Bijou
Bijou
∆
Chanyeol wishes he never met him.
He walks out of his house everyday only to see the brightest and most annoying smile in the world waiting on his footsteps. Of all the crazy fans he’s dealt with for the entirety of his career, Baekhyun was the only one who never left. The boy thinks he’s doing him a favor with all the attention but Chanyeol thinks otherwise.
“Go away,” Chanyeol mutters under his breath, head tucked under a hoodie as he makes his way out of the neighborhood. He only hears the squeaking of shoes on the pavement behind him, short legs sprinting to match his wide steps.
“Good morning to you too, Chanyeol.”
∆
He sees him by the alley of the bar one afternoon; milk tea on one hand and camera on the other. The alcohol hasn’t left his system, pounding mercilessly in his head. Just when he thought his day wasn’t getting any worse, Baekhyun pops out from nowhere. As usual he greets him with his big-toothed grin and, for the millionth time in a row, Chanyeol brushes him off with a stare.
“Kid, I’m retired now, go find someone else to bother,” he says.
"It’s okay, it only means I have you all for myself.”
Chanyeol shudders at his reply. “You never get a hint, do you?”
“Says who?” He hears the camera snap from behind.
In that instant, Chanyeol wishes he’d just get hit by a dumpster truck or a flying manhole cover – anything, just to get away from his grasp.
∆
“I still have your albums by the way and, like, a hundred posters of you and your bandmates in my room,” Baekhyun announces, garnering a sigh from Chanyeol. They sit on the same table in the cramped diner as Chanyeol waits for his breakfast of bacon and omelets to arrive. He watches the kid animatedly telling him about his wide collection of fan merchandise all plastered with his face. He nods and yawns, completely oblivious to what he was actually saying.
“So when are you coming back?” Baekhyun asks, all of a sudden. Just in time, Chanyeol’s order arrives and the question is left hanging at the back of their minds.
Truth is Chanyeol doesn’t want to be reminded of it. The memories should have been forgotten ages ago, gone as soon as the limelight shut its glory at him. Seeing Baekhyun everyday kept on scratching the scar on his heart, tearing it apart until at the end of the day, he’s left bleeding and broken only to be sewn back shut by the alcohol and the drugs.
He takes a quick glance at Baekhyun only to find him moving closer, taking him by surprise. Baekhyun leans in, resting his head on Chanyeol’s arm. He then points the camera at the two of them. Chanyeol hears a click. Baekhyun smiles.
“Picture 1080, Day 125. A picture of Park Chanyeol eating with me,” he says in a muffled hum. “Now if you just sign on it that would be great. Yes?”
Chanyeol takes the photo from him and hides it in his pocket. “I won’t let you have a picture of me with your sorry excuse of a face.” He forks his plate and stuffs the pork to his mouth.
∆
“You know that what you’re doing is illegal, right?” Chanyeol strikes the conversation on his way from the grocery, “Invasion of privacy to be exact.”
Baekhyun shrugs from beside him. “Well, you haven’t called the cops yet,” he teases.
His relationship with this kid has lasted to the point where he finds himself walking side by side with him. He tells himself he doesn’t want to see Baekhyun, but deep inside he could feel a sense of fulfillment as the conversation goes on – one of his longest in a few months. Baekhyun continues. “Besides, I’m still a minor, they can’t arrest me.” Chanyeol scoffs and spits on the road.
“Are you even in school? Do your parents know you’re here?” he asks, out of boredom, not of curiosity, Chanyeol convinces himself.
“No. I stopped. I have no parents,” his replies quick and darting.
“Then how do you afford all the stalker you bring every day?”
“Thrift shops mostly, but it’s none of your business.”
“Now you’re the one to talk about privacy.”
“And also it’s not stalking, it’s admiration.”
“Admiration my .” Chanyeol grumbles upon reaching his porch. Chanyeol manages a short “Go away, creep,” before he slams the door on the kid’s face.
∆
That night, as he lay on his bed alone and surprisingly sober, Chanyeol finds himself wondering about how and when Baekhyun first saw him on television. Was it during their first single? Was it when he was switching the channels looking for some petty drama to waste his time? Was it because of his good boy looks or his husky voice? Or was it when his scandal with his label mate broke out?
He closes his eyes as images of the past flicker one by one in his consciousness. He remembers the hard days of pre-debut – the anxiety of company auditions and competitions. He remembers the first time he failed the cut and the dozens more that followed. He remembers the last audition he went to, his name being called for interview and contract discussion. He remembers the tears in his eyes and the happiness of his parents’ voices on the phone. He remembers the contract signing, the first day of training. He remembers the trainees, some he became friends with, some he forgot soon enough. He remembers the rivalry he thought was long gone after the auditions and the sleepless and tiring nights he spent trying to mold himself into the competition.
He remembers at last of debuting with a bunch of guys he barely knew. He remembers faking it for the camera for the sake of their image. He remembers the silent nights in the dorm and his desire to do well in the industry. He remembers striving hard for the group, landing him in various commercials and variety shows that soon boosted their popularity. Little by little he felt the other members open up to him until they all became friends.
He remembers the first time they snatched a chart-topper and all great things started coming after that. He remembers the increase of exposure, the concerts, and the sea of fans who always greet them with shrieks and “Oppas”. He remembers shrugging them off as little money makers who buy their albums, nothing more, and nothing less. He remembers losing grip in reality as fame slowly took over them.
He remembers that one fateful day when everything was taken from them. He remembers the actor he hooked-up with once in the sanctuary of their dorm. He remembers the press con and the confession…
However, his trail of thought never finishes as the ache comes back soon enough, fresh and taunting. And he wishes he never should have thought about it at all.
∆
Weeks later, Chanyeol walks out of his house only to find a Baekhyun-less porch. He travels his gaze around, thinking he might just be hiding somewhere with his camera. After he eats his late breakfast, he then goes on walking to the bar he frequented to and orders his favorite mug of beer. And for the rest of his day, he practically wastes his time in the pub, drowning himself with the alcohol. He tries to distract himself with the drink to no avail.
He goes home earlier than usual that day. He turns around as he is walking, half-expecting a pair of eager eyes following him. Still no sign of Baekhyun. He walks the whole neighborhood and sprints downtown to “get some fresh air”, and yet, he didn’t see the kid. He knows he should be happy he got the pesky fan out of his life even for a day. But he can’t shake off the thought of urgency.
And Chanyeol wishes he knew the reason why.
∆
The answer comes five or six days later – he lost count – as he is watching the television. He lazily punches on the remote control flicking from channel to channel to waste his time. He doesn’t admit it but he misses the boy, and now after days of not seeing him, he doesn’t realize how frequent Baekhyun has been occupying his mind. The porch reminds Chanyeol of him, the pub, the street, even bacons and omelets; and he fears he’s already losing his mind. He is deep in thought when something catches his eye. He plasters his attention to the music show playing onscreen. However, it’s not the flashy clothes that catch his attention. Nor the beautiful girls, neither the skimpy clothes they’re wearing. Onstage, a group of attractive young boys are dancing to the tune of a heavy beat. Still, they aren’t the object of his distraction. Slowly, the camera pans to the audience and focuses on them for a few moments.
In the sea of screaming fangirls, a small boy is caught in distinction.
Baekhyun.
Chanyeol catches his heart in his throat as he sees the boy jump up and down to the beat of the song; a sense of happiness he never saw when they were together is now lighting up his face. He’s shouting some guy’s name enthusiastically when, days ago, it was only his name that came out of his lips. Chanyeol. Chanyeol. Chanyeol. He doesn’t know why but he feels the scar in his heart open up and the seething pain throbbing in his chest. He lifts his hand to his face to hide the grimace on his lips. Later on, he catches himself smiling weakly and staring outside his window. Seems like the kid got tired of me, he says to himself.
He’s not sure why but he stands up and rummages through his weeks old laundry. Clothes fly across the room, piling up until he finds the pants he wore that day in the diner. He sinks his hands into the pocket and takes out a piece of paper. He looks at the two faces on the photo, Baekhyun smiling, and he confused. His lips tremble as he caresses the photo on his hands.
He's not sure why, but Chanyeol wishes he had met Baekhyun sooner.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Tadaa! A short one-shot I made in like five hours ;A; It's 4:30 AM here and I better go to sleep.
I dedicate this to the readers of Stark and My Maria because I still have no concrete plans for the two fics huhu Hope this makes up for it :3 I'll hear you out in the comments section!
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