#and the makeup store employee was very sweet to him about a boy buying makeup and it made will almost cry btw | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jaehotbuns · 4 years

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do you love me

rating: pg

word count: 4864

characters: you x renjun

genre: waiter!renjun, pure fluff (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡

song recommendation: do you love me - stephanie poetri

summary: you pick petals off of a flower to try and figure out if the cute waiter at the sushi restaurant next door feels the same way that you feel about him. you stop when he comes to see you on break at the boba shop, answering the question for you.

“What is that?” Your coworker Taeil asked while washing the dishes that piled up from the afternoon rush that you two just cleared. What better refresher was there than a sugary cup of iced bubble tea on a hot midsummer day? He was referring to the daisy in your hand. It had a large green stem until you cut it close to the bud so that you could sit and pick off its petals.

“Trying to answer a question,” you said, plucking off another spongy white petal and letting it dramatically fall down onto the glass table that was in front of the tea bar. Every petal that you picked, you would say in your head like a middle schooler, “he loves me… He loves me not.”

Taeil laughed as he continued to thoroughly wash the measuring cups and drink shakers like the responsible employee that he was. His eyes occasionally looked up from rinsing the dish bubbles off the utensils to see you sigh every now and then as the number of petals decreased. “Are you trying to figure out if Renjun likes you?”

Your head shot up from your lethargy and mopping, which was half attributed to your mind being dominated with thoughts of the waiter that worked at the sushi bar next to your bubble tea shop and half because you kept messing up drinks during the rush because you could only think about him. Your neck twisted in the direction of Taeil, and you scowled at the smug expression on his face. You knew that expression all too well, it screamed “see, I know I’m right.” To rub it in your face he actually said it although your lack of response already gave him the answer, “I know you too well huh?”

You dropped the flower onto the table and collapsed dramatically against the bright orange sofa that you were sitting on. “There’s approximately 30 to 54 petals on a daisy but I didn’t bother counting the one that I picked,” you sighed. “Do you think there’s a chance that he likes me?”

Without looking at him as your head was rested on the top of the sofa and you were staring straight at the hanging lights which was intended to resemble tapioca pearls but actually ended up looking like fish eggs since they were orange to match the store’s signature colour, you knew he was finished washing the dishes when you heard the squeak of the faucet turning. You could already tell he was drying his hands to walk over from behind the bar to sit next to you.

The store was empty after the rush, leaving only you and Taeil. The bright orange and teal decor, bright lights, and repetitive top 100 pop hits were a deterrent to most customers which made your workplace a takeout shop essentially so you didn’t understand why Huang Renjun always stayed here for an hour with only his phone and a jasmine green tea, 50% sugar, and grass jelly. He recently started to order the roasted hojicha blended iced latte because you recommended it but that’s besides the point, why would he come to this dump?

“Of course he likes you,” Taeil said in a reassuring voice as he plopped down on the sofa next to you. He groaned as his leg got caught in the hanging wire decoration that kids always liked to play in and tangle that you’d always have to ask them nicely not to because their parents didn’t bother. “I wouldn’t even drink the tea here, so why would he?”

“Bad taste buds?” You replied to his rhetorical question which was met by him rolling his eyes.

“No,” Taeil said while pointing his index finger at you once you sat up from your odd position to match his posture. “He usually comes in when you’re working anyways,” he stretched his back and his limbs until he looked like a starfish. “I don’t really see him whenever you’re not around.”

You leaned onto the glass table in front of you two to begin questioning Taeil to clear your doubts. “But I’m the newest employee and he was already a regular before I started here.” He must’ve come for the tea and he was already well-liked by the other employees at the boba shop for being bubbly and polite, and ridiculously cute.

Taeil placed his hands onto the back of his head and curled his back into the fold of the two sofa cushions. “Yeah but he always came in like once a week and would drink while scrolling through his phone,” he nodded and was satisfied with his reasoning. “Now he orders some for his coworkers because he wants another reason to talk to you, cash girl.”

You were still not convinced, but little did you know that Taeil was right.

Another petal was plucked from the daisy as you started the ritual again while reminiscing the first time you met him. “He loves me…”

To commemorate a new employee aboard the “boba crew” your manager called it, which made you cringe although you kept it to yourself because you wanted to keep your job, the owners decided to treat all of the employees to a nice company dinner. And by a nice company dinner they meant eating with the owner, manager, and eight old employees at the next door cheap all you can eat sushi place. You’ve been there before and it was good sushi, but they were definitely making it more grandiose than it actually was.

They said to meet in front of the shop at 5pm, which was too early for dinner but the 5-6 window was cheaper than 6pm onwards because that was usually when people came for dinner. As you were the first person there despite being the purpose of the dinner, they asked you through the group chat to get a nice table by the window even though 5pm was when they opened for dinner and no customer was there yet.

You already knew how bad, unprofessional, and disorganized the management was but you sucked it up because your friend Jeno referred you after he quit to go abroad and you were already mutual friends with some of the staff. So you sucked it up and decided to get a table and sit in the empty sushi restaurant until the other employees came.

As soon as you opened the door to the familiar Japanese restaurant with green and blue decor, you were greeted with shouting from a young boy that was hurriedly setting out dishes on freshly wiped wooden tables. “Chenle, you were supposed to be here ten minutes ago. How long does it take to buy us two chocolate croissants!” He must’ve been anticipating another employee as he was shouting at you with his back turned.

Of course Renjun didn’t expect you to be there, looking pretty with a plain black turtleneck, a light beige houndstooth print blazer, black jeans, and simple accessories and light makeup. No one ever came right at the opening and the restaurant’s seats only started to fill up at the 5:30 minute mark.

Having worked there ever since he was 15 as it was his family’s business, Renjun knew when the French bakery across the street started putting their pastries on sale so they didn’t waste it before closing. So he sent Chenle to fetch their favourite, chocolate nutella croissants, before they opened so they could enjoy it on their break. He usually ate sushi at the back of the kitchen while watching whatever Chinese soap opera Chenle played but he’d occasionally grab a drink at the bubble tea shop next door for a lighter meal.

You tried to suppress your laughter and stood there awkwardly as he still didn’t turn around to acknowledge you, “sorry are you not open yet?”

Renjun froze midway from placing the last pair of chopsticks on the table he had to set as he heard your sweet voice. He didn’t know how he could face a customer after yelling at them for taking too long to buy chocolate croissants. When he turned around, face and ears flushed red with embarrassment, he was saved by Chenle who came in with a white paper bag which was overflowing with French pastries. “Oh welcome, why don’t you have a seat. Wherever’s fine,” Chenle said after setting down the pastries on a nearby table and giving you a set of menus after you told him your reservation.

Although Renjun was cursing at Chenle in his head for being late and making him yell at you, he was also thanking him because he would’ve been a bumbling mess when he saw the pretty customer smiling at his dumb mistake. Once Chenle went to the back to put away the snacks and you were scanning the menu, Renjun rushed to the back and slapped Chenle’s shoulder which caused the poor boy to jump. “Hey! What was that for?” Chenle pouted while rubbing the spot where Renjun smacked him. “I got us some macarons too because the lady said they didn’t sell much today,” he grinned.

On a normal day Renjun would be high-fiving him and saying, “nice!” But today, he was horrified and too shy to talk to you although he really wanted to serve you. He could’ve let Chenle serve your table but he was curious about you. “I just yelled at her because I thought she was you!”

As Chenle tied a knot behind his back to secure his apron he tilted his head to the side, “what did you say to her?”

Renjun paraphrased quickly as too many thoughts were rushing through his head, “something like ‘why are you taking so long with my chocolate croissants Chenle?!” He was gesticulating wildly.

Unbeknownst to you as you texted your coworkers on how long they were going to take to arrive, you heard the sharp noise of high pitched laughter behind the curtain that separated the sushi bar and serving area. You suppress a laugh with your hand as Chenle’s laugh was contagious and very loud.

Knowing how loud and identifiable Chenle’s laugh was, Renjun placed his index finger on his lips and shushed him aggressively. “You want me to take care of her table then?” Chenle asked, as both of them were now ready to serve as the sushi chefs and hostess began to take their positions.

“No!” Renjun whisper-shouted.

Chenle giggled and elbowed Renjun’s side to further make fun of him, “why? Is it because she’s pretty?” Renjun’s face scrunched up, refusing to admit it and not wanting to deny it either because he knew Chenle was tease back saying, “oh so you’re saying she’s not pretty,” if he did.

“I’m taking her drink order,” Renjun huffed as he grabbed a pen and a notepad from a nearby desk and stomped out from behind the curtain. When he walked out into the dining area, satisfaction spread as he saw who you were sitting with. Everyone at the boba shop had arrived and was also looking at the menu, deciding how much sushi they wanted to order just in case they ordered too much and had to hide it in their bags to avoid paying the leftovers fee. If you were a worker, he could see you often and you weren’t just another customer who comes and goes.

Taking a deep breath to prepare him mentally to not mess up and stammer in front of you, he walked over to the only table that was full in the restaurant and held his pen and paper in position. “Hello, my name is Renjun and I’ll be your server today. Can I get you started with some drinks?” His breath caught in his throat when your eyes looked directly into his and smiled. He averted his eyes, pretending to listen to Taeil order drinks and writing down what he wanted to avoid your gaze.

Everyone was ordering cocktails until your manager suggested that they get you a bottle of sake to share as a new employee. Really they were just being nice to reel you in considering how many bad employee reviews there were and how many people quit on them. “Sure,” you nodded and Renjun instantly took it down. When the manager said your name he smiled, another thing I know about her he thought.

Once Renjun went to the back to prepare the drinks, you smiled to yourself as your other employees were talking about how to increase their bad sales compared to the bubble tea chain directly across the street. You liked the way he held his head down and silently moved his lips to himself as he walked to the back, the way he looked up in surprise and froze when he first looked at you, and when his adam’s apple moved slightly when you made eye contact with him.

When all of the employees finished eating their fill to the point of popping the buttons and zippers on their pants because they wanted to take advantage of the all you can eat system and stuff themselves with sashimi, you called Renjun over to get the bill. The manager drunkenly took it out of Renjun’s hands and handed it to the owner to pay. You looked around all of your coworkers and realized they drank more than you did although it was to welcome the new employee. They all had at least 3 shots of sake and 3 cocktails while you had a shot and one very fruity and light cocktail.

Renjun came over one last time to give back the customer’s receipt and little complementary guava candies before waiting to apologize to you. While the other employees stumbled out of the restaurant, which Renjun tried to ignore although he found it odd that they were already shit-faced at barely 7pm, you were the last one to get out of your seat to leave.

“Hey,” he said softly which caused you to turn around before you could make it out. “I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier, I thought you were someone else,” he apologized while scratching the back of his neck with one hand and another fiddling with the apron’s knot at his back.

You shook your head gently and waved both of your hands in front of you to reassure him, “no it’s okay.” Before you left you jokingly told him one last thing, “if you still feel bad about it how about a chocolate croissant? I work next door at Bobabee.”

Renjun was overjoyed because now he has an excuse to come and see you without being creepy. He also liked the fact that you were unaware that he was already a regular. Throughout his shift that night, he was excited for your blooming relationship.

“He loves me not,” you sighed again for who knows how many times before plucking off another couple of petals. There was only a quarter of petals left now that Taeil was back behind the bar and making drinks as it was time for your break and you were to cover him after your 30 minutes was up. You hoped that the customers weren’t weirded out by an employee ruining a perfectly beautiful white daisy but if their poor quality and cheap drinks didn’t deter them then nothing would.

In your heart, you had a feeling that Renjun liked you. Taeil did list the reasons that you also thought to yourself that he liked you; he always came in on your shifts, he talked to you the most even if it was simple small talk and getting to know each other, and whenever you came to eat at the sushi place he served your table. But for all that you knew he could’ve been looking for a platonic friend around his age.

Much to your surprise, there he was. When you looked up you saw Renjun still in his employee uniform, a black shirt with a blue short-sleeved kimono on top, black sweats, but missing his apron. He looked hesitant to join the line that was forming once he saw Taeil taking orders and making drinks but his face lit up when he saw you scrambling to shove something into your jean pocket. He walked over to you while you tried to be nonchalant despite thinking about him throughout the duration of your break.

“Hey!” He smiled brightly as he took a seat on the sofa next to you. “On break?” He asked, jutting his head towards Taeil who was calming checking out each customer.

“Yeah,” you said, still flustered at his unprecedented visit. “You are too?” You glanced at your phone’s time and saw that it was 4:45pm and silently cursed at yourself because the restaurant was closed to prepare for dinner service so he didn’t even go on shift yet.

Renjun shook his head, “just thought I should grab a drink before work.” He never did that, you thought. He always came on his break or to bring a drink home after work but you shook it off. In actuality, he wanted to ask you out before work on a date so that during his shift he would be too busy to be excited about your acceptance or sad from your rejection.

You placed your hand on your cheek and used your elbow to support your head as it pressed against the smooth glass surface of the table. “I could go for some sushi right now,” you sighed as you had to close by yourself tonight as another coworker called in sick.

“Why don’t you go after your shift?” Renjun asked. You told him that you would only go to the restaurant occasionally whenever you were finished shopping with your friends or family since it was located downtown but once you two were more acquainted with each other, you both went to your workplaces more often. Your more frequent visits gave him hope that you also had feelings for him. “I sneak you some free tempura, I know that’s your favourite,” he nudged you lightly to try and convince you to come.

You pouted at how you had to reject such a cute proposal from Renjun and on top of that free food too, “I have to close by myself tonight.” Your bubble tea shop closed at 11, which was way too late in your opinion because who in their right mind wants boba at 11, and his sushi shop closed at the same time. Both of you would also have to spend at least 30 minutes washing dishes and cleaning the tables and floors.

Renjun’s shoulders sank slightly. You were his favourite customer because you always came with your friends and both of your exchanges were always overly polite like too many thank you’s and no problem’s and when he turned around your friends would tease you about it. He also liked the ego boost when your friends would try and whisper their acknowledgement of your taste in men by saying, “oh you’re right he is cute.” But his favourite comment that he heard from your table was, “hey you’d make a good couple.”

He still remembers the first time you came to the restaurant with your friends.

“There’s a cute regular that works here,” you told your friends before entering the door and waiting for the hostess to finish with the guests in front of you.

“Is that why you wanted to go here?” Sooyoung asked while smiling up to her cheeks and elbowing the side of your arm as she was excited to see her friend’s love life bloom after being dead for who knows how long.

There were at least 3 all you can eat sushi restaurants that you could think of that were suggested in your group chat of where to go before you went shopping but you turned those done with excuses like, “let’s go to the cheapest.” Your friends all agreed with no idea of your intentions to see Renjun until you told them at the door. For all you knew he could’ve come in for the night shift or was taking a break today.

When you were seated by the hostess, you all sat down with you closest to the inside of the booth. The first waiter that took your drink order was aloof and walked quickly away to get your waters. “Is that him?” Yeji asked after he left.

You shook your head after he came back and set the clear cups of water onto your table. When it came time to order the food, there he was. Huang Renjun with his typical posture when taking orders, pen already in one hand pressed to the notepad in the other. When he looked up to see who was talking his face instantly brightened up at seeing your appearance.

You were dressed more casual compared to the dinner and you obviously looked more like yourself out of your uniform, although the black t-shirt with the mascot patch on your arm also made you look cute. “Oh, it’s you,” he smiled and gave a little wave before continuing to take your friend’s orders.

He turned around to send the ticket to the sushi bar while trying to suppress the large smile on his face. “Ohhh, she’s got herself a cute,” your friends teased as you leaned against the booth embarrassed yet happy that he acknowledged you. “He’s not bad,” Yuna laughed, all of you were excited to watch the cute waiter bring out your food with a unchanging smile on his face.

“Thank you,” you were the only one to say it whenever he came around to serve your food.

“No problem,” he’d reply back, look into your eyes, and then return to the back.

“Oh you too are flirting!” Yeji exclaimed while squeezing her hands into fists at how cute she found the two of you.

“We’re just being polite!” You tried to defend yourself although it was heart fluttering that he only replied to you.

To your disappointment, another waiter brought out the bill when you all finished eating. When you all finished paying and were about to head on with your day, he made sure to catch you before you left as he was checking himself out in the washroom’s mirror to make sure he didn’t look bad from running around the restaurant all morning. He barely caught you out the door but luckily you were sitting inside the booth and had to drag your bag out of the corner. “Are you working today?” He asked which made you turn around like the first time you met.

“No, I have a day off,” you smiled at how he made sure to say one last thing to you before you left. He was disappointed, that meant he couldn’t see you on your break.

“Oh, have fun on your day off!” He waved so that you could catch up to your friends who were already at the door but watching you as you weren’t with them but with the cute regular.

“Have fun at work,” you laughed and he laughed back. That was what he said to you when you first served him.

After you left, even without hearing it, Renjun could see that your friends were squealing at your interaction and he smiled to himself. He must’ve known that you felt the same way too.

“Should I order a drink though?” Renjun asked as despite Taeil being a pro at working by himself at a steady pace, he didn’t want to add to the orders he had.

You knew he was referring to the line of three customers in front of the till while Taeil was mixing drinks for those who already ordered. “You could wait until I’m off break,” you said as it would take that amount of time for Taeil to clear the line and for the customers to die down.

Renjun nodded at your proposal as now he could talk to you even longer as he could order and have a conversation while you made his drink. “You always make the best drinks,” he said. He didn’t say that just because he liked you, for some reason your drinks had the right amount of sweetness despite everyone using the same recipe.

“Is that the only reason why you keep coming on my shifts?” You asked to tease him but also to find out if he came to see you or if you really just made drinks to his preference. Everyone makes the drinks according to the same recipe but when you asked for your usual order of matcha with 50% sugar, tapioca, grass jelly, light ice, on your day off Taeil made it taste completely different than how you did.

Renjun suppressed the blush as if he could control the blood rush to his cheeks, but he tried to shrug it off. “No, to see my favourite employee too.” He looked at your reaction and was satisfied when your lips curled into a small smile.

Both of you reminisce about the time when he first came in after the chocolate croissant fiasco.

“Hello!” You greeted the customer when the door opened to see the cute boy from the sushi restaurant that yelled at you because he mistook you for his coworker who came in with a big bag of pastries. “Oh you actually came!” You were happy to see him. At that time you simply thought he was attractive and cute because of his mistake, so you didn’t know that one day you’d fall in love with him.

He was in a simple dark grey t-shirt which he tucked into his light beige capri pants that was secured by a sleek black belt with gold detailing. He must’ve been going to work for the night shift again as it was nearing 5pm. “Here for an apology,” he said as he handed you a single box. You checked the contents and saw a dainty strawberry cake. You visited the French bakery before and this cake was 3x the price of the infamous chocolate croissant.

“I can’t take this!” You said, trying to give it back to him but he shook his head and moved his hands to behind his back so you couldn’t shove it in his hands.

“How about a discount?” He joked. You agreed which was against company policy but the cake was worth it. You could only give the discount to yourself, immediate family members, or significant others which is funny because you both didn’t know that you were going to be that one day.

“Your name for the order?” You asked after taking his order and payment.

“Renjun,” he said. You smiled, now both of you knew each other's names.

When your break was over, Taeil plopped onto the coach you were on and began reading the daily news on his phone like the quarter aged grandpa that he was. Luckily, the customers took their drinks for takeout and no one else came in. “Are you going to order watermelon or hojicha this time?” You asked once you were behind the bar and at the till with Renjun facing you.

“I don’t know... How about a special drink?” He asked, mustering the courage to ask you on a date now that Taeil had his earphones in and the store was empty.

“Oh! I made a drink a while ago that kinda tasted like the tofu desserts you find in a packet at the grocery store. Do you like those?” He nodded and smiled at your excitement over your very own secret drink creation. Once you asked for the size, toppings, and his payments, you were excited to make the drink while Renjun was shaking in his clothes.

“Hey I was closing tonight too,” he began and you nodded while putting milk and tea into a shaker. “So did you want to grab dinner after work?”

You nearly dropped the shaker while you were mixing the liquids together at the sudden request. You stopped what you were doing and looked up at him with wide eyes. “Like a…” You didn’t have the courage to say date.

“A date… Will you go on a date with me?” He asked, looking into your eyes sincerely. He couldn’t take you to a fancy restaurant since he was working for his family and saving up for tuition. He didn’t have enough time to take you for a long date either because he was either studying or working but he wanted to be more than friends with you and this was the only way he could do that. To take you out to a 24 hour diner down the street.

“Sure,” you smiled and looked down out of embarrassment.

You both didn’t care that you weren’t dressed nicely or prepared beforehand. You were just happy that your feelings were reciprocated.

“I’ll wait in front of the store when you’re done,” he said.

You remembered the daisy scrunched up in your pocket. You picked it up on the way before work and felt apologetic for plucking it when you didn’t have to.

You didn’t need to pluck the last petal to know that; he loves me.

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baekberrie · 4 years

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☀️rooftop pt.4 ➣bbh☀️

☀️Genre: Romance, angst, fluff, bakery & island! au

☀️Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader/ oc

☀️Previous - Next

☀️Updates every: Wednesday night🌙

You only spread before me

I'm colored with you

You fill my heart

Baby, I will love you till kingdom come...

Not even a second into the kitchen and Mrs.Byun was already in front of the girl, throwing the apron around her neck and waist and tying it with a knot before hurriedly ushering her to her usual spot. On the counter was a recipe already prepared and ready to be followed. Sleep had until she entered the kitchen, still been in her senses, though, the frantic Mrs. Byun had been enough to shake her from the dazed state. She was, to say the least, a bit startled but rolled up her sleeves and started working nonetheless. Both Mrs. and Mr. Byun were speeding all over the bakery, serving and yelling out orders. The stress was visible not only in them but also in the other employees barely keeping up at the owners' tempo. The girl was only halfway into her dough when Baekhyun suddenly appeared next to her with a ready dough that he was about to shape into buns.

Shyly, the two of them stole a small glance at each other from beneath their lashes, having their eyes meet unexpectedly. That made a very soft smile form on Baekhyun's pink lips as he wished her a good morning, and really, just the mere whisper of his beautiful voice in the morning was enough to make her feel like this day was going to be the best one of her life.

The swelling of her heart was too strong for her to ignore, a beam painted itself on her face and she fully directed it to the black-haired boy by her side, her eyes reflected with his beautiful figure as she let them dance all over him. Taking in his fair and milky skin, his slender hands and pink fingertips, his sparkling blue orbs. Once more, her heart stuttered when Baekhyun allowed her to view the way that his smile widened. Baekhyun had recently started smiling more often- and although she loved that fact, she could really not seem to get used to it. The way it triggered her heart every time, she had no idea what to do about it. Deep down, she was aware of what it was about, but she wasn't going to let her heart acknowledge the truth just yet. Ever since that night at the beach, she had been at her happiest, she liked to say that Baekhyun had finally let her in, perhaps not completely, but just enough.

Nowadays he greeted her with a sweet smile every morning, sometimes he'd come to the rooftop with freshly baked buns for her to have at breakfast and they would eat it together in the most comfortable of silences. He would always come with her to do groceries, insisting that she would get lost although that had by now become an old story. She knew how to move around the island. Although the cold and reserved persona could still show up at times, he had warmed up and it was remarkable. It had really startled her when Baekhyun had once acted so cheerfully so, she had never expected him to be able to let out so much noise. They had simply been playing cards at the tables outside of the bakery when Jongdae had thrown a playful insult at his brother that had been answered with a sour expression, sending Baekhyun's beautiful laughter bubbling out of his throat, leaving her completely in awe as well as surprised. Had her heart just jump because she had absolutely loved that?

How could she ever explain herself? The more days passed, the more this urge within her to get closer to Baekhyun increased beyond her powers to stop it. Not only did she wish to know him better, but it was also a physical feeling that she had to fight against. She couldn't help it when they would be baking together and the little mole on the corner of his thumb would constantly catch her attention. It made her want to just grab his hand in hers and thread their fingers, to intertwine them. Baekhyun's hands that always looked so artistically beautiful, so soft and flawless. Or when the boy would occasionally meet her on the rooftop, showing up in his oversized clothes that made it barely impossible for her not to cuddle him on the spot.

Byun Baekhyun who had let her in his life. Byun Baekhyun who was slowly taking her heart without knowing it. And she hadn't admitted it yet, but she had never been more ready to give her heart away to someone if it meant Baekhyun.

She had just placed three trays of her usual buns into the oven when Mrs. Byun had come rushing to her once again, way too stressed to even explain a thing as she quickly pushed a piece of paper into her chest. She remained glued onto her spot, wondering if she had imagined Mrs. Byun flashing and disappearing in front of her in the span of three seconds. Eventually, she looked down onto the piece paper and saw an infinite list of groceries that made her frown, this wasn't the usual list of ingredients she'd buy once a week, moreover, they were so many that-

"That's a long list," Came Baekhyun's voice from behind her, making her jump slightly, though she regained her composure quickly, only to be betrayed by her heart that stuttered at the scent of fresh vanilla and flowers that emanated from the blue-eyed boy behind her. She raised her head to meet his gaze, only to regret it, because their faces had ended up being so extremely close. Baekhyun seemed very surprised himself as he barely kept his body from flinching, though just shortly after, a little smile displayed on his lips as he cocked his head to the side.

"Should I accompany you?" He suggested kindly and before she knew it, she had forgotten about the close proximity and beamed at him in pure joy.

"That would be very kind of you, Baekhyun." She smiled, imitating the formal tone that he used with her. Perhaps it was her imagination, but a soft touch of fingers on the curve of her waist lingered, a gentle touch as light as feathers. It quickly disappeared as Baekhyun made his way around her, murmuring a gentle; "Meet me outside", his lip brushed on the shell of her ear. Shortly after, he was gone again, leaving her burning to ashes with the fire spreading on the surface of her cheeks. Teeth drilled into her lip as she tried to regain her composure. Just why was this happening? Why was he having this damn effect on her? Suddenly making her jumpy and fidgety, self-conscious but at the same time physically attracted to him. On the other side was Jongdae staring at her with an infuriating smirk and wiggling eyebrows, he inhaled:

"Guess who just got herself a date-" The boy announced in the whole kitchen, making her want to disappear but not before strangling him. But since Mrs. Byun had been in such a hurry, she dismissed the idea, keeping it for later. She showed Jongdae her index finger and slid it across her throat in a threatening manner before leaving. In the distance could be heard Jongdae's laughter echoing in the kitchen.

Having taken off the apron and left the kitchen, she could see Baekhyun standing outside the bakery through the glass doors. His black hair was flowing gently with the soft summer breeze. His legs hugged by a pair of ripped jean trunks, the white and oversized tee shirt flickered with the wind, giving her a view of his slightly toned physique as it tightened and loosened up against his body.

As the two walked their way to the center of the island, they could see people rushing in every direction. The corner shops were overflowing with costumers and for a moment she wondered how the two of them were ever going to make it into one of these stores without getting lost in the crowds. People were building up stages and bringing out tents and various decorations, some were setting up new food stalls along the paths. Seeing the unusual view of preparation, she frowned her brows and confusedly asked Baekhyun;

"What is happening? Why is it so crowded today?"

"In a few days is the summer festival, it's a celebration for this Island, that's also why need that many ingredients," He explained while intently following with his eyes the people who were sweating under the island sun just to prepare for this special event.

"Of course, that makes sense, are you guys going?" She asked again, even more curious, Baekhyun let out something that sounded like a chortle.

"Of course, we'll have our own stall too, but closer to the beach where most of the festival's activities will be taking place." Excitedly, she turned to face him, glistening eyes and an expectant expression on her face.

"That sounds so fun-"

"Do you want to come with me?"

"Huh?" She stammered when Baekhyun's voice collided at the same time as hers. His cheeks were slightly pink as he cleared his throat, looking a bit embarrassed but still kept his beautiful orbs on hers as he repeated himself.

"Do you want to come with me to the festival?"

And there it went again, her heart fluttering, but in the happiest way possible.

She beamed so brightly.

☀️☀️☀️

The reflection met her gaze in the dusty mirror of her bathroom. Insecurity was written all over her features as she eyed herself hesitantly, inspecting how the see-through sleeves of her summer dress seemed to cover most of her scars. The way that she had left her home hadn't been an easy one, and in all honesty, she couldn't recall stuffing one of her prettiest clothing into her luggage. But there she was, wearing it, and for that, she gave herself a pat on the shoulder. On the sink rested various makeups products, they didn't belong to her though. Although Mrs. Byun never seemed to wear such things, the girl had tested her luck and asked nonetheless her expectations. She had indeed, been lucky when the lady had shown up with a whole bag of things that she didn't use anymore. That was how she found herself debating about what lipstick would suit the best with her mild yellow-flowy dress that hugged her features ever so beautifully.

To her surprise, she wasn't feeling too uncomfortable in the dress. Well, because it was pretty and because...She blushed at the thought that crossed her mind, but maybe, just maybe, Baekhyun wouldn't mind it if she made herself a little prettier for him. She shook her head.

What was she thinking? Suddenly she felt silly, Baekhyun didn't even seem like the kind of guy who would notice such things. Her eyes shut tightly to force the blush away from her cheeks, trying to regain common sense over her thoughts that had these few days been wandering a bit too far for her heart to handle. It made her feel funny in her chest.

When she was finally done, there was a sparkly and glazed lipgloss gracing her plump lips. The gloss had a soft orange shade to it and a delicious scent of cloudberries. Outside, the sun had already set, leaving the sky in its darker color. The stars sprinkled all over its immensity and the full moon was as bright as ever, just the sight was enough to make butterflies erupt in her belly, fluttering their wings inside of her with excitement. A giddy feeling made its way in her body. She could just sense it, that this night was going to be one that she'd remember her whole life.

As the girl reached the doors, she could already see Baekhyun's back facing her. His silhouette stood tall and the colorful enlightened decorations leading the path to the festival reflected wonderfully on his figure. Red, orange, yellow- pink! An explosion of colors, he was, and it looked as if he had jumped out of a painting. His legs were wrapped in a pair of jeans trunks while his lean torso was hugged by a rather tight tee. She couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that even in such simplicity, Baekhyun looked so unfairly pretty, and it was not fair how it was making her heart skip continuous beats. The girl made her way outside.

When their gazes met outside for the first time, it was the shyest glance they've ever shared, looking from underneath their lashes. A small, almost inaudible gasp left Baekhyun's lips as he unconsciously let his eyes slide from her head down low until up again. A bright red hue immediately spread onto his cheeks but he didn't really say anything. He sent a nod in the direction behind him and she understood right away, and so they moved on to the festival.

The two of them walked quietly next to each other, though the silence was filled with the faint sound of music playing in the distance, chatters of hundreds of people playing games resounded in the whole island. Food stalls were frying and cooking street food, emanating every kind of scents. It wasn't the biggest island, and yet when everyone gathered like this in a few areas only, it gave the impression of it being immense. Though, she loved the colors of summer and night melting together, the noise of people having fun, and the quiet footsteps of Baekhyun next to her.

Although their silence was not uncomfortable, she could still feel that a hint of tension had built up between them. As if they both knew that sooner or later, they'd have to speak with each other, but neither of them had enough courage to. Never had she felt like this before, never had she ever had problems with breaking the ice, and yet- next to him, outside the walls of the bakery or the supermarket, wearing a cute dress- it was definitely out of the ordinary. It was only natural that she felt like that, right? This was very close to a date, and she had never been on a date before. This was a date, right?

In an attempt to break the ice, despite her increasing heartbeat, she gently grabbed the sleeve of Baekhyun's shirt and pulled him towards a game section, one of those classical ones where'd you throw the hoop upon the desired prize. The boy let the girl pull him, though without getting involved as he had no will to play the game. She pulled out a few coins from her pocket and eyed Baekhyun from the corner of her eye, seeing him watching her intently from the side, she gulped.

Baekhyun's patience seemed to be infinite as the girl kept failing every try but was too stubborn to give up and move on to another game. She really wanted that huge teddy bear on the shelf, and she was going to get it. A line had started to form behind her, everyone waiting for her to realize that she was much probably not going to succeed. The owner of the stall kept her sweet smile upon her aging features, though it was obvious how it was starting to strain, she wanted the other costumers to participate as well. A group of guys that had been standing behind her in line suddenly walked up to her, interrupting her from her hundredth try. Only by looking at the young men, she could tell that they were in hers and Baekhyun's age. The tallest one had his hair styled into soft waves that were parted by a headband, his locks dyed into a cotton candy pink. She couldn't help the hint of a smile on her lips at his large yet cute ears. His constant smirk made him look handsome, she noted.

"Hey girlie, can I get you that teddy bear?" Cotton candy boy offered with an amused grin spreading on his lips, his large chocolate eyes that held her gaze were mischievous, knowing it was what she had been going for the past fifteen minutes. The girl sent him a bright smile.

"That would be a-"

"Absolutely not necessary, thank you and goodbye." Baekhyun suddenly interrupted as he took the hoops from her hands and flashed a fake smile to the group of boys and shooed them away before they could even protest. The girl was, to say the least, completely flabbergasted as she could barely keep in the chortle from bubbling in her throat. Baekhyun kept a sour expression on his face as he directed the hoops towards the teddy bear, muttering angry words underneath his breath, and she wished she could know what was going through his mind at that moment.

To their dismay, Baekhyun turned out to be just as bad of a player as she herself. He stubbornly gave many tries but didn't succeed even one of them. As the two eventually moved on to try various other games, Baekhyun's competitive side had completely unraveled before her, showing a passion for games that she would have never expected to exist. Although the boy was so bad at it, he couldn't stop challenging himself. Though, the challenge didn't go far as they ended up finishing all of their pocket money without a single prize in their hands. Their shoulders dropped in utter defeat, though, the lady at the stall seemed to have grown fond of them as she had watched them play.

"Aigoo don't look so sad my dears!" She cooed sweetly, waving at them to come closer, to which they complied curiously. "You were very sweet trying to win something for each other," A laugh followed the end of her sentence as she eyed the two with twinkling eyes, taking out two pairs of what seemed to be couple bracelets and tied them to their wrists before they could explain that they were not together.

"Now, now, take good care of each other, love birds!" She cheered them goodbye. Baekhyun's face was unnaturally red and the was heat spreading all the way from his neck to his ears as he avoided her eyes for a moment. The girl could feel the blush pulsing on her cheeks as she looked down at her wrist, watching the bracelet spark under the festival lights. She was embarrassed but happy, for some strange reason. Baekhyun seemed shy, but he hadn't denied a thing to the lady, like most people would have done. Why was it making her so ecstatic?

In the midst of her thoughts, the girl hadn't noticed how much more flooded the place had suddenly gotten. She looked to her right to find Baekhyun, only to see that he was completely gone and a cold shiver ran down her spine. They had been standing next to each other just a moment ago, how was it possible to get separated so quickly? Panicked, the girl moved through the crowd, squeezing in between people, though she had really no idea where she was going. She found herself standing in front of a concert stage once free from the sea of people and decided that it would be better for her to stay in one spot in case Baekhyun was looking for her. So she did. On the stage was a lady in her thirties singing a traditional song ever so beautifully, waving her hands and curling her fingers gracefully as she danced. For a moment, she was so taken by the view that she forgot why she was standing there alone in the first place. Her eyes danced all over the lady's features while she performed until her breath suddenly hitched at the sudden touch of two arms sneaking around her shoulders. A defined yet soft chest pressed against her back. The familiar scent of berries and musk reached her senses as a head came snuggling into her shoulder, black hair tickling her neck and the heavy pants landing hotly onto her skin were incredibly familiar.

Her eyes were frantic as she tried to catch a glimpse of the Baekhyun's appearance, though, completely froze when her gaze met with two very familiar doe-like eyes in the distant crowd. She narrowed her gaze, trying to figure out what she had just felt when looking at those eyes, but quickly forgot about it all when Baekhyun pressed her further against his chest, leaning his lips dangerously close to her ear.

"Why is it that you're always making me look for you?" He breathily whispered directly into her ear and his candy scented breath sent goosebumps all over her body. She inhaled and was about to answer when a voice from the speakers of the festival interrupted everyone's actions, leaving her to gasp.

"The firework display will start in ten minutes," The speakers echoed the words and Baekhyun was by then already in front of her, his eyes glinting with something that looked like excitement and mischief, the little grin that played at the corner of his lips sent her heart swelling as if it was about to explode. Seeing him smile felt so indescribably special, something not to take for granted and something to treasure dearly. So she could only let her eyes form into the most bright crescents as she smiled back at him, only to be surprised when he suddenly wrapped his hand around her wrist.

"We got to hurry!" He exclaimed, going in for a run and dragging her along, she was slightly shocked and her heart was beating so loudly in her chest out of nervosity and emotion that she could barely hear her ragged breathing. Even in the midst of a run with the wind pushing against her face could she feel the heat seeping from Baekhyun's touch and into her skin, the sensation sent a bolt of energy buzzing through her veins while her hand acted on its own. She had no idea what was going on in her mind or body when she unhooked her wrist from Baekhyun's touch, only to grab his hand in hers. At the action, Baekhyun visibly flinched as he cast a quick, shocked glance behind his shoulder, giving her a glimpse of his wide eyes before he directed them back on where he was running. From her angle, she could see his cheeks and ears turning into all shades of pink.

Gosh, what was that blooming feeling in her chest? So ticklish and playful, as if there were flowers blooming in her belly, butterflies fluttering their wings in every part of her body. She loved the view of him before her, their touches melting together, she almost laughed out loud in pure bliss and happiness.

She really treasured this boy, didn't she?

"Why are we going away from the festival?" She asked breathlessly as she recognized the path that they were taking as the way back home. Baekhyun only answered with a stressed "You'll see." And she let him lead her.

The closer to the bakery they got, the more she was weirded out, what about the firework display?

They entered the building of the bakery and ran up the stairs, passing by her own apartment, going straight to the rooftop. Baekhyun's hold was still tight on hers as he eagerly led her to the familiar place. His grip left her only when they were by the railing that he leaned over as if he would get a better view of the already immense sky. It was like a dark blue sheet draped all over the world with glistening diamonds sprinkled upon it. Just a few moments after their arrival, the first firework erupted in a million colors in the very center of the sky, bursting a special and eager feeling in the chests of both. Taking a quick glance at the boy, she could see the awe and amazement emanate from every inch of his body, the colorful explosions reflected in his shining orbs, taking her breath away, not being able to detach her eyes from him.

"You know," He breathed out before allowing himself to return her gaze for a brief moment, though directed it to the sky almost right away as a loud boom resounded, taking in the next set of beautiful glistens. "I used to come here every year, after the summer festival, with my mother and father, and we'd watch the fireworks together, like this." The more he spoke, the softer his voice got, flowing into a solemn tone as he looked above with melancholy. An extremely strong pull burst inside her chest, an urge that overwhelmed her, something that she didn't know how to tame as she stared at the broken beauty in front of her, her chest heaving heavily. "We're here together but..." He let out a sad chuckle, "I can't help but miss them, you know?" He almost choked upon his words as he spoke, eyes starting to glass with water. Upon seeing that, her own heart broke, no, she hated to see him like that, she wanted to make him happy. She, solely.

The girl shocked him when she suddenly, rather harshly by the unusual flow of strength within her, grabbed his collar and dragged him down to her level, pressing her soft lips against his for a short yet lingering kiss. Baekhyun remained unresponsive and overwhelmed with eyes wide and confusion pooling within them.

"I will be your family, Baekhyun," she breathed out, her heartbeat erratic and echoing in her ears. "If you'll let me, I'll be, and we'll watch these fireworks every year, together- just know that I'm here now and that you don't have to consider yourself alone anymore and- oh my gosh I am so sorry I shouldn't have kissed you without your permission, and what the hell is wrong with me? I haven't even admitted that I like you yet- wait did I just? Oh my gosh-" Before she knew it, Baekhyun had grabbed her cheeks, surprising her with her same acts. His tightly shut eyes came into her view as he clumsily pressed his lips to hers, the warmth on his cheeks hit her own skin.

"Don't make promises that you can't keep... please." He susurrated brokenly, eyes dancing over her features.

"I swear, Baekhyun, I'll stand by you," she murmured meaningfully back. Baekhyun couldn't help himself when he leaned dangerously close again, his eyes still on hers although sleepy and hoody, the curiosity of feeling her lips again surged within him.

"I have such strong feelings for you...You can't back away" He said before connecting their mouths, molding them perfectly as he nibbled sweetly on her lips, his thumbs automatically drawing lazy circles on the apples of her cheeks. Shivers traveled down his body when she fisted his shirt and kissed him back, tilting her head and capturing his lips way more skillfully than he could ever have managed. He found himself loving the soft texture of her lips, how they'd stick to his own as if they were brushed with a layer of sugarcoated glue. They parted for a breath of air, but he felt way too disappointed about it to even explain it to himself, it had been such a special thing- a kiss- he hadn't expected it to make him feel so many things at once. His mind was clouded, but he wanted to know more about this feeling.

"More," He murmured before crashing his lips on hers all over again, surprising himself by how widely he had parted her lips with his, brushing his careful tongue over the surface of her cushions before gently sucking on her sweet lips. Their lips parted with a moist noise, his hands were still on her cheeks, their foreheads pressed together as they panted. His eyes were closed, eyelashes tickling each other's cheekbones, this urging feeling never leaving his body. He tilted his head and murmured;

"Again, please,"

☀️☀️☀️

As the light of the morning made its way inside of her room she laid still in her bed, gaze attached to the ceiling. Ever since she had gotten back yesterday night, her heart hadn't stopped fluttering, not even for a second, while the feeling of Baekhyun's lips on hers- the feeling of his hands in hers, they were still fresh and pulsating on her skin. Her chest expanded with such strong emotions- it wasn't mere affection and happiness, truly, it felt as if there were two hearts swelling behind her ribcage. She hadn't gotten a single wink of sleep and yet she felt as wide awake as she could ever be. Curling up into a ball, she fisted her shirt right on the spot above her chest, whining a bit to herself.

"Aren't you tired yet? Stop fluttering already-" Her little conversation with herself had ended right away when she had gotten a glimpse of the time on the alarm clock on her nightstand and she bolted up from her bed. Mrs. Byun had said that it was okay to sleep in a bit but she had definitely crossed the line by being two hours late. Quickly, she threw on one of the old dresses that Mrs. Byun had given her, tied her hair up and freshened up before sprinting down the stairs in the span of five minutes.

The bakery was empty but nonetheless, everyone was busy doing something. Junmyeon was cleaning the tables while Jongdae polished the windows, Mr. Byun was nowhere to be seen but the girl guessed he was taking care of the kitchen with Mrs. Byun.

"So you finally graced us with your presence," Jongdae teasingly called after her when he noticed her standing still and lost in her thoughts, the action had snapped her immediately out of her trance. It was only when the boy handed her a broom that she noticed how a certain someone was missing and without hesitating, she stopped Jongdae from going back to his work.

"Where is Baekhyun?" She questioned and the brows furrowed on Jongdae's forehead in deep thought, he then wiggled them suggestively with the infamous smirk of his sneaking upon his lips. "Why?" He sang cockily, "You had him the whole night yesterday, miss him already?" At that, she couldn't do anything to stop the heat from spreading on her cheeks. Not much at what he had said - but rather because of the images of last night replaying in her head as if frames of a film, perhaps the most beautiful one she had ever seen- lived- but that endless tease of a Jongdae didn't have to know that. Puffing her cheeks, she gave him a light punch on the arm and the boy played along, faking hurt as he dramatically grabbed his arms and whining out loudly, a noise by now familiar to every employee.

"Oh stop it!" She groaned, "I am serious Jongdae, do you know where he is?" It was visible in the mischievous glint in his eyes that he had no intention to answer her question seriously, her urge was amusing him and the long cleaning session had bored him to no end. The plan to have some fun was though backfired when his older brother, Junmyeon, hit him unexpectedly on the head from behind, earning a painful hiss from Jongdae.

"What was that for-"

"Cut it, Dae," The few words were enough to shut the younger male up and the girl watched Junmeyon as if he had just performed the world's most outstanding magic trick. When Jongdae was in the mood, he would never stop teasing.

"Geez, fine! None of you people are fun to be with," He complained, scratching his neck rather embarrassed from the scolding he had just received from his brother. "I don't know where he is by the way." Jongdae eventually revealed, not masking the slight hint of concern glistening in his eyes.

During her whole working shift, there was no sight of Baekhyun anywhere and the fact was making her heart expand with anxiety, but she was not the only one. The girl had approached Mrs. Byun for further explanations but it had turned out that she was just as clueless and worried as her, clutching onto the little vague note that the boy had left on the fridge that morning.

As the sun was lowering behind the horizon, she headed to the rooftop, by now completely hopeless. There was this habit that they had grown, where they would meet every evening at the rooftop just to watch the sunset along with a lighthearted conversation that would lull them into sleepiness. It was something that belonged only to the two of them, and at the moment her last hint to possibly find Baekhyun. But her heart only fell into the deepest pit of her stomach when his usual spot at the railing was empty.

Defeated was not enough to describe the fear and disbelief that took over her body as she leaned over the railing and took in the orange and lilac sky reflecting limpidly onto the sea, her eyes rimmed red with small tears filled with worry. A small distant walking silhouette crossed her view, making her squint her eyes furiously- trying to get a proper look at the person crossing the beach- her heartbeat suddenly echoing like powerful drums in her ears. She knew it could have been whoever taking a stroll on the beach, but the squeeze in her heart pulled her to detach from the railing and sprint down the stairs and out of the bakery, confusing the Byuns and Kims that had also been searching. She didn't stop for a single second as she ran as if for her life, past the shops, the bazaar until the sand overflowed her sneakers. Her lungs were burning in flames, screaming for air as her heart struggled to keep up with the fast tempo of her legs.

Lips were dry and gasping for oxygen, she had to find Baekhyun.

The exhaustion in her body was at the speed of light pushed to the back of her head and replaced with a pump of adrenaline upon seeing a very familiar male figure entering the waters with furious manners. Million of questions were erupting in her brain as she had no idea what was going on, why Baekhyun was sobbing loudly into the night as he pushed past the hasty ocean waves, but no explanation mattered more than the safety of the one she held so dearly. With no hesitation, without even removing her shoes, the girl ran into the shivering cold water, struggling against the weight of her drenched dress but nonetheless reached him faster than she had expected. With all her might she screamed his name but all she could hear after the echo of her voice was Baekhyun's loud, heartbreaking cries. The boy ignored her and kept pushing past the waves.

After what seemed an eternity she finally was close enough to wrap her cold and wet fingers around his arm and stopped him from moving further. His head snapped in her direction and the girl flinched at the view of his swollen, bloodshot eyes and red cheeks drenched in salty tears,

"Let me go!" He opposed, trying to yank his arms out of her grasp.

"What are you doing?!" She screamed back as she caught both of his arms, eyes crazed as she took in his figure, noticing how pale, how frail, but most of all how heartbroken he looked. Baekhyun's broken heart reflected in the glassy orbs of his. Lips red and swollen just like his eyes. Baekhyun was still frantic as he tried to break free from her grip.

"I have to go-" He cried, "I have to go to them, don't you understand?! Leave me be!" His broken and rough voice resounded all over the sea as he pleaded her to let go, but for no reason in this world was she going to let him go.

"Baekhyun!" She yelled angrily, the loudness of her screams scratched the inside of her throat. "What are you talking about? Get yourself back together!" The boy seemed to have snapped out of his delirious state as her screams made him flinch back to reality, the shock was permanent on his features as he dried his wet face with his palm, brushing the black bangs to the back his head.

"I-" Baekhyun's lips were violently quivering as he tried to form a proper sentence, but it was as if every word he'd speak would break his heart further.

"I have no idea how it was possible but-" He started, nonetheless the dry lump cutting the insides of his throat. "I found a bottled letter at the shore today, and-" All over again, the tears had made their way to blur his view, crystallizing into his long and delicate lashes. "It was for me- from my parents, they wrote it knowing that he had no way to come back alive." His words were defeated murmurs underneath his breath, until he suddenly snapped his head up and found her gaze, his eyes searching for any kind of comfort but could only get lost in his own emotions.

"They said to be happy- that they will always love me even if they're not physically here- that they will look after me," He cried out loudly with tears streaming down his pale cheeks, his hands clutching painfully at his chest. "But I don't want to be without them anymore- I just can't, I want to go to them, I just want to be with them, don't you understand?! I want to reach them, I need to go-" Baekhyun was about to break free out of her grasp again but before he could push her away, she had already circled her arms around his shoulders and guided him to her soft chest. The girl shook her head in disagreement.

"No, Baekhyun." She said softly, letting her hand travel to the back of his head, brushing through his wet locks soothingly. "You are here for a reason. This place is where you belong. With us...With me, on this island." It was a lie if she said she wasn't the slightest affected, in fact, her eyes were glossy with tears and the sigh that tumbled out of her lips trembled. But she had to be strong, for Baekhyun. She had to be his rock.

"Your parents might not be here anymore but they aren't gone either, they're still watching over you and I can bet you my whole life that they wouldn't want you to do this. They want you to be happy," Gently, she detached ever so slightly from the boy so that she could face him again. "But if you do it like this," She soothed while placing a hand on his cheek, letting the pad of her thumb catch the trail of tears on his skin. "If you reach them like this, with those tears, it would break their heart, Baekhyun. This is not the right way to reach them. They might not physically be here anymore, but," She placed a hand on his chest where his heart was beating, spreading an incredible warmth in his insides that could've melted him on the spot if it wasn't for the cold water they were standing in.

"They're still here," The girl sent him a soft, sincere smile, "Reach them by keeping them close in your heart, reach them through happiness, never anything else."

Baekhyun stared back at her, completely defeated and empty as his eyes filled up with more tears that he did not hesitate to let fall. Loud sobs were tumbling out of his lips as he crushed himself against the girl's chest, hiding in her embrace as if she would be an escape from reality.

And the comfort of her chest was the warmest, even in the icy night sea.

☀️☀️☀️

Baekhyun had looked so upset on their back that she could only imagine how painful it would be for him to go through thousands of questions from his worried aunt and uncle, so she had made a quick call on the payphone, telling Mrs. Byun that Baekhyun didn't want to speak with anyone and that they could go to sleep. The lady had, of course, disagreed, wanting to see a safe Baekhyun with her own eyes. Somehow though, she had managed to convince her to wait until tomorrow.

The boy and the girl had been looking at each other by the stairs that separated the ways to their rooms. She had been on her way to go before Baekhyun had suddenly grabbed hold of her sleeve, pulling her back to him as he pleadingly searched for her eyes.

"Can I please stay with you?" His gentle voice a mere murmur, but enough to set her whole heart on fire, and without hesitation had she let him into her room. And that was how she found herself with Baekhyun sitting on a chair with its back facing her as she dried his damp hair with a towel. In her room took place an eternal silence, decorated by the soft murmurs of their breaths.

"Done," She said contentedly, smiling a little to herself as she put the towel away. Baekhyun abruptly stood up, his pretty fingers fidgeting nervously underneath the oversized sleeves of his hoodie. By the look on his face, she could tell that he was still upset, that his heart was still aching. To be frank, she knew that the next part would be her sending him back to his room with a good night, but there wasn't a single nerve in her body that wanted him out of her room, that wanted him to be alone.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?"

☀️☀️☀️

my oh my i feel like this is the worst chapter of this story, forgive me.

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h-styles-babes · 7 years

Text

No Control | Chapter Nineteen

Summary:

Micky Bennett: college student, loyal friend, aspiring nurse, One Direction fan, Harry Styles enthusiast. Her best friend, Trevor, wins tickets to a show in New Jersey with meet and greet passes. Micky expects a quick photo op with the boys and a great night at the concert with her best friend. What she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for.

To read previous chapters, you can go here.

*Please feel free to reblog and send feedback. It’s much appreciated :)*

*Gif is not mine.*

NINETEEN

“How do you feel about popping into Harrod’s for a bit of shopping?” Harry asks as he’s making breakfast. He’s making egg white omelets with vegetables, claiming that he loves my mum’s cooking but he feels so unhealthy from straying from his diet for so long. I roll my eyes at him, but let him make his healthy food, agreeing when he asks if I want one as well.

I shrug. “Sure. I’ve only been in there once and I was a kid. Should be fun.”

“You’re up for going to that party Grimmy’s having, right?”

I purse my lips to the side. “I only brought one dress with me, and I don’t think it’s right for a dinner party with a bunch of famous people. I can just hang out here tonight,” I offer.

“I’ll buy you something while we’re out,” he tells me.

“Harry, you don’t need to do that,” I immediately reject. “It’s not a big deal. I’ll find something to do tonight while you have fun with your mates. I don’t mind being alone for awhile, I promise.”

He turns the burner off as he plates our breakfast before turning to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I’ve changed into a Jimi Hendrix tee of his, since the button down got proper messy from our morning session. I’m only wearing knickers with it while I pad around his kitchen, so his hands dip down to run along my thighs while we talk.

“I want you there, though. You’re my priority, remember?”

“You said my comfort was your priority,” I correct with a smirk.

He rolls his eyes. “Same thing. Anyway, I want you there. So, we’re going to Harrod’s, I’m gonna buy you a pretty dress and maybe some accessories, you’re going to say thank you, and we’re going to Grim’s party tonight. Alright? Let me do this for you, Mick.” He presses his face into my neck, skimming his nose along my skin. “I have all this money and no one to spend it on. Let me spend it on you. It’ll be just this once.”

The begging in his voice is wearing me down, and the final straw is when he looks up at me with those brilliant green eyes and a pout to his bottom lip. “Please?”

I groan and drop my head back. “Fine. But it’s only this once. And any one item can’t be more than a few thousand pounds. Alright?”

He beams at me, all goofy and sweet. “Thank you.”

I pull on a ripped pair of jeans and a jean and leather jacket before we head out, leaving the band tee on, since I’m too lazy to change into anything else. I pair it with a pair of white Converse and minimal makeup, knowing I’m just going to change it all later when we go to the party.

Harry drives us into the city, sort of near where we were the day before since the Harrod’s is close by, just in the opposite direction. We walk hand in hand down the sidewalk, ignoring the people that stop and stare when they realize it’s Harry Styles walking down the street of London with an unknown girl. I’m sure the press is having a field day with all the photos emerging of us, probably trying to figure out who I am, but I’m pretty sure I don’t know anyone who would rat me out like that. And Trevor hasn’t frantically messaged me about any news since the day before, so I’m hoping everything’s relatively calm.

Walking into Harrod’s is like stepping into a mansion, with all the marble and gold accents, and the employees all dressed in their uniforms. Harry politely brushes off the sales woman who offers her help, promising we’re just browsing for a bit. He takes me to the men’s section first, sifting through clothes that have designer labels and price tags never below several hundred quid. Harry picks up pieces without even checking the tag, just observing the print and cut before throwing them over his arm. I have a mini panic attack thinking about what his bill is going to be at the end of the trip, but get myself out of it, knowing there’s millions of dollars in this man’s bank account.

Harry doesn’t even bother trying anything on before dragging me over to the women’s section and going straight for the dresses. He automatically goes searching through racks while I slowly sift through them, not really wanting to pick anything up for fear of how expensive they are.

“Micky, just pick up the things that catch your eye. I promise it’s going to be okay.” His tone is teasing, but I know he’s actually sensitive to how I feel about him spending so much money on me. I gulp and nod, putting a little more interest in the experience.

I find a few dresses that I like on the rack, and Harry comes back over to me with a few as well. We’ve got about seven in total, so he takes me over to the fitting rooms and lets the attendant know that we’re going to a party with some friends tonight, and what would be most appropriate for the occasion. She smiles and assures him that she’ll help me. She takes us both back to a private room where Harry’s able to sit back while I change into the dresses. He crosses his legs, ankle propped up on his opposite knee, the picture of cool and unbothered.

The lady leaves us alone as I change into the first dress, a black strappy thing that has a few sequins that I’m automatically not a fan of, and I take it off before I even really put it on.

“What’s wrong with that one?” Harry asks.

“I don’t do sequins or glitter or jewels on my clothing,” I tell him

He chuckles and nods. “Alright. Noted.” He goes through the dresses we brought in, removing two more, conveniently narrowing my selection down to four.

A purple dress that Harry chose catches my eye and I take a deep breath as I slide it on. Harry helps me zip it as I hold my hair over my shoulder, and he tucks the tag in for me. The dress is really pretty but simple, with wide straps and wide V neckline. The top is bandaged across to the bottom and there’s a cutout between my ribs, revealing a diamond of skin. The hem hits mid-thigh and hugs my figure but is stretchy and not restricting.

Harry and I both must be thinking the same thing, because simultaneously we say, “I like this one.” I smile at him through the mirror as the attendant walks back in, smiling.

“That the one?” she asks and I nod. “Good choice. Balmain is popular right now. So you need any stockings or a clutch to go with it?”

I shake my head. “I’ve got stockings, thanks.”

“A black clutch would be nice, yeah?” Harry suggests, talking to both me and the employee. I give him a stink eye in the mirror. “You need a bag, right?” I reluctantly agree.

“Perfect. I know just the one that will go amazingly with the dress.” She leaves, headed off to bring back an assumedly just as expensive dress.

“Do you have shoes?” Harry asks me, eyes roaming over me as I take the dress off.

I nod. “I have a pair that I keep with me, just in case. Trevor bought them, so, again, I don’t even want to know how expensive they were.”

“What brand?” Harry asks. I feel like he’s a walking fashion magazine with all the knowledge he has about clothing.

“Miu Miu,” I say, already knowing the price tag is going to be high.

Harry grimaces, telling me what I already figured. “Don’t tell me,” I warn.

The attendant comes back with a black leather clutch that does actually go very well with the dress and the shoes and stockings I have in mind. When we exit the dressing room, Harry hands me his clothes as well as the pieces we picked out for me, as well as a shiny black credit card with his name on it.

“Go buy this, yeah? I just need to see to something real quick.”

“Wh—Harry. Where are you going?” I ask as he’s already walking away. “They’re not gonna let me buy this with your very recognizable name on the credit card!”

“They don’t look at the cards here, love. They don’t care as long as someone’s forking over the cash. I’ll be back, promise!” And then he’s gone, leaving me alone with his expensive clothes and a card I’m about to charge probably over ten thousand dollars to.

True to his word, the sales associate doesn’t even bat an eye when I hand over Harry’s card, swiping it in the machine with a smile and handing me a receipt that I messily just down Harry’s name on, hoping the H and S with a few squiggles in between will suffice. I get handed the card back as well as bags full of the purchases. The employee smiles and wishes me a good day and a hope that I return as I pocket the card, making sure it’s securely in the front pocket of my jeans so it doesn’t accidentally fall out anywhere. I didn’t even bother listening to her when she told me the price, because I knew it would probably result in a panic attack if I did.

I meander slowly away from the counter, casually searching for Harry’s head of curly hair over the racks and displays, hoping to catch him. When I’m nearing the entrance of the store, he saddles up to me, a small bag in his hand, and wraps his arm around me shoulders.

“Everything go alright?” he asks, taking the bags from my hand.

I dig the card out of my pocket to hand to him as I nod. “Yeah. What’s that?” I ask, gesturing to the small bag.

“Surprise,” he smiles, pulling me close as we step out of the store. The sun has come out for a little visit, so Harry pushes his sunnies off the top of his head to his nose and I dig mine out of my bag to slide on as well. I’m suspicious of what this surprise is, but let it go for now, knowing he’ll tell me later.

It’s nearing lunchtime, so we go back to the car to drop off the bags, and then head out to find a little bistro that Harry likes to eat at when he’s in London. I’m not at all surprised when we get stopped by a few fans on our way down the street, and I take the photo for them when Harry agrees. They apologize for stopping him in the middle of his day and thank him for the time he took for the photo. When they walk away, tittering to each other, Harry turns to me with a smile.

“They’re the reason I keep doing all this. Fans like them keep me motivated even when I feel like shit.”

I smile back at him and wrap my arm around his waist, hugging him chest to chest. “They were really nice, Harry. A majority of your fans are like that; it’s just that the bad seeds are always the ones that get the attention. Nasty people are few and far between, in reality.”

He dips his head down and kisses me lightly and chastely on the lips, only lingering long enough for me to get a hint of the flavor of his gum on my tongue. He takes a few moments to just look at me, and when I go to ask him what’s on his mind, he presses a kiss to my forehead and nudges me along. “Come on. Let’s go eat.”

Somehow, during lunch, I’m able to somehow convince Harry to come with me to some of the medical museums in London that I’ve always wanted to see. He protests at first, blaming his squeamishness, but I pull out a pout and he crumbles, even helping me map out which ones we can hit with relative ease.

We’re closest to the Wellcome Collection, so we head there first. Harry patiently holds my hand through the exhibits and tries his best to keep our lunch in while I excitedly look at and read through all the things on display, chattering aimlessly about medical practices from the nineteenth century and how they led to discoveries and changes that we use today. Harry—bless his heart—hums in acknowledgement to let me know he’s listening and even asks me questions that usually lead me into another tangent.

We go to the Hunterian museum, which has thousands of bones on display. They even have a room with glass casings with skeletons that looks a lot like the exam room used on the American television show ‘Bones.’ Harry’s a bit better with this museum since there’s nothing floating in bottles of formaldehyde and the bones have all been cleaned. He tells me he can pretend that they’re fake, man made models instead of the real thing, so he asks more questions that he seems to genuinely want the answer to while we’re here.

The next one in our list is the Bart’s Pathology Museum, which has all the cool, weird stuff that I like to read about, that has Harry avoiding the displays at all costs, hand clenched tighter in mine. I tease him lightly about his aversion to the dead things and limbs and internal organs floating in embalming fluid, and he nearly gags when I point out a three metre long tapeworm that was removed from a woman in the early nineteenth century.

As we’re walking through the last few exhibits, my phone beeps in my purse. It’s a message from Trevor and all it says is 911. I curse under my breath, knowing this is going to require a phone call or a FaceTime session, both of which are going to require a wifi connection since its an international call.

“Where’s the nearest Starbucks or McDonald’s?” I ask Harry.

“Why? What’s going on?” he asks, his face morphing from a mask of disgust to one of concern.

“Trev just texted me ‘911,’ meaning we need to talk, like, five minutes ago,” I tell him. “I need wifi to get an international call through.”

“There’s a McDonald’s on Fleet Street,” he tells me, politely pulling us past the few other people that are wandering through the museum.

We make it to the fast food joint in just a few minutes, and we stop in the car park, close enough that I can mooch off their wifi. I immediately put a FaceTime call through to Trevor, tapping my foot on the floor mat as I wait for us to connect. When I see his face pop up on my screen, looking a little ragged, admittedly, I dive right in.

“Trev, what’s going on?” I’m concerned that maybe something’s happened to him or something’s happened to one of his parents or there’s some type of state of emergency in America that I don’t know about because I haven’t been keeping up with the news. A million awful scenarios are running through my head, my heart rushing in my ears as I wait for him to answer.

“Oh, Mick, it’s bad,” he tells me, brows furrowed, looking at me with a lot of concern. “And I’m about to kill a bitch, so you might have to bail me out of jail when you get back to New York.”

“Not to get off topic, but they don’t usually offer bail for murder suspects, Trev,” I inform him. “Anyway, what are you talking about? What’s bad? Did something happen with your mum?”

“No, Micky! Something happened with you. Is Harry with you?” I nod and move the camera over to Harry, who offers Trevor a subdued head nod. “You better start Googling yourself, because shit has hit the fan.”

Harry grumbles and pulls out his phone, getting to work on whatever Trevor’s talking about.

“What does that have to do with me?” I ask, heart calming after the adrenaline rush he put me through thinking something awful had happened. I’m still curious as to why he’d be killing anyone, though.”

“You’re face has been plastered all over every tabloid known to man, every gossip website, TMZ, fucking Twitter, Just Jared. Literally anything that covers celebrity gossip now has photos of you and Harry together in London and Manchester.”

I shrug. “We knew this was gonna happen, Trev. We kinda expected it. I’m not too concerned, honestly.”

Harry mutters a ‘shit’ and slams his hand against the steering wheel. I’m surprised by his outburst, because I’ve never seen him angry before, and he looks a little menacing, brow scrunched and eyes stormy. He scrolling aggressively on his screen, muttering strings of curse words under his breath.

I’m about to ask him what’s wrong when Trev begins speaking.

“Yeah, well, you’re about to be concerned. Because that bitch Jeanine in my research group saw your face and helpfully provided the media with your name, where you’re from, the school you attend, what you’re studying, and your social media accounts. I’m surprised you haven’t been getting notifications, because I just checked, and your follower count on Instagram and Twitter has jumped into the tens of thousands.”

I sigh and rub my free hand across my face, grateful for the lack of makeup. I can feel a headache forming behind my eyes just thinking about what hell school is going to be this year. “I have all my notifications turned off.”

“Good, because people are not nice. Fans are tearing you apart and the articles written on you two in the gossip rags are brutal. You should have seen the TMZ coverage ran on you guys on last night’s show.”

I slam my head back against the head rest a few times. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. I’m gonna fucking tear Jeanine a new one. I never liked that cunt. She’s always had something against me.”

“It’s because you’re hotter than her,” he says matter of factly. “I got into lab today and she was telling the rest of the group how she’d seen your picture and thought she’d ‘help you out’ by giving all that information to the paps. I nearly set her hair on fire with a Bunsen burner.”

I can’t help but chuckle. “You’re a real one, Trev.”

“Here ’til the end, bitch,” he promises, cracking his first smile. He sobers again, though, giving me that same concerned look. “What are you gonna do, Mick? Harry?”

Harry grips his hair in his hands, clenching his eyes shut as I see the wheels turn in his head. I’m concerned he’s going to lash out again, but he takes a deep breath through his nose and opens his eyes as he blows it out slowly through his mouth. He looks at me, a vulnerable look in his eyes.

“I meant what I said about this being my life, Mick. Fuck what anyone else is saying. I don’t care about the shit they’re saying about me; it’s nothing new. But the shit they’re saying about you…” he trails off, licking his lips.

I reach out and take his hand over the center console. “I’ve got thick skin, Harry. They don’t know me. Fuck them.” I turn back to look at Trevor. “And fuck that bitch. Tell her she better hope I don’t get her expelled from that damn school. There’s got to be something about releasing student information. She’s a TA; she’s an employee. I’m pretty sure that’s some sort of violation.”

Trevor’s face brightens up at the reminder. “You’re fucking brilliant, Mick. I’ll get on it. And I’ll pass along the message. Call me if you need anything!”

“Will do. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Try to enjoy the rest of your time back home.” He blows me a kiss through the phone before ending the call.

Harry and I sit in the quiet of the car for a few moments, not making a sound or a move. Then Harry lets out a frustrated breath, hitting the steering wheel again. “I’m so fucking sorry, Mick. I didn’t think this would happen. At least not so fast.”

“Hey,” I warn. I unbuckle my seatbelt and clamber over the center divider to settle myself in his lap to we’re facing each other. I reach down to the seat adjuster on the seat to scoot us back so I’m not leaning on the steering wheel. I grab his face in my hands and make him look at me. “This is not your fault. I consciously made the decision to accept your invitation to London and then go out with your friends in public. None of that is a problem for me. And it’s someone in my life who couldn’t keep their mouth shut about who I am. None of that is your fault. And we’ll deal with it. You’ll be back on the road in a few days. No one is gonna remember that I even exist once you’re back out doing your thing.

“So buck up, because I have no intention of letting this thing get in the way of the rest of our time together. We’ve got a party with all your friends tonight, we can enjoy a quiet night together tomorrow. I’m one hundred percent okay, Harry. I promise you. It takes a lot more than complete strangers making erroneous statements about me to get to me. I literally could not give less shits about them if I tried. Don’t you dare let this ruin anything, Harry Edward. Or so help me, I will call your mother and make her slap some sense into you.”

Harry surprises me by breaking out into a breathtaking smile, dimples sinking deep into his cheeks. “God, you’re amazing,” he breathes before pressing our lips together.

When he pulls back, we’re both panting, smiling at each other. “We’re good?” I ask.

This thumbs stroke over my cheeks, eyes roaming over my face as he nods. “We’re good.”

TWENTY

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles imagine #No Control #one direction #harry styles fluff

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kpopaftermidnight-blog · 7 years

Text

Birthday Boy - Oh Sehun

Genre: Fluff?

Words: 5317

Admin: Hunmotions

A slow and calm piano melody quietly played in the background as a morning alarm for you to wake up.The sun rays haven't yet made it over the roofs of the houses around the neighborhood, preventing the beautiful sunlight to stroke your cheeks, naturally waking you up just like they always have.

It was early, 7am to be exact.It wasn't at this time that you would usually get up, but today was excused, it was a special day.

While the last couple of chords played, your eyes opened wide, welcoming the beautiful day of today as you turned around and grabbed the cell phone from the nightstand, the small device still vibrating in your hand.

Quickly unlocking it and checking the calendar, you made sure that the day all these preparations were for, has finally started.April 12th has finally arrived.

Throwing the sheets of the bed and skipping towards the bathroom, cheerfully singing the songs that have been replayed way too many times on the radio, you grabbed your colorful toothbrush and started brushing your teeth.

The usual 10 minutes in bathroom turned into half an hour of choosing which type of hairstyle to go with for the day or which type of makeup would fit the best with the outfit, when in the end, you settled down for the light-minimal day makeup and just a let-loose hairstyle.

Considering the temperature of 20 degrees, the outfit consisted of light blue jeans, oversized white t-shirt, and a light blue denim jacket combined with just the right pair of white converse.

It was only 9am when all the preparations were done, your stomach deciding to call out in a reminder that even after 2 hours of being awake, it was still completely empty.Contamplating on whether you should grab something light to eat or not, the decision was settled on munching on a couple of grape berries, just so the complaining of your stomach would stop.

Playing some music on the radio and cheerfully jumping around the room, trying to dance along the beat, your eyes wandered around the room, searching for the clock that was hanging above the black TV, offering some amount of contrast with it's bright colors next to such a dark object.

The shorter of the two dark needles was calmly positioned on the number 10, while the longer moved forward a little bit the moment your eyes fixed themselves on the object, throwing a slight shadow over the big black number 4.

Opening the notes in your phone, you decided to read through your plan for the day.

12:30 – pick him up

13:00 – go buy bubble tea

13:40 – visit the theme park

16:00 – go to the restaurant

17:40 – buy the cake

18:35 – walk around the town

19:00 – go to the park

21:00 – give him the present

The present.

The same story from two days ago played inside your head as you laid down on the couch and stared at the ceiling.

“Wow I want a sugar mommy too” your best friend, Chanyeol said, "but really, you're not gonna help your crush", he continued, shaking his head at her after hearing the plan that was broken down to him "and you have no guts to confess so why are you hurting yourself?".

"I-I really don't know, I just want to make him feel special" you answered, voice small and quiet as you tried thinking of something more that could ease them both of you into this situation "but it's not like he likes me or anything, so you might be right".

Then suddenly, Chanyeol shot up from his seat and looked at the person in front of him with the amount of shock you have never ever seen in his eyes.

"You're telling me you don't know?" He asked, his voice following his eyes, they were not hiding his surprisement.

"I don't know about what?"

"He has been crushing on you for like two years already and you've been completely oblivious about it?!" The older exclaimed while looking at the other, a completely confused look painting the smaller's face.

"He likes me?" Was all that left those little lips, before an idea appeared in your mind.

"You've honestly been so oblivious about this I can't even belie-" He started speaking before he was cut off, a new idea quickly being broken down to the older.

Snapping out of the thoughts and checking the time once again, you came to the conclusion that it would be a good moment to send a message to the person you going to pick up for a little less than an hour.

"Hopefully you woke up already, birthday boy, otherwise I'm dragging you out of the bed If you're not awake until 12:30" the message said when the send button was tapped.

"That's exactly what I want to prevent, that's why I woke up an hour ago" a reply arrived not even a minute later, a shy smile forming on the corner of your lips after reading what it said.

Checking the clothes and hair in the mirror once again, you decided to head out earlier and walk around for a couple of minutes before heading towards the boy's house.

"Sehun I'm here" a small voice was heard from the other side as you leaned on the door, hand lightly knocking on the white wood for the effect of the moment.

"It's-", the boy was about to speak out as he opened the door, but was startled by a falling figure that he fortunately managed to catch before it met the ground.Looking at the female whose cheeks were now painted the darkest shade of pink he stuttered when he continued his sentence, "I-It's 12:31".The originally jokingly said sentence now told off the flattered feeling that bubbled up inside his chest.

"No it's 12:30" you protested, regaining the previously lost posture, fishing the small electronic device out of your back pocket.Turning it so the male could read off the time, you quietly mumbled that it's the right time.

"Look again", was all he said before bursting out in a fit of laughs at the pouty face of yours while repeating, 'It was 12:30 a minute ago!'.

"It really was a minute ago"

"Yah, you speak too much, come on let's go" quickly grabbing his large hand, a group of butterflies filled your stomach's as you ran out of the building.

"Where are we going?" Sehun asked, trying not to step on the feet that were in front of his as he ran behind.

"Bubble tea"

"God bless you"

"I'm paying"

"God bless you times two"

The line for the bubble tea was pretty long, considering the shop you two decided to buy your drinks at was a newly opened store.But there were many employees working all around the shop, so people were served faster than you have ever seen.

While you were waiting in the line, Sehun was sitting at one of the small couple-tables in the corner, tapping something on his phone, probably satisfied with the quality of wifi that was present in here.

Occasionally, he would spare you a glance, but the moment he caught your eyes already on him, his attention would be back on his phone in a matter of milliseconds.You had to admit, it was boring standing in a line, so it was normal for your eyes to wander all around the place, eventually settling on the amazing statue of your friend.

The place was practical, it wasn't small, but it definitely wasn't as big as your friend made it sound like, yet you liked it.The walls were a light mocha color, the furniture was either white chocolate colored or white.There were small portraits and paintings hanging all around the place, along with cheerfully looking flowers and candles that were placed on each of the tables.

Sehun started playing with the petals of the flowers, carefully inspecting the tender plant under his fingers, gently rubbing the texture of the leaf, smiling at himself for no apparent reason.

"Miss?" An unfamiliar voice of a female woke you up from the trans you were in while you watched the male in the corner, quickly shaking your head and approaching the counter and the employee that was softly smiling at you.

"Two choco flavored bubble tea's" you softly said, taking out a small purse out of the bag and preparing the money to pay.

"Would you like some kind of topping?" She asked, back turned to you while she filled two plastic cups with the beautiful heaven-given drink, as the black boba pearls swam through the light brown liquid.

"Just the usual white whipping cream and chocolate sprinkles" the woman nodded, signaling you that she has indeed understood your order, and you moved to the side to pay for your drinks.

"Can you please write a sweet birthday message on one of them?" you asked, pointing to the drinks, explaining who it is for and even though the cups were filled to the top, the woman smiled and gave her best at writing a really sweet message on the plastic.Giving a huge tip to the pleasant employee, you walked away to the table and placed two cups down with extra effort to not spill any of the heavenly drink.

The male at first hasn't noticed the message, as he eagerly sipped on his bubble tea, humming in enjoyment that filled every cell in his body.Then out of nowhere, he choked on something that you later recognized being a small boba pearl.

Moving the drink away from his face and beginning to cough while repeatedly hitting his chest as if it would help, he finally noticed the black letters on the plastic.

Smiling to you after reading it, he thanked you and continued quietly sipping his drink, while you took your time to admire the uncovered beauty that was sitting right in front of you.

Sehun always looked like a model and simply, the whole world was his runaway.His shorter black hair was throwing a faint shadow over his forehead, his eyebrows looking ten times better than yours ever will.The cute pout that was painting his features wasn't intentional, he had a habit of either pouting or tightening his lips in a tight line whenever he was happy.You were glad to see that, it was just a confirmation that you were doing your job at making him feel special, very well.

Once the visit to the newly opened store was done, the two of you made your way to the theme park.It has just opened, so it took a lot of squeezing through huge groups of sweaty peope and their kids to make it to the clear.Once you both made your way to one of the little wooden houses that were selling tickets, you told Sehun to wait on the side so you can 'handle it yourself'.

Usually, the line was long for the tickets, especially at this place, but today, or at least at this very moment, it seemed to be short.Just a couple of people were in front of you, and you managed to approach the person selling the tickets in a matter of minutes.

"Two cards for the Ferris Wheel" you said, quickly paying for your purchase as you had to move fast, people behind unwilling to wait long as the last ferris wheel ride was coming to a stop.

Grabbing Sehun's hand and beginning to run towards the entry of the ride, you both impatiently watched as people left from the comfortable leather seats of the cabins.Shifting your weight between your feet, you seemed to slightly jump in place, still tightly holding onto the other's hand.

Once everyone from the last round left, you two were the first ones in line to enter the luxurious looking silver cabin.Sehun being Sehun, nearly tripped over the two-step stairs on his way inside.Holding onto his biceps tight so he doesn't fall down, you gained a few looks from people around, who were looking at you with eyes full of nothing else but love.They must've thought you two were a couple.Only if it was true.

The ride was something you could only describe as breathless.Actually, when you thought about it, the view from the top of the ferris wheel was something worth living for, something that no one could describe well enough with words, and something that anyone would stop time for, just to enjoy in it for a little bit more.

Occasionally glancing at the person in front of you, you would notice how amazed he was too.Sehun's eyes were glowing with an unfamiliar glow, his smile was as wide as it could be, his head supported by his right hand, carefully inhaling the fresh, unpolluted air that was situated on the height you currently were on.

He was beautiful.Not that he wasn't the most beautiful art on daily occasions, but this exact moment was something special.Just looking at him being lost in his thoughts and enjoying the view, managed to brush off all worries that were wandering around your mind.

As cliché as it sounds, he seemed to be your escape at that very moment.

But just as he would feel your eyes on him, you would advert your gaze to the beautiful picture of the town, trying to look as convincing that you weren't just staring at the unexplained and unprotected delicacy as you could.

"I'm hungry" he whined and you stopped at the popcorn stand, buying a xxl portion without even asking how much it is.

"I feel like you're taking care of me, paying for everything", his lips turned into the famous pout-ggukggukie as he grabbed a handful of popcorn, throwing them in his mouth one by one, "it's not that I'm unable to pay for myself you know".

"Don't pull that face on me Oh Sehun" you warned "I planned this and saved up enough money so don't complain when you don't have to pay for anything; honestly who even does that?".

"Aww you planned this out for me?" He teased, suddenly wrapping his arms around your waist and putting his chin on your shoulder, sending a wave of butterflies through your stomach, "I appreciate it very much".

"You better do Mister" fighting the urge of a voice break, you took a deep breath and bit your bottom lip, breaking out of the grip of the stronger and making your way towards the next ride.

"Attention, please secure your belts, the ride is about to start" an unfamiliar voice of a woman echoed through the boot, resulting in teenagers sitting in their seats to lift their hands up in excitement.Not wanting to be the only ones different, Sehun grabbed the hand of the younger and lifted it up, the exact second the rollercoaster started moving.

"For safety" he whispered as your eyes met and he smiled, squeezing your hand and cheering along with everyone around as the roller coaster made it higher and higher on the rails, nearing the big fall that was intimidating everyone on the ride.You just nodded at his statement and held his hand, the wind blowing in your face cooling off the warmth and preventing your cheeks from turning into the brightest shade of red.

"Here we go!" Sehun yelled just a moment before everyone began screaming.Adrenaline quickly overtaking their bodies, you tightened your grip on Sehun's hand, your consciousness telling you that you may be squeezing it too tight and that you maybe should let it go, but that hasn't happened.

For safety, you held his hand the whole time.For safety you held it even after the ride was over.For safety, just so you don't get lost; you repeated to yourself.

"You're not getting me on that thing" Sehun repeated his protesting statement when he saw that the 8th ride he was being dragged on was a famous epinephrine-boosting ride named Booster.

"Come on I already bought the tickets, it'll be fun" you managed to pull him to the entrance of the ride even with his loud protesting had caught the attention of many theme park visitors around you.

"You get to hold my hand, how amazing is that?" You teased him by pinching his sides, not daring to look up at his face to see the slightly pink cheeks of the male, who awkwardly laughed at the more question-like statement.

"Pretty amazing" was the answer that he was supposed to deliver, but the quiet tone that it was spoken in resulted in it not quite making it to the ears of the other.

Time passed by fast in the theme park for both of you, Sehun felt all bubbly ad light-headed as the aftershock of the last ride as people would call it.A couple of minutes were needed for him to regain his straight posture and balance, previously clutching onto your arms and shoulders for support.

He seemed pretty oblivious as to where were you taking him, until you took a turn to one of the streets with expensive stores, cafés and restaurants.

"What are we doing here?" Sehun asked with a rather dazed tone, turning around and looking at all of the expensive stores, display windows showing the shiny Gucci suits and Giorgio Armani shoes that caught the attention of the by-passers.

The expensive clothes people in this block wore made Sehun feel unpresentable for a moment, before you pulled him to the side, leading him inside the garden that was a part of property from the restaurant you reserved a dinner in.

"This part of the restaurant is only for reservations-"

"That is exactly why we are here Sehun" you smiled at him, the boy looking at you with the most shocked expression he ever pulled out.Looking around, he saw that besides the low number of fancy-clothed people, there were also young couples dressed completely casually, which made him feel better about his clothing choice for the day.In the end, he didn't know he was going to go to a restaurant!

You felt his tension and discomfort for a moment, before he touched his shirt and looked at the couple sitting a couple of tables away, wearing nothing else but pure gold bars.Or at least that's how Sehun would put how expensive their clothes looked.

"Hey it's all okay, this is why I chose this restaurant, this is the only restaurant that isn't that fancy, people come here just to enjoy some good quality food" you reassured him, and he nodded in understanding matter.The last thing you wanted him to feel was discomfort."In the end it's not like we're unpresentable", you added, checking out your outfit and then Sehun's.

He was wearing black jeans, white t-shirt and a black leather jacket, along with black converse.It wasn't as fancy as the clothes of the people next to you, but it wasn't a street-wear either.

You two started talking about a random topic, when a tall figure quickly appeared next to you, hovering over your figures.He wore a rather casual waiter outfit, a white shirt covered by a black silk vest, accompanied with a black tie and black pants.

"Mr. and Mrs. Oh right?" The waiter asked checking the table number and his notepad, as Sehun shot you a surprised look, smugly smiling to himself when you pushed his leg with yours under the table.Nodding to the waiter, the man continued speaking, "I'm your waiter for today, my name is Jaeyong", the male bowed and brought up his notepad along with a black pen in his other hand, "do you want to order now or should I come back later?".

"We'll order now" you said, smiling politely at the taller and quickly turning your attention to the menu.Everything looked so much more expensive than the usual takeout you were buying, and you swear you heard Sehun mumble something along the lines "have you really got money for any of this".

After a little bit of questions about the restaurant recommendations and what is ordered the most, you settled for the house specialty, which would, you were pretty sure, throw you into depression with it's cost.

Your friend only looked at you, not asking anything even though it was pretty obvious he could explode with the amount of questions that he needed to have the answers to right now.After some time, the curiosity got the better of him, and he spilled out his first question.

"So we're a couple now hm?" He teased you as you once again pushed his leg with yours, ready to explain the situation.

"Couple discount" you whispered quietly, just in case anyone suspects anything.

"What?"

"I said couple discount, we get 15% off the price" leaning in so you could say it the way he could understand now, his mouth formed an 'o' shape as he nodded, clearly satisfied with the answer he was replied to with.

The food and drinks were brought to you not even 20 minutes after being ordered, and you immediately dug in.You were hungry and it was obviously showing.But could you be blamed?You hadn't ate anything else other than a few grape berries in the morning.

Noticing that Sehun hasn't ate a lot at all, you looked at him, your chopsticks holding noodles that were still partly in your mouth.

"Do you not like it?" You asked after swallowing the bite of the food you had in your mouth.The male only shook his head no, flashing the sweetest smile ever to you.

"I just love watching you eat" Sehun noted, spreading his palm in your direction, as his other hand supported his chin in a form of a fist.

That made you feel embarrassed for a moment, your cheeks not taking long to turn a light shade of pink.But seeing as the male himself dug in the food moments later, you continued eating, slight smile on your face at the thought of Sehun watching you.

And it was true in the end, you got the 15% discount, which made you feel a little bit better about the price of the meal.Even after you left through the doors of the restaurant, Sehun didn't fail to remind you that you impress him with how big your budget is.

"Happy birthday to you", a cheerful song echoed through the small open space surrounded by different kinds of trees, creating an amazing atmosphere of the moment, "happy birthday dear Sehun", you continued singing as you held the small cardboard box with a cute chocolate cake in your hands."Happy birthday to you" you finished, watching as Sehun closed his eyes and blew the colorful wax candles in the shape of the numbers representing his age.

"Hopefully you didn't wish for another dog, Vivi would be jealous" you joked, making him smile gently.Taking out two plastic spoons, he gave one to you and pushed his into the soft chocolate glaze, lifting it to his mouth, he tasted the sweet cake and moaned at the deliciousness of the aftertaste.

And really, the aftertaste was maybe even better than the first shock of the fully chocolate mania that was presented before you.Even though you didn't want to take more than two spoonful's of the sweet, Sehun assured you that he won't able to eat the whole thing (even though you were pretty sure he could, but was only being polite) and that he'd like to share it with you.Who were you to refuse such an offer, really?

The sky was a beautiful orange color with a tint of pink, accompanied with white cotton-like clouds that weren't evenly thrown on the surface.This day seemed to be blessed with beautiful weather and colors of the sky, which you were completely thankful for.It wouldn't have been such an amazing day if it wasn't for the God's will to not ruin the weather.

The night was also beautiful, just like the previous parts of the day; the clear sky sprinkled with white shiny dots that weren't symmetrically placed all over the nearly black canvas.The light breeze that was present made the night just a tad bit more enjoyable for everyone outside.

Contrasting the situation you were in just an hour go, there were no sounds leaving your lips.Silence was never something the two of you would enjoy, but at this moment, it was just perfect, words were not needed to express your enjoyment.The bodies communicated with each other as every now and then, your hands would brush against each other, causing utter confusion between the two.

"Just there" you pointed at a wooden bench between the two big trees in front of them, the beautiful view of the town hidden from the curious eyes; at least until they took a few steps closer to the edge.

"I...have a gift for you" stuttering at the beginning, but later finding the courage, you spoke up while playing with the hem of the shirt you wore, murmuring a quiet "it's so silly" to yourself.

"Excuse me?Miss are you out of your mind?What were all of the things we did today?" Sehun asked, completely confused about the whole situation.Besides the best day of his life you still bought him a gift?

"A...a...birthday party type of thing?" You smiled at him, but quickly lowered your gaze to the floor after meeting eyes with a pair of sincere and caring ones.

"I swear to God you're unbelievable" Sehun flailed his arms in the air, dropping them on the side of his thighs with a loud slapping sound "have you really spent even more money on a gift?How much in total did you spend you crazy woman?".

"No...I didn't really spend more money on a gift...because...because your gift is..." The nervousness began getting the better of the female once again, as you closed your eyes, still scared about how the whole thing will turn out "...me".

Silence.Scary, terrifying, tempting silence.

"Excuse me?" Was all that left the lips of the other, when in reality, he wanted to ask so many questions and voice out his feelings at that exact moment, but the feeling that all of this wasn't real prevented him from doing so.It couldn't be real.It is not possible for the thing you just said to be true.

While he felt unsure, you felt denied.You felt like his question was just a polite way of denying the feelings and the fact that you just made a fool of yourself, confessing and offering yourself to someone who didn't feel anything towards them just lowered your already low enough self-esteem.

"No, never mind, I'm sorry" retrieving the words that left those tiny lips, you began fidgeting with the hem of your shirt once again, trying to think of how much money do you have left, just to be able to buy the guy a new cap (or a shirt perhaps) for the birthday gift that didn't have a plan b completely figured out.

"What did you say?" Sehun looked the smaller in the eyes, trying to look as convincing as possible, while his hand made it's way towards the chin of the other, lifting it up.

"No I didn't plan all of this out it was lame of me to do this I'm sor-" you started blabbering out the excuses and sorries, when a pair of lips were pressed on yours, setting a calm and romantic rhythm.

Cupping your face, Sehun slowly rubbed the soft cheeks under his big palms, feeling the burning sensation of the surface he was holding.Trying to keep a steady rhythm your lips were following, but soon being out of breath, he broke the kiss, Sehun being quick to press his forehead against yours, looking deep into the eyes in front of him and smiling.

"What has just happened?" The silence was broken, as a shaky and unsure voice filled the tiny space between the two.

"I claimed what's mine" Sehun's voice was strong and confident, a complete contradiction to the one that was heard just a moment ago "a famous saying says, it's not okay to return the gift to it's owner".

Detaching his hands from your face and moving them over the length of your arms, Sehun grabbed your hands that seemed to perfectly fit into the larger pair of the other.The smile on his face just seemed to radiate with more and more happiness, his eyes showing the amount of love that wasn't describable with words.

The light breeze that was present just a few minutes ago turned into a stronger one, boosting the drama-like atmosphere between the two as they stood motionless, their hairs flowing ever so beautifully on the wind.

The couple seemed to be frozen in time, much unlike the urban and eventful world that was moving around them.They didn't care though, it was all perfect, the moment was the most beautiful moment in their lives just as it is.

Hands squeezed tight, foreheads pressed against each other and eyes staring into the ones in front of his, a smile formed on both of your lips before the older leaned in and captured the smaller creature in his arms, locking you in his protective cage.

"Thank you for today, really" Sehun whispered quietly, his chin resting on your shoulder in front of him, allowing you to hear everything the male was speaking "I don't remember the last time I've felt this special".

Another heartfelt smile crept up your face, this time accompanied with a cute pink tint of the cheeks that were also pushing those sincere eyes up into an eye-smile.

Shifting his weight firstly on his right and then his left leg, Sehun started rocking both of you while humming a familiar love song that was overplayed on the radio.

"I love you" another soft whisper followed, surprising both of them, but neither of the two reacted in any way other than staying calm for a few moments.

"How do I actually repay you for all of the money you spent on this beautiful day?" He asked, disturbing the silence.He was genuinely worried that after this day you had to sell your flat to be able to walk out of the minus on your credit card.

"Just...just hold me and never let me go, that'll be enough" you answered, snuggling your head into his wide chest, providing yourself with more heat as the cold air enveloped the uncovered places on your body, sending shivers down your spine.The male only chuckled at the reactions before he squeezed his arms around the body in between them, burying his nose into the neck of the other and letting the situation completely sink in as he continued to hum the same love song over again.

"Sehun?".

"Hm?".

"I love you too".

I screamed.This was a pleasure to write.

Happy birthday to my dearest fluff, also known as Oh Sehun!I already wrote out my feelings on facebook so I’m kinda low on words here ~~~

Anyway, I hope you stay healthy and happy in this year, and in many more that are yet to come.Spend this day with the people you love the most and please do not harm yourself in any way, do not overwork yourself, do not starve yourself and please get enough rest.Your health is the most important.

Happy 23rd (24th) Hunnie <3

-Admin Hunmotions

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