The Flowers You Left For Me.

A single white rose.

“You’re beautiful,” His words are soft. “Just like this rose.”

I hadn’t noticed before, but Baekhyun really is gentle. He hands me the rose and my eyes lock on its white petals. As I’m distracted from it's beauty, I sense him inching closer to me. I urge to move away, but my feet feel like they’re glued to the ground. Baekhyun lifts my chin so I meet his eyes. My body warms up as his nose touches mine. Part of me wants to go through with Baekhyun’s actions.

He’s the one who gave me those roses, right? It must be him.

He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer to his body. We’re so close that his exhale is my inhale. He licks his lips and gulps. His head moves past my face and his cheek brushes mine. My heart beats faster and it only worsens as Baekhyun’s breath tickles my neck and ears.

“I-” Baekhyun whispers. I hear him gulp loudly before he continued. “I-”

I gently push him back, leaving my hands on his chest. My eyes widen and I shake my head, trying to regain my senses.

You almost let him.

“Why did you bring me here?” I say blankly. My eyes stay on Baekhyun’s uniform.

Baekhyun looks shocked from my actions, but softens his expression almost immediately.

He’s teasing me right?

“Sorry.” Baekhyun smiles at himself.

I walk away, leaving his grasp and fix my eyes on the city lights. He walks over, next to me. He sticks his hands in his pockets, following my gaze.

“I let you think I brought you here for your sake. I just wanted to relieve stress, but I didn’t want to be alone. So I dragged you along with me.”

I look up at him, but his eyes don’t meet mine. His eyes move around, taking in the little details of the city view.

For some reason, I feel like I’m the reason he’s struggling and stressful. It’s my fault.

“Did you think I could help? I have problems of my own. My presence will only worsen-”

“When I’m with you, all my problems seem to vanish. It’s like we’re the only two people on earth. Nothing else matters.” Baekhyun smiles wider and looks up at the sky.

I nod in understanding. “I’m sorry, but I doubt I can do much to help.”

I turn around and head towards the pathway we came from. As I neared the path, He clears his throat and look back at him.

“You can,” He calls out after me. “You can help more than you think.”

There’s dead air between us. I stand a few feet away from him, watching his movements. His eyes lock with mine and I can see his sadness gather slowly. His hands were in the pockets of his jacket but I could tell he was nervous. The wind blows his hair to one side, gently moving his bangs out of his eyes.

An overwhelming feeling of guilt spreads through my body.

I make my way back to Baekhyun and tug his arm. He immediately looks at me. His expression brightens ever so slightly.

“Hm, what is it?”

I tug harder, making his hand flop out of his pocket. I lock hands with his, biting my lip, uncertainly.

“C’mon. We’re late for work.” I say, too embarrassed to meet his gaze.

He blinks in surprise, but grins at our skinship. I walk first, slightly pulling him behind me, but soon he catches up to walk next to me. Together, we walk slowly and cautiously down the mountain. At one point, he takes the lead because I don’t know which path to forgo. We walk in silence, hands still interlocked.

Just before we enter the dinner. I let go of his hand and fix my hair.

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun asks.

“Your father is going to kill both of us for being late to work. I at least want to look presentable.” I complain.

He laughs. “Relax, some weekdays are slow, so don’t fret.”

“You better be right, or so help me-” I stop myself as I watch him smile in amusement. I clear my throat. “Anyways… thank you for the rose, and everything today.”

“I should be the one thanking you.” He nudges me. “C’mon, we’ll talk after work, let’s go.”

He opens the door for us and I walk in first. The diner isn’t packed, but it isn’t empty. Chanyeol stands at the desk and looked over at us.

“Welco-” He stops talking as he sees Baekhyun and I enter. “A-ari… Hyung.”

“Thanks for covering for us, Chanyeol. I really appreciate it.” Baekhyun pats Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“Byun Baekhyun. Kim Areum.” Baekhyun and I freeze at Mr. Byun’s raspy voice. He walks into sight from the kitchen doors. Immediately, Baekhyun and I bow, looking apologetic.

“I’m sorry, sir. This won’t happen again.” I bow once more.

“Abeoji… (Father)” Baekhyun says with a soft expression.

“The next time you two skip work for a rondevu, you’re dead.” Mr. Byun says, dragging his thumb across his neck. “You’re lucky we weren’t that busy today.”

We look at each other and grin.

“Thank you, Mr. Byun.” I beam.

Baekhyun and his father converse and I space out. I look around the diner and find Minah staring at Baekhyun and I. Her jaw hardens and she redirects her attention to the customers.

I bite my lip and head straight to the back room. I bend down to tie my hair up. Nine pairs of eyes stared at me when I straighten up. I almost fall backwards in surprise.

“Uh… hi?” I blink, raising an eyebrow.

Friendly faces and smiles greet me. They pause and continue to converse with each other. My eyes fix on Kai. We stare at each other without a word.

“Ari, don’t bother changing into your...” I break my stare with Kai as Baekhyun walks through the door. He smiles when he sees the others. “So that’s where everyone was.”

Everyone greets Baekhyun. Minah comes from behind Baekhyun, pushing him for space to squeeze through the door. She goes next to me and takes her apron off. She untangles her bun and dusts off dirt from her clothing. Chanyeol, Kris and Suho come in a few moments later, doing the same.

“Mr. Byun said to close early. Should we go eat somewhere? Oh, how about karaoke?” Kris says, as he takes his apron off.

“Call!” Sehun snaps his fingers and shouts. He stands up and is the first to get his jacket. “Kris is treating us today!”

As everyone disperses with excitement to get ready, Baekhyun walks towards me.

“Let me help you.” Baekhyun suggests.

“It’s okay, I can do it.” I mutter. I can feel Minah eyeing and eavesdropping. It’s uncomfortable.

“Don’t-”

“Hyung.” Kai walks in between us. They stare at each other, communicating with fierce eyes.

I unconsciously take my apron off. My eyes don’t leave them. The way they look at each other is dangerous.

“I think I’m going to sit this one out, guys. Sorry.” I announce, drawing all of their attention towards me. “It’s been hard lately, and plus there’s a lot of homework. It’s better if I just go home.”

“No,” Chanyeol says as Baekhyun and Kai glare at each other.

“Don’t leave yet. You’ll miss out on a lot of fun.” He continues, sounding desperate.

I look at Kai who avoids my gaze. Why.

I watch him scratch his head and stare blankly at the wall, waiting for his plead for me to join them. It does not come.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” I say and brush past the three of them, leaving through the back door.

-----

Baekhyun’s POV

Everything is going as planned. I asked Chanyeol to cover for Areum and I. Today is the day I want to confess to Areum. I realised if I didn’t any sooner, Kai would take my place. I can’t let Areum be with that monster. He doesn’t deserve someone as special as her.

I pull out a white rose into Areum’s view.

“You’re beautiful,” I say, almost whispering. “Just like this rose.”

I see her face flushes red as I hand her the rose. She takes note of the detail on the flowers. The way her eyes widen at the sight of the flower makes me anxious, makes my heart beat faster.

I can’t hold myself back anymore. I slowly lean closer to her. I lift her chin slightly and her gorgeous, dark brown eyes beam at me. Everything about her turns me on.

It’s now or never… for some reason… she’s not stopping me like she usually would.

I touch her nose with mine. She’s letting me.

I feel the tip of my lips on hers, but I stop myself. You’re only being this bold because of Kai. You’re only acting like this because of Kai. You’re only penetrating her because you’re jealous their relationship. Of Kai. Kim. Jong. In.

I nonchalantly brush my cheek against her. It’s now or never.

The sound of my pounding heart is deafening. I try to speak normally, but a whisper comes out instead.

“I-” I whisper, shaking. “I-”

She pushes me away. My eyes widen, but I can tell how uncomfortable she is. Just as uncomfortable as I’m starting to feel.

“Why did you bring me here?” She says, shocking me with the tone of her voice. She doesn’t dare to meet my gaze.

Maybe I was too bold. I soften my expression. This isn’t what I originally planned. She’s shutting me out again. We’re starting from square one again.

“Sorry.” I smile foolishly.

She walks away from me, but I can’t stop her no matter how much I want to keep her in my arms. I walk over and stick my hands in my pockets, following her gaze.

“I let you think I brought you here for your sake. I just wanted to relieve stress, but I didn’t want to be alone. So I dragged you along with me.” Words start spewing out of my mouth without my control. My hands are frozen with fear in my pockets.

I feel her eyes on me, but leave my eyes on the beautiful city view.

“Did you think I could help? I have problems of my own. My presence will only worsen-”

“When I’m with you, all my problems seem to vanish. It’s like we’re the only two people on earth. Nothing else matters.” I smile and look at the sky. The clear blue colour calms me. I don’t want to get on her bad side right now. I want to be in harmony with her. Only her. Only Areum. My Areum.

“I’m sorry, but I doubt I can do much to help.” Her words are cold, too cold.

She’s slipping away from me. In panic, I blurt out the words I refuse to admit to myself.

“You can help more than you think.” I look down in defeat.

Good job Baekhyun. You lost her. Just like you lost-

She tugs my arm and I look at her in confusion. She came back. I hide an idiotic smile.

“Hm?” I ask.

She takes my hand out of my pocket and interlocks it with hers. I expect more, however knowing Areum’s personality, she’s not that type of girl. She bites her lip. I can tell she’s already having trouble dealing with the skinship. Especially because she’s the one who held my hand. And, I don’t plan on letting her go.

“C’mon. We’re late for work.” She says, too embarrassed to meet my gaze.

I smile at her cuteness. So she does care about me.

At the diner, father scolds me. He knows I have some sort of attraction towards her. He doesn’t have to tease me about it. When Areum leaves for the back room, he pulls me aside.

“I’m letting you go this time.” Father lowers his voice. “I’m rooting for you.”

“Thank you, Abeoji.” I smile.

“We’re closing the shop early, stop Areum from getting ready to work. You could’ve stayed longer with her you know.” He winks at me and I can’t help but smile wider.

I walk towards the back room and see Minah at the computer. She’s getting the receipt for the last customer.

“Where’d you two go?” She asks, eyes still on the screen.

“None of your business.” I respond. “I don’t even know why you thought you could speak to me.”

I hustle to the backroom. I want to take Areum out. I want to be with her longer.

Once the entire staff is in the backroom, Kris agrees to take us out for dinner and karaoke. I wonder how Areum is going to sing. I bet she has the most beautiful voice.

I walk over to Areum, brushing past Minah, to assist her.

“Let me help you.” I suggest.

“It’s okay, I can do it.” She mutter.

“Don’t-”

“Hyung.” Kai walks in between us. We stare at each other down. Here he was again and just when I thought he understood my message. I guess he just doesn’t know when to stop, just like the old him.

“I think I’m going to sit this one out, guys. Sorry.” Areum announces. “It’s been hard lately, and plus there’s a lot of homework. It’s better if I just go home.”

“No.” Chanyeol cut in before Kai and I could respond.

She can’t leave and slip out of my hands. I’m so close.

“Don’t leave yet. You’ll miss out on a lot of fun.” Chanyeol goes to her from the corner of my eye.

Her eyes linger on Kai but thankfully, he knows his place. His eyes look around the room, avoiding her gaze. She looks disappointed.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Without a word, she leaves through the backdoor.

Once she’s out of sight, I immediately grab Kai’s collar. I urge to punch him in the face with the amount of frustration I had built up. However, the rest of the guys hold both of us back.

“What was that? Why did you come between us?” I question. “What gives you the right to do that!”

“Hyung, I don’t know how much longer I’m going to go through with this.” Kai yells. “I can’t stop. She’s everywhere. I can’t get her off of my mind.”

“I am your older brother. My family practically raised you! Why betray me now?”

“Areum has nothing to do with that! You can’t use that as an excuse!” Kai raises his voice.

“I don’t care!” I push him back. “Don’t you ever raise your voice to me. I won. Fair and square. We made a pact. Don’t go against your words. What more do I have to explain?”

“What is going on in here?” My father walks in the room.

No response.

“Just let it go and have fun tonight, hm? I don’t want my employees fighting. It’ll cause more drama than needed around here. I’ll be upstairs if anyone needs me.”

After he leaves, silence fills the room. My hands mold into fists. I can’t disappoint my father, my friends, Areum.

I move around and finally the guys let go of me. I grab my jacket and burst through the backdoor.

I need to take a walk.

Notes

So this chapter is a bit heavy.... meh, it's about time. Baekhyun and Kai... whats going on?...who's going to win? Why are they fighting in the first place? hm? Hm? HM? (wink)

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Hope monday's not that boring, readers...

Hope this chapter's not that boring, readers...

See you in the next chapter, EXO-L

-Alexis Thao

<3

P.S. LOOOL the websites been dead lately (no offense to the awesome writers atm) literally NO ONE is updating anymore HUHDFLIUEWHJSFNLIUSEKJD I check everyday lol *no life* jp but still

PEOPLE UPDATE YOUR GODDAMN STORIES LMAO