✿

Two days had passed.

Sehun’s stress was Tao’s distance, because the latter wouldn’t stay in a room with Sehun for longer than five minutes before excusing himself to the bathroom or the kitchen. He’d even made the excuse that he’d had work, when Sehun knew he didn’t and Tao wouldn’t just go hang around his workplace voluntarily. Something was up.

Sehun tapped his fingers on the table he sat at and waited. Luhan joined him a second later with a cup of Americano in his hand. He slid the drink across the counter and got comfortable in his chair.

“Speak.”

Sehun took a breath. “Well,” he started. And then he recapped his morning with Tao to a very intently listening employee.

Tao woke up early that day. Sehun found him in his closet, putting on a new shirt because somehow, he’d ripped the other.

‘You look good in that color,’ Sehun had said to him, and Tao’s head shot up in start and his mouth opened a little absently as he processed Sehun’s presence in front of him.

‘Thanks,’ Tao had said. ‘I look pretty good in blue, huh?’

‘Tao…’

‘Oh, sorry I meant brown.’ Tao shook his head. ‘I look good in brown.’

‘That’s a black shirt.’

‘Right!’ Tao had scratched the back of his head awkwardly and Sehun remembered wondering what was up with him. ‘Sorry, it’s just that they all start with Q…’

‘B.’

‘What’d I say?’

And, so, that happened.

Sehun sighed and finished his Americano and slammed his forehead on the table. “He’s gone off the deep end and he’s taking me with him.”

“He’s just distracted,” Luhan said, flipping through a deck of cards. “He just has a lot on his mind.”

“Like what?” Sehun asked, desperation dripping from his voice. “Why doesn’t he just tell me?!”

“He has some doubts.”

“Like. What.”

Luhan shuffled the cards and shrugged. “He’s jealous because the person he likes is too touchy feely with other people.”

Sehun stopped hearing and seeing and breathing. “WHO?” He leaned forward and grabbed Luhan’s hands. “Who’s touchy feely?”

“The person Tao like-”

“Who is that? Do I know them?” Sehun pressed.

“…touchy feely…” Luhan croaked.

Sehun released him. “Sorry.”

Luhan held up a finger. “1. I can’t tell you who. 2. You don’t know them and 3. Tao’s out of your league.”

Sehun gaped. “He’s out of my league? Wha-” His voice cracked and he had to recollect himself. “What makes you think I care about leagues?”

“You mean you have no interest in Tao whatsoever?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Really?”

“None.”

“Really?”

“Read my lips.” Sehun said. “None.”

“You’re lying, sunshine.” Luhan said, the corners of his chin wrinkling in amusement. “But I won’t push you. You’ll admit it to some stranger a few years after Tao’s gone, and poof it’s out, and no one will care.”

Sehun glowered.

Luhan continued. “Just like you did with me,” he said. “Right?”

But Sehun didn’t seem to hear that comment. “What do you mean after Tao’s gone?”

Luhan made an ‘I-don’t-know’ voice. “What makes you think he’ll never go back to wherever he came from?”

“Because he’s Tao.”

“You mean you don’t know?” Luhan said, mildly smirking (kind of as always). “You don’t know what he plans to do?”

“Do you?”

“No one does, as far as I know.” Luhan said. “Never mind that, Sehun, you’re not breathing. How do you feel?”

Sehun inhaled in a rush of air, and exhaled a rush of words. “I’m jittery, excited but dreading everything. Junmyeon hyung set me up to meet his friend or something and I have to go in a few minutes and be Happy Sehun, even though I feel like Bull Sehun. I’m scared and ugh-y and over all I just want to go to sleep or catch up on Orange is the New Black. But I don’t want to worry about kitten shots or meet n’ greets or whatever the .”

Luhan looked at his watch and then back at his company. “I have just the thing for that.”

And then Sehun rolled his eyes. “I know.”

✿

♬

It was oddly disappointing.

Minseok walked back to his flower shop shaking his head to himself repeatedly. Oh, he didn’t care much. No, no, no.

So what, if he wasn’t the only one? Okay, so Luhan was everyone’s therapist. Big deal. So Luhan always went around having ‘just the thing’ for every emotional train wreck or temporary dizziness known to man. So what?

Minseok made sure to open and close the door to his shop as calmly as possible, thinking you, Luhan, as he did.

It was just jealousy. He had to relax.

But he couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed. He didn’t want to say it – think it – but he had grown to consider Luhan to be his.

His makeshift therapist. His mid-day snack machine. His emotional punching bag.

Kim Minseok swallowed and sighed. “Shut up,” he said to himself. He sat down. He took an eraser from the counter and threw it at a vase, and the vase tipped off it’s table and crashed to the tiled floor and Minseok put his head down and breathed through his nose. He didn’t care. He didn’t care. He didn’t care.

All things considered, he was oddly calm about it. And that only angered him more, because it meant Luhan’s ‘fixing’ had been working the whole time.

♬

❆

 Baekhyun crossed his fingers and then uncrossed them, and then crossed his fingers and then uncrossed them, and then crossed his fingers and then uncro-

“Hey, you made it.”

Baekhyun’s fingers froze uncrossed. “Hey.”

Junmyeon smiled. “My friend’s waiting at his workplace,” he said. “Uh, if you still wanna come?”

“Oh, of course.” Baekhyun shook his head to snap out of his daze. “Where do we meet him?”

Junmyeon looked at him funny. “At his workplace…” he said, and Baekhyun realized he’d repeated it. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Let’s go.”

❆

♬

Sehun’s eyebrow twitched. “That was supposed to be you?”

With a matching twitch of his lips, Baekhyun looked down. “Looks like it.”

Junmyeon seemed pleased. “Glad to see you two are already acquainted,” he said. “But dammit, I wanted to be the one to introduce you.”

Baekhyun laughed a little. “Sorry.”

“Well, since you guys are here and there’s no need for awkward intros,” Sehun said. “Help me out. I need to brush some fur and I only have two hands.”

“How many cats?”

Sehun grinned. “Eighteen.”

“Only today,” Junmyeon said, raising a finger. “Will I touch a cat.”

“We’ve been blessed today, Baekhyun,” Sehun said, clapping his hands together. “The cats are in the clinic, are you ready to meet them all?”

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow and stood straighter in an attempt to how he was prepared. “Bring on the fur?”

A matter of seconds later, there was a crowd of kittens, playing with yarn or pawing at rubber toys, or just wandering slowly and aimlessly around the clinic. And in separate corners of that clinic, Baekhyun, Junmyeon, and Sehun sat with their legs crossed and one kitten each in their laps, and they engaged in an easy palaver as they combed through the kittens’ fur.

“So how come you hate animals?” Sehun asked, following a conversation that had died with laughter a few seconds before. “Hyung, you work in a pet shop but you’ve never touched a pet. And Chip Dip doesn’t count.”

Junmyeon rolled his eyes. “They don’t understand me.”

“They do.” Sehun pressed. “Root Beer understands you, right Baekhyun?”

“She understands everything,” Baekhyun said with a nod. “Sometimes it’s like she’s replying when we’re talking to her. Sometimes she yells as us,” he admitted.

Sehun and Junmyeon shared a look. “Us?”

Baekhyun froze in between a of the comb over the cat in his lap. “Us…”

Junmyeon patted Sehun’s shoulder. “He’s Chanyeol’s-” Whisperwhisperwhisper.

“What?” Baekhyun laughed.

“Wow, no wonder you’re so eager to leave your house.” Sehun said with a whistle. 

Baekhyun erupted in laughter and Junmyeon buried his face in the fur of his lap-cat. “Seriously, what is it with you two?” The writer asked.

“Nothing.” Baekhyun said. “Really. We went to the same school once.”

“LIES.” Sehun sang. “How come last year-” Sehun was cut off by the comb thrown at his forehead. “Stop it Hyung,” he giggled. Baekhyun went confused. “How come last year Shaggy-hyung did that thing for you?”

“Huh?” There was no question that ‘Shaggy-hyung’ was Park Chanyeol.

“Sehun, shut up.”

“What did he do?” Baekhyun asked. “Last year.”

“Nothing, nothing. Nothing at all.” Junmyeon said with a shake of his head. “Really. You’re mistaken. Chanyeol did that thing for someone else.”

“But-” Sehun was interrupted by yet another comb thrown his way.

“Dammit, now I’m out of combs.”

Baekhyun threw his spare towards Junmyeon and he caught it. “So what did Chanyeol do and who did he do it for?”

“Last winter,” Junmyeon started, finishing the fur of the tabby he’d been grooming. “Chanyeol wrote this kickass song.” He set the cat down and it hurried away. Junmyeon leaned back in his seat.

“A love song.” Sehun added.

“And that’s all we’ll say.”

“Apparently.”

Baekhyun looked from the Persian on his thighs to the two pet shop employees sitting on opposite sides of the room from him. “He wrote a love song? For who?”

Junmyeon shrugged. “No one knows. I hear he only told one person.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know who that is either.” Junmyeon said. “But give the song a listen. Maybe you’ll know, being an old classmate.”

Baekhyun’s shoulders fell in an odd discomfort. What a turn the conversation had taken. But a year ago…Baekhyun knew there was no chance Park Chanyeol had even remembered his name a year ago. And there’s no way Baekhyun could’ve been the songwriter’s muse. Even now, he pathetically admitted.

Park Chanyeol was something else. It was becoming more and more of a headache for Baekhyun to try catching up to his fast-paced heart.

“What’s the song called?”

“I can’t remember. I wrote it down, though. It’s the only song Chanyeol released himself.”

“Oh yeah,” Sehun held up a finger. “It was his solo debut song.”

“He’s a solo artist?” Baekhyun sputtered.

“He only has one mini-album.” Sehun explained. “But it’s damn good.”

“Okay…” Baekhyun rubbed his chin as if to contemplate something, but all he could think was that there were songs – tons of them – that Park Chanyeol had written and composed and poured his soul into, and that somewhere in an audio file, Baekhyun could find his unrequited love’s heart. “Send me that, then. I wanna hear what that lazy hermit actually does for a living.”

“You won’t be disappointed, Junmyeon assured, starting to stand up. “I’m gonna go get some lunch, do you guys want anything?”

“No thanks. I’m gonna eat when I get home.” Baekhyun assured.

Sehun waved as Junmyeon left the room. “Me too.”

When Junmyeon was gone, Sehun sighed and put down the cat, who was cleverly named ‘Pancake’, back on the ground. “So…”

“So?”

“You build playgrounds.”

“I haven’t built any myself yet,” Baekhyun admitted. “But that is my occupation, so I guess you’re right.”

“Build me one. My backyard is just grass.”

Baekhyun laughed. “Sure. Whatever you want.”

A half hour passed. Baekhyun and Sehun ushered the kittens into their pens, and ended up back on the clinic floor, cross-legged and bored. They talked about party tricks and their favorite Pokémon, and it may have been the most relaxing thing Baekhyun had done in weeks. But the soundless melody continued to lay through his mind, and even if Baek