After the door closed, Chanyeol sat on the couch. His eyes were on the television and the news headlines were catching his attention.

PARK CHANYEOL IS STILL NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. POLICE ARE SEARCHING AROUND THE CRIME SCENE.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. They wouldn’t find anything there since he was still alive, hiding in Kyungsoo’s house. He averted his eyes and looked out the window while his mind wandered elsewhere. He couldn’t stay here forever. Luhan and Sehun would hunt him down until they had his head in their hands.

He closed his eyes. He still couldn’t believe that his once happy family was slaughtered by his own nephew that he raised since he was a baby. His mother’s screams of agony along with the maniacal laughter coming from Sehun’s lips still rang through Chanyeol’s head. He swore to never forgive Sehun despite the fact that he was his sworn brother, best friend, and the first boyfriend Chanyeol had ever had.

“Chanyeol, is everything alright? Is your head hurting?” Kyungsoo patted Chanyeol’s shoulder, waking him up from his trance. He stared into Chanyeol’s lost eyes, trying to figure out what was going through Chanyeol’s mind. Chanyeol smiled weakly, shaking his head and it was enough for Kyungsoo not to press the matter further.

“I’m fine, thanks. Have you called your office? I’m really sorry about what happened earlier.”

“It’s okay. I’m allowed to skip work every once in awhile. Are you hungry yet”

“No–” The sound of is stomach growling cut him off and Kyungsoo couldn’t help but chuckle at Chanyeol’s red ears.

“Does japjae sound good?” Chanyeol nodded and Kyungsoo ruffled Chanyeol’s hair before going into the kitchen. Chanyeol felt something warm growing inside his heart but he brushed it away.

“Oh !” Kyungsoo cursed, making Chanyeol drag his feet into the kitchen.

“What happened?” Chanyeol asked when he found Kyungsoo searching for something in the kitchen.

“There’s no ingredients to cook with. I have to go to the market,” Kyungsoo said as he scratched his neck. He went to his bedroom and changed into something warmer.

“Can I go with you?” Chanyeol asked as Kyungsoo headed to the front door. Kyungsoo pondered for a moment. It would dangerous for Chanyeol to go out in public with everyone looking for him.

“Wait here for a second.” Kyungsoo returned to his bedroom once again and grabbed the ugly black hoodie that Joonmyeon left behind and some fake glasses that belonged to Baekhyun. He shoved them into Chanyeol’s face while standing on his tippy toes. Smiling at the sight, Kyungsoo dragged the dumbfounded Chanyeol to the door and off to the market.

=xoxo=

Fortunately for the two of them, the market wasn’t from away from the apartment. It was only about five minutes by foot. The road was already full of people. Most of them were inhaling their lunch with earbuds blocking out all the sound. One advertisement caught Kyungsoo’s attention. It had Chanyeol’s picture plastered across it with a personal contact number attached to it.

Chanyeol seemed to ignore the advertisement by averting his eyes to the mannequin inside the shop. Kyungsoo swore to himself that he’d never bring Chanyeol out again. Kyungsoo strolled around the aisles, placing all the ingredients he needed into the basket.

He was engrossed with the list in his hand when Chanyeol tapped his shoulder, causing him to almost drop the sesame oil in his hand.

“Can you please try to not give me a heart attack everytime you’re around me, Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo asked while patting his chest.

“Sorry,” Chanyeol said as he scratched the back of his head. “Can you buy this for me?” he asked as he placed the box of hair-dye into the basket.

Kyungsoo nodded. It would be a good idea to change his red hair to something more natural.

“Are you done yet?” Chanyeol asked.

“Yep, let’s go to the register,” Kyungsoo smiled and carried the basket to the registers.

“Let me carry that for you,” Chanyeol said as he took the basket out of Kyungsoo’s hands.

Kyungsoo smiled at how caring Chanyeol was acting today. After a few minutes of lining up, they paid for all the ingredients and returned to the apartment.

Rolling up his sleeves, Kyungsoo started to make japjae while Chanyeol tried to dye his hair in the bathroom.

Half an hour later, Kyungsoo was setting the table and Chanyeol entered the room with only his boxers on and a big towel wrapped around his hair. Kyungsoo couldn’t help but stare at the fine lines of Chanyeol’s abs and the happy trail that lead to somewhere that Kyungsoo didn’t want to imagine.

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