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Like Night and Day 45
Chapter 45
Absolute
a/n: hello, boobs!!! This is (sadly) only 2.9k and I wasn't able to write everything I wanted to. So (sadly), no, LNAD will not have only 2 chapters left. It'll probably go into the 50's, but I'm sorry ;___; College is crippling. But anyways, enjoy this (if you can) and hopefully it's not TOoOOOO bad (but it is). Thank you for those who waited for me to update. Love you guys (kindaaaa) lol Have a happy new year!
“When was the last time you spoke to him?”
Silence.
Kyungsoo tightened his jaw. The annoyance that surged inside of him almost skyrocketed by the way the basketball athlete merely glanced his way. It was already unbearable to be right in the middle of a war-like crossfire between the two forces; there was no reason why, of all the places on campus, either of the warring two should ever step foot in his domain, the one place Kyungsoo knew neither ever had a purpose of visiting in the first place--his student body classroom.
However, that particular day was peculiar, but then again, everything odd was ordinary in some weird sense. He couldn’t pinpoint it out.
Word had already spread that the glorified Park Chanyeol would not attend the biggest--if not the most important--social event for most seniors. Kyungsoo almost gagged when he had the luck of eavesdropping on a few eager girls whispering about the revelation like harlots ready to pounce the athlete until someone within their circle mentioned Nana.
Nana, respected by her peers and known to have an extraordinary way of getting things done even if the task seemed impossible. Kyungsoo almost shook his head when he found out his ex-boyfriend’s current lover had decided to accept her proposal, knowing full well what a facade the woman was to begin with. There were times when he wondered how transparent the girl needed to be for the athlete to see right through her, but after some time, he realized that she could’ve been invisible and Park Chanyeol still wouldn’t have noticed anything amiss with her.
It was hard to bear witness to the war going on between Baekhyun and the latter without intervening much. There were things that he knew he could’ve offered to lessen the hurt, some truths that were beginning to collect dust in his memories, but Kyungsoo kept his lips tight, withholding anything and everything. Moments had occurred during his weak moments, ones that involved murmuring the name of the individual behind Baekhyun’s frightening experience with the shed, but they all passed in silence. Part of him instinctively knew it was wrong and slightly wrong to say nothing at all, but it wasn’t his message to relay.
Watching them was like watching a domino effect. He knew he had the power, but Kyungsoo kept himself fairly isolated, witnessing it all coming down on its down and staying away.
Walking over to where Chanyeol had taken a seat in the classroom, Kyungsoo grabbed a stack of papers on his way and dropped them on the desk as soon as his feet arrived two feet of the giant’s placement. “I want to go home around six. If you’re going to stay in here and take up space, you’re going to file all of these complaints in the order of which they were turned in. Recent student complaints go in the back. Prioritize it all based on who submitted first.”
Blankly, Chanyeol stared at the papers before moving. A bit of him reminded Kyungsoo of a zombie. Slow.
“Move faster or get out of my classroom.”
“This is a lot of paper, Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol muttered.
Snorting, Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. In the fifteen minutes the athlete had sat there, words from him had been rare. “If you’re not up for it, you can go home. That or you can--”
A short vibration cut Kyungsoo off, drawing both of their attention to the phone lying next to Chanyeol’s hand. For a brief moment, the president’s eyes drew upon the screen, unable to read the name blaring in the color green. Then, he looked back at Chanyeol, cocking his head.
“Why don’t you pick up your phone? The text might be from him?”
“It’s not.” The reply came rather quick. Kyungsoo noticed the way Chanyeol had looked away from the device, uncaring for the person who was trying to reach him. “His pride gets in the way of everything.”
Kyungsoo hummed, yet his eyes were still on the device. “Then who might it be calling for your attention?” Then, after a second, he scoffed, walking away. “Not that I have much interest in your business. I’m sure you have several people in life just for you.”
Drawing his brows together, Chanyeol turned in head in Kyungsoo’s direction. “What does that mean?”
Ignoring the slight anger that came with the question, the president shrugged, sitting down behind his own desk. “You’re single, Park, and that fact spread like wildfire overnight the second the freshman girls saw the way you ignored Baekhyun early morning last week. It also didn’t help when they noticed how you’ve become slightly depressing to be around.”
“I’m not single.”
“Then what are you?” Kyungsoo threw back. “In some kind of relationship intermission? I’d hate to break it to you, Park, but no such thing exists.”
“It’s called a break,” Chanyeol snapped. Upon catching himself, he lowered his voice, but it wasn’t enough to diffuse Kyungsoo’s amusement. “That’s just what it is… Until he calls or texts me first, we’re on a break.”
Silence filled the air before Kyungsoo broke it with a low laugh.
“You’re stupid. Both of you…” Opening a manila folder and extracting a few articles from inside, the president continued on with his remarks, aiming at facts that he knew would rile the latter up. “You call it a break while the rest of us see it as nothing more than a fragile label on something already broken. You’re going to prom with your ex-girlfriend and Baekhyun’s going with a man who’s more compatible with him than you will ever be. Aside from that fact, neither of you are speaking to one another, and right now, he’s off at his part-time job, probably laughing with or getting held by his prom date, not giving one slight fuck about you.”
“You’re wrong--”
“No, I’m right to the par,” Kyungsoo said, overpowering Chanyeol’s attempted argument. “You two are done in everyone’s eyes… Besides, the facts say that once a couple announces that they’re going on a ‘break’, it’s essentially over. That word is nothing more than softer version of the oh-so-dreaded vocabulary term ‘break up’. It’s for people who’re too scared to face the music with reality of their so-called relationship.”
Though he clenched his hands into tight fists, Chanyeol stayed silent. Looking away, he focused his gaze on the hard, wooden desk, eyes glaring holes through the documents that were scattered on the surface. The president said nothing more, letting the latter drown in the waves of his own thoughts, but it took no more than a few seconds for the giant to utter words under his breath.
“It’s not that bad.”
Kyungsoo’s response was swift. “You’re lying to yourself. Poorly, too, if you ask me.” He stopped. “Tell me something, Park. Are you waiting for him to crawl back to you, a changed person? In some twisted, maybe far-fetched, way, do you expect Baekhyun to change in just a snap?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re being unrealistic. You’ve always been blind to how things work in the real world.” Rolling his eyes, Kyungsoo turned his attention to the window. “Face it. Your relationship’s dead. There’s no point having to do this. You don’t need to be here, in my classroom, being a sad bitch over my ex. And Baekhyun? He doesn’t need to mentally push himself in a corner just to function normally around you. Both things are unnecessary. It’s easier to call it what it is and move on.”
Chanyeol shook his head. “No.” Pursing his lips, Chanyeol glanced in the latter’s direction. “I can’t…”
“You can’t, but from what I know, Baekhyun can.”
-
-
It didn’t bother him to know Chanyeol would be attending prom with his ex. At least, Baekhyun tried not to mind it so much. Any bitter feelings he had about the issue was well-deserved and rightfully there to make him feel as such.
Being given the cold shoulder was something new, and Baekhyun never thought he’d ever have to experience such a thing from the giant who was always warm and welcoming, but the morning when he received it, the sensation that drained out of him was...unpleasant. It was more that just unpleasant, however. The event was enough to render the brunet blank and empty for the rest of the day, completely swallowed within his own head, replaying the way Chanyeol had glanced and brushed him off like the way their eyes met was nothing. After hours had passed, so did the majority of his feelings, and Baekhyun resorted to a course of action he was more than familiar with. Voluntary isolationism.
However, no amount of effort in ignoring the feelings that he consequently felt whenever he caught glimpses of Chanyeol could’ve prepared him for every scenario. No matter how hard the situation, Baekhyun was determined to keep his pride by facing it all with his head held high.
The gymnasium was a place he stopped visiting for obvious reasons, but he stood in front of it one evening on Kyungsoo’s personal request. The latter needed assistance with posters, and even as the words came spilling from his lips, Baekhyun could already feel a sense of deja vu of the last time he had been coerced into helping his friend with posters in the gymnasium…
Baekhyun waited for fifteen minutes before he saw Kyungsoo carrying materials in the short distance, and though the wait was nothing in relative time, it still felt like three eternities.
He walked over, meeting Kyungsoo merely halfway where he was handed over half of the posters.
“Usually, this doesn’t happen around this time of year,” the president mumbled, choosing to skip over greeting formalities. Baekhyun took note of it, but said nothing. “Basketball season’s usually finished, but unfortunately for us, this year’s team isn’t as shitty as they are.”
Wordlessly, Baekhyun nodded.
Kyungsoo gave him a long look, but withheld any comments that were on the tip of his tongue. Giving the latter a roll of tape, he nodded over to the gymnasium. “You’ll put those inside, the way you did it before.”
“On the top bleachers.”
“Right where administration thinks it’ll grind every student’s school spirit.”
“Hn.”
After a few moments of silent calm, Kyungsoo inhaled, cocking his head at the brunet. “You’ll be fine, I’m assuming… It’s out of the ordinary for you to be so hesitant about doing something based on one individual alone, but if it bothers you to the core, we can exchange spots.”
Shaking his head, Baekhyun refused. “It’s fine.”
“If you’re fine, then stop looking so damn scared.” Clenching his jaw, Kyungsoo let out a gruffly exhaled. “If you make eye contact, either lock or look away. The decision’s yours. Aside from the fact that I asked you to come for the extra assistance, I wanted you to take this time to think about where you two actually stand.”
“I know exactly where we stand, Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun retaliated, though not as strongly said as he intended. “You don’t need to tell me--”
“Do you really know where you two stand or have you been free falling for so long, you don’t know the difference between air and solid ground anymore?” Drawing his eyes from Baekhyun’s gaping face, Kyungsoo shrugged, gripping the posters in his hand too tightly. “I’ll meet up with you when I finish. Give it about ten or fifteen minutes. Anyways, it won’t take that long so whatever it is you’re afraid of in there, it won’t even get the chance to touch you, so just fake an attitude. Like you said, it’ll be fine.”
-
-
Locking his jaw, Baekhyun entered the gymnasium with his eyes drawn away from where he knew the players would be, doing their drills and plays in preparation for regional finals. The earbuds in his ears made him feel distant, as if he was only partially there in existence. After giving a slight nod to the assistant coach who let him get on with his task without much questions asked.
He knew he was being watched with small, hesitant glances,but Baekhyun tried to push the reminder out of his head as he began walking up the bleachers. The blaring music from his earbuds were enough to drown his surroundings into black and white. The second he reached the top, Baekhyun was already on auto-pilot, working without half a sense of the world around him.
There were approximately ten posters that need to be put on the walls in even measured increments from each other, and the faster he finished the job, the better. The gymnasium was large, enough to fit hundreds, but yet, Baekhyun felt like it was too small for two individuals caught up in a personal feud against one another.
But it really wasn’t a feud, and there wasn’t any fighting. All in all, it was the awkward aftermath of a relationship gone bad. Something that needed to be dealt with, but both parties--primarily himself--chose to avoid total and face-to-face confrontation on the notation that it was unnecessary when, in fact, it was...
Baekhyun ripped the scotch tape with his teeth and quickly taped one edge of the large to the hard, cold wall. Underneath his breath, he cursed Kyungsoo for giving him a roll that was almost out. It was bothersome to even think about walking down the steps to retrieve a new roll only to climb back up again. To him, it only meant drawing more attention to himself, giving the giant another opportunity to watch him, to judge.
For a moment, he wondered why he felt so nervous and antsy over being watched. The amount of impact it had on him was more than there should’ve been. It just felt unusual, and he couldn’t understand why. There had been plenty of times where they refused to talk to one another, but it felt different this time. With every passing day, it felt more…official.
Moving along, Baekhyun began working on another poster, trying to conserve, yet efficiently use the tape. So caught up in the work, he jumped in surprise at the feel of a hand lightly grazing his right shoulder. Pulling out an earbud, he turned around to the unexpected sight of Kyungsoo, damp and irritated out of the blue.
“It’s starting to drizzle outside,” Kyungsoo muttered, grazing his hair to rid of the droplets that stayed on his head. Then, he flicked his hand. “I managed to finish putting most of the posters up around the outside of the gymnasium before it got too bad.” Looking at Baekhyun’s work, he snorted. “You work almost as slow as your ex-boyfriend.”
Baekhyun’s hand froze, but he caught himself a second later and continued to press on. “I’m running out of tape,” he replied.
The fact that the latter chose not to correct him intrigued Kyungsoo. Before, when he suggested the official break up, Chanyeol had been quick to snap at him, but Baekhyun was another case. The differences in their response said more about their state of mind than actual words.
“I finished my roll. It ended up being just enough…” Glancing at the tape Baekhyun had set down on one of the bleachers, Kyungsoo frowned. “I thought that would be enough, too… There’s more in the student government room. I’ll go get another one. When that runs out, you can take a break and sit down for a while.”
“No.”
Kyungsoo’s ears perked. “Excuse me?”
“I can do it.” Pursing his lips, Baekhyun drew his eyes down. “I’ll make the run.”
“There’s no need for you to. I said I would--”
“I don’t want to sit in here and wait for you to come back.” Avoiding Kyungsoo’s gaze, the brunet bent down and picked up the depleting roll. Then, he handed it over. “Just tell me where the rest are.”
Without arguing, Kyungsoo accepted the object. Instead, he muttered, “Why’re you acting like this?”
Drawing his brows together, Baekhyun finally looked up. “Acting like what?”
“A child, simply put.” Rolling his eyes, Kyungsoo picked up another poster. “I’ve always known you to be mature. You’ve dwindled down to nothing but childish games.”
“Is it a crime to feel like I’m not wanted?”
“No, it’s not,” Kyungsoo replied, “but just to point this out to you, clearly, you’re not unwanted. In fact, it’s the opposite.”
“I just don’t feel like I should even be here. This is his place.” Baekhyun tightened his jaw. “I’m just distracting him.”
“And yet he’s probably glad to see you.” Glancing down at the basketball players, Kyungsoo stared at the man of the hour. “Knowing him, he’s probably been dying to see you since you two broke up.” Watching the brunet carefully, he cocked his head. “Awkwardness is always bound to happen following the fallout of a relationship. It’s just nature itself.”
“I know.” Baekhyun paused, dragging a hand through his hair. “I have to be neutral in order for things to be fine.”
“Numb yourself until you can’t feel anymore, I suppose. Act like nothing’s wrong even when everything around you’s gone to shit.”
Turning his head, “That’s what I planned to do, anyhow.”
“But keep in mind, you can stay inside your head all you want, but the world moves on. You’ll have to face it eventually.”
Also, guys pls take the time to read >> this and fill out a little message for the form for E&A ^^. Thank you! :'D ♥
Absolute
a/n: hello, boobs!!! This is (sadly) only 2.9k and I wasn't able to write everything I wanted to. So (sadly), no, LNAD will not have only 2 chapters left. It'll probably go into the 50's, but I'm sorry ;___; College is crippling. But anyways, enjoy this (if you can) and hopefully it's not TOoOOOO bad (but it is). Thank you for those who waited for me to update. Love you guys (kindaaaa) lol Have a happy new year!
“When was the last time you spoke to him?”
Silence.
Kyungsoo tightened his jaw. The annoyance that surged inside of him almost skyrocketed by the way the basketball athlete merely glanced his way. It was already unbearable to be right in the middle of a war-like crossfire between the two forces; there was no reason why, of all the places on campus, either of the warring two should ever step foot in his domain, the one place Kyungsoo knew neither ever had a purpose of visiting in the first place--his student body classroom.
However, that particular day was peculiar, but then again, everything odd was ordinary in some weird sense. He couldn’t pinpoint it out.
Word had already spread that the glorified Park Chanyeol would not attend the biggest--if not the most important--social event for most seniors. Kyungsoo almost gagged when he had the luck of eavesdropping on a few eager girls whispering about the revelation like harlots ready to pounce the athlete until someone within their circle mentioned Nana.
Nana, respected by her peers and known to have an extraordinary way of getting things done even if the task seemed impossible. Kyungsoo almost shook his head when he found out his ex-boyfriend’s current lover had decided to accept her proposal, knowing full well what a facade the woman was to begin with. There were times when he wondered how transparent the girl needed to be for the athlete to see right through her, but after some time, he realized that she could’ve been invisible and Park Chanyeol still wouldn’t have noticed anything amiss with her.
It was hard to bear witness to the war going on between Baekhyun and the latter without intervening much. There were things that he knew he could’ve offered to lessen the hurt, some truths that were beginning to collect dust in his memories, but Kyungsoo kept his lips tight, withholding anything and everything. Moments had occurred during his weak moments, ones that involved murmuring the name of the individual behind Baekhyun’s frightening experience with the shed, but they all passed in silence. Part of him instinctively knew it was wrong and slightly wrong to say nothing at all, but it wasn’t his message to relay.
Watching them was like watching a domino effect. He knew he had the power, but Kyungsoo kept himself fairly isolated, witnessing it all coming down on its down and staying away.
Walking over to where Chanyeol had taken a seat in the classroom, Kyungsoo grabbed a stack of papers on his way and dropped them on the desk as soon as his feet arrived two feet of the giant’s placement. “I want to go home around six. If you’re going to stay in here and take up space, you’re going to file all of these complaints in the order of which they were turned in. Recent student complaints go in the back. Prioritize it all based on who submitted first.”
Blankly, Chanyeol stared at the papers before moving. A bit of him reminded Kyungsoo of a zombie. Slow.
“Move faster or get out of my classroom.”
“This is a lot of paper, Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol muttered.
Snorting, Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. In the fifteen minutes the athlete had sat there, words from him had been rare. “If you’re not up for it, you can go home. That or you can--”
A short vibration cut Kyungsoo off, drawing both of their attention to the phone lying next to Chanyeol’s hand. For a brief moment, the president’s eyes drew upon the screen, unable to read the name blaring in the color green. Then, he looked back at Chanyeol, cocking his head.
“Why don’t you pick up your phone? The text might be from him?”
“It’s not.” The reply came rather quick. Kyungsoo noticed the way Chanyeol had looked away from the device, uncaring for the person who was trying to reach him. “His pride gets in the way of everything.”
Kyungsoo hummed, yet his eyes were still on the device. “Then who might it be calling for your attention?” Then, after a second, he scoffed, walking away. “Not that I have much interest in your business. I’m sure you have several people in life just for you.”
Drawing his brows together, Chanyeol turned in head in Kyungsoo’s direction. “What does that mean?”
Ignoring the slight anger that came with the question, the president shrugged, sitting down behind his own desk. “You’re single, Park, and that fact spread like wildfire overnight the second the freshman girls saw the way you ignored Baekhyun early morning last week. It also didn’t help when they noticed how you’ve become slightly depressing to be around.”
“I’m not single.”
“Then what are you?” Kyungsoo threw back. “In some kind of relationship intermission? I’d hate to break it to you, Park, but no such thing exists.”
“It’s called a break,” Chanyeol snapped. Upon catching himself, he lowered his voice, but it wasn’t enough to diffuse Kyungsoo’s amusement. “That’s just what it is… Until he calls or texts me first, we’re on a break.”
Silence filled the air before Kyungsoo broke it with a low laugh.
“You’re stupid. Both of you…” Opening a manila folder and extracting a few articles from inside, the president continued on with his remarks, aiming at facts that he knew would rile the latter up. “You call it a break while the rest of us see it as nothing more than a fragile label on something already broken. You’re going to prom with your ex-girlfriend and Baekhyun’s going with a man who’s more compatible with him than you will ever be. Aside from that fact, neither of you are speaking to one another, and right now, he’s off at his part-time job, probably laughing with or getting held by his prom date, not giving one slight fuck about you.”
“You’re wrong--”
“No, I’m right to the par,” Kyungsoo said, overpowering Chanyeol’s attempted argument. “You two are done in everyone’s eyes… Besides, the facts say that once a couple announces that they’re going on a ‘break’, it’s essentially over. That word is nothing more than softer version of the oh-so-dreaded vocabulary term ‘break up’. It’s for people who’re too scared to face the music with reality of their so-called relationship.”
Though he clenched his hands into tight fists, Chanyeol stayed silent. Looking away, he focused his gaze on the hard, wooden desk, eyes glaring holes through the documents that were scattered on the surface. The president said nothing more, letting the latter drown in the waves of his own thoughts, but it took no more than a few seconds for the giant to utter words under his breath.
“It’s not that bad.”
Kyungsoo’s response was swift. “You’re lying to yourself. Poorly, too, if you ask me.” He stopped. “Tell me something, Park. Are you waiting for him to crawl back to you, a changed person? In some twisted, maybe far-fetched, way, do you expect Baekhyun to change in just a snap?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re being unrealistic. You’ve always been blind to how things work in the real world.” Rolling his eyes, Kyungsoo turned his attention to the window. “Face it. Your relationship’s dead. There’s no point having to do this. You don’t need to be here, in my classroom, being a sad bitch over my ex. And Baekhyun? He doesn’t need to mentally push himself in a corner just to function normally around you. Both things are unnecessary. It’s easier to call it what it is and move on.”
Chanyeol shook his head. “No.” Pursing his lips, Chanyeol glanced in the latter’s direction. “I can’t…”
“You can’t, but from what I know, Baekhyun can.”
-
-
It didn’t bother him to know Chanyeol would be attending prom with his ex. At least, Baekhyun tried not to mind it so much. Any bitter feelings he had about the issue was well-deserved and rightfully there to make him feel as such.
Being given the cold shoulder was something new, and Baekhyun never thought he’d ever have to experience such a thing from the giant who was always warm and welcoming, but the morning when he received it, the sensation that drained out of him was...unpleasant. It was more that just unpleasant, however. The event was enough to render the brunet blank and empty for the rest of the day, completely swallowed within his own head, replaying the way Chanyeol had glanced and brushed him off like the way their eyes met was nothing. After hours had passed, so did the majority of his feelings, and Baekhyun resorted to a course of action he was more than familiar with. Voluntary isolationism.
However, no amount of effort in ignoring the feelings that he consequently felt whenever he caught glimpses of Chanyeol could’ve prepared him for every scenario. No matter how hard the situation, Baekhyun was determined to keep his pride by facing it all with his head held high.
The gymnasium was a place he stopped visiting for obvious reasons, but he stood in front of it one evening on Kyungsoo’s personal request. The latter needed assistance with posters, and even as the words came spilling from his lips, Baekhyun could already feel a sense of deja vu of the last time he had been coerced into helping his friend with posters in the gymnasium…
Baekhyun waited for fifteen minutes before he saw Kyungsoo carrying materials in the short distance, and though the wait was nothing in relative time, it still felt like three eternities.
He walked over, meeting Kyungsoo merely halfway where he was handed over half of the posters.
“Usually, this doesn’t happen around this time of year,” the president mumbled, choosing to skip over greeting formalities. Baekhyun took note of it, but said nothing. “Basketball season’s usually finished, but unfortunately for us, this year’s team isn’t as shitty as they are.”
Wordlessly, Baekhyun nodded.
Kyungsoo gave him a long look, but withheld any comments that were on the tip of his tongue. Giving the latter a roll of tape, he nodded over to the gymnasium. “You’ll put those inside, the way you did it before.”
“On the top bleachers.”
“Right where administration thinks it’ll grind every student’s school spirit.”
“Hn.”
After a few moments of silent calm, Kyungsoo inhaled, cocking his head at the brunet. “You’ll be fine, I’m assuming… It’s out of the ordinary for you to be so hesitant about doing something based on one individual alone, but if it bothers you to the core, we can exchange spots.”
Shaking his head, Baekhyun refused. “It’s fine.”
“If you’re fine, then stop looking so damn scared.” Clenching his jaw, Kyungsoo let out a gruffly exhaled. “If you make eye contact, either lock or look away. The decision’s yours. Aside from the fact that I asked you to come for the extra assistance, I wanted you to take this time to think about where you two actually stand.”
“I know exactly where we stand, Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun retaliated, though not as strongly said as he intended. “You don’t need to tell me--”
“Do you really know where you two stand or have you been free falling for so long, you don’t know the difference between air and solid ground anymore?” Drawing his eyes from Baekhyun’s gaping face, Kyungsoo shrugged, gripping the posters in his hand too tightly. “I’ll meet up with you when I finish. Give it about ten or fifteen minutes. Anyways, it won’t take that long so whatever it is you’re afraid of in there, it won’t even get the chance to touch you, so just fake an attitude. Like you said, it’ll be fine.”
-
-
Locking his jaw, Baekhyun entered the gymnasium with his eyes drawn away from where he knew the players would be, doing their drills and plays in preparation for regional finals. The earbuds in his ears made him feel distant, as if he was only partially there in existence. After giving a slight nod to the assistant coach who let him get on with his task without much questions asked.
He knew he was being watched with small, hesitant glances,but Baekhyun tried to push the reminder out of his head as he began walking up the bleachers. The blaring music from his earbuds were enough to drown his surroundings into black and white. The second he reached the top, Baekhyun was already on auto-pilot, working without half a sense of the world around him.
There were approximately ten posters that need to be put on the walls in even measured increments from each other, and the faster he finished the job, the better. The gymnasium was large, enough to fit hundreds, but yet, Baekhyun felt like it was too small for two individuals caught up in a personal feud against one another.
But it really wasn’t a feud, and there wasn’t any fighting. All in all, it was the awkward aftermath of a relationship gone bad. Something that needed to be dealt with, but both parties--primarily himself--chose to avoid total and face-to-face confrontation on the notation that it was unnecessary when, in fact, it was...
Baekhyun ripped the scotch tape with his teeth and quickly taped one edge of the large to the hard, cold wall. Underneath his breath, he cursed Kyungsoo for giving him a roll that was almost out. It was bothersome to even think about walking down the steps to retrieve a new roll only to climb back up again. To him, it only meant drawing more attention to himself, giving the giant another opportunity to watch him, to judge.
For a moment, he wondered why he felt so nervous and antsy over being watched. The amount of impact it had on him was more than there should’ve been. It just felt unusual, and he couldn’t understand why. There had been plenty of times where they refused to talk to one another, but it felt different this time. With every passing day, it felt more…official.
Moving along, Baekhyun began working on another poster, trying to conserve, yet efficiently use the tape. So caught up in the work, he jumped in surprise at the feel of a hand lightly grazing his right shoulder. Pulling out an earbud, he turned around to the unexpected sight of Kyungsoo, damp and irritated out of the blue.
“It’s starting to drizzle outside,” Kyungsoo muttered, grazing his hair to rid of the droplets that stayed on his head. Then, he flicked his hand. “I managed to finish putting most of the posters up around the outside of the gymnasium before it got too bad.” Looking at Baekhyun’s work, he snorted. “You work almost as slow as your ex-boyfriend.”
Baekhyun’s hand froze, but he caught himself a second later and continued to press on. “I’m running out of tape,” he replied.
The fact that the latter chose not to correct him intrigued Kyungsoo. Before, when he suggested the official break up, Chanyeol had been quick to snap at him, but Baekhyun was another case. The differences in their response said more about their state of mind than actual words.
“I finished my roll. It ended up being just enough…” Glancing at the tape Baekhyun had set down on one of the bleachers, Kyungsoo frowned. “I thought that would be enough, too… There’s more in the student government room. I’ll go get another one. When that runs out, you can take a break and sit down for a while.”
“No.”
Kyungsoo’s ears perked. “Excuse me?”
“I can do it.” Pursing his lips, Baekhyun drew his eyes down. “I’ll make the run.”
“There’s no need for you to. I said I would--”
“I don’t want to sit in here and wait for you to come back.” Avoiding Kyungsoo’s gaze, the brunet bent down and picked up the depleting roll. Then, he handed it over. “Just tell me where the rest are.”
Without arguing, Kyungsoo accepted the object. Instead, he muttered, “Why’re you acting like this?”
Drawing his brows together, Baekhyun finally looked up. “Acting like what?”
“A child, simply put.” Rolling his eyes, Kyungsoo picked up another poster. “I’ve always known you to be mature. You’ve dwindled down to nothing but childish games.”
“Is it a crime to feel like I’m not wanted?”
“No, it’s not,” Kyungsoo replied, “but just to point this out to you, clearly, you’re not unwanted. In fact, it’s the opposite.”
“I just don’t feel like I should even be here. This is his place.” Baekhyun tightened his jaw. “I’m just distracting him.”
“And yet he’s probably glad to see you.” Glancing down at the basketball players, Kyungsoo stared at the man of the hour. “Knowing him, he’s probably been dying to see you since you two broke up.” Watching the brunet carefully, he cocked his head. “Awkwardness is always bound to happen following the fallout of a relationship. It’s just nature itself.”
“I know.” Baekhyun paused, dragging a hand through his hair. “I have to be neutral in order for things to be fine.”
“Numb yourself until you can’t feel anymore, I suppose. Act like nothing’s wrong even when everything around you’s gone to shit.”
Turning his head, “That’s what I planned to do, anyhow.”
“But keep in mind, you can stay inside your head all you want, but the world moves on. You’ll have to face it eventually.”
Also, guys pls take the time to read >> this and fill out a little message for the form for E&A ^^. Thank you! :'D ♥
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Fara I love you thank you for everything. It'll take lifetimes to get over your amazing fanfiction but it worth it..
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I will cry so hard I know it
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i still dun get what kyungsoo is.. is he gud.. is he bad.. and coz this fic haven't been updated for so long, i kind forget that ChanBaek broke up..? lol.. need to read previous chapter again.. thanx for updating..!
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I never know what to think about this fanfic. It's so beautiful yet angsty. I love it so much though and I'm so happy everytime I see a new chapter. I love more than anything the characters here, I find them realistic and it's just amazing to see the way they act. Thanks for writing and sharing this.
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e.e
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