The palms of Baekhyun's hands sweated so much he saw them glisten under the street's lamps' yellow light. He wiped them quickly on his worn jeans ripped from the knees. His stomach was churning, he felt like vomiting. 

"I'm home," Baekhyun said so silently not even the painting of a ballerina on his room's wall could have heard him. 

He strode into the completely white kitchen where his mom was cooking. He walked over the wooden floor like a ghost, avoiding the spots he knew would creak under his weight. He touched his mom's shoulder gently. She almost dropped the spatula she was holding, because of the surprise.

"Oh, hi, sweetheart," she said. "How was school?" She feigned happiness, but Baekhyun could hear all the pain and the frustration in her voice.

"Fine." It was everything but fine.

Baekhyun fiddled with the sleeves of his hoodie that almost reached his fingers. He walked into his room, concentrating solely on his homework and revising.

The straps of Baekhyun's backpack felt like they were digging into his shoulders' skin. It was so heavy, so full of memories that his shoulders sagged even more than usual.

The mass of people moved around Baekhyun constantly, no one stopped, except for him, who was stupidly waiting for the light to turn green, allowing him to cross the road. His gaze was darting around; one moment on the cigar stumps on the ground, the other on the shops' signs' neon lights. A man stopped next to him and looked at him weirdly.

The light turned green and Baekhyun crossed the road as fast as he could to get away from the man's burning gaze. He became a part of the river of people.

Finally Baekhyun reached his destination. He looked at the plaza opening before him, at the tall buildings around it reaching for the dark night sky. He took the backpack off his back for a moment to make sure that it was still there. He heard the zipper open, revealing it  taped to the fabric covering the inside of the backpack. 30 minutes left, the flashing red letters on the display said.


 

"You trash! Why were you even born, if you don't want to be what you were born to be?" Baekhyun's classmate yelled. They were on the school's rooftop.

Baekhyun wondered how could anyone not feel bad after doing what his classmate did to him. Baekhyun himself couldn't even walk on a flower without his conscience weighing down on him.

The kicks landed sharp on Baekhyun's back, sides, thighs and arms. He curled into himself, cocooning himself and trying to withstand the pain. 

Baekhyun heard the wind snickering in his ears, tasted blood on his tongue. He knew no teacher would save him.
 

Just when Baekhyun closed the backpack he felt it being ripped from his hands. A surprised voice laced with horror rose from his throat. A few people turned to look at the thief running past, giving him disapproving looks when he pushed the crowd away with his elbows.

"Hey, punk! Watch where you're going!" a man shouted after the thief. But no one did anything to stop him. 

Baekhyun ran after the tall boy who had his backpack. The boy's long legs carried him so fast that Baekhyun could barely keep up.

Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Baekhyun's mind was chanting frantically.

Baekhyun almost tripped on the cobblestones in an alley. A stray cat ran to take cover behind a trash can.

Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

The boy was getting farther away. He was showing almost no sign of fatigue.

Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

"Please stop!" Baekhyun shouted, the cold air feeling like it was ripping his throat to shreds. But the boy didn't stop.

Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

The boy saw a bus waiting at its stop. He climbed into the bus. Before Baekhyun could reach it the doors closed and it drove off. Baekhyun halted, feeling like his lungs just couldn't get enough oxygen. The boy looked at him and did a two-finger salute with his right hand. 


 

"Why haven't you told me anything?" Baekhyun's mom asked, her voice faltering. She was gripping Baekhyun's bruised wrists.

"Mom," Baekhyun said with a wince, "it hurts."

His mom quickly released his wrists. Baekhyun pulled the sleeves of his over-sized hoodie to cover the ugly bruises tainting his skin.

"Why, Baekhyun? Why did someone do this to you? Who did this? Why didn't the teachers do anything? Why didn't you fight back?" his mother asked. She received no answers.

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing," was the only thing Baekhyun said. He got up and walked into his room, drowning himelf into his school books and his careful handwriting.
 

Baekhyun felt frustration flare in his chest. He saw cars in long rows down the road, waiting for the light to turn green. Baekhyun took his chance and started running to the bus's next stop.

The only thing he could hear was his breathing. The only thing he saw was the bus stop. The lights at the edges of his vision were blurry when he stopped at the bus stop just in time. He got into the bus. He made sure to stamp his ticket.

The thief's adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed nervously. Baekhyun approached him until he was standing next to him.

"You should give me back my backpack," Baekhyun started, looking at the boy's reflection in the window. He was afraid of looking directly at the boy who seemed to be about the same age he was. "There's nothing valuable inside."

The boy shrugged. They were both grasping the same rail to keep themselves upright.

"I'll check," the thief said after a while. His voice was low and raspy.

The thief started to open the backpack. Baekhyun took a hold of his hand. A thin flame ran under Baekhyun's skin at the contact of their flesh. "Don't," he said, almost pleaded.

"Why not?" the thief asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Because," Baekhyun said with a sigh. "It's hard to explain."

The thief clearly wasn't buying that and ripped the zipper open. A gasp escaped through his lips the moment he saw the red letters on the display, indicating 26 minutes left.

"What—" he started, but choked on his words that were all trying to get out at once.

"That's why I need you to give me that and go as far from me as you possibly can," Baekhyun said.

The thief gave the backpack back to Baekhyun. He looked at the other unsurely. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, his voice suddenly gentle and careful.

"Yes."

The bus stopped and the thief dragged Baekhyun out. He took Baekhyun by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.

"Look, I don't expect you to listen to me," the boy said and Baekhyun frowned. "After all, I did steal your backpack. But you should really think this through."

"I can't, it's done already. It can't be stopped," Baekhyun said plainly, his voice cracking so slightly it was hardly noticeable.

"Why?" the boy asked. His grip on Baekhyun's shoulders hardened. Baekhyun's eyes started to water, because the boy's grip was keeping him on the ground, pressing on his bruises, and he just wanted to float away into nothingness.

"I'm just so tired of everything. Of the cursing and the insults," Baekhyun said. The tears that brimmed his eyes were streetlight-stained and glistening.

"Who cursed at you?"

"Everyone. I'm simply not human. Do you understand? Do you understand?" Baekhyun asked, shaking violently.

No one understands, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, Baekhyun's mind screamed.

"How are you not human?"

No one understands, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one.

"I'm not a 'real boy'," Baekhyun answered through sobs. "Gosh. Why am I even telling you this?" He hid his face in his hands.

No one understands, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one, no one.

"What?" the boy asked. "If you aren't a boy, then what are you? You can't be a dog, or are you?" The joke was horrible and said at the worst time possible. Baekhyun glared at the thief. Even the boy himself wasn't amused.
 

"You dog! Should I get you a leash?" Baekhyun's classmate asked Baekhyun and pulled on his black hair to force him to look into his classmate's eyes. "Would a pink one be suitable for you? Like the ones all the princesses have. You aren't even a real boy."

"I—I am," Baekhyun said. He was punched into the stomach. 

"No, you aren't," his classmate spat.
 

"I was born a girl. Is that enough information for you? Now let me go!" Baekhyun screamed, his voice getting slightly hysterical. The thief's eyes widened.

"That isn't a bad thing," the thief said.

"First you were a total douchebag and now you're pretending to be all nice and rightful. What are you hoping to get from this? Death?" Baekhyun screamed, trying to get away. The thief wasn't budging or letting him go.

"Why would you want to take other people down with you?" the boy asked.

"Because they should know what I feel like every day," Baekhyun said. 

"I want to know what you feel like, then," the boy said. 

"What? No! You don't know me, you don't know my pain! You don't want to know it!"

"Why would the others want to know it, then?" The words pierced Baekhyun's hysteric state and he froze. He didn't answer. The stupidity of his plan dawned on him.

"I—" Baekhyun said and in a breath. "I don't know."

"Come on, I know an abandoned building. We could make it there just in time if we take the bus," the boy said and tugged Baekhyun into the direction of the bus stop. 

They climbed onto a bus and sat. Baekhyun looked quickly into his backpack after making sure no one was looking. 20 minutes left.

"Why does a thief like you even care?" Baekhyun said so silently only the boy heard him.

"A bag and a life are two entirely different things. Thieves rarely steal lives," the boy whispered and Baekhyun felt his breath ghost over his skin.

By the time they got out of the bus they had nine minutes left. The houses were a bit further away from each other there, there was hardly anyone on the street they walked down quickly.

They stopped in front of a deserted house. The windows were all broken and staring. The front door was ripped off its hinges. They stepped inside. 

The boy led Baekhyun into a room—apparently a bedroom—with a dusty bed and closet. The boy motioned for Baekhyun to give him the backpack. Baekhyun hesitated, but gave it to him after a while. Three minutes left.

The boy placed it under the bed. Baekhyun looked at it. When the boy went past him, out of the room, he didn't follow.

"Are you coming?" the boy asked, coming back into the room when he noticed Baekhyun wasn't following him.

Baekhyun was still staring at the backpack.

I have to stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, his mind whispered.

"What are you doing?" the boy asked again, gripping Baekhyun's arm. But Baekhyun was rooted to the spot.

I have to stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay.

The boy started to drag Baekhyun out by force. Baekhyun struggled. At one point he had to pick Baekhyun up and carry him outside. 

I have to stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay.

"You don't need to die now," the boy said outside the house, when they were safely across the street. "You won't die now."

They heard an explosion, a dog starting to bark in a house nearby and then it was all over. Nothing collapsed, the house's walls didn't cave in. The bed had reduced the effect of the blow.

"By the way, I never got your name," the boy said, sitting on an old house's doorsteps.

"This is the wrong moment," Baekhyun said. He was supposed to die that moment, but he was still in one piece and there was no weight on his shoulders anymore.

"I'm Park Chanyeol," the boy said.

"Byun Baekhyun," Baekhyun answered, still staring at the house. Every single object he'd despised with his whole being was gone, blown up. He'd stuffed them all into his backpack.

They left. Chanyeol didn't look back even one time, but Baekhyun kept on glancing over his shoulder.

 

They sat in the bus and Baekhyun fell asleep on Chanyeol's shoulder. Chanyeol brushed his hair away from his eyes.

Chanyeol woke Baekhyun up when their stop was near. Baekhyun was glad Chanyeol hadn't just left him there, left him alone in the world again.

As a thank you Baekhyun pressed a tender kiss on Chanyeol's neck. Baekhyun saw Chanyeol blush from his reflection in the window. 


 

Baekhyun, in the middle of his old life's shreds, found the smell of a new start in Chanyeol's hair and the sound of a new life in his rumbling laughter.