Heartonmysleeves

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My feet stopped walking when I reached the center of the crosswalk. I was trying to process thoughts in my head while I watched the other people move ahead, leaving me behind on the spot. We both held each other’s gazes, the call still ongoing but none of us talked anymore. We just stood there, not breaking eye contact once despite the vehicles passing between us. Then, I saw him remove his bucket hat. I instantly rattled at the thought of him exposing his bare face outside. I got confused. What was he doing? My brain lagged but immediately went back to panic mode when I noticed the passers-by starting to pay him glances, some even stopped openly staring at him like they were trying to recognize him. “Baek, w-what are you doing?” I stuttered as some had already started taking pictures or probably recorded videos of him too. Those who stopped to check on him followed his gaze and found the recipient of his attention, which was me. I gulped as they were now staring at me. My face started to heat up, not knowing whether to run or ask the ground to eat me. “Baekhyun…” I uttered, as I helplessly looked down, hoping he’d tell me what was going on. “Don’t move.” He instructed. “Wait for me.” He added as he finally ended the call. Then just like a scene in the movies, my hand fell limply to my side, gripping the phone while I watched him walk ahead to cross the street. I heard a car beeped which almost made my breath hitch. Byun Baekhyun, have you lost your mind?

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Author's Notes:

Please DO NOT Plagiarize, I pour my heart out writing this. This is also PURE FICTION.

I am mainly on Asianfanfics where this fic is almost done with 48 chapters. If you want to go ahead and read the entire thing as well as my other fics, are free to visit my AFF profile. Or just click on this link: EPHEMERAL. Lastly, thanks for giving this fic a read. I hope you enjoyed it. ❀

We were successfully able to set everything up inside his house before he came at around seven in the evening.

We were all giddy and sweating as we heard him unlock the door. As soon as he got inside his dark living room, and before he could even turn the lights on, all five of us left our hiding places and chorused on greeting him a happy birthday. Which I must note, by the looks of it, caught him off guard, as he almost made a little jump, dropping his keys on the floor.

“Fuck-” He hissed, a hand on his chest with eyes wide at us.

We all laughed at his reaction which was an indication that it was a success.

He was wearing an all-black outfit from his cap down to his shoes. His bare face, was handsome, as usual. In short, he was nothing like the celebrity Baekhyun but the one we have known since our diaper years, Byun Baekhyun.

Before he could even say another word, I stepped forward as I was holding the cake we bought for him. The candles were the only source of light amid the still-dim place.

I watched how his facial expression changed from shock to delight. The corner of his lips rose as he finally seemed to have realized what was happening when he saw the cake. We all sang the happy birthday song as we circled closely around him.

He watched and listened to us sing, looking absolutely happy. His eyes turned into beautiful crescents as he smiled widely, laughing in between the songs as Junho and Chanyeong, our male friends were purposely singing off-tuned to annoy him.

When the singing and the laughing stopped, I was the closest to him, with the cake between us. It was inevitable to meet his eyes in close proximity. I smiled at him and mouthed a silent happy birthday which received a delightful small laugh from him.

“Make a wish,” Junho told him before he could blow out the candle.

“Okay.” He nodded, as he closed his eyes for a few good seconds before blowing out the candles.

After the candles were blown, it was Junho and Mina’s phones that provided light.

“What did you wish for?” Chanyeong asked this time, standing close to Baekhyun and draping an arm over his shoulders.

“Well.” He shoved a hand inside his pants pocket and then trailed his attention on all of us, one after the other. “Nah, I’m not telling you guys.” He replied, a hint of a laugh in his tone.

“C’mon man.” Junho tried to persuade him by jokingly cupping his face with his hands. “You must tell us.”

Baekhyun laughed at what he did just as they met eye to eye. We all ended up laughing as it was just a normal sight among us.

“Fine. Promise me you won’t laugh at my wish.” He finally agreed and waited for all of us to nod before lifting a hand to his temple and scratching it. “I wished that we were all in the friendship thing forever.”

All of us fell silent. Mina and I exchanged looks before we did with the rest of the guys. Baekhyun seemed to have wondered why none of us talked. I guess because what he said moved all of us. He, being the Byun Baekhyun the world knows, seemed to have everything in life and could have wished for anything else, but still wished for our friendship to last forever.

If I was not mistaken, I saw Junho and Chanyeong’s teary eyes as they blinked. Mina also wore the same expression while I just stared back at Baekhyun. He never failed to amaze me with his humility.

“You should have made us promise not to cry instead,” Mina spoke, her mouth in a downward curve while she swiftly wiped the corners of her eyes.

It was Baekhyun’s turn to laugh at our reactions.

“But seriously guys,” He said. “You know how much you keep my sanity intact all these years. I draw a huge part of my strength from you guys.” He took a deep breath. “I can’t thank you enough for sticking by my side all this time.”

I remember all the previous times we all set a time to attend his concerts and how he consistently thanked us every single time.

“Yah.” Junho groaned, sniffling. “Who gave you the right to make us cry today? You were supposed to be the one to shed tears because it’s your birthday and not the other way around.”

“Don’t go crying on me now Kim Junho.” Baekhyun tapped Junho’s arm. “You too man,” he turned to Chanyeong.”

“Who’s crying?” Chanyeong quickly denied it as he straightened his posture. “The wind in your apartment is quite strong, it’s hurting my eyes. I suggest you check the ventilation.”

We all burst into group laughter once more due to Chanyeong’s remark.

“Okay, now. You brought some more food, didn’t you?” Baekhyun asked as he leaned closer to the cake, lifting a hand on it.

“Of course we did,” I answered, as I waited for him to taste the cake because that seemed to be what he was going to do.

“Great.” He added as he used his index finger to poke at the cake and brought it to his mouth but stopped.

We all watched him as he fell quiet. I was staring at him, wondering. Then all of a sudden, bringing me utter surprise, his finger wrapped in icing landed on my cheek.

“What the hell?” I asked, wide-eyed.

Then it happened so fast. One second we were just all standing, the next we were chasing each other in the dark as the others joined in the cake-smudging game that Baekhyun initiated.

I was still holding the remnants of the cake that I couldn’t clearly see because none of us even thought of turning the lights on. All I could hear were the random, boisterous laughs of all five of us trying to get away from each other.

I stood in the corner where I hoped no one would find me as I believed I had enough icing on my face already. I stayed there and listened to the others. I heard Mina scream as someone must have caught her. I heard Junho and Chanyeong’s voices too. I wonder where Baekhyun was.

I looked around, squinting my eyes trying to see when I felt a hand on my wrist. Surprised, I dropped what I was holding on the floor, the cake board creating a slight thud.

Though I couldn’t see anything, I knew who was standing closely next to me now. It was his scent that gave him away. It was Baekhyun.

“Don’t say a word.” I heard him whisper.

“You just did-” I replied using my normal voice but had to stop when I felt his hand cover my mouth.

Almost naturally, I made a step back and my back felt the wall behind me. What was he doing?

There was complete silence between us the next seconds the next few seconds. We listened to Mina cursing at Junho and Chanyeong on the other side of the area. We also heard footsteps everywhere as if they were looking for us.

We stayed there, standing next to each other as he finally uncovered my mouth with his hand. Yet, he was still standing very close to me. Then I remembered what he did to me earlier. I realized I had icing on my hands, so very quietly, I lifted my icing-covered hand and caressed his cheek with it.

I heard him let out a combination of a sigh and a small laugh. Even in the dark, I could perfectly imagine the reaction on his face. I had known him for too long I already memorized most of his expressions.

And then right at the same moment, the other guys finally switched the lights on which made me immediately exchange looks with the person in front of me.

A small gasp, almost a silent one, escaped my mouth when I realized that he was closer to me than I thought. One hand was leaning on the wall, specifically the spot next to my head. He wasn’t wearing any cap now which made his bare face free of access.

We heard several pairs of footsteps approaching our spot. Probably noticing the same thing, he stepped back before I had this crazy idea to apply some more icing on his other cheek using my hand. His eyebrows furrowed at my gesture. His mouth parted, probably to say something but the rest had found us.

“Hey losers,” I quickly greeted them, trying to act cool and un-panicked. “Look who I found,” I added, making sure I sounded as confident as I should.

“Woah!” Junho burst out laughing seeing Baekhyun’s face as he took his phone out and took a photo of him. “This is going straight to the group chat.”

“Park Jihee,” Mina clapped her hand. “You are something.” She gave me a pair of thumbs up.

“You mean, she’s dead,” Chanyeong spoke. “If his fangirls know what she did to his handsome face…”

“Well, it’s not like Baekhyun’s gonna share it publicly.” Mina reasoned out. “Right, Baek?”

“Now that you’ve mentioned it,” Baekhyun spoke and he took his phone from his pocket. “I think I can.”

My mind went full-on speed, thinking about what would likely happen. I already picture my future crumbling before my eyes. So, before he could even do anything with his phone, I snatched it from him and gave it to Junho.

“Why don’t you think about it first Baek, hm?” I turned to him. “Think well before you decide to destroy my life.”

“Destroy your life?” Baekhyun asked in return, stifling a laugh. I just know.

“Yes,” I answered briefly before I held his wrist and dragged him to the kitchen. “This is nothing a wet tissue can solve, right?” I told him as I started to wipe his face with a tissue, making sure to remove the icing on his face.

I was concentrating on what I was doing when I thought something flashed. I turned around and saw the three of them a few feet from us, Junho taking a photo of us.

“In case we need more proof,” Junho said as he quickly hid his phone.

“I swear if you don’t delete that photo Kim Junho.”

“Bye,” Junho uttered as he and the others left.

“You guys better start cleaning up my house,” Baekhyun told them loudly.

“Let Jihee do it!” Someone replied sounding very Junho. “She likes cleaning.”

I rolled my eyes before I turned to Baekhyun to resume wiping the icing on his other cheek.

He was already staring at me with a subtle smile on his lips.

“They want you to clean the mess we all made at my house.” He teased.

“Well, as long as you help out.”

He chuckled at my reply as I moved my hand near his eyebrow to remove the icing. I had a moment to appreciate his skin and was amazed at how good his skin was. He’s a celebrity, after all, I thought.

“You thought I’d do that?” He asked, taking my thoughts off his skin. “You thought I’d post it?”

“Well,” I suddenly became aware of what he meant. “If you did, there’s no way I could defend myself and tell the public that it was you who did it to me first,” I added as I was finally done wiping his face clean.

He let out a small laugh as he turned around. I watched him reach for the wet tissue before he got rid of the icing on my cheek as well. I had to blink my eyes a couple of times, processing what he was doing.

“I can do it,” I told him as I took the wet tissue from him. “Just go and join them first.”

“Okay, don’t start cleaning without me.” He replied, a subtle hint of a smile on his mouth.

He’s crazy. I shook my head as I smiled when he left me alone.

***

We spent the next few hours talking and drinking a bit in the living room. We were loud just, as usual, laughing and talking about just anything. Later on, we gave Baekhyun our gifts which he said wasn’t really necessary but was all smiley when he started opening the presents. Our presents were pretty simple but I could sense genuine joy from him.

I gave him a little plant in a pot from our shop.

“This is cute.” He remarked when he saw it. “Thanks, Park.” He added as he stood and placed it on the corner table.

“I should have gotten Baekhyun a whole tree,” Junho stated as we watched Baekhyun go back to his seat. “Then he would smile as wide as that because of my gift.”

“Yeah,” Mina uttered. “He seems to like Jihee’s gift the most.”

“Of course, he would,” Chanyeong spoke. “Hers is the only present that’s breathing. Ours are all dead.” He said in a matter-of-fact tone as he referred to the stuff they gave him.

“They might be dead but I’ll make sure I’d use them well,” Baekhyun told them as he finally sat in front of me.

“You should,” I answered. “Or they might start harming the poor plant.”

We all laughed once more as we went on talking again for hours. Junho, Chanyeong, and Mina were the ones who drank a lot while Baekhyun and I only drank a bit. I have a lot to do tomorrow and can’t afford to deal with a hangover. Baekhyun on the other hand has a scheduled interview tomorrow so he should be careful.

At twelve past eleven at night, the three were all sleepy and seemed to have had enough. Junho was sitting on the couch, back leaned as his head tilted to his right, eyes slightly closed. Mina was lying next to him with her head on his lap. Chanyeong on the other hand was lying flat on the floor next to the cans of beer and snacks.

“Baekhyun, best boy!” Junho exclaimed in a less energetic tone, his eyes still closed. “Happy birthday man.” He greeted once more as he managed to look at him.

“HUSH!” Mina whined as she blindly located Junho’s mouth with her hand to cover it. “You’re too loud Kim Junho. Ugh.”

Junho bit her hand which earned a groan from Mina before she reached for his ear to pull it.

“YAH.” Junho screamed.

Baekhyun and I laughed at the sight of them arguing like that before they both gave in to sleep the next second.

“You’re aware you’re friends with a bunch of crazy people right?” I reminded Baekhyun as I bent to pick up the cans of beer next to Chanyeong so he could position himself freely on the floor.

“Yeah,” He smirked. “Don’t exclude yourself though.” He added as he helped me pick the leftovers on the floor as well.

“What? I’m not crazy as you all are.” I replied as I placed the can in the garbage bag.

He let out a small laugh.

“That’s hard to believe.” He contradicted. “You remember how in 4th-grade school, you told the girls in your room that I was your boyfriend?”

I instantly froze, feeling embarrassed as I recalled that exact memory.

“Well,” I swallowed, trying to think of an excuse. “That’s because they were annoying me and I found out that they sort of have a crush on you, so I thought it was a good idea to make them jealous.”

“To the point you had to kiss me on the mouth in front of them in the cafeteria, right?”

My cheeks felt hot and almost jumped on my feet when Chanyeong sat up like a zombie who had just awakened and pointed at me.

“You kissed him???” Chanyeong asked, staring at me and Baekhyun for a good couple of seconds before he went back to sleep.

“Oh my god.” I turned around, avoiding him. “He’s scary,” I said as I moved to the kitchen to start tidying the counter.

Just when I thought, Baekhyun had forgotten what he was talking about before Chanyeong’s unexpected act, he also moved to the kitchen and stood at the other side of the counter.

“You know that was my first kiss, don’t you?”

My cheeks weren’t just hot now, they were burning.

“Imagine if I get to be asked about my first kiss and I tell them about what you did?” He was suppressing a smile as he finished.

“Don’t you dare do that Baekhyun!” I warned him with gritted teeth, pointing a fork at him as I found one.

He laughed, his head tilting up.

“Maybe if you return it, I’d think about giving you a pass.” He added with a cocky smile on his mouth.

“If you don’t stop with this nonsense, you’re gonna end up cleaning your house alone,” I told him. “And I thought you were going to help out?”

He let out another small laugh.

“I am helping out.” He said in a matter-of-fact tone before he turned around to take the garbage bag and place the empty plastic cups inside. “See?”

I could not help but smile seeing him doing the most mundane things. This side of him that probably a lot of people have not seen.

***

We finished cleaning up after an hour. It was almost 1 AM when I sat on the other couch. Baekhyun went to his room and when he came back, he had with him extra pillows and blankets. He gave Chanyeong a pillow he could use and a blanket. He also made sure Junho and Mina had blankets.

I watched him in silence. For a moment, I wished a lot of people knew this side of him. Of how he takes care of people around him. Baekhyun is such a great person, gifted with an amazing personality. No wonder he’s loved by many.

I noticed how he took his phone out of his sweatpants. It was just then I noticed that he had changed into a matching, grey, cozy sweater and sweatpants.

He took photos of our friends sleeping and I found it endearing.

“Are those going straight to the group chat too?” I asked him, taking his attention.

“No. I’m keeping them.” He replied, smiling before he lifted his phone again to take a photo of me.

“Ya.” I groaned in protest which earned a laugh from him.

He stared at me for a second before he went back to his room. When he came back once more, he was holding a white hoodie which he handed to me.

“I ran out of blankets. I hope this is okay.”

“Yeah,” I answered as I took it from him and wore it since it was indeed cold.

“First you kissed me when we were in 4th grade, and now you’re wearing my hoodie. I wonder how my fans would react if they knew about this.” He teased while I fixed the sleeves that were extra long for me.

“I’m sure I’m going to lose all the hair in my head,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’d be lucky if they spare my eyebrows.”

“What? No.” He protested. “Don’t say that. They’re nice people.”

“I hope so,” I replied as I leaned back on the couch, momentarily closing my eyes at how satisfying it felt.

His hoodie was soft and comfortable. It had that familiar smell from his fab conwhich was utterly good and relaxing.

When I opened my eyes again, he was also seated on the other side of the couch, he was massaging his temple. He seemed tired.

“You seem very busy these days,” I said. “Do you get enough rest somehow?”

“Honestly, I don’t.” He answered, letting out a small laugh at his remark. “But it’s fine.”

“Baek,” I called and waited for him to turn to me. “I know you love what you do and it’s tough but you have to make sure to take care of yourself…” I trailed off as I faced him, “I hope you get to say you’re tired when you are.”

He smiled at me.

“Thanks, Jihee.”

“But,” I just had to say. “I just want you to know that you’re great Baek, both at what you do on the screen and the very person that you are without the cameras.”

“Am I?” He tilted his head down, the corners of his mouth raising.

I nodded.

“You are.” I smiled at him. “You’re an amazing person Baekhyun,” I paused to exchange looks with him. “Probably the most amazing person I’ll ever get to know in this lifetime. You’re a great friend to me and the rest of the guys. And despite the thousands who adore you, you have never forgotten to greet us on our birthdays, you send presents even on Christmas for all of us, and you go out of your way to spend time with us when you could have just easily ditched us a long time ago.”

“Ditch you?” He scoffed. “That’s unlikely to ever happen you know that.” He momentarily looked at the others who were still soundly sleeping. “The truth is, sometimes I think about you guys getting tired of me and being the ones to ditch me instead.”

“Not after we heard your wish earlier.” I just had to laugh.

We burst out laughing.

“Thanks,”

“For what?”

“For being here,” H answered. “You have not been around for a couple of meetings since you were busy with your business but it’s great you’re here tonight.”

“It’s your birthday,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I don’t have a choice.” I joked.

“Thanks for the plant by the way.”

“You better take care of it.”

“Yeah, I’m calling it Jihee.”

“Why would you name it after me?”

“Because it’s from you.” He reasoned out. “And yes, I’ll take care of her.”

I felt sleepy but just had to smile at what he said. I closed my eyes as I crossed my arms over my chest finding a comfortable position.

“Good night, Baek.” I mouthed in a sleepy voice with my eyes still closed. “Happy Birthday.”

I heard him smile.

“My birthday’s over.”

I felt my lips forming into a curve before I gave in to sleep.

***

The next morning, I thought I heard Junho’s voice.

“She is so dead.”

Who, me? I was still too sleepy to react verbally. Especially when the position I was in was undeniably comfortable.

“You’re right,” It was Mina. “No one can justify her at this point.”

I sensed a camera flash.

“Again, in case we need more proof,” Junho stated.

What are they on now? I whined in my sleep as I turned around to face the other side. Weird though, just as I adjusted my body, another body was adjusting with my position. It even felt like an arm was draped around my body.

And…I hear someone else’s breathing aside from me which I must note was utterly close I could audibly hear it.

“At this point, they’re both gonna be in trouble.” It was Chanyeong who spoke next.

Both? I thought. Wait, BOTH!? Me and…

My brain lagged for a millisecond before I finally opened my eyes and was welcomed by someone’s chest covered in a grey sweatshirt-

I looked up and saw a pair of brown orbs, already staring at me.

He somehow seemed to have just woken up just like me.

Another camera flash.

“More proof.”

It was Junho’s remark that made my brain fully function. I noticed Baekhyun’s arms holding me close to him. And some camera flashes.

“In case we need more.”

I froze.  There was no way I'd choose to meet the three pairs of eyes behind me. 

Why on earth was I sleeping comfortably being hugged by my friend, Byun Baekhyun?