Part VIII

Baekhyun

The next month or so passed by but not without lots of tension. Chanyeol and I didn't really talk, except for maybe during meals when his dad would make conversation with us. We didn't acknowledge each other at school, but the plus side of that was his friends also left me alone for the most part. There were times when one of them would catch me alone and calm me a few names, but it seemed like Chanyeol's hatred of me only motivated him to avoid me rather than torture me. That was really all I could ask of him though I guess.

I still missed seeing my friends on a daily basis, but spending more time with Kyungsoo helped with the loneliness. He was pretty introverted, but the closer we got, the more he seemed to open to me. He even cracked jokes sometimes when he was feeling comfortable enough. As much as I hoped Chanyeol and I could at least be acquaintances, having one person to spend time with while my dad and I lived as guests made things a lot easier to cope with.

One weekend when we were all finally able to meet up, I invited Kyungsoo to come hang out with Sehun, Luhan, Xiumin, Taemin, Kai, and I. He was really apprehensive at first, but luckily, I was very good at persuading people, so he eventually agreed. We decided to meet at our usual park Saturday afternoon, so I got up and let my dad know I was leaving before I went to pick up Kyungsoo. The weather was great that day, so even though it was a little further than school, we decided to walk there.

The moment Luhan saw me, he came running over to me and attacked me with a hug. "HOW DARE YOU NOT BE ABLE TO MEET UP WITH THIS FOR A WHOLE MONTH, ASSHOLE?" he said as he shook us back and forth. He pulled back and looked at me, now pouting at me. "Did you really think FaceTime would be sufficient?"

"I really was busy," I said, laughing a little as he took a few steps back and began walking back toward the table. "I didn't think I had that much to catch up on in school, but those rich kids are in an academic league of their own."

"It's probably the pressure of knowing they'll be cut off if they don't make perfect grades. That would explain why they use us as stress relief bunching bags," he said, earning a laugh from me. I greeted the rest of them and then turned around, motioning for Kyungsoo to come over. Timidly, he walked closer to where we were, still standing a few inches behind me. 

"Guys, this is Kyungsoo," I said. "He goes to school with me. He's also Suho's half brother, but don't worry, he's a lot less obnoxious than Suho."

A couple of them chuckled, including Kyungsoo, and he bowed to them. "I-It's nice to meet you," he said in a soft, shy voice. 

"Aw, he's cute," Luhan cooed, now sitting down. "I like him. I think we should keep him." I laughed at that and then invited him to sit down next to me, noticing the strange look Kai was giving him. I didn't think much of it, though, because it probably had more to do with his hatred for Suho. 

"So, have those assholes been giving you a hard time?" Sehun asked. 

I sighed, shaking my head a couple of times. "Not too much, thankfully. They had some words for me on the first day, but I think since Chanyeol mostly leaves me alone, they kind of just follow his lead," I explained. 

"Not surprising," Taemin said. "They're all bark and no bite. They love to make threats but won't do anything that will get them written out of the will."

"You'd think that since their parents pay so much for their education, they'd be smart enough to stay away from us altogether. Money can't buy brains, I guess," Kai said, earning a few laughs from us. I happened to glance over at Kyungsoo and immediately felt bad. 

"Oh god, we're the assholes now," I said, turning so I could see him better. "We're literally trash-talking your brother right in front of you. I'm sorry."

"No, don't feel bad." He shook his head. "It's okay...Suho and his friends are assholes most of the time. I-I don't really hang around them unless my parents force me to."

"Geez, you know you really suck when your own brother doesn't want to be around you," Sehun replied. "Which reminds me, why do I still associate with you again, Kai?" Kai nudged him, almost making him full off the bench as he laughed. 

"Is that why you were trying to run away?" Kai asked Kyungsoo out of the blue, earning puzzled expressions from the rest of us. Kyungsoo's eyes widened a little and he began to blush before looking down. 

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Wait, was that the night Chanyeol left suddenly at dinner? Is that where he went?"

"I wasn't running away," Kyungsoo softly spoke up, briefly making eye contact with Kai. "I just...wanted to go for a walk alone."

"Can one of you fill me in please?" Sehun interjected, holding a hand up.

"Yeah, I'm confused," Luhan said.

Kai looked at Kyungsoo for a moment before speaking. "I went out for a run one night not long ago and found him walking around here by himself," he said. "And then of course, Suho and Chanyeol showed up and almost beat me up for trying to get him to go back home. I even saved him from being sex trafficked."

"How heroic of you, Kai," I said sarcastically, knowing that was probably a dramatized re-telling of what actually happened. I rolled my eyes a little before turning my attention to Kyungsoo. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

He shook his head. "No, I just was feeling a little stressed out, that's all," he answered. "I wouldn't say he saved me exactly...I'm sure I could have handled myself if he wasn't there."

Kai chuckled. "Yeah, right, I'm just as sure as you clearly are." I kicked him from under the table and he just looked at me. 

"You're such an ass sometimes, you know?" I said, watching as he bent down to rub his leg. I heard Kyungsoo laugh from beside me and I laughed too when I glanced at him. 

"We're definitely keeping him now," Luhan declared. "He's officially the only person who can shatter Kai's god complex. Not even we can do that." We all laughed and seeing Kai clearly get a little embarrassed made me laugh harder.

::::::::::::

We stayed at the park for a little longer before grabbing some lunch. I told my dad earlier in the week that I would help him out with some work later that evening before dinner, so Kyungsoo and I walked back after we parted ways with them.

"Do you think Kai is upset at me for what I said?" he asked on our way. I looked at him and he seemed genuinely concerned, which I found cute, so I chuckled a little.

"No, his ego is probably the one upset," I replied. "He's not as bad as your brother's friends, but he's still a little stuck up and judgmental. I think it's his way of protecting himself, but he'll never admit that."

"Oh really..." he said, nodding slowly as he looked away. I smiled faintly as he furrowed his eyebrows and chewed on his bottom lip, probably in thought.

"Why'd you ask? I didn't expect you to care if Kai was upset with you or not," I said, shoving one of my hands into pocket. 

He blushed a little and rubbed the back of his neck. "N-No reason, really..." he said. "I just...I don't want him to think I'm ungrateful for what he did for me, that's all. I mean, he offered to walk me home when he didn't have to, especially considering how he feels about Suho."

I exhaled and nodded. "That sounds like him. He's actually really sweet, but I think life forced him to shove that side of himself away. He's not like that even with us most of the time. I'm sure Taemin only gets to see that side of him."

"Yeah, they seemed...close," he said and I could sense a hint of something unidentifiable in his voice. "A-Are they...?"

"Oh, no, though I'm sure Taemin would like that," I answered before he could even finish. "Kai is very protective of himself, so even if he likes him back, he won't let himself admit that with how close he is to graduating. Plus, there's the whole Taemin having super rich parents who would most likely disapprove thing."

Kyungsoo just nodded and hummed in response.

We parted ways once we reached his house, and then I walked a few blocks up to Mr. Park's house. I didn't bother walking inside and instead just walked out back to find my dad. He was up on a latter cleaning the gutters, so I waited until he was finished and back down on the ground to get his attention.

"Oh, hey," he said, smiling at me as he took his gloves off. "How was your afternoon with the boys? Are they coping alright?"

"Yeah, Luhan is in a questionable state, but when is he not," I joked, earning a small laugh from him. "They all liked Kyungsoo, though. It was a good time."

"Good, I'm glad you got to see them."

I nodded. "So, what was it you needed help with?"

"Oh, nothing big, just some organization," he said after he swallowed the sip of water he just took. "The work shed is getting pretty cluttered and I trust your skills. It shouldn't take long."

"Okay," I said, chuckling before he led me over to the shed. 

Chanyeol

I couldn't understand how one person had so much power over my thoughts. I told myself that it didn't bother me that Baekhyun was starting to spend more time with Baekhyun, that I didn't mind that he seemed to have no problem acting like I didn't exist. I tried really hard to convince myself that I didn't feel guilty for treating him so poorly, but evidently, I wasn't trying hard enough.

A few weeks had gone by the time I worked up the courage to talk to him. I was kind of hoping he'd angrily reject me so that I could just move on knowing I had made him hate me honestly. That seemed easier than admitting fault. But I didn't think I could live with the guilt for much longer.

About an hour or so after dinner one night, I hesitantly walked across the hall to his room, taking a deep breath before I made a fist and knocked on the door. I heard faint footsteps that grew louder the closer he got to the door. A confused yet blank expression came over his face when he opened the door. 

"What's up?" he said with no discernible tone in his voice. 

I swallowed and cleared my throat, shaking my head to get out of a trance. "I, uh...do you like Mario Kart?" That wasn't how I intended those words to come out, but it was happened, so I just went with it.

His pupils darted back and forth a few times. "I guess..." he answered. "I've only played it a few times at a friend's house, though."

"Well, I was gonna play a few games if you wanted to join," I said. His eyes widened a little in surprise, but after a moment of silent thinking, he slowly began to nod his head. 

"Sure...I guess I can," he said. I felt a quick excited ping in my heart, but I didn't let myself smile. 

"Okay, I have it set up in my room, so you can come over whenever," I said, mumbling off toward the end before scrambling back across the hall. 

He ended up joining me a few minutes later, which gave me just enough time to collect myself. He knocked on the door even though I had left ajar. I dragged my bean bag chair over in front of my television and told him he could sit on it while I sat on the storage bin on the end of my bed. The silence was awkward and tense as I loaded the game, but I was able to distract myself from my inner feelings once I was reminding him of the controls.

The first few games were awkward, but once we both forgot who we were and the circumstances we were under, I think we actually ended up having a good time. I didn't know what Baekhyun having fun looked like, but he became more talkative. By the time an hour had passed, it was like we never had any problems. 

"I thought you said you've only played this a few times," I said after the final race of the Grand Prix. "A newbie wouldn't have placed first in all of the courses."

"Maybe I'm just better at this than I remember," he said with a small shrug, laughing afterward. Strangely, I found myself staring at his smile, the musical track of the game still playing in the background. He glanced up at me briefly before clearing his throat and standing up. "W-Well, I should probably go and get ready for bed," he said, setting his controller on the TV stand. "Thanks for letting me play."

He was walking toward the door when I said, "Wait." Baekhyun turned around and looked at me, a curious yet still expression on his face. I glanced down at my lap before getting up, leaving my controller laying on the bed. "I, um, I just wanted to apologize for being a dick before." His eyes widened. "My dad didn't give me much warning before you guys came, so I guess was I kind of blind-sided by the whole thing and took it out on you. I'm sorry."

Still looking surprised that I had apologized, he sighed. "Thanks, Chanyeol," he said, a faint smile on his lips. "I appreciate you saying that." I let myself smile back a little. "Well, goodnight," he added, letting me see his smile for a few seconds longer before he left. I stepped closer to the door and watched as he walked into his room, softly shutting the door behind him. 

As I slowly went back over to my bed and laid on it, I placed my hand over my now rapidly beating heart. I didn't know what was happening, but I suspected that whatever it was had also been the voice nagging at me to make things right with Baekhyun. I didn't know what to do with it, but I didn't hate it. I also didn't hate the way my name sounded on his tongue.

A/N

I ended up rewriting this entire chapter since I shifted the plot a little bit. I was gonna move their first kiss to this last scene, but then I decided on a place I liked better for it, so look forward to that :)