Concordia Discors [Chapter Seven]

[akaanee]

Title: Concordia Discors [Chapter Seven]
Authors: akaanee and minwhore
Pairings: Chanyeol/Baekhyun, Kai/Luhan, onesided!Sehun/Luhan, onesided!Kai/Kyungsoo, Suho/Kyungsoo, Kris/Tao
Rating: PG-15
Summary: For many centuries humans and demons have been at odds. And now the battles fought rise to a crescendo where tables are turned, many are sacrificed, and hopes are both found, and lost.

Author’s Note: we listened to gangnam style as we were writing this chapter, just a little trivia ~_~

Chapter Seven

“Hey, Chanyeol, there’s been something that’s been bothering me,” Baekhyun said one day, looking up blankly at the blue sky. He turned his head, gazing at where Yixing and Kyungsoo were walking behind them before looking at the Hero.

“What is it?” Chanyeol asked curiously. Baekhyun made sure to carefully seal any of the chaotic emotions he felt from seeing Chanyeol’s face away from his countenance, forcing a hesitant smile onto his face.

“Why didn’t Yixing and Kyungsoo come with you guys when you went out to find me and Luhan?”

Chanyeol slowed at his question, shock flashing in his eyes before it disappeared just as quickly. It wasn’t something too noticeable and Chanyeol immediately resumed his pace soon afterwards, but Baekhyun saw it either way. He wondered idly if he’d just stepped on a landmine. He couldn’t really bring himself to care.

“I can’t really say,” Chanyeol replied quietly. “Just... ask Yixing. It’s his story to tell, not mine.”

“Will he answer it though?” Baekhyun asked curiously.

“It depends on how much he trusts you right now,” Chanyeol said, shrugging and looking mildly apologetic. Baekhyun frowned, about to shoot off another question when a sound caught his attention, stopping him in his tracks. He cocked his head to the side, wondering what he was hearing.

“Baekhyun, what’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked, confused at why he suddenly stopped. Baekhyun didn’t answer, frowning as he tried to place what the sound was. Maybe... crying? And was that a roar?

We aren’t alone anymore~ Luhan said creepily. Baekhyun smirked silently.

“I think someone is getting attacked,” Baekhyun finally said. Luhan appeared at his side, nodding in agreement as the ears on his head twitched.

“More accurately,” Luhan said. “It sounds like humans getting attacked by monsters. Or are those animals?” Luhan wondered out loud.

“Which way?” Chanyeol immediately demanded, his eyes narrowing. Baekhyun and Luhan pointed simultaneously to a spot beyond the trees.

Chanyeol, as expected, sped to the direction pointed and the group soon followed. Baekhyun trailed behind, deliberately taking smaller steps than rest to slow himself down. As he rounded the corner, he saw that the fight had started.

Baekhyun narrowed his eyes as he watched the scene before him, starting to carefully back away from the quarrel. It seemed like a couple of monsters had terrorized a family that had been travelling in a wagon. When Chanyeol and the others arrived on the scene, the monsters had left the family of five alone but proceeded to attack the Hero and his friends instead.

The monsters were ugly, much like hairless lions with alabaster skin and rows of canines. Baekhyun wrinkled his nose in distaste when he saw their drooling mouths.

Chanyeol and Jongin were fighting back to back and Kris was fending off the monsters heading for Yixing. The healer was trying to take care of Kyungsoo, who had taken a deadly swipe of long-clawed paws at his side. Baekhyun’s eyes flashed maliciously as he caught sight of the blood seeping through Kyungsoo’s clothes, but quickly shook his head to rid himself of the blood-lust. He saw a monster pounce towards Luhan but Jongin sprang from Chanyeol’s side to defend him, shooting an arrow to the monster’s abdomen.

Baekhyun didn’t want to blow his cover and get provoked to kill especially with Luhan’s words still ringing in his ears, so he continued to back away until he was at a safe distance. He had missed his chance to kill the Hero last night, and he’d be sure to not miss it again. But in the meantime he had to keep his facade and fool Chanyeol a little longer until there was another chance.

The bushes behind him rustled and Baekhyun whipped around. Another one of the monsters appeared, grinning wickedly at Baekhyun. Baekhyun was sure he appeared weak in the monster’s eyes and didn’t bother feeling offended. He got it a lot, anyway.

“Why hello, little one,” it purred, circling Baekhyun much like how a predator would circle its prey. “You’d do well for lunch, I think.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, unamused, as it pounced. Just this once, he thought. They were far away anyway, and the group wouldn’t notice if he killed just one monster.

His palm tingled with long-suppressed power and he wiggled his fingers as he felt the ball of light coagulate, laughing loudly as he bought his hand forward. A flash of fear flitted through the monster’s eyes, but it was too late. Baekhyun’s attack was point blank.

Baekhyun smirked, all too ready to kill again. It’s been too long since he felt the wonderful feeling of taking away a life, of being looked at with fear --

Suddenly his mind reeled back to the image of Chanyeol in that clearing beside the pond, the very first time they met. He remembered Chanyeol’s deep soothing voice, as he stared fondly at the little monsters hopping around his feet.

”I believe everyone deserves a chance to live.”

Baekhyun’s hand stopped as he hesitated, and in that fraction of a second, the ball of light in his hand extinguished with a hiss. Horrified, he looked at his empty palm before remembering where he was and quickly jumped out of the way to dodge the monsters attack. However, he was a moment too late. Baekhyun cried in pain as the monster’s claws dug into his back, collapsing to the ground and heaving for breath as blood poured from the wound.

“Well, well, well,” the feline-like monster said, chuckling in mild surprise as he began to circle around Baekhyun again. Baekhyun felt slight pleasure when he saw that the monster kept a bigger distance between them this time. “What was that? Seems like you’re not as weak as you seem.”

It crouched low, getting ready for a second attack and Baekhyun growled menacingly in the back of his throat. Unfortunately though, with the state he was in, he wouldn’t be able to move around much. Once again Baekhyun gathered just enough light to defend himself on his palm, but suddenly there was a blur of movement and the monster was thrown to the side, whining pitifully as a deep gash appeared on its leg.

Baekhyun looked up to see Chanyeol, his figure towering protectively over Baekhyun and blocking out the sun from his eyes. Chanyeol’s face was set in a thousand different kinds of worry as he knelt beside Baekhyun.

“Shit,” Chanyeol uttered, distress clear in his voice as he eyed the puddle of blood surrounding Baekhyun’s body. “Yixing!”

The healer appeared by their side shortly, gasping and muttering a quiet Oh my god, before he pushed his sleeves up and walked around Baekhyun to inspect the damage. Baekhyun’s vision started becoming blurry from loss of blood, but he saw Chanyeol get up and walk away, only to sit some distance away and hide his face in his hands, knees pulled to his chest. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination or not, but Chanyeol’s shoulders seemed to shake, and Jongin had walked to stand beside his best friend with his lips in a thin line.

Baekhyun hissed in pain as Yixing got to work, the muscles and tissues of Baekhyun’s back mending themselves. A new layer of skin eventually formed over his wound, patching him up. When Yixing was done, Baekhyun tried to get up shakily, but Yixing grabbed his arm to steady him.

“Be careful,” he said, slowly letting go of Baekhyun’s forearm. “While I can mend wounds, I can’t replenish the blood you lost, and you lost quite a lot.”

Baekhyun paid him no attention, striding to where Chanyeol sat curled on the ground. His nose wrinkled in disgust as his clothes stuck to his skin because of the blood, and he still felt faint. He plopped down beside Chanyeol, and laid a hand on top of Chanyeol’s knees, feeling something tug at his heart at how helpless the Hero looked.

“Chanyeol --”

“Fuck, Baekhyun, I’m sorry,” Chanyeol muttered to his hands covering his face. “I should’ve protected you, but I -- how can I protect the world if I can’t even protect my friends?”

Baekhyun sighed. He felt Luhan’s piercing gaze on the back of his head, but he pushed it away, laying his chin atop Chanyeol’s knees. Chanyeol let his hands fall from his face and Baekhyun frowned at the distress in his features. Their faces were close to each other, only centimeters apart, and Baekhyun could feel each puff of Chanyeol’s breath in his cheeks.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he assured him softly. “It’s my fault I got separated. And besides, I’m fine now anyway!”

Baekhyun grinned and Chanyeol smiled back uncertainly. He nuzzled affectionately into Chanyeol’s hand as the Hero brought it up to stroke Baekhyun’s cheek, and beside them, Jongin made gagging noises. Chanyeol laughed and stood up, then pulled Baekhyun up with him.

“Ugh.” Chanyeol eyed Baekhyun’s clothes which were sticky with blood distastefully, scrunching up his face. “You should go change first.”

Jongin glanced at Luhan, who was skipping merrily beside him and humming a sweet tune. The half-blood had one of his arms intertwined with one of Jongin’s, as always, their shoulders brushing with each step. Jongin was considerably taller than Luhan, so he could watch him without being caught easily.

Luhan was wearing the hooded cape he always wore to hide his cat-ears, every once in a while tugging it down to make sure his ears were covered. He was staring straight ahead, taking in the scenery of the woods they were walking through with bright eyes. Maybe he had never been outside his village before, Jongin thought absentmindedly, with the way Luhan was absorbing all the new sights that came their way.

Jongin had little knowledge of those who were born from an affair of a human and monster. He only knew they held little to no power, bore some resemblance of a monster but maintained a human appearance, and usually ended up shunned from society because of their parentage. Half-bloods usually ended up leading a miserable life, hated and treated like scum. They often lived alone on the outskirt of town, much like Luhan, because they still needed the aid of other humans for the continuation of their lives, but were avoided like the plague.

Jongin frowned at the thought of Luhan living a life like that. Harmless, frail Luhan, who cooed at the butterflies floating across their path and smiled like he’d never known any kind of pain. Jongin pictured Luhan as one who hid his suffering behind laughter, but was secretly hurting inside. With a huff, he realized how unfair he must have been to Luhan all this time, always pushing him away like that. He made a mental note to tone down his attitude. Well, try to, at least. Habits were hard to break, after all.

Over the short few weeks Jongin had known him, he learned that Luhan was overly touchy, always pressing up to somebody (either him or Baekhyun), and that he seemed to enjoy this adventure a lot more than the others. His ears also twitched a lot when he was particularly happy and Jongin couldn’t deny to himself that it cute. In fact, most of Luhan’s little quirks had seemed to grow on Jongin, as he was stuck with him most of the time, and the realization of it confused him.

Suddenly Luhan tripped on a bit of root that was sticking out from the ground, shrieking as he collided to the ground with an ‘oof!’ Jongin jolted in surprise and quickly bent down beside him while the rest of the group stopped to look back and gather around them.

“Ow...” Luhan whined softly as he pushed himself up to sit back on his heels, his clothes a tiny bit dirty and his face in a grimace. Yixing tsk-ed and Baekhyun peered anxiously from beside Chanyeol, brows furrowed.

“Stupid,” Jongin muttered, and without thinking pulled Luhan’s wrists towards him to inspect his hands. Luhan had thrown them out to break his fall, but now they were grazed and bleeding, having landed on some sharp rocks and rough ground. Jongin took out his handkerchief and wet it with some water from his water sack, and carefully began to dab at the wounds.

Luhan kept hissing in slight pain as Jongin worked diligently, cleaning off the soil from Luhan’s hands so they wouldn’t get infected. He had been so focused on his task that he didn’t notice the others watching, most of them with satisfied smirks on their faces.

“There,” Jongin said, blowing at the hands a little. He let them go soon afterward, smiling proudly at his accomplishment. “All pretty again!”

He looked up to Luhan’s shocked expression, whose mouth was agape and eyes wide and glassy. Jongin frowned. “What?” Then he looked around, and noticed that the group were also watching him with similar expressions of surprise. “What?”

“I didn’t know Jongin could be so gentle,” Yixing snickered, turning around to continue walking. The others murmured in agreement, and trudged away. It was his turn to be surprised this time, staring at everyone’s retreating backs incredulously. Gentle? He had only been helping a friend, as he always did with the rest of them, so why should this one be any different?

“Thank you.”

The soft voice made Jongin turn around again, and Luhan was looking at him with those doe eyes of his, smiling in genuine gratitude. It was the first time Jongin treated Luhan decently, and he had done so without really thinking. Jongin blushed as Luhan continued to smile happily at him, finally clearing his throat and standing up.

“Let’s just -- get going,” he mumbled, averting his gaze. Luhan nodded and stood up as well, staying close to Jongin’s side with his arm once again looped around Jongin’s.

“Oh!” Chanyeol clapped his hands eagerly, turning around to come to a stop in front of Jongin. Jongin narrowed his eyes at his best friend, suspicious at the evil grin lighting Chanyeol’s face. Chanyeol didn’t say anything for a second, pausing to look through his bag before pulling a familiar looking headband out. “You forgot to wear your cat ears today.”

Jongin gaped in horror, backing up until it was obvious he was using Luhan as a shield. Luhan glanced between the two of them curiously, an amused smile pulling at his lips.

“Come on, Kai~” Chanyeol singsonged, using his nickname for Jongin as he tried to get closer. Jongin didn’t give him a chance, stepping away every time Chanyeol stepped up.

“Do not come near me with that thing,” Jongin warned. He’d already worn it once, and he wasn’t about to wear it again!

Kris sighed at the childish display. “Guys,” he said, interrupting the two as he glanced beyond the treeline and the sun beginning to sink in the horizon in a mournful way. “Come on, we have to get going. The Capital is still seven day of journeying away.”

Chanyeol huffed, giving a brief stink eye to Jongin before turning around. Jongin smirked in victory, coming out from behind Luhan. He made to follow Kris, but Luhan suddenly grabbed his hand to hold him back.

“I -- I’m sorry if you think those cat ears were stupid. I just never had a friend before, except Baekhyun, and he’s kind of stuck-up...” he said, looking down at the ground. Jongin sighed and the tiniest of a smile played on his lips at Luhan’s perfectly submissive posture. He patted Luhan’s head a couple of times, eventually ruffling it until Luhan yelped and swatted them away, pouting.

“Whatever.” Jongin laughed as he pulled the hood of Luhan’s cape back up, and gestured for Luhan to continue walking.

Night fell a few hours later, blanketing the vivid colors of the horizon and leaving them in the soft light from the moon. They’d long since set up camp, and everyone sat huddled around the fire.

Jongin scrunched up his nose, pulling the blanket around him tighter. It was surprisingly cold in the forest and once in a while, wind would whistle through the trees and make it seem as if the forest itself were breathing. Jongin scowled as he glanced around suspiciously. He hated being in places like this - they always made him jumpy and paranoid.

Suddenly Luhan appeared beside him and tugged on Jongin’s blanket, a pitiful look on his face as he rubbed his arms. Jongin’s lips pursed.

“I suppose you want me to share my blanket,” he said, irritated. Across the fire, he saw Baekhyun and Chanyeol chatting happily, sharing a blanket of their own and looking quite warm. Then again, it could have been because Chanyeol was practically a heater on his own, being able to control his body heat however he liked.

“Please?” Luhan asked, pouting.

Jongin sighed, scooting over on the log he was sitting on to make room as he grudgingly opened a flap of his blanket. “Fine, fine,” he groused. “Hurry and get in. You’re letting all the heat out.”

Luhan beamed, quickly shuffling in and pressing close to Jongin. His fingers hesitantly closed over the side of the blanket, just below where Jongin was holding, and Jongin let go, bringing his arm to his side.

At least it was warmer this way.

Kyungsoo returned from his tent, holding a few spices in his hands, then chucked some at the food. The spices sizzled in the heat and made the air around them smell pleasant. Jongin’s eyes went to the meat slowly roasting on the side of the flames, stomach rumbling unhappily. He resisted the urge to pat it consolingly; man, he was hungry. Judging from the way Kris and Chanyeol eyed the meat, they were, too.

Jongin looked at Baekhyun then at Luhan. Were they not hungry? He shrugged soon afterward -- it must be a monster thing. Baekhyun and Luhan never did eat a lot, if he thought about it.

He went back to staring at the fire, once in a while glancing up at to watch Baekhyun talk to Chanyeol. He was telling a story to the Hero, animatedly waving his arms around. Jongin couldn’t put a finger on it, but something was different about the monster lately...

“Okay!” Kyungsoo chirped out suddenly, grabbing a stick of meat for himself before getting up from where he was sitting. “The food is ready, so help yourself.”

“Does that mean we have to get up?” Jongin complained, huffing. He’d finally gotten comfortable. Luhan slowly stood up, taking his warm body heat with him and Jongin had half a mind to pull him back down next to him.

“It’s okay,” Luhan said, smiling down cheerily at Jongin. “I’ll get you yours.” And he was moving away before Jongin could even protest.

Since the meat was closer to where Baekhyun and Chanyeol sat, Chanyeol managed to just lean over and grab two sticks. Life was just so unfair sometimes, Jongin thought to himself, exasperated.

Kris grabbed two, one for himself and one for Yixing, before going to sit down. Yixing stuck his tongue out at Jongin’s jealous stare before a meat stick was pushed into Jongin’s face, disrupting the stare down between the two. Unable to resist the steaming food held out in front of him, he bit into it without warning, ignoring Luhan’s surprised squeak. Luhan managed to hand the stick to him while he was chewing, slightly red in the face.

Munching on it happily, he opened the blanket for Luhan again. Luhan beamed at him, snuggling into his side. Jongin rolled his eyes but allowed it, warm and finally filling his empty stomach with good food.

Halfway through devouring his meat, he realized he was still going to be hungry once he finished.

“Yah, Dee Oh!” he shouted, looking around for their cook. “Are you making anything else?” Kyungsoo emerged with their food pack, looking through it.

“Don’t call me that,” Kyungsoo muttered, taking out some things. “The best I can do right now is make a quick soup.”

At that, Kris looked up from his food, frowning. “No, Kyungsoo. We don’t need to waste anymore of our rations. Jongin’s had his fill, and that’s that.”

Jongin gaped, staring at Kris incredulously while the taller male returned his gaze challengingly. In the end Jongin deflated, grumbling irritably to himself.

He caught Luhan staring at him, biting his lips uncertainly. He watched curiously as Luhan’s gaze switched from his food to Jongin, then back again, before finally sighing and holding out his skewer of meat to Jongin.

“Here,” Luhan said, smiling. “Have mine.”

Jongin was taken aback, staring at Luhan who looked at him expectantly, wiggling the food in his hands a little. “But it’s your food,” he pointed out, as if it wasn’t obvious already.

Luhan rolled his eyes and laughed. “You know we can go for days without eating, right?” He turned to Baekhyun, who was also listening to their conversation from across the fire. He nodded, confirming Luhan’s words with a smile.

“Are you sure...?” he said again, just to be polite, and once again Luhan laughed before he shoved the food into Jongin’s mouth. Jongin gobbled it down hungrily, groaning happily as the meat filled his stomach. Luhan giggled and continued to feed him, tearing off chunks of meat with his dainty fingers and throwing them into Jongin’s open, waiting mouth.

As the last of the food was devoured, Jongin turned to Kyungsoo, while still chewing messily. “Kyungsoo, this is really good, maybe next time --”

He stopped short when he realized Kyungsoo was staring at them, his food untouched. His eyes were blank and glassy, the expression on his face one Jongin’s never seen before.

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin called cautiously, and the boy’s eyes finally focused on him. “Are you alright?”

“Huh? Uh,” he muttered, shaking his head as though to clear his thoughts. “I’m fine... I -- I’m just not hungry so I’m going to bed. Yes. Tired, you know. Well, goodnight.”

To everyone’s surprise, Kyungsoo got up and handed his food to Yixing, then hurriedly made his way back into his tent. They watched as the flaps of his tent swing closed, and the candle inside was extinguished. There was an awkward silence as everyone slowly turned back to the fire, wondering what the hell that was all about. Yixing shrugged and ate Kyungsoo’s food in his stead, sharing it with Kris, while Baekhyun and Chanyeol resumed their chattering.

“What’s wrong with him?” Jongin muttered to himself, glancing sideways at Luhan. He had the tiniest of a smile playing in his lips as he stared at the dark shape of Kyungsoo’s tent. Jongin frowned at the satisfied expression on his face. “Do you know something?”

Luhan looked up at him slowly, blinking his large eyes. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “No, I don’t.”

Over the next few days, Luhan kept feeding Jongin some of his food whenever Jongin got too hungry. Luhan would just shrug it off or roll his eyes every time Jongin confessed he felt (a little bit) bad for always eating his food, and continued shoving food down Jongin’s throat anyway. Not that Jongin minded.

“Look at the progress you two made,” Chanyeol remarked one day, impressed. “Bonding over food. How cute, in a gross, cavity-inducing way.”

Jongin’s face had reddened at that, and he chucked the nearest object to him -- which turned out to be his pack -- at Chanyeol’s face. Chanyeol spent the rest of the day’s journey whining about it to Baekhyun, who in turn crooned to Chanyeol while ensuring Chanyeol that he still liked him, with bruises or not. Jongin tried not to gag the whole day.

Meanwhile Kyungsoo seemed to keep to himself as they trekked on. His strange behavior continued to get stranger. He’d been quiet, staying behind the group and only speaking when asked direct questions. When they were gathered around the campfire at night, he would sit by himself, only playing with his food moodily and giving the leftovers to Yixing when he went to bed earlier than all of them. It was weird, Jongin thought, to see the generally chatty earth controller so quiet and withdrawn.

What was more weird were the looks Jongin received whenever he tried being nice to Luhan, though. He didn’t know what was causing it, but Yixing and Kris had started giving him glances that made him feel slightly embarrassed and ashamed -- why, he didn’t know, but they were uncomfortable, nonetheless. The others weren’t treated strangely when they did something for Luhan, so why should he be any different?

They reached a town soon. They were now only three days away from the Capital, and they only had to go through towns now, instead of camping out. It was a relief. Jongin rather liked civilization, especially since civilization meant baths and real meals.

“You can take the bath first, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol was saying cheerfully as he steered Baekhyun into their room. Jongin rolled his eyes as the door closed on the rest of the gang’s faces, and he turned around.

“I’m guessing I’m stuck with Luhan again?” he asked dryly, and Kyungsoo nodded absentmindedly, walking away into a different room. Yixing, Kris, and Jongin stared after him, two faces concerned and one face mildly confused. Jongin shrugged, dragging Luhan into their room and closing the door.

“Kyungsoo’s acting strange,” Jongin muttered as the door closed behind them. He was starting to get worried -- Kyungsoo had never been like this before. Maybe he was homesick? They all got homesick at one point or another, so it was possible. But Kyungsoo had always been able to cope with his problems nicely, so must have been something serious.

Meanwhile, Luhan had plopped on one of the beds, bouncing on it happily as he tangled himself in the clean linens. “Ah... a real bed! After so long!” He breathed deeply into the pillow, and Jongin watched him toss around bemusedly, settling on the opposite bed. It didn’t distract him enough from worrying about Kyungsoo though, and Jongin sighed, averting his gaze out the window.
Luhan sat up, hair rumpled and frowning. “Jongin? Are you still worried about Kyungsoo?”

Jongin nodded idly and Luhan bit his lip, staring at the floor before slowly sliding from his bed. He padded over to sit next to Jongin, smiling gently.

“Hey, it’ll be okay,” he crooned, taking Jongin’s hand in his. “I’m sure he’s just a little tired... Or something.”

Jongin laughed at that, and his gaze dropped to their entwined hands. A week ago he probably would’ve felt uncomfortable with it, but now he couldn’t help but think maybe Luhan was just a little lonely and wanted some company, since Baekhyun was so infatuated with Chanyeol to pay attention to him. It was perfectly understandable, since Jongin himself had felt a little hurt his best friend ditched him for Baekhyun.

“Luhan, I --”

Jongin froze in surprise when he looked up. Luhan was leaning towards him, eyes closed, and their faces were much too close for comfort. His limbs seemed to have locked against his will, refusing to move even when Jongin knew he should scoot away, because --

But Luhan’s lips were warm and soft on Jongin’s, shy and unsure. It was just a brush of lips against lips, but Jongin’s very brain seemed to have ground to a halt at the touch.

Kyungsoo sighed heavily, standing up from where he sat on the bed. Yixing had already grabbed the first bath, so it left only him and Kris in the room as they silently waited for their turns.

He snatched his bag up from the ground, carrying it back to the bed as he grabbed some stuff for his bath. He wouldn’t be going until after Kris was done, but he felt like he needed to do something at least the slightest bit productive. He felt a bit hot -- possibly a sunburn -- and he didn’t have anything to rub on, but thankfully Yixing was his roommate. The healer should have something to help Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo brought out a different pair of clothes, hand stilling when he suddenly saw something that didn’t belong to him. He frowned thoughtfully, pulling it up from the bag. He blinked when he realized it was Jongin’s towel.

Grimacing, he grudgingly pushed himself up to his feet once more. He didn’t want to go see Jongin’s dumb face at the moment, but a part of him kept telling Kyungsoo to not be lazy.

“I’ll be just a second,” he told Kris. “Jongin left his towel in my pack.” Kris didn’t answer immediately though, dark eyes scrutinizing him. Kyungsoo fidgeted, wondering what was going on.

“Okay,” Kris eventually said, flopping down onto his bed. Kyungsoo stared at the older for a minute, confused, before shrugging and walking down to the room Jongin and Luhan were staying at.

He contemplated knocking for a brief second, but shook his head. There was nothing for Jongin and Luhan to hide, anyway... right? Still, something didn’t sit well with him.

Rolling his eyes at his own thoughts, he forced them aside and pushed open the door.

“Jongin, why was your towel inside my -- oh.”

Neither of them heard the door open, or Kyungsoo’s voice, for that matter. He stared in shock at the scene before him, fist unconsciously curling hard around the fabric in his hand. Luhan was pressed up to Jongin’s side with a hand grasping the front of Jongin’s shirt, their mouths connected. He took a step back, so very confused and just a bit hurt, the feeling in his chest indescribable. So Jongin was -- so they were --

Kyungsoo forced his frozen limbs to life again as his mind whirred chaotically and blood rushed in his ears. There was something painful pulling at his chest, like his lungs were being tugged out through his throat, and the back of his eyes burned.

The towel fell from his hand and fell to the floor as he ran out. He didn’t see the pair of eyes watching him in concern from the other end of the hallway.

When he finally came to his senses, Jongin gasped, his eyes shooting wide open as he pushed Luhan away from him. The half-blood fell back to the bed with a squeal. Jongin’s heart thundered in his chest, and he touched the tips of his fingers to his lips, the warmth from Luhan’s mouth lingering.

“J -- Jongin?” Luhan called fearfully, and Jongin looked up to see Luhan crouching on the other side of the bed, eyes wide and scared, ears down against his head. “I -- I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I got carried away and...”

Jongin was still trying to figure out the mess in his head, torn between wanting to feel Luhan’s lips on his again and hiding away from the rest of the world to sort through the emotions he was experiencing. Luhan was slightly trembling as he gathered his knees to his chest, obviously afraid Jongin would throw a fit. Luhan wasn’t that far off from the mark -- a part of Jongin really did want to do as mentioned. He held that part of him back though. Luhan didn’ t deserve it.

“Sorry, Luhan,” Jongin breathed finally, pushing himself up from the bed. His eyes darted around skittishly, looking for an exit. He suddenly needed to be alone; this was just a little too much for him to handle at the moment. “I just... yeah.”

He fled the room then, only sparing a brief thought to the towel lying outside in the hallway before he was gone.

Baekhyun was about to stretch his body and take a walk around the inn, his body warm and content after the bath, when he saw Kyungsoo drop a towel to the floor in front of the next room and walk briskly away, disappearing around the corner. He frowned, wondering what that had been all about before deciding to find out. He followed Kyungsoo and, as he passed, he realized the door to the room next to his was slightly ajar, not having been closed properly. Baekhyun peered inside.

Baekhyun tried to stifle his gasp at the sight of Luhan kissing Jongin. So that was what had gotten Kyungsoo upset. Of course. With the way Kyungsoo had looked at Jongin sometimes, it was clear to anyone (except to the idiot himself) what Kyungsoo felt for the other.

He stepped back and closed the door softly but properly in case anybody happened to walk by again, and took off after Kyungsoo. Baekhyun tried looking around the inn, eventually winding up at the front to ask if anyone had seen the other boy. But the lady at the front had said that Kyungsoo went outside, so he speed walked out of the inn.

He couldn’t have gotten far, Baekhyun thought, worriedly looking around for any sign of Kyungsoo. He walked around the back of the inn and into an alleyway, emerging on a quiet, empty square. It seemed to have been forgotten, tucked away in a corner of the town where nobody remembered it anymore.

Suddenly Baekhyun stopped. Kyungsoo was a human, an enemy, why should he worry about him so much?

But the thought was pushed away and replaced by worry as he caught sight of Kyungsoo sitting on the edge of an unused fountain, shoulders hunched and looking small. Baekhyun slowed his steps and approached him slowly, unsure of what to expect.

“Kyungsoo? Are you okay?” Baekhyun called softly and placed a hand on his shoulder. He took it as a good sign when Kyungsoo didn’t shrug it off. Kyungsoo sighed, the sound heavy in the silence. Baekhyun took a seat opposite of Kyungsoo, concernedly peering into his face. The elder was frowning at the bottom of the empty fountain, lips pressed in a thin line. “Hey, you can talk to me about it, okay?”

Kyungsoo didn’t respond, only continued to stare with empty eyes at the cracked stone of the basin. Baekhyun bit his lip, not knowing how to proceed since he has always been a little awkward with people. “Kyungsoo, talk to me, I can understand --”

“What do you know?” Kyungsoo snapped suddenly. “Chanyeol loves you as much as you love him, so how would you know what I’m feeling?”

Baekhyun retracted his hand quickly, taken aback. Kyungsoo’s expression turned horrified almost straight away, eyes widening comically.

“Oh no, Baekhyun, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shout at you like that,” he wailed. “I was just confused, and hurt, and --”

“It’s fine,” Baekhyun waved him off with a strained smile. But he couldn’t get his mind off what Kyungsoo had said. Chanyeol loved him as much as he loved Chanyeol? What was that supposed to mean?

“Jongin is a stupid idiot,” Kyungsoo muttered with feeling. “A stupid, self-centered, oblivious idiot who doesn’t give a shit about other people’s feelings!”

Baekhyun let him rant it all out, only absentmindedly nodding and agreeing whenever appropriate. Kyungsoo talked for hours, and Baekhyun could see it was doing him good. He no longer looked like he was choking and his posture relaxed visibly. Soon, the sky turned darker and cool night air began to bite into their skins, and finally, Kyungsoo stopped.

“We should go back. Chanyeol must be looking for you,” Kyungsoo said and this time, when he smiled, it didn’t look as forced. “Thanks, Baekhyun. For... you know, listening to me whine like a girl.”

Baekhyun laughed at that, feeling strangely proud at himself for at least helping Kyungsoo feel better. They walked side by side back to the inn, playfully throwing each other punches.

But his mind was still stuck on Kyungsoo’s words. The earth controller thought he was in love with Chanyeol? That confused him, because he wasn’t in love with Chanyeol. If anything, there had definitely been potential for his feelings to blossom into love, but after Luhan had snapped him out of it... No, there was definitely no way he could be in love. Not with Chanyeol. Not with the Hero.