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8

Kyungsoo was gone. That day he had already taken most of his stuff and a day later, Jongdae showed up for the rest.

Chanyeol was frantic. "Jongdae, you have to tell me where he is. He doesn't understand. I..."

Jongdae's face betrayed little emotion. "Maybe it's you who doesn't understand, Chanyeol.", he said quietly.

Chanyeol's face dropped. For once, he didn't know what to say.

Baekhyun tried to intercept Jongdae one last time by the door. "Hey.", he said softly. "You can't at least let us know where he is? We're all just worried."

"I know.", Jongdae sighed. "I know. But I can't, I promised. He's okay though. He'll...get over this."

"I'm glad." Baekhyun said sadly. "I just don't know if Chanyeol will."

A couple of weeks later, Chanyeol saw Kyungsoo again at campus. The smaller man walking several feet in front of him.

For a second, Chanyeol didn't know what to do. Did he call out? Follow him? Chanyeol was rooted to the spot. Until his popularity came in handy for once and someone yelled out from across the quad: "Yo Chanyeol!".

He saw Kyungsoo turning his head in slow motion. The moment their gazes locked, Chanyeol stopped breathing. He could only manage a whispered "Kyungsoo-yah".

Kyungsoo tore away his gaze first. He just shook his head at Chanyeol before turning and hurrying away.

Chanyeol just stood there, defeated. Was this really how it would end? Up until now he hadn't been able to accept it. He had been content to keep his mind from wandering in his frantic search for Kyungsoo. But now that he'd seen him, could he really hold out hope much longer?

The second time he saw Kyungsoo, it was deliberate. The smaller man was waiting outside of his class for him to come out.

"Hey.", Chanyeol said, a little dazed.

"Hey.", Kyungsoo said quietly. "Do you have time to talk?"

"Uh...yeah. Cafe Jinyoung?", Chanyeol asked.

Kyungsoo's expression shuttered. "Let's go somewhere else."

So they went to a place Kyungsoo knew that served a good milk tea. It was small and quiet, which was good for what they had to discuss.

"Look, I'm sorry for how I left.", Kyungsoo dove right in. "I guess I don't really have any excuse except I didn't really know what to do with my feelings."

"What feelings?", Chanyeol asked eagerly.

"Please.", Kyungsoo said. "Can I just... Can you just let me talk for a bit? This is harder than I thought." He smiled weakly.

Chanyeol just looked at the boy in front of him and nodded.

"When I saw you and Ae-ri..."

"Oh Kyungsoo we're not..."

"I know.", Kyungsoo said softly. "I know now. But I didn't then. So when I saw you and Ae-ri, I freaked I uh...I didn't know what I was feeling and I didn't know why. And then you came and then we..." Kyungsoo dropped his eyes to the table. "That was the first time I uh...you know, with a boy."

"Oh.", Chanyeol said. "I...I knew that, I guess."

"Yeah...Chanyeol, I guess what I'm saying is...I...I need some time. I don't even know what you're feeling. I don't want to presume to know! But regardless, I...I think I need some time to figure me out. On my own."

"Oh.", Chanyeol repeated dumbly.

"I'm not asking you to wait. I can't ask that of you. I'm just asking you to give me a little space. For now." Kyungsoo smiled a nervous smile.