Foolproof ChenDo Plan
Title: Foolproof ChenDo Plan
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5,116
Summary: Chanyeol is confident that Junmyeon and him are soulmates. Jongdae and Kyungsoo are sneaky masterminds.
Warning/s: None
Chanyeol first met Junmyeon at school.
The student council decided it would be the best option to assign seniors as tutors for juniors, just during study week, as an effort to improve the school’s quality and let the students bond. And it was for good reason as most of the juniors, just having enrolled a month ago, knew few students aside from other juniors. Chanyeol himself had no idea who his tutor was, only being passed a message from a ‘Junmyeon hyung’ to meet at the library at nine.
Humming to himself, he laid out his stack of books before glancing at the clock. Five minutes to nine. Usually he was late for meetings or classes, but this is a senior, and he needed to make a very good first impression because Kim Junmyeon, according to the rumour mills, was a member of the student council.
Chanyeol never got to really see his tutor up close, only fleeting shadows, and he never had any reason to seek out the older. He just hoped Junmyeon wouldn’t be too strict on him or a nerd. Yeah, he just hoped Junmyeon wasn’t some nerdy, strict goody two shoes.
“Chanyeol?”
The tall boy turned his head and relief flooded him because no, Junmyeon didn’t wear thick-rimmed glasses nor did he wear waist-high pants and he has perfectly aligned teeth sans braces. He had a very sophisticated look, almost akin to royalty, if he wasn’t wearing those hideous school uniform with that horribly designed tie. He couldn’t find a hair nor thread out-of-place on Junmyeon.
If Chanyeol had to be truthful, he was slightly intimidated with how Junmyeon carried himself, with an air of no-nonsense and highly refined style, but he hoped it didn’t show on his face as he smiled. Junmyeon sat himself down and took out his own books (neatly wrapped, Chanyeol noticed). He felt dreadfully out-of-place, sitting with the prince-like senior with his unruly black hair, elfish ears and slightly wrinkled blazer. Even Junmyeon’s Parker pen made his Rillakkuma mechanical pencil inadequate.
A frown was starting to make its way on Chanyeol’s face. A nerdy tutor would be better because Chanyeol doesn’t handle being bested at very well. He needed to be the best in everything, and his the inferiority complex his Rillakkuma pencil was giving him was not helping the least bit. He decid-ed that Kim Junmyeon would be his rival. He was running through plans on becoming the president of the student council when Junmyeon asked him on what subject they should start first. Chanyeol mentally paused his musings, remembering to store them away for later.
“Chemistry,” he mustered confidently, trying as best he can to project a charismatic aura.
Too bad his puffed up chest deflated when instead of being awed, Junmyeon laughed at him. Chanyeol would have felt better if he was made fun of, but the way Junmyeon laughed at him irked him, because it was like he found Chanyeol endearing, with how his eyes scrunched up hideously. A (hopefully) witty remark was on the tip of his tongue when Junmyeon stopped laughing and smiled, teeth and all, and the comeback died on his tongue.
“Alright, as you wish, sir,” Junmyeon quipped playfully, but Chanyeol just stared right ahead, all the rivalry dissolved, like Junmyeon’s smile was a solvent, a universal solvent because that smile could probably bring world peace.
Junmyeon looked like an angel when he smiled, and Chanyeol couldn’t get the image out of his head that night.
⊹ •• •
. • * *
Despite his not so minuscule crush, somehow the fates were against him, with how uneventful the whole tutoring week was. His crush got even more out of hand when he started noticing Junmyeon more often in school grounds, helping out a teacher, eating at the cafeteria, and Chanyeol’s favour-ite, swimming at the indoor pool. The following week, he blurted out about his crush to his best friend, who he thought should be demoted from best friend to merely acquaintances with how he was being ignored in favour of studying for the upcoming exam.
(“I told you, Baek, he’s got the sweetest smile ever! And he’s so tiny I can probably cup him in my hands!”. A pause. “Cup him in my hands,” Chanyeol murmured with a light blush dusting his cheeks before snapping his head toward Baekhyun who was writing down notes furiously. Exasperated, Baekhyun threw an eraser at the rowdy giant.
“Stop it with the sexual innuendos and just fuck him!” A pitiful whine escaped Chanyeol’s throat, but before he could say anything, Baekhyun continued his verbal attack. “And I thought you were straight!”
“I am!” Chanyeol exclaimed confidently before deflating slightly. “It’s just that Junmyeon hyung is a challenge! And he’s so perfect! Hard to get, challenging enough that he’s in his own league. I might be Junmyeon-sexual.”
He received a pen to the head for the comment.)
Chanyeol gave up confiding to Baekhyun and decided balefully that if he were to impress Jun-myeon hyung, he would have to ace this exam. And ace it he did, his reduced stalking crushing moments paid off. Sadly, his tiny hyung appeared to be ignorant of his achievement, with how Chanyeol only received a simple greeting in the hallway.
⊹ •• •
. • * *
“I give up!” Chanyeol wailed when he flopped down onto the sofa as soon as he walked in, startling the two children watching television on the floor. He wouldn’t have any opportunity to stalk Jun-myeon hyung with the summer holidays coming. He heard a hushed “don’t mind him” before wail-ing again, even louder this time. When he received no response or empathy whatsoever from his younger brother, he looked up and met a cold glare boring into his soul, making him gulp. He al-ways seemed to have problems with tinier people, he noticed. And that was bad, since he was a giant to most people.
Pouting at the treatment Kyungsoo gave him, he buried his face into one of the cushions and tried to suffocate himself when the doorbell rang. He heard rushed footsteps and the sound of the door swinging open, the words coming from a high-pitched Jongdae alerting his crush radar.
“Junmyeon hyung!”
Chanyeol stiffened and forgot to breathe, because is that Junmyeon the same Junmyeon? and successfully suffocated himself. Gasping for air as he sat up, he met theJunmyeon’s confused gaze. Jongdae and Kyungsoo was also looking at him weirdly, but they were unimportant in his quest for love. He immediately stood up and tripped while manoeuvring through tiny people on his way to the doorway, eliciting a laugh from Junmyeon. If that was what it took to make Jun-myeon happy, then he would gladly trip for the rest of his life.
“Hello, Chanyeol. I didn’t know you’re Kyungsoo’s brother.”
Chanyeol breathed out a ‘hi, yeah, brother’ before smiling dreamily because Junmyeon remem-bered his name and he felt blessed yet again when Junmyeon smiled that perfect smile.
It turned out Jongdae, Kyungsoo’s playmate and friend was Junmyeon’s little brother and he was just there to bring him home. As soon as their brief, chanced meeting ended with a smiling Chanyeol gazing longingly at their retreating figures, Kyungsoo voiced out, “You’re so disgustingly in love,”, but there was no bite in his tone.
Chanyeol snapped out of his daze and looked at Kyungsoo, a hopeful look on his face. It only took a pout before his brother was agreeing to help him. “Jongdae will come again during summer break.”
Kyungsoo and Jongdae might be that important after all in his quest for love.
⊹ •• •
. • * *
On the first day of summer break, Chanyeol was woken up by the insistent knocking on his door. He refused to open the door in favour of snuggling into his blanket even though the sun was already up, the rays filtering in through the blinds. He ignored the knocking initially, but the person behind that door was apparently as stubborn as he was.
Mumbling about how early it was and it’s summer break why can’t I sleep in, he wrapped his com-forter around him because the air conditioning was very good and his room was chilly and this posi-tion is very good for falling back asle-
“Chanyeol hyung! Junmyeon hyung is here!”
Chanyeol never abandoned his bed so fast before in his life. He opened the door with such force it bounced off the wall and hit him, making him wince. Rubbing his sore arm, he looked at the angels who brought the good news. “Is he downstairs?”, he asked excitedly, his grin so wide he felt his cheeks ache.
“No, we lied,” Kyungsoo answered nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t just broken Chanyeol’s heart.
Chanyeol’s hand twitched and he almost slammed the door in their faces when Jongdae stepped forward with his kittenish smile, which signalled Chanyeol that nothing good was up. He’d seen enough of this brat to know his personality which contrasted greatly from his brother Junmyeon’s. The gleam in Jongdae’s eyes though, made him pause in his actions. Squinting, he rested his hand on the doorknob and shifted his weight to his left foot, cocking an eyebrow to indicate he was listen-ing, because even though Jongdae was a brat, he was a clever one.
“I have a proposition to make,” he began confidently. Chanyeol couldn’t help notice that even though Jongdae and Junmyeon were extremely different, there were also some similar traits, like those high cheekbones, the air of confidence, the intelligence, and unfortunately, the ability to make Park Chanyeol behave and listen.
“I know you like my hyung, and I honestly would rather have him date you so I can come here more often and play with Kyungsoo. And since I’m his brother, I’m the best bet you have in making him fall for you, because I know him the best. So we came up with a foolproof plan to make him fall in love with you.”
Chanyeol squinted harder, knowing there’s more.
“What we want is return is your XBOX for the whole summer,” he finished.
The tall male crossed his arms across his chest and rubbed his chin as he thought about the pros and cons. On one hand, he could finally step up in his game and make the love of his life realise that he is meant to be with Chanyeol. But on the other hand, the so called foolproof plan might not be that foolproof and fail, and he would also lose his XBOX along the way. He furrowed his eye-brows in deep concentration. But the thought of actually having Junmyeon falling for him though, one that seemed so far fetched before, could finally become a reality. With the newfound slim chance and a sudden surge of hope, he extended his hand to shake Jongdae’s.
“You’ve got yourself a deal.”
⊹ •• •
. • * *
Chanyeol looked at himself in the bathroom mirror that evening and tentatively touched a strand of red hair falling over his forehead, eyeing it until his eyes hurt. He never dyed his hair before and when Jongdae said he needed to be eye-catching after sealing the deal, he didn’t expect to have his hair dyed bright red. He was feeling very skeptical about Jongdae’s and Kyungsoo’s ‘Foolproof ChenDo Plan’ because he can never imagine goody two shoes Joonmyun going out with a giant that looks like a delinquent. At least his hair is still soft, he thought as he ran his fingers through his hair so it won’t fall into his face like his usual bowl cut.
After deeming his hair presentable, he trudged downstairs, still feeling self-conscious. But when Kyungsoo looked up at him from the sofa and gave him a smile and thumbs up, he felt better, be-cause Kyungsoo was nothing if not brutally honest. He was good looking, and a dye job won’t change that fact about him. Hell, Jongdae’s plan might even work because even with a delin-quent look, he still had to admit those kids can do a decent dye job. And the colour brings out his skin tone. He patted his back mentally for still being optimistic. Now he just had to stay optimistic until Junmyeon comes to pick Jongdae up at five. Ten minutes to go.
He made his way to the sofa and squished himself between Kyungsoo and Jongdae, who were watching this children cartoon called Legend of Korra. He sniffed in distaste, but his eyes were still trained on the television screen. He also glanced at his precious XBOX lying on the carpeted floor, which will be there for the rest of summer break.
“So,” he began as soon as the advertisement started, making both children turn to shift their atten-tion to him. “Now that I’m all eye candy-” “eye catching,” Kyungsoo interrupted. He squinted at his younger brother and continued after clearing his throat. Twelve year olds aren’t supposed to know big words. “Now that I’m all eye-catching, what’s the next step in your plan?”
“Well-” Jongdae started
“You need to cook for him!,” Kyungsoo finished.
Chanyeol stared at the two in disbelief. In case his own brother haven’t noticed, he couldn’t cook to save his life. He was about to point that out when Kyungsoo answered his thoughts. “We’ll help, of course.”
“But we won’t clean up after,” Jongdae added.
“Okay,” Chanyeol said, dragging out the ‘o’ to show that he’s still skeptical about three two children and one teenager cooking in the kitchen. “What do we cook then?”
“Chocolate cake!”, both children chorused, as if they had this dialogue carefully planned. Which was not impossible, considering how they plan almost everything, even his love life.
He sighed in defeat, knowing he had to follow through with their plan or his XBOX would be sacri-ficed in vain. The grin on both Kyungsoo and Jongdae’s faces lifted his spirits somewhat. At least he made them happy, and Junmyeon would probably fall for him more knowing he’s been making his little brother happy. He was fantasising about how his senpai would be fawning over him when he heard a knock.
He only managed to blink before he was being dragged up to the front door by two short children, who were grinning excitedly, impatient to show off their artwork to Junmyeon hyung. Alarm bells sounded in his head because what if he thinks it looks bad, what if he thinks I look bad, which was too bad because while he was panicking, Jongdae already opened the door and he thought oh no, I’m done for.
But he wasn’t done for, because Junmyeon had his hair dyed too. And to Chanyeol’s delight, it wasn’t a normal colour like brown or copper. Student council member Kim Junmyeon dyed his hair platinum blonde and he looked like the more delinquent out of the two of them that moment, with his hair parted in the middle and his fringe falling into his face. Chanyeol thought he couldn’t fall for him more, but the sight of this new Junmyeon made him fall so hard he thought he might have bruised himself in the process.
Apparently Chanyeol was staring because the older male chuckled at him, the soft melodious voice making his insides churn in a good way. “Like what you see?” He missed the slight quiver in Jun-myeon’s voice, too busy staring, trying to imprint this image in his brain.
“Yes!”, Chanyeol agreed enthusiastically before realising that he might have given himself away and cleared his throat subtly, “It looks good on you,”.
It did look good on him, usually platinum blonde would look bad on people because it would contrast horribly with the skin tone, but Junmyeon is so fair and now he looked so white, he looked even more angelic. The plan was to make Junmyeon notice him, but it backfired and he noticed Junmyeon even more.
“I like your hair too, red suits you well,” he heard Junmyeon murmur, and immediately his face split into a blinding grin. It wasn’t as if he’s never been complimented before, but hearing a compliment coming straight from his soulmate- he liked to think that optimism will make dreams come true- brought too much happiness it felt like he was about to burst. His condition was further worsened when Junmyeon smiled, causing heart to beat so hard he felt it hammering against his ribcage.
“I better get going,” Junmyeon said somewhat awkwardly after a moment of silence, not quite meeting Chanyeol’s eyes. He probably felt your stare on him, Park
“Oh yeah, yeah, here,” Chanyeol pushed Jongdae forward lightly, finally remembering that they were not alone. “Here, have your brother back.”
That action caused a laugh to escape from Junmyeon’s pink lips. “I’d think you hate him if he didn’t tell me everyday how much he had fun playing with your XBOX.” Chanyeol spied a mirthful look on Jongdae’s face, and would bet his XBOX that Kyungsoo behind him sported the same look. “That’s awfully nice of you, to let them play with it.”
I didn’t, he thought. But he agreed nevertheless. “Yeah, I’m starting to get too old for that an-yway,” he stated, trying to appear cool and mature. His heart soared when he saw a smile on Jun-myeon’s face, indicating his success. After weeks of trying to impress him, Chanyeol finally suc-ceeded. Maybe his future with Junmyeon wasn’t that too far fetched anyway.
⊹ •• •
. • * *
“I failed!” Chanyeol wailed loudly into his arms, hunched over the countertop.
He cursed himself for thinking he would have a chance with Junmyeon. He jinxed it all when he started getting hopeful. All those faux confidence while trying to strike a conversation for the past couple of days would go to waste, because Park Chanyeol really couldn’t bake to save his life nor his nonexistent relationship. He stared dejectedly at the slightly burnt chocolate cake resting on the countertop, that was the third one and it’s already half an hour to five.
“It doesn’t look bad, hyung. It’s chocolate, it’s supposed to be dark,” Kyungsoo says as he carefully cuts out a piece, letting Jongdae take a bite out of it before doing it himself.
“Yeah! And the inside is perfect, only the outside is kind of bitter,” Jongdae piped in.
Chanyeol stood up from the stool he was mourning on and took a bite out of the piece. He had to agree with the kids, the inside was perfect. But that was the problem, only the inside was perfect. Perfect Junmyeon would never settle on something imperfect like this sorry excuse for a chocolate cake. The frown was evident on Chanyeol’s face as he trudged back to the stool to mourn his baking skills.
“The frosting will make it all good!”, Kyungsoo tried to console his older brother. Kyungsoo can be an angel sometimes. He scooped out a spoon of the fudgy frosting and smeared it on the piece be-fore eating it, chewing slowly with a thoughtful look on his face. He’s always been a food critique, a contrast to his best friend and brother, who gobble up food without thought.
Chanyeol waited for a response from his brother, his fingers rapidly tapping on his thighs, a habit he display whenever he was nervous. He didn’t have time to make another cake, and truth be told, he didn’t want to bake anymore, not after a whole day trying to perfect a cake, which didn’t even turn out perfect in the end. He exhaled in relief when Kyungsoo smiled. It might not be perfect, but it’s perfect enough if Kyungsoo approves.
Jongdae grabbed the piece from Kyungsoo and devoured the rest of it, happy that he could finally eat a decent chocolate cake. Not that he and Chanyeol didn’t eat the two previous cakes. They set to work, spreading the fudgy frosting on the chocolate cake before placing it in a tupperware. He would rather have Junmyeon eat it here, but he seemed to always be in a hurry, never staying for more than ten minutes each day.
By the time they finished clearing up the flour from the counters and floor, all three were spent and flopped on the sofa, waiting for Junmyeon to arrive. No longer than ten minutes of watching Korra trying to get into the Spirit World, Chanyeol’s large ears picked up footsteps outside the house and his hands started to sweat.
He stood up after hearing the first knock and picked up the container with the chocolate cake, mak-ing his way to the front door, where Jongdae and Kyungsoo were already waiting. Jongdae opened the door and exclaimed, “We baked a cake today!”, surprising his brother.
“Wow, you seem to have a way of keeping them entertained,” Junmyeon praised earnestly. Usually Chanyeol would try to appear mature, but all the baking took a toll on him, and he just responded with an unsure “yeah”.
Junmyeon must have sensed his exhaustion and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, my brother can be a handful.”
The statement elicited a laughter from Chanyeol, who remembered how not only Jongdae, but Chanyeol and surprisingly, Kyungsoo, were being more than a handful, playing with the flour, dip-ping fingers into the mixtures and messing around with the food dyes Jongdae found in one of the cupboards, making rainbow mini cupcakes with the leftover mixture, which also turned out slightly burnt.
“It’s okay, we had fun,” he responded with a smile, and the apologetic look on Junmyeon’s face vanished. “Here, have some of the chocolate cake.”
He expected the “thank you” from Junmyeon, but he did not expect to receive a container with kimbap in it. “It’s a thank you gift for taking care of Jongdae,” Junmyeon clarified.
Chanyeol slapped Kyungsoo’s hand away when he tried to take one kimbap later that evening, claiming that it was for him and him only. He relented when his brother pouted, he could never re-fuse when Kyungsoo was being cute, because most of the time he was on the receiving end of his violence. He ate slowly, relishing in the taste of his Junmyeon’s cooking. Junmyeon must be his soulmate, cooking on the same day is simply no coincidence.
“Ask him out tomorrow.”
Chanyeol choked on the precious kimbap and downed it with water, staring incredulously at Kyungsoo.
“Did you forget the plan?” The plan was to first capture Junmyeon’s eyes, then to capture his heart with cooking, and finally to secure that heart with a date.
“I- no. But it’s too soon!”
A sigh. At times Kyungsoo wondered who was the older one.
⊹ •• •
. • * *
Jongdae and Kyungsoo spent the following day bickering with Chanyeol, insisting that it was time the final step is executed. Chanyeol finally gave in after multiple death glares and a threat which involved his XBOX.
He spent the minutes leading up to five o’ clock pacing the hallway, occasionally pausing to check his appearance in the mirror. Jongdae and Kyungsoo gave up watching Legend of Korra in favour of calming him down, but he didn’t stop the pacing. Chanyeol was a blink away from pulling his hair in frustration when he heard a knock. His fight or flight reaction urged his body to run, and he would have fled if not for the tight hold both children had around his arms.
“Deep breaths, hyung,” Kyungsoo murmured and patted his arm. Right, deep breaths, he thought. After he calmed down considerably, he gave the thumbs up to Jongdae. Jongdae opened the door, and the sight of Junmyeon in skinny jeans and a white tee was enough to make him hy-perventilate again. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the two children sighing in defeat, because of course Chanyeol would mess it up. Junmyeon, however, didn’t seem to catch their ex-pressions because his flawless face morphed into one of worry, and he toed of his sneakers and made his way to Chanyeol, causing him to panic even more because Junmyeon is so close.
He cupped Chanyeol’s face in his small hands and looked him straight in the eye. Chanyeol felt his heart working in overdrive due to the close proximity and his hands are so soft and his face is even more beautiful up close and those pink lips are moving.
“-okay?”
“Wha-?” he asked dumbly, because he was too busy staring and trying to calm his heart down he completely missed the question.
“Are you okay?”, Junmyeon repeated slowly, as if talking to a toddler, and that was when Chanyeol completely realised their distance, or the lack of it, and stepped backwards, forcing out a laugh. “Of course I am.”
He winced visibly, because that laugh sounded so fake even to him. And apparently so did Jun-myeon because he walked forward, causing him to retreat until his back hit the wall. “I am!”, he re-peated desperately, because he was not ready for such close contact. Behind Junmyeon, he saw Jongdae whisper to Kyungsoo.
“No he’s not! He needs CPR, hyung!” Kyungsoo squeaked in a worried tone. Damn, those kids know how to act.
Junmyeon paused in his tracks and turned his head to face the two kids. “CPR?” Then he looked at Chanyeol, who was still pressed up to the wall like a frightened rabbit, his face red and his breathing somewhat laboured. “CPR?”, he repeated to Chanyeol, as if wanting confirmation.
Chanyeol snorted. “Of course not! I’m not sick!”
“But-”
“I’m perfectly fine! I was just nervous!”
Junmyeon stepped closer and he was only inches away from Chanyeol. His eyebrows were fur-rowed and Chanyeol’s heart skipped a beat because Junmyeon is worried about him.
“Nervous about what?”, he inquired in a soft voice, hoping to calm Chanyeol’s nerves.
“About you!”, Chanyeol blurted out and his blood ran cold because that was not how he planned on confessing to Junmyeon. He regretted his decision when Junmyeon stepped back with a horrified look on his face. Chanyeol could literally feel his heart plummet. Great, now Junmyeon’s dis-gusted with him. He’s probably not even gay, for all he knew.
“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Junmyeon stuttered out. That was the first time Chanyeol has ever wit-nessed Junmyeon so unsure of himself, and it was because of him. “I thought-”
“It’s okay, I understand,” Chanyeol said quietly, trying to force a smile on his face despite his heart shattering in pieces. He felt like throwing up. His stomach was twisting painfully and he felt like a rock was dropped in it. An awkward silence took place before he heard rapid footsteps and a frus-trated cry from Jongdae.
“You’re so dumb, both of you!”, he scolded when he’s standing between Junmyeon and Chanyeol, an equally angry Kyungsoo standing next to him.
“How are you even high school students?” he continued, reprimanding both of them, causing them to frown in confusion.
“I don’t get it!”, Chanyeol yelled.
Even though Kyungsoo’s eyes were closed, he could feel him rolling his eyes.
“It means, you guys are stupid,” Kyungsoo said defeatedly.
“Hyung,” Jongdae said in a calmer tone, but he sounded exasperated, like he was dealing with troublesome toddlers. “Chanyeol hyung is not nervous about rejecting you.”
“And hyung,” Kyungsoo continued in the same tone, “Junmyeon hyung is not rejecting you.”
“Oh,” both highschoolers responded after ten seconds of thought.
“Yeah, oh,” Kyungsoo muttered before pulling Jongdae away, probably having had enough of how dumb their brothers are.
Junmyeon and Chanyeol stared at the floor, too embarrassed to look at each other. That was not at all how they planned on asking the other out, and would have turned out badly if their younger brothers didn’t interfere.
A minute of silence.
Ninety seconds of silence.
“So,” Junmyeon began hesitantly, always the more confident out of the two. Chanyeol snapped his head up to look at the other.
“There’s this movie at six…”
“Wanna go?”, Chanyeol finished, surprising Junmyeon slightly.
“Yeah, sure.”
Another minute of silence.
“Does this mean…” Chanyeol trailed off, raising his eyebrows in question.
“I think so. I mean- if that’s what I think you think this means!”
Both of them blinked at each other before smiling.
“Yeah, I think that’s what you think I think this means.”
⊹ •• •
. • * *
“Hey,” Chanyeol whispered while once they sat down in the cinema.
“Hm?”
“Why did you dye your hair? Not that it doesn’t look nice. It does. Just, why platinum blonde?” They’ve been asking each other mundane questions, because they’ve never had a real conversa-tion where they could just talk and get to know the other- the real other, not the person they’ve made themselves appear as, but Junmyeon didn’t have to know about his Rillakkuma collection just yet, that was too advanced. Chanyeol was giddy, he could finally get to know his Jun-myeon hyung. He could finally see how the real Junmyeon was like.
He couldn’t exactly see Junmyeon’s expression, but he made out a flustered look on his face, de-spite the darkness.
“Uhm,” Junmyeon hesitated. Chanyeol started to think that Junmyeon might not be that confident guy he’s always known, but he couldn’t blame him, not when he was also faking his maturity and confidence the whole time. He laughed out loud when he heard Junmyeon’s explanation of why he appeared to be so confident- he also wanted to impress Chanyeol.
(“Even during the tutoring week?”
“Even then.”
“But you didn’t even know me!”
Junmyeon scoffed. “I actually pay attention to good looking freshmen who tower over everyone else.”)
“Jongdae’s plan,” he murmured, but Chanyeol heard it, and snickered. Oh my god, confi-dent student council Junmyeon asked help from his twelve year old brother.
“Let me guess,” Chanyeol began and morphed his voice to mimic Jongdae’s, “Step one, capture the attention. Step two, capture the heart. Step three, secure the heart?”
“Oh my god.” Chanyeol got his answer. Jongdae can be a very intelligent sneak.
“He tricked us!”, Junmyeon whispered furiously.
Chanyeol wanted to reply, but the movie was starting, so he mustered up one last bit of confidence and linked his pinky with Junmyeon’s. He felt Junmyeon tighten his pinky and they did not let go throughout the whole movie, only when their pinkies turned numb. They held hands after.
His mind drifted off to his XBOX at home, still in Jongdae’s and Kyungsoo’s grasps, and came to the realisation that he didn’t actually mind it that much, not when he’s finally secured Junmyeon’s heart, just according to plan. It was a worthwhile sacrifice.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5,116
Summary: Chanyeol is confident that Junmyeon and him are soulmates. Jongdae and Kyungsoo are sneaky masterminds.
Warning/s: None
Chanyeol first met Junmyeon at school.
The student council decided it would be the best option to assign seniors as tutors for juniors, just during study week, as an effort to improve the school’s quality and let the students bond. And it was for good reason as most of the juniors, just having enrolled a month ago, knew few students aside from other juniors. Chanyeol himself had no idea who his tutor was, only being passed a message from a ‘Junmyeon hyung’ to meet at the library at nine.
Humming to himself, he laid out his stack of books before glancing at the clock. Five minutes to nine. Usually he was late for meetings or classes, but this is a senior, and he needed to make a very good first impression because Kim Junmyeon, according to the rumour mills, was a member of the student council.
Chanyeol never got to really see his tutor up close, only fleeting shadows, and he never had any reason to seek out the older. He just hoped Junmyeon wouldn’t be too strict on him or a nerd. Yeah, he just hoped Junmyeon wasn’t some nerdy, strict goody two shoes.
“Chanyeol?”
The tall boy turned his head and relief flooded him because no, Junmyeon didn’t wear thick-rimmed glasses nor did he wear waist-high pants and he has perfectly aligned teeth sans braces. He had a very sophisticated look, almost akin to royalty, if he wasn’t wearing those hideous school uniform with that horribly designed tie. He couldn’t find a hair nor thread out-of-place on Junmyeon.
If Chanyeol had to be truthful, he was slightly intimidated with how Junmyeon carried himself, with an air of no-nonsense and highly refined style, but he hoped it didn’t show on his face as he smiled. Junmyeon sat himself down and took out his own books (neatly wrapped, Chanyeol noticed). He felt dreadfully out-of-place, sitting with the prince-like senior with his unruly black hair, elfish ears and slightly wrinkled blazer. Even Junmyeon’s Parker pen made his Rillakkuma mechanical pencil inadequate.
A frown was starting to make its way on Chanyeol’s face. A nerdy tutor would be better because Chanyeol doesn’t handle being bested at very well. He needed to be the best in everything, and his the inferiority complex his Rillakkuma pencil was giving him was not helping the least bit. He decid-ed that Kim Junmyeon would be his rival. He was running through plans on becoming the president of the student council when Junmyeon asked him on what subject they should start first. Chanyeol mentally paused his musings, remembering to store them away for later.
“Chemistry,” he mustered confidently, trying as best he can to project a charismatic aura.
Too bad his puffed up chest deflated when instead of being awed, Junmyeon laughed at him. Chanyeol would have felt better if he was made fun of, but the way Junmyeon laughed at him irked him, because it was like he found Chanyeol endearing, with how his eyes scrunched up hideously. A (hopefully) witty remark was on the tip of his tongue when Junmyeon stopped laughing and smiled, teeth and all, and the comeback died on his tongue.
“Alright, as you wish, sir,” Junmyeon quipped playfully, but Chanyeol just stared right ahead, all the rivalry dissolved, like Junmyeon’s smile was a solvent, a universal solvent because that smile could probably bring world peace.
Junmyeon looked like an angel when he smiled, and Chanyeol couldn’t get the image out of his head that night.
⊹ •• •
. • * *
Despite his not so minuscule crush, somehow the fates were against him, with how uneventful the whole tutoring week was. His crush got even more out of hand when he started noticing Junmyeon more often in school grounds, helping out a teacher, eating at the cafeteria, and Chanyeol’s favour-ite, swimming at the indoor pool. The following week, he blurted out about his crush to his best friend, who he thought should be demoted from best friend to merely acquaintances with how he was being ignored in favour of studying for the upcoming exam.
(“I told you, Baek, he’s got the sweetest smile ever! And he’s so tiny I can probably cup him in my hands!”. A pause. “Cup him in my hands,” Chanyeol murmured with a light blush dusting his cheeks before snapping his head toward Baekhyun who was writing down notes furiously. Exasperated, Baekhyun threw an eraser at the rowdy giant.
“Stop it with the sexual innuendos and just fuck him!” A pitiful whine escaped Chanyeol’s throat, but before he could say anything, Baekhyun continued his verbal attack. “And I thought you were straight!”
“I am!” Chanyeol exclaimed confidently before deflating slightly. “It’s just that Junmyeon hyung is a challenge! And he’s so perfect! Hard to get, challenging enough that he’s in his own league. I might be Junmyeon-sexual.”
He received a pen to the head for the comment.)
Chanyeol gave up confiding to Baekhyun and decided balefully that if he were to impress Jun-myeon hyung, he would have to ace this exam. And ace it he did, his reduced stalking crushing moments paid off. Sadly, his tiny hyung appeared to be ignorant of his achievement, with how Chanyeol only received a simple greeting in the hallway.
⊹ •• •
. • * *
“I give up!” Chanyeol wailed when he flopped down onto the sofa as soon as he walked in, startling the two children watching television on the floor. He wouldn’t have any opportunity to stalk Jun-myeon hyung with the summer holidays coming. He heard a hushed “don’t mind him” before wail-ing again, even louder this time. When he received no response or empathy whatsoever from his younger brother, he looked up and met a cold glare boring into his soul, making him gulp. He al-ways seemed to have problems with tinier people, he noticed. And that was bad, since he was a giant to most people.
Pouting at the treatment Kyungsoo gave him, he buried his face into one of the cushions and tried to suffocate himself when the doorbell rang. He heard rushed footsteps and the sound of the door swinging open, the words coming from a high-pitched Jongdae alerting his crush radar.
“Junmyeon hyung!”
Chanyeol stiffened and forgot to breathe, because is that Junmyeon the same Junmyeon? and successfully suffocated himself. Gasping for air as he sat up, he met theJunmyeon’s confused gaze. Jongdae and Kyungsoo was also looking at him weirdly, but they were unimportant in his quest for love. He immediately stood up and tripped while manoeuvring through tiny people on his way to the doorway, eliciting a laugh from Junmyeon. If that was what it took to make Jun-myeon happy, then he would gladly trip for the rest of his life.
“Hello, Chanyeol. I didn’t know you’re Kyungsoo’s brother.”
Chanyeol breathed out a ‘hi, yeah, brother’ before smiling dreamily because Junmyeon remem-bered his name and he felt blessed yet again when Junmyeon smiled that perfect smile.
It turned out Jongdae, Kyungsoo’s playmate and friend was Junmyeon’s little brother and he was just there to bring him home. As soon as their brief, chanced meeting ended with a smiling Chanyeol gazing longingly at their retreating figures, Kyungsoo voiced out, “You’re so disgustingly in love,”, but there was no bite in his tone.
Chanyeol snapped out of his daze and looked at Kyungsoo, a hopeful look on his face. It only took a pout before his brother was agreeing to help him. “Jongdae will come again during summer break.”
Kyungsoo and Jongdae might be that important after all in his quest for love.
⊹ •• •
. • * *
On the first day of summer break, Chanyeol was woken up by the insistent knocking on his door. He refused to open the door in favour of snuggling into his blanket even though the sun was already up, the rays filtering in through the blinds. He ignored the knocking initially, but the person behind that door was apparently as stubborn as he was.
Mumbling about how early it was and it’s summer break why can’t I sleep in, he wrapped his com-forter around him because the air conditioning was very good and his room was chilly and this posi-tion is very good for falling back asle-
“Chanyeol hyung! Junmyeon hyung is here!”
Chanyeol never abandoned his bed so fast before in his life. He opened the door with such force it bounced off the wall and hit him, making him wince. Rubbing his sore arm, he looked at the angels who brought the good news. “Is he downstairs?”, he asked excitedly, his grin so wide he felt his cheeks ache.
“No, we lied,” Kyungsoo answered nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t just broken Chanyeol’s heart.
Chanyeol’s hand twitched and he almost slammed the door in their faces when Jongdae stepped forward with his kittenish smile, which signalled Chanyeol that nothing good was up. He’d seen enough of this brat to know his personality which contrasted greatly from his brother Junmyeon’s. The gleam in Jongdae’s eyes though, made him pause in his actions. Squinting, he rested his hand on the doorknob and shifted his weight to his left foot, cocking an eyebrow to indicate he was listen-ing, because even though Jongdae was a brat, he was a clever one.
“I have a proposition to make,” he began confidently. Chanyeol couldn’t help notice that even though Jongdae and Junmyeon were extremely different, there were also some similar traits, like those high cheekbones, the air of confidence, the intelligence, and unfortunately, the ability to make Park Chanyeol behave and listen.
“I know you like my hyung, and I honestly would rather have him date you so I can come here more often and play with Kyungsoo. And since I’m his brother, I’m the best bet you have in making him fall for you, because I know him the best. So we came up with a foolproof plan to make him fall in love with you.”
Chanyeol squinted harder, knowing there’s more.
“What we want is return is your XBOX for the whole summer,” he finished.
The tall male crossed his arms across his chest and rubbed his chin as he thought about the pros and cons. On one hand, he could finally step up in his game and make the love of his life realise that he is meant to be with Chanyeol. But on the other hand, the so called foolproof plan might not be that foolproof and fail, and he would also lose his XBOX along the way. He furrowed his eye-brows in deep concentration. But the thought of actually having Junmyeon falling for him though, one that seemed so far fetched before, could finally become a reality. With the newfound slim chance and a sudden surge of hope, he extended his hand to shake Jongdae’s.
“You’ve got yourself a deal.”
⊹ •• •
. • * *
Chanyeol looked at himself in the bathroom mirror that evening and tentatively touched a strand of red hair falling over his forehead, eyeing it until his eyes hurt. He never dyed his hair before and when Jongdae said he needed to be eye-catching after sealing the deal, he didn’t expect to have his hair dyed bright red. He was feeling very skeptical about Jongdae’s and Kyungsoo’s ‘Foolproof ChenDo Plan’ because he can never imagine goody two shoes Joonmyun going out with a giant that looks like a delinquent. At least his hair is still soft, he thought as he ran his fingers through his hair so it won’t fall into his face like his usual bowl cut.
After deeming his hair presentable, he trudged downstairs, still feeling self-conscious. But when Kyungsoo looked up at him from the sofa and gave him a smile and thumbs up, he felt better, be-cause Kyungsoo was nothing if not brutally honest. He was good looking, and a dye job won’t change that fact about him. Hell, Jongdae’s plan might even work because even with a delin-quent look, he still had to admit those kids can do a decent dye job. And the colour brings out his skin tone. He patted his back mentally for still being optimistic. Now he just had to stay optimistic until Junmyeon comes to pick Jongdae up at five. Ten minutes to go.
He made his way to the sofa and squished himself between Kyungsoo and Jongdae, who were watching this children cartoon called Legend of Korra. He sniffed in distaste, but his eyes were still trained on the television screen. He also glanced at his precious XBOX lying on the carpeted floor, which will be there for the rest of summer break.
“So,” he began as soon as the advertisement started, making both children turn to shift their atten-tion to him. “Now that I’m all eye candy-” “eye catching,” Kyungsoo interrupted. He squinted at his younger brother and continued after clearing his throat. Twelve year olds aren’t supposed to know big words. “Now that I’m all eye-catching, what’s the next step in your plan?”
“Well-” Jongdae started
“You need to cook for him!,” Kyungsoo finished.
Chanyeol stared at the two in disbelief. In case his own brother haven’t noticed, he couldn’t cook to save his life. He was about to point that out when Kyungsoo answered his thoughts. “We’ll help, of course.”
“But we won’t clean up after,” Jongdae added.
“Okay,” Chanyeol said, dragging out the ‘o’ to show that he’s still skeptical about three two children and one teenager cooking in the kitchen. “What do we cook then?”
“Chocolate cake!”, both children chorused, as if they had this dialogue carefully planned. Which was not impossible, considering how they plan almost everything, even his love life.
He sighed in defeat, knowing he had to follow through with their plan or his XBOX would be sacri-ficed in vain. The grin on both Kyungsoo and Jongdae’s faces lifted his spirits somewhat. At least he made them happy, and Junmyeon would probably fall for him more knowing he’s been making his little brother happy. He was fantasising about how his senpai would be fawning over him when he heard a knock.
He only managed to blink before he was being dragged up to the front door by two short children, who were grinning excitedly, impatient to show off their artwork to Junmyeon hyung. Alarm bells sounded in his head because what if he thinks it looks bad, what if he thinks I look bad, which was too bad because while he was panicking, Jongdae already opened the door and he thought oh no, I’m done for.
But he wasn’t done for, because Junmyeon had his hair dyed too. And to Chanyeol’s delight, it wasn’t a normal colour like brown or copper. Student council member Kim Junmyeon dyed his hair platinum blonde and he looked like the more delinquent out of the two of them that moment, with his hair parted in the middle and his fringe falling into his face. Chanyeol thought he couldn’t fall for him more, but the sight of this new Junmyeon made him fall so hard he thought he might have bruised himself in the process.
Apparently Chanyeol was staring because the older male chuckled at him, the soft melodious voice making his insides churn in a good way. “Like what you see?” He missed the slight quiver in Jun-myeon’s voice, too busy staring, trying to imprint this image in his brain.
“Yes!”, Chanyeol agreed enthusiastically before realising that he might have given himself away and cleared his throat subtly, “It looks good on you,”.
It did look good on him, usually platinum blonde would look bad on people because it would contrast horribly with the skin tone, but Junmyeon is so fair and now he looked so white, he looked even more angelic. The plan was to make Junmyeon notice him, but it backfired and he noticed Junmyeon even more.
“I like your hair too, red suits you well,” he heard Junmyeon murmur, and immediately his face split into a blinding grin. It wasn’t as if he’s never been complimented before, but hearing a compliment coming straight from his soulmate- he liked to think that optimism will make dreams come true- brought too much happiness it felt like he was about to burst. His condition was further worsened when Junmyeon smiled, causing heart to beat so hard he felt it hammering against his ribcage.
“I better get going,” Junmyeon said somewhat awkwardly after a moment of silence, not quite meeting Chanyeol’s eyes. He probably felt your stare on him, Park
“Oh yeah, yeah, here,” Chanyeol pushed Jongdae forward lightly, finally remembering that they were not alone. “Here, have your brother back.”
That action caused a laugh to escape from Junmyeon’s pink lips. “I’d think you hate him if he didn’t tell me everyday how much he had fun playing with your XBOX.” Chanyeol spied a mirthful look on Jongdae’s face, and would bet his XBOX that Kyungsoo behind him sported the same look. “That’s awfully nice of you, to let them play with it.”
I didn’t, he thought. But he agreed nevertheless. “Yeah, I’m starting to get too old for that an-yway,” he stated, trying to appear cool and mature. His heart soared when he saw a smile on Jun-myeon’s face, indicating his success. After weeks of trying to impress him, Chanyeol finally suc-ceeded. Maybe his future with Junmyeon wasn’t that too far fetched anyway.
⊹ •• •
. • * *
“I failed!” Chanyeol wailed loudly into his arms, hunched over the countertop.
He cursed himself for thinking he would have a chance with Junmyeon. He jinxed it all when he started getting hopeful. All those faux confidence while trying to strike a conversation for the past couple of days would go to waste, because Park Chanyeol really couldn’t bake to save his life nor his nonexistent relationship. He stared dejectedly at the slightly burnt chocolate cake resting on the countertop, that was the third one and it’s already half an hour to five.
“It doesn’t look bad, hyung. It’s chocolate, it’s supposed to be dark,” Kyungsoo says as he carefully cuts out a piece, letting Jongdae take a bite out of it before doing it himself.
“Yeah! And the inside is perfect, only the outside is kind of bitter,” Jongdae piped in.
Chanyeol stood up from the stool he was mourning on and took a bite out of the piece. He had to agree with the kids, the inside was perfect. But that was the problem, only the inside was perfect. Perfect Junmyeon would never settle on something imperfect like this sorry excuse for a chocolate cake. The frown was evident on Chanyeol’s face as he trudged back to the stool to mourn his baking skills.
“The frosting will make it all good!”, Kyungsoo tried to console his older brother. Kyungsoo can be an angel sometimes. He scooped out a spoon of the fudgy frosting and smeared it on the piece be-fore eating it, chewing slowly with a thoughtful look on his face. He’s always been a food critique, a contrast to his best friend and brother, who gobble up food without thought.
Chanyeol waited for a response from his brother, his fingers rapidly tapping on his thighs, a habit he display whenever he was nervous. He didn’t have time to make another cake, and truth be told, he didn’t want to bake anymore, not after a whole day trying to perfect a cake, which didn’t even turn out perfect in the end. He exhaled in relief when Kyungsoo smiled. It might not be perfect, but it’s perfect enough if Kyungsoo approves.
Jongdae grabbed the piece from Kyungsoo and devoured the rest of it, happy that he could finally eat a decent chocolate cake. Not that he and Chanyeol didn’t eat the two previous cakes. They set to work, spreading the fudgy frosting on the chocolate cake before placing it in a tupperware. He would rather have Junmyeon eat it here, but he seemed to always be in a hurry, never staying for more than ten minutes each day.
By the time they finished clearing up the flour from the counters and floor, all three were spent and flopped on the sofa, waiting for Junmyeon to arrive. No longer than ten minutes of watching Korra trying to get into the Spirit World, Chanyeol’s large ears picked up footsteps outside the house and his hands started to sweat.
He stood up after hearing the first knock and picked up the container with the chocolate cake, mak-ing his way to the front door, where Jongdae and Kyungsoo were already waiting. Jongdae opened the door and exclaimed, “We baked a cake today!”, surprising his brother.
“Wow, you seem to have a way of keeping them entertained,” Junmyeon praised earnestly. Usually Chanyeol would try to appear mature, but all the baking took a toll on him, and he just responded with an unsure “yeah”.
Junmyeon must have sensed his exhaustion and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, my brother can be a handful.”
The statement elicited a laughter from Chanyeol, who remembered how not only Jongdae, but Chanyeol and surprisingly, Kyungsoo, were being more than a handful, playing with the flour, dip-ping fingers into the mixtures and messing around with the food dyes Jongdae found in one of the cupboards, making rainbow mini cupcakes with the leftover mixture, which also turned out slightly burnt.
“It’s okay, we had fun,” he responded with a smile, and the apologetic look on Junmyeon’s face vanished. “Here, have some of the chocolate cake.”
He expected the “thank you” from Junmyeon, but he did not expect to receive a container with kimbap in it. “It’s a thank you gift for taking care of Jongdae,” Junmyeon clarified.
Chanyeol slapped Kyungsoo’s hand away when he tried to take one kimbap later that evening, claiming that it was for him and him only. He relented when his brother pouted, he could never re-fuse when Kyungsoo was being cute, because most of the time he was on the receiving end of his violence. He ate slowly, relishing in the taste of his Junmyeon’s cooking. Junmyeon must be his soulmate, cooking on the same day is simply no coincidence.
“Ask him out tomorrow.”
Chanyeol choked on the precious kimbap and downed it with water, staring incredulously at Kyungsoo.
“Did you forget the plan?” The plan was to first capture Junmyeon’s eyes, then to capture his heart with cooking, and finally to secure that heart with a date.
“I- no. But it’s too soon!”
A sigh. At times Kyungsoo wondered who was the older one.
⊹ •• •
. • * *
Jongdae and Kyungsoo spent the following day bickering with Chanyeol, insisting that it was time the final step is executed. Chanyeol finally gave in after multiple death glares and a threat which involved his XBOX.
He spent the minutes leading up to five o’ clock pacing the hallway, occasionally pausing to check his appearance in the mirror. Jongdae and Kyungsoo gave up watching Legend of Korra in favour of calming him down, but he didn’t stop the pacing. Chanyeol was a blink away from pulling his hair in frustration when he heard a knock. His fight or flight reaction urged his body to run, and he would have fled if not for the tight hold both children had around his arms.
“Deep breaths, hyung,” Kyungsoo murmured and patted his arm. Right, deep breaths, he thought. After he calmed down considerably, he gave the thumbs up to Jongdae. Jongdae opened the door, and the sight of Junmyeon in skinny jeans and a white tee was enough to make him hy-perventilate again. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the two children sighing in defeat, because of course Chanyeol would mess it up. Junmyeon, however, didn’t seem to catch their ex-pressions because his flawless face morphed into one of worry, and he toed of his sneakers and made his way to Chanyeol, causing him to panic even more because Junmyeon is so close.
He cupped Chanyeol’s face in his small hands and looked him straight in the eye. Chanyeol felt his heart working in overdrive due to the close proximity and his hands are so soft and his face is even more beautiful up close and those pink lips are moving.
“-okay?”
“Wha-?” he asked dumbly, because he was too busy staring and trying to calm his heart down he completely missed the question.
“Are you okay?”, Junmyeon repeated slowly, as if talking to a toddler, and that was when Chanyeol completely realised their distance, or the lack of it, and stepped backwards, forcing out a laugh. “Of course I am.”
He winced visibly, because that laugh sounded so fake even to him. And apparently so did Jun-myeon because he walked forward, causing him to retreat until his back hit the wall. “I am!”, he re-peated desperately, because he was not ready for such close contact. Behind Junmyeon, he saw Jongdae whisper to Kyungsoo.
“No he’s not! He needs CPR, hyung!” Kyungsoo squeaked in a worried tone. Damn, those kids know how to act.
Junmyeon paused in his tracks and turned his head to face the two kids. “CPR?” Then he looked at Chanyeol, who was still pressed up to the wall like a frightened rabbit, his face red and his breathing somewhat laboured. “CPR?”, he repeated to Chanyeol, as if wanting confirmation.
Chanyeol snorted. “Of course not! I’m not sick!”
“But-”
“I’m perfectly fine! I was just nervous!”
Junmyeon stepped closer and he was only inches away from Chanyeol. His eyebrows were fur-rowed and Chanyeol’s heart skipped a beat because Junmyeon is worried about him.
“Nervous about what?”, he inquired in a soft voice, hoping to calm Chanyeol’s nerves.
“About you!”, Chanyeol blurted out and his blood ran cold because that was not how he planned on confessing to Junmyeon. He regretted his decision when Junmyeon stepped back with a horrified look on his face. Chanyeol could literally feel his heart plummet. Great, now Junmyeon’s dis-gusted with him. He’s probably not even gay, for all he knew.
“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Junmyeon stuttered out. That was the first time Chanyeol has ever wit-nessed Junmyeon so unsure of himself, and it was because of him. “I thought-”
“It’s okay, I understand,” Chanyeol said quietly, trying to force a smile on his face despite his heart shattering in pieces. He felt like throwing up. His stomach was twisting painfully and he felt like a rock was dropped in it. An awkward silence took place before he heard rapid footsteps and a frus-trated cry from Jongdae.
“You’re so dumb, both of you!”, he scolded when he’s standing between Junmyeon and Chanyeol, an equally angry Kyungsoo standing next to him.
“How are you even high school students?” he continued, reprimanding both of them, causing them to frown in confusion.
“I don’t get it!”, Chanyeol yelled.
Even though Kyungsoo’s eyes were closed, he could feel him rolling his eyes.
“It means, you guys are stupid,” Kyungsoo said defeatedly.
“Hyung,” Jongdae said in a calmer tone, but he sounded exasperated, like he was dealing with troublesome toddlers. “Chanyeol hyung is not nervous about rejecting you.”
“And hyung,” Kyungsoo continued in the same tone, “Junmyeon hyung is not rejecting you.”
“Oh,” both highschoolers responded after ten seconds of thought.
“Yeah, oh,” Kyungsoo muttered before pulling Jongdae away, probably having had enough of how dumb their brothers are.
Junmyeon and Chanyeol stared at the floor, too embarrassed to look at each other. That was not at all how they planned on asking the other out, and would have turned out badly if their younger brothers didn’t interfere.
A minute of silence.
Ninety seconds of silence.
“So,” Junmyeon began hesitantly, always the more confident out of the two. Chanyeol snapped his head up to look at the other.
“There’s this movie at six…”
“Wanna go?”, Chanyeol finished, surprising Junmyeon slightly.
“Yeah, sure.”
Another minute of silence.
“Does this mean…” Chanyeol trailed off, raising his eyebrows in question.
“I think so. I mean- if that’s what I think you think this means!”
Both of them blinked at each other before smiling.
“Yeah, I think that’s what you think I think this means.”
⊹ •• •
. • * *
“Hey,” Chanyeol whispered while once they sat down in the cinema.
“Hm?”
“Why did you dye your hair? Not that it doesn’t look nice. It does. Just, why platinum blonde?” They’ve been asking each other mundane questions, because they’ve never had a real conversa-tion where they could just talk and get to know the other- the real other, not the person they’ve made themselves appear as, but Junmyeon didn’t have to know about his Rillakkuma collection just yet, that was too advanced. Chanyeol was giddy, he could finally get to know his Jun-myeon hyung. He could finally see how the real Junmyeon was like.
He couldn’t exactly see Junmyeon’s expression, but he made out a flustered look on his face, de-spite the darkness.
“Uhm,” Junmyeon hesitated. Chanyeol started to think that Junmyeon might not be that confident guy he’s always known, but he couldn’t blame him, not when he was also faking his maturity and confidence the whole time. He laughed out loud when he heard Junmyeon’s explanation of why he appeared to be so confident- he also wanted to impress Chanyeol.
(“Even during the tutoring week?”
“Even then.”
“But you didn’t even know me!”
Junmyeon scoffed. “I actually pay attention to good looking freshmen who tower over everyone else.”)
“Jongdae’s plan,” he murmured, but Chanyeol heard it, and snickered. Oh my god, confi-dent student council Junmyeon asked help from his twelve year old brother.
“Let me guess,” Chanyeol began and morphed his voice to mimic Jongdae’s, “Step one, capture the attention. Step two, capture the heart. Step three, secure the heart?”
“Oh my god.” Chanyeol got his answer. Jongdae can be a very intelligent sneak.
“He tricked us!”, Junmyeon whispered furiously.
Chanyeol wanted to reply, but the movie was starting, so he mustered up one last bit of confidence and linked his pinky with Junmyeon’s. He felt Junmyeon tighten his pinky and they did not let go throughout the whole movie, only when their pinkies turned numb. They held hands after.
His mind drifted off to his XBOX at home, still in Jongdae’s and Kyungsoo’s grasps, and came to the realisation that he didn’t actually mind it that much, not when he’s finally secured Junmyeon’s heart, just according to plan. It was a worthwhile sacrifice.