Chapter Twelve: Precarious

precarious: dangerously lacking in stability; liable to failure; dependent of the will of another

~*~

The house was quiet save the noises of the clock ticking on the wall and the fridge humming in the kitchen. Eyes narrowed, lips pursed -- Baekhyun strategized his next move. Sitting across the table from Baekhyun was Jongdae, who currently had his eyes closed in boredom. "Make your move already," the brunet grumbled under his breath for what seemed like the hundredth time. He couldn't understand why Baekhyun was taking the game so seriously when he wasn't even playing with his heart and soul. Yet everytime it was Baekhyun's turn, Baekhyun spent at least a minute deciding his next move as if Jongdae was plotting some secret attack.

"Don't ing rush me," Baekhyun snapped, finally moving his rook to the right four spaces.

Jongdae's eyes opened at the sound of the chess piece landing on the glass board and look at the playing field for about ten seconds before moving his knight, a move that Baekhyun had been prepared for. Just as Baekhyun captured the knight with his bishop, the doorbell rang.

The second Baekhyun opened the door, his guest out a gift bag to him. "Here, take this. This is for you, my lovely Baekhyun." Puzzled, Baekhyun accepted the bag and allowed Kyungsoo to enter into his home. The second Jongdae saw Kyungsoo and the item in the smaller boy's arms, he tried to hide but Kyungsoo had already spotted the brunet and marched right over to him. Kyungsoo ignored his friend's subtle head shake. ing the gift box toward Jongdae, Kyungsoo broke into a grin, "Happy Birthday!"

A soft sigh escaped Jongdae's lips as he reluctantly accepted the gift. "Thanks," he muttered. "How did you find me?"

Hearing the news for the first time, Baekhyun approached Jongdae, "I told him. I didn't realize you were hiding. Nor did I know it was your birthday." What day was it anyway? Baekhyun glanced at the calendar on the wall.

"Open it," Kyungsoo sat down, blinking innocently at the brunet. Cautiously, Jongdae removed the lid of the box expecting something to leap out or squirt him in the face. Fortunately nothing of that sort occurred. Inside the box was a white t-shirt.

"Idiot," Baekhyun read with a smirk. "Nice one, Kyungsoo."

Jongdae lifted the shirt up and held it against his torso when he noticed the back. There was a number 1 printed big and bold in black ink. "Idiot 1? Are you Idiot 2?" Jongdae raised a brow at Kyungsoo who was already shaking his head.

No way.

Baekhyun immediately eyed the bag hanging from his left hand. Exchanging a quick glance with Kyungsoo, Baekhyun reached in and pulled out a black t-shirt. "What is this?" Baekhyun demanded, shaking the shirt in his grasp. He tossed it at Kyungsoo, "I am not wearing this!"

"Hey!" Kyungsoo gently patted the shirt. "You should be grateful when someone gives you a gift."

"Oh really?" Baekhyun scoffed. "So if I gave you my you would be grateful?"

Kyungsoo nodded enthusiastically, "Of course. It's one-of-a-kind from the of Byun Baekhyun. Why wouldn't I be grateful?"

"Stop it please," Jongdae groaned, covering his ears. He did not enjoy being in between two guys discussing about feces and where they exited from. To Kyungsoo, Jongdae smiled, "Thanks for the shirt."

Kyungsoo gently laid the shirt on the coffee table before taking out a handheld confetti cannon, "I--"

"Whoa!" Baekhyun shouted in alarm. He pointed a finger at Kyungsoo, "You better not."

Kyungsoo pointed the cannon at Baekhyun before putting it away, "I wasn't planning to, you can relax." Patting Jongdae on the shoulder, Kyungsoo said, "I got a call from Mr. Gu to babysit next weekend. Did he call you too?"

Jongdae shook his head as he placed the shirt back in the bag, "Nope, nothing. I guess Sooyeon prefers you over me now."

Kyungsoo frowned, angrily punching the brunet in the shoulder. He decided to babysit once to avoid a seminar with his mother and look where it brought him. The smirk on Jongdae's face caused Kyungsoo to punch Jongdae again, "Stop smiling, you jerk."

"Oww!" Jongdae attempted to shield himself from further attacks by retreating behind Baekhyun. "Tell him to stop abusing me."

Baekhyun shrugged Jongdae's hands off his shoulder and stepped away to where he was seated prior to Kyungsoo's arrival, leaving Jongdae defenseless. Kyungsoo eyed the unfinished chess game on the coffee table, "Oh my god you guys were playing chess?"

"Baekhyun's idea," Jongdae replied, rubbing the sore spots on his arm. "He takes forever just to make one move."

Kyungsoo burst into laughter. It was he who had gifted Baekhyun the glass chess set one Christmas after withdrawing Baekhyun's name from the Secret Santa hat. The excitement that lit in Baekhyun's eyes sent a warm and fuzzy sensation to Kyungsoo's chest, to be able to please his new friend with a simple gift. But then Baekhyun wanted to play and Kyungsoo's first time was also his last. Baekhyun over analyzed everything, always looking three steps ahead with every piece on the board. But the worst part was when Baekhyun lost. The boy would demand for a rematch and his opponent would suffer through another hour or so.

"Don't laugh," Baekhyun said through pursed lips as he made his next move. "Are you staying here or what?"

Kyungsoo chewed the insides of his cheeks. "As much as I'd love to, I have to meet up with my group for a class project."

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and gestured to the game, "Your move Jongdae."

Jongdae took Kyungsoo by the arm and began shaking it, "Please take me with you." Kyungsoo pried off the brunet's fingers and with a pat on the brunet's head, smiled and bolted out the door. Frustrated, Jongdae threw a tantrum and pressed his hands together, "Can we do something else? Please?"

"Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?" Baekhyun demanded.

"I'll tell you if we stop the game."

With a sigh, Baekhyun began gathering the pieces and putting them away. Jongdae was barely trying and Baekhyun was getting tired of sitting on the floor. His back was aching and his legs had fallen asleep several times already.

"I figured you didn't care," Jongdae replied, "but apparently I was wrong. It's just another day of the year."

Baekhyun disagreed, "No, it is not just another day of the year. It's the one special day someone can claim for themselves because it's the day they were born. Born. You know, when they came into this life."

To Baekhyun, contradicting to what Jongdae believed, someone's birthday was an extremely special occasion. For Baekhyun, it was his birthdays that his brother came to visit. Not once did Baekbeom miss his birthday, though lately...

To Jongdae, a birthday was special. Just not his own. Jongdae didn't like the idea of people spending money on him. Okay, that was a lie, but Jongdae didn't want to have expectations. One year, he had waited and waited for his parents to give him a gift but they never did. He felt rather disappointed and shameful for expecting something from his parents when they had already taken him out to dinner. Kyungsoo had always made attempts to give Jongdae a gift whenever it was the brunet's birthday. Which was one reason why Jongdae took refuge at Baekhyun's place.

Apparently it didn't work.

I already told him babysitting with me was enough.

Baekhyun eyed the younger brunet seated on the couch. Annoyed at the flyaway hair dangling before Jongdae's face, Baekhyun leaned in to brush the hair away. Startled, Jongdae flinched back defensively after smacking the hand away.

"What was that for?" Baekhyun asked.

"I should be the one asking you that."

"Happy Birthday."

Puzzled at the direction of their conversation, Jongdae merely nodded and thanked his friend. Well, since his whole plan failed he didn't really have a reason to stay over at Baekhyun's any longer. Rising from the couch, Jongdae stretched his back and arms, "I think I'll go home now."

"You're going to leave me all alone?"

Jongdae turned to Baekhyun and the two made eye contact for what felt like a second too long. Being the first to divert his eyes, Jongdae cleared his throat, "Unless you want me to stay I can stay."

"Can you? Until my parents get back... I mean, if you're not doing anthing since it is your birthday."

"Of course I'll stay," Jongdae said before he remembered that the two still had the Well and Wisher relationship. Jongdae pouted, "But you're going to charge me more for my time aren't you?"

Baekhyun scoffed, not wanting to admit that he hadn't been keeping track. Waving his hand in the air to dismiss Jongdae's words, he replied, "It's your birthday. I won't charge you anything for today. Consider yourself lucky."

~

Leaning slightly forward against the railing on the second floor, Baekhyun peered down at the group of students gathered in tight circle when he heard his name. The young man rolled his eyes and continued walking when he realized the group was engaging in the new a video game.

Why did I even bother?

Baekhyun located an empty bench in the hallway. It was too early to enter his classroom and too late to go to the library.

"H-Hello Baekhyun," a voice said from Baekhyun's left.

Turning around, Baekhyun came face-to-face with a familiar person -- Gu Dongbin. A smile appeared on Baekhyun's face, "Hey Dongbin."

Dongbin chuckled nervously, "I was hoping for a request but I know that-- uh, if you don't want to, then th-that's okay." He finished his sentence by biting his lower lip, wishing he never approached Baekhyun in the first place.

"You don't have to be scared of me," Baekhyun commented, the smile still lingering on his lips. Noticing that the first year's tie was crooked, Baekhyun stood up to fix it, not noticing the younger male's flinch. "What did you want?"

Cheeks pink from embarrassment, Dongbin gulped and stepped back, "I need help losing weight."

Baekhyun furrowed his brows, the smile disappearing, "Why? You've already lost several pounds by the looks of it. You look just fine to me." And Baekhyun was being honest. He never really noticed the difference in body shapes unless someone was skin and bones or extremely plump. Dongbin didn't fit either description... anymore.

"I auditioned to be a dancer but they said I was too big."

Baekhyun scrunched his face is digust and waved his left hand in the air to dismiss the younger's words. "Just find another company. You're perfectly fine. You shouldn't force your body to look a certain way to fit into someone's standards. You should be judged by talent, not appearance."

Stunned by Baekhyun's words, Dongbin stood in utter silence, blinking uncertainly. He hadn't expected anything other than a yes or no. "Umm..."

"Your friend, Jongin, isn't he a dancer?" Baekhyun asked. At the first year's nod, he said, "Why don't you ask him for help?"

Dongbin frowned and averted his eyes to the floor, "I would but he always makes fun of me. I haven't told anyone about my dancing. I wanted to surprise them."

Baekhyun slapped a hand on Dongbin's shoulder, "If you keep dancing you'll eventually lose weight. Just promise me you won't starve yourself, okay? We should get going to class."

Dongbin looked up, "Yes. Thank you." His eyes followed Baekhyun as the raven-haired boy walked down the hallway, hands in his pockets. Dongbin glanced at his tie and felt the silk material with his fingers.

Was my tie bothering him that much?

---

Chanyeol groaned as his phone went off during class. Angered, Baekhyun elbowed him in the side as the student sitting behind him kicked the bottom of his seat. Even Jongdae threw a piece of the eraser he was peeling off of at the back of Chanyeol's head. Teacher Ma stopped writing on the board and slowly turned around to face the class. With a smile, she capped her marker and stood before the wooden podium at the front of the classrom. "Everyone, clear your desks."

"Sorry," Chanyeol whispered in shame to the faces glaring at him.

As the class released a collective sigh, they did as instructed. Teacher Ma retrieved a stack of papers from her folder and began passing them out to the students seated at the front. "You get five minutes."

Once the papers landed on Baekhyun's desk, the raven-haired boy was ready to cry. He handed Jongdae the last sheet and set on figuring out the math problem. Baekhyun was the class' weakest link when it came to math and he wasn't about to drag everyone down with him. Before he knew it, the minutes passed and the papers were collected.

"Turn off your phones unless you want another pop quiz," Teacher Ma warned as she began grading the quizzes on the spot. The students took out their supplies and those who had yet to turn their phones off did so. The students cringed with every flick of Teacher Ma's wrist. Baekhyun hid his face as he could only assume one of the papers marked were his.

---

"Hey don't forget you're coming home with me," Baekhyun reminded Jongdae.

Jongdae paused, his mind racing through his past conversations with Baekhyun. He didn't remember anything about him going to Baekhyun's house. Nevertheless, Jongdae nodded, "Of course."

"I see the look of confusion on your face," Baekhyun smirked, lightly punching the brunet. "I guess I'm not important enough for you to remember our plans?"

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and began scribbling on a new piece of paper as he spoke, "Well, as I have mentioned before, my parents are going to this law camp thing this weekend and I was told to have a friend over. Of course I'm not picking Chanyeol because he has plans with his--" Knowing Baekhyun was going to call Jaehwa something unpleasant, Chanyeol elbowed his best friend to shut him up.

Baekhyun fought back a grin, "Ahem, as I was saying, Chanyeol has plans. Joonmyun is way too busy I'm not even going to bother. Kyungsoo... well, I don't trust him completely to keep me company for two nights and he probably doesn't want to, which means you're the next person in line." At the mention of himself, Kyungsoo flashed Baekhyun a smile.

"This is news to me. Did we ever discuss this?" Jongdae asked. "What if I don't want to? Why can't you just stay home alone?"

"I'm not going to stay home alone!" Baekhyun snapped, eyes wide. "There are reasons, and before you speak -- yes, I'm scared. But not of the darkness and the monsters that live in it, okay? I have a legit reason."

Jongdae nodded, slowly scooting away from Baekhyun, "I get it geesh." If Jongdae's dominant arm was stuck in a cast, he wouldn't want to be home alone either. Not to mention that Baekhyun is the brother of the 'arsonist' in the Yoonkyu Fire.

"So you two are having a sleepover?" Kyungsoo asked, the smile still formed on his heart-shaped lips. Blinking innocently he continued, "Two young boys oozing with testosterone sleeping together under one roof for two nights without any parental supervision?"

Baekhyun smiled back and filled in the gap Jongdae had just created, "Why yes, Kyungsoo. In fact, why don't you lend us your collection?"

"Shh," Kyungsoo hissed, "don't let the whole world know."

"Wow, umm okay," Jongdae slid down further to the right away from Baekhyun. "You two have zero shame."

"But if you really do want them I can send you the links," Kyungsoo grinned teasingly, enjoying the embarrassment on Jongdae's face.

Ignoring Kyungsoo's last comment, Baekhyun turned to Jongdae, "Don't forget or I'll go to your house and drag your to mine."

---

It was rather nice at Baekhyun's house, even though Jongdae had to join in on the cleaning. The brunet didn't really mind all that much, however, since the other three seemed so enthusiastic in their tasks. Jongdae had thought Baekhyun would be one who despised cleaning, another misconception he had had of the raven-haired boy. Baekhyun was so full of surprises, Jongdae didn't think he could ever get bored. He just needed to remember never to bring up chess again.

"Are you going to add this weekend to my expenses?" Jongdae inquired when the two were finally alone in the kitchen. With a quick calculation, he figured he would have enough, but he also remembered all the time the two spent together since the beginning of the favor. "I helped you clean, I should get a discount."

"No, since I'm the one who made you come over. Be grateful."

"You know, you should just make an exception. We're already friends, it's given we will be together," Jongdae stated with a frown. It was so unfair.

"Hey, I know what I'm doing. I'm not a greedy bastard okay? I told you already sometimes I do favors for free. But you..." Baekhyun shook his head, lips pursed. "You asked me for something absurd."

"Do you look at me differently because of that?"

"No."

As long as it's not me, please.

Jongdae didn't quite believe Baekhyun's quick response but kept the dissatisfaction to himself. Baekhyun brushed past him and began opening cabinets to retrieve ingredients. "Are we baking something?" Jongdae asked, leaning against the kitchen island.

"Yeah I'm craving for some chocolate chip cookies."

Jongdae had never baked in his entire life, but it was never too late to start. The brunet followed the raven-haired boy's instructions and was stirring the batter when Baekhyun glanced over to see the mess.

"Jongdae, what are you doing?" Baekhyun approached the brunet.

Jongdae continued stirring with the wooden spoon, "What you told me to do."   

Baekhyun grabbed Jongdae's wrist, "You're supposed to use the whisk." He handed Jongdae the whisk and removed the wooden spoon. Jongdae nodded nervously, waiting for Baekhyun to leave but the raven-haired boy remained by his side expectantly. "Hello? What are you doing?"

"Right, sorry," Jongdae weakly smiled before doing exactly what he did earlier, just with the whisk instead of the spoon.

"No, that's not how you--" Baekhyun hastily reached out to stop the brunet when he accidentally tripped over his own feet and his lips accidentally brushed against Jongdae's jawline. Instantly, Baekhyun flinched back, "Get back, I'll just do it myself."

Jongdae backed up and sharply exhaled, feeling a small tingle on his face. The brunet was on all kinds of levels of frustration. "Did you still need my help though?"

"No, you make it more work for me. Go find a drama to watch or something."

Baekhyun's tension eased once Jongdae left the kitchen. He couldn't have imagined what would have happened if it had been Jongdae's lips instead. Baekhyun shuddered at the thought as he whisked at the batter. After a moment's contemplation, Baekhyun dug through the pantry for some walnuts. He was craving for something crunchy.

Alone in the living room, Jongdae's facade vanished, leaving behind an embarrassed grin. Although he had miserably failed, he received a somewhat pleasant surprise.

Oh no, it's starting.

Jongdae pressed his palms against his cheeks and sat down, trying to keep his cool, not like he had any to begin with. A cool person would have known how to use something as simple as a whisk.

How embarrassing.

But his ignorance gave him a small kiss. Jongdae broke into a grin again. He took out his phone and marked the kiss in his private calendar. Afterwards, he began reading and blogging about various idols and celebrities in his spare time. He wasn't even aware of Baekhyun's presence until the raven-haired boy snatched his phone.

"Hey--"

"Wow, you're one of those people." Baekhyun handed the phone back, "Did you find anything to watch?"

"No, I was on my phone."

After a quick argument between a romance drama and a comedic movie, Baekhyun smiled in triumph at convincing Jongdae to turn on the movie.

---

"You know you're welcomed to stay at my place," Jongdae said as he picked up the plate before Baekhyun could grab it. "Our house isn't always messy, just so you know."

"Sorry I don't want to be a burden," Baekhyun huffed.

Jongdae took a cookie and bit into it, but the second he did he regretted it. Hastily, the brunet set the cookies down on the coffee table before sprinting to the kitchen, spitting the cookie into the trash. Groaning in dismay, he the faucet and rinsed his mouth.

"Was it that bad?" Baekhyun asked. He thought he did a rather good job this time. He had already eaten four.

"I need water," Jongdae opened the cupboards for a glass. The inside of his mouth and throat were writhing in agony. With every gulp of the water his throat begged him to stop.

"Are you okay?" Baekhyun asked after noticing the pale complexion of his friend. "Dude, you're sweating." Baekhyun handed the brunet a paper towel to which the brunet dabbed at his face.

"Did the cookies have nuts by any chance?" Jongdae asked, tossing the towel into the trash and adding more water into his cup.

Realization dawned on Baekhyun and the raven-haired boy smiled nervously as he leaned against the island, "Y-Yeah. Are you allergic?" At Jongdae's nod, Baekhyun sighed and punched the brunet in the arm. "Why didn't you tell me before . What if I had killed you?"

"I'm fine, really," Jongdae flashed a smile to reassure his friend. "It's just a minor allergy."

"Yeah, sure. Are you positive you're okay?"

Jongdae nodded before chugging down a glass of water.

"I guess I'll be eating them all by myself." Baekhyun patted his tummy for effect. Whoever said ignorance was bliss obviously hadn't cooked poison for his friend. Baekhyun linked arms with Jongdae with the intent of dragging him back to the living room, "Come on let's finish the movie. I'm dying to know what color she's going to dye his hair."

The two sat side by side on the couch, Baekhyun munching on his cookies. Jongdae didn't need sweets, being with Baekhyun was enough.

~

It wasn't until the week after that Jongdae decided he would tell Baekhyun. There was no point in keeping Baekhyun at his side any longer in the Well and Wisher relationship. Yes, the two were friends but Jongdae couldn't shake off the strange circumstance of how they became friends. Or the different ways they were connected through their families and friends.

Jongdae waited at an abandoned brick shed about half a mile away from the remains of Yoonkyu. The brunet had discovered it one foggy morning when he lost against his group of friends at a burping contest. He only ventured that far out because he wanted to scare them. Ever since then, he'd been back to the shed once, this time being his second.

Baekhyun had never mentioned anything about a relationship since Jongdae had known him. No mention of an ideal type, of a crush or the fact that he was interested in girls. Of course, it didn't necessarily mean Baekhyun would be the slightest bit interested in him.

Ugh, why. Whywhywhywhy...

Running through everything he was going to say, Jongdae panicked when he spotted Baekhyun making his way over. Baekhyun flashed Jongdae a smile before pausing his music and removing the earbuds from his ears.

When he arrived, Baekhyun glanced around and sighed. "Nice location... for you to kill me and hide my body."

"How did we become friends?" Jongdae asked, sliding the toe of his shoe across the leaf that had fallen off the branches hovering over them.

Baekhyun lightly scoffed, running his hand through his dark hair. "Well, you wanted to know if you were into guys or not."

And we just clicked.

Jongdae nodded absent-mindedly, "That was weird, wasn't it?"

"So what's up Jongdae? You said you had something to say and I'm pretty sure you're just beginning with small talk."

Jongdae chuckled nervously, weakly punching Baekhyun's shoulder before briefly scanning their surroundings. "Well, I found someone I like," Jongdae gave a small smile.

Upon hearing the news, Baekhyun's chest fluttered and his blood began to race. Just the way Jongdae was presenting himself... it sent uncomfortable signals to Baekhyun's brain.

, what if he likes me?

Masking his concerns, Baekhyun leaned against the brick wall, hands in his jacket pockets. "That's good. Who's the lucky victim?" When the brunet kept quiet and turned his attention upward to the trees, Baekhyun's body turned hot and his stomach began doing somersaults.

Finally, the brunet looked at his raven-haired friend. Softly swaying to the side, Jongdae reluctantly said, "It's... you."

Baekhyun felt the bombs go off in his head. He instantly began screaming and cursing internally at himself for having accepting the favor back when Jongdae approached him. If Baekhyun had known things would go this way he would have straight up declined the request. Seeing the nonresponsive look in Baekhyun's eyes, Jongdae's heart slowly crumpled. The verbal reply wasn't much of a help either.

"I'm... I'm sorry Jongdae," Baekhyun said. He didn't feel the same way toward his friend and the confession left him floating downstream to a steep waterfall.

With a nervous chuckle, Jongdae nodded, "I'm sorry for putting you in an awkward situation. Thank you, really, for helping me out. It's nice to finally realize the truth instead of going on being confused." Jongdae reached out to touch Baekhyun's shoulder, but at the last second he simply walked away. Baekhyun turned and watched the brunet fade into the distance.

, what have I done?

As Baekhyun readied to follow after Jongdae, something glinted from the sunlight within the shed. Without much thought, Baekhyun began walking through the grass, only to come to an abrupt stop. Whipping around to look at the shed, Baekhyun's eyes widened. Wait...

Baekhyun was torn between going after Jongdae or returning to the shed. Jogging back, Baekhyun picked up the item that had reflected the sunlight. It was a keychain. One that he had seen before. Hands trembling and breath shaky, Baekhyun withdrew his phone and hit speed dial. Eyes frantically scanning the interior of the shed, Baekhyun hoped to see something else and he did. Baekhyun hastily went to retrieve the object -- another keychain.

"Baek, you know I'm busy."

"Joonmyun, where is your rain drop keychain?"

"Wh-What? It-- it's somewhere."

Tightening his grip on the keychains, Baekhyun replied, "Your brother had one too right? A cloud or something."

"Yeah why?"

"I'm holding them right now."

"Wh-What? Where?"

"Near Yoonkyu. You definitely swung over here, didn't you?" Baekhyun squinted at the silver ring, attempting to look for some sort of engraving.

"You're at the shed."

"Oh, so you know about the shed?"

"How do you?"

Jongdae flashed into the raven-haired boy's mind. "It's not important. Let's meet up. It seems you're starting to remember some things."

---

By the time Jongdae shut and locked his bedroom door, he was numb. Why couldn't he be a coward and keep his feelings inside? Why did he have to tell Baekhyun everything? The young man slowly crawled into his closet, where he buried his face into his knees and rocked back and forth.

Honestly, he was hoping for a miracle. But he knew Baekhyun would turn him away. He had even prepared himself, yet when the time came it was nothing he had prepared for. Reality had hit him hard and there was no turning back, no taking back what he said. His confession no longer lingered on his lips, but were tossed into the air where Baekhyun carefully avoided.

Jongdae prayed to whoever would listen that Byun Baekhyun would keep quiet. Baekhyun was a man of his word, was he not? Jongdae depended on Baekhyun now more than ever. He prayed to whoever would listen that he did not just make a fatal mistake. His stomach in knots, Jongdae began singing softly to himself, not caring that his voice broke on every other note.

---

"Explain the keychains, why weren't they at Yoonkyu? I thought everything was there," Baekhyun tossed the items on the bed beside Joonmyun. The older male shook his head. As far as he remembered, everything had been abandoned at the high school.

Baekhyun the ring in his pocket, contemplating to ask Joonmyun about it or not. So far, Joonmyun had proven himself, but Baekhyun knew how Joonmyun was. As trustworthy and reliable as Kim Joonmyun could be, no one was perfect. Especially when Joonmyun was under immense pressure or stress. Not to mention when he had a bottle in his hand.

What Baekhyun assumed was that whoever stole the bag in the first place was the person who started the fire and perhaps the owner of the ring.

The raven-haired boy sighed, "You're smart. Figure it out."

"You figure out," Joonmyun snapped in irritation. "I am trying to remember but what can I really do? I contacted everyone that I knew was there but no one seems to know."

"Maybe they're lying."

"Baek, stop."

Baekhyun sighed heavily and withdrew his hand from his pocket. Pacing and back and forth, he tried to remember back to what Jongdeok told him. "There has to be something you remember, any small detail even if it seems useless."

"I already gave you a list of the name of those who were at the party, what more do you want?" Joonmyun stood up angrily. He was feeling lost and confused, upset that he had been so wasted he couldn't even remember how he made it out the building.

"I want my brother out of prison!" Baekhyun shouted. Joonmyun clamped his mouth shut, ashamed that Baekhyun had to remind him of just how much the Yoonkyu Fire affected Baekhyun. The raven-haired boy blinked back the tears. He thought of Jongdae earlier that day, how the brunet must have wanted to cry.

"Do you want me to get drunk?" Joonmyun asked. "If you don't believe me--"

"No forget it," Baekhyun replied, dismissing the ridiculous notion with a wave of his hand. What kind of friend would he be? "You have your keychain back, you can go now. We're still stuck."

"Have you talked to Yonghwa yet?"

"No."

Without further questions, Joonmyun drove back home with the two keychains. Baekhyun remained alone in his bedroom, analyzing the ring to the best of his abilities. There was nothing special about it, it was just a silver band.

Try as he might, what happened at the abandoned shed came back around. Baekhyun didn't have a problem if Jongdae swung the other way, but it was just a little weird when he was the one Jongdae liked. Of course, who else would it but him? Who else spent the most time with Jongdae?

Byun Baekhyun had froze when Jongdae confessed his feelings. Unable to accept the reality that his friend was crushing on him the only words he managed to say were I'm sorry, which was the first thought that crossed Baekhyun's mind but he did not mean to speak them aloud. Anyone could have seen the hurt in the poor boy's eyes. Baekhyun covered his face, not knowing what to do about Jongdae. They were still friends, right?