❧

Chanyeol reaches for the handle and is seconds away from pulling it down when the door suddenly flies open without a warning. Jongin watches from his position on the floor as Chanyeol stumbles backwards before quickly regaining his composure. Mind still a bit clouded, Jongin blinks when he hears the loud buzzing from outside and feels his heart swell with joy when a certain someone runs in.

“Jongin, what the hell’s taking you so long, there’s this really hot dude who just arrived with his friend, you need to get out there this instant,” Baekhyun breathes, “they look like your type.” Shoulders heaving up and down in excitement, it takes him a couple of seconds until his gaze lands on Jongin, who is lying in a heap by the sink and looking up at them both. Baekhyun’s smile instantly fades and is soon replaced with a look of pure worry. The thought of Jongin possibly suffering another heart-related sickness pops into Baekhyun’s head. , did he forget to take his medicine? he thinks. Did he even bring it?

Before Baekhyun knows it, he’s rushing forward and towards Jongin, but he barely makes it three steps when something pops up in front of his face, nearly scaring him to death. Blinking, he looks down and furrows his eyebrows when he sees what he thinks is a…walking stick? A cane, definitely a cane, Baekhyun thinks before turning his head to the right and-

“He’s fine, Ronald McDonald. Step back.”

Baekhyun blinks and subsequently yelps when he suddenly notices a man, that he’s never seen before, standing in the small corner next to him. A feeling of discomfort settles in Baekhyun’s stomach when his eyes trail over the man’s attire and look overall. What the hell’s someone like him doing in a place like this? Jesus Christ, he looks-

“Not you too,” Chanyeol moans in agony before shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re all the goddamn bloody same, I swear.”

Snapping out of his trance, Baekhyun stares at Chanyeol. “Who are you?” he asks before looking down at the black and gold cane that’s currently positioned in front of his abdomen, effectively blocking his path. It’s not until Jongin lets out a pained grunt that Baekhyun grabs said cane and attempts to shove it away from him.

“If you’ll excuse the hell out of me,” Baekhyun says before proceeding to walk forward, “my friend over there requires immediate medical atten-” his sentence ends in a high-pitched yelp when Chanyeol suddenly whacks the tip of his cane against the edge of the sink with a loud bang. Heart picking up speed, Baekhyun opens his mouth to speak but Chanyeol beats him to it.

“I told you, your ‘friend’ is fine,” Chanyeol repeats before chuckling low in his throat. “Baekhyun.”

A certain rush travels through his body at the mention of his own name and Baekhyun’s mouth falls open. “H-how do you know my na-”

“That’s not important. Point is, he doesn’t require a damn thing.” Chanyeol wipes the heel of his shoe on the floor before averting his gaze so he’s looking down at Jongin, who hasn’t said a word since Baekhyun came in. “Except maybe a slap on the head.”

Baekhyun bites his lip in concern and confusion before turning to Jongin. “Jongin, are you sick? Are you okay? Do you need help?”

Jongin nods his head. “I’m not sick.”

“I was just leaving,” Chanyeol groans before pinching the bridge of his nose, “why’d you have to come in and ruin absolutely everything.” He sighs. “So annoying.”

“Who the hell even are you?” Baekhyun asks with an eyebrow raised, making sure to watch Jongin in the corner of his eye. Gesturing towards Jongin, he grits his teeth. “Why’s he on the goddamn floor? Did you hurt him?”

Putting his hands in the air, Chanyeol chuckles. “I talked some sense into him, let’s put it that way.”

“Sense? What the hell do you mean?” Despite the door standing slightly ajar, Baekhyun doesn’t have it in him to turn around and run away - his legs refuse to move and he stands glued to the bathroom floor. “Hey, what do you mean? Answer me!”

Chanyeol groans again. “You really are annoying.” Angling his body towards Jongin, he shoots the latter a stern (yet expectant) glare. “How about you tell him?”

Jongin blinks before attempting to stand up. He makes it halfway before his legs give in and he sits back down. “What?”

“Go on, you can talk, can’t you?” Chanyeol rolls his eyes when Jongin still doesn’t say anything. Shaking his head, he turns to face Baekhyun, who is eyeing Chanyeol with a wary look. “Hopeless. Let me tell you, then; in short, I told him to stay the away from Sehun since Sehun doesn’t deserve to be associated with utter lowlives like him. Is that a good enough answer?”

Baekhyun stills at the mention of Sehun. “Wait, what the ? How do you know-”

“Actually, I’m glad you chose to barge in and proceed to tell pretty boy over here,” Chanyeol gestures towards and looks at Jongin, “all about the hot guys he’s planning on hitting on later - funny, does Sehun mean that little to you? - anyway, because now that I think about it,” he scratches the back of his head with his cane, “I’d like it if you,” he points at Baekhyun with the object, “stayed the hell away from him as well. Does that sound like an easy task?”

Balling his hands into fists, Baekhyun takes a step forward but quickly regrets attemtping to act tough when Chanyeol glares at him so coldly Baekhyun worries he might vomit all over the black-haired man’s suit. He shudders at the mere thought.“Look, jerk, I don’t know who the hell you think you are or how you know anything about…this, but-”

“Park Chanyeol,” Chanyeol interrupts Baekhyun. "Jerk and Sehun’s best friend since the second grade. Nice to finally meet you. Like I said to him,” he gestures towards Jongin for the nth time, “I’d shake your hand but I’m out of sanitizer.”

Wasn’t gonna shake your goddamn hand regardless, Baekhyun thinks before raising an eyebrow. “Sehun? You’re Sehun’s best friend?”

“Come on, straight-A loser,” Chanyeol says with a roll of his eyes, “use your head and think back to what I literally just said five seconds ago.”

Baekhyun squawks. “How do you kn-”

“I came here to drink some cheap coffee, not repeat myself to a bunch of dysfunctional goddamn children,” Chanyeol rolls his eyes again. “By the way, I’d go easy on the bright  dye if I were you - you’re literally visible from a mile away,” he adds before picking up the neglected comb lying on the sink and proceeding to carefully comb through his quiff. Jongin grimaces and makes a mental note not to use it in his own hair later.

Flushing, Baekhyun instinctively reaches up and runs a hand through his hair. “The  do you mean?”

“Didn’t your mommy ever tell you not to stand on furniture?” Chanyeol asks with a humorless chuckle. “You middle class bimbos never cease to amaze me with your stupidity.”

Baekhyun, suddenly feeling a tad bit creeped out, clears his throat before rushing over to Jongin and helping the latter up. He (and he figures neither of them) doesn’t want to spend another minute next to these gross-smelling stalls in this creepy bathroom, especially not with Park Chan-whatever his name was, coming at him from all directions. All he wants is to get out of here and find the group of men he’d laid his eyes on only minutes prior to entering the godforsaken bathroom. With Jongin successfully on his feet, Baekhyun (and Jongin, for that matter) does his best to avoid Chanyeol’s gaze that’s threatening to burn holes in their backs as he walks past him and towards the door. Jongin curses under his breath when Chanyeol, in a fraction of a second, slams a hand on the door, both boys flinching at the loud sound, before his hand slowly travels down and comes to rest on the door handle. He shoots Jongin and Baekhyun a sly grin before looking at them expectantly. Jongin clenches his jaw. This is getting ridiculous.

When neither Baekhyun nor Jongin make a move (or attempt, to be exact) to try to open the door, Chanyeol sends them both a cold glare before removing his hand and placing it on top of his cane. “It’s rude to leave a party early. That’s if you’ve ever been to one.”

Baekhyun fights the urge to roll his eyes. He wants to say ’I have’ but he decides against it in fear of pissing Chanyeol off. “I thought you wanted us to leave?”

Chanyeol shrugs. “I changed my mind. I figure I should take this opportunity to properly get my point across.”

“'Point?’” Baekhyun gawks at Chanyeol before turning to look at Jongin. “Do you know this weirdo?”

Jongin looks at his feet. “No.” Not entirely, anyway.

Grabbing Jongin’s hand, Baekhyn pulls him towards the door, only for Chanyeol to place his hand on the door handle, again. "Seriously?" Baekhyun huffs. "ing hell, what’s wrong with you, if someone walks in on us like this, right now, they’ll definitely ask questions!”

Brushing a piece of imaginary dirt off his shoulder, Chanyeol shrugs before crossing his arms over his chest. “Let 'em ask, I don’t mind.”

The hell’s wrong with this dude. “Look,” Baekhyun growls, “why don’t you go back to your trillion dollar mansion and I don’t know, count your money or crash one-”

Jongin places a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Baek, don’t-”

“-of your twenty five Ferraris into a bridge or something? Start a company, what do I know! Mind your own damn business,” Baekhyun barks. “Oh, and your ears look stupid, they make you look like a snobby rich elf.” He’s about to say something else when Chanyeol shoots him a well-timed glare, effectively silencing him.

Jongin presses his lips together. He doesn’t know whether to laugh because Baekhyun’s jokes when the latter gets nervous are just extraordinary, or cry because Chanyeol looks like he’s in the midst of plotting his and Baekhyun’s deaths in the most gruesome way known to man. Jongin secretely hopes it’s the latter.

“Since you both seem to be equally airheaded,” Chanyeol starts, “I’ll ask you something. Do you know why Sehun signed up for that godforsaken dating site in the very first place?” He asks, mainly turning to Jongin.

Jongin is silent for a couple of seconds before clearing his throat. “Uh, if I remember correctly, his…uh, ex cheated on him, so Sehun dumped him and-”

“So he’s been telling you the same thing then, huh?” Chanyeol snickers before adjusting his brooch for the nth time. Baekhyun doesn’t know if it’s out of habit or because it’s hanging loosely. “Typical Sehun. Poor guy, though.”

Baekhyun blinks. “Wait, what?”

“He’s been telling every single boyfriend of his the same story,” Chanyeol says before retreiving his pocket fold and proceeding to wipe the head of his cane. “How sad.”

Jongin furrows his eyebrows as confusion clouds his mind. “What story?”

“Stop stalling like an idiot and tell us already, Mr. Ambiguous,” adds Baekhyun.

With a dramatic roll of his eyes, Chanyeol speaks. “None of his exes cheated on him. None that I know, that is.”

“What’s that got to do with us?” Jongin blinks, subtly hiding behind Baekhyun despite being a full ten inches taller than the latter.

“Correction, what’s it got to do with you?” Chanyeol says. “Answer; everything.” Stuffing his pocket fold back in his pocket, he speaks again. “Long story short, none of Sehun’s exes ever cheated on him. They took advantage of him, yes,” he glares at Jongin, “but not in the way you might think.”

Baekhyun’s lips form an 'o’-shape when he finally understands. “Oh.”

Jongin remains hidden behind Baekhyun. He still doesn’t comprehend. “What?”

In fear of what Chanyeol might do next, Baekhyun balls his hands into fists before angling his head so he’s talking over his shoulder, to Jongin. “They took advantage of his money, idiot.”

Jongin’s jaw nearly hits the floor. “You’re kidding. All of them? Every single one?”

Chanyeol nods.

A heavy weight settles in Jongin’s shoulder because damn, that must . On the other hand, a part of him still feels extremely confused. Turning to Chanyeol, he attempts a confident expression. “Wait, that’s it? I mean, , that must and I feel awful for him, but I still don’t understand; what’s that got to do with me?”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun chimes in, “what’s the goddamn point of telling us this if Sehun and Jongin are ov-”

“Quiet,” Chanyeol hisses, smacking his cane against his palm, making Jongin and Baekhyun jump. “Every single one. Got together with Sehun with promises of a long-lasting relationship full of love and all that bull, only to dump him less than a month later after making him buy everything they laid their selfish- eyes on. Hell, one moron even persuades Sehun to buy him a ing Ferrari.”

Jongin gapes at Chanyeol. “Did he? Did Sehun actually buy him the Fe-” his sentence is cut short when Baekhyun elbows him in the ribs.

“You know the answer, moron,” Baekhyun hisses.

“Before you rudely interrupted us,” Chanyeol continues and points his cane at Baekhyun, who instinctively backs away, “I told your sissy friend all about how sensitive Sehun is. Trust me, he’s weak as hell for love. He hasn’t had a proper date since the second grade, when his father became CEO of…well, you don’t need to know that. After that, basically the entire world found out about his prosperity and since then he’s been dating douchebags. Anyway, like I said, he’s weak and sensitive and will do anything to please. You’d think he’d learnt his lesson as soon as the fifth one dumped him, but nope. It hurt like hell to watch, every time. Damn Sehun, the poor thing,” he says in one breath before shaking his head in disbelief. “Middle class men are scum and I hate them, and you, with a burning passion.” He shoots Baekhyun and Jongin a stern look. “Point is, whatever he told you, it’s not true.”

“But why did he tell me he’d been cheated on?” Jongin asks in a genuine voice, warily eyeing Chanyeol’s cane every now and then. Seriously, he’d rather not have anything to do with that thing whatsoever.

“I think I’ve made it clear enough already.” Chanyeol fights the urge to facepalm. “But I’ll rephrase what I just said. He pulls the whole 'I-was-cheated-on-and-that’s-why-I’m-single move in order to protect himself, he’s been doing it for a year or two already. It didn’t work with the most recent dude, inevitably, but Sehun didn’t notice before it was far too late. And I’d assume he said it to you,” he turns to Jongin, “so you wouldn’t find out about how rich he is. At least not immediately, anyway. But did that work? Of course not.” He chuckles to himself before sighing. “It’s funny, though, he downloaded the ing app thing to get away from gold-digging middle class men and find a 'better, classy man’ instead. That turned out well, didn’t it?” He says sarcastically while eyeing Jongin. “Sehun is a man of few mistakes but getting that app was a huge mistake on its own.”

Baekhyun bites his lips in worry. “Okay, fine, I’ll admit, that must really . Don’t get me wrong, I feel awful for him. But,” he looks up at Chanyeol, “is that really Jongin’s fault?”

“Sehun asked you to come to terms with yourself via text,” Chanyeol says, facing Jongin, “but I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that he meant it in a 'I’m-the-one-who-needs-space-because-you’re-just-another-gold-digger’ type of way. He wouldn’t actually say that, though, considering how polite he is and all. He came home last month and ranted for hours about how you’d been ogling his watches and car and whatnot, which should’ve been a red flag in itself. Can you poor kids get any more creepy than that?”

“Poor kids?” Baekhyun echoes with a scoff. “Excuse you, but-”

“Do you do anything other than run your mouth 24/7?” Chanyeol pinches the bridge of his nose in irritation. “At least your friend has the common courtesy to stay silent while others are talking.”

“You’re unbelievable,” Baekhyun huffs. “I told you, Jongin and Sehun are overand we came here to forget about everything that’s happened, so please, let us the out before the manager chews us out for not paying the bill.”

“I never gave a about his money,” Jongin exclaims in annoyance, “I only thought his; or, your uni, was awesome, which it is! I don’t see your problem!”

“That’s why you spent the entire time ogling everything that glittered instead of being with your,” Chanyeol coughs into his fist for dramatic effect, “boyfriend?”

“I was, and still am, sorta, confused! That’s why I’m agreeing to thise whole space-thing! I don’t see your problem, why’re you telling me all this! ” Jongin throws his hands in the air, nearly hitting Chanyeol in the face. Half of him is glad that he didn’t, because the last thing he wants right now is a face-full of Chanyeol’s cane. He figures all those diamonds could cut his entire cheek open.

“Since Sehun has told you so much about Jongin, maybe he had the common decency to tell you all about how Jongin’s been feeling lately? Perhaps?” Baekhyun raises an eyebrow. “Because, my friend, this past month has been absolute hell for the both of us.”

Chanyeol rolls his eyes. “I bet.”

“No, seriously - I’d explain it in grave detail but I won’t since you couldn’t care less,” Baekhyun grits between his teeth. He doesn’t want to tell Chanyeol all about Jongin’s recent hospital visit anyway; he’d rather not blow a hole in Jongin’s dignity. A sense of fury suddenly blooms in his chest and he takes a big step towards Chanyeol who doesn’t even flinch. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, but trying to maintain a steady relationship while coming to terms with accepting who you are and your uality is ing difficult, but I bet you don’t know jack about that at all whatsoever. You may think Jongin did all this to mess with Sehun’s head, but frankly, he did it because he loves him. I don’t even know why I’m telling you this but now you know, at least.”

It’s not until Chanyeol rolls his eyes again that Jongin suddenly feels something snap in the back of his head and he sees red. Practically shoving Baekhyun aside, he takes a confident step towards Chanyeol. Balling his hands into fists, he clenches his jaw. “Are you gay?” he spits right in Chanyeol’s face and for the first time since their altercation, the latter’s eyes flash with something Jongin doesn’t recognize.

Dismissing it as his imagination, Jongin continues. “Have you ever been in a relationship before? Of course you haven’t,” he briefly averts his gaze as he lets out a chuckle. “But anyway, have you ever been in a relationship while struggling to accept the fact that you’re gay? It’s scary as a motherer, but hey, what do you know, right?” Vision still red, his body seems to act on its own because the next thing he knows, he’s reaching out and grabbing Chanyeol by the collar. Jongin figures he’ll have to pay the price for it later, when he’s finished. “I know I acted like a hateful, callous piece of utter and, believe it or not, I actually felt, and still feel, ing terrible about it. I still have trouble sleeping at night because I worry about Sehun and how he’s doing. Hey, guess what? I’ve also cried, like a little baby, for him. Shocking, huh?”

Baekhyun bites his lip as he watches Jongin grab Chanyeol with both hands. “Jongin, I think you should ca-”

“You have no bloody clue how many nights I’ve stayed up worrying about him, how many nights I’ve spent crying for him, worrying my off, everything. I stand by the ty ing things I’ve done for the past month; with confidence? Not so much. But will I stand by them as well as accept the fact that I’ll need to carry the burden of what I did for a long time coming, and possibly the rest of my life? You can bet your I’m going to,” Jongin growls and feels a certain rush of adrenaline travel through his veins when Chanyeol visibly (and subconsciously, Jongin assumes) swallows, but his gaze remains stone cold as he stares daggers at Jongin.

Anxiously tapping his foot on the floor, Baekhyun attempts to get Jongin to look at him, and fails. “Guys, I’d very much appreciate it if you wouldn’t break out into a fi-”

“I may be a bastard; I may have done ty, ed up things in the past,” Jongin continues, ignoring Baekhyun’s comment, “but at least I stand by them. And I’m more than willing to change.” With a swift tug, he pulls Chanyeol closer until their faces are a mere inch apart. “And honestly, I’d rather be a confused, stone hearted bastard than a selfish, arrogant billionaire boy who thinks he’s all that.”

“Uh,” Baekhyun murmurs, “can we just-”

“I can’t believe Sehun’s your best friend,” Jongin continues, yet again ignoring Baekhyun, “not that Sehun isn’t cool enough for you or whatever, but that he doesn’t deserve a callous jerk like you for a best friend.”

Chanyeol lets out a humorless, dry chuckle but the underlying meekness in it doesn’t go unnoticed by either Baekhyun nor Jongin. “The is this,” he snorts, “some sort of Disney drama? You really do argue like a loser. Good thing Sehun got rid of your .”

Baekhyun runs forward to grab Jongin’s arm when the latter moves to punch Chanyeol in the stomach, but he doesn’t get a chance to when Chanyeol, equipped with lightning reflexes and all, suddenly raises his cane and delivers a swift blow to Jongin’s stomach. Baekhyun watches as Jongin stumbles backwards before hissing in pain - he wants to walk over and help but he remains glued to the floor. He doesn’t want anything to do with Chanyeol’s cane, especially not after having learnt that Chanyeol not only uses it as a weapon, but also has super sharp reflexes. Dragging a hand across his face, Baekhyun inwardly screams. We came here to hit on guys, how on Earth did everything end up like this?

Brushing off his shoulder, Chanyeol adjusts his brooch and straightens out his suit jacket before staring at Jongin, who is doubled over on the floor, with a piercing stare. “Just like your relationships, you complicate the out of everything else as well. Typical,” he tuts before looking at Baekhyun, the latter feeling his legs go numb at the eye contact, with an unreadable expression on his face.

Contemplating whether or not he should say his final prayers, Baekhyun feels a mixture of relief and confusion settle in the pit of his stomach when Chanyeol quickly looks away with a strange glint in his eyes. Baekhyun can’t identify it, but he figures he doesn’t care as long as it isn’t murderous. His confusion doubles when he sees Chanyeol swallow before the latter runs a hand through his styled hair. Baekhyun blinks. Talk about behavioral changes.

Spitting in Jongin’s hair, Chanyeol mutters a low ’shame on you’ before taking one last (subtle, almost unnoticable) glance in Baekhyun’s direction before throwing the door open and stepping out and back into the café.

It takes Baekhyun a full minute to realize that Chanyeol is, in fact, gone, his mind racing a thousand miles per minute as he tries processing everything that just took place. Jongin’s low groan of pain snaps him out of his trance and he rushes forward, a certain agony filling his chest as he kneels down and puts a hand on Jongin’s back. “Hey, are you okay? Should I call someone? Can you breathe properly?”

Jongin shakes his head. “It only hurt like hell in the beginning, then the pain wore off.” He slowly gets on his feet (with the help of Baekhyun, of course) and squeezes his eyes shut when he feels a head rush coming on. “,” he breathes while leaning against the wall. “What just happened.”

It suddenly feels as if the temperature in the spacious bathroom has increased by fifty degrees and Baekhyun prays that he doesn’t start sweating. Shrugging, he runs a hand through his hair without a word. His entire body feels numb and his head feels…empty.

“ that Chanyeol dude, I hate him, that conceited ,” Jongin seethes, venom lacing his words. “Who the goddamn  does he think he is. I mean, the nerve.” He looks up when Baekhyun doesn’t say anything. “Hey.”

Baekhyun quickly looks up with wide eyes. “Oh, uh. Yeah, a dickhead, he was a real moron indeed.”

“You don’t sound very…pissed,” Jongin comments with an eyebrow raised. He carefully rubs the sore spot on his stomach. Man, that’s gonna leave a nasty bruise.

Blinking, Baekhyun seems to snap out of yet another trance when he looks at Jongin a second time. “Me? Yes, wait, yeah. I am, of course I am,” he raises his voice and flails his hands around. “He hurt you, for God’s sake!” He misses the way Jongin eyes him in suspicion. “Hey, do you wanna head home or stay here?”

Jongin blinks. “Uh, I don’t have a problem with staying here, to be honest.”

“Even though that son of a is probably somewhere nearby?” Baekhyun warns and shrugs when Jongin proceeds to nod his head. “Okay, your choice.”

“Hiding won’t do . Don’t mind him, he was talking out of his the entire time anyway - he knows absolutely nothing,” Jongin chuckles before grabbing the door handle. “Let’s do what we came here to do.”

“The entire café’s probably full, though,” Baekhyun murmurs before clearing his throat. “Hey, uh, this is gonna sound super…weird and inappropriate, even, but…”

Pulling the door handle, Jongin sends Baekhyun an expectant look. “Shoot. It can’t be that inappropriate, can i-”

“What do you think of him? You know, the dude - Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asks, biting his lip before crossing and uncrossing his arms, something he only does when he’s very, no, extremely nervous or anxious.

“Uh, I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I think he’s a judgemental, ignorant prick who thinks he’s the simply because he happens to not be a 'middle class devil’.” Jongin stares at Baekhyun with a poker face. “…what about you?What do you think of him? Well, I mean, you hardly got the time to,” he coughs, “get to know him, but yeah. Not that that’s a bad thing, per say. So yeah, what do you think of him?”

“I hate to sound like an idiot,” Baekhyun murmurs before clearing his throat. “And don’t get me wrong - I think what he did to you was completely uncalled for and moronic, but-”

Jongin sighs before closing his eyes. He doesn’t like where this is going. “Okay, tell me. What did I do wrong this time? What part of him are you defe-”

“-don’t you think, uh.” Baekhyun rubs the back of his neck. Jongin blinks. He never does that. “Don’t you think he’s kinda…um.”

“…kinda?” Jongin encourages Baekhyun. When Baekhyun doesn’t say anything Jongin thinks harder and a wave of relief and…amusement, crashes over him when he finally realizes. “, Baek.” He drags a hand across his face and fights the urge to break into a grin. “No. I don’t.”

Baekhyun flails his hands and arms around. “Like I said, I’m not justifying the ruthless he did and said to you and well, me, I guess, but still! He was! You can’t deny that!”

Jongin actually does facepalm. He doesn’t know if it’s out of relief or amusement because Baekhyun really, really doesn’t change. “You were definitely right about checking out "hot” dudes being your hobby,“ he chuckles before grabbing Baekhyun’s arm and pulling him out the door. "Don’t tell him, though, or he’ll beat you to .”

“Shut up!”

~~~

Sehun loosens his tie. He seriously regrets choosing a table at the way back. Pencil in hand, he quickly scribbles down a formula before turning his attention back to his open textbook. He doesn’t get a chance to get past the third word to the first problem when-

“Sorry that took so long.”

Blinking, Sehun scrambles to move his Biology homework (which is taking up far too much space on the table) aside and looks up at Chanyeol. The latter looks a tad bit more…disheveled than usual, but Sehun chooses not to comment on it. “That only took a half hour. You sure took your time.”

“Yeah, uh,” Chanyeol mumbles while running a hand through his hair, “I had to uh…piss. Really badly.” He shoots Sehun a grin before groaning. “Seriously?You really are a nerd.”

“What?” Sehun squawks. “You took goddamn forever in there, I had to keep busy somehow! Not to mention I have an exam first thing after the break. Speaking of which, you should also study.”

Chanyeol wrinkles his nose in disgust before shaking his head. “Nah,” he says, adjusting his brooch.

“Damn you natural-born braniacs,” Sehun mumbles under his breath. He raises an eyebrow when he looks up just in time to see Chanyeol’s eyes dart to the right. “Are you alright?”

“Fine, why do you ask?” Chanyeol stares at Sehun like the latter has grown a second head. Turning around, he carefully places his cane so it’s leaning against the wall behind him. Please don’t fall over. 

Sehun eyes his best friend in suspicion before returning to his homework. “Nothing, forget it,” he mutters before grabbing his briefcase and rummaging through it. “Damn. Hey, you got a calculator on you by any chance? I left mine at home.” When Chanyeol doesn’t reply, he looks up and frowns. What is it he keeps staring at? “Hello?”

Chanyeol blinks before looking at Sehun. It takes him a few seconds to realize Sehun has asked him a question and he clears his throat before shaking his head. “No, sorry.”

No point in doing any of this then, Sehun thinks to himself before proceeding to pack his things away. Closing his briefcase, he checks his watch and nearly falls out of his seat when he sees it’s 5:30 in the afternoon. Damn, where does the time go? Turning to Chanyeol, he moves to stand up. “Shall we leave? Want to head somewhere else?” A sense of confusion hits him when Chanyeol suddenly bites his lip in…worry?

“So soon?” Chanyeol blinks.

“We’ve been sitting here for nearly three hours,” Sehun deadpans before in pain, “my ’s all numb, I haven’t moved in ages.”

“Okay, uh,” Chanyeol stammers and subconsciously runs a hand through his hair before adjusting his brooch. Again. “Wait.”

Sehun blinks. “Why do you keep doing that?”

“Doing what?”

“That.” Sehun places a hand on the left side of his chest, on his imaginary brooch. “You’ve been touching it every two seconds, what’s with you all of a sudden? And why’s your collar all…weird?”

“No clue, honestly.” Chanyeol clears his throat before he looks to his right, seemingly scanning the sea of people next to them. Sehun follows Chanyeol’s gaze but doesn’t see anything, or anyone for that matter.

“You were in such a hurry to get us out of here when we first got here,” Sehun chuckles and scratches the back of his head in confusion. “Now you don’t wanna leave. What’s with you?” He presses his lips together. This really isn’t like his best friend at all. Chanyeol looks nervous, and Chanyeol is never, ever nervous.

“Hey, are you sure you don’t want another latte?” Chanyeol suddenly asks, looking up at Sehun with a…foreign look in his eyes, and Sehun nearly feels his chest explode in confusion.

“I’ve had four already.” Sehun stands up and nearly jumps out of his own skin when Chanyeol suddenly slams his hand down on his. Looking up at the latter with wide eyes, Sehun blinks. “What the fu-”

“Listen, let’s stay here a little while longer, okay?” Chanyeol asks and Sehun furrows his eyebrows when he senses a hint of…desparation in Chanyeol’s voice, something he’s definitely not used to hearing. “Please.”

“:..what’s with you? Why’re you acting so strange? The hell went on in the bathroom, did you slip in your own piss and hit your head or what?” Sehun asks (only half joking), still standing up (and doing his best to avoid hitting his head on the lamp that’s hanging above their table).

Chanyeol nearly chuckles. Technically. “It’s nothing, just,” he starts and suddenly whips his head to the right when he sees something move in his peripheral vision.

Sehun follows Chanyeol’s gaze just in time to see an elderly couple open and walk out the door. His confusion only triples when Chanyeol proceeds to let out a small sigh of…relief?

“Just…?” Sehun repeats, drawing out the last syllable. His confusion is sky high at this point.

“It’s nothing. Hey, why don’t you sit down for a bit?” Chanyeol says in a hurried tone before proceeding to grab a tissue from the tissue box.

Sehun watches in awe as Chanyeol tears the napkin to small shreds. “…why?”

“So we can, uh…talk, I guess.” Chanyeol collects the torn up pieces of the tissue and blows them off the table. He adjusts his brooch again, much to Sehun’s confusion (and irritation).

“About what? Seriously, it’s getting dark out and I hate driving on icy roads,” Sehun groans. “Come on, we can talk on the way to the parking lot.”

“No.”

Sehun clenches his jaw in irritation. “What the hell’s with you?” he growls, attempting to keep his voice down. “Stop this weird- nonsense, let’s get the hell out of here! Oh, and what’s up with the constant staring of yours? Are you looking for someone?” he adds and raises an eyebrow when he sees Chanyeol swallow. “Yeol, what the is going o-”

“I am,” Chanyeol snaps before adjusting his brooch for the nth time. His eyes scan the crowd of people to his and Sehun’s right. So many faces. So many faces. 

“Why didn’t you just say so?” Sehun rolls his eyes before slowly sitting back down again, wincing when he feels his bottom go numb. “Okay, enlighten me. Who’re you looking for?” He looks to his right and stifles a yawn. None of the people in his line of vision look like Chanyeol’s…type. Not that Sehun thinks his best friend even has a type, but still.

Chanyeol clears his throat. He opens his mouth to speak but quickly closes it again.

“Yeol,” Sehun says in a stern voice. He feels himself getting nervous, much to his annoyance. “What’s going on?” He leans closer and lowers his voice. “Is your father here?”

It’s not until Sehun harshly slaps Chanyeol’s hand away when the latter reaches up to (absentmindedly) adjust his brooch that Chanyeol puts both hands on the table. “Sehun, you need to get back with him.”

It takes Sehun a full minute to process Chanyeol’s words. He sits back down again. “…what?”

“You need to get back with him, right now, this instant,” Chanyeol says, his (unusually) rushed tone doing absolutely nothing to calm the beating of Sehun’s heart or the electricity in his veins. “You hear me?”

“Yeol, what the ing ? Are you feeling sick? What are you sa-”

“Do it, Sehun,” Chanyeol pleads, eyes wide in desparation. He’s practically bouncing up and down in his seat in anxiousness, constantly glancing to his right.

“Are you having a -”

“I ing talked to him,” Chanyeol blabbers, tapping his fingertips on the table as he stares Sehun square in the eye. “He said he wants you to take him back.” He looks to his right again and quickly runs a hand through his hair, a distracted look in his eyes.

For a second, Sehun feels nothing at all. It’s not until Chanyeol accidentally kicks him under the table that a certain numbness explodes in his chest and spreads all over his body. For a second, he worries that he’s stopped breathing and he takes a deep breath in just in case. He’s still breathing, much to his relief.

Sehun sits glued to his seat for what feels like an eternity, the numbness in his brain effectively blocking out Chanyeol’s anxious tapping. It’s not until the adrenaline gradually wears off that he feels like he’s been kicked in the stomach and chest by a horse and he practically flies up and out of his seat, staring Chanyeol dead in the eye.

“What did you- what the hell, I, what,” Sehun breathes, doing his best to keep his emotions from pouring out and onto the table. He can’t think, he can barely even see anything. He feels like he’s slowly being suffocated and he reaches up and loosens his necktie even more just incase. A feeling of frustration overwhelms him when he sees Chanyeol isn’t even looking at him and he harshly slams a hand down on the table, effectively grabbing Chanyeol’s attention.

“Are you kidding? Are you for goddamn real right now? Chanyeol, look at me; hey - ing look at me -  what the  did you just say-” Sehun doesn’t get a chance to finish when he suddenly hears a certain commotion to his right, a couple of feet away.

Dismissing it as noisy teenagers, Sehun quickly turns his attention back to Chanyeol again, but he doesn’t even get a chance to open his mouth to continue when Chanyeol practically flies out of his seat and rushes towards the noise.

Sehun blinks and grits his teeth in frustration. Shaking his head, he quickly attempts to wipe away the trillions of butterflies in his stomach (as well as the intense spinning of his head) before grabbing his briefcase and (blindly) following Chanyeol into the crowd of people.

❧