Weeks went by and Jaein noticed Baekhyun hadn't tried to tease or go any near Jaein. Not like she cared or she was trying not to show she was always looking through the entire room to see if Baekhyun would attend their weekly meetings. Sometimes Baekhyun would be absent for god knows what reason but Jaein kept her composure. A few weeks went by and they decided to start recruiting new dancers, singers, and rappers for the performance slightly earlier than the concert so that they had more time for all the paperwork and also choreography, music composing and song selection since it was going to be big. 

"Let's finalize all the audition sequences for tomorrow. Jaein do note it down as you will be the main person in charge of the flow. Sehun and Xiumin will help you with all the arrangements and you have all the right to order both of them around. Sehun please listen to your Jaein nuna, I'm begging you." Suho pulled Sehun by the collar to make him listen. 

"Stop worrying oppa, I'll make everything work, I promise!" Jaein exclaimed with excitement because it meant that she would have more time to prepare and run for paperwork since she wouldn't be involved in any of the performances. As Suho once again explained the flow, everyone kept their things and prepared to go home. Jaein would have a final wrap-up with the 3 major interviewers. Chanyeol to find someone for rapping, Kai for someone for dancing, and Baekhyun to evaluate for singing. It'll be a big decision for them that will greatly affect their performance, so all 3 of them are aiming to find the best talents. 

Chanyeol and Kai childishly wanted to go over with Jaein first so they could wrap up faster but Baekhyun just sat quietly laughing and let them finalize with Jaein so they could race out of the classroom faster. Baekhyun was last and everyone had left. Baekhyun went into business quickly, running over the whole criteria and question he needed Jaein to go with every auditioner so that he could get more details from them, making sure that everything was in check before he put down his glass and rubbed his eyes to stretch. He was in his relaxing comfortable white hoodie and a pair of loose grey jogger pants with his white sneakers as a contrast to the frown between his brows. 

Baekhyun sighed, "With this song, I can listen to how good they are in their technical singing skill but it'll be too technical, I'm afraid that they might not able to express th-" Before he could finish his sentence, Jaein had already extended out her fingertips and touche the crease between his brown and trying to soothe it out. 

"You have been frowning throughout the whole meeting, you'll be fine and the contestants will be fine," Jaein explained to Baekhyun who had been staring at his face when he was fuzzing over which would be the best song for the contestants to sing. Baekhyun just stared into Jaein with his mouth slightly open. 

"Let's go with the 2nd song, you can always change to the 3rd song to give them an additional test, you can note it down in the files tomorrow as an additional note. So now, go back and take a rest. Your veins are already popping out of your temple Baekhyun." Jaein tried to calm down Baekhyun, who seemed unsettled by tomorrow's audition. 

"But the song-" Baekhhyun tried to argue but Jaein closed her ears with both of her hands showing that she had enough, completely shutting out from Baekhyun's nagging. 

"I'll keep my things and go back now with or without you agreeing." While Baekhyun still talking about the song choice she completely ignored him and started to pack her bags. 

"Okay, okay. Why are you so grumpy?" Baekhyun laughed as he watched Jaein fumbling with her things with he stood up and leaned on the table that they had been staring at into the laptop just a few seconds before. 

"Mr. Byun workaholic, I've been juggling between classes, rushing for my project, AND attending all these long- meetings since 8 am this morning because of tomorrow's audition. Cut me some slack Mr superman, I wanna have my sleep." Jaein stopped in her action and stared towards Baekhyun who was rolling his shoulder. 

"Okay okay calm down Miss busy, see you tomorrow then." Baekhyun cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. He was rubbing on his shoulder and massaging it with his face crunched into a ball. 

"Shoulder pain coming back again?" Jaein asked with Baekhyun still brunching his shoulder. 

"Got worse these days, I need to go to a doctor" Baekhyun was still rubbing his shoulder trying to ease the pain. "Probably that you have been stressing out too much this day, it wasn't that bad last time?" Jaein kept the last pen in her pencil box and turned to him," I learned this... stretching style just a few days ago, they say it'll at least help a little bit, wanna try?" Out of being a good FRIEND, she offered to help him soothe the pain since Baekhyun had been angling his shoulder into a weird angle just so that he felt better. Bakehyun side-eyed her with suspicion and there he goes the lazy lopsided smile plastered on their face. 
"Are you offering to help after all the trouble of letting you stay late here? Such kind friend Jaein" Bakehyun teased. "You know what, imma just leave now, go away Mr ungrateful ugly neck." Jaein rolled her eyes and picked up her bag pack.

"Ow c'mon Jaein, help me- help me please," Bakehyun then regretted teasing her and pulled her back so that she didn't dash off in 2 seconds. Jaein laughed and put her bag down to stand behind him. " So Ms. Chiropractor, how do we do this? The pain is killing me." Baekhyun stands in surrender. Jaein who was now standing behind him laughed and squished his shoulder as hard as she could and heard a scream from Baekhyun which made her laugh harder. 
"Yah yah yah, you trying to murder me Jaein-sshi" Baekhyun turned around and glared at her still with a smile on his face. " I can murder you anytime I want you ungrateful punk," Jaein stated and slapped him on the arm.

"C'mon help me Jaein-sshi, maybe you can be a professional on this and help me kill the pain instead of me please." Baekhyun poked her sides and made her jump. She then followed with a series of stretching routines she just learned a few months ago. She would ask Baekhyun to fold his arm to place behind his head and Jaein would loop into his arm and push his chest out to stretch him with her chest just behind the back of his head while she pulled his arms to the back. All of the stretch required close body touch but Jaein felt obligated to make Baekhyun feel better. However, it didn't have an effect on Baekhyun but instead made him... feel hot for some reason. He's a boy, now a man who has needs and feelings toward any opposite female and with Jaein so close and literally body-to-body contact with him made him strain his neck even more. Not that the stretch did not work, but he felt different things in his stomach compared to the small stretch she was doing to him as Jaein was small for him. Baekhyun still appreciated her effort to make him feel better but nonetheless, he began to feel more restless. Which sounds very impolite at the moment and feels inappropriate with her kind gesture but he couldn't help it. 

"Done! Feel better Ahjussi?" Jaein rolled her shoulders to her back after folding this giant marshmallow Byun front and back, and he is HEAVY for such a petite figure of hers. Byun turned around and looked at her with hooded eye. Jaein looked at him as she blinked her eyes furiously slowly stepping away, not knowing why. Baekhyun then took a step closer as soon as she stepped back. 

Bakehyun extended to grab her hand, "Not really."

Jaein can hear the difference in his voice, darker, deeper, rougher, and frustrated. "But, can I return the favor?" Baekhyun looked into her eyes and spoke in a low voice. Jaein relaxed when he mentioned that he just wanted to thank her and nodded with a bright smile, not knowing what would come. Jaein replied with a light nod and smiled innocently to turn around. "I needed it too anyway."

Her back looked perfectly built with the white sports long sleeve she was wearing, tightly wrapping her small figure and showing the line of her hips. Baekhyun can see the line of her curve, her small waist. He moved a step closer to her, standing behind her and flipping her hair to the side. Somehow he held the urge to dive into her warmth, but he took a deep breath instead. "Am I THAT stiff for you to take such a deep breath?" Jaein turned around looking confused and  apologetic at the same time. "I can do a 90-degree bend now, for your information." Baekhyun was biting his lip still trying to pull his thoughts away from being 'rude', but he saw her clear innocent eyes, and his vision cleared.

Without thinking about any consequences, instead of returning her favor of stretching her, he asked for another favor from her. Bakehyun extended his hand and covered it around her waist, wrapping his arm around and pulling her to his chest, consuming all her warmth, her smell, and all that is just hers. A back hug, without permission. Jaein stiffened and quickly tried to pull herself away by plucking away the strong arms, but who could run away from his toned arms and the hardness of his chest, Jaein had nowhere to run. 

"Byun Baekhyun, let go of me this instant! What the hell are you doing?!" Jaein struggled with her teeth gritted and tried hard to pull his arms away but was in vain. No matter how hard she pulled, Baekhyun did not even budge an inch, slightly hurting her waist with such strength as she was struggling.

"Yoo Jaein, do you hate me that much?" Baekhyun questioned with a soft tone just beside her ears. He sounded tired, burned out, and most importantly, broken. Jaein stopped abruptly and stayed still, the sound of defeat made her heart drop. 
"Tell me Jae, do you?" Baekhyun asked again like a lost puppy. After seconds of silence, Jaein finally took a deep breath and replied. 
"Would you believe me if I say No?" Jaein without turning her head and said. Baekhyun put his head onto the depth of her neck and slowly shook his head.

"Why do you ask if then?" Jaein asked.

"Because I want to hear it from you. I want to hear you saying that you hate me. But the way you treat me doesn't seem like you really do, Jae. I can't shake off the feeling and I can't stop..." Baekhyun sighed and continued," I can't stop thinking about you." Jaein's heart stopped and all the words stuck in with her eyes widened but she remained quiet for a long time, trying to even her breath. 

"It had been weeks since you came to me and talked. You would just attend meetings and keep your distance from me. You would leave as soon the meeting ends, you would walk away when I come to you, you would move away or reject the things that I offer. I feel horrible about everything you do, I kept thinking what's the problem and I wanted to know wh-"
"Byun Baekhyun, stop. Just stop talking." Jaein stopped him mid-sentence and was already breathing hard and her hands shaking slightly. Baekhyun didn't continue but waited patiently.

"I-I don't hate you Baekhyun, I just- don't know how to act around you. It's confusing." Jaein stated. 
"Why? Bakehyun replied like it was the most natural thing to do.

"I just can't" Jaein breathed out and spoke.

"Tell me what I can do for you to stop staying away from me?" 

"I-" she bit her lips and stopped herself with her last strain of consciousness. Jaein wanted to spill everything out, about every time she looked at him, she couldn't get over the fuzzy feeling in her stomach, her racing heartbeat, the attraction she had towards him was so inevitable that she wanted to get away from him. But Baekhyun did nothing, he was just being... him. Jaein just fell so hard for him but she knew, she was not good enough. So what she could do was to run away and stay away from him and in a way, she hurt him as she wanted her just to be a friend to him. 

"I'm sorry." Jaein breathed and realised she was bitting her lips so tightly that she could taste the stale taste of blood from holding herself. "I'm sorry to be so selfish and treat you like an outsider. I'm- just trying to cope with all the things that are going on." Jaein just stood and tried to calm her racing heart with Baekhyun's lips now on her shoulder and he snuggled into her neck as she explained. Just like how a puppy would snuggle into their owner's arm when they are craving for their owner's love. He felt loved and Jaein felt the warmth she needed for a long time. Baekhyun hummed like he was answering her. 

"Don't lie to me again this time, I'll go crazy.", he heaved a big breath of relief and Jaein gave a small nod.

Minutes passed and Baekhyun had no sign of moving away so Jaein cleared to remind that Baekhyun was literally backhugging Jaein, which does not seem as innocent if someone saw them. Baekhyun only realized and retracted his arms and immediately felt the loss of warmth that he didn't know he craved for months. 

Jaein tried to act normal but she had noticeable red ears and her lips were bitten red. Baekhyun softly grabbed and lifted her chin so that he could take a closer look. Pained by how hard she had bitten her rosy lips, he unconsciously swept her thumb across it hoping that he could soothe the pain. He then bowed down slightly and looked her in the eyes, "Don't too that to yourself, at least let a guy that you like do that to you instead." Jaein stared at him wide eye and slowly a playful grin spread across Baekhyun's face. He still loved the look on Jaein's face every time he made a statement like that. Just like how she would react back then. Stupid playboy.

Baekhyun scrunched his nose playfully and ruffled Jaein's hair. " Let's go have some food before you go back!" Without even Jaein's agreeing to it and now her messed up hair, she only came back to her senses," YAH, BYUN PYEON TAE!" Baekhyun turned around and already had a playful lopsided smile plastered across his face. He stuck his tongue out and then sprinted away, leaving Jaein to quickly pick up her things and dash out from the classroom planning to headlock that boy she knew she couldn't get away from anymore. 

I'm a mess now , I'm, mellted.

*screams internally*

Comment and let me know how you feel about the chapters lovelies <3