Five years ago 

 

As I sat in the corner of the dance practice room with my earphones plugged in, I closed my eyes and nodded my head to the music that filled my head. With my eyes closed, I shut myself off from my surroundings and ignored the other trainees all gathered in the room. I was the new kid. Today was my first day as a trainee of SM Entertainment. Most of the kids here had already been training here for some time. Looked like I was going to be the loner of the group. 

 

Then again. 

 

I wasn't here to make friends. 

 

No, I was here to chase a dream. The dream to be a singer. Sitting here in the SM building was so surreal for me. Many of my favourite artists were developed and trained here in the very same practice room I was sitting in. I opened my eyes and scanned across the room. The same blue sky with clouds curtain. The same poster covered walls. My eyes glanced around the room and silently counted the number of trainees. 

 

Hmm twelve of us. 

 

Unless we were going to be a group as big as Super Junior sunbaenims, some of us were going to be kicked out. So these people were going to be my competition. I saw that most of them were already friends and sitting in their little circles. What was the point? I rolled my eyes; who could be true friends in such a cutthroat industry? 

 

Soon an adult holding a clipboard walked into the room and I turned off my music.  

 

"Welcome to your first day as trainees of the best entertainment agency here in South Korea. As you all know, many world famous artists were produced by this company, like SNSD and Super Junior to name a few. We will provide the best...."

 

Blah blah blah. Cut the marketing crap. We all knew how big and successful the company was. Could we just get to the training already? 

 

"Since we have two new trainees with us today, let's begin with some introductions. Starting with you, Luhan." Great, time to see who was competition. 

 

A girl stood up. We were a mixed group?! 

 

"Hi! My name is Luhan. I'm from China. Nice to meet all of you!" There was no mistaking from his voice. He was a boy. Well, one very very pretty boy. Big competition; probably the face of the group. 

 

"Hi, I'm Jongin." Wow, muscular. Definitely a dancer. Strong competition, I sensed. 

 

"Kyungsoo." Shy. Too shy. Out. 

 

"I'm Kris." Why did he look so fierce? Not going to talk to him. Probably in for the charisma. 

 

"HI! I'M SUHO! I'm sooo excited to meet you two!" What the hell was he so excited about? Weirdo. Out. 

 

"Tao." Woah, this guy needed some serious sleep. He looked like a panda with those eye bags. In or out, not too sure. 

 

"Hi, my name is Chen. Today is my first day as a trainee. I love to sing and I look forward to working with all of you." Whatever. Out. 

 

"Hello. My name ish Thehun." Ha. A lisp. Out. 

 

"Yixing. From china as well." Another dancer. Woah look at those muscles. In. 

 

"Xiumin here." Chubby cheeks. So chubby. In for the cute factor? Maybe. 

 

Then a tall tall guy stood up and introduced himself.

 

"Hi." Woah, his voice most definitely did not match his baby face. "My name is Chanyeol," he said with a silly grin and a little wave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out. 

 

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Chanyeol's POV 

 

I stood in front of the other trainees and said, "Hi. My name is Chanyeol." My eyes  zoomed in on the guy who sat at the end of the group. He just joined us today. He spoke to no one and paid no attention to anyone. Right from the moment he walked into the room, he kept to himself and ignored the rest of us. 

 

I sat back down beside Jongin. I wanted to ask him about that guy but Jongin's full attention seemed to be fixated on Kyungsoo that sat in front in him. As usual.  

 

"Baekhyun." My attention snapped at the voice and I turned to see the he was standing in front of the group. That was all he said.  

 

Baekhyun. 

 

I let his name roll on my lips. 

 

Arrogance was in everything he did. It was in his gestures, the harshness of his voice, in the glow of his gaze, in his lazy I-can't-bothered posture. 

 

 

 

 

 

I couldn't help but stare at him. 

 

Perhaps it was his air of confidence. 

 

 

 

Something about him fascinated me. 

 

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Baekhyun's POV

 

In the dance studio

 

It had been a few weeks since I joined the company. The dance and vocal training had been rigorous and strenuous but I loved it. I was thoroughly enjoying myself as I climbed nearer and nearer to my dream. Except one particular black spot on my otherwise perfect trainee life. 

 

Namely a tall giant. 

 

Who apparently had taken a liking to staring at me. For whatever reasons, I had no idea. But that stare, coupled with that goofy grin his, made words like 'stalker' and 'ert' jump to my mind. Every time I glanced up, he would be watching my every move. 

 

Look, let me just say it: He was an 'out' in my books. When a hot boy looked at you, it was flattering and ego-boosting. But a non-hot boy? It is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of insult. 

 

One fine day, he decided to strike a conversation with me when the instructor gave us a break. Can you imagine my horror? I wanted nothing to do with him. 

 

"Hi! Baekhyun right? I'm Chanyeol." He stuck out his hand and looked at me expectantly. 

 

No other trainee had dared to say a word to me. I guessed I did a pretty good job at being unwelcoming. Not that I wanted them to talk to me anyway. Making friends was a waste of time, just subjecting myself to heartbreak when they left. So when Chanyeol took the initiative to speak to me, I simply nodded, hoping that he would catch the hint to stay away from me. 

 

 

 

 

No such luck. 

 

He just kept blabbering beside me and I was forced to smile and answer politely. He kept asking questions about me. The more I tried to avoid him or distance myself from him, the more he pushed to be closer to me. 

 

Every break.

 

Every meal time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And every bed time. 

 

When we were being assigned to our rooms, he immediately raised his hand to be roommates with me. So we ended up rooming together. He said it was because his friend wanted to room with another guy so he didn't have any other choice but I was sure he was lying. 

 

As time went by, I found it the harder to distance myself away from him. His constant chatter slowly made cracks in my walls of defense and I found myself slowly warming up to him. Well, it was hard to avoid him now that we were roomies. While in my books we were hardly considered close, fighting and arguing started. We could fight over every thing and anything. 

 

Over how to squeeze the toothpaste. 

 

Over what to order for supper. 

 

Over what room temperature to set. 

 

Over whether to open or close the window at night. 

 

Over who got to shower first. 

 

Over who stole the comforter at night. 

 

If a list was written out, I was sure that it could go over earth's diameter a couple of times. 

 

At times when we weren't fighting, it was mostly one-sided conversations with Chanyeol asking me questions and me giving him one-word answers. 

 

Likes. Dislikes. Hobbies. Idols. School. Etc. 

 

But there were times. Just some times when I couldn't stop staring at his mouth as he spoke. I bet he knew how to kiss. Perfect kisses too, ones that weren't wet and gross, but the kind that curled toes.

 

 

I wondered what it was like to kiss him. 

 

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Chanyeol's POV

 

The more I got to know him, the more I felt myself falling for him. Before Baek, I had never liked other boys before. But somehow, I was very certain about what I felt for Baek. I loved talking to him and spending time with him. Although his answers were always short and crisp but at least he answered. And our fights. He spoke the most during our arguments. We never did argue about anything serious and it was always fun to see him all riled up about little things and having him speak as fast as a bullet train. 

 

I could guess his background. From the way he was so guarded against getting to know people. From the way he isolated himself. Someone must have left him before. I was guessing a parent. I could only imagine the pain and broken trust he must have went through that caused him to raise such thick walks around his heart. It made me fall for him even more, knowing that his air of confidence was just a facade. Nothing more but a mask, a form of self-preservation. His vulnerability made me very protective of him, though I doubted that he would appreciate that. So I just goofed around with him. 

 

So one day I decided to confess to him. Nothing fancy. It was at night. I rolled over in the bed to face him. The moonlight lit his face, transmitting a sort of glow that highlighted his handsome features. 

 

"Baek ah, are you still awake?" 

 

"No."

 

"Ha. You answered! That means that you're not asleep!"

 

"Go to sleep, giant." I could almost hear him roll his eyes. 

 

"I have something to tell you."

 

"I don't want to hear it." Typical response from him. 

 

"I like you."

 

He didn't say a word but I could see his face turn a rosy red. It was a long silence before he answered. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"W...Well, I don't."

 

I chuckled under my breath. His blush and stammer were enough of an answer to me. 

 

 

"I declare us a couple now!" Then my tone turned serious, "I promise I will never leave you." And I returned to my goofy self, "No cheating on me!" I grinned and grabbed him in a bear hug. 

 

He fake punched me a couple of times before his body went still, as if giving me the permission to hug him. I could feel a tiny smile forming on his lips. 

 

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Baekhyun's POV

 

"I like you."

 

Those three words rang in my ears. Coupled with his warm embrace, my heart was pounding with joy and happiness. 

 

 

And fear. 

 

 

I did like him. I liked him a lot. I had known him for two months now and had nothing but good things to say about him. It was just that I had some trust issues. I was afraid he might leave me someday. My father left my mother and me when I was seven. A young tender age; too young to understand but old enough to remember. I never forgot that pain of losing a father and the suffering I witnessed my mother go through. But he promised right? He won't leave me right?

 

Before I could think any further, I felt his mouth nuzzle my ear. 

 

“I was just thinking if kissing you is one-tenth as fun as arguing with you, I'll be one happy guy."

 

Ha. As if I would agree to that. 

 

"You'll never find out. You--------" 

 

He didn't wait for me to finish my sentence. His hands caught me gently behind the neck and he pressed his mouth to mine, softly but firmly. Then he moved one arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. 

 

 

 

 

 

My first kiss. 

 

 

It was the best first kiss in the history of first kisses. It was as sweet as sugar and as warm as pie. The whole world opened up and I fell inside. My walls came crumbling down but I didn't care. 

 

 

 

 

Because it felt so right. 

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