"My... Guest?" Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows.
"Oh, I forgot to let you know earlier, I was busy with groceries and the cookies... The school counselor is here to see you."
"Did she tell you why?" Baekhyun dropped his backpack on the ground and took of his jacket.
"No, she said she wanted to wait for you."
Baekhyun walked in the living room, where Mrs. Kim was sitting on the sofa across his father.
She looked the same as ever. Actually, none of the students knew how old she was, but she was definitely older than Baekhyun's mother, who was 41. Her dark hair with white strands here and there was put neatly in a bun, and she was wearing her recognizable red skirt and a cardigan.
"Welcome back, son." his dad greeted him and Mrs. Kim turned around to welcome Baekhyun with a warm smile. Even though she had strict hairstyle and clothes, she was the most attentive person Baekhyun knew.
She was just what a school counselor should be like. She cared for students, talked to them and did her best to solve their problems. Many times she provided assistance to Baekhyun with applying to camps, organizing transportation or ordering new uniforms. There are many things he couldn't do without her help.
"Baekhyun, darling!" she pulled him into even tighter hug than his mother gave him. He almost choked on her too strong parfume and coughed when she let him go.
"How was the camp?"
All the events from the camp passed through his head in a flash. Practicing his tosses and serves, losing almost every set they had played, the team improving their attacks, losing to Bangwong, almost getting raped, bonding with Chanyeol and Chanyeol holding his hand gently like a feather.
"Good."
"That's great, that's great. But I'm here to talk to you about something else." her voice got more serious tone.
Baekhyun's mother sat next to his father, both anticipating what the school concelar had to say to their son.
"Harvard University from United States offers scholarships to international students who have accomplished excellent results in school, different competitions in sciences and in sports. Their legate is coming to Seoul sometime after Christmas to have an interview with Seoul's top students to offer them a spot and a scholarship on their university."
Baekhyun saw his mother's eyes sparkle from pride, but in Baekhyun's chest, he felt like his heart was going to jump out.
"You are the top student in our school, Baekhyun. Your grades are flawless, if I'm not wrong you took first place in both maths and chemistry regional competitions last year, and you have everything needed to be a professional athlete. I don't know much about volleyball, but coach Lee told me that your talent is not something you don't see every day." She smiled.
"I don't plan on playing volleyball after high school. I have a injury that could lead to more serious problems, and I have ambitions to do something else anyway." Baekhyun cut off her speech before she got too far. He somehow managed to still think straight even though everything she had said sounded crazy to him, and he couldn't believe that it was actually happening.
Harvard.
A place where both him and Kyungsoo dreamed to study.
In his mind he could already picture perfect college life in United States, spending time in libraries, making new friends, starting a new life. He had imagined all those things with Kyungsoo before, and now, without him in the picture, it suddenly didn't feel that exciting.
Baekhyun could see Mrs. Kim's face frown a little after his confession, but it didn't last too long.
"I know you dream of being a doctor, and they offer a great scholarship for medical school. But being on their volleyball team would bring you much privileges, and they would give you all needed treatment for your injury. After you're done with your studies, you don't have to continue playing."
For Baekhyun, there was no greater love than volleyball. Before Kyungsoo's death, he couldn't think of doing anyting else then being Korean National team's official setter one day. But life doesn't always give you want you want. Sometimes, things happen that change your perspective. Before, he would've probably decided to go to all possible treatments for his knee, just to keep playing. But now, he didn't even think about that possibility. His only goal was to become the best doctor he could.
When you really love something, you fight for it. That's what Chanyeol would say.
But there was one person that Baekhyun loved more than volleyball. He couldn't fight for him anymore, but he could for those who suffer the same way as he did, and that was much more humane thing to do than build a selfish career.
"I accept the interview, but I will think about the volleyball part." Baekhyun said, making Mrs. Kim's lips form a smile. She happily clapped her hands.
"That's a good decision! I'm sure that in the end you'll make the right one about volleyball as well."
"Oh, we will let him decide on his own about that and then we'll inform you, okay? He's a little tired from his trip so he can't even decide rationally at this moment." Baekhyun's mother laughed, but he could hear it behind her voice how tense she was.
She would probably agree with Chanyeol.
Baekhyun's parents had always supported his volleyball career. They didn't force him into becoming a professional though, or becoming a doctor, they let their son decide and make his choices in life.
They wanted him to be happy, especially after he had lost his brother.
But what bothered his mother was the fact that she knew how much Baekhyun loved volleyball, but he forced himself into something that wasn't his first choice.
She was afraid that eventually, he would lose all the beauty of life out of sight. That he would make bad choices for himself trying to do the right thing, and eventually end up broken and lost.
____
"Don't put that on the net idiot!" Kris yelled at Minseok who was trying to wrap Christmas lights around the volleyball net.
Whole team was in the gym, decorating it with colorful and sparkly Christmas decorations.
It was a week before Christmas already and Baekhyun couldn't remember where all the time since they came back from camp has gone. They all had bunch of tests, different college interviews and preparations, team practices and all that stuff that they had barely noticed that Christmas was just around the corner.
Baekhyun was sitting on the floor, leaned against the wall, and watched his teammates fool around with decorations. He chuckled at the sight of Chanyeol pulling red Santa hat on his head, but he couldn't pull it over his giant Yoda ears, so he left them sticking out.
He noticed Baekhyun looking at him and he laughed. He pulled tips of his ears up, sticking his tounge out.
"You look like Yoda!" Baekhyun shouted.
Chanyeol ran over to him, sitting down and taking the hat off his head.
"Here." he put it on Baekhyun's head. "Have a little Christmas spirit."
Baekhyun smiled at him, but Chanyeol could see that the smile was far from genuine happiness.
And he knew why.
Kyungsoo's first remembrance day was close. Chanyeol didn't know the exact date, but he counted and concluded that it's sometime around Christmas.
In front of them, on the court, Luhan, Yixing, Sehun and Kai were wrapping each other in colorful sparkly ribbons, laughing.
"You know, even though I didn't plan coming to this school, it was more like an accident, I'm really glad that I've ended up here." Chanyeol said.
"Why?" Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows. Even though Jungsan was a better team than Chanyeol's previous one, they always seemed to work along together quite well.
"I've only hung out with Tae, Jungkook and Yoongi. The rest of them didn't really like me."
"We don't like you either, go away." Baekhyun said and pushed him.
"Very funny, Byun. I know you love me." he smirked at him.
"No I don't. You have huge ears and I hate you."
"You sure?"
"Very."
Without a warning, even though he didn't know if it would work, Chanyeol started tickling him.
And it worked better than he though it would.
Baekhyun started laughing and kicking, trying to escape the giant,but Chanyeol only tickled him more, cornering him against the wall.
Eventually Baekhyun rolled over on the floor and Chanyeol towered over him, tickling his waist and neck.
"C- Chan, God, stop!" Baekhyun could barely catch his breath to speak, and it made Chanyeol laugh too, his lips forming the biggest toothy smile he owned.
"You're so cute, Byun." he said, those words just slipping out.
What did I just say.
On those words his actions slowed down and Baekhyun blushed uncinciously. He panted for air, looking up at Chanyeol's sparkling eyes.
Two boys on the floor didn't even notice that whole team had stopped with what they were doing, and now they were all standing and watching.
"Um, Yeol? Can you get off of me?" Baekhyun said silently and Chanyeol nodded, getting up and giving Baekhyun a hand. Baekhyun calling him Yeol was still ringing in his ears. It sounded... Friendlier, at least.
"Don't mind us." Kris yelled at them. "Just go for it."
Everyone laughed, making Baekhyun gave them deadly glare.
Luhan walked over to Minseok, whispering in his ear.
"50 bucks that they'll end up together."
"Deal." Minseok smirked.
"I should get going guys, my parents are taking off this afternoon so I should be there to say bye and that stuff." Kris said, picking up his track jacket that was now covered in sparkles that were falling off decorations. "And don't forget the party's tomorrow at my place!"
"We don't forget things like that." Kai said.
Kris' parents travelled a lot because they owned a sports equipment store, so he threw parties all the time.
Baekhyun was never an often visitor of those, and since Kyungsoo had died he stopped coming completely.
"You coming?" Chanyeol asked him, tilting his head to look at brunet from above.
"Probably not." Baekhyun shrugged.
"Why not?"
"I don't feel like it."
"Come on, Baek! It's Christmas, you should cheer up a little."
On those words Baekhyun's mood went downhill.
"I'm not coming, just cut it." he said harshly and headed to the locker room, leaving Chanyeol to wonder how the hell he always makes one step forward in pulling Baekhyun out of his shell, but then makes two backwards.
____
It was Friday evening, and Byun Baekhyun was sitting in his bedroom that looked dead for the first time during Christmas season.
Usually both him and Kyungsoo would decorate their rooms, competing who would put more lights and more colorful decorations.
"Baekhyun, you're helpless." Kyungsoo sighed. "You have to do something with your life, and avoiding hanging out with people definitely isn't the way."
"Well the last party I attended didn't work out very well." Baekhyun scoffed sarcastically. "You know, I almost got raped and that stuff."
"Yes, and Chanyeol came and saved you."
"Don't make it sound romantic."
"I'm just stating the facts."
"I'm not going and that's it." Baekhyun protested like a 10 year old.
"You didn't become any less stubborn and childish in this past year."
"Deal with it, Soo."
Kyungsoo was always the one who could convince him into anything, but this time, it really didn't work. Yes, he didn't want to go out of respect for his brother, whose first remembrance day was only few days away. And yes, it was Kyungsoo himself telling him to go, but he knew Kyungsoo just wanted to make Baekhyun happy. Going to that party was not going to make him any happier.
Baekhyun suddenly heard someone knocking to the door, and his mother's voice calling him.
"Baekhyun, someone's here to visit you!"
"Coming, mom!" he shouted.
"I'll talk to you later, Soo." he said, taking the headphones off and went to open the doors.
He was suprised to see Junmyeon standing in front, dressed up for the party.
There was a moment of awkward silence. Baekhyun didn't see his best friend at his house for months, mostly because he acted like an idiot towards him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, even though he already knew exactly why he was there.
"I'm taking you to the party." Junmyeon said.
"Whether you like it or not." he added when Baekhyun tried to speak.
"Look, I already told you that I don't feel-"
"I know that, but you're still coming with me." Junmyeon said seriously.
"Byun, I have all the respect for you since you are the captain, and I know that you've been suffering a lot these past months, but I can't to this anymore. You can't push me away forever. I know I should've tried better to help you get through those hard times as your best friend. I know I suck at being your best friend. And I've decided that this won't work anymore. I won't let Chanyeol or whoever be the one to get closer to you and do what I was supposed to do a long time ago. I want to help you, Baekhyun. I want to be there for you, and I promise, if you let me, that I'll never let you suffer alone anymore." Junmyeon obviously couldn't help himself not to cry. His eyes were shiny with the tears as he finished, and Baekhyun could just stare at him, speechless.
He looked at his best friend, the one who's been with him since they were 10 years old. The one who came to visit him every single day after Kyungsoo had died for two months straight to bring him his favourite food, or play guitar for him, sitting in front of his door, or just talk about whatever. For those two months Baekhyun didn't go outside the house at all, and he didn't open his bedroom door to Junmyeon, who kept coming even if he had to sit on the floor behind the doors. He tried his best to be there for Baekhyun, because when he was in pain, Junmyeon was in pain too. If Baekhyun's heart was being ripped in half, Junmyeon's was too.
But after two months, when Baekhyun started living somehow normally again, he wasn't Baekhyun he used to know anymore. He was just a wreck of what before was bright and kind person.
Junmyeon ended up hearbroken as well. From that moment on, he stopped trying.
That is, until Park Chanyeol came.
Park Chanyeol, who knew how to get to Baekhyun. Who pulled out all those things Baekhyun had pushed deep down.
Honestly, Junmyeon was happy to see Baekhyun finally opening up to someone, but it hurt to see that he accepted a stranger over his best friend.
"Are you gonna say something?" Junmyeol asked silently.
Baekhyun couldn't get his stare off Junmyeon's teary eyes, but that contact broke when he pulled him into a hug.
"I'm so sorry." me muffled into Junmyeon's shoulder, on what the other boy only gripped him tighter.
"I've been doing better lately." Baekhyun admitted when the let each other go. "I should've acted diffetently and not keep shutting you out. I was an idiot. If anyone didn't deserve to be treated like that, than it's you. And I'll make one big decision myself today." Baekhyun smiled, lifting up his pinky and connecting it with Junmyeon's.
Baekhyun was never too great with words. He expressed his feelings with actions. Even if it was just a smile, in Baekhyun's case it could show you more feelings than a whole book.
"I solemnly swear to be the best friend you've ever had."
"So you're starting right now?" Junmyeon cocked his eyebrow.
"Yup."
"So you're coming to the party?"
"I'm coming to the party."
--------
The Christmas party at Kris' place was far from Christmas party, except for colorful lights everywhere and scary Snowman statue in front of the house that was being assaulted by drunk teenagers, but it's not like Chanyeol cared.
He was standing leaned on Kris' kitchen counter with a bottle of soju in his hand, his eyes scanning everything that was happening around him. He's always been always more of an observer.
Whole house was full of smoke, smell of alcohol and bodies griding against each others.
All the team members were already there, except for two. Baekhyun and Junmyeon.
Deep inside Chanyeol hoped that Baekhyun would show up. He knew the odds were equal to none, but he wanted to see that all that he's been trying with Baekhyun wasn't a complete failure.
Kris, Kai and Luhan had already gone somewhere upstairs too hook up with someone( Luhan's girlfriend had also showed up, making him happy like a kid that got PlayStation for Christmas) and Yixing, Minseok, Zitao and Sehun were on the dance floor, acting like nobody was watching them. Zitao and Yixing were already drunk, falling over each other while laughing at silly things like Chanyeol's ears.
Even Jongdae was at the party, and he was sitting on the couch, with a girl on his lap, snuggling.
Chanyeol sighed, taking a sip of soju.
He wondered why the hell he still didn't hook up with anyone. By this time, he would have at least gotten sucked off twice, by two different people.
Maybe it was Mina and that incident at the camp. He still didn't solve that puzzle, though. He had no idea why he had stopped himself back then. The only clue he had was Baekhyun's face appearing in front of him while kissing Mina, and he concluded that it was God's way to tell him that Baekhyun was in trouble and needed him to save him.
Yeah, that's probably it, Chanyeol thought. A greater force.
He raised his head up, thinking that he probably looked stupid staring at his own feet for 10 minutes. Or depressed, which was even worse. Park Chanyeol can't be depressed.
He saw that now there were newcomers on the dance floor, assaulted by drunk Yixing and Zitao. One of them was Junmyeon, and the other had his back turned to Chanyeol, so he couldn't see who it was at first.
The boy had his brown hair neatly styled, in a hot rock star manner. He was wearing leather jacket and skinny black jeans, that made his ass look so damn good, almost making Chanyeol hard.
Stop it, Chanyeol, you idiot, he thought, slapping his face to get out of that trans. Alcohol always made him horny, and the fact that he didn't get laid in two weeks made it even worse.
Finally, the hot stranger turned around, and when his gaze met Chanyeol's, the latter froze in place.
The boy had his eyes marked with black eyeliner and his hair looked even better from the front.
He wore a bunch of rings on his left hand, and he looked like a completely different person.
So that's how Byun Baekhyun looked when he wasn't in his tracksuit.
----
A/N
Annyeong! Soo guys I was thinking
From now on I'll update once a week, probably on Weekends
I hope that's okay with you, because I've been really busy lately
Stay cool and ship Chanbaek :)