04

“Come on, hyung. Chanyeol hyung is here.” At that, I shot up from my chair. So did Suzy.

“Mwo?” I gasped.

“Mworago?” Suzy asked. “Jinjja!? CHANYEOL OPPA!” She got out of her seat and sprinted out the room, bowing to Kai beforehand, of course. “I’M COMING, OPPA!”

“Aish, what a psycho…” Kai muttered, scratching his fluffy black hair. He then looked at me and smirked, “Wae? Aren’t you also gonna run to your beloved prince charming? Ah, ani…I forgot. He’s taken now.”

“Yah, Kim Jongin,” Baekhyun said in a warning tone as he stood up. Kai’s smirk faltered but didn’t quite go away. Baekhyun turned to him. “You better watch your mouth. Teasing her is one thing I’ll allow, hurting her feelings…is not.”

“Eyy…I’m just playing, hyung!” Kai insisted with a laugh. He rushed a hand through his abound hair and winked at a girl that was staring at him. She looked like she just had an aneurysm. Kai looked at me and smirked again. “You know I don’t mean it, right, Chipmunk?”

As much as I disliked Kim Jongin, I still considered him a friend. So, I believed him when he said not to take things to heart because he was only joking around. Sure, his jokes were mean and sometimes, not that funny at all…but he didn’t mean them to be…well, mean. 

Most of the time.

At least, that’s what his friends (myself included) told themselves.

“Eung,” I replied with a wary nod. He winked at me and slapped the doorframe before leaving the classroom. Baekhyun held out his hand and I took it, following him out of the room and to the front of the school. We reached outside where most of the school had gathered. Chanyeol had been very popular all throughout high school because of his kind, happy-go-lucky personality and Krystal Jung…well, Krystal Jung was beautiful and smart, as well as famous because of her parents’ conglomerate company that was rooted in the entertainment industry.

it would’ve been easy to assume that someone who was interested in music, like Chanyeol, was only dating Krystal Jung because of her family’s company and her connections. But anyone who knew Chanyeol — or had even met him just once — knew that he was not that kind of person. He never used people, it just wasn’t in his nature.

“Channie Chan Chan hyung!” Baekhyun bellowed, throwing his arms in the air. Chanyeol stood out in the crowd of people, with his great height, and his head snapped in our direction. An incandescent smile split across his face and he waved at us excitedly. At nineteen, he was still rocking his light brown curls and cute features. He wore a black, shoulder-studded sweater, black ripped jeans and sneakers.

He was breathtakingly handsome to me. And evidently, to many others…including Krystal Jung who had herself wrapped around his arm. She was beautiful, with fiery red hair and immaculate makeup and style. Her clothes hugged her eighteen year old body and seeing her there, before me, made me feel like a child in comparison. She was only a year older than me but I’d never felt so…belittled.

“Bacon! Kim Nara!” Chanyeol shouted back, his eyes twinkling with excitement. Baekhyun grabbed hold of my hand again and weaved us through the crowd of people. Even photographers had arrived to capture the young, celebrity couple. It stirred bitterness in my heart…bitterness that should not be there when you had a happy, loving friend like Park Chanyeol.

“Hyung!” Baekhyun exclaimed, hugging our friend like he hadn’t just seen him last week. Granted, we did usually see one another daily, or at least every other day. But Chanyeol hadn’t returned home in a week and truth be told, I’d been worried sick. “I missed you, hyung. Where the hell have you been?”

“Things came up,” Chanyeol answered vaguely, that cheerful smile still on his face as he patted Baehyun’s back. They pulled apart and his eyes settled on me. “Kim Nara.” I couldn’t help but grin at him. He opened his arms for me and I ran into them. Chanyeol picked me up and twirled me around. Where I was short, he was ridiculously tall so the height difference was, well, ridiculous. But I liked it.

“I missed you loads, oppa,” I mumbled into his shoulder. He finally set me back down, after a final squeeze, and I stared up at him. He ruffled my hair. Then, I smacked his arm harshly.

“A-pa!” he gasped, rubbing it frantically. “What was that for!?” I grabbed his ear and pulled him down to my level. “Ah, ah, ah, ah!”

“You lied to me!” I hissed. 

“I didn’t lie,” he replied with a pout. “I just didn’t tell you…”

“Something as important as getting a girlfriend!?” I barked in his ear before releasing it and folding my arms. "I'm hurt. Do you not trust me?" Baekhyun stood behind me, sniggering at the scene in front of him. Kai, Sehun and Jongdae joined us and they all greeted Chanyeol. There weren’t many people that didn’t know him or vice versa. The three boys were in my year, except for Jongdae who was in Baekhyun's, and they were Kai and Baekhyun’s closest friends outside me, Chanyeol and Kris.

“Of course I trust you, Nara-ya," Chanyeol assured me, ruffling my hair. Then he looked around. "Let’s get out of here, it’s too noisy.” Krystal reclaimed his arm. He turned to Kai. “Think we could use the pad?”

“Do you even have to ask?” Kai snorted, then nodded for us to follow him. I bit my lip and looked around nervously. Kai glanced over his shoulder and scoffed. “Wae? Scared of skipping class?” I nodded shamelessly. “What a goody-goody.”

“Shut up,” I grumbled, unable to deny it. If I didn't do well in school, I didn’t have the comfort of a trust fund to fall back on. I had to succeed and get out of that godforsaken house…or my aunt and her boyfriends might just be the death of me. I continued to look around and rub my arms. Baekhyun nudged me.

“Stop being a baby,” he said. I scowled at him and he simply winked cheekily. “I’ll even get someone to borrow you the notes you'll miss.”

“No one will do that,” I mumbled, looking down. “The only people who like me in that school are you and Kai…and sometimes I wonder if Kai actually likes me or if he just tolerates me so he can hang out with you.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “Aish, this girl…” He looked me up and down and tutted, “Stop feeling sorry for yourself all the time. If people don’t like you, it’s because you’re prettier than them.” I blushed and nudged him.

“Hajima,” I mumbled bashfully. He grinned. “But still, they won’t want to lend me their notes. Lend, by the way, not borrow. I lend you books, you borrow books. I don’t borrow you books.”

He rolled his eyes, “I’m reconsidering getting you those notes.”

“Aniya~” I whined cutely, throwing my arms around him. He raised a brow at me, indicating for me to use more aegyo. It wasn’t very often. “Oppa, aniya~ Forgive me?” I put my fists up to my cheeks and rubbed them. “Bbuing bbuing?”

Baekhyun burst out laughing, along with Chanyeol and Kai who had been watching. Jongdae chuckled and Sehun remained impassive, as always. I caught Krystal giggling as well before leaning her head on Chanyeol’s arm. My smile immediately dropped and Baekhyun stopped laughing, giving me a worried glance.

“Here we are, Casa a la Kai!” Kai announced as he unlocked the door to a hangout he owned. He lead us inside. This was were we spent a lot of our time as a group these days, since Kai owned it and could access it whenever he wanted. No one else was allowed inside but our group…it kind of irked me that Krystal was getting to see our place.

“Dibs on the reclining red sofa!” I called out before making my way over to the open kitchen area. “I’ll get the drinks.” I always did. I was grabbing cans of soda when Krystal joined me. I froze up a bit but forced myself to relax. After all, this was my territory. I had to have a backbone for once. I turned to her, “I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced. Annyeonghaseyo, Krystal sunbaenim. I’m Kim Nara, Chanyeol oppa and Baekhyun oppa’s best friend.” I emphasised more to stake my claim than anything else.

“Nice to meet you, Kim Nara,” she said with a smile. “You’re in Kai’s year, right?” I nodded. “Then I’m older than you. You can call me eonnie if you want, no need for super formality, y’know?”

“Mhm,” I replied stiffly. I took a deep breath to calm myself. This was not me, I shouldn’t be this rude. I was just being possessive of my best friend…and unrequited love. “So you and Chanyeol oppa…”

She beamed, “Ne, we’re dating. He’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met, I really think I could fall for him. He’s just…argh!” She giggled, fanning her face. “Mian, I get really excited when I talk about him. I couldn’t believe it when he said yes since, y’know, he rejected me a few times before.”

“M-mwoya?” I blinked at her. “He rejected you?”

“Ne, he said he liked someone else,” she said with a pout. Hope surged inside me. “But after some persistence on my part, he finally accepted my confession. I was over the moon, as you can imagine. Everyone wants Park Chanyeol, he’s kind and handsome and talented…he’s a really special guy.”

“Of course he is,” I snapped. Then, my eyes widened and so did hers. “Mianhae, Krystal…eonnie. I just—”

“I understand,” she said, cutting me off. “You must feel threatened by me but I promise you, I will not get in the way of your friendship. I know you’re like a little sister to him.”

“A...little…sister?”

She nodded, “Mhm, he always talks about you and how he wants to protect you. He really loves you a lot, you and Baekhyun-ah are his family.” 

“Ah…ne,” I mumbled. “They’re my family as well.”

“I hope you’ll also accept me into your close knit family,” she added softly, smiling at me. I really couldn’t say there was anything wrong with Krystal Jung so far. She wasn’t mean or rude or condescending — for now — but I still hated her. Not because of her…but because of her title: Chanyeol’s girlfriend. I wanted that title for myself and to have someone take it from me before I even got it, hurt. I hated her.

And for that, I hated myself. She didn’t deserve my hatred. But I couldn’t help it, I really couldn’t.

“How long does it take to get drinks, Chipmunk?” Kai shouted over. I instinctively rolled my eyes and Krystal helped me take the drinks over to the living area. She then sat down next to Chanyeol and I took my seat in the reclining couch. Kai and Baekhyun sat together, and Sehun and Jongdae sat opposite them with Chanyeol and Krystal opposite me.

“Oppa, have some banana milk,” Krystal said as she held the straw up to his mouth.

“Uh…”

I saved Chanyeol, “Chanyeol oppa doesn’t like banana milk.” I grabbed a can of orange soda and threw it to him. He caught it in the air and smiled in thanks. “Baekhyun dared him to drink a whole gallon of it when he was thirteen and he’s hated it ever since.” Baekhyun laughed at the memory while Chanyeol grimaced.

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” she said, rather dejectedly. Then, she brightened up. “Oh, well! It just means we have more to talk about and more to learn about each other.” She dropped her head on his shoulder. I hated how satisfied I felt that Chanyeol looked uncomfortable with her skinship.  

Kai put a fist over his mouth and fake-coughed, “Awkward!” Sehun elbowed him in the stomach. “Ah! Aish.” Kai hit him back, the blonde male flinching but remaining silent. Sehun had that mysterious charm that girls seemed to fall for as much as they fell for Kai’s cockiness, Baekhyun’s sassiness and Chanyeol’s optimism.

“So, are we gonna discuss this or nah?” Baekhyun asked as he leaned back on the red sofa, putting one arm behind Jongdae. Chanyeol nodded and enlaced his fingers, his lips pressed tightly together. He looked nervous. “So…you’re dating now.”

“Mhm,” Chanyeol replied with a gulp. “I’m dating now.” He looked genuinely...scared of what would come out of Baekhyun's mouth next. 

“When the hell did this happen?” Kai questioned, sitting upright. “I mean, one day we were hanging out in this pad talking about our ideal types and the next, you disappear only to return with a girlfriend!?”

“That’s a great observation made, Kai,” I said, shooting a pointed look at Chanyeol. He blushed and looked away. Krystal took it as her cue to answer in his place. 

“We’ve been dating for a few months now,” she said and our jaws all dropped. “He finally accepted my confession after our parents met and seemed to get along.” I got the impression that she was missing out an important detail. She turned to look at Chanyeol with an infatuated expression. “We’re really happy together so I hope you guys support us.” She turned back to me and Baekhyun. “Especially you two. I know how much you mean to my oppa.”

I grit my teeth together. My oppa. Mine!

Baekhyun blew out a breath and sat up, “Wah…I really didn’t see this coming.” Then, something that resembled hope and relief flashed in his eyes. “Well, it’s done now, isn’t it! Might as well accept it and embrace it.” He looked at me with a dazzling smile. “Right, Nara-ya?”

“Yes, yes!” Krystal gasped excitedly whilst clapping her hands. “That’s the spirit! Komapsumnida, Baekhyun-ah!” He shrugged. “What about the rest of you guys?”

Kai shrugged uncaringly, “Whatever. You’re hot, Chanyeol’s a cool hyung…why not?” She giggled and blushed slightly. Chanyeol looked unfazed. Sehun also shrugged, followed immediately by Jongdae. It wasn’t like the latter two had much stake in this anyway. They all then turned to me expectantly.

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