It took 3 weeks for Kris to realize that Chanyeol would probably keep his promise about "sticking with him" for the rest of his life.

Even so, Kris had tried everything in his power to get rid of Chanyeol:

Ignoring him, being mean, giving him the silent treatment, pretending not to know who he was, switching seats in the middle of class, dumping his lunch in the trash, shredding his homework, pushing him down the stairs, kicking his dropped change underneath the snack machine, setting fire to his hair in chem lab, spilling coffee on his art history project, stealing his books and hiding them in the janitor’s closet, giving away the lock combination on his bike, throwing his brand new phone down the sewer.  

The list went on and on.

If Kris had been in Chanyeol's shoes, he probably would've hired a contract killer to take him out a long time ago. But Chanyeol was as patient as he was resilient. He never got angry at Kris, and he faced each situation with an obnoxious grin, saying things like "oh, it wasn't your fault" and "gosh, I'm so clumsy" or "it's okay, it was an accident."

Chanyeol was either way too dumb to notice that Kris was trying to get rid of him or he was actually just a saint.

Kris hadn't figured it out yet.

In all honesty, even though he was trying so hard to not be his friend, Kris felt bad about the way he treated Chanyeol. He'd never expected things to go so far. It's just that any normal person would've left him by now.

So why hadn't Chanyeol? 

Kris was used to being ignored, abandoned, and alone. He’d experienced it his entire life. After being thrown away by his abusive mother, he’d been moved from family to family, always holding onto the hope that one of them would accept him and take care of him and maybe even love him.

But that was never the case, and he quickly learned that holding onto hope was pointless.

Time and time again, he was reminded of how unwanted he truly was. No one was willing to deal with a teenager who had a history for self-harm and poor mental health. No one wanted a kid who didn’t know how to ride a bike or fly a kite or bring home soccer trophies or perfect report cards.

No one wanted a kid who had scars.

Years of constantly being rejected had made Kris who he was today: quiet, reserved, detached, and cold. He'd formed a mentality in thinking that ultimately, people didn’t care about anyone but themselves. They didn’t take time to look past the faults. They didn’t try to look for the light inside of those who were broken.

If anything, they’d just break you even more. They’d take that last bit of light and stomp on it until there was nothing left.

Kris had seen this ugly side of human nature one too many times. He knew what people were like. He knew how cruel and unfair they could be.

And that's why he was having such a hard time understanding Chanyeol.

Chanyeol went against everything Kris had thought for so long to be solid fact about human nature. Chanyeol was open and kind and genuine and sensitive. Kris had never met anyone as selfless as Chanyeol. He was always eager to please and willing to help, not from obligation, but because he wanted to. He never tried to take advantage of anyone. He had a huge heart and welcomed everyone with a friendly smile. His happiness was contagious, and so was his laugh. 

Not only that, but Chanyeol actually paid attention to him. Chanyeol talked to him and tried to make him laugh and smile, even though Kris never acknowledged him. The main reason for this was because of Chanyeol's thoughtfulness towards him. It made Kris feel strange, almost uncomfortable, because no one had ever treated him with—what was the word?

Kindness.

It was a rather simple word, but it held a profound definition, and it made Kris realize something.  

Chanyeol wasn’t like most people. He didn't have an ugly side.

He was beautiful.

Not so much his face, of course, but his being. Kris didn't really know how to explain it, but all he could think was that everything about him was just beautiful. 

And Kris wanted that. He wanted to be free from his own ugliness, from his own scars. He wanted to have what Chanyeol had. He wanted his happiness. He wanted his freedom. He wanted his honesty, his compassion, his beauty. He wanted...

He wanted Chanyeol.

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