The Contract (complete)

Baekhyun: Chapter 10

It takes a lot of self control for you to hold back from saying something particularly caustic. Thankfully, Baekhyun breaks the pressure by pulling away from Min and hurriedly saying, "We can eat dinner, that's alright."

"That's great," Min says, reaching for his arm again, but once more Baekhyun evades her moves by folding his hands behind his back and rocking back and forth on his heels. She stares at her outstretched fingers before returning her hands to her side and glancing at her 'boyfriend'. "Shall we go?"

"Sure," you reply, making a move to follow her. Before you can keep your position by Baekhyun, Min stands beside him. You suppose her thought process is that, if she can't hold his hand, she might as well be as close to him as she possibly can. Unwilling to feel miffed, you decide to walk next to the new guy, who is busy staring at their backs with wide eyes.

"So uh, what's your name?" You ask him, trying to make conversation. He jolts, as if your words have suddenly brought him back from his own thoughts.

"Uh, Chanyeol," he responds, his deep, rich voice resonating from within his chest. He clears his throat and awkwardly walks alongside you, staring at the ground as he tries to parallel his step to yours.

"Do you, um, know Min well?"

He shakes his head. "Not really. She's my neighbor. But I don't talk to her."

"So you don't have a crush on her."

He looks at you, surprised. "Where'd you get that?"

"Min," you shrug, and he just nods like he completely understands. "She said she got confessed to this morning. But if you didn't do it, then I guess somebody else did."

"Well, I did see her this morning," Chanyeol ponders out loud. "But I only said good morning. And then she came by my house a few hours ago and said she needed to go to the city, and she needed me to take her, so I did." He makes a face at this, puffing up his cheeks and sighing. "I didn't really have anything to do, anyway. So I came."

"And now you're on a date," you conclude as you pass by a street light. You watch as Min pretends to trip on something, but Baekhyun barely even reacts to her dramatic act. She flips her hair over her shoulder and continues to walk adamantly. "She always like that?"

"Flirty? Not really. She's actually pretty nice," Chanyeol informs you, and you can't help but be shocked at this. Nice? Min? Nice? That's like, impossible. "I mean it," he pushes his statement, realizing that you don't believe him. "This is the first time I've seen her like this. But I guess I don't know her that well, so maybe she's like this all along and I never noticed." He bends down to pick up a discarded water bottle from the floor and throws it into a nearby trash can. "I don't know," he resumes. "I just came because she said she'd get me food."

You laugh. "Sounds like a deal to me."

"We're here," Min yells over her shoulder. Seeing you talking to Chanyeol, she smirks, "You guys look good together," earning a curious Baekhyun to turn your way. His eyes rest on you, and once more you can't tell what he's thinking. You reach them both just as Baekhyun pulls open the door to the restaurant, allowing all of you inside.

Min enters first, followed by Chanyeol. You trail behind and wait for Baekhyun to follow you, and when he does, he leans in and whispers in your ear, "Is he nice?"

"Why do you want to know?" You whisper back. The restaurant is dimly lit; you almost trip in your lack of awareness. Baekhyun steadies you by placing a hand on your arm, but you shake him off before any potential feelings can arise and further muddy things. 

Min is sitting at a table with Chanyeol across from her. She gestures for Baekhyun to sit beside her, and because you don't object, he does as he's told. A waiter comes to take your orders, but you're too busy watching Min to even notice what food is on the menu, much less look around at the restaurant. You vaguely recall asking the waiter about their most popular dish and requesting that specific order before you resolve to keep an eye on Min the whole night as she babbles on, and on, and on, about her life. Baekhyun nods in all the right places, but Chanyeol just cups his chin in his hands and occasionally murmurs that he's hungry. All in all, it's a boring dinner, so you decide to excuse yourself to the bathroom to take a break from the maladroit atmosphere.

Once in the bathroom, you stare at your reflection in the mirror for a moment, gazing at your eyes and wondering if Baekhyun can see right through you. If he could, what does he see? You yourself don't know what's inside you right now and what sort of feelings are tossing in your heart and mind. You almost want someone to see them for you, just so you can ask them to tell you, just so you can know and finally start to have a grasp on things. 

The door opens, and Min enters, a silly grin on her face. Noticing you, she frowns and moves to stand next you, meeting your eyes that are reflected in the mirror. "He's single if you want him."

"I'm taken," you remind her. She scoffs.

"You're a horrible actress."

"Oh?" You turn on her and smile sweetly. "So are you."

She glowers at you for a bit, but before things can get ugly, she sighs and decides to redirect the subject. Combing her hair with her fingers, she states, "Baekhyun is too nice, don't you think?" You don't reply, because you know it's the truth. She goes on, adding, "One of these days, his being nice isn't going to help him. It's his weakness, really. But it's ours, too. He's naively sincere. Why do you think I like him?"

"Because he's a dork?" You suggest, not meaning anything rude by it. That's just who Baekhyun is. He's a total dork. Just, well ... a cute one.

"Because no matter how many times I confessed to him, and he rejected me, he always told me he was sorry like he meant it. Always." She stops, her fingers half-in her hair, and turns to you. "You don't know what that feels like, do you? Being rejected? And having that person tell you that they're sorry like they actually mean it? Nobody is that sincere anymore. Or honest. Not even me." She takes her lipstick out of her bag and easily swipes it across her lips. "Going back in. Nice talk." Without giving you a chance to reply, she exits the bathroom, letting you carefully ponder on what she had just said.

You return to the restaurant eventually, and while the mood is no livelier than it had been minutes ago, the tension has somewhat dissipated. Sometime while you were gone, Baekhyun and Chanyeol had formed a sudden bromance that is now filled with jovial remarks. Min just chews on her food and tries to input her opinions at random times in the conversation while you stay quiet, wanting to partake but feeling unwanted.

The dinner ends, and when you step out onto the street, the city lights shine spectacularly in the night. Chanyeol pauses beside you, tilting his head back as he stares at the twinkling stars that positively glow in the dark sky. He sighs contentedly, his breath coming out in a swirl of gray and white, and looks to you with a smile. "Had fun?"

"Sure," you reply. "Like your food?"

"It was the best!" He says, grinning and giving you a thumbs up. You give him a thumbs up back as Baekhyun approaches you, his shoes softly crunching against the asphalt.

"Are you heading home? Want me to take you?" He asks, searching your eyes with concern. Min stands behind him, blankly staring at you over his shoulder.

"She lives close by, doesn't she?" Min asks. "I live farther away."

"Do you?" Baekhyun clarifies his proffer, ignoring Min.

You shake your head. Min might kill you. Not that you're daunted by that fact; you're merely using that as an excuse. In reality, you fear that if you have him walk you home like he's done countless times before, more chances for your heart to hurt might arise. And you don't want that. Not now. And not ever.

Because you think that there might be a small chance - a tiny chance, a chance so minuscule that it can only be slightly felt and never seen - that you like Baekhyun.

"No," you reply. "Thanks, though."

Baekhyun raises his brows at this, looking at you with a tender face that pulls at your defenses. "It's my job," he tells you firmly, "to say goodnight to my girl."

"So goodnight," you say, blushing. You're not used to this type of sweet Baekhyun. Min and Chanyeol are watching you, and you squirm underneath their gazes, feeling uncomfortable. "We said it. I'm going now." You turn around to walk away, clearly intent on leaving those three behind in your sorry wake.

"Wait," Baekhyun calls out, jogging up to you. You pause and begin to turn around just so you can say something smart and biting at him, but instead of doing the predictable, he cups your face in his hands and quickly, suddenly, softly, presses his lips against yours. He pulls back, his eyes bright with surprise, as if he hadn't expected himself to do that, and whispers, "Goodnight."