The faults in Byun Baekhyun

Chapter 28: Avoiding

"Huh?" Baekhyun is a little confused.

"I ..." Kyungsoo looks around, feeling a little uncomfortable in the public, even though no one is looking at them. "Can we talk in my room?" Then he grabs Baekhyun by the wrist and pulls him towards Baekhyun's old room.

When they're inside, Kyungsoo shuts the door with a satisfying click, then turns to a still-confused Baekhyun. The older can see how wide Kyungsoo's eyes are, so wide it's almost creepy.

But why is Kyungsoo asking that? Of him?

"... I guess I'll start from the start..." Kyungsoo sighs as he sits down on his bed, then gestures for Baekhyun to sit down on Chen's. Baekhyun, frozen, takes a long while to register before he sits his tense legs down.

"I ... We ... Chanyeol and I started getting closer. You know that right?" Baekhyun nods stiffly. "So I just ... We spent Valentine's Day together, and ... ... ..." Baekhyun stares at Kyungsoo. They spent Valentine's Day together?

That's when Baekhyun realises ... remembers, that they like each other.

Chanyeol likes Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo likes Chanyeol.

How can Baekhyun forget that?

"... I love Chanyeol." Kyungsoo declares, destroying Baekhyun's train of thought. He whips his head from the ground to look up into Kyungsoo's determined eyes, and no words can ever explain how Kyungsoo looked at him, or how he felt, at that moment.

"I realised I really love him, Baekhyun." Kyungsoo says, his voice strong and rich, a tone he always bears when determined and yet a tone that now sounds different to Baekhyun's ears. Baekhyun feels his mouth go dry. "And ... And I told him that."

What?

They were dating since Valentine's Day? How come Chanyeol never told him?

Worse, how come he never fucking noticed?

"... He rejected me, Baekhyun." Kyungsoo continues, this time his voice falling to barely a whisper. Baekhyun stares again, then nearly hits himself when he remembers why Kyungsoo had asked him to come in the first place. How could I have forgotten that Kyungsoo wanted me to help him get together with Chanyeol? How could I have forgotten something like that? Baekhyun sighs, but then he remembers the problem here.

"He ... rejected you?" Baekhyun blinks in disbelief. No way.

"He said he thought of me only as a friend." Kyungsoo replies. "A really good friend ... And ... And I ... I appreciate that. At first, I ... was okay with that."

Baekhyun watches him.

"But now ... it's not enough anymore." Kyungsoo runs his hand through his hair, and for once Baekhyun genuinely sees how attractive Kyungsoo is. This is the man Chanyeol likes. "... The thing is ... the closer he gets to me, the more I want him. The further he gets away from me, the more it aches."

"Baekhyun, you're his best friend, and you're my friend too. You're one of the only people that can help me." Kyungsoo says almost desperately. In his eyes, Baekhyun can see it – see the illusion of love that has everyone under a spell.

"I love him, Baekhyun."

The him back then would've stood up and walked away. Away from love, away from love's victims.

"Please, please help me, as my friend."

But now ... now he wants to run away. Run as far away as possible from Kyungsoo, from Love.