When Baekhyun ended his afternoon shift at the fast-food joint the next day, he was greeted with the sight of Park Chanyeol. Chanyeol grinned widely at him as he leaned against his car which was parked along the street. Baekhyun noted that it was a sleek black Maserati this time round, not as flashy as the red Bugatti that he crashed the other day, but just as expensive.  

Baekhyun pretended that he had not seen Chanyeol and pulled up the hood of his ash-blue hoodie.

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol called out,  breaking into a jog to catch up with him.

Baekhyun stopped in his tracks for a few seconds before turning around reluctantly. He was not exactly thrilled to see Chanyeol after what had happened yesterday.

“Yes?”

“I want to apologise,” Chanyeol began, an awkward smile on his face. “I'm sorry for offending you yesterday. And as proof of my sincerity, I've brought you a little something,” he continued, and gestured grandly towards the direction of his car.

Baekhyun had not noticed it just now,  but there had been a red bicycle leaning against the passenger-side door of Chanyeol’s Maserati. The red of the bicycle reminded Baekhyun of the colour of Chanyeol’s hair-- an intense, coppery amber.  He raised a questioning eyebrow at Chanyeol.

“I crashed your bicycle, so I thought it fitting to compensate you with another one. And don't worry about it, I got it for exactly $30 at the second-hand bike store down the street,” Chanyeol explained, looking very proud of himself.

“Well… I don't know what to say. Honestly, I'm pretty surprised,” Baekhyun said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“A ‘thank you and I forgive you’ will be nice,” Chanyeol replied with a hopeful smile.

Baekhyun gazed at Chanyeol thoughtfully. Chanyeol looked sincere enough, and accepting his apology would allow them to call it quits, so no harm, right?

“Okay then, I forgive you. Thanks,” he replied with a small shrug.

A large smile blossomed across Chanyeol’s face and his eyes lit up as if he had been gifted with a thousand fluffy puppies on his birthday. He wheeled the bicycle over to Baekhyun, who placed his black sling bag into the front basket.

“We'll call it quits, then?” Baekhyun said as he mounted the bicycle. “Goodbye Chanyeol,” he added, offering him a small smile.

Just as he was about to pedal away, Chanyeol pressed a firm, urgent hand onto the handlebars. He pursed his lips and fixed Baekhyun with a serious stare.

“I was hoping I could get to know you better through dinner or something,” he said hastily, eyes wide.

Baekhyun frowned immediately and he leapt off the bicycle. He turned to face Chanyeol with a suspicious expression.

“I know what's going on here,” he began accusingly. “Someone like you has never been rejected in his whole life, but then I rejected you and your money yesterday, and so you think it'll be all fun and games for me to become your new conquest, right? I'm the shiny new toy you'll play with for a while,” he ranted, pausing in between words to catch his breath. “But then, when you finally decide you've had your fun, you'll drop me faster than hot coal. I understand all too well how the minds of you rich kids work,” he fumed, glaring at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol looked at a loss for words after Baekhyun’s angry tirade. He then broke into a chuckle, laughing harder when Baekhyun’s expression turned darker. He wondered how Baekhyun could never cease to amuse him.

“You’re really something, Baekhyun. You surprise me every single day,” he said with a look of fascination on his face. Baekhyun fidgeted in his spot, growing increasingly uncomfortable by the way Chanyeol was staring at him thoughtfully, as if he was a particularly tough sudoku puzzle that Chanyeol was trying to crack. However, whether Park Chanyeol could even solve a real sudoku was a whole other issue-- he had not exactly earned himself a very intelligent reputation as the rich heir that fritters his days away by partying and splurging on lavish, unnecessary purchases.

“Alright, I'll admit it,” he continued, taking a step closer towards Baekhyun. “It's true that I'm extremely intrigued by you. You're truly one of a kind-- I've never met anyone quite like you. It is not everyday that I meet people who don't approach me for my wealth,  you know?” he laughed dryly. “And this is why I genuinely want to get to know you better. I'm very sincere about wanting to be friends with you, Baekhyun. I do not have any ulterior motives--you can trust me on this,” he added with an earnest expression.

Baekhyun drew in a deep breath and looked as if he were debating something in his mind. He looked up at Chanyeol’s expectant, hopeful face and let out a sigh.

“I'm sorry, I think it's better if we don't associate with one another,” he answered, stuffing his hands into his pant pockets. “Now’s not the right time for us to be friends,” he muttered the last sentence, shrugging casually.  

Chanyeol watched silently as Baekhyun mounted the bicycle again and pedalled away. He watched as Baekhyun’s back disappeared from view as he cycled further and further down the street, his small form melting into the glorious sunset. He chuckled, running a hand through his hair.

“Baekhyun,” he muttered to himself.

--

“Chanyeol, my homie! Welcome to my new pad,” a tall guy with wild blonde hair and beautiful bronze skin greeted Chanyeol as he strode in through the ornate wooden doors.

“Swinging party you’ve got here, Kai,” Chanyeol grinned, surveying his surroundings. The modern penthouse was decorated to resemble a lively club, and there was even a real disco ball hanging from the ceiling, bejewelled with thousands of tiny Swarovski crystals which Chanyeol was sure cost a small fortune. The house was filled with throngs of noisy people gyrating to the loud music, and Chanyeol could recognise several high profile people, including some celebrities and socialites. Every time Kim Kai bought a new house, he would throw a huge housewarming party, each party surpassing the previous one in terms of scale.

Kim Kai, heir to Kim Corporations with a net worth of $2 billion, is Chanyeol’s best friend from childhood. The Parks and Kims are influential names in the business world and have frequent dealings with one another. They are one of the more prominent and publicly known wealthy families in South Korea, which explains why the tabloid loves reporting about their private lives. Kai had earned himself a reputation for being a notorious playboy, on top of being a frequent face at the poker tables of the casino downtown.

“C’mon, let’s go to the game room. I’ve got some pool tables installed, and it’s quieter there,” Kai said excitedly, grabbing a few bottles of chilled breezers from the drinks table. Kai ushered Chanyeol forward, chattering about something that Chanyeol couldn’t quite catch under all of the noise and commotion in the party.

Flanking Kai’s left side was a stoic looking guy dressed in all-black formalwear, his large, serious eyes darting around the room alertly. He was Kai’s personal bodyguard-- one Mr. Kim hired for him 3 years ago after Kai almost got kidnapped. The man does not talk much unless spoken to, and he always wears a serious expression on his face.

“Lighten up, D.O, it’s a party!” Chanyeol teased, ruffling the guard’s glossy, black hair.

D.O shot Chanyeol a death glare and Chanyeol quickly shrank his hand back. He was reminded of the fact that D.O was not someone to cross, even though he might not look all that imposing, being a full head shorter than Kai. He shot the annoyed guard a sheepish grin.

The trio entered the game room, which was a big space with a full length glass window on the far left. Chanyeol gave an appreciative nod at the impressive view of the night-time skyline. In the middle of the room were two pool tables, brand new and unused. There was also a vintage pinball machine,