Enigma for androidmin

[yeolliepopday]

For: androidmin 
Title: Enigma 
Pairing(s): Chanyeol/Chen
Rating: PG-13 
Warning(s) unbeta’d
 Length: 12.1k 
Summary: When Chanyeol meets Jongdae again, he becomes his own personal mystery. 
Author's note: First, thanks to the mod for organizing this exchange so neatly! ♡ To my exchange partner, I have the strongest impression I deviated from your original idea and I’m sorry, but I hope you appreciate this nonetheless! 

Also for Chanyeol’s classmates, I had a lot of fun picking 92liner idols! For coherence reasons I used their real names but I assume a lot of people don’t know them, so here’s a quick guide: Jaehwan (VIXX’s Ken); Myungsoo (Infinite’s L), Junghwan (B1A4’s Sandeul); Jihyun (SISTAR’s Soyou); Jiho (Block B’s Zico); Ahyoung (Girl’s Day’s Yura); Hyuk (DEAN); Hyoseob (Crush). And I think that’s it!

Chanyeol could not believe he was now a murderer.

It had all begun when Jaehwan got in contact to remind him of their special high school reunion. The call caught him right in the middle of composing a new song. Had he and Jaehwan been closer, he would certainly have sworn at him; as it was though, he gave his ex-classmate a tense smile through the phone and pretended the boy hadn’t just made the chorus that had been stuck in his subconscious the whole week disappear from his head precisely when he had finally been able to get the first chords on the keyboard.

When Jaehwan had mentioned the reunion though, some of the annoyance inside of him had been instantly replaced by excitement. His class had agreed to meet again five years after graduation, and he couldn’t believe so much time had already passed. It seemed only yesterday that all the girls were fawning over Myungsoo (well, most likely they still were, wherever he was at that point), that Jiho and Kyung were making impromptu rap battles during break and that Junghwan and Jongdae were making the whole class dumbstruck with their belting competitions.

It seemed only yesterday that he had finally come out to his family.

He had been able to keep those thoughts at bay as he spoke to Jaehwan, their old class representative and also the person who had volunteered back then to organize their reunion when the time came. Chanyeol was quite interested in going, so convincing him did not require any effort on Jaehwan’s part, for which he seemed rather glad. The boy was quite excited when he lastly informed Chanyeol there was one special detail.

“It’s a Murder Mystery party,” he enthusiastically explained, “and since you showed at least a little bit of interest back in our last school play, I’ve kept the best role for you.”




Since Jaehwan had asked them to come as in character as they could for their British spy themed reunion, Chanyeol wasn’t too comfortable about taking the subway in the bright yellow tracksuit he had taken from his father’s closet (he was a billionaire’s loser son who had killed his new mother-in-law when he found out she was attempting to take him off his father’s will…. For obvious reasons. Jaehwan was not very creative). After much insistence, Seunghoon had agreed to borrow his parents’ car (“You’re paying the gas though”), and so they had met in front of the dorms to go together.

Amber had already left earlier since she had promised to help Jaehwan with setting the scenario.

“Who are you most excited to meet?” Seunghoon asked when they were on their way. He had been given the role of an eccentric overseas investor; Chanyeol personally thought his turquoise flowered shirt, khaki pants and sandals were on point.

“Amber,” he replied nonchalantly, “she owes me 20 bucks and has been avoiding me for ages.”

“Shut up,” Seunghoon said, laughing, “I was serious.”

“I don’t know, man. I’m not too interested in anyone in particular,” Chanyeol spoke in earnest, scratching his chin. “Just want to take a look at everyone, find out what they’ve been doing and all.”

“I heard Hyuk is coming all the way from Tokyo,” Seunghoon shared knowingly, then chuckled when Chanyeol’s ears became cherry red. “You’ve heard? He managed to sign with a big label some months ago. They took him to Tokyo to record a demo track or something. Hyoseob didn’t explain it very well.”

“You’re still talking to Hyoseob?”

He snorted. “Of course, I’m not a lazy homebody like you. Besides, I think it’s helpful for us who want to have a shot in the musical scene to keep in touch.”

“I agree with you,” Chanyeol zipped his jacket up and rested his head on the window, his voice a little defensive, “but you know there is a reason I couldn’t speak to Hyuk. I mean, was.”

Seunghoon peeked at him amidst the driving, a somewhat apologetic look on his eyes. “Yeah, I know.” He tapped the wheel a couple of times while they waited at the traffic lights; Chanyeol watched idly as the red changed to green. “But that’s in the past now, right? This could be your chance of setting some new connections.”

“It feels wrong for me to try to get closer to him now because of ulterior motives.”

His friend flashed a small condescending smile without taking his eyes off the road. “There are times when you just have to be pragmatic. Your naivety is cute though.”

“I’m not being naïve, just a decent human being. Might be a weird concept for you.”

“You talk as if I am a monster!” Seunghoon theatrically exclaimed, his mouth twisted in one huge pout; a second later, he was already back to normal, seemingly unaffected. “Whatever, I was just giving you some advice, no need to follow it if you don’t agree. Besides I bet it will be kind of hard to talk to Hyuk since all the other people in class most likely don’t share your mindset,” he smiled. “So perhaps you’re better off focusing on other people. Who else are you interested in?”

“Told’ya, there’s nobody. Or rather, everybody.”

“Wait wait- wasn’t there that guy?”

“You’re being so specific.”

Seunghoon rolled his eyes. “I haven’t finished, moron. That guy, the one who invited you to prom. How could you forget? You were the talk of the town at school for being the first gay couple to go to prom and shit.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened. Indeed, how could he have forgotten?

“That guy…” He uttered, deep in thought as he watched his own memories resurface inside his head. “His name was…”




“Channie, Hoonie, you guys are finally here.” Amber was standing next to the front door of what ought to be Jaehwan’s house, dressed in worn jeans and an oversized shirt which seemed like it had been used as a floorcoth. Perhaps a homeless, or a drug addict? Chanyeol had forgotten to ask. “I was starting to think you weren’t coming anymore.”

“You guys needing a hand?” Seunghoon offered, trying to peek into the house beyond Amber’s shoulders.

“We would have needed a hand like an hour ago if you two hadn’t slacked off so much.” She punched Seunghoon’s arm playfully, although Chanyeol could sense some degree of real criticism in the innermost layers of her voice. “You’re actually the last two to arrive, I think, so hurry up, we need to get started. Ah, not through here,” she stopped Chanyeol from walking inside, “we’re holding the party at Jaehwan’s backyard, so you can take the side path.”

“Why were you inside then?” Chanyeol replied sourly, nonetheless sheepishly following the path she had pointed to them.

“The perks of being an organizer,” she said, laughing. “You two go there, I’ll be over in a minute – just need to finish heating our snacks.’




It took them less than five seconds to walk down the short path that led to a somewhat large backyard for Seoul standards, grassy and outlined by thick, tall trees. They had set up a sort of tent, hanging up huge cloths from side to side on the trees. On the ground, the pieces of furniture (a massive longcase clock, a classic wooden table with luxurious tableware accompanied by some expensive-looking chairs and a couple of golden candelabrums) perfectly suggested a fancy dinner at a sumptuous mansion as setting.

Actually, Chanyeol was not sure if the scenario was indeed obvious of if he was able to see it since everyone had received a summary of the story in their invitations. Either way, it was most likely good enough for their purposes.

Jaehwan called everyone’s attention and proceeded to explain the game as soon as he noticed their arrival. They were divided into two teams, each set to investigate one of the two murders that had taken place in the annual dinner party of the prosperous conglomerate Chanyeol’s character was the heir to. For that, members from both teams would have to interview each other in order to put the pieces together. Chanyeol, as the murderer, had been given some information and a few hints he was obligated to give –- and the same followed for all the other relevant characters – with some serving as distraction.

The idea was to provide as many interaction opportunities as possible, since ideally everyone should speak to members of the other team and then to members of their own team to share their insights and theories.

As it often happens, however, when the reunion was finally declared open, many of the people present were more interested in chatting (and eating) than investigating – although it was a good as hell conversation starter.

“Ah, look, isn’t that Ahyoung?” Seunghoo whispered to Chanyeol as soon as Jaehwan dropped the microphone.

Chanyeol looked at the girl his friend was pointing at with an evaluating gaze. “I think it is.”

“How can she look even prettier now than she was in high school?!” He looked genuinely offended for some reason. “How come such a person was in high school with us and not in some high school for idols? Actually, how come she is not an idol?!”

“I guess she likes arts too much for that,” he answered, unbothered, scanning the place in search of someone who would catch his eye. “Wasn’t she really good at painting and drawing or something like that?”

“She was, but still – she could easily be an actress.”

“It’s too stressful.”

“Come on, don’t pretend you wouldn’t want to be an idol if given the opportunity.”

“As I said – too stressful. I like staying home and reading manhwas and doing my thing at my own pace.”

Seunghoon snorted. “Sure. Say that again when you move out of the dorms and have to start paying your own bills.”

“Sure, whatever.” There was quite a commotion at the farthest corner from where they were; Chanyeol squinted his eyes in an attempt to understand what was going on. “What’s going on there?”

His friend tiptoed next to him, trying to make some sense out of the swarm of people that seemed to be circling something – or someone. “I can’t see shit, but for people to be this interested, it must be Hyuk.”

As if answering some sort of godly call, the boy named Hyuk (Chanyeol’s first love back in high school, a handsome guy with a velvet voice and a reasonably successful name in the indie scene) stood up from where he was sitting surrounded by all those people, showing them his best public relations smile although obviously wanting to get out of there. Seunghoon nudged Chanyeol in his ribs and raised his eyebrows twice in a clear insinuation.

When Chanyeol finally looked at Hyuk for the first time after all those years, however, he realized things were no longer the way they used to be.

His past crush was perhaps even more handsome than he recalled, now that puberty was finally over and his body and face had matured into a cohesive piece (and his mother most likely was not the one responsible for cutting his hair anymore). He was stylish, had a pretty smile and a great fashion sense now – but still, something was different. Chanyeol’s memories of him were wrapped in a golden sheath, like a mental photo filter that colored the past him in pretty tones of pink and gold. Chanyeol had not even spoken to him, had no way to know whether he had changed his mindset, whether he still was the cool guy that never cared about the fact he was gay and had (albeit indirectly) lent him his support; yet Chanyeol simply knew it, or rather he felt it in his bones – that whatever chemistry had flowed from Hyuk to him in the past was now dead and gone, that even if they spoke now, his feelings would never go beyond those of friendship.

And although this was a positive insight, since Hyuk was straight (or so he had been told) and therefore nothing could flourish between them, Chanyeol could not help feeling a little shallow, like some important part of him, a puerile, innocent part of him, had been lost.

He excused himself from Seunghoon’s company for a minute and walked to the large trees at the back, catching his breath and attempting to put his own pieces together again.

It was then that he saw him, framed against the burgundy cloths that hanged above and around them, irradiating such an aura that Chanyeol couldn’t take his eyes off him. He had changed so much in those five years, and yet Chanyeol recognized him right away: the nerdy glasses the boy used to sport had been replaced by stylish, large black rim glasses that harmonized perfectly with his sharp jaw and cheekbones and his short, styled up hair – so distinct from the bowl cut he had throughout most of high school. Maybe some of that outfit was due to the British spy theme, considering his tweed vested suit, but Chanyeol thought it fitted him perfectly.

However, it was not his appearance that had captured Chanyeol’s attention – in reality, he had taken notice of it only afterwards. It was his presence, almost like a gravitational distortion in the universe, pulling Chanyeol closer. It was not something he would describe as love at first sight (or at second sight, to be more accurate); if he were to be honest, he didn’t know if the attraction he was feeling was even romantic. It was something, a confusing something he had a hard time putting a label on.

Chanyeol noticed almost absentmindedly when his body started propelling itself forwards and towards him. It seemed the only natural thing to do, so he didn’t fight his urge.

When he came close enough that the boy noted him, however, he remembered he was actually talking to somebody else. He was just standing there next to him, most likely with a dumb expression on his face. Awkward.

“Hm, ah, hi?” He gasped, fully aware he sounded like an idiot.

The boy most likely had the same impression, although he didn’t show it; he looked at Chanyeol for a whole second before he turned back to the person he was talking to and whispered, with a soft voice: “Myungsoo, can we talk later?”

“Sure.” The guy, a little taller than the other but still shorter than Chanyeol, fixed a lock of hair that had fallen on the other’s forehead with a delicate touch. “But seriously, in case we don’t talk again tonight, do give me a call? Don’t just disappear on me like that again.”

The boy laughed – a melodic, crystalline laugh. “I promise, okay?”

“Alright.” Myungsoo (Chanyeol of course remembered him; it was hard not to remember the most popular guy in their entire year) looked at Chanyeol with a strange expression and greeted him politely before walking away.

Then it was him looking at Chanyeol with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Hi,” Chanyeol uttered, a little more confident this time.

“Hi.”

“Jongdae.”

He smiled. “That’s me.”

Park Chanyeol, get your shit together. “Hm, remember me? We went to our senior prom together?”

“And?”

Fuck. “Hm–” he stuttered, confused. The Jongdae in his memories was sweet and kind and considerate – he hadn’t expected the current Jongdae to be any different. “I– Hm– I am–”

Jongdae laughed – again, that pure, crystalline laugh. Chanyeol felt like he could listen to that all day. “I’m just messing with you, Chanyeol. Of course I remember you,” even though they were the same age – heck, even though Chanyeol was some good 15 centimeters taller than him, Jongdae stretched his arm and patted Chanyeol’s head, messing his hair up a little. He laughed again. “God, you’ve grown so much!”

Ah, a topic he could easily talk about. “10 centimeters since I finished high school,” he informed rather proudly. “I had a late growth spurt.”

“You were already tall back then,” Jongdae commented, “but now you’re a giant. I’m jealous.”

“You’re perfectly fine though. I mean, your height,” he hoped that hadn’t sounded weird.

Jongdae didn’t seem bothered. “I’m average, but it’d be cool to be tall like you. But I actually don’t really mind it that much.” He scratched his neck (a nervous habit?) but did not continue. Chanyeol searched his head for another topic for conversation but his mind, of course, had gone blank at that most important moment. He never had any trouble chatting people up, but for some reason he was feeling awkward. Desperation started pooling in the bottom of his stomach. He was making a fool of himself– Oh god–

“So,” Jongdae said, the beginning of a smile wrinkling the sides of his eyes, “what were you doing at 9PM tonight?”

The game, right! He remembered rather enthusiastically. He smiled back, showing all of his teeth and positively looking like an idiot once more.

He should’ve remembered it earlier – it was, after all, the best conversation starter.




In the end, none of the teams were able to pick the right suspects – they were both misled by the distractions, most likely because no one was really paying enough attention. Thinking about murders the whole night, however, made Chanyeol realize the investigation of a crime was no different from reflecting about everyday events: for anything that ever happened, there was always a reason, someone (or something) affected and someone (or something) responsible. He also realized approaching aspects of his life from this point of view very often made them easier to grasp, and so he decided to try to understand his weird fascination towards Jongdae through this method.

He got the music notebook he used to jot down his compositions and opened it at the last page. First he wrote down the easiest parts.

Suspect: Kim Jongdae
Victim: Park Chanyeol

As for why he had approached Jongdae…

Crime: Helping me when we were in high school
Reason: He’s super nice

He tapped the back of the pen against his cheek, thinking. That was actually not the reason why he approached Jongdae – at least, not the reason why he approached him when he did. He scratched out that part. What should he write down instead?

Crime: Helping me when we were in high school Sparking my curiosity
Reason: He’s super nice and his aura (+ he’s hot)

Well, that at least sounded a little closer to the truth.




“Amber, I need his number.”

She raised her eyes at him from where she was tuning her guitar at the other side of the studio.

“You mean Jongdae’s.” It was half a question, half a statement. Chanyeol nodded. “Why?”

Chanyeol was not sure about the reason, but he hadn’t shared his wonder about Jongdae with his friends. His talk with his old acquaintance in reality had not lasted any longer than five minutes at most; they had talked about their characters in the game and their backstories, made the few questions they were allowed to ask and then Jongdae was gone, before Chanyeol could ask him what he was currently doing, whether he was still in college, if he still liked to sing – if he still did it as well as he used to. Truthfully, they were not too close back in high school (perhaps that was why Jongdae hadn’t given him much attention), but that could well be why there was so much Chanyeol wanted to ask.

“We talked during the party,” he began slowly, fiddling with the keys on the piano in front of him. “I don’t know why we weren’t close back in school, he seems nice.”

“So... you just want to talk to him again?” Amber placed the guitar on the support on the ground and rested her chin on her hand, glancing at Chanyeol with curiosity. “Or do you have a hidden agenda? You did go to prom with him after all.”

Chanyeol sighed. “I don’t know why you and Seunghoon keep insisting on this issue when you all were already my friends back then and know what happened.” He played the middle C a couple of times, and spoke again only when the last one had completely faded. “I didn’t have a crush on him, but that’s hardly the point. He isn’t even gay to begin with.”

“And… that’s a problem?”

“As I said, I just want to talk to him,” he could see clear as day that Amber wasn’t buying it, although he was being honest – at least to some degree. “Alright, I admit I did find him handsome,” he conceded, making a smile bloom on her face, “but that’s the extent of it. I just felt like– like, when I looked at him, I just knew we will hit it off, y’know? It’s a kind of gut feeling, I can’t explain, but I really want to get to know him better.”

Amber grinned even wider while she took her cellphone from her pocket. “A hidden agenda it is then.”

He rolled his eyes. “Can you please just get me his number?”

“Ok, ok, no need to get offended~” she scrolled up and down her contacts a few times, first in an analyzing manner, then again looking rather confused. “Shit, I think I don’t have his number anymore. I changed cellphones some months ago and I guess I didn’t have his number saved in my chip.”

“It’s fine, it’s not that important anyway.” Despite his words, he was feeling a little disappointed. Perhaps some things just aren’t meant to be.

“Hm, I do have Myungsoo’s number though.”

“Myungsoo?”

“Yeah. Don’t tell me you don’t remember him!”

“That’s not the case, it’s just– What’s his deal with Jongdae? As I remember Jongdae was friends with Junghwan and Jihyun and Dongjun, not with the popular kids.”

“They got closer at the very end of our last year, and apparently they became kind of best friends for some time.” Then she added, almost a cop out: “At least that’s what Sohee’s told me.”

Sohee was a popular kid too – Myungsoo’s best friend at the time, and many speculated also his girlfriend, although he always kept his relationships hidden. Another one that Chanyeol wondered why he hadn’t become an idol.

“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. Give me his number; I’ll text him later.”




Chat with: HS MYUNGSOO
21:09 Hello, it’s Chanyeol here~
21:10 I don’t know if you remember me- Park Chanyeol from ******* High? We went to school together?
21:30 I remember
21:42 Where did you get my number?
21:43 Amber gave it to me. Is that a problem? ( ̵˃﹏˂̵ )
22:50 Guess not
22:50 Do you want something?
22:51 Yes! Can you please give me Jongdae’s number? ɾ⚈▿⚈ɹ
22:52 Amber said you’d most likely have it!
22:55 Why should I give it to you?
22:56 TT
22:56 What do you mean?
22:56 I just want his number
22:56 Please
22:57 pls pls pls
22:57 ><
23:10 Why
23:11 I just wanna talk to him, I swear TT
23:18 …
23:31 Fine
23:49 Hm… Are you still sending it?
23:56 It’s 921-XXX-XXX




Although he had gotten Jongdae’s number the same day Amber gave him Myungsoo’s, it took him a full week before he finally got the guts to send the boy a message.

He really didn’t know why he was feeling so restless about it. He was honest to Amber about his intentions: although he felt relatively attracted to Jongdae (since he was indeed handsome), he was not in love or having a crush or anything of the sort. He supposed it shouldn’t bother him so much whether Jongdae was positively impressed with him or not – if they so happened to not get along, he’d just move on and be done with this whole issue and nothing in his life would change. In fact, there were no traces of Jongdae in the past five years of his life, so it wouldn’t be hard at all to return to his previous routine.

Yet, he was terribly afraid of making a fool of himself, and he didn’t have a Mystery Murder party anymore to use as a conversation starter.

That first message might actually not ever have been sent, had Seunghoon not grabbed Chanyeol’s cellphone from his hands during one of their classes and quickly typed an emoticon while the taller boy silently fretted next to him. The following minutes (or, more precisely, hours) were painful times of wait, with a nervous Chanyeol not being brave enough to send any decent messages whilst also feeling the dread growing in his tummy as the morning passed and no replies were received.

It was only in the late afternoon, when Chanyeol had already almost given it up, that his cellphone vibrated under him (he had been laying on his stomach on his bed since lunch, irrationally scared of going outside and somehow meeting Jongdae at his front door).

Chat with: HS JONGDAE
09:05 (˳˘ ɜ˘)˳ ♬♪♫
17:58 ?
17:59 Who’s this?

Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god.

18:01 It’s Chanyeol! Chanyeol from high school!
18:02 Sorry for the weird message, my friend is stupid
18:02 o(╥﹏╥)o

He shouldn’t have said it was someone else who sent the message, it only made it look even weirder – why would a friend of his even want to send him a message? Jongdae would certainly get the wrong idea. Heck, Chanyeol wasn’t even sure he would answer. He wouldn’t blame Jongdae if he wanted to walk away from an obvious weirdo like himself, at least from the way he was acting.

He was so sure Jongdae had deleted their chat and blocked his number that he was surprised when his cellphone buzzed again.

18:04 haha
18:04 it’s ok!
18:05 It’s cute actually
18:05 what is it doing?

Chanyeol blinked, quite baffled.

18:06 Who?
18:07 … My friend?
18:07 hahaha
18:07 No!
18:07 That first emoticon you sent
18:07 It’s cute (◡‿◡✿)
18:08 I think… it’s whistling?
18:09 Hm, makes sense!
18:09 I couldn’t make sense of it before tbh, I could only think of weird explanations
18:10 Really?
18:11 Like what?
18:13 Well~
18:13 I thought it was blowing me a kiss
18:13 with some music in the background lol

Chanyeol faceplanted on his mattress, too embarrassed to answer. He didn’t doubt it in the least that that was Seunghoon’s original intention.

Perhaps it would have been better if Jongdae had blocked his number.




In spite of his initial struggles, talking to Jongdae proved to be a way easier task than Chanyeol had imagined.

A downside was that unlike Chanyeol, Jongdae did not check his cell phone throughout the day very often, so they could only chat in the very early morning and later at night. He found out Jongdae was also studying music in college, although in a different institution. He was busier than Chanyeol though because he had already started working in the area, part time shifts in a local music school as a tutor of some sort. He would only come home past 8PM, but despite the weariness Chanyeol was sure he ought to feel, his messages were always upbeat and sometimes quite cheeky. From the get-go, he never appeared to be intimidated in the slightest; in turn, slowly but surely, Chanyeol got more confident to act freely with him too.

As he had expected it, they really hit it off quite easily.

Most of the time, they would talk about their days and share a little bit of their everyday lives. Chanyeol found out Jongdae had only kept in touch with Junghwan and Myungsoo out of his friends at school, but in turn he had made a new one in college who he had gotten pretty close to named Baekhyun. This Baekhyun guy would sometimes butt in their conversations, presumably stealing Jongdae’s cell phone from him and sending cheeky comments about whatever they were talking about, in some occasions in texts full of aegyo and hearts, and in time they ended up creating a chatroom with him too (and Amber, and Seunghoon, because they insisted on not being left out) so that they could keep their private chatroom to themselves.

After all, even if they mostly spoke of daily matters and frivolous issues, there were a couple of heart-to-heart instances which Chanyeol would have felt uncomfortable with some random guy reading, even if said random guy was Jongdae’s best friend – like, for example, when they touched the subject of their prom again.

When Chanyeol thought about it now, that had been quite a weird incident. He had studied with Jongdae since the very first year of high school, or so he remembered, but in all those years they had never exchanged any words besides polite greetings and farewells. Jongdae was well-liked by his classmates, and so was Chanyeol, but they both used to keep a low profile as students, albeit Chanyeol ended up getting more attention due to his height, low voice and, in most of his classmates’ opinions, handsomeness – that is, until it got out that he was gay.

It had not been a mean outing, but rather an accidental one. Since the very beginning of their last year in high school, Chanyeol had been set on coming out to the world, but he had meant to do it informally. In his mind, he imagined people asking him when he was getting himself a girlfriend, and his sassy response would be “Never. I do intend to get myself a boyfriend soon though”. He would first come out to his classmates, then to the rest of the school, and then to his parents and the rest of his family. He had been a little unsure about this last part, but his sister was supporting him, so he felt a little bolder.

He had not expected it to start as some gossip behind his back.

Apparently a boy he had confessed to in the previous year had told his friends about it with no harmful intentions, but one of his friends had told somebody else, and so on, and it had gotten out of hand to the point people were not sure whether what was being said was factual or just a rumor. However, that didn’t prevent a lot of people at school from making jokes about him: his name started appearing scribbled on the bathroom doors circled by poor depictions of dicks, people named the new strawberry pink drink from the cafeteria “the Chanyeol drink”, and many boys wouldn’t want to play soccer with him during breaks (apparently afraid of “catching his disease”). His classmates who had known him for a longer time did not outright bully him; however, the herd behavior influenced by the rest of the school made them uncomfortable to keep treating him as usual, and most of them chose to ignore him.

Although Chanyeol had been glad they were not being mean to him, it had hurt him nonetheless.

The beginning of the change, and the reason Chanyeol was so grateful to Jongdae, was when the school had eventually announced their prom.

Amber had offered to go with him, since she also did not have a partner, but as vexed as Chanyeol was whenever he would see one of those drawings in the bathrooms, he had his own pride too and he was not willing to play being straight anymore. Seunghoon then offered to be his date instead, but Chanyeol knew he really wanted to go with Sunmi and he didn’t want to boycott his best friend in what usually was such a meaningful event for most high school students.

He had already settled on staying at home and blasting Super Junior’s most recent album in his computer’s speakers the whole night when Jongdae approached him during a break and asked him to be his prom date as if it was no big deal at all.

At that time Jongdae was only a little shorter than him, with nerdy rectangular glasses and a bowl cut he had been trying to style up for the last couple of months without much success. He was scrawny and looked a little old for his age but he had a beautiful facial structure and an even more beautiful voice the whole school already knew because of their school festivals and his singing battles with Junghwan which would echo through the corridors. He was not the most popular person but he was both known and respected, which caused the bullies at school to not know how to proceed when they found out he and Chanyeol were going together.

The school community took Jongdae’s invitation as a statement of support. Although some people started despising Jongdae for it as well, it gave his classmates the courage to stand up for him too and in a couple of weeks the bullying had already substantially subdued.

(Their prom itself was rather awkward, with Chanyeol’s parents picking Jongdae up instead and both of them deciding not to dance together since they both had two left feet, and then spending the rest of the night with their friends rather than with each other, but Chanyeol was thankful nevertheless)

It was weird to talk about it so much time after it happened, when all the bullying had become a hazy memory Chanyeol never made any effort to retain. They touched the subject by accident when Jongdae had mentioned his workplace’s preparations for a special Valentine’s Day performance, and Chanyeol decided to take the opportunity to thank Jongdae again, since looking at it now in retrospect had made he realize how important that support had been for him, how it had made him confident and proud of himself again.

Jongdae’s texts in reply had been polite and devoid of his usual cheekiness/cuteness, but Chanyeol was not offended; he figured Jongdae must have felt awkward, and they did not touch the subject again.




Chanyeol was composing a new song for an audition he was trying the following week when his music notebook fell on the ground. He opened it at the last page and saw his own scribbles on it; he had completely forgotten about them. It had been months already, but he felt like playing that game.

Suspect: Kim Jongdae
Victim: Park Chanyeol
Crime: Helping me when we were in high school Sparking my curiosity Making me addicted to talking to him and threatening Seunghoon for my best friend’s spot
Reason: He’s super nice and his aura (+ he’s hot) he’s amazing

Hm. Perhaps he shouldn’t have stroken through the ‘hot’ part.



The ‘first time’ they met, it was actually super awkward. Chanyeol had just failed his audition and he was feeling awful, with the now dry marks of tear streams down his face and bloated eyes. He didn’t want the first time they were properly meeting to be in such a situation – he wanted it to be fun and upbeat like their conversations always were –, but he just couldn’t force himself to fake it when he was going through such a dreadful moment.

Jongdae had texted him that he had already arrived at their meeting place when he was still thinking about calling it off though, so Chanyeol had no option but to go.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to see me like this,” had been the first thing that had escaped his lips. He looked down at his feet, embarrassed.

“What are you talking about? I love people who mope. In fact, I only agreed to meet you today because Amber said you are a very moping kind of person. I love moping.” He smiled widely, and it was as bright as the sun in Chanyeol’s eyes. “I mean, you shouldn’t force yourself to mope for my sake, but if you ever feel like moping, you can be sure I won’t feel bothered by it.”

Chanyeol couldn’t help chuckling. “Okay.”




After all those months, Jaehwan had the brightest idea of creating a chatroom for their high school class. Chanyeol was looking at all of his classmates contact information one day when he couldn’t stop his urge from talking to Jihyun; there was something that had been on his mind for ages.

Chat with: HS JIHYUN
16:20 Hi Jihyun! It’s Chanyeol here (＊◕ᴗ◕＊)
16:24 Ah, hi!
16:25 I know this is reeeally sudden but can I ask you something?
16:28 Go for it :)
16:30 It’s a little weird tho
16:32 haha It’s okay, just spit it out
16:35 Why did you break with with Jongdae?

That time, she took a little longer to answer.

16:50 I admit that really was unexpected… haha
16:52 Where did this question come from?
16:53 I’m just curious, really
16:55 Just curious?
16:56 Yes~
17:01 Junghwan said you and JD have been catching up lately~ Is that related to your ~curiosity~?

Chanyeol frowned. What was she aiming at?

17:03 It is, I suppose
17:05 It’s just, he’s so nice and amazing
17:06 I know this is weird to say, but
17:06 I really wonder why anyone would want to break up with him…

Again, it took her quite a long time to reply – and she ended up not being helpful at all.

17:22 I really mean no offense, but
17:23 Why don’t you ask him that yourself?




He looked at his notebook, laying on top of his bed at the other side of the room. He knew what was written on these pages, of course; in the last couple of weeks, he hadn’t been able to get it out of his head, not because of what he had already written on them, but because of what he was about to write.

He had thought a long time about it in the last couple of weeks – about what Jihyun had said, and the things he had spoken to her himself; about how much he looked forward to talking to Jongdae every night, how any word from him was enough to pull him out of any hole he was hiding in and to give him the strength to keep going. How Jongdae’s laugh had almost curative properties and immediately made the tense muscles on his back unwind whenever he heard it; how his cat-shaped lips were so cute and pretty he couldn’t see the deal with actual cats anymore; how, whenever he was feeling down, so much care and kindness would flow from Jongdae’s eyes that he would almost feel overwhelmed by his gaze alone. How Jongdae was always there for him even though they weren’t lovers or pretty much anything for that matter – how he himself only took but Jongdae kept on giving and giving and giving without asking for anything in return.

There was only one thing he could write in that notebook now.

Suspect: Kim Jongdae
Victim: Park Chanyeol
Crime: Helping me when we were in high school Sparking my curiosity Making me addicted to talking to him and threatening Seunghoon for my best friend’s spot to him
Reason: He’s super nice and his aura (+ he’s hot) he’s amazing and I love him

Although the mystery had finally been solved, he didn’t feel any less restless.




“I don’t know what to do.”

Chanyeol laid his forehead on the table, both his hands covering his face. What a terrible predicament he now found himself in.

On the cushioned seats across from him, Amber and Baekhyun exchanged a rather enigmatic glance.

“Let’s start with what you do know,” Baekhyun suggested, as if he was talking to a child – or a really dumb creature. “We already know – but say it for yourself.”

He raised his head a few centimeters from the table, just enough to give both of them a painful look. “I love him,” he said simply before planting his face on the table again. He couldn’t believe it – Amber actually giggled. “Thanks for the support,” he rumbled dully against the cold surface.

“Seunghoon is so going to be pissed we’re here without him,” she chose to reply instead.

Baekhyun shrugged. “Ít’s his fault he didn’t answer to our dear Chanyeollie’s SOS.”

“Which is the subject here, by the way,” Chanyeol reminded them with a grunt. “Help me.”

Amber laid her face on the table too, trying to peek at Chanyeol’s eyes through his bangs. “You already know what you need to do, don’t you? We’re just here to show you our support.”

“And perhaps to laugh just a little bit at your misery,” Baekhyun added with a smile.

“Are you suggesting that I should confess to him?” When the two of them didn’t answer, he lifted his head to look at them. Amber and Baekhyun stared at him looking rather unimpressed. “How can you guys suggest that when you know that can’t end well?”

Amber stretched her arm, holding Chanyeol’s hand in hers. “You won’t know before you try it, Yeollie.”

“Of course I will. It’s quite a simple equation to be honest. I am a man, he is straight. That can’t work out.”

Baekhyun rested his chin on his hand, squinting his eyes at Chanyeol. “If you already know that, why did you ask us to come here?”

The taller boy stammered, then straightened up on his seat and faltered again, his shoulders wilting as he glanced between the people in front of him, facing a question he obviously did not know the answer for. “I– I don’t know,” he admitted, a shiny coat of tears making his eyes glisten. “Perhaps I was hoping for a miracle.”

“Ah, you giant baby~” Amber bent in his direction over the table, now holding both of his hands between hers. For some moments, she just caressed the bony knuckles of his hands, tracing their ups and downs with her index finger. “Think of it this way: do you think what you feel is something you should be ashamed of?” Chanyeol shook his head slightly, his eyes following the movement of her fingers over his own. “Then what do you have to lose? Jongdae is a nice guy, I’m sure he’ll feel honored to be at the receiving end of your feelings.”

“It’s a burden though, to know you’re the reason a friend is unhappy.”

Amber’s finger froze over his left thumb for a split second before she resumed making soothing, small circles over his skin. “You already like him whether he wants it or not. If you tell him though, at least you’ll have the chance to get it off your chest, a chance for closure.”

“As Jongdae’s certified best friend, I can guarantee he would prefer you tell him,” Baekhyun contributed, a gentle smile glowing on his small face.

Chanyeol nodded. He understood their words, of course; he could see the sense behind them, their reason. Yet, reason and feelings were not always in harmony. Whilst he felt telling Jongdae would indeed be the finish line he needed to cross in order to be able to start anew, he was not as sure as them that it would be the best for Jongdae. Maybe, due to his altruist nature, he would rather share the pain that have Chanyeol carry it on his own – but was it fair? Wouldn’t he just be taking once more instead of giving? He had always had this uncomfortable feeling that their relationship had been asymmetrical from the very start; perhaps that was his one chance to break that chain, keeping it to himself and only sharing the positive stuff with Jongdae, the things he knew wouldn’t hurt him.

A pair of hands held his shoulders; only then he noticed that Baekhyun had stood up and walked to his side. “Know what, give these thoughts some time. Go home, take a shower, play your songs for a little, watch anime, I don’t know– Just do anything that isn’t thinking about this for a day or two. You don’t want to decide this on an impulse.”

“Baekyun’s right, Yeol. Give yourself some time.”

With a sigh, Chanyeol got up from his seat, making Baekhyun’s hands fall from his body. “You’re right. I’ll let it sink, see how I feel about it tomorrow.” He threw an arm over Baekhyun’s shoulders, then pushed Amber for a half hug when she stood up too. “Thanks, guys. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“We got it, we’re awesome,” Baekhyun replied, his typical cheerfulness back again. “Now go, you need some time on your own, we’ll only confuse you further.” When Chanyeol was almost at the door, he added as a second thought: “But do message us if you need anything!”

Amber and he watched as Chanyeol crossed the street from the café and walked towards his college dorms, his somewhat slump shoulders giving him the aura of someone much older than he was.

“Poor guy.” Baekhyun sat again, sipping at his now cold chocolate.

“Don’t you think we should have, y’know, been a little more… helpful?”

“Nah. He has to decide this on his own and we don’t want to give him any false hope. Besides, we don’t really know how Jongdae feels about this; you know he’s incredibly stubborn.”

She agreed, her eyes still following the now tiny figure of Chanyeol down the street. “Guess you’re right.”




Chat with: JONGDAE ♡♡
23:50 Jongdae?
23:52 You’re still up?
23:53 Yeah…
23:54 I was thinking about something
23:55 Wanna come to my house tomorrow?
23:56 I mean ‘room’
23:56 Tomorrow?
23:56 Yes
23:57 There’s something I want to talk to you about
23:58 You’re being so mysterious~
23:58 I’m curious now, haha
23:58 I have extra tutoring at school till later tomorrow tho
23:59 It’s alright, I’ll wait for u
00:00 Ok
00:00 it’s a deal
00:01 Now go to sleep, you have classes tomorrow
00:02 You too (০ᄇ০)
00:03 Good night, Jongdae!
00:03 ‘night~~




Shit.

He thought of his room as a place he would be at ease to cry at, but now he realized it had been a bad idea to invite Jongdae there – not because of any naughty thoughts, but rather because there wasn’t much space to sit and it was either the floor or the bed, which meant they were awfully close. Chanyeol needed some distance to keep himself under control and prevent his eyes from becoming two waterfalls.

He had always had easy tears, and that was the first time that fact bothered him.

Jongdae, of course, was wonderful and perceptive as always. He had not asked Chanyeol anything about that sudden request, not throughout the day and not even when he arrived there, a small cake box in his hands as a gift. When Chanyeol sat on the foot of the bed, Jongdae silently took a seat neither too close nor too far from him, giving the taller boy both some comfortable distance and some time to organize his thoughts. When Chanyeol finally spoke, it was with conviction and the freshly reassurance that Jongdae would take it the best way possible.

“I don’t want you to feel pressured by this, I just– I really need to tell you that– Well–” he coughed and looked at the window, unable to keep the eye contact. “I like you.”

A long silence hovered between them, thick and sticky, clinging to Chanyeol’s skin, making him sweat.

“You really– Do you really like me?” Jongdae uttered some time afterwards, almost a whisper.

Chanyeol thought about those words. They weren’t quite right; he could feel it in his heart. “No, not ‘like’… I love you.”

That was it. Their turning point. From then on, nothing would be the same; the way Jongdae looked at him, the words he chose, the jokes he felt free to make– everything would be coated with an extra dose of care, a fear Chanyeol could ever take him the wrong way, a fear of hurting him. Chanyeol was aware of it, regretted it, wished he could make it all simpler for him, take that weight off his shoulders. He had considered not telling him at all, but then, he thought about it – about the way Jongdae had supported him back in high school, lending him a shoulder when no one else did, telling him he was right to be sincere about his feelings, about his true nature. When this thought occurred to him, he just knew deep in his heart that Jongdae wouldn’t have it any other way: he would have wanted Chanyeol to share that with him, even if it hurt him too.

The words he was about to speak, Chanyeol could almost hear them: ‘I’m sorry’, ‘I’m honored’, ‘I don’t deserve these feelings’, ‘sorry I can’t reciprocate them’, ‘thank you for trusting me’. He would cry and Jongdae would not judge him for it. He would put an arm over his shoulders and cuddle him against his chest, which would feel so much broader and warmer than it actually was because it was Jongdae and he would make it all okay; not perfect, but okay, good enough to wake up the next day with a smile and the certainty his feelings hadn’t gone to waste – that the person he loved was deserving of every last ounce of his affection. They would keep being friends, and some day Jongdae would introduce him his girlfriend, and Chanyeol would do his best to be happy for him.

As he waited though, these words never came.

His nervousness started to fade, letting curiosity take its place. After some minutes, he had grown restless enough to risk a glance at Jongdae, and was surprised when his eyes were met with faint pinkish cheeks and hands firmly grasped together. The cogs inside his brain spun one by one, leading him to one only possible conclusion.

“Do you… Is there a chance…” There was no other explanation, or at least Chanyeol couldn’t see it. “Jongdae… Is it possible that you like me back?”

Jongdae laughed – not his usual crystalline laugh but a dry, humorless one. “I can’t believe you were the one to say it in the end.”

Chanyeol’s ears weren’t red at all anymore; instead, he was driven by the strongest confusion, with a certain fear that somehow it was all some kind of dream (or nightmare). “Say what?”

“That I like you. See? I can only say it after you’ve already said it once.” Jongdae hid his face in his hands. “Gosh, I’m such a loser.”

“What are you even talking about?” Chanyeol got a little closer, his face all scrunched up in what must be the closest depiction of a human question mark. “Wait– You really like me?!”

“This is so embarrassing– God– Yes. I do. A lot. Yes.”

They were sitting some half a meter apart and Chanyeol had no idea of what to do. On one hand, his brain was trying to process that he liked Jongdae and Jongdae liked him back, which probably meant they should hug or kiss or hold hands or do something people who love each other would do at such a situation. On the other hand, he could not quite believe Jongdae because he did not seem happy at all – if he did like him, shouldn’t he be a little happier that Chanyeol had confessed?

Jongdae’s face was still hidden behind his hands, so Chanyeol could not look at his eyes to know for sure whether Jongdae really meant it. He dragged himself a little closer and motioned one hand in the smaller boy’s direction, touching one of his wrists with the softest of touches.

“Jongdae, listen– Look at me.” It was so weird to be the commanding, reassuring voice in their relationship – but he felt that was what Jongdae needed. “Please.”

He kept his hand on Jongdae’s wrist, but did no effort to pull it; when the boy dropped the hands to the sides of his body, he did it on his own.

“I want to be happy, but your reaction gives me the impression there’s something else,” he confessed, looking at Jongdae straight in his sparkling, round eyes. The other was able to hold his gaze for a couple of seconds before dropping it, his breathing slightly rapid.

“It’s because– I don’t know how to say it, but you got it all wrong. From the very beginning.” Chanyeol kept staring at him; he had thought he couldn’t get any more confused, but there was Jongdae to prove him wrong. “You talked to me because I helped you in high school– So what would you think if I told you you got all wrong about that part? I’m not the altruist, nice guy you think I am. You talked to me because you thought I was like that but I’m not an–”

“Wait, wait”. Chanyeol placed a reassuring hand on Jongdae’s forearm, copying the soothing movements Amber had stroked on his own skin a week before. “What did I get wrong?”

“Prom. I didn’t invite you because I wanted to help you. Well, kinda, but that was not my main point.” He looked to the complete opposite side from where Chanyeol was sitting; his voice waivered a bit when he continued. “I invited you to prom because I liked you, to fuel a fantasy of mine. Due to your situation at that point, you were fragile enough that you might actually consider it, and the people at school wouldn’t think I was gay. They really didn’t.”

“You liked me back in high school?!” That was all the info Chanyeol’s brain had processed, and it was already enough to blow his mind. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“I knew you liked Hyuk. Junghwan happened to overhear you and Amber talking about it once. Sheer luck – or bad luck, your pick.”

“So…” As the pieces slowly fell into place inside his head, a lot of questions sprung from where they connected, so many that Chanyeol didn’t even know where to start. “You’re… gay?”

Jongdae looked at him. “I’d say I’m bisexual, but for the purposes of your question– Yes.”

Well, Chanyeol couldn’t lie – he did feel a little betrayed. “Why didn’t you tell me back then? After you invited me to prom?! I obviously wasn’t going to out you.” He had felt so lonely even after his classmates started backing him up because there was no one else like him among them; Amber and Seunghoon were good listeners but there was a limit to how much they could relate. If he had known Jongdae was gay too…

“Like I said, you got it all wrong from the very beginning. I was never brave to ask you out at that moment… I’ve always been a coward.” It was so weird, to hear such negative words coming from Jongdae’s lips. The boy kept twirling his fingers on his lap, a clearer sight of his nervousness than his now steady voice. “I admired you for coming out. Even if you didn’t mean it at the beginning, you stood up for it. You were the really brave one. The extent of my bravery was to invite you and pretend to myself I was coming out when I actually was only digging a deeper hole for myself.”

Chanyeol stayed quiet, letting that sink. Jongdae was gay, Jongdae liked him back in high school, Jongdae also liked him now.

It felt unreal.

“You did date Jihyun though, didn’t you?”

“I did, yes.”

“For real?”

“It was for real, at the beginning at least. We broke up when I realized I liked you more than her.” He smiled. “She wasn’t exactly happy.”

Ouch. He had probably touched a sensitive subject when he talked to her last time – in his defense, he really had been unware. He should apologize to her later.

“For some reason, I never considered you might be bisexual,” Chanyeol admitted, the only thing he could reply at that point.

“I get it, most people don’t– and I haven’t exactly helped you realize it either, so it’s partially my fault.”

“You mean?”

“I kind of knew, by the way you acted around me ever since the high school reunion, that you might like me,” he bit his lower lip, chewed on it for a few times as he gathered the courage to continue, “but even still I wasn’t brave enough to come out to you or to give you any hints I liked you back… And now, when you, again, managed to overcome your fear and confessed to me, I couldn’t even confess back properly and also relied on you again to be brave in my stead. It’s so embarrassing.”

He was about to hide his face in between his hands again when Chanyeol grabbed his wrists midway, forcing them back to his lap.

“Don’t hide your face, Jongdae,” he pleaded gently. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“How can you say that after I hid after all those excuses?” He replied, a little exasperated. “You liked me because you thought I was some kind, supportive straight guy that didn’t mind your sexual orientation when in reality I was only taking advantage of you!”

“Jongdae, calm down.” The comprehension that Jongdae likes me back was slowly being processed by his cognition; Chanyeol was feeling slightly high, a lot more confident, and those were the reasons why he felt bold enough to hold Jongdae’s hands between his own, marveling for a second at how small they were against his. “First, coming out isn’t easy and you should know that I of all people would understand you, you know?” Jongdae shyly started moving his hands, feeling Chanyeol’s fingers and the lines on his palms. Chanyeol couldn’t help shudder. “Second, I don’t like you because you helped me in high school. Sure, it made feel a lot more positive towards you but it wasn’t the reason I talked to you in the first place, nor the reason why I fell in love with you.”

“Then… Why?”

“Ah, you should know that’s a hard question,” he half complained with a pout – but he had thought so much about it in the last couple of weeks that he had already thought of some answers. “Let’s see: you’re generous, kind, attentive and so selfless? I’m not basing any of these on what you did for me back in high school: these are things I learned about you now, after we started talking again.” He squeezed Jongdae’s tiny hands between his, felt him squeeze them back and smiled. “Ah, forgot: also, you’re hot.”

Chanyeol’s inner self praised him for that small boldness (specially when the tip of Jongdae’s ears reddened a tiny bit in response).

Jongdae breathed in and out a couple of times before his next question. “You really don’t mind that I lied to you?”

“I got angry right when you told me, but it’s passed already,” he told him. “You were scared, I get it. I can’t judge you for it.”

They kept holding hands, intertwining their fingers and then undoing it only to caress each other’s skin. Chanyeol decided he would let Jongdae take the initiative now; he wanted it as much as the boy needed to do it.

It happened after some good ten minutes – or maybe Chanyeol’s judgement of time was askew due to how light his mind felt. Jongdae dropped his hands, held his face instead and slowly locked their lips in a soft kiss. Even after their mouths had stopped touching, Jongdae didn’t take his hands off Chanyeol’s face and kept their foreheads together, gently petting his cheeks with his thumbs.

“Have you come out to your family yet?” Chanyeol almost whispered after some time; Jongdae shook his head. “Friends?”

“Some of my friends know. Baekhyun, Junghwan, Jihyun for obvious reasons. Amber too, but she only found out about it more recently.”

“So… Does that mean that…. You’ve never…?”

Jongdae was forced to let go of Chanyeol when he started laughing. “I didn’t come out to all of my friends and specially to my family, but that doesn’t mean I was not gay before, Chanyeol. And there are quite a lot of other gays to interact with.” He hesitated for a second, as if deciding whether he should say something. “In fact, there was still another guy in our classroom– Can you guess?” When Chanyeol couldn’t answer, he continued: “Myungsoo.”

“No way!” How many girls would be brokenhearted if they knew that! “Myungsoo’s gay? But Sohee?!”

“She was helping him fake it. His parents are really conservative,” he frowned. “But guess what? Our class’ most popular guy liked none other than me.” He seemed quite proud about it. Chanyeol didn’t know if he should scoff or be jealous.

“So… You two dated?” Suddenly Myungsoo’s actions all made a lot more sense.

“We did after high school was over, but only for a short time. He’s really handsome but I felt like we were more friends than lovers.”

Chanyeol nodded in understanding. They were silent for some minutes again, but it was not awkward anymore.

“So…” he smiled, “we’re in my bed…”

Jongdae flashed him a devilish glance. “Never figured you’d be the naughty type,” he provoked, licking his lips very slowly for a brief second before laughing again. “But I’d rather not use all my secret weapons at once.”

“Ah yeah?” Chanyeol held him by his shoulders and pushed him down, lying him on the bed. “Which one have you used so far?”

“My charming smile.”

Chanyeol observed him – his bright grin, the wrinkles that would form next to his eyes whenever he was genuinely laughing or smiling, his cute beauty marks on his temples –, and he was sure he would never love anyone else as much in his life. “I suppose I’ll have to agree.”

In an unexpected movement, Jongdae grabbed him by the shoulders and twisted them around, pinning him against the mattress instead and then hovering over Chanyeol, whispering next to his ear.

“Don’t think that means I don’t want you though~ We have lots of pent up teenage feelings to catch on to.”

Chanyeol smiled widely. That definitely didn’t sound so bad. Not bad at all.




Chat with: ♡ MY ♡ DAE ♡
07:10 Good morning
07:10 Jong
07:10 Dae
07:10 ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪
07:13 woah, You’re up early today
07:13 what’s going on? Haha
07:14 Aren’t you gonna say good morning to me ( •́ ∧ •̀ )
07:15 I’m trying to be a better man for u ♡
07:17 Omg you’re so cute haha
07:18 Morning baby ♡

Chanyeol felt his heart beating faster. Was he some kind of needy teenager to have such a reaction because of a pet name?

Perhaps he was.

07:19 Do you have classes today?
07:21 Yeah, whole morning except for the first period ><
07:24 Alright~
07:25 Good classes then
07:25 I’ll be busy today but I’ll drop u a call during lunch, okay?
07:26 Be a good boy and eat a proper lunch for me for a change ♡
07:27 ...
07:27 I’ll try T_T
07:28 (˳˘ ɜ˘)˳ ♬♪♫

Chanyeol smiled towards the screen. He was pretty sure that emoji wasn’t whistling.


 Final author's note I might make a short NC-17 extra later~ I actually did feel like writing it but within this development I thought it didn’t fit. If I ever make it I’ll be sure to ask the mod to link it here (>◡<)