The Nostalgia of Summer
These Days of SummerThe scent of that summer twilight came
vividly still after all this time.
And even now, my heart smiles
when I think back on that summer.
Jongdae's morning started out like any other.
Well … mostly.
He didn't have to work that day, so he'd woken up a bit later than he normally would have and had instantly gotten into the shower, keen to forget his nightmares and wash off the cold sweat clinging to his skin. However, upon finishing up and wrapping a towel around his waist as he stepped out of the bathroom, he'd nearly run right into Chanyeol – the spirit of summer – who was just suddenly there, floating in the middle of his living room and grinning widely.
Jongdae was so surprised he nearly dropped his towel.
“Good morning, Jongdae!” Chanyeol chirped cheerily, “You got up kind of late today, didn't you?”
Jongdae blinked. “It's – it's Sunday,” he said slowly, “So the shop's closed. But, uh, what are you doing here?”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Chanyeol's smile softened a bit, “Want me to make breakfast?”
“You know how to cook?”
Chanyeol grinned, running his fingers through his curly golden locks. “Sort of.”
As it turned out, sort of actually meant not at all, because in the spans of just a few minutes Chanyeol succeeded in burning Jongdae's entire carton of eggs, nearly setting his microwave on fire, and melting one of his spatulas. In the end, the only thing Chanyeol actually made was a piece of toast, and he just kind of stood there holding it out to Jongdae with tears in his eyes, looking embarrassed and sad and sporting the cutest pouty face Jongdae had ever seen, and finally Jongdae just couldn't hold it in anymore.
He laughed.
He laughed longer and louder than he had in a while, and after a few moments Chanyeol relaxed, looking confused but obviously happy that Jongdae wasn't mad.
“Oh, Chanyeol,” Jongdae said after he'd calmed down, “Why don't you just sit down, alright? I'll make breakfast.”
“Alright,” Chanyeol said softly, taking a seat on top of the kitchen table. “Sorry about your eggs and your spatula, Jongdae.”
Jongdae just shook his head, still smiling, “No, it's alright. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time,” His smile turned a little sad at that, but he quickly recovered and brightened up as he pulled a box of oatmeal mix from his pantry, “Thank you, Chanyeol.”
“Oh ...” Chanyeol blinked, a bit surprised, and smiled, “You're welcome, then.”
Jongdae nodded, grabbing a few other ingredients, and Chanyeol settled back to watch as he went about making breakfast, humming softly under his breath. After a little while, however, he obviously forgot Chanyeol was there and got caught up in his work, for the humming suddenly became singing, and pretty soon Jongdae was belting out a beautiful song in a voice that had Chanyeol feeling sort of lightheaded. Afraid the singing would stop if he made a sound, Chanyeol held his breath, watching with wide eyes as Jongdae spun around the kitchen, making oatmeal and scrambled eggs (oh look at that, he had another carton) and toast with butter and jam, and it all looked so yummy that Chanyeol unconsciously his lips.
He had no need to eat, but that didn't mean he couldn't.
That was when Jongdae suddenly turned and saw Chanyeol, perched on the edge of the table grinning at him, and he froze up, his face going red.
“O-oh,” he stammered out, “You were – I mean, I forgot that you were … there, and I ...” his blush deepened. “Sorry, you could've … asked me to stop singing.”
Chanyeol tilted his head to the side, “Stop? Why would I want you to stop?”
“I'm sure I probably hurt your ears with my horrible pitch.” Jongdae said, looking embarrassed, to which Chanyeol's mouth fell open.
“Are you kidding?” The summer spirit gasped, “That was – that was beautiful, Jongdae.”
Jongdae's eyes widened. “What?”
“I haven't heard anyone sing so beautifully in a long time,” Chanyeol continued, nearly breathless with excitement, “That's why I stayed quiet, because I was afraid you'd stop if I said anything, and I never wanted you to stop.”
Jongdae stared at him with wide eyes, and for a moment Chanyeol almost thought he saw tears in them. “O-oh,” he said finally after a few moments, “W-well, um ...”
The sudden sound of someone knocking on Jongdae's front door had them both pausing to glance at it, and Jongdae frowned, scrunching his eyebrows up in confusion.
“Who … ?” He wondered, moving over to peer through the peephole, only to gasp immediately afterward and fumble to open the door quickly as he saw Baekhyun standing there outside his apartment. “Baekhyun?” He asked when he finally got the door open, “What are you doing here?”
“Two reasons,” Baekhyun said with a grin, holding up two fingers, “One, I have come to pick up a certain curly-haired summer spirit,” he waved at Chanyeol who was still sitting on the table in Jongdae's kitchen, “And two, I wanted to ask whether or not you'd like to join me and my friends for dinner tonight.”
“Dinner?” Jongdae echoed.
Baekhyun nodded, “Every week my friends and I get together and go out. It's usually nothing fancy, just lunch or dinner or maybe to a movie or something.” He shrugged, “And yeah, I've been kind of, uh, AWOL the last few weeks, so I thought I'd go tonight and then I thought maybe you'd like to go, too.”
Jongdae made a face, obviously unsure. “Would it … be alright for me to intrude so suddenly?”
“Oh, of course,” Baekhyun said flippantly, “We're all really open to newcomers. And besides, I've talked about you so much that they all know who you are.”
Jongdae blinked, “Talked? About me?”
“Well, yeah. You're my friend, you know, and you're so sweet and all, so I think they'll really like you.”
Jongdae stared, emotion welling up inside his chest. Friend …
“So, would you like to go?” Baekhyun asked, grinning widely, “Chanyeol will be there too, of course, but only you and I can see him.”
“Yes!” Jongdae said, blushing at his outburst, “I mean, y-yeah. I'd love to go.”
Baekhyun smiled, “Alright. Do you want to just meet us at the restaurant, or do you want me to meet you here and show you the way, or what?”
“Actually ...” Jongdae smiled, “I just made breakfast, and I doubt Chanyeol and I can eat all this by ourselves, so … would you like to join us? Then you could stay over afterwards and we could go to dinner tonight together.”
Baekhyun's smile widened, “Sounds like a plan.”
The afternoon passed by in a rush, with Baekhyun and Chanyeol lingering at Jongdae's apartment as they found various ways to entertain themselves. They started out with board games, but it turned out Chanyeol wasn't very good at those since he didn't understand the rules, so most of it consisted of Baekhyun and Jongdae laughing while Chanyeol pouted and tried to figure out why he kept losing at something that seemed so simple.
After that they gave up on board games, and Baekhyun suggested watching a movie to which both Chanyeol and Jongdae agreed, so the three of them snuggled up on Jongdae's little couch in his cozy, little apartment and watched a romantic comedy called Penelope that had Chanyeol laughing and cooing and bouncing in his seat at every given moment.
But towards the end of the movie, when the main couple finally – finally – kissed each other and professed their love, Chanyeol felt a jolt of longing go through him and he glanced surreptitiously at Baekhyun.
Could our story end like that, I wonder?
When the movie was over Baekhyun stood and stretched, sighing contentedly, and picked up his messenger bag from where he'd left it at Jongdae's front door.
“I need to go grab some things from my house and change before we go to dinner,” Baekhyun said as he slipped his shoes on. “I won't be long.”
“Alright,” Jongdae said as he stood, “I need to get ready too.”
Baekhyun smiled at him and left with a little wave, Chanyeol following him out the door while saying he'd be back with Baekhyun, and then suddenly, Jongdae was alone.
Strangely, though, the thought didn't bother him as much as it usually would, because he knew now that he wasn't really alone, not anymore, because Chanyeol and Baekhyun were coming back, and Baekhyun … well, he'd said it himself.
You're my friend, you know.
Jongdae smiled softly to himself as he went to get ready for dinner, a warmth like nothing he'd ever felt spreading through his chest.
I have friends.
“Do I – do I look alright?” Jongdae asked again, smoothing down the front of his shirt, “I'm not under dressed or anything, am I?”
“Jongdae,” Baekhyun put a hand on the younger man's shoulder, “Calm down, you look fine.”
“Yeah, you do,” Chanyeol agreed, floating along languidly next to Baekhyun, “Listen to your elder, Jongdae.”
Baekhyun threw him a look.
“But …” Jongdae fiddled nervously with his fingers, “What if they don't like me?”
“They will,” Baekhyun assured him, “Honestly. Just take a deep breath and try to relax, alright?”
Jongdae nodded, relaxing a little as he inhaled and then exhaled, his shoulders slumping. “Alright.”
The restaurant they'd agreed to meet at was a nice little cafe with a soft, welcoming atmosphere and a variety of tables placed all around, each one sporting a different number of chairs. It gave off a very homey feeling, and Jongdae relaxed a little more as he and Baekhyun approached a six-person table that already had four others sitting at it.
“Baekhyun!” One of them, a shorter guy with wide eyes and dark hair, said upon spotting them, “Hey, you came!”
“Yeah,” Baekhyun smiled as they got closer.
“Who's your friend?” Another, a slightly taller – but not by much – guy with reddish-brown hair and kind eyes, asked gently.
“Kim Jongdae,” Jongdae said in a quiet voice, “I – I'm Baekhyun's coworker.”
“Oh, I know you!” A third boy with light brown hair and pretty, slanted eyes exclaimed, “Baekhyun talks about you all the time.”
Jongdae blushed a little at this, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, “O-oh.”
“Anyway,” Baekhyun said with a laugh, “These are my friends, Minseok, Kyungsoo, Joonmyun, and …” he paused a little when he turned to a tall, dark-haired boy, faltering before he finally continued in a tight voice, “And that's Tao.”
“It's nice to meet you,” Jongdae said sincerely, deciding not to mention Baekhyun's slip-up as everyone offered him warm welcomes.
“Well then,” the one who'd been introduced as Joonmyun said with a warm smile, patting the seat next to him, “You can sit here, if you like?”
“Oh, I ...” Jongdae glanced over at Baekhyun since he'd been planning to sit next to him (seeing as Baekhyun was the only one there he actually knew) but the brunet had taken a seat between Kyungsoo and Minseok, and Jongdae sighed softly as he realized he didn't have any other choice. “Okay,” he murmured, sitting down tentatively next to Joonmyun and trying not to think about how out of place he felt.
“Joonmyun,” the dark-haired boy on Joonmyun's right – the one Baekhyun had haltingly introduced as Tao – said suddenly in a near whisper, his expression troubled, “What do I do?”
“Go talk to him,” Joonmyun replied, equally as soft, “If he came with us tonight then he must be feeling better, and he already said before that he doesn't hate you, remember?”
Tao nodded, taking a deep breath, “Okay …” he said slowly, “I – okay.”
Joonmyun smiled, watching him as he stood and moved over to tap Baekhyun on the shoulder, garnering the attention of the brunet and of everyone else at the table.
“Baekhyun,” Tao murmured, “Can I – can I talk to you?”
Baekhyun stared at him a moment before he nodded, looking oddly subdued as he got up and followed Tao out of the cafe silently, both of them seeming a little uncomfortable.
Only when they were gone did conversation at the table resume.
“What was that about?” Jongdae wondered out loud.
“Tao and Baekhyun have some … history,” Joonmyun explained, glancing at Kyungsoo and Minseok, “But we're hoping they can resolve it tonight.”
Jongdae frowned at that, agreeing with a nod. Someone as kind as Baekhyun deserved to be happy, and so he joined the others at the table in the hope that the two would be able to clear up any misunderstandings.
He realized then, suddenly, that Chanyeol had disappeared.
Hmmm …
“Baekhyun –” Tao began once they got outside, his eyes downcast. But before he could continue Baekhyun was holding up a hand, surprising him and cutting him off before he could continue.
“Let me speak first, please,” Baekhyun murmured softly, not waiting for an answer as he pressed on, “I want you to know that I don't hate you, Tao. I … I don't feel bitter towards you at all, and I definitely don't blame you for anything.” He averted his gaze as he said this, nervous, “It's not your fault that you don't feel the same way I do.”
Tao's eyes widened. “Baekhyun ...”
“I just wanted to let you know that.” The brunet said, scuffing the toe of his shoe against the sidewalk.
Tao stared at him a moment, relief spreading through him, before he smiled, “I … thank you.” He swallowed hard, wringing his hands, “Well, in response to that I want you to know that I'm – I'm sorry. I mean, I know you just said that you don't blame me for anything, but I'm still sorry. I never meant to break your heart, and I ...” his eyes filled with tears then, and Baekhyun remembered suddenly how easily Tao had always cried. “I just want us to be friends again.”
Baekhyun smiled, ignoring the dull ache in his chest as he moved forward to embrace Tao gently, relaxing when the taller boy returned the hug.
“We can do that,” he murmured, pressing his face into the fabric of Tao's t-shirt and subsequently marveling over the fact that this didn't hurt as much as he'd expected it to. How odd. “I want to be friends again, too.”
And from the rooftop of the cafe, Chanyeol watched, smiling softly.
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