twenty-nine: macarons

Kris had to leave for cooking school, mentioning something about presenting his side of the story as to why he had been absent for a while (since he had caught his cold). I stayed behind, promising him to visit if I ever wanted to.

"Then I'll see you around." Kris said, turning around as he stood by the door. I waved a lazy hand as a goodbye.

"Sure." I said, my head abuzz with everything that has happened lately. Sure we spent quite a night together but I'm just so tired; my body is aching all over and I could feel my eyes ready to give way, the cobwebs from the lack of sleep blurring my vision entirely. But then again, lack of sleep was probably the least of my worries now. The thought of having to tell Kris what happened to me in the past scared me... Scared me so much that sleep was becoming a burden itself.

Then, without warning, Kris had placed a hand on my cheek, cupping it gently, "Don't fall asleep by the door, you idiot."

I pouted, "... I won't." As he smirked his victorious smirk at me, I grabbed his wrist with one hand, placing the other onto his shoulder to turn him around to face the door. "Get going already. You're going to be late."

"Chanyeol," He called out. I blinked some cobwebs away.

"What?"

"You sure you're all right?" He asked, eyes focusing on me. I fixed my face in time, gripping his wrist tight to prove to him that I was fine. I was fine.

I nodded my head and with a smooth motion, glided my fingers to his, clasping our hands together. "Sure, I am."

Kris took a few seconds, measuring my words most likely before he shook his head in defeat, a small smile coursing through his lips. "Whatever you say." He said, turning around, one hand reaching for the doorknob, the other still latched onto mine.

"The hwajeon was good by the way." I said, watching him take a step out, his fingers slowly slipping from mine.

He turned around, smiling. "Of course, why wouldn't they be?"

"I thought I was never going to see you again." Yixing greeted with a wide gaze at the blonde elder before his eyes swiftly glanced the sides, checking to see if any head chef was nearby. Once he made sure the coast was clear, he walked closer to Kris and whispered, "The head chef was tearing his hair out with all the stress in here. You have no idea. You have a lot of explaining to do."

Kris rolled his eyes as he headed to the changing rooms, obviously the thought of having to deal with the head chef was going to take its toll on him but there were other things pressing onto him and his patience. He threw his coat aside as he heard Yixing close the door softly behind him, noticing the visible crease on the elder's forehead - but then again, this was Kris and Kris often had a visible crease on his forehead whenever it involved people.

"Well?" Yixing asked, "What made you return, you prodigal son?"

"A lot of reasons." Kris started, taking out his pristine white coat from his locker. He paused, hand freezing on one of the buttons before he took a glance at Yixing. "One of which was to give Chanyeol some space."

"Space?" Yixing raised an eyebrow, leaning causally on one table nearby. "Since when did you start giving into people and their need for space?"

"Since I met Chanyeol." Kris half-glared at him but it died down quickly. "He met my old teacher."

Yixing's teasing expression dropped and his mouth turned to a straight, firm line. "Oh."

"It was..." Kris sighed, shutting his locker with some force, almost to relieve the tension from his body. "Horrible."

"I can almost imagine," Yixing muttered, "What about Chanyeol? Was he... I mean... You told him, right?"

"I had to." Kris ran a hand through his hair, taking a spare apron nearby. "Besides, you know him. He knew something was up and he was digging up the grave of my past like a gold digger on steroids. I had to tell him. I felt that it was the right thing to do." Kris paused, apron in hand. "He looked really hurt... If I could make things easier for him, I would. So I thought I'd give him some space for now... Especially since he's been acting weird lately."

"What?" Yixing double-blinked. "Weird?"

"..." Kris furrowed his brows. "I'm not sure... He said something about it being just about him but he wouldn't tell me what about him exactly."

Yixing watched as Kris silently tied the apron to his waist before fixing his sleeves. The younger male straightened himself and walked over to the taller, more solemn-looking Kris. With a pat on the back, he said, "Well, I guess giving him space was the right thing to do after all."

"..." Kris sighed, "How long though?"

"How long what?"

"Do I have to give him space?"

Yixing ogled at the elder, "That's up to Chanyeol to decide, man."

Kris rolled his eyes, "If I didn't have a good enough reason to come here, I really wouldn't have come here."

Yixing glared. Are you serious?! "Ge! You've been gone for long enough! If anyone needs a vacation right now, it's me! Do you have any idea who's been covering for your slots in this cramped up school? Who's been covering for your whenever the head chef passed by? Who's been giving excuses day in and day out?!"

"Thank you, Yixing." Kris gave a lazy salute as he returned to his coat to pick up his phone. "Your hard work truly is priceless. What'll I ever do without you?"

Yixing barked, kicking the elder at the back of the leg. "Your sweet talk won't work on me! Get out there and start explaining yourself!"

I had decided to do some chores while I had the chance. First of all, the laundry Kris was doing last time was just the tip of the iceberg. So I sighed as I took the full basket of smelly clothes from my bathroom and dumped them into the washing machine. I rarely did household chores so I really had no idea what I was doing.

As I fiddled with the buttons on my washing machine before proceeding to mess up with the last of my detergent a couple of times, I eventually got the washing machine up and running. Walking out into the living room, I noticed my phone buzzing away. I saw Kris's name and rolled my eyes.

"Hello?" I greeted with a dull tone.

"Why do you sound like the dead, Park Chanyeol?" He sneered and in the background, I could hear Lay whining about getting his out the door and start explaining himself to some head chef. I sighed.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" I groaned, rubbing my forehead. It's not as if I'm tired of Kris and his excessive need to check up on me but I thought he was doing this to give me some space... Why on earth is he calling me 30 minutes after he left?

"Aren't you supposed to be answering my questions?" He countered but a soft chuckle escaped his lips afterwards, "I'll be working in a bit - just let me hear your voice more."

I blushed and in the background, Lay whined some more. "Clingy bastard." I grumbled but his soothing chuckle at the other end of the line calmed me down. I plopped onto my sofa, hugging a pillow while gazing at the direction of my kitchen. It's only been 30 minutes and I miss the guy with his black apron hovering around my counters already. .

"I love you too." He replied and Lay in the background once more groaned in disdain.

"Get off the phone and start working, you idiot." Lay hissed before a slam echoed somewhere - probably a door. I chuckled.

"Looks like you're in a some pretty hot waters there, chef." I teased. "Should you really be on the phone wishing to hear my voice?"

"Can't help it." He said, "After all, you should know by now just how worked up I get when I start to worry - especially if it's about you."

I blushed again. Strike two. "Geez! Get off the phone already!" I squirmed, hugging