The sky was getting darker and Chanyeol’s stomach was becoming emptier.

 

Junmyeon had ordered them to bring out fold up chairs from the back of his car and place them in the middle of the field. The placed the chairs in a semi-circle. Junmyeon sat in the middle. Sehun and Kai sat together on his left and the rest sat on his right, Kyungsoo beside Junmyeon and Chanyeol on the end. When the circle was formed and everyone was settled down, the guys turned their attention to Junmyeon. Junmyeon, looking quite pleased that he was being paid attention to, put on a fatherly smile.

 

“This will be your last task,” he reported. Everyone seemed to mentally sigh with relief at the information. “What might be your final task? Well, it’s not as physical as the others. It’s quite simple actually. The couples receiving therapy throughout this trip will be writing a letter to their respective partners.”

 

Kai and Sehun shared a glance wondering if they were considered a couple. Chanyeol and Baekhyun looked at each other in confusion (Chanyeol avoided looking at Kyungsoo.)

 

“And who are these couples exactly, for clarification?” Baekhyun voiced.

 

“Well you have Sehun and Jongin with their fragile relationship and Chanyeol and Kyungsoo with a bond that doesn’t exist,” Junmyeon supplied.

 

“Then what about me?” Baekhyun wondered, since he was supposed to be the one adding more fire to the roaring flame that was burning their family. Junmyeon’s words, not his.

 

“You’re beyond help. Your problem is that you’re you.”

 

“Okay, harsh. I think after that comment, we might need to go through some therapy.”

 

“I’m kidding!” Junmyeon retracted. “Lighten up.”

 

Baekhyun scowled in response.

 

“You seem to be getting along with Chanyeol and I guess you’re not bad with the rest of the family,” he admitted. “Though your comments are not always necessary.”

 

Everyone nodded with agreement.

 

“I would fix that, but I don’t want to,” Baekhyun concluded.

 

“My point exactly,” Junmyeon muttered. “Anyway, back to our task, now that I have provided you with the clarifications you wanted. The couples need to write about how you feel about your partner and then you will read your partner’s honest and sincere comments about you.”

 

“What if we end up fighting again?” Kai worried. He and Sehun had just made up. Neither would want to upset the other again.

 

“That’s why you have to keep an open-mind. Think self-improvement. You’re making your family upset so you need to figure out what you did to hurt them and fix it.”

 

“Sure,” Kai murmured.

 

“Okay then, now I need a volunteer to go back to my car and retrieve some paper and pens that I have prepared. Who would like to do the honor?” Junmyeon asked.

 

Kai and Sehun groaned, complaining about how they were too tired after their game of tag. Baekhyun refused to get off his seat and Kyungsoo’s glare was a non-negotiable “no”.

 

“Get Chanyeol to do it!” Sehun suggested. “He hasn’t done anything all day, did he even talk?”

 

“I think Kyungsoo talked more than him.” Junmyeon noted. “You’re still a bit shy around us aren’t you? Well, in order for you to fit in, I guess I should work you just as hard as the others.”

 

“Yea, for the sake of fitting in, go get the supplies Chanyeol.” Baekhyun patted his leg, encouraging him to get off his chair.  

 

“Um, okay, where is it?” Chanyeol scratched the back of his hand, thinking to himself that these guys talked a lot. He realized himself that he hadn’t really contributed too much of their conversations. Although he was an extrovert in school matters, in his personal life it took him a while to really warm up to people and let them in. He knew a lot of people, but he didn’t really have many friends. He was great at acting as though he wasn’t uncomfortable around people, but he always made sure there was a line. But when he looked at this group of different characters he could sense that they were all sincere in their own way. (Even Baekhyun. He made everyone around him feel comfortable, despite the amount of bull that comes out of his square mouth.)

 

“In my car, Kyungsoo put it in his red bag, back seat.” Junmyeon informed. “There’s probably a whole bunch of legal size paper and pens.”

 

Chanyeol nodded as Junmyeon pulled out his car keys and unlocked the car.

 

“You don’t know how to hotwire by any chance, do you?” Baekhyun joked. Chanyeol chuckled at his remark and shook his head.

 

“Dammit,” Sehun cursed and got flicked by Junmyeon. Chanyeol left, snickering as Sehun rubbed his forehead.

 

They were an interesting (read: crazy) group and Chanyeol was kind of okay with their noisy presence.

 

Humming to himself, he arrived at the car and opened the back door. It had gotten dark quicker than he had expected so it was too dark in the car to see clearly. He reached over to the front of the car and switched on the light.

 

Okay, red bag, he looked around. He spotted in on the floor, probably having fallen while they were hastily getting out of the car. He picked it up from the straps. but mentally swore because apparently it wasn’t zipped so everything fell out of the bag once he picked it up. He heard small objects rolling around the floor of the car.

 

“ .” He face-palmed as he thought about having to reach under the car seats to pick everything up.

 

Sounds of complaint were released from his mouth as he laid down on the seats. He put the bag aside and began picking up the things closest to him. There was a small black notebook, some loose paper, and the papers Junmyeon wanted. He threw them in the empty space behind him one by one. Then he stretched his arm underneath the driver’s seat and felt around to find some stationary. They joined the pile behind him. He repeated the same in the passenger’s seats. After around 10 minutes of searching, Chanyeol had a pile of things. He decided that it was enough, because if he stayed there any longer the others guys would think he got lost along the way.

 

He grabbed the paper and a whole bunch of pens and put them on his lap. Not wanting to take too long getting back, he started to hastily throw everything in the backpack. While rushing, he accidently dropped the black notebook back onto the floor. He made sure everything was in the bag first before picking it up. He bent down and blindly felt around for it until he came in contact with it. He held the notebook by clutching a couple of pages and picked it up.

 

            He put the book on his lap to check the condition of the pages, in case the corners were wrinkled because of the fall or his rough hold, but the content on the page caught his attention. On one page, there was a large and perfectly traced pentagram, drawn with thick ink. When his eyes flitted around the page, they squinted at the title: Resurrection Ritual, Trial 3.

 

“What the hell?” Chanyeol whispered in shock. He continued to read.

 

The animal sacrifice did not work for trial 2. The witch did not show up. Getting another sacrifice will be too much work, especially cleaning it up.

 

Alternative ritual:

Draw a pentagram over the grave and put candles by the headstone.

Spell: For thou who sleeps in stone and clay, heed this call, rise up and obey, trek on through the Mortal door, assemble flesh and walk once more.

Results: gust of wind; candles blow out; no scheming witches; Jung-ah imo will come back to us.

 

Chanyeol stopped reading, unsure of how he should be feeling at...whatever that was. He flipped to the front to see if there was a name. Behind the cover, in the same neat, consistent handwriting were the words ‘Property of Do Kyungsoo”.

 

Chanyeol shivered.

 

He flicked through the book to make sure it wasn’t a joke. But there were pictures of crossroads, pentagons with candles inside, and materials. It was looked like a black magic diary. He’d thought Kyungsoo was hostile and intimidating, but now he was freaked out, but still slightly intrigued. He didn’t really know many people that believed in or practiced black magic. Not that he wanted to find out if it actually worked.

 

He made sure that the book was in good condition, not wanting to leave evidence of him having seen it in case Kyungsoo was picky about others touching his stuff. He slid it into the bag, carefully. He picked up the materials that Junmyeon had asked him to get and hopped out of the car. He had some things to verify about what he had just discovered. After that, he swore he would leave the book behind him since it was none of his business.

 

He fast-walked to where everyone was camped. They were conversing quietly when Chanyeol caught sight of them. They looked up when they heard his footsteps.

 

“You made it back, buddy,” Baekhyun congratulated him, offering him a high-five. Chanyeol slapped his hand and handed Junmyeon the supplies before sitting down.

 

“Thanks Chanyeol,” he smiled. He began passing down the paper to the ‘couples’, one each, along with the pens. “Alright, here’s what you are to write. What do you believe your partner to be like? What are their best characteristics and what are their worst? What would you change about them and why? For Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, it’d be good to write down your first impressions too. And add anything else you want the other person to know. Remember, honesty is the highest form of intimacy. Don’t lie to your family. Now start writing, make sure not to let the others see your note.”

 

The couples followed their orders without complaint. Most of them were probably curious about what their partner would write about them (Chanyeol) or they were excited about writing everything wrong about their partner with the agreement that the other could not get mad at them (Sehun).

 

Everyone was quiet, only the scratching of pen on paper could be heard, interjected by Baekhyun’s bored sighs. Chanyeol stopped writing every once in a while to think. He didn’t really know a lot about Kyungsoo. He guessed that was something he could bring up. He looked over to Kyungsoo to see try to remember anything else, only to find that he had his pen and paper on the floor and was busy biting his finger while studying the sky.

 

Had he even written anything? Chanyeol wondered. Now he was really curious.

 

Eventually, everyone finished one by one, Kyungsoo being first, Kai next, then Chanyeol and finally Sehun, who seemed to be having a lot of fun with this. They were asked to switch papers with their partners and flip it over on their lap. While that was happening, Chanyeol took the chance to ask Baekhyun some questions about Kyungsoo.

 

“Hey, Baekhyun. I was wondering if something happened to..umm...Kyungsoo’s family? He looks kind of upset.” Chanyeol tried.

 

“Does he?” Baekhyun looked over to Kyungsoo but Chanyeol turned him towards himself whispering ‘don’t look at him, it’ll make him think we’re talking to him’ to which Baekhyun replied ‘but we are’.

 

“Um, yea, I think his aunt recently passed away. They were really close, she taught him everything she knew.” About what? Chanyeol wanted to ask, but Junmyeon interrupted their Q&A session to instruct Sehun and Kai to flip over their papers.

 

Kai read his first.

 

“Dear kkamjong, this is I, Sehun. I’m sure you know that you’re my best bro, my best hoe. Even if other hoes be coming my way, I’ll always return to you at the end of the night. So don’t be jealous that I got so many people kissing my feet.” Kai looked over at Sehun, eyebrows raised at his language, but continued reading.

 

“If you are jealous, you should make more friends too. ‘Cause that’s your problem. You don’t want to meet new people. I get that people might be intimidated by the fact that you are friends with the great Oh Sehun but if you let people see your friendly side, you would be more approachable too. People are not going to eat you, so stop looking like you want to eat them. Yes, you are selective and cautious, that’s not a bad thing. But it doesn’t hurt to talk to your classmates sometime. Make a study group and go to the library or out to eat. Go on a group date. I don’t know, just don’t be so dependent on just your current friends. Don’t follow me and Kyungsoo hyung around.”

 

“Group date? I can make that happen,” Baekhyun in. Sehun encouraged him with a “Yes!” and Baekhyun told them he’d take care of it then, sealing the promise with a cheesy wink.

 

“Anyway,” Kai continued, stretching out the word, “You ignore people because you are disinterested. And although you’re not trying to be rude, you come of as cold and antisocial when you’re actually a puppy and people like puppies.”

 

“I like cats,” Junmyeon shared.

 

“Let the puppy read,” Kyungsoo chided and shushed him with a finger against his lips.

 

“You know, you have your biggest fanboy here, but you don’t approach him-”

 

“He’s avoiding him actually,” this time Kyungsoo interrupted. “And for good reasons too.”

 

Chanyeol coughed.

 

“You could try to get to know him and become closer. And if you guys have fun together, you can give him your sweaty shirt or something to thank him-”

 

“Okay, whoa! Why would I want that?” Chanyeol defended. Sehun shrugged, shaking his head. Chanyeol turned to Kai. “I don’t want your shirt. I have plenty shirts...of my own,” he assured the younger. Kai chuckled in understanding, and Chanyeol unconsciously beamed at the attention.

 

“Now for my complaints, wear socks. I don’t care if you feel uncomfortable. You are going to get a fungus infection and you won’t be able to dance. And when you can’t, I’m going to laugh at you. Like it’s fine to not wear socks if you’re going to the convenience store real quick, or go down to get the mail. But for the entire day? No. Especially since you borrow my shoes sometimes. Don’t wear my shoes, wear socks.”

 

“This is getting a bit long isn’t it?” Junmyeon pointed out. It was getting late.

 

“It’s almost done.” Kai said. “Another thing, can you wake up on time? I’m always late for my classes because you’re sleeping in. We’ve both done the same amount of practicing and school work. If I can get up on time, then so can you. And stop falling asleep in random places. How do you sleep so quickly? You’re back and neck are always sore. Again, you won’t be able to dance anymore and I’m going to laugh at you. The end.”

 

“Really? That’s how it ends?” Kai re-read the last sentence, seeing if he missed a line or two. He didn’t seem to find any.

 

“What is this, an essay? I need an intro, body and conclusion?” Sehun put on his ‘fight me’ expression. “I ran out of things to say so I ended it. Everyone was already done so I had to finish up to,” he provided.

 

“Do you have any comments on this?” Junmyeon asked Kai.

 

“I guess most of it is true, exaggerated, but true,” he admits. “I’m sorry for avoiding you Chanyeol hyung. I didn’t really know I had male fans, but I don’t think it’s weird.” Chanyeol could feel the back of his neck heat up as he talked about him as if he were a fanboy love-struck a male idol.  “I mean, I’m a big fan of Michael Jackson, and that’s not weird.”

 

“Did you just compare yourself to MJ?” Sehun scoffed. “Keep dreaming.”

 

“No, I’m just trying to put it in a different perspective," he whined. "I'll want to get closer with you hyung. I haven't really seen much from you to judge how you are, but so far, I'd say you're cool. I do want to get to know you better.”

 

He knocked his shoes together in embarrassment, but he looked at Chanyeol with friendly determination. And Chanyeol, always the suave guy, dumbly replied with, “um...yea, me too.”

 

“We can start by you calling me Jongin instead of Kai? Kai’s my stage name, so…” Kai suggested.

 

“Sure, Jongin,” Chanyeol tried out the name.

 

“Alright, it’s my turn.” Sehun announced. He looked expectantly at the paper on this lap.

 

“I wish I had been harder with it now,” Kai Jongin hissed.

 

Sehun rubbed the back of Jongin’s neck. “Don’t worry baby, I’m happy with anything you write.” His arm was roughly slapped away and he turned the note over while laughing.

 

“Sehunnie-” he wiped fake tears, “he called me Sehunnie.”

 

“I think that you’re pretty mature for your age, well, for how you behave on a normal basis anyway. People have this frat boy/party animal image of you but there’s more to you than that. Even though you act stupid and bratty most of the time, you are very caring to all of your hyungs and friends. You look out for everyone, cheer us up and give us support when we need it. That is a quality of yours that is very underrated.”

 

“Why are you so nice?” Sehun asked.

 

“Exactly, I wonder why. All you did was complain about me,” Sehun blew kisses at him, then went back to reading.

 

“That’s probably why people feel comfortable around you even though you . Keep that attitude of yours. Now for my one complaint, dude, what’s with the -”

 

“What’s wrong with ?” Sehun backfired.

 

“Keep reading,” Jongin repeated.

 

“I think you have an addiction. Like, your collection is HUGE. You have series and everything is organized by kinks. I mean, you can’t even organize your binder.”

 

“Are they any good?” Baekhyun asked Jongin.

 

“Why the hell are you asking me?” Jongin demanded, nose crinkling in disgust. “Ew, gross.”

 

Behind Jongin, Sehun mouthed, “So good, so good,” complete with two thumbs ups, before Jongin turned around to glare at him. He went back to reading, acting innocent.

 

“It’s taking up all the space on our bookshelf. We bought that so we could use it together. I have keep majority of my stuff under the bed because there’s no room. Oh, and I know that you’re the reason why our toilet paper runs out so quickly. You need help. It’s not healthy, I’ve read articles, I swear. Go get a girlfriend or something.”

 

“I guess a group date is necessary at this point,” Baekhyun noted. “Everyone’s desperate and .”

 

“I hope you can solve this problem of yours to become a more considerate roommate to me and everyone. Despite your flaws though, love you bro,” Sehun ended.

 

“Any comments?” Junmyeon started.

 

“It was all fine and dandy until he started dissing my videos,” Sehun offered.

 

“Your videos are disgusting,” Jongin exclaimed.

 

“You prude,” Sehun retorted. “Just cause you don’t like it doesn’t mean it .”

 

“It does , but I’m not saying to stop completely. Just let up a bit. Get a hobby or a girlfriend. Too much is never good. As long as you can agree, I don’t have a problem.”

 

“I haven’t watched any in a while. I’ve been too busy with my project,” Sehun pointed out. “But okay, if it makes you uncomfortable, I can limit how often I watch them. Anything for my best hoe,” he finished, holding out a fist.

 

Jongin begrudgingly bumped his own with Sehun’s, but broke out into a small smile.

 

This must be the ‘true friendship’ people always talk about, Chanyeol regarded.

 

“Beautiful,” Junmyeon sniffled at the younger pair’s resolution. “One couple down, one more to go.” He turned his seat towards the other side. “Okay, Chanyeol. You can begin reading Kyungsoo’s note to you.”

 

Chanyeol cleared his throat and held the paper up.

 

“When I first saw you, you were blocking the front door. I had an appointment with my Beyblade at exactly 4:23 pm but you made me late. Four minutes late to be exact. I did not appreciate that.” Chanyeol furrows his eyebrow, already not liking where this was going. “You didn’t have to kick me, you know,” he argued.

 

“No,” Kyungsoo wagged his finger at Chanyeol, “it had to be done,” he explained.

 

Chanyeol continued to stare at him. The notebook he found invaded his thoughts and warned him to not argue with the shorter.

 

“I saw the way you were eyeing my Beyblade. I knew you were a threat to us that moment. No one looks at my top except for me. Clearly you don’t have any consideration to other’s possessions.” Chanyeol wondered if that was an insult.

 

“I attempted to get rid of you - several times actually.” Chanyeol’s spit got stuck in his throat. He coughed, looking at Kyungsoo from the corner of his eyes. He was staring straight at him, without blinking, head tilted down and eyebrows pulled in. Junmyeon let out a gasp but aside from him, the others were unfazed by Kyungsoo’s confession.

 

“Jongin told me to stop though, because I was dropping candle wax on the front. And voodoo dolls are overrated. I was running out of methods, so I guess you got lucky. Also, you look like an old man with your gray hair. I’m sure it’s all dead now. I can’t even use it for anything, so you’re pretty useless. I’d ask for your armpit hair, but that’s unhygienic.” Chanyeol grimaced at the thought of Kyungsoo handling his armpit hair. “But I guess if you don’t touch my stuff, specially my Beyblade, and you don’t interfere with any of my practices, I can live with you peacefully.”

 

“Thank you,” Chanyeol replied to...Kyungsoo’s truce? He wrote very little, which was expected since they didn’t talk enough. The one thing Chanyeol was not suspecting was the comment about his hair color. He had wanted to try something new. It didn’t make him look like an old man, this hair color was trendy and cool. In response to that, he would like to add that Kyungsoo looked like a man-child, barely a 170 cm tall, he was a twenty year old with the face of a middle schooler. He held it in, because he felt that it was inappropriate.

 

Instead he figured he should try his best to make the other like him. “I won’t go after Beyblade,” he promised. “But if you want to watch it with me we can. I tend to watch a lot of anime,” he proposed.

 

Kyungsoo looked at him. Chanyeol waited for his reply, but he just picked up Chanyeol’s paper.

 

He launched into reading it, ignoring Chanyeol’s offer. “Ahem.”

 

“Dear Kyungsoo, hello, this is Chanyeol. I guess you already knew that though so there really isn’t a point in introducing myself. But yea, hello. We don’t really talk enough for me to have complaints, but I can start with my first impression of you.”

 

Kyungsoo surprisingly didn’t read the letter monotonously as Chanyeol expected. He made sure to emphasize Chanyeol’s awkwardness to his horror.

 

“I thought you had a strong kick, you know, since you kicked me. I was sore for a couple of days. No hard feelings though. But you should try soccer or take up some kickboxing. You might like it. Also, I like anime, so when I saw your Beyblade I was excited that we shared something in common. I have tops at home that I could’ve brought so we could play together. But you seem to be the type of person that likes to play alone, so, that’s cool too.”

 

“Hyung likes watching anime too!” Jongin shared. “Maybe you guys can have an anime date.”

 

Kyungsoo glared at the younger. Chanyeol took that as a no.

 

“From what I’ve seen, you’re close to the other guys. I would like to become good friend with you in the future, near future, if you would like to, you know, try to be good friends with me. I don’t have a lot of friends, or any now that I think about it, but I don’t think that I would mind trying to tear down some walls for you and the other guys. Please be nice to me,” , Chanyeol cringed, it’s sounded like he was begging, “and I hope that we can enjoy some fun experiences with each other.”

 

“So Kyungsoo, how do you feel after reading that?” Junmyeon asked.

 

“He doesn’t have friends?” Kyungsoo replied.

 

“That’s not an emotion.”

 

“Um, pity?” Kyungsoo tried.

 

“We’re your friends though, Channie,” Baekhyun cooed.

 

“I guess. But we haven’t known each other a long time though. So, I’m still a bit cautious,” Chanyeol admitted.

 

“Now that I think about it,” Sehun said, “You haven’t told us why you moved from your previous apartment. And it’s not a money problem because our apartment is way more expensive.”

 

“Yea, we don’t know,”Jongin agreed. He quickly added, “Unless it’s personal, then you’re not obligated to tell us. But if you did, it would help us all become closer to you?”

 

“It’s nothing big, um...I caught my roommate sleeping with my girlfriend. I mean ex-girlfriend.” Someone gasped. “That was kind of scarring, not in an emotional ‘I’ll never be the same’ way but ‘I couldn’t forget what I saw if I’d stayed there’. It was disgusting.” Chanyeol shivered. He tried to block the image from flashing in his thoughts but failed.

 

“So, no heartbreak?” Junmyeon asked.

 

“Oh, no. I mean, my roommate fools around a lot and my girlfriend and I weren’t that serious then.”

 

He hesitated, “She said she liked me and seemed nice. I’d never dated before so I wanted to try it, hoping that I could learn to like her as we dated.” He scoffed. “That didn’t end well.”

 

“That’s alright. You run into some bumps when dating. I hope you don’t have any ideas about totally giving up on love,” Junmyeon comforted him. Chanyeol shook his head. It was one bad experience. He’s always been quick to pick himself up when life knocks him down.

 

“You can tell us anything, really,” Junmyeon continued. “We’d be honored to be able to learn more about you.” His accent was in effect once again.

 

“Yea, I’d say you have been accepted into our squad,” Sehun declared. Jongin nodded.

 

“Since the rest have accepted you,” Kyungsoo spoke up, “I guess I must succumb to peer pressure,” he sighed. “If you need any help, I’d be happy to whip up something to solve your problem.” His right eye twitched. Chanyeol wondered for a brief moment if that was meant to be a wink.

 

“Thanks, guys. That means a lot.” Chanyeol looked around the circle.

 

There’d been a lot of talk about becoming friends, and the idea of trust had been thrown around a lot. There was a lot that he didn’t know about them, but he wasn’t in a rush. He figured he would slowly learn more about them. He’d already seen the great dynamic and their honesty. There was something holding him back from being open to others.

 

He thought about how much time he was going to spend with them and how comfortable he was with them already. He had fun listening to them banter. He enjoyed each of their personalities and found that despite the fact that they all had their faults, they were still great people. Even Kyungsoo seemed like a good person. He must be as reserved as Chanyeol. Though he comes off as creepy, his interactions with the others are friendly.

 

Like Junmyeon had told them in the beginning, this was an opportunity. To be able to be in the company of such people, ‘a family’ as he called them, it’d be as waste to let them go because he was insecure. He didn’t want to end up living with roommates, only to feel lonelier, as he had in his previous apartment. He wanted real friends and a real girlfriend. He has for a really long time, but he’s always been afraid.

 

It would take time. It wasn’t going to happen immediately. He may have joined their family, but it would take time for him to understand each of them to the fullest extent. He didn’t want to be friendly because he had to, but he wanted a real bond between them.

 

And he knows, that that would come with time. But it also needed initiative. So he decided he would start with honesty. To put himself out there first and let the rest happen on its own.

 

His palms began to sweat and he began shifting in his seat. He’s never talked to anyone about anything before. He didn’t know how to, but he had to try.

 

“I actually have an older brother,” he began. Everyone’s attention was on him. “Um, I’m not ashamed of it or anything, but we’ve had a hard time with people.”

 

He took a deep breath. “He has an Intellectual Disability. He’s really cool though. We grew up watching anime together and playing instruments so loud the neighbours complained.” Chanyeol smiled at the memory. “He’s a really good brother and a really good friend, but the other kids couldn’t really see that. They made fun of him a lot, and me too, because I defended him. I didn’t understand why they were so mean to us, until I grew up and learnt more about his condition.”

 

“Even when we got older, people’s reactions didn’t change. They were more subtle about it, yes. But there was always fake empathy and care. It didn’t really give me a very good impression of people. I developed this idea that everyone was fake like that, which made it hard for me to accept people into my life.” His parents’ friends would show sympathy, but Chanyeol had always found them gossiping about his family at the mall or the park.

 

“I’ve matured now though.” He’d lived in only a small part of the world, with a small part of the population. Once he’d moved out and met more people, he had begun to see that not everyone was the same. “I can see that there are different types of people, all over the spectrum of characteristics. But I’m still wary of how much I can trust them.”

 

Baekhyun didn’t hesitate. “You can trust us,” he encouraged. “Like we said. You’re a part of our quad. A new recruit to our Avengers team.”

 

“Thanks for telling us that Chanyeol,” Junmyeon smiled. “I’m glad that you opened up to us about that, we all are. We don’t judge based on anything but character. There are horrible people out there, but there is still a lot genuineness and love around. You just have to find it.”

 

“And you found it, didn’t you?” Jongin stated. “We’re might argue sometimes, or say stupid things to each other. But that’s how we show affection for each other. We’re not perfect, but no one is really. And you don’t have to be. You just need to love the people who love you.”

 

Sehun hugged him, whispering, “Well, said brother.”

 

Chanyeol beamed at his words, because he couldn’t have said it any better.

 

Baekhyun nudged him. “What’s your brother’s name?” he asked.

 

“Chanhyuk, Park Chanhyuk.”

 

“Park Chanyeol and Park Chanhyuk,” Baekhyun sang, “that’s cute. I have an older brother too.” He put an arm around Chaneyol. “You know what they say right?”

 

“What?”

 

“Younger siblings make the best of friends. So, we younger siblings should stick together.”

 

“I’ve never heard that before,” Chanyeol laughed. Baekhyun shushed him and Chanyeol decided to believe his bull just this once.

 

“I only have noonas,” Jongin shared. “Not that that’s bad, but while you watched TV and played instruments with your hyung, they just dressed me up,” he pouted.

 

“You guys had like a sibling band?” Sehun asked, ignoring Jongin who murmured ‘No one shares my pain’ under his breath .

 

“Yea, I played drums and he played guitar,” Chanyeol grinned. “We still do actually. We’re awesome.”

 

“We’ll come to your concert if you guys get anywhere,” Baekhyun promised.

 

“I’ll save V.I.P seats for you.”

 

“Look at us, all bonding and stuff,” Junmyeon cheered as he stretched. “And you guys doubted me when I said this trip would help our family.” He clapped for himself.

 

“I don’t want to admit it, but wow, this trip actually wasn’t that useless,” Sehun agreed.

 

“We went from drinking coke to organizing concert visits,” Jongin mused.

 

“Crazy day,” Baekhyun hummed.

 

“It was fun,” Chanyeol added, feeling a jittery at having shared so much with them. He felt excited and happy rather than worried. He was pretty pissed at having been woken up so early with a proper explanation, but he was glad that Junmyeon organized this.

 

“I’m a genius,” Junmyeon bragged.

 

“Fine Mr. Genius,” Sehun spat. “Are we going home now, I’m starving?”

 

While the youngest pair were asking Junmyeon about their next course of actions, Chanyeol’s attention on them was broken as Kyungsoo leaned over Baekhyun to get closer to Chanyeol.

 

“What’s your blood type?” he asked.

 

“A,” Chanyeol answered without a thought. Then he froze, trying to figure out why that information could be relevant to him and why now.

 

“Hmm,” Kyungsoo rubbed his chin in deep thought. “If you give me a few strands of your hair when it’s not dead, I can guarantee that we’ll be the best of friends.”

 

“Why do you need my hair?” Chanyeol asked, suspicious.

 

“It’s a normal thing here. I take everyone’s hair. Just experimenting,” Kyungsoo answered.

 

“Um,” Chanyeol thought back to the first day he met the guys and how Kyungsoo had asked Baekhyun for his hair. It wouldn’t hurt to give him his hair right? If it makes the boy happy, so why not? “Sure,” he agreed.

 

Kyungsoo smiled wide. “Good, we have a deal then.”

 

Chanyeol nodded, and Kyungsoo slid back into his seat.

 

As Chanyeol listened to Junmyeon, Sehun and Jongin, it was Baekhyun that leaned over this time.

 

“You know,” he whispered, tone sounding amused, “his aunt was type A.” He smirked mysteriously and went back to his seat as though nothing had happened.

 

Chanyeol blinked at him then Kyungsoo.

 

What did I just agree too?

 

 

 

 

---

Part 2 is here and finished.

Apologies for any grammar mistakes. I got lazy while editing this.

I guess the story is finally beginning? I hope nothing was too awkward here.

It will continue to be crack, but more characters will be introduced, along with character development. 

Thank you for reading!

Comments, subscriptions and votes are appreciated. 

Have a great day!

-rainy_streets

Happy Tuesday! - magicbox