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He looked around, scanning the great mass of unfamiliar faces around him.

The centric hall was at the very peak of the mountain, and everybody who had joined the retreat was present. He sat comfortably beside Kris, the only person in the room who he could say he genuinely was taking a liking to. Part of him was, indeed, surveying the crowd, but another part wanted to find the boy who had invited him here. When Jongin finally spotted him, he unknowingly smiled. He looked just as oblivious as he had days before. Jongin wasn't sure whether or not he liked Kyungsoo. His intentions were good, but he was still a big interrobang. He didn't know much for certain about the mysterious boy, apart from the fact that he had attended the showcase in which he had made a great fool of himself.

A girl took to the makeshift stage—a large platform about half a foot above the ground—dressed in a casual dress and a cardigan. Upon seeing her there, the laughing and chatter came to a gradual halt. She must be one of the leaders. She held herself with a certain stature of dignity. She cleared , put on a glittering smile, and began.

"Welcome to this year's Harmonica Musical Retreat!" she exclaimed, her eyes bright. The room lit up in smiles and avid cheers at her words. They looked like a family, with their intimate interactions and jolly tone of voice. For a mere split second, Jongin wished he was part of it. That thought was quickly abandoned. It'd been replaced with much bleaker thoughts of "You're only here to learn about that story thing. That's it."

"This year, we say hello to a whole bunch of new people, who are scattered across the room right now. I hope you all settle in just fine, and I'm sure that any of the past members will be more than happy to help you out if need be. Now, just before I send you off to your first 'Block Meeting,' I'd like to tell you all about something that we've just gotten access to! I'm not sure if you noticed when visiting your blocks, but all of the funds raised in the past three prior Block Bashes, have all gone into great use. There are now state-of-the-art practice facilities for each block. All have been soundproofed to prevent snooping competitors. Yes, Jongdae, I'm looking at you," she continued. The said male responded with a coy smile and a shrug of the shoulders.

"This year, the Block Bash theme is 'Orchestral Rock.' That'll be something to think about. Take it however you wish, just make sure it blows the audience's minds!"

The announcement had chit-chat resonating all around the hall. Some people seemed comfortable, excited even. Others looked as if they were going to die by the end of it.

"So, you can all separate into your Block's respective practice room. I wish you all the best of luck, and I genuinely hope that you all grow, and learn that there's more to the music, than just the music. 

Furious applause came before everyone filed off, continuing conversations that had been paused during the Intro. Jongin walked with Kris by his side, trying to ignore the muffled statements around them. Clearly, the fellow members of this retreat were indimidated by the pair. The Ice Duo. It wasn't bad for a nickname. 

"So what's this about a Block Bash?" Jongin asked. He'd been thoroughly confused about many of the topics brought up in the meeting, and was terrified of seeming dumb in front of people he needed to make a suave and cool impression for. 

"Oh, that's the main event of this retreat. The whole 'growth' thing happens in the preparation for it. Basically, the three blocks each create showcases, and the aim is for yours to be the best. So, for example, everyone in Block C will be together for the performance. There are a few ways to do it. You can either break off into separate groups, and perform your 'extravaganza' separately, or you can do it all together. Quite frankly, the Blocks who choose option A almost never win. The only time they did was when Gayoon—the girl on the stage—was still a member. They say it was the most mind-blowing of the performances here. But she got old, and became the leader of the retreat. I guess this place had become like home. She's an orphan, you know. She says that this place was the closest she'd ever had to a home.

"So, yeah. You just band together, decide the path you're going to take, assign roles, and well...the rest just comes as you go." Kris seemed pretty satisfied with his explanation, and looked over at Jongin. "Any questions?"

"Who picks the winner?" was the only one that came to mind. 

"The audience. Tickets are sold, and they always sell out. After the three performances, the audience places a token in one of three slots, each of which represent a Block." Jongin nodded. He was about to give Kris his thanks when an annoyingly familiar voice rang in his ears.

"Yifan-ge!" The owner of the voice ran up to Kris and attacked him into a bone-crushing hug. Jongin frowned as he recognised the person: the panda-looking guy who'd knocked him over. He was going to shout at him for being a disturbance once more, when he realised that his friend wasn't upset. If anything he was being...affectionate? He smiled as he the smaller boy's hair, before mumbling.

"Taozi...I missed you so much," and wrapping his arms tightly around his waist. Clearly they were having some sort of a moment, and the other one knew this was his place to leave. He silently retreated from his position, and began scanning the area for someone, anyone! He saw Chanyeol moving in a different direction. Right, he's in Block A. Starting from now, he's your competition. Not that he wasn't before. He continued to look around, before his eyes landed on a certain familiar face, whose eyes were large as ever, and lips were pressed into his natural heart-shaped smile. 

"Kyungsoo!" he called out, immediately capturing the said boy's attention. He ran over and walked alongside him.

"J-Jongin-ssi! You came!" His face was completely lit up. Jongin smiled, and muttered a soft "Yeah..." He didn't really know what to say to the other. He didn't know why, but there was a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach telling Jongin to at least try and befriend him properly. They were aquaintances, to say the least. 

"So, you're in Block C?" Jongin asked.

"Yup!" the other replied, popping the 'p.' "We'll be performing together!" He seemed so infectiously happy; when he smiled, Jongin couldn't help but return it. There was something strangely calming about being with Kyungsoo. Jongin was completely unfamiliar with it. In fact, it was distinctly unsettling. He didn't know what to do with it.

He decided that acting upon it couldn't possibly lead to anything good, so he didn't make any particular moves to become closer to Kyungsoo. It was a stupid move really, for, as much as he may want to deny it, Jongin was already addicted to that feeling. Like a man having his first smoke, he was more than a little choked up, but he was too far gone. The exit wasn't visible any longer, nor was the way he got in. 

But he refused to believe it, because there was no way that Kim Jongin could enjoy someone's presence. It was just impossible.

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Chanyeol had to do a double-take when he saw the face of the person who stood at the front of his Block meeting.

It was simply impossible for him to be seeing who he saw. This wasn't the sort of double-take that occured when a male saw someone of particular attraction. This was the sort that made you realize that something was very, very wrong. He thought he had seen the elder, clad in eyeliner the way he always was, at the Introductory meeting. He was quick to remind himself that "No, Baekhyun is in Japan. He left you." 

And well, that was that. He had come to terms with the understanding lightning fast. Everything was progressing as normal. Was. That is until he got up in front of everyone else who was sitting down in the practice room, and began to talk. Chanyeol heard him alright. He heard his voice, but the words were incoherent. His eye-smile was bright as ever. 

What the hell is happening here?

He did manage to catch something of the elder's words, but they were no aid to his understanding.

"I'm so happy that I've been chosen as the leader of Block A's  performance for the third consecutive year!" he had exclaimed to a sea of adoring eyes. Three years? You moved to Japan three years ago! You never called me, you never even attempted communication. Did you even ever leave?

The discussions went on and on, but Chanyeol couldn't bring himself to take part. There was no way he could put himself in a competitive mindset when something as big as this had been revealed. The tightly woven thread of his life had been unraveled into an incoherent mess in mere seconds. Hours may have gone by, but the lanky male remained in his spot, mouth agape and eyes tenaciously fixed on the petite male at the front. Dismissal came, and Chanyeol felt himself moving towards the unsuspecting object of his attention. 

"Byun Baekhyun!" he shouted, his voice ripping through the air and into the said male's ears. He saw Baekhyun stiffen at hearing his name called. He turned around, plastering a smile onto his face in an attempt to mask his recognition of the voice. His eyes formed their natural half-moons, and his hands clasped bechind his back.

"Yes? Is there anything you need?" he asked, a slight quiver audible in his voice. He couldn't steady his voice, no matter how hard he tried. Calm down, Baekhyun. It’s just Chanyeol. 

"Now that you mention it, yes. You see, I was just wondering how you managed to save up every year to fly in from Japan and Captain this Block. I mean, if you're living on your own, I would assume that you'd be more concentrated on paying bills? Eating? You know, the regular household expenses. Tell me, how do you do it?" The obvious negative implications were blatant in Chanyeol's expressions and tone of voice. It was clear that Baekhyun was trapped in glass walls. 

"Uh...that...I—"

"Baekhyun doesn't live in Japan! He lives in Bucheon, in the apartment across from mine!" exclaimed a shorter girl. She was the one who was walking with him before Chanyeol's abrupt interruption. Chanyeol raised an eyebrow at this information. The gears in his head were spinning out of control, creating electricity easily comparable with lightning. He wasn't sure if he felt angry, betrayed, or murderous. What he did know, was that Byun Baekhyun had lied. The cause of those nights he spent silently sobbing into inadequately large pillows had lied.

"He does? Wow... You see, I was under the impression that he'd moved to Japan. And there was also the belief that he wouldn't be able to afford international calls, or WiFi, so we would have to break it off. And finally, possibly the most ridiculous of all, was that I thought that he loved me. Oh well, I guess everything that comes from the mouths of pretty things like you must be a lie. Then again, you never did respond when I told you that I loved you. Instead you said you were moving! And I was the idiot who trusted you. I guess that's my own fault, Baek." The two people in front of him were wincing at the words, and the sheer volume they were being shouted at. Chanyeol was ready to storm off, but first, there was one more thing that he had to do. It was necessary, really. He reached into his back pocket to take his wallet out, and removed an object that now seemed almost offensive, and threw it onto the ground. 

"Nice seeing you, darling," was the last thing Baekhyun heard him say before he disappeared. His eyes pooled with tears, held back only by his useless pride. He bent over, and took the item into his hands: a Polaroid photo, taken on their first Christmas together. The more he looked at it, the more he wanted to die. 

My angel, at our very first Christmas. I'll love you forever, my precious koala.
December 25th 2014. 

"Do you...know that person, oppa?" the girl asked, concern written into her furrowed eyebrows.

"No. I have no idea, Seohyun-ah."

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Jongin's body was splayed across his bed, eyes only half open.

Kris was seated in the desk chair, reading a leather bound copy of  The Book Thief. On the bridge of his nose, there sat slim black glasses, which only made an appearance when he had to read relatively small print (which, to Kris, turned out to be anything smaller than font size 18). It was quiet, as it normally was in their room. There was a question lingering in Jongin's mind, floating about his head and overtaking any other thought that attempted to be made known. Curiosity killed the cat, they say. Jongin was a firm believer in that statement. But curiosity was currently overriding any hint of social etiquette Jongin may have been in practice of.

"Why were you hugging that clumsy panda kid earlier today?" he asked. He realised fairly quickly that he'd phrased that really horrifically. "Uh, I mean....he's a tad rash in his movements. Knocked me over this morning thinking he was late, when he was half an hour early. I mean, it's a logical inference to thinks he's a little...dull in the head, right?"

Damn it, Jongin, that isn't helping at all! 

The taller of the two sent Jongin an icy glare, and slid off his glasses before placing them on the desk. He bookmarked his page, put his book down, and, ever so slowly, made his way to the offensive male. 

"Listen up. Huang Zitao isn't clumsy. Nor is he rash in his movements, or dull in the head. I hope you know who you're talking about when you speak so cruelly of my boyfriend." Boyfriend? What?

"Boyfriend? Of all the people you could've chosen, you chose that...that moron? Why would you—" Jongin's face was met with a harsh slap. 

"Moron. If anyone is a moron here, it's you. Going back to your original question, my boyfriend was in China for eight months. His grandfather died and he went to honour him. While he was there, he taught in his grandfather's music school until they were able to hire a replacement. He flew in today, and miraculously still managed to keep his promise to go to Harmonica with me. His movements are quick and precise; he studies martial arts, you know. And he's intelligent beyond comparison. You may think you know who you're talking about when you talk about Huang Zitao, but you know nothing. He's the most admirable person I've ever met. You...need to put a stop to your awful prejudice."

Kris took his book and glasses into his hands, and walked to the door.

"If you need me, I'll be spending the night with Tao. I can't stand to spend it here with you."

And he was gone as soon as he came. Jongin scoffed and rolled over, pulling the blanket up to cover him. He stared at the ceiling, before he began to hum the tune to Tarantella, to calm himself. 

Just for three minutes, he didn't want to think of how he may have just ruined one of only two friendships he had managed to create that day. He didn't want to mull over the fact that he was lost, and completely in the dark. He didn't want to look at the composition he was working on for the Block Bash, but above all of this, Jongin didn't want to think about the way that a certain owl-eyed boy had managed to send mysterious and unreadable emotions into overdrive. 

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Baekhyun was vaguely sure that he had cried all that he could, outside in the cold darkness of the night.

He had the photograph clutched close to his chest as he began to make his way to his room. He opened the door to reveal his cabin, only to see a sleeping giant, sprawled in his natural sleeping position, a stuffed koala pressed firm against his chest. Pieces joined at lightning pace and the reality was displayed in front of him, unavoidable and cruel. 

He saw Park Chanyeol, his ex-boyfriend, whom he had run into earlier that day. 

He saw all of Park Chanyeol's familiar possessions. It was strange that even after all of those years, Chanyeol had barely changed.

He saw the stuffed koala he had bought so that even in his absence, Chanyeol could still be with him at night.

And, most strikingly, he saw a necklace, hanging lowly around his neck. He didn't know how he had managed to overlook its presence earlier, but now that he had seen it, it couldn't be unseen. It was the present Baekhyun had gotten him, right before he left: a silver chain, with a silver clarinet, and a white-gold cello. 

He shuffled his way up to the giant, who was deep in the depths of sleep. Just once won't hurt. Baekhyun wrapped his arms around Chanyeol, pulling him close. Their foreheads touched, along with their noses. Baek knew very well that the younger wouldn't wake up, no matter what he did. With that fact burning hard and fast into his mind, he brushed his lips against the ones he had been starving himself from for years. He felt so terribly at home, right there.

But he knew that he didn't have much choice. He had to continue with his façade. The only other option would be to tell Chanyeol, and, quite frankly, that option wasn't even remotely desirable. So he squeezed Chanyeol tightly, just for a second, before cutting himself off from the only thing he really did want. 

Wordlessly, Baekhyun prepared for bed, and tucked himself in. He really didn't know that Chanyeol was his roommate. But now that he was, he was a strange mix of thankful, and terrified. 

Thankful, that he could be close with the younger, just for a little bit longer.

Terrified, that Chanyeol wouldn't want him, after being lied to and manipulated without a word being said against it.

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A/N:

Chapter 5 and Baekyeol have made their debut! 
It may seem like the Baekyeol storyline is going really really fast, 
but the whole storyline occuring here isn't the main storyline I have planned for them, so don't worry, there's still plenty to come!
Hope you enjoyed it!