Baekhyun swears Chanyeol had some sort of power. He didn't think he would be the type who insisted on spending hours cruising along stores to buy couple items. He could tell for a fact that a certain giant was the cause of that, it had to be. Chanyeol loved being cheesy and sweet with Baekhyun (as if he wasn't already like that before they were a couple), and Baekhyun just so happened to be good at being cute and outsmarting people- especially Chanyeol when it came to showing him who was 'the sweeter boyfriend.' 

Undoubtedly, they were not so discreetly contesting with one another. Baekhyun didn't want to lose to Chanyeol who was winning from the beginning without even realizing it. Which was what lead to the two cuddled up in each other's embrace on the couch one evening, watching a movie together and dressed in matching furry onesies, chosen by Baekhyun himself. It was a start, but he was taking it in baby steps. And it sure as hell was working, judging by the way Chanyeol was grinning and had the smaller canoodled in his arms. 

No one else knew. They hadn't spoken to each other about the matter of telling their friends, but Baekhyun and Chanyeol just mutually knew that it was the least of their worries. 

Baekhyun was confident that it would be at least a month or so until anyone suspected anything between them whenever the rest of the group were around, whether that be at their usual practice sessions or just hanging out together. Chanyeol and Baekhyun made sure that they didn't spend too much time with the other members either, knowing that It could be too risky. That was mainly because even though things were running smoothly for a few days or so, it didn't stay that way. Baekhyun started to notice a change. It was a subtle change, but definitely recognizable.

Chanyeol had started taking a liking to PDA, quite a lot actually. Nothing over the top, mind you, but just enough to leave the brunette totally flustered and blushing from ear to ear in the most untimeliest of situations. At first, it took a bit of time to adjust to. Though when he eventually warmed up to it, Chanyeol seized the opportunity and used it to his advantage. Knowing him, it didn't come off as unexpected at all. The guy is one giant, lovable, cuddle bear after all. Not that Baekhyun was complaining, of course.

It was the little gestures like reaching out and taking Baekhyun's hand when they walked or crossed roads, or giving small pecks to his cheeks that had the vocalist smiling like crazy because Chanyeol was really too sweet at times like these. As much as he wasn't against any of it, Baekhyun had cautioned Chanyeol about his tendencies and toning it down a bit when they were around the other members, but every time Chanyeol agreed he just ended up initiating more of it the next instance. Chanyeol was too weak-willed to put his words into action. Either that or Baekhyun was certain that he was deliberately defying his requests because Chanyeol liked pushing his buttons.  

Nonetheless, Baekhyun was wrong about his little prediction. It didn't take a month for their friends to catch on. It took a week. 

It happened when the group were all out for lunch after practice one day and some of them had gone to take a leak or whatever. Chanyeol really didn't think anyone would see him and his small boyfriend because in all fairness, they were sitting at the very back of the restaurant and the only people left at the table was grandpa Junmyeon, Tao and Kyungsoo- all of whom were either too occupied with cracking ty jokes that no one was listening to, checking out their appearance in a compact mirror or reading the menu.  

Chanyeol smiled to himself after getting the green light from his surroundings and proceeded to hide his and Baekhyun's faces with the menu they were looking at (but were no longer interested in). Baekhyun looked up, facing Chanyeol when a small shadow crossed over him. He was about to open his mouth to speak but the taller male beat him to it. He gingerly held the brunette's chin, tipping his head back before leaning in and pressing a chaste kiss to Baekhyun's awaiting lips, pulling back with his contagiously bright trademark smile.

The brunette gaped in awe, flabbergasted at the action because what was this giant oaf doing, smooching Baekhyun in broad daylight when they were in the company of the other members? This had to be the boldest move Park Chanyeol had ever pulled on him. And he thought the giant would actually agree to 'tone it down.' As if. 

Normally Baekhyun wouldn't have been so taken aback. Hell, he wouldn't have minded one bit if the kiss lingered for a bit longer. But that thought was shattered as soon as the couple were disturbed by a fake cough from behind. And that is how Exo came to discover Chanyeol and Baekhyun's not-so-well-hidden relationship. 

"My my, this is a first," Kai disrupted the silence obnoxiously and Baekhyun could practically feel the smirk oozing out of his voice as he spoke. Chanyeol faced his friends slowly, a lopsided smile on his face as he put the menu down. Not so surprisingly, Luhan and Sehun were staring at the couple, knowing full well what was going on. "I guess we're busted," Baekhyun mumbled just loud enough for the others to hear.  

"Took you long enough," Chen said flatly. "I didn't know how much longer I could bear to see you two being mushy with each other," he added over dramatically. Baekhyun was fiddling with the hem of his shirt, not quite sure about where to stand as far as being caught red-handed for public kissing was concerned. He had to admit though, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest now that it was out. "I didn't know we had a green-eyed monster in the group," Kyungsoo stated, his eyes not leaving the page of the menu once, causing a few snorts of contemptuous laughter around the table.

Baekhyun cleared his throat, ignoring Chen's attempts at protesting. "How did you know?" He asked no one specifically, slightly puzzled. Unless Luhan or Sehun had told anyone else, because they were the only two who knew, surely no one else could have caught on so easily. Besides from the 'mushy' stuff they apparently did in public sometimes, going by Jongdae's words. "Gee, if Chanyeol learned how to keep his hands to himself and stopped smiling like a goofball every time he saw Baekhyun come out of practice, maybe we wouldn't have known about it so quickly," Xiumin clarified for them. 

Chanyeol felt the tips of his ears flush in embarrassment. Damn their observant friends for figuring it all out. "Plus Sehun told us everything," Kai added carelessly, flicking through his phone and suddenly that all just made much more sense.

All eyes went to the maknae now who was, at that very second, mentally planning Kai's death as he tried to play the whole spreading secret thing off as a joke which didn't end up going his way. "Sehun, how could you? I trusted you with that secret!" cried Luhan. 

"Wait, you told him about this?" Baekhyun asked, appalled that one of his closest friends would trust Oh Sehun, of all people, with such a personal secret. Everyone's eyes were now on Luhan while they tried to figure out what the hell was actually going on. 

Sehun sighed as he looked between Luhan, Baekhyun and then Chanyeol before deciding to intervene. He wasn't just going to sit there and let his boyfriend get the heat for something he obviously did. "Hold on a minute here," he declared, effectively grabbing the attention of everyone else. "If it makes you feel any better I wanted him to tell me, okay? It's my fault. Blame me for telling everyone you liked Chanyeol before Chanyeol knew himself," he lied, a discreet nudge to his boyfriend's knee under the table telling Luhan to take the hint and play along. 

"But then how did you know Luhan was keeping this secret in the first place?" Baekhyun asked, equally as puzzled as the other members. Luhan gulped, going along with Sehun's generous plan as he tried to think of something on the spot. "Well, you see, I--"

"I just picked up on it, I guess," Sehun shrugged. "Lu used any excuses he could get to bring up your feelings for Chanyeol, and vice versa. It all felt a bit like a soap opera actually," the blonde snickers to himself and Luhan rolled his eyes. "So anyway, I pieced everything together and knew that Luhan knew something that I didn't," Sehun replied, mentally giving himself a well-deserved pat on the back for graciously saving Luhan's . "And so you made him tell you what he was hiding?" Chanyeol, who had been quietly listening until now, asked the younger. "More like I begged him to spill it out, you get the picture," Sehun added for emphasis. 

Baekhyun took everything in, chewing his lower lip before he flashed an apologetic smile in Luhan's way. "Sorry, for blaming you. It's Sehun I should really be mad at," he said, slightly glaring at the blonde. "You didn't have to cover up for him, Luhan." The honey blonde laughed awkwardly, scratching his head lightly as he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Sehun just saved a friendship. 

"Well, why does it matter if he told us anyway? We were all bound to find out sooner or later even if he didn't," Kyungsoo offered, and Baekhyun even knew there was no denying that. "Come on let's just forget about this thing, now that we all know who is dating who. Let's order some food. It's on me," Suho announced cheerfully, thankfully changing the subject.

The leader decided to order a round of drinks, insisting that they all toast to the new couple and everyone seemed to be on board. Baekhyun, who was still banned from