"Alright,"

Both of them sat down in the convenience store, laying a triangle kimbap and a can of cider before them.

Yoonmi opened up the kimbap, not meeting the brunette's eyes.

"I'll pay you back, later." She mumbled, as if trying to make it clear that she was still mad at him.

Because technically, she was--

Baekhyun let out a light scoff. "Don't say that when you're gonna forget anyway."

"I-I'll remember this time!" She couldn't help but pout. "And don't you relax just yet, because I'm still mad at you, oppa--"

"Yoonmi?"

The girl fell silent and looked up at the older, who was rubbing the back of his neck apologetically.

Upon such a sight of the usually confident and positively energized boy, Yoonmi suddenly felt guilty all over again, thinking back to the completely confused expression the brunette had held when first seeing her with Kai, Chen, and Chanyeol at the dance.

Maybe that had been why she had suddenly got worked up. She hadn't expected such an expression on him, and she had wanted to cover it up.

"I'm really sorry about scaring Kim Myungsoo away." Baekhyun muttered. "That must've been why you wanted to keep it away from me in the first place... I was a bit mean."

"You were very mean." She mumbled.

"Okay, fine, I was very mean, but ya know, that guy's just a bit too--"

"... Yeah," Yoonmi couldn't help but dryly agree with a bite of her triangle kimbap. "He's downright annoying."

Sure, she didn't like how Baekhyun had scared Myungsoo out of asking her to the dance in front of practically everybody else, but she was thankful towards him at the same time.

After all, she would rather leave the town than go the Suwon Summer Dance with such a narcistic guy--

"B-But," The girl bit her lip, suddenly shifting in her seat. "... I guess that doesn't mean I should've lied to you with your best friends behind your back." She admitted softly. "Sorry about that, oppa."

Baekhyun slowly nodded, tilting his head rather tiredly.

He didn't know why he was suddenly so sleepy. 

"I-I'm sorry for getting mad at you back there, too. I guess I just kinda felt left out of everything... but that still doesn't mean I should've fought it out."

"I'm sorry for raising my voice at you too. You know, the music in the high school party was so loud, and it kind of gave me a headache and put me in a bad mood--"

She stopped to blink at the boy's sudden action of rubbing his head in pain.

"... Oppa? You okay?"

"...Yeah...."

Baekhyun couldn't help but almost give into his heavy eyes, feeling a bit too groggy to understand what Yoonmi had even said.

He didn't know why, but at one point between leaving the dance and coming inside the convenience store, his sight had gotten somewhat blurry, and it just wouldn't seem to go away.

And why does my head hurt so mu--

"Oppa?" Yoonmi leaned in with a frown. "Do you have something in your eyes? Why do you keep rubbing them--"

Oh.

Baekhyun suddenly groaned to himself in realization.

He thought back to the glass of champagne he had thoughtlessly chugged down.

Screw Park Chanyeol--

"Sorry about misunderstanding you and Kai, too." Baekhyun let out thoughtlessly, his words beginning to get a bit slurred. Honestly he didn't know what he was even saying-- "I should be saying this to Kai, really, but the first thing I saw was Lee Yoonmi leaning on Kim Jongin, and I guess that was just reallyyy weeiiird--"

He suddenly lost his hold onto his chair and almost fell over, much to Yoonmi's surprise.

"Are you sure you're oka--"

"And I promise I'll make it up to you, ya'know! I'll try not to give those stupid kids like Kim Myungsoo a piece of my mind... unless whatever you're doing is illegal, of course." He pointed out with a sleepy smile. "And unless it involves inappropriate stuff, 'cause you're just a little girl, and No Yoonmi's Allowed in doing inappropro stuff~"

Yoonmi rolled her eyes, despite the boy's sudden behavior. "I am not a little--" She gasped when he almost fell over again. Quickly, she helped the brunette stand up straight, eyeing him strangely. "Oppa, why is your face so red?!"

"And I promise,"

Baekhyun suddenly looked up at her with his eyes half-lidded. Yoonmi blinked back with wide eyes.

"I'll... tell you about stuff like Yoona noona, too. Sorry about keeping that a secret from you. It was... just.... really.... embarrassi--"

Before he could finish his sentence, the brunette suddenly fell over, slamming his head onto the table. Yoonmi screeched in shock.

-----------------------------

"You sure he ain't dead?"

Yoonmi's voice scoffed over the phone.

"No, he just passed out! I don't know what you guys did to him or what he did to himself, but he was acting funny--"

Kai let go of his phone and turned to look at the ten other guys behind him.

"Alright, which one of you guys did it--"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Chanyeol blurted. "But I couldn't help it, when I had such a perfect chance--"

Suho slapped him across his head. "You're illegal."

"But I'm proud of you, son," Kris gave him a thumbs up.

With a sigh, Kai turned back to his phone. "Yoonmi, he's just dru--Urm, I mean, he's just tired. Baekhyun hyung never really liked loud music, after all. Just wait there in the convenience store, and we'll come, okay? He just needs a good night's sleep."

"... Oh..." She sighed through the line. "Thank God."

Kai blinked.

"By the way, Yoonmi.... What happened? Did you guys talk it out? What did Baekhyun hyung say? Did you apologize?"

He could've sworn he heard Yoonmi smile, much to his relief.

"Yeah, he told me that he's sorry, and I said that I was sorry for lying to him... and... Oh! By the way, he says that he's sorry about misunderstanding you and me. He says that he just found what he saw 'realllyyy weiiirrrd'--"

Kai smiled. "I can kinda understand that. I would've wet my pants had I seen Lee Yoonmi in a dress leaning on such a hot gu--"

"Okay, okay, okay," Yoonmi's voice interrupted with a roll of eyes. "Anything else to say before I hang up?"

"Oh yeah..." He pointed out. "If hyung for some reason wakes up before we get there, make sure to tell him that we're all really sorry, and that we'll make Park Chanyeol bow down the second he arrives--"

Chanyeol flipped his head around. "Hey!"

Back in the convenience store, Yoonmi blinked, wondering what Chanyeol had done so wrong this time.

"K, I'm hanging up, Yoonmi."

"Okay... Bye--"

Click.

Silence enveloped the convenience store again.

"Yeah... that music was pretty loud."

Yoonmi looked down at the sleeping brunette, whose head was lying on the white table facing the girl's direction. The girl leaned her head down right next to him as well.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn't spent time alone with Baekhyun in a very long time. This was probably the first in months.... although they weren't here together for the best reason.

Yoonmi looked up at him.

She couldn't help but take notice of the different image that the boy had developed over the years: The countless summer days out on the beach had tanned his previously milky skin a shade darker, and his usually delicate build had somewhat grown to be slightly toned. His arms had lost their fragility, instead holding unfamiliar veins from all those basketball games and sprints around the boardwalk.

Yoonmi bent down, glancing at the boy's face.

His jawline was noticably defined, and he had lost the baby fat on his cheeks.

But Baekhyun still had his puppy eyes, which brought her a bit of comfort.

"Are you doing this just to annoy Baekhyun?"

The girl quietly lowered her head at the thought, suddenly knowing very well why she had been so stubborn about this entire dance, even going as far as to keep this entire a night a secret from Baekhyun.

She didn't want to admit it, but in truth, she had wanted to prove it wrong:

The fact that she was nowhere important in Baekhyun's life right now. The fact that he didn't care about her anymore, compared to the mountains of chocolate he received every Valentine's Day and the basketball dates he would would go on with Yoona.

The fact that he had grown up even more, leaving her behind.

Maybe she had been too scared to accept it.

Yoonmi fidgeted with her fingers, thinking back to how the two had left the dance, even if it had cost Baekhyun the rest of his date with Yoona.

She felt selfish. Extremely selfish. And very hypocritical and rude for thinking this.

But Yoonmi couldn't help but feel very relieved.

--------------------

July 29, 2004

When Lee Yoonmi woke up the next morning, she had a bad feeling.

She got up from her bed, frowning into the distance.

Why do I have a feeling that--

"LEE YOONMI, A.K.A. THE GIRL WHO HAD HER FIRST DANCE LAST NIGHT!"

She threw herself back under her covers, groaning in confirmation.

"YOU MEAN THE GIRL WHO GOT BUSTED LAST NIGHT, TOO?"

"YEAH, MAN!"

"BY WHO?!"

"YOU!"

Yoonmi rolled her eyes upon hearing the two boys cackle in laughter outside. Yoonmi didn't have to look out the window to know that they were probably rolling on the ground, clutching their stomachs.

Of course Byun Baekhyun would the simple, stupidly forgetful ball of insensitivity he was and revert back to running around in his painfully loud selves as if nothing had happened in the events of last night--

"Yooooonnmiii~" Baekhyun called out, probably jumping up and down outside. "Wakey wakey! It's time to--"

"--Go to the BEACH!" Chanyeol finished. He suddenly lowered his voice down to a mischievous whisper. "Of course, in reality, to go hunt down some hot ladies--"

The girl shot up from her bed. "I HEARD THAT!"

Chanyeol and Baekhyun broke into a fit of laughs again, this time for Yoonmi to see out her window.

Cursing under her breath, she reluctantly got out of her blankets and pulled her window up, sticking her head outside into the fresh morning air.

She immediately shot the perky Baekhyun a glare, who looked drastically different from the calm, apologetic mode he had been in the night before.

Did he seriously not remember anything--

"I don't remember anything." Baekhyun honestly admitted, as if having read her mind. "Except for apologizing and buying a triangle kimbap and cider." The brunette smiled mischievously, stretching out a hand. "Speaking of which, pay up, my dongsaeng! Two thousand won for the kimbap, and one thousand won and 500 won for the cider--"

Yoonmi immediately pushed the window back down without a word. Baekhyun quickly pulled back his hand in panic with a screech, much to Chanyeol's laughter.

Boys, She couldn't help but think with a roll of eyes.

After all of that serious, meaningful talk that they had gone through the night before, all Baekhyun remembered was the stupid triangle kimbap and cider that she really didn't want to pay back.

She blinked back and forth between the two boys smacking each other in snickers.

"And we'll make Park Chanyeol bow down the second he arrives."

And hadn't Chanyeol done something wrong to Baekhyun last night?!

Yoonmi blinked rather dully. "Why am I not even suprised."

"What'd you say?!" Chanyeol called from outside.

She pulled the window back up.

"I said--"

"Just kidding! I don't care!"

The second the two burst out laughing again, the girl grabbed a pillow and slapped each of their faces with it before slamming the window down again, this time shutting down the blinds as well.

"What was up with Baekhyun oppa yesterday, anyways?"

Yoomi thoughtlessly brought up after a while, having pulled the window and blinds back up--She had given up getting mad at them for being so insensitive, unwilling to waste her effort doing such a thing when she was so tired on a Saturday morning.

She raised an eyebrow at the brunette. "You do remember passing out, right?"

Baekhyun quickly cleared his throat.

"I-I... I was just tired. Too much people. Loud music. That's the perfect recipe for a big headache, you know."

Chanyeol snickered. "More like a low tolerance for champa--"

Baekhyun shut his friend up with a kick in the knee, muttering something along the lines of a death threat.

Yoonmi looked back and forth between the two with her cheeks puffed, clearly aware that they were hiding something.

She thought back to how Baekhyun had promised not to keep secrets from her anymore the night before at the convenience store.

For a moment, she considered bringing it up and smacking the brunette with her pillow again.

Oh, whatever.

Leaving her room to join the boys outside, Lee Yoonmi decided against it.

For the longest time, Yoonmi had thought that it was Byun Baekhyun being a careless individual who couldn't keep his word, but she now realized that it was him being a careless member of a the species called "Teenage Boys."

Yoonmi nodded in satisfaction at her own thought.

Suddenly, every one of Byun Baekhyun's actions started making a lot more sense to Yoonmi.

rolls eyes: "Boys"