Like Night and Day

Maximum Height

Packing was a task that bothered Baekhyun to the ends of the earth, but luckily, Luhan, who had stayed at his house for a few hours after their tutoring session ended, offered to help. Fond of the way Luhan's delicate hands carefully placed his clothes in an organized and space-efficient manner, Baekhyun stood back and handed what he wanted to be included. Of course, as they grew more comfortable with one another as friends, Luhan learned how to oppose Baekhyun's judgments. When the brunet tried to hand over arms full of jackets, hoodies, and jeans, Luhan searched through them all and rejected ninety percent of them.

"I checked the weather and I don't think you'll like hiking and doing anything in hot weather," Luhan had said as he gently set aside many of Baekhyun's choices. Opting for a casual wear that wouldn't be bothersome in the long run, he packed the brunet his t-shirts and shorts, only putting in one jacket and one pair of jeans deep inside the luggage.

Baekhyun was close to arguing, but then decided he didn't feel like it. Luhan was kind enough to pack for him, so there wasn't much his moral compass was allowing him to do at that point. After Luhan left, taking with him some leftover dinner that Baekhyun's mother insisted that the boy take home, Baekhyun started finishing off his luggage with more private things like underwear, toothbrush, tooth paste, and hair products.

He contemplated for a while whether or not to take all the valuable products that made his hair tamable, but then realized that he had no one to impress in the woods. In fact, attempting to look nice in the wilderness would have no merit other than to gain Chanyeol's attention even further. But then again, the more Baekhyun thought about it, the more he was reminded of the fact that Chanyeol said he was beautiful either way—with or without the hair or makeup.

As his thoughts shifted towards the giant basketball player who had infiltrated his mind, Baekhyun bit his lips. He tried to move from it, but he found that he couldn't even as he slipped into the shower. Under the heavy flow of water droplets on his body, he felt cornered and he knew that it was because of everything that was happening with Chanyeol and the entire wagon of issues that came with him.

He had already gotten to the conclusion that he was absolutely terrified of the male, and it wasn't because Chanyeol seemed dangerous. Not in the obvious sense since Chanyeol would never even hurt a fly, but in the sense that pain was inevitable in the end.

His relationship with Chanyeol seemed like a doomed bike ride to Baekhyun. Lately, Chanyeol was everywhere, from his mind to his cellphone and even to the morning announcements. Baekhyun could feel his strong resolve against relationships and feelings slowly dissolve, yet he couldn't prevent the process from dismantling the wall that he had built up to protect himself. It was as if he and Chanyeol were on a bicycle, quickly accelerating down a steep hill at a faster velocity than Baekhyun could calculate. However, this bicycle had no brakes; therefore, there was no way Baekhyun could ease them to a slow stop. In the end, everything out would just come to a crashing end, hurting both of them.

It was clear to Baekhyun that Chanyeol needed to eject himself from the doomed metaphoric bike before he realized that Baekhyun wasn't all that he thought he was. The brunet admitted that, perhaps, Chanyeol loved him as a person. He was aware that the giant admired his kindness towards his own grandmother and willingness to tutor others behind closed doors, but Baekhyun knew that those things would not be enough to keep a relationship alive.

Chanyeol shared no common interest with him. Baekhyun liked to read books and magazines about politics, thinking of possible solutions to multiples issues globally and sending those ideas out to politicians. He liked staying home and being secluded, left to his own devices rather than to waste his precious time with people who served no purpose to him.