Y/N

I thought I could finally have a peaceful sleep after SM released the statement and those journalists had received their notice that they'll be sued for defaming Baekhyun and for publishing biased articles filled with lies.

But in the middle of the night, I was awakened to the sound of my doorbell. With only one eye opening, I sleepily made my way to the door without in my state of mind and just opened it.

My sleepiness instantly disappeared when I was pulled towards the person behind my door and squeezed the life out of me with his arms tight around my body and my head tucked under his chin. The embrace was so tight, I'm afraid I might shrink inside his arms or he will leave marks around my skin.

"Don't leave," Baekhyun frantically whispered, he was panting. "Why did you say that? Why did you tell Sooman?" he pulled away to look at me, hands on the either sides of my shoulders; they were cold.

He seems to be panicking, beads of sweat forming on his forehead and he appears to be pale. Calmly, I asked, "What are you talking about?"

"You testified as a fan! You told him!" he exclaimed, I had to look if someone's around since we're standing in the middle of the hallway and I have to be cautious, sasaengs might be around and listening even at a time such as 1 AM.

"Did he fired you?"

"Baek-" he didn't give me that chance to answer and walks past me, striding inside my apartment. Confused, I followed after him and he leads us to my bedroom. Baekhyun went straight to my closet and the moment he saw my clothes neatly hung and folded, his panting ceased.

He turns to me. "But I thought you were leaving? You... I saw you packing your things!"

I couldn't help but giggle at his panicking state and that must've confused him, he regained his color and even painted his ears red — which I could see even in my dimly lit bedroom.

"That was just a dream, a stupid dream." I chortled softly as I walked closer to him, hand then reaching to take his uninjured one into mine. I couldn't bear to look at him as I filled the gaps in between his fingers and pulled him with me until we're out of my room.

While making our way to my kitchen a shy, suppressed smile takes over my visage. His once cold hand is warming and I can't figure out whose hand is sweating the longer they're intertwined. I didn't mean to think this way, I just want to comfort him like how Sehun holds my hand to make me feel better.

I only let go of him the moment we reached the kitchen and then I proceeded to get him a glass of water.

"But I saw SM's statement. They said you are a fan."

"I did told them to put it that way," I gave him the water. "But I only told Sooman I'd testify as a fan and never revealed I'm actually one."

Silence. He took a sip on the drink as he avoided my gaze. "I hate it."

I blinked my eyes confusedly.

"I hate dreams of people leaving me." he finally locks his gaze with mine. "I thought they were real."

"I'm not going to leave you," I walked closer to him, reaching for his hair and brush them off his forehead with a smile tugging on my lips. He kept his face expressionless, not until we both realized we have been quiet for a minute or two.

Was it the silence or him intently staring at me? My smile dropped the moment my eyes found his orbs. The atmosphere suddenly felt intimate and with the lights all out except from the living room's which is the only source enough for us to see each other in my dark kitchen, it's making me feel something... I can't describe it with other words than romantic.

It's my heart, right! It's beating abnormally, palpitating in a way when I drink more than a cup of coffee a day. I was so nervous for an unknown reason and just wanted to break our intimidating eye contact, but I ended up glancing down on his lips; my eyes fluttered rapidly and heartbeat skyrocketing.

One of his hands carefully made its way to my side as he took one step closer to me, he was so close that he's literally pressing against my flushed body. Feeling his comforting warmness snapped me out of my dazed state so I quickly turned to walk away from him.

"I always knew you don't like those kind of dreams." I proceeded to the sink to wash my hands. Actually I just don't know what to do, think, or to react after that... Whatever is that. "If you want, I can watch over you." I stared back at him.

He was nibbling on his bottom lip. "I could use a company."

"Okay then. Go ahead, I'll be right at your apartment. I just have to uh... Wash the glass you used." I awkwardly snatched the glass on the counter which I never knew he had placed down there.

Baekhyun says nothing as he exited the kitchen. Once I heard the main door of my apartment closed, that's when I exhaled in relief with my hand pressing on my chest in hopes to stop my racing heart inside of it.

I know what was about to happen, and I did the right thing of avoiding it.

I did not want to take advantage of his broken heart, for him to finally see me and realize that I am the one who has been with him in his ups and downs, and that I love him. I don't want to be a rebound, just because he lost Jian doesn't mean it's a chance for me to step up. As much as possible, I want to keep him away from anything that involves romance and love until he fully heals from the pain that Jian caused, or it will turn out that he's only craving for love because he is hurt.

I want to see him fall in love with someone he deserves to be with and is deserving to have him, without feeling something hurting because of the past. It may, or may not be me, at least I know he learned to love again because I was helping him heal to be able to do so.

But if he's trying to forget that his heart is broken, by trying to get me, it's not it. I didn't want that kind of love, I want to be loved because it is love and not because he wanted to forget the pain.

I was too lost in my thoughts that I haven't noticed that I'm washing a clean glass. I dried my hands before making my way to the living room, only to be surprised when I saw Baekhyun occupying my couch and accompanied by his own pillow and blanket.

"I just thought how you have always been in my place, you must be sick of being there." he explains while setting his things to their places.

"I never said anything like that." I shyly beamed at him. And there he goes again, the way he stares at me. I didn't want this moment to be awkward so I swiftly pried my eyes away from his. "Wait here." and I shuffled to my room to grab some pillow and blankets for myself.

He looked surprised when he saw me going back to the living and throwing my pillow on the other long couch.

"You don't need to sleep here, I'm fine I just need to be in the same place as someone."

After that short intimate moment in the kitchen, I couldn't look at him straight in the eyes and I feel awkward after getting away from what was about to happen. I could've been hiding in my room, arguing with myself if I really did the right thing. But the feeling of looking after him so he won't get another nightmare is stronger than the awkwardness in me. I want to make sure he sleeps tight and won't be having dreams of people leaving him.

But... Wouldn't it be more awkward if we did... Kissed?

The thought of it almost happening got me so flustered that I slowly laid down on the couch without saying anything to him nor sparing him a glance, I tilted my body to face the backrest and covered myself with the blanket to completely hide my reddening cheeks and tensing body.

I don't want to jump in to conclusions and say that we're about to kiss, but he was eyeing my lips when he stepped closer to me and his hand! It was on my side! I've seen those gestures in dramas before, how can I think we weren't heading to that moment?

And I what I did is absolutely right. I may have missed a great opportunity of making one of my delusions to come true but I didn't want such moment to happen when he just got his heart broken and is in the process of healing. Besides, I should remember that I'm keeping him away from romance for the time being.

I lost track of the time I have been trying to calm myself from thinking about what happened in the kitchen, and Baekhyun seems like he isn't sleeping yet when he breaks the silence. "You and Sehun... What are you two?"

"Huh?" I shifted to face the other side. "What do you mean by that?"

"I think I saw you intertwining your hands together, back at the online concert." with one arm under his head, he lays on his back and kept his eyes on the ceiling. "From the stage, I could see it."

"Oh, that. It was his way of comforting me. He was referring to the song that Chanyeol wrote about holding on to someone's hand during hard times." I laid on my back and raised a hand above my face, recalling how Sehun held on to it while smiling to myself.

"So you aren't... Something else?"

His question wiped off my smile, that offended me as I scoffed softly. "When you told me you aren't acknowledging my feelings, you're really serious about it? How many times do I have to spit it right in your face that I like you?" when rotated my head to look at him, he was staring at me, surprised. My lips parted and heat slowly spreads across my face all the way to my ears once I realized what I just blurted out to him. I quickly turned to face the backrest and lifted the blanket up to my head.

After countless of confessions I did, cryptically or straightforwardly, he never got any of those? Not even one?

Does he hate me that much?

----

I got up as soon as I received the text message I'm expecting first thing in the morning. Baekhyun's still fast asleep on the other couch so I carefully tiptoed towards my room to grab a coat before going out.

Once I reached the lobby, a Welsh Corgi runs up to me and immediately circles around my legs. I giggled at the sight of the furbaby and picked him up into my arms. I wonder how he's instantly familiar with me when this is the first time we've met.

Trailing behind Mongryong, was Baekhyun's mom smiling at me though her eyes were apologetic. "Sorry if I couldn't make it yesterday."

"No, it's fine... Eomma..." if I could just melt and then cease to exist. It's not that I don't like it, but she insisted for me to call her to that, just so she could come to help me cheer Baekhyun up as my request.

"How's my Baekhyunie? Is he eating fine and getting enough sleep?"

"I have cancelled his schedules for the whole week so he could sleep whenever he wants and I make sure he eats his meals on time." I frowned remembering that I didn't know how to cook. "I don't know how to cook so I order foods for him instead."

We made our way to my apartment while talking about why I have such request for her to make. Baekhyun's mom literally didn't have any idea how is Baekhyun doing since the day I told him the truth, and he couldn't contact his mo