BaekHyung

Are we still up?

The clock sitting atop of his bedside table reads 10:01, it has been three hours since that message from Baekhyun was sent. Sehun grunts on his pillow. Feeling the gentle fabric against his skin, he is suddenly tempted to ignore his best friend in exchange for the utopia this bundle of feathers could offer. But, the idea is immediately replaced by the image of a snarling baby lion, dressed in oversized sweatshirts. 

He takes one good peek at the message before releasing another low grunt, but he proceeds to compose a reply, anyway—an acquiescing, Yeah... 

They will meet at eleven. Thinking of it, ‘meet’ tastes new and distant to him, knowing very well that he and Baekhyun live and share the same appartment. However, the smaller male is not around. He slept at his other friend--groupmate, kyungsoo who is 901764 times far and different from Baekhyun in every comparable aspect there is.

Sehun lulls himself to sleep yet again for another thirty minutes, convinced that eleven doesn't exactly mean eleven o'clock. It could be eleven fifty-nine. He lauds his genius brain for this. 

xxx

Sehun was four when he first met Baekhyun. He was playing in his sandbox when a truck from a moving company parked in front of the house adjacent to theirs. Someone's moving in. Sehun thought uncaringly. The curious little boy eyed the unfamiliar clatter taking place in a previously tranquil house, Eomma never mentioned this to me. He frowned. 

"Hi!" Sehun was startled by the squeaking high-pitched voice from behind. Upon regaining his lost composure, he turned his head‚ too abruptly at that‚ to confront the unidentified trespasser. But as he did, he heard his neck crack, a bit.

"Oh, are you okay?" The boy said, kneeling down to check on Sehun. He was wearing a yellow shirt that read Smile, Sunshine printed in an uncomplicated orange calligraphy. He's cute, Sehun reckons. 

"Hellooooo~" Sehun felt his cheeks getting hotter. He was embarrassed, alright. He was obviously staring for too long. Hopeful that the boy didn't mind his offensive blatant staring fiasco. His reply came out as a muffled ‘Yeah’. Ugh, making friends is hard. He cleared his throat, and managed to let out a more composed ‘Yeah’. 

Peering up, he saw that the boy was regarding him intently as if Sehun was an enigma; so curious. Without a doubt, he was visibly eager to meet Sehun. Although, Sehun felt otherwise, the boy didn’t seem to care—or he probably didn’t mind the disturbed expression that Sehun wore. He’s way too affable to fit Sehun’s taste. 

"What's your name?" The boy beamed at Sehun, showcasing his perfect array of sparkling white teeth. Wow, his lips are square, weeeirrrd. Sehun decides to distance himself as far as possible to the odd boy with a blinding square smile. Also because the sight of the boy’s dashing smile had his chest prickling with something the former couldn’t point out. 

This boy is making him uncomfortble. 

”I’m Oh Sehun,” he answered for the sake of a civilized society, after seconds of contemplating whether he should run away or not. 

"Ooooooh, nice name. I am Baekhyun, by the way," The boy named Baekhyun held out his hand for Sehun to shake. And before he can even blink, Baekhyun snatched his left hand which was previously lounging undisturbed on his side.  "Now, we're friends!" He felt alarmed and horified.

Sehun should've never shook hands with Baekhyun. 

xxxxxx

The busy streets of Seoul remains unfazed in spite of the sight of a man, brooding tall, running for the salvation of his life—quite literally. Although he caught the eye of some bypassers, probably because of his charisma, that, and his stylish casual fashion. Just a ripped jeans topped with a simple white shirt that says, “Hello, my name is,” in small letters. 

Their owner is running the path his entire being knew and is very well accustomed of. It’s like his feet has a mind of their own. His eyes set on a particular green building with an outlandish signage—Peter Pan Cafe. 

Sehun ran a little bit faster, with so much adrenaline running in his system to reach the said destination. However, he suddenly came into a full halt upon hearing his name being announced too openly for someone like him. 

"OH SEHUUUUN.” 

That's Baekhyun, but where is he? He whipped his head to search for the owner of the tumultuous cry. Oh, there he—, WAIT. Sehun saw the other boy advancing towards him like a wild lion coming for his meal. Sehun's massively screwed. 

"Where the were you. You insolent spoiled little brat," Baekhyun is hitting him. The offenses coming quickly one after the other. Oh god, he can now imagine the purple and black tainting his pale skin. Sehun should've been wiser. 

"Hyung. Oh. Stop.” His pleas sounding more of a weak and futile demand as he’s powerless over Baekhyun. "You made me wait for thirty minutes, you indecent offensive human being,” With no room for mercy, the man persisted on throwing subsequest abuses towards Sehun. 

"PLEASE, OH GOD. Hyuuuung~" He suddenly felt a surge of guilt invading his system as he sees Sehun’s face twisted in pain. The hand raised up in a hitting stance stills. Baekhyun finally gathered himself together. Reluctantly sparing the abused man from agony, but not before giving him the one final hit that would teach him the lesson he won’t ever forget. 

Brat.

Without a word, Baekhyun left him whimpering in fake pain and he had to make a run for it to catch up with the smaller man who’s already in a good distance away from him. Catching up with Baekhyun, the duo walked the distance to their destination, they engaged in a pointless arguement about something that sparked centuries and millenias ago. 

“What do you mean Jongin is straight? He clearly isn’t. I bet five months of daily allowance he had lowkey tried to hit on Kris,” The elder of the two evidently takes this as a life and death matter. Inflicting prominence over his point through elaborate hand gestures with an occasional jab on Sehun’s shoulder. The younger winces at this. 

And Sehun knows this is going nowhere. Baekhyun, with his adamance to be lead the other way, will continue until the other concedes. Sehun tries, anyway. “Hyung, you don’t get it. He is in my class and rumor has it that he’s been trying to pursuade Soojung to go out with him.” 

Baekhyun gawks at him as if he is ridiculed by his statement, “Are you dumb, Sehun? That is a cover-up.” The said man can only sigh exasperatedly. As he formulates another evidence, the rich and calming aroma of familiarity crashed through him. Only then does he realize that they’re already in the Peter Pan Cafe. 

“Sehun! Baekhyun! Iced Strawberry Caramel and Chocolate Bubble Tea?” The amiable man behind the counter inquired seeming like he was trying to suggest that they should try something new. 

However, that part of their lives is sealed and locked. Iced Strawberry Caramel and Chocolate Bubbletea will always be a constant for them. Just as Sehun was about to agree, he felt a storm brewing in the form of Baekhyun behind him, and before it gets worse, “And, uh, Yixing, glazed strawberry cake for Baek. Thanks!”

They are already seated on their usual spots where they deem most comfortable. Conveniently hidden and isolated from the crowd is how Sehun describes it. Where they could comfortably chat endlessly without anyone daring to invade their world.

For Sehun, Peter Pan Cafe will always remind him of the smaller boy with him. Maybe because of the fact that he practically invaded the cafe with Baekhyun on his side. Or, the fact that it’s so Baekhyun that he feels so welcome and home. 

Obviously, it has been a witness to the countless of times they've spent with each other. Including Baekhyun trying to kill Sehun, Baekhyun killing Sehun, Baekhyun almost killing Sehun; surely, whatever happens, now or any day, it's nothing different to what had happened before. 

Sehun was peacefully humming a Girl’s Generation song, clicking his fingers for a good measure. The man infront of him, however, is nowhere near peaceful. It is as clear as the sunny weather with birds chirping harmoniously outside the confines of the cafe that Baekhyun wants to embedd a knife on his throat and twist it to his disembowelment. 

Well, isn’t that gruesome. 

Baekhyun was sending him daggers with poisonous venom from across the table. Abruptly, Sehun’s fingers stills at the murderous glare. 

“What,” the latter asked innocent of Baekhyun’s intention. The prior simply carried on regarding at him flatly, like he’s expecting something to grow out of Sehun and the former starts to feel unnerved. 

“What, Baek? Oh my god, stop staring at me like you know all of my secrets.” The said man regarded him with suspisciously incredolous eyes. A feint to capture Sehun to his demise. The latter is certain that Baekhyun’s eyes swear that he is up to no good. 

“But I do. Want me to share you some of your secrets?” The man in question scowled at Baekhyun, gaping as soon as the the words sunk in. He leaned back further to his chair, giving as much space between him and the alien who abducted Baekhyun who is pulling a maniacal stunt at him.

“Hyuuuung, stop looking at me like that. You are an absolute creep!” Sehun’s eyes widened at the possibility that his Baekhyun might have been abducted and worse, Kyungsoo could be the alien behind the abduction, much more worse is that the Baekhyun infront oh him is a clone. How can he ever get Baekhyun back?

Before he can call the police, the clone opposite of him snapped him away from his out of the world theories. “No, Sehun, I’m your Baekhyun you met when you were four. The real Baekhyun who lives with you.” 

“How do you know that?” Unconvinced with the other’s words, Sehun reasoned the potentiality that the alien creeps implanted Baekhyun’s brain to this clone. “You are not Baekhyun, you alien creep!” 

“Oh, well, at least I’m not a creep who shows up fifty and nine minutes late!”

Oh…

Oh.

So, that was it. Not some crazy alien abduction case that Sehun had in his mind. He chastised himself for watching too much sci-fi or supernatural films. 

“Isn’t it too late for this topic? I mean it’s so thirty-minutes ago.” Before long, Sehun realized the irony of his question. The latter knows that Baekhyun must be inspecting him like he’s half dumb and half idiot. With a confused and offended countenance, mostly to himself, like how did he settle for Sehun for a bestrfriend.

“Right.” The younger’s demeanor turned grim before transitioning to an unbelievably sassy one for someone whose reputation toppled down to the bottom of the ocean few moments ago. “Excuse you very much, but you just said eleven. You didn’t say 11 sharp, so it could be 11:01 or 11:59 depending on my interpretation.” 

“HOW DARE YO—“ Baekhyun’s outrage was cut short with Sehun’s flippancy. 

“Mind you, Hyung, you practically abused me physically and verbally awhile ago.”

“It’s not like you don’t deserve it, piece of .” With this, Sehun acted out how violated, abused and pained he feels. Wait, did he mention abused? 

“It huuuurts, hyung!” Sehun attempted to nurse his injuries from the previous assault, jutting out his lower lip to produce a pitiful impression.

“Well, maybe, if you weren’t such a lazy you could’ve saved your from trouble.” Sehun gave him an audible gasp that conveys how harrased and disappointed and pained and—did he say disappointed?—he feels.

“Sorry to inform you, but I pretty much live with trouble because of you.” Sehun is proud to see Baekhyun’s reaction, judging from it the latter didn’t expect this comeback at all. Athough, it was short-lived as his neutral guise prevailed again. 

“Do you want me to show you how much of a trouble I can be, then?” Baekhyun deadpanned at him. Sehun prevented the sulky feeling reign on his facade. Confessing his defeat, he asked the one question that would verbalize Baekhyun’s victory. 

“What do you want, then? Aside from the drinks and the cake I bought for you.” Even if Baekhyun had realized the underlying but unsubtle sarcasm—which he surely did—he definitely shrugged it off.

He dares to wish to come out alive with his dignity still intact.

(If the circumstances had been different, Sehun would still be buying Baekhyun’s drink. And the latter would have the audacity to even threaten the younger boy in buying him a dessert.)

Baekhyun is jeering at the younger’s reply, “As usual Sehun, you still can’t outdo me.” Sehun can only roll his eyes at the taunting remark. If someone other than Baekhyun said that to him, that certain someone would be slapped to the moon and back. 

Baekhyun played like he is in the middle of contemplation. As if, Sehun thinks. He knows that late or not he would still be forced into agreement by Baekhyun.

“Hmmmmm, OKAY! I know,” At last, “Come with me at Heaven.” 

“What-“ I’m not even 25 yet!

Sehun was taken aback by Baekhyun’s request. He doesn’t know how to take the sentence; what it means than what it implies. 

The older boy must’ve seen the conflict on the younger one’s features. He plants his face in both of his palms, groaning in frustration at Sehun’s slow ability to pick up things. “Idiot! I meant Xiumin’s Party which will be held at Heaven.” With that, understanding promptly dawned at him. 

“I will definitely make you regret if you once again try to defy me. Oh Sehun, I swear—“ 

The aforesaid man can’t contain his lips slowly forming to a smile despite the other’s menacing warning. Baekhyun may appear fierce and scary at times, but Sehun will always be able to look past this facade and find the soft featured, cute and little—no, not little, Baekhyun will strangle the life out of him… just…undersized?

“Why are you smiling? I am serious!” Baekhyun is scandaled, frustrated even. Who wouldn’t be? Sehun, on the other hand, shamelessly laughed at the other’s distress. (He looks terrible when he is mad that’s why he oftentimes resort to being cocky. Sehun doesn’t want to die, so, he keeps this to himself.) 

Fortunately for the elder, after a two-minute glare, Sehun stopped laughing, but is now wheezing trying to supply as much air to his lungs as he could. Between taking as much air to his lungs, Sehun can make out the other's expression  as: Okay, tell me when you're dead, and see if I will care. 

“Of course, Hyung, I will come with you.” the latter managed to say after minutes of panting. “Anyway, how are you close with Minseok-Hyung?” Feeling an unwelcome emotion swirling in his gut, constricting his lungs and his airway.  

Baekhyun’s scowling demeanor softened at the change of topic, “But, Sehunnie~~~ I’m close with everone.” The smile that the latter gave him disconfirmed every single doubt he had. No matter what, that smile will always be for Sehun. 

“But closest to me,” Sehun unconciously almost condescendingly said to himself.  

He is thankful that even though Baekhyun has other friends aside from him. Sehun can confidently say that the elder spends more—most of his—time with him. And the elder, as a matter of fact, literally has a lot of friends. Who wouldn’t fall for him? Baekhyun is honestly nothing but lovable. The angel-like facet he has would make anyone conclude that Sehun is older than him. His soft visage contrasts Sehun’s sharp ones. That’s how they fit perfectly. The younger boy’s laidback, sometimes aloof, personality opposes Baekhyun’s agressiveness and forwardness. And, sometimes, warm and gentle, too. No matter what, Sehun likes—loves, more like—it just like that.

xxxxx 

Regrets.  

Sehun thought. 

He was so busy pleasing Baekhyun that he forgot to… consider. He rarely goes to parties and Baekhyun does, too. Only attending those which are hosted by their mutual friends. That’s why Baekhyun is dragging him to this party to have company. Though Baekhyun is a crowd favorite, the younger knows that unfamiliar crowds overwhelm Baekhyun too much. 

Sehun isn’t shy. He just doesn’t want to. It is noisy, crowded, and too much proximity with strangers. 

Oh, well. he thought as he forces himself to settle on wearing a nearly old (used?) wifebeater topped with a royal blue blazer and a skin tight jeans; and to finalize his overall appearance, he messily pushed his hair back using a wax he hasn’t used since the dawn of time.

————

He found Baekhyun waiting for him at the entrance, relief flooded him upon seeing the younger. Oh, he’s wearing the longsleeves I got for him. Sehun absentmindedly took notice of it, warmth swelling uninvitedly in chest. As he approached him, he noticed the heavily done eye makeup. Well, he had been to parties with Baekhyun, but it’s his first time seeing him wear such makeup.  

And, in all honesty, Sehun thought—knows—that Baekhyun looks different in a dashing way. He’s as if the perfect contradiction of himself with the sharp and pointed look smoothly blending to his cherubic features. 

Sehun was suddenly put into a trance of a drug named Baekhyun, it’s as if like time is slowing down, but his heart is beating abnormally fast. Baekhyun has always been a wonder to him, a surprise. He could’t help but to decrease his pace just to gawk and take most, if not all, of it into memory. He knows it way before he can feel it—prickling warmth spreading on his cheeks. Thank the heavens that it is somewhat dark and he is a bit far for Baekhyun to make out his crimson cheeks. 

Baekhyun… so beautiful. The mere sight of the former man can do mysterious wonders to him, especially now that he’s sporting a different style. And Sehun just wants to run to Baekhyun and trap him in his embrace and take him home so that he could keep this beauty to himself. 

Sehun sounds like he is a lovestruck highschool teenager seeing his crush for the first time in five minutes. He has always felt this unidentified sensation for Baekhyun. I mean, it’s normal, right? He’s my bestfriend after all, so, what can a little crush do? A little bit more, okay.

No, this isn’t normal. 

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter