This man is the splitting image of Chanyeol.
Chanyeol is speechless as he stares at the man Baekhyun is clinging on to by the arm. This Joo-hyung ... The images Chanyeol had of this guy had gone from a ing idiot to some 50-year old by the sounds of it. Hell, he had even imagined this Joo-hyung to look like Lee Minho or Kim Soohyun! But never had he thought or evenconsidered that ...
... Joo-hyung would look like the mirror image of himself.
Honestly, if this was any normal situation Chanyeol had thoughts such as 'Wow... handsome', 'Baekhyun has such good taste ...', but this isn't a normal case – this is a serious one.
When Chanyeol looks closer, he can see that Joo-hyung doesn't look exactly like him. This guy, who looks around in his early 20s, doesn't have protruding ears like Chanyeol's, and when he smiles it's absolutely handsome and not like most of the goofy ones Chanyeol has.
Chanyeol is jealous. This guy's like a perfect version of myself!
The more he stares, the more alike this guy seems to him, and for some reason it pisses him off. A lot. What pisses him off more is the way Baekhyun looks at him. His expression full of pure adoration for Joo-hyung, eyes so soft and brimming with that innocent youth that Chanyeol had never seen in his roommate's expression before; that smile is composed of absolute love and hope, and when lighted upon Baekhyun's lips, makes him look so beautiful and unattainable.
Just who is this Joo-hyung to be the reason of that smile, and just how important was he to take it all away?
"I'll let you keep it." Chen stands, and brushes non-existent dust off his knees. "Because instinct tells me it's better in your hands." He walks over to the door in a blink of an eye.
"Besides," He continues quietly, "I don't deserve this evidence, since I was always a failure of a friend." Chen shoots him a small, sad smile. Chanyeol wants to deny it and tell Chen he shouldn't underestimate himself, but before he can even open , the door closes. Chanyeol sighs. Even though Chen always bears that carefree grin on his face, he keeps his worries inside. Even now he thinks he's not a good enough friend. But how can you control what happened in the past? You can't. Especially when you didn't even know what was about to happen.
Thinking of that, Chanyeol looks down at the photo once again, his eyes flitting to two interesting figures – Joo-hyung and Baekhyun. They quite suit each other, very very well, and a sort of ugly feeling boils within him at the thought.
In the end, he throws away all bitter thoughts and stuffs the photo in his drawer before tucking himself to sleep.
This is none of my business. I shouldn't let it disturb me tonight.
But even as he thinks that, he knows he's going to have to spend another night sleepless and restless.
On the day before New Year's Eve, all four of them challenge each other and themselves to stay up until the New Year comes. The first night going into New Year's Eve is successful, with the four of them playing dumb games such as cards and truth or dare (Chanyeol is painfully reminded of his dare with Baekhyun and flushes at the thought) and charades to go through the night. Chanyeol was once caught sleeping by Chen when they were playing hide and seek around the house, but the older had gotten soft and given him a chance, warning him that if anyone else catches him doing that, they might not be so lenient (especially Baekhyun).
