song recommendation ~ in your arms - Saib

Chanyeol loved school. There was only ever one instance when he’d proudly proclaimed his love for it, and that was when it was his turn to bring the class pet home. He was in third grade at the time, and Mrs Kim had just newly adopted a small white mouse named Kyong. Kyong was the class’ pride. All the children loved him dearly, always remembering to greet and salute him on their way in and out. The students all took turns to take Kyong home for a few days, and when it was Chanyeol’s turn he was overjoyed. 

Unfortunately, the boy had forgotten to notify his mother about Kyong’s stay at their home and she just so happened to be particularly afraid of mice and the like. When Chanyeol had left to shower, he came back to an empty cage and his petrified mother. 

Chanyeol sobbed the rest of the day, begging his father to help him look for Kyong, even though he knew the little mouse was long gone by then. 

Perhaps, Chanyeol would’ve learned from his lesson, in that he should always confirm things before acting out. However, Kyong was but a distant memory to him and Chanyeol had bigger things to look forward to. Bigger things such as Baekhyun. Similarly, Baekhyun also had bigger things to look forward to. 

The smaller boy had a soothing voice. Everyone knew that. But when Baekhyun sang, it was a completely different story. Chanyeol often asked him to sing, staring at him so affectionately as his lips moved. When they called and Baekhyun broke out into song, Chanyeol would just listen quietly, closing his eyes and smiling. 

The other day, Baekhyun had entered a singing competition as a gag. Chanyeol had encouraged him to, and so did many of Baekhyun’s other classmates. He reluctantly agreed, with the condition that Chanyeol had to treat him to bingsoo after his entry. In the end, Chanyeol lived up to his promise and even beyond that, Baekhyun had actually come 1st place, winning a cash prize of $500. Both boys were overjoyed, with Baekhyun literally bursting into tears at being given such a large amount of money while Chanyeol laughed teasingly and patted his back. 

At this point, life was great. It couldn’t get any greater than this, Chanyeol always thought. Chanyeol was always proving himself wrong. 

“Chanyeol. Hey, Chanyeol. Chanyeol, what do you say about splitting the money half ways and doing whatever we want with it?” Baekhyun asked him on the way home, looking at him as they walked. 

“Huh? Split? No way! You worked for it all, so you keep it,” Chanyeol replied as he pulled an earbud out, mildly surprised that Baekhyun would offer such a thing. 

“But you’re the one who encouraged me to join! It’s only fair, don’t you think? Think of it like you being my manager and what not,” Baekhyun insisted. 

“Nope. It’s all yours. And that’s final,” Chanyeol said. 

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes!”

“No.”

“Chanyeol, shh!”

“No.”

“Chanyeol!”

Chanyeol shrugged, a little amused at how childish Baekhyun was being. Even if they were play-fighting, Chanyeol was 100% serious. Taking money freely like that was wrong to him, even if he was taking it from a close friend.

“Listen, what am I going to do with that kind of money? Do you know what I’m going to do? I might just splurge by accident and I’ll spend it on things I don’t even need,” Baekhyun reasoned. 

“Baekhyun, shush.” 

“I’m gonna walk by some store that has buy one get one free pans, and then I’ll end up buying two because that’s such such a damn good deal. But you know what? I can’t even cook! See how pointless? I’m better off halving the money and putting it to good use with you,” the boy continued.

At this point, Chanyeol really regretted encouraging him to enter that competition. Baekhyun really never knew when to stop talking. He couldn’t even put his earphones back in, in fear of his friend pulling them out and refusing to return them. 

“You don’t even need to take half. You can take $100 and then I’ll have the rest. You could buy sneakers with that can’t you? Or maybe a new case for your guitar?” 

“Baek-“ 

“Shh shh! Just listen. What if we invest in shares or something? Is that allowed? Are we even legal? Chanyeol? Chanyeol are you-“ 

By then, the giant had had enough of his friend’s relentless yapping. Baekhyun was left speechless, dead in his tracks and his slender fingers ghosting over his lips. The taller continued to walk as if his actions had no meaning. As if he didn’t just kiss Byun freaking Baekhyun. Oh well then. Guess it worked, Chanyeol chuckled to himself. He never turned back, a little curious as to what the smaller boy would do.

Baekhyun gawked at his fleeting figure, cheeks heating up immediately and feeling stupidly dizzy at the brief sensation of the boy’s lips against his own. Snapping back to reality, Baekhyun chased after Chanyeol, grabbing his wrist once he’d surpassed him and pulled him into an unknown street. The flustered boy was at a loss for words, sentences unable to form in his mind as he wrung his hands nervously. Meanwhile, Chanyeol only looked at him, a slightly smug expression on his face as he tucked his hands into his pockets. 

“Why are we here? This isn’t the way home?” Chanyeol spoke up, realising that Baekhyun wasn’t going to be talking any time soon.

“Y-You! B-But- But you-“ Baekhyun managed.

“But I..?” Chanyeol said almost teasingly, leaning forward with that signature cheeky smile. 

“Ch-Chanyeol..” Baekhyun whispered, biting his lower lip. 

Of the few months he’d spent with Baekhyun, the younger had come to notice his friend’s habits, his likes, his dislikes and really, everything about him. He was able to spot the little things that Baekhyun did and he prided himself in doing so. One particular thing he’d noticed, was that Baekhyun could never ask for things he wanted, and there were often times where Chanyeol had to act on his own. It seemed that this was one of those times. So Chanyeol cupped his face, similarly to how he usually did when he was teasing the boy or even just admiring his gentle features. 

Baekhyun’s expression changed. It morphed into something that Chanyeol couldn’t quite recognise, but when he did, his heart swelled. The sm