Chapter 22

“But the both of us are going to be late for our shifts this evening! And plus, it’s Hae Ra’s first day on the job!” Chanyeol pleaded to Mr Kris.

School has ended and the three of you were in the classroom. Mr Kris had assigned the both of you to clean the entire class, as well as mop the floors and take out the trash. Ignoring Chanyeol’s pleas, Mr Kris folded his arms and collected his things.

“Why would the both of you have part-time jobs? You guys come from rich families for God’s sake! Don’t try to make up excuses! Now hurry up and clean the class. The faster you do it, the earlier you’ll get to leave.” He snapped, before leaving the both of you alone with mops and buckets in your hands.

You sighed.

“Well this is just great. It’s your fault I’m here.” You grumbled and took out a chair for you to sit.

Chanyeol gawked at you. “Well, excuse me! I’m not the only one at fault here! It’s your fault too!” He placed his hands on both his hips, glaring at you.

Your jaw dropped. “My fault?! How is this my fault?! You’re the one that had to fall off his chair and grab me down with you!”

Chanyeol scoffed. “And why did you think that happen? It was because your stupid mouth just had to remind me about yesterday!”

The both of you then blushed and looked away.

Ugh, why must he mention it again?! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Chanyeol cleared his throat and took of his school blazer. “L-Let’s just get this over and done with. The sooner we finish, the sooner we get to leave this place.” He muttered and started to fold his sleeves. But then you noticed how slowly he was doing it and how he winced when he finally managed to bring his sleeves to his elbow. Your eyes widened when you saw a bruise on his arm.

“Your arm! Are you okay?!” You walked towards him to examine the bruise.

Chanyeol took a step back, surprised at how close the both of you were but you didn’t notice. You were busy fretting about the bruise.

“I’m so sorry, I must’ve done this when I fell on you in class this morning. I think you should go to the nurse. I’ll clean up here-“

“Woah, woah, woah relax. Don’t get your knickers in a knot, it’s just a bruise. I didn’t break anything.” Chanyeol chuckled.

“Are you sure? Cause I like…fell on you….and I weigh like an elephant….so it must hurt real bad….” You mumbled to yourself.

Look what you did Hae Ra. It’s good enough you’re so awkward around him, and now you let your big fat hurt him. Good job.

You heard him chuckle and felt a light pat on your head. You looked up to see his pearly whites shining at you.

“Really, it’s okay! I’m grown man now. This is nothing. Although, I used to be called a crybaby when I was little.” He laughed and placed the mop in your hands. “Okay, I’ll shift the tables, and you’ll mop the floor.”

He then proceeded to shift all the tables and chairs to the side of the classroom. Despite his injured arm, he worked quite fast, and because of that, the both of you were done cleaning in two hours. The sun was already beginning to set though. You wiped the sweat from your brows and let out a huge sigh.

Thank God that’s over and done with.

You had taken off your blazer while you mopped since the room was getting stuffy. After shifting the tables, you persisted that Chanyeol go to the nurse’s office to get his arm checked. Right after you were done rearranging the tables on your own, he came back and you were relieved to see that he was not wearing any arm sling, which meant he didn’t break anything.

Chanyeol whistled as he looked at the clean classroom. “Wow, you’re fast. But you should’ve left the shifting of the tables to me. You must be so tired right now.” He looked at you worriedly.

You chuckled and shook your head. “Nah, it wasn’t much. Besides, it was a good workout.”

Yeah, workout my . I bet I won’t be able to move my arms tomorrow. It feels like a baby elephant just sat on them.

The both of you grabbed your stuff and headed out of the class and made your way to the café.

“Are you sure you’re not tired? We could change your first shift to tomorrow if you are. I can talk to Sehun for you.”

“I’m okay, really. You sound like Mr Lee, it’s annoying.” You said.

“Alright, alright. I thought you liked Mr Lee.” He smiled.

“I do like him. He’s like a father to me. He’s been trying to be one for me ever since my dad passed away, and I really appreciate it. I don’t know what I’d do without him.” You smiled at the thought.

Chanyeol listened and nodded. “Well, I’m sure he feels the same way about you too. It’s nice to have someone beside you, even though that person couldn’t really replace the existence of the previous one. It may not be the same, but it’s sufficient.” He said quietly.

You bit your lower lip. There was something you’ve wanted to ask him for a while and you thought that now was the opportunity to do so.

“Hey, how come you don’t talk about yourself?” You sneaked a glance at him, curious as to how he’d react to your sudden question. But Chanyeol had an unreadable expression on as he looked straight ahead.

“I do talk about myself. I’m funny, attractive, nice…did I mention attractive? I’m handsome-“

“No, no, not all those nonsense. I mean, about your life...your family? I mean, I’m not saying I care about all those stuff but I just figured because I’ve shared with you a lot about myself…” You trailed off, suddenly regretted that you asked him that stupid question in the first place.

Chanyeol looked at you and just stared into your eyes, as though he was contemplating on something. Just when he was about to open his mouth to speak, you noticed you’ve reached the café and Baekhyun burst through the door.

“Where the hell have you guys been?! People have been flooding in here and I’m the only one manning the counter!” He said, looking outraged.

Chanyeol laughed nervously and smiled cheekily at his best friend. “We uh…were called for detention.”

“DETENTION?! WHY-WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?! IT BETTER NOT BE A LIE CAUSE-“

“Uh, don’t you think we should hurry and get in now?” You interrupted him and pointed towards the café. “It looks like there are more people wanting to order right now.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened as he turned his head towards the counter. “Oh . The two of you better get your asses in there or I’ll scratch your faces off!” He shouted and disappeared into the café.

“Come on, let’s head to the back. That’s where the staff lockers are. Yours is right beside mine.” Chanyeol nudged your arm before heading in. You sighed and dragged your feet behind him.

Please, let this day end soon.

[A/N] Well, it's been a pretty...busy week. Our OT12 has been on the news a lot lately T.T But whatever Kris' choice is, I'll support him, even if it means leaving his dear brothers behind. Exo will always be OT12 in our hearts <3