"So where are we going?" You ask Baekhyun as he swings your hand back and forth repeatedly. Your fingers tingle. You shouldn't like this - holding his hand, acting sweet - but you do. And you don't know why. Or maybe, deep inside, you're just afraid to find out.

"Anywhere. Do we need to have a plan?" He asks you, smiling.

"Yes ... ?"

"Do I need to follow a criteria in order to hang out with my girlfriend?" He breezily says. Geez. He's making this so difficult. 

"Baek ... do you actually want to date me?"

Before you can close your mouth, the words have escaped, and Baekhyun pauses just long enough for you to feel the tremor spread through his hand. He looks over at you, his eyes glimmering with subdued darkness. "Of course," he says, but his voice has a different quality to it. "Why?"

No. That's not what you want to hear. The way he said it ... no. None of that. None of that is real. "Never mind," you say, shaking your head, urging him to move forward again. Maybe if you walk, you can escape the situation you had just put yourself in. Put it behind you. Forget about it. "I was just thinking." 

Baekhyun quiets at your words. His fingers slowly slip from yours, and your palm feels empty, unwholesome, even. You stare at your hand before returning it to your side and burying it in your pockets. Baekhyun clears his throat uncomfortably and, after glancing at you a bit more, awkwardly says, "Well ... do you want to watch a movie?"

You nod, unwilling to make the effort to think. You follow him as he leads you to the closest theater. You barely pay attention as he asks you if you like this movie, or this, and you just pick the one that sounds interesting at the time. Do you want snacks? - he asks. No, you say. You enter the movie theater, and although you sit together, he makes no move to romantically interact with you. Your hand is inches from his own as they relax on that same armrest, the darkness enveloping you in a refuge of privacy, but ... nothing. Nothing.

A length of two hours pass, and he doesn't do anything. You laugh at the funny parts of the movie. You sadden at the mournful ones. You react in all the right ways in all the right places, but you feel detached. 

You had made a mistake, hadn't you? Asking that question. You had compromised the Contract. And the Contract is not to be touched.

You have to remind yourself that. Whatever you're feeling or beginning to feel are the consequences of the Contract. Nothing else. Nothing more. Side effects are what they are, that's all.

The movie ends, and Baekhyun silently walks beside you as you exit the theater. Did you like it? - he asks. It was okay, you reply. 'Good'. 'Fine'. Because all those words mean the