Title: Scholarships
Length: 3k+
Summary: Baekhyun's a janitor.
Status: Unfinished indefinately
a/n: Originally written for Yeolliepopday bc I kept jumping around prompts. This was my baekyeol idea/draft before I stopped, and started the Chansoo entry Summer Kitchen. Enjoy but don't put too much hope on this completetion :'-(
PS: scholarSHIPS hahah puns






“Class ranking...Byun Baekhyun, number one…”

The hallway was far too crowded for Baekhyun’s liking. He kept his ears open and wasn’t surprised by the usual congratulations given to him. Smiling, he accepted their words gracefully, before excusing himself from the rest of them. So while they awed and fawned over him (some even idolizing), he fell back into his usual self. Despite the announcement, it was just another day at school, the most private institution around, and Baekhyun couldn’t wallow in his achievement for too long.

He stepped back into his classroom, empty from the commotion outside besides the uncaring few who decided it wasn’t worth the hurt to look at their numbers. Yet, they still congratulated him. Pushing back his dark black hair, Baekhyun sat back down in his seat and pulled out the notebook in his bag.

Scholarships needed to be maintained if he wanted to become an official alumni of the school and gain recognition from the universities he planned on applying to. Checking his schedule, he reminded himself he had a study session with a friend, Jongdae, from another class at fix until eight. That gave him about an hour and a half to run all of his mom’s errands before the actual session after finishing his job.

It wasn’t completely unorthodox. The scholarship he had was fair in providing for everything that he needed from dorm room to food to everything else essential, but it had a small requirement and that was to give his services back. Usually that meant cleaning the campus from time to time, almost like a part-time custodian. Sometimes, he helped in the kitchen, but for the most part, a broom was almost always in his hand after school hours.

It was something he kept from others, however. Despite their outward appearances, most of the kids were rather cruel about wealth and social standing. Up until that point, they believed he was the heir to a successful global trade company and that his mother was in the film industry, though Baekhyun never specified just so he could avoid the unnecessary supercilous idiots.

“Hey, Byun.”

Raising his eyes from his notebook, Baekhyun saw as a boy approached his desk, turning the chair in front of him around before sitting down in it. “Hey, Kyungsoo. What’s going on?”

Kyungsoo gave a shrug. “Nothing.”

“Annoyed?”

“By your class.”

“Can they not fawn over Park so much?” Kyungsoo groaned, both of his palms pushing against his forehead. “Annoying pricks--and he didn’t even beat you. Actually, other than their fawning, I got tired of their piss poor comments about you. Kill me.”

“In due time,’ Baekhyun teased, closing his book. “You should go back. The bell’s going to ring on you.”

“Drag me.”

“I’d love to, but that might not look good to the board.”

“You want to know what I think about the board?” Kyungsoo leaned in, lips inches from the male’s ear. “ the board…”

Grinning, Baekhyun shoved the other away. Kyungsoo took his leave, dragging his feet as he walked out of the classroom and made his way back to the zoo known as class 1A.

-

-

If high school wasn’t jungle enough already, then private high schools fit the bill. Rather than the usual gang fights and pity wars between girls and males alike (none of that courtyard “I’m going to beat you up” kind of bull), everything happened in--for lack of a better term--classier way.

Kyungsoo was respected and a little bit feared. Baekhyun, on the other hand, was feared too little. If there was anyone on that campus who knew he was on a scholarship, it was Kyungsoo, who, unlike others, didn’t bat an eye at the revelation. All he said was, “I honestly don’t care. Are you doing to eat that or what?”

Every weekend, he’d sneak off the dormitory grounds and walk a block to the actual school buildings. The weekend after the rankings were registered wasn’t an exemption. After leaving Kyungsoo to the company of their dorm building neighbor Jongdae, who was oblivious to the fact that Kyungsoo had no interest in seeing his “magic trick”, Baekhyun walked up the block, fixing a cap on his head so no one would (hopefully) recognize him. Luckily for him, most of the kids enjoyed their weekends in the recreational areas, putting to use all the pools and tennis courts their parents helped pay for.

Mr. Lee was the head custodian. When Baekhyun arrived on campus, he went immediately to the backroom of the gymnasium as he always did, and as he did time and time again, the custodian was waiting for him.

“Good morning,” Baekhyun greeted, taking his hat off. “Which side of the school am I responsible for today?”

Smiling, Mr. Lee handed Baekhyun the usual uniform. “You’ll be taking the west side’s hallways and classrooms. We’ll handle landscape tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

The older man left to give the student some privacy to change. Baekhyun didn’t mind the uniform so much. If anything, it helped disguise him from afar. Snapping on some latex gloves and grabbing his small utilities cart, Baekhyun headed out the door.

-

-

Cleaning never bothered him. What did bother him was the blatant irresponsibility of his school mates. Why did they have to stick gum under their desks? Why couldn’t they walk to the trash bin? Were their legs broken? Probably not. If they were, there wasn’t a doubt in Baekhyun’s mind that their parents would probably fly them to Berlin just for their benefit.

If the school followed a more traditional policy, the floors wouldn’t be as dirty as they were, but no. Everyone wore the same shoes they stomped around outside indoors as well.

The first time Baekhyun even cleaned a hallway, it took him an hour. Then he realized he could just run up and down with a mop really fast in one go, and then clean soak the mess up with one trip down the hall.

The bathrooms were his least favorite things to clean. Baekhyun wanted to cry every time he knew it was time to get on his knees and get dirty (in a non-ual, but still disgusting way). After a while, he figured he should just get it over with and started making the bathrooms his second more top priority.

After hours upon hours of humming through dirty, mop water, disgusting bathrooms and the smell of windex, Baekhyun turned his attention to the classrooms. The rooms were pleasant and never too much of a hassle to clean.

He went from room to room cleaning the windows, dusting the cubby boxes, sweeping the floors, and, occasionally when he felt like it, scraping the gum off from underneath the desks. It was nearing one in the afternoon by the time he finished with his own classroom, taking extra effort to make sure the room was tidier than the rest (he was very biased). Then, just like how he always did, Baekhyun pulled his cart along to room 1A, intent of giving the classroom its basic run down.

As he turned walked toward the classroom door, he stopped when he saw through the glass windows of the classroom a male with dark black hair and bored brown eyes sitting in one of the desks.

Frowning, Baekhyun let out a heavy sigh before proceeding on. He had a job that needed to be done.

Pushing the classroom door open, Baekhyun met the boy’s gaze immediately after his attention was jerked to him. They didn’t say anything to each other at first until Baekhyun cocked his head, pulling his cart inside the room before shutting the door.

“What’re you doing here, Chanyeol?” he asked like he always did.

Shrugging, Chanyeol leaned back in his chair. “Detention.”

The first time he began seeing Park Chanyeol in that classroom on the weekends, Baekhyun was alarmed, but after a while, he began accepting the fact that Chanyeol probably already guessed his situation. Aside from Baekhyun being in a blatantly custodian-looking uniform, Chanyeol’s father was also the dean’s son, giving him access to all the information he could ever want about anyone at school.

When Chanyeol said “detention”, Baekhyun was already aware that was nothing more than a word. The male never had detention. Ever. The school was like a ghost town on the weekend. There was really no viable reason why he should be there in the first place just sitting around to stare at a blank white board, but Baekhyun never bothered asking him.

“You always ask me the same question,” Chanyeol said as he watched Baekhyun walk toward the windows facing the school courtyard. “The answer never changes, anyways.”

“Well, nothing beats my curiosity more than you being here,” Baekhyun answered, spraying cleaner on the windows. “This is like the, what? Millionth time you’ve showed up?”

“Is there a problem with that, Byun?”

“No.” He was lying, but he didn’t want to get in trouble with the Dean for calling his son somewhat bothersome. “I just wonder. The pool area’s open, you know. I walked by it. I think they finally set up the indoor soccer area since kids were complaining about it being too hot for soccer.”

Chanyeol let out a grunt, stuffing his hands deep inside the pockets of his jeans. “Whatever. I’m not interested.”

“Then what’re you interested in?” Baekhyun asked. How the hell did a piece of gum get stuck on the outside of the window? He groaned, opening the glass just ever so slightly to pull the stupid thing off.

“I don’t know.” Chanyeol looked up. “None of those things seem fun to me. What about you?”

“What?”

“Do those things seem fun to you?”

Baekhyun took a pause. He had to wipe the gum off his glove with his other glove until he gave up because it wouldn’t. In the end, he ended up trashing both his latex gloves and replacing them with new ones.

“Kind of, but I don’t have the time.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m busy.”

“Why?”

“Because I am.”

“Well, you don’t have to be.”

Sighing, Baekhyun looked back at Chanyeol. For one reason or another, he wanted to hit him--not too hard. Just enough to make the guy hurt for a second or two. “That’s easy for you to say, don’t you think?”

“Not really,” the male said plainly. “Just stop working. Go have fun. Do something you want.”

“Okay, nevermind. You don’t get it.”

A silence washed over them and Baekhyun tried to ignore it by rubbing so hard on the windows that they squeaked.

Then, Chanyeol asked, “What’re you doing for spring break?”

Glancing back to him, Baekhyun was confused. “What?”

“Are you going home?”

If he could go home, Baekhyun would love to, but he couldn’t. His parents would be visiting relatives at Jeju at that time, and he didn’t want to barge in and ask them to pay for extra fare to tag along. Besides, the school had free things he could take advantage of like food, boarding, and some utilities.

“No,” he finally answered. “I don’t think I am.”

“Do you want to go to Hawaii with me?”

Baekhyun was rendered speechless. The comment came out of nowhere. They weren’t even friends, and as far as he knew (from the rumors that like to float around), Chanyeol disliked him for ranking first all the time. Smiling just to be nice, Baekhyun politely rejected. “No, I don’t. But thanks for as--”

“Alright.”

Narrowing his eyes, Baekhyun thought it was a bit rude of him to cut him off. Plus, Chanyeol already seemed like he moved on from the topic before he could even finish his sentence. Scoffing, he went back to cleaning. “Well, I hope you have fun in Hawaii.”

“I guess.”

Why was it that Chanyeol always sounded so dull? Did he always speak in that tone? Baekhyun never noticed anything about it before, but he’s sure the latter must speak with more excitement and enthusiasm some days. Why did girls find him so charming then?

“I hear the islands are beautiful. The culture’s really rich in history, too. Did you know that--”

“I’m not going to Hawaii anymore,” Chanyeol announced.

“But--”

“I’m bored. When are you done around this place?”

Groaning, Baekhyun set his cloth down and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know, like… Maybe an hour or two? Why do you want to--”

“This is boring.” Rising from his seat, Chanyeol nudged his seat crookedly back into position and stood facing Baekhyun. “I have things to study for. I’ll see you around.”

“Um...Okay…” Baekhyun watched as the tall male turned around, walking casually out the classroom as if he had a reason to be in there in the first place.

Chanyeol, in Baekhyun’s opinion, was weird despite how glorified he was by others. Ever since he started hanging around, it was the same routine. A short, one-sided greeting, a meaningless conversation, and an abrupt exit. It was the first time Chanyeol asked him out (kind of), but it seemed a little too far-fetched and too good to even consider.

After the boy was long gone, Baekhyun hurried on with his job, finishing as fast, but efficiently as he could. He noticed that he worked slower whenever Park was in the same room. It was kind of awful to realize (since he wanted to finish as fast as possible). He tried not to think about it too much as he finished with his job and began wheeling his cart back to the janitor’s area at the gymnasium. It was too confusing.

-

-

“My father’s taking the entire family on a luxury cruise. I refused to go.”

Baekhyun hummed, placing his Cards Against Humanity card face down, pushing it towards Kyungsoo since it was the boy’s turn to choose. Jongdae, the kid who liked magic tricks and cons, placed his and the entire group waited for Jongin, another neither, to decide quickly. He was always the slowest, which really tested Kyungsoo’s patience almost all the time.

“Why?” Jongdae mumbled, glancing at Kyungsoo. “My sister’s break coincides with mine so my parents are going to take us to Italy for a while. Just go on the cruise.”

Kyungsoo let out a soft grunt. “Why would I want to be on a boat with my family?” He pursed his lips before continuing the game. “Instead of coal, Santa now gives bad children...Yeast...Ringworm...l flatulence.”

Jongdae was crying and so was Jongin. Baekhyun tried to keep a straight face, but Kyungsoo immediately looked at him. “I pick l flatulence just because I know Baekhyun has this condition and I want him to know I support him.”

Jongin cheered, taking the black card for a reward as Baekhyun leaned over to try and hit his friend. Jongdae tried to cheat by slipping one of the cards from his hand into the used pile, but both Baekhyun and Kyungsoo caught him, slapping the boy on both of his shoulders yelling “Cheater!”

A knock on the door paused everyone’s activity. They all looked up to see the door swing open and a tall figure standing below the doorway. It was Chanyeol, dressed in a simple white shirt and gray sweatpants. The giant said nothing for a moment, studying the room and the individuals inside. His eyes lingered on Baekhyun longer than they lingered on the others (but Baekhyun dismissed it).

Kyungsoo was the first to break the silence. “What can we do for you, Chanyeol?” he asked very curtly.

“Your chemistry book and notes. I need them.”

“The notes from Friday?”

“Yeah.”

Giving him a curious look, Kyungsoo slowly got off the ground to walk towards his desk. “This is a surprise. You asking for notes. This is why you’re number two.”

Baekhyun’s ears perked and his eyes darted to Chanyeol to make sure the latter wasn’t offended by his friend’s remark. “Kyungsoo,” he said, warning the other to stop.

“I’m just teasing him, Baekhyun. It’s not like he can’t take it.” Handing his thick textbook and his notebook on top of the damn thing, Kyungsoo grinned, leading Chanyeol out of their room. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we were in the middle of discussing Baekhyun’s farting . Have a nice afternoon, Park.”

Shutting the door, Kyungsoo plopped back down to his spot. Baekhyun was so red, he shoved Michelle Obama’s arms in the boy’s face.

-

-

The invitation came on a Wednesday, because Kyungsoo forgot on Monday and didn’t feel like saying anything on Tuesday because his shoulder hurt from tennis. But on Wednesday night, he took away Baekhyun’s notebook from under him, keeping it “hostage” for the meantime while he announced his proposition.

“My family’s still bothering me about that cruise,” he started plainly. “I said I’d go.”

“That’s great--”

“But I said I’d go if I could take a friend,” the boy finished. “You’re the only person I can stand, so the invitation automatically goes out to you.”

Baekhyun was speechless. Really, what was it with people asking him to go on vacation with them? Kyungsoo wasn’t as surprising as Chanyeol’s half-assed proposal, but it was the same type of thing. “I can’t,” he said. “It’s a family vacation, Kyungsoo. I can’t barge in on that.”

“But you’re practically my brother,” Kyungsoo argued. “My parents know about you. I tell talk about you all the time. Why’re you being shy?”

“I’m not shy,” Baekhyun retorted, grabbing his notebook back. “I just can’t take you up on your offer.”

“And why not?”

“Because…” As gently as he could, Baekhyun said, “I can’t pay you back the money it’d take to buy the--”

“I don’t want you to pay me back.”

“Kyungsoo.”

“Baekhyun, you tutor kids almost every day after school. If you’re not, you’re studying. Then on the weekends, when you’re not taking up a job for some extra money, you’re cleaning the school or helping the kitchen ladies as part of your scholarship agreement.” Crossing his arms, Kyungsoo looked at him sternly. “What happens on a cruise will always stay on a cruise, and my parents said they’d get us a seperate room, so you might actually lose your ity on this trip granted that you warn me first so I don’t actually witness it.”

Turning red, Baekhyun lifted a hand to hit him. Kyungsoo took a step back for precautionary reasons.

“Think about it.”

“I have to study, Soo,” Baekhyun tried. There were so many reasons why he didn’t want to go. Of them all, he didn’t want to be a burden or just a mere loafer.

Groaning, Kyungsoo walked back to his bed, sitting down on the edge. “Take a book or something, but let’s just get out of here.” Motioning his hands, he indicated to the room. “It might be fun with you around. I’ll call my dad and tell him you’re on.”

Getting up from his seat, Baekhyun walked over and took the latter’s phone away from the boy’s hand, tossing it on the bed out of his reach for the moment. “I haven’t said yes yet, Soo.”

“Yet?” Kyungsoo said, arching his brows. “You mean that you’re thinking about it.”

Crossing his arms, Baekhyun exhaled. A small vacation from everything did sound nice, and maybe if he talked with Mr. Lee he’d be able to cover for him for a week or so. Besides, how messy could a building get with no one around?

Kyungsoo grinned when he saw the look on Baekhyun’s contemplating face. He curled his hand into a fist and lightly jabbed him on the waist. “You and me. Hawaii. Maybe even some drinking, ah? That sounds fun.”

“That sounds illegal.”

“Everything fun is illegal.” Kyungsoo smiled. “Please say that you’re going.” When the latter frowned, Kyungsoo held both of his hands. “All expenses paid and you just have to say yes.”

“I--”

“Say yes, Baekhyun.”

“Kyungsoo, this is nice and all, but--”

“Agree.”

“I’m--”

“Byun Baekhyun, I swear to god--”

“Kyungsoo!”

“Yes?”

There was a pause. “I’ll go--but no drinking,” Baekhyun said sternly. “I can’t drink. At all.”

Grinning, Kyungsoo nodded. “Done and done.”