~*Chapter Twenty~One *~

When Baekhyun had said it was going to be fun to try and get Joonmyeon to fall in love with Ariel again, he had eluded to also inform you that it would be stressful. Baekhyun had convinced you to notify the others (minus Joonmyeon, of course) about Ariel and the spell, so with everyone in on the plan, it was proving demanding to keep everyone under control and quiet about it. Twice had Sehun been punched in the arm when he was too loud about the ‘secret’ plans and you were beginning to think this whole operation was going to be a complete failure.

You were trying to cook a tasty meal with Kyungsoo while everyone else was making sure that Ariel stayed downstairs and as close to Joonmyeon as possible. She found it awkward and the discontent was clearly painted on her face for everyone to see; she was still upset and uncomfortable with the fact she still couldn’t speak and that Joonmyeon didn’t know who she was. You saw the way she looked up at him with hope in her eyes, only to see it dashed once again when he gave her a simple smile, turning back away to his friends.

You turned your attention back to the food in front of you; Kyungsoo was a much better chef than you were. You constantly apologized when you make mistakes, like when you accidentally poured in too much water and the soup turned too bland, or when you put sugar in to the mix instead of salt.

“It’s OK,” he insisted, “You’re much better than any of them.” He shuddered at the past experiences of his friend’s cooking and turned back to the newly made pot of soup. You chuckled and brought one of the dirty cutlery and bowls to the sink where you proceeded to wash them so you wouldn’t ruin anymore food.

“Do you really think this is going to work?” you asked, biting on your bottom lip. Kyungsoo stopped stirring the brew and put the wooden spoon down on the counter before leaning back on it.

“I hope so,” he sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, “Sometimes Baekhyun can be a godsend, but other times he just ruins everything. I hope it isn’t the latter this time around. Sometimes he can be a little…” Kyungsoo put a finger to his lip, picking his next word carefully, “…extreme.”

You scoffed, knowing exactly what he meant. “If Joonmyeon fell in love with her once, shouldn’t he again? I mean he’s the same person, he just doesn’t remember their memories,” you trailed off.

“Who knows, that seems logical… Well, we’ll soon see,” Kyungsoo nodded towards the doorway which Baekhyun had just appeared in.

“I need your help,” he announced.

“But I’m helping Kyungsoo cook,” you protested, holding your hands out, motioning to the simmering food.

“Kyungsoo can cook by himself, this is more important,” Baekhyun cleared the distance between you in three steps, claiming your hand and dragging you out of the kitchen before you could argue any further.
“Sorry, Kyungsoo!” you called over your shoulder.

“Food’s almost ready anyway!” he called back.

“I need you to help me with the pixie dust,” Baekhyun explained when you got to his room. He rustled around in his desk drawer for a while before pulling out a little red pouch.

“Is that it?” you rolled your eyes, “You pulled me all the way up here to help you sprinkle some pixie dust on yourself?”

“Hey,” he stuck his lips out in to a pout, “It’s not as easy as it looks. If I miss even a little spot, this whole plan will fail.”

You rolled your eyes again and you swore if you rolled them any harder they would have gone to the back of your head. “Give me the dust,” you sighed. You pulled the small string on the pouch, revealing the sparkling contents and dipped your hand in grabbing a handful of the stuff. It felt like you were holding sand, but it seemed lighter somehow, more magical. “So how long will this keep you invisible for?” you asked.

“For a good four hours at least,” he nodded.

“Great. Just don’t screw this up, OK?”

“Me? Screw things up?”  He scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, “Impossible.”  You raised an inquisitive eyebrow and this time Baekhyun was the one to his eyes. “I find your lack of faith in me disturbing. And weren’t you the one who came to me in the first place for help?”

“Yeah, that was before I heard your plan.”

“It’s a brilliant plan.”

“It’ll probably end in disaster.”

“No, it won’t.”

You heaved an exaggerated sigh, “Let’s just get this over with.” Without another word, Baekhyun stood stretching both arms out to the side, standing like a scarecrow. He gave you a nod and you proceeded to throw the pixie dust all over him, showering him with light. Right before your eyes, you watched as Baekhyun’s frame began to fade and disappear in to nothingness.  You stood, staring where Baekhyun used to be and narrowed your eyes to check if you could even make out a slight outline – you couldn’t,

“Boo,” Baekhyun whispered softly right in your ear. You let out a shriek and swatted your arms around in an attempt to hit him. Your heart was fluttering though, his soft, melodic voice sent shivers down your spine and your cheeks were gaining a rosy tint.

“You !” you scolded, “You almost gave me a heart attack!” You could hear his obnoxious chuckle from behind you and you spun around. “Stop it,” you whined, “Just do what you’re supposed to do and don’t mess it up, OK?” You tried to calm your erratically beating heart by shouting, but it didn’t really work, your voice just sounded shaky and you stuttered a little.

“Yes, ma’am,” you heard his feet shuffling and clicking together and you just knew he was saluting you. You rolled your eyes for the umpteenth time before leaving to go and help Kyungsoo serve food.

***

Everyone was seated at the table and it was precisely set so that Ariel and Joonmyeon were sitting directly opposite each other. It took a lot of begging and convincing for you to get Ariel to eat downstairs with everyone, but she eventually agreed. She didn’t look happy, but she sat there and didn’t complain, nonetheless. You made sure she had her notepad with her at all times, just in case. It was always inconvenient to carry the shell around and have it strapped to your ear all of the time, so you thought it best just to communicate through notes. Everyone began to tuck in to the soup, dipping in Kyungsoo’s freshly baked bread.

“This is amazing, Kyungsoo,” Joonmyeon praised him, resulting in a broad smile from the younger.

“I do try,” he beamed.

“Hey, where’s Baekhyun? Isn’t he coming for food?” Joonmyeon asked, noticing his absence. Everyone shuffled awkwardly, not wanting to give anything away.

“He wasn’t feeling well,” you lied, “He’s gone to bed.”

“Ah, OK. It’s a shame he had to miss this; this is the best soup I’ve ever tasted.”

“Ah, actually,” Sehun interrupted, putting on his best sick face, rubbing the flat of his stomach, “I don’t feel so good either, I’m going to go and rest too.”

“Ah, OK, get well soon, Sehun,” Kyungsoo cooed, according to script.

A couple of minutes went by before Kai finally spoke up, “I’ll be right back,” he said, getting up and pushing his chair under the table, “I left, uh, something in my, uh …room.” He smiled, pleased with his excuse and hurried out of the room. Kyungsoo, you and Chanyeol eyed each other secretly and Kyungsoo gave Chanyeol a wink, signaling for him to go next.

“I’m just going to go to the toilet real quick,” he lied.

Ariel gave you a look and you returned it with a smile, trying to ensure her that nothing strange was going on in the slightest. The corners of twitched up in to a weak smile in return and she continued with her meal.

“Semmi,” Kyungsoo addressed you, rising out of his seat, “Will you help me prepare the dessert?”

“Oh, of course,” you pretended to sound surprised at his offer, even though you knew it was coming. You both quickly scurried out of the dining room and hurried in to the kitchen where you let out a huge sigh.

“Now all that’s left is for Baekhyun to keep up his end of the plan.”

You held up your crossed fingers and gave him a hopeful smile, “Let’s look.”

The door wasn’t shut completely, so, Kyungsoo grabbed a wooden stool and you crouched down on the floor whilst you looked through and on to the awkward unknowing couple sitting at the table.

***

Ariel sat in silence, as usual, picking at the fresh bread in her delicate hands. Her heart was being erratically in her chest. Even if Joonmyeon didn’t know who she was, she still knew him very well and their proximity still made butterflies flutter around in her stomach. She almost died on the spot when he actually spoke to her.

“Don’t you like your food?” he asked, making her jump.

Joonmyeon tilted his head at her whilst he awaited the former mermaid’s answer. He didn’t know much about her, but he was aware that she had no voice. She looked up at him with her sparkling blue eyes and Joonmyeon’s heart skipped a beat, for reasons he couldn’t explain. She nodded her head solemnly and gave him a forced smile which he definitely picked up on. He watched as she lowered her head again and her long, red hair fell, covering her face.

He didn’t know why, but Joonmyeon found himself reaching over the table and pushing her long hair behind her ear. She looked up at him with those big blue eyes again and Joonmyeon found himself smiling and getting lost in them.

That was… until the lights suddenly went off and he couldn’t see anything. “What’s going on?” he asked aloud, eyes searching the black that surrounded him. Suddenly, the faint sound of panpipes could be heard and Joonmyeon rolled his eyes , letting out a sigh.

“Baekhyun!” he shouted, “Where are you? Turn the lights back on, you little !”

You watched the scene from the kitchen, face palming the entire time. Baekhyun was a disaster. The plan was to dim the lights and create a romantic atmosphere. You had absolutely no idea why he had turned the lights off completely and then started playing the panpipes. Baekhyun was meant to stay hidden and keep creating a dreamy ambiance but no, he had messed it up like Kyungsoo had said he would.

“Oh. My. God,” Kyungsoo whispered, cringing and getting down from the stool. You continued to watch and you could just about make out Joonmyeon’s arms thrashing about in the air in search of Baekhyun. The panpipes halted for a second.

“Joonmyeon, you’re ruining it!” Baekhyun hissed, “You’re not meant to-”

Baekhyun was unexpectedly hit straight in the stomach by something and he could only guess that Joonmyeon had picked up some sort of weapon, maybe a piece of fruit, and thrown it at him. Baekhyun lost all of his concentration and came hurtling down from his hovering position on the ceiling and on to the table, sending the now luke-warm soup over all three of them. You groaned and rushed inside with Kyungsoo, turning the lights back on to find Baekhyun on the floor, his shirt stained with dinner, whereas Joonmyeon stood in shock, looking at his now ruined clothes. Ariel sat with wide open, face splashed with soup and her hair dotted with vegetables.

“That was a disaster,” you whispered to Kyungsoo who nodded in agreement.

Hey everyone! Don't worry, there will be more Baekhyun/Semmi moments soon, I just want to spread this story out and make it a bit more interesting. I don't want to rush anything because every time I do that, I run out of ideas and the story turns to . >_<

For now, enjoy some Joonmyeon and Ariel, I might actually write another fic just on their story, like a prequel. Hmmmmm~~ ^^.

Thank you all for reading, commenting, subscribing and upvoting, I love you lots and lots!!!