“Thanks for the ride,” she said as she hurried out of the car, which D.O. had stopped on the opposite side of the block in hopes the siblings could make a quick dash through their neighbors’ yards and through their own back door, avoiding any sasaengs that may have been lingering in front. “Don’t forget the note!”

“I’ll make sure to get it to him,” D.O. assured her. She closed the door and gave him a deeply appreciative smile before bounding along behind her brother.

The reciprocal smile on D.O.’s face quickly faded as his eyes fell once again on the small stationery envelope. Despite his deep curiosity, even if she hadn’t sealed it shut with a sticker, he didn’t know if he would be able to stomach the words of apology written, should he have chosen to be so nosy.

He left the car in the parking lot of the nearby community pool and made his own mad dash in through the back of the house, and up the stairs to the last door on the right before he could think about not doing so.

“Chanyeol?” he said with a knock. “It’s me.”

He was acknowledged with a grunt, and turned the handle with his free hand, letting the note precede him through the doorway as he held it in his outstretched arm. “From Yeon-hee.”

The other looked up at D.O. without moving from his spot hunched over his laptop. “And what do you want me to do with that?”

D.O. kept a calm exterior but sighed internally, having anticipated Chanyeol’s reaction. “Look, don’t shoot the messenger. Just take it. I don’t care if you don’t want to read it, my job is just to get it from her hands to yours.”

“…Alright,” he said, keeping his gaze locked with D.O.’s as he reached up and took the letter. What he did next was not something D.O. had anticipated.

He didn’t break eye contact as he ripped the letter into four little pieces, not even granting the pastel note the dignity of a glance as he tossed its remains into his trash can.

He also didn’t fail to notice D.O.’s jaw clench.

“What? Your job here is done.” The man standing in front of him didn’t move a muscle. “You said you didn’t care what I did with it.”

“I said I didn’t care if you didn’t read it.” D.O. said in a voice just short of a growl. “That was low. I mean, that was really base. You know, she was assaulted today-”

“You did say,” Chanyeol interrupted, “that you were just the messenger. And as far as I know, messengers aren’t supposed to be this nosy.”

“You-“

“Please leave me alone,” he sighed. “This is between me and her. It’s really none of your business.”

“…Fine,” he relented. “But you know as long as she cares about you, she’ll keep-“

“Out,” the annoyed man behind the desk demanded. D.O. left without another word.

“He… didn’t read it?”

“I’m sorry, no,” he replied empathetically into the phone.

“Well… maybe he’ll read it later.”

“I… Okay, you deserve the full truth. He… ripped it up and threw it away. I’m really sorry, Yeon-hee.”

It was silent for a few seconds before she responded. “…D.O., can you do me a favor?”

A chance to make her feel better? “Yeah, anything.”

“I know what happened really hurt him, and I don’t blame him for being angry at me-”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s all that guy’s fault, not yours.”

“That doesn’t matter. Chanyeol’s really upset: angry and stressed, and I’m the easiest one to take it out on. He’ll calm down eventually, so I’m going to write him a letter every day until he acknowledges me again. I know you’re really busy with your schedule, but if I leave a letter in your mailbox every day you’re home, could you or someone else give it to him?”

‘Is he really worth all of that effort to you?’ D.O.’s jaw clenched again, but his acting skill permitted him to reply in a normal voice. “Yeah, I think I can handle that. Slide it under the back door, though. You… really know how crazy some of our fans can be.”

“Thank you. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“I probably don’t.”

“Are we doing this again?”

Chanyeol was lounging on his bed this time, having barely left his room, much less the house, since the scandal had begun. He looked at the envelope in D.O.’s hand as if he’d sneezed on it.

“I’ll make you a deal,” D.O. said. “I won’t come into your room and preach to you about reading the letters anymore.”

“What do I have to do?”

He shoved the paper an inch in front of the other’s nose. “Read the letter.”

He snatched the envelope and tore it in half, letting the pieces fall carelessly to the floor.

D.O. could feel annoyance bubbling inside, but remained calm. “You know she’s-“

“Just gonna keep sending them, yeah yeah, I know that. Don’t you think I know her better than you do?”

“Yeah, I do, and I also think you’re using that knowledge to hurt her for something that wasn’t even her fault.”

“That guy was her issue to resolve, and my career got dragged into it. I don’t care who’s at fault, she failed to handle the situation. Now get out.”

D.O. opened his mouth to speak again but closed it again, knowing his words would fall on ears unwilling to listen.

He didn’t have the courage to call her and tell her that Chanyeol had done the same stupid thing, hoping that by silence from him and his hyung, she’d get the message. His heart gave a dull thud in his chest when he saw a third pastel envelope wedged in the back door the next morning and realized that he was right.

Hands trembling mostly from a lack of coffee, but also in anticipation of what he was about to do, he took the note from its nest.

“Dear Chanyeol,

I hope the house is being kept clean, and that you’ve been eating alright recently (I know, I sound like an ahjumma, but I can’t help it.) Most of all, I hope you’re doing okay in spite of everything. This is the third note, but I want to reiterate that I can never atone for what I allowed to happen-“

He couldn’t read another word as his hands were shaking so badly and he was so angry that he was starting to see spots. So upset that he didn’t realize how loudly he was stomping up the stairs. So sick that he threw the letter into his closet and slammed the door so loudly that he could hear Baekhyun groaning in complaint. D.O. wouldn’t let Yeon-hee suffer the indignity of having another letter shredded by Chanyeol, because D.O. wasn’t going to bring him another letter. He didn’t deserve her kindness or to be able to throw her under the bus just to have someone to be worse off than himself. D.O. was going to make sure Chanyeol felt every bit of loneliness he was selfishly inflicting on Yeon-hee, and if he could help it, do something about her loneliness in the interim.

“You had your chance.”