Chapter 28 – Weirdos and Meanies

Things got awkward between the two of us, hell, that's still a complete understatement. Hyungwon wrapped himself in unbreakable silence, rising to his feet and walking home without ever looking directly at me again and all I could do was follow behind, stunned by his words.

I noticed that I might actually need you guys to keep going. Can you imagine how proud I was to have heard him say that? I mean, Chae Hyungwon, mister don't-touch-me-unless-you-want-to-die, mister none-of-your-business had said that he ing needed someone else, that he needed us. Listening to myself now, I guess you can't imagine it at all, but let me tell you that it was an amazing feeling. The honesty that lit up his eyes back then just couldn't be something my desperate mind had made up. He meant it. He was beginning to trust me.

It was okay that he didn't talk to me for the rest of the evening. It was okay that he didn't find the courage to look any of us in the eye. It was okay that he went to his room earlier than usual. Because I knew what he thought about us on the inside. The others would send me a questioning glance every now and then but I'd just wave it off with an even brighter smile to assure them that everything was fine between the two of us.

I could go to bed without any problems occupying me but it still took me more than half an hour to actually fall asleep as I couldn't stop smiling into the darkness that was surrounding me. I'd be patient like I had always been with him, the thought of not going to Exo's place but to the playground instead becoming less troubling to me since he had said he'd be there as well. I had feared that Exo might come and beat us up for the Hyungwon decided to pull off, but the more I thought about it, the more I came to the conclusion that it would work out somehow. He wouldn't have done this if he wasn't confident in his combat skills, so I could relax and let him do whatever he wanted.

Chae Hyungwon was so much more than one might expect at first glance.

So much more.

It was the first time I actually looked forward to meeting Exo and I reached the playground a few minutes past five, the sun having almost completely wandered off to shed light on some other continent with only the least bit of red still lighting up the sky. There were several street lamps positioned around the playground and I decided to sit down on the swing, noticing that the sand was frozen due to the cold.

I moved back and forth, just a little bit, with my feet grazing the ground when a familiar figure emerged from the shadows, hands buried in his pockets. I stopped to watch him as he came closer to lean against one of the poles holding the swing, staring at the sun's remains. “Why don't you swing a little higher?” His question caught me off guard and I frowned for a few moments. “I could see you hesitate through the store's window.”

I began to swing a little again, swallowing heavily. “Vertigo.”

Hyungwon turned his head to look at me for the first time since the evening before. “It's not all that high though?”

I could only shrug. “I'm afraid of heights in general, be it one meter or twenty. Don't know the reason, it just happened to be that way.”

Silence surrounded us as it often did and I began humming a quiet melody I had heard on the radio earlier that day. Minutes passed until Hyungwon suddenly curled his hands into fists. “You know, about yesterday-” He interrupted himself, eyes widening for a split second before his signature mask void of emotion was back and his head snapped towards some street corner with cold eyes.

I cocked my head to the side but before I could ask what was wrong, I heard the voices myself. They were here. Two people appeared, stepping into the dim light and I'd almost have cowered at the sight of Chanyeol's long shadow if it weren't for Hyungwon standing right next to me with a slightly bored expression. Keep your cool, it's just two of them, I reminded myself, grinning at the second person I recognized as Joonmyun, their leader. They really do nothing halfway, sending their leader here.

I could see Hyungwon frown at the shorter male, obviously having difficulties with categorizing him and I swung forward to jump off the swing with spread arms. “Joonmyun!” My company relaxed a little at my friendly tone of voice that was only half-faked. Exo's leader was a calculating but polite man and I wasn't all that sure if he even knew what his gang mates had done to me every week.

He smiled back at me but before either of us could say anything else, Hyungwon pushed himself off the pole with his hands still buried in his pockets and eyes fixed on Chanyeol's pissed face. “Wanna fight today as well?” He rolled back his shoulders but Joonmyun held his friend back with just a wave of his hand.

“We're not looking for a fight, right Chanyeol?”

Said male visibly clenched his teeth to put on a strained smile that couldn't have been more fake. “Of course not.”

“Aw, I was so looking forward to this.” Hyungwon sounded as though he was pouting but when I turned my head, he still wore that unreadable expression I found rather creepy. He then shrugged with a sigh. “At least tell Lay his punch was good. It could have burst a turtle's shell.”

Chanyeol scrunched up his nose, hands curling into fists. “What the is that supposed to mean?”

“It's just a metaphor, but please tell him exactly that so that he won't feel too down because he lost.”

“Whatever, bastard.”

“Language, Chanyeol.” I exchanged a glance with Joonmyun who rolled his eyes before nudging the giant with his elbow. “We brought the money.” I nodded and took the plastic bag out of my backpack while they rummaged around in theirs to get all the bills together when I stepped up to them.

Hyungwon observed everything from behind me in disinterest when Chanyeol pulled me closer all of a sudden, his voice barely more than a hiss. “You should count yourself lucky you have a bodyguard now, you little .”

I my lips and huffed when a quiet growl could be heard from his throat. What was he, a dog? “You should count yourself lucky I don't let him do whatever he wants. There aren't many hospitals around here, it would be rather unpleasant for you, you know?” We exchanged what we held in our hands with our bodies only inches apart as I sent Chanyeol a vicious smirk. He wouldn't scare me anymore. I wasn't alone. I took a step back, then another one, counting the bills in the meantime to make sure everything was alright before nodding. “It's always a pleasure to meet you. Have a safe trip home.”

Joonmyun watched as Chanyeol hesitantly put the flowers away before carefully bowing his head towards us. “The pleasure is all mine. See you next week.”

“I'll be here.”

We watched them as they turned around to leave, their bodies being swallowed by darkness after just a short amount of time and I bit my lower lip until I could be sure they wouldn't hear us anymore before turning towards Hyungwon with sparkling eyes. “Oh my god, did you see that? Did you see their faces? Ha, they were totally scared of you!”

It was only then that I saw him unclench his fists while exhaling. He had been ready to dash forward and fight them the whole time and I couldn't help smiling even brighter. He would have rescued me in case of emergency. “Good thing they took last week to heart”, he muttered with a slow nod of his head and I could see delight in his eyes for once.

“But did you see their faces? Ha, Chanyeol was so pissed, wasn't that funny? Wasn't it?” An amused snort escaped Hyungwon's lips and he covered his mouth with one hand but I saw the slight smile tugging at its corners nonetheless. “You know”, I started when I nudged his side, “I think we make a great team.” His eyes suddenly became sort of uncertain and he cleared his throat in a hurry, signalizing me that I had just reminded him of how well we were getting along. “Hey, why are you so-”

“It's about what I said yesterday, I didn't-”

“If it's about that I don't want to hear it.”

“It's just that-”

“I said I don't want to hear it. Whatever you want to say, don't do it. It will ruin everything we have.” I flicked his forehead and he ducked in surprise, staring at me with big eyes. “Don't bluff it out, I know you meant it. Just like I did.”

We started moving towards our house and I eyed the melting snow with disgust before kicking it, sending a bit of slush down the street. Snow was all soft and fun as long as it didn't get too warm, I hated that weird slushy material. When I glanced at Hyungwon I found him looking at the few stars shimmering through the clouds above our heads and he seemed to be lost in thought for the next few minutes until we reached the last corner to turn when he suddenly stopped. I halted my steps as well, the cold wind sending shivers down my spine as I didn't turn back but looked straight ahead.

“Isn't it weird?”, his voice echoed from the nearby houses and I felt the cold creeping up my feet. “I feel like you wouldn't even care if I told you about everything, but that can't be.”

I knew he was talking about his past, but I didn't know how to react to that statement. Was it good because he believed in me or rather bad since he didn't actually think it to be possible? “You won't know until you try.” I kept my eyes fixed on the water that was dripping from a streetlamp, counting the droplets as I waited for another reply. Fifteen, sixteen... sevent-

“Whatever might happen in the future...Thanks for... for still being here now.”

I snapped out of my trance and wanted to turn around when Hyungwon picked up speed again and pushed past me in a hurry, suddenly two steps ahead. He couldn't see how the smile spread on my lips when I followed suit. Everything was going well. I just had to wait for him to realize it. All I needed was time and a little bit of luck.

Time go