Kyungsoo is going to do it. Somehow, he will solve this mess, and he will make sure that Baekhyun, Jongdae, and Chanyeol wouldn't get hurt from something that revolves solely around him anymore. They don't deserve any of this, and he will do whatever it takes to bring things back to the way they were. Where no matter what happens with him, at least they will be alright.

He was so confident and secure with his thoughts about the way he felt. After a night of evaluating Chanyeol's words and thinking deeply about what has been going on, he came up stronger than before.

All he needed was to hear Chanyeol, to learn about how important it is to make sure to listen to everything a person has to say, about how he should be honest with himself, about giving everyone the choice to decide for themselves rather than try to fix everything on his own. His conversation with Chanyeol really helped him. 

And yet... Now that he's sitting in the toilet before class, waiting for the day to begin, he can't help but worry terribly about whether or not Baekhyun and Jongdae would even want to speak with him at all when they see him. He wouldn't blame them even if they choose to keep away from him. Whatever happens to him is none of their concern. He will handle it. But deep down in his heart, with his true thoughts and feelings towards them, he hopes that they will at least continue to aknowledge his existence.

He's feeling nervous and worried that it may still be a better idea to speak with them about it in a more private surrounding so that perhaps, if there's a chance they really don't want to be seen talking with him, he wouldn't be causing them any harm. For that sake, maybe he should try to talk with them after school? Maybe he should slide them a note during class? Since they sit at the back there's no way other students would notice it, right? 

Though, what if they will be too busy going home and trying to study for the next upcoming exams happening really soon? Maybe he should wait with this a little longer for a time where they wouldn't have anything to do. But then, how will he know when they don't have anything to do if he wouldn't be able to speak with them?

No, this is stupid. He is falling back into the same trap he caged himself in before. He cannot just assume these things for somebody else without asking them about their feelings first. Just like he wouldn't want for them to hold back anything they have to say to him. He will have to be strong and confront his own fears to get through with it. But for their sake, he will. They will definitely listen to what he has to say. These are his true feelings after all.

"...-shio?" A voice awakened him from his worries. 
"Ahh~ You mean the creepy Doshio kid with his two helpers?" Another unfamiliar voice asks. Oh god. People are still talking. He can't allow this to continue anymore. Now is his chance to stop the rumours before the escalate. He has to take it.

With a whiff of confidence he stepped out of the cell, finding a group of guys from different classes of his grade standing there. He inhaled sharply, feeling his body tensing a little bit.

"This is all wrong! It's all lies, they aren't really helping me... Baekhyun and Jongdae are kind and nice and---" Kyungsoo began to explain, hoping he could reach them somehow and possibly prevent bad words to pass further. But instead, the group exchanged glances between itself, and began approaching him, forcing him to step back until his back bumped against the wall. He didn't want a confrontation.

The tallest in the group slammed his palm right beside his head and leaned closer to his face.
"Shut up already. Little Doshio, you mean Jongdae the criminal and Baekhyun the ?" He said, his breath stinking from cigarettes, and Kyungsoo's body froze with fear and stress. However, hearing him say such degrading terms about the two precious people who treated him so kindly, set off a new burning feeling inside of Kyungsoo's chest. His hand clenched into a fist beside his body. It was anger.

But instead, he unhinged his hand, and placed his palm on the back of the guy's arm lightly.
"Huh? What's this? Let go of me." The guy teased. 
"Take it back. Take back what you said. It isn't true." Kyungsoo insisted, serious wearing on his face. The guy just laughed right in his face. 
"Are you hearing this?" He hummed at his group, the rest of the guys started laughing coldly.

"Baekhyun and Jongdae are nothing like what you say they are. You'll hurt them if you keep saying such terrible things about them!" Kyungsoo spoke confidently, meaning every word he says. He really wanted to convince them and make them understand the truth.

The guy removed his hand from the wall, and instead placed both of his hands on Kyungsoo's shoulders, grabbing him and pushing him sideways against the sinks. 
"You're one to talk!" The sinks got pushed right into Kyungsoo's side, which crumbled him down as a result of the sharp pain, and made him fall to the floor with a gasp.

"They're nice? Their feelings will get hurt? I'm surprised you have the guts to say that. Aren't you the one who started all these rumours to begin with?" The guy stiid above him, arms crossed. 
"Huh...? Me...? Who...?" Kyungsoo mumbled in pained surprise. The guy didn't seem to like his confusion, he leaned down and grabbed onto his collar with a fist, pulling him forward in a tightly uncomfortable manner which caused Kyungsoo to wince.

"Don't play innocent now, you prick, you're the one who began spreading these rumours! Don't act like you had nothing to do with it, Doshio!" He shouted at his face, his breath really did stink so bad. Kyungsoo wanted to be freed. He even held onto the guy's back of the hand to hopefully release himself. But more than anything, he was pretty shocked to learn that these students think it was him who began saying such horrible things.

"It doesn't make any sense! Why would I say anything bad about these two? They've been nothing but kind to me! There's nothing bad about them at all! They're nice and cool---" Kyungsoo began explaining nervously, but the guy just let him go and rose back up to his feet. He even patted his hands on his knees to clean them from being placed on the bathroom's floor on which Kyungsoo's sitting. 
"You see, we don't give a ." He said coldly, and stomped the sole of his shoe on Kyungsoo's chest pretty hard, causing him to fall backwards against the floor and knock the back of his head on the tiles. It hurt. He winced lightly, looking at the guy in disbelief. The dirt on the bottom of his shoe was smearing all over Kyungsoo's school uniform. 

"I'm pretty sure the two of them began hanging out with you just for fun... But they're bored with you now. And you are bored of them, too. That's why you started these rumours, isn't it?" The guy began talking, his shoe pushing harder against Kyungsoo's chest on the floor, and he started feeling claustrophobic from being surrounded by so many guys like that above him. A real sense of danger. 
"You got close to them in order to reach Chanyeol, didn't you? That's why you don't need them anymore. You're such a brat. Why won't you be a good boy and stay away from everyone again?" The guy went on, pushing harder, Kyungsoo's chest tightened. "Once you do that, we'll leave you alone--" 

"You're wrong!" Kyungsoo cut him off. 
"I don't care whether or not you leave me alone. So just take back what you said about them!" He spoke with renewed confidence, although he was clearly nervous. He couldn't allow this to continue. Whatever it'd take, even if it'd be his own safety on the line, he will protect them, he will make sure the people who were so kind to him won't have to suffer anymore. 

"Huh? Who the hell do you think you ar---" 
"Everything! Take it back! It's all lies! You don't understand anything!" He kept insisting. Kyungsoo wouldn't let them continue spreading these harmful words around. 
The guys surrounding him looked at him pretty surprised. Even though everyone avoided Kyungsoo all this time... Baekhyun and Jongdae were so kind to him. They were never afraid. So he shouldn't be afraid of standing against evil and insisting on what he believes in. He'll protect the truth.

"You don't know---... How much I like them--- No... How much I love them." Kyungsoo said, now in a more quiet manner, his body felt loose, exhausted from the constant pressure on his chest. Even though he was being pressed down, finally expressing these feelings out loud truthfully felt like a ton a weight had been removed from his heart.

He knew what's going to happen next. And already came to terms with it. With his vision slightly blurred due his eyes being damp from the emotions he expressed, it felt like everything went in slowmotion. He saw the guy raising his arm in a fist and aiming at him. Knowing what's coming, Kyungsoo shut his eyes and accepted his fate. This is the price he is willing to pay in order to restore the safety of those he loves.

Except, instead of a punch to the face, he felt an arm wrapping around him, and the weight of the guy's shoe removed from his body. 

As he opened his eyes, he saw Baekhyun standing in front of him, blocking the guy's punch and making him lose balance from having his leg thrown off of Kyungsoo. Beside him, kneeled Jongdae, who helped him rise back up from the floor of the toilet by hugging around him and carefully pulling him back on his feet.

The guy regained his balance and looked at Baekhyun angrily. 
"Baekhyun! What the hell?! You're going to stand up to him even after all the rumours he started?!" He shouted, the guys around have began dwindling in numbers and leaving the toilet in quiet fear of getting in serious trouble. 
"It wasn't Kyungsoo." Baekhyun replied immediately. 
"There's no way he'd do something like that." Jongdae added with a fierce expression towards the dude. While making sure Kyungsoo was standing up properly.

"You idiots, what the---" The guy insisted. 
"That's what we believe. So everything's fine." Jongdae cut his words off coldly, and Baekhyun stepped forward, placing his hand on the guy's shoulder and pushing him back harshly. 
"Move along now." Kyungsoo could only see Baekhyun's back, but he easily felt just how intimidating his seriousness can be.

"This has nothing to do with you two, there's something I want to tell Doshio---" The guy stood his ground in front of Baekhyun. But that was clearly not a clever decision, as Baekhyun stepped and leaned even closer to his face, smiling at him widely, with his eyes looking colder than ice.
"Huh? You think you can win this? Let alone me, but you think a dangerous criminal like Jongdae would go easy on you if you cross against him?" He said in a scary teasing manner. 

"You lay your finger on Kyungsoo again and we won't let you walk off harm free." Baekhyun threatened while punching into his own palm with his fist in front of the guy's face. He, and the very few guys who remained in the bathroom looked pretty spooked at the display. 
"W-Whatever. Let's get the hell out..." The guy mumbled as he began turning to leave. 

"Ahem Ahem!" Jongdae coughed loudly on purpose, his arms crossed, and his eyes sharp as knives directed right at the guy's face. 
"You're so damn annoying--- Fine! I get it! I take it back! Happy now?!" He shouted back at them before leaving the toilet as well.

It was silent for a while, Kyungsoo slowly started returning back to his senses. Until now, his mind was too stunned to provide any proper thoughts. Did... Did the group of guys actually understand him then? Does it mean they will no longer continue spreading the horrible rumours about Baekhyun and Jongdae?

"They... Got it? I think they understand now! They won't say bad things about you anymore! I'm so glad..." Kyungsoo finally spoke as a smile spread on his face, breaking the silence. Both Baekhyun and Jongdae just stared at him quietly for several moments. 
"It's fine... Kyungsoo." Jongdae said quietly. Although this event was successful, for some reason the two of them don't look happy at all. 
"We don't care about these things. Rumours are nothing." Baekhyun added, and it was quiet again. The toilet which was filled with so much fear and so many worries moments ago, is now so mellow.

"T-Thank you... For believing me." Kyungsoo then said shakingly. He was seriously grateful. For the two of them helping him now, for them becoming such important people in his life, for them treating him so kindly, for the fact that they believe him even against all odds. They truly are amazing. Better people than he could have wished to get to know in his life.

"I thought I'd be able to clear everything on my own... I thought there was no other way. I just messed up again. This is what my mind always turns to... This is how I've always had to behave... Everyone always said so. Even though I really wanted to get along with them." Kyungsoo wanted to tell them everything. Which includes the reason he did what he did. 
"Just because it never went differently, and nothing ever changed, and I was still repeatedly pushed aside and disregarded, a part of me had already given up." He began to explain. If he has a chance to speak his mind for the two of them to listen, it has to be now. He has to seize this opportunity.

"And with all that--- I still... Couldn't give up on the both of you. I knew that rumours would come up about you two if I stayed by your side, and that you'll get hurt because of me. But even then, I couldn't let you two go." He continued, struggling to speak, but his will power kept him going. His heart was beating fast in his chest, but he blocked off his scared side of mind, and just allowed his heart to speak out to them. He's got nothing to hold back anymore.

"I didn't know what to do and how to help you cheer up when I saw you were feeling down. And I know I'm a good for nothing type of person--- But, I still want to be with you two. Just like we were---" No. He doesn't want things to return to the way they were. He thought he did, but it's not true, and if there's any good time to be honest with himself, it's now. 
"No..." He tugged to the edges of his smeared uniform shirt and looked down, his hair hiding his eyes from view.

"I want to be even closer to you two than we were before---... If, if any more bad rumours come up, I'll try my best to stop them no matter what it takes." He went on. Wasn't he being really selfish right now? Dumping all of this on the two of them. And yet they were both standing there and listening to every word he was saying. If it's like this, then he has to say it. He can't keep it to himself anymore.

"I want to become friends with you--- Baekhyun, Jongdae!" He finally announced, putting his biggest wish out in the air. 
He lowered his head even further down. His heart and mind spiraling into chaos of possibilities, fears, and doubts, but also hope, acceptance, and relief. He's done it. He said it. Wishes are usually the heart's deepest desired, they are meant to remain deep down and get fulfilled through actions. But in this case, he put out his entire heart for them to see, and although he knew he's being greedy and selfish for wanting this much, he had to do it. He's a human too, after all. No matter how much other people want to believe otherwise.

It got quiet for a few long moments afterwards. The acoustics in the toilet numbed down even the sounds of the world outside. There's so much going on inside his head, and so much pumping through his heart. Right now, at his most vulnerable state to date, he's at the mercy of Baekhyun and Jongdae.

He has to be prepared for the possibility of rejection. Not everything in life will got according to his wishes. Actually, nothing in his life has ever went according to his wishes so far, so technically, he is probably more prepared for the rejection mentally than he is for the chance of his feelings being returned in the form he expressed.

"Kyungsoo... You thought we were hurt because of the stupid rumours? You thought that if you were with us, you'd end up hurting us?" Jongdae spoke first. Suddenly Kyungsoo started missing the silence. He's utterly terrified of facing the consequences of his confession. 
"And you still wanted to be with us. Is that what you were so hurt from?" Jongdae asked quietly. Kyungsoo slowly raised his head to look at the two of them, but instead, he saw them step closer to him.

"A-Ah--- Wait--- I'm all dirty because of the toile---" He began mumbling lightly. If they get any closer they will make their own uniforms dirty as well. But two pairs of arms wrapped tightly around his body and held him tighter than he ever knew he could be held. He was speechless.

"You're such an idiot---!" Baekhyun then burst in a shaky voice, tears streaming down his cheeks as he began wailing loudly when pulling back from the hug. He tried wiping his face with his own sleeves like a little kid. 
"Who's the real idiot here..." Jongdae sighed before smacking Baekhyun on the back and turning towards Kyungsoo again. 
"We're sorry, Kyungsoo, for doubting you even for a moment. Baekhyun feels very ashamed..." He snuck a teasing glance at the other. "I doooo!" He whined out some more. "And I do too." Jongdae admitted quietly.

"Kyungsooooo--!" Baekhyun sniffed, before finally opening his eyes and stepping closer, placing both his hands on Kyungsoo's shoulders gently. 
"Please don't feel alone again! We care about you so much," He began, eyes shiny with tears and lips quivering. "You said you wanted to be our friend... But you're really an idiot! Kyungsoo... You don't  ask such a thing--- At the moment you realize you want that, it's already true!" He sniffed with a confident expression. "We've been friends all along!" 

It took him a few seconds to comprehend Baekhyun's words, but as he realized that all this time he had been worrying and fussing so much over something that was already so obvious for the two of them, he really did feel like a big fool. But he also felt true happiness. Warmth spread all through his body when looking at the two of them starting to banter with each other after working so hard to explain everything to him, like a child learning how to walk for the first time.

"I---..." Kyungsoo began talking again, his heart's pumping hard in his chest, and his words were slightly choked. The two's attention immediately directed to him. 
"I learned a ghost story--- By the way..." He said, watching how their expressions shift from a surprise into wide smiles as they both wrapped their arms around his back and began laughing.

Baekhyun and Jongdae. His very first true friends.

As they finally stepped out of the toilet, after attempting to clean Kyungsoo's uniform up as much as possible, the three of them found Chanyeol standing by the wall near the entrance on his own. He turned to look at them and smiled warmly. 
"I managed to scatter the crowd before you came out. Everything went well, I'm glad." He said calmly in their direction, but his eyes were locked solely with Kyungsoo's. His words were meant for him.

Kyungsoo's really grateful. Thanks to Chanyeol's encouragements, thanks to him allowing Kyungsoo to open up and speak truthfully about his thoughts and feelings, he was able to do this on his own. He was able to push through because Chanyeol's words 'Do your best. Do your best!' kept echoing in his head the whole time, and he knew it was what he had to do. Another wave of warmth washed over his body.

There was so much he wanted to tell Chanyeol. So many things he wanted to express and explain and let him know. But with everything crowding his mind, it was difficult to form any words at all. 
"Thank you, Chanyeol." He finally said, an honest smile of happiness spread across his face.

Suddenly, Baekhyun and Jongdae stepped beside him and turned to look at his face from up close with curiousity. As Chanyeol's expression had turned from a smile to a surprise, and then to something Kyungsoo wasn't sure what was. Chanyeol placed his wrist over his nose, half hiding a part of his face with a pout and looked sideways nervously. His ears were shaded in deep pink, too. 
"Whaaaa Kyungsoo is smiling again!" Jongdae called out loudly and poked Kyungsoo's cheek with his finger gently, causing him to chuckle before pouting jokingly.

The three of them continued laughing as they began heading away and back to class. Leaving Chanyeol looking at them from behind on his own.

Things have brightened up. And the exam period had finally came to an end. Sadly, Kyungsoo's grades have suffered a little due to the whole situation, but the atmosphere was still lovely and bright. The way people look at him at school had also changed a little for the better. At least no more nasty rumours were spreading anymore. 

"Hey, Kyungsoo, let's go out to eat something today! To celebrate our success!" Baekhyun called out to him while packing his bag to leave at the end of the day. 
"Really? I can come too?" Kyungsoo asked in thrilled surprise, already starting to pack his things as well. 
"Ah that's right! You have to tell us the ghost story you've learned as well." Jongdae reminded him with a smile, as Baekhyun's face went pale. 
"Please, no..." 
"Aaaah why~ Come on! It'll be fun!" Jongdae as the three of them got up from their seats and greeted Sehun goodbye.

"Do you have any money on you? If not, I could pay for you today." Baekhyun hummed as they were about to leave the classroom. 
"I've got a little bit, it'll be enough." Kyungsoo replied, and out of instinct, turned to look back at the class.

However, his eyes met with Chanyeol's. Who was staring at him as well. Ah, Chanyeol, the best person in the whole world. The person that was able to give him enough strength to push through all the struggles he had to handle before. The person that managed to pull him out of his own personal hell, and pushed him hard enough to thrive. He's so thankful. And automatically, his face turned into a warm smile before bowing politely to signal his leave. He wasn't sure, because he turned back to leave the classroom right away, but he thought he saw Chanyeol's eyes widen in surprise at the sight of his smile.

Baekhyun and Jongdae have become such precious people to him. They brighten his life so much. He was able to do things he would have never thought of doing on his own. He got to experience new exciting activities that'll remain in his memories as little sparkling gems of joy.

As they headed out to the restaurant, a voice suddenly called from behind them.
"Kyungsoooo!" It was Yerim, waving and rushing over towards the three of them. She smiled up at Baekhyun and Jongdae widely, then winked at Kyungsoo. 
"I'm glad your wish had come true!" She was honest, and truly happy for him. Kyungsoo could tell from the way her eyes were shining. 
"Please take good care of Kyungsoo!" She smiled at the other two with a small bow, and rushed off to a taller girl, a friend of hers from class, that immediately wrapped an arm around his waist when she stood beside her. Kyungsoo waved at her lightly.

"Hey~ Kyungsoo~" Baekhyun and Jongdae both turned to look at him with slightly creepy yet funny expressions. 
"If you said you didn't like us before... Then how do you feel about us now?" Baekhyun . Kyungsoo knew what they mean, when they've asked him before he couldn't bring himself to be fully honest because he was worried for their safety. So it must have been deeply misunderstood by them.

Kyungsoo stiffened up and felt the blood rush in his veins from shyness. He has no excuses now. He knows they all comply to the policy of honesty after all they've been through. 
"W-Well---... I... I love you." He managed to mumble after some struggle. 

They both looked at each other for a moment, then smiled, and it seemed like hearing Kyungsoo say that made the two of them laugh warmly. 
"Good! We love you too!" They said almost in unison, which now made Kyungsoo laugh. Happiness washed over him in a wave of ease, and he felt how his heart by now had already adjusted to beating slightly faster for the sake of containing all of these new bright emotions he's feeling.

They continued on, Baekhyun and Jongdae began bantering about which food they want to eat, and which restaurant contains that food so that they could go there and everyone will be pleased.

The place decided was none other than the most simple sushi place located right at the entrance of town. It seems the three of them have had enough excitements for one exam period, and the familiar taste of the sushi would be comforting enough to calm them down. Kyungsoo had only ever been here a few times with his parents, so being independent and spending time with his friends like this after school hours was pretty exciting.

Jongdae and Kyungsoo ordered their combinations almost immediately, while Baekhyun was struggling for a little while longer to decide everything for himself. Kyungsoo was sure they'd all just be eating their own meals like he's used to, but when the food arrived to their table, both Baekhyun and Jongdae placed their plates at the center of the table and looked at him expectantly.

"Place your plate here, that way it'll be easier for everyone to reach." Jongdae explained when he realized Kyungsoo was confused as to what to do. That... Was such a genius idea. That way everyone are able to try all the different flavours and share together instead of eat all alone together.

At first it took him a while of hesitation to pick any piece of sushi that didn't belong in his own plate, but once Baekhyun had reached out and placed one of his own pieces right in front of Kyungsoo's mouth with a smile, he knew he has nothing to worry about anymore. A little shyly, he took it in his mouth, watching how both Baekhyun and Jongdae grinned with satisfaction to see him chew and praise the flavour.

In the end, Kyungsoo ended up tasting everything that could have been tasted, and it was great. It was so delicious. Though, he knew deep down that what made this meal really delicious was the company.

He thought it'd be easy to finish off because they had such a great time, but at the moment the waitress arrived with the bill the air became extremely tense. Each of the three of them insisted as hard as possible on paying for them all. Well, it was mainly Baekhyun and Jongdae bickering and whining about, giving random unrelated excuses as to why they should be the one paying and not the other. Kyungsoo hoped that this would give him the chance to slide over and pay himself. So he tried to sneak by with his wallet.

But it wasn't sneaky enough, and definitely not quick enough, because at the moment the waitress came to pick the payment, Jongdae managed to outspeed them both and hand her his card. Baekhyun grumped out with a whiney rain of complaints, but Kyungsoo was more surprised from the fact that Jongdae has his own credit card at all to begin with. He's so mature and self sufficient. Maybe something about the rumours was true after all, the fact that Jongdae's so incredible that he leaves people questioning just what else he will be able to pull out his sleeve if needed.

By the time they were done eating and fighting for the pay, it was already the middle of the afternoon. 
"So delicioussss!" Baekhyun hummed, stretching his arms up and scrunching his nose with the pleasure of satisfaction from the food. The three of them stood at the entrance of the restaurant for a few moments, wondering what should be done next. Will they head back home now? Kyungsoo was already starting to exceed his social capacity for the day.

These have been pretty draining few days, and considering the fact that his uniform still has hints showing about the fact it has been stepped on even after it's been washed at least twice, doesn't really work well with his already existing worry of spending time in public.

Without much thought, they began making their way back out of town and towards the direction of their residential living blocks. It was a nice pleasant afternoon, even when walking under the sun. Eventually, they came by a small children's park that looked pretty much empty. Baekhyun and Jongdae exchanged a glance between one another, then both at once suddenly ran towards the swings 
"Aaaaahhhh!!!" Baekhyun shouted as he reached them first and hung on top of one of the bigger swing on his stomach. Looking like a dog stuck over an obstacle with the way his limbs dangled down.

Jongdae burst out in laughter at his ridiculous position and smacked his before sitting down on the other empty swing, shooting a smile towards Kyungsoo. Who, out of surprise, remained standing in his spot for a few more seconds before stepping in and sitting down sideways on the rocking horse shaped like a little dinosaur.

"Been so long since we've come here." Jongdae said, looking up at the sky for a few moments before swinging himself lightly back and forth with his feet touching the ground. 
"Has it really? Damn. I didn't even realize we're already sophomores... Feels like highschool only started." Baekhyun sat himself on the large swing and crossed his legs, sitting like a pretzel on top of it.
"Hey, don't exaggerate, we literally just finished this year's first exam period." Jongdae pouted in his direction.

Whoa... The two of them talk with each other so freely. They're never afraid to say what's on their mind, how they feel, and even call each other out on things that they say. To Kyungsoo it looked like the ideal connection of friendship. Nothing can top just how deeply he could tell these two souls are linked for life. It's incredible.

The way they interact with each other would make anyone think that they've spent their entire lives together already. They are the perfect display of the proper way to use communication in all of its forms to build a solid base for a friendship to grow on. He could tell that the two of them would take a bullet for one another if they had to. Even more, they'd start fighting about who should be taking the bullet because they'd want to take it for the other's sake.

As someone who's never had these sorts of conenctions to people before, not even his own parents, Kyungsoo couldn't do much but be awed by the way their beings just flow with one another together. 

Will he ever be able to achieve something similar with anybody? Just thinking about the fact that the three of them are now considered actual friends made Kyungsoo's heart jump in his chest with subtle excitement and anticipation. There's so much he still has to learn when it comes to properly being around people. Or rather, be a part of people. He's never been a part of something social before, so thinking about what the future might hold, although he believed he did not deserve any of it, still made him anticipate it.

He hoped a bright future will hurry up and shine on him.

"What about you Kyungsoo?" Jongdae turned to look at him after chatting with Baekhyun for a while, but Kyungsoo was lost in his thoughts about them that he wasn't paying attention to what they were saying, and didn't know what the question was about at all. 
"A-Ah... I don't..." He mumbled helplessly, feeling nervous that he's going to disappoint them by failing to keep track of their conversation.

Baekhyun laughed at the puzzled expression Kyungsoo must have had on his face, and smiled gently. 
"What is it? You look so lost." He's right, Kyungsoo really was lost. He's filled with so many new emotions that he didn't know how to handle, so he distracted himself from the present to keep fantasizing about the future.

"I was just thinking about how well you two know each other. Must have been friends for year." Kyungsoo looked at them curiously, hoping to hear some more of their many years of adventure together. 
"Huh? What are you talking about? We only met in highschool." Baekhyun replied with a little pout and began swinging his own swing with his own body weight, leaning back and forth. Kyungsoo was quite shocked to say the least, from the revalation of that fact.

"R-Really? Then how...?" He mumbled wide eyes, and Jongdae shrugged his shoulders while turning to look at Baekhyun. 
"We ended up standing together at the entrance ceremony. Baekhyun introduced himself to me, and I thought the way he shook my hand so wildly was silly, so I told him." Jongdae began recalling. Baekhyun stuck out his tongue in Jongdae's direction at the mention of the handshake. 
"It wasn't that bad, I was nervous, okay?" He attempted to defend himself, resulting in the both of them chuckling. 
"And... We ended up in the same class together, even sitting behind one another, so we became friends." Jongdae concluded.

Kyungsoo sat there and stared at them with anticipation. Yes, this is how it began, but then, what did they... Do? How did they just, become friends like that out of the blue? How could it happen so quickly? He looked at them waiting to hear the rest of the story.

"What? That's it, that's how we became friends." Baekhyun repeated. Huh? Is that all? It doesn't make any sense, how could they become friends so fast? 
"Wait... That is all? It was so fast and simple?" Kyungsoo asked, his mind unable to come to terms with the fact that the process of becoming friends was this quick for them. 
"Duh. How'd you think people usually make friends? It can happen after a single conversation." Baekhyun smiled, raising his finger up in the air knowingly, as if he's passing his knowledge over to Kyungsoo.

Which, for Kyungsoo, was absolutely true. Baekhyun really was passing incredible knowledge down to him. All his life Kyungsoo had struggled making friends due to the beliefs everyone had towards him and his 'Doshio' reputation. He thought making friends is something that must be taking years to achieve.

But... After a single conversation? Is that even possible? Kyungsoo's conversations with people always resulted in them running away from him or demanding him to stay away from them. Wow, Baekhyun and Jongdae really are beyond how incredible he thought they were, if they're able to make friends with people so effortlessly.

"I think we threw him into a loop." Jongdae mumbled towards Baekhyun, who let out a short laughter. 
"Hey, Kyungsoo, making friends is easy. But keeping friends, becoming good friends, and staying together is what really matters." He explained calmly. "Friendship takes time, patience, and effort. And I hope you know that we're more than willing to invest all of it for you. Just like you have for us." Jongdae concluded with a gentle warm smile. 

Every word they said flew right into Kyungsoo's heart. He understood exactly what they were saying, and what's the meaning behind their explanation. He never thought he'd be able to understand such a thing, since he's never got to experience what it's like for someone to invest all of these things in him.

But he knew now. And he will continue learning how to do the same, but even better, in the future. The passage of time will result in more opportunities for him to give them his efforts, and accept them as they are with patience. That's what it means, right? He understood it now. He just hoped that he'll be able to feel what it's like as well.

"Let's be friends for a long time, yes?" Baekhyun then grinned and sent his arm forward, his pinky finger wiggling from his palm. 
"This is so cheesy, brings me back to kindergarten." Jongdae laughed, stretching his own arm and wrapping his pinky finger around Baekhyun's.

Kyungsoo stared at their hands for a moment, then at their faces. Both of them were looking at him warmly, gentle smiles filled with anticipation and joy. He... He's blessed. He's so happy right now. A pinky promise is something that can never be broken, just like he saw in the many movies he watched alone in his childhood. He felt his cheeks heating up together with the increase of his heartbeat, but swallowed his fears anyway.

Shakingly, he reached his own arm out, and tangled his own pinky together with theirs. 
"L-Let's be friends...!" He mumbled, his voice too weak to sound anywhere near as confident as he intended, but it made the two of them laugh happily before raising their hands up in the air together. 
"For us!" They chanted in unison before cheering with funny howling noises. 
"For us..." Kyungsoo's eyes remained on the blue skies spreading above them. 

Now that they've promised this, and the world is their witness, he will have to work harder to prove that he's good enough, and worthy of this new given rank he'd achieved. So making friends is like this. He wondered which other people would ever become friends with him. Unsurprisingly, his mind directed itself onto one person in particular. 

So much had changed since he got to meet Chanyeol. His life started expanding in directions he'd never known before. Kyungsoo hoped that one day he will be able to grow worthy enough to achieve a friendship with Chanyeol too. To become Chanyeol's friend... It sounded like a far fetched dream.

But it still brought him joy, and filled him with a brighter version of hope for the future. Thanks to Chanyeol he was able to come this far. Just how much further is he going to reach?