CHINGUX 2014: counting days (1/1) for burritao
Title: Counting Days
Author: homages
Recipient: burritao
Pairing/Focus: Baekhyun/Chen (friendship), OT4
Rating: PG-13 (language)
Warnings: None
Length: ~5200w
Summary: AU! Baekhyun weasels into Jongdae’s life and brings along a few other friends.
Note: I really wanted to flesh this out a bit more to fit your prompt better but I hope you enjoy it still!
It’s only been three days since his family moved to Seoul and Jongdae is already bored out of his mind. School hasn’t started yet, won’t for another two weeks, and the apartment complex they’ve settled into is in stark contrast with the intimate residential neighborhood he’d spent all of his eight years in. There was a park only a few streets down from his house where all of his friends used to gather on weekends, but here, the only other kid Jongdae has seen so far is a three-year-old who soiled her diaper in the elevator. Jongdae’s lonely but not that lonely.
He’s lazing around in the living room, flipping through the latest issue of his favorite comic series, when the doorbell buzzes and startles him off his place on the couch. It’s a weekday afternoon so his parents are still at work, leaving Jongdae in the dubious care of his older brother, Jongdeok.
“Jongdae, get the stupid door, I’m busy!” Jongdeok yells from their shared bedroom, probably where he’s sitting his lazy butt down on Jongdae’s side of the bed and playing with Jongdae’s new gameboy like the stupid jerkhead he is.
Grumbling, Jongdae tosses his comic book down and shuffles to the door. He tries to look through the peephole but he’s still too short to see anything even when he jumps as high as he can. Whatever, if it’s some kind of serial killer or gross kidnapper, at least his parents will never forgive Jongdeok for the loss of their most favorite son and make him sleep in the oven or something. The thought of Jongdeok crying into their burnt cake pan is satisfying enough to risk it.
When Jongdae pulls open the door, he’s greeted by a smiley kid around his age, or maybe even younger, holding up a large plate of sweet honey rice cakes. Half of his forehead is covered in a large bandage and, to Jongdae’s immense pleasure, he stands a tiny bit shorter than Jongdae.
“Hi, I’m Byun Baekhyun! I live right across the hall and my mom told me come give these to you,” the boy recites and takes a big step forward to push the plate into Jongdae’s arms. He then weasels close enough to poke his head in past the doorframe and take a quick peek inside the living room, whistling low at the decor. “Wow, nice TV!”
“Oh, uh, thanks!” Jongdae shuffles backwards to let him in completely. His parents explicitly told him not to let strangers anywhere near the apartment when they were out but what harm could some little kid do?
Jongdae shuts the door as Baekhyun toes off his shoes like it’s his billionth visit rather than his very first. He’s really weird and kind of smells like old newspapers but Jongdae’s been wasting away inside the apartment for what feels like an eternity, fighting a losing battle over the window side of their room with his turnip of a brother, so some friendly company is a more than welcome change.
“I’m Jongdae by the way-Kim Jongdae!” He sticks out a hand for Baekhyun to shake, tucking the plate of rice cakes underneath his free arm.
Baekhyun takes it easily with a grin. One of his bottom teeth is missing. “Nice to meet ’ya. You got any video games?”
When Jongdae’s parents get home that evening, they find Jongdae and his new friend playing with his hand-me-down collection of action figures, screeching and flailing through a particularly violent death scene. They give Baekhyun a strange look, like he’s suddenly sprouted out from underneath the carpet, before introducing themselves and kindly offering him a place at the dinner table.
“No, thank you! My mom is making my favorite kimchi stew tonight!” Baekhyun chirps, hands clasped behind his back, looking like the nice little kid Jongdae’s already learned he’s not.
Baekhyun takes his leave soon after. He invites Jongdae over to his own apartment to check out his collection of games the next day. “You can meet my new fish, too! His name is Puff ‘cause he’s chubby.”
Jongdae beams. “Yeah, sure!” Excitement blooms warm in the base of his stomach and he stays waving goodbye in his doorway until Baekhyun finally disappears into an apartment a few doors down.
---
Besides Mondays and Wednesdays when Baekhyun has hapkido lessons, they spend every day of the week together. Baekhyun quickly becomes another cheek for Jongdae’s mother to pinch and an occasional guest at the dinner table. He milks the attention he gets for all its worth, cracking ridiculous jokes as his mother coos and claps in delight while Jongdae hides his face in his hands, body shaking with giggles.
Baekhyun, Jongdae finds, likes practically all of the same things he does. Building towers out of legos, riding bikes along the river, collecting cool looking bottlecaps-even the way they eat each individual layer of a chocopie is the same.
Jongdeok says it’s kind of weird how similar they are, especially the snack thing, but Jongdae’s just glad he’s found a new best friend. Besides, his older brother’s opinions never mattered anyway.
---
“Jongdae, stop snoring into your soup and go get ready for school!”
The sun has barely peeked up over the horizon and Jongdae still can’t even feel the left side of face, much less have the energy to pull on the new outfit his mother forced on him for the first day of school. He’d stayed up way past his bedtime the night before trying to beat the next boss on his new video game and now his eyeballs feel like prunes.
His mother doesn’t seem to care the least about his pain though, since she scrapes Jongdae unceremoniously off the kitchen table and shoves him toward the bathroom to clean up. He grumbles all the way there, feet feeling like cement blocks against the tile as he drags himself up onto the stepstool to pick up his toothbrush.
Despite his outward reluctance, Jongdae is actually pretty excited for his first day of the third grade. It might be a new school in a completely different place, and he won’t have any of his old friends or teachers to talk to, but Jongdae has always liked meeting new people. It’s fun and has always come easy to him, kind of like a superpower but not nearly as cool.
Even if he does get nervous, Baekhyun is going to the same school, too and he promised to at least play with Jongdae during recess and maybe sneak by during lunch. That prospect is enough to ease the anxiety swimming in his belly.
Baekhyun is waiting for him in the hallway when Jongdae finally does wake up enough to finish getting ready. His face is puffy from sleep and one sleeve of his sweater folded up higher than the other. The imprint of his sheets is still pressed into his cheek and his hair is combed back neatly on his head, making him look like an alien. Jongdae bites back a laugh.
“My mom,” Baekhyun says by way of explanation and smooths a palm down along his temple.
The elementary school is only a few blocks away, a distance their mothers have deemed safe enough for them to walk by themselves, and they arrive a few minutes before class is set to start. The hallways are busy with kids and their parents, some of the younger ones crying and wiping mucus onto their sleeves.
By some fortunate gift of the universe, it turns out Baekhyun and Jongdae have been placed in the same third grade class. They enter the classroom and Baekhyun wraps a hand around Jongdae’s wrist to maneuver them to a table at the back of the room. It’s already occupied by two other kids, who Baekhyun seems he already know because he barks a brief hello before plopping down on one of the two remaining seats.
Jongdae offers them a smile and a small wave as he settles down. “Hi!”
“Guys, this is Jongdae,” Baekhyun says, gesturing to him with flourish. "He's new and from Siheung and is really bad at hide and seek!"
He throws an arm around the shoulders of the kid on his left, a boy with rosy, chubby cheeks and ears so big they could relay messages across the country. He kind of looks like one of those paper plate animals Jongdae's first grade teachers always had the class make for arts and crafts time, but Jongdae stashes that little nugget of information away to share with Baekhyun later.
"And this is Chanyeol!" Baekhyun gives Jongdae a knowing look and leans in close. "Don’t mention his ears, he doesn’t like it,” he mock-whispers and shoots Chanyeol a toothy grin.
“Hey, shut up!” Chanyeol cups his hands over his head and kicks a foot out at Baekhyun’s ankle. “My mom said they’re charming! I’ll grow into them eventually!”
Jongdae laughs into his fist as Baekhyun waves away Chanyeol’s embarrassed whines. He points to the other boy sitting across from him. “And he's Kyungsoo, but we call him Shorty ‘cause he’s so small!"
“Nuh-uh!” Kyungsoo gripes, puffing out his cheeks. “I grew a whole centimeter and a half over break! I’ll probably be taller than you by next week.”
Baekhyun snorts and pats a hand at his head. “Sure.”
“Hmm, I don’t know if you should be talking about people being short,” Jongdae pipes up. “I mean…” He pinches his thumb and forefinger together.
Chanyeol muffles a laugh with both hands while Kyungsoo beams at him after sending a mocking look at Baekhyun. “I like you, Jongdae! You can be the new Baekhyun!”
“Hey! You’re supposed to be my friend!” Baekhyun yelps helplessly.
---
The school takes the entire third and fourth grade class on a field trip to the zoo just before the start of summer break.
Jongdae is conveniently assigned to the same group as Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Kyungsoo, earning a cheer of joy from all of them at the news. After the chaperones explain the rules of conduct and how the classes must be on their very best behavior, the kids are set free to explore the zoo.
Kyungsoo drags them to check out the small mammal house despite Chanyeol’s insistence on visiting the tigers first. Upon entering, he abandons them in favor of the molerats exhibit. He presses his face up against the glass and gapes at the sleeping rodents, eyes moving along the plastic tunnels.
Head quirked, Baekhyun studies Kyungsoo’s back for a moment before turning to Chanyeol and Jongdae, who are trying to find one of the chipmunks hiding in its habitat.
“Hey, guys, I have an idea,” Baekhyun says and pulls out the big bottle of water his mom packed for him (“Just in case you get dehydrated!”) from his bag, a devious grin spreading on his lips. A look of understanding dawns on Chanyeol’s face as Baekhyun nods toward Kyungsoo, expression morphing into a look of manic glee.
Jongdae and Chanyeol muffle their laughter in their hands before they follow suit.
Baekhyun places a finger to his lips and creeps up behind Kyungsoo, his water bottle shaking with each step and sloshing a bit of water onto his hand. Biting his lip, he mouths a countdown as Jongdae and Chanyeol open up their bottles too.
The screech Kyungsoo lets out echoes through the entire structure and the pure rage behind his eyes is all the warning the three of them get before all hell breaks loose.
Water drips off Jongdae’s hair and into his eyes as the lead teacher clucks her tongue at them. The back of his shirt, where Chanyeol got a lucky shot, is getting to be uncomfortably cold against his skin and he can feel the goosebumps starting to form along his arms. The air conditioning of the security office isn’t helping at all, either.
“Agh, it’s always you four,” Teacher Kim huffs and places her hands on her hips. “Why is it always you four?”
They all stare at the ground, hands clasped in front of them in the most apologetic manner they can muster. After Baekhyun slipped on one of the puddles they’d formed while in pursuit of Kyungsoo’s head and scraped up his knee, security was finally called to take them all away.
“Didn’t you pay attention to the rules at all? What were you even thinking?” Teacher Kim levels a stern look at the four of them.
After a beat, Baekhyun raises a tentative hand, shifting his eyes back and forth between his friends. “Um. They looked like they were...hot?”
Jongdae snorts and bites down on his lip to contain the sudden bout of laughter bubbling up from his chest. He risks a glance at Chanyeol and immediately regrets it when he sees his face turning red from exertion, face scrunched up to hide a grin.
Kyungsoo shoots out a hand to shut them both up but his mouth twitches into a smile too.
The punishment doesn’t end up being all too terrible. They each have to write a three page essay on the importance of following rules over their break, plus send an apology letter to the zoo, but Jongdae thinks it was all worth it, even if he didn’t win the water battle.
For that round at least.
7 YEARS LATER
“You’re late.”
Jongdae hands Baekhyun one of the vegetable buns his mother threw at him to share on his way out that morning. He’d demolished the larger of the two in his wait for Baekhyun and nearly did the same for the second after the ten minute mark of the daily “Where the Fuck is Baekhyun” game passed.
Baekhyun shoves the bun into his mouth and shrugs, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand. “Mmmph rmmph.” He chews noisily, mouth smacking like a dog trying to eat peanut butter. There’s no doubt he’d stayed out until at least 2 a.m. last night, playing Starcraft at the PC room a block down the street and attempting to flirt with the cute girl who works at the convenience store next door.
It’s already their second year of high school and Baekhyun is still slacking off.
Jongdae rolls his eyes but elects not to chastise him. That’s his mom’s job and Jongdae has learned from experience that nothing he says will get Baekhyun to behave. Besides, they’ve known each other way too long for Baekhyun to take any of his threats seriously. Except for the ones involving his testicles-those he definitely takes seriously, especially after the vacuum debacle of 2008.
“Did you finish the calculus homework for today? Can I copy?” Baekhyun asks after gulping down the last of his breakfast.
“Yeah, if you want to get like, tops a twenty. I barely understood any of it.”
Baekhyun considers it for a moment.“Eh, something’s better than nothing,” Baekhyun concludes and slings an arm around Jongdae’s shoulder.
---
Class 2-B’s haunted house is the biggest hit at the school’s annual winter festival. Chanyeol and Jongdae make a dream scare team, Chanyeol distracting the entrants with his gruesome appearance, synthetic flesh hanging from sallow skin, while Jongdae silently takes his place behind them for the big surprise. His outfit took four hours to complete but the wings are a nice touch to his vampire costume, especially the hairy bits at the end that provide the optimal creeping out experience.
Baekhyun and Kyungsoo have been relegated to be greeters, faces painted in disarmingly cute skull makeup, and tasked with the job of handing out candy rewards for all of the haunted house survivors. It’s not as fun as being inside the actual house itself, but it was their fault for being absent on the planning day.
“Hey, you want to switch?” Baekhyun offers during their fifteen minute break for lunch. Some of his makeup has smeared off from scratching his face and now he looks like a lopsided ghost. “I don’t know if I can take another pinch to the cheek by some fifteen-year-old girl who refuses to call me oppa.”
“Sure,” Jongdae says through a mouthful of fried dumplings. “Me and Chanyeol have to go practice one last time for the talent show anyway.”
Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow. “Are you guys doing “Creep” again?”
“It’s a classic!” Chanyeol says, slapping his chopsticks down on the table and nearly knocking over Baekhyun’s soda cup into his lap. “We almost have it perfect this time! And it won’t be as creepy ‘cause we won’t do the weird voice anymore.”
“That was the only good part of that, though,” Kyungsoo says under his breath, half-muffled by the chunk of rice cake he shoves into his mouth.
The auditorium bustles with activity as the student body takes their seats for the show.
Baekhyun still has his skull makeup on when he slips into the last remaining front row seat.
“Our next performers are a duo called...Electric See-Saw?” Mrs. Park squints her eyes at the notecard and shakes her head. “Yes, Electric See-Saw covering “Creep” by Radiohead!”
Jongdae and Chanyeol shuffle on stage, waving their hands out as the cheers them on. They settle down on the stools placed center stage for them and clear their throats. Four weeks they’ve been preparing for this, even more counting practice from last year’s performance, and this time they’ll win the barbeque grand prize for sure.
It does sound better, loads better, than the year before. Jongdae has gained more control of his voice now and Chanyeol has reached a much higher skill level on the guitar. Even the older ladies near the back aren’t grimacing like usual, instead wearing a much less stern look of mild discontent.
When they finish, Baekhyun’s cheers are distinct from the crowd, his hooting and hollering clear amid the polite applause and occasional whistle. Kyungsoo, on the other hand, has become one with his seat, having sunken so far down that his face is level with the armrest.
Baekhyun sends them double thumbs up and one final screechy “Encore!” as they leave the stage. Jongdae bows with flourish and blows a wet kiss his way before disappearing behind the curtain.
First place goes to eight third-year girls who did a dance cover of After School’s “Bang” while Electric See-Saw win third place and a coupon for $5 off school supplies.
“You guys were awesome!” Baekhyun raises a hand for a high-five when they emerge from backstage, little yellow prize ribbons clipped to their shirts. He pats the other hand on Chanyeol’s back, leaving a white blob on the shoulder of his button-down. “You should’ve won that prize, not those idol star wannabes.”
Chanyeol shrugs and sweeps the hair from his face. “The audience just didn’t know real music, I guess. Our time will come.”
Rolling his eyes, Kyungsoo flicks at Chanyeol’s forehead. “It was a cover of “Creep”, not an elaborate orchestral composition.”
Rubbing at the blooming red spot on his face, Chanyeol fixes his eyes to the ground and frowns, looking a little dejected.
“Whatever,” Baekhyun interrupts with another pat to Chanyeol’s back. “Let’s go see if the 1-C’s bakery has any leftovers. I heard their curry bread was the shit!”
---
Only a few more days of their summer break remain when Baekhyun suggests going on a trip.
They’ve convened at a small table at Chanyeol’s favorite bakery to take advantage of a special on sweet red bean buns and free wifi. The next semester looms menacingly over them and they’ve only just finished up the assignments they’d pushed back until the last minute. Hakwon eats up most of their time these days and Jongdae hadn’t seen his friends in almost a week.
“A trip? To where?” Chanyeol asks, ears perking up, and looks over the top of his notebook at Baekhyun.
Baekhyun shrugs and leans back in his seat to stretch up his arms over his head. “Dunno but I’m dying of boredom. The most fun we’ve had this break is when Kyungsoo accidentally ate that spider.”
“What about the beach?” Jongdae suggests, the mangled straw he’d been chewing on for the past fifteen minutes falling back into his now-empty lemonade cup. “I haven’t gone swimming since I was like, seven.”
“Yes! I’m in!” Chanyeol whoops, earning a few glares their way. “Kyungsoo, you in? I’ll buy you one of those big floppy hats!”
“Nah, I have hakwon every night this week. You guys can go ahead,” Kyungsoo says, sight still trained on his phone. On his screen, a cartoon bird plops onto the ground and he grumbles under his breath.
Baekhyun snorts. “You liar, like you’ve ever cared about hakwon-you just want to stay home and watch movies all day, don’t you?”
Sinking down in his seat, Kyungsoo frowns and continues tapping on his screen. “No. I’m just...tired.”
“Aw, c’mon Kyungsoo, don’t be boring,” Chanyeol says, clamping a hand on his shoulder and shaking. He pokes his head into Kyungsoo’s line of sight and juts out his lower lip.
“Yeah, where’s your thirst for adventure?” Jongdae adds. “This is the perfect opportunity for us to finally drown Baekhyun!” A fist jabs into his ribs and he yelps in pain.
Groaning low in his throat, Kyungsoo mulls it over as Chanyeol tugs at his arm insistently, grinning. He blinks slowly at his friends’ hopeful faces, the corners of his mouth twitching up as their eyes widen dramatically. Finally, he takes a deep breath and deflates with the exhale. “Okay, fine.”
They take the first train down the next day. The man working the ticket booth gives them a suspicious look-four high-schoolers travelling so early in the morning on a weekday is never a good sign, he’s learned-but gives them their tickets anyway with a shake of his head.
A few middle-aged women and a family of four are the only other occupants in their compartment. They claim the very back section for themselves and spread out the wide array of snacks they’d packed for the ride down on the table front of them.
It’s only a few hours but Chanyeol falls asleep halfway with his head rocking against Jongdae’s shoulder, a thin trail of drool coming to pool on his shirtsleeve. Baekhyun draws a few hairs on his chin but chickens out on the small penis Kyungsoo suggests.
By noon, they’re padding their way down the beach, swinging their towels through the air with the hot sand burning the soles of their feet. It’s still early enough that it’s relatively empty save for a few middle-aged men with metal detectors and a few families out on vacation, and they find a convenient spot to set up.
As the rest lay their towels and backpacks down, Jongdae pads close enough to the water for a wave to lap up around his ankles. The water’s a perfect reprise from the stifling late-July heat, just cool enough to be refreshing and warm enough to be comfortable.
He wades in just a bit more until the water reaches the bottom of his knees and he stares out at the long expanse of ocean. The sunlight glimmers off the surface of the water and he can make out the faint outline of a fishing boat in the distance. It’s nice and peaceful, exactly what he’d wanted all break.
Something screeches behind him, loud enough to echo across the beach, and disturbs the moment. Before Jongdae has the chance to decipher the source, though, he’s careening face-first into the water, the briny taste filling his mouth. His nostrils burn as he snorts some in from his initial shock and the world turns upside down for a moment, swirls around him as a wave smacks at his head.
Baekhyun’s pale stomach and raucous laughter greets him when Jongdae finally resurfaces, sputtering and squinting the seawater out of his eyes. “You little shit,” he coughs out and leaps forward to swipes a hand at Baekhyun’s leg.
He ends up grabbing empty air and diving right back down into the briny water.
In his infinite wisdom, Chanyeol forgets to put sunscreen on his face and by dinnertime, his cheeks are tinged a rosy red, the skin left tender from the sting of saltwater. The kimbap and ham sandwiches Kyungsoo packed are gone within ten minutes, the hunger they’d built up over several hours splashing around the ocean consuming every little crumb of food.
They lie out, stomachs pleasantly full, and soak in the last rays of sunshine for the day.
It’s almost time for them to pack up when a raindrop plops onto Jongdae’s nose and the faint sound of thunder roars in the distance. He peeks an eye open and is met with another raindrop on the middle of his forehead.
“Oh, no.”
They find shelter from the sudden storm in a small cafe along the boardwalk and make it inside before it starts to pour heavily. The sky has turned a menacing grey and opened up a sea of rain, drenching the entire beach in a matter of minutes.
“I don’t think the trains are running in this weather, ” Jongdae sighs, his nose pressed against the cafe window. Lightning crackles in the distance and illuminates his face. He turns back to the table to cradle the hot coffee the cafe shopkeep offered them out of pity.
Kyungsoo levels a borderline murderous glare at his friends. “You said we’d only stay the day. I have stuff to do tomorrow.” It’s becoming increasingly apparent that Kyungsoo is three raindrops away from choking them all to death with a coffee cup.
“Uh, do you want us to die, Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun says, scooting his chair just a bit away from the table, then narrows his eyes just as Kyungsoo inhales to begin his tirade. “Don’t answer that.”
Chanyeol places a placating hand to Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “We gotta figure out what to do first, so stop being assholes for two seconds.”
“Yeah, listen to mom over here.” Baekhyun wheezes at his own joke.
Jongdae sighs. “Chanyeol, let go of Baekhyun’s face. I don’t think he can breathe like that.”
They agree to spend the night (“Think of it as an adventure!” Baekhyun insisted, nudging Kyungsoo’s arm) and stumble upon an inn a few streets over from the cafe. Despite the summer rush, there are a few vacancies remaining Unfortunately, however, they only have enough money left to rent out one.
“Damn, this room is tiny.”
The only things occupying the room are a small twin-sized cot, a pile of blankets in the corner, and an old television set, antennae and all. There’s a single window above the bed but it’s barely big enough to see through.
“Rock, paper, scissors for the bed?” Chanyeol suggests, already sticking a fist out.
Baekhyun pushes it away. “I paid the most, I should get it,” he says and plops down on the mattress. It squeaks sadly underneath his weight. “It’s only fair.”
“So stingy,” Jongdae sniffs but starts settling his things on the floor anyway. He swipes the most comfortable looking blanket as a silent act of defiance.
After all of the day’s chaos, they finally get to rest.
The rain’s finally stopped but the pitter-patter against the window has been replaced with the unsavory sound of Chanyeol’s mouth breathing. Each exhale sends a few strands of hair to graze against Jongdae’s forehead, along with the faint smell of shrimp chips and mint, and Jongdae barely has the restraint not to shove a dirty sock down his throat.
Sighing, he flops over to lie on his other side, scooting forward enough to only feel the faint wisps of Chanyeol’s breath against the back of his neck.
Something eerily toe-like probes at cheek. Jongdae jerks his head away from the offensive appendage and squints up at the dark blob he assumes is Baekhyun’s grinning head. His foot hovers just a few inches above Jongdae’s head. “Hey. You awake?”
“Uh, now I am,” he hisses, propping himself up on his elbows and wiping his face against his shoulder. “Asshole.”
The floor creaks as Baekhyun slides down from the bed to sit next to him, butt coming to rest half on Jongdae’s pillow. Jongdae shifts to give him some more room. “I can’t sleep.”
“Me neither,” Jongdae sighs and sits up fully, rubbing a hand to his neck. “I feel like this pillow’s gonna snap my neck in two.”
“Mmm.” Baekhyun nods and offers a half-assed punch into the pillow. “Hey, you want to go for a walk or something?”
The sky has cleared up enough for a few stars to poke out from behind the clouds. They’re much more vibrant here than in Seoul, where the street signs are the brightest lights they can see.
They’ve settled on the fence of a wooden dock a ways down the beach. It’s still damp with rain but it provides a good view of the breadth of the ocean. They’re silent for a while, swinging their legs over the edge and taking in the breeze.
“My parents are sending me to the U.S for college.”
Jongdae turns to gape at Baekhyun, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. “What?”
Wringing his hands, Baekhyun lets out a deep breath and keeps his eyes trained on his feet. “Yeah, they saved up enough to send me all the way overseas. To ‘shape me up’ or something.” He flicks his eyes up to look at Jongdae.
Jongdae presses his lips into a firm line, mulls the idea of Baekhyun thousands of miles away over. It’s a strange thought, Jongdae has to admit. He hadn’t really considered the possibility of it until now, despite all of the college prep exams and the research about different university programs he’s had to do over the past few months. College feels like something far away still.
“Well,” Jongdae starts, mind spinning to grasp the right words. “I’ll miss you a lot, then.”
Baekhyun groans and waves a hand over his face.
“I really mean it. I’ll miss you.” Jongdae risks a glance at Baekhyun, expecting him to laugh in his face.
Instead, Baekhyun is staring out at the faint outline of the horizon, an uncharacteristically solemn look on his face. He licks his lips, the way he always does when he’s struggling to figure out what to say next, usually to ask a girl out. It’s funny to see him like this here, with Jongdae, where words should come easy.
Something in Jongdae’s stomach flips.
“I’ll miss you too,” Baekhyun finally says, slow and steady like he’s still not sure if it’s right.
Jongdae flashes him an all too pleased smile before it turns into one a little more sincere. “Y’know, you’re a pretty good friend, Baekhyun.”
Baekhyun mocks gagging. “Wow, are you gonna pull out a ring, too?” He smirks, wiggling his eyebrows as Jongdae shoves a bony elbow into his side, nearly sending him off the fence and into the dark waters below. “Oh, I will marry you, Kim Jongdae!” He swoons and sways and knocks his shoulders against Jongdae’s.
Leave it to Baekhyun to ruin a tender moment such as this. Barking out a laugh, Jongdae shakes his head and turns to watch the waves lap up along the water’s surface.
“Ah, you’re such an asshole,” Jongdae says with a fond grin.
Author: homages
Recipient: burritao
Pairing/Focus: Baekhyun/Chen (friendship), OT4
Rating: PG-13 (language)
Warnings: None
Length: ~5200w
Summary: AU! Baekhyun weasels into Jongdae’s life and brings along a few other friends.
Note: I really wanted to flesh this out a bit more to fit your prompt better but I hope you enjoy it still!
It’s only been three days since his family moved to Seoul and Jongdae is already bored out of his mind. School hasn’t started yet, won’t for another two weeks, and the apartment complex they’ve settled into is in stark contrast with the intimate residential neighborhood he’d spent all of his eight years in. There was a park only a few streets down from his house where all of his friends used to gather on weekends, but here, the only other kid Jongdae has seen so far is a three-year-old who soiled her diaper in the elevator. Jongdae’s lonely but not that lonely.
He’s lazing around in the living room, flipping through the latest issue of his favorite comic series, when the doorbell buzzes and startles him off his place on the couch. It’s a weekday afternoon so his parents are still at work, leaving Jongdae in the dubious care of his older brother, Jongdeok.
“Jongdae, get the stupid door, I’m busy!” Jongdeok yells from their shared bedroom, probably where he’s sitting his lazy butt down on Jongdae’s side of the bed and playing with Jongdae’s new gameboy like the stupid jerkhead he is.
Grumbling, Jongdae tosses his comic book down and shuffles to the door. He tries to look through the peephole but he’s still too short to see anything even when he jumps as high as he can. Whatever, if it’s some kind of serial killer or gross kidnapper, at least his parents will never forgive Jongdeok for the loss of their most favorite son and make him sleep in the oven or something. The thought of Jongdeok crying into their burnt cake pan is satisfying enough to risk it.
When Jongdae pulls open the door, he’s greeted by a smiley kid around his age, or maybe even younger, holding up a large plate of sweet honey rice cakes. Half of his forehead is covered in a large bandage and, to Jongdae’s immense pleasure, he stands a tiny bit shorter than Jongdae.
“Hi, I’m Byun Baekhyun! I live right across the hall and my mom told me come give these to you,” the boy recites and takes a big step forward to push the plate into Jongdae’s arms. He then weasels close enough to poke his head in past the doorframe and take a quick peek inside the living room, whistling low at the decor. “Wow, nice TV!”
“Oh, uh, thanks!” Jongdae shuffles backwards to let him in completely. His parents explicitly told him not to let strangers anywhere near the apartment when they were out but what harm could some little kid do?
Jongdae shuts the door as Baekhyun toes off his shoes like it’s his billionth visit rather than his very first. He’s really weird and kind of smells like old newspapers but Jongdae’s been wasting away inside the apartment for what feels like an eternity, fighting a losing battle over the window side of their room with his turnip of a brother, so some friendly company is a more than welcome change.
“I’m Jongdae by the way-Kim Jongdae!” He sticks out a hand for Baekhyun to shake, tucking the plate of rice cakes underneath his free arm.
Baekhyun takes it easily with a grin. One of his bottom teeth is missing. “Nice to meet ’ya. You got any video games?”
When Jongdae’s parents get home that evening, they find Jongdae and his new friend playing with his hand-me-down collection of action figures, screeching and flailing through a particularly violent death scene. They give Baekhyun a strange look, like he’s suddenly sprouted out from underneath the carpet, before introducing themselves and kindly offering him a place at the dinner table.
“No, thank you! My mom is making my favorite kimchi stew tonight!” Baekhyun chirps, hands clasped behind his back, looking like the nice little kid Jongdae’s already learned he’s not.
Baekhyun takes his leave soon after. He invites Jongdae over to his own apartment to check out his collection of games the next day. “You can meet my new fish, too! His name is Puff ‘cause he’s chubby.”
Jongdae beams. “Yeah, sure!” Excitement blooms warm in the base of his stomach and he stays waving goodbye in his doorway until Baekhyun finally disappears into an apartment a few doors down.
---
Besides Mondays and Wednesdays when Baekhyun has hapkido lessons, they spend every day of the week together. Baekhyun quickly becomes another cheek for Jongdae’s mother to pinch and an occasional guest at the dinner table. He milks the attention he gets for all its worth, cracking ridiculous jokes as his mother coos and claps in delight while Jongdae hides his face in his hands, body shaking with giggles.
Baekhyun, Jongdae finds, likes practically all of the same things he does. Building towers out of legos, riding bikes along the river, collecting cool looking bottlecaps-even the way they eat each individual layer of a chocopie is the same.
Jongdeok says it’s kind of weird how similar they are, especially the snack thing, but Jongdae’s just glad he’s found a new best friend. Besides, his older brother’s opinions never mattered anyway.
---
“Jongdae, stop snoring into your soup and go get ready for school!”
The sun has barely peeked up over the horizon and Jongdae still can’t even feel the left side of face, much less have the energy to pull on the new outfit his mother forced on him for the first day of school. He’d stayed up way past his bedtime the night before trying to beat the next boss on his new video game and now his eyeballs feel like prunes.
His mother doesn’t seem to care the least about his pain though, since she scrapes Jongdae unceremoniously off the kitchen table and shoves him toward the bathroom to clean up. He grumbles all the way there, feet feeling like cement blocks against the tile as he drags himself up onto the stepstool to pick up his toothbrush.
Despite his outward reluctance, Jongdae is actually pretty excited for his first day of the third grade. It might be a new school in a completely different place, and he won’t have any of his old friends or teachers to talk to, but Jongdae has always liked meeting new people. It’s fun and has always come easy to him, kind of like a superpower but not nearly as cool.
Even if he does get nervous, Baekhyun is going to the same school, too and he promised to at least play with Jongdae during recess and maybe sneak by during lunch. That prospect is enough to ease the anxiety swimming in his belly.
Baekhyun is waiting for him in the hallway when Jongdae finally does wake up enough to finish getting ready. His face is puffy from sleep and one sleeve of his sweater folded up higher than the other. The imprint of his sheets is still pressed into his cheek and his hair is combed back neatly on his head, making him look like an alien. Jongdae bites back a laugh.
“My mom,” Baekhyun says by way of explanation and smooths a palm down along his temple.
The elementary school is only a few blocks away, a distance their mothers have deemed safe enough for them to walk by themselves, and they arrive a few minutes before class is set to start. The hallways are busy with kids and their parents, some of the younger ones crying and wiping mucus onto their sleeves.
By some fortunate gift of the universe, it turns out Baekhyun and Jongdae have been placed in the same third grade class. They enter the classroom and Baekhyun wraps a hand around Jongdae’s wrist to maneuver them to a table at the back of the room. It’s already occupied by two other kids, who Baekhyun seems he already know because he barks a brief hello before plopping down on one of the two remaining seats.
Jongdae offers them a smile and a small wave as he settles down. “Hi!”
“Guys, this is Jongdae,” Baekhyun says, gesturing to him with flourish. "He's new and from Siheung and is really bad at hide and seek!"
He throws an arm around the shoulders of the kid on his left, a boy with rosy, chubby cheeks and ears so big they could relay messages across the country. He kind of looks like one of those paper plate animals Jongdae's first grade teachers always had the class make for arts and crafts time, but Jongdae stashes that little nugget of information away to share with Baekhyun later.
"And this is Chanyeol!" Baekhyun gives Jongdae a knowing look and leans in close. "Don’t mention his ears, he doesn’t like it,” he mock-whispers and shoots Chanyeol a toothy grin.
“Hey, shut up!” Chanyeol cups his hands over his head and kicks a foot out at Baekhyun’s ankle. “My mom said they’re charming! I’ll grow into them eventually!”
Jongdae laughs into his fist as Baekhyun waves away Chanyeol’s embarrassed whines. He points to the other boy sitting across from him. “And he's Kyungsoo, but we call him Shorty ‘cause he’s so small!"
“Nuh-uh!” Kyungsoo gripes, puffing out his cheeks. “I grew a whole centimeter and a half over break! I’ll probably be taller than you by next week.”
Baekhyun snorts and pats a hand at his head. “Sure.”
“Hmm, I don’t know if you should be talking about people being short,” Jongdae pipes up. “I mean…” He pinches his thumb and forefinger together.
Chanyeol muffles a laugh with both hands while Kyungsoo beams at him after sending a mocking look at Baekhyun. “I like you, Jongdae! You can be the new Baekhyun!”
“Hey! You’re supposed to be my friend!” Baekhyun yelps helplessly.
---
The school takes the entire third and fourth grade class on a field trip to the zoo just before the start of summer break.
Jongdae is conveniently assigned to the same group as Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Kyungsoo, earning a cheer of joy from all of them at the news. After the chaperones explain the rules of conduct and how the classes must be on their very best behavior, the kids are set free to explore the zoo.
Kyungsoo drags them to check out the small mammal house despite Chanyeol’s insistence on visiting the tigers first. Upon entering, he abandons them in favor of the molerats exhibit. He presses his face up against the glass and gapes at the sleeping rodents, eyes moving along the plastic tunnels.
Head quirked, Baekhyun studies Kyungsoo’s back for a moment before turning to Chanyeol and Jongdae, who are trying to find one of the chipmunks hiding in its habitat.
“Hey, guys, I have an idea,” Baekhyun says and pulls out the big bottle of water his mom packed for him (“Just in case you get dehydrated!”) from his bag, a devious grin spreading on his lips. A look of understanding dawns on Chanyeol’s face as Baekhyun nods toward Kyungsoo, expression morphing into a look of manic glee.
Jongdae and Chanyeol muffle their laughter in their hands before they follow suit.
Baekhyun places a finger to his lips and creeps up behind Kyungsoo, his water bottle shaking with each step and sloshing a bit of water onto his hand. Biting his lip, he mouths a countdown as Jongdae and Chanyeol open up their bottles too.
The screech Kyungsoo lets out echoes through the entire structure and the pure rage behind his eyes is all the warning the three of them get before all hell breaks loose.
Water drips off Jongdae’s hair and into his eyes as the lead teacher clucks her tongue at them. The back of his shirt, where Chanyeol got a lucky shot, is getting to be uncomfortably cold against his skin and he can feel the goosebumps starting to form along his arms. The air conditioning of the security office isn’t helping at all, either.
“Agh, it’s always you four,” Teacher Kim huffs and places her hands on her hips. “Why is it always you four?”
They all stare at the ground, hands clasped in front of them in the most apologetic manner they can muster. After Baekhyun slipped on one of the puddles they’d formed while in pursuit of Kyungsoo’s head and scraped up his knee, security was finally called to take them all away.
“Didn’t you pay attention to the rules at all? What were you even thinking?” Teacher Kim levels a stern look at the four of them.
After a beat, Baekhyun raises a tentative hand, shifting his eyes back and forth between his friends. “Um. They looked like they were...hot?”
Jongdae snorts and bites down on his lip to contain the sudden bout of laughter bubbling up from his chest. He risks a glance at Chanyeol and immediately regrets it when he sees his face turning red from exertion, face scrunched up to hide a grin.
Kyungsoo shoots out a hand to shut them both up but his mouth twitches into a smile too.
The punishment doesn’t end up being all too terrible. They each have to write a three page essay on the importance of following rules over their break, plus send an apology letter to the zoo, but Jongdae thinks it was all worth it, even if he didn’t win the water battle.
For that round at least.
7 YEARS LATER
“You’re late.”
Jongdae hands Baekhyun one of the vegetable buns his mother threw at him to share on his way out that morning. He’d demolished the larger of the two in his wait for Baekhyun and nearly did the same for the second after the ten minute mark of the daily “Where the Fuck is Baekhyun” game passed.
Baekhyun shoves the bun into his mouth and shrugs, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand. “Mmmph rmmph.” He chews noisily, mouth smacking like a dog trying to eat peanut butter. There’s no doubt he’d stayed out until at least 2 a.m. last night, playing Starcraft at the PC room a block down the street and attempting to flirt with the cute girl who works at the convenience store next door.
It’s already their second year of high school and Baekhyun is still slacking off.
Jongdae rolls his eyes but elects not to chastise him. That’s his mom’s job and Jongdae has learned from experience that nothing he says will get Baekhyun to behave. Besides, they’ve known each other way too long for Baekhyun to take any of his threats seriously. Except for the ones involving his testicles-those he definitely takes seriously, especially after the vacuum debacle of 2008.
“Did you finish the calculus homework for today? Can I copy?” Baekhyun asks after gulping down the last of his breakfast.
“Yeah, if you want to get like, tops a twenty. I barely understood any of it.”
Baekhyun considers it for a moment.“Eh, something’s better than nothing,” Baekhyun concludes and slings an arm around Jongdae’s shoulder.
---
Class 2-B’s haunted house is the biggest hit at the school’s annual winter festival. Chanyeol and Jongdae make a dream scare team, Chanyeol distracting the entrants with his gruesome appearance, synthetic flesh hanging from sallow skin, while Jongdae silently takes his place behind them for the big surprise. His outfit took four hours to complete but the wings are a nice touch to his vampire costume, especially the hairy bits at the end that provide the optimal creeping out experience.
Baekhyun and Kyungsoo have been relegated to be greeters, faces painted in disarmingly cute skull makeup, and tasked with the job of handing out candy rewards for all of the haunted house survivors. It’s not as fun as being inside the actual house itself, but it was their fault for being absent on the planning day.
“Hey, you want to switch?” Baekhyun offers during their fifteen minute break for lunch. Some of his makeup has smeared off from scratching his face and now he looks like a lopsided ghost. “I don’t know if I can take another pinch to the cheek by some fifteen-year-old girl who refuses to call me oppa.”
“Sure,” Jongdae says through a mouthful of fried dumplings. “Me and Chanyeol have to go practice one last time for the talent show anyway.”
Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow. “Are you guys doing “Creep” again?”
“It’s a classic!” Chanyeol says, slapping his chopsticks down on the table and nearly knocking over Baekhyun’s soda cup into his lap. “We almost have it perfect this time! And it won’t be as creepy ‘cause we won’t do the weird voice anymore.”
“That was the only good part of that, though,” Kyungsoo says under his breath, half-muffled by the chunk of rice cake he shoves into his mouth.
The auditorium bustles with activity as the student body takes their seats for the show.
Baekhyun still has his skull makeup on when he slips into the last remaining front row seat.
“Our next performers are a duo called...Electric See-Saw?” Mrs. Park squints her eyes at the notecard and shakes her head. “Yes, Electric See-Saw covering “Creep” by Radiohead!”
Jongdae and Chanyeol shuffle on stage, waving their hands out as the cheers them on. They settle down on the stools placed center stage for them and clear their throats. Four weeks they’ve been preparing for this, even more counting practice from last year’s performance, and this time they’ll win the barbeque grand prize for sure.
It does sound better, loads better, than the year before. Jongdae has gained more control of his voice now and Chanyeol has reached a much higher skill level on the guitar. Even the older ladies near the back aren’t grimacing like usual, instead wearing a much less stern look of mild discontent.
When they finish, Baekhyun’s cheers are distinct from the crowd, his hooting and hollering clear amid the polite applause and occasional whistle. Kyungsoo, on the other hand, has become one with his seat, having sunken so far down that his face is level with the armrest.
Baekhyun sends them double thumbs up and one final screechy “Encore!” as they leave the stage. Jongdae bows with flourish and blows a wet kiss his way before disappearing behind the curtain.
First place goes to eight third-year girls who did a dance cover of After School’s “Bang” while Electric See-Saw win third place and a coupon for $5 off school supplies.
“You guys were awesome!” Baekhyun raises a hand for a high-five when they emerge from backstage, little yellow prize ribbons clipped to their shirts. He pats the other hand on Chanyeol’s back, leaving a white blob on the shoulder of his button-down. “You should’ve won that prize, not those idol star wannabes.”
Chanyeol shrugs and sweeps the hair from his face. “The audience just didn’t know real music, I guess. Our time will come.”
Rolling his eyes, Kyungsoo flicks at Chanyeol’s forehead. “It was a cover of “Creep”, not an elaborate orchestral composition.”
Rubbing at the blooming red spot on his face, Chanyeol fixes his eyes to the ground and frowns, looking a little dejected.
“Whatever,” Baekhyun interrupts with another pat to Chanyeol’s back. “Let’s go see if the 1-C’s bakery has any leftovers. I heard their curry bread was the shit!”
---
Only a few more days of their summer break remain when Baekhyun suggests going on a trip.
They’ve convened at a small table at Chanyeol’s favorite bakery to take advantage of a special on sweet red bean buns and free wifi. The next semester looms menacingly over them and they’ve only just finished up the assignments they’d pushed back until the last minute. Hakwon eats up most of their time these days and Jongdae hadn’t seen his friends in almost a week.
“A trip? To where?” Chanyeol asks, ears perking up, and looks over the top of his notebook at Baekhyun.
Baekhyun shrugs and leans back in his seat to stretch up his arms over his head. “Dunno but I’m dying of boredom. The most fun we’ve had this break is when Kyungsoo accidentally ate that spider.”
“What about the beach?” Jongdae suggests, the mangled straw he’d been chewing on for the past fifteen minutes falling back into his now-empty lemonade cup. “I haven’t gone swimming since I was like, seven.”
“Yes! I’m in!” Chanyeol whoops, earning a few glares their way. “Kyungsoo, you in? I’ll buy you one of those big floppy hats!”
“Nah, I have hakwon every night this week. You guys can go ahead,” Kyungsoo says, sight still trained on his phone. On his screen, a cartoon bird plops onto the ground and he grumbles under his breath.
Baekhyun snorts. “You liar, like you’ve ever cared about hakwon-you just want to stay home and watch movies all day, don’t you?”
Sinking down in his seat, Kyungsoo frowns and continues tapping on his screen. “No. I’m just...tired.”
“Aw, c’mon Kyungsoo, don’t be boring,” Chanyeol says, clamping a hand on his shoulder and shaking. He pokes his head into Kyungsoo’s line of sight and juts out his lower lip.
“Yeah, where’s your thirst for adventure?” Jongdae adds. “This is the perfect opportunity for us to finally drown Baekhyun!” A fist jabs into his ribs and he yelps in pain.
Groaning low in his throat, Kyungsoo mulls it over as Chanyeol tugs at his arm insistently, grinning. He blinks slowly at his friends’ hopeful faces, the corners of his mouth twitching up as their eyes widen dramatically. Finally, he takes a deep breath and deflates with the exhale. “Okay, fine.”
They take the first train down the next day. The man working the ticket booth gives them a suspicious look-four high-schoolers travelling so early in the morning on a weekday is never a good sign, he’s learned-but gives them their tickets anyway with a shake of his head.
A few middle-aged women and a family of four are the only other occupants in their compartment. They claim the very back section for themselves and spread out the wide array of snacks they’d packed for the ride down on the table front of them.
It’s only a few hours but Chanyeol falls asleep halfway with his head rocking against Jongdae’s shoulder, a thin trail of drool coming to pool on his shirtsleeve. Baekhyun draws a few hairs on his chin but chickens out on the small penis Kyungsoo suggests.
By noon, they’re padding their way down the beach, swinging their towels through the air with the hot sand burning the soles of their feet. It’s still early enough that it’s relatively empty save for a few middle-aged men with metal detectors and a few families out on vacation, and they find a convenient spot to set up.
As the rest lay their towels and backpacks down, Jongdae pads close enough to the water for a wave to lap up around his ankles. The water’s a perfect reprise from the stifling late-July heat, just cool enough to be refreshing and warm enough to be comfortable.
He wades in just a bit more until the water reaches the bottom of his knees and he stares out at the long expanse of ocean. The sunlight glimmers off the surface of the water and he can make out the faint outline of a fishing boat in the distance. It’s nice and peaceful, exactly what he’d wanted all break.
Something screeches behind him, loud enough to echo across the beach, and disturbs the moment. Before Jongdae has the chance to decipher the source, though, he’s careening face-first into the water, the briny taste filling his mouth. His nostrils burn as he snorts some in from his initial shock and the world turns upside down for a moment, swirls around him as a wave smacks at his head.
Baekhyun’s pale stomach and raucous laughter greets him when Jongdae finally resurfaces, sputtering and squinting the seawater out of his eyes. “You little shit,” he coughs out and leaps forward to swipes a hand at Baekhyun’s leg.
He ends up grabbing empty air and diving right back down into the briny water.
In his infinite wisdom, Chanyeol forgets to put sunscreen on his face and by dinnertime, his cheeks are tinged a rosy red, the skin left tender from the sting of saltwater. The kimbap and ham sandwiches Kyungsoo packed are gone within ten minutes, the hunger they’d built up over several hours splashing around the ocean consuming every little crumb of food.
They lie out, stomachs pleasantly full, and soak in the last rays of sunshine for the day.
It’s almost time for them to pack up when a raindrop plops onto Jongdae’s nose and the faint sound of thunder roars in the distance. He peeks an eye open and is met with another raindrop on the middle of his forehead.
“Oh, no.”
They find shelter from the sudden storm in a small cafe along the boardwalk and make it inside before it starts to pour heavily. The sky has turned a menacing grey and opened up a sea of rain, drenching the entire beach in a matter of minutes.
“I don’t think the trains are running in this weather, ” Jongdae sighs, his nose pressed against the cafe window. Lightning crackles in the distance and illuminates his face. He turns back to the table to cradle the hot coffee the cafe shopkeep offered them out of pity.
Kyungsoo levels a borderline murderous glare at his friends. “You said we’d only stay the day. I have stuff to do tomorrow.” It’s becoming increasingly apparent that Kyungsoo is three raindrops away from choking them all to death with a coffee cup.
“Uh, do you want us to die, Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun says, scooting his chair just a bit away from the table, then narrows his eyes just as Kyungsoo inhales to begin his tirade. “Don’t answer that.”
Chanyeol places a placating hand to Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “We gotta figure out what to do first, so stop being assholes for two seconds.”
“Yeah, listen to mom over here.” Baekhyun wheezes at his own joke.
Jongdae sighs. “Chanyeol, let go of Baekhyun’s face. I don’t think he can breathe like that.”
They agree to spend the night (“Think of it as an adventure!” Baekhyun insisted, nudging Kyungsoo’s arm) and stumble upon an inn a few streets over from the cafe. Despite the summer rush, there are a few vacancies remaining Unfortunately, however, they only have enough money left to rent out one.
“Damn, this room is tiny.”
The only things occupying the room are a small twin-sized cot, a pile of blankets in the corner, and an old television set, antennae and all. There’s a single window above the bed but it’s barely big enough to see through.
“Rock, paper, scissors for the bed?” Chanyeol suggests, already sticking a fist out.
Baekhyun pushes it away. “I paid the most, I should get it,” he says and plops down on the mattress. It squeaks sadly underneath his weight. “It’s only fair.”
“So stingy,” Jongdae sniffs but starts settling his things on the floor anyway. He swipes the most comfortable looking blanket as a silent act of defiance.
After all of the day’s chaos, they finally get to rest.
The rain’s finally stopped but the pitter-patter against the window has been replaced with the unsavory sound of Chanyeol’s mouth breathing. Each exhale sends a few strands of hair to graze against Jongdae’s forehead, along with the faint smell of shrimp chips and mint, and Jongdae barely has the restraint not to shove a dirty sock down his throat.
Sighing, he flops over to lie on his other side, scooting forward enough to only feel the faint wisps of Chanyeol’s breath against the back of his neck.
Something eerily toe-like probes at cheek. Jongdae jerks his head away from the offensive appendage and squints up at the dark blob he assumes is Baekhyun’s grinning head. His foot hovers just a few inches above Jongdae’s head. “Hey. You awake?”
“Uh, now I am,” he hisses, propping himself up on his elbows and wiping his face against his shoulder. “Asshole.”
The floor creaks as Baekhyun slides down from the bed to sit next to him, butt coming to rest half on Jongdae’s pillow. Jongdae shifts to give him some more room. “I can’t sleep.”
“Me neither,” Jongdae sighs and sits up fully, rubbing a hand to his neck. “I feel like this pillow’s gonna snap my neck in two.”
“Mmm.” Baekhyun nods and offers a half-assed punch into the pillow. “Hey, you want to go for a walk or something?”
The sky has cleared up enough for a few stars to poke out from behind the clouds. They’re much more vibrant here than in Seoul, where the street signs are the brightest lights they can see.
They’ve settled on the fence of a wooden dock a ways down the beach. It’s still damp with rain but it provides a good view of the breadth of the ocean. They’re silent for a while, swinging their legs over the edge and taking in the breeze.
“My parents are sending me to the U.S for college.”
Jongdae turns to gape at Baekhyun, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. “What?”
Wringing his hands, Baekhyun lets out a deep breath and keeps his eyes trained on his feet. “Yeah, they saved up enough to send me all the way overseas. To ‘shape me up’ or something.” He flicks his eyes up to look at Jongdae.
Jongdae presses his lips into a firm line, mulls the idea of Baekhyun thousands of miles away over. It’s a strange thought, Jongdae has to admit. He hadn’t really considered the possibility of it until now, despite all of the college prep exams and the research about different university programs he’s had to do over the past few months. College feels like something far away still.
“Well,” Jongdae starts, mind spinning to grasp the right words. “I’ll miss you a lot, then.”
Baekhyun groans and waves a hand over his face.
“I really mean it. I’ll miss you.” Jongdae risks a glance at Baekhyun, expecting him to laugh in his face.
Instead, Baekhyun is staring out at the faint outline of the horizon, an uncharacteristically solemn look on his face. He licks his lips, the way he always does when he’s struggling to figure out what to say next, usually to ask a girl out. It’s funny to see him like this here, with Jongdae, where words should come easy.
Something in Jongdae’s stomach flips.
“I’ll miss you too,” Baekhyun finally says, slow and steady like he’s still not sure if it’s right.
Jongdae flashes him an all too pleased smile before it turns into one a little more sincere. “Y’know, you’re a pretty good friend, Baekhyun.”
Baekhyun mocks gagging. “Wow, are you gonna pull out a ring, too?” He smirks, wiggling his eyebrows as Jongdae shoves a bony elbow into his side, nearly sending him off the fence and into the dark waters below. “Oh, I will marry you, Kim Jongdae!” He swoons and sways and knocks his shoulders against Jongdae’s.
Leave it to Baekhyun to ruin a tender moment such as this. Barking out a laugh, Jongdae shakes his head and turns to watch the waves lap up along the water’s surface.
“Ah, you’re such an asshole,” Jongdae says with a fond grin.