"  I want to thank God for the heavy rain because it's the only thing keeping you inside with me. " 

140513

Minji stood awkwardly in the doorway of Baekhyun's apartment. She shuffled her feet nervously as she clutched the handle of her bag with two hands. She watched as Sydney's supposed new "best friend" hurriedly threw all sorts of things that were strewn throughout his house into the closet, shelves, and drawers; basically anything that his stuff would be able to fit in. She could see that they were mostly random chargers, batteries, and broken hard dive pieces. "Did you take five hundred computers apart and left their pieces all over your house or what?" she mumbled to herself.

The whole scene was ironically humorous to her because she always pictured Byun Baekhyun as this clean, neat, and extremely uptight person; the fact that he was running around his house trying to clean up just for her was one of the last things she could have imagined he would be doing. She found herself quietly chuckling as she watched him struggling to make his apartment look presentable.

"I'm seriously so sorry," he said when he was finally done shoving his stuff away. He laughed shakily as he ran his hand through his hair. Minji could tell Baekhyun was uneasy as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, bouncing up slightly and going back down. She mentally braced herself for a long and awkward night.

"Totally understandable," she replied in the chirpiest voice she could manage. The boy dying from nervousness seemed startled at the way she responded. He blinked suddenly and his lips twitched as they were trying to figure out what to say.

He must have thought I was going to flip out on him like he always has done to me...

She felt herself grin slightly. Minji found the way he was acting to be somewhat cute; it was like walking in on a little kid to find him doing something he thought would get him a time out, but in the end earned him a squeeze on the cheek because it was just so adorable.

"It's really ok," she said with a laugh. This time she you could genuinely hear the friendliness in her voice. "It's not like you were planning to have me over in the first place. Plus, I really don't mind if your place is a bit messy because it reminds me of my own apartment. So if you're done, do you mind if I come in now?"

She didn't wait for a reply. Minji just smirked and walked past her dazed host, throwing her bag on the first table she saw as she sank down onto the couch. Baekhyun scurried closely behind her, scratching his neck and jittering his fingers the whole time.

She closed her eyes and tried to make herself as comfortable as possible. Her mind still had to trust and process Sydney's marvelous, or as Minji liked to call it, useless plan. She heard Sydney's genius words repeat themselves in her head over and over again. 

"Ok, here's what we're going to do," Sydney started as she began twirling her chestnut brown hair. Kai and Minji just looked at each other because they knew hair twirling meant she was plotting, and plotting meant trouble.

"We are going to have you stay somewhere that Suho wouldn't think to look for you. Yes!" She got worked up over her own plan and started to nod as she praised herself for coming up with such an idea. 

"Here we go," Kai mumbled to himself as he stretched his hands back behind his head and crossed his legs, preparing himself for Sydney's typical long and detailed plan.

"So then when Suho comes running in like, 'I'm going to get you Ji', he'll just be dumfounded because none of us will be here, perfect!"

Minji watched her friend pace around the hospital room while talking to herself. She turned and gave Kai a look of sympathy, she had learned to accept Sydney's sudden outbursts. She was usually always the person Sydney would look for when she thought she had something great planned; it was usually when they were having a sleepover in high school and Minji was just about to fall asleep. 

"You can't stay at either Kai's or my place because he would probably look for you there first. And obviously you can't go home so maybe you could stay in a different hospital room for tonight? No, he could still find you...a hotel?" Minji started to zone Sydney out because it often would take her a while before she hit a light bulb. 

"Oh I know! You could stay at Baekhyun's place, I'm sure he won't mind!" Sydney exclaimed with a bright face. 

"What?" both Kai and Minji said in unison. Minji looked and Sydney with disbelief. She couldn't stay with someone she barely even knew.

"What? He's nice and stayed here with me as we waited for you to wake up. Don't worry, he's trustworthy. He wouldn't hurt you Minji, he actually was very worried about you." she explained simply. Minji shook her head and was about to protest but Sydney cut her off. "Would you rather stay here and have to argue and cry over Suho?" 

Minji weighed her options, she already knew which one would be worse. "Fine," she muttered.

Kai still looked very worried. "Who's this Baekhyun guy you want Minnie to stay with?" he asked confused.

"My new best friend because he said he's coming in about three minutes," Sydney said just as she hung up off the phone and ran to pack Minji's stuff into her duffel bag. 

"Sydney I don't know about this. I mean, what exactly are you trying to show Suho?" Minji asked uneasily.

"That you're not someone to mess with. I want him to realize that he can't just expect you to obey his every command, you're someone with feelings and thoughts too, he should know that by now. Anyways, just stay at Baek's place and don't answer any of his calls or texts. I'll come and get you when it's ok."

A sharp snap brought her back to the reality that she was currently in. "Hello? Earth to Minji?" Baekhyun asked timidly. The auburn haired girl blinked rapidly as she tried to focus on the present, something she was terrible at doing. "I'm sorry, what?" she said as she managed a smile that she hoped appeared casual. "I was wondering if you wanted anything," he paused. "Like you know, water or something," he asked quietly. Minji still couldn't get used to a shy and awkward Baekhyun. If she recalled correctly he was a grouchy boy with OCD and wanted everything perfect. 

Ok this kid is either split between two personalities, socially awkward around girls, or socially awkward in general. It looks like you're going have to lighten the mood and lift the awkward aura Minji.

"You act like you've never had guests over or something," she said with a laugh. She saw Baekhyun flinch and try to laugh along too but failed at doing so because he kept gulping and jittering. There was an extremely uncomfortable silence that settled between them and stayed for what seemed like an eternity. "So I'm guessing you’ve never had anyone over before?" Minji asked in a hesitant tone in attempt to finally end the unbearable quiet.

"Is it that obvious?" he replied with a small chuckle as he made his way to the fridge.

Minji followed and started to shake her head but stopped suddenly and began to nod instead after Baekhyun shot her his "don't-you-try-to-lie-to-me" face. She propped her elbows up onto his kitchen island and cradled her face in her palms after plopping herself onto a stool. She finally took the time to look around his house and admire the simple black and white with small touches of blue and gray color scheme of the walls and furniture of his apartment. It made the place look very sleek and clean.

"Aside from the fact that there's still a sock on the ground over there, you've really done a good job with the interior design of this place," she said with admiration. Baekhyun blushed slightly at her teasing but quickly composed himself and started boiling a kettle of water.

It makes it feel very-" she trailed off, struggling to find the right word. "Modern?" Baekhyun suggested as he handed Minji a cup of his favorite tea. "Exactly!" she replied, taking the warm mug into her hands. She noticed that the mug was purple, her favorite color. She took a sip of the tea and was amazed at how rich the fruity flavor was, she was more of a coffee person but she would choose this tea over her favorite coffee any day. 

"This tea tastes like blueberries!" she exclaimed amazed.  "How do they do that? I thought tea was only that bland herbal taste," she asked as she took another savory sweet gulp.

Baekhyun looked at her and laughed as he raised his own cup to his lips. "Well then I guess you've never had good tea before, it's called blueberry bliss. Even though it's pretty expensive, I think it's totally worth it."

"So you have a taste for higher end things," Minji pointed out while still inhaling her tea like there was no tomorrow. "Ow!" she hissed through her teeth.

"It's boiling tea, Jesus. Be careful would you? I don't want to have to drive you back to the hospital" Baekhyun snapped with a roll of the eyes. Minji smiled to herself, this was the Byun Baekhyun she remembered. Her struggles to make it comfortable between them has finally paid off.  

"It's so good that I think I burned my tongue for it," she said while sticking her tongue out as she tried to cool down the flaming sensation that was overwhelming her. 

"So childish," the black haired boy said as he clucked his tongue and continued to sip carefully on his own tea.

"Most people would ask the question, 'are you ok?' first," Minji retorted. 

"You should know by now that I'm different than most people," Baekhyun replied in a cool tone. 

"Oh right, I forgot, you've never had people over to your house ever in your whole entire life. Do you not have friends or what?" she said harsher than she intended to. She saw that immediately that there was hurt in Baekhyun's brown eyes. Never in her life has she wanted to take back her words more than that very moment. 

"I didn't mean it like that," she half said, half whispered.

The black haired boy set his mug down onto the counter and closed his eyes as he leaned back against it.

Minji found herself staring at the way his black bangs rested perfectly on his forehead and contrasted against his clear and pale skin. She looked at the crescent shape of his eyes and the straight bridge of his nose. She could feel herself starting to find his little cupid's bow and peachy full lips somewhat cute. Her eyes trailed down to his not super broad , but not too narrow shoulders. They were the perfect size in proportion to the rest of his frame. She admired the way his blue and white shirt hugged his chest and how his black sweatpants fit around his legs perfectly.

When she realized that she was checking Baekhyun out, half of her conscience immediately began to mentally scold her eyes, while the other half of her saw nothing wrong with just simply admiring the view she was given. 

"I guess you can say I'm a bit socially inexperienced," he said with a sigh that disrupted Mniji's mental dilemma. 

"Why would you say that?" she asked carefully, not wanting to hurt or offend him again. However, after seeing that the boy in front of her was a little reluctant to answer she quickly added, "You don't have to tell me you know, if it's super personal and stuff."

Again, loud silence filled the room, washing another wave of awkwardness onto her. Baekhyun finally took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "It's just-" he paused, scrambling for the right words that suddenly escaped his mind. "It's just that, I don't know. Growing up, I've only had one person I would consider a friend. Other than him, I've never really been comfortable around people. So as you can see, I surround myself with inanimate gadgets to fill up the loneliness that I feel," he said quietly to the ground.

Minji didn't know exactly what to say to his sad confession. She was never really an expert when it came to the sentimental stuff. That was usually Sydney's forte.

"But you get along fine with Sydney though?" she half replied, half asked. 

Baekhyun again flashed her his signature eye smile as a small melodious laugh escaped his lips. "That's because she's the first person I was forced to get along with for three days while you were unconscious. In that case, I kind of had to befriend her, you know?" he replied.

"Ahh, yeah I see," she nodded. His words rang in her mind continuously until they turned the switch to her light bulb on. 

"Why don't you think of our situation the same way?" she blurted louder than she intended to. Baekhyun flinched at her sudden outburst as his glazed eyes showed no sign of understanding or agreement. "You know, like you were kind of forced by Sydney to let me stay here and so we should also have to befriend each other for the time being," she explained in the best suggestive tone she could muster. 

Slowly, she saw the gears in his brain turning at the logic in her statement. He smiled and nodded at her idea, stood up straight and looked her straight in the eyes. He replied firmly, "It's a deal."

"Great. Let's not be awkward anymore shall we?" Minji said with a victorious smile.

"Agreed because there are so many things I want to ask you," he replied.

"You do?" she asked surprised. Baekhyun nodded as he pursed his lips.

"Actually ask away, I have a few things I would like to know too," Minji replied.  

The two went back to sipping their now, cold tea and ended up talking longer than the both of them expected to. Minji learned that Baekhyun was into all things tech and found his somewhat geekiness to be kind of cute, in a weird way. She found out that his quirky, fun and awkward side could quickly turn sour and sassy if he was annoyed; which wasn't very hard to do.

Baekhyun on the other hand, learned the complicated problems between Minji and Suho. He realized that Minji wasn't always obnoxious and rude. He laughed at his own timing, he must have always caught her on her bad days. He learned that the reason for her grumpiness was usually brought on because of lack of coffee or rainy and gloomy weather. He came to like her witty and sweet side more and more with every passing second he spent talking to her.  

"Oh my God, really?" Minji asked, embarrassed.

"Yes!" Baekhyun replied with his wide smile that always reached his eyes. "I was like, 'Who is this rude person blasting loud music?' and I turn to see you throwing gang signs and screeching the lyrics to whatever rap song you were listening to!" he explained before both of them started to shake uncontrollably with laughter. 

"Wait," Minji managed to wheeze, "I think my phone is ringing." She ran to the couch and looked at the caller ID and slid the green circle over. 

"Hey Syd," she said with a smile.

Sydney could hear laughter in the background and how peppy her friend's tone sounded.

They got along better than I hoped they would.

"Why so cheerful?" she asked coldly.

"Why so pessimistic?" Minji snapped back.

"Whatever," Sydney said as she examined her nails. "It looks like you're enjoying yourself at Baek's place," she said in a mean tone that surprised not only Minji, but herself as well.

"Are you ok, Sydney?" Minji asked, worried that she may have offended her friend somehow. "You sound like you're mad at me," she added.

"I'm fine," her friend said into the phone as she tossed her chestnut hair back. Her harsh tone didn't convince either of them that everything was alright. "I just wanted to let you know that Suho left for the airport again. It looks like you're not going to see him anytime soon," she added quickly and before Minji could say anything, Sydney hung up. 

Minji felt tears forming in her eyes, "Yeah thanks for the reminder Syd, like I really needed that," she mumbled to herself. She checked her text messages and missed calls, they were all from Suho.  She had no idea what she had done to make her best friend mad. Minji didn't understand, she hadn't missed any of Sydney's calls or anything.

"Is everything ok?" Baekhyun asked, his brows were scrunched together worriedly. 

"I don't know. Sydney just called me to say that Suho went to the airport, but she sounded really upset at me and I have no idea why." she explained with her hand in her auburn hair.

"Maybe she's just tired because it's late and she hasn't gotten sleep," Baekhyun suggested even though Minji didn't look convinced. "Speaking of sleep," he fake yawned, "We should probably rest too, aren't you a bit tired?" he asked.

"Yeah. I guess," Minji replied still looking at her phone. 

Seeing that Minji was reluctant to get off her phone and go to sleep, Baekhyun grabbed her wrist and lead her to his room. "Sleep here tonight, I'll take the couch," he said as he helped tuck her in. 

"Thanks Baek," she said drowsily. She watched as her new friend made his way to the door, just as he was about to step out, she found herself asking a question she had been thinking about ever since he had confessed to her about his social awkwardness.

"Why are you uncomfortable around most people?" 

Baekhyun turned around and stared at her. After a short pause he asked, "If I tell you then can I ask you one last question?" 

"Anything," she replied.

"Because I always find flaws in people. They're not simple like technology is. They're complicated and unpredictable. The way people act easily irritate me. It makes me frustrated because I can fix a broken phone or computer, but I can't fix people, and I'll never be able too." he said after much thought.  

"Now my question to you is, I get that people are often irritable without their coffee, but why rain? Don't you find it relaxing? I know I do," he said with a curious expression.

"I'm afraid of rain because," Minji paused. She never really explained the real reason as to why she didn't like the rain, she only told her friends that it was because her dad used to love it, but she never told them anymore beyond that. She thought carefully about how to reply. She realized that Baekhyun was probably sharing something with her that he doesn't tell just anyone and finally, she managed to come up with an answer. "Because my dad used to love the rain, he said that rainy days meant it was going to be a good day. I foolishly believed him. It was on a rainy day that I lost my dad, he died in a car accident," she confessed for the first time ever. 

To her surprise, Baekhyun didn't give her the typical sympathetic replies she would get when someone found out that she lost her father. He didn't say sorry or that he understood. He just stood there in silence and stared her straight in the eye. His soft expression showed that he understood and he could somehow relate to her loss. Even though there were no words between them, the quietness felt comfortable. They stayed like that for a while, before Minji finally broke the stare and looked down at her hands.

"Well, good night," Baekhyun said as he shut off the light and closed the door.

"Good night," Minji whispered back before exhaustion finally took over her body and shut her heavy eyes.

A few miles away, Sydney threw herself under the covers and laid there quietly. She thought about the way she had just acted towards her best friend and reflected on how much of a she must have been to Minji. She tossed and turned, trying to figure out why she said what she had. After a few minutes of restlessness Sydney realized that it was his fault. She was jealous. Jealous that Minji and Baekhyun were together, having fun. Sydney found herself in a state of denial. She didn't fall that easily and Baekhyun was definitely not going to change that. She spent hours fighting with her feelings and ended up falling asleep with Baekhyun being the last thing on her mind before her body shut off

140514

"Byun Baekhyun," Sydney gasped as soon as she awoke. Sure enough, her phone was blasting "Growl" by EXO. She set his ringtone as that song because both of them shared a favorite song. She smiled as she remembered how they would sing it together while they were at the hospital. She quickly grabbed her phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Sydney? Is Minji with you?" Baekhyun's voice sounded frantic making Syndey become worried.

"No, why would she be?" Sydney asked as she got up off her bed.

"She's gone," Baekhyun whispered.

"What?" Sydney screeched into the speaker.

"There's a note. There's a note," the boy on the other end sounded panicked and on the verge of tears.

"Calm down Baek. What do you mean, what note? Tell me what it says," Sydney said in the most relaxing voice she could manage.

"I-It says: Taking Minji out for a little trip. Don't try to find her because trust me, you won't."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: I know. You're probably all wondering: "Wow, where the hell have you been?" Most of you probably don't even remember what's going on because it's been so long since you've read the last chapter. I know you're all sick of my excuses but I've been on vacation. I'm actually in Korea right now. I woke up at 5 AM to write this chapter and I'm finally finished, it's 10:30 AM right now. I hope you guys understand and don't hate me too much for not updating in so long. Please continue reading and I hope this long awaited chapter was somewhat interesting for you. At first I didn't plan for Sydney to have a crush on Baek or for Baek and Minji to become this close but I guess it kind of happens? Sometimes I feel like my characters sometimes have a mind of they're own. But hey, Minji's gone, what? It's about to get pretty angsty, yassss (Writing angst will be way more fun for me)! Anyways, I won't promise when I'm going to update but it will be before the end of August. Critcism/Feedback is always appreciated along with subscribers and upvotes!