“Don’t you get tired at all? We are always on the same routine,” Ms. Kim can’t help but to facepalm in front of the two students who just got another mark of late for their morning classes.

Said teacher rests herself stressfully on her velvety red high chair, a color nicely complimenting the wooden table separating the three of them inside the musty room. Despite being a middle aged woman with no children, Ms. Kim sits prim, composed, looking exactly like she knows what she’s going to do, her attire perfectly resembling what should be worn in order to prevent a dress code. (In short, she dresses pretty old and ugly, according to Baekhyun.)

A stern look rests on her face but Park Chanyeol and Byun Baekhyun are already so used to it they don’t find it that scary anymore. In fact, as they get to know her, they found out that she is actually a kind person who usually lets them off with a warning even if they are late all the time.

However, a glint is present in her eyes right now telling how she wouldn’t let them off that easy today. Ms. Kim already looks so fed up even though they barely got through the morning.

She opens and mouth, then closes it again, pursing her lips together to form a straight line. Chanyeol and Baekhyun should prepare themselves because there is indeed scolding. Possibly a lot.

“Don’t you have something to say?” Her eyeglasses slips to her nose as she looks at them from beneath.

The sudden break of silence unexpectedly sends Chanyeol into small laughters that Baekhyun had to kick him soft on the shin underneath the office chair to suppress it. He eyes him. Stop laughing, you look horrible.

Chanyeol regains back his composure. “We’re sorry. We wouldn't be late again. We promise.”

“You really shouldn’t,” Ms. Kim sighs and removes her eyeglasses, massaging her temples to ease a growing headache. “Because for your 20th late, you’ll be rewarded with community service.”

“I think I still have about,” Baekhyun counts on his fingers. “5? 6? lates left,” Baekhyun innocently mutters under his breath, unaware of who could hear him. That sends Chanyeol into small fits of laughter again.

Ms. Kim stares at them incredulously, hoping to think of a reason that would finally make them shut up and listen. “And I will phone call your parents for them to be aware of the situation.”

As if they’re programmed, Chanyeol and Baekhyun both sit upright immediately. That action made Ms. Kim a lot more satisfied.

“We’re sorry, Ms. Kim. It really wouldn’t happen again.”

Clearly skeptical, Ms. Kim leans in closer to them and the boys instinctively leans back, not wanting the teacher to get any closer to them. “Is that clear?”

Chanyeol gulps and Baekhyun nods. “Yes.”

She sighs and for the first time, picks herself off the chair as she reaches for her box of tea from behind. The boys watch with cautiousness whatever she is doing, then goes to look at each other next. Chanyeol whispers with his eyes that is surprisingly easily understood by Baekhyun. Is this our cue to leave?

“You don’t know how hard your parents work just so they could afford you the most prestigious school in this small town, containing the best facilities and experienced teachers in all of—”

That statement is ridiculous for some reasons because first of all, they sell overpriced food in their canteen. Second, the said teachers hardly attend lecture so what’s the point of this pep talk, brag to their faces how they are doing well and unappreciative people like Chanyeol and Baekhyun should at least acknowledge it?

“Point is,” she opens the bag of tea and takes out one packet, seeping it over hot water in the most displeasing neon pink mug the duo had ever seen, “you should appreciate well enough how your parents work just so you could be secured with an education that would surely take impact when you grow up. Taking this for granted just because you reason you woke up late is never good nor should be deemed acceptable as well.”

Baekhyun could feel himself turning guilty over the words she had just said. A familiar glint passes by Ms. Kim’s eyes as she stares in satisfaction as the both of the kids sit uneasily on the office chairs, wincing like they have realized something. The only sound that could be heard is her stirring her mug in circles. Then she stops. Her tea is done sipping.

“Now, off you go!” She shrugs them off which made Baekhyun stand instantly off his seat. He hears shifting on his side and he sees Chanyeol bowing in front of Ms. Kim, so he stands straight before doing the exact same thing.

Baekhyun couldn’t explain how glad he is that he could finally be away from the impending blow of another round of guilt. In his opinion, Ms. Kim’s talk was a little bit too exaggerating on his part, but it sure did hit something close to his heart.

They turn their backs at her, preparing to leave.

Suddenly away from the teacher, Baekhyun bites his lip as he does all but acknowledge the presence of a giant.

Because, you know, the truth is, even though he hates to admit it, Park Chanyeol is far from looking horrible at all.

Yes, he was once under Chanyeol’s spell. Keyword: was.

The spontaneous, colorful fireworks left Baekhyun a long time ago. But he could never deny how there are still random sparks of flames inside his heart that never fails to makes him a little hazy.

He remembers the foreign-yet-familiar feeling starting the moment he first saw Park Chanyeol’s most dazzling smile, two years ago.

Baekhyun used to long for Chanyeol’s small attention every day. Hearing his voice could easily make him whip his head at the speed of light in his direction. Every harmless spill of Chanyeol’s name from his mouth makes him crazy red, like he said something illegal at the age of 10 (“”). Gladly, no one noticed it because who would think Byun Baekhyun already has a crush on Park Chanyeol, the transferee, when they are barely two weeks in on class?

He couldn’t blame his past self because sporting a huge crush on the new kid is actually a lot of fun. He hardly imagines himself two years later, about to walk back towards the classroom with Chanyeol’s hands occasionally brushing on his arm, the fireworks he once felt now gone, but a small settling feeling remained instead.

Baekhyun had learned to convince himself how his once huge crush on Chanyeol is already blown away by time.

A small laughter snaps him out of his reverie.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll still be late.” Chanyeol snickers next to him.

“We would,” Baekhyun agrees before looking up, only to see the giant staring back at him.

Baekhyun smiles, yet immediately focuses his attention back to the path, ignoring how his heart made a little leap. “Why are you even late, anyway?”

“I woke up late. Because.... I was… watching anime.”

It’s a ridiculous answer but also very Chanyeol. Although Baekhyun woke up at 5AM which gave him about two hours to prepare for classes, he lost track of time and accidentally watched ten Vine compilations on YouTube. Again, very Baekhyun. How different could he be compared to Chanyeol?

There is silence. Just like that, the conversation ends.

Once in a while, they would bump to each other, considering how clumsy Baekhyun gets when it comes to a thing he normally does everyday, like walking. He appreciates Chanyeol discreetly helping him a little, blocking his arms when Baekhyun almost trips as he tries to avoid clashing with the person in front of him.

Pretending he didn’t notice Chanyeol’s subtle acts of help, Baekhyun focuses his attention on the noise he could hear from his surroundings instead. Busy feet walking from one room to another, tired people traipsing the same hallway as them.

When he can’t catch up with Chanyeol’s huge strides, the giant would slow down so they could be in the same pace again. Sometimes, Chanyeol would overestimate and slow down to the point that he is already behind Baekhyun, so he would go faster just to catch up with him again.

As they get nearer and nearer to their classroom, Baekhyun realizes how it also gets harder and harder to breathe.

He lets Chanyeol enter the room first, reusing another one of his stupid excuses to get away from everyone especially him. He walks with heavy heels back to the opposite direction, entering the bathroom they have walked past by earlier.

The quietness of the desert place allows him to ponder aimlessly as he stares at his reflection on the mirror. He starts from his messy, disheveled hair, to the bags under his eyes. From the crooked collar by his neck, until where the mirror cuts his own reflection a little below the torso. He feels his absolute worst even though it’s still so early in the morning.

It takes him a full minute to calm his mind.

He slaps himself softly on the face, convincing himself to think of just… something. Something as random as the peanut butter baby vine, just so he could take his mind off a certain person he doesn’t want to think of ever again.

(It must be a mistake. By experiencing just that, the explosions he once felt slowly inch their way up his stupid and dumb heart again?)






“Chanyeol! Do you want me to get in trouble?” Baekhyun hisses and pulls his chair away from him, bringing himself closer to the window than he already is.

Baekhyun becomes hot headed. Right now, he could only think of getting through the day with little to no interactions with Chanyeol as possible. Of course, seeing now, Chanyeol had just to mess that up.

Immediately abrupting his small laughters, the giant pouts when Baekhyun shrugs him off.

He leaves the paper he was doodling on lying on his desk, inching his chair a little bit closer to Baekhyun. Maybe it stops at that, Baekhyun thinks, but then Chanyeol starts poking his shoulder with the end of his pencil continuously to displease him. Baekhyun closes his eyes, in a deep breathe.

Congratulations, Chanyeol, because annoying Baekhyun like that works, apparently. Not a minute after, the smaller snaps at him, obviously annoyed. “I would get in trouble!”

“Don’t act like you’re the only one getting trouble, Baekhyun. I am also on the edge right now! Come on, don’t live in the past and just let it go. Ms. Kim won’t call our parents! Ya. Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun. Why don’t you want to talk to me? Don’t you love me anymore?”

He is not living in the past and he is just thinking about the future! “ off. I never loved you.”

“But,” Chanyeol continues pouting. “I love you.”

Realizing how the giant keeps messing up with him, the smaller rolls his eyes before taking out his phone from inside his pocket to lure Chanyeol out. He didn’t bother finding a discreet position where he would be blocked from the teacher. They’re at the back of the class anyway, so how could he, Mr. Han, even catch them from behind his thick eyeglasses?

After receiving no comebacks, to Baekhyun’s delight, Chanyeol humphs and continues to draw more of his nasty drawings mocking their lesson, human anatomy.

He feels so bored right now but when talking with Chanyeol during classes, he’s not just risking his grades on the subject, but also a phone call from the teacher to his parents. Not just because they are late, but they are doing something annoying again.

He remembers how the same teacher, Mr. Han, almost caught them on their last lecture because everyone in class was busy listening to him blabbering something about a very important anatomical part while Chanyeol and Baekhyun were hidden from everyone, laughing about it. Even if they are at the back, their exceptionally loud chatty voices would definitely stand out. It was horrible. He doesn’t want it to happen ever again.

A few minutes after Baekhyun whips his phone out, he is already chatting with Sehun on the phone, telling him about his unfortunate experiences whenever he’s with Chanyeol. Baekhyun is ranting how even though he had once sported a huge crush on him back then, that doesn’t mean Chanyeol doesn’t irritate him now.

Oh Sehun is Baekhyun’s friend alongside Jongdae. He belongs to a younger batch and transferred schools a year ago, so Baekhyun only has the chance to talk to him on the phone and meet with him occasionally when they both please it.

A few minutes later, their topic diverted from how annoying Chanyeol is to the younger telling him stories about a Chinese student a year older than Baekhyun. He plays soccer, and Sehun would often stay after class hours just to watch him practice. Sehun already asked him out a couple of times but Luhan always rejected him. Sehun didn’t let that deter him, so now, he’s hopeful that maybe Luhan is starting to like him back.

“I mean, we are already going on friendly dates.” Sehun types.

“Are you sure they’re friendly?” Baekhyun types back, biting his lip as he tries to hide a smile. He sees a chat bubble forming, most likely Sehun typing furiously, trying so hard not to assume anything and tries to convince Baekhyun that it is, in fact, only a friendly date.

“It is! I swear to Jesus. I know it’s friendly, because I still don’t wipe spilled ketchup on the side of his lips when he eats.”

Baekhyun snorts at the incredulity of his message. “Do you really identify dates like that? You’re hopeless.”

“I’m not! Besides, Jongdae told me real dates involves rubber.” Baekhyun feels his eyes widening as he reads what Sehun has typed. “And lots of oil.”

“He told you that?!” Baekhyun fumes and made a mental note to make sure Jongdae actually gets it. He really isn’t as naïve as Sehun to not know that rubber is and oil is lube. He flushes at the lewd thoughts. He’s so gonna make sure Jongdae gets it.

“Yeah and he wants me to hit it nice and fast as soon as possible, but when I asked him what that means, he replied a full blown HAHAHAHAHAHA.”

That . Maybe hitting him with a newspaper a couple of times isn’t enough of a scold. Maybe he needs to hit him with metal instead.

Baekhyun prys his eyes off the screen and silently bore holes on Jongdae’s head. Unlike him, Jongdae has the nerve to listen, heck, even participate on their lesson. That made Baekhyun believe that Jongdae indeed loves human anatomy.

He is so focused on shooting lasers at Jongdae’s head and only went back to chatting Sehun when his phone vibrates a couple of times on his hand. He notices that he isn’t the only person actually seeing the notifications flash multiple times across the screen, but also a certain giant next to him.

“Who’s ‘number one Hun’?” Chanyeol reads as he twirls a pencil on his hand. Baekhyun covers the screen and hides it from Chanyeol’s direction, sending him off a judging eye. Chanyeol raises his hand so as to surrender and went back to drawing. Baekhyun unlocks his screen again, finding a couple of “Hyung where are you?!”, “Did the teacher catch you?!”, “If he did, then I’m sorry!”

“Don’t ing listen to that Jongdae .” Baekhyun types, ignoring dozens of Sehun’s messages of apology.

“Why? Is there something wrong with rubber, oil, and hitting it nice and fast?”

Baekhyun pinks as he reads it. “Oh my god, don’t dare say that. Everything!”

The subject ends with Baekhyun convincing Sehun that Jongdae is a person to ask for advices, and him actually twisting Jongdae’s ear so hard after lecture, it actually hurts.






Holy . Baekhyun really hates the school canteen.

“The city stores sell them cheaper, so why the sudden overpriced drink?” He complains. No, he states. He is already so pissed off but he doesn’t let it show.

The canteen worker scoops what looks like a blob of meat onto another person’s tray. Baekhyun is already preparing to go home, but there are still people at his school who stays for their after school activities remaining for the day. At this hour, the premises still remain a little bit crowded.

The worker visibly scoffs at him, putting her hand over her waist. She points at Baekhyun using her large spoon. “You, kid, have no rights of questioning how we compute our prices for selling. Don’t you know how far we travel from the city, then back here, just so we could get you your precious drink? Have you ever thought about the water we drink just so we could regain our energy back? Have you—”

Just to make her shut up, Baekhyun unwillingly slaps a bill on the counter and he doesn’t even need to wait for the change, because there isn’t any.

In huge strides, he walks past the canteen towards the large gates of the school, scoffing to himself when he heard the lady mutter a “why make a huge fuss when you are going to pay for it, anyway?”

He stabs a straw onto the drink the moment he left school. Playing with the straps of his backpack, he walks towards the direction of the town plaza, hoping that seeing the scenery could cool his mind from the interaction.

Another reason why he stops there occasionally is because the workload tends to overcome him recently.

Going to the town plaza isn’t a hinder to his schedule. As a night owl, 5PM is still really early for him to start functioning. Unless of course, he wants to get job done early.

Cherry blossoms line the pathway, pinks are scattered everywhere he looks. He takes a sip of the drink and lets himself be comforted by the lovely breeze. It’s not too hot, but not too cold either. Soft rays of sunlight are peeking at him through the leaves.

He smiles, admiring how the sun makes everything shine around him. It’s rare how Baekhyun could experience this kind of calmness inside of him. He continues to admire the scenery more, but then everything turn black, he almost shrieks.

“What the hell?” He screams as he tries to struggle off the attacker covering his eyes. There is a growing pain of fear budding from the center of his chest but he did his best to act a little more calmly.

The attacker laughs and it erases the fear out of Baekhyun’s heart, replacing it with irritance. Just that, and he already knows who the annoying attacker is.

“Happy Friday, Byun! But why do you look like you aren’t happy?” Chanyeol asks him.

Oppositely, the giant carries a very huge smile on his face and in crescents his eyes form.

It pisses Baekhyun off for a couple of reasons: one being Chanyeol is holding him by the shoulder and he’s so tall that Baekhyun kept looking up at him, and two, why he suddenly can’t seem to breathe while doing so.

—Because of his fear, probably. It’s just because of fear. Since Chanyeol almost killed him with shock earlier, right? That’s why he can’t seem to take his breath back.

“How would you even know if I’m happy or not?” He asks to cover his flusteredness.

The breeze grows strong and it stings his eyes but instead he focuses on how it blows Chanyeol’s hair into soft and messy ruffles.

He really is irritated, maybe Chanyeol took Baekhyun's expression the wrong way. But it also took Baekhyun in surprise when Chanyeol reaches out his index finger and places it just on the corner of Baekhyun’s lips. “They turn droopy.”

Shocked with the sudden interaction, Baekhyun can’t seem to find his coherence as he stares at Chanyeol’s eyes. Baekhyun’s pretty sure he glows a little too red right now, so he prys himself away from Chanyeol and ignores how his warm touch still lingers on his otherwise cold skin.

“Where are you off to?” Baekhyun asks him instead.

Chanyeol’s eyes lit up again and he clasps his hands together. He looks like a happy puppy that had just received his treat. Baekhyun imagines his tail wagging around right now.

“The town plaza. Have you tried the famous lemonade?”

“What lemonade?” Baekhyun asks out of curiosity. He really just visits the plaza for fun, maybe bought a few snacks before but never a lemonade. Hearing it is quite new to him.

Chanyeol looks at him incredulously, already close to yelling “uncultured swine!” in front of Baekhyun’s face. Sensing it, Baekhyun shrugs as a sorry. But then his eyes go wide in protest when Chanyeol starts to drag him, making him almost stumble on invisible stones.

“How could you not know that! Oh my god! You are so behind everything trending in school, I just—”

“And you are overreacting,” Baekhyun cuts him off, “it’s just a drink!”

“No, it’s not just a drink!”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes as he watches Chanyeol’s hair almost bursting into flames out of intensity. He is just so passionate on whatever the hell this special lemonade is all about, it’s actually concerning.

Chanyeol would’ve made him laugh in disbelief, but Baekhyun focuses his attention elsewhere, like the boring roots of trees growing out of the soil, just so he wouldn’t feel the large hand wrapped around his small wrist.

Chanyeol continues to drag him around the small plaza, with Baekhyun protesting when they walked past his favorite bench. He wants to slap Chanyeol’s hands now but he just feels so restricted. It is supposed to be a fun alone time, what on earth just happened?

He is surprised that the famous lemonade is actually coming from a very small store. Baekhyun turns guilty as Chanyeol places their orders, exclaiming that it’s his treat. He feels a little indebted to him now that he has barely enough money left to pay for his own, but the treat excites him that he didn’t think twice before accepting it.

He internally cries as he remembers how he consumed chocolate earlier. I’m sorry, stomach.

“See that person?” Chanyeol says randomly, pointing at someone who has ice cream on his left hand, the leash of his dog on his right. He seems like a few years younger than Baekhyun, but he knows he’s studying at their school because he also has the same school uniform on. Living on a small town has pros and cons, and seeing about half of the people you know the moment you walk out your house lies somewhere in the middle. “Later he would trip and fall, then he would go crying because he scrapes his knee. Don’t ask me, I just know.”

He’s so noisy. “You just can’t keep your dumb thoughts to yourself, huh?” Baekhyun says when a certain memory comes flooding in his mind. “I remember when I was young, I also used to scrape my knee all the time so thank you, for reminding me of my clumsiness.”

The seller hands them their drinks so Chanyeol and Baekhyun stand up, walking side by side like they did before on the school hallways. The bright cherry blossoms are now painted with different shades of orange, and the sun setting is starting to look like a large clementine on the tangerine sky. The people around them are slowly dispersing but there are still some who stays to watch the sunset.

As he walks, Baekhyun starts to notice how more and more people seems to be leaning onto each other. There are a few passing by them with their hands linked on to one another. Some are resting on the bench, their hands draped over the other.

It clicks on his mind what these people are.

Lovers.

Baekhyun tries not to notice. Are we really walking in a path full of them?!

Dozens of steps and hundreds of accelerated heartbeats later, Chanyeol and Baekhyun found a cozy spot on a bench just in front of the dancing fountain. The perimeter of the area is lined with a few glowing lamps, and the both of them stayed until the first batch of stars appeared on the night time sky.

Baekhyun rests his back on the bench and he can’t help but to sigh. The calmness visits him again and it’s weird that he feels a lot safer handling it when he shares it with Chanyeol, the guy who is just casually looking around the place with a smile.

He feels so much lighter. Much, much lighter than he feels like when he’s alone.

Maybe it’s because he feels happy that someone appreciates the serenity of the town plaza as well as he does. Baekhyun closes his eyes. Or maybe he just feels happy when he has a friend like him to have around by his side.

“You told me something a few minutes ago, that you used to scrape your knee as a child?” Chanyeol starts, reviving their forgotten conversation from earlier, “because I suddenly remembered something just now. I used to scrape my knee too.”

Baekhyun’s eyes stay closed. Even though Chanyeol grows noisy again, the light feeling on his chest is still there. He ignores how it soon grows into flutters in his stomach. “Not just that, really. My whole back was bruised because I fell out of our tree.”

Baekhyun opens his eyes and exhales sharply at the sudden story. Chanyeol just had to ruin the tranquility, right? He looks at him furiously.

“It’s been a while since I felt light, Chanyeol. And that story just took all the relaxation out of me. What on earth were you doing? Why did you fall out of a tree?”

“Well, we were playing. I was a child. Do not judge me, I can sense it. But Baekhyun, believe me when I say that it was the scariest thing I have ever experienced in my entire life! I was X-rayed to make sure nothing was broken, but they did an operation on me when I barely turned 7.”

Baekhyun could almost punch him. “You are so stupid. So you did break your entire back?”

Chanyeol facepalms. “Not the entire back, idiot. Do you hate me so much you wanted me dead? I think it’s minor. I don’t remember much. Just somewhere near the uhh… middle.”

Somewhere near the uhh... middle could cause you paralysis on your lower body, says Baekhyun’s poor knowledge of Science and the skeletal system. Anything damaged in a person’s body just gives him creeps and it might not show it right now, but Baekhyun almost grows worried for Chanyeol.

“You need to be careful. All the time. And to think I call myself clumsy…”

Chanyeol looks at him with wide eyes. “It was years ago! Don’t worry!” Just to clear it again, Baekhyun is notworried. “I had enough scolding from my mother when I survived the operation and I don’t need anymore of yours. Besides, I’m already fine.”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes at the statement. “No you’re not. You never carry heavy books to school. It has something to do with the accident, right?” He asks, his eyes travelling from Chanyeol’s face to the black object cradled on his lap. “And you always have that light drawstring bag wherever you go.”

Chanyeol’s eyes stares at his bag for a second, then he grins so big like he realizes something. He sees how Chanyeol is taking advantage of the darkness to cover his large smile. Baekhyun pretends he doesn’t notice it. “Are you’re stalking me?”

“Why the would I stalk you?” Baekhyun bellows. “Besides that, I am also not observant. It’s just something I always notice with you everyday. When you have a weird seatmate that reasons he left his book at home and resorts to just peeking over your shoulder to take a glimpse of a lesson in Math the entire duration of the subject, you would notice something’s different with that.”

Chanyeol pouts. “Damn. To think I was actually close to convincing myself that you have the hots for me.”

Baekhyun spat out his lemonade, slapping Chanyeol on the shoulder afterwards. “Disgusting!”

Chanyeol laughs as he nurses the pain with his hand.

There is something itching in Baekhyun’s mind, telling him that maybe he should take advantage of the comfortable situation to break the ice and just tell him about it. His heart is beating so fast inside his ribcage, but it wouldn’t matter anymore, right? That was years ago, right? He doesn’t feel anything anymore… right?

Or that’s what he thought?

“I’m sorry Chanyeol. I may have said disgusting but, two years ago, I may have sported a huge crush on you.”

The abruptness of what he just said stops Chanyeol from laughing, unable to say something for a few seconds. He just gapes at Baekhyun with wide eyes, lips trembling. “What?”

“What?”

They stay silent after that and Baekhyun couldn’t do anything but smile awkwardly. His anxiety is starting to eat him alive right now, and all he wants to do is cower under his bed and stay there for the rest of his life. .

“Is that true? Is that really true?”

them… it. He started this, he should finish it.

“Yes. I don’t know why I said it so easily. I’m sorry for the sudden confession, but I already felt comfortable saying it because time passes, and then without me noticing, my feelings just stopped. You know?” Like how my heart is feeling right now… “I mean, you are so in love with Kyungsoo all I could do is stare. Thinking about it now, it makes me feel embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed that you had a crush on me?” Chanyeol mutters silently, his voice strained as he looks at Baekhyun with pain.

Baekhyun’s breathing hitches. He grows cold and his insides feel weird. Why on earth is Chanyeol looking at him that way? “Not because of that, Chanyeol. But I just realized how I acted so immaturely… Well, I think it was infatuation. So I couldn’t blame myself on that.”

Feeling no interests on the rest of the explanation, Chanyeol rattles his lemonade cup nervously on his hand.

In stutters, Baekhyun catches him saying, “When did you stop liking me?”

Suddenly, Baekhyun feels like he didn’t remove a problem. In fact, he thinks he created another one instead. Why would Chanyeol even ask that? The Chanyeol that Baekhyun imagined would just shrug it off, and laugh saying he’s garbage and he doesn’t deserve to be loved. But Chanyeol is showing emotions? In front of Baekhyun? In a situation like this?

It creates endless flutters in his stomach. Is feeling this supposed to be right?

“I didn’t really keep track but, I tried to distract myself to avoid you countless of times,” Baekhyun starts. Suddenly his heart drops when he looks at Chanyeol’s almost pained expression and he doesn’t know the reason why. Like, is this real? Because he feels like there are meanings hidden behind Chanyeol’s words...

Then Baekhyun clenches his fists. Stop it, Baekhyun. It’s the reason why you had fallen in love with him in the first place, with those crazy and unreal scenarios you created on your head.

“But, why did you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why did you stop liking me?”

“Why did I?” Baekhyun asks himself, thinking of the reasons why he wanted to forget about Chanyeol, more so the reason why Chanyeol is so interested that he shows no shyness in asking. “Oh, well, because…”

A ring from Baekhyun’s pocket shocks the both of them, making the ever so sensitive Chanyeol leap in surprise. Baekhyun’s eyes widen as he retrieves it, immediately standing up from the bench he is itching to get up on since earlier.

“Oh, shoot, Chanyeol. It’s 5:45. I need to go home ASAP I have curfew at 6:30 oh God my mom’s gonna kill me—”

He is about to sprint towards the street but Chanyeol immediately grabs hold of him, Baekhyun grows irritated at the sudden intrusion. “What?”

“Why did you stop liking me?” He repeats.

Chanyeol just wouldn’t let go of it! Now Baekhyun is regretting even telling it to him.

Baekhyun sighs, exasperated. All he could think about it getting home, quick. “Because Chanyeol, I clearly see how in love you are with Kyungsoo as the months pass by. I don’t want to ruin that. And, I think, he may be in love with you too. So make a move, and I’ll get going! I need to eat my desserts later!”

Baekhyun runs off, leaving a Park Chanyeol deprived of his coherency at the same exact place he left him. In a few minutes time, Baekhyun is hopping on the bus, tapping his foot in impatience as he wishes it would rush immediately so that he could go home.

The moon follows Baekhyun as he travels, watching as he takes his shoes off and as he sits on the dining area just a minute before 6:30.

At the other side of the town, Chanyeol thinks, as he stares at the moon with sparkling eyes, that maybe Baekhyun is right. The young boy with droopy eyes isn’t so observant after all.






“So how is my favorite puppy catching up with all the things that he needs to do?” Jongdae asks him one serene afternoon, sitting in front of him, resting his face on the both of his hands.

Baekhyun hisses and throws him a tissue paper at the greeting, Jongdae luckily avoiding it with a laugh before he throws in another one of his queries. “So what happened last Friday? According to a reliable source that isn’t Sehun, someone saw the both of you chasing each other like lovers on the beautiful town lights of the plaza, yes? Is that correct?”

“The last time I check Chanyeol and I were just walking—”

Jongdae’s eyes sparkle as he claps his hand enthusiastically. “So it is true, then! How did that date go? Rubberized?”

Baekhyun furrows his eyebrows at the mention of the word rubber as he twirl spaghetti on his fork. “It’s not a date. And you’re disgusting. Shut up. Just eat.”

“So do I smell ChanBaek now? See? Taste? Touch? Hear? Is the royalness of my favorite couple finally coming back?”

Baekhyun flashes back to two years ago when this is how Jongdae would act whenever he and Chanyeol would talk with each other. He sighs and absentmindedly stabs the spaghetti noodles instead of eating it. Jongdae watches him with uncertainty, still sporting his Cheshire cat smile he is known for.

“Well if you really want to know what happened... Last Friday, I kind of confessed...? That I once had a crush on him.”

There is silence.

“Wait, you confessed? Wait… you had a crush on him?! What the ?!”

Several heads whip at their direction when Jongdae had the audacity to yell that in a public place such as the school canteen. Baekhyun looks at him like he’s a madman, already coming up with different excuses he could use to deny Jongdae as his best friend when people would come and ask him if he knows who he is.

“What’s wrong with that?” Baekhyun says, watching Jongdae pull his hair in different directions before munching into a mouthful of spaghetti inside his mouth.

“How come I never know that you had a crush on him?! Did Sehun know?! If he did then why did I not know?! Do you hate me?”

Baekhyun eats passively, pointing his fork at Jongdae who is already full on punching the table with his fists, their plates and glasses already jumping and water is already spilling. “Because I know that would happen.”

“But Baekhyun!” Jongdae whines again, leaning on to him and shaking his shoulder, Baekhyun couldn’t do anything but stare at him for how crazy he is acting. “I’m your best friend, why didn’t you tell me?! I would’ve kept that as a secret, you having a crush on—”

“Shut up!” Baekhyun covers his mouth when Jongdae got close to almost yelling Chanyeol’s name.

Baekhyun massages his temple, a growing headache forming. For God’s sake, can Jongdae please let him eat in peace before bugging him the rest of his life? “Okay Jongdae. Can you please sit down now? I’ll tell you everything. But promise me, you’ll react calmly.”

In an instant, Jongdae is back on his chair and his hands are on his lap, making him look like an obedient puppy. “Okay.”

Baekhyun stares at him for a while, observing if there are any violent vibes coming out from him but Jongdae just stays static. So he starts talking. “First of all, Sehun knows.”

“I knew it! Selfish !”

“Oh my god!” Baekhyun yells back with the same intensity and threatens to throw Jongdae the fork he is holding. Jongdae sits back again afterwards and pouts when he sees Baekhyun’s face already reddening in anger, fumes coming out both his nose hole and ears. “I’m sorry. I’ll shut up now.”

“!” Baekhyun exclaims, fixing his hair before getting back to the story. After a few seconds of closing his eyes and calming himself as Jongdae patiently waits, Baekhyun sighs. “Sehun knows, and he has been the one giving me advices on what to do when I’m struggling.”

“But why Sehun? He’s younger than you.”

“But why not, Jongdae? I’m dumb. Sehun’s a nerd, and he’s an achiever.” Baekhyun bites back sarcastically, growing more annoyed and annoyed as Jongdae continues to interrupt his story. “Can you please let me finish telling it now? Please?”

“Okay. I’m sorry. Continue.”

“I didn’t really know what I was thinking that time, because I knew it was stupid already developing feelings for someone I barely know. But I can’t help it, can I? He captivated me.”

He sees Jongdae rolling his eyes at the statement and he takes a mental note to take care of that later. “It was hard to avoid the budding feelings. I mean, there were plenty of people like you over analyzing everything we do when we were finally starting to become friends. My naïve self may have thought back then, that we were the perfect pair.”

Jongdae whispers, “Well, I think you still are.” Baekhyun ignores him.

“But what you didn’t know is how Chanyeol was also sporting a huge crush on Kyungsoo that time. It was hard to ignore, at least for me, but I did the best I could do to forget about him even if we are so close, even if people like you are making me believe. Because what can I do if I was happy with him, had a huge crush on him, if he doesn’t return the feelings back?”

“Then you should’ve risked confessing.” Jongdae tells him.

“I can’t.”

“I can’t too. I can’t believe it. Your confession to him is two years late. What about the possibilities?” His friend absentmindedly tells him without thinking how it could sting. Baekhyun just stares.

“I have plenty of worries, Jongdae. Stop making them worse.”

“Okay whatever, but what did he tell you?”

Baekhyun fidgets at his seat, remembering well how Chanyeol had reacted last Friday. As if on cue, Chanyeol, together with his friends Junmyeon, the student council president, and his younger brother, Jongin, Sehun’s old friend, enter the canteen each holding a tray, sitting on the table in front of Baekhyun.

He grows confused because Chanyeol hadn’t reacted when he saw him, but it did look like he is having a deep conversation with the both of his friends. Baekhyun wonders. Are they also talking about this?

“Last Friday, he asked me numerous times, on why I stopped liking him.”

Jongdae’s eyes widen and he looks like he’s gonna explode literally if he doesn’t scream but Baekhyun takes advantage of his fast reflexes and places a hand in Jongdae’s mouth before he could utter a single sound. Jongdae thrashes around and flails, almost falling to the ground if Baekhyun wasn’t holding him down with his other arm.

“Can you please calm down? You are acting so obvious! Don’t look, but they are just behind you!” Jongdae whips his head instantly over his shoulder and Baekhyun could only run a tired hand in his face, losing all the will it takes to calm Jongdae down. Thankfully, neither of the three noticed Jongdae’s sudden reaction so he thinks he’s safe. Jongdae asks him again what he replied.

“I don’t know. I told him what I told you. That he was so in love with Kyungsoo so I started to forget him.”

“What did he say?”

Baekhyun refreshes the memory then grows quiet, “I… didn’t hear about it. I left him before he could answer, because I’m on curfew.”

Jongdae clicks his tongue, sensing Baekhyun’s immediate discomfort. “You should’ve stayed to hear him.”

“I told you already, I have curfew, Jongdae. Stop making me feel guilty again. But thinking about it now, maybe I should have. Maybe I could’ve gotten his answer, if only I have stayed.” Baekhyun mutters and Jongdae leans in to pat him on the back. “I’m sorry. You know I tend to be really insensitive. But that’s okay, favorite puppy. I’m sure there are still plenty of times you could ask him about it.”

Baekhyun doesn’t answer, because he doesn’t know when will come the time he is so comfortable with Chanyeol again that he could open such a bold topic back without hinting he had been curious for a while. A few minutes pass by and neither he and Jongdae speaks, they just continue to eat. The silence isn’t really awkward. In fact, Baekhyun is thankful for it because it allowed him to somehow rest from the exhaustion of talking and explaining.

After a few minutes, the bell rings, indicating the start of the afternoon classes.