A/N: lol guys i stayed up all night to write this so i hope you like it (it's currently 6am). The chapter has 16k words because i wanted all the events to be in one chapter, but the next chapter is going to be around 8k again. Thank you very much for your support in the form of upvoted, comments and subcribes. i really, really appreciate it. 

 

--

 

The papers scattered everywhere on the table aren't nearly enough to replace a warm bed and soft pillows, but that doesn't stop Chanyeol from letting his head fall on the mess and fall asleep in the living room around 10pm, saliva dripping from his slightly opened mouth and falling on the documents. However, his sleep is interrupted not so long after his eyes close in order to get rest, the noise waking him up although it's not exactly loud, but just a distant sound of a chair screeching against the floor.

Chanyeol slowly opens his eyes and just stares into distance for a while, fighting away the sleepiness as he tries to focus his vision, blinking a few times. As he straightens up and scrubs his face with the back of his hand, he feels something falling off his back. Confused, Chanyeol frowns and turns his head around, and his eyebrows shoot up in surprise when he sees a black blanket on the couch behind him. How did it get here? He doesn't remember putting a blanket around himself.

Averting his gaze from the blanket, Chanyeol looks in the direction of the kitchen. The lights are on, but again, Chanyeol is hundred percent sure that he turned the lights in the kitchen off. He gets up from the couch and lets the blanket fall off him completely, rubbing his tired eyes as he walks over to the kitchen with small steps, dragging his feet. 

His eyes fall on a small frame of Baekhyun, who is sitting on the chair and eating the remaining rice cakes that Jongdae wasn't able to eat. The man is stuffing his mouth with another bite though he's not done eating the piece he already has in his mouth, and Chanyeol guesses that Baekhyun is just one of those people who fill their mouths to the fullest before swallowing down. 

Chanyeol can't help thinking about how cute Baekhyun is, surprised at himself that he firstly noted Baekhyun's cuteness rather than wondering about how big his mouth must be if he manages to get all of the rice cake in without much problem, which is a thought that goes straight to Chanyeol's groin. For some strange reason, Chanyeol gets a little angry at himself for having erted thoughts about Baekhyun. It's weird, because Baekhyun would never find out about it, and yet, Chanyeol feels like he's betraying the man's trust again with his mind.

"How come you're not sleeping?" Chanyeol asks sleepily, leaning against the wall because he feels like his legs are going to give up if he keeps putting so much pressure on them. 

Baekhyun, not seeing Chanyeol coming, startles and jumps in his seat. Realization that it was a bad idea to suddenly speak up in the otherwise gravely silent room downs upon Chanyeol the moment Baekhyun starts choking on his food, and Chanyeol quickly grabs the water on the table and s it into Baekhyun's - very faminine looking, Chanyeol notes - hands. After a lot of panic and one almost-death, Baekhyun lets out a deep exhale and leans against the chair. "You scared me."

"Oh, really," Chanyeol says sarcastically, rolling his eyes and falling into the chair next to Baekhyun. A relieved sighs escapes his lips and Chanyeol is glad that the sleepiness is gone now, but he would like to wake up differently next time, preferably without having to go through a stressful situation like this. 

"You should be sleeping."

"So should you," Chanyeol shoots back, running a hand through his messy hair, closing his eyes for a while. But then, Chanyeol remembers the blanket that was thrown over his body when he was sleeping in the living room, and his eyes shoot open as the fact that it must have been Baekhyun who covered him on the way to kitchen becomes clear to him. A warm feeling spreads through his body immediately, and Chanyeol also feels the heat creeping to his face.

"I was hungry," Baekhyun takes another rice cake in his hands and stuffs the whole piece into his mouth like he wasn't choking on it just a second ago. 

"Jesus, don't talk with your mouth full," Chanyeol says as the food is threateningly close to falling out from the man's mouth, and he brings a tissue up to Baekhyun's lips in order to make sure the rice cake won't end up on the table instead of Baekhyun's stomach. "I couldn't understand anything of what you've just said." 

"I said," Baekhyun swallows down the last bits of rice cakes before continuing. "I can't sleep when I'm hungry."

Chanyeol just hums in reply, letting his eyes close again. He isn't sleepy anymore per se, since the shock from a minute ago still hasn't disappeared, but his eyes hurt so much from being open for so long. He's been going over the documents Jongdae gave him since yesterday, and his eyes are stinging after reading thousands of words. Who would have said that so many things could happen during his four days long trip to China. 

"Do you want some?" Baekhyun asks after a short silence, his voice sounding a little nervous. It makes Chanyeol open his eyes, and through half-lidded eyes, the CEO sees Baekhyun's hand that is holding a rice cake just three centimeters away from his mouth. He averts his gaze to look at the other male who is looking innocently at him, a small and gentle smile playing on his face.

Without saying anything, Chanyeol opens his mouth challengingly, wanting to see if Baekhyun will go ahead and feed him or if he throws the rice cake in Chanyeol's face and leave. The CEO really wouldn't be surprised if Baekhyun choose the latter option, that's why he's taken aback when he feels the texture of the rice cake against his lips a moment later. Opening his eyes fully, Chanyeol looks over at Baekhyun again, blinking in shock at the brunet who holds the gaze for a short while before turning his head away and pushing the rice cake into Chanyeol's mouth roughly. 

"So lazy," Baekhyun mutters under his breath and retracts his hand, his cheeks colored pink slightly. Is he really blushing? Chanyeol thinks while staring at the flustered brunet who seems to be avoiding another eye-contact with Chanyeol at all costs. 

"Thanks," Chanyeol says and bites into the rice cake, holding the remaining half in his hand. He doesn't even try fighting the large smile, showing off his perfect teeth as he munches on the rice cake. His eyes also catch the corner of Baekhyun's lips that is tugged upwards, and Chanyeol is ready to tease Baekhyun about the bright color of his cheeks, but the brunet speaks first. "Hey, Chanyeol..."

As Chanyeol's name comes out of the man's mouth in a quiet and shaky whisper and eventually trails off into silence, Chanyeol decides to help Baekhyun gain confidence by saying, "I'm listening."

Seeing that Baekhyun seems to be nervous, Chanyeol's eyes search Baekhyun's hands right away, just to see if the other male is playing with his fingers like the other two times. Finding out that yes, Baekhyun is indeed fiddling with his slender fingers, Chanyeol supposes that Baekhyun not just looks nervous, but actually feels uneasy. 

"I was wondering if... The dance competition and-... I thought you- uhm... ," Baekhyun curses after not being able to form a coherent sentence and groans, putting another rice cake in his mouth, probably to calm himself down. Jongdae sometimes does the same thing when he's nervous, so Chanyeol already knows that he should just wait patiently until Baekhyun swallows, giving the brunet time to calm himself. When Baekhyun's done after a minute, he clears his throat and looks over at Chanyeol with determination, although the fact that he's still toying with his fingers under the pretense of being confident is giving him away. "Do you want to go see the dance competition with m- us tomorrow?"

"What?" Chanyeol narrows his eyes, not sure if he heard correctly because Baekhyun has said it all too fast for Chanyeol to fully comprehend.

"I'm not asking you out on a date," Baekhyun clarifies hurriedly. "I was just thinking you'd want to go."

"Why would you even invite me?" Chanyeol asks, eyes blown wide. Baekhyun is right, Chanyeol was thinking about going right after the dance competition was mentioned by Jongdae, but figuring that none of Baekhyun's friends - and probably Baekhyun himself - don't like him, he let it go. It kind of hurt to know that even Minseok was invited, but Chanyeol couldn't do anything about it. 

And now, Baekhyun is suddenly inviting him too, and Chanyeol doesn't know what to think about it. It's true that him and Jongin had a what-could-be-called a bonding moment when they were arguing about dramas with Jongdae earlier today and their opinions were almost the same, but Kyungsoo still looked at Chanyeol with cold eyes and Baekhyun made it pretty clear that he doesn't want to stay with Chanyeol any longer than it's necessary. 

"Because that's what people do when they want to get to know each other, obviously. They invite the other person... to hang out and stuff," comes Baekhyun's quiet reply, and Chanyeol would pinch himself to make sure he's not dreaming, but it would definitely look stupid, so he decides to just stare at Baekhyun dumbly. It looks only slightly less stupid than pinching himself, but Chanyeol can work with that.

"I- uh..." he wants to accept the offer, but the words get stuck in his throat somehow, and Chanyeol stutters like an idiot, for which he curses himself in his head angrily. But for his defense, who wouldn't be rendered speechless after getting a second chance like that? Chanyeol has never thought that Baekhyun would actually agree to start again, no matter how cliché it sounds. 

"If you don't want to go, it's fine. I was just asking because- I actually don't know why I even asked, just forget about it. I shouldn't have said it, I-" Baekhyun stands up abruptly.

"I want to go," Chanyeol cuts Baekhyun's rambling off with his reply, stopping Baekhyun from getting away as he gets up from his seat too, towering over Baekhyun. His left hand is reached out and placed on the back of the chair Baekhyun was sitting on a second ago, completely blocking the way. Baekhyun is left standing in front of Chanyeol without a chance of getting out, Chanyeol's arm on one side and the table on the other.

Baekhyun looks up at Chanyeol, and it's the moment when Baekhyun has to crane his neck to look Chanyeol in the eyes that reminds both of them of their height difference. Baekhyun's forehead ends just where Chanyeol's lips are, and a fleeting thought about this being perfect for forehead kisses flashes through Chanyeol's mind, but he gets rid of it quickly. 

They stare into each others' eyes quietly, and it's so silent that Chanyeol prays to higher powers that Baekhyun won't hear his heart beating, the sudden close proximity making Chanyeol's heart race faster and his breathing erratic. He's glad to see that Baekhyun feels the same, if the uneven puffs of breath that Chanyeol can feel on his neck are anything to go by. 

He wonders what's going on in Baekhyun's head right now, because honestly, Chanyeol's thoughts are all over the place. One part of his mind is thinking about Baekhyun being even more beautiful up close, letting himself take in the brunet's features - the small and droopy eyes with long eye-lashes, the cute button nose and the pink lips. He notices the adorable mole right above his mouth along with the one on his cheek and another one on his right temple that is barely visible because of his hair. 

Another part of his mind is wondering if Baekhyun's skin is as soft as it looks, and Chanyeol truly wants to test it with his fingertips, but he knows he can't. Touching Baekhyun is out of question, and he is aware of that, really, but the urge is just too strong. He balls his hand into a fist to overcome the need to touch Baekhyun's face, biting the insides of his cheeks as well. 

After what seems like forever, Chanyeol decides that this is becoming too intimate and in order to not make Baekhyun uncomfortable and to not do something stupid like last time he felt this urge, the CEO clears his throat and retracts his hand, stepping away to make room for Baekhyun, even though it's kind of awkward because he almost falls as he trips over the chair behind him. 

It doesn't matter though, because this whole situation is just too ridiculous. Chanyeol is literally digging his own grave with his actions, throwing away the second chance he got from Baekhyun with all this. 

"G-Good, then," Baekhyun stutters and gulps audibly, taking the chance and walking over to the fridge to put the remaining rice cakes in it. When he's done, he's avoiding Chanyeol's eyes like a pleague again, his face all red, even more than when Chanyeol said all those erted things to him in the middle of a busy street where people could easily hear if they payed him just a little bit of attention, since Chanyeol's deep voice was cutting through all the street noise easily. "I'll tell you more information tomorrow."

"Okay," Chanyeol nods.

Then, Baekhyun turns to leave and Chanyeol looks down at his feet, the tension too much for him to handle. What is he doing? Chanyeol was trash talking the dramas Jongdae watches, but this was like a scene cut out from one of the ty episodes of the show. 

"And Chanyeol," Baekhyun's voice makes his head snap up again, and he is met with a warm and shy smile. "Goodnight. Again."

With that, all the tension in the air disappears and Chanyeol can breathe freely again. Just one smile from Baekhyun is enough to assure Chanyeol that Baekhyun isn't angry at him for violating the brunet's personal space and making things awkward between them for a moment, and that fact is alone for Chanyeol's lips o form a grin that splits his face in two. 

"Goodnight," Chanyeol says. After they exchange their goodnights, Baekhyun walks away, his footsteps becoming more distant with every step. Chanyeol follows him with his eyes til the moment Baekhyun disappears behind a wall and starts walking the staircase leading to another floor where Chanyeol's bedroom is, and the CEO lets exhales loudly and falls back into the chair behind him. 

Before he promises that he's going to forget about this short, yet extremely emotionally draining encounter, he lets himself think one more time about the way Baekhyun pronounces his name, the name Chanyeol sounding suddenly better than ever before when it falls out of Baekhyun's mouth. 

Chanyeol decides that he really, really likes how his name sounds when it's being called by Baekhyun.

 

--

 

Chanyeol groans quietly and turns to the side when he feels a touch on his arm, grabbing the blanket instinctively and pulling it up to his ears. As he finds a new comfortable position after he was forced to change it a second ago, he lets out a content exhale and relaxes his wrinkled features. For another ten or so seconds, Chanyeol isn't disturbed by anything and is ready to go back to sleep and also back to his wonderful dream, but the blanket he is tucked in is being taken away, and although Chanyeol's house isn't cold by any means because of the air conditioning, the CEO feels cold at the sudden loss of warmth that comes with the blanket. 

He hears a voice in a distance, but can't make out what that person is saying to him, still dreaming with eighty percent of his mind. While having his eyes closed, his hands search for the blanket as Chanyyeol curls into a ball, furrowing his brows when he is unable to grab a hold of his velvet covers. Murmuring something under his breath in frustration, Chanyeol gives up and lets his hand rest on the pillow beside his head, accepting the cold because sleep is more important right now.

"Chanyeol!" someone's palm makes contact with his head rather strongly, and Chanyeol yelps as he opens his eyes to see who dared to hit him. But before he can see the face of the attacker, the Sun rays hit his eyes and he groans again, covering them with both of his hands. "Wake up already."

After a while and a few curses, Chanyeol uncovers his eyes and the first thing he sees is a blurry face that clears only after Chanyeol rubs his eyes. 

"Baekhyun?" the name rolls off his tongue easily, his raspy morning voice piercing the air. Chanyeol isn't sure if he's still dreaming, or if Byun Baekhyun is really standing next to his bed, barely a meter away, only in Chanyeol's shirt while the Sun rays are falling on his body and making out the muscles on his legs. Maybe it's just Chanyeol's imagination, but he would swear that there is also a faint blush on Baekhyun's cheeks. 

"I've been trying to wake you up for at least five minutes now," Baekhyun says and throws Chanyeol's blanket back at him, looking anywhere but at the CEO. And no, Chanyeol truly isn't imagining it, because now Baekhyun's whole face is starting to look red. Is he getting sick again?

"I'm a heavy sleeper," Chanyeol defends himself like Baekhyun doesn't know that already and sits up, running his had through his tired features. After Baekhyun had left, Chanyeol continued going through the documents on his table and drank an energy drink to keep himself awake in order to finish his work, but being as tired as he was, Chanyeol decided to get back to in the morning. However, he doesn't remember when he went to sleep, not looking at the clock when he finally decide to rest.

The blanket falls down from his shoulders again as Chanyeol moves his hands, and just then when he feels the smooth material sliding against his skin, Chanyeol realized that he isn't wearing anything but boxers, his bare chest put on display. Chanyeol looks over at Baekhyun who is looking somewhere into distance, his face getting less red as the seconds pass, but the blush still clearly visible. Is Baekhyun blushing because of him? But right as the thought crosses his mind, Chanyeol laughs at himself for thinking such foolish things. Jongdae said that Baekhyun had a lot of one night stands - or something along those lines - so it's impossible for the brunet to be flustered after seeing Chanyeol's bare chest which is not so different from others'. Sure, Chanyeol's body isn't half bad, but Baekhyun doesn't see abs for the first time for sure. Or is Baekhyun always shy when he sees people (half)?

"Whatever," the brunet dismisses. "I'm going home, that's what I came to tell you. Didn't want you to think I ran away just like that."

"What?" Chanyeol frowns at the other male, clearly not getting what have just come out of Baekhyun's mouth. 

"I can't stay here forever, no matter how good your bed feels and how warm your house is," Baekhyun chuckles, playing with the hem of his - Chanyeol's - shirt, and Chanyeol is trying really hard not to let his eyes linger on Baekhyun's lower body. There are more important things now than his mind. 

"Does Jongin know? He would skin me alive along with his boyfriend if-"

"Why do you always call Kyungsoo Jongin's boyfriend though? You know his name, so...?" Baekhyun asks, curious as to why Chanyeol avoids saying Kyungsoo's name so much. If it happened once, okay. Twice? Still okay. But this is probably the fifth time he addresses the petite cook like that.

"I don't really know him," Chanyeol answers. And it's true, kind of. He isn't comfortable with calling people by their first names when they are practically strangers. And on the top of that, Chanyeol is still scared of the cook, and he will rather say Jongin's boyfriend than say his name and shiver at the memory of Kyungsoo warning him about what will happen to Chanyeol's if he tries to touch Baekhyun. 

"What about Jongin then? Are you friends now? Best buds?" 

"Jesus, stop," Chanyeol groans, hating when someone bombards him with questions. But he can't be angry at Baekhyun when he hears the other man's quiet sniggering, the sound cute and somehow comforting. 

"Anyway, you can go back to sleep now. I'll get dressed and call a taxi. Sorry for waking you up," Baekhyun says, his mouth forming a warm smile. He turns to leave, as if he's expecting for Chanyeol to really go back to sleep just like that. The CEO's gaze falls to Baekhyun's thighs that are not covered by the long shirt when the man takes the first step toward the door, and the sight is really too much for him. Although he promised to not have erted thoughts about Baekhyun, not wanting to ruin the second chance he has gotten, he can't stop his mind from traveling to the rated island for a second. 

Aside from the fact that Baekhyun's whole legs are simply perfection, Chanyeol can't stop the tingling feeling he gets when he thinks about Baekhyun being comfortable enough around Chanyeol to not wear the shorts he gave to Baekhyun yesterday. A second later, he also feels guilty, because Baekhyun is trying to trust him, and Chanyeol is taking advantage of it once again.

"You didn't answer my question, though," Chanyeol says, stopping Baekhyun. The male turns to him questioningly, and so Chanyeol continues. "Does Jongin know about this?"

"He does, I called him. Don't worry," Baekhyun assures him before continuing to walk toward the door. 

Chanyeol snorts. 'Don't worry', is this what you always tell people? He questions in his head, but knows better than to ask it Baekhyun directly. "I'll drive you," Chanyeol decides in the end, stopping Baekhyun one more time.

"Just go back to sleep. You must be tired."

"Doesn't matter," Chanyeol is already getting out of the bed, not listening to Baekhyun's never-ending protests as he walks over to his wardrobe, passing Baekhyun in the process. "I'll be ready in fifteen minutes tops. You can get dressed in the meantime. If you want, you can also take a shower."

"You don't have to do this," Baekhyun tries again, startling Chanyeol when he closes the door to the wardrobe in one swift motion, almost hitting Chanyeol with them. Looking into the deep, brown orbs, Chanyeol is unable to read the brunet once again, left only with small fragments of emotions that flash through Baekhyun's eyes, but are gone in a second. Where are the times when Chanyeol could say that he is able to read Baekhyun easily?

But then Chanyeol thinks about it more and realizes that there were never times like these. Just like everybody else, he was fooled by Baekhyun's happy pretense and thought that he's got the brunet all figured out. After yesterday though, Chanyeol knows there is so much more behind Baekhyun's seemingly bright appearance, and he can't help but wonder if any of the smiles Baekhyun has given him or others were honest or not. Chanyeol is desperate for answers, desperate to see the real Byun Baekhyun. 

"I want to do this," Chanyeol insists, staring intensely at Baekhyun and hoping that he can get his point through. Then, he adds. "That's what friends do, right? Helping each other out?"

Using the same excuse Baekhyun did yesterday proves to be a correct tactic, and after a moment, Baekhyun accepts Chanyeol's offer. However, he doesn't even try to fight the annoyed huff that escapes his lips, making Chanyeol chuckle at his pouty expression. 

"You have fifteen minutes," are Baekhyun's last words before he gets out of the room, and this time Chanyeol finally lets him go, focusing on getting dressed. 

 

--

 

Walking down the stairs, the first thing Chanyeol hears is, "You're late."

"By how much?" Chanyeol asks with a smirk as he walks over to where Baekhyun is standing just a meter away from the front door, already having his shoes on. He's leaning against the wall and looking into his phone, typing so quickly that Chanyeol wonders if he's not a robot because human beings simply can't type so fast.

"Six minutes," Baekhyun answers, still not tearing his gaze away from the device, his fingers moving with the speed of the light across the display, and his longer finger nails making a sound every time they make a contact with the screen. 

"Not bad," he tells more to himself than to Baekhyun. Chanyeol wanted to just get dressed and brush his teeth so he'd be the one waiting for Baekhyun to come, but in the end the CEO decided to take a shower too, and it took longer than Chanyeol has expected. Considering that he was only in shower for the fifteen minutes Baekhyun has given him, being late by six minutes isn't bad at all. 

"Are you usually late when you have somewhere to be?" Baekhyun asks, finally locking his phone with a quiet sigh and putting it into his pocket.

"Ninety percent of time, the ten percent being work meetings," Chanyeol answers shamelessly. It's not something to be proud of, true, but he also won't cry at night because of it. There are plenty people like him in the world, anyway. "Let's go."

After Chanyeol puts on his coat, he also grabs his wallet along with his keys and opens the door, gesturing for Baekhyun to follow him. The weather is rather nice today and it's also not as cold as yesterday either, but Chanyeol notices that Baekhyun shivers as he steps out of the Park's mansion nonetheless. Chanyeol locks the door behind him and turns around just to see that Baekhyun isn't waiting for him to lead the way, already seeing the black Audi in the distance and taking small but quick steps until he's standing in front of the door to passenger's seat, impatiently waiting for the other man to open the car so he can hide in it from the chilly wind.

When Chanyeol unlocks the car, Baekhyun jumps in right away, closing the door behind himself. Chanyeol can see him relaxing in his seat through the window and chuckles at the sight before walking around the car and taking his rightful driver's seat. The moment Chanyeol starts the car, he turns on the heating so Baekhyun won't be cold, receiving a mumbled thank you from the brunet when the man feels the warm waves hitting his skin. 

"Do you want me to-" Chanyeol's voice is cut off by the message notification, and Baekhyun groans loudly before pulling his phone out of his pocket and unlocking the phone. Since he has to pay attention to the road ahead of him, Chanyeol can't look at Baekhyun for more than two seconds, but even those two short seconds were enough to tell that Baekhyun is frustrated.

The inner battle Chanyeol has with himself - should I ask him what's wrong or would he find it annoying? - ends when Baekhyun curses under his breath, his voice barely audible but still getting to Chanyeol's ears. "Is something troubling you?"

"Not something, but someone," Baekhyun answers and sighs, putting his phone down but not pocketing the device. 

"Someone from work?" 

"Yeah," Baekhyun nods. "Kyungsoo talked to the boss about... what happened on Thursday and I got a day off on Sunday to rest and get better. But one co-worker of mine has a problem with that because he had to replace me, but he already had plans for Sunday. It wasn't my decision to stay home, but he keeps on bothering me."

"Why did you give him your number in the first place?" Chanyeol asks. Baekhyun doesn't look like a person who would hand out his number just like that, otherwise Chanyeol would already have it. Of course he can get it if he wants, asking one of his IT guys to search for the number in the database for him, but he would rather get it from Baekhyun himself. 

"The things is, I didn't. I don't know where he got it from," Baekhyun says just as a new message comes, and Baekhyun angrily takes his phone in his hand again and looks at it, his frowning deepening every second.

"Just ignore it, then," saying the first thing that comes to his head, Chanyeol doesn't expect Baekhyun to actually agree, but seeing from the corners of his eyes how Baekhyun pockets his mobile after a few seconds of thinking about the option, Chanyeol praises himself for being helpful. "Do you want me to turn on the radio?"

"No need. I'd want to sing along, but I'd get angry for not being able to since I'm still tired."

And so, the ride is spent by Baekhyun leaning against the window and ing about his co-workers with closed eyes after Chanyeol asks about them, and the CEO listens to Baekhyun's every word until the male finishes with a  them anyway and changes the subject to something more enjoyable in Baekhyun's opinion. Chanyeol would say that listening to Baekhyun dissing his co-workers one by one is very enjoyable, since Baekhyun has a certain way with words that just makes Chanyeol cackle every time the man utters a weird but nonetheless funny remarks.

Baekhyun tells him all the information Chanyeol needs to know regarding today's dance competition, including when it's starting and when it will probably end, where is it going to take place, what's the main prize and things like that. They agree to meet earlier so they can be closer to the stage, Baekhyun telling him that it's usually really crowded when the dance competition is as big as this one, so it's better to be there at least thirty minutes before the competition starts. 

When the car finally stops in front of Baekhyun's apartment complex, Chanyeol tenses. His mind goes back to Sunday and how he tried to kiss Baekhyun immediately, and he clenches his jaw at the memory of Baekhyun's expression full of sadness and disappointment. He doesn't know if Baekhyun is also thinking about it or not since he's still talking about the dance competition, but Chanyeol feels really uneasy although he hides it pretty well. 

"Uh.. well, thanks for the ride," Baekhyun says and at that moment, Chanyeol just knows that he isn't only one whose thinking about Sunday because Baekhyun's voice slightly wavers and for someone who is able to talk excitedly 24/7 - pretending or not, it doesn't matter - Baekhyun quiets suddenly and avoids Chanyeol's eyes, as if he was suddenly nervous. 

Chanyeol clearls his throat and says, "It's fine, really."

Baekhyun opens the door and steps out of the car, and Chanyeol replies the way he stopped Baekhyun last time, pulling him back by his wrist and leaning in for a kiss while his other hand was on Baekhyun's neck. 

"See you at six," Baekhyun gives Chanyeol a slight wave of his hand and a smile before closing the door. He then turns around and walks toward the entrance door, opening them with the help of the small chip that is hanging on one of the key rings on his keys.

Chanyeol ignores the disappointment he feels when Baekhyun doesn't look back at him one more time before sliding inside the building and drives away, checking the time as Baekhyun's apartment building slowly disappears in the distance. 10.47, Chanyeol reads the numbers in his head and sighs. He still has plenty of time before the competition, and he would really like to go back to sleep, but work is more important right now. He wants to get everything done before he leaves tonight, hating to leave work unfinished. 

 

--

 

Baekhyun steps into his tiny apartment and leans against the door with a heavy sigh, closing his eyes. So many things happened in such a short amount of time that Baekhyun feels emotionally exhausted and just wants to sleep away his worries. On Thursday, he couldn't even imagine that Chanyeol and him would ever talk to each other again, and the thought of them actually becoming friends or whatever they are, was completely out of question too. 

And jesus, Baekhyun let his guard down with Chanyeol again. He was so desperate to know why would Chanyeol want to befriend him that he let his walls disappear for a second, showing his vulnerable side that he's been hiding so well. After that conversation they had had before Jongin, Kyungsoo and Jongdae came, Chanyeol had been watching Baekhyun intensely the whole time, and Baekhyun realizes that the CEO now knows that there is more behind all the smiles.

It's not all fake though. Baekhyun truly enjoys the time he gets to spend with his friends, and most of the time, he truly is happy, forgetting about all of his troubles in order to have fun with the people he loves so much. It's not often that Baekhyun has the chance to have Kyungsoo, Jongin and Jongdae at one place, and even though he felt really ty the other day, he would not waste his time with being sad. 

Chanyeol didn't mention anything about that conversation again, and Baekhyun was very grateful for that. He probably knew that Baekhyun wouldn't talk about it, since the two of them weren't close enough to talk about something Baekhyun has a hard time talking about with Jongin, and the guy is practically Baekhyun's brother at this point. 

Opening his eyes again, Baekhyun takes in his surroundings, feelings strange now that he's finally at home. He chuckles at the sight humorlessly as his eyes scan the room. His whole apartment is truly smaller than Chanyeol's bedroom. And it's really cold here. Baekhyun feels like he's still standing outside, not inside his flat that should be warm and serve as a shelter from the chilly weather. 

Not everybody can afford being comfortable in his own house, Baekhyun thinks as he takes off his shoes and immediately puts his slippers on, not wanting his feet to freeze. He also takes off his coat and throws it on the small couch that is in the corner of so called living room and heads to his bedroom, throwing himself on his bed. His body bounces a little, but the bed is much harder than Chanyeol's.

Baekhyun hates himself for comparing everything in his flat with what he's had at Chanyeol's place, but nobody can really blame him. Baekhyun's stay at Chanyeol's was like visiting a five star hotel, and who wouldn't miss something like that? 

After ten minutes of motionlessly lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, Baekhyun decides to take a shower. He desperately needs one to calm his nerves and a shower always helps him relax. And so, he sits up and searches for the towel around the room, remembering that when he showered on Thursday morning, he threw the towel somewhere in the bedroom. His eyes fall on a blue towel that is hanging from the door of his wardrobe, and Baekhyun grabs it on the way to bathroom. 

He strips in a matter of seconds, and climbs into the shower eagerly. Maybe it's a gift from God, but when Baekhyun turns on the water, there is no need for him to lose his nerves as he's trying to get the temperate just right, because it's already perfect. 

"Wow," Baekhyun muses, surprised. 

His body relaxes right as the first drops of water start hitting his skin in a gently manner, feeling his muscles loosen up. His shower is the only thing he likes the same here as at Chanyeol's house, though Chanyeol's shower is way more luxurious and has a lot of improvements. Baekhyun doesn't mind if his shower is plain and old and he also doesn't mind that Chanyeol would probably never even step inside because for Baekhyun it's enough. As long as he can feel the warm droplets caressing his skin, it's enough.

The one thing that is bad about taking a shower is that Baekhyun has a lot of time to think, since he's just standing there and relaxing. And have time to think a lot is not always good. For example, his mind often goes to dark places, and Baekhyun mostly ends up thinking about his past, a string of failed relationships and insult thrown at him for not being a good boyfriend and a ty person. 

Now though, he doesn't think of anything like that. He doesn't think of anyone from his past, not even Siwoon. He just thinks of Chanyeol. 

He thinks about how nice Chanyeol actually is, so perceptive and caring, a complete opposite of Baekhyun thought of him when they met each other two or so weeks ago. He thinks about everything Chanyeol has said to him in the past days, repeating the words in his head. He thinks about how Chanyeol carried him to bed, how good he smelt and how firm but comfortable his body was when Baekhyun was leaning against him. 

Baekhyun simply can't stop thinking about Chanyeol, and he doesn't know if it's good or bad, but he certainly knows that giving Chanyeol a second chance was a good choice. 

Because Chanyeol is the first person aside form his closest friends to tell Baekhyun that he wants to befriend him because he's interesting, and not because he would like to try dating Baekhyun because they would fit or something. 

Although Baekhyun doesn't believe him, he's glad that Chanyeol sees him that way. It won't be long until Chanyeol realizes that there's nothing special about Baekhyun and leaves, but until then, Baekhyun just wants to enjoy their time together, now when he knows that Chanyeol is actually a rather cool guy, even with his lame jokes. 

 

--

 

"Jesus, Chanyeol! Can you come down already?!" Jongdae yells from down the hall. "We're gonna be late!"

Chanyeol doesn't answer, but it only takes him a few seconds to finally come down and join Jongdae and Minseok, who have been waiting for him for almost ten minutes now. "Calm down, we're going to be just on time."

They agreed to meet at 17.15 since the place where the competition is going to be is a forty minutes drive from Chanyeol's house, but of course, Park Chanyeol can't show up on time. It's almost 17.30 and they aren't even in the car because they had to wait for Chanyeol. 

"I wouldn't be so calm in your place," Jongdae says as he watches Chanyeol putting on his shoes, frowning at his friend. 

"I told you, we're not going to be late so-"

"You don't understand," Jongdae cuts him off harshly, smacking Chanyeol's shoulder. The CEO loses his balance and almost falls thanks to Jongdae's hit, but in the end, he manages to avoid the fall because of Minseok who quickly catches him. 

"Did you have to hit me?" Chanyeol asks with a frown and quickly puts on the other shoe, straightening up when he's done. He quickly grabs his keys, mobile and wallet and opens the front door, turning of the lights in the process. Minseok and Jongdae follow him out and Chanyeol locks the door hurriedly, already turning around and making his way to his car a second later.

"Do you even realize that Kyungsoo is going to kill all of us if he won't get to stand in the first row?" and then it hits Chanyeol. It's not only Baekhyun who is waiting for them outside the club. It's Kyungsoo too. And Jongdae isn't joking about Kyungsoo killing them if the cook will have to watch his boyfriend's performance from the back of the room, Chanyeol knows that. 

"Is he that bad?" Minseok butts in curiously, trailing behind the two men that suddenly started walking way too fast at the mention of Kyungsoo. He heard a few things from Jongdae, but most of what Jongdae says is a lie, so.

"He is," they both answer in unison. Minseok still doesn't believe them, though. The guy can't be that bad. The ones at fault for making this Kyungsoo guy abnormally angry are most probably Jongdae and Chanyeol, since they are really a handful even if they are not together, and if the man they are so afraid of decides to kill them in the end, it'll be because they are being too irritating. 

Not like Minseok ever wanted to kill them himself, of course. 

After starting the car and driving out of Park's property when they are finally seated in Chanyeol's Audi, Jongdae lets out a deep sigh. "We're so dead."

"Can you stop? It's stressing me out."

"Well, if you were ready to go on time, I wouldn't have to have these thoughts," Jongdae shoots angrily at Chanyeol. 

"You know I'm never on time!"

"Oh, so now it's my fault?! It's you who decided to change your clothes last minute!"

"I think it's nice," Minseok says suddenly, interrupting Jongdae's and Chanyeol's petty bickering. 

Jongdae turns his head to him and asks, "What is?"

"That he wants to look good for Baekhyun," Minsoek says it like it's nothing, but Chanyeol heart starts immediately beating faster when the sentence gets to his ears. Just how much does Minseok exactly knows? What the hell did Jongdae tell him?

"It's not like that," Chanyeol deadpans, but his grip on the steering wheel tightens. He isn't exactly lying. In case there is someone who recognizes him and takes a photo of him, Chanyeol wants to look as good as he can. But he also can't deny that he didn't think would Baekhyun like this? at least once during choosing his outfit. 

"Of course," Jongdae chuckles. "Anyway... I know a shortcut so just listen to me and don't take a wrong turn, or I'm going to be the one who kills you."

"Yeah, yeah," Chanyeol rolls his eyes, but makes sure to listen to Jongdae's instructions carefully, not wanting to be any more late than he already is. 

 

--

 

Chanyeol isn't exactly great at giving directions, but he's even worse at listening when someone else is giving him directions. And Jongdae knows it as well, so the fact that they turned wrong and spend another five minutes driving around without knowing where to go is basically Jongdae's fault, not Chanyeol's. It's a given that Jongdae and Chanyeol start arguing and throwing insults at each other while Minseok is desperately trying to calm both of them down. His soothing words fall on deaf ears, changing into a background noise since the voices of two businessmen are so loud.

They are already ten minutes late when Chanyeol's eyes catch the neon sign with the name of the club where the dance competition will take place, and it takes another five minutes to find an empty space where Chanyeol can park the car. Jongdae is the first to step out of the vehicle, murmuring we're dead over and over again while Minseok is trying to calm him down, gently touching Jongdae's arm during the walk to the club. Chanyeol is walking behind them, frowning at the sidewalk and cursing himself for offering to be the one who will take the car, since he won't be drinking tonight.

When Chanyeol told his mother yesterday that he's going out with Jongdae's friends - using Jongdae's name at the start of the conversation is always a way to go - his mother wasn't all that happy about it. She let him go under one condition though, and that condition being that Chanyeol won't drink even a drop of alcohol. Which clearly , but what can he do. 

"Kyungsoo doesn't look happy," Jongdae says and Chanyeol finally looks up, following Jongdae's line of vision. His eyes fall on Baekhyun firstly, the man catching his attention immediately, and their eyes meet for a brief second. That second is enough for Chanyeol's heartbeat to pick ap a faster pace though. Then, Chanyeol looks to Baekhyun's right, and the moment he sees Kyungsoo looking directly at him, his breath hitches. 

The guy isn't frowning, his expression neutral, but from a single look into Kyungsoo's eyes, he can sense the death glare the cook is sending him. Suddenly, he wants to turn away and run, not caring how much effort he put in only getting here. 

"You're late," Kyungsoo speaks up when the three of them are close enough to hear him even through the noise around them, and Jongdae and Chanyeol freeze as the words are spoken. Beside Jongdae, Minseok looks relaxed and not affected by Kyungsoo's intense stare at all. 

"There was traffic," Jongdae lies with a nervous laugh, and it sounds so bad that Chanyeol isn't surprised in the slightest when Kyungsoo lifts his eyebrows in a oh really? expression. "Sorry."

"Let's go then," Baekhyun takes a step closer to them, standing in between Kyungsoo and the three men. Chanyeol also catches the brief contact of Baekhyun's slender fingers around Kyungsoo's wrist, probably calming him down with the touch. If it was Chanyeol in Kyungsoo's shoes, he would be most likely angry too, he supposes. "And you must be Minseok. I'm Baekhyun, nice to meet you. Jongdae's been talking about you a lot."

"Really?" Minseok questions, surprised. He looks over at Jongdae, but the man avoids eye-contact with Minseok after Baekhyun's uncalled for comment, feeling too embarrassed about this information being leaked. "Nice to meet you too."

"My name's Kyungsoo," the cook speaks up and extends his hand as well, giving Minseok a small, friendly smile as he introduces himself. Chanyeol's eyes go wide as he witnesses how quickly Kyungsoo's murderous expression changed. 

"We've already bought the tickets, so let's go inside," Baekhyun says with a grin as he hands the tickets to Jongdae and Minseok. When he turns to Chanyeol though, his grin turns into a different kind of smile. A smile that seems almost shy, and Chanyeol takes the ticket from Bakhyun's hand with his mouth hanging slightly open. But then, Chanyeol realizes that he can't act like a lovestruck teenager, so swayed just because Baekhyun smiles at him, and gets his game face on. He's not a teenager for quite a time, and he's also not in love. Chanyeol is more than experienced, and he should start act like it.

"There are over thirty groups, and Jongin and Sehun are among the last ones to perform, so they will be with us until it's their turn," Kyungsoo tells them as they enter the club, showing the tickets to the guards at the door who nod their heads and let them in. There is already many people, but the club is rather spacious and they don't have to push their way through the crowd in order to get closer to the stage. 

"Where were you really? Kyungsoo was ready to murder you... and Jongdae," Baekhyun joins his side on the way to the stage.

"I decided to change my outfit last minute, and then we got lost... I'm glad I'm still alive, when I saw Kyungsoo's face I already thought about what my last words are going to be," Chanyeol answers truthfully, looking over at Baekhyun who chuckles, clearly appreciating the honesty.

Before, he didn't really have time to take in Baekhyun's make-up, but now when they are so close to each other, Chanyeol can see that his eyes are rimmed with kohl briefly, giving his whole face a different look, just like when he met him for the second time in Twenty that night. Although Baekhyun usually looks awesome, Chanyeol sees him in a more cute way without make-up, the small droopy eyes so adorable in combination with his button nose and pink lips. But now, when Baekhyun put on make-up, he just looks extremely hot. 

"You risked yours and your best friend's life because you didn't like your previous outfit?" Baekhyun cackles. "I think you would already be dead if it wasn't for Minseok, since Kyungsoo seems to like him, and Minseok seems to like Jongdae. Kyungsoo wouldn't want to upset his potentional friend by killing his love interest."

Baekhyun talks to Chanyeol casually, as if they were actual friends. Yes, Chanyeol's gotten a second chance, but he never thought that Baekhyun would act like Chanyeol didn't screw up big time on Sunday. This feels really like a fresh start with Baekhyun behaving like nothing bad happened between them.

But no matter how nice Baekhyun will be, acting like it's all good and forgotten, Chanyeol knows that he hurt Baekhyun, and that under all these smiles Baekhyun is still hurting. 

"Bless Minseok," Chanyeol says, and just as Baekhyun's opening his mouth to say something back, he is cut off by an excited voice that belongs to no other person than to Jongin. And just like that, Chanyeol loses Baekhyun's attention completely, the smaller male leaving the CEO behind in order to get to Jongin as fast as possible. Chanyeol feels something close to disappointment, but doesn't let it show, hiding it professionally. Mostly because there is no reason for him to feel like this, it's not like he expected Baekhyun to pay attention to him instead of his closest friends all night long. 

Chanyeol doesn't spare the person standing next to Jongin a glance before Baekhyun throws himself at the tall man, smiling happily when the guy wraps his arms around Baekhyun's waist. "I haven't seen you for so long!" Baekhyun exclaims as he lets himself being held, closing his eyes in consent when the man squeezes him.

"It's been only two weeks, Baek," the guy says, ruffling Baekhyun's hair. Chanyeol thinks that the two of them must be close, since the tall male addressed Baekhyun by his nickname. "Are you taller than before or-"

"Hey! We haven't seen each other for two weeks and you can't even wait one minute before you start making fun of me?" Baekhyun pushes the man away, playfully hitting his shoulder, to which the man just smiles. After a few more words exchanged between the two of them, the man's eyes fall on Chanyeol. 

Finally, Chanyeol thinks bitterly, not even knowing why he's having these kind of irritated thoughts just because Baekhyun is so affectionate with the man.

"I'm Sehun.. I dance with Jongin," the man extends his hand, his smile leaving his face the moment he looks away from Baekhyun and makes eye-contact with Chanyeol. 

"Chanyeol," he introduces himself as well, taking in Sehun's face. The man's got really strong, manly features and fierce eyes, which are currently looking at Chanyeol intensely, but void of any emotion. What is wrong with Baekhyun and all his friends being able to change their expressions so quickly? This guy was literally sunshine and rainbows a few seconds ago, and now he's sporting one of the best poker-faces Chanyeol has ever seen.

Sehun doesn't pay Chanyeol much attention though, turning to the other new face among the group and also extending his hand toward the short receptionist who introduces himself with a smile. "I'm Minseok, nice to meet you."

"Don't read too much into it," Baekhyun is beside him again, startling Chanyeol as he suddenly speaks up. "Sehunnie needs time to warm up to people."

Sehunnie, Baekhyun said. Sehunnie. 

"I told you so many times to not call me that," Sehun turns around instantly, frowning at Baekhyun while the small male just laughs it off, saying it's cute and that Sehun shouldn't be so bitter about it. 

"Sehunnie sounds good," Jongdae butts in, grinning up at Sehun who rolls his eyes and mutters something incoherent under his breath. 

"He doesn't want Baekhyun to call him that because he secretly likes it and if we saw him blushing it would ruin his image," Jongin laughs, patting his dance partner's shoulder. "Right, Sehunnie?"

"I hate all of you," Sehun mumbles. "I'm going to get a drink, who's going with me?"

"I am!" Baekhyun exclaims at the same time as Jongin says, "You're a lightweight. If you get drunk and mess up-"

Jongin's protest are interrupted though. "Just one drink, promise."

And like that, Baekhyun and Sehun are gone. Chanyeol can see them walking away, walking to the bar on the other side of the club way too close to each other. Chanyeol doesn't like it, for some reason. 

"You're not going?" Jongin asks, and just after a nudge to his ribs, Chanyeol realizes that the question was for him. "I would think you're the type to drink when there's a chance."

"I can't," Chanyeol answers with a deep sigh, still not one hundred percent over the fact that his mother forbid him to drink like Chanyeol is some kid. He's an adult, for Christ's sake, he can take care of himself. 

"How come?" Jongin pries.

"I promised my mom I won't," Chanyeol snorts. He sounded truly like a child just now. 

He expects everyone to make fun of him - honestly, he would make fun of himself as well if he was in their shoes - but surprisingly, nobody laughs at him. It also really shocks him when the first one to react to this is Kyungsoo who is leaning his head against his boyfriend's shoulder. "That's pretty nice." 

"Right?" Minseok grins, agreeing with Kyungsoo right away. Spending some time with Minseok, Chanyeol finds out that the receptionist isn't exactly the most talkative person. He jokes around, yes, but mostly he just listens to people talking around him, agreeing with them if his and the other person's opinions are the same, like now. When he imagined Jongdae dating someone, Chanyeol had in mind someone as loud and annoying as Jongdae, that's why he was kind of surprised at first when Jongdae showed first symptoms of his crush. But who knows, maybe Minseok is exactly like Jongdae, but only when they are alone together. 

"You can drive all of us home, then."

"Oh no," Jongdae shoots Jongin a terrified look. "His orientation skills are horrible. Actually, we were late because he turned wrong and-"

"You said there was traffic," Kyungsoo deadpans, but his expression doesn't look as cold as before. He's just saying it matter-of-factly, probably wanting to see Jongdae's reaction. And when Jongdae starts struggling with words, unable to make an excuse, Chanyeol sees the corners of Kyungsoo's lips lifting upwards. He realizes that Kyungsoo just wants to tease Jongdae, if the evil smile is anything to go by.

"How come you got lost? The club's is standing next to main road," Jongin frowns, confused.

"Let me explain," Jongdae says.

"Can you-"

But taking a deep inhale, Jongdae completely ignores him and starts his story telling, leaving Chanyeol groaning in frustration, the first words that fall out of Jongdae's mouth being enough for him already, "So, it was clearly all Chanyeol's fault..."

 

--

 

Sehun isn't half bad, Chanyeol decides after forty minutes he has already spent in the younger's company. Although he thought that there is no way the two of them could get along for some reason, they befriend each other surprisingly fast. It's so weird, since Chanyeol doesn't even remember what happened that broke the ice between them, but he is grateful for whatever it was.

After Jongdae successfully humiliated Chanyeol in front of everyone, telling them about his poor orientation skills and adding a few stories from the past on the top of it, Chanyeol thought that he would really appreciate a drink to ease his embarrassement. However, that was, unfortunately, out of question. He promised his mother not to drink and he doesn't break his promises.

Chanyeol finds himself enjoying the company of all Baekhyun's friends, even Kyungsoo's, although the guy still throws some pretty unfriendly glances at him occasionally every time Chanyeol as much as looks at Baekhyun. However, that doesn't stop the CEO from looking at Baekhyun, because it's impossible not to stare when Baekhyun looks so damn good today.

He is wearing jeans so tight that Chanyeol would swear that there is no way that the blood in Baekhyun's legs is circulating with ease. They also leave nothing to imagine with how tight they are, clinging to his legs and looking like his second skin rather than pants. And Chanyeol really doesn't want to stare at Baekhyun, afraid that the brunet will feel uncomfortable under his gaze after making it clear that he isn't interested in Chanyeol in the slightest, but his will isn't strong enough and he sneaks a glance or two at Baekhyun's lower body from time to time, feeling extremely guilty about it afterwards.

But it's not only Baekhyun's legs and that Chanyeol stares at. Chanyeol just can't take his eyes off Baekhyun as a whole, with his collarbones put on display because of his loose shirt, with his long and smooth-looking neck that's just begging to be covered in hickeys, with his naturally pink lips, with his everything practically. Baekhyun is extremely attractive and Chanyeol might still be bitter about not being able to have a one night stand like him. 

Chanyeol is sure that he is not the only one looking at Baekhyun, and he wonders if someone will also try to hit on the brunet tonight. The image of someone approaching Baekhyun with an intention to take him home is making Chanyeol feel very uncomfortable, to be honest.

Aside from looking at Baekhyun from the corners of his eyes and fully enjoying the company of the group, Chanyeol is really happy that he can finally see a dance competition with his own eyes, being able to feel the atmosphere after all these years. As Baekhyun has told him today during the ride home, people don't stop coming until the club is more or less full, and it's really good that they were here earlier because there is no way they could have fight their way through the crowd in order to get to the stage if they came later. 

With every passing performance, Chanyeol notices that the two dancers beside him who were joking around and making fun of Chanyeol's orientation skills before are now quiet most of the time, not participating in the conversations, their eyes trained on the dancers on the stage completely. It doesn't take a genius to realize that Sehun and Jongin are getting nervous with every second, but Chanyeol was never good at giving pep talks, so he just stands awkwardly beside them without a word. 

On the other side, they don't need Chanyeol's encouragement, since both of them have someone who is giving them the pep talk instead of Chanyeol beside them. Jongin's been only talking to Kyungsoo for some time now, holding the cooks hand tightly in his as he watches his opponents. Kyungsoo just lets his hand be squeezed as much as Jongin needs, occasionally whispering something nobody can hear in the dancer's ear, to which Jongin always smiles slightly and whispers something back. 

And Sehun... Sehun has Baekhyun by his side. They don't hold hands, but the two of them are really close to each other, no space left between them. Unlike Kyungsoo who is whispering sweet things into Jongin's ear secretly, Baekhyun doesn't keep his voice down. He makes jokes and disses the dancers on the stage just to make Sehun feel more confident, and by the looks of it, it's working. From time to time, Baekhyun would lean against Sehun's shoulder and start mumbling something about wanting to see his friends dance already under his breath, saying how much he is looking forward to see the choreography Sehun and Jongin have been working on for so long. 

With Jongdae and Minseok talking to each other, not leaving any space for any other person who would like to join them, Chanyeol feels like an ultimate third wheel. Baekhyun speaks with him once in a while, but he's mostly spending time comforting Sehun. Chanyeol isn't angry at anyone, completely understanding that Sehun and Jongin need a lot of comforting and reassuring right now and he's glad Baekhyun and Kyungsoo took the job. Chanyeol also understands that Minseok and Jongdae are in their own bubble, since Jongdae finally got to spend time with his crush and Chanyeol doesn't want to with forcing his way in the conversation. 

No, Chanyeol isn't angry at all. He's just... jealous. And his inner jealousy reaches the top when Baekhyun casually bites Sehun's shoulder just like that. Chanyeol steals a glance at Sehun, who's expression doesn't change a bit, like he's used to Baekhyun doing that. And Chanyeol's question is, Does Baekhyun do that a lot? 

When the times comes and Jongin with Sehun has to go to the backstage, Kyungsoo kisses Jongin and wishing him luck, while Baekhyun whispers something in Sehun's ear with a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

Is something going on between them? Chanyeol wants to ask others for confirmation that no, there certainly isn't anything going on between Sehun and Baekhyun, but he stops himself before saying it out loud. It's not his business. Even if Baekhyun and Sehun are... more than friends, it isn't Chanyeol's place to pry. 

Before the two men go away, all of them, including Jongdae and Minseok wish them good luck one more time, promising that they will cheer as loud as possible. The dancers just smile, nervousness written all of their faces, but they still promise to do their best.

With them gone, Chanyeol thinks that maybe, just maybe, Baekhyun will now pay attention to him for a change. But he was mistaken, since Baekhyun seemingly doesn't have any problem with being a clockblock, and he steals Minseok from Jongdae the moment Sehun and Jongin are gone. As they talk, Kyungsoo joins them too, and Jongdae and Chanyeol are left in each other's company. The ability to stop Chanyeol's negative thoughts is just many of which Jongdae possesses, and while the CEO talks to Jongdae, he momentarily forgets  about the possibility of Sehun and Baekhyun being a thing and how lonely he felt just a minute ago while third-wheeling.  

Ten or so minutes pass, and one of the judges announces their friends' names. "Kai is Jongin's stage name, in case you're confused," Baekhyun says when he sees Chanyeol's expression, figuring out that Chanyeol wasn't aware of that. 

As Jongin and Sehun come out on stage, Chanyeol can see that they are still nervous, maybe even more than before. "Shouldn't they be used to it already?" Chanyeol asks, remembering when Sehun was telling him how many competitions they participated in.

"That's what I thought," Kyungsoo answers him, not taking his eyes off Jongin and Sehun. "This isn't by far their first competition, but they look like it's their first time being on stage for sure. They are always like that."

"Weird," Chanyeol says to himself.

However, Kyungsoo reacts immediately, "But no matter how nervous they are before their turn, it all disappears when they start dancing."

"True," Jongdae nods, agreeing with Kyungsoo. 

And so, Chanyeol turns his head back to the stage, waiting to see how the two dancers will manage to shake of their nerves just like that.

The first beats of the music chosen for the dance by Sehun and Jongin echoes in the club, and with them, the two dancers start moving in a complete unison. Their moves are smooth and on point, perfectly practised. The music isn't slow, but it isn't fast either, with a good tune and beats. It isn't the type of music Chanyeol would listen to, but it's good for dancing. 

Like Kyungsoo said, there is no trace of nervousness in the dancers' moves. Chanyeol can only see concentration on their faces, but it's clear that they are having fun. They are pouring everything in the dance, long hours spent by practising the moves to perfection for this moment. The choreography is amazing, making Chanyeol stare with no intention of looking away thorough the whole performance, hungry for more. It's really mind blowing to know that the two of them created this choreography with just little help. 

The music slowly starts getting faster, and so do their moves. While the first half of performance was almost sensual, this is a series of fast moves with awesome coordination, and Chanyeol feels overwhelmed by the whole dance. He isn't an expert, just a person who enjoys looking at people who can dance, but from what he has seen today, Jongin's and Sehun's performance is one of the best. Not to be biased, this is just a fast. 

There were groups with almost ten members, and even though they were in unison, it didn't have such a strong vibe like this performance. It's fascinating that Jongin and Sehun can make him - and surely many others in the room - craving for more when there are just two of them. Some people would say it's not as entertaining as when there are more people, but Chanyeol strongly disagrees while watching the two dance. 

There is a beat drop, and suddenly, the music gets even faster, and Chanyeol's eyes are unable to take all of it in. He is just left with his mouth hanging open as he watches Jongin's and Sehun's limbs moving so quickly. He wonders how long did it take them to get all of that together and practise until it was as amazing as this. 

When the performance ends, Jongin and Sehun get a round of applause and whistles, not only from their small group, but by the whole club. Seeing the people cheering for them, Jongin grins widely, showing his perfect teeth while breathing heavily. Sehun is smiling too, and it's maybe the first time Chanyeol has seen him smile like that today. It was always a small tug upwards on the corners of his lips upwards, but now, after dancing his soul off, Sehun is smiling brightly, taking deep breaths to steady his breathing. 

"They were amazing," Chanyeol can't help but say, and Kyungsoo just grins proudly, not taking his eyes off Jongin, the love struck expression on his face. 

"I know right," Baekhyun agrees, clapping loudly and also holding eye contact with the other dancer. 

"I hope they'll win."

Chanyeol hopes so, too. They were surely amazing, but their opponents were also good. Everyone was good, to be honest, some more than others. It's on the judges now, but Chanyeol really thinks that the duo was one of the best here. 

"How many performances until the end?" Chanyeol asks.

"Two," Minseok answers right away, remembering the exact number of performances from listening to Jongin earlier. 

They watch the remaining two performances, but somehow, after seeing Sehun and Jongin, Chanyeol doesn't think the groups are any real threat.

 

--

 

Chanyeol was wrong. The last group that Chanyeol deemed mediocore has won in the end, leaving Sehun and Jongin just one point behind. The five of them are totally taken aback after hearing the information, not understanding how this particular group could win. None of them is saying that they weren't good, but there were definitely better groups, at least five of them.

After the announcement of the winners, at least sixty percent of the people disappear from the dance floor and head to their booths, wanting to sit down after almost two hours of standing. Like the other people, the small group also heads to a booth, glad that they managed to get a place sit down with so many people in here. 

While waiting for the remaining two to come, everyone except Chanyeol orders alcoholic drinks. Meanwhile, the CEO drinks a stupid orange juice as the others laugh at him, making fun of him and joking around like it's such a funny sight to see Chanyeol drinking juice instead of a real drink. And oh, Chanyeol really craves some alcohol now, but breaking the promise he has made is out of question. 

"They should have been here already, right? Aren't they taking too long?" Minseok asks after thirty minutes, looking at his mobile to check the time. 

"True," Kyungsoo says in thought, probably also wondering why are Sehun and Jongin still not here. The group has already had more than one drink, drinking what they ordered for the dancers two, since Jongin and Sehun are just not coming. While Minseok and Kyungsoo had just two drinks, Jongdae and Baekhyun didn't hold back at all, but fortunately the symptoms of being drunk are showing just slightly. Chanyeol knows that Jongdae isn't a complete lightweight, but his limit isn't that high too. When it comes to Baekhyun, Chanyeol doesn't know how good can the brunet hold his liquor, but it seems that Baekhyun is one of those guys who can drink a liter of vodka in one go and be alright. 

Another ten minutes pass, and just as Kyungsoo stands up to check on them, they all see a familiar white hair among the people. Kyungsoo is already opening his mouth to ask where were they so long, but the big smiles on Jongin's and Sehun's face make him close him mouth. All of them just stare at the dancers in confusion, not understanding why are they smiling like that when they lost the competition they were preparing so long for. 

"Something amazing happened," Jongin is the first one to speak up when they are close enough to hear each other when speaking, and he goes straight to Kyungsoo, hugging him so strongly that the small cook almost dies from the loss of oxygen.

"Really," Jongdae says sarcastically, as if it wasn't clear that something good happened.

"What happened?" Chanyeol asks, tilting his head to the side, ignoring Jongdae's remark as everybody else.

"We were chosen to be in Luhan's new music video for his comeback this February," Jongin answers way too quickly, overly excited and still very much choking Kyungsoo with his embrace. "It's like a miracle! Can you even imagine?! Us two, in Luhan's music video, it's-"

"Wait, what?! How the hell did that happen?" Baekhyun is the only one who can speak, everybody else being too shocked to even blink.

Both of them slid into the booth, and while Sehun is just smiling weirdly at his hands, Jongin is the one to explain the situation. "So, after the winners were announced, we were ready to die, you know. But then some men came to us and started asking us a lot of questions, about our choreography and about how long we dance together already, stuff like that. We didn't know why they were asking, some questions were really weird, but then- they asked us if we would like to be the back-up dancers for Luhan's new music video. They dropped the bomb just like that! And we asked why us and not the winners, and they said they just want us!"

"Luhan as in, Luhan?" Minseok asks just to clarify, though there is only one Luhan that everybody knows of. 

"The one and only," Jongin nods proudly, his smile never leaving his face. 

"Oh my God."

Everybody starts freaking out, screaming compliments at the two dancers, the bitterness that was here just a moment ago gone completely and replaced by joy and happiness. They ordered drinks right away, celebrating with alcohol while Chanyeol was still faithful to his orange juice, although the urge to celebrate with a stronger drink than juice was really strong.  

"Hey, Sehun, are you alright?" Minseok asks suddenly while everyone is talking about how amazing it is that their friends are going to be taking a part in a music video of one of the most famous idols in China and Korea. 

Instead of Sehun, Jongdae is the one who answers the question with a smirk. "Of course he's not." 

"What do you mean?" Minseok looks at Jongdae, confused as to why Jongdae is smirking while clarifying that Sehun is not okay. Shouldn't he be worried?

"The things is, Sehunnie here has the biggest crush on Luhan, ever since the guy debuted," the one who answers this time is Baekhyun who is grinning into his glass as he takes a sip of his martini.

"Does he?" like that, everybody is looking at Sehun, waiting for his reaction, but the man stays silent. He just keeps tracing the outlines of his glass with his finger. However, Sehun can try to keep his poker face on, but the blush slowly appearing on his cheeks and ears is giving him away. 

"He installed instagram just because of him. I'm telling you, this guy is stalking Luhan like one of the crazy fangirls."

"When Lu came out, Sehun almost died. He wasn't ready to hear his wet-dream moan in a song."

"Oh, do you remember when bought the tickets for Luhan's concert that time-"

"Can you stop," Sehun finally speaks up, hiding his red face in hands after putting his glass on the table. As his friends took turns in embarrassing Sehun about his crush on Luhan, his face turned vibrant red so quickly that Chanyeol had to suppress a laugh. 

"Oh, come on. It's cute," Jongin nudges Sehun, laughing when Sehun just swats his hand away.

"Imagine if Luhan talked to him," Jongdae starts again, ignoring how flustered Sehun already is as he keeps going. "He would only say hi and Sehun would already be dead."

"Imagine if Luhan looked at him. That would be enough for Sehun," Baekhyun laughs.

"I hate all of you."

"I think we've already heard that today," Kyungsoo finally joins the conversation. 

For a moment, it quiets down. Nobody says anything as they take a sip of their drinks, and the only things aside from the loud music is their quiet sniggering. 

And then, "Remember when Luhan sang Lu live and Sehun-"

"Don't you dare, Jongdae."

 

--

 

After they were all done with making fun of Sehun and talked to the detail about the encounter with the scouts once again, they decide to dance. At first, they are all dancing together, but then - thanks to alcohol everyone but Chanyeol drank - they separate into smaller groups, that being Jongin and Kyungsoo, Jongdae and Minseok. Nobody tries to join the smaller groups, since their dancing becomes more... inappropriate. And so, Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Sehun are left together. 

Not like Chanyeol minds. Seeing Baekhyun drunkenly sway his hips to the rhythm is a beautiful sight and Chanyeol would look at him all day long if he could. He's enjoying himself even more when Baekhyun takes a step closer to him after Sehun is dragged away by someone, bringing their chests together and breathing into Chanyeol's neck while dancing. It reminds him of that time Baekhyun led Chanyeol on in Twenty, with the way Baekhyun's hands are pressed against Chanyeol's chest gently. 

And Chanyeol knows that Baekhyun is only doing this because he's drunk as and just wants to have fun, but Chanyeol can't bring himself to push him away even though he knows it's wrong to take advantage of Baekhyun like this. 

"Chanyeol," Baekhyun whispers into Chanyeol's ear, his breath tingling the CEO's skin and making a shiver run down his spine after hearing Baekhyun's low voice. "I-" 

Baekhyun doesn't finish and instead giggles, pulling away from the taller male suddenly and looking into Chanyeol's brown orbs for a second. Baekhyun's eyes are half-closed  and glassy while the two hold the eye-contact, and even though Baekhyun is looking directly at him, the brunet seems to be staring into nothingness with the blank look on his face.   

Then, he simply turns away from Chanyeol and runs into the crowd, disappearing behind all the swirling bodies on the dance floor. Chanyeol is just left standing there, alone, shocked that Baekhyun's been literally feeling him up for almost ten minutes and now he just runs away like that. He tries to find him, but there are too many people and Baekhyun isn't the tallest person so it isn't easy to find just like that. 

Frustrated, Chanyeol starts looking for Baekhyun, pushing through the crowd and trying to catch a glimpse of the brunet among the people. There are a few women and men that come to him, asking if he wants to dance, but Chanyeol just pushed them away, his only goal right now being finding Baekhyun. No matter where he goes though, he can't find the other male, and with an angry groan, Chanyeol decides to go back to the booth. He saw Jongin and Kyungsoo taking a break from dancing, sitting close together in their booth and talking when he was looking for Baekhyun. He can ask them if they saw Baekhyun. 

When he fights his way through the sweating bodies and finally sits down on his seat, he doesn't wait a second before asking. "Have you seen Baekhyun?" 

"He was with you, or...?" Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at Chanyeol. "Did you lose him?" 

"No, he just-"

"Are you kidding me," Jongin deadpans, looking somewhere past Chanyeol. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol follow his line of vision, and after a few seconds, Chanyeol's eyes finally fall on the brunet who is still dancing. Not alone though. Looks like he found someone to replace Chanyeol.

The man Baekhyun is dancing with look older, but not by much. Chanyeol doesn't even care how he looks, what he cares about and what irritates him is that one of the man's hand is resting on Baekhyun's waist, pushing the brunet closer to him, while his other hand is groping Baekhyun's . And Baekhyun doesn't look like he minds it, judging by the way he's smiling at the man.

"I have to get him before he does something stupid," Jongin says, but when he tries to stand up, he loses his balance and has to grab the wall that separates the booths. 

"I'll do it," Kyungsoo stops his boyfriend, pushing him down on his seat gently. Jongin lets himself be seated again, mumbling an okay as he reaches for his drink. However, he never gets the chance to grab it because Kyungsoo takes it instead, pushing it into Chanyeol's hand. The CEO is ready to protest, when Kyungsoo speaks, "Just makes sure he doesn't touch any more alcohol."

"Okay," Chanyeol nods. 

When they started drinking, he thought that Baekhyun is the guy who drinks everything and doesn't feel any effect, but it soon became clear that Baekhyunn is certainly not that type. Kyungsoo is. Baekhyun is the type to drink a lot and not feel anything at first, but after some time everything he has drunk takes effect and Baekhyun is drunk as hell. 

Chanyeol watches as Kyungsoo pushes a few people away in order to get to Baekhyun with ease. When he's there, he pries Baekhyun away from the man's touch, and even though the man is protesting at first, but doesn't follow them when Kyungsoo is dragging Baekhyun away from the dance floor. The guy quickly finds someone else to dance with, forgetting all about Baekhyun when a pretty girl with a low cleavage walks to him.

Baekhyun looks completely out of it. He and Jongdae drank the most, but Baekhyun is certainly more hammered than Jongdae. He would stare at Baekhyun who has his arm around Kyungsoo longer, but when he hears glasses clattering behind his back, he quickly turns around just to find Jongin grabbing Minseok's vodka. Chanyeol swats his hand away, for which he gets a whine from Jongin, but the dancer doesn't try reaching for the glass again.

"Listen," Kyungsoo starts with a low voice, and Chanyeol turns back to him. He is met with a serious expression that's somehow familiar. "I need you to take him home. You're the only one with a car and I want him to be home as fast as possible."

"U-uh... I can do that, I guess," Chanyeol says. Kyungsoo looks hesitantly at him before pushing Baekhyun toward Chanyeol gently, but the brunet almost falls with the first step. Chanyeol is of course quick to catch him.

"I'll get his - and yours - things, wait here," with that, Kyungsoo turns around and disappears somewhere before Chanyeol can say anything. And so, he just stands there, waiting for Kyungsoo to come back. Baekhyun is mumbling something into his arm while Chanyeol is holding him up, and Chanyeol knows that he shouldn't be happy about Baekhyun being drunk like he probably never was, but the close proximity and Baekhyun's scent are making him go crazy. 

Five minutes pass, and Kyungsoo is back. He takes Baekhyun from Chanyeol's arms and pushes him on the chair, asking him if he can put the jacket on by himself. Baekhyun nods half-heartedly, but after fighting with the jacket for a minute, Kyungsoo decides to help Baekhyun to get it done quicker.

"I hope you remember what I told you before," Kyungsoo says while Chanyeol is putting on his coat, and the CEO steps mid-movement. Oh, he remembers. He remembers very well. "If you touch him I-"

"I know, I know," Chanyeol truly doesn't want to hear it once more. "How come you trust me with him, though?"

It's not like Chanyeol isn't glad, but Kyungsoo doesn't look like a person who trust easily, and Chanyeol hasn't exactly left the best first impression on the cook. 

"I don't," Kyungsoo answers, his voice neutral.

"Why then?"

"Baekhyun trusts you, for some reason," Kyungsoo snorts, like the idea of Baekhyun trusting Chanyeol is so funny and unimaginable. "You're here, so that means he gave you a second chance. I think he actually believes you won't do something stupid like on Sunday again-"

"I won't," Chanyeol cuts him off immediately. He already knows about his mistake, it won't happen again. 

"That's good. I'm glad," the smallest smile pulls on Kyungsoo's lips, and when he sees that Chanyeol is all set, he helps Baekhyun stand and guides him to Chanyeol. Baekhyun buries his head in Chanyeol's firm chest right away, nuzzling against him.

"Just take him home and leave. He lives on the third floor, door number 305."

 

--

 

Getting Baekhyun home was supposed to be easy, but it's truly not. The car ride was alright, since Baekhyun kind of dozed off and woke up only when Chanyeol stopped the car. On the way to the apartment building, there are some troubles but nothing too big. The true problems start when Chanyeol tries to unlock the entrance door of the building.

Baekhyun steals the keys from his hand, suddenly full of live after the short nap he took in Chanyeol's car. It's a ten minutes long fight, but in the end Chanyeol manages to get the key back, opening the door while Baekhyun is still laughing at his hilarious joke. 

Chanyeol feels like someone up there is finally helping him when Chanyeol sees the elevator. Honestly, the building looks so old that Chanyeol hasn't expected there to be an elevator and he was afraid that he'll have to drag Baekhyun up the stairs. Chanyeol doesn't even want to imagine how difficult that would be. 

Letting Baekhyun into the elevator first was a mistake because the moment the brunet slides in, he pushes all the buttons and then looks at Chanyeol innocently like he didn't do anything wrong. And so, the two of them stops on the first floor, then at second, and then finally at the third. 

Finding the right key to Baekhyun's flat isn't all that hard, since the key has a the number on it. Chanyeol is extremely happy for the number, since Baekhyun has eight other keys on the keyring, and Chanyeol's not a very patient person.

After he opens the door, Chanyeol helps Baekhyun with walking as they enter the apartment. 

The first things that comes to his mind is how cold here is. When Jonging said that Baekhyun's apartment is a freezer, he wasn't lying. Chanyeol can't imagine living in a flat so freezing, being the type to person who will wake up when he's cold.

Chanyeol quickly takes in his surroundings. The flat is small and there is no living room, just a couch placed in the corner. It takes him only three steps to kitchen-slash-dining room, and another two to Baekhyun's bedroom. There are two wardrobes, a desk with a chair, a bed that is something between queen-sized and a small, plain one, then a small bedside table.

If it's even possible, the bedroom feels more cold than the rest of Baekhyun's flat.  

"Welcome," Baekhyun laughs as he's seated on his bed. He doesn't stay in the sitting position for longer than two seconds though because the moment the brunet relaxes his body, he falls back on the bed. "This is the hole I live in."

Chanyeol doesn't know if Baekhyun is expecting an answer, but it doesn't matter, because Chanyeol doesn't have one. If he were to describe Baekhyun's flat, he wouldn't use such a strong word.

Baekhyun then closes his eyes and Chanyeol thinks this is the time to start undressing him, the process being easier when the other male is asleep. This way he won't pull another stunt like at the entrance door or in the elevator.

Mentally preparing himself, Chanyeol starts with shoes. Untying the laces, Chanyeol takes the brunet's shoes off, putting them beside his bed. This was the easiest part, and yet Chanyeol feels so nervous with just taking of Baekhyun's shoes. Last time, when Jongin undressed Baekhyun in his room, Chanyeol stopped breathing. And now he has to do it by himself. He has to undress Baekhyun.

Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Chanyeol continues with Baekhyun's jacket. Also quite easy, so why are his hands trembling?

He puts the jacket aside, telling himself that he'll hang it later.

"Okay," Chanyeol says to himself before grabbing the hem of Baekhyun's shirt. But just as he pulls it up just the slightest bit, he stops and steps away from the male when the tips of his fingers brush against Baekhyun's hipbone, the contact sending electric shock through Chanyeol's whole body. ", I can't do this."

Should I got for the pants first? Chanyeol asks himself. That's even worse, jesus. In order to calm himself down, Chanyeol takes his own coat off and throws it on the ground, using the few seconds to sorte out his thoughts.

After an inner conversation with himself, Chanyeol decides to get rid of the ridiculously tight jeans first. He is surprised to find that Baekhyun doesn't even have a belt, the jeans must be a perfect fit. 

ing them and ping, Chanyeol slowly starts tugging the jeans down. His heart stops beating faster when he seem the hem of Baekhyun's boxers, and he has to immediately look away. It's so frustrating to do this when he knows that he simply cannot have Baekhyun. He would like to be undressing Baekhyun in a different way. 

Chanyeol doesn't look at Baekhyun the whole time while he's rescuing Baekhyun's legs from the jeans, thinking that if he took just one look at those milky thighs, he wouldn't be able to resist and he would also surely touch them, wanting to feel Baekhyun up just once. 

But maybe he should have look at Baekhyun just one time, that way he wouldn't be so surprised to find out that Baekhyun isn't sleeping. And not only he isn't sleeping, he's been looking at Chanyeol the whole time. Chanyeol notices it only when he glances at Baekhyun's face, expecting it to see relaxed and most importantly, with closed eyes, but when he takes a look at Baekhyun's face, Chanyeol is met with dark orbs that are staring right back at him through half-lidded eyes.

This is so ing awkward. Chanyeol thinks. There is no way he can keep on undressing Baekhyun when the male is watching his every movement like this. 

"Can you take your shirt off when you're up?" Chanyeol asks hesitantly, clearing his throat awkwardly and looking away from the intense eyes. 

"Why don't you take it off when you've already started?" Baekhyun slurs, his words not very clear, but Chanyeol is able to make them out. But hearing what Baekhyun has said is not helping him at all. Is Baekhyun for real? What's with the look in his eyes? 

Taking a deep breath, Chanyeol decides to do this quickly. He wants to just take Baekhyun's shirt off with one swift movement so he can get this over with, but the moment he leans closer and starts pulling his shirt up, he can feel Baekhyun's hand touching the back of his neck. Chanyeol immediately freezes on the spot, not able to move when he feels the soft caress of Baekhyun's fingers on his neck. He looks at Baekhyun shocked and alarmed, question marks in his eyes as he makes eye-contact with the brunet again.

Baekhyun is looking at him with neutral expressions, but Chanyeol knows this look. He is way too familiar with it. The look of want, and lust.

"Why don't you take off your shirt too?" Baekhyun's other hand is placed on Chanyeol's arm, as the slender fingers trace the outline of Chanyeol's muscles, all the while Baekhyun is looking into his eyes.

"Baekhyun, stop," Chanyeol swats Baekhyun's hands away, the touch too much for Chanyeol to handle. Looking away and being the one who breaks the eye-contact, Chanyeol wants to straighten up and take a minute to calm himself down, again, but Baekhyun doesn't let him. With the speed of light, Baekhyun pulls Chanyeol back and rolls them on the bed so that he's on top of the CEO. Chanyeol doesn't know if he is more surprised by Baekhyun's sudden strength and sobriety, or the fact that Baekhyun is ing sitting on his lap.

"What are you doing?" Chanyeol tries to stand up, but Baekhyun placed both of his hands on Chanyeol's chest and pushes him down. Again, where the hell did the strength come from?! 

"Don't you want me, Chanyeol?" Baekhyun whispers as he leans on Chanyeol with his whole body, running up and down Chanyeol's chest in slow movements. And it's positively driving Chanyeol's crazy. He is still too shocked by Baekhyun's behavior, but feeling the touch of the other man, Chanyeol can't do anything but stay still. He isn't able to move, the only thing he can do is stare into Baekhyun's eyes. What is Baekhyun even saying? "You said you want me... so why are you not doing anything?"

"Baekhyun-"

Chanyeol forgets what he wanted to say when he feels Baekhyun's warm mouth on his neck, the words stuck in his throat. Baekhyun slightly on Chanyeol's skin, but not enough to leave a hickey, and Chanyeol can't help the moan that escapes his mouth when Baekhyun also adds his tongue, all the way up to Chanyeol's jaw. 

"I want you too, Chanyeol," he whispers in his ear, biting on his earlobe in the process, and Chanyeol wonders what's arousing him more - Baekhyun touching him or Baekhyun saying his name in that beautiful, low voice laced with want. 

To make his point clear, Baekhyun moves his hips, creating friction between their crotches, and Chanyeol moans again, but this time louder, and this time also accompanied by Baekhyun's soft whimper. 

"," Chanyeol curses, his hands instinctively grabbing Baekhyun's waist, pushing the brunet down as he grinds against him. At the pleasure that shoots through his body, Chanyeol groans and feels himself getting hard with every touch and moan that escapes Baekhyun's mouth, the whimpers of the other male being the sweetest melody for Chanyeol's ears. 

"I want you to take me tonight," Baekhyun breathes out, his eyes closed as he bites on Chanyeol's neck. This time, it might leave a mark. Chanyeol doesn't care though, his mind concentrating only on Baekhyun's tongue on his skin, as the brunet leaves a wet trail on his neck. 

Baekhyun trusts you, for some reason.

Chanyeol moves his hands to Baekhyun's , and then thighs, the skin being as smooth as he thought it would be. He could just spend his day by touching those thighs, placing kisses all over them.

He gave you a second chance.

Chanyeol's hands travel up to north, grabbing the hem of Baekhyun's shirt and playing with it before he pulls away from Baekhyun slightly and quickly takes the shirt off, throwing it somewhere on the floor. This is something Chanyeol imagined to happen on Sunday, and he can't believe that he is actually getting what he's been wanting all along. And it's Baekhyun who initiated it.

I feel ing stupid for believing you. 

But Baekhyun's drunk. He doesn't know what he's doing. 

Still, I’m pretty... disappointed in you.

Groaning, Chanyeol pushes Baekhyun off.

"What...?" 

"I-.. I can't-" Chanyeol stutters as he stands up, leaving Baekhyun laying on the bed alone. The man looks up at him in confusion, his lips red and wet, eyes clouded with arousal. Seeing Baekhyun like that, Chanyeol could come just like that, by looking at him, the sight pushing Chanyeol way over the edge. 

"Come on," Baekhyun insists, circling Chanyeol's wrist and giving it a gentle tug. However, Chanyeol yanks his hand away, using every little bit of his willpower to do that. 

"No, you don't know what you're doing," Baekhyun probably doesn't even listen to Chanyeol, but it's alright, since the CEO is saying it more to himself than to Baekhyun. Chanyeol takes a step back, running a hand through his hair, keeping his eyes focused on the objects in the room so his eyes don't go back to Baekhyun. 

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Baekhyun snaps, and for a second, Chanyeol forgets that he has to keep his eyes off Baekhyun. The suddenly angry tone surprises him so much that Chanyeol just can't help but glance at the brunet. 

Baekhyun is frowning at him, his fist clenched around the blanket. "You said that you want to me, so why are you not taking the chance? Isn't a one night stand what you wanted?"

"No," Chanyeol says, bringing his hands up in surrender, the frustrated look on Baekhyun's face making him wary of the brunet. ", yes, actually. But-no... This isn't right."

"What's ing wrong with you?!" Baekhyun yells, and is it Chanyeol's imagination, or are Baekhyun's eyes more glassy than before? "Have you finally realized that I'm not worth it or-"

"No!" this time Chanyeol means it. He doesn't even understand where this thought came from - of course Baekhyun is worth it. And what with the finally realized part? Was Baekhyun awaiting the moment Chanyeol gets fed up and leave or what? 

"Then why?" it's the same tone from before, Chanyeol recognizes. When Baekhyun said that he's not interesting, not believing Chanyeol, he used the exact same tone. Desperate and sad. This, in front of him, is the vulnerable Baekhyun from before with all his walls down. And it's Chanyeol who made him like this again. He hates himself for it. 

When Chanyeol doesn't answer and just stares at the male on the bed, Baekhyun adds in a quiet, almost inaudible and shaky voice, "Am I not good enough?"

The silence stretches between them, Baekhyun waiting for an answer that's probably never going to come, since Chanyeol is unable to form sentences, his brain shut down. The only thing Chanyeol can think about is from why Baekhyun's having these kind of thoughts. Did someone say it to him? Why does Baekhyun believe it when it's far from the truth? 

"Whatever," Baekhyun mumbles after a while, chuckling humorlessly as he slips under the covers, not caring that he's half and that it's more than cold here. He doesn't spare Chanyeol another glance before turning his back at him and curling into a ball. "Go away."

"Baekhyun-"

"Don't," Chanyeol's heart breaks into million pieces when he hears Baekhyun's voice breaking at the word, his voice the combination of sadness and desperateness. He wants to reach out and assure the brunet that his silence didn't mean that Chanyeol thinks he's not worth it or not good enough, but the moment he takes a step toward the bed, Baekhyun chokes out, "Just go, please."

And Chanyeol listens because he can't do anything about it if Baekhyun wants him gone, pleading him to go. Picking his coat from the floor, Chanyeol starts walking toward the door, but before he leaves the bedroom, Chanyeol stops at the doorstep and looks at Baekhyun's curled up form one last time. "You're more than good enough." Chanyeol is sure that Baekhyun doesn't even hear him, but he needed to say it. 

"Goodnight, Baekhyun," Chanyeol whispers in the silence of the room and closes the door behind himself quietly.