Chapter 31

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Suho’s eyes are boring craters into Chanyeol’s skull, who is sitting sluggishly on the stool across from him and smoothing his face with his palms, “Why do you look so stressed?”

“Was the traffic to the airport that bad?” Sehun innocently asks, popping his lollipop out of his mouth. He the sweet treat with a smug expression on his face, “I told you to let me come with you. It would’ve been way less boring.”

Chanyeol sighs, running his hand through his messy head of hair, “It’s not that, you idiot.”

“Then what is it? You look, like, super stressed. Like, as stressed as you were for that exam last semester when you didn’t study at all.” Kai points out, walking behind the taller to grab a bottle of water from the fridge.

Kyungsoo suspiciously stares at Chanyeol’s conflicted expression as he continues to peel an orange at the kitchen island, “It has to do with Hana and Baekhyun, doesn’t it?”

As another sigh emerges from the taller’s lips, Kyungsoo’s suspicion is confirmed. Suho tilts his head in confusion, “Wait, what? They’ve been broken up for a few months now. Why would Baekhyun be part of this?”

Before Chanyeol can spill the juicy details to the ever-so-dramatic scene that took place earlier that day, the double doors of Suho’s mansion swing open. Everyone cranes their necks to peek towards the door with little success. Suho shrugs and waves the matter off, “It’s probably just a maid or something.”

Chanyeol wants to scoff at the assumption, “I doubt it.”

“Huh? Then who would it be?” Sehun asks in confusion.

As the sound of footsteps begin to near the room, Chanyeol stiffens slightly. All heads (except for his) turn towards the noise and their jaws drop at the appearance of the familiar male. 

Baekhyun grins at his friends, “Long time no see, guys.” 

Sehun’s lollipop drops to the ground. Kyungsoo’s orange falls from his hands. Kai’s pretty sure he would’ve fallen to the ground if he hadn’t been leaning against the counter. Suho rubs his eyes to make sure he’s not hallucinating. And Chanyeol’s not sure if he should be thrilled or pissed.

//

Baekhyun definitely didn’t expect to see Chanyeol in Suho’s kitchen when he barged in. He thought the taller one was hanging out at Hana’s house, up to her parents and getting an engagement ring fitted. In fact, he was hoping that Chanyeol wouldn’t be there so that he could tell the others about how much of a traitor the giant turned out to be! 

The others sense the tension in the room, glancing between Baekhyun’s heated gaze and Chanyeol’s annoyed expression as he taps his fingers against the marble counter. Confused as to why the two best friends weren’t greeting each other normally, Sehun awkwardly notes, “Uh, is there something going on between you two?”

Baekhyun hesitates for a second before ripping his eyes from the taller, plastering on a bright smile towards his other friends, “It’s nothing. I was just surprised to find you all here. It was easier than I expected to track you all down.”

Kyungsoo notices how Chanyeol discreetly rolls his eyes.

Kai grins and runs over, catching the older in a tight hug, “This is crazy! I can’t believe you didn’t tell us that you were coming back today!”

Baekhyun pats his head, “I wanted to surprise you guys. Did it work?”

“Did it work?” Sehun scoffs while throwing his dirtied lollipop into the trash can, “We didn’t think we’d see you for, like, another year!”

“Yeah, when are you going back?” Suho asks, throwing Baekhyun a water bottle. He catches it swiftly with one hand and appreciatively nods before taking a large swig of it. 

“I’m back for good.” Baekhyun proudly announces.

As the others begin to fawn over Baekhyun’s new hair color and his change of appearance (“Wow, hyung, you’re buff now,” Sehun gapes), Chanyeol feels suffocated by his ignored presence and storms out of the kitchen, retreating to Suho’s upstairs oasis.

After a few minutes, Kai glances around and notices the giant’s missing presence, “Hey, wait, where did Chanyeol hyung go?”

Baekhyun unwillingly followed the crew upstairs, where they eventually discovered Chanyeol seated on the couch in the loft, hugging a cushion while playing a game on his phone. 

“Hey, why’d you leave like that?” Sehun pouts, sitting on the arm rest near Chanyeol while Suho takes the opposite end of the couch. Kyungsoo plops on the ground at Chanyeol’s feet, leaning against his legs for back support, while Kai makes himself comfortable on the hammock. The last remaining spot is directly next to Chanyeol.

“Why are you just standing there? Come sit down,” Suho waves Baekhyun over.

Baekhyun uncomfortably shifts in his position, “Uh, scoot over then, hyung.”

“What? No way! I always get the end!” Suho pouts before pointing at the empty spot between him and Chanyeol, “Just sit here. You always sit next to Chanyeol anyway.”

Chanyeol mutters under his breath, “He’d probably rather hop on a plane back to Japan than sit next to me.”

While no one else seems to have heard his comment, Kyungsoo spins around at the words and stares at the giant. Although he seems focused on his game, Kyungsoo notes that his fingers have been aimlessly pressing on the screen, completely missing the targets. Is he trying to act like he doesn’t care?

Baekhyun clears his throat before cautiously walking over. He sits himself between the two, making it painstakingly obvious that he doesn’t want any of Chanyeol’s germs as he presses himself against Suho’s side.

Suho whines, “Baek, move over, you have so much room to your left.”

Baekhyun rejects immediately by making up some excuse, “I’m cold. Give me some of your warmth, hyung!”

“Dude, it’s the summer.”

Kyungsoo finally speaks up, “What is going on with you two?”

Chanyeol finally looks up from his phone and pointedly stares at Baekhyun. The shorter glances at him from the corner of h