Mr. Bang and the others arrived back at the camp after an hour with the truck. Chanyeol is nowhere to be seen but Mr. Bang just shrugs it off. He and the other workers start making fire for the night.

 

Meanwhil, Doojoon invites Baekhyun to go in the lake to take a rest. They sit on the log near the lake and Doojoon starts the talk.

 

"So, what did Park say after you explained everything?" Doojoon asks while drawing on the sand with a stick.

 

Baekhyun's head slowly tilts up to the night sky and blows an air. "I guess he's still unconvinced... He's still avoiding me. Nothing changed."

 

Doojoon pouts his lips. "I guess... Give him more time, I think he's still making his mind up."

 

"I hope so," the shorter male mutters.

 

Doojoon looks at his friend and notice how gloomy the he is. He feels bad for him. He wonders what would make Mr. Park forgive his friend.

 

Releasing a sigh, he stands up. "I gotta go now, are you going to come?"

 

The smaller smiles before he shakes his head. "I'll just stay here."

 

"Right." Doojoon nods and beams. He thinks Baekhyun needs some time alone.  "Just- see you later," He says and stuffs his hands in his pockets leaving Baekhyun to go back to the camp.

 

Baekhyun's finally alone and it feels more okay. He looks at the peaceful lake and beautiful trees, they're beautiful being illuminated by the stars. His eyes continue to wander around the lake until they catch something down on the ground. He frowns while carefully looking at the familiar box.

"What is that?"

He stands up from the log and walk towards the thing. Kneeling down, he takes the small box from the ground. He continues to examine it.

 

It didn't take him long minutes to identify the box. The box for his ring. His eyes flew open as he gasps in shock. "H-how did it get in here?" He asks himself nervously before opening the box quickly. But unfortunately, he finds nothing inside.

 

Baekhyun's hands begin to tremble from scare and anxiousness. That ring is so important to him more than anything else. He cannot afford to lose it. He never thought someone would steal it from his bag. "N-no, no, no!"

 

His feet start to work, dragging him back to the main camp. He runs until he reached his and Doojoon's own tent. He looks around inside but he can't find his bag anywhere. Then something clicks in his mind, he left it inside Mr. Bang's tent.

 

He runs to the said tent and quickly enters without permission. Luckily, there's no one else inside. Quickly, he takes his bag from the table but then he freezes when he noticed the zipper is open.

 

He fumbles and searches carefully inside the bag.

 

"Where is it?!" Baekhyun cries desperately. He can't see the ring everywhere, for god's sake!

 

He already drops every thing from the bag but he still can't find it. Nothing else was stolen but the ring. Baekhyun cries from so much frustration until someone hears him.

 

Youngjae comes in the tent. "What's the matter?"

 

"Did you see my ring?!" Baekhyun shrieks. "Someone took it from my bag."

 

Youngjae gapes his mouth. "I- I don't know, Baek."

 

"!" Baekhyun exclaims, letting his fall onto the couch.  "I can't lose that thing..." he mutters between his cries.

 

Youngjae quickly feels sorry for him, he tries to think someone who enters the tent. Then he remembers Park Chanyeol coming from the tent and running to the lake.

 

Youngjae freezes at the realization. Now, he knows what his boss threw in that lake.

 

"Baekhyun." Baekhyun jerks his head towards him, tears are already visible on his eyes. "I think Mr. Park took it..."

 

Baekhyun's eyes widen. , he can't see that ring. He would go frenzied.

 

"He looks mad pacing to the lake then he threw something small in the lake and I assume t-that's your ring."

 

"I- I swear, Baekhyun. I don't know why he did that!" Youngjae explains. "I'm sorry if I didn't get to stop him… Just happened so fast."

 

After hearing them, Baekhyun’s world suddenly stops, he can't even hear the rest Youngjae was saying. He stands up from the couch and exits the tent.

 

 

-

Doojoon helps the other prepare for dinner. He starts the fire and Jihoon cuts the vegetables while Youngsaeng prepares the pot on the fire.

 

"I wonder where's Baekhyun." Jihoon says suddenly, Doojoon perks his head up. "We're used to see you guys always together."

 

Youngsaeng comments with a smirk. "They're inseparable."

 

Doojoon can't help but chuckle. "You guys are idiot."

 

"I'm really starting to think that you like him so much." Jihoon says in a blue while putting the carrots inside the pot.

 

"You guys are cute together... rather than with that Mr. Bang. He's your rival with Baekhyun." Youngsaeng says.

 

Doojoon pauses for a second. His hold on the wood gets tight. "I'd rather stay as his friend than hurt his heart."

 

"Why'd you say that?" Youngsaeng asks, looking at him.

 

"Baekhyun loves someone else. Not me, not even Mr. Bang... so don't put my hopes up." he mutters under his breath.  The two nod and agree to him as they stop their conversation. They don't know that Mr. Bang is listening to them from afar. He sighs and rubs his tired out eyes before going inside the tent before the sun gets down.

 

Doojoon clasps his hand, finished of putting the logs. His eyes scan around and suddenly, he sees Mr. Park coming out of the forest.

 

"Sir!" Doojoon yells to get his attention which he succeeds. Chanyeol looks up at him but he is frowning. "We already fixed dinner, sir."

 

"Good." Chanyeol mutters.

 

Doojoon bites his lip before having the courage to ask the president. "Um... Where exactly have you been, sir?"

 

"None of your business." is Chanyeol's immediate answer. He continues walking to his own tent without glancing back.

 

Doojoon sighs and clenches his eyes shut. When he opens them again, he has the guts to drag his feet and follow his president. His friends quickly get concerned.

 

"Where are you going, Joon?" Youngsaeng asks in a worry.

 

"Are you crazy? He's mad and if you fight, he will surely fire you!" Adds Jihoon.

 

"I'm not going to do anything that will affect my job, I swear." Doojoon tells them and reassures with a smile. He continue to walk to Mr. Park's tent with his friends' eyes following him.

 

 

 

The water is getting cooler against his feet and the sun is almost setting but Baekhyun still cannot find the ring in the big body of water. He doesn't have anger but frustration in his head. He's not mad with Chanyeol for throwing the ring in the lake. He understands why Chanyeol did that but no matter what, Baekhyun can't lose the ring. It's the only thing he has importantly right now, and he won't stop until he finds that thing.

 

He already gets on half middle of the lake but he still can't find anything. As he gets farther in the water, the deeper he gets. Not to mention, he can't really swim but he's not afraid to drown just to find that precious thing.

 

"I have to find it before the sun comes down..." Baekhyun mutters to himself with utter anxiousness. But the sky is already getting dim and the wind is getting much colder than it needs to be.

Fresh tear rolls down and falls down the water. Baekhyun begins to sob, his body trembles from the cold temperature around him.

 

"Please God, I need to find it..."

 

 

 

~

 

Without permission, Doojoon enters the tent of his boss.

 

He hears Chanyeol groaned. "Mr. Bang, I don't-" then the president stops once he recognized it isn't Mr. Bang. Doojoon, one of his workers.

 

"What are you doing here?" Chanyeol asks with furrowed brows.

 

Doojoon faces him seriously. "Let's take away the formality, sir... We need to talk and you need to know things," he states politely.

 

The president continues to wrinkle his forehead, confused at the other's words. "What?"

 

"It's about Baekhyun."

 

Chanyeol closes his eyes as he scoffs after hearing the name. "I don't have time." He drops the papers on the desk.

 

Doojoon quickly cuts. "And Baekhyun is running out of time. Please, it's urgent. I will feel bad if I couldn't do this for him." Chanyeol eyes him judgingly, tilting his head.  "As his friend, I have the feel to defend hi-"

 

"-defend you say?" Chanyeol questions mockingly. "What else is there to defend when you know that your friend is completely wrong and you're just wasting time finding a way to redeem of his faults."

 

Doojoon frowns. "You still don't forgive him?"

 

"The hell would I!" Chanyeol says with a chuckle. "Do you think I would do that easily?"

 

Doojoon stares at him for a while before letting out a breath. "Oh my God, I can't believe you will be this heartless."

 

"And I can't believe my employee is talking to me impudently right now." Chanyeol counters with a winning and mocking smile.

 

"You deserve it!" Doojoon throws. "You know what, after all Baekhyun had been through, why can’t you still accept that he's already regretting everything he did to you? His brother even died from paying his mistake."

 

"It wasn't his fault that his brother died." Chanyeol mutters. "I know that he get hurt as well but he still won't measure the pain he had given me!"

 

"But he truly loves you."

 

Chanyeol huffs. "Bull. If he did then why didn't he come back to me sooner?" he asks, fists clenching. "Why didn't he apologize and tell me that he made a mistake? Why? Where was he when I was having a hard time to move on and forget that piece of ?"

 

"Don't ever call him that!" Doojoon shouts at his boss. Then he furrows his brows, realizing of something Chanyeol must be missing out. "Wait, you don't know that he tried looking for you?"

 

Chanyeol grunts. "No, I don't. He didn't say anything to me like the sort."

 

"." Doojoon curses until he realize everything while Chanyeol's still confused at him. Baekhyun, that idiot didn't tell this douchebag everything...

 

"Don't curse in front of me. Just go back-

 

"I guess you really need to know sir everything not just the fact that his brother's died."

 

It's time for Chanyeol to frown. "What do you mean?"

 

"Well, he struggled a lot at the times he wanted to find you. Simply." Doojoon starts. "Baekhyun told me that his father was kicked out from his job just after Yoonhyung's death so money became a big issue to them which caused them to stay at that town and not go back... So he didn't get to graduate highschool with you. After taking his diploma, Baekhyun just decided not to go to college to work as well. So, he started finding a job to help his family instead of going to college."

 

"But after a year, his mother died from hitting by a car, which was unfortunate for him." Chanyeol froze, his chest starts to hurt again.

 

"You know, I can feel the ache in his heart while telling me that part." Doojoon bits his bottom lips, trying to suppress the tears from coming out. 

 

"B-but anyway, after his mother died, his father didn't move on easily and began drinking everyday, drowning himself to forget the pain that's why he completely forgets his son... there I realize Baekhyun suffered more, poor kid." he sighs. Chanyeol shut his eyes close for a while, still trying to process everything in his mind. God, that was awful.

 

"He didn't just lose a mother, but a father as well. He had a painful weigh in his chest but he still didn't give up hope and he continue to live. He struggled to find a better job to raise them both. He couldn’t even pay a rent and do you think he can even buy a ticket back to you? No, because no matter how much he wanted to see you, he couldn't. He simply couldn't because he had so many priorities to do. When the time came he got a better job, the first thing he did was to place his father into a rehab... He did it even though it was hard for him.. It was hard for him to send his father away... which made him completely alone than he already was." Doojoon pauses, wiping the single tear from his reddening eyes.

 

"But then after a year, his father died from diabetes and Baekhyun was devastated more. Now, he's literally alone." Chanyeol couldn't feel any of his muscles move. He feels so numb. Doojoon's already crying just from telling the story. Chanyeol himself didn't fight the tears that wanted to flow and his fists are clenching tightly from so much sorrow, anger and frustration.

 

"He lost you, his brother died, his parents died, those were the three greatest misfortunes of his life, he said. But he said it's actually four, but he didn't tell me what it is... I don't want to know anyway what it was or else I would actually cry in front of him." Chanyeol's eyes continue to stream tears. He feels like the Gods above are glaring at him right now.

 

Chanyeol continues to stare at him, his brows are furrowing. "So what I'm saying is, you're not the only one who suffered when you separated. You have no idea how much Baekhyun had been through but 'm still proud of him for being strong and unbreakable. He didn't deserve any of those to happen in his life but you know what, I guess it's much better if he didn't meet you in the first place." Doojoon says with a sting in his voice. Chanyeol can only bow his head down from guilt and shame. "Come to think of it, those unfortunate things will not happen if he just didn't meet you because you know what, he's blaming his self all this time why God is punishing him. He thinks those thing happened because of what he did to you. You're lucky Mr. Park, he's still thinking of you after all those disasters happened in his life."

 

"Do you know he still has that ring that you were supposed to give him? You dropped it but hell, he came back to that rooftop and took it. He told me it was the only thing he has that resembles you. It's the only thing that matters to him so much... Because he matters to you." That's what hits Chanyeol.

 

"He only wants you to forgive him, is that even hard to do?"

 

Chanyeol's breath hitches. He sobs in front of his employee until he emotionally breaks down on his knees.

 

I'm such a ing monster...

 

 

 

FLASHBACK

 

 

The fourth time Chanyeol took Baekhyun out for a dinner was also the time their parents found out they were dating. Chanyeol's parents were so glad and happy for then and so was Baekhyun's. They have to ask permission to the parents in Chanyeol's house before they go to their date.

 

"Um. I'm sorry, Baek. You know my parents are weird." Chanyeol apologized to his boyfriend once they settled inside his car.

 

Baekhyun chuckled. "It's okay. I should apologize for my parents as well. But don't worry about them. All I think now is where you'll tace us." he said with a smirk.

 

"Just wait, princess. I'll make sure you'll love it because if you don't, I will jump to the cliff."

 

"There's no cliff in here." Baekhyun countered.

 

"Then I'll create one."

 

"Then you'll jump?" Baekhyun interjected.

 

"Then I'll jump." Chanyeol seconded.

 

But then he added. "But you have to jump with me as well."

 

Now, it's Baekhyun's time to chuckle. "Just like Jack and Rose, yeah?"

 

Chanyeol quirked his lips. "Something like that." then he turned to him. "Are you willing to do that?"

 

Baekhyun's face turned serious. Then he suddenly sang: "Near, far, wherever you are-"

 

Chanyeol chuckled and Baekhyun started laughing while singing.

 

"But seriously." Chanyeol cut his solo off. "Will you jump with me or after me?"

 

"Of course, with you. My heart already belongs to you. That's why wherever you are, my heart is always stuck with yours."

 

Chanyeol grinned and he wouldn't doubt he's already fuming red as well. "I'll do remember that." he said as he fixed his glasses against the bridge of his nose.