Always Raining Here
Prompt#: 162
Title: Always Raining Here
Word Count: 5,029w
Side Pairing(s): SeSoo
Rating: g
Warning(s):[click to open]bullying (mild)
Disclaimer: The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: Their school was closing down years after Baekhyun had graduated. He braves the rain to see it one last time, allowing memories to drizzle over him with every step he took.
Author's Note: First of all I would like to thank the mods of this wonderful exchange for arranging this year's BAE fest again. Thank you for being so patient and understanding. I've had to ask for so much extensions due to late night shifts-- I greatly appreciate it! Second, I would like to thank the prompter for this prompt. Though I believe I swerved from what was requested, I wish this fic will have met your expectations though it may not be much. I had fun writing this prompt and I hope just the way I enjoyed writing it, you too would find joy in reading it! :)
(link to AO3)
It was raining when Baekhyun stood outside of the school building, breathing in the memories that he had there, the most precious ones and also the bad ones.
He was alone when he went, after having read in the newspaper that the longest standing school building in their neighborhood was going to be demolished after a few times of remodeling and renovating; he’d finally taken time off from work and decided to come home.
Just like that day, it was raining when Baekhyun first brushed shoulders with him.
He was running with all his might as a tall male followed him from the gates of the school when it happened.
Under the sobbing grey sky as it drizzled all over the neighborhood, Baekhyun hid by the waiting shed; he kept himself shadowed behind the crowd, his eyes scanning for the male who followed him as the fresh cut on his thigh had gone unnoticed.
“Hey, you okay?” a male asked, who then stood right beside him. Baekhyun’s shoulder reached only up ¼ of the latter’s forearm that the senior high student had to look up at the concerned stranger.
Baekhyun shivered from the inside as the adrenaline began to drain over his body. Drenched to the bone, the teenager meekly nodded his head; excused himself smoothly by peeking a head out to make sure that his follower had given up on the chase. The petite bit his lips and let out a small relieved sigh, breathing again to prepare for another bout of running to finally get home safe.
With his heart pounding, Baekhyun took another look to his side to find the taller male still awaiting for a response.
He offered the male a small bow in gratitude for the concern, and off he went, running on his tattered shoes, making sure that he reached the alleyways just in time before the lunch break rush began.
They introduced him as Park Chanyeol. He recognized Baekhyun right away when he saw him in class. He was going to be their new adviser as their Professor had to go on maternity leave. He was only going to be in the school for a few months’ time.
Chanyeol proved to be very friendly. Having only gotten into the profession of teaching, he let himself off as a very approachable person who valued questions more than answers.
Baekhyun saw very much of him in the campus, and because of his bright personality, Baekhyun too heard a lot about him from classmates that he’d never actually shared a thing or two be it about interest or general school talk.
Baekhyun liked to think, that he was the exact opposite of their new and amazing Professor.
The cold wind blew against his cheeks, making Baekhyun shiver against himself. The school building still stood as he last remembered it but now it was dull and missing the life that it once had. Students were nowhere to be found unlike before when it bustled and strived with the voices of the students from the choir, when the fields still lived and served as the playing grounds of young students. Now, the place is nothing else but a serving graveyard of memories; it continued to wither as the days went on.
The grass crunched underneath his feet. As Baekhyun blew on a hand and carried his umbrella upright with the other, he braved the black and white before him as he approached the entrance.
The doors were no longer there to welcome them, the writings no longer tangible to be understood.
Inside where the rooms catered the young students hungry to learn, were now but silent ghosts, wondering if one of them would return.
Their next encounter was in the clinic when Baekhyun had snuck in whilst the nurse was out for her lunch break. His cut was reopened just days after it began to skin.
He knew barely anything about first aid but Baekhyun desperately attempted at covering the gushing wound. The young senior had been sobbing, his shirt dirtied and his physical appearance disheveled from the chase around the campus.
“What happened?” came the question.
It was silent save for the familiar voice. It came from the other side of the room, who revealed just a few seconds on, to be his adviser. Chanyeol’s hair was a mess, his cheek still imprinted with his uniform that it left a crease on his skin. The male stared at Baekhyun and the teenager only had nobody but himself to feel pity onto for having caught in such a vulnerable state.
It was needless to say that Baekhyun cried in front of the male, having been the first time that someone actually finally took notice of him being in pain.
Chanyeol needed nothing else said as he took strides towards him, checking on the poorly-bandaged thigh and undressing the wound to find it still gushing red.
With the professor’s instructions, Baekhyun kept a tight grip on the dressing as the older male ran out of the clinic to find the school nurse.
It caused a havoc in class as the hallways presented nobody else but the new professor.
Baekhyun was advised to stay at home for a week. His wound needed a minor operating on to keep the wound closed. As the nurse briefed him on the dos and don’ts while his leg wound healed, he was written off for a week’s absence, and later on to use a crutch and not apply any pressure on the leg to avoid it from opening again. Though they tried to ask him what caused it, the brunet refused to say with a silent bow, getting up on his feet to walk out.
The senior high student was quickly reprimanded by the nurse and the older male, scolded for using the newly-dressed wound just when they told him not to.
“Stay in the clinic and we’ll give your parents a call so they can come and fetch you.” The nurse said with worry written all over her face.
Chanyeol too seemed weary as Baekhyun held onto the door frame, the doorknob already at his grasp.
“My parents won’t come, Ms Qi. I’m living by myself right now.” He explained with shame laced in his voice; if only he knew then that he needed to avoid getting into anything physically wounding to keep his secret, maybe Baekhyun would have been more careful.
“Living alone?” His adviser quipped, “You’re barely 19, a senior high student and you’re living alone?” The male said again, however this time it was more of a monologue than a question directed to Baekhyun.
“My parents live separately from each other now. I can manage by myself, Mr Park.” Baekhyun attempted a smile, “I will be on my wa-“
“Baekhyun?” someone called the same time as they pulled on the door from outside.
The brunet almost lost his balance as he kept his wounded leg up, only to be pleased to finally find a familiar face.
“Kyungsoo…” Baekhyun whispered the latter’s name as he saw him there with his uniform unkempt and his hair dripping. The brunet saw how the other male’s uniform was damp from the rain, “what are you doing here-“
“Sehun called me.” Was the only explanation he was given.
And honestly speaking, Kyungsoo’s appearance that day may have saved Baekhyun from getting into a more complicated situation.
Baekhyun looked down on his phone with a smile. There’s a message from Kyungsoo, his kakaotalk app making a loud notification that it had him stumbling as he walked around the halls.
It was eerily silent except for the rain outside, and Baekhyun knew that he will have to wait until the storm was over.
‘Is it storming there? I had to stop driving because I couldn’t see anything.’ The message was asked with an attached photo of his windshield blurred, the road ahead appeared disfigured. The car in front of Kyungsoo looked as if it had also come to a stop as well, depicted by the red lights flashing.
‘Yes.’ Baekhyun returned.
He stood in the middle of the hall as he listened to the pouring rain outside, closed his eyes as he hummed a song under his breath.
A memory comes to him…
Chanyeol left soon after that. When Ms Shinyu came into the classroom 3 months later with no sign of Mr Park. Baekhyun thought that it was a passing moment that he’d come to think about the male and wonder where he’d gone.
As teacher and student, they barely addressed one another but Baekhyun felt as though they shared something different from when they last talked. He knew that the professor tried to be alone with him a few times over, by the way worry that was written all over his face when their eyes met, Baekhyun knew that the older male’s pity was something genuine-it was something he’d never found in anyone else other than Kyungsoo.
Kyungsoo lived a few blocks away from him. He was his cousin, his best friend. They used to live next to each other when they were younger, but when Baekhyun’s parents began to have problems, they moved away just to put distance from a family that was doomed from the moment the happy clouds began to part.
Baekhyun’s dad began coming home late, his mom started to drink.
The petite didn’t understand what was happening in the beginning but when his dad left home with a bag on his tail, he knew that things were going to change for the worse.
Baekhyun stopped smiling when his mom began to show him her pain.
It was raining when the manila envelope was slipped into the slit of their front door. He was in 6th grade when he pulled it into his hands and read his mom’s name with the sender being his dad.
It was labeled divorce papers, a pair of foreign words for a young boy like him back in the day.
Baekhyun’s mom cried again that night, and as she sat him down with her in their worn out couch, held him in her arms; two mugs of chocolate drinks with marshmallows in them sat on their coffee table, young Baekhyun’s heart pounded as his mom began to make him understand what it meant to be divorced.
Baekhyun was never going to see his family happy again.
It was why he grew up to be aloof. He was shy in a way that he couldn’t mingle well with people in his age; he didn’t know how. During those difficult times when Baekhyun had yet to grasp the whole meaning of having to grow up without a dad, he was growing up without his consent.
He watched his mom try to keep him in school, to watch her cry on the dining table as she kept her head leaning on her hands. The bills were pouring and he had projects, he had school trips and he had requirements that cost money.
Little by little Baekhyun’s mindset changed, from that of a child yet to enter his teen years, Baekhyun learned what it was like to give up on things that he thought would make him happy even if they were only for a while.
He learned that giving up on his trip to the zoo meant another week of them being able to eat a complete meal, him not going to the children’s gallery center meant he didn’t need to get a new set of art materials which cost a fortune; he learned that skipping recess could get him by for another lunch the next day and Baekhyun learned that maybe having a complete meal with his mom’s eyes not swollen would be so much better.
His dad never called again, but the divorce papers were long signed back then.
That’s why, when Baekhyun’s mom finally got a decent job as a waitress two and a half hours away from home, he too thought that he was going to work hard for what was left of his family.
It was only a matter of time until the petite’s mom began coming home a little later than usual, when she began having colors on her cheeks again.
And then the years went on, with life being manageable.
Baekhyun took to his studies well and aimed high even if it wasn’t easy for him. He asked for his mom to transfer him to the college near home.
Ditched the school bus to walk to and fro on a daily basis, Baekhyun strived well and hard, began tutoring to be able to manage some expenses on his own.
It was the time that Baekhyun thought that life was going to give him a break.
It was the time, when Baekhyun’s mom came home with tears in her eyes, tackling him with a hug and the most girly squeal she could give. The time when she finally told him about the guy that she’s been seeing. For it to finally come to light that the reason for his mother’s happiness did not lie in the life they were slowly building together, but rather for a life that she was slowly about to enter.
He proposed.
She said yes.
Baekhyun was only ever introduced to the guy’s son who was as quick to admit that he didn’t intend to live with them. They didn’t put up a fight nor go against it.
He was well-off; Baekhyun knew the man would give his mother a wonderful future. She was glowing, she was smiling.
He only wanted her to ever be happy again.
And it was the only thing maybe that he and his step-brother had to agree on.
As they parted that one evening with Baekhyun implying of his intentions of going independent, his mother promised that she will take care of him the way that his dad failed to do.
He sent her off with a peaceful heart. He sent her off with a smile, he sent her off with a kiss on her cheeks and a whispered thank you.
As a junior high student at the age of 17, Baekhyun began life by himself. His step-brother Wu Yifan though, began to make his life a living hell.
The thunderous claps outside caused Baekhyun to jump in his feet.
His kakaotalk was filled with messages from Kyungsoo, his notification bar on the other hand told him that Sehun and Chanyeol had sent him messages of their own too.
A gathering was to be arranged. Baekhyun intended to stay in the house that he and his mother used to occupy. They were all going to lodge in it for the meantime.
‘Are you okay?’ The question read.
Baekhyun smiled before he pulled his phone closer to him, wincing as the light pierced his eyes. The brunet began typing on the digital keyboard, ‘I’m fine. Keep your eyes on the road and stop texting me. x’
Not another second later, he began once more on his feet, looking at one door to another just to check if he would be able to recall which room was which.
By the second hour, the rain had stopped and Baekhyun was well on his way out of the building. Kyungsoo had informed him that they’ve made it to their lodge for the day and he was the last one to arrive.
With a contented smile on his face, Baekhyun crossed the muddy grounds, went past the rusting poles and got back into his car, driving the fair distance that he used to always enjoy and dread walking on his own.
The first time Yifan came around was when he was driving along with his friends. Baekhyun remembered him fairly well, given the first impression he had left him. He wasn’t quite the friendly type; always, he carried a frown, his eyes bellowed and he was a man of few words. Baekhyun knew that it was only a matter of time until the male actually did something to cement the idea Baekhyun had of him.
Baekhyun stopped driving upon noticing the tiny shed at the corner. He pressed onto the hazard button and dismounted his car.
Memories, he thought.
He felt a raindrop fall on him, noticing that it was drizzling once more. Trailing his sight towards the old waiting shed from where he used to hide, Baekhyun delays the trip and returns to his car, remembering that the guys were waiting for him.
It was a few weeks into the new school year, when Yifan finally did it.
It started with tacks in his shoe locker, trash in his locker and notes of profanities hidden underneath his table.
Baekhyun ignored it as much as he could but Yifan wasn’t quite focused on keeping his actions unnoticed. Soon he was being tripped around the hallways, pushed around and being followed even out of the campus. Baekhyun merely thought that Yifan was frustrated-so he let him take it out on him; but little did he know it was more than that.
He said it was because he felt his relationship with his dad grew distant, that ever since Baekhyun’s mother came into the picture after his mom’s sudden death, things changed.
In a way, Baekhyun knew he couldn’t say anything to that. He didn’t know how to defend his mother for she too only hoped for a happy ending. Yifan was a victim of his own thoughts, whilst he too is one of his own.
So it continued to the point that he became a habit. Baekhyun became somewhat Yifan’s punching bag-a stress-reliever.
The cut on his thigh came from a bad fall. Yifan shoved him from the stairs after he tried to reason with him.
Yifan said he was not in the place to speak familiarly with him. Said he had no intention of acknowledging him at all.
And then it went on; though nobody knew what Baekhyun did to tick Yifan off, nobody still did anything. Some dubbed it as step-brothers’ banters; while others didn’t really want to catch Yifan’s attention. The taller wasn’t quite known around campus, but because of how he treated Baekhyun the moment they were put in the same class, his name began to fill students’ lips.
The teachers couldn’t really help.
Not when the person who needed help didn’t ask for it. Because Baekhyun too didn’t feel like he needed help. He didn’t care; because Yifan always looked like he was ready to jeopardize his father’s marriage with his mom.
Baekhyun knew in order to prevent anything from happening, he had to put up with it. He had to protect his mother’s smile.
Baekhyun alighted from his car the moment he came to a stop by the small walkway. It’s still a few minutes’ walk to get home, he still had to cross the quaint alley as fast as he could. In there, the roofs meet at the center, rainwater despite being so little, would always cause a shower. It’s funny, because the shower never ended there once the rain starts.
It was pouring when Baekhyun got into trouble. When Yifan cornered him somewhere in this same alley on his way home. It was dark, nobody was out and only the sobbing skies were witness to what happened.
They were juniors in college, had very little classes together and Yifan too stopped doing things that hurt him. It was when Yifan’s glares began dwindling to a softer look. He never stopped looking though, and this only made Baekhyun even more conscious.
Yifan got a hold of him at that very day, then things began to change.
He said it was different now, but that he still hated Baekhyun. That he wouldn’t leave his mind, and it was making him feel ‘messed up’.
He looked lost, confused and furious all at the same time, even Baekhyun was scared of voicing out his concerns, wondering what it all meant. Yifan was blaming him for something he didn’t even do.
“Am I interrupting something?” Came the question, a question that cut through the rising tension.
Baekhyun was drenched to the bone as was Yifan. He hadn’t realized that his step-brother had already cornered him against a wall, both arms leaning on either side of him.
The brunet felt the danger creep at his consciousness, making him stare at the latter in a horrified manner. But before Baekhyun could ask what was going on, Yifan had gone with a grumble upon his lips.
The stranger, whose face Baekhyun couldn’t make out due to his cap and hoodie on, stayed only to hand him his umbrella.
Baekhyun was thankful that he decided to leave his books at school.
A small sigh left the brunet’s lips as he walked his way to the alley. There was a shower of furious leftovers of the rain there, and he knew that he was arriving drenched despite trying to prevent it.
As his clothes began to feel damp, the petite let out a sneeze, eyes drooping as he felt the cold get to him.
He walked, gaze low, hands in his pockets as he played with his car keys in one.
Not a few moments later, the rain shower stopped, the sound of it falling above him and meeting with a plastic material resonating.
Baekhyun looked up, mind absent from acknowledging the pair of leather-shoed feet in his line of sight before doing so.
A transparent umbrella is hovering above him, and as he looked straight, he smiles to reflect the expression offered to him.
It’s been a while ever since Chanyeol waited for him like this.
It’s three years, four months and 12 days ever since the last time Baekhyun saw Mr Park.
He came back, but this time as a regular professor in their College. He was teaching speech and grammar.
Baekhyun didn’t know why he was drawn to him in a way. Despite not being able to get into his class, running into him and encountering him in the halls always seemed to be enough.
The last time they talked, the professor merely showed concerns for his well-being; something a proper educator would do for a student.
And maybe Baekhyun was looking at it in the wrong angle when he thought he felt a connection.
“How was your wound? From before?”
From before, he said.
Like it happened yesterday… Maybe-Baekhyun wasn’t the only one thinking about that last encounter for the past three years…?
Only time could tell.
Chanyeol takes his hand into his and pulls him along with him as they fit their bodies under the umbrella.
There are no words exchanged as they walked, Baekhyun merely letting out a small sneeze as they trekked their way to the lodge. Leaning against the older male, the brunet allows himself to be ushered by the latter, keeping his eyes closed as he felt warm-from the incoming fever or from Chanyeol’s presence, at that time Baekhyun didn’t know.
Baekhyun woke up in bed. His hair is dry and his clothes are changed, to his side lies in blissful sleep, his lover of 4 years, Park Chanyeol.
Baekhyun smiles as he finds Chanyeol like this, thankful for the gesture of walking him home like the old times.
Leaning in, the brunet plants a kiss on Chanyeol’s cheek, he gets under the blankets and embraces him, joining him back to blissful sleep.
By winter, Baekhyun was spending time alone. It was Christmas Eve and all he’s ever had in his mind was Chanyeol.
It was only recently when the professor and he began spending time together. After Baekhyun braved the faculty room as the older male requested for his assistance with his exam and study materials, things began flowing naturally.
He was a breath of fresh air, a foreign element that Baekhyun has always been curious of. He was a carefree spirit who smiled, encouraged and cared for people genuinely. Baekhyun knew this by watching him constantly, wanting to be able to do it like he does, to be able to bring smiles to other people; but simply, Baekhyun had not the ability to.
All he’s ever done was quietly sit in a corner as life bustled, left him in time and frozen.
But then, Mr Park changed that.
Baekhyun woke up with his lips occupied by none other.
Chanyeol’s lips were on his, and then they were on his forehead, on his cheeks and on the button of his nose.
“Hi.” The male said, staring down at him as he pushed back strands of Baekhyun’s hair. He was feeling hot and his body was like jelly.
He knew then that he’d caught a fever from walking under the rain.
Baekhyun smiled shyly towards the older, “Hello.” Catching the other’s lips perfectly into his as he embraces him in his hold.
“I missed you. So much.” Chanyeol says.
“Me too.” He croaked.
Things progressed naturally between them. Before they knew it, Mr Park to Baekhyun became ‘Chanyeol’. The professor was even more open about calling or greeting him in campus.
Yifan was still around but he never got on Baekhyun’s case as much as he used to.
Chanyeol and Baekhyun began meeting after class hours, outside of the campus.
By the time the first semester exams rolled in, Chanyeol was walking Baekhyun home from tutor sessions. From a professor-student relationship, they became close friends.
Baekhyun began smiling more.
Baekhyun laid pliant under his lover. As kisses turn heated and clothes were slowly discarded, the brunet kept his lips shut, preventing any sounds from his lips from escaping.
Chanyeol, who was hovering over him stared at him with soft droopy eyes, and despite them being in that position, all messed up and panting against one another, Baekhyun still couldn’t register the fact that he was there, right where he was.
As Chanyeol’s movements grew faster, Baekhyun found himself pulling onto the older. Chanyeol indulged him with an open-mouthed kiss, their tongues melting into one another. Baekhyun’s toes curled as he felt the fire growing in the pit of his being, taking all that Chanyeol’s giving him.
He missed this.
He truly missed being loved like this.
It was the most unexpected thing when Yifan approached Baekhyun again, after so many months of not even looking his way. Baekhyun had to admit that it was weird that his step-brother stopped his antics, Baekhyun once thought he’d be limping on his way to graduation too but it looked like it wasn’t going to happen so soon.
“I like you.” How Yifan came up with that conclusion, Baekhyun didn’t know.
Baekhyun wasn’t given any time to answer. For as quick as Yifan said it, he was gone.
Chanyeol had to be there at the right time to witness it.
“Did he do something again?”
‘again’?
Baekhyun sighed and glanced at the professor, “when he comes around again, tell me okay? It’s dangerous after what he almost did to you back then. He practically stalked you.”
The professor may have seen the conflict in his eyes, for Chanyeol patted his head gently and gave out a chuckle.
“You didn’t know it was me, the umbrella guy. I knew it was you though, but then I was just passing by and I knew your voice was familiar.”
And it was like a big flashback, that before Baekhyun knew it, he’d turned away to look at where Yifan stood, him leaning on a wall very much like that same situation.
“Now now,” Chanyeol said, “Don’t go falling for a jerk, Baekhyun. There are plenty of good people out there.
Pretty sure someone will be perfect for you.”
Baekhyun was served breakfast in bed the next morning. Still very much naked from their activities the night before, the brunet sat up in bed as his lover woke him up with a kiss on the forehead.
Chanyeol was there with him, and just the thought brings joy to Baekhyun.
It’s been a while since they saw each other again. With Chanyeol being sent off to a remote island to teach for a few months, Baekhyun had been left alone at home waiting for the days to pass by.
Seeing him like this, being with him like this; Baekhyun felt like he was falling in love all over again.
As the brunet was handed a clean shirt, Baekhyun allowed the older male to pamper him like he said he wanted to.
Chanyeol helped him into the shirt, and fed him carefully.
It was silent save for the pouring rain outside, Sehun and Kyungsoo having gone out for a drive themselves.
By the time Baekhyun was finished with his meal, Chanyeol was standing by the open window, watching the rainfall.
“They’re bringing it down today,” he said. “The school building. We’re still going, right? Despite the weather?” The professor asked.
Baekhyun nodded to this, “I want to go.” He said with a smile. Slowly, the petite moved the tray away from him and took the blanket to cover himself up. He followed the male to where he stood and shared a moment, just staring at the rain.
“We’ve so many memories there.” Baekhyun murmured.
Feeling the older male’s hand creep onto his neck, embracing the back of it, Baekhyun felt the need to look up at Chanyeol, only to find him smiling down at him.
“Yeah. Lots of it.” He supplied, before leaning down to capture Baekhyun’s lips with his, “and I’m going to miss it. I’m going to miss all of it.”
They shared a smile before Chanyeol pulled him into his arms that morning.
With nothing but the pouring rain as their witness, they exchanged a lot of kisses, a lot of smiles.
In that gloomy afternoon, they stand across the street, watching the school building come down in rubbles. Baekhyun stands right beside his lover, hugging him to his side as the rain continue to pour.
It was raining when they first met there.
And just like that very day, it was pouring as though the sky felt it was just right to do so. After all, it’s always raining here.
Title: Always Raining Here
Word Count: 5,029w
Side Pairing(s): SeSoo
Rating: g
Warning(s):[click to open]bullying (mild)
Disclaimer: The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: Their school was closing down years after Baekhyun had graduated. He braves the rain to see it one last time, allowing memories to drizzle over him with every step he took.
Author's Note: First of all I would like to thank the mods of this wonderful exchange for arranging this year's BAE fest again. Thank you for being so patient and understanding. I've had to ask for so much extensions due to late night shifts-- I greatly appreciate it! Second, I would like to thank the prompter for this prompt. Though I believe I swerved from what was requested, I wish this fic will have met your expectations though it may not be much. I had fun writing this prompt and I hope just the way I enjoyed writing it, you too would find joy in reading it! :)
(link to AO3)
It was raining when Baekhyun stood outside of the school building, breathing in the memories that he had there, the most precious ones and also the bad ones.
He was alone when he went, after having read in the newspaper that the longest standing school building in their neighborhood was going to be demolished after a few times of remodeling and renovating; he’d finally taken time off from work and decided to come home.
Just like that day, it was raining when Baekhyun first brushed shoulders with him.
He was running with all his might as a tall male followed him from the gates of the school when it happened.
Under the sobbing grey sky as it drizzled all over the neighborhood, Baekhyun hid by the waiting shed; he kept himself shadowed behind the crowd, his eyes scanning for the male who followed him as the fresh cut on his thigh had gone unnoticed.
“Hey, you okay?” a male asked, who then stood right beside him. Baekhyun’s shoulder reached only up ¼ of the latter’s forearm that the senior high student had to look up at the concerned stranger.
Baekhyun shivered from the inside as the adrenaline began to drain over his body. Drenched to the bone, the teenager meekly nodded his head; excused himself smoothly by peeking a head out to make sure that his follower had given up on the chase. The petite bit his lips and let out a small relieved sigh, breathing again to prepare for another bout of running to finally get home safe.
With his heart pounding, Baekhyun took another look to his side to find the taller male still awaiting for a response.
He offered the male a small bow in gratitude for the concern, and off he went, running on his tattered shoes, making sure that he reached the alleyways just in time before the lunch break rush began.
They introduced him as Park Chanyeol. He recognized Baekhyun right away when he saw him in class. He was going to be their new adviser as their Professor had to go on maternity leave. He was only going to be in the school for a few months’ time.
Chanyeol proved to be very friendly. Having only gotten into the profession of teaching, he let himself off as a very approachable person who valued questions more than answers.
Baekhyun saw very much of him in the campus, and because of his bright personality, Baekhyun too heard a lot about him from classmates that he’d never actually shared a thing or two be it about interest or general school talk.
Baekhyun liked to think, that he was the exact opposite of their new and amazing Professor.
The cold wind blew against his cheeks, making Baekhyun shiver against himself. The school building still stood as he last remembered it but now it was dull and missing the life that it once had. Students were nowhere to be found unlike before when it bustled and strived with the voices of the students from the choir, when the fields still lived and served as the playing grounds of young students. Now, the place is nothing else but a serving graveyard of memories; it continued to wither as the days went on.
The grass crunched underneath his feet. As Baekhyun blew on a hand and carried his umbrella upright with the other, he braved the black and white before him as he approached the entrance.
The doors were no longer there to welcome them, the writings no longer tangible to be understood.
Inside where the rooms catered the young students hungry to learn, were now but silent ghosts, wondering if one of them would return.
Their next encounter was in the clinic when Baekhyun had snuck in whilst the nurse was out for her lunch break. His cut was reopened just days after it began to skin.
He knew barely anything about first aid but Baekhyun desperately attempted at covering the gushing wound. The young senior had been sobbing, his shirt dirtied and his physical appearance disheveled from the chase around the campus.
“What happened?” came the question.
It was silent save for the familiar voice. It came from the other side of the room, who revealed just a few seconds on, to be his adviser. Chanyeol’s hair was a mess, his cheek still imprinted with his uniform that it left a crease on his skin. The male stared at Baekhyun and the teenager only had nobody but himself to feel pity onto for having caught in such a vulnerable state.
It was needless to say that Baekhyun cried in front of the male, having been the first time that someone actually finally took notice of him being in pain.
Chanyeol needed nothing else said as he took strides towards him, checking on the poorly-bandaged thigh and undressing the wound to find it still gushing red.
With the professor’s instructions, Baekhyun kept a tight grip on the dressing as the older male ran out of the clinic to find the school nurse.
It caused a havoc in class as the hallways presented nobody else but the new professor.
Baekhyun was advised to stay at home for a week. His wound needed a minor operating on to keep the wound closed. As the nurse briefed him on the dos and don’ts while his leg wound healed, he was written off for a week’s absence, and later on to use a crutch and not apply any pressure on the leg to avoid it from opening again. Though they tried to ask him what caused it, the brunet refused to say with a silent bow, getting up on his feet to walk out.
The senior high student was quickly reprimanded by the nurse and the older male, scolded for using the newly-dressed wound just when they told him not to.
“Stay in the clinic and we’ll give your parents a call so they can come and fetch you.” The nurse said with worry written all over her face.
Chanyeol too seemed weary as Baekhyun held onto the door frame, the doorknob already at his grasp.
“My parents won’t come, Ms Qi. I’m living by myself right now.” He explained with shame laced in his voice; if only he knew then that he needed to avoid getting into anything physically wounding to keep his secret, maybe Baekhyun would have been more careful.
“Living alone?” His adviser quipped, “You’re barely 19, a senior high student and you’re living alone?” The male said again, however this time it was more of a monologue than a question directed to Baekhyun.
“My parents live separately from each other now. I can manage by myself, Mr Park.” Baekhyun attempted a smile, “I will be on my wa-“
“Baekhyun?” someone called the same time as they pulled on the door from outside.
The brunet almost lost his balance as he kept his wounded leg up, only to be pleased to finally find a familiar face.
“Kyungsoo…” Baekhyun whispered the latter’s name as he saw him there with his uniform unkempt and his hair dripping. The brunet saw how the other male’s uniform was damp from the rain, “what are you doing here-“
“Sehun called me.” Was the only explanation he was given.
And honestly speaking, Kyungsoo’s appearance that day may have saved Baekhyun from getting into a more complicated situation.
Baekhyun looked down on his phone with a smile. There’s a message from Kyungsoo, his kakaotalk app making a loud notification that it had him stumbling as he walked around the halls.
It was eerily silent except for the rain outside, and Baekhyun knew that he will have to wait until the storm was over.
‘Is it storming there? I had to stop driving because I couldn’t see anything.’ The message was asked with an attached photo of his windshield blurred, the road ahead appeared disfigured. The car in front of Kyungsoo looked as if it had also come to a stop as well, depicted by the red lights flashing.
‘Yes.’ Baekhyun returned.
He stood in the middle of the hall as he listened to the pouring rain outside, closed his eyes as he hummed a song under his breath.
A memory comes to him…
Chanyeol left soon after that. When Ms Shinyu came into the classroom 3 months later with no sign of Mr Park. Baekhyun thought that it was a passing moment that he’d come to think about the male and wonder where he’d gone.
As teacher and student, they barely addressed one another but Baekhyun felt as though they shared something different from when they last talked. He knew that the professor tried to be alone with him a few times over, by the way worry that was written all over his face when their eyes met, Baekhyun knew that the older male’s pity was something genuine-it was something he’d never found in anyone else other than Kyungsoo.
Kyungsoo lived a few blocks away from him. He was his cousin, his best friend. They used to live next to each other when they were younger, but when Baekhyun’s parents began to have problems, they moved away just to put distance from a family that was doomed from the moment the happy clouds began to part.
Baekhyun’s dad began coming home late, his mom started to drink.
The petite didn’t understand what was happening in the beginning but when his dad left home with a bag on his tail, he knew that things were going to change for the worse.
Baekhyun stopped smiling when his mom began to show him her pain.
It was raining when the manila envelope was slipped into the slit of their front door. He was in 6th grade when he pulled it into his hands and read his mom’s name with the sender being his dad.
It was labeled divorce papers, a pair of foreign words for a young boy like him back in the day.
Baekhyun’s mom cried again that night, and as she sat him down with her in their worn out couch, held him in her arms; two mugs of chocolate drinks with marshmallows in them sat on their coffee table, young Baekhyun’s heart pounded as his mom began to make him understand what it meant to be divorced.
Baekhyun was never going to see his family happy again.
It was why he grew up to be aloof. He was shy in a way that he couldn’t mingle well with people in his age; he didn’t know how. During those difficult times when Baekhyun had yet to grasp the whole meaning of having to grow up without a dad, he was growing up without his consent.
He watched his mom try to keep him in school, to watch her cry on the dining table as she kept her head leaning on her hands. The bills were pouring and he had projects, he had school trips and he had requirements that cost money.
Little by little Baekhyun’s mindset changed, from that of a child yet to enter his teen years, Baekhyun learned what it was like to give up on things that he thought would make him happy even if they were only for a while.
He learned that giving up on his trip to the zoo meant another week of them being able to eat a complete meal, him not going to the children’s gallery center meant he didn’t need to get a new set of art materials which cost a fortune; he learned that skipping recess could get him by for another lunch the next day and Baekhyun learned that maybe having a complete meal with his mom’s eyes not swollen would be so much better.
His dad never called again, but the divorce papers were long signed back then.
That’s why, when Baekhyun’s mom finally got a decent job as a waitress two and a half hours away from home, he too thought that he was going to work hard for what was left of his family.
It was only a matter of time until the petite’s mom began coming home a little later than usual, when she began having colors on her cheeks again.
And then the years went on, with life being manageable.
Baekhyun took to his studies well and aimed high even if it wasn’t easy for him. He asked for his mom to transfer him to the college near home.
Ditched the school bus to walk to and fro on a daily basis, Baekhyun strived well and hard, began tutoring to be able to manage some expenses on his own.
It was the time that Baekhyun thought that life was going to give him a break.
It was the time, when Baekhyun’s mom came home with tears in her eyes, tackling him with a hug and the most girly squeal she could give. The time when she finally told him about the guy that she’s been seeing. For it to finally come to light that the reason for his mother’s happiness did not lie in the life they were slowly building together, but rather for a life that she was slowly about to enter.
He proposed.
She said yes.
Baekhyun was only ever introduced to the guy’s son who was as quick to admit that he didn’t intend to live with them. They didn’t put up a fight nor go against it.
He was well-off; Baekhyun knew the man would give his mother a wonderful future. She was glowing, she was smiling.
He only wanted her to ever be happy again.
And it was the only thing maybe that he and his step-brother had to agree on.
As they parted that one evening with Baekhyun implying of his intentions of going independent, his mother promised that she will take care of him the way that his dad failed to do.
He sent her off with a peaceful heart. He sent her off with a smile, he sent her off with a kiss on her cheeks and a whispered thank you.
As a junior high student at the age of 17, Baekhyun began life by himself. His step-brother Wu Yifan though, began to make his life a living hell.
The thunderous claps outside caused Baekhyun to jump in his feet.
His kakaotalk was filled with messages from Kyungsoo, his notification bar on the other hand told him that Sehun and Chanyeol had sent him messages of their own too.
A gathering was to be arranged. Baekhyun intended to stay in the house that he and his mother used to occupy. They were all going to lodge in it for the meantime.
‘Are you okay?’ The question read.
Baekhyun smiled before he pulled his phone closer to him, wincing as the light pierced his eyes. The brunet began typing on the digital keyboard, ‘I’m fine. Keep your eyes on the road and stop texting me. x’
Not another second later, he began once more on his feet, looking at one door to another just to check if he would be able to recall which room was which.
By the second hour, the rain had stopped and Baekhyun was well on his way out of the building. Kyungsoo had informed him that they’ve made it to their lodge for the day and he was the last one to arrive.
With a contented smile on his face, Baekhyun crossed the muddy grounds, went past the rusting poles and got back into his car, driving the fair distance that he used to always enjoy and dread walking on his own.
The first time Yifan came around was when he was driving along with his friends. Baekhyun remembered him fairly well, given the first impression he had left him. He wasn’t quite the friendly type; always, he carried a frown, his eyes bellowed and he was a man of few words. Baekhyun knew that it was only a matter of time until the male actually did something to cement the idea Baekhyun had of him.
Baekhyun stopped driving upon noticing the tiny shed at the corner. He pressed onto the hazard button and dismounted his car.
Memories, he thought.
He felt a raindrop fall on him, noticing that it was drizzling once more. Trailing his sight towards the old waiting shed from where he used to hide, Baekhyun delays the trip and returns to his car, remembering that the guys were waiting for him.
It was a few weeks into the new school year, when Yifan finally did it.
It started with tacks in his shoe locker, trash in his locker and notes of profanities hidden underneath his table.
Baekhyun ignored it as much as he could but Yifan wasn’t quite focused on keeping his actions unnoticed. Soon he was being tripped around the hallways, pushed around and being followed even out of the campus. Baekhyun merely thought that Yifan was frustrated-so he let him take it out on him; but little did he know it was more than that.
He said it was because he felt his relationship with his dad grew distant, that ever since Baekhyun’s mother came into the picture after his mom’s sudden death, things changed.
In a way, Baekhyun knew he couldn’t say anything to that. He didn’t know how to defend his mother for she too only hoped for a happy ending. Yifan was a victim of his own thoughts, whilst he too is one of his own.
So it continued to the point that he became a habit. Baekhyun became somewhat Yifan’s punching bag-a stress-reliever.
The cut on his thigh came from a bad fall. Yifan shoved him from the stairs after he tried to reason with him.
Yifan said he was not in the place to speak familiarly with him. Said he had no intention of acknowledging him at all.
And then it went on; though nobody knew what Baekhyun did to tick Yifan off, nobody still did anything. Some dubbed it as step-brothers’ banters; while others didn’t really want to catch Yifan’s attention. The taller wasn’t quite known around campus, but because of how he treated Baekhyun the moment they were put in the same class, his name began to fill students’ lips.
The teachers couldn’t really help.
Not when the person who needed help didn’t ask for it. Because Baekhyun too didn’t feel like he needed help. He didn’t care; because Yifan always looked like he was ready to jeopardize his father’s marriage with his mom.
Baekhyun knew in order to prevent anything from happening, he had to put up with it. He had to protect his mother’s smile.
Baekhyun alighted from his car the moment he came to a stop by the small walkway. It’s still a few minutes’ walk to get home, he still had to cross the quaint alley as fast as he could. In there, the roofs meet at the center, rainwater despite being so little, would always cause a shower. It’s funny, because the shower never ended there once the rain starts.
It was pouring when Baekhyun got into trouble. When Yifan cornered him somewhere in this same alley on his way home. It was dark, nobody was out and only the sobbing skies were witness to what happened.
They were juniors in college, had very little classes together and Yifan too stopped doing things that hurt him. It was when Yifan’s glares began dwindling to a softer look. He never stopped looking though, and this only made Baekhyun even more conscious.
Yifan got a hold of him at that very day, then things began to change.
He said it was different now, but that he still hated Baekhyun. That he wouldn’t leave his mind, and it was making him feel ‘messed up’.
He looked lost, confused and furious all at the same time, even Baekhyun was scared of voicing out his concerns, wondering what it all meant. Yifan was blaming him for something he didn’t even do.
“Am I interrupting something?” Came the question, a question that cut through the rising tension.
Baekhyun was drenched to the bone as was Yifan. He hadn’t realized that his step-brother had already cornered him against a wall, both arms leaning on either side of him.
The brunet felt the danger creep at his consciousness, making him stare at the latter in a horrified manner. But before Baekhyun could ask what was going on, Yifan had gone with a grumble upon his lips.
The stranger, whose face Baekhyun couldn’t make out due to his cap and hoodie on, stayed only to hand him his umbrella.
Baekhyun was thankful that he decided to leave his books at school.
A small sigh left the brunet’s lips as he walked his way to the alley. There was a shower of furious leftovers of the rain there, and he knew that he was arriving drenched despite trying to prevent it.
As his clothes began to feel damp, the petite let out a sneeze, eyes drooping as he felt the cold get to him.
He walked, gaze low, hands in his pockets as he played with his car keys in one.
Not a few moments later, the rain shower stopped, the sound of it falling above him and meeting with a plastic material resonating.
Baekhyun looked up, mind absent from acknowledging the pair of leather-shoed feet in his line of sight before doing so.
A transparent umbrella is hovering above him, and as he looked straight, he smiles to reflect the expression offered to him.
It’s been a while ever since Chanyeol waited for him like this.
It’s three years, four months and 12 days ever since the last time Baekhyun saw Mr Park.
He came back, but this time as a regular professor in their College. He was teaching speech and grammar.
Baekhyun didn’t know why he was drawn to him in a way. Despite not being able to get into his class, running into him and encountering him in the halls always seemed to be enough.
The last time they talked, the professor merely showed concerns for his well-being; something a proper educator would do for a student.
And maybe Baekhyun was looking at it in the wrong angle when he thought he felt a connection.
“How was your wound? From before?”
From before, he said.
Like it happened yesterday… Maybe-Baekhyun wasn’t the only one thinking about that last encounter for the past three years…?
Only time could tell.
Chanyeol takes his hand into his and pulls him along with him as they fit their bodies under the umbrella.
There are no words exchanged as they walked, Baekhyun merely letting out a small sneeze as they trekked their way to the lodge. Leaning against the older male, the brunet allows himself to be ushered by the latter, keeping his eyes closed as he felt warm-from the incoming fever or from Chanyeol’s presence, at that time Baekhyun didn’t know.
Baekhyun woke up in bed. His hair is dry and his clothes are changed, to his side lies in blissful sleep, his lover of 4 years, Park Chanyeol.
Baekhyun smiles as he finds Chanyeol like this, thankful for the gesture of walking him home like the old times.
Leaning in, the brunet plants a kiss on Chanyeol’s cheek, he gets under the blankets and embraces him, joining him back to blissful sleep.
By winter, Baekhyun was spending time alone. It was Christmas Eve and all he’s ever had in his mind was Chanyeol.
It was only recently when the professor and he began spending time together. After Baekhyun braved the faculty room as the older male requested for his assistance with his exam and study materials, things began flowing naturally.
He was a breath of fresh air, a foreign element that Baekhyun has always been curious of. He was a carefree spirit who smiled, encouraged and cared for people genuinely. Baekhyun knew this by watching him constantly, wanting to be able to do it like he does, to be able to bring smiles to other people; but simply, Baekhyun had not the ability to.
All he’s ever done was quietly sit in a corner as life bustled, left him in time and frozen.
But then, Mr Park changed that.
Baekhyun woke up with his lips occupied by none other.
Chanyeol’s lips were on his, and then they were on his forehead, on his cheeks and on the button of his nose.
“Hi.” The male said, staring down at him as he pushed back strands of Baekhyun’s hair. He was feeling hot and his body was like jelly.
He knew then that he’d caught a fever from walking under the rain.
Baekhyun smiled shyly towards the older, “Hello.” Catching the other’s lips perfectly into his as he embraces him in his hold.
“I missed you. So much.” Chanyeol says.
“Me too.” He croaked.
Things progressed naturally between them. Before they knew it, Mr Park to Baekhyun became ‘Chanyeol’. The professor was even more open about calling or greeting him in campus.
Yifan was still around but he never got on Baekhyun’s case as much as he used to.
Chanyeol and Baekhyun began meeting after class hours, outside of the campus.
By the time the first semester exams rolled in, Chanyeol was walking Baekhyun home from tutor sessions. From a professor-student relationship, they became close friends.
Baekhyun began smiling more.
Baekhyun laid pliant under his lover. As kisses turn heated and clothes were slowly discarded, the brunet kept his lips shut, preventing any sounds from his lips from escaping.
Chanyeol, who was hovering over him stared at him with soft droopy eyes, and despite them being in that position, all messed up and panting against one another, Baekhyun still couldn’t register the fact that he was there, right where he was.
As Chanyeol’s movements grew faster, Baekhyun found himself pulling onto the older. Chanyeol indulged him with an open-mouthed kiss, their tongues melting into one another. Baekhyun’s toes curled as he felt the fire growing in the pit of his being, taking all that Chanyeol’s giving him.
He missed this.
He truly missed being loved like this.
It was the most unexpected thing when Yifan approached Baekhyun again, after so many months of not even looking his way. Baekhyun had to admit that it was weird that his step-brother stopped his antics, Baekhyun once thought he’d be limping on his way to graduation too but it looked like it wasn’t going to happen so soon.
“I like you.” How Yifan came up with that conclusion, Baekhyun didn’t know.
Baekhyun wasn’t given any time to answer. For as quick as Yifan said it, he was gone.
Chanyeol had to be there at the right time to witness it.
“Did he do something again?”
‘again’?
Baekhyun sighed and glanced at the professor, “when he comes around again, tell me okay? It’s dangerous after what he almost did to you back then. He practically stalked you.”
The professor may have seen the conflict in his eyes, for Chanyeol patted his head gently and gave out a chuckle.
“You didn’t know it was me, the umbrella guy. I knew it was you though, but then I was just passing by and I knew your voice was familiar.”
And it was like a big flashback, that before Baekhyun knew it, he’d turned away to look at where Yifan stood, him leaning on a wall very much like that same situation.
“Now now,” Chanyeol said, “Don’t go falling for a jerk, Baekhyun. There are plenty of good people out there.
Pretty sure someone will be perfect for you.”
Baekhyun was served breakfast in bed the next morning. Still very much naked from their activities the night before, the brunet sat up in bed as his lover woke him up with a kiss on the forehead.
Chanyeol was there with him, and just the thought brings joy to Baekhyun.
It’s been a while since they saw each other again. With Chanyeol being sent off to a remote island to teach for a few months, Baekhyun had been left alone at home waiting for the days to pass by.
Seeing him like this, being with him like this; Baekhyun felt like he was falling in love all over again.
As the brunet was handed a clean shirt, Baekhyun allowed the older male to pamper him like he said he wanted to.
Chanyeol helped him into the shirt, and fed him carefully.
It was silent save for the pouring rain outside, Sehun and Kyungsoo having gone out for a drive themselves.
By the time Baekhyun was finished with his meal, Chanyeol was standing by the open window, watching the rainfall.
“They’re bringing it down today,” he said. “The school building. We’re still going, right? Despite the weather?” The professor asked.
Baekhyun nodded to this, “I want to go.” He said with a smile. Slowly, the petite moved the tray away from him and took the blanket to cover himself up. He followed the male to where he stood and shared a moment, just staring at the rain.
“We’ve so many memories there.” Baekhyun murmured.
Feeling the older male’s hand creep onto his neck, embracing the back of it, Baekhyun felt the need to look up at Chanyeol, only to find him smiling down at him.
“Yeah. Lots of it.” He supplied, before leaning down to capture Baekhyun’s lips with his, “and I’m going to miss it. I’m going to miss all of it.”
They shared a smile before Chanyeol pulled him into his arms that morning.
With nothing but the pouring rain as their witness, they exchanged a lot of kisses, a lot of smiles.
In that gloomy afternoon, they stand across the street, watching the school building come down in rubbles. Baekhyun stands right beside his lover, hugging him to his side as the rain continue to pour.
It was raining when they first met there.
And just like that very day, it was pouring as though the sky felt it was just right to do so. After all, it’s always raining here.