CHAPTER 50

[Sol Han Na’s POV]

I scrunched my face up in frustration.

Of all things, why does he have to hear… that?

I took a deep breath and willed myself to look at him.

“N-Nothing, Baek,” I answered, my voice sounding uneven.

Baekhyun placed our orders on the table and sat opposite me.

“I don’t think so, Hanna. I clearly heard what Taeyong said,” he slowly spoke, as he wiped a spoon and fork with tissue and handed it to me. “Or rather… what he whispered to you.”

The deadly emphasis on the word whispered made me cringe.

“I… uhh…” I broke off, not knowing how to explain. Technically, I said yes to whatever Taeyong said. But I wasn’t paying attention! Though I doubt Baekhyun would believe any of that.

“The truth, Hanna,” he ordered as he leaned towards me, propping his elbows on the table.

I gulped.

“P-Promise you’ll understand… Promise me. Okay?” I asked quite hesitantly.

He answered almost without a thought, “I’ll only be understanding if there’s anything to understand, Hanna. But if there’s none… I’m afraid I cannot.”

My mouth dropped open.

I closed my eyes, shaking my head in frustration.

How could Baekhyun be so complicated?

Moments passed but I remained quiet. Baekhyun began drumming his fingers on the table, the sound of which resonates in my heart, accelerating my heartbeat.

I breathed out gush of air and straightened my posture, finally facing him.

“Me,” I blurted.

“Huh?” he said, raising an eyebrow.

I cleared my throat and tipped my chin up.

“I’m going to a date with him,” I announced.

Baekhyun laughed at this.

Regaining his composure, he spoke in between laughs, “I told you to tell me the truth, Hanna. Not some kind of a joke.”

I suddenly felt offended.

“You think I’m joking?” I asked a bit annoyed. Why? Is it too impossible for someone like me to go on a date?

“Not really. I mean, I trust you. I know you wouldn’t do something like that, knowing how much it could hurt me,” he explained while chuckling a bit.

Every ounce of annoyance inside me was suddenly replaced by a tremendous guilt.

He really trusts me that much?

“I… Uhh… Baek… Actually…” I went on, seriously struggling for words. “I really wasn’t joking.”

This made him freeze.

Mouth opened slightly, he looked at me directly in the eyes.

“You’re kidding,” he blurted, his voice low.

I gulped and slowly shook my head at him.

Baekhyun suddenly stood up from his seat, making a loud scraping noise that sent everybody in the cafeteria looking at us.

I stared at him wide-eyed, trying to warn him off about the number of audiences.

He remained unfazed.

“I’m going to talk to that guy and tell him your date’s canceled,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “I’ll tell him it’s never going to happen.”

I gaped at him.

“But Baek---“

“What are you thinking, Hanna?” he demanded, cutting me off. Thankfully, his voice didn’t rise higher but still more and more people are turning their attention towards us.

“I… I didn’t mean to…” I broke off.

“You didn’t mean to what? To date with him? I can’t believe you said yes to that guy, Hanna. What about me?” he went on, his last sentence making me flinch.

Why is he making it look like I don’t think of him when he’s the primary reason I said yes to Taeyong, anyway?

“Don’t speak to me that way, Baekhyun,” I warned, my voice turning low. “Don’t tell me I never think of you.”

“Well, isn’t that what happened, Hanna? Would you say yes to him if you really think about how I would feel?” he demanded, his voice turning a bit higher now.

I took a deep breath and bit the walls of my mouth. I need to remain calm or people would really think there’s a fuss happening between the two of us.

“You are the reason why it ended up like that, Baekhyun. I wasn’t paying attention to what Taeyong was saying,” I began to explain, eyeing him with much intensity I got. “My whole attention was on you. That was the reason I absentmindedly said yes to him. I didn’t even know what he was saying until he started rejoicing. I didn’t mean it.”

Just when I thought Baekhyun would begin to understand, he scoffed and looked away.

“Now you’re putting the blame on me?” he whispered in the air, his tone utterly disbelieving.

“I’m just saying the truth,” I answered, slowly reaching my limit.

“So you’re telling me he asked you on a date and you said yes and didn’t mean it because you’re attention is actually on me?” he said sarcastically.

I bit my lip to control my anger.

“Why don’t you sit down, Baek, so we could talk through this properly?” I glowered. He only stared at me, his face still contorted in what seems like both disbelief and plain disgust. “Sit down,” I repeated, more forcefully this time.

He obeyed.

People began to withdraw their attention from us the moment Baekhyun sat down.

I breathed out a sigh of relief.

“I’m telling the truth, Baekhyun,” I began again. “Taeyong came and challenged me about this afternoon’s show, saying I’ll get my first win. I was watching you the whole time, thinking about how you’d feel once you see me with him that I didn’t even notice how our conversation escalated into something like going on a date. Up until now I don’t even understand what had happened. It seems to me that he’ll be taking me on a date when I have my first win later.”

He seems to contemplate this.

“Is that true, Hanna?” he asked, sounding more convinced this time.

I rolled my eyes at him.

“Of course! Seriously, Baekhyun, would you really believe that I’d say yes on a date with him? What does that make me?” I demanded, my eyebrows raised.

He closed his eyes and slumped back into his seat.

“You’re not going on a date with him, Hanna,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Of course, I won’t,” I said as a matter of factly.

He opened his eyes and leaned closer to me, eyeing me intently, he spoke, “You can’t go on a date with him. I’d die, Hanna. I can’t even court you or even ask you on a proper date. Seeing you with him… Knowing he could easily do that with you without having to hurt other people… it would break me.”

I stared at him.

Now