"Oh my god, Kyungsoo?!"

"B-Baekhyun?"

 

 

***woosh flashback***

 

"Do you have all the clothes you need?"

"Yup."

"And your cell phone charger?"

"Mhm."

"Toothbrush?"

"Check."

"Meds?"

"Eommaaa."

"Oh, hush, I'm just kidding. You could probably use some, though. On second thought-"

"Oh my gosh eomma I do not need to be on medication. I am leaving now, bye." The short wide-eyed boy shakes his head and turns around, suitcase and travel bags in hand.

"Not even an I love you? Aish, what a cold son I've raised. I guess it's all my fault, as usual, whoops. I probably should have listened to your appa when he told me to leave you to make friends back at the playground when you were little, but you were just so cuute, how could I let you go? I swear, your cheeks were just the roundest things your eyes, honey, don't even get me started-"

"I won't. Love you eomma," Kyungsoo chuckles, giving his mother a peck on the cheek before hurrying onto the departing train with a quick wave. Settling into an empty window seat, Kyungsoo thinks about his destination: a boarding school out on Jeju Islands where he would be spending his entire summer getting professional vocal lessons with a handful of other boys and girls. He's pretty gosh darn excited if he does say so himself, but that doesn't keep his nerves from poking at the back of his brain, reminding him that, yes, there would be other people there that were his age, and, yes, he would probably have to socialize with them. He would be rooming with one, after all. Kyungsoo didn't really mind, though. Yeah, he had never really had experience socializing with other kids (being homeschooled and all), but there was a first time for everything, right? 

With a small smile of content, Kyungsoo pulls out his headphones and plugs himself into some hardcore SHINee, turning to look out the window, because, yeah, he could have his own little dramatic-movie-montage scene if he wanted to. Sue him. 

Four hours later, with his face pressed to the glass, he did not look very movie-montage worthy. However, after being jolted awake by his alarm and frantically stumbling out of the train car with all of his luggage, the excitement in Kyungsoo's wide eyes was more than enough to make up for half of his face looking a bit like a squished tomato.

He nears the bus stop that will bring him to his final destination (no, not that final destinantion, he was not planning on dying in an extremely unrealistic way anytime soon), when he notices another boy clad in sweatpants and a loose sweater, hands full of his own luggage and an anxious look on his face. Kyungsoo approaches him cautiously, putting two and two together that he will probably be spending a lot of time with this boy in the very near future anyways, so why not befriend him while he can. 

"The bus will be here in five minutes, don't worry," he says quietly, and the boy turns to look at Kyungsoo, then down at his luggage, then back at Kyungsoo. A large grin breaks across his face. 

"Are you going to the singing camp too? What am I saying, of course you must be going to the singing camp. Where are you from? Did you have to take the train here too or did you get dropped off or something? Or did you fly? Because I know the airport's walking distance from here, and oh my god are you from China? You don't look very Chinese, though. Also you just spoke Korean to me, but I guess you could've learned. I know this guy Luhan who learned Korean who's Chinese but he still has an accent, and I didn't really hear an accent when you talked to me, but you didn't really say much so I guess it's still a plausible situation- oh and I'm Byun Baekhyun, by the way, it's really nice to meet you," he extends his hand to Kyungsoo, in a deep breath. 

"Kyungsoo," Kyungsoo replies warily, shaking the boy's surprisingly delicate hands. "You talk a lot," his mouth blurts out without his brain's permission. He's paralyzingly afraid for a couple of seconds before the boy in front of him bursts out laughing. He cautiously joins in, a smile spreading onto his face.

"Yeah, you can say that. I don't mind, though. I mean, someone has to be the talkative one, or else how would anybody get to know each other? I'll tell you: they wouldn't. And then we would all just be hermits, you know? I don't want to live in a world of hermits, " he states, wagging his finger at Kyungsoo and shaking his head. 

"Wow," Kyungsoo laughs. "A real life diva. I'm fascinated."

"You better be fascinated. I'm fantastic."

"Says who?"

"The only person who's opinion I care about. Myself."

"Aw, no friends for Baekhyun?" Kyungsoo pokes the boy's shoulder, his heart-shaped lips forming a sad smile. "I have experience with that."

"No, I have friends. Kind of? I don't know, they're all in love with each other and kind of tend to stick to the one they're in love with. None of them realize it, of course, because that would be way too simple and easy, and who wants to hear about two people falling in love that are totally aware of the fact and completely sensible about it? No one. So they remain oblivious, and I let them because I don't want to be that guy. Not yet, anyways. I've got my own doofus to deal with."

"Oh really? Doofus as in male?"

"Yup. Got a problem, son? Wanna fight?" Baekhyun laughs, puffing up his chest and standing on his tiptoes.

"No, no it's cool, I play for your team too."

"Team Homoual?" 

"I prefer Team Rainbow, but I mean that works too. I just think rainbow suits me more."

"Yeah, I can I see that. It's really refreshing to meet someone so cool about it. None of my friends will admit to themselves that they're on my team. They're so lame. Just don't crush on me, okay? Like I know I'm fabulous, but you're gonna have to resist because you will get absolutely nowhere and then our friendship will just become awkward and depressing and that doesn't suit me." Baekhyun says informatively, gathering up his things as their bus's lights flash around the corner. 

"I don't think I'll have to worry about crushing on you. No offense," Kyungsoo adds quickly, not wanting to see the angry side of this feisty boy. "So you don't have to worry. But have I made a friend?"

"Congratulations," Baekhyun giggles, patting Kyungsoo on the back and stepping onto the bus.

With his back turned, he misses Kyungsoo break into a blinding grin and do a little fist pump, because yeah that's right mom, he can be social.

 

The bus ride went quickly after that. Baekhyun chatted animatedly the whole time and eventually Kyungsoo got pretty into it too, which surprised him because he definitely did not do that the last time he checked. He did with Baekhyun, though, and it was actually really nice. He never really had anyone his age to talk to before other than his weird neighbor who he kind of tried to avoid when he could anyways, so Kyungsoo was surprised at how good he was at holding a conversation with Baekhyun. Before they knew it, the bus was stopping in front of a ridiculously big house overlooking a rocky coast and Kyungsoo realized they had reached their stop.

"Dang. Is this real life?" Baekhyun asks dazedly as he and Kyungsoo step up to the front door of their elegant new home. 

"Or is it just fantasy? I feel so out-classed," Kyungsoo mumbles from beside him before taking a deep breath and knocking on the door. He's surprised when it's swung open enthusiastically by a girl who looked to be around their age almost immediately.

"We've got two more!" She shouts behind her, flipping her short pixie-cut hair away from her face and turning back to the two dumbfounded boys with a wide smile. "I'm Amber. You two must be Kyungsoo and Baekhyun! Don't freak out, you two were the only ones not here yet, I'm not stalking you I swear," she laughs urging them inside. "Rumor has it you two are the best voices we're getting this summer, so I'm sorry if I seem a little over-excited. More than usual, I mean. You guys wouldn't know what usual is, either though. Huh. I'm gonna stop talking, okay? Welcome to camp."

With that the girl is off with a flourish, leaving Baekhyun and Kyungsoo even more confused and without any idea on what they're supposed to do. 

"How do they know what our voices are like?" Baekhyun asks, turning to Kyungsoo with a look of such bewilderment that Kyungsoo probably would have laughed at if he didn't feel the same way Baekhyun looked. What had he gotten himself into?

"Where even am I?" Kyungsoo asks in response. 

"You haven't been shown around yet?" Baekhyun and Kyungsoo turn their heads to the source of the voice to find a boy standing on a spiral staircase to their right smiling warmly at them. They shake their heads slowly. 

"Well, kind of. I think?" Kyungsoo coughs awkwardly, nodding his head down a long hallway in front of them. "Her name was Amber and she was confusing."

The boy laughs and approaches Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, giving a short bow as a greeting. "My name's Lee Chanhee. I'm the kind-of-director of this camp, but that's really only because I make sure nobody gets hurt on a regular basis. I'm mostly one of the coaches, because that's way more fun and requires like a gallion times less responsibility. You can call me Chunji, if you want, too. That's what everyone else here calls me because they're annoying and know I can't do anything about it, so I kind of just roll with it. You'll meet everyone else at dinner tonight, but that isn't for another couple of hours, so why don't I show you two to your rooms?"

He holds his hand out with an expectant smile. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo both hesitate before realizing he's asking for their admittance papers with their room numbers and schedules on it, scrambling to pull them out of their travel bags. Eventually, the papers are coughed up and handed over to Chunji, who smiles and says, "Looks like you two are rooming together. Follow me, you guys get the balcony room. You're lucky," he laughs. At this point Kyungsoo has gotten past his confusion and is now overcome with excitement and hapiness, because hella yes, Baekhyun is his roommate! What are the odds? Turning to look at Baekhyun, he's relieved to see his friend of three hours grinning widely, looking just as exhilarated as Kyungsoo feels. 

Then Chunji opens the door to their room. Kyungsoo feels his jaw drop and hears Baekhyun audibly gasp from beside him. Their room... Their room is absolutely ridiculous. Where there should have been a wall facing the ocean, there is completely smooth glass, a balcony with two chairs and a table directly outside of it, giving the room an unreal picturesque look to it. The floor is made up of smooth wooden planks and a few throw rugs here and there, complementing their two huge, fluffy-looking white beds near the right wall of their room. From where Kyungsoo is standing, he can see a hallway leading to a sophisticated kitchen with a sleek marble counter that gives so much space to cook that Kyungsoo wants to fangirl. The door to their bathroom is open from the left corner of their room, too. It's literally bigger than Kyungsoo's living room back at home. Kyungsoo could finally teach himself how to swim decently in that bathtub. Finally, to top it all off, there's an HD television that could probably cover Kyungsoo's entire body if layed on top of him set into the wall facing their beds. 

"And you expect us to come out of here?" Baekhyun turns to Chunji, in a daze, blinking and turning his head to look at the room again. "I think not."

Kyungsoo giggles, and his giggle turns into a laugh, and his laugh turns into a squeal. He jumps and runs around the room with is arms spread wide, yelling, "THIS IS SO GREAT I'M GONNA DIE." He jumps onto one of the beds and immediately sinks down about six inches into the mattress in a fit of giggles. "Baekhyun it's real. It's real Baekhyun. This is a thing."

With that, Baekhyun breaks out of his haze and barks a laugh, jumping onto the other bed and facing the ceiling with a happy sigh. 

"Newbies," Chunji laughs from their doorway. "Find the dining room by six, okay you two?" He smiles and closes the door when he recieves two distracted mumbles as replies. 

Six o' clock rolled around faster than Kyungsoo and Baekhyun expected. They were about ten minutes late from wandering around the house looking for the right room, but they found the dining hall eventually. They stepped into the room and were greated by eight other people, and, only recognizing Chunji, Kyungsoo was immediately seized with anxiety. 

"Newbieeees! Gosh, look at how cute you two are. Come sit over here," a girl with short turqouise hair yells at them, gesturing to the two seats next to her. Baekhyun grins and takes the seat next to her while Kyungsoo murmmurs a quiet "thank you" and sits down next to Baekhyun. "I'm Sunny," she says, waving at the two boys. "I've been coming here since I was ten, so I can show you guys around and stuff after dinner, if you want," she smiles good-naturedly. 

"Sunny?" Baekhyun asked. 

"Oh, yeah, it's actually Lee Soonkyu, but that name is boring and I'm not. Sunny fits me way better."

Baekhyun laughs. "I can see why. A tour sounds great, though. We could definitely use one." 

"I kind of figured," she smiles.

"I'm Kyungsoo, by the way," Kyungsoo says, leaning in front of Baekhyun to wave at the bright-haired girl, "and this is Baekhyun. Excuse his lack of manners."

"Yah!" Baekhyun laughs, then shrugs, saying, "Actually, you're right."

All three of them break into giggles. Kyungsoo's about to ask where Amber is, remebering the hyperactive girl from earlier, when said girl bounds through the hallway and into the dining room, yelling, "SUNNYYYYYY."

"AMBER, MY LOVE!"

Sunny bursts out of her seat and meets Amber at the entrance to the dining room, arms spread wide, and the slam into a hug. "Your hair is turqouise!" 

"Your hair is short!" 

"We look even more alike!" They say at the same time, bursting into giggles. 

"God, you guys saw each other like two hours ago why are you doing this again," the boy sitting across from Baekhyun groans, rubbing his head. 

"Shuddup, Niel, two hours is a long time," Amber scolds, flicking his head. Then she sees Kyungsoo and Baekhyun and smiles with recognition, saying, "Heyyy! Did you two find everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah, Chunji helped us," Kyungsoo says uncertainly, not wanting anything to trigger another squeal session from the two girls. "Are you guys always like this?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"Amber and I are pretty much the same person," Sunny explains, wrapping her arm around Amber's shoulder. "Ever since sixth grade when we met at this camp, we have been one."

"So imagine this every five minutes for six years," Niel says, shaking his head at the two. "It's terrible."

Kyungsoo and Baekhyun laugh, grinning when their food is finally served. Kyungsoo manages to talk to everyone during dinner, and is surprised at how nice and accepting and freaking hilarious everyone is the entire time, despite having only just met Kyungsoo and Baekhyun that day. By the time the two boys return to their absolutely ridiculous room, Kyungsoo's cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and he flops down onto his bed feeling happier than he had ever felt in his entire life. 

Maybe socializing isn't so bad. 

 

The next day Kyungsoo wakes up to Baekhyun shaking his shoulders excitedly. "Kyungsooooooo we get to be coached today, wake up wake up wake up oh my gosh I'm so excited this is going to be so much fun and the coaches are supposed to be like so great I can't believe-"

"Baekhyun shut up."

"You're up! Oh my gosh, yes. Okay so breakfast is in like five minutes so you might wanna hurry up a bit becasue I know-"

"Five minutes?!" Kyungsoo shoots out of bed and sprints towards the bathroom, turning on the shower and hopping in immediately, ignoring how cold it is and washing his hair. He's out in under three minutes and crawls out of the bathroom to his suitcase, quickly pulling on some clothes and shaking out his hair a little bit so it's not dripping anymore. "Thanks for the warning, pal."

"Hey, I didn't know you would need time to get ready in the morning. I'm not a girl."

"Yeahh, whatever. Let's go." 

Breakfast goes by fast and quietly, everyone still in the process of waking up. Before Kyungsoo can even ask what room the coaching takes place in, him and Baekhyun are being whisked away by a bubbly Sunny and chattering Amber, who have far too much energy for eight in the morning. Kyungsoo zones back in to what Sunny is talking about just in time to here her say, "...and this is where you guys are getting coached today! Looks like Chunji is already in there. Have fun!" She pushes them into the room and closes the door behind them. Her and Amber's giggling can be heard as the retreat back down the hallway.

Kyungsoo is frozen. He's never had to sing in front of anyone other than his mother before, so he has no idea if he's even got any actual talent or not. His mother could have most definitely just been lying to him his entire life to make him feel better. He wouldn't be surprised. So when Chunji says, "Hey, guys! Ready to warm up?" Kyungsoo immediately shakes his head and then blushes with embarrassment. Chunji looks at him with an understanding smile. "You're not very used to performing in front of people, are you?"

Another shake. 

"There's no reason to be nervous. Nobody here is judgemental, and we're only here to help. We're just going to be doing a couple of scales, okay?"

Kyungsoo nods and Chunji smiles, sitting down in front of a piano in the corner of their the spacious, acoustic room. He plays a simple C Major, and then gestures for Kyungsoo and Baekhyun to sing along, starting from the beginning. They do, and Kyungsoo immediately whips his head around to stare at Baekhyun when he hears his new friend's rich voice roll out of his throat. He can't say he's not shocked, because, looking at tiny little Baekhyun (not that he can talk), he would never have thought that he could have such a powerful belt. He's surprised though, when Baekhyun does the exact same thing upon hearing his own voice ring throughout the room, and Kyungsoo blushes and looks away quickly. They finish all of the major scales quickly, and Chunji nods his head appreciatively. 

"I'm impressed. You two definitely know what you're doing, and that's great. It'll make this way more fun!" He laughs excitedly, taking out his phone and plugging it into a speaker jack on top of the piano. "So we have this kind of 'initiation' thing for all of our new members to see how wide their range is and what type of singing style they're most comfortable with and stuff, so I'm just going to play a couple of songs and see how you guys do singing along with sheet music, okay? Don't be daunted by this, everyone here has done it, and nothing is expected from you other than that you try your best. Do you guys know the song Good Day by IU?"

"I love that song," Kyungsoo says immediately, then flushes red beause how many teenage boys listen to IU and readily admit it? Not many. 

But then Baekhyun laughs, and says, "Me too!" And Kyungsoo feels an overwhelming urge to hug the boy next to him. 

"Awesome! Gosh, you guys are great. It took me like twenty minutes to get Niel to admit that he knew every single IU song word for word. Let's get started then, okay?"

With that he presses play on his phone and the opening to 'Good Day' rolls softly out of the speakers, each piano note played already ingrained in Kyungsoo's brain, every . Kyungsoo is nervous again. He's so nervous he misses the entrance to the first verse, quickly stumbling through the second line to get in time with Baekhyun. His face is red again, he's absolutely mortified, and the looks Chunji and Baekhyun are giving him aren't really making things any easier. When the big note at the end of the song comes around, Kyungsoo hits it and holds it effortlessly, feeling kind of bad for Baekhyun when his friend can't hold it out for its full value, and simultaneously really awkward on his own behalf, because now he's just sort of standing there belting a high note. Eventually, though, Baekhyun joins back in for the last line, and the song ends. 

Kyungsoo gulps nervoursly. "So, um.."

"OH MY GOD KYUNGSOO WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE A SINGING GOD," Baekhyun shouts, shaking Kyungsoo's shoulders with a blinding grin on his face. "WE CAN BECOME FAMOUS TOGETHER. Except that you're way better than me and I don't deserve to breathe the same air as you anymore. Darn."

"Oh, hush, I'm not that good," Kyungsoo laughs, poking at Baekhyun's pout. 

"I would beg to differ," Chunji speaks up, blinking at Kyungsoo. "I am completely blown away. That was amazing, both of you, freaking dang. I feel like you guys should be the ones teaching, not me," he laughs, setting his phone down.

"No way, I have far too much to learn. I'm sure Kyungsoo can, though," Baekhyun teases, nudging at Kyungsoo with his elbow. Kyungsoo's still in mild shock that someone other than his mother is saying he's got talent, so he's afraid to open his mouth in fear that he'll start crying or something stupid like that. He's already done enough stupid here, he doesn't need to add on. 

So the lesson carries on for the next hour with a very quiet, bashful Kyungsoo, only really opening his mouth to sing. Chunji gives both of them really helpful tips and shoots a lot of supportive smiles towards Kyungsoo, which he really appreciates. He's never gone so far out of his comfort zone in his entire life. Nonetheless, when the lesson finally does end, both boys are sad to go. they only get one on one coaching twice a week. The next couple of days will be group working and listening to lectures and learning how to read music and stuff, which Kyungsoo is excited for, don't get him wrong, but he doubts it'll be as perfect for him as one on one time. He's also pretty nervous about the whole group shennanigans, but he decides he won't let it get to him. He's definitely picked up on how understanding everyone is at this camp, so he finds himself more excited than anything else.

 

The next couple of days merge into one until Kyungsoo wakes up to find that it's Saturday, and that he doesn't actually have to get up, because on the weekends everybody gets to leave the grounds, or just chill and swim and fart around. Kyungsoo actually really misses the outside world, so he crawls out of his bed and over to the lump of blankets that is Byun Baekhyun.

"Hey. Baekhyun hey," Kyungsoo mumbles sleepily, shaking the lump. "We should hang out today."

"Mmphh.."

"Like, get ice cream and stuff. I'll pay, I have monies."

"I love ice cream."

So that's how Kyungsoo and Baekhyun end up at a cold stone across the street from a movie theater in their suburb's little downtown area, munching happily at their massive sundaes.

"So is this great, or what?" Baekhyun asks around his spoon.

"The ice cream or the camp?" Kyungsoo laughs at Baekhyun's sticky face. 

"Why would I ever ask if ice cream is good? It's ice cream. Of course I'm talking about the camp."

"Yeah whatever, Queen Sassy. I really like it, though. I think this whole experience has been really good for me so far."

"Right? I think all of my friends back at home were secretly glad to have me off of their backs for a summer. They were probably about ready to tear my head off. I wouldn't really blame them," he giggles, then sighs. "I miss them already."

"I don't have anyone to miss," Kyungsoo says, immediately regretting how pitiful he sounds. 

"Oh please, you're like a gift from God. How can you not have friends? I bet you're lying. Lying isn't nice, Kyungsoo," Baekhyun teases, shaking his finger at his wide-eyed friend. Kyungsoo laughs, but shakes his head.

"I wish. I only have my parents. It's been that way since around..fourth grade? I think that's around when I started getting homeschooled. I haven't talked to anyone my age since then."

"Geez," Baekhyun says soberly. "That sounds awfully lonely."

"It is sometimes," Kyungsoo says, looking away and swallowing with difficulty. "You have no idea how much I appreciate you being so nice to me. I guess I never really knew how much I needed to be around other kids my age, especially really loud ones like you-"

"Yah!"

"-until I find myself happier than I've ever been in my life, surrounded by them," Kyungsoo finishes, smiling at Baekhyun gratefully. 

"Aish, you make it sound like I'm being paid to be your friend. You're really freaking awesome, Soo. Get that into your pretty little head, okay? You're not my charity case. I really like you, and I can tell everyone else here does, too. 'Specially with your amazing singing magics. We've all fallen in love with you," Baekhyun laughs, batting his eyelashes at Kyungsoo and resting his chin on the palm of his hand. 

"Oh really? Tell your doofus back at home that I'm sorry for seducing you," Kyungsoo teases. 

"Nah, he would probably congradulate because he's a good person, and then I would just cry myself to sleep or something. You know how it goes."

"I don't, actually," Kyungsoo says, and Baekhyun stops taking out his phone to look at him with sad eyes. "But I doubt your doofus would feel very good on the inside if you told him you found someone else. Anyone in their right mind would feel bad about losing you," Kyungsoo teases good-naturedly, laughing when Baekhyun scoffs.

"You're such a -up."

"Actually, I'm a gift from God. Or so I've heard."

"Freaking otaku, who do you think you are using my words against me? Better watch yourself. Anyways, this is Chanyeol. He is my doofus," Baekhyun says, holding up his phone. Kyungsoo's greeted with a picture of a tall grinning boy flashing a peace sign at the camera, a cute dimple peaking out and ears large enough for a small town to colonize on. 

"Cute. Kind of..creepy? Yeah. Still cute, though. Good job," Kyungsoo assesses, nodding with approval.

"Why does everyone always say he's creepy? He's freaking gorgeous, for god's sake," Baekhyun rages through a mouthful of ice cream. Kyungsoo looks down at his own sundae and finds it pretty much completely melted. He was too busy having his feelings jam with Baekhyun to notice, so he doesn't really care. He never really liked ice cream that much, anyways. Baekhyun, however, is a different story, because his sundae has completely disappeared, with the only evidence of it ever having been there in the first place being Baekhyun's face. It looks like an ice cream battlefield.

Baekhyun, notcing Kyungsoo's staring, chuckles embarrassedly saying, "I'm not the neatest eater."

"How do you figure?"

"Oh, shut it." 

With Baekhyun's faced restored, the two boys exit the ice cream shop together and decide they don't want to waste the good weather back at the house, opting to just wander around the downtown until it was late in the night and the two were completely worn from laughing so much and walking so far and doing so much.

Kyungsoo slumps into his bed, hair still wet from his shower, and falls asleep with a smile on his face. 

 

That summer went faster than any summer Kyungsoo had ever had. Every day wore him down to the bone, and he loved it. He spent his weekends with Baekhyun downtown, occasionly having some of the other camp's kids tag along to go see a movie or something at the small theater across from the ice cream shop. They explored every crevice of the area, knowing it inside and out before the summer was even half over. Weekdays were spent learning and training and goofing around with the other kids when the counslers were too tired to stop them. Kyungsoo learned so much, it was riduculous. He didn't even know how much he improved until Chunji played a recording he took of Kyungsoo singing on his very first day, and Kyungsoo had to try really hard not to cry because wow, everything was so different.

Kyungsoo and Baekhyun talked a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Sometimes they wouldn't even know what they were talking about anymore, but they would keep talking, sometimes until it was obscenely early in the morning. They talked about really deep shiz that Kyungsoo would never have guessed Baekhyun had, and if he were being honest, that he didn't really know he had, either. It wasn't saying much, but Baekhyun was the best friend Kyungsoo had ever had, and that summer was the best summer he had ever experienced. 

He knew, though, like everything, it would have to come to an end. 

"You're not as chatty as you were the last time we took this ride," Kyungsoo laughs miserably, face still splotchy and red from saying his goodbyes to everyone back at the house. Kyungsoo didn't know getting a soft hug or a tearful kiss on the cheek could physically hurt so much. Even Niel was looking pretty pained. Eventually, he and Baekhyun had to leave to catch their bus back to the train station, and now here they are, silent and depressed.

"You have my number right?" Baekhyun starts suddenly, looking up at Kyungsoo with red eyes. "Text me and call me like all the time, o-okay? I'll always be here for you. You don't have to lonely anymore." 

Kyungsoo panics when the bus rolls to a stop. He nods helplessly and hurries off the bus, his friend right behind him. "Thank you so much Baekhyun. So much, you have no idea, I-"

Baekhyun cuts him off with a bone-crushing hug, and Kyungsoo feels tears fall on his shoulder. 

"School doesn't start for another month and a half. We can hang out, right? We're going to hang out. I'll introduce you to all of my friends, I already know they'll adore you, and you can come to our jam sessions and finally meet Chanyeol, as long as you keep your mouth shut, and it'll be great. You'll be happy, it'll be great. Where do you live? Here, write your-"

Ding ding

"Oh my god, that's my train. Baekhyun, I have to go. I'm sorry, I have to go. I'll text you. I'll text you, I swear. Don't miss me too much," Kyungsoo attempts at a joke, but his laugh comes out as more of a choked splutter. He sprints onto the train with all of his luggage, getting into his seat just as the doors close and the train lurches forward. "Don't miss us too much, Baekhyun," he whispers. "I'll be doing enough of that."

He doesn't even notice the tears.

Kyungsoo's month and a half go by completely isolated. As soon as he got home, he stuffed his hand in his travel bag to look for the little slip of paper Baekhyun gave him with his number on it. It wasn't there. He took everything out of every single one of his bags he brought with him. No slip. Panic gave way to crushing defeat, and Kyungsoo fell asleep with tears streaming down his face. Nothing would change, after all.

"Honey you need to cheer the hell up." 

Kyungsoo almost chokes on his eggs at his mother's choice of words over breakfast and looks up at her with wide eyes. "What? Don't look at me like that, you and I both know all you've been doing for the past month is sulking around and being lame. Do something about it."

She's right. Kyungsoo knows she's right, too, and that makes it a lot worse. He didn't know he would miss being around other kids so much until he wasn't, and he doesn't really know how to handle it. He's always dealt with being lonely perfectly fine, but now that he'd gotten a taste of having a freaking life he finds it a lot harder to go back to the loneliness.

That's probably what spurs him to say, "I want to go to public school."

His mom stares at him for a couple seconds, eyes wide and blinking, before breaking into a wide grin. "Your dad is going to be so mad. He has to do the dishes for like three months now."

Now it's Kyungsoo's turn to be confused, resemebling an owl more than a human  as he stares at his mom with wide eyes. "Eomma...what?" 

 "Your eomma is brilliant. That's what, honey. I kind of figured this would happen depending on how your time at camp went, so I made a bet with your dad that you would ask to end your homeschooling before the end of summer. You were making me kind of nervous for a second there, but, as usual, I was right. You're already signed up to go to Exo School of Arts, kid. I sent them the video one of your conselors sent me from your first day of camp singing that IU song. You were accepted immediately. We were just waiting for the signal to call it off, but now we don't have to!! Gosh, I love my child, this is so great," Mrs. Do practically fangirls, hugging her dumbfounded son's head with a giggle. "You start next Monday."

Kyungsoo drops his fork. "EXO SCHOOL OF ARTS?! I GOT INTO EXO SCHOOL OF ARTS AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!" 

"You never asked."

"EOMMA."

"Are you excited?"

"SO MUCH," Kyungsoo finally grins for the first time in what feels like months, jumping up and hugging his mom with a giddy laugh. "Oh my god."

 

Kyungsoo mentally scolds his mom for telling him so early in the week. Every day seemed to become ten times longer after he found out he would be starting school the next week, and Kyungsoo pretty much wanted to die every second longer he had to wait. He ended up distracting himself with drawing and singing to himself and brushing up on some of his Music Theory lessons. It was always his favorite class. Eventually, Sunday night dragged itself into Kyungsoo's world, leaving the giddy boy wide awake for hours until sleep gently tugged his eyelide shut and clouded his overly-enthused brain into peaceful oblivion. 

Imagine Kyungsoo's devastation when he wakes up the next morning only to sprint to the bathroom and promptly heave his guts out. 

"Mom you have to let me go! It's the first freaking day of school! I don't have anything left in my stomach to throw up, and I only actually puked like three times. It's fine. I'm not sick. I can't be sick. Eomma, please."

He missed his first day of school.

At first it was just moping around and being miserable, not feeling anything out of the ordinary, but before he could even complain about not going to be able to make friends, a fever hit him like a brick wall. He was bedridden the entire day on Tuesday. Wednesday rolled around, and Kyungsoo slept until three in the afternoon, his mother opting to let him so his body could regenerate for another day instead of waking him up to go to school. She definitely got an earful for that one. A very loud, whiny earful. 

It is now Thursday, and Kyungsoo finds himself standing in front of the mirror in his bedroom in his very first uniform, without a single clue on how to do his tie. 

"Eomma help, I'm dying," Kyungsoo rasps, falling to the ground and clutching his heart. "My life is over, this tie has killed me and everything I hold dear."

His mom opens his bedroom door with an amused expression. "I'm still here, darling."

"Yeah, exactly."

She laughs and kicks his shin, helping Kyungsoo off the ground. "You're lucky you have me." She ties his tie quickly and effectively, Kyungsoo looking prim and proper in no time.

"I know," he smiles, giving her a peck on the cheek before sprinting out of their cozy house all the way to the bus stop that will bring him a couple of blocks from the in-city school. Backpack in hand, a bright, excited grin splits across Kyungsoo's face. When the bus pulls up five minutes later and Kyungsoo steps on, he's still grinning, but he can't help it and he doesn't want to help it because he's going to school with other kids and oh my gosh, he's going to school with other kids. Just as quickly as the uniform-clad boy's smile surfaced, it vanishes as anxiety seizes the small boy. What if they don't like him? Not everyone can be as great as the people he met at camp, surely. Even Kyungsoo, with no social experience whatsoever, knows that the kids he got to spend his summer with were much kinder than most kids their age. There aren't many teenagers in Seoul who are as mature and understanding as the ones Kyungsoo interacted with. He knows that. 

So when Kyungsoo steps off at his stop in the heart of Seoul, he finds himself clutching his backpack like it's his last lifeline, and realizes that it's because his hands are shaking so badly that he's afraid he'll accidentally hit someone if they stand too close to him. He arrives at his new school five minutes early, rushing in to find the Dean's office to get his schedule and locker number so he can get to class on time and avoid the whole cliche 'new kid' scenario with arriving late and having to introduce himself and all that. He's so nervous he misses the stares he gets from the students he passes by, the whispers of is that the new kid? and he's the one from that video! Oh my gosh, I feel like I should be getting his autograph! and even the occasional gosh, he's so cute! He just walks straight to his locker with tunnel vision and red cheeks, staring at the paper in his hands and trying to memorize his schedule. 

That's how Kyungsoo ended up running into a wall on his first day. He falls on his and stares up at the white-bricked wall in front of him, rubbing his forehead and wondering when it even got there, because it definitely wasn't exsistent a second ago. Then he realizes he's on the ground and he quickly picks himself up, looking around to make sure nobody saw. Luckily, there's only two boys in the hallway with Kyungsoo, and he figures the little blonde one is making too many hand gestures to have noticed him fall. The boy walking next to him who kind of resembles a chipmunk might have, but if he did, he doesn't acknowledge it, to which Kyungsoo is ridiculously grateful. He brushes himself off, turns the corner, and finds his locker waiting for him, a welcome sight in this labryinth of a school. 

Sooner than he would like, Kyungsoo finds himself in front of his classroom, already filled with the rest of his class. He takes a deep breath, deciding not to be one for dramatics, and quietly opens the door, slipping in and heading up to his teacher's desk to give her his papers and recieve his textbooks. He thanks he when he's gotten everything he's needed, and bows quickly before turning around to find a seat, when he's met with a very familiar face.

"Oh my god, Kyungsoo?!"

He vaguely registers a loud bang as he drops the only book he couldn't fit into his backpack onto the ground. 

"B-Baekhyun?" He whispers, eyes going wide. So much for not being dramatic. 

Baekhyun takes a step forward, and then all of a sudden the two boys are hugging each other like it was the last time they would ever see each other, even if was really the complete opposite. Baekhyun tucks he head over Kyungsoo's shoulder, and Kyungsoo's brought right back to the train station. He clutches Baekhyun tighter. He also notices a group of boys watching the two with far more interest than everyone else, who had more or less gone back to talking. The room was defintely quiter now, though. The boys must be Baekhyun's friends he was always talking about that are all in love with each other or whatever. Their whole debacle confuses Kyungsoo.

"You freaking jerk!" Baekhyun breaks Kyungsoo out of his reverie, tearing away from the hug and hitting Kyungsoo's chest without any real force, his eyes looking suspiciouslly wet. "You never called me. I waited and waited and checked every day and you never called me. I told you that you didn't have to be alone anymore. Why didn't you listen?" He says, his voice gradually growing softer when they both realized how quiet the room had gotten. 

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I really wanted to call you, you have no idea, but I um.. I kind of lost the paper with your number on it, and then sort of just got really depressed for awhile until my mom told me to stop moping around, so I blurted that I wanted to go to public school, which apparently she predicted because she already had me all set up to go here, and now here I am. So the only reason I'm really here is because of you, so thanks for that, but oh my god Baekhyun I missed you so much." Now his eyes were pretty wet, too, and this was so embarrassing, but Kyungsoo couldn't really find it in himself to care. Apparently Baekhyun didn't either, because his friend quickly wiped the tears from his cheeks with a smile and brought Kyungsoo in for another hug with a soft,

"I missed you too, Soo."

 

[A/N:

Oh my word Kyungsoo, you are too squishy, I swear. I can't resist.

I'm so happy Kyungsoo's back(hyun heh heh), I just love him so much, I cannot ^.^ 

How about that baeksoo brotp? I just think they look so cute togther, they deserve to be bestest friends, you feel me?

Sooooooo yay or nay? Comment, vote, subscribe, whatever floats you boat.

Thanks for reading!! *I lurv you* 

byee<3 ]