A younger Baekhyun ran happily through the grassy park, laughing as his dark brown hair whipped in the wind. He saw his friends sitting on the top branches of a tall tree, smiling and urging him to follow. Baekhyun grinned up at them and climbed. The tree couldnt have been more than 15 feet high, but to a child of barely 4 feet tall, it was an amazing height to climb. It was like the top of the world.

Baekhyun bravely scaled the first few branches easily, pulling himself up with his skinny seven-year-old arms. About halfway up the tree, the branches began to thin, causing him to wobble with every step. I can do this, he thought. He tested the next branch with his foot, gently applying more and more pressure as he prepared to reach for the next branch. He was almost at the top.

Suddenly, the branch he had just put his foot on snapped. Baekhyun felt a scream rip through his throat as he hurtled through the branches below him, scratching his face, arms, and legs. He fell to the ground with a thump, landing painfully on his leg. Pain erupted in his left ankle, setting his blood on fire. Baekhyun immediately started to cry, lying on the ground with his hands around his ankle.

He saw the blurry images of people rushing towards him, mumbling worried phrases that Baekhyun couldn’t hear through the pain. A pair of arms wrapped around Baekhyun, and a soothing voice that he did recognize. “You’ll be okay, Baekie, you’ll be okay.” His mother picked him up gently, washing away the ache in his ankle immediately. He knew he was warm, and safe.

Mom...

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Warm water swished around Baekhyun’s body, waking his previously frozen muscles. Warm water? Where am I? Baekhyun forced his eyes open and rubbed the unconsciousness away. This wasn’t his washroom, and the clothes on the counter didn’t belong to him either. He realized he was wearing only his boxers, causing him to wonder where his clothes went. A sticky note stuck to the side of the tub caught his attention.

Those clothes are for you.

Baekhyun thought for a moment before shrugging and stepping out of the bath, drying himself off and changing into the clothes provided for him. They were humungous. The hoodie reached halfway down his thighs. It was warm and comfortable, so he couldn’t complain.

Baekhyun quietly opened the door, peeking out of the washroom when he was suddenly startled by a loud bark. Baekhyun yelped in surprise, falling backward. The dog pounced on him, his breath hot on Baekhyun’s face. Who the hell owns a dog like this?

“Max, heel!” The dog looked back and hopped off Baekhyun with a whine. His tail wagged furiously as his owner approached.

Baekhyun’s eyes widened. It was that guy from his math class. Baekhyun had forgotten his name yet again. He was wearing sweatpants and a white t-shirt, causing his lean arm muscles to show underneath his sleeves. He was also wearing big glasses, like the ones that Baekhyun usually wore. He had his short black hair pushed upwards, with a slightly messy feel to it. Baekhyun couldn’t help but think how good he looked in casual clothing.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice low and rumbling. “Max likes people.” He helped Baekhyun up, his big hands engulfing Baekhyun’s small palm. Baekhyun brushed himself off as he got up, finally realizing how tall the boy really was. “Remember me?” the boy said.

Baekhyun scratched the back of his head, hesitating.  He racked his brain for a name, but nothing came. “Umm... sorry. I’m not good with names.”

Chanyeol walked to the kitchen table and handed him a mug full of hot chocolate, Max following. Chanyeol took the other mug for himself. He sat down at the tiny table in the middle of the living room/kitchen. “I carried you here.”

Baekhyun sat opposite off him, blushing as he heard what happened. “H-how did you find me?”

“Tao was pacing around the cold storage. I got curious.” Chanyeol sipped his hot chocolate while staring at Baekhyun. There were little drops of water at the tips of his dark red hair, and watched as one dripped into Baekhyun’s mug. “I should be asking you what happened.”

Baekhyun thought for a moment, trying to recall the events from about an hour ago. He went to put some stuff away with Tao, and then he got locked in. Had Tao done that on purpose?

“I was with Tao, putting some boxes in the cold storage. Then he locked me in. Or somehow the door locked.” Baekhyun paused. “Did you say Tao was pacing around?”

Chanyeol nodded. “Yeah.”

Baekhyun frowned. “But he has the keys... Even if he locked me in on purpose, what was he hoping to accomplish?” There were so many questions spinning around inside his head, he started to feel a little overwhelmed. The school year had barely started too.

Chanyeol honestly didn’t care much about what had happened, but he was suddenly concerned about the safety of the new student.  Strange things happen at SM High, and this was just another event to add to the list. Just last year, there had been a suicide in the washroom where a student had bled himself to death.  Chanyeol thought it was funny how so many people still wanted to attend this haunted school.

“You better be careful,” Chanyeol warned, finishing the last of his hot chocolate.

Baekhyun nodded. Suddenly, he realized he didn’t have his bag. That meant no uniform, no books, and most importantly, no keys. He swore to himself. He really didn’t want to stay here, but this left him no choice.

“C-Chanyeol...”

“Yes?”

“Can I stay the night? I left everything in my locker.”

“Sure.”

“Thanks...” Baekhyun rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

If I tell Chen, he’ll never let me forget this.