Title: Don't Close the Door
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Kris / Chanyeol
Length: 3,386 words
Summary: Kris believes that the only way to survive his entire life is by following that one rule he made by and for himself: never ever close the door.
Kris is trying his best to calm himself down. He takes some pills from the bottle and gulps them down in one go.
He knows that the next two hours in his life will be a torture. He mentally slaps himself for taking Luhan’s offer to move from their hometown in China. China has great colleges and universities anyway, why does he have to fly all the way to South Korea to pursue an education?
It has been two years since Luhan came to Seoul as an exchange student. He fell in love with Korea, also with a Korean, and refused to come home after the program ended. Instead, he asked his cousin Kris to apply for a scholarship and follow his steps.
Luhan and Kris practically grew up together. Born in the same year, they spent much time together; fighting for cookies, riding their bicycles, battling in the soccer field (in which Kris sucks at), battling in the basketball court (in which Luhan sucks at), skipping their classes, literally everything.
And so, Kris, being naïve as always, listened to his cousin’s advice. He has been accepted at one of the most prestigious college in Seoul where Luhan also enrolls in. Kris thought that it would be a nice way to move on from his break up with Tao. Staying in Beijing will only trap him inside the bittersweet memories. And Kris never loves being trapped.
But at the moment, Kris seems to regret it. When Kris finally hears the call for his flight, he shakily stands up and walks away from the cozy lounge he was in.
Welcome to hell, Kris.
***
“Hello, my name is Park Chanyeol.”
A man with long limbs in his yellow pajamas greets him with what Kris assumes as the widest grin in the world. Chanyeol is nearly as tall, but not any taller than Kris. He actually looks pretty cute, aside from his messy brunette hair and creepy kind of grin, which is in contrary with his surprisingly deep voice.
Kris bows and introduces himself, and that Chanyeol is still grinning from ear to ear. Kris swears that this neighbor next door must be a bare face Ronald McDonald.
He was supposed to only greet Chanyeol and went to greet the other neighbors. However, Chanyeol drags him inside -honestly with a tiny bit of force, and insists him to have some coffee first. Coffee sounds good anyway, so Kris just lets his new neighbor do what he wants.
Chanyeol closes the door and leads him to the living room. As soon as Kris hears the click sound from the locked door, he starts to feel uneasy.
There aren’t many things to see in Chanyeol’s living room, only a big black couch which matches well with the Persian rug covering the wooden floor, a small wooden coffee table, and a 24 inch flat screen TV hung on one side of the beige wall. No pictures, no paintings, no vases, no clocks; there is no decorations at all.
“Are you okay, Kris?” Chanyeol seems to notice the change on his face. Kris tries to maintain a smile on his face… and he fails. “Ah, you must be tired. Hold on, I’ll make something good for you.”
Kris almost drops his jaw from what he is seeing.
Chanyeol literally hops to a small kitchen area at the corner of the room. He runs his hand in a fascinating speed. He opens the fridge and takes a carton of milk. He picks some other things that Kris can’t see from his seat and puts them all on the kitchen counter.
He picks a saucepan, heats the milk and whisks it before brewing some espresso on the cups. Soon, he pours the milk into the cups, creating overflowing foams on top of them. It looks like a mess at first, but in no time, it turns into a beautiful piece of art.
Chanyeol goes back to the couch with two cups of caffe latte on his hands. He even gets to decorate the top with something that only an expert in latte art can do. Chanyeol draws Kris’ face on the top layer of the foam.
Kris now really drops his jaw. Chanyeol is no doubt a pro.
“Tadah! Here, drink this. You’ll feel better.” Kris holds the cup on his hand, but he keeps staring it in awe instead of drinking it.
“You don’t like it? Oh, it doesn’t look like you, does it?” Kris could hear a little disappointment in Chanyeol’s voice.
“Or could it be the latte? Do you want one with caramel? Peppermint tastes good, too. Oh, oh, I know! You don’t want a latte, do you? What do you want me to make then? How about frappuccino? Oh, perhaps you should try my secret macchiato recipe. You know, I use-”
“No, no. Thank you very much. I like this. I like latte, and no, it does look like me. It’s… wow. I just…” Kris is at loss of words. What else can he say?
“You’re surprised, aren’t you?” Chanyeol smiles, showing off his perfect row of teeth, and sip his latte. “You know, other people must pay high for this. But, for you, my neighbor, it’s free.”
Chanyeol puts down his cup on the table and smiles again. There’s a little bit of foams left on the tip of his lips. Kris wants to hit his head to the nearest wall for having a thought of wiping it with his lips.
What the heck, Kris? This is not Secret Garden.
“Mmm, Chanyeol?” Kris points at his own lips and wipes it with his thumb. Anyone else seeing this must have found this very sexy, to be honest.
“What? Oh! Hahahahahaha…” Chanyeol just realizes what Kris means and wipes his lips with his palm. He starts laughing frantically, which Kris finds weirdly adorable. It may sound impossibly true, but Chanyeol is surprisingly a professional barista… while at the same time, is a perfect definition for the word ‘derp’.
Kris isn’t sure though, whether he’s falling for Chanyeol, or his coffee.
***
“Hyung, why do you take the stairs?” A little boy who lives on the 4th floor asks him.
He’s been Kris’ little fan for a while, ever since he saw Kris playing basketball by himself one day at a small court beside the apartment. He was fascinated by the sight; even though Kris was no Michael Jordan.
Honestly, Kris forgets his name. Kris just took him to the nearby convenience store and bought him a huge lollipop, since he said that it’s his birthday today.
“Well, it’s good for my health.” Kris answers and pats his head.
“Is that why you’re so tall, hyung?” The boy asks another question while licking his lollipop.
“Probably, yes.”
Actually, he doesn’t take the stairs for health reason. He doesn’t even know how he ends up standing at more than 6 feet tall. Kris is lying.
***
It’s been almost five months since he first stepped on the land of Korea.
Everyday is always a hectic day for Kris. A bunch load of assignments, projects and other college stuffs has been Kris’ daily menu. Yes, he is tired, but it is the consequence he has to face; the pressure for being a scholarship grantee. They always expect higher and more from him.
Pathetically, Kris is still blaming Luhan for everything. Kris swears that he would’ve killed Luhan if they weren’t blood related as cousins. Perhaps he would’ve also killed Sehun since he is Luhan’s boyfriend. Thus, Sehun is more or less responsible for his misery… or maybe not.
And today, he is way too exhausted to take the stairs all the way up to his apartment. He can no longer force his already limp legs to climb that tremendous amount of staircases. Half-heartedly, he decides to take another route. Kris can feel his heart pacing as he proceeds his way to the destined place, to that thing.
“Kris!”
Chanyeol waves his hand and runs to him, almost like a happy little kid seeing an ice cream truck. Kris waves back and smiles. Kris hates the fact that every time he meets Chanyeol, he just can’t act like his normal self, while Chanyeol… is just being Chanyeol.
Chanyeol looks perfect as a well-dressed barista; white shirt, black vest, black trousers, and a nice black fedora. It’s nice and classy, different from the Chanyeol he usually sees.
“Is that your uniform?” Kris asks him nervously. But seriously, Kris doesn’t know whether he is nervous because of his feeling towards Chanyeol, or the fact that he can’t escape from that thing now that Chanyeol’s here.
“Huh? Oh yes, it is. I hate it though. I’d be really glad to work in only t-shirt and jeans, or even pajamas! Or just the shirt and the trousers will be nice, without this silly fedora. I don’t need this vest either, it’s-”
Ding.
“Come on, Kris!”
The elevator is now opened. Chanyeol steps inside with no hesitation, leaving Kris who in opposite, doesn’t make any single movement. Chanyeol raises his eyebrow while pushing the ‘open’ button, waiting for Kris to get in. But he doesn’t even move an inch.
“Kris? Are you coming or not?”
Kris gulps for the last time before he finally enters the elevator, that thing which he practically has been avoiding the whole time. There is a reason, a strong reason why Kris prefers to take the stairs everyday, despite using the product of technology invented by the human race that is supposed to make life easier called elevator.
It’s only to the 5th floor, Kris.
As soon as the door is closed, Kris starts to feel uneasy, just like how it was at Chanyeol’s apartment; this time is even worse. He feels dizzy, his vision turns blurry, his head is spinning and he feels like puking. Kris unconsciously grabs Chanyeol’s arm and buries his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder.
Kris is literally suffocating.
“Kris? W-what’s wrong? Are you okay? Are you sick? Do you need a doctor? Let’s just go to the hospital!” Chanyeol starts panicking. Chanyeol wraps his left arm on Kris’ waist to support this giant Chinese who barely can stand on his own two feet now.
“No, I just don’t feel really well, Chanyeol. I’m… HOLY CRAP CHANYEOL HOLD ME!” Kris constantly begins to lose his mind as the elevator starts moving. For Kris, being in a small closed place like an elevator only results on losing his sanity.
“Kris…?” Chanyeol, not sure of what to do, quickly grabs Kris’ hand and squeezes it. He has no idea what is happening to Kris.
“I CAN’T BREATHE CHANYEOL I’M GONNA DIE CHANYEOL OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU CHANYEOL I LOVE YOU IN CASE I DIE NOW OH GOD DAMN IT PARK CHANYEOL OH LORD FFFFFUUUU…”
“Kris!”
Chanyeol hugs him tightly like there’s no tomorrow. Their bodies meet each other. Chanyeol can feel Kris’ heavy breath on his neck as he is panting really hard, while Kris can feel the warmth of Chanyeol’s body against his, which magically calms himself down.
“It’s okay, Kris. It’s okay…” Chanyeol gently strokes Kris’ hair and sneakily plants a kiss on his forehead. Kris is too absorbed with his fear to notice Chanyeol’s kiss. Meanwhile, little known to Kris that Chanyeol is blushing really hard, as red as a fresh tomato.
After what feels like forever for Kris, that actually lasts less than two minutes for Chanyeol, they finally arrive at the 5th floor. Chanyeol’s arm hasn’t left Kris’ waist when they get out from the elevator. He voluntarily walks Kris to his door.
“Thank you, Chanyeol.” Kris releases himself from Chanyeol and bows his head. That was a shame, a total shame for Kris. On the other hand, Chanyeol is plastering his trademark grin, the usual creepy one, on his face.
“No problem,” Chanyeol stares directly at his eyes. Honestly, Chanyeol used to think that Kris is flawless. Chanyeol used to think that Kris is unreachable, that he is not a match for Kris at any aspect. But now, everything is different for Chanyeol.
“Kris?” Kris was just about to open his door when Chanyeol puts his arm on Kris’ shoulder.
“Y-yes?” Kris starts blushing like those girls in middle school meeting their crush. He mentally punches himself for being such an embarrassing person today. Everything is going to be even more awkward, Kris thinks.
“That wasn’t the best way to confess, actually. But it’s pretty cute.” Chanyeol winks. Kris just recalls everything he said earlier inside the elevator and now, he really wants to jump off a building. Stupid Kris.
“Come on, I’ll make you a coffee... in your kitchen!” Chanyeol bursts inside Kris’ apartment. Kris wants to stop him, but Chanyeol is way too fast and too excited… or maybe he was way too slow and too anxious.
Chanyeol freezes as he sees Kris’ apartment for the first time ever.
***
“Tao, wait for me!”
It was the day that changed his life forever. Kris was only three years old when he was playing with the other kids one evening at the day care. His mom hadn’t picked him up yet, so he accepted Tao’s offer and joined the other kids who were playing hide and seek.
Tao, his now ex-boyfriend, knew Kris since they were toddlers. Together with Luhan, the three of them were inseparable. They claimed themselves as the Three Musketeers just like in one of their favorite tales, though they weren’t sure what actually a musketeer was.
Kris loved that game. He’s considering himself as the master of hiding. He knew this place pretty well. Being an adventurous kid, he had spotted several good places to hide. No one would be able to find him and he’d definitely win the game again this time.
Tao was the one in charge to seek them all. Luhan wasn’t there though; he caught a flu and had to stay home a whole day. As Tao was counting from 1 to 5 (since he wasn’t able to count until 10 yet), little Kris and the others ran all over the day care, spreading like germs in a speed of lightning, to their own favorite hideouts.
Kris knew a good place to hide. Not even Tao, the little Panda, would know it. He directly ran to the backyard where went into one wooden door, which was slightly opened. It was actually the door to a small storage where the janitors put their tools for cleaning. Little Kris fitted perfectly inside.
Perfect, he thought.
“See you tomorrow,” A young woman in her uniform said goodbye to the other janitors as their shift was finally over. The janitor had done all her duties for today. She also had put back all the mops, brooms, and other tools to the storage, just some minutes before Kris went in.
She went back to the backyard, after picking the key she left earlier, and closed the wooden door. Kris stayed quiet. Kris didn’t want her to tell Tao where he hid.
And so, she locked that door. She locked the door with little Kris trapped inside. She went home without knowing anything.
No one, not even Tao, the little Panda, knew it.
“Why is it taking so long?” Little Kris started to feel uneasy. He decided to get out and see who had been found and who hadn’t. Kris tried to reach the knob, but he was too small and too short to do so. So, Kris hit the door with his body. Kris hit it again, and again, and again, but it was no use. The door still wouldn’t budge.
“Help! Help! Open the door! It’s Kris! Help!” Little Kris yelled with all his remaining energy. But no one could hear that. Tears were starting to form on his eyes. He was helpless. There was no one on the backyard, thus, no one would hear him begging for help.
Little Kris was alone, trapped in the small, dark place with the brooms, the mops, the buckets, and all those lifeless cleaning tools. Kris felt as lifeless as they were. His arms were full of bruise, as he was brutally hitting himself to the door. Kris leaned his back on the door. He started to sobs and cried a silent tear.
Meanwhile Tao, the little Panda, was starting to panic as he couldn’t find Kris. No one, not even the other kids saw him. The baby sitters had no idea either.
An hour had passed. Kris hadn’t been found. The other kids had left home as their parents had picked them up. At first, Tao refused to go home. He wanted to find Kris first. The baby sitters promised to find Kris for him. He was crying an ocean when his mom carried him and put him inside the car.
Another hour had passed. Kris’ mom was crying on her knees outside the police line, his dad was panicking as their son was nowhere to be found.
Finally, the wooden door was opened. Kris was found passed out.
When he woke up in the hospital, he screamed his lung out seeing his room’s door closed. Open the door, he said.
When they took Kris to the lab on the 3rd floor for check up with the elevator, he screamed and cried and ran away. They had to carry him along with his IV pole all the way up by stairs.
When his parents finally brought him home as he was released from the hospital, Kris cried hysterically and tried to get out from the car.
He was diagnosed with claustrophobia.
***
“So that’s why you have no doors here?” Chanyeol listens to the whole story thoroughly. He now understands why Kris acted like he was going to die before. Thanks to Chanyeol too, all the secrets that Kris has been keeping are now revealed.
Chanyeol made him a cup of Americano. Chanyeol thinks that Kris needs lots of caffeine, as it has a calming effect for human’s body that may help Kris. And yes, it works. They are sitting on Kris’ comfortable blue couch. Earlier, he demanded Kris an explanation for what he saw.
Chanyeol was literally speechless; that was the first time Kris saw Chanyeol being so. As soon as he entered Kris’ apartment, he was greeted by a bunch of rooms without doors. You can see the living room from the bedroom, the bedroom from the kitchen, even the kitchen from the bathroom. Not even the bathroom is equipped with a door.
Kris had actually gone for some treatments in the past. It used to be way worse than this. By taking some medications and therapies, he was slowly getting better. But he was never cured.
Kris is still trapped by his own fear.
Chanyeol gulps the last sip of his Americano and put the cup on Kris’ side table. This man, his new neighbor, suffers more than anyone may expect.
“Kris,” The owner of the name turns his head. Chanyeol leans himself closer, only some millimeters away from Kris’ face. “You know, I wouldn’t mind if we hug like that next time we take the elevator.”
And they kiss. A deep one.
Chanyeol feels a bit confused, honestly. Kris drank the whole cup of Americano he made before, didn’t he? Then why on earth he still tastes this sweet?
***
“Mmm, Kris?” The boy in hipster glasses looks uneasy.
“What?” Kris barely moves his gaze from the book he’s reading. He needs to finish this essay tonight or else tomorrow will be a huge disaster.
“I need to pee,” the boy is crossing his legs to suppress the urge to urinate. He is now unable to stay still on his seat.
“Then just pee, Chanyeol, for God’s sake.” At this time, Kris is distracted and he is trying hard to concentrate. He’s made several typos already, which ruin the perfect composition he’s building.
“But… ah, never mind.” The boy finally walks up to the bathroom. Not even a minute later, Kris can hear the sound of water, urine to be exact, flowing out like Niagara Falls. That silly boyfriend of his must’ve held it for a long time.
Kris gives up and shuts down his notebook.
a/n:
my fail attempt to picture krisyeol's perfection.
forgive me krisus ;A;