Baekhyun walked into the dim room with his head bowed down and his hands fidgeting nervously. His father had suddenly called him to the main room for a reason unknown. His black V-neck shirt did little to cover the bruises and scratches on the his neck. Mafia life had worn the once cheerful boy to a hollow, cold version of himself.

Baekhyun stood in the center of the large area, looking at his father, who was sitting in a large iron chair. Baekhyun noticed that there were other people, most likely guards, surrounding him. He shrugged it off—of course his father wouldn't trust his own son.Baekhyun raised his head and rested his pale hands by his side, covering any sign of weakness with a cold expression and blank eyes.

"Baekhyun," his father said, "I would like you to meet Kim Jongin." He gestured to a tall man standing to his right. Kim Jongin strolled over to Baekhyun and extended his hand with a sly smile.

"I'm Jongin, but most people call me Kai," the man said. Baekhyun was unimpressed. He was used to people flirting with him. With his high mafia status and gorgeous looks, many people wanted to take advantage of Baekhyun.

"Nice to meet you," Baekhyun said quickly letting go of Jongin's hand before turning towards his father. "Is there a reason you brought me here, Father?" His father chuckled while leaning comfortably on his imposing chair. Baekhyun thought it was more like an iron throne, a testament to the mafia's power and strength.

"Yes, there is, Baekhyun," he stared at his son with a dark glint in his eye. "I've decided that you will be marrying Kai. Isn't that wonderful?" Baekhyun's eyes widened at the news.

"Marry? Marry him?" Baekhyun stuttered. Beside him, Kai smirked, amused by Baekhyun's reaction.

"I don't want to marry him, I don't want to marry anyone," Baekhyun said, casting an angry glare at his new fiance.

"You're speaking as if you actually have a choice, Baekhyun," his father said. "Son or not, you are a member of my mafia group. Therefore you must obey everything I say. That includes marrying Jongin."

Baekhyun huffed angrily and stormed out of the room, refusing to speak to his father any further. Jongin glanced at the mafia leader for permission to follow him and quickly went after Baekhyun.

Baekhyun hurried away from the room with his hands balled into fists and small tears forming in his eyes. His father never allowed him to have an opinion, much less allowed him to do what he wants freely. Baekhyun heard someone calling his name behind him, but he chose to ignore it. Suddenly, someone grabbed his wrist, forcing him to spin around and meet face-to-face with a smirking Kai.

"Wow, do you really not want to marry me that much? I don't think I'm that bad," Kai said, clutching his chest and pretending to be hurt by Baekhyun's rejection. Baekhyun scowled and said, "This is beyond you, Jongin," Baekhyun practically spat out the man's name. Kai tsked loudly.

"Baekie, can I call you Baekie?"

"No!"

"Right, Baekie, I don't think you understand the situation," Baekhyun scoffed loudly when Kai continued to call him an irritating nickname, despite his protests.

Kai continued to talk, ignoring Baekhyun's interjection. "In case you forgot, you belong to the mafia, which means you have to listen to your father."

Baekhyun shook his head and stepped away from Kai. "I don't belong to anyone, and I don't have to listen to anyone either." At this, Jongin let out a low groan of annoyance and roughly grabbed the back of Baekhyun's shirt, exposing his back shoulder. Baekhyun hissed in pain as the t shirt neckline quickly tightened around his injured neck and jerked him back towards Kai.

"See this?" Kai said while holding a fistful of Baekhyun's T-shirt. Baekhyun didn't need to see to know what Kai was talking about. His tattoo on his back shoulder. A black crescent moon that marked Baekhyun as a member of a notorious mafia gang.

"As long as you have this tattoo, you will always belong to us." Baekhyun shoved Jongin roughly to the side and ran away from him. He could feel tears running down his cheeks but he didn't care enough to wipe them away.

Once he had run far enough, he leaned against a wall and buried his face in his hands. Tears were streaming down his face as he sobbed and heaved. The tattoo on his shoulder burned as if someone had touched a hot poker to it, reminding Baekhyun of how delusional he was. No matter what he thought, he could not run away from his father and his mafia life. Baekhyun rubbed his tears away and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. But he had to try. He had to try to escape.

---

A bell signaled the end of another day and the start of a frantic race as students rushed out of their classrooms to meet up with friends and tutors. Baekhyun packed his books and pencils into his organized backpack as his classmates rushed around, gossiping and making plans for the rest of the day. Baekhyun was in no rush: he would be home alone with nothing to do.

"Hey, Baekhyun." Baekhyun looked up to see Luhan standing over him. "We're going to a cafe where Xiumin and Suho work."

When Baekhyun looked up at him,puzzled, Luhan facepalmed and said, "Right. You haven't talked to Suho yet." He put his hand down and smiled at the brunet. "Do you want to come anyways?"

"Sure, I guess," Baekhyun said, zipping up his backpack and standing up.

"Great! Let's go. Xiumin said he can drive us." Luhan grabbed his backpack, and they headed for the school's front gate, where Kyungsoo, Tao, and Xiumin were waiting for them. Baekhyun recognized Xiumin as the slightly chubby-faced but lean boy that was talking with Kyungsoo before school. Luhan quickly introduced Baekhyun to him before the five friends got into Xiumin's car and drove away towards the cafe.

When they entered the cafe, Cafe Exodus, Baekhyun was greeted with a chic interior and a man wiping down the bar counter.

"Hey, Suho! This is Baekhyun!" Kyungsoo said, pointing at Baekhyun who smiled shyly and gave a small wave. Suho smiled back, putting his cleaning rag down and before tying a black apron around his waist.

"Nice to meet you, Baekhyun. I'm Junmyeon, but you can call me Suho. I think I saw you earlier in the morning," he said cheerfully. He walked over to the cashier and pressed a few buttons. "What can I get for you?" he asked. Xiumin opened the bar door to go to one of the back rooms of the cafe. He emerged, also wearing a black apron, and was carrying a few mugs in his hands. Kyungsoo gave Baekhyun a light push in the back, nodding at the menu. Baekhyun walked up to the counter and glanced at the extensive menu, unsure of what to order.

"Erm, maybe you could recommend me something?" he asked Suho, who gave him an understanding smile.

"Of course, I'll make you one of my favorites: strawberry acai iced tea." Suho pushed a few buttons on the register and gave a cup to Xiumin, who immediately started making the drink. "And don't worry, the drink will be on me," Suho winked, "A welcome gift for a new friend." Baekhyun bowed thankfully before his eyes wandered over to a small sign by the tip jar. It was asking for help and new workers. Suho noticed him looking and asked, "Are you looking to apply?"

Baekhyun look a bit startled but slowly nodded. Suho grinned and turned around. "Heechul! I found us a new worker!" he called out. A man appeared from the back of the cafe, also dressed in a typical barista uniform. He had a half eaten pastry in his hand and his eyes were filled with curiosity.

"A new worker? Who?" Heechul asked, taking another bite out of his pastry. Suho gestured at Baekhyun who sunk into a low bow. Heechul scanned Baekhyun up and down and nodded . "Good choice, he should be able to bring us a lot of customers," the man extended his hand out. "My name is Heechul, and I'm the owner of this cafe." Baekhyun shook his hand and smiled.

"My name is Baekhyun. Thank you for letting me work here," he said. Heechul waved his hand.

"It's no trouble, I trust Junmyeon to make good decisions." Heechul finished off his pastry and wiped his mouth. "Do you want to start today?" When Baekhyun nodded eagerly, the owner handed him a spare apron and told Xiumin to show him around. Baekhyun learned quickly where everything was located and Xiumin showed him a few techniques to making basic drinks. Baekhyun started to practice operating the machine while the rest of the boys settled at a table and started to do their homework.

----

"Chanyeol! Pass it here!" Chanyeol turned to see his teammate, Jongdae, standing to the side and waving his hands, eager for the ball. Chanyeol faked to the side, confusing his friend, Yixing, before he made a quick pass to Jongdae. He caught the ball and swiftly shot it into the net.

"Nice one," a tall, cold-looking student said, giving Jongdae a fist bump before focusing back on the game. It was practice time in the school gym, and Chanyeol and his team were enjoying their champion victory through a mock scrimmage. A crowd of admirers, mostly girls, were sitting in the bleachers, cheering for them as they played. At one point, a small gaggle of girls screamed the name of Chanyeol's close friend.

"Sehun! You're so handsome!" Sehun turned around when he heard the screams and scowled at them but only succeeded in making them squeal louder.

"Could they be any more annoying?" he grumbled as he jogged beside Chanyeol. The older snickered.

"Oh no, what a shame. Does our maknae not like attention from those pretty girls?" Chanyeol lightly teased. Sehun huffed and stuck his tongue out, stealing the ball from Yixing and dribbling around Chanyeol. The game continued for a while longer. Chanyeol was doing his best to concentrate on the game, but he couldn't stop his mind from straying from basketball to a certain someone. It didn't help either, that Chanyeol's nose was still sore when that certain someone failed to pass the ball correctly.

Suddenly, a ball came hurtling towards Chanyeol, but hecaught it just before it hit him. "Hey, Chanyeol! Get your head in the game!" Chanyeol's teammate, Kris, called out. Chanyeol grinned apologetically, and threw the ball back at Kris.

"Sorry, Kris. Just got a little distracted there," he said.

"Yeah, distracted because you were thinking about a certain someone, right?" Jongdae said, smirking at the sweaty captain. Yixing snapped his fingers when he realized what Jongdae was talking about.

"Oh, that new student, right? The one that rejected Chanyeol?" Yixing asked.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. "He didn't reject me, I rejected him," he said, crossing his arms. Sehun snorted loudly.

"Whatever makes you happy, Chanyeol, whatever makes you happy," The maknae said, patting Chanyeol's shoulder in sympathy. Chanyeol was annoyed. He didn't understand why that certain student decided to hit Chanyeol's face and reject him in front of the entire class. It pissed Chanyeol off, just thinking about the student's face. Everything about him annoyed Chanyeol. His twinkling eyes, his square smile, and his annoying laugh. The captain scoffed, but was quickly jerked out of his thoughts by a loud call.

"Chanyeol! Focus!"

----

Practice was over for the basketball team, and they were in the locker rooms, changing from their sweaty clothes. "Hey, I have an idea," Jongdae announced suddenly.

"If it involves me running around the school naked, I'm out," Kris said, shaking his head.

"That was one time, and it was some quality entertainment," Jongdae retorted, wagging his finger at Kris. "But no, I was just thinking that we all head over to the cafe."

"Cafe Exodus? I'm in," Yixing piped up, smiling cheekily. He and Jongdae fist bumped and looked to the rest of the team.

"You guys just want to go to there so you can flirt with those baristas. Don't bother hiding it," Sehun said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

Yixing shrugged. "Can't deny that," he said. "Are you guys coming or not?" Sehun and Kris agreed as long as Jongdae and Yixing would buy them some food. Chanyeol decided to come too. A cup of coffee seemed like a good distraction for him.

----

Baekhyun enjoyed working in the cafe. Xiumin and Suho were good, patient workers and were willing to show Baekhyun around the cafe. After some practice, Baekhyun was able to make his first few frappuccinos and was immensely proud of himself. I can be successful on my own he thought happily. He continued to make a few more practice coffees as Minseok and Suho bustled around him.

Eventually, the peaceful atmosphere was interrupted by roaring laughter. Baekhyun looked up to see who had entered and felt his heart drop in his chest. Chanyeol walked into the cafe, laughing loudly with the rest of the basketball team close behind him. At the commotion, Minseok popped his head from the back to see who had arrived and cursed quietly under his breath. A student dressed in a messy uniform, with a bright smile, strolled up to the bar counter.

"Hey, Minnie. Did you miss me?" The student asked with a smirk. Xiumin rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed.

"What do you want, Jongdae?" Xiumin asked, glaring at Yixing, who started to talk to Suho. Jongdae thought for a moment before lowering his voice and raising an eyebrow.

"You, of course." When Xiumin scowled at him, Jongdae straightened back up and plastered an innocent look on his face. "What? Am I not allowed to visit you?" Xiuminopened his mouth to respond, but Baekhyun didn't have a chance to hear it, for a certain annoying giant approached him.

"So, we meet again, little kitten. I didn't know that you worked here," Chanyeol said as he casually leaned on the bar counter, smirking. Baekhyun scoffed and stared at Chanyeol, clearly offended by what he heard.

"Kitten? Excuse me, but I didn't realize we were on a nickname basis now," Baekhyun said, putting down his half-filled cup of coffee and scrunching his nose in disgust. At his cold response,

Chanyeol shrugged and said, "Well I never got to learn your name, so why don't we start now." Chanyeol slicked back his hair before holding out a hand and flashing his trademark million-watt smile. "Hi, I'm Park Chanyeol, captain of the basketball team and son of Captain Park Seojoon." Baekhyun took his outstretched hand and shook it wearily.

At Chanyeol's introduction, one of his teammates who was sitting by Luhan called out, "You forgot gay and resident playboy, Yeol." Chanyeol whipped around and scowled at the boy, who promptly sniggered.

"Aren't you describing yourself, Sehun?" Chanyeol snapped as he turned back around to face Baekhyun.

"You're gay?", The barista asked cautiously. Chanyeol shrugged, his smile falling off his face for a fraction of a second, before he straightened up and grinned once more.

"So what's your name, kitten?" He asked. Baekhyun hesitated for a fraction of a second, unsure if he should give out his name to the son of the police chief. But he brushed it off without a second thought. No one knows me anyways.. He thought.

"My name is Baekhyun, certainly not kitten," he responded. At Baekhyun's answer, Chanyeol's smile seemed to grow a bit wider, at though Baekhyun thought it looked more as a mischievous smirk. He opened his mouth to say something, probably a snappy comment, but another one of Chanyeol's friends appeared and tapped his shoulder.

"Sehun and I got our food, so we're going now," The tall student said, taking a sip out of the cold frappuccino in his hand. Chanyeol nodded and turned slightly towards Baekhyun.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around, kitten," Chanyeol said, following his friends out of the cafe. Jongdae blew an air kiss to Minseok, who quickly pretended to swat it away. The group of rambunctious boys left and the cafe settled once more into silence.

"Sorry about that. They come around here often," Suho said with a small sigh.

"They come here often?" he murmured exasperatedly,. Baekhyun rolled his eyes at Minseok's slow nod. It looks like I'll be seeing more of that idiot than I thought... he thought to himself. At that moment, the boys' shift at the cafe ended, and Heechul came out to ask Baekhyun how he wanted to be paid. Baekhyun said cash since he could be tracked down by his father if he was to use a credit card. The friends bid goodbye to each other. Suho offered to drive Baekhyun home, and he promptly accepted. It was getting late and he did not want to be caught alone out on the streets, especially without any protection.

-----

After leaving the cafe, Chanyeol and his friends parted ways. Each of them had things to finish.

When he approached the large, gold gates of his mansion-like house, a guard automatically opened the doors and escorted him inside. When Chanyeol arrived in the living room, he spotted his sister, Park Yoora, lounging on the couch with her cell phone in one hand and the other in a bag of Fritos.

"Hey, dumbass. Dad is looking for you," she said before cramming a small handful of chips into her mouth. In response, Chanyeol picked up one of the small throw pillows on an armchair and casually threw it at her, hitting her in the face and knocking her phone out of her hand. Yoora stood up and made an obscene gesture at her younger brother, who chuckled evilly as he walked away towards his father's office.

After he pushed open the large, dark oak wood office door, he spotted his father standing by the window, with his hands behind his back. His father seemed to be lost in thought, but he quickly turned towards Chanyeol after hearing the sound of the door.

"Ah, Chanyeol. Come take a seat," his father said, gesturing towards one of the chairs in front of his desk. Once Chanyeol sat, his father continued to speak.

"How was school?" Chanyeol's mind once again was invaded with thoughts of Baekhyun, but he figured that it wouldn't be a good decision to tell his father about the new student who has been annoying him everyday since gym class.

"It's fine. I'm doing well in basketball as always," Chanyeol said. His father nodded slowly and then let out a low sigh.

"It's been a bit stressful around here with the mafia groups seeming to be more active," The weary police chief took a seat in his own chair, facing his son.

"Especially that group you've been telling me about? Luna, or something?" Chanyeol asked. He had always been interested in his father's work, especially catching criminals. At his father's nod, Chanyeol pressed on. "When will you let me help you arrest them, Dad?"

Chanyeol's father gave a smile, not unlike his son's. "Very soon. I promise you," He reached over and gave Chanyeol a fatherly pat on the shoulder. "But first, you have to concentrate on school and basketball." At that moment, a man dressed in a police uniform entered.

"Chief Seojoon, we have a report about the Luna mafia," Chanyeol's father nodded at the officer, and Chanyeol took it as a cue to leave. He bid his father goodbye before walking off to his room. He threw off his stifling school blazer and settled down into his comfortable recliner chair. After a few moments, he pulled out a few homework papers and his pencil case. He glanced at the wooden shelf, hanging on the wall beside him and smiled sadly at the light blue picture frame.

"He still won't let me do anything," Chanyeol murmured. He reached over and lightly touched the photo encased behind the glass frame. It was a simple black and white photo of a happy three member family standing in front of a police station. The family's smiles were bright and cheery, as if no tragedy in the world could stop them. Chanyeol's fingers grazed over the woman's joyful face. "I guess he's still listening to you, Mother,"

Chanyeol turned away from the picture and faced his homework. He got to work, letting his mind fade away towards thoughts of basketball, school, and the feisty brunet from the small cafe. 

-----

Installation 2~ Thank you for your patience and support! 

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Written By: Tigerln