"And my aim is for you to sign underneath 'yes', too."

To say that Baekhyun was surprised by the turn of events would have been the understatement of the century. Even in his wildest dreams (or nightmares, if he was being honest) he wouldn't have imagined Chanyeol saying things like this. Looking into his eyes and insisting that he actually wanted to sign that paper and marry him.

Even as a prank, that would be going way too far, even for Park Chanyeol.

The blond sat there for a moment, speechless, fingers burried in the sand and body frozen in its place beside the relaxed taller. Baekhyun's lips parted and he let out a breath, not really knowing what to respond to Chanyeol, whose fingers were still twisting and carresing that strand of his fringe.

"You're kidding, right?" he finally managed to ask, voice shaking a little. "Is this some kind of a bet?"

Chanyeol pulled back a little, his hand dropping from Baekhyun's face.

"It's not, Baek. I--"

"No, it is," Baekhyun pushed himself up from the sand, looking down at Chanyeol with slight disgust in his eyes. "And you should stop that right now. That's low, even for you."

"But I'm telling you the truth, Baekhyun," Chanyeol got up as well, towering over Baekhyun once again, brown eyes terrifyingly serious. "In what words do I have to say that for you to believe me? This isn't a joke. Just give me a chance to prove that."

"I know fairly well what you're like, Park," Baekhyun spat, straightening out his shoulders to appear at least a little taller in front of the man. "And I have countless insults and memories to back that up with, . You're not getting anything from me."

Chanyeol took in a deep breath.

"Have you ever thought that perhaps there's more to me than what I act like around you? I've never really, properly, sat down and talked to you, Baek. It's my fault entirely and I'm aware of that, but still, it's the truth."

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow at him, incredulous. "So? I don't see your point. There's still no reason for me to give a about your multiple personalities, Park."

Chanyeol stepped closer to him, sand crunching underneath his sneakers.

"Because what I've shown you of me wasn't real, Baekhyun," he murmured, his voice almost drowned out by the breaking waves. "Because you have no idea how much I always wanted to be gentle with you, touch and treat you like you're the most precious thing I have. I still do."

The tips of their sneakers were almost touching, he was so close.

"Then why didn't you?" the question left Baekhyun's lips before he could even think twice.

Baekhyun's breath stuttered. Why would he ask that? Gosh, now he sounded like he was actually thinking about giving Chanyeol a chance. Baekhyun could feel heat rush up to his cheeks, but even if Chanyeol noticed the blush blooming on the shorter boy's face, he didn't comment on it.

The taller boy's teeth were sinking into his lip as he looked at Baekhyun, eyes filling up with hesitance and something else, emotion that Baekhyun couldn't really name.

"Does that matter now?" Chanyeol finally asked. "I swear I would from now on."

The heavy feeling of hesitance and distrust running through Baekhyun's veins switched, morphed into a familiar kind of disappointment, frustration and almost anger. That was nothing new. Chanyeol was willing to promise Baekhyun things and act all sweet, but the moment he had to give an explanation, the moment he was given a chance to tear down one of the many walls between him and Baekhyun by giving him an insight to his mind, he cowered and took a step back. He wanted Baekhyun's trust, but he wasn't willing to give anything in return.

And that was a deal breaker for Baekhyun.

Burning Chanyeol with his eyes, he scoffed. "You're too late. Years too late, Park."

For a while, Chanyeol just looked at Baekhyun's face. His eyes scanned the shorter boy's furrowed eyebrows, irritated eyes that were half-hidden by his blond fringe. He stood there, watching Baekhyun, plush lips parted and eyes solemn.

Was it really that hard for him to just tell the truth?

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Baekhyun finally asked, stepping back a bit, looking away from the other's intense gaze. He hated the obvious height difference between them, hated having to look up when talking to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol watched him step back, his lips parting again as though he wanted to say something, object perhaps, but couldn't. He heaved a heavy sigh as he turned his neck, brushing his hand over his eyes.

"Just listen to me once, Baekhyun," he said, voice quiet, pleading. "I know you wouldn't believe me if I told you this. I can explain, I will explain everything to you one day, but not now. Just please, give me a chance to court you."

"Ha," Baekhyun scoffed. "You'll explain it to me one day? And I'm supposed to trust you now? What a safe deal for you, Park!"

Chanyeol's expression hardened. "Baekhyun--"

"The problem is that I've never seen anything trustworthy about you," Baekhyun continued, glaring up at the other. "Can't say you're surprised though, right? Because you've always been nothing but a bully to me."

Baekhyun saw the flinch that ran through Chanyeol's shoulders at those words.

"I know, Baekhyun, and you have no idea how sorry I am for everything I've said or done to you," the taller whispered. "Just let me show you that I'm not just that," he stepped forward yet again, closing the distance between him and Baekhyun. "We've spent all these summers together, but you've never known much about me, the real me. Please let me show you me, Baekhyun."

Baekhyun breathed out a shaky breath. 

He was not good with this, he never had someone ask him something so desperately. 

"Why now? After all this time, why do you suddenly care?" 

Chanyeol looked at him, eyes wide and pleading, his fingers hesitantly reaching out to brush along Baekhyun's arm. "Because I've never been faced with the possibility of you leaving and not returning anymore. Because, Baekhyun, this summer is my last chance to convince you to stay."

That gave Baekhyun nothing but frustration and more questions. Where did this sudden affection come from? Why did Chanyeol suddenly want to keep him? He could feel the warmth of his skin where Chanyeol's fingers laid on his arm. The unfamiliar touch, the heat of it almost burned Baekhyun through the fabric of his sweater.

Chanyeol took his silence as hesitance, a chance. His fingers brushed along Baekhyun's arm as it reached his shoulder, fingertips ghosting close to his neck.

"I can do that, Baek, don't run away from me. Just give me a chance this summer, I promise I will do it right this time. Just trust me this once."

He looked sincere, and very desperate, eyes filled with sadness and his lips pursed into a sad line. If Chanyeol was anyone else, Baekhyun would've probably said yes already, just to wipe that deep sadness out of someone else's eyes.

But with Park Chanyeol, he just couldn't. He needed ground to built trust upon, and Chanyeol wasn't giving him any.

"Of course, what's fifteen years of abuse worth against one summer of Park Chanyeol's attention?" he scoffed, shoving Chanyeol's hand away from his body. "Listen up, Park. I will never be able to trust you. This, whatever game it is that you're playing, I refuse to play it with you. I'm going to sign the biggest no on that agreement you have ever seen and if you have any brain or decency, you will do the same."

"Baek--"

"Enough, Chanyeol," Baekhyun took a step backwards, voice breaking a little. "This time it's really enough."

He his heel and walked away, quickening his steps to make sure he wasn't followed.

The last flashes of setting sun bled off the sky. The thought of having to see Chanyeol again, sleep in the same ing room with him suffocated Baekhyun. Only when his back was hidden from the beach by the trees and he could no longer hear the waves crashing against the shore, he could finally take in a shaky breath.

Baekhyun's mind was a mess.

He couldn't grasp the meaning of the conversation Chanyeol and he just had, nor he could tell what was truth and what was lies.

What he knew for sure was that for the first time, Chanyeol respected his words and stayed away.

Having dinner together was awkward, especially after the fight Baekhyun and Chanyeol had at the beach. Mrs. Park tried again and again to make conversation the entire time, but all the attempts were unsuccessful. Baekhyun was too uncomfortable to pay attention to anything, pushing food around in his plate more than actually eating, and Chanyeol was sitting next to him quietly, only his fork making sound as it scrapped against the plate.

Baekhyun knew the elder woman could tell something happened between them. Once they've  all eaten, Mrs. Park wished them a good night's sleep with a worried glance. Baekhyun saw that she was a bit anxious about the way he and Chanyeol behaved towards each other, and he hated to make her feel that way, but however much he liked her, he couldn't forget that she was also one of the people who created and signed the agreement - the reason why he was stuck in a situation like this in the first place. She was one of the people who gave Chanyeol a chance to treat him like this for yet another summer.

He wished her a good night without the usual warmth in his voice and turned to walk up the stairs, leaving Chanyeol behind.

When Chanyeol stepped into the bedroom, Baekhyun was already putting his pillow and blanket on the couch. The taller of the two eyed him with tired eyes, the look in them reflecting his evident unwillingness to fight again.

"Baekhyun, you're not sleeping there. Stop being a child."

"I'm the child?" Baekhyun turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "Because I don't want to share a bed with you?"

Chanyeol stepped towards the couch, grabbing the blanket Baekhyun just laid there. "I'm not going to argue with you about this in the middle of the night. You can build a wall of pillows and blankets in between us, I don't care. Just please, sleep on the bed."

"Why do you care so much about where I sleep?" Baekhyun glared. "Are you planning to kill me or my body in my sleep or something?"

He was expecting the other to make fun of him or say that he would never even touch someone like him, but all he got was Chanyeol shrinking back, looking away. He moved back from Baekhyun, leaving a distance between them, the blanket still loosely hanging from his fingers. "No, it's because Hyungsik's not the only one who knows about your back, Baekhyun. I'm sorry, I know you hate talking about this, but you can't sleep on the couch with a disc rupture as severe as yours."

Baekhyun looked away, cold seeping into his chest. "That's none of your business."

Chanyeol sighed. "I figured you'd say that. Either way I won't let you hurt yourself."

Baekhyun bit his lip, feeling the sharpness of his teeth digging into the soft skin. Now this was what he just couldn't understand. It was like Chanyeol that stood before him and the Chanyeol he grew up with, the one he saw a mere year ago, were two different people, and Baekhyun couldn't tell if this care, this worry displayed for him was a lie or not.

"You didn't care that much about my ruptured disc when I was fifteen. Remember back then? When you pushed me and tripped me till my knees bled?" he asked, tasting acid on his tongue. "Why do you keep pretending like you suddenly grew a heart, Park?"

Pain and guilt flashed through Chanyeol's eyes. He turned away, tangling his fingers in his hair as though despaired, and Baekhyun almost felt guilty for saying that.

But you're right, he told himself stubbornly, watching Chanyeol burry his face into his hands. He was the victim here, he was the one who suffered through years of bullying. It wasn't Park Chanyeol who was in pain here. It was him, Baekhyun. It was always just him.

Why couldn't Baekhyun take revenge without any emotions, like he always dreamed to? Why couldn't he inflict equal pain on Chanyeol, and not feel bad about it like the othet seemingly never did?

"I can't take it back, Baekhyun, I can't turn time back. What do you want me to do?" Chanyeol turned back at him, his eyes rimmed red and shinning even in the dusk falling upon the room. "I can fall to my knees and beg if you want, but we both know it's not going to make you feel better. But I'm trying, Baekhyun. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it, whatever that is."

Baekhyun stayed silent.

The taller dropped the blanket back onto the couch and looked away, avoi