« Mapsosa ! Baek ! Baekhyun. Are you okay ? »

Luhan was nearly shouting at him, but Baekhyun, still on the floor, couldn’t utter a word. Chanyeol approached the two friends calmly, his eyes set on his boyfriend’s slim figure. « Luhan, you should head back to your classroom. I’ll look after Baekhyun. You can leave him in my hands. »

Seeing that the other was still fidgeting, he added. « Nothing will happen to him while I’m with him, I swear. »

Eventually, the Chinese guy gave the newly-established couple an ultimate look back and walked away, leaving them alone.

« Baekhyun ? Do you need to go to the infirmary ? Are you hurt somewhere ? Perhaps, can you stand ? » asked Chanyeol, as he put a reassuring hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder.

At the lack of reaction of the latter, Chanyeol took charge and lift Baekhyun up, starting to examine him in order to make sure he wasn’t injured. He tried to make eye contact, but the puppy-eyed guy appeared to be nervous and on the verge of collapsing. « Hey. Hey ! Is something wrong ? Perhaps, do you feel ill ? »

The taller then realized that Baekhyun, far from responding to him, was actually avoiding his scrutinizing gaze. « Baekhyun ? Baekhyun. Look at me. Baekhyun, look at me or else, I’ll carry you bridal style to the infirmary right away. »

The truth is, Chanyeol was seriously contemplating to do as he said, when Baekhyun finally opened his mouth.

« It hurts… it hurts so much. »

« You’re in pain ? Where ? Where are you hurting ? Tell me. »

He raised his head, his eyes looking into Chanyeol’s caring ones. It looked like Baekhyun was trying really hard to hold back his tears and desesperatly needed to be comforted. The taller, instinctively, pulled him into a hug. He felt the need to protect his boyfriend. It was his duty. He sensed that the guy stiffened at his touch, and started patting his back gently.

« You can cry if you want to. I’m here, everything is gonna be alright. Hyun, do you hear me ? Everything is gonna be alright. Cry. It’s okay. Don’t think about anything else, just give in. » When he heard the nickname Taeyeon used to give him, Baekhyun couldn’t hold it back anymore. Just like that, all the armour of bravery he had built fell apart. The guy broke in tears, in the arms of someone he used to think of as a stranger until today, and that was now his boyfriend. Chanyeol his hair, as if Baekhyun was some kind of lost puppy, and tightened his comforting embrace around the smaller.

« My heart, it… it hurts so much. Please, make it stop… » « Why would she do that ? She… used to care about me. The Taeyeon I know would have never done that. Tae… I want to be with her. I would rather die than living without her by my side. I’ll die without her by my side. »

« Shht. Why would you say such a thing ? You are not thinking straight, you’re blinded with sadness right now. »

« Even if I live one more day, I want to live alongside the person I love the most. Even if I live for one hundred years, if I don’t have the person I love beside me… then it's pointless. »

Chanyeol didn’t know why but after hearing those cynical words, his heart sank further in his chest. He also felt infuriated at Taeyeon, like he’d never been before. « I’m going to make her life a living hell, like she did to Baekhyun’s. I promise. I’m not sure how, or when, but I will make sure she never hurts him again. Never ever. »

He placed a finger under Baekhyun’s chin, in order to make him look at him once more, and when he spoke, his tone had became firm yet gentle. « Didn’t I tell you I will help you ? You can’t give up halfway, in any case, I won’t allow you to do that. A breakup is not the end of the world. It just means that the two of you, who used to get along with each other like soulmates, parted ways. Maybe you weren’t destined, overcome that fact. You should think of it as… »

He paused, and dived into the other’s gaze. « An opportunity. A revival. A rebirth. Whatever you want to call it. And never forget you’re not alone. I’m here, by your side, and I’m not leaving unless you tell me do so. »

« Or until you get weary and realize that what I really am doesn’t meet your expectations. You don’t know me yet, or else you would be so disgusted that I wouldn’t be able to hold you in my arms the way I do here. »

« I’ll protect you. Trust me. Life is tough, but so are you. Thus, it is worth living it. » Chanyeol helped the wobbling guy standing up. « Let’s go okay ? I’ll bring you back home. »

Baekhyun seemed still in shock when they finally reached Chanyeol’s car. He had calmed down, but he was just sitting there, on his seat, an empty look displayed on his beautiful features. His eyes were red and he looked like he could faint at any minute. He was holding his backpack like a shield, as if the bag could actually protect him from the outside world. Chanyeol sighed, slightly exasperated. He grabbed his boyfriend’s backpack and put it on the back seat of the vehicle. He then drew near Baekhyun, who recoiled as best of his abilities, and leaned in in order to fasten the guy’s seatbelt.

At the sight of this small gesture, Chanyeol smiled widely, startling even more the already dazed and confused Baekhyun.

« What is it ? Are you blushing ? Did I make your heart flutter ? »

« His smil