+ thirty nine

Baekhyun waited at the airport with them until her flight was announced, his arm draped around her shoulders comfortably and his face nuzzled into her neck. Once she had to go, she got on her feet and he took a hold of her hand, not wanting to let her go. But she had to pull her hand out of his hold, telling him that it was necessary and that she had to go. He pouted and told her that he just might cry, seeing her go and thinking about how long he'd have to be without her now that they were finally together again. And he promised he would go to the court and drop the restraining order against her. He would also talk to his manager and Taeyeon to break off their relationship which was dead, even to the eyes of the world. They were hardly seen together anymore and their managers didn't have time to schedule fake dates for them.

But Narda gave him a peck on the lips and assured him that she would return, there was no need to be sad. He watched her walk away, wanting so much to run up to her and bring her back. But he understood that she had to do this. She only needed one more semester at the university to finish up her degree and he was proud of her for it. 

Afterwards he returned to the entrance of the terminal and parted ways with the Orizaba sisters. They had arrived in their own car which was parked in the structure nearby. His eyes widened in remembrance as he recalled that he had left his car in a drop off zone. When he returned outside, there was a ticket on his wind shield, and a parking officer there, a phone to his ear while he called a tow truck. Baekhyun quickly apologized and moved his car, thinking that the ticket was worth it because he got to say goodbye to his love.

He drove back to the dorms where he was met with Kyungsoo. He was sitting on the lounge couch, having something to eat, no doubt before heading off to the hospital to see Nari. He looked up from his food and smiled at his friend as he entered the room. "Did you catch her at the airport?" He wondered with curiosity, though he also had another question in mind. Did Narda know that he was the one who told Baekhyun where she was?

Baekhyun gave a slow nod of his head, a grateful look reflected in his eyes. "Yeah."

"And...?" Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow at him.

"We fixed everything." The other EXO vocalist said simply.

A bigger and more genuine smile formed on Kyungsoo's lips. "I'm glad." Reaching into his pocket, Kyungsoo got out a set of keys and handed them to his friend. There were three in a key ring with a Mexican National Team logo keychain attached to it, as well as a Baekhyun 04 one. Baekhyun didn't have to think twice to guess that it was Narda's. "They're Guti's keys to the building entrance, the apartment, and the laundry room. I have keys of my own and I have Nari's set. But Guti asked me to take care of her keys while she's gone. I think you'd have better use for them."

Baekhyun couldn't help but nod in agreement. Now that he had her keys, he'd no doubt go to her apartment and just sit there, thinking of her, and the times he had visited her. It would fill him sadness, a bit of loneliness, but also happiness. He took the keys from Kyungsoo and stuffed them in his pocket.

"Thanks Soo."

-

Baekhyun found use for those keys right away. Some of the other boys had personal schedules to fulfill that day, and Kyungsoo went to the hospital to see Nari. Once he was alone on his dorm floor, he left the building and went across the street to Narda's apartment. He used her keys to unlock the door and pushed it open. There was someone already inside the apartment and they looked up with surprise upon hearing the door open. It was his group mate Park Chanyeol.

"Guti...?" A deep voice asked the question, with a clear sense of hope, but was followed by disappointment when he saw who it was. "Oh."

His dark eyes were red and puffy as though he had been recently crying.

Baekhyun eyed him with curiosity and confusion. Then he remembered that Chanyeol had a set of keys to the apartment from when he was dating Narda, so that he could come and go quickly, without being seen by the media. Since they were no longer dating, Baekhyun thought he would have returned the keys to her by now. But he was clearly mistaken.

"What are you doing here, Chan?" He asked. There was no longer that bitterness of the rivalry started between them over Narda. She was gone, but she had picked Baekhyun in the end. But what was more important was that Chanyeol finally understood and was ready to back down.

The taller of the two boys heaved a sad sigh, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He didn't know what Baekhyun wanted. But he thought maybe his friend was there to rub his new relationship in his face. He had certainly done it to him a few times when he and Narda were together. He began to explain with a downcast expression, "Now that she's gone I just wanted to sit here and remember all the good times we spent together." He grabbed his phone off the couch and clicked on the home button to look at the time. 

Narda had long since left the country already and he wasn't able to go say goodbye because of what Kyungsoo told him. He had instead gone to her apartment in an attempt to comfort himself. On his home screen was a picture of the two of them together which caused a pang in his heart. A picture of them with smiling faces--him standing behind her, resting his chin on top of her head because he was just that much taller than her.

"I came here to do the same." Baekhyun admitted, walking over to the couch and plopping down next to him. 

The two boys sat there in silence for what felt like an eternity, neither of them saying a word. They hadn't been exactly on good terms lately, so they weren't as close as they used to be.

When one of them broke the silence, it was Chanyeol.

"Just because I said I'd back off doesn't mean you can play with her feelings again." He said in a serious tone. "I hope you understand and appreciate how much she loves you. If you ever make her cry, I'll make you pay for it."

Baekhyun nodded. "I will treat her like she deserves this time. And...thank you for doing this. I know how much you love her. It must hurt like hell to have to back down--"

He paused when he thought he saw Chanyeol flinch. It wasn't due to any physical pains, but it was a pain in his heart. He knew that Narda didn't love him. It was just worse hearing it said out loud because he wanted so badly for him to love him too. And he could tell she tried so hard to return the feeling. But she just didn't feel the same way he did. He couldn't force her to fall in love with him, and he couldn't convince her either.

"You're my best friend. I can forgive a friend." Chanyeol heaved a sigh. "But I love her. That's why I'm doing this. I'd rather see her happy without me."

-

It was the very next day that Baekhyun gathered his public image manager and Taeyeon in the same room together. He had something to say to the two of them and he didn't want to waste time telling them one at a time. 

"Please listen carefully because it would be a real burden if I had to say this more than once. I just wanted to say that I'm done pretending to date her." He gestured at Taeyeon who at the moment was glaring daggers at him. His manager was taken by surprise and his eyes widened at the act that the EXO member was being assertive, with much authority. "The woman I love has decided to give me another chance and I'm not passing up that opportunity. So you can proceed however you want, I honestly don't care, but I am announcing our break up tomorrow."

Taeyeon was quick to protest, her jaw dropping in utter outrage. As far as she knew, she had something something on him. He couldn't just decide that on his own. They had to abide by her terms. "You can't do this."

"I can and I will." Baekhyun shot back, no longer submitting to her wishes. "Its my life and I decided I won't let a little threat come in between me and my Guti. I was stupid to let her go the first time."

From out of nowhere, Taeyeon seemed to produce the photographs which she had used a year earlier to threaten him. Brandishing them in front of his face, she reminded him. "If you don't want these pictures making their way into the media's hands, then you will be a good little boyfriend and behave properly."

He shook his head, letting out a sarcastic laugh. "You don't understand what I'm trying to tell you. I don't care what you do. I'm just letting you know we're over."

Taeyeon huffed in annoyance. "You're gonna regret it, Baekhyun."

And he made good on his word. Since SM Entertainment would not grant him an official statement to the media, he took the decision into his own hands. He started a live video v app, with thousands of people watching. Narda was one of them, a smile forming on her lips at the sight of him, if even through video. It had been only a few days since she left the country, but the two were in constant contact, with them even video chatting whenever they both had the time. But it was difficult to coordinate, since they lived on opposite sides of the world and had different schedules.

He announced in his live video that he and Taeyeon had agreed to break things off months ago because they had grown distant. Taeyeon had been watching the live video bitterly as well, her eyes burning with tears which were filled with rage. But Baekhyun never once badmouthed her during his announcement, something she'd have never done for him in return. He mentioned how his relationship was something wonderful, but that it was time to move on. Both of them had busy schedules and they wanted to focus on that. He would leave Narda out of it for the time being. But he would not hide the fact that he was seeing someone else. 

He did it in the name he once felt for her. Back before he met Narda, his crush had always been Taeyeon and he felt that she liked him too. But when Narda arrived in Korea, everything changed. He and Taeyeon never made any moves to get together, so he forgot about that love he had for her. It was just the way life worked sometimes.

As he finished up his video, he asked his fans to continue supporting Taeyeon and Girls Generation. He also hinted that he was dating someone else and for the fans to be tolerant of the people he and the other members were dating, or would possibly date in the future.

Taeyeon couldn't help but be surprised.

Even for someone like her, someone who had worked so hard to keep him miserably by her side, he still managed to protect her from the fans' hate. Even for someone like her he had that compassion. 

And even despite everything that had happened over the past year, he had still managed to smile.

-

only one more chapter and then the epilogue. i am so fricken excited guys. i think i might just write the last two updates and get this story over with. but it makes me sad. out of all my characters in this story universe, i have been most fond of narda.

she's my baby. i tihnk she deserves the absolute best always. but i hope you have all enjoyed this story and give this a nice little vote. 

after this, i'm going to try to focus on #4 in the exoplanet series "twelve", which is kris' story. after all of this that has happened in the past year with kris talking about whether he still communicates with exo or not, and yixing being in china, i may alter a bunch of stuff i had planned for his story. but that is pending, since this IS an alternate universe.

thank you!

-clary