[CONTENTID1]re:solve[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Chapter 5[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

Soojin spent the weekend resting and recovering from her injuries. The mission with Baekhyun had given her a lot to consider—her new partner was at the center of her thoughts most of the time. The way he had held her after reuniting with her in the warehouse didn’t leave her mind. A dangerous amount of butterflies gathered in her stomach at the memory. His protective embrace had comforted her after she had been scared for her life. She had enjoyed it, there was no denying it. The whirlwind of emotions she felt was hard to make sense of. Was she still in love with him? It couldn’t be… or could it? Their relationship had ended a long time ago—she should finally put it behind herself.

Melancholia took hold of her and made her heart feel like a stone in her chest. She ended up in her bedroom, sitting in front of the wardrobe. Her hands searched for a small box hidden under her socks and pulled it out. She opened the lid and uncovered its contents—a stack of polaroids neatly bundled with a string, and a tiny box underneath. She looked at the picture, overwhelmed with nostalgia. They were remnants of her relationship with him, and each of them was special in some way. There was a snapshot of Baekhyun that she had taken on their first vacation together; Jeju Island, five years ago. It showed him running into the waves of the ocean. Another photo showed a batch of cookies they had made together for Christmas—they had tasted too sweet, but baking them had been fun. Baekhyun had left white handprints on her clothes with his clingy behavior since his palms had been covered in flour. Maybe it was pathetic of her, but she had never had the heart to throw these pictures away. They documented a beautiful part of her life, and though the memories were painful, she didn’t want to lose them.

Her hands reached for the tiny box she had uncovered under the photos and opened it as well. A pair of silver engagement rings sparkled in the light, their insides engraved with two names. Soojin frowned and cupped them in her hand. She had kept them too. Hers had been a gift from Baekhyun—his proposal had been wonderfully romantic. She blushed as she remembered it. He had waited for the last day of the year, and when the clock had struck midnight and fireworks had lit up the sky, he had presented the ring to her, his eyes asking a silent question. She had agreed, happily sharing a kiss with him… It was one of her fondest memories of their relationship. Perhaps that was the reason why she didn’t have the courage to throw the rings away.

On Monday morning, Soojin made herself look presentable, combing her short brown hair until it was silky and soft and adding a little makeup to hide the shadows under her eyes. She put on a gray blouse and elegant black pants before making her way out of the building and to her workplace. As she walked over the long hallway toward her office, she grew nervous. What in the world should she say to Baekhyun? How should she behave? The last time she had seen him, he had acted like a whole different person which confused her immensely.

With an unsure feeling in her stomach, she opened the door to their shared office only to see that he wasn’t there yet. Heaving a sigh, she put down her purse on her desk and sat in front of her computer. While she waited for it to boot up, she checked the messages on her phone and then proceeded to look if Junmyeon had sent her any tasks for today. Indeed, she had already received an email with instructions regarding a job that required her hacking skills. It would distract her and offer a change from her usual boring paperwork, so she was pleased.

Half an hour passed, and she had made some progress already when the door opened and Baekhyun entered the office. She looked up briefly, her eyes straying over his form, taking in the jeans he wore and his dark blue shirt. He lingered at the door for a little too long even after closing it, and she felt his gaze on herself. Before she could say a word, however, he did something that surprised her.

“Good morning, Soojin,” he said, his voice not nearly as bitter as normal. On the contrary, it sounded neutral. Was he sick? No, that couldn’t be. He probably wanted to ask a favor of her or something. There was no way in hell that he would suddenly act like a decent person.

“Good morning,” she answered reluctantly.

“I brought coffee.” He set down a steaming cup on her desk. She glanced at it before her eyes flitted back to him.

“For me?” Soojin couldn’t hide her bewilderment, it seeped into her tone and was impossible to miss.

“Yes, for you.” He went to his side of the desk and sat down. She heard the clicking of his mouse and keyboard as silence fell over them. Baekhyun talking to her and bringing coffee was new. Eyeing the cup with confusion, she didn’t know what to think of this gesture. What would he gain by gifting her something? Even if it was just coffee, he had to have some sort of ulterior motive here.

She frowned but couldn’t deny that the smell of the beverage was tempting. “Thank you. I appreciate it,” she said into the silence surrounding them. Something had definitely changed since the last time they had seen each other.

“How are you feeling?” he asked after a while.

Her eyebrows rose—what the hell was going on with him? Was she talking to the same Baekhyun who had mocked her capability as an agent last week? “I’m better. My injuries are healing and since I took painkillers this morning, I barely feel them at the moment,” she answered calmly.

“Okay. Tell me if you need anything.”

She straightened up and peered over the edge of her computer screen. His unwavering gaze rested on her, once again not revealing his intentions—but the usual coldness in his eyes was gone.

Hours later, when it was time for their lunch break, she intended to leave the office as usual, but when she opened the door, she collided with Chanyeol who had already held up his fist to knock. He flinched, his spooked expression looking comical.

“What’s up with you? Do I look that terrifying?” she snorted.

“N-No, I was just… uh… you know what? Forget it,” he stuttered, clearing his throat to hide his embarrassment.

“Why are you here?” Baekhyun asked from behind her.

“I wanted to invite my colleagues for lunch! There’s a great restaurant around the corner, I bet you’d like the food, Soojin,” Chanyeol said cheerfully, grinning at her. “Kyungsoo, Minseok, and Jongdae are coming too!”

She considered turning the offer down, but something in Chanyeol’s eyes caused her to hesitate. “Okay, I’ll join you,” Soojin said.

“Great!” he grinned, exchanging a glance with Baekhyun over her shoulder. “The others are already waiting at the lift, come on guys!”

Soojin left the office with Chanyeol, Baekhyun following them. Walking next to him, she once again noticed how tall he was compared to her. “You’re a titan, Chanyeol,” she mumbled more to herself than to him, but he heard her anyways.

“Is that a compliment?” he asked cheekily, grinning at her.

“Yes,” she smiled before her eyes moved to the lift where three of EXO’s agents awaited them. One of them was Kyungsoo, but she hadn’t met the others yet.  

“Hello, it’s great you’re tagging along,” the one with dark blond hair said and smiled sweetly. “I’m Minseok, we haven’t met before.”

Soojin smiled back, finding him likable just like the black-haired man beside him who she assumed to be Jongdae. “I’m Soojin,” she introduced herself.

“I hope you’re hungry because we’re going to eat a lot!” Jongdae said after he had introduced himself as well.

Soojin ended up sitting in between Kyungsoo and Minseok, opposite Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Jongdae. Chanyeol had been right—the food was amazing. She needed to remember this place so she could stop by with Seungwan and Seulgi one day. They would surely enjoy it as well.

“I’m still not over that, it was ridiculous,” Jongdae shouted after Minseok had ended his retelling of their first mission as partners.

“He ended up going home in his underwear,” Minseok cackled, his eyes twinkling in mirth as he observed Jongdae who couldn’t stop laughing.

“I got a few weird looks from the people I passed, but it was fine,” Jongdae added. Even the stoic Kyungsoo couldn’t hold in a grin after hearing his weird story, and Soojin found herself laughing along with them.

“Aww, what a shame I wasn’t there,” she grinned.

“You must have still been in training when it happened, it was around one or two years ago,” Minseok recalled before he took another bite of his cake. They had decided to order dessert after the main course, and now everyone had either cake or ice cream.

“Oh, I see,” she nodded. “That’s about right.”

“Wow, then you’re still a rookie, Soojin,” Jongdae remarked, raising his eyebrows. “How did you get into a special unit so soon?”

“Junmyeon said that he needed a hacker like me for his team,” she shrugged. “Honestly, Jeno is just as good at hacking as me, if not better. He should have gotten the promotion instead.” Her lips twitched as she thought of her bubbly friend, missing him after not seeing him in a while.

“Don’t talk yourself down, I’m sure you aren’t here because you’re bad at what you do,” Kyungsoo commented.

“Who’s Jeno, by the way?” Chanyeol cut in and as she turned her head to look at him, her gaze accidentally met Baekhyun’s, prompting her to glance down quickly. He had been quiet this whole time, following the conversation without taking part himself.

“He was my first partner, the one I went through training with,” she explained, a soft smile spreading over her lips. “I’m sure you guys would like him if you ever met him. He’s funny and his laugh is contagious.”

“Why don’t you introduce us?” Minseok asked. “Which unit is he in?”

“He’s in NCT. Wait, I think I have a photo on my phone, I’ll show you. Maybe you recognize him.” She unlocked her phone and searched the gallery for a moment, tapping on the first selfie that she saw. It depicted her and him fooling around while they were in the gym, training together. Both looked sweaty, but she didn’t care and showed the photo to the others.

“Ah, I think I’ve seen him in the building before,” Jongdae commented and nodded.

“You should invite him when we hang out together,” Minseok suggested.

Instantly, her face lit up like a Christmas tree and she put her phone away, nodding eagerly. “Sounds great!”

“He’s not even in EXO, though,” Baekhyun grumbled, holding his chin in his hand as he watched her with furrowed brows. “Why should he join us?”

“Because we’re close,” she stressed. Gone was her sunny smile; Baekhyun’s remark had chased it away. Her sudden mood change surprised everyone at the table except for Baekhyun. He had seen it coming from a mile away, but he hadn’t been able to keep the comment to him