Title: There May Not Be Tomorrow
Genre: Angst, Romance 

Heavily inspired by Kal Ho Naa Ho.
Bits of quotes belong to the movie and all that.
I don’t own anything-- ok.

Part 1 / 2 . Word count : 11k+

 

Everyone knows Chanyeol isn’t the friendliest in the bunch. He was a person who cared about nothing but his studies. He barely spoke, barely smiled, and hardly communicated with anyone. He was nice when he had to be, and he wasn’t rude or anything. He was just completely cut off from the world that wasn’t apart of his own. People that were in his world was just his family and his best friend Byun Baekhyun.

The latter was probably the only person that understood Chanyeol personally, being able to carry all of the baggage that he had on his shoulders. If Chanyeol needed to let off his steam, Baekhyun was there. If he needed a shoulder to cry on, Baekhyun was there for that too. Pretty much, he was there for him all the time, and Chanyeol was thankful. They had been friends for years anyway. Plus, Baekhyun was the only one who knew why the man was the way he was.

Chanyeol’s family had a lot of problems, and being the eldest child, he had a lot to carry. His mother was the only parent, trying to support three kids. His father had died not too long ago, leaving him with his mother, grandmother, his brother, and his half-sister. The reason why the house was so chaotic was because his father had committed suicide, feeling guilty for cheating on his mother. That was why he had a half-sister. Chanyeol still loved her with all his heart. It was the grandmother who shamed her. The mother however, loved the child as if it was her own. Chanyeol doesn’t understand why his grandmother can’t do the same, but doesn’t bother to find out. Exams were close and he just needed to finish so he could get out of Seoul and move off. Baekhyun pleads for him to stay in Seoul, but he knows Chanyeol’s dream is New York, New York, New York.

 

 

---

 

 

The mornings are always chaotic. Chanyeol helps cook breakfast for the family, sits down, tries to talk to his family, but is ending up to storm out because his grandmother always starts to bicker with his own mother. Giving a kiss to his younger sister, Yoora, and a hug to his brother, Chanhee, he grabs his bag for class, not bothering with the argument going on in the dining room.

He’s just glad that when he reaches the bus stop, he sees the only person he’s been wanting to see. Byun Baekhyun, who is looking more dorky than ever, trying to hold a stack of papers in his arms as he holds a cup of coffee in each hand.

“Need help there, stupid?” Chanyeol grins, coming up to his shorter friend to take a cup from him, allowing the other to hold the papers securely now, having a free hand and all. Bringing the coffee cup to his lips, he hums in approval at the taste. “You haven’t forgotten?” He asks, looking over at his friend who still seems to be struggling with his papers. Rolling his eyes, Chanyeol snatches the stack of papers in his arms, putting it in his own instead. Baekhyun scoffs, reaching for them to try and get them back, but his friend holds them in his hand, raising it up so he can’t reach it.

“Give it back.” Baekhyun whines, getting on his tip toes to try and catch his papers. After a few minutes of whining and hopping around, he gives up and lets Chanyeol hold it. The latter grins at his win, laughing. “You should know by now that I always win.” He laughs at the smaller male that sulks in defeat, hand bringing the papers down.

Just as he’s about to tuck the papers close to his chest to keep them safe, a stranger suddenly bumps into him, making the papers slip out, sending them flying into the air. The stranger doesnt even bother to turn around and help, quickly walking off. Annoyed, Chanyeol grunts as he and Baekhyun bend down to the floor to pick up the scattered papers. “Sorry, Baek.” He apologizes with a sigh, hands quickly working to pick them up since the bus was on it’s way. “They’re a bit dirty.”

“It’s alright.” His friend grins, shaking his head. “Let’s just hope we can pick it all up before the bus comes.”

 

---

 

 

Coming home that night, he didn’t know what he was expecting. A peaceful night at home as well? Why was he always so so wrong? He asks himself that question as he opens the front door to see Yoora crying, Chanhee standing there with a shocked expression, and his grandmother with her hand held high as if she had just slapped someone. Chanyeol believes that’s what happened as he sees his mother run up to his younger sister, taking her into here arms.

“Had she not pushed Chanhee down the stairs, everything would be fine.” His grandmother scoffed, bringing Chanhee close to her own chest. “Don’t blame me for scolding her. A child must be taught.”

“A child must not be slapped for something she didn’t do.” Chanyeol rolls his eyes, shutting the front door. Walking over to Yoora, he crouches down and wipes away her tears with his thumbs. “You wouldn’t hurt brother, right?” He asks her with a small smile before turning to Chanhee. “Did she really push you?” His tone is kind towards his brother as well, knowing that he wasn’t apart of his either. The answer he receives proves everything right.

Facial expression turning cold, he stands up straight to look at his grandmother. He so badly wants to say something. He wants to do something. Instead, he settles for grabbing his brother, sister, and mother, walking them upstairs to head into their his bedroom.

Once the door is shut tightly, door locked, Yoora bursts into tears in her mother’s arms. “She hates me.” She sobs into her mothers chest, letting it all out. Chanyeol sighs, sitting beside them on the bed, allowing Chanhee to sit on his lap. “She doesn’t hate you.” Chanyeol tries to reassure his younger sister lovingly. “She doesn’t.”  With her brothers comforting words, she pulls away from her mother’s chest , sniffling.

“Come on, babies.” Their mother calls them, making them turn their heads to look at her. With a gentle smile, she closes her eyes and puts both hands up in front of her. “Let’s pray.”

You’d think that Chanyeol wouldn’t be those type of people who would believe in faith, and all those kinds of things, but you’re wrong. It didn’t hurt him to close his eyes, bringing his hands up as well, listening to his mother’s words.

“Dear god, if you’re listening... Please send us someone... An angel. Someone to watch over us, help us... Anyone. We just need someone to show us some light.”

 

---

 

The next morning goes more smoothly. Chanyeol doesn’t have classes, so he can keep an eye on his siblings, not really trusting his grandmother at the moment. She seems to have understood that, locking herself away in her own world.

“Hyung, hyung!” His younger brother calls out, running over to him with a basket ball. “Let’s go outside to play with the other hyungs!” He looks at Chanyeol with hopeful eyes, dribbling the ball in front of him.

“No.” He immediately shoots him down. “You know I hate  the neighbors.” Chanyeol’s voice is continuously monotone, fingers flipping through the book in his hands. “Go play your games.” He seems uninterested, eyes skimming though the book in his hands.

“But I wanna practice so I can go for the school’s team!” He tries to persuade his elder brother as he whines, pouting when Chanyeol only continues to shake his head in reply. “That’s not fair!” He huffs, throwing the basketball towards his brother, having it land in his lap. “You won’t let me play ball, but you’ll let Yoora go out and play?”

Hearing that makes Chanyeol look away from his book and at his brother, eyes wide.

Running out of the bedroom to go out to the front, he can hear his younger sister’s giggles as he nears the front door. Swinging it open and looking out to the porch, he can see Yoora holding her favorite doll in her lap, giggling as a strange small looking male crouches down to speak to her. It brings an uncomfortable feeling to him, making him rage inside.

“Will you marry me?” The stranger asks with his soft voice. Yoora continues to shake her head, still giggling. The stranger repeats the question once more before Chanyeol steps in, arms crossed and face unamused. Once he does that, the stranger looks up with wide eyes before his lips curl into a grin.

“Oh, hello there.” The strange man greets him rather happily, bowing his head.

“Hi...” Chanyeol’s raises a brow at the male in front of him, hand reaching over for Yoora’s as he looks at the man from head to toe. He’s too short to be a threat to him, but his big doe eye likes are a bit too creepy for his liking, and that smile is a little creepy too. He’s not sure he’s liking the vibe from this guy. If anything, this guy brings him annoyance.

“Who are you?” He asks again. “I’ve never seen you around.” It’s the truth. Chanyeol hated this neighborhood, but he knew almost every person around, only because his siblings played outside more often than he liked.

“Oh--” The stranger laughs and that adds another thing to the list about him that creeps Chanyeol out. “I’m Do Kyungsoo. Your new neighbor.” He introduces himself, holding out his hand to shake Chanyeols. The giant shakes it out of respect, nodding his head.

“There aren’t any selling houses though...”

Kyungsoo then points his finger over to the house beside Chanyeol’s, mouth still in the form of a wide grin. “I live there.” He tells him. “My grandfather lives there, so my mother and I are staying there.” He nods his head. “I hope we can become good friends.”

“That’s...” Chanyeol pauses. “Unlikely.”

He’s about to turn away from the male who shows his shock from his words, but his mother stops him and he can tell she had just overheard their conversation.

“Chanyeol!” She calls him angrily, gently smacking the side of his head before smiling on over to the new neighbor, smile gentle. “Sorry about that. He’s such a stubborn man.” She says with a sheepish expression, trying to shoo Chanyeol away. The latter doesn’t exactly like this new neighbor of theirs, feelings something suspicious, so he stays right beside her.

“You’re new around here, right?” She asks kindly. Kyungsoo nods his head in reply, being sure to bow respectively.

“Yeah. I live right next door.” He beams.

“That’s great!” His mother continues on. “We would actually like to have you come for dinner, if that’s alright with you. You may bring your family along too! It would be way better that way!” Upon hearing his mother’s words, Chanyeol stares at her with wide eyes, rolling them a second later.

“That’s nice of you, really.” Kyungsoo bows his head once again, looking over at the taller male with a bright smile. “I’d love to come over for dinner. I hear from Yoora that her elder brother is an amazing cook.” He grins as if he’s trying to get on Chanyeol’s nerves on purpose. “It would be an honor to try some of Chanyeol’s cooking.”

Hearing his words, Chanyeol’s face isn’t too happy about this. Swearing that if he could kill Kungsoo with his eyes, the tiny man would be dead already.

“Then it’s settled!” His mother claps happily, patting Chanyeol’s shoulder. “We’ll all have dinner tonight! Chanyeol? Why dont you be a dear and show Kyungsoo around, yeah? Maybe take him to the supermarket with you to pick up some things?”

Who was Chanyeol to say no to his mother? Plus-- If he’s correct, he can see Kyungsoo’s mother walking their way. Instead of denying coldly, he forces a smile and nods his head. “Sure, mother.” He says, face obviously looking strained.

With this, Kyungsoo laughs and shakes his head. “Lead the way then, Park Chanyeol. It’s a pleasure to get to go on a trip with you.”

“Such a pleasure.”

 

 

 

The whole time they went shopping, Chanyeol did he best to talk as little as possible, trying to dodge every question Kyungsoo had for him. They had just met and were merely strangers. He felt he wasn’t obliged to answer anything he didn’t want to. The other just made it so hard for him to not snap at him. It was just question after question and Chanyeol honestly wanted to buy duct tape just to shut him up.

Rolling his eyes as they walk down the isle together, he shoves whatever he needs for tonight’s dinner into the cart, trying his best to ignore Kyungsoo. The latter, however, continues to run his mouth, going on about how he’s been wanting to see Seoul since he was a child and how he wonders what Chanyeol was going to cook tonight.

Once they’re standing in the long line to check everything out, the taller male his so close to just punching Kyungsoo to sleep. He wouldn’t really do that, but he really did talk way too much, with a happy tone too. It was-- irritating.

“Do you ever shut up?” He finally asks, looking over at the shorter male with a deadly glare. You’d think Kyungsoo would be intimidated, but he just blinks for a second, smiling widely the next. “I guess not!” He answers in reply, watching as they finally reach the conveyor belt, placing their items on top. “I just have so much to talk about and so much to ask.” He laughs in a bubbily manner.

Chanyeol just stares at him with disgust, squinting. In his head, he’s just thinking the same thing over and over. Is this guy for real? What’s his deal? It’s not like he wanted to be mean, but it was just so annoying on how someone can be so happy. How can someone be so happy when there are other things going on in the world. War, tragedies around the world, sad things that this small idiot probably is immune to.

“Are you always this happy?” He asks, watching Kyungsoo’s expression carefully. He doesn’t miss the way his face goes blank for a second, replacing his expressionless face with another blinding smile, shrugging his shoulders. “You really must have jumped out of a Disney fairytale book.” Chanyeol groans, pulling out his wallet.

“Oh--” Kyungsoo taps on the other’s shoulder gently, bouncing on his toes. “Can you go and grab that bag of Pororo crackers for me real quick?” He grins sheepishly.

“Pororo-- really?” The taller male rolls his eyes, walking off real quick to go and grab his ‘special’ guest’ the crackers. On his way there, he grumbles. ‘Who does this kid think he is? Forcing me to cook for him and his family tonight, and then asking for me to grab crackers that I’m going to be paying for?’ He snatches the bag of crackers off of the shelf, turning around to see Kyungsoo, wallet out, paying for the 100,000 won worth of food.

That sneaky little . He had made Chanyeol come all the way out to grab crackers, only to be paying for the food behind his back. He snorted, throwing the bag back, noting to confront him about this when they get out. But then again, he didn’t want to because he was thankful deep inside his dark soul. If he had one at least.

 

 

 

 

“That’s a lot of groceries.” Chanyeol’s mother smiles as she greets them when they get back. 

As she unloads the bags, she sees the prices of the food on them, brows furrowing. Chanyeol doesn’t miss this, knowing how she must be worried about the money spent, the family on the brink of bankruptcy. “Did you pay for all of this, Yeol-ah?” She asks, looking over at her son with concern in her eyes.

“I--”

“Ah, no.” Kyungsoo cuts into the conversation, smile still wide and the same as it had been all day. Chanyeol was starting to think that maybe his lips were tattooed or something.

“Actually, I had talked Chanyeol into allowing me to pay, since he’d be the one cooking for us tonight.” He nods his head. He was totally lying, but Chanyeol wasn’t going to say anything. He just nodded his head, trying to play it off. “Yeah, mom. So I guess that means I should get started.” He smiles softly at his mother, not noticing the way their guest looks at him.

Shooing his mother out of the kitchen, he goes over to where his very own apron hangs, quickly putting it on to get on to work. Usual to the cooking scene, he had totally forgotten about the unfamiliar small figure, sitting at the kitchen island that stands in the middle of the kitchen, watching his every movement. It isn’t until Kyungsoo makes his presence known, Chanyeol gets startled.

“Did you need any help?” The smaller male asks, chin propped on his palm as he watches Chanyeol chop up the rice cakes.

“No, I do not.” Chanyeol replies dryly. “I prefer working alone. Go do something else. Play with Yoora or something.” He tries to concentrate on the food, not watching the other who only watches him, finger tapping a quiet rhythm onto the counter.

“As much as I enjoy asking your sister to marry me, I find you much more interesting.” Kyungsoo lets out a soft giggle that sets an uncomfortable feeling in Chanyeol’s chest. Shaking it off, he scoffs at the smaller male’s words.

“Please,” He rolls his eyes. “You’re not Yoora’s type.” He speaks, tossing the rice cakes into the simmering pan, trying to ignore the look on Kyungsoo’s face once he hears those words, lips into a small pout.

“Then what’s her type?”

“The cool type. Like me.”

“Oh?” Kyungsoo dares to let out a loud laugh, clapping his hands like a stupid seal, throwing his head back. “You?” He continues to laugh as if it was the most hilarious thing he’s ever heard in his life. “You mean the type that doesn’t smile, never takes time to joke around, doesn’t seem to hold any emotion besides sadness and anger.” He wipes an invisible tear under his eye. “Haven’t you ever heard of ‘lightening up’?” Kyungsoo asks.

Upon hearing this question, Chanyeol grows annoyed. “Of course I have. And I have happiness too, you know.”

“Right.” He chuckles, agreeing sarcastically. “The next thing you know, you’re actually going to tell me you have a lover.” He smacks the table, bursting out into laughter with his words. If he had remembered that he just met Chanyeol today, he would have noticed he was being rude. It’s not like Chanyeol noticed either, feeling somewhat defensive.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chanyeol looks over, cocking a brow. “I-I do!”

Kyungsoo stops laughing at this, doe eyes going wide. “What?”

“Yeah.” The giant regains posture, holding his chin high in the air as he nods. “A boyfriend.”

“Wow...”

“What?”

“That’s great.” Kyungsoo grows back his blinding smile that Chanyeol wishes he would stop wearing, because it really is sickening.

“Who is he?”

“Oh.” Chanyeol pauses, hand stopping from stirring the food inside the pan.

Who, who, who? He wonders inside his head, secretly panicking.

“Baekhyun.” He rushes out. “Byun Baekhyun.”

Dear god, he wants to just bury his face into the simmering pan, totally embarrassed that he had just thrown his best friend into the pot just like that. He would have a lot explaining to do, but it was totally worth it. He didn’t know why needed to prove himself to the guy, but there was just something so annoying about this Do Kyungsoo that he couldn’t lose to. He had to prove something.

“That’s great.” The small guy nods his head, noticing how Chanyeol seems to be sweating or some sort, face flushed. He’d never let the guy know though.

Chanyeol was interesting to him.

 

 

 

 

Dinner was rather interesting. Chanyeol was surprised at how well it went, It wasn’t the smoothest and was not close to perfect at all, but they went the whole night without bickering. It’s probably because Kyungsoo and his mother were there, but still. Knowing his grandmother, she would fight with his mother in front of anyone.

The only awkward and uncomfortable moments they had around the table was when Kyungsoo’s mother asked where the father was, and when the grandmother would bring up Chanhee’s successes, leaving Yoora out. Chanyeol made sure to include his little sister in the list of successes, making Kyungsoo smile.

The food was great, the talk was nice, and everything was alright. Chanyeol was glad and just wanted to clean and go to bed. This was the most eventful day he’s had in forever and it reminded him why he doesn’t like to do these kinds of things.

As Kyungsoo’s mother was ready to leave out the door bidding everyone goodbye, Kyungsoo steps forward and asks his mother to return home safely, confusing both Chanyeol and his mother.

“Oppa isn’t sleeping here, right?” Yoora asks Chanyeol, staring up at them both.

Kyungsoo overhears this and laughs. “No, sweetie.” He answers her with a smile, crouching down to ruffle her hair playfully. “I’m just gonna stay for a bit to help your Channie oppa here. He seems like he’ll need help cleaning all these dishes, right?” Yoora stares up at him, small lips smiling sweetly as she nods back. “Now go up and go to bed, alright? It’s quite late.” He nods, poking the tip of her nose. Instead of her nodding her head once again, she sticks out her tongue and runs up the stairs.

“Told you that you weren’t her type.” Chanyeol says, grabbing Kyungsoo’s collar to drag him into the kitchen with him.

 

 

They then spend the next thirty minutes together, washing the dishes in silence. It would have been awkward, honestly, but Chanyeol found Kyungsoo’s soft humming somewhat soothing. He wouldn’t admit it to the other or himself either, but he enjoyed listening. Very secretly.

Drying their hands, the taller male figures it was only respectful to walk Kyungsoo to the door. Bidding people goodbye wasn’t exactly his forte, but he thought maybe just this once. It was Kyungsoo’s first day here and Chanyeol did have manners.

“Thanks for-- you know. Staying out to help clean.” He says rather awkwardly, approaching the door. Kyungsoo only hums in response, nodding his head. “I guess this means we’ll be seeing each other often. Being neighbors and all.”

“Yeah. It’s no problem! We’re friends after all.” He slaps Chanyeol’s back in a friendly manner, throwing him off a bit. Being short tempered and unusual to this kind of treatment, he his brow and huffs. 

“Why do you do that?” He asks. 

“Do what?”

 “Act like you’ve known me for years? My family?” 

Kyungsoo laughs at this question, tapping the tip of Chanyeol’s nose playfully. “Because I have. I’ve known you guys for years. Eons. Who knows? We may have even known each other in a past life!” He speaks cheerfully, wrapping his around the other’s large frame. Chanyeol finds this really uncomfortable, using his large hands to pry the smaller male off with a grunt. 

“Can you not?” He pushes Kyungsoo off, but being sure not to do it too roughly. “You’re so not normal. Can’t you act like a regular neighbor for once?”

 “Oh! Yes.” Kyungsoo nods his head, getting on his toes to boop Chanyeol’s nose once more. “Ding dong!” He sing-songs, holding his hands out in front of him now. “Hello, sir. May I have a cup of chocolate milk?” Chanyeol stares at him, wondering what the hell has gotten into this guy, for real.

 “What the hell are you doing, Kyungsoo?” 

“Being a regular neighbor! Isn’t this what regular neighbors do?” The shorter male laughs, clapping his hands silently in front of him. “I think your face is funny to look at when I tease you. You should really learn how to loosen up, mr grumpy gills.” As he speaks, he juts his lower lip into a pout, wiggling his finger in front of Chanyeol’s face. The latter smacks it away, scrunching up his face. 

“Why don’t you take your go-happy-lucky attitude and go knock on someone else’s door.” Chanyeol grumbles as he always does. “You know– not everyone is happy all the damn–” 

“Shhh.” Kyungsoo shushes him, face finally normal for once, not showing much expression. “What happened? What’s your problem?” 

“Problem?”

 “Yeah, problem.” The short male clicks his tongue, shaking his head. “Why do you feel that the whole world is on your giant shoulders?” Kyungsoo asks, placing both hands on said shoulders. “What’s the point in worrying all the time, Chanyeol? Why do you worry about every single thing, never having time to smile? When was the last time you smiled because you were truly happy? Not just to please your mother or your siblings?”

 Chanyeol doesn’t know, but it doesn’t mean he’ll let some stranger he met today, tell him all these things about happiness. 

“It doesn’t matter! What do you know about my life anyway?” 

“Not much.” The Kyungsoo in front of him looks like someone else, honestly. Not the one he’d met today; the one with a bright attitude and a happy tone. “But I know enough to say that the guy in front of me does nothing but worry all the time, putting other people before him, never having time to be happy for himself. Being there for people is great, Chanyeol, but once you’re too busy for other people and forget about yourself, all the happiness you have is gone. Why? Because you’ve given it all away.”

 “Listen, be happy, smile– who knows? Tomorrow may never be.” 

Taken back by his own words, Kyungsoo bursts into laughter, placing his hands over his cheeks. “Wow–” He pauses, taking a breath. “That’s good.” 

“You’re dumb.” Chanyeol rolls his eyes, brushing a hand through his hair. “Not everything is sparkles and rainbows, Kyungsoo.”

 “And what does that have to do with smiling once in awhile?” The smaller pouts his lips, shaking his head. “Here… Let me help you learn. One, two, three-- Eeeee!” He counts down before showing a bright smile, index fingers pointing to the corners of his lips. “Come on, Chanyeol. One, two three… Eeee!” He leans closer to Chanyeol, trying to try and pull the taller male’s lips up, but he slaps his tiny hands away, shaking his head. 

“I don’t wanna smile, damn it. Go home!” 

“Alright, alright.” Kyungsoo laughs, standing on his tip toes to ruffle Chanyeol’s hair before walking off, repeating his little ‘smiling routine’ as he does so. 

An hour later as Chanyeol washes up, he finds himself looking in the mirror as he brushes his teeth, practicing that stupid thing Kyungsoo tried earlier. The sight wasn’t pleasing to the eye so he ended groaning, vowing to never do that ever again.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

“So--” Baekhyun hands his best friend his usual coffee in the morning, looking up at Chanyeol with his puppy like eyes. Being his friend for years now, Chanyeol’s learned to know that it meant that Baekhyun had something he really wants to talk about.

“What is it, Baek?” Chanyeol scoffs, leading them the way to their usual bus stop. “Spit it out. You know I hate it when you do that.”

“Right, right.” His best friend laughs, shaking his head. “Silly me... Uh--” He pauses, trying to remember what he had wanted to talk about. “Oh! New neighbor!” He says out loud, taking Chanyeol by surprise, causing him to spit out his drink by accident.

“Who told you about that?” he coughs, patting his chest as Baekhyun tries to hold back his laughter, yet still show concern for him, hand patting his back. “Your mother, duh.” Baekhyun answers, rubbing soothing circles on his back to stop his coughing fit.

“Of course, my mother.” He mumbles, shaking his head. “She really likes him, you know.”

“Almost as much as me?” Baekhyun pouts jokingly.

“Maybe.” Chanyeol mumbles. His best friend chuckles, patting his head lightly, earning a swat from Chanyeol’s large hands. “He’s just-- weird, creepy, and annoying!”

“Oooh... Three things that bother Park Chanyeol dislikes.” He teases.

“I’m serious!” The taller male huffs, taking a sip of his coffee once more once the cough is gone. “And you’re never going to believe what I told that .” He speaks again, this time becoming a bit quiet near the end of his sentence. Baekhyun can only tell it isn’t good news from that, suddenly smacking Chanyeol roughly on the shoulder.

“Ouch!” He hisses, rubbing his shoulder with a childish pout. “What was that for?”

“You told him that I was your boyfriend, didn’t you?” Baekhyun shouts, thin lips curling into a frown. They really were best friends after all. “Damn it!” He smacks Chanyeol again, sighing heavily. “He could have been hot and my type, you know!”

“I don’t think ‘weird, creepy, and annoying’ is your type, Baek.” His friend responds, trying to cover up his actions. “Plus, he was such an , saying I didn’t smile enough and . That dude smiles like ninety nine percent of the time. And when he doesn’t smile, its because he’s either using his big o’ alien eyes to stare into space or something. It’s ing annoying. I had to shut him up.” Chanyeol rambles on, face heated as he even thinks about the small male.

Baekhyun stares at him with a small smirk, laughing. “No one has had you this heated since Wu Yifan was crowned taller than you.”

“Shut up. I am king.”

Just as Baekhyun is about to part his mouth to say something in response, Chanyeol’s cell phone buzzes, causing them to look down as he fishes it out from his pocket.

“Yo, grumpy gills. Your mother gave me your number.
Let me meet your boyfran 2nite. (;
Promise I won’t bite him.
Lowkey wanna hang out.
I don’t have friends and I know for sure that you may have low supply, so help me out.
Unless... you’re scared and you lied about your boyfriend.”

Reading the screen, Baekhyun cannot help but burst into laughter. “Oh my god--” He chokes on his coffee, patting his chest. “This guy really has got you figured out already! Man-- I think I like him.” He cackles until Chanyeol punches his arm.

“Shut up,” He grumbles, staring down at his phone.

“Alright, alright.” Baekhyun scoots himself a bit closer to his friend to snatch away his phone, earning a deep ‘hey!’. Hushing his giant friend, he starts to tap the screen, texting something real quickly. “Say this-- I’ll go with you tonight, to prove yourself to this-- weirdo creep guy.” Baekhyun smiles, showing Chanyeol the screen.

“Yeah. Whatever.
I’ll see you tonight in front of my house.
With my BOYFRIEND.”

“Wow,” Chanyeol laughs. “You really don’t text like me, but okay.” He takes the phone, pressing send. Now all he needed was to figure out how he really was going to pull this whole ‘I have a boyfriend’ thing off tonight.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Chanyeol was definitely a newbie to the clubbing scene, coming out with a plain tee with a pair of regular jeans. Meanwhile, his ‘boyfriend’ for the night, was sporting some tight leather jeans, throwing on a tight fitting shirt. If you had looked at them standing together, you would totally be thinking why in the world would Baekhyun be dating a potato looking thing like Chanyeol.

That’s what Kyungsoo is thinking right now as he stands in front of them both, wearing an outfit similar to Baekhyun’s, his being a loose kind of shirt though. Not that it mattered. What mattered was the fact that a guy like Baekhyun was dating a guy like Chanyeol.

“Baekhyun, right?” He holds out his hand, bowing his head. “I’m Do Kyungsoo.”

Of course, opposite from his lover of the night, he was friendly. Taking the small hand like his own, Baekhyun shook Kyungsoo’s hand, offering a bright smile the same as Kyungsoo’s as well. “Ah-- yes. Chanyeol has told me so much about you.” He says, earning a small nudge of the elbow from Chanyeol.

“They’re not good things, I assume.” Kyungsoo half jokes, laughing happily.

“Ah, so you know?” Baekhyun joins in on the laughing, excluding Chanyeol out. “My Chanyeol isn’t the friendliest in the bunch, but he’s still lovely.”

“I assume so. He’s alright.” Kyungsoo nods his head. “Shall we head on to the party?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Chanyeol rolls his eyes. Kyungsoo was beginning to wonder if it was an everyday thing for him.

Entering the club, ears filled with loud music with a fast beat, Baekhyun leads the two towards the familiar bar that he knows like the back of his hand. “This is where we’ll hang. Let loose, wind down, all that.” Baekhyun tries to speak over the music.

“Good!” Kyungsoo grins, taking a seat before placing both arms on the counter. “We can chat and stuff.”

“Cool.” Baekhyun responds. “What do we talk about?”

“Tell me your story!”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol stare at each other at the same time, worry obvious in their faces. They obviously hadn’t practiced this the night before. They got simple information, knowing how to wing things out since they’re best friends, but this-- this was hard, trying to tell a love story, not knowing the same one.

“S-Story?” Baekhyun stutters slightly, laughing it off. “The same old stuff, y’know...”

“I don’t know.” Kyungsoo a brow, looking at them both suspiciously. “Every couple has their own story, sillies. Tell me yours. Go on. I have all the time.” The face Kyungsoo gives them both annoys the hell out of Chanyeol, anger growing inside him.

“The park.” He suddenly blurts out.

“The park?” Kyungsoo repeats, starting to chuckle. “Baekhyun, I would believe. You? I know I’ve only known you for a bit now, but I don’t think you’re a park person, Chanyeol.” He hums, tilting his head to the side as if he would see another angle of Chanyeol’s personality. “Mmm. Nope. Still don’t see it.”

“What’s wrong with meeting at the park?” Baekhyun tries to pick up the mess, quickly coming. “We met there.” He nods. “And well-- that’s where I kind of fell in love with this doofus kinda guy.” He tries to make it come off naturally, showing his awkwardness a bit.

“Al... right.” Kyungsoo squints his eyes, nodding lowly. “Then what were you both doing there? How’d you meet there?”

“Walking our dogs--” Chanyeol jumps in again, not thinking about the answers that leave his lips. Hearing this answer, Kyungsoo looks at him with a weird expression, starting to laugh. “Chanyeol, you silly silly boy!” He giggles, tapping the tip of the taller male’s nose. “You don’t have a dog. I’ve been to your house.”

“I have two dogs!” Baekhyun blurts next, trying to find ways to pick up his best friend’s missing puzzle pieces.

“But if you have two dogs, why was Chanyeol walking yours?”

“You know what?” Chanyeol’s deep voice shouts, catching both of the petite boys off guard. “I give up! I don’t have a boyfriend. Baekhyun is my best friend, and you’re an .” He points his giant finger at Kyungsoo, poking at the latter’s small chest.

“Me? ?” The male laughs. “Hey, I didn’t do anything.” Kyungsoo puts both hands up in defense, shaking his head. “I’m the one being lied to! I don’t think I’m the here.”

“Shut up, you knew.” Chanyeol groans, handing money to the bartender to give them rounds of shots as he argues with the puny human in front of him. Kyungsoo shakes his head in denial, making Baekhyun turn a bit pink.

“Hey, man. I was just helping out my friend here.” He tries to excuse himself, making Kyungsoo laugh one more.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s okay, Baekhyun. Who would date this potato?”

Before his best friend can answer, Chanyeol pushes past them both to grab the shot glasses, downing them one by one. He didn’t wanna hear this. He didn’t wanna deal with the stupid new neighbor he has, and he didn’t wanna deal with Baekhyun’s teasing for tonight. He just wanted to let lose and mute them out.

Shot after shot, it didn’t take Chanyeol long to get drunk. He had low tolerance for these kinds of things. But Kyungsoo or Baekhyun didn’t stop him. If anything, Kyungsoo wanted to watch what kind of dumb thing Chanyeol would do. He wouldn’t let him do anything horrible, but to see Chanyeol do something besides be a ‘grumpy gill’ was better.

“Come on, idiots! Let’s dance!” Chanyeol cheers, running off on his own. Baekhyun’s about to follow after him, but Kyungsoo stops him by the wrist, placing a finger over his lips. “Shh.” He snickers. “Let him let loose. He’s too uptight.”

Although he’s worried, things would be alright., right?” Baekhyun sighs, nodding his head before taking shots of his own, wanting to wind down as well. Even though he’s been around here a few times, quite familiar with the scene, he didn’t handle his alcohol very well, leaving Kyungsoo to watch over two idiots.

Watching Chanyeol practically tug off the DJ off his spot to change the music and play with the turntables was such a sight, making Kyungsoo laugh as he watches. He didn’t want the giant to get himself into too much trouble, walking up to bring him back to the dance floor where he should be. Doing that, Chanyeol hadn’t realized who was the one holding him, suddenly placing his hands at Kyungsoo’s waist, pulling him close. “Hey, baby.” He whipsers, words slurred. “Wanna dance?”

Kyungsoo’s definitely taken back by this, but he doesn’t protest. Chanyeol doesn’t give him time to respond either, starting to grind his hips against the other’s, rolling his hips in a way that Kyungsoo never knew that he would know how. He’d be embarrassed to admit that he liked this, the way the taller male’s body presses against his, rubbing him in all the right spots. It’s just a shame that the moment is immediately killed once he lifts up his head and Chanyeol see’s his face, immediately jumping back. “Gross.” Chanyeol mumbles, stumbling backwards, ending up to bump into Baekhyun who naturally takes his place.

Kyungsoo only watches, cheeks flushed as he laughs.

What a night.

 

 

 

The real struggle was getting the two stupid idiots home.

On the way there, Kyungsoo having to hold both of their hands so they don’t run off, doing stupid things. Baekhyun was half sober, but still slurred his words, brain a little fuzzy. Meanwhile, Chanyeol was still stupid drunk. The only sober one had managed to shut them both up though, hushing them loudly.

“Shut up, both of you.” Kyungsoo groans. “Just be quiet, and enjoy the walk home. I’ll get us a cab when I see one.”

Baekhyun whines, stomping his feet. He does that for awhile until he starts to giggle, swinging his hand with Kyungsoo’s. The latter stares at him, practically throwing daggers. “What in the world are you doing?” He asks, pulling Baekhyun closer so he doesn’t walk too close to the street.

The latter laughs in response, raising his hand to get permission to speak. Kyungsoo gives it to him.

“It reminds me of walking to school like a little kid.” He says, looking out in front of them, sighing lightly. The next thing he knows, he starts to sniffle, rubbing at his eye with his free hand. “I-I miss my mommy.”

“I’m sorry.” Kyungsoo frowns a bit. “When did she die?”

“She’s not dead!” Baekhyun whimpers. “She’s alive! What’s wrong with missing your mom? Is there something wrong with missing your parents?” Baekhyun screeches. Kyungsoo’s about to hush him and tell him that it’s fine, but Chanyeol beats him to it, deep voice speaking softly.

“It’s okay. Of course it’s okay.” He says quietly, emotionless. “I miss my father all the time.” Chanyeol tries to hold all of his emotions, mind clouded with old memories of the past. “I miss him so much. You’d think that a guy like me would accept the death of my dad, but it’s like one day you have a father, and one day you don’t. Then you stand there, wondering what you’d done wrong, if he even liked you, loved you... Your family. Then they all crumble with you, wondering the same thing.”

Kyungsoo watches as Baekhyun naturally detaches himself, going to Chanyeol’s side, wrapping an arm around him as they continue to walk.

“Hey...” Baekhyun coos towads his best friend. “You did nothing wrong. Your father’s death wasn’t yours or your family’s. I know you miss him, but you need to be happy too. There are people who care and love you. I love you.” He smiles, sending soothing words.

“Really?” Chanyeol looks down at his friend, leaning his head ontop of the other as he smiles softly.

“Of course. I’ve always loved you, silly.”

Hearing their conversation, Kyungsoo purses his lips, forcing a smile as he lets go of Chanyeol’s hand, letting them walk ahead of him, being sure to keep a close eye on them from behind. 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

The two drunk idiots from the previous night don’t really remember what had happened the night before, but it’s the headache they receive when they wake up is a not so friendly reminder of what hit them. Luckily, Kyungsoo was a smart man to leave them both a glass of water and medication beside the bed. Chanyeol thought that maybe Kyungsoo wasn’t so bad to have him in his life. 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 For the past month that Kyungsoo has been around, they’ve all gotten close. Chanyeol was still cold as ever, but the guy had gotten real close to everyone. 

Almost all of the neighbors knew him and Baekhyun was even close to him. His mother adored Kyungsoo, and Chanhee really enjoyed playing ball with him. Yoora still denied his proposals to marry him, but you could tell she really loved him around. 

Kyungsoo was like the god of the neighborhood; helping Chanyeol’s grandmother’s deafening choir whip into shape, coaching Chanhee well enough to become captain of the school’s basketball team, and even helping Chanyeol’s boy crazy cousin score a boyfriend that was willing to stay with her more than two days. 

He was a miracle. An angel, even. 

They didn’t really know, but they were happy he was around. 

Chanyeol didn’t like to admit it, but he was happy as well. Maybe not the happiness Kyungsoo talks about all the time, but the happiness where he feels comfortable around him. He gave a good vibe and made it easier for Chanyeol to smile-- alone, at least. He’d never show anyone else. At least, he didn’t think he would. 

If anyone had noticed his change in attitude, Byun Baekhyun was certainly a professional at it. He didn’t tell his best friend he knew, but he did. Chanyeol was someone who never smiled much, so to see him smile once in awhile out of no where really did make a difference. It was a good change and Baekhyun was happy that the guy was really starting to see the light. 

 

 

---

 

 

 “I think I love him.” Baekhyun blurts to Kyungsoo who chokes on his coffee, going into a coughing fit. “W-What?” He tries to pat his chest to stop himself from coughing. “Come again?”

 “I think I’m in love with Park Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo’s expression is hard to read for a second, but his lips curve into that familiar heart shaped smile, hands clapping slowly. 

“It’s about time, you slow .”

 “What?” 

“I knew you had.” Kyungsoo grins, sitting back against his chair, sipping from the cup in his hand once again. 

“Is there anything you don’t know?” 

“I’m not sure, but what I do know is that you shouldn’t hold this back.” He advises, nodding his head slowly, eyes cast down on the floor as he speaks. “This is something you should take on, you know? I think he might love you too, considering that you both have been friends forever and you’re honestly one of the only people he’s opened up to. What do you even like about that cold lump of coal anyway?” 

“You really think so?” Baekhyun is unsure about this, feeling a bit sick thinking about being rejected by the clumsy lanky male. The other male just smiles lightly, nodding. “I--I like a lot of things about him. Honestly, I think I have this whole time, but really seeing him brighten up lately… It really makes me realize these things. I’ve never really gotten to see his genuine smile before, but now… It really takes my breath away.” 

“Ah, well of course. I’m sure those feeling have been there since forever, right? You should confess, I think! I insist!” He tries to offer a bit of a push, wanting Baekhyun to take it. 

The latter does.

The rest of the night, they spend their hours together, plotting and planning a way to confess to Chanyeol. 

It wasn’t as long as Baekhyun thought it would be, but it was alright. He trusted Kyungsoo. The guy knew everything. 

 

 

---

 

 

“Why?” Chanyeol asks, turning his head to Kyungsoo who sits beside him. They’ve been in his living room for some time now, trying to sort out a few papers that his mother needed sorted. 

“Why what?”

 “Why are you helping random people like you’re some sort of god? I mean-- You’ve helped practically the whole neighborhood, and yesterday you practically got help to remodel my mother’s restaurant to get us out of debt and now we’re making bank… Tell me.” His eyes are pleading, body leaning towards Kyungsoo a bit.

Kyungsoo already has the answer in mind, but wants to tease a little, setting one stack of the papers in his hands to the coffee table in front of them, turning his head to look at Chanyeol dramatically. 

“Because of you.” He answers with a serious expression. “I did it all, because of you.” 

Chanyeol suddenly tenses in his spot, staring at the other for a few seconds. After realizing that it’s Kyungsoo after all, he starts to chuckle. 

“What?” Kyungsoo laughs. “Isn’t that what you wanted to hear, Chanyeol?” 

“No, no, no.” He laughs with his deep voice in return, the sound music to Kyungsoo’s ears. “Seriously though. Tell me.” He says with pleading eyes. “I really wanna know. People don’t go fixing people’s lives for the hell of it. Tell me your secret.” 

Kyungsoo debates in his mind on whether to tell him, but decides on coming clean anyway.

 “Eyes.” He answers simply. 

“Huh?”

 “The eyes.” Kyungsoo looks into Chanyeol’s eyes, lips in a soft smile. “Have you seen your mother’s eyes?” he asks, leaning his face a tad closer to the other’s flushing one. “They’re full of pain, sadness, and a tad bit of hope for good to come. I see them in yours too, Chanyeol. In every one of you guys, really.” He nods. “And now that I’ve been helping around, I honestly see more happiness in them, and it makes me happy.” Chanyeol’s honestly speechless, unsure on what to say. 

Lips gaping, Kyungsoo laughs and pokes the other male’s lower lip and shakes his head. 

“You’re too silly, Chanyeol.” He grins warmly. “It’s good to see you smile a lot more, by the way.” 

Chanyeol only nods in reply, not really knowing what to say to that. 

“Let’s just… go back to sorting these things out.” He shakes his head, fingers flipping through papers and folders. “Whatever you want.” The shorter male shrugs his narrow shoulders, going back to the papers as well. Just as he does that, he turns to look at Chanyeol once more, humming softly. 

“Staring at me isn’t going to get these papers done.” He mumbles, brows furrowed as he reads the words on the paper. 

“Have you ever thought of dying your hair?” Kyungsoo continues to hum softly. “Brown is super boring on you.” Chanyeol laughs at this and a brow. “Should I go red like you?” 

“Who knows.” Kyungsoo wiggles his eyebrows. “Try something different for once, mr grumpy gills.” 

Chanyeol considers it.

 

 

---

 

 

A week after the planning this whole ‘date’, Baekhyun was pretty confident about this.

 He got everything set up, getting the most top class restaurant in Seoul to be reserved for him, paying a ton of money just to bump his name up the waiting list. Not only that, but he was wearing a suit today. A damn suit. 

Byun Baekhyun was wearing a suit outside of his work place. That was a special sight. He was a tiny man. He felt no need to be wearing a suit that only made him and his small shoulders any weirder. That wasn’t the point though.

 The point was that he was confessing to Chanyeol today and if it failed, dear lord, he will cry. 

He had texted Chanyeol to come and dress nice today. He told him that there was huge news that he needed to tell him, and he had replied that he also had some news he wanted to share to his best friend. And he was pretty shocked to see where Baekhyun had wanted to meet him, expressing in text that it must have been huge news since it was in a nice place. 

Baekhyun only chuckled because he really had no idea how huge it was.

 

 

 

The wait was worth it, really. Even though he had to chat with the violinists he had hired for the night, trying not to seem too lonely at the table he was at. It actually calmed his nerves a lot more, body stopping itself from shaking anymore. Now, he was much more confident, staring at the roses he had bought earlier, looking as it sits on top of the table nicely. 

After waiting about thirty minutes, he sees a familiar, yet unfamiliar, figure come approach him, It definitely was Chanyeol, and Baekhyun can tell because he had that dumb walk, and his face was so handsome. He was double the handsome right now, all dressed up in a suit as well. 

The only thing that made Chanyeol different today was the new hair he was sporting today. 

It was… different. A good different.

 Baekhyun honestly thought it really fit him; hair pushed back nicely while the color shines a noticeable red. 

Though it was really new-- it was good. 

 “Ah-- Sorry I’m super late, Baek.” The giant male apologizes, bowing his head before taking a seat. “I had to get dressed and all that. You know how I am with these kinds of things.” He flashes a grin, placing both hands on the table. Chanyeol’s smile is so wide, it was honestly so distracting and blinding. 

Whatever he had to tell Baekhyun must have made the guy so happy, because it’s the first time in his life that he’s seen his best friend actually leak happiness. 

“I-It’s super fine. I mean-- It’s fine.” He nods his head, cheeks flushing a bit. “Don’t sweat it, just uh--” Clearing his throat, he tries and thinks of what to say. 

“I have something I wanna tell you.” They both say in unison. Looking at each other with wide eyes before bursting into laughter, Baekhyun shakes his head as he waves his hand. “You first, you first.” He grins brightly, giving all of his attention to Chanyeol like he always had. 

The larger male tries to bite back his grin, rubbing his hands in front of him as he prepares his big news. “I…” He pauses. “I’m in love with Kyungsoo!” His smile is so wide and he had confessed it so proudly, it makes Baekhyun’s heart break. Hearing those unexpected words fly out of Chanyeol’s mouth like that made his heart drop to his stomach, suddenly wanting to hurl it out. 

He would have, but the male was his best friend, and Baekhyun knew better than to try and break his best friend’s happiness. “Wow…” He forces a smile, slowly clapping his hands. “You love Kyungsoo. That’s… really great!” He nods his head. “Man, I knew you did. I mean, yeah! You love him.” He’s honestly speechless, trying to spit out whatever positive words he can. 

It’s not like the other notices how Baekhyun’s crescent shaped eyes are trying to keep the tears in. 

“I don’t know, Baek.” Chanyeol sighs, rubbing the sweat off his hands and onto his pants. “I don’t think Kyungsoo would like me back, you know? I’ve been kinda mean to him since the start and I think it’s such a far fetched idea to confess. He wouldn’t like me…” 

“He’d be crazy not to.” He gives his input, clearing his throat as the tears in his eyes are blinked away. 

“You really think so?” Baekhyun nods, because it’s all he can really do. “Then should I confess?”

 “No…” Baekhyun means for it to only be in his head, but it accidentally slips out with a whimper, hand immediately going to cover his mouth.

 “No?” He’s a little taken back by Baekhyun’s response, honestly expecting his support with his thought. Baekhyun can sense this, immediately picking up after his words with a loud laugh. “I said, go! Not no.” He nods his head. “Go, go, go.” 

“Really?” Chanyeol asks, looking at his best friend with hopeful eyes. He feels bad if he leaves him here since this place was really hard to get a reservation at, but if Baekhyun really allowed him to go, he would. 

He needed to speak to Kyungsoo. He had to. 

Knowing that there isn’t much he can do about it, Baekhyun sends his support to his friend with warm smile, nodding his head. 

“Go on ahead, Yeol. I insist.” He grins, reaching out to grab the bouquet of roses he had rested on the table. “Good luck. And… when you get there, give these to him. He’d like that.” He nods, handing the taller male the flowers as he gets up to leave. 

“Ah! Thank you so much, Baek.” He beams happily, leaning over to ruffle Baekhyun’s head with his free hand. “I love you!” He exclaims before leaving the table. 

Baekhyun watches, biting on his hand as he sobs a small ‘I love you too’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol feels blessed that he really lives right next door to Kyungsoo, making it easier for him. If he wanted to change his mind, he could easily turn back and run next door, not having to worry about it too much. But let’s be honest here, who was he kidding? 

Hands sweating like crazy, he brings up his free hand to knock on Kyungsoo’s front door. He feels like he’s been waiting forever outside even though he had just arrived. Trying to calm his nerves, he uses the same hand to brush his hair back, fixing it before Kyungsoo can come. 

Once he hears the click of the doorknob, he feels his heart pick up it’s pace.

“Chanyeol?” The one he’s in love with opens the door, looking up at him with that innocent face of his, giving  that bright smile he had always given him since day one. Chanyeol tries to return his own, trying not to seem flustered, even though it’s quite obvious that he is. 

“Are you just going to stand there?” He laughs, pulling Chanyeol in by the collar. “Come in and sit. I just made some tea.” 

The giant is honestly choking on his words, not really being able to say anything verbally. Instead, he allows actions to do it for him, taking a seat on the couch as he was asked to. 

Once they’re both seated in the living room,  Kyungsoo looks at Chanyeol up and down, suddenly noticing the tall male’s change in hair color, bursting out into laughter. “Ah,” he pauses, blinking a few times just to make sure he was not hallusinating. 

“New hair color?” He a brow, giving a small whistle.

A bit embarrassed, Chanyeol nods his head slowly, rubbing the nape of his neck. “Yeah.” He slaps on a grin,. “Do you like it?”

“I hate it.” 

Ouch, he’s shot down just like that. But knowing Kyungsoo, he was mostly joking around. 

Clearing his throat, Chanyeol sits up and grips onto the bouquet of roses in his hands, trying to muster up all that courage he had just thrown in together as he was walking his way over here. 

“I have something to say.”  

“Go on....” Kyungsoo smiles, encouraging him to go on. 

“I...” He’s about to say it, the words on the tip of his tongue, but he can’t seem to allow them to escape his mouth. “I...”

“You what?” The small male giggles softly. “I think I’m starting to get the point now, Yeol. You--?”

“I’ll... I’ll just go.” Chanyeol says quickly, getting back onto his feet quickly. Before he can take a step anywhere, Kyungsoo stops him with the shake of his head, apologizing. “No, no.” The small male grins. “I’m sorry. Go on. Take your time.”

“A-Alright.” Chanyeol nods slowly, this time deciding not to look at the male as he confesses, finding that it actually just makes him choke easier. “I...” He starts off again, eyes drifting off to the coffee table in front of him. 

There’s nothing about the table that fascinates him, but the photo that hides under a book. Half of the photo is uncovered, showing Kyungsoo smiling as bright as ever. 

Curious, Chanyeol reaches out to pull it out, surprised to see that the other half reveals Kyungsoo and another male, faces too close for Chanyeol’s comfort. 

“Who’s this?” He asks, showing the photo to Kyungsoo whose smile disappears. It settles and uncomfrotable feeling in his stomach. “Who?”

“It’s me.” Kyungsoo tries to joke.

Chanyeol only chuckles, shaking his head. “I know that. But who is  this?” He asks once more, pointing a finger to the other male’s face.

Pursing his lips, Kyungsoo takes the photo from Chanyeol’s hand to bring it a bit closer to his own face. “This? That’s Jongin.” He says with a small smile, eyes looking at the man in the photo who has sun kissed skin, grin wide with his arm wrapped around Kyungsoo. 

“Jongin?” The name is unfamiliar to Chanyeol, causing him to tilt his head, trying hard to think about it.

“Yeah.” Kyungsoo’s eyes are still concentrated on the photo, a sigh drawn out from his thick lips. “Jongin is my husband.”

Heart literally stopping at Kyungsoo’s words, Chanyeol tries to stop the pain in his heart while trying to keep his expression calm and collected at the same time. It’s really difficult though, especially when the tears are already starting to form in his eyes. 

“Jongin is the reason why I’m here in Seoul, honestly.” He continues on. “My mother and I have come over here together to try and bring him back home. It’s a little sad, right?” He chuckles softly. “We’ve been married for about three years, and well-- you know how it is. The usual marriage quarrels. And well-- me being annoying and such, he left me and came to Seoul. Now, I’m here to bring him back home.”

“He keeps telling me, ‘I need more time’, and all that stuff, but our love is stronger than that. I know he’ll come back home with me one day.” Kyungsoo nods slowly, lips growing into a small smile. “Look at him,” He holds the photo out towards Chanyeol. “Isn’t he just something, right?”

Chanyeol has to force himself to nod, blinking away his tears. “Yeah. Wonderful.” His wide grin from earlier had been wiped off his face, joyful tone taken away as well. 

Kyungsoo was quick to notice, noticing how his old personality has jumped back so quickly.

“I... Have to go.” the taller male nods his head, getting onto his feet, taking the roses with him. Kyungsoo catches him by the wrist and sighs heavily.

“Jongin-- stay... Ah, I mean Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo laughs sadly, shaking his head. “You see-- I’m so sad... Maybe it is best if you go for now.” 

“Me too. I will,” It’s not like he could stay any longer anyway, throat feeling like it’s suffocating him. 

Shaking his arm out of Kyungsoo’s grasp, he heads for the door before hearing that familiar soft voice that always manages to make his heart skip. 

“What about the roses, Chanyeol?”

The male pauses at the door, biting on his lower lip to stop it from quivering. 

“They aren’t for you. Goodbye, Kyungsoo.” 

And with that, he leaves the house, allowing his wall to break down, tears leaving his eyes as he steps out. He drops the roses at Kyungsoo’s door, hoping to leave his feelings and his heart there as well. He hopes, but he knows that it isn’’t possible. His love for Kyungsoo was stronger than he thought.

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, in the inside of the house, Kyungsoo reaches out for the tea he had made earlier, trying to ignore his mother who approaches him from behind as he looks out the window. He already knows what she’s going to say and he really doesn’t want to hear it. Not today.

“Why, Kyungsoo?”

“Why what?” He sets his cup down, turning his head to look at her. 

“You love him, don’t you?”

“Love who?” Kyungsoo laughs, hands clenching tightly at his sides. “I don’t love Chanyeol, mother.”

“When did I say Chanyeol?”

Heart aching at the name, Kyungsoo shakes in his spot, biting back a whimper. “I don’t love him, mom!” 

Coming up close from behind him, she takes one of his hands and raises it up to see that his fingers are crossed. With a deep frown, she sighs as she uncrosses them for him. “I’m your mother.” She whispers soothingly. “You cannot lie to me.”

With those words, he breaks his act, heart breaking into pieces. 

“What do I do, mom?” He asks, tears prickling his eyes. “What do I do?”

“Do I tell him the truth?” His body shakes as he speaks, barely holding on. “Do I tell him that for the first time in a long time, my heart is loving someone? If I can’t face the fact after knowing the truth, how will Chanyeol?”

“How do I tell him that the love I have for him is stronger than everything in this world, yet the heart that I have is very weak?” Bringing a hand up, he places it over his aching heart, tears falling down his eyes. “How do I tell him that my heart aches for him, wants him, and beats for him but it won’t be able to do that for too long?”

“And how do I tell him that the man in that photo is not my husband, but my friend-- my doctor... My doctor who fights day and night, trying to find a way to keep me alive even just for a few more days... Damn it.” Kyungsoo sobs, wiping at his tears harshly.

“I’m dying , mom.”

Watching her son crumble down in front of her like this pains her heart. Not only that, but knowing that the words are only the truth, it hurts her twice as hard. 

“That’s not true, Kyungsoo.” She chokes on a sob, shaking her head. “ You’re not dying. Jongin-- he said there will be a transplant... that it was possible.”

“I’m your son, mom.” he wears a small smile, coming close to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. “You cannot lie to me...” He whispers, holding her close as he allows her to sob into his chest. 

“Mother, please... If you become weak, who will give me strength?” 

“I... I’ll be able to hold in my pain and hurt for you, Kyungsoo. But will you be able to hold your love?”

He only laughs at this and shakes his head. “It’s not my love anymore, mom.... It’s someone else’s... He just needs to reach it.”

“He needs to.  That’s the only thing I want now.”