Chapter Three: Proximity

proximity: nearness in place, time, relation

~*~

Being in a stranger's house, Baekhyun was the first to wake at the crack of dawn. Exhausted, aching, grumpy -- he stumbled into the bathroom attempting his best to remain quiet to allow the other two their sleep.

He looked into his reflection and forced a smile. He only ended up grimacing at the ugliness of his fake rectangle of a smile. Baekbeom would be so very disappointed. He began washing up alone in the peaceful calm of the home. By the time he was done and prepped, the other two were still knocked out.

He stood beside Jongdae's bed and peered down at the younger male who tightly hugged onto a body pillow. With pursed lips, Baekhyun glanced down at his customer who was off in the dream wasteland.

Wake up soon.

As if the sleeping beauty heard his thoughts, Jongdae's eyelids slowly fluttered open. The older male quickly pretended as if he was just passing by, hoping Jongdae was too drowsy to notice the little details. Baekhyun offered a smile as Jongdae sat upright, "Good morning Jongdae. I didn't wake you did I?"

"No, of course not," the younger male responded with a tired yawn. He stretched his arm to the heavens before hopping off the bed and retreating to the bathroom. The raven-haired male sighed in relief as he retrieved his phone and began fiddling with it.

Not much bonding happened since I've been here. What a waste of time.

A loud thud jolted Baekhyun back to reality as Kyungsoo rolled off the futon. With a painful groan, the red-haired male slowly got up. Baekhyun smiled at his friend, "Nice way to wake up."

"Shut your mouth," Kyungsoo said as he joined Jongdae in the bathroom, leaving Baekhyun alone.

The sun slowly began to fill Jongdae's room by the time Baekhyun received a text from Chanyeol, asking him to come along on a double date. He insisted he had found the perfect girl for Baekhyun and they were going to get along the second they met. With a roll of his eyes, Baekhyun declined the offer, saying he already had his own schedule, but Chanyeol wouldn't give up.

In the end, Baekhyun turned to the brunet who had just emerged from the bathroom. When Jongdae caught Baekhyun's eyes, Baekhyun said, "I hate to ask you of this, but can you be my date for today?"

"Wh-What? Why?"

"Chanyeol's trying to set me up with some girl and I'm not interested. Then he said he didn't care who I went with as long as I went."

"Went where?" Jongdae asked. He quickly shook his head, "I mean go where?"

"Chanyeol's taking that on a date and wants me to tag along. Won't you come along, Jongdae? You ruined our bonding time last night," Baekhyun flashed a smile.

Jongdae frowned, pointing behind him, "What about-"

"Guys!" Kyungsoo burst out the bathroom with a frantic look in his eyes. His mouth was wide open as he looked back down at the phone in his hand, "I have to go! I'm so sorry!" The youngest of the trio hastily packed his belongings, "I'm so sorry!"

"What happened?" Baekhyun finally asked.

"My brother! He just got a girlfriend and they're coming over for breakfast and the whole day. I just have to meet this girl," Kyungsoo said before bolting out the door.

The Well and his customer sighed, shoulders slumped.

"And here I thought something bad happened," Jongdae muttered.

"Same here. At least nothing did," Baekhyun smiled. "Are you ready? We have to leave in a couple of minutes."

---

Chanyeol, Jaehwa, Baekhyun, and Jongdae entered Chanyeol's mother's restaurant and took their seats. The tall guy was frowning the whole time at his best friend for ditching the date he picked out for him. Instead, his friend had snagged Jongdae along. Chanyeol didn't mind so much that Jongdae was there because he liked the guy, he was just disappointed in Baekhyun. Chanyeol turned to Jaehwa to ask her what she wanted, but she was heavily occupied with staring across the table at Jongdae.

It brought him back to that morning when Jongdae had asked him and his girlfriend to scram. While they were walking away, she had said that Jongdae looked familiar. Unless the two had met somewhere outside of Sooha High School, Chanyeol was sure the two have never met. His girlfriend cleared , "Jongdae-oppa?"

Jongdae glanced up from the menu, "Yes?"

"Have we met before?"

"Yeah, you and Chanyeol made out in front of my desk," the brunet replied with a smirk before returning his attention back to the menu. Baekhyun fought back a smile as he stole a glance at the young woman who didn't seem too impressed. She frowned deeply, eyes narrowed, fingers tapping repetitiously on the glass surface of the table.

"Nevermind then," she sighed, leaning back in her seat. She smiled at Chanyeol and took a hold of his hand, "I'll get the usual."

After waiting for Jongdae to take an eternity deciding on his meal, the table finally gave their orders to the waitor and sat back in silence. At least, that's what Baekhyun and Jongdae did; Chanyeol and his girlfriend were occupied with another.

Disgusting.

Baekhyun turned to Jongdae the same time the brunet turned to him and the two accidentally brushed hands. Not making a big deal out of it, Baekhyun asked, "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Nope."

Baekhyun pursed his lips, "Well, I do. I hope you have enough money because by the time we're done you're gonna owe me hell."

The brunet raised a brow, "Why would you want hell, you crazy bastard..." He sat up straighter in his chair, "Actually, I do want to talk about something." Baekhyun gestured for him to continue. Jongdae gestured to Jaehwa, "Why don't you like her?"

"I have my reasons."

"Give me a good one."

"She hates me and I hate her back. What better reason is that?"

Chanyeol and Jaehwa paused, turning to the two sitting across from them. Baekhyun shook his head and sealed his lips. Jaehwa swallowed the guilt down, knowing deep down the reason why she and Baekhyun didn't get along. She acknowledged it was her own fault she lost connection with her childhood friend, but she would never admit that.

I just want a ing apology from that .

When the food arrived, the party of four began indulging in their breakfast but the tension between Baekhyun and Jaehwa remained. Jongdae and Chanyeol were too busy stuffing their faces and enjoying the food to notice it, but the feeling was palpable between the two in conflict with one other.

---

Baekhyun was grateful to sink into his own bed. He notified his parents about his guest that evening, only to find out his father would be on his job while his mother had to head to the office regarding the Yoonkyu Fire. Apparently his mother was one of the many prosecutors who held the suspicion that the fire was no accident. They were still scouring for evidence, though Baekhyun was puzzled how evidence would come to be.

After having shut the blinds and closed the drapes, Baekhyun's room was dark as the woods at night -- without the stars or moon. He smiled and closed his eyes, taking a nap, or at least trying to. After constant tossing and turning, he sat upright and threw the covers off, grumbling darkly under his breath. He allowed sunshine to seep into his room before heading downstairs.

He was enjoying a bowl of ice cream while marathoning a new drama series he found when his parents came downstairs, "Is your friend here yet?"

"Unless he's invisible, no."

The doorbell abruptly rang and Baekhyun's father answered it. From where he sat, Baekhyun heard a cheery voice, "Oh! Hello! You must be Baekhyun's father. I'm Kim Jongdae, Baekhyun's friend." The older man laughed and allowed the smiling young man into the house.

Baekhyun frowned when his eyes landed on the backpack strapped around the brunet's shoulders, "What is that?"

"My stuff for tonight and tomorrow morning," Jongdae replied without breaking his smile. "Your parents invited me to sleep over."

Baekhyun's parents stood together behind Jongdae with wide grins. His mother said, "We figured since you slept over at his place yesterday, he should sleep over here tonight. You two will behave, right?"

"Don't burn the house down," Baekhyun's father laughed as he and his wife walked out the door. As a last minute thought, he stuck his head in again, "And don't kick your friend out. We'll be back and if we don't see him tonight or tomorrow morning, we're kicking your . Oh, and don't forget to feed him." The door slammed shut, startling both the high schoolers.

"Wow," Jongdae chuckled, "your parents seem nice."

"They hate me," Baekhyun grumbled, setting his bowl down. "I assume my mother won't be back until later later, that's why they invited you to keep me company." Baekhyun loved his parents and he knew they loved him, but sometimes they were too much. He wasn't a little boy anymore, he knew how to handle himself at home alone. "Are you hungry?"

"Do you have ramen?" Jongdae asked. He loved instant noodles but they always reminded him of how lonely he was because it was a last minute resort when no one was available to cook for him or tell him what to eat.

The raven-haired male nodded, "But instant noodles? We have other things, you know. A big variety." The younger male simply smiled and bobbing his head up and down. Baekhyun prepared the noodles and the two ate on the couch as they watched the TV.

Jongdae had never shared a pot of ramen with anyone before and it surprised him that Baekhyun wasn't being such a picky jerk about sharing germs or anything. He half-expected the older male to complain, but Baekhyun had handed Jongdae a pair of chopsticks and the two began to eat from the same pot. The episode ended way after the two finished their dinner.

"Let's go up to my room," Baekhyun shut the TV off and washed the dishes in the kitchen before the two retreated to his room. Jongdae was surprised -- though he sort of expected it -- when he saw how tidy Baekhyun's room was. "Please, don't touch anything not meant to be touched." Jongdae set his backpack on the bed, but quickly picked it back up when Baekhyun shot him a glare, "Leave that on the floor."

Here's the Baekhyun I know.

The two laid on the floor over a blanket and relayed the breakfast from that morning. Jongdae glanced at the older male, "How come you and Jaehwa don't get along? And give me a real answer this time."

"We just don't."

"Come on, Baekhyun, I swear I won't tell anyone. I just want to know."

Blowing strands of hair away from his eyes, Baekhyun replied, "There's nothing to know."

"Did she do something to you?"

"There's something she didn't do that I'm still pissed off at."

After many failed attempted to get Baekhyun to talk, the brunet gave up and they began a different conversation, one about how it felt being the Well. Baekhyun was surprised he was speaking so much to Jongdae as if they had been friends since forever and they were catching up on what they missed.

I guess the kid's likable. He's not too bad, really. If only he wasn't a damn customer in need of help to determine his uality. What a sad boy.

"So," Baekhyun said slowly. "Have you figured out if you're gay or not?"

Jongdae paused before shaking his head, "We just got together, how am I supposed to know? Do you want me to kiss you?"

The older male quickly flinched back, "Please don't contaminate my lips or else the deal is so off."

"Don't worry," Jongdae frowned at the defensive insult, "I wasn't planning to. Are you afraid of me because I might actually be gay?"

"N-No. I just don't want to be ual harrassed or by a man, woman, animal, alien, whatever's out there. You understand right?" Baekhyun responded. He tried not to offend Jongdae or any others out there in the world. He was totally okay if Jongdae was homoual, but that didn't mean he was okay for Jongdae to just pull a move on him. "Just... if you want a kiss, you better warn me."

"What about right now?" Jongdae blinked as he sat upright and looked down at Baekyun. The older male followed suit with raised brows.

"Right now? Now?" he panicked. It wasn't much of a warning; he needed freaking days in advance. Jongdae flashed a quick smile before advancing toward him.

"Yeah, why not? We're finally alone." Baekhyun's heart raced and his fingers began to jitter. He sat frozen as Jongdae slowly neared him, "If you don't want to then you better say it."

Before their lips could meet, Baekhyun broke away from the roots of fear holding him down and shivered, "It's cold... I need something warm to wear."

"You don't need to get up, I'll just hold onto you," Jongdae smiled, arms outstretched. "We can cuddle together!"

"Don't touch me," Baekhyun snapped as he jumped to his feet and sprinted across the room to his closet. When he threw on a hoodie, the doorbell rang. Mentally sighing in relief, Baekhyun got up and ordered for his guest to stay inside his room and to keep his hands to himself before quickly running out and down the stairs. He checked the monitor, taken aback when he recognized the man patiently standing outside. He immediately bolted for the door.

"Baekbeom, you're here," Baekhyun said breathlessly. He looked his elder brother up and down with wide eyes for a moment or two before realizing he was leaving his brother outside in the cold. "Come in," the younger male said, opening the door wider.

"It's good to see you Baekhyun. I see you've dyed your hair," Baekbeom patted his younger brother's head. "Where are Mom and Dad?"

"They went out."

"So you're home by yourself?"

"My friend is here. He's in my bedroom."

At the mention of a friend, Baekbeom's interests were peaked. Being Baekhyun's older brother, he understood how finicky Baekhyun was when it came to letting someone in his room. Not to mention how he enjoyed teasing his younger brother, "Oh?"

Baekhyun's cheeks flushed and he quickly shook his head, "He's just a friend, don't be gross."

The elder brother chuckled before ruffling the younger brother's hair, "Is he cute? I want to meet my future brother-in-law."

"He's just a friend."

"Yeah, a friend."

"Shut up," Baekhyun frowned. "I'm not gay. I'm as straight as you."

"Don't be too sure."

Baekhyun's brows knitted together when he noticed Baekbeom was wearing a different watch. He blinked once, twice before reaching out for his elder brother's wrist, "You got a new watch?" The watch his brother wore was the same as his, but in a slightly darker hue of the gray his was. He spent so much time with his own wrist watch he caught the difference as if he was looking at a splotch of black ink on a new clean sheet of paper.

Baekbeom was surprised Baekhyun noticed, "Yeah, I did. I lost the other one."

How?

Baekhyun cursed under his breath when he heard a ruckus from upstairs and Jongdae came hopping down, "Baekhyun, I accidentally--" Jongdae paused in surprise and bowed to Baekbeom, who kindly returned the gesture.

"This must be the friend," Baekbeom smirked at his little brother. "I'm Byun Baekbeom, Baekhyun's brother."

The youngest male in the room smiled, "Oh, you're Baekbeom. It's nice to meet you, I'm Kim Jongdae."

"So, you're Baekhyun's friend?"

"Yes, he's my friend," Baekhyun said, taking his friend's arm and pulling him away. "Go back to the room."

"Why? I want to talk more to your brother," Jongdae pouted. Remembering the reason he came downstairs in the first place, the young brunet chuckled nervously, "I accidentally broke your student desk."

The raven-haired male paused and gazed deeply into Jongdae's eyes and asked in disbelief, "You broke my desk? What did you do, sit your fat on it?"

Baekbeom smacked the back of his younger brother's head, "Hey, watch your language." He stole a glance at Jongdae's bottom and smirked, "Jongdae doesn't seem to have a big , but I guess you would know more than me."

Baekhyun's cheeks burnt, wishing his brother would stop. His brother always treated him as if he were secretly a girl. Baekbeom never gave up the opportunity to tease his younger brother if he ever met one of Baekhyun's male friends.

Jongdae noticed the watch on Baekbeom's wrist, "Oh, you do have the same watch." He grinned at the brothers, admiring their relationship, "I wish my brother and I were as close as you two."

"Let's take a look at my brother's desk," Baekbeom smiled and walked past the younger boys to where Baekhyun's room was. Two of the desk legs had broken apart; all the items that once resided in the desk laid scattered on the floor. It was as if Jongdae had punched Baekhyun across the face. Baekhyun bent down and picked up the papers, hoping the majority of them were still in order. Baekbeom picked up the bolts and screws lying on the ground, holding them in the palm of his hands for his brother to see. "You didn't tighten them."

The Byun brothers fixed the desk while Jongdae held up a flashlight for better lighting. Once everything was back in order, the three sat around on the floor and that's when Baekbeom noticed Jongdae, as in really notice. Jongdae caught the older male staring at him with an intense gaze and awkwardly shifted his weight, "Can I help you?"

"Have we met before? You look familiar," Baekbeom replied.

Kim Jongdae? Kim... Jongdae...?

Baekbeom's eyes traveled down to Jongdae's hand, the one clasped around the necklace. The young brunet cleared his throat and shook his head, "No, I don't think so." When he put his hand down and allowed his necklace to hang free, Baekbeom's eyes slightly widened.

Little Brother.

Baekbeom gestured to the necklace, "You have an older sibling?"

Jongdae nodded with a smile, "Yes, I have an older brother."

"I'm sure he's nothing like Baekbeom," Baekhyun muttered as he fidgeted with his broken zipper. He received a light punch from said guy and the two laughed it off. "Jongdae, when were you planning to leave?"

The brunet pouted, shoulders slumped and eyelashes batting, "You're kicking me out already?"

Baekbeom laughed in delight. Jongdae was cute, cute enough for his little brother. It seemed the two got along, considering Baekhyun hadn't attacked Jongdae nor was he throwing up at the young brunet's cute and adorable behavior. He rather liked Jongdae; the young man helped alleviate the atmosphere.

"You're a customer and an emergency has come up. The shop's closed," Baekhyun stated flatly. He tossed the hoodie against the wall and rummaged through his closet for another hoodie.

"What were you two doing here before I came?" Baekbeom smiled innocently to Baekhyun's friend.

Not understanding the implications of Baekbeom's words, Jongdae replied with a bright smile, "We were just laying around and talking. Then Baekhyun got cold and went to find something to wear even though I said I could-"

Baekhyun dashed across the room and threw himself against the brunet; the two fell back, Baekhyun hovering over Jongdae. The raven-haired male shook his head frantically, looking down at his friend with wide brown eyes, "Don't say anything else to him."

The brunet blinked up in surprise at the sudden assault, not sure what he did to deserve it. He looked deeply into Baekhyun's eyes and blinked several times. His heart was beating in his ears, when Baekhyun repeated himself, Jongdae was unable to catch a single word. Nevertheless, the younger male slowly nodded. When Baekhyun got up, the places Baekhyun had touched him suddenly turned cold as the warmth dissipated and the draft in the bedroom whipped at him.

Baekhyun sharply exhaled and his lips before placing the sweater aside. He was no longer cold since his blood had circulated to his face and shoulders in embarrassment. He loved Baekbeom, but he swore his brother was going to be the death of him. He turned to the smiling older male, "How long are you here for?"

Baekbeom avoided the question with a question of his own, "Jongdae's a customer? You're still doing that, little brother? Why? What's the favor?"

The younger Byun brother crossed his arms, "Yes. He's my customer. I've never stopped since I began at the end of elementary school. Favor is confidential."

Thank god it is.

"Cho Yonghwa was a bad influence on you," Baekbeom tsked.

"He inspired me," the raven-haired male smiled.

"Who's Cho Yonghwa?" Jongdae asked in curiosity. He wanted some more information about Baekhyun and those around him... not that he was trying to be a creep or anything.

Baekbeom replied before his little brother could, "He was a good friend of mine and Baekhyun's. When we were still in school, Yonghwa was the original Well. Not like my little poop here." Baekbeom threw an arm around his brother's neck and drilled his knuckles into the top of the squirming young man's head.

"Argh! Stop! Stop it!" Baekhyun wildly swung his arms around. The young brunet smiled at his classmate's misfortune. He smiled because he was seeing a new side of Baekhyun; Baekhyun and his brother reminded Jongdae of himself and his own brother. Oh how he missed his brother...

The older male flashed Jongdae a grin, "Have you eaten yet, Jongdae? I can cook up something edible for you if this little brat didn't feed you yet."

The brunet laughed lightly, shaking his head, "That's all right, we had some instant noodles earlier."

Baekbeom made a face before releasing his struggling brother. Baekhyun puffed angrily, his hair disheveled and cheeks flushed. The elder sibling jabbed an accusing finger against the younger sibling's chest, "You know how to cook yet you feed your guest-customer-boyfriend instant noodles?"

"He insisted on instant noodles," Baekhyun turned to the brunet for help and Jongdae nodded slowly.

Jongdae said quietly, "I didn't want to feel like a leech and ramen is good. How are long are you staying, Baekbeom-hyung?"

"Oh, please, just called me Baekbeom or even just Hyung. I'll be here for a couple of days, two weeks at the most perhaps," the older male responded.

"Two weeks?" Baekhyun was surprised. Baekbeom never usually stayed longer than four days and suddenly he said he was staying for two whole weeks? "Did something bad happen?"

"No, not at all. I just miss the family. And now that I find you've got yourself a new friend, I'm curious about him."

The boys ended up talking the night away and before they knew it, it was past midnight. Baekbeom retired to the room the Byun family kept reserved for him and his sporadic visits. Baekhyun and Jongdae pulled up a mat in the living room because there was no way Baekhyun was allowing Jongdae to sleep in his room.

Not being in his own home and sleeping out in the open, Jongdae blinked at the ceiling through the darkness, though by then his eyes had slightly adjusted. The humming of the fridge kept him awake and when it would stop, the large clock on the wall took over. For Baekhyun, it was a different story; the fridge lulled him to sleep the second he closed his eyes.

Jongdae glanced at the lump beside him and sighed, wishing he had his body pillow to cuddle with. Kyungsoo allowed Jongdae to hold him when they slept, but Baekhyun was Baekhyun. Jongdae didn't want to freak his new friend out and risk getting beaten.

However, Jongdae knew the only way he would sleep would be to hold something tightly. Slowly, he edged closer to Baekhyun, careful not to wake the sleeping young man. He breathed in the nice scent of Byun Baekhyun, his lips curling into a smile. He was sure they used the same shampoo. Gently, Jongdae draped an arm around Baekhyun and closed his eyes.

---

In the middle of the night, Baekhyun was startled awake as something moved near his feet. He glanced around in confusion, wondering where he was. He was in the living room... but why?

Ah, Jongdae's sleeping over.

That's when the raven-haired male realized it was Jongdae. The younger male was holding him; an arm rested over his side on top of his own arm and Jongdae's chest pressed against Baekhyun's back. What the older male had felt earlier was Jongdae's legs being thrown on top of his own. Baekhyun had never felt more uncomfortable in his life.

He attempted to move, but every movement he made only seemed to make Jongdae hold him tighter. Baekhyun said quietly, "Jongdae, let me go." After several failed attempts, he gave up. He didn't want to wake up his friend because... he enjoyed the warmth and closeness Jongdae gave him. Besides, if Baekhyun respected anything, it was someone else's sleep.

Baekhyun wondered how Jongdae's situation would come to an end, which way Jongdae would go. He wondered how much money he would be getting from the young brunet. Suddenly, Baekhyun heard footsteps coming down the stairs and mentally cursed. It would look so bad for him and Jongdae no matter who it was, but if it was Baekbeom...

His brother's figure headed to the fridge for a glass of water. He prayed Baekbeom wouldn't check on them, but of course being the nosy and over-protective brother Baekbeom was, he tiptoed over to the two sleeping on the floor in the living room. He had only meant to check up on the two and see if he had to pull up their blankets, but what he found threw that thought out the window.

The brothers made eye contact before Baekhyun could feign sleep. Baekbeom cracked a smile at the younger men's position, "Just friends, huh?"

"It's not like we're under the same blanket, damn," Baekhyun hissed angrily.

"You wish you were."

"I'm starting to think you're gay but you just won't admit it, so you enjoy seeing other gays."

"You just called yourself gay."

"Can you just please help me?"

Before Baekbeom could reply, Jongdae snuggled closer -- if that was even possible -- to Baekhyun and grumbled something incoherent at first, but later the brothers heard the last part, "Jongdeok-hyung... are you coming back?"

Baekbeom froze.

Jongdeok?