Chip In Care, Pitch In Love (2/2)

[daeseol]

( previous )

The offer doesn't end there yet, although this time, it's more of a mutual agreement with just a bit of persuasion on Sehun's part. It's like a smooth move when Sehun asks if Baekhyun's up for a study session.

"That'd be nice?" Baekhyun says. He's returned to his desk that day with Minseok obviously pleased when Baekhyun finally appears by the department's doorsteps. Sehun laughs at how Minseok acts like a father welcoming back a long lost child.

"I can help you with your English subjects," Sehun offers. He's a lot more sure and confident this time. His midterms and reports will be over in a week's time. Regular class sessions will resume which means he'll have more time to kill and he wouldn't mind spending it helping Baekhyun with his studies. Baekhyun gives him a confused look and Sehun isn't sure if he should be offended or not. He takes the latter and laughs.

"Kyungsoo and I actually took the same undergrad major. He's just a senior," he explains.

There is amusement in Baekhyun's eyes, lips round as he nods. "That's cool! Does that mean I can like, uh, hire you? As tutor?"

"Man, we'll be staying in the same house soon. Why would I ask for payment?" Sehun quickly says and Baekhyun promptly shakes his head. Before he can even say anything, Sehun raises an index finger. "Nope. It's totally fine, Baekhyun."

"You're being too kind, again," Baekhyun says.

Coincidentally, Kyungsoo's just handed his class a couple of materials to read. Baekhyun tries to study it on his own but the lines and diagrams look extremely hieroglyphic to him, and he's reminded of the exact feeling he gets when his eyes land on numbers and polynomials. He gives up after reading the second page.

"I thought he gave us architecture readings," Baekhyun says when he hands the papers to Sehun on their agreed first day of tutor session. They're back in Baekhyun's apartment, the familiar table they once used for two cans of ciders is now filled with pencils, papers, and a couple of beer.

"Sentence diagraming?" Sehun mutters while he skims on it. "Who even still does this shit?"

There is an initial worry on Baekhyun's face because he's getting an impression that Sehun has also the slightest idea on how to do this. He worries more when he remembers Kyungsoo's giving them a short quiz three days from now.

"It's not even my major," Baekhyun whispers and he tries not to sound a little bitter only to fail.

"I'm gonna kick Kyungsoo in the balls, I swear," Sehun laughs, shaking his head as he continues to read. Thankfully, Kyungsoo isn't as sadistic as Sehun thinks he is. It's only the basics and he's still familiar with all, smiling to himself as he recalls his lessons years ago. "I think we can work on this," he tells Baekhyun.

Although Sehun knows Baekhyun has good and quick pick up on things, he's never seen it yet work on actual studying. So when they begin, he finds himself in awe when Baekhyun understands the whole thing in just thirty minutes of light discussion. He hasn't explained it in depth yet but the readings don't seem to be foreign to Baekhyun anymore. They try the sample exercises and Baekhyun gets seven correct ones out of ten.

"Are you sure you haven't studied this before?" Sehun asks when he can't hide his amusement anymore. He hands Baekhyun his corrected answers, a red "7/10" marking the top right of the paper. Baekhyun shakes his head, biting his lower lip as he tries to stop a shy smile from happening.

"It just looked complex at first. And I guess because you're a good teacher," Baekhyun says with a rise in his tone, teasing Sehun as he nudges him on the side.

Sehun doesn't understand but he ends up speechless. He can feel his face warm a little up and he can't believe he's blushing this much on a simple compliment. He fumbles on the pen, pretending to write something on the paper but he just prods on it, making random red dots. He's glad Baekhyun doesn't notice his flushed cheeks though, or at least he thinks. He breathes out and eventually gets over it. He gives Baekhyun one last set of exercise before they call for a break.

Baekhyun finishes fifteen minutes later and while Sehun checks his work, Baekhyun takes out a box of donuts from his fridge. "Snacks," he says, pushing the box towards Sehun so he can grab some.

"Thanks," Sehun says, pulling a sugar-glazed one, taking a small bite before placing it on a small plate. "You got them all correct now. Congrats!"

"Really?" Baekhyun scoots closer to Sehun. Sehun's initial reaction is to gasp and pull his body away when Baekhyun leans on the table, diminishing the distance between them. He's close enough for Sehun to smell his shampoo (aloe vera, Sehun recognizes) and the hint of cologne he's wearing. He holds his breath in when both scents fill his nostrils, quite confused and alarmed when he's starting to feel oddly warm. He can even feel the pound of his heart against his chest. Baekhyun pulls away soon, to Sehun's relief, as he grabs his paper and reviews it with a proud smile on his face.

"Yes," Sehun says before quickly grabbing his donut and stuffing half of it in one bite.

Break time isn't awkward, at least for Baekhyun, who begins talking in succession, jumping from one story to another, from his classmates, to the customers he's dealt with at the bookstore, then to the students he's talked to during his TA shifts. Sehun just listens, a little undecided if he should lay on the table his own share of stories. But he can't bring himself to butt in anyway when he's enjoying this new side of Baekhyun.

"Oh. Are you dating anyone right now?"

Sehun chokes on his donut. Or he thinks he does but he isn't actually choking. He just stops breathing with the donut stuck in between his teeth.

"Is...is it an uncomfortable question? Sorry," Baekhyun asks.

Sehun laughs and he's finally back to his proper senses. He shakes his head. "It's okay. I once dated, uh...somebody."

Baekhyun raises a brow, apparently curious and expecting Sehun to actually spill the whole thing.

"If I tell you who, will you promise not to tell anyone?" Baekhyun's cute round eyes that show how much eager he is to learn more sends Sehun to ask it. He doesn't really have any plans of talking about it but he hasn't given his own share of story since they've rested from studying. Besides it's a thing of the past anyway and he's gotten over it already.

Baekhyun raises a hand and straightens his back. "I promise," he says with an excited grin.

Sehun sighs and chuckles. "Okay. Kyungsoo and I..."

Baekhyun's jaw drops. He stutters, completely surprised, chuckling awkwardly while his lips remain parted in disbelief. Or amusement. Whatever it is, Sehun can't really discern. "S-seriously?"

When Sehun nods, Baekhyun's immediate reaction is to clap to himself, spewing a series of "Oh my god" and "I can't believe this!"

"Don't laugh at me! It was years ago! And just experimental!" Sehun says defensively, laughing in between sentences as Baekhyun continues to wiggle his brows. Well, it was really just sort of experimental with actual feelings involved. It didn't work out but he's glad they remained really good friends. Besides, Kyungsoo looks happy going out with this tall guy with a deep voice and wide smiles from his same department.

"How about you? Are you dating anyone right now?"

Sehun asks in his attempt to end the questions and the knowing smirks Baekhyun is throwing at him. It isn't really because he finds the topic uncomfortable but more of how the quirk of Baekhyun's lips makes him imagine things he shouldn't be thinking about. They look playful, a bit nasty, and Sehun sure isn't ready for thoughts beyond this stage Take things slowly, he reminds himself.

Baekhyun's grin disappears, easing to a soft, pursed smile. Sehun thinks he's hit a sensitive spot, something he shouldn't have thrown back at Baekhyun. Suddenly, he's sorry. Then unsure whether he's ready or not to hear the answer. If it's a yes--

"Nope," Baekhyun answers, shaking his head. "Broke up like a month ago," he continues.

"I'm sorry," Sehun mumbles. Although, honestly, he feels relieved for reasons he doesn't know yet.

"It's okay! Don't be. I've gotten over it. Besides, I don't think I deserve somebody who wouldn't understand me," Baekhyun says.

"Wouldn't understand you?"

Baekhyun nods. "You know, my life's too busy. His, too. Things started not working out well. It gets suffocating at times," he snorts, shaking his head. "They say you should let go of things that don't help you anymore. So we did."

It sounds conclusive, though, like he doesn't want to carry on. Sehun is pretty cool with it anyway, knowing how there are always parts of stories worth not sharing. It drowns from that point. They're back to silence. Sehun munches on his donut, head down, staring blankly at the lines of the wooden table.

The silence is warm, the soft kind of warm, stirring in his chest until he's giddy. Sehun likes it. Finally, they're slowly opening up, letting one know the other more. It started with small steps and now they're pacing up, taking bigger leaps. At least they're on their way and Sehun is glad about it. He looks up and sees Baekhyun smiling at him.

There should be an explanation to this funny churn in his stomach and the light feeling that makes him happy, a different kind of happy. Well, it's kind of conflicting when he's sorry about Baekhyun's story but Sehun has never felt excited knowing somebody more since the day he's taken Kyungsoo out on their first date three years ago. It feels familiar, and there's a name to it, but he doesn't want to label it yet. If it's true, it'll sink in deeper in his chest and he'll realize it well until the fateful day comes. Kyungsoo has told this to him before and a part of him has recognized it. Just a bit more and he'll say it's perhaps true. He's not in a hurry anyway.

Baekhyun's last two weeks in his apartment happens quick and the next thing they know, Baekhyun is moving into Sehun's flat. They schedule it on a weekend. Baekhyun has taken a leave from the bookstore and Sehun has nothing urgent at grad school so it's perfect timing. The unit is indeed big for a single occupant which explains why Sehun is more than okay to offer his place. Baekhyun on the other hand is astonished, wondering how much this flat could have cost.

"Damn rich," Baekhyun kids as he steps in, eyes wandering, amusing himself at the post-modern whitewash interiors.

"Nah," Sehun laughs. "My dad just gave this to me so it's basically free."

"So why do you work for the department?" Baekhyun asks, resting a huge box of his stuff on the floor.

"Grad school requirement. But I like how I get paid. I can't depend on my parents all my life," Sehun says in the most honest way possible. He doesn't really want to leave impressions on people that he's simply living within the comforts of his family's wealth.

Baekhyun smiles at him with a slight nod and says nothing. They take more of the boxes until everything's piled up in front of what will be the Baekhyun's new room.

They take a rest, Sehun handing Baekhyun a can of soda as they plop on the sofa, groaning at the comfort of cushion on their exhausted bodies. The room has been cleaned already anyway and the bedsheets were already changed. All that is left is to get Baekhyun's stuff arranged to his liking.

"Hey," Sehun says, his head thrown back as he rests his head on the backrest. "Let's celebrate your moving in."

Baekhyun, who's also in the same position, cranes his neck to look at Sehun. He blinks innocently.

"What do you say? My suggestion, my treat."

Sehun looks at him expectantly and Baekhyun can't say no to those kind, warm eyes. He nods before he can even think about the offer. The grin Sehun gives him is just enthusiastic, excited even, and Baekhyun gets a giddy feel on it.

"Let's get at least half of my things in place," Baekhyun says. Sehun nods.

This isn't bad, he supposes.

Ten minutes of walking and they find themselves in a nearby restaurant, a variety of food laid on their table and a couple of soju bottles. They're basically on a feast and Baekhyun can feel his stomach literally grumble at the sight of everything delicious right under his nose.

"Aren't we having too much?" Baekhyun asks.

Sehun shakes his head. "I have enough space in my tummy right now," he kids, laughing a bit as he rubs a hand on his stomach region. "But we can take out if we are."

In all honesty, Baekhyun feels as hungry as Sehun does. The heavy work they've done moving things in and out, from his old apartment to Sehun's flat, sure has sucked the energy out of them. Their food is probably just enough to get them working again, and the soju's pretty nice to warm themselves up, too. Besides, Sehun has told him to eat to his heart's contents. It's him on this and Baekhyun won't win if he argues about paying.

And so they feast on their food, gulp on their soju shots, and before they know it, they already have their hands shot up in the air for more plates. True enough, they eat until they are sure they are a hundred percent satisfied. They're also down with their third soju bottle, surprisingly, and although they feel a little warmer, they're still sober enough to not walk back home tipsy or stumbling down sidewalks.

As promised, Sehun pays for everything, pulling his credit card from his wallet and handing it to the waiter. "Aren't you finishing that shot?" Sehun asks, looking at the still filled shot glass of soju in front of Baekhyun.

"I don't think I can take more alcohol," Baekhyun declines. raising both hands as he shakes his head. "I'm done."

Sehun snorts, silently taking the shot glass and emptying its contents in a gulp. He hisses, its strong taste lingering in his mouth and his hand scrambles for the nearest glass of water. "Gah! That's enough!" Sehun shivers with eyes shut.

"You just did this funny squished face!" Baekhyun points at him, laughing so hard as he tries to mimic Sehun's face. Unfortunately, he does something just as equally hilarious and they end up laughing noisily, clenched fist pressed on their tummies.

They calm down and Sehun heaves a sigh, stretching his hands in the air as he waits for his card. Baekhyun remains silent, his laughter dying down to a smile. The next second, he finds himself staring at his friend, eyes dropping to the dip of Sehun's v-neck shirt. Suddenly, Baekhyun's all hot and bothered, swallowing emptily as he catches sight of the collar bones, up to his neck, craned to his side while talking to the waiter, his jawline more prominent than Baekhyun has ever seen. He shakes his head. It must be the alcohol in his system trying to be up to some mischief. Yet he can't stop himself from looking across the table. Sehun is suddenly, extremely attractive.

"Hyung, are you okay?" Sehun asks, standing up.

Baekhyun sits straight and answers promptly. "Yes! Yes. I'm, uh, good! Are we going now?"

Sehun blinks and nods. "You're so red."

Baekhyun's initial reaction is to gasp and the desire to hide his face with his hands is so strong. But then it would just prove nothing since he really is so red in the face. "Soju. The soju," he mutters quickly, bowing his head as he chuckles to himself. Awkwardly.

"You weren't that red earlier but okay," Sehun shrugs. He pulls his hand chest level and out of the blue, pokes Baekhyun's cheeks, sending the latter to back away in apparent surprise. "Blushing. Cute," Sehun says with a straight face while Baekhyun, a foot stepped back, looks confused and a lot more flustered. He is probably a bit terrified, too, because his heart is beating too fast and his stomach is doing quirky somersaults.

"Just kidding," Sehun pulls his hand back. "Let's go."

Still dumbfounded, Baekhyun doesn't follow until Sehun is a few steps ahead of him. He's pretty sure they're not drunk. He can make sense of everything Sehun is saying, and Sehun is in a more or less sober state as well. But then it feels as if everything's done in lightheaded ways. He groans. It's the soju, he convinces himself. It's the soju. He catches up on Sehun's pace and walks back home silently with him.

The first that they do as soon as they're back is to go back to the last thing they did before they went out: plop lazily on the sofa until everything feels great and wonderful. The soft couch just feels extremely good on their still sore bodies and it's too tempting to remain like this for the next hours.

"God, this is so nice," Sehun groans, an exhausted sigh coming out of his mouth. Baekhyun nods because there's nothing else to say. It feels nice and it's all to what has to be said.

They're silent in their lazy slouch, only their breathing audible. It goes on for a couple of minutes, enough for Baekhyun to remember many things, happy and bad ones alike. He ponders on them again and ends up how grateful he is that he's met Sehun. Baekhyun looks at him, the dim spot lights on his face giving a strangely beautiful glow on his face.

Sehun notices, shifting to his left so he meets Baekhyun's eyes. He smiles. "Why?"

"Nothing," Baekhyun says, tearing his gaze away from Sehun's and back to the ceiling.

"Doesn't sound nothing to me," Sehun chuckles.

At that point, he wonders if it's the right time to ask something that has bothered him earlier. He's scrapped it, thrown at the back of his head because Sehun's shown nothing but pure kindness to him. Yet, still the desire for an honest answer doesn't leave. He's not entirely sure if this is the opportunity but he resolves he can give it a try.

"Sehun," he calls him. "I hope you don't take offense in this question."

Sehun perks up, sitting properly and looks at Baekhyun, a little bewildered. A tinge of worry paints his face. "Okay," he says.

"I'm really grateful for all. Trust me, I am. But I was wondering if," Baekhyun inhales, suddenly hesitant, but Sehun looks at him expectantly so he continues. "If you helped me out of pity?"

There's a three-second silence and Baekhyun can feel his heartbeat race. He probably has offended Sehun and his immediate reaction is to form the most appropriate apology in his head.

"Not really," Sehun answers before Baekhyun can even speak again. He's looking at Baekhyun, eyes sincere, lips pursed. He seems to be a little loss at first, as if finding the right words to say and Baekhyun lets him take his time to do so.

"Okay. I wouldn't say it wasn't part of the reason, if I'm gonna be honest, that is," Sehun begins. "But believe me, I really wanted to help. Not purely out of pity but because I know I can do something."

"I see," is all Baekhyun says. He isn't sure what to react now. Well, the honest part is a bit of a pang in the chest of course, and a portion of him is quite crushed, but it somehow is a relief, too. He wants the real answer, not a sugar-coated one and he thinks he's admired Sehun more for this. He's a friend, to begin with, and real friends say the truth, truth that may hurt but still help.

"I can't explain it well," Sehun carries on. He wishes he doesn't sound too defensive but Baekhyun's answer doesn't sound good enough to convince him it's okay. He's shaking. "I just...I wanted to help you because I don't want to see you...hurting. I wanna do something because..." he trails off, biting on his lower lip. "I just want you to not worry about many things."

It doesn't sink in and Baekhyun's processing things slowly. What is Sehun saying?

"It doesn't make sense right?" Sehun laughs when Baekhyun pulls the confused look on him again. "I don't know, hyung. I don't like seeing creases on your forehead because you worry too much. You're good. You're nice. You don't deserve life being too unfair to you. I just want you to be happy. All the time. I want you to smile."

Sehun is visibly trembling when he ends, breathing heavily as if he's exhausted himself from merely speaking. His heart still pounds in his chest and he's scared. Baekhyun, on the other hand doesn't expect Sehun's answer to escalate to a mush of emotions.

"I guess...maybe..." Sehun says. He recalls what Kyungsoo has told him earlier, during lunch, when Sehun's blushed so hard at his friend's suspicion, denying it so hard, refusing to believe that he's reached such state. But now, suddenly, it all comes rushing at him. He's scared because as it slowly sinks in, he's getting scared, but they're too much to handle and he can no longer hold them in. He knows only Baekhyun can trigger this reaction out of him and he can't blame Baekhyun for getting all surprised at the sudden burst of seemingly pent up emotions. He himself is surprised, too. But he's started it already. Better finish than keep them both hanging.

"Maybe because I like you, hyung."

There. Done. He's finally said it. It's terrifying yet relieving.

But there is no time to see Baekhyun's reaction because the next thing Sehun knows, he's being held on the shoulders, pressed down on the couch, Baekhyun on top of him and their lips sealed together. It's chaste for seconds until Baekhyun shifts a little and Sehun takes it as a sign to part his lips and kiss Baekhyun back. It feels surreal for Sehun as he wraps his arms around Baekhyun, pulling his body closer in their exchange of wet, sloppy kisses.

Baekhyun breaks it first, breathing heavily, pulling a bit away. Sehun can see his reflection on Baekhyun's glistening eyes as his chest heaves to gasp for air. He can't speak, still in a state of shock, but he doesn't let go of the firm hug that keeps Baekhyun in place. He likes the warmth.

"What is this?" Sehun asks shyly.

"I don't know," Baekhyun answers quick, his cheeks extremely flushed as well. "I don't know. But I want to do this for quite some time now."

"Are you sure?"

Baekhyun doesn't say anything. He just smiles, staring at Sehun's face--his forehead, eyes, the bridge of his nose, his lips.

"Well, no one's stopping me from liking you back," he mutters and kisses Sehun again. It's slow this time, mouths moving as if savoring the touch of their lips on each other. Sehun lowers his hand and Baekhyun's fingers slide down on Sehun's chest.

Tongues, wet kisses, clothes scattered on the floor. Hands roam their bodies and they don't hold in the sounds of intimacy and pleasure. It escalates to something they've least expected yet it happens.

It's probably the soju. And their honesty. And the night that is long enough to get them moving to their heart's desires.

Baekhyun comes to the faculty with a bright smile, face glowing with a seemingly excessively pride and joy. He goes around greeting everyone, even dropping by Minseok's isolated desk just to wish him a wonderful day. When he goes back to his desk, Sehun is looking at him, totally weirded out. He shrugs, chuckling to himself.

"Having a good day?" Sehun asks.

Baekhyun just nods. "Before you say anything, it's not because I enjoyed you quite getting rough on me last night." He pulls his collar down a bit to reveal a still red collarbones and Sehun remembers how he's sucked on it hard enough to leave the mark. Baekhyun finds so much amusement in the other's apparent shock and panic. Sehun even hushes at him, slapping him but gently on the arm to stop him of speaking things he shouldn't be talking about. It's been a month since they've agreed to get their relationship official, as Sehun would always call it, and Sehun is obviously still not used to how playful and teasing Baekhyun can be at times. It's new but he doesn't really regret knowing this.

"Okay enough. Tell your story," Sehun says when he's assured no one's seen and heard Baekhyun. He pushes the other's hand to hide the mark beneath clothes again because it isn't the right time to be remembering things that can get him uncomfortably tight in his pants.

Baekhyun opens his bag and pulls a white A4 paper, handing it to Sehun with care. "Read," he orders.

And Sehun does, skimming on the text. His eyes grow wide a few seconds into his reading and his lips part to a wide open-mouthed smile. "You're keeping the scholarship!"

Baekhyun nods proudly.

"So you passed your subjects!" Sehun exclaims.

Baekhyun nods again.

"God, I'm so happy!" He literally jumps on Baekhyun and hugs him that they almost fall off the chair. Baekhyun yelps loud and Sehun yells, too. The rest of the faculty members look at them, alarmed, some slightly scandalized. Minseok even peeks from his office only to shake his head as soon as he sees the two TAs in a very compromising position, Sehun on top of Baekhyun with Baekhyun holding the other by the bum.

Minseok clears his throat and Sehun carefully crawls back to his seat. Baekhyun gulps awkwardly, bowing his head as he mumbles apologies. Once they're properly seated back to their respective desks, Sehun fishes his phone out, opting to talk using it because he's still embarrassed to speak. He sends Baekhyun a text message: "Congratulations! You did it!"

His phone vibrates and Baekhyun's reply flashes on his screen. "Thank you. But nope, not 'I did it'. You helped me. So WE did it. :)"

Sehun looks to his side, lips slowly curling to a giddy smile. It's too early for the slightest of a morning drama but Sehun can't ignore the bubbly curls in his chest, a funny yet happy reaction brought by just three words. He hasn't really thought about this but when he does, it sinks in quick until it's embedded right in the middle of his heart. It's no longer just him, or just Baekhyun alone, but him and Baekhyun, both of them, together. It will never be a life of absolute all smiles but he is excited about spending it in knowing that what he's wanted for Baekhyun and for himself is finally a real deal.

I want you to smile. And so it happens, Baekhyun, right next to him, his flushed cheeks pushing his eyes to wonderful crescents. Genuine, no unmasked emotions. And it's all that Sehun needs to make his day complete.

"Celebratory dinner? My treat." Sehun sends Baekhyun a message minutes later, packing his papers and shutting his laptop close. He's leaving for his grad school class and the next time he sees Baekhyun again is back home.

Baekhyun chuckles when he reads it. "I think I've heard this before," he says out loud, an obvious twirl in his tone.

Sehun nods and he's reminded of the very exact moment he first asked him out for a "celebratory dinner." He clearly remembers it, that night when food isn't the only delicious thing his tongue has tasted.

"I wouldn't mind a repeat of it," Sehun says, wiggling his brows. Baekhyun bites his lips shyly as a visible pink starts to stain his cheeks.

"Me too, I guess."