The blonde girl rolled around her bed, thrashing the covers as she clutched her phone

 

“Should I call him?” Taeyeon mumbled as she stared at the device “Or not?”

 

Once again, she rolled around and started kicking here and there showing her frustrations in the matter. She was having a mental battle with herself whether she would call the man whom she never wanted to call in the first place but she has to do her plan. She has to know

 

“Stop rolling around. You're making me dizzy” A hand grabbed Taeyeon’s shoulders halting her movements “Just go ahead and call him already, will you?”

 

Taeyeon glanced hesitantly at her phone, then at her tall friend who was now checking herself out on the mirror

 

Sooyoung saw the look and scoffed, “Why are you even hesitating? It’s not like you’ll ask him out on a date or something” she stared at her reflection “Ah, I’m so pretty. So pretty” she mumbled while nodding her head in agreement

 

Taeyeon heard and rolled her eyes at her friend’s narcissistic behavior and thought of why she told this tall being her dilemma. “You’re going out?”

 

“Yup. But not until 3 hours from now” Sooyoung sat on the bed beside Taeyeon’s and Taeyeon turned to face her “So make that call so that I can still help you on your date” she winked

 

“Shut up” Taeyeon shook her head “How many times do I have to tell you that it’s.not.a.date” she scoffed “Date? Pft. More like a trip to hell with Satan turned gay” she mumbled

 

“Give me your phone” Sooyoung stretched out her hand, asking for the phone and Taeyeon just casually handed it over not knowing the latter’s intentions until the tall girl suddenly pressed the device against Taeyeon’s ear and winked before taking her leave

 

“Damn that shikshin” Taeyeon muttered under her breath, not noticing that the other line had already picked up

 

“Hello?” A voice from the other line made Taeyeon freeze

 

“Oh no. I haven’t even rehearsed my script yet. Damn you Sooyoung” she panicked “Okay. Take a deep breath. Relax. Just say what you have to say. You mean no harm.”

 

“Hello?” She heard him say after hearing her silence “Who’s this?”

 

Clearing , Taeyeon took a deep breath and was about to answer when an idea struck her mind “Guess who” she answered, repeating what Baekhyun had said 3 weeks ago

 

“Eh? Stop playing with me” She heard Baekhyun sigh and guessed that the guy already knew who she was “What do you want?”

 

“Guess who I am first” she answered, lying back on her bed

 

“Geez. Are you really going to do this? I’m hanging up”

 

“Wait!” Taeyeon bolted up straight “If you’re hanging up you won’t have your blazer back” she threatened

 

“I have a lot of them. No worries”

 

“Baek!” Taeyeon whined, stomping her feet

 

“Fine. Why did you call?” Baekhyun asked

 

“Is there something wrong about wanting to hear your voice?” Taeyeon cheekily replied

 

“Okay that’s it. I’m hanging up”

 

“Hey hey hey hey wait! I was just messing with you, chill.” Taeyeon frantically said with incredible speed

 

“You’re good at rapping” Baekhyun remarked

 

“Shut up.” Taeyeon rolled her eyes and lay back down on her bed “So…” she started

 

“So?”

 

“Uh…” Taeyeon furrowed her brows and closed her eyes. She wasn’t ready for this yet “I… er…”

 

“What is it Kim Taeyeon?” Baekhyun impatiently asked

 

“Just…” Taeyeon sighed and rolled around “Wanna have lunch?”

 

“What?” Baekhyun asked, not because he didn’t hear but because he couldn’t believe what he was hearing

 

“I said, do you want to have lunch?” Taeyeon repeated “I-if you haven’t eaten lunch yet, that is” she stuttered

 

“With you?”

 

“Yes”

 

“Are you drunk?” was the only reply she got from the other line

 

“No.” She answered in a deadpan tone

 

“No?” She heard silence followed by laughter “Kim Taeyeon… Are you… By any chance, are you asking me out?” He laughed again

 

“Hm… Maybe?”

 

“Maybe? So you are?” Baekhyun asked, shocked by the serious response

 

“Mister, for your information I didn’t say a ‘yes’” Taeyeon said in-a-matter-of-factly

 

“But then you didn’t say a ‘no’ either” Baekhyun replied, clearly amused by the girl's behavior “Why the sudden invite? What’s the occasion? Are you sure you’re not drunk?”

 

“I don’t want to have lunch alone and the girls are going out” she lied and winced at the loud noise from the living room “There’s no occasion. Eating in the middle of the day re-energizes your body and can raise blood sugar levels when focus and concentration are running out.” She proudly recited a part of what she remembered in one of Seohyun’s nagging-about-health sessions

 

"Ooh where did all that come from?” Baekhyun asked, amusement oozing out the way he spoke “You must really be drunk then.”

 

“I am not!” Taeyeon denied “Geez. Just answer a yes or no to get this over and done with will ‘ya?”

 

“Hm…” Baekhyun hummed “I haven’t eaten lunch yet though…” he mumbled and Taeyeon’s ears pricked, anticipating his answer “Are you paying?” he suddenly asked

 

“Why would I?”

 

“Oh? Guess not. Okay then, nevermin—“

 

“Yes! I’m paying, I’m paying!” Taeyeon answered almost immediately

 

“Okay then. I’m in”

 

“Great!” Taeyeon cheered “I’ll text you the location. See you in 30 minutes! Bye!” she hung up before the latter could even respond

 

Taeyeon jumped off her bed and started digging for clothes in her closet before grabbing her towel and skipping towards the bathroom

 

==

 

Taeyeon adjusted her snapback as she entered the cafe a block away from their place and scanned the place for a black haired man that resembles a puppy

 

She grinned when she saw the person she was looking for seated on the corner with a frown on his face as he frequently checked his wristwatch and glanced outside the glass wall from time to time

 

With an extra spring on her steps, she skipped towards his seat, still wearing her grin. Baekhyun noticed the nearing figure and looked up, the frown on his face deepening

 

“You’re late” He said as soon as Taeyeon took a sit across

 

“Am I?” Taeyeon gestured for a waiter

 

Baekhyun glanced at his wristwatch then looked back up to Taeyeon who didn’t seem to pay attention “You’re 9 minutes and 30 seconds late to be exact”

 

“What?” Taeyeon finally turned to him and snorted

 

“You heard me Kim Taeyeon” Baekhyun leaned on his seat and crossed his arms over his chest still piercing Taeyeon with his glare

 

Taeyeon shrugged it off and the waiter finally arrived and took their orders “What will you have, Miss Beautiful?” he asked as he arrived, referring to Taeyeon

 

She was about to answer when Baekhyun suddenly sat straight and told the waiter his orders, effectively taking the man aback and making Taeyeon raise her brows

 

The waiter glanced at Taeyeon then at Baekhyun after jotting down his orders and smiled knowingly "How about you, ma’am?" he turned to Taeyeon"

 

"I'll have the same thing as him" Taeyeon said, still looking at Baekhyun with an amused look on her face

 

"Got it." he smiled again "Just to inform you, ma’am, sir, we're having discounts for couples nowadays. So your meals will cost 20% less"

 

"That's nice" Baekhyun smiled at the waiter, not even caring to deny that they're not

 

"What was that all about?" Taeyeon asked after the waiter finished reciting their orders and excused himself

 

"What" Baekhyun raised a brow

 

"Why did you answer when he was talking to me?" Taeyeon asked with a smile, amused by his behavior

 

"He was talking to you?" Baekhyun snorted "He said, 'Miss Beautiful'. He was clearly referring to me."

 

"Oh?" Taeyeon stifled a laugh "He was referring to you?"

 

"Yes he was" Baekhyun answered with all seriousness

 

"I see." Taeyeon chuckled "Does that make me Mr. Handsome then?"

 

"I don't know. You tell me" Baekhyun shrugged

 

"Okay then" Taeyeon propped an elbow on the table "I'm Mr. Handsome. Whether you like it or not" she proclaimed with a smirk before exploding into fits of laughter and Baekhyun watched her with a smile on his face, finding the laugh contagious

 

"Hey, one more thing" She said after calming down

 

"Hm?" Baekhyun raised his brows, still smiling

 

"Why didn't you tell him that we're not a couple?"

 

"Because we could get a discount" He said as the smile on his face faded and he looked away, outside the glass wall and observed the passersby

 

"Oh?" Taeyeon bit her tongue when she sounded a little too disappointed, the tone making Baekhyun look at her "But that actually felt..." she trailed off and mentally scolded herself

 

"What the heck is wrong with you? Why do you suddenly sound so disappointed? You're not disappointed are you?" Taeyeon scoffed at the thought "Why would I be? And what Kim Taeyeon? It felt good to be mistaken as a couple? Gosh he must've been right. Maybe you are drunk."

 

"Felt?" Baekhyun urged her to continue, shifting on his seat as he turned his attention to the blonde girl in front of him "Felt like what, Taeyeon?" he asked, softly this time

 

"Um..." Taeyeon cleared and fanned herself with her hand "The weather's getting hot nowadays, don't you think?" she stated, clearly changing the topic with an awkward smile she almost looked like she was grimacing

 

Sighing, Baekhyun leaned on his seat and glanced back to the sky "Mmhmm. It’s still bearable though. Imagine the heat when summer comes"

 

"Yeah" Taeyeon sighed as she stared at Baekhyun's face, noticing the melancholic expression "What's wrong?" she asked before she could even stop herself

 

"Hm?" Baekhyun turned to meet her gaze "Oh. Nothing" he said with a small smile

 

Soon after, their orders finally arrived and they started to eat in silence

 

"That was good" Baekhyun leaned back and patted his full stomach "Nice place."

 

"I know right?" Taeyeon said with a smile as she stifled a burp "Do you have any plans after this?" She suddenly asked as she sipped her smoothie

 

"Yeah." Baekhyun nodded "My brother's visiting. Can't miss that, of course" Taeyeon could hear the sarcasm in his voice as he mentioned his brother but chose to ignore

 

"Oh" Taeyeon muttered in a somewhat disappointed tone for the second time that day "You have a brother?"

 

"Unfortunately, yes" Baekhyun scoffed and Taeyeon could sense that he was not in good terms with his brother

 

"Unfortunately?"

 

"We don't get along well" Baekhyun answered with a scowl and waved the topic away

 

"I see" Taeyeon decided not to pry "We should get going then." she called a waiter over to bring the bill

 

"Thanks for lunch" Baekhyun said after Taeyeon paid for their meal