Baekhyun clucked his tongue at me the minute I stepped out of my room.

“You’re wearing that?” he asked, pointing at the baby blue button down blouse and jeans I had on as if I had just dug it out of some hole from my backyard.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I asked indignantly, hands on my hips.

Baekhyun sighed, stepping forward from the wall across from my door that he had been leaning against. “Nothing’s wrong,” he said. “It’s just that, well, can’t you wear one of those dresses of yours?”

“What is the deal with you and dresses?” I asked, throwing my hands up exasperatedly as he circled me with furrowed brows.

“Well,” he said, stopping in front of me and reaching out a hand to inspect my hair, lifting a strand in his slender fingers, “to put it bluntly, you’d look cute in one.”

Blood rushed to my cheeks and I bit my lip, momentarily at a loss for a response. At that moment, Baekhyun lifted his gaze to meet mine. We stood there, unmoving, doing nothing but foolishly staring into each other’s eyes. He had beautiful eyes, I noted. Extremely rich velvet black, speckled with bits of light.

Oh god, what was wrong with me?

“Ahem.”

A cough jolted us both out of our reverie. Baekhyun immediately pulled back his hand and let my hair fall back onto my shoulders. He took a step back, his eyes bearing an unfathomable expression as they darted towards the ceiling.

Jongdae had his arms crossed, his eyes narrowed at us. He was standing in front of the door to his room, and I heard the faint melody of a song playing from the radio next to his bed.

“What are you two doing?” he asked suspiciously.

“I’m just here to help Yoora with something,” Baekhyun answered before I could open my mouth. His voice carried no note that indicated anything had transpired between us. “And well, for moral support. She has a date.” He grinned at Jongdae.

I slapped him on the arm and glared at him. “You idiot, you don’t have to tell him that. And for the last time, it’s not a date!” I hissed at him.

Jongdae turned to me, raising an eyebrow. “You have a date?”

“It’s not a date. A guy just asked me if I would accompany him to a bookstore. What kind of date happens in a bookstore?”

“Just because it’s unusual doesn’t mean it doesn’t count as one,” Baekhyun said with a chuckle.

“Did he ask only you alone?” Jongdae asked. “If so, then that is a date.”

“Oh for goodness sake,” I muttered, face palming. “For the last time, it’s not date. What is the deal with hanging out with a guy anyway? I hang with Baekhyun all the time and nobody called it a date.”

“Those weren’t dates?” Jongdae asked in surprise.

“NO!” Baekhyun and I yelled simultaneously.

“Okay, well, no need to get so defensive,” he said, holding his both his hands up in front of him. He tilted his head, eyes darting between the two of us wonderingly, his lips pressed together in a thoughtful line. He shook his head with a sigh, before closing the door behind him and walking past us down the hall. “Good luck, I guess,” he said. “You’re gonna need that,” he added quietly to himself, but still in a tone audible enough to be heard.

“And so, we carry on with the basics,” Baekhyun said as we walked down the gravel path that led to my gate. Grass carpeted the lawn and lined the sides of the path, the tips brushing over the rough gravel as they swayed in the wind. I spotted a stray dandelion halfway down the lawn, soft and fluffy, about to let loose hundreds of seeds into the air to be carried by the wind somewhere else.

“First of all, simple smiles,” Baekhyun said as he reached for the gate, holding it out for me to let me pass. Ever since the day I coached him on being a gentleman, he had been doing it frequently –instinctively really, as a habitual gesture. “One thing a guy finds attractive in a girl is her smile,” he told me once we were headed on our way.

“Mine’s certainly not that great,” I said with a snort.

“Let me be the judge of that. Now smile.”

I stretched my lips in an awkward way, meekly showing my teeth as I attempted to force a smile for him. Baekhyun shook his head. “That’s not your real smile.”

“That’s the best I can do,” I said defensively.

“I know you can do better,” he said, before suddenly poking me on the side with a finger. I glared at him and he grinned, reaching out again to poke my stomach.

“Baek, don’t,” I said warningly. My attempt to sound stern failed miserably when Baekhyun launched an all-out tickle attack, aiming on my sides and my stomach, knowing which way and where to attack. I was helpless; I tried to bat his hands away as I laughed and doubled over, desperate for some air. I could see the playful smirk on Baekhyun’s face again as his hands darted out of my hold and continued to poke me continuously.

“Baekhyun, please stop,” I begged, finally catching hold of his wrists and holding them in place, breathing heavily as the last remnants of the ticklish tingle began to subside from my body.

I looked up to send him another glare, but my anger immediately dissolved once I saw the gentle smile he had on his face.

“That’s it. You have to smile just like that. He won’t be able to resist looking at you.”

I coughed and released his wrists, feeling my cheeks getting warm. Was it his words that got to me or was it the smile that brought forth this curious fluttering in my chest? I was aware that he still had his gaze on me. I cleared my throat and took a discreet step back.

“We’ll see about that.”

“Trust me,” Baekhyun said. “You don’t know how much a smile can hypnotise.”

Honestly, I could barely think straight to even distinguish the meaning of his words.

Baekhyun glanced at his watch, a small frown creasing the corners of his lips when he discerned the time.

“Off somewhere?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I promised Soojin to meet up with her at her house to study together. I’m gonna be late if I stay any longer.” He ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

I nudged him on the shoulder. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

“But there’s still a stuff I want to talk to you about.”

I placed my hand on my hips and pretended to look stern as I glared at him. “Byun Baekhyun just do what I say. Besides,” I added in a gentler tone, dropping my hands back to my sides and smiling at him, “your dream girl awaits.”

“Fine,” Baekhyun said, making up his mind. He started to jog away towards the opposite direction, but paused and whirled around to look at me again. “We’ll get back to this next time,” he promised, before disappearing down the corner.

 The designated meeting place Luhan had arranged was right at the town square, in front of the fountain that spouted water into the air in a combination of several rhythmic movements. It was a famous landmark, and I wasn’t surprised that Luhan had chosen it as a place for us to meet. Situated at the centre of the city, it was fairly easy to find even if you’re not a native resident.

I rubbed my hands over my bare arms. The air around the fountain was cold despite the amount of people that lingered around it. Water shot up into the blue sky before falling back to earth in rivulets, showering the people that stood below it and sprinkling tiny drops over my face.

I watched as two children played below the fountain, getting terribly wet but laughing joyfully as they splashed water at each other. My gaze drifted towards group of four people, tourists by the looks of their features; they had high cheekbones and auburn hair, all sparkling with tiny drops of water as they posed in front of the fountain to take pictures. Then I spotted Luhan, not far from where the tourists were, back turned to me as he gazed at the crowd.

The butterflies were back again, and I took a deep breath to calm down. Luhan had asked me to meet here in a mysterious request to accompany him to a bookstore. It was an unconventional place to ask a girl to, but I reminded myself that Luhan’s intentions were probably far from what my best friend and my brother had assumed. There must be some reason, I thought, which is probably harmless.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly made my way towards him. He heard me when I called his name, flashing me that amazing smile when he saw me. Remembering Baekhyun’s advice, I smiled back, though it turned out to be a lot more shyly than I intended it to be.  

“Was I late? I’m so sorry,” I said, glancing at my watch, a little panicked.

“No, no! I was here early. I like being here,” Luhan said.

Discreetly, I glanced behind him and around the sides; none of his friends were with us. I guess he really did invite only me alone.

“Shall we?” he asked, gesturing me to go ahead of him.

I walked, stuffing my hands into my pockets to curb the nervous tingle that was making my fingers curl. Luhan fell into step next to me. For the first few minutes, none of us said anything.

“So –”

“Is there –”

We paused when we realised that we were talking simultaneously. Luhan chuckled and I cracked a smile. “You first,” he told me.

“I was going to ask you if there was any special reason you wanted to go to the bookstore and why you asked me to help you.”

“My, um, bro –no cousin’s birthday is coming up,” he said, fumbling with his words a little. I was surprised to find that Luhan, the guy who was so eloquent with words and always knew what to say and when to say it, could have that slip-up. “He loves reading and I want to find a good book for him. You’re a librarian, so I thought you could help,” he finished, rubbing the back of his neck in a somewhat sheepish manner.

“I’d love to,” I said, smiling a little at how cute he looked. “Now your turn.”

“Well,” Luhan began slowly, “I was wondering if you have any plans after this.”

“No. Nothing.” That can’t be postponed anyway, I thought, but kept to myself.

“Great! So we can go for lunch then?” he asked. I noticed the hopeful note in his voice.

Luhan wants to have lunch with me, I thought, somewhat in a daze. Thankfully, my reasonable self had the sense to reply:

“Alright.”