*.☽.*
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It was hard to get Baekhyun off my mind the whole day. It seemed as if he cast some sort of a spell over me.
I thought about him while I walked along with my broken bike to my uncle's shop. The truth was, I kept smiling and I had to stop doing it or else people would start thinking that I had gone nuts.
In the afternoon, Aunt Sunny, Ji Hye and I went to the town center to buy things for the renovation of a flower shop. We bought some shabby chic designed furniture that would suit the vintage-like image of the flower shop.
When we finished buying the furniture and other things needed for the interior of the shop, Ji Hye and I went to the supermarket to buy groceries while Aunt Sunny went to check on the kitchenware section.
I enjoyed shopping with them and I thought I could finally free my mind from Baekhyun but I was so wrong. Wrong because when we went to buy groceries, his photo was on the shopping cart, the one Ji Hye insisted on using. I couldn't hide my surprise, so I asked Ji Hye what his picture was there and she said it was a fan project for his birthday this year.
Wow, his popularity's on another level. I thought.
"What are you going to do when you see him in person Ji Hye?" I asked my cousin while she took a picture of our shopping cart.
"Hmmm...I think I would cry Eonnie." She answered without hesitation.
"Why would you cry?"
"Well, fans do that when they see their idols for the first time." She paused as if trying to think of her next words. "Maybe I'll shout before I cry. Then I will hug him and tell him how much I like him. I will tell him that for me, his voice is the most beautiful in the world." She said, this time with a dreamy expression on her face.
"Does he have a girlfriend?" I didn't know why I had to ask that kind of question.
Maybe it was because my transition wasn't that smooth that the look on Ji Hye's face changed. And I could tell that it was not a good expression at all.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Well, we don't know if he has a girlfriend. Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn't. I don't know exactly." She responded shrugging. "Celebrities normally keep it a secret because they know a lot of fans will get angry."
"Really?"
She nodded. "But of course I want him to be happy Eonnie. I hope he will have someone who will love him in the future." She added. "I'm way too young for him, anyway."
I smiled at my cousin's unexpected maturity. I honestly expected her to throw a fit because of my question.
"Oh! Strawberries!" Ji Hye exclaimed as we reached the fruit section.
She ran towards the strawberry area and I tailed right behind her.
"It's Baekhyun's favorite fruit Eonnie!" She told me right after I stood next to her.
I paused and thought about what Baekhyun said about strawberries up in the mountain.
"His favorite fruit?" I asked.
Ji Hye nodded eagerly. "He likes strawberries a lot. He even likes strawberry-flavoured food and drinks too. Wait, let me show you something Eonnie."
She unlocked her phone and another second later she was already showing me a video of Baekhyun in a particular show where he was happily picking the strawberries from the cake. My eyes widened when he put three strawberries inside his mouth at the same time causing his cheeks to look bigger. He looked so cute and happy while he tried to chew the strawberries.
"He loves strawberries that much?" I couldn't believe he just did that.
"Yes Eonnie, he's so cute right?"
"Yeah," I answered absentminded while I watched how his eyes lit up while eating. "Very."
"Can we buy some?"
"You want some?"
Ji Hye nodded.
"Okay." I agreed as I stopped the video or else I'd start smiling like crazy again.
***
It was almost midnight. I was on my bed, staring at my phone. And yes, I felt like a fool because I was secretly hoping he'd send me a message again or something, which never happened until I grew sleepy and eventually dozed off.
In the morning, the first thing I checked was my phone. I saw four new messages but none of them were from Baekhyun. I sighed as I got off the bed and went straight to the bathroom.
I stood in front of the mirror right above the sink. I was pretty sure now that I made a fool of myself. What was I expecting? He's a celebrity. I was just a stranger he met in the mountains.
Hours passed, and I couldn't help but feel frustrated no matter how much I tried to lift my mood. So, I made a great deal of effort to keep myself busy. Since we were supposed to re-decorate the flower shop, I volunteered to help my aunt. I majored in Interior Design, so this would be a perfect distraction.
Aunt Sunny also hired someone who would help us with all the heavy things. His name was Mr. Park. A family man who lived a few blocks from us.
The shop wasn't that big, it didn't take that long. And when we finished, we both felt so proud. It had the vintage aura that we wanted to achieve.
"Wow, Auntie! The shop looks new and very interesting." I told her smiling.
"I know." She replied smiling while she roams her attention to her freshly furnished shop. "Thanks Hae Won. You're good at this."
"Thanks, Auntie."
"Your previous employer must have been sad when you told them you'd quit."
"Well...they told me they'd wait for me to come back," I told her.
"You should come back. You have a talent."
I thanked her once more. I knew deep down that I would be coming back to do stuff like this again. Designing made me happy. Satisfied clients made me happy. I couldn't imagine myself doing other jobs aside from interior design.
***
Before I went to bed that night, I got a little bit annoyed because my phone seemed to magnet my attention to it. I still couldn't help but glance at it from time to time. So, I made sure to take it out of my sight. I impulsively slid it into the drawer of the bedside table before I covered my body, including my head, with my blanket.
***
I went to Uncle Jin Woo's shop the next morning to pick up my bike. Right when I got home, I heard my aunt talking on the phone about a delivery that needed to be done. However, her delivery man was not available today. I cheerfully volunteered and Aunt Sunny couldn't almost believe what I just said.
"No. I won't let you."
Aunt Sunny doubted to let me do it for a minute since she accidentally knew about my difficulty when it came to remembering directions from my mom. However, I insisted that I could do it. And the customer's place wasn't that far from the shop. It was only about twenty minutes away.
"C'mon Auntie, It's just for today anyway and I don't have anything to do today. You can't leave the shop too."
She looked at me, probably thinking if she should let me or not.
"Okay but make sure to send me a message the moment you get confused or something okay?" She finally said allowing me, sounding like my mom.
I nodded and smiled at her.
***
9:23 AM
I was already cycling to the place of delivery. I placed the beautiful bouquet of baby pink carnations and white roses in the bike basket in front of me.
I had always loved baby pink carnations. I loved how they looked so soft and cottony. I also like the simplicity they possess.
As I went along, I looked and tried to remember the landmarks I happened to pass. I saw a cake store named Sweet Galaxies. I mouthed the name of the store about four times telling my brain to remember it very well. And after about another ten minutes, I saw the place. I checked the address from my purse and my lips formed into a smile when I confirmed it.
This was easy. I thought
I got off the bike and stood in front of a green gate while trying to fish for my phone inside my purse only to find out that I didn't have it with me. My thoughts automatically traveled to last night. I recalled putting it inside the bedside table's drawer. I couldn't believe I forgot about my phone.
"Great. Just great." I said with gritted teeth while I tucked my hair behind my right ear.
Since there was no way for me to contact the customer, I pressed the doorbell. Luckily, someone opened the door after a couple of minutes. It was an elder man, who I instantly judged to be in his late fifties.
"Good morning." I greeted.
"Oh, the flowers are here!" He exclaimed, a beautiful smile crossing his face.
I instantly felt happy seeing how delighted the elder man looked.
"Yes, these are your flowers right?" I asked.
"Well, not mine exactly." He replied laughing.
I chuckled. "I mean yeah, of course."
I handed the bouquet to him.
"These are for my wife. It's her birthday and these flowers always make her happy."
"That's so sweet," I told him.
He let out a soft laugh before paying for the flowers. I was amazed because it was like his love for his wife was written all over his face. Right at that moment, I hoped something like this would happen to me in the future.
I mean, sure I did receive flowers before but this kind of stuff was different.
After saying goodbye, I rode my bike again and started to make my way home.
Maybe the village wasn't that complicated because I was able to easily locate the cake stop and made my way home with ease.
When I got to the shop, I told my aunt about how smooth the delivery went and how the customer looked so happy when he saw the flowers. Then she told me that he was Mr. Choi. She also told me how he never forgets to buy or order flowers for her wife. I found that very heart-warming especially when I remembered how beautiful and happy he was a while ago.
Aunt Sunny also congratulated me for not getting lost but she swore that she wouldn't let me do it again in the future.
"Just in case of emergency, Auntie," I told her smiling, subtly disagreeing with her.
***
I was not able to come back to my room until I finished eating lunch with Aunt Sunny. It was just the two of us since Uncle Jin Woo was at the shop and Ji Hye was at school. I threw my body on the bed, and blinked a few times before I finally remembered my phone. I got up and slid the drawer of the bedside table open. I immediately noticed the light indicator blinking green noting that I had unread messages.
My screen said I had six messages. I swiped, unlocking my phone and I almost forgot to how breathe the moment I found out that all the messages were from Baekhyun.
I checked the time stamp. The first two messages were from last night and the remaining four messages were from today.
Byun:
How's your bike?
11:20 PM
Byun:
I guess you must be sleeping now. I hope you see this in the morning.
12:13 AM
Byun:
Hae Won, ain't up yet?
09:36 AM
Byun:
Why do I get the feeling that you're ignoring me now?
11:22 AM
Byun:
Yes, Baekhyun. She's ignoring you. Live with it.
11:53 AM
Byun:
You're going to hurt my feelings if you don't talk to me again.
12:11 PM
I couldn't believe it. Did I just receive all those messages from Baekhyun? I went back to all of the messages to make sure my eyes and mind weren't tricking me. And yes, they weren't. So, he had been texting me since last night while I was busy sulking and trying to shake my frustration away. He even thought I was ignoring him the way I thought he completely forgot about me.
I was lost in my thoughts. How could I be in this state already? I mean, we have known each other for a short period. Very short. Why were these confusion and complicated feelings here already? This had to slow down.
My eyes darted to the time on the upper right-hand corner of my phone. It was twelve fifty-three in the afternoon.
Putting my phone down, I lay on my bed. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on what I should do next. I could just ignore him and my life would be easy and normal just like the way it had always been. Or, I could text him back and expect to deal with this kind of situation from time to time. Obviously things would not turn out the way I might want it to be.
He's the famous Byun Baekhyun of Korea. He's handsome. He's a charmer. His voice. His ways. His personality. His hair. His smile. His eyes. Gosh, his eyes and his smile. Really, how could someone, resist him?
The truth was, I could not completely promise myself that I wouldn't fall for him.
I was so engrossed in my thoughts when I felt my phone beeped beside me. My heart pounded like crazy as I saw his name on the screen again.
I filled my lungs with air before I tapped on his message.
Byun:
You might not want to have anything to do with me thinking that it'll be messy. I don't have an ordinary life, things get complicated and controversial around me. I completely understand why you're doing this. I just hope you continue to smile when you hear or see me on TV.
01:12 PM
I instantly felt a tug in my heart and automatically sighed right after reading his message. I held my phone with both hands as I brought them to my chest.
"Byun Baekhyun," I muttered as I closed my eyes and imagined him right in front of me. "Look what you've done to my poor heart."
~♥~