Fanfic: Language Barrier
Title: Language barrier
Fandom: EXO
Characters/pairings: KrisYeol
Wordcount: 1228
Prompt: "Language barrier" by rememorari at tumblr.
A/N: Le random nothingness of something akin to Krisyeol, I don't know. Again, supposed to be shorter, I dn't know what takes up over thousand words here, even though that's not really much either. OTL
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The first time Chanyeol met Kris, he presented himself as Wu Fan, and said he did not know much Korean. Chanyeol introduced himself as Chanyeol, and said he did not know much Chinese.
Somehow, they still became friends instantly after that.
Chanyeol was a talker, and he liked talking to Wu Fan, because Wu Fan listened, even if he did not understand most of it. In between training sessions, dance practice and vocal rehearsals, Wu Fan and Chanyeol would find each other, and they - Chanyeol, mostly - would talk. Later in life, Kris would admit to Chanyeol that he had liked listening to Chanyeol speak, both because of the language, his eagerness and because of Chanyeol’s intriguing voice.
Sometimes, Wu Fan spoke as well - either a short comment in Korean just to emphasize that he had understood what Chanyeol just said, or a remark in Chinese that was meant mostly to entertain himself, because Chanyeol only ever blinked in confusion.
But Chanyeol had also taken to ask Wu Fan questions, whenever curiousity struck him. Although it was quite useless, actually; the only way Wu Fan could tell a question was directed at him, was by Chanyeol’s tone, the hanging final note or curious eyes. He never understood the question itself. Similarly, he rarely had the adequate Korean words to reply anyways, so he would just reply to something he imagined Chanyeol asked him about, and he would do so in whatever language he deemed fit. Occasionally, it would be English, or at other times, Mandarin or Cantonese - not that Chanyeol could tell the two latter much apart.
So the two of them kept talking, laughing, sharing stories - and neither of them understood much of what the other meant.
The other trainees around them had more than once questioned the use of this relationship - and they had to admit, it was kind of weird. A few others had offered to translate between them - Wu Fan was still a little behind in learning his Korean compared to the other Chinese trainees, and Chanyeol’s ineptness at language at the time had not been shared by the other Koreans. But they had refused both Chinese and Korean offers. It would lose some of the magic, Chanyeol had explained to Joonmyeon, it would take away what’s special in our relationship, Wu Fan told Luhan.
Although they had never spoken about this, it was never really a question whether or not they should accept the help.
Chanyeol had to admit, he was a bit surprised at himself for not growing tired or restless by the nature of their friendship. To be perfectly honest, they could, strictly speaking, understand each other; with the help of gestures and expressions and mimicry, they could easily get the most basic points across, especially in regards to practical messages or problems. But it was their conversations that were their real charm point.
Wu Fan was equally surprised at himself for sticking with Chanyeol. Usually, he made friends with people more similar to himself - and Chanyeol was quite unlike him. But still, there was something about the childlike, eager and happy boy that attracted him to Chanyeol, and he found himself quite enjoying spending time with the younger boy.
They had both accepted that in time, they would come to understand each other - literally understand, as Wu Fan’s Korean studies were rapidly increasing his knowledge of the language, and Chanyeol would eventually have to learn basic Chinese. They never talked about it, but both looked forward to it with excitement, as well as a sort of nervous anticipation. Would things change between them then?
But of course, nothing did. Maybe things had been different if they suddenly woke up one day and understood the other’s language perfectly; no such thing happened.
The understanding came gradually, so sneakily creeping upon their talks that they hardly ever noticed themselves, until suddenly, they found themselves quite happily engaged in a complete two-way conversation.
In hindsight, Kris would realize how much Chanyeol had helped him master the Korean language in such short time. Chanyeol’s constant blabbering had expanded his vocabulary so much, as well as helped him understand basic structure, intonation and pronunciation. Whenever Wu Fan had attempted to speak Korean, Chanyeol would patiently and happily correct grammatical errors, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
And eventually, it was.
“Krease-hyung,” Chanyeol started one evening, head resting on his hands when they had finally finished the late, late training sessions and decided to stop by a small café before heading home. Home to the other trainees that were to debut in EXO, anyways.
“’Kris’, Chanyeol, not ‘Krease’,” the older corrected automatically as he took a sip of his coffee - some fancy type Chanyeol had never learned the name of. “But what?”
“Wu Fan-ge,” Chanyeol grinned, eyes widening as he tried to peek up at Wu Fan’s face without lifting his head. “You’re quite good at Korean now.”
“Thanks,” Wu Fan smirked. “You still suck at Chinese and English, though.”
“I do noooot!” Chanyeol whined, but it was only playfully, because he would be ready to admit that particular problem any day. “You’re just a language genius, for some reason.”
“It’s a good thing your voice distracts anyone from what you’re really saying, then,” Wu Fan smiled fondly, remembering the times he first heard Chanyeol talk - Chanyeol had been much younger then (they both were) and his voice was not quite developed, so he had more than once been entertained by the deep, new baritone suddenly erupted into loud squeeks. It was never a problem anymore, though, and Wu Fan only almost missed it, because his fascination with the polarity of Chanyeol’s face and voice was still as strong as the first day they met.
“I’m lucky that way,” Chanyeol agreed with a laugh. Silence fell between them again as Wu Fan continued drinking his coffee, and Chanyeol laid still on the table. It was weird, how these silent moments had only increased after they learned to talk to each other. Then again, Chanyeol thought, it really was not, because even though they could use words, they no longer needed. How ironic.
Although, there were some words Chanyeol wished he could use - for the sole purpose of being able to use them.
“Wu Fan-ge?”
“Hmm?”
“Can you teach me something?” Chanyeol turned his head slightly to the side, hoping to get a better view of the older without craning his neck too much. Impossible.
“Sure, what?” Wu Fan looked at him curiously.
“I want you to teach me how to say ‘I love you’ in Chinese,” Chanyeol grinned innocently, and Kris chuckled.
“Didn’t I already teach you that?” He asked with a smirk, but Chanyeol just shook his head innocently.
“If you did, I forgot,” he said simply. “You must not tell me enough. That’s mean, Wu Fan-ge!”
“I tell you all the time,” Wu Fan retorted. “But your inadequate language skills don’t pick it up.”
“Then say it again,” Chanyeol pouted. “I want to learn.”
“Wo ai ni.”
“Wo ai ni?”
“Wo ai ni.”
“Oh…” Chanyeol pondered the phrase for a second, then he finally sat up and grinned, and promptly cupped Kris’s hands, who were currently holding his coffee.
“In that case,” he smiled eagerly, and Kris could not help but return the gesture. “Wo ai ni, Kris-ge.”
“Saranghae, Chanyeol-ah.”
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I wasn't even sure whether or not to add Kris's last line, but whatever.
Thanks to rememorari for the prompt! Hope it turned out somehow like you wanted. :)
If anyone else have more prompts, I'm currently taking! Can't promise to write everything, but my inspiration has sort of gone down the drain lately, so I neeeeed. FOR THE LOVE OF KRISYEOL RIGHT?!