SOUR - BAEKHYUN

007

"I didn't know that best friend equals to slave," Sehun grumbled and pushed up the sleeves of his shirt to get to work. His slender Fingers found the knots that had formed under her skin Immediately, so he gently started pressing on them. A hiss left her lips at the pain but she bit her lip and endured it. Sehun clicked his tongue and started nagging right away. "You are in maternity to rest and take it easy and yet you are still overworking your body." He reprimanded like an exasperated mom.

'and yet you are still overworking your body.' The words echoed in her head, shrouded in familiarity.

"I-" Soon-ok had barely had the chance to gasp before her best friend had interrupted her once again, unconsciously pressing harder on her knots as he spoke animatedly, making her contort her body in pain. "Don't even think about saying any excuses because these knots speak for themselves." He cut her off sternly. The woman simply closed her mouth, falling into deep thought because his words were something she had heard before. A deja-vu kind of feeling washed over her as the position she and Sehun were in, his words and the tone in his voice sounded ever so familiar. As if she was reliving a memory but with a different person.

Then it hit her.

The woman had no idea what to do or say when all of a sudden she felt dazed, but this time she was afraid that it wasn't because of her pregnancy. A trembling sigh left her lips when the man seated behind her let his thumbs wander towards the center of her back, pressing down onto the big knot that had formed there during her working hours. Soon-ok hissed in pain and pleasure, to which Baekhyun hummed knowingly.

"This is what happens when you overwork yourself," He scolded sternly while massaging her shoulders, finally using his beautiful hands to their full potential. "You can't be so stubborn because you don't only have yourself to take care of! You can't forget about that." His nagging continued, but there was never even a crumb of hostility and the motions of his hands never became harsh. "Most importantly, you should have woken me up for God's sake, you can't do all the work by yourself-"

The memory replayed in her head like a movie, a nostalgic film, coated in sheer yet warm colors, frames that she had seen a long time ago. Baekhyun's voice in her head sounded so vacant...Almost as if it was slipping through the cracks of her finger. As if she was slowly forgetting the way it truly sounded like, and the fact tugged the strings of her heart. Tucking her chin over her knees, the woman hugged herself as her best friend massaged her back, without realizing it she had gone extremely quiet, basking in the warmth of that memory.

She shook her head frantically, she shouldn't, Soon-ok warned herself. She forbid herself to relive these moments, to think about Baekhyun because he was another man that had hurt her. A man that had gently swayed her off her feet, and then pushed her back to the ground, only to act like he hadn't done anything wrong. Seojun had at least admitted his actions while he- he just kept playing dumb and there was nothing that irked the woman more than such behavior.

"Hey," only when Sehun's voice had resounded from next to her ear had she been brought back to reality. Realization dawned on her and she noticed how the man had circled his arms around her shoulders from behind, hugging her back close to his chest, Soon-ok inhaled his calming scent and let herself lean completely into her friend that was offering his rhythmic heartbeat to soothe her. Sehun's sheer cologne smelled like home, indeed there would never be an instance where she wouldn't feel safe when with him.

"Are you alright?" He murmured, a hint of worry detectable in his voice, but Soon-ok was quick to assure him with a bob of her head.

"I'm alright," She said, deep within, not especially sure whether she believed herself or not. But she had to be. For her baby. Sehun nodded into the crook of her neck, happy with the answer he had gotten. His hair kept tickling her skin and she couldn't help but arch her arm, accidentally squeezing his head between her neck and shoulder. The man let out a groan, detaching himself immediately while still keeping her tucked in his chest. "Woman, what the hell," Sehun whined through his grumpily pouting lips. Soon-ok giggled, turning around slightly to show him her teasing smile as it was her turn to flick his forehead. "Your hair was tickling me!" She defended herself, "It's not my fault." The friend simply shook his head, knowing that any kind of retort would not help him win the argument. Silently, he took her back into his arms but this time tucked her head underneath his chin to avoid any accident.