Star-crossed

Foreword

Author: Baeksooshi

Pairing: Chanbaek

Word count: 4,792 words.

Theme: angst, romance

July 2008.

Baekhyun met Chanyeol at the tender age of fifteen, way back in high school. They were of the same year, despite Chanyeol being a couple of months younger.

It was a hot summer's day, barely July when the Park family moved in their neighorhood. The youngest son of the Byuns was on his way to the table for breakast when he heard his mother ask Baekbom if he could "kindly bring these rice cakes over at the house next-door" and the respond of his older brother that he was "supposedly on his way to Lotte to meet Jisoo. Why can't the maids do it?". His mother answered with"we want to keep our image of being friendly and down-to-earth if we want to look good in front of people."

A new neighbor? They lived in a high-class subdivision in the heart of Gangnam wherein old money resided and new neigbors were almost unheard of. Thus, the arrogant Baekhyun offered to go, wanting to see for himself if the Parks were, as he suspected, new money. If they were, well, Baekhyn had to make sure that they are aware of the presence of the Byuns-- a long-running lineage of money, power and arrogance. The last trait being the present the most, when one looks at the youngest son.

His mother Sunhee agreed, and, with a warning glance at Baekbom, handed the rice cake to the shorter of the two.

Baekhyun decided to go and check out the Parks' firstly, breakfast being out of the question now that his attention span was fully on dominating the new neighbors so, after making sure he looked presentable despite being in comfortable clothes, he made his merry way towards the new chaebols.

--

The Park mansion was good, Baekhyun deemed. It wasn't as big as the Byuns'. A little more home-like and less dominating, more modern compared to the classic Spanish-villa vibe that his own house offered.

He was greeted by the mistress of the house, a certain Choi Sooyoung. Tall, lean and pretty, Choi Sooyoung was a mother of two. The well-known ulzzang news anchor Park Yoora and a younger son who was appearantly around Baekhyun's age, Park Chanyeol. The boy was tall for his age, taller than Baekhyun, that's for sure. With fairy-like protuding ears and a baby face, when he opened his mouth to greet him, the Byun was startled.

In contrast to his baby-ish face, the boy had a deep, velvety voice which made Baekhyun's husky voice pale in comparison.

--

The Parks turned out to be old money, after all. Not as old as the Byuns but still old, nonetheless, but unlike the Byuns who were famous in the Asian and European scene, these new neighbors are well-known in the United States.

Baekhyun's family excelled in fashion and make-up industry. If you ever heard of Pur Blanc, Pur Elite, Noir, Lumiere and Prestige (I'm sure you heard of Pur Blanc, they are the long-running competition of Chanel) ... well, they are some of the few businesses that the Byun family owns.

Chanyeol's family turned out to be the owners of a hotel and restaurant chain called Feu. One night in one of their hotels costs the entire paycheck of an average Korean, so, despite being smaller in comparison to the Byuns, the Park family fares well on their own.

Baekhyun deemed Chanyeol appropriate to be in his tiny group of friends. If Baekhyun were to be honest, though, he would welcome Chanyeol as a friend even if he came from an average family in terms of profit but Baekhyun never said a word.