CHINGUX 2014: oh, baby, don't hurt me (1/1) for hailynx
Title: oh, baby, don’t hurt me
Author: knotweed
Recipient: hailynx
Pairing/Focus: baekhyun + chanyeol friendship, chanyeol/jongdae, baekhyun/kyungsoo
Rating: pg13
Warnings: N/A
Length: 2.4k
Summary: the one where chanyeol has a crush on the new transfer student (who may or may not be a gang leader), baekhyun is not the least bit helpful, and rumors are really just rumors.
“So,” begins Chanyeol casually, “I haven’t seen you around lately.”
Baekhyun freezes halfway through his kimbap. Secretly, Chanyeol thinks he looks hilarious; there are smushed grains of rice stuck to the lapels of his blazer and flecks of dried seaweed dotting the corner of his mouth.
“Naturally.” Baekhyun attempts to recover gracefully. He sets down his chopsticks and clears his throat, waving a nonchalant hand around in the air. “University entrance exams are coming up. I’ve been studying.” Baekhyun throws Chanyeol a look that Chanyeol supposes is supposed to be intimating but just makes Baekhyun look like he’s trying to hold in hiccups. “Like a good person.”
“What subject?”
“Difficult ones,” answers Baekhyun stiffly.
Chanyeol shakes his head and sighs, leaning back in his chair. “Baekhyun, Baekhyun,” he admonishes dryly. “How long have we been friends now?”
“Are we incorporating the Blowout Fight of 2013 into our friendship timeline or no?” Baekhyun retorts, turning back to his lunch, poking around the remaining kimbap rolls with a single chopstick.
“The point is,” Chanyeol plows on, ignoring him, “I know you better than anyone, so I know that look when I see it-it’s that same disgusting lovelorn, lovesick puppy-dog look you had on your face all the time when you wanted to marry Kim Taeyeon-” Baekhyun starts sputtering loudly; Chanyeol bravely endures “-which, by the way, I’ve always said was a pipe dream-so spill. You’re dating, aren’t you. You’ve been dating the whole year!” he accuses, jabbing a finger at him.
Baekhyun gapes, then pulls himself together.
“I have not,” he hisses.
“Very eloquent,” Chanyeol says smugly. “You’ve been finding dumb reasons to ditch me since school started. Tell me who you’re banging or there’ll be a Blowout Fight of 2014.”
“You can’t threaten me like that. I can’t believe you’re my only friend,” Baekhyun replies, pained. “My biggest moment of weakness was when I decided to sit next to you on the bus that one time in middle school. My greatest regret. It haunts me, you know. At night, I mean. I wake up covered in sweat and screaming and my brother has to tell me to shut up.”
“I’ll tell you to shut up anytime you want,” Chanyeol says cheerfully. “Anyway, I’ll broker you a deal because I feel sorry for you.” Baekhyun blinks at him. Chanyeol takes this as a sign to go on. “If you help me get with a certain someone, I’ll stop harassing you about your mystery lover-possibly forever, but you know me, I’ll have to slip in a joke or two every now and then.”
Baekhyun blinks at Chanyeol again, then glances down at his kimbap for strength.
“Before I agree to anything,” he says, grimacing, “could you promise to never use the word lover for the rest of your life? You sound like a dramatic 20th century romance novel.”
“Sorry for offending your delicate sensibilities,” Chanyeol drawls. “But you’ll help me, right? Help me or face eternal badgering for the identity of your mystery S/O.” A pause. “Damn. That doesn’t sound nearly as good as mystery l-”
Baekhyun loudly sucks in a deep breath and lets it out, excruciatingly slow. He pokes the rice in his kimbap one last time for good measure.
“Fine. Lay it on me,” he groans dejectedly.
“Okay. It’s one of the new transfer students,” Chanyeol replies brightly, almost wistfully, instantly sitting up straighter in his seat. “You know-he’s about your height, cheekbones sculpted by Michelangelo, a ten out of ten booty… Kim Jongdae, I think his name is? The gang leader, right?”
Baekhyun wheezes and chokes on thin air. It is only much later when they are both back in class when Chanyeol realizes that he couldn’t tell if Baekhyun had been laughing or crying. Distantly, he wonders if this should worry him.
-
Everybody knows who Kim Jongdae and Do Kyungsoo are. Part of the reason was because the school was tiny and even the most boring transfer student caused a ripple in everyday life, but mostly it was because Kim Jongdae and Do Kyungsoo’s reputations preceded them, in a very bad (or, according to Chanyeol, very thrilling) way. Apparently, Huang Zitao heard from Oh Sehun who dances with Kim Jongin who lives next to Kim Joonmyun who sometimes hung out with Zhang Yixing who was best friends with Lu Han who basically lived at Kim Minseok’s house which happened to be near Kim Jongdae and Do Kyungsoo’s old school district that the two transfer students were fearsome gang members. Specifically, Kim Jongdae was a leader of a dangerous gang and Do Kyungsoo was his right-hand man, and they had gotten into trouble with another gang, which was why they had to transfer schools in their final year of high school.
“Kim Jongdae is gang leader and Do Kyungsoo is his right-hand man? That sounds a little backwards. Anyway, you’ve been watching way too many school dramas,” Baekhyun informs Chanyeol frankly, not even bothering to look up from his biology textbook.
“I have not,” Chanyeol protests halfheartedly.
Baekhyun turns the page and starts mumbling about the structure of ecosystems. Chanyeol frowns.
“Look,” he says. (Baekhyun does not look.) “Despite his bad boy image, you have to admit that Kim Jongdae is hot. Maybe the bad boy image even enhances his hotness… whatever. Basically-he’s hot. Like, sweltering-summer-day-with-broken-air-conditioning hot.”
Baekhyun snorts, doodling frogs and elephants in the margins of his notebook. “Bad boy image. I didn’t know that was your type.”
“What can I say? I like my men a little dangerous,” Chanyeol replies dreamily, resting his head on his English workbook.
“You are so embarrassing. And so shallow.” Baekhyun finishes drawing a rather lopsided lion and turns to face his best friend. “So? What’s your plan on asking bad boy Kim Jongdae out?”
“I don’t know,” Chanyeol admits. “Usually I’m a little more creative than this but, man, he’s so out of my league. I don’t even know where to begin. Chocolates and roses? That’s so shy middle school girl. I have to prove my worth. How many people do you think he’s beat up? With a baseball bat? With his bare hands? God.” Miserable, he buries his face in his folded arms. “Baekhyun, look at me. I’m just a speck of dust at his feet.”
“You’re taller than him,” Baekhyun points out, squinting at the top of Chanyeol’s head. Chanyeol systematically tears a blank sheet out of his workbook, crumbles it into a ball, and hits Baekhyun square in the face.
“You’re not funny,” Chanyeol declares, ignoring Baekhyun’s yelp of pain. “Help me.”
“I can’t help you, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun grumbles, rubbing his smarting cheek. “You barely even know the guy. Honestly, you don’t know him at all, really. Who says the rumors about Kim Jongdae and Do Kyungsoo are even true in the first place?”
“There’s always a bit of truth in every rumor,” Chanyeol recites faithfully.
“Who even said that?”
“I made it up just now.”
Baekhyun ducks under the table and pops back up, violently hurling the paper ball as hard as he can back at Chanyeol. It smacks him on the nose.
“Why would you do that?” Chanyeol cries, pinching his nose.
“All I’m saying is that people are not always what they seem to be,” Baekhyun responds cryptically, “so you shouldn’t believe everything you hear about someone. For example, what do people always say about me?”
“That you’re terrible at maintaining interpersonal relationships and eventually ruin everything you love? And that’s not true because…?” Chanyeol backtracks when Baekhyun reaches for his notebook. “Just kidding, please no more paper cannonballs. You hit hard for a human shrimp. I guess it’s not true because you’re shacking up with somebody now, and if that’s not an interpersonal relationship, I don’t know what is. Get it? Inter-personal. Because you’re banging someone. The dick is going in a person.”
“I’ll kill you, Park Chanyeol,” announces Baekhyun, point blank. But before Baekhyun can wrap his fingers around Chanyeol’s neck, the metaphorical light bulb in Chanyeol’s head goes off, and he abruptly stops in his tracks.
“No, no, I’ve got it!”
“Got what?” Baekhyun asks warily.
“I know how I’ll confess to Kim Jongdae,” Chanyeol says excitedly. “I’ll go up to him and say it straight up to his face.”
“How is that a good idea? You’re just going to confess with Kyungsoo there? Jongdae never goes anywhere without Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun blurts out.
“And how did you know that? And I didn’t know you were so chummy with them, calling them by their first names only.” Chanyeol shakes his head. “Never mind-I’ll save your interrogation for another day. My love life is on the line. So what if Do Kyungsoo witnesses my confession? I have no reason to hide my love from the world, unlike someone I know.”
“When did your stupid crush on Jongdae evolve into love? What if you get rejected? What if Kyungsoo beats you up, you never know with-wait, no, Chanyeol!”
Baekhyun haphazardly shoves his books into his bag and chases after Chanyeol’s quickly retreating figure.
-
Chanyeol searches all over the school, Baekhyun trailing a few embarrassed steps behind, until he manages to finally track down Kim Jongdae and Do Kyungsoo, who had been lounging around in an empty classroom.
“I tried to stop him, I really did,” Baekhyun groans miserably, “but his legs are too long. God, everything is so mortifying.” Baekhyun was mostly speaking to Do Kyungsoo, who looked somewhat startled and somewhat amused. It seemed that Baekhyun personally knew Do Kyungsoo, which was odd and highly suspicious, Chanyeol thinks. But as soon as Chanyeol’s gaze falls on Kim Jongdae’s perfectly tousled hair and toothy smile and good lord that ass, his distrust towards Baekhyun instantly flies out the window.
“Kim Jongdae, we gotta talk,” Chanyeol booms.
Here, Baekhyun tries to suffocate himself with his own uniform necktie. Do Kyungsoo snorts.
“I can help you with that, Baekhyun,” Do Kyungsoo offers cheekily.
“No, thank you,” Baekhyun replies honestly. “I am not into breathplay.”
“Okay, lovebirds,” Kim Jongdae interrupts (lovebirds? An idle part of Chanyeol’s mind is positively screaming right now but he tunes it out), “that’s enough. I believe-ah, Park Chanyeol, am I right?-has something to say to me.”
“That’s right.” Chanyeol clears his throat. “Jongdae,” he declares, “I’m in love with you.”
(“You were right,” Kyungsoo whispers to Baekhyun, voice low, a hand curling around Baekhyun’s nape. “He’s very straightforward with his feelings, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, okay, straightforward,” Baekhyun snaps grumpily but leans into Kyungsoo’s touch anyway. “That, or he’s stupid.”)
Jongdae blinks incredulously, still smiling. “You’re in love with me?” he repeats, and Chanyeol thinks the way Jongdae’s lips curl and arch around every syllable should be added as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
“Yes,” Chanyeol confirms bravely, “and I’ll tell you why. First of all, you look like the kind of guy who would appreciate really bad pickup lines-for example, if loving you is a crime, then lock me up in the prison of your heart, baby, because I’m serving a life sentence. Second, I’ve heard the rumors about you and Do Kyungsoo, and I just want to say that I fantasize about breaking the law all the time. Like, everyday. Being friends with Baekhyun does that to a person. I feel like I’d get along with a gang leader. Third, I like my men like I like my rollercoasters at Lotte World: wild, dangerous, and slightly unhinged.” Chanyeol pauses, wrinkling his nose. “On second thought, maybe Lotte World wasn’t the best comparison. And I don’t actually like my rollercoasters unhinged…”
But Jongdae just laughs, and god if that wasn’t a beautiful sound. “Nah,” he says, beaming. “I thought it was really cute. I’m not really sure what to say, though. This is all very sweet; I’ve never been confessed to before.”
“Never?” Chanyeol squawks indignantly. “But you’re Kim Jongdae. You instill fear and love in students’ hearts everywhere. A dangerous, bloodthirsty gang leader!”
Jongdae laughs again. “Oh, man. Yeah, everyone always gets it backwards.”
“I told you,” Baekhyun singsongs to Chanyeol. “Kyungsoo is the leader. And Jongdae here is the right-hand man.”
“I can’t believe this,” Chanyeol moans, throwing his hands up weakly in the air. “I can’t believe that, not only has my best friend been right all along, but my best friend is a mob wife.”
“Did you hear that, Baekhyun?” Kyungsoo snorts. “My mob wife.”
“I’ll kill Park Chanyeol one day,” promises Baekhyun grimly. “I’m really gonna do it.”
“I hope this didn’t ruin anything,” Jongdae goes on amiably, ignoring the two, “especially now that I’m not quite as dangerous as you thought I was. And I know that, officially, Kyungsoo and I are in a gang, but it’s not like we do anything bad. It sounds way worse than it really is.” Sheepishly, he explains, “It actually started out as a tiny club because we were bored and then everything kind of snowballed from there. So this gang business is really just a tall tale but it keeps people from bothering us-people listen without asking any questions. We transferred to get a fresh start. But…” Jongdae trails off, scuffing his toe against the floor.
“But…?”
“But,” Jongdae says again, “I wouldn’t mind going on a date with you. If, you know, the offer still stands.”
Chanyeol falls silent for a while, mulling it over. On one hand, it seemed that Kim Jongdae and Do Kyungsoo were fraudulent and not nearly as exciting as the rumors made them out to be. But on the other hand-
On the other hand, the sun filtering through from the classroom windows illuminated Jongdae’s face perfectly and made him look like he was aglow from within, and Jongdae’s voice was way more beautiful than any Monet or Renault or van Gogh, and Jongdae’s smile made Chanyeol’s heart do a stupid teenage romance novel pitter-patter, and-okay, so the truth was that Chanyeol didn’t mind that the rumors were just rumors.
“I mean, if it’s okay with you,” Chanyeol answers almost shyly, disregarding Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s fake gagging in the background. “I know this all just came out of nowhere.”
Jongdae grins and Chanyeol finds himself grinning back. “You surprised me, to be honest, but luckily for you, I happen to like surprises,” he replies easily. “It’s a date, then.”
Author: knotweed
Recipient: hailynx
Pairing/Focus: baekhyun + chanyeol friendship, chanyeol/jongdae, baekhyun/kyungsoo
Rating: pg13
Warnings: N/A
Length: 2.4k
Summary: the one where chanyeol has a crush on the new transfer student (who may or may not be a gang leader), baekhyun is not the least bit helpful, and rumors are really just rumors.
“So,” begins Chanyeol casually, “I haven’t seen you around lately.”
Baekhyun freezes halfway through his kimbap. Secretly, Chanyeol thinks he looks hilarious; there are smushed grains of rice stuck to the lapels of his blazer and flecks of dried seaweed dotting the corner of his mouth.
“Naturally.” Baekhyun attempts to recover gracefully. He sets down his chopsticks and clears his throat, waving a nonchalant hand around in the air. “University entrance exams are coming up. I’ve been studying.” Baekhyun throws Chanyeol a look that Chanyeol supposes is supposed to be intimating but just makes Baekhyun look like he’s trying to hold in hiccups. “Like a good person.”
“What subject?”
“Difficult ones,” answers Baekhyun stiffly.
Chanyeol shakes his head and sighs, leaning back in his chair. “Baekhyun, Baekhyun,” he admonishes dryly. “How long have we been friends now?”
“Are we incorporating the Blowout Fight of 2013 into our friendship timeline or no?” Baekhyun retorts, turning back to his lunch, poking around the remaining kimbap rolls with a single chopstick.
“The point is,” Chanyeol plows on, ignoring him, “I know you better than anyone, so I know that look when I see it-it’s that same disgusting lovelorn, lovesick puppy-dog look you had on your face all the time when you wanted to marry Kim Taeyeon-” Baekhyun starts sputtering loudly; Chanyeol bravely endures “-which, by the way, I’ve always said was a pipe dream-so spill. You’re dating, aren’t you. You’ve been dating the whole year!” he accuses, jabbing a finger at him.
Baekhyun gapes, then pulls himself together.
“I have not,” he hisses.
“Very eloquent,” Chanyeol says smugly. “You’ve been finding dumb reasons to ditch me since school started. Tell me who you’re banging or there’ll be a Blowout Fight of 2014.”
“You can’t threaten me like that. I can’t believe you’re my only friend,” Baekhyun replies, pained. “My biggest moment of weakness was when I decided to sit next to you on the bus that one time in middle school. My greatest regret. It haunts me, you know. At night, I mean. I wake up covered in sweat and screaming and my brother has to tell me to shut up.”
“I’ll tell you to shut up anytime you want,” Chanyeol says cheerfully. “Anyway, I’ll broker you a deal because I feel sorry for you.” Baekhyun blinks at him. Chanyeol takes this as a sign to go on. “If you help me get with a certain someone, I’ll stop harassing you about your mystery lover-possibly forever, but you know me, I’ll have to slip in a joke or two every now and then.”
Baekhyun blinks at Chanyeol again, then glances down at his kimbap for strength.
“Before I agree to anything,” he says, grimacing, “could you promise to never use the word lover for the rest of your life? You sound like a dramatic 20th century romance novel.”
“Sorry for offending your delicate sensibilities,” Chanyeol drawls. “But you’ll help me, right? Help me or face eternal badgering for the identity of your mystery S/O.” A pause. “Damn. That doesn’t sound nearly as good as mystery l-”
Baekhyun loudly sucks in a deep breath and lets it out, excruciatingly slow. He pokes the rice in his kimbap one last time for good measure.
“Fine. Lay it on me,” he groans dejectedly.
“Okay. It’s one of the new transfer students,” Chanyeol replies brightly, almost wistfully, instantly sitting up straighter in his seat. “You know-he’s about your height, cheekbones sculpted by Michelangelo, a ten out of ten booty… Kim Jongdae, I think his name is? The gang leader, right?”
Baekhyun wheezes and chokes on thin air. It is only much later when they are both back in class when Chanyeol realizes that he couldn’t tell if Baekhyun had been laughing or crying. Distantly, he wonders if this should worry him.
-
Everybody knows who Kim Jongdae and Do Kyungsoo are. Part of the reason was because the school was tiny and even the most boring transfer student caused a ripple in everyday life, but mostly it was because Kim Jongdae and Do Kyungsoo’s reputations preceded them, in a very bad (or, according to Chanyeol, very thrilling) way. Apparently, Huang Zitao heard from Oh Sehun who dances with Kim Jongin who lives next to Kim Joonmyun who sometimes hung out with Zhang Yixing who was best friends with Lu Han who basically lived at Kim Minseok’s house which happened to be near Kim Jongdae and Do Kyungsoo’s old school district that the two transfer students were fearsome gang members. Specifically, Kim Jongdae was a leader of a dangerous gang and Do Kyungsoo was his right-hand man, and they had gotten into trouble with another gang, which was why they had to transfer schools in their final year of high school.
“Kim Jongdae is gang leader and Do Kyungsoo is his right-hand man? That sounds a little backwards. Anyway, you’ve been watching way too many school dramas,” Baekhyun informs Chanyeol frankly, not even bothering to look up from his biology textbook.
“I have not,” Chanyeol protests halfheartedly.
Baekhyun turns the page and starts mumbling about the structure of ecosystems. Chanyeol frowns.
“Look,” he says. (Baekhyun does not look.) “Despite his bad boy image, you have to admit that Kim Jongdae is hot. Maybe the bad boy image even enhances his hotness… whatever. Basically-he’s hot. Like, sweltering-summer-day-with-broken-air-conditioning hot.”
Baekhyun snorts, doodling frogs and elephants in the margins of his notebook. “Bad boy image. I didn’t know that was your type.”
“What can I say? I like my men a little dangerous,” Chanyeol replies dreamily, resting his head on his English workbook.
“You are so embarrassing. And so shallow.” Baekhyun finishes drawing a rather lopsided lion and turns to face his best friend. “So? What’s your plan on asking bad boy Kim Jongdae out?”
“I don’t know,” Chanyeol admits. “Usually I’m a little more creative than this but, man, he’s so out of my league. I don’t even know where to begin. Chocolates and roses? That’s so shy middle school girl. I have to prove my worth. How many people do you think he’s beat up? With a baseball bat? With his bare hands? God.” Miserable, he buries his face in his folded arms. “Baekhyun, look at me. I’m just a speck of dust at his feet.”
“You’re taller than him,” Baekhyun points out, squinting at the top of Chanyeol’s head. Chanyeol systematically tears a blank sheet out of his workbook, crumbles it into a ball, and hits Baekhyun square in the face.
“You’re not funny,” Chanyeol declares, ignoring Baekhyun’s yelp of pain. “Help me.”
“I can’t help you, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun grumbles, rubbing his smarting cheek. “You barely even know the guy. Honestly, you don’t know him at all, really. Who says the rumors about Kim Jongdae and Do Kyungsoo are even true in the first place?”
“There’s always a bit of truth in every rumor,” Chanyeol recites faithfully.
“Who even said that?”
“I made it up just now.”
Baekhyun ducks under the table and pops back up, violently hurling the paper ball as hard as he can back at Chanyeol. It smacks him on the nose.
“Why would you do that?” Chanyeol cries, pinching his nose.
“All I’m saying is that people are not always what they seem to be,” Baekhyun responds cryptically, “so you shouldn’t believe everything you hear about someone. For example, what do people always say about me?”
“That you’re terrible at maintaining interpersonal relationships and eventually ruin everything you love? And that’s not true because…?” Chanyeol backtracks when Baekhyun reaches for his notebook. “Just kidding, please no more paper cannonballs. You hit hard for a human shrimp. I guess it’s not true because you’re shacking up with somebody now, and if that’s not an interpersonal relationship, I don’t know what is. Get it? Inter-personal. Because you’re banging someone. The dick is going in a person.”
“I’ll kill you, Park Chanyeol,” announces Baekhyun, point blank. But before Baekhyun can wrap his fingers around Chanyeol’s neck, the metaphorical light bulb in Chanyeol’s head goes off, and he abruptly stops in his tracks.
“No, no, I’ve got it!”
“Got what?” Baekhyun asks warily.
“I know how I’ll confess to Kim Jongdae,” Chanyeol says excitedly. “I’ll go up to him and say it straight up to his face.”
“How is that a good idea? You’re just going to confess with Kyungsoo there? Jongdae never goes anywhere without Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun blurts out.
“And how did you know that? And I didn’t know you were so chummy with them, calling them by their first names only.” Chanyeol shakes his head. “Never mind-I’ll save your interrogation for another day. My love life is on the line. So what if Do Kyungsoo witnesses my confession? I have no reason to hide my love from the world, unlike someone I know.”
“When did your stupid crush on Jongdae evolve into love? What if you get rejected? What if Kyungsoo beats you up, you never know with-wait, no, Chanyeol!”
Baekhyun haphazardly shoves his books into his bag and chases after Chanyeol’s quickly retreating figure.
-
Chanyeol searches all over the school, Baekhyun trailing a few embarrassed steps behind, until he manages to finally track down Kim Jongdae and Do Kyungsoo, who had been lounging around in an empty classroom.
“I tried to stop him, I really did,” Baekhyun groans miserably, “but his legs are too long. God, everything is so mortifying.” Baekhyun was mostly speaking to Do Kyungsoo, who looked somewhat startled and somewhat amused. It seemed that Baekhyun personally knew Do Kyungsoo, which was odd and highly suspicious, Chanyeol thinks. But as soon as Chanyeol’s gaze falls on Kim Jongdae’s perfectly tousled hair and toothy smile and good lord that ass, his distrust towards Baekhyun instantly flies out the window.
“Kim Jongdae, we gotta talk,” Chanyeol booms.
Here, Baekhyun tries to suffocate himself with his own uniform necktie. Do Kyungsoo snorts.
“I can help you with that, Baekhyun,” Do Kyungsoo offers cheekily.
“No, thank you,” Baekhyun replies honestly. “I am not into breathplay.”
“Okay, lovebirds,” Kim Jongdae interrupts (lovebirds? An idle part of Chanyeol’s mind is positively screaming right now but he tunes it out), “that’s enough. I believe-ah, Park Chanyeol, am I right?-has something to say to me.”
“That’s right.” Chanyeol clears his throat. “Jongdae,” he declares, “I’m in love with you.”
(“You were right,” Kyungsoo whispers to Baekhyun, voice low, a hand curling around Baekhyun’s nape. “He’s very straightforward with his feelings, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, okay, straightforward,” Baekhyun snaps grumpily but leans into Kyungsoo’s touch anyway. “That, or he’s stupid.”)
Jongdae blinks incredulously, still smiling. “You’re in love with me?” he repeats, and Chanyeol thinks the way Jongdae’s lips curl and arch around every syllable should be added as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
“Yes,” Chanyeol confirms bravely, “and I’ll tell you why. First of all, you look like the kind of guy who would appreciate really bad pickup lines-for example, if loving you is a crime, then lock me up in the prison of your heart, baby, because I’m serving a life sentence. Second, I’ve heard the rumors about you and Do Kyungsoo, and I just want to say that I fantasize about breaking the law all the time. Like, everyday. Being friends with Baekhyun does that to a person. I feel like I’d get along with a gang leader. Third, I like my men like I like my rollercoasters at Lotte World: wild, dangerous, and slightly unhinged.” Chanyeol pauses, wrinkling his nose. “On second thought, maybe Lotte World wasn’t the best comparison. And I don’t actually like my rollercoasters unhinged…”
But Jongdae just laughs, and god if that wasn’t a beautiful sound. “Nah,” he says, beaming. “I thought it was really cute. I’m not really sure what to say, though. This is all very sweet; I’ve never been confessed to before.”
“Never?” Chanyeol squawks indignantly. “But you’re Kim Jongdae. You instill fear and love in students’ hearts everywhere. A dangerous, bloodthirsty gang leader!”
Jongdae laughs again. “Oh, man. Yeah, everyone always gets it backwards.”
“I told you,” Baekhyun singsongs to Chanyeol. “Kyungsoo is the leader. And Jongdae here is the right-hand man.”
“I can’t believe this,” Chanyeol moans, throwing his hands up weakly in the air. “I can’t believe that, not only has my best friend been right all along, but my best friend is a mob wife.”
“Did you hear that, Baekhyun?” Kyungsoo snorts. “My mob wife.”
“I’ll kill Park Chanyeol one day,” promises Baekhyun grimly. “I’m really gonna do it.”
“I hope this didn’t ruin anything,” Jongdae goes on amiably, ignoring the two, “especially now that I’m not quite as dangerous as you thought I was. And I know that, officially, Kyungsoo and I are in a gang, but it’s not like we do anything bad. It sounds way worse than it really is.” Sheepishly, he explains, “It actually started out as a tiny club because we were bored and then everything kind of snowballed from there. So this gang business is really just a tall tale but it keeps people from bothering us-people listen without asking any questions. We transferred to get a fresh start. But…” Jongdae trails off, scuffing his toe against the floor.
“But…?”
“But,” Jongdae says again, “I wouldn’t mind going on a date with you. If, you know, the offer still stands.”
Chanyeol falls silent for a while, mulling it over. On one hand, it seemed that Kim Jongdae and Do Kyungsoo were fraudulent and not nearly as exciting as the rumors made them out to be. But on the other hand-
On the other hand, the sun filtering through from the classroom windows illuminated Jongdae’s face perfectly and made him look like he was aglow from within, and Jongdae’s voice was way more beautiful than any Monet or Renault or van Gogh, and Jongdae’s smile made Chanyeol’s heart do a stupid teenage romance novel pitter-patter, and-okay, so the truth was that Chanyeol didn’t mind that the rumors were just rumors.
“I mean, if it’s okay with you,” Chanyeol answers almost shyly, disregarding Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s fake gagging in the background. “I know this all just came out of nowhere.”
Jongdae grins and Chanyeol finds himself grinning back. “You surprised me, to be honest, but luckily for you, I happen to like surprises,” he replies easily. “It’s a date, then.”