wrong step | baekhyun

+ten+

the crisp morning air greeted us and the silence was deafening, save for the few familiar, melodious chirps from the birds that flew past us. i almost doubted that we were back in our own world until a car zoomed past us on the road. then another. and another. it was as if time started moving again.

which was probably baekhyun's doing. god, he could actually control the time.

a bus rolled to a stop in front of us. without warning, jungkook nudged me urgently then stood and bowed. "g-good morning, mr kim." he stuttered.

my mouth was agape as i saw our chemistry lecturer, mr kim, alighting from the bus in front of us. i quickly stood up as well and smoothened the creases in my jeans. "good morning, sir." i bowed.

he cast us a weird glance. "what are the two of you doing here so early?"

"umm..." jungkook mumbled while looking back and forth between me and mr kim.

"and in your home clothes?" mr kim pressed, raising his eyebrows. before we could answer, his eyes widened. "don't tell me you guys-" his expression went from curious to horrified. "last night-"

"no!" the both of us shouted at the same time, startling mr kim. "w-we had a sleepover at our friend's house." jungkook continued.

"it's true." i reassured mr kim as suspicion crept into his eyes. "we were just about to head home and get our school stuff."

mr kim's eyes narrowed but he didn't probe any further. "all right then. i'll see you guys later." he tightened his hold on his briefcase and gave us a curt nod before heading off in the direction of our school.

jungkook visibly slouched in relief. "for a moment, i forgot we still have lessons." he chuckled lightly. then his expression turned serious. "i think i saw pamela alighting from the bus just now."

my breath hitched in my throat. "what? really?"

"yeah. her back was facing us but i would recognize that hair and bag anywhere. i wanted to call out to her but we were talking to mr kim. by the time i looked back, she was gone already."

"i don't know..." i muttered. "but it sounds too much like an illusion, jungkook."

he nodded slowly, his eyes focused on the ground. "i know. i'm just worried."

i rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "me too. but it's okay, we have each other. we will get through this, alright?"

jungkook gave a small smile and his eyes brightened a little. i suggested that we head home first to wash up then go to school. even if our lives were a mess, we just had to go with the flow and find out what's in store for us.

i sincerely hoped i could get through the day without much trouble and find time to formulate plans with jungkook.

hoped.

//

it was a surprise that we actually made it in time for school. we walked together in silence to our first class. i knew both of us were deep in thoughts, and i didn't want to try saying things that could brighten up the atmosphere. for all i knew, in my current mood, my words could potentially worsen the atmosphere.

we were nearing the classroom when suddenly i felt someone smack my back. through my peripheral vision, i could see that that someone did the same to jungkook as well. we whipped around instinctively-

-to find pamela grinning at us, her lips curved into that familiar bunny-tooth grin that i missed so dearly.

i was stunned and so was jungkook. all i could do was gape at her. pamela must have sensed the tense atmosphere as a frown crept onto her face. "err...guys?" she waved her hand in front of our faces. that seemed to snap jungkook out of it. he took a huge step forwards and grabbed her shoulders with his large hands.

"what the hell happened?" he demanded, voicing my thoughts as well. pamela stared wide-eyed at him and pulled away from him gently.

"w-what do you mean what the hell happened?"

her voice sounded so genuine and filled with confusion that i almost believed her.

almost.

"you-" jungkook started. "demon- angel-" he ended up throwing his hands in the air in frustration. i totally understood him. i mean, how is it possible to explain something so bizarre in just a few sentences? and to add on, we weren't even completely sure of ourselves.

but i've known pamela for 6 years and we were the best of pals, meaning i could see through her lie almost instantly.

"what are you talking about?!" pamela broke into a grin. when both jungkook and i remained still, the grin on her face slowly faded. "wait. you're joking, right?" she asked tentatively.

"angels are experts in disguise." baekhyun's voice rang in my head.

i wasn't so confident anymore.

the bell rang, startling all 3 of us. pamela's eyes darted between us and the classroom. "not going in...?"

i rubbed the nape of my necks slowly. "y-yeah. going in. like, right now."

she shrugged and pouted, swiftly walking past us and entering the classroom with her bag slung over her shoulder. jungkook stepped forward, his eyes following her form.

"shit just got real." jungkook whispered.

//

i couldn't concentrate during most of the lessons. pamela, on the other hand, was busy apologizing to me about why she didn't attend school for the past few days. she claimed that she was sick - so sick that she was bed-ridden.

the thing is, throughout the 6 years that i've known her, she's never been sick. i used to find it weird and ridiculous, but it didn't have a big impact on us and so i didn't press on further.

jungkook was clearly wary of pamela, but as the day went by, i could tell he was slowly warming up to her actions. who wouldn't to be honest? she was a bubbly as ever, and treated us the same. even i was tempted.

the only reason why i was still hesitant in opening up to her was because i had seen her at the seaside and jungkook hadn't. telling him in words was crazily different from him seeing the real stuff himself.

somehow i managed to pull through to the last lesson, but a persistent headache was really sucking my soul. in the end, i requested for permission to head to the toilet.

after i was done washing my face, i exited the toilet and headed off in the direction of my classroom. i was so engrossed in using my phone that i rounded the corner sharply, only to bump into a guy who's about a head taller than me.

the stack of papers that the guy was holding in his arms flew as we collided. i hurriedly crouched to pick up the scattered papers. the guy was faster than me and in no time, we managed to gather all the papers. handing them to him with both hands, i glanced up at his face for the first time, my mouth already forming an apology.

but as i took a look at his face, his jet-black eyes, a shiver ran down my spine and words failed to form on my tongue. my mind shouted danger! but all i could do was stay in my position, frozen like a statue. my mouth ran dry as my heart started racing frantically.

his lips curved into a smile. "hello, love."

WHO DAT WHO DAT