Hard to Love - (chanbaek)

78

It was calm at home. A cold feeling rushing through the house on the shining floor. The kitchen began to sizzle a bit as butter fell onto the pan. The caramel liquid bubbled against the black metal, ready to heat up the food. In the living room, the small yet squeaky sounds that popped out after the dogs chewed on their toys. Baekhyun could hear all of it. The soft thuds on the floor every time someone walked.

Step.

Step.

Step.

His blood accelerated as he unconsciously continued to focus on his surrounding noises. This time around, the sound of the wet bathroom came into the scene. He could hear all the droplets fall onto the clear floor, exploding as they came into contact with the rigid structure, along with the faded steam that swam out of the bathroom. A warm shower in the morning felt like a bittersweet flavor against his tongue. At first, it would be cold and shivering, but in the end, it would be worth it. Baekhyun liked the way the droplets fell against his skin. The way they slid down and how his eyes quickly caught onto the reddened surface. It felt nice...

Better than the cold showers he would take in the past.

Better than the hot showers he would take to forget.

As if on cue, scratches were heard outside the door, yanking Baek out of his train of thought. Being back in Korea was very different compared to America. He had only arrived last night, so he was still pretty tired, although it was already noon. He opened the door with a small grin. He stared at the excited brown orbs in front of him and ruffled the honey hair the corgi had. The way the light strands brushed against his palm in a soft yet stiff manner reminded him of the past. The light brown was such a beautiful color. It radiated against the sunlight and was darker on the main roots—an ethereal sight.

Honey...

The puppy stuck out his tongue as Baekhyun continued to rub his itchy back. The boy is quick to look around and make his way into the main area where his family was positioned. The honey corgi followed him around like a little helper, yelping for more tummy rubs. He watched his uncle stir the pan; the smell of fried rice and heated kimchi filled the room in delight. Heechul always seemed to be cooking and working hard at home, unlike Daehyun, who was at the table behind him. His older brother snacked on some crisp bacon which eventually led to the loud nagging from the older male. Before Heechul could scold Daehyun once again, his peripheral vision had seen Baek just in time.

"Good morning! How did you sleep?" The younger tilted his neck purposely, earning a crack to be heard. The action was enough to put tension on his stiff shoulder. He rubbed his arms and looked at his uncle with a shrug.

"Could've been better. My back is killing me, and I'm still not used to the time difference." Heechul hummed in agreement. He tossed the boy the bottle of pills, which the younger swiftly caught before examining the labels. His uncle had figured this would occur, so he prepared some medicine to deal with the annoying pain. Baekhyun thanked him with a slight nod as he continued to open the bottle. He swallowed two of them dry before chugging the water beside him. The tingling sensation against his throat remained present for a few seconds.

"So, how was life in the States?" Baekhyun shrugged again. "Fine. The hacking devices were way better in America than they were in Japan. But then again, Japan had really good fighting material, so it evens it out, I guess." Daehyun chuckled at the response.

"Did you at least have fun? Your hair is still white as ever!"

"Was it not blue? I swear it was blue last time we spoke." Heechul set the plates on the table, causing the delicious smell to erupt from the meal. The loud grumbles that came out of their empty stomachs were ready to digest some real food. Baekhyun grabbed his chopsticks while lazily reaching for the bowl of heated rice.