"The rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the applied force and it takes place in the direction in which the force acts."

 

It's been exactly five days, three hours, fifteen minutes and two seconds since Do Kyungsoo had left for his hometown. 

It's been forever since Byun Baekhyun had smiled properly. 

When the news came that his sister-in-law was to give birth soon, Kyungsoo couldn't control his joy and excitement. He smiled at anyone and everyone who came his way, even if they happened to be an annoying Jongdae or a crabby Sehun. In the night, he kept babbling to his roommate about what his responsibilities were as the uncle and if he would be chosen to be the infant's godfather.

Kyungsoo was so delighted over the addition of a new member to his family. 

Baekhyun, not so much.

He was secretly disappointed that Kyungsoo would be leaving for a week or so till the baby arrived. What would he even do till then? Talk to people like Junmyeon about rising gasoline prices? Hang out with Yixing and smoke some of his good stuff? And who would help him with homework and prepare his midnight snacks?! Without Kyungsoo, his whole life was a trainwreck. But of course, he would never admit that, especially to Kyungsoo himself.

The few days before Kyungsoo's departure, Baekhyun slipped off to different classes just to avoid being with his friend. He then came back to their room late, way after Kyungsoo fell asleep, or spent an all-nighter at the library. He would do anything as long as he didn't let his true feelings slip to Kyungsoo. 

'You know, I'm leaving today,' stated Kyungsoo, looking over his half-packed trunk at Baekhyun, who was pretending to be busy reading. 

'Hmmm... I know,' was the vague reply.

'So, aren't you going to get ready and drop me off at the railway station?'

'But Soo, there's this test next week—'

'Test?! You're actually studying for a test without me having to nag you to death?'

'Excuse me!'

'No! Excuse me but your best friend is leaving for a week and that's when you decide to study for once? We haven't even spoken properly the past few days! I don't get why you're acting so weird all of a sudden...' retorted Kyungsoo, 'If there's any problem, you can simply tell me.'

'It's just that all the assignments were keeping me busy,' lied Baekhyun through his teeth.

'Well then if you want to stay here—'

'No no. I'll get dressed,' interjected Baekhyun, getting up from his seat.

 

Baekhyun watched as the train chugged slowly to halt. Many families greeted the arriving passengers; some bid farewell to the departing ones. Kyungsoo turned to him and said, 

'This is it then.'

'Hurry up and get a seat for yourself, Soo,' muttered Baekhyun, as he passed the luggage into his friend's hands.

It was only after the words had come out that he realised how inconsiderate it must have sounded to Kyungsoo. A look of hurt and anger lingered in Kyungsoo's eyes even after he pried the suitcase out of Baekhyun's hands. Watching as Kyungsoo gloomily trudged away, Baekhyun so badly wanted to apologise to him. He wished to hug his bestie and cry buckets and rivers and glaciers and oceans. He didn't want Kyungsoo to leave him. But he just stood frozen on the platform. Kyungsoo entered the coach and the door shut behind him.

Neither a good-bye was said nor a smile exchanged.

The moment the train left, Baekhyun's dilemma began.

 

'So how many of you are familiar with the Great Inflation of the 1970s?' came the voice of the lecturer as he began his seminar. Baekhyun gazed blankly at the glaring light of the PowerPoint presentation. He hadn't spoken to Kyungsoo after that day. The fact that it was the longest time for which they had ever remained without speaking to each other loomed darkly over his mind. He wanted to call up his bestfriend and tell him how much he missed him and how envious he felt of the little baby who would now steal Kyungsoo's attention for itself. But then he also knew that Kyungsoo would snap at him. He would make sure to let Baekhyun know how much he hated him. It would take just one wrong word to destroy their entire bond. Baekhyun was growing a bit insane, to be honest. He found a hedgehog scampering around campus one day and took it back to the dorm as his pet. Needless to say, he named it Kyungsoo.

'You've got to stop overthinking things, Baekhyun,' whispered Minseok from beside him, the only sane person other than Kyungsoo in Baekhyun's entire circle of friends. The troubled expression on Baekhyun's face probably gave away his thoughts.

'But he hates me... He'll probably just cut the call before I could get a few words across.'

'Well, you've got to step up. And you have to tell him how lonely you feel without him.'

'He'll probably think I'm mocking him and I'll end up getting thrashed instead.'

'Then you're on your own here, buddy.'

And with that, they resumed taking down notes in silence.

On going back to his room, which strangely seemed so cold without Kyungsoo's presence, Baekhyun firstly fed Kyungsoo the hedgehog some biscuits and placed a fresh bowl of water for it to drink. He then made sure to water Kyungsoo's precious Venus Fly Trap before seating himself on his roommate's bed. Tracing his hands along the neat sheets, his fingers came in contact with something flimsy tucked under the quilt. Peeling the covers off, he found Kyungsoo's little scrapbook in which pictures of the baby were to be pasted. Kyungsoo most likely forgot it in his haste. Opening the book, Baekhyun flipped through the brightly coloured pages with lots of picture and notes. He had never gone through this scrapbook before and it surprised him that Kyungsoo took down every small detail of his life. There was a picture of both of them at the amusement park, laughing to their heart's content over some lame joke to wash away their fear of riding a monstrous rollercoaster. Just below that was the caption:

                                The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fear. —Nelson Mandela

Of course Kyungsoo meant for the caption to be humorous but it brought an overwhelming sense of determination in Baekhyun's soul. He had to make amends before it was too late. And he could go all the way there under the pretext of returning the scrapbook. Grabbing Kyungsoo the hedgehog and placing it in his pocket, Baekhyun made his way out of his room. 

'Stay put, Kyungsoo. We've got a long way ahead...'

 

Stepping over the potholes cautiously while simultaneously checking on Kyungsoo the hedgehog, Baekhyun walked up the road that led to Kyungsoo's house. He had been there many times but it felt so new to him all of a sudden. Once at the doorstep, he buzzed the bell anxiously. He waited for a while before he rang the bell again. But there was no response. An old lady nearby spoke out from the other side of the compound wall,

'They're at the hospital, dear. She's in labour.'

'When did they leave?' asked Baekhyun, running a hand through his hair.

'It's been a while. Are you here to see the baby?'

'Actually, I'm here to talk things out with the baby's kid uncle!' joked Baekhyun, eliciting a laugh out of the old woman, 'Could you help with the directions to the hospital, please? I'm in a bit of a hurry.'

Getting what he requested for, Baekhyun set off to his new destination but with the same goal in mind. 

 

'Excuse me. I'd like to meet a patient. She must be in labour now. I mean, maybe. Or maybe not,' blabbered Baekhyun, not quite sure of what to say. Great going, Byun, he thought to himself, as he flashed his best smile at the receptionist. The receptionist gave him a pointed look and said,

'Sir. If you could calm down and tell me the name of the patient, I'll give you the room number. That is if she is not in labour...'

'Oh yes, of course! The name is...uhmm... is...' 

'Sir! There are many other people waiting behind you. Please give me a name!'

Baekhyun racked his brains to figure out Kyungsoo's sister-in-law's name but he was getting nowhere. The receptionist's stern glare wasn't helping much either. She was about to lose it and snap at him when—

'Baekhyun?'

Baekhyun turned towards that familiar low-pitched voice. The voice he missed so much as a result of his own folly. 

Kyungsoo stood there in his neat button down and black slacks. His face showed mixed emotions ranging from surprise and happiness to mild hurt and doubtfulness. Baekhyun nudged aside the moribund old man beside him and stood in front of his pal, with no one in between to stop him. Without a warning, he started on his feet at a million miles per hour. Kyungsoo's owl eyes widened just a millisecond before the hurtling blur came crashing into his body, with him desperately trying to hold onto anything for his dear life whilst adapting to the sudden changes in environment. The momentum in Baekhyun's body was passed onto Kyungsoo's stationary one in a short span of time. The collision sent Kyungsoo's tiny frame flying across the pristine white marble floors but the impact wasn't enough to keep Baekhyun still.

The tears immediately poured out of Baekhyun's eyes and he wept onto Kyungsoo's shoulder, as they both lay on the floor, Byun over Do. He clutched onto his friend's shirt and wailed out, creating a wet patch on the sheer fabric. Kyungsoo gently smoothed down his hair and whispered,

'Hey there. It's alright... Take a deep breath.'

'I- I'm so sorry, Soo. I re-really missed you,' hiccupped Baekhyun, wiping his face.

'I missed you too, man.'

'No, you don't understand. I even got myself a new Kyungsoo. Look!' yelped Baekhyun, pulling up a confused hedgehog,'Kyungsoo, meet Kyungsoo.'

'Um... hello?!'

The hedgehog grunted in response. Kyungsoo smiled at a now stable Baekhyun, tickling the hedgehog's belly.

'If you missed me so much, you could've just opened your mouth and said so. Did you really have to mess things up?'

'I know I acted like a jerk and I hate myself for that.'

'Stop beating yourself about it. You were never good with words anyway. Either saying too much or too less depending on how inappropriate the circumstances are. I'm used to it, you know.'

Blinking back his surprise, Baekhyun mumbled, 'You seem to have forgiven me. How strange.'

'Well, you chose a good time. I have to give you that!' joked Kyungsoo, pushing the other's chest.

It took a few moments for the words to register in Byun Baekhyun's head...

'OH MY GOD! IS IT A GIRL OR A BOY?'

'Hush it! This is a hospital for Christ's sake! And it's a girl, by the way.'

'I'm gonna shout from the rooftops and the hills and let the whole world know that my bestie is finally an uncle!'

'Yeah, you do that, you lunatic. And don't forget to shout about what an insensitive douchebag you turned into.'

'Soo!'

'Don't forget the part on how much you obviously missed my presence albeit denying it all this while.'

'Okay, now you're just pissing me off...'

'And please sing a sonnet about your petty jealousy against an unborn being all for the sake of my attention!'

'That's it! You've had enough of mocking me!' cried Baekhyun, punching Kyungsoo's arm. Kyungsoo, never being the one to back down, gave him two punches and a kick in return, unwittingly ensuing an outright brawl.

As it turned out, the hospital issued a notice within twenty-four hours informing all the patients and staff to report a Byun Baekhyun and a Do Kyungsoo, who have been permanently banned from the premises, if they were ever spotted lurking around.