Work Text:
“It’s raining.”
Jongdae all but whispers, and it was louder than enough for Baekhyun to hear. He pokes his tiny head out of Jongdae’s bag and peers at the bus window. Everything is too big and far for him to see, so he frowns and hooks his chin on the zipper dejectedly. Jongdae laughs; his pinkie rubs on Baekhyun’s head in the gentlest way.
It’s the only pro of the curse .
This morning Baekhyun woke up to being tiny, feeling annoyed but not completely surprised.
Most of the Byun descendants live like this: they never know exactly when they’re going to shrink , only that if they want to avoid it, they have to always think they’re not small . As in, be brave , believe in yourself, and face your problems. If they cannot commit to this, chances are they will shrink to the size of a pear at a hard time.
Baekhyun only has a vague idea why it’s today.
Jongdae is his only classmate who has seen him like this—twice before an important presentation, once before Baekhyun performed in front of the whole school, and many times before final tests. The thing is, both of them know there’s no event today. Jongdae has suggested he stay home, but Baekhyun said maybe if he faced the Chemistry class he hated so much, he’d return to normal again.
“You’re not that scared of it,” Jongdae snorted, “You don’t care about Chemistry.”
Jongdae wasn’t wrong. Baekhyun doesn’t care about it, and he should’ve stayed home… but spending a day without Jongdae, that’s what'd make him even tinier.
♡
He still remembers the entrance ceremony like it happened just yesterday. That had been a really big crowd, but it went better than he’d expected, probably because he was predominantly thrilled. The heavy rain definitely sucked, but it’s also the reason he’d met Jongdae.
“Ah wait-!”
Baekhyun was standing outside the jammed bus shelter when he heard a shriek really close to him. It took him less than a second to realize that he had titled his umbrella and poured the rainwater on an innocent guy.
“Shit I’m sorry!” Baekhyun remembers panicking upon seeing how he was soaked from head to toe, “I am so sorry!”
Despite his state, the other laughed, cramming himself in to stand under the umbrella with Baekhyun, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Can we share your umbrella? Forgot mine at home.”
Baekhyun was stunned by the dazzling smile for a moment before he nodded, hand gripping the pole tighter and tiptoeing a bit closer unconsciously.
He wouldn’t learn that the boy, Jongdae, was his classmate until a minute later.
♡
Baekhyun finds himself settling inside Jongdae’s shirt pocket after relentlessly complaining about the desk storage’s darkness. There’s more space than he thought; he can duck his head down and still breathe comfortably, and according to Jongdae, the bump is inconspicuous enough people will ignore it or think he is carrying his wallet there.
Baekhyun couldn’t care less about people; actually, he doesn’t even care what their Chemistry teacher is going on about. All he could think of was their proximity, how he was so close to Jongdae's heart and could hear its beating. Ba-dump, ba-dump . It calms Baekhyun but also resonates in his head, engraved as another thing about Jongdae he’ll never let go.
♡
"Kyungsoo-yah, you can't forget us, okay? Don't abandon us for your American friends. Take care of yourself, I know y-you will study well…"
Jongdae broke into tears as he finished his sentence. Kyungsoo hugged him and that made him sob even harder, but Baekhyun didn't find it embarrassing, standing among a sea of people in the airport—in fact, he thought Jongdae looked beautiful. He was the most beautiful person Baekhyun had ever seen with tears streaming down their face.
At that moment, Baekhyun thought, he wanted to keep Jongdae in his pocket forever, if that meant he could protect his precious friend from all the bad things in the world.
♡
“Jongdae?” Baekhyun turns around, his voice small. He dozed off inside Jongdae’s pocket and woke up just now on the empty desk.
“Oh, I’m here, don’t worry,” Jongdae crouches down to be at Baekhyun’s eye level, his brows tilted adorably, “Classes are over, and I didn’t mean to wake you up but… Sooyun wanted to see me.”
Baekhyun’s world starts spinning; he feels as though he’s shrunk ever smaller and Jongdae is not going to see him anymore. This is exactly what he’s scared of. What makes him insecure. Sooyun is the prettiest girl in their school, and there have been rumors she’s gonna confess to Jongdae today.
“You can wait for me, right?”
Jongdae asks, and Baekhyun wants to say no.
But he nods.
Each step Jongdae takes makes Baekhyun miserable. When he leaves the door behind, it feels as though Baekhyun lost a friend. No, says the voice in his head, how dare you think of Jongdae like that? Baekhyun knows they’re always gonna be friends. Them having girlfriends isn’t gonna change that… but Baekhyun doesn’t want that.
Baekhyun likes Jongdae. He’s liked Jongdae long before Sooyun; he’s liked him since they first met.
Be brave, Jongdae isn’t here, but Baekhyun can still hear his voice, encouraging and gentle, every time he’s afraid. You’re bigger than this curse.
He’s aware it’s unlikely the real Jongdae will even say that to him if he knows what Baekhyun is about to do, but still he climbs down—almost setting his body on fire while sliding the leg—sprints towards the door, and just prays to God for a miracle.
He runs and runs and runs and—
“Baek! You returned to normal!”
Suddenly Jongdae isn’t so big anymore, and as he halts in his step, Baekhyun realizes he is indeed no longer tiny. He’s made it to the end of the corridor, where Jongdae is standing with sunlight falling on him, smiling.
“Please date me,”
You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.
Jongdae’s grin reaches his eyes.