After Eunbin spilled out her heart to Baekhyun a couple of days ago in the convenience store, she felt much more laid-back next to the man. She ignored the clash of her heart and mind as what important was her body didn’t felt like a stiff wood anymore every time Baekhyun was close.

Had she finally accepted Baekhyun as her friend? Maybe. She just knew that she didn’t hate his existence nearby anymore.

Both Baekhyun and Eunbin was half an hour away before they arrived Seoul. She looked out of the window while Baekhyun next to her was dozing off. Eventually, she turned to him and stared as she couldn’t help herself. As the man was going to the dreamland and wouldn’t be conscious of her, Eunbin focused on him. She tried to understand how her heart beat and her mind thought.

Park Eunbin, had you finally let go of this man?

Then she thought back that time when they were still together. Baekhyun wasn’t sleeping, but he was lying on his back with an arm stretched back as his pillow on the bed and he had his eyes close. Eunbin laid next to him and on his side, her fingers stretched out to his face. So very gently, her fingertips started from the center of his forehead, down to the slope of his nose. Then it went sideways and slightly cupping his cheek. Her thumb lovingly his skin, before it outlined back to the side of his lips. Baekhyun was still, letting himself being touched by Eunbin, but in the end, he held her wrist all of sudden. He opened his eyes and a pool of chocolate staring back at her, warm and tender. He pressed her fingers on his face and she could feel the muscles underneath moved. Baekhyun was smiling close-lipped at her and at that time, Eunbin thought he was the most shining and warm man ever. The shine wasn’t the kind that blinded people’s eyes. But it was comforting, like a bonfire in the cold night, like your favorite blanket wrapped around you. He was like the light which accompanied you when you were in the dark.

Eunbin quietly inhaled. He was handsome then, and he was even more so now.

Her eyes dropped to his pouty lips and she could still imagine back that smile. And she had remembered how it felt later because she couldn’t wait to taste it after seeing it. Eunbin’s eyes turned sad and she dragged them back to his whole face.

Feeling upset by herself, she leaned back to the chair and turned away from Baekhyun, closing her eyes to erase all the feelings that surged up.

When Baekhyun got off the train, he turned around to see Eunbin was close behind him but she was focused on her phone. He cleared his throat to catch her attention, but she was stubborn keeping her head down.

“Hey, Park?” he called, lowering his head a little.

His move made Eunbin flinch when she looked up to find their lack of distance. She frowned in disapproval and moved aside until they were a couple of feet apart. Baekhyun raised one of his eyebrows in confusion at the obvious scowl plastering on her face. She pointedly avoided him as she stared at other place.

Baekhyun found this strange. He thought they had warmed up? But all of a sudden, he felt the invisible wall stronger as ever between the two of them. A tick of annoyance feeling bothered his inside and he tried to keep his cool.

He exhaled before he offered, “How about a dinner? My treat.”

Eunbin shook her head, still not looking back at him, and responded, “No, thank you. Soojung is here. I need to go now.”

And just like that, she started to walk away from him without even bother to give him another glance as acknowledgement. And no farewell whatsoever. Baekhyun gaped at her back, then he picked up his pace too to catch on the woman.

“Park, is everything okay?”

His hand stretched out to hold on Eunbin, but before he could clasp around her wrist, the woman already smoothly hid her hand from him.

She finally looked up at him and shrugged, “Yes.”

“Why—“

“Eunbin!”

The two turned around to see Soojung and Jackson were walking towards their direction. At the sight of Baekhyun, the two was pretty startled and turned back at Eunbin with expressions full of question. And Baekhyun just understood that clearly she didn’t tell her friends anything that they had gone to their hometown and come back together.

Baekhyun greeted with his own charming smile, while Eunbin waved at them. Then it was her turn to look confused, “Jackson? What are you doing here?”

“Picking you up? Duh.”

When Eunbin turned to the other woman, Soojung had a grimace expression on and said, “I had a little car accident yesterday.” When she heard a sharp gasp from Eunbin, she quickly added, “I’m fine! Perfectly fine! See! But, my car? Yeah, not so much.” At her silly fake laugh, Jackson rolled his eyes at him.

“You’re so, so stupid. Thank God you’re alright. What the hell?” Eunbin chided as she reached out to lightly pinch Soojung’s arm because she couldn’t stop herself to punish her friend a little. She sighed, “You shouldn’t have bother Jackson. I’m fine with taking a taxi.”

Soojung shook her head and pointed at their senior, “Not me. Jackson offers to pick you up himself.”

Jackson waved his hand as if he was swatting of a fly, “Chill. This is nothing.” He changed his attention on Baekhyun next and stated, “Though, Soojung didn’t tell me that you two were together?”

Her beautiful friend crossed her arms and wriggled her eyebrows at Eunbin, “Hey, I don’t know about this too.”

Eunbin could feel that her cheeks were warming up at the misunderstanding her friends caught onto at the picture of her and Baekhyun alone.

Baekhyun chuckled and explained, “We’re from the same hometown and neighbor remember? You two are reading into this too much.”

“Oookay. Then, Baekhyun, how about dinner together?”

“Sure.”

“No!”

Baekhyun and Eunbin answered at the same time.

Three heads turned to Eunbin altogether and stared at her in confusion. Feeling weird to have all their attentions on her, she started to stammer, “I… I’m not really hungry. I want to go directly home.”

But Jackson whined, “Oh, come on, Eunbin. Look, we could just go to the Burger King next to the station. I promise it won’t—“ His speech was interrupted by his own yelp as he felt a jab on his rib. He bulged his eyes out at Soojung who was the perpetrator.

“What kind of a man are you who can’t act considerate towards a girl? Can’t you see my Eunbin is exhausted?” she glowered.

Jackson made a puppy-dog eyes at Eunbin and pleaded, “Ten minutes! It’ll only take ten minutes!”

“Ah, you know what?” Baekhyun suddenly spoke up and now all the other three attentions were on him. He smiled and waved the phone which was now in his hand. “I need to go home soon too. I just remember I have some works I need to finish,” he made an excuse.

He sighed inwardly. What work? He had finished everything before he left to go back to his hometown. But seeing how Eunbin tried hard to avoid him that she didn’t even want to have a dinner together, he was lazy to join them too now. Despite itching to ask the woman what with her sudden change of attitude, he managed to slip away from them and walked out to get a taxi.

Eunbin bit her bottom lip in guilt as Baekhyun’s figure disappeared to inside the taxi. Instantly, she saw through his lame excuse just to save her from Jackson’s whining for having dinner together when it was clear she disliked the idea.

Soojung tangled their arms together and she asked, “So? Do you still want dinner or should we just go home?”

Eunbin glanced at their senior and smiled at the never stopping puppy-dog eyes. Please, Jackson was their senior and older than them, but sometimes he acted as if he was the junior. In the end, Eunbin relented to his wish to have dinner at Burger King first. He whooped and even jumped a couple of times. This time, Soojung acted like the senior instead of him and kicked him in the shin, making Jackson whimpered in pain.

“Spill the beans.”

Eunbin halted and confusion was clear on her face as she had no idea what Soojung meant at all. She gave her a what? look at Soojung who was standing with her arms crossed, acting like a mother waiting for her daughter to admit her mistake.

Soojung chuckled devilishly, “You and Byun Baekhyun? Something is weird in the air between you two.” One of her hand came up and made a swirling motion in the air. Her eyes were glinting with mischievous and something naughty. “Did something happen during the time you two went home? Did you sleep with him?!” she squealed excitedly.

Eunbin gasped and slapped her forehead at her friend’s wild imagination. “You’re completely wrong!” she shouted.

“Oh, please.” Soojung clearly didn’t believe her and walked to the kitchen. Eunbin followed after her and now they were standing with the island became their only separation. Soojung prepared herself a glass of water. But before she drank it, she added, “You don’t have to be shy. What’s wrong? Does Baekhyun have a small or something? Is he not good in bed?”

“Jung Soojung! Oh my gosh!” Eunbin yelled in hysteria, stopping her friend before she could spurt out more nonsense. And making her thinking all those sinful thoughts of Byun Baekhyun really didn’t sit well on her. “Nothing. None of that happens. I swear!” she pressed her last word when Soojung still shot her a look that meant she found it hard to believe.

“Truly?”

Her eyebrows shot up so high that Eunbin was worried it would shot up to the ceiling. Soojung looked like finally believing her, but she still felt there was still something between them. And to Eunbin’s dismay, her friend wasn’t wrong…

She rolled her eyes at Soojung. “Do you think I’m that easy to get on a bed with a man?” For God’s sake, she was still a .

“Byun Baekhyun isn’t just a man. He’s Byun Baekhyun. Everyone wants to get on a bed with him.”

Eunbin pouted and played with the strings of her sweatpants, “Well, not me.” And she would never ever get there with Byun Baekhyun. Especially because he was Byun Baekhyun.

“Then why did you look like someone’s with secret at the train station just now?” Soojung gave her a pointed look. “I know you’re trying so hard to get away from Baekhyun just now. Hell, I helped you, didn’t I?”

Oh, Eunbin knew. She had wanted to kiss the girl right there and then just now.

Eunbin bit her bottom lip. She had never told Soojung how her life was in high school. Every time their topic went there, she always said that her life back then was super mundane and not exciting. Though, Soojung might had an inkling already that Park Eunbin didn’t have any friends in the past, but she never forced her to talk if she didn’t want to. Aside that, clearly, she never told Soojung about her ex-boyfriend, aka Byun Baekhyun. Because, gosh, she just really wanted to erase everything about that man.

Now that her peaceful life had gone into the trashcan since Baekhyun’s appearance, she started to get anxious. She had been hiding from Soojung and she knew that it was kind of wrong of her to do that to her only friend. Should she stay keeping their history hidden? Could she be a hundred percent sure that her secret could stay one forever? But what if Soojung knew from someone else and not her? Surely the blow would be lighter if she had heard it herself from Eunbin?

. What if even if she told Soojung right now, her friend would blow up and get furious at her? Would they stop talking? Eunbin had really grown fond of her and she really didn’t want to lose Soojung.

“Eunbin? Hey. You’re okay?”

She snapped out of it and stared at Soojung. She gulped. She decided that it would be better if she told her sooner or now and Soojung knew it from her. As for what would happen later… She would explain carefully. After all, it was her secret and she had the right to share it or not. And she had her reasons. So, if Soojung still