The sky was as blue as the ocean today. The clouds looked like cotton candies hanging out in the sky, looking so fluffy that Sae Ri wanted to hug them. The sun seemed too shy to show its true-self and took refuge behind the giant clouds. The beautiful flowers adorned the trees lined by the pavement. Sae Ri felt like today was the most beautiful day for some reason. She was proud of herself for coming out for a walk in the evening. It was totally out of character for her to leave her room but here she was, exploring Mother Nature. She let her feet take her different destinations, parks, markets and surprisingly, her energy was intact. Baekhyun was not at home and was out with her. It was because of him, she was out of her cocoon. I need your help, were his exact words when he dragged her out with him but it was a trap. He wanted to drag her out because he something special prepared for her.

After all, it was her birthday.

“Where are we going?” Sae Ri asked Baekhyun for the first time in the thirty minutes they came out for the walk. “Somewhere,” Baekhyun replied playfully and winked at her. Seeing the worried expression on her face, he giggled imagining the weird thoughts raking her brain. “Don’t worry. I am not going to kidnap you.” Baekhyun chuckled, embarrassing Sae Ri. Baekhyun had completely ruined her plans for her own birthday. She had planned to cry and embrace self-deprecating thoughts to death which was a ritual for her.

Sae Ri was tired of walking. Where was Baekhyun taking her? Why was he walking so carelessly in public? Wouldn’t his fans go crazy if they saw him here? He was pretty famous from what Sae Ri had heard from Suho. Before she forgets, she needed to talk to Suho. It was her birthday today and he hadn’t called her, let alone text her. She was going to roast him to death once she finds him.

“Oh My God! It’s Byun Baekhyun. Can we get your autograph?” Sae Ri’s string of thoughts was interrupted by two fangirls who approached both of them, actually just approached Baekhyun. “Sure.” Baekhyun face was lightened by his signature rectangle smile, showing almost all his teeth. He signed the books both the girls were holding in their hands and wrote the sweetest message one could ever think of. I hope you continue to smile this beautifully, was what he had written on the books. “Can we get a picture together?” Both the girls started jumping excitedly when Baekhyun agreed to get photos clicked without even hesitating for a second. “Can you click our photos?” Sae Ri realized that the girls were talking to her and there was a glint of dangerous desperation in their eyes which scared her. Fangirls are one of the scariest creations of God.

“Sure.” Sae Ri took the phone from one of the girls and waited till they posed. Baekhyun stood in the center with both the girls standing on his either side. She captured the moment in the camera and gave the girls their phone back. “When are you going to publish your next book?” One of the girls questioned making Baekhyun remember something he seemed to have erased from his memory temporarily. “I-I am not sure.” Baekhyun scratched his nape and chuckled nervously. “You are the best author in the world. We love you.” Their sudden confession made Baekhyun blush like crazy and his chest puffed with confidence. “And you guys are the best fans in the world. I love you.” He winked at the girls making them squeal like seals. Sae Ri has never ‘judged’ someone so much in her life. She has never felt so neglected by Baekhyun who would usually not stop talking when he was with her. This was the first she felt so….underappreciated by Baekhyun. He surely has a way with girls.

“Sorry about that! I got so-”

“Yeah. I don’t care.” Sae Ri replied coldly and walked ahead ignoring the explanation that Baekhyun was offering her. “Wait.” He jogged to catch with the steps of Sae Ri, slightly confused with her rude behavior. Sae Ri’s question was still left unanswered and she was growing impatient with every second.

“We are here,” Baekhyun said while walking towards the entrance of the subway station. “We are late.” Baekhyun fastened his pace and quickly bought the tickets. He intertwined his fingers with hers completely ignoring the fast thumping heart, and pulled her with him, both of them running to catch the train. Sae Ri was too familiar and unfamiliar with this skin-ship making her heart jump like a puppy. Her lungs were out of air as she continued to run with him. She had to admit she was a bit disappointed when they stepped in the train.

Sae Ri’s cheeks colored different hues of pink and red as Baekhyun attempted to shield her from the people flooding in the train. Sae Ri’s back was pressed against the side of the door and Baekhyun had her caged between his arms. Her cheeks were in contact with his chest and her lips occasionally brushing against his shirt. The scent of his aftershave, which was very addictive, kicked in. A sudden push from a passenger caused Baekhyun to bump into Sae Ri and before any damage could be caused, Baekhyun instinctively placed his hand behind her head to protect her from getting hurt. “Are you alright?” Baekhyun voiced his concern, his eyes full of worry. Sae Ri was running out of words and just nodded. “What about you?” He mirrored her action and there was his bright smile again reassuring that he too, was fine.

Sae Ri didn’t notice her hand clutching Baekhyun’s shirt which obviously didn’t go unnoticed by Baekhyun. Baekhyun bit his lower lip from stop smiling but failed in doing so. There were still fifteen minutes left for them to reach their destination. They could do various things before reaching their destination. He took out his earphones from his pockets and untangled them. After an eternity, he was able to untangle them successfully and connected it to his phone. He positioned one in his ear and the other in Sae Ri’s startling her. He knew if he asked her she would refuse. A soft melody entered her ears making goosebumps emerge on her skin.

Sae Ri loved listening to songs, especially songs based on a piano and violin. Music was what had been her constant companion. Games and music were two important ingredients she couldn’t live without. She wasn’t that passionate for music as she was for games but she surely recognized the beauty of different genres. Some of her favorite songs were those which gave words to her agony. She listened to sad songs, sure, but her ears were sensitive to motivational songs too. They would give a sign of newfound courage and determination to live, to endure a very new journey, to love. She didn’t recognize the song that Baekhyun had chosen for both of them but this was definitely going in her playlist.

“This is my favorite song.”

This made her pay more attention to the lyrics.

I see you walking through the rain
And I see the water covering your teardrops on your face
And I know that I broke all your rules
Oh, now you're looking at me, and I'm looking at you like a fool
But, you don't know what it feels like to fall in love with you
No, you don't know what it's like when you can't go back

'Cause I only lose my mind when I ain't got you
And how can I not win when I'm always bound to lose
No, when I ain't got you
No, no, no, I ain't got you, no

So come on inside, you catch a cold
Oh, darling the storm will pass when you grow old
But you stand next to me with a look in your eyes
And you say goodbye, you say goodbye
And you say goodbye
But, you don't know what it's like to lose you

'Cause I only lose my mind when I ain't got you
And how can I not win when I'm always bound to lose?
When I'm always bound to
'Cause I tried to hold on tight to make you mine, but I lost each time
And I only lose my mind when I ain't got you

That day Sae Ri found a lot about Baekhyun through his playlist. He was lonely, poetic and broken inside. He needed someone too…just like her.

“We are here,” Baekhyun informed whoever he was talking to on the phone making Sae Ri curious. While Baekhyun was talking on the phone, she took in the surroundings. Gangnam looked beautiful at night with skyscrapers, decorating the ink-black night with glimmering lights. The station was bustling with thousands of people as if housing the entire population of Gangnam there. She had never been to Gangnam and it seemed her wish came true. “Suho’s coming to pick us up.” Baekhyun’s voice brought her back to Earth. When he looked her in the eyes, the lights gleaming in her eyes brightened her face more. Suho’s grandmother’s home is here which explains him coming to pick them up. Sae Ri simply nodded her head and focused her attention anywhere but Baekhyun.

“Have you ever been here before?”

“No.”

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Baekhyun then continued to talk on about how he was here for a book fan-signing event and another time, when he was here with his family and he would have gone on and on when Suho approached them. “Hi.” Suho jogged towards them, his face instantly brightening on seeing the two of them. A smile took form on the lips of Sae Ri when she saw Suho and embraced him. “I missed you.” She murmured and hugged him tighter. Baekhyun’s expression was unreadable when he saw the siblings hugging. He wondered why Sae Ri didn’t smile so easily when she was with him. He wished to get a chance to hug her, caress her hair and kiss her forehead.

“What are you guys planning? I know that you guys have something planned for my birthday and it’s time I stop playing the fool.” Sae Ri burst their bubble and crossed her arms across her chest. Baekhyun and Suho knew that Sae Ri was smart enough to figure out what’s going on. She’s an adult for God’s sake!

“In that case, let’s keep this a secret.” Suho grinned making Sae Ri face-palm. “Before we go, we have to dance to Gangnam style!” Baekhyun yelled excitedly earning strange glances from the crowd. He raced towards the exit where the music was being played and imitated the moves of the song. Suho caught up with his friend and joined him in embarrassing Sae Ri who was not doing well in holding back her laughter. She burst out laughing encouraging both the men to dance more weirdly. She didn’t care about her emotions or her past but only her present and her present seemed like a gift from above.

“How do I look?” Baekhyun aped the posture of the mannequin, his body bent slightly with his hands on his hips and his eyes holding a y gaze. “You look y Ms. Byun. Care to go out with me sometime?” Suho bit his lower lip ily and did body rolls earning slaps from Sae Ri who was clearly disgusted from this whole scene. Drinking whilst roaming the streets of Gangnam was not a good idea. Sae Ri stuck to this idea but both the ‘donkeys’ here, couldn’t get the facts straight. She was literally babysitting the males on her 26^th birthday.

After severe efforts, was she able to get both of them to move Baekhyun hooked his arm with hers and continued to walk making her blush. He suddenly stopped making Sae Ri think what happened now. His eyes were fixed on the necklaces that a lady was selling by the street. His eyes scanned all the designs so meticulously that he seemed sober for a moment. His eyes settled on a pretty silver necklace with a small moon and stars hanging on it. He took that necklace and pushed Sae Ri’s hair on one side surprising her. The cold necklace touched her skin and she looked down to see it. “It looks perfect,” Baekhyun mumbled and smiled.

“How much is it?”

“I want it too, Baekhyun”

“Shut up, Suho hyung.”

“Can we please go home?”

“No.” Baekhyun and Suho spoke in unison causing Oh Sae Ri to heave a deep sigh. “Look! A gift shop.” Suho pointed towards the said shop and dragged Baekhyun towards the shop. A stranger would have thought that both of them were on a date. They looked so love-struck and into each other. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other and stared at each other as if they were each other’s everything. Sae Ri would do anything to leave these fools alone. Third-wheeling on a date wasn’t really a good idea.

“I got it, Baekhyun. Run.”

There they were running with – “Oh My God! Not again.” They were stealing stuff now! She spotted a bunny toy in Suho’s hand. Her eyes frantically searched for Baekhyun, whom she found distracting the shopkeeper so that Suho could run. “Suho, stop.” She raced after Suho and tackled him on the ground, trying to snatch the toy from the idiot who was kicking her to stop ‘the evil lady’ (what he was calling her then). “I’ll save you hyung.” Baekhyun was running at her with top speed scaring her little from inside. As history has it, Baekhyun’s clumsiness got in the way making him fall flat on the ground.

“Hyung.”

“Baekhyun.”

Both of them whined dramatically with their hands stretched towards each other. Sae Ri had no idea what to do. The poor girl grabbed the toy from her cousin and returned it to its rightful owner, apologizing frantically for the ruckus. She glared at the drunkards who were somehow aware that it was their end tonight. “Let’s call it a night.” Baekhyun stupidly grinned at her at the same time, using Suho to shield him from the lady who resembled the Goddess of Wrath. “Oh, after this you would want to.” Sae Ri pulled them by their ears, ensuring that they feel the pain and then dragged them with her waiting for a taxi to take them home and end the night.