Indebted To You (A BaekYeol Fanfic)

Part XVII

Baekhyun

We didn't hear anything about Suho or Chen for pretty much the whole summer. School was out, so it wasn't like Chanyeol or I saw them on a regular basis anymore, and from what little Kyungsoo talked about it, things between him and his brother hadn't improved much. Most of me was relieved that that chapter of our youth seemed to be closed, but there was still plenty of room for worry. We still had one more year of school before we could escape them for good and there was no telling what senior year would bring or if they would come back with more of a vengeance than they had before. Part of me hoped I wouldn't have to find out.

But besides that, the summer treated me well. I got to spend a lot more time with my friends and with Chanyeol, and it seemed like they were getting more and more used to him each time he hung out with us. Chanyeol wasn't lying when he said he had a list of date ideas, as it seemed like we went on a different date every day almost. I wasn't complaining by any means, though. My dad was spending more of his free time looking for apartments, which meant I could be hit with the news any day, so I wanted to make sure I had enough memories with Chanyeol to keep me company when we left. Though, I don't think all of the memories in the world would have been enough honestly.

One day while Chanyeol was out on some college tour his dad's friend arranged for him, I was hanging out at Sehun and Kai's place. 

"Have you guys decided what you're gonna do after graduation?" I asked randomly while we were in the middle of some variety show.

"Of course, I don't," Sehun replied with a yawn. "I've been actively not thinking about it, no matter how much mom and dad bring it up."

"I think I want to go to college, but I don't know what for," I said, answering my own question. "I don't want to waste my dad's money or get all stressed out about entrances exams just to be undeclared, you know?"

"You should do something with art. You like that kind of stuff, right?" Sehun said as he tilted his head and looked at me. 

"Yeah, sure, but college is typically used for becoming more qualified for a job. What kind of job could I get with an art degree?"

"Lots. Graphic designer for one or something in marketing. Even like an art critic or something if you study art history. You could even design video games if you wanted to. That'd be cool."

I sighed and relaxed against the couch some more. "I guess. What about you, Kai? Have you made a plan yet?" He was staring at his phone, so his eyes widened a little in surprise when he first heard me.

"Not really," he replied. "My dance teacher thinks I should train to join a ballet company or audition to be an idol, but I don't think I want to do that. I've been thinking about getting my teaching certification and just jumping right to the part in my career where I teach dance."

"You'd be good at that." I nodded. 

Kai shrugged. "Maybe. All I know for sure is that Kyungsoo and I are moving into our own place together as soon as we can afford it," he said. Sehun and I both sat up in surprise.

"When did you plan on telling us this?" Sehun asked. 

"Soon probably. We had to make sure it was a realistic idea, you know, something we could actually do and not just dream about," he briefly explained.

"And how will you afford this?" I asked next. "I mean, I know you said you're interested in teaching, but rent isn't cheap these days. Just ask my dad."

"I know that, but I can find other work in the meantime and Kyungsoo said that if he talks to his parents, they might be willing to help out. Of course, we'd still have to hide then, but at least we'd be living together."