I think I finally understood one thing about Baekhyun's popularity.

He had that strange gift to make everyone think about him and his unreasonable actions despite their willingness to stay away from him. You could be honestly uninterested with that guy and, what was even more amusing, he wouldn't care less about your opinion or wouldn't even try to come closer to you. But then his one move or one word said at the right time would make you snap out of the ignorance and sink deep into the sudden need to find out more about him.

Everything he did was like a small manifesto done on purpose, a silent encouragement to look in his direction as if he was literally waving at you, saying 'hey, it's me! Do you want to get to know me?'. But of course Baekhyun wasn't going to actually let you get close to him, leaving you drowning in the pitiful ocean of unanswered questions if you dared to cross the line.

That was exactly my case. In all honesty I didn't care about Baekhyun and his affairs. Or at least that's what I tried to hammer into my head while lying down on my bed this Saturday morning. But the thoughts about Baekhyun always came back, piercing my mind with unnecessary questions and doubts. It was unhealthy, if you asked me.

And maybe that's why I decided to never appear at the meeting destination that Baekhyun had informed me about yesterday. I still had more than ten hours to get ready and go to the park but I knew I wasn't going to change my mind. Staying away from Baekhyun was something worth trying to keep myself out of trouble.

Kicking off the blanket, I got up from my bed and walked to the kitchen to prepare myself some breakfast. There were still unwashed pots and glasses on the stove and kitchen counter, waiting for me to wash them since Sooyoung's stay. I put them in the sink, saving for later.

When I opened my fridge, a doorbell rang, making me jump slightly at the sudden noise shooting through my apartment. Grabbing the bottle with cold water, I closed the fridge and headed to the corridor, taking a sip of my drink and wondering who could it be that early in the morning.

"Honey!" My mother threw herself at me the moment I opened the door, strangling me in a parental hug. "My lovely daughter! How are you, sweetheart?"

 "What are you doing here?" I managed to ask, untangling myself from her arms. I looked over her shoulder to look for my father but there was no one behind her. "Did you come alone?"

"I did," She admitted, taking off her shoes and handing me a bag full of containers with food. "Here, put it inside the fridge before it goes bad."

I spun around when she brushed past me and waltzed into my living room, "Where's dad?"

"He had some business to do," She shouted from the room before I heard her gasping at whatever she saw. "God, what a mess."

Oh great, of course she had to visit me at that one time when I hadn't bothered to clean up. I could already sense the one-hour-long lecture about keeping your place of living clean and neat due to any healthy reason possible. I sighed in resignation, wanting to join her and possibly explain the mess in the kitchen when the doorbell rang for the second time.

My father for sure, I smiled to myself. There wasn't any way he would've missed a chance to see his one and only daughter.

I pulled the door open, smiling widely but the man standing before me didn't look a bit like my parent. I blinked in confusion, "Baekhyun?"

His eyes darted to my face the moment I spoke and I felt even more confused seeing the panic in them. He was panting slightly, probably running all the way here, his left hand placed on one side of his waist as he struggled to breathe. "Hi," he finally managed to utter, smiling faintly at me but my mind didn't get fooled with the slight grin he'd sent me.

"Are you okay?" I asked, eyeing the wet ends of his hair sticking to his face and he just waved his hand at me.

"Yeah, I'm just looking for my brother. Is he--"

"Who is it?" My mother's voice startled me a little and Baekhyun's gaze drifted to the woman standing now behind me. I could see him straightening up immediately and a quick painful look twisted his features the moment he did so. Was he really that unathletic?

"Good morning," Baekhyun offered a greeting, bowing slightly and my mother shoved me with her elbow in excitement, saying something I wish she could've saved to herself.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Baekhyun's head turned to me so fast, I was sure it would fall off. I could see how shocked he was by her bluntly asked question and a feeling of shame hit me straight in the face as I realized how ridiculous for him it must've sounded. Baekhyun and I? A couple? That had to be a joke.

"Mom," I whined in disapproval, sensing her intentions. "He's just a friend of mine. We have English literature together."

She ignored me completely, boring her eyes into the handsome man before her. I should've expected her greed of having a potential son-in-low kill any rational thought in her head the moment she smelled a chance. She always complained about me being single my whole life when all her friends were boasting about their daughter's boyfriends. Baekhyun was like a winning lottery ticket she was going to lose control over.

"Do you want to drink something?" She pushed past me, almost tossing me to the side with her hand. "It's hot today, isn't it?"

Baekhyun glanced at me in confusion when my mother grabbed his hand, pulling him inside and I barely held myself from facepalming. What the hell was that woman doing now?

"Mom, Baekhyun's quite busy now," I explained in a firm voice, trying to stop her when she instructed him to take his shoes off. It was an awkward situation but I would've lied saying it wasn't funny seeing how Baekhyun obediently listened to my mother's every word, nodding with his wide-open eyes as if his life depended on it.

It was cute how he didn't protest when the orders were said by a parent. I could leave him struggling a little bit more but the poor guy was looking for Baekbeom and, judging from the look in his eyes, it was something serious.

I grabbed my mother's hand, stopping her from dragging Baekhyun to my living room. "Mom, Baekhyun is looking for his younger brother. I don't think he has time to chat with you."

She looked at me in surprise before her gaze drifted back to Baekhyun smiling sheepishly at her. I could see a glimmer of disappointment in her eyes before she sighed in resignation. "I guess it can't be helped then."

"Call me if he comes here, okay?" Baekhyun asked and I nodded, opening the door for him. He quickly bowed to my mother before going out and when I closed the door behind him, my mom sent me one of her wide grins.

"I think I'll have two coffees instead of one," she informed me, tittering like a teenage girl and I rolled my eyes in an