Chanyeol first saw Kris on a craft store. The older boy was browsing through the art supplies section, checking out paint brushes and sketch books. Chanyeol was intrigued at how tall the other boy was, and he was even more surprised to note that he also wore the same uniform as Chanyeol’s.

Then Chanyeol took a good look at Kris’ face and he was instantly enamored by the handsome features. Thick eyebrows, striking eyes, high nose, small but full mouth, and pointed chin with defined jawline. It was safe to say that Chanyeol fell in love at second sight.

Chanyeol might or might not have stalked Kris that day. But by the end of the day, he already knew that the taller boy’s name was Kris (thank God for name plate and 20/20 vision), that Kris liked puppies, liked to eat seafood pancake, liked to drink iced Americano and rode home on the 511 bus.

The next day, Chanyeol went to school much much earlier than usual. He hung out on the third floor hallway which had a window overlooking the school’s gate. He waited patiently and had to refrain himself from jumping in joy when he finally saw Kris entering the school ground. He raced to the central staircase to catch a glimpse of the taller boy, and had to swallow down a wave on disappointment as Kris was nowhere to be seen.

He kept a lookout during lunch, scanning the dining hall for any tall and attractive male, but after scanning the entire student populations that occupied the tables, he couldn’t find any trace of Kris. He tried his luck again after school ended. He waited by the school gate for Kris but he was disappointed yet again. Chanyeol went home with slumped shoulders.

The next day, he went to school early again and instead of waiting on the third floor, he sat under the tree by the school gate. He jumped to his feet when he saw Kris entered, and he discreetly followed the other boy. Turned out, Kris was a 3^rd year and his class was on the east wing so he took the side staircases instead of the main one.

Chanyeol felt a little bit happier after discovering this new piece of information. He was determined to find out about Kris’ whereabouts during lunch.

Since Kris never seemed to eat on the dining hall, Chanyeol started to search for other possible places to have lunch. He searched everywhere on the school, the yard, the gym, the rooftop even the library, but so far, Kris still eluded him. He finally got lucky on the third day.

He was walking along the hallway connecting the main building to the auditorium when he happened to look through one of the many doors. That was when he saw Kris. He stopped dead on his track and casted a quick glance on the placard above the door.

Art Club.

He shuffled closer and peeked through one of the windows. The sight that greeted him almost made him melted in a poodle of happy goo.

Kris was sitting on a stool, facing a large canvas. The easel was angled away from the door, so Chanyeol couldn’t see what Kris was working on but the older man had a serious expression on his face. His lips were pursed in a cute pout and his brows furrowed in concentration.  He had a palette full of paints on one hand, while the other was holding a brush he elegantly swiped across the canvas.

Chanyeol didn’t know how long he stood there on the hallway, but he was jolted out of his trance when the bell rang. He threw one last longing gaze at Kris before he hurried back to his class.

Chanyeol developed a routine for the following days. He would sit under the tree to wait for Kris and followed him up to the end of the third floor side staircase, admiring the other boy’s broad back from a safe distance away.

He spent his lunch outside on the inner yard, choosing a spot that granted him a view into the Art Club. His new vantage point only allowed him to see Kris’ side profile but it was still a breathtaking view nonetheless. Chanyeol knew he had it bad for his senior, but admiring Kris from afar was enough.

He didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention to himself by confessing to Kris. High school had enough drama as it was; no need to add to it. At least that was what he told himself, but in reality, Chanyeol was just afraid. He knew he would be so heartbroken if Kris’ reject his confession. So he contented himself with just watching the object his affection. It was safer. It was enough.

 

*****

 

Then one day Chanyeol saw Kris with another boy. They were obviously on the same club since the new boy had on an apron splattered with paints. He was standing slightly behind Kris, one hand rubbing at his chin. They seemed to be discussing Kris’ painting because once in a while the new boy would point at the canvas and Kris would tilt his head adorably before making a comment.

They seemed so comfortable with each other; Chanyeol had to look away for a moment out of envy. When he returned his gaze, a surge of jealousy waved over him. The new boy had one hand on Kris’ shoulder and Kris was laughing. Laughing.

Kris looked even more handsome when he laughed. His eyes crinkled at the edges, his lips pulled in an adorable gummy smile and his shoulders shook in mirth. Chanyeol would pay a fortune to hear the sound of Kris’ laugh.

Chanyeol never saw Kris laughed before and for some reason, he wanted to be the one who made Kris laughed like that. In that moment, several startling revelations dawned on Chanyeol.

First, only looking from afar was not enough anymore.

Second, Kris was already on his last year and Chanyeol only had a little time left to be with Kris.

Third, that new boy better moved his hand away from Kris’ shoulder or Chanyeol would gladly do it for him.

 

*****

 

Chanyeol fixed his tie and hair. He put on his trademarked teeth rich smile and knocked on the club room’s door.

“Enter.” A deep voice answered, and Chanyeol’s inside was momentarily turned into mush because gosh, that was Kris’ voice!

He opened the door and stepped inside. He gave a full 90 degrees bow to Kris and proceeded to introduce himself.

“Anyeonghaseyo sunbae-nim. I’m Park Chanyeol from class 2-B and I would like to join the art club!” He said enthusiastically.

Kris looked at him with a blank expression and Chanyeol felt his enthusiasm deflated a bit.

“Uh, sunbae-nim?” Chanyeol said again.

Kris seemed to be shaken from his daze and he stood up so fast he knocked over his stool.

“Come back after school.” He said in a rush as he stepped forward before stopping abruptly. “Uh, Joonmyeon is the president and he only comes by after school. You should talk to him. I’m only a member here. Come back after school. Joonmyeon is here after school.”

If Chanyeol was in his right mind, he would’ve noticed Kris’ weird behavior. But Chanyeol was too busy fanboying over Kris’ deep voice he barely noticed anything else aside from the fact that Kris is talking to me! Kris is talking to meeeee!

So Chanyeol only nodded and croaked out “I’ll see you after school then” before he bolted out of the room.

If he had looked back instead of skipping away, he would have caught the tinge of pink dusting Kris’ cheeks.

 

*****

 

Chanyeol came back to the club room after school and true to Kris’ words, there were more members gathered there. He knocked and entered with another dazzling smile. His smile lost some of its wattage when he noticed that Kris had moved his easel to the very back of the room. A bubbly and cheery boy welcomed him and Chanyeol introduced himself again, only half bowing since he had no idea whether the boy was his senior or not.

Turned out, the boy was Joonmyeon, a third year and president of the art club. He gladly accepted Chanyeol and after some rummaging around, he produced a form and asked Chanyeol to fill it. Chanyeol pulled out a pen from his bag and diligently filled out the form and signed it. He returned the filled out form to Joonmyen.

Joomyeon took the sheet of paper and add his own signature on the paper. “I’ll get Lay to have Mr. Shim signed this too. It will earn you extra credit. Lay is our secretary by the way. And Mr. Shim is our advisor. Now let me introduce you to the other members, not everyone is here, but you can meet the rest during club meeting. Club meetings are on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month.”

Joonmyeon then called for attention and introduced Chanyeol to the room. Chanyeol bowed and smiled as the members who were present introduced themselves one by one. He noticed that the boy who was with Kris wasn’t there. Kris was the last one to welcome Chanyeol and he was doing it while half hidden behind his canvas.

Chanyeol didn’t mind because Oh My God! I’m in the same club with Kris!!!!

Once the introduction was completed, Joonmyeon returned to his own easel and sat down on the stool.

“You can take a look around for now. You can start a project too if you want. We have some spare brushes and paints, but the color selections are limited. I’m afraid you have to bring your own sketchbook and canvas. We don’t get enough budgets to buy everything.” Joonmyeon said in an apologetic tone before he continued his work.

Chanyeol only nodded as he looked around the room. Several cabinets and shelves filled with supplies were pushed up against the front wall of the room with a small sink on the farthest corner. A number of windows lined the side walls, the curtains pulled open to let natural light into the room. Several worktables occupied the center of the room, with easels and stool scattered here and there on the remaining spaces. The back wall was covered in several giant foam boards filled with the members’ drawings, sketches and photos.

Chanyeol was drawn by the multitude of colors and shapes so he walked over to take a closer look. He was genuinely interested in the artworks, but it was a nice bonus that Kris was also situated at the back.

Chanyeol went through the many pieces, some were better than the others while some were just plain weird. Every piece had a name of the artist written on the bottom left corner and Chanyeol meticulously went over each one, hoping to find one of Kris’.

He was too busy browsing through the artworks on the walls he failed to notice that Kris was watching him from the corner of his eyes.

Chanyeol was disappointed because he didn’t find any of Kris’ pieces but since the older boy was literally painting only three feet away, Chanyeol could just marched up to him and see what Kris was working on. He pasted on his most charming smile and walked to Kris. Who promptly dragged a brown cloth and draped it over his easel, hiding his canvas from view.

Chanyeol stopped on his track and he could feel his smile cracking. “Uhhh…” He said intelligently.

But Kris had got up from his chair and stood before his easel, as if shielding it. “It’s almost 6. We need to leave the club room before 6. School’s policy. No club activities after 6.” Kris said in a monotone.

Chanyeol looked at the senior blankly, but he got the hint. Kris didn’t want him to see his painting. Chanyeol was so discouraged he felt his smile fell of his face completely. Kris must have seen his changed expression because there was a flash of something in his sharp gaze.

But Chanyeol couldn’t bear to be near Kris any longer, so he turned around and quickly excused himself to the rest of the club. He practically ran out of the room. He knew it was unreasonable, but Kris’ rejection had stung. It had stung so badly Chanyeol felt like sitting on the floor and threw a tantrum of epic proportion.

He didn’t though.

It was too early in the game to have a meltdown.

 

*****

 

Kris sighed as he saw Chanyeol exited through the door. He didn’t mean to be so abrupt with the younger boy. But Chanyeol had made him nervous. He glanced at his easel and huffed out a puff of air.

Maybe he shouldn’t continue working on this particular piece on the club room anymore. Maybe it would be best to take it home and keep it there.

 

*****

 

After fleeing the club room, Chanyeol went to the nearest shopping district to buy some sketchbook for himself. Truthfully, Chanyeol had no idea how to draw, the best he could do was some doodles. He came to the club with the sole purpose of befriending Kris but he thought he might as well take this opportunity to actually learn something about art. Who knew, he might turned out to be talented or something.

Chanyeol browsed through the offered selections. He was at a loss of what to buy. He never knew that there were so many size and type of sketchbooks. He was ready to just grab whatever his hand landed on when a deep voice spoke from beside him.

“Pick a medium sized one. Ring bound.”

Chanyeol turned around so fast he almost gave himself a whiplash. Kris was standing on his left, eyes on the stack of sketchbooks in front of him. Before Chanyeol could say anything, the older boy had moved to the next shelf and picked out a pencil and an eraser.

“This pencil is good. This eraser too.” He held out the two items to Chanyeol.

As soon as Chanyeol took the items, Kris nodded and walked out of the store, leaving a flabbergasted Chanyeol behind.

Chanyeol was still rooted to the spot, he could only watch as Kris’ back disappeared from view. But then he broke into a happy grin.  Chanyeol picked up a ring bound, medium sized sketchbook before bounding happily to the checkout counter.

Kris didn’t say much, but Chanyeol was sure the senior was trying to apologize for what happened back at the club room. It was small, but a progress was still a progress.

 

*****

 

The next day, Chanyeol waited for Kris from his spot on the third floor hallway. Since Kris knew him already, it would be too obvious if Chanyeol waited under the tree. He felt a bit down since he wouldn’t be able to watch Kris’ back as he climbed the stairs, but the thought of spending lunch hour with Kris on the club room consoled him.

Chanyeol was restless during class; he tapped his feet impatiently, waiting for the recess bell to ring. When it finally rang, Chanyeol was the first to bolt out of the room, barely waiting to bow at the teacher.

He half ran to the club room, one hand holding his lunch bag while the other held his brand new sketchbook. He had woken up early that morning to prepare sandwiches for his lunch. He had made more than usual, intending on sharing it with Kris. He planned to nonchalantly offer some to the other boy, pretending that his mom just happened to pack extra to avoid any suspicions.

He knocked on the door and without waiting for answer, slid the door open and stepped inside. He had a cheerful greeting on the tip of his tongue but had to swallow it down because he did not just see that other boy ran his hand through Kris’ hair.

His entrance drew the attentions of the two previous occupants of the room. They stared at each other in awkward silence before that other boy broke the silence with a dimpled smile and waved Chanyeol in.

“Hello. You must be Chanyeol, the new member. Joonmyeon told me about you. I’m Lay, the secretary.” Lay had stepped forward and offered his hand to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol placed his stuffs on the table before taking Lay’s hand and shook it. “Yeah, I’m Chanyeol.”

Lay was looking at him with a secret smile on his face. Chanyeol didn’t know what to make of it so he sat down and flipped open his book. Lay let out a small chuckle before he went to sit in front of one of the easels. He picked up his palette and brush and started to work on his canvas while humming a soft tune under his breath.

Chanyeol glanced at Kris and found that the other boy was working on his sketchbook. He shifted his gaze to the easel and with a pang of disappointment realized that it was empty.

Kris had gotten rid of the canvas.

With a dejected sigh Chanyeol opened his lunch bag and took out two containers from inside. He opened one and walked to Lay.

“Would you like some?” He asked. “My mom made extra.” He added.

Lay looked up and smiled at him. “Thank you.” He said as he took two.

“You’re welcome.” He nodded. Gathering his courage, he walked over to Kris.

“Thank you for helping me out yesterday sunbae-nim.” He started. “These are for you.” He added as he held out the container to Kris.

Kris closed his sketchbook and clutched it to his chest. He looked at the sandwiches with another blank expression before taking the remaining two sandwiches.

“Thanks.” He grunted in his deep voice.

Chanyeol beamed at him and bounded back to the table to have his own lunch.

The rest of the lunch hour was passed in comfortable silence. Each of the three boys was lost in their own art. They were jolted back to reality by the loud bell.

Lay put down his palette and brush before pulling off his apron. “Thank you again for the sandwiches. I’ll see you after class.” He went to the small sink at the corner to wash his hands. He smiled one last time to Chanyeol then turned to Kris.. “Kris, you coming?”

Kris had already stood up from his stool and he grunted at Lay. He nodded at Chanyeol and the two were out the door before Chanyeol had a chance to say ‘See you later’.

Chanyeol gathered his stuff and ignored the flash of envy at seeing Lay and Kris walking away together.

 

*****

 

Chanyeol took a deep breath and prepared himself mentally before he stepped inside the club room. To his relief, Lay was sitting on one of the tables while Kris was still perched on his stool, all the way to the back of the room. Chanyeol smiled and bowed his head at the other members and took an empty spot on the table.

“Hi!” A chirpy boy on his right greted him with a wide smile.

“Hi.” Chanyeol smiled back.

“I’m Baekhyun. You must be Chanyeol. You’re 2^nd year right? I’ve seen you around.” Baekhyun said.

“Yeah. It seemed like everybody knew me.” Chanyeol replied while scratching the back of his neck.

Baekhyun laughed. “Joonmyeon couldn’t shut up about you. We haven’t had any new member for a while, so he was excited. Oh, give me your phone number and SNS IDs. We have group chats and mini homepage for the club. I should invite you.”

Chanyeol grinned and pulled out his phone. They exchanged phone number and before long, he had friended Baekhyun on every SNS platforms he had.

Chanyeol pulled out his sketchbook and showed him the doodle he made on lunch. Baekhyun laughed at the squiggly figures and showed Chanyeol his own works. They fell into easy conversation and Baekhyun taught him some basic techniques for drawing. They laughed every so often as Chanyeol came up with weird drawings of llamas, cats and unicorns.

Unknown to the two new buddies, Kris was watching their interactions with a knitted brow and a dark look on his eyes.

 

*****

 

Chanyeol was enjoying his time as a member of the art club. He got to spend his lunch with Kris and hang out with Baekhyun after class although Baekhyun only came every other day. On the days that Baekhyun didn’t come, Chanyeol would work on improving his drawing while surreptitiously stared at Kris. He wanted so much to strike a conversation with the older boy, but Kris always sat so far away. Chanyeol hadn’t built up enough courage to go sit somewhere nearer even though he was dying to. It wasn’t helping that Lay had become a permanent fixture on the club room.

That was what irked Chanyeol the most. He hardly ever saw Lay on the club room before, but ever since Chanyeol joined, he seemed to be there all the time.

His plan of befriending Kris by joining the art club wasn’t going as well as he had hoped. After that one day on the art and craft store and the subsequent sandwich sharing, they haven’t really talked to each other. They only exchanged the usual ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ during club activities.

Chanyeol was getting discouraged by the lack of progress. Time was running out and he hadn’t even managed to exchange phone numbers with Kris. Unconsciously, Chanyeol sighed long and loud.

He was surprised when a bottle of iced tea appeared on his line of sight. He looked up to see Kris stood across from him with a blank look on his face.

“For you. You gave me sandwich last time.” The third year said before he returned to his usual spot.

Chanyeol felt like his face was going to split in two by the force of his smile. He grabbed the bottle and shouted a cheerful “Thank you sunbae. Kris sunbae jjang!”

Kris didn’t look up from his sketch but he nodded nonetheless. Lay was snickering from his spot and Chanyeol couldn’t really bring himself to care about the other boy. He was too happy. He opened the bottle and drank half of the content in one gulp.

Call him obsessed, but he would bring the bottle home and kept it as memento.

 

*****

 

Kris had a small smile on his lips when he saw Chanyeol’s wide grin. The smile was only there for a few seconds, but Lay caught it nonetheless. The dimpled boy had to bite the inside of his cheek from laughing out loud, but he couldn’t hold back the snickers.

It was so entertaining watching these two skirting around each other. He might appear oblivious on the outside, but he never missed any gaze Chanyeol threw at Kris. He saw how the younger student would look at Kris with admiration on his eyes. How his eyes would automatically search for Kris whenever he entered the club room. How he had a happy grin on his face whenever he greeted the older boy.

He also never missed the fond look Kris had on his face whenever he stared at Chanyeol. How his features would soften whenever he heard the boy’s tinkling laugh. How a flicker of jealousy would cross his eyes whenever he saw Chanyeol and Baekhyun conversing together.

Sometimes it was painful to watch those two secretly pining for each other. Once in a while, he would have the urge to knock some sense into the two giants’ heads, but he was having too much fun being an observer. He decided to give the two another month. If they haven’t sorted anything out by then, then he would interfere and made them see the light.

 

*****

 

On his first club meeting, Chanyeol sat beside Baekhyun like usual. He tried not to flinch as Lay took the seat on his other side. Just this morning he saw Lay walking through the school gate together with Kris. Chanyeol had felt robbed. He felt like Lay was slowly taking Kris away from him. It was ridiculous really, because Kris wasn’t even his to begin with.

Chanyeol didn’t want to be rude, his mother had raised him to be a proper man, so Chanyeol smiled and nodded to Lay in greeting. Lay gave him another one of those secretive smiles that he reserved just for Chanyeol.

Chanyeol didn’t want to dwell on it too much so he busied himself with Baekhyun. The petite boy was telling him about this new manga series that Chanyeol have got to check out. They were lost in a lively discussion about Attack On Titans and One Piece when Lay’s voice rang out from the side.

“Kris!”

Chanyeol gulped and had to recompose himself. He looked up and saw that Kris was sitting across from him and slightly to the left. He was sitting beside Joonmyeon and they were chatting before Lay called him out.

“Switch seat with me. I forgot I need to sit beside Joonmyeon. He was terrible on these meetings without me.” Lay continued as Joonmyeon spluttered in indignation.

“Why don’t you sit there?” Kris gruffly asked, pointing at an empty seat on Joonmyeon’s other side.

Lay had stood and walked over to pull Kris up. “Nope. That’s Mr. Shim’s place. Be a good member and sit there.” He said as he pushed Kris toward his previous seat.

Kris looked around and found that the only vacant seat was the one beside Chanyeol. With a heavy sigh he complied and sat on the chair beside Chanyeol.

Chanyeol could feel his breath hitched. He tried to continue his chat with Baekhyun, but it was so hard to concentrate when he could feel Kris’ body warmth. It took all of his will power not to snuggle into the older man. And oh Lord have mercy, Chanyeol caught a whiff of Kris’ cologne and he loved loved loved it so much.

Luckily, before Chanyeol lose his self control and attack Kris, the door opened to let in a tall figure with crooked smile.

“Hello boys and girls, miss me?” The young teacher, Mr. Shim, strode confidently into the room and sat down beside Joonmyeon.

A chorus of ‘hello’ was heard from around the table. Joonmyeon called for attention and began the meeting. He started by introducing Chanyeol to Mr. Shim. Then he continued with announcing an upcoming workshop on watercolor techniques. Lay had to correct him several times about the date, venue and participation fee. Chanyeol begrudgingly admitted to himself that Joonmyeon really was lost without Lay.

Then they went over every member’s current project. They started with the sketches. One by one, the members presented their work. Mr. Shim commented and gave his advice about how to improve their skill. He taught them some simple techniques and tips. When it was Chanyeol’s turn, the newest member sheepishly showed him his doodles.

Mr. Shim laughed at the funny pictures but praised Chanyeol nonetheless. He said that Chanyeol should continue with his doodling, because apparently there was such a thing as doodling art. The teacher gave him some artist names he could look up to inspire him. Chanyeol was happy to know that what he came up with was still considered art and he promised to do more research.

For some reason, Kris didn’t show his sketchbook to Mr. Shim. Chanyeol was curious about that, but it was far from him to call attention to the third year.

 After Mr. Shim inspected all the sketches, they moved to the bigger projects. Mr. Shim made his round inspecting the canvases. Again nobody bothered to mention Kris’ canvas or lack thereof. Chanyeol found it strange, because he wasn’t the only one who ever saw Kris working on projects. He decided to ask Baekhyun about it later.

It was few minutes after 7 when their meeting is done. Since Mr. Shim was there, the art club was allowed to stay at school even after 6. As was customary, after every meeting, the art club would go to eat fishcakes together. After a round of whining and cajoling courtesy of Baekhyun and some female members, Mr. Shim agreed to treat them.

“Two sticks each, okay? I’m a high school teacher, not a chaebol heir.” Mr. Shim warned playfully.

The students cheered and picked up their two sticks. Some picked more than two, but they paid for the extra sticks themselves. Chanyeol noticed that there was a pancake seller next to the fishcake stall so he made his way there. He ordered 5 of seafood pancakes, Kris’ favorite.

As he waited for the pancakes, he felt someone came to stand beside him. He glanced and was met with the tall figure of Kris.

“I already got you seafood pancakes.” He blurted out before Kris could place his order.

Kris knitted his eyebrows and turned to look at him. “You did?”

Chanyeol nodded. “I know you like them.” And he immediately regretted saying that.

“You do?” Kris seemed taken aback.

Chanyeol gulped and nodded. Luckily, Kris didn’t question further. He only hummed and stared at the sizzling pan. Chanyeol secretly heaved a relief sigh and thanked the stars. He wouldn’t know how to answer if Kris had asked how Chanyeol knew about the seafood pancake.

When the pancakes was done and needed to be paid, Kris beat Chanyeol to it. He handed the ahjumma some bank notes much to Chanyeol’s protest.

“I was the one who ordered it sunbae! I should be the one paying.”

“Let’s just eat it together with everyone.” Kris said after he took the plastic bag and thanked the ahjumma.

Chanyeol couldn’t say anything but he pouted a little. “Next time it’s my treat.” He said after a while.

Kris half smiled at him. “Next time then.”

Lay was watching them and with a cunning subtlety, he arranged everyone’s seating so that the only two chairs left unoccupied was side by side. When Kris and Chanyeol returned to the fishcake stall, they had no choice but to sit next to each other. Chanyeol didn’t feel as nervous as before and Kris was more talkative.

They had decent conversation. They shared the seafood pancake. Chanyeol even managed to make Kris smiled at one of his joke. When the dinner ended, a bunch of them walked together to the bus stop and Chanyeol and Kris ended up seating next to each other again on the metal bench.

Chanyeol’s bus was the first to arrive. He hopped on the bus with a heavy heart but as he looked outside the window, he saw Kris raised his hand in not quite a wave. Chanyeol grinned and waved excitedly with both hands. If Chanyeol had look back a little longer, he would’ve seen the small smile on Kris’ lips.

That night, Chanyeol went to bed feeling like a king.

 

*****

 

Things progressed little by little after. Chanyeol brought sandwiches and share them with Kris and Lay again. In return Kris would give him all sorts of drinks. Lay never brought anything, but he was subtly playing cupid so he didn’t feel too bad about it.

Chanyeol and Kris had become comfortable enough with each other that Kris asked Chanyeol to call him ‘hyung’ instead of ‘sunbae’. Chanyeol was so ecstatic he abused the new title by calling Kris repeatedly just because. Kris pretended to be annoyed, but he secretly liked it. Whenever he thought no one was looking, he would break into a brief goofy grin. Chanyeol might have missed it, but Lay, as watchful as an eagle, never missed any.

The time limit he gave the two boys was ending soon, and they did make some progress. But Lay was still exasperated by the lack of real development on the romantic side. ‘One more week’, he thought to himself. ‘I’ll give them one more week.’

 

*****

 

His growing friendship with Kris made Chanyeol forgot to ask Baekhyun about Kris’ mysterious projects. He was only reminded of them when the second club meeting was held. Chanyeol had gotten better at doodling. He had found a style he was comfortable with and even if the size of his doodles wasn’t so big, they were more solid and artsy.

Mr. Shim was impressed by his progress and he suggested some books about doodling art Chanyeol could read to improve himself further. Chanyeol dutifully wrote the titles down and already made plan to visit the city library on the weekend.

Like the previous meeting, Mr. Shim went through everyone projects but skipped Kris.  And like the previous meeting, they all went to eat together afterward. This time they went to a ramyeon shop and everyone paid for themselves.

Lay, ever the covert strategist, managed to make all three of them sat on a booth together. Lay sat on one side with Kris, while Chanyeol sat in front of Lay. Lay mentally did a fist pump when Baekhyun joined their table, pushing Chanyeol further inside the booth.

Chanyeol ended up sitting facing Kris and he had to hold back his squeals. He turned to talk to Baekhyun and missed the flash of annoyance crossing Kris face. Lay didn’t miss it though and he leered at Kris with a knowing smirk. Kris raised one eyebrow in inquiry but Lay only shrugged.

The foods came and they ate with gusto. Overall, dinner went well. And because they were so tall, Chanyeol and Kris’s legs keep bumping into each other. After the fourth knee knock, Kris couldn’t take it anymore. He peered down under the table and moved slightly to his right. He slotted his long legs between Chanyeol’s equally long ones.

Their new position was more comfortable, but Kris realized that it might not have been the best idea. Instead of bumping and knocking, their legs would brush against each other now and then. It wasn’t painful but definitely more torturous. Kris didn’t show it outwardly, but every time their legs brushed, he felt a flutter on his stomach and heart. His heart beat faster and he had to remind himself to breathe.

Chanyeol wasn’t faring any better. He could deal with the knee bumping, but the soft and fleeting touches made him weak in the knees. It burned a delicious path of warmth from his leg all the way up to the top of his head. It made him wanted to jump Kris and demand a cuddle. He wanted to whine because it was so not fair. Kris was making him feel all these roller coaster of feelings and he didn’t even seem to realize the effects he had on Chanyeol.

Little did he know that Kris was having his own mini meltdown.

After dinner, they walked to the bus stop. Kris found himself walking between Chanyeol and Lay. Lay would occasionally bump into him, making him bumped into Chanyeol in turn. If he didn’t enjoy the feeling he got whenever his shoulder met Chanyeol’s, he would’ve accused Lay of being drunk or shoved the boy away.

Chanyeol was close to bursting into one giant firework. His heart beat so fast he felt like he just ran a marathon. He mentally facepalmed himself because God dammit Park Chanyeol! You’re not a teenage girl! Control yourself! Stop behaving like one!

The bus stop came into view and Chanyeol could almost cry from relief.  He didn’t even have to wait long before his bus arrived. He said his goodbyes to the other members and save the last one for Kris.

Bye bye hyung!” He waved cheerily.

Kris gave him a small wave and mumbled a “Be careful on your way home.”

When he heard it, Chanyeol almost tripped on the bus’ steps but he quickly recovered and shot back over his shoulder. “You too hyung. See you tomorrow.”

It was only when he was safely tucked under in bed that he remembered he had forgotten to ask Baekhyun about Kris’ projects, again. Chanyeol sighed but he pushed the thought off for tomorrow.

That night Chanyeol went to sleep feeling he could rule the world.

 

*****

 

Things started to go smooth for Chanyeol. He found some doodles sketches he loved and it inspired him to doodle more. He also gathered enough courage to ask for Kris’ number, after nonchalantly asked for Lay’s. The ‘sandwich for a drink’ trade off was a daily occurrence and Chanyeol was comfortable enough to ask Kris about his projects.

“Hyung. What are you working on?”

“Just sketching.”

“Can I see?”

“Nope.”

Chanyeol felt deflated at the rejection.

“Maybe one day.” Kris had added under his breath.

And just like that Chanyeol bounced back to his happy demeanor again.

 

*****

 

Lay finally had enough of the turtle pace. It was fun at first, but after a month of witnessing the slow dance between the two towers of the art club, he finally reached the end of his patience. He needed to take drastic measures. And he planned to do just that. He had seen the flash of jealousy on Kris’ eyes whenever Chanyeol and Baekhyun were together.

And he surely never missed the same emotion flashed across Chanyeol’s whenever the younger saw Kris and Lay together.

And it was frustrating because none of them had the balls to take a step forward. All they do was circling each other. So being the best friend that he was, Lay was going to give them a push in the right direction. More accurately, Lay was going to shove them together.

By now, he already knew Chanyeol’s schedule by heart. The third year classrooms were closer to the club room, while the second year classrooms were situated all the way on the other end. He and Kris usually reached the club room 5 minutes before Chanyeol did.

That day, Lay had convinced Kris to sit on the worktable instead of his usual place at the back of the room, citing that he needed Kris’ opinion on some of his own sketches. They were sitting side by side with Lay’s sketchbook opened on the table. Lay purposefully leaned until he was in Kris’ personal space. He glanced at his wristwatch and countdown the minute before Chanyeol burst through the door with a happy smile and cheerful hello.

Lay heard the approaching footsteps and he fully leaned into Kris, their faces were so close together they might seem liked they were about to kiss.

In 3, 2, 1

Chanyeol was feeling giddy when he walked to the club room. He had the usual sandwiches and his sketchbook. He just finished a new doodle last night and he couldn’t wait to show it to Kris. He was chirpier and happier than usual. He had a feeling something good would happen to him today. He opened the club room door with a greeting ready at the tip of his tongue.

But nothing, nothing, could ever prepared him for the sight that greeted him.

Lay and Kris, sitting together on the workplace, head bent together, faces close as if they were going to… kiss…

Chanyeol felt the breath leaving him. His lunch box and sketchbook fell from his grip and clattered to the floor.

The sound jolted Kris and he looked confusedly at Chanyeol, before he became aware of how close he and Lay were. Seeing the look of horror on Chanyeol’s face, Kris realized that Chanyeol had misunderstood the situation.

And he didn’t want that. He didn’t want Chanyeol to misunderstand. Kris didn’t want Chanyeol to think that there was anything going on between him and Lay.

“Wait!” Kris shouted and stood at the same time Chanyeol turned to leave.

Chanyeol stopped but he didn’t turn to face Kris. He had his back to the room and one feet out the door. Lay took that as his cue to leave.

“Show him your sketchbook.” He whispered to Kris before he walked to the frozen boy on the door.

Lay pulled the unresisting Chanyeol inside the room and pushed him toward Kris. “Don’t misunderstand.” He winked at Chanyeol. “Good luck.” He said before he stepped out and closed the door after him.

Both Chanyeol and Kris stood there staring at each other. For once, Kris’ usually stoic face showed an open and vulnerable expression.

“Hyung?” Chanyeol was the first to break the silence.

That one word snapped Kris out of his daze. He wiped his face and sat down heavily on the chair.

“There’s nothing between me and Lay. He’s just a dear friend. Please don’t misunderstand.” Kris said in one breath.

Chanyeol shuffled forward and took the chair opposite him. He scratched at his nape, taking Kris’ words in.

“You don’t have to explain anything hyung.” Chanyeol replied.

“But I don’t want you to think that there’s anything between me and Lay!” Kris stressed out.

Chanyeol shrugged. “Why is it important? What I think about you and Lay. It’s your business, not mine.” Chanyeol sounded petulant.

Kris sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, mussing the brownish locks up. He thought about Chanyeol’s words for a while and realized that he honestly could only think of one plausible answer to the question.

Remembering Lay’s words, Kris took his sketchbook and pushed it toward Chanyeol.

“It’s important because I care.” He said.

To say that Chanyeol was surprised was an understatement. Kris was offering to show Chanyeol his sketchbook. The one possession that no one else had laid eyes on. Well, okay, no one except Lay. Chanyeol pulled the sketchbook closer and opened it to the first page with trembling fingers.

Chanyeol had thought that Kris must have been terrible at drawing. That his paintings were so bad he didn’t want anyone but Lay to see it. That the reason no one mentioned his projects was because they knew how embarrassed Kris would be if they saw them.

And as the first sketch was revealed, Chanyeol couldn’t help the involuntary gasp that left him.

Because Kris was an excellent excellent artist. The sketch seemed so life like Chanyeol expected the little sparrow to jump out of the page any second now.

Then as he opened the next pages, he became aware of a new subject, one that was repeatedly drawn again and again.

Chanyeol’s eyes widen and his breath hitched as he stared at the sketch of his younger self standing inside a subway car. He knew he was younger because in the picture, he was still wearing his junior high uniform.

He hastily flipped to the next page. The next sketch was of him at the high school’s opening ceremony. He was still a first year judging by his curly hair. He had straightened his hair during summer vacation so the wavy strands were clue enough.

The next several pages still contained sketches of him. There was one of him wearing casual clothes. A t-shirt and pair of jeans he didn’t own and he knew that Kris drew this one out of imagination. There was another where he was wearing a suit and glasses. Another was of him in a traditional hanbok. He flipped through the rest of the pages, all filled with drawings of him.

The last few pages were of him from when he joined the art club.

There was one where him standing with a lunch bag on his hand and a wide smile on his face. There was one of him eating his sandwich; drinking his bottle of iced tea; hunching over the table; climbing the steps of a bus.

And then there was one of him, sitting side by side with Kris. His head leaning on Kris’ shoulder and they both had a serene smile on their face.

“You knew me.” Chanyeol croaked out when he finally got over his shock.

“Yes.”

“Since when? How?”

“It was a coincidence. That day I had to take the sub, and then I saw you giving up your seat. You had this smile on your face and you were so tall I couldn’t help but noticed. You tower above everyone else. Somehow you stuck in my memory.” Kris took a deep breath. “Then I saw you again at the opening ceremony. I was pleasantly surprised that you were going to be in my school.”

“So you’ve been watching me this whole time?” Chanyeol asked.

Kris shook his head. “No! I’m not stalking you if that’s what you’re afraid of.”

Chanyeol could only think ‘Oh the irony.’

“I just saw you here and there, once or twice.” Kris was quick to explain.

“Why didn’t you approach me?”

Kris shrugged. “And say what? ‘Hey, I saw you once on the train and I can’t get you out of my mind. Can we be friends?’ Oh, no. I don’t want to weird you out.”

“But that’s what I did.” Chanyeol finally confessed.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Chanyeol took a deep breath and looked straight into Kris’ eyes. “I saw you on the craft store, at the beginning of the semester. You were so tall, taller than me. And you wore the same uniform. I was curious so I followed you around that day. I saw you playing with puppies on the pet store, I saw you buying seafood pancakes and iced americanos and I saw you taking the 511 bus.”

Kris’ eyes had gotten wider and wider at each new piece of revelation coming from Chanyeol’s mouth.

“Then I started to seek you out at school. I waited for you every morning and followed you all the way up to the third floor. I found out that you spend your lunch in the club room, so I eat my lunch on the inner yard, where I can see you through the window.”

Kris held up his hands, stopping Chanyeol’s flow of words. “You’ve been doing that since the start of the semester? Why didn’t you approach me?” He said it like a challenge.

Chanyeol smiled ruefully. “It was enough just to admire you from afar. And I was kind of afraid you won’t like me.”

“Then what changed?”

Chanyeol scratch the back of his nape in embarrassment. “I saw you with Lay hyung. You two were laughing. I never saw you laugh before. You look gorgeous when you do.” He looked down for a bit. “I wanted to be the one who make you laugh like that. But you’re a third year and you’re about to graduate. I don’t have much time to get to know you so I joined the art club, to be closer to you.” Chanyeol shrugged.

They were both silent for some moment, lost in contemplation. Kris neer took his eyes off of Chanyeol’s fidgety form. He had a serious face on, brows knitted, lips pursed, just like when he was working on his painting.

Chanyeol couldn’t sit still, he tapped his foot, twirled his thumb and roamed his gaze. He avoided looking at Kris’ direction, at all Then Kris broke the sudden tension between them.

“Does that mean you like me?” He asked in a timid but hopeful voice.

Chanyeol looked at him then. He scrutinized the older boy’s face, trying to find something on the handsome face he adored so much. He then pushed the sketchbook back toward Kris.

“Does this mean you like me?” He asked back.

And for the first time ever, Chanyeol saw Kris blushed. He saw the tinge of pink coloring the cheeks. A swell of warmth invaded Chanyeol’s chest when he realized he had made Kris blush.

With a new found courage he asked Kris again. “Hyung, do you like me?”

Kris spluttered and hid his face on his palms. He mumbled some answer but Chanyeol couldn’t make it out. Feeling bold from how Kris reacted, Chanyeol leaned across the table and pulled at Kris’ wrists. The artist resisted for a moment but finally relented and lowered his hand. The redness had spread all the way to the tip of his ears.

“Hyung, do you like me?” Chanyeol repeated.

Kris couldn’t find his voice but he nodded meekly.

Chanyeol was too happy, he laughed out loud and bounced on his seat. “I like you too hyung!” He confessed.

But Kris pulled his hands away. “You like Baekhyun.” He said in an accusing tone.

That dampened Chanyeol’s mood. “What? No. I don’t. Baekhyun’s just a friend.”

“You two always laugh together.” Kris had a small pout on his lips.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “Like you and Lay hyung then.”

“Lay is just a friend.” Kris insisted.

“And so is Baekhyun!”

“You always sit with him.”

“And you never let me see your works but you always show them to Lay hyung!” Chanyeol snapped.

He thought he had gotten over that, but apparently, Chanyeol could hold a grudge.

Kris deflated at that. “I just let you see my sketchbook.” He said in a tiny voice.

Chanyeol deflated too. “Not because you wanted to, but because Lay hyung told you to.”

Another blanket of silence fell over them.

Then the door opened and Lay peeked his head in. “For God’s sake! You two haven’t even dating and you’re having lover’s quarrel already? Get your acts together! Now make up and kiss!” With that he pulled back out and closed the door.

Kris and Chanyeol had a twin look of horror on their face.

“He’s been listening in on us.” Chanyeol mumbled.

“God, this is embarrassing.” Kris moaned and slumped on the table.

“But he has a point.” Chanyeol admitted grudgingly.

Kris lifted himself up and sat straighter on his chair. He focused his attention on Chanyeol.

“I like you. You like me. And we don’t have much time because you’re going to graduate. So let’s not waste it with fighting.” Chanyeol had a mischievous smirk on. “Let’s make up and kiss.”

Kris turned beet red, again. “We’re not even dating!” He parroted Lay’s words.

“Yet.” Chanyeol quipped. The younger leaned closer and said with a cheery smile. “Hyung, would you like to go on a date with me?”

Kris cleared his throat and played with the ring binder of his sketchbook. “Okay.” He answered after a while. “You owe some seafood pancakes anyway.”

Chanyeol laughed at that. “Yeah. We could go eat some seafood pancakes.” He quietens down after that. “Tonight then? After club?”

Kris tilted his head. “Okay. But let’s go after school. We can skip club for today.”

Chanyeol smiled. “Sure. But I never thought you’d skip club activity.”

Kris shrugged. “More time to be with you.”

And Chanyeol didn’t even try to hold back his squeals of delight.

The door opened again and Lay walked in. He bent down to retrieve Chanyeol’s forgotten lunch bag and sketchbook from the floor.

“Good. Now we can have lunch.” He said as he plopped down on one of the seat next to Chanyeol. “Go sit beside him. Save us all from the unnecessary jealousy.” He continued as he pushed Chanyeol out of his seat.

Chanyeol chuckled and complied. He moved around the table and sat down next to Kris. Lay had opened up the lunch bag and distributed the sandwiches.

For the first time, all three sat together to eat and Kris found that he liked this. He liked this very much.

 

*****

 

Later that evening when they were munching on the seafood pancakes, Chanyeol remembered the questions that had plagued him.

“Hyung. Why did Mr. Shim never check your projects? And why did you never let anyone see your works?”

Kris hummed and his cheeks had pinked again. “He can’t. I can’t.” He wasn’t making much sense.

“Uh, explain it to me?” Chanyeol asked again.

Kris drew a deep breath and composed himself. “Please don’t tell anyone. It’s supposed to be a secret and only the art club’s members know about it.” He paused for a second. “I’m actually a commissioned artist. There was a strict confidential clause on my contract. I’m not allowed to share my artworks with anyone without my patron’s approval.”

Chanyeol’s eyes bulged out of their sockets. “But you showed it to Lay hyung and me.”

Kris seemed uncomfortable but he trudged through. “Please keep this to yourself, even the members don’t know about this.” Chanyeol nodded vigorously. “My patron is Lay’s father.”

“What?!”

“Shush! Keep your voice down.” Kris leaned toward Chanyeol and whispered conspiratorially. “You didn’t hear it from me, but Lay’s real name is Zhang Yixing and he is the heir of the Zhang Groups.”

Chanyeol never cared much for business news, but even he knew that Zhang Groups was one of the leading companies in Asia market.

He gulped and thought for a second. “He’s awfully cheapskate for a chaebol heir. Always eating my sandwiches and never treat me to anything.” He huffed in annoyance.

Kris laughed at that.

And Chanyeol never felt happier. He finally made Kris laughed.

 

*****

 

Two weeks later, Chanyeol and Kris was officially a thing. Lay was perhaps the happiest of all three.

“Finally! Do you know how painful it was to see you two pining for each other?” He exclaimed.

Kris only rolled his eyes while Chanyeol smiled sheepishly. They didn’t advertise their new status as boyfriends, but the other members eventually picked up on it. They didn’t say anything, but the smirks and knowing glances were enough to make Chanyeol groaned in embarrassment.

Baekhyun, being a good friend, acted like nothing happened. That was until he uploaded a pic of Chanyeol and Kris holding hands on his SNS account with the caption ‘Love in full bloom at the art club!’

Chanyeol had been mortified when he first saw the picture. He demanded that Baekhyun deleted it. But unexpectedly Kris commented on the pic and it instantly put Chanyeol at ease. ‘Chanyeol looked so pretty in this pic. 20, 30, 40 years from now, I still want to hold his hand.’

That was until he found out that Lay had stolen Kris’ phone and he was the one who wrote that comment.

Chanyeol didn’t come to the club room for one week, neither did Kris. Baekhyun and Lay got scolded by Joonmyeon for teasing the couple. After some groveling by Baekhyun and negotiation by Lay, Chanyeol and Kris forgave the two troublemakers and returned to the club.

Their days together were spent just like before; lunch in the club room and club activity after class. The difference was that Kris and Chanyeol now sat side by side on the worktable and more often than not, club activity ended with a mini date on the pancake stall.

 

*****

 

Club activities were temporarily halted during final exams week. Chanyeol and Kris moved their meeting place to the library. Chanyeol was feeling a bit apprehensive about it, because it meant that graduation was close and his time with Kris was nearing its end.

Chanyeol tried not to show it, but Kris noticed how clingy his boyfriend had become and he instinctively knew the reason behind it. He wanted to reassure Chanyeol that nothing was going to change even after he graduated, but he had prior plans and Chanyeol wasn’t a factor in it. So Kris didn’t broach the subject and let Chanyeol clung to him without protest.

 

*****

 

Chanyeol cried happy tears on Kris’ graduation day. Two weeks later, he bawled his eyes out on the airport when he sent Kris off to France.

Kris decided to continue his studies at Sorbonne University in Paris. He felt sorry to Chanyeol, but the younger boy encouraged him to pursue his dream. Chanyeol thought that Kris would want to take a break from Chanyeol, but three days before his departure date, Kris showed up at Chanyeol’s house.

The artist had a determined face and he was speaking with such conviction on his voice.

“I don’t want to break up with you. I’m not ready to let you go, not now, not ever. You’re the one I want. I know this is super selfish of me, but I want you to wait for me.” Then he took a velvet box out of his pocket. “This is a promise ring. This is all I can offer you right now. If you ever get tired of waiting for me, if you ever felt like you don’t want to be with me anymore, just send this back to me.” Kris had more speech prepared, but he didn’t get to finish.

Chanyeol already snatched the velvet box from his hand and tore it open. He took the silver ring from inside and wore it on his right ring finger.

“You better not look at anyone there. No hook ups, no partying with gorgeous European guys, no exchanging phone numbers either. Text me every day, call me every weekend; update your SNS with lots of selcas. I don’t care about the expensive phone bill, you can afford it.” Chanyeol took a deep breath, he was close to crying. “And don’t ever let go of me, don’t ever stop wanting me.” He added in a shaky voice.

Kris hissed and pulled him into a tight hug. “Never. Never. I promise you. Never.”

Chanyeol crumbled into Kris’ arms and let out the tears he had been holding back.

Kris let Chanyeol cried his heart out, his own eyes were a bit damp, but he needed to be strong for the both of them. He was the one leaving Chanyeol so he had no right to shed any tears. They pulled apart after a while and Kris wiped Chanyeol’s cheeks with the pad of his thumb.

“You’re my Chanyeol and I’m your Kris.” He whispered to Chanyeol.

“Your Chanyeol, my Kris.” Chanyeol parroted.

Then Kris leaned down and gave Chanyeol his first kiss. Honestly speaking, it was his first too, so it bound to be awkward. But as they parted, Chanyeol sighed into his lips and demanded for more. Kris was happy to oblige.

 

*****

 

12 months later

 

Chanyeol picked up his black carrier from the conveyor’s belt and dragged it toward the exit. He just graduated two weeks ago and as graduation present, his parents sent him for a one week vacation to Paris. He was ecstatic, he was beyond happy. He could finally see Kris face to face after a year of grainy video calls.

He his phone and was about to text Kris when he heard his name being called. He looked up and a bright grin spread across his face.

Kris was standing some feet away, waving at him. He was wearing the blue cardigan Chanyeol had sent for his birthday, waving at him. Chanyeol quickened his pace and threw himself into Kris’ waiting arms. He buried his nose into Kris’ neck and inhaled the musky scent he loved so much. Dimly Chanyeol realized that they were hugging it out in public, but he hadn’t seen Kris for a year and he couldn’t be bothered to care about his surroundings.

They were in France; no one would bat an eyelash if they saw two male kissing, so that was what he did.

He cupped Kris’ face and closed the distance between their mouths. Kris responded in kind. He wrapped his hands around Chanyeol’s torso and pulled his younger lover closer.

“I miss you.” Chanyeol whispered when their lips parted.

Kris hummed. “I miss you too. Very, very much.”

They stood together like that for a while longer, hands around each other, foreheads touching.

“Come on. Let’s get you home. You must be tired from the flight.” Kris finally said as he took the handle of Chanyeol’s carrier.

Chanyeol liked it when Kris said ‘let’s get you home.’ Chanyeol liked that very much.

They walked hand in hand to the taxi stand. Chanyeol watched in awe as Kris greeted the driver and rattled off the address in French.

“You speak French now.” He said.

Kris chuckled. “I’ve lived here for a year now. I picked up a word or two.”

Chanyeol burrowed into Kris’ side and a yawn escaped him. He quickly sent a text to let his parents knew that he had arrived safely in Paris. Another yawn broke out of him.

“Go on and sleep.” Kris said. “We have some way to go.”

Chanyeol nodded and leaned his head on Kris’ shoulder. He was out like a light in a matter of minute.

Chanyeol was roused from his sleep by a gentle hand his cheek.

“Wake up Yeollie. We’re here.”

Chanyeol sat and rubbed at his eyes. He stepped out of the taxi and waited sleepily on the sidewalk while Kris paid the driver and took out his carrier. Kris guided him into an elegant building with cozy interior. The lift was small but functioning well. They got off at the fifth floor and Kris led him to the last door on the right.

The apartment was small. There was a kitchenette right next to the front door and a small door on the left opened to a tiny bathroom. The living room barely had any furniture, but it was littered with Kris’ art supplies. Canvasses were lined up along the floor, boxes of paints stacked up on top of each other, palettes and brushes strewn across the table and a lone easel was set up in the corner, just beside the rows of windows.

It was messy but Chanyeol felt at home already.

The bedroom was separated by a floor to ceiling bookcase, acting as a partition. Chanyeol could catch glimpses of the bed and a wardrobe from between the gaps. Kris had set his carrier by the foot of the queen sized bed.

“Do you want to wash up first?” He offered.

But Chanyeol was already taking off his shoes and jacket and he plopped belly down on the comfy bed. He burrowed his face into the fluffy pillow and instantly fell asleep. Kris chuckled and leaned down to kiss the side of Chanyeol’s head. He took off his own shoes and climbed into bed beside his lover. Chanyeol instinctively rolled over and snuggled into Kris’ warmth. Kris heaved a long sigh of relief.

Chanyeol was here. Chanyeol was finally here, in his arms. With that, Kris joined Chanyeol in slumber, a contented smile on his lips.

 

*****

 

Chanyeol woke up a solid 13 hours later. He felt so rested and comfortable he just wanted to continue sleeping and not got out of bed. Kris was a warm presence beside him, and he felt the weight of Kris’ arm across his waist. He could really get used to this.

But his bladder was begging to be emptied and his stomach was getting hungry. So he dragged himself to the bathroom, murmuring a sleepy “I need to go potty” to Kris who had tighten his arms when he felt Chanyeol moved away.

Chanyeol took care of business and crawled back into bed. Kris had woken up to and he was staring sleepily at Chanyeol with a gummy smile on his lips.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” He said to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol hummed and laid his head on Kris’ chest. “I can’t believe I’m here too.”

“I have something I want to show you.” Kris said.

“Can it wait? I really really need to catch up on my ‘snuggling with my boyfriend’ time.”

Kris chuckled and ran his fingers through Chanyeol hair. “No need to get out of bed. You just need to look to that wall over there.”

Chanyeol turned a bit and opened his eyes. He bolted upright on the next second.

“Kris? Is that? Is that me?” He asked breathlessly.

There on the wall opposite the bed, hung a beautiful painting. The male on the painting had striking features. The ears were pointed, the hair was platinum blonde, the eyes were wide with a shade of cobalt, the cheeks were rosy red, the mouth was full and deep pink and the skin was flawless white.

Judging by the uncanny resemblance, there was no doubt that the ethereal being on the painting was the elf version of Chanyeol.

“You remember that painting I was working on when you joined the club?” Kris asked.

And how could Chanyeol forgot? It was the one he was so curious about.

“The one you hide from me? The one you took home and never brought back to the club room even after we dated? Yeah, I seemed to recall that painting. Never saw it though.” Chanyeol’s answer was dripping with sarcasm.

Kris rolled his eyes and pulled Chanyeol back to lie on his chest again. “That’s the one.” He said.

It took a moment for the implications of Kris’ words to sink in.

Chanyeol spluttered. “But you started it long before I joined the club! Long before we dated!”

Kris squeezed Chanyeol’s waist. “I told you I can’t get you off my mind. Why do you think I have so many sketches of you?”

Chanyeol looked at the painting with wonder in his eyes. Then it dawned on him that the painting, his painting, was most probably the first thing Kris saw when he woke up and the last thing he saw before he went to bed. Chanyeol knew he loved Kris, had known it for some time now, and in that moment he came to realize that the older man loved him just as much.

“Kris… This is… That is so beautiful. I don’t know what to say…” Chanyeol was at a loss for words.

Kris rustled around in bed and whispered to Chanyeol. “Say yes, then.”

“Huh?” Chanyeol asked bemusedly.

“Say yes.” Kris said again as he took Chanyeol’s right hand and held it up.

“To what?”

“To this.” Kris other hand came into view.

And it held a ring. A diamond ring. A diamond engagement ring.

And Chanyeol’s stomach chose that moment to rumble.

“I’ll take that as yes.” Kris snickered and placed the ring on Chanyeol’s ring finger, right next to the promise ring Chanyeol had faithfully wore.

Chanyeol malfunctioned. He couldn’t help it. This situation is absurd. He just landed from 12 hours flight, slept for 13 hours and woke up to find his painting on Kris’ wall. And now Kris is putting an engagement ring on his finger. And he didn’t even pop the question. And Chanyeol technically hadn’t said ‘yes’. It was his stomach who answered, or rumbled. And Kris took it as yes. And it was just too much to process. So Chanyeol resigned himself to fate and said the only thing running through his mind.

“Can we go get something to eat? I’m really hungry.”

 

*****

 

And that was how Chanyeol got engaged to Kris. It wasn’t a particularly interesting story, really. It was more embarrassing than endearing. But Lay cracked up like mad and only said that it fitted Chanyeol and Kris perfectly.

Lay was currently living in Shanghai. He had taken over his father’s position as Kris’ patron. He made some adjustment to the confidential clause between Kris and Zhang Groups so that Kris could study and draw and sketch without fear of breaching any contract.

His parents weren’t so amused when he returned as an engaged man. He wasn’t even 20, hadn’t even enrolled to university. But after a phone call from Kris, his parents finally accepted it. Chanyeol overheard some part of the conversation, and he was torn between cringing in horror at the cheesiness or jumping in joy.

“Mrs. Park, I’m sorry if it seemed to be abrupt or rushed. But to me, Chanyeol is a very fine young man with unparallel beauty. If I don’t tie him to me I’m afraid that he will be snatched from right under my nose. I can’t live without your son, and I’m 100% sure your son can’t live without me. We’re meant for each other. Please let me take care of Chanyeol.”

Kris drew a deep breath and was about to launch into another speech but Mrs. Park immediately gave her acceptance, if only to shut Kris up.

Chanyeol enrolled to College on Fine Arts under SNU and chose Department of Design. He had gotten better and better at doodle art, Mr. Shim advised him to pursue a career in design. Chanyeol unexpectedly had an eye for good composition and had developed a unique style all his own.

He enjoyed his days as freshman, making new friends and learning new things. His friends were a little taken aback at seeing his engagement ring, but it gave him a certain piece of mind, knowing that no one would even try hitting on him. When he told Kris about it, Kris only said that the ring had served its purpose as ‘insect repellant’. Chanyeol didn’t answer his calls nor reply to his texts for three days after that comment.

They made up when Kris sent Chanyeol a sketch of two kittens playing with a ball of yarn. Underneath the sketch was Kris’ handwriting.

‘Kitty Kris and kitty Yeol are playing together. Forgive me?’

Chanyeol couldn’t stay mad after that. He sent a pic of his own doodle. It was of a mecha Yeol with cat ears shooting laser from his eyes. The caption read ‘Next time you made him angry, kitty Yeol will turn into mecha Yeol and laser you with his eyes.’

 

*****

 

Chanyeol was a freshman in college and Kris still had three more years to go before he finished his study and return to Korea.

They still had a long way to go before they could be physically together. But Kris always sent his sketches to Chanyeol and Chanyeol always sent his doodles to Kris. They were connected through their pencils and sketchbooks. They were connected through their matching rings and hour long phone calls.

They were worlds apart, but it was okay. Their hearts were connected.