Chapter 10 :  Because I'm A Fool

Friday morning, Chanyeol was awake to the screaming sound coming from his phone placed on a small table beside the bed. He took a glance to the clock with half opened eyes, the clock had its hand pointed to number 9. He groaned in annoyance, grabbing the nearest pillow and buried face under it, hoping it could block off the irritating sound. He exhaled peacefully when the sound finally went away but a second after, it rang again. Who could be disturbing my sleep early in the morning?! Chanyeol took the phone before answering to it without looking at who the caller was.

 

 

 

“Hello?” A soft voice from the other side could be heard.

 

 

 

“Who’s this?” Chanyeol answered in a flat sleepy voice of his, feeling his eyelids heaving on the fluffy pillow, demanded for more sleep.

 

 

 

“Chanyeol ssi.. don’t forget our date today” Baekhyun said. Highlighting on the word.

 

 

 

“Dara. I told you, I will never go out with you. Was it so hard for you to understand??” Chanyeol answered, still was half conscious that he thought he heard a girly voice. Sandara was always head-over-heels on him. He had been rejecting her for countless times, but she never seemed to give up that it started to get on his nerves.

 

 

 

“DARA?? I’m Baekhyun, pabo!” Baekhyun yelled that managed to open up Chanyeol's eyes. Who’s Dara? His girlfriend?? Baekhyun felt his heart was burning that he could not stay calm on the bed.

 

 

 

“Ah.. Baekhyun? Sorry. What do you want calling me so early?” Chanyeol rubbed his sleepy eyes under his long bangs, releasing a wide yawn.

 

 

 

“Who’s Dara? Your girlfriend??” Baekhyun asked directly as if Chanyeol was his boyfriend and caught red handed.

 

 

 

“It’s none of your business. If you have nothing more, I want to sleep”

 

 

 

“So you have forgotten about today?”

 

 

 

“Today? Oh.. that..” Chanyeol ran fingers through his hair, brushing it up. Finally, came to his senses.

 

 

 

“You must be here before 12. Bye” Baekhyun hung up with still, boiling heart. Jealousy was trailing rapidly in his blood.

 

 

 

Baekhyun, somehow felt disappointed that the guy had forgotten about this. Stop dreaming, Byun Baekhyun! Last night, he was over-excited about today that he told Kyungsoo and received piece of advice from the so called Love Doctor. Do Kyungsoo was a complete package that all he needed for a friend. He was always envious of the honey love between Kyungsoo and his boyfriend, Kai. He wished to have a charming boyfriend just like Kai. Can he?

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

Baekhyun stood before the standing mirror, applying a thin line of eyeliner onto his eyes before brushing down his bangs. He had a tight black pants with plain white button up shirt on. He smiled to himself after gaining self confidence on his gorgeous look. He eyed the watch circled around his wrist, and decided to head downstairs for some entertainment after realizing he was about one hour early. He straightaway headed to the kitchen where his mom was doing the dishes. She usually home during Friday morning but soon enough would disappear again. Byun Baekhyun had almost everything he ever wanted except one thing, attention. He was in need for somebody who could cure the loneliness he felt. 

 

 

 

“Where are you going to, handsome young man?” She smiled widely to her son’s stunning look.

 

 

 

“Just going out for a while”  Baekhyun gulped a glass of cola down his thirsty throat.

 

 

 

“A date?” She dried her hand before following him to the living room.

 

 

 

“What date? No, it’s not..” Baekhyun pretended to be interested in the Korean drama on tv, hoping she would not ask more, even though he was pretty sure she would.

 

 

 

“Oh really? I can tell by the first glance, my son is in love. Tell me who is she? Or maybe.. he?” She answered, doubtfully. Mrs Byun was always a supportive mother no matter what her sons’ ual orientations were. She never counted it as problems regarding her child being homoual. These days, she was indeed the happiest mother living on Earth because finally, Baekhyun was showing a positive change especially in studies.

 

 

 

“Mommmm. Stop teasing me! Okay, since I know you won’t stop asking, just like Kyungsoo, I will tell you just a little bit. It’s he” Baekhyun could not hide his light blushed cheek.

 

 

 

“How’s he? Is he good looking and tall? He must be at least taller than you are or I'll strictly against it” Mrs Byun added, teasingly.

 

 

 

Just right at the moment, the bell was rang by the outsider and a while after the door was opened, allowing Chanyeol to enter. Baekhyun quickly stood up, fixing on the collar of his shirt, completely unaware of the observing eyes of the mother. Chanyeol entered the living room and surprised to how similar their outfits were, as if it was planned. He wore a slim-fit white shirt with small abstract pattern on the sleeves and a tight black jeans. He was almost stunned by the alluring look of Baekhyun. The shirt fitted on his small body just perfectly and the tight pants hugging on his legs, showing off the shape of his ladylike thighs.

 

 

 

“He’s indeed tall and handsome. Go for it!” Mrs Byun whispered closely to Baekhyun. Innerly squealed to her son’s choice, receiving a glower from Baekhyun. 

 

 

 

“Good afternoon, Mrs Byun!” Chanyeol greeted the older and mannerly bowed, smile never leave his face.

 

 

 

“It’s nice seeing you again, Chanyeol. Please take good care of my precious son, nae?”

 

 

 

“Surely I will”

 

 

 

“Mom, I’m not a kid anymore. We’re leaving now” Baekhyun added, slightly worrying if she would accidentally blurt out unnecessary thing.

 

 

 

“Okay. Be safe, sons”

 

 

 

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

They went downtown by a bus. Baekhyun refused at first and suggested to take the taxi, but Chanyeol insisted to ride the bus. It’s cheaper, he said. He could never refuse more when the taller forced him by holding his hand and dragged him into the bus. The bus was completely packed that Baekhyun thought there was not even a small space for him to step on and for sure the seats were all occupied. He stood near the door, and Chanyeol was only an inch away, standing facing him that he could almost feel the other’s warm breath against his face. His heart dropped to the ground right when Chanyeol’s chest touched his face as a passenger tried to get off. Oh God.. I can hear his heartbeats! Baekhyun screeched innerly. The taller stretched an arm towards the wall of the bus avoiding his body from squeezing on the smaller. Baekhyun felt blood rushed up to his face when his eyes met the round shaped eyes of the other and stopped for seconds. Chanyeol looked away as to feel his waving heart and experiencing difficulty in breathing. After approximately 45 minutes, they arrived before Namdaemun market, a Korean style traditional markets.

 

 

"Finally.." Baekhyun mumbled, taking a deep air into his lung as soon as they hopped off the bus. 

 

 

 

"Isn't there any other places than this?" Chanyeol frowned, following closely behind the boy into the flooded with tourists markets.

 

 

 

"Why? I love this place. I'm craving for the tastiest jjamppong here" Baekhyun asked, even though he knew the answer.

 

 

 

"I don't like crowded place, especially like this. We had to squeeze in between people. You were almost squished by people twice your size" Chanyeol complained, holding onto both arm of the shorter from behind, providing him some protection. 

 

 

 

"Sorry but.. it was faint enough at home that I don't think I can stand more quiet places. I have my bodyguard here anyway" Baekhyun grinned, trying hard to act normally as if he felt nothing to the taller's action.

 

 

 

"Yeah.. right" Chanyeol thought he should cope with it since he knew well how lonely Baekhyun was, that sometimes he felt uneasy to leave the house. Maybe that was why Baekhyun acted such way, because he desired for some attention from his family, Chanyeol assumed.

 

 

 

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

They reached an average sized restaurant mentioned earlier by Baekhyun. Almost all the tables there were served with Jjamppong that Chanyeol came to question how tasty the meal was. They picked a table of four positioned at the corner, sitting oppositely to each other. Two bowls of Jjamppong arrived just shortly after one of the waiters took their orders. Baekhyun's eyes lightened up right away to see the mouth-watering dish that he started to dig in without further ado while the taller was just staring at him. 

 

 

"Why are you looking at me like that? Aren't you hungry?" Baekhyun tilted his head up, realizing Chanyeol was eyeing him.

 

 

 

"No reason. You look cute" Chanyeol replied and cracked a smile, stretching out an arm and gently wiped on the corner of the boy's lips with a thumb.

 

 

 

Baekhyun felt like the clock stopped ticking at the moment. Now, taking his turn to watch on the taller, while Chanyeol began to shove the meal into his mouth. This was what Sehun meant by play along. Chanyeol could still remember when he said, If he asked you to be his bodyguard, be more than just that and see how will he reacts. He thought it was fun to act such way towards the naive boy, even though he felt his own heart trembling uncontrollably. A soft feeling had landed on the lawn of his heart but he chose to ignore it. The atmosphere around them became awkward as there was not even a word between them. Both were fighting back against their emotions especially the guy named Park Chanyeol. He would do anything else except admitting his new developed feelings for the boy.

 

 

“Let’s go in there!” Baekhyun pointed to a shop selling clothes when they walked out the restaurant. He stepped into it without waiting for answer from the other.

 

 

 

 “Baek.. what are you searching for? You have enough clothes! Some of them were still new” Chanyeol nagged, calling him by the name. He was not a type of person who spent money on unneeded things.

 

 

 

“I know, Nanny. It’s for you. Now, give these a try” Baekhyun shoved few shirts to Chanyeol.

 

 

 

“But I don’t want any” Chanyeol refused, frowning to the smaller.

 

 

 

“I’m buying these for you. As an appreciation gift. Like you said, I have to thank you for helping me out”

 

 

 

“But I don’t wa-“

 

 

 

“Hush, you’re supposed to follow my order, remember? Now go” Baekhyun sealed Chanyeol’s lips by placing a finger onto it. Then, he pushed him into a fitting room.

 

 

 

Chanyeol groaned in displeased before closing the door but a while after, popping out a head to the smaller again. He gave a naughty smile to Baekhyun, wiggling eyebrows.

 

 

 

“Aren’t you coming along?”

 

 

 

“What? You’re nuts!” Baekhyun turned around and was about to walk away but stopped by the taller.

 

 

 

“I thought you wanna see if it looks good on me” Chanyeol added, holding onto Baekhyun’s wrist and pulled him into the room.

 

 

 

“Are you crazy?!” Baekhyun half yelled, feeling tensed up though the room was big enough for them both.

 

 

 

“Shh.. You don’t want people to think weirdly about us” Chanyeol hushed the boy by placing a finger onto his lips, returning what he did earlier.

 

 

 

Baekhyun quickly covered his flushed face with palms when Chanyeol teasingly tugged on his own shirt and pretended to take it off. He took it off while Baekhyun was still covering on his eyes and was hardly holding on his laughter to the adorable reaction showed by the shorter.

 

 

 

“I’m done. You can open your eyes now”

 

 

 

“Stupid! No, you’re not!” Baekhyun almost screamed out his honeyed voice when Chanyeol bluffed him. Omg, he is shirtless!

 

 

 

Chanyeol leaned in closer to Baekhyun seductively (still shirtless), trapping him against the wall and breathe on his sensitive neck. Baekhyun closed his eyes tightly with his crazily shaking heart, hands clutching onto the edge of his shirt. He was fully surrendering on what the taller might do to him and could barely feel his lower limbs. Chanyeol's lips were only a centimetre away from the ear of the smaller, hand stretched towards the door and opened it up.

 

 

“You may leave now but.. I don't mind if you wanna stay” He whispered in a y deep voice of his.

 

 

 

“Psychotic idiot” Baekhyun pushed the other on his bare chest before sneaking out swiftly.

 

 

 

Chanyeol burst out his laughter when Baekhyun left there, palming his mouth to avoid the sound from leaking. He had to blame Sehun for teaching him what he just did to the boy, but he was enjoying it anyhow. Baekhyun finally found his air when he stepped out of it. He ran hands through his reddened cheek, brushing palms against it, hoping it could wash away the nervousness he felt.

 

 

 

"What was that just now? Does he think it's funny??” Baekhyun whispered to himself, thinking of taking a revenge for being fooled like that.

 

 

 

“I like this” Chanyeol came from behind just shortly after, handing out a red square patterned shirt to Baekhyun. Showing an innocent face to the shorter but received a glare from him in return.

 

 

 

“We’ll take this” Baekhyun said to the salesman after grabbing the shirt from him roughly, showing his protest to the taller.

 

 

 

Baekhyun stepped out the shop after paying for the shirt, leaving the latter behind. Chanyeol casually placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him close to him. Baekhyun was startled and responded by freeing himself from the grip, giving a glower to the other.

 

 

 

“What is wrong with you??” Baekhyun blurted out.

 

 

 

“What? I thought I’m supposed to keep you safe” Chanyeol said, blinking eyes.

 

 

 

“Then, give me your hand”

 

 

 

“What for?” Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, but obeyed to the order anyway. He went speechless when the shorter bravely linked an arm around his.

 

 

 

“That’s better. I feel like a dwarf when people put hand on my shoulder. Now, let’s go” Baekhyun dragged the other walking through the street markets. He wondered where did the courage come from, but he was applying the advice given by the Love Doctor, Kyungsoo. Burn him!

 

 

 

“Chanyeol oppa?” A female voice came from behind and they turned around just to find Sandara.

 

 

 

“Who’s she?” Baekhyun asked, hand gripped tighter onto Chanyeol’s. As if trying to warn whoever she was, He's mine! So back off!

 

 

 

“Oh hey.. Sandara” Chanyeol replied in an uninterested voice.

 

 

 

“Wow. I didn't expect to meet you here! Looks like fate is on our side” Sandara smiled brightly, taking steps closer.

 

 

 

“There’s never been us. Sorry, but my boyfriend and I need to leave now” Chanyeol thoughtlessly said it, making the two of them hardly astounded.

 

 

 

Chanyeol thought it was the only way to keep her away from him. Baekhyun mentally slapped himself just to make sure he heard it correctly that he almost dropped his jaw to the unexpected statement. He looked up to the taller in questions, but he only gave him a smile in return. 

 

 

 

“You’re lying! He’s not your boyfriend!” Sandara shook a head in disbelief.

 

 

 

“I’m not. He is my boyfriend, the reason why you could never be in my heart. I’m sorry and.. Goodbye”

 

 

 

Chanyeol intertwined their hands and dragged Baekhyun away from there without giving a second turn to the brokenhearted girl. Until they reached the end of the road, Baekhyun stopped him from walking and freed his hand from Chanyeol’s. Surely he would feel wonderful if Chanyeol really meant it that way, but he realized that.. the reality was never better than dreams. 

 

 

“I need an explanation"

 

 

 

“I’m sorry. I had to do that to shoo her away from me. You know I'm not serious when I said it” Chanyeol answered. 

 

 

 

“Then, how do you expect me to feel about that? Am I a toy?” Baekhyun spoke out, felt like Chanyeol was playing around with his feelings.

 

 

 

“Why do you have to be so steamed up over this? I don’t get it. I said I was just pretending, right?”

 

 

 

“You just don’t get it, do you? Let’s just go home” Baekhyun was.. hurting. 

 

 

 

“Baekhyun..”

 

 

 

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

They both went home by bus without Baekhyun uttering any single word and even refused to look at him. They separated when Chanyeol reached the stop near his neighbourhood, still was stupidly wondering what things just went wrong to the smaller. As soon as he arrived home, Baekhyun lied down on the bed, cursing on himself for being over-emotional on something this stupid. He drowned his face under the pillow and screamed out in frustration.

 

 

“I’m such a fool for loving an idiot like you!”