Chapter Nine

(Seohyun’s POV)

That night, I dragged Taeyeon home with Baekhyun and me.

“Hey, kiddos!” Hyoyeon, Baekhyun’s elder sister, greeted us as she opened the door.

“Not needed at the hospital?” I asked her.

She was a nurse.

“Nope; so, I cooked dinner for you. I thought Chen would be coming so I cooked enough for a visitor. But I can see somebody else.” Hyoyeon winked at Taeyeon and glanced suspiciously at Baekhyun.

Baekhyun cleared his throat and looked away.

We spent the next hour eating, chatting, and laughing.

“By the way,” Hyoyeon suddenly changed the topic. “I haven’t seen Suho for a long time. Isn’t he hanging out with you anymore?”

The three of us looked at each other.

“Another gossip?” She raised one eyebrow at us.

“Not a gossip but the truth.” I said.

“What?” She asked again.

“Suho’s dating Yoo Heyi.” I answered.

“Yoo Heyi?!” Hyoyeon’s eyes widened. “Wasn’t that…”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun, Taeyeon, and I answered all together.

“Oh…” Hyoyeon eyed me meaningfully.

“Help me with these.” Hyoyeon told me as she gathered our plates on a tray.

“I’ll help.” Taeyeon stood up.

“No.” Baekhyun said, touching Taeyeon’s arm to stop her from standing. “Let them do it.”

Hyoyeon stared at Baekhyun’s hand resting on Taeyeon’s arm. Baekhyun quickly retrieved his hand from Taeyeon. Hyoyeon smirked at him before heading to the kitchen.

Picking the glasses we used, I pouted and rolled my eyes at Hyoyeon’s back. Baekhyun and Taeyeon laughed. Smiling, I stuck out my tongue at them and followed Hyoyeon.

As soon as I closed the kitchen door, Hyoyeon started talking.

“I could sense the bitterness in your voice when you said Suho’s dating Yoo Heyi.” She said.

Omo! She can’t be saying that…

“I’m not after Suho!” I defiantly told her.

Hyoyeon rolled her eyes at me.

“Did I say you’re after him? I know you like Luhan.” She said.

“Of course not!” I got suddenly defensive.

“You are TOO defensive.” She smirked.

“I’m not!”

Alright, maybe I was getting too defensive; but, I assured myself, it is because me liking Xi Luhan is far from happening.

“So, anyway,” Hyoyeon was saying. “I thought there’s something between Taeyeon and Suho?”

“Yes. She has a crush on him.”

“I was right, then!”

“Unnie, please don’t jump into conclusions again.”

“Taeyeon likes Suho.” She ignored me. “Suho courts this Yoo Heyi. I don’t think Heyi likes him, though. I have a feeling she’s just using Suho to make Baekhyun jealous. Does Heyi know Taeyeon’s feelings for Suho?”

“Uh-huh.” I nodded.

“Bingo! She knew that Taeyeon likes Suho. Luckily, Suho likes her and not Taeyeon. In that case, she could hurt Taeyeon. Why does she want to hurt Taeyeon? Because she has a feeling that Baekhyun likes Taeyeon. And so what if Baekhyun likes Taeyeon? It’s a big deal because Heyi still likes Baekhyun.”

I gaped at her.

“What do you think?” She beamed.

“Unnie, you could be a writer.”

“Haven’t you noticed Baekhyun…”

“I HAVE!” I cut her off. “I know Baekhyun likes Taeyeon and I’m happy about it.”

“You do know? Tell me more!” She urged me.

“During lunch today, there’s this university hottie named Kris Wu who handed flowers to Taeyeon. At first, we thought he was courting her; but later on, he said that it was his friend, Park Chanyeol, who wants to court Taeyeon.” I told her.

“So, Kris Wu was acting like a bridge between Taeyeon and Park Chanyeol?” Hyoyeon confirmed.

“You got it right. Kris even told us that he was helping Chanyeol because he wanted to get closer to ‘the girl he really likes’. Baekhyun assumed that the girl was me, maybe because Taeyeon and I are bestfriends. But, who knows who that girl really is? It could be Jessica.” I continued.

“Yeah, I don’t really care if it’s you or Jessica. Tell me something about Baekhyun and Taeyeon!” Hyoyeon grew impatient.

“I was going to that!” I told her, feeling a little annoyed. “Baekhyun told Kris: ’Hey, Kris Wu! I don’t like you for my cousin. If that’s your purpose in helping Chanyeol with Taeyeon, you better stop now. I’m not letting you near my cousin.’ It was so cool to see Baekhyun warning him to stay away from me; but, I don’t think Baekhyun did that for me.”

“Are you saying that Baekhyun said that because he doesn’t like the thought of some Park Chanyeol guy dating Taeyeon?” Hyoyeon asked me.

“Exactly!” I smiled at her.

“Yah!” Hyoyeon jokingly slapped my shoulder. “If ever that Kris Wu really likes you, ignore him. I’m voting for Xi Luhan.”

“Luhan?! Aish!” I made a gesture to slap her.

“Omo!” She cautiously raised her hands over her head.

I wasn’t really going to slap her.

“You’re just like your brother!” I frowned at her. “I want to make it clear to you that I don’t fancy Luhan.”

“You say so.” She shrugged, looking unconvinced.

“I’m serious.”

“You looked cute when you’re denying.” She teased.

“Aish! Jjinja…” I furiously ran my fingers through my hair.

(Taeyeon’s POV)

“That’s so cool!!!” Chen was thrilled.

“Your sister rocks, Baekhyun!” Lay was grinning from ear-to-ear.

“I did rock, too!” Seohyun said. “Hyoyeon-unnie planned the party with me.”

“Are we the only ones invited to come?” Luhan asked Baekhyun.

“Actually, no. Hyoyeon invited Suho, Kyungsoo, and Tao. They said they will be coming.” Baekhyun answered.

“It can’t be!” I blurted out before thinking.

“Kim Taeyeon! You’re evil!” Jessica made fun of me. “But I like it.”

“Come on, girls! Suho’s still our friend.” Chen told us.

“Are you siding him?” Jessica demanded from Chen.

“Uhm… no.” Chen shook his head.

“What Chen’s trying to say is that Hyoyeon-noona invited them. It’s her party!” Lay pointed out to Jessica.

“Whatever, dimples~” Jessica rolled her eyes at Lay.

The total number of the people who were present in the get together was eleven: Suho, Kyungsoo, Tao, Lay, Chen, Luhan, Jessica, and I, plus the owners of the house, Seohyun, Baekhyun, and Hyoyeon. I wasn’t able to enjoy dinner because Hyoyeon kept bugging Suho about his relationship with Heyi.

After dinner, Lay and Chen acted to be girls and talked about the people they hated in the university. Chen had the most number and all of them were girls. Luhan, Jessica, and Seohyun were laughing on the floor as the two boys role-played.

Hyoyeon was not yet finished with her interview. She asked Suho, along with Kyungsoo and Tao, about his dates with Heyi. Kyungsoo got bored after a while and joined Lay’s group, leaving Hyoyeon, Suho, and Tao still chatting about Heyi. I decided to help Baekhyun in the kitchen because, like him, I couldn’t spot an area where I could belong

“Talk to him.” Baekhyun broke the silence that engulfed us when we reached the kitchen.

“Talk to whom?” I asked, though I already knew what he was talking about.

“I don’t think Suho’s sincere with Heyi. It’s just an infatuation.” He told me.

“And you want me to confess my feelings to him?” I asked in surprise.

It might kill me if I confessed to him for the second time.

“I can see you’re hurting.” Baekhyun admitted. “You should, at least, let it all out.”

“Baekhyun, I…” I was about to protest when I heard the kitchen door opening.

As if on cue, Suho and Kyungsoo entered the kitchen, each of them holding a tray of dirty eating utensils.

“Ah! Kyungsoo-ya! I’d like to show you something before I forgot.” Baekhyun said, putting his arm over Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

“Eh?” Kyungsoo looked confused, his big eyes getting bigger.

With his free arm, Baekhyun took the tray from Kyungsoo and placed it on top of the table. He dragged Kyungsoo out of the kitchen, closing the door behind him.

Suho casually transferred the utensils on the sink. With shaking hands, I removed the washing gloves I was wearing and faced him.

“I have to tell you something.” I told Suho.

“What?” He asked.

“Remember the cookies I gave you?” I didn’t bother waiting for his answer before continuing. “They were no ordinary cookies. I sincerely made them for you.”

“Taeyeon, not this again.”

He was probably reminded of the first time I confessed my feelings to him during our high school graduation.

“You may reject me if you like. I’m not begging you to love me back. I’m just asking you to listen to me.” I said.

“I’m listening.”

I took deep breaths before continuing.

“Believe it or not, my feelings for you are not mere infatuation. I swear, I tried my best to forget you but I failed. Not even the gorgeous guys in school helped as a distraction. I think, I’m falling dangerously deep for you.”

There was a long silence. I could hear the others outside laughing at different reasons.

“I’ll tell you this, honestly.” Suho spoke after a while. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings by saying this; but, I’d fall for any girl except you. You’d understand if you knew my reason. But I can’t tell it to you. I know it’s unfair on your part. Taeyeon, please just forget me. I beg you.”

Tears fell from my eyes.

“Please, don’t cry. Let’s make it easy for each other. Just forget me.” He wiped my tear stained chheks.

I slapped his hands off my cheeks. I can see that he really didn’t mean to hurt my feelings but I was too angry to care.

I’d fall for any girl except you… I’d fall for any girl except you… His voice kept repeating in my head. I’d fall for any girl except you… I’d fall for any girl except you…

I ran out of the kitchen.

“Taeyeon!” I heard Suho following me.

I ignored him and ran out of the house.

As I was running, I felt a hand grab one of my elbows. Whoever he was, he turned me to him and hugged me. I didn’t see his face but I knew it was Baekhyun. He pulled my head to rest on his shoulders, my cheek against his neck.

“I’m sorry, Taeyeon.” Baekhyun whispered. “Was it a bad idea talking to him?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I hugged him by his waist. I needed someone to comfort me, and Baekhyun was exactly who I need.

It was a bad idea falling in love with Kim Suho in the first place. I thought as an answer to Baekhyun’s question.

(Seohyun’s POV)

The party didn’t end nicely. Baekhyun drove Taeyeon home. She was crying. Do not underestimate Seo Joohyun’s power. I sensed why Taeyeon cried.

KIM SUHO WILL PAY FOR THIS!!!

I was outside the house trying to calm myself when Lay and Luhan emerged from the house. Lay was patting Luhan’ shoulder, trying to calm him down.

Calmness is in demand… tsk tsk tsk… now, what’s wrong with these two?

I went over to them to see what was wrong.

“Chorong’s sleeping at Kris Wu’s place tonight.” Lay explained.

Kris Wu?! That jerk?! Wait… Didn’t I hear that Chorong likes Kris? Yikes! Something might happen. No wonder Luhan looks like a tomato in anger. But why is he overreacting? What does he care about that girl? She’s not even his girlfriend!

“I kept telling her not to drink with boys, especially Kris Wu.” Luhan was saying. “That guy’s a ert! Who knows what he’ll do to Chorong while she’s asleep…”

I don’t wanna hear this!!!

“Aarrrrggghhh!!!” I covered my ears. “SHUT UP!!!”

“What?” Luhan looked mad and confused at once. “What’s your problem?”

“You’re my problem!” I yelled at him.

“Uh… I’ll just check the rest inside.” Lay excused himself and went back inside.

“What did I do to you?” Luhan yelled back at me.

“You did nothing! And that’s the point! You’re so pathetic!”

“Excuse me?!” He was about to lose his temper.

He might have punched me if I were not a girl.

“Don’t you see that the reason why that Chorong-b*tch kept ignoring you was because you’re always there for her?” I pointed out.

“Who are you to call Chorong like that?!” He demanded.

I ignored his side comment and continued. “She finds it boring, you know. You must show her that she’s not the only girl in the universe and you’re not gonna wait for her forever! If you start dating people, she’ll come running to you in the end.”

He gaped at me for a moment. The next second, he was bending over with his hands on his tummy, laughing so hard that his face turned crimson red.

“What’s so funny?” I demanded.

He stopped laughing and studied my face for a while. I crossed my hands over my chest. He laughed again.

“Is this your way of asking me out on a date? You should have just asked nicely, rather than shouting at me and using my feelings for Chorong as an excuse…” He said in between laughter.

“You’re too assuming!” I cut him off. “I said you should date other girls, but I didn’t mean myself. Find somebody else.”

I turned to leave.

He blocked my way.

“Paboya, let’s pretend to date.” He proposed.

I shook my head and stuck out my tongue at him.

He kissed me on the cheek. “Thank you!”

And he was gone.

What happened? He k-kissed me! Was that real? He kissed me!