It’s barely been two days since he has met Baekhyun, but Chanyeol can’t help but be so intrigued in the other boy. For basically the entirety of his life, Chanyeol has been basking in privilege. He lives in a household where money is never really a huge problem, where there’s always plenty of food in the refrigerator, and where he has a pretty wide variety of clean clothes to pick and choose from. He’s attended schools in which pretty much everyone belongs to an upper middle-class family (and if not, then they’re just plain rich). So when he meets Baekhyun, Chanyeol’s fascinated because of how different the boy is compared to every single other person he’s ever met.

Not to be mistaken, Baekhyun is naturally handsome; Chanyeol can’t deny that. His dark brown eyes are warm and filled with kindness and his button nose is adorable. Chanyeol also can’t get over how cute the boy’s laugh is (it’s always a ‘hehehe’ or ‘hahaha’ ringing from his thin pink lips). But his silver hair is so oily and unwashed that it has become a dark gray. There are layers of sweat and grime covering his pale skin, turning its color to a light brown. His jeans have obviously been worn multiple times without being washed as they’re wrinkled and loose around the boy’s small waist. His once-white hoodie is now gray and stained with grease and dirt. Chanyeol has never seen someone in this state. In all his life, he’s never encountered an underprivileged person to this extent, a person living a life of $2-a-day poverty. And, frankly, Chanyeol’s captivated at how someone’s eyes could be so warm and kind but so full of sadness. He has hundreds of questions he wants to ask Baekhyun, but he doesn’t want to push the boy. Baekhyun looks like he’s been through a lot, and if he doesn’t want to spill his story to the taller boy, then Chanyeol won’t make him.

Honestly, though, Chanyeol’s cherished the past two days he’s spent with Baekhyun, even if a significant portion of their time together is spent in shared halves of tomato and mozzarella sandwiches (which Chanyeol gets for free from his hours of hard work at the local Starbucks). But Chanyeol doesn’t see much more of Baekhyun other than during their lunch period and AP Music Theory class. So when it’s announced during AP Music Theory that there will be a test on melodic transposition next week, Chanyeol seizes the opportunity to ask Baekhyun to study with him.

“Hey, psst, Baek,” Chanyeol whispers as he leans towards the other boy’s desk.

Baekhyun doesn’t look up, rapidly jotting down notes in his notebook (which Chanyeol had given him the previous day when Baekhyun sat down in the empty desk possessing no backpack, no pencil, and no notebook). “What do you want, Yeol?”

“Do you want to study for this test together?” Chanyeol asks. “Tonight, maybe?”

Baekhyun finally looks up. His face has lit up brighter than the sun. “Yeah,” he nods rapidly. “Yeah, I would really like that.”

“Want to meet at the library? Do you know where that is?”

Baekhyun nods again. “Yeah I know where that is. What time?”

“I get off work around five and then I need to make a quick grocery run so how about seven?”

“Sounds great,” Baekhyun beams. The bell rings and the students around them begin stuffing their notes (if they’ve even taken notes) in their backpacks before running off to their next class. Baekhyun tucks his pencil behind his ear and stands, hugging the notebook close to his chest. “I’ll see you tonight then, Yeollie.”

He leaves the classroom before giving the taller boy a chance to reply. Chanyeol smiles to himself as he gathers his belongings. ‘Yeollie’ is a new nickname. He decides that he quite likes it.

/*/*/*/

“Silence s'il vous plait,” the teacher says, standing in front of the class. “J'espère que tout le monde a fait la lecture hier soir.”

Chanyeol watches in amusement as he sees Yixing’s eyes widen in horror. The boy leans over to Chanyeol and hisses, “What reading? We had a reading to do last night?”

Before Chanyeol can respond, the teacher interrupts. “Alors, Lay! Je suppose que vous lisez la lecture parce que vous parlez en anglais.”

“What,” Yixing responds, his ears reddening. He didn’t think he had spoken so loud that the AP French teacher would catch him speaking in English.

“Dîtes-moi, pourquoi Pierre pense-t-il que l’homme qui accompagne le gouverneur est une autorité supérieure?” the teacher asks.

Yixing sinks into his seat with shame as he mutters, “Je ne sais pas.”

The teacher frowns. “You don’t know? Lay, did you not do the reading last night?”

“Non, Madame. Je ne savais pas que nous avions une lecture,” Yixing murmers, staring intently at his desk.

Minseok, who’s sitting on the other side of the room, looks so guilty. Chanyeol knows that the older boy probably forgot that there was a reading, too, and feels bad that Yixing is getting all the for not doing the assignment. “Baguette!” Minseok suddenly blurts out before turning extremely red and slapping a hand over his mouth.

“Qu'est-ce que vous avez dit, Chew-man?” the teacher questions, turning around. Chanyeol rolls his eyes behind her back. It’s Xiumin, you idiot, he thinks.

“I’m going to bake a baguette tonight!” Minseok declares. “I was wondering if you could give me any tips on how to bake a proper baguette. You used to study baking pastries in France, right?”

The teacher’s eyes light up and she launches into a lecture about her time studying in Paris. Next to Chanyeol, Yixing sighs in relief and mouths a thank you to Minseok. The oldest boy of the three is still a bright red but he’s able to smile a bit. He may have not done the reading last night and he may have just embarrassed himself in front of the entire class, but at least he saved Yixing from throwing himself out the window.

Silently thanking Minseok for distracting the teacher, Chanyeol scribbles down a note on a piece of paper and passes it to Yixing.

Are you staying with Yifan? the note asks. Chanyeol waits for the Chinese student to read the sentence. Yixing looks at Chanyeol with a grim smile and scribbles something on the paper before passing it back to the other.

Yeah. Having some issues at home. Staying with Yifan until all’s well, Chanyeol reads.

He picks up his pencil and writes back, Sorry about that :(  Let me know if you need any help, okay? Yixing smiles serenely as he reads Chanyeol’s note and begins folding the paper into something. Chanyeol focuses his attention back on the teacher, who has now started discussing her struggles as a patisserie apprentice in some restaurant, and when he looks back down at his desk, the note has reappeared in the form of an origami unicorn. Chanyeol beams at Yixing and carefully places it in the front pocket of his backpack. This one is going in Chanyeol’s permanent collection.

/*/*/*/

Work is tiring. Chanyeol loves being a barista. He loves coffee and he loves making people happy. But if one more snooty customer comes up to him ten seconds after placing their order to see if he’s done yet, he might lose it. The thought of seeing Baekhyun in a few hours pushes him through his day, though, and Chanyeol is beyond ecstatic when his manager finally tells him that he can leave. He still has two hours before he needs to be at the library so he does his grocery shopping. And hour later, he ends up standing outside Yifan’s door with a wide smile and four bags full of food.

“Surprise!” Chanyeol yells when Yifan opens the door.

“What the hell are you doing here, Chanyeol?” Yifan asks before quickly adding, “Not that I don’t like seeing your obnoxiously happy face.”

“I bought groceries for you guys!” Chanyeol explains. “You said that Yixing was staying over and that your parents were out of town so I figured that you guys would need some food. You know, so you can survive and stuff.”

“That’s very kind of you, Channie.” Yixing appears next to Yifan, slipping his arms around his waist and dragging him aside to make room for Chanyeol to enter. “Why don’t you come in? Those bags look really heavy.”

“I wasn’t really able to get much,” Chanyeol says as he makes his way to the kitchen. “I forgot how expensive groceries were and Starbucks doesn’t pay me much. But I think I got enough to last you guys the whole week?”

“You really didn’t have to do this, Chanyeol,” Yifan sighs as he begins to help the two boys unpack the groceries. “Honestly, we could’ve survived on our own. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of the two of us.”

Chanyeol snorts. “Doubtful, Yifan. Very doubtful. You can’t even finish your homework until five minutes before it’s due.”

“He’s got a point, Wu Wu,” Yixing smirks. “I do see you finishing all your assignments last minute. You know, scribbling down answers in the hallway instead of talking to me.”

“At least I get my homework done, Yixing,” Yifan shoots back. “I don’t forget to do my homework and then announce it to the whole class so the teacher can pick on me.”

“Hey! First of all, I didn’t announce it to the first class. And second of all, who the hell told you what happened in French today?” Yixing demands.

“Minseok told me,” Yifan shrugs innocently. “He was calling to see what kind of spread I wanted on my baguette tomorrow.”

“That boy needs to stop with the baguettes,” Chanyeol chuckles. “I found three pages full of baguette drawings in my French notebook the other day. I never even saw him go into my bag and he sits on the other side of the classroom. I don’t know how he does it, that sneaky bastard.”

“Oh yeah,” Yixing giggles. “That was me trying to freak you out. I guess it worked?”

Chanyeol stares at Yixing for a solid thirty seconds. “I thought you were innocent. I trusted you. You betrayed me.”

“No need to be so dramatic, Chanyeol,” Yifan grins as he turns to Yixing, patting the boy’s head. “That was a pretty epic pranked you pulled there, though. I’m proud of how far you’ve come. I taught you well.”

Chanyeol clears his throat awkwardly. “Yeah, okay I’m gonna leave. I’ll see you guys tomorrow?”

The other boys don’t respond as Yifan is too busy pinching Yixing’s cheeks, and Yixing is too busy beaming with pride. Chanyeol just rolls his eyes and walks out the front door, leaving the two staring lovingly into each others eyes.

/*/*/*/

To say that Chanyeol was excited for his study session with Baekhyun is an understatement. He arrives at the library thirty minutes before their set time and begins to fidget in his seat. The students sitting in the table adjacent to Chanyeol’s are giving him the death stare as he taps out rhythms on his textbook, but the boy doesn't seem to notice. He checks his watch and reads 6:50.

Then 7:00. Chanyeol looks anxiously at the main entrance of the library. There’s no sign of Baekhyun.

7:10. Chanyeol starts to get nervous. Still no sign of Baekhyun.

7:20. Chanyeol thinks that maybe he should just leave. Maybe I pushed his boundaries by inviting him here, Chanyeol thinks. Gosh, I’m such a doofus. He slaps his forehead and sinks into his chair. He decides he’ll wait ten more minutes.

7:30. Someone bursts through the main entrance quite loudly. Heads turn to look at the doors and Chanyeol’s head shoots up from his textbook. Baekhyun’s standing there, panting heavily. He looks distressed as he scampers to the seat across from Chanyeol.

“I’m so so so sorry,” Baekhyun apologizes, still breathing heavily. “I’m so sorry, Chanyeol. I swear I didn’t mean to be late. I didn’t have a ride so I left my place at six. But then I found out that this place is ten miles away from mine. I ran here as fast as I could.” Baekhyun gently grabs Chanyeol’s arm to look at his watch. He pales when he sees the time and a whimper escapes from his mouth. “Apparently, I didn’t run fast enough. I’m really sorry, Yeollie.”

Chanyeol places his hand over Baekhyun’s. “Don’t worry about it, Baek,” he smiles kindly. “It’s alright. Really. I’m just glad you’re here. You could’ve asked me to drive you here, by the way.”

“Ah, no it’s really alright. I don’t want to cause any-” Baekhyun cuts himself off as he begins to take in his surroundings. His crescent-shaped eyes grow wide with wonder as he looks at the hundreds of books stacked in towering shelves around him. His lips are parted slightly and a small smile creeps its way onto his face.

“First time in a library?” Chanyeol chuckles at the other boy’s expression.

“Not my first time, no. I just,” Baekhyun sighs dreamily. “I just never thought there were so many books in the world. I mean, this place is huge. I think I could spend forever in here.”

“Forever?” Chanyeol snickers. “Forever’s a long time, Baek. I suppose is pretty average. They’re better things in the world.”

“And there are worse things in the world,” Baekhyun replies. “Just think of all the stories there are in this place, Yeollie! All the different universes you can escape to for a few hours. All the different people you can meet, all the heroes and villains. This library doesn’t just contain books, Yeol. It contains my happiness, my hope...my despair.”

“Aren’t you a waxing poetic,” Chanyeol teases. “I guess I’ve just lived here my whole life that I’ve had time to go through all the books and I don’t really find anything special in this place anymore. Haven’t you ever read a story so many times that you get tired of it?”

Baekhyun grimaces. “I’ve never really had access to stories. Well, not like this anyway. My brother, Baekbeom, he used to tell me stories all the time. We couldn’t afford to buy books and the nearest library was always at least ten miles away. So instead of reading, Baekbeom used to make up stories to entertain me. I still remember the last one he told me,” Baekhyun smiles fondly. “He said that on the dark side of the moon, there lived a ping pong fairy, and the ping pong fairy’s best friend was a bunny who lived on the light side of the moon. They would go about their days digging holes in the moon and looking up at the millions and millions of stars in the universe. He told me that the ping pong fairy would go from child to child gifting them ping pong tables. I remember asking him why the fairy never gave us a ping pong table, and if we didn’t get one because we were on the naughty list, you know like Santa has a good and bad list. He told me that the ping pong fairy only gifted tables to children in need, and because we had each other, we didn’t need one.”

“He must’ve meant a lot to you, your brother,” Chanyeol smiles, thinking of his own older sister Yoora who had practically raised him. “But why did he stop telling stories?”

Baekhyun stares down at his textbook for a moment in silence. Chanyeol is about to withdraw his question, but the other boy begins to answer. His voice is so soft and small, and he sounds so hurt that Chanyeol can feel his own heart break. “He ran away when I was twelve. He had just turned eighteen and he felt like he was being a burden on the family. So he left a note behind telling us to not look for him and that we would be better off without him. I haven’t seen or heard from him since.” He can feel tears begin to pour down his face so he lowers his head, hoping that Chanyeol won’t see him in such a vulnerable state. He can hear Chanyeol getting out of his chair and suddenly, the taller boy’s arms are wrapped around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. Baekhyun adjusts his head slightly and sobs silently into Chanyeol’s chest.

“I’m really sorry, Baek,” Chanyeol whispers. Baekhyun can feel the vibration of the other boy’s vocal chords and relaxes a bit. “Gosh, I can’t believe how much you’ve gone through. I’m so so sorry.”

“Sorry?” Baekhyun half-chuckles, half-sobs. “You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for, Park Chanyeol.”

“Hey, do you maybe want to get out of here? The test isn’t for a few more days so we can study some other time,” Chanyeol suggests. “Let’s go get some dinner. My treat, okay?”

Baekhyun nods slightly and Chanyeol leads him to his car (or what he should actually call a fifteen-year-old piece of junk that can barely function), shooting glares at the judgmental stares from strangers in the library. What, has no one in this crummy little town seen a sobbing boy?

“You’ve got a nice car,” Baekhyun murmurs when they’re both in the “piece of junk.”

“I don’t know about ‘nice,’ but it’s a miracle that this thing still runs,” Chanyeol snorts as he starts up the car and turns up the volume on the radio. He smiles a little when his favorite song comes on.

I do my best

To find some kind of glow

I'm givin' it some heart and soul, now

From the darkest grays

The sun bursts, clouds break

The taller boy’s grin widens (if that’s even physically possible) when he spots Baekhyun nodding his head to the beat of the song from the of the corner of his almond-shaped eye. His heart warms as he watches the smaller boy break into a breathless smile. And in that moment, Chanyeol can’t believe how incredible life is.

/*/*/*/

Chanyeol can still the song playing in his head as he climbs into bed that night.

Whoa oh oh oh
Well this is life in color
Today feels like no other
And the darkest grays
The sun bursts, clouds break
Whoa oh oh oh
Well this is life in motion
And just when I could run this race no more
The sun bursts, clouds break
This is life in color

Author’s Note:

Hello, everyone! School’s starting soon so it’s very possible that I’ll be updating less often...sorry. :(

So we got to see a little bit more of what Chanyeol’s like and we got a bit of Baekhyun’s background revealed to us. Yay? I made it sad, I know. I’m kind of sorry. But don’t worry. Things will clear up (eventually).

If anyone's interested, the story that Baekbeom used to tell Baekhyun about the ping pong fairy is actually a story that my dad used to tell me when I was little. Whenever I was upset, he would just start telling me the story and it would cheer me up right away (and it still does). Just thought it was a sweet little anecdote. ;)

This fic is going to be chanbaek/baekyeol centered so there’s probably going to be a chanbaek-oriented chapter every other chapter and then a chapter focusing on the other guys in between.

Also, please let me know if there’s anything wrong with my french. I’m still learning so I’m not sure if everything is grammatically correct. The question the french teacher asked Yixing is actually based off of my summer homework hehe…

I’m doing some editing with the past chapters because the formatting looks a little bit weird and I’ve also decided to give each chapter a title (yes, they’re all titles of songs from OneRepublic).

If anyone’s interested, this is the link to the song that was playing in Chanyeol’s car (it’s called Life in Color and yes, it’s by OneRepublic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ndn_kpKYOA

I hope everyone liked this update! <3