Chapter Twenty-Two: Mishap

mishap: bad luck; an accident

~*~

It had quieted down after the music smoothed to a stop. Jongdae could still hear the echo in his ears of Baekhyun and Chanyeol's loud screaming. He didn't know about Baekhyun, but he knew Chanyeol could sing better than his performance just seconds ago -- after all he was there at the talent show -- but that evening Baekhyun and Chanyeol were being obnoxious with their half-screaming and half-talking. Baekhyun had surprised Jongdae with his enthusiasm, running back and forth and jumping in circles along with Chanyeol.

Jongdae clapped excitedly because it was all over. Kyungsoo chuckled as he hugged his knees against his chest, head tilted to one side. Kyungsoo watched Baekhyun throw off his sweater and sit down beside Jongdae. Baekhyun accepted the water Jongdae offered him and let Jongdae wipe away the sweat along Baekhyun's forehead. Kyungsoo hadn't meant to say anything but he was overly curious. "When was your first kiss?" Baekhyun and Jongdae exchanged glances but neither replied to Kyungsoo's question. Why was Kyungsoo being so nosy? Why did he casually ask when their first kiss took place while he, Baekhyun, Jongdae, and Chanyeol were sitting in a bright karaoke room?

From where he sat choosing the next song, Chanyeol added, "Yeah let's hear it."

"December... 6th right?" Jongdae finally said.

"No," Baekhyun responded almost immediately, "that wasn't a kiss. How dare you call that our first kiss? I didn't even kiss you back, you basically did this." Baekhyun quickly tapped Jongdae's lips with his finger. "That's not a kiss."

"Oh, so Jongdae pulled the first move?" Kyungsoo smiled.

"He told me to," Jongdae reached for his glass of water. He never thought the day for this conversation would arise. It felt weird. Both Kyungsoo and Chanyeol fixed their attention on Baekhyun and awaited an explanation.

Baekhyun nervously laughed and dug a fist into Jongdae's side, "It was your choice."

Jongdae coughed out the water and wiped his chin with his sleeve. He set his glass down and shoved Baekhyun to the side in retaliation. Dark spots scattered over his pants from where the water spilled from his mouth. "Then when was our first kiss, Baekhyun? Enlighten us."

"That morning we made out in my room," Baekhyun said. Satisfaction swelled in his chest at the flustered expression that crossed his boyfriend's face. "Don't tell me you don't remember."

Jongdae would have to have been crazy if he couldn't remember the day where Baekhyun broke down and trashed his whole bedroom. "That's our first kiss?"

"Yup."

"That's..." Kyungsoo gulped and looked away, gesturing for Chanyeol to hurry up with the song selection. The mental image of Baekhyun and Jongdae lying on Baekhyun's bed and making out... Kyungsoo closed his eyes and shook his head. "That's nice. What about your first date?"

"I found a song!" Chanyeol shouted, almost urgently. "Kyungsoo and Baekhyun will sing a duet together."

"But I just--" Baekhyun began to say but Chanyeol had hauled him off his feet and pushed him to the front of the room. Kyungsoo joined his side and a microphone into Baekhyun's hand. "Why--"

"Shh!" Chanyeol ran back to the sofa and sat down beside Jongdae. "And sing with all your heart guys." The music began to play, a soft melodic tune filling the room.

Baekhyun had only ever seriously sung in front of his family, Chanyeol, Jaehwa, and Joonmyun. Years ago. Beads of sweat dotted along his forehead again as he stared back at Jongdae and Chanyeol. The temperature suddenly increased tenfold in the stuffy room. Baekhyun fidgeted with his shirt collar before eyeing his friend beside him. Kyungsoo flashed a grin and briefly touched Baekhyun's shoulder.

---

After tossing his clothes into the laundry bin, Jongdae threw himself on his bed with his arms and legs outspread against the warm blankets. Who would have thought Byun Baekhyun could sing? Surely not Jongdae. He'd asked Baekhyun before but Baekhyun shook his head and changed the topic. Jongdeok didn't like singing either so Jongdae was used to being turned away.

He extended his fingers out until they wrapped around the phone on his night stand. He hadn't been keeping up with the K-pop idols as often ever since he began dating Baekhyun. Here and there he read the headlines and dug into news regarding his favorite groups but that was all. In the midst of scrolling through his phone, a notification popped up at the top of his screen -- a message from his father.

Dad: Jongdeok swung by work today and just left saying he wanted to see you. He'll be home in a few.*

Jongdae looked at the time. If Jongdeok was arriving home from their dad's office it would take less than 15 minutes. His heart thumped too loudly; it made Jongdae uneasy. It was only Jongdeok so why was Jongdae panicking? Wait, why did Jongdeok go to their dad's workplace? Did he find something to help Baekbeom? Knowing his brother was coming over made him anxious. He didn't even know what to do while waiting for his brother. It probably would have been better had his father not sent him the text. Jongdae decided it best to put on some clothes less he wanted to greet his brother in the . Jongdae heard the door bell while he was slipping on a tank top. That couldn't be Jongdeok, there was no way Jongdeok could make it home in that short amount of time. Jongdae rushed to the monitor display and checked, confirming that it wasn't Jongdeok, but no one mentioned anything about a pizza delivery. Jongdae opened the door.

The young man dressed in a navy blue polo shirt and black khakis smiled at Jongdae, "Good evening. A Kim Jongdeok ordered a large... green pepper and pepperoni pizza with some... extra toppings. That'd be 17,210 won."

Jongdae nodded but realized he didn't have money on him. Of course Jongdeok wouldn't use a card to pay. "Umm, could you wait for a minute? I'll be right back." Jongdae awkwardly closed the door and rummaged through his backpack for his wallet. He muttered under his breath for the lack of a pizza delivery warning and feeling so rushed. He sharply exhaled and fixed his hair before reopening the front door. "How much was it?" The delivery man handed Jongdae the receipt. Jongdae didn't know how to calculate the tip at the top of his head but 2,000 won seemed about right. Once the money and pizza were exchanged it finally hit Jongdae that he'd seen the guy before. The name slipped away from his tongue and the delivery man left before Jongdae could remember.

The brunet set the pizza on the dining table and lifted the lid. The smell was heaven to his nose but he refrained from eating it before Jongdeok arrived. Although he'd already eaten earlier -- more like snacked -- with his friends he was still hungry. To think he was going to make himself toast with cream cheese as a late night snack. No need for that.

When Jongdeok arrived the first thing he said was, "Did you tip the pizza guy?"

The two began devouring the pizza, a sense of sadness and yearning filling Jongdae's chest. Food always brought them together. He had a strong urge to go back several years when he didn't have to worry about girls or boys, when Jongdeok took care of him after school. Even though Jongdeok had his moments where he made Jongdae cry and wish they were never brothers, there was that special bond between them.

"Here," Jongdeok handed Jongdae the money for the pizza. "I ate most of it anyway." Jongdae accepted it and stashed it away in his wallet. They sat on the couch, each brother on either end. Their arms draped over the edge and Jongdae looked curiously at his brother. Jongdeok wore a light stubble that made him look older than he really was. Jongdae couldn't recall seeing any facial hair the last time he saw Jongdeok. Jongdeok's eyes seemed dark and lost in thought as if what he wished to tell his little brother weighed heavily on him.

"Why did you want to see me?" Jongdae finally asked.

"Because you're my brother. I missed you."

Jongdae nodded slowly. He had spent so much time with Baekhyun he wasn't used to this slow beating-around-the-bush talk. Jongdae shifted his body and crossed his legs over the couch. "Okay."

Jongdeok laughed shortly, resting his head back against the couch pillow. "I trust you little bro, you know that right?"

"I guess."

"I remember that night, more clearly than anyone else there I'm sure. When you mentioned about the car keys -- I can't believe I didn't think about that -- I went around asking what everyone brought and if they remembered what others brought so I could match up their stories."

"Did you find anything?" Jongdae asked in a hopeful voice.

"I can't give out specific details about the on-going investigation, but I have a good idea of who lost what. I crossed off those who had items scavenged from Yoonkyu. Of course I don't know everyone who was there but Yonghwa was able to help. A couple of people's items weren't found but I haven't found anything yet."

"What about Lee Taemin?"

"What about him? If I remember right his item wasn't found. Why?"

"We can say our trust is mutual right?" Jongdae flashed a smile. "You know that shed out by Yoonkyu? Past the soccer field? We found three items there and speculated that the items got caught with the arsonist's keys while he was fleeing."

"Three? What were they?" Jongdeok took out a memopad and clicked his pen.

"You can't tell anyone, not even Dad or Baekhyun's mother or Kyungsoo's father. No one," Jongdae said. At Jongdeok's nod, Jongdae continued, "Kim Joonmyun and Kim Joonwoo's key chains and Lee Taemin's ring."

"Where are they? The items?"

"Returned to their owners."

Jongdeok pursed his lips and dropped his items on his lap. He wore the famous look Jongdae always received when Jongdeok was judging or chastising him, "And why the hell would you do that?"

"Don't look at me it was Baekhyun's choice."

Jongdeok shook his head, "Well it doesn't matter cause we know it's not them. Taemin's brother went too. His item wasn't found either."

"He has a brother?"

"Yeah, Lee Taesun. He's under my list of possible people. I can cross the other three off now." Jongdeok scribbled on his pad and flipped to a different page before scratching out the names.

"The arsonist could be anyone, not just the one with the keys."

"I know I'm not stupid." Jongdeok pursed his lips again as he silently scanned over everything he wrote. Jongdae hugged a pillow and tucked it under his chin, the cool, soft material slightly comforting him in the awkward silence. Was Jongdeok finished or did he have more to say? "Jongdeok," Jongdae suddenly said. "What is Yonghwa like?"

"He's okay. Why?"

"Do you like him? Are you close to him?"

Jongdeok knew for a fact that Yonghwa tolerated Jongdeok's presence. Yonghwa felt he deserved Baekbeom's attention with them being best friends since they were young. When Jongdeok came into the picture it wasn't hard to miss the dark look in Yonghwa's eyes, at least not to Jongdeok. It wasn't Jongdeok's fault Baekbeom wanted to hang out with him instead of Yonghwa. Jongdeok had slowly helped Baekbeom quit the drugs and the high alcohol consumption, one of the other reasons Yonghwa grew to dislike Kim Jongdeok. In reality, Baekbeom wanted to quit and he was using Jongdeok to help him.

"No. We know each other through Baekbeom. I wouldn't call us friends but... acquaintances maybe. He's pretty patient so he's able to tolerate my presence. Why are you suddenly bringing him up?"

"He doesn't even like you?" Jongdae asked incredulously. He sighed and stretched out his legs, his feet brushing against Jongdeok's thighs. Scoffing, Jongdeok pushed Jongdae's legs off the couch. Jongdae put his feet back up and Jongdeok repeated the action. "Do you like him?"

"Why? Are you suspecting him?"

Jongdae shook his head, his feet still on the floor. "Well did something that would hurt Baekbeom if Baekbeom were to ever find out." Jongdae knew he captured all of his brother's attention. He hesitated to reveal so much to Jongdeok but he wanted to help the Byuns. "Do you remember that Baekhyun's arm was broken?" Jongdae told Jongdeok what Baekhyun told him before about the reason for Kyungsoo abruptly stopping at the bakery that one morning.

Jongdeok blinked in silence as he processed the information. If Yonghwa were to send anyone to do any dirty work, it would Kwon Jiyong, Cho Kyuhyun, and Lee Joon. Jongdeok wasn't close to Yonghwa but he knew enough from observation and what Baekbeom said. Jongdeok needed confirmation. "You said Kyungsoo knew them? You think he'll be able to identify them for me?"

~~~

"What about tonight? I'll head over your place if that's fine with you. I'll..." Jongdae ceased talking once he noticed Kyungsoo's attention lied elsewhere. The brunet followed Kyungsoo's gaze until his eyes landed on a female student writing in her notebook. A giant smirk plastered on his face, Jongdae nudged his friend on the shoulder, "Kyungsoo."

A soft sigh escaped the heart-shaped lips before Kyungsoo focused his attention on Jongdae. "Sorry, you were saying?"

"You were staring at Aeri," Jongdae whispered.

"Your point?"

Neither the smirk on Jongdae's face nor the blank expression on Kyungsoo's faltered. Like the two of them, Jang Aeri had transferred from Yoonkyu last August. Jongdae just knew her by name and face, nothing else, but he knew Kyungsoo and that was enough. "Somebody's got a little crush."

"You're cheating on Baekhyun?"

Jongdae rolled his eyes before leaning as close to Kyungsoo as he could to make the latter uncomfortable, "Yes or no?"

Kyungsoo backed up and titled his head down while muttering a quiet, "Yes."

Oh I'm going to have so much fun.

Jongdae smiled and gently patted Kyngsoo's back. "So is tonight good? Tonight?" Kyungsoo grunted in response. He'd had eyes on Aeri for awhile but due to his fear of rejection as he'd experienced in middle school, he hadn't talked to her. At least he'd ask Baekhyun to help him in middle schoole because then Kyungsoo would have confessed his feelings to an uninterested lesbian. Kyungsoo didn't have time to worry about girls, not with the upcoming SATs in the fall and his training classes keeping him busy.

---

Joonmyun moved, Jongdae was studying with Kyungsoo, and Chanyeol wasn't answering his calls or texts. Baekhyun dejectedly stared at his open workbook with a heavy heart. Working with someone else was a lot more fun. He may not have accomplished as much as working alone, but at least he had input from another. Baekhyun uncapped his red marker and slashed out the days he neglected to cross out on his calendar, when it dawned on him that Baekbeom's birthday was coming up soon. Should he write a letter?

Baekhyun stole a guilty glimpse at the red numbers of his digital alarm clock. The night was still young... but Baekhyun had a lot to do. Ruffling his hair in frustration Baekhyun hauled his backpack onto the desk and dug out his notebook, flipping through it until he found the list of Wishers. After giving it some thought -- and asking Jongdae of course -- Baekhyun had reopened the Well. Normally Baekhyun never kept any sort of written records but he decided to write down the customers and their numbers just in case he forgot.

The first on the list was Jang Owen, followed by Kim Myungsoo, Lee Raena, Lee Junghwan and so on. Baekhyun began calling everyone on the list, not caring whether they were busy at the time. If they didn't pick up or call back he'd ask them at school the next day. If he couldn't find them then they'd have to find him themselves. Baekhyun almost forgot the thrill of granting favors. His last favor was for Kim Jongdae. It ended rather... pleasantly and Baekhyun pushed aside everything else. Once he got through the list of eleven names, Baekhyun stood up. He opened the box on his shelf and took out the list of names Joonmyun gave him. Baekhyun wanted to help even though his mother and Baekbeom insisted he focus on school. The paper had creases and wrinkles from Baekhyun folding and refolding. He had crossed out a few names but others remained untouched. Over and over he read throught the names until he decided it best to start his homework. Baekhyun folded the paper and dropped it back into the box.

---

Baekhyun's leg jerked him awake. He sat up in his chair confused at his surroundings until he realized he had fallen asleep at his desk. He was drooling. Baekhyun wiped his chin in disgust before looking at the time. It was too early for him to be awake. He smacked his lips and went downstairs to get a drink of water. When he returned upstairs he heard muffled voices coming from his parents' bedroom. His eyes droopy with sleep, Baekhyun squatted outside the door and eavesdropped. His oversized white tee was large enough to cover past his knees while he was standing, so when he squatted the ends draped over his whole body and touched the floor. He appeared like a curious fat child waiting outside for his mommy or daddy. Baekhyun strained his ears to catch what his mother was saying.

"...do it... not enough evidence..."

Baekhyun's lips formed into a pout. They were discussing about Baekbeom. Baekhyun mentally sighed and stood up, or at least he tried. His knees got caught under his shirt and he accidentally stepped on the fabric. His head landed against the door frame and Baekhyun swore the noise could have woken up the whole neighborhood. Baekhyun scrambled to his feet with both hands over his left temple, a small whimper escaping his lips.

His father opened the door, "Baekhyun? Are you okay?"

"I... I went to get a drink of water and I came back and I tripped because... my shirt." Baekhyun explained. "Sorry. Good night." Baekhyun scurried to his room with his left hand gently pressed against the area that was starting throb. At least he wasn't that far from the doorframe or else the impact would have been much worse.

Baekhyun returned to his lovely bed, his head the only part of his body sticking out from underneath his blanket.

~~~

Everyone in the class stared anxiously at the teacher as he clicked his suitcase shut. Because the majority of the class received good scores on their first essay assignment, Class 3-D was getting an early dismissal. After saying their farewells to the teacher, the students excitedly scrambled out their seats, with the exception of Byun Baekhyun. Swinging his backpack over his shoulders, Baekhyun approached the front of the classroom. He feared he may have been one of the few who ed up terribly.

His teacher's lips formed into a smile before leaning forward against the podium. He handed Baekhyun a stapled packet. Baekhyun's brows furrowed together at the unmarked cover. "D-Did I do something wrong?"

"Flip to the next page," Teacher Ahn motioned with a finger. Baekhyun did so and gasped in horror. "You had an excellent start but the rest..." Baekhyun bit down on his bottom lip, his cheeks and ears burning in embarrassment. He had accidentally given his teacher pages from the scrapbook -- or lovebook as Baekhyun liked to call it because he was not using scraps, nope -- that Baekhyun was currently working on for Jongdae. The particular pages contained detailed thoughts and information in regards to what happened during Valentine's and White Day, including a copy of the letter Baekhyun wrote for Jongdae.

Baekhyun stood rigid with trembling fingers gripping onto the packet for dear life. He was ready to cry. His eyes looked up to his teacher but he was too petrified to say anything.

"I didn't get far," Teacher Ahn said. "I stopped once I realized something was off. You have until midnight to email me the real essay tonight. And don't worry I'll keep you two a secret, I promise. I'm going to report you to your parents or anything." He only felt it necessary to add the last bit because Baekhyun looked as if he'd met Death and was in the midst of choosing whether to stay or go. Truth be told, Teacher Ahn read everything. He was naturally curious and intrigued about people and their lives. It wasn't his fault Byun Baekhyun gave him the wrong material. Reading the papers had given him more insight on Baekhyun.

Baekhyun had a reputation, yes, even amongst the teachers. The most common -- he was Byun Baekbeom's younger brother so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if Baekhyun didn't graduate at the end of the year, most especially glancing at his math grades. But Baekhyun's history and literature grades were higher than average so Teacher Ahn was anticipating Baekhyun's essay about humans and their emotions. What he received was something else, not exactly what he asked for but it was still relevant. He thought it was an example Baekhyun was giving about love and compassion but then he noticed the difference in writing style, the sudden switch to first person and mentioning of a Jongdae who he could only assume was the same Jongdae from Class 3-B.

Baekhyun nodded with a quiet whimper. He bowed and quickly took off while shoving the wretched papers into his backpack. Had Baekhyun ever been so embarrassed in his whole life? How had he been so careless and foolish? How? He remembered sorting through his essay and stapling it after he was satisfied that everything was in order. Then he suddenly remembered stapling his essay twice and the reason for the mix-up. His printer had run out of ink while printing the first time. Only the first and half the second pages were printed. He must have set them down over the pages for his lovebook while he was changing the ink cartridges. Then later he was in a rush and stapled all the papers together and threw them in his folder.

I'm so ing stupid.

Overhead a trio of girls were walking toward his direction. Baekhyun cursed in his mind as he barely recognized them from elementary school. He never liked them, not even back then. The girls abruptly stopped and blocked Baekhyun from proceeding forward. Baekhyun would have shoved through them had the girls not linked their arms tightly together. "You girls want something?"

"We heard you've opened up the Well," the girl to his right answered. "We want a favor. We'll give you 15,000 won."

"I don't negotiate prices until I know exactly what I'm doing." Baekhyun shoves his hands into his coat pockets. "Care to elaborate?"

The one in the center spoke up, "We want to know which one of us your friend, Do Kyungsoo, likes."

Baekhyun immediately shook his head. "I can't do that. If you want to know, ask him yourself." Baekhyun stepped forward but the girls continued to block him. "Please go away."

"Why not?"

A voice from behind Baekhyun nearly startled him. " off. If he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't have to."

"This doesn't concern you Jawhwa, you off," the girl to Baekhyun's left sneered.

"You're in my way," Jaehwa shoved through, tearing two of them girls apart to get to the other side of the hallway. Baekhyun took the chance to follow Jaehwa's trail. His feet moved as fast as they could carry him to the point of stepping on Jaehwa's heels. "Ow!" Jaehwa spun around expecting to see the girls, but once she saw it was only Baekhyun, she rolled her eyes. "What the hell, Baekhyun?"

"Just trying to escape," Baekhyun said while darting past her and disappearing around the corner. Baekhyun hurried out the school and hopped onto his bike, pedaling straight home.

Oh how delighted Baekhyun felt when he saw a familiar person sitting on the couch in the living room, even more so when his guest held up a bag of kettlecorn with a piece of paper taped to it saying, "Study date?" The paper wasn't Jongdae's idea but Mr. Byun's. Upon hearing that Jongdae was there to help Baekhyun with his math, Baekhyun's father joked about a study date and snatched a piece of paper. So when Baekhyun's cheeks flushed at the sight of the bag, Mr. Byun mistook it as him successfully embarrassing his son.

"He thinks he's so funny," Baekhyun rolled his eyes once the two settled into his bedroom. He began tearing at the opening but Jongdae lightly slapped his hand. Baekhyun gawked at him, "What?"

"You can't eat it yet. This is your reward, each piece for getting an answer right," Jongdae seized the bag and held it against his chest. Baekhyun threw a small tantrum and tried grabbing the bag but Jongdae hid it behind his back. "Nope."

"How much for a kiss?" Baekhyun batted his eyelashes and puckered his lips. Baekhyun leaned forward but Jongdae pushed Baekhyun's face away with his free hand.

"None."

Baekhyun's fingers undid the first button of his shirt, "What if I strip for you?"

"Then I'll finish the whole bag myself," Jongdae laughed. Baekhyun gave up his efforts for the snack and started working on the problems from his workbook. Jongdae moved to sit beside Baekhyun, placing the bag of kettlecorn on the opposite side out of Baekhyun's reach. Jongdae smiled at how focused Baekhyun was and reached out to Baekhyun's neck.

"What are you doing?" Baekhyun flinched away, his dark eyes wide in alarm. Jongdae only smiled in return.

Baekhyun hadn't even realized how late it was until he glanced over at the clock a few hours later. He turned to Jongdae, "How long are you staying? It's getting dark."

"I was planning to stay the night. I told you earlier."

Baekhyun blinked curiously at his boyfriend. Baekhyun didn't hear Jongdae say anything. "Where are you sleeping? Baekbeom's room?"

"With you," Jongdae said as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

"Oh hell no," Baekhyun said. "You're not sleeping on my bed. Either you sleep on the floor or in Baekbeom's bedroom. Or the downstairs couch."

Even as the two prepared for bed Baekhyun was adamant on keeping his bed to himself. "It's not like our first time we slept together," Jongdae said with a frown. "You slept on my bed at least twice."

"Yeah, your bed. Pick your room. I'll make a bed a for you on the floor if you want to stay in here."

Baekhyun got out a sleeping pad and set it at the foot of his bed. He tossed two blankets and three pillows on top and gestured to Jongdae's makeshift bed. Jongdae kept his eyes narrowed at Baekhyun the entire time, not even glancing at where Baekhyun wanted him to sleep. Jongdae folded his arms across his chest and stood his ground, "I'm not sleeping there."

"Then go home. No one invited you to sleep over," Baekhyun said, immediately regretting it. He hesitantly reached for Jongdae's arm. "I mean... why not?"

"I wanted to sleep with you but nevermind," Jongdae responded without sparing Baekhyun a look. He freed himself from Baekhyun and adjusted the pillows and blankets, leaving Baekhyun standing alone and fidgeting with his fingers. Baekhyun chewed his lower lip nervously. Jongdae seemed upset and tensed, should Baekhyun say something? Before Baekhyun could speak, Jongdae began taking off his shirt and pants, "Good night Baekhyun."

Baekhyun quickly averted his eyes, "Yeah... good night." He crawled into his bed, "You ready?" At Jongdae's confirmation, Baekhyun turned off the lamp. Darkness happily filled his room.

A few hours later, Jongdae shifted his position to lie on his left side when he nearly jumped in fright. Some time during the middle of the night Baekhyun must have decided to join him. A light smile touched Jongdae's lips as he stared at the sleeping beauty. Well Jongdae wouldn't exactly call Baekhyun a beauty at the moment. Still, Jongdae scooted closer and carefully placed his arm over Baekhyun. Baekhyun softly moaned and moved his head forward until it rested near the crook of Jongdae's neck. Baekhyun's hand moved underneath the blanket, brushing against Jongdae's torso. Jongdae gasped and froze for a couple of seconds, gulping down the lump that formed in his throat. Without much thought, Jongdae let Baekhyun go and stuck his arm under the blanket where Baekhyun's fingers met his. Baekhyun held Jongdae's thumb and it reminded Jongdae of a baby's fingers curling around someone's larger finger. Baekhyun moaned again before muttering, "...Babe, please don't... don't hate me."

---

The sunlight broke through the drapes and hit Baekhyun's face like someone shining a flashlight at him. Groaning, Baekhyun turned to his side where he snuggled against Jongdae's back, ready to return to sleep, but if the sun was up...

Baekhyun's eyes flew open and he bolted upright, eyes squinting at the clock. School had already began by several minutes. He shook Jongdae awake, "Babe, get up. We're late for school." Jongdae groaned, waving an arm at Baekhyun before pulling the blanket up against his cheek. "Come on!" Baekhyun yanked the blankets off Jongdae. The cold instantly hit Jongdae's bare legs and the brunet shivered, folding his legs against his chest for warmth. "Jongdae."

"We're late already, just forget about it."

"It doesn't work that way," Baekhyun slapped Jongdae's . It always worked when Baekbeom did it to him. "Get up." When the brunet made no effort to move, Baekhyun slapped him again.

Jongdae merely smiled with his eyes still closed, "I like it when you touch me. That's not going to work."

Frustrated -- and a little grossed out -- Baekhyun abandoned Jongdae and prepared himself for school. Jongdae could sleep in all he wanted but Baekhyun was going to school. Once the bathroom door shut, Jongdae got up with a huff. He joined his boyfriend in the bathroom, grinning at their bed hair. Jongdae helped comb Baekhyun's hair down while Baekhyun brushed his teeth over the sink.

Through the mirror, Baekhyun observed Jongdae's concentration as the brunet patted down his hair. Why was Jongdae fixing Baekhyun's hair when Jongdae should be worrying about his own hair? Satisfied with his boyfriend's hair, Jongdae gave Baekhyun a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll get your uniform set out." Baekhyun turned to watch the brunet walk out, eyes fixated on the brunet's boxers. He hadn't wanted to look before, but now he was and he wondered why in the world Jongdae owned a pair of boxers that said "home run" across the . Baekhyun's cheeks flushed as he tore his eyes away.

Please don't tell me he wears that to school.

Jongdae went through Baekhyun's closet and neatly set the school uniform out. He dug through his own bag for his uniform. Jongdae contemplated whether to wait for Baekhyun or just change to save time. In the end he dropped his boxers but that was the moment the door opened and Baekhyun stepped out. Baekhyun screamed and immediately covered his eyes and whipped around on his heels.

"Sorry!" Jongdae hastily slipped one leg through his new boxers only to fall over. He could feel his face and ears burning in embarrassment even if Baekhyun only glimpsed at his bare skin for a second. They had never seen each other and weren't planning to until later later. "Your uniform is on the bed."

Baekhyun slowly stepped back until he saw his uniform in his peripherial vision. He snatched them and disappeared into the bathroom, making sure to lock the door so Jongdae couldn't get in.

150920 (M)

Baekhyun saw Jongdae in his birthday suit ;) Get it?

Happee Birthdae to Kim Jongdae <3