~ ✯ My Turn ✯ ~

               Baekhyun loved her. He loved her dearly, yet she could not reciprocate her feelings.

               They had been friends for so long. They had been stuck to each other like glue for years and years; it didn’t surprise him that he had developed feelings for her. Of course, it did surprise him that she didn’t feel anything at all.

               Nothing. She had felt nothing.

               He had always thought that maybe there was the slightest chance that she had thought of him as more than a friend for even a second. But he was wrong.

               It was one of those normal days, although the day quickly turned into a disaster for him as time passed.

               He had woken up with the sun shining down on his face. His mother was up for once, and the smell of the delicious breakfast she was cooking climbed up the stairs and settled into his nose. Work had always kept her hostage late into the night, and so she was always sleeping in while he prepared for school. However, on that day, she had managed to wake up and was making breakfast. Finally.

               “It’s going to be a good day,” he had said to himself with a growing grin.

               Baekhyun had proceeded to slip on his uniform without any major mishaps. Usually, something would get stuck, and he would have to tug and tug and tug until his uniform finally made its way to its proper place. That day, it slipped on effortlessly, not even messing up his hair as he put it on. His hair had even managed to stay down while he slept. In the morning, his brown fluffy hair would stick up in tufts, resembling a bird’s nest. That day, his hair had settled in all the right places. Sure, he had a bed head: but it was one of those bed heads that girls would die to see in the morning.

               Once he finished dressing up (which didn’t take as long as usual), he bounded down the stairs and settled into his seat at the table. His mother had already finished making breakfast, and the spicy Korean food was laid out on the table, just begging him for a taste. Hungrily his lips, he dug in, not worrying about the time. He had finally managed to wake up earlier than usual.

              His mother wasn’t in one of her famous bad moods, either. She smiled at him affectionately as he ate, joking about his messy eating habits and how they were getting better. She usually never even came close to complimenting him, but that morning, she showered him with praise. He loved it.

               Upon finishing his hearty meal, Baekhyun grabbed his school bag and put on his shoes, waving goodbye to his mother as he ran out the door.

               After eating and leaving his house, he would usually go to the house of his best friend, Min Hee, and they would walk to school together. Every time they walked together, he had always thought of confessing to her. After all, it couldn’t be that hard, right? That’s what he always thought before he chickened out and quickly changed the topic. And so, for a grueling three years, he still had not managed to tell her his feelings.

               They talked about normal things as usual, just making comments on the weather or asking each other pointless questions. But soon their conversation turned serious, and Min Hee had asked the dreaded question.

               “So, who are you taking to senior prom? Anyone I know?” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

               Baekhyun almost choked on the strawberry milk he was sipping. Then and there, he knew that he would have to tell her. What if he told her he had no one in mind and she thought that he wasn’t interested in her? Then everything would go wrong, because obviously he was interested in her. But she just didn’t know that yet.

               He took a deep breath and threw away the carton of strawberry milk, clenching his fist. It was now or never. Min Hee was looking at him expectantly as he gave himself a pep-talk in his head.

               Baekhyun opened his mouth, his eyes twinkling, and he was about to say what he had wanted to say for three years…

               But he had taken too long to answer. Min Hee had already started talking, saying the words that violently crushed his heart into a million pieces and made him feel like his world had ended a billion times, over and over.

               “Chanyeol asked me to be his date for the prom. And I’ve been crushing on him since the beginning of high school, too! Can you believe it?”

               No. He couldn’t believe it. Baekhyun wanted to laugh at the irony of the situation. Right as he had fallen for Min Hee, Min Hee had fallen for Chanyeol, his other best friend.

               Baekhyun wanted to blame Chanyeol for everything, but he couldn’t even bring himself to. Just the thought of screaming at his other best friend in the whole world made him want to vomit.

               Baekhyun wanted to lash out at Min Hee, telling her that he had been in love with her for three years as well. A whole freaking three years, and she hadn’t even noticed a thing. But just as before, the thought of screaming at her made him sick. He couldn’t bring himself to even be the tiniest bit mad at her. After all, she had been with him through thick and thin. Whenever he needed comforting, she would be there for him. When his parents had divorced and he was left confused and sad, she had willingly brought him into her arms, whispering words of comfort into his ears as his parents fought outside his room. Even when his pet goldfish had died, she had held a funeral with him and she even made a gravestone for the poor fish.

               No. He couldn’t be mad at her. He could only be mad at himself.

               He should have confessed whether she would have said yes or no. He should have confessed, at least to get it off of his chest. Baekhyun couldn’t even tell her how he felt. He feared that telling her then would only ruin her newly developed relationship with Chanyeol.

               With a heavy heart, he congratulated Min Hee and sulked away to his first class.

               While the first part of his day had been wonderful, the rest of the day was absolutely horrible. His teachers scolded him for no particular reason. The bullies had conveniently decided that he would be their next target. Someone had bumped into him and spilled their lunch all over his shirt. To make things worse, Chanyeol and Min Hee had sat with him at their usual spot in the lunchroom. But this time, they were acting all lovey-dovey. Students cooed over their adorable relationship and gave them their support. Baekhyun joined in the conversation a few times as well, keeping a happy face, but on the inside he just wanted to hide in a corner and die.

               He should have confessed.

               And so, now Baekhyun was rushing over to Min Hee’s house, worried sick. She had called him while he was in the middle of work. He worked as a waiter at a popular restaurant called Exo. Baekhyun was sure he would get fired for leaving in the middle of his morning shift, but he couldn’t help it. Even though Min Hee and Chanyeol had been dating for a little over a year, he still dearly loved her. He wouldn’t hesitate to go to her when she sounded so distressed.

               He didn’t even know what had happened to Min Hee since her phone call was so vague, but he was sure it was something extremely bad. Whenever she was extremely upset, she would always call him by his full name. She had called him just moments before, breaking down into sobs.

               “Byun Baekhyun…please…I need you.”

               It only took those three words – I need you – to get him running to her house in the middle of the rain.

               By the time he had arrived at her house, he was soaking wet, but he didn’t care.

               He found Min Hee curled up on her couch, silently sobbing her eyes out. There was the occasional sniffle and a small sob that managed to escape, but besides that, everything was silent. He had assumed that her parents had left on another business trip…again.

               Baekhyun ran up to her, kneeling by her side. He cupped her face in his hands, a concerned expression on his face.

               “What’s wrong?”

               The words hit him like a bullet. “Chanyeol broke up with me…”

               That idiot. Chanyeol’s conversation with him hours ago came back to him in a flurry of words and images.

               “I don’t want to see you like this, Baekhyun… you look so sad… I have to.”

               Baekhyun’s fists curled in anger. Chanyeol had found out that he was in love with Min Hee a few months ago. Despite his protests, Baekhyun told him to keep seeing Min Hee. He didn’t want his best friend to regret dating the girl he loved. He didn’t want Chanyeol to feel like he had stolen away Min Hee from him, since she was never his to begin with. He knew that Chanyeol only broke up with her to help him, but he didn’t care. Baekhyun was just upset that he had made Min Hee cry.

               Baekhyun engulfed Min Hee into a bear hug, whispering comforting words as she soaked his already wet shirt with tears. It broke his heart to see her dating Chanyeol, but it broke his heart even more to see her in so much pain.

               Once Min Hee had finally calmed down, Baekhyun let her go, but still stayed close to her.

               “Talk to Chanyeol tomorrow morning. I’m sure that he’ll get back together with you.”

               She looked up at him with questioning eyes. “How do you know?”

               “Trust me. I’ll talk to him,’” he said, smiling sadly.

               But all Min Hee could see was his smile, and not the pain hidden in his eyes. She grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Baekhyun.”

               Baekhyun tried to blink back his tears and her hair. “I’ll always catch you when you fall. You know that, right?”

               Min Hee nodded into his chest, half laughing and half sobbing. At least he had managed to improve her mood a little bit.

               Once they finished talking, Baekhyun walked out of Min Hee’s house, leaving her behind. Leaving all his regrets behind. It was time for him to forget about her, since it was obvious that she never liked him in that way.

               The rain had stopped, leaving behind a bright and vivid rainbow. The sun was shining down on his face, and this time he was absolutely sure that it would be a good day.

               Baekhyun took a deep breath, and this time, he let his tears fall freely. But he wasn’t sad anymore. He was just happy that he finally managed to let go.

               He whipped out his cell phone, dialing Chanyeol’s number.

               “Hello, Chanyeol? I need to talk to you. And don’t you hang up on me, okay?”

               “Baekhyun, you don’t understand! Don’t you see? I did this for you! You should be telling her how you feel now!” Chanyeol had yelled into the phone, making Baekhyun flinch. But he held his ground.

               “It’s fine. I know you love her, too. And it’s hopeless to pursue her when she obviously feels otherwise,” he calmly said.

               There was a shocked silence before until Chanyeol spoke up. “Are…are you sure?”

               Baekhyun laughed heartily. He hadn’t laughed so freely in a while. It felt good.

               “Of course I’m sure.”

               And then he hung up, not wanting his creeper of a friend to argue any more on this issue. He practically skipped along the sidewalk, earning a few suspicious stares from some passerby. But he didn’t care.

               He felt free. So, so free.

               Baekhyun suddenly stopped and put his hands on his hips as he tilted his head, deep in thought.

               “Now, what to tell my boss?”