II

“For Pumpkin’s sake!”

“Baekhyun, can you stop talking and water the plant instead?” Kyungsoo said tiredly as he tried to cover Baekhyun’s little mistake; the leaves were burnt, and everyone who looked at them would know that fire must be involved. When it came to fire, only one person came to mind: Byun Baekhyun. When it came to Byun Baekhyun and plants, Do Kyungsoo was to be included as well. “Damn,” Kyungsoo muttered as he brought the flower closer to him and inspected the leaves. “There’s no way I could endure this .”

Baekhyun, who was holding a bag of fertilizers headed towards the frustrated top student, nose scrunched in irritation. So, the both of them did get away from being sent home for reflection, but they got another punishment instead: they had to take care of Professor Lee’s small farm which was located at one of the most desolated parts in the school. Professor Lee was always notoriously known to keep his farm neglected most of the times, and the fact that the plants were the Outside’s didn’t help as well; plants from the Outside got damaged easily.

The location was a problem, but the fact that the both of them had to make sure that the all the plants survive till the end of their penalty was another. How were two students going to take care of those stuffs? Baekhyun could barely put the necessary amount of fertilizers without having Kyungsoo to scream at him because ‘you’re going to kill those plants, moron!’

Kyungsoo had been and still was running around the farm, desperately making sure that Baekhyun wasn’t doing anything idiotic. Just now, Kyungsoo found Baekhyun trying to cut off the burnt leaves.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked as he snatched the vase from Baekhyun’s hand. “I sacrificed myself to mend those plants you’ve messed with and here you are harassing some plants?”

“I was trying to save this little flower,” Baekhyun answered. “It’s better off without the burnt leaves.”

“Every plant’s better off without your hands,” Kyungsoo retorted before he placed the plant on top of the table, grabbed a chair, and began inspecting it. “Tell me, Baekhyun. You’ve cut some of the leaves,” he stated sternly, “didn’t you?”

Folding his arms, Baekhyun said, “I did.”

“You’re stupid.” Kyungsoo covered the branch with his bare hand and waited for a few seconds before he uncovered it. There were several tiny leaves on the branch, slowly growing before they stopped when they finally reached their maximum size. It was fishy and obvious – and Professor Lee was sure to know that these leaves were not naturally grown, but it’s better to put some effort than doing nothing. And it was better that Kyungsoo prayed that Professor Lee won’t suddenly feel enthusiastic to see how this farm was faring.

Baekhyun hummed while rubbing his fingertips against the leaves. “You used more magic than I’ve used since I was born.”

“Well, I don’t think that the rule makes sense,” Kyungsoo answered, and Baekhyun was taken aback upon hearing it. “Using it is what makes our magic stronger, since the more we use it, the more understanding we gain about the nature of our magic. Thus, we can manipulate our magic easier and efficiently.”

Baekhyun applauded. “It’s good hearing that from a top student.”

“Why do you think I’m a top student?”

Baekhyun pretended to think deeply, nodding his head thoughtlessly before he snapped his finger. “It’s because you’re using magic!”

“If you didn’t exclaim you would’ve sounded smarter.”

“So? Sounding smart doesn’t make me smart,” Baekhyun answered and before Kyungsoo was able to say anything in return, Baekhyun was already approaching a vegetable batch.

Kyungsoo trailed after him, afraid that Baekhyun was probably thinking of burning the whole batch or call an army of caterpillars to eat the poor vegetables. “Have you seen it before?” he asked.

“Of course,” Baekhyun answered proudly. “This is pumpkin,” he stated confidently.

“They’re actually cucumbers.”

Baekhyun stopped caressing the pumpkin-which-is-actually-cucumber and turned his head hastily to Kyungsoo. “Are you serious?”

Kyungsoo nodded. “Pumpkins are bigger and brighter,” he said. “You don’t go out much, do you?”

Baekhyun seemed offended by the question, Kyungsoo noticed; the way his brows was creased was more than enough to show that he was, indeed, not pleased. It took a few minutes of Baekhyun executing his horrible acting skill – which was no joke, because he honestly thought that pacing back and forth was considered casual and relaxed – before he rested his fists against his tailbone, and faced Kyungsoo.

“I don’t have the kind of privilege that you take for granted,” Baekhyun stated, and it was meant to be offensive and provoking. “I’m not like the others who are free to wander around and blend in with the others at the Outside. Pumpkin, I’ve never even gone Outside.” He sounded sad as he blurted everything out without thinking. “I wish I had more things to amuse me.”

Kyungsoo reached for Baekhyun’s back before he patted it. “It’s not that great at the Outside –“

“See what I meant by taking it for granted?” Baekhyun grunted before he shoved Kyungsoo away. “I don’t care whether it’s great or not; I just wanna experience something other than these massive school buildings, the school compound and having students and professors as the only people I ever talk to.”                                                                  

“You can’t go Outside if your father doesn’t give you permission…” Kyungsoo mumbled while rubbing the soil with his thumb and index finger. “He’s never given you permission even it’s for school trips, right?”

Baekhyun casted a suspicious glance at Kyungsoo. “That’s right,” he said. “But how did you know that?”

“Words travel quite fast, you know.”

“Just in case you’re not aware, the soil turned into ice cubes a while ago,” Baekhyun pointed out, and he spontaneously covered Kyungsoo’s hand with his, melting the cubes. “Now they’ve melted,” he said as the liquid dripped onto the ground from Kyungsoo’s hand.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo muttered, “they did.”  

 

 

“Hey Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol called. “There’s a Byun Baekhyun standing in front of your room?”

Kyungsoo darted out from the bathroom, his hand still holding his toothbrush and his mouth covered with foam. “Why? Did the vegetables die?”

“No,” Baekhyun replied as he ducked under Chanyeol’s arm and headed towards Kyungsoo. He scrutinized Chanyeol who was already in the school uniform, blazer worn neatly and slacks just fit for his long legs. Baekhyun didn’t get the point of the styled hair, though, since all students in their year was supposed to have their practical test today. Practical confrontation test, to be exact, and that meant running, jumping, sliding, flying and burn a hair or two. He pointed at Chanyeol before he asked, “Is this guy your boyfriend?”

Kyungsoo coughed, almost choking on the foam. “I hope that’s a joke,” he said as he went into the bathroom and rinsed his mouth. “Chanyeol and I are best friends.”

“Thought he’s here for a quick .”

Chanyeol’s ears reddened and he immediately excused himself from the room, saying something about how he needed to buy foods from the cafeteria since they probably won’t make it to the hall right on time. Baekhyun just stared at the guy in amusement, definitely getting the best friend-turned-crush vibe.

“Whoa,” Kyungsoo said while wiping his face dry with a clean towel. “That kinda crossed the line.”

Baekhyun stared at Kyungsoo questioningly. “What can I expect when I see you in your boxer?”

“Turn away and stare at the wall?”

“Okay,” Baekhyun replied as he pulled both feet and put them on Kyungsoo’s bed, his body turning away from Kyungsoo and facing the wall. He folded his legs and put his right elbow on his thigh, his face rested on his fist as he stared blankly at the wall. The wall’s plain white, just like Kyungsoo’s skin. No blemishes. Or maybe the correct word was boring? But Kyungsoo wasn’t boring, in Baekhyun’s opinion; he had thought Kyungsoo was, due to the top student status, but after two weeks working together in Professor Lee’s farm, all those thoughts were replaced with the new ones.

“Why did you come? You said that it has nothing to do with the vegetables.” Kyungsoo huffed as he tried to wear his slacks. He was quite annoyed since they were going to have a practical confrontation test and this school uniform was bound to be stripped right before they went to the hall. He really needed to learn to accept this school’s absurd rules. “Hey? Baekhyun?” he called Baekhyun’s name since the guy seemed to be spacing out.

“What do think about the probability of me winning against everyone?” Baekhyun inquired as soon as he snapped out of his trance. He drew circles on his thigh, waiting for Kyungsoo’s answer.

“Quite high,” Kyungsoo answered. “Your fire manipulation skill is quite controlled and it’s your biggest advantage. The downside is, your emotion seems to be easily affected and that decreases the efficiency of your magic execution.” Kyungsoo paused for a while as he contemplated something. “You tend to have overflowing and out-of-control magic when that happens.”

“What about you? What’s the probability of you winning against everyone?” Baekhyun asked as he turned around and faced Kyungsoo who was already fully dressed.

Kyungsoo smiled. “That’s for you to find out.”