Baekhyun's P.O.V

“Anything else you need to tell me before you go?”

Baekhyun carefully asks as Chanyeol glances up at him from the mirror he stands in front. Chanyeol is dressed in a really nice suit and is working on his tie, but he somehow messes it up all the time. Doesn't he know how to tie his own damn tie? Or maybe it's Chen or Xiumin who always ties it for him? Baekhyun sighs as he watches Chanyeol fumble with the tie for the tenth time.

“There is nothing more I need to tell you before I go. The same rules apply to you as the ones you have when I'm right here. Don't enter my office when I'm not here, don't leave the mansion without Lay's permission and you're definitely not allowed to go to the forest without me accompanying you. Also, don't bother the house workers too much while I'm gone, they do have their job to do after all.”
“Yes sir. But Chanyeol...?”
“What now?”
“Do you need some help?”

Baekhyun asks carefully as Chanyeol stares pissed at him. Woah, why is he so damn pissed? Baekhyun hurries to get up as he clears his throat.

“You're in a hurry and your hands are too stressed out. Here, let me help you. You shouldn't stress more than necessary while you can.”

Chanyeol stares speechless at Baekhyun who walks over to Chanyeol and grabs his tie. He carefully and gently ties the tie for Chanyeol, just like Baekhyun used to do for his father when he was in a hurry. Baekhyun feels a lump in his stomach twist and turn when he thinks about his father, but he hurries to push the thoughts away and finish tying the tie.

“There you go. Now you can leave and feel less stressed.”

Chanyeol stares silently at Baekhyun for a while, like he's considering something. Baekhyun wonders if Chanyeol is still pissed or if he actually appreciates something Baekhyun did for him for once. Well, Chanyeol would probably never say something that nice towards Baekhyun anyway.

“I don't want to be like that, but you should probably go. I don't want you to be late because of me. Have a nice trip Chanyeol and I will see you when you come back home again.”
“Yeah... Thank you... For the tie I mean.”

Baekhyun feels how a smile spreads across his lips while he fights the urge to hug Chanyeol. Omo, what is wrong with him?! Lately he has had those weird urges to either hold hands with Chanyeol or to hug him. Maybe... he misses the social touch that he used to get from his family and friends? Well, he better start to get control over it before he wants to kiss someone.

“Then I will be leaving now. Take care of yourself Baekhyun and behave.”
“Yes father, I will brush my teeth as well.”

Baekhyun mostly joked, but Chanyeol didn't seem to understand that. He just glared at Baekhyun who hurries to bow an apology before the giant leaves. Baekhyun lets out a sigh as fast Chanyeol is gone as he sits down on his bed in the room. Why is Chanyeol so damn bad at catching jokes? Maybe he's just too serious to even know what a joke is?

***

“Lay, can I ask you something?”
“Mm, you can always ask.”
“Uhm... Well... D-Don't tell Chanyeol that I asked you this, promise?”
“Sure, I won't tell anyone.”
“Okay then... C-Can you tell me more about his family?”

Lay freezes right on the spot as he carefully removes his hands from the cake that he's decorating at the moment. He looks up at Baekhyun with a very serious expression while he tries to not look too pale.

“Are you crazy? If Chanyeol finds out that you asked me this, then-”
“He will kill me, I know. But seriously, no one wants to tell me. It's not fair that he knows everything about me and I don't even know anything about his family. At least tell me if he has any siblings.”

Lay stares at Baekhyun in silence for a long time before he turns back to the cake to decorate it again. Baekhyun sighs disappointed as he stands up straight to leave, there is no point in forcing Lay to tell him about Chanyeol's family. It's just that it's kind of unfair that Baekhyun is the only one who doesn't know anything about Chanyeol's family.

“Baekhyun... There is something you should know that no one dares to tell you... But I think it's the best if you find out about this anyway, even if Chanyeol doesn't want you to know.”
“W-What doesn't he want me to know?”
“Chanyeol used to have two siblings, a big brother and a big sister. He was the youngest of the three children and the second son in the family. Ever since something really worrying happened in the family, Chanyeol and his relationship with his family has changed. Nothing is the same between the family members and therefor it's very hard for Chanyeol to see his family. Especially now when...”
“When he's thrown out of the family...”
“Y-You know about that huh?”
“Mm... I happened to be there... the night his grandfather came by... I heard it all...”
“Was it that night your head begun to act strange for the first time?”
“Mm... It was...”

Baekhyun feels how he falls silent while Lay finishes the decoration on the cake. Then he puts everything away and washes his hands carefully, like he always does before and after he has made something.

“Let's not think too much about that, okay? I think the best for you to know is that Chanyeol and his family has a very unstable relationship and therefor he's hard to talk with from time to time. But if you keep trying to be nice towards him, he will eventually open up for you.”
“Do you think... he ever will... like me...?”
“What do you mean with that? Of course he likes you!”
“No... He doesn't... He only acts like he likes me when he has too... All this is just business to him... Well, I guess it truly is just business.”
“It's not just business! He wouldn't take his time off for you if it only was business!”
“I don't know Lay... I'm starting to think that Chanyeol only thinks about business all the time, even around me.”

Lay lets out a sigh as Baekhyun hurries to remove his depressed face. Instead he flashes Lay a kind smile as he clears his throat carefully.

“Anyway, I actually came here to ask you for another favor.”
“What can I help you with?”
“Well... I want to know if there is anything special Chanyeol likes.”
“Something special Chanyeol likes?”
“Yes, like some special cake or food or maybe an object? Something that will be a good gift for him.”
“A good... gift?”
“Mm... D-Don't tell Chanyeol this, but I happened to overhear Xiumin and Chen talk the other day.”
“There are a lot of things you ask me to not tell Chanyeol, do you know that? Geez, it's dangerous to keep too many secrets behind his back.”
“I know, but just hear me out. I heard that it's Chanyeol's birthday soon and I want to give him something he truly will appreciate.”
“Baekhyun... We usually don't celebrate birthdays here-”
“I know that, don't you think I have noticed? We didn't celebrate Chen's birthday! I just found out about it and no one even told me about it!”
“Well, mostly because we don't celebrate birthdays.”
“But I want to give Chanyeol a special day anyway! He will be really stressed out when he comes back after this long week of work and I thought a nice birthday wouldn't be that wrong. Don't you think?”
“Well... M-Maybe a really small birthday celebration won't be that bad?”
“If he doesn't like celebrating his birthday, then I won't throw a huge party for him. But I want to buy him a gift and at least give it to him on his birthday. Maybe I can bake a cake as well? Ah, I know! I can bake a special birthday cake my sisters loves to eat!”
“Are they coming over?”
“N-No, but I bet Chanyeol will like it as well!”
“But Baekhyun, you're not allowed to be in the kitchen. Which reminds me... What are you doing in here?!”
“S-Sorry, I couldn't stand being alone. Please let me be here, I won't touch anything!”
“And how are you supposed to bake the cake if you can't even be in here?”
“I will call Xiumin and ask him for permission. He will definitely understand me-”
“Aish, don't bother them about that. I will let you into the kitchen, but only when you will bake the cake. And about the gift... How are you supposed to buy it?”
“I-I thought that maybe... Y-You could take me into the city the next time you go shopping for groceries.”
“Aish, do you really want to get killed that badly? Well, I will have to ask Xiumin for permission for the later. I will call him later today, after your afternoon tea and ask him. Until then, I will think about things Chanyeol would like as a gift. Does that sound like a good plan for you?”
“It sounds perfect! Thank you Lay!”
“Well, I can't deny your little idea about a small birthday celebration for my master Chanyeol. He might actually like it if it is you who make it.”
“D-Do you really think so? T-Then I will do my best to make it perfect!”

Lay chuckles as he smiles at Baekhyun. Everything suddenly feels so much better again, Baekhyun even feels like watching a movie now. Maybe he should go and enjoy himself a little for once and not worry about everything around him? Well that wouldn't be so bad, right?

Chanyeol's P.O.V

“What did you just say?”

Chanyeol stares seriously at Xiumin who clears his throat carefully as he repeats what he just said.

“Lay would like to take Baekhyun with him the next time he goes grocery shopping. He will go on Friday and they will be gone from the house only for three hours. Yuri will stay at the house and Kyungsoo will also come over to watch it and prepare the lunch for Baekhyun. According to Lay, Baekhyun has felt quite locked up lately and he would like to go to somewhere new for an exchange.”
“Never, he will just try to contact his family.”
“Chanyeol, Lay and Baekhyun will only go to a store for some minutes and then leave some post before they go back home. Lay assured me that he won't let Baekhyun contact anyone and he will keep a strict eye on him.”
“Sir, with all respect, as Baekhyun's almost personal assistant, I would recommend to let him go with Lay. I know that you don't like the thought, but I think it's a good thing for him to get out and see normal people like himself for once. He doesn't need to talk to them, he just needs to go with Lay and then go straight back home. Nothing else.”

Chanyeol sighs as he puts a finger against his right temple. Why are they doing this to him during such a stressful time? Whatever, he truly doesn't have the power to argue against them. He will just let Baekhyun go with Lay, but only for this once.

“Fine, but only for this one time. After this, I don't want to hear any more ridiculous requests like that. Got it?”
“Yes sir. If you excuse me, I will have to go and make a call.”
“Do so.”

Chanyeol lets Xiumin leave while Chen brings him more papers to read through. Chanyeol can feel the headache take over him as he closes his eyes for a couple of seconds. Why must he work his of like this? He should really give Chen and Xiumin more power to take care of some of the paper work here. Well, he will consider it another time. Right now he needs to concentrate on his work.

Baekhyun's P.O.V

“Are you ready to leave?”
“Yes! I can't believe I got to go with you! I'm so excited!”
“Remember, we can't be gone more than three hours. It will take 30 minutes to get there and to get back home, so you will only have two hours to find a gift. The grocery shopping will take around 30 minutes, maybe more depending on how many people will be there. So we will barely have one hour and 30 minutes to spare.”
“I know, therefor we should leave quickly and get everything else over with so I can find a birthday gift!”

Lay chuckles as he smiles towards Baekhyun who hurries out to the car. He's actually really excited about leaving the mansion. Yuri nagged him the whole morning about what clothes he should wear and Lay told him everything Baekhyun isn't allowed to do. Well, despite all that nagging, Baekhyun is in an excellent mood today!

“Let's go Lay! We barely have any time to spare after all!”
“Yes sir, just let me get to the car first before you scold me.”

Lay hurries over to the car as they finally get ready to leave. Baekhyun can't wait to see the real civilization again! Oh dear goddess, Baekhyun ha