"What?"
My eyes widened as they locked in on Baekhyun's, wondering if I had even heard right. It was hard to tell whether he was joking or not - usually I would get a slight indication from the twitch of his lips or crinkling of his eyes... but his gaze was firm and his mouth showed no signs of curving into a teasing smile.
"Nothing," he answered quietly, finally breaking the silence. "I was just kidding."
The familiar smirk I knew and loved/hated fell upon my best friend's face, causing an odd sense of relief to flutter swiftly through me. It was almost funny how just one of my best friend's smiles could relieve so much - and yet, I could tell there was still something deeply rooted past his twinkling eyes.
Deciding to let whatever qualms I held loose, I quickly glanced towards the head of the class to make sure our teacher was still invested in her lecture, before reaching out to lightly jab Baekhyun with my pencil, "Even if we were wolves, you wouldn't be able to claim me as your mate."
My teasing caused me to laugh loudly, momentairly forgetting that we were in class as Baekhyun scoffed. "Who would even claim you, Ham-mi?"
One look from our teacher silenced our giggles as we quickly focused our attention back to the head of the class, but not before sharing a secretive look and playful smile.
I couldn't help but feel a little relieved at seeing Baekhyun act 'normal' again - I didn't know what was was going on for him to act the way he did before - but I didn't care, as long as my best friend was okay and smiling now.
____
Present Day
____
"Joohee is doing well, but I know she misses both of you very much. How's your trip going?"
"It's going fine, we should be done in about two days... JunHyuk and I miss Joohee so much. Thanks again for taking care of her, mom."
"It's no problem at all, you know your father and I love the time we have with her."
I took a long sip of my tea before glancing over to where Joohee was playing in the living room.
"How's dad?"
"He's well, remember to bring those candies he likes so much."
My daughter laughed, "JunHyuk and I already have a whole suitcase packed of it, that's one of the first things we took care of when we landed in China."
I laughed along with daughter, as she continued, "Well, I miss you guys. We'll be home soon - Give Joohee a big hug and kiss from us. Love you, mom."
"I will, I love you too, Minkyung."
I hung up the phone before making my way to place my cup of tea at the sink.
Joohee realized I was no longer talking, and stopped playing as she made her way over to me.
"Harmonee, can we continue your story now?"
I nodded, holding her hand, as we headed down the hallway to the room she was staying in. My husband and I had converted our guest room to match the decor of our grand-daughter's style - our previously bland room was now painted a rosy pink and boasted an array of posters and wall decorations related to Joohee's likes.
It wasn't exactly was she was used to at her own home, but I hoped it sufficed enough to entice my grand-daughter to return for future visits.
I helped her into bed, and sat down on a nearby chair as she snuggled into the covers.
