As Baekhyun flitted across his room, engaged in last-minute packing, his phone rang. After he quickly shoved a shirt into his luggage, he dived towards his bed to pick up his phone.

Baekhyun pressed the speakerphone. “Where the hell are you? We’ve been waiting for you for the last ten minutes!,” scolded Sehun through the mobile device.

“I’ll be there!” Baekhyun hung up before Sehun got a chance to respond.

Baekhyun zipped his bag, grabbed his keys, and locked the door. After stepping outside, he saw a black limousine parked in front of his building. The window of the limo went down, revealing the faces of his friend and his friend’s boyfriend.

“Look, it’s six in the morning. Give me a break, will you?,” Baekhyun responded to the withering look Sehun was giving him.

Baekhyun opened the car door and hopped into the plush leather seats. He was currently sitting in Jongin’s chauffeur-driven Bentley. Since it took almost 7 hours to reach to their destination, Sehun had insisted on picking Baekhyun up early, which Baekhyun was currently regretting. It wasn’t that Baekhyun wasn’t used to waking up early in the morning. However, he had gotten very little the previous night. His head thudded and begged him for sleep.

“So we’re picking up Chanyeol next?,” asked Jongin.

Sehun turned to Baekhyun. “Yep,” he answered. “Right, Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun peered his eyes at Sehun, clearly unamused at the tone of doubt in his friend’s words. “Of course,” said Baekhyun.

Sehun turned away with an air of finality. “Ok, great then. Let’s go,” he ordered.

The trio left to go to Chanyeol’s house. Since Chanyeol opted not to live in a dorm, it meant that he lived in one of the nicer districts of Seoul with his family. It was large and imposing, in stark contrast to Baekhyun’s small but cozy apartment. When Chanyeol had visited Baekhyun at home for the first time, he was shocked to see Baekhyun’s choice of residence. He didn’t think that the son of a businessman who was in Korea’s Fortune 500 should live in a cramped two-room studio with another person. However, Baekhyun figured that it was better to learn how to live by himself than to be reliant on maids and servants like an overgrown baby. In his high school days, Baekhyun couldn’t wait to leave for college. Although he had to adjust to a new lifestyle, Baekhyun never had felt so free before.

They pulled up to the curb of Chanyeol’s house. The property was encompassed by a brick wall and security guards stood outside the front gate. There were several cameras perched on poles that tracked every activity in the surrounding area. After receiving permission to enter, they drove into the entrance.

Chanyeol stood at the door, frantically waving his arms when he spotted their car. Baekhyun sighed, waiting for the inevitable boom of a loud and passionate voice to fill the space. As he watched Chanyeol give the driver his bags, Baekhyun wondered when he had stopped liking this part of Chanyeol, considering that his vibrant nature was the reason he fell for the boy in the first place. However, he didn’t want to think about it too much. Actually, he really didn’t want to think about anything. If he was being honest, Baekhyun just wanted to get the trip over with. He rubbed his head, in an attempt to nurse his newly-formed migraine.

Sehun opened the car door. “Hey hyung,” he said as he slapped hands with Chanyeol when he was in.

Chanyeol scoffed. “Sehun-ah, why do you always call me hyung? You know I don’t like it,” he complained. “It makes me feel like I have to take care of you, when I know you’re just a spoiled brat.” He adjusted himself in his seat, sliding up next to Baekhyun.

Sehun stuck out his tongue. Jongin keeled over in laughter and slapped Sehun’s thigh. “Says the guy who got his first Rolex at the age of seven,” Sehun countered.

Chanyeol burst out into a chuckle. “Touche. Ok, let’s leave already.”

The limo departed from the mansion, setting off on a long journey. Baekhyun felt like the car ride was going to last forever. He couldn’t even fall back asleep, no matter how hard he tried. Chanyeol and Sehun were engaged in endless conversation and Baekhyun couldn’t get them to shut up. For a few hours, he staved off his boredom by listening to music or looking outside the window. He questioned what the point of all of this was, about what he was so desperate to prove. But in order to prevent himself from spiraling into an endless psychoanalysis of his and his partner’s mind, he immediately cut off all thoughts. Instead he reached for a bottle in the stash of alcohol that Jongin had generously provided.

“Drinking in the morning?,” Sehun asked. “Somebody’s in a rush to clock out,” he said with a knowing look.

“Well it’s not my fault that’s all there is in this car,” Baekhyun retorted. He turned to Jongin. “No offense.”

“None taken. I’m so sorry, hyung,” Jongin apologized. “It completely slipped my mind to get some better drinks.”

Baekhyun shook his head “No, it’s fine. Don’t be sorry.” This is exactly what I need, to feel numb.

After a few hours, they reached the resort. Looking around at the place, Baekhyun didn’t really see why Sehun was complaining about “nature” before. They were in a five-star resort that had its own private beach, golf course (not that he ever played it), and Jongin’s family yacht. There was no sign of any authentic nature, only the kind that had been bought with money.

Baekhyun stepped outside. He breathed in and out a few times, ridding his lungs of the stale air that circulated inside the limousine. He watched the bellhops pile his and his friends’ heavy suitcases onto luggage carts. They looked around his age, and were probably in college too. Seeing the hard-working kids, Baekhyun briefly wondered what sort of fate had led him to be born into wealth, to have the luxury of not having to work as a student. He wondered about how his life would have been different if he had to live a hand-to-mouth existence, much like a certain Chinese friend of his. At the thought, he counted his blessings.

The four of them went to the front desk to check into their rooms. Each person received a key to their own room, which was all paid courtesy of Jongin. When Baekhyun got his key, he rummaged his bag to find a place to keep it. From the corner of his eye, he saw Chanyeol come and stand next to him.

Chanyeol stretched his arms out and then s one of them around Baekhyun’s waist. “We’re finally here,” he said, leaning his head on Baekhyun’s shoulder. He grazed his lips down the column of Baekhyun’s creamy, slender neck, while lightly puffing a trail of hot breath. He also lowered his hand down, stopping to tug on the waistband of his jeans. “I want you so bad,” he murmured in his ear. “Come to my room.”

Baekhyun acted first and never wanted to think about it later. He grabbed Chanyeol and they made it from the elevator to his room in what felt like a matter of seconds, while still managing to attack each other's faces with open-mouthed kisses the whole time. Chanyeol pawed at the hem of Baekhyun’s t-shirt, lifting it up to roam his giant hands on his bare chest. Baekhyun took it off himself, and started opening the buttons on Chanyeol’s shirt.

Chanyeol briefly pulled away. He extended his arm to dim the lights. Baekhyun was confused by the action, considering that it was the middle of the day and the room was suddenly pitch dark.

“Why’d you turn off the lights? I can barely see you,” Baekhyun asked.

Chanyeol grabbed him again and started his hands all over his back. He peppered kisses from his neck down to his stomach. “I don’t know,” he answered. “But it’s hotter that way, don’t you think?” He made frenzied contact with his body, not lingering on any one place for too long.

He shoved Baekhyun onto the bed so that Baekhyun was underneath him. He straddled his hips and began to take off his own shirt. Baekhyun felt like he was caged as Chanyeol hastily maneuvered his body. “Chanyeol, slow down. I can barely move,” said Baekhyun, his voice slightly trembling. He pushed himself back against the headboard.

Chanyeol persisted, moving forwards to Baekhyun’s face. His hand was splayed over his cheek. Chanyeol slowly leaned in until his lips hovered close to Baekhyun’s. There was a pin drop silence in the room, excluding the sounds of both of their shaky breaths. Baekhyun gazed into his eyes, searching for something, although he didn’t know what that was. Chanyeol’s eyes were wide open, trying to see as much as he could in the dark room. However, Baekhyun felt like he might as well been looking into the glassy eyeballs of a lifeless fish.

Chanyeol rubbed his thumb against his bottom lip. “I thought this is what you wanted. We haven’t been together like this in weeks,” he murmured.

Baekhyun stared back, this time with a steely gaze. “Yeah, I wonder why that is.” He lifted himself upright and moved off the bed. He bent down to pick up his shirt off the floor. As he put it on, Chanyeol turned to Baekhyun and sat on his legs.

“What... do you mean by that?,” Chanyeol asked, his voice faltering.

“You know exactly what I mean.” Baekhyun stiffened when he thought about what he was about to say next. He turned away from Chanyeol, instead opting to stare at the walls.  “Is there... someone... else you’re...,” he choked out. His face burnt and he felt tears threatening to spill out. He instantly regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to hear whatever Chanyeol was going to say. His only desire was to bolt out of the room, but he felt like his body wouldn’t listen to him. So he stood there, like a block of ice.

The silence that filled the room felt like a toxic gas. Every second that passed increasingly validated Baekhyun’s worst fears. After what felt like centuries, Chanyeol spoke. “It was only one time.” He jumped off the bed and tentatively walked over to Baekhyun. Chanyeol back-hugged him and dipped his head on his shoulder. Baekhyun flinched at the contact, as if a spider had crawled on him.

“I’m so sorry, Baek. A while ago, I really thought we were about to break up. That’s when it happened. I never meant to hurt you. Please, please understand,” he explained. “I love you so much.”

“When was it?,” Baekhyun asked, cold anger apparent in his tone.

“About three weeks ago.”

Baekhyun turned around, shaking Chanyeol off of him. “Then why didn’t you break up with me?,” he cried.

Chanyeol’s mouth was agape. After a moment passed, he said, “because I realized that I still loved you. A-....and I saw how determined you were for us to be together, so I wanted to try too. I didn’t want to mention it because I didn’t want it to affect anything.”

Baekhyun was shocked. Not at Chanyeol’s confession, but the fact that he kept saying that he loved him. He didn’t know why he kept saying that. Is this what love is?, he wondered. Millions of thoughts swirled around in his head like vicious bees, but they all died in his throat. He didn’t know what to say.

Instead, he ran away. After slamming the door, he sprinted down the end of the hallway to the door of his room. With blurry vision, he managed to find his room key and hastily swiped it. When he entered, he leaned against the wall and sank down on the floor, with his face buried in his hands.

----

Sehun looked at the clock as he waited in the hotel restaurant. It was almost 1 pm and Chanyeol and Baekhyun hadn’t come down for lunch. He had texted both Baekhyun and Chanyeol a few times to see whether they were free, but neither had responded. Although from the inappropriate make out session he was forced to witness in the lobby a few hours ago, he’d figured they were probably up to more of the same business.

However, that thought had been thrown out the window when he had watched Chanyeol arrive. The tall boy looked disheveled and was wearing large black glasses. Once he had spotted Sehun, he had walked over and pulled up a chair. Immediately afterwards, he chugged the entire glass of Jongin’s beer.

“Geez, you look horrible. And where’s Baekhyun hyung?,” asked Sehun.

Chanyeol scratched his head. “He said he’s not feeling well.”

“You don’t look well either. You should go to bed.”

“No. What I need is to get wasted.”

Sehun pursed his lips and tsked. “Oh god, did something happen between you and hyung?”

“That’s not important.” Chanyeol slammed his fists on the table. “Take me to the nearest bar,” he demanded while leaning towards Sehun.

Sehun sighed. “I would like to say no. But you’re gonna go anyways and I don’t want you getting lost while you’re drunk.”

Chanyeol’s lip curled slightly upwards. “Thanks, Sehun. You’re a real pal.”

“No, thank you, for ruining my vacation. You’re a real .”

----

A few hours later, Baekhyun peeled himself off the floor. When he had first came into the room, he cried his eyes out. Somehow, he had fallen asleep after he shut his eyes. He stretched his arms and legs out, cracking a few bones. Across from him was a mirror, which reflected his ghastly appearance. When he peered at it, he saw that his eyes were puffy and red and he had drool over his mouth. He yawned loudly and covered his mouth.

Baekhyun’s stomach rumbled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten a proper meal for over 10 hours. He desperately needed food inside him, so he called room service. He ordered a tenderloin steak and a beer. Meat and alcohol, what else do I need?, he thought. Truthfully, he still couldn’t get his mind off of the day’s prior events, but he wanted to eat before he delved into it again.

After he stuffed himself, he collapsed on the bed. He stared at the ceiling, mindlessly noticing the details of the design on the molding. It was pretty, but it failed to distract him. So he took deep breaths in and out, while trying to think about what to do. He ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to relax himself.

Baekhyun was completely lost. Now that he knew the true status of his relationship, it felt like there was no light at the end of the tunnel. As grandiose as it sounded, it felt like the end of an era in Baekhyun’s life. He had known Chanyeol since childhood and they were each other’s first major loves. About a year ago, when they first started dating, he thought Chanyeol was a free-spirited soul who threw caution to the wind. Now, he only boiled down to only two things- a cheater and a liar.

However, Baekhyun would be lying to himself if he said that he was completely ready to give it up. A tiny part of him urged him to consider overlooking the whole thing. It was only one time, he tried to ration with himself. Otherwise, there was nothing really wrong with them on a surface level. They were almost the perfect couple on paper. Both were young, came from wealthy families, and liked men. Even their parents wouldn’t be outright opposed to their relationship either, although they probably would never acknowledge it. Both of them benefitted from the relationship because their parents were business partners. It made sense for them to be together because they’d eventually inherit their parents’ companies and become partners themselves. In short, Chanyeol was probably the only person it was ok for him to be semi-openly gay around.

-----

Baekhyun knocked on Chanyeol’s door. After several knocks, the door remained unanswered. Then, he remembered that Chanyeol had given him an extra key to his room, so he swiped it and entered.

The room was strewn with clothes and the sheets on his bed were messed up. Baekhyun walked towards the bed and sat on the side. He could hear the sounds of a shower, so he waited, sitting on his hands and swinging his legs. Baekhyun’s heart thudded quickly as he rehearsed what he was going to say after Chanyeol came out. He wanted Chanyeol to know that he wasn’t totally ready to call it off, despite how angry he was. He wanted to be completely honest about his doubts and fears.

Suddenly, Chanyeol’s phone repeatedly buzzed. From the corner of his eye, Baekhyun could see the phone on the nightstand with several notifications. Before thinking about it, he grabbed the phone from the table.

The first thing that Baekhyun saw was numerous text messages from a “Kyungsoo” which had a heart emoji added next to the name. He didn’t even have to read the texts to feel his blood run cold. But he did anyways, and it confirmed that Chanyeol hadn’t told the entire truth of his infidelity. Chanyeol may have said he loved him, but he wasn’t the one who he was pouring his heart out to.

At that moment, Chanyeol opened the bathroom door. As soon as Chanyeol saw the phone in his hands and the expression on Baekhyun’s face, Baekhyun knew he had to end things once and for all.

So finally, ChanBaek is dead! Haha, just kidding, I love that ship.（＾ｖ＾）But thanks for reading, and I'm sorry it was so late!!