The night continued with bursts of laughter and cheers. It was time to cut the cake. Staff had brought in a 5 tier cake that was centered on the dance floor. It was decorated with intricate beads and pearls. The cake was a white covered tower that was almost six feet. After the last candle was  placed on the cake, spectators surrounded the birthday girl. The room erupted with voices singing. Many were off tune but no one could blame them. A lot were drunk from the alcohol. Aisha blew out the candles and smiled at the crowd. Her eyes scanned the many faces and was soon disappointed. Where was he? She didn’t have time to ask where Chanyeol was as she was urged to start cutting the cake. She slowly walked up to the stool so she was higher than the top of the cake. She turned around one last time to see if he had come yet. But all she was met with were faces of people she didn’t care for. She huffed and drew out the cutting knife. With anger fueling her system, she stabbed the very top of the cake and watched the perfect dessert crumble until the top tier was in a messy state. How dare he miss her Birthday celebration. She stalked off before anyone could consult her about what happened. Chanyeol wasn’t there to wish her a happy birthday. Chanyeol wasn’t there to dance with her. Chanyeol was only there for the band. Aisha scoffed at herself. She was angry at the man she is trying to find right now. How pathetic. But what could she do. Chanyeol was the only one she wanted to celebrate with. She continued walking towards the outdoor pool.

Chanyeol had just got back to the table and noticed that Baekhyun seemed at peace. “Here, thought you might be hungry since you didn’t really eat your dinner.”

Baekhyun gratefully accepted the plate of food. “Guess I was just nervous. I’m glad that I didn’t eat right before going on stage, I would have probably puked.” Baekhyun commented while digging into a donut. Chanyeol snickered and also bit into his own plate of food. “If you were nervous then you sure didn’t show it. Seriously, you were great.” He said with as much sincerity as possible. The two shared a quiet but comfortable silence as they enjoyed their food. Chanyeol didn’t want to admit that he also enjoyed watching Baekhyun eat. The blissful moment was interrupted by a sharp cough. Chanyeol looked up and saw Aisha standing there with a not so happy face. “Hey Aisha, how’s it going?” Chanyeol said. “Oh you know, just wanted to see if you remembered what you were supposed to do.” She said with an annoyed nonchalance. Chanyeol churned his head to see if he could remember what she meant. “....OH! Right! Happy birthday Aisha!” He said proudly that was accompanied with a sweet smile. Aisha lost her tense posture and smiled back. “Anything else?” She said while slowly getting closer to him. This time Chanyeol tensed and again churned his mind until it turned to mush. “uh……….mh……..I…..I…… I thank you for inviting me here?” He said with an unsure tone. “No Chanyeol……...that’s not ….never mind.” She said while turning back and walking away. Baekhyun had watched the scene unfold and realized very quickly what happened. Aisha liked Chanyeol. A lot. He also realized just how perfect they looked next to each other. One was short and petite with fair skin and a beautiful face. The other was tall and well built with a handsome face and deep voice. What a nice couple they would be. Picture perfect. His heart clenched at the thought. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair while finishing off his second donut. Chanyeol was called by some friends to  play in the pool and so he had gone off. Baekhyun sank deeper into his chair as Chanyeol pulled off his shirt. What a fine man he was. Abs and all. He checked his tummy and was met with milky white skin. Guess he’ll have an unrequited love to start off the school year. He watched as Chanyeol splashed around with other people. His hair was pushed back and every part of his body was covered with droplets of water. Baekhyun blushed when Chanyeol smiled at him, calling him to jump in the pool. He slowly got off his chair and headed towards the edge of the pool. “Come on Baekhyun! The water’s clean and it’s not that deep. If you drown I’ll save you!” Chanyeol yelled eagerly. Baekhyun huffed. “That doesn’t make me feel better at all.” He said while preparing to take of his shirt.

Before Baekhyun had the chance to strip he felt two hands land on his back. The next thing he felt was a splash of cold water hit his face. Then his ears started ringing with pain and his throat seemed to be submerged. After a few seconds of struggling, he felt strong hands grab onto his waist and then he could breathe again. “Woah, hey Baek! You alright, oh my god! I didn’t actually mean that saving you from drowning was part of the fun!” Chanyeol said while shaking Baekhyun’s shoulders. The little one grabbed onto the other’s shoulder and coughed loudly. Soon his world turned black.

Chanyeol saw how Baekhyun’s body dropped into the pool. He watched as Baekhyun’s face collided with the surface of the water. He was also the first to move when he saw the guy struggling. He swam towards the frantic splashes and fished around for his torso. When he felt his hands come in contact with his waist he circled his arms around him and pulled him up. He realized how skinny and soft Baekhyun was and even though the guy was thrashing around it didn’t really hurt. Chanyeol easily lifted him out of the water but by then the guy was already passed out. Chanyeol took Baekhyun to one of the second floor bedrooms and laid him down on the bed. While waiting for the little guy to come to, Chanyeol decided to change out of his wet clothes and also help Baekhyun with his.

Baekhyun felt warm hands touch his body. Surprisingly, he wasn’t bothered by it. It felt comforting and safe. He opened his eyes slowly and saw Chanyeol trying very hard to get Baekhyun’s arm into a shirt. “Chanyeol, what are you doing?” He said with a very sore throat. “Oh Baekhyun! Thank god you’re awake. How you feeling? Need some water?” Chanyeol rushed around the room. “I’m fine, but I think this is enough partying for one night. Any chance I’ll be able to get a ride home?” Baekhyun said while adjusting his shirt. “Is this your’s?” Baekhyun said while pointing at the shirt. “Hm? Oh yeah, I didn’t think you would only pack one other shirt and since I brought five, I lent you the smallest one I had.” Chanyeol said. “Well you have a long torso, that’s for sure.” Chanyeol laughed. “That or you are just really small. Honestly, you seem way too skinny to be healthy.” Baekhyun shrugged. “It’s not that bad, I’ve always been like this and my family aren’t what people consider tall.”

Baekhyun watched as Chanyeol packed up their bags. “Wait, why are you bringing your stuff too?” Chanyeol lifted the strap of the bag onto his shoulder. “Cause I’m going too. It’s getting late and I don’t your weak to die in the middle of the night” Baekhyun stuck his tongue out and slid off the bed. “Don’t worry Chanyeol, I’m older than you, remember?”

The giant scoffed. “Then act like it. Geez, you make me worry about you too much.” He said playfully while lifting Baekhyun’s bag onto his other shoulder. Chanyeol contacted the other members to see if any of them wanted to go home yet since they were planning on taking one of the vans. Sehun, Kai, and Kyungsoo agreed to leaving early and they met up at the front of the van. “Woah, what happened to Baekhyun?” Kai said when noticing how tired and wet he was. “Nothing. Just slipped and fell into the pool.” Baekhyun murmured. Chanyeol stayed silent as they all got into the van to leave. Chanyeol noticed Baekhyun dozing off and offered his shoulder to him. A few minutes passed and Chanyeol could hear soft breaths puff out. “Guys, I don’t think Baekhyun slipped.” Chanyeol said in a whispered tone. All three looked at him with confusion. “Why, did someone push him?” Sehun asked. Chanyeol nodded. “I couldn’t see who but Baekhyun fell in a way that made it impossible to just be a ‘slip’.” Chanyeol whispered while Baekhyun was sleeping soundly on his shoulder. Everyone was now staring at Baekhyun. “Whoever did this probably isn’t gonna end with just a push into the pool.” Kyungsoo said quietly. Kai nodded along. The members shared a silent ride home and Chanyeol decided not to tell them about the disturbing text message. Sehun helped carry Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s luggage while Chanyeol carried Baekhyun. After tucking in Baekhyun, Chanyeol went to Kai and Sehun’s room.

“Should we talk to him about this?”

“What if we scare him off with all this?”

“But we can’t just leave him in the dark.”

“I think we should talk to him about this.”

“But what will he do about it?”

“I still think we should talk to him about it.”

“I wonder if we can just catch the guy without him knowing…”

“Oh My GOD, hyung, will u just tell him!”

“How about I tell him in a roundabout way…”

“Chanyeol, I will punch you!”

“Geez, I get it, I get it…”

“Then stand up straight and talk to the guy!”

“How dare you, I’ll stand as gay as I please.”

“Wait, hyung….your..”

“I’m kidding! Geez Kyungsoo, don’t discriminate..”

“I not gonna discriminate against my own ual orientation!”

“Of cour-- wait, WHAT!?”

“Kyungie! You said I could tell them!”

“What!”

“WHAT?”

“WAIT YOU--”

“Oh my god shut up children, what is the fuss..” Kris said while slamming the door open. “My room is right next to yours and since the time I came home, you people haven’t shut up. Don’t you understand I need a calm shower..”

Chanyeol turned toto Kris, “Why are you not surprised that Kyungsoo is gay! Why aren’t you mad that he didn’t tell us?”

“ Chanyeol you walking potato, how can you not notice that Kyungsoo was gay.” Kris said with an eyeroll. “Him and Kai keep shooting loving stares at each other and I’m the one who has to sit in between them.” Chanyeol was dumbfounded. Not only was he called a potato, one of his best friends didn’t think to tell him about their relationship. While fakingly wiping tears from his eyes, “Kyungie, how could you not tell me that you and Kai have been an item. I feel left out~”

“Hey not cool, I’m the only one who can call Kyungie, Kyungie.” Kai said while wrapping an arm around Kyungsoo’s waist. “Besides, we weren’t really trying to hide our relationship. We just don’t prance around and announce it to everyone like we were going to marry or something.”

“WHO’S GONNA MARRY! NOT IN MY ING HOUSE AND NOT IN THIS DAMNED ECONOMY!”, Junmyeon screamed while barging in with a bottle of water in hand. “OH MY GAWD. CHANYEOL. *whisper* I think I see...two of you……..is that your….twin?” He said while spitting in Chanyeol’s face and not so subtly pointing at Kris. *Gasp* “How dare you compare me to this oaf!” Kris said while offensively putting his hand on his heart. Junmyeon dropped to the ground in shock, “Oh god! It talks. Chanyeol 2.0 talks!” Before Kris could start whining  the door opened again and Lay walked briskly inside. “Come on hyung, lets go to bed now.” He walked quickly toward the obviously drunk leader and pulled him into a hug. “Hyung, come on let’s get up. We can cuddle back at your place, okay?” Lay said in a soothing tone. “Ah, lay. Help..” He said while hugging him tighter so the dancer could pull him up. In a split second, Lay had turned Junmyeon around and carried him in his arms. “Don’t worry guys, I’ll take care of hyung, good night!”

Everyone stared as the two exited the dorm room. “Did you see that kiss mark on his neck?” Kris said while still staring wide- eyed at the now closed door. Everyone nodded dumbly. “Do you think… they could be...you know...together?” Again, everyone nodded dumbly. “Okayyyyy….. I guess I’m gonna call it a night, I think.” Chanyeol said while rushing to the door.

He wanted to leave and check up on his roommate. While walking towards his room, Chanyeol forgot to tell the others that he also saw a bite mark on Junmyeon’s collarbone.