Exam week is coming in Hansaem, in total everyone has around ten subjects with 9 primary subjects and one foreign language other than English. They have two exams in one day and there are only two classes after the exams so everyone gets to go home early to prepare for the next exams. Iseul also spends more time in the den with the others, they’d gather up in the den right after school finished which would be a little over twelve. Sehun makes a lot of supper for them, a lot of fish is used in his cook because he said it ‘improves memories and focus’ according to some blog posts. It’s funny how he matches his cooking for the right vibes.

Eunji tries to be more helpful to everyone by writing down something on a whiteboard they have, writing down her notes and hoping everyone understands what she means. Chanyeol said they used it to leave a note for the next day or to list something they need but then it become a studying whiteboard over time. “It’s a good way to learn Chinese from Eunji, she’d written down some sentences and we’d recite them like kindergarten students,” Baekhyun says when they pull out the whiteboard to the centre of the room.

They’d stay in the den until a little over five and then separate to go home. Baekhyun also has been accompanying her to go home, practically pushing her towards his awaiting car whenever they exit the building. Soyeon also keeps ushering her to go home with Baekhyun even though everyone knows her house is on the other side of the city. Iseul has countlessly said she’d be okay to go home by herself because it wasn’t that dark after all but the boy is relentless and he always manages to win. He would ask his driver to stop by some drive-thru and buys some snacks, never forgets to buy ice cream for Yiseo.

“You don’t have to keep bribing Yiseo, she already likes you.”

Baekhyun laughs at her remarks while handing her two cups of McFlurry, “Well, I have to keep doing it until her sister likes me too.” he chortles.

Iseul sheepishly laughs at his boldness, “You know, you keep on being forward with that. You have to do something more than buy me ice cream.” she playfully teases him.

“Oh, I will, I did say I’d ask you for a date a couple of weeks ago, right?” he reminds her of their conversation during the half-date to the cheesecake shop and she nods along.

“So, do you have anything to do this Saturday?” he questions her as he just hands a brown bag to Jungwoo, his driver, in front. Iseul thinks for a while, tilting her head to remember anything that she might have at the weekend.

“Nothing, I guess. Why? You’d ask me for a date?”

Baekhyun smiles as he nods to the question, “Under one condition,” Iseul suddenly says. He fully turns his attention back to her, raises his brows at the condition she’s about to say.

“We’d meet at the place, no picking me up.” she raises her finger at him as if warning him, he sighs at the request. “Fine, I could always pick you up for another date.” he simply shrugs, Iseul laughs at his reaction. “Are you always this blunt to every girl you date?” she tilts her head in amusement, Baekhyun looks up from his fries and looks at her funnily.

“Haven’t you heard? I never ask anyone for a date.”

“He said that?”

Soyeon looks amused after Iseul tells her what Baekhyun said the day before, Eunji looks up from her phone and lets out a chuckle. They’re currently sitting in the class, waiting for another period of the exam while the boys are out looking for some snacks (also accompanying Sehun to get his delivery foods). Iseul wants to know what Baekhyun mean by ‘never ask anyone for a date’ because surely he’s been on a date before. It doesn’t make sense for him never go to one or ask anyone to one. Based on their relationship, she could have simply asked him directly. But she wants others’ perspectives, she wants to know whether he’s serious or this is just his casual flirting.

“And you want to confirm whether that’s true or not?”

Eunji eats a spoon of her pasta salad while looking at Iseul who nods but doesn’t hide the fact she’s feeling awkward. Iseul doesn’t want to look nosy or poke her nose into something she shouldn’t be poking at.

“It’s normal, don’t have to feel awkward.”

Eunji shrugs it off, Iseul raises her brows. Confused about how that girl can read her mind or does her face was extremely easy to read. She doesn’t know, but Eunji senses it.

“Well, Baekhyun’s not my cousin so it is trustable.”

Iseul laughs at the remark, Sehun does famous for going on at least a date a week. Casual movie theatre or amusement park date, he always has someone to go with but nothing serious comes out of those dates. He never really date them, just tried to get to know his date, concluding his judgement.

“Jokes aside, he does never ask anyone for a date,” Soyeon confirms, Iseul looks at Eunji who nods along.

“How come?”

Iseul blurts out the question she’s been dying to ask since yesterday, Soyeon seems to expect the question but she still laughs.

“Well, we don’t really know the reason why he never asks anyone out for sure.” Soyeon shrugs, “So he got asked a lot, then?” Iseul concludes. Both Soyeon and Eunji nod in  response, “Not only a lot but tons of it.” Soyeon says. She raises her hand as if giving a sign for Iseul that she’d continue, taking another potato chip before continuing her story.

“Among those four dudes, only Baekhyun’s available to be asked out. One, if you ask Kai, you’ll die.” Iseul looks at Eunji as Soyeon nods at the girl, “True,” Eunji affirms.

“Two, Sehun doesn’t like being asked. It’s an American Express decline, instant no, just like that. Three, Chanyeol has been attached to Baekhyun’s cousin who’s currently living in Singapore since forever, so there’s no way you can ask him. So, those girls have been trying to ask him out but he always respectfully declines them. Never ask anyone out either, which is probably caused by number four.”

Iseul raises her brows, Soyeon’s taking a break by munching another chip.

“They’re going after his social status, media presence, or simply trying to be instantly famous.”

“Chasing for clout, you mean?”

Soyeon nods, “Yeah, especially if you’re desperate to become a celebrity, trying to be scouted by some random agency, or a trainee desperate to debut.” she uncaps her mineral bottle.

“What? Trainee? Really?” Iseul can't believe what she just heard, “Nowadays, agencies prefer those who are well-connected and already famous so it will be easier for them to attract attention. Stupid kinds of stuff, half of them can’t even sing a damn note.” Eunji mutters in annoyance but her expression doesn’t change. Sometimes, Iseul still can't get over how Eunji could sound so annoyed yet looks very calm.

“Yeah, happened to me a couple of times. Those boys were only chasing clout, but I don’t care. Anyway, those reasons are probably why Baekhyun get asked a lot and never says yes to anyone.” Soyeon waves her hand as if it’s nothing.

“But how is he or any of u sure I’m not here just for clout chasing?” Iseul questions them, Eunji quirks her brows while Soyeon just chuckles.

“If you are, our face would have filled your social media since day one.” Eunji answers, still scrolling on her phone while finishing up her salad.

“I could be some magazine’s informant…? You know,” Iseul tries to look for some weird things she saw in movies but Soyeon only laughs.

“Honey, you’re cute.” Eunji shakes her head in amusement.

“All right, thanks. Both of you,” Iseul feels assured by their information, Eunji and Soyeon just nod. “Oh, one more thing,” Soyeon quips as soon as they see the boys are back, Iseul tilts her head at her.

“Five, Baekhyun says he’d only go out with his ideal type.”

“You’re early,”

Iseul smiles at Baekhyun who’s been waiting near the entrance of the mall where they decided to meet at.

“Well, if you’re not coming in 15 minutes, I was going to wait near the subway station. Can’t lose my date, right?” Baekhyun leans a bit closer to her and she lets out a laugh, “So, what do you have in mind?” Iseul asks as they walk into the mall.  “Movie date?” Baekhyun pulls out two tickets from his pocket, Iseul smiles and then reads the movie title. She furrows her brows and then looks back at Baekhyun whos raising his brows as if he’s teasing her.

“I heard you were talking about this movie with Soyeon a couple of days ago,” he explains as they continue to walk to the movie theatre, “You heard that?’ Iseul looks surprised at her revelation.

“Well, you guys weren’t exactly discreet about that. You sounded really excited to watch it,” he comments on Iseul’s conversation with Soyeon a couple of days ago in the den when they’re taking a break from studying. Baekhyun was busy talking with Sehun about some project that was bugging the latter’s brother, but he can’t help to overhear Iseul and Soyeon’s conversation about a newly released rom-com movie. He mentally notes the movie name while still listening to Sehun’s concern, giving him comments and suggestions.

Iseul thanks him as they enter the movie theatre, the movie is starting in 30 minutes and he suggests they buy popcorn with some drinks. Iseul insists she’d pay in a return for him paying the tickets but he keeps shaking his head, firmly denying that because he said he’s the one who asks her out for the date so he should be paying instead. She disagrees with that but he just lets out a chuckle as he takes the popcorn and soft drinks. He lets her hold the tickets while he takes care of their snacks.

Baekhyun manages to get the best seats even though a lot of people are going to watch the same movie. He lets her settle in her seat first before settling himself on the right seat, placing the soft drinks for her and removing the divider between them, placing the popcorn in the middle of them.

“Are you okay with watching rom-com though?” Iseul turns to him, he raises his brows in confusion at the question.

“Why should I not be okay?” he asks her back as he takes a sip of his soda, “I don’t know, most guys that I know back in my old school don’t really like watching rom-com and they mostly go because their partner begs them to.” Iseul recounts her friends back in junior high school. Some of the boys don’t like watching rom-com in the movie theatre, they think only actions or thriller movies are worth being watched in the theatre.

“There are people who think that way? Movies are movies, if they’re available in the theatre then you probably should watch them in the theatre.” Baekhyun states then making sure his phone is on silent before putting it back in his pocket.

Iseul smiles to herself, Baekhyun is definitely different from her old friends. There’s something about how he conducted himself that makes him attractive. He’s raised in a great environment, not only the way he speaks but also the way he’s thinking is attractive to her. He appreciates whomever he talks to, listening to them intently and actively engaging in the conversation. Baekhyun’s not afraid to raise his concern or disagreement but never pushes his opinion on others. He’s observant of his surroundings, remembering small details. She might be falling for him but she’s not sure about his feelings, although Soyeon said that he’d ‘only go out with his ideal type’, she is still scared whether she’s making a hasty conclusion or not. As the lights are being turned off and Iseul’s busy with her own thoughts, she doesn’t realize that Baekhyun has been looking at her. Smiling contently before looking at the movie that’s about to start.

“Really? Why?”

Baekhyun laughs at her reaction. They played a little arcade game and took some photos together for fun before deciding to eat some fast food (which he insistently pays for again, ignoring her countless sighs in disagreement) after the movie ended.

“I don’t know, probably that’s a thing? Don’t ask me, I don’t know either!”

Baekhyun shrugs as he chews his fries and they keep laughing together on a story he told her earlier. She keeps laughing and tries to calm herself by drinking her coke. They talk about a lot of things and really get to know each other. Like how Baekhyun doesn’t go on dates because he doesn’t really feel like he’d like to go on one with someone so he apologizes if things are quite awkward. Iseul lets out a laugh, telling him that she’s only been on two dates before and she says it couldn’t really be called a date. His response to that answer resembles her response when Soyeon tells her that he has never gone on a date. Iseul then asks him about a cousin who’s living in Singapore that Soyeon mentioned but she doesn’t mention what they were talking about which leads the conversation to mention his cousin. Baekhyun then tells her about this cousin of his along with the story of how Chanyeol attached to her hip.

“Just imagine Kai and Eunji but with nicer Eunji and clumsier Kai,”

Iseul laughs at the description. They talk about a lot of things while eating in between, he’d wipe a trace of sauce from the corner of her lips and she’d murmur a thank. Unlike before, they’d just casually continue their conversation without feeling awkward as if they were already used to all of these.

“You said you have another place in mind?” Iseul asks him as they’re finishing up their late lunch as it’s already past three in the afternoon. He nods, “You said you can’t skate, right?” he asks her and she tilts her head.

Baekhyun then brings her to an indoor ice skating rink in the mall, there are quite a lot of people but not too crowded for their liking. He got them a pair of skating shoes and put them on himself before letting her put on her shoes.

“Did you watch a lot of drama or is this something you’ve been wanting to do?” Iseul asks as he ties her shoes, “A little bit of both? Besides, you mentioned you can’t skate and you want to be able to skate. So, here we are.” he sheepishly smiles as he stands up and offers his hand for her to hold. Another thing she mentioned a while ago.

“I’m bad at this so I’ll put my life on you,” she warns him as they enter the ice rink, he laughs as he keeps holding both of her arms. “Wait, let me get us there.” Baekhyun looks at a part of the ice rink with lesser people so she can learn to skate, Iseul still trying to balance herself and ends up holding the back of Baekhyun’s jacket like a child. He laughs as he takes a glance to his back, going through some people before finally getting to where they’re intending to be.

“Or…..” Iseul suddenly says as he leads her hand to the railing on the edge of the rink, he raises his brows at her. “You just want to see me falling, arent you?” she accuses him but he just lets out a hearty laugh, “Falling in love, you mean?” he teases her, catching her off-guard and she almost loses her balance but he’s fast enough to catch her.

“You probably should stop doing that, I won't be able to keep my balance.” Iseul murmurs but Baekhyun is being Baekhyun and he just chuckles.

“Fine, let me help you,” he brushes off the topic, helping her to stand straight.

He then proceeds to teach her to skate, helping her to keep her balance and slides off on her own. She keeps losing her balance but he always manages to catch her on time, he encourages her as if teaching a child to skate. She lets out a few sighs but doesn’t give up, wanting to be able to skate properly. Baekhyun smiles as he sees her starting to get a grasp of skating, balancing herself and keeping herself from falling. Almost an hour later, she manages to stand straight and slides a little without his help.

“There you go, you’re getting better!”

Baekhyun says and she smiles, realizing she does getting better.

“How did you remember I mentioned I couldn’t skate?” she asks him as they skate off together with him holding his hand, keeping her from bumping into other people.

“I just do,” he answers, Iseul is busy looking at her steps but then looks up and sees him smiling at her.

There’s no way she’s not falling for him.

Iseul lets out a sigh when Baekhyun leads her to his awaiting car in the lobby.

“I said—”

“You only said no picking up, didn’t say anything about dropping you home.”

Baekhyun cuts her sentence, she stays silent for a while because he’s right. She then just goes along with him. Baekhyun opens the door for her and makes sure she’s comfortable in her seat before going to the other side of the passenger door. As the car starts moving, both are busy with their own phone. Iseul’s replying Soyeon private messages, asking her about the date and scrolling her social media once in a while. Baekhyun’s busy shutting Kai and the other two on another group chat that the boys have.

“So, how was it?” Baekhyun asks her about their date, Iseul tilts her head as if she’s thinking about something but then lets out a laugh.

“It’s really nice, you are one gentleman, sir.” she honestly complements him, “Well, I have to charm my date, thank you ma’am.” he jokes and they both laugh. As they look out the window, Iseul can feel his hand reaching her’s and she doesn’t mind. When he senses that she doesn’t mind, he tightens his gentle grip on her hand and keeps it that way.

The ride takes about half an hour before they finally reach her house, “Wait,” Baekhyun tells her as she’s about to get off from the car. She doesn’t forget to thank Jungwoo for driving her and the man smiles as he curtly nods in a reply.

Baekhyun takes something from the front seat and then walks to Iseul who’s already got off the car. He gives her a pastel paper bag, “What’s this?” she looks inside the bag.

“I wanted to give you flower but then I think it would be too much for a first date,” he explains the cake inside the bag, Iseul looks at him and then just chuckles.

“So, there will be next time?” she takes a step closer to him and he just smiles, “If you don’t mind, I would be glad to take you on dates in the future. By the way, that’s another bribe for your sister,” he replies.

“I don’t think you have to bribe Yiseo anymore.”

He tilts his head, eyes widening as if he’s waiting for her to say something. But Iseul just smiles and then hugs him, “Thank you,” she says half-whispering to him. He puts his arms around her, not saying anything else.

“Get home safe,”

“I will, now go inside.”

They wave at each other and Baekhyun watches her entering her house before getting back to his car. He softly hums and smiles to himself, resting his head on the headrest comfortably. Letting the soft jazz music fills the car.

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm currently punishing myself for dragging this fic for toooo long. I didn't realize I started this in 2020 omg I'm sooo sorry ahahahaa so I'm trying to update more when I can^^ I hope you enjoy this chapter and so sorryyy for the crappy fulff ahahahah I'm not really good at writing detailed fluff:( Will try to work on it though, don't forget to subs and leave your comment down below!^^ 

See yaa~