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It was the last day of summer, the last day of freedom as Kyungsoo preferred to refer to it. The last day where he could spend hours daydreaming out in the fields his family called a backyard while honeybees buzzed around him. As Kyungsoo watched a particularly round one try its best to get the pollen from a not-quite-blooming bud, he felt nostalgic for a time that had not yet passed. A small twitch of his finger and the bee buzzed happily into the now bursting bloom, filled to the brim with magically infused pollen. He thought to himself that he couldn’t wait to taste that particular colony’s honey. His dad’s flowers always produced the best honey. Kyungsoo had once asked him why and the only answer he got was that he’d know when he grew up, or maybe he wouldn’t. The answer always frustrated him.
Bored of cloud watching, he turned onto his stomach, hands folded in front of him into a makeshift pillow. Just as he laid his head onto it, letting the sun warm the right side of his face, he heard the tell-tale sign of his friends walking up to his fence. Kyungsoo lazily raised his head, squinting his eyes against the brightness of the sky to make out the faces of his friends. Baekhyun wasted no time opening the gate, having learned the week previous that he could not, in fact, copy Chanyeol and jump the fence. Which was exactly what followed. Baekhyun stopped in the middle of the gate and yelled after Chanyeol, calling him a show off as the latter made his way to where Kyungsoo was. Baekhyun was soon nudged out of the way by Jongdae who dutifully closed the gate behind them.
“Just because you’re tall doesn’t mean you have to remind us.” Baekhyun chided, lying down to form a T-shape against Kyungsoo by resting his head on the latter’s back. Chanyeol, who had sat down so he could face the pair, only gave Baekhyun a playful smile and a wink to which Baekhyun pretended to gag. Kyungsoo could only imagine what type of face he was making to cause Jongdae to burst out laughing. They began lamenting the beginning of school and how they’d missed their chance to go on the road trip they had planned. Kyungsoo didn’t mean to but he started tuning them out, distracted by watching how Chanyeol’s fingers flexed around blades of grass. It was clear that he wanted to pull them out but he didn’t and Kyungsoo wondered why, staring intently at the fairly short blades caught between Chanyeol’s long fingers. Somehow, Kyungsoo didn’t notice that the grass around Chanyeol’s hand was growing right before their eyes, winding around his fingers and up his wrist. It took Jongdae making a joke about how the sun might have fried his brain for him to realize what he had been doing. A furious blush began appearing on his ears and Kyungsoo wanted nothing more than to be swallowed by the earth. He didn’t notice the way Chanyeol smiled as he slowly pulled apart the blades to free his hand.
They fell into a quiet reverie. Kyungsoo had his eyes closed as he willed his ears to stop burning but he could feel the way Baekhyun shifted onto his stomach, into a similar position to himself, then began drawing on his back. Soon after, Jongdae made his first guess by shouting out “sheep!” to which Baekhyun clapped and the pair high fived over Kyungsoo’s head. It wasn’t long before Chanyeol joined in, correctly guessing that Baekhyun wasn’t just drawing a dog, like Jongdae had suggested, but he was specifically drawing Mongryong. The answer earned Baekhyun a hit to his upper arm. They then went on to spend a few minutes shouting out the wrong answer to a drawing Baekhyun had repeated so many times, Kyungsoo had the strokes nearly memorized.
“It’s a duck.” He stated confidently. The answer caused the trio to jump back and Chanyeol and Baekhyun accented their surprise with cursing.
“I thought you were asleep, shit.” Baekhyun explained as he sat up. Kyungsoo smiled to himself, eyes still closed as he decided to roll to his left only for his lower back to collide with Chanyeol’s bony knees. He could already feel the burning sensation rushing to his ears again as Chanyeol smiled it off.
“Let’s go get something cold, I’m being boiled alive.” Jongdae suggested. Kyungsoo hadn’t personally noticed the heat all that much, choosing to wear an uncharacteristic tank top and shorts to battle it before leaving his house. Jongdae, however, was wearing sweatpants and a white T-shirt and Kyungsoo could see the moisture caught in the bottom of his pant legs from the morning dew that hadn’t dissipated before he sat down.
“Anybody want ice cream? Chanyeol’s paying!” Baekhyun said before rushing to his feet and then the gate. Kyungsoo and Jongdae sat back, laughing as Chanyeol chased Baekhyun for his lies. When Jongdae motioned for them to follow, Kyungsoo didn’t hesitate to comply. Chanyeol did catch Baekhyun by the time they reached the main street and had the offender by his ear. Jongdae lightly slapped away Chanyeol’s hand with a bright smile. Baekhyun pouted and rubbed at his ear, showing the slight tinge of red to Jongdae like a younger sibling telling to his mom. Kyungsoo felt a small smile stretching his lips as he slid his hands into his pockets, feeling his wallet and keys when he pushed them to make room.
It didn’t take long to get downtown, one of the perks of living in a small town. One of the downsides was definitely that the area was not filled with many varied eating options. Thankfully, there was a small bingsu place right around the corner from where they had entered the street. It was a fairly intimate shop on the second floor of a 3 storey building. The first floor had been open for rental for the past 2 years, the third floor was the small local office of a cell service company.
They let Baekhyun pick the overly sweet strawberry bingsu against their better judgement and sat down at the only open booth. Jongdae and Chanyeol scooted in either side first with Kyungsoo and Baekhyun following each one respectively.
“I’m just saying,” Baekhyun continued their conversation from before entering, “as the only one with a license it was Chanyeol’s responsibility to take us on that road trip.” He accented the end of his statement by putting the electric buzzer, the one that let them know their order was ready, on the table.
“None of you were willing to pay for gas, do I look like I have money flowing out of my ass?” Chanyeol objected, his hand already stretched behind Baekhyun on the back of the seat.
“I object!” Jongdae exclaimed, pointing a finger at Chanyeol. “I have always pitched in for gas.”
“I was planning on getting the snacks, that’s just as important!” Baekhyun added. The other three all turned to him, giving him a look that only communicated the life-long exasperation of putting up with Baekhyun’s attempts to avoid paying.
“It’s literally not but that’s besides the point,” Jongdae stated, “I have always paid for gas, your problem is with these two freeloaders.” He gestured with two fingers at the other two members on the table.
“Kyungsoo’s not a freeloader he’s just broke.” Baekhyun… defended? Kyungsoo didn’t know if he should be thankful or take offense.
“Thanks?” Is all he managed to contribute before Baekhyun continued.
“In case you guys haven’t noticed, he has spaghetti arms. If he flexes he might break his bones from the strain. You can’t put a guy like that on the job market, he’d be eate--” Baekhyun was interrupted by the buzzing of the electric pad. Kyungsoo took the opportunity to slide out of the booth and get the frosty treat. He didn’t notice eyes lingering on the back of his head nor the small smile pulling at drying lips but if he had there’s no telling what would have happened to the succulents filling the shelves lining the walls. Kyungsoo smiled and thanked the workers as he noticed the tray with 4 spoons and a large bowl on a stand filled over the top in a mountain-like shape. The shaved ice was pink from the strawberry sauce and decorated with chocolate as well as clearly fresh strawberries, Kyungsoo could feel it. He picked up a few napkins and put them on the tray next to the spoons. As he turned around with the tray in hand he nearly bumped into someone else. His first instinct was to save the tray followed by apologizing. He didn’t have time for the latter as the other customers pushed past him to the tables without a care. So Kyungsoo followed their lead and went back to his friends.
“...about other people for once.” Kyungsoo heard Jongdae say as he approached. As he carefully placed the tray on the table, Chanyeol and Jongdae made themselves busy clearing the table of stray items and moving the new water glasses while Baekhyun rubbed his ear on Chanyeol’s side. Before Kyungsoo could settle into his seat, Baekhyun had snatched a strawberry off the bingsu and popped it into his mouth. Jongdae was the first to grab a spoon and try the shaved ice itself. His face contorted a bit before he took a sip of the water Kyungsoo realized they had gotten while he picked up the tray.
“That’s so sweet, Baekhyun why would you order this?” he explained before taking another bite. Prompted by the question, Baekhyun got his own spoonful.
“What do you mean? This tastes so good.” Baekhyun smiled as he got another large chunk of shaved ice. As it just so happened, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo reached out for separate sides of the ice mountain, Chanyeol getting a strawberry along with it. There was a clear pout visible on Baekhyun’s face as he watched Chanyeol eat the berry, leaving only the white top untouched. If Chanyeol noticed he ignored it masterfully. Kyungsoo felt a twitch of warmth spreading in his chest but he willed it down before there was any accident.
They continued eating and talking for another 30 minutes or so, the mountain being downgraded to a hill and then a hole as they went along. Baekhyun had managed to snatch 3 strawberries in total but Kyungsoo suspected he lamented the three that escaped to the rest of the party.
“God, what do you guys think university will be like?” Jongdae asked as he leaned back in his seat. He closed his eyes while listening to Baekhyun’s reply.
“There’s only two options: Hell on Earth or rose-colored romance.” Came the educated guess from a less educated man.
“Personally,” Chanyeol began, “I hope it will be like…” in all honesty, Kyungsoo had meant to pay attention to the answer. However, he soon became distracted as he watched his friend speak, eyes slowly drifting down to watch as his lips moved with every syllable. He hadn’t noticed when he picked up his strawberry top to fiddle with, nor did he notice that a strawberry plant was crawling up his hand.
“Oh nice!” Baekhyun exclaimed, both interrupting Chanyeol’s speaking and Kyungsoo’s staring as he reached across the table to pick something up. Kyungsoo felt a furious blush burn up his ears as he realized the strawberry Baekhyun was eating had sprung from the plant that had wrapped around his arm while he stared at his best friend.
“Hey, Byun Baekhyun, have you ever heard of manners?” Jongdae half-heartedly scolded before laughing lightly at his best friend’s antics. Baekhyun only smiled in reply, smacking his lips as he happily ate his strawberry.
Kyungsoo stared at the plant in his hand as it withered, wishing for the fire burning in the tops of his ears to die out.
“It’s getting really stuffy in here,” Chanyeol suddenly said, “let’s go out again. I need to stretch my legs anyway.” Kyungsoo cheered inside his head. The perfect escape. No one would realize how embarrassed he was, because someone else suggested leaving.
Before they left the table they put their items back on the tray and Jongdae pointed out a trash can to throw their napkins and… plants, in. No one said it but they all hoped no one would question why they had a fully grown strawberry plant, let alone why they were throwing it away. More people seemed to be entering the establishment and the four friends were thankful to leave when they did, the room was already filling with noise. They left the tray on the designated spot on the counter where an employee quickly grabbed it to clean off. The little thud of the door closing was never heard as it was held open by someone entering as they left.
It didn’t take them long to wander onto a neighborhood playground, especially with no one in sight to kick them away. 4 technically adults hanging out at a children’s playground would for sure get some irate parent throwing them off by their napes if there were any around. However, the day was far too hot for parents to let their kids waste it on the local playground. So they ran to the swingset. Kyungsoo didn’t realize that Chanyeol had chosen the swing opposite him until he felt the gust of wind from Chanyeol’s large body swinging. Jongdae sat next to Chanyeol, kicking his feet against the black rubber cork that covered the ground. Baekhyun had started a competition with Chanyeol without any words exchanged. Kyungsoo decided it would be best to keep his eyes and feet on the ground, he never was a big fan of heights.
The hot day passed in a haze. Kyungsoo didn’t quite know how to put it into words but something about being with his friend made time pass like the hours were minutes. Although he knew he would cherish that day while his friends went off to college, he simultaneously recognized that it would be the memory of how he felt, not the events, which would carve a space in his mind.
A few hours passed as they hung out on the swingset, somewhere along the way Baekhyun started singing with Jongdae joining quickly. It was some old trot song. Kyungsoo couldn’t remember the name but, before he knew it, he joined in. Chanyeol’s voice joined the harmony as well and Kyungsoo couldn’t help but close his eyes. Because of this, he didn’t notice that, as their voices got more comedic, dandelions started popping out between the squares of rubber underneath them. As he opened his eyes, he saw the flowers–he didn’t like to call them weeds–waving in the small breeze that wasn’t cold at all. Maybe it was the heat but it didn’t fully register to him that the flowers were his doing.
Suddenly, Baekhyun jumped from the stationary swing, causing the metal to clank against the frame. Kyungsoo was startled, as were the other two, and looked to Baekhyun with wide eyes for an explanation.
“Let’s get food, I’m starving.” He explained.
“What should we get?” Jongdae asked, already standing up to join him.
“Let’s just walk around and decide what we want.” Baekhyun answered.
And that’s just what they did, walking back downtown as the sun lowered towards the horizon. As it was later in the day, the streets had started lining up with street vendors selling tteokbokki, fish cakes, and various other street foods. None of them seemed to want the same thing until Jongdae pointed out a vendor of tornado potatoes. Kyungsoo couldn’t quite place it but there was something so enamoring about the way Chanyeol opened his mouth so wide only to be met with a potato that was still too hot. Kyungsoo felt a smile tug at his lips as Chanyeol panted with his tongue out to chill the burning sensation. He quickly blew on his own potato and bit in. Being met with a warm bite rather than a burning one, he offered to switch potatoes with Chanyeol who graciously accepted. Seeing the content smile as Chanyeol chewed happily on his food had Kyungsoo unconsciously sprouted flowers in the wavy mess of Chanyeol’s hair. Before he knew it, he was reaching up and plucking one out before letting the others quickly wilt. Chanyeol looked startled but Kyungsoo simply tucked the flower away in his pocket before carrying on with the cooled potato.
Unfortunately, none of them had finished their potatoes by the time Jongdae’s mom messaged him to go home, a journey Baekhyun joined him on as they lived close to one another. The pairs bid each other good night before heading off in different directions, all four happily eating their potatoes. Chanyeol offered to walk Kyungsoo home, citing his worry that something might happen as Kyungsoo navigated the unlit backroads that led to his house. Kyungsoo accepted, despite knowing that the path was about as dangerous at night as it was in daylight.
Nevertheless, they made it to his house safely and Kyungsoo invited Chanyeol inside for a glass of water, an offer which was readily accepted. The trip had been fairly silent, the 15 or so minutes being spent largely trying to avoid rolling their ankles on the pebbles and gravel that made up the path. Kyungsoo thought he offered the water to avoid conversation even further, thinking back to all the embarrassing incidents that occurred in one short day. It sent a blush rushing to his ears.
“Are you okay?” Chanyeol suddenly asked. Kyungsoo startled, only then realizing he hadn’t actually taken a sip of his own water while Chanyeol’s glass was down to its last few drops.
“Oh, uh, yeah just… mind was somewhere else.” Kyungsoo quickly answered before trying to down the entire glass in a few gulps. He failed, because of course he did, and a concerned Chanyeol was by his side in a split second patting his back as Kyungsoo coughed to get the water out of his airway.
“Thanks,” he said hoarsely as he regained his bearing and cleared his throat. Chanyeol just smiled in reply before taking a step back. Kyungsoo couldn’t quite tell if his heart skipped a beat because of the water or the smile but either way the various plants his mom tended to in the kitchen started moving of their own volition. Chanyeol didn’t seem to notice, instead he simply placed his glass in the sink and asked if they should go to Kyungsoo’s room. Kyungsoo nodded wordlessly, followed Chanyeol’s lead and put his own glass in the sink. Chanyeol waited for Kyungsoo to step out first which Kyungsoo found endearing for some reason. They had practically lived at each other’s houses this final semester and Chanyeol still chose to follow Kyungsoo rather than start off by himself.
“What exactly do you want to do?” Kyungsoo asked, sitting down on the edge of his own bed awkwardly as he did so. Chanyeol shrugged, eyes scanning the room for possible things to do.
“Do you still have your dad’s guitar?” Chanyeol asked, his original intentions obvious when he made eye contact with Kyungsoo. The latter nodded and pointed to the far corner of the room, practically hidden behind his small study-desk. He wouldn’t need that desk soon enough. Chanyeol quickly retrieved the instrument before sitting down with it on Kyungsoo’s desk chair. He started tuning it by ear and Kyungsoo realized how he would never stop being amazed by his best friend. The way his lips parted as he focused on getting the sound just right distracted Kyungsoo and his mind was suddenly filled with the shape of Chanyeol’s lips. So much so that he didn’t notice as moss steadily replaced Chanyeol’s eyebrows. It wasn’t until Chanyeol himself scratched at his brow that Kyungsoo realized what he had done and became mortified. He fell back on the bed, closing his eyes tightly and willing the moss to go back where it came from. He almost thought Chanyeol hadn’t noticed as he didn’t say anything for a few minutes.
“I know you like me, Kyungsoo.” Came the sudden confession from Chanyeol. Kyungsoo’s eyes shot open and his heart started beating loudly in his ears.
“Of… Of course I like you, we’re friends, aren’t we?” but Kyungsoo wasn’t sure just how confident he was in that last statement anymore.
“Don’t… twist my words, you know what I mean. You’re too smart not to.” Kyungsoo felt, rather than saw, Chanyeol’s intent gaze at the end of that statement and he knew the blush was back in his ears and more violent than ever.
“Do I?” He swallowed thickly, unsure if Chanyeol was mad at him or not. He had tried so hard to hide his true feelings, how the hell could Chanyeol figure it out?
“You do. Why would you try to lie to me?” Kyungsoo’s offense at Chanyeol’s question had him shooting up and making eye contact as he tried to answer.
“I’m not… trying to…” came the weak reply, his strength drained by just how heavy Chanyeol’s eyes felt on his own.
“It’s okay to admit it, Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol went on, “you’ve made it obvious, anyways.” Kyungsoo didn’t know if it was his heartbeat thundering in his ears or his brain short circuiting but somehow… had Chanyeol noticed his slip ups today?
“How,” Kyungsoo cleared his throat, “how so?” Chanyeol cracked a small smile
“You’ve been making plants lose their shit around me for weeks now and you think I didn’t notice?” His tone wasn’t accusatory, if Kyungsoo’s mind was in the right space he might have realized that it was rather endeared. But all he could register was the mortifying realization that Chanyeol had known this whole time.
“Do… do you hate me?” Kyungsoo’s voice was quiet, he couldn’t tell if it was just because the blood in his ears was muffling the sound or if his voice really had become so small.
“Of course I don’t hate you.” Chanyeol’s voice was gentle and clear, like a lighthouse in the distance on a starlit night. Chanyeol put the guitar down, having long since finished his fiddling. “I wanted to say that I like you, too, but I guess I screwed up.” Chanyeol’s confession ended in a quiet laugh but all Kyungsoo noticed, and clung to, was the hidden statement ‘I like you, too’. If his heart had been loud before he was sure Chanyeol could hear it at that point as it made leaps and bounds in his chest.
“You like me…” It wasn’t quite obvious if Kyungsoo was asking or stating it but, either way, Chanyeol responded with a small nod and a rapidly appearing blush of his own.
“What I was trying to say,” Chanyeol started floundering, “is that we like each other. I’m not sure where we go from here…” Kyungsoo wasn’t sure either.
“You’re starting university. Tomorrow.” Was the response he settled for. Chanyeol seemed to deflate a bit as he nodded.
“And you’re not.” was all he could think to respond with. Kyungsoo nodded too. “What does that mean.” Chanyeol didn’t offer it as a question, it was more as if he was trying to get Kyungsoo to confront the question than himself.
“Do you… want to be with me?” Chanyeol could tell the question was nerve wracking one to ask for Kyungsoo as the latter started to chew on the inside of his lip right as he let go of the last syllable.
“I think… yes.”
“You think ‘yes’?” Kyungsoo shot back instantly, looking at Chanyeol with playful eyes for the first time in a while.
“I mean,” Chanyeol floundered, “I know, yes.”
“Then I guess we agree there.” Kyungsoo stated. Chanyeol nodded again. “But what does that make us?” This time it was a question.
“Whatever we want us to be.” Chanyeol replied after a beat. “I would, personally, enjoy it if I could call you my boyfriend.” Chanyeol said, voice steadily getting quieter as the sentence progressed.
Kyungsoo smiled, a genuine, carefree smile, as he looked Chanyeol in the eye and said, “I would enjoy that, too.” Chanyeol found himself smiling back.
“So, do we kiss now or something?” Chanyeol wondered out loud, frankly killing the mood but Kyungsoo couldn’t help how his smile got wider.
“If we want to.” He answered simply.
“Do you want to?”
“Do you?”
“Yes.” Chanyeol’s answer was firm. Kyungsoo patted the space next to him and Chanyeol wasted no time obliging the wordless request.
There was a lot of hesitant reaching out as Chanyeol settled on putting one hand on Kyungsoo’s waist as the other found his jaw and Kyungsoo placed his own hand on Chanyeol’s jaw. They both started leaning in, eyes closing just as their lips touched for the first time. But there were no sparks or fireworks and Kyungsoo recognized that Chanyeol’s lips were simply just touching his own in a chaste kiss. It was nice, in its own way, but he wanted something more. So, using what little he had learned from his extensive movie watching over the years, he slowly parted his lips and tried to get Chanyeol to reciprocate. And then it came, as their first kiss evolved into something more than just a touch of lips, Kyungsoo could feel the rush of emotions pouring out from his body into Chanyeol’s.
It was magical, or maybe the magic was just Kyungsoo sending every plant in his room into a frenzy as vines sprouted from the floor and tied his legs to Chanyeol’s. They pulled away silently.
“Pretty.” Chanyeol whispered and Kyungsoo couldn’t think of anything except the need to say the same about his once just-best-friend, but currently boyfriend, as he smiled. The tiny daisies that sprouted in Chanyeol’s hair and ears seemed to smile back while they gently moved, as if in a breeze.