Chapter 10: Rejection

“I should go too,” Kyungsoo said, standing up. “Baekhyun, I’ll go over to your house later."

Baekhyun nodded. “I’ll see you then.”

After Kyungsoo left, Chanyeol immediately trudged to his adjoined bedroom, collapsing on his bed with a grunt. Baekhyun shook his head and followed him, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Why does this have to happen to me?” Chanyeol groaned, grabbing his pillow from behind his head and muffling himself with it.

Baekhyun pulled it away gently, saving Chanyeol from possible suffocation. “What do you mean? You knew this was going to happen someday.”

Chanyeol sat up abruptly and looked at Baekhyun seriously. “Knowing that it will happen and having it happen is two different things. No matter how much you prepare for something to happen, you don’t feel ready when it finally does occur.”

Baekhyun didn’t say anything and merely pulled Chanyeol into a hug, patting him softly. He wasn’t in Chanyeol’s position so he couldn’t understand everything he’s feeling, but judging by the pained look on his face, he was feeling pretty bad right now. And Baekhyun didn’t know anything else to do besides hugging him and telling him that he’s there.

They stayed like that for a long time, not bothering to pull away. Chanyeol found Baekhyun’s steady, light breaths especially relaxing, and he felt his eyelids droop close. Suddenly-

“Your Honor, Princess Seo Joohyun is here.”

Baekhyun pulled away quickly and looked at the servant that had just entered the room, then at Chanyeol. Chanyeol’s expression mirrored his. They had both completely forgotten about the wedding.

With a frustrated sigh, Chanyeol flopped back onto the bed.

“Why does all this happen to me?” He growled.

“Your Honor, should I tell her that you’re resting?”

“Ye-“

“No, no, it’s fine. Please tell her to come in,” Baekhyun interrupted, answering the question instead.

“Bu-“

“Yes, sir. I’ll get to it now.”

The servant bowed and retreated, leaving a fuming Chanyeol alone with an innocently-blinking Baekhyun.

“Baekhyun!”

“Yes?”

“Why’d you let her in?”

“Shhhh… She can hear you!”

“I don’t care! I want her out, OUT!” Chanyeol demanded, standing up and stomping his feet.

Baekhyun scoffed and snapped, “Hurry and make yourself presentable, prince. You look like an idiot right now.”

With another whine, Chanyeol reluctantly ran his hand through his hair, attempting to tame his curls. Baekhyun helped him straighten his shirt and stepped away to nod in approval just as the soft voice of the soon-to-be Crown Princess reached their ears.

“Crown Prince Chanyeol.”

Once again, Baekhyun was taken back by her beauty. Her raven-black hair fell down her back like a waterfall. It was unadorned by any ornaments, leaving everyone to admire the natural beauty of the shiny locks. Her long eyelashes framed her eyes that were looking down, accenting her pale, milky skin. A slight tint of red was present on her lips as she muttered the words.

“Ah, Princess Joohyun. What brings you here?” Chanyeol asked after clearing his throat.

Baekhyun stepped on his foot, earning himself a hiss and an angry “What?”

“Be more polite!” Baekhyun whispered back, smiling at Joohyun and shuffling away from Chanyeol.

“Princess Joohyun, shall we head to the study?” Baekhyun asked, gesturing to the door. “I believe it is highly unorthodox for an unwed maiden to be present in the chambers of a man.”

Joohyun bowed and softly said, “I apologize for my sudden visit. I shall wait in the study until Prince Chanyeol is ready.”

Baekhyun escorted the princess out of the bedroom, turning back and mouthing “Look more presentable” to Chanyeol.

When the two of them finally left, Chanyeol let out another groan, before grabbing a comb and pulling it roughly through his hair. When he thought he looked nice enough, he took a random jacket out of the wardrobe and put it on.

“Look more presentable,” Chanyeol mimicked in a ridiculous voice. “I always look presentable!”

“Yes, yes, you always look presentable.”

At the sudden sound of Baekhyun’s voice, Chanyeol jumped, nearly crashing into the cabinets.

“W-what are you doing here?”

“To see what in the world you were doing since you were taking much too long,” Baekhyun said in an accusatory tone. “Come on, hurry up. Don’t keep the poor girl waiting.”

“Don’t keep the poor girl waiting,” Chanyeol repeated, again in that stupid tone.

“Hurry your up!” Baekhyun snapped, pushing Chanyeol out of the door.

“Okay, okay, I know, sheesh!” Chanyeol exclaimed, shutting up abruptly after he saw Joohyun staring at him curiously.

He cleared his throat before plastering on a smile and taking a seat across from her.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Chanyeol said as he settled down in his chair. “Why are you here, Princess Joohyun?”

Joohyun nodded to Chanyeol’s apology, before saying, “The Emperor wanted me to assist you with packing for your trip. He said that it will be a good time to get to know each other.”

“Um…” Chanyeol blinked a few times before replying, “I-I can’t trouble you with that!”

“That is no trouble, Prince. It is the Emperor’s will.”

“Okay…then…”

An awkward silence settled between them, before Baekhyun spoke up.

“Then, shall we begin? The suitcase is in the bedroom.”

“Is Baekhyun-shi going to stay here too?” Joohyun asked suddenly.

Baekhyun, who had just stood up, looked a bit confused and sat back down. His eyes darted between Chanyeol and Joohyun.

“S-should I leave?” He asked finally.

“I was under the impression that only I was helping Prince Chanyeol,” Joohyun said.

“O-oh. I-in that case, I’ll take my leave now,” Baekhyun muttered, standing up and turning, ready to leave.

“Wait, you don’t have to go.”

Baekhyun turned back around to look at Chanyeol, feeling even more puzzled. He noticed that Joohyun’s eyes had flashed up to Chanyeol as well, looking slightly surprised.

“Um…” Baekhyun hummed uncertainly.

“It’s fine,” Chanyeol insisted. “Right, Joohyun?”

“Of course,” she replied lowly, looking at Baekhyun.

Baekhyun happened to glance back at her and unintentionally took a step back, wondering if the flash of malice in her eyes was just a trick of light.

“Please, have a seat, Baekhyun-shi,” she said, standing and wrapping her long fingers around his wrist tightly.

He flinched from the pain of her sharp nails, but let her lead him over to the table all the same. When she pulled away, he could still see the red, crescent marks where her nails had dug into his skin.

“Is there something wrong, Baekhyun-shi?” Joohyun asked when she saw him still examining his arm.

“No, not at all,” he replied smoothly, flashing her a warm smile.

“Joohyun, why don’t you go in my room and find a couple of outfits for me to bring?” Chanyeol said.

“Yes, Prince.” Joohyun stood up, gave a small bow, and headed towards Chanyeol’s bedroom.

As soon as she was out of sight, Chanyeol jumped out of his seat. He hurried over to Baekhyun and grabbed his arm, bringing it up to his eyes and scrutinizing it. He couldn’t bite back the small gasp that escaped his lips when he saw the angry red scratches.

“It was just an accident,” Baekhyun said hastily, struggling to pull his arm back.

“Was it her?” Chanyeol asked in a scary, low voice.

“I said it was an accident,” Baekhyun insisted, finally wrenching his arm out of his grasp. “She wouldn’t know her nails were hurting me. She didn’t mean to hurt me, anyways.

“Baek-“

“It’s fine, stop being so overprotective.”

“I am not being overprotective,” Chanyeol said, grabbing Baekhyun’s shoulders. “I’m just being a caring best friend. You should’ve told her that it hurt!”

“There was no need to, since it didn’t even hurt that much,” Baekhyun protested. “And you’re being very, very naggy right now.”

“I am ­no-”

“Prince Chanyeol, do you prefer black or navy blue,” Joohyun asked, stepping into the study.

Baekhyun immediately moved away from Chanyeol, keeping his eyes on Joohyun. She had a very calm expression. He couldn’t help but think that she looked a tad bit cold.

“Uhh… black,” Chanyeol replied, not really looking at the two shirts she was holding up.

“I’m done picking out your outfits, Prince,” Joohyun said, walking to Chanyeol’s side. “Baekhyun-shi, can you help me get the suitcase?”

“Of co-“

“I’ll do it,” Chanyeol said, cutting.

“It’s fine.” Baekhyun waved Chanyeol’s protest off and headed into the room to pull the suitcase out of a dusty wardrobe. He noticed that a pile of clothing sat neatly folded on the bed.

“Baekhyun-shi, do you need help?”

Baekhyun turned to Joohyun who just walked in and shook his head. “It’s alright, I got it.”

“Here you go, Princess Joohyun,” he said, after he got the suitcase out of the narrow space and out into the bedroom.

“Please call me Joohyun,” she said. “But thank you very much.”

“Alright… Joohyun. Um, if that’s all, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

He bowed deeply to the princess, who nodded in return, and headed out of the door. Just as he was passing her, she opened .

“Baekhyun-shi, do you like Chanyeol?”

Baekhyun halted in his tracks, startled by the question and by how she had not used the word Prince as she had when she was speaking to Chanyeol. He slowly turned towards Joohyun, struggling to think of a smooth answer.

“Why would you ask that?” He finally said.

She also faced him, giving him a small smile. “Please don’t misunderstand, Baekhyun-shi. I’m aware of the fact that you two are great friends, but for some reason, I get the feeling that-“

“There’s nothing more to it, Joohyun-shi. He’s my best friend and only my best friend,” Baekhyun emphasized.

For some reason, he felt like a little part of him had died after he had uttered those words. He ignored the sharp, stabbing pain in his chest and looked Joohyun in the eyes.

“I hope you will not come to such conclusions again.”

“Of course. I apologize for my ridiculous assumptions. However…” Her eyes trailed from Baekhyun to the door, smirking a little. “I believe that I will be given the wrong impression again.”

Before Baekhyun could ask what she meant, a pair of strong hands grabbed him gruffly and dragged him backwards out of the bedroom.

“What the hell?” He stuttered after Chanyeol had finally let go of him.

“Don’t you have to meet with Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol asked.

“Yeah, but that’s-“

“You should go now,” he said flatly.

Baekhyun bit his lip, nodding slowly, trying to fight off the feeling of stinging rejection.

“W-well then. I-I’ll see you… later,” he said uncertainly, before backing out of the room and leaving quickly.

As Chanyeol watched Baekhyun hurry away, he buried his face in his hands.

What in the world did I just do?

Chanyeol hadn’t missed the hurt expression on Baekhyun’s face when he had dismissed him. He wasn’t even sure why he had felt so angry and disappointed when he heard Baekhyun say that he was only a best friend. Nothing more. However, the biting pain in his chest made it seem as if he saw Baekhyun as something more than a best friend.

Chanyeol’s eyes widened as the thought fluttered into his mind and refused to leave.

Oh, hell no. This was definitely not happening.

He did not see Baekhyun as anything more than a best friend.

Oh yeah? Then why were you about to punch a hole in the wall when you overheard Baekhyun and Joohyun’s conversation?

Shut up.

Baekhyun’s more than a friend to you. Just admit it.

…Yeah. He’s more than a friend to me. He’s a best friend.

You’re hopeless.

Shut up, brain. I don’t need you telling me that.

“I am not in love with my best friend.”

In denial, I see.

“Shut the up.”

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A/N: Lol, it's 12:30 right now, and I told my friends that I would go to sleep at 11:30-12. Oops? Anyways, I'm sleeping "early" for me. I usually go to sleep at 1-2 even during the summer. It is not healthy >.>

Um... finally... more Baekyeol/romance going on? Yeah this chapter was tily written. Whatever. At least we have Chanyeol finally sort of realizing h is feelings for Baekhyun (though still denying them). Well, the chapters are getting longer, right? :D

Get ready for some more KaiSoo in the next chapter. And some heart-to-heart talks between Jongin and Baekhyun. And prepared to get even more confused, 'cause I apparently have talent in making my readers confused and wanting to smack me in the face for my terrible writing.

But... this counts as a double update right? Lol, I... sort of got distracted by Exo-M's Extraordinary Class. And then I re-read this awesome Baekyeol fic: Into Your World. Baekyeol fans, go read this! If you do, you'll notice how amazing this girl's writing is compared to mine. ;___; It's alright though :D It's a really awesome fic, and no matter how many times I re-read it, I still fall in love with Jongin over and over again. >.> She portrayed him really awesomely in this story. Um. I'm done rambling now.

....Yeah I am. Good night guys!