It took everyone a few days back in August to get used to Baekhyun being out and about again. Baekhyun assumed Chanyeol was the happiest because that meant he didn't need his help getting around anymore, and he knew how Chanyeol felt about physical touch. 

 

I, on the other hand, was a new person. The first thing I did that morning the feeling came back to my legs was go for a run. I was actually terrified that day because shortly into my run, I lost the feeling in my legs again and I thought it had all come back, but after sitting on the side of the road for about 30 minutes, everything had slowly returned, and I was able to continue my run. 

When Chanyeol arrived later that morning to help me with my injections, he almost passed out from shock seeing me walk around. He was almost angry when I told him I went for a run. 

 

"Are you ing insane, Baekhyun?!" 

 

But since then, I knew what I wanted. I wanted to run. I wanted to run before it was too late. The doctor said I might never be able to walk again, let alone run, and now that I knew it was possible, I'm not letting that go. I went running every single morning since that day, each time my legs growing numb, but I learned to ignore it and just keep going with the momentum I created. It was only when I reached the end of my run when I collapsed onto the bottom of my staircase. Sometimes Chanyeol found me there and helped me upstairs, pissed at me for running. Other days I would just wait it out. The other residents got used to me hanging out on the stairs.

 

After the first day of school, I immediately went to look for Chanyeol as the last bell rang. 

"Hey giant!" I yelled down the hallway when I caught sight of his head floating above all the others. 

 

He smiled as he walked up to me, and I tripped over my feet. I was still a bit unstable. After Chanyeol awkwardly gave me a hand back up, it was back to business. 

"Hey, I want to go to talk to coach, and I want you to come with me," I asked him.

"Yeah sure, what do you want to see him for? Are you gonna take a break from cross country?" Chanyeol asked me.

" no, the exact opposite. Chanyeol think about it, we've always wanted it, right? Spots on varsity! I know it's even further away from me now than ever, but hell, I just want to keep being able to run, you know?" I almost yelled at him. 

"Baekhyun, just wait up. I know you want this, I really do. But you have to think about your health. You've been running every morning, and I'm gonna be honest, you don't look good after you're done. I don't want to lose you Baek," his voice decreasing to a whisper towards the end of his words. 

"It's gonna take a lot more than a run to take me out of the running. Haha, you like what I did there?"

 

"You're a ing dork. Let's go I guess, but I bet coach is just gonna tell you the same thing," Chanyeol relented. 

 

.............................................

"I want to run fast, and I want to run fast now," I told him.

After coach gave him the same spiel that Chanyeol predicted would happen, he relented, but only with a promise of a doctors note. 

 

"Alright then, you want to run fast. You're gonna have to work hard. Harder than whatever you've been doing for the last few years, sorry to be harsh, but if you want this, then you gotta really want it," Coach Harlee told me. 

"I really want it, I don't know when it'll happen, but at some point I won't be able to run anymore, so it has to be now," I said eagerly. 

"The hardest thing for you is gonna be your own mind. You're used to running slow, right? Don't give me that look, you're slow. But you don't have to be. So don't let your past dictate your future. You're not JV anymore. You're a fast, varsity runner. And if you believe that, then that's what you will be. I'm really anxious to see your performance this season, don't let me down, alright? More importantly, don't let yourself down. I can tell this is important to you, alright?" He said, staring straight into my soul. 

 

I felt recharged, a new energy was welling up inside me. It was unlike the mundane excitement I typically felt during cross country season. It was darker, not sinister, but a thirst to prove myself. And damnit, it was going to happen. 

 

"Yes will do coach, thanks. See you at practice next week," I replied with a straight face. 

 

Me and Chanyeol rose to leave and were silent as we walked into the hallway. I didn't quite make it into the hallway though because a heavy weight rammed into me and I was suddenly on the floor. 

 

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry, are you ok?" A high pitched voice said from somewhere above me. 

"Yeah I'm good, you're fine," I said, as Chanyeol's hand found mine and helped me up. 

 

I noticed my vision turned a little blurry and got worse as I stood up. I felt faint as my vision fuzzed in and out of blackness. Chanyeol felt me start to lean into him and caught me. 

 

"Hey! Baekhyun hey! Are you ok?" He practically yelled into my face. He was never good in a crisis. 

 

"Yeah, I just can't........ see.... I need to sit down," I breathed out slowly. 

 

Chanyeol slid me down the wall and the girl who ran into me was beside herself. 

 

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I forgot that you got sick this summer. Are you ok?!!!!!" She fretted. 

 

Honestly, I just wanted everyone to shut up until my vision returned. She also rammed the edge of her textbook into my injection site from this morning, so that hurt like a as well. I decided to tune them out for about 10 more seconds and then my head finally cleared. 

 

"Guys shut up, I'm fine. Just dizzy," I managed to huff after some time. 

 

"Oh thank god, you're that kid that got sick, Baekhyun right?" The girl asked me in what I finally registered to be very broken Korean. 

 

"Yeah, and you are...?" I asked.

 

"I'm Ming. I'm an exchange student from China. I think we're both in band. You play the flute, right?" She inquired. 

 

What's with the sudden interrogation? I was still a little pissed about being body slammed. Chanyeol just remained quiet by my side. 

 

"Yeah, I do."

"Cool! Me too! I sit behind you, you probably didn't notice me. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow in class. And sorry about running into you again!" Ming apologised.

"Think nothing of it," I waved her off, still a little woozy.

 

"That was weird, but seriously, are you ok?" Chanyeol asked as he helped me up. 

"Ask me that one more time, and you'll never race again," I huffed. 

 

......................................................................

Friday night came around rather quickly that week because I missed a few days of school due to doctor visits. I found myself in the band room with everyone else rehearsing before we went out on the field for the football game. 

 

"Hey Baekhyun! Can we share music for the game?" A high pitched voice asked me that sounded somewhat familiar. 

 

I turned to see Ming with a hopeful look on her face. 

 

"Aren't you in flute 2?" I asked her. 

"Oh, you weren't here earlier today. I challenged Tao and now I'm in flute 1!" Ming said excitedly, throwing some of her words into English when she didn't know the Korean word for it. 

"Oh well congratulations. And yeah, we can share," I replied. 

"Great!"

 

Chanyeol decided to make himself known shortly after. 

"You know she's into you, right?" He told me flippantly. 

"Wait, really?" I said incredulously. 

"Dude, it's obvious. Wait, do you like her too?" Chanyeol asked, a hint of franticness in his voice. 

"No, but I mean, she's definitely cute. But I don't think she's my type. Are you sure she likes me?" I repeated, staring in the direction Ming walked off in. 

 

No girl had ever shown any kind of interest in me before now, and the feeling was, nice. Even though the only interaction we ever had was her slamming into me with brute force. Not to mention my mom has been on my case recently about getting a girlfriend.

 

"I'm sure, but you're not gonna do anything about it, right? Right? Hello, earth to Baekhyun?" Chanyeol said. 

"Huh, what? Oh yeah, totally," I stuttered out. 

"Ok good, she's not good for you."

 

......................................................................

 

Later at the game, Ming was pressed up against my side. 

"I'm really cold, I can't even feel my fingers," she complained. 

"Maybe it's because you're holding a piece of cold metal in your hands," I noted, while taking her hand and blowing on it. 

I noticed her visibly blushing. 

 

"Hey Baekhyun, I was wondering if you wanted t-"

"HEY WHATCHA GUYS DOING?!" Luhan yelled after promptly inserting himself between me and Ming. 

He had a real knack for being present when literally no one asked for it. 

 

Literally nobody:

Luhan: *exists*

 

I snuck a peak at Ming's face and she literally looked like she was about to cry. 

And that really pissed me off. 

 

"Not much Luhan, shouldn't you be in the percussion section?" I said through gritted teeth. 

"Um, I've been blowing that flute with you guys since forever, also Chanyeol is staring daggers at y'all, so I wanted to see what was going on. I think I understand now," he laughed. 

"And what exactly do you think is going on?" I challenged him. 

"Well, you're obviously trying to get with China girl here, and clearly Chanyeol thinks he's gonna be replaced. He's a sensitive guy you know, but he won't ever tell you that," Luhan chided. 

"Alright Luhan, good night, talk to you later," I interjected.

"You know, you could fix everything by just including him in your -"

"GOODBYE LUHAN!" I yelled, while shoving him off the bench. 

 

Ming was beside herself. Her face was bright red. 

"I'm gonna go get some nachos," she said, abruptly getting up.

"Mothering Luhan..." I said burying my head in my hands. 

"AND A 1, 2, 3, 4!" My band director yelled suddenly. I hardly had time to scramble my instrument and music together before I jumped in with everyone else. 

 

The rest of the game went by uneventfully, Ming sat silently by my side dutifully playing her flute when needed.

It wasn't until after the game when we were putting all the music away in the band room when the impossible happened. 

"Hey Baekhyun, sorry I made it awkward earlier, but do you want to go to homecoming with me?" She asked while struggling with a flute case, music and a music stand. 

Fireworks went off in front of my eyes and it wasn't the MS. For once. 

"Absolutely, I'll pick you up before the dance tomorrow!" I said excitedly. 

 

I didn't really see myself being into a girl like her up until just a few days ago. I've also really wanted a girlfriend for a while now and I'm not particularly picky about who it is. Plus she was super cute too, I was psyched to say the least. 

 

"Oh and one thing, can we please not bring Chanyeol with us?" She said a little under her breath. 

 

That snapped me back to reality. 

 

"Wait, wha-"

"I know you guys are best friends and everything and obviously you guys should hang out once we're at the dance, but could just you and me get dinner and stuff beforehand?" She said a bit wistfully. 

 

Chanyeol happened to be staring at me right then over Ming's shoulder helping put some percussion instruments away. 

 

"Um yeah, yeah that's fine I guess."

 

I really wanted to lose my ity, not gonna lie. If Chanyeol needed to be kicked to the curb once, then so be it. 

 

"I'm really sorry to ask-"

"No no, don't worry about it. He'll be totally fine," very well knowing I was lying through my teeth. 

 

Chanyeol was a drama queen to say the least, this would absolutely devastate him. For about 5 minutes, then something shiny will catch his eye and he won't even remember having the conversation. 

 

"Thanks Baekhyun, see you tomorrow!" She leaned forward and kissed me quickly on the cheek and skipped out the door. 

 

"Uhhhhh, what was that? You didn't shut it down like I told you to?" Chanyeol said, instantly appearing at my side the second she left. 

"Chanyeol listen to me! This might be it! This could be my chance to finally lose my ity and then, who knows what! The world is my oyster!" I cheered theatrically. 

"Do you even know what you're doing? What if doing that isn't even healthy for you with your.... condition?" Chanyeol said, choosing his words carefully for the first time in his life. 

 

I have to admit I hadn't even thought about that. If there's something I'm more committed to than having , it's making varsity for cross country. Oh that reminds me, I still have to do my 7 mile run tonight before I sleep. 

But if having might cause another flare-up, I'm literally done this season. So not worth it. 

 

"I'm sure it's fine."

 

No way in hell am I gonna tell Chanyeol that he might be right. 

 

"So then were you serious? Are you really gonna ditch me for the pre-dance pre-game?" He asked, not quite making eye contact with me. As per usual. 

 

Oh yes, our pre-dance pre-game. Or PDPG for short. We usually say 'pid-pig' when speaking of this. And the fact that Chanyeol didn't use our personal slang means that he's very angry, but just won't show it. 

 

"Chanyeol, we do it everytime. It's just this once, besides I can't drink alcohol anymore anyway. Or at least I don't think I can. I don't know, I have a lot of research to do tonight. And a 7 mile run, my god I have a lot of to do. We can hang out at the dance, ok? I'll make it up to you. Let's go running together on Sunday," I said, patting his arm thoughtfully. 

 

I didn't wait to hear his response before turning to leave. 

...................................................

 

Later that night, I sat in front of my laptop, my eyes glued to the screen. 

 

"Arousal may be slow and difficult to achieve with multiple sclerosis, as well as maintaining an during , but still very possible."

 

"ECHO! Remind me to pick up some condoms tomorrow!" 

..................................................

 

After an early morning 4 mile run, I stared at myself in the mirror, raking over every flaw on my half body that a female would perceive. 

Thanks to my rigorous exercise routine, most of my childhood flab has seemingly disappeared, but there were still traces that stubbornly stuck around my hips. It made me look rather feminine.

 

There is no ing way Ming will want to me after she sees that. 

"!" I cursed as I threw an oversized hoodie over that mess.

"Watch your language!" My mother quipped as she strode by in the hallway outside the bathroom. 

 

I woke up this morning with a little more "brain fog" than usual. My eyes were definitely harbouring some pain as well. It freaked me out a little bit, but not as much as the thought of not being able to get my up tonight did. 

My thoughts were a mess as I walked into my bedroom just to be greeted by my mother who was grabbing laundry from my room.

 

"Mom, what are you doing? It's fine, I can do my own laundry," I exhaled tiredly. 

My mother had taken to be very invasive since my attack. She was very concerned with how I felt at all times, did my laundry every week, made my lunches again like I was in 1st grade. 

 

"Well I know the dance is today and that you and Chanyeol usually have a lot to do on these days," she said, dismissing my statement. 

"That's very kind of you, but I'm actually going with a girl this year," I huffed, not really thinking about what I just did.

Curse you cog fog. 

 

My mother suddenly dropped all of the socks and underwear that were in her arms.

"You're going with a girl?" She said in absolute disbelief. 

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" I said, still managing to note my mother just called me out for foul language. 

 

"Correct me if I'm wrong, did you just assume I was gay?" I asked her incredulously.

 

"WHAT? NO! OF COURSE NOT! I just uh, didn't think that you would ever get a um, a date, to a dance thingy...?" She said, the end of her sentence oddly sounding like a question. 

 

"Well, I'm definitely not gay, if that's what you were trying to insinuate," I said, narrowing my eyes at her.

"Hey I didn't say that! I'm just saying like, you know I love you and support you and if there's anything you want-"

"MOM IM NOT GAY! GET OUT OF YOUR ECHO CHAMBER!" I yelled, not believing my own ears. 

 

My echo dot thought this was a good time to interject. "Good morning Baekhyun! Your formal event tonight starts at 7pm and you wanted me to remind you to buy condoms."

 

So this is how I die. Not quick and painless. Just a slow, tortuous, tantalising, humiliating death. I always assumed this is how I would go. I didn't expect anything more, or less. 

 

My bedroom went deathly quiet after that, my mother and I weren't even breathing. 

"Ok so, you're definitely not gay. But given I just heard that, and that I'm your mother, I want you home at midnight, preferably by yourself and not with a girl," my mother said ever so quietly with just a hint of laughter in her voice. 

 

"Duly noted mothership," I said, face redder than the blood that was just out of my for the rest of eternity. 

 

.....................................................................

 

Later that night, I have to say I was considerably less stressed out now that I had a curfew to follow among other things. 

My mom let me borrow her car for the evening, no trace of our earlier conversation during the exchange of car keys and seldom words. 

I typed Ming's address into my phone since the car was old and ty and didn't have a GPS. I'm so stupid, after Ming sees my car, she wouldn't want to me anyway, so I have nothing to worry about! I literally can't sink any lower! 

 

I pulled up in front of her house right at 6. She stepped outside in a two piece black lacy dress that exposed her midsection. 

Who the was this? Ok I'm not gonna lie. I never thought Ming was hot, mostly just cute. But this wasn't cute Ming anymore. She had her hair tightly braided and elegantly pinned to one side, jet black eyeliner that reached her temples and cherry red lips. 

This Ming was y as . 

"Holy , I meant uh, you look nice," I said as she got into my car. 

 

Her face turned bright red as she muttered thanks. We went to my favourite Japanese ramen restaurant in Busan for dinner. However, as soon as we sat down, we had 2 more people join us.

 

"Wow! Fancy seeing you guys here!" Chanyeol exclaimed. Luhan was sitting next to him with a smile bigger than my foot that was about to be up both of their asses. 

"Is it really? Considering I told you this is where I was bringing Ming tonight?" I said exasperatedly. 

"Oh yeah! Forgot about that! Where is she by the way?" He asked.

"Right here, sitting next to me. The only person with me who should be the ONLY person with me?" I said with just a wee bit of sarcasm.

"Holy , is that really you Ming? Do you actually have ies or is that just the worlds best push-up bra?" Luhan said while ogling my date. 

"Ok I'm so sorry Ming, we are leaving! I hope you 2 gentlemen have a good date! You 2 deserve each other!" I growled, throwing my jacket around Ming's shoulders. 

 

No way was I gonna have Luhan looking at my girl all night. 

Or um, whatever she was to me. 

 

"Oh my ing god, I am so sorry-"

"No no! It's fine! I was actually trying to keep from laughing. I definitely still want to have dinner alone, but I like your friends. They seem like they keep life interesting, I really wish I had some people like that in my life right now," she said laughing. 

 

"Haha, yeah they definitely do keep my life interesting. Chanyeol expecially. We do everything together, we always have. I don't know what I'd do without him actually," I trailed off, realising I was talking a little too long about Chanyeol. 

"Aww, that's cute. You know, if you hadn't spent half of the night so far staring at my , I would've thought you were gay for him," she laughed. 

"Hah, you and my mom," I huffed as we both got back into my car. 

"What? No way, that's a story I want to hear," Ming gasped. 

 

I can tell you right now she is not hearing that story. Or at least certain parts of it......

..............................................................

 

At the dance, we instantly starting looking for other band friends that me and Ming had in common. Soon after that, I moved away from her to find cross country friends. 

It was in that endeavour that I ran smack into Chanyeol. 

" watch where you're going, you basket-case," I muttered to him, punching his shoulder. 

"Your insults get more creative everyday," he laughed.

"I hope you and Lu-tard are pleased with yourselves. I know you don't like her for some ing reason, but you don't have to make an of yourself to express that," I said sharply. 

Chanyeol looked a little hurt. 

"You're not, actually mad, are you?" Chanyeol asked warily. 

 

I forgot that Chanyeol had a difficult time reading faces. 

"No Chan, I'm not mad. Just, hold off and let me do my own thing every now and then, ok? We're not gonna be together forever, I mean like, how we are right now. It won't last, it's part of growing up," I said, sighing begrudgingly. 

 

He didn't say anything. He suddenly moved his hand forward and took mine in it, staring at out intertwined fingers.

"You keep saying stuff like that recently. I just feel like, I'm losing you. I thought I did lose you earlier this year. And I'm not gonna lie Baekhyun, that really scared me," he said, his voice shaking. I could tell he was crying, but he would never admit that. 

 

"Hey don't worry about that. That parts over and the rest is future us's problem. Let those guys deal with it," I said, dropping Chanyeols hand and moving forward to embrace him. I felt his chest move up and down in laughter, and I knew I said the right thing without having to lie to him. 

I stepped backwards to remove myself from Chanyeol's hold, but found myself locked in by his long, toned arms. He was slowly swaying side to side with the music. 

The people that we went to school with are the same kids that we've known since kindergarten. And they haven't seen me and Chanyeol more than a few feet away from each other for 10 years, so I wasn't worried at all what they thought of me essentially slow dancing with Chanyeol. 

 

"You know, you'll always be my priority. True, I wanted to spend my evening with Ming, but if you ever need something from me, no matter what I'm doing, or where I'm at, I'm there for you," I whispered into his chest. 

His arms just tightened around me.

"I wish it wasn't like this," he stuttered out. 

"You wish it wasn't like what?" I asked confused, craning my neck up to look at him. 

He never got a chance to respond, because I felt a tap on my arm and my y date was standing there smiling. 

"May I have this dance?" She asked laughing. 

"I don't know. Chanyeol? Does she have your permission?" I asked, nudging him with my elbow. 

He looked at me with an expression I truly could not understand, until he smiled and said "of course m'lady".

 

I promptly punched him in the shoulder.

"I still have a , ."

 

The rest of the night passed peacefully and perfectly. I may have even had my first kiss and even though I didn't lose my ity, the night was still a success beyond anything I imagined.

 

..............................................................

 

The day was September 22nd. It was the day of the first cross country race I was able to participate in for the season due to my MS and the doctor's notes not going through until recently. 

This was the first day I'd be able to prove myself. To everyone. To my mom. To Ming. To my Coach Harlee. And most importantly, Chanyeol. 

 

My heart was racing. THIS is what a real cross country race feels like. Not the thing that Luhan's church put on. That was the kiddie league. Or rather, the senior league. 

I accidentally stabbed my thumb while pinning my number on my orange and black jersey because my hands were shaking so badly. Our school had been invited to the large and very competitive Daegu Invitational. Our own team was very competitive too. Our varsity teams slowest male runner clocked in at a 19:32 5K time. 

My fastest 5K time is 27:46, just to put things in perspective.

Kim Kai, the bottom of the varsity team, was a spiteful, proud specimen. There have been a handful of kids rising to the top of JV, but none were able to surpass him since our freshman year. 

He's obviously very insecure about the fact that he wavers on the varsity team, but he would never show that in a million years. In fact, if you suggest otherwise, you'll find yourself at the bottom of the school's entire food chain. 

It's not like our school took cross country seriously at all, we got the least amount of funding out of all the sports, but Kai was one of those elite students. Mess with him, and it's game over for you. Chanyeol came close enough a few times to figure this out.

 

At these races, varsity and JV always ran separately, as did the males and females. The female teams had just finished their heats. I lined up with all the other JV boys at the starting line, standing in a group with the other boys from my school. We did our stupid, school cheer thing with our group. 

I made to stand in the back of our schools starting box. Even the other JV boys knew I was slower than them. 

Not this time.

Today is day that's all gonna change.

I don't know what I'm expecting, to be the best out of even varsity? Not very likely to happen today. 

But that's exactly the sort of thinking coach wanted to steer away from. 

Despite me being pushed to the back of the JV group, Chanyeol being jostled up to the front, I'm varsity. That's what I am, and if I don't believe that, then no one else sure as hell will.

 

"Ready, on your marks......"

 

This is the point where your stomach is in your throat. You tense up and move into a ready position. It almost made you more sick to pay attention to the man in neon holding that mothering gun. So sometimes it's better to focus on starting to run when everyone else does.

 

CRACK!

 

The crowd surges forward and you already want to throw up. It's kind of a hectic mess at first. There's so many people around you all with the same goal in mind. 

Win, win, win. 

 

It's crazy how fast that initial adrenaline wears off and then it's just you. The grass was scorched and dry from the summer, despite the air being a little cooler. Thank god, or my MS might've taken me right there. 

 

After a minute or so of running, I realised there weren't as many people around me as when I started. This was normal for me considering I usually came in close to last. 

However something was little different this time. I was passing people. Like, a lot of people. 

At that second, I passed a boy from my own school and he did a double take to make sure it was me. 

 

Not gonna lie, that felt good. 

It felt great. 

I was officially a force to be reckoned with. 

 

I looked to my other side and lo and ing behold, there was that giant retard next to me. 

Given, he looked a lot more tired than he usually does during races, but I could still tell he wasn't trying his hardest. 

That pissed me off. In fact, I don't think I've ever been so angry at him. Here I was, trying my damn hardest, going through a rebirth, and there was that goofy retard by my side acting like this was just another race to him. 

 

At this point, I couldn't feel my feet anymore. I knew that the numbness was creeping into my legs. I'm definitely able to use this to my advantage, but I did notice that the ground was a bit uneven and if I went down, there's no getting back up for me. I'm relying completely on my momentum of movement to keep me running. 

 

With all this in mind, I started to pound the cracked earth a little bit faster. Moving ahead inch by inch in front of Chanyeol. Passing other boys on my other side. Chanyeol was still able to match my speed though, no matter how much I kept pushing. 

 

I was grateful he was there actually, I don't think I'd be going this hard if it wasn't for him. 

 

My lungs were definitely hurting at this point, but at least my legs weren't. I could see the finish line a ways ahead and I felt excited beyond belief. I started picking up speed, expending whatever energy I was too much of a to use earlier. 

I was sprinting past a bunch of other racers, ticking them off in my head.

Kill, kill, kill. 

That's what our JV group called all the people we passed in a race. Our kills. At the end of the meet, we'd tally them up to see who got the most. 

One time my sophomore year, I had 2. 

 

I knew I had beaten that number by tenfold and it was, exhilarating. 

 

The line was 100 feet away, 50, 20, 5 and then it's over. 

 

I vaguely remember a giant clock reading 22:12 just as I stepped over the line. I collapsed onto the ground immediately after it was over, my legs completely giving out on me after I slowed down. It felt like my body stopped at my waist. 

I cursed as Chanyeol sat down next to me. 

 

"Baek, that was ing amazing," he said, breathing calmly like he didn't just finish a 5K.

 

"Oh shut up. Don't sit there and pretend like I did any kind of good. I got a 22:12. That puts me near the higher end of the middle of JV. Big ing whoop," I cursed over and cursed. 

 

"Baekhyun, you just knocked 5 ing minutes off your PR, that doesn't happen to just anyone. That doesn't happen, period. Maybe like 20 seconds, possibly a minute, but 5? The only thing that says is that you underwent not only a major physical change, but a huge mental one as well," Chanyeol grilled me. 

 

He got up to get me some water and leave me to regain feeling in my legs, when suddenly my coach appeared by my side.

"Baekhyun, that was something I had to see to believe. Honest to god, I expected you to maybe improve by like, 30 seconds or so, but a whole ing 5 minutes? Actually, it was almost 6 minutes. You need an ambulance or something? You don't look too good," Coach Harlee said with a look of concern.

 

"I'm good coach, it takes a while for me to get my legs back," I waved him off. 

 

"We should get some kind of group together to catch you when you finish. You hit the ground pretty hard after that finish," he suggested. 

 

"Sounds great!" I huffed as I laid back on my back and held out my thumb for approval. 

 

It's only when the feeling came back in my legs did I realise what my coach was talking about. There were a few small streaks of dried blood running down my legs and a lot of pain that I didn't notice earlier. I didn't realise at the time how hard I had hit the ground after finishing. 

I tested out my legs by setting one up to push myself from the ground, just to have it crumple beneath me, but before I went all the way back down, long arms caught me. 

 

"I figured you were getting tired of sitting there," Chanyeol joked while gripping my arms, holding me up. 

He moved me behind me, then lowered himself to sweep his hands underneath my legs and hauled me up onto his back. 

I cried out in surprise and cling to his neck for dear life. 

"Ugh Chanyeol, you're all sweaty. Also, despite you insisting you hate being touched, you've been super touchy lately," I commented.

"Maybe you're not the only one who's changing," he replied. 

"Anyway, you're about to miss the award ceremony-"

"Oh please Chanyeol, like I've ever been any kind of good enough to get any kind of award other than participation," I chided him. 

"Guess you'll just have to see," he said, turning his head to grin up at me. 

 

"JV BOYS 5K 4A DIVISION AWARDS!"

 

", we're gonna miss it," Chanyeol cursed as he started jogging towards the large crowd of people. 

 

As we got closer, we saw neon-gun man standing on a makeshift stage holding a microphone with a cord that disappeared somewhere out of sight.

"In 5th place, Byun Baekhyun!"

 

"HOLY THAT's ME!" I yelled out to have everyone stare at me from atop Chanyeol's shoulders. 

Chanyeol surged through the crowd and onto the stage where neon-gun man handed me a t-shirt. 

 

I expected the next name to be Chanyeol's, but instead it was Kim Jonghyun. 

"You let me go ahead of you? What were you thinking?" I whispered fiercely into Chanyeol's ear as they handed t-shirts and medals to the top 3 runners. 

 

He shrugged. "You deserved it more than me."

 

I could slap that kid sometimes I swear. 

...........................

 

The girls congratulated me when I got on the bus and some guys from the varsity team. But not one of the JV boys said a word to me for the rest of the bus ride home back to Busan. 

"Chanyeol, I think they're mad at me," I whispered to a half-asleep Chanyeol. 

"Yeah, they probably are. Cuz they ," he replied.

"But what if they-"

"Then them. They're holding themselves back and they're pissed cuz they know it too, and seeing someone like you challenges that. Like I said, them and honestly, you for waking me up. It would've been one thing if we were stopped at McDonald's," he huffed and turned away from me, readjusting his jacket that was serving as his pillow. 

 

The last thought I remember having before nodding off was wondering what Chanyeol was really capable of running-wise and why he kept doing this for me.