USED || (Chanbaek)

D i s c l o s u r e

Chapter 17: Disclosure

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"Park."

Baekhyun had stood outside his door for multiple reasons in the past, but based on his appearance alone, he wasn't there as a result of a drunken idea or a quick fuck. Instead, he looked, for once, as though he had a civil matter to discuss despite his character being so skewed that civil wasn't typically in his vocabulary when it came to others.

Without moving from his spot, Chanyeol kept a straight face as he watched the latter carefully. After a few seconds of silence, he broke the air with the first words spoken between them since their argument and, subsequently, 'break up'-- if Chanyeol even considered it to be as such.

"I haven't seen you in a while."

"Missed me, then?"

Chanyeol's grip on the door frame tightened. "Far from it."

"That's a bold lie for someone who took the time to notice that I haven't been the most...present person on campus."

"I'm sure you had other friends who noticed besides me." The bitterness slipped past his lips before Chanyeol could stop himself. "Anyways, did you need something, Byun?"

The smile on Baekhyun's face softened. "Actually, yeah. For once, I'm not here to get pinned up against your wall. It's actually quite the character development for me... I'm here to apologize."

When no response came from the latter, Baekhyun leaned back on his right foot, putting both his hands behind him. "I regret how we left things."

"There was never a 'we'. That was all you."

"It takes two to have a relationship--"

"Which we never had," Chanyeol interrupted in a tone that was sharp with bitterness. "I appreciate you coming by and apologizing, but it's over and done with."

"Chanyeol--"

"You're the one who wanted to end things, Byun." For the first time since their encounter, Baekhyun lost a bit of the confidence he had in the way he stood against the looming giant. "So, keep the apologies. I decided I was done with you a while ago. I've moved on."

Baekhyun cocked his head, intensely studying him. "Have you really?" he asked, pausing afterwards. "Is Kyungsoo that good?"

"Well, he treats me better than some people I used to know."

Drawing his eyes down to the floor, Baekhyun stood in silence as seconds passed before he looked up again, eyes piercing through Chanyeol's own. "I know you don't want to hear it, but I'm sorry for pushing you away the way I did. I should've done things differently despite being desperate to cut things off with you."

As hard as he tried to remain stoic and silent with the refusal to answer, Chanyeol eventually caved. "Why now?"

"I mean, I didn't lie when I said I cared about you," Baekhyun said with a shrug of his shoulder. "But you know I couldn't be what you wanted me to be."

"And what did I want you to be?"

"Yours."

Tightening his jaw, Chanyeol threw his head back and closed his eyes, sighing at the ceiling as words wandered through his head. The dry feeling in his throat was beginning to bother him. "You know, I'm over this. I really am..."

However, it was unclear to either who he was attempting to convince more: Baekhyun or himself.

Baekhyun nodded. "I know. Seems like everything with Kyungsoo's been working out for you--"

"But why did you have to come back?" the giant retorted. Chanyeol had no interest of addressing the topic of his boyfriend with the man standing in front of him. His focus had dissolved itself in Baekhyun's presence... "Did you want to be friends or something?"

"I've thought about that. Being friends would be ideal if I didn't find it a bit hard to be anything other than what we were before." Pushing his hair back, Baekhyun pursed his lips into a thin smile. He took a few steps forward, inching closer to the looming man standing stiffly between the doorway arch. "I won't be coming back for my last term and I'm only here to finish fulfilling my other obligations. In a way, it's probably for the best. I just needed you to know that if I said anything out of line before, I shouldn't have done so with the intention of hurting you."

"Is that everything you came here to say?"

Ignoring the question, Baekhyun reached out and caressed the side of Chanyeol's face with his thumb barely grazing against the man's lips. "I took a whole month away from this place, but I still couldn't forget about you," he said in a quiet voice. The somber tone of his voice had not gone unnoticed to Chanyeol. "I'm almost tempted to kiss you again... but I don't play around with taken toys."

Just as Chanyeol lifted his hand to take hold of Baekhyun's own, the blond pulled away before he could even touch him. Stepping back, he created distance once again. This time, with the intention of maintaining the space.

"I should get going," he briskly said underneath his breath, avoiding Chanyeol's gaze and turning his eyes back to the ground momentarily as he said so. Then, as he began to turn to face in the direction of the elevator, the sound of the giant's unexpected voice stopped him as he took the first step.

"What business did you have with Jongin the other day?" Although it was a question, it was clear that it demanded a definite answer.

Baekhyun had heard Chanyeol talk in the same voice several times before which meant only one thing to the blond.

The man was jealous.

Grinning to mask the emotions he had no desire to leak through his facade, Baekhyun softly laughed.

"Well, I guess in some ways, he reminds me of you, so... I decided that maybe one toy was worth keeping. At least, for the time being."

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It had been a mistake to go back for a scarf that he had forgotten.

Entering his dorm, Kyungsoo shut the door behind him before slowly sinking to the floor against it. With his fingers curled into his palms, he kept his hands in a tight fist in a futile attempt to cease his body from shaking. Breathing had also begun to be a challenge, but he managed to force himself through the process.

However, he was given no peace as the cellphone in his pocket began to vibrate in short sequences. Pulling it out from his back pocket, he glanced at the screen.

[ Chanyeol ] : Let me know when you're back in your dorm

[ Chanyeol ] : Also, you forgot your scarf on my bed. I can come by and--

Without finishing the message, Kyungsoo gripped the phone's power button and shut off the device.

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a/n: I have an idea but it involves time and skipping it (hahah) okay, enjoy this update! Thank you to everyone who still reads this story! Let me know what your favorite thing about it is!

Also, stream Don't Mess Up My Tempo on all platforms!! And go buy it at your local Target!

Ps: I have 2 Jongdae postcards from my allegro albums. If anyone wants to trade, I'm willing to trade for a Baekhyun or Sehun postcard :)

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