Chapter Five

The slight chill of autumn was more than enough to get Sora excited. It was funny how just four days ago it was decently warm enough to be running around soaked in the middle of the night, and now she was wearing a thick jacket to keep her toasty. She couldn’t wait for the rigid cold of winter to hit Seoul, along with the holiday festivities. Something about hot chocolate, white snowflakes, and a warm fireplace just made her insides stir with elation. Ever since childhood, she found the holidays endearing, even without her parents there to celebrate.

Sora closes her notebook. Her brain was fried from the in-between lecture studying. A few minutes of staring at the clear blue skies would do her some good. It’s almost as if it was heaven’s timing, but when she tears her eyes away from her endless page of notes, she spots a speck of blue on the other side of the courtyard. Unfortunately, the speck of blue was accompanied by a flood of jerks and idiots. Sora can’t seem to tear her eyes away from the clutter of boys as they snicker and joke among themselves around the stone fountain. More like she can’t take her eyes off one in particular. As the thought rings in her head, they unintentionally lock gazes, causing Sora’s breath to get stuck in . Without breaking his stare, Baekhyun tilts his head, saying something to Sehun, who only gives him that annoying smirk of his. Sora finally gets the power to look away when Baekhyun begins to take a step in her direction.

No, no, no, not here. She prays that he suddenly takes a turn in his path, avoiding her. Being seen with Byun Baekhyun on campus would mean an end to her peaceful college life. Isn’t that what she wanted deep down though? To live beyond her sheltered apartment?  
“Are you free now?” Baekhyun’s voice pulls her out of her thoughts. She glances up like a doe caught in headlights. That infamous lopsided smirk of his makes another appearance as he stares down at the girl. Sora clears , gaining some strength back into her spine. She reaches for her school supplies, sliding them back into her backpack.
“I have class in a few minutes.” Sora answers, not bothering to give him eye contact. She swings her legs over the bench before zipping up her backpack.
“Great, let’s go.” He clucks his tongue, swiping the strap of her backpack and tossing it over his shoulder. He only chuckles in delight at Sora’s wide-eyed expression before strolling away.
“Baekhyun!” She hisses his name, trying to call him back to the bench. He doesn’t bother to stop his tracks. A frustrated sigh tumbles from Sora’s lips before she scurries after. Her face erupting into a deep rose shade as she feels the stares of courtyard watching her and Baekhyun’s every move.

Baekhyun adamantly ignores her calls and pleads, remaining steadfast in his path to who knows where. Exasperatedly, Sora follows his every step. It’s not like she could just walk away when the boy had her entire college life in her bag.
“Baekhyun, I have class.” She repeats for about the hundredth time. This time he turns around, giving her his attention.
“I don’t think I can sit through another lecture today. Escape with me, sweetheart, hmm?” He asks, but his tone of voice made it clear that it wasn’t a suggestion. She stares at the boy, assessing how serious he was.
“Baek-”
“Hop on.” Sora’s reflexes kick in, quite clumsily, catching the helmet he throws at her. She looks at him in disbelief as he makes himself comfortable on the seat of his sleek black motorcycle. He flips up his helmet’s face shield, motioning for her to get on.
“I don’t have all day, sweetheart.” Baekhyun chimes with a charming smile. Sora’s grip on the helmet tightens as she contemplates her choices. She had already made her choice four days ago though, and she knew it. Baekhyun’s grin deepens as she secures the helmet over head. Sora shyly swings her leg over his motorcycle, situating herself behind Baekhyun.
“Hold on tight, wouldn’t want you falling off now, would we?” His voice is muffled through the helmet, but she hears him. Hesitantly, she brings her fingers to hold the side of his denim jacket, still keeping some space between his back and her. Baekhyun snickers under his breath at her timid behavior. Without wasting a second, he wraps his fingers around her hands, abruptly pulling Sora’s hands to wrap around his torso. Sora can feel her heart beating rapidly against her ribcage, praying that Baekhyun couldn’t feel it through his back.
“I told you to hold on tight, sweetheart.”

Sora tilts her head, her eyes taking in the towering all glass building. Anyone could tell it was newly constructed based on its modern architecture and the cleanliness of it.
“You brought me to a mall?” Sora raises a brow, glancing sideways at the blue-haired boy.
“It’s the newest shopping center in Seoul. It’s actually not open to the public yet, but I have access.” Baekhyun says quite smugly.
“Because your family owns it.” Sora states. Baekhyun shrugs his shoulders as if it’s nothing.
“Watching me on the news the other day, were we?” He teases. Sora doesn’t understand why her cheeks begin to burn up. She was watching the news, not Baekhyun.
“Come on.” Baekhyun begins walking forward, Sora following closely behind.

The inside was just as mesmerizing as it’s outside. The seemingly endless height of the ceilings opened way to dome skylights, allowing natural light to pool into the building. Sora gawks in awe at the small river that runs through the length of the shopping center, eventually leading to a small waterfall.
“I suggested that.” Baekhyun points out when he notices her gaze.
“I know I’m great, no need to say it out loud.” He adds with a wink. Sora rolls her eyes at his joke.
“Why are we here?” Sora asks, closely trailing behind Baekhyun like a lost puppy as he leads the way pass the nearly empty stores.
“We need to get you ready, sweetheart.”

“Next.” Baekhyun dismisses Sora with a swift flick of his wrist. Sora glares at the blue-haired boy lounging on the velvet chaise in the center of the room. How many times has she sauntered in and out of the dressing room? Eleven? Twelve? Fifteen?
“Baekhyun, this is ridiculous.” Sora groans. What was she even getting ready for anyway? Why did it require her to try on the endless supply of designer dresses? Why was she going along with his plans?
“Trust me, that ain’t the one.” Baekhyun states. With another huff of exhaustion Sora twirls back around into the dressing room.

“I swear if I have to try on another one, I will punch him.” Sora declares as she fixes the off-shoulder sleeves of the dress. The peachy mesh ruffles were layered, falling just comfortably below her bottom. At first glance Sora was skeptical about the dress, but now that it was on, it wasn’t so bad.
“This one fits you perfectly.” The store attendant compliments as she zips up the back of the dress. Sora awkwardly smiles as another attendant hands over a pair of open toe block heels. She in a breath, praying that Byun Baekhyun won’t send her straight back to the dressing room for the trillionth time.

“How about this one?” Sora asks as she begins to turn in a circle. She’s met with no response. He was so quick to reject all the other dresses, but his silence was even more suspicious. Sora glances over her shoulder, catching the awed expression on the boy’s face. His gaze sparkled as he took in her presence, a small curl at the tip of his lips.
“Next?” She guesses, snapping Baekhyun out of his daze. He his bottom lip before jumping to his feet.
“This… This is the one.” Baekhyun announces with finality. A wave of relief crashes into Sora. No more changing. Thank goodness. Sora watches as Baekhyun begins strolling away.
“Take care of her hair and makeup.” Baekhyun demands the attendants before sending Sora a flirtatious wink. Sora’s heart unexplainably swells at his action.
“I’ll see you at the end.”

“Where did he go?” Sora murmurs as she sits in the backseat of a car the attendants had told her to wait in. She glances out the tinted windows, searching for a sign of Baekhyun. Nothing. She takes out her phone, pulling up the camera application.
“They really went all out.” Sora mumbles as she touches the side of her face. This was more cosmetics painted on her face than she was used to, but the attendants insisted that she let them do it all. They had even curled her hair and styled.
“Looking gorgeous, sweetheart.” His voice appears out of nowhere. Sora glances at the open door, her eyes becoming glued to the man. The black suit clung to Baekhyun’s manly figure perfectly, emphasizing his broad shoulders. His blue hair was styled in a way that brought out the sharp and empowering look in his gaze. He only smirks at Sora’s speechless expression before sliding into the leather backseat beside her.
“W-Where are we heading?” Sora asks, cursing herself for stuttering. She had been wondering all day where Byun Baekhyun was planning on bringing her. You don’t get dolled up in a dress and suit for just any occasion.
“Kang Sora, today’s your lucky day.” Baekhyun chuckles as he signals the chauffeur to start driving.
“We’re going to crash a wedding.”