*I’m creeping in your heart babe*

The day began with the buzzing of an alarm clock situated on the bedside table. The blaring sound screeched across the entire room which woke Chanyeol up from his peaceful sleep. He cursed once, but at the same time reached for it to press the snooze button. It halted instantaneously and he drifted back to sleep. But not too long later, it rang again. This time around, he mustered himself up and prepared for the start of a new term.

It was the same as any other day: Chanyeol would hit the snooze button twice—and sometimes, thrice—before he disappeared into the bathroom to take a hot shower. Afterwards, he would brush his perfectly straight teeth and put on his school uniform that he ironed the night before. At times, he might style his thick strands of hair or even put on a couple of ear studs. But he was too lazy to dress to impress that day.

The ride to school was only fifteen minutes. With both hands gripped on the handlebars, Chanyeol cycled at a leisure pace. When the traffic light turned red, he whistled some of his favourite pop songs to pass time. It was at that very moment that something shady caught his attention: Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a group of students who seemed dangerous particularly because of their fashion and outrageous tattoos. 

Chanyeol stared at them blankly for a couple of seconds before a ‘honk’ behind him pulled his eyes back to the road.

A boy—no older than nineteen—was pinned to a wall in the middle of a deserted alley. He had ruffled hair as if someone had grabbed and yanked it forcefully. A light bruise was at the corner of his lips, blooming darker by the minute. 

“What did you say? I can’t hear you,” a male said in a condescending voice. The smell of cigarettes was prominent. He donned a loose black shirt, which revealed his toned chest. A pair of sharp earrings adorned both his ears and a tattoo of a basilisk painted just beneath his palm. Anyone could tell he was a bully.

“I…” The male was on the verge of tears. His slender hands were on his knees and he knelt in front of the bully. Mist danced in his eyes and his vision turned blurry. With quivering lips, he cried out, “Please… Forgive me just this once...”

The bully slowly squatted down, meeting the boy’s wet eyes. “So you want me to forgive you?” 

The boy shook his head once, nodding in agreement. He then stared at the floor, unable to make eye contact. Tears burned his eyes but he bit his tongue to control them. He didn’t want to show any signs of weakness. He tasted blood and bile rose in his throat. 

“So, can I expect you to give me double the amount when we meet again?” The bully said. 

The boy spared a quick glance but regretted immediately. He saw dark splotches that stained his gums and identified a piercing on his tongue. He didn’t want to gag. But before he could give a reply, an uppercut went straight to the boy’s chin, causing him to tumble backwards. His hands automatically shielded his head, minimising the injury. The boy’s eyes felt baggy after a punch. An endless stream of tears escaped and it plopped like raindrops. 

The boy remained lying motionless on the ground after the bully hit him. Ten minutes had passed, and during that time, the bully had fled. It was pointless to hold conversations as the injured claimed to have no money with him. The bully had also injected fear in him. That was more than enough.

“Are they finally gone?” The boy asked himself. He scanned his surroundings. When he was certain that no one was around, he continued. “Damn, that punch was harder than I expected.” 

He then stood up on his own, dusting off his silver jeans—as if the floor was dirty—and brushing the leftover blood off his chin. Afterwards, he pulled out a tissue from his side pocket and wiped the tears that had already dried up. He paced a few metres to get his school bag, before flashing a mischievous smile and singsong. “I better take a cab from now on to avoid that stupid prick who looked like a hairless monkey. Who bullies people in broad daylight anyway? Idiot.” 

“So, that was all an act, eh? Byun Baekhyun.” The boy heard a deep voice coming from approximately six metres away. After he heard those words, the injured crouched his body, fell back to the ground, and screamed in pain. “It hurts… My stomach hurts… Who’s there… Please help me… Argh.” 

“Tsk, you are a -hot actor,” Chanyeol said and appeared right in front of Baekhyun. He parked his bicycle to the side and strolled towards the latter.

“Knew that was you, Park Chanyoke,” Baekhyun said. He proceeded to stand up on his own and level his eyes to the new visitor. “Only the Chanyeol I know uses such vulgar in his speeches.” 

“I can’t believe it! Byun Baekhyun, the most introverted guy in school, apparently feigns innocence? That’s a big discovery,” Chanyeol mocked while Baekhyun remained silent. “So, am I the first to know that you have been deceiving everyone for the past two years in school? Wow! Just wow.” He clapped.

Upon hearing those words, Baekhyun’s facial expression changed immediately. His innocent dog-like eyes disappeared and replaced with a stern look. He didn’t cower in fear and started to rage. With a darkened expression, he reprimanded. “And what about you? Park Chanyeol, who acts like the cool guy in school, but in reality, you are just a poor fella.” Chanyeol wanted to retort, but Baekhyun gave no chance. “I also know a lot more secrets about you, my dear Chanyeol. Where you are currently staying, what are your parents’ career and the whereabouts of your precious little sister,” Baekhyun threatened.

Chanyeol remained silent, face turning pale by Baekhyun’s extensive knowledge of his family background. He always hid his information and kept it a top secret—only a small number of students actually knew his real identity. Sweat began to pool on his palms. How did Baekhyun manage to dig up all this information?

“If both of us remain quiet, it will do both good,” a proud Baekhyun declared. Chanyeol turned around and prepared himself to leave, knowing that he had absolutely lost that argument. He underestimated the innocent boy. Chanyeol slung his bag over his shoulder and walked to his bicycle. When he was about to leave, he felt someone hold his arms, stopping him in his tracks. 

“How much?” Baekhyun spoke. “How much do you want so that you can keep your mouth shut and not tell anyone what you saw?”

“I don’t want your sympathy.”

“Do you want a job then?” Baekhyun said.

“What?”

“I can grant you easy cash if you like. All you need to do is to follow my orders.” Baekhyun opened his bag and retrieved his jet black wallet. In it, he waved a stack of $50 notes in the air. It certainly amounted to over $500. 

Chanyeol did a double take. Never in his life had he saw that much cash hovering in front of his pair of eyes. Even his bank account never exceeded $200. Well, not because he was that poor, but the reason was that he never saved money. He was an impulse buyer.

Anyone would be blinded by money. Baekhyun smirked as he saw the male standing in front of him, had his mouth opened agape. There were that fire and desire in his eyes. Chanyeol really wanted cash. 95% of the population would not tear their gaze away from money.

“What should I do…to earn that money?” Chanyeol asked after 20 seconds of silence. He rubbed his palms on his jeans, soaking up all the sweat. 

Baekhyun only grinned as he walked towards the tall boy, narrowing the gap between both of them. He then whispered directly into Chanyeol’s huge ear, which sent shivers down his spine. His eyes grew wide, and he stuttered, “D-Did I hear it wrong? Y-You said—”

“No. You never heard it wrong,” Baekhyun replied. He then repeated, “Be my boyfriend for a month, Park Chanyeol.”