As soon as Baekhyun saw Sehun’s face darken, he started to regret asking such a question. He was almost positive that Sehun would get up and just leave, never to come back again.

Sehun got up from his seat, and Baekhyun just waited for the slamming of a door. Much to Baekhyun’s surprise, Sehun went to sit on the couch. Baekhyun was relieved, but the tight atmosphere seemed to be choking him, stealing his ability to talk.

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Sehun said softly, holding a pillow close to his body.

Baekhyun always thought Sehun was more timid than he seemed, even though Sehun tried to act so tough at their first meeting. After working with middle school children for awhile, Baekhyun figured out that the walls people build around their hearts were like brick walls. People stack up the bricks one-by-one every time they get hurt, and as that accumulates, sooner or later, they close themselves off from the outside world. Some people have smaller walls than others, but everyone has a wall.

Sehun’s was just taller than his. Baekhyun wanted to get rid of that wall, but he would have to work one brick at a time. It was going to be a hard task.

Baekhyun quickly finished eating and cleaned the dishes. The whole time Sehun just sat there, staring out the window. Although Baekhyun didn’t live on a very high floor, it was still easy to see much of the large city from the window.

---//---

Sehun watched people rushing here and there, some on their phones, some with a friend, and some totally alone. The streets were packed with vehicles, and the stores were bustling with customers. But here he was, in someone else’s house sitting on someone else’s couch.

He wondered how different his life would have been if he had friends or his parents around. Maybe he would’ve been a happy-go-lucky guy, living happily with his family while going out to hang out with his friends.

He was so deep in his thoughts he didn’t even notice Baekhyun sitting down next to him.

“Sorry about before. I really didn’t mean to open old wounds,” Baekhyun said, handing Sehun a cup of tea.

Sehun gingerly took it from Baekhyun, blowing on the warm liquid to cool it down. He always had trouble drinking hot stuff. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Can I ask where you ran off to yesterday?”

Sehun kept his gaze on the tea. “My grandma’s home.”

“You live with your grandmother?”

“Yeah.”

Baekhyun waited, expecting Sehun to explain more, but Sehun kept his focus on the cup of tea as if it was the most interesting object on the planet.

“Well since you asked me question, I guess it’s my turn,” Sehun said. Baekhyun had forgotten about their deal.

“I guess it is.”

“How did you and your best friend meet?”

“Kyungsoo and I? We first met in middle school but didn’t get close until high school. We were in the same band together. He played the keyboard and sang, and I was the main singer. We called ourselves EXO.” Baekhyun laughed while thinking back to his awkward teenage years. “We were pretty popular. It was probably due to Jongin and Luhan. They were both athletes and in the band. Oh man. The girls loved them.”

“Luhan? Doesn’t sound Korean.”

“He’s Chinese. He was a transfer student. I think he works at the zoo as a deer specialist or something. We kinda lost touch after college.”

Sehun nodded. He could see Baekhyun enjoying thinking back to his friends and his memories with them. He kind of wished he had something like that.

Baekhyun spoke up again. “Speaking of Kyungsoo, do you want to go bother him with me?”

“That doesn’t sound…pleasant.”

“Nah. It’ll fun! Come on!” Baekhyun wrapped an arm around Sehun’s neck and pulled him up and out of the apartment with him.

Sehun was actually really excited. He could be on his way to making potential friends. He half-listened to Baekhyun as he chattered away, but he had a hard time hiding his smile.

“What are you smiling about? I was talking about my dead dog, so you couldn’t possibly be happy about that. Unless you’re actually a psycho….” Baekhyun punched Sehun playfully.

Sehun blushed slightly, turning away to keep Baekhyun from teasing him even more.

---//---

They finally reached Kyungsoo’s house, and Sehun felt that the area was awfully familiar. As they walked into the apartment building, Sehun noticed this was actually the same building Baekhyun lived in. Sehun stared at Baekhyun with questioning eyes.

Baekhyun laughed, crinkling his eyes in the process. “We actually live in the same building. I wanted to get some exercise done so that we would be a little hungry.” Sehun could only shake his head. He was following a crazy man for sure.

Baekhyun didn’t knock or ring the bell. He merely tossed the door open and shouted, “I’m here!”

Sehun awkwardly stood by the doorway while he watched the two friends give each other (manly) hugs.

“Oh, who’s your friend?” Kyungsoo asked as he pried himself out of Baekhyun’s grip.

“Kyungsoo this is Oh Sehun. Sehun this is Do Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun held Sehun’s hand in his right hand and Kyungsoo’s hand in his left. He pulled both their hands together to initiate a handshake.

Kyungsoo quickly pulled his hand away, and Sehun was shocked, thinking Kyungsoo was repulsed by him. However, before Sehun knew it, Kyungsoo was pulling him into a hug. The shorter man wrapped his hands around Sehun’s body, and Sehun could only stare at Baekhyun with wide eyes.

Baekhyun laughed and patted Sehun’s back after Kyungsoo let go. “He’s kind of the touchy type. Don’t worry about it. Oh, Kyungsoo, can you make us some spaghetti? I am really craving some.”

“You know I’m good at making other dishes.” But Kyungsoo was already putting his apron on and washing his hands.

“I know, but your spaghetti is the best. Even Jongin agreed! I remember he said it was the kind of taste that could make people faint, and you know how picky he is.” Baekhyun pulled Sehun into the living room, telling him to make himself feel comfortable. Baekhyun then proceeded to run—almost skip—to the kitchen to bother Kyungsoo some more.

Sehun watched, again from the boundaries, and felt a tang of jealousy, wishing he could have met someone who he could be comfortable with like the two of them were with each other.

What Sehun didn’t know was that his brick wall had already started falling apart.