Spotify Playlist—And Then There Was You 

He always thought about what life would be like to share Kyungsoo’s time and childhood with Chanyeol, but the reality of it made him utterly and completely upset. It was selfishness and his need to constantly protect Kyungsoo from the pain that surrounded Chanyeol’s life that always kept him on his edge, but at the same time, Chanyeol was right. He deserved the chance and Baekhyun had to learn to let go, even for a short while…

They hadn’t discussed the terms of the shared custody yet, but Baekhyun didn’t want to think about it just then. He was hoping for the most amicable agreement, because if it wasn’t, then they’d have to get multiple people involved, including Kyungsoo. Aside from the fact that Baekhyun wanted to keep the six-year old away from the ugliness that could possibly arise, he also knew that Chanyeol had the money and the backing to successfully get his way if he wanted; however, he was certain that his ex would never let it get to that point.

Pulling an old backpack from the back of his closet, Baekhyun began packing for the two-day trip up to the farm. He had already prepared Kyungsoo’s belongings and has given it to his parents, and the boy already knew to walk with Sehun after school for the next two days until they reached their grandparents’ homes. Usually, he didn’t worry much about Kyungsoo, but with Chanyeol around, he was a little more stressed than in the years past.

It was slightly raining when Baekhyun opened the front door to check the weather. He had heard raindrops through his window, but wasn’t sure what the exact conditions were. It wasn’t entirely terrible, but he made sure Kyungsoo was prepared when he turned around and entered his son’s room where the little one was sitting on the edge of his bed, pulling on socks over his feet.

“It’s raining today, but only a little bit. You’ll have to wear your raincoat today,” the brunet said as he walked to the closet. “Make sure you wear your boots, too. I already packed your shoes and slippers in the bag I’m going to give grandma when the rain stops later today and tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Baekhyun grabbed the rain coat from its hanger. When he looked back, he saw Kyungsoo waiting patiently for him. “I’ll be back Thursday night. Grandma said she’ll make you your favorite meals while you’re with her.” As he put the coat on him, Baekhyun met his eyes, giving him a smile. “And I forgot to tell you, but Chanyeol’s going to walk you to grandma’s house after school today before we get on the bus.”

Kyungsoo lit up. “Really?”

Nodding, Baekhyun showed him a bill for ten thousand won. “He might take you to Uncle Yixing’s store, so if you want to buy anything, just let Chanyeol know and give him this. He’ll give it to Uncle Yixing, okay?”

In class, they hadn’t learned about money yet, so Kyungsoo didn’t fully understand what he could and couldn’t buy with the bill, but he nodded anyways and put the money in the front pocket of his raincoat before snapping the button and closed the opening. “Dad?”

“Hm?”

“Why is Mr. Park walking me?”

As he zipped up the front of the jacket, Baekhyun shrugged. “He told me that he had so much fun with you the other day,” he said, noticing the small smile forming on the latter’s face. “He also has something important he wants to tell you.”

“About what?” Kyungsoo asked, the look on his face full of curiosity.

“I… don’t want to ruin the surprise for you,” Baekhyun answered. Then he laughed when Kyungsoo’s expression changed by the slightest. “We’ll talk about it some more when we both get back on Thursday..”

The six-year old heaved a sigh.

Raising a brow, Baekhyun cocked his head. “What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“It’s not ‘nothing’ if you’re going to sigh in front of me like that,” the brunet softly said, tucking a loose hair behind the boy’s ear. “You can tell me.”

It took a moment. Kyungsoo dropped his gaze to the floor before raising it back up and voicing his concern. “Will he ever know?”

“Yes.” Baekhyun gave him a reassure look. “I promise you, he will.”

“You broke your promise last time.”

“I know, but… This time will be different. I swear.”

“Okay…” The answer was hesitant, but after a few seconds, he seemed more at ease. “I believe you.”

“Good. Now…” Turning around, Baekhyun grabbed Kyungsoo’s backpack which was lying next to the bottom of his bed. He gently put it on his son before standing up and helping him on his feet. “Let’s go put on your rainboots and my umbrella. We can walk through the puddles today.”

“I like puddles.”

“So do I.”

“Does dad like puddles, too?” Kyungsoo asked.

Baekhyun stopped and thought about it. “He might, but I’m not too sure. He probably thinks he’s too good for puddles.”

“Too good?”

Laughing, Baekhyun grabbed the six year old’s hand and started leading him to the front entrance. “I mean, he probably wouldn’t like to get his shoes all dirty. That’s just the type of person he is now.”

“Mmm.. Okay.” Kyungsoo diligently put on his boots. Once Baekhyun pulled his raincoat hood over his head, he stepped outside, hopping on the first muddy puddle he saw near the front porch of their small home. “Maybe I can make dad like puddles.”

The hopefulness in his voice was a pleasant surprise. Baekhyun smiled as he opened his umbrella.

-

-

After he dropped Kyungsoo off at school, Baekhyun decided to walk a little further out to the harbor and stop by the market to pick up last minute items his mother had requested he get. UnNot surprisingly, there were very few people at the market due to the rain. In the horizon, he could see local fishermen making their way back to the port and Baekhyun couldn’t blame them. Rain usually made things more difficult.

As he walked through, he went to each stand one by one until he reached Lee’s where Jongin was rolling out the plastic tarps to keep the vegetables from getting soaked.

“Morning,” Baekhyun said, greeting the male as he approached the stand. “Slow day?”

Scoffing, Jongin nodded. “It’s always slow during days like this. I’m thinking about just closing the stand around noon and come back if the rain stops, but it’s not looking good right now.”

“I never liked working on days like this,” the brunet replied, picking out a few tomatoes that he liked and putting it on the scale set near the vegetables and fruits. “However, if you’re going to be closing it soon, I suppose that means you get the rest of the day off.”

“I guess that’s the bright side to it,” Jongin said, shrugging as he prepared a thin plastic bag for Baekhyun’s picks. “So, enough about the weather.”

Pursing his lips, Baekhyun furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I meant, Baek.” Taking the tomatoes from the scale and putting them in the bag, Jongin wrapped the end and handed it over back to the smaller male. “Did you tell him?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“He was...everything I expected him to be.” It was the simplest answer to give without going too entirely into details, and Baekhyun wanted to keep those private or, at least, between him and his ex. “But overall, it went decently civil.”

“That’s good to hear,” Jongin said to him, pausing for a moment as their eyes kept still on one another’s… “Listen. About the other day, I’m sorry--”

“No, it’s okay!” Baekhyun quickly said, shaking his head. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“I didn’t mean to--”

“Jongin.” Stopping him again, the brunet smiled as he put a hand up. “We can just forget it ever really happened if it’ll make you feel better.”

Giving him a lopsided grin, Jongin shrugged indifferently. “I mean, not really, but I don’t mind doing that either… Are we okay?”

“Yeah, we are.”

“Good, because that saves us a lot of awkwardness. So, did you want anything else or did you just want that?” Jongin nodded at the bag. “Lee told me to give you as much as you wanted since he knows it’s for Soo, anyways.”

“I think this is alright for now, but I’ll be sure to thank him later this week when I see him.” Baekhyun stood in his place for a few seconds, letting the silence pass. He had a difficult time trying to ignore the slightly awkward tension between them by conversation alone. Ultimately, he sighed. With time, it’d fade, but in that moment, he figured it was time to leave. Maybe in a few days it’d be better, but he had little to no options at that point.

Giving his co-worker a smile, Baekhyun waved good-bye before he turned around and began walking down the rest of the market to pick up the other things he had in mind.

-

-

“You’re coming back after this weekend, right?”

Chanyeol sighed, focusing his eyes on the dark brown ceiling of his bedroom. “Well, that’s the plan,” he replied, purposely omitting the fact that certain unplanned things had come up. “Can’t go into specifics, but I have to take care of some business. I’ll try and be back by Sunday night.”

“Good, because I honestly can’t deal with Junmyeon anymore. He’s constantly asking me if I want to hang out.”

“Maybe he likes you,” Chanyeol muttered.

“Or maybe he literally has no friends and he’s missing you around the studio more than I am,”Jongdae argued back. “But anyways, I just wanted to update you on a few things. Jessica called the receptionist again. There’s also been some tabloid news about Irene being back in Korea from filming in Hong Kong.”

He stopped for second before sitting upright on his bed. “She is?”

“I guess so. You should call her up soon.”

“Maybe when I get back...” Although he didn’t necessarily have any plans to do so, Chanyeol made the point in order to move away from the topic as quickly as he could. Thinking about Irene wasn’t what he wanted to mentally prepare himself for, at least not when he was tasked with picking up Kyungsoo from school in the next thirty minutes. “I don’t really want to talk about work or whatever this is right now. Just let my manager handle things.”

“Right, right. I’ll leave you to it, then. I’m guessing that since I barely hear from you that you’re actually having fun out there in the middle of nowhere.”

“You could say that, but anyways. I’ll tell you about it later.”

“Fine,” Jongdae said, undetecting of the troubled tone in Chanyeol’s voice. “I’ll see you next week.”

As they disconnected, Chanyeol was left in the silence of his space once more, attempting to sort everything out in his head in the hopes that things would seem less cluttered than they actually were. After hours and hours of contemplating, he still hadn’t figured out a way to properly (and smoothly) let Kyungsoo know that he knew. He was already aware that the little boy knew he was his father and it shouldn’t have been such a hard task to waste time overthinking, but he was--admittedly--very nervous.

Aside from revealing himself to Kyungsoo, Chanyeol was also heavily considering asking both Kyungsoo and Baekhyun to stay with him in Seoul for, in the very least, the Christmas holidays. It was a stupid idea. Chanyeol was almost embarrassed thinking about asking them… He didn’t want his gesture to seem superficial, as if he only wanted them there for the sake of having a plastic sense of “family”. That wouldn’t be fair to any of them, especially Kyungsoo. In fact, it was less of a friendly gesture to create an amicable relationship with Baekhyun and more so an attempt to start something new.

Of all the things he had unexpected (besides being a father) was Irene. He had forgotten all about her--as he did with all his other flings. However, she was different and unlike the rest. Maybe he was an to lead her on, but it was a mistake to give her more of his attention than he had given any one of his other companions. He’d have to end things soon before bringing Kyungsoo and Baekhyun back into his life, but his disorganized and uncommitted lifestyle seemed to be catching up to him faster than he could outrun.

Pushing himself off the bed, Chanyeol walked over his wardrobe and pulled out a simple outfit. Wondering if he should give Kyungsoo some sort of gift, his eyes quickly darted over to his suitcase before he ultimately decided that a six year old wouldn’t need a Rolex or whatever accessory he had stashed within the luggage’s pockets. Instead, he made a note to himself to tell Kyungsoo to make a Christmas list of everything and anything he wanted for Christmas.

After dressing himself, he made his way downstairs where he was met with Yoora and his mother talking near the entrance. As soon as his presence was known, their eyes immediately moved to meet his own. It took no more than a second for Chanyeol to realize that his mother knew.

“Did everyone in this family know except me?”

His mother was sympathetic. A slight dash of guilt was somewhere buried in her eyes, but she nodded nonetheless. “Baekhyun wanted to keep Kyungsoo safe.”

“Safe…” Chanyeol said, repeating the word slowly. “Safe from me.”

Crossing her arms, Yoora sighed. “Baekhyun called to let me know that it’s okay for me to tell mom so I did. And yes, we all knew, but we were only respecting what he wanted.”

“And what about what I wanted?”

“What you wanted was no kids,” Yoora reminded him. “So, basically, we granted your wish. You’re welcome.”

Chanyeol threw her a look before rolling his eyes and walking down the stairs. He was still bitter about the secrecy, but he was already aware that he couldn’t lash out at his family either. In addition to everything, he remembered how silently distraught his mother’s facial expression was on the very first day he arrived at the home when she opened the door to find the six year old standing outside. It must’ve pained her all those years of pretending and Chanyeol couldn’t bring himself to be angry when he was blissfully unaware unlike his family who had to watch Kyungsoo grow up over time.

“We’ll talk about this later,” he finally said, catching his mother nodding and stepping aside to ease his access to the doorway. “I’m going to pick him up and walk with him back here… and I’m going to tell him that I know.”

“That sounds exciting,” Yoora said, raising her brows. “Let me know how that goes so I can tell Sehun, too. He’s always been disappointed he doesn’t have any cousins.”

“I’m sure Soo will be happy about this, too.”

“Not as happy as he’ll be when you tell him,” his mother pointed out. Though she tried, Chanyeol could still hear traces of joy in her voice. “Here, don’t forget to take this umbrella. There’s some light rain, nothing much to worry about.

“Thanks” Chanyeol responded, giving her a nod. “I should get going. I want to be there before they get released from school.”

He opened the door before it finally hit him that everything would change from that day forward. The best case scenario was sharing custody and figuring out a way to share Kyungsoo’s time throughout the year, but there was an even better alternative reality that he consider. However, some things just seemed too out of reach and it all required a little more confidence in the situation, something that Chanyeol was lacking at the moment.

After saying goodbye, he began walking to the school. His head was filled with scenarios and make-believe reactions of what he expected out of Kyungsoo. In the last seven years, he had spent his time making music, touring, and performing, but fatherhood scared him more than any of those things. Aside from his unresolved feelings for Baekhyun and their questionable relationship with one another, he was concerned about how to move forward with Kyungsoo as a father. There was no question in his mind that he couldn’t make up for lost time. He could try to buy the boy’s forgiveness by giving him an endless amount of gifts and toys, but even he knew that happiness couldn’t be bought so easily--at least, happiness that actually lasts.

Looking to his side, Chanyeol watched as the gentle sea softly landed on the shores and wondered how many times when he was young had he wished to never see the ocean again. He remembered thinking that it was so constant and boring unlike Seoul and other exciting cities abroad. It was all stupid contempt and his lack of appreciation. As boring and uninteresting the little seaside village seemed to him, his younger self never realized that this simple place and its unchanging currents of the sea would harbor something as pure as a child and the memories of a love he lost.

-

-

There were other parents at school and Chanyeol felt out of place. He wasn’t used to the idea of being one of them--a parent. However, the feeling wasn’t unwanted. As soon as the children began leaving the building, Chanyeol kept his eyes open for Kyungsoo. Luckily for him, he remembered Baekhyun’s call earlier that morning to let him know that the six year old was wearing a bright yellow raincoat. It only took him a few minutes of waiting before he saw Kyungsoo make an exit. Noticeably, his eyes grew a tad bit wider.

As if his height wasn’t enough to get noticed, Chanyeol waved for better measures. He waited until Kyungsoo reached him before he smiled and opened up his hand. Instinctively, Kyungsoo slipped his hand on top of his and gripped on.

It felt so natural and right. In those few seconds, all the nervousness he felt overthinking the situation disappeared and the small hand giving warmth to his own was all that Chanyeol needed to regain his confidence and optimism.

“How was your day?” Chanyeol began, asking the simple question.

“Okay.”

“What’d you do?”

“Finger paint.”

Glancing down at their hands, Chanyeol was surprised to notice the faint traces of blue on the tip of Kyungsoo’s fingers. He wondered how he didn’t initially noticed the detail, but figured he was too encompassed in the moment to have bothered looking. “Really? What’d you end up making?”

“My dad.”

“Ah, I see. I think he’ll like it.”

“For you, too,” Kyungsoo added. A small smile appear on his face and Chanyeol was taken aback.

“For me?”

Nodding, Kyungsoo stopped in his tracks and let go of Chanyeol’s hand. He shrugged his backpack off and began to the back, rummaging what little papers he had inside until he found the one he was searching for.

Reaching upwards, Kyungsoo offered a thick piece of paper that had collapsed within itself as the paint in the middle had dried up. Taking it into his hands, Chanyeol stared at the painting. It was a starfish on a rock, and, initially, he didn’t understand why Kyungsoo had chosen to paint that particular image until he remembered how he had taken him to the tide pools. They didn’t see anything exciting, but there were a lot of starfishes that he had pointed out and maybe that memory stuck out to the boy.

Painted with blue acrylic, Chanyeol gently grazed his thumb over the dried paint. “I love it.”

“It’s the starfish,” Kyungsoo told him. “The blue one.”

“From the tide pools, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re a great artist.” At the sight of the six year old blushing at the compliment, Chanyeol threw his head back and laughed. “Don't be shy. You probably got your creative side from your dad.”

Shaking his head, Kyungsoo disagreed. “Dad’s not...”

Chanyeol raised a brow. “No? Then who’d you get it from then?”

Pursing his lips together, Kyungsoo looked at him with cheeks puffed out as if the secret he was desperately trying to keep to himself was one breath away from being spilled. It was something that tugged at the giant.

“My other dad.” The answer carefully avoided specifics, but Chanyeol smiled nonetheless. “Dad says he’s…”

“Dad says he’s what? Handsome?” Despite the fact that he was joking, there was a part of him that was also slightly curious if Kyungsoo would confirm or deny it. “Smart? Maybe even...y?”

Kyungsoo stared at him. “What’s y?”

“It means you like someone,” Chanyeol replied, carefully putting the artwork back into his son’s bag for safe keeping. After zipping it up and carefully fixing the bag back on Kyungsoo, he took hold of his hand again as they began walking in the direction of Yixing’s store. “Let’s say you think someone’s cute. You call them y.”

“My dad says...he’s dumb.” Kyungsoo seemed a bit worried at the confession. Attempting to make it up, he offered up a small compliment to remedy any damages done. “But he says don’t call people dumb...”

It wasn’t exactly the answer that Chanyeol expected, but it still made him chuckle. “No, it’s fine. He’s probably right.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s right. I am dumb.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes almost immediately darted upwards and the grip on Chanyeol’s hand got a little bit tighter. He looked as if he was processing the latter’s words, making sure that he hadn’t heard it wrong in the first place… The silence that fell between them was hard to ignore, but they had reached the small store before Kyungsoo could recover enough to respond.

Despite how surprised he was by the sight of Chanyeol walking in with Kyungsoo in tow, Yixing managed to mask his initial reaction by giving the two a wide grin. “Hey, guys! What can I do for you?”

“We’re here for ice cream,” Chanyeol responded, looking down at Kyungsoo. “Ice cream on a rainy day? Does that sound okay to you?”

Kyungsoo opened his mouth, but no words came out. Instead, he gave a small nod. Reaching into the front pocket of his raincoat, he snapped open the button and pulled out the money that Baekhyun secured in the spot.

As soon as he saw the six year old offering up the bill to him, Chanyeol frowned. “What’s this for?”

“Money for the ice cream,” Kyungsoo said. “Dad said to give it to you and--”

“No, no.” Interrupting him, Chanyeol took the bill and put it back in the boy’s pocket. “It’s my treat. I’ll pay for it.”

“But--”

“Park Kyungsoo.” Immediately, he went silent. “You can keep the money… Tell daddy I told you so.”

“Dad--”

Turning his attention to Yixing, Chanyeol smiled as he set the umbrella against the counter. “Can you just charge me what it’d cost to get two of those Cled’or ice cream cones?

“Sure! Need anything else?” To Kyungsoo, Yixing asked, “What would you like from the store, Soo? I’ll let you sneak something out.”

Not many words managed to escape him, but the six year old was able to say a few. “Chocolate…”

His voice was small and wavering, but Chanyeol could feel him holding his hand tighter than before. There must’ve been a million things he wanted to say or ask, but being in the store was preventing him from doing so freely. The wait almost looked as if it was building up inside his tiny body and the giant was sympathizing.

After he paid for the cones and Kyungsoo received the chocolate bar from Yixing himself, Chanyeol said thank you and barely missed the way Yixing was throwing glances between him and Kyungsoo. The message was silent, but it was clear. No words were needed to be exchanged for him to realize what the latter was insinuating, but Chanyeol saw it as encouragement.

As soon as they left the store and began their short journey back to the Byuns’ residence, Kyungsoo finally spoke more words than he had ever done in front of anyone--Baekhyun included.

“You know you’re my dad!” The ice cream cone in his hand was untouched. Not even the sweet treat could distract him. “My dad said that you had a surprise. He said you would know someday! He promised me. He--”

Chanyeol stopped them momentarily only to ditch the umbrella he had in hand. Closing it, he opted to walk in the rain with the hood of his jacket drawn up instead if it meant that he could carry Kyungsoo in his arms instead. Although it was more work, he didn’t mind it all.

In turn, Kyungsoo grabbed onto his neck of support, but remained determined to maintain eye contact. “I knew all along, but dad said… He said that you weren’t ready and...and he--”

“He told me the exact same thing,” Chanyeol said softly, remembering the way Baekhyun had cried that night… “But he was only trying to protect you. I hope you know that.”

“I wanted to tell you.”

“I know..” Sighing, the giant fixed the hood of Kyungsoo’s raincoat to cover more of his head. The boy either didn’t care or hadn’t realized how damp his hair was becoming in the front, but Chanyeol knew that if he got sick because of it, Baekhyun would probably never trust him to be with Kyungsoo in the rain ever again. “But I’m here now and I know. I haven’t been here for you at all. There’s no excuse for that, but I’ll be here from now on. I promise.”

Kyungsoo searched Chanyeol’s eyes for reassurance, and relaxed soon after. It only took a short amount of time for him to feel completely and utterly safe with Chanyeol, almost as if a bond had always been there, but always buried.

“You won’t go away?”

The question had fear intricately sewed underneath its tones. Chanyeol was well aware where and who had instilled that fear in his son, even if it wasn’t done intentionally.

Gently pressing his forehead against Kyungsoo’s own, the giant smile with a warmth in his heart that he had only experienced once before. “I won’t leave you… If anything, I’ll take you with me.”

At first, Kyungsoo’s face lit up. His fears of abandonment were put at ease and squashed, and a sense of excitement rushed through him at the thought of traveling with his father. After countless nights of dreaming and wondering, all of it was coming true.

But as seconds passed, new questions made themselves known and Kyungsoo asked them without regard. “Take me with you where?”

Chanyeol gave a small laugh. “To Seoul, particularly Gangnam. You’ll have your own bedroom, toys… You can have your own playground if you want.”

The sharp intake of breath was audible and the expression on the boy’s face was easily decipherable, but the next question that came from him was as selfless as he was raised. “What about dad?”

“What about him?”

Unlike before, Kyungsoo dropped his voice, almost to a whisper. It was obvious that the thought of leaving Baekhyun and separating from him was the cause of the torn feelings raging inside. “Will we leave him here?”

Chanyeol stopped walking. The house was a fair distance away and his eyes couldn’t help but look in the direction of his childhood home. There were things that he considered impossible in the beginning. Almost unimaginable.

But as he turned back to Kyungsoo and saw the way his eyes were yearning for an answer that was whole and complete, Chanyeol knew that he had to make changes and take chances if he wanted to pursue a dream so impossibly foolish that only an idiot would even consider to attempt it...

“No,” he said, finally answering the question. His voice was as resolute as his determination. “He’ll come with us.”

a/n: im never doing that RT thing again omf.. but here it is. I cut some things I originally planned, but it's for the better of things because I think these certain scenes will do better in the next chapter. Enjoy! And happy be-lated Valentine's Day. Who needs boys when you have exobubz hueheuhe im kidding (not rlly) But anyways!!! ill see you guys in like 4 months

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