Chapter 38

finale

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With the cool night breeze blowing through her long silver hair, her mind becomes blank. Hana doesn’t wanna think right now, she’s tired of thinking. Thinking about her future, thinking about her responsibilities, thinking about the past - sometimes, it’s better to not think at all. She allows herself to be engulfed by this silence and her mind wanders off to a haze.

It isn’t before long that fog her mind was in is suddenly broken by the sound of a slight creak as the door to the balcony is being opened. Instead of turning around, Hana closes her eyes and pretends that she’s still in that state of indifference. The footsteps make their way to her right side, and as more weight is added onto the railing, she relaxes for a moment. At least I know it’s you.

She feels the weight of a silk blazer being draped around her shoulders. Hana finally opens her eyes and turns to face the boy, his face gently lit up by the reflection from the moon. Baekhyun tightens the blazer on her without saying a word, and the girl asks, “Why are you doing this to me?”

“Doing what to you?” Baekhyun feigns innocence, brushing away a strand of hair from her face. 

Instead of replying, Hana continues to stare into his soft brown orbs as she feels a lump welling up in . Baekhyun notices tears forming in her eyes and begins to panic, “Hana, what’s wrong? Did something else happen to you? Are you hurt?”

“Yes,” Hana whispers, her eyes never once leaving Baekhyun as he frantically continues to search her arms for signs of injury.

“Where? Do you need to go to the hospital?” He fishes for his car keys in his pocket and fumbles with his phone, “Maybe I should call an ambulance-”

Hana places her hand on top of his, making him freeze. He looks down at her and notices streams of tears silently coming down her cheeks. He immediately drops his phone and keys, gently cupping her face with both of his hands.

Baekhyun worriedly wipes the tears away with his thumbs, “Hana, please talk to me. Why are you crying?”

“Because I’m so confused,” she manages to whisper.

“Confused about what?” Baekhyun furrows his eyebrows at the response.

When she doesn’t reply again, Baekhyun leans his forehead against hers and whispers, “Baby, please.”

At that, Hana chokes back a sob and gently pulls away from his grasp, “Baekhyun, you can’t do that to me. You don’t have the right to anymore.”

After the words leave , she turns around and covers to silence her sobs. She immediately feels arms wrapping around her waist from behind, and Baekhyun rests his chin on her shoulder.

Finally, Hana reveals, “My heart hurts because I know how much you hurt me before and how much it ruined me. But even with that, why do I still love you? Why can’t you just give me back my heart?”

The girl turns around with eyes shut tightly and lightly taps his chest with her fists as her voice trembles and tears continue to fall down her cheeks, “Why can’t I just forget about you? Why can’t I just move on?”

Baekhyun feels his heart crack at the sight of someone so strong be so distraught and broken, all because of him. Before long, Hana stops hitting him and drops her head, allowing herself to cry more. Baekhyun immediately wraps his arms around her and pulls her in for a tight hug. This time, she doesn’t resist and buries her face into his chest, staining his shirt with her tears. She wraps her arms around him, immediately feeling comforted as he runs his hands through her hair.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” He whispers, tightening his hold on her. He rests his head against hers and closes his eyes as he continues to mutter words of comfort to her. 

After a couple of minutes, he feels her breaths start to even but she refuses to lift her head up from his chest. He doesn’t mind. Instead, he pulls her in even closer and she does the same.

Hana finally pulls back and awkwardly wipes her cheeks with the palms of her hands without a word. Baekhyun chuckles at her suddenly abashed state and steps forward, brushing away the stray tears on her cheeks with his soft hands. 

Baekhyun opens his mouth to say something, but the mood is interrupted by the shrill ring of Hana’s phone. She pulls out the device from her Louis Vuitton purse and the screen is lit up with Sehun’s name.

“Hello?” She answers immediately, glancing at Baekhyun.

“Hey! Where are you and Baekhyun hyung? Your parents are looking for you!” Sehun reports before awkwardly chuckling, “They don’t look too happy.”

Hana sighs, “I’ll be down in a few.”

Sehun hangs up with a quick mutter along the lines of “you owe me” and Hana tucks the phone nicely back into her purse. She fixes her hair and straightens up her dress, heading for the door. Baekhyun gapes at her ability to act as though nothing just happened and grabs her wrist.

Hana looks back at him questioningly, “What?”

He blinks at her nonchalant expression, “What do you mean ‘what’? Is that it?”

“Yeah? Duty calls.” Hana states obviously, “You coming or what?”

Baekhyun can’t help but fall into a fit of laughter at the strangeness of the situation. Hana crosses her arms and pouts, “What’s so funny?”

Instead of replying to her question, the grin on Baekhyun’s face widens and he grabs her hand, “Park Hana, there’s really no one like you.”

She blushes a light shade of red and lightly jokes, “Yeah, I’m one of a kind. We all know.”

He smiles and, without thinking, leans in and plants a chaste kiss on Hana’s forehead. The girl’s jaw immediately drops in shock. Her body is frozen in place but, at the same time, she feels as though she is on fire. Is this really happening right now? Have I really lost my mind?

When Baekhyun pulls back and a sweet smile is on his face, Hana’s questions appear to be answered without words needed. Her face turns a deep red, and she immediately puts her hands to her cheeks, turning the other way.

“Cute,” Baekhyun comments, causing Hana to slap his abdomen lightly. He hunches over and laughs before taking her hand in his, opening the door to the balcony. “Shall we go?”

//

While on the elevator, not a word is exchanged between the pair. They are standing side by side, Baekhyun awkwardly adjusting the watch on his wrist and Hana staring up at the numbers slowly decreasing. She glances at the boy for a moment before blowing a raspberry, crossing her arms and moving an inch away from him. This is so awkward! Why did he have to do that on the rooftop?!

Baekhyun notices her movement and gapes at her in surprise. He keeps his eyes on her but she continues to look everywhere else in the elevator besides at him. He huffs and childishly moves closer to her before looking straight ahead. The girl stares at him and he ignores her gaze. She rolls her eyes and takes another step away, but Baekhyun repeats the same action. Before she could open , the elevator dings and the doors slide open to the lobby of the hotel.

“After you,” Baekhyun gestures, a playful smirk on his face. 

Hana pushes down the side of her lip that quirked up and clears , stepping out of the elevator with Baekhyun following in suit, a chuckle escaping his lips. 

As the pair begin to near the double doors of the ballroom once again, Hana’s speed begins to slow down and Baekhyun nearly crashes into her when she suddenly stops a few steps away from the door. 

He stares at her curiously, noticing how her lips twist in anxiousness and her fingers fiddle with the end of her tight dress. He knows that look of concern all too well.

She sighs and straightens up her shoulders, ready to enter another couple hours of fake smiles. As she takes a step forward, she’s stopped by Baekhyun’s hands gently lacing into hers. She turns towards him curiously, but before she could pull away, he tightens his grip on her hand.

“Hey,” He starts, gauging her expression, “Do you wanna go to the park where we had our first kiss?”

She flushes red at the memory and stumbles on her words, “W-what? Why would you want to go there? We’re at my return p-party!”

“Come on, you’re saying that you’re having fun babbling on about the stock market in there?”

“Well no, but my pare