When Baekhyun re-opened his eyes, he was back in his hospital ward. In a brief moment of haziness, he wondered if Chanyeol was sleeping by his side as usual, but his heart sank when he remembered that Chanyeol was gone.

Chanyeol had left and would never be coming back.

Fresh tears stung at his eyes as he recalled their last conversation. Chanyeol had never trusted him, and it hurt so much that he did not even give Baekhyun a chance to explain. It was so unfair, and his ridiculous accusations had torn Baekhyun’s pride to shreds. Gold digger? Those two words made Baekhyun feel as if he had been given an extremely insulting slap across the face. It was disappointing to know that the man he loved and trusted could actually believe that he would demean himself so much for money. It was extremely hurtful, and Baekhyun could not decide whether to feel sad or angry.

Baekhyun couldn’t help but wonder if it was all his fault that things got to this state. He could have explained his situation to Chanyeol earlier, and none of this would have happened. If he had just told Chanyeol his secret, there wouldn’t be this many misunderstandings between the both of them. Now, it was too late for any regrets, because Chanyeol had decided to give up on him already.

Then again, it wasn’t like Baekhyun had never tried to tell Chanyeol the truth. Baekhyun had tried time and time again to come clean with the secrets he was hiding, but Chanyeol had always refused to hear him out. Park Chanyeol had been a coward in their relationship from the very start, running away from his problems and insecurities instead of facing them head on.

Perhaps this relationship was doomed to fail from the beginning. Perhaps Baekhyun shouldn’t have ignored all of the warning bells in his head when they first met, because Park Chanyeol was heartbreak.

Pure, unadulterated heartbreak.

Baekhyun laughed bitterly as he wiped the tears off his face. He wasn’t going to cry over this. Breaking up was probably the best course of action for the both of them. A relationship without trust was bound to crumble some day or another, and Baekhyun should be happy that they had ended things before things got too serious between them, right?

Wrong. Baekhyun had invested too much into their relationship, and his feelings have returned to smack him across the face like a boomerang.

And it hurt so ing much.

It hurt so much that Baekhyun had to struggle to even draw air into his lungs. It hurt so much that Baekhyun couldn’t even see clearly through the tears b in his eyes. Everything hurt so much, and Baekhyun wished that Chanyeol was by his side, whispering words of reassurances in his ears.

Baekhyun was always the happiest with Chanyeol by his side, and he wondered how long it would take for him to truly feel happy again.

“Hey, Baek. You’re awake?”

Sehun entered the room, looking wary and sympathetic. “How are you feeling?” he offered Baekhyun a small smile.

“Terrible,” Baekhyun croaked.

Sehun sighed heavily and settled himself on the stool beside the bed. “ Park Chanyeol. He doesn’t deserve you at all.”

“So you found out what happened,” Baekhyun noted with a shake of his head. “How?”

“I know everything that has got to do with you,” Sehun replied, reaching out to wipe the tears off Baekhyun’s face with his thumb. His cheeks were warm and tender to the touch, and Sehun ached to wrap Baekhyun in his arms and tell him that everything was going to be okay, and that he wasn’t going to let anyone hurt him ever again. Sehun wanted to wipe that sad look off his face and replace it with a bright, happy smile.

The same smile that he had fallen in love with when they were just kids.

“I received a call from the hospital that you fainted at the entrance,” Sehun began to explain. “The nurses told me that you were chasing after Chanyeol. When I rushed over, I saw this on your bedside table.” He held up the manila envelope that Chanyeol had ed into Baekhyun’s lap during the confrontation. “Investigation files framing you for the kidnapping. The evidences have all been forged very skilfully. And after seeing these, I think I can guess what happened from there.”

“We broke up, that’s what happened,” Baekhyun said shakily. “He said he couldn’t be with someone with this little self-respect. He thought I was a gold digger from the beginning, Sehun. He never trusted me,” he cried out, feeling the sobs begin to rise up in his throat.

“He is a bloody fool for believing this fabricated document instead of you. Did he really accuse you of being a gold digger? I’ve never heard anything that is more preposterous,” Sehun huffed. “Why didn’t you tell him? I thought you would’ve told him!”

“I’ve tried to tell him before, but he always stops me before I can do so,” Baekhyun said dryly. “I don’t understand why the investigators would fabricate something like this though. Someone must be trying to sabotage me. But who? I don’t have any enemies. This whole thing doesn’t really make any sense to me.”

Sehun chuckled darkly. “Oh, I have a good idea who it could be.”

“Who?” Baekhyun asked sternly, his voice rising a few octaves.

“Who else but that pretentious as Irene Bae? I swear to god, even though she is a woman I wouldn’t hesitate to smack her in the face the next time I see her. I’ll make her beg for mercy after I break her plastic nose,” Sehun growled, eyes flashing with barely concealed hatred. “I will make her go through the same hell that she’s making you go through right now. And right after Irene Bae, Park Chanyeol will be the next to face my wrath,” Sehun smirked sadistically, thinking of the various ways he could make the two of them suffer. No one was allowed to hurt Baekhyun and get away with it.

Oh Sehun would make them pay. He was going to make them beg and grovel at Baekhyun’s feet for forgiveness.

“What are you talking about? Why would Irene even do something like this?” Baekhyun replied, disbelief colouring his voice. “Don’t wrongly accuse her, Sehun. I know you have never liked her but this is a very severe accusation. Do you even have any proof?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Irene is trying to ruin the relationship between you and Chanyeol because she wants him back. And judging from the situation right now, it seems like she has succeeded, because Park Chanyeol is gullible as and swallows all of her lies like candy,” Sehun replied gruffly, rolling his eyes. “I have been investigating Irene because Kyungsoo warned me against her, and let me just tell you that she isn’t the perfect little angel she has made herself out to be. I am positive that she is the person trying to frame you for these incidents.”

“Are you really, really sure?” Baekhyun breathed, unable to believe his ears. “How can this be? She has always been so nice to me…” he trailed off unsurely.

“Snakes like her are especially talented at acting. Her good girl persona has managed to fool everyone, even your beloved Park Dumbyeol. I know you always choose to see the good in everyone, but Irene has taken things too far. We need to give her a taste of her own medicine.”

Baekhyun shook his head, refusing to believe all of this. Although he did view Irene as a probable love-rival, he had genuinely thought her to be his friend. She visited him every other day at the hospital, bringing him little gifts like pastries, fresh fruit and magazines. Baekhyun often found himself wondering how someone this kindhearted and beautiful could exist, and the fact that Irene had been scheming behind his back made him feel nauseated.

Was that what they meant by the saying: ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’?

Baek