Part Two. Hope.

Baekhyun's small shady apartment was filled with laughter of two people. The other was undoubtly Baekhyun's as it was a bit high-pitched and was purely beautiful to the ears. The other was the complete opposite of high-pitched as it was very low and was like a drum's roar. Total complete opposites but once you set those differences aside and listened carefully at the two, it was surely magical as the two voices seemed to harmonize with each other. It was as if it was just for the two of them to hear. And the two, secretly wished so.

"I can't believe Sehun-ah did that to Luhan ge! Is he crazy or something?! Hahaha!" Baekhyun's eye lit up as he said those words which made the taller male's heart flutter. Yes, he was in love, for a very long time at that. He just had no guts to break the friendship they had. It was too special to be broken just by his petty feelings. Petty... did he just describe his feelings as petty? Yeah... it was insular that's why he had no balls to break the amity.

"I know right?! He's such a slave to Lulu!" Chanyeol agreed and as he did, he threw his head back and laughed out loud releasing the lowest voice Baekhyun's ever heard of. It was beautiful, like the sweetest melody Baekhyun's ever listened to. He wished it was for him, that that sweet voice was for him and no one else's.

Baekhyun smiled, he was so happy that his eye smile was clearly visible. "How interesting. I can't believe how much they loved each other and in just one night, they had the guts to just say their feelings out loud. It's pretty amazing for those two." Baekhyun crinkled his nose and stood up, leaving Chanyeol in the state of hurting his stomach as he laughed while recalling what Luhan had told him the other night.

"AAAAH! CHANYEOL! OH MY GOD! LOOK AT THIS!" Chanyeol jumped out of his seat and ran towards the kitchen as he heard Baekhyun's piercing scream from there. "What happened?!" He panicked as he saw Baekhyun trembling in fear at a wooden chair with his knees close to his chest while pointing at something he can't even see. What was he talking about? What was he pointing at?

"CAN YOU SEE THAT STUPID COCKROACH?! OH MY GOD! KILL IT!" The taller squinted his eyes trying to find the cockroach Baekhyun was so scared of and finally, he found the pest that made his Baekhyun scared. His... that's such a nice word to hear, he thought. And he wished it was true.

"CHANYEOL! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!" Baekhyun was frantic and was almost out of breath. He was receiving a violent shake from the event which Chanyeol had no clue about. It was what always happened to him if he was really scared or if he shouted too much.

With a swift move, the cockroach was dead and Chanyeol felt the feeling of victory. Victory for his dear Baekhyun. "Is it dead?" Baekhyun stepped down the chair and when he saw the pest dead, he felt so overjoyed that he hugged Chanyeol too tight which made the taller male unable to breathe. But aside that fact, he was happy. Happier than he could ever be.

‘Baekhyun hugged me! Oh my God. BAEKHYUN's HUGGING ME! FOR GOD's SAKE! HE'S ING HUGGING ME!’ He thought to himself as a crimson shade of red crept up to his face. He couldn't believe what was happening and was too overjoyed to react.

Baekhyun on the other side had no intention of breaking the hug as he was doing this to finally get close to Chanyeol and it was working, noticing Chanyeol had not pushed him away. But hugging the younger felt wrong so even if it was against his will he let the taller one go. "I'm sorry. Cockroaches just aren’t my thing and I freak out every time I see them." The latter apologized, bowing his head in the process.

The taller male snapped out of his thoughts and acted like nothing had happened. Other than being happy... he was scared. Too scared, in fact. He did not want to risk anything which hurt Baekhyun the most as the smaller male's heart ached every time the giant did this. The giant would act like nothing happened and as if it wasn't such a big deal which made Baekhyun lose hope of actually getting together with the giant.

"Nah. It's no biggie, Hyunnie. Anyway, is Kyungsoo coming over tonight?" The two made their way to the living room after Baekhyun's failed attempt to get the younger something to eat because of the cockroach the size of Baekhyun's small thumb which Baekhyun described as the scariest living thing alive on earth. After returning to his position at the couch, Chanyeol noticed Baekhyun staring blankly at the floor and not moving an inch from his position at the kitchen door. "Hey, Hyunnie. You okay?" Baekhyun snapped out of his daze and smiled, walking towards Chanyeol and sitting beside him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking of something." He replied while occasionally shifting his position to look for the most comfortable one.

"Oh and about Kyungsoo, he’s coming again tonight. Why'd you ask?" The older turned to see the younger avoid eye contact with him which made him more curious but the giant would not let him know. "Can I stay for dinner then?" Baekhyun's eyes widened. He wanted to ask Chanyeol to dinner a lot of times before but unfortunately, courage wasn't on his side. Even luck but now, Chanyeol was the one asking for permission to stay for dinner. It was Chanyeol and not Baekhyun! Baekhyun was so happy that he agreed without any second thoughts.

"Sure! I think Kyungsoo's bringing Jongin, too!" The older thought about what things to do that night with the three friends over. Truth or dare? Stripping consequences? He shook his head as his mind was so full of green thoughts and images of Chanyeol on his bed and- he blushed profusely which Chanyeol noticed. "What's up? You okay?" He couldn't help but worry for the brunette as he feels very hot and his face was in a bright shade of pink.

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine, Channie. Anyway, why'd you suddenly want to stay for dinner tonight?" Chanyeol snapped out of his daze and started panicking. What should he say? Should he tell the truth? ‘No! Absolutely not! I can't risk anything... I don't want to lose him.’ Chanyeol mentally slapped himself for thinking about it. He felt so scared and worried and he feels invisible without Baekhyun. He needed the older guy. He wanted to be with him and if this was the only way to be that kind of friend, he'd do it. Even if it hurt him so much to think that his loved one may love another.

Baekhyun tilted his head to the left to show his confusion but the younger did not respond and instead continued to stare at him. The brunette couldn't deny that he liked how Chanyeol stared at him but it was a different kind of gaze... it's as if the giant's thinking of something and just felt like it to stare at him. That was bull for Baekhyun since he hoped for more than just a petty reason to be stared at. He wanted affection from the younger. But he isn't the type to judge so easily so he set the thoughts aside and continued to wait for the giant's answer. Hoping he was jealous or whatnot.

"For no reason, really. I just wanted to hang out with you and D.O." The taller averted his gaze from the smaller's eyes. As dense as a brick, Baekhyun didn't notice the giant's crimson red cheeks and just shrugged it off.

Baekhyun pulled out his cellphone from his pocket, a slick Samsung Galaxy Note 3, obviously new at its feel and started dialing Kyungsoo's number. After a few rings, the lad picked up. "Hey, Baekkie! What's up? Having the time of your life with Chanyeol over?" The brunette's eyes widened at the comment and rushed to his bedroom, leaving Chanyeol alone in the living room with a confused expression but like Baekhyun, Chanyeol just let it be thinking that Baekhyun had important business with the person he was calling and just opened the television hoping to find channels that would suit his taste and make time move faster.

Baekhyun made sure the door was locked as he moved further inside his room and plopped down on his neatly fixed king-sized bed. "Trying to escape, are we?" Kyungsoo chuckled on the other line noticing his best friend's long silence. The doe-eyed boy sat beside his lover that was busy looking for interesting channels on tv like Chanyeol. "Is it Baekhyun?" Jongin asked, not taking his eyes off the television in front of them. Kyungsoo covered the phone so as to not let his best friend hear their conversation. "Yeah." The older answered, scanning his younger lover's expression, noticing the slight twitching of the tanned boy's jaw.

This movement made Kyungsoo giggle. He knew Jongin was jealous of Baekhyun and Kyungsoo's relationship since they knew each other way before Jongin knew Kyungsoo. The younger admitted to being jealous 'cause Baekhyun knew Kyungsoo perfectly while he was still in the process of learning more and more about his lover.

Kyungsoo was about to stand up and talk to Baekhyun inside the kitchen while he prepare something to bring to Baekhyun's house for dinner later when Jongin wrapped his arms around the older's slim waist, surprising Kyungsoo, making him stumble to his lover's lap. Jongin took this opportunity to hug the older, unabling Kyungsoo to move. "Kaiii~ Let go. I gotta talk to Baekkie!" Kyungsoo tried struggling but it didn't work as the dancer's arms were too strong for him.

"Baekhyun, Baekhyun, Baekhyun! Why is it always him?! Why can't you talk more about me?! I'm your boyfriend not him! You always call him 'Baekkie' when you don't even have a nickname for me!" The younger whined. All the whining made Kyungsoo chuckle in response, earning another complain from the tanned lover. "Someone's jealous of Baekkie~ Oh and, I call you 'Kai', don't I? Isn't that a nickname?" Kyungsoo giggled as he felt his lover's embrace tighten a little.

"That's the nickname my parents gave me! I want you to call me a nickname you made especially for me! How come Baekhyun hyung get to have a nickname and I don't? That's just unfair, Kyungie! And you always go to his house at night! What do you even do there?! - Oh my God." Kyungsoo knew what his lover was thinking and so before he could even speak, he melted the younger's lips as he pressed his lips against Jongin's. The younger couldn't bare the shock as Kyungsoo never initiated a kiss before and this is really turning him on which was a big embarrassment, he knew Kyungsoo would if he were to learn about this. Luckily, like his best friend Baekhyun, Kyungsoo was dense... very dense at that. It's a shock how Jongin and he became a couple after a courtship of two years by Jongin.

Kyungsoo let the dancer's lips go and took the chance to stand up. He bent down, just to be in level with the dancer's face. "Don't think about such things. Baekhyun and I are just best friends, really good friends. Nothing more than that, do you understand, Kim Jongin?" He emphasized the dancer's name that made Jongin shiver at his lover's words. It's as if the doe-eyed boy was stopping Jongin from asking such stupid questions. He shouldn't have doubted his lover's words and actions from the start. "Y-Yeah..." He couldn't say anymore because of Kyungsoo's stare. It was sending chills up his spine.

"You should know I'm not like that. And if I'd cheat on you, I would've honestly told you. Oh and, I'm not that kind of person even though I fell in love with Baekkie before." Jongin's eyes were so big that it could literally pop out of its socket. "F-F-Fell in l-l-love?!" He never heard about this, about Kyungsoo falling in love with Baekhyun before. Ever. And hearing this now was a bit surprising and not just that, he felt really jealous of Baekhyun right now.

"Yeah, I did. For a very long time. Like maybe... five to six years? Oh and since it's come to this... we also had before." These confessions literally made Jongin faint. "Hey. Hey, Kai! Are you okay?" Jongin had nothing left of his soul for he has already lost to Baekhyun THAT big. ... they were only making out, nothing more. Heck! They've never even touched each other before! It's just too big of a deal and Kyungsoo's acting like it's not.

"Oh, . Kai, I gotta talk to Baekkie. Later!" Jongin couldn't do anything to stop his boyfriend from leaving him and just watched the older skip towards his bedroom. They were living together but they had separate rooms. It was Jongin's respect to the older but every night, he couldn't help but think of Kyungsoo and he just ends up not sleeping all night and just staring at pictures of the older that he kept hidden or else he'll get teased by Sehun and Kyungsoo again. Jongin couldn't help but sigh at the thoughts that lingered in his head. ‘Kyungie fell in love with Baekhyun for six years?! And not just that… they had s-s-s- the s word! This is just not cool.’ Jongin messed up his hair and fell to the couch, covering his eyes and rethinking everything Kyungsoo had told him.

"Baekkie~ What's up?" Hearing Kyungsoo's voice, Baekhyun's eyes lit up. "D.O~" He replied, pouting his lips in the process. "Can you bring Jongin later? Chanyeol's coming back for dinner." Kyungsoo's eyes doubled in size which was a bit disturbing as his eyes were already big enough. "You serious?!" He screamed like a little girl, obviously happy at the progress.

"Yah! Your girly scream's hurting my ears! Jongin might get jealous again. Hahaha! Oh and of course I'm serious! Why would I kid about this? It surprised me as it's surprising you, y'know?" Baekhyun giggled.

"That kid... he's always getting jealous of you. Well... I really am very close to you so maybe that's why." Kyungsoo replied while crossing his arms and leaning on the wall. ‘How dense could he get?’ Baekhyun sighed on the other side. "You don't think that much, do ya?"

"Heyyy. How could you say that? Anyway, what else do you need?" Kyungsoo asked, twirling his bangs and waiting for the his best friend to answer.

"U-Ummm... I-I miss you." The reply made Kyungsoo chuckle.

"I do too."

A slight turning of Baekhyun and Kyungsoo's lips was visible. While they recalled memories... they hadn't noticed the rain that started to pour. And when the rain poured, Kyungsoo's worries came back.

'Baekhyun...' he thought.

END OF CHAPTER