“Do we have to?” I asked with slight reluctance as he steered me through the entrance of the mall.

We had spent the entire morning in the cafe across the road waiting for the lights to flicker on and the little neon sign above the door to flash ‘Open’. As we had our breakfast, Baekhyun informed me of the astounding progress he was making with Soojin, which I in turn wholeheartedly congratulated him in. He treated me to that meal, saying that everything I told him to do worked splendidly when he actually tried them. He said that this time, he was confident enough to further his advances without relying too much on my help.

Over the meal, we began my first lesson. He repeated to me what I had thought when I once tried to explain to him the complex workings of the female mind.

 “You’d never understand it,” he said as I gobbled down my egg sandwich. “And I don’t intend to make you to. All that you need to know is how to appear attractive to one.”

I looked up at him indignantly and sputtered something incomprehensible, which Baekhyun understood perfectly.

“Hey, don’t be upset. It’s not that I’m saying you’re not attractive, although your table manners do need a little bit of refinement,” he said, giving me a look. I chewed my food and swallowed, and he nodded approvingly. “But I do admit that we have a tendency to notice girls who stand out from the rest.”

“What happened to ‘looks aren’t everything’?”

Baekhyun smiled. “They aren’t. Your personality is worth so much more. But don’t you want to at least look pretty to the guy you like?”

I shrugged and grudgingly admitted a ‘yes’.

“Then just trust me and listen to what I say.”

“It’s not going to be a full-blown make-over, right?” I asked as I let him drag me behind him as we passed rows and rows of clothing stores.

“Nah, of course not. I just plan on subtly improving your look.”

I eyed his back. “Where did you learn to do this, Baekhyun?”

He turned and gave me a sheepish smile, as if he had just been caught. “My sister works as a fashion coordinator and make-up artist for the idols in JYP. She tends blabber a lot about her work on the dinner table. Since my mother refuses to excuse me, I had to listen.”

He dragged me into a make-up outlet just around the next corner. The three walls that made up the sides and back had shelves built into them, along with several full length mirrors embedded in the spaces between them. The bright lights shone from above our heads and from little spotlights on several shelves, giving a mystical feel to everything that was lined up for display.

Baekhyun smiled at one of the promoters and pulled me towards one of the shelves, scanning the products that ranged from typical make-up to other things that I couldn’t comprehend the use. He stopped in front of a shelf that had tubes and tubes of lip gloss, picking one up and scanning its label.

“I have lip gloss,” I told him as I watched him turn it over his fingers like an artist would do to a brush.

“You always wear those plain, clear ones,” he said as he returned it to the shelf and picked up another one. “It’s time you add some colour.” He grabbed my hand and uncapped the top, brushing a small streak over my skin and examining it with furrowed brows. He shook his head and picked up another one.

I grudgingly crossed my arms. “Can’t I just get one of those strawberry-flavoured lib balms in the pharmacy? Most of them have colours.”

“That’s mostly for protection and chapped lips,” he replied patiently. “We’re looking for something that would look good on you when you wear it.”

My hand now was streaked with different colours, ranging from barely noticeable pink to extremely bright red. I didn’t protest as he brushed another wand across the back of my hand. This time, he nodded in approval and handed it to me.

Then, he proceeded to look for some eyeliner. This time, he found one to his liking on the first try and reached out to put in my hand.

I eyed the eyeliner with a frown.

Baekhyun sighed exasperatedly. “Yoora, I’m not asking you to lather yourself in foundation and BB cream and then paint your face with blushers and mascaras. Just lip gloss and this. Please?” He gave me the puppy eyes again.

I snatched them from him and grudgingly moved to one of the mirrors to apply them to my lips and eyes.

“What?” I snapped when I saw Baekhyun staring at me.

He had on a look of amusement. “I didn’t know you knew how to use that.” He gestured at the eyeliner pencil I was using to shade my eyes.

“Just because I don’t use it doesn’t mean I don’t know how to apply it. My younger cousin likes dressing up, but is terrible at applying make-up. I had to do it for her most of the time.” I glared at him from the corner of my eyes. “Is it that much of a shocker?”

Baekhyun just chuckled to himself. “No, I guess not. I’m going to look around.”

He left me to myself, and I immediately relaxed as he walked away from me. I didn’t know why, but I found it unsettling to have Baekhyun stare at me. I wasn’t accustomed to having him look at me for extended amounts of times without a purpose, and truthfully speaking, I felt self-conscious when he did. I had a feeling that if he hadn’t gone, I would have poked myself with the pencil.

When I finished, I cocked my head and examined my work. I supposed Baekhyun was right; the eye liner did bring out my eyes, and my lips did look nicer with the lip gloss. However, I wasn’t used to seeing myself like this. Being a simple girl with plain interests, I didn’t favour make-up. I had worn it on rare occasions, like on dinners my mother forced me to attend or for weddings of close relatives, but never on regular basis. The only thing I wore was my clear lip gloss and sometimes a bit of powder when my face was oily.

I snapped from my reverie when a face suddenly appeared behind me. His head was cocked and he was examining himself in the mirror with a glazed look in his eyes, thoughtful. He bent his face until his chin hovered just above my shoulder, leaning closer to inspect his face at a closer range. My heart accelerated as I stared at him.

“Huh, my sister was right,” Baekhyun said as he turned his head left and right, trying different angles. “I do look good in eyeliner.”

Very good, I thought, but squelched the minute it popped out. What’s wrong with you? This is Baekhyun. You’ve seen him when he’s at his worst.

But truthfully, I had seen him at his best too, and certainly this was one of the moments. I had seen Baekhyun wear jeans, sweaters, shirts –every article of clothing that he had in his closet. It never affected me before. I would acknowledge it, but I would still see my best friend behind anything he wore; I still saw the cheeky boy I played with before when I was a child. I didn’t understand why my eyes couldn’t seem to leave his face now.

 I always knew he was good-looking, but I had never really noticed how delicate his features were. I suddenly became aware of the soft curve of his perfectly shaped jaw and the clearness of his complexion. His eyes were bright, filled with memories of past happy summers, shimmering with sun and warmth.

The smile that suddenly spread his face made my heart stutter and skip a beat. “You look nice,” he said. “Very nice. I told you it would work.”

“Thanks,” I said, tearing my gaze away from him and fumbling to put the lip gloss wand back in. My hands were getting clumsy; I could seem to get it in the tube.

Baekhyun took it from me and easily slipped it into the tube. He called one of the lingering promoters over and asked her to look for an unwrapped one of the same kind for both the lip gloss and the eyeliner.

“I should wipe this off,” I said, turning my head left and right to look for some make-up remover.

Baekhyun’s hand on my shoulder stopped me. “Keep it on,” he instructed. He turned and headed to the counter, pausing when I didn’t follow.

“Well come on. You don’t expect me to pay for that, do you?” he said jokingly.

I was jolted back to reality. The flustered, fumbling girl no longer possessed me, and I was finally able to look up and meet Baekhyun’s laughing eyes. I rolled my eyes with a smile, and trudged over towards the counter with him by my side.