CHAPTER 08

M i s u n d e r t a n d i n g s

They stayed like that for a while. ChanYeol imbibing on a long forgotten memory that seems to taint his head with newer ones as the sniffing boy in his arms cooed everytime he breathes down his neck. We could stay like this forever Soo, if you ask me to.

“KyungSooyah!”

KyungSoo suddenly opens his eyes. The reality of the situation hits him as he hears JongIn’s voice call out for him from afar. If JongIn is out there, then, who was holding him now?

Panic grips him as he pushes the warm body that comforted him earlier. He shakes violently thinking that it was one of the ‘ghosts’ that was supposed to scare him.

“JongIn I’m here! Ple-please hurry up!” His voice quivers as he backs away from the tall figure. He didn’t want to know who it was, all he wants right now is to see JongIn and leave that place.

The figure moves towards him lightly as his arms stretches out, as if inviting him to grab a hold of his hand. Terrified and confused, KyungSoo runs to the figure but pushes him away as he continues to pelt towards the door. His head stirs as he slams into something. No. It was someone.

“JongIn!!!” He cries yet again and secures his arms around the waist of his saviour.

JongIn can’t help but smile as he holds on to the frightened boy’s hand and guides him as they make their way outside. That’ll probably be the last time they’ll ever try going to a horror house together.

--

ChanYeol has hidden himself entirely as he watched KyungSoo wrap his arms around a darker boy. He squints his eyes as if trying to recognize who it was, but the darkness was too much. He surrenders and quietly exits the room as soon as the pair left.

“JongIn.” He mutters to himself.

“Channie! Channie where have you been!?” BaekHyun was running towards him, distressed and anxious. “Please take me outta here, I really don’t want to stay here a minute longer.”

ChanYeol doesn’t want to stay there anymore than the shaking BaekHyun does. But for an entirely different reason. He wants to see who that JongIn boy was. His ears start to redden as he let the new name reverberate inside his head. It makes him feel unpleasant. Why did KyungSoo hug him?

As soon as they see the light of the outside world, ChanYeol runs and let go of BaekHyun’s hand. He stirs from left to right, using his height as an advantage, to scour a familiar pale boy that may still be in the crowd. He scrambles, but nothing. He turns around and sees BaekHyun.

The usual affectionate gazes that he’s used to was replaced by a much fiery one. This was a new BaekHyun he was seeing. He tries to close the gap between them but the younger boy stops him with his hand.

“Don’t. Come. Any. Closer.”

With that, BaekHyun storms off leaving ChanYeol yet again. But this time instead of laughing, he was dumbfounded. His mind was still processing the fact that he held KyungSoo in his arms and that he wanted to know who JongIn was. And now this. He scratches his head still not knowing what happened.

--

KyungSoo was striding fast. All he wants to do right now is go home and be as far away from JongIn as possible.

“KyungSooyah~ yah! Wait for me!” But the smaller boy just kept walking, running if you may. He brushes JongIn’s hand everytime he tries to touch him or stop him from running.

They finally reach the entrance to the university and this is where KyungSoo stops and faces him. JongIn freezes as he receives death glares. He reciprocates with an apologetic face.

“Let me make things clear Kim JongIn. You are never to show your face again around me okay? Ever. The moment I see even a portion of your shadow, I swear I will rip your guts out and feed it to the wolves!” KyungSoo clicks his heels as he turns away from the nonplussed boy. JongIn is speechless, and probably, it’s the first time he thinks it may not be wise to run after him.

KyungSoo rides the first bus he sees. He can feel his ears still warm from the blood that shot to his head earlier. He still hasn’t realize the misunderstanding between him and JongIn. While the other boy was trying to calm him down earlier inside the horror house, KyungSoo mistook it for mockery.

He walks the slim aisle of the bus, but stops almost instantly as his eyes fixes it’s gaze on someone familiar sitting to his left. The other person’s nose was red. So were his eyes, but the resolution in them were of annoyance or perhaps anger. This person notices that someone’s almost boring holes through him and decides to look at who it was.

They stay frozen for what seemed like an hour. Finally, the other boy breaks free from the scrutiny and crossly looks back outside the window.

KyungSoo’s lost for words as he inattentively meanders to the back of the bus. His anger is now replaced by remorse and guilt. Guilt to the fact that he should’ve been sitting beside that person if he didn’t let his pride get the best of him. Has it really come down to this now? Has he really lost BaekHyun already?

--

KyungSoo tosses and turns on his bed. He looks at his alarm clock and it tells him it was already midnight. Normally he should be sleeping by now, but everything that happened earlier seems to occupy his mind and prevents him from slumbering.

He has lost BaekHyun and now he’s pushed JongIn away as well. The only person whom he probably can lean on right now. Well’ it’s not like he’s really placed any faith on JongIn but he feels like they were getting there. Their cat and mouse relationship was starting to grow on him. He helplessly screams into his pillow, muffling all his frustrations as he fervently kicks and flails his arms.

CLUNK.

Something was thrown at his window.

CLUNK.

There it is again. KyungSoo stands up and peers through his closed window. The lamp post in front of their house did nothing to help him identify who it was that was throwing the pebbles. He curiously makes his way downstairs, careful not to wake anyone.

It could just be JongIn out to bug him again. He swears that if he opens their gate and sees JongIn, he’ll strangle him until he turns pale. Or if his skin ever has the ability to turn pale, he chuckles to himself. What if it was BaekHyun? Coming to make amends? He’ll surely accept the apology and take turns crying and explaining to each other how it was a misunderstanding and how they incredibly missed each other.

He’s hoping it was the latter.

He almost hops to their gate and opens it slowly letting the suspense build-up. He swings the gate fully but the only thing that greets him is the warm summer air. That and something on the ground.

He looks at it curiously and for a moment he thought it was a person. He jumps back nervously and starts to curse upon realizing it was inanimate.

He comes closer and pokes it. It doesn’t move. He notices that it was soft. He grabs it and realizes that it wasn’t that heavy. When the light hits the object, KyungSoo’s eyes widen. His lips curl into the heart-shape form that it is and he starts to giggle.

He hugs the object and closes the gate. He runs back to his room and jumps to his bed. He raises the object in the air at arms-length and something falls from it. It was a note.

I’m sorry for everything.

I hope Pororo keeps you safe tonight, something that I wasn’t able to do.

He squeaks and smiles at the big blue penguin that was given to him by an unknown stranger. This was the Pororo penguin that they saw earlier at the festival. He hugs it and sure enough, all the apprehensions he was feeling washes away almost instantaneously. He rocks himself to sleep as he makes a mental note of thanking JongIn in the morning.

Just about the same time that the lights go out inside KyungSoo’s  room, outside their house ChanYeol smiles as he walks away from the wall that he was hiding in earlier. He was sure that KyungSoo got his gift.

************************************

Aww a lot of misunderstandings have happened.

When will they realize no one's at fault?

Oh that's my job to figure out, kkk~

How are your weekends so far?

Tomorrow's Sunday here in the Philippines but I still have to go to the office to finish some paperworrks.

I hope I get to do one more chapter before Monday comes.

Mores comments guys!

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Yay!