1/2: Wish List

Baekhyun thinks that life's unfair when it bails on him and his family one particular cold December evening.

With nothing but the money in their pockets and one suitcase per person to carry their own clothes, the Byun family stood on an empty platform, waiting for the train that would promptly take them to their new home. Baekhyun dropped his suitcase on the pavement begrudgingly, pulling up his scarf and rubbing his gloved hands together. He proceeded to press his hands on his cheeks to keep them warm. Mrs. Byun scooted closer and fixed her son's cap, adjusting it to cover his ears. Baekhyun muttered a small 'thank you' before turning to his father, who was standing near the edge of the platform squinting at the far-off distance, trying to locate their train.

"Dad, where are we going, anyway?" Baekhyun frowned at how his voice cracked a little. He had never been a fan of the cold that the Christmas season brought on, and their predicament--getting thrown out of their house for not paying their rent on time-- only made him despise it more.

"To Sokcho in Gangwon-do. A good friend of mine has a business there. A small farm of sorts."

Baekhyun shared a confused look with his mother before turning back to Mr. Byun. "I'm sorry, my ears must be deceiving me or they're just clogged up with , dad, but did you say farm? What are we going to do in a farm." He ignored the reprimanding tap that Mrs. Byun gave him for his language, and instead shoved his hands into his coat pockets as his father finally looked at him.

"Well, I, for one, have always had a soft spot for farming." Mr. Byun replied rather hopefully, ignoring the judging look that Baekhyun threw him.

"...farming. Right."

"Yes! It's a very honourable profession, and my friend's willing to let me work with him in his farm."

"But dad. You're a real estate agent. You don't farm." Baekhyun reminded him, walking closer to his father and tilting his head in question. "I know we're going through something really difficult but...farming?"

Mr. Byun stared at his son before sighing in exasperation. Placing a hand on his son's shoulder, he gave it a firm squeeze. "Baekhyun-ah, I'm not the best agent hence why my boss fired me, leading to us going bankrupt. I'm not actually going to farm. Just some business regarding the farms themselves. Besides, we don't have a choice. "

Baekhyun only frowned deeper in response. It wasn't that he didn't understand their situation. He understood it quite well, actually. Simply put in layman's terms, they were in deep , and taking up this offer from some old friend of his dad was the only chance they had at surviving, but he was a seventeen-year old teenage boy still in his second year of high school (halfway to third). Naturally, he refused to accept things easily, and would always find a way to question whatever was thrown his way. Picking up his suitcase from the floor, he sidled up to his mother and threw his father an accusing look.

"Yeah, we do. You could just go back to your boss and ask him to give you another chance. You're a good agent!" Baekhyun reasoned, and Mr. Byun found himself chuckling dryly.

"And on what basis are you saying that I'm a good agent?"

"You've managed to make me reach seventeen years?" Baekhyun tried, bouncing on his feet lightly to keep himself warm.

"Makes sense, but I know you understand our situation. Hush now, our train's here. We've got a long trip ahead of us. Once we arrive, we'll go to the farm house, then to the local high school and enrol you into their program."

Finding no way out, Baekhyun sighed, watching as the train pulled to a slow stop in front of them. The doors slid open with a rather loud hissing sound, and they stepped in, making their way to their seats. As Mr. Byun pushed all of their suitcases onto the overhead rack, Baekhyun and Mrs. Byun made themselves comfortable on the plush seats. Sidling up to his mother, Baekhyun rested his head on the elder woman's shoulder.

He looked out of the window, catching sight of the city lights one last time. Well, he never really did like the city that much. Shrugging, he closed his eyes again, falling into a much needed sleep. He had a long day ahead of him.

The whole place wasn't near anything he expected at all. It was far from the barren wasteland he had kept on envisioning on the whole train ride (he blamed those random nights of watching reruns of the cartoon show Courage, the Cowardly Dog). Despite the multiple rice paddies and farm fields scattered around, it still had an unexplainable city feel to it, and Baekhyun appreciated that. He may have not liked the city that much, but he was still a city boy.

When they got to the place that they would be staying at from then on, he let out a low whistle. It wasn't that bad. There were two houses on the lot, one belonging to his dad's friend, and the other would be theirs, probably going to be paid with manual labour. The single story house was wide and spacious, and you could tell at first glance that it had a lot of rooms. He hurriedly went inside, dumped his suitcase on the floor of the living room just beside his parents' bags, and went right back outside, watching as his father talked to his friend, probably discussing how things were going to go. Mrs. Byun was checking out an old pick-up truck parked in their driveway, the red paint fading (but it still looked fine). Baekhyun jogged over to her, and his mother beckoned him to go faster.

"What's that? Is that going to be ours, too?" Baekhyun asked as soon as he was near enough, and Mrs. Byun nodded her head hesitantly.

"I guess so? Your dad will probably make deliveries with this."

"Cool. Maybe it wasn't really bad luck that dad got fired?" Baekhyun moved to the passenger side and accidentally touched the window of the car. He cringed at the grime that collected on his finger and at some that managed to get stuck under his nail. Gross.

"Maybe. Dad says his conversation with his friend will take a while."

Baekhyun shrugged, lips curling in disdain at the dirty state that the pick-up truck was in. His eyes widened when his mother pulled the car door open, sliding in and starting the engine, totally ignoring the hell that was the dirty upholstery and the grimy-looking steering wheel. He quickly opened the passenger door and gestured at his mother with his chin.

"It's dirty in there, mom." He said lamely, eyeing the car seat with mild disgust.

"Let's just clean up later. Come on, I'm going to the school."

"...the school." Baekhyun deadpanned, shrugging to himself as he slid into the vehicle as well, ignoring the car seat's dirt.

"We need to finalize your transfer into Sokcho High School. Go and get my bag from the house. The papers are in there."

Baekhyun jumped out of the car and made a beeline for the house again. Picking up his mother's sling bag which was placed on top of their suitcases, he hurried back, passing his father and his friend. Bowing a little as a form of greeting, Mr. Byun waved him over, and Baekhyun moved closer, his mother's bag slung over his shoulder.

"Baekhyun, son, he's the friend I told you about. He has a son around your age, and he goes to Sokcho High School, too."

"Oh, uh, well then, nice to meet you. I, uh, hope to be great friends with your son." Baekhyun smiled a little tightly, and his father's friend laughed a little too loudly.

"Well, good luck with that. He's a picky one, that kid. I'm not saying that he won't like you, though." The older man jerked a thumb towards his own house, and if Baekhyun focused hard enough, he could hear the faint telltale signs of a guitar being played. However, he didn't pay that much attention, so he just smiled politely before turning to his father.

" Dad, I have to go, mom's going to the school and I'm tagging along."

"Alright, keep safe, and don't get into any trouble."

The school was pretty normal with the main building in the middle, a garden beside it, a spacious football field on the right, a volleyball slash basketball court on the left, a large school courtyard upfront, and dark green fences marking the school borders. Mrs. Byun walked on ahead, telling Baekhyun that she'd be going to the admissions office and will be doing boring stuff so he might as well not come along and just explore the school. Baekhyun nodded, feeling a little out of place as he watched his mother walk into the white washed building, the silence a little deafening and punctuated only by the drones of the on-going classes. It was supposed to be Christmas break already, but his mother had told him that Sokcho High held classes longer than the usual.

Pulling his coat collars higher and shoving his hands into his pockets, he shuffled along the school leisurely, eyes never focusing on one object too long. He soon came to the edge of the football field, and spotted a soccer ball lying on the grass. Figuring that he didn't really have anything else to do, he walked over to the ball and started dribbling it between his legs at a slow pace. He kicked it up a little higher and started bouncing it up and down on his knees. He figured he must have gotten into his game a little too much because when a deep voice spoke out of nowhere, he shrieked and accidentally kicked the ball towards the building, the sound of something breaking following soon after. Frowning, he quickly turned around and scowled at the newcomer.

"Don't scare me like that!" Baekhyun hissed sharply, and the tall stranger with the unusually large ears and endearing large eyes cocked an eyebrow.

"I wasn't even trying to." His voice didn't match his mildly childish face, and Baekhyun huffed, folding his arms over his chest.

"Well, whatever. Point is, you scared me and now I'm in deep because I think I just broke something in there."

"You're not in deep . That room's not used anymore, anyway." The tall stranger shrugged noncommittally, ticking Baekhyun off.

"How would you know?" Baekhyun glanced at the tall stranger's outfit which didn't look like a uniform at all. Faded graphic tee under a beige cashmere coat, dark torn jeans and worn out black combat boots didn't really scream 'school' to him. Well, he looked about the same age as Baekhyun, he'd give him that.

"I study here, genius." The tall boy rolled his eyes, and Baekhyun's frown deepened.

"Rude. What, did you talk to me just to insult me?"

"I was going to ask you for the ball since I'm cleaning out the club rooms for Christmas break, but never mind." He gestured back to the building that the ball flew in, and started walking towards it.

Baekhyun was about to say something back when he saw his mother come out of the building, waving and gesturing for him to come over. Glancing one last time at the stranger's retreating figure, he shrugged before jogging back to his mother. For the rest of the Christmas break, he never saw the tall boy again (which was a given since Baekhyun stayed cooped up in their house, helping around the house since he didn't have any friends yet that he could hang out with).

"I'm Do Kyungsoo, and this is Kim Jongin. He's an A-grade , and I'm the cooking club's president, and we're not really the A-crowd here, but you haven't really got a choice since we're the only ones who'll be willing to be friends with you at this time of the year, city boy."

Baekhyun blinked in response, hands gripping the straps of his schoolbag tightly. Two boys, one probably shorter than him and the other sporting tanned skin, stood in front of him by the school gates. He hadn't even stepped onto school grounds when said boys invaded his personal space. The one talking, Kyungsoo, it seemed, had eyes so large Baekhyun thought they'd pop out of the sockets any moment, and his smile was really contagious that Baekhyun found himself biting his lip to stop himself from doing the same. The other one, looking shy and quiet as he sidled up to Kyungsoo, smiled at him despite the weird introduction.

"You, uh, you guys know me?" Baekhyun managed to utter, and Kyungsoo nodded, hooking his arm around Baekhyun's elbow and pulling him along. Jongin walked alongside them, greeting random students they passed by.

"Sure! Our homeroom  teacher already told us before Christmas break that a new kid will be joining our class for the second half of junior year until graduation. You looked lost, so we figured it was you." Kyungsoo pulled out his mobile phone from his pocket, shoving it towards Baekhyun and smiling.

"...you're giving me your phone...?" Baekhyun asked lamely. Mornings weren't really his best time of the day.

"Oh, you're so funny. , no. Give me your number, silly." Kyungsoo rolled his eyes.

"Right. But...you don't even know my name."

"Then what's your name?" Both Jongin and Kyungsoo asked as they got in the school building's main hallway, taking off their shoes and placing it in the school lockers, replacing them with their white indoor shoes.

"Byun Baekhyun...?"

"Nice to meet you, then, Baekhyun-ah! Come on, class is starting in five minutes, and we have this thing after Christmas break." Kyungsoo hurriedly pulled Baekhyun to his own shoe locker, telling him to hurry up and change shoes already.

"What thing?"

"We get to choose our seats for the whole second half until senior year. We're already a fixed class, you see. Getting in early on the first day of classes after break gives you the chance to sit with your friends." Jongin leaned on the shoe locker as Baekhyun slipped into his indoor shoes, dumping his boots in the locker.

As soon as he was done, Kyungsoo grabbed him by the elbow again and pulled him towards the stairs. After ascending one set, they made a turn to the right and headed to the classroom at the end of the hall. The door was open, and the loud sound of excited chatter and raucous laughter filled the air. Nobody paid much attention to them as they got in. Scanning the room, Kyungsoo let out a whoop of victory as he saw the seats at the back vacant and ready to be occupied. Weaving through the mass of students and chairs and tables, they made their way to the back. Only one student was sitting already, occupying the seat next to the window. Baekhyun scrunched up his nose in thought, and gave out an audible 'ah' as he looked at the student.

"You're that guy from the football field." He remembered, and the tall boy tore his gaze away from the window and onto Baekhyun.

"You're that kid who got scared so easily and broke the cooking clubroom's window." He retorted, and Baekhyun scoffed before placing his bag on the seat next to Kyungsoo's.

"You told me that room wasn't being used anymore."

"You called me rude." He stretched up his arms before leaning over his table, arms folded over it and chin resting on them, eyes trained on Baekhyun.

"Well, you were being rude!" Baekhyun shrugged, leaning back in his seat.

"You broke our window?" Kyungsoo cut in disappointedly, and Baekhyun waved him off.

"You know Chanyeol?" Jongin asked, and Baekhyun then realized that he was having a verbal bloodbath with the stranger but oddly enough, he didn't even know the guy's name. He shrugged at Jongin before looking at Chanyeol disapprovingly.

"I had the misfortune of meeting him last December."

"I had the misfortune of hearing his girly shriek last December. Beat that." Chanyeol added, and Jongin snickered. Baekhyun looked at him as he and Chanyeol shared a fist bump, and Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. Well, Baekhyun had wondered why Kyungsoo called the tan boy an A-grade when he looked anything but that. He should've guessed that someone (a demon, really) brought the A-grade out, and that someone was Chanyeol.

"Yah, Park Chanyeol, stop bullying Baekhyun. He's new here, don't make him feel like ." Kyungsoo lightly smacked Chanyeol's head with his fist, and the tall boy grunted in annoyance before turning back to Baekhyun.

"I should've guessed you were new. Pops wouldn't stop talking about you and your family." Chanyeol buried his face in his arms, and Baekhyun chose not to answer as their homeroom teacher waltzed in, looking overly happy and out of place in the classroom. "Pops told me to be friends with you and show you around." Chanyeol added in a bored tone.

Baekhyun chose to pretend that he didn't hear the boy. He had no plans of befriending him, anyway. Kyungsoo was fine. He'd put some effort into that friendship, but he decided that he didn't want to be friends with a person who randomly talks to people and causes them to break windows. A person like Chanyeol. Nope, no, he definitely didn't need to be friends with him.

"Uh, is anybody out there? Hello? ."

Baekhyun placed the basket of footballs down before proceeding to knock (read: bang) again on the door repeatedly. The door shook noisily in its hinges, but other than that, nothing else. It was his second week in Sokcho High School, and if he was going to be honest, his new life there was going perfectly well. He adjusted well to the people and lessons, and soon enough, his teachers liked him enough to ask him to do some errands around the campus (just like they did with Chanyeol). This time, he had been asked by the head of the Physical Education department to put the footballs back in the storage and lock them up since a one-week vacation (because of a town festival) was going to happen.

Unfortunately for Baekhyun, he hadn't noticed the storage keys, which he had hastily placed in his back pockets, drop lamely on the floor. He proceeded with his job, and when the door to the storage room got pushed closed by the wind, he found himself locked in the dusty room. Stepping back from the door, Baekhyun placed his hands on his hips as he studied the door. Even with his basic hapkido skills, he wouldn't be able to kick the door open ala Jackie Chan or something. Checking his watch, he let out a groan of frustration as he realized that probably ninety-percent of the school body were already on their way home. He looked at the barricaded windows helplessly, mentally crossing out his 'escape out the windows' plan. He kicked the door one more time before slumping down on a bundle of volleyball nets in the corner.

"...this ." Baekhyun sighed, fishing out his phone and almost hurling it at the wall when he saw the crappy reception.

He checked his watch for the eleventh time, and groaned (read: screamed) as he realized that he's been trapped for an hour already. Standing back up, he was about to kick on the door again when he heard someone humming outside. Feeling relief wash over his entire being, he hurried to the door and knocked on it loudly.

"H-hey! Excuse me, is somebody there?! Hello?! Help me, please!"

The humming stopped, making Baekhyun worried. What if he wasn't heard? Jesus, will he be stuck in the stupid storage room for the night? Knocking on the door again, he focused his energy and concentration on catching the stranger's attention. Due to his ruckus, he missed the sound of footsteps approaching and keys jingling. The door suddenly opened, and Baekhyun fell forward unceremoniously. He had been leaning his full weight on the door. Ignoring the pain on his slightly scratched palms, he stood up and bowed in gratitude.

"Thank  you so so so much, sir! I've been stuck in there for an hour already and--

"Byun?"

The deep voice had Baekhyun snapping up into a standing position, face tinged red with embarrassment. Standing in front of him, with his school blazer ed over an ugly graphic tee and his shoulder-length hair tied into a messy low ponytail, was Park Chanyeol. Of all the people in Sokcho that could save him, it just had to be the giant jerk (Baekhyun liked referring to him as that because he didn't really have anything else to pick on in the guy). It wasn't that Chanyeol was a jerk. Frankly, he was nice. A little cocky, sure, and loud, but nice enough that Kyungsoo could bear his company. Majority of the people in Sokcho High School liked him, and the minority just doesn't care.

However, Baekhyun just doesn't like him. He had instances like that in life wherein he meets a person, and he instantly feels that this person's bad news. Chanyeol made him feel that, so he opted to stay away and just hate the guy for no reason, snapping snarky remarks at him whenever they managed to strike up a semblance of a conversation. The only time they saw each other (which didn't involve small arguments) was during class, or when Kyungsoo met up with Jongin. Other than that, Baekhyun and Chanyeol remained civil with each other, simply acquaintances that had friends who were friends with each other.

"...hi." Baekhyun fidgeted in his spot, clasping his injured hands behind his back and trying not to make eye-contact with Chanyeol (it was easy, considering their height difference).

"...what were you doing in the storage room for an hour? And the key was there, too." Chanyeol jerked his head back slightly, gesturing to a spot far from where they were.

"...stuff."

"What?"

"I did some...stuff."

"...is this gross stuff, because if it is, dude, that's ju--

"No! God, no! I got locked in the ing storage room, okay?!" Baekhyun glared at Chanyeol, cheeks flushing deeper in embarrassment and shame.

"...okaaaay. That's weird."

"Whatever, Park."

Baekhyun pushed past Chanyeol angrily, making sure that he bumped his shoulder against Chanyeol's arm. He strode towards the school gates angrily, fully aware that the tall jerk was right behind him. Turning on his heels, he faced Chanyeol again, keeping the frown on his face extra angry looking. Chanyeol had an amused expression on his face as he stopped in his tracks, watching Baekhyun closely.

"What? Why are you following me?!" Baekhyun literally hissed at him, and Chanyeol shrugged nonchalantly.

"That's no way to treat your hero, Byun."

"Fiiiine. Thank you, Chanyeol-ssi." Baekhyun mockingly bowed down like a princess, making sure to enunciate each syllable with extra care and sweetness just to annoy the other male. Chanyeol only rolled his eyes before stepping forward and grabbing Baekhyun by the wrist, dragging him back towards the school building. Baekhyun gasped audibly, feeling violated at the touch. "Yah! Park, where are you taking me?!"

"That sarcastic thank you doesn't count, Byun. You owe me one for getting you out of there." Chanyeol led them inside the school building, and after walking to the end of the hall, they made a turn to the left. Baekhyun only huffed before looking past Chanyeol's figure and to wherever they were going. The music room.

What.

"What the are you going to do in the music room?" Baekhyun asked, watching as Chanyeol fished out another set of keys from his pocket, jamming it into the keyhole and unlocking the door.

"Clean up. My club mates didn't do it after the club activities. And you're helping me, because this place is a ing wasteland." Chanyeol traipsed in casually, kicking some trash with his foot and cursing under his breath as he bent down to pick up some empty cans of soda. "Aish, those pigs. I told them that food and drinks aren't allowe--

"You're from the music club?" Baekhyun stayed rooted by the doorway, eyes slightly wider than usual as he watched Chanyeol's tall figure walk around the empty room, picking up stray pieces of trash and moving furniture with his foot or hips. Leaning on the doorway, Baekhyun impatiently waited for Chanyeol's response.

"Well, yeah, sure. Didn't you know? I mean, you're friends with Kyungsoo." Chanyeol dumped the plastic bag he had in his hands before pointing at Baekhyun and gesturing for him to start helping. Grumbling, Baekhyun pushed himself off the wall and proceeded to the rack which held music scores. He might act like a on her period to Chanyeol, but he knew when he was indebted to someone. He started arranging the music scores neatly, wincing every now and then when the CDs poked the scratches on his hands.

"He's from the cooking club, if you've forgotten." Baekhyun mumbled in irritation, frowning as he did his best to not get dust on his hands.

"And he's close with Jongin." Chanyeol eyed Baekhyun's hands before walking closer, taking out a used pack of wet wipes. Pulling out two wipes, he took Baekhyun's hands and wiped them gently. Baekhyun mumbled a low 'thanks' before getting back to their conversation, eyes trained on the large hands treating his.

"Jongin being close with Kyungsoo is irrelevant to our topic."

"I disagree. Jongin's from the music club, too." At that, Baekhyun whipped his head up to gawk at Chanyeol. The taller male was watching him closely, hands still gently wiping away at Baekhyun's scratches. Baekhyun fought the urge to snap a 'what is personal space' because Chanyeol was invading his, but he digressed. "Why are you so surprised? I thought that Kyungsoo might've mentioned it sooner or later." Chanyeol continued, stepping away and throwing the crumpled wipes into a nearby bin.

"Really? You're really from the music club? What do you do?" When it came to music, Baekhyun was legitimately interested. Forgetting his work, he occupied a vacant seat and stared at Chanyeol curiously.

"...you're acting weird, you know. Why aren't you snapping at me or something?" Chanyeol chuckled lightly before leaning to the side and picking up the guitar propped against the wall. Placing it on top of his legs, he draped his arms over it and grinned at Baekhyun. "I play the guitar. Jongin's on the drums." He jerked his head to a lone drum set in the corner, and Baekhyun nodded.

"Cooool. You know, I might have actually bothered and tried not hating your guts if you told me you were into music." Baekhyun grinned cheekily, and Chanyeol could only raise an eyebrow at him.

"So loving music makes a person different for you?"

"Of course! Loving music means you're a romantic, and I like romantic people. It's fun hanging out with them. Kyungsoo loves music, too, and he's really fun." Baekhyun admitted, standing up from his seat and heading back to the music scores.

"So what, this makes us friends already?" Chanyeol smiled a little as Baekhyun hummed in deep thought, his head swaying from left to right with each 'hm'. Baekhyun then turned his head a little, smiling at Chanyeol.

"Why not?" First impressions and random hunches were sometimes wrong. Baekhyun hoped that this was one of them. If Chanyeol ended up being bad news, that would .

"Baekhyun, the food's in the fridge. You can just heat it up when you're hungry, okay? I got to go, I'll be late for class."

Baekhyun groaned in his sleep as some sort of response. He cracked his eyes open and watched as the blurry image of his mother waved at him from the doorway of his bedroom. Waving back, his mother soon disappeared. He heard the light footsteps walking away, the sound of the door opening and closing, and the low groan of their red pick-up truck's engine. Soon, the sound of wheels rolling against gravel stones wafted into the room, and Baekhyun finally sat up.

Checking his clock, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and took his glasses from the bedside table. Everything was finally clear. The clock read 6:30AM, and a cold breeze promptly blew into his room, making him shiver. Bundling up his thick blanket around him, he slid off the bed (hissing as the soles of his feet made contact with the cold wooden floor)  and closed the window. He wondered why the hell his mother opened it, anyway.

Trudging out of his room, he made his way to the living room to see his dad lounging comfortably on the sofa, already dressed in a dress suit and drinking a steaming cup of coffee. The elder turned to him, nodded his head in greeting and returned his focus on the morning news on the television. Baekhyun dragged himself to the adjacent dining room, occupying one seat and digging in to the plate of eggs and bacon on the table.

"Baekhyun-ah, I'll be out for the day on some sort of business trip with Taejoon-hyung. You'll be fine here, right?" Taejoon was his friend, the one who offered them this place and job.

"Yeah, of course. Just go and do your best, yeah?" Baekhyun took the glass of milk on the table and carefully drank it.

"Yeah, but Taejoon-hyung said that you might as well make some friends while you're free. His son's coming over with him. Uh, Chanyeol's his name, I think?" Baekhyun promptly spat out his drink, milk dripping from his chin as he made his way back to the living room. Mr. Byun eyed him with disdain. "That's so unhygienic, Baekhyun."

"I'm not a kid, I can make friends all by mysel--

The doorbell chose that time to ring, and Baekhyun groaned. Using his blanket to wipe the milk on his chin (it was laundry day, anyway), he went out into the hallway and watched as his father went to the door, receiving the guests. Taejoon came in first, waving at Baekhyun before pulling in his son, Chanyeol.

"Well, we'll be on our way, kids. Try not to destroy the house while we're gone, okay?" Mr. Byun patted Chanyeol on the shoulder before walking past him, shaking hands with Taejoon and leaving the two adolescents alone.

Baekhyun wrapped the blanket around him securely, feeling underdressed as Chanyeol muttered a quiet 'sorry to disturb' before taking off his combat shoes, stepping onto the main hallway in all his leather jacket, stupid graphic tee and camouflage pants glory. Chanyeol eyed Baekhyun's figure wordlessly.

"Nice PJs, Harry Potter." He commented, his voice holding the faint hint of a smile. Baekhyun pushed his hand out of his blanket and flipped his middle finger at Chanyeol before fixing his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. Chanyeol chuckled softly. "Good morning to you, too."

"What are you doing here, Park?" Baekhyun grumbled, making his way back to his bedroom and gesturing for Chanyeol to follow him. The taller male obliged, his long legs making him catch up with Baekhyun faster. Baekhyun nudged his door open, and he directly went to his bed.

"Pops threatened me." Chanyeol looked around the room, nodding his head in approval as he eyed Baekhyun's CD collection stacked up on one of the cabinets. "He said that I had to get along with you if I wanted to get that new guitar I've been wanting."

"Ah, I knew it. You wouldn't go here just because you wanted to." Baekhyun commented, and Chanyeol looked at him, smirking.

"Why, you wanted me to go  here just because I wanted to see you?" Chanyeol teased, plopping down on the chair in front of Baekhyun's study desk.

"In your dreams, Park. Why the hell would I want that? Besides, I didn't even know you were Taejoon-ahjussi's son. And what, you guys just live beside us." Baekhyun found himself smiling at the ridiculousness of it all. Chanyeol shrugged, grinning toothily.

"How come you didn't know? I'm pretty sure I mentioned it to you before, the day you met Kyungsoo and Jongin. Also, I'd understand if you have some kind of thing for me. I'm pretty famous at school, you know? I get letters every now and then." Chanyeol flicked his fringe to the side, and Baekhyun rolled his eyes at him before scoffing.

"From who, the guidance counsellor?" Baekhyun challenged, and his bravado faltered a little as Chanyeol laughed. It was different from the other times he did. His laugh seemed so genuine and amused, Baekhyun soon found himself giggling along. "It wasn't even that funny, Park. What the hell."

"I know. I just find it funny that you seem...different, after I got you out of that storage room yesterday. I don't know, you're nice, I guess." Chanyeol admitted, and Baekhyun felt his face heating up from the awkward compliment. Chanyeol raised an eyebrow before pointing at Baekhyun's face. "Aw, you're blushing. See? You're pretty cute, too. It's nice, really."

"Aish, this idiot. I'm not cute. Stop that, it's creepy." Baekhyun looked away as he slid off his bed, throwing his blanket on the bed and heading to his wardrobe. He started looking for clothes, and the taller male wheeled the chair closer to him.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"I don't want to stay here all day. I'm going out." Baekhyun offhandedly replied, throwing a sweater and a pair of jeans at Chanyeol as he looked for a clean pair of boxers. "Hold that."

"What, you're leaving me? And nice sweater." Chanyeol neatly refolded the pieces of clothing in his hands.

"No, idiot, you're going with me, of course. I don't like going out by myself." Baekhyun turned to him, grinning. Chanyeol grinned back.

Kyungsoo stopped in the process of hitting Jongin's head with a rolled up newspaper as the least likely pair entered the classroom at the same time together, laughing and looking friendlier with each other than how they usually were (which involved the smaller glaring daggers at the taller and reeling at the slightest touch). Chanyeol had an arm slung over Baekhyun's shoulder, and Baekhyun was playfully elbowing the taller in the ribs. Chanyeol pulled him closer in response, and Baekhyun laughed more. Kyungsoo's eyes widened, and Jongin's mouth hung open. It had only been a week since they last saw the two (because they were busy with the town festival), but they were already this close. What did they even miss?

Baekhyun broke free from Chanyeol's grasp and was the first one to reach his seat. As soon as he placed his bag on his table and sat down, Chanyeol reached him, took his bag and placed it on the table beside his seat. Baekhyun frowned up at him.

"Yah, Chanyeol, give me back my bag, you douche." Baekhyun reached for his bag, missing the way Kyungsoo's eyebrow raised at the way he said 'Chanyeol'. Since when did he stop calling the giant 'Park'?

"Jongin, exchange seats with him, would you?" Chanyeol lightly swatted Baekhyun's hands away as he looked at Jongin. Jongin just shrugged before picking up his bag and standing up. Chanyeol promptly dropped Baekhyun's bag on the now available seat. "Sit beside me, Baek." He smiled cheekily, and Baekhyun just rolled his eyes before moving to the new seat.

"Okay, okay, hold the up. Since when have you two been on a first name basis?" Kyungsoo finally asked, placing his hands down each on Baekhyun and Chanyeol's tables. The taller male shrugged, and Baekhyun grinned sheepishly.

"Not to mention, 'Baek'?? They already have pet names for each other, Kyungsoo." Jongin added fuel to the fire, and Baekhyun had the decency to blush a little at the comment.

"A week ago, you guys couldn't even have a normal conversation without Baekhyun going all bat- crazy on you. In a bad way, if I may add. What happened? Did you guys do something over the one-week break?" Kyungsoo pushed on, eyeing the two guilty boys suspiciously.

"Ah, well...yeah, sort of. Our parents forced us to hang out with each other." Baekhyun propped his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his hands as Kyungsoo turned to Chanyeol. The latter nodded, and Kyungsoo sighed, returning to his seat.

"I never knew you were the touchy feely type, Chanyeol." Kyungsoo thought out loud, and Chanyeol laughed. Leaning over his table, he reached out and pinched Baekhyun's cheek, making the latter scowl in pain. Kyungsoo and Jongin exchanged confused looks.

"Doesn't Baek just want to make you touch him? He looks so squishy." Chanyeol dodged a flying pencil from Baekhyun.

"That sounds so wrong, dude." Jongin replied honestly, and Baekhyun nodded at him.

"Isn't it? That's what I told him when he ing squeezed me earlier. He's such a creep." Baekhyun complained, and the taller male in question just kicked his chair in response.

Neither Kyungsoo nor Jongin were able to make a decent reply because their teacher soon arrived. Their questions would have to wait until later lunch.

Kyungsoo and Jongin combed the whole school looking for their two friends. The pair had excused themselves after finishing their lunch, leaving Kyungsoo and Jongin alone. Class was going to start in ten minutes, and their next teacher wasn't exactly an angel. Out of ideas on where the two could've gone, Kyungsoo slumped down on a bench outside the school building.

"Where the hell are those two? Maaan, our teacher's going to flip." Kyungsoo visibly shuddered. He looked up at Jongin when the latter snapped his fingers. "What?"

"The music room. Come on."

Jongin pulled Kyungsoo by his elbow, and they rushed to the music room. They saw the door slightly ajar. Keeping quiet, they peeked into the room. Never in his whole life had Kyungsoo felt like his eyes were actually going to pop out of their sockets, and never has Jongin felt the need to tape his mouth shut. This was a first.

Inside the music room, the windows were all closed, keeping the room dim. In a corner, partially hidden by some chairs and instruments, were none other than Baekhyun and Chanyeol. They were sitting on the floor together. Chanyeol looked like he had just finished playing, his favourite guitar propped up beside him. Leaning against him, with his head resting on Chanyeol's shoulder and eyes closed, was Baekhyun. At a glance, one could see that Baekhyun was leaning his full weight on Chanyeol as he dozed off, his legs slanted against Chanyeol's. Chanyeol remained still as his head also rested on Baekhyun.

Kyungsoo stepped back, pulling Jongin with him. The latter made a move to protest, but Kyungsoo quickly punched him on the shoulder before shaking his head. Understanding the other's intention, Jongin sighed before walking back to their classroom. They'll just make something up for Baekhyun and Chanyeol's absence in class.

"....are you and Chanyeol dating each other?"

Kyungsoo had the decency to not scowl at Baekhyun's disgusting display of horror in the form of him choking on his drink, resulting in the said liquid to ricochet on the table in front of them. Wiping the orange juice that was now dribbling down his chin in a pitiful reminder of his stunt, Baekhyun glared weakly at Kyungsoo before exhaling deeply at the absurdity of the question.

"Me? And Chanyeol? Where did that even come from?"

"Oh, I don't know, Baek, you feed each other, you go home together, you hold hands most of the time, and you even go on a ing piggyback ride on Chanyeol, for my kimchi's sake. Yeah, absolutely on the friendship level." Kyungsoo deadpanned, and Baekhyun bit his lower lip as said images flashed in his mind. However, he really didn't think they were that special.

"Jesus, Kyungsoo, okay. So, I maaay not be the straightest boy out there, but I do have my standards. Just because I do those things with Chanyeol doesn't mean we're dating." Baekhyun sat up proudly, and Kyungsoo slid down from the table that he was previously perched on to sit beside Baekhyun, their shoulders touching.

"Standards? Let me hear them, then."

Baekhyun's boldness swayed a little at Kyungsoo's probing stare. Clearing his throat, he put up his hand and started listing down things. As he progressed with his list of what was the perfect guy for him, Kyungsoo's knowing smile only grew wider and wider until his trademark heart-shaped grin was all that Baekhyun could focus on. Kyungsoo clapped him on the shoulder good naturedly, and Baekhyun frowned in confusion.

"What?"

"Listen here, the guys you just described? I know someone like that." At this, Baekhyun's eyes widened, cheeks flushing. Kyungsoo internally screeched, because how can someone be as adorable as that in real life?

"Really? Who? Do I know him?"

"Of course, you do." Kyungsoo hooked his arm around Baekhyun's, and the brunette looked at him suspiciously.

"Who?"

"Let's go over that list again, shall we? What's the first thing?" Kyungsoo held up his thumb, waiting for Baekhyun to answer. Baekhyun grumbled to himself until Kyungsoo elbowed him in the ribs. Baekhyun relented.

"W-well, it'd be nice if he's tall. Like, really tall." Baekhyun started, and somehow, he suddenly felt nervous as Kyungsoo hummed in approval. He flicked out his index finger, and egged the brunette to continue. "Then, it'd be more awesome and perfect if he's into music." Baekhyun wiggled in his spot, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden.

"Stop wiggling. What's the last one?" Kyungsoo demanded, and Baekhyun sighed before answering.

"I want him to take care of me." Baekhyun sounded like he was whining, but he was the last of Kyungsoo's concern at that moment as he held up three fingers in front of Baekhyun's face. With his other hand, he took out his phone and scrolled through something for a while. His face brightened up as he saw what he was looking for. Shoving the phone screen towards Baekhyun's face, Kyungsoo grinned smugly.

Baekhyun squinted at the screen before taking it into his hands. His eyes adjusted, and he let out a dry laugh. "Park Chanyeol?" He read the name on the screen, and stared at Kyungsoo incredulously. The latter rolled his eyes before flicking Baekhyun's forehead.

"Yah, you idiot, you basically just described Chanyeol." Kyungsoo's tone was reproachful, and Baekhyun pouted.

"I did noooot." He whined, and Kyungsoo flicked him again on the forehead.

"He's the only giant here aside from that Chinese-Canadian artist wannabe in Class 3. You don't know him, so he's obviously off the list. That leaves Chanyeol. You want someone who's into music, then by , Chanyeol's into that ! He's a freaking guitarist, for kimchi's sake."

"Please stop saying for kimchi's sake. It's embarrassing." Baekhyun cut in, and the shorter of the two ignored him completely.

"Lastly, you want someone to take care of you. You , have you been looking at Chanyeol lately? He takes you home--

"That's because we live next to each other!"

"That's beside the point! He takes you home, lets you hitch a ride on his bike when he uses it, literally watches out for you when we're all together hanging out and don't even get me started on that one time you injured yourself."

Baekhyun felt his face heating up as realization hit him. He had, in fact, subconsciously described Chanyeol, and the realization wasn't welcome because he had been sure that Chanyeol was his best friend. Sort of. "Isn't it all just platonic? Like, brotherly?"

"Platonic, my . I have a brother and he steals my shirts." Kyungsoo frowned at the thought, seemingly saying a silent prayer for his lost shirts, before focusing back on Baekhyun. "The point is, you're, uh, subconsciously head over heels for Chanyeol. Well, now it's not subconscious anymore." Kyungsoo shrugged, looking at Baekhyun's steadily reddening face.

"That's not...Yah, Kyungsoo, what are you planting in my head?!" Baekhyun was confused. Simple as that.

"I'm not planting anything! I'm making you realize ! I see the way you look at Chanyeol when he's talking to girls. If looks could kill, those girls would've been in Hell already."

"Tha--

"Aish, this brat. Just accept the fact that you have a big crush on Chanyeol. Probably bigger than him and you combined." Kyungsoo winked, and Baekhyun wanted to spit out his orange juice again, hoping that this time, it would ricochet off Kyungsoo's annoying (but right) face.

Final exams had just finished, and Baekhyun's in the library, a piece of paper pinched between his fingers. He looked at it seriously, waving it in the air and groaning altogether, slamming the paper down on the table and burying his face in his arms.

"Stand down, soldier, the paper's weak."

Looking up at the familiar deep voice, Baekhyun nodded his head in greeting at Chanyeol before resuming his previous position. Contrary to what he had thought, Baekhyun didn't feel uneasy or nervous around the giant after his talk with Kyungsoo a few weeks back. If anything, he felt closer. Chanyeol took the seat beside Baekhyun, pulling out the paper trapped underneath him and letting his eyes scan over the words. Baekhyun turned his head to the side, cheek against his arms, as Chanyeol's brows furrowed in concentration.

"You want to be a teacher?" Chanyeol  asked, placing the paper down on the table and resting his chin on his hand, eyes trained on Baekhyun. The paper was the form that they had all been given on the last day of their second year. It was some kind of form that they needed to fill so that they'd be organized regarding their university plans. They still had one more year to go before they graduated, and Sokcho High liked to keep their students ready.

"Yeah, but, I don't know, the universities that I want to go to are either expensive, in the city or abroad. I could try for the scholarship programs, but gosh, I'm going to die." Baekhyun complained, sitting up and leaning on Chanyeol as he wiggled his legs around in some sort of tantrum.

"Why are you going to die? You're going to take an exam, not poison." Chanyeol raised an eyebrow as Baekhyun absent-mindedly took his hand in his and began pulling his fingers.

"The exams are going to be difficult! I'm going to have to top the entrance exam if I even want a chance of getting into the scholarship program." Baekhyun pouted, looking up at Chanyeol and frowning.

"Well, I think you'll do just fine, so you should go for it. It's better if you try." Chanyeol smiled at him, and Baekhyun sat up straight, letting go of his hand and taking back the paper. Chanyeol inwardly sighed at the loss of physical contact.

"Hmm...you're right. Yeah, I'll try, but man, I'll have to do a lot studying for these." Baekhyun mumbled to himself. Folding the paper in half and slipping it into his notebook, he shoved it back into his bag and turned to Chanyeol. He was about to say something when a pair of arms wrapped around the taller male's neck, and the offending sound of a wet smooch resonated. To Baekhyun, it sounded like a ing bomb explosion.

"Y-yah! What the hell?!" Chanyeol had the decency to look absolutely offended as he reeled away from the girl who had just attacked him. Baekhyun saw her around school. She was from the class next door, and she never bothered hiding whenever she stared at Chanyeol. Baekhyun sometimes wondered if she saw through his clothes down to his soul with the way she stared, but he couldn't care less because her head was going to roll in a while.

"Hi, oppa! I think it's destiny that we see each other here." The girl said happily, and Baekhyun, annoyed, wordlessly watched the scene unfold. Chanyeol discreetly wiped his cheek with his sleeves, hoping that there wouldn't be any kiss mark left.

"It's not destiny, Minjung. This is the only library in town." Chanyeol replied lamely, and Minjung giggled.

"Oppa, you don't have to deny it. My friends tell me you like me." Baekhyun suddenly felt like stabbing the girl, and he didn't even know why. What the hell was the ugly feeling growing in him? He was ready to commit bloody murder.

"Excuse me? Where the hell did they hear that?" Chanyeol glanced at Baekhyun before fully focusing on Minjung. The was delusional.

"So, it's true?"

"Hell no! You're not even my type." Chanyeol whispered harshly, trying not to get caught by the librarian prowling around.

"What's your type, then, oppa? I'll change for you!"

Chanyeol's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance before he sighed deeply. Glancing at Baekhyun (who had turned back to the table and busied himself with his bag because he might suddenly kill a ), he held out three fingers to Minjung. "One, I don't like pushy people. That's basically you. Two, I don't like people who make stuff up. Again, that's you. And three..." Chanyeol trailed off, purposefully nudging Baekhyun's knee with his. Baekhyun turned to him, an irritated frown on his face. "And three, I already like someone. Sorry, Minjung, I'm just not into you."

Rejected, Minjung huffed in irritation before turning on her heel and leaving the two alone. Chanyeol turned back to Baekhyun, who was still frowning. Chanyeol was about to say something along the lines of 'man, what a ' when Baekhyun held up a palm, signalling him to stop. Mouth partly open, Chanyeol didn't say anything.

"You like someone?" The words burned on Baekhyun's tongue, and now he felt like killing the and Chanyeol as the giant smirked knowingly. He was finally liking someone after a long while, and he gets an unrequited one?

"Maybe." Chanyeol wanted to play coy, and it only annoyed Baekhyun more.

"Do I know her?" Baekhyun didn't know why he was acting like a wife who caught her husband cheating, but he didn't even fight it. It felt right, shooting question after question at Chanyeol. The latter just smiled at him calmly, and it was grating on Baekhyun's nerves. "Yah, why are yo-- ugh, you know what, forget it. I'm leaving."

Picking up his things, Baekhyun stormed out of the library with Chanyeol following behind him. Going to his bicycle which he had parked a while ago, he busied himself with unlocking the chains. Chanyeol just stood beside him, amused.

"What's wrong? Why are you so mad?" Chanyeol crouched down so that his face was level with Baekhyun's.

"I don't know! Go away, Chanyeol!"

What Baekhyun didn't expect was a kiss on the cheek. The chains in his hands dropped loudly onto the floor, his face heated up faster than he could say 'for kimchi's sake', and his eyes widened up to Kyungsoo's level. Chanyeol just remained calm in front of him, face expectant.

"Baek? Are you okay?" He started, and Baekhyun nodded, his mind blank. Chanyeol placed a firm grip around his wrist, and the smaller male swore that either Chanyeol had fire powers, or he himself was just burning up. "Earth to Byun Baekhyun, Earth to Byun Baekhyun. Is anybody there?" Chanyeol waved his hand in front of Baekhyun's face.

"I-I...uh...you...kiss...cheek...hell....uh." Baekhyun took pride in the fact that he, at least, said some coherent words. Chanyeol just laughed at him, and he slid his hold from Baekhyun's wrist down to his hand, lacing their fingers together.

"You know...Kyungsoo's not exactly the best secret keeper." And from that day on, Baekhyun swore he would kill Kyungsoo someday along with the Minjung , but for now, he was just going to enjoy a bike ride home with his very own Park Chanyeol.

Tall, check. Into music, check check. Takes care of me, one mother-freaking huge check. Maybe Baekhyun was wrong. Maybe Chanyeol was, indeed, not bad news.

During the summer break before senior year started, Jongin and Kyungsoo developed not so platonic feelings, and Baekhyun was more than ecstatic to go on group dates with his friends. During their vacation time, they either hung out together as a group, as a couple or helped around in the farm (in Chanyeol and Baekhyun's case; they didn't know what Jongin and Kyungsoo did during times like that, and they had no plans of knowing).

On the first day of senior year, however, was when everything started turning weird.

Ever since they started dating, whoever woke up first would go over to the other's house and wake the other up. Classes started at 8AM, and Baekhyun woke up at 6:30. He groggily trudged over to the Park's, knocked on their door only to wait for five minutes with no response. Frowning, he walked over to where Chanyeol's window was and banged on the window. Baekhyun wasn't a morning person (unless Chanyeol was with him) and he hated waiting. Put two and two together and you get a nightmare.

Baekhyun only stopped banging on the door when his own father came out of their house, calling him over. Already pissed off, he stomped over to his father.

"What are you doing? Taejoon-hyung and Chanyeol aren't home. Didn't he tell you?" Mr. Byun said, and that was enough to flush out Baekhyun's mode. Hurt but worried, he shook his head before slipping back into the house and grabbing his phone by the bedside table. Dialling Chanyeol's number, he waited impatiently for his boyfriend to pick up, but it only went to voicemail. Five more tries, with the same result.

For the first time in a few months, Baekhyun went to school alone.

A/N: I'm not sure if this will be a two or threeshot. I really don't know. God, I have so many WIPs already. WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE. Update will probably be this week or next. Iunno.

also, check this out, okay? Okay. ♥ COLIZIUNE~