A couple of important things in the A/N!

Baekhyun couldn’t entirely believe what exactly was happening. One moment, he was internally freaking out, hoping that Haeun would love the necklace that he had spent an hour picking out after she left on Christmas night. He knew she wouldn’t want anything too expensive from him — despite her constant comments about his money — and that if he went too overboard, he’d be coming off too strong.  Even so, he really wanted to give her something. It took him awhile to figure out what to get her, but once he saw the necklace, he immediately knew it was the perfect gift for her.

The next thing he knew, Haeun was kissing him.

Her lips were incredibly soft and pliant, and he wasn’t afraid to admit that he loved the way her hands felt on his cheeks as her thumbs slowly brushed against his cheekbones. This was the feeling that he had been chasing before Haeun had left that night, but he wasn’t sure that she’d ever reciprocate his feelings, and so he backed off quickly, instead choosing to just brush his hand against her cheek and letting himself be content with that small bit of contact.

Once his brain caught up to what was happening, he moved to lean further into the kiss, fully planning on pushing himself closer to her as he wrapped his arms around her back, but Haeun pulled away from him. He opened his eyes in a haze only to find her looking at him similarly. She didn’t move away from him entirely, staying within his arms as her hands remained on his jaw.

They simply looked at each other, and Baekhyun desperately wanted to kiss Haeun again. He slowly moved towards her, making his intentions clear to her as his eyes zeroed in on her lips. He gave her plenty of time to push him away, but Haeun simply tightened her hold on him, pulling him closer to her as she let out a breath that fanned across his face. He barely held back a shiver as he took the chance to kiss her again — properly.

She arched into him, and Baekhyun nearly lost his mind as he felt her chest press up against his. Haeun kissed him harder, their lips moving together as though they were each other’s sustenance. Baekhyun lost himself in her, barely even registering how Hauen’s hands traveled down his jaw and neck, over his shoulders, and behind his neck before they finally linked there. Her hands were playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, and this time he couldn’t hold back the shiver that travelled down his spine. Baekhyun moved one hand up her back, tangling it in her insanely soft hair as he tilted her head slightly to kiss her better. 

He was beginning to become incredibly breathless, but he refused to focus on that. All he wanted to do was breathe in her lavender perfume and drown in her. He was also having an incredibly hard time stopping himself from pushing her down onto the couch, so instead, he tried to ground himself by focusing on the warmth she was radiating in his arms. 

Unfortunately, breathing was a necessity, and they broke apart, remaining mere inches from each other. Baekhyun opened his eyes, but Haeun’s were still closed as she tried to catch her breath. He could feel her warm breath fanning over his face again, and all Baekhyun wanted to do was to capture her lips again. It was insane, they had just kissed — twice —, but he just wanted to keep doing it over and over again. Haeun eventually just settled her forehead against his shoulder, and he tried to calm his racing heart as he caught his own breath. The only problem was that Baekhyun didn’t think that his heart was going to slow down anytime soon.

Once Baekhyun felt it was safe to trust his voice to speak, he let out a huff of laughter. “That was certainly an interesting way to say thank you,” he grinned. He pulled away from Haeun slightly and reached out to take a lock of Haeun’s hair, twirling it around his index finger. It was such a casual move that Baekhyun didn’t even entirely notice that he’d done it until he watched as Haeun’s eyes watched his fingers move before snapping back to his face with a small smile on her face.

“Shut up,” she laughed, a twinkle in her eyes. “It was an impulsive decision.”

That made Baekhyun pause and stiffen slightly. “Impulsive?” he asked, trying to sound like he wasn’t about to start running from her over the fact that he might have taken advantage of her. He dropped his hand that was playing with her hair.

Clearly, Haeun must’ve read something in his face or body language because her eyebrows shot up as she tried to explain herself. “Not that I regret it! Because I don’t. I—” she spoke, abruptly cutting herself off as her cheeks flushed a light red. 

“You what?” he asked, poking her right cheek lightly. She swatted his hand away as she sighed.

“I’ve been trying to figure out my feelings for you for a few days now,” she responded, her face completely open and honest. “It didn’t really...click until you gave me the necklace.” In the rush to get close to each other, Baekhyun noticed that the necklace and box had fallen to the back of the couch. He let go of Haeun to pick up the necklace, and she let go of him as well.

“I really wanted to give you something to show you how I felt,” he spoke up in a quiet voice, looking down at the necklace as she ran his thumb over the jewelled flowers. “Saying that it’s been hard is an understatement, but you being with me and supporting me was something I don’t think I can ever repay you for.”

“Hmm, you can start by kissing me again,” Haeun answered in a teasing voice. Baekhyun snorted, but he cupped her jaw with one hand and pulled her to him, kissing her softly and sweetly. Haeun smiled into the kiss which made Baekhyun smile as well, and at one point, they were both grinning so much that it wasn’t much of a kiss anymore. They broke apart with a laugh, and Baekhyun wanted to take this memory and frame it in his mind forever. 

Haeun’s flushed cheeks, her bright eyes, her hair that was somewhat tangled thanks to his hand, and her wide smile. 

She took the hand that was on her face and laid it in her lap so she could play with his fingers. 

“But honestly, you didn’t need to do that.” 

Baekhyun shrugged. “I wanted to. Besides, now it’s yours. I don’t want it back nor do I have the receipt.” Haeun laughed but she nodded.

“Okay. But only because you’re asking so nicely.” He rolled his eyes at her antics, but a smile escaped him anyways. She directed her attention back to the necklace, running her fingers over the flowers.

Baekhyun was almost in a state of disbelief, unable to entirely comprehend the fact that they had even gotten to this point. He couldn’t believe that he had just kissed his soulmate, and suddenly, as soon as the thought entered his mind, he struggled to keep his composure, lest Haeun notice again.

He still didn’t tell her that they were soulmates.

The bond wouldn’t break until the two of them acknowledged the bond and their relationship, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t obligated to tell her.

He had to tell her, but...he couldn’t. Not yet. It was too soon.

Baekhyun was entirely aware that he was being selfish, but he wanted to bask in their newfound status as...whatever they were. He knew that as soon as she found out the truth, things would change, and he was afraid that they would change for the worse. 

Haeun, thankfully, was blissfully unaware of his inner turmoil as she looked up at him, suddenly looking extremely shy. “So,” she started, “that happened.”

Baekhyun tried to smile as he packed away his struggles into a mental box marked for later. “It did,” he answered, struggling to keep his voice steady when his heart was doing jumping jacks in his chest. 

“Can I ask you something?” He nodded, tilting his head to look at her. “What are we? I mean, it’s not a bad thing, but we hated each other, like, two months ago. Then we were friends, and now we’re sitting here making out on your couch. It’s not a bad progression, but it’s kind of sudden, and I’m not even sure about my feelings entirely just yet. I mean, I obviously like you, but it’s a bit up in the air as to how much and what this means for us,” she rambled.

Baekhyun decided to shut down the instinct to to favor an honest response. “I don’t know about you, but I’d like to be more than just friends.”

Hauen smiled at that. “You did mention that earlier.”

It was his turn to flush as he felt heat creep up his neck. “That I did.”

“You did,” she nodded. “I think that I’d like that as well.”

“We don’t have to...label this or anything just yet. We could take it slow. See where this takes us,” he answered. Haeun bit her lip as she glanced down at their hands, now laced together. Her hand was much smaller than his, and he could feel the light calluses on her index, middle, and thumb finger from holding a pen all day, but that small bit of contact made him feel infinitely better. He rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. 

She let out a nervous laugh. “I would appreciate that. Just until...we know that this is real. I wasn’t expecting to, uh, kiss you like that all of a sudden.” Baekhyun nodded. He understood that while he already knew that he loved her, she might not have the same feelings for him just yet, and that was perfectly fine. He was okay with what they had, and he would be patient for when she was comfortable enough to have a more serious relationship. Not to mention the fact that he wasn’t ready to suddenly call her his girlfriend when things were so up in the air with his case and Junmyeon out there.

Also, he’d really like to avoid Chanyeol’s teasing for a bit longer.

“On that note, actually,” she continued, “can we just keep this between us?”

Baekhyun snorted at that. “How did you manage to read my mind?”

Haeun threw her head back as she laughed. “Because I’m that