When Haeun got the call early Christmas morning that there had been another murder that had been connected to Baekhyun (because of his missing gun of all things), she swore that her heart stopped in her chest for a moment. At this rate, she really wasn’t going to be able to deal with life for much longer.

Chanyeol didn’t have much information for her, but he promised that he’d try to find out as much as he could and would let her know later in the day. 

She didn’t know what it was that propelled her to get out of her apartment close to 6 in the evening after the entire day of trying to distract herself with brunch with Jeonghan’s family and then a video call to her parents and family. Haeun had a great day so far, but all she could really think about was the fact that Baekhyun was probably sitting in his apartment all alone, and that’s when she grabbed her thin jacket and headed out. Baekhyun had mentioned once that his favorite comfort food was chicken and beer, and Haeun quickly made up her mind that she’d just pick some up and drop it off at his place.

It was weirdly warm for this time of the year, and so she decided that maybe she should just go out for a walk. It had been cloudy all day, but there hadn’t been a single drop of rainfall all day, so Haeun figured that it probably wouldn’t rain after all. Connecting her headphones to her phone, she put the earbuds into her ear and headed out.

As she walked to the chicken restaurant that was practically the halfway point between her place and Baekhyun’s, she enjoyed the fresh air that was rare for this time of the year. Usually the air was biting cold and would send a chill deep into her bones, but she was hoping that the refreshing air would help her clear her mind a bit. She didn’t know why this specific case was bothering her so much. She never thought about a client like this before, and she wasn’t sure if maybe it was because she had known Baekhyun at a personal level compared to her other clients. It was definitely strange.

Then there was the idea that he might actually be her soulmate. She kept thinking back to the dinner last night, and all she could hear in her mind was the comment Eunji made about an injured finger. Haeyn had spent weeks complaining about her soulmate’s injured finger that was causing her issues. Sure that could also be a complete coincidence, but from Eunji’s face, Haeun had to believe that she knew who Baekhyun’s soulmate was and that she had a specific reason for bringing that up. 

Unfortunately, Jeonghan was of no help when she took him aside to talk to him about the topic because he simply never paid much attention to what had happened at the party as he was too busy eating, and he couldn’t remember whether she ran into Baekhyun first or someone else that day.

Haeun was living in such a confusing existence that it was kind of stressing her out. She was hoping that the walk would help clear her mind, but instead her thoughts were just getting more and more jumbled the closer she got to the chicken store. She knew she was probably overthinking everything, but it was an occupational hazard at this point.

She sighed, looking up at the dark and cloudy sky only for a single drop of water to hit her cheek. Haeun straightened up, pausing in her spot before registering the fact that water dripping from the sky meant rain, and she didn’t bring an umbrella.

“,” she cursed, lightly jogging the last few feet to the chicken restaurant and ducking instead. Considering it was Christmas night, she was surprised to find so many customers waiting inside. It seemed that it was full of families who had decided to go out for dinner instead of staying in, and there were quite a few delivery men and people who were picking up their food. Haeun had to dodge around a few people to make her way to the register to order, and by then, she knew that she would be waiting for a while before she was going to get any food over to Baekhyun.

~~~

Sure enough, she was a sopping wet mess at Baekhyun’s doorstep, and even though she was fully prepared to walk back home in the torrential downpour outside, she secretly felt immensely happy that Baekhyun had invited her in.

Partially because she was starving and did kind of want to eat the chicken, but also because she wanted to make sure that he was okay. 

They ate in silence at first, simply watching some American Christmas movie on Netflix, but Haeun’s attention was mostly on the fact that Baekhyun kept stealing glances at her every so often, and she was starting to feel insecure about herself. She had left her hair out to air dry instead of using a blow dryer — to be fair, she didn’t even know where it was — so she knew that she looked ridiculous. She was also well aware of the fact that she didn’t look the best in his clothes, which were so big on her, yet weirdly comforting. Thankfully, Baekhyun had the smart idea to put her clothes into the dryer after she emerged from the bathroom so she’d be able to wear them later on her way home. 

Haeun kept fidgeting uncomfortably as he kept looking at her every once in a while before she gave up, sighing.

“You should just take a picture. It’ll last longer,” she spoke up, glancing at him out of the side of her eye. He flinched, and he froze, surprised. His eyes grew wide before he quickly looked away from her.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. From the look on his face, she wasn’t sure that he was surprised that he got caught staring or he was surprised at the fact that he was staring.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked finally, turning to look at him. She set her chopsticks and her plate down on the coffee table. 

Baekhyun also set his plate down and bit his lip. Unconsciously her eyes tracked the movement, and she forced herself to look up at his eyes.

“No,” he answered, but then he seemed to think his response over before amending it. “Well, not more than usual.”

She snorted. “You could say that again. Is the news about the second murder bothering you?”

He shrugged, looking at her face. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn't bothered by it. But more than that...I just miss my family. Then you came with food, so I’m just, I don’t know, overwhelmed.” He looked down at his hands, and a sadness overcame his previously neutral expression as he played with his fingers.

Haeun didn’t understand what came over her in the moment except for the intense need to just hug him, so she shuffled over to Baekhyun on the couch and wrapped her arms around his back, setting her chin on his shoulder. He stiffened at first but readily accepted the hug. For the second time in an hour, she was wrapped up in his arms. Haeun tilted her head down slightly, her nose in the crook of his neck, and she breathed him in.

The entire living room smelled of chicken, but as she buried her face farther into the crook of