I sigh as I turn the corner and start down the street of the rich. It has been four days of drowning in guilt of losing someone's trust, four days of fighting off the regret that I have lost two of my closest friends, four days of sitting at the lunch table with Hyoyeon and Kai, the atmosphere thick as we say nothing of the missing presence of the person at the table. We all feel isolated, lost and weak. Or at least, that's what I am feeling.

Tiffany has been absent since the afternoon of disaster. We shared no texts nor phone calls so I conclude that she is just being a coward and doesn't want to come to school to face us all.

Since Hyoyeon and Kai are the least involved in the situation, I had asked them if Sehun and Tiffany had made up yet - I already knew the answer as Sehun strolls past me without acknowleding my existence - but they just glance at the floor and give a slight shake of their head. That empowers my annoyance at Tiffany even more; why couldn't she just apologise to Sehun and get this chaos over with? Sehun loves Tiffany, he'd forgive her at a glance of her pouting face.

I reach the now familiar courtyard. Dread fills me as I make my way over the cobblestone. My eyes stare straight ahead, focusing on the brown doors. My jeans cling to my legs and I feel the heat trying to squirm its way out between my skin and the tight fabric. It is hot but I refuse to wear anything that will reveal my legs. I will try my best to not distract him with my slip-ups.

Determined to not make a fool out of myself in today's tutoring lesson, I press the buzzer and wait for the male's voice to greet me.

"Hello? Who is it?"

"Kim Taeyeon."

"Please come in," comes the reply and the startling click of the door.

I slip inside and quietly shut the opaque door behind me. I sigh in content as the cool air welcomes me and walk to the white living room as soon as I hear the unmistakable high-heeled shoe sounds.

Ji's composed face appears and a smile immediately lights up across her face as she catches sight of me. I smile back and bow. Today she is wearing a black dress made of the same material of the one she wore last week - and it's a little creepy I notice that - that is low cut at the front and the material gathering mid-calf at the back. She wears a few gold bangles, open toe black heels and her hair falls neatly around her shoulders. Her outift really emphasises her pale complexion and I can't help but wish I can dress like her without being judged by others.

"Taeyeon!" Ji greets and floats towards me. "Now now, what did I tell you about formalities? You have to drop the bowing."

I give her an apologetic smile. "Hi Ji."

"Did Baekhyun show you out last week? I'm sorry I couldn't be there myself, I had some errands to run."

I clear my throat. "Oh. . . it's fine, he walked me to the door."

If Ji is aware of her son's capability, she hides it well. "That reminds me, I'm afraid I'd have to help my husband much more frequently from now on. I'd get my staff to accompany you to your room but well, Saturday is their day off. . . So I guess Baekhyun would have to greet you every time you come."

I gulp, not sure if I want to be in Baekhyun's presence longer than necessary, even if it is for two mere minutes.

Matching Ji's warm smile, I try to sound genuine. "Oh no, it's okay. I wouldn't want to be a bother to Baekhyun any longer. I'll memorise the way in and out."

"Oh really?" Ji doesn't seem to see through my act. "Well I'm glad you are confident that you can take care of yourself because Baekhyun can be a little lazy sometimes."

What's new? I think.

"Well, we'd better make our way to the room." Ji links her arm around mine. "So after this living room you will be met with this room which sort of looks the same but we like to call this the lounge room. . ." And on Ji continues, showing me the way and pointing out tips to know which doorway I head through. I pay close attention, hoping that I can navigate this route in reverse two hours later. "And through this last corridor, is the tutoring room!" Ji exclaims happily and I smile. "You think you can remember that?"

"Yep." I nod, going through the rooms quickly in my head.

"If you do forget, you can always just ask Baekhyun. I don't really see a reason why he would want a girl running around lost in his household so you can rely on him for that."

"Right," I say, disbelief clear in my voice but Ji takes no notice. I can think plenty of reasons why Baekhyun would want me lost.

I go around the glass table and sit in the same seat as to where I was sitting last week. Ji hovers in the doorway with her back facing me and tuts in disapproval. "Where is that Baekhyun? I asked him to be ready on time. . ." She turns to me and shoots me an apologetic smile. "Sorry Taeyeon, I promise he will be sitting here when you enter the room from next week onwards. I may not be here on Saturday mornings to scold him but I am still living under this roof."

"Oh it's fine. Really."

With one last smile, Ji disappears and I start to place pieces of paper on the table as I listen to her footsteps fade. Today I have planned to go through what we were studying in History, Maths and Chemistry. They are interesting subjects but Baekhyun would probably treat it as a boring session and anyone could guess that he was going to get distracted by who knows what. I just hope the two hours would fly by.

After a few minutes, a new pair of feet clatters down the stairs and Baekhyun appears in the doorway dressed in a grey shirt, brown pants and grey vans. He walks over with an annoyed look on his face, not sparing me a glance. He ungracefully drops down in his seat and I wonder how such an elegant women could raise such an. . . unmannered boy. 

"Alright, hurry up and get it over and done with." Baekhyun's voice comes out irritated. I am taken aback with his hostility and wonder what I ever did to receive this attitude. "Hello? I said hurry up." Baekhyun's sharp voice shatters my thoughts that do not progress far.

My gaze lifts up to meet his and I want to snap at him for being so disrespectful to his tutor even though he is older than me, but that would go against my family's golden rule.

I need to stay calm.

"Alright, alright," comes my steady voice as I open one of the textbooks that focuses on Japanese Wars. "This is what we are looking at in History-"

"Yes I know," snaps Baekhyun. "Get on with it."

I close my eyes and clench my jaw. He is doing this on purpose, he is trying to get on my nerves and see me get ticked off.

I take a deep breath and my eyes flutter open to stare at the incoherent words in the textbook. I really need to learn how to read upside down. Mustering my courage, I move over to sit in the chair next to Baekhyun, taking him by surprise. I shift the book close to us as casually as I possibly can.

"So, tell me about the Japanese War."

Baekhyun blinks at me and I blink back. I am perfecty aware that our knees are almost touching, but I am not going to give Baekhyun the satisfaction of seeing me squirm. For a minute, Baekhyun studies me. Not my body, but my face. My eyes never leaves his as they trail down the side of my cheek, across my lips, my nose and finally rests on my eyes. His scrutinisation sends shivers down my spine but I don't break my gaze. I can't - I seem to be in a trance.

Then, Baekhyun opens his mouth and speaks in a quiet voice. "The First-Sino Japanese War started in August 1894 and ended in April 1895. It was fought between China and Japan over the control of Korea. The Japanese army dominated the Chinese and so the Qing Dynasty decided to sue for peace."

My eyebrows rise as I didn't expect Baekhyun to answer the question. I was expecting some rude comment like he had been spewing up in the first five minutes of the lesson.

"Good," I say softly. We hold each other's gaze for another minute, his eyes not giving away any emotions that he is experiencing, until I snap out of it and launch into the work I have in front of me.

For the rest of the lesson, Baekhyun surprises me by co-operating in a civil manner and I almost forget he is a nasty playboy. There are no signs of the image he creates during school. While he is studiously scribbling on a mock-test, I wonder whether he is acting or if this is his true personality he has kept hidden all this time. Maybe he wants to act bad-boy in front of the girls, which makes no logical sense as his looks gets them swooning regardless of his behaviour. I can't help but notice how I feel comfortable in the silence, aside from the occasional tapping of Baekhyun's pen. It is hard for my eyes to not stray and observe his facial features from up close, but he is right next to me - I can't make it that obvious. I keep my eyes diverted at the Maths questions while trying to process my thoughts.

After two minutes of frowning and lip-biting, I conclude that he is only acting sensible for the tutoring lessons as he has probably finally come to his senses and realised that half yearly exams are important. 

The two hours pass surprisingly quickly.

"You. . . seem to be familiar with these formulas." I try to find words that don't sound too much of a compliment.

Baekhyun shrugs. "Chemistry isn't all that difficult."

"Okay, I'll prepare something a little more challenging for next week," I say, scooping my stuff in my black shoulder bag.

"Sure," Baekhyun replies and I swear there is an amused tone in his voice. I can't be sure though as my back is already facing him.

"See you next week," I say over my shoulder as I head to the doorway, not realising that I actually sound friendly.

"Do you know the way?" Baekhyun calls out to me, his voice not showing any signs of smugness or a taunt.

I halt and ignore my growing suspicion - and fear - at his new behaviour and peek into the room on the other side of the doorway. There is the bronze lamp that Ji has pointed out. I am in the right room to start with. "Of course," I answer and start walking to the nearest doorway. I can still feel his stare at my back and it isn't until I am halfway across the bronze lamp room when I hear Baekhyun's voice.

"You're going the wrong way."

I halt and turn around to look at him. He is leaning against the doorframe, hands slipped in his jeans, watching me with an amused expression. Frowning, I turn around and tilt my head to the side. Three doorways lay before me and despite my handy memory, I can't figure out which one Ji and I had come through. Not sure what to do, I hesitantly start towards the middle one, before I am stopped short again.

"Wrong."

Embarassed, I switch to the last doorframe and step into a blue lounge room with a red lamp that indicates this is the right room I had passed through earlier. Why is he helping me? Maybe Baekhyun's intention isn't to lead me elsewhere.

I stop when I face two corridors, both which looks the same. What did Ji say about this again?

I hear a deep chuckle from up close behind me. Too close. The hairs at the back of my neck shoot up as I feel the movement of a tall figure pass me.

"Allow me to show you," Baekhyun says without facing me.

Feeling unsure of the directions, I follow him, passing rooms and objects that should have crossed my mind earlier. Soon enough, we reach the famous white room. Baekhyun stops at the front of the corridor and I sidestep him, muttering a 'thanks'.

I am about to place my hand on the doorknob when his voice stops me.

"Are you afraid of me?" He is quiet. I stop and stand there for a while, shocked at his question. Slowly I turn around, not sure whether to hide my confused expression. He is staring back at me, eyeing me silently. He repeats it when I don't answer. "Are you?"

I can only say the truth. "You haven't exactly directly done anything for me to think that."

He takes a step forward. "But are you afraid of what I might do to you in my house?"

"Of course." The words slip out of my mouth and my eyes widen. "I mean. . ."

Baekhyun studies me and all I can do is stare back into his brown orbs. Seconds pass and I am unsure of what to do. Should I just turn around and flee from the property? That will only lower my pride, and I'll be back next week, and the following weeks after, not to mention having to see him at school. 

The male's lips thin and he gives half a nod. "See you next week." He turns around and disappears around the corner, leaving me dumbfound.

I frown one last time at Baekhyun's bizarre attitude today. Wasting no time, I open the door and am immediately welcomed by the heat. I walk out of their porch and onto the cobblestone, blocking any thoughts of the confusing male from earlier. Baekhyun almost seemed friendly today. Whether that's an act he put up for my sake, or that is leaning towards his true personality, is something that I feel will take me a long time to figure out, and that bothers me.

The ring of my phone startles me and I fumble through my bag to retrieve it. I have stepped out of the Byun's courtyard and am heading down to the bus stop. I glance at the caller ID and frown. It is Kai but he never uses his phone. I almost forget that he has one. I swipe across 'answer call' and press the phone to my ear.

"It's about time you joined the twenty-first century."

"Taeyeon." I instantly detect the urgency in his voice.

"Kai? What's wrong?" All traces of my joking tone are replaced with worry.

"It's Tiffany." Her name makes me halt my steps. "She needs help. We're at her house. . ." I can hear Kai's heavy breathing. "Hyoyeon's here too. We were giving her a surprise visit and we found her in the bathrooom. . ." Not only when Kai lets out a whimper do I realise he is near to. . . crying.

Kai never cries and this strangely makes me think of Sehun. What is up with this week, has someone sent my friends to cry to me over the phone?

I hear a faint voice screech in the background. "Who are you talking to on the phone?! It better not be the amublance, I'm warning you!" I don't have to think to know it belongs to Tiffany.

"No it's not the ambulance," I hear Kai answer back in a scared voice. "Taeyeon," Kai pleads with a tone I've never heard from him, a tone that wrenches my heart. "Taeyeon, I don't know what to do. You have to come now. She needs help and she's threatening me to not call the professionals or else she'll use the blade again. I'm serious Taeyeon, you have to come now."