#byun baekhyun fanfiction

[papermatisse]

inquiring minds || B.BH

♔ pairing: professor!byun baekhyun x f!professor!reader

♔ genre: fluff

♔ word count: 2.7k

♔ warnings: none

♔ synopsis: the students of sm university have their attention on the popular history professor and his secretive lifestyle. student beomgyu finds a person who may hold the answers on everyone's minds.

♔ (a/n): happy birthday, @biaswreckingfics! can't believe this is my second year writing you a bday fanfic! im so happy to call you my friend! I tried making this a drabble to show my growth to you, but failed miserably. I hope you enjoy it nevertheless!

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Byun Baekhyun was an enigma.

A history professor with an impressive academic history to coincide with his doctorate. Young, handsome, intelligent. Though also a gifted professor, delving into each and every subject of his with such unadulterated enthusiasm of his own that his students couldn't help but feel just as invested themselves.

He was hyper, dashing across his lecture hall, hands raised in the air, so entirely devoted to his craft. His teachings were practically performances as he embodied the era he spoke of. He was a professor many would yearn to have, someone who was incapable of ever losing the attention of his students. He held to the firm belief of not taking life seriously, lest you not make it out alive, and he stood there as a triumphant example of what splendor life could offer if you merely enjoyed it.

All of these characteristics that had made him so utterly popular, yet the student body knew little to nothing about the man. Because although he was the human personification of a puppy with his bright eyed wonderment and neverending infectious joy, he was extremely reclusive. Everything about his life was kept to himself, to the point that there were more speculated rumors about the man than actual truths.

So far what was known of Baekhyun was his age, his degree, his dissertation, and his eternal battle with his cat. The man was an undeniable dog person, and often accepted late work from students if they even so much as sent him a blurry photo of a dog, let alone bring the actual dog into class for him to dote upon whilst he taught. He'd come into the lecture hall at times, a scratch or two on his arm from where his cat had bitten him, though the ongoing battle between his feline and himself was a series that many found themselves subscribing to with gusto.

There was no discernible moment in time that the tides seemed to shift, but the populous had unanimously and without debate began pestering the man for more information about his life.

It had begun as simple questions, merely asking what he'd eaten that day, what his cat looked like, even where he got his sweater from at some point. At times, he'd give a wry answer, barely even acknowledging whoever asked such a minuscule question in the first place. Occasionally he'd stay quiet, or perhaps even reflect the question back to the student in his usual comedic manner.

Though the questions soon escalated.

Do you have a social media?

"Do you not see enough of me at school already?"

Are you allergic to any foods?

"I don't trust anyone with that type of knowledge."

What's your mother's maiden name?

"Isn't that a security question?"

One day, one of those personal questions had garnered an intriguing response from the man.

"Are you dating anyone?"

A subtle smirk crossed his face for the briefest of moments, followed with an amused puff of air expelled from his nose as he remained where he sat, typing at his computer while his class wrapped up for the day. This insighted much enthusiasm from the masses, everyone gasping and talking over one another ecstatically at the newfound information.

"Mr. Byun, you never told us you were dating someone!"

"Who are they?"

"How long have you been together?"

"Enough, enough," Baekhyun waved off the curious undergrads, rolling his eyes with a smile. "I'm not dating anyone. Now go to your next class, I'm in office hours mode from this point on."

"Does that mean we can stay and ask more questions?"

"History related."

Although they had all vacated the classroom, the events hadn't left the minds of some students, one specifically being Choi Beomgyu, an English major who was on his way to his TA class. Professor Byun was someone he had grown to highly respect, with his kind and funny nature, willing to help his students no matter the assignment. Although the class was a requirement for him, Beomgyu found himself enjoying it far too much, to the extent that he was even deliberating minoring in history alone.

Though he knew Baekhyun was a rarity of a professor, and walking into his English class served as a reminder of that fact as he looked towards his English professor.

Professor (l/n) was the personification of the stereotypical English professor, or at least the ones commonly depicted in media. Oversized knitted cardigans with loose stitchings, hair tied back and away from her face in a messy and carefree manner, a tired scowl resting on her face as her eyes roved over endless stacks of papers, darkness lingering beneath her gaze as a consequence to her exhaustion.

Beomgyu sat beside her desk, waiting patiently for her to glance over at him, though by the looks of it, she was far too preoccupied with grading to even acknowledge his presence. Though he was used to this by now, often greeted by her well after he'd arrive. It also granted him some more time to stew over Professor Byun before he'd have to delve into grading.

Although it was expected, he hadn't really expected Baekhyun to actually be dating someone. It had him considering who could possibly handle someone like him. Was the man as energetic at home as he was in the classroom? Was it someone interested in history as well? Could it even be a professor at the university? Perhaps someone even in the humanities department like him?

"Professor (l/n)?" He spoke breaking the silence and causing her to shoot her head up in surprise, sighing upon just seeing her TA.

"Good morning, Beomgyu, how are you holding up today?"

"It's… Well into the afternoon." He laughed as she reached for her phone, humming in understanding at his words as she verified the time of day. "My day has been okay. I just had Professor Byun's class, so I'm kind of tired."

"Makes sense." She responded, this intrinsic understanding tone laced in her voice as she returned to her grading pile, marking things as she read through them. "You can take a few more minutes to yourself."

"Do you know Professor Byun?" Beomgyu asked absentmindedly, not expecting much else other than a mere shrug or an uncommitted confirmation, though instead she nodded to him, not turning away from her work for even a moment. "Well, I mean, do you like… know him, know him. More than just a work colleague."

Another nod.

This stunned Beomgyu, not really expecting someone as cloistered as Professor (l/n) to have acquainted herself with someone as sociable and outgoing as Professor Byun. Though at the same time, it wasn't so far-fetched. The two are just a few doors away from each other, both housed under the humanities department. Perhaps she just tolerated him, because Professor (l/n) was not someone who accepted tomfoolery in class, rather strict when it came down to someone disturbing her class with laughter or audio from their phones. It didn't seem like they'd be necessarily close when taking their countenances into consideration.

"I'm assuming if I ask you questions about his life, you wouldn't really say much?"

"Not without his explicit permission, no." She confirmed with a huff, backing away to take another sip of her (likely cold) coffee.

"Do you need me to get you a refill from the backroom?"

Glancing down at her cup and then to her TA, she shook her head.

"It's fine. I'll get some in a few minutes." Beomgyu reached for one of the essay piles, pen in hand ready to grade alongside her, unaware of the curious gaze now directed towards him. "What's with the sudden intrigue in Professor Byun?"

"Not really sudden." Beomgyu chuckled, fiddling with his writing implement while recounting his time in the general history course. "My class has been pretty annoying lately with him, trying to get him to spill as much information about his personal life as we can, but he's really reserved. Surprisingly." This earned Beomgyu a snicker from his professor, encouraging him to continue. "Today, we almost got him to spill about a potential relationship of his. We asked if he was dating someone and he didn't outright deny it immediately like the other questions." Beomgyu reconsidered Baekhyun's reaction—definitely intriguing and definitely suspicious. It warranted Beomgyu's otherwise peculiar intrigue in the matter, he had insisted. The natural desire of people to sate their curios no matter what. "He denied it eventually though. Said he wasn't dating anyone."

"He's not." Professor (l/n) responded, causing Beomgyu to look at her with wide eyes. She went back to her papers though, seemingly no longer interested in the conversation, but ever the determined student, he persisted.

"You know a lot about his personal life?"

"As much as he's willing to tell."

How could Beomgyu concentrate on grading when the answers to everyone's questions reside in the stoic English professor before him? Such an unexpected source of information, yet also so obvious. Someone who keeps to herself, therefore someone who won't blab about Baekhyun to others. Someone close to him, physically so in the case of their similar departments. Quiet and somber, a guaranteed good listener. Attentive and keen, given her English background and analyzing capabilities. The more Beomgyu thought about it, the more fitting it all seemed.

"Since I can't ask about Professor Byun, could I ask about you?"

She glanced over at him, eyebrow raised momentarily, though shrugging nevertheless, casting her gaze back down to her papers.

Much like history class, he started with simple surface level questions, ice breakers to warm her up to his interrogation.

"When did you graduate?"

"Few years ago."

"What did you last eat?"

"A blueberry muffin."

"What do you do in your free time?"

"Read."

And again, much like Professor Byun's class, his questions gradually escalated.

"When was the last time you lied?"

"I don't remember."

"Was that a lie?"

"Probably not."

"Have you lied any time throughout our talk?"

"Not really."

Though it was one question that struck a chord in Beomgyu, causing him to narrow his eyes at his professor upon her answer.

"Are you a dog person or cat person?"

"Cat person." She answered immediately, shaking her head at the mere prospect of the former option. "Dogs are very active and loving, and it's just something I'm not necessarily comfortable with. So I have a cat back at home."

"What's this cat like?"

"Hmm… She loves me… That's the most I can say about that." She laughed to herself, and unbeknownst to her, her student sat there putting pieces together. Pieces he hadn't even considered to even go together in the first place.

"Do you have a social media?"

"Yes."

"Are you allergic to any foods?"

"Some."

"What's your mother's maiden name?"

"No comment."

Suddenly, with the similarly ambiguous answers swirling in his thoughts, his eyes strayed down to her hands, busy scribbling feedback into papers, still far too preoccupied with her grading to notice his suspicions.

"Are you dating someone?"

"No." The answer came smoothly, no hesitance or deliberation in her voice. And when she spoke her answer, he saw her hand twitch. Her hand tucked away in the long sleeves of her sweater. Beomgyu had to bite back a smile as his next words arose in his head.

"Are you married?" She paused writing, a sly smile of her own sprouting forth as she turned to face the young boy. Her eyes narrowed much like his own investigative gaze, but she nevertheless accepted his inquiry.

"So you've discovered the loophole." She stated, lifting her left hand and letting the sleeve slide down, revealing her fingers, one of which held a diamond ring, glistening under the fluorescent lights of the classroom. His jaw dropped, staring at her in disbelief as she laughed at his reaction. His eyes darted between her face to her ring, silenced at the sudden turn of events in their little game.

And the questions seemed endless at this point, buzzing in his head and begging to be asked. How long have you been married? Why are you hiding it? Who exactly are you hiding it with? But instead, his mind opted for two alternative questions.

"Your maiden name?"

"(l/n)."

"Your current legal surname?"

"Byun."

Beomgyu hadn't even a moment to stir in his unabashed shock, because as if on cue, the doors of the classroom burst open, and in marched Professor Byun in all of his enthusiastic glory, a coffee tray and a paper bag in hand as he smiled at the woman seated at her desk.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Byun," Baekhyun placed the food items on the stack of papers she had been engrossed in, coercing an indifferent scowl from her while he unpacked the brown bag.

"That's Professor (l/n) to you." Beomgyu watched with bated breath as Baekhyun tongued the inside of his cheek cockily, leaning forward onto her desk in as suave a manner as he could muster.

"That's not what you were saying last night."

She stared at him for another second, her eye momentarily twitching in her futile attempts to keep to her somber expression, though eventually her facade slipped away from her, the English professor lowering her head in defeat as she laughed at his response.

"What's that even supposed to insinuate?" She asked between giggles, hand raising to cover her mouth. Baekhyun shrugged, spewing out his own chuckles alongside with her.

"I don't know, but it got you to laugh, so I consider it a win for me." He rested half his weight on the end of her desk, eyes trailing over to Beomgyu who still sat there with widened eyes darting between the two. "Good afternoon to you again, Mr. Choi."

"Professor Byun," he replied, voice strained and wary, the boy wholly unaware of what to make of the situation though also struggling in his attempt to not merely combust where he sat, whether it be from surprise or excitement.

Baekhyun glanced back at his wife, who was now taking sips from her new warm coffee.

"What's up with him?" He asked her, head nodding towards her now silent TA.

"He found out who you're married to."

"Ah, I thought he already knew." Baekhyun snickered, turning back to Beomgyu with an amused smile. "I thought I was secretive, but how could you not even tell your own TA you're married?"

"It never came up." She went back to grading papers, one hand holding her pen while the other held the pastry Baekhyun brought her.

"So newfound information. You must have many questions." At Baekhyun's inquiry, Beomgyu finally relinquished his restraint, the questions that were all but culminating in his head finally spilling forth like a flood. His words slurred together as he spoke in almost a rushed manner, as if to say everything on his mind before he forgot, though with how impactful of a discovery this was, he highly doubted he'd ever forget even the most minute of details of this very moment.

Baekhyun laughed at the boy's enthusiasm, barely even taking in any of his questions, though still trying to appease him as much as he could. For the first time since Beomgyu became his student, he finally had a first seat preview of Professor Byun's personal life of mundanity, and his uneventful day to day that consisted of work, grading, and spending time with his wife and cat. An ever domestic livelihood, but if the smiles on both of their faces as he discussed their daily routines were any indicator, it was a calming, fulfilling peace. A tranquility rarely ever attained, though one that's often strove for.

(y/n) flicked Baekhyun's arm with the tip of her pen, earning a whine from the man who retracted his arm from where he leant it in front of her.

"Get out, you're distracting my grading assistant."

"But I brought you sustenance." He nudged the bag which once held her midday snack as took another meaningful bite of her pastry, nodding at his words at the end of it all.

"I guess you could stay for a few minutes more."

"I brought you sustenance, and my love."

"That's not as important as the sustenance."

Though with that warm, fond smile on Baekhyun's face, and the way she paused her incessant grading to drink the coffee he brought her while responding to his commentary and jokes, it was obvious that the love was just as, if not more, important than the sustenance.

[rancidtae]

ARCADIA’S LULLABY | CHAPTER 3

Genre: Mafia AU. Vigilante AU. Sci-fi (AI). Warnings: Graphic violence, Strong language Pairing: exo & Original Female Character (Jung Jiah/Kang Rina) - Kim Minseok/Original Female Character - Zhang Yixing/Original Female Character Word count: 7k+ chapter summary: the rain pours relentlessly, but a different storm is just starting. Jiah meets Jongin at a birthday party, it's all harmless fun and magnetic sparks until it isn't, and he calls her the wrong name.

masterlist meet the characters

You wanna disappear in a crowd Just a stranger in a room Wanna change your colors just for the night With no word of it following you home

081222 - 5:43 pm

Things are quiet.

The story is still at the center of the news and online discussions. People have dissected every detail of Lee Chungjae's life to the point that he took down all his posts. In every sense of the word, he's the country's most hated man.

And candidate Lee's reassuring smile when reporters bring up the subject has started to crack.

But nothing else happens.

She's on edge. Let the storm hit already, for fuck's sake. 

Yixing finds her restlessness hilarious and texts her a screenshot of the weather app this morning. 90% chance of rain for the next three days.

It looks like Kuraokami answered your prayers.

In the midst of it all, he's been refusing to blend to the background of her mind, exploiting the fact that she's weak when it comes to a good meal. Most days he shows up to her door with takeout, and just yesterday he came with ingredients and made her eat her words about carbonara being the most overrated approach to noodle based recipes.

He’d laugh at her if he could see her now, standing outside the chronicle's building, struggling to get her buzzing phone from the inside of her bag.

A part of her hopes it's the blocked number from before.

But there's a name on the screen, and it puts a frown on her face.

“What do you want.” 

A chuckle spills through the line. “Resentment is a terrible thing, you know? It does the heart no good.”

“How would you know? You don't have one."

“I heard you paid someone a visit last night. I wanted to hear it from you.”

She scoffs up at the sky through her see-through umbrella.

"You want me to say I’m... what? Shaking in my boots? So you can rub one out to the sound of it?”

“Language, sunshine. Let’s keep things civil.”

“I tried to be civil, didn’t I? I even gave you a heads-up for old times’ sake, but then you decided to make things personal. So now I’m thinking that next time, I'll just let it blow in your face, make it surprise.” 

“Ah, there we go again with that. Why do you insist on calling it personal?”

“Why don’t you suck my dick, Namjoon?”

She hates that she can hear his poisonous smile, over so confident and collected.

“You walked into that room yourself. How is it fair to blame me for the consequences of your actions?”

He enjoyed it, he’s enjoying it even now, she knows. He denied any involvement in her encounter with a certain pair of recently debuted syndicate members, but hist hands were all over that stunt.

A blow like that, the same night she showed up to let him know she had info on his candidate’s son, and he expects her to believe destiny is just funny like that.

No fucking way.

Things may or may not have escalated to shattered wine glass and a deep burgundy stain on Jin's favorite artwork hanging on the wall.

“Can you get to the point? Some of us can’t afford to spend the day scheming, I have things to do.” she says, impatience seeping into her tone.

It's starting to rain, so her hair will start looking crazy in about three minutes.

“I was hoping you were bluffing.”

She laughs in a way that makes an older woman give her a nasty look.

“My hopes weren’t for us.”

Ah.

There it is. As grim as it is, it’s like a weight taken off her chest.

Her surroundings come back into focus. The narrow street. The stream of people walking past her, trying to get out of the rain as soon as possible. A girl brushing her shoulder, recording herself speaking in a foreign language. A taxi driver fighting with a delivery guy. A German shepherd with a yellow raincoat and little rubber boots, its nose against the side of a phone booth. 

“I see.” 

“Just now?” he has the gall to sigh, disappointed. “I thought you knew when you went to Yoongi looking for a 22. I guess you're not that good at seeing things beforehand anymore, not even when you start them.”

If she had to describe it, she’d say it’s a lot like a game of hide and seek with the kids from her street. Terrifying and exciting at the same time.

“Come to the hotel,” he suddenly says, much to her surprise “Stay here until things settle down.”

And if she had to sum Kim Namjoon up, this would be it. No one but him could give an invitation and a threat at the same time with such ease. Come, or else.

“No. I think I'll stay outside, see what comes out of it.”

Another deep sigh.

“I see. Have it your way, then. You have your fun, make sure to enjoy it.”

She hits the red button and finds that the cute dog with the rubber boots nowhere to be seen, as if it vanished off the street with its human. 

At least 13 different people stop her before reaching Kim Kibum's office. Even though her name wasn't credited, her co-workers know what it means when she disappears for weeks, and the kind of stories she chases. The vultures in her department rolling their eyes at the sight of her kind of give it away.

“I thought I told you to work from home until further notice,” he says as she locks the door behind her.

“What? I deliver the story of probably the year, and you don’t want to see my face anymore?”

"Don’t. I’ve had a long day” he huffs, pulling the blinds down. His office looks less cluttered than she remembers. Has it been that long since she clocked in? “You know there’s a reason why I asked you to lay low for a while.”

She drops her body on one of the chairs in front of his desk and grabs a heavy, fancy pen.

“Did you see? Lee Chungjae is living his best life in France pretending to care about free education. He’s out there taking pics with Rihanna.”

Her boss leans over, snatches the pen from her hands, and points it at her like a sword.

“And? What do you expect? That they lock him up as soon as the story comes out? We do our thing, the rest is up to the world. We’re a newspaper, not the league of justice.”

Earlier today she told Haneul something similar, just to calm him down. Now she knows how he felt.

“It’s been a week already.”

“No, it’s barely been a week” he corrects her, moving a storage box under his desk and stretching his waist like he just can’t wait for retirement. “You know how this is, Jiah.”

Yeah, she knows. Shitty. Working your ass off, dealing with red tape and censorship, putting everything on a plate only for the world to move on, people not give a shit, and those who are supposed to do something turn a blind eye and fill their pockets.

“Why is your stuff inside a box?" Even the fake Basquiat is missing, so she knows it's serious. "Are you quitting?”

“I’m moving to a new office,” he says, pausing before adding "Jongsuk quit today.”

The news hits her like an ice bucket.

“He turned in his resignation letter earlier."

"Fuck." she breathes. "Oh. Fuck."

"Talk about freedom of the press, huh?” he laughs bitterly, tapping his temple, shaking his head, his eyes turning red.

In terms of bad news, this is the kind that makes you very aware of the last meal you had.

The Chronicle’s had the same chief editor for nearly twelve years. It’s one of the country’s most respected newspapers, and Jung Jongsuk was a big part of the reason why. The idea of someone with enough power moving the right strings to get the man, the myth, the fucking legend fired just as means of revenge sets a chill down her spine.

It’s a petty but very clear act of revenge. A shame, considering he was damn good at his job and how much he cared about his staff.

She sucks on her teeth “What’s he gonna do?”

“No idea. He showed up earlier today and left as soon as he gave a speech. They want me to step in immediately. Can you believe it?”

She's out of words. Half wanting to congratulate him despite the sad circumstances of his promotion, half wondering what that means for her. He suddenly squints.

“You look terrible. Finals?”

“Done, I’m a free woman”

She's can't stop thinking about Chief Editor Jongsuk, how he was always like the cool stepdad that didn’t have to be too nice or too mean to get your respect, how he gave her a chance when she was just a freshman.

“Shouldn’t you be getting some sleep or, I don’t know... drinking your face off with your friends?”

Her hand slips inside her backpack. “Well, if you'd answered my calls, I would be doing one of those.”

She puts a small, puny handgun on the desk, and slides it in his direction.

“Are you—” he locks the door before lowering his voice to a hiss “Have you lost your mind? How did you get through security?”

“You said we need to be careful and this is what being careful looks like, take it.” she says, sliding it closer to him. It barely brushes the side of his keyboard.

“Are you crazy? Do not— ” he opens a drawer and pushes it inside like it burns to the touch, slamming it shut and leaning his body away, pressing one hand to his forehead. “Jiah, this is illegal”

“I’m the best investigative journalist you have, flirting with the illegal here and there is one of the many reasons why.” 

“This isn’t flirting with the illegal, for god's sake, this is raw dogging it, Jiah. This is an office. We’re a–”

“Im Haneul is about to get into witness protection, that’s why I’m giving you something to protect yourself with. Thank you, Jiah. You’re welcome, boss.”

He bites his lip, looking at the drawer with resentment before setting his eyes on her, dead serious.

“Is there something you’re not telling me? Did something happen?”

“It’s always better to be prepared. You know what they say about peace and quiet.”

“I don’t,” he deadpans “Is that some kind of gang lingo?”

She frowns. “Just what has Minho been telling you? I should pay him a little visit—”

“You’re not going anywhere near my staff.”

“Your staff? I’m your staff. He’s a sports reporter, you can walk into a bar anywhere in Itaewon and find a dozen replacements.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose, not denying it. “Did. Something. Happen.”

“I heard something. From a good source.”

“A good source.”

“Yeah, sometimes those are what we call confidential. So—” he fixes her with a look that makes her fear that his eyeballs will pop out of their sockets. “Fine, it was Kim Namjoon.”

He blinks at her. Throws his hands in the air and plops down on his seat.

“That's hilarious. If this doesn’t work for you, you can always pursue comedy. Now get the hell out of my office, I have to move my stuff to the other side of the floor.”

She stands up stretching her arms, giving him a once over and opening her mouth. He lifts a hand.

“I don't want to hear it. Go take a bath, get drunk, do drugs, get laid. You’re an undergrad student, not Chelsea Manning. Live a little.”

“Actually, I prefer Lisbeth Salander."

"Get out."

081222 - 06:55 pm

Something about the bleach fumes welcoming the moment she enters Lady’s Room is just– homely, and Wendy's threatening glare makes up for the stern mother figure she didn’t have growing up. 

“Don’t even think about it, boots off.”

She toes off her muddy boots, struggling not to spill anything on the heavy takeout bags, making her way to the back.

“How come he gets to keep them on?”

Taemin looks insane with a black cape covering his body and his hair all foiled up, Seulgi's hovering over him with the cutest concentrated frown. He wiggles is feet at her.

“Clean shoes privilege. Plus, I'm way cuter than you.”

She snaps a picture of him for future use while he's distracted explaining how he read somewhere that hair takes bleach better when you're stress-free, and that the end of his last semester is just the perfect moment.

“And of course you believed that, because it makes total sense”

“No, it’s true,” Seulgi says. “It’s also better when you’re in a good mood. That’s why I don’t like to take people fresh out of a bad breakup, the chemicals get all messed up.”

“Oh, he doesn’t need to worry about that,” she says off-handedly.

Taemin doesn’t like her tone. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Wendy answers before she can, flipping through receipts on the reception area. “It means that you need a relationship to go through a breakup. That’s usually how it works”

“I'll have you know that I have secondhand PTSD from you guys. I’m like one ride home with an angry couple away from giving up on monogamy.” 

“So, blue?”

“Silver.” He shows her a picture of a male idol with gray hair, wet styled. He's worried that if he goes too light it'll wash out his complexion.

She inspects his face in the floor to ceiling mirror “Nonsense, you’d look good in anything, buttercup.”

He smiles, always a slut for some validation. "You're coming to Sana’s party, right?”

She groans, plopping down on the chair next to him.

“Jiah, come on, it’s the last party of the semester. The last party before I graduate.”

She’s not swayed by his abuse of the last something before I graduate card. “I’m out of social battery, I'll kill the vibe.”

“We’ll pregame at my place and you’ll be good to go.”

“I can’t be bothered to go home and get changed.”

“Oh! You left the strappy shirt, you know? the one you didn’t know you were wearing backwards, and that leather skirt at my place, I threw them in the washing machine just for an occasion like this.”

“I’m seriously not feeling the vibe today.”

“Who cares, you attract people when you’re sulking.” he shrugs “Plus that’s the skirt you were wearing when you pulled that Romanian guy. We get free bottles every time you have your leg meat out.”

Seulgi slaps the side of his neck with her glove-covered hand. “Don’t pimp her out.”

“And this is why I suggested a ladies-only policy.”

“Interesting that you assume you fall in that category, but go on.” Taemin says, Jiah gasps in fabricated indignation. “And isn’t that reverse sexism?”

“It’s not like men are rushing to get in.”

Irene emerges from the office, walking past them with her all work and no fucking around face on, all her focus taken by her tablet.

“Oh, actually, we had a guy customer a few days ago and he was very happy with our services,” Seulgi says. Taemin and Jiah let out synchronized snorts.

Irene looks at them, going through the pile of papers Wendy handed her. “Grow up, you two."

Seulgi catches on, making a noise of disgust.

“So what did he want? A massage?”

Irene flips a page, scanning its contents. The warning is sharper this time. “Taemin.”

“He wanted a full-on transformation, so we went with silver,” Seulgi says, ignoring the quip, poking at his bleach covered hair with the pointy edge of her brush “It looked pretty good on him. It suited his personality.”

Taemin coos "Is that a crush I smell?"

Seulgi shrugs. "I'm just saying he fit the look, he was easy to talk to. Funny too. Asked a lot of questions about the salon, said a childhood friend of his co-owns one.”

"Huh, sounds boring to me." Taemin shrugs, not impressed. Seulgi and Jiah share a knowing look. He's platonically possessive to a fault, and being the only guy in their group only makes it worse.

Jiah smirks, spinning on the chair. "Sounds like your replacement to me."

He sticks his tongue at her “I was going to introduce you to someone tonight, traitor.”

Irene and Wendy sigh in relief, finally finding whatever it was they were looking for, high five-ing.

“I’m heartbroken.” She yawns. “I wasn’t planning on going anyway”

“You should go.“ Irene says, coming to stand behind her chair, playing with her hair. "You sure need it."

“What is it with people treating me like I’m some boring bitch lately?”

“Have you considered that you’ve been a boring bitch lately? We barely see you, you were supposed to help us look for a new place” Wendy complains, plopping on the other chair next to Taemin’s, spinning. "And you missed the anniversary party"

Nothing for her to do but take the shots. Seulgi steps in for her, an angel.

"Cut her some slack, she brought food. You know that’s sorry in her language."

"Alright, yeah.” Wendy agrees way too easily "And for the record, there's nothing wrong with being boring, Yeri can always use a boring figure in her life"

“I’m not going to a party to be on Yeri Sitting Duty.”

Taemin squints at her, walking to the washing station under Seulgi's orders, cape swooshing dramatically behind him. “But you’re coming, right?”

To be fair, she does feel bad about ghosting them for weeks.

“I swear to god, you better not ditch me for one of your Instagram famous friends."

He doesn't get a chance to reply, his calls for help fill the salon and Seulgi giggles like a sweet summer child discovering the joys of waterboarding. Irene's pleased to the point of pulling her phone out to record the scene, chortling.

081222 - 11:25 pm

One would assume that the only child of the owner of a massive Japanese architecture firm, who also happens to own several clubs in the city, can afford to throw a party with decent alcohol.

Her annoyance should be directed at Taemin for talking her into coming and proceeding to do exactly what she asked him not to.

He’s nowhere to be seen, and Party Yeri is at her peak, hands thrown in the air, dancing between a bunch of freshman girls with their phones out, the red light beams bouncing off her glittery top. 

“Not a dancer, or just not in the mood?” a voice interrupts.

She felt his presence before he approached her table. Some people are just hard to ignore, and with his simple silky shirt with a few buttons undone, pushed-back hair, and a flirty strand hanging on his forehead, he has a crowd of curious women and men alike following him with hungry eyes everywhere he goes.

“The second one.”

He smiles just like someone who's used to seeing others react to his looks.

Her first impression of him was jealousy for having better lips than her. She was too busy listening to Mina talk about her internship in Spain to pay too much attention to Taemin introducing the guy. Sitting at levels of handsomeness that don't require a personality, the man bored her without uttering a word.

But he's not hard to look at.

“So, how come we haven’t met before?”

“I don’t know, you tell me. Taemin says your presence is an exclusive experience." she sips her drink, he thinks it's funny. "Jiah, right?”

“And you’re Jongin, one of the dancing friends.” 

A guy approaches Yeri’s group, disgustingly scanning each girl like he’s trying to figure out who has the lowest standards. 

“Not a big fan of us?”

She considers her answer, watching the girls shrug him off before he can get too comfortable.

“I've learned to coexist with you people. It comes with the Taemin package.”

His little laugh is surprisingly childish for his masculine looks. The way he keeps looking at her face like he can't spare any bit of attention to their surroundings makes her feel like a bug under a microscope lens.

“Here's my theory, I think he might’ve been keeping you to himself for a bit there. But I’ve heard so many things about you that I kind of feel like I know you already."

Jiah doesn't know what to say to that, but holds his warm gaze and indulges in the view for a bit. Caramel skin, glowy under the strobe lights, painted red like a forbidden object of desire, or a character of a Japanese movie, waiting for his lover at a love hotel.

Handsome indeed. Nice jaw, soft nose, slightly arched eyebrows. 

“Good things, I hope.”

“Interesting things.” He says with a crooked grin. She cocks an eyebrow, but he beats her to it. “So, journalism. What’s that like?”

She gives him the generic answer she keeps for occasions like this; lots of reading, being on the phone, doing more with less. No one is ever satisfied. Neither the readers nor the editors nor yourself.

Ok. So maybe she assumed a lot of things. He's surprisingly great company, really easy to talk to. He owns a dance studio and teaches from time to time. Some of his students have made it to entertainment companies, and he tries not to seem cocky, but it's clear he's extremely proud of them. He’s very nonchalant about covering various styles, though he’s more interested in R&B these days. 

“Your day-to-day sounds like a lot of sitting behind a desk,” he comments. Being someone that works with his body, the idea must haunt him.

“Oh, god, no– I always feel like I’ll throw myself from the window if I spend too much time at the office. I’m on the investigation team, so I’m almost always out on the streets, harassing bureaucrats and stuff.” 

“That sounds... fun.”

“Riveting,” she promises. “It’s not bad, really. You go through the boring stuff and then when you get a good story, you remember why you do it, and… it’s a good feeling.”

“You know, usually when someone mentions journalism I think of people with thinning hair and marriage issues.” 

“Are you calling me old?”

“No. I was trying to say that you just took down a stereotype for me.” he pauses, pouting and looking up like he’s considering something “But you do give off an old soul vibe, sitting on your own, sulking like you’re here against your own will, ready to decimate anyone who dares come near you.”

She blinks at him, he’s holding back a smile, she can tell. Waiting for her reaction.

“Wow, so you’re just gonna call me a hag like that?”

He looks mildly surprised, worried, and amused all at the same time. “That’s not–”

“And if I look that scary, how come you’re here at my table?”

“Because you’re very attractive. It balances out the scary.”

She hums into her glass.

“And I’m very charming, I knew you’d be harmless.”

“Right.” He’s not entirely wrong. She’s always suspicious of extremely charming people, and the alarms are going off in her head.

“This is me hitting on you, off the record.” he continues, undeterred. She snorts. "And I say that because, as I’m sure you know, Taemin is possessive.”

She lifts and shakes a finger like an aunt at church when the pastor hits a mark. “Like a kid who doesn’t share his toys.”

Which reminds her, where’s that silver-haired menace?

“We’ll just have to ease him into it.”

“Uh-huh. This is flattering and all, I guess, but I’m married so–”

“Oh, that’s fine. I don’t get jealous” he shrugs, very serious about it. Which is unexpected, no one has ever reacted to the I'm married line like that. “I’m not gonna try to compete with your career.”

She's speechless, but in a good way, laughing at the audacity and shaking her head.

But then, just for a moment, he disappears.

There’s a quick, almost untraceable absence, even his smile falters.

Then he snaps back.

“Hey, you wanna get out for a bit? Get some fresh air? Looks like your friend’s gonna be busy for a while.”

Yeri was off her radar for a bit there, and now she’s got her arm threaded with the birthday girl herself. They’re moving away from the crowd, talking into each other's ears like they haven’t debriefed in months, probably headed to the bathroom.

Now that he mentions it, fresh air sounds nice. 

“Promise I’m all out of lines,” he adds.

It’s humid out on the street, but less stuffy and noisy. She pulls out a brand new pack of cigarettes and they get fire from a girl hanging around with her friends next to a motorcycle. Her kohl-stained eyes scan Jongin greedily while he leans over, hands cupping the flame.

She suddenly turns to look at her, right when Jongin leans back and thanks her, and winks.

If Jongin notices, he’s unbothered, much more concerned with moving around her to stand on the side of the street, wordlessly making them switch spots. The gentleman move is soon eclipsed by a sudden coughing fit.

It's so bad she feels kind of horrible about finding it amusing. He really just fucked up his smooth streak after one drag.

She offers to grab him a drink, but he shakes his head, grabbing her arm before she walks away. He swallows hard one, two, or three times, wiping the corners of his eyes.

"You good?"

"No." he rasps. “These are the kind that my grandfather used to smoke.”

“You could’ve said no.” she counters, patting his back. They’re strong, she didn’t warn him because she showed him the package.

“I was a victim of peer pressure.” he jokes after clearing his throat. “I was doing well, wasn’t I?”

“It’s ok. Choking on smoke like a high schooler makes you human.” she offers him as consolation. The coughing fit messed up his hair. he looks younger now, less of a threat. Maybe it’s just the fresh air, the relief of getting out of the crowd, and the nicotine easing her up. 

He asks if she smokes often, sounding like he doesn’t want to intrude, but a part of him will judge her if she says yes. Truthfully, she hasn’t in months, but it always hits a spot after a while, and people assume she’s too into it. 

“Work's stressing you out?”

“That’s what work is supposed to do, isn’t it?” 

He winces.

“Not to a level where you have to smoke like a war general.”

She grins at him sideways, the man who introduced her to this particular brand would have a few things to say about that sentence.

“I can deal with the stress, I only smoke when I get frustrated.”

“And does that happen often?”

“I don’t know? I guess. My boss says I’m too much of a control freak. He's a jerk, but sometimes it feels like he knows me better than I know myself.”

“Not great at teamwork, then?” he probes.

“No, I mean-- I’m not, but it’s not that.” she pauses. He’s waiting for her to elaborate. “I just wish I could do more sometimes, and not just document things from the sidelines. Does that make sense?”

“It absolutely does.” he assures. “I think I know what you mean.”

“I tried it, recently” she goes on, and she doesn’t know why she’s opening up to this guy. She’s not trying to turn him into her therapist, and she’s not even sure she wants to take him home at all. There’s too much going on in her mind at the moment, she wouldn’t be fully present anyway. It'd be a waste.

“And how did that go?”

“It was alright at the beginning. I've been helping someone– a friend who was gonna do something he'd regret. Actually, I'm not sure we're actually friends, but he's a great guy in a shitty situation.” she rambles, taking one last drag. “But then things went south in the worst way possible. It didn't even have anything to do with him, just personal baggage and terrible timing. I guess I had it coming.” 

He nods, deep in thought, letting a comfortable silence fall between them, just watching people walk past, going in and out of the club. She presses the butt against the sole of her boots, and tosses it in the trash.

“If it’s any help, I’m sure your friend is grateful. You did well helping him.” he says, and she remembers Yixing saying something similar. “And whatever happened, I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think.”

She shrugs. “It is what it is, right? Onwards and upwards.” 

He grins, pointing a finger at her. "That’s totally something my father would say.”

“So you ran out of lines and now you’re back to calling me old?”

“I only said that because I didn’t want to come off too strong, but if you insist.” He’s back on charming again, hands in the air like she’s just giving him no choice. The switch between kind to charming gives her whiplash.

A waste, really. A month ago she might’ve taken him home, let him make her coffee in the morning.

“I’m not insisting, I just asked you a question.”

He waves her off. “Bet you 5000 won I can kiss you without using my lips.”

It’s stupid. But he looks like the epitome of determination. Kohl girl behind him keeps looking at them over her shoulder, and without the meaningless rumble of the crowd to distract her, his voice turns out to be quite lovely.

So she tilts her chin at him, giving him the green light.

He takes two purposeful steps. She calls his bluff, refusing to back up against the wall. He gets close enough that he has to bend his head down to keep eye contact, and in a surprisingly smooth move, he places a short, harmless peck right on her lips. 

Then he backs up with a single step and pulls out a bill from his pocket.

“A great investment if you ask me.” he says.

She laughs despite herself. Not in the coy, flirted up way, but a full, honest, belly laugh.

The silver-haired menace himself emerges from the shadows with a cowboy hat on his head, thumbs hooked on his jeans. He’s glaring, a scowl on his lipstick-stained lips, focusing on the way Jiah bends over, hand on her tummy and all.

“What are you doing with my best friend? I’m asking both of you, by the way.” he demands.

“Where did you get that?” she asks him, fully recovered, flicking the hat.

Taemin grabs the bill from Jongin’s hand before he can put it away. Jongin raises his eyebrows at him, anticipating complaints for his actions, daring him even.

“Not that I don’t respect the hustle, but I think you’re underselling yourself, sweetie." he says, turning to Jongin like a parental figure setting limits. "A peck from our Jiah is easily worth 10000 won. Pay up.”

“Deal,” Jongin shrugs, reaching for his back pocket again, pulling out several bills, winking at her. "How many can I get for--"

“Alright, we get it, she gets it,” Taemin interrupts, putting an arm around his shoulders, and rubbing his chest distractedly. “I thought you were on Yeri Sitting Duty tonight.”

Jiah licks her thumb and wipes the lipstick marks on his jaw, much to Jongin's endless amusement

“She’s a big girl. You got some on your teeth, you harlot."

"Finally. I keep telling you girls, you baby her too much" he complains, licking his front teeth. "Someday you'll have to set her free, let her make some mistakes of her own. They build character, you know?"

"How wise of you." Jongin says. "Was that the logic behind this new look?"

"Some mistakes don't." Taemin continues, looking at her with crazy eyes, pointing at Jongin. "Some mistakes make your best friend uncomfortable and are off limits."

Jiah and Jongin look at each other. "You introduced us."

"Yes, and? I never said get chummy and explore each other's bodies, did I?"

“Nice tattoo, by the way.” She tells Jongin. She caught a glimpse when he got closer and thought it looked familiar. Then Taemin unknowingly moved the fabric on his chest out of the way and she got confirmation. “It’s the helm of awe, isn't it?”

Jongin mouth falls open, genuine shock taking over his features. Not many people know about runes or recognize them. Taemin tilts his head to the side, eyeing her curiously, suspiciously.

“How do you know that? I thought it was a snowflake.”

“I knew a girl who had one on the back of her neck. Hers was red though. Looked great when she put her hair up.”

Taemin releases Jongin from his clutches with an unconvinced hmph, taking off his hat and putting it on her head. Jongin quietly fixes his shirt.

"Oh. Oh. I think I saw Minho inside. You wanna piss him off?"

Well, that’s great. That’s just great. Super cool.

Jongin takes a look at her face and blurts out the question. "Who's that?"

"Her ex. She broke his heart, he started rumors that she's with the Yakuza." Jongin blinks in surprise, and Taemin looks like he wants to elaborate further. She stops him.

“What’s that grown man doing here?”

“You know he likes to hang around the youngsters and make people guess his age. So, you in?”

“Leave me out of it.” 

"Hear me out. I was thinking you and Jongin could walk around, right? Let him see you together, put on a little show. You know how his ears get red and his eyes bulge out when he's angry?” he's trying to contain his laugh, looking maniac. “I’ll buy you dinner, both of you. I’m serious.”

That’s her cue for a bathroom break. She puts the cowboy hat on Jongin’s head, not deterred by the way his eyes follow her on her way inside.

A sigh escapes her lips as the cold water runs over her hands. She smiles at a group of girls walking out of the door, their giggles reminding her of the task at hand—finding Yeri and making sure she's not too drunk to make semi-rational decisions.

Maybe she’ll try to talk her into ditching this place. Yixing's uncle's spot is not too far from here.

The possibility of running into her ex kind of makes her want to bolt. Not out of lingering feelings, she just doesn’t have the energy for that interaction. He has a way with sucking the like out of her.

There's only so much she can take of things beyond her control.

The bathroom door clicks. Something shifts in the air. The unsettling feeling of realizing she's not alone. She glances up at the mirror and catches a glimpse of him in the reflection.

Reacting on instinct, her hand snatches the decorative vase from the sink and hurls it at him. The man covers his face, not before grabbing her forearm and slamming her against the sink.

She puts her palms up to avoid hitting the mirror face first. It happens at once, suddenly he's grabbing her bag, and the next second the chain strap is pulling around her neck.

Her body bends back. His knee's pressed against her lower back. Either she’ll pass out or he’ll snap her in half.

She's not about to go down in a public bathroom. She pushes her shaky fingers under the chain, attempting to relieve some of the pressure.

Her vision' blurring, she's running out of oxygen and ideas. Tears well up. The muffled music starts fading.

There's a distant slam, a loud thump.

And thank fuck, release.

She catches her weight on the sink, gasps for air, almost crashes against the mirror again. She turns on wobbly legs and faces two bodies intertwined and struggling on the floor.

Her attacker’s dressed in all black, mask included, buzzcut, well built. The second man has his thighs wrapped around his head, snarling as he keeps him overpowered. A blue-grey silk shirt clings to his broad shoulders, thin black lines mark the skin on his chest.

The helm of awe.

He knocks the guy out with his thighs which... ok, impressive. With heaving breaths, his eyes land on her.

She runs. He grabs her arm before she can get through the door, and bends over when her knee finds his crotch.

Slamming the door behind her, she slaps her hands against the wall for support, still a bit dizzy, heart racing.

"Wait! Rina– please wait–"

Everything shuts down—her legs, the party, the whole city stops. She drops the plans of putting as much distance as possible between them, turns around and stomps in his direction.

Four letters, one word, a slap to the face.

“What did you just call me?” she demands, her face inches away from his. She doesn't recognize her own voice. He's pawing at his neck, pulling a chain for her to see, like that's gonna do something. "Who the fuck are you?"

"I know them. I know Yixing. You’re in danger, I’m here to help you." he sounds pained, trying to calm her down. She has no sympathy for him.

Hanging from the chain, a silver band morphs into two bony hands that hold a mint-colored ball. A ring, worn as a necklace. She recognizes it at once. She won that ring at some fair in Busan. Someone at school started a rumor that she joined the occult. Kyungsoo's mother thought she was a bad influence.

“We have to get you out of here. He has back up, they'll come soon."

Jiah exhales, relaxes her limbs. He mirrors the gesture, letting out a breath of relief.

Then she runs like her life depends on it. And it just might. She bumps into people, pushes them aside, desperately looking for an emergency exit she vaguely remembers from past situations that shouldn't be crossing her mind right now.

They come in handy, successfully leading her to the deserted alley.

But god, whatever version of it is out there, is just not letting her get away so easily. 

The years have granted him an extra couple of inches, not that he ever needed them. Maybe it's just the thick soles of his boots that scrape against the loose gravel. He stops, mirroring her shock for a fleeting second.

She grabs the closest thing available; a rusty, long, and thin metal thing that's heavy enough to give her some confidence. He’s staring at her, no traces left of the awe she saw before.

He's pointing a gun at her face.

"Drop it" he barks "Hands up, turn around and try not to be so damn difficult. In that order."

Frustrated, she snarls at herself, her jaw tightening until it hurts before throwing the stick to the ground. She turns around, facing the mold-infested wall. The last thing she sees is a torn-off poster of an underground rap collective.

His forearm presses to the back of her neck with no mercy. He searches for a weapon she's not carrying.

"That's for being so fucking stupid. Do you realize what you got yourself into?" he snaps, not giving her a chance to answer before he pulls her back by the back of her shirt and pushes her against the wall again.

"Ow– What the fuck, dude?" the rough, disgusting surface of the wall scratches the side of her face. She kicks her feet against the ground. "I wasn’t even– what the fuck was that for?"

"That's for making my mom worry about you, idiot."   

He finally lets her go, and she moves away from him, curses spilling from her mouth.

The exit door opens revealing Jongin—the impostor.

"What are you doing? We need to--"

They guards go up abruptly before her eyes. He raises his gun at her once again, this time with clear intent.

It'd be ugly, she imagines, being shot this up close. Her brains will end up on the floor, his clothes, maybe even his face. The Park Chanyeol she knew was an asshole most of the time, but he didn't have it in him to step on an ant or kill a spider even if his mother ordered him to, let alone shoot someone.

The inevitable fact is that they are strangers. She doesn't know who the time has turned him into, just like she’s no longer someone that he knows.

"Go ahead, big guy," she lifts her chin, rolls her shoulders. He’s looking at her like she's made of cellophane.

Someone takes the ground from under her. The ground is inevitable. Someone grabs her. Her shoulder feels wet, and her hands look for the source. When she looks down it, it’s stained red.

Did he just–

It can’t be. It doesn't hurt. It should hurt.

It all happens too quickly. There's a hissing sound. The impostor grips her tightly and says something.

Was her heartbeat always this loud? And did she really just get shot?

"Eyes open," The impostor orders. There's no escape with the world narrowed down to two walls. They’re closing in.

He keeps talking, telling her that it’s alright. Her heartbeat is drumming inside her head. It’s now supposed to do that, she shouldn’t feel this cold in August. A chill settles in her bones like she’s been running barefoot through deep snow in the woods, wearing nothing but a flimsy hospital gown.

Okay. Maybe she did get shot. And now they’re taking her away. But she can’t go down like this. Irene... the girls will wonder where she is, Yeri’s gonna burn the place down looking for her, Taemin’s too sensitive to deal with something like this, and Chanyeol–

He shot her.

And they keep calling her the wrong name.

"Rina, you have to...” 

thump 

“...be there...” 

thump 

“...right? C’mon...”

thump.

"Rina."

And then they kill the lights.

[icequeenbae]

Boy Next Door (m) Ch.1 | BBH

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader

Neighbor AU, slow burn, hurt/comfort, fluff, smut

Warnings [whole story]: Baek being the neighbor we’re all dreaming of, harassment (nothing graphic), a bit of body image/ insecurity, MC sucks at relationships, explicit content, unprotected sex

Word Count: ~18.5k (total), 4.5k (pt.1)

Summary: Your neighbor Baekhyun has been a pleasant acquaintance since you moved into your current apartment almost a year ago. Could he also be… a perfect match?

© Please do not copy/ post on other platforms without permission.

Chapter Masterlist: Pt. 1 > Pt. 2 > Pt. 3 > Pt. 4 (fin)

Author’s note: This has taken me so, SO long to write and edit that I cannot believe the time has come to post it lmao I just wanted to write something simple with the classic boy-next-door vibe but as usual, the story ended up being much longer than planned and I am going to post it as a mini-series. Please keep in mind that your feedback is what motivates me to write and post more <3 And biiig thanks to the lovely @beomcoups for taking on the beta duties on this whole story~

Network Tags: @bbh-net  @k-vanity  @ksmutsociety

PART 1

In the lobby or on your floor – those were the two locations where you’d been bumping into Baekhyun most often. Which wasn’t that strange, considering that you were neighbors. But it somehow always caught you off guard and left you flustered.

Just like the first time.

It happened almost a year ago when you were waiting for the elevator on the first floor of your building with your best friend Yuki, who came early to help you with preparations. A guy in a loose white dress shirt and jeans stepped into the elevator with you, politely greeting you before pressing his floor number.

‘Oh, you live on the 13th as well? So, you and our Y/N are neighbors!’ Yuki exclaimed.

‘Nice to meet you,’ you muttered and bowed, shy from the sudden introduction. He reciprocated, chocolate hair falling into his eyes charmingly.

‘You should come to her housewarming party! It’s in a couple hours,’ Yuki chimed in again. ‘You don’t need to bring anything, it’s just a small thing with a couple friends and neighbors. We’re making sure Y/N-ie settles in nicely here. So please come, we have tons of food!’

If anyone could ever say no to your friend… Well, you had never met such a person. You guessed that Baekhyun was simply too stunned by her enthusiasm, so he said he’d swing by for sure. In a way, you were thankful that she’d asked him – you’d have never had the guts to invite someone like that; especially not anyone as good-looking and cool as Baekhyun.

You regretted letting your bestie invite him the following evening when your party was in full swing for several hours. Most of the food was devoured, so now you were all drinking, crunching on snacks, and conversing; or trying to while jumping from one topic to another.

‘I wish we could gather more often. We all like to hang out with you, you know?’

As always, Yuki nagged at you for being too ‘stay-at-home’ of a friend.

‘I like to hang out too. But home is home. You know parties aren’t really my… favorite pastime.’

‘What is your favorite pastime, lying in bed cuddling your blanket?’ Chanyeol joked insensitively.

He should’ve known better since you were the most troubled in your group of friends regarding relationships. It was super tough for you to find a match, even when you made an effort to get out of the house and meet new people, mostly because of your history of failed relationships where your partners gained interest in someone else. It seemed like you were too plain to hold someone’s attention for long. So, you’d been ‘that single friend’ for several lonely years now. And at this time, you were actually in the very beginning of a new, promising relationship. You were still pretty insecure about it; thus, Yeol’s comment really did make you flinch. He was drunk, so that was understandable, but you still sulked at his words, mainly because they were true.

‘Hey, it doesn’t have to be a blanket.’ You frowned, pressing the straw to your lips in frustration.

‘I’m kinda sad that guy you’ve been talking to couldn’t come,’ Yuki interjected. ‘I wanted to find out what he’s like.’

‘Minho had work-related travel, so he’s resting up.’ You shrugged, sipping your drink timidly.

‘I’m sure the guy made this excuse just to avoid meeting your friends. How long have you known him for, like, two days?’ Chanyeol interjected.

‘It’s been a few weeks, actually,’ you corrected, and Hoseok, Yuki’s boyfriend, muttered a reproaching ‘hyung’ in his direction.

‘Gosh, you’re really this stupid while drunk,’ Yuki shook her head disapprovingly at your friend, who simply shrugged.

Baekhyun was pretty silent during the latest exchange, so when you briefly made eye contact, it reminded you that he could also hear all of that chatter. Which made you want to choke on your drink from humiliation. Thankfully, one of your friends still had some tact left that night, so they quickly changed the direction of the conversation. Still… you’d been mortified for weeks after the event, doing your best to avoid bumping into Baekhyun when leaving for work.

***

The next time you met, Baekhyun was also in the lobby of your apartment building. And once again, before a gathering at your place. Just days prior you had lost it and left your resignation letter at your boss's desk. Working such long hours under the constant pressure of absolutely unrealistic deadlines was taking its toll on you for sure. But when you found out they promoted a person, who was obviously less experienced and capable than you in working (but more capable in flirting with your manager), instead of you… It became the last straw.

Baekhyun appeared right on time as you struggled to push the elevator button with a whole case of beer in your hands.

‘Y/N,’ you heard his velvety voice call. ‘Nice to see you.’

‘Oh- Hi, Baekhyun.’ You greeted awkwardly, puffing from the weight you had to balance.

‘Let me help you with that?’ His suggestion sounded like a question, yet he instantly scooped the case from your hands.

‘You don’t need- thank you,’ you said, and he shook his head to indicate that it wasn’t a big deal.

‘So… having a party again?’ He asked as the elevator doors closed.

‘I wouldn’t call it a party,’ you hummed, looking at your feet. ‘I kinda had to quit my horrible job of 4 years, so my friends are making me celebrate it. Not that becoming unemployed calls for a celebration…’

You trailed off, not wanting to be a nuisance to your neighbor. He was just making small talk.

‘I’m sorry to hear that. Are you taking a break now or looking for something else?’

‘I’ll start looking next week. It’s Friday, my friends are coming… So I’ll try to just clear my mind and rest for one full weekend before I start stressing about a new job. Hopefully, my friends wouldn’t talk my ear off about it – that’s what the beer’s for. My little trick,’ you chuckled sheepishly.

‘Aren’t your friends supposed to treat you in this situation?’ Baekhyun huffed, shaking his head to rearrange his hair and better see you.

‘They should… bring more alcohol with them, I think. I couldn’t have them over for nothing, though.’

The doors opened after a robotic voice announced your floor.

‘Well, anyhow. Thanks a lot for your help!’ You tried taking the beer from Baekhyun, but he didn’t let you.

‘Open the door first; you can’t do it while holding this.’

‘Right. Thanks,’ you fussed, pressing your password in.

Baekhyun quickly placed the case on the floor of your hallway.

‘You should come!’ You blurted out, instantly getting flustered. ‘If you want.’

‘I might drop by if I’m free,’ he smiled softly. ‘My family wanted to have a video call later. That may take long.’

‘Of course. Have fun!’ You nodded, beating yourself up in your mind for being so weird suddenly.

‘You have fun,’ he chuckled, stepping towards his apartment. ‘Oh, and Y/N?’

Looking up at him as he called your name, you were met with his warm yet serious eyes.

‘If you need anything… You know where to find me.’

That made you strangely sentimental.

‘T-thank you.’

He sent you a message later on and let you know he couldn’t make it to your party. But in a way, he was there – on your mind.

***

It was about three weeks after you’d broken things off with Minho. If you could even consider it one, the relationship wasn’t long, only a couple months. At first, you thought it could be something, realizing later that it was only wishful thinking. There was no way the two of you could make it work; you were just not compatible with each other. The more you got to know him, the more you were reassured of that. Your life goals were different, your outlook on relationships was different… even your ideas of quality time with a significant other didn’t match. This time, the initial infatuation wore off rather quickly – probably because you didn’t go out of your way to appease him. You knew it was probably for the better. Pretty much all of your relationships ended the same way, with your boyfriends telling you they found someone else. Someone… more exciting.

This was the case for your first relationship halfway in your first year of university.

‘I’m sorry, Y/N. I just don’t feel the spark, you know? You’re so… domestic,’ your then-boyfriend said in his breakup speech. ‘I’m young, I want to experience stuff, be bold, and have fun. And there are people that I can do this with, who’ll also enjoy it.’

It repeated less than two years later when you’d barely worked up the courage to try and start something with another person. When it happened the third time, you decided you weren’t really made for relationships. It was ironic since you always wanted to be in one. You were very affectionate and were keen on taking care of people. Yes, you weren’t that into big gatherings and parties, and maybe it was a little too difficult to drag you anywhere when you were stressing about the upcoming tests and stuff… But you weren’t completely closed off! Even with those limitations, you were very sociable and had many friends. Was it so bad that you didn’t say yes to every suggestion? Did your inclination to stay at home and have cozy dates instead of outdoorsy stuff make you a non-relationship material? It seemed like every time someone else appeared, your boyfriends easily decided to move on.

And even though you weren’t in love with Minho, this breakup still made you sour. What made this particular day suck was that you’d found out that he was already in a new relationship; happily broadcasting it everywhere.

You weren’t jealous of him for being with someone else. You envied him for being able to find another partner in mere days after you parted ways, while for you, it felt like you’d never find or be able to retain anyone. Ever. Never ever.

‘Earth to Y/N!’ You jumped from someone’s voice ringing in your ears.

Looking up, you saw that the elevator doors were held open by your dashing neighbor, who was staring directly at you.

‘Sorry, I spaced out,’ you quickly entered. ‘Hi.’

‘Hey,’ Baekhyun smiled, pressing the button for your floor. ‘Is everything okay?’

‘Um, yeah. No. I mean-’ You sighed. ‘I’m just a bit out of sorts.’

‘Trouble at work?’

‘No, my new job is great. A huge improvement on the previous one. It’s just… everything else is not nearly as great?’

Yeah, because you pushed yourself to get back on the market to finally not be alone, and here you were. Back to square one.The sniffling you produced startled even your own self.

‘Oh god, I’m sorry.’

‘It’s okay. There’s nothing to be sorry about,’ he replied, his voice gentle. ‘Do you want to talk?’

‘Oh no, I wouldn’t dream about boring you with my stupid problems.’

‘I’m sure they aren’t stupid,’ he said. ‘And I have ice cream. Almost any flavor you could think of.’

You looked at him silently, and he smiled again reassuringly.

‘It’s not mandatory for you to tell me anything. But I can treat my favorite neighbor with some ice cream, can I not?’

‘Am I your favorite just because you don’t know anyone else?’ You snickered gawkily.

‘No. Not just-’

He was interrupted by the usual announcement of your floor.

‘So, what do you think? You can change first and then come, no hurry. I’m free tonight.’

You puckered your lips, genuinely intrigued by his offer. Ice cream sounded perfect right about now. Although agreeing just because of the promised treats was pretty childish, you couldn’t help but be seduced by his suggestion. So, you gave him a shy nod.

‘Okay. Throw on something comfy and come over.’

You entered your respective apartments, and only after the door behind you locked… you realized that your heart was racing.

‘Damn you, Y/N, why did you agree to do this??’ You whined, catching a glimpse of your scrunched-up face in the mirror.

Fishing your phone out of your handbag quickly, you messaged Yuki.

You | I fucked up, Yu!!

You | Idk what to do now…. ㅠㅠ

Ki-yaah | What happened?? Did you like a pic on Minho’s new gf’s SNS??

Ki-yaah | I’m so dumb for telling you about this… I’m so sorry Y/N ㅠㅠ

You | No, not that

You | Who cares about Minho and his girlfriend??

You | I mean, I was a bit salty about this… But I met Baekhyun again!

Ki-yaah | Baekhyun? Your cute as fuck neighbor Baekhyun??

You | No

You | Yes?

You | My neighbor Baekhyun. I blurted out that I wasn’t in the greatest mood, and he invited me to his place for ice cream!

Ki-yaah | WHAT

Ki-yaah | YAH

Ki-yaah | THAT SLEEK BASTARD

Ki-yaah | I hope you’re texting me from his couch

Ki-yaah | Or kitchen counter

Ki-yaah | Or wherever you kids decide to do it

A bunch of obscene emojis appeared on your screen, making you blush on the spot.

You | Do it?? We’re not doing anything. I’m home!

Ki-yaah | So, you’ve already done it?? HOW WAS IT??

Ki-yaah | Waaah, you’re quick these days, Y/N-ah! Finally, you’re learning your lessons

Ki-yaah | I hope you wrapped it up though

Ki-yaah | I wouldn’t blame you if you skipped it, though, I can imagine how starved you are on good sex.. Still, safety first!

Ki-yaah | Wait, so was he?? Any good??

Ki-yaah | You’re silent!

She typed so fast that you didn’t even have a second to write back, mostly from shock – your friend wasn’t always this shameless, actually.

Then she started calling.

‘Yah, why aren’t you spilling the beans?? Too worn out to type, bestie?’ She smirked on the phone, making you cringe.

‘Because there’s nothing to spill! I haven’t even gone over yet.’

There was a second of silence.

‘… What?!’

‘I have to change; I just came from work, you know? My makeup needs fixing too…’

Your phone instantly started vibrating as a video call request came in, which you begrudgingly accepted.

‘Damn, you can’t go like this. It’s not seductive at all!’ She exclaimed.

‘I’m not going over to seduce anyone! And he told me to wear something comfy…’

‘What?? Hm, actually…’ She tapped her index finger on her chin, deep in thought. ‘He does look like the type to be into that.’

‘I-into what?’

‘Cute girls! I told you already, he was probably crushing on you since the time he came to your housewarming party!’

‘Pfft, that’s ridiculous. And don’t bring up him allegedly glaring at Yeol for his stupid comments again, I beg of you!’

‘Alright. But he’s always so nice to you! Oh-Em-Gee, you’d look so cute together,’ she squealed.

‘I don’t have time for this. I can’t have him waiting for much longer, and I need to shower…’

‘Yes! And remove your makeup while you’re at it.’

‘Huh?? If I redo my makeup… isn’t it gonna look strange? Like I’m trying too hard?’

‘You won’t have to redo it. You’ll have only very basic nude makeup on. Looking all natural and cute.’

‘I swear, if you say ‘cute’ one more time-’

‘Can’t a girl dream?? I can already imagine how cute your children would be…’ Your friend kept musing.

‘I’m hanging up.’

‘Yah, take this seriously. Clean up nicely, and let your hair down. Also, shave your-’

‘Yuki!!’

‘You never know!! One second, he’s licking ice cream off his spoon; the other, he’s l-’

Quickly tapping on your phone screen, you canceled this embarrassing call. The vivid images didn’t leave your mind as fast, though, so you shivered, shaking your head to get rid of the obscenities.

‘She’s a bad influence, for sure,’ you muttered, still ashamed of yourself for imagining your neighbor in such a context.

The time was ticking, so you decided that Yuki was somewhat right and needed to clean up. You also needed to hurry the heck up; you didn’t want to make Baekhyun wait too long. Thirty minutes later, you were in front of his door.

‘Come in, come in,’ he ushered you inside, having you change your footwear for the pink house slippers.

Why did he have those again?

‘Cute, right? I ordered them for my niece and got the size completely wrong, but they fit you perfectly. I guess I wasn’t wrong after all.’

He looked at your feet for another second before blinking and clearing his throat.

‘Let’s not waste any more time, everything’s ready. Come on!’

Everything? Did he prepare a whole reception?

You took a good look at the back of his head as he walked you to his kitchen, noticing that his hair was slightly wet. Did he also shower? You swallowed at the thought. He probably didn’t invest as much time into the preparations as you did, though. You blamed your best friend for the inappropriate thought she planted in your head!

‘Here, take a look.’

He opened his freezer, and you gasped.

There was an entire collection of ice cream. Cones, popsicles, buckets… All different flavors and manufacturers.

‘I see you’re impressed,’ he smirked. ‘I have a niece and a nephew, you know? Kids aren’t easy to please these days.’

‘Can’t deny that I am. How many do you have here?’

‘No idea… I just keep buying them. Which one’s to your liking? You can try different ones. I’m in the mood for mint choco and lemon.’

‘Those are my favorites!’ You jumped up like a kid.

‘Really? Both?’

‘Yeah! I haven’t seen a lemon ice cream anywhere, only sorbets! Where did you find it?’ You closed the freezer as he got the two buckets out.

Baekhyun suddenly seemed pleased with himself.

‘You think I give away trade secrets just like that…’ He replied mysteriously.

‘I wanna buy some too,’ you pouted, circling around him while he took the lids off. ‘If you don’t tell me… I’ll eat all of yours!’

‘Ha, go ahead. There’s more where that came from,’ he teased right back, hovering slightly over you.

Lowering your gaze to avoid staring directly at him, you noticed something.

‘What’s this?’

Baekhyun turned back to the counter.

‘Ah, this old thing? You know how ice cream scoops are sold in paper cups or cones? This thing,’ he picked it up. ‘Is to make those. Watch.’

He dipped the instrument in water and shook it slightly, then scooped the mint ice cream, creating a smooth green ball with tiny pieces of chocolate adding to its hue.

‘Cool,’ you muttered, genuinely finding that fascinating.

‘Right? It’s awesome!’

‘Let me guess: the kids don’t appreciate it enough?’ You asked.

‘Those little- Here, you try with lemon.’ He pressed on a small lever and dropped the green globe into a bowl.

You shook your head.

‘I’ll mess it up; you do it.’

‘Come on, Y/N. You can’t mess it up; it’s just ice cream.’

‘Just ice cream? You don’t deserve to know the secret selling spots for this!’

He snorted, moving to the side to give you more space to try and repeat his previous actions.

You dipped it in water like he did and shook it before moving the lemon ice cream bucket closer. Spending about twenty seconds taking aim, you huffed.

‘I can’t do it! Yours is so round and pretty; I am not that professional.’

‘I’ll help,’ he chuckled at your meltdown, holding your wrist and softly pressing down on your hand to guide it. ‘Scoop it this way to make it full and round.’

You did as you were told, yet your mind was far away from the scooping technique. The entire focus of your being was now set on the unprecedented proximity you were in. He held your hand, his chest so close to your shoulder that you could feel the heat radiating off him. When you dropped a yellow ball of lemon ice cream into the bowl, you could only pray that he didn’t notice the goosebumps littering your arms.

‘See? Yours is even better-shaped than mine,’ he hummed close to your ear.

‘Y-yeah.’

As if sensing your perturbation, Baekhyun suddenly stepped back.

‘Trying just two flavors is a waste of an evening. Let’s get more.’

Ten minutes later, you were sitting in his living room at the small table in front of his couch. The bowl with at least a dozen different ice creams sat atop another one, which was filled with ice.

‘No one likes melted goo, right?’ Baekhyun chuckled while constructing this mobile freezer.

You tried all of them one by one, gushing about each flavor.

‘The grape one isn’t tickling my fancy,’ he said, nudging the oddly-colored glob away.

‘Really?’ You reached for it with your spoon.

‘Don’t even try it. That’s bad,’ he scrunched his nose. ‘I can taste every chemical they used to make this grape flavor.’

You laughed, trying it despite his protests.

‘It tastes like… very cheap jelly,’ you said.

‘Exactly! Such a strange texture. Hmm, I shall look for a better option then. My nephew Siwoo loves grapes.’

You smiled at his concern for his youngest family member’s preferences.

‘Your nephews must be the happiest kids in town with an uncle like that,’ you murmured, stealing a bite from the rest of the lemon ball that he subtly nudged your way earlier.

‘They’re pretty lucky, aren’t they?’ He agreed easily, earning a snicker from you.

As you savored the last of the lemon flavor on your tongue, he leaned in, eyes focused on your lips.

‘You eat just like Siwoo,’ he instinctively wiped your lower lip with his thumb.

Looking up at him, you caught the moment he realized what he was doing and retreated.

‘Sorry,’ he muttered awkwardly. ‘It’s a habit.’

Pressing your finger to your lower lip, which was now burning, you shook your head neutrally.

‘It’s okay. You must spend a lot of time with them,’ you scooped more in your spoon to somehow soothe the burn on your lips.

‘Not as much as I’d like. Most of the time, our schedules don’t match up, especially with them living in a different city. I try to have them over or visit them as much as possible.’

Baekhyun’s voice became warmer as he reminisced.

‘I get scolded by hyung a lot for spoiling them. But what can I do? At least they’ll have those pleasant memories and presents to remember me by while we’re apart.’

‘Are they close in age?’

‘About four years apart. Seoyul is pretty grown already; I can’t believe her little brother is going to school soon as well.’ He smiled, remembering something. ‘When she started her first grade, he was so upset. He cried every time she left the house.’

‘Aw, that’s so cute,’ you cooed. ‘So they’re getting along well?’

‘Yeah, apart from the occasional bickering. Siwoo is… a boy.’

‘A little daredevil?’

‘He’s driving his noona insane sometimes. To be honest, I was exactly the same at his age. We’re both lucky to have siblings several years older.’

‘Ah, so your hyung is much older than you?’

‘Seven years. He was almost like a father,’ Baekhyun chuckled. ‘But had he been even a couple of years younger… Pretty sure he would’ve given me a piece of his mind back then.’

‘I wouldn’t ever imagine that you were a maknae of your family.’

‘Why? I had so much aegyo as a child! Yes, my mom had to exercise lots of patience, but I was cute as hell.’

‘I’m sure that’s how it was,’ you hummed.

‘I’m still in the top-3 cutest of our family list. Might even be cuter than Seoyul at times; she’s way too serious these days.’

‘Wow, going over your nephews’ heads after the title… How mature of you.’

‘Hey, don’t blame me for being extremely cute.’

‘Show me some aegyo then,’ you challenged him with a smile.

‘Huh, you wish. You’re not ready for my aegyo, Y/N-ie.’ He responded sassily.

‘Is that so?’ You smirked, holding his gaze up until the chime of your phone provided an interruption.

Your bestie found a great time to pry into your business, which was evident from the message previews on the screen.

Ki-yaah | You’re not texting me back…

Ki-yaah | Which either means that you chickened out…

Ki-yaah | …or his stamina is REALLY freaking impressive

Ki-yaah | Which one is it??? I hope it’s the latter!

You inhaled sharply and started coughing, barely managing to swipe those messages off the screen before Baekhyun could see them.

‘Are you okay?’ He patted you on the back to help you overcome your coughing fit.

‘Yeah, I’m fine. I didn’t realize it was so late… It was so rude of me to keep you up. Let me help you clean this up.’

‘Leave it,’ he shook his head, catching you by the wrist. ‘I’ll put this away later.’

‘I’ll… get going then,’ you stood so abruptly that your legs couldn’t keep up with you, completely numb from being in the same position for so long.

‘Y/N!’ Baekhyun rose to catch you by the arms. ‘Take a second, sit on the couch. Your legs must’ve fallen asleep.’

You swatted at your legs with your palms, urging the blood flow to restore quicker.

‘Sorry…’

‘Why are you sorry? I’m not in a hurry to get rid of you.’ He stated simply.

‘It’s just so late… and… you must have stuff to do.’

‘Nope. I actually had fun. I rarely get to sit around at home munching on ice cream and enjoying another grownup’s company.’

You bit your lip shyly at his words, and he suddenly tsked.

‘Although I feel like we were mostly talking about me. That’s a shame. I want to hear about you as well,’ Baekhyun mused, walking you to the door. ‘Well, let’s save it for next time.’

Next time, he said.

Next time??

You turned your back on him to conceal the shade of your cheeks and pretended to fidget with the doorknob.

‘Let me,’ he reached over you, pressing his warm chest to your back for a second to unlock the door.

But before you could step outside, his fingers wrapped around your forearm in a lax hold.

‘And Y/N… If you ever find yourself craving some lemon ice cream… I’m ready to provide it.’

With that, he pushed the door open and allowed you to leave his apartment.

Masterlist

A/N: Thank you for reading! Another BBH mini-series started 💫 I hope you enjoyed part 1~ Pls let me know what you think via comments, asks and reblogs, my darlings 💜 Also, I am very curious if you are picturing anyone in particular as Hoseok hehe 🙃

[marshmallow-phd]

Genre: Regency Gothic AU

Pairing: EXO x Reader

Summary: A stormy night brought you to the manor in the middle of the woods. Nine strange men occupied its halls. They won't let you leave. A dangerous secret haunts this estate. Learning it might either be your saving grace or it could lead to the last breath you ever take.

Part: 1 I 2

**

Lightning lit up the thin curtains covering the two small windows on either side of the carriage. Thunder rumbled and you felt it deep within your chest. Tugging your silk cloak closer, you closed your eyes and prayed that the driver would get you through the storm. There was no one to comfort you, to reassure you that a little rain and noisy sky wouldn't delay your journey.

Your father had insisted you take your sister or even a friend, but the two day’s journey didn’t  seem consequential enough to need a companion. Besides, what would they have done once you arrived? Your elderly aunt had only asked for you. From what you could decipher from her letter, she needed you to be a companion as she traveled to the southernmost coastal town. Apparently, it was now the ultimate fashion to travel to for the summer. Just the idea of rolling waves made your stomach churn. But what was worse was who else would be there–

The carriage jolted to the right. You spread out your arms, only barely catching yourself from falling to the floor. No sane person would have endured such dangerous weather. This storm had come from nowhere. Skies blue and cloudless as you had ever seen bid you farewell in the late morning. Most of the day's journey had been uneventful. Then the joyful light faded. Thunder shook the walls of the carriage. Rain pounded on the roof. When would you reach the inn? Bile rose up in your throat, burning the sensitive tissue as the carriage continued to rock violently. The horses neighed over the sounds of the storm. 

The carriage shifted hard to the left. And kept falling. You slammed into the door, nearly opening it with the force. You didn't know what was happening. The floor was now the wall and the wall the floor. A downward momentum made it impossible to stand. Screams ripped at your throat.

Then it stopped. 

The rain continued to pour and the thunder roared on but the carriage was still. Your legs wobbled as you slowly stood. With your palms, you pushed open the door. The thin wooden panel clapped against the outside of the carriage. Immediately you were pounded by the storm. Large drops pelted your face, obscuring your vision. It was dark. You could tell that much. And there were trees. In every direction. 

You climbed out of the carriage, calling for the driver. Your feet slipped in the mud, but you managed to keep your balance–for now. The mud was thick and sticky as you trudged to the front of the carriage.

 No. No, no, no. Both of the horses were gone. And so was the driver. Somehow, the carriage had fallen down a hill or ravine. With a storm this terrible, you needed to get to higher ground or risk possibly being carried away–or drowning. Clawing and digging your hands and feet into the soaked dirt, you climbed the hard incline back to the road. 

Once you could make out the road, you called for the driver again. No answer. He was nowhere to be found. You needed to find shelter. The storm gave no promise of letting up. You wouldn't survive the night in this forest, even if you went back into the carriage. The only choice was to find sanctuary. You stared in the direction you believed you came from. Nothing but trees and darkness. You turned to the other choice. All the same–wait. 

There was something... when lightning brightened up the sky. Your heart began banging in your ears. Spires, towers. Not trees. It was some distance away, but it was shelter nonetheless. 

With near tears in your eyes, you picked up your skirts–your fingers numb from the cold–and hurried towards the castle that could be your saving grace. 

*****

The manor was calm tonight. Odd, considering the amount of bodies roaming around these haunted halls. Only the beautiful storm outside and Chanyeol's sorrowful melody from the piano broke the silence. Jongin had draped himself over one of the arm chairs as he inspected the wine mixture within his goblet. The taste was… adequate. The cellar would need replenishing soon.

In the corner, a rather lax game of cards covered the small, round table. Minseok smirked at his winning hand. The faded wooden chips with bits of white painted around the edges were piling up in front of Yixing, who leaned back carelessly, sure of his next win. Little did either of them know that the youngest among them had a little... trick his sleeve. As the quickest, Sehun had perfected sleight of hand long ago. None had caught him yet.

A fire roared, coaling the usually gray and brown room in flickering orange. With how close he stood near the fireplace, Kyungsoo's silhouette was visible through his loose shirt. He leaned his palms on the mantel and let the warmth of the flames engulf him. Warmth was all they could feel after all these years. It could be an addiction so strong it was tempting to throw himself into the fire. 

Junmyeon joined him at the fireplace, leaning his shoulders against the brick. The bite of the edge hardly registered in his mind. Pain of that measure... it was only a ghost that had nearly crossed over. 

“Such strong thoughts for a night like this.”

Kyungsoo didn’t look from the fire, but raised a questioning eyebrow in response. 

Junmyeon shrugged a single shoulder. “I can’t read minds, but it's obvious you're turning something over more times than a praying rock.”

“It's the same thoughts,” Kyungsoo murmured in his strange, monotone voice. “Always the same thoughts.”

“One day you will have to let it go,” Junmyeon sighed. “This is our existence now. And forever will be.”

“Acceptance of the present doesn’t erase the past.”

“But it does make the present more enjoyable.” The red liquid sloshed against the rim of the goblet as Jongin draped an arm over Kyungsoo’s shoulders. He wore a mischievous smile. A clear indicator of his true intention. 

Junmyeon shook his head. “We’re not going out tonight. There’s nothing out and about in this storm.” Hunting in these conditions would wield no trophies. Tomorrow would be a better night. 

“Jun’s no fun tonight,” Jongdae teased as he and Baekhyun emerged from the hallway. 

“If you want to go out in this mess,” Junmyeon waved towards the front door. “Be my guest. Just don’t you dare get mud on the rug–”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Help! Please! Help!”

Nine pairs of eyes snapped to the echoing sound. None moved. 

Bang! Bang! 

BANG!

One of the double doors burst open and a figure fell to the floor, landing on its knees and palms. It looked up. A flash of lightning illuminated the face.

The face of a beautiful young girl. 

*****

Your knees vibrated when they hit the wooden floor. Water fell from your loose hair that clung to your cheeks. The chances of  the door opening when you pushed on the handle had been low–yet the barrier that kept you victim to the storm fell open and you crashed downward with it. 

Greeting you in this strange hall were several men, their jaws hanging open in a mirror of your own surprise. More men appeared from a side parlor, curious as to who dared intrude on their evening. One, two, three–you counted nine total. Nine men. This was not ideal–a bit terrifying, really–but you didn't have a choice. The storm raged outside.

"P-please," you stammered past chattering teeth "The st-storm overturn-overturned the carriage.” 

The men stayed silent as they exchanged unreadable glances. One raised a questionable brow. 

"Jongdae, go run a bath," ordered the man closest to you. One of the shorter residents nodded and disappeared into the darkness that led into the rest of the manor. 

That's what this place was. A grand old manor, not a castle. Isolated. When you'd first run through the rusted iron gate, you'd feared it abandoned. A long dormant instinct whispered that you might have been better off if it had been. 

The first man approached, each motion slow, deliberate, and hauntingly graceful. He crouched down in front of you and captured your frightened stare. The fear in you began to melt away. He was… beautiful. Obsidian fell over his forehead in gentle waves. His tunic was of a fashion your grandfather would have worn. There was something strange about this man–all of these men. Something... different. 

"Let's get you warmed up." He held his hand out and you were up on your feet before you even realized your fingers were resting on his. "Don't worry," he murmured. "You're safe here. My name is Junmyeon." 

You nodded, somehow believing him, but unsure if you should. Through your violent chattering, you managed to stammer out your name in response. 

Bang! 

You jumped at the sudden noise. One of the other men had somehow appeared behind you to shut the door you'd fallen through. 

"Thank you, Yixing," the man beside you said. The one named Yixing nodded and then shifted his eyes to you. “Come.” A hand pressed into the space between your shoulder blades and guided you down the hall, leaving a trail of mud in your wake.

The man led you down several halls until you reached an unoccupied bedroom. Red blankets draped the oversized bed. Matching curtains hung limply from the canopy. All of the wood was a dark sort, rich in color but not quite welcoming like other, brighter woods. 

Jongdae emerged from another door on the other side of the bedroom. Steam rolled out after him as if it were following him for its next set of orders. “Anything else?” he asked drily. 

“No, thank you.”

Jongdae strolled the from the room without a glance either of you and closed the door behind him. Your breath hitched in your throat. The two of you were… alone. It wasn’t appropriate. It was…

You looked to the man still with you, fear causing your heart to pound painful against your chest. You tugged your cloak closer to you, but it was soaked from the rain. Shivers violently raced down your arms and spine. The man didn’t seem to notice as he walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. He pulled out a long white cloth. 

“These should suffice for tonight.” He held up the cloth for you to see. A nightgown. An old one by the cut of it, though thankfully it hadn’t been devoured by moths or mice. “If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.”

You nodded. “Thank you.” 

He visibly suppressed a laugh at your small voice and waved you into the adjoining bathroom. Taking the nightgown, you tried your best to avoid his gaze. You scurried inside and shut the door. 

*****

Junmyeon smirked at your mousy state. It was understandable why you were so frightened. The women of this period were warned of being alone with a man. And now you were alone with nine. 

Nine very dangerous men. 

The proper action for him to take was to leave your room now that you were safe inside the bathroom, but his feet didn’t move. Somehow, the storm had stranded you in their forest. What had happened to the driver, he wondered. Surely a gentlewoman such as yourself was not controlling the carriage. And yet, you were all alone. Circumstances were… ideal.

A small hiss echoed in the bathroom. It stretched out, along with the sound of sloshing water. Junmyeon frowned. 

Hm.

He stood there for a few minutes more, listening to you sigh as your skin grew used to the scalding water. The sound of soap scraping against skin reached his ears, followed by more sloshing water. Soon, you would be getting out of the tub. Time to leave. 

He emerged from the bedroom, careful to close the door as quietly as possible. Everyone had gathered out in the hallway since they were too curious about their visitor to go about their night. Junmyeon found Jongdae blending in with the cluster. He glared at him as he hissed, "The water was too hot." 

Jongdae merely shrugged. Why would he care about water possibly being too hot? It would never hurt him. 

On the opposite end of the group, Yixing cleared his throat. "What are we going to do with her?"

Junmyeon glanced at the door behind him. There was only one best option, for all their sakes. "Tomorrow morning, we will send her on her way." 

The eruption was instant. 

“Enough!”

In an instant, the hissing ceased. 

Baekhyun huffed and folded his arms against his chest, collapsing against the wall. Jongin scoffed. "Such a waste." 

“A waste that will keep this household from tearing itself apart,” Junmyeoun countered. It was an outcome none of them wanted. No one wanted to cause a fight, but resisting was difficult. The temptation was great. The quicker you left, the better off they would all be. 

"Do you really think it’ll end so well?" Minseok’s mocking comment hung in the air. Silent agreements rippled through the air. 

Junmyeon looked to Kyungsoo, whose answer was to look away. "No one touches her," he ordered. They all would try, he knew. But their strength would only get them so far. He stared down a few of them especially, so they knew he meant it.

Sehun pushed off the wall with a roll of his eyes. "Just get her out of here so I can get some peace." 

Junmyeon started to call after him but was interrupted by a soft thud from the room behind him. Confused, he opened the door to find you lying on the floor.

[kpop---scenarios]

Cravings (1)

Pairing: Vampire! Byun Baekhyun x Reader

Warning: Violence, Language, etc

Word Count: 5.8k

A/N: This is a revised and edited version of the Cravings series with Hongjoong. I hope you enjoy!

"Babe, hey babe." Your boyfriend, Chad, calls out to you, as you're sitting at the kitchen table, looking over bills again and again, running the numbers, hoping to god that you'll come up with a different number the next time. A number that doesn't make you want to rip your hair out and claw the face of your useless boyfriend.

“Hey, woman.” He yells a little louder, as your head is in your hands, squeezing your eyes shut trying to think of a payment you can skip this month because at this rate, you don't know how the fuck you're going to try to pay everything.

You worked too damn hard all day, to have barely anything to show for it.

Ever since Chad had moved in a few months ago, without an invitation, you were stressed. It wasn't like you weren't stressed before, but it was easier to control your finances then. But now, the price of everything has gone up and now your bills have doubled since he decided to stay. He also has not contributed anything financially towards the household, and it's not like you haven't asked him too. You spent months since he's been living with you, begging and pleading for him to help you pay for something, anything. And he always told you,

“On my next check, babe.” but that never came, and you went back to begging.

You paid for rent, utilities, groceries and you even paid when the two of you went out for dinner.

Chad worked full time, but where his money was going, you had no fucking idea. He was constantly going out with his 'boys', often coming home absolutely obliterated, and expecting you fuck him as soon as he got in the door. He told you that it was your duty as his girlfriend. It was almost as though he was offended you weren't attracted to his lack of contributing, while also acting like a man child.

Not to mention the countless hours he spent on your gaming console. When he got home from work, he went straight for it, and spent his time yelling and talking to his friends, while leaving you no time to play any games that you like. Well, that is, unless you wanted to wake up a few hours before you had to work to get on it, but by the time you got home from work, cleaned up the messes he made throughout the day when he got off early, or just called in sick to work, made yourself dinner, showered and got into your PJ'S, you were too damn tired to do anything. You knew you had to wake up the next day and do it all over again, so by the time you actually went to bed, you were already exhausted for the next day.

A part of you started to wonder why you were even in this relationship with him. Maybe you were scared to be alone, you weren't sure. But you felt like you were stuck with him, because for some reason, you thought you loved the guy.

"What do you want, Chad?" You sigh, walking into the living room where he's sprawled out on the couch, headset on and his match paused. "I'm trying to figure out bills, the stuff that I have to pay to keep a roof over our heads, power to play your fucking games, food in the fridge. You know, the shit you said you'd help pay for and I haven't seen a dime?”

"Yeah, that's great babe, good job.” He says, unpausing his game, glancing between you and the screen. “Can you go to the corner store and get those Takis, you know the ones I like? The not so spicy ones though babe, cause remember I have acid reflux, and a diet coke." He says, giving you a half smile, before calling his friend a jackass.

You swore you could feel the rage building up inside of you even more, and it was coming up quick. You could barely hold it in anymore. How uncaring could one person be?

"Are you going to pay for said snacks?" You ask, trying to keep your voice calm, emphasizing on the word pay.

"What?" He cackles. "Babe, no, come on. I'm broke. I don't get paid again for two weeks. You know this."

"You just got paid the other day." You say through gritted teeth. "Where the hell did all your money go?" You ask, your hands balled into fists, your voice becoming increasingly louder.

"You know babe, I had the fantasy football league entry, plus I owed Kyle money for the keg bomber last weekend, and I took the boys out for supper yesterday. Shit adds up." He says, never looking at you, only focusing on the game. You could hear it in his voice, he was beginning to get mad at you. At you!

"That sounds like a fucking you problem! Why is it always on me to pay for everything? It's not my problem because you're not financially stable, Chad. Grow up, you're fucking 35 for christ sakes!" You scream.

You can't even look at him right now. You turn around, stomping to the kitchen. You grab your purse and slip on your shoes before heading back into the living room. Before you're in his view you hear him talking to his friends through the headset.

"Yeah.” he chuckles. She went and got her shoes on and grabbed her purse." He continues. "She's definitely going to get my stuff."

"You know what Chad?” You say, mocking his name. “I'm definitely not going to get your snacks, you can get your own fucking snacks, Chaaad. I'm going out, with my goddamn money. So you can pack your shit and get out." You spit, heading for the door so you can storm out of the house. “Fuck you.” you finish, giving him the middle finger and slamming the door behind you.

You wandered down the street, a light rain falling down from the sky. You always loved the smell of rain, and the look of it. Everything was so beautiful at night, especially in the rain. You took a random turn, wanting to get lost in the city, like you had been for the last thirty five minutes. continuing to walk, you finally found the place you were looking for, but also weren't. You didn't have a specific place in mind that you'd wanted to go to, but when you saw this one you wanted, no needed to go inside.

Pushing open the door, the lights so dim that the place is almost dark. Had it not been for the red lights hanging above the tables, or the string of red lights that wrapped around the ceiling, you wouldn't have been able to see anything. Your eyes dart around the room as you walk further in, taking in the people and the room. A soft beat vibrates through the building, the smooth melody flows through your ears. Your stomach twisted as you made your way to the bar, you felt as though all eyes were on you. It felt dark and eerie, but you welcomed it, you preferred it instead of being around Chad's shitty mentality.

You slid onto one of the empty bar stools and set your purse in your lap, opening it up. You were digging through your purse when you heard someone clearing their throat in front of you. It startled you, you looked up to see quite possibly the most beautiful man you have ever seen in your entire life.

"What can I get for you?" He asks, his voice is deep, yet so smooth and calming.

It takes you a moment to answer. "Um, double vodka and cran please.” You say, clearing your throat. “And for the love of god, please keep them coming." You beg.

The slightest smile appears on his lips, as he makes your drink, and it disappears even quicker as he finishes it up.

"Bad day?" He asks, sliding your drink towards you. He smartly begins making you another, as you chug your first down in 2 large gulps. You slide the glass back towards him and laugh.

"More like a bad relationship." You groan. He nods his head as he slides your second drink towards you.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He asks, leaning on the bar with his chin resting on his hands.

“Bartenders are great listeners.” He says, as he waits for you to speak. You gaze into his eyes, they are mesmerizing, they make you feel safe and secure, and like you could tell him anything. You felt like you'd known him for longer than the few minutes you'd been there.

"What's your name?" You ask, you're unable to tear your eyes away from his.

"Baekhyun." He replies. "And yours?" He asks.

"Y/N." You whisper.

"Alright Y/N, what's so bad about this relationship of yours?" He asks, sliding your third drink towards you before taking the empty cup of your second.

"My boyfriend.” You begin. “If he is even my boyfriend anymore, I may have told him to get out as I stormed out tonight.” You giggle, taking a sip of your drink. “We've been together for just over a year, and well.. he's something else, and not the good something else like people usually say. He moved in with me, without even asking if I wanted to, and I just kind of accepted it.” You sigh. “He doesn't pay anything, no bills, rent, groceries, nothing. It's all on me, even though he does work full time. He forgot my birthday, went out and got absolutely plastered with his 'boys'. He's always out with them. Oh! On Valentine's Day, he took me out for dinner, and can you guess who was there?" You ask, giving Baekhyun a smile. “I bet you can't guess.”

"His boys?" He asks.

"You sir, are correct!” You yell. “ I was ignored the entire evening.” You begin to explain. “Oh wait, except when we got there and he asked if I even did anything to my hair.” You say, trying not to laugh but you fail. “and then he and his boys left, I ended up paying the bill, for everyone! And, the kicker, I had to uber home because he had driven us there. Not to mention the fact that he assumes I'm just there for his pleasure, he just expects me to be spread eagle for him whenever he decides to show up." You finish, chugging your drink as you try not to gag on the strong taste of vodka.

"Why are you with him then?” Baekhyun asks you. “He doesn't sound like he contributes to the relationship at all, or makes you happy, so why do you stay?" He wonders. It's not the first time you have been asked that.

'Honestly, I'm not entirely sure." You answer as he slides another drink in front of you.

"Now that's a bullshit excuse." He replies. "There's a reason that you don't want to admit."

"Do you ever smile?" You ask him, changing the topic. “Like a full cheese smile?”

"No." He deadpans. "Now, why won't you leave him?"

"Because it's safe, I guess? I don't know. It's been like a year, and I've sort of just gone through the motions of the year.” You shrug, sipping more of your drink. You're feeling it now and you're going to get a lot more open. “I just dont think I can do any better than him."

"Y/N, you have no idea how much better you could do." He says.

“I've seen the dating pool out there, Baekhyun. Last I checked, good ol’ Chad is my best option.” You laugh.

He doesn't. He continues to stare at you until your smile fades from your face, your eyes still connected with his. You feel like you can't breathe, all this electricity is flowing through your body.

**

From the second Baekhyun had a whiff of the scent that was coming into his bar, he knew that it was the scent of the one. His mate. He intensely watched the door, his jaw clenching as he waited for you to walk through the door.

As soon as he saw you, it was almost as though his heart could have started beating once again. The ice cold blood that ran through his veins could have turned warm just at the sight of you.

You were beautiful, a vision.

He had always been told that when he found his mate he would know. He was never sure if it was true or if it was an old tale but having been alive for over a century, he had thought it was false, he had never felt this with any other woman he had been with or around. And now he knew why, because all his life he had been waiting for you. You were the person that he would do anything for, the person that he would be anything for. He would fight until the death, walk to the ends of the earth for you.

And he didn't know what to do.

You had finally walked into his life, and for once he felt an ounce of hope, that maybe he wasn't meant to live for eternity alone. That was, until, you had mentioned that filthy, worthless human you called a boyfriend. How could you stay with someone who treated you like absolute garbage? Didn't you know how special you were?

Baekhyun’s body filled with rage when he heard you had thought that nobody better was out there, that no one could love you the way you were meant to be loved.

You were dead fucking wrong.

Your one, he was standing right in front of you, and though you had just met him, he loved you fiercely, with everything he had. And would do anything to protect you.

Anything.

**

"I appreciate your advice.” You sigh, finishing your drink. You look at your watch, surprisingly it reads 12:45am. ”It's getting late and I have to work tomorrow." You groan. "How much do I owe you?" You ask, grabbing your card from your wallet.

"It's on me." He tells you, grabbing your empty glass.

“No, no.” You semi slur. “I drank, like a lot. Let me pay or tip your fine ass.” You giggle. Drunk you didn't give a fuck.

Baekhyun looks at you, a smile almost crossing his lips. “Next time, drinks are on you.” He says.

"Well thank you." You smile. "It was nice meeting you." You tell him as you slide off the stool, one foot buckling under your weight. “whoops.” You begin to laugh as you stand up, the entire bar is spinning around you.

"You okay?" He asks, watching you stumble away.

“I'm good. I'm good.” You slur, making it outside. The cool air sobered you up a little bit, well enough for you to hail a cab to get a ride back home.

That night when you got home, you couldn't get Baekhyun off your mind, a smile spread across your face as you walked through your front door, and headed into the living room, then it instantly dropped. Chad had not moved from the spot you had previously left him in, hours ago.

"Oh, babe." He says, sucking the Taki dust from his fingers. "Kyle brought me some snacks, since you threw a huge temper tantrum about my snacks, you can just venmo or cash app him, k?" He says, going back to playing his game.

You didn't have the energy tonight to ask him why he was still here. You just wanted to go to bed. You changed into your PJ’s, brushed the smell of liquor from your mouth and flopped into your bed.

That night you dreamt of one man, who was not your man.

**

The next morning you woke up early and severely hungover. You quickly called your boss, explaining that you must have caught the flu in the night and that you would not be in. Luckily you had a few paid sick days left to use up so you wouldn't be missing out on any money.

As you crawled out of bed, you noticed that Chad's side was still made and cold to the touch, like no one had slept in there all night. You weren't mad about it but you knew that it meant he gamed all night and wouldn't be going to work today. You groaned loudly in frustration thinking of having to spend the day with the guy who wouldn't let you break up with him.

“Morning babe, can you grab me a coffee?” he asks, in his same spot, same clothes, same spots of Taki dust on his shirt that you left him in last night.

“Don't call me that. I believe I told you to get out last night.” You groan, shuffling towards the coffee pot that hadn't even been turned on. “Theres no fucking coffee even made!” You yell.

“Oh yeah, babe, can you make some coffee?” He asks.

Your rage boiled over. You felt like shit and you didn't want to deal with his shit. You stomped, loudly into the living room, barged right in front of his game and ripped the power cord out of the wall, dropping it to the ground.

“BABE!” Chad yells, standing up quickly. “What the hell!?”

“I don't know why you can't get it through your thick skull.” You yell. “Let me dumb it down for you and go slow.” You smile. “Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. My. Apartment.”

“Why are you being like this? You know I don't have anywhere to go.” He whimpers.

“Not my issue. Pack your clothes and go.” You say. You were so done. You really did deserve better.

“Can I atleast take the gaming console?” He asks, trying to give you puppy dog eyes.

“My console? Absolutely not. You leave what you came with. A garbage bag of clothes.” You walk to the kitchen, opening the cupboard under the sink. You grab a bag and walk it back to Chad and hand it to him. You watch him stuff his few pairs of shorts and pants, shirts and underwear into the bag, grabbing his phone and shoes before asking him for your key. He reluctantly gives it back to you, looking back at you with sad eyes while he takes tiny steps out the door. It takes all you have not to shove him, but you don't and once he's out you close the door and lock it.

You finally felt free.

You crawled back into bed, feeling like a weight had been lifted from your shoulders and fell asleep peacefully, dreaming of Baekhyun once again.

You woke up later that afternoon, still feeling nauseous but better than before. You felt like you couldn't deal with that, or anything. Thankfully it was the weekend and you could take this time to decide what you wanted to do. Which was absolutely nothing.

You didn't see or speak to anyone all weekend. You kept holed up in your apartment watching movies, eating Ramen, ice cream and any other bad thing you could find in your kitchen. But once Monday rolled back around, you knew you had to get back to life. You went to work, only to be sent home a few hours early, at 4pm. You were happy and you wanted to go see Baekhyun but you felt like this was too early to be at the bar drinking.

You muddled around your apartment for a bit, deleting texts from Chad, asking you when he could come home and when you were going to stop whining about everything.

When you finally felt like it was an appropriate time to go to the bar, you got yourself semi together and headed out, happily. You walked in, and immediately felt a pair of eyes shift towards you. Your heart skipped. You turned your head towards the bar to see Baekhyun staring at you as he cleans a few glasses before putting them on the rack. He doesn't smile when he sees you, his face is hard but somehow looks softer than it did the other day.

“You're finally back. I was wondering if I'd see you again.” He says, grabbing a glass. “The same?”

“Yes please. And I am back. And I have news.” You grin.

“And what's that?” He wonders, sliding your drink towards you. He leans In closely, his eyes not weavering from yours. Your heart beats loudly, and fast. You wonder if he can hear it, if he knows how nervous and flustered he makes you.

“I, um.” You began. Before you can finish, your phone rings loudly. You roll your eyes at the caller ID, answering it quite annoyed.

“What?” You ask. Baekhyun can hear the sound of a crying man on the other end. “Please. Stop calling me” You snap, hanging up the call.

“Chad?” Baekhyun asks but he already knew. You nod your head as he slides another drink towards you.

“He left the other morning. The morning after I was here..” You announce between sips. “I made him leave. I'm so mad at him right now and I want to hate him but part of me feels guilty for being mean while he's upset.” You sigh. You wished you didn't feel like this. You just wished you had someone who could love you as hard as you loved them.

“I'm proud of you. I hope you're starting to see your worth.” Baekhyun says.

As he walks away to another customer, Chad texts you asking to talk. You reply back, telling him to meet you at your place at 8pm. You really didn't want to leave Baekhyun but you felt like you needed to calmly clear the air with Chad. You pull out two twenties and slide them onto the bar, giving Baekhyun a small wave. He gives you a wink that sends shivers down your spine as you turn to walk away.

You didn't want to go, and little did you know, he didn't want you to go either.

You really shouldn't have let Chad in to talk. You don't know how he does it but he convinced you to get back together with him. He lured you in with the promises of changing, being a better man, spending more time with you and more money on you while also spending less money on his friends and less time on the console. But how funny is it that mere seconds after you agree to a second chance, he's back gaming and you're going to bed all on your own.

Over the next few weeks, you had absolutely no desire to be at home. Chad had gone back to his old self so quickly, it gave you whiplash. He hadn't even attempted to change, and you found yourself craving to be near Baekhyun. So you headed to the bar, everyday after work for a drink, or two, or four.

In those weeks you and Baekhyun spent an ample amount of time getting to know each other, you were sure he knew you better than Chad ever did. You didn't want to see Chad, you didn't want to be near him and it was bad enough that he texted you throughout the day, sending you lists of things to buy from the grocery store, as if he wasn't able to do it himself. However, much to your surprise, he didn't question you when you never came home with his snacks, he didn't check in with you throughout the day or wonder where you were at night, and honestly it no longer bothered you. You didn't care but you couldn't end things again. Not yet.

You felt your feelings for Baekhyun deepen with every encounter the two of you had, every look, every conversation, every time you saw him it was like nothing you had ever felt with anyone. Your emotions were amplified around Baekhyun and you weren't sure how much longer you could keep them hidden.

"One more." You tell Baekhyun, as you set down your fourth glass.

You can tell he wants to smile, but he's too good at controlling his emotions. "You've had enough, I'm cutting you off." He tells you.

You pout, trying to give him your best puppy dog eyes, but absolutely got absolutely nothing from that man and it was frustrating as fuck.

"A bad storm is coming, you should probably get home." He tells you, drying off some glasses.

"I don't want to go home, he's there." You scoff, just thinking about Chad made you want to vomit. "I guess I could just get a motel room.” You mutter. “That place across the street looks okay." You slur, pointing over to the run down motel, that had flickering lights, and probably a rat and cockroach infestation.

"I dont fucking think so." Baekhyun replies. "You need to go home. I'll give you a ride." He says.

"Give me a minute." He walks from around the bar, towards the back of the building, and you can't help but to turn in your stool and watch him walk away, damn he looks good.

Within seconds he's back, grabbing your bag and scooping you up into his arms as he effortlessly carries you out the door.

"I can walk." You object.

"I know." He says, his face stone cold.

"You're very pale." You tell him, as if he didn't know.

"I know." He replies, unlocking the door to his car.

"And you're very cold." You say.

He sighs. "I know." He finishes as he slides you into the passenger seat of his car.

As soon as he started his car, the rain began pouring as thunder and lightning jolted the sky.

"You were right, there's a storm." You say, watching out your window.

"I know." He replies, this time it sounded different. You turned to look at him, hoping you'd catch him smiling but no such luck.

He pulls up to your apartment complex, quickly and effortlessly glides out of the driver's side of the car, making his way to your side before you can even get your hand on the handle. He walks to the elevator with you, steps onto the elevator with you. He stands beside you, his hand inches away from yours, you can feel the electricity between the two of you. The elevator lands on your floor, you step out and Baekhyun follows you to your door.

“You didn't need to walk me up.” You say, already sobering up.

“Just wanted to make sure you got home safe.” Baekhyun says, his face still stone cold. You can hear some music thumping through the door. You really hope it's not what you think it is. You unlock your door and open it to 10-15 people in your apartment. There's maybe 2 that you know, but the rest? You've got no clue.

“There she is!” Chad yells, walking towards you.

“Happy birthday, baby.” He slurs, wrapping his arm around you. A crowd of people gather around, yelling “Surprise!” To you. You smile at them awkwardly, what was happening?

“It's not my birthday.” You hiss, trying to Chad, trying to remove his arm from you. “I'm sorry everyone, I don't know what he told you but it's not my birthday.” You say.

They all turn to each other, whispering things. You look at Chad’s two best friends, Brad and Connor, who you've spoken to multiple times. They just shrug their shoulders.

“Fuck.” He yells in your face, his breath smells like whiskey. He moves away from you, pushing through the crowd to grab a bottle on the table. He takes a full swing, before stomping back towards you. “I'm trying to do something fucking nice for you and you always have to shit on it.” He yells.

“I'm sorry it's not my birthday, and you invited all your friends and none of mine or my family. This is a party for you, with a cover it's supposed to be for me. It's pathetic.” You spit, your face inches away from his. You turn to walk away but he grabs your arm.

“Where are you trying to go? Don't be fucking rude to your guests.” Chad snaps.

“Dude, It's not her birthday. It's fine, just let her go and we can have another shot.” Brad says, trying to descalate the situation. Chad shoves Brad away with his free hand, tightening his grip around your arm.

“Chad stop.” You shout as he pushes you against the wall. Baekhyun lurches forward but you put your free arm out to stop him. You didn't want Chad to get anymore angry.

“What's it gonna take? Huh? You want a kiss? Is that gonna make you less uptight?” He says, grabbing your shoulders and shoving you into the wall, again. This wasn't the first time he'd gotten handsy when drinking Whiskey, but this is the first time he'd ever been close to violent about it. He leans in close to your face, trying to press his lips to yours, sticking his tongue out, trying to slip it into your mouth. You turn your head, trying to avoid him.

“Get off.” You cry out, trying to push him off with one hand, but he manages to pin the other one to the wall. You can't get him off you, your arm was throbbing and you were starting to panic.

“Baekhyun.” You cry out, tears spilling down your cheeks.

“Get the fuck off of her.” You hear Baekhyun's voice yell. “Are you hard of hearing?” He asks, swiftly pulling Chad from you and throwing him across the floor.

“Who the fuck is that?” Chad asks, scrambling to his feet and pointing to Baekhyun.

“I want you out Chad. I’m done. This was the last fucking straw!” You cry.

Baekhyun takes your hand and pulls you out of your apartment. He brings you to the elevator and back down to his car, trying to avoid getting you too wet. He buckles you in and pulls out of your parking lot. He drives past the bar and continues until the two of you are out of the city. The rain still pours. Thunder rumbles as lightning lights up the sky.

He continues driving, taking you out into the middle of nowhere.

Baekhyun pulls up to a gate, punching in a few numbers and it opens, he drives down a long driveway. You squinted as you tried to see where you were going but it was far too dark for you to see anything, until you pulled up to a beautiful mid-century mansion that made your mouth drop. It was absolutely stunning and you couldn't believe that he lived there.

"Seriously? This is where you live?" You say.

"My, uh, family, but yeah." He answers, parking the car near the entrance.

He glides out of his seat, walking towards your side again to open the door for you, pulling you inside before you get too wet. He pulls you up a large flight of stairs, not letting you admire the inside of his house. He opens the door to a large room, with a large bed and a bathroom ensuite.

"There's towels if you want to shower, I'll be back in a bit to check on you." He says, avoiding all eye contact before walking out of the room.

You let out a deep breath as you take off your heels, unbutton your pants and unhook your bra, placing it all next to the bed. You sit down on the bed in your underwear and t-shirt, wondering what to do, until your phone rings.

Looking at the caller ID, you didn't want to answer it, but you honestly felt scared if you didn't.

"Hello?" You answer.

"Hey babe, it's me.. it's Chad." He says.

"I know who it is." You sigh.

"I'm so fucking sorry, I.. I don't know what came over me. Seriously, Y/N. I just.. I'm so sorry.” He cries.

“I.. I can't. Don't. Don't call me.” You hyperventilate. “I can't.” You whimper, hanging up the phone.

You stand there, taking deep breaths as you try to fight off the tears. You replay the short conversation you just had, but more so what he did to you. You didn't even want to think about what would have happened had Baekhyun not been there for you tonight. You saw a side of Chad you'd bever seen before and were not interested in ever seeing again. You felt like you couldn't breathe. You sobbed as you sat on the bed.

There's a knock at the door but you don't hear it. The door opens, Baekhyun walks into the room, seeing you on the bed, all he felt was anger.

"Y/N.." He begins as lightning strikes, causing the power to flicker.

"Chad called.” You cry. “He was.. apologizing..but I couldn't stop.. replaying it.” You sniffle.

"I'm so sorry that happened. I should have taken you away the second he put his hands on you." He says, looking at you. You look up at him, tears still streaming down your face. A crack of thunder hits loudly, making you jump, and within seconds Baekhyun's arms are wrapped around you. He rubs your back as you nuzzle your head into his chest.

You're so tired.

Your eyes begin to close until his phone rings. He lays you down before he stands up answering the call.

“I'm sorry, Y/N. I have some things to take care of." He says.

"Oh, yeah, no problem." You say, getting under the covers.

“Are you going to be okay?” He asks before leaving.

“I'll be fine, go.” you say forcing a smile.

"Get some sleep." He tells you before walking out of the bedroom door, leaving you alone once again.

You tried to fight the exhaustion you felt, but it was far too hard. You tried watching the door, in hopes he would come back but your eyelids got too heavy for you to keep open, and you swiftly drifted off to sleep.

The warm sun was shining through the window, woke you up. You let out a little stretch before opening your eyes, only to see seven men standing around the bed. You sit up, moving closer to the wall, as these men stare at you. You stared at them all, as they all glared at you, looking similar to Baekhyun.

Pale skin, dark eyes, dark hair, blood red lips.

"Who are you?" One of them asks.

"Y/N." You whisper. “Who are you guys?”

Another one speaks up, looking at the other six men. "I think the better question is, who the fuck brought a human home?"

[soobadnoonecanstopher]

Can I Stay? (A Baekhyun Story) Part 6.

Pairing: You x Baekhyun

Rating: M (Mature Content)

Word Count: 5.3K

Warnings: Smut. Graphic descriptions of unprotected sex between two consenting adults with an unspecified age difference between them, an English story that uses the word Noona for lack of another word in English that carries the same feeling, if you don’t like this, then don’t read this story.

Author‘s note: remember all those years ago I said I’d write a Baekhyun x Noona fic? This is that fic. & a special thank you to my lovely readers for sending me ideas for this story. I have used a few brilliant ideas in this chapter.

Inspired by the Ray LaMontagne song Can I Stay

Links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Tag List: @andimoon @his-mochi-cheeks

You awoke in his arms with your legs in a tangle within his; with the cadence of his steady breathing and the hum of gentle rain drops hitting against your windows.

It was not yet 5am. You hadn’t even had close to enough sleep but the warmth of his body against yours had pulled your consciousness back up from whatever dream you had been having. Whether it was simply the fact that you had another human being in your bed with you, a reality that hadn’t happened in years, or if it had simply returned once again to you; that longing for him, you weren’t sure what actually had awoken you.

Some things; some brand new, delicate things like this man’s existence in this bed with you were much more compelling than sleep.

How could you dare sleep through the first breaths of this brand new life? What a shame that would be.

His skin coated your bare back and you felt gratitude for the rain that had fallen all night. The crisp air felt cool enough that no amount of his heat against you was too much. You shifted your position slightly, and you listened for any change in his breathing. It only took a heartbeat but you heard a change. It was minuscule. The smallest moan.

He was still under.

Last night’s whispered words to you were lightly brushed fingertips over this 5am flushed skin. They tickled gently as they blew in the wind and you arched your back in response. The puzzle pieces that were your bodies fit together, you the smaller piece to him and with the movement you made within his arms you could feel as you turned further, pushed closer to him, another sound emerged from him; paired with some movement of sleepy arms and still dazed hands.

“Mmm—“ the sleepy moan was followed by a sharp inhale. You felt his arms constrict around you for a moment before they relaxed again.

You could let him sleep. But what a shame it would be. You could also feel the drowsiness deep in your chest begging you to let it go, just for a few more hours of sleep but that longing persisted. It persisted in your ears where those whispered words shared between you both still echoed.

‘Is this love?’

‘Do you love me like I love you?’

‘Yes. it must be. I do, love you.’

The longing persisted and it echoed again and again between your thighs building into desire, despite the thick sleep that pulled at you again.

You pushed into him again, wiggling your hips backward until you felt the heat of his hips push back against you.

Another moan with more substance this time. It hasn’t been that difficult to coax a sound like that out of him. Of course, he was a young and healthy man.

“Mmmm…What time is it?” The first real words you pulled from him were slurred and mumbled on his sleep coated tongue.

“Early,” you whispered and you moved your hips again. He was awake now it seemed. A heavy hand landed on your hip and he hissed out a breath, pressing the growing pressure against you.

“Sorry for waking you up.” The white lie felt obligatory and you heard a half humored hum from him as his arms wrapped around your waist now and he tightened his hold on you; one hand tightened around your breast, the other digging fingers into your hip bone. The heat under this blanket was beginning to grow stuffy.

“You don’t seem sorry,” Baekhyun’s brazen response accused you. You didn’t do very well at holding in the giggle from your lips and letting it slip only made you seem even guiltier.

“I was just trying to get comfortable.” Your denial was a playful attempt and was immediately followed by a surprised gasp from your parted lips when you felt his lips land on the bare skin of your neck. You felt his smile there and felt the hard wetness of his teeth as he bared them over your skin and bit down. That one bite took your excuses and your games right out of your mouth and they vanished as goosebumps spread over your skin. You breathed out loud through it. Through the slight pain.

This Baekhyun — this aroused from a deep sleep, Baekhyun felt quite different from that gentle man that made love to you for the first time mere hours ago. His moans into your ear were lower and seemed to come from deep down in his belly as he did it. This sleepy Baekhyun had just bitten your neck. You felt the hard suction of his mouth and the wetness of his tongue in that spot you were sure it would leave a mark that would take days to fade. He carelessly left behind a wet spot that tingled and ached as it cooled in the air.

“And are you comfortable now?” You were out of words. More than any sort of shock, the arousal that surged through your body was what took your words from you. You were also certain that he wasn’t looking for an answer to this question.

His hand, the one that had been digging into your hip and pulling your ass into him suddenly let go and he reached up over your shoulder seeking out your outstretched arm. He followed your arm until the very end and wrapped his slim fingers around your palm and he pulled your hand, gripping you tightly as he brought your hand down behind your own back until you felt the stiffness of him under your fingertips. You had already known what you had done to him with all of the ass wiggling earlier. But this was an undeniable presentation of evidence he had just set into the palm of your hand.

You ran your fingertips down the length of him and when you wrapped your hand around the stiffness another low sound came from the back of his throat. But your hand was too dry for this. You didn’t have one yourself so you couldn’t be sure, but you idly wondered if something dry and cool like this could even feel good to him.

The temperature difference was too shocking. Your hands had been out in the cool night air of your bedroom and definitely hadn’t been snuggled up between both of your warm bodies like this.

“My hand is too cold, Baek,” you whispered what he very likely could feel for himself.

“Then put me somewhere warm.” He’d said it in his sleepy voice, that thicker and lower octave that only came from this very early morning Baekhyun.

This Baekhyun made you give in to your desires so easily.

You spun then, and pushed up onto tired hands and knees and you lifted your sleepy body to straddle his waist. The blankets were getting too hot anyway, when they slid off your back you let them and you longed to be able to see his face in the darkness of this room.

A quick lean to the nightstand by his head and a switch was flipped and you both gasped and closed your eyes as the dim lamp came to light. You pushed through the shock because you had a goal here.

“Sorry baby, I want to see your pretty face,” you said to him.

Baekhyun’s severe squinting quickly turned into a look of pained pleasure as you lifted your hips and sunk down fully on him. He gasped out loud and his lips hung open and his head was thrown back and the look on his face was enough to get you through any lonely night. This expression here as you sank down with him inside of you, filling you up completely in a single motion — with his flushed pink cheeks and parted pink lips still swollen from sleep and from your many kisses. The tip of his tongue darted forward out of his mouth and he moistened his upper lip and his eyes were shut so tightly from too many overwhelming things at once.

You rose again, carefully lifting yourself with your hands pressing against his abdomen and when you sunk back down you looked into his face finding that his eyes had half opened and he was looking at you now. He bit down on his bottom lip and tried his best to keep his eyes open through your movements. You could see the struggle in him to both see everything you were doing and while also feeling everything were doing. You gave into the feelings much easier, only stealing the occasional glance down at his face. Only forcing your eyes back open when he made a particularly enticing sound. This felt too good for you though. You had to repeat these movements with your eyes closed because something was changing now.

“Oh fuck, I’m in trouble. You feel too good, Noona,” he said as his hands found your hips and he gripped tightly into the softness of your flesh. His whiny little complaint made you smile and only fueled you. Seeing his face like this made the sex feel even better. Hearing his reactions to you built you up. You felt unrestricted with him. You felt encouraged and enjoyed and savored. This man was like no one you had ever known before. “Fuck, you look so sexy riding my dick like this.”

When you arched your back and leaned back on him, feeling the way he bumped against you inside as you moved brought you even closer to that building feeling and his hands were moving up on you now, reaching for your breasts as he gripped and squeezed before letting go and pulling his own two arms up above his head and interlocking his hands together, as if he was trying to keep himself under control, his eyes were open and he was watching you. Every other movement had his face twisting and his head rolling. His chest heaved up and down as he tried to control his breathing and he failed at it.

“How can you be this beautiful?” You heard him say. “You are so dangerous, Noona. My god, I am in huge fucking trouble. Can I just live here…inside of you…like this…forever?”

He was gasping in between words. But good lord was he noisy. You knew you’d never get away with doing any of this in any place where you both weren’t completely and entirely alone. Just the sounds were too much. The compliments though seemed to have a very deep and curiously strong effect on you.

“Obsessed. I’m obsessed.” But did he really have to say so many words right now? Following them all was impossible. “Keep going, fuck..fuck.. I can’t—”

You couldn't focus on his words but they suddenly came to a stuttering halt when you tightened around him and an overwhelming wave took your breath away. He must have felt it when you did. His face was screwed up tightly and his hands were tightly fisted balls above his head. His heavy breathing and his words had stopped too and his mouth hung open in silence. This feeling had been wound too tight in you and you felt the waves crest as you closed your eyes and you felt the trembling in your thighs as you gasped and gripped him tightly around his waist to keep yourself upright as you were overcome by it.

You were dizzy. You were off balance and tired and his arms wrapped tightly around you as he sat up and rolled you around onto your back, not leaving from inside of you as he did it. You were suddenly quite aware of the mess you felt between your bodies. The wetness threatened.

“Do you realize what you’ve just done? I am obsessed. I need you to wake me up like that every day. I need to live in between your thighs.” His lips were on your skin pressing wet kisses all over your neck and chest. Your mind slowly came back as you smiled and lifted a hand to run your fingers through his hair, pushing it back off his forehead where it fell forward and tickled against your skin as he kissed you.

“I hope you can handle having a boyfriend who’s completely fucking obsessed with you because you’ve just made it a thousand times worse.”

Boyfriend?

It wasn’t that you didn’t expect this. But him saying that word so casually had your stomach doing flips. His kisses had worked their way down to the mound of your breast and his breath puffed out over your nipple before his lips parted and he pulled lightly, giving you tiny kisses and nibbles all over.

“Wait, do I have a boyfriend?” Your question was sleepy sounding and yet so hopeful too. Once you’d asked you pulled your bottom lip in between your teeth and held it there. The irony of this was not lost on you. Here you’d just had very, very good sex with the man but suddenly there were some silly bubbly butterflies floating around inside of your stomach after hearing him use that word. You could feel the urge to squeal and hop around at the very thought of it.

He lifted his eyes for a moment and they touched yours.

“Yes, my love. You just woke your boyfriend up to fuck him —” you gasped out loud after another unexpected movement as he tightened his hold around you and rolled onto his back again. You found yourself back on top of him, with him still very much inside of you closer to the edge of the bed. “and now your boyfriend is trying not to make a big mess on the bed because he doesn’t want to sleep in a wet spot.”

Oh is that what the rolling was for? You felt giggles threaten to escape with all of the silly movement and the elation from this new found named revaluation. Unfortunately giggles were the last thing that should happen right now. Just two tiny half chuckles left your chest and you felt their effects immediately- the mess threatened. Your laughter pushed against him. You’d nearly made it off the bed. You were close to it.

“No, no, don’t laugh. Nothing is funny. Nothing is funny.” Baekhyun hissed in a panic when he felt your laughter all around an extremely sensitive and spent part of his body. But he was moving faster now and you found yourself plopped onto both of your legs, finally free of the fluffy bedding and a very much still clean mattress and dry bed sheets.

“I almost threw you off the bed,” he laughed and you felt more giggles breaking free. A crisis was averted and you were dragged by a naked and giggling Baekhyun to the bathroom for a shower.

Neither of you had anywhere to be until well after lunch time so after the shower he led you back to the bed for some more sleep. But the sleep was evasive and fitful for you. Your mind and heart were too restless to give into it and after a while you gave up instead opting for a peaceful cup of coffee in front of your work laptop catching up on never ending emails and completing small tasks that could be handled remotely.

Before the coffee you’d managed to quietly gather all of Baekhyun’s clothing; the suit and all that had been sullied by the rainstorm last night and you dropped it off for expedited service at the dry cleaners downstairs. For a small sum they promised it would be ready in just two hours. You’d grabbed a new toothbrush and left it with the plain white t-shirt and gray sweatpants neatly folded on the corner of the bed. They didn’t need cleaning. He didn’t even sleep in them.

It all felt so strange. Having this person — your person asleep in your home in the quiet early hours of the day like this. You couldn’t help the occasional glances you’d take at him. You found your legs pushing you up and carrying you across your apartment to peek through your open bedroom door just to see the peaceful expression on his face. It was almost as if you’d expected him to be gone the next time you checked. But he was there every time, just as peaceful and just as beautiful.

Eventually Baekhyun woke up, peeked his head around the corner of your bedroom doorway with a blindingly bright smile on his face. “Noona, I’m so hungry. I only just now remembered the ramen we didn’t get to eat last night.”

You had been up and out and about already and his grin was wide and appreciative to find out that not only had you picked up his suit from the cleaners but also some breakfast egg sandwiches from the shop on the corner, all while he slept blissfully and peacefully unaware.

How could you stand it? Your eyes drifted over his face and your thoughts strayed to the inevitable truth that was soon to come. You’d have to have a difficult conversation with him about how despite how much you loved him and how much he loved you, no one at your work could ever possibly know about it. Not while he was still working under you as your assistant at least. That was simply the kind of career killing scandal that you could not take. You’d never emotionally or professionally recover from something that devastating. In this scenario you had so very much to lose.

“Baekhyun,” you began carefully as you both tidied after the meal. He had been drying a coffee mug with a tea towel but your quiet use of his name pulled his eyes into yours.

“About us.. and work,” you bit down on the corner of your lip and looked down at the plate that you rinsed in hot running water.

“Oh I know,” he said after a while. “We can’t let anyone at work know about us. I know that already. I know the risk that holds for you.” He inhaled a slow and steady breath as he spoke. You didn't detect any hidden objections in his words, he seemed to be genuinely understanding.

”Me, I don’t think much can happen to me, but I get it. I know that you would be the one hurt.”

You pulled your lips into a small somewhat anxious pout and handed the plate to him to dry.

“There’s nothing wrong with this; with us being in love.” You said softly. Saying it more for your own heart than for his benefit and you patted lightly against the ache in your chest with the palm of your damp hand.

“Right.” He agreed quietly. “I know.”

“Work is work and everything else, well…” your words trailed. You swallowed down the moisture in your mouth, feeling the heavy weight of this burden. Of being born fortunate enough to experience such a profound feeling for this man and being unable to share it freely.

Baekhyun had finished drying the dishes and had hung the towel to dry over the sink faucet and he had left you to your thoughts for a while. He was snooping around your house. The idea of this might have made you uncomfortable last night when he had first arrived here but now after everything that had changed you didn’t mind it so much.

He was looking at a shelf where you kept some picture frames. Some important or significant moments in your life. Things that you’d been proud of, mostly work events and projects you’d been on.

He seemed to be looking quite closely at one picture in particular, having picked it up he was holding it up to his face.

“Noona,” he called and you paused your journey through the living room when he spoke. You had been headed to your bedroom to get dressed for work. “Look. This is the first time I met you.”

What could he mean by that? The first time you met Baekhyun was when he began working as your assistant. As you drew closer to where he stood you recognized the picture he held as being from a group photo from a work event last year and you paused with a tick of your head to the side as a realization dawned. With Baekhyun’s family connections to the company it was entirely possible that he was an ever present and heavily involved individual for much longer than you realized. His resume did mention several internships, but you failed to make the connection to any projects you had worked on at the time.

“Look,” he was touching a slim index finger to a familiar smiling face in the back row of the group. He had black hair in this picture, but it was definitely Baekhyun. You grabbed the picture and gasped out loud. Here he was in your picture with that blindingly beautiful smile and all. He looked incredible with black hair too. How in the world did you not remember him?

“We met each other then? Baekhyun, I’m sorry, I don't remember—”

“Oh, I know you don’t remember me,” He interrupted, “I was too shy to come up to you and you were too busy to pay attention to some new kid. You were like superwoman on that team. You were so cool and so pretty. I don’t think you looked at me once.” Baekhyun was laughing to himself.

“Look at you,” you whispered and you mirrored the smile on his face in this picture. “You’ve been here in my house this whole time. The black hair looks good on you too, although you’re so handsome that’s not surprising.”

“I was so nervous on my first day when I saw your name,” he said quietly as you ran a fingertip over his smiling face in the picture. “Seriously I thought I was going to vomit.”

You looked into his smiling face, with your eyes widening in genuine surprise. It wasn’t often that you heard these kinds of words about yourself.

“I think I realized it then, on my first day — that it wasn’t just a professional interest that I had in you. Even your name gave me butterflies. Your voice saying my name made my hands shake.”

This candor from him was sending your heart into a race. Your eyes absentmindedly glanced at the clock and you recognized a bit of a time crunch now. You both simply did not have time to get back into that bed with each other and spend the rest of the day giving in to the magnetic attraction. It took an extra breath of air pulled deep into your lungs and you dropped your gaze from his eyes that were becoming just a little bit burdening and you let out a quiet “Oh—” as your only response to his breathtaking confession.

“We need to be at work soon,” you said as calmly as you could muster and Baekhyun’s serious expression broke with the smallest smile. Your mind was drawn back to that first day in the office with him. You tried to remember him acting nervous, but try as you might you couldn't consolidate the two memories.

“You didn’t seem nervous at all,” you said suddenly, interrupting your own progress. “You very confidently handed me your tablet with your resume just smack in the middle of your own very personal photos in that gallery.”

After you’d said it you realized you had just incriminated yourself and Baekhyun’s smile grew wider as he looked at you and he tilted his head to the side.

“Noona,” he said without even trying to hide his smile.

“We have to get ready for work.” You put the group photo back in its place on your shelf, spun on your spot and took several steps away from this man. You had to get ready for work.

“Noona, did you see my pictures? Did you see me naked? Did you like it?” He was following closely behind you, outright laughing now, in full teasing mode.

“You were not naked. You had swim trunks on.” This had him laughing even harder and you could not even stop your own smile from spreading across your face. He had grabbed ahold of you now, keeping you from leaving.

“But did you like it?” He had your arms held by your forearms and he was wiggling you back and forth. His giggles were contagious and you were in serious danger of this conversation delaying your entire work day if you weren't careful.

“Get ready for work and maybe I’ll tell you.” More than a negotiation with him, you really felt like you were also trying your best to talk some reason into your own mind. You were so close to wrapping this project and just a few more days were left before you could finally have some actual space and time to relax. The last thing you needed was a major incident to derail everything.

Despite his playful games, Baekhyun had an incredible work ethic and he was dressed in his suit and tie and fully ready to leave in under 15 minutes. You harnessed the strength of gravity itself to keep your eyes from lingering too long on him as he buttoned up the crisp white dress shirt, lifted his collar and tied his necktie. You noticed his eyes watched you just a bit more liberally as you pulled up your favorite pencil skirt and buttoned the top closed over the lacy push up bra that you were certain complimented your figure best.

Today would certainly be an exercise in strict self control.

You had both been quiet during this, perhaps neither of you trusted yourselves with words right now. On the way out the door you reached for your usual perfume and sprayed once on your wrist, dabbing the wetness on both sides of your neck and you reached for his outstretched hand and walked out of your front door. You made it only two steps before he threw his head back dramatically with a noisy hoot from his lips said, “Goddamn! My girlfriend is so hot!”

You didn’t resist at all as he pulled you in the direction of the secure parking lot, and as you walked through the lot of cars you could hear the deep base of a powerful engine running just ahead of you both. His hand was in his pocket and you imagine that he must have pressed something in there that made the engine start long before you both even got there because that noise was definitely coming from his car. As he approached the car seemed to know him. You heard a soft beep from the car the moment his hand touched the handle and he pulled the passenger door open for you.

When you sat down inside you felt for the first time really, the magnitude of this man. This was hands down the nicest car you had ever been inside. It was easily the nicest car you have ever even seen in person and now you were sitting inside as he climbed into the driver’s seat and fastened the brightly colored seat belt.

You rested your head against the headrest and you watched him as he drove. The car responded with an intimidating roar with nearly every acceleration and you knew that it was probably capable of some incredible speed if someone were so inclined. He drove it very well. You felt secure here with him at the wheel as he easily weaved in and out of the other cars on the road. Morning traffic had never looked so good. His gaze occasionally touched on your eyes as you simply watched him drive and you felt the small smile on your lips. He was drawn to you watching him and he bounced a single eyebrow over his eye with a grin on his lips, his curiosity building in his face the longer you looked at him.

Traffic had gotten thicker by now and the engine grumbled its smooth idle below you as he waited for the light to change, his eyes slipping over to yours and you let out the longest sigh that had his smile widening just a little.

“What?” He finally asked out loud.

“Goddamn,” you exhaled into the sigh, drawing out the exhale to completely empty out your lungs before inhaling again to speak just under your breath, “my boyfriend is so hot.”

His outburst of laughter was better than any music you had heard before.

He let you out in front of the building, not so close that you risked being sighted by a curious coworker. Down a bit and across the street; near where the bus stop usually left you off. As you climbed out of his car your homeless man on the corner across the street shouted his usual ‘nice ass’ and you nodded and waved a friendly hello to him, feeling absolutely buzzed from the day you have had so far.

Inside of the office building was bubbling with life. You stopped for your usual coffee on the ground floor and you didn’t even look twice at the barista who filled your order. Inside the company suites, various teams were hard at work, already well into their afternoon workday and you made your way down the long corridor that led to the elevator that would take you up to your floor and you stepped inside, joining a few others from your team. You gave a friendly silent greeting. Everyone had been moving at such a breakneck speed for such a long while that the ending of this project couldn't come soon enough. Even now you could feel it from the team. You were in the home stretch of it now.

The elevator was filling up with faces and one more person joined, stepping inside right before the doors closed up and you found his eyes that found yours in an instant. His styled blonde hair on top of his head paired with his good looks made him stand out in any room. Even with black hair though, he shone brightly like a diamond to anyone who had their head out of the sand long enough to be able to look at him.

His smile for you was reserved, but you saw the tiny concealed scrunch of his nose as he did it.

“Good Morning, Miss Manager,” he said in a polite and ultra professional voice.

“Good Morning, Assistant Byun.” You replied, forcing your eyes and your face forward as you waited for the elevator to close its doors and take you both up to your office all the while saying your little internal prayers and hopes and wishes that today — that today of all days — you could be as normal as humanly possible working side by side with your absolute favorite human, your Assistant Byun Baekhyun.

[To be Continued]

Links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

[writemekpop]

Idol Spotlight | Byun Baekhyun

🌻 - Fluff  ☔️ - Angst  💋 - Smut

1. Pop Rocks, Strawberry, Bubblegum Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 🌻

Summary: You meet cute single dad Baekhyun at the candy shop where you work. Sparks fly, and you realise that your life is about to get a lot sweeter.

Genre: Single Dad AU

2.  Come Back to Bed 💋

Summary: After cheating breaks your marriage apart, your therapist instructs you to share a bed with Baekhyun. There’s no trust… but there sure is lust.

Genre: Husband!Baekhyun, angst, smut, bed sharing

3. Get You Alone 💋

Summary: The doctor clears you for sex after having a baby. Baekhyun can’t wait to get started - but you’re having second thoughts.

Genre: Husband!Baekhyun, New Parents

4. Baby Daddy 🌻

Summary: You’re really nervous about telling your idol boyfriend Baekhyun that you’re pregnant. So, you decide to get creative. Only, things don’t go the way you expect…

Genre: Fluff 

+ MAIN MASTERLIST+

[dilxcc]

real purpose ᡣ𐭩 byun baekhyun

just fluff, no warning, might be some grammatical error

baekhyun x f!reader

a/n tbh i have been so obsessed with this man i am so very sorry 🙁

the rain pour heavily as you and baekhyun ran to the bus stop. "why does it have to be raining today out of every other day?" you sighed. today was supposed to be your date with baekhyun. the two of you had been busy with work that you two haven't got the time to hang out with each other.

your grip on your tote bag tightens as it continued to slip from your shoulder. damn you for having such a small shoulder. you looked over at baekhyun, seeing how he wiped away the water that managed to get on his face. your eyes then traveled to his shoulder. yeah, his shoulder had got more broad after his military service.

how unfair. had he actually planned on killing you while looking hot with that shoulder of his?

when his eyes met yours, he breaks into a smile and laughed. "maybe we should have stayed home," he said while looking at you adoringly. "but then what would we do?" you frowned slightly. "we can always cuddle," he nudged you playfully. "especially now that it rained,"

you fixed the tote bag were slipping from your shoulder again. you had done it multiple times already throughout your date with baekhyun so far. so of course it wasn't a surprise when he noticed. without saying a word, he took the bag from your shoulder and slipped it to his. "babe, what did you even put in this bag?" he asked, mouth slightly agaped. "it's so heavy,"

"it's woman's things. you should know that by now," you crossed your arms together. "well, you should have let me carry it from the beginning. what good do i have this broad shoulder if you won't use it?" he wiggled his eyebrows.

you laughed and slapped his arm lovingly. "you're so silly,"

[papermatisse]

Stranger || B.BH

† genre: horror

† word count: 3.6k

† warnings: imposter, gaslighting, paranoia

† synopsis: after her boyfriend left on a trip, (y/n) was excited to reunite with him once again. she wasn't expecting a man, whom she'd never met before then, seemingly assuming the role of her boyfriend.

† (a/n): the first installment of my spooktober anthology! I feel like it may be confusing for some, but rip. either way, this one was based on the Magnus Archives episode, The Kind Mother, because body snatchers scare me 👍

† taglist: @scuzmunkie @hipsdofangirl

anthology | main masterlist

It had been a week since she last saw Baekhyun. To others, it may not seem like a long time, but to her, it felt almost chasmous the stretch of time that had separated the two.

They had been one of those cliche, heartwarming stories of a childhood friendship flourishing into an unbreakable bond, growing up together side by side, facing the world and its challenges one day at a time. And as if an inevitable facet of such a close relationship, platonic emotions soon morphed into a beautiful and budding infatuation with one another.

Their anniversary was coming up, and although it's been years, it still felt like their first. That sweet and awkward time of unfamiliarity, a rarity in their lifetimes in which they had shared every thought and feeling, and they relished in the awkward exchanges of that first anniversary. Silly giggles and blushing faces, unsure of what was to be done on such a momentous occasion. But it was a time she cherished, and one she fondly thought of on the car ride to the airport.

Alongside his family, they waited at baggage claim, all mingling amongst each other to pass the time by. Though that time seemed to come to a standstill as the lot all began frantically calling out his name, displaying their excitement in this inevitable reunion.

All but (y/n), that is.

Because the man they cried for was not her Baekhyun.

It was a mortifying ordeal, to be fairly honest, turning around to greet her lover of so many years, only to see a man she's never once seen in her lifetime. He appeared youthful with dyed gray locks that lay against his head like an unkempt mop, short yet with a broad stature beneath his clothing. Brown eyes that disappeared as he smiled at the family that all ran up to him, embracing the boy like long lost loved ones. His grin was bright and beaming, reciprocating the affection tenfold, voices all overlapping as they reconnected.

And when he finally met her tentative gaze, she felt her stomach churn with unrest.

"(y/n), are you okay?" Baekhyun's elder brother asked, his laughter dying down as he instead went to approach the girl still standing as stiff as a board by the conveyor belts of luggage.

"Oh dear, (y/n) what's wrong?" The mother followed suit, taking up (y/n)'s other side, the two cradling the girl between them as she grimaced at the man stepping closer to assess her.

"(y/n), are you alright?" His voice made a wave of nausea run over her, grimacing as his eyes remained locked on her own. Though there was anything but concern in his gaze—instead he watched with a prying stare, as if unearthing whatever anxieties were broiling within her mind. The thought had her recoiling further into his mother.

"What is this?" (y/n) finally managed to get out, eyes remaining on whoever stood before her. "What's going on? Who is this?"

"Okay, now I'm genuinely concerned." The boy to her side pressed the back of his hand to her forehead.

"What do you mean?" The mother beside her squeezed (y/n)'s arms comfortingly. "Is there something wrong, sweetheart? You're not excited to see Baekhyun?"

She shook her head, brows furrowing at the man who feigned worry for her countenance.

"This… isn't Baekhyun."

At this, the whole family grew quiet, the father being the first to speak, approaching the growing situation and clamping a hand on the unknown man.

"(y/n), you good?" The repeated questions finally got to her as she aggressively shook off the two holding her, backing away from the group who watched with inbridled concern in their eyes.

"I don't know what's going on. I don't know what you're all playing at. I don't know if this is just a prank or something." (y/n) watched their gazes, though nothing seemed to shift even the slightest. "This… This isn't Baekhyun!"

Another round of concerned murmuring as they tried growing closer, though (y/n) continued to step back further. The man just watched her, head quirked to the side with a pout on his face, though his eyes seemed to be the one tell in his facade. They were too aware. As if watching the scene unfold, fully planned in its entirety. And suddenly that nausea from before came back, (y/n) having to clamp a hand over her mouth to stop the uneasy rise of bile.

It was all a rush from there, being guided out of the airport whilst wrapped in the mother's arms, then tucked away into the vehicle. They all spoke words of distress in regards to her mental state, though it all sounded like a jumbled mess in her head. From where she sat behind the passenger seat, she could see the rear view mirror ahead, and at the corner of its reflection was the man staring at her with such cold intrigue in his eyes. The man they all seem to be so well acquainted with, but one she had never met in all of her time growing up with the bunch.

His eyes felt penetrative, invasive. Uncaring and calculated, like a scientist watching a subject squirm beneath his glower. Though he maintained his composure so well, catching up and laughing along with everyone. Talking as if he truly were the Baekhyun she knew and loved. His clothing was much like Baekhyun's, though of a different size, and his mannerisms were practically identical.

It had to be a prank. A cruel prank. But her mind couldn't wrap around such a scheme. Whoever this man was made her queasy. He struck something in her, something primal and instinctual. A fear in her she never knew she had.

She wanted to ask once more where Baekhyun was, but her mouth had gone dry, too wary to speak in this man's presence until they had arrived in town. Her ever approaching doom seemed to grow nearer and nearer as she finally began processing her situation.

This was not a prank. This was not a joke. Something was horribly wrong. And she was about to be left alone in her apartment with a stranger. Though not just any normal stranger: an imposter.

"Could you… drop me off at my friend's house?" Her voice came out weak, barely above a whisper, but still heard by the father who merely nodded.

"Yes, I think that would be best given our… predicament."

Predicament. He spoke as if it were nothing of significance. As if the man beside him was truly his son, and it was just his son's significant other gone crazy. A hushed silence fell upon the vehicle, and with a tentative glance at the mirror, she confirmed her suspicions.

The imposter seemed displeased though not surprised. Finally tearing his eyes off the mirror to stare ahead at the road.

After a few mumbled directions, the car pulled up to the familiar apartment complex of her best friend, and with an abrupt farewell to the lot, she slipped out of the vehicle. She could feel his eyes trained on her as she rushed into the building, not wanting to turn back once for fear of meeting that cruel, dark, soulless stare.

Sehun was little more than surprised to open his door and see his best friend, rattled beyond belief and on the brink of a meltdown, but he attempted to mask his shock by ushering in (y/n).

"What's up? Are you okay?" She was silent for a second, hesitant to speak. Afraid his ears were just as invasive as his eyes were. Afraid Sehun would brush her off just as the Byun family had. Afraid she truly was just going mad after all. But she needed answers either way.

"You know… Baekhyun?" She asked aloud, stepping cautiously to the window and peering out. As she suspected, they had driven off by now.

This time, Sehun was silent, though only for a few seconds before he snorted.

"Yeah, I know your boyfriend." His voice had grown lighter, though still softened with concern. "Is everything alright?"

"How would you describe him?" Her response had come quicker this time, staring out from the apartment's vantage point as if maybe she could see them.

"I don't know. Hyperactive. Funny. Bit of a loser."

"Physical characteristics." Another moment of silence before Sehun sighed.

"Good looking fellow. Serious case of baby face. Bit of a shorty." At this, (y/n) whirled around, an aghast expression across her face as she stared at her friend in bewilderment.

"You can't be serious." Sehun was visibly perturbed, having taken a seat at his couch with his head leant against his propped arm on the headrest. His eyes widened, a slight frown marring his features whilst he digested the sudden shift in (y/n). "Baekhyun is tall, well above your height. He has big eyes and big ears. He has dimples and freckles and tattoos. He–"

"(y/n), what's going on?" Sehun cut her off, slowly standing to approach the now breathless girl who was steaming from her sudden outburst.

"You… They… Baekhyun… You're… You're all trying to make me lose my mind, and to be honest it's kind of working."

She began prattling on once more, descriptions of the Baekhyun she knew and loved, the one that is seemingly nowhere to be found. And as she did so, Sehun wandered off, letting her go off to absolutely no one at all, until he came back, picture frame in hand. Wordlessly, he handed it over to her, waiting until her shaky fingers grasped the image.

A group photo from their hiking trip last year, the three of them plus their friends, Jongin and Jongdae. It was one she was quite familiar with, one that hangs in the hallway to Sehun's room. And the order went as followed: Sehun, Jongdae, (y/n), Baekhyun, and then Jongin. Everything should've been as it usually is, all except one minor detail.

This was not Baekhyun. This was the imposter.

She revolted from the photo, gasping as she all but tossed it away from her. It landed on the couch with a muted thud, though Sehun couldn't care less about the image, more so focused on his friend who had now collapsed on the ground, gasping for air and clenching at her convulsing chest.

"(y/n), stay with me," he rushed to comfort her, gathering her in his arms and patting her back as soothingly as he could muster, though nothing seemed to do the trick. Her eyes had remained on the dreaded image where that creature had seamlessly replaced the real Baekhyun. It had to have been edited. It had to have been a cruel ploy. Her mind told her otherwise, but it couldn't be true. This couldn't be real. None of this made sense.

Frantically, she pulled out her phone, unlocking it with trembling hands before bursting into tears once more.

Right there, her home screen which usually displayed a photo of her and Baekhyun seated in front of a fountain was now replaced with that of her and the imposter. It felt sickening to see such an image. Leant against this thing with pure tenderness seeping from her eyes, all while he merely mimicked the sentiment, a smile on his face that made her skin crawl.

Suddenly, another wave of nausea hit, and she dashed out of Sehun's embrace and to the bathroom. By the time her friend had caught up, she had already emptied her stomach of its contents, now weeping at the toilet bowl with such hopeless resignation. An exhaustion weighed upon her shoulders as she sobbed recklessly to herself, and all Sehun could do was comfort her to the best of his abilities.

Cleaning off her face and helping her out of the bathroom, he guided her to the guest bedroom, laying beside her as she cried and cried until finally she gave up and fell asleep.

The next day, Sehun was driving (y/n) to her apartment. If she was going to be staying with him, she needed her necessary items.

She didn't want to come. She never wanted to see that imposter ever again. And while Sehun offered to retrieve her things on his own, she felt too grateful to her friend to have him do anything more. She'll collect whatever she needs and bid this imposter farewell. At least until she can find out where the real Baekhyun was.

The walk to the apartment was unnerving to say the least, as was willingly unlocking the door to the devil's den.

It was silent at first as they stepped in, and for a second she felt hopeful that maybe he wasn't here. Nevertheless, she clung to Sehun, eyes roving over the familiar yet ever foreign area. Bittersweet memories came flooding back to her as she scanned over the living space she had once shared with her boyfriend for years on end. Memories of the two cooking together, napping on the couch together, laughing and crying together. Living out their ever mundane lives, but doing so as a couple.

Fear laced her whole being, tentative steps guiding her further into the unknown. Her shaky eyes darted to and fro, awaiting for the creature to pounce upon her like she were some prey. And if she looked manic beyond belief, Sehun didn't comment, entertaining her suspicions by remaining as quiet as can be. Though even with these precautions taken, it was not enough to conceal their presence from the thing which lurked in the silence of the once warm abode.

"(y/n), is that you?" A voice rang forth from the hallway, startling and prompting her to whirl around and face the man who was beginning to haunt her every waking thought.

There he stood, light hair tousled haphazardly, cheeks rounded and red with mirth, the image of innocence, yet with those dark, perceptive eyes that burrowed into her being. With every approaching step, (y/n) ducked behind Sehun, discomfort riddling her body.

"I was worried after yesterday." The man chuckled weakly, still staring at (y/n) even as she attempted to hide from his view. "How's it going, Sehun?"

"As good as it gets, I guess," Sehun responded casually. His mannerism disturbed (y/n). This man shouldn't know who Sehun is, nor should Sehun know who he is. Yet they acted as if friends for years now. The images were damning, something which couldn't have been fabricated without her knowing, yet she refused to accept this development unfolding before her.

"Thank you for taking care of (y/n) for the time being. I can take it from here." Those words had a cold sweat forming over her skin, and she clung to Sehun's shirt with a desperate grip. As mundane as his intentions seemed, there was something sinister beneath the syntax of his phrasing—something she did not want to find out any time soon.

"Actually, given the circumstances and (y/n)'s condition, we thought it would be best if she stay at my place for a while. At least until things settle down."

The man was silent for a moment. A thick tension settled in the air, but perhaps it was only perceptible to her, as Sehun remained unmoving. With a daring glance, (y/n) looked at him from behind Sehun, though he seemed to have regained his composure, offering her another sly, mischievous smile.

"Of course. That seems to be the best option for now."

The Baekhyun imposter remained seated in the kitchen, his eyes trained on (y/n) as she piled up her bags at the front door. It left an ache in the pit of her stomach, removing herself from what she's always considered her home, but at this point, these four walls felt like a foreboding prison to her. Nothing like the tenderness offered by her real Baekhyun—her true home.

A momentary pang in her heart disrupted her momentum, and Sehun picked up on it, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Let's take a break for now, yeah? You've done a lot."

Bringing her to the kitchen was easier said than done. Baekhyun had laid out glasses of water for the three of them, and he merely sat there resting his chin in his hand, wearing that sickeningly sweet grin of his that had goosebumps appearing all along her body. Sitting across from him was unnerving, though bearable with Sehun beside her.

The two got to talking, discussing Baekhyun's trip and such. (y/n) paid no mind to his games, staring down at her drink and waiting for the time to pass. It couldn't come sooner. The longer she stayed, the further she grew from her sanity. As if in a perpetual panic mode, her body was beginning to grow weary from being on edge for so long.

"I'm going to use the restroom really quick." She shot upright at Sehun's announcement, looking at him with sheer terror in her eyes, but Sehun just shot his gaze over to Baekhyun and back to her. 'Talk to him.'

With Sehun gone, this marked the first time she'd ever be alone with this Baekhyun. It was difficult to move for a moment after he had left, that heavy yet increasingly familiar sensation of the man's eyes lingering on her was particularly daunting. Eventually, with all the gathered bravado she had left in her system, she slowly turned to face him, eyes shakily raising to meet his own.

And there it was. That cocky, egotistical smile, practically splitting his face with its breadth. His hands were neatly folded on the table's surface, his undivided attention on none other than her. And it seemed that innocent guise he'd been inhibiting since his untimely arrival had dissipated, fully showing his true character in all its conniving glory.

"Hello, (y/n)." His voice dripped with malice, and the sudden heavy state of the atmosphere had her feeling queasy as she recoiled into her seat. Though Baekhyun was undeterred by her reclusiveness, instead beginning to lean forward on the table. "I have a feeling you don't seem to like me anymore."

"You're not Baekhyun." (y/n) bit back, pushing through the quickly forming lump in her throat as the man opposite her glowered down at her. Though upon hearing her words, a smirk settled across his lips.

"I'm not Baekhyun?" His words were mocking, the sort of patronizing tone taken when dealing with children. His head quirked to the side, smile widening even more—almost unnatural for a human to produce with how it seemed to have no real end to it.

She shook her head, arms coiling around herself defensively as he watched her. The sensation of his eyes on her was quite possibly the most abnormal, hostile feeling she's ever experienced in all her life. Feeling like mere cattle fodder to him. As minuscule as humanly possible.

Though this sensation wasn't a mere predatory stance upon her. As she squirmed beneath his gaze upon her, the realization of it all slowly dawned upon her. This was beyond anything of this mortal realm. This wasn't anything human at all. The creature before her wasn't anything human.

Instead, with that twisted expression of his contorting his face entirely, dark eyes sharpened with something sinister broiling within them, it made more sense to attribute his existence to something… supernatural. Something which couldn't make sense. Something with the intention of causing harm at all costs.

To make matters worse, this disturbing, almost demonic chuckle resonated from the Baekhyun across from her. A boisterous laughter which wasn't anything like she'd heard before, yet retained his exact voice, stirring another bout of unease from her at the mere sound of it. Like he was nothing more than a puppet for someone's use. Like the Baekhyun across from her was just an illusion.

"Oh, you're so brave, (y/n)." The voice which came forth was laced with venom, practically all restraints for this persona he had taken now evaporated into nothing as he unveiled the full extent of his true character. "So naive, so stupid."

His hand slammed against the table, abrupt and violent in its manner, prompting a cry from (y/n) as she finally released the sobs that had been kept at bay throughout this endeavor, up until this point. A sickening crack coincided with the gesture, and she wasn't sure whether it came from the table splintering beneath his fist, or the bones of his hand which must've dealt damage with the ferocity of his action.

And in a most vile and malevolent manner, he spat out his next words, veins bulging from his neck with a sadistic scowl thrusted upon her, shooting forward as much as the table permitted him.

"I am Baekhyun, because the other guy no longer fucking exists."

Sehun came rushing in shortly afterwards upon hearing (y/n)'s cries, only to find her cowering in the corner, hands yanking at her hair as she released a guttural scream akin to someone bearing witness to atrocities beyond their recognition. All the while, Baekhyun remained seated, expression passive and unchanging, watching (y/n) lose her sanity as if the scene were nothing more than a spectacle for his own amusement.

He didn't know what happened between them. Even after she had gone through weeks of silence and listlessness, she never spoke of that fated conversation. And even if he wanted to get Baekhyun's take on the matter, he couldn't. Because shortly after he had come back from his trip, he disappeared without another trace.

† (a/n): I just think it's a cool concept yk?

[icequeenbae]

Boy Next Door (m) Ch.2 | BBH

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader

Neighbor AU, slow burn, hurt/comfort, fluff, smut

Warnings: Baek being the neighbor we’re all dreaming of, harassment (nothing graphic), a bit of body image/ insecurity, MC sucks at relationships, explicit content, unprotected sex

Word Count: ~18.5k (total), 5k (pt.2)

Summary: Your neighbor Baekhyun has been a pleasant acquaintance since you moved into your current apartment almost a year ago. Could he also be… a perfect match?

© Please do not copy/ post on other platforms without permission.

Chapter Masterlist [ongoing]: Pt. 1 > Pt. 2 > Pt. 3 > Pt. 4 (fin)

Author’s note: Okay, I am slightly late to throw this party since the follower count has hit 800 a while ago... BUT NOW IT'S HERE!!! 💜💜💜 And be ready for a bumpy ride with this one. All goes under the cut as it starts off with smut hehe

As usual I'd like to remind you that the more active you guys are, the more motivation I have to update frequently. I'm easy to reach through my asks and I check all of your comments and reblogs~ In any case, I hope you like the first half of this story (just 2 parts ahead!) 💫

Network Tags: @bbh-net  @k-vanity  @ksmutsociety

Baekhyun’s grip on your waist was tight.

It felt secure and confident enough, so worries about him having to hold you up were long gone from your head. Your usual shyness seemed to have dissipated, and in its place came utter shamelessness.

‘Fuck, Baekhyun-’

Your high-pitched moan made him grunt. He wasn’t very talkative of a lover, but he was invested in making you come. The two of you barely made it into the apartment, starting out at the front door and only just stumbling into the hallway. Where he had you against the wall now.

‘Please don’t stop…’ You begged, finding his grown-out hair to tug on.

Baekhyun’s hips jerked forward, nailing you into the wall, and he groaned into your neck. Barely able to hold on to his shoulders, you swayed your own pelvis to meet his thrusts. Your breathing was ragged, and the deep, messy thrusts had you both on the brink of orgasm.

‘Ooh, Baekhyun, I’m- Amph!’

Your loud wail broke into reality and woke you up.

~

Later that day you were telling your best friend all about your miserable existence.

‘I hate my life, Yu…’, you whined into the phone.

‘That’s understandable.’

‘Yuki!’

‘Don’t ‘Yuki’ me, I still can’t believe you didn’t drop your panties for that hot neighbor of yours.’ She huffed in the middle of lecturing you. ‘Your subconscious is doing well, showing you what could’ve been.’

‘We barely ever hung out! I couldn’t exactly jump him.’

‘You’re neighbors! Who cares about the ‘three dates’ rule? He’s been to your get-together, you’ve been at his place… eating ice cream.’ You could hear the eye roll.

‘So? That doesn’t mean we’re dating.’

‘Dating-shmating. Didn’t you just mention that you’re horny as fuck for Baekhyun?’

‘So what? I don’t even know what he thinks of me. What if he has a girlfriend?’

Your friend’s laughter filled your ears.

‘He literally cornered you at the door and told you to come back whenever you craved for your favorite ice cream flavor. If that’s not saying, ‘Let’s fuck, Y/N,’ I don’t know what is. I’m actually willing to give him extra points for this. That’s the type of smooth that you need.’

‘I need?’

‘Yep. You’re pretty gentle, you know? He probably got that when he invited you to his house, and you raided his fridge instead of his bedroom.’

She was always in your face about being too slow to open up. You’d had this conversation before, and her stance on it was unyielding – you needed to have a steady male presence in your life to gain confidence for a healthy relationship in the future. But you didn’t think you were made for such arrangements; you were quite conservative about dating.

‘He wasn’t inviting me for sex. There wasn’t anything suggestive of that!’ You countered, not sounding particularly confident.

‘You mean he didn’t make any physical contact all night? Well, that’s not solid-’

‘He did, but it was-’

‘Wait, what?? He did?!’

‘It was nothing!’ You quickly took it back, slapping yourself on the lips.

‘You know what? You don’t even have to tell me. I already know that he wants you, and you want him. I also know you’ll continue dragging it out instead of having sex with the gorgeous boy next door.’

‘That’s actually another reason why I’m reluctant. What if Baekhyun’s not into me? Or in a relationship already? Or what if it ends the usual way? We aren’t just neighbors; we’re the only people on our floor. How awkward would that be?’

Your bestie sighed, probably remembering your past relationships. She, of all people, knew precisely the terms you broke up on and how stressed you were about crossing paths with any of your exes again.

‘It does have the potential to be awkward,’ Yuki pointed out. ‘But also… can you imagine how fun it’s gonna be? You’re always grumpy about having no time for dates and stuff. But you live like 5 seconds away from each other. The universe has outdone itself, you ungrateful woman!’

She fell silent after your huff, and you called out her name to make sure she was still on the line.

‘Sorry,’ she said, not a tiny bit embarrassed. ‘I just imagined having Hoseokie as my neighbor. My body is jealous of you, Y/N. The amount of sex you could be having!’

‘Ugh. I haven’t gotten laid in eternity, yet you keep talking about sex.’

‘Sex is great, you should try it. I can’t even remember what you were like when you had it.’

‘Just as grumpy as now,’ you grumbled. ‘Don’t even count on that making me any more sociable. Once a homebody, always a homebody!’

‘Oh well, at least I’d be happy knowing your body is socializing plenty with your clothes off.’

‘Why would you think about me with my clothes off…’ You gasped.

‘Yah!’

‘I’m hanging up.’ You announced, pressing the red button.

It was your fault for telling your friend about your love struggles. You knew how she was, and you still asked for her opinion.

She texted you immediately after you had one-sidedly ended the call.

Ki-yaah | Rude

Ki-yaah | At least invite the hottie for dinner. Reciprocate his gesture, if you know what I mean

Ki-yaah | But this time don’t wear sweats!! Wear a dress! Something simple

Ki-yaah | And easy to remove;)

You | You are…

Ki-yaah | Helpful?

You | That’s not what I was gonna say, but let’s go with that…

Ki-yaah | So you will??

You | Maybe…

Ki-yaah | Gosh, why are you so resistant!?

You | Idk ㅠㅠ Stop yelling at me ㅠㅠ

Ki-yaah | If you’re really not feeling this guy it’s fine, don’t listen to me~

You | I’m scared of the opposite, Yu… I think I’m starting to ‘feel him’ way too quickly. He’s been friendly once or twice, what if I’m overreacting?

You | It’d look pretty pathetic if I made moves on him, and he didn’t even have any of that in mind…

Ki-yaah | You’re way too hard on yourself, girl. And you still cannot tell when a guy is genuinely interested in you…

Ki-yaah | Remember that party… I was drunk, but even I noticed the way he was looking at you!

You | Exactly, you were drunk! He was probably trying to memorize what I looked like, nothing more

Ki-yaah | Yeah right. Cause when a guy can’t keep his eyes off of you, it’s just him memorizing your features for a composite sketch in case you break the law

You | Stop rolling your eyes

Ki-yaah | I’m glad you noticed!!

Ki-yaah | I wish you noticed men giving you the eyes more often than you notice my eyerolls!

Ki-yaah | Just do it your way. Invite him for a snack, wear something moderately nice, be a tiny bit suggestive and see where he takes this

Ki-yaah | Also keep your counter clear, what if the sparks start flying in the kitchen? Some men get turned on by women cooking, you know? And since you’re a great cook, you might just get your answers quick and efficient~

You | If I could hang up on this chat…

Ki-yaah | Did you write this down?

You | Bye ><

Even if that could be considered decent advice, you still couldn’t muster up the courage to take initiative like this. So all that was left for you was to wait until some random occasion, pleasant or otherwise, brought you together again.

***

It was late.

It was way too late for you to be out, especially grabbing snacks in the supermarket. But you just couldn’t bring yourself to go to bed. You’d been too anxious from overthinking everything in your life recently, from your professional worth to relationships. Getting lost in reflection, you realized you desired someone’s attention and affection. You wanted someone to be close with, not just physically but also emotionally. Intimately. It wasn’t about simply being bored or lonely – any of your friends was a phone call away in cases like that. What you needed was different, and it was something that wasn’t available to you at this time, or, perhaps, ever. So, you decided that a quick run to the nearest store for something to munch on was a great idea.

Spoiler alert – it was not.

‘Damn, why did I buy so many chocolates?’ You puffed into your mask, frustrated with yourself.

Having a sweet tooth came with consequences, and you were really trying to watch your weight since you’d been stress eating for weeks (months?) due to your work-related and other problems. Now was the time to get your diet back to normal, not to maintain the harmful habits.

‘I shall bring those to work if I don’t want to eat all of them myself,’ you thought to yourself, using your code to walk onto the territory of your apartment complex. You were almost home since, thankfully, the supermarket was only a few minutes’ walk away.

The concierge was away, which you noted since you’d usually greet him whenever you came back. You simply headed towards the elevator this time, still consumed by your thoughts. Before you could get close enough to press the button, someone grabbed your wrist, startling you.

‘Excuse me!’

Turning around, you faced the stranger, who decided to stop you in your tracks so unexpectedly.

‘Yes?’

He stared back at you, and you at him. Did you know this guy? Was he new in your building? It was relatively new, so many people were moving in these days. You did, not too long ago. But he didn’t look familiar. Or trustworthy, for that matter.

‘Can I... help you?’

Moving your shoulder back you tried to break free from his hold, but didn’t succeed. This was strange.

‘You’re pretty,’ he suddenly said matter-of-factly. ‘Can I have your number?’

At this point the encounter had become creepy. You went out wearing non-flashy clothes, zero makeup and a mask. How could he even tell whether you were pretty or not? The fact that he was still physically holding you in place escalated the situation.

‘What?’ Dumbfounded, you blinked at him.

‘You’re pretty. Exotic. Give me your number, we can chat.’

Ah, that. You hadn’t been called exotic in a while, and you realized what type of guy that he was.

‘Please let go of me. Kindly.’ You asked, looking around to see if there were any security cameras pointed in your direction.

‘Give me your number first,’ he argued with a strained smile.

The contact became even more unwelcome.

‘Let go,’ you repeated firmly, jerking your arm even though your wrist began to hurt.

‘Oh, come on. I just want your number; I’m not asking for your apartment passcode! Don’t be difficult.’

You were being difficult? This guy would piss you off if he wasn’t getting scarily persistent.

‘I said, let me-’

‘What’s going on?’ A familiar voice, an octave lower than usual, rumbled from behind you.

Turning back, you realized the elevator doors were open, and your neighbor walked through those in long, determined strides.

‘Is there something you want?’ Baekhyun grabbed onto the man’s wrist. ‘Hands off.’

‘Hey, I’m just asking for some contacts, chill.’

The atmosphere seemed to get even thicker with danger. He wasn’t letting go of you, and Baekhyun seemed like he wouldn’t let it fly.

‘You followed her here in the middle of the night, trespassing, by the way, to ask for her number?’

‘What, I can’t be friendly to a nice girl?’

Baekhyun suddenly moved, tapping the intruder on the throat with his palm and using the brief daze of his opponent to unclasp his fingers from you and twist his arm behind his back. Pushing his face to the wall harshly, Baekhyun held him there for a few moments.

‘Let go of me! You’re gonna break my arm, you psycho!’

Your neighbor didn’t seem fazed by the screams.

‘Listen carefully, you fucking punk. I’ll give you ten seconds to make yourself scarce before I alert the police. And if you ever see her again – run the other way. You’ll experience more than a broken arm if you lay a hand on her, you got me?’

The guy only yelped, swearing and begging for mercy at the same time.

‘Do we have an understanding?’ Baekhyun pressed before letting him go.

‘Ye-yes! You’re crazy!’

As soon as he was left alone, your attacker stumbled towards the door and quickly ran out of your building, still holding onto his arm pathetically. Meanwhile, your vision was entirely blurred out, eyes only focused on the broad back in front of you. You were surprised when Baekhyun turned around and slowly walked towards you, looking into your eyes inquisitively.

‘Y/N-ah, are you okay?’ He asked in a much softer voice. ‘Are you hurt?’

His hand touched your reddened wrist gently, and you shuddered.

‘N-no. I’m okay. Th-thank you.’

Baekhyun’s eyes searched your face for clues and seemed to have found some. He took another careful step towards you and cautiously wrapped his arms around you. The action was much needed, and you were glad he did it. His hold made you feel grounded and secure, and you were clinging to him instinctively, searching for comfort.

‘It’s alright. He probably scared you a lot,’ he murmured, voice soothing. ‘But you’re safe now. I’m here.’

Belatedly, you realized that you were sniffling quietly into his chest the entire time, grabbing a handful of his shirt.

‘I’m sorry,’ you whispered, pulling away. ‘I didn’t mean to cause you-’

‘Y/N,’ he instantly cut you off. ‘You didn’t cause anything. But preferably don’t walk around this late all alone.’

Baekhyun cupped your face and wiped your tears with his thumbs.

‘I live just next door. Tell me if you need company, or if anyone bothers you again.’

He paused to look down and bent forward to pick something from the floor. The plastic bag from the store that you dropped during the struggle.

‘Let’s get you home now,’ he hummed, guiding you to the elevator.

‘But-’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.’

Baekhyun delivered you onto your doorstep in silence.

‘Do you have ice to put on your wrist for bruising?’ He inquired, and you nodded timidly.

Not that you weren’t thankful, you were just still a bit shocked, and embarrassed too.

‘Y/N-ie,’ Baekhyun suddenly patted you on the head like a little girl. ‘Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?’

‘Y-yeah. I just need to… I just need a moment.’

He nodded for you to press your passcode in, and held the door for you before giving the bag with your snacks back.

‘Text me if you need anything,’ he stressed. ‘Okay?’

‘Mhm.’ You simply nodded.

You couldn’t exactly say that he was what you needed right now.

‘See you, Y/N-ah.’

***

The incident greatly impacted your (usually) pretty peaceful life. And it actually pushed you towards interacting with Baekhyun much more often – from the occasional small talk whenever you ran into each other, to the actual… hangouts? You swiftly went from acquaintances to friends.

In the span of a few weeks, you became a frequent guest at his home. One could even say that the negative experience turned out to be the catalyst of your relationship. You’d grown much closer afterwards. So comfortable with each other, that you found yourself in his living room in front of the TV every other day.

‘Yah, why didn’t you pause while I was on the phone? I can’t trust you to give me the short version, you take longer than if we actually rewatch it!’

‘What? I can be pretty laconic if I need to!’ You threw a carrot slice at him.

You had so much popcorn lately that a healthier equivalent was more than necessary.

‘What’s this, a bunny attack?’ Baekhyun threw it in his mouth and crunched on it. ‘Get back to where I left off.’

‘Alright, oppa.’

He drove you crazy with his bossiness sometimes.

‘That’s right. Respect your elders,’ he teased.

‘Why do I put up with this…’ Rewinding the episode, you scratched the fluffy head in your lap. ‘Mongryong-ah, I only endure this for you!’

Baekhyun looked down at his corgi.

‘Wah, living your best life, aren’t you, old man?’

‘You didn’t have to mention his age! You’re still adorable, Ryongie,’ you stroked the dog’s back.

‘He likes you too much,’ Baekhyun noted. ‘This grandpa usually isn’t this mellow with strangers.’

‘I’m not a stranger!’

‘With new people,’ he corrected, laughing at your exasperation.

‘I like him too. It’s mutual,’ you hugged the corgi, stretching his long body along yours, and rubbed his belly.

‘Wow. Literally a pile of mush, disgusting.’ Baekhyun said, looking at his happy dog.

‘You’re just jealous ‘cause he’s never this cute with you.’

‘Or I’m jealous ‘cause I want a belly rub too,’ he retorted, finally pressing play.

‘All you have to do is ask,’ you thought.

Unfortunately for you, Mongryong actually lived with Baekhyun’s parents, so you couldn’t use him as an excuse to come over that often. Even though your neighbor was diligently informing you about his pet’s visits. You really should’ve read between the lines, but even if you realized he did like you… It wouldn’t have changed much. You were just not the type to make the first move, so you just went with the flow. And if there was no opening for you to spend time with Baekhyun, you just… didn’t.

But the universe had its own ways of pushing you.

~

‘Why isn’t it working?’ You grumbled, pressing the numbers on your keypad lock. ‘Please, don’t tell me…’

An odd thought had crossed your mind. You hadn’t changed your batteries since you’d moved in, so what if those had completely drained? Today, of all days! When you went out to buy some cereal and ended up running home from the store under pouring rain?

‘No, dammit!’ You cursed under your breath.

‘Trouble with your lock?’ The voice from behind made you jump.

‘Oh god, when did you get here?’

‘Just now,’ Baekhyun hummed. ‘You look stressed. Are you locked out?’

‘Yeah. The battery died… Very timely. What do I do…’

‘You need a 9V.’

‘A what?’

‘A 9V square battery,’ Baekhyun laughed. ‘Which, I assume, you don’t have.’

You stared at him blankly, looking absolutely clueless.

‘Come here,’ he grabbed your wrist and led you to his door. ‘I’ll go to the store and get you one. But you need to change, or you’re bound to get sick.’

It wasn’t like you would say no – you were shivering already.

‘Here, you can wear this for the time being. And a towel,’ he handed you a small pile as soon as he left his bedroom. ‘Use a hairdryer for your hair.’

‘You really don’t need to-’

‘Go, you’re freezing. I’ll make a quick run to the store and back, and you warm up in the shower.’

‘Thank you,’ you managed to say while he was nudging you into the bathroom.

You locked the door behind yourself just to be sure, although you trusted that Baekhyun wouldn’t try anything. Still, taking a shower at his place was kinda intimate… and exciting. Maybe because it was the first time you’d ever done it in another man’s home?

‘Get ahold of yourself, Y/N-ssi,’ you told your reflection in the mirror.

The color in your cheeks seemed too bright. Taking your clothes off was strangely a big deal, so you hurried up and jumped into the shower quickly. Your body welcomed the warmth, so you spent at least ten blissful minutes under the hot water. Baekhyun’s wash smelled nice, and you stood there for a few minutes, thinking about how familiar the scent was. You’d seen him fresh out of the shower, so you knew this smell even though it was less concentrated on him. And now you had it all over yourself.

‘Stop wasting someone else’s water,’ you scolded yourself for your dreaminess and finished your routine quickly.

The thought of you smelling exactly like Baekhyun made you squirm. Were you a pervert? This shouldn’t have been this thrilling. Continuing to scold yourself, you got dressed.

‘Gosh, this shirt is long,’ you mused, trying to see the fit in the mirror. It reached your mid-thigh and was the best Baekhyun could offer of his own oversized clothes. You daydreamed for another minute about how broad and chic his shoulders must look in clothes like these.

‘I really do need to get a grip.’

Another ten minutes later, you finally stepped out of the bathroom. You found Baekhyun in the kitchen, moving stuff around on the counter. Certainly, with how long you’d been in the shower… he was back already.

‘Oh, Y/N, you’re done already?’ He asked as soon as he spotted you. ‘Sit down, I’m making you some mint tea.’

Mint tea was actually something that you brought into his life. Baekhyun wasn’t into tea – like almost any Korean, he preferred coffee. But once you’d introduced some variation into his beverage selection during one of your visits, he grew to appreciate the new flavors.

Instead of taking a seat, you came closer to see how he was brewing his tea. Baekhyun was very focused, and you couldn’t help but smile.

‘You didn’t have to do this,’ you murmured, sounding softer than you expected.

He looked down at you, eyes wandering around your face for a few seconds before reaching your mouth.

‘It’s no problem. I don’t want you to get sick,’ he said, turning away and licking his lips. ‘Here.’

You accepted the cup from his hands and took a sip.

‘Oh, that’s good! Thanks!’

Baekhyun nodded, watching you have more.

‘Did you get the V.. battery thing?’

‘Oh, about that… They didn’t have any. But don’t worry, I ordered express delivery online, should take a couple hours tops.’

Catching your uncertain expression, he suggested moving to the living room.

‘We can watch something or just chill.’

Although you agreed, you knew there was no way to pay attention to anything on the screen. You were acutely aware of the fact that you were in Baekhyun’s home, wearing his clothes, smelling of his shower gel, and sitting on his sofa. And the person responsible for your unstable control over your feelings was slowly catching up.

‘You sure you’re okay, Y/N-ah?’ He asked, leaning in to touch your forehead. ‘You seem a bit distracted and quiet.’

‘No. I mean, yes. I mean- I’m fine,’ you blurted out too quickly.

He stayed close, examining your face in great detail.

‘Your cheeks are red,’ he said, making you hold your breath. ‘And you’re pretty without makeup. As usual.’

You swallowed, afraid that your voice could betray you if you answered. His lips parted as soon as his eyes fell on your mouth again.

‘You’re always pretty,’ he said, distracted by your lips.

Without realizing it, you cocked your head slightly to the side, inviting him to kiss you. He was slowly getting closer, and your mind blacked out for a second.

When the lights in your head turned back on, you were full-on making out. It started slow initially, then it led to you two viciously attacking each other’s lips. Just the sound of your kissing made you shiver, and the pleasant tickle of butterflies in your belly accompanied this madness. You hadn’t experienced it for so long, it seemed new, and strong, and addictive.

Baekhyun didn’t waste any time, hands wrapping around your unsuspecting form to hold you against him. You gasped for air, but that was a short-lived pause. His tongue slid between your lips mischievously, and you could only grunt. You’d be down for anything he suggested right now. It was hard to tell how much time had passed while you were kissing, but you relished every second of it. His warmth, his skill, his gentle touch… He was way too perfect, and there was no way you could stop at your own volition.

But the doorbell disrupted your craze within a second.

Both of you stared into each other’s eyes, breathing heavily before he finally moved to get off of you. Sitting up, you tugged at the hem of your shirt, unable to recall just when he got on top of you. Not that you minded, anyway.

‘Ah, why did I order express delivery…’ Baekhyun muttered frustratedly, closing his eyes. ‘Give me a minute. No, twenty seconds.’

Nodding, you chuckled at his impatience. You felt exactly the same – eager to pick up where you left off. Although you weren’t the type of girl who’d give in to her desires easily, you’d been tiptoeing around your devilishly handsome neighbor for way too long. What happened just moments prior was solid proof of how weak you were for him. It was the first time ever you dove into a makeout session so fanatically that your memory was spotty afterward.

But the worries suddenly replaced your giddiness. What if he thought… that you were into that sort of thing? What if he now believed that you casually came into men’s houses and jumped them like a hungry lioness? Was it too needy of you?

‘What the hell are you doing here?’

The undertone of Baekhyun’s voice instantly got your attention. He wasn’t pleased to see whoever it was at his door. Could there be any trouble with the delivery?

‘Aw, and I was under the impression you’ve been missing me like crazy, babe.’ The flirty female voice answered.

Oh no.

Oh hell no.

Did he… have a girlfriend?!

The thought was like a cold shower to your body. Of course. An attractive young man lives in a fancy apartment complex and drives a luxurious car… How could he ever be single?

You were so naive.

And now you were about to get caught.

Springing up from the sofa, you darted towards the door and then froze. You couldn’t walk out of the living room without being seen. This was a nightmare, your worst nightmare coming to life.

‘I signed off on your delivery for you. Can’t you be grateful for one second, Baekhyunie?’

Her voice seemed closer. She was definitely inside the apartment. Maybe she’d believe your explanation that he was just helping you out? Solely friendly neighbor stuff? Oh gosh, you were totally done for.

‘Just get out.’

‘Why, are you hiding something?’ She asked, a bit less playful this time.

‘No.’

‘Are you sure?’ You could hear her taking a step.

‘Didn’t you hear me? Get out.’

There were a few seconds of silence that made you quiver with anxiety.

‘Is there someone in there, Baekhyun?’ She repeated.

‘Is it any of your business?’ He gritted. ‘Where do you think you’re- yah!’

The noise from the hallway could only mean one thing – she was walking right this way. Your mind couldn’t develop anything slightly useful at that point, so you simply stood there. In front of the sofa where you’d just almost… yeah.

She stormed into the room, pausing when she saw you. She was taller than you and very, very skinny. If you’d ever met her outside, you’d think she was a model. She wore a black ensemble that you could only guess was some hot-ass designer, and her hair was perfectly styled. She didn’t blink her faux eyelashes once while scanning you head to toe.

‘Are you freaking serious?’

The way she scrunched her nose, almost in disgust, made you shift uncomfortably. You’d definitely tell her off for this, if not for the shame you felt for being caught red-handed as ‘the mistress’.

‘Are you serious? Stop walking around like you own the place.’ Baekhyun fired back from behind her.

‘I go to the States for a few months, and then you’re snatched when I return?’ She huffed in disbelief. ‘Or is she paid to come here? Judging by the attire you were saving up. And I wouldn’t wear anything revealing with legs like that.’

Your mouth opened, but before you could even respond, your neighbor grabbed her forearm.

‘You really are delusional. Get out of my house.’

He dragged her back to the door, and she continued to yell at him.

‘Are you kidding me, Baekhyun? I can’t believe you’d kick me out to stay with some hooker!’

He stopped abruptly, turning to face her.

‘My mother taught me not to swear in front of ladies. But I hope you shut your fucking mouth right now. I’m only warning you once.’

He shoved her forward towards the door and cleared his throat.

‘Get your shit and leave. I’ll have a word with our security about how you got in.’

‘Fuck you, Byun. I’ll walk these heels over your balls when you realize you’ve made a huge mistake!’

‘Please, spare me your sick fantasies.’ He rolled his eyes, swinging his door open. ‘Out.’

The door slammed shut as soon as she left, and Baekhyun sighed loudly. He ran his left hand through his hair, still on edge, and pressed a button to turn the display on to see your floor. When she was gone, he sighed again, this time in relief. And you… felt so confused. And ashamed. And humiliated.

When Baekhyun turned around, it struck you on the spot. You couldn’t face him right now. Suddenly you felt small and exposed, and all you wanted was to be alone. So, you rushed back into the room to grab your phone.

‘Y/N-’ He began, walking after you. ‘Wait.’

You avoided his touch as you busted out of the room.

‘Where are you going?’ He asked as you slipped your feet into your wet shoes. ‘Stop.’

His hand caught your elbow, and you shivered as his skin burned yours.

‘Please, don’t follow me. I need to go.’ You asked, facing the door.

‘But-’

‘Baekhyun.’ You pushed.

He didn’t say anything for a moment. You heard shuffling, and then he put something into your palm.

‘You’ll need this.’

The battery.

Masterlist

A/N: Happy (belated) Lunar Year to everyone btw! And also huge thanks to all of you sweethearts who take time to read my stories and leave me long kind messages and comments, I appreciate you so much ❤️❤️❤️

[marshmallow-phd]

A Manor of Shadow and Blood

Genre: Regency Gothic AU

Pairing: EXO x Reader

Summary: A stormy night brought you to the manor in the middle of the woods. Nine strange men occupied its halls. They won’t let you leave. A dangerous secret haunts this estate. Learning it might either be your saving grace or it could lead to the last breath you ever take.

Part: 1 I 2 I 3

**

The wind whistled against the windows like a hallowing scream. You tossed and turned, desperate to fall asleep. The first few nights had been somewhat peaceful, due to the fever having a complete hold over you. To fight it off, your body had kept you in a deep sleep, only broken by bouts of blurry consciousness. 

But now… every noise made your eyelids snap open and your heart jump in pace. This unfamiliar place was full of shadows and secrets. Secrets that revolved around the men keeping you here. 

Releasing a long sigh, you stared up at the canopy, the newly formed indentions in the knife floating in your mind. They weren’t there before, you were sure of that. You had used that knife to cut the chicken and it was in perfect condition. No human could bend the metal like that. 

And then there was the speed at which Yixing caught your wrist. 

You sat up with haste. Sleep was not going to come to you tonight. You groaned and rubbed your face with your fingers. The room slowly came into view as your eyes adjusted to the dim moonlight. You had opened the curtain before slipping into bed so you could watch the moon rise into the sky. Looking around the room, you searched for an answer on how to get yourself to sleep. There wasn’t much in this grand room. Simply a bed, a wardrobe, a dresser, the chair–

Wait. 

Pushing the blanket off of your legs, you crawled across the mattress towards the chair. The shape didn’t seem right. Six legs instead of four. An extra shape in the outline. 

“You should go to sleep.”

A high pitched scream ripped at your throat until a cold hand covered your mouth, cutting off the sound. Now fully bathed in the blue moonlight, you could make out the sharp features of Yixing’s face. 

You shoved his arm away to free your lips. “What do you think you are doing in my room?” No gentleman would dare enter a lady’s room like this. Unless– gumption gone, you swallowed thickly. Was the reason you were trapped here finally coming to fruition?

The corner of Yixing’s mouth twitched upwards. He slinked forward like a cat cornering a mouse until his arms trapped you against the mattress, a hand on either side of your hip. Only your elbows kept you from being flat on your back, even more vulnerable. 

“You’re a noisy sleeper,” he purred, his eyes flashing. “It's… distracting.”

You scoffed. None of their rooms were near yours. You were sure that all the ones around you were empty. He shouldn’t have been able to hear your tossing and turning. “Distracting?”

He hummed. His right hand lifted from the bed and reached out towards your face. You flinched at the motion, making him freeze. 

But only for a moment. 

The hovering fingers soon resumed their path. He didn’t make contact with your cheek, however. Instead, his fingers traced the outline of your collarbone. Down one slope and up the other. You trembled at the contact. His smirked only deepend. His fingers moved on to your shoulder, the too loose neckline of the nightgown nearly falling off. 

You should slap him away, scream at him to leave, but you were too petrified to do so. 

At least, you thought that was what stopped you. The coldness of his fingers moved up the curve of your neck, the tips pausing on the pulsing vein. His thumb caressed the edge of your jaw. 

“Go to sleep.”

And like that, he disappeared into the night like smoke from a dying ember. 

You didn’t hear or see the door open or close, but you knew you were alone now. 

And you were furious. 

How dare he come here! How dare he–

Your feet hit the floor, heavy and without a care of being heard. Sleep, in protest of that madman’s orders, would now be impossible. Anger and frustration at your situation fueled something new within you.

You weren’t sure what it was or what it would lead to, but you followed it without question. Donning soft slippers and a thicker slip dress, you found a candle in the top drawer, along with a few matches and a holder. You lit the candle and left your room. 

Out. You needed to find a way out. Perhaps if you could get ahold of a piece of paper and a pen then you could write–

But how would you get it to someone who could take it to your family?

This place–somewhere in its halls or dusty room–had to hold the key. Something here had to be your savior, something to make this hope not without merit. 

You pinched the candleholder tightly in your hand. The tiny flame danced before your eyes, occasionally catching your attention away from where you were going. All of your senses were heightened, on the lookout for the next corner’s surprise. If one of them was awake at this hour, then more could be as well. Running into one of them could be detrimental–or a possibility for answers. Perhaps if you could get one of the others, one of the less… frightful ones, you might be able to plead for help. One surely would take pity on you. 

Or they would simply take advantage of the isolation.

Though that fear lingered in the back of your mind, you kept on your quiet steps. 

There wasn’t much you could see with the light of the candle. The floors, like your room, were of wood boards somewhat taken care of. Portraits and landscapes hung on the walls, but their colors had faded, no longer holding the joy of life they once had captured. 

Taking a left at a fork in the hall, you came to a large door that didn’t open like the others. It slid sideways on wheels like a ladder against tall bookshelves. As carefully as you could, you pushed the door open and glanced inside. 

The room was just a simple parlor, with an unlit fireplace and several stuffed chairs accompanied by small side tables. Most likely an unused smoke room for the gentlemen to disappear to after dinner. 

Across the room was another door, though this one seemed to be the normal kind that swung on hinges. On the other side was probably another hallway. A connecting room like this could be useful as a quick getaway, should the need arise. You mentally noted its existence and stepped inside, slowly sliding the door closed behind you. With a deep breath, you started for the other door.

“I don’t recall you being given free reign of the manor.”

You nearly dropped the candle from the unexpected voice. Careless! You should have inspected the room closer and then you would have seen Sehun clearly leaning back in one of the chairs, fully facing you. His expression was a friendly one, but rather one of deep irritation. It would seem you interrupted… something. Or maybe your mere existence was enough to annoy him. 

“I wasn’t explicitly told to stay in my room,” you argued, though not in a particularly strong voice. “Is there something wrong with me walking about?”

Sehun stood from the chair with inhuman grace. You had never seen someone move so smoothly, without fault or twitch. He had complete control of his lithe limbs and tall stature. Gangly would never apply to him. His steps were noiseless as he sauntered closer, stopping a foot or two away. 

“You shouldn’t be here,” he snarled. “It’s stupid to roam where you shouldn’t be.”

“Stupid?” It was one thing for you to scold yourself in your private thoughts, but you would not be insulted this way. “If I am so unwelcomed in this room then you can simply ask for me to leave.” You raised an eyebrow in challenge, hoping that would cover the pounding of your fearful heart. 

He didn’t appear to notice. His jaw shifted left to right, but no words left his lips. 

“Well, then.” You took your eyes away from him and started for the other door, holding on to that tiny bit of triumph.

An arm as strong as an iron bar flashed before you, blocking your way and refusing to move. Sehun’s palm was spread along the faded green pain of the wall. You shoved and pushed at the barrier, but nothing even made him flinch. He encroached, leaving behind any sense of personal space, much like Yixing just an hour before. He loomed over you, his upper lip curling into a mixture of a snarl and smirk. 

“That bravery is a mistake,” he hissed. You pressed your back against the wall and brought the candle close to you as if that tiny flame was enough to keep him at bay. 

Which was exactly the reaction he wanted. A sly, wicked smirk fully took over. 

Pursing his lips, he blew once, snuffing out the flame. For a few seconds, you were absolutely blind in the sudden darkness. Sehun was invisible to you, despite his closeness. However, you could feel his breath against your chin. It was cold, like a winter’s breeze. It should have been warm. Human breathes were warm. 

That chilling breath grew closer. It traveled from your nose to your cheek and then to your hair, ruffling the strands against your ear. Something nudged against your temple. He took a long, deep breath. His nose. Was he… smelling you?

Your eyes began to adjust to the darkness, absorbing any bits of moonlight that broke through the heavy curtains hanging from the short windows above your head. All you could see of Sehun was the slope of his shoulder and the outline of his hair. 

His head snapped up, making you squeak. But he didn’t acknowledge the jump, his eyes turned towards the hallway you had entered from. A low hiss vibrated in his chest. You could nearly feel it in your own. He glanced at you once, his eyes shining unnaturally in the dark. Then, he ran from the room at a speed no man should possess. 

You ran back to your room, the candle still gripped tightly by your side. Panic gripped you so completely that you passed the door to your sanctuary the first time. Once inside, you desperately searched for a way to lock the door. There was none. Alright. Fine. You would barricade the door then. 

Huffing shallow breaths, you pulled and pushed the armchair so it acted like a weight against the door. It might not be heavy enough to keep it shut forever, but at least entering would be a struggle. You had tried the more fortifying dresser first, but it had refused to shift even a centimeter. The chair was the best you could do. 

Ripping the blanket off of the bed, you draped the heavy fabric over your shoulders and sat down on the floor under the window. Your gaze stayed trained on the door, ears straining for the slightest sound to alert you for whoever came for you next. Sehun's cold breath still lingered against your skin. You rubbed at your cheek to try and make it go away. So close. He'd been so close. 

And Yixing. That was why you couldn't be on the bed. Not tonight. Maybe not tomorrow. Or even the night after that. It was tainted. You shivered at the memory of his closeness and pulled the blanket in closer. That one long cloth was now your shield, your protection. The object that kept you safe. In your mind, at least. In truth, it would be ripped away from you as easily as water slipping through your fingers. But the thought was enough. 

You tucked your chin in between the folds and kept watching the door. Soon, the night would get lighter. Already, the darkness didn't seem as strong. 

How long until one of them came? Until someone tried to push their way inside? You hoped it would be a long time. Even hoped that they would forget about you and you could find a way to make it out, survive the forest, and see your family again. The odds weren't in your favor, but that hope was a life line. 

As the moonlight shifted, your eyes grew heavy. It was a battle to keep them open. Each time they fluttered closed, you lost ground. Sleep that had eluded you so easily before now came back to reclaim its time. The door blurred before you and then sleep claimed its victory.

Tap, tap, tap.

Your eyes blinked open. It was still night. Or, perhaps, it was night again. This darkness felt new. The beginning of a fresh night. 

Tap, tap. 

You looked up at the window above your head. 

Tap, tap, tap. 

Little black dots hit the window before disappearing out of view. You frowned and pushed up off the floor, the protective blanket falling to the floor. Still emerging from sleep, your eyes took a moment to bring the scene into focus. At first, you merely saw a blur amongst the grass. 

Then, it took shape. 

You groaned. Jongdae was waving at you to come down.

You shook your head furiously. Safety was in here. And... though he didn’t feel quite as dangerous as the others, he still made you weary. The memories of Sehun and Yixing were still burnt freshly into your mind.

At your refusal, he visibly sighed. In his other hand hung a small cloth bag. He pulled a small bun from the bag and held it up to you. Your stomach grumbled and gurgled  in response. It looked… nice. You could almost smell the bread's delectable scent. Were you really going to give in to food? 

You needed an ally, you told yourself. He was different from the others. How much you weren't sure, but perhaps you could use that. If you could make him sympathetic to you– 

Mind made up, you turned from the wind and changed into more appropriate clothing. This time, you heeded Jongdae's advice and kept your hair down to cover your neck. It felt highly improper, like a hundred governesses would appear from nowhere to scold you for being so scandalous. But you shoved the invisible tsking women away and moved the chair just enough to exit into the hallway. 

It took some time to find your way outside. Jongdae now waited for you with his back against a lone tree that looked to be one more winter away from death.

"I'll note that food is a way to entice you out." 

You glared at him. "Did you have a reason for standing under my window instead of knocking on the door like a normal person?" 

"Junmyeon had tried to bring you breakfast around sunrise," he said as he inspected the perfectly browned bun still in his hand. "He couldn't get in, though." 

"I blocked the door," you explained casually. 

Jongdae raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed by some measure. “Quick learner." 

"After some… events last night, precaution was necessary." 

"Yixing has restraint." He pushed off the tree and held the bun out to you. "You were lucky that Sehun was called off of you, though. His self-control is... lacking." 

You gaped at him, heat rising fiercely in your cheeks. "How did you–” 

“Know?" he smirked. "Secrets don't exist here. Best you learn that quickly." 

You narrowed your gaze at him. "No secrets?" 

Seeing right through you, he laughed, leaning forward and close to your face. "From us. Not for you." 

The pure arrogance in that reply. "That hardly seems fair."

"That's life,” He shrugged. Looking around for nothing in particular, he said, “Let's take a walk." 

The roll broke easily against your teeth. You chewed on the bite, resisting the urge to moan at its delicious flavor. The inside was still soft and fresh. Finally swallowing, you refused him a single step. "Why?"

"You've been sleeping on a hard floor all day,” he said pointedly. You didn’t want to think about how he possibly knew that. "You need to move." For an extra enticement, he held up the linen bag. More where that came from, he said without speaking. 

The bun in your hand, though all of its warmth was gone, was like heaven in your stomach. But it certainly wouldn't be enough. "Fine." 

You followed him alongside the house, not bothering to speak so you could continue eating. The last of the orange glow of day disappeared into the horizon far ahead of you. Yes, you had really slept for all those sunlit hours. Once again, night, it would seem, was to be your day. Chewing on the last bit of bun, you held your hand for the next morsel. 

"We’re greedy this evening," Jongdae chuckled. 

 "Did you think I came for your company?" You couldn’t help but give a spiteful response. 

Not offended in the slightest, he threw you a rather despicable smile. "Better my company then one of the others."

Though you agreed, you refused to do so aloud. "Are you that different from them?"

He didn't answer. Staring ahead, he reached into the bag and pulled out another bun, holding it out for you. 

"Is this to keep me from asking more questions?"

You managed to make him chuckle. "No. Just to keep you occupied while I answer the last one." 

Too curious, you accepted the bun and took a bite. Jongdae sighed and clasped his hands behind his back, the now nearly empty bag dangling from his fingertips. "We're all different from each other. I'm not more different from them. Though I am better than the others at controlling myself." 

Your steps faltered. "Controlling yourself?" 

He nodded. As you passed under another tree, he reached out and swing up into the branches without exerting effort, sitting on a branch well out of your own reach. 

"What are you? All of you,” you asked in a breathy gasp. All they were capable of doing was adding up, but logic told you repeatedly it was impossible. You wanted to try and rationalize it, even try to convince yourself that you were still sick with fever. But this was all too real to be a mere hallucination. What it all meant, however, you couldn’t understand. 

Hands grasped around two of the branches, he leaned forward and closed the gap between you. "You seem moderately intelligent. I'm sure you can discover the answer on your own." 

"As flattering as that is," you huffed through clenched teeth, "if the answer means danger then you should be the man to tell me." 

"If?" Jongdae laughed, as if he had read your mind. He jumped from the tree, flattening the bits of hair that had fallen out of place with his fingers. Despite playing in the tree like a child, he looked ever so the gentleman.

"’If' is a fantasy.” He glanced behind you. Scared, you followed his gaze, but there was no one there. When you turned back around, you gasped. His nose was mere centimeters from yours. "It does mean danger. You need to keep your eyes and ears open. Happy or not, you are here for a long while and no one is coming for you.'' 

You swallowed back tears as his words planted firmly in your heart. Now, you truly accepted it. No running, no escape. You were at their mercy. Whatever they were. And though Jongdae gave the impression that he was on your side, his help was firmly limited. Food and company, that was all he was good for. 

Walking once again, you solemnly finished the last bit of bun as Jongdae kept pace. When the second helping of bread ran out, you chewed on your next few words. If you were here for the foreseeable future, you might as well know this land’s history. 

"Who’s house is this?"

"Hm?" Jongdae had been lost in thoughts of his own, it appeared. He blinked himself back to the present conversation. "Oh. The manor is Kyungsoo's." 

"Kyungsoo's?" you repeated. Odd. The answer you had been expecting was the obvious: Junmyeon. He seemed to be the one everyone looked to for answers or leadership. His word was law, yet this land did not fall to him. Kyungsoo, on the other hand, felt too... isolated, cut away to be the rightful owner of this grand place. The few lords you had met before all possessed the same self-awareness and high opinion of themselves. Kyungsoo didn’t give the appearance that he cared about either. 

"Yes,” Jongdae nodded, his previous teasing gone now. “He inherited it from his father. The family used to own as much land as the eye could see. But his father was a gambler. Terrible at cards, wonderful at losing. They had to sell the land to keep the debtors at bay. Now, all that is left is this manor and a bit of the surrounding land, but no tenants. The glory of the family is now reduced to this.” 

You listened to the story with careful respect. It was one sadly more common among the nobility then they wished to admit. Land was constantly switching family names, sometimes it was difficult to keep track. A small fear you had was accidentally reminding a high nobility of their careless ancestor. "What's his family name?" 

"Jongdae! Here's where you disappeared off to." 

Your stroll in the moonlight stuttered to a halt. 

[kpop---scenarios]

Cravings (2)

Pairing: Vampire! Baekhyun x Reader

Warnings: Stalking, Launuage etc

Word Count: 5.3k

"Who the fuck brought a human home?"

You sat there, your stomach twisting as nerves filled your body. You couldn't help but twiddle your fingers as you stared at these men who had such disgust on their faces. You subtly glanced at the men, taking in the features of each one. They were exactly like Baekhyun, stone cold faces, pale but extremely handsome.

Seconds later it hit you. Human? Why did they ask who brought a human home? Weren't you all humans? What was he talking about?

You looked back at the one who asked the question. You opened your mouth, ready to question his question but before you were able to speak, the bedroom door swung open, and in walks Baekhyun. He looks around the room, glaring at the men who surrounded you.

"What the hell are you guys doing in here?" He asks, walking towards the bed, where you were huddled up.

"Ah, Baekhyun, well then that makes sense." One of them says, The rest all nodded their heads.

"What?" Baekhyun asks.

"Why is she here?" A man asks, looking at Baekhyun with a pissed off face.

"She was in trouble when I was dropping her off. She needed somewhere to go, Suho, she doesn't know anything.” Baekhyun tells him.

What was he talking about?

“What is it that I don't know?” you ask.

“Get her the fuck out of here. You know the rules, Baekhyun.” Suho yells, walking out of the room with the rest of the men following closely behind him.

“Get dressed, we gotta go.” Baekhyun says, turning around to walk out the door, closing it behind him. You quickly scramble out of the bed, slipping on your pants and your shoes before walking towards the door at a quick pace. When you open it, Baekhyun is standing there. He doesn't say a word to you but instead grabs your wrist, pulling you towards the large staircase. His hand feels like ice on your wrist.

You tried to question him as the two of you descended down the stairs, but ignored you, he was in a rush to get you out of the house. You didn't know what you did to whoever that was in your room this morning, but it was very clear that you were not welcomed in this house.

“Baekhyun.” You call out as the two of you walk out the front door. He still doesn't acknowledge you as he slides himself into the driver's seat of his car. You get into the passenger seat, crossing your arms, annoyed at the lack of communication skills he apparently didn't have.

“Are you not going to answer me?” you ask, turning to look at him while he focuses on the road. He doesn’t say anything for the remainder of the drive with you, you guys sat in complete silence.

Baekhyun pulls into the parking lot at your apartment, he parks, turns off the engine and turns to face you. His eyes stare deeply into yours, making your heart flutter. He starts leaning in closely to you, you lean into him. He raises his hand, placing it on your cheek, the coldness sends a shiver down your spine. He moves in closer until finally,he presses his lips to yours, and you feel fireworks. Baekhyun begins to deepen the kiss, slipping his tongue into your mouth as you melt into the kiss. He begins to pull back, his teeth gently biting your bottom lip, he pricks your lip before swiping his tongue over the small cut, healing it without you knowing. Now that he’s tasted your blood, he knows no other males can take you. It gives him a little bit of comfort before he says what he’s going to say to you.

“That was.. Wow.” you exclaim. It was like something out of a book, a kiss like you’d never had before.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” He says quietly, almost in a whisper, as “’I shouldn't have kissed you, or gotten involved with you. I knew better than to do that. You just..” he pauses, “You need to pretend I don't exist. Forget you ever met me.” He finishes.

He turns to look at you. He hates seeing the pain and confusion in your face. He more so hates that he’s the one that's causing it, mates are supposed to make things better, heal and protect you, while loving you unconditionally, but he was doing the complete opposite. He wished he could explain it to you, he wished he could stop your pain, it would be easy for him but he couldn’t risk exposing himself and the others. He wished he was able to take your memories of him, but he can't, mates can't manipulate mates.

Baekhyun puts the car in park, turning to look at you. He can’t fully read your face. It's a mixture of anger, sadness and confusion. And he understood that. “Why?” you ask. “I’ve felt a very strong pull to you and I know you’ve felt it too, so I'm confused on why you're suddenly trying to leave me.”

Baekhyun felt a pang in his heart, one that he hadn’t ever felt before. He didn’t want to leave you, but he couldn't tell you that. He couldn't say anything to you that would make you think there was a chance he didn't mean what he was saying. You needed to believe that he didn't want you.

“Nothing is going to happen between us, understand? There was nothing between us anyways.” he says.

You turn your head, you can see the window to your apartment, your curtain drawn, and suddenly it moves. You can see someone peeking behind the curtains. You immediately know it's Chad.

“Do you want me to handle him?” Baekhyun asks.

You shift in your seat, unsure of whether you say yes or no to his offer. You didn't want to feel like a burden, especially to have someone protect you that doesn't want to do it.

“No” you whisper, moving your body away from him. “Thanks for the ride.” you say, getting out of the car and walking away from him.

Once you’re back in your apartment, a crying Chad stands in your kitchen, with his head hanging down. “Why are you still here?” You sigh, placing your purse on the table.

“I truly feel awful for hurting you like that. I was not in my right mind, and I'm so sorry. I love you, Y/N, please forgive me?” he asks.

“Chad.” you begin. “I forgive you but I do not want to be with you. This is a one sided relationship and you have anger issues that you need to deal with. You need to leave and you need to leave me alone now. We're done. I’m going for coffee, you have an hour to grab your stuff and go, whatever you leave is going to donations.” you finish. You walk out the door and head outside, heading towards the coffee shop near your house. You sat with your drink, thinking about what Baekhyun had said to you. You had heard him loud and clear and that he didn’t want you but you didn’t believe it.

An hour later you wander back to your apartment, walking in immediately you notice a lot of your things on the floor, along with broken plates and glasses. You look around some more, seeing your clothes thrown all around your room, some of your shirts and pants are ripped, your bed is messed up, your pillow is cut open with feathers laying all over your bed and floor. You go to the living room and your TV has been pushed over, and your gaming console is gone.

“Fucking Chad!” you scream. You fall to the floor crying, not over the broken things or the torn up clothes, not even over your console. Your heart hurts so bad from Baekhyun’s words. There was something between the two of you, you knew it and so did he, even if he didn't want to admit it.

You let yourself be sad for a little bit before you decided to get back at CHad. he was the one who fucked up but hes taking it out on you? Real mature. You take pictures of all your broken things, your clothes, your bedding, your tv and your lack of console and march over to the police station to press charges. If he wanted to be petty, you could be petty right fucking back. When you were done at the police station you went to the bar, you really hoped he would be working today but unfortunately he wasn't there but one of the men who stood in the room to intimidate you was behind the bar.

The handsome man stared at you as you walked up to the bar. “Good afternoon.” He says, his voice is deep. “What can I get for you?” he asks.

“Double vodka and cran, please.” You say. You sounded so sad and monotone.

“Are you okay?” He asks, smiley widely. He stares into your eyes as you look at him while he smiles, he's waiting for you to get into the daze, where you'll do whatever he asks of you, but it never comes. He hands you your drink, frowning at you. “What's with that expression? You were very pissed off early this morning.” You say, taking a big gulp.

“I thought that was you.” He says clearing his throat. “My apologies for that.”

“It's fine.” You sigh. He continues to stare at you, confusion plastered on his face while he thinks, and then it hits him.

“Oh fuck no.” He mutters. “I'll be right back.” He says to you before disappearing into the back.

Seconds later you feel a presence beside you. You look over and there's another handsome, pale, dark haired man sitting beside you, but this one you did not recognize.

“Where did the bartender go?” He asks. You shrug your shoulders.

“Into the back, I think, he looked mad.” You say, finishing your drink. “He needs to hurry up though, I need another one.” You sigh.

“Bad day?” He asks, your mind flashes back to the night you met Baekhyun and he had asked you the same thing.

“You could say that.” You reply. “What about you? Why are you drinking at 3pm?” you ask.

“Bad day.” He says. “Lady problems.”

“You can vent to me if you want, I'd love something to take my mind off today.” You suggest. “I'm Y/N by the way.” You half smile. He turns to look at you, a smile plastered over his face. “I'm Jaehyun.” He responds. “It all started two weeks ago..”

**

In the back, Chanyeol angrily pulled out his phone. He quickly dialed Baekhyun's number, anger flowing through him.

“Hello?” Baekhyun answers.

“Please tell me you're not a huge fucking moron? Please say you didn't do what I think you did.” Chanyeol begs.

“I.. didn't do it? I don't know what you're talking about dude.” Baekhyun says.

“Did you fucking mark her? Did you mark Y/N? Because she's sitting at the bar, completely unbothered by me.” Chanyeol yells.

“She's there?” Baekhyun asks. “I'm coming.”

“No. Suho said you can't see her anymore, remember? And if he finds out you marked her.. it's going to be bad.” Chanyeol says.

“Yeah I know but fuck I need to see her, please man.” Baekhyun begs.

“I'll keep an eye on her.” Chanyeol says. “Stay away. Besides, Jaehyun is here talking to her already. Don't ruin your plan.” Chanyeol finishes before hanging up. He takes a deep breath before heading back out to serve customers.

**

You and Jaehyun talked for hours. You sat at the bar, drinking, chatting about life.

“I told you my history.” Jaehyun smiles. “Now it’s your turn.”

“Are you sure you want to hear this?” you chuckle.

He nods his head yes.

“Alright then, buckle up.” you giggle. “I was dating this guy named Chad”.” you began. Jaehyun stopped you there, immediately.

“That's your first mistake. Chad?” he says, cringing.

“Just wait.” you laugh. “We dated for over a year, and he did absolutely nothing. He never planned anything, he never went out of his way to do something nice for me but expected me to do anything for him at the drop of a hat. One day, he brought his clothes over in a garbage bag and then he kinda just like never left.” you shrugged

“And you accepted that?” Jaehyun asks.

You nod your head. “I didn't think I could do any better, but don’t worry, it gets worse.” you tell him. “He didn't help with any of the bills. He never bought groceries, he spent all his money on himself and his boys, Brad and Connor. They even showed up to our valentine's day date and then left in the middle of it, Chad included and left me to pay the entire bill.”

“Wait, hold on a second. Chad, Brad and Connor?” he asks.

“The three musketeers.” you laugh.

“Is there more?” he asks, hesitantly.

“There's a lot more.” you sigh. “So one night I'm stressed out trying to figure out how to pay my bills, if there's a bill I can skip paying, whatever. So Chad calls me over, he’s playing on my console again, and asks me to get him snacks. I asked him if he was going to pay for said snacks and he said he didn't have any money.” you say rolling your eyes. “So I lost it. And I mean lost it on him. I unplugged my console and i told him to get the fuck out of my apartment. I left and wandered for a while, and I ended up here.” you say, your voice going a little quieter. “That night I met Baekhyun, and seeing him for the first time felt like home.” you explain. “I know that sounds cheesy or whatever, but I had never felt so comfortable and safe around a person before.”

Jaehyun just nods his head as he continues listening.

“I ended up getting really drunk, he and I talked for hours before I had to go home. So I left, Chad was still there but I just needed to go to bed. I woke up in the morning, called in sick to work and Chad was still gaming.” you sigh. “But oh i forgot, Brad had brought him snacks because i was throwing a temper tantrum and he wanted me to venmo Brad for the snacks.”

“Please tell me you kicked his ass out?” Jaehyun asks.

“I did, and he left. But there’s more. I took the weekend and ate junk and did whatever, then on Monday evening I came back to the bar, and Baekhyun and I talked some more, and he was proud of me for kicking out Chad. but then he texted me, asking to talk.” you sigh.

“Oh no. Please don’t tell me..” Jaehyun cringes.

“He sucked me back in, promising to change and blah blah. There wasn't even a second that he tried to change. But I just accepted the fact that this was going to be my life, and I would be stuck with a man like Chad or just Chad for the rest of my life. But I was barely home, and he didn't notice. I spent my time here if i wasnt working and Baekhyun and I got really close. Honestly he knew me better then Chad knew me. And then one night, Baekhyun cut me off. He told me that I needed to go home because there was a storm coming. I told him I would just get a room at the motel across the street but he heavily objected to that.” you laugh.

“Good, that place is infested with roaches and rats.” Jaehyun says.

“He brought me home himself. We opened the door to a surprise party for me, for my birthday.” you tell him.

“Was it your birthday?” he asks you.

“Nope.” you giggle. “Anyways, Chad was mad that i didn't appreciate his effort of inviting 2 people i know, which are his best friends and the rest being only people they knew. He was also very whiskey drunk, he grabbed me, Baekhyun intervened and took me back to his house.” you continue. “ I slept there, woke up to seven men standing around the bed, I got kicked out, Baekhyun drove me home, he kissed me.” you sigh. “He kissed me and then told me to forget about him and that there's nothing between us.” you weep. You didnt want to cry but fuck your heart hurt. You sniffle and take a big breath. “ I went back to my apartment and Chad was still there. He was crying and saying sorry. I told him to get his stuff and leave. So I went for coffee and when I got back he had trashed the place and stolen my console.” you smile, chugging your drink before waving it at Chanyeol, who comes over with another one.

“And I thought I had problems.” Jaehyun says. He was absolutely flabbergasted. “This is some of the craziest shit I've ever heard. Your life is like a movie, holy shit.” Jaehyun says. You laugh at his comment and take another sip of your new drink. It’s quiet now, only the whispers of others at tables, the soft beating of the music above.

You turn your head to look at Jaehyun, but he’s already looking at you. He leans in closely, staring at you with a dazzling smile but while you're looking at him you feel nothing. He was nice, and you wanted to be his friend but that was it. There was no attraction to him. He places his hand on your thigh and moves in closer. “You’re beautiful,” he whispers.

“You’re more beautifuler.” you hiccup, trying to focus on him, focus on his hand on your thigh, but you feel nothing. There’s no butterflies, there is no nervousness. You felt nothing when he touched you. Jaehyun continues to stare at you, confused, as you begin to slide off the stool. You continued to look at him, the thought finally donning on you. You felt nothing for him.

“Huh.” you whisper, looking at him. “Absolutely nothing.” you shake your head at the thought. “Barkeeper!” you yell. “What do I owe you?” you ask.

Chanyeol nods his head towards Jaehyun and says “he took care of your tab for you already.” you turn towards Jaehyun again and thank him before stumbling your way out of the bar.

Behind you chanyeol looks at Jaehyun and gestures towards you. Jaehyun understands, and he’ll make sure you get home safe.

You walk along the sidewalk, stumbling here and there but you're okay. You can hear people talking behind you so you feel better knowing that you're not alone, until you really focus on what they're saying.

“She's really drunk, she'd probably be easy.” One man says.

“Doesn't she know how easy it would be to throw her in the back alley and do whatever we wanted?” Another laughs. You felt like you recognized the voices, but they were also deeper than anyone you knew. You were anxious and you did your best to pick up your pace and get home quickly. As you turned a corner the men continued on going straight. You felt some relief as you finished the last block to your apartment. You ran inside the building and quickly made your way up to your floor. You unlocked your door, slamming it closed behind you before locking the deadbolt. You put your keys and purse on the table, but couldn't help but feel like something was off. You quietly tiptoed around the house looking around, but you didn't see anything. You shook it off as paranoia and got ready for bed. You slept decently that night, but dreamt of Baekhyun the whole time. You missed him.

**

For the next few weeks your days remained the same, you woke up and felt like something wasn’t right. The few weeks that you felt were off, you were never able to place what was making you feeling off, you shook it off to still get over everything you had gone through with Chad and Baekhyun. You went to work, barely survived the day before going home and making your way to the bar, and 9/10 times Jaehyun was sitting at the bar, your drink set down next to him in a spot that he declared as yours. Though, on the off chance Jaehyun hadn't shown up at the bar, you had become pretty good friends with the two bartender’s that alternated nights. Chanyeol and Jongdae, they were both chipper, goofy and extremely good listeners, but they were also good at keeping their mouths shut, especially whenever you asked about Baekhyun, and you asked at least twice a night. One night after drinking a little too much, you had told Chanyeol that you were going to try to drive out to the house to see Baekhyun.

The once smiling man’s face turned stone cold. “Don’t you ever try to go out there by yourself, ever.” he snaps. You stay quiet and nod your head every so slightly as his eyes stay trained on you. “Do you understand?” he asks.

You nod your head again.

“I need to hear it Y/N. Do you understand?” he asks again.

“Yes.. yes i understand.”

You just wanted to know that he was okay, to see him, or really find out why he couldn’t talk to you. No one would tell you anything, not even Jaehyun, being left to your own imagination was almost torture. Even though Jaehyun wouldn’t tell you shit about Baekhyun, he had honestly become a very good friend to you. He fixed your shower when you needed help, he helped move in a new mattress to your place, the two of you went for coffee or dinner, if you weren’t at the bar, you were very good friends, and to your surprise that was honestly all it was. You had no sexual desire towards Jaehyun in the slightest which seemed weird to you. Clearly he was just your type but you wanted nothing but a platonic friendship from him.

You missed Baekhyun. Even though you knew better than him showing up to work at the bar, you still hoped you might catch a glimpse of him, but in the weeks that it’s been, you hadn't given up hope.

That night you said goodbye to Chaneyol and caught a cab home, you fell asleep pretty quickly and dreamt of nothing that night. In the morning you crawled out of your bed and shuffled to the kitchen to make yourself some coffee. You glanced down at your kitchen table as you passed it and something made you halt. You looked down and there laid out on the table was a picture of you, sleeping. and it was from last night. You quickly went around, making sure all your windows were shut and locked, and you looked at your front door, it was still locked. So how did someone get inside?

At that point you had completely forgotten about making your coffee and headed towards the bathroom to hop into the shower before you had to go to work, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling you had. As you wash your body, you’re startled by the sound of something breaking. You rinse your body quickly and turn the shower off, wrapping yourself in a towel, and you walk carefully to the kitchen. You see a glass shattered on the floor, you look around and everything is still where you had left it, the door was still locked as were the windows. You tried your best to shake that off as well, but you couldn't stop thinking about either of it. It was still on your mind when you walked into work that day, heading towards your cubicle, and you see a vase of dead roses placed nicely on your desk.

You were beginning to get thoroughly creeped out now and you weren’t sure who could be doing this. You went through your day with a terrible feeling in your stomach. As much as you tried to tell yourself it was okay, it wasn't and you were scared. That evening you didn't even bother to go home. You went straight to the bar, where Jaehyun just happened to be sitting.

“Hey stranger.” he smiles. “Double vodka and cran for her please.” he says to the bartender.

“Hi.” you say quietly.

“What's up? You okay?” he asks, seeming concerned.

“Some weird things happened today. I'm a little shaken up about it.” you admit.

“Like what?” he asks, adjusting his position.

“First I woke up to a picture of me sleeping on my table, then I was in the shower and a glass broke, and I went to work and there were a dozen dead roses on my desk.” you sigh, taking a big gulp of your drink. Jaehyun looks at you worriedly, but you wave him off.

“I'm sure it's just someone trying to be funny. Probably just a one time thing” you smile. “How was your day?” you ask.

“I really didn’t do much.” he sighs. “I ran a few errands, did a little bit of work and that was pretty much the most exciting thing,” he says. He still looks at you concerned, you roll your eyes at him.

“Everything is just fine.” you tell him. “I’m going to the bathroom, will you please stop worrying.” you laugh, trying to seem nonchalant about it. As soon as you were out of ear shot, Jaehyun pulls out his phone, dialing a very familiar number.

“Baekhyun, there’s something weird going on.” Jaehyun explains. “Someone is messing with her. Whoever it is has been in her apartment, and she’s acting like it’s nothing but I don’t think it is.”

“Do whatever you need to do to figure it out, Jaehyun, you need to keep her safe. Nothing fucking happens to her.” Baekhyun says before hanging up the phone.

Jaehyun hoped for the person’s sake, it was a one time thing.

It wasn’t a one time thing.

Unfortunately for the next few weeks, at least 4 times a week, something different happened. You swore you felt like you were losing your mind. You would wake up in the morning, go and turn on your coffee pot that always sat on your kitchen counter and then make your way to the bathroom while it brewed. When you would get out of the bathroom, you’d go back into the kitchen and your coffee pot would be on your island plugged into the outlet on the island and the pot was full of coffee.

You would buy groceries, put them away in their designated spots, and the next time you would go get said snack, it wouldn't be where you left it. In the mornings when you’d get into your car to go to work, you’d notice your rearview mirror would be adjusted into a different spot, and you tried to think if there was ever a time that you had actually adjusted it. When you would come home from work, to set your stuff down to get ready to walk to the bar, you would notice a dead rose laying in the middle of the floor of your bedroom. You would open the fridge, you’d see a wilted rose petal on the shelf. In the following days you had also found one in your bed, on your couch, in the bathroom, and in your car, along with your rearview mirror having been adjusted each time.

But tonight was the icing on the cake. You had gotten home from work, unlocked your door and entered your apartment. You walk in, placing your keys on the kitchen table when you hear a faint hissing. Your stomach drops as you look around. You look towards your bedroom and see nothing, but as you turn your head to look at the living room, you see the biggest snake you’ve ever seen, hissing and slithering quickly towards you. You never thought you could move so fast, being so scared. You let out the loudest shriek, before fumbling to get to the door, you needed to get out.

Now, you were extremely scared. You hadn’t told Jaehyun about any of the other things that were happening because you didn’t want him to worry about you, but now you were panicking that you weren’t going to be able to take care of yourself. On your way down the hallway, you run into movers bringing things into the vacant apartment that was two doors down from you. As you’re fast walking past the open door, a woman steps out into the hallway, trying to block your way. “Hi.” She says, but you’re not focused on her. You needed to get out of there, and find someone to help you, and you knew exactly who to find.

You ran into the bar and disappointment filled you, as you see Jaehyun’s usual seat is empty. You sit down next to it, pulling out your phone to call him as your usual drink is set down in front of you. Your call rings, but goes to voicemail after three rings. You decide to try again, but again it goes to voicemail and this time you leave one.

“Hey, it’s me.” you sigh. “I was really hoping you would be here tonight, some fucking weird stuff has been happening and i’m really scared. There was a goddamn snake in my apartment, and Jae, I don't know what to do. Please call me as soon as you get this.” you sigh. You hang up, and set your phone down on the bar and take a long sip of your drink to try and settle your shaking hand. You take a few deep breaths before your phone begins to ring. Quickly, you answer it, hoping it’s Jaehyun.

“Hello?” you ask.

No reply.

“Hello?” you say again, noticing an echo of your voice through the phone. You take the phone from your ear and look around, but there is barely anyone in the bar. “Who is this?” you ask, and again no response, just your voice faintly coming through, with the same song playing on both ends.

You end the call, and stand up. Something didn’t feel right. Your whole body was panicked, and your face must have showed it. You slapped a couple bills on the bar, not bothering to count it before you left. Just as you began heading for the door, Chanyeol stepped out from the back. He noticed your worried face, and scared body language. He tried to call out for you but you didn’t hear him. He pulls out his phone to call Baekhyun, he could feel something wasn’t right.

“She just left the bar. She didn’t look right, she looked scared, Baek. Jaehyun isn’t here, I don't know where he is but something’s not right.” Chanyeol says. Baekhyun doesn't reply, he hangs up the phone and Chanyeol questions himself, whether or not he did the right thing.

As you’re walking, tingles of hyper-awareness have all muscles in your body, twitching at every noise. You picked up the pace of your steps, your eyes looking all around you. As you begin to pass an alley on your left, you see a darker shadow. Before you can breathe out a scream, your arm and collar are pulled into the darkness. A hand covers your mouth as you try to fight off whoever had you… You weren't going to let anyone take you.

[soobadnoonecanstopher]

Can I Stay? (A Baekhyun Story) Part 14.

Pairing: You x Baekhyun

Rating: M

Word Count: 7.6K

Warnings: Park Chanyeol word vomit. Crazy in love. Crazy, Crazy in love. Absolutely lost in the love sauce. FLUFF.

A romance between two adults with an unspecified age difference between them, an English story that uses the word Noona for lack of another word in English that carries the same feeling, if you don’t like this, then don’t read this story.

Tag list: @andimoon @his-mochi-cheeks

Links: Part 1, …. Part 13, Part 14, Part 15

He was tall and handsome, friendly and inviting. He shook your hand with animated enthusiasm and a wide toothy smile. Behind him, your boyfriend, Baekhyun stood with his arms folded over his chest, tapping his foot on the shiny marble tile floor. He cleared his throat noisily as his best friend Chanyeol shook your hand for what was going on now for too long. The smile on his face was almost manic. This guy’s energy matched his volume.

“Chanyeol can’t stay long. He’s got other things to do.”

“I don’t have anything to do. Do I smell Halmi’s food?”

Baekhyun’s face was passive and blank. You recognized the hesitation with the way he opened his lips and inhaled to speak and then closed his lips up again as he looked down at the floor below his bare feet. When he finally did answer, it had taken him a while.

“Yeah, Chanyeol. We went to see Mimi.”

Chanyeol’s forward steps hesitated and he paused mid-way between the long hallway that Baekhyun still occupied and the open kitchen space you stood in feeling underdressed and unprepared to suddenly be meeting Baekhyun’s best friend. You didn’t have a speck of makeup on but thank God you’d opted to wear a bra under this soft sleeping set because without it there would likely be no mysteries as to what you both had been up to before he showed up.

Chanyeol seemed to react curiously to the news that you’d both visited Baekhyun’s Mimi today. You did notice that Baekhyun didn’t ask if Chanyeol had had dinner nor did he make any offers to share food with the man.

He looked into Baekhyun’s face, his own eyes wide with a look of surprise that you didn’t quite understand. This must not have been about the food.

“You took her to Halmi?” Chanyeol asked with a step snuck closer to where Baekhyun stood with hands in his pockets.

Baekhyun nodded his head and Chanyeol turned back to look into your face.

You smiled in response, not quite grasping the significance of this detail that Chanyeol seemed to fixate on.

“Oh,” Chanyeol said quietly, not directing this at you but back toward the shorter man standing behind him.

“Yeah,” Baekhyun said, agreeing to something unspoken between the two of them.

“Mimi was very sweet,” you had to speak. This whole exchange was so cryptic and mysterious you could hardly stand it.

“She gave us some strawberries.” You said looking down at the container stuffed with bright red berries feeling just a little bit silly with the scant details you added to the story. You didn’t have nearly enough preparation for any of this and you honestly felt left out of their conversation about what you meeting Mimi seemed to imply to both of them.

Chanyeol responded with a bright face; matching your small polite smile with his own full grin, “Did she? She liked you then.”

“I liked her too,” you said softly to yourself. He was watching your face for a while with a pensive look before his smile returned to his face and he leaned a long torso beside you, propping himself on an elbow on the countertop.

“Well it’s very nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you, Noon—, uhh” his eyebrows furrowed and turned his focus to Baekhyun, “What do I call her? Is it too soon for Sister-in-law? I get to be your best man right? How long have you been dating? A half-year? If you took her to see Halmi then I’m going to say Sister-in-law. You have definitely been talking about her for at least a year.”

That didn't sound right, Baekhyun had only been working as your assistant for a few months. Sure you’d worked with him on a previous project but you’d had next to no interaction with the man, even if he seemed to remember you well enough. The more Chanyeol talked — and remarkably, he hadn’t quit yet — the more he sounded like an unreliable source. There were just so many words to this man and not nearly enough useful ones.

Baekhyun had joined you both in the kitchen and some sort of whispered exchange was happening that you decided you’d just let them have. Of course it was happening right beside you and you could hear everything they said.

“A month? No way, less than that? Well, what were you all up to here before I came? Is this your first date—-Ahhh,” Chanyeol let out a loud yelp of pain. Baekhyun had pinched him somewhere.

“Okay. I’m going…I’m going, settle down,” Chanyeol finally said with a deep frown. He was rubbing a palm over his ribs.

But he had turned to talk to you again. He’d said one thing while he actively did something else. He was fascinating to watch. Like a spinning top that once it got started just could not stop.

“I guess you already know that he’s crazy about you,” he said with his eyes wide and he giggled as he took a big step away from where Baekhyun reached out another hand with slim pinching fingers extended and grasping.

“Like crazy, crazy. Not cute, silly, rom-com crazy either — you know, for a while I was sure you were a symptom. I was convinced of it.” He took another big step away from your boyfriend who had switched to swatting. You heard the occasional smack that echoed out when a swinging hand made contact with a person’s back.

His stream-of-consciousness rambling was entertaining at least and you didn’t try that hard to hide your laughter, which only fueled more talking. You even nodded your head. Yes, you knew how much Baekhyun loved you. Yes, you also shared the same feelings. You’d already seen the closet full of things he bought — the troubling lack of self control he had was evident. But for you too, you’d already known first hand just how impossible it had been to keep yourself away from him.

Perhaps you were both just insane when it came to each other. Maybe you didn't want to be sane when it came to Baekhyun.

Folie à deux. A madness shared by two.

“Hey. I have things to warn her about,” Chanyeol was complaining at the unfair attempts to silence him, “like if Halmi calls you saying she’s on her deathbed and you have to get married right away before she dies, don't believe her, that’s just a trick. She did that to me once. That woman is built like an ox. I talked to her doctor myself.”

“If you don’t leave right now I’m canceling the card I gave you and I’m going to call your mom and tell her where she can find you.”

You didn't think it was possible but Chanyeol finally closed up his lips and pulled a black rectangle of plastic out of the pocket of his hoodie. The silence was temporary — just long enough for him to look down at the credit card he’d gotten from his best friend in exchange for going away.

“The only reason I’m using this is so she doesn’t know how to find me. I will not go on any more blind dates. She picks the weirdest girls. I wonder if my new Sister-in-law has a sister or a cousin as pretty as she is. You know, Baekhyun, I always thought you didn’t have any game. It turns out you’re just picky as hell.”

He was actually being pushed toward the front door but the words just kept tumbling out of the man.

“5-stars is fine right?”

“4 stars.”

“5 stars, come on.”

“3 stars. Holiday Inn Express.”

“Holiday Inn — How do you even know what that is? I’m staying at Banyan.”

“Chanyeol, I don't care where you go. Just go.”

“That counts as Banyan permission.”

A door clicked closed and there was an instant oppressive silence that filled the home. You could hear the quiet footsteps as Baekhyun made his way back into the kitchen and you watched for the moment when his pretty face appeared back in front of your eyes.

He had a tiny smile on his lips when he came back into the Kitchen and his footsteps were sluggish.

“Well that was fun,” you said softly as you bit down on your lips to control the grin on your face. He made a small sound like a single chuckle pushed through his nose.

“So that was my friend Chanyeol.” He said with his eyebrows lifted up high on his face and his eyes glancing down over the big bowl of strawberries you had been busying yourself with. You felt weirdly grateful that you had something to do with your hands during that entire exchange and after a little bit of snooping around this massive kitchen you even managed to find a hidden trash can in one of the side cabinets at the end of this kitchen island. You’d dropped all of the green tops there and the berries were washed and ready for a trip around this big house.

“He seems like he’s very fun at parties.” Chanyeol had been a lot. Chatty and pushy and loud, but incredibly sweet and inviting. You knew instantly that you would always be able to strike up a conversation with him easily, despite how intense he had been. Baekhyun inhaled a deep breath and his lips pulled wide as he squinted his eyes.

“Do you still like me?” His big brown eyes prodded against your own and you bit down on your bottom lip as you nodded your head up and down twice. You held the bowl of berries in one arm and you reached out your other hand to grab ahold of Baekhyun’s, slipping your fingers in between his and you squeezed.

“Do you ever just hang out in the naked lady’s room?” You wanted to see the house, but you kind of wanted to sit down somewhere with him and enjoy the fruit first. The bowl was rather heavy and you didn’t really feel like lugging it around through the entire place. Perhaps you could both start with a little picnic there.

Baekhyun had been watching your face with a sort of dreamy expression but when your question registered, you caught the shift of his eyes as he looked away from you for a second, glanced around the empty kitchen space without any actual focus and he looked back at you again with his eyes narrowing some.

It was a sudden shift.

“Why? Did Chanyeol say something?” His question was quiet with a very light panic just below the surface and it pulled a surprised laugh from your chest with simply how guilty his expression had turned in an instant, “because I haven’t done that since I was going through puberty.” You laughed harder, having to let go of his hand so you could cover your mouth to quiet the surprised laughter that erupted from you.

He had a smile growing on his face as he spoke of this and he was looking up into the ceiling with an inhale of air into his lungs, “but yeah, back then I used to spend a lot of time in that room with her,” he was laughing now with his mouth open and his face had turned pink with the belly laughs.

You couldn't help your laughter. It was your own fault for asking this question. You weren’t sure what kind of response you had expected but it hadn’t been his silly confession about his middle school sexual awakening and self discovery.

“Do you still like me?” He asked this again through the deep giggles that had taken him over. You nodded your head as a response and lifted your hand to run your fingers over the back of his head slipping them through his hair. You relished in the way his laughter quieted down when you did it. His scalp was warm below your fingertips and his eyes rolled closed with your sudden touch.

You still wanted to see it up close so you grabbed him by the hand and pulled him, headed toward the room with the statue so you could look at the beautiful artwork. You’d never had the chance to see something so precious before.

It was just as magnificent as you thought it would be. The room was round with a domed ceiling and the overhead lighting shone brightly on only the marble statue. The rest of the room had a softer dim glow that felt purposeful in its design, making the focus here only about her. You set the fruit down off to one side and Baekhyun took a seat on the floor beside the bowl and leaned against the wall with his hands folded quietly in his lap as you stood as close as you dared to this incredible work of art.

“She’s so beautiful,” you said in a quiet whisper as you looked up at the impeccable smoothness of her skin, trying your best to imagine the kind of care and precision that would go into carving something like this out of stone. It felt impossible. And yet here she stood in front of you with all of her intricate details from the waves of her hair made up of individual strands; her delicate arm lifted over her head; her nipples that stood erect over the soft mounds of her breasts; her belly button and the round bump in her belly where if she were alive, her life creating organs would hide; the swell of her hips and even the small dimples in her soft flesh that made her look so soft and so real. Even the expression on her face was sensual. Her thoughts only of her lover. That love eternally preserved on the tip of her tongue that sat just inside the hollow behind her parted lips.

You wondered about the emotions that such a piece of work would carry with it over the years and your heart swelled with the idea that maybe this woman actually existed once. Maybe she was adored by just one person, by her one person; adored enough to inspire the overwhelmingly all consuming, obsessive labor of love that it would take to create a masterpiece such as this.

“Can I touch her?” You pulled your eyes away long enough to ask your question. You’d been so transfixed by seeing this up close that you half expected for your words to pull him out of his own examination of the statue but you found Baekhyun’s eyes the second you turned to him. He wasn’t looking at the statue at all, but seemed to only have been watching you.

After a few seconds he nodded his head, “You can do anything you want,” he said.

You knew it was a rock. Your rational mind knew it, at least. But the way this looked, so real and life-like, as if it were made of warm flesh and bones, had what you knew in your mind and what you’d expected to feel under your fingertips at odds with each other. The cold temperature of the stone made you gasp when your fingertips touched the solid polished surface. You pressed against the stone, astonished that it had no give as flesh should have had.

You turned to him with amazement and delight evident on your face. But Baekhyun had a brilliantly wide smile on his own face that floored you. His eyes had pulled up into little moons making him look so damn beautiful you had to hold your breath and take a step back and away from all of the beauty you found yourself surrounded by in this place.

You had to sit down. Without having had a single sip of any alcohol, you felt overwhelmed and drunk.

You moved through the space to where he sat on the floor with his legs crossed and you took your place right beside him; your hip flush with his; your thigh touching his thigh; your arm warm against this arm and you leaned your head on his shoulder with the smallest contented sigh escaping from your lungs as you did it.

If you could bottle this feeling inside of you, surely it would change the world. If only you could hold it forever in the palm of your hand, surely you’d never ever let it go.

You felt the warmth of his head just above yours when he leaned onto you and when your hand squeezed around his bicep, the softness of his arm gave under your fingertips.

He was warm and real and alive here beside you. You could touch him just as easily as you touched the beautiful marble. You didn't even have to ask for permission first because he was your person. He was your love. And he responded to you. His hand landed over yours and he gave you a little squeeze. His warm palm rubbed over your bare knee and his fingertips flexed and dipped and pushed into the soft flesh of your inner thigh and your living flesh gave where his fingers touched.

“Can I keep you forever?” Your own voice surprised you. You hadn’t intended to say this outloud to him, but that drunk feeling had taken your common sense away from you. Once the words came out of your mouth, you pulled your lips closed and pressed the tips of your fingers tightly over your lips. You probably meant to only think this. You definitely didn’t intend to say it, but hearing the echo of those words you had just asked him and their heavy implication had your skin burning. Your heartbeat echoed noisily inside your eardrums. Not only were you surprised by your own words, but what shocked you more was just how much you really meant what you had just said.

Baekhyun’s movements, his thumb brushing lightly over your hand, and the other hand he lightly touching over your knee, even his steady in and out breathing, all of it had gone still.

You pulled your head off of his shoulder and he moved his head from where he had been resting on you. You felt downright silly for this intense reaction you were having, but you had just said something to him that made you feel so very vulnerable and exposed. But, god help you, you did actually mean it. You meant that you wanted him to be yours. Always. You meant that you never ever wanted him to say goodbye to you and you never wanted to say goodbye to him. You never wanted to be apart from him. You never wanted to sleep in a cold bed without him by your side and you felt absolutely insane knowing that you meant it.

Saying this out loud felt downright terrifying.

When you pulled your head away he looked at you and you looked at him; knowing for certain that the heat you felt all over your head would have made your cheeks flushed.

“Did you say that by accident?” He was tempering his response to your strong reaction. He was being your extremely observant and insightful Baekhyun.

“Yes,” you said softly, “but also no. I don’t know.” you added hopelessly as you closed your eyes, unable to stand how very much this man could tell from looking into your eyes.

“I meant it,” you began in about as soft a whisper as you could manage, “but then it felt like maybe I shouldn’t have told you that.”

“Why not tell me that?” His hand had moved and you felt his warm fingers laid out over the side of your face. He was pulling your face back up so you could look into his eyes again.

You blinked your eyes quickly, touching lightly and delicately into his eyes for only a few short moments at a time. “Just feels a little embarrassing that I said that. Seems like maybe I told you a secret,” you said.

“Is that your secret? Hmm?” His gentle words felt as soft as the pads of his fingertips that touched lightly along your jawline.

“Do you want to keep me forever?”

Your small head nod came with the smallest pull of your lips into a hopeless smile. You closed your eyes with the acknowledgment you gave him. You felt the softness of his lips land over your temple as he placed a delicate kiss on your flushed warm face.

“I think we might have a problem,” he said with his voice raising in volume just a touch. Just enough for your eyes to open and for you to look into the brown of his eyes for the meaning to his words.

Had you made a mistake with your confession? You felt a grain of doubt rest just at your surface, threatening to sink in.

“Because I also want to keep you forever, and I’m no good with keeping secrets.” Your slow exhale came from deep within your chest and when you opened your eyes you found him watching you from up close.

“We should both stop talking — before —” you cut yourself off suddenly, taking in a deep breath that you exhaled noisily instead of finishing your thought out loud. The threat of saying anything else that you knew should not be spoken was simply too powerful and so you reached across his waist for a strawberry; gripping the biggest one you felt under your fingertips and you brought it up to your lips for a bite into the juicy fruit.

It was sweet and it was delicious and just as you lifted the rest to your lips you saw him move as his mouth opened up over the half bitten strawberry you held in your fingers and he pulled it into his mouth. The tip of his tongue and his teeth lightly grazed your finger as he did it and you bit down on your bottom lip as you watched him chew and swallow all the while he kept his knowing eyes on you, simply lifting a single eyebrow as licked his lips. He made no efforts to convince you to continue saying what you and he both knew you had been saying.

“These are so sweet,” you grasped ahold of your excuse as you reached for another berry and he was silent as he watched you do it.

Baekhyun’s lips parted as if he was waiting for something from you.

The other half of one of your strawberries, or perhaps a kiss. You leaned into him and captured his pouty bottom lip in between your own, lightly sucking the softness of it into your mouth; tasting strawberries and tasting him.

When you pulled away from him his eyes were closed and he opened them slowly to watch your face again.

“Want another one?” You asked with a smile, purposefully not defining what you were offering while keeping your tone light and innocent.

He nodded his head. You lifted the strawberry to your lips, took a bite into it as you leaned into his waiting mouth. He took the other half between his teeth from your lips as you had intended and his wet lips pursed into your mouth with a kiss before you pulled your face away, chewing what was left of the sweet fruit..

You’d only had enough time to swallow when he leaned into you again, lifting both hands to your face to pull you into him for another kiss. This one was deeper and you felt held in place by his hands that pulled you into his open mouth. He tasted so good. It wasn’t just the strawberries, the man had a smell and a taste that sunk deep into the very center of you, making it impossible to pull away from him; making you want to taste him again and again.

His lips were pinker now, probably from the fruit. “You taste like strawberries,” you said with a smile and another small kiss.

“You’re doing an awful lot of talking for someone who just shut me up five minutes ago.” His voice was playful and with his fingertips, he rolled the fabric of your shirt back and forth absentmindedly.

“I didn’t just shut you up. I shut both of us up,” you defended and a scoff followed by a small chuckle erupted from him.

“Oh right. What was it again?” His eyes narrowed as he pretended to recall the exchange you’d just, quite expertly changed the subject away from.

“We should both stop talking, before…before,” he did his impression of you again and you felt the blood rush just under the skin of your scalp, the feeling exploding like fireworks under the surface of your skin and with it came a wave of goosebumps that traveled down your neck; down the center of your spine. The danger of this talk had returned again.

He had already warned you that he was bad at secrets and you knew how shoddy his self control was when it came to you.

“Before what?” He casually and unceremoniously plopped a strawberry into his mouth and chewed on it a few times.

“Before I go crazy and ask you to marry me and you go crazy and say yes?”

His words landed with a big splash against your chest; sending rippling waves outward that rocked you again and again, making you feel dizzy and seasick.

“Baek,” you said quietly, feeling every single bit of the seriousness of this conversation. You felt flush and warm all over and when you looked down at your bare legs you could see where your skin prickled and poked with goosebumps from how overwhelmed this kind of talking had made you feel.

“I want to keep you forever and you want to keep me forever,” he said, “isn’t that what that means?”

He wasn’t wrong.

He was brave enough to speak it outloud.

You inhaled the smallest gasp for air through your parted lips. It was all you could manage with his deep brown eyes looking into you like this. With him seeing you so clearly and knowing you so completely like this.

“Baekhyun, this is—” You couldn't find the words. Your mind felt too jumbled and he was watching you with a look of seriousness inside of his rapidly blinking wet eyes. Your focus was pulled down where inside his hands he fidgeted with a strawberry and it trembled inside his fingertips. His hands were shaking.

“Crazy?” He whispered and swallowed before speaking again, “I know,” his lips hung open and he puffed out a breath, “it is.” His words labored through his whispered breaths. “I don't mean right now. It doesn't have to be tonight, or tomorrow, or next month. I’m just —”

“Don't say any more. If you ask me, I’ll say yes.” You’d closed your eyes and your hand had reached for his trembling hand to steady him. He didn’t need to be nervous about this with you. Even if you felt like you might float away with as much anxiety as you felt bubbling up inside of your stomach.

“You would say yes? Right now, you would say yes?” His fingertips wrapped tightly around your hand and you leaned forward to press your lips up against his. It was partly because of the love, but it was mostly to silence him, to keep him from talking about this any more. You didn’t have any desire to ever leave his side, but once either of you actually said it, it would become true. It would take on meaning. It would become fact.

You knew—you knew this was too fast. You knew this was crazy. You knew that taking this step would be fraught with obstacles that threatened to destroy the both of you. You knew how many challenges you both would face if you even dared to dream that this could be true for you with him. You knew it deep down inside your bones, and yet — and yet your heart was racing, running away by itself with its own little fantasies that maybe, maybe he wouldn't listen to you.

Maybe he would ask.

Maybe you wanted him to. You wanted him to want to ask you and you wanted to say yes.

“I love you,” he said softly into the small space that existed between your lips and his, “do you love me?”

You nodded your head and looked up into his brown eyes. Your ears had a hum that sounded out, it seemed to be coming from somewhere within your chest. Baekhyun was moving, he pushed his crossed legs apart and wrapped his legs around you where you sat beside him on this floor. He wrapped his arms around your shoulders and you felt encased fully within the secure warmth of his body.

“I love you,” he said again. Your saliva pooled inside your mouth and you swallowed it away, “do you love me?” A breath caught in your throat and you felt dizzy without the oxygen.

“Baby, do you love me? Do you love me?”

You were nodding your head again, opening your lips, desperately searching for your voice and begging that you could find it to answer him.

“Yes,” you said through a borrowed breath.

He was watching your face when you answered.

You felt drunk on the deep brown color you found in his eyes. You felt possessed by the adoration that flowed through your veins for him.

“Baby-”

He was looking into your face when he did it —when he said it.

“Will you marry me?”

“Let’s get married. Hmm?”

“I only want you.”

“I only need you.”

“I only love you.”

Your lungs had quit. Your heartbeat was drowned out by the loud humming sound that filled your head. Every cell inside of your body vibrated and you knew — you knew that if he hadn’t been wrapped around you so entirely you might not have been able to stay down on this floor. You might have just floated up and evaporated into lighter than air filled bubbles, carried by the wind until each and every one popped and you ceased to exist entirely.

You were spinning and spinning inside of your own head.

“Yes.” Your lips and your tongue moved on their own, pushed forward by your heart that was filled to the brim and overflowing with only him, “okay. Yes. If you want to marry me, I want to marry you.”

He watched your face so closely; his warm eyes pushing deep inside your own and the gasp for air from his parted lips didn't pull his heavy eyelids closed. The small tick of his eyebrow up on his forehead didn’t pull those eyes from yours and he watched you with a silent intensity; you burned inside of it.

There was a simultaneous movement between the two of you that happened. Your hands flew to your mouth as you gasped out in genuine surprise and he dipped his head, closed his eyes up tight and let out a deep laugh from the center of his chest.

You let one of your hands free to quickly swat against his chest. He was giggling. He was laughing with unbridled joy written all over his face and your own laughter you covered with the palm of your hand.

“We are crazy!” You said in wild eyed disbelief, “Baek, we are insane! This isn’t normal right?”

“I’ve never pretended to be normal about you,” he said through the wide smile that had taken over his face.

“But—but, I don’t even know your favorite color. Or your favorite school subject. I don’t even know your favorite food. Baek, what are we even thinking?”

It was a little late for you to suddenly be having these sorts of doubts. You’d already agreed to marry him and you were pretty sure if he took it back you’d cry and cry and cry for a whole year and probably shrivel up in a ditch somewhere.

He still had his arms wrapped around your waist and he pulled you closer into his chest as his eyes angled upward, he pouted his lips and his face took on a pensive expression.

“My favorite color is this color,” he lifted a finger and touched lightly over your bottom lip. You pulled your lips inward, biting down with your teeth to hide the wide smile that threatened to consume you.

“My favorite food is—” he reached with that same hand and grabbed another strawberry from the bowl, lifting it up to your lips and giving it a tiny push until you opened your mouth for him to push it inside. You’d expected him to let you just have it, but he was holding on long enough for his mouth to open up over the other end. You were too giggly for the kiss. You felt a bit of the strawberry’s juice dribble down your lip, you had to catch it with your fingertips. He was talking again with his mouth full, “—is half of your strawberries.” He was chewing and nodding his head appreciatively.

“My favorite subject is math,” he said abruptly while pulling his face back and squinting his eyes in your direction. You’d been spoiled by his answers already and you definitely expected him to say something else related to you. The surprise caught you off guard and he knew it.

“Math?”

“Mhmm,” he said as he grabbed another strawberry and popped it into his mouth.

You sat there with him quietly munching on fruit until the bowl was empty. There was no talk of rushing to define things. There were no discussions about the what’s or the when’s or the Dear God How’s that were involved in this monumental change that you had both decided was worth making for each other. You both simply ate these strawberries, smiled and sometimes giggled with each other, and enjoyed the stunning beauty of all that surrounded you in this magical place.

When the berries were gone and the tingling in your legs had settled with a few stretches and pointing moves of your toes, you knew it was time to get up off of this floor and take a walk with him.

“Am I ever going to get my tour?”

He was moving with you; carrying the bowl back to the kitchen, he simply set it on the counter and walked away as you curiously looked back at the white bowl with red stains splashed on the inside.

Your conscience nagged, “should we wash it?”

He was already pulling at your hand and leading you away from the kitchen into newer, unexplored parts of the house.

“Staff will get it.” You heard him say and you pulled lightly against his hand. The sudden resistance halted his forward progress and he turned a curious face to you. Your mind was whirling. You already knew about the butler (if that’s what that man was called) but he didn’t say that he would get it.

Baekhyun had definitely used an unmistakably plural term just now.

“Staff?” Your voice had a slight alarmed tone. You’d just made peace with the fact that at any time that you were here alone with him, a strange man might suddenly clear his throat from the shadows and catch you making out with your boyfriend/fiancé (!!!!) — but, staff?

“How many people are actually here right now?”

You pulled your hand out of his and wrapped your arms around your stomach, feeling just a little self conscious about the short shorts you wore and the very obvious, very intimate kissing and sweet giggling, and extremely personal conversation you and him had been taking part of inside that room with the statue. What if everything had been overheard, or worse, overseen?

Baekhyun tilted his head and glanced upward here and there, his focus flirting around in a few directions above his head. You had a sinking feeling the longer he pondered.

“Like…five at night. More during the day.”

“So we aren’t alone here, at any point in time?” You did your best to keep your voice neutral.

“We are absolutely alone inside my room. I promise. I don’t have a whole lot of say about the estate. It’s funded by the trust and run by an estate manager.” He was speaking to things you had no experience with, and while the words he spoke sounded fancy you really didn’t understand any of this. You at least found some solace in the fact that everything that took place in that comforting and familiar feeling bedroom of his was completely private.

Baekhyun was leading you around his home. The place was as enormous as you suspected. There were entire spaces dedicated to a single use. Like the home theater or the actual ballroom with its ceiling lined with crystal chandeliers. The excess was shocking. Baekhyun told you that when he was younger, his mother often threw elaborate parties here but he confessed that he had only been to some of these rooms once or twice and you struggled with the idea of living in such a place and never actually using any of it. He mentioned that his mother was in another country, and had been for some time. He shrugged when you frowned at this and he said he always had his Mimi.

As impressive and as breathtakingly beautiful as everything was, you could see how he might have felt quite lonely here.

You longed for the comfort of his bedroom again. You stood in a long white winding hallway and your eyes had focused on a piece of artwork that hung on the wall here. It was something that was obviously extremely expensive and maybe even extremely old. This was something that one might expect to find in a museum gallery in Paris or London. The longer you stared at, the more emotions you felt filling your chest.

It was a pair of lovers locked in an eternal kiss. Their faces were hidden but everything about their bodies and the desperate way they clung to each other felt like the mad kind of love you felt for the man who patiently waited behind you as you took your time with this particular painting.

His fingers in particular were doing you in. He cradled her face with one hand; fingertips dug into the soft pillows of her plump cheeks and with his other hand splayed at the small of her back, he pulled her into his body.

It was a desperate passion. It was insatiable and hanging here in this hallway it would remain as such forever.

“This is incredible.” You whispered and you heard a soft hum behind you moments before a body’s warmth descended over your back and his arms wrapped around you. “I think this is me and you,” you giggled at how silly you sounded and you felt his pointed chin rest over your shoulder. You could make out his face, despite how close he was to you. He was looking at the painting now, paying closer attention with a small smile.

He spun you around inside his arms and he leaned his head into you, his hand lifting to your face and you felt the warm softness of his lips as he kissed you here. His hand gripped tightly around your lower back and his fingertips dug into the soft flesh of your ass and his lips and mouth and teeth and tongue and he took and took from your mouth with a demanding need that surprised you.

Your ears picked up on a sound somewhere in the house. Not close enough to make you panic but you were once again reminded that this was not the place for such things.

You pulled away from his kiss. He bent at the waist and he followed you but with two hands planted firmly over his shoulders you put enough distance between the two of you that afforded the opportunity for some words.

“Baby, I heard a sound. This shouldn’t happen here. Someone might see.”

He closed his eyes and licked his lips, straightening his spine and lifted a hand to rub over his face. Baekhyun nodded quietly and the smile that broke on his face was small and sheepish for a moment. Just for a moment because he shifted quite suddenly, his eyes widened, and his mouth hung open as if he had just had some sort of epiphany.

It took a few moments of him standing with this shocked expression on his face before he inhaled to speak.

“It’s not the sex, the sex wasn’t the problem we have at work.”

You shook your head, needing him to elaborate for you to understand what in the world he was so excited about.

“We can have sex.” He said with a smile and another nod of his head, your own lips pulled into a smile despite having no clue where he was going. “In fact we should. We should have lots and lots of sex. As much as we want, right? Just… get it out of our systems.”

“I mean—” you began cautiously. His eyes were wide. He was excited. Hell, you were getting rather excited with his idea of a sex marathon. It sounded much better than, say, a Star Wars marathon.

“What if we bring in another person?” His frantic eyes looked into yours and you closed up your lips immediately as you pulled your face back and away from him.

No?

No.

Hell no.

Hard pass.

What was this?

Absolutely not.

“Baekhyun.” you spoke his name clearly and plainly, without any hint of amusement in your voice. The sudden change in your demeanor pulled his lips closed and his eyes shot into yours with rapid speed.

“Baekhyun… like… a,” you leaned and lifted a finger up toward his face, his eyes nearly crossed to look down at your pointed finger as you harnessed your most disparaging whisper, “like a threesome? Baek, no.”

His eyes went wide again and suddenly he was erupting in laughter. You couldn’t quite catch up. Your finger was still raised and he was cackling and grabbing ahold of your finger with his hand shaking it lightly as he held an arm over his belly and groaned, panted, laughed some more and tried to reign it in.

“Hey. Lady. Get your mind — out of the gutter,” he said through the fit; still trying to breathe through the noisy laughs that had taken his breath away.

“In the office! Another person at work in the office with us, Jesus Christ, you’re so fucking funny I can’t,” he was holding a hand over his closed eyes, wiping moisture from his closed eyelids.

“Sunny’s project wrapped already. She can come in tomorrow and shadow me, learn the job before I leave,” he lifted up one finger, “so, good idea number one,” his second finger joined, “and good idea number two, we definitely will behave if someone else is there with us, right?”

“Why would you say it like that? We can have lots and lots of sex what about bringing in another person?” You’d dropped your voice and scrunched up your nose, doing your absolute best to sound like this silly giggling man who stood in front of you giving you a damn heart attack with his terrible sentence structure choices. “You scared the shit out of me. I mean, oh my god? My boyfriend, hours after becoming my fiancé, wants to what?!”

You felt that you were very worked up. But you had genuinely and seriously misunderstood him just now. Your hands were still shaking from the shock of it.

He grabbed you by the shoulders and gave you a good shake. “Get it together woman! I would never. Never! I am a one woman man. And you are that one woman.”

“And that was a terrible, awful impression of me. Do you think I sound like that? God. I love you.”

You crossed your arms over your chest and rolled your eyes. Your impression was awesome. You had his speech pattern down to a science.

“Oh my god, shut up. I sounded exactly like you. I love you, too.”

“Oh my god.” He lifted his voice playfully, reaching out with his fingers to poke along your ribs, “You shut up. I love you more.”

You evaded the pokes from him and made your way out of this maze of hallways and theaters and fitness rooms and ballrooms and countless dining rooms and you headed in what you hoped was the direction of his bedroom. You got turned around but with a few light pushes steering you in the right direction you eventually found the familiar kitchen with its spotlessly clean countertop and you could definitely find your way back to the comfort of his bed and the comfort of his arms from here.

[To be Continued]

Links: Part 1, …. Part 13, Part 14, Part 15

[avianyuh]

hey can i request one with Baekhyun, where he and the reader (she´s also famous) broke up, months ago, so she went on hiatus and after coming back, she gave a statement saying she was really sick so Baek finds out and reach to her.

thanks

HELLO, I haven't received an EXO request in a while! I'm so excited. This one is pretty long so I hope you enjoy it!

“I can’t do this anymore”, Baekhyun yelled as he slammed his fist down on the counter. You were separated by the kitchen island in his apartment. The two of you had been fighting for weeks over anything and everything. You knew it was stress. He had been booked and busy and so had you. Though you had an apartment of your own, the two of you spent the majority of your time at his place. So the past few weeks between your busy schedules consisting of studio sessions, photoshoots and variety show appearances, you would come home late, crawl into his bed regardless if he was home or not. 

For a little background, you had been together for three years. You met Baekhyun backstage at an award show. You had been in a successful group at the time and had just gone solo. You remembered being a nervous wreck that night as you were waiting backstage ro start your performance. He had been waiting with the rest of his members for their own performance, and had been subtly watching you from across the room. It sounded cliche but that was the truth. And although he knew of you, he had never spoken to you but he could tell you were nervous and needed some reassurance. So he stood up, put his hands in the pockets of his dress pants and started to slowly make his way over to you. The thing was, you had been so lost in your own thoughts that you hadn’t even noticed that he was now hovering over you as you sat on the edge of the bench in the waiting area. He took notice of how distracted you were so he cleared his throat in an effort to get your attention, which fortunately for him worked. You looked up, startled to see him standing over you. At first you thought he needed to get past you, so you scooted away and ushered with your arms for him to walk past you. Though all that did was make him laugh and motion no with his hands before he sat down next to you. 

“I can tell you’re nervous”, he said, his voice soothing, you felt yourself relax a bit as you stared into his eyes. “You have nothing to worry about, you have a beautiful voice and your songs are good. I can’t go anywhere without hearing them, people love you.” You shyly thanked him but shook your head no. 

“Thank you for trying to cheer me up but everyone who already went on has a better set than me, I think I’ll be the underwhelming performer of the night.” To that he looked at you with confusion. It was that kind of Are you serious? look.

“I mean, you’re entitled to your opinion, but you’re wrong. I know you’ll do great. And by the way, we all get nervous, it doesn't matter how many times you’ve performed, or if you’re in a group or alone, it’s always nerve-racking, but you’re here for a reason. That reason is because you can sing.”, Baekhyun said as he playfully nudged you before standing up. But before he went back to his group, he looked back at you and gave you a wink. Not going to lie, he made you blush. And he did reassure you because 15 minutes later you were on stage and you killed it. The next day all you saw on the news was praise. And later that night you exchanged phone numbers with Baekhyun and the rest was history. 

It was great for almost all of your relationship but since Baekhyun had been having problems with his company and was planning on leaving, things had become a little tense. For the first two years you had kept things private. But at the start of your third year together you both had come to the conclusion that you were sick of hiding and wanted to go public, so you did. It was rough the first few weeks and the headlines were brutal. You had never had much heat in your career, the only negative press you had ever received up until that point was your group’s disbandment. Especially since your solo career had done so well, some people claimed you sabotaged the group. It hurt, mainly because it wasn’t true, but you had survived it. And the same went for your relationship. Some people were mad, but you both survived it. But now you were getting nervous. It seemed like you and Baekhyun had been moving towards a breakup. But that was the last thing you wanted. But right now, you weren’t so sure you knew what Baekhyun wanted. 

Your voice quivered, “W-what do you mean you can’t do this anymore”, tears welled up in your eyes but you refused to let them fall, you had to show him that you were confident, confident that this phase of your relationship would pass. 

“Y/n, I can’t keep doing this. WE can’t keep doing this. The constant fighting. I come home, we talk and an hour later something sets one of us off.”, you knew he had a point. You looked at him from across the counter. He had dark circles under his eyes, which weren’t from you, but the stress from work, but the unstable homelife probably wasn’t helping, you had to admit. His hair was disheveled and he was wearing a baggy t-shirt. 

It was 12 in the morning and you should’ve been asleep but as the two of you had been laying in bed an hour ago, just as you were starting to drift off, Baekhyun told you as he held you in his arms, half asleep, that he had to go overseas for two months for a new project. You sat straight up from the shock of the news and your eyes that were fighting to say open a minute ago were now bugging out. 

“I’m sorry what”, you snapped. “You just came back from filming something in L.A? Now you’re leaving again. I think I’ve seen you maybe a handful of times this year. And I can’t remember the last time we went on a date.” His response? A sigh. You couldn’t believe it. He was acting like you were crazy and that just made you angrier. So now you’re here, standing across from him, an hour later. And though you hadn’t looked in a mirror, your own appearance mimicked his. You had eyebags to match his, your hair looked like a hairbrush hadn’t been through it in days even though you had just brushed it that morning, you were in your sweatpants and one of his shirts. You both looked stressed. You had your own problems too. Your album had been delayed another three months and your fans, though very loyal to you, not to mention protective, were starting to get impatient considering this was the second delay of your comeback. 

You felt like he didn’t care. And that he wasn’t the same man from three years ago that came up to you in the waiting area and reassured you despite the fact he didn’t have to. 

You took a sharp inhale, tears blurring your vision, you knew you were reaching your breaking point. Something had to change. “So…what do you want to do? Breakup? Take a break? Go to bed and talk about it in the morning?”, you were throwing out as many possibilities as you could, though you hated the first two options, you knew you had to consider them at this point. Baekhyun leaned against the counter behind him. He looked down at the floor for a long while before he looked back up at you. He said nothing, just pursed his lips. Because you knew him so well, you had gotten your answer. You swallowed hard and tried to stop the tears from falling. He came over to you, kissed your forehead and pulled you into his embrace. You breathed him in, melting in his arms. You knew this was the last time you’d have him all to yourself. To feel safe and secure. 

The next morning you packed your stuff up, he drove you to your apartment, came in and got his own things he had left at your place and got ready to leave. 

The two of you stood in the doorway, just looking at each other. Sadness evident on both of your faces. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on your lips. You couldn’t bring yourself to hate him, even after the countless fights. You loved him too much. 

Turns out the three month delay had turned into a sixth month delay of your album. You and Baekhyun had decided to wait a month before announcing the split. The last time you contacted him was over text right after the breakup. You had asked if you should tell your company or not, to which he said he thought you should wait. You were sure why he wanted to hold off on a split announcement. And a small part of you hoped it was because any day now he’d be at your door, a hysterical mess and take back the breakup. But to your dismay that never happened. Between losing the life of your life to a bunch of petty fights and frustrations from your jobs, the stress of the album delays and rerecordings and scrapings of songs had amounted to you falling ill. All the stress you had been under had actually made you physically sick. So you laid low, didn;t really go out and just loathed in your self-pity. It wasn’t until a friend of yours had shown up at your apartment one day and talked some sense back into you. A month later you were officially back. You had your ‘mask’ on, pretending to be strong. Luckily you had recovered fully and you could at least prove to the world that you were healthy. Your long overdue album had reached the top of the charts, everything was going well and your schedule was booked up again. You had work back in your life to fill the void in your heart. But you knew that only one man could truly fill the empty space. And that was life for a few weeks. It wasn’t until you had gone on a talk show and had been asked about those few months you were on hiatus that you finally revealed you had been sick. That your body had been put under too much stress. The interviewer gasped as you nodded. Though you weren’t the biggest fan of oversharing, it did feel good to know that your fans were aware of why you had been gone for so long. All of the support rolled in online. Things were starting to look positive again. 

But everything changed the night the interview aired on TV. You heard a knock on your door. You had been sitting on your couch, scrolling through your phone. The time read 9:08. You were hesitant to even approach your door, but when you looked at the front door camera, you felt your heart race increase. There he was. Baekhyun. You immediately unlocked the door. It swung open and he looked down at you, eyes full of concern. 

“Baekhyun? What are you doing here”, you asked as you stepped aside to let him in. But he stood in the same spot outside of the door. 

“I had no idea you had gotten sick. Why didn’t you call me?”, he asked as he reached for your hands. You looked down for a second. 

“I thought we weren’t on speaking terms anymore”, you whispered. 

“I think the whole breakup thing was a bad idea. I miss you”, he said as his hand caressed your cheek. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. You felt tears well up in your eyes, you had been holding it in, just how much you had missed him. He still had bags under his eyes. “Have you been sleeping well”, you asked, concern was laced into your question. 

“Is it obvious?”, he responded. You laughed as you brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes. 

“No more fights.” you stated. 

“No more fights”, he repeated. 

“I love you” you said simultaneously. 

[hyuniebaby]

(un)certainties

Pairing: Byun Baekhyun x Reader

Word count: 0.9k

“You aren’t well versed in love. And the things that you do know of love, you’ve learned from Byun Baekhyun.”

You’re not sure how things ended up this way.

The air is stuffy and stale. No sound can be heard aside from the occasional scraping of the utensils against the plates and the clock ticking on the wall. It makes you a little bit self conscious about your own breathing — afraid that it would disrupt the atmosphere if you breathed too deeply.

You pretend to take a sip on your glass of wine and sneak a peek at the person in front of you.

Byun Baekhyun seems to be unperturbed. He maintains a blank, impassive face.

It makes you wonder, does this silence really not bother him?

A couple of years ago, at the very restaurant you’re both in, and on the exact same table you’re both seated at, things were a lot different. Back then, the air was filled with laughters and giggles, and random stories. At that time, conversation flowed freely, so much so that by nine in the evening you both barely even touched the food right in front of you.

But now, you’ve had your wine glass refilled thrice, and the night is just about to end without a single word being uttered.

It feels lonely, even with him there.

Just as you put your glass back down, Baekhyun raises his eyes to meet yours. You look away instantly when you notice him raise a brow.

You feel your ears burn from having been caught staring at him.

Fortunately, he doesn’t question your rather odd actions.

Unfortunately, he interprets your actions as something else, and the first words he tells you at this anniversary dinner is, “Do you want to go home?”

You suppose it’s pointless to stay much longer so you give him a curt smile and a nod.

Baekhyun returns the smile, but it doesn’t really make your heart skip. Not when it isn’t a genuine one. Not when it’s the practised smile he easily gives away to other people.

The car ride home isn’t silent, thanks to Baekhyun’s tendency to sing songs as he drives. At least that’s something that hasn’t changed over the years.

However, instead of admiring his talent, your mind chooses a different path for tonight. It goes wandering to uncharted territories, making you wonder if long term relationships are supposed to be this way.

Is it still considered normal if both of you make time for important events and go on dates but without talking to each other? Is it okay living under the same roof without connecting? Existing at the same timeline but moving on different paces?

The cold hard truth is you don’t actually know. You aren’t well versed in love. And the things that you do know of love, you’ve learned from Byun Baekhyun.

It is and has always been Baekhyun for you.

But is that the case with him too? Does he feel the same way with you?

You’re not sure — at least not anymore.

You go on with your separate routines by the time you get home. The night ends with Baekhyun leaving a kiss on your forehead before he turns his back to you to sleep.

It hurts. And before you know it, tears are falling from your eyes.

Is this really how it’s going to be in the long run? Are you supposed to get used to the silence and loneliness? Why does this make you feel miserable?

You stare at his back, and question whether it would be okay to reach out to him. Slowly, carefully, you scoot over towards him. Tentatively, you raise your arm to wrap around his torso.

You wait to see if he stirs awake, ready to pull away if he does. You watch for any signs of change in his breathing, but there isn’t any.

Despite the relief, your lips quiver.

He’s been so busy these past few months, he rarely ever goes home. You understand his duties and responsibilities, you really do. Besides, you’ve been through this before. You should be content that he’s here, that he’s taken a day off to spend with you. But why does it feel like he’s slipping through your fingers this time around?

You sigh and press your forehead against his back. You miss being this close to him. You miss his warmth. You miss his scent. You miss everything about him.

You press a kiss on his shoulder and pull back. Just as you start to lay on your back, you hear Baekhyun whimper faintly.

You suppose he too misses your warmth next to his, albeit unconsciously. It brings about a sad smile on your face. “What am I going to do with you?”

When you move closer to him, you gently rub your palms against his back. His whimpers immediately cease. You sit up to take a peek at his face and see him pouting in his sleep.

He’s adorable.

It temporarily eases your pain.

You run your hands through his hair and place a fleeting kiss on his nose.

You decide then and there that it wouldn’t be so bad if you poured more of your love to Baekhyun.

You’ll try harder for this. You’ll fight desperately for him. You’ll brave whatever sea or ocean despite the high waves and deadly currents, even if it means drowning in an endless abyss. As long as it means more time with Baekhyun. As long as it means more of him.

Because it is and has always been Baekhyun for you.

song references/inspiration: dinner by suho, jang jane, and let in by exo

[dilxcc]

Oop your head canons post got me intrigued,, Could you write something to show what would happen if baeks gf didn't tell him when she was going out with someone? Or anything else to show what you think his jealousy would be like hehe

only you ᡣ𐭩 byun baekhyun

fluff, slight angst, misunderstanding, jealous bacon, grammatical error

baekhyun x f!reader

it has been a while since you last saw your friend. that was why when he reached out to you, telling you he wanted to meet, you didn't hesitate and agreed immediately. except that you forgot to tell your boyfriend that you were going out with your friend. a guy, at that.

it hadn't occur to you to even tell baekhyun that you were going out with a friend. but the long talk you had with him, catching up with him about life made you forget to even check the time on your phone.

so when your friend had sent you home, with his car - you were slightly surprised to see baekhyung standing at the door with his arm crossed.

after saying goodbyes to your friend, you immediately rushed towards him a smile, arms slightly opened to pull him into a hug.

but what surprised you more was that he didn't reciprocate your hug.

you pulled away slightly, tilting your head in confusion when you looked at him. "what's wrong?" you asked softly, feeling dejected when he slipped out of your embrace. "you didn't tell me you were going out," he muttered, facing away from you.

then it clicked.

"oh... i'm sorry, baby- i really forgot to tell you," you explained, your hand resting on his arm. you could hear him sighing and pulled away. there was a deep ache in his heart. he couldn't get it out of his head. when that guy laughing with you and you smiled before saying your goodbyes.

"all you had to do was tell me," he gritted his teeth.

to be honest, he hated it. he hated being petty and trying to blame you for hanging out with your friend. it wasn't wrong. he knew it wasn't wrong. but he felt slightly insecured when he saw how you smiled at the guy. and adding the fact that you didn't tell him about it either.

he trusts you with all his heart. he does. but that image of you laughing with another guy kept on replaying in his head.

you didn't know what to do to comfort him. you felt bad and this was the first time that you had ever upset him.

.

and so the next few days, he kept on ignoring you. if he did talk to you, it would be of a mockery tone.

"this is so funny," was all you said. and he would reply with a, "oh, like how that guy made you laugh?"

it was getting on your nerves with how childish he was acting.

"baekhyun," you called him in a stern voice. he only rolled his eyes and continued eating his sandwich. "alright, what's wrong with you?" you sighed, rubbing your temples. "what do you mean? nothing's wrong," he shrugged.

"yeah, sure. nothing's wrong that it got you acting like this," you scoffed. you were right though. he knew you were right. baekhyun had promised himself to not be a jealous man. so how come that he is so jealous to the point that he's acting petty.

you stood in front of him, your eyes staring at his which he looked at everywhere else but your eyes. "babe," you started off softly. "baby," he still ignores you. "baekhyun,"

the third time you called him, you were getting frustrated that he still didn't answer. "byun baekhyun," you called him in a stern voice. this finally made him to look at you in the eyes, a pout present on his lips. "is this about that time i go out without telling you?" you sighed.

you knew. of course, you knew. he was embarrassed that he's acting so childish right now. even though there would be no way for you to leave him. right?

"no," he answered after a while. he figured that lying would lessen his embarrassment. you sighed for the hundreds time tonight. "baby, i told you that you don't need to be jealous of others," you said softly, your hand rubbing his arm comfortingly.

"i wasn't jealous," he crossed his arms together. you let out an amused chuckle. "sure, whatever you say,"