Chapter Three:

 

∞⇢

“SO, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO MARRY MY GRANDDAUGHTER?”

The way my eyes grew wide at Gramps’ unexpected question was inevitable. The next second, I heard Baekhyun choking on the water he was drinking. When he turned to meet my eyes, he was wearing the same expression as mine. He blinked his eyes a couple of times as he wiped the spilled water around his mouth.

We were in the living room, seated on the couch like kids being scolded for behaving badly. I closed my eyes, feeling stressed out as I remembered what happened inside my room earlier.

∞⇢

“. You seriously decided to be on top of me like this, now?” Baekhyun whined as quietly as he could as he breathed out, sounding like he was struggling.

I couldn’t answer, I was too speechless at the moment.

“You’re trying to kill me, aren't you?” He gritted his teeth as he sighed near my ear. “Damn it.”

When I came back to my senses, I immediately frowned at him thinking how ungrateful he was when I only did this to cover him. But he was right, I was on top of him and I could still feel him poking down there. I gulped, realizing how our position made it worse for him.

“I…” I trailed off biting my lower lip, my next words buried in my head when I heard another voice in the room.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Gramps’ question came like a roaring thunder, making us both look at him at the same time. “Why are you on top of him like you’re not done making out?”

He was so mad, it was written all over his face. His forehead creases, eyes protruding from sockets as he threw a dagger look at us, nostrils flaring.

Baekhyun and I froze.

∞⇢

Baekhyun looked baffled. Who wouldn’t be after being asked to marry me out of nowhere? He opened his mouth but closed it when no words came out. He took the glass of water to his mouth once more and emptied it. He placed the glass on the table in front of us before looking at Gramps.

“Gramps, isn’t…isn’t it too early to ask me that question?” Baekhyun managed to answer, letting out a casual laugh.
 

Wow, he sounded so natural.

“Too early?” Gramps replied, sounding annoyed with his reply. “What, do you mean you go to her room for years and years now but you don’t have a plan to marry her?” His eyes were big as if Baekhyun just said the most ridiculous thing. “WHAT DO YOU TAKE HER FOR?”

Gramps moved towards Baekhyun probably to hit him or something but I was quick to stand on my feet and blocked him. Baekhyun, on the other hand, seemed to be a little taken aback by my grandfather’s interrogation.

 “Gramps…” I intercepted, wanting to pacify him. “All Baekhyun does in my room is sleep.”

“Exactly!” He exclaimed like what I just said added to his suspicion. “YOU GUYS SLEEP TOGETHER! You have been sleeping together.” He paused and blinked his eyes twice as if proving a point.

Oh damn, gramps. No stop there.

I sat and Baekhyun and I exchanged looks before my attention automatically darted to the thing between his legs as I recalled what happened inside the closet earlier. My brain lagged for a millisecond before I heard Baekhyun clearing his throat as awkwardly closed his legs, giving me the look. I shook my head, dismissing certain thoughts.

“Do you think that’s normal?” He went on, his eyes trailing from me to Baekhyun.

“No,” I exhaled harshly. “That’s not what I mean gramps. C’mon-” I tried to reason out but got my statement cut.

“MY GOD WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE YOUTH TODAY?!” He yelled, intercepting.

I sighed as I covered my face with my hands, annoyed and not knowing what else to say. I could feel my head throbbing due to the stress.

“Gramps,” I heard Baekhyun speak beside me. “Seol and I, yes we sleep in the same room sometimes but we don’t SLEEP together.” He told him, still trying to sound and act naturally. “She always lets me sleep on the floor and my back would hurt so much in the morning.” He went on, acting like his back was hurting as he placed a hand behind his shoulder. “You know her, she’s not very caring.”

I glared at Baekhyun’s last sentence but noticed how Gramps scoffed, definitely not convinced by his explanation.

“Then how do you explain the fact that you were both crammed inside the closet earlier? You can’t be folding clothes in there, can you?” He added in a matter-of-fact tone. “Whose idea was that?”

I remained quiet on the couch, my hands folded in front of my chest. I was about to give up explaining. This was way too messy. My brain couldn’t anymore.

“Gramps…” Baekhyun called in a light tone as he stood next to him. “It was mine.” He admitted, placing an arm around my grandfather’s shoulder. “I was just helping Seol find her handkerchief-”

“YAAAAH!” He yelled at him, making him jump on his feet. “What do you take me for?”

I rolled my eyes at Baekhyun, wanting to give him a flying kick for his ridiculous statement. The way he wasn’t helping with the situation at all was driving me nuts. I wanted the ground to eat me alive at this point.

“So,” Baekhyun opened his mouth once more as soon as he was seated on the couch again. “What do you suggest we were doing inside the closet gramps?”

I sighed, momentarily closing my eyes in irritation. I swear, I’d love to kick his face right now.

“I don’t know!” Gramps replied in a quite embarrassed tone. “Maybe something scandalous.”

“Scandalous?” Baekhyun repeated the word. “Hmm, you mean like kissing?”

Gramps nodded agreeably. “Yes, kissing or more than that.”

“Aye, gramps.” Baekhyun let out a small laugh. “You’re not serious, are you?”

How calm he sounded right now despite Gramps’ interrogation kinda fascinated me. It must be the alcohol still in his system, somehow. But then, he had always been the one to keep his cool during these kinds of situations.

“If we were to do something SCANDALOUS as you suggest, I wouldn’t want to do it in a small space like that.”

My jaw dropped at his remark as I immediately stepped on his foot, catching his attention. He stared at me only to look away the next second.

“I mean, her bed would be comfortable… or the floor, the wall, or the bathroom at least right? Or…or this couch!” He blurted out mixed with hand signals. “If her closet was bigger then maybe we’d enjoy doing some magic tricks in there but it was too small, Seol even had to place her hands in such a dangerous place…”

“YAH,” I said with gritted teeth but remained ignored by him.

“As a man, I’m pretty sure you get what I mean gramps. It would be so difficult to…” He stopped talking, his mouth forming into a thin line, his hands balling into fists like he was trying to communicate with Gramps non-verbally. “You know?”

To my surprise, Gramps nodded as if getting what he meant. I couldn’t believe he sounded convinced. UNBELIEVABLE.

“Fine,” Gramps uttered in surrender.

I let out a sigh of relief.

“So, when are you marrying her?” He asked for the second time, catching us off guard once more.

Oh, not again.

“You want me to be your grandson-in-law, don’t you gramps?” He teased, his crescent-shaped eyes in full display. “Heeey, you’re being obvious.”

Baekhyun, casually laughed at his question this time. I, on the other hand, had my attention juggling back and forth as they seemed to have edited me out of the conversation.

“Well,” Baekhyun muttered, his word accompanied by a shrug. “I would like to if I were you.”

Gosh, he sounded so conceited.

I was aware that he was just doing this to distract Gramps but I didn’t want my grandfather to get a different idea. Especially when it was obvious that he seemed to have a soft spot for him. He was a part of our family, no one could deny that.

“Gramps.” I intercepted, inserting myself in the picture, taking both of the males’ attention this time. “Everyone knows that Baekhyun and I are just friends. So, please stop asking him to marry me already.”

His response came in the form of his eyes growing wide. “You’re STILL just friends?”  He asked before turning to Baekhyun. “You’re just her friend?”

Baekhyun and I exchanged looks once more.

“Well, you heard her gramps.” He smirked as he tilted his head down. “We’re just friends.”

I watched how my grandfather sat on the table in front of us. He was quiet for a minute and placed a hand on his nape like his blood pressure was rising.

“Well then, when are you guys going to stop wasting your time?”

“Gramps…” I trailed off.

“FRIENDS?!” Gramps's voice was a bit louder than usual, his tone as surprising as his question. “Don’t give me that bull.” He scoffed.

Baekhyun and I were left dumbfounded.  

“A boy and girl can never be just friends. Don’t you know that?” He emphasized that he was giving a lecture. “You’re supposed to fall for the other in no time. Are you telling me that you’ve never liked each other?” His eyebrows furrowed at us, apparently waiting for any of us to answer.

“She doesn’t like me, gramps.” Baekhyun reasoned out, obviously making me seem like the bad one here.

“Well, excuse me, as far as I know, you don’t like me, too, Baekhyun.” I retorted in a matter-of-fact tone. “Stop acting like we’re still just friends because of me.”

I did not intend to sound so defensive but I guess I did. Baekhyun opened his mouth to argue but Gramps spoke once again.

“I see, you’re both really stupid.” He glared at us. “You may be smart at school but you’re very, VERY STUPID.”

“What?” We chorused.

“Where is all of this suddenly coming from gramps?” I asked him in a perpetually tired voice, wanting an explanation.

“You stick at each other like glue forever and can’t seem to live without the other and yet you’re telling me that nothing is going on between you two.” He went on, his voice loud. “STUPIDITY AT ITS FINEST.” He shook his head before he left his spot.

What was that for? Why did it feel like he was implying something here? I was deep in my thoughts, not even wanting to glance at Baekhyun who remained quiet next to me as well.

“Ya, Kang Seolhee!” Gramps called, making me turn to where he was.  “I don’t want to see you being on top of any man again, do you understand? ESPECIALLY WHEN HE IS JUST YOUR FRIEND.”

I sighed exasperatedly, knowing he was referring to the way I was positioned on top of Baekhyun’s body when we fell on the floor.

“You should act like a decent woman.” He went on.

“Gramps, it wasn’t intentional, okay?” I reasoned. “And it was just Baekhyun. C’mon, stop making a big deal out of it.” I whined. “PLEASE. Ugh, this is driving me crazy.”

His eyes grew even wider, looking back at me like I just said something unbelievable.

“Well doesn’t he look like a man to you?” He replied, pointing at his subject. “He’s got balls, doesn’t he?”

I sighed for the nth time, he had to mention about balls right now.

“Don’t you?” He went on, looking at Baekhyun as if trying to prove a point. “Don’t you have balls?”

“Of course I do,” Baekhyun answered, sounding defensive. “I’m pretty sure…I have balls.”

Gosh, these men.

I thought as I placed my hands on my head. This was stressing me out to the nth power. Thankfully, Gramps left us alone in the living room and returned to his room. We shared a few seconds of silence before I stood and walked back to my room, Baekhyun trailing behind me did not surprise me anymore.

As soon as I heard him close the door, I turned around.

“OF COURSE, YOU GOT BALLS!” I blurted out loudly.

It must have startled him as I saw him almost jump on his feet.

“ Seol!” He hissed, his hand on his chest. “Don’t do that!”

“No, because you really have to point out to gramps about your…” I paused as I found myself pointing at this thing between his legs.

I was mad at him for so many reasons, I didn’t know why exactly. However, he acted like I just said and did something so inappropriate. He even exaggerated his reaction by dropping his mouth open in shock before covering the spot where his thing was with his hands.

“You know what, this is all your fault!” I blamed him. “If you did not drag me inside the damn closet…” I pointed it out. “We wouldn’t have been caught like that.”

I made a few steps away from him to calm myself but failed.

“And of all the time, of all the time your thing…” I darted my attention there once more. “Could’ve done the standing ovation act, it had to be earlier huh?” I scowled at him. “Did you do it on purpose?”

He scoffed at me, shaking his head.

“Oh yeah, maybe I talked to it and convinced it to stand up on its own. Maybe I was like hey big brother, are you tired of sitting? Why don’t you stand up for a bit?” He rebutted, sarcastically with a raised eyebrow. “Blame your hands, because of all the places you could have positioned them they had to be next to my national treasure.” He added. “Did you do it on purpose?”

My jaw dropped.

National treasure??? This man’s crazy.

“Huh? No.” I argued lividly. “You know what maybe you were enjoying how close we were inside the closet and that you’re attracted to me, so your body couldn’t control it.” I blurted out before I could even think about it. “Come to think of it, you’ve been mentioning about my s lately.”

He looked taken aback for a second, looking at my chest.

“Yah Baekhyun!”

He was doing this on purpose, he was getting on my nerves.

“Well, maybe if you looked like Gollum from the Lord of the Rings, then maybe my thing wouldn’t have reacted to you that way.”

My mouth fell open. How dare he mention that creature and my name in the same sentence? I reached out to him, attempting to pull his ear but he dodged it by ducking. When I made another attempt, he grabbed my hands.

“So, it’s true,” I asked, intending to embarrass him.

He looked at me, waiting for what I was about to say next.

“That you’re attracted to me.”

“You want me to tell you the truth?” He scorned, challenging me. “Do you think you can handle it?” He added as he pulled me closer and leaned in until our faces were inches apart.

It was my turn to keep my mouth shut. For some reason, this was not only making me feel awkward but also making me regret asking that question.

“Never mind.” I heard him say, letting me go at the same time. “Let’s not have this conversation right now, I almost had a heart attack when Gramps asked me to marry you.”

It felt weird. His reaction felt weird and I couldn’t figure out why exactly.

“We all know, you wouldn’t want to marry me,” I replied, wanting the conversation to lighten as I turned around to pick up my phone from my bed.

I heard him let out a soft laugh making me confused. I suddenly felt dizzy again, probably because of the absence of the adrenaline rush this time.

“I’m gonna go sleep now. I’m very tired.” I announced, wanting to dismiss the conversation now.

“Okay, if you say so.”

As soon as I heard him agree, I headed straight to the bathroom to wash up. Right after closing the door, I remembered something I should tell him.

“You know how to lock the gate right? Make sure you lock it when you leave.” I made my voice louder to make sure that he would hear me.

I didn’t receive any response from him but I didn’t pay much attention to it. Pretty sure he knew what to do anyway. I proceeded to brush my teeth and wash up afterward. Feeling refreshed and completely sober, I changed into my pajamas.

Going out of the bathroom, I almost had a heart attack to find him right outside the door.

“What are you still doing here?” I fired a hand on my chest due to the slight shock caused by his unexpected presence. “I told you to lock the gate.”

“I already did.” He replied nonchalantly as he made me move away from the entrance of the bathroom so he could pass. “I locked the gate.”

My eyes grew wide as I also noticed the pair of pajamas he was holding. They were previously owned by my dad which he later gave to him since he borrowed them a lot. I recalled how my dad told him ‘You keep it, I don’t think my clothes still recognize’.

“I mean, lock the gate after you leave Baek.” I cleared as I watched him stand next to the sink to wash his face. “You were supposed to go home.”

He got so busy washing his face that I waited for him to finish before he could reply.

“It’s late.” He responded as he took one of my towels to wipe his face. “Someone as handsome as I am shouldn’t be out there walking alone at this time.”

This man’s unbelievable acting as if he couldn’t defend himself.

“You have an extra toothbrush here, don’t you?”

Without waiting for my reply, he opened the cabinet next to the mirror and took the extra toothbrush I had. He squeezed some toothpaste in it as well before he started to brush his teeth.

I thought how comfortable he was inside my room and just knew where I placed my stuff.
 
“In fact…” He trailed off as he made eye contact through the mirror in front of him. “I got so tired babysitting a drunk woman earlier.” He said in a slightly muffled voice.

“Whatever Baekhyun.”

I rolled my eyes at him before I left my spot. I walked towards the closet and took out the extra mattress I had. The one that he used whenever he slept over. I placed it on the bed as I went back to get a spare blanket for him.

While I was setting up the mattress on the floor next to my bed, I heard him get out of the bathroom. He went to my bed to take one of my pillows then walked back to the spot where he was going to sleep. The loose beige shirt and plaid pajamas he was wearing always reminded me of my father. The shirt was too old that it already had small holes in some parts.

“Did you text your mom that you’re sleeping over?”

“No.” He answered, closing his eyes. “You do it. Just tell her I’m too drunk to go home.” He placed a hand resting on his forehead.

There he went again. He hasn’t been on good terms with his mom since she remarried a few years ago. However, I understood how he felt given the stuff they’ve gone through. Just like how he’d been there for me, I had seen everything he went through as well.

Without a single word, I walked towards the bedside table for my phone and texted his mom about his sleepover at my house. For the number of times this happened, she must have gotten used to it anyway.

I went to turn off the lights before coming back to bed. The room turned dark and I usually preferred it that way but since Baekhyun was here, I reached out for the lamp and it turned it on.

Checking on him, his eyes were already closed. It remained a wonder to me how he always dozed off in a blink of an eye like this. He’s the most energetic during the day but the first one to escape reality at night.

I laid down on my bed, realizing how tired I was. Some parts of my body were aching and I suddenly regretted getting drunk. I closed my eyes wanting to sleep already.

“Yah.”

I heard him call as soon as I closed my eyes.

“What?” I answered in an obviously sleepy voice.

I waited for him to say something next but none came.

“Ya, What is it?” I asked once more.

When he still did not answer, I rolled over to check on him. Docking to the floor, I almost held my breath to see him looking back at me. He still had the back of his arm resting on his forehead but his eyes were boring into mine.

We stayed that for about five seconds, leaving my heart pounding a bit. Then he closed his eyes once more and turned to the other side. I frowned, my brain asking what that was about.

I rolled back to my bed, my eyes focused on the ceiling. I thought about how he gazed at me and how I reacted to it.

Seriously, what was wrong with this guy sometimes?
And what was wrong with me too?
 

∞⇢

Days turned into weeks and the weeks also went by a blur.

We got so busy at school juggling our extra-curricular activities and projects at the same time. Aside from the hectic academic schedule, the university was in a buzz due to the upcoming annual festival to celebrate the school’s foundation. It would take place on the last week of the month and there would be various activities from sports, music, and games. There would be invites from other universities in the city for friendly competitions as well. Baekhyun being nicknamed as the Uni’s all-rounder prince was all over the place preparing for a lot of things. The swimming team needed him, and the hapkido team too of course. The soccer org also approached him and he was more than willing to participate as well but had to turn it down due to practice schedule conflicts.

As for myself, I planned to just have Hapkido alone but the dean of the Architecture and Engineering department begged me to be the muse of the college’s Basketball team. I was ready to say no in a heartbeat but they just had to corner me and had a mini-election in the class. I ended up winning and Baekhyun was to blame.

Then, the week-long festival came.

The Swimming event happened on the first day. There were a lot of students from different colleges watching the competition. Since Baekhyun was joining, I was there of course. It had been a natural thing for me to do because I knew he wouldn’t forgive me if he didn’t see me in the audience. I was there seated on one of the chairs in between Minseok and Jongdae.

The loud cheers filled the area when the swimmers came out. They were all in their swimming trunks as they positioned themselves in their designated spots. I located Baekhyun but before I could even do something, Jongdae yelled beside me and I swore my eardrums almost suffered from severe damage. I gave him a light elbow nudge accompanied by a glare. However, he just ignored me and continued to call for Baekhyun. With the volume of his voice, it was impossible for Baekhyun not to hear him from the pool.

He turned around and easily spotted us and we all did the same thing. There was an automatic smile on his lips as he waved at us. His toned body was in full display which earned a few giggles from the girls seated around us. This was a natural sight whenever Baekhyun appeared for the swimming competition.

Later on, the starting pistol was fired and all the swimmers dove into the pool. My breath hitched, and my eyes focused on no one but Baekhyun. My attention followed his every move. Though the other swimmers were taller than he was, his speed was an advantage which explained why he was leading at the moment.

Already feeling anxious, I bit the corner of my thumb. I was concentrating so hard, I did not mind Jongdae’s exaggerated movements beside me. My heart would drop whenever another swimmer would almost overtake him. I would lean towards Minseok, grab the sleeve of his t-shirt sleeve and we would both observe the competition silently unlike Dae. The latter would lift his hands in fists yelling cheers I couldn’t make out of anymore.

This was so nerve-wracking, my breath hitched as Baekhyun sped up trying to lead again. The whole pool area was so loud, rooting for the individual and their representatives. When Baekhyun took over the leading swimmer once more, all three of us held hands and shouted happily. On the last lap, most of us stood wanting to have a clearer view of the swimmers. Baekhyun was still leading and competing against two other swimmers.

“Baekhyunaaaaaaahhhh win it!!!! Go go go go!!!!” Minseok exclaimed loudly, his voice mixing with other people’s cheers.

“Yah Baekhyun!!!! Go!! Swim fast….” I yelled as well, adrenaline rush taking over every cell in my body.  

“Faster!!!! Fasteeeeer!!!!” Jongdae screamed. “My AQUAMAN!!!” He added in a loud voice. “AQUABAEK WOHOOO!!!!”