Ok for now (1/1)

The weeks goes by as Kyungsoo counts down to his next ‘date’ with Chanyeol. He tries not to let himself over think with these nervous feelings he has, so he shoves those feelings away as much as he can. Kyungsoo has other things he has to worry about, for example, he still has his last project to finish and he hasn’t even started. Between work and sorting out whatever he’s doing with Chanyeol these days, Kyungsoo hasn’t even gotten the chance to work on things. He’ll have to get on that right away or he’ll fail the class. As Kyungsoo sits on his couch, thinking about what he can possibly write about for his new composition, he realizes that whatever he does is going to, well, in simple terms: suck. It’s hard making songs, and especially ones that will apparently be criticized the harshest out of the entire class. He doesn’t know how to start. Sure, he’s made previous compositions before, but his previous ones were about how powerful the feeling of being loved was. He could repeat the same thing, but right now, it seemed he was incapable of doing so. Before, when he wrote the previous songs, he had secretly been yearning for a relationship even though he didn’t show it, he would judge the people on romantic movies who pinned after others hopelessly, but now he finds himself in the same position. Or rather, a similar one. It’s quite funny to Kyungsoo, he used to write love songs when he hadn’t really experienced it. He wouldn’t say he feels it now, but he feels something for Chanyeol, something that wants to make him write about it. He just can’t find the words to describe this feeling. Kyungsoo groans as he flops down on the couch. This is hopeless. He should just give up this project and fail the class. Maybe if he drops out he can become a stripper and live check to check. With that in mind, Kyungsoo walks up to the mirror, looking over his body and yep, that plan won’t work. He’s too squishy for that. All hope is lost and as he flops back down on the sofa, he whips out a new plan: he’ll fail the class, end up dropping out of college because he’s a failure, become an unemployed college drop out...because he’s a failure, be a hobo (somewhere on the beach though) because he’s a fai- Kyungsoo’s phone vibrates before he can finish the rest of his master plan. He’s thankful for the interruption, or he would have actually gone along with the plan. Kyungsoo already knows it’s probably Baekhyun ranting about Chen’s new song, and how much his ‘angelic voice’ makes him want to combust, but as he check his notifications, it’s definitely not Baekhyun. ‘Hey Soo, just wanted to check how you were doing?’ -Chanyeol Kyungsoo stares at the text for a few minutes. His day was not going well. He was thinking of becoming a stripper! Kyungsoo doesn’t realize he’s been staring at the text message for more than a couple minutes until his phone vibrates for a second time. ‘:(‘ - Chanyeol Kyungsoo rolls his eyes once he snaps out of his self pity and decides to reply to the other. I was thinking of becoming a stripper – Kyungsoo Shit. He shouldn’t have sent that to Chanyeol. He was joking of course but Chanyeol wouldn’t know that, he probably thinks Kyungsoo is high or something. Before Kyungsoo can over think the situation even more, his phone lights up, signaling an incoming call from Chanyeol and Kyungsoo prepares for himself to be judged and hard. “Hello,” Kyungsoo answers. “A stripper, huh?” Chanyeol chuckles from the other line. “I was joking,” Kyungsoo defends, wanting to bang his head on the ground for saying such a stupid thing. Seriously, what was he thinking!? “Aw damn, I actually liked that idea.” Kyungsoo’s face flushes at that comment. This was no time for joking around, Kyungsoo is at a serious risk of failing. “Stop playing. I can’t seem to compose a song and this is your fault!” Kyungsoo says before he can stop himself. “What why? What did I do?” Kyungsoo can almost hear the other pout. But what is he supposed to say? It’s Chanyeol’s fault that he’s getting his feelings all jumbled up? that Kyungsoo can’t sing about embracing love because he’s complying in a celebrity cover up? “Because it just is,” Kyungsoo decides to reply. Kyungsoo can hear some rustling on the other line before Chanyeol seems to have settled down. “What if I help y-?” “No,” Kyungsoo shoots the idea down immediately. He can’t accept the others help because then he’ll be giving in to what others expect him to do. He’ll be proving to his professor that he is a failure if he accepts Chanyeol’s help; He doesn’t want to be a failure. “I don’t want your help,” Kyungsoo says. “Oh,” is all Chanyeol says, and Kyungsoo realizes that he sounded rather harsh. “I don’t mean it that way,” Kyungsoo sighs. “It’s just… I can’t accept your help because I’ll be cheating my way to a good grade. Plus, I don’t think it would work out.” The line stays silent as Kyungsoo waits for Chanyeol to respond. He’s afraid he’s hurt Chanyeol’s feelings but it’s the truth. And besides, Kyungsoo has heard some of Chanyeol’s songs and he can’t help but realize that their styles are completely different. Chanyeol raps about wealth, power, fame. Kyungsoo sings about love, unity, and feeling at home with someone. To him, it just won’t work composing together. They’re too different. “Can you at least give me a chance?” Chanyeol asks in a hopeful tone. “It’s just guidance and tips, it’s not like I’ll be doing the song for you...please” Kyungsoo thinks about it for a while. What Chanyeol is saying is true. Everyone at school thinks he’ll be leeching off of Chanyeol and using him to compose songs for himself, but that’s not true. Kyungsoo will be making his own music and his own lyrics just like everyone else, but with some tips from Chanyeol. That’s not cheating. And if it doesn’t work out, at least he gave Chanyeol a chance. After a few more seconds of pondering, Chanyeol speaks up again. “It’s ok if you don-” “Ok,” Kyungsoo relents. “I underst- wait, what?” “Ok, as in yes, I accept.” “GRE- sorry. I mean, that’s great. When do you want to start?” “But aren’t you busy?” “Oh, right. Um,” Chanyeol goes through his schedule for the next days before he gets back to Kyungsoo. “How about after our date?” Kyungsoo’s heart skips a beat at the reminder. They have a date coming up soon. “Oh um ye-yeah that sounds fine.” “Are you ok? You sound a bit off?”  Kyungsoo curses. Damn his inability to keep calm. He takes a few seconds to muster as much confidence as he can into his voice. “Yeah,” he relies, mentally congratulating himself on not stuttering. “I’m just nervous about the song is all.” Chanyeol makes an understanding hum before the line stays quite for a few seconds. “Where are you right now?” Chanyeol asks. “At home,” the other replies. “Have you eaten yet?” “No. Wait, wh-” “I’ll see you soon.” “Wait, wait, no yo-” but before he can finish that sentence the line cuts off. Kyungsoo sits up in panic. His apartment, while usually clean, is at the moment a mess of crumpled paper and tossed around notebooks. And he doesn’t even want to start on his appearance. He probably looks like he’s spent most of the day wallowing in his self pity, which he has, but that’s besides the point. Making the decision to at least try and look presentable, he rushes to the bathroom. He has no time to take a shower, so rushes over to the sink and fix himself up as good as he can. ‘This is ridiculous,’ he thinks as he fixes his hair. Someone can’t just invite themselves to his apartment. Well, there’s Baekhyun, but he’s not just someone, Baekhyun is like family. Chanyeol though, he practically just met the man. “I can tell you’re warming up to him,” Baekhyun’s previous conversation fills his mind, but he has not time to ponder over it. After quite a while, there’s still some strands sticking out of his hair, and it frustrates him but there’s nothing much he can do about it. Huffing, he rushes out of his bathroom, moving on to the living room where he slips on a sheet of paper. There it is, he’s going to die from a concussion and he won’t have to face Chanyeol or this stupid project. As he waits for the impact and his sweet death, all he gets is a painful hit on the back of his head as he collides on the floor. Kyungsoo groans as he lifts himself up from the floor. Well, it looks like he’ll have to continue on. By the time he manages to at least pick up half of the mess, there’s a knock on the door. Kyungsoo takes a deep breathe as he heads over to open the door. “Hi!” is the first thing Chanyeol says as Kyungsoo opens the door. This time, the smaller notices Chanyeol has brought his bodyguard with him. “I couldn’t shake him off this time,” Chanyeol says sheepishly. Kyungsoo looks up at the smiling rapper. He honestly thinks it should be a crime to be this happy. He’s too happy when Kyungsoo is half way through deciding to fuck all and become a stripper. “Good evening, Mr. Choi” Kyungsoo greets him politely, and Mr. Choi nods his head in reply. Turning back to the taller, Kyungsoo asks.“Why are you here?” Chanyeol lifts up two plastic bags of take out which Kyungsoo had failed to notice at first. “This is our date!” “It’s not until tomorrow.” “This is an early one. Plus, I don’t know if anyone had let you know yet, but I think my manager is going to push it back.” ‘Why does no one tell me these things!’ Kyungsoo internally shouts, all that worrying might be for nothing! “So um, can I come in?” Chanyeol asks as he rubs the back of his neck. Kyungsoo barley realizes he’s been interrogating him outside for the world the hear, or rather the rest of his hall. Opps. “Oh, yeah,” Kyungsoo says as he steps aside. In a matter of seconds, Kyungsoo, along with Chanyeol and Mr. Choi have made it into his apartment and into the kitchen. As the smell of food invades his kitchen, Kyungsoo barley registers how hungry he is and his stomach does an embarrassing growl. It seems that Kyungsoo is going to die of embarrassment instead. “You haven’t eaten yet?” Chanyeol asks with a tone of worry. “I kinda forgot,” Kyungsoo mumbles as he sets down a glass of water in front of everyone. “Huh?” “I kinda forgot,” Kyungsoo repeats a bit louder. “It’s a good thing this date came earlier then.” “This is hardly a-” “It’s a domestic date.” “I do-” “No more questions. Come eat,” Chanyeol interrupts as he walks over to Kyungsoo, making the smaller sit next to him. Kyungsoo watches as Chanyeol sets a paper plate in front of the smaller, serving him a mountain of food. He looks so proud of himself afterward that Kyungsoo doesn’t have it in him to say that he can’t eat it all. Kyungsoo grabs a fork as he digs in to his food, munching happily as he finally satisfies his empty stomach. “So, about you being a stripper?” Kyungsoo whines. “It was a joke!” “That’s too bad, I kind of liked that ide-” “PFTT UCCHHHH ACCH.” The sound of someone chocking on water has both Chanyeol and Kyungsoo turning to Mr. Choi, who they seemed to have forgotten was there. “Mr. Choi! Are yo-” “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Mr. Choi speaks up, clearing his throat. “I think I’ll just wait in the car until you finish this... date.” Kyungsoo suddenly becomes flustered as he looks for words to say, but he doesn’t get to since Mr. Choi is out in a flash. Kyungsoo turns around in his chair to look at Chanyeol only to find that the other isn’t at all embarrassed about the sudden course of events. Kyungsoo looks to the door and back at Chanyeol before- SMACK  “Ouch!” Chanyeol yelps as he holds his forehead. “What was that for?” the taller asks as he rubs his forehead. “What do you mean what was that for!? He just left bec- ugh this is so embarrassing.” Kyungsoo all but wails. Mr. Choi probably thinks there’s some funny business going on, but there’s not! Chanyeol watches as Kyungsoo practically dies of embarrassment and he finds it quite amusing “I don’t see what the big deal is. It was an honest question,” Chanyeol says in a matter of fact tone. Kyungsoo huffs as he collects himself. “I told you it was a joke!” “It didn’t sound like it!” Kyungsoo grabs the spoon and starts eating, signaling that the conversation was over and Chanyeol follows afterward, eating his own portion of food. It’s quiet, but it’s not uncomfortable, seeing as how they’re both quite famished. After a few minutes of eating, Chanyeol waits for the younger to finish his food before he asks about the music project. “So how’s the assignment coming?” Chanyeol asks. Kyungsoo’s heart drops as he’s instantly reminded about his upcoming failure. “It’s not” Kyungsoo replies, getting up to clean the table. “Oh come on, you must have something?” the other replies as he helps with the table. Kyungsoo doesn’t reply to the question and instead focuses on throwing away the trash. The kitchen goes quiet and Kyungsoo doesn’t know whether it’s a good or bad idea. “Chany-” Kyungsoo freezes when he spots Chanyeol in the living room, reaching for one of the journals that Kyungsoo had forgotten to put away. “What’s this?” Chanyeol asks as he’s about to open the journal. Kyungsoo darts forward to retrieve it. That journal is not for just anyone to see. Kyungsoo songs are hidden in there, songs that he lets no one see, not even Baekhyun. “Give me that,” Kyungsoo demands as Chanyeol dodges his attempts. The journal is held beyond Kyungsoo reach (curse Chanyeol’s height). “But I want to see,” the taller replies, trying to open the journal despite Kyungsoo’s attempts to take it back. “Chanyeol, I said no. Just give it back,” Kyungsoo replies in a serious tone. Chanyeol stops his previous attempts to read it and lowers his hand, returning the journal back to its owner. “What’s so important that I can’t see what’s in it?” Chanyeol asks. Kyungsoo keeps quiet for a few seconds before he sighs. “It’s just a book of songs, just some stupid songs,” Kyungsoo finally says. He holds the journal close to him, afraid that it’ll be taken away if he loosens up his grip on it. “Must not be that bad if you’re so keen on protecting them.” Kyungsoo shakes his head. This songs aren’t just random put together lyrics, or rejected assignment pieces, they’re special to Kyungsoo. He’s put his heart and soul into these lyrics, they express exactly what he feels, who he is as a person; they’re too personal for anyone to see. Chanyeol seems to understand this and drops the subject, opting to ask about his upcoming assignment instead. Kyungsoo is happy to change the subject, walking over to one of his shelves to put his journal next to a stack of books. “There isn’t any specific rules in the rubric. One of the instructions on it is that if we’ve been paying attention in his class, we’ll know what to do!” He already feels himself going into panic mode, what kind of shitty teacher puts that in a rubric! “Hey, it’s going to be ok,” Chanyeol says as he sits besides the smaller, putting a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder in an effort to reassure him. “Why don’t I help you think about what to write, yeah?” Chanyeol says and Kyungsoo nods. “Let’s see, love songs are pretty in, no?” Kyungsoo shakes his head, right now he doesn’t think he can write another love song. “I have enough of writing those for moment.” Chanyeol nods as they both try to think of other ideas. “Well, maybe don’t think about what he wants. What can you write about or rather, what do you like to write about?” Kyungsoo thinks for a second. He’s pretty good at writing down what he feels and he’s incorporated them into songs before, but he doesn’t think he can do that in front of Chanyeol. “I don’t know,” he decided to answer the taller. The duo stay silent, pondering for a few more minutes before Chanyeol suddenly springs up, scaring the bejesus out of Kyungsoo. “Holy shit, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo says. “You scar-” “I got it!” Chanyeol exclaims loudly as he takes Kyungsoo’s hand and lifts him up from the couch, dragging the smaller out of the apartment. Kyungsoo’s halfway through the door when he manages to stop the other from exiting down to the lobby. Chanyeol looks back confused. “What?” “We don’t even have my shoes on!” Kyungsoo exclaims as he tries not to get embarrassed by the judging eyes of his neighbors. They both go back into his apartment. Chanyeol stays in the living room, putting his shoes on as Kyungsoo goes back into his room, making sure he’s turned everything off. It takes a few minutes before he’s made sure he’s good to go and they both head off. He has absolute no clue where they’re going, but he’ll follow along tonight. Finally managing to head down the hallway, Chanyeol has them climbing into the back of his car. Kyungsoo half expects them to get mobbed at this moment, but it hasn’t happen recently so it shouldn’t happen now he assumes. Along the way, Kyungsoo figures out they’re headed to one of Chanyeol’s studio’s, and now that is a different story. There’s cameras everywhere, almost as if they know Chanyeol was going to be there. Kyungsoo looks at the people surrounding the car, and he doesn’t know how in the hell they’re going to get out. Sure, they have Mr. Choi, but he doesn’t seem like he could handle all of them alone. There’s so many people crowded around him, much more than before and he didn’t think that could even happen. “I’ve been laying low for a while since the interview, paparazzi get a bit more wild when they get a picture of an artist after a while of being MIA,” Chanyeol explains. Kyungsoo keeps looking around the car, taking in the hoards of people trying to sneak a peek of them inside. Kyungsoo thinks that going out is a bad idea, maybe they should just go back to his place, where there’s no mass of people. Yeah, that seems like a good idea. He decides to voice his opinion but suddenly there’s a hand on his knee, stopping him from speaking. “Hey,” Chanyeol says in a soft voice. “It’s just like last time. I won’t let them touch you, ok? it’ll be ok, I’ll be with you.” Kyungsoo nods slowly, finding reassurance in Chanyeol’s words. Chanyeol lets Mr. Choi know they’re ready to head out and the body guard gets into action, shouting at the people aside to make room. A few more guards from inside control the people outside, allowing both Chanyeol and Kyungsoo passage inside. True to his word, Chanyeol doesn’t let anyone touch him. He stays close by to Kyungsoo, eyes trained on the people around him to make sure no one tries anything. To Kyungsoo’s relief, nothing happens and they’re safety escorted inside. “See, I told you you’d be okay,” Chanyeol says proudly once they’re inside. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes but is none the less thankful for that. “Now, come on,” Chanyeol says as they enter the elevator, Mr. Choi staying behind since he’s not really needed when they’re in the studio. The last time Kyungsoo was here, he didn’t really fair well, hell, it was a disaster. He really doesn’t want to face that jerk of a manager, but as they’re walking through the hall, Kyungsoo realizes that they’re not going in the same direction as last time. These halls are unfamiliar to him. “Chanyeol, wh-” “We’re almost there,” the other interjects. Kyungsoo keeps quiet as he they continue going down the hall. Many employees stare and Kyungsoo tries not to let it bother him. They finally reach the end of the hall and Kyungsoo still has no clue what they’re doing here. Chanyeol pushes open the door and various instruments come into view. Kyungsoo realizes they’re in a recording studio, but why? “Uh. Why are we here?” “To help you,” Chanyeol responds in an obvious tone, closing the door behind them. Kyungsoo takes his time to look around. He’s never been in a recording studio of this size. His university has one sure, but it’s tiny, not like this one. Chanyeol’s recording studio is pretty damn big. The control room is quite more advanced then the one in Kyungsoo’s school, and the school doesn’t have a huge couch like Chanyeol’s. “Help with what exactly? I don’t even have words down,” Kyungsoo questions, still unsure. Chanyeol grabs a guitar by the mixer, sitting down on the couch. “The lyrics don’t always have to come first,” Chanyeol says as he past the space next to him. The taller starts strumming the guitar and much to Kyungsoo’s surprise, the other can really play. Kyungsoo takes a seat next to Chanyeol, sitting back as he listens to the tune of Chanyeol’s guitar. It reminds him of something, he can’t quite place it yet, but the tune makes him feel something he hasn’t felt since he moved away from home. Chanyeol continues strumming his guitar, taking a glance at Kyungsoo as he watches the other’s expression. Kyungsoo seems to be thinking about something but what? He doesn’t know but he keeps playing. He keeps playing for a few more minutes, looking back at Kyungsoo and this time the smaller’s eyes are closed. Kyungsoo’s whole body seems to be relaxed, leaning all the way back into the couch. Chanyeol smiles softly, laying the guitar by the side as he leans over to drap Kyungsoo with the blanket that behind him. “What are you doing?” comes the other’s voice before Chanyeol can finish grabbing the blanket. their faces are practically inches away. Kyungsoo’s eyes don’t break away from Chanyeol’s gaze. Neither move away, but they don’t close the distance either. Chanyeol can’t seem to control how fast his heart is beating. He wonders if Kyungsoo can hear how loud his heart is ramming in his chest right now. “is this ok-” “Yeah,” Kyungsoo replies before the other can finish. All Kyungsoo’s previous worries about his ‘relationship’ with Chanyeol practically go out the window. He’s so up close to the taller that he doesn’t care whether their relationship is false or if there’s something else that may be going on. Kyungsoo closes his eyes as Chanyeol leans in a bit more. He can feel the other’s breath caress his face and- “How’s the al-” Chanyeol’s manager barges in and they both spring apart. Mark is by the door, followed by Chanyeol’s body guard, and Kyungsoo swears his face is as red as a tomato. “When they informed me you had arrived back at the studio, I was under the impression that you were here to work on your album,” Mark says pointedly. “I-” His manager lifts his finger up to silence the rapper. “Not now, we’ve got a meeting in five.” and with that, the manager is off again. Mr. Choi leaves too, letting Both Chanyeol and Kyungsoo alone again. A few seconds pass as the duo sit in silence trying to figure out just what the hell happened. They turn to each other at the same and they laugh, they laugh because this situation was not how they intended it to end, but it’s still funny. The laughter soon dies down before Kyungsoo checks the time, getting on his feet. “I should probably go now.” Chanyeol almost feels as if he had done something wrong because Kyungsoo doesn’t usually do these kinds of things with him. They’re not really together, so maybe Chanyeol had crossed the line, but as Kyungsoo smiles softly at him, his worries go away. Everything is ok so far. Yes, they’re still technically lying about being together but everything is ok for now. “I would take you back, but you heard the man, meeting in five. Mr. Choi will take you though,” Chanyeol says as he too stands. Kyungsoo nods, turning to leave but not before Chanyeol speaks up again. “Wait!” Kyungsoo turns back around, head tilting to the side in question. “Do you want to come again, we could continue this. You know, the melody.” Chanyeol half expects Kyungsoo to reject him, but he doesn’t. “Yeah, I’d like that.” Kyungsoo smiles again before he’s out the door, leaving Chanyeol to himself now. The taller smiles to himself, thinking about what almost happened. He wonders what would have happened if they weren’t interrupted.