Chapter 21: Partial
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Baekhyun didn't particularly enjoy the smell of the football players' locker room, but its emptiness on days when neither practice nor games were taking place was rather useful. Recently, Jongin was being evasive when it came to making contact with him, and it didn't help that the brunet wanted his attention concerning a matter that needed heavy advising. Desperately, he had decided to visit the field before heading down to the underground locker room, hoping that he'd find the senior alone. It wasn't a secret how the latter had such an affinity for practicing by himself.

The darkness of the hallway leading up to the locker room area didn't bother him. He was familiar with the surrounding having been there for reasons beyond just friendly visits and all. If he hadn't heard the sound of metal doors clanking against the wall, maybe he would've turned back around with the assumption that no one was there, but his ears perked at the ruckus as he began to walk faster.

"Jongin!" Turning the corner and stepping into the lit area, Baekhyun looked inside, fully prepared to see Jongin, perhaps half- at worst (not that he cared about ). "Can you answer my calls every once in a while? I need you to--"

Baekhyun stopped the moment he realized the man he was speaking to wasn't the captain he was looking for. Straightening his posture, Baekhyun's mouth formed into a thin smile full of false pretenses as he switched into a personality that would best suit his objectives.

"Jeonghwa..." The name of the man who had cornered him with brute force months prior slipped fondly through his lips. "I'm sorry. I thought you were Kim."

"Well, he isn't here."

Despite his best attempt, Baekhyun couldn't read the look on Jeonghwa's face. There was no clear answer as to whether or not he was a threat, but the brunet made sure to stay where he stood. It was the quickest exit, if anything.

Being the man that he was, Jeonghwa's build was fit and intimidating to most, but he seemed more like a looming figure in that moment with no one else around. By what Baekhyun could gather, the man had just finished taking a shower. He must've interrupted him midway through getting dressed, taking note of the way his upper body was while a towel had been thrown over his right shoulder.

"Right," Baekhyun said, nodding as he began to turn on his heel to leave. The smile on his face remained. "Do you happen to know where I can find him? If not, it's fine. I'll try calling him again."

"What's your hurry?" The question stopped Baekhyun from moving. Taking two steps forward, Jeonghwa advanced with a grin slowly forming on his face that left the brunet feeling uneasy. "I haven't seen you in a long time, Baek."

Baekhyun held his tongue, inwardly disgusted. "It's been a while, yes," he replied as curtly as he could. The desire to leave was strong. "We can catch up some time other time, though. I need to talk to Kim about--"

"I get it." Jeonghwa stopped right in front of him, and it wasn't until then that Baekhyun realized he had slowly backed himself against the cold, brick wall of the room. Though he wasn't physically trapped, it was enough to make him realize how alone they truly were. In a way, he felt as though he didn't have the upper hand. "But, hey. Listen. I'm sorry about how we left things. I didn't mean to scare you by holding you down. I thought you liked that type of . To be fair, you did end up giving me and my friend a black eye."

He was recalling the events of that night so casually, Baekhyun was unsure of what to make it all.

"If we're being fair, I told you I wasn't interested in ing your friend," Baekhyun told him, keeping his voice leveled between sarcasm and spite. "And you still tried to force that on me, so I'd say it was all well-deserved."

Jeonghwa laughed, smirking down at him like an ill-disciplined child. "That's what I like about you, you know? You put up a fight." Raising a hand, he gradually s it against Baekhyun's chest, moving upwards to his collar bones before eventually resting at the base of his throat. "And you don't even flinch... because you like this."

The hand tightened its grip, but Baekhyun stood with his arms by his side, unmoving. "Are you done?"

Amused, Jeonghwa let go, leaving only temporary red impressions on the brunet's pale skin. "You really are in a hurry, aren't you?" he said. "You disappear for so long and you can't even spare me a minute. Must be fun playing with the media all day. Heard you got engaged. I thought it was a joke the first time I heard about it."

"What's so unbelievable about it?"

"I heard from other people that you stopped sleeping with them, too. Might've thrown me off guard since I never thought that you'd ever be the type to let yourself get tied down like that." Grabbing the front of Baekhyun's shirt, Jeonghwa pulls him forward before dragging him down until the brunet's knees hit the cold concrete floor. "Then again, I always liked it better when you were down."

Tightening his jaw, Baekhyun scowled, ann