“Hey ugly” Nayeon calls out as she casually walks past her little brother.

He rolls his eyes, clearly unamused at her greeting and clearly too invested in his video games to bother with her. At the very least the brat kept himself out of her way when he played his games. She dropped her backpack besides the couch and went straight to the kitchen. The familiar sight was always comforting, her mother at the stove, happily cooking away. She always had a smile on her face if her father had called to say that he could be home on time, and a slight droop to her shoulders when he would be late.

Today he would be home on time. That much was certain as her mom hummed lightly to herself, a broad smile on her face.

Nayeon leaned against the side of the refrigerator, watching her mom for a moment. She recalled the story of how her parents had met. The old story, deeply ingrained in her memory, came to life quite easily. She could always see it, her father’s rare shy side making it easy to imagine the tall man waiting for weeks to confess to the classmate he had been admiring for nearly a year and her mother… her part of the story came all too alive when she saw the way she looked at her father. After all these years, her eyes still sparkled when she looked at him.

When she thought of the two, she always imagined her life ending up a little bit like theirs. She had done so until she realized that love like theirs was unique, not the norm. It killed her hopes a little, to know that and admit that to herself.

Love after all, had become secondary to many. The whole personality aspect replaced by specs. She saw it even now, my boyfriend’s family does this and that… they own so and so. She didn’t mean to imply that she was special or immune to that, she talked like that too lately. Before Baekhyun had come back, she had bene bragging about Chanyeol, saying the same types of phrases she had just thought about with such scorn.

What a hypocrite I am.

“What are you thinking about so hard Nayeon?” Her mother asked, finally turning around and catching her daughter with a faraway gaze in her eyes.

Nayeon snapped back to her present, looking over at her mother as she pushed off the fridge and walked over to her.

“Do you remember a Baekhyun? Used to be our neighbor?”

She thought about it for a moment before her face lightened up, “Oh yes! He was such a nice kid and always so nice to you! He spoiled you by always visiting you” Her mother said with a laugh, “Such a smart boy too, and he adored you like a little sister!”

Nayeon scrunched her nose in distaste at the comparison… little sister somehow making her uncomfortable to hear.

“You know he’s a teacher at my school now right?” She asked.

Her mom nodded, “I heard some of the other moms talking about earlier. I hope he’s not showing you any favoritism just because he used to know you”

Nayeon laughed, “Favoritism? HA. Trust me mom, that’s the last thing he’s doing”

“Well good”

“Hey mom?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you ever find out why he left? Why his family disappeared afterwards”

Her mother paused, “No… there were rumors and his family wasn’t really… they were strange”

“I know that” Nayeon confirmed.

Her mother blinked, staring at her, “You do?”

“Of course, Baekhyun and I were friends. I wasn’t just some little kid” Nayeon said a little too defensively.

Her mother watched her for a beat too long before she went back to her food, “Why are you asking so many questions about him Nayeon?”

She shrugged as she grabbed an apple, “Just being nosy!” She said, walking away with a small wave and going up into her room.

~~~~~~~~

Nayeon made sure to stop by the vending machine near the back entrance. She scanned the drinks sitting in the vending machine carefully until her eyes landed on the coconut milk drink. She smiled, picking it out and waiting impatiently as it tumbled down. She grabbed it and carried it in her arms as she stepped into the empty classroom. The school had been nearly empty too, not enough classmates willing to come in early enough when it wasn’t required of them.

She couldn’t blame them, up until he had come back, she really wouldn’t have been bothered to get out here so early. She placed the drink at his desk and shed her backpack, dropping it besides her own chair and going back to his desk. She stared at his empty chair, her mind playing back memories that she had no clue she still held carefully preserved.

“You always bring water” He had said, a smirk playing on his lips.

A younger Nayeon froze, the first time he had said anything to her in the couple of times that she had been sneaking out her window to leave him supplies. She cocked her head to the side, watching him carefully.

“You’re lucky I bring you water at all” She snapped.

Baekhyun had blinked, surprised at the seemingly sweet girl’s snappy remark. He laughed, she was full of surprises. The laughter didn’t last long, he winced as his abdomen echoed pain from the bruise forming on it. A flicker of pity crossed her eyes, making him instantly uncomfortable. He wished he could get over it, but he couldn’t, embarrassment was an instinct. Embarrassment at not being to explain to this girl why he wasn’t man enough to stand up for himself.

She had more sense than it seemed though as she sighed.

“Well if you wanted another drink, not that I’m promising anything, but what would it be?”

“Something with coconut?” He asked with a smile and she huffed.

“Stupid” She muttered to herself, as she began to climb back down to her window.

“Hey” He asked, interrupting her on her way back down yet again.

She finished climbing down into her own balcony and looked up, “What?”

“Can I ask one question?”

She blinked and rolled her eyes.

“Gum”

“What?”

“It was gum. My little brother dropped gum in my hair while I slept. That’s why it’s like this” She snapped yet again.

 A small laugh escaped him as he waved her away and she slammed her window shut with so much force it made the pain from the resulting laughter worth it.

Baekhyun walked in rather unceremoniously, scratching the back of his head as he continued to miss the warmth of his bed and blankets. He stopped short when he spotted her, leaning against his desk, lost in thought. It wasn’t until he reached his desk that she bothered to stare up.

She glanced up, “Morning” She greeted.

There was something different about being around her with no one else around. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, nor did he want to, but the feeling remained. He suddenly wished more students were around, he longed for the buffer they provided.

“Morning” He replied calmly, placing his briefcase aside and stopping short when he saw the coconut drink on his desk.

For a moment, he almost smiled. Almost laughed and asked her how on earth she still remembered that he liked these. For one moment, he almost slipped and fell back into the Baekhyun that knew her, the one that wasn’t her teacher, the one that could be her friend with no issues.

“What’s that?” He asked instead, keeping his voice cool.

Her smiled faltered and he could see the self-doubt creep in to her.

“I… uh, remembered you liked those so I brought one”

“I don’t like those anymore” He lied calmly, pulling out a set of next week’s exams.

She blinked in surprise, glancing down at her feet in embarrassment.

“Right, sorry”

He said nothing as she took the drink back. Instead he set the stack of exams in front of her.

“Make enough copies for 3 classes worth, won’t you?” He asked politely, detached.

“Sure thing” She replied stiffly, grabbing the stack in her arms, “Anything else?”

“Not for now” He said.

She waited for a heartbeat before she turned and walked to the door. At least she meant to, pausing right before she reached it. She swung the door shut with her foot and turned to face him firmly, holding that same stack of papers pressed to her chest, as if knowing what would be coming, and using them to protect herself.

It wouldn’t work.

“How could you not instantly remember me? Did I really mean so little to you?” She asked in annoyance, catching him by surprise.

“Nayeon, I would suggest you watch your tone with your teacher” He replied after a moment’s hesitation.

“I’m…” She began exasperated, “What are you doing? I was your best friend! We shared a friendship and then you disappeared on me! You didn’t even say goodbye!”

“You were and still are a child, last time I checked people don’t say good bye to their random neighbors!” He said calmly, his cool tone countering her anger in a much more effective way than any anger would have.

Baekhyun instantly regretted the words as soon as they had escaped his lips, but would do nothing to take them back, at least it was better this way. Distance was an absolute requirement. He watched as she struggled with her hurt feelings and opened to say something then thought better of it.

“I’m not a child anymore and I don’t care what you thought, but you were my best friend and if anything, you should feel sorry for leaving me alone like that” She accused, “Because even if I meant nothing you, you meant a great deal to me and I still needed you. I don’t care what you say, but I deserved a good bye”

He said nothing and in its own way that was worse. She went for the door and paused before turning around, “I think maybe you need to think deeply about why you feel the need to push me away so badly” She announced before walking out, copies in hand.

Despite feeling like an idiot, she was glad she had said something as she walked into the teacher’s lounge where the copy machine was. She glanced back at the few teachers scattered at their desks and waved the copies in her hand at the one that had glanced back curiously at her to legitimize her being there. She nodded and Nayeon smiled as she placed the paper into the copy feeder and began. As the seconds ticked past she began to regret everything she had said, from beginning to end. She groaned, realizing that she wasn’t acting like the adult that she so desperately wanted to show him she could be. But adults still had feelings and frustrations, she told herself trying to console herself silently.

“Nayeon?” A familiar voice asked from behind.

Nayeon stilled and glanced back, “Chanyeol” She said simply staring up at him and quickly glancing back at the teachers who conveniently pretended as if they didn’t see him.

She once again found herself wishing that she wouldn’t have had to come to school today.