“My friend... he asked me about us again... He just doesn’t understand why I’m friends with you, Chanyeol.”

Baekhyun loved Luhan as a friend, but it was no secret that Luhan resented Chanyeol. He grew angry whenever Baekhyun even mentioned Chanyeol’s name, warning him to stay away from the younger boy; he was a bad influence.

They both knew Chanyeol didn’t belong with Baekhyun. If it hadn’t been for chance, Baekhyun and Chanyeol wouldn’t have even met. With Baekhyun in the advanced level classes and Chanyeol in the regular level classes, they had never even seen each other before, only to be introduced to one another by a mutual friend during lunch one day.

Within in a few months, Baekhyun and Chanyeol had become close, but when their mutual friend moved away, the two were left without visible ties to one another.

“Why are you friends with him?” Luhan would ask. “He doesn’t belong with us.”
 

Chanyeol had his own friends, who supported him in interrupting class with disruptions that only fostered further resentment towards them among the rest of the students.
 

“He’s so immature,” Luhan would whisper, casting a skeptical look at Baekhyun.

Baekhyun could only reply with a weak, “But he’s a really nice person...” that Luhan would never believe.
 

“He’s a lot of fun to be around...” Baekhyun would insist, only to be overshadowed by Chanyeol getting scolded by the teacher for talking loudly, in the middle of a lecture.

Chanyeol would cause trouble, ignore the rules, and not give a care in the world for the amount of detentions he received, taking all the punishments in stride, with a huge smile on his face. But Baekhyun, president of the student government association and candidate in the running to be valedictorian of the senior class, was one of his closest friends.
 

And no one knew why.

No one, not even Baekhyun. He couldn’t explain why, but being with Chanyeol just made him happy. The way Chanyeol’s crazily large eyes bulged when he smiled and twitched when he laughed, the way Chanyeol’s voice was so low and so deep, yet so loud that the teachers easily noticed him whenever he spoke out of turn. The younger boy’s carefree attitude and straightforward personality contrasted so sharply with Baekhyun’s meticulous and shy self, he couldn’t help but be intrigued by Chanyeol.

Chanyeol just seemed so different, so genuine, like a real friend, never to judge him, and always ready to accept him, despite all his faults that his other classmates never even acknowledged. Chanyeol understood who Baekhyun really was, just a normal kid working hard to achieve his best, rather than the genius, impossibly perfect student that everyone else thought Baekhyun was. The student that got straight As without even trying, the student Baekhyun wished he could be, the student he pretended to be.

Baekhyun was always too ashamed to reveal how hard he really struggled to earn his grades. He was used to hiding behind the shadow of his reputation, whereas Chanyeol basked shamelessly in his true self, guiltless in front of the entire world. He didn’t care at all that people would judge him or look down upon him. Chanyeol was just crazy and just himself, and that was Baekhyun’s favorite part about him. Chanyeol was brave in a way Baekhyun could only admire, but was too scared to imitate.

“Just forget about your responsibilities, Baek,” Chanyeol would tell him whenever Baekhyun was feeling overwhelmed by stress. “Have some fun, let go, be happy, and don’t feel guilty about it.”
 

At these words, Baekhyun would still shake his head, too s