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Baekhyun knees are scraped, his palms sting and there are tears on the verge from spilling out from his eyes. The soccer ball he had been chasing after lies stationary in the distance. Wind rustles his hair, brushes against the bare skin of his arms and legs and he shivers. He’s cold, he’s hurt and he wants nothing more than to cry. But Baekhyun doesn’t. Baekhyun is too old to cry just because tripped.
“Hey, are you okay?”
It’s unexpected when Baekhyun looks up from the ground to see a pair of nice canvas shoes – the kind his big brother, Baekbeom, wears – and hand in front of his face. The person’s – a boy – voice is soft and calming but Baekhyun is too afraid to look up any further. He doesn’t want anyone to see him like this. Baekhyun bites his bottom lip and nods his head.
“Are you sure?” The boy asks. Baekhyun nods his head again but his nose is beginning to sting and the tears welling up in his eyes are beginning to escape. The boy in front of him crouches; Baekhyun can see his slacks pulling taut over where his knees bend. “My name is Junmyeon. What’s yours?”
“Ba-Baek...Hyun,” Baekhyun sniffles quietly. He’s still on his hands and knees, and his arms are beginning to protest from the pain of being in the same position for so long.
“Baekhyun...” Junmyeon says, repeating Baekhyun’s name under his breath. Baekhyun finds he likes the way Junmyeon says his name. “Hey, Baekhyun, would you like some ice cream? I can buy you some if you’d like. My mum just gave me pocket money.”
At the mention of ice cream, Baekhyun looks up to meet Junmyeon’s gaze. Junmyeon is definitely older than him – his uniform is from the same junior high school Baekbeom goes to. Maybe they know each other? He smiles and Baekhyun swears time slows down the very second he does. His heart does this thump-a-dump thing inside of his chest. Junmyeon really... Junmyeon looks like...
“A prince...” Baekhyun breathes. Junmyeon’s smile widens at this, his eyes crinkling into pretty crescent moons.
“I’m not a prince, little one,” he laughs, showcasing straight white teeth that Baekhyun has only seen on those idols with their posters plastered all of the city walls. He places a gentle hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “But come on, get up off the ground and we’ll clean you up, okay?”
There’s a weird fluttering in Baekhyun’s stomach, it tickles but it also makes him feel a little queasy. Junmyeon is about a head taller than Baekhyun when he stands and his hand is nice and soft in Baekhyun’s own. They begin to walk to a drinking fountain not too far away and Baekhyun takes the chance to look at Junmyeon as they walk.
He hasn’t seen someone as charming, as handsome as Junmyeon is in real life before, only ever in those princess picture books he reads at school. But Junmyeon is a boy, and he’s making Baekhyun feel the same way as Soohee did when she kissed him on the cheek after he walked her home.
Baekhyun doesn’t know what he’s feeling.
“How old are you, Baekhyun? You shouldn’t be out so late, the sun is already setting.” Junmyeon looks down at Baekhyun and Baekhyun quickly averts his gaze to the ground.
“I’m eleven. I was waiting... for Baekbeom-hyung to finish school,” Baekhyun mumbles, kicking at loose pebbles on the ground. His cheeks are hot and his hand is clammy in Junmyeon’s hold. Hopefully, Junmyeon doesn’t notice.
“Baekbeom? Byun Baekbeom?” Junmyeon asks, stopping when they reach the drinking fountain. He let’s go of Baekhyun’s hand and Baekhyun almost pouts at the loss of warmth; the comfort that the hand had harboured. Baekhyun nods.
“Ah,” Junmyeon muses, “You must be his little brother. Come to think of it, you guys do look very similar.”
“You know hyung?” Baekhyun asks, surprised. Junmyeon smiles his princely smile and nods his head. He pulls out a tissue from the pocket of his slacks and dampens it underneath the spray of the drinking fountain.
“He’s in my class.” Junmyeon squeezes out the excess water and crouches down again. He presses the damp tissue to the small scratch on Baekhyun’s left knee. Baekhyun whimpers. “Don’t worry; it’ll heal up in no time. No need for a bandaid.”
Baekhyun nods his head and fiddles with the hem of his t-shirt. “Th-Thank-you, Junmyeon-hyung,” he says softly.
“Baekhyun! There you are! I was looking all over for yo-“ Baekhyun turns his head at the sound of his hyung’s voice. He waves when he sees his brother running towards them. “Oh, hi Junmyeon. What happened?”
Junmyeon stands up and discards of the soiled tissue in the bin next to the drinking fountain. He fixes the straps of his backpack over his shoulders when Baekbeom reaches them. “I saw your brother trip over earlier. He’s okay, though. I was just about to get some ice cream for him.”
“Ah, Baekhyun, always a klutz.” He ruffles Baekhyun hair and Baekhyun pouts.
“I’m not a klutz,” he protests, just about to stomp his foot before he realised how childish that would seem.
“Sure you’re not.” Baekbeom smiles down at him fondly. He looks at Junmyeon and punches him good naturedly in the shoulder. “Say, wanna shout an ice cream for me as well? I’ll let you have my notes for the calculus test tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
Junmyeon leaves after buying the brothers an ice cream each. He gives Baekhyun a fist bump and ruffles his hair. “See you next time, little one.”
“Goodbye, Junmyeon-hyung.” He smiles and begins to walk off towards the setting sun. Baekhyun watches Junmyeon’s silhouette until it’s nothing in the distance. Baekhyun’s heart is still beating rapidly inside of his chest when Baekbeom takes his hand and leads him home.