Following the Broken Road Back to You

Part 4

By the time six o'clock dragged by, the sun had turned the sky to a slight shade of orange and Baekhyun couldn't even stand himself anymore. He was covered in sweat, tired, exhausted, and dead. No job in the modeling world ever made him feel so drained, but he figured that the fact that his legs were burning like Hell on fire was a good thing. If anything, it was burning off the calories that he got from eating that carb-filled sandwich for lunch hours ago.

Chanyeol stopped speaking to him for the most part after their lunch break. It made Baekhyun feel a little guilty, but not enough to own up to any mistakes that might've been his.

As the man was pulling off his dirty gloves and tossing them in the back of his truck, Baekhyun sighed and unbuckled himself from the vehicle, sliding out of the passenger side. There was an awful feeling arising from the fact that Chanyeol wouldn't even look at him, but then he raised his chin, determined to be unaffected.

"So, what're you doing after this?" Baekhyun asked.

Chanyeol gave him an unamused look before walking around the back of his truck, past Baekhyun, and towards the front of the house. "Why?"

It annoyed the brunette how the tables turned. Shrugging, he grunted, leaving the conversation hanging as he followed Chanyeol back to his parents' house. He half expected for the door to be held for him or to be offered to enter first, but Chanyeol let that expectation die.

The house was warm, filled with the familiar smell of his mother's cooking. Baekhyun untied his boots and set them aside, taking notice in the way Chanyeol made no move to remove his.

"Are you boys done?" Baekhyun's father asked heartily from his seat.

"Yes, sir," Chanyeol nodded respectfully, lips turned into a soft smile. "We also inspected the water line. It seemed alright."

It better be alright. Baekhyun was sure as hell he was never going to walk along a two mile pipe checking its status in the hot sun again.

"That's good news. Ah, Baek." His father turned his attention to him. "Don't take off your shoes just yet. Your mother has some last minute errands for you."

Jaw-dropped, Baekhyun's shoulders fell. "But I'm tired."

"Well, your mother needs a few things from the market. Can't finish dinner without it." His father reached into his pocket and held out the folded piece of paper. "Run along before it gets too dark. The store closes at eight."

There was sweat sticking to all parts of his body. Baekhyun had no desire to even move anymore. It was such a displeasure and to go to the store was another pain in his burning ass. He had a good mind to refuse and stomp upstairs to wonder whether or not he should just hire another man to take his place on the farm. It would've been easier to do that. Unlike him, whoever he hired would be a lot more capable of working and maintaining an entire lot for a few months.

His fantasies were skewed when Chanyeol took reign, stepping forward to take the piece of paper. He unfolded the list and ran over the items. "Is this all that Auntie needs?"

Appalled by Chanyeol's implication, Baekhyun's father frowned. "Yes, but now, Chanyeol, that's not for you to do."

"It's not a problem."

"Yes, it is, Chanyeol—Baekhyun, where are you going?"

Slipping quietly from behind Chanyeol hadn't gone as the smaller male thought it would. He stopped in his tracks, just steps away from the stairs. "I'm going to go take a shower."

"I just asked you to run some errands at the store."

"Chanyeol said he'd do it."

Raising his voice to his own child, Mr. Byun pointed at him. "I asked you. Chanyeol's done more than enough for today for someone who's looking after you for free."

Free? Baekhyun's eyes darted in Chanyeol's direction, but the man kept his eyes averted, keeping attention to the elder. It came crashing on the brunette the memories of what he had accused the latter of earlier in the day, and a sensation of guilt slipped into his system. Swallowing, he opened his mouth to ask about the matter, but Chanyeol intervened again on his behalf.

"Uncle, it's fine. Let him off. This won't be a trouble at all."

Baekhyun drew his brows together as he watched Chanyeol intently. Why did he lie to cover for him? Probably to make a good appearance. Locking his jaw, Baekhyun turned on his heel and walked to the two men, snagging the paper from Chanyeol's hand.

"Quit arguing. I'm going already."

His father seemed pleased judging from the look Baekhyun caught before he turned his back and headed for the door. There was no point in putting on the boots he'd been wearing so he slipped on flip flops. For a moment, he thought he'd make a dramatic exit, but the minute he stepped outside the screen door, he realized he'd forgotten something.

"I need the keys."

Chanyeol hadn't moved from his spot, but his attention was fixed on Baekhyun's flustered self. It took a great deal of effort for the brunette to ignore him.

"The keys to your truck."

"Truck?" Mr. Byun let out a hearty laugh, and it irked Baekhyun for a reason. "Didn't you know the truck's not here right now? If it was, you'd see it on the driveway."

"What do you mean there's no truck?"

"I mean, it's getting fixed in the auto shop," his father explained calmly. "There was a leakage problem in the tank. I couldn't have that or else I would've just been wasting gas on the road."

Baekhyun's jaw began to ache from his teeth gritting against one another. "Then how am I supposed to get to the store!?"

His voice caught Chanyeol's annoyance. "Baekhyun. Watch your tone."

A glare was thrown at the taller man, but Baekhyun said nothing to him. He faced his father as he had before. "Am I supposed to walk!?"

"There's an old bike out in the barn. I suppose you could use that," his father said genuinely. "Now, it's the same bike you used in high school, so it may be a little rusty around the edges."

A cry escaped Baekhyun's lips. His face must've seemed so distraught and desperate that Chanyeol intervened for the third time, stepping over to stand by him. "I'll take him to the store."

Baekhyun raised his brows. "Really?" The word slipped out before he could even think, and for once, Chanyeol looked at him when he spoke.

"Chanyeol, I really think that he'd—"

Shaking his head, Chanyeol refused to hear the argument. "Like you said, it'll be dark soon, and from what I remember, Baekhyun never installed any form of light fixture on it so it won't be safe for him to come back home if it's dark."

The man had a memory Baekhyun couldn't help but admire. He didn't even remember the damn bike, let alone the stupid light that he kept forgetting to install when he was younger. Frowning, Baekhyun touched Chanyeol by the bare wrist.

"Just give me your keys and you can stay here. You've done enough," he said in a low voice.

Scoffing, Chanyeol gave him a sarcastic expression, yet he didn't pull away from the latter's touch. "After the gate incident, I wouldn't be doing myself a favor if I do." Turning away from Baekhyun's gaping look, Chanyeol gave a nod at the elder sitting in wait. "We'll be back soon."

"Chanyeol—"

Both father and son announced his name in unison, but it fell onto deaf ears. With a few strides, Chanyeol was already outside on the porch, stepping off the stairs and walking to his truck. Baekhyun watched him through the screen door, internally screaming in frustration at the man's stubbornness.

"Of all the people, why did you ask him..."

The question came out softly with no resentment. Instead, it held a tone of brief sadness. Baekhyun's focused mind was too caught up in the scene to realize.

"Actually, I didn't. That young man out there heard I was forcing you to come back here for a few months and offered to help."

Baekhyun became silent. Then, "What does he want in return?"

"Nothing. Didn't even ask for a penny."