hearts at odds | baekyeon

13

Taeyeon finishes her work for the day and begins to pack her bag with anticipation for the weekend ahead. She can finally unwind and enjoy the much needed break she badly needs.

As she is ready to leave the office, Haewon, her younger colleague comes looking for her.

"Unnie..." The young lady calls out tentatively.

Taeyeon smiles at her sweetly, encouraging her to speak her mind.

"I have a networking dinner later, do you mind coming along with me?"

"You are going alone?"

"Yeah, the friend I was supposed to go with couldn't make it."

Taeyeon's mind flickers with uncertainty, a sense of caution lingering at the back of her mind.

She debates internally for a brief moment, eventually accepting the invitation.

She usually dislike attending events like these, but a young girl attending a networking dinner alone sounds like a recipe for disaster.

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As the girls reach the dining place, the heightened noise level hits Taeyeon's ears, a mixture of chatter and clinking cutlery.

She might have regretted accepting the invitation.

Despite the bustling atmosphere, Haewon leads them through the crowd, weaving between tables to the designated spot.

To Taeyeon's astonishment and anger, she had met one of the men before. He proudly shares that they both know each other as though they are long lost friends.

She feels skeptical about this networking session. Living the corporate life for so many years, she definitely knows the good and bad about various companies.

Along the way here, she did asked Haewon about the profile of the people she's meeting. The younger staff said she wasn't sure, which she nagged at her for being complacent about it. Fortunately she is able to accompany her today instead of allowing her to go to the pack of wolves alone.

Alcohol beverages cannot be excluded in socialising events and Taeyeon knows it. She kindly rejects the offer with a random reason on top of her mind. And her flare dress manages to hide her baby bump really well. Information about her private life will not be revealed to these people.

Making a mental note to herself, she resolves to inform her younger colleague later to never interact with people from this company.

Dinner went on as per usual where they talk about all the boring stuff going on in the company. Taeyeon has attended networking dinner hosted by this company before. She very well knows they are notorious for only talking without taking actions. God knows how they are able to survive thus far.

Since Haewon is still unaware about this company, Taeyeon has to remain vigilant, determined to keep both of them safe from these guys.

When the night gets later, Taeyeon feels her social battery running out, her eyelids too, are gradually getting heavier. Exhaustion is gradually consuming her as a whole.

Everybody except her has at least a cup of alcohol. One of the men constantly pushes her to drink, which she rejects politely, citing health reasons. It gets to a point where the pushing becomes too much, she raised her voice slightly and speaks firmly, then the man decides to stop.

However, the man continues to test the boundaries and tries to sit even closer to her, invading her personal space.

Her frustration starts bubbling, casting a glance to a lady that accompanied these guys here.

With a deepened frown and tightening of jaw, she communicates her displeasure and disapproval, mutedly imploring the lady to intervene.

Unsurprising to Taeyeon, the lady only smile at her apologetically. She wonders if all the ladies under this company are trained to behave like this during networking sessions. Those that she had attended before were similar too.

With a growing sense of unease and anger engulfing her, Taeyeon grits her teeth as she stares deadly into the man's eyes. "I would prefer if we have our own personal space here, it's getting stuffier."

Reluctantly, he complies, but his actions speak volumes as he continues to pour the alcohol while laughing in a dismissive manner. 

Usually when the situation escalates to this state, Taeyeon had her colleagues with her to escape right away. However, today, there are only two of them.

Nonetheless, she stands up and pulls Haewon to stand with her too. Got to try all the methods to escape this hell hole. "I'm sorry, it's getting late, we should leave already. The bill will be on us."

The man seated beside Taeyeon pulls her down by the wrist forcefully, causing an involuntary squeak of pain out of her mouth. The mother instincts kick in as her hand finds its way to her belly, rubbing it gently to calm her baby from the sudden shock.

"It's not that pain. You're so weak. Here, you should drink." The man pours her a cup of alcohol.

"It's still early to leave, we have one more friend coming." The other man chips in.

With panicked eyes, Haewon is already silently pleading to her colleague for support to get out from this uncomfortable situation.

Feeling the stress intensifies without a clear escape plan, anxiety in Taeyeon spikes. Haewon struggling silently also adds to her mounting distress as her mind races to search for a solution.

The lack of a clear escape strategy fills her with helplessness. How is she supposed to be accountable for both of their safety?

Taking the opportunity when the men are talking crudely among themselves while one of them tries to make a move on Haewon again, Taeyeon apologises inwardly for making her colleague the distraction for a moment.

She hastily digs through her bag for her phone and scans through her contacts to evaluate who she can call for help.

What in the world, there's no one. We are screwed.

When she continues to scroll from the start to the end of her contacts, a name catches her eyes.

Baekhyun.

He is the only person that has a higher chance to get them out of this situation. Not exactly the ideal person since she doesn't even know if he will entertain her texts. But no harm trying she hopes. If this fails, they will simply scream and run.

iIm sorry bt plase he l p

When she notices a shadow slowly looming over her, she taps even hastily on the screen with trembling fingers.

With each passing second, the erratic  rhythm of her heartbeat pounds strongly against her chest.

Thankfully, her fingers manage to move fast enough to send him her live location as well.

"What are you doing there, my lady?"

Taeyeon's skin crawls with repulsion, her stomach twisting in knots. She did not eat the food, but she can puke whatever is in her stomach at the intrusion of such intimacy from a guy she barely knows.

The man casually throws his arm over her waist, pulling her roughly to him as his fingers sprawl against her abdomen. Her response to push him away is met with resistance as he stubbornly refuses to budge.

To her surprise, he suddenly detaches away from her, raising his brow. She utilises this chance to scoot away from him and stick closer to Haewon.

"Are you fat or are you pregnant? Must be pregnant eh? That's why you are rejecting the alcohol. Look! You didn't even touch the cup I poured for you. I wonder where your husband is, or are you a single mother?"

As laughter erupts on the table, she feels a surge of frustration and disgust. The sound of their laughter ringing in her ears grates on her nerves. They are so insufferable. She wants to strangle them all.

Baekhyun, I know I am troublesome, but please, please, please don't ignore that text. I will do whatever it takes to not annoy you if you save us.