Chapter 4

Damage

The ceremony started at 5:30 pm sharp. Three bridesmaids accompanied by three groomsmen led the procession as they walked in pairs, arm-in-arm. Even s who were so used to having young women croon over their every move couldn’t help but spin around to catch a closer look, after all, the bridesmaids were undeniably attractive. Following that, a young flower girl no older than seven skipped close behind as she scattered pink petals like fairydust on the carpeted ground. Beside her was an equally young boy who ran as fast as his pudgy legs would carry him, trying to catch up while keeping the cushion and the rings atop it intact. It was a truly endearing sight. Finally, it was the bride’s turn to make an appearance. Chanyeol could sense the guests hold their breaths and then simultaneously release them, leaving a trail of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ as Minseok’s sister walked into the hall. She was in a sleeveless white gown that was lined with lace at the collarbone. The back of the gown dipped into a deep v-shape, revealing her slim figure and femininity. Her delicate figures were shrouded by a thin veil, wafting gently in the light breeze but one could still make out her expression of pure happiness and bliss.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chanyeol could see Baekhyun’s fists shiver and clench. Baekhyun was seated next to him but Chanyeol hadn’t dared look at him, not since their duet during the rehearsal. There were things that were better left unsaid, things that would fare better if left to time and history.

Chanyeol kept his gaze fixated on Minseok’s sister who was approaching the lucky groom by the alter. The man looked just as happy, if not even more so. He stood with his hands together in anticipation of both the beautiful woman and their married life before him.

The knuckles of Baekhyun’s fists had already turned white against his originally pale skin. His fingers still so delicate and pretty but there was a hint of aggression as his fists tightened with every step of the procession. Apart from the live band in the corner, the hall was virtually quiet, all eyes focused on the bride that no one even realized that silence.

Suddenly, Chanyeol heard a low hum: '난 몇 번이고 반하고, 사랑은 이렇게 나도 모르게, 예고도 없이 불시에 찾아와 (I fall for you several times, Love came to me without knowing, Without warning, suddenly)’. He froze. He could recognise the song anywhere. Apart from being one of the tracks in their first few albums, in this setting, this atmosphere, it reminded him of a promise he had single-handedly broken. Chanyeol didn’t even have to turn around to know that it was Baekhyun who had been humming: '그대가 살고 있는 곳에, 나도 함께 데려가 줘 (To the place you live, Please take me with you)’. Why now? Why was Baekhyun still trying to punish him after all these years? Chanyeol almost sniggered out loud. He knew he deserved it, whatever complaints and blame s wanted to direct at him, he deserved it. But most of all, Baekhyun was the one who was more than qualified to make him pay for all he had done. Minseok’s sister was already at the alter and the officiant was saying something that Chanyeol couldn’t register. His mind was not merely consumed with the tune from ‘Don’t Go’, rather the bitter backstory that accompanied it.

 

 

It was seven years ago, back when EXO’s manager got married and invited all nine of them to the ceremony. It was a procession just as enchanting as the present one but the scale dialed down. That night, when the boys returned to their dorm, Chanyeol sat cross-legged on Baekhyun’s bed, his freshly washed hair still dripping wet. Baekhyun was always the last to shower because the members used to complain that he left the toilet flooded after his turn and that whoever showered after him was doomed to slip and fall. It was near midnight when Baekhyun finally walked into their bedroom and flung himself onto the bed, his soggy blonde hair matted against his forehead as he adjusted his head comfortably on Chanyeol’s crossed legs.

‘Ugh, get off, you’re making my shorts wet!’ Chanyeol feigned a tone of irritation.

‘You’re the one who’s on my bed,’ Baekhyun hummed with his eyes closed and Chanyeol couldn’t be bothered to retort.

‘Hey, when do you think it’ll ever be your turn?’ Baekhyun continued.

‘My turn to what?’ The voice above him asked.

‘Get married, idiot.’

‘Who knows?’ Chanyeol reclined so that he now lay atop of Baekhyun’s baby-powder scented pillows.

‘Haven’t you ever thought about it?’ Baekhyun straightened himself and rolled over to look Chanyeol in the eye.

‘Not really… Don’t you remember when Jongin was revealed to be dating? That turned out to be such a mess… Imagine how much worse it’d be if it was announced that one of us got married!’ Chanyeol spluttered.

‘It’s bound to happen one day,’ Baekhyun rolled around again and stared at the ceiling, his head still perched on Chanyeol’s legs.

There was a long pause before Baekhyun spoke again, this time quieter. ‘What if we never meet the right person? What if “the one” does exist, but we’re just too busy to realise? Or even worse, what if we pushed them away because of this whole no-dating policy bull?’

‘It’ll work out,’ Chanyeol yawned.

Chanyeol felt a slap on his thighs. 'Ow! What the hell Baek?'

'I'm serious! What if I just never meet that person? It can happen you know! The only girls we meet are the ones at Lux who're basically living the same double life as us... It's never going to work out...' Baekhyun mumbled.

Chanyeol got up from the fort of pillows and tugged Baekhyun upright.

'Stop being stupid… You'll find your person. And even if you don't, she'll find you! You're always the loudest one in the room, the brightest, funniest, weirdest. You're not that easy to miss,' Chanyeol joked.

Baekhyun laughed, visibly relieved.

'And if all else fails by the time we're 30, I'll do the world a favour and take you in so your annoying, whiny doesn't stir up a ruckus,' Chanyeol concluded teasingly.

'Who needs you? I’ll never end up with you, not in a million years!' Baekhyun fought back in defiance.

Chanyeol loved seeing Baekhyun all high-pitched and flustered and enjoyed it even more to know he was the sole cause of it. It was sadistic really.

'We could hold a ceremony in that pizza place round the corner or if ya don't mind, I'm fine with just McDonalds. We're on a tight budget after all,' Chanyeol continued.

'GET. OUT.'

'We'll replace flowers with strawberries, cuts costs and aren't they your favourite anyway? No live band needed, we'll just play 'Don't Go' on the stereo because...' Chanyeol faked a dramatic drumroll, ‘Oh 세상의 끝이라도 뒤따라갈 테니 (Oh I’ll follow you even at the end of the world)’~, he sang. 'Will you marry me Byun Baek?' he shouted.

'PARK. CHAN. YEOL. GET. THE. . OUT!!' Baekhyun roared and proceeded to swing his wet hair side by side fiercely, drenching the poor Chanyeol from head to toe. 'STOP CALLING ME "BYUN BAEK"!!'

What followed was a wild chase as the pair jumped from bed to bed, racing around the room and Chanyeol continued to half sing, half scream 'Don't Go', blinded by tears of laughter.

 

 

‘Oh 세상의 끝이라도 뒤따라갈 테니 (Oh I’ll follow you even at the end of the world)’, Baekhyun's hum trailed off. Chanyeol was still frozen to the spot, his attention long departed from the procession.

 

A cue from the MC and the eight members were shuttled onto the stage. There were phones plucked out and cameras whirring as everyone waited in anticipation to hear EXO perform as one for the first time in years.

It was no award show, no competition, but it truly had been a reunion performance that was way overdue. Junmyeon took the lead and stopped at the bottom of the stage steps.

'We are one. EXO, saranghaja,' he whispered, tears glinting from his eyes.

The stage was ready for them, and at that moment, even Chanyeol the usual rowdy one, could feel goosebumps.

Sehun took a step back and completed their ritual. One slap on each of their butts. It was done. Three years later and EXO was ready.

 

As rehearsed, a soft lull from the live band indicated that it was their time to shine. Kyungsoo executed the beginning beautifully, then Jongdae followed with the chorus matched with a bright smile: ‘너에게 하고 싶은 그 말’. Chanyeol held his breath. It was Baekhyun’s single line. But it never came. The music kept playing even though the band looked up, realising the skipped line. No doubt the audience also knew there had been a slip up because the lyrics were displayed on the powerpoint above, accompanied by photos of the newly-weds. It was EXO’s professionalism that kept the performance going.

It was then that Chanyeol felt a small tugging at his waist. In a quick glimpse, he recognized that it was Baekhyun’s arm that was wrapped around his waist, and that Baekhyun, who started out all smiley and pleasant, now bore an unreadable expression, eyebrows knitted together and taking breaths so deep Chanyeol could hear them through the music. Besides the arm, Baekhyun had also shuffled closer and was half-leaning on Chanyeol. Chanyeol didn’t have much time to ponder over Baekhyun’s missed line and awkward gesture because he was up next. Truth be told, Chanyeol was more concerned about the lack of support in case Baekhyun decided to pull a stage fright act again like how he missed his own line.

‘고마워. 날 만나서 (Thank you for meeting me)’, Chanyeol began with ease. This was the easy part for a baritone like him.

He could spot Minseok’s sister at the head table bobbing her head in adoration as the lyrics rolled out, smiling like an elder sister would at a younger brother she took pride in.
Several lines later, Chanyeol finally arrived at the tricky part. Praying that he’d manage even without Baekhyun’s help, he took a deep breath and went for it. To Chanyeol’s surprise, his hesitation never shone through because Baekhyun covered for him as if sensing his anxiety, singing those notes twice as loud as he had during the rehearsal. A wave of relief swept through him and at the exact same moment, he felt Baekhyun’s arm tighten around his waist. What it was for? Chanyeol had no clue. Perhaps it was a sign of reassurance or perhaps it was to prop himself up, because for some reason, Baekhyun seemed to teeter a little, panting ever so slightly after those few lines.

When it was finally Baekhyun’s second go at the line: ‘You’re beautiful’, it was a strange notion that prodded Chanyeol to sing it along with him. He felt like he owed that much to Baekhyun who had had his back just a few minutes ago and he told himself he was just doing it out of goodwill, both to repay Baekhyun and also to save their performance in case Baekhyun decided to pull a wild card again.

If SM hadn’t realized before, it was definitely their loss because the amalgamation of the pair’s voices, one bright and the other resonant blended into the richest melody that earned isolated claps from the audience.

 

‘Beautiful’ was quite the success and Chanyeol could already predict the Twitter trending list that night: ‘#1. EXO. #2. EXO ‘Beautiful’. #3. EXO reunion.’, or something of the like. As they walked off stage, Baekhyun’s arm was still securely fastened around Chanyeol’s waist and eventually, to kill the awkwardness, Chanyeol stretched his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders. At least this would give off a brotherly vibe, he thought.

Back at their table, Baekhyun let go of Chanyeol, sat down and gave him a quick nod. ‘Thanks,’ he smiled weakly and looked away, picking at the dish that had arrived during their performance

‘Um, yeah, no problem,’ Chanyeol answered but he felt that Baekhyun wasn’t even listening

Chanyeol had no idea what Baekhyun had thanked him for. Was it for the duet? The feigned brotherhood? For flying back from London? Or for not wrecking the entire performance overall? Chanyeol wasn’t sure but he didn’t ask.

 

 

 


 

 

 

You might've spotted a few Korean phrases here and there and they're all lyrics from 'Don't Go'. 'Don't Go' is my favourite Korean song, lyrics and melody included so if you're new to the fandom, do go and listen to it!
Anyway, once again, hope this chapter met expectations! I might be updating less frequently in the coming days since I've posted all the chaps that I've written but I've already continued writing so stay tuned! 

Lastly, as usual, subscribe and comment! Do tell me what you think, your comments keep me going! 

Lots of love xx

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Comments

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grammey #1
Chapter 4: Looking forward to additional chapters. Good work!
MariaTuan
#2
Hey! please read my story of Kai x OC x Sehun !!!

I would also love some feedback.

https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/691175/among-us