“When you meet someone for the first time, that’s not the whole book, that’s just the first page”- Brody Armstrong

Baekhyun runs out of his room and down the flight of stairs slowing down just enough to bow his head in his father’s direction “good morning daddy”

“Good morning, off to school”? Mr.Lee keeps his face on the morning news paper , slouching himself over a cup of coffee on the dining table.
Baekhyun wishes for a second that the old man would remain permanently in that hideous slouch.

“Yes father”

“Good boy”

Baekhyun speeds out of the house shutting the door as fast and yet as silently as he possible. He spins around to make a run to the bus station when a rare clumsy spell gets the best of him and he misses a step, planting his entire face in the broad,very well built chest of a stranger.
He raises his head up but tries not to look in the face of his victim
“I’m sorry” he clears his throat with an obviously forced cough
“I’m really sorry”
*Silence*
“Can you hear me”? Baekhyun calls to the stranger at his doorstep who is now staring right into his eyes. _{Baekhyun notices}- the morning sun after the morning rain is sharp and like everything it’s hitting, this stranger is glowing … The most.
“I’m Cha - Chanyeol" the wayyyyyyy taller boy replies as if just brought back to reality
“I’m Baekhyun, I’m sor…”
“You are blue” Chanyeol interrupts confusing Baekhyun
“Maybe it’s the cold” Baekhyun waves off the large index finger Chanyeol is now attentively pointing at his temple, adjusts the burgundy scarf delicately wrapped around his neck , steps aside from Chanyeol’s chest and continues his speed walk towards the bus stop , straddling his school bag on both shoulders.
Chanyeol has no problem catching up with his long legs.

“ Yixing says you aren’t picking your calls and he needs you at the hospital”

“Thanx, I’m on my way there already”

The bus ride is silent, Chanyeol unashamedly admires the burgundy scarf around Baekhyun’s neck as well as the whole of Baekhyun , while Baekhyun turns his gaze outside the bus window , completely lost in thoughts about how he has just lied to his father and the physically painful consequences that would follow if Mr. lee finds out that he’s skipping classes. He doesn’t realise he’s almost hyperventilating till he hears Chanyeol’s deep but gentle voice

“Are you alright”? Chanyeol puts his hands on Baekhyun’s shoulders turning him gently till they both face each other completely, now Chanyeol has the view of Baekhyun’s face while Baekhyun has the view of Chanyeol’s chin.

“Yeah, I’m fine…. Thank you… Just nerves” baekhyun looks up into Chanyeol’s face. He wants to stay in this position ; Chanyeol’s hands are firm and gentle, his face is kind… It’s beautiful and Baekhyun finds it reassuring . As if Chanyeol can read his mind he too stays holding him, smiling , searching Baekhyun’s eyes with his own, till the moment he remembers to look past Baekhyun’s face and outside the window. Chanyeol spots the bus stop after the intended one. “F**k, we’ll have to walk back” , “language”! , “I was distracted” , “by what”? , “you… You are blue, it’s amazing” Baekhyun high tails it to the hospital’s bus stop now a 10 minute speed walk away and to Yixing, ignoring the grinning long boy with apparent colour blindness.

Baekhyun sits by Yixing’s hospital bed which annoys the breakfast out of Chanyeol so much so, that he rushes out of the hospital room to go buy … There’s nothing to buy; Yixing has everything he needs and even himself,the long wondering boy, has no appetite. By the time he returns, Beakhyun is lying asleep next to yixing who is semi sat up, playing with his phone.
When baekhyun finally opens his eyes, Yixing is on the couch playing snakes and ladder with Chanyeol on a white coffee table. He looks at his wristwatch and let’s out a light groan... “Almost two hours , why didn’t you wake me”?
Yixing stops playing the board game, gets up and walks towards the bed and wraps his arms around Baekhyun who is now sitting with his feet touching the floor , Baekhyun hugs him back and starts to sob.

Chanyeol hates the sight of the two hugging , he simply hates it, he’s so pissed off that he doesn’t even see that Yixing is trying to comfort Baekhyun . “It’s a good thing Vip rooms have longer couches” Chanyeol thinks to himself, folding his long body into the couch, “now if only they could have break up devices I could use against those two, I’d rate them 5 stars on trip advisor”. Chanyeol sleeps.

Chanyeol wakes up to the sound of a doctor and two nurses walking into the room. He and Baekhyun are then asked to leave the room while the staff check up on Yixing .. Baekhyun holds Yixing’s face in both hands joining their foreheads together “we’ll be hearing only good news, believe it” he whispers and kisses Yixing’s forehead before walking through the door to join Chanyeol at the corridor.

Chanyeol enjoys the comfortable silence. He doesn’t need Baekhyun to say he’s worried, they are both here for Yixing. He finds himself admiring the oblivious Baekhyun whose attention is occupied by an intense game of hot wheels on his phone.

It’s when baekhyun feels chayeol’s fingers slightly graze his neck that he realises his burgundy scarf is no more.
“Hankie” his voice is trembling and low and he manages to shove Chanyeol’s hands from his sore neck and with his elbows pointing forward interlaces his own fingers behind his neck, trying to cover the scars with his hands. Chanyeol can’t un-see them now ; haphazard horizontal of bruised flesh , some trailing into his back “DO YOU HAVE A HANDKERCHIEF”!” Baekhyun is louder this time “I do , hold on let me…” Searching his back pocket chanyeol gives Baekhyun a white handkerchief and follows the now shaking boy into the bathroom.
As chanyeol watches Baekhyun tie and retire the scarf with shaky hands he feels a painful stab to his heart and it hurts… Like someone is hitting his open heart with a hammer. Chanyeol can’t express it to Baekhyun as they’ve not known each other long enough. Baekhyun finally gets it right, a beautiful side bow is tied perfectly on his beautiful fragile long neck and he throws a cute smile in Chanyeol’s direction “white doesn’t look as good as burgundy”. Chanyeol smiles back.

No one talks about Baekhuns neck all day and when the clock strikes 7.30pm Baekhun places a kiss on Yixing’s sleeping forehead and makes his way home.
Chanyeol spends the entire night checking Yixing’s monitor as usual and thinking about Baekyun.

Three weeks ago in Monkey Hill, Phuket, Thailand :

Chanyeol is burning under the July sun and the beautiful Thailand skies. He’s finally made it up the hill and the view of the surrounding environment is full of nature; it’s breathtaking. Unfortunately Chanyeol is now too occupied to really watch the well behaved monkeys that they’ve come so far to see, His sister Yura has turned him into a human rack. There are bags hanging around his neck like giant necklaces, both his arms are hanging forward with rows of perfectly Lined shopping bags hanging across them. While he manages to flick across photos on his phone, Yura finds a stranger to take a million photos of her while he burns, literally, he forgot to apply sunscreen. “A monkey reserve Yura, it’s a monkey reserve not a photo studio” and as if the monkey understands and hates his opinion, the primate snatches Chanyeol’s phone and hops away, chanyeol tries to chase the monkey despite the fact that he is carrying Yura’s entire luggage but stops in his tracks when a boy dressed in blue starts to walking purposefully towards him, staring straight into his eyes. He is beautiful, and that’s all chanyeol can see. “Here’s your phone” the boy hands him the phone along with a bag of nuts and walks past Chanyeol, out of the park and out of Chanyeol’s life. “F**king shut your mouth and breathe chanyeol” … Yura’s warning lands on deaf ears as chanyeol unconsciously holds his breath staring in the blue shirt’s direction till he’s forced to gasp for air.

CHANYEOL’S MONOLOGUE:

“This is so weird, he can’t even recognise me and yet I’ve never forgotten his face , his smell, his fingers, his enchanting smile and the way his eyes pierce the soul.
When he plants his beautiful face in my chest making my heart stop.... Ugh
He walks fast, haha, he’s beautiful when he ignores me.
… His neck, I wander how those scars got there…
He said it was nerves while in the bus, I think it’s more.
now I’m f**king mad and I want to make sure he never has scars again
Why the is he so touchy with my cousin?
Yixing needs to f**king go back to China … Wait no I need my cousin with me.
Can they stop touching already since Yixing says they are just beasties”

(Chapter two next Saturday)