second kiss.

The time ticks by in slow seconds.

Move, Chanyeol commands, moveeeee. He stares at the clock with burning eyes, hoping that time would flow by faster with his eye-power.

And when the bell rings, Chanyeol is the first one to bolt out of the classroom door, his school tie flying behind him.

"Yah, visiting that 'Baekhyun' of yours again?" Kris Wu, his best friend asks while packing his locker, before Chanyeol could run far. 

Chanyeol just nods, his eyes glancing at his watch hurriedly.

"What's the hurry? It's not like that baby's gonna run anywhere."

"He sleeps at 3.30pm," Chanyeol stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "and I need to reach home before 3 so that I can have time to play with him."

Kris rolls his eyes. "You are such a weirdo," he says, snapping his locker door shut, "but I like that."

Chanyeol didn't bother to finish hearing Kris's statement before running out of school, tripping over non-existent pebbles on the way out.

"Auntie Byun, I'm here again!" 

Chanyeol offers Auntie Byun a big, toothy grin as she opens the door for him.

"Ahaha, of course it would be Chanyeollie again. Baekhyun's still awake, come on in." Auntie Byun lets him into the all-too-familiar house. "Wait a moment, I'll just get some drinks for you."

Chanyeol walks in and immediately resides by Baekhyun's cot, hands holding onto its rails.

Chanyeol's 1000 watt smile turns brighter, if that was even possible, as he watched his little Baekhyun lying in his cot, glittering eyes staring at him.

Baekhyun stretches his mitten-covered hands out, touching Chanyeol's fingers gingerly, as though to say hi. This happened daily (or rather, every time Chanyeol visited him), but even so, Chanyeol's grin stretches wider as he feels the gentle nudge from the baby, his heartbeat ringing in his ears.

Chanyeol pushes one finger into Baekhyun's mitten-covered palm, and the baby grasps the finger tightly.

Chanyeol chuckles.

"Aigoo, look how hard someone is smiling~" Auntie Byun teases, bringing with her a tray of cake and tea. Chanyeol blushes and thanks Auntie Byun for the snacks poiltely.

As Chanyeol finishes the snacks, he sees Baekhyun's mouth opening wide in a yawn. 

It is the signal for Chanyeol to return home.

Chanyeol bows politely to Auntie Byun before he flings himself over the fence separating his and Auntie Byun's house.

Auntie Byun laughs. "Yeollie-ah, I know we are neighbours, but jumping over the fence might hurt yourself. Be careful next time, okay?"

Chanyeol laughs along. "It's alright, Auntie Byun. My legs are long!" Chanyeol pats his longer-than-most-people legs jokingly, and waves to her. "Bye, Auntie Byun!"

Chanyeol dashes into his house, the sound of Auntie Byun's "Bye!" resounding in his ears.

"Dude, you look so out of it today. Something happened to 'Baekhyun'?" Kris asks during break, right after math lesson.

Chanyeol draws out the longest sigh in the history of mankind and leans his head on the table.

"Yeah..." Chanyeol doodles rubbish on his math homework dejectedly.

"C'mon, dude. You look like you've just been dumped. So what happened? Baby scratched you?" Kris chortles at his own lame joke.

"Pssh." Chanyeol half-snorts at the joke. "Baekhyun's running a fever and I'm not allowed to visit him."

"... Okay, that's all?" Kris raises his eyebrows. 

Chanyeol sighs again. "I'm so worried about him." 

Silence settles over them.

"So... 'Baekhyun' is not your biological brother or anything right?" Kris asks thoughtfully.

"Nah, he's my parents' high school friends' son. Who are our neighbours right now."

"So... If he's not related to you... then why are you so concerned about him?"

That question hit Chanyeol.

Why do I care so much for Baekhyun?

"... I dunno. I guess I like babies."

Yeah. That is a logical explanation. 

Kris looks at him thoughtfully, as though going to rebut Chanyeol's previous statement, but then he relents.

"...Ok..." Kris says finally. "So when do I get to see this 'Baekhyun' baby that you talk about every second of your life?" He raises his eyebrows.

"Hey! I don't talk about him that often!" Chanyeol protests.

Kris opens his mouth but he relents again. "Fine. But I'll have to see him someday."

Chanyeol walks back home with dejected footsteps at the prospect of not seeing Baekhyun for the entire day. The usual spring in his steps diminished to nothing but a heavy, trudging feeling, but that soon stops when he hears his name being called from the direction of his house.

Or more accurately, Auntie Byun's house.

"Chanyeol-ah! Please come quick!" Auntie Byun calls out in a rather hassled tone, and Chanyeol rushes over, wondering what has happened to make Auntie Byun sound this way.

He half-runs to the gate which was already held open by Auntie Byun, and close-up, he can see Auntie Byun's rather tired face.

"What happened?" Chanyeol asks, feeling concerned for the older lady. 

"I think Baekhyun wants to see you. He's been screaming all afternoon." Auntie Byun says, herding him into the house.

Upon hearing that, Chanyeol feels an explosion of delight deep inside him. His heart flutters and sings at the thought of Baekhyun wanting him. A huge grin breaks out on his face and Chanyeol skips into the house like a happy bird.

"His fever keeps going up. He wouldn't stop crying, even though I've tried doing everything. I even asked your parents for help. But he seemed to brighten a little only when I showed him a photo of you, so I thought..." Auntie Byun sighs and draws a hand through her frazzled hair.

As if on cue, Chanyeol hears Baekhyun's screaming from the room, and he rushes into the room.

It's okay, Baekhyun, I'm here now. 

I'm here to protect you.

Chanyeol dumps his school bag and sits down beside the baby cot in the room and takes in Baekhyun's struggling, protesting form. Baekhyun is trashing around in his bed, the sheets pushed aside by his kicking limbs, and tears flow freely down his cheeks.

He away the tears forming at the baby's eyes. Then he brings his hand down to wipe his tear-streaked  cheeks.

Baekhyun closes his screaming mouth, and opened his teary eyes to take a proper look at him. 

Chanyeol puts his palm on Baekhyun's burning forehead and Baekhyun lets out a little snuffle of satisfaction as Chanyeol pets his head gently. 

"Go to sleep now, Baekhyun." Chanyeol coos, and Baekhyun's eyelids slowly droops down obediently, as though he can understand every word Chanyeol is saying.

Chanyeol smoothens out Baekhyun's forehead and then, gently, places a kiss on the hot skin.

When Baekhyun's breathing evens out and Chanyeol is pretty sure that Baekhyun is sleeping soundly, he withdraws his hand and tucks Baekhyun into his baby blankets, He turns around, preparing to leave, and he sees Auntie Byun staring at him, a little slack-jawed,

"... You sure have a way with Baekhyun, Chanyeol-ah..." She says rather faintly. "This whole afternoon, I have been trying to stop his crying... and in ten minutes... you..."

Chanyeol smiles. "Auntie Byun, you should take a rest now, you seem to be tired. I'll get going first, Auntie Byun." He picks up his school bag from the ground and gives Baekhyun one last look.

"Thank you Chanyeol-ah..." Auntie Byun says gratefully, right before Chanyeol steps out of their house.

Chanyeol smiles back at her while walking down the steps. "Its no problem, Auntie Byun."

He cuts along the front lawn to the fence separating their houses. In an easy move he flings himself over the fence, and Auntie Byun only laughs.

"Chanyeol, you can always use the front gate, you know."

"I know." Chanyeol cheekily replies, and he cuts along his own front lawn to his door.

"Kris, we're going shopping."

Kris raises an eyebrow at his best friend. "Last time I checked, we were still guys who plays soccer after school."

"We're going shopping today. Now. It won't take very long." Chanyeol pulls Kris by the wrist, giving Kris a stubborn look that Kris frequently sees.

Kris sighs. "Alright, alright... Are you like, going to bring me to accompany you to buy something for Baekhyun?"

Chanyeol's eyes widens at Kris's very accurate prediction. "How did you know I was going to bring you shopping for Baekhyun's birthday present???" He exclaims in awe.

Kris just shrugs. 

He knows his friend well.

"Your world sort of revolves around Baekhyun nowadays, you know."

"'Won't take very long' my ." Kris mutters under his breath as Chanyeol drags him to the hundredth store of the day, his eyes shimmering as he saw something on the display window.

Seriously, shopping with Chanyeol was worse than shopping with a girl.

"I think Baekhyun might like this!" Chanyeol exclaims and points to the window.

And Kris knows that, anytime now, Chanyeol will start to contradict himself, anytime now... anytime now...

"...No, Baekhyun won't like this. I don't think Baekhyun likes black teddy bears. Don't you think so? I think Baekhyun is more of a brown person. Like, those orangey brown kind of brown."

"Yeol, I don't think it will matter--"

"Or those kind of coffee-ish brown. Or chocolatey brown. Maybe we could go back to the shop at the second floor where we saw that lovely chocolate brown teddy bear. But it's a bit expensive..."

"But Yeol, it's been at least 2 and a half h--"

"Oh! I know what I can get for him. You know the first shop we went to? That musky brown-coloured teddy?"

Yes, Kris remembers prefectly well. That teddy bear which Chanyeol deemed to be "the ugliest teddy bear in the world" and recieved harsh criticism approximately 2 and a half hours ago.

"Well, I think I like that one now. Let's go!" And Chanyeol pulls Kris along to the elevator.

Kris feels like his legs are dying, but eventually he makes it to the shop, where Chanyeol hops into excitedly and grabs the said teddy bear.

"See? It's cute. It's lovely. I think Baekhyun will love it. Don't you think so?" Chanyeol smiles the sunniest smile in the history of mankind, as if his life wouldn't have been complete without the teddy bear.

Kris couldn't help smiling back at the sight of pure happiness radiating out from Chanyeol. "Yeah, I think he would like it." And please don't change your mind now, Kris silently pleads.

"Let's go pay now!" Chanyeol chirps, and Kris feels like breaking into a happy song right now, except for the fact that he can't really sing.

Whoever you are, Baekhyun, he silently thinks, you must be something to make Chanyeol feel this way.

And yes, in two weeks' time, he would see why.

"Kris, you're cordially invited to Baekhyun's birthday party in two weeks' time!" The invitation card under his table said the next day.

Thank you for all the comments people ;__;

Come here and let me hug all of you <3

And yes, Kris is gonna see Baek in the next chapter :3

About the prologue, it will link with the story in future chapters, so don't be don't be confused~ ^^

Sorry for any grammar errors, I was half-asleep.

And I probably won't be back till nov 15 (due to exams) ...

I know thats like a freaking long time, sorry :(