"Alright Mom, I got it!" Baekhyun sighed as his mom was fixing his hair with her saliva covered fingers once again.

"Aish!" She scolded, lifting up her hand and swinging it, making Baekhyun hunch to avoid a hit from his mother," is it a crime to care about my son? Who by the way has yet to bring home a nice pretty daughter-in-law for me."

Rolling his eyes he straightened up, "Mom I'm just 20 okay? I'm not going to get married right away, besides all the girls at my collage are all so clingy."
Baekhyun shuddered at the memory of a random girl grabbing his area, for what she called "fun".

Ugh she will get nowhere except the streets begging for money, with that what she calls "fun".
His mother clicking her tongue and shaking her head brought him out what he called his little world.
"My son is so popular, yet also so introverted at the same time." She sighed looking up towards the ceiling, "Oh dear mother, what did I do wrong?"

"You didn't get me the Blue Power Ranger I wanted for my 7th birthday." He deadpanned before chuckling at his mother's shocked face, giving her a quick "goodbye" he left the house, hearing his mother muttering the words "like father like son".

Parking his car in the farthest spot available in hopes that he could avoid them, his hopes proved to be just hopes though, as not even a minute later his car was surrounded by the screaming, bleeding, and screeching things called girls.

Now Baekhyun wasn't blind, he knew of his popularity with the ladies, and although any guy would have jumped on the bat to take advantage of such a "gift" as his mom described it as, Baekhyun was raised right and therefore he shall act right.

That meant that even if pretty girls with big s were throwing themselves at him, he would always kindly reject them, well until a certain point in time when things became too repetitious to repeat the same "It's not you, it's me" speech over and over again, he resorted to the avoidance tactic as a way to prevent the girls from bawling their eyes out and having their nose dripping with snot as they tried to explain to him how they were his destiny, soul mate, match made in heaven, and even in some odd cases his werewolf mate. So with girls and even some girls he had previously declined banging their fists against his car and holding up banners that read " I <3 Baekhyun!!!~” who wouldn't be a little annoyed? Girls sometimes, I swear.
 

Getting out of his car, he was instantly bombarded by candy, flowers, and an ear piercing question asked in unison of the girls, " Will you go out with me?!" Not wanting to put his mother's 20 years of discipline to waste, he put up a fake facade and tightly answered "Maybe" to the crowd, making them scream loud enough for glass to break. Squeezing his way past girls purposely pushing themselves against him and cutting off his breathing space, he finally reached the inside of the school. Slightly out of breath he made his way up to the stairs with his group of admirers right on his heel every step of the way, literally. Every step he took, they took one right behind him, giggling, even though most of their classes weren't even on the upper levels.

Unable to take the excruciating sound high pitched giggling, Baekhyun hurriedly ran up the stairs to his first class, where sadly some of his 'fans' had the same class as him. Sighing, he took his seat near the window, ignoring the blushing and tittering girls that were waving to him and trying to capture his attention.
Soon a bell chimed, announcing that classes were about to start, and reluctantly the girls made their way to their seats.

Finally.
 

Then entered Mr. Lee the homeroom teacher, with a rolled up paper in his hands slapping it repeatedly on the palm of his hands. In a loud clear voice he announced, "We have a new student."
"Min Hee, please come inside." He said casting his gaze towards the doorway, making several students sit up a little in anticipation. I don't know what they were expecting though, but it must've been something along the lines of a model, goddess or something because the disappointment was evident on their faces. In walked a girl with medium length hair, petite height, and dare I say it a plain face. But also the closer he looked he found that her skin tone was really pale with slight dark eye circles, her lips also were slightly chapped, she was far from what people would consider "perfect". Even though her face was in general plain, the emotions in her eyes spoke wonders. He could see nervousness, innocence, and even mystery all in two brown plain brown orbs called eyes. 
 

Yeah, I know it's creepy to look into a stranger's eyes and think you know how they're feeling, but her eyes couldn't be any more transparent.
"Anyways class, since Min Hee is new here we will need a student to show her around campus and to her classes, any volunteers?" 

Silence.

Baekhyun wanted to scoff, of course unless you're drop dead gorgeous, nobody bothers with you. How shallow, I bet if I was the one needing assistance all of you would jump at the chance.

Not being to hide his anger at his class’s shallowness, Baekhyun lifted his arm up and stated, "I'll do it." 
Gasps could be heard around the room, even Mr. Lee's mouth was agape as the Byun Baekhyun had just promised to do something, with a girl. 
Regaining his sense of speech Mr. Lee gulped and nodded, "Alright Mr.Byun, um yo-you can Min Hee around campus.
You may take a seat next to Byun Baekhyun."
Min Hee who was quietly standing there with a confused expression slowly made her way over to Baekhyun, and offered him a small smile, to which he surprisingly returned. 
 

"Okay back to the lesson now."
_______________________________________

“So this i-is this the last class?” Min Hee asked stuttering and fixing her gaze on the ground.
Baekhyun had been showing her around school and introducing the teacher’s to her like he was told to do. Little did he know she was such a shy fellow, as not often as he liked she would not look him directly in the eye, rather seeming to enjoy staring at the walls or floor rather than his face, which was a first. So deciding that she wasn’t going to scream or goggle at him while he was eating, he decided to invite her over to sit with him during lunch hour, and with wide eyes she shakily replied “yes”.

Hmm doesn’t seem to be used to people showing her generosity

Now here they were, at the doorway of her last class, with them staring at each other, a comfortable silence enveloping them.
Inhaling Min Hee finally broke the silence and smiled, “Thank you for accompanying me to my classes...” she dragged on, “oh and also for letting me share a meal with you, which was considerate of you.”

Baekhyun grinned, “No problem.”
She bit her lip, and once again casted her gaze downwards, “So I- uh guess this is goodbye.” Slowly backing away, she shot a wistful look at Baekhyun, causing an idea to form in his head.
 

“Oh, how about I drive you home?” Baekhyun asked hastily to stop her from proceeding to her class.
It seemed to work, as she stilled, looking at him, reluctance visible in her eyes.
 

“I’m not so sure know about that…” she hesitantly answered
 

Smiling at her reluctance he murmured, “Oh come on, that’s the least I can do considering you are my new desk partner, besides I’m on a roll today with my hospitality might as well go all the way with it right?” he asked raising his eyebrows in an up and down motion.

Laughing softly she replied, “All right.”
____________________________________

After that day, everything seemed to fall into place, it was as if they were long lost friends in another lifetime. They shared many laughs, jokes, and even secrets as time went by even with Min Hee’s shyness. Although not everything was peachy as it sounds though, there were the constant hateful glares that Min Hee received from his ‘fans’. And even though they were just glares, he feared the worse for Min Hee when and if those simple glares would turn into something more physical, if by then he would definitely take action against such treatment of his best friend.
 

Which would raise another concern in their friendship; yes they were best friends, as both had agreed to dub their mutual fondness in one another just that an October afternoon when he was driving her home. But whenever he had heard those words being verbalized by her, he couldn’t stop the sudden tightness in his chest and the pounding thoughts of his mind whispering “More”. Also as time grew, so did his affection for her. To the point that whenever he saw her words “beautiful” and “gorgeous” constantly popped up in his mind. He began to take notice of everything she did, from the nervous lip biting to even the infrequent leg shaking that occurred when she was hyper.

 Although he was highly aware of her quirks, deficiency didn’t go unnoticed either. In the recent months, she became paler, thinner, and her lips became more chapped, she also seemed to zone out a lot during their conversations and class sometimes.
 

Must be the flu he reasoned with himself one night thinking about how Min Hee had continuously coughed that day.
 

The month was February, the temperature was at its coldest that month making Baekhyun having to turn on the heater. As usual he was driving Min Hee home when, an proposition had popped up in his head.
“Hey Min Hee.” He called to grab her attention from the window.
She hummed in reply, her eyes still focused on the view outside.
 

“Do you think I could meet your parents?” He asked gripping onto the steering wheel with more force than necessary, worried about her reaction to such a request.
 

It was quiet for a moment before the car was filled with her soft melodious laughter, which caused Baekhyun to laugh along.
Soon the laughter died down and he could hear the sound of her lips sliding along her teeth, forming a smile and then came the simple reply of “Sure.”
Exhaling the breath he was holding in he nodded and said,” Thanks.”

When they had come to a slow stop in the drive way of her house, Baekhyun noticed that there was a gray car parked, meaning there was someone home.
Unbuckling his seatbelt and sliding out of his seat, he made his way to the door with Min Hee at his side. Min Hee ped a pocket in her book bag and brought out a key, unlocking the door. At first glance the house was clean, tidy, and most prominently stark colors of white, black, and gray.
“You can take off your shoes right here.” Min Hee said pointing to a matt that read Welcome. Wordlessly dazed by the simplicity of the house Baekhyun began to untie his shoe laces and step out of his shoes.
 

“Honey is that you?” a feminine voice called
“Yes it’s me.” Min Hee answered, her voice straining a bit at the end.
Suddenly a string of nervousness began to form in the pit of Baekhyun’s stomach, affecting his ability to stand up straight.
Then entered who he presumed was Min Hee’s mother, she was on the short side like Min Hee. Her hair was tied up in a bun with a red chopstick holding it in place, and although she was physically appealing, the wrinkles from aging and stress were visible on her face.

“Hello Mrs. Hee, it’s nice to meet you, I am Min Hee’s friend Baekhyun.” He greeted respectfully bowing a full 95 degrees.
Recognition passed on Mrs. Hee’s face as she mused, “Ahh so you’re Baekhyun.” earning a warning glare from Min Hee, as if threatening her mother to keep shut.
 

Baekhyun who was confused to what her mother said asked warily, “You know about me?”
Smiling widely she answered, “Of course, my daughter talks about you all the time.”
_____________________________________

“Did that really happen?” laughed Baekhyun turning to Min Hee to confirm what Ms. Hee had just said.
For the past hour and a half after the awkward meeting in the doorway, Ms. Hee invited Baekhyun to stay for dinner, which he deemed worthy of five golden stars. Throughout the dinner Baekhyun had found out countless information about Min Hee’s childhood and her family, all of which were hilarious. Especially about the one time Min Hee’s mother let her buy one item at a local convenience store, and wanting a drink, she picked up a drink with a pretty pink hue to it thinking it was pink lemonade. Carrying it throughout the store with her small hands to the checkout lane her mother was at to buy it, she received a variety of gazes from people, ranging from disgusted to amused. When she had finally reached the checkout counter the reason behind all those strange stares became known, she had picked up a bottle of alcohol.
 

But with pleasant memories also came heart breaking ones. Baekhyun had found out that Min Hee’s father had died from a car crash when she was 8 years old, as Ms. Hee described her husband before he died, everyone at the table was ready to break into tears, even Baekhyun who had never met him before. The way she explained him and his smile contained so much affection and adoration in her eyes, everybody couldn’t help but feel that loss within themselves also.
 

As dinner went to a close, Ms. Hee was at Baekhyun’s side. Turning to face her, she suddenly bowed a very lowly.
“Thank you.” She spoke smiling softly, “thank you for befriending my daughter.”
 

“No problem, it was my pleasure to become her friend.” Baekhyun smiled, Min Hee had now walked from her spot near the kitchen to his side.
Sighing Ms. Hee continued, “It’s just that ever since Min Hee was diagnosed with leukemia, it’s been hard for her to find a friend who understands.” Baekhyun froze.

Wait, what? Diagnosed with leukemia?

“W-wha-“But before Baekhyun could finish his question, the sound of a front door slamming could be heard. Ms. Hee, realizing the situation stammered with wide eyes, “I-I thought you knew.”
“No I didn’t” he replied back with the same size eyes, looking to his side to find the hallow space where she had stood a second ago, he understood that the door slam earlier meant that Min Hee had just ran out of the house. Panic setting in he made a mad dash to the door and running out the cold dark night, before leaving he could hear Ms. Hee yelling, “She’s probably at the park!”
 

Not knowing the location very well he followed his instincts, and his instincts proved correct when he finally saw a playground and some sitting benches. The closer he got to the park, the more he could see a figure hunched on a bench, their head in their lap. On closer inspection he could see that it was Min Hee, releasing a breath he calmly sat next to her.
Looking up from her lap with tear stained eyes, making Baekhyun feel churning feelings inside his chest, she asked, “ So now that you know, it’s pretty disgusted right?” her voice straining.

Furrowing his eyebrows he replied he answered, “Now why would that be disgusting?”
Tearing her gaze from him, she chortled, “Don’t give me your pity, you’ll be just like the rest of them then.” She spat, a dark look looming over her eyes, “pretending to care and understand one day, and then turning your back the next.”
“I do not pity you Min Hee, I genuinely care about you.” He whispered, enouncing her name in hopes of showing just about how much he cared for her.
 

Her eyes began to water, she took a shaky breath before she muttered, “Well you shouldn’t”
Raising his eyebrows he grunted, “Why not?”
Narrowing her eyes at him she answered, “Because if you care too much all you’re going to be stuck with when I die is pain, pain Baekhyun, pain, burdens, and just hurt. Do you really want that?”
Unknown emotions began to swarm and constrict his chest at the thought of Min Hee dying, and then he knew.

He knew what all these emotions were as they were displayed on the faces of his mother, his fan club whenever they saw him around campus, and on Ms. Hee’s face during dinner.
So as he soon realized these feelings, he couldn’t stop the words from coming out of his when he stated “I love you.”  Once those words left his mouth, he felt as if a huge weight was lifted of his chest, so to make the whole load disappear he decided to repeat it, “I love you.”
 

The words sounded so foreign in his mouth yet also welcoming, it was as if his lips buzzed and tingled every time he said them.
Min Hee who sat there dumbstruck by Baekhyun inhaled unsteadily and looked towards the playground. Although the load disappeared, another feeling was beginning to set in the bottom of his stomach, fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of what Min Hee would say, and mostly fear of being so vulnerable in front of her.
When Min Hee had finally set her gaze back onto Baekhyun, her eyes now dry but still bloodshot, she stared at him intently before replying, “It won’t last.”
 

His heart stilled. Suddenly the cold winter night seemed unbearable and the quiet cricket chirping that couldn’t be heard before became louder.
 

Then before he say anything further, her lips tugged into a small smile

 “But I’m willing to give it a try.”
___________________________________

Weeks went by since the confession. Word soon spread like wild fire about Min Hee and Baekhyun’s relationship, earning moans and groans from his fan club. Although they did follow him around and get on his nerves sometimes, he couldn’t help but appreciate how sophisticated they were about the situation. Even as some held grudges against Min Hee, they decided that as long as their beloved was happy, they would too try to be happy for him, and so they created a fan club personally for Baekhyun and Min Hee, dubbed as the ‘BaekMin’ club. As things with school were settled with, he had to deal with the only woman standing in his way, his mother. He was worried when he brought Min Hee home that particular evening.

Would his mother like Min Hee? Would she like his mom?  His worries seemed to vanish once he saw the look on his mom’s face when she had caught sight of Min Hee.

I finally brought in that perfect daughter-in-law you wanted. 

Their first kiss was on a random day at the park where he had first confessed to her. It wasn’t rushed or rough, it was slow and passionate. It had all the feelings he had kept inside since he had laid eyes on her. Every single emotion he had ever felt with her, love, pain all mixed into one single kiss that he thought give to her.

His life felt complete, he was finally happily in love. The only downfall to this was like promised, having a relationship with Min Hee was not easy. When he had first met her, her leukemia had already been at an acute level with just fatigue being one of the symptoms. But over the past time that they had spent together, the crucial position she was in really began to show. Not only was she tired, but she also experienced fevers on a daily basis, itchiness, sleeplessness, and soreness to the point that she had to stay overnight in the hospital and she couldn’t attend school anymore. Although Baekhyun tried his best to visit her every day for as long as the hospital allowed, soon he had to leave early due to her falling asleep mid conversation, which she apologized about the next day, only to do the same thing the next day.

The month was October, a two years since their friendship, and almost a year since they’ve been labeled as boyfriend and girlfriend. As usual he was paying his daily visit to the hospital, when he opened the door to her room, there he saw her. In bed with machines lined up at her bedside sticking into her arm. It looked utterly painful, but with that lazy smile plastered on her ghostly pale face, Baekhyun still couldn’t help but think she was the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on.

Making his way to his chair that he usually sat at and intertwining his warm hands into her rough cold hands, he couldn’t help but feel like the luckiest man in the world. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever, Min Hee’s in the shape of slits as she fought to stay awake, before she whispered, “I love you.”
Smiling he whispered back, “I love you too.”
Her smile tugged up a little higher at those words and even through her whitely chapped lips, it still looked breath taking.

“Thank you for everything.” She croaked her eyes filling with tears, but still continuing to smile.

“No problem.” Baekhyun replied, wiping the tears streaming down her face with his thumbs.

“I don’t think I can stay awake any longer.” She mumbled with closed eyes.
 

“Take care.” She said barely above a whisper, before she completely fell still.