Part III

My Maria

 

 

I have always wondered why people fall in love. I mean, did they look beyond what they can see and just let all the feelings engulf their very being? Did they spend their nights tossing themselves in their beds filled with doubts and anxiety? Did they fall for their smile, or their eyes, or the way they touched them on their elbow, or how they manage to make them swoon just by the sound of their voice? I have always thought I’d fall in love in a very special way. But Chanyeol happened and my understanding of love changed.

 

Dawn was just breaking. I woke up to the soft snoring of the young man beside me. It was disorienting until I remembered that Chanyeol slept over last night. He looked contented in his sleep, a soft murmur escaping his lips as he shifted his arm to further take me in to his embrace. That’s when I noticed I wasn’t resting on his arm anymore but on his bare chest.

               

“,” I muttered trying to shake of the bigger man’s arms but failed. He definitely was a lot stronger than me so that I ended up looking like a fish out of the water flailing for escape. A few more tries later and then I gave up. I was too tempted to wake him up by pinching his Dumbo ears but seeing him like this made me do otherwise. The sun was already peeping through the blinds of my room and it radiated on his face highlighting the bridge of his nose, the fullness of his lips, and the length of his lashes. I laid there awhile just breathing what was Chanyeol in the morning. Outside, I could hear a car screeching. Mom, I thought.

 

I sighed and decided to wake him up. “Chanyeol,” I said, my voice sounding like a thousand egg shells breaking. I cleared my throat.

 

“Chanyeol, wake up,” he stirred for a bit and breathed in deep. I quickly regretted my action when he decided to crush me more in his embrace.

 

“. I can’t breathe,” I managed to say before pinching the skin on his arm.

 

“Ouch!” he jolted awake, freeing me from his arms. He groaned and heaved his body to the other side covering his face with my pillow.  I pulled myself up and sat on the edge of the bed.

 

“Wake up early bird. Mom’s here,” I said rubbing my eyes.

 

“It’s a Saturday, Baek. Give me a few more hours to sleep please,” he announced from under my pillow. I rolled my eyes. I stood up and headed for the bathroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth.

 

“I’m home, Baekhyun,” I heard Mom calling from outside. By the sound of plates clanking and the stove coming to life, she was already preparing breakfast. Always the thoughtful mom she is.

 

“I’ll be out in a minute Mom!” I answered. I remembered about my visitor. “Mom, make three of those pancakes. Chanyeol’s here.”

 

“Oh. Good morning, Chanyeol!” mom yelled back. I heard a low grunt from my bedroom as an answer.

 

And then a thud. When I came back to the room, Chanyeol was sitting on the floor.

 

He looked at me and smiled, rubbing the back of his head. “I think I fell from the bed,” I gazed at him. His half body generously bathed with the first rays of dawn. I wanted to laugh at him, roll my eyes at him for being an idiot but I found myself staring at the wonderful young man in front of me. Somehow it was unexplainable but to me, it made sense. This is the idiot I fell in love with, I told myself.

 

I smiled at him.

 

I found an oversized tee in one of my drawers and gave it to Chanyeol before heading out of the room.  Breakfast was good. Mom brought pancakes, fried eggs, bacon and a kettle of tea to the table. She was a lot better cook than me. She ended up making a dozen of pancakes though which Chanyeol easily wolfed down. Mom seemed to be enjoying my visitor’s company.

               

“Mrs. Byun,” he suddenly said after his fifth cake. Mom was sitting in front of him concentrating on her tea. I looked at him from my side of the table and saw a glint in his eyes.

               

“Yes dear?” my mother replied taking a sip from her drink.

               

Chanyeol smiled. “Can I stay here with Baekhyun for the day?”

               

I almost choked on my omelet. I looked at mom. She was smiling at me before answering Chanyeol.

               

“It depends on Baekhyun my dear,” she said standing up and motioning for the sink. I swear I could feel my sweat on my temples. I looked at Chanyeol and he was looking back at me, his look quizzical.

 

“Well?” he forked his pancake absentmindedly. God, how could he look adorable and stupid at the same time? I shrugged, pretending to have no interest on the topic. “Fine,” He gave me one of his wide toothed grins. Mom was already heading for her room.

 

“I’ll just be in my room kids. Don’t make too much noise,” she said before disappearing behind her door.

 

“Thank you Mrs. Byun!” Chanyeol bellowed and then attacked his pancake. When he was finished, he stood up and went to get my apron.

 

“What are you doing?” I asked.

 

“Well, should I do the dishes or not?”

 

 

 

 

 

“Hey Baek pass the popcorn,” Chanyeol said his eyes glued on the movie we were watching. He was sitting on the floor at the foot of my bed while I lied on the cot just behind him. It was already afternoon and we’ve been watching movies the whole day. I took one of the bowls beside me and gave it to him. He dunked his hand and without looking put the snack in his mouth. He grumbled.

 

“Baek this is the unsalted one,” Chanyeol said still munching. Oops. He hated those. I took the other bowl and placed it near his feet.

 

“There, your Majesty,” I whispered in his ear. He chuckled.

 

The movie lazily went on the screen but his concentration was outstanding. If I was to decide what to do right now, I would just cuddle up beside him and breathe in the scent of his hair.

 

I yawned and moved a little closer towards him. I grabbed his hair and started playing with it, tousling the strands around my fingers admiring the softness and the musk that came with it. He smelled of my shampoo and it made me feel a little giddy inside. I could hear a stifled moan in his throat. He adjusted his seat and moved a little closer to me, resting his head on the bed.

 

“You really know how to make me feel good, Baek,” he said sending me into a train of dirty thoughts. I shook them off.

 

A few minutes later, his hand stopped reaching for the popcorn. I took my hands off his hair and looked at his face. He fell asleep. I laughed to myself and turned the television off. I propped a pillow behind his head and threw a blanket at him. Chanyeol was now back to looking like a regal Greek statue in his sleep. It took every ounce of self-control to stop myself from staring at his face. I sighed and then went for the bathroom to bathe.

 

I woke him later that afternoon after Mom went to work.

 

“Yeol,” I said removing the pillow from his head. The thud of his crown on the bed sent him back to consciousness. He took the pillow from me and threw it on my face.

 

“Nice work Baek,” he said rubbing his eyes. “What time is it?”

 

“Time for you to go home,” I replied. “It’s already five in the afternoon.”

 

He remained seated for a while. When he stood up, he took the blanket and folded it carefully, placing it in a neat pile at the foot of my bed. After that, he quietly packed his things, searching every corner of the room for his belongings. I sat on the bed looking at him. He was frowning, a little wrinkle at the middle of his brows.

 

“Is something wrong?” I asked when he found himself seated again.

 

He looked at me and gave me a weak smile. He gazed down on his bag “Nothing. It’s just I.. I dreamt of my Mom and Dad. I kinda miss them. They’ve been away too much and I can’t even see them during the holidays.” He stopped stuffing his bag with his things.

 

He paused for a while.

 

He continued talking. “You know what? Every time I see your mom and how she treats you, I feel jealous. She always makes time for you even though most of her hours are dedicated to work. My parents are no closer to your mom. They just call once in a while, tell me when my allowance is coming and say things like I should do well in my studies so that I would be successful like them. They don’t even ask whether I’ve already eaten or how my day went. But I don’t want that, Baek. I don’t want to be top businessmen like them."

 

"I want love. I want their love.”

 

He looked at me and smiled again but his misery was evident in his eyes.

 

“When I’m home with my grandma, I feel so alone. I don’t want to feel so alone, Baek.” When he said my name, his voice cracked as if holding down a sob.

 

Silence engulfed us for a few minutes. He resumed packing his things while I found myself staring passively at him. So, all this time he was hiding this from me. I felt bad because I was too hard on him, dodging him and making him worry. When, instead of comforting my bestfriend, I was wallowing over some stupid drunk confession.

 

Chanyeol was always the more vocal of us two. He might appear tough but once he voices himself, you’ll know how vulnerable he is. Once he got mad because he said I was spending more time with Kai and Luhan. What I thought before as a case of possessiveness was actually because he was afraid to be left alone. My heart ached. I wanted to protect him and tell him I was there for him. I moved closer to where he was and hugged him from behind. Chanyeol chuckled.

 

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked looking at me. The sadness slowly dissipated from his eyes.

 

“It’s a hug, idiot.” I said and took him closer to me. He burst into laughter and faced me. It was his turn to wrap his arms around my body.

 

‘’Thank you, Baek,” he whispered in my ear.

 

In that moment, while our bodies clung together, I wondered how l came to this point. In which I wasn’t thinking of myself anymore but of him, of how I wanted him to always be the cheerful guy that he is. I wanted to wipe away all his fears and to be forever by his side. And as I hugged him tight that afternoon, I found the answer to why we people fall in love with another person.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We want to be the umbrella to their rain.

 

 


 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Another quick update. I'll try to post the next chapter a few hours from now ehehe I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section since this is my first fanfic I decided to post in public. Please please and thank you :)

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urge_l
Hello! Just been soooo busy with college UGGGH. and i'm taking summer classes this april so let's see each other on june!

Comments

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Aezxmin
174 streak #1
I will give this a try 🥰
IceQueenChogiwa
1052 streak #2
Chapter 19: Omfg finally!
IceQueenChogiwa
1052 streak #3
Chapter 15: Ughhhhhh they're so STUPID!
IceQueenChogiwa
1052 streak #4
Chapter 14: Did not see that coming xD
IceQueenChogiwa
1052 streak #5
Chapter 12: You're such a masochist baek :'''(
IceQueenChogiwa
1052 streak #6
Chapter 9: nooo baek what are you doing :"""(
IceQueenChogiwa
1052 streak #7
Chapter 8: "Maybe if you look at me the way i look at you, it won't hurt this much"

noo :'''((
IceQueenChogiwa
1052 streak #8
Chapter 5: Ughh yeol how could you be so stupid? ???
IceQueenChogiwa
1052 streak #9
Chapter 3: "Chanyeol happenwd and my understanding of love changed"

"We want to be the umbrella to their rain" TT
IceQueenChogiwa
1052 streak #10
Chapter 2: ughh chanyeol u didn't have to raise my hopes up like that TT