Author’s Note:

I don’t know what happened two days ago. I had updated only to find out comments regarding the update. It must have been some technical issues. That is all I can think of at the moment. That had never happened to me before, and I hope that it doesn’t continue to happen. But if you guys are reading this, then it means that the chapter is still up. Yay!

Enjoy!

“So, Chanyeol and I were thinking about making a dinner party...” Baekhyun says as he seats next to his best friend, Jongin. The architect nods his head, smiling at both Jongin and Kyungsoo.

“What for?” asks Jongin.

Baekhyun smiles a bit awkwardly, responding, “So we can get to know each other a bit more. The four us.” says Baekhyun, almost looking at them pleadingly. He knows that Jongin doesn’t like Kyungsoo at all, and he wants for that to change.  

But Jongin shakes his head, murmuring something inaudible under his breath. “In that case...” Baekhyun eyes him. “Don’t bother hyung.” Jongin says with his full voice while playing with the string of his backpack. “Come to think about it...” all of them are clearly paying attention to what he has to say. “Some in here don’t want to make friends.” Jongin says, giving the vocal teacher a suggestive look.

Kyungsoo frowns but says, “He is right. Besides, you guys shouldn’t bother with that. We already know each other.” Chanyeol and Baekhyun look at each other with worried looks. It seems that Kyungsoo and Jongin’s hate towards each other is stronger that what the other two had thought.

Baekhyun laughs a little. “It’s not a bother at all.” he tells them with a smile. “I think that it will be fun. It’s the day after tomorrow. Please do come and don’t worry about bringing in something.”

“Then I will bring something...” Kyungsoo says, not liking one bit the fact that they have to have a dinner for the four of them. Also, he is not fond of arriving at a dinner empty handed. “It’s not polite to come empty handed.” Baekhyun nods, his smile growing bigger.

Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun turn their attention to Jongin, who is still debating whether to attend or not. The fact that Kyungsoo is not even looking at him somehow annoys Jongin. “Nini...” Baekhyun looks at him with puppy eyes. His last resort to use on Jongin is his cute side. The younger quickly looks away, fearing to fall for that look on Baekhyun’s face. Those eyes always get him in trouble. “Please, it will be fun. I want you here with me. You are my best friend and Chanyeol wants to get to know you too.” he says, pointing a finger at the architect. Jongin gives Chanyeol a side glance.

The architect doesn’t deny it. Chanyeol does want to get to know Jongin and he also wants for Baekhyun and Jongin to like Kyungsoo. Though, it is hard considering that Kyungsoo is not giving them a friendly treatment at all. – Chanyeol wants to know Jongin more? Kyungsoo thinks to himself, looking at both Chanyeol and Jongin. It makes him sigh. – I will only do it because of you, hyung...

“Alright Baekhyunnie...” Jongin smiles brightly at his adorable best friend, earning Baekhyun’s famous rectangular smile that everyone seems to love.

That smile takes the elders’ by surprise as well. Kyungsoo works with many teenagers and young adults, but he’d never work with kids like Jongin and Baekhyun. The two of them are so into their own things yet they appreciate other things as well. They are very friendly and outspoken for kids their age. Kids nowadays don’t like to make conversations with grownups, or they are not interested at all about other things but their own. Not to mention that Baekhyun somehow gives Kyungsoo a familiar vibe. Something about Baekhyun makes him... scared. Though, Kyungsoo is yet to find out what it is exactly that makes him nervous. As for Chanyeol, well, he only works with old people. Witnessing Jongin and Baekhyun’s interactions is something new to him, very refreshing.

Two days later

It isn’t smart to go out in public just to buy a box of cigarettes. It has also been a while since the last time Chanyeol smoked, but he is badly craving them. The architect rubs his aching temples with the tip of his fingers, and a cigar rests on the tip of his mouth. He is really stressed out to the point where he feels like dying. Who would’ve thought that after a month people would still be digging into his life. That his father and mother aren’t in good terms, and that everyone would be aware of it.

He just realized that his family really has no privacy. What concerns him the most is how his father is avoiding the media. Why when Mr. Park is always up to speaking. Chanyeol really wants to know what is going on with his family.

Hearing that his parents are fighting didn’t take him by surprise. They always do so. Chanyeol’s parents have always shown a bit of resentment towards each other. But it wasn’t always like that. Things changed a lot when Chanyeol reach his twenties.

Now that Chanyeol thinks about it, he feels like a complete and utterly . He left a mess back at the corporation. His employers probably spent their free nights trying to fix the mess that he left behind. Chanyeol never stop to think about his people when he left without a notice.

That makes him something that he is not, a selfish person.

With a heavy sigh, he lit up another cigarette after tossing the previous one. It seems like the cycle is starting all over again.

“Hello?” someone waves his hand in front of Baekhyun, who is too busy spacing out. “Baekhyun...? Hey!” the guy shouts, snapping Baekhyun out of his little trance. The 22 year old man asks the guy what is wrong. His co-worker signals the computer saying, “You can clock out. Your shift is over unless you want to take over mine. I wouldn’t mind that.” the guy jokes with a grin.

Baekhyun scoffs as he shakes his head, getting all of his belongings. Today is the dinner night with his roommate, best friend and Kyungsoo. But instead of feeling excited, Baekhyun feels a bit off.

Two words: Park Chanyeol.

The 22 year old man was happily working the day before. He was excited because his shift was about to finish, but then he heard the news. His manager is always watching the news when they are about to close the coffee shop. Baekhyun wasn’t paying attention at all as he cleaned the tables until he heard the name Park Chanyeol. He took the remote, raising the volume up. His manager looked at him with a questioning look, asking him if he was alright.

Baekhyun hates the news.

He heard everything. How the Park’s corporation is doing, how everything went down and keeps going down, but what caught Baekhyun’s attention the most was the issue regarding Chanyeol’s parents. It seems like they are not in good terms. It . Chanyeol really has no privacy. It only raises Baekhyun’s curiosity to another level.

When he got back home late at night from school and work, he saw Chanyeol reading a book. The elder didn’t even greet him. But Baekhyun didn’t take it to heart because he had heard a lot of bad things regarding the Park’s family. –He must be tired. Baekhyun sigh to himself, walking towards his own room.

That odd behavior, frustration and sadness is lingering around whenever Baekhyun sees Chanyeol. Baekhyun doesn’t know why the hell Chanyeol wastes his time watching the news.

He takes a deep breath as he walks back to his apartment. Baekhyun can’t help but wonder what the elder is doing. He deeply frowns. Why is he so worried about the elder? Chanyeol is a grownup man capable of doing things on his own. Baekhyun knows that he shouldn’t interfere with the elder’s problems, but something tells him that Chanyeol doesn’t want to be alone.

Baekhyun sees