Long chap ahead? Your responses to my previous chapter were so great! Thank you guys :) The end of this fic is near, and fasten your seatbelts.

>>>SEUL MIN’S POV<<<

Vulnerable.

Baekhyun was his most vulnerable, and it dawned on me that he needed more than words to soothe the aching muscles of his being.

“I honestly don’t know what to say. I mean, I’m usually noisy, but what is it with me tonight?” Baekhyun wondered, my hair gingerly.

I took one good look at Baekhyun’s visage. Wow, he had a small mole above his thin lips, and his finger had its own mole too. He possessed eyes that tantalized my excited hormones, and his jawline was sculpted to perfection. Whether it was the product of surgery or natural birth, Baekhyun’s beauty was difficult to resist and impossible to ignore.

I began to recklessly wonder. What did his body look like?

“There must be some good stuff underneath that shirt.” I said aloud. Crap.

Baekhyun squinted his eyes and gave me a perplexed stare.

“Uh? Excuse me, Seul Min?” He dared and flashed me his smile. Oohhh. Fck dat smile.

“Nothing. I just wanted to say that you shouldn’t let the sweat dry on your shirt. You’ll get a cold.” I told him.

Just then, Baekhyun pulled his shirt over his head. Out of instinct, I tried my best to run, but he grabbed my arm to stay.

“Don’t run away. Just don’t.” Baekhyun begged and pulled me close to his torso. Oh dear heavens.

But his words rang in my ear for a second time, as if his plea wished to be heard on a whole, new, emotional level.

“Don’t run away. Just don’t.”

I was never the type of person to run away from problems. For two decades in this lifetime, I had always been headstrong toward any trial that came my way. I never backed away from potential monsters.

Even if falling in love with someone like Byun Baekhyun seemed like a luxury that was almost unreachable, I chose to be stubborn, I gambled and yes,

I bravely took the fall.

Yet the danger of telling Baekhyun the truth about my deal with Chanyeol scared me in so many ways.

Either I call off the deal with Chanyeol or I run away from Baekhyun forever.

If I called off the deal, I would not get a blind centavo from Chanyeol, but I’ll have Baekhyun. If I disappeared from Baekhyun, sure, the money would be put to good use, but Baekhyun would no longer exist in my life.

Rent, grocery, mother’s medicines. Those were the trade-offs.

I needed to make a decision.

For once in my life, I felt selfish. Or I needed to be.

I will cancel the deal with Baekhyun, so I can have Baekhyun beside me. Must talk to Chanyeol ASAP.

As I leaned closer to Baekhyun’s chest, he encased my petite frame in his sensuous cradle. Inevitably, I sensed my lower region tremble at Baekhyun’s nearness.

“I won’t run away.” I promised him and wiped his chest with a dry towel. “You’re sweating too much, Baek. You need to take a rest, or you’ll be sick. And then you'll miss the concert.”

“Nurse me then.” He commanded, proud and confident.

I must have taken his command too figuratively, so without equivocation, I wrapped my arms around Baekhyun’s neck and kissed him fervidly. My move was uncalled for since  it caused Baekhyun’s shoulders to rise and stiffen. It took him two seconds to respond, but when he responded, I felt like a captive in a predator’s arms, but it was a heavenly type of captivity. Baekhyun swore my name, and it almost seemed like he was singing.

“You have no idea how much control I’m enduring right now, clumsy girl.” He whispered against the bare flesh of my ear.

“Don’t.” I challenged him.

Apparently, I was not brave enough for his loss of control, for when he started unbuckling his belt, I stood up and expressed my concerns.

I was not ready. It felt too fast.

Wow, fickle minded Seul Min is fickle minded.

Baekhyun laughed it off and did nothing, but..

kiss me the whole night, only stopping to gasp for air.

Two weeks after Baekhyun and I got together, I arranged to have a secret meeting with Chanyeol at The Coffee Club staff room, and thankfully, he was punctual.

“Sooo what is the 411? You seem tense.” Chanyeol asked me while taking a slurp from his usual strawberry cream drink with two pumps of hazelnut.

Deciding that I did not have the right to waste an idol’s time, I blurted out the truth.

“Baekhyun and I are together.”

Chanyeol’s drink splashed from his mouth and caused a huge mess on the wooden floor.

“Holy crap! Is this for real? Since when? Baekhyun has not mentioned anything!” He exclaimed and shook my shoulders in a congratulatory manner.

“I told Baekhyun to be mum about our relationship because the more people knew of our romance, the bigger risk of media finding out.” I admitted.

“Okay. No problem with that. So when do you want to get the money? I can’t believe our deal became a success. I can finally compensate for leaving you two years ago, and my best buddy is finally happy.” Chanyeol told me, restlessly messing up my already messy hair.

Here goes nothing.

“No. You will not give me any money. The money is yours. I am staying with Baekhyun, and he will not find out about this deal.” I bravely told my ex-boyfriend.

Chanyeol’s face grew serious. His