Days continue to pass by. Baekhyun still has a hard time adjusting - the people in school do not see him as equal, hence the derogatory remarks and condescending looks continue. They laugh when he shares his ideas in class, they stare at him when he tried to sit with them at the canteen (so the cubicle is still his safe haven). He has yet to find a good Friend, he hopes the time will come soon though.

But Baekhyun tells himself to stay strong. He needs to get past the difficult times, like he always did.

Baekhyun was just not expecting Chanyeol to make his life even more difficult.

———

‘Hyunggggg!’ Minjun ran towards Baekhyun at the school gates, a piece of drawing held in his hand. He gripped tightly onto Baekhyun’s shoulders, prompting Baekhyun to give him a piggyback.

‘How was school today hmm? Did you make new friends?’ Baekhyun asked as they followed the path home. Minjun babbled away while playing with Baekhyun’s soft and fluffy hair, talking about new words he learnt, a nice group of friends in class, the pictures he drew - it seemed like another fulfilling day for him! Baekhyun smiled as he listened to Minjun, his baby talk was so cute!

When they reached home, Chanyeol was already seated in the dining room. That was unusual- Chanyeol tends to come home very very late, he hardly ever sees Minjun. Baekhyun tried to ignore Chanyeol’s presence, but unfortunately for him, Minjun shouts

‘Monkey!!!’ He points his tiny finger at Chanyeol’s big ears.

Chanyeol turned around, his eyes seem to glimmer with delight at the sight of Minjun.

‘Hi little one, I haven’t seen you in quite a while! You wanna play with my ears?’ Chanyeol cooed at Minjun, Baekhyun guesses that he has a soft spot for kids. It’s ironic how he’s a literal beast when alone with Baekhyun. Maybe then Minjun would not call chanyeol a monkey.

As Minjun was giggling away, stretching out Chanyeol’s ears, Chanyeol turned to Baekhyun and immediately shot daggers in his direction. Baekhyun gulped, it seems like he’s Chanyeol’s least favourite person on this planet. He has not even said a word!

‘I’m having drinks with some friends here tonight, prepare the alcohol and don’t even try to speak to them or embarrass me, got it?’ Chanyeol was sharp tongued, making Baekhyun flinch. He quickly nodded and brought Minjun back to their room, preparing him for his shower.

Apparently the Jock has invited some of his friends over to his house for drinks and games. It was late into the night, Baekhyun makes sure that Minjun is fast asleep and well tucked into bed before leaving the door slightly closed.

The doorbell bell rings, Baekhyun rushes to the door and recognises some of them as the popular girls and guys from school. The were dressed in brands he finds so foreign, their accessories encrusted with so many diamonds they almost blinded him.

He greets every one of them politely, some return the gesture, while some simply throw their coat at him. He scoffs a little, well...that was rude.

He follows them to the entertainment room, where an array of the most expensive alcohol has been arranged by him. Chanyeol is already inside, playing on the latest gaming control set with the most advanced gaming equipments. His friends walk in and join him, each person grabbing a console.

‘Ya, bring me a glass of Veuve Clicquot.’ Ordered one of the girls, whose bosom was way way way too close to chanyeol. She glared in Baekhyun’s direction, demanding him to get it immediately.

Baekhyun, noticing her stare rushed to the table to pour their drinks - he was a little slow since he was busy differentiating the alcohols. How do you even pronounce these?? He wonders.

‘I’ll have a Laurent-Perrier!’

‘Me too!’

The overload of orders causes him to mix up the drinks, it was obvious on the dissatisfaction on some of their faces.

‘Ya! I asked for Laurent-Perrier not this! I can’t believe you can’t tell the difference! Chanyeol-ah just fire him! I’ll find you a better housekeeper~’ Baekhyun recognises the girl who just spat terrible words to be Lee Seo Hyun, she seemed like a gentle and kind person in school, everyone wanted to be a friend, they followed behind her as if she was a saint. Baekhyun just thought it was unfortunate to see her true colours here, that everything in school is just a facade after all.

Seo Hyun throws the glass onto the floor, the mini champagne glass shatters and the expensive champagne seeps into the carpet. The rest seemed unbothered, but Baekhyun jumps and is shocked. These ungrateful bastards don’t even work a single second and seem to take everything for granted! This was truly an eye opener for him, the damage done was worth possibly a few hundred dollars.

‘Seo Hyun-ssi, I apologise for mixing up the order, I will bring another one to you right away. For your own safety may I advise that you avoid breaking the glass, I believe it would be dangerous if you or your friends got injured.’ Baekhyun responded, a hint of annoyance in his tone. He wanted to give her a piece of his mind, yet with Chanyeol around he couldn’t do anything. Argh, he’s so frustrated!

‘Chanyeollll your maid is talking back at me, I’m leaving!’ Seo Hyun pouted, ready to grab her bag to leave.

Chanyeol quickly grabbed her arm, forcing her to sit down.

‘We’re not even done with the game yet, don’t go. Anyways, Baekhyun is new. He’s still a stupid servant in training.’ Seo Hyun blushed, hearing ‘don’t go’ made her heart skip. Chanyeol could easily make the hearts of many people flutter, without actually realising it.

‘Uh-I Guess I could s-stay for a-a while then.’ She sat back down, arms folded.

‘Yah Byun what are you standing there for. Hurry up with the drinks.’ Chanyeol scolded. Baekhyun nodded and rushed to the bar, this time making sure he had the correct brand of champagne. He also had to pick up the glass shards as of Seo Hyun’s request, his clumsiness caused him to prick his fingers a few times, little blood clots formed at his fingers. He sighed as he continued cleaning up, the laughter and chatter from the group echoing in the background.

This routine went on for hours. They started at 10pm and it was now three in the morning. Baekhyun’s routine for that night was to check on Minjun, serve drinks, then homework. And then repeat that for about five to six times. He was extremely fatigued and thanked the heavens that it was the weekend the next day - he would’ve fainted if he had to go to school tomorrow.

Halfway through his homework he hears a call for his name. He drops his pencil and speed walks out of his room to where the group is - it seems they’re finally leaving. Yayyyyy, Baekhyun was so glad that they’re leaving and he can finally get some sleep. After so many rounds of drinks, many of them were drunk and as a whole - a MESS. They couldn’t walk straight, babbled non stop and even had the audacity to slap one another. Baekhyun sighed as he had to pull them apart and had to force them into their coats. Chanyeol being slightly tipsy himself ordered baekhyun to call a few cabs for them.

‘I’ll send them off, wait here.’ Chanyeol says to Baekhyun as he pushes his friends towards the exit of the penthouse. They leave for the door and Baekhyun turns off the lights.

Baekhyun waits near the door, hoping Chanyeol would come back quickly so that he could go sleep.

*CRASH* (sorry idk how to describe this yet heheh)

Suddenly, a loud crash comes from the main door. Dramatically and in slow motion, the glass first cracks before every tiny piece starts falling against the marble tiles, each piece making its own distinct noise. Baekhyun flinches and lets out a scream - he couldn’t move his legs, he froze at where he stood. He finds it difficult to breathe, as it is bringing back the trauma he had experienced a few years ago.

4 years ago (when Baekhyun was alone)

Baekhyun was doing his homework in the living room like every other day when a brick was suddenly thrown into his home through the glass door- the perpetrator was a large and bulky man, who proceeded to throw red paint at the entrance of his home. Baekhyun assumes that he is here to give him a warning to pay the rent for the one room apartment his very parents abandoned him in. He was a few months behind on rent as nobody wanted to hire a 15 year old who constantly had to leave for school.

At that moment Baekhyun was completely petrified, he dropped his pencil and cried and screamed as the glass door broke. He was always sensitive to sounds so it terrified him even more. It may seem pathetic but he was literally crying and begging for his life- how would a young boy know what to do? The bulky man had a wicked glare, Baekhyun felt intimidated, life threatening even.

‘Please don’t hurt me.’ Baekhyun chanted over and over again,his face turning red until the man turned around and left.

This wounding experience forced him to become stronger yet vulnerable to the cruelty of the world as well.

So as Chanyeol’s door frame similarly shattered into tiny glass shards, Baekhyun gets terrible flashbacks to his past. It was scary, though this time rather than a brick it was a shoe.

Chanyeol returns, noticing the shattered glass frame followed by Baekhyun’s frozen state.

‘He’s mad drunk, thought his shoe was a Basketball. Call someone to fix it tomor-” Chanyeol stops mid sentence, seeing how emotionless Baekhyun looked, his hands shaking.

Chanyeol despite being slightly drunk grabbed Baekhyun’s shaking wrists - something seems off.

‘What’s up with you? You’re acting weird.’ Chanyeol comments.

Baekhyun stops shivering, he calms down a little and finally lets the tears fall, his vulnerability taking over him. His bottled up anxiety and fear is finally released, he cries just like how anyone would when they were afraid.

‘I was so scared, Chanyeol. So s-scared. You should’ve seen it, i-it was-’ His murmurs away with a face filled with tears, he couldn’t help it.

Chanyeol looks at the boy in front of him, resembling a small and whimpering puppy who seems to have had so many curveballs thrown at him. Perhaps in his slightly drunken state he for once takes pity on the boy - he seemed so afraid, perhaps even scared for his own life.

Chanyeol brings Baekhyun closer to his shoulder, letting the crying boy have something to lean on. As Baekhyun sobs and leans in,Chanyeol brings his hand to his back, petting it slightly, an attempt to calm the storm in his mind. Chanyeol lets Baekhyun’s torrent of tears soak his sweater.

‘It’s okay, puppy. It’s okay now.’

After that crying mess Chanyeol brings a sleeping Baekhyun back to his room, tear stained cheeks evident on the small boy’s face. Chanyeol loses his balance once in a while but he proudly makes it to Baekhyun’s room and laid him next to Minjun who was in a deep sleep.

Baekhyun was scared, afraid, traumatised and yet for once he felt safe.

———— 

Hi! Sorry for the lack of updates, I was busy getting my driving license heheh. I kinda smoked my way through this so it’s not very good, I may edit it laterrrr. Thanks for reading if you see this :))

I promise more fluff in next chapter （＾ω＾）