Best friends. That is what they really are. But that does not prevent their other close friends from calling them a “couple.” Oh, how Kris wishes that they were really a couple. A few years of close friendship gave birth to a new feeling within Kris towards his best friend, yet he never had the courage to confess. Chanyeol is very clingy, very, and it’s only with him that Chanyeol likes to cling to. But Kris does not want to misinterpret it as an act of affection towards a lover.

“Hyung~” Kris turns his attention from himself to the bundle of energy beside him who keeps on tugging his sleeve.

“What?” Kris asks, short, with his cold voice like usual.

Kris is very proud of himself, that he can still keep his feelings under control and not let other people know that he’s head over heels for Chanyeol.

“Can you come with me to the bathroom?” Chanyeol asks with a whiny voice, trying to coax his cold (only on the outside) friend.

“Why are you so scared?” Kris sighs at the lump on the bed beside him as his room is too dark for him to see Chanyeol’s body even with fire from the candle.

“It’s too dark!” Another high-pitched whine comes out of Chanyeol.

“I already said before you came that there’s no electricity in my house, but you still came. Now stop complaining and go away!” Kris pushes Chanyeol out of his bed using his feet, but the giant kid does not budge at all. Talk about unnecessary strength.

“But-” Chanyeol pouts to himself because it’s too dark for Kris to see it anyway before he continues. “I thought you might be lonely,” Chanyeol grins and this time Kris sees it because the younger male scoots closer to him so that his face is within the range of Kris’ eyesight.

“Lonely my . It’s you who is lonely, right? What I said before? Go away. It’s freaking hot you know,” Kris says casually, eyes glued to the laptop screen that he has placed on his thigh. Thank God he remember to charge the battery before the electricity cut off so suddenly in his neighborhood.

Chanyeol turns silent all of a sudden because of Kris’ words, and the older male suddenly feels guilty. He spoke without thinking, like usual. Even though Kris likes to speak without beating around the bush, there’s a few subjects that he will try to avoid when he’s with Chanyeol, like family–and loneliness.

‘Urgh! Damn my mouth!’ Kris hits his own lips lightly with his hand.

You see, Chanyeol comes from an extremely rich family. He’s the youngest of two siblings and has an older sister. His parents did not really pay any attention to him, and his sister was too busy with school when he was growing up. So, he did not have a close relationship with his family, always left alone in their big mansion with only maids to take care of him.

How he becomes close friends with Kris?

Well, that’s the mystery. People are always asking Kris about it since he’s not rich like Chanyeol. Kris’ family is not poor, okay. He comes from a middle-class family, not rich, and not poor either. Kris and Chanyeol never shared a class during middle school, and not even in high school. The fact that Kris is older by two years adds to the mystery. Yet, they’re glued to each other’s sides like a horseshoe crab to its shell. When there’s Kris, there must be Chanyeol by his side, and vice versa, when they’re not having a class or outside of school.

If people ask Kris how can he be Chanyeol’s best friend despite all the differences, the taller male will shrug it off and ask them to direct the question towards Chanyeol. Seriously, not even Kris himself can explain it well of how it happened.

Not that Chanyeol will give them any answer either. That rich brat will brush them off too with his toothy smile and a, “It’s our secret.”

Not that it really is a secret among their group of closest friends.

When he was a little kid, Chanyeol was a really a rich brat. He was ill-mannered, and always looked down on other people. Even without his bad attitude, other kids in his middle school were always too scared to get close to him just because he was rich and they were afraid of making Chanyeol angry. They doesn’t want their fathers to lose their jobs. That left Chanyeol with no friends and he became more and more lonely. His harsh treatment toward his classmates was one of his ways of attracting people’s attention, and if he was lucky, his parent’s attention too. Well, it never worked well.

One day, Chanyeol went into the toilets in the school alone and got stuck in one of the stalls there. The door was broken and his cries of help went unnoticed. That was until a very tall senior came in and kicked the door open when he heard someone was crying in the toilets.

When the door was opened, Chanyeol wiped his tears in a quick manner and his eyes set to glare at his savior.

“What takes you too long to open the door?” Little Chanyeol demanded in an angry tone.

“The hell-?” Those were the exact words his savior said, a little shocked by Chanyeol’s outburst despite being helped.

“I didn’t expect a ‘thank you’, but still, watch your manners, kid,” The tall senior returned Chanyeol’s glare with the more sharp glare before he turned around and start walking toward the exit. But half way, someone tugged his long sleeve to stop him from walk away.

“Wait- I’m- I’m sorry,” Chanyeol, the rich brat, stuttered a little. “-No one has ever said anything about my manners. They- they don’t care.”

“So?” Chanyeol’s saviour asked with little interest.

“…”

“Yah! Why in the world are you crying?!” The senior panicked as Chanyeol crouched down and started bawling his eyes out. The super nice senior (according to Chanyeol) waited until Chanyeol finished his crying session before he sent Chanyeol back to his class. The next day, Chanyeol come to find his senior in his class and since then, he has been following his senior everywhere.

Chanyeol only knew the name of his senior from another senior because the taller male kept refusing to tell Chanyeol. He was just being unreasonable (according to Chanyeol.)

Wu Yifan. He prefers being called Kris.

That’s the story, and not even Kris understands why Chanyeol behaved that way before. Of course after a few months of being chased around by Chanyeol, which the latter denied, ‘I did not chase after you, hyung!,’ the realization come to him slowly even without Chanyeol telling him.

Chanyeol hates being alone.

His other classmates were too afraid of getting close to him, and no one treated him like a normal person. He had always seen as Young Master Park, so no one would reprimand him about his wrong-doings. Not even his teachers. That was until Kris happened.

Let's just say that alone, abandoned, and violent puppy Yeol finally met his Master who could train him into a well-mannered, grown-up dog. Not that the master is any good.

“I’m sorry,” Kris said without looking at Chanyeol. He can’t bear to see the younger’s hurt expression. But he is forced to take a glance over Chanyeol because the junior doesn’t let out any sound to respond.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” Chanyeol suddenly said as he stands up abruptly. He halts his movement for a second and Kris assumes that he is still scared, but forcing himself because he is sulking. ‘Nothing new about that. But still-’ Kris lets out a long sigh.

“Chan-” Kris doesn’t have the chance to finish calling out the younger because Chanyeol had already bolted out of the room. ‘Ah, what trouble,’ Kris ruffles his own hair out of frustration. Still, he puts down his laptop and gets up from the bed. Kris walks lazily toward the bathroom and a frown appears on his face as Chanyeol is nowhere inside when he opens the bathroom door.

“Yeol-ah, where are you?” Kris bites his lower lip out of anxiety as there’s no answer from Chanyeol. But then he halts his steps when he is near the kitchen as he hears a rustling sound coming from it.

“Geez, I’m sorry, okay,” Kris walks in and sees the giant kid sitting on the floor while hugging his own legs and face buried in between his knees.

“You’re so stupid, hyung,” Chanyeol’s voice comes out muffled.

“Heh, look who is talking.”

“Stupid hyung! I hate you!” And Kris smacks Chanyeol’s head out of habit before he too sits down on the floor beside his adorable junior.

“Oww! That hurt!” Chanyeol brings his head up to glare at Kris and the senior chuckles because it’s dark, but he still knows how Chanyeol looks right now.

“What's with the girly talk just now? You hate me? Did I make you pregnant or something?” Kris tries to crack a joke, but Chanyeol’s expression is changing. ‘He is blushing? Nope, it’s too dark and I can’t see it. I can’t see it. Damn it, I know that expression! He’s blushing! But why?!’

“I wanna go home. Bye hyung!” Chanyeol is trying to run away, but Kris is faster. He grasps Chanyeol’s wrist as the latter tries to get up and the frantic boy ends up crashing down on Kris.

“Hey, hey! Calm down will you?” Kris says as Chanyeol tries to break away from Kris’ arms. Chanyeol’s struggle dies down after a few seconds because it’s just impossible to escape. Kris tightens his arms around the junior’s upper body and his long limbs sneaks around Chanyeol’s equally long ones. Chanyeol is officially trapped inside Kris’ cage with his back on his senior’s chest.

“What is wrong with you today?” Kris asks after Chanyeol has calmed down a bit.

“Nothing is wrong!” Chanyeol unintentionally squeaks.

“The fact that you are raising your voice just now is proof that something is definitely wrong. What is it?”

Kris puts his chin on Chanyeol’s shoulder as he asks like it’s the most natural thing to do in the world. They are pretty close, so it is supposed to be okay because they do it all time. Mostly, it’s Chanyeol who put his chin on Kris’ shoulder as the younger likes to hug his back and cling to his senior. But tonight when Kris does the gesture to Chanyeol, the younger male whimpers like a puppy and tries once again to get away from Kris.

“This can’t do. Come here! Up, up!” Kris gets up and pulls Chanyeol up with him before he opens the refrigerator. There’s one way to force Chanyeol to speak honestly. Get him drunk.

“Ah, hyung! You know I can’t take soju!” Chanyeol cries out when the older male puts a green bottle on the coffee table in front of him. Kris also lights up a few candles and puts them in the center of the table. The living room is pretty bright at the moment, thanks to the candles.

“What? Just drink a few cups and calm down. Geez, you’re so hard to control,” Kris pours the clouded liquid inside the cup in front of him and takes a shot. The fidgeting boy in front of him follows suit reluctantly, despite his low tolerance of alcohol. Chanyeol hopes the cold soju can put a stop on his inner turmoil right now.

They’re on the second bottle of soju when the electricity is back in Kris’ house. Chanyeol’s already wasted and he keeps on mumbling some incoherent words. It’s expected as he’d emptied one and a half bottles of the cold soju while Kris had only taken a sip from his cup from time to time. That explains why Chanyeol already has his cheek pressed onto the table and is slurring while Kris still remains sober.

“Hyung~ Kris hyung~” Chanyeol calls out, still with his head on the table. Kris hums while he takes a sip of soju from his cup.

“Hyung, this is goodbye~ annyeong~” Chanyeol says while giggling, but he doesn’t fail to put a shocked expression on the senior’s face. Chanyeol is the type of person who speaks nothing but the truth when he is drunk and that is the reason why Kris takes out the soju. Of course, the boy himself isn’t aware of his own drinking habit. When they’re out with their friends, Kris will never allow Chanyeol to drink any type of alcohol.

The puppy of course will always obey his master’s word.

“What do you mean by goodbye?” Kris asks. He shakes Chanyeol’s arm to wake the boy up when he gets no response.

“Chanyeol? Answer me please? Why are you saying goodbye?” Kris forces a smile on his face as he tries to brush off the negative thoughts in his mind. ‘Maybe he’s talking about another hyung. Shoot! Like there’s other people he called hyung other than me! He introduces me to all his friends like I’m his girlfriend and this brat never call anyone who is older than him hyung except me! Urgh!’

Kris ruffles his hair in frustration because he will need to wait until tomorrow to ask Chanyeol more about it, but he is a hundred percent sure that the younger boy would rather bite his tongue off than tell Kris the truth. Chanyeol never admits to the things he says while he is drunk, Kris knows that better than anyone.

“Hyung- hiks,” Suddenly, Chanyeol just sits up straight and startles Kris before he starts to sniffle.

“Hyung~” His sniffles turns into full blown sobs and Kris chuckles inwardly at one of Chanyeol’s adorable drinking habits, crying.

“There, there, stop crying. Hyung is here,” Kris sits beside the crying boy and pulls him closer. Chanyeol’s hands are clutching Kris’ shirt tightly as he continues to cry with his forehead glued to Kris’ clothed chest. The older male pats Chanyeol’s back lightly and continues to comfort him.

“Hyung~” Chanyeol looks up with his teary eyes and pouts. Kris raises one of his eyebrows and hums.

“What is it?”

“Hyung, I don’t want to say goodbye,” Chanyeol speaks through his tears. Kris suddenly remembers the ‘goodbye’ that Chanyeol said earlier and he wants to know more, desperately.

“Say goodbye to who?” The senior is trying to control his voice so that it doesn’t show how nervous he is right now.

“To you, hyung!” Chanyeol pouts again. This time his lips jut out longer than before.

“Ehh? Why?!” Kris is clearly shocked with what he just heard from the drunken Chanyeol.

“Because I- I love you mo- more than you love me-,” Chanyeol says, stuttering through his cries and hiccups.

“-And y-you said you h-hate brats, and- and you always call me brat-” Chanyeol continues after he wipes his snot using his long sleeves.

“-And that means you hate me,” the boy says with a dejected look on his face while he clings to the puzzled senior.

“Is this what has been troubling you?” Chanyeol nods shyly and Kris chuckles at the simple-minded Chanyeol. He just focuses on one matter and he doesn’t even think about another possibility–like Kris being a straight guy, etc. Kris was straight, before Chanyeol happened.

“You love me, but you think I will hate you after you confess to me, hence the goodbye?” Chanyeol once again nods. His tears starts to well around his eyes once again, ready to fall down as the pain of being hated by the senior he loves the most invading his half-sober mind.

“Hey, don’t cry,” Kris cups Chanyeol’s face softly, thumbs caressing the baby-like skin tenderly.

“I don’t hate you, okay? Hmm?” The senior receives a pout once again from his junior.

“Okay.”

“Are you sure?” Kris asks with a mischievous smile on his face that Chanyeol fails to see. The boy is too caught up with his own feelings that he misses the playful tone in Kris’ voice.

“I-I’m sure, hyung. I just wanna lay down for a while. Can I use your bed?” Chanyeol peels off Kris’ hands on his face reluctantly because it feels good, but at the same time it hurts. His heart is hurting. Kris doesn’t hate him, that’s enough for him. As long as Kris doesn’t hate Chanyeol and he can still stay as Kris’ friend, it’s enough for Chanyeol.

“What? You’ve never ask for my permission before this. Go ahead.”

Chanyeol doesn’t have a retort to what Kris has said about how he usually acts before. Instead, he stands up and walks back to the bedroom unsteadily because of the alcohol is still working its magic. The boy slaps his cheeks lightly, trying to sober up and trying to prevent his tear damn from bursting once again. When he is inside the bedroom, Chanyeol takes a long, deep breath before he exhales in one go.

Chanyeol just wants to throw his body onto the bed and sleep his worries away. However, before he can make a move, no other than Kris wraps his arms around Chanyeol’s upper body, backhugging him tightly much to Chanyeol’s surprise.

“Are you sure that not being hated by me is enough?” Kris says a little too close, making his breath hit the back of Chanyeol’s ear with each word.

“Wh- haha Don’t joke around, hyung,” Chanyeol laughs awkwardly.

“Heh, you’re underestimating me, Chanyeol. You think I don’t know what is in your mind right now? Well, maybe you caught me off guard by saying that you love me. Of course, after that, you were being Chanyeol that I know so well, this-” Kris puts his hand on Chanyeol’s clothed chest near his heart.

“- is so easy to predict.”

“Why are you always being mean to me, hyung?” Chanyeol elbows Kris in his stomach to break away.

“Wow, that hurt,” The man says with furrowed brows as he tries to ease the pain in his stomach.

“You are always being mean to me. Stop it, hyung,” the younger male take a seat on the edge of the bed before he buries his face into his palms. The older male follows suit before he leans closer to the tensed male.

“You know, people always said that I tend to be mean to the person I like,” Kris speaks casually as he nudges Chanyeol lightly, trying to get his attention.

“Who said that?” Chanyeol looks up from his palms curiously. ‘See? Normal people will usually ask –so, you being mean to me because you like me?- but Chanyeol is more curious about the person who said it,’ Kris chuckles at his own thought.

“Well, D.O always says that. Suho too, and sometimes Sehun. Jongin also said that. Hurm, who else?” Kris pretends to think hard before he let out a small laugh at the sight of the super curious Chanyeol. His face is just too adorable when he wants to know more about something.

“Dummy.” Kris flicks Chanyeol’s forehead and he receives a glare as a response.

“Urgh, my head is already spinning enough because of the soju. Don’t add to it, hyung,” Chanyeol growls.

“You aren’t curious as to whom this person is that I’m always being mean to?” And Kris can visibly see Chanyeol’s ear perk up like a cat.

“You don’t? Okay, fine. Good night,” Kris snickers when Chanyeol is quick to grab his arm to prevent him from leaving.

“Erm- who?” The junior asks timidly.

“Who?” The senior feigns ignorance. He receives a smack on his arm as a reply.

“Don’t push your luck, hyung!” Chanyeol sounds irritated, which makes Kris smile widely.

“You’re too dense for your own good, Yeorrie,” Kris says before he gets up and walks to exit the room, leaving Chanyeol with a puzzled look on his face.

“Hyung! Where are you going? Tell me who it is!!” Chanyeol wants to run after the senior, but once he stands up, his world starts to spin again.

“Urgh, hyung~” Chanyeol cries out.

“Get so sleep, Yeorrie-ah. I’ll sleep in the living room.”

“Eh? But you always ask me to sleep in the living room no matter what,” Chanyeol says, scratching his non-itchy head while looking dumb. ‘Adorably dumb,’ Kris is feeling so chuffed.

“Well, I’m always being mean to you, right?”

“Yea. You are only mean to me. I wonder why,” Chanyeol pouts at the memories of constantly cold Kris. Kris doesn’t treat Chanyeol like how he usually treats their other friends, but the boy couldn’t help but to fall in love with his Kris hyung.

“Yea~ I also wonder why~” Kris winks at Chanyeol before he closes the bedroom door, leaving Chanyeol to ponder more. Ah, Kris really likes Chanyeol’s expression when he is deep thought.

“Huh?” Chanyeol’s body jerks up at the sudden conclusion he draws from the hints that Kris has already thrown at him.

“EH?!!”

“What's with the girly talk just now? You hate me? Did I make you pregnant or something?” Kris tries to crack a joke, but Chanyeol’s expression is changing.

Chanyeol was blushing at that time because he thought, ‘Me, pregnant? We never even have yet! Uwaaa! I even think about with hyung! No, I’m not a ert!’

He panicks internally, face all red, and that’s why he tries to run away from Kris.

MASTERLIST