Chapter 36

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Baekhyun sticks his tongue out and holds his phone even higher, “Can’t reach it even with those heels of yours, huh? How are you gonna stop me from calling her?”

“Byun Baekhyun, don’t you dare!” Hana pouts, reaching up higher and resting her hand on his broad shoulder to steady herself, “I will throw the biggest tantrum in the world if you call her!”

“Why? Are you jealous?” Baekhyun teases.

“No! I just don’t want to see her at my party!” Hana whines.

“What’re you gonna do about it?”

“Byun Baekhyun, you are being so childish right now. Are you a freshman in high school or what?”

The sound of someone clearing their throat makes the two of them turn their heads. Standing there with an amused smile is Mr. Park, a glass of wine balanced in his right hand, “Sorry to interrupt, kids.”

Hana quickly pulls away from Baekhyun and smooths out her dress, “What is it, dad?”

Baekhyun tries to hide his reddened ears, straightening out his tie and looking around the room. He glances over at his group of friends and sees the five of them amusedly staring at him while munching on a few desserts. Sehun chokes on his macaron, earning a roll of the eyes from Kai and a loud laugh from Chanyeol. Suho sighs and hands the younger a glass of water.

Baekhyun shoots them a glare as Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. He turns back to the duo in front of him.

Mr. Park glances at Baekhyun before directing his attention to his daughter, “Come with me to meet one of my new friends. They’re considering working with us in the upcoming year.”

Hana looks in the direction that her father nods in, an unsettling feeling settling in the pit of her stomach at the sight of a sophisticatedly dressed male with his son next to him. The boy pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and meets eyes with her, a cocky smirk playing on his lips. Baekhyun notices and furrows his eyebrows, taking a step closer to Hana.

Mr. Park blinks at the boy in surprise before chuckling, walking away first, “Anywho, come along now, Hana.”

Hana sighs and takes a step forward without a choice. Suddenly, a hand wraps around her delicate wrist and causes her to look back and meet eyes with Baekhyun’s warm ones. She feels butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

“Will you be okay?” Baekhyun asks softly, his thumb gently running across her knuckles. She forces herself to push down the lump in . 

Instead of waiting for her reply, Baekhyun tilts his head down and maintains eye contact with her, “I know you’ll be okay. You got this. You’ve done this time and time again, I believe in you.”

And with that, Hana’s sure that her heart is gonna flip out of her chest. She feels confident, re-energized, and more importantly, so thankful that at least someone believes in her genuinely. Before she could say her thanks, he simply gives her a soft smile and squeezes her hand before pulling away, turning on his heels and making his way back to the boys. She stares at his retreating back in awe, ignoring the teases that the others are throwing his way. She can’t help but admire his broad shoulders, the confidence that he exudes, and the way that his ears are tinged a light shade of red.

Hana’s snapped out of her daze at the light call from her father’s stern voice, “Hana, come on now.”

She shakes her head and quickly struts off, feeling better than she had been in the last few months. She can most definitely handle this.

//

Two minutes into the conversation, Hana can already feel her confidence waning. She dislikes the way that her father’s “new friend” talks as if their company is more superior and making snide remarks about Hana’s position due to her gender. She can tell her father’s irked too by the way his eyebrow twitches and the way he’s swirling his drink in the glass. Also, Hana’s a little uncomfortable because his son smells kind of weird and keeps smirking at her in what he assumes is a seductive manner. She just really wants to get out of this situation.

Her father clears his throat, “So, anyway, what school does your son go to? I don’t think we’ve ever seen him around.” He glances at Hana and she nods in agreement. 

The man clears his throat and changes the topic, his son shifting uncomfortably, “He’s actually taking a break for now. Is Hana still in school? I’m assuming not since she has so much responsibility on her hands.”

Hana blinks at the man in surprise before replying, “I’m in my final year now, actually. I just returned from my summer semester in America, as well.”

Mr. Park adds, “She’s also in the top 2 ranks in her graduating class.”

The silence engulfs the group in an awkward embrace. The man clears his throat again and ignores the girl’s achievements, throwing in a small jab here and there, “Wow, that’s certainly unexpe