Chapter 18

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The boys were diligently paying attention to the lecture taking place. Baekhyun slid his yellow highlighter across the sentence he just wrote, glancing up at the board. Suho jotted down extra notes on a sticky note on his desk, and Sehun peeked over at his paper before copying the notes. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and slapped Sehun on the back of the head, to which the younger pouted and rubbed the area.

As soon as class ended, the students began to disperse to the cafeteria for lunch. However, the boys lingered behind to pack up their things. Baekhyun laughed at a joke that Kai made, and Chanyeol’s ears picked up on the sounds of heels near the vicinity. He glanced up at noticed a girl with short black hair strut towards the door of their classroom. She flipped her hair and strode right up to the group. Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, “Can we help you?”

The girl ignored him and kept her gaze on Baekhyun, “I came to talk to Baekhyun.” Kai scoffed, “You act like you’re friends with him.” She shot the boy a glare, and Kai stuck his tongue out.

Baekhyun sighed and stepped forward, his backpack slung over one shoulder. He tilted his head with an uninterested gaze, “You’re wasting everyone’s lunch time, Lee Hyeri.”

She smiled angelically, “Come eat lunch with me today. I haven’t seen you since you left for Japan.” He coldly stared at her, “You don’t need to see me. We aren’t anything.”

Sehun chortled, “Yeah, you tell her, hyung!”

Hyeri crossed her arms with a frown, “You know, my parents are still trying to convince yours to go through with the engagement. Shouldn’t you be a little nicer to me?”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “No, because it’s not gonna happen. I already told you months ago.”

“You’re probably just going through a phase. I know you’ll come around eventually.” Hyeri purred, wrapping her arm around his. The two were supposed to be engaged years ago, but after Baekhyun’s adamant refusal, his parents obeyed his wishes. Hyeri’s parents were still persistent, and she thought there was no one else more perfect for Baekhyun than herself.

Just then, Hana walked out of her own classroom with her chemistry textbook in hand and pink backpack around her shoulders. Her head was buried in the small text, but she heard familiar voices coming from a classroom up ahead. She lifted her head and glanced into the window, and her eyes widened when she saw the boys. Chanyeol stepped to the side, and she saw a girl’s arm wrapped around Baekhyun’s.

Hana dropped her textbook in surprise, and all heads turned towards the window at the sudden noise. Baekhyun’s jaw dropped and he yanked away from Hyeri, causing the girl to lose her balance. Hyeri frowned and pushed Baekhyun’s shoulder, to which the boy didn’t even react. She glanced back and saw Hana staring through the window.

For some reason, Hana felt as though she had intruded on something. She quickly pushed her glasses up and grabbed her textbook, scurrying away as fast as she could. Kai looked at Baekhyun with a worried expression, “Hyung…”

Baekhyun cursed and tried to run towards the door, but Hyeri grabbed his arm, “Where are you going so suddenly?”

Baekhyun threw her arm off of his and glared at her, “Leave me alone. I’m serious.” He gave her a warning look as he ran out of the room, the other boys following in suit. Sehun glanced at Hyeri as he walked past, sticking his tongue out before following his hyungs.

Hyeri crossed her arms with a thoughtful expression, tapping a red acrylic nail against her spray-tanned skin. Interesting. Why did he react like that with Hana?

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Hana arrived at the library and sat down at a table in the back near the window. She placed her backpack on the table and began to take out her notebooks and pencils. Are they friends? Why was she holding onto his arm like that? Why did he look so shocked to see me? Hana shook her head and tried to focus on the chapter, but her mind continued to drift back to the scene she just witnessed. She sighed and placed her head down on the table, staring off into the distance. She saw couples running around on the soccer field and smiled longingly. Part of her wished that Baekhyun would come and explain himself, but there was another half of her that was afraid to hear his words.

Hana suddenly felt insecure. Hyeri is really pretty and fiesty. I heard all of the older seniors like her because she looks more mature than the other girls. She sighed once more at her thoughts and closed her eyes.

The chair next to Hana pulled out, and the girl stiffened. Is it Baekhyun? She slowly lifted her head with an expectant expression, but her face fell at the figure in front of her. 

Taehyun smirked, “Happy to see me?”

Hana rolled her eyes and placed her head back down, “Leave me alone, I’m not in the mood.” Taehyun poked her arm as he placed his feet on the table, “Why? Did Baekhyun break up with you?”

She glared at the unwelcome guest, “No, he didn’t. Now shoo.” He blinked at her in surprise, “So it’s true? You two are dating?”

Hana huffed and crossed her arms, “Yes, we are. What about it?”

Baekhyun arrived at the library, breathing heavily from running. He was about to enter, but peered through the small window in the door and paused in surprise. He watched as Hana interacted with Taehyun, although she did look irritated. He was confused as to why she wasn’t forcing him away.

The other boys quickly appeared on the scene and quizzically stared at Baekhyun’s blank expression. Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows, “Why aren’t you going in and talking to her?” 

Baekhyun dropped his hand on the door and stepped back, allowing the other boys to see the interaction in front of them. Sehun tilted his head, “Why is she talking to Taehyun?”

“Yeah, that’s a little weird,” Kai admitted, cautiously looking at Baekhyun to gauge his expression.

Taehyun said something and scooted closer to Hana, and it looked like she said some harsh words in response, but she didn’t move away or force him to leave. Baekhyun grew disheartened. Well, maybe she’s better off with someone that has a well-known family name and has her father’s approval to begin with. He spun on his heels and began to walk away, but Chanyeol grabbed his shoulder, “Where are you going?” 

Baekhyun twisted out of his grasp and continued to head towards the cafeteria. Chanyeol rolled his eyes and stormed into