Work Text:
A prison without bars
Little by little, it'll swallow me completely
Starting from everything
Exo-Runaway
“Kyungsoo, have you seen Chanyeol ?” The manager who looked like he just finished running a marathon breathlessly asked Kyungsoo as soon as he arrived at the latter’s apartment and noticed the guy in the kitchen. “What do you mean, hyung ? Isn’t Chanyeol at the studio ?” Kyungsoo passed the manager a glass of water with a confused expression. The manager shook his head and continued after gulping the water “He isn’t there. He isn’t at his house either. And- and I tried to call him but his phone is unreachable.”
“Fuck”
Running away. Chanyeol wanted to run away. He wants to disappear and leave everything behind. He is tired. When he finishes his work at the studio, he shuts off everything, leaving only the dim light from near the mirror to illuminate the space. The reflection of himself in the mirror continues to stare at him. Suddenly, his reflection trembled and fell to the ground, sobbing. Chanyeol, who was still standing, slowly raised his palm, touching his face; he did the same as his crying reflection and found his cheeks wet. The taller man can hear his reflection wailing, desperately asking for anything that can reduce the pain.
Rubbing his eyes a few times to stop the tears, Chanyeol quietly whispers to no one in the silent room, "Sorry, I can’t help you.”
"Run away, Park Chanyeol," his reflection said hoarsely as he peered up at him with watery eyes. “Run away before you turn into someone like me."
"What do you mean?"
"You will be destroyed by all of this." While speaking, the Chanyeol reflection scratched his arms fiercely. The tears that awhile ago looked normal now shift into a dark hue of red.
"It is for them." Chanyeol’s voice cracked. He looked down at the floor instead of at his own reflection, who seemed to ridicule the taller one by laughing as soon as he heard what the guy said.
The laughter faded, and the reflection appeared to be approaching Chanyeol. "Then who's there for you, huh?" he mumbled under his breath. Loud enough to break the silence.
“What do we do now, hyung?” Suho who arrived the earliest when he received the news from Kyungsoo asked the manager. “For now, the company doesn't allow us to make a report because they don’t want to make this big news.” Sehun who stay silent since he arrived got up from his seat walked over to the manager and grip his shoulders firmly “To hell with the company. Hyung, we can’t not do anything.” The youngest’s eyes are teary silently pleading with their manager not to listen to the company. However, the manager shamefully avoided Sehun’s eyes and shook his head.
Jongin just hold grip Sehun’s hand in him as Sehun let go of their manager's shoulder. He ad Sehun to the living room to soothe him. Jongin can’t bear watching his friend being all sad like this. Once those two disappeared to the living room, Kyungsoo cleared his throat catching the attention of others. “Let me search for him.”
"No, you can't," Suho said, shaking his head. “As the leader, it's supposed to be my responsibility."
“But they need you here. To deal with the company, fans. Don’t worry hyung, I will get Chanyeol to come back which also means I’m gonna kidnap him if he doesn’t want to.” Kyungsoo cracked a joke to lighten the mood.
Baekhyun chuckled, “Soo, don’t put him in the trunk at least. I don’t think he will fit.”
Suho, who had remained silent, abruptly rose from his seat and drew Kyungsoo into a hug. "Please bring him back here and come back safely, Soo." Kyungsoo doesn't want to acknowledge it, but he gets emotional when Suho wraps his arms around him. Kyungsoo was taken aback by how quickly all of the members joined the hug.
After everyone had gone home, Kyungsoo went straight to his room and get out the duffel bag. He can’t afford to spend another second, he reasoned; he needed to find Chanyeol. He tried calling Chanyeol a few times while packing the necessary items for the trip, but the guy didn't pick up. “Fuck, Yeol. Where are you?” He whispered in the solitude of his room as he sit on the bed once he was done packing. Kyungsoo picks up his phone, opens the gallery, and scrolls through the folder he specifically created for Chanyeol's picture. He keeps scrolling, staring at Chanyeol's photo until tears fall onto the screen without him realising it. Kyungsoo decided to text the guy even though he had no hope the older guy would reply.
Kyungsoo waits and waits until he falls into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Kyungsoo was awakened by the alarm's loud blaring sounds. He sighed, his eyelids refusing to open as he searched for his phone. His eyes slowly opened to adjust to the early light streaming through the curtain he had forgotten to close the night before. After fully waking up from his slumber, he checked his phone for any notifications from Chanyeol.
When he saw a notification from Chanyeol, his hand trembled. He is familiar with the place. During their training years, they both went there whenever they felt like giving up and were exhausted by everything. Kyungsoo jumped out of bed, hurried to the restroom to get dressed, grabbed his duffel bag and car key, and left the house, hoping his guess was correct.
It takes around 3–4 hours to drive there, in the countryside that's not so far from Seoul but still a secluded area for well-known people like them. KKyungsoo knows the neighbourhood like the back of his hand, despite the fact that he hasn't been there in a long time. Throughout the trip, he doesn’t stop at any resting area because he is afraid to waste time. He is scared that if he is a little bit late, Chanyeol will be further away from his grasp. When he noticed Chanyeol’s reply, he knew the guy was asking for him, wanting his help. He isn’t going to make Chanyeol wait longer. Kyungsoo calls Chanyeol and leaves a voicemail saying, "Wait for me, Yeol."
Once he arrived at the guest house where he and Chanyeol used to stay whenever they were here, not thinking twice, he knocked on the door. Hoping whoever is behind those doors is Chanyeol and not some random tourist. Kyungsoo wanted to hit his head on something when he realised he could contact the owner first and ask if there was any Chanyeol staying at the house instead of directly disturbing whoever it was. "I’m coming." As he heard the familiar, deep voice, Kyungsoo breathed a sigh of relief. The door glides open, and there stands Chanyeol, eyes wide as he notices Kyungsoo in front of him. Both of them were locked in place until Kyungsoo chose to wrap his arms around the taller and bury his head in Chanyeol's chest. "You’re an idiot for making me worry sick, Yeol." Kyungsoo’s voice was muffled. "I'm very sorry, Soo." Chanyeol encircled Kyungsoo and buried his nose in the shorter man's hair, inhaling the familiar vanilla shampoo. Chanyeol's chest clenched as he realised how much he missed the person.
When Chanyeol noticed Kyungsoo trembling from the chilly wind and that he appeared to be underdressed for the weather, he welcomed him inside. “I'm sorry, but I'm out of coffee. Only tea.” The hot peppermint tea that Chanyeol had grown accustomed to since arriving in Kyungsoo was being served. He then sat down at the dining table across from Kyungsoo. They don't speak, and Kyungsoo finds the stillness uncomfortable because Chanyeol has always been the talkative one between them. Thus, it is strange to see the guy calmly sipping the hot tea while remaining silent.
Kyungsoo sipped the tea, savouring the bittersweet flavour and relaxing his tension with the aroma. "How are you doing?" He asked softly, holding his gaze towards the guy.
"I’m okay." A short answer from Chanyeol throws Kyungsoo out of the box.
"I-" Kyungsoo paused, taking a deep breath, before continuing, "I am here to take you back home, Yeol. The members are worried." Hurt is fleeting in Chanyeol’s eyes, which makes Kyungsoo more confused and afraid if he says something wrong. Chanyeol got up from his seat and turned his back on Kyungsoo with his cup in his hand to put on the counter near the sink. "If you’re here just to take me home, then you can go back, Soo. I don’t want to. Just leave me alone if you think your only purpose here is to bring me back."
"Fuck, no, Yeol, it’s not." Kyungsoo jumped to his feet and wrapped his arms around Chanyeol, pressing his head against the man's wide back. "I mean, yes, it’s my task, but I’m not going to force you if you don’t want to, but let me help you, let me be here for you. Go damn all the projects, I can’t let you suffer here alone. You’re my best friend, Yeol. One of the important people in my life."Suddenly, Chanyeol sobs, prompting Kyungsoo to immediately tighten his hold while murmuring 'everything's going to be okay' a thousand times to comfort him, even though he's not sure what occurred to make his friend so upset.
Once the crying session was done, both Kyungsoo and Chanyeol cuddled on the couch. Chanyeol rests his head on Kyungsoo's lap, while the younger keeps carding his hand through Chanyeo’s hair. "I’m sorry for bursting out like that," Chanyeol muttered quietly but loud enough for Kyungsoo to hear. He simply shook his head, "It’s nothing, don’t apologise."
Chanyeol sighed and rose from his position, seating closer to Kyungsoo. "Is it- is it okay if I stay here for now? I don’t want to go back yet, I need this Soo."
Kyungsoo feels there is more to Chanyeol’s pleading to let him stay there and not go back. He doesn’t want to overwhelm and pressure the guy with questions, so he does what he thinks is best, even though he knows the company will disagree with him. Kyungsoo looks at Chanyeol before leaning his head against the older’s shoulder. "It’s okay, but I will stay here too with you. And I still need to inform Jumyeong hyung about all of these."
"Thank you, Soo. You’re the one who I know I can always lean on." Chanyeol puts his head against Kyungsoo's and realises he isn't alone for once. Kyungsoo, he believes, will always be where he is.