Love Again | Baekhyun

12 | Traitor

Baekhyun stirred in his sleep, burying his face into the pillow when light from the window became too bright. His hand reached out for Sarang, blindly looking for her beside him. But then he furrowed his brows, lifting his head and opening his eyes just to find her gone.

That was weird. Baekhyun turned his head towards the bathroom door, but it was quiet, no sound of running water. He then sat up, noticing that her phone was gone and her overnight bag wasn't where she left it on the floor either.

Well that was just cold. He huffed and got up, quickly throwing on his pajamas and walking out to look for her in the living room, then the kitchen, then the guest restroom.

But his house was empty.

Baekhyun let out a dry laugh, actually feeling kind of hurt, but he was sure she had a good explanation. He went back to his bedroom to search for his phone, intending to call her and scold her for breaking his heart, but he was met with lots of notifications instead. From his manager, EXO's head manager, EXO's group chat, some of his family members, and none from Sarang.

Baekhyun opened all of them, letting out a tired sigh once he found out what it was about. There were multiple articles from multiple sites already, pictures of him and Sarang at the grocery store spreading like wildfire. The one of them sort of leaning towards each other in the car was what had people going crazy, it looked like they were kissing.

He didn't even think he kissed her in the car last night, this picture was purely angles. Although, of course, they weren't wrong about the part where she was his girlfriend. He shook his head and left all the messages unanswered, calling Sarang instead. The dial tone kept on ringing but she never picked up. He furrowed his brows, where is she?

Baekhyun tossed his phone on the bed, deciding he wasn't in the mood to deal with it. He wasn't in the mood to deal with much after waking up alone. The only thing keeping him somewhat energized as he hopped in the shower was the possibility that Sarang might meet him at the studio.

Faint scratches on his back stung under the running water, sending his thoughts back to last night. Her lips, her hands, her legs, her collarbones, her breath, her voice, her nails, her neck.

Her I love you.

With a record breaking get-ready time, Baekhyun jumped in his car and sped towards SM's building. Once he arrived, he went straight up to the studio.

"Baekhyun-ah, why didn't you answer my text?" Kwang Ji immediately said, shooting up from his seat. His manager was the only one there, even the composers weren't there yet. Baekhyun's shoulders sagged. "Where is she?" Kwang Ji asked, seemingly looking for the same person.

"Sarang? I don't know." He went over to the couch and dropped himself on it, his mood getting increasingly worse.

"Baekhyun, this rumor is serious. The timing is horrible, we need a lot of support for your solo project. We should tell the press that she's just a friend." Kwang Ji went on talking more, but Baekhyun practically zoned everything out. He kept thinking of Sarang. Why would she leave without a word like that? "Baekhyun, are you listening?" The manager raised his voice, standing there with a furious expression.

Baekhyun sighed, "We didn't kiss in the car, that picture is bullshit. I just went grocery shopping with her, alright? I do that with any friend, tell that to the media."

Kwang Ji let out a frustrated breath, rubbing his temple. Baekhyun was so sick of scandals, people would make a scandal out of nothing, what was he supposed to do? Stay inside and never interact with a human, ever? "Fine, you just focus on working today. I'll take care of it." Kwang Ji said defeatedly, starting to walk out the door before pausing. "And be more careful with her."