Chapter 15

“You’re kidding me…” Chanyeol hissed, nudging Wu Fan’s shirt.

“Why would I ever joke about something like that?” The tall Canadian gave his friend a look full of curiosity, as he waved at some of his old co-workers.

Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to tour the crazy Korean in all his past workplaces, judging from the boy’s shocked face.

“You used to work in construction? As in… building stuff with your own hands?” The boy blinked at him, surprised and Kris shook his head to dispose of any feeling of shame that might have crawled up there.

He wasn’t ashamed to have been a construction worker. Sure, he would have preferred to do something else with his time, yet that didn’t mean he regretted his decision to take up any job that would ‘put food on the table’.

“Why? Do I suddenly look pitiful to you? Does working here make me inferior?” Wu Fan retorted, raising an eyebrow.

Chanyeol narrowed his eyes, falling into deep thought and the blonde kind of regretted his harsh retort. Because, he knew, after all, that the curly-haired guy next to him was not capable of having such feelings of contempt, for anyone, not even the guy who was secretly working for his father on his expense.

Kris, to his defense, was starting to accept the fact that he was a cruel, backstabbing bastard, since he had already spent hours, at times even whole days of his life drowning in self-hate and pure pain.

So, now, after his self-hate days, which had ended with Chanyeol barging inside his dorm, injured and a little too willing to use Wu Fan’s lap as his pillow, the blonde was feeling like a sick person who had suddenly overdosed on his medicine.

He was considerably better and it didn’t hurt anymore, but because of the overdose of toothy smiles and shining eyes, he got light-headed and sloppy, as his judgment and logic were beginning to crumble under the effects of Chanyeol.

The boy was holding him firmly and since Kris had been sick and he accidentally got too much of his cure, he couldn’t push the boy away.

Or he didn’t want to.

Probably the second.

He returned to reality when Chanyeol started poking his left cheek repeatedly and the Canadian knew he needed to stop dozing off in the middle of conversations, if he didn’t want to be sent straight to the loony bin.

“Like I was saying,” Chanyeol gave him a bright smile, completely letting go of the fact that he had been ignored. “Working at a construction site seems so difficult and straining. I simply didn’t think Duizhang could do it.”

On a different note, thanks –or not so much- to the obvious lack of space between the two of the them, for the past two days, the curly-haired Korean had loosened up on his ‘Duizhang is perfect’ theory and was now openly teasing the older guy with every chance he got.

“Well, this is rich coming from the guy who, this morning, almost took his eyeball out with his chopsticks.” The blonde bit back. “I’ll have you know I am very strong and well-coordinated.  Besides, I didn’t really build it with my own hands. There are machines for the hard parts.”

Chanyeol nodded, hiding a smile.

“Tell me more about it.” Kris didn’t know if he was joking or being serious, but he complied anyway.

He explained everything to the younger guy and even introduced him to some of the people who worked there.

In retrospect, everything had gone well with Chanyeol and Wu Fan’s old friends. Most of them had found the boy cute, even after he suggested putting their feet inside the liquid cement to see whose would get stuck in.

Kris gave him a good kick in the knee for that comment and quickly pushed him away, before he’d manage to embarrass them both.

Embarrass them further, that is.

“Is taking the subway part of the job training?” The curly-haired boy asked happily staring at every single, bored and annoyed passenger who made the mistake of approaching him.

“No.” Kris deadpanned. “It’s just cheap and it knows where we’re going better than you or your GPS ever will.”

What the blonde failed to mention was that the subway was also less comfortable than Chanyeol’s car and so packed that it made looking closely into the boy’s face a little hard for Wu Fan.

In the forty minute ride to the Dongjak District he had regretted more than once his decision to take the subway.

If they had taken Chanyeol’s car, Kris would have a whole hour to stare at the boy’s face, enjoying every little reaction and every small twitch of his mouth and his eyes.

Now, he was barely able to talk to his friend, thanks to an old man having gotten stuck between them.

And he had wanted to talk more and to see each other more…

As much as possible.

Before it was too late.

He quickly brushed off his stupid thoughts, as the familiar female voice announced they had reached their destination.

“Chanyeol-ah! We’re here.” He reached through the crowd nudging the Korean guy, who must have been pretty startled by the late warning and the sudden stop of the tube.  The old man was still blocking the Canadian’s view of the boy, so he couldn’t make sure if Chanyeol was okay, or if he had heard him calling, in the first place.

Then, a sea of people just started pushing Wu Fan outside the tube, fighting to escape the heat and humidity of the subway.

This only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough for him to get dragged outside the tube and cast away into an empty corner of the platform. He looked around anxiously, for his Korean friend. However there was no sign of a tall, curly haired guy among the passengers in the platform.

And Kris was all alone.

Completely alone.

He was starting to panic. Had the boy stayed in the tube and moved to some unknown place, all on his own? Or had he gotten pushed and trampled on by the crowd? Should Kris call the police?

The blonde shut his eyes, trying to calm himself down, when he felt two strong arms wrapping around his torso and a heavy load landing on his back clumsily.

“Found you!” Chanyeol’s deep voice echoed in his buzzing mind like a ringing bell.

And Wu Fan should have frozen on the spot.

He should have squirmed away.

He should have been uncomfortable with this back hug.

Yet all he could bring himself to feel was warmth and comfort and a twist in his stomach, that didn’t hurt much, but only made him excited and restless.

Comfort and restlessness.

Was this even normal, he wondered, wishing he could just turn around and kiss the boy passionately and ask him how could he make him feel so conflicted all the time.

He put his hands on his stomach, over Chanyeol’s, contemplating whether he had to push the crazy guy away, or if he could stay, like this, a moment more before it became awkward.

The boy made that decision for him, though.

Chanyeol jumped away from him and taking a few big steps, stood in front of him, a bright smile decorating his burning face.

“Sorry, I took so long to find you.” He apologized. “I was helping that old man get off the tube safely.”

Kris silently scolded himself, for worrying so much about a twenty one year old guy who, apparently, could not only look after himself, but also old people in the tube.

“Did you get scared because I wasn’t with you for just a moment?” Chanyeol leaned over and tried to pinch the blonde’s cheek. If Kris had been worried, just then, his mood changed to offended.

“No, I wasn’t.” He lied.

“Oh, yes you were!” The Korean guy teased, finally managing to put his left arm around Wu Fan’s neck and mess his blonde hair with the right.

“I wasn’t one bit worried.” The Canadian insisted stubbornly.

“Ok.” Chanyeol nodded quickly. “I’ll pretend to believe that.”

Kris ignored his sneaky smile as he took in his whereabouts.

“It smells funny here. It smells like fish…” The Korean sniffed noisily and blinked at Kris curiously.

The blonde smiled at the boy motioning for him to follow.

“This is the second job I did when I first came to Korea.” He started, not once turning to check if Chanyeol was behind him. He didn’t want the other guy to think he worried about him so much he wouldn’t let him off his eyes for one second, even if that was the case.

“My leg was broken and I couldn’t work at construction anymore, so I was just walking around here, contemplating whether I should just give up, when I met a very good person.” It was one of the stories Wu Fan had never told anyone, not even his Chinese friends.

To some extend it was because he was too proud to admit he had been so desperate. Then again, perhaps he didn’t want to burden everyone with his problems.

Either way, with Chanyeol it was different.

Sure, the Canadian was more than a little unwilling to show such a weak side of him to a guy as wonderful as Park Chanyeol; a guy whom he also happened to like. A lot.

But, at the same time, it felt like only he could really understand him. Like, Park Chanyeol had been standing there, next to him, for so long, waiting for Kris to open up to him.

So Kris pushed back his shame and said the whole story.

“Honestly, if it wasn’t for her, I would have been a beggar and just died in the streets.” He tried to keep his voice calm and steady as he heard the Korean guy gasp behind him.

“Is that person really so great?” Chanyeol mumbled in a small whisper.

“She’s like a mother to me. Oh, look! We’re here.” Wu Fan pointed in front of him at a strange path surrounded by booths and stands full of every kind of fish there was. Behind the stalls there were people, dressed in worn out clothes and white aprons shouting prices and calling the passersby to buy something.

“The Fish Market?” The curly-haired Korean paced up and stood next to Wu Fan, giving him surprised stares.

The blonde confirmed it, before walking down the path, skillfully avoiding the sellers who offered him their products.

When he finally stopped, it was in front of a neat booth full of crabs.

“Ahjumma?” He called out and noticed something moving under the stall.

A pile of clothes ruffled and the white head of an old lady popped from under the stall. She had big eyes and her wrinkled face was frowning. Her clothes were old and cheap but looked comfortable as she straightened them with her hands.

Seeing Wu Fan’s tall figure tower over her small booth, the old woman crossed her arms in front of chest.

“Yah, are you crazy?! Step back from my stall, you giant idiot, you’re scaring away the customers.” She stretched her arms and shooed Kris away from the stall, as she angrily ordered the blonde, who must have been at least two feet taller than her, to come at the back of the booth.

Chuckling, Wu Fan did as he was told and Chanyeol followed, startled.

The old woman offered them two plastic stools to sit next to her and the two guys found themselves squeezed down between boxes and baskets full of crabs. Chanyeol almost got bitten a couple of times by a roaming crab, so he ended up glued to Wu Fan.

“I missed you Ahjumma.” Kris said and he sounded more like he was talking to his caring grandma than to a strange, foulmouthed Korean lady at the Fish Market.

“Ha! I sure didn’t miss your huge one bit.” She bit back, yet there was no venom or anger in her voice.

The Canadian laughed again, his head lowering so that his blonde bangs covered his expression.

“Your hair is yellow now.” She noted, ruffling the top of Wu Fan’s head jokingly.

“You look more like a girl now.” She added with a smirk, making Chanyeol raise his palm to his mouth to hold back a chuckle.

“Ahjumma!” The Canadian gave her a childish glare, but upon seeing her face soften, he relaxed again.

“Your body looks fine.” The old woman pinched the blonde’s cheek to check if it was chubby enough. “I guess you’re eating well.”

“I am.” He assured, trying to ignore the way his curly-haired friend’s shoulder was pinned at his own arm, warming him up.

“And I see you got yourself a handsome boyfriend too.” The old woman teased throwing a knowing smile at Chanyeol and winking at him.

Kris stiffened immediately. “Hwesook-sshi, it’s not like that!” He screeched, hoping his embarrassment wasn’t displaying on his face.

“Of course, of course... It would be too much to expect a rascal like you to nail a pretty boy like that.” She shook her head in pity and this time both guys blushed deeply.

“Ahjumma! D-Don’t speak like that!” Kris cleared his throat. “This is Park Chanyeol. He’s my friend.”

Kris nudged his curly-haired friend to speak up before the old lady had a chance to humiliate him more.

“Nice to meet you Ahjummoni. I’m Park Chanyeol!” The boy reacted quickly and made a small bow while sitting to which the older woman nodded trivially.

“He’s cute and polite…” She commented. “Why would you bring your pretty boyfriend in a place like this, Wu Fan? Are you stupid?”

The Canadian’s thick eyebrows narrowed over his eyes. He was about to say there was nothing bad about the Fish Market and he was not ashamed to have worked there with her, when Chanyeol interrupted his train of thoughts.

“But I like it so much here! I mean, except for this naughty animal, pinching my back side all this while,” The younger boy glared at the crab that had escaped his basket, “everything is so lively and nice.”

He turned back to give one of his bright grins at the old woman.

She gave him a scrutinizing look back and then just sighed.

 “Yah, Wu Fan, did you save the country in your previous life? How can an idiot like you date such a great guy?” She said loudly for everyone to hear.

“First of all, I’m not an idiot. And second of all Chanyeol is not such an awesome person either. You should see him. This morning he almost blinded himself with his chopsticks!” The blonde tried to defend his pride.

“I see.” Hwesook Ahjumma chuckled a bit.

“Only-” She narrowed her eyes like she was trying to recall some detail, “I think you forgot to deny that you guys are dating.”

It was just like her, to and make him look like an idiot to one of the few people that he was actually self-conscious around, Kris thought begrudgingly.

“We-We’re not…  Not doing that. The… d-dating thing.” The Canadian heard Chanyeol mumbled from next to him and he released a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Really now?!” Her voice sounded disbelieving.

Yes, really, Wu Fan confirmed it with a blank face, trying not to look at Chanyeol, who was still standing very close to him, but had suddenly shrinked a little in his seat.

 “So why are you here? And don’t give me that excuse about ‘missing me’ again.” She pointed an accusing hand at Wu Fan’s face and asked.

“Actually, Chanyeol here is trying to figure out what to do with his life and I volunteered to show him my previous work places.” The Canadian explained easily.

“And what do you want me to do? Let this flower boy sell my crabs? He’ll get bitten again and start crying.” The woman mocked, causing Chanyeol to bit his lower lip and look down in shame.

“Chanyeol is stronger than he looks.” Kris said seriously and standing up, he handed his friend a white apron to save his clothes and skin from the crabs.

“Ok, fine. I got it. I’ll let you two help along today. But don’t make a mess!” She warned them both and moved back to her stool to shout something at a customer who just passed in front of her.

“She’s… very special.” Chanyeol whispered to the older guy as he pulled up from his seat and started carrying a box full of ice to the back of the store.

“I know Ahjumma seems scary, but she has a good heart.” Wu Fan put in while he moved an identical box.

“I thought she was going to attack us when she heard we’re not… ehem… together.” Chanyeol struggled with the words.

“She’s uncommonly opinionated.” The blonde smiled. “However, her opinions are usually correct.”

He didn’t know why he said that so bluntly.

Of course, Hwasook Ahjumma knew what she was talking about when she said Kris liked Chanyeol. She was also right when she pointed out that Chanyeol was too good for a jerk like him.

But the blonde wasn’t supposed to admit that to his friend…

Now, he had caused the boy to look at him intently, with those big, burning eyes that made Wu Fan’s heartbeat race and his feet grow weak.

Still, the Korean guy didn’t say anything to question his controversial words and soon they both returned to their work.

“So, did you enjoy carrying baskets and getting bitten by crabs, Flower Boy?” The Ahjumma asked five hours later, while she handed a cup of steaming soup to Kris and another one to Chanyeol.

The curly-haired boy thought about it for a second, before flushing a wild smile at her.

“It was very hard, my back hurts a bit and I never want to eat crab again in my life.” He said, wiping some sweat off his forehead. “But I had fun.” He finished triumphantly, surprising both Kris and the old lady.

“Working around cheerful people all day and then eating hot soup while your body hurts, feels really good.” He nodded to make his point clearer.

“That’s how it feels to work hard and put food on the table.” The old woman smiled sweetly for the first time that day.

“I still remember when Wu Fan first came to this place almost three years ago and he asked me for some food. He had a broken leg and he looked skinny and frail, like a little girl, but I made him carry all those baskets anyway. I told him that food tastes better when you have earned it.” Both boys laughed at that; Chanyeol threw his head back and sniggered loudly, while Kris chuckled silently.

“He only glared at me for the next few days. Even after I let him stay at the couch at the back of the shop until he could afford his own place.” Her words caused even more laughter to erupt at the small shop.

An hour later, Kris and Chanyeol had finished eating and stood up to leave.

“We can’t miss the last train home.” Kris said apologetically and the old woman smacked his back as a reply.

“Of course you can’t. You’ll have to pay for a cab then.” She agreed, trapping the two much taller guys in a bone-crushing hug. 

“You two did a good job today. For a bunch of skinny, uncoordinated guys.” She teased.

“And, Flower Boy?” She called after them as they began to walk away.

The younger boy looked back with a smile.

“Stop worrying about getting bitten by crabs, that’s what kids do. You’re an adult, so if you work hard you can do anything.” She shouted at them and then just turned around and headed back to her small booth.

“You were right.” Chanyeol said to Kris as they walked to the subway. “She’s really amazing.”

“I’m still kind of surprised, though, at how much you’ve been through since you came to Korea. I mean, Yixing-hyung said you used to go to a very good college in Canada before you came here, so I expected you would have worked somewhere prestigious…” The boy flinched under Wu Fan’s gaze.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you didn’t do well.  Actually, I’m impressed at how you survived all on your own, in a foreign country. It’s just that I don’t get it. Why would you leave your scholarship and move here, to go through so much?” It was the question Kris dreaded the most and despite knowing it was coming sooner or later, hearing it didn’t fail to make him miserable.

He had wanted to share some things about himself with Chanyeol. Because he was overdosing on the boy’s smiles, his heart and logic were weakening and he just wanted to be close to Park Chanyeol as much as possible and share every secret.

Nevertheless, he was still not prepared to answer that question.

That last secret that was buried deep inside of him was not yet ready to come out.

“It just happened that way.” He muttered, hoping his tone was frightening enough to make the boy stop asking.

A/N: Update as expected!

Krisyeol is still on fluffy terms, even though Kris just denies everything. 

And ... today is my birthday, so this is a little gift.

:D

Thanks for reading and showing love to this story. *Bows*