Like Night and Day

Severance

Baekhyun tore off the hood of his jacket from his head, shaking away the rain droplets that had latched onto his hair. He was tired, eyes baggy, fatigued and worn from sleepless nights lying awake in the loud dark. Thunderstorms were beginning to irritate him. It was one thing to have rain gently pouring down from the night sky to lull him to sleep, but the thunder was beginning to keep him awake. His brain couldn't escape from his thoughts, the unrest and the impending feeling of stupid, childish insecurity and damaged feelings that he thought he had locked safely away.

The late bell rang, meaning he'd be marked down on the chart for being tardy. It was going to be the third time in that week alone, which would've raised flags for his teachers, but knowing Baekhyun, they probably wouldn't have cared. To them, it was his habit, a tendency he was too immature to fix for the better. As Baekhyun entered the cubby area on the bottom floor, he could already see their faces, disappointed and annoyed as if they hadn't been noticing him showing more effort to make himself present since he began dating the school's starlight basketball jock or praised him in the last few weeks for scoring better and higher than most of the kids in his class.

It was a headache and so was everything.

Bending down, Baekhyun slipped off his sneakers, unwilling to bother untying them beforehand. He opened the door to the cubby and, without reacting, watched as five letters fell from the inside, hitting his feet. He silently noted how last week there were only three, and in the weeks before then, it had only been one. Sighing, the brunet put his shoes inside, and replaced his footwear with the appropriate school shoes.

After closing his box, he knelt down and picked up the letters. Though decorative and deceiving at first sight, he already knew what was inside. He stood up and walked to the nearest trash can, pausing. It wasn't like him to throw away things unread, despite its content, especially when it was specifically addressed to him.

They were all the same. Every week, like a repetition of recycled words, and every week Baekhyun would read them as if they were new before placing them deep in the bin.

You're just a number like I was. Did he tell you he loved you, too? Have you slept with him yet? Probably not if you're still together.

Baekhyun ripped the delicate letter in half and put in the trash.

This isn't beauty and the beast. What kind of happy ending do you think you're going to get?

Again, he tore the paper and threw it away. Baekhyun repeated the process several times with the other letters until he was standing in the empty hallway silently. As the world around him moved on, the sound of lectures echoing through the school, he hung his head, hand through his hair, taking a moment for himself.

His feelings for Chanyeol was definite. There weren't many things he was sure of including his future or what he truly wanted out of life, but he knew that Chanyeol was someone he loved... And yet, that love was beginning to feel heavy, and Baekhyun never really liked carrying heavy things.

Granted they made up, kissed, and foreplayed just nearly a week ago, it felt like every time they fought and reconciled, nothing ever felt truly fixed. It all felt temporary, and that was what bothered Baekhyun about everything. Why did it never feel right? Something always felt wrong...

The sound of footsteps in the hall snapped Baekhyun's focus. If it was an administrator, he'd simply be pulled into the office where he'd hear the same lecture about student duties and time management over again. To his luck and relief, it was Kyungsoo who came from the corner, lips tight and sharp as he walked over to the brunet, examining him from head to toe.