Ahyeong was appalled and overwhelmed with lot of emotions when he appeared. His jet black hair side parted, his glowing face, cladding in his navy blue suit pant ‘they were matching’, Ahyeong smiled at the thought but it faded soon when she realized that her attire was nowhere near attractive as the man’s, who happened to sit across her. He politely bowed towards her and her parents with a sweet smile adoring his lips.

She was definitely expecting this man to pop up someday but not this way. She was already cursing herself for not putting any effort, when her parents clearly told her to do so but it wasn’t like she knew she will meet him today and that too this way, through her parents. Sometimes she really hated her rebellious side which always made her end up in this kind of situation. But what can she do now, she haven’t even brought any makeup to do a little touch up. She sighed at the thought; it was futile to cry over something she can’t reverse.

“This is my son, Byun Baekhyun.” The old man, Byun Min Joo, Chairman of Mugunghwa enterprises, introduced his son proudly while the mother patted his cheeks in adoration. Ahyeong smiled at their interaction. “He had been looking after his business in the US for past 3 years and has just come back recently, for good.” His name gave weird feelings to Ahyeong, either it was because she never called him by his name in those dreams or maybe because his unnamed character has finally found his existence in the real world as ‘The Byun Baekhyun’. Whatever it was, it definitely made her feel alive.

She felt grateful for finally meeting him. Relief washed over her and her heart bloomed with warmth at the reminder that he was real in his own flesh and blood, sitting there and radiating so much happiness that she wanted to cry in joy and hug him tightly and feel his embrace for real. But they weren’t alone and it wasn’t ideal for her to jump over him and start peppering his face with kisses while thanking him for existing in this world.

Since the moment he entered, all of his attention was either on his parents or her parents, but with her only few glances exchanged. She didn’t know how to initiate any kind of interaction with him. There were lots of things she wanted to ask everything about him, tell him about her dreams and so many other things that she wanted to say since she started dreaming about him but she didn’t want to give him impression that she is some clingy person speaking nonsense just to get his attention.

Kyungsoo at first felt unapproachable but they clicked instantly courtesy to Park Chunghee who acted as the bridge between them. On the other hand, Baekhyun seemed very friendly and from the way she can see, he was all smiles, grasping everyone’s attention effortlessly and lightening the atmosphere which used to be tense in the past and for the first time she felt a sense of security that was lost last time.

She was dying to talk to him but she was bad at it; she was a good listener but she lacked speaking skills i.e. expressing her thoughts without messing up some of her words.

She too wanted to take part in their conversation but every word that came out of their mouth felt foreign and all she could do was to just ogle at them blankly. She bit her lips as bad feelings started to succumb her since no one in the room felt the need to acknowledge her presence. She picked her chopsticks in order to eat the gyeranmari that looked even sadder than her, all the while listening to their conversation.

She tried to absorb every single word that came out of him. He is an alumnus from Seoul National University; he worked as an intern in his parent’s company during his semester breaks before fulltime working for 2 years. He founded his own company, the famous Baekdo Empires and at the same time handled his responsibilities as the heir of Mugunghwa Enterprises. For past three years he stayed in the USA to grow their business there. Overall in general they spoke more about his professional life than his personal one.

Han Mina nudged her daughter slightly with her elbow. At that, Ahyeong looked up only to find everyone’s gaze on her. Well now that she has everyone’s attention on her, it feels weird, when just some moments ago she wanted it the most but now she wants herself to disappear. Ahyeong shifted her gaze towards her mother in question, who had her usual sickening sweet smile which many might misunderstand as a warm motherly one but it only meant one thing TROUBLE. Did she miss something important?

“I guess Dr. Shin is not really into older people talk that she just zoned out.” Chairman Kang chuckled amusingly before adding. “Are you aware why we are here today?” Her serious tone blended well with her soft voice but it still gave her chills as if it was meant to threaten her.

“Yes”, Ahyeong replied.

“Then you may also know that we have finalized your marriage with our only son, Byun Baekhyun.” She asked reluctantly. Ahyeong wasn’t oblivious at the way Chairman Kang implied how much she cherished her son as if it was a tough call for her to marry away his only son to just anyone. She knows where she is coming from but the hostility which was nowhere seen initially when they came is now was making a way through her subtle gestures. Did she do something wrong in her end to make the ever so sweet natured Chairman Kang act this way?

“Yes”, Ahyeong answered robotically as if she was on autopilot. She wanted to strangle herself for lying through her teeth but a pat from her mother on her lower back, in acknowledgement subsided that feeling. It was a first time when her mother did that and Ahyeong couldn’t help but smile more widely and genuinely for making her mother proud.

“Then I guess it’s settled then.” Chairman Kang heaved a sigh before continuing, “Since you still have 1 month before your marriage I think you can use that time in learning about each other, maybe get in a courtship or something like that. What do you think?” Her gaze juggled between Ahyeong and Baekhyun, to which both nodded in agreement. Ahyeong was confused at her actions, one minute she was getting all defensive and other minute she was acting as if everything was fine.

“Our Baekhyunie is really shy when it comes to women so be a little patient with him.” Chairman Kang teased the boy while skeptically looking at Ahyeong as if ordering her not to mess up his little boy’s heart.

“He is also-”.

“Eomma~”, Baekhyun whined to stop his mother from spilling more beans about him before throwing his shy smile towards Ahyeong while she on the other hand bit her lips to suppress her smile at his cuteness momentarily forgetting the judgmental looks from his mother.

She once again looked at Baekhyun, comparing the real him with the dream him but her ogling ceremony ceased when the male reciprocated it with his own gaze on her. Ahyeong averted her eyes to look anywhere but him. She knew she looked like a creep for staring at him like that but she can’t help it. He was unreal yet so real.

She was tempted to look at him once more but controlled her urge against her wishes. It wasn’t too long when she felt his burning gaze on her. She looked back at him to find him all smile; he politely nodded his head a little. Ahyeong couldn’t help but smile back at him.

Even though their interactions were minimal; little smiles thrown at each other at their eye contacts and little ‘Thank You’ in between, for Ahyeong it was more than enough. Most of the time she kept quiet and the questions that were directed towards her were mostly answered by her parents.

As much as she wanted to hold a conversation with Baekhyun, she couldn’t, what if she says something offensive that can hurt him true to his mother’s fear or what if he found her boring or maybe worst lose his interest in her. On his end, it felt like he wanted to initiate a conversation but it never started.

The ringing of her phone brought out Ahyeong from her trance that she fell in for nth time. Last night, Ahyeong was on cloud 9, well it was an understatement. After coming back home post dinner with her parents and the Byuns, she once again cleaned her already clean house. She danced to her own, out of tune humming, her feet felt lighter than the air. She brushed her teeth twice and almost slipped inside her bathroom while twirling in the shower. The adrenaline rushing inside her took away her sleep and all she could do was to tire herself with different activities but seems like her quota of her energy charged instantly whenever she thought about his smiles, the way he talks, the way…. She can’t wait to meet him again. She wasn’t even able to get a wink of sleep last night.

She pushed off herself from her bed to retrieve her phone from her bedside table. It was an unknown number but without contemplating much she picked the call. She just felt that she should pick this call which was something she never usually did.

“Hello?”

“Hello is this Shin Ahyeong ssi speaking.” Ahyeong’s goosebumps erupted at the melodic voice which she has heard enough to recognize it in instant, it was him and he was real this time.

“Y-Yes, it’s Shin Ahyeong.” She almost had the urge to slap herself for being a stuttering mess.

“It’s Byun Baekhyun uh … We met last night. You remember?” Of course I remember, how can I forget you? She thought. The reluctance in his voice in was screaming about his nervousness or maybe awkward because this whole arranged marriage thing was awkward in itself and she can’t reprimand him for that.

“Yes, I remember.” She smiled. “Why- Why did you call me?” Ahyeong bit her tongue as a punishment for being so direct with her words and sounding like a complete rude person. But what can she do when she haven’t conversed with someone like him in the first place and what was she supposed to say if not that. It was the most logical question she could come up at the moment. There was pause and Ahyeong looked at the screen to check that he hasn’t hung up on her but he was still on the line. Did she really offend him?

“Oh... I called you to ask if you were free tonight.”

“Yes”, without delay Ahyeong chirped and the man on the other side chuckled at her excitement.

“That’s great.” He said softly before asking, “Then will you go on a date with me?” ‘Date with Byun Baekhyun?’ Who was she to deny such opportunity? Ahyeong suppressed the squeal that was on the verge to erupt.

Ahyeong took a deep breath before nodding while biting her lips to stop giggles from escaping.

“Yes.” She answered breathily.

“Okay then I will pick you up around 7.” He informed.

“I will text you the address and …..” She replied shyly. “Have a nice day.”

“You too … Then bye, see you in the evening.”

“Bye”

After the line went dead, Ahyeong jumped out of her bed before squealing with her parched throat but who cares. She was happy that she was going on a date with the man of her dreams and that too in real life. The glimpses from her dreams surfaced where they went on various dates and her anticipation rose ceiling high.

“Yah, how can you call this torn piece of fabric a cloth?” Hyoson whispered in Ahyeong ears with saleswoman trailing behind, “Oh my god! And they are charging 2000 $ just for this. They are looting in the name of brands.” Ahyeong looked behind at the salesperson, who averted her gaze as if she wasn’t even listening to them. As much as Ahyeong wanted Hyoson to keep her thoughts for the time being, she can’t help but agree with her friend. As of now she has seen at least dozens of dresses but none of them fits her taste and if some did, it was beyond her budget of 500 $. She took a deep breath, it was already an hour and the way the salesperson was staring at them was already making her uncomfortable.

Clothing was something Ahyeong barely invested in, most of the lavish clothes and accessories she owned were purchased by her parents and on the contrary she preferred buying cheap clothes from sale along with Hyoson, it wasn’t that they couldn’t afford it; it was just a waste of their hard earned money when that can be used in better things. To them all the clothes were same but just with different brand names and price tags but today was different, after her phone call with ‘The Byun Baekhyun’ and she couldn’t afford to embarrass him with her tacky taste in clothes and look unpresentable like last time. She wanted to look beautiful tonight, for him.

“I will buy this one.”Biting on her lips she decided to purchase the wine red long tunic dress that was going to cost her ten times her decided budget.

“We are never ever entering that shop again.” Hyoson scoffed once they were inside Ahyeong’s car.

“If only I knew that they will look down on us, I wouldn’t even have entered that shop.” Ahyeong huffed in annoyance.

“Just imagine how much dinner parties we can have at the expense of just one single dress. This dress is more expensive than my scooter including its insurance.” Hyoson snorted.

“Heol, do I have to buy an insurance policy for this dress?” Ahyeong uttered in serious tone as she looked at friend and they both burst in laughter.

“You should.” Hyoson answered after their laughter session calmed down.

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https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fshopee.com.my%2F2019-Elegance-cotton-and-linen-wine-red-color-lace-Slim-women-long-tunic-dress-i.142618066.2879582098&psig=AOvVaw1oxQKVX1Q6WgyvhMwX7DUR&ust=1616604783397000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCOig3KTwxu8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

Ahyeong once again looked at her reflection in the mirror and her cheeks were on fire. She don’t know why she was so shy, because it’s Byun Baekhyun her insides answered. Shaking her head, she ran her fingers through her loose curls.

“The way you are lusting over yourself I don’t think you will ever make it to your date.” Hyoson who was witnessing this scene for a long time decided to voice her thoughts. Ahyeong coughed at her friend’s words before planting herself next to her friend in the bed. She still has some time left before Baekhyun’s arrival so she can use that moment to calm herself down.

“How does it feel to finally have those dreams come true?” Hyoson who followed her out asked as she next beside her.

Ahyeong stilled for a moment before turning towards Hyoson. “It’s still unbelievable and I am scared that it is not some kind of prank that my fate is playing.” She expressed her fear as she looked down at her hands that were freezing despite it being a warmer month of March.

“Did he give you any kind of vibes that made you feel that something was off about him?” Ahyeong shook her head while her gaze was still on her hands.

“He will be charmed by you once he knows the real you, the ever so witty, gentle and cute Ahyeong.” Hyoson pinched her friend’s cheeks to prove her point successfully infuriating the girl, but when Ahyeong was about to retaliate, her phone went off. It was Baekhyun. Ahyeong grabbed her golden satchel before once again looking at herself in the mirror.

“Make sure you both take protection before you jump into each other.” Hyoson teased. Ahyeong glared at the woman before rushing out with her cheeks painted crimson.

There he was, lazily leaning against his black Audi, in his maroon suit looking handsome as ever. Ahyeong blushed at the thought for matching with him and that too two days in row. Maybe they have telepathic connection. After he sighted her, he straightened up throwing her off guard with his wide smile, if only he knew what his smiles were doing to her. Bowing her head a little she went towards him with her shy smile still intact on her lips.

“You look gorgeous.” He complimented as she got closer to him, looking all dazed. Ahyeong tried to suppress her emotions that were messing with her sanity as she looked up at the man who seems to know what he was exactly doing.

“You look gorgeous too.” Even more than me, Ahyeong pursed her lips as she was internally squealing and was afraid it will escape if she even breathes. Softly chuckling, he opened the passenger seat for her. Once Ahyeong settled he ran around to get in his seat. Ahyeong pinched her arm to remind herself, it wasn’t a dream.

She wore her seatbelt and looked at the man beside her, who was smiling at her. Ahyeong smiled back before averting her gaze towards the front.

The whole ride was a little awkward; they would simply gaze at each other and just smile. “Should I turn on some music?” He asked not being able to cope up with the awkwardness.

“Yes.” It was some classic music with piano in the background that Ahyeong only listened during her school years when her mother decided to enroll her for violin classes. As much as she loved listening to music, classic music wasn’t her type.

“What kind of music you usually listen, besides this?” Ahyeong decided to go a little courageous so that she can initiate a conversation.

“Ballads”, Once again not her type, they were too sad for her taste. She wanted to ask more but at the same time didn’t want to pry much and make him uncomfortable with her unbound curiosity. She once again looked out of the window to continue planning on how she was going to act around him for the whole date.

***************************************

Once they reached their destination, Ahyeong can’t help but feel overwhelmed. Right now they are inside one of the most expensive restaurant in Seoul, The Pasta space. She should have expected it from him, since Baekhyun hails from one of the richest family in Korea so obviously he will prefer taking her to one of the best place for their first date.

Ahyeong patted her back for putting efforts in her appearance. They were escorted towards their reserved seat, which happened to be in the terrace. She once heard from Chunghee about how this place was No. 1 in the whole South Korea in terms of everything. It was her first time coming here so she was incredibly nervous and her lessons from etiquette classes long forgotten.

Ahyeong suppressed her gasp at the beauty this dining space offered while Baekhyun on the other hand looked like he was a regular here as he waltzed his way towards their seat. Baekhyun looked back at Ahyeong before gesturing her to take a seat as he pulled out a chair for her. The waiter gave them their menus to order from.

Ahyeong almost wanted to faint after looking at the price which costed more than her dress. It wasn’t like they were serving them gold and diamonds as food. She almost imagined how Hyoson might have dragged her out of here if she ever brought her here. She nonchalantly turned the pages to look for the cheapest one. Once done she looked up to find Baekhyun looking at her.

“Are you ready to order?” He asked softly. Ahyeong nodded her head before giving her orders, thankful for not stumbling between her words. Baekhyun followed the suit and Oh God! Did he know how hot he looked when he recited those food names as a poem?

“Which wine do you prefer?” His question broke her daze, as she tried to soak in his question.

“I-I don’t drink.” For years she was proud of being a person who stayed away from alcohol but today for some reasons she felt insecure. Is it a bad thing that she doesn’t drink when the majority of the Korean population boasted about their alcohol tolerance? Should she drink it for his sake, because he wants her to? He smiled in understanding before cancelling the order for wine.

“You can still order it for yourself.” Ahyeong tried to convince him that it was okay for him to drink if he wanted to.

“I wanted to order it for you, the dish you just ordered goes well with the white wine so I thought you might like it.” He assured before adding, “Plus I have to drive you home safely, so no alcohol.” His smile unarmed her multiple times today but she wasn’t complaining. Multiple questions subconsciously popped inside her head that she wanted to ask but her tongue was not cooperating, Ahyeong was not good with her words forget about expressing them. She thinks about a lot of things but chicken out when it comes to getting it out of . Gathering all her courage she decided to initiate a conversation when the waiter left them alone.

“What are your hobbies?” Ahyeong mumbled inaudibly.

“Huh?” A confused Baekhyun looked back her.

“What do you do in your free time?” Ahyeong modified her question because the last question sounded lame and childish in her opinion.

The man smiled before answering, “I play golf, workout and so-so. What about you?”

“I…. I hang out with my friends in my free time.” Ahyeong nervously chuckled while Baekhyun nodded in understanding; she doesn’t have much of her own personal life. Since she started her residency, she basically lived in the hospital and on her days off she will clean her house, prepare side dishes for the whole week, stock up her groceries and then binge read her web comics.

“This place is beautiful.” Ahyeong complimented.

“The food is good too.” He smiled. “Especially the caviar pasta, I wanted to recommend that to you but you already chose something else.” He slightly pouted.

“Next time I’ll let you choose for me.” Ahyeong assured.

“Okay.” He smiled in content.

Before they can continue their conversation, their food arrived. Even though she was pissed at the price, the food smelled too good for her to be angry but not long after, she almost wanted to cry when she saw the portion. She didn’t eat anything aside from her breakfast just for this moment but she has to it up for now.

She took a bite of her pasta unable to stop herself from comparing it with the ones she ate at cheaper price. It wasn’t bad but she just hated the fact that it tasted like money.

“Is the food good?” Baekhyun asked as his eyebrows furrowed.

“Yes, it’s tasty”, She answered before questioning, “how about yours?”

“Do you want to taste?” He offered some of his Fettuccine pasta. It was really tempting to take a generous scoop from his plate but she can’t act like a person who was just came back from hunger strike.

“It’s okay.” Baekhyun nodded and then continued his eating. They were silent throughout the dinner but it didn’t felt awkward as before.

****

*

Baekhyun is one stubborn man. When Ahyeong offered to share the bill, he denied her immediately not even listening to her reasons.

“I know you don’t want to burden me but it was me who took you out on this date and according to the rules I have to pay for it. End of argument.” He countered as they walked towards his car.

“But still, it’s unfair for you.” Ahyeong tried to convince him in her calm tone but internally she was mess. It’s not that she dislikes the idea of him paying, it’s just the sum he paid was huge. The man abruptly turned to face her while Ahyeong halted in her steps. She swears in the name of god, if she wasn’t walking slowly courtesy to her high heels she might have tripped over unceremoniously.

“Ahyeong ssi”, He called her name for the first time since they met for this date and it felt like heavens even if the setting they were in was not very ideal. Baekhyun took a huge breath in exasperation before coming closer to her and Ahyeong’s heart paced with his every step. “You shouldn’t worry about such things when you are with me. I know I am not good in this kind of things since it’s still new to me but this is the only way I know. If I like someone then I will try to win them by treating them with good food and showering them with gifts. I apologize if it is making you uncomfortable.” He looked in Ahyeong’s eyes without blinking. Ahyeong was tongue-tied at that moment and took her moments to regain her composure that was barely there in his presence. This was definitely not how she imagined her first date with him and now she has succeeded in upsetting him.

“You don’t have to apologize, I-I was just overreacting I guess, not even listening to your side. I am sorry too.” She mumbled in embarrassment. Baekhyun’s features softened at that before he straightened up.

“I think it’s the weirdest date ever, we are apologizing for nothing instead of enjoying.” He tried to laugh out at the awkwardness. “Should I drop or you want to go somewhere else?” He offered.

As much as she wanted to accept it, reality was she wanted to go home and eat a big meal.

“Do you have some place in mind that you want to visit?” Ahyeong asked. The temptation of Baekhyun’s presence was much more than her temptation of food.

“We can just take a little walk here before we head home. Is that okay with you?” He suggested. Ahyeong smiled before nodding.

They walked side by side as silence covered them outwardly but internally their thoughts were loud and became louder with every moment.

Cookie clip:

“I didn’t assume you as the type to settle down in an arranged marriage.” Kim Junmyeon, Baekhyun’s reliable Sunbae, longtime friend and currently his trustworthy business partner mused.

“There are lot of things you don’t know about me hyung.” Baekhyun smirked. After spraying some perfume in his neck area he turned to look back at Junmyeon who was skeptically looking at Baekhyun.

“Exactly what kind of woman is she, who made our Byun Baekhyun agree for this marriage even before meeting her in person?” Junmyeon questioned.

“One word ‘Charming”, He replied, “As much as I would like to entertain you, it will be a shame if I get late for my very first date, with her.”

A Sneak Peek of author’s mind:

Finally I am done with this chapter; it was in the draft for past one week because I wasn’t satisfied with the chapter’s layout and some other reason which I will talk about in the end.

I don’t have much to say about this chapter but there was this song that fits really well with the first scene when Baekhyun and Ahyeong meet i.e. Future by Red Velvet from Start Up. If you read the lyrics it goes well with Ahyeong’s emotions. Actually when I was imagining about that scene I actually cried because Ahyeong finally met him and at that time this very song was played in loop.

I don’t know if you can feel it or not but in her dreams she has bonded well with Baekhyun’s and Kyungsoo’s characters so when she met them in real, it’s like they are going through some kind of amnesia and she has to act like nothing happened between them while almost slipping bits of their memories here and there. If you have any song in mind that fits this situation you can write down in the comment section.

I don’t if it is right to say this but one of the reasons I couldn’t write was due to Baekhyun’s impromptu insta live last Friday and his enlistment news. It wasn’t like we EXOLs were unaware of his enlistment date approaching but it still brought certain emotions that I didn’t know I had for him. Frankly speaking he is not even my bias but he lives in my head rent free courtesy to his different fanfictions but that doesn’t mean I don’t like him or anything. I really admire him as a person, he is a very inspiring character from whom I learned a lot of things and I will keep looking forward to more of him in the future.

If I have to describe Baekhyun, I will say he feels like a vacation and his enlistment might feel like an end of my infinite vacation, I still remember whenever we came back from my granny’s house after our vacation ended, the feeling of melancholy of leaving something precious behind with only happy memories; it is the exact feeling but I know this vacation will resume once again after he discharges. Even though he is leaving us with lot of his content I can’t help but miss him already.

I am really proud of him and I believe he will create another fanbase in the military base because he has got those charms. Just imagine after all the EXO members are finally discharged, the military will demand for EXO to perform at their bases. I am glad that EXO is the first idol that I happened to Stan when I entered the scene of KPOP. I am speaking so much because I am emotional and damn mood swings for triggering it even more.

That’s it for today. Hope you like this chapter. ~o~