing what he is capable of when he texts like any normal person she knows.

She’s still staring at her phone, fingers hovering over the screen, when she hears a dull thud.

She watches, wide-eyed, as Sanha unceremoniously drops his backpack on his desk and flops onto his chair, yawning loudly, purplish-blue bags under his eyes while his hair lies flat over his forehead, tickling his eyes. He looks utterly exhausted.

(There have been plenty of times where he’d come into the office looking just as exhausted as this, but despite his exhaustion, he’d always offer her a small smile and a hello. This time, however, he doesn’t.)

She watches as he silently turns on his computer, his lips turned down into a very uncharacteristic frown—not even a pout like he usually sports.

“Sanha?” She whispers it, only because she doesn’t want to bother the rest of the office. Sanha doesn’t look up. She leans over her desk, phone and Baekhyun forgotten for a moment as she repeats, “Hey, Sanha?”

Sanha looks up then, eyes widening like a deer caught in headlights. He blinks at her, once, twice, as if he doesn’t recognize her for a split second. But then he smiles slight, feebly, before he says, “Oh, hey. Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

“Are you okay?” Sunhee can’t mask the concern in her voice.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Sanha nods, quickly, eyes flickering back to his computer.

“Do you want me to make you some coffee or something?”

“I’m fine.” Sanha’s tone comes out too sharp, too biting. Sunhee blinks, freezing at his tone. Sanha seems to freeze, too, before he promptly pushes himself to his feet. “I’m—uh—I can get it.”

She watches as he disappears into the kitchen, worry churning at the pit of her stomach, more than anything else.

Sanha doesn’t come back and Sunhee pushes down the slight hurt at being pushed away, because she’s just being stupid and she’s sure Sanha has a good reason for it. Instead, Sunhee glances back down at her phone, at Baekhyun’s new text.

From: B

rmbr to give seulgi a list of reasons why kai is terrible for her. counting on u to not up too badly.

To: B

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

From: B

anytime :)

(That afternoon, as she shoulders her purse and heads out, alone, Sanha calls her name. She waits for her, watching as he gives her a sheepish, almost guilt-ridden smile, all while he rubs at the back of his neck and says, “Sorry for snapping at you. I’m just super exhausted.”

“It’s okay. You’re having a bad day.”

“It’s not okay. I was mean.” Sanha pouts.

Sunhee snickers, “Yeah, you were.” Sanha gestures towards the bus stop and she starts walking. Sanha shoulders his backpack, matching her steps, despite how long his legs are. Sunhee adds, with a shrug, “But, I get it. Stress is bad for the baby.”

Sanha blinks, “What baby?”

“You.”

Sanha makes a face, “I’m not a baby.”

“Right.” Sunhee nods, allowing every ounce of sarcasm into her tone. She glances at the bus pulling up at the stop and adds, “Isn’t your brother waiting for you?”

Strangely enough, Sanha’s smile at their previous conversation becomes quite subdued, settling into a look of exhaustion that adds decades to him. She blinks, worried. Sanha just shakes his head, “He has a huge project at work, so he can’t make it today.”

Sunhee searches Sanha’s face for a long moment, to which Sanha just stares right back. Slowly, Sunhee nods. “Okay.”

(Sunhee doesn’t even notice the way Sanha veers the conversation to another topic immediately after. At least not until later, when she’s safely in her home and idly thinking back on her day. The observation is quickly filed away, though, when Seulgi comes home.)

~.~.~.~.~

“Does this look okay?” Seulgi flits into Sunhee’s bedroom, lifting her arms and wiggling her hips, her dress swishing against her thighs as she pushes her hair back behind her shoulders.

“Yeah, you look cute.” Sunhee says, with as little feeling as she can, taking great care to not stare for too long, because Seulgi doesn’t just look cute. She looks beautiful and Sunhee’s heart feels like it’ll give out right there in her chest. “What are you getting all dressed up for?”

Seulgi shrugs, dragging a hand through her hair. The tops of her cheeks grow a dusty pink, unnoticeable to the untrained eye, and she shrugs, obviously trying to maintain nonchalance. “I’m going to the movies tonight.”

Sunhee doesn’t want to know. She never really wants to know about Seulgi’s dates, but Seulgi’s excitement is always contagious. Sunhee finds she’s straightening up, eyebrows shooting up to her hairline. Sunhee grins, reminding herself that she is supposed to be happy for her best friend (and she is, of course she is). “Oh, with who? Is it a date?”

Seulgi reddens, but she shakes her head quickly, “It’s not a date, exactly. It’s with—It’s Kai.”

Sunhee blinks. She can’t hide the way her expression visibly stiffens. Seulgi wrinkles her nose, sighing loudly before she plops down on Sunhee’s bed, crossing her legs underneath her. Still, Sunhee repeats, slowly, carefully, as if she’s hoping Seulgi will tell her she’s heard differently, “Kai?”

“Yeah.” Seulgi nods, slowly, deliberately. There’s a moment of silence between them before Seulgi adds, “What are you thinking, Sunhee?”

“It’s just—” Sunhee averts her gaze, frowning at the wall for a moment, before she speaks, picking her words carefully, “We watched him kill people, Seul.”

“I’ve watched people die plenty of times.” Seulgi sounds slightly defensive, right then. Sunhee’s gaze flickers to Seulgi, brows rising in question.

“That’s not the same thing.” Sunhee reminds her. The look in Seulgi’s eyes are unreadable, subdued almost.

“I know.” Seulgi exhales loudly, her chest rising and falling as she takes a steadying breath. The unreadable look disappears. “Remember how I mentioned how that Junmyeon thing is a little…complicated.”

“Yeah. How could I forget?” Sunhee responds.

Seulgi smiles while she says, “Kai can help me sort it out.”

There’s another pause.

Sunhee speaks slowly, each syllable concise, pointed, as she says, “So, you’re going on a date with him for information.”

“Exactly.” Seulgi nods briskly.

Sunhee stares.

Seulgi blinks.

“Wait, it’s not a date!”

“Uh-huh.”

“It’s not.”

“Do you like him?”

The question falls from Sunhee’s lips before she can catch it, tumbles from the confines of her mind and right into Seulgi’s startled lap. Seulgi opens , “What?”

For a moment, there is a tension hanging between them, one that reminds Sunhee horribly of the confrontation with Kai earlier. But Sunhee has always been good at diffusing situations, even when she’s the one to start them. Sunhee nods at Seulgi, “Your cheeks were all red when I mentioned that date.”

“It’s not a date.” Seulgi insists, though her voice is quieter this time, less sure of herself. Seulgi’s cheeks are still so red, a cute juxtaposition to her expression that leaves Sunhee’s heart melting into a very messy puddle. Still, Sunhee manages a sarcastic snort. Seulgi rolls her eyes, tossing one of Sunhee’s pillows at Sunhee. “And, I don’t like him. I think.”

The last sentence comes out soft, almost inaudible.

Seulgi glances discreetly at Sunhee, as if she thinks Sunhee hadn’t heard it.

Sunhee certainly wishes she hadn’t heard it.

Sunhee, though, just manages to say, “Just remember that he’s a murderer. For your own good.”

Seulgi purses her lips, but she nods. “I will. I do.”

Sunhee raises a brow.

Seulgi nods quickly, “That’s why this isn’t a date.”

Sunhee wants to ask, then why are you blushing, why are you asking me if your outfit looks okay? but instead she just nods. “Okay.”

~.~.~.~.~

It’s Friday night and Sunhee can’t stop thinking about Seulgi. About her giggles drifting down the hall when Kai had picked her up. About the color of her dress against her exposed skin. About how flustered she had sounded. About her flushed cheeks.

It’s Friday night and Sunhee is away from her routines, from the comfort and control of it all, and slouched at a bar drowning in shots.

It’s Friday night when she tries to formulate a proper response to Baekhyun’s response to her telling him that Seulgi is infatuated by him and no one is going to change her ing mind only to fumble with her phone, cursing loudly when she accidentally sends him an indistinguishable keysmash.

It’s Friday night when she tells some overly pushy man to off, rolling her eyes when the man only seems to get the message after the bartender leans close and tells him to leave her alone.

It’s Friday night and Sunhee is alone, wallowing in self-pity, and heartbroken.

(She remembers so vividly the last time she had been like this. It was a couple years ago, after her boyfriend of three years decided three years wasn’t enough to make him want to stay. She wasn’t sure if it had been this bar or the one three doors over, but she had remembered how Seulgi had been there, buying her shots and dragging her out to the dance floor, holding her hands so tightly while beaming so brightly, making her dance the night away, like she promised. She remembers it so vividly because it was the night her heart skipped one too many beats while Seulgi beamed at her. It was the night they were too drunk to function and Seulgi had leaned in to kiss her cheek, and murmured all the wonderful things she thought Sunhee was, reminding her that she’d find a boy five thousand times better than that piece of , that he’s an idiot for leaving you. And, maybe, at the time, Sunhee had blamed all the strange emotions on the alcohol and her breakup. But, Sunhee remembered that night, despite everything. Maybe, subconsciously, she had known.)

“Sunhee.”

Seulgi jolts at the quiet, familiar voice against her ear. She looks up, her eyes widening at the sight of Baekhyun leaning close, frowning down at her. The bartender gives her a sheepish look, even as he slides her phone back towards her. He says something she can’t hear, not over the deep bass of the bar music, but she figures it’s something of an apology for touching her phone.

The bartender glances at Baekhyun, tilting his head slightly, a familiarity there in his eyes that Sunhee does not miss, not even in her drunken state. Baekhyun nods. Sunhee narrows her eyes, squinting at the bartender’s nametag. Xiumin, it says.

Baekhyun holds out an arm, wordless. Sunhee scowls at his arm—the emotions that had been welling up in her is too much and she responds with irritation, directs it to all the wrong places—and makes it a point to slide off the stool on her own. She underestimates just how utterly wasted she is, because she stumbles the minute her feet touch the ground, her head spinning and her vision swimming and the bass of the bar music thrumming under her skin, pulse invading her body, to the point where her hear beats to the rhythm of the music.

She catches herself on the stool, a small yelp followed by an irritatingly drunken giggle spilling from her lips. She looks up at him, scowling. He doesn’t bother grabbing her by the elbow or helping her. His arm is still out, an offer, but he doesn’t make her take it. Sunhee glances at the bartender—Xiumin—who seems amused by the scene in front of him.

Baekhyun leans close enough for her to hear him over the thumping bass and the general rowdiness of the bar, “I’ll take you home. Come on.”

Sunhee blinks at him, at his low voice at her ear, and she’s about to nod in begrudging agreement—because she may be drunk but she’s aware that she needs help getting home, she barely knows her lefts from her rights at the moment—when she remembers that Seulgi might be home. Or she might not be. Sunhee doesn’t know what’s worse, listening to Seulgi gush about her date with Kai or knowing that the date is going so well that Seulgi’s lost track of time all over again.

Sunhee shakes her head, “I don’t want to go home.” She shouts over the music.

Baekhyun blinks, his dark eyes lingering on her face for a second too long, too piercing for her comfort. She crosses her arms over her chest, swaying back and forth. Strobe lights flicker over Baekhyun’s features, adding an element to his features that makes it hard for her to stop staring. She just blinks at him, watching him, waiting and waiting for an answer.

He nods, gesturing in front of him. “Fine. Let’s just get out of here.”

She stumbles as she walks, unable to walk a straight line at all. She swears she hears him scoff behind her. She definitely sees him roll his eyes at her. But, he doesn’t touch her, though she can feel him following closely behind her as she maneuvers her way through the crowded bar and to the door. She stumbles out into the cool night, nearly tripping over her own two feet. Baekhyun grabs her by the back of the shirt, steadying her easily, before he promptly lets go.

She takes in the sight of him, her cheeks warm from the alcohol, a smile threatening to rip her face in two. She lets it, only because it’s hard not to. Baekhyun smiles, too, after a moment, and it’s tiny, kind, almost genuine. She blinks.

“I’m hungry.”

He says, “And what am I supposed to do about it?”

“Feed me, obviously.”

“Eh.” He makes a noncommittal noise, waving his hand before he gestures down the street. “I parked this way. Come on.”

Baekhyun stuffs his hands in his pockets, strides long as starts walking, leaving her behind. She pouts after him before she stumbles, trying to catch up. He glances sideways at her, snickering at the way she half-gallops, half-stumbles to keep up with him, before he slows down his pace significantly. There’s something so very calming about his presence, she realizes, as she walks beside him, occasionally knocking into his shoulder because she can’t walk straight for the life of her, not when the whole world is rocking side-to-side like this.

Even when a brawny, middle-aged man coos hey baby at her, making her cringe, and he immediately snaps out a low, intimidating, “Keep ing walking, old man.” that has even the man recoiling, hurrying down the street before she can snap at him to off. Even then, there is something calming, safe, about his presence. It’s strange, because she’s only just met him a few days ago.

Baekhyun opens the passenger’s side door for her before he rounds his car. It takes her four tries to get her seatbelt to click. Baekhyun laughs after the second try, muttering something that sounds suspiciously like .

She repeats it back at him, louder. He just lets out a bellowing sort of laugh that doesn’t make her angry. Maybe, she’s not just drunk. Maybe, she’s absolutely faced.

It’s a Friday night when Baekhyun—his tone so quiet it unnerves her, her stomach churning at the sudden change in atmosphere—taps away at the steering wheel, staring straight ahead all the while, and asks, “Why don’t you want to go home?”

It’s a logical question. It really, truly is.

She opens , tries to formulate some kind of excuse, tries to tell him oh, Seulgi’s parents are over and I wanted to give them space or it’s none of your ing business, something responsible or something angry to throw him off, but nothing comes out of . Her vision starts to swim.

She panics, at that. She doesn’t cry. She does not cry. She turns away, blinking rapidly as she tries to quell the stinging in her eyes, at her nose, the back of . When she closes her eyes, she sees Seulgi’s blushing face—as if it’s been burned onto the back of her eyelids—and she gets that same, horrible urge to scream.

Still, she manages to respond, though her voice is obviously unsteady and a little choked, “I just don’t want to.”

She thinks Baekhyun will push.

But, he doesn’t. He just says, “Okay.”

He reverses out of the parking spot, though. She blinks away the last of her tears before she peers sideways at him. “Wh—where are you going?”

“My place. We can order takeout there.”

She blinks at him.

He adds, “Only if you want to.”

She picks at a loose thread at the hem of her shirt as she nods, “I want to.”

Baekhyun levels her with a kind smile, even as he states, “I hope you brought your wallet, because you’re paying.”

She throws him a half-hearted scowl. “Cheapskate.”

“And, what about it?”

Sunhee's scowl deepens. Baekhyun just laughs, low and soft and comforting.

a/n: I really don't know how to stop writing this omg. but, baek's solo has me soooooooo excited so I guess this is the result. I hope you guys like the pacing so far. if you have any suggestions or comments or anything pls let me know! thank u!! i love u alllllllll and i'm gonna be dead when city lights comes out, it's everything i've ever wanted from a bbh solo ALREADY KSDNKSJAN TT