"Noona!" Baekhyun calls when he finds Dara amongst the crowd during dinner. Dara turns around immediately, eyes widening when she sees Baekhyun, and she immediately pushes past the crowd to get to him.

"Where were you?" She whispers fiercely, grabbing his hand and holding it tightly in hers. "I was so scared!"

"I-I was on the top floor, noona." He replies. "Didn't you want to show me something there?" He doesn't fail to notice the way her eyes darken and she shakes her head.

"No way!" She replies as she starts pulling him towards the food counter. "That place is forbidden, Baekhyun, remember I told you?"

"Uh ..." His mind is blank and he can't remember anything.

"Anyway, since you're fine here I'm not too worried." She brings him closer and clings onto his arm tightly, as if afraid he'll loiter lost again. "I meant to go to the floor below it, but I think I pressed a few wrong buttons on our way up so ..." She raises her eyebrow as she turns to look at him, her dark brown eyes boring into his own dark brown ones. "How'd you get out of there?"

"Let's not talk about that anymore." Baekhyun says quickly as he pulls Dara this time to line up, throwing out one of his smiles. As he faces her and grins, someone catches him from the corner of his eye.

It's Zhang Yixing again.

The older man looks up, as if feeling Baekhyun's gaze on him. Automatically, Baekhyun ducks down, heart racing half in fear.

"What're you doing?" His friend asks, and he shakes his head before pulling her faster away.

After dinner, Dara heads off towards the shopping mall on one of their floors.

"Why are you shopping? Have we gotten our paycheck yet?" Baekhyun asks as he catches up to her.

"It's going to be cold for the next few days, starting tonight." She replies. "You know earth can get moody once in a while. Well, it's going to be really really cold so you should buy something warm to wear too. And maybe more blankets. Now let's go."

"Oh ..." Obediently, Baekhyun follows like a lost puppy, and ends up buying thick coats and sweaters and blankets.

He finds that at night it's true - he's freezing his socks off. After wearing a thick, long coat over himself, gloves and socks and a beanie, Baekhyun finds that he just can't fall asleep after the cold has woken him up.

I wonder how Professor Chanyeol is doing ... He automatically thinks to himself, just like he's been doing whenever he doesn't have anything else to do or think about. Knowing his professor, he'll probably fall asleep in his office again, unaware of the sudden change in temperature. If he goes on like this, he's sure to get a cold or freeze to death.

Immediately, Baekhyun decides to pack his blankets in a bag, because gut feeling tells him Chanyeol will do just that. Because as cool as his professor can be, he can also be clumsy and forgetful. Holding the blankets in two bags on his arms, Baekhyun leaves his room, and walks with difficulty towards the elevator to Chanyeol's floor. There's a part of him that asks him What if Professor's not there? What if you're just doing so much for nothing? Why are you doing so much in the first place? But in the end, he ignores them all as he steps out of the elevator and walks through the dark hallways. He's not afraid of the dark.

He opens the door to room 530, and finds that just like he had predicted, his professor is fast asleep on his desk, head on top of his arms, back bent.

Setting down his bags, Baekhyun closes the door and sighs, wondering what he can do to solve Chanyeol's sleeping habits - he's sure sleeping like that all the time won't be good for his back. Shivering, he pulls out one of his blankets and drags it over the floor, then pulls it over his professor's shoulders. Walking over to his second bag of blankets, he stops and stalls.

If you give him this blanket, you'll have none. He thinks to himself, staring at the bag at his feet, then over to his professor, who's only wearing a thin long-sleeved shirt, probably because the start of the day had been so warm. Then he looks at his own gloved fingers, long, thick coat, scarf, and beanie, and eventually takes the blanket out to put around his professor again.

Finding that he's not sleepy at all, Baekhyun kneels down onto the carpeted floor, resting his head on the palms of his hands as he watches his professor sleep. Those fingers look cold. Hesitating, heart racing, Baekhyun reaches out and takes the larger hand in his own gloved ones, and embraces it. Although he can't feel how cold Chanyeol is, and he's sure Chanyeol can't feel his heat either, Baekhyun's sure that as long as he covers it with his gloves, Chanyeol's hand will eventually find its own warmth.

And then slowly, but surely, Baekhyun falls asleep kneeling just like that, holding onto his professor's hand as if that's the last mission he'll see through.

The next day, a very warm and stiff Chanyeol wakes up, jerking in shock when he realises his hand is caught into something - something dangerous, maybe?

But when he opens his eyes and they register, he sees a small form in front of him, kneeling as if he's awake, but his closed eyes and his slightly parted lips indicating his unconsciousness. Chanyeol looks down at those gloved hands that had so thoughtfully closed around his, protecting him from the freezing temperature. And then he feels the heaviness of the blankets around him, and when he tries to tug, the hands don't give way, yet the boy doesn't wake up.

I have a lot of work to do. Chanyeol thinks to himself, and yet he doesn't have the heart to wrench his hand away and wake up the smaller, who had so carefully and meticulously tried to make sure he didn't catch a cold last night.

In the end, Chanyeol decides to stay where he is, waiting until his little student wakes up, which will probably be soon. Smiling to himself, Chanyeol savours the warmth that Baekhyun brings, not only to his hand, but also to his heart.

Eventually, Baekhyun wakes up sniffing and sneezing. Out of instinct, his hands let go and he reaches up to hold his nose as he sneezes again. Blinking open his eyes, he looks straight into his professor's gaze, and immediately he reddens.

"Caught a cold?" Chanyeol asks, smiling handsomely. Baekhyun can feel the liquid dripping out of his nose and he shakes his head automatically, reddening even more as his hands continue to cover the lower half of his face for fear that Chanyeol can see that his snot had leaked out.

"I-I-I'll be ... back." He says, standing up on wobbly, cold legs and nearly tripping over his own bags. Then he stumbles out, all the way down the floors and to his own room. When he does, he rips off his gloves that he had used to wipe his snot the moment he was out of room 530, then checks the time.

He has time to bring breakfast up for both of them, but does he really want to, after that embarrassing moment?

He washes his face with cold water, not realising how cold it is because he's so embarrassed. To think Park Chanyeol had caught him red-handed holding his hand, kneeling there sleeping like an idiot, and to top it all off, probably saw snot leak out of his nose as he's sleeping? How much worse can it get?

Calming himself, Baekhyun dries his face with a towel, then makes to change his coat with his white one, finding that this thinner one can't make up for the loss of his thicker coat that he wore during the night. Still, there's no time now to think about that, so he decides to set off again, once again deciding to skip breakfast.

Or maybe he shouldn't. He stops himself. It's pretty obvious his professor hasn't eaten, and wouldn't really buy anything for himself.

Yet, he's too embarrassed to. What if his professor is too disgusted with him to even accept anything that he had touched with his (now bare) hands?

In the end, after this conflict that he's sure will split him in half, he in the end ends up at the door of room 530, cold and sniffing and empty-handed.

Sighing to summon up his own courage, Baekhyun opens the door and steps in, bowing with a loud "Good morning, sir!"

"Come and sit down with me, Baekhyun." HIs professor answers, and Baekhyun's eyes widen at the table that's full of food once again, with spaghetti this time.

"Uh ..." At a loss for words, Baekhyun can only obediently grab his chair and pull it over.

"Lean closer." His professor says, and Baekhyun does. He shuts his eyes when Chanyeol ruffles his hair once more, like a hyung rather than a superior.

"Thank you, little one." He says softly, and Baekhyun's previous embarrassments are totally forgotten.

During the whole day, Baekhyun feels cold even though he has his own coat around him that's supposed to keep him warm. Sniffing to himself, he pulls the coat closer around himself and hope it doesn't disrupt whatever Chanyeol's doing. He sees those blankets in his bags that Chanyeol had folded while he was away, and part of him is tempted to rush over there, grab one, and come back, but the other part of him doesn't want to embarrass himself again.

Once again conflicted, Baekhyun once again ends up not doing anything, instead curling up into himself even more, sniffing like crazy and writing furiously and hating himself for being so self-conscious and indecisive.

He bends down so much that his face is leaning against the coolness of the wood and the rest of the world around him is covered by his arms that are surrounding him as he writes. His back is sore and his left upper arm is numb because his head is too heavy and he's not even in tune with the rest of the world until something drops over his shoulders.

Suddenly alert, Baekhyun springs up, blinking and sniffing at the same time, and when he looks upwards, he finds his professor smiling down at him, hands landing securely around the square of his shoulders, and that's when he realises Chanyeol had given him his lab coat.

What about you? You'll catch a cold too. He wants to say, but instead he sniffs up the snot that he's sure will come out if he doesn't.

"I'm always warm." Chanyeol says. "If you don't believe me, touch my hand." He holds out his hand and Baekhyun stares at it, then stares up at his professor. Eventually, he reaches out hesitantly and touches his professor's skin, eyes widening in surprise when it's true. Baekhyun flattens out his hand in disbelief, but it's true - his cold fingers are slowly warming up because of Chanyeol's hand, and just as he's about to pull away (because if he holds on too long his professor might think it's weird), but then the older grabs it, keeping his fingers inside his hold.

Heart skipping, Baekhyun savours in the heat of Chanyeol's hand that's quickly warming up his.

"You're so cold." He murmurs, his hand creeping down Baekhyun's to grab it fully in his.

"I ... I'm fine, sir." Baekhyun stutters. "You can have your coat back. Really."

"I've got another one. Don't worry." Chanyeol smiles. "You can have this one if you want ... Only problem is it's got my name on it." The taller finally lets go of his hand to ruffle his hair. Flushing, Baekhyun silently wears it properly, finding that the sleeves are too long for him. He looks up, as if to see whether his professor approves, and Chanyeol is grinning his toothy grin. Just as the older steps to leave, Baekhyun grabs him by his shirt.

"I'll give it back to you once I'm warm ... I promise." He whispers, hoping the older can't detect his pink cheeks. The taller smiles.

"Mm." He says.

Even so, he eventually totally forgets to, only because the warmth that Chanyeol's coat gave him is just cozy enough for him to appreciate. It's only at night, after he's returned into his own room and taken off his clothes, does he realise that he still has Chanyeol's coat. Heart skipping once again, and not attempting to decipher what this means, Baekhyun holds the coat in his hands, seeing the name 'Park Chanyeol' sewn onto the chest pocket.

I'll give this back. Baekhyun thinks to himself, even though in his heart he knows his professor will probably not accept it, especially after what he said. Or is that his heart talking?

Feeling happy, Baekhyun falls asleep on his own bed, feeling the coziness of the blankets and thinking about just who these blankets had kept warm last night.

"Promise me you'll sleep at your own bed tonight." Baekhyun had said, wearing his coat that had looked too big on him. "Promise me and I'll leave."

"... Fine, I promise you." Chanyeol sighed, even though internally he had been amused at how the smaller hadn't noticed he was still wearing Chanyeol's coat. "Go to bed now, all right?"

"Goodnight, Professor." Baekhyun nodded his head and then rushed towards the door, grabbing the bags onto his hands. Chanyeol didn't expect anything, just for the little one to leave and probably never come back until the next day, but then the boy looked over at him again, still timidly.

"Promise me you'll take care of yourself." His voice was soft and shy, as if afraid of being rejected. Chanyeol didn't have the heart to reject him.

"Yes." He replied with a large grin, and he stood and made to walk over to his student, but he nearly trips in the process. Smiling sheepishly at his uncool move, he waved instead, watching Baekhyun's small face break into a wide smile.

It's small, he knew, yet a part of him really, truly wants to listen to his student, and try and take care of himself. And let people take care of him.

The second week passes, and once again Baekhyun passes as first, and Dara as third. Baekhyun can clearly see Dara's dejection even though the older congratulates him on his achievements. His heart hurts, but there's really nothing he can do about it.

Strangely, the temperature hasn't changed ever since the cold started, in the end remaining so cold that everyone wears several layers underneath, wrapped in scarves and beanies. Whenever Baekhyun gives back Chanyeol's coat, Chanyeol would end up putting it over his shoulders again, until Baekhyun is too flustered at that interaction and had in the end decided to keep it for himself. Permanently.

At first, he had been self-conscious about it, contemplating to wear his own coat over it or run to places so no one can see the name, but eventually he forgets about it, only because he's sure no one will look at his chest pocket anyway. Who would?

Maybe he had spoken too fast, because the very next day, as he sits to eat lunch after the tests during his third week here, Dara eats and then points to his coat with wide eyes.

"Why does it say 'Park Chanyeol'?" She asks with her mouth full, and then her eyes widen even more in realisation. Flustered, Baekhyun shakes his head and brings his finger to his lips in an attempt to calm her down, his other hand quickly slapping over the chest pocket as he looks around and sinks into his own seat.

"When'd you ... what ...?" She whispers fiercely, leaning down just as low.

"He said he was always warm and he just gave this to me." Baekhyun replies softly, cheeks flushed. "T-T-That doesn't mean he doesn't like you! I-It just means he likes taking care of people, that's all."

"That's really sweet of you, Baekhyun, but I really don't like him like that." Dara says. "I just admire him, that's all."

"... Oh." Baekhyun falls into awkward silence. There's no way he's going to think about why he feels so relieved.

"But I'm so jealous." She says enviously, and once again Baekhyun's heart falls. Maybe she does like Chanyeol, but she's just unaware? The more Baekhyun thinks about it, the surer he is about this.

"I'll ask to see if he has any more." Baekhyun says reassuringly. "If he doesn't, I'll give mine to you."

"That's meaningless though, Baekhyun." Dara replies, a little frustrated. "Because he gave you with a heart. If I took it away from you, that's stealing, really."

"But if you really like him, I'll give it to you." Baekhyun says softly. "And maybe you should get closer to him, so your relationship can develop."

"You think so?" Dara grins, eager and excited. "You'll help me get his attention, right?"

"Yeah." Baekhyun nods, smiling even though his heart is sinking. Grabbing her hand, he leads her out, finding it endearing how even though Dara is older, she seems younger. He knocks on the door, since today is a rest day and so Chanyeol wouldn't be expecting him, and after hearing a 'Come in', Baekhyun opens the door and pulls Dara inside with him. Chanyeol looks up, once again expression questioning as Dara stands in front of him, and Baekhyun gulps.

"Uh ..."

"Chanyeol-oppa, can you give me one of your coats too?" Dara asks enthusiastically, pointing to Baekhyun's coat. Baekhyun watches his professor's eyes widen even larger at the informality. "I'm also a little cold."

"Sorry, but I only had one spare, and I gave it to him." Chanyeol replies coolly, and Baekhyun doesn't fail to notice how different Chanyeol is now to how he usually is - clumsy and a little awkward yet gentle and handsome. He wonders if his professor is trying to act cool?

"Oppa, don't be like that." Dara whines, then bravely rushes up to Chanyeol, who had previously been on his desk writing, and she pulls him off, her pretty lips forming into a pout. Baekhyun stands there awkwardly, wishing he could melt just like he wishes his heart would melt so it can stop racing. Chanyeol is also visibly surprised as he is pulled out of his chair and into Dara's arms, and Dara is laughing happily as she holds his hand and leads him out of the room. Baekhyun blinks, then follows after them.

"I'll treat you to something nice!" Dara chirps. "For being so kind to Baekhyunnie."

"It's really fine ..." Chanyeol wants to interrupt, but Dara is not having it as she links her arm through his and drags him away, just like she always does to Baekhyun.

Licking his dry lips, Baekhyun shoves his hands in his (or Chanyeol's) coat pockets as he follows, making sure to keep a little distance behind. He's sure Chanyeol would have rejected, and yet the fact that Chanyeol hadn't probably means that he has a soft spot for Dara?

Baekhyun truly wants them to be happy. Baekhyun truly likes seeing them together.

Baekhyun bites his lip and looks downwards, hearing the whispers of other people they had passed on the hallways, things about how Chanyeol rarely leaves his office during the days, and how finally someone is able to break his walls and let him venture outside. Things like how they're probably in love?

If so, then why does Baekhyun feel so bitter inside?

This spreads throughout the entire lab by the next day, maybe because Chanyeol had always been popular amongst the staff even before Baekhyun and Dara had entered. To top it all off, Dara is the new popular trainee that everyone knows, for her friendly and outgoing personality, her beauty, and her intelligence. When Dara's not at breakfast in the morning the next day, Baekhyun guesses they're together again. Or maybe that's just his mind talking.

It's only without the presence of Dara in such a public place does Baekhyun realise how alone he is. Throughout these past few weeks, somehow his results have leaked to all the other trainees (or maybe the examiners expose their results, just that he's never there to hear them), and the competitive intensity had risen between Baekhyun and everyone else. Byun Baekhyun, the youngest trainee, can somehow be the best out of all of them. Who wouldn't feel resentful?

Baekhyun grabs his tray of breakfast, something he doesn't usually do, but does today because he has a large bowl of soup and noodles. As he walks to find a place to sit, someone bumps into him square on, and his entire tray falls to the floor, his food spilling.

"Oops. Sorry." From the way he dresses, Baekhyun knows it's a trainee, and he watches as the man walks away with no regrets. Half annoyed, Baekhyun bends down to pick up the spilled contents of his food, wondering why a grown man would still have to act this immature. Then again, half of the trainees ARE immature. He wonders if there's a correlation ... Maybe these idiots' intelligence make up for their lack of personalities and maturity. God is fair, after all.

Cleaning up his mess, Baekhyun instead decides to skip lunch, because although it's for free, he'd rather not encounter another mess like that again. He'd rather not cause a ruckus in such a large place, and burden the chefs and cleaners at the cafeteria.

Baekhyun had always needed a lot of food to function. For some reason, he's slower than others - it takes him much more effort to be on the same level as an average person, and it's maybe because he's a slower learner that he needs to burn much more energy than the average person. The only thing that he's much better than the average person is physical strength, something he doesn't need to practice as hard in order to excel at. He's not strong, exactly, nor does he have that much stamina compared to the average person, but he has a faster speed, better agility, and faster reaction response – then again, this is because he's younger than all of the trainees that he's competing against.

Even so, by the time he's walking out of his room, not really sure what he's going to do for the entire Sunday, he can feel fatigue creeping up on him. Still, the frustration from the earlier encounter and the bitterness from everyone talking about two of his favourite people at the lab is what's keeping him going. His stomach feels so empty, and frustratingly so does his heart, but maybe this large book about Data Researching and Interpreting can take his mind off things. Sitting down onto the garden that Dara showed him a few weeks ago, Baekhyun opens his page and begins reading.

A while later, the world becomes dizzy and his stomach is so empty it's starting to hurt him. Mentally, he curses his bodily needs and closes his eyes for a second. But then the world's spinning quite fast and he doesn't know what's happening until he hears a dull thud as his book drops to the floor and his knees fall on the concrete so fast that it cuts through even his pants and into his skin. His hand reaches out and falls on the concrete too to steady himself, and he pants softly, regretting not getting breakfast and lunch.

But then strong arms are grabbing his wrists and pulling him upright, leaning him against the bench he was sitting on. A cold hand pries open his lips, slipping something inside, and then cold, refreshing water leaks down his throat. Before he can even register whether the pill is good for him or not, the person lifts him up and carries him. Baekhyun wants to talk, he also wants to fight, but the energy seems to have sucked out of him completely and he feels half-dead. Strangely, though, and slowly, energy starts to fill him again, until he has enough energy to open his eyes by the time he hears a door close, and until the man sets him down. It's Zhang Yixing again.

"Don't move." He says fiercely, and Baekhyun flinches on the couch, watching as the older man walks out again, slamming the door behind him. Slowly but surely, energy flows back into him as if he had never lost it before, until his stomach isn't starving anymore and his vision is clear again.

Then Zhang Yixing is back, holding a small bag from a bread store that Baekhyun had seen before on one of the floors, and the older man almost throws it on the table, little bags of bread spilling out.

"Eat." The man instructs strictly. Baekhyun blinks in fear, then quickly grabs a packet, then looks up again, as if to confirm. Zhang Yixing nods, that intense gaze watching him, scrutinizing him.

"...Thank you." He whispers, then opens the packet and begins eating slowly. After a while, upon feeling that intense gaze still bore a hole into him, he looks up again to confirm, but once again finding those dark orbs staring straight at him. Immediately he lowers his head, munching faster.

Zhang Yixing watches him the whole time, until he finishes the very last bread. And when he does, he picks up all the plastic packets and places them one by one into the bag, slowly and trying not to look up at the older man that seems to find staring very interesting. When he finishes cleaning up, he sits back onto the couch, back straight, knees together, and hands clasped on top of his knees.

"Don't miss a meal again." Zhang Yixing warns, the threat screaming into the air. Baekhyun nods hastily.

"How should I send my money to -"

"Go." Once again, this instruction is quiet, yet deadly. Quickly, Baekhyun gathers the bag, bows, and flies out of there.

Throwing the bag into the bins in the hallway, Baekhyun stuffs his hands in his pockets, feeling energized. Then he remembers: his book.

Baekhyun rushes back to the garden floor to look for it, but it's not there. Heart racing, Baekhyun closes his eyes, trying to remember what happened to it. It fell from his lap when he felt faint, and that's when Zhang Yixing picked him up ...

... Zhang Yixing must have it ...

But Baekhyun is too scared to go back. He doesn't dare return, for fear he'll have to endure Zhang Yixing's slaps and scolds. Gentle? That might be the impression, but now that word is totally out of Baekhyun's mind whenever he thinks about the doctor.

I'll just ... go another day ... Baekhyun decides dejectedly, after a long time of conflict. Maybe tomorrow.

But this means that he won't be able to study tonight. Maybe he should get another book from his professor at this time ...

Thinking about it, Baekhyun's heart fills with excitement. Grinning to himself, he runs, but then stops when he nearly bumps into a staff member. Embarrassed, he bows deeply, shoves his hands into his pockets and tries to walk coolly, but ends up fast-walking. Passing by a mirror-wall, Baekhyun stops in his place and stands squarely opposite.

"Hah!" He grunts to encourage himself. "Hah!"

"Baekhyun, you can do this!" He punches into the air. Then, satisfied with himself, he walks away again with hands in his pockets, grinning happily to himself.

At floor 19, he pretends to walk casually towards room 530 even though in truth he wants to sprint there, and just as he approaches room 530, he hears people whispering.

"The trainee and Chanyeol look so good together!" Two female staff whisper to each other. Baekhyun's face falls, the hand that's about to twist the doorknob also falling to his side. Even after the sound of their heels against the hard floor fades away, Baekhyun's somehow lost all the courage to walk in and talk to his professor. Taking a deep breath, he steps back.

I'll ask for it tomorrow. He thinks to himself. At the same time, frustration and bitterness eats up at his heart, only because he's supposed to be happy for them, and yet he isn't. It isn't anger that overwhelming him, but rather sadness that he can't be a part of them, and hatred at himself, because he can't be happy for them.

Be happy for them be happy for them be happy for them ... Baekhyun shuts his eyes and prays to himself, even though his heart is hurting. He's not ready to confront why it's hurting, but there's a part of him that already knows why he's like this. You like -

"Baekhyun?" Baekhyun opens his eyes, wide, staring straight into Chanyeol's. Chanyeol had opened the door and is now so close to him. The older seems puzzled, watching him as if he's the most curious thing on earth.

"Uh ..." Baekhyun is at a loss for words, because even though his mind hasn't finished his thought, his heart already knows. It really sucks.

"Come in." His professor smiles, and it's so warm and handsome. He walks inside the opened door, then looks back at him, checking for him to follow. Baekhyun, finding that he has no other choice or else he'll expose his heart, hastily follows, almost falling over in the first place.

"You all right?" His professor asks, chuckling, probably because he had always been the one out of both of them to fall. "You're not sick, are you?"

"No." Baekhyun mumbles, cheeks reddening.

"My coat's enough, right?" Chanyeol grins at him again. Baekhyun nods quickly. "That's good. Then what are you here for?" He ruffles Baekhyun's hair.

"To borrow one of your books." The smaller replies softly.

"Hm? Don't tell me you lost the other one. You did?" His professor's eyes are so beautifully wide, and Baekhyun realises he really does look thirty. How can his professor be forty one? Worse, how can he, twenty four, ....... with his professor, who's forty one? "Aw, that's okay. Here, take any from the pile, or my bookshelf."

Silently, Baekhyun does, holding a book about Monsters that somehow stands out from the rest on Chanyeol's bookshelf.

"Little one, is everything all right?" Chanyeol seems to have noticed his silence.

"Nothing." He mumbles, and just as he is about to excuse himself, wanting to control his feelings, the taller stops him, his hand pushing against the door to stop Baekhyun from opening it.

"Dara ..." Chanyeol's voice is soft, and Baekhyun's heart skips and hurts. Yet, he remembers the promise he's made to himself, to be happy for them.

"I like the two of you together." His voice is softer than his professor's, soft, as if he's too afraid. He makes himself hold Chanyeol's gaze, wanting to seem genuine and convincing, because that's what he's supposed to feel. His professor is silent, still watching him with that gentle gaze.

"Do you?"

"Yeah." Baekhyun tries to imagine a world where he doesn't have to feel like this, and he can maintain a close trainer-trainee relationship with Chanyeol. "You're two of my favourite people here. It makes me happy." And when he smiles, he's surprised at how relaxed and natural it seems.

"I wrote that book, by the way." The taller removes his hand away with a sigh, as if he's relieved to see Baekhyun smiling. Does he know? Baekhyun closes his eyes, heart thumping so loudly in his chest. If he does, I can't let him see through me. "It's everything I've researched so far."

"Oh." The smile slips off and Baekhyun clutches the book close to his chest, until the leather bound cover is pressed up against Chanyeol's sewn name on his coat. "I-I'll study it properly!" When Chanyeol nods, and excuses himself to take his medication, Baekhyun lets himself leave.

Chanyeol seems to have really loosened himself up. Whenever he's not working with Baekhyun, he'll spend his time with Dara instead, until they become the hot topic of EX'ACT Lab, and Baekhyun is alone more often than not.

Of course, the trainees use this opportunity to focus more on him, especially during meal times when they would trip him over or bump into him, ensuring that his food spills. At this point, Baekhyun is too afraid to skip a meal again, for fear he'll risk encountering with Zhang Yixing, the man that used to seem gentle but is now possibly the most mysterious, and scariest man that Baekhyun has ever met. When he does skip, he makes sure to summon up all his energy to ask for food to be delivered into his room instead, but even so he can't bring himself to ask for much more than the average person, and ends up feeling tired and lethargic every day. Even so, he wants to work hard and make Chanyeol proud. This means that he would have to sacrifice sleep to work harder. Despite feeling tired all the time now, Baekhyun still somehow finds energy and restlessness in meeting Chanyeol, feeling giddy enough to be wide awake, energetic enough to seem as if he hasn't spent the last fortnight not eating enough for himself. And even though he's afraid to get closer to his professor, even though he knows at this point he shouldn't be, somehow he finds himself wanting to know more about his professor, and wanting to take care of him more, at times when Dara can't.

And it's only during the sixth week that he has been here, therefore his fifth testing, does he drop from first to seventh. Feeling ashamed of himself, he clutches his paper close to his chest. Someone else, the oldest trainee who's always second, shouts that he's first, and everyone else turns to stare at Baekhyun, triumph in their eyes. Reddening in humiliation, Baekhyun stands frozen to the spot, unable to move even as the trainees whisper and snigger at him. Is it because he's young? And then when Dara walks up to him, unaware of all this tension, tells him she's finally second and asking how he went, Baekhyun tears away running back into his own room. In there, he lets tears fall out, staring at the seventh that represents how chaotic he feels inside, and what a failure he is as a person. He's so frustrated and ashamed of himself that he doesn't sleep a wink at night.

The next day, Baekhyun stays lying on his bed, not wanting to confront anything - not the sniggers at breakfast, not Dara's worried expression, and not Chanyeol's disappointed face.

Baekhyun skips breakfast, and stays in bed for so long that by the time he sits up, it's noon. Maybe it's the dizziness and the emptiness of his stomach, because by noon Baekhyun figures it's time to confront things - if not the other two, then at least just his professor. Grabbing the half scrunched up piece of paper, Baekhyun drags himself out of his room, towards the elevator, out the elevator, and to room 530. With a small, tired sigh, Baekhyun reaches for the doorknob and opens the door. On the other side, right in front of him, Chanyeol is standing right there, looking as if he's about to walk out.

"Baekhyun." Chanyeol calls in surprise. "Where were -"

"I'm really sorry, Professor." Baekhyun whispers, and he smiles even though he feels weak and faint. He holds up his piece of paper, heart hurting because he's so afraid of seeing Chanyeol's disappointed expression. "I came seventh." But he doesn't get to see it, because then his eyes close and unconsciousness takes him.