Chapter Eighteen: Stitches

+

Baekhyun leaned back into the plastic chair with a sigh.

“Here. It’ll make you feel better.” Kris handed him a bottle of orange juice which he graciously accepted.

“Thanks,” Baekhyun said, the aftermath of the appointment evident in the slight tremble still in his smile.

The appointment with the specialist had taken a toll on him emotionally and mentally. He hadn’t expected to break down but he had; and the specialist had assured him that it was a step closer to the desired end in mind.

It was a good thing Kris was there, too, because Baekhyun hadn’t felt all too comfortable in talking about the things that was going on in his mind but Kris’ presence had been great help in his road to recovery.

 Baekhyun was just glad that the hole of emptiness that had begun to manifest in his heart had somehow been filled. Slowly, but surely, it was beginning to disappear. And Baekhyun had an inkling somehow that it had something to do with Kris. Baekhyun had to admit; the older man’s company had been the anchor to his sanity. As much as Baekhyun had been struggling to come to terms with it, Chanyeol’s presence in his life now would bring nothing but destruction. Baekhyun had to find himself first before he could find happiness again.

The ride to the boys’ school was silent. Kris was tactful enough to leave the radio on, but at a volume that was neither loud nor too soft. It helped alleviate the silence in the atmosphere as Baekhyun looked out the window at the cars and buildings that went by in a blur, thoughts on the day’s events.

Before he knew it, they had pulled up in front of the blue and yellow painted building. Baekhyun glanced at the time. The bell rang just in time and a stream of middle school kids started leaving the building.

“Baekhyun.”

Said man startled out of thoughts and turned to the man sitting behind the wheel with a practised smile.

“Yes?”

Instead of giving a reply, Kris merely looked at him intently, a casual hand kept on the wheel.

“Are you going to say something or do you enjoy calling my name?” Baekhyun asked in quiet amusement, hand reaching up to brush his hair back as he looked back down at his lap.

“No, it’s just—” Kris shook his head with a small chuckle. He waited for Baekhyun to return his gaze before his lips quirked into a wider smile. “Your smile is really nice.”

“I…” Baekhyun trailed off, words hanging in the air. The last person who’d told him his smile was nice had been his husband – soon to be ex. Back when they were still the perfect little family. Baekhyun swallowed down the memory.

“Thanks,” he said despite the fact that it was now gone. Kris didn’t seem too bothered by it. In fact, he gave an encouraging smile in return.

The lull of silence was interrupted by the loud sound of the back door opening and a boisterous “DADDY!”

Baekhyun’s face lit up at the sound of that and he turned to accept the hug, letting Jongin throw himself into his arms.

“What’s got you in a good mood?” Baekhyun asked with a genuine smile.

“Kyungsoo’s parents aren’t home so can he come over?” Jongin asked in excitement. Baekhyun looked over to see a small round eyed boy staring at him in nervousness. He gave a warm smile and turned back to his son.

“Of course he can.”

+

Sehun dipped a cookie into his milk, swinging his legs as he sat on the chair at the dining table, humming a happy tune as he did so. Cookies always made him happy.

But today, what made him really happy was the fact that his daddy was happier than he’d been in a long time. Sehun knew he was only a child, barely eight, but if there was something he was certain about, it was the fact that his daddy had lost the spark in his eyes and the smile on his face. But these days, Sehun could see it returning whenever Uncle Kris was around.

Sehun decides he likes the tall blonde man (he wouldn’t lie that Uncle Kris was really scary at first, though). Sehun would sacrifice all the ice cream in the world for his daddy to be happy again and he was just glad he didn’t have to do it, for Uncle Kris did it for him.

Sehun continued his little him as he watched Uncle Kris lean in closer towards Daddy to help blow the dust out of his eye. From where he was seated, it looked like they were kissing. Sehun slapped a hand over his mouth and giggled quietly into it at the thought.

Uncle Kris pulled back with a wide grin and a thumb up as Daddy returned a smile. Sehun could hear him say something about work before he turned to him.

“Enjoy your cookies, Sehunnie. I’ll see you soon,” Uncle Kris said with a wave which Sehun returned with an eye-crinkling smile.

As soon as Uncle Kris was gone, though, his smile faded into a sly grin as he watched his father lean back against the counter, staring after the blonde man who had gone.

“Daddy?” Sehun called, using a hand to wipe the crumbs at the corner of his lips.

Baekhyun blinked out of his daze and turned to look at his son.

“Yes baby?”

“Will Jongin and I get a new appa?”

Baekhyun did a double take at those words that had left his younger son’s mouth so easily and innocently.

“What makes you think so?”

Sehun shrugged, stuffing the last bit of his cookie into his tiny mouth before looking back up at his father, small eyes the widest Baekhyun’s ever seen them.

“Uncle Kris l-likes you.”

Baekhyun felt his face heat up at those words and quickly moved to busy himself with wiping the counter down just so his son wouldn’t call him out for it. “That’s silly, Sehunnie. He’s just a friend of daddy’s.”

“Nope,” Sehun shook his head in vehement protest. “He reaaaally l-likes you, daddy.”

“Don’t give anyone any ideas Baby,” Baekhyun gently chided. “He’s just a good friend who has helped us a lot.”

“Mmm,” Sehun hummed absentmindedly, his fingers. “B-But you like him too, daddy, d-don’t you?”

“Of course I do. He’s my friend.”

“Well, I Iike h-him too,” Sehun grinned.

“Why’s that baby?” Baekhyun mused, moving towards his son and ruffling his hair.

“B-Because he m-makes you smile, daddy.”

+

“Are you sure this is okay?” Jongin asked, fingers lightly brushing against Kyungsoo’s arm. It was a small gesture but it sent electricity shooting up throughout the petite boy’s body.

“I trust you, Jonginnie,” Kyungsoo said in a voice barely above a whisper. He’s terrified, honest to god, but Jongin’s here and he knew his friend would never let anything happen to him.

“Okay… on the count of three.” Jongin’s hands moved to Kyungsoo’s waist. “One…” His hold tightened, Kyungsoo’s breath hitched. “Two…”

Kyungsoo’s eyes fluttered to a close.

“Three.”

In a split second, they were both free-falling, the wind running through their hair. Kyungsoo braced himself for the pain to come but all he felt after the loud oof was a stable hand holding him close.

“Jongin?” Kyungsoo squeaked, body trembling from the adrenaline rush that had come with the fall. All he got was a muffled groan before he scrambled to his feet, dusting the dirt off his pants.

“Jongin?” Kyungsoo repeated, this time in horror as he took in the sight of his battered friend lying on the ground still.

“Are you hurt?” Kyungsoo was close to tears now and Jongin hated it when his best friend cried. Instead of letting his pain show, his lips curled into a forced smile though it came out more like a grimace.

“It’s nothing too serious…” Jongin said, using all his strength to push himself up on his knees. He tried to shrug it off but failed when a sharp pain shot up his arm. Groaning, he cradled what could possibly be a broken right arm.

“Oh no, oh no,” Kyungsoo muttered, tears falling fast as he got on his knees in front of the other boy. He reached a hand out but Jongin held it towards himself out of reflex.

“I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo wailed, hands moving to cover his face.

“No, Soo, it’s fine,” Jongin tried to assure him through clenched teeth, trying to hold it in. “I think it might be broken…”

“Oh no…”

“Your hand though,” Jongin said softly, eyeing the nasty bruise on the side of the boy’s hand; Kyungsoo had always been pale in contrast to his own darker skin tone and the sight of the angry red scratches against it made Jongin cringe.

“This is nothing,” Kyungsoo protested loudly, “It’s not a broken arm.”

Jongin sighed as he looked down at his cradled arm, letting his sweat-matted bangs fall into his eyes. “Daddy’s gonna be so mad at me.”

Kyungsoo could only offer a weak smile in empathy and a defeated shrug. “Mum’s going to freak. So that makes the two of us.”

Jongin’s lips pulled into a smile as he let his good hand reach out for Kyungsoo’s, letting their fingers curl together.

“Was it worth it, though?” Jongin couldn’t help but question.

“Everything is worth doing with you, Jonginnie.”

+

“YOU COULD HAVE DIED!”

Jongin sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time. As he’d predicted, his father had thrown a huge fit over their venture. He leaned against the plastic chair, swinging his legs back and forth, head hung low out of remorse.

“What were you even thinking, jumping off the balcony?!”

“I just…” Jongin pursed his lips. It was supposed to be a secret between them but after Baekhyun found them out, Kyungsoo had told him it was okay if he needed to tell about it.

“We were practising.”

Baekhyun looked at his son like he’d grown a second head. “Practising,” he repeated in disbelief. “Whatever for?”

“You know how Kyungsoo’s mum never lets me visit anymore?” Jongin finally looked up so he could look his father in the eyes.

Baekhyun clamped his lips shut tightly. He knew; he hated himself for it. His own son couldn’t have friends just because of his way of life.

“Kyungsoo can come over whenever he wants to… you know that.”

“But that’s the thing, daddy,” Jongin said, frustrated tears building in his eyes as he sat forward in his seat. “You let Kyungsoo come over after school but he has to sneak out when he’s home.”

“I was just teaching him how to jump out of his bedroom window without his parents knowing.”

Baekhyun didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry at his son’s revelation. His intentions were good but it had resulted in a fractured arm; how did they even think that it was a good idea, to sneak out the house by jumping out a second-story window?

Baekhyun was the one to sigh this time, closing his eyes at the sudden fatigue that overwhelmed him.

“You kids are…” Baekhyun trailed off. Crazy. He huffed, hands on his hips as he looked up at the ceiling, wishing he could just undo it all. Stop Jongin from doing something so stupid so he wouldn’t get hurt and Baekhyun wouldn’t have to go through a mini heart attack.

Baekhyun let out the breath he’d been holding in. “I’m just glad you’re okay,” he finally said, quietly, moving forward so he could run his fingers through his son’s hair.

“I’ll figure something out, okay?”

+

Baekhyun stood patiently in front of the door, shaking slightly out of nervousness. He tried to calm his breathing so he wouldn’t drop the container of freshly baked cookies. Before he could even try to reign in his rattled composure, the door opened. And before he could even get a word out, a hand swung his way. The next thing Baekhyun remembered was being on the ground in the dirt as he looked up—in confusion -- at the fury that was Mrs. Do.

“I TOLD YOU TO STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM MY FAMILY.”

Baekhyun scrambled to his feet, only to be kicked back down to the ground.

“How dare you! My son came home yesterday with scratches on his hands!”

Baekhyun took a deep breath to compose himself. “The kids--”

“You’re blaming this on the kids now!?” Mrs. Do shrieked. “It’s all your fault! You ing disgrace!”

Mrs. Do kicked dirt into Baekhyun’s face before spitting. Baekhyun could do nothing but sit there, shell shocked. He would have never guessed that Mrs. Do was capable of going as low as this. When she spoke next, the eerie tone of her voice and the ominous meaning behind her words sent a chill down his spine.

“I’ll make sure you get what you deserve.”

+

A/N: OKAY SO HERE IT IS~ a little kid!kaisoo for u guyz. i rly need to stop it with my unplanned hiatus. it messes with my plot a lot cause i cant rmb what i wrote for . anyways, another update is in the works and if u thought that things are starting to look up for Baek then YOU'RE WRONG

It's all going to go downhill from here. lol. kidding. or am i? idk

see you on the next update, hopefully sometime this week (i am on break).

:-)