The Titanic Incident » xiuhan

Chapter 15

"Checkmate!" cheered Chen as he defeated Baekhyun once again in their game of chess - their newly found hobby, apparently. It's not like they didn't have anything else to do, but rather that this was an area were the "better" people didn't want to hang out in too much.

"Shh!" someone shushed from a couch, making their heads turn to the source of the voice, maybe to apologise or maybe to ask why they couldn't have fun. In the library. Obviously, it had been an awful move to make the rooms so close to each other.

"What is your problem?" Chen asked, turning to the stranger who was sat alone in the whole library besides Chen and his friends. The mentioned guy flipped a page of his book, rather noisily, and sighed without trying to hide his annoyance. All he had wanted to do had been to sit in the library in peace and read something in the silence as he had slept very poorly the night before - now he didn't even have that. "I'm trying," he groaned, "to read." He lifted his eyebrows at Chen, messaging that he was indeed quite serious about it. "Seriously? What's your name?" Baekhyun pushed himself into the conversation without an invite, not getting a glance from anyone, though.

"Park Chanyeol. What's yours?" the stranger huffed, flipping a page of his book between his fingers, as in I want to read, please shut up.

No one uttered a word as the person apparently called Park Chanyeol stared at the three, counting Baekhyun and Chen who were playing noisy chess and Suho who was sitting near the table, eyeballing the situation with a dull look in his eyes. "Huh, fine. Quiet treatment", Chanyeol scoffed and stopped playing with the book, flipping a page and letting it be, continuing reading with a satisfied look on his profile. "CHECKMATE! AY!" Baekhyun provocated and copied the new person's satisfaction with himself and watched the emotion drain from his face. There was a sigh.

Not from Chanyeol but from Suho, drawing some attention to himself as he spoke for the first time after Baekhyun's and his observation trip.

"What?" Baekhyun mumbled, wondering if Suho had a problem with him being annoying to this new guy who seemed like a snob. If that was the case, he was prepared to say some chosen words to defend his side in the story, as in "he started it." But it wasn't mentioned. Suho's eyes looked like they'd drill a hole with the look of theirs. He looked kind of scary like that, if they were being honest to themselves.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, scrunching his eyes shut before looking at Baekhyun again - the loud one. "How can you act like that after what we saw, Baekhyun?" he almost whimpered with his voice, a worried one. Asking, almost pleading for understanding. For a second, it was totally quiet if they forgot about the silent talking coming from the other side of the room and steps of some high heels. Hitting the floor again and again. The word peasant. Coming up fairly often.

Baekhyun didn't quite understand, but at the same time, he did. Was he that worried that he'd been thinking about it for the last, what, half an hour? An hour? Two hours? Baekhyun had no idea what the time was. Time seemed to be flying so easily. "Huh? Of course I'm worried," he worded, "but I can't let it take me with it, it's not like we can go hunt him down and ask how his date with that rich person went, can we?" He played with the rim of his sleeve, staring at Suho with a questioning look, asking for a nod of the head or silent treatment, but he got neither.

"Can't we?" Suho asked, looking like he'd gotten an amazing idea, the seriousness draining from his features slightly. Baekhyun placed his palm over his mouth and took a deep breath, controlling his urge to say some chosen words. Suho wouldn't take them well, not at least in that state. "No, we can't." He finally said, letting his arm fall on the armrest of his chair. Chen didn't understand anything and looked at their chatting with a dumbfounded look on his face. He had trouble believing that these two had apparently done something secret without him - and he had thought they were close friends! Something in him felt a tiny bit of betrayal. How was that fair? Indeed, it wasn't. "What can't we?" he asked, looking at the two who looked like they had challenged each other to an intensive game of deathly serious staring. Then he looked at Chanyeol who he assumed was back to reading, but he was breaking his 'cool' guy image by staring at the two, then creating a questioning sight at Chen, who shrugged. "It's a private matter", Suho sighed, finally taking his eyes off Baekhyun.

Chen felt some kind of bitterness. "A private matter? You can't trust me?" he scoffed, ready to throw some words at Baekhyun. "Uh, no, but... We'd really need to keep it between us," Baekhyun sighed, "really, let it go, man."

"Let it go?!" Chen scoffed. He got up from his chair. "Enjoy your own company, then!" he continued and turned his back to them, walking away determinedly. He wasn't going to fancy their company any time soon, he swore to himself as he disappeared from the library. "It looks like you pissed him off", Chanyeol sneered with a quite amused smirk on his face. Suho created a 'you don't say' -look at their new fellow. Why couldn't he just shut up and continue reading his boring book? Baekhyun facepalmed. Something in him really wanted to slap this Chanyeol person.

"Baekhyun, was it?" Chanyeol asked, again playing with a page of his book. Baekhyun looked at him quietly. He was upset with himself and upset with Chen, and also upset with Chanyeol who couldn't seem to keep to himself. "What, rich kid?" Baekhyun challenged, not really caring what would happen if he'd continue running his mouth in such a manner. "What'd you call me?" the one titled rich kid fixed his posture and lowered his book down, piercing the other with his sight.

"You heard me!" Baekhyun sassed and got up, walking towards the one who was staring from behind his slightly rounded glasses. "You're such a brat, God", Chanyeol worded with annoyance.

Baekhyun grabbed Chanyeol's book and in a matter of a few milliseconds it was swung towards Chanyeol's face.

***

Sehun hummed, mainly to himself. His newest patient has been a second class traveler called Park Chanyeol - who had been slapped in the face with a book. Ironically, it had been his own book. He hadn't gotten any serious damage to his face except for some bruising which would fade away in a matter of days, only serving him a rough look for a few days.

And he hadn't even needed any bandaging, only some careful cleaning and obviously some time, which the doctor couldn't offer. He didn't know what had happened to the guy who had hit the patient in the face but he felt like there hadn't been any very serious consequences. The person hadn't been a first class customer after all.

The poorest thing had been the man's glasses, which were crooked. The man had tried straightening them while Sehun was working on getting the slightly torn skin clean and it had been left looking a little funky even after his best efforts.

Meanwhile, Suho was sat all alone in the library. He didn't know who to go to. Chanyeol was wherever he was and Baekhyun had been taken by the guards. Somehow, Suho hoped he'd gotten away with just a warning. Either way, Chen had marched away and Minseok was maybe still on his more or less platonic date with the first class traveler. He was worried about him, to be absolutely honest, but there was no way he'd go hunt him down. Or, would he?

He got up without letting another thought cross his mind and walked away from the library.

To hunt Minseok down.