There is not a day that Baekhyun’s phone wouldn’t light up with Chanyeol’s text messages. Chanyeol texted Baekhyun about anything and everything—from funny memes he found on the internet to little updates on his life, such as how Starbucks ran out of his favourite bagels or how much he missed Baekhyun. As much as he hated to admit it, Baekhyun looked forward to Chanyeol’s texts even though he could not respond immediately to them at work. Whenever Baekhyun did reply, his phone would almost immediately light up with Chanyeol’s response, making Baekhyun wonder if all Chanyeol ever did in his free time was to camp by his phone.

Baekhyun had turned down every single invitation to hang out with Chanyeol ever since their dinner together two weeks ago. His excuse was that he couldn’t allow Chanyeol to continue spending even more money on him when he had not even repaid his loan from Chanyeol. He was sure that meals with Chanyeol wouldn’t be cheap and he wasn’t willing to let Chanyeol pay for the both of them all the time. Chanyeol of course, was not happy about this but he decided to respect Baekhyun’s decision. Although Baekhyun was as stubborn as a mule, Chanyeol admired that Baekhyun was a man of his word and he stuck firmly to his principles.

However, Baekhyun’s rejections never stopped him from visiting Baekhyun at his workplace. Chanyeol would drop by daily, occupy a seat at the fast-food restaurant, and just sit and watch as Baekhyun did his job. He could spend any amount of time in the restaurant, ranging from just 30 minutes to 5 hours daily, depending on his schedule for the day.

Today, Chanyeol made his appearance at 3pm in the afternoon, hair disheveled and eyes adorned with huge eyebags. Baekhyun caught sight of the red-haired male, whose face lit up with a bright smile as he slumped into his usual seat. Baekhyun knew exactly why Chanyeol looked like death—he had been clubbing the previous night and was probably having a hangover from hell.

Chanyeol had sent Baekhyun several drunken Snapchats at 2am and Baekhyun recognized the background to be that of Syrena, a posh club in downtown Hongdae whose patrons were mainly the elite and wealthy. A foxy-looking woman clung to Chanyeol’s side in all of his Snaps, sending an unexpected pang of jealousy through Baekhyun as he watched it all. This irked him more than it should have—what right did he have to feel jealous? Chanyeol was a grown man and he was free to do what he liked.

However, seeing Chanyeol right in front of him amplified the foreign feelings inside of him and he cursed Chanyeol for making him feel like this.

“What are you doing here? You look terrible. Go home and rest.” Baekhyun knitted his brows together as he saw up close just how hungover Chanyeol was. Baekhyun could still smell the alcohol on him and he wondered if Chanyeol had even gone home after his wild night out.

“I needed to get my daily dose of Baekhyun,” Chanyeol grinned dumbly. A worried Baekhyun was too cute to be true and he would have reached up to ruffle Baekhyun’s fluffy hair if he weren’t having such a pounding headache.

Baekhyun shook his head and sighed loudly. “Suit yourself,” he muttered, placing a glass of warm water in front of Chanyeol before returning to the counter.

Minseok watched the exchange between the two in amusement. “I think this Park Chanyeol guy really likes you. I can’t believe he comes in here every day without fail. That guy truly is the epitome of persistence.”

“Yeah, he may like me now. But tomorrow he’ll find himself a new target to obsess over. It’s not like you don’t know what kind of guy he is—he changes partners like he changes clothes!”

“And you’re not interested in him? At all?” Minseok grinned thoughtfully, leaning in to scrutinize Baekhyun’s face, which had suddenly gone a bright red.

He quickly swatted Minseok’s face away, not knowing the answer to his question either.

Did he like Park Chanyeol? Or was he just confused by the overwhelming attention being showered on him?

He was treading a dangerous thread and he had to remind himself to catch himself before he fell. It would be better to quash these budding feelings before it grew out of control and led him on a path of heartbreak. Who knew when Chanyeol would grow sick of him? He was probably only acting like this towards Baekhyun because Baekhyun was a tough nut to crack.

Wealthy kids like Park Chanyeol were like bees, visiting one flower after another after they have had their fill of the sweet nectar. Then it’s on to their next adventure and their new conquest. For the flower, there was never any point in developing any feelings of attachment to the bee, for it knew that the bee would soon fly off, leaving it drained and more alone than ever.

“I guess you can consider dating your stalker if you’re not interested in the Park kid. Too bad he hasn’t showed up ever since that day. Do you think he’s scared off by Park’s presence? That guy watches over you like some kind of self-assigned guardian angel.”

“What kind of person advises their friend to date a stalker?” Baekhyun launched a playful flick at Minseok’s forehead, eliciting a painful yelp.

Baekhyun knew for a fact that his “stalker” wouldn’t be showing up at his workplace anytime soon. Ever since he found out where Baekhyun lived, he would show up at his apartment at least 3 nights a week.

Oh Sehun had always been the clingy sort.

Just then, his phone dinged with a text message from Sehun. Speak of the devil.

Sehun: What kind of self-respecting human being doesn’t have tea in their house????????????????

Baekhyun had to resist the urge to groan aloud. Sehun had shown up uninvited at his apartment yet again. He did not even know how Sehun had managed to procure the keys to his house, but he knew that the brat probably had his ways. Sehun had always been resourceful and shrewd, on top of being an avid tea drinker who couldn’t go a single day without chugging at least 3 litres of tea like his life depended on it. Baekhyun was sure that so much caffeine probably wasn’t good for his health, but it was not like that would ever stop Sehun from his tea-drinking ways.

Baekhyun typed out a reply and made a mental note to drop by the supermarket after work.

Baekhyun: You better not touch anything in my house or you’ll get it from me when I’m back.

--

Chanyeol enjoyed watching Baekhyun. As much as he’d like to do much more than just watch Baekhyun as he worked, he could only it up and make do with this as Baekhyun had refused to take him up on any of his offers to hang out together.

Chanyeol ached to unravel the inner workings of Baekhyun’s mind but Baekhyun wasn’t giving him free reign to do so. Baekhyun was a puzzle that ceaselessly fascinated him and Chanyeol simply needed more. The fact that Baekhyun was playing so hard to get frustrated him, but that was okay because he had always enjoyed a good puzzle.

He glanced at his expensive handcrafted watch which had been a gift from Kai and realized that it was 10 minutes from 6pm, which was when Baekhyun usually knocked off from work on Wednesdays. He stared at Baekhyun with a hopeful look in his eyes. Perhaps Baekhyun would finally cave in and agree to have dinner with him today?

Chanyeol stood up and shuffled unsteadily towards the counter, his limbs still slightly uncoordinated from the crazy night spent chugging all sorts of liquor. The aftermath of drinking parties were never any fun.

“I know what you want to ask, and as always, my answer is a no,” Baekhyun said casually as Chanyeol approached with his big, puppy eyes.

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