Chapter 14: A Little Explaining

He bit back another retort for the third time. It’s a beautiful day and the restaurant isn’t fully-packed with people so less recognition from the public. Not that they’re cautious about it, they trust this place to keep them private. He should be admiring everything around him, if only his girlfriend would stop adding fuel to the jealousy that’s burning inside him.

They’ve been sitting here for almost thirty minutes and all Baekhyun could hear from Taeyeon was the fun night she had with s. Apparently, she’s been hanging out with them for the past two months now and it didn’t take long for them to get comfortable around each other. It didn’t bother him at first but a few weeks later, she kept talking about it and he can’t deny that he’s a bit jealous because when they finally get time to be together, the guys are now added to the picture. He liked the fact that she’s not awkward around them but he had to admit that he miss their “alone time”. In fact, there were times that she had to say no to him because she made plans with them. That hurt, he won’t deny.

“…and Suho said that if—“ Taeyeon said in a chirpy voice but Baekhyun’s sigh cut her off. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m sorry. I know you’re excited about what you guys did but…can we not talk about them when we’re together? That’s all you’ve been talking about since we got here.” His voice was calm but a little bit hard. He instantly regretted it when he saw her shoulders slump forward. But he can’t help it, sometimes there’s just so much someone could take.

“Sorry.” She muttered and looked down. He did feel bad. Baekhyun was about to explain that he didn’t mean it in a bad way but their order arrived before he could say the words. What he hoped for a happy lunch turned into an awkward silence with only the silverware hitting the plates and chattering of other people can be heard. A few minutes later, he glanced at Taeyeon and noticed that she barely touched her food.

“Taeyeon, look…I’m—“

“Sorry if I annoyed you by talking about them. I just got excited to share the story with you.” Taeyeon said without looking at him. Her eyes were trained on the remaining food on her plate, looking as if she lost the appetite to take them.

“It wasn’t just today.” Oh what the hell. He’d be honest with her about this. Hiding the fact of her spending a lot of time with them is bothering him. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with them and it’s honestly…starting to unsettle me. I just want some time with you, you know. I mean, I’m not unhappy that you’re with them it’s just that…” So this was actually harder than he’d thought. He doesn’t want her to think he’s one clingy boyfriend who gets jealous at the thought of his girlfriend and members together. But then, he is jealous. “I miss the times when it was just us.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and waited for him to say more. His quietness told her that he doesn’t have anything to add. “Are you…” Baekhyun could imagine the wheels turning in Taeyeon’s head as they process what he said. “Are you implying that I shouldn’t see or talk to them anymore? You know you can’t tell me what to do, right?” Taeyeon’s sad expression a while go got replaced with a scowl.

“I’m not saying you should. What I meant is that you’re spending more time with them than with me and you can’t seem to stop talking about them like…” He pursed his lips to keep him from talking more.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re happier with them…” Than with me. He definitely sounds bitter at this point but he’s laying out what he really feels regarding the situation. He looked away and stared at the glass window four tables away from them. He’d rather stare at the passersby from outside than to see her.

“What are you talking about?! How could you say that?!” She exclaimed in a harsh whisper, careful not to attract attention. They don’t want another headline with a bad light reflecting on them that would affect not just them but also their groups and the company. Taeyeon let out a heavy breath. “You know what? Let’s talk about this in the car. We don’t want an audience.” He nodded as they both stood up. “Then you’re going to tell me what this is all about and what brought that thought up.”

There was hurt laced in her voice. They hurried to the parking lot and got into the car. Baekhyun got behind the wheel and they drove off wherever the road takes them. “Okay, what was that back there? What do you mean I look happier when I’m with them? What brought this up?” Taeyeon started.

“Slow down with the questions.”

Taeyeon glared at him and he huffed. “It’s obvious you’re happy with them. I can see that in your face. I don’t blame you because it makes me happy that you all get along so well.” Baekhyun turned to the right where the road’s less crowded with cars. “It’s just that these past few days, we’ve been spending less and less time together and sometimes you spend it more