Chapter 17: Disclosure

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"Park."

Baekhyun had stood outside his door for multiple reasons in the past, but based on his appearance alone, he wasn't there as a result of a drunken idea or a quick . Instead, he looked, for once, as though he had a civil matter to discuss despite his character being so skewed that civil wasn't typically in his vocabulary when it came to others.

Without moving from his spot, Chanyeol kept a straight face as he watched the latter carefully. After a few seconds of silence, he broke the air with the first words spoken between them since their argument and, subsequently, 'break up'-- if Chanyeol even considered it to be as such.

"I haven't seen you in a while."

"Missed me, then?"

Chanyeol's grip on the door frame tightened. "Far from it."

"That's a bold lie for someone who took the time to notice that I haven't been the most...present person on campus."

"I'm sure you had other friends who noticed besides me." The bitterness slipped past his lips before Chanyeol could stop himself. "Anyways, did you need something, Byun?"

The smile on Baekhyun's face softened. "Actually, yeah. For once, I'm not here to get pinned up against your wall. It's actually quite the character development for me... I'm here to apologize."

When no response came from the latter, Baekhyun leaned back on his right foot, putting both his hands behind him. "I regret how we left things."

"There was never a 'we'. That was all you."

"It takes two to have a relationship--"

"Which we never had," Chanyeol interrupted in a tone that was sharp with bitterness. "I appreciate you coming by and apologizing, but it's over and done with."

"Chanyeol--"

"You're the one who wanted to end things, Byun." For the first time since their encounter, Baekhyun lost a bit of the confidence he had in the way he stood against the looming giant. "So, keep the apologies. I decided I was done with you a while ago. I've moved on."

Baekhyun cocked his head, intensely studying him. "Have you really?" he asked, pausing afterwards. "Is Kyungsoo that good?"

"Well, he treats me better than some people I used to know."

Drawing his eyes down to the floor, Baekhyun stood in silence as seconds passed before he looked up again, eyes piercing through Chanyeol's own. "I know you don't want to hear it, but I'm sorry for pushing you away the way I did. I should've done things differently despite being desperate to cut things off with you."

As hard as he tried to remain stoic and silent with the refusal to answer, Chanyeol eventually caved. "Why now?"

"I mean, I didn't li