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There’s a tall wooden fence just a five minute walk away from their school that separates any trespassers from the edge of the cliff. A lighthouse stands tall in front of the fence but Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s already been there too many times that it lost its thrill already. Baekhyun’s always looking for more adventure, more fun, but there’s only so much you can do in a small town like theirs.
Sometimes, after school, they go over the fence and swing their legs over the edge. At least Baekhyun does, anyway. Kyungsoo prefers staying three or four steps away from the cusp of the cliff, save from accidental slips and mishaps. He reasons that he’s heard too many campfire tales about how kids their age fell from the edge of the cliff and allowed the ocean to swallow them whole, their bodies never found.
“Aw, don’t be a chicken, Soo!” Baekhyun had teased him about it the first time. Suffice it to say that he never dared to again when Kyungsoo held Baekhyun’s favourite pair of shoes over the edge and threatened to drop it.
Other times, they go to different landmarks or maybe tread through untouched places: the backyard of the house of the Kims who moved away ten years ago, the hiking trail most tourists go through, a hidden beach, old churches, and if Baekhyun’s feeling contemplative, Mrs. Seo’s old bookstore. They’ve got no money to buy the books but Mrs. Seo lets them stay and skim through the pages. Kyungsoo’s always been her favourite, that one costumer she has taken a liking to even if Baekhyun’s the one that brought him in.
“He wouldn’t have found this place if it wasn’t for me, ahjumma!” Baekhyun whined one time when Mrs. Seo said that Kyungsoo was her favourite. “Aw, don’t be sad, Baekhyunnie! Don’t you like Kyungsoo, too?” she had laughed. “Maybe I’ll like you better if you help me rearrange the books. Kyungsoo, dear, can you man the cashier?”
Baekhyun followed Mrs. Seo all over the shop, arranging and rearranging every book and Mrs. Seo’s words echoing in his head while Kyungsoo sat, spinning idly in his chair. ‘Don’t you like Kyungsoo, too?’
Baekhyun had watched Kyungsoo in the corner of his eyes while Mrs. Seo chattered away about where she got each book. Kyungsoo had caught him staring and his lips had quirked up in a strange smile. Baekhyun stuck his tongue out and turned away but his fingers trembled as he held the books after.
It’s something Baekhyun doesn’t like to think about but it happens, anyway. He’s thought of it too many times during countless nights—thought of why his heart fluttered whenever he’s around Kyungsoo and, contrastingly, felt oddly comfortable too. And during those nights, he asks himself why. There’s never an exact answer but Baekhyun keeps looking, anyway.
Maybe, he thinks, while Baekhyun was looking for adventure in their small town, ducking under fences, climbing on trees, and engraving his and Kyungsoo’s name on the places they’ve been to, he had accidentally engraved Kyungsoo’s name on his chest too with the same sharp rock he uses on the trees.
Right there, across the chest, just above his heart. It stings.
--
Autumn takes their little town by the wind early. The wind sweeps off shorts and slippers and brings in trendy jackets and scarves. The convenience store in the middle of the town also stops selling watermelon-flavoured ice cream and replaces it with coffee instead. By mid-Autumn, all traces of red painted tongues due to the ice cream are long gone. Everybody’s holding a cup of coffee by then, students and adults alike walking down the streets with paper cups.
“Do you remember that hiking trail we went through last winter?” Baekhyun says conversationally. Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at Baekhyun as if trying to read his thoughts. Baekhyun smiles innocently. He knows Kyungsoo hears the inclination in his voice, the same tone he uses whenever he charm-speaks Kyungsoo’s parents. Like that one time he talked them into forgiving Kyungsoo when they came home late from one of their adventures. Kyungsoo may be Mrs. Seo’s favourite but he’s pretty certain Kyungsoo’s parents like him better. Hah!
Kyungsoo knows Baekhyun all too well but entertains him, nonetheless.
“The one where you enthusiastically asked me to go with you only to back out when we’re halfway already?” Kyungsoo says smoothly, sipping at his coffee. “Yeah, I remember.”
Baekhyun snorts, shoving Kyungsoo’s arm lightly. “Yeah, yeah sure, take a trip down to memory lane and remind Baekhyun of all his worst moments.”
“You asked for it.” Kyungsoo smiles. “So, what’s up?”
Baekhyun grins widely. “Well, according to a reliable source, if you go straight down that trail and turn at the nearest right and keep walking, you’ll find a lake.” He looks down at his cup and frowns when he sees it’s empty. He crumples the paper cup and throws it at the nearby bin. The cup only hits the rim of the bin and falls to the ground instead.
“That reliable source being…?” Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow. He leans down to pick up Baekhyun’s trash when they reach the bin, flicks Baekhyun’s forehead and throws the cup along with his paper cup, too.
“Chanyeol. Says he saw a brief flash of a body of water when he rode his bike down the track along with Sehun and Jongdae,” Baekhyun replies, rubbing at the spot Kyungsoo hit and kicking Kyungsoo’s shin after.
“Baekhyun. Calling Chanyeol a ‘reliable’ source is like calling Jongdae a good student. Besides, even if it’s true anyway, who wants to go swimming in the middle of autumn?” Kyungsoo says, making a face at the idea. They stop at an intersection, where they always part ways whenever they walk home. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s house are on opposite sides of the street.
Baekhyun ponders on the idea. “You know, you’re quite right,” he says. “Well, I’ve got a better idea. See you tonight at 10?” he grins, formulating his plan further. Nothing like a good swim in the middle of Autumn.
Kyungsoo looks curious. He raises an eyebrow. “What kind of plan are you thinking of?” he shouts after Baekhyun but Baekhyun’s already jogging to his house. Baekhyun looks back, grins wickedly, and shouts back. “You’ll see!”
--
Baekhyun remembers the first time he met Do Kyungsoo—the wide eyed wonder, adorable kid on the block yet quieter and more mature than most. The one who refused to sneak out with the other kids and played alone in the lawn instead.
Baekhyun had been riding his bike down the street. At age seven, there’s only so much you can do and limited places you can go to without being chastised by your mother. It was when he was still young enough to actually believe his mother’s warnings of monsters and scary people living on the next street. Baekhyun regrets believing his mother’s words and missing out in all the fun and trouble the neighbourhood kids went through but does not actually felt remorseful because he wouldn’t have met Kyungsoo, then. There’s a reason to everything, after all.
Baekhyun remembers. He was biking in a circle when he caught a boy staring at him from the lawn. Baekhyun had stared back and in his distraction, swerved too much and fell off his bike. The boy only stared for a minute, blinking at the wincing Baekhyun before going back inside his house.
Baekhyun snorted then, gingerly dragging his fingers across the wound on his knees and wincing. “Sure. Go ahead and don’t extend a hand to a kid that just fell off his bike,” Baekhyun grumbled. Blood oozed from the wound and it’s not that bad, Baekhyun’s had worse but it still hurt anyway. His words were proven wrong when the boy came back a minute later holding a kit.
“Hold still,” the boy commanded, placing the kit down and Baekhyun remembers thinking ‘Is he a nurse or something?’ as the boy expertly scavenged through the kit for the appropriate materials. He watched as the boy poured beta dine on a cotton ball and dabbed the cotton on the wound. His fingers were gentle, careful, treating the wound with care and Baekhyun was almost tempted to ask how the boy seems so experienced. “I get injured easily,” the boy said, as if answering Baekhyun’s thoughts. Baekhyun nodded as if it explained everything.
He then placed a zebra-printed band aid on the wound after, smiling a bit at his work and peeking up at Baekhyun through his bangs. There’s apprehension and curiousness in his eyes. “Good?” he asked. Baekhyun patted the band aid gingerly as he stood up and got on his bike. He grinned at the boy. “Better. Thank you! What’s your name?”
“Um, Do Kyungsoo.”
“Well, um Do Kyungsoo, I’m uh Byun Baekhyun and I’m your new friend. See you around!” he said, grinning once more before biking to his house. Kyungsoo’s gaze bore holes in the back of his head.
Baekhyun thought of Kyungsoo that night. He thought of Kyungsoo’s small smile and his expressive eyes. He thought of the way Kyungsoo’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration when he was treating Baekhyun’s wound and decided he wanted to be friends with Kyungsoo. He told his mom about the scar the day after and she told him that it’ll be gone in a month, Baekhyun’s not to worry and he should be more careful next time.
True to his word, Kyungsoo became his friend after that. The hesitant boy, it seems, also had an appetite for adventure though he needed a little push. Baekhyun was that ‘push’. After a bit of coaxing, Baekhyun finally managed to persuade Kyungsoo to accompany him to his adventures. They went to different places after that, with Baekhyun getting injured once in while due to recklessness and Kyungsoo chastising him every time. The scars all healed except for one: the one he got when he first met Kyungsoo.
Time passed—a week, a month, three months, a year, and the scar did not disappear. If anything, it seemed like it’ll be a permanent scar in his body—a reminder, a memory.
Baekhyun’s still got it after all these years.
--
“Sneaking into the local pool? Seriously, Baekhyun?” There’s a sigh from the lump of black jacket that is Kyungsoo. He’s covered from head to toe due to the fairly cold weather but mainly because he doesn’t want anyone to see his face when Baekhyun’s plan fails. “Ah, so that’s why you have a bag of clothes.”
“Good job, Sherlock.” Baekhyun turns around to grin at Kyungsoo as he picks the lock of the pool’s back door. They’ve tried to sneak through the front gate only to halt when they see a guard napping. The guard, a snarky old Chinese man named Yi Fan, is a heavy sleeper, Baekhyun reassures, but Kyungsoo wanted to play safe.
“Bingo!” Baekhyun grins when the lock finally clicks open, the unmistakable click only barely resonating throughout the night but the sound clear in Baekhyun’s ears anyway. He opens the door a bit at first, peeking to make sure nobody’s inside before opening it all the way when he sees no one. They step in.
Just before Baekhyun closes the door, Kyungsoo subtly glances outside to check for any watching eyes which Baekhyun thinks is unnecessary, given that the parking lot is empty. It’s a small town—the residents either students like them or old people, and Baekhyun is pretty sure at this time everybody’s either asleep or strolling in the night market. Either way, there’s nobody else in the lot. The pool closed an hour ago, after all.
The water is cool on Baekhyun’s skin when he dips a foot in. “Perfect,” he says. He places the bag below one of the chairs where it’s hidden in case someone might go in. He takes off his jacket and strips himself off his shirt, throwing the clothing on the floor then jumps in the pool, not bothering to take off his jeans. The lights are off but the wide windows near the ceiling allows enough moonlight that it’s possible to maneuver and see a bit of their surroundings.
“Good day for a swim!” he grins at Kyungsoo, doing a back stroke. Kyungsoo’s staring at him with crossed arms, a good five inches away from the pool in case Baekhyun pulls him in. He seems to be contemplating whether to jump in the pool or not.
“You’re missing all the fun,” Baekhyun sing-songs.
Kyungsoo sighs. “I thought I told you I didn’t want to swim in the middle of Autumn.”
“That you did.” Baekhyun grins. “It’s summer in here, however. Look behind you.” Kyungsoo turns to look behind him and breaks into a smile when he sees the sun and palm trees, all summer-y, painted on the wall.
“I’ve got no extra clothes,” Kyungsoo reasons once again, raising an eyebrow. There’s still a small smile painted in his lips.
“I brought you extra. Come on! It’s getting lonely in here,” Baekhyun says, cupping water in his hands and throwing it at Kyungsoo.
“All right, all right!” Kyungsoo laughs when the water hits his face. He strips off his jacket and shirt and Baekhyun’s grin falters for a moment as he tries not to stare. Kyungsoo jumps in. “Tsundere,” Baekhyun teases him when he gets over the funny feeling in his stomach. “You were gonna go in, anyway.”
They swim in laps, side by side. Back stroke, breast stroke, butterfly stroke. When their limbs are finally sore from swimming, they float on their backs and stare at the ceiling, pretending that they’re looking at the sky. The water is a beautiful blue and reflected on the roof of the building, looks oddly calming and infinitely enticing.
“You’re right,” Kyungsoo says. Baekhyun turns to him with a raised eyebrow. Kyungsoo’s still staring at the ceiling. A water droplet is stuck in his eyelashes and it drops down back to the pool when he blinks.
“About what?” Baekhyun asks.
“Good day for a swim,” Kyungsoo replies, finally turning to grin at Baekhyun. Baekhyun only stares at him, throat dry. The pool feels so small. He swallows thickly. “I always pick the perfect day to do something, don’t I? That’s why our adventures are always fun.”
“No,” Kyungsoo laughs. “They’re always fun because you’re there. I wouldn’t go, otherwise.”
Baekhyun turns his head so fast he almost breaks his balance and sinks into the pool. His heart is beating fast against his chest. Kyungsoo’s pursing his lips, trying to stop himself from smiling too much. “Say what again?” Baekhyun says.
The knob on the front door to the pool jiggles and they jerk back into reality quickly. “Shit.” Baekhyun widens his eyes. Kyungsoo looks panicked, too. “Um, uh—“
“Baekhyun, grab our clothes!” Kyungsoo whispers harshly. Baekhyun swims, hurried, and grabs both his and Kyungsoo’s clothes splayed on the floor. The door clicks open. “Dive!” Kyungsoo says, bringing Baekhyun down with him deep into the water.
“Who’s there?” comes Yi Fan’s grumpy voice, thick and heavy from sleep. His footsteps echo throughout the whole building. Baekhyun hears him fumble with something.
“Work, you stupid flashlight,” Yi fan grumbles. Baekhyun remembers the old man's poor eyesight, especially in the dark, and he's infinitely thankful. Yi Fan hits the flashlight repeatedly in his palm. “Shit,” they hear Yi Fan curse and hear the sound of something dropping in the water. The batteries, probably. Yi Fan must’ve tried fixing it. Kyungsoo laughs quietly, bubbles coming out of his mouth and forming a halo in his head. Baekhyun stares. It’s kind of dark but a bit of light flickers on Kyungsoo’s face.
If it were possible for his breath to hitch even more so in the water and snuff the remaining oxygen out of his lungs, Baekhyun would’ve drowned by then.
“Worthless piece of crap.” they hear Yi Fan grumble once more. His footsteps echo throughout the building again, kind of muted under the pool, before everything is silent again. They stay still for a moment before Kyungsoo resurfaces. “All clear,” Kyungsoo signals and Baekhyun resurfaces too, gasping for air.
“Close call.” Baekhyun manages to laugh as they climb out of the pool. He grabs his bag and thinks, ‘Thank god I had the foresight to hide it’. “Hey, quit sighing and hand me my clothes.” Kyungsoo says. He catches the jeans and shirt Baekhyun throws at him and strips. Baekhyun turns around to change clothes, too. After, he puts his wet shirt and jeans inside his bag—it’s dripping with water but Baekhyun decides they’ll wring it later. There’s no use risking and staying inside the building now that guard dog’s awake.
When they finish, Kyungsoo gestures to the back door and they tip-toe out of the building, water dripping from their hair. “Guess that’s it for our summer paradise,” Baekhyun says when they go out and reach the parking lot at the back of the building. The wind stings at his skin—it’s cold.
Kyungsoo grabs the bag from Baekhyun and brings out his wet shirt to wring it. Baekhyun does the same. They work in silence for a while, wringing their clothes, and only the sound of water slapping against the floor can be heard. “So, what excuse will you use this time, Byun Baekhyun? About the wet clothes?” Kyungsoo says.
“I’ll wash them myself,” Baekhyun replies, then gives Kyungsoo his sweetest smile. “Or maybe I’ll let the kindest, handsomest, bestest friend in the whole world wash it—"
“Now why would I do that?” Kyungsoo laughs. The sound is rich and beautiful in Baekhyun’s ears he almost strains to hear more of it. Kyungsoo’s looking at him with a smile and a flicker in his eyes and Baekhyun is aware his fingers are trembling.
“Hey,” Baekhyun says shakily. His heart is pounding in his chest. “You’ll hate me but hit me after, okay?” He’s closing the gap between him and Kyungsoo, placing his forehead against the younger. The corner of Kyungsoo’s lips quirk up as he speaks. “Now why would I do that?”
Kyungsoo’s lips are cold, soft. The pounding, drumming sound in his chest triples even more and Baekhyun thinks Kyungsoo is actually hearing it because then, he’s smiling against Baekhyun’s lips. He’s beginning to think Kyungsoo’s not as nervous as him but then he holds Kyungsoo’s hands and he realizes they’re shaking. The thrum of their bodies Baekhyun finds comforting.
He thinks of that one time when he and Kyungsoo were sitting on the Kims’ rooftop. Baekhyun had stared into the distance, where he can see the horizon and the sun sinking. They were only eight years old and they had just tread through one of the old churches a couple of blocks away from their school—the farthest they’ve been to that time. “Someday, I’m going to go on an adventure that’ll change my life forever,” Baekhyun had whispered.
And now, Kyungsoo’s lips against his, he thinks it may have happened already.
They take the bus home. The local pool’s situated in the middle of the town and they live near the end. Baekhyun’s hair drips water on Kyungsoo’s shirt where he’s leaning his head on his shoulder but Kyungsoo doesn’t seem to mind.
“Hey, maybe lay low on strenuous activities for a while. They wear me out,” Kyungsoo mumbles against Baekhyun’s hair.
Baekhyun turns to look at Kyungsoo and grins. “You decide where we go next, then.”
There’s only so much you can do in a small town like theirs and Baekhyun plans to do it all with Kyungsoo.