Some dread the day they will turn eighteen, and some live their young years in preparation waiting for it; the day your soulmate will be revealed to you through dreams; a day where people, most often, become the happiest on earth.

Byun Baekhyun had never quite known what to think of the whole ordeal, if he were to be totally honest. He was a romantic at heart, wishing for the perfect man to come and sweep him off his feet. Someone tall and handsome would be nice, charming smile and disarming laugh. His soulmate would be clever, funny, chivalrous - but not patronising - and best of all, he would be perfect for Baekhyun. Unfortunately-

“Ooof.” Glancing up, Baekhyun cursed himself for not looking where he was going.

“If you concentrated in the halls as much as you concentrate in my class you wouldn’t have a problem navigating around other people Baekhyun.” Baekhyun flushed red. Unfortunately, his description of the perfect soulmate completely and unintentionally matched up to his exceedingly hot music professor, whose sheet music was now all over the floor. Baekhyun winced and bent down to help pick them up.

“Sorry Sir. Oh! Are these the new Chopin pieces you were talking about ordering?”

“Yes, I was going to mention it in the next class. I knew you’d be pleased. Have you been practicing that nocturne I gave you?” Baekhyun gave an enthusiastic nod of his head, despite his remaining embarrassment.

“I learnt the first five pages last week; I’ll finish it over the weekend.” Baekhyun was without a doubt Mr Park Chanyeol’s best student, being a fantastic pianist and a breathtaking singer; he came out with some of the top grades and admittedly, was also one of the professor’s favourites. The two of them, although keeping things strictly in line, had a slightly more relaxed relationship than with others, chatting together sometimes as fellow musicians and friends rather than teacher and student.

“So soon? Wow Baekhyun, you’re not my best student for nothing.” The teacher smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Thank you for helping me pick these up. I’ll see you in class.” And with that, Mr Park strode off down the corridor, long legs taking him off at a brusque pace. Baekhyun stood for a minute admiring his frame and yeah, okay, his backside. The problem with this was that the teensy tiny crush he had on his professor was certainly not getting any teenier. With a sigh, he carried on walking over to his locker – just two more periods until music and then he could go home.

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

            “Okay class, since it’s the end of the week I’ve managed to get hold of a DVD to watch.” The room erupted in cheers, until Mr Park raised a finger. “Ah ah ah but! It’s a documentary on the many aspects of the music industry and what is needed to secure a job in any part of it.” And while everyone groaned and the programme started, Baekhyun sat with Kyungsoo at the back, not really listening.

“Are you excited Baek? It’s your birthday tomorrow! Oh my goodness I’m excited for you! I wonder who your soulmate will be. I hope it’s a guy for your sake, but if it is a girl, then you’ll probably end up loving her anyway, since it’s your soulmate and all.” Baekhyun glanced up quickly, not wanting the whole class eavesdropping in on their conversation – Kyungsoo tended to forget subtlety when he was excited - only to see Mr Park looking their way. Feeling a little embarrassed, the boy gave a small smile before turning his attention back to Kyungsoo and making sure they lowered their voices a little more. Baekhyun internally sighed. Kyungsoo was one of those people who would have skipped his whole life up to being eighteen just so he could find his beloved more quickly.

“-if it’s Woobin? Ugh, poor you. Stuck with a life of smelling bad and wiping spit off your face, eugh. I swear, I bet not even rabid dogs salivate that much when they open their mouths. Oh my god but what if it’s Mr Park?” That snapped Baekhyun to attention.

“What?!” Baekhyun stage whispered, then glanced towards the front to check that nobody had overheard, again.

“I mean, wouldn’t that be hilarious? Just imagine! You could flirt with him all you liked, and it would keep all those girls at the front from hitting on him too. Damn, he’s so fit.”

“Oh my god Kyungsoo! Shh! I-well I mean, I wouldn’t- but if-” Kyungsoo tried not to cackle as Baekhyun spluttered and blushed like a school girl. When the latter had managed to calm down, he said

“I guess it’d be pretty good, but not gonna happen.” The blush remained on Baekhyun’s face.

“Baek, you and the rest of the world have a crush on Mr Park, let’s face it.”

“I guess so, but Kyung, he’s quite a lot older than us. What if – and this really is if because come on! – But if I do end up dreaming of Mr Park, which I won’t, I’m probably not his soulmate. He’s what, twenty-five? That’s seven years. He’s had his dream; he knows who his lucky person is. Wouldn’t he have said something by now? He’d probably be disgusted and tell me that it’s tough and then I’ll never find love and be alone forever.” Kyungsoo scoffed

“Oh come on, don’t be so dramatic!” Baekhyun just looked depressed now, and Kyungsoo felt a little guilty. “Baek, it’ll all work out in the end. Whoever he or she is, they’ll be just how you want them to be. Isn’t that the whole point? They’re your soulmate. Your perfect partner.” Baekhyun sighed.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Almost as if their professor could feel the negativity coming in waves off Baekhyun, he was suddenly crouching beside them at the back, having snuck round the dark classroom. Baekhyun nearly jumped a mile high when he felt a hand on his shoulder, making him feel very warm.

“Baekhyun, is everything alright?” Calming down his heart, it took a minute to form an answer.

“Hmm fine.” Mr Park gave him a searching look.

“Sure?” Baekhyun nodded his head, feeling a little dazed from staring into his tutor’s eyes. They were beautiful, large and brown, and blinking at him in concern.

“Alright then.” Chanyeol wasn’t convinced, but he’d leave it for now. Class was nearly over and Baekhyun had a whole weekend to feel better. Once he’d gone, Kyungsoo wiggled his eyebrows at his friend, but said nothing else until they were out of college and parting ways.

“I’ll be coming round tomorrow afternoon with Jongin and Jongdae. I’m dying to know who your soulmate is!”

“God Soo, honestly I know! See you tomorrow.” His friend’s smile was infectious, and Baekhyun found himself becoming ever so slightly excited. Besides, it was his birthday! There were more things to look forward to than just discovering his soulmate. He would get to see his family, his friends; he could eat cake without being scolded by his mother for being greedy. See? Plenty of things to keep him busy. His grin grew as he heard the last shout.

“Happy Birthday Baek! See you tomorrow!”

            The glow in the dark stars on Baekhyun’s ceiling were lovely, but they did not help him to fall asleep that night. He stared up at them, willing his eyelids to become heavy. Throughout the evening, Baekhyun had gotten more and more excited for tomorrow - and tonight. Away from Kyungsoo’s questions, he could think for himself about who his soulmate may be. Now that the time was nearing, it seemed as though no ‘what if’ was spared from running through his mind. What if it’s Kyungsoo? Baekhyun shuddered slightly. That thought wouldn’t have been so bad if his friend’s crush on their other, meeker, friend Jongin wasn’t so apparent. Baekhyun was pretty sure fate couldn’t be cruel enough to split those two up. The idea that it might be Mr Park was laughable and Baekhyun did laugh aloud. Nope, he wasn’t even going to entertain the idea. Ridiculous…as nice as it would be. Glancing at the clock on his bedside table, Baekhyun’s heart picked up ever so slightly. 11.58pm. Oh God, he didn’t know how this worked. Would he get a vision all of a sudden when the clock struck twelve? 11.59pm. Would he fall into slumber as soon as the hand ticked over? Oh God oh God oh God, Baekhyun screwed his eyes shut and next to him: 12.00am…silence. Baekhyun hesitantly opened one eye to look at the time: 12.01am. Oh. Nothing. He waited another half hour and still nothing happened. The now eighteen year old sighed heavily and fell back onto his pillow. This was disappointing, certainly not what he had envisioned of his coming of age. Where was the magic feeling? The warmth he expected and the fullness of his heart? Absent - as was sleep. Baekhyun spent another hour and a half tossing and turning and trying to drop off, and it wasn’t until 2am that he was finally able to submit.

            Baekhyun sat at the piano, fingers playing out a beautiful melody. He could almost see the music physically, twirling and floating on the air around him as he continued; notes of all values, harmonious chords and the occasional discordant contrast, but no less enchanting. Baekhyun watched his hands as they moved away from the keys and he stood up, but the music continued. When Baekhyun turned around to open the door of the room and step out, still the music remained sweetly in the air. Beyond was a garden with a bubbling fountain and flowers growing in a rainbow of colour. The grass was lush and green and a picnic blanket lay on a small patch just to his left - Baekhyun found himself moving towards it, then sitting comfortably. He was waiting. What he was waiting for escaped him, though his heart beat wildly from his chest and within it a feeling of great anticipation and excitement bloomed as prettily as the flowers he was surrounded by.

            Someone appeared a little way off, unrecognizable through the glare of the sun. Baekhyun’s heartbeat quickened. The figure was sitting upon the edge of the fountain, running its fingers smoothly through the water. They glanced up to look in Baekhyun’s direction, though still he could not see who this stranger-no, his heart knew that this was no stranger - was. The figure slowly rose to his feet and began walking in Baekhyun’s direction. Yes, it was definitely a he, broad shoulders, tall, slim and somehow, Baekhyun knew that he would be the most handsome man he had ever seen. Still, the sun blocked his view.

            Baekhyun was suddenly on his feet as the man drew near, his heart frenzied at this point, beating almost painfully out of his chest. The man stopped a couple of steps away, still unidentifiable. All that could be heard was the music, the birds chirping, the rippling of the fountain and soft breathing. Two steps forward and Baekhyun finally knew who he was facing. His mind exploded in recognition. He had to look up to gaze into big, gentle brown eyes, clear with a tender emotion.

“You’ve finally found me.” The low voice was silky smooth, raising goosebumps on Baekhyun’s skin. A large, warm hand came up to cup his cheek, thumb softly caressing the smooth skin there and Baekhyun leaned into the touch, his heart finally bursting with the familiarity and joy to have come together with this person.

“My soulmate.” Then Baekhyun’s soulmate was leaning down to softly brush their lips together and something very much like love grew around the couple, embracing them in its glow. Park Chanyeol pulled away and wrapped his arms around Baekhyun’s delicate frame as if he were made of glass.

“You’ve found me Baekhyun.” And Baekhyun heard himself replying, his voice sounding as light as a feather on the wind. He hugged tighter.

“Chanyeol…my soulmate.” He never wanted this to end. His heart finally felt complete – full. He had found the last piece of his jigsaw. Baekhyun finally felt at ease.

Consciousness came back slowly - so slowly that for a few moments, Baekhyun did not realise that he was waking up. The clock showed 11.23am as the young man snuggled closer into his duvet, sighing contentedly and still wrapped in the blissful dream and the feeling of euphoria at knowing now who he was destined to be with. Baekhyun squeezed his arms around the covers, immersed in the warmest hug of his life. Then, as he heard murmuring from the kitchen below, voices from his mother, the telly, and Baekhyun finally awoke, everything seemed to speed up.

Baekhyun’s eyes snapped open, whole body jolting upright. ! . Oh no!

His soulmate was Park Chanyeol. Professor Park. His teacher Mr Park. Baekhyun sat for a good five minutes staring blankly ahead, his mind running circles and running amok. What on earth was he going to do about it? Kyungsoo’s words floated back to him ‘…what if it’s Mr Park?...I mean, wouldn’t that be hilarious?’ Well, it had happened, but Baekhyun certainly wasn’t laughing. His heart still pounded in his chest, one part fear, one part still that joyous feeling of fulfilment, making the fear pulse once again. What to do? Baekhyun never thought that his seemingly light crush on his professor would end him up in a situation like this. Oh God.

            Climbing out of bed, Baekhyun pulled on a shirt and some jeans from the drawer and made his way downstairs. He almost stumbled at the thought of what he would say to his mother. I can’t tell her. But she’ll find out eventually…  This situation was way out of hand. Mr Park was older, he was Baekhyun’s professor for God’s sake, and he most likely had a different soulmate. It was unlucky, but it did happen to a rare few. Every time he had music, every time he would see his professor in the hall, or chat to him about what new sheet music he was ordering, Baekhyun would long for something that couldn’t be his. No, he couldn’t tell his mother and he certainly couldn’t let Mr Park know. Keeping the whole thing secret would be painful, but not as painful as rejection.

            “Baekhyunnie, my lovely birthday boy. Look at you, growing up.” His mother gazed at him teary eyed as she squished his cheeks and cooed at him like he was five again.

“Morning Mum.” She bustled him over to the table and sat him down.

“Now I didn’t wake you because I didn’t want to interrupt your dream, but I made your favourite breakfast, bacon and eggs.” She sat down opposite as he began to eat, but the longer she sat staring at him, the more uncomfortable Baekhyun felt.

“Um, Mum, could I…you know, eat without you scrutinizing me?”

“Oh honey! I’m not going away until I know who my boy’s soulmate is! I’m fully prepared to help you look for them if they live far away, or welcome them into our family. Tell your old mum, come on.” Darn it.

“umm, well it’s…a man.” What the hell am I gonna say?!

“Right…and?”

“He…uh…he lives in Africa, I’ve been chatting to him online and I was so surprised when I found out it was him. Haha.” He gave a nervous laugh. Oh crap where the hell am I going with this? Fortunately, his mother seemed to be buying it.

“Hmm, that will be tricky, but not a problem if you’ve already been talking. So, what’s his name?” African names? Are they different? Think think think…anything!

“He’s called Dakar.” Is that even a real name?

“Oooh that’s lovely. But, why do you look so unhappy?”

“Oh, well…that’s because he lives so far away. Alright, well, thanks Mum, I’ll go and get ready for my friends coming.”

“Baekhyun! Baek-” Once he was back in his room, Baekhyun let himself flop onto his bed. What had he gotten himself into?

            A little while later, Baekhyun was once again in an uncomfortable situation but this time, three other pairs of eyes bore into him, pressuring him to reveal the big answer. Jongin, Jongdae and Kyungsoo sat around him. Baekhyun felt as if he were in an interrogation room.

“No! I’m not telling you guys. You’ll just have to figure it out for yourselves.”

“Byun Baekhyun, this is one of the biggest events of your life – THE biggest! – and you refuse to tell us who your soulmate is? I won’t accept it.” Kyungsoo was nothing if not persistent.

“Kyungsoo has made us promise that we won’t leave your house until you tell us hyung. Please.” Poor Jongin, Baekhyun almost felt sorry for him. He was so under Kyungsoo’s spell, the thought occurred to him once again that it really would be a shame if they turned out not to be each other’s soulmates.

“Baekhyun, just come on. We’re not gonna say anything bad. If it really is that bad, which I’m sure it won’t be. You do tend to overreact.” Jongdae, saying it how it was. Baekhyun looked them all in the eye.

“He lives in Africa. His name is Dakar and I talk to him online.” There was a beat of silence…before the three burst out laughing. Jongdae wiped a few tears from the corner of his eyes.

“Haha, that’s hilarious, how did you come up with that one?”

“Is that what you told your mum? Haha.” Okay, so his friends weren’t as gullible as his mother was.

“But seriously, who is it?” Baekhyun looked down at his fingers, there was a pregnant pause until Jongin spoke.

“Hyung, we can help. Really, this is your soulmate. We’ll help you work it out.” Looking into Jongin’s eyes, they were sincere, and this prompted Baekhyun to mumble the name which brought him both an undeniable warm glow and sharp needles of fear and anxiety.

“Mr Park.”

“What? We can’t hear you from over here you know.” Jongin however, who was sat the closest to Baekhyun, turned quiet; his face changing from pure shock, to concern to thoughtful in a couple of seconds.

“Professor Park, okay?! Park Chanyeol! Our music tutor, are you happy? Are you going to go and tell him? Will you tell me everything is okay and that we can just get together and it will all be fine?! Oh God.” Baekhyun worked himself up more and more during his outburst before finally ending up with his face in his hands. His friends’ gazes softened and the sympathy was unanimous. It was a tough one, but they would help to get things worked out in the end. If Baekhyun couldn’t be strong for himself, they would be strong for him.

            None of Jongdae, Kyungsoo or Jongin had turned eighteen yet and so without their own soulmate issues to be concerned with, they were more than happy to help their best friend with his. Baekhyun felt a hand on his back and looked up to see his self proclaimed support group around him.

“Well you know what Baek? You’ve got yourself a hottie. You have lots in common and he fits your description of the perfect man to a T. Right now, things may seem impossible but you’re despairing for a small reason. Baek, eventually things will come together - you two will come together, and you’ll laugh at how much you’re stressing about this. Soulmates last forever, and you have forever with Mr Park, which also means that you have forever to work this out. The quicker you do it, the longer you will have to be happy.” Baekhyun listened to Kyungsoo; tears sparkled in his eyes when he looked up at him, touched by the sincerity and kindness that his friend was giving him. It was times like this when he knew he had picked the right friends, despite how tiring Kyungsoo and especially Jongdae could be at times.

“Well, I suppose we should be calling him Chanyeol now huh? Ooh that feels weird. Chanyeol-ah? Chanyeol-ssi? Nah, Chanyeol hyung. Haha, he’ll probably collar us for being disrespectful but when you guys finally get together we’re gonna have to call him that outside of class, Mr Park would just be weird when he’s your soulmate right?” This made Baekhyun chuckle a bit, and Jongdae felt happy that he could cheer his friend up just a little. Even Jongin was joining in now.

“He’s almost our age anyway. Well, twenty five?”

“Twenty six actually.” Jongdae chimed in.

“Well anyway, that’s not much, so calling him hyung isn’t that bad. At least he’s not so old that we should be calling him Uncle.” Despite the amusing chatter, Baekhyun couldn’t escape from his initial thoughts.

“Guys, don’t tell him. Don’t tell my mum either, because she actually does think that it’s some guy in Africa. I don’t want them knowing.” The stares upon him were back.

“What.” The word was deadpan; anyone else might have been scared of the look on Kyungsoo’s face. Jongdae was a little more expressive.

“WHAT?! Byun Baekhyun, you’ve got to tell your own mother and you’ve GOT to tell Mr Park! How can you keep this a secret?!”

“SHHH!”  Baekhyun pointed to the door, then looked down.

“Well…I uh…I don’t think I’m his soulmate.” At his friends’ blank looks he continued “No I mean, he’s my soulmate but I don’t think that I’m his.” He heaved a huge sigh. An unhappy sigh. “He’s eight years older than me; he’s never said anything about it before even though he must have known, we’re teacher and pupil and that’s not allowed anyway and I don’t want to be the one to look pathetic when he rejects me and things become awkward, I don’t want his pity looks every time I’m in class. It’s just not gonna happen, please don’t tell him.” Kyungsoo’s mouth was agape.

“But…Baekhyun, you can’t just not tell him.”

“So you’ve said. Just watch me.”

“No. I’m going to make sure you get together. Fine, I won’t tell him, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop there. I’ll find out who his soulmate is and just you wait until I come back saying that it’s you. Because it will be.” Jongdae nods.

“Baek, you guys are more like friends than he is your teacher. You chat to him outside of lessons and he orders music especially for you.” Inside, Baekhyun still doesn’t trust them. These guys just won’t quit.

“Baekhyun I sit next to you in music and it seems that way for me too. Remember when he came over to ask if you were okay yesterday? Nothing even happened; he must have been looking at you or something. You know they say soulmates can read each other’s energies or something like that. He must have felt that you were upset. I’m sure of it. I’m definitely going to find this out and prove you wrong.” Baekhyun wasn’t persuaded and still resolute that he would never tell Mr Park.

“Fine. Just don’t tell him about me. I don’t think you’ll find what you want but whatever. Go crazy.”

            The next Monday morning, Baekhyun felt more worried than he had in a very long time. The only thing which brought a sliver of relief was that he was able to escape his Mother’s questions. He had music third period today, just before lunch and he was dreading it. Not knowing how he would react when he saw Mr Park was the worst of all. Would he blurt everything out after looking once into those large and inviting eyes? Would he clam up and not know how to say anything at all? Would he be able to push it to the back of his mind and somehow, somehow function normally as if nothing had happened and his soulmate was someone else? He hoped that the last one would be the case – at least then his professor wouldn’t catch on.

            Stepping out of his front door and walking down the path, it was all Baekhyun could do not to turn back around and hide under his covers for the rest of the day. No, he needed to be strong. If not today, then he’d have to face Mr Park tomorrow or the day after that and he couldn’t avoid him forever. The walk to school seemed shorter than ever as Baekhyun spotted Kyungsoo and Jongdae upon reaching the gates.

“Hey Baek! Tell Soo that tomatoes are vegetables!”

“Jongdae they’re not! We might see them as that but they’re technically not!” Baekhyun’s friends always managed to astound him with the absurdity of their conversations. Luckily, the bizarre debate took his mind off his troubles, even if just for a short while.

“Well actually Jongdae, Kyungsoo is right. Botanically speaking, they are a fruit, so are ugh the devil’s creation, cucumbers.”

“Damn it! I could have sworn I was right this time!” They began walking into school once Jongin joined them, arriving just in time to laugh at Baekhyun’s disgust towards one of his own favourite foods.

“I still can’t believe you hate them Baek, ah they’re so nice. I want a cucumber now.”

“Hmm I bet you do.”

“Jongdae shut up!” And Jongdae’s voice didn’t stop until the group had split their separate ways and he and Baekhyun arrived at the door to their first lesson of the day.

            Third period, also for perhaps the first time ever, arrived with lightning speed and soon enough Baekhyun was outside the music classroom with Kyungsoo. Breathing was becoming more difficult and Baekhyun wasn’t sure whether he wanted to burst out crying or run away. Kyungsoo noticed his distress.

“Baek, breathe slowly. Relax. Getting worked up won’t do any good. I don’t want to say this because I still think you should just tell him but listen, pretend it was a dream. I mean, it was a dream, but pretend that the whole thing was just your imagination. If you end up believing that then things might be easier.” Baekhyun didn’t say anything but closed his eyes and exhaled heavily. Kyungsoo was right of course, getting worked up wasn’t going to solve anything.

            Upon seeing their professor stood at the front with his back to the room, Baekhyun found, to his immense relief, that the sight of him - his presence - actually worked to soothe the panic which had built within his chest. Once again he could think clearly and remember his plan to simply be grateful of being around Mr Park and diligently push away the strong impulse to act upon their soulmate link.

            Mr Park turned round soon after they the two boys had walked in, watching them go to their usual seats at the back of the room.

“Good morning Kyungsoo. Baekhyun, have you finished that piece you were working on?” Baekhyun was not startled this time, that Mr Park was suddenly stood next to them. This time, he had felt every step the other man had taken closer – this connection thing was both a blessing and a painful curse for him.

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing those sheets from last week properly too Sir.” And Baekhyun had learnt it. The whole of Sunday he had sat at the piano, trying to forget his frustrations. The piano had absorbed a lot of it, but that also meant that Baekhyun had played through so many pieces that he could do most of them perfectly by heart. Even so, the only dynamics the pieces really saw were presto, forte and abbandonatamente.

“Great. Stay behind after class and I’ll show them to you.”

            Class was considerably average, only excusing the fact that Mr Park kept glancing Baekhyun’s way. A lot. That was most probably in his head though, or because he knew his professor wanted to show him the music (unfortunately, no pun intended). When the bell sounded and the rest of the students flooded out for lunch, Kyungsoo patted Baekhyun on the back, whispering a good luck and went to find his other two friends.

Baekhyun was feeling relatively confident after the lesson with no incidents, and so made his way to the front of the classroom where off to the left stood an upright piano, the tutor leaning on it attractively with his arms folded and long legs crossed. Baekhyun couldn’t stop himself from giving the man an appraising once over, a voice in the back of his mind nagging well, it’s your funeral.

“First of all, is everything alright today? You seemed a bit on edge during the lesson.” Don’t. Give. In.

“Sure, yeah, no problems at all.” Mr Park’s stare was unwavering. Baekhyun’s voice seemed a little too blasé. “Really! Fine! See?” Baekhyun’s smile was barely convincing, but Chanyeol let it go with a small sigh.

“Okay. Alright then, do you need the music or can you play it without?” Baekhyun gave him the most bemused look, which made the professor chuckle. At least this was familiar – this was normal. Chanyeol hated it when Baekhyun felt troubled or upset. “Okay okay, I needn’t have asked. Come on then! I want to hear it.” There had been very little practice of the full piece with its proper dynamics but now as Baekhyun sat down, they came naturally to him. Even if the sheet music had been sat in front of him, he wouldn’t have looked at it. Music was something which flowed from Baekhyun like a waterfall, and dynamics could be moulded and changed as he pleased to fit the effect he was trying to create. Chanyeol sat next to him, as always, in awe. Baekhyun’s musical talent was on a similar level to his own, however when it came to the piano specifically, the younger boy far surpassed his music teacher’s abilities. Watching Baekhyun play was just as captivating as the music he artfully crafted. His worries appeared to dissipate, the expression on his face concentration, but the emotion and satisfaction coming from inside him rendered Chanyeol almost speechless. Baekhyun could be happy simply sitting at a piano and not playing anything at all. The sight of the keys, the images of his own fingers nimbly moving across them, the imagined sounds he would be making when he played – the word was passion, and Chanyeol thought that it could be enough to make anyone give a piece of their heart to it, for it.

            When Baekhyun had finished and the last note rung in the air, he sat for a second looking at the keys, then turned to face his professor.

“Beautiful. I-I mean the song. It was beautiful.” Baekhyun could feel the awe and embarrassment – perhaps he’s unused to giving complements? - coming from his tutor and turned bashful, bowing his head.

“Thanks. I didn’t really practice the ending so I hope it didn’t sound too rough.”

“Not at all. Your dynamics were lovely. Delicate. I’ve said it before but you have real talent Baekhyun.” Okay, so perhaps this urge to lean over and kiss Mr Park would be better suppressed. Baekhyun quickly got up then, spooked by his sudden feelings, trying to push the urge away and having to deal with the connection pushing back in defiance. He felt his eyes begin to brim, the emotions coming from his professor for him that the connection was letting him feel were overwhelming. He couldn’t do this. God forbid if he saw him crying, he couldn’t even look at the other man.

“I-I said I’d meet Kyungsoo so, uh, thanks. See you tomorrow Sir.”

“Wait! What about the oth…er…music…” Mr Park sighed, confused as Baekhyun scurried out of the room, slinging his rucksack onto his back as he went. Things had turned from wonderful to distressing in less than a minute, and he could only stare at Baekhyun’s retreating form as he fled.

After that lesson, Baekhyun came as close as he had ever been to depression. He did not know what to do. He thought that he could manage these feelings; he thought that it would be okay to pretend. Kyungsoo tried to reason with him, tried persuading him once again to just tell him! But when that failed, Baekhyun was thankful that his friend didn’t leave his side while they were anywhere near Mr Park. Baekhyun’s mother noticed that her son was unusually quiet and became worried. One more thing to fret about and one more person to lie to, her concern only made Baekhyun feel worse and he found himself blurting out, barely thinking about what he was saying, that his ‘soulmate’ from Africa, Dakar, had passed away and this was the cause of his hopelessness. Later, Baekhyun had felt awful once again for lying, especially since his father had passed away, leaving his mother distraught, but he found that as the week went on, his misery overshadowed the guilt. He lost his appetite, he stopped talking so much, within the short seven days, which felt like years to the boy, Baekhyun had folded into himself and everyone had noticed.

            As a result of Baekhyun’s emotional suffering, Chanyeol began to feel down too. He was another who had noticed Baekhyun’s mood and it began to affect him in the same way. He found himself unable to relax at home, worrying about his student. During lessons, he was so aware of Baekhyun that he was almost too distracted to teach. He wanted to throw down his pen, rip off his tie and run over to the back of the classroom to envelop the boy in an almighty hug. Chanyeol knew the boy had recently turned eighteen, he knew that Baekhyun must have had his soulmate dream. Who had he dreamt of? Alright, Chanyeol would admit to himself, the root of the problem was, did he dream of me? Eight years he had been waiting.

The night Chanyeol had his dream, the night he had been shown his happiness, he was standing in a shaded clearing, foliage shielding the area from sight. Sunlight filtered through the trees and he could hear the stream next to him bubbling pleasantly. Crouched at the edge of the water, brushing slim and pretty fingers through it was a boy. The boy appeared to be around ten years old and sobbing quietly. Chanyeol knew, he just knew it! This was his soulmate. The swelling of his heart told him clearly. He wanted to take the boy in his arms and rock him softly, stop his crying, ruffle his hair and kiss his forehead and let him know that he was not alone. Chanyeol took a step forward. Leaves crunched underfoot and the boy by the stream looked up, startled. Chanyeol stopped. As expected, the boy had been crying, his cheeks glistened, as did his eyes with more unshed tears. Chanyeol didn’t know why his soulmate was crying, only that he needed to make it better.

Just as his heart wished to, Chanyeol moved the rest of the way and reached the boy, who had stood up and was blinking innocently at him. Again, his heart pulsed with fondness - he was so cute. Chanyeol held his arms out, inviting the boy forward, who looked up and smiled a toothy smile. It was as if the sun had come out after a heavy downpour. Somehow, Chanyeol knew his name without having to ask. He felt as if he knew almost everything about this poor boy.

“It’s okay now Byun Baekhyun. I’m here now, I’ll look after you.” Then on impulse, Chanyeol leaned down to lightly and affectionately kiss the mole at the top corner of Baekhyun’s lip. When he pulled back, it quivered, then more tears began to roll down the boy’s cheeks. This time though, they were happy tears, Chanyeol knew.

“Thank you.”

 Baekhyun had not run away. He had seemed happy at Chanyeol’s presence in the dream…isn’t that how it worked? That if they weren’t meant to be then things would have not run so smoothly in the dream? Chanyeol had thought so. The look which had been stuck on the younger boy’s face almost since his birthday broke his heart. Surely if he was Baekhyun’s soulmate too then he wouldn’t be this miserable? Baekhyun would have approached him, right? Baekhyun’s expression swam through his thoughts the whole weekend and Chanyeol was determined to find out the problem as soon as Baekhyun’s music lesson had ended on Monday. What the man didn’t realise was that he would be seeing Baekhyun sooner than he had expected.

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

Baekhyun had been quiet all weekend. Kyungsoo had begun to worry that something had happened to his friend when nobody could get into contact with him. Upon going with Jongin and Jongdae round to his house on Sunday, Mrs Byun had told the three that Baekhyun had gone out to his ‘Thinking Place’.

“It must have hit him hard, knowing that his soulmate has passed away. I can fully understand what he’s going through.” They shared a look but said nothing, not wanting to slip up on such a sensitive subject and when they asked where his Thinking Place was, they were told that she didn’t know, and neither did the three friends – all they could do was go home and wait to see Baekhyun on Monday.

“As if he told his mother that.”

“That’s a little harsh don’t you think? It happened to her, and he’s lying about it. She’ll be really hurt when she finds out.”

“Jongdae, Baekhyun’s not really in his right mind at the moment. He’s never hid from us before. He’s confused about what to do and if it turns out that Baekhyun is Mr Park’s soulmate too then our professor will be miserable because of the link. You know it really affects people like that. He probably tried to come up with the first thing he could to get his mother to stop asking questions. We just need to understand him, even if what he said to her was insensitive.”    

            Meanwhile, Baekhyun sat on the bank of a nearby river, watching the clear water ripple as it flowed slowly by. The river was a twenty-five minute walk from his house, giving him time to reflect on his way. Reaching the place, there was a small car park and a few benches on a smooth patch of grass for picnic goers. Baekhyun liked to walk a little further up, where less people went. There, you had to climb the high bank and drop down to the other side, where trees hung down on either side to conceal the area from others and from strong gusts of wind. The stream was shallow and full of pebbles and rocks, the perfect place to paddle or just sit on the bit of grassy bank that jutted out slightly at the bottom of the slope. This clearing was where Baekhyun liked to come to be alone and think, hence calling it his Thinking Place. He had discovered it when his parents would bring him here frequently as a child. They would pack a picnic and play in the water and while Baekhyun’s parents chatted after the food, Baekhyun would explore the area as most curious children would, stumbling upon the spot and claiming it as his own, an explorer in a new land.

The last time he had seen his father, they had been to the river and ten year old Baekhyun had thought it was about time to show someone the hideout. His dad had winked at Baekhyun and whispered,

“Shh, let’s make this ours. The boy’s hideout. Shall we hide from mum?” Baekhyun had giggled and nodded, hugging his father, a big grin on his face. When the news of Mr Byun’s death arrived, shot on the battlefront whilst serving for his country, Baekhyun had run all the way to their Thinking Place, even though it was late at night and – typically – raining. He was soaked before he even got there and when he did, Baekhyun simply sat and stared into the water, seeing his father being shot down, wounded and bleeding, the worst scenarios his young mind could come up with and after a while, seeing nothing. Being in that place was somehow both more painful and yet a little more comforting. There was a presence around him and Baekhyun believed that his father was with him there, watching over him. By the time 2am arrived, Baekhyun had picked his frozen body off the grass and trekked home to his distraught mother. For the rest of that week, Baekhyun had been horribly ill, but he had been too filled with grief to care.

            Now, as he sat once again staring into the water, dry tear tracks on his cheeks, the eighteen year old found himself not wanting to ever move. The world would carry on spinning and he would bleed into the scenery here like he was a part of it. He heaved a huge sigh. No, he couldn’t do that. He had his friends to keep from worrying about him, although that had failed if the sheer number of missed calls and texts they had sent him were any indication. Tomorrow was Monday. He would normally stay here until the end of the evening; watch the sunset, try, perhaps in vain, to soothe the ache, then walk slowly back and avoid his mother if he could. His friends could wait until they saw him at school, but Baekhyun would send them a reassuring text. Despite having spent most of the afternoon here already, Baekhyun still did not know what to do about his situation. He thought he could manage simply ignoring the link. As it turned out, especially with his professor’s miserable feelings too and the added burden of being physically so far apart from his soulmate, it was a lot harder than he had anticipated. This wasn’t normally, and Baekhyun wasn’t feeling any better. In fact, going home sounded like punishment and seeing his friends wouldn’t help either – he would only feel like a burden. Baekhyun’s temper was short. Anger was beginning to rise to the surface, no not anger, frustration. Frustration that there was nothing he could do about Mr Park having a different soulmate, nothing he could do about hurting his mother, nothing he could do to bring his father back. The young man thumped the grassy bank beneath him with one fist, then two, then frantically.

“AAAARGH JUST. SHUT. UP!” Silence. Nothing spoke but the wind, softly rustling the leaves, sinister whispers bleeding into the night, into Baekhyun’s ears. It was unbearable.

            Launching himself off the bank, Baekhyun stormed up the slope and headed east, away from the direction of his house, away from what he knew, away. Baekhyun’s mind was a storm, raging against the walls of his skull, pounding out a bass rhythm. Even if the boy had been paying attention to his surroundings, he would not have known where he was. Further, further, this part of town was somewhere Baekhyun had never been, never needed to go, never wanted to go. Rough was a polite way to describe the cracked pavements lining the potholed road, the dark alleys filled with cigarette butts, empty crisp packets, things of a much more unpleasant nature. The folk who inhabited this area held an unpleasant reputation, though surely not all of them could be that bad…right? As Baekhyun glimpsed a group of three lads trailing behind him, he wasn’t too sure. Still smarting from the frustrated feelings, the pain of his make believe rejection, Mr Park’s un-reachable status, Baekhyun at first did not feel anything about the men on his heel. After ten minutes with them still on his trail, his nerves flickered somewhat. Slowly, but with a snowballing speed, fear began to creep up on the eighteen year old. A quick peek behind him again confirmed that the fear was most likely going to be justified. They were closer now; only about fifteen yards away and all of them were bigger than Baekhyun in some way.

“Hey, kid.” They sniggered. Baekhyun pointedly continued walking, head held high, a feigned confidence of which he felt lacked all convincing aspects.

“Hey, look at us when we talk to ya kid!” Just keep walking. Maybe they’re all talk.

“He said, look at us when we’re talking ya, little .” One of them had grabbed Baekhyun by the shoulder and forcefully spun him round. Okay, so maybe not all talk.

“Look at this lil’ , I don’t think he quite knows how this stuff works.” They say you should never show a wild animal your fear, fear means vulnerability, and vulnerability means easy prey. Baekhyun soon realised that he had been showing his fear, but it was too late to worry about hiding it now.

“We’re gonna rough ya up a bit kiddo, hows ‘bout that ‘eh?”

“A bit? That’s new.” More sniggers. At this point Baekhyun’s heart beat almost out of his chest. Nothing like this had ever happened to him in his life, he couldn’t even imagine something like this ever happening to him, his mother had kept him away from any danger of this sort and this was a very different neighbourhood to his own. He really was away, although this kind of away was never what he had wanted.

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

Park Chanyeol had been feeling uneasy since college let out on Friday afternoon. Something tingled within him, though he put this down to he and Baekhyun’s linked misery. At eleven o clock on Sunday night, sleep would not come. Running a hand through his already mussed hair, Chanyeol let out a stressed sigh. Baekhyun Baekhyun Baekhyun swam around in his mind, round and round and round. This was becoming the norm as of late – the man had always been thinking of his student, ever since the boy had become his student - holding his excitement in was tricky, especially when his soulmate was in his class every day, but somehow Chanyeol had managed it. He had managed to keep the information secret for the past year or so, watching Baekhyun mature further in his environment, getting close to the boy by bonding over music and waiting, oh it felt like forever that he had been waiting, for Baekhyun to turn eighteen.

            Right now though…Chanyeol had never felt anything like this before. The uneasy feeling was growing into something more and Chanyeol was beginning to feel his hands tremor. Every now and then, breathing was painful, as if someone had a fist around his heart and lungs, squeezing. No no no, this simply wasn’t right. Something, anything, Chanyeol needed to be up and doing, and he had the most gut-wrenching feeling that this had something to do with The Connection – with Baekhyun.

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

The first thing they did was shove him about a bit, big cats playing with their food. A small part of Baekhyun wanted to fight back – a bigger part told him that it would only rile them further. He stayed quiet. Now that he had a clear view of them, Baekhyun could fully appreciate that he was in trouble. The tallest was also the stockiest. Big bones, too much food and the only exercise to be had - beating people up - made for this guy to look simply big. The guy to the left was tall but lanky, no not just lanky – gaunt. Drugs were the obvious answer to this un-asked question. He towered over Baekhyun, intimidating and haunting – a back hole, don’t look in his eyes. Finally, the guy to the right was beefy but average – remarkably so. Built like a rugby player, he appeared the fittest and could have done the worst to Baekhyun, though there was something about him which held back slightly. He was still there, still joining in, although a little detached, as if he were scared that at any moment an officer would pull up and handcuff him. Trying to plead with this one proved fruitless however – they guy just avoided Baekhyun’s eyes and his pleading and pitiful look earned him the first punch of the night. Baekhyun held his hands up in front of his face in an attempt to protect himself but after a short while longer, there was nothing more he could do than try to distract himself from the pain  - fighting back would make them more angry and Baekhyun knew he wouldn’t stand a chance against three. He imagined Mr Park, screeching to a stop in his car, scaring these men away with just one fierce glance, taking Baekhyun into his arms, whisking him away. Rationally though, Baekhyun knew - Nobody’s gonna save me, I’m somewhere nobody knows, it’s the middle of the night, I’ll be in hospital before I see anyone else.

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

            It was a good job it was two in the morning. Park Chanyeol sped through the streets way over the limit. The teacher did not think his heart had ever beat faster or more intensely than it was beating right then. Chanyeol did not know where he was going, he didn’t know what he was supposed to be looking for, but every junction he came to, there was never a doubt – his hands spun the wheel in one direction or the other, never pausing to think. Driving up to where he knew Baekhyun’s house to be, Chanyeol could feel that he wasn’t there. If he had been, this awful dread would not be churning at the bottom of his stomach; this was one thing of which he was certain. The next street over was notorious – Do Not go there. The churning threatened to come up. Entering this part of town, suddenly things felt a whole lot more urgent, panicked, desperate. This is where Baekhyun is. The thought was like a gunshot. Fatal. Final.

            It was a good job Chanyeol was willing to break the law, just a little. He could see the figures from far up the road; they were stood right in the middle of the pavement. Chanyeol could see no shame in the stances of the men surrounding Baekhyun. In fact, Chanyeol could barely see Baekhyun. Breaking hard beside the trio huddled together, the teacher took no time to assess the situation sensibly before shooting out of his car and slamming the door shut. The most normal looking man jumped, he had glanced around nervously at the car even as Chanyeol pulled up and was now staring guiltily at the tall professor. The other two looked up from where they had Baekhyun pinned against the wall. One of them sneered.

“Oh, look who it is, the little ’s friend.”

“You’re too late buddy. D’you think you’d get here in time? Huh?” The thin one now taunted. “Did you think this was a movie? Where you could just glide in and-oof.” Thin guy stumbled back into the wall from the force of the punch; the drugs had affected his body in a way which made him unable to take from another what he gave out with his posse. Seriously concentrating on not looking once again at Baekhyun’s bloody face, his puffy lip, Chanyeol rounded on the fatter man holding Baekhyun up by his collar, throwing another punch. This guy wasn’t taking as much damage as the thin man, although he did let go of Baekhyun to turn all his attention to his attacker. Chanyeol was seeing red, both literally and figuratively. His thoughts could not move past the image of Baekhyun, beaten and bloody, looking and feeling as though he had given up.

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

            It wasn’t exactly as he had imagined it. Mr Park had not screeched to a halt - although he had stopped pretty abruptly – nor had he scattered the thugs with a single piercing gaze, but he had come to Baekhyun’s rescue and that was all that mattered. When he had glimpsed his tutor from underneath the arm which held him hostage, Baekhyun’s heart had soared. He was saved, he would be okay, Mr Park was here to rescue him. Baekhyun began to cry.

            When the fat man let go of Baekhyun to face the professor, the boy sunk to the ground. Everything was weak; his legs had run out of strength and his face felt twice its regular size. The eighteen year old would have sat there all night had Mr Park not been in front of him, putting himself in danger – for him. No, he couldn’t watch his soulmate get beaten up too, or rather, turn himself into a monster.

The thugs were on the ground now and Mr Park cast a murderous gaze upon them, looked as though he was going to go in for another round until Baekhyun managed to summon up a small voice.

“Stop.” The reaction was immediate. The tall man was crouched at Baekhyun’s side in an instant, hands fluttering.

“Baek- oh Baekhyun, what have they done?” the teacher choked on his words, bringing a hand to his mouth and trying to hold back what Baekhyun could feel through their connection to be horror, sadness and regret. His fingers shook.

“Home. Please, take me home.” Frantic nodding.

“Oh course, oh Baekhyun, of course.” The boy could feel the tears rolling down his cheeks, sensed the loud sob threatening to break free.
“Shhh, shh, it’s okay now, shh, you’re safe. Can you stand?” Mr Park helped him from the floor, but as soon as the man let go, Baekhyun crumpled straight away, only saved by Chanyeol’s quick reflexes.

“Nope, okay. It’s okay, come on.” And they walked to the car with Baekhyun’s arm slung over the taller’s shoulder, he himself stooping to Baekhyun’s height while they hobbled along, murmuring soothing words the whole way.

The thugs let them go, watching with hatred in their eyes as the car drove off. The anxious one had long since fled the scene, the fat one shouted,

“That’s right, run! RUN YOU FAGGOTS!”

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

The drive back was hushed at first. Baekhyun huddled in his seat, quietly crying and Chanyeol’s mind flitted about from one image to the next. It physically pained him not to turn around and go beat some more out of those bastards. Who did they think they were? Just how did Baekhyun end up wandering into that part of town? Was he really that depressed…?

“Baekhyun…I’m not going to ask if you’re okay.” Silence

“Because you’re obviously not. I just, please please, talk to me, talk to your mother, talk to your friends, but...” Chanyeol’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel. Calm down. “Stay safe. Don’t go out alone anymore. That’s all I ask of you.” More silence. Glancing over, Chanyeol saw what he hadn’t seen before. There was a big purpling bruise forming on the cheek he could view from the driver’s seat and another around Baekhyun’s left eye. The boy’s lip was split and swollen, and he held a hand over his bicep gingerly. Chanyeol hurriedly turned back to the road, breathing slowly out through pursed lips.

“I-I didn’t…w-walking in there…it was an accident.” He was so ashamed; Chanyeol could feel it radiating from him. Ashamed of walking down town, ashamed of running into bother, ashamed of having to be rescued – he felt weak and even more pathetic.

            Reaching Baekhyun’s house, Chanyeol pulled up. Neither man moved. For Chanyeol, there was too much he wanted to say, for Baekhyun, there were no words, only feelings.

“Thank you. That’s not enough, but thank you. I’m sorry you had to come out like that.” It didn’t even cross Baekhyun’s mind as to how Chanyeol was on that street, how he had known Baekhyun was there in trouble – in just the right place at just the right time.

“Baekhyun, how can you apologise? I…” He heaved an almighty sigh. “Never mind. Let’s go. We’re going to have to explain all this to your mother.

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

            Music class, as it had been for the past week, was agony - but this time, a whole lot worse. Baekhyun constantly felt Mr Park’s eyes upon him, although he did not dare look up to meet them. The sadness he could sense coming from the front of the classroom made him feel very guilty. Kyungsoo’s concern was like more walls closing in around him – as much as he appreciated it – and he soon felt extremely claustrophobic. He had told his friends that morning the abridged version of last night’s events, regretting it at seeing their horrified faces. Even if Baekhyun had kept silent about it, the state of his face meant that everyone he walked past was asking their own silent questions anyway. He couldn’t escape his failure. Once the class had ended, Baekhyun was already packed up and almost at the door to safety when he heard:

“Baekhyun, could you stay behind for a moment.” His heart sank. Baekhyun nodded dejectedly, bidding Kyungsoo farewell with a murmured “I’ll be okay” passing between them.

            Walking to the front of the classroom where Mr Park was sat behind the desk could have been comparable to walking down the long, dark hallway towards the gallows. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an overreaction, but Baekhyun’s heart had begun pounding out of his chest and he was perhaps on the verge of a nervous sweat. What the boy wasn’t prepared for was the brick wall he slammed into upon reaching the desk. Of course it wasn’t a literal brick wall, but that was the closest metaphor Baekhyun could find to describe the sensation. Desperation was what he recognized first, closely followed by hurt, concern, helplessness. It slammed into him all at once, making Baekhyun stop, eyes slightly widening. Was this everything his professor was feeling? His surroundings faded away, there was no school, no tutor, only someone whom he loved suffering. Baekhyun forgot about his own misery for a second, completely absorbed in his soulmate’s. He was way too miserable only to be worrying about yesterday.

“A-are you okay? What’s wrong?” Chanyeol’s brows furrowed. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He was supposed to be the one asking Baekhyun what was the matter, not the other way around. He was the teacher, right? It almost felt as if Baekhyun were the older one, trying to take care of Chanyeol. So caught off guard, Chanyeol was shocked into answering truthfully.

“I-I’m worried about you.” But Chanyeol could feel it falling off him like water rolling off an umbrella. Baekhyun’s concern was touching, and it gave him hope – did this mean that Baekhyun was tuned in to him too? “I’ve been concerned. You haven’t seemed yourself lately, even before yesterday. Tell me Baekhyun, what’s wrong huh?” Baekhyun was still worried about his professor, but it was diminishing. Things didn’t seem quite so bad at this moment, stood at Mr Park’s desk. The two men had only been fretting over each other and since neither of them had the nerve to say that aloud and now that they had confronted each other, their problems appeared less. Baekhyun too was touched by his professor’s concern, but he definitely wasn’t going to tell Mr Park his problems when they involved the man himself.

“Um, yeah, I guess I’m fine. Just-just trying to figure things out.” Well, it was partially true. Mr Park’s eyes did not move from Baekhyun’s face, making him feel slightly uncomfortable ‘Will he see through me?’

“Hmm, okay then. But Baekhyun-” Chanyeol stood up and came round the desk, lightly brushing the backs of his fingers across Baekhyun’s bruised cheek tenderly before dropping the hand to his shoulder. Baekhyun shuddered. “-if you ever need someone, for anything, come to me, okay? I said it yesterday, and I’m saying it again. Trust me.” When Mr Park looked straight into Baekhyun’s eyes, they both felt the jolt. Baekhyun heard somewhere that if you looked into someone else’s eyes then those two heartbeats would sync and beat together. Oh God he was so screwed.

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

“ Kyung, what am I gonna do?! Argh!” Baekhyun fisted his hands through his hair and smacked his head down onto the table with a thud, earning a wince from all three friends sat with him. Luckily, there was no lunch in front of him – his appetite had been barely there recently.

“Well for a start you could stop knocking out your few remaining brain cells.” When Baekhyun lifted his face just long enough to glare at Jongdae through his fringe, said boy put up a V-sign and smiled cutely “Joking!” Baekhyun’s bruises were yellowing, and made his whole face look sallow. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and thought hard. His friend was pitiful. He was mopey, he was moany, he was depressing to be around and that just wasn’t like Baekhyun at all. He would have certainly been sympathetic to this behaviour normally, if Baekhyun hadn’t already been acting like this before Sunday’s incident. Kyungsoo wanted his chirpy friend back, and if he managed to fix this for Baekhyun, or at least helped, then things might end with him being even happier. He had to try. But he couldn’t let Baekhyun know everything, because the stubborn guy would try to stop him, and Kyungsoo just knew, he knew, that it needed to be done - for the better. His gut told him that Baekhyun and Chanyeol were each other’s soulmates and he would prove to Baekhyun that he was being a big, fat, idiot. Kyungsoo hadn’t realised that he had been muttering insults under his breath like an angry goblin until Baekhyun began pouting and Jongin and Jongdae were laughing at him. Oops.

            That evening Kyungsoo, ever the diplomatic one of the four friends, called the meeting to order in Jongin’s bedroom, planning.

“I feel sneaky doing this without Baekhyun hyung here.”

“Jongin, we’re doing this to help him. Aren’t you sick of seeing him miserable?”

“Yes but…” realising Kyungsoo wouldn’t listen to him, he heaved a huge sigh “fine, what did you have in mind?”

“Right, we need to speak to Mr Park…or well, I will since I’m in his music class.”

“Okay…? Why are we gathered here if we’re not involved?”
“Jongdae, you are involved. You guys need to know what’s going on so you can help me. Or so you don’t accidentally blurt anything out to Baekhyun that we don’t want him to know. This is all going to be done without him knowing because he’ll try to stop us.”

“But he’s miserable. We’re helping him.”

“Yes, but he doesn’t see it like that. He has no faith in this at all. I’m almost sure Baekhyun is Mr Park’s soulmate, but we just have to prove it.” And so for the rest of the night, the three friends spent time plotting ideas to get the two together. Kyungsoo was determined. This had to work; otherwise he didn’t know what else they could do.

            The next day, things appeared as normal, or well, as normal as things had been for the past few weeks while Baekhyun had been depressed and Mr Park distracted and the awkward atmosphere had been hanging in the air. Today was the day. Kyungsoo knew that Mr Park wouldn’t be quick to leave the classroom after the lesson, the man had been moping around afterwards for days now and it wouldn’t have taken someone as sharp as Kyungsoo to spot it. Once the students were let out and he and Baekhyun were halfway down the corridor, Kyungsoo put his plan into action.

“Hey Baek, I’m just gonna nip to the loo, you carry on and meet the others so they won’t wonder where we are okay?”

“Mm okay. See you in a bit.”

“Oh and B? Eat something today. Please.”

“Hm, whatever.” Kyungsoo knew that his friend wouldn’t buy anything unless he forced him to, or bought the food for him to make him eat. He was still worried, but this only gave him more motivation for what he was about to do. Once Baekhyun had turned the corner, Kyungsoo took his hand off the door to the bathroom and turned back toward the music room, preparing what he should say.

            Chanyeol was sorting through music and test papers for his next class when the door hesitantly cracked open and Do Kyungsoo stepped through. Chanyeol liked Kyungsoo, he was very talented with his voice and paid attention in lessons. He was also a good friend to Baekhyun and the professor was thankful towards the boy and glad there was someone kind for his soulmate to lean on while he felt so troubled. Ideally, Chanyeol would have liked for Baekhyun to come to him when he needed comfort, but despite their close relationship (which unfortunately had been growing apart within the last few weeks) they were still teacher and pupil and Chanyeol, at this point, truly believed that Baekhyun had a different soulmate. The thought deflated him every time it swum to the forefront of his mind, though he would continue to do everything he could to give Baekhyun happiness. He loved the boy - so, so much - and even though sometimes he didn’t believe it himself, Baekhyun’s happiness was his happiness.

            At this point Kyungsoo had come to stand closer to the desk, though still hovering slightly, as if he were re-thinking a decision. Chanyeol’s voice seemed to snap him out of his thoughts.

“Can I help you Kyungsoo?” He had to stop himself from continuing with how is Baekhyun doing? Where is he? Has he confided in you? Is he okay?

“Ah, yeah. Um, well it’s not about music though…” Chanyeol’s heart began to beat slightly quicker. He’s going to ask about-

“…Baekhyun. It’s about Baekhyun.” Silence filled the room for a few beats, both teacher and pupil struggling to find something to say, or finding the courage.

“…Oh.” Chanyeol kicked himself mentally Oh come on, Oh?! “W-well then, go on…?” Kyungsoo clenched his fists tightly by his sides, gathering his courage. Just do it! Go on, say it! Motivation!

“SIR!” Maybe a little less motivation! “Mr Park. Who is your soulmate? I-I mean is Baekhyun your soulmate?!” The professor could do nothing but gape, eyes wide open in shock. Kyungsoo, surprised and slightly horrified that he had managed to blurt it out so simply like that at all, didn’t like the silence. “J-just that, um, we- I mean he – he’s been depressed. Like, really depressed. And we-“

“-I know.” The silence returned, feeling like a punch to the gut. Kyungsoo, who had studiously been looking at his feet, his fingers, anywhere but his tutor’s eyes, suddenly snapped his head up.

“What?!”

“I know. I can feel it.”  Chanyeol’s eyes began to water. “I can feel it Kyungsoo, inside me.” He frustratedly beat his chest with a fist as the first tear rolled down his cheek and off the end of his nose. “It’s like a knife, twisting and turning. It’s like someone’s hand, reaching in, ripping my heart out piece. By. Piece.” Kyungsoo winced as Mr Park cried, his tutor’s face scrunching up and letting go of his professional front. He was surprised at the sudden outburst. This was not Professor Park anymore, teacher, on the job. This was Park Chanyeol, a young man in his twenties, struggling with love. Kyungsoo’s heart clenched slightly. These two were so stupid. So stupid! They could have solved all this with communication!

“He’s your soulmate. He is right?” There was no answer, just muffled attempts to stifle the cries. “Right?!” The small nod was all Kyungsoo needed. “Right. Well phew, I’m glad we’ve got that out of the way.”

“Wha-Kyungsoo, I don’t-”

“You’re Baekhyun’s too! He dreamt of you! No, don’t look so shocked, why would I lie? Baekhyun is miserable, you are obviously miserable and leaving things up to the both of you is evidently getting us nowhere!” He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation; his professor was back to gawking, jaw on the floor, eyes agog. It would have been comical if the situation weren’t so frustrating.

“H-he’s…my…I’m his-what? What?”

“You’re each other’s soulmates. Mr Park, believe me! Can’t you feel it? The connection? I think Baekhyun can. He always seems more aware when you’re around. I can tell he not just sad for himself, but for you too. Think of all that extra sadness, double depression. But please, will you…ah I don’t know, what are you going to do? Professor I can’t cheer him up. He thinks that you have a different soulmate…Why didn’t you say anything?” It took a moment for the man to find his voice again.

“Well, I thought the same thing. Why would I be his? As soon as I saw him walk into my class for the first time I was so…happy.” Chanyeol’s eyes took a faraway look. “I was so hopeful. Byun Baekhyun. There was my soulmate. I had waited so long Kyungsoo, and then I had to wait more, for him to come of age – to have his dream. Can you imagine how hard it was for me? To keep quiet? And then when he came in, as miserable as he could possibly be, what was I to think? Huh? What was I to think Kyungsoo?” Kyungsoo could only shake his head. A smile began to grow on Mr Park’s face. “But now, now that you’ve told me…now that I know.” He suddenly stood up, his chair making a noise on the hard wood floor behind him and startling Kyungsoo. “Thank you Kyungsoo. Thank you. I just, sorry for all of this but you’ve really made my day.” Chanyeol chuckled, wiping another stray tear – this one of happiness. “Well, that’s certainly an understatement I think.”

“Ah, no, no not at all, it’s totally fine Sir. Fine.” Kyungsoo was flustered for a moment, but quickly tried to gain his composure. “Right. So, I’ll go and tell Baekhyun then.” He was rewarded with his tutor drawing back, a panic stricken look on his face.

“NO! Don’t!”

“What? Why? Didn’t you want this?”

“Please, Kyungsoo. I want to do it myself. I’ll tell him myself. Okay?” Chanyeol looked straight into the boy’s eyes. This was something that he had to do himself. Kyungsoo nodded slowly much to the professor’s relief.

“Okay. Alright but please Sir, tell him soon. I don’t know if I can stand to see him this way for a lot longer. Especially now I know.”

“Yes. I know. Yes. Alright then. It’s a deal.”

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

Chanyeol was excited. Nervous, of course and extremely impatient. The man paced up and down his bedroom. Wearing down the carpet was a fleeting thought which managed to drag the corner of his lips into a smile. Restless energy swirled around him as he continued to walk, fingers tapping a quick and disjointed rhythm onto his cotton sleep pants.

“UUURGH” When was the best time to tell Baekhyun? If what Kyungsoo had said was right, then the boy had no idea whatsoever that he was indeed Chanyeol’s soulmate. In fact, not only did he have no idea, but he simply did not believe it to be true in the slightest. Chanyeol thought that perhaps he would have some persuading to do. Either that or hopefully, Baekhyun would recognize the bond they shared and know that what his tutor was saying was the truth. Well, the man could only hope so.

            The weekend had been another lonely one. Back in his Thinking Place and still no one had found him. Baekhyun was glad. He longed for his tutor to be with him, to come and search for him – out of breath and panting, bursting through the trees like a hero to chase away the bad feelings and tuck Baekhyun up in his arms, giving him comfort, telling him everything was going to be okay. Just like he did on Sunday. Oh wake up Baekhyun. It’s not going to happen. Not twice. He reprimanded himself as he trudged to school, not seeing his friends’ concerned looks upon him as he drew closer to the main gates. Their shifty glances and impatient shuffling went unnoticed too – a good thing for them since what they were itching to tell their friend was, for now, a secret. If Baekhyun had asked them about it, none of them – especially Jongdae – would have been able to resist for very long blurting the whole thing out right there on the school yard.

            First and second period were spent in just the same way as they had been for the past few weeks, dreading them ending, dreading the moment the bell would ring and Baekhyun would have to struggle to his third lesson where the mere presence of Mr Park would unknowingly torture him through the hour. Never mind all those glances Baekhyun had been receiving, like a stab to the chest. Heaven forbid if the teacher came over to ask him something.

            Baekhyun shuffled closer to Kyungsoo as he opened the door to the music room, using him somewhat as a safety blanket for the feelings he knew would buffet him as soon as he stepped into the room which felt like Mr Park, smelt like Mr Park, and contained the professor himself, their link intensifying Baekhyun’s senses pertaining to the man in question. Today though, something was different. Baekhyun looked up in confusion, instinctively towards the front of the classroom where he knew his soulmate was standing. Their eyes met and a jolt of something shot down Baekhyun’s spine. He quickly looked away again, but could still feel eyes upon him. The pleasant mood that his tutor was in was certainly new; the man had been down in the dumps for weeks, Baekhyun didn’t know what to do with this new set of feelings. He’s probably found his soulmate. Baekhyun felt like crying. This was the worst possible outcome. His tutor had found his soulmate, and it’s not me! Why, why must this cruel link still allow him to feel things? Baekhyun could feel every wave from Mr Park, every new emotion and a shadow of his movements and thoughts. He was tuned in to his tutor’s frequency…unfortunately, his soulmate seemed to be listening to a different radio station.

            Chanyeol was confused. Didn’t Baekhyun feel it? Did he not understand? He had had to use every ounce of his strength to stop himself from crossing the classroom earlier. There was no way that Baekhyun hadn’t noticed the pulse that, certainly for Chanyeol, had spread through his body, sparking, crackling like something about to burst through his skin and burn him alive. He had recognized his soulmate…so why did it still feel like there was a piece missing? Baekhyun still felt miserable and the only conclusion Chanyeol could draw from that and his own intuition was that Baekhyun hadn’t recognized him as his soulmate yet. Unless Kyungsoo was wrong and Baekhyun really did have a different soulmate…no. No, he couldn’t think like that. He had to stay positive, for both of their sakes. He wouldn’t confront Baekhyun today though. Most of the problem was that he still hadn’t figured out how, but as well as that, Chanyeol’s heart knew that it wasn’t yet time. He would wait. For Baekhyun, he would wait.

            The remainder of the lesson continued in silent agony, the rest of the class oblivious to the invisible battle warring between teacher and pupil. The string that seemed to connect the two was thick, but Baekhyun could very well have been standing over it with scissors in his hands, Chanyeol nearby, pleading with all his mental will for him not to cut it. Put the scissors down. Accept their bond.

            That night, Baekhyun let himself into his house after coming back once again from his Thinking Place. His mother was hunched over the table sleeping, her head lay on the bed of her arms and Baekhyun felt a pang of guilt. His mother had stayed up waiting for him probably sick with worry, especially after the incident, – she had been almost unbearable with him - frown lines marring her normally soft features. This wasn’t fair. He was all his mother had left, and she was losing him too. Baekhyun tiptoed forward and shook his mother’s shoulder gently.

“Mum, I’m back. I’m sorry. Go to bed, you’ll hurt your back this way.”

“Huh. Baekhyun? Oh, honey, you’re back, you’re safe.” Her eyes welled up and Baekhyun felt it like a punch to the gut.

“Mum, I’m so sorry.” He felt his own eyes begin to tear as Mrs Byun pulled her son into an embrace.

            After assuring his mother that he would come home sooner next time, Baekhyun climbed into his own bed, tucking up and screwing his eyes shut after setting his alarm for school and plugging his phone in to charge. Thoughts swirled around his head, wreaking havoc and causing Baekhyun to bring his pillow up around his ears, muttering,

 “Shut up shut up shut up!!!”  They whispered to him, a silent war. Baekhyun found himself murmering his objections:

‘His soulmate is-‘

“It’s not me.”

‘Baekhyun, couldn’t you feel the pull today?’

“No! No, that was just me. I’m not for him.”

‘You are. Can’t you feel it now? The strings?’

“No no no! It’s just me. Just me. Stop it stop it!” In the end, the boy fell asleep from exhaustion, tear tracks drying on his cheeks.

            A piano, a beautiful melody. Baekhyun had an acute sense of déjà vu. He frowned. Wasn’t this…? The music seemed awfully familiar…Standing up, Baekhyun exited the room and stepped out into a lush garden, the sounds of water bubbling came from where a fountain stood. The feeling of recognition returned even more strongly as Baekyun spun around to see a picnic blanket on a patch of green grass. No way, this was…his soulmate dream. But why was he dreaming of it again? The Dream only occurred once, right? Or at least Baekhyun had thought so. Another odd thing about this time was that unlike the last, Baekhyun was aware. He was aware of himself and aware that this was a dream – the boy could control his actions and thoughts and that was unlike anything he had felt before. What on earth was going on? A figure appeared by the fountain and this time, Baekhyun wasted no time in marching right over to where this person – Chanyeol – was stood waiting for him. This could very well have been Baekhyun’s second dream, the dream of a different soulmate, making up for the fact that Chanyeol had a different one but somehow the boy knew that no, it was still Chanyeol.

            Reaching the fountain, he shouted,

“Why are you here? Why is this happening again?! Professor Park what in God’s name is going on?!” The strange thing was however, that Mr Park looked just as confused as Baekhyun.

“Huh? Baekhyun?”

“This was my dream. This was where I found you! But why are we here again?” His professor’s face broke into a smile, which grew and grew.

“Really? It’s true? Oh Baekhyun!” He came forward and pulled Baekhyun to him, although the younger boy still felt muddled. Reluctantly and conflicting with the feeling in his chest, Baekhyun pushed away slightly,

“What’s going on? Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be with your soulmate? I don’t think they’ll like it if you’re in this dream with me.” Chanyeol had begun to laugh as Baekhyun spoke, his eyes sparked with happiness and…love. Baekhyun was even more confused.

“Oh Baekhyun, it’s you! You’re my soulmate!” This stopped the boy dead in his tracks.

“…what…? But I-“

“-It’s true! Didn’t you feel it in class today? Stop denying it! Stop rejecting me! It’s you!” Baekhyun’s heart began to beat so quickly - it felt as if there were thousands of hummingbirds inside him, fluttering, trying to escape.

“Baekhyun, I love you.” All of a sudden, the boy found himself crying, this time being the one to reach for his teacher.

“Please, stay with me. I don’t want to wake up. Mr Park-“

“Chanyeol. Call me Chanyeol.”

“- please, I love you Chanyeol.”

“I’m not going to leave you Baekhyun. I love you, and I’ll still love you when you wake up - when we both wake up. I promise you this. I’ll love you then, I’ll love you when you don’t love yourself, I’ll love you when we’re old, I’ll love you after we’re both dead and gone, I’ll love you whe-“

            Baekhyun slowly awoke, Chanyeol’s words fading out as he regained consciousness, a blush immediately rising to colour his cheeks. The boy patted his face and squirmed in bed. Something was different, he felt full…contented. This was so different from how Baekhyun had been feeling for the past while that he allowed himself to spring out of bed and almost look forward to school that day. He had dreamt The Dream for the second time, but this time, he believed it.

“I love you” His professor’s voice – no, Chanyeol’s voice – echoed in his head, deep and y and Baekhyun giggled. The thought crossed his mind that this could once again be his own imagination, his heart missing his soulmate and wanting so desperately for it to be true that his mind had made up another version of The Dream. Baekhyun tried not to let this thought interfere with the positive mood he had woken up in. This time, Baekhyun did not want to doubt, not any longer. He had been miserable for so long that now it was gone, he certainly didn’t want it to come back.

            Chanyeol grinned as he looped his tie around his neck. Last night had been strange. Chanyeol had never imagined that he could be consciously dreaming until he found himself wondering why he was in the very same garden of his childhood. The garden his mother took extreme pride in keeping alive with flowers and birds and the beautiful fountain he always used to play in. This was where his father proposed to his mother, where his grandfather proposed to his grandmother and where Chanyeol always believed that he would carry on the legacy. Nothing made sense until he heard who could only ever be Baekhyun shouting him from behind. Why was Baekhyun here? The eighteen year old spoke again, then all of a sudden, without having to ask, everything fell into place. A second chance, his time to convince Baekhyun of the truth. Never had Chanyeol known The Dream to come back. He remembered laughing as Baekhyun’s doubts spilled from his pink lips, discovering that Kyungsoo was correct; Baekhyun did think Chanyeol had a different soulmate. The professor was so happy to finally and fully know for certain that he and Baekhyun were each others’ soulmates; he couldn’t stop the smile splitting his face in two, even when Baekhyun began to cry.

            Now, the man chuckled to himself as he picked up his bag. Chanyeol could hardly wait for his music lesson with Baekhyun today. Finally the boy would understand that the pull he felt was not just his own attraction. Finally, Baekhyun would be his.

            Greeting Baekhyun at the gates that morning put his friends into a good mood. They could see the small smile upon his lips and evidence of a little something more trying to break through. It was a nice change, and one which they hoped would stay. Baekhyun himself had missed his mother that morning, she having gone to work before he was dressed and downstairs. What the boy didn’t know was that she had been looking in on him every morning while he was still asleep, checking up on him. Mrs Byun was still very worried for her son, as any mother would be if their child had not been eating well, staying out late and speaking barely one word to her.

Baekhyun’s last thoughts were about his mother at that moment however, brain already full and swirling with fantasies about how he would greet his teacher. Mr Pa – no, Chanyeol – had told him that he loved him. Multiple times. The something trying to break free pulled loose and Baekhyun’s face shone.

“Uh, okay, did something happen? Because this is quite a change.” Jongdae had to stop himself from making a joke. Who knew how fragile his friend still was? Maybe Baekhyun had finally snapped? Who knew?

“I’m Chanyeol’s soulmate.” Kyungsoo’s jaw dropped slightly.

“All this time Byun Baekhyun I have been trying to tell you that it’s true and you never believed me!” At this Baekhyun just laughed.

“Yeah but Soo, I know now. I had another Dream.”

“Eey, stop joking around Hyung. That doesn’t happen.”

“It does Jongin! I didn’t think it was possible either but it happened! I could control myself, in the dream I mean.”

“So…what does that mean?” Baekhyun’s face fell a little.

“Well I’m still a bit worried that my mind is playing tricks on me, I mean to cheer me up or something. It still feels too good to be true…but Chanyeol was there. It seemed like he was actually there. Guys I –“ Baekhyun heaved a resigned sigh. “I’ll talk to him today. I won’t put it off. I really am sure it was real. I know it.” Now that he was there in school, Baekhyun’s nerves had arisen, though he tried to suppress them – the anticipation he could feel bubbling just under his skin was like an old friend that Baekhyun surely did not want to lose again.

Just then, the bell rang.

“Go get him Baek! I’m so glad you’ve finally accepted it. Despite how bloody long it took.” The eighteen year old got a playful shove from Jongdae before he strode off with Jongin to their first class, the latter giving Baekhyun an encouraging smile.

“Come on Baek, we still have four lessons to wade through until you can go get your man haha.”

“Are you mocking me Do Kyungsoo? You’ve been spending too much time with Jongdae.”

“Hey, I had to spend time with someone while you were off holing yourself away. Where did you go all those times anyway? We were really worried about you Baek.” Baekhyun felt apologetic. He really hadn’t been thinking about anyone but himself and his problems. Some friend he was. The boy pulled Kyungsoo to a stop for a moment.

“I really am sorry about that. I’ve been a ty friend. I didn’t even listen to your advice. I’m sorry.” Baekhyun lowered his chin, barely able to look Kyungsoo in the eyes. The other boy would take none of it however.

“B, you weren’t happy. We could all see that much. Finding your soulmate is one of the most important things in life. We understand. Now come on, we’ll be late.” Chucking Baekhyun’s chin, Kyungsoo carried on walking, letting out a sly,

“Though if you’re really sorry you could buy the snacks for the next movie night…” and earning a

“Yah! Okay okay, cheeky bugger.”

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

For the first time in weeks, Baekhyun was looking forward to his music lesson. He had absolutely no idea what he would say to Chanyeol. He still blushed at the idea of calling his professor by his first name anyway. It made him happier than it should have done. Simple things like this, but with so much meaning to Baekhyun, were slowly becoming his reason to smile.

            Not knowing whether he was imagining it or not, Baekhyun stopped dead outside the door to classroom. Kyungsoo was halfway through the door before he realised that he had left Baekhyun behind. He turned his head, a silent question in his eyes. Baekhyun took a deep breath, placing a hand over his heart, which had begun to beat rapidly. Excitement was just one emotion of which Baekhyun could feel the almost solid impact. Was this it? The connection? Was this what his subconscious had been pushing him towards the whole time?

“I feel…full.” At this, Kyungsoo barked a short and fond laugh, finally getting it. The slightly lost look on Baekhyun’s face was a picture. God, he was younger than his friend and still knew more about what was going on. He couldn’t stop the smug look he could feel growing upon his features.

“That will be the connection. You’ve become one now. Baek, you’ve finally recognized each other!”

“This is…wow.” Baekhyun shook his head, speechless. There were no words to describe this feeling.

            Suddenly eager to get into the classroom and see Chanyeol’s face, Baekhyun grabbed Kyungsoo’s arm.

“Come on.” It was as if there had been a film over his senses, muting everything. Baekhyun had never felt more alert, and it was all focused on one person. As soon as they’d passed the threshold, Baekhyun’s eyes trained towards the front of the room where their teacher was sat, looking right back at him. He had felt the jolt before, last time, a huge tingling throughout his body. This jolt was tenfold. Once again, Baekhyun had no choice but to stop in his tracks, blinking a little to keep focused. Chanyeol was out of breath, as though he had run fifty marathons. Baekhyun could feel things as if they were his own emotions, Chanyeol’s desire to drag him out of the classroom to confront him, to hug him, to kiss him and to…Baekhyun blushed and hurried to his seat. Now he could sense his teacher’s embarrassment. It was true. Everything was true. He couldn’t wait for the lesson to end.  

            Nearing three o’clock, Baekhyun couldn’t help but shift in his seat. Ten more minutes, that was all. For the past hour, he had been able to concentrate on nothing but the man at the front of the class, and not only because it was an interesting lesson. The professor had been blatantly gazing at Baekhyun at any opportunity he could, though Baekhyun could tell he had been trying not to, as well as studiously avoiding picking on him to answer questions.

            At five minutes to three, Mr Park dismissed the class.

“You’ve all worked hard today, so I’ll let you go early. Don’t forget to pick three songs of contrasting styles. I would like to see your choices before you go ahead and start practicing to make sure they are of suitable difficulty. Have a nice evening and I’ll see you all tomorrow.” He heaved a sigh of relief. Now he could relax. Chanyeol could feel Baekhyun lingering. He had tried so hard all lesson not to interact too much with the boy, afraid he would completely lose control. As it was, Chanyeol could barely wait until the rest of the students had left.

            I won’t wait up for you Baek.” Kyungsoo winked at his friend. “Good luck.” And with that, there were only the two of them in the room. Things were quiet for a while, neither man knowing what to say or how to say it.

“…B-Baekhyun…” Baekhyun could feel Chanyeol’s desire, could feel him still holding back. He didn’t want to scare the younger away, didn’t want to overwhelm him or startle him. There was only so much either of them could take. Chanyeol took big strides across the room and folded Baekhyun up in the biggest and warmest hug he could muster, rocking them and murmuring lowly into his ear.

“You’re here, you’re with me, I’m never letting you go. My god, Baekhyun, Baekhyun.” Baekhyun couldn’t help but flush red and hug back. This was like a dream, but the slight pain his ribs were feeling from being crushed by Chanyeol proved otherwise.

“Um, Sir…”

“Oh sorry, sorry.” Chanyeol pulled away, keeping his arms loosely around the younger’s waist, and just stood there smiling down at him.

“I love you Byun Baekhyun.” Baekhyun felt as if he would combust. His smile was shy but most certainly there as he gazed back up at his teacher.

“It feels so strange to be hugging like this. Intimate.” He wasn’t used to this much skinship from his tutor and even now things had changed, the boundaries Baekhyun had always known as a pupil and teacher relationship remained in his mind. If this were a normal situation, their actions would be very inappropriate…but this wasn’t a normal situation, and Baekhyun would have to get used to being close to Chanyeol if he wanted to keep his tutor– and his own needs – happy. It was the start of something new for the both of them, and Baekhyun wanted to get over his shyness in order to open up to the one he loved, his soulmate.

“Is that because of the age difference? Because I’m your professor? Then let’s start off with a date. Say, Saturday. Let’s get used to each other as soulmates, as boyfriends rather than just teacher and pupil, okay? There’s no need to rush things, not now that I’ve got you.” Chanyeol lifted one hand to Baekhyun’s hair from his face and left it to rest on his cheek, speaking again.

“I can’t stop looking at you. I can hardly believe this is real.”

“Me neither. Chanyeol~” Baekhyun almost wined, burying his face back into his soulmate’s broad chest and squeezing him tightly. All this feelings stuff was embarrassing outside of his own head.

“Come on Baek. I’ll take you home.” The younger popped his head up to smile gratefully at Chanyeol and the taller man held out his hand. Baekhyun looked at it, causing Chanyeol to smile fondly. Baekhyun was too cute.

“I know you feel all this too Baekhyun, and I know you’re shy, it’s okay. Take it. We’re out of school hours anyway; we’re perfectly allowed to do this.” And so hesitantly, he placed his delicate fingers into Chanyeol’s large palm. The skin was rough and warm and Baekhyun felt safe. Chanyeol brought their joined hands up as they walked out of the classroom (“After you Baek. Careful.”) and examined them.

“I’ve always loved your fingers; they’re so slender and beautiful. They make lovely music too. You’ll play for me at night some time won’t you?” Baekhyun smiled at that, at the thought of he and Chanyeol growing old together, going to sleep next to one another and waking up in each other’s arms.

“It sounds perfect.” The words were spoken quietly, but Chanyeol heard them, his whole being was acutely in tune to the small man beside him.

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

            Baekhyun didn’t know if the expectation was to fall into a relationship which seemed as though they had been a couple for years – after all, a soulmate was for life, it was different than slowly dating to see if they were right for each other, because they simply knew they were. That wasn’t quite how things went however. As much as Baekhyun fantasised about a fairytale ending, real life just didn’t work like that. Baekhyun’s soulmate was his professor. For one thing, the boy knew that he would take a while to become comfortable in dropping honorifics and see his teacher as his lover instead of the familiar, which was pushing away his forbidden crush and trying to get on with his school life. For another thing, Baekhyun was shy, plain and simple. Whenever Chanyeol would hold his hand, or compliment him, or look at him in a certain way, with that twinkle in his eyes, Baekhyun would always feel so flustered. Thinking about these things and actually experiencing them first hand was a whole different ball park, especially since Baekhyun realised a heightened sense of his soulmate’s feelings through their link. This time now was about getting used to each other, and growing to love one another more, which was exactly what both men intended to do.

            That night when Baekhyun’s text tone rang out into the room at quarter to eleven, the bleary eyed boy rolled over, too sleepy to immediately realise who might be messaging him; it had been a long day and last night hadn’t been particularly restful.

07234 253 325:

Hi Baekhyun. Sorry, I stole your number

from your college records. I didn’t think

you’d mind though. /(^_^)/

For one stunned moment, Baekhyun thought someone had stalked him. Until he realised who this most likely was and a big grin began to split his face. Immediately and blushing, he saved the number.

Baekhyun:

You scared me! I thought that a stranger

had stalked me! >< I was almost asleep.

Chanyeol <3

Oh! I’m sorry >.< I just really wanted

to talk to you. :3 So…should I let you sleep?

At this, Baekhyun squirmed and hid under his covers.

Baekhyun:

No, no. It’s okay. I want to talk to you…

Chanyeol <3

Ah that’s a relief! So, what did your

Mum say? When she found out?

Oh. Baekhyun hadn’t actually spoken to his mother yet. Suddenly, he felt extremely guilty. Here he was, problems fixed and happy again and his mother still thought that his soulmate was gone. Oh God! He’d been so insensitive!

Baekhyun:

Well…she doesn’t know. What should

I do Chanyeol? I lied to her.

Chanyeol <3

Just tell her the truth. She’s your mother.

She’ll forgive you.

Baekhyun set his phone down on his chest, closing his eyes and letting his breath out. Why did he let things get this way? He was startled by a final vibration of his phone, picking it up quickly.

Chanyeol <3

Get some sleep now love. I’ll see you

tomorrow. I won’t greet you at the gates –

I know you’re still shy. I’ll take you home again

and we can see your mum together, okay?

Goodnight xox

Baekhyun:

Thank you. Goodnight xox

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

That morning, Baekhyun managed – by the skin of his teeth – to escape his mother. He slipped down the stairs while she was in the kitchen, shouting a hurried,

“I’M GOING, BYE!” and continued on his way to college.

            The day passed quickly, with Baekhyun’s music lesson early in the morning – the two men stole shy glances and smiles at each other all the while, Kyungsoo giving knowing smug looks by the side. By the time the day ended, Baekhyun was nervous. His thoughts ran wild while he made his way to the music room. What on earth would he say to his mother? What would he do? What would- Chanyeol caught Baekhyun by the shoulders, steadying him.

“Were you trying to walk into the door frame?” There was mirth in the crinkles around his eyes. Baekhyun blushed.

“Sorry. I was thinking.”

“Hm I could tell. Is it about tonight? Do you want to stay here for a bit?”

“Do you mind? I’ll just…play the piano. Sit with me?” It had barely been a day, and already Chanyeol was enabling Baekhyun to feel comfortable around him. Neither of them had ever been this happy.

“Of course! You know I love listening to you play!” The keys felt smooth under the pads of his fingers. Without consciously deciding what to play, Baekhyun’s hands let loose. It was, coincidentally, a love song.

“I can feel your calm.” Baekhyun didn’t answer – didn’t say that he could feel the other’s love.

            By the time Baekhyun was ready to go, four o clock had been and gone. The two pulled up to the Buyn household at quarter to five, calm – mostly. Chanyeol took the car out of gear, pulled up the hand brake, then reached down to squeeze Baekhyun’s hand.
“You’ll be fine. She’ll be happy.” Baekhyun nodded, deciding to put his trust in his soulmate.

“I hope so.”

            As it turned out, Mrs Byun had had enough of her son’s avoidances and she let him know as soon as he announced his arrival home.

“Byun Baekhyun you just stay right there and don’t try to sneak away from me. I need to kn…ow. Oh. Mr Park, can I help you?” the short woman came to an abrupt stop in motion, trailing off in speech. Chanyeol pulled up his most dazzling smile

“Could we possibly talk over tea?”

            They sat on opposite ends of the breakfast bar; Baekhyun and Chanyeol, and Mrs Byun. Her curious but keen gaze flicked between the two above mugs of steaming tea, no doubt she thought that this was to do with Baekhyun’s progress at college; why else would her son’s teacher be in her kitchen looking only a little more pleasant than sombre.

“So. What’s this all about? Baekhyunnie, is everything-“ she broke off and turned to Chanyeol suddenly, “-is our Baekhyun in trouble?” Chanyeol collected his thoughts, reminding himself to be sensitive.

“Ah, no, not exactly.” Baekhyun sat quietly next to his soulmate, wishing this was already over, letting the other man do the talking. “You see…well…Baekhyun, this isn’t really my bit to tell.” The second of eye contact didn’t go unnoticed by Mrs Byun. It was a silent conversation she was not privy to.

“Mum. I don’t really know how to explain without sounding like a horrible person but…I guess that’s what I’ve been.”

“Baekhy-“

“No Mum, just listen. I lied. I lied about my soulmate, I lied about who he was and where he lived and also that he...that he died. I have no excuse except that I didn’t believe who was actually in my dream. I’m sorry.” The kitchen was blanketed in silence. Baekhyun’s mother sat in shock, hurt written over her features.

“A-after what happened to your father…” Baekhyun felt the stab in his gut as his mother’s voice faltered. Chanyeol was lost, but remained silent. This needed to be sorted.

“Oh honey. Why didn’t you just tell me?” The woman came around the counter to embrace her son. Chanyeol felt like an intruder. He tried reassuring himself that he belonged here; this would be his mother-in-law soon.

“Just promise me you’ll tell me the truth in future. Baekhyun?” A vigorous nod. “Okay. Now, what’s the other thing, things? I know that can’t be all. Mr Park?” Said man took a deep breath and Baekhyun moved back over to him, feeling his nerves through their link.

“Right. Well, I haven’t come here as Baekhyun’s teacher.” Mrs Byun’s brows visibly furrowed. She wouldn’t be confused for too long. “Baekhyun, he…no, I…Alright I’ll just come out and say it-“ Baekhyun’s lips quirked at the unintentional pun. “Baekhyun is my soulmate. That is to say, I’m who your son dreamed of.” For a moment, nobody could guess what emotions Mrs Byun was feeling. opened and closed like a fish out of water, until,

“Who wants more tea? Shall I make a pot? Yes, I think that would be best.” Baekhyun and Chanyeol looked at each other, speaking with their eyes and their feelings.

‘Well, it could have gone worse…’

‘I’m a bit worried about her…lets just stay calm.’

            Mrs Byun did not speak again until she was seated once more, a fresh pot of tea in the middle of the table. Chanyeol took Baekhyun’s hand and rested them both on his own thigh out of sight.

“I figured we’d all be here for a while longer.” It was not a choice. She, just as before, peered at her son and almost certain son-in-law. She found it rather amusing that they both looked like chastised school boys. She hadn’t lost her touch over the years.

“I’m not mad, if that’s what you’re thinking. Don’t believe I’m that cruel of a woman Mr Park...uh, oh well I can’t call you that if you’re to be my family right? You can call me Auntie.” Chanyeol was flustered for a second before a big grin broke out on his handsome face. He liked Baekhyun’s mother already.

“Of course. Chanyeol. Call me Chanyeol.” She beamed back at him.

“Good. Now that I’m over my surprise, I’m coming to see lots of benefits of this relationship. I know you’ll look after my Baekhyunnie, and you’re his music teacher! He’ll benefit so much from that.” There were hidden orders in her words; this was making sure Chanyeol knew his duties as a boyfriend and future husband. Mrs Byun knew how fragile her son could be, but despite the age difference of the two and the teacher and pupil concern, she did not think there could have been a better match. Their chemistry was evident in the way they sat, bodies angled towards each other, the way they spoke, the way they looked at each other.

“I promise you, I will do everything in my power to look after Baekhyun and love him properly.” Baekhyun blushed red. His mother spoke sincerely.

“Thank you child.”

♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

Saturday came around relatively quickly. Life was bright again and every day after college Baekhyun would say goodbye to his friends in favour of walking to the music room to meet the man he had been missing throughout the day.  Sometimes they came with him. Jongdae, particularly, wanted an excuse to call the teacher hyung, and to tease the two as much as possible in any way, much to Chanyeol’s amusement.

            A horn pipped outside Baekhyun’s window at ten am, confusing the boy greatly. Baekhyun grunted and staggered out of bed, over to the window, rubbing his eyes as he did so. Seeing Chanyeol’s car parked on the road side and the man himself walking up the path to the front door, Baekhyun squeaked and rushed to his wardrobe. ! He’d overslept for their date. And Chanyeol had flowers!

             By the time the boy had made it down the stairs in a casual shirt and slim fit jeans, hair overlooked and still sticking up, Chanyeol was sat with Baekhyun’s mother at the kitchen island. It was the picture of a perfect scene. Baekhyun fell just a little in love. There goes the first piece of my heart. The bouquet of flowers Baekhyun had glimpsed before were in a vase in the middle of the table – tulips. As Chanyeol turned round he produced a single red rose for Baekhyun to take. The boy’s heart thumped, not prepared for romance this soon after he had woken.

“Oh, Chanyeol, thank you.” The tall man chuckled at Baekhyun’s flush and reached out to pet his unruly hair in an affectionate gesture. In contrast to the usual blazers and smart trousers the man wore for teaching, Chanyeol looked casual and comfortable in a fluffy blue sweater and black skinny jeans, making his mile long legs look even longer.

“It was nothing for my Baekhyun.” Baekhyun didn’t know if he would ever get used to all these endearing comments. His mother came to the rescue.

“Have a lovely time boys. I’ll have you both back for dinner, I’m making bulgogi so don’t snack too much. Enjoy your day, and Baekhyunnie – tut tut come here.” She her thumb and scrubbed at his cheek, much to the boy’s horror and his soulmate’s hilarity.

“MUM! Oh my…get off!”

“Well you need to look presentable Baekhyun; this is your first date. You even forgot to wake up! It’s a good job Chanyeollie loves you. Now go on. Off you both trot.”

After Mrs Byun had bustled them out of the door, closing it with a wink, Baekhyun took a moment to die from embarrassment while Chanyeol felt no shame in laughing at his mortified partner.

“Your Mum is really something.” Chanyeol spoke up once his laughter had died down.

“Yeah, something of a nuisance.” Baekhyun’s grumpy muttering earned him another chuckle before Chanyeol leaned down and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Baekhyun was shocked into letting go of his pout.

“Where do you want to go?” Chanyeol didn’t have anywhere in mind but the eighteen year old had been thinking. Somewhere trivial like the cinema was fine, but he wanted to make this date special. It had been eight years since his father had died, and Baekhyun thought it was about time he shared their special place with this new important person in his life.

            When the boys arrived at the gravel car park next to the picnic area, something prickled at Chanyeol’s memory. Not quite a full picture yet, he chose to stay quiet. Chanyeol could immediately feel Baekhyun’s calm at being here.

“We can walk a little further up. There’s a spot.” Feeling brave, he took Chanyeol’s larger hand in his own and began walking in the direction of his clearing, making the taller smile fondly.

            Once they reached a high bank and climbed over to the other side, the realisation rushed immediately to Chanyeol as to why this place felt familiar. This was the setting of his soulmate dream. This was where he had first met Baekhyun at ten years old, sobbing by the water.

“My father was a soldier. He died when I was ten.” Baekhyun began quietly; the only other noise was the birds tweeting and the trickling of the stream. Somehow, this information did not come as a surprise for Chanyeol, though Baekhyun’s pain hurt him.

“We came here for picnics; this place was ours, mine and Dad’s - away from the world, a secret hideout.” There was quiet for a moment, before the boy turned around, a watery smile on his face - his eyes glistened in the dappled light.

“And now I’m sharing it with you. Not even Kyungsoo and the others know about this place. I come here when I’m sad, or lonely. I was here when nobody could find me.” Chanyeol was speechless. If this was how much trust Baekhyun was putting in him…there were no words he could find to justify himself. The best he could do was,

“Thank you, Baekhyun. Thank you.” Baekhyun absently thought that Chanyeol’s sweater was as cosy as it looked when they hugged. Chanyeol leaned down to initiate their first true kiss. There goes the second piece of my heart.

            They went to a sweet little café near Chanyeol’s apartment for lunch, drinking hot chocolate to warm themselves up, for though it was sunny, the wind was brusque. Afterwards, and especially once Baekhyun had squeezed it out of the taller that Chanyeol had two cats, they headed to the latter’s apartment. Watching Baekhyun sitting on the rug in the living room, playing with the excitable tabby kitten whilst the older black cat looked on from the arm of the settee, Chanyeol fell completely in love - no turning back, not that he would have wanted to. Watching Chanyeol shuffling around his kitchen in fluffy slippers, making Baekhyun more hot chocolate and looking devastatingly handsome, the picture of a domestic god, Baekhyun lost the final piece of his heart to Park Chanyeol, music teacher and soulmate to Byun Baekhyun. No turning back – not that he would have wanted to.

The End

------------------------------------------------------------------

an: Thank you for reading <3 And please don't hesitate to leave a comment ^^ Thanks to those who did on the livejournal page <3 

(Ps: spot the High School Musical reference XD ) 

here's the link again for BAE:
http://baeconandeggs.livejournal.com/

Notes:
Forte: Loudly
Presto: quickly
Abbandonatamente: with abandon. (sometimes violently) recklessly