Chanyeol tried to smile at the children’s beaming faces as the school band played for the orphanage that afternoon. The kids never got visitors often, and they were so elated upon seeing hyungs, eunnies, oppas and noonas coming to bear gifts. Chang Wook hyung on the mic kept the energy up, wanting to radiate happiness to the little ones, and so did the rest of the band members. Chanyeol stayed on the side, though, just quietly playing his guitar, his mind still on Kyungsoo warming up a courtside seat, enjoying the big game to support Kris hyung.

How was Kyungsoo going to figure out that Chanyeol even sent him a poem, amidst all of the letters and gifts he had been received the past two weeks?

And even if Kyungsoo did figure it out, what could Chanyeol possibly offer that was far better than Kris hyung?

Regret seeped through his very core at his silliness.

Perhaps it was time to wave the white flag and accept that fact that he would remain as just Kyungsoo’s best friend, with absolutely no hope of becoming more than that.

Just then, the administrator of the orphanage announced that snacks were ready for the kids. Chang Wook hyung assured the children that they would return for another set, while MQ hyung steered the band members to the orphanage’s cafeteria to help the other volunteers in distributing the food prepared.

Chanyeol’s eyes lit up when he noticed a petite, familiar figure ushering small children towards a table.

“Soo!” The taller one rushed over to his side, causing Kyungsoo to giggle at the excitable sight of him, the pettiness from last night somehow forgotten.

“Annyeong, Chanyeollie,” Kyungsoo greeted and then grinned at a little girl, whose wide eyes were shining at him, as he pulled a chair for her to sit on.

“What are you doing here? I thought you would be at—”

Kyungsoo shrugged, now busy handing the animated kids packed cookies. He had gone to the orphanage with the Red Velvet girls, and he was told the band had arrived there about an hour earlier since they were setting up so they hadn’t seen each other yet. “Given how shorthanded the orphanage actually is, I’m now glad I volunteered too.”

Chanyeol was even more glad.

“Hyung.”

Chanyeol was distracted by a small boy tugging on his pants.

“Can I have a juice box, please?”

“Of course,” Chanyeol answered and immediately retrieved a few juices to give to the kids on that table.

And with that, the best friends worked hand in hand, to help the kids eat, entertain them while they were doing so, and clean up after snack time was over.

Chanyeol had to hurry back for the band to get ready for their second set. Kyungsoo, Red Velvet and the rest of the volunteers brought the kids back to the library for them to sing along to some more music.

Chanyeol’s mood had brightened much much more then, especially seeing Kyungsoo playing with the kids and meeting his eyes and smiling at him, too.

The last part was the gift giving and the children were made to form six lines. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were in charge of one line. Since he had the longer arms, Chanyeol fetched each wrapped gift from the large box they came with, and handed them to Kyungsoo, who then handed them to one kid at a time.

Their fingers would brush every time, and Chanyeol felt electricity coursing through every cell of his body. Perhaps he was more sensitive about it since he couldn’t stop thinking about Kyungsoo choosing to be here, instead of the big basketball game of the guy that his best friend supposedly liked…

Each child rewarded Kyungsoo with the sweetest smile after being given a gift, even hugging him, which made Kyungsoo tear up a little and hug them back.

A few of the kids, in their gratitude and gladness, also reached out to Chanyeol for a high five. Chanyeol would marvel at how tiny their hands were compared to his much larger one. Had his hand ever been that small before?

And when it was time to say goodbye, some of the children cried. It was even harder for the teenagers to part with the children, however, especially the ones they had played with all day.

The Red Velvet girls invited them to dinner then, and the band members agreed to join them, the rest of the volunteers, too. Chanyeol was also about to tag along when Kyungsoo declined gently and said he would be taking the train home.

Of course, Chanyeol couldn’t leave his best friend by himself, on a Saturday night, and, especially, on White Day.

As they said goodbye to the rest of the group, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol fell in comfortable silence, standing side by side on the train, with Kyungsoo holding on to the handrail and Chanyeol on the pole.

“Yah…” Chanyeol said suddenly, causing Kyungsoo to look at him.

A soft, infectious smile unfolded on Kyungsoo’s lips, as Chanyeol’s heart skipped a beat at the sight.

“Want to grab takoyaki at Apgujeong?”

The heart-shaped smile widened into a grin as Kyungsoo readily nodded. The takoyaki ritual was one of Kyungsoo’s most favorite ways of bonding with Chanyeol, nevermind that they had already spent all day together, even on a school night, until one of their parents called them to head on home.

So they alighted at the right station and headed to the takoyaki place they would frequent, as the owner nodded and smiled at them in greeting. They got two orders, 6 pieces each, which Chanyeol insisted on paying for. After a moment of hesitating, Kyungsoo reluctantly agreed.

They settled on a vacant table and dug in, feeling hungrier than they realized. After consuming three takoyaki balls, Chanyeol murmured, “Your version is still the best.”

For some reason—or perhaps it was the dim lighting—that Kyungsoo’s squishy cheeks turned pink and he laughed a little. “Araseo, I’ll make you a batch on Monday.”

Chanyeol cheered, gobbling up the rest of his takoyaki. He started to cough, though, when he consumed the last one too quickly, that Kyungsoo stood up to get them a couple of sodas, assuring him that he would be the one to buy this time.

He gave Chanyeol one can of carbonated drink, even inserting a straw for him, and watched as relief came over his best friend’s face, chuckling at Chanyeol’s silliness.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, though,” Chanyeol said, once he was able to speak, observing Kyungsoo eat slowly, savoring every flavor, no matter what he was eating.

“What?”

“How come you didn’t go to the big game today?” Chanyeol wondered if Kris hyung was disappointed but he would rather really hear the answer from Kyungsoo.

The smaller one’s big, big eyes focused on the two takoyaki balls left on his plate. “I told you. I already volunteered for the orphanage… so I didn’t want to let the other volunteers down if I just didn’t show up.”

Suddenly, Chanyeol was confused. He had seen the list of volunteers from last week, and Kyungsoo’s name wasn’t even there. “When did you sign up?”

“A few days ago…?”

“Before… or after Kris hyung invited you to the basketball game?”

“After, but… It happened accidentally, like I wanted to talk to Yeri and Teacher Kim Jongdae thought…” Kyungsoo seemed to have lost his appetite altogether so he shoved the remaining takoyaki balls to Chanyeol. “Do you want this?”

Chanyeol would never say no to takoyaki, no matter what. “So… you didn’t want to go to Kris hyung’s game?” He popped one takoyaki into his mouth. “Wae?”

Kyungsoo sighed. Wasn’t the answer obvious already? He wasn’t sure if Chanyeol was just fishing for information or was naturally curious at this point. “Just… because.”

It could be that Kyungsoo wasn’t much of a sports fan, and might be bored to death, even when the action was right in front of him. “Oh, I thought it was not to miss my excellent guitar playing skills, that’s why you volunteered,” Chanyeol thought to joke, eating the last takoyaki piece. “You’ve always been there for all of my performances.”

All of a sudden, Kyungsoo burst out laughing. “Yeah, yeah, that’s it. I just had to be there to witness your Daesang-worthy guitar strumming to nursery rhymes!  Because you’re going to be so famous one day, Park Chanyeol!” He tried to alleviate his nervousness by rolling his eyes at him. “Of course, I wouldn’t volunteer simply to feel a sense of pride and fulfillment particip