By the time Chanyeol stepped out of the bedroom, the dorm was already empty. “I’m gonna get an earful from either manager hyung or Junmyeon hyung.” He sighed. Nothing was going smooth for his life. Without Baekhyun. He stepped into the van to see Baekhyun taking the seat behind the driver’s, which was totally abnormal because he and Yeol always sat in the back seat with a snoring JongIn. As playful as they could be, they preferred bumpy seats for they could mess around without disturbing the other members. He found their usual seats filled with a snoozing JongIn and a poker-faced maknae. He had to beat the urge to ask Baekhyun why he wasn’t sitting with him anymore. Their long drive to the schedule place was unusually quiet again.

It was a radio program. Baekhyun and Chanyeol always sit together. For some reason, today, Kyungsoo was in the middle of the two. They always talked about each other during the programs, but that day, nothing at all. The usual bubbly Chanyeol with his exaggerating gestures and pearly-white toothy grin was still there, a professional acting skill he possessed but in a closer look, his smile was strained. Baekhyun still smiled till his small eyes shaped to a half-moon but he wasn’t as cheerful as before. JongIn was exceptionally active that day, answering all the MC’s questions without stuttering, doing his best to fill the void of his awkward hyungs.

The radio session ended well so did their other morning schedules. At lunch, the two still wasn’t talking and sat the furthest away from each other.

“Kyungsoo, could you pass me the salt?” Chanyeol asked, the salt bottle being right next to Baekhyun.

“Ask Baek,” said Kyungsoo, who continued eating, whose reply earned him a high five from JongIn. Annoyed Suho grabbed the salt and gave it to Chanyeol who mouthed a silent Thank you.

Baekhyun finished first and he asked, “Who’s gonna pay today?”

(A/N: Their manager had to go back to the company because of some mess with their schedule.)

“You and Channie,” Kyungsoo and JongIn chimed unanimously and another high five clapped in the air.

Baekhyun got frustrated and he got up alone to go pay the bill.

Suho smacked JongIn’s head and said, “Stop making them awkward more than it already is.”

Rubbing the back of his head, JongIn frowned, “It’s just a phase, hyung. I’m trying to get them back together. They are technically Siamese twins. I’m not used to them like this.” He emphasized “this” with his hands and Sehun laughed out loud.

“I’m still here, you know” Chanyeol said while getting up from the table, took long strides to their parked van.

“This seriously isn’t right,” Kyungsoo put up his index finger and waved with an annoyed expression which cause his cheeks to get pinched by JongIn who muffled something like “You’re too adorable.”

In the evening, they appeared for a special performance at a variety show. During the rehearsal, Baekhyun and Chanyeol kept avoiding each other which finally put the angelic leader into a bad mood.

“Yah, yah.. cooperate, you two. This is a new routine and you guys aren’t doing it right.” Suho scolded, some worry lines forming on his smooth forehead.

Chanyeol was still messing up the dance steps even with the one-to-one lesson from the dancing machine, JongIn. He was supposed to match his steps with Baekhyun so that JongIn doesn’t cover him but as distracted as he was, he kept doing the same mistake. Leader hyung just sighed as he prayed hard for the recording to go well.

Apparently, his prayers weren’t answered. During the performance, there was a step where Baekhyun was supposed to turn but he didn’t and stepped on Chanyeol’s foot who let out an “Ah” during his solo rap. Unfortunately, they were doing a live performance so that “Ah” got included in the actual recording. Although fortunately, the fans seemed oblivious to his mistake.

The drive back home was quiet again. The atmosphere in the van wasn’t friendly. Leader Suho wasn’t in his angelic mood which scared the craps out of maknaes and of course, the guilty “Baekyeol”. Kyungsoo, with a mock expression, turned to Baekyeol who were then awkwardly sitting together mouthed “you guys are so dead.”

Leader still wasn’t talking when they arrived back at the dorm. As they were all trying to sneak into their own rooms, they heard their hyung call out, “All of you, meeting, now!”

JongIn shut up the maknae who was going to protest with a “Today’s not Friday” and dragged him into the living room. It was a tense moment. Especially for guilty ones. Baekhyun sat like a statue, waiting for his ears to get abused.

“Okay. Today’s not Friday but I think we need an emergency meeting, don’t you think?” Suho started, directing his glances to Baekhyun and then Chanyeol.

“So, what is the problem? Well, the reason isn’t important because I believe it is your privacy. But when you personal matters affect your work, moreover, the whole team, I have no choice but to get involved. I really don’t want to scold you guys. It’s already past midnight. And all of us are exhausted. This is the first warning. You two make it up yourselves or I’m telling the manager hyung. Your choice.”

Leader’s voice was merely a whisper but sharp and effective. Suho could be very strict if he wanted to. After he finished what he had to say, he slowly got up and went into the bedroom. Kyungsoo patted them both on the shoulders before he dragged the maknaes into the bedroom.

The remaining two just sat there, extremely exhausted, both physically and mentally.

“I’m sorry.” Both of them said at the same time.

“Uh, you go first,” Chanyeol offered.

“Okay, I’m sorry I overreacted that day, Yeol,..” Baekhyun started quietly, but he stopped as he was at a loss for words to continue.

Chanyeol was waiting for Baekhyun to finish, probably expecting a more definite answer but he decided he didn’t want to hear the rest, he cut off, “It’s okay, Baek, I’m sorry I always kept invading your personal space. I promise I’ll keep a distance. Let’s just forget the whole thing, alright?” His voice almost cracked as he spoke without a pause, ready to break down that he wasn’t sure he could take anymore of that anymore.

Baekhyun just lay there on his bed, trying to remember what Chanyeol had said to him. He wanted to say so much more than I’m sorry but he couldn’t and he wouldn’t. He turned to see Chanyeol facing his back to him. He felt so broken as he remembered their late night conversations and Chanyeol’s signature toothy grin flashed at him in the dark. It had just been a day that they hadn’t talked but it seemed like weeks, if not months. It has caused enough damage to both of them. And the members. He felt tears prickling in his eyes as he watched Chanyeol’s back move rhythmically to his heavy breathing.

Chapter 3 is up. Thanks for subscribing. Comments will be loved. :)