As far back as he can remember they had been friends. Their mothers had said that their friendship started before they were even born; beginning while they were both in their mothers’ wombs. Baekhyun and Chanyeol had played together since they were in diapers; before they even knew what the word “friend” meant. They had lain in the same crib babbling at each other before they could even form words.

 

Baekhyun, underneath his boisterous personality, was shy at heart. He had cried, clinging onto his mother’s arms when she dropped him off for his first day of kindergarten. “I don’t wanna gooooo!” he had cried, dropping his mother’s hand to wrap his little arms around her legs like a koala. “Don’t leave Baekkie please!” It had taken the combined effort of the teacher and a few other parents to get Baekhyun off his mom, and as his teacher dragged walked him into the classroom, Baekhyun’s head did not turn away from his mom.

 

When he gets into the classroom, he immediately runs towards the make-believe corner, crawling into the playhouse and barricading the door with a box of Legos. Baekhyun proceeded to hug his knees to his chest, only to be interrupted by the sliding of the Legos box, indicating someone had pushed open the door. Little four-year-old Baekhyun huffs, eyes squinted at the person who dared to interrupt his private crying time, only to brighten at the familiar pair of large ears that poked through the crack.

 

“Baekkie?”

 

“Channie!”

 

“Whatchu doing in here?” Chanyeol asks, giving the plastic door a final push and frowning when he can’t get it to open all the way. He settles for sitting in front of the playhouse instead, scooting over so he’s looking at Baekhyun through the small four-frame window.

 

“I don’t wanna be here…” Baekhyun whispers, fresh tears beginning to fall from his face. “Baekkie wasn’t a bad boy! Why was Baekkie left here?” Baekhyun’s crying stops immediately the moment he hears Chanyeol snicker. Why was he laughing at him? Chanyeol was supposed to feel sorry for him! “Don’t laugh!”

 

“Baekkie it’s fun here!” Chanyeol grins, scooting closer to the window. “There are loooooots of toys here,” Chanyeol makes a show of spreading his arms wide, “even more than Baekkie has at home!”

 

Baekhyun’s eyes widen at the mention of toys. “R-really?”

 

Chanyeol nods enthusiastically, his grin never leaving his face. “Yup yup! And lots of friends too!”

 

Baekhyun shrinks back into himself. “B-but…what if they don’t like Baekkie?”

 

“Everyone will like Baekkie…” Chanyeol frowns, confused as to why his friend would think such ridiculous thoughts. “Just like Channie likes Baekkie!”

 

“Promise?”

 

“Pinky promise!” Chanyeol says, holding up his pinky finger and wriggling it.

 

And just like that, Chanyeol had gotten Baekhyun to crawl out of his hiding place. “Don’t worry Baekkie!” the taller boy had said, taking the smaller’s hand in his. “I’m here.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since their first day at kindergarten, they had been inseparable; the town’s two mischief-makers infamous for their rowdiness and playful pranks. To Baekhyun, Chanyeol was his best friend; and he was the best friend in the whole wide world to Chanyeol. Which is why five-year-old Byun Baekhyun was currently sitting cross-legged in the middle of his bedroom, tongue sticking out from the corner of his mouth, trying to loop the red strands through the yellow, glancing up and down between the strings in his hand and the pictures on the How To Make Friendship Bracelet book his older brother, Baekbeom, had given him.

 

It was fun and exciting at first as he spread all of the different colored strings he had forced asked his mom to buy for him – “but it’s for Channie!” he had whined, giving her his best puppy-dog look before she succumbed to her youngest son’s adorability. Starting the bracelet had been easy enough – he was a master at making knots (and even if he hadn’t been, he definitively was by now); the first few loops and pulls had been easy as well…until he got to the end of the row. It was the starting of the new row of the bracelet that had him stuck; and what he’d been frustratingly working on since. He had been trying this for the past forever (well, it felt like forever anyway) – sitting in his room angrily knotting and unknotting the tangled strings. Baekhyun mumbles under his breath, pulling at the taut strings once again before giving up and cutting the knot off altogether with his Rilakkuma craft scissors Chanyeol had gifted him for his birthday.

 

The sound of heavy footsteps stomping up the stairs – along with the happy “Baekkie!” – turns his attention away from his failed project.

 

“NO!!” he yells, jumping up from his seated position – and almost falling back down from the tingles shooting up his short little legs – to clamber to his bedroom door. He reaches it at just the moment his best friend turns the knob and pushes the door slightly open. “YOU CAN’T COME IN!” Baekhyun yells, pushing all of his weight against the wood, sighing in relief when he hears the click of the door closing.

 

“B-Baekkie…?” he hears Chanyeol call from the other side, a hint of dejection in his tone. No… not sadness. Park Chanyeol never gets sad. His best friend was the Happy Virus! The Happy Virus was always happy; the Happy Virus always chased away all of Baekhyun’s fears. The Happy Virus was….sniffling?

 

Gasping, Baekhyun quickly turns and pulls his door open, meeting the saddened expression of his best friend. ‘Oh no…’ he thinks, eyes beginning to water as he sees the tears pooling in Chanyeol’s eyes. He’s the worst friend ever; the worst, most horrible best friend in the whole wide world. “Channie…” Baekhyun whispers, rapidly blinking away his tears. Baekhyun is the older one here; he had to be strong for his little (but not so little) Chanyeollie. “Channie don’t cry! Please!” Baekhyun begs, wrapping his small arms around the crying boy.

 

“B-Baekkie!” Chanyeol wails as soon as he feels the smaller boy’s arms around him. “W-Why don’t you wanna p-play with me?”

 

If it were any other day, Baekhyun would laugh at the way his self-proclaimed knight-in-shining-armor of a best friend was crying like a baby in his arms; but not today. Today was Chanyeol’s birthday, and Baekhyun couldn’t let the birthday boy cry.

 

“I do wanna play with Channie! I do!” Baekhyun insists, eyes bright and wide as he looks up at his friend. Baekhyun makes a mental note to drink more milk (and maybe tell Mrs. Park to give Chanyeol less milk) as he watches the taller, younger boy wipe at his eyes.

 

“Y-You do?” Baekhyun nods enthusiastically. “Then why did you close the door?” Chanyeol asks, tilting his head. “You hurt my finger,” the boy pouts, holding his slightly red finger up for Baekhyun to inspect.

 

Baekhyun brings both hands up to his mouth, gasping dramatically as his eyes widen at the sight of Chanyeol’s “injury.” “Channie! I’m so sorry!” Baekhyun yells, taking the other boy’s hand in his. “I’ll kiss it better, okie?”

 

Chanyeol nods as he watches Baekhyun bring his finger (which doesn’t even hurt that much anymore) to his mouth, making a show of kissing his boo-boo.

 

“Better?” Baekhyun asks warily, looking from Chanyeol to Chanyeol’s finger still in his hands.

 

“All better! Your kisses are magical Baekkie!” Chanyeol grins, enveloping the boy in a bone-crushing hug. “Eh? What’s that?” Chanyeol suddenly asks. Baekhyun yelps as he pushes Chanyeol away, holding his hands out on either side of him, trying to cover the ground with his body.

 

“No! You can’t look!”

 

“But…what is it?”

 

“It’s nothing! You can’t-” Baekhyun is interrupted as his friend uses his height to his advantage, standing on his tippy toes to look at the ground behind Baekhyun. “Hey!”

 

“Why is there string all over the floor Baekkie?” Chanyeol asks, genuinely curious as he stares at the mess on the ground. Baekhyun doesn’t say a word as he goes over to the pile and picks up what looks like a giant knot, bringing it over to Chanyeol and dropping it into the boy’s hand. “Uhh….”

 

Chanyeol doesn’t get to finish his thought as Baekhyun suddenly starts wailing, tears streaming down his face at an alarming rate. “I-I’m s-so sorry C-Channie!” the boy cries.

 

Flustered, Chanyeol rushes to gather his friend into his arms. “What happened Baekkie? Why are you crying? Did you hurt your finger too?” He feels Baekhyun shake his head against his chest. “What’s wrong?”

 

“That,” Baekhyun took a step back and points at the red and yellow mess in Chanyeol’s hand, “was supposed to be your birthday present. I was making you a friendship bracelet….but it was so hard and the strings wouldn’t loop a-and-”

 

Chanyeol never gets to know what else the strings had done to upset his friend, because Baekhyun is back in his embrace, crying into his chest again. “It’s okay Baekkie…it’s okay!”

 

“N-no it’s not!” Baekhyun yells, his response muffled in the material of Chanyeol’s Rilakkuma T-shirt.

 

“I love it Baekkie! Look!” Chanyeol says, wrapping the strings around his wrist, “it’s perfect!”

 

Baekhyun sniffles, wiping his tears with the back of his hand as he looks at his friend skeptically, glancing at the loose strings hanging on Chanyeol’s wrist. “You do?”

 

Chanyeol nods with a giant grin plastered across his face. “I love everything Baekkie makes for me!”

 

“Am I still your best friend?”

 

“The bestest!”

 

“Promise?”

 

“Pinky promise!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They remain attached at the hip all through grade school and middle school. Everyone always knew Byun Baekhyun and Park Chanyeol as the Dynamic Duo – the two best friends the world would ever know. It was a known fact that wherever Baekhyun was, Chanyeol was sure to be as well. Which was why everyone was so shocked when Baekhyun chooses to sit by himself at lunch one day, eyes glaring angrily at friend who was laughing at something the new transfer kid had said. “Traitor…” Baekhyun mumbles under his breath, stabbing the piece of potato. Another booming laughter from Chanyeol along with his playful slapping of the kid’s shoulder has Baekhyun seeing red.

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol don’t hang out with each other for the rest of that week.

 

“Are you and Chanyeol okay?” his mom asks him one night at dinner.

 

“We haven’t seen him around lately,” his father adds.

 

“That traitor and I aren’t friends anymore,” Baekhyun retorts before violently stuffing rice into his mouth.

 

He doesn’t expect Baekbeom to rudely enter his room the following night, dragging a confused Chanyeol along behind him.

 

“WHAT’S HE DOING HERE!?” both Baekhyun and Chanyeol yells as soon as they catch sight of each other.

 

“I LIVE HERE YOU IDIOT!” Baekhyun yells back.

 

Baekbeom slaps a hand over Chanyeol’s mouth before he can even retort. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but figure it out. You’re both miserable without each other and it’s getting on my nerves.” The two pre-teens stare in shock as Baekhyun’s older brother pushes Chanyeol towards Baekhyun before exiting the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

 

Baekhyun glares at Chanyeol from his bed. “Leave.”

 

“But Baekbeom hyung said-”

 

“I DON’T CARE WHAT HE SAID, I’M TELLING YOU TO LEAVE!”

 

“WHY ARE YOU BEING LIKE THIS?!”

 

Baekhyun’s mouth drops open in shock. “Why am I being like this? I’m not the traitor here!”

 

“Who are you calling a traitor? You’re the traitor!”

 

“Am not!”

 

“Are too!”

 

“AM NOT!!!”

 

“ARE TOO! ARE TOO! ARE TOO! YOU ARE A TRAITOR BYUN BAEKHYUN! YOU’RE NOT A GOOD FRIEND! YOU-” Chanyeol suddenly stops his yelling when he notices Baekhyun isn’t interrupting. The boy who always had something to say wasn’t saying anything…he wasn’t yelling back. “Baek?”