Hard to Love - (chanbaek)

33

December 1st. 7:14 PM

Chanyeol began to fidget with his fingers. Hours had passed since he had seen Baekhyun. This wasn't right. None of this seemed right.

'Please leave your message after the beep-"

"Why isn't he answering!"

His slightly raised voice gained the attention of the surrounding individuals. His friends panicked and immediately tried to comfort him so he could relax. "Chanyeol, calm down. Maybe his parents needed him for some time. You know he never spends time with them..." Yixing smiled, but the phrase itself seemed weird. "Baek said his parents were on another business meeting, so what could be holding him up for this long?" Luhan sighed as he checked his watch. It's been almost two hours, and the group has been hanging at the cafe waiting to see if Baekhyun would show up.

Ding!

"Ahh, good evening! Sorry, I'm late!" A boy came rushing in, entirely out of breath. He gently tugged on his uniform, making sure it was put on correctly.

"It's okay, Taehyung. Just be a bit earlier next time; you're lucky manager-nim isn't here." The cashier elbowed him softly in a teasing way.

"Coach had me doing extra laps today, so I tried to finish as fast as I could to be on time for my shift! My apologies! I'll be earlier next time." He did a 90-degree bow and went to the backroom to mark his arrival.

Luhan stared at him closely.

He could help us with Baek...

"Luhan, you're going to scare the poor kid. Stop staring like that." Xiumin slapped his head, making the blond groan. "Shut up." He whispered before getting out of his seat and walking towards the cashier. "Welcome to K- Luhan?" Taehyung stuttered as he tilted his head, slightly confused. "Hey, Taehyung!" He leaned onto the counter with a friendly grin. "Ahh, hello hyung, is there anything you want to order?" He showed his bright box smile. "Actually, I came to ask about Baekhyun? Did he have anything planned today?" Taehyung thought for a second, rubbing his chin with pressed lips.

"I don't really know. I haven't talked with him recently."

"Ahh, it's okay. He said he was going to get money from his house before he came to the shop... are his parents back in town?" Luhan didn't miss the tense shoulders. Taehyung nodded quickly, trying to make his awkward smile seem reliable. "I think our uncles were hosting a family gathering. I'm pretty sure his dad came earlier from his business trip." Luhan nodded, not quite believing the made-up excuse. "Thanks, Taehyung! I'll see you in school." He waved before returning to the table. An odd feeling appeared inside of his chest.

Weird.

"What happened?" Kyungsoo spoke after watching the interaction between the older and younger.

"Oh, I was asking him if he knew anything about Baek. He said their family was arranging a family gathering, so maybe that's why he isn't here." Chen immediately spit his drink out.

"I knew they looked similar, so they're family?"

"Yeah, they're cousins..." Luhan watched as Taehyung slowly walked to the employee's room once again. He didn't catch the frantic face on the younger as he tapped his phone in panic.