It had been a week.

It had been a week since Baekhyun heard about the news. Kyungsoo, his best friend, was finally dating Jongin, someone who had been capturing Baekhyun’s heart since the beginning of his freshman year. Jongin was a year older than Kyungsoo and Baekhyun but he was well-known by his charismatic aura. That was why everyone in the entire school knew about Kim Jongin, some of them even adored him including Baekhyun and Kyungsoo. Nevertheless, Baekhyun had never flaunted his feeling for the said man, let alone tell Kyungsoo about this. He kept this feeling by himself until one day when Kyungsoo unexpectedly admitted something.

“Baekhyun, I like Kim Jongin sunbaenim.”

Baekhyun stopped writing, his body became rigid in no time.

“Baekhyun, I really, really like him. Promise me you won’t tell anybody, okay? It’s just between you and me. I will confess to Kim Jongin sunbaenim about my feeling someday—but not today. So, you have to help me get to know him better. Okay, Baekhyunnie?”

Kyungsoo knew Baekhyun had never said no to his best friend. Baekhyun let Kyungsoo used him this time, even if it broke his heart. He let his best friend stepped into the blooming flower inside his heart.

It seemed like their attempt to make Jongin notice Kyungsoo’s feeling had finally showed the best result. Baekhyun witnessed his best friend hugging the older boy at the backyard when he was about to ask Kyungsoo to go home together. He saw Kyungsoo’s face glistening with tears yet he laughed. Jongin’s hand made its way to Kyungsoo’s hair, ruffling the back of his head affectionately. The other guy didn’t even know that he had stood for almost thirty minutes, watching the object of his affection kissed his best friend in the most not innocent way he had ever seen. Baekhyun ended up walking home by himself, trying to mend his broken heart in every possible way.

As the time being, Baekhyun didn’t even wait for Kyungsoo to go home together like they usually did.

Baekhyun knew he was being unfair to Kyungsoo. The brunette had been avoiding his best friend for a week but Kyungsoo didn’t seem to notice. Baekhyun didn’t know whether he should be glad or doomed by this fact, but he couldn’t look at Kyungsoo in the same way again. He honestly missed his best friend’s presence beside him yet he didn’t want to disturb Kyungsoo’s quality time with his boyfriend. This is the best way, Baekhyun told himself as he opened his lunch box once he sat down on his favorite spot beneath the ginkgo tree at the school garden.

Minutes later, Baekhyun stopped munching in spite of his unfinished lunch. He put the lunch box aside and leaned his petite body onto the tree trunk. He had never felt this tired of his entire life before. He should’ve been happy for Kyungsoo yet he couldn’t feel that way. He kept on questioning himself about the faults that he had done for not deserving Kim Jongin. He couldn’t help but feel unwanted because Kyungsoo was the one who received Kim Jongin’s love.

Baekhyun heaved a breath. He was mad at himself for not being able to be someone that Jongin wanted. Baekhyun even couldn’t hold his tears as the memory of him and Kyungsoo kept flowing out from his brain. Kyungsoo was someone worth to be loved, Baekhyun kept thinking about that, wondering why he wasn’t born with such a beautiful face and smile, and excellent manner. Too busy with his own thought, Baekhyun didn’t realize that he just picked a red chrysant from its root, along with some grass from the ground. He was about to throw them when suddenly that hoarse cry startled him.

“Are you… t-trying to… kill me?”

“WHOA!”

Baekhyun didn’t understand why his hand suddenly circled someone’s neck as if he wanted to choke him to death. He was just picking a piece of flower seconds ago, there was no such human using flower patterned yukata like the one who was still coughing painfully in front of him. Where the hell did this person come from? Baekhyun gulped as he slowly extended his hand to touch the person’s shoulder. The dainty fingers were just an inch close to the said man’s shoulder when the man turned his head abruptly and screamed in shock.

“Don’t kill me, you heartless human! What have you done to me?! I’m almost—oh! OH!” Baekhyun was already shocked upon hearing the guy’s sudden remarks, so he tried to calm himself down as the unknown man pointed at him dramatically. “Look at what you’ve done to me! Now I’m turning into human!”

Baekhyun didn’t have time for any puns so he just snapped at the weird guy in yukata in front of him. “Look, I’m sorry if I almost killed you but I really didn’t get it. You just suddenly appeared out of nowhere then screamed at me like a mad man. I was just picking grass before, nothing wrong with that.” The guy looked scandalized by hearing Baekhyun’s statement and he abruptly cut the latter’s words again.

“Excuse me, what?” He narrowed his eyes while leaned his body forward until his face was too close to Baekhyun. The brunette almost backed off if it wasn’t for the next words that the man threw him. “Nothing wrong with that? You almost killed me, you prick! Yet you didn’t feel sorry at all!” The weird guy flailed his arms in disbelief, much to Baekhyun’s annoyance.

“I said I didn’t do anything except picking the grass!” Baekhyun yelled back at him, defending himself from this nonsense accusation. This man is really out of his mind, Baekhyun thought. He finally decided to ignore this stranger as he dusted off his pants, ready to leave. Seeing Baekhyun who was about to walk out from the garden, the stranger abruptly pulled his hand that almost made the brunette stumble backward. He let out an annoyed groan while snatching his hand away, but the stranger seemed like had finally come to his sense.

“What do you want?” Baekhyun glared. The man in yukata gave him a small pout before extended his right hand to the brunette.

“I—I’m sorry for blaming you earlier.” The man suddenly got up from his sitting position and Baekhyun was agape by his intimidating height. He really looked like a samurai in that traditional attire and his hairstyle. Those long auburn locks were tied up into half ponytail, the rest of his hair plastered to his pale neck due to the heated temperature. Baekhyun had to adjust his eyes from the man’s handsome glory every now and then, didn’t want to get mesmerized by him. “But why are you here?” he continued to ask.

“Eh?” Baekhyun didn’t get the guy’s intention. “I was just having lunch here when suddenly you appeared out of nowhere,” he shrugged.

“Really? But you said earlier that you were picking the grass—well, you picked the chrysant flower, too. By the way you picked me so forcefully before, I guessed that you were mad at something.” Baekhyun threw an offended glare at the guy. Realizing that the guy had unknowingly seen Baekhyun lost his temper, the brunette couldn’t help but hide his blush that had been creeping on his cheeks. There was no way Baekhyun could pretend in front of this stranger, not when he said something that was truly happening before. He tried to keep his mouth shut even if he was under the man’s gaze.

It wasn’t long before Baekhyun decided to just storm out from his previous spot when that thing happened. It hadn’t caught his attention at first but when he looked at the red petals flying above him, he stopped moving completely. Too stunned by the picture before him, Baekhyun remained unmoving until the man in yukata towered him with a huge smile plastered on his face. “You’re falling in love, aren’t you?”

Baekhyun remained silent, tried to gain his composure upon hearing the guy’s remark.

“If you weren’t in love, my petals wouldn’t have dropped from the sky like this,” his voice was surprisingly calm and deep, and it was nothing like before. Baekhyun couldn’t hold back his tears as he remembered about Kim Jongin’s kissing his best friend. But it wasn’t last long until the stranger unexpectedly cradled his face slowly in his strong hands; Baekhyun’s brown orbs met the stranger’s darker ones in the middle. He didn’t know what was happening to him at that time, but he found the latter’s gaze soothing him.

“You can call me Chanyeol,” he breathed calmly, “What’s yours?”

Baekhyun was close to smiling. “I’m Baekhyun,” he said.

***

Another week had been passed again, yet Baekhyun hadn’t been moved on from Kim Jongin.

He was getting accustomed to Chanyeol’s present as the days went by. The taller male had been revealed his true self and Baekhyun exclaimed that he was just out of his mind. Chanyeol had been having a hard time telling him that he was the chrysant flower Baekhyun had been picked earlier. The smaller still thought that it was all nonsense, but one day Chanyeol made the petals dropped from the sky again after he said Jongin’s name until Baekhyun’s tears were b in his eyes.

“I-I’m so sorry, Baekhyun. I—,” Chanyeol was interrupted by Baekhyun’s gesture as the latter tried to wipe his tears strained cheeks. “Do you still love Kim Jongin?”

Baekhyun was left speechless but Chanyeol had already known the answer. He couldn’t help but feeling responsible for Baekhyun’s sudden misery. In Chanyeol’s eyes, Baekhyun wasn’t worth the sadness. However, as much as he didn’t want the smaller male to feel sad, he didn’t have any idea to make Baekhyun’s grief expression disappeared from his face.

It was the seventh time Chanyeol had accompanied Baekhyun having lunch at their usual spot at the garden when suddenly he asked about something. “I finally decide that I’m going to grant you a wish, Baekhyun,” he told Baekhyun whilst beaming gleefully at the smaller male. Anything to make you happy, Chanyeol added inwardly. At first Baekhyun didn’t get what Chanyeol’s intention was, but as he looked up to the sky he finally sensed something.

“What’s up with you today, Chanyeol? Are you a freaking genie now?” The smaller only snickered at Chanyeol’s statement as he paid no mind to the other’s offering. Chanyeol had always been curious about some things that surrounding them, but never about Baekhyun’s wants. It was weird, though, knowing Chanyeol asked about his desire when he had already known what was inside Baekhyun’s mind.

It had always been Kim Jongin.

“You look cheerless today so I think by granting your wish I can make you smile again.” Baekhyun was taken aback by Chanyeol’s words. As if the bad luck was still on his side, they saw Kyungsoo walking alone in the outside of the garden. Baekhyun’s eyes widened upon seeing his best friend—he didn’t know that he had been missing Kyungsoo’s presence until that day. Chanyeol could see the sparks in Baekhyun’s eyes as he was about to call out his best friend, but turned out stopping in no time. He looked at the smaller male in confusion, brows furrowed as he scanned Baekhyun’s composure. Baekhyun seemed lost in thought for a moment before letting out a tired sigh.

“I have to go back to the class, Chanyeol. Until later,” he waved half-heartedly at Chanyeol and disappeared right at the junction. The taller male still struggled with his thinking when suddenly he saw a glimpse of Kim Jongin’s back from afar.

Chanyeol sighed as he went back to his haven, promised to himself that he would surely bring back Baekhyun’s happiness before their time was over.

The next day, Baekhyun was surprised as he found Chanyeol already using the same uniform as him. It took some times for Baekhyun to understand about Chanyeol’s weird intention again. “What are you doing here, Chanyeol? Don’t you have to hide from other students?” Baekhyun tilted his head in confusion as he saw the man grinned at him in mysterious way.

“Ta-da! I have been officially accepted in your school, Baekhyun!” he showed off his new uniform to the smaller male who only laughed at Chanyeol’s innocence. Baekhyun didn’t realize that Chanyeol had become frozen for a brief second before he smiled back at him. The taller was surprised to see Baekhyun’s sincere smile for the first time since they met weeks ago.  He didn’t know if it was because he was glad or something, but he swore his heartbeat had become faster than usual. It made him wondering about the mysterious feeling since it was Baekhyun who always made his heart swell in happiness. So, he reminded himself to ask Baekhyun about that feeling later.

Unfortunately, Chanyeol didn’t get to ask any question to his friend as he saw Baekhyun’s sadness emitted for the umpteenth time. He looked more distressing than usual which only meant that he had just saw Kim Jongin before lunch break. Chanyeol asked him for confirmation and the latter said yes. It was strange; seeing Baekhyun’s miserable expression also affected him, just like what his happiness had done to Chanyeol. He didn’t like this painful feeling upon seeing Baekhyun’s lips jutted downward. Instead of asking him about the meaning, Chanyeol just took Baekhyun’s hand and brought him to the rooftop to find Kim Jongin.

“Chanyeol! Stop I don’t want to—.”

But Baekhyun was late. They already saw Kim Jongin, eating lunch contently with Do Kyungsoo, Baekhyun’s best friend. The smaller male gulped briefly before tugging Chanyeol’s hand to ask him to leave. Once again, Baekhyun was too late to do that. “Hello, Baekhyun! There’s Chanyeol-sshi, too!” Kyungsoo spotted them from his position, waving his fluffy arms toward him and Chanyeol. He saw Kim Jongin’s lips tugged into a smile and Baekhyun’s heart almost stopped pondering. Why couldn’t he just peer his gaze away from Jongin?

It was Chanyeol that answered Kyungsoo. “Hi, Kyungsoo! We’re just passing by to see if there’s someone here. May I join you two?” Baekhyun tugged at Chanyeol’s hand again but the latter ignored the sign. Kyungsoo nodded frantically, nearly missed the way Baekhyun’s eyes shifted uncomfortably from one spot to another.

Kyungsoo extended his arm to touch Baekhyun’s shoulder when suddenly the latter snatched his hand away. Everyone seemed to be shocked at Baekhyun’s behavior but Chanyeol abruptly saved the situation. “Baekhyun had been restless recently so pardon him for being too twitchy, Kyungsoo-sshi.” The brunette threw a disbelieved look at Chanyeol when Kyungsoo let out a small chuckle.

“It’s alright,” he nodded at Chanyeol before taking Baekhyun’s hand in a slow manner. “He must be uneasy because of me. I’ve been abandoning him for weeks he must be mad at me. I deserved to be punished for abandoning my best friend.” Kyungsoo was on the verge of tears when suddenly Baekhyun patted his head and giggled.

“Yah, Kyungsoo! What are you talking about? How can I be mad at my lovely best friend? You don’t know me at all,” he said with a huge smile on his lips, but Chanyeol didn’t see it reaching his eyes. “It’s just—I really miss my best friend. I hope we can go home together someday, if Jongin sunbaenim can’t accompany you.”

Kyungsoo shook his head frantically. “No, today is—.”

“I said someday, Kyungsoo. It’s okay, I can wait until that day.”

Their double date lunch (according to Kyungsoo, of course) had been going smoothly despite Chanyeol’s awareness of Baekhyun’s expression. But it seemed that Baekhyun was finally relieved because he got to talk to Kyungsoo like the old days. He even could look at Kim Jongin without changing his facial expression or shedding tears. At the end of their double date, Chanyeol rewarded Baekhyun with a bunch of his red petals falling from above for his sincere love for his best friend.

“Remember this, Chanyeol. If you have found someone special one day, just tell them your true feeling before it’s too late,” the smile on Baekhyun’s face was so radiant that Chanyeol almost blinded by it. “Don’t be a fool like me. You got that, Chanyeollie?”

I’m sorry, Baekhyunnie.

***

“I really like you, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun gasped, not knowing what he should say as Chanyeol suddenly confessed. He didn’t know if it was just a joke or a serious one, but he couldn’t believe his hearing just yet. He needed confirmation from the tall man that had accompanied him during his hard time. Baekhyun could hear his heart thumping wildly inside the ribcages, but he remained silent. They were in the middle of the school festival, right in the confession corner when everyone was allowed to admit their feeling to the object of their desire. Baekhyun was still agape at Chanyeol’s sudden confession that sounded hard to believe.

“Pardon?”

Kyungsoo was yelling at him from the corner of the stage, telling Baekhyun to accept Chanyeol to be his boyfriend and lived happily ever after. But honestly, Baekhyun felt confused. He didn’t know what move should he take because he didn’t want to make the same mistake again. He probably liked Chanyeol, a little bit too much as the time passed by, but he didn’t want to make Chanyeol think as a rebound for his feeling. He surely still liked Jongin, too, but he already let him go. He didn’t want Chanyeol to mistake his pure feeling for him as something unacceptable like a delusional affection.

But Chanyeol didn’t utter any word as he approached Baekhyun step by step, making the smaller male gasped at the sudden closeness. Despite the noisy surrounding, Baekhyun still heard Chanyeol whispering something right to his ears. “I really want to be your beloved one, Baekhyun. I really do. What about you?” He didn’t know why he suddenly lost his voice. This was so confusing for Baekhyun yet he wanted to tell Chanyeol every single thing that the smaller felt about him. He wanted to thank Chanyeol for his company. He wanted to let Chanyeol how great as a best friend, as a man, as someone that had always been by his side all the time.

He wanted to tell Chanyeol that he finally had moved on from Kim Jongin.

However, the expectation was always different from reality. Baekhyun couldn’t tell Chanyeol any of them when he finally ran out of his time. Chanyeol hadn’t even said good bye to him as his presence scattered into million pieces of red petals, raining over the entire school as he disappeared. Everyone was mesmerized by this petals rain fell from the Heavens because they kept laughing in happiness—everyone but Baekhyun. They didn’t know that this petals rain was the end of everything; it was the end of Baekhyun’s happiness as well. As much as he wanted to yell at the others for mocking him with their laugh, he couldn’t do anything but to mourn at the loss of his beloved one.

Once again, he made the exactly same mistake as months ago. The chrysant flower probably would have never bloomed again.

No, Baekhyun thought desperately, still waiting for the next autumn to approach him. He waited until he saw the first flower buds in the garden. He kept waiting for the best time to come again; for the best person to appear again. He had never forgotten to water the flower until it bloomed on November. Baekhyun was finally able to smile again as he looked at the first blossom. It was beautiful indeed, just like the last time he saw it. He watered it every day whilst remembering about the one he truly loved. It was growing beautifully until one day Baekhyun crushed it accidentally. He really wanted to see Chanyeol but he became selfish. He tried to make Chanyeol appeared like the last time but he shattered the flower. He must not have done that to Chanyeol if that only made the flower suffered. Baekhyun finally let his tears flow down his cheeks as he saw the chrysant flower become sapped little by little.

“Chanyeol, don’t leave me. I’m sorry,” he sobbed as he let the flower fall from his grip. “I love you, Chanyeol! I really am!” The flower had become paler but Baekhyun still shouted on the top of his lung until some passerby stopped their track. Baekhyun paid no mind about this; he only wanted to make his words soaring until they reached the Heavens.

“I love you, too, Baekhyun.”

Even if he thought it was just an illusion at first, but it really wasn’t. Baekhyun could feel him, he could see him as he turned his head to his left side. Chanyeol was there, all ethereal and beautiful, and Baekhyun had to remind himself to breath when Chanyeol’s soft lips finally caressed his cheeks with so much passion.

That was when Baekhyun realized that he didn’t need any human to make him feel this way. He just let himself being carried by the soft wind, like the red petals that already fell from the sky as they declared their love to the whole world.

Red chrysanthemum means ‘I love’, Baekhyunnie. That’s the reason why I blossom every time you’re around. Do you get that?

END.

A/N : Sorry this is unbetaed lol (gonna beta this soon, dont worry) xoxo