Baekhyun and you walk out into the peaceful night, your arm slightly brushing his. None of you say anything but the silence is comfortable.

It is the first time for you to be walking with someone you don't know and still feel strangely pleasant. You feel uncomfortable with that but you try not to let it show. Baekhyun doesn't seem any different from before though.

It is actually lucky that you and Baekhyun were able to get out of the house without Jongin and Sehun joining. Actually, they were too distracted by their game that they hadn't even realised your absence.

You glance to the side and see Baekhyun with his eyebrows furrowed slightly. You feel a twinge in your heart, not used to him so quiet and pensive. Feeling your eyes on him, he turns to you with a small smile plastered on his face.

"What's up?" He nudges you lightly.

You shrug, shocking him greatly with your small action as you playfully nudge him back.

Now, his eyebrows are furrowed again, frowning at you slightly, "No, seriously... What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" You also have the same expression on your face, completely unsure what he is talking about.

"You—" He stops his sentence before he gets too frustrated. You see him roll his eyes before he shakes his head, "Nothing."

"What?" Baekhyun can't just leave you hanging! "Say it!"

"It's just..." He glances at you before turning to look up ahead again. "You're suddenly so... How do you say this..."

"Has Byun Baekhyun ran out of words? Finally?" You tease, your eyes twinkling.

He throws his hands up, bursting, "Like this!"

"What?" You stop walking, crossing your arms and turning to him. You are not amused as you ground out, "Like what?"

He sighs, stopping in his tracks too. He doesn't look at you but his body is facing you. He is still looking at the pathway which you guys were taking.

"You're just... You were so hostile to me previously. To all of us. And when Chanyeol, Jongdae and I left, you're suddenly best friends with Jongin and Sehun. What, you feel safer with the two maknaes?" He whips his head to you and you see that his eyes are raging with jealousy and dejection. "And then now you're touching me and flirting with me..."

Is he trying to say something?

You stare at him, your eyebrows knitted and your lips pursed. You stare at him for a few moments, giving him some time trying to recollect his thoughts. You observe as his eyes widen, as if he has done something terribly wrong. You look at him for a second more before scoffing and turning away. You start walking home.

"Oh my God," you hear Baekhyun curse to himself. A few stomps against the pavement as he runs towards you, he grabs your elbow. But you effectively fling his hand off. "I didn't mean—"

You give a hollow laughter, walking even faster, "Oh, you sure meant every word you said, Baekhyun-ssi."

△▽△▽△▽△

The next day, you ignore the two boys in school even though they try their best to make you notice them. They did stupid things but you are not going to talk to them. Thanks to Baekhyun the , you don't feel comfortable being around Jongin and Sehun anymore. He made you realise that you have been spending too much time with the both of them.

After school, you are surprised to see your driver here to fetch you. The two boys chase after you as you step into the car but you don't turn back. You keep your eyes straight ahead as the car drives off.

"Is anything the problem?" You ask your driver.

He glances at you in the mirror, "Your father is back. I heard something about going on a business trip."

"And why are you here?" You enquire, not unkindly.

"I think your father asks for your entire family to attend. It is for three days."

You are still frowning as you enter the house. You are greeted by the sight of your younger brother on the couch, playing with his phone while your mother is stressing over the things to be packed even though luggages are already at the lobby.

"Oh," She claps her hands when she sees you. "You're back! I've got the maids to pack your clothes, so just change out of your uniform."

"Where are we going?" You ask.

Instead of your mother's voice, you hear a lower and more athoritative voice booming from the stairs. Your father is replying you while he walks down, "We're going to Gwangju for just three days. I know this period is crucial for you since your exams are so soon but this meeting is even more important to me." You try not to roll your eyes. "You remember Mr. Kim— What?" He is glaring at your mother. "Stop giving me that look, are you trying to kill me or something?"

You clear your throat and speak softly, "I– I will go change."

"Yah, you can run a company but you cannot use your brains?" You hear your mother hiss to your father.

△▽△▽△▽△

"Byun Baekhyun!" Sehun yells at the poor boy. "What the did you do or say to her?!"

"What happened?" Jongdae is worried, he has never seen the maknaes this mad before. Even if he had, they were never mad at one of them.

"This idiot!" Sehun screams, only a hair breadth away from ripping Baekhyun's insides apart.

Jongin is glaring at Baekhyun as he grounds out, "Baekhyun and her went out after dinner for 10 minutes, when they came back she wasn't talking. And she was ignoring us the entire day yesterday. And she's not in school today."

Baekhyun frowns, "She's not in school?"

Just hearing his voice makes Sehun want to smack him so Chanyeol has to hold the youngest boy down. He tries calming both parties down as he speaks slowly, "Did any of you text her? Or call—"

"The entire ing night," Baekhyun rolls his eyes.

"Too many times," Jongin shakes his head.

Jongdae and Chanyeol glance at each other before sighing. They may not be as close to you but they know that you have issues when it comes to personal information.

"Whatever Baek said..." Jongdae starts, looking at Chanyeol to continue.

Chanyeol takes it smoothly, "I'm sure it has nothing to do with this. You know how she's like when we get too close to her. Certainly it isn't because of Baekhyun."

"He's definitely part of the reason why she's treating us like this, though," Jongin logically counters.

Jongdae and Chanyeol keep their mouths shut, knowing that he is right. Seeing the quietness of the situation, Sehun starts bursting again.

"What did you do?!"

△▽△▽△▽△

You were quiet the entire plane ride to Gwangju. You are quiet even now in the hotel room. Your mother is drilling your father for being so insensitive while your younger brother is sitting on his bed that is a few metres away from yours.

"Noona, are you okay?" The boy asks with worry lacing his words.

You turn to him, your eyes slightly glazed. Giving him a small smile, you nod, "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"But—"

"I'm fine," you chuckle lightly. "Noona isn't weak, you know that."

He nods with all his might, "I know. But when you came back with Baekhyun hyung that day, I could only think of that day when you—"

You groan, "I'm really okay. Don't worry about me."

There is a long silence. Then the boy sighs, "Fine... You have me to protect you anyway!"

You smile, walking over to him and you pat his head lightly. You hug his head to your chest, murmuring, "I know that."

Your mother walks into the room, smiling at your brother and you. She is glad that you and your brother share such a close bond. Her friends have children who are always tearing each other's hair out but she never has a problem with the both of you.

"Hey kids," she greets softly, sitting on the bed with her two children. "We're going for dinner tonight with—" She glances nervously at you. "—Daddy's business partner. And his family... So dress nicely okay?" You nod your head, gulping your anxiousness. Your mother stands and pats your head. She sighs, "I'm sorry you have to see him again..."

"It's okay, I'm over him anyway," you nod firmly.

"Of course you are," your mother smiles endearingly. "You're stronger than anyone can imagine."

She leaves the room, leaving you and your brother alone again. It is only four in the afternoon, dinner would probably be at seven. Your brother whips out his iPad and motions for you to do the same. He wants to play games with you. You oblige even though you should probably be studying.

At half past six, when you finally feel like your eyesight has greatly deproved, you stop playing. You order your brother to take a shower first. Once the both of you are done bathing, you change into a gray bodycon dress that is long sleeved and up to your thighs. Your brother wears a casual suit that your mother has picked out for him.

You tie your hair into a sightly messy bun and slip into your black heels. It will hurt like a but you know what your father would say if you are to wear sneakers. You put on eyeliner and mascara, careful not to make it look too thick. You wear a red lipstick as well.

"Let's go," your father calls out. "We're about to be late."

Your brother and you leave the room at once. Your father studies his children's attire and nods in satisfaction. He opens the door and lets his family out first before he leaves as well. 

Your father talks to you about school and as you answer him, you realise how formal you sound. It doesn't sound like you are speaking to your father. It sounds more like you're conversing with your boss.

The four of you enter a car and drive off to the location of the dinner. It is a few minutes past the meeting time but your father is calm about it. He likes being "fashionably late".

The waiter brings your family to a closed room, obviously for important meetings. He opens the door and bows while each of you file into the room. He shuts the door behind your younger brother. That's when the four of you are standing in front of Kim family of three.

Your father greets his old friend while addressing his family. His friend does the same. Mr. Kim smiles warmly at you, complimenting you on how you've grown up so prettily. You accept it humbly, bowing in thanks but with a stoic face. Always keep your guard up.

All of you sit at the table, you opposite Mr. Kim's son while the four adults face each other on the other end of the table. Your brother sits next to you at the furthest end of the table. The guy in front of you smirks, greeting your brother and you.

"How have you been?" He asks the both of you.

Your brother smiles professionally and you wonder if he is the same 12-year-old brother you have. "I've been fine, Minseok hyung."

Minseok shifts his attention to you, his eyes twinkling as he smiles charmingly. "And you, princess?"

"I'm good," you give him a tight smile.

When will he stop calling you that? Even after a year, he is still going to torture you.

"What happened to my princess?" He sighs, looking at you with sad eyes. "You weren't this cold before."

"Yeah, that was before you cheated— we broke up," you glance at your brother to see if he had caught your slip up. But he is just shooting daggers at the older boy in front of you.

Minseok's face hardens and his eyes narrows on you, "We both knew it was inevitable."

You scoff, "I didn't know. I thought we were doing pretty well. But then you—"

"Kids, are you ready to order?" Mr. Kim's voice booms out.

Even though you have no idea what the menu has, you nod your head. The waiter comes to take the orders and you merely point to a steak option on the menu. He leaves after everyone has ordered.

"You're graduating this year, aren't you?" Minseok asks you, his fingers interlinked as he rests his chin on it.

You nod, "In less than a month."

"And you?" He turns to your brother. "How's exams? Have you gotten a girlfriend?"

Your brother widens his eyes, "No! I do not have a girlfriend." Minseok laughs at his reaction. "I only failed History!" Your brother proudly beams at the older boy. "I got all A's for the other subjects."

The older male shakes his head in amusement, "Just like your sister..." He turns to you, looking you in the eyes, "She has never been good in History."

"Really?" Your brother glances at you.

Minseok nods his head, chuckling, "I always had to help her but it's so difficult. So I end up doing her homework for her most of the time."

You blush, "I just don't have a knack for History, okay?"

"Okay, okay," Minseok chuckles, his two hands up in surrender. "It's just funny how you're almost an all A student until it comes to History."

"Well, you are a sociology student," you counter. "You in math too, okay?" Minseok shakes his head playfully, his eyes glinting with mischief. "So how's university life?"

"Boring," he blows a raspberry.

You chuckle. You had been together with Minseok for nearly two years before he cheated on you. He has always been a boy who loves parties and social activities. He loves sports too, always being involved in competitions. Which also meant that girls are always fawning over him, throwing themselves at him.

He knew how much you hardly trust anyone but he managed to break your wall eventually. You were open and comfortable with him because that is just what his personailty does to people. You told him everything about yourself even when you don't expose these things to Luhan or Tao.

However, when you saw him kissing your friend with his hand on her , that was when your guard went waaaaay up. With newly enhanced protection and impenetrable walls. Right at that moment, you broke up with the . Your family knew about the break up but you refused to explain the reason why.

Your father didn't seem to give it much thought since he knew it was young love. Your mother and brother, on the other hand, was extremely worried for you. They witnessed your change in attitude towards strangers. They saw you ignoring Minseok when he came over to apologise. They knew it was all over for him the moment you came home crying.

After giving yourself the entire night and day to cry for your misery, you effectively tried to wipe away all memories of the stupid guy. You threw out his gifts and his pictures. You got a new number so that he would stop contacting you. You loved him and you trusted him.

That was when you realised how right your father had been. Never trust anyone.

△▽△▽△▽△

The next day, your father and Mr. Kim attend a business meeting while your mother and Mrs. Kim go shopping. Leaving Minseok with you and your brother. The older boy proposes to go shopping. You know how your brother would never want to be stuck in the boring hotel, so you agree to it.

You wear a pair of jeans and turtle neck, long-sleeved top. Autumn is here and you get cold easily. Wearing your sneakers, you bring your brother to the lobby of the hotel where Minseok is waiting.

"Baekhyun hyung!" Your brother beams, running away from you as he sprints towards a direction completely off where Minseok is standing dumbfounded.

You whip your head to where your brother is running to and you glare at the boy. He is grinning at your brother before he looks up to smile at you. Instead of going to Minseok, you stomp your way to Baekhyun.

"What are you doing here?" You hiss, pulling your brother back.

"To see you," he retorts cheekily.

"Did you track me again?" You roll your eyes.

He gives a sheepish grin and you glare at him. You feel a presence beside you and you know that it is Minseok. He is standing close to you and your brother, almost as though he is protecting the both of you.

"Who's this?" The both of them look at you questioningly.

"Kim Minseok, this is Byun Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun, this is Kim Minseok," you introduce and walk away with your arm around your brother's shoulders.

"Where do you wanna go?" You murmur to your brother.

"The mall?" He answers unsurely when the two older boys run towards you.

"Where are we going?" Minseok asks, his arm over your shoulder.

"The mall," you answer, shrugging his arm off. You let go of your brother and push him to Minseok, "You lead the way, I need to talk to Baekhyun-ssi."

You catch his glare to Baekhyun while the latter returns a smug look. You push Minseok and your brother forward roughly. You walk slightly apart from Baekhyun, so that he knows that you're not trying to flirt with him.

"So what are you doing here?" You start bluntly.

Baekhyun sighs, looking at you with pleading eyes as he grabs your wrist to pull you to a stop. You glance at the two males who are leading the way; your brother is talking animatedly to Minseok while the older male is looking like he is listening attentively.

You turn back to Baekhyun, who has his hands stuffed in his jeans pocket. He looks so awkward and you realise that this is probably the first time you've seen him uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry," Baekhyun murmurs, looking straight into your eyes. You see the sincerity and the worry in it. He repeats, "I'm sorry."

You maintain eye contact with him, not saying anything for a few seconds. Then you sigh, "You came all the way here just to apologise?"

He lowers his eyes. You notice the tip of his ears are red. "Yeah," he murmurs softly.

You scoff, "Really."

He whips his head to you, his eyes widening in all seriousness as he swears, "Yes, really!"

"Are you guys coming, or not?" Minseok yells from a few metres away.

You grab Baekhyun's wrist and pull him towards the other two. Minseok narrows his eyes at the both of you but he knows your character. He knows you're not going to tell him anything. So he keeps his lips pursed as he leads the way to the mall.

You let go of Baekhyun's wrist and he rubs it as though he has to hold it to make up for the loss of touch. He glances at you but you have your eyes trained on your brother's figure. You hear Baekhyun sigh.

"Sehun and Jongin are mad at me for making you ignore them at school," he started. "Then they got even more pissed when you weren't in school. They even got physical, you know."

You turn to him, narrowing your eyes, "Where?"

He points to his stomach subtly and then folds his sleeve to show a huge bruise. He rubs his jaw until a red line appears; he was wearing concealer to hide it. Your eyes widen in shock. You reach out to him but just before your fingers actually touch his skin, you withdraw your hand. Baekhyun's eyebrows are furrowed when he sees that.

"I'm sorry," you mumble.

"It's not your fault!" The boy waves his hands in front of you, dispelling the thought. "If anything, it should be mine... I didn't mean to say what I said that night... I was... I was just jealous, I guess..."

You soften as you turn your head to him, tilting slightly, "Jealous? That I am closer to Jongin and Sehun?"

He nods and you watch him gulp. "I thought you weren't going to be our friend. Then we leave and suddenly you're good friends with the two idiots. It just... Makes me wonder what I am to you."

You gape at him, you didn't even know he feels this way. That he actually feels such a strong attraction towards you. So strong that he needs to be assured of your relationship with him.

He looks at you. Your dark brown eyes meeting his almost-black orbs. His face is serious and he is pouting as if he knows that bad things are only going to continue happening.

You stare at him for a second more before you shake your head lightly, chuckling. He frowns even more and he looks away, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Byun Baekhyun, you're amazing," you are almost keeling with laughter as you compliment him somewhat sarcastically.

"Noona, let's have Japanese food for lunch!" Your brother runs to you, tugging on your hand.

You nod carelessly while trying to calm yourself down. Minseok is watching you with interest, glancing at the other boy. He is wondering how he actually made you laugh like that. He, himself, had a hard time making you smile last night. How the hell is this boy making you laugh?

"Is Baekhyun hyung invited?" You ask your brother, still slightly chuckling.

"Is it okay?" Your younger brother beams at you.

You nod, smiling at Baekhyun and him warmly, "Of course. Since your Baekhyun hyung is here, he might as well join us." You eye the older boy who looks as lost as Minseok, "You're coming right, Baek oppa?"

"Op– Oppa...?" Baekhyun blinks once. Twice. Thrice.

You smirk, dragging him forward and ahead of Minseok and your brother. You inform them, "He's coming."