“Baek?”

“Hey, Chanyeol…”

“Where have you been?” Chanyeol asked as he groggily sat up in his bed. He rubbed his tired eyes and tried to keep them open.

“You weren’t in class today,” he said as he yawned, “And when I call out to you, you disappeared.”

“Disappeared? When?” Baekhyun’s eyes were as round as marbles.

“It’s like you’ve vanished into thin air.”

“But I wasn’t even in school, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun replied, staring at him with innocent eyes.

“But I swear I saw – oh, nevermind,” Chanyeol shrugged, “Maybe my eyes deceived me…again.”

“So, have you come to revise today’s lessons with me?” Chanyeol asked curiously.

“Actually…no,” Baekhyun replied, “Chanyeol, listen. I’m thinking of dropping out of school.”

“What? Why?” Chanyeol’s eyes grew wide.

“It doesn’t feel right for me to go back to study anymore. I don’t want to do it anymore…”

“But you have me,” Chanyeol pointed to himself, “I’ll be there with you. And I need your company too.”

“I’ll meet you every day after school,” Baekhyun tried to cheer him up.

“It’ll be fine.”

“Baekhyun, please…”

“Fine. I’ll go for one last time tomorrow,” Baekhyun sighed, “But that’s it.”

“Great!” Chanyeol exclaimed excitedly.

“Ugh, I’m going to regret it so much,” Baekhyun muttered under his breath.

“This calls for a drink!” Chanyeol threw his arms in the air.

“Let’s head to the balcony!”

“Chanyeol, you know we can’t drink alcohol, right?”

“Who says we’re drinking alcohol?” Chanyeol flashed a mischievous smile and took out two bottles of Cokes from his drawer.

“Chanyeol, why do you have cokes in your drawer?”

Chanyeol shrugged, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“Now, come on!” he said and pulled Baekhyun by the arm as he raced towards the balcony upstairs.

Soon enough, the boys found themselves lying on their backs with their eyes fixated on the billions of stars in the vast dark sky. Naturally, Baekhyun leaned against Chanyeol as he rested his head on his chest and listened to his breathing.

“The sky tonight is sure beautiful,” Chanyeol commented.

“It sure is,” Baekhyun agreed.

“But something else caught my eyes and heart,” Chanyeol smiled secretly, “And it weren’t the stars, or the moon.”

Baekhyun lifted his eyes and stared at Chanyeol. He returned the glance. Without the need to utter any words, Baekhyun knew what Chanyeol was going to say. He knew what he meant. For a moment there, Baekhyun saw stars shone in both of Chanyeol’s eyes.

“You’re beautiful…”

“So are you,” Chanyeol replied, smiling as he leaned towards Baekhyun.

Baekhyun closed his eyes gently and felt the soft brush of Chanyeol’s lips against his cheek. They felt warm against his skin. Baekhyun turned and met Chanyeol’s lips with his own. He was afraid Chanyeol might break away. But instead, he leaned closer. He felt Chanyeol’s large hands cupping his jaw from both sides. Baekhyun grabbed both his wrists softly. The soft kiss turned into a passionate one. Soon, he realized he had both his arms locked around Chanyeol’s neck. For how long they had stayed in each other’s embrace, they did not know. When they finally broke away, Baekhyun bit his lower lip softly, tasting and savoring Ch