Chapter 9

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Weeks passed by uneventfully. Hana’s parents had gone on a business trip for two weeks to France, and Hana was grateful for the opportunity to avoid the topic of the previous party to be brought up again. The entire school was preparing for midterms, and everyone was furiously jotting down notes in the library. It was silent, compared to the usual boisterous laughter that would fill the halls.

In an empty classroom on the second floor, the six boys were sprawled around the room during their lunch break. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were sitting in desks next to the window and reviewing flashcards for their history class, while Sehun and Kai were seated on top of the desks, dangling their long legs. Kyungsoo pushed up his glasses as he flipped the page of his chemistry textbook, and Suho was working out a complicated calculus problem on the chalkboard in the front of the room.

Sehun took a bite of his sandwich and sighed, “This blows. The weather is so nice today. We should be playing basketball instead of being cooped up here!” Kai nodded in agreement, taking a sip of his banana milk.

“You guys should be studying too, you know.” Suho chided, glancing back and forth between his notes and the board.

Sehun pouted and turned his attention to Baekhyun and Chanyeol. He lit up at once, “Baekhyun hyung, you should totally ask Hana on a date! It’s the perfect weather for one!”

Baekhyun flipped one of his flashcards around before placing it on the desk, “Are you kidding me? This is one of the most stressful times for the entire school.”

Chanyeol shrugged, “Maybe she needs a break too. Besides, I heard that her parents are out of town for the next two weeks. I hate to agree with Sehun, but this is the perfect time to take her on a date!”

“Have you even hung out with her alone before, hyung?” Kai asked, leaning forward with his elbows planted in his thighs in interest.

Baekhyun ignored Kai’s question and turned to Chanyeol, “Speaking of her, you never told me how dinner went. What happened?”

All eyes turned to Chanyeol and the taller nervously fidgeted in his seat, “Why are you all looking at me like that? It’s not important anyway.”

Baekhyun leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, an eyebrow raised, “Why are you so nervous, then?”

Sehun jumped off his desk and ran over to Chanyeol, holding the older in a headlock, “Chanyeol hyung! I warned you! Stand up and let me see those knees!”

Chanyeol threw Sehun off in a flash and instantly stood up, “I didn’t do anything! It was our stupid parents!”

Suho placed the piece of chalk down and dusted off his hands, “Were they trying to set you two up?” Chanyeol glumly nodded but quickly turned to Baekhyun, falling to his knees, “But I swear, I’ll never let it happen! I tried my best at the dinner to show them how great of a guy you are, but I don’t think that worked out too well.”

The said male furrowed his eyebrows, “What do you mean it didn’t work out too well? Did her dad say something to you?”

Chanyeol guiltily flinched before admitting, “He said he’ll invite you to the engagement party if all goes well, whatever that means.” Baekhyun’s face dropped and Chanyeol quickly replied, “But I’ll do anything to make sure that doesn’t happen, dude! I’d even move out of this country just to make sure it doesn’t!”

Kyungsoo sighed, “You moving out of the country isn’t gonna help. They’ll just hitch her to some other guy that might treat her way worse. At least this way, we know it’s you.”

“That’s exactly why Baekhyun hyung should take her on a date right now!” Kai exclaimed, “If she ends up liking him as much as he likes her, she’d definitely put up a fight against her parents!”

Suho shrugged, “It’s worth a shot.” At the opportunity, Kai shot up out of his seat and snatched Baekhyun’s phone off of his desk. The older reached out in a panic, “Kai! Don’t you dare!”

As Baekhyun chased Kai around the classroom, dodging the chairs that the younger was pulling out as obstacles, Kai had speedily typed out a text to Hana and hit the send button. At that, Kai stopped running and held out the phone innocently, “You’re welcome.”

Kai strolled away, high-fiving the other boys on his way back to his spot. Baekhyun fumbled with his phone as he attempted to unlock it, reading the message that Kai had composed:

[1:32 pm]: Hey cutie, wanna go on a date today? ;)

The worst part? Hana had already opened it and there were three little dots that appeared at the bottom of the screen. Baekhyun threw his phone on the nearest desk and bolted for Kai, who immediately jumped over a desk and sprinted towards the door, “KAI! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”

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Hana was walking back to her classroom after having gone to the rooftop for a few minutes. She enjoyed the sun’s warm rays on her skin, and was disappointed when she saw that it was almost time for class to resume. As she turned the corner after greeting a few juniors, she felt a buzz from her phone. She pulled the device out of her small blazer pocket, and her eyes bulged out at the message.

Did Baekhyun really just send this flirty message to me? How do I even respond to that? Hana gaped at the message. She began to furiously type back a message, flustered, but quickly deleted her response. She continued to stare at the screen in disbelief until someone bumped into her from behind. She spun around and emitted a small gasp, “Kai?”

Kai was out of breath, slouched over. He put a hand on her shoulder and genuinely looked into her eyes, “Baekhyun’s on his way over right now. Don’t believe anything he says. He 100% wrote that message.”

“KAI!” Baekhyun’s voice roared, and Kai straightened up, “Gotta go! See you later!” He ran off again, and Baekhyun came to a halt in front of Hana. He was breathing heavily and cursed, “Stupid Kai!”

He quickly grabbed Hana’s hand, “I swear, I didn’t write that message.”

Amused, Hana replied, “Sorry, I was told not to believe you.”

Baekhyun closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, “That idiot.”

Hana chuckled, “So, ‘cutie’ huh?” Baekhyun flushed a deep red, “I’m telling you, I didn’t write it!” The girl playfully pouted, “So you don’t think I’m cute?” He gasped, “I didn’t say that!”

Hana heartily laughed and patted his arm, “I’m just kidding with you, Baekhyun. Thanks for letting me know. I thought you were a player for a second.”

He huffed, blowing his bangs out of his eyes and sarcastically replying,  “Wow, thanks.” Hana gave him a lighthearted wink that made his heart skip a beat. She started to walk away towards her classroom, but Baekhyun quickly grabbed her wrist. As soon as she spun back around, Baekhyun quickly said, “But do you have time for a date today?”