Chapter Fifteen:
 

∞⇢

THE GROUP MEET-UPS HAVE BECOME MORE OFTEN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.

Knowing the fact that my stay in Korea wasn’t permanent, I tried to be present every time we would agree to hang out. Being with them, the friends I had grown up with, filled my days brighter. There are times when I would watch them laugh as they would exchange jokes and I silently pray that I never lose them again. I hope I never do something as crazy to ever lose them again.

It was a Friday night when we agreed to meet in Hongdae for dinner. It was just Namindae and me at the moment since Baekhyun notified us in the chat box that he would be a bit late due to work.

We were in a nice restaurant, waiting for our orders to be served when Jun unexpectedly walked in and saw me. He walked toward our spot initially wanting to say hi to my friends but was later on invited to join us instead.

He immediately greeted Namindae by shaking hands and introducing himself to them.

“I’m pretty sure…” He said as he removed his jacket, leaving only his black turtle neck on, “there’s supposed to be another one of you in the group.”

“Baekhyun?” Jongdae was quick to respond. “He’s on his way.”

“Oh, I see,” Jun replied as he sat next to me.

“All three of you work together, right?” Minseok.

“Yeah,” Jun said. “Talk about how small the world is.” He went on.

If there was one thing I admire about Jun, it’s the way that he could carry on good conversations with people he just met. May it be with clients, or my friends like right now. They talked about work stuff and life in Spain as we waited for our food to be served.

“We heard from Seol that you have been a great support system for her in Spain,” Naeun spoke, “Thanks for being there for her.”

Jun tilted his head to my side.

“Hm. She did the same thing for me too.” He said, his eyes on me the whole time.

I exchanged looks with Naeun at the exact moment Jongdae announced Baekhyun’s arrival. I watched how he walked toward us. His eyes automatically found mine as he approached. I had to convince myself to stay calm as we both maintained eye contact. He looked good in his black denim jacket that accentuated his casual style. What I noticed though was the round specs he was wearing.

The expression on his face changed when he happen to dart his attention somewhere next to me. When I followed it, I found Jun. When I turned to him again, he was already in front of us, taking the seat next to Jongdae.

“Hi, Engineer Byun.” Jun greeted as he stood and offered his hand. “I hope you don’t mind me joining you and your friends tonight.” He was polite, waiting for Baekhyun to take his hand.

Baekhyun’s eyes traveled in my direction before taking his hand.

“Let’s drop the formalities and just call each other by names, Jun.” He spoke. “Call me Baekhyun.” His tone was firm and unfriendly in a sense.

“Okay, Baekhyun,” Jun replied with a small smile.

They both sat on their respective chairs and the table has never been this quiet. Everyone seemed awkward for a moment. I would exchange looks with Naeun and I would see Jongdae and Minseok looking over at Baekhyun and then at Jun.

“I’ve always wondered,” Jun spoke once more breaking the silence. “What kind of friends you were to Seolhee.” He glanced at me for a second. “Back in Spain, she would always recall having the best group of friends in here.”

“Aw.” Naeun smiled sweetly at me.

“So when I heard that she had reconnected with you guys, I felt happy for her as well.” Jun went on, giving my back a gentle yet quick rub.

“We’re glad we have her again now,” Naeun said, leaning over in my direction. “I think we should thank The Hamilton project of yours for bringing us all together.”

I was about to say something but stopped when we heard someone call Baekhyun’s name. The said voice caught everyone’s attention of course.

Of course, it was Choi Soojung. She was waving at him about a table away, who was now looking back at her. She looked incredibly stunning in her black dress accentuated with a beige overcoat. She walked confidently toward us.

“Gosh, she’s pretty.” Naeun subtly gushed next to me.

Naeun wasn’t wrong. Soojung looked classy and beautiful.

“Soo.” Baekhyun stood as soon as she reached his spot. “What are you doing here?”

“You forgot this.” She told Baekhyun, handing over a brown envelope.

“Ah.” Baekhyun nodded as if he realized what it was.

“Do you remember how many times you assured me earlier that you won’t forget this? Hm?” She asked him, suppressing a smile while she subtly nagged him.

Baekhyun lifted a hand to scratch his temple in response.

“Uhm,” Jongdae butted in. “Yuhoo, we’re here.” He said waving his hands at the both of them.

Baekhyun and Soojung laughed at Jongdae’s reaction.

“Hi guys,” She smiled at our friends. “He mentioned he was meeting you guys in here so I came over to bring the file to him which he needed for tomorrow’s meeting.”

“That’s sweet of you,” Jongdae remarked. “I hope someone cares for me like that if I left something necessary at the office.”

Minseok subtly laughed at Jongdae’s remark before Naeun gave them a look. Soojung then noticed that Jun was with us and waved at him.

“You know I could have driven back to the office after dinner to get this, you didn’t have to.”

“I highly doubt you’re going to do that Byun,” Soojung replied with a smirk.

“But I thought you were going to meet your brother, right?”

“Yeah, but he said he’ll meet me a little later so I have a bit of free time.” She explained.

“Why don’t you join us then?” Minseok intercepted. “Jun’s here too,”

“Are you guys sure it’s fine?” She asked.

“Yeah.” Naeun and Jongdae almost said at the same time.

Baekhyun helped her with the chair next to him and sat as soon as she was settled.

One thing is for sure, even with our friends around, she didn’t hide the fact that she disliked me.

∞⇢

During dinner, for some reason, I could not help but look over at Baekhyun and Soojung’s direction from time to time. And could not overlook the way Soojung would place a piece of food on Baekhyun’s plate. She was taking care of him like she was his girlfriend. While I was busy noticing what she was doing for Baekhyun I was surprised when Jun placed a peeled shrimp on my plate.

“You remember that one time,” Jun said which caught everyone’s attention. “It jumped-” He went on but stopped when I squeezed his hand.

“I’d appreciate it if you don’t embarrass me like that in front of my friends Jun,” I told him as I leaned closer to him. “Hm?”

He laughed, getting my point.

“Sorry, Seol.” He said as he zipped his mouth.

“I don’t think…” Baekhyun spoke which kind of shocked me in a sense. “There’d be something more embarrassing than the time you threw that san-”

He had to stop midway when I glared at him.

“Yah,” I said with gritted teeth, throwing a dagger look at him.

Baekhyun stared back at me and held in what he was supposed to say for a second before he attempted to open his mouth again.

“Byun Baekhyun.” My eyes narrowed at him.

By the time I checked on the others, they were pretty much observing both of us.

“Damn.” It was Jongdae who made a remark. “You still argue like a married couple somehow….” He trailed off when he seemed to have realized what he just said. “I mean, I… they …uhm,” he was panicking for sure. “They used to do that a lot before and it’s something I’d say always you know.” He added as he ate all of a sudden. “This is so delicious.”

Then my attention darted to Soojung who was also looking at me then proceeded to turn to Baekhyun who just went back to focus on eating.

“They look great together.” Soojung blurted out, referring to us by looking in our direction, loud enough to catch everyone’s attention. “Don’t you think so guys?”

Namindae seemed to have spaced out altogether, unable to answer right away.

“We’ve been told as well,” Jun was the one who spoke. “Many times actually.” He added in a matter-of-fact. “There was even a time a client thought we were a married couple.”

Jongdae sure almost choked on his food and had to drink water.

Soojung seemed to be amused by Jun’s piece of information.

I was not really comfortable about Jun mentioning stuff like this in front of my friends. My friends, who, by the way, seemed to be a bit confused as to how to react to Soojung and Jun’s exchange of lines.

“What do you think Baek?” She nudged him who, I must not never threw a glance at us. “They look great together, right?”

Baekhyun turned to us, locked eyes with me then glanced at Jun then back to me again.

“I think you’re making it a bit awkward for them, Soo,” Baekhyun added, his statement unexpected.

I watched how his remark made Soojung uncomfortable. The way her lips formed into a line as she leaned away from him a bit.

I also caught sight of Namindae as if they were reading the room, not saying a word but just observing. Jun, on the other hand, turned to me as if he was trying to read me.

“I think we need another bottle of wine in here,” Naeun announced before he called the waiter.

Thankfully, the heavy atmosphere lifted when Jongdae tried to crack jokes. Jun seemed to be the one to have enjoyed Jongdae’s jokes though. He kept laughing genuinely at his remarks and Jongdae seemed pleased.

∞⇢

Soojung received a call about thirty minutes before she asked to go ahead saying she has to meet with her brother for something urgent. Baekhyun walked her out and then came back to join us again.

The six of us stayed for the next twenty minutes before we decided to leave as well. Since it was a weekday, we all decided to just go home given that we all had another weekday coming.

Jongdae, Minseok, and Naeun were all heading in a different direction and had left ahead. Neither Jun nor I brought cars with us since our apartments were in the next neighborhood. We would have walked but the weather was a little too chilly for some night walks.

“I can drop you off.” Baekhyun offered, pertaining to me. “I’m heading that way anyway since I have to make a quick stopover at Oasis.”

I was about to say something when Jun made a step closer to me.

“Do you mind dropping me off too?” Jun butted in which earned a skeptical look from Baekhyun. “I live near her apartment complex.” He explained. “So it won’t be a bother or something.”

Baekhyun and I exchanged looks for a second before he agreed. He told us to wait for him while he got his car. When he was in front of us once more, Jun immediately opened the back seat of the car for me.

“Seolhee.”

I heard Baekhyun call from the driver’s seat.

“Please take the passenger’s seat.” He suggested. “Let’s not make me seem like I’m some driver you hired to take you both home from a date.” He went on, his voice with a tinge of sarcasm.

Jun and I locked eyes and I saw how Jun smirked at his remark but then proceeded to open the passenger’s seat for me.

Once settled, I fastened my seatbelt as I noticed Jun sitting in the back seat.

“You’re all set?” I heard him ask, his eyes on the rearview mirror.

“Yup,” Jun answered briefly from the back.

“Okay.” He replied before his hand worked on the steering wheel, making a turn toward the exit.

“So, there’s something I’m curious about.” Jun, out of nowhere asked.

Baekhyun looked in the rearview mirror before he turned to me.

I kept quiet as I silently prayed that Jun would not ask something crazy like…

“You’re friends again?”

“Well,” Baekhyun uttered before he worked on the clutch. “I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be.”

“Hm…So, you’re fine with her having a boyfriend?”

My jaw dropped due to his follow-up question and I just had to turn to him from my seat. Jun shrugged at me in response. I tilted my head to Baekhyun’s direction who had a smirk on his face. For some reason, I didn’t wanna hear his reply.

“As long as she’s happy with it,” Baekhyun replied, giving me a glance before he turned to the road.

As I had expected, I didn’t like his answer. But what was I expecting anyway? I looked outside the window to distract my thoughts, not wanting to reveal my disappointment.

“What if it’s me?” Jun asked which made me hold my breath.

What is he doing?

If he was serious, I didn’t know exactly. I could not even move or look at either of them.

“You shouldn’t be asking me that,” Baekhyun spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’m not the one who’s going to decide whether you’re going to be a good boyfriend or not.”

Jun laughed from the backseat.

“You’re funny, Baekhyun.”

I shut my eyes closed, still refusing to look away from the view outside the window.

∞⇢

We dropped Jun by his apartment complex first. He knocked on the window of the passenger’s seat and I rolled it down, feeling a bit awkward facing him after his last question.

“See you later.” He said. “Good night, Seol.” He went on, the corners of his mouth rising. “Please take care of her.” He added, looking at Baekhyun.

I wanted the chair to eat me right at that moment.

∞⇢

My place was only about five minutes away from Jun by car. The next thing, we were already in front of the building. We were both silent.

“Thanks for the ride,” I spoke first, scared that he might ask me about what happened earlier.

I unfastened my seat belt and attempted to get off the car.

“Seolhee.” He called which made me stop.

I turned to face him.

“I know we’re friends…just friends now.” He paused to look away momentarily. “But I would appreciate it if he never asks me questions like that again,” Baekhyun added, sounding like he meant every word.

I didn’t know what to tell him.

“Technically we dated…” He paused for a bit. “Briefly in the past so, I think it is weird making a comment about your ex’s possible relationship.”

“I’m sorry.” I apologized. “But his question caught me off guard too.”

“I’m sorry about what Soojung did earlier too.”

The idea that he took my side earlier made me feel good. I smiled at him in response.

We continued to stare at each other before I looked away to conceal a small laugh. By the time I turned to him once more, I saw the corner of his lip rose as well.

I noticed how he looked at his watch before looking at me again.

“Do you wanna hang out a little more?” He paused, his fingers drumming on the steering wheel. “Or do you want to take a rest now?”

His question was a bit unexpected but I checked the time nonetheless.

10:03 PM

“I’m fine,” I replied. “But don’t you have to go to your bar?”

“Hm,” He seemed to have just realized it. “I can just drop by there for a minute and then we can go somewhere if that’s also fine with you.”

I found it cute that he was trying to adjust stuff just to hang out with me.

“Okay.” I nodded as I reached for my seatbelt to fasten it once more. “But…” I paused and waited for him to turn to me. “You have a meeting tomorrow morning right?”

He tilted his head down, and the corner of his lips rose once more as he let out a chuckle.

“That’s really not a problem.” He told me as he revved the engine.

I watched him drive us out of the complex and I could not help but feel good now that the atmosphere had lightened between us.

∞⇢

Just as he said earlier, he had to drop by Oasis. I waited in his car while he went inside to take care of whatever he had to. I didn’t have to wait long, about ten minutes later I saw him get out of the main door. And for some reason, my heart skipped as I watched him walk towards the car. I didn’t know what it was but there was something fluttering about him walking while his hair slowly danced with the wind. The specs he had on also looked incredible on him, I couldn’t take my eyes off him until he was next to me again. 

“Sorry, I just really had to sign some documents.” He said, fastening his seatbelt in the process. 

Hearing him, I blinked a few times and shook my head as I seemed to have gotten my senses back.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“Y-yeah.” I stuttered a bit before I inhaled to fill my lungs with air and looked away.

Did my heart just flutter because of Baekhyun?

I shut my eyes closed as I face the window, also bit my lower lip realizing that I seemed to have dipped my toes in dangerous waters.

∞⇢

We ended up going to this aesthetic-looking mini-cafe shop near the park. It appeared to be a small, all-white house on the outside but a warm and cozy spot inside. There were only about six tables in total and we occupied the one that is next to the window. We had a view of a huge tree outside which was decorated with fairy lights. The golden, twinkling lights made the place more comforting.

“How did you know this place?” I asked him as he sat in front of me.

“I saw it one time I was jogging around the area.” He answered briefly. “What will you have? Do you want beer or coffee?”

The mention of beer made me chuckle, remembering the last time we had a drink together. And by the expression on his face right now as he waited for my response, I knew he got what I was thinking.

“I don’t think beer is a good idea.” He was the one who spoke. “Right?”

I nodded, covering my mouth to conceal the wide smile I had.

“Let’s just have coffee,” I told him. “That’s a better option. Okay, I’m gonna go order, I’ll be right back.” He said before he left his spot to go to the counter.

It didn’t come as a surprise to me that I followed him with my eyes. I felt soft seeing him order and pay for it. It was as if there was a lot going on in my head but at the same time, it gave me peace. My full attention was on him and I didn’t have time to look away when he glanced at me. His lips formed into a subtle smile as he caught me looking.

I sighed and turned around to dart my attention to the view outside the window. I forced myself not to look at him or elsewhere for about a minute before I covered my face with my hands momentarily. Damn it, my cheeks even felt hot.

“Kang Seolhee, I swear if you don’t get your toge-” I was scolding myself in a small voice when I had to stop because he appeared in front of me again.

He placed my coffee next to my hand.

“Careful, it’s hot.” He reminded.

Oh, . I had to curse again in my head, I hope he’d stop being nice.

“So,” He blew on his cup. “Are you really heading back to Spain after the Hamilton gets completed?” He asked, briefly looking at me before bringing to cup to his mouth to sip.

I was ready to answer his question when he complained about his coffee being too hot. He held covered his mouth with his hand as he placed the cup back on the table.

“Careful, it’s hot.” I mimicked how he said it earlier, almost automatically.

He laughed at my remark. “You were distracting me, I looked at you and forgot it was hot.” He smiled cockily. “Ah damn, it’s hot.”

Sure, I didn’t know what he meant by that but the butterflies in my stomach seemed to have acknowledged them ahead of time.

“Some things never change,” I stated. “I can’t count the number of times you burned your tongue because of the same reason before.” I went on in a matter-of-fact tone.

He smiled at my remark.

“Old habits die hard, for sure.” He replied. “So, anyway, going back to my question. You don’t wanna stay here?”

“I’d love to do that of course…” I took a deep breath. “But I already have pending projects waiting for me in Spain…” I paused to trace my cup with my finger. “In fact, I have to fly back in a couple of days, and stay there for two weeks.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “So, you’ll be away for a few days.”

“Hm.” It was my turn to nod before I blew on my coffee and drank it.

I was caught off guard as to how hot it still was, and my hand jerked causing the hot liquid to drip on my hand. The tip of my tongue as well as the area between my thumb and index finger stung at the sensation.

Before I could even place the cup back on the table, Baekhyun carefully took it from me and then wiped my hand with a napkin. I watched him as he seriously made sure that my hand was clean.

“You okay?” He momentarily glanced at me, still holding my hand.

“Mm.” I nodded, a little embarrassed recalling how I earlier about the same thing. “I didn’t expect this coffee to come out straight of a volcano.”

Baekhyun stopped what he was doing on my hand and burst out laughing. I watched him laugh for the next couple of seconds.

“My god, you’re funny Seol.” He muttered, shaking his head sideways before letting my hand go.

I didn’t reply as I was so focused on the memory of how his hands felt holding mine.
 

∞⇢

We stayed there for about forty-five minutes. We talked about food, recreational activities, work-related travels and seminars, and just about anything we could think of.

When we decided to leave the place, I noticed that he was looking at my heeled boots.

“What?” I muttered. “You think they’re too beautiful for me to wear?” I joked.

“No, no that’s not it. But yes they’re beautiful and they look amazing on you.” He replied, raking his hair with his fingers.

My god, I’d really appreciate it if he stopped doing things that get my attention.

“Uhm…” He shoved his hands inside his pockets as he stopped walking. “Do you perhaps have more time to spare?”

I looked at him confused at first and then let out a small laugh.

“Do you want to purposely miss your meeting tomorrow morning?” I asked back.

It was his turn to chuckle at my response.

“This’ll be quick.” He replied quickly. “I just wanna show you something.”

“What is it?” I was curious, of course.

“You’ll see.”

∞⇢

The next thing, we were parked in a basement. When I asked him where we were, he said that we were at his apartment building.

“And what are we doing here exactly?”

“I told you I wanna show you something.”

My eyes furrowed at him before they grew wide.

“Will you be casually walking in front of me in your underwear?!” I exaggerated both my facial expression and my voice.

He smirked before letting out a small laugh in response.

“You want that?” He asked me, the smirk still lingering on his handsome face. “I think I could do that for you if you would insist.”

“Yah.”

“I’m kidding,” He told me, “The thing that I wanna show you is in my unit.” He added as he unfastened his seatbelt and opened the door.

I followed suit and got out of the car. We walked toward the elevator as she pressed the button.

“This better not give me a heart attack,” I warned him before we got inside.

“That.” It was all that he said before he pressed the 76th button. “I cannot promise.” He added, glancing at me with a handsome grin.

Damn, I hope he’d stop looking so fine but that would make me sad too.

∞⇢

We just got inside his unit and were just at the door when he made me face the wall where the drawers that I supposed for shoes were.

“Excuse me, what is happening?” I asked him, slightly panicking.

From behind, I felt him touch my shoulders with his hands.

“Relax, Seol.” He replied in an amused tone. “Open it.”

My forehead creased as I wondered why he was making me open them. Nonetheless, I reached for the handle and slowly opened it. The crease on my forehead disappeared and was replaced by wonder as I saw what was inside one of the drawers.

I looked behind him right away, asking for an explanation.

It was his amused, cocky smile that welcomed me. When he didn’t say anything I turned around to get the item that he wanted to show me. I took it in my hands and stared at it carefully.

It was my other shoe.

The one I lost the first time I got drunk. The reason why Gramps teased me and called me a Cinderella wannabe.

“Did you have it all along?” I blinked a few times before I faced him. “How come it’s with you?” I was dying of curiosity.

However, he continued to just look at me with the corners of his lips rising in a curve.

“Why do you have my other shoe Baekhyun??” My eyes grew wide at him.

He tilted his head down for a bit before looking back at me.

“Think about it.” He said.

I did, I thought about how I lost it. I was drinking in a bar. My brain lagged all of a sudden. I remember getting out of there and then the next morning I was at my father’s house. I shut my eyes, forcing myself to remember more details.

“I lost it about a week after I got here…but I’m sure I had not met you yet, so I don’t understand why you have this with you.”

He looked at me and suddenly we were in some sort of a staring competition.

“You said you were just a little drunk,” He was the first one to speak again.

I frowned at his remark.

“But you could barely walk in a straight line that night when you got out of Oasis.”

There it was. OASIS. It struck me like lighting. I was drinking in a bar he and Sehun owned.

I gasped, really loud.

He let out a small laugh at my reaction.

“I’m just a little drunk, don’t judge me.” He said. “Those were your exact lines.”

“That was you?!” I gasped once more, covering my mouth with my hand.

He nodded casually.

“Oh my god, this is so embarrassing.” I felt my cheeks warming as I made a few steps and leaned my back on the door. “Of all people why did it have to be you?” I bit my lower lip.

“Why?” He chuckled. “What’s wrong with it?” He also turned in my direction, facing me again.

“After seven long years, you saw me again and I was drunk like that…even lost my shoe like some Cinderella wannabe, .” I could not help but curse as I brushed my hair off my face.

I heard him chuckle in front of me.

“I didn’t expect to see you that night either.” He stated. “My world stopped for a few good seconds when I realized it was you.”

“So,” I paused as another realization hit me. “During the motocross thing, when I first saw you there in that dirt motorcycle…you’ve already seen me even before that…”

He tilted his head down before he nodded once more before he brought his hand to his mouth to wipe it.

“By the looks of it you were going to sleep in the streets, so I uh, I took you on a bus ride to the neighborhood.” He paused to smile as if he recalled a funny memory. “You couldn’t keep your balance even if I helped you walk so I carried you on my back to your father’s house.”

“Wait, so that wasn’t something I imagined?”

“I doubt it.” He answered briefly.

“But how come my Gramps didn’t see you.”

“I didn’t think it was a good idea to show up in front of them like that so when we got to the gate, I rang the doorbell and waited till I heard someone come and went away.”

I blinked my eyes, imagining the scenario in my head.

“Heading back, I saw your shoe on the ground.” He smiled once more. “I thought I could give it back to you but I saw Gramps and your father helping you get in and I decided to keep it in the meantime.”

“So that was what happened,” I said in realization, my questions about that night being answered one by one.

I tilted my head to look at the shoe in my hand.

“Oh god,” I exhaled sharply. “Aside from this, is there anything else you’re not telling me?

“No, that’s all.” His response was quick.

“Are you sure?”

He chuckled, a handsome grin painted his face.

I looked at him, looked at him longer than I should. Long enough that I was sure that the butterflies in my stomach had once again come to play.

, I thought, I am in so much trouble.

∞⇢

All of a sudden, it was October.

As I had already known, I was tasked to fly back to Spain to attend to an urgent matter regarding the next project that I would take part in after The Hamilton.

I had attended a few online conferences before I also had to fly to Vienna, Austria where the project was located. I stayed there for 3 days and worked on designs and also attended a launch event.

All in all, I had spent roughly two weeks in Europe.

Two days before my departure for South Korea, I finally had the chance to lazily spend an afternoon in my Apartment in Madrid. I had finished cooking when my phone rang.

It turned out, it was from our group chat. I knew they were going to call as it was Naeun’s birthday.

Glancing at the upper left hand of the screen of my phone, the time says 2:37 PM making it 10:37 in the evening in Seoul.

With the past two weeks all about work, I was excited to hear from my friends that I answered their call without removing my apron, my hair still up in a messy bun.

“Seolhee!” Namindae chorused as soon as I answered the call.

I immediately laughed at how they greeted me.

They were all at Oasis. In a room, I recognize the most. They all seemed to have been drinking.

“Guys! Hi!” I greeted them with a wide smile. “Happy Birthday Naeunnie!” I proceeded to laugh when I saw Naeun drop her head low.

“Looks like the birthday girl had too much wine,” I commented.

“Babe.” Minseok held her face up. “Seolhee’s here. You have been nagging us to already make the call for hours now,”

Naeun squinted her eyes as she stared at the screen.

“Seolhee!” She yelled, surprising Jongdae and Minseok. “Soelhee, my love!” She exclaimed before she proceeded to pout. “It’s a shame you had to be away on my birthday again.”

“Aw.” I felt sad somehow. “I’m sorry, I’m as annoyed as you are.”

formed into an upward curve before she smiled widely. “Make sure to be here on…” She trailed as she held on to Minseok’s arm before pulling him close. “Our wedding, okay?”

I nodded, the smile still on my face before my eyes got wide as Naeun, without a warning, pulled Minseok and planted a quick kiss on his mouth.

“Oh !” Jongdae hissed as he stood, taking the phone with him. “I swear to god if you do that with me watching I’ll-”

“I’m sorry Dae, I’m sorry.” I heard Naeun laughing in the background as she seemed to have pulled Jongdae back to the couch with them.

I laughed even louder witnessing the chaos.

“Damn, it’s so stressful to be around these two.” Jongdae shut his eyes as if he was indeed stressed. “They just kiss whenever they feel like it.”

“It’s okay, Dae. I feel you.” I told Jongdae. “I was pretty shocked, that totally came out of nowhere,” I added, amused by their facial expressions.

“I’m sorry guys,” Naeun said once more as she wrapped her arms around Minseok’s neck. “We’re getting married, remember?”

“Yes, you are but do I have to suffer from the cringe of seeing you both being lovey-dovey?” Jongdae made it sound like he was serious, exaggerating his facial expressions. “Seolhee, you better come back and deal with this too, it’s unfair.”

My laughter resonated inside my apartment as I saw Minseok free himself from Naeun and go to hug Jongdae.

“Oh my god HAHAHHA.” I had to cover my mouth afterward when Minseok attempted to kiss Jongdae on the cheek.

“HYUNG!!!!” Jongdae whined, stretching his head away from Minseok.

“What?!” Minseok’s eyes grew wide at him. “You know I love you.”

“Ew,” Jongdae remarked, stifling a laugh for sure. “Naeun, collect your man, please.” He pleaded, still struggling to stop Minseok.

“You guys, stop it now,” I struggled to tell them in between my continuous laughing. “My stomach hurts already.”

The next second, they have indeed stopped messing around as they were seated back on the couch.

“Where’s Baekhyun?” I blurted out.

They all looked at me like I asked a controversial question.

“I mean…” I didn’t know what to make out of their reaction. “You guys are obviously at his bar so…”

“He’s downstairs,” Jongdae answered. “With his girlfriend.”

I knew my eyes grew wide just as Jongdae finished his answer to my question.

Baekhyun has a girlfriend? I blinked a few times as a sinking feeling took place behind my chest. I looked at the screen suddenly wanting to check my reaction. I’d be dead if I was too obvious.

“GIRLFRIEND?!” Naeun half-yelled at Jongdae, her eyebrows furrowed. “Baek and Soojung are together?!”

While Naeun interrogated Jongdae, I fell more silent on the other side of the world. I held my breath, my brain refusing to process the idea.

“I’m sorry, I meant GIRL space FRIEND.” I heard Jongdae reply. “Sorry, I must have forgotten to breathe between the words.”

A very subtle sigh of relief escaped my mouth.

Oh, thank God.

“YAAH!” Naeun yelled at him that he had to cover his ear.

Minseok laughed at them before something seemed to have caught their reaction.  

“BAEKHYUN, MY MAN!” Jongdae enthusiastically called before he signaled him to sit next to him.

The next second, Baekhyun and I exchanged looks as soon as he was in the frame. I didn’t know why exactly but my lips automatically formed into an upward curve seeing him.

It had been a while since I last saw him. The last time was that night when I discovered that he was the keeper of my lost shoe.

The next thing, Jongdae handed the phone to Baekhyun before he said he’s gonna get water.

“Seol, what’s up?” He asked casually as he seemed to leave the couch.

“I’m good,” I answered briefly.

“Tel