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Cheeks flushed, eyes wide and lips pale, agape and dry.
Vomiting leaves this bitter aftertaste on your tongue, and the sticky sensation of sweat sticking closely on your neck, damping your uniform as it closely glues to your back. Chanyeol was used to it, being a varsity player and all, but vomiting without the bitter taste is a weird sensation. Unconsciously, he wiped the corner of his lips not noticing his sleeves remained dry with little pink dusts scattered to the edges.
What he finds by his feet were petals and he was not even surprised the second time it happened.
Hyacinths.
They were yellow and as it reaches to the tip, it has the gradient color of lavender, almost like its smooth transition of colors were pleasing to the eye BUT as far as Chanyeol knew, hyacinths could not have multiple color in one petal at once. He gulps and Chanyeol had also noticed the sweetness on his tongue, syrupy, thick kind of pleasantness.
That type of pleasantness that Baekhyun’s laugh brings. A laughter that can be brought out by no one but her. Not me.
Another wave hits him and he vomits once more, and there were none of the bitter taste to be traced. As if hitting his chest hard could moisten his throat, his fisted hands continued to hit them repeatedly, coughing up more, more and more petals. It seemed as if his coughing of 5 minutes could make up for his year coughing, but as soon as he had stopped, the gradient petals had already piled up on his feet, covering his shoes. Almost as if it had grown beneath him.
His amber colored eyes stared at them, disbelief playing at his eyes, as if he knew something must be awfully wrong with him. There must be some kind of mistake happening inside his internal organs that it had happened already twice, not to mention the first time it did occur was just a week ago.
When Baekhyun bellowed cheerfully that Taeyeon and him had started to go out.
At that time, it wasn’t Hyacinths, rather it was the Gernaium, the Crane’s Bill.
Something inside him stirred badly, flinching momentarily but as soon as it subsided all was forgotten when he heard footsteps from behind. It was haste, the sound growing nearer, louder with every step and Chanyeol finds an arm around his shoulder, a smaller body clinging closely to him. The force could have flung them to the ground, but Chanyeol managed to balance it out, unconsciously wrapping an arm around the smaller’s waist.
This familiar masculine scent invaded him, and the moment it hits his senses, Chanyeol’s mind had gone haywire.
“Came to check up. You rascal, why are you vomiting at the school backyard?” Baekhyun teased.
“No, I just came here and saw a bunch of… Hyacinths growing. Got distracted.” Chanyeol confesses, yet the latter seemingly unconvinced, relinquished his arm from the varsity player and scrutinized him from an inch afar.
“You never took an interest in them.”
“Baek, I did my vomiting back at the comfort room okay? Besides, aren’t the color of these petals a little too uncommon for Hyacinths? It’s violet and yellow.”
“Oh I see, you’re too shy to admit that you never got to hold it in huh. So tell me honestly, where did you vomit?” Baekhyun pushed further, teasing the taller with his eyebrows wiggling, and Chanyeol stared back at him blankly as he can muster. He was too used at laughing from Baekhyun’s jokes to his exquisite facial expressions and to all his unusual antics. He smiles weakly at the depths of his heart.
Maybe it is time to get used to the empty noise inside his apartment.
Sullen, he seemed to actually succeed at not laughing at Baekhyun’s attempt of being playful, the latter sensing an air of seriousness around his taller friend and the lively tug on his lips also died.
“Is something wrong?” Baekhyun musters to ask, staring at Chanyeol’s eyes and not breaking it off.
“Nothing. Everything is absolutely fine.” Chanyeol said, walking past Baekhyun with his head down, hands buried deep on his pants. His gaze blank and dead, Chanyeol was utmost aware about how Baekhyun would be able to decipher that half-assed reply he said.
Because he himself knew that deep inside, no, nothing was ever fine.
As Baekhyun was left alone by the backyard, eyes trailing the retreating figure of his friend, a pang of guilt hit him but he brushed it off as fast as he felt it. Turning around, he walked near the patch of petals that Chanyeol pointed out earlier, crouching to observe them a little closer.
But all Baekhyun ever saw was yellow patches of rose petals.