I'll find a way... Or make one Park Chanyeol | 21 | Film Major | Junior yr [ straight to uni ] var sc_project=11336558; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_security="bc5ceca1"; var scJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://secure." : "http://www."); document.write("");
Chanyeol acts as if he didn’t hear a thing while thinly smiling to himself. The guy had tried to grate on his nerves almost right away when they met through Baekhyun years ago. Man, it’s been that long, huh... To this day Chanyeol still has no idea why he acts that way towards him. Sure he slept with his girlfriend once, but that was an accident--an unfortunate, drunken accident that he has no plan in repeating. Plus, it happened after he met Jeonghan and he had tried to pick a fight subtly before the whole disaster happened. So he’s pretty sure that wasn’t the case.
What he didn’t expect to happen was for Jeonghan to actually grabbed the collar of his shirt. He had always used snarky remarks or other subtle, slightly hostile advances and for a fleeting moment he thought Jeonghan would actually land a hit on him. When he kissed him instead, boy, talk about some unexpected plot twists. The place where Jeonghan’s teeth nipped him tingles, and for a while, there was a surge of an urge that’s familiar to him. He’s not going to let that challenge unanswered regardless of the fact Jeonghan actually challenged him or not.
His ego won’t let him leave it be.
Chanyeol shoves the other male to the nearest wall, effectively pinning him there. His grip on the latter’s chin is vice-like. “You can’t just pull some shit like that and expect me to do nothing about it.” He snarls, dark eyes burning with ire and irritation. No one kisses him like that and leaving without any sort of payback from him. “And besides, you called that a kiss?”
Chanyeol presses his lips to Jeonghan’s forcefully, doing it exactly how he remembers. He breaks away from Jeonghan briefly before kissing him again just as firmly, tongue tasting the latter’s soft lips as he presses their hips flush against one another. His kiss can be easily mistaken as one that’s born from lust, but his mind is clouded with adrenaline instead, unsure whether Jeonghan had tried to push him away or not. Not that it mattered to him. It was a matter of pride to him, pent up annoyance and irritation after having someone he doesn’t even remember ever wronged acts so snappy at him.
His lips trails filthy open mouthed kisses along Jeonghan’s jaw to his neck, teeth sinking to the open skin almost too sharply for a gentle nip, a mocking chuckle rumbles in his throat. Chanyeol pushes himself away from Jeonghan after leaving a peck on the spot he just bit, almost like a consolation--a word that describes anything but it. Chanyeol licks his lips obscenely, eyes looking straight to Jeonghan’s condescendingly and filled with poorly concealed arrogance.
“Learn how to kiss like an adult first before you pull things like that on people.” The smirk that he wears on his lips is sleazy, tongue poking out in classic motion of mockery as he moves away from Jeonghan. “But no homo indeed. See you around Junhyeon. That’s your name right?” He purposefully says a wrong name.
mingyu kind of stills and cast a glance at the abandoned plate of what could have been samgyupsal. “no meat for today,” he mumbled, feeling embarrassed. he wasn’t usually this distracted. he loved cooking for people and even more so watching them eat his creation. so he tried his best whenever he did. “and apology accepted,” he responded with a half smile. it eventually grew into a large grin when chanyeol referred to him as mom. it was amusing how he had turned into the sharehouse’s mom.
while watching chanyeol eat, he chewed on the inside of his cheek. should he… maybe he shouldn’t. he really wasn’t sure if chanyeol would be comfortable talking about something this serious. but really…at least he wasn’t jeonghan. it sucked that he couldn’t confide in his best friend at this certain…change in his life. mustering the courage, he looked up to chanyeol and parted his lips, only to witness his housemate nearly dying on his food.
“wha–” mingyu started, confused. “oh my god.” mingyu ran immediately to the fridge and grabbed the milk as well as a glass, quickly pouring the other a glassful of it. “drink this.” he instructed. then curious, he took away the soup from him and used the spoon to taste. fire immediately spread throughout his whole body. some of it made his nose flare even and tears prick at the corner of his eyes. someone could have died eating this. “i’m so sorry!” he immediately shouted, taking the food away from him and running around the table. “i– i was distracted and just…this dude– it’s his fault i’m a mess. oh my god i am so sorry!”
mingyu, when nervous, had the tendency to babble. and it happened now. “he just– i was so distracted his confession kept playing in my head and,” he paused, more tears building in the corners of his eyes. “was i so obviously gay that he picked me to confess to? what was it that he liked about me? i’m not even sure if i am gay!”
Chanyeol takes some gulps of milk Mingyu offered to him, slowly gaining more feeling on his tongue and he takes a couple of deep breath before clearing his throat. His mouth is still burning and he tries his best ignoring the discomfort around his throat. “I’m sorry, what?” he croaks. Mingyu was talking way too fast for his fried mind, he needs to slow down.
The gangly male notices some tears at the corners of Mingyu’s eyes and it instanty alerts him to the point of sitting up straighter. Chanyeol grabs two of Mingyu’s arms, shaking him slightly. “Okay, okay, calm down. Take a deep breath, I’m not actually dying or mad.” He ruffles the latter’s hair, purposefully messing it beyond recognition. A little revenge for the superbly spicy food.
“Did he force himself on you?? Just say the word and I’ll try to beat his ass.” If he doesn’t beat mine first, but at least I tried. Chanyeol let the last sentence unsaid. “Did he do anything to you? Is that why you’re so shocked?” There’s a murderous gleam on his eyes, eyebrows taut in a deep frown. Out of the four guys he lives with, Chanyeol always has a fond spot for Mingyu.
Sure, the soft spot if heavily influenced by the fact that Mingyu feeds him actual food which saved Chanyeol’s ass from surviving from instant noodle or take-out, but have you seen the guy? He’s too caring! And he bakes!! If Mingyu is a girl Chanyeol would surely try to court him and bring him to meet his mom.
“Wait, wait...” Chanyeol looks at Mingyu with a concerned and confused stare. “So... What is the thing that actually bugs you with his confession? The fact that he likes you, your sexuality or worrying that you appear as gay? Wait now I’m confused too.” He closes his eyes. “But one step at a time. How do you feel about his confession, never mind the sexuality question yet.”
Later, Chanyeol will find it odd that he actually not bothered by the talk of ‘sexuality’ in their shared kitchen, leaving himself confused and reminded of the little detail that he once feel attraction towards a fellow member of same sex. Or maybe it wasn’t just once.
Chanyeol always thinks of himself as a private person. He only has a few people he trusts with his deepest thoughts and concerns, and most of them are family members. He used to always tell his sister about his problems, but as they grew older, he stopped telling her about his difficulties mainly because she has a new family to take care of. He wouldn’t want to burden her, especially when she’s busy enough with her work and toddler.
So nowadays he mainly goes to his older cousin if he thinks he has a problem he cannot fix and needing a second opinion or just someone who would listen to him. It’s embarrassing really. He’s already grown so much but most of times he still feel like a kid wanting to catch up to his hyung. No he doesn’t have a brother complex, wtf are you even talking about
[✉ to: big hyung ---> hyung where are you ]
[✉ to: big hyung ---> i got dumped ]
[✉ to: big hyung ---> again. ]
[✉ to: big hyung ---> dont laugh at me >:( ]
[✉ to: big hyung ---> drink with me pls ]
Chanyeol buries his head to his pillow, too numb to feel anything but a small tinge of shame for being so miserable. He clutches to his phone, waiting for it to buzz to indicate any kind of response from the elder male. He hates the feeling of needing somebody else’s support. Maybe he shouldn’t have sent the messenges at all.
i can explain ( / presses his lips together, hiding behind the safety cocoon of his blanket. ‘this is it’ he thinks ‘he’s gonna move out now’. ) i, uh. ( / bites his lips, thinking of the proper words to say. at least he calmed down now. ) i’m… jiwon. yes. that jiwon. the one whose account you subscribed to. ( / embarrassing. embarrasing. even worse than highschool. ) sorry you have to see that- ( / what was he thinking? )
( *stares at the laptop he had closed, still in disbelieve that his suspicions were right.* ) my name... you called my name when you’re uh, ( *thinks for a bit, looking the right word that’s not describing his situation too blantantly* ) when you’re, ‘broadcasting’. ( *so those thirsty glances he got from baekhyun wasn’t just his imagination.* ) that’s--that explains everything. somehow. ( *covers mouth, slightly flustered.* ) are you gonna come out from there? ( *asks the cowering bundle of blanket, sits beside it* )
“god, fucking relax will you?” he’s looking at him funnily by now, back leaning against the window once it’s closed. “sure they do, for one. if you like being liable for the diabetes and toothaches they get in the future.” wonwoo flips his head to the side to fix his hair, inhaling sharply before continuing. “they can eat apples instead.” do it for their health!
some bullshit coming from a guy whose diet consists of merely cigs and water.
“and no crying. at least where they can see you.” he steps forward from his spot on the windowsill to offer chanyeol a hand, motioning for him to get up from his spot. “it scares them.” there’s a psychological reason behind that, actually. but chanyeol’s just ugly. that’s wonwoo’s personal theory as to why kids would be scared.
two years old, though. that age isn’t so horrible from experience - if she’s not the type to throw tantrums. otherwise they’re called terrible two’s for a reason. should wonwoo tell that to chanyeol?
eh, he’ll let him figure it out. chanyeol’s got to learn somehow.
“i’ll help you today, hyung.” he’s still hovering over in a solid stance, expression a mix of stern and soft when he gives the other a once-over. “as long as you’re a good listener. and not distracted.”
"I really don’t understand why they get to be the crying ones. I should be the crying one,” He faintly remember the time when he was a twelve years old and tasked with looking after his younger cousin with his sister. Both the babysitter and the baby were crying with messy tears and snot all around their faces not to mention, covered in white powder thanks to an exploded pack of flour. He thinks his mother had snapped a picture. Or three. Whatever. “But that does explain some mysteries, thanks.”
Chanyeol looks at Wonwoo, his eyes filled with gratitude. He smiles brightly at him, but the smile quickly turns into a gasp of horror when his phone buzzes incessantly, with his sister’s name flashing on the screen. Their doorbell rings at the same time too and it’s not hard to guess that she’s outside the share-house. Chanyeol holds himself back from letting out a pathetic yelp, steeling himself from whimpering and goes to the front door with his back stiff and taut as a rod.
He doesn’t remember much after he opened the door for his sister, but the next thing that he knows is that he has a toddler in his arms and a huge baby bag that he vaguely remember his sister says full of her things. Chanyeol cannot believe that he had blanked out at the scene when his sister handing him her kid, his niece, a toddler to him and he just froze there, his default reaction when someone hands him a kid.
The little girl stares at him with big eyes that really resemble his sister (which means resemble his eyes too. He so fucked because he really wants to run away) and awkwardly greets her with shaky voice, “H-hi... Aeri-yah.” The tall male stiffly turns his head towards Wonwoo, rigidly holding his niece while his eyes scream for help. This is going to be a long ass day.
given how she was always oblivious to pretty much, well, everything, hyunjung isn’t surprised when she’s practically forced into a blind date. she’s given no chance to voice her opinion when she finds herself being hauled to the nearest cafe. it’s typical and cliche for a first date, but she gives them an A+ for effort.
“you need to experience what it’s like to be in a relationship. you can’t live your whole life alone!” she likes to think otherwise.
“he’s a nice guy. just, at least try on this date, okay?” she makes no promises.
hyunjung’s hands are folded awkwardly on the table, eyes roaming practically everywhere but the door. she doesn’t mind talking to people and getting to know them on a better level, but she thinks that she isn’t meant for commitment. and it isn’t that she abhors the idea of being in a relationship or having feelings, it’s just that she thinks she isn’t suited for it considering how little she notices her surroundings. her relationship would end as her seeming empathetic and clueless, so she tries to veer as far away from this as possible. to her, romance only existed within the confines of a screen. it’s been fifteen minutes, and the barista behind the counter looks at her with a whole lot of pity. maybe now’s the chance to get up and run. they won’t have to kn— ding!
“welcome!”
shit. she’s a few seconds too late and she is frozen in her seat, eyes still averted from the door and the spot in front of her. but it’s unavoidable, she knows it. the sound of wood scrapping against the floor and hands peeping from her peripheral vision tells her that she can’t run away from this. all she can do is suck it up. so hyunjung relaxes a bit and finally looks up, gaze met with a pair of eyes just as confused as her. “hi.” it barely comes out audible for even her to hear it. “so…you must be here for the blind date? unless you’re here to save me from it.”
Normally he’s not the type to go on blind dates. He thinks it’s too unnatural, awkward and often they have to behave oh so carefully. In short, Chanyeol dislikes it. But when his friend suddenly told him to dress up and dump him in front of some cafe and told him he has a date waiting for him, he just can’t stare at them and go home. That won’t be right for the girl waiting there and maybe, maybe it’s time for him to give a chance in dating though in this occasion he’ll just going to get to know her.
His brain replayed the last thing his friend said to him before leaving him there. “She’s real cute. Totally your type! Have fun, man!” How does he know what types of girls that he likes?? Even he, himself doesn’t know what type of girls he likes! He fumes. Chanyeol braces himself and walks into the cafe, the smell of freshly brewed coffee greets him almost instantly. He searches for someone who fits the description his friend told him and once he finds her, he moves his feet to her table.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” He says as his greeting. Chanyeol chooses the seat before her, offering her an unsure smile and quietly breathing out a sigh of relief at her slight nervousness. Seems like she was in the same situation as he is, completely clueless about the blind date until the very last minute. “I would like to say that I’m here to save you from the, uh, date, but I’m afraid that I’m in the same predicament as you.” Chanyeol shakes his head with a small smile.
Chanyeol doesn’t know if she counts as a cute girl or a pretty girl. He had never been able to tell those two ‘categories’ apart, and he used to always get confused when his past girlfriends asked him whether they look pretty or not, cute or not. All he knew was that they were pleasant for the eyes and he liked them. So he’s unsure if she counts as a cute or pretty, but upon a closer look, he faintly has a feeling like he’s seen her somewhere.
“Hi, I’m Park Chanyeol and we’re probably victims of blind dates thanks to our friends if I guessed correctly?” With a small crease between his eyebrows, he carefully asks, “Have we met before? I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere.”
“well, mother, father,” she begins, her left eye twitching once more as forcing a sweet smile becomes more painful. there is a huge urge to introduce the heathen as he is–a virginity stealing, contract breaking, peace-disrupting heathen–but there are images to keep and perfections to put up, so she immediately shuts-off every voice to do otherwise. instead, she makes a show of walking towards the male, resting her hand against his arm as she makes a most proper introduction. “i know him from school. he lives in the same sharehouse as hani. we’re…”
hyeri tries not to puke as she finishes the statement. “we’re friends.”
Chanyeol was being way too engaged in a conversation between his rich aunt and the other rich aunty, too engaged even that he almost believe that he genuinely, to address it simply, gives ‘two fucks’ about his image in front of them. He supposes his acting and sucking up skill are just that great--even he himself almost bought it and failing to notice the arrival of the long awaited main guest until the other rich aunty greeted her daughter. Chanyeol almost greeted her with the same smile he directed at her parents before only to froze half way through when his brain finally registered the latest addition of the room.
Now, let’s backtrack here for a little bit. How many Lee Hyeri he’s met in his life before? Three. How many RICH Lee Hyeri he’s met in his life? One and they happened to fucked once. Such mess. Bad mistake.
The whole time Hyeri talks, Chanyeol’s mind helpfully screaming ‘Why’s the banshee queen here why’sthebansheequeenhere’ on repeat while wearing the mask of a polite, tight lipped smile for fear of his tongue blurting out his most honest thoughts. Surely if that does happen (knock on wood, good lord!) he will have to kiss his drone bye bye. Oh, no not a chance.
When Hyeri walks towards him, Chanyeol has to stop himself making his fight-or-flight stance, the usual thing whenever Hyeri is within four feet distance from him. On normal occasion, having Hyeri’s presence under four feet distance (can be less or more, he isn’t one hundred percent sure just yet but he’s capping it at four, just in case) would mean her trying to ‘pat the tall doggo’ or reenact a deleted and banned scene from Nutcracker: The Ballet to his family jewels. He only got two since birth like the majority of male population on earth, so no thanks.
The hair behind his neck stood up when Hyeri finished her sentence. Why didn’t he stick up with the saving money plan instead of choosing the easy route. Now he will have to deal with this. Chanyeol forces out a delighted expression as he directs a joyed smile at Hyeri, all the while forcing down a gag and a load of smart retorts that he’s sure wouldn’t be well appreciated by people present in that room. Instead he says, “We met during our freshmen year, if i remember it correctly? I really didn’t expect to meet you here today, Hyeri-...ssi. Talk about pleasant coincidence.” He nods at her all the while internally preventing his hand from clawing his tongue for saying all of that.
He’s not sure of how they actually look like for the outsider but he almost lost it all and run out of the room noping out when his aunt says to his uncle, “Oh, my they sure do get along! Don’t you think they would make a perfectly cute couple, dear?” Almost. But Chanyeol refuses to yield to the temptation.
“Ahahah, Imo, what are you talking about... We’re just... friends.” Through gritted teeth and balling his fist inside his pants pocket. Attending the dumb freshman party years ago was a dumb choice. Deciding on getting drunk that time was an awfully dumb choice. Agreeing to his Imo deal was an even dumber choice. “Well, why don’t we give them some space and let the young ones talk while we talk about the adult things?” His uncle let out a hearty laughter. Chanyeol suddenly feel the urge to go paragliding but without the paraglider.
Once they’re out of the adults hearing range, Chanyeol drops all the act and hisses, “Why the fuck are you here?? I thought you hate these meetings, what the fuck?”
“sunja-yah! appa missed you!” his smile is jubilant when he rolls on his stomach to greet the corgi, about to wrap his hands around sunja’s abdomen and rub his nose upon her snout if chanyeol didn’t take the dog out of his sight first. baekhyun whines at the younger’s rough treatment, yelling and screaming while getting manhandled to the the bathroom. he’s the eldest here, for heaven’s sake! why is he the one getting the most mistreated?!
once in the bathroom, he throws chanyeol a look of betrayal. “ya! what was that for?! i was going to take a bath later!” rubs his stomach. okay, maybe not later later. later as in tomorrow… maybe? after playing his newly updated games? finals took up so much of his time baekhyun didn’t get to play any games for almost two weeks now. isn’t it only fair that he’s pulling his revenge now?
oh well. now that he’s here he might as well take a bath anyway.
the water felt dull to his skin- maybe because he hadn’t showered for a week. the knots in his muscle washed away as warmth envelop his entire body. there’s an accumulation of dirt upon his skin that needs scrubbing and oils in his hair that needs shampooing. baekhyun took his sweet time to get rid of those, probably for half an hour–at least until he feel more civilized as a human. once done and he’s all freshen up, another problem arises.
towel. he forgot to bring his towel. or a change of clothes.
Keep reading
“’Appa’ my ass, she’s mine! You’re not touching her with your grimy hands, you house hermit. Go wash yourself as I try to make your room less hazardous.” Chanyeol yells through the bathroom door, his leg caging the energetic pup from entering the bathroom. He scoops the young pupper up, nuzzling his face to her stomach as she struggles in his hold being too eager to play. Her tail smacks his stomach repeatedly and he lets her chew on his fingers.
Chanyeol places Sunja on the floor and she circles his legs, jumping and wagging her tail so excitedly that she keeps bumping to his legs. “Alright, alright. Race you to Baekhyun’s room!” At the mention of Baekhyun’s name, she shot off like an arrow towards his open bedroom. Sunja barks at Chanyeol as if to tell him to move faster and once he’s finally standing by her side, he takes a brief look into Baekhyun’s room.
In a better lightning the room looks worse than he remember. And there’s a strange smell that wafts from Baekhyun’s room which he unable to pinpoint where it comes from. He takes one look at Sunja then back to Baekhyun’s room before promptly closing the door and taking Sunja along with him. After much consideration on his behalf, his nose and hands, leaving the responsibility of the room to its rightful owner is the best option to him, rather than plunging into the unknown piles of trash and clothes inside.
Chanyeol decides that it’s time to feed Sunja and he walks to the kitchen along with the young pup following him obediently. He leaves Sunja as she eats, passes by the bathroom and notices a pile of clothes in front of the slightly open door. Shaking his head in annoyance, he picks up the dirty clothes and holding them with the tips of his fingers to dump them into the washing machine. Seriously, can the guy even take care of himself?
Minutes later, he finds himself staring blankly at the flashing tv screen playing some sort of a reality show. He was starting to doze off when he hears Sunja echoing barks in the distant and it snaps him awake. She’s such a curious little thing, always wanting to explore every corner in the house despite of his attempts in banning her from entering the bathroom unless when it’s time for her bath.
Chanyeol hurriedly marches to the bathroom, intending to snatch her up before she starts playing with water and making a mess only to be greeted with a sight of a very much butt naked Baekhyun taking a bite of a soap. The scene is quite hard to understand, not the naked part as it is perfectly natural and a logical, not to mention, wise choice for an individual to take off all of their clothes while taking a bath yet he is failing to see a correlation between bathing, nakedness and soap tasting.
Chanyeol is 94% sure that soap tasting is not an actual thing. Okay, 91% actually.
“Hyung-ie, what are you doing?” The corners of his mouth twitch as he tries to hold back a snigger. His eyes wander briefly, glancing at the exposed skin and feeling like he’s been in the same situation and scene before. Chanyeol feels like he’s seen those thighs before, did he break into the bathroom often when it’s occupied by Baekhyun? No, no, doing that would probably earn him some criminal records. “No, wait never mind. I don’t really want to know but after you finished that bar of soap please spare mine, thanks.” And with that he picks Sunja up and berates her for her wet paws while looking for something to dry them with, leaving Baekhyun to his own devices.
the men, however, seemed to be everything but pleased by the interruption, two of them now stepping away from junmyeon to take care of the intruder. on instinct, jun called out to the other boy, his words sharp, ‘what the hell do you think you’re doing chan, just get the fuck out of here.’ but it seemed to be of no avail and as he felt himself get shoved back into the wall by the last remaining mugger, jun could only dread how this was going to turn out.
"Oh wow, it’s actually you. I’m amazed that I recognized your voice from a distant.” he says, waving at Junmyeon as if they are meeting in a cafe or anywhere that’s equally not mugging friendly. “Then again, your voice is just so annoying that it’s hard to mistake it as somebody else’s.” Lies. He used to love that voice.
Chanyeol glances at the switchblade in one of the lowlifes hand breathing out a sigh of relief. At least it’s not a razor knife. He finds those things scarier than some puny switchblade. You can’t extend a switchblade while you totally can play around with the length of a razor instead. Plus, razors are wicked evil on his opinion. What can a puny switchblade do? Kill him probably, but naaah, they’re drunk, he’s not.
He’s dead sure (no pun intended) he can outrun them without sustaining any serious injuries. Though perhaps, bringing home some bruises and stab wounds. Positive thinking, his favorite pastime activity of all time.
“Good question, Junmyeonnie-hyung. What was I thinking??” He asks in a voice that’s an octave higher as he dodges a punch that Thug A throws at him. He just need to get close to Junmyeon but he needs to do it subtly. The Switchblade Thug is still fucking hanging around Junmyeon like an ugly incompetent guard dog. His brain offers a good idea but also not his favorite one and he let the Thug B land a punch on his face.
The punch was actually not that hard, not enough to send him to the ground and topple over but he did exactly that, landing near the Switchblade Thug feet. They laughed at him and mock him for being a weakling, but Chanyeol isn’t a weakling. He’s just a dramatic actor using correct momentum. Though yeah, maybe he’s a bit weak sometimes.
Now, after rolling around on the dirty ground for the sake of his acting, he’s actually feeling a little disoriented that he almost a little too slow in dodging the Switchblade Thug attempt in crushing his skull. Chanyeol would like to tell those willing to listen to him that he actually dodged the hit with grace and precise calculation as he knock the Switchblade Thug to the ground with a clean Muay Thai sweep. The truth is he made a pathetic choked loud yelp and accidentally tripped his opponent while dodging the intruding sole.
Yes! That’s how Park Chanyeol fight, peeps! By dodging and relying on his wits and occasional luck. No, no, not crying. Crying is prohibited because he can’t see his opponent properly. Chanyeol rises to his feet, mildly in awe of his luck before snapping from his brief daze. He kicks the gleaming knife out from picture and after a quick glance at the thug that lying spread eagle on the ground now, he rises one of his foot and stomp down hard on the poor dude’s ‘little brother’.
The man howls in pain, and his distressed cries wakes his other two companions. This seems to anger them for some reason and to Chanyeol’s horror, Thug B pulls out a rusty looking razor blade. Not only that it’s a razor blade, Chanyeol muses, it’s fucking rusty! Damn, one hit and he’ll have to go to the hospital for a tetanus shot. If he lives.
“Stop!! You guys won’t be able to defeat me. I have a secret move.”He sneers at them. His confidence seems to risen their guards and without breaking the eye contact from them, Chanyeol reaches for Junmyeon’s hand and shouts, “RUN!!” Before botling to the opposite direction while dragging Junmyeon behind him.
Curious eyes and impatient fingers, Chanyeol toys with the collar of his grey button-down shirt. It might have been the sixth time already. His fingers trying to loosen the tie that’s strangling his neck subtly, wary of the hands of his aunt that might swat him again if she caught him in action. He’s been waiting for twenty minutes now, eight minutes longer than the scheduled time. Normally he doesn’t mind waiting, they could have been stuck in a traffic or similarly unfortunate situation but waiting in this ridiculous attire is suffocating.
Chanyeol glances down to his grey vest that’s two shades darker than his shirt, hoping that he doesn’t come off as under-dressed or overdressed. He reminds himself that he was told this is semi-formal occasion and that he doesn’t care about the girl’s side opinion of him because he’s not interested in dating right now. But maybe if the girl is hot and totally his type, he’ll reconsider.
But Lee Hyeri... Why does that name sounds familiar and gives him a bad feeling? His Imo had told him beforehand about the name of the girl he’ll meet later. Still no signs of that person yet and that doesn’t ease his nervousness at all. Well, he’s known a few Hyeris in his life. It’s a pretty common names anyway. There’s no way that it’s going to be that Hyeri, right?
Twelve minutes past their scheduled time. He’s getting warmer in his attire and patience is wearing thinner.
Remember about the drone. The drone with camera that Imo promised if Imobu can strike a deal with the girl’s parents. Remember that you only have to do this once.... Okay, okay, you can do this, Chan. At the thought of his bribery, Chanyeol takes a deep breath and his features relaxes. His Imobu walks into the private room they rented with a man and woman around his age and finally introduces him to a couple whom he guesses as the parents of the girl he’s supposed to meet. It becomes easier to him greet his Imobu’s business partners with his best smile, showing the couple his best manner as he thinks of his prize later if this meeting succeeds.
He shakes the man’s hand firmly, smiling sweetly to his wife and introduces himself while throwing some light praises to the couple in his most pleasant voice. He should feel embarrassed for being such a sycophant but hey, as long as he has interest while doing so, why not?
“... you’re Lee Hyeri-ssi’s mother? I would have mistook you as someone around my sister’s age for your youthful aura and beauty!” He says with his eyes slightly widen as if he’s genuinely surprised. “Ah, my apologies. I really didn’t mean to come off as rude...” Flattery will get you nowhere they said. Let’s see if flattery will get me my drone. He laughs politely at the response he received from them.
Chanyeol originally had felt nervous about this meeting. But his Imo said he only need to come, be polite and look handsome, give good impressions and let the adults talk while he’s left to talk to their daughter. So far, everything seems alright to him. What can possibly go wrong, right?
lost in thought, wondering what he did to deserve the pain of uncertainty. he burned the pork belly but not enough to sound the fire alarm. he was too empty to even feel the pain of watching a beautiful dish turn into something so horrific. he just stared at the plate all the time when he hears someone enter the kitchen. there was nothing to be done. unless he wanted to go to the mart to buy another pack to cook. he was too lazy. looking up, he saw chanyeol. it was the taller guy – even taller than him – and a good guy. although he doesn’t acknowledge his presence, he did make a note to finish preparing the food faster.
he was about to run to the kimchi soup when chanyeol smacked him in the head, effectively making it loll forward and for him to wake up. anger was the first emotion he felt, mainly because he hated being smacked on the head. anywhere else, he’ll be fine. his dad used to do it all the time. maybe it was his daddy issues peeking through. he swallowed it down, and rubbed the back of his head, looking like a lost puppy when he looked at chanyeol again. of course he didn’t know of his issues. so he couldn’t be mad at him. instead, he focused on his cooking. he lifted the red bean paste from the table, taking a spoonful – or more, he was too busy trying to come up with some excuse cause he can never lie to anyone – of it to dissolve it in the soup. “nothing, i just panicked because of a final.”
once it boiled, he turned off the stove and started serving it in a bowl. he set it on the table, scooping a generous amount of rice and serving in plates the side dishes. “eat this instead.” he sat on one of the seats of the dining table, waiting for the other to join him. the words he wanted to say were on the tip of his tongue. but embarrassment and fear rendered him speechless. could he really confide in this housemate of his?
Chanyeol cringes at his poor aimed smack. He had meaning to hit Mingyu on his back not head. But what’s done is done, he thinks. “Sorry, didn’t mean to hit you right in the head! I was aiming for your back.” He says, genuinely apologizing. He's never been the type to start a fight or pick on someone, that’s just not his style. Unless they’re an asshole but the guy looks like a lost pup and cooks for the whole house. Definitely not with him.
“No meat?” he blurts out a question. But Chanyeol quickly flashes him a grin and picks up his spoon. A beggar can’t be the chooser. What if after this Mingyu tell him to make his own meal? He’s not ready to eat badly cooked eggs with black as coal crisps around the edges. Nope. “Thank you for the meal, mom!”
Chanyeol almost choked on his own tongue right after he starts digging in. He coughs as he stumbles to the fridge for a bottle of water, gulping the content so loudly. He wheezes as he looks at Mingyu a little teary-eyed, rasping, “Man, if you want to kill me, I prefer stabbing. A quick—” another gulps of water in between his words. “Stab in the heart, y’know? Effective. Very. Not,” yet another wheeze. “Chili Poison.”
“how am i with kids?” wonwoo finally takes a drag, practically yawning the smoke out as he flops back onto the mattress and allows the stick to burn for a while. “why do you call them small imps, jesus christ. but anyway, i don’t know why you’re asking me that question.” he faces chanyeol, flicking the top of his with his free hand before taking another hit from the cigarette. “i literally work with them every day.”
the phone’s in his hand before chanyeol has a chance to explain, notification lighting up the lock screen as a valid enough answer he didn’t know he’d need. though it’s not his intention to check, he can’t help but skim over the text anyway, a simple nod and a quiet “oh” slipping past his lips before sitting back up. “it depends on how old they are. though my question for you is, how bad are you at childcare for kids to call them that?” small imps, he means.
wonwoo gets up from his spot on the bed and opens the window soon enough, waving out the smell of smoke and putting out the cigarette against the wall outside. “you sure as hell can’t take care of ‘em in here.” the cigarette butt ends up slipping out of his hand on accident, causing wonwoo to click his tongue in disappointment as he watches it fall to the ground. “this place isn’t childproof.”
"I was thinking of fiends or satanic offspring but I have to be careful about my wording in case i have a slip up in front of my sister. So small screaming imps, that is.” Chanyeol yells from his pillow. He doesn’t care if the other male hears it or not. “Yes, ‘oh’.” His bed makes a loud creaking sounds as he pushes himself to lie on his back, staring blankly to the ceiling.
“How bad would you rate my skill if I tell you I just froze on my feet and stare wide-eyed at them, forcing myself not to scream when their parents hand them to me or whenever they tried to touch me?” Chanyeol says hollowly, almost like he’s talking to himself. “And no, don’t get me wrong. I’m great with kids. Very great even. But only with kids above age seven or eight because they perfectly understand the words ‘go away’. The rest? Not... so much.”
Chanyeol makes a grabby hand at Wonwoo when he moves towards the window. “Don’t goooo... I’m too lazy to get up to steal your ciggy from your hands nooo...” Chanyeol gives up as soon as he started, hand lying limply at the edge of his bed. “What do you mean ‘isn’t childproof’? This entire house is childproof! There’s no children here except for the pink haired dude who randomly screams at night--yes, I mean Baekhyun but that’s besides the point now.
“If not here then where? She’s two, still so small like jelly bean. She’s not gonna take so much space here, right?” Do they really have to leave the house? With a kid? That doesn’t sound logical to him. It’s not like she can go far with those tiny grubby legs, right? Right. There’s no way in hell. “But okay, the last time I saw her it was like, on her second birthday. Which means... four months ago. Does that answer your question? Is there anything I really need to know? Do’s and don’ts? Kids like ice cream and candies, right? Just give them some and they won’t cry, right?” Chanyeol starts firing all kinds of questions that he can think about, clearly looking like he’s on verge of panicking. His sister is almost here and he feels like he’s about to bawl his eyes like he’s the toddler.
“monday? i dunno,” he mumbles casually without even tearing off his eyes from the monitor. does chanyeol not learn from his past experiences? they’ve lived together for almost three years now, surely he must at least know how baekhyun is when he’s in his ‘go big or go home’ mode. the way he’s pressing on the console’s buttons is even getting violent now that the countdown has reached thirty seconds.
he let out a shrill shriek when the opponent’s character was finally defeated, throwing his console upon reflex. but in the middle of screaming a “FUCK YEAH. THAT’S RIGHT. EAT MY DUST YA ASSWIPE-” on top of his lungs, baekhyun failed to realize that he hasn’t eaten anything with carbohydrates and stood straight from his lying position on the bean bag, causing the blood to rush to his head and send him tumble down to the floor on his back, head hitting the floor in a pretty loud crack.
then again, it’s not like it was his first time being a moron.
“ow ow ow– shit. what the fuck-” the pain seem to snap him out from his daze though, as only then he’d realize the current state of both his room and his appearance–mostly the latter, because an old tattered shirt and shorts from his childhood aren’t exactly the suitable outfit to wear in front of your subject of interest. he doesn’t have to guess how greasy his hair from how itchy it has been since three days ago.
staring straight at chanyeol from his current position on the floor, he clears his throat before offering the younger another of his rectangular smiles. gummy and crinkled eyes. “uh- hi?”
“Monday?! No wonder it smells weird here! Can you please act more like a modern human and less... cave man like?” He crinkles his nose in annoyance. If he find a rat in this house he’ll know who to blame. His small dog, Sunja, walks briskly into the room with her tiny legs sniffing around curiously before wagging her tail happily at Baekhyun.
There’s some horrible scratching marks on the lower side of Baekhyun’s door and Chanyeol suspects they belong to Sunja and judging from how horrible it looks like, she had been doing it for awhile. Baekhyun didn’t even let her in when she scratched on his door... that’s saying a lot when she’s such a determined little fur ball. Really, did he even go outside at all this week?
Chanyeol scoots out the way as Baekyun fall, not even making an effort to pretend to catch the older male. Sunja waddles to lick Baekhyun’s face and paws on his face with so much energy, something she often does every time she sees the older male. He picks Sunja up and places her beside him. He then kneels near Baekhyun’s head, pressing both of his fists on each sides of Baekhyun’s head and gives him a really hard noogie.
“Gahh, your hair is so greasy! Go take a shower, go!” He picks the older male up and hauls him to the bathroom. Not even Sungja is that hard to bathe and she’s a dog. Why’s the oldest hyung here is like this?
wonwoo’s the first to make this known when he knocks over a towering pile of clothes upon entering their room, tripping over god knows what in an attempt to clutch the pack from his roommate’s hand. “motherfucker, what did i tell you?” the slur’s barely audible, contempt present on his face nonetheless as he plants himself on all fours, one hand reaching for his specs some feet away. “those cost a lot.” he’s up on his feet sooner or later, swiping the one stick in chanyeol’s hand before proceeding to put it in his mouth and patting himself down for a lighter.
none, to his dismay.
he leaves the stick between his teeth anyway, slumping down next to his friend on the bed before running a hand through his own hair. “what’d you call me for?”
“Aw, come on. Don’t be stingy like that.” Chanyeol let a sleazy grin stretch his lips, his right hand fishing a lighter from his jeans pocket and snatching the cigarette back from his roommates mouth. He lights the other end and took a deep drag before offering the now lit cigar back to Wonwoo. “You’re welcome.” He says, still grinning as he exhales wisps of smoke through his nostrils.
He tentatively takes a few sips from his second bottle of flavored soju, completely unsure if the buzz he’s feeling is from the teeny tiny alcohol in there or from the sugar instead. He checks his phone almost dazedly, thinking his sister will arrive here any minute now. When will she understand he’s awful with kids?
“How are you with kids? Do those small imps hate you or do they like you?” Right after he stops talking, his phone makes a tell-tale sound whenever he got a message. A brief text informing him that his sister is five minutes away from his place. Chanyeol let out a miserable groan, burying his head into the mattress. “I’m going to die today.” he groans again, this time muffled by the mattress.
It was a little hectic inside the house right now. Some other residents are currently yelling their ass off for their game night and he can hear Baekhyun’s shouts from the outside, so loud that Chanyeol feels like he’s unable to hear himself thinking. With a slight headache, he stuffs his phone and a wad of cash into his hoodie pockets and heads to the nearest convenience store. Maybe he’ll stay there for a bit for some not-midnight-yet snacks.
The walk to the store was pretty short. He wasn’t paying much attention to his surroundings, with a distant chatter of the highway serving as an insignificant white noise. He didn’t stay outside for long, though. The thought of leaving the house with no further supervision makes him feel slightly nervous. It’s not like he’ll come home to a burning house, but the possibility of it actually happening doesn’t help him from worrying. Chanyeol was about to head home when he hears a faint sound of scuffle and drunken shouts coming from somewhere near.
The male was about to mind his own business when his ears caught a familiar voice. His stance straightens up, body and mind suddenly on full alert. He knows his voice, it’s so familiar that it both irks and worries him. He slowly makes his way towards the alleyway, blending in the dim shadows. His feet almost make no sound above the damp ground. His eyes catch a flurry of movements in the corner of the shadows, faintly aware that pairs of tiny eyes are watching him.
The place is full of rats. The people with rough voices and slurred words are no difference. Picking the closest thing that resembles a weapon in his possession, Chanyeol holds onto a glass bottle of soy milk like he’s ready to wring it onto someone’s head. Not very ideal for fighting, but desperate times call for desperate measure.
He can see the small group of people better now. Three guys facing one figure that appears to be a male, demanding for cash and his phone. Chanyeol would have let it be if not for the silvery glint he sees near the man with slurring words and swaying feet’s hands. He does the probably dumbest thing ever in his life, shouting at them to stop and leave the man alone. He knows that voice, he does and he should probably just leave him be but he can’t.
“Stop! I’ve called the police. They’ll arrive here any time soon so you’d better leave this place!” Chanyeol musters his bravest voice. Inside his plastic bag is just a few packs of Jjapageti and a popsicle and the only thing that’s suitable enough to be used as a weapon is the soy milk bottle. Oh, the story of his life! Dying at the prime of his life, fending himself with a bottle of fake milk. Tragic.
mingyu could not shake the shock no matter how much he tried. he already ran to the bathroom to splash his face that was hot from embarrassment with cold water. he had already jogged around the campus for his lunch break. he was at a loss at what more he can do. and it was all because of a dude he didn’t even know.
girls confessing were alright since he was used to it. ever since he started playing volleyball and taking more care about his appearance, he seemed to attract an admirer or two. not too many but enough to make him realize that he wasn’t the loser he once was. but boys? not so much. he didn’t know that being asked out on a date by someone of the same sex would have this much effect on him. and even when he got home to the sharehouse, he still couldn’t believe it.
deciding it was better to distract himself, he gathered up ingredients to make kimchi jigae for the boys for dinner. only one who knew him well enough would notice that he wasn’t quite as precise with his hand movements while he was cutting the pork belly.
Today was a slow day for him. He spent his last few minutes in his last class of the day reading online article that he only partially believes about the reason why some days feel slow and why others don’t. He ended up feeling like a total nerd when he’s done reading. Old news, but still shocking. He comes home with no lecture in mind but some cognitive science or whatever the fuck it was. He doesn’t even understand half of it. But still, hmm...
Fascinating.
Shaking off the unneeded information from his head, he did his usual routine once he’s back home. Once done, Chanyeol walks into the kitchen with a towel still draped over his wet hair, having just finished his second shower of the day. He walks straight to the fridge, snatching an apple that he sees right away and takes a huge bite out of the fruit. Mid chewing, the lanky male notices Mingyu and his eyes wandering from his snack to the distracted expression on the younger’s face.
How strange. Normally the younger has that mom look on his face when he’s cooking something. There’s a crease between Chanyeol’s eyebrows now, inwardly noting that it’s a little unusual for Mingyu to behave like this. So Chanyeol approaches him, wholeheartedly giving him a loud smack on his back.
“’Sup, gyu?” He gives him a shit eating grin, hoping to startle the younger male.
how long has it been since he tasted the outside world? three days? five days? baekhyun lost count from the moment his screen flashes the word ‘tournament’ several days ago. and honestly, he didn’t really care; nobody barged in with any emergencies so far. if they need him, they’ll come. the toilet is right next to his room. there’s a plastic bag full of emergency food in the shelves for this exact occasion. he was set for everything.
but what he didn’t count was a particular housemate–one named park chanyeol that always seem to interrupt at the most crucial part of his games.
“jesus- close the fucking door!” baekhyun shouts the moment light from the hallway enters his eyes, causing him to lose control of his character on the game. he immediately blocks the remaining light with left hand while using the right one to press both sides of the console. fuck that was close. the final battle is ending in a minute and if baekhyun were to accidentally lose because of it he just might wring the younger’s head off from his neck no matter how much affection he has for him.
forty seconds. his opponent’s life point is in 10%. baekhyun might actually win first place. his thumb pressing the buttons even harder. chanyeol’s casual greeting without any proper suffix behind his name falls into deaf ears. “give me a minute. i almost… got him!!”
He doesn’t know whether laugh or be concerned. What’s left from Baekhyun’s reaction is letting out an unearthly screech and/or scream and proceeds to melt into a puddle of darkness or some other cheesy crap from old time vampire movies. It’s not like its still noon anyway, but the guy acts like he’s getting his eyes shot with laser beam.
Chanyeol let his eyes roams around the cluttered mess around the older male’s room, cringing at the state it is in. He’s almost unable to see the floor in this light, or the lack of it to begin with, and he’s not sure if it’s because of the dimly lit room or there are things that covers the floor. The tall male reaches for the light switch, uncaring of half vampire man over there. The room is worse under a bright light. Unsurprising.
“What the hell, hyung? I didn’t see you for a week and you managed to turn your room into--you know what nevermind the room for now,” He squints his eyes at the older male. “When was the last time you touched the shower?”
