Chapter Five

     "What did I do last night?" Lu Han had woken abruptly, sunlight streaming through a set of familiar bedroom windows and soft blankets wrapped tightly around his thin figure.  His feet stuck out from the end, and his vision swam, a raging headache pounding through his skull as he shifted.  Blood rushed through his body at what he could only assume, in his state, was an abnormally fast pace.  He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, trying to pull the pieces of his memory back into place.  Lu Han wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but he could tell from the heavy feeling settling on his bones and the acrid smell of alcohol on his breath that he definitely had a few too many at the party.

     He wished that he hadn't had so much to drink, honestly, even if the whole point of it had been to get drunk.  The last thing Lu Han could even remember was hanging out with Jongin and Kyungsoo, the three of them laughing too loudly at even louder ual jokes; soju somehow turning the normally serious council member into a thirteen-year-old ert.  He didn't really know Jongin too well.  They only had two classes together, if lunch could even be considered as such, but he was very familiar with Kyungsoo, the both of them being members of the student council, classmates for a number of years, and both having an uncanny, yet also officially unspoken, intolerance for fake, lazy s that didn't do what they were supposed to.  The latter, of course, was their main bonding point.

     The memory itself was still fuzzy, clips of drinks and faces and more drinks (perhaps the root of the problem), but he could barely remember talking to Baekhyun.  Lu Han was mad, not that he could remember why now.  He brought both hands up to his temple, his index and middle fingers rubbing circles in the skin.  Yejun.  Right, he was mad at his best friend's of a brother.  Nothing new about that, really.

  "But we weren't alone, were we?" he questioned out loud, his voice hoarse and cracking midway.  Lu Han absently rubbed at his sore throat as he did his best to recall what he possibly could have said the night before.

  "Oh ," he groaned, with a sense of shame so strong that it was almost tangible.  They weren't alone, he knew that much.  Park Chanyeol had been there, right next to them as Lu Han stupidly spouted off about his best friend's personal life.  Lu Han wondered how Baekhyun was going to kill him, how long it would take, if he would make it painful.  It probably wouldn't be that painful, at least, he mused.  Baekhyun could have a bit of a temper at times, but he had a forgiving soul.

     Lu Han was caught off-guard by a small movement in the bed.  It was barely a shift, but Lu Han knew for a fact that he wasn't the one moving.  He turned, glancing cautiously at the face of the person bundled in layers of bed sheets.  His breath hitched in his throat, the room suddenly growing too warm for him to bear.  Everything clicked - all of his memories from the night before, the sweet whispers in his ear, the feeling of skin against skin.  The dam finally broke, and Lu Han was caught in the flood.

     This wasn't just a stranger that he had met at the party.   This man wasn't some one night fling.  No, this was Oh Sehun.  The boy that called him hyung, the child of his mother's best friend, the classmate he had lived next door to for a number of years now.  This was Sehun, for God's sake.

  "What in the hell did I do last night?" Lu Han murmured again, his head falling lifelessly into his hands.  There was no way he could talk himself out of this one.

     Baekhyun wasn't so lucky the morning after, but considering that he was mostly a first time drinker, it could have been worse.  He kneeled, knees planted on the cold tile of his bathroom floor, hands clutching the toilet seat, his stomach ridding its own liquid contents.  He had no recollection of the party, at least not much more than his first few drinks, but he was certainly feeling the after effects.  Baekhyun heaved what he thought to be the last of the alcohol in his system and let out a shaky sigh.  His throat burned from the acid, but he didn't feel as nauseous anymore.

  "Baekhyun?"  The boy glanced up from his position on the floor to see Chanyeol standing in the doorway, worry clearly painted across his face.  Eyes wide, he quickly flushed the toilet and began towards the sink to wash his mouth out.  This was the last place he wanted to be seen.

  "Baekhyun, are you okay?" Chanyeol asked as he came closer.  Baekhyun had rinsed out his mouth and was now searching through all of the cabinets in his personal bathroom for some sort of painkiller that could deal with his throbbing skull.

  "Yeah," he huffed out a tired laugh.  "Don't worry about me.  What about you?" Baekhyun asked, finally coming up with a bottle of aspirin from the bottom of a drawer.  He pulled a disposable cup from a shelf and popped the cap on the bottle.

  "I'm alright, but I don't think that I drank as much as you did," Chanyeol smiled slightly as Baekhyun passed him the bottle and another cup.  "Well, I was walking straight at least."  He snickered to himself before swallowing his own pills.  He stopped once he glanced in the mirror, Baekhyun looking up at him, innocent eyes filled with shock.  His mouth fell open.

  "W-what... what happened last night?  I don't remember anything..."

     Chanyeol choked on the remainder of his water.  He sputtered, attempting to cover his mouth.  "Nothing?" he questioned once he caught his breath again.

  "No.  Did I do something?" he questioned anxiously.  "I'm sorry if I did anything strange, or if I was a hassle or something."  Baekhyun said quietly, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

     This was why he didn't drink.  Yejun had once told him that a person like Baekhyun shouldn't get drunk.  A person with so many secrets shouldn't give up control of what they say and do.  Not that it applied to Yejun, judging by the scent of vodka almost as present as his Italian cologne when his parents weren't home, when he didn't think anyone else was watching.  He didn't want to listen just because Yejun had told him to do something.  Baekhyun always liked to be in control though, and who really knows what could have happened if Yejun or their parents found out?  They didn't need any more reasons to think that Baekhyun was a disappointment. 
Chanyeol, on his part, didn't know what to tell him.  Baekhyun deserved to know everything, of course.  Although, if he really didn't remember, Chanyeol didn't want to make things awkward between them.  It's not like they had , anyways.  A kiss wasn't a big deal.  It's not like it would have been Baekhyun's first.

  "Oh," he laughed suddenly, glancing to the side, away from Baekhyun's pleading eyes.  "You didn't do anything.  You were just a little drunk, so we walked back to your house.  Since I couldn't drive, you told me to stay here.  No big deal."  There, that would be enough.  There was no way that Baekhyun was even interested in him.  It would probably just upset him to know that they made out.  Baekhyun wasn't even gay, was he?  No, not with all of those fangirls.  He was just drunk and needy.

     Baekhyun let out a breath of relief.  "Oh, that's good."  He paused.  "It's a little early, but there's probably breakfast downstairs.  Hyunsook makes the best food."  He smiled fondly, taking the cup from the other's hand and throwing it into the waste bin with his own.

     Kang Hyunsook had been a live-in maid and part-time chef for the family ever since Baekhyun was a small child.  She was his only constant growing up.  She was always there when he got home from school, always waiting to eat dinner with him and ask about his day.  Hyunsook was more like a mom to him than his own mother was most of the time.  It didn't matter as much that his parents were always out of the country or that his brother ignored him when Hyunsook had always been there for him.

  "Sure.  We can go get your car after that.  I doubt my parents are worried that much, but if I don't get home soon, my grandmother might freak out and call the cops."  He cringed.  Whether it was the statement or the half-serious expression gracing Chanyeol's features, Baekhyun was left giggling to himself as if he might still be drunk off his .

  "You laugh because you think I'm joking," Chanyeol jested.

  "Okay, okay.  I get it.  Let's go get breakfast before your grandma manages to alert the whole city," Baekhyun teased as he led Chanyeol out of the bathroom.  The awkwardness never lasted long between them, Baekhyun noticed.  It wasn't normal for him to be so comfortable with someone aside from Lu Han, or maybe Sehun or Junmyeon, though a part of his mind still screamed at him that it was just another Saturday for Chanyeol.  The guy made friends easily, trusted easily.  Baekhyun just wasn't the same.

     They were just crossing the threshold into Baekhyun's bedroom when a sudden, shrill alarm filled the area.  It wasn't loud enough to hurt, but it was enough to leave the unsuspecting giant wincing.

  "What is that?" Chanyeol asked, clamping his palms securely over his ears.

  "Sorry, it's the intercom system," Baekhyun replied apologetically.  "I don't wake up easily."  He strode quickly to the touch screen panel next to the door, tapping it twice to answer the incoming call.

  "Morning.  I was just about to come down for breakf-"

  "Baekhyun, honey," a gentle voice cut him off.  "I just saw your brother pull into the driveway.  If you have anything or anyone up there that you want to hide, I would suggest that you do it now."  Hyunsook warned knowingly.  He could almost hear the smile in her voice.  Though Baekhyun didn't make a habit of doing things he wasn't supposed to, Hyunsook was always there to look out for him when he did, and somehow, the woman knew everything.  There was no way to hide anything from her.  He usually didn't bother.

  "Uh, got it.  Thanks," Baekhyun replied quickly, almost immediately hanging up to deal with the tall problem at hand.

     He turned back to Chanyeol, thinking about what exactly he could do with the reasonably oversized basketball player.  They probably only had a minute or two before Yejun would make it to his bedroom.  Baekhyun knew that he wouldn't bother to knock, either.

  "What was that about?" Chanyeol asked, clearly confused by the whole situation.

  "Uh," he struggled to find an excuse, "well, I need to hide you.  Um, the closet.  C-can you stay in the closet just for a few minutes?  Please?" Baekhyun asked frantically, giving a gentle push in the opposite direction.  "I swear.  It's just for a few minutes."

  "What?  Why?"  He managed to bite back any comments regarding hiding in the closet, assuming that they would probably go unappreciated at the moment.

  "My brother doesn't know I went out last night or that I had anyone over.  He'll freak.  Please, just..."  Baekhyun ran his fingers through his hair, teeth digging into his lower lip.  "Please."

     Chanyeol looked at him for a moment, taking in Baekhyun's expression and his anxious glance towards the door every second or so before finally conceding.  He made his way over to the closet.  He didn't know the reasoning, but he also didn't want the student body president to have a nervous breakdown in the middle of his bedroom.  The walk-in closet was tidy and spacious - spacious enough for ten people to fit comfortably, actually - which wasn't so bad.  Once he was far enough in, Baekhyun offered him an apologetic glance and shut the door quietly.

     It was only a matter of seconds before the bedroom door opened with an obtrusive click of the handle.  Yejun appeared in the doorway, dressed in his sleek black business attire, a deep frown nearly embedded into his cheeks.  He may have only been twenty-seven, but Baekhyun would have sworn he could see the beginnings of wrinkles.  Such a waste, he thought.  His brother wasn't actually bad looking.

  "So you are awake."  Baekhyun noticed the scoff at the end but decided to ignore it, as usual.

  "Hyung, what are you doing here?  Don't you have meetings this morning?" Baekhyun questioned as pleasantly and calmly as possible.  He slid his fingers into his jean pockets, the nervous twitch less noticeable that way.

     Yejun leaned against the doorframe, lips pursed, eyebrows furrowed.  "I have to be at a meeting in half an hour, but I had to take the time out of my busy schedule just to stop by here.  All because you can't answer your goddamn phone, Baekhyun."  He paused for a second, likely trying to level his tone.  He let out a slow, even breath of air.  "Mother called."

  "But Mom never calls me when they're out of town.  Did she need something?  Did something happen?" Baekhyun asked hurriedly.

  "Stop being a ing drama queen.  Nothing happened.  We're going to a business event in their place tonight.  I have people to talk to, while they're in Tokyo.  All you have to do is sit there and be quiet.  They want brotherly love and all that ."  Yejun rolled his eyes, inspecting his pristine nails with boredom.

     Baekhyun silently hoped that Chanyeol couldn't hear them from his position, but even so, he slowly began to inch away from his bedroom, closer to the sitting area, and made the effort to soften his voice before he spoke again.

  "Why?  They never invite me to those kinds of things."

     Even before Yejun and Baekhyun were born, the Byuns had already made a name for themselves.  There were few people in South Korea that didn't know them or of them.  Red carpet events, charity functions, high-class dinner parties, they were at the epicenter of all things social in the business world, and while Yejun was an active participant, Baekhyun was almost like the black sheep of the family.  If his parents had asked, he would have been more than happy to go.  But they never did.  Not until now.

  "Look, I'm not playing twenty questions.  I don't know why they want you to go, and I don't actually give a damn.  Just be ready to leave at seven.  If you make me late, even by a second, I swear to God, I will kick your ."  There was no doubt about that.

     Baekhyun nodded numbly in response.  He wasn't so sure how to respond.  Yejun hated him and was only bringing him along because he had to, but Baekhyun also knew that Yejun would have no choice but to play nice in front of the huge groups of people at the event.  Even if it was only for one night, Yejun would have to treat Baekhyun like his own brother.  As horrible as it was, Baekhyun still loved his brother.  He only ever wanted for them to be close, like a real family.  This was the only way he would ever get his wish.

  "And manage to look presentable.  You look like hell."  With that last unpleasant remark, Yejun turned sharply on his heel, leaving without a goodbye to the younger.

     Taking this as a queue, Chanyeol slowly slipped out from the closet.  Baekhyun supposed that answered whether or not he had heard the conversation.  Chanyeol walked into the sitting room, but even as he came closer, Baekhyun looked down at the ground, refusing to meet his eyes.  He didn't want to talk about Yejun.  He didn't even want the boy to know about his screwed up family.  There was no way that Chanyeol could understand it.

  "Baekhyun," Chanyeol called softly, Baekhyun still boring holes into the carpet.  "Baek."

     When the boy continued to ignore his quiet pleas, Chanyeol stepped forward.  He closed the distance between them, pulling Baekhyun into a comforting embrace.  He nestled his chin on top of the smaller's head with a quiet sigh.  They didn't talk at first.  They simply stood, melting into each other's arms.  The two barely knew each other, yet Chanyeol was willing to stand there for hours, days, even weeks if it meant making Baekhyun feel better.  And, as silly as it may have seemed, all Baekhyun wanted at the moment was Chanyeol's strong arms wrapped protectively around him, because it had been way too long since the last time he felt secure like that.

  "Is he always like that?" Chanyeol whispered once Baekhyun's grip began to loosen, though neither made a move to fully separate from the other.

  "Yeah, but I don't see him every day.  It's not that bad."  Baekhyun responded, slightly muffled by Chanyeol's chest.

  "Do you want to talk about it?" Baekhyun remained silent, and until he shook his head, Chanyeol wasn't entirely sure that he had heard him.

  "Thank you, but it's always been like this.  You would think I'd be used to it by now."  Baekhyun let out a laugh, one that wasn't supposed to sound as painful as it did.

     Chanyeol suddenly pulled back, his hand coming up to Baekhyun's chin, forcing him to look into his eyes.  Baekhyun could tell instantly how serious he was, how genuine.  He always seemed genuine in the things he said.

  "Never get used to being treated like that, Baekhyun.  Don't even listen to him, okay?"  All Baekhyun could do was stare.  They had just met.  Why was this boy so concerned?  And more importantly, why was Baekhyun's heart beating so fast?

  "Promise me.  Please."  Chanyeol whispered gently.

     Baekhyun forced a small smile as he pulled away.  "Okay.  I promise.  Now, why don't we go get some breakfast and figure out where I left my car last night."

(Edited July 23, 2017)