The Stars Shine Brighter [Ongoing]

Chapter 8: "Broken Promises"

As the two were walking off into the distance, Baekhyun took notice of Chanyeol's rather tight and focused expression. It made him curious,

"...Chanyeol?" He asked bashfully as he stared at the ground.

It took a few seconds for Chanyeol to respond,

"Yeah?"

Baekhyun was feeling a bit of pressure on his shoulders and hesitated to speak,

"...Ummm, what's up with you?"

Chanyeol reacted quicker this time and gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Baekhyun could sense the irritation in his voice which made him stammer and bury himself under his scarf.

"Y-you look troubled about something..." He answered, trying to avoid eye contact.

The atmosphere began to change. The wind was getting colder and colder by the second.

Chanyeol paused at his sentence causing Baekhyun to worry even more.

"What is it then? C'mon you can tell me anything!" He persisted.

Chanyeol cleared his throat before speaking,

"Didn't I promise you I'd stay here in the village and protect you?" He asked, concern was written all over his face.

Baekhyun was puzzled by this. But decided to answer the question anyway,

"Um, yeah...You told that to me a day after we met. Why?"

Chanyeol closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh that echoed through the street.

"Well, I'm going to have to break that promise..." He said.

"Why? Where are you going?!" Baekhyun asked rather fiercely. He didn't want him to go.

And for the first time in years, Chanyeol didn't react to Baekhyun's outbursts.

"I'm leaving for college," He said plainly as he slid his hands into his pockets.

Baekhyun froze. His education was getting in the way of their friendship but he couldn't force him to stay though. That would be too selfish of him. Instead, he just zipped his mouth and signaled Chanyeol to continue explaining through his sudden silence.

"Look, the nearest college here is in the city... And it's a boarding school. I'm going to be living there for a while. But it's just until I graduate!" He explained.

"When will you be leaving?" Baekhyun asked emotionless.

Chanyeol faced the other way and scratched his head,

"..Tomorrow." He answered.

Baekhyun saw how frustrated Chanyeol was and decided to mask his utter sorrow and act all cheerful for his sake,

"Well, we better get you home then! You've got tons of packing to do!" He exclaimed with a smile on his rosy face.

Chanyeol also began to smile and was real glad Baekhyun was 'fine' with it.

"Come on, I'll race you there!" Baekhyun said trying to hide all his bitterness as he dashed off.

Chanyeol thought he was just so excited for him and played along, saying "Wait up!" as he desperately tried to catch up with him. But Baekhyun was just too fast and he ran on that speed on purpose too,

so Chanyeol wouldn't be able to see any of the tears rolling down his face...

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Sorry for the slow update!