The Demon Next Door

8

"Anyone know the answer to this? Can anyone solve this? Anyone? Anyone?"

Dead silence.

Mr. Kang pointed to the board with today's opening calculus problem.

"Anyone? Anyone at all? Anyone?!"

It was obvious he was waiting for his star student to answer. But Do Kyungsoo, sitting near the window, had his mind somewhere far from mathematics. His head was far more focused on other things.

And those other things were quite obvious after what happened during the lunch period before this one. His mind was plagued by thoughts he really didn't want in there.

One of them was Chanyeol. That curly haired, coward of a giant. Because that's what he was. A coward. Kyungsoo didn't know why it took him so long to figure that out.

Chanyeol never stood up for him. When given a choice to lead, follow, or get out of the way, Chanyeol never chose the first option. He didn't care how he hurt others with his decisions, as long as it didn't hurt him.

It was a shame Kyungsoo hadn't seen that quality in the older before. It was disgusting, and frankly, one that Kyungsoo didn't want to be around. People like Chanyeol were the kinds that he despised.

And yet, at the giant's invitation to Baekhyun's party, Kyungsoo couldn't help, but feel happy. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Chanyeol still found Kyungsoo important to him.

Could they really be friends again? Was it possible to clean the stains on the putrid relationship they had now and start fresh and new? Or was it just an impossible feat, something the both of them were stupid enough to even try?

Kyungsoo chewed on his bottom lip as he stared out the window. He watched a squirrel running up a tree, little feet scrambling up to the security of the leaves. His friendship with Chanyeol seemed to have run away as fast as the critter, only, unlike the squirrel, there had been nothing to protect it.

They were both to blame. Chanyeol's behavior was the obvious catalyst; Kyungsoo went in the same direction, now that he thought about it. They'd both found someone to replace the empty void.

The fact that Chanyeol was willing to stray away from Baekhyun to mend everything with Kyungsoo made the younger feel guilty. Under no circumstances would he do the same to Jongin. He wanted Jongin. No matter the price.

He turned back to look at Baekhyun. The rat was slumped over his desk. He looked glum, and steam from fury seemed to be coming out of his ears. Kyungsoo cocked his head to the side.

Usually, Baekhyun would compete with Kyungsoo during math. Whichever one of them could answer the most math problems during class won. Today, it seemed Baekhyun was as out of it as Kyungsoo was. Was it because of Chanyeol?

Receiving no answer, Mr. Kang erased the question on the board and replaced it with a new one. He wiped his sweating forehead with his handkerchief. Pointing to the board, he tried to engage the class again.

"Anyone? Anyone know the answer to f(x)= x³ - 7x² + 8x - 3 if x= 5? Anyone? Anyone?"

Mr. Kang's question was greeted by another period of silence. His face lit up, however, when Kyungsoo finally raised his hand.

"Yes! Yes, Mr. Do! What is the answer?!"

"-13, sir?"

"Excellent!" Mr. Kang wrote the answer in the fanciest of numbers on the board. "Ah, beautiful."

The old man would have gone praising if it weren't for the bell. Kyungsoo was out of there like a shot. He flew out of the classroom everyday, just to avoid Baekhyun.