Please read the A/N!

“I definitely did not say you could invite Baekhyun over,” he heard Haeun hiss to Jeonghan. Once they were situated in Haeun’s apartment, Haeun limped over to Jeonghan and dragged him to the kitchen area next to the living room. From the entrance hallway, Baekhyun had walked into the living room. There was a L-sofa facing the TV that was mounted on the wall, and there was a small bookshelf near the TV that was lined with plants and picture frames that looked like it was of Haeun and her family and friends. The kitchen was mostly open next to the living room, just slightly blocked off by a counter that was lined with high chairs. Down the hallway were a couple of rooms - mostly likely the bathroom and bedrooms. 

In a corner was Haeun’s cat, Kai. He was lazing around in a round bed on the floor when Baekhyun had arrived, but thanks to the bustle in the house, he was up and walking around (and on top of) everyone. Baekhyun watched as the cat climbed on top of the sofa near Dongwoo and Eunji before jumping over them to Chanyeol. He wandered around Chanyeol’s lap before  deciding to curl up against Baekhyun for some reason. It was his first time meeting the cat, and he wasn’t sure that cats were supposed to be this welcoming to a stranger, not that he was complaining about a soft, purring cat curled up against him.

It wasn’t long till the purring cat started hissing once the rain outside started hitting the windows of Haeun’s apartment loudly, followed by a clap of thunder. Baekhyun tried to calm the cat by petting it slowly in between it’s ears, and it seemed to work for a bit.

Baekhyun knew he shouldn’t listen in to Haeun and Jeonghan’s conversation, but a quick glance at everyone else sitting around the living room (and the fact that the TV was quieter than it was when he came in) was enough for Baekhyun to know that everyone else was in fact listening into the conversation. Sighing, he just leaned his head against the couch and closed his eyes. Baekhyun felt Kai rubbing his head on his hand, so he just calmly the cat. He tried to ignore the random jabs of pain in his ankle as Haeun kept shifting her weight quickly, and he also tried to ignore Chanyeol’s look of disdain towards him because the cat chose Baekhyun over him.

“You can’t keep this up,” Jeonghan hissed back. “You two are the only ones with a problem in this group of people, and it’s causing problems for the rest of us.”

“Let me hate him in peace, why is that an issue?”

“Because we end up getting stuck listening to you complain about him.”

“You’ve known me longer!”

“Yeah, but Baekhyun’s a really cool guy.”

“You can be friends with him, then. Why do I have to?”

“You aren’t listening to me, Haeun. You don’t have to be friends, just get along for the rest of us.” The timing of the thunder was honestly laughable.

“I’m hearing you just fine. I just don’t want to.” Jeonghan groaned in frustration.

“I don’t care. I invited him over, and the rest of them want him here. He’s staying.” Baekhyun opened his eyes when he heard Jeonghan walk over. He sent him a smile, and Baekhyun smiled back gratefully. 

“Haeun...come sit down. You need to rest your ankle.” Haeun hobbled over, but she tripped over her feet at one point. Hissing in pain, Haeun staggered against the wall to catch her balance. Baekhyun closed his eyes in pain, resisting the urge to curse. 

A few seconds of silence passed as everyone scrambled to make sure Haeun was okay, but when Baekhyun opened his eyes, Jeonghan and Chanyeol were staring right at him. Chanyeol seemed to notice, so he quickly pulled out his phone to pretend to scroll through a menu.

“Hey guys, so what do you want to eat tonight?” Baekhyun watched as Jeonghan tore his eyes away from him, and he turned to look at Chanyeol.

“Chicken…” Eunji groaned as she helped Haeun on to the couch. Haeun propped a foot up on the coffee table, and Dongwoo put an ice pack on her ankle.

“I agree,” Haeun spoke with a slight hum in her voice. Kai perked up at his owner’s voice, and he abandoned Baekhyun to sit in Haeun’s lap. Haeun smiled softly at the cat, and she was the area between his ears.

“Oh, suddenly someone’s a lot happier,” Dongwoo joked as he poked the girl in the side. Baekhyun smiled that Haeun was feeling better. 

“Food always makes me happy.” Chanyeol ordered the chicken, and it wasn’t long before they were all munching away.

The conversation light-heartedly continued, and Baekhyun simply listened to the jokes and the passing sarcastic comments. Baekhyun avoided speaking as he just observed everyone blending together well, but there was still a heavy air around them because of his relationship with Haeun. He guessed that the rest knew what happened between the two, and he wondered what they thought about his reaction. He knew he went overboard, but he was also right. If that happened all over again, he wouldn’t change anything except that he would ask if she was okay first. 

That was his biggest regret. 

Baekhyun had completely zoned when he felt someone touching his shoulder. He turned to look at Eunji looking at him curiously. 

“Huh?”

“What was Jieun doing out that late at night, anyways?” Oh, they were talking about Jieun. Thanks to his late night shift, he had gone home by the time Jieun came in with her family for more in depth statements and for identification of the man that Haeun had tackled, so other officers had dealt with the situation. He found out about it after Chanyeol had called in and asked. 

“Oh, uh, apparently she was studying at the academy, and she lost track of time. Her parents were going to come pick her up, but she refused saying that she needed some fresh air. They ended up compromising on them picking her up from about a block away from the academy. Instead, she disappeared and they couldn’t contact her.”

“When Baek and I left the precinct, the missing persons case hadn’t been filed at that point since it hadn’t been less than 24 hours,” Chanyeol added. “Turns out that she hadn’t told her family about the man stalking her, either.”

“What happened to the man that Haeun tackled?” Eunji asked, reaching for a piece of chicken.

“He’s been saying that it wasn’t him. He was saying that he saw a girl in a high school uniform getting followed, so he ran out after to help her out. He saw Jieun and Haeun hiding behind the car in the alley, and that’s when he accidentally scratched Haeun.”

“Seriously? That just sounds like a made up story,” Jeonghan scoffed.

Chanyeol shrugged. “Unfortunately, his story lined up. Jieun was called in as a witness, and she said that the man who had been following them was wearing a jacket. When he brought the man in, he wasn’t. And it doesn't make sense for him to just randomly drop his jacket on the side of the road.”

“So, you’re telling me that the man who