‘Baekhyun-ah, thanks for being such an independent boy all these years,’ He was faced with his parents, the people who abandoned him in his pre teen years.

‘M-mom, what are you doing here?’ He asks, carrying Minjun in his arms.

‘We’re here to take Minjun!’ His mother says excitedly, hands reaching out to carry Minjun. Baekhyun doesn’t want to let go, but he can’t control his hands, he was powerless.  His mother and father cuddle Minjun into their arms, looking like a happy family. However Baekhyun notices Minjun’s gaze, he was making grabby hands, reaching out for him.

‘We’re off now! And didn’t I make myself clear before? Don’t call us Mom and Dad! What if people find out? Don’t be such a burden.’ His parents walk away, leaving Baekhyun alone at the door. He looks at the family of three with tears in his eyes,

‘No! Don’t go! Mom! Dad! Don’t take Minjun with you too!’ He pleads, but the door closes on him, and his world turns black.

‘Minjun!’

Baekhyun shouts from his sleep and jumps up from the bed. His eyes were wet and he was panting. He looks around his surroundings, panicking at the sight of white walls, machines and the very nauseating scent of disinfectant. Where was he? And more importantly, where is Minjun? His anxiety levels rise, a bad reminder of his never ending nightmare. The chairwoman walks in, seeing Baekhyun in a chaotic distress, obviously disturbed by something. Baekhyun walks up to the chairwoman, panic evident in his eyes,

‘Mrs Park! Where is Minjun? What happened?’

The chairwoman goes up to Baekhyun, forcing him to sit back down using her walking cane.

‘Baekhyun-ah everything is fine, look after yourself first, the wounds are not going to heal at this rate!’ she nagged. Baekhyun sits back down, not wanting to worry the chairwoman further. The chairwoman sighs as she takes a glance at the injuries that Baekhyun sustained, and shakes her head in disappointment and guilt that her very own grandson is the person responsible for this.

‘Baekhyun-ah,’ The chairwoman starts off, patting his leg, ‘I’m really sorry that this happened to you, I never expected Chanyeol to act out like that, it has never happened before with his other housekeepers. If only I-’ She speaks regretfully, having already reprimanded her grandson enough for the entire night.

‘Mrs Park, it’s not your fault, please don’t blame yourself. I was at fault too, I didn’t explain myself clearly to Chanyeol, I caused the misunderstanding.’ Baekhyun grabs the chairwoman’s hands, she was so nice to him, Baekhyun would never ever think of blaming her.

‘Baekhyun-ah, you are too nice, please don’t let my grandson off that easily. You will be staying in my mansion for the time being, until Chanyeol can sort himself out properly. Minjun will be well taken care of by Mr Kim while you’re at work.’ Baekhyun is slightly relieved at the fact that he won’t be staying at Chanyeol’s for the time being - his anger, frustration and embarrassment has not settled down yet, and he is certain that Chanyeol is not taking in this situation any better.

With the mention of Minjun, Baekhyun and the Chairwoman turn to the door to see Minjun in Mr Kim’s arms. His little hands and feet swing in desperation to reach for his hyung, eyes filled with big fat tears for being away from his hyung for so long. Baekhyun and Minjun have never separated for more than a day since he took in Minjun, Mr Kim had a hard time trying to get him to sleep, perhaps the sleeping environment was way too foreign for the boy’s liking.

Baekhyun reaches out for Minjun, wrapping him in a tight hug. Minjun snuggles close to his hyung, letting a sigh of relief escape from his lips. It was quiet and peaceful like that for a while, Baekhyun brushing Minjun’s hair as he asks about his hyung’s boo-boos, chatting with the chairwoman and trying to get settled to the new cast on his arm.

But the quiet and peaceful moment was short lived, thanks to Baekhyun’s very loud best friends.

‘BAEKHYUNNN AHHH WE ARE HERE!’ The door slams open revealing a fresh faced Jongdae and a very embarrassed Minseok (he apologised to the nurses on behalf of Jongdae, claiming that he has loud voice tendencies).

Baekhyun flinches and lets out a yelp at the sudden voice, but soon calms down as he sees his friends. On the other hand, the chairwoman did not seem very impressed, she had that usual poker face and stared at the two boys.

‘I’m guessing you two had a good rest,’ The chairwoman speaks up, causing Jongdae and Minseok to turn blue. They totally forgot that she was in the room!

‘Y-Yes ma’am we did, thank you for taking care of Baekhyun.’ Minseok stutters out, and slaps Jongdae on the head when he forgets to bow to the chairwoman.

The chairwoman nods, and decides to let the friends have a small reunion, and leaves the room with Mr Kim. The moment the door is shut, Jongdae and Minseok return to hovering over Baekhyun, asking about his injuries and all that, spilling the tea and all.

‘After you fainted you were sent to the hospital,’ Jongdae said with a mouth full of noodles, ‘And when the chairwoman heard about it, she immediately investigated into the situation, no wonder she is the legendary Mrs Park! She acts so quickly!’ He says with respect to the chairwoman, perhaps with so much respect that the black bean sauce he was eating almost flies everywhere.

Baekhyun nods as he eats, taking in all the news from before.

‘Chanyeol was in a bad state too, given your injuries…’ Minseok mutters.

Baekhyun’s eyes widened at the news, he thought that now Chanyeol would be happy and proud for bringing him suffering, but the man who was all proud and arrogant last night seemed to be taking the hardest hit. Baekhyun figures that the chairwoman might have shared with Chanyeol his past in detail. Either way, Baekhyun will not forgive him easily, whether Chanyeol knew the whole truth or not, it was not right for him to publicly humiliate him like that. Moreover, if he did not have Jongdae and Minseok with him last night, Minjun could have been harmed as well. Just imagining the possible scenario fuels him with anger, he was just fortunate that it didn’t happen.

Speaking of the man, a sudden knock on the door startles the three friends. A head peeps in, and Baekhyun is startled when he makes eye contact with Chanyeol.

‘What do you want, dickhead!’ Jongdae charges forward, only to be pulled away by Minseok.

Chanyeol cowers in fear, it was so unlike him that Baekhyun chuckles humorously.

‘Can I talk to Baekhyun for a minute?’

‘Like hell I would let you talk to him! Are you gonna fracture his other arm too-’

‘Jongdae, it’s fine, it’ll just be a minute.’ Baekhyun slowly gets up from his bed, following Chanyeol out to a more private area. Minjun whines from a loss of warmth, prompting Minseok to tuck him further into the bed.

-

Chanyeol and Baekhyun now sit at the tables near the trees and flowers inside the hospital, Baekhyun rests his cast on the table and starts a staring contest with Chanyeol, the man was not saying anything!

‘If you have nothing to say, I’ll just go back to my room.’ Baekhyun starts to get up slowly, not wanting to strain on his gashes.

‘No wait!’ Chanyeol grabs his hand, and Baekhyun hisses at how roughly Chanyeol held him. Chanyeol notices Baekhyun scrunching his face, and quickly lets go.

``What I’m trying to say is...I'm sorry for what happened last night, I knew I went overboard with everything, will you accept my apology? I promise that I won’t hurt you again!’

Baekhyun pretends to think for a while, ‘So you are apologizing for only last night?’ He questions.

‘Yes...what else did I do?’ Chanyeol asks innocently, truly oblivious to his other wrongdoings.

Waking me up in the middle of the night. Making me cook for a hundred people in the time span of three hours. Stupid punishments that kept me hungry for the whole night. Making a mess in your room. Listening to you make out with other girls. And the list goes on.

Baekhyun wanted to roll his eyes and scoffs, he knew he should have slapped him harder last night. But with his still burning fever and one handicapped hand, he knew he would just hurt himself in the process. However he remembers the chairwoman looking so upset speaking about the incident, perhaps the least he could do was forgive her grandson just this once.

‘Hmm, forget that I asked, but fine, just this time I’ll let you off,’ Baekhyun says half-heartedly. Though he has forgiven Chanyeol on the surface, he still holds a grudge against him, for the memory of yesterday was indeed terrifying, he doesn’t think that he can trust him anymore.

‘Oh that’s great! Then shall we be friends?’ Chanyeol asks.

‘Okay.’

No harm, right?

Baekhyun returns to school a week later, he changes his backpack for a sling bag due to his cast, and he applies some foundation on his skin to cover up the wounds. When he enters the University, it seemed as if time had stopped and everyone was staring at him. He figures that they have heard about the party, because when he walks, he hears comments.

That’s the gold digger.

Heard he’s living with the Chairwoman, he must be enjoying all the luxury goods huh.

Why isn’t he expelled?

These people were horrible, did they not know that he has a very bright pair of ears that can hear too? He walks faster, trying to look for Jongdae and Minseok. Once he sees them, he rushes to them and they walk to class together.

Baekhyun enters his first lecture and today the professor was returning their assignment on Victorian fashion history. As he was sitting in the last row with Jongdae and Minseok, it takes a while for his paper to come. But when even his friends have gotten their paper back, he wonders why his is taking so long.

A stack of papers finally come to him, and while he was happy that he got a high grade and a ‘Good Job’ from his professor, he was also disappointed to see his cover page filled with vulgar scribbles.

GOLD DIGGERRR

CHANYEOL HATES YOU

BURN IN HELL

He looks up to see Seo Hyun and her friends giggling away, noticing Baekhyun’s reaction. He quickly tears away and crumples the cover page, not wanting Jongdae and Minseok to worry.

I promise that I won’t hurt you again!

Baekhyun remembers Chanyeol’s promise, but now he realises that he was a fool. Chanyeol has done more damage than that night alone, it has created a school life of despair and pain for him. Chanyeol might know the truth now, but it doesn’t mean that the rest of the school knows too, and he is not willing to get his sob story out there. Baekhyun tries to brush the thought off, focusing on the lesson review.

-

‘Hey guys, I’ll be going to the restroom real quick, I’ll meet you guys at the food hall.’ Baekhyun tells Jongdae and Minseok before heading to the cubicles.

After relieving himself, Baekhyun walks out and washes his hands, oblivious to the other people in the room.

‘Byun Baekhyun, long time no see.’

Baekhyun turns around, and flinched when he recognizes him as Chanyeol’s best friend from the party. He wants to walk away, but is grabbed roughly.

‘Such a peasant, having to sneak your way into this prestigious University. I bet Chanyeol is disgusted with your behaviour.’ He speaks, looking down at Baekhyun. Baekhyun holds his fist in a tight grip, it is all not true.

‘Know your place,you lowlife.’ He ignores the cast on Baekhyun’s  arm and drops him down to the ground and leaves for the door.

Baekhyun stays on the ground for a while, until he boils with anger.

Chanyeol. Chanyeol. Chanyeol. This was all Chanyeol’s fault.

‘Park ing Chanyeol, I’m going to find him,’ He gets up and walks straight for the cafeteria.

Baekhyun stomps to the cafeteria, eyes scanning for a tall boy with his hair up, he ignores the waves coming from Jongdae and Minseok, and proceeds to walk up to Chanyeol. Baekhyun arrives at Chanyeol’s table, with the man’s back facing him. His friends start to notice, and Seo Hyun gave him a dirty glance.

Chanyeol finally turns around when his friends start to nudge him, claiming that a very angry midget was here to see him. He’s faced with a large and nasty slap to the face, and he quickly grabs his cheek from the blow. The perpetrator? Byun Baekhyun, and he was ready to go for another slap.

‘Stupid Park Chanyeol! I hate you so much! I won’t trust you anymore, you broke your promise. Don’t ever come near me again!’ Baekhyun swears, causing Chanyeol much confusion. Did he miss something from their last meeting? Chanyeol sees Baekhyun scolding him through his tears, and he realises something must have happened in school.

‘Baekhyun-ah, wait!’ He yells, but Baekhyun has already ran out from the area, Jongdae and Minseok running after him.

‘What’s wrong with him?’ Chanyeol questions loudly.

‘Didn’t you hear? Many are labelling him as a gold digger now, your plan was a success, Chanyeol-ah!’ Seo Hyun congratulates, unaware that Chanyeol was starting to get angrier. Nobody knew that Chanyeol had learnt about Baekhyun’s true background. He bets that if they knew, they wouldn’t be sitting here laughing either.

‘Yeah man, and I even gave that pathetic scammer a piece of my mind. Pushed him to the ground and told him that he belongs there, ah-ha!’ His friend adds, and everyone at the table giggles.

That was the final for Chanyeol, now he realises that he had done more damage than he expected, and Baekhyun alone had to suffer the consequences of his own foolish actions. Chanyeol grabs his friend by the collar, eyes burning red.

‘What did you say!’ Chanyeol snarls, catching the attention of other students.

‘Erm...that he’s a lowlife?’

‘Shame on you!’ Chanyeol spits, his friends gasp, shocked at how infuriated Chanyeol was. Dropping the man to the floor, he runs out to look for Baekhyun. Gosh, he had made too many mistakes. Baekhyun is seriously too nice for forgiving him so easily that day. He deserves that red mark on his cheek.

While he was running he notices Jongdae and Minseok searching for Baekhyun, but they seemed kind of lost.

‘Hey, have you guys seen Baekhyun?’

‘National Park, but he told us to leave him alone for a bit.’

Chanyeol doesn’t even listen to the second part of the statement, and just makes a dash for the nearby park. Jongdae and Minseok shake their heads, Chanyeol was so stubborn.

Chanyeol reaches the park and finally spots a silhouette which matches that of Baekhyun. He sighs in relief when he notices Baekhyun just standing there, facing the little fishes inside the river. As he walks towards him, he unconsciously wraps his arms around the smaller’s waist, shocking both Baekhyun and himself. Baekhyun smells like fresh strawberries in the winter, and if it Baekhyun was not angry at him, he might have fallen even deeper into the scent. He shakes his thoughts away, and awkwardly proceeds to stand next to the other.

Baekhyun was about to scream for help until he realises it was Park Chanyeol. What was he doing here? They stand next to each other for a while, until Chanyeol realises that Baekhyun was holding a crumpled piece of paper. He quickly snatches it before Baekhyun could react, and observes the vulgar piece of paper. It was the cover page of his assignment, it must have been important to him.

‘Baekhyun-ah, I’m sorry-.’

‘Park Chanyeol, let’s not cross paths again. All you do is cause trouble.’