PART TWO
"I  W A N T  Y O U"
II : III

Baekhyun's next weeks were mostly uneventful; filled with endless work and isolation, the male was feeling more tired than anything else. He hadn't been out to have fun with Luhan in a while, and he was sure that his credit card was beginning to miss him.

He was cooped up in his apartment all day long and he rarely went out to buy groceries, cursing his father's company for all the business and stocks that he had to review. Though, he couldn't blame anyone but himself. He took the choice of following his parents' careers so he got what he deserved.

Baekhyun groaned as he leaned over his wide desk, setting his head atop of the papers as his mind wandered to other things.

Ever since he and Chanyeol walked to the taller's apartment, they haven't had a proper conversation. Baekhyun's visits to the vending machine were varying from zero times a week to three times, because he'd often sleep in or do the things he had to take care of. But the rare times when Baekhyun saw Chanyeol at the vending machine, they'd greet each other like co-workers before moving on with life, as if they both thought that the other person was just a passing incident.

Baekhyun wondered if Chanyeol was doing this on purpose, or if he really couldn't care less about Baekhyun now that he had moved on.

The latter was understandable, but Baekhyun couldn't help but feel frustrated because he himself hadn't moved on.

He was being dumb—he knew that. It had been ten years, so why was he still thinking of someone he knew for less than five months? He knew that he had to stop, but the hope that he wished to smother was being fed by the appearance of Chanyeol on the mornings he escaped.

It was difficult to forget about someone who lived on in his thoughts and in real life, looking perfect and reminding Baekhyun of what he could've had—if he hadn't acted like a complete idiot.

He sighed and closed his eyes, only meaning to rest his brain for a short while but eventually falling into a deep sleep, exhausted from the work he had.

When Baekhyun woke up, he was surprised to find morning light seeping through his curtains, sitting up and swearing loudly when his back ached horrendously.

He checked the clock on the wall and saw that it was 8:00 in the morning, wondering if he should take his morning jog or leave it like he had been doing these past four days. After nearly falling asleep a second time, Baekhyun decided that he needed a stress break or something that would at least wake him up, standing up from his previous spot.

Baekhyun successfully made his way to his room without dying, stretching the cricks out of his back and grunting as he almost ran into his dresser. He then dressed lazily, patting his hair down before making it to the lobby a few tens of minutes earlier than usual, plopping down into one of the soft couches situated near the vending machines.

He figured that he could sit there for a second—or perhaps until Chanyeol came to buy his drink, and he was surprised to find someone else walking up to the vending machines.

It was a girl's figure, her dirty blond hair tied into a ponytail that escaped her black cap, her pretty fingers tapping her chin as she contemplated on what to get. Baekhyun found the hat on her head familiar but before he could ponder on it any longer, it suddenly disappeared from the top of her head, his gaze following it quickly.

He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Chanyeol's familiar smile, the giant's hands currently holding the hat that he then placed on his own head. Baekhyun noted that he was earlier than he usually was, and he was only more confused about the whole situation.

"How many times have I told you to stop stealing my hats?"

Baekhyun heard the words even from the distance he was at and he subtly scooted closer, trying to hear their conversation.

"Well I'm sorry," the girl said, making up her mind as she punched the digits into the machine. "The sun was getting into my eyes this morning."

"That's what you say every morning," the taller retaliated, making the girl snort as she grabbed her drink.

Baekhyun bit his lip, trying his hardest to figure out what the situation was implying. Judging from their words, this wasn't the first time that they had done something similar.

"Yoora-noona told me that she wanted us to meet her at the café next week. You going?" Chanyeol asked as he nudged her out of the way, buying his own drink without even realizing that Baekhyun was listening in on their conversation.

She answered Chanyeol simply, the pastel-haired man missing the words because of what he was thinking. At first, he thought that the girl could've been Chanyeol's sister, but that obviously wasn't the case.

Maybe they were friends?

Yeah, that's got to be it...

Baekhyun shook his head, soon realizing that the stranger had retreated to the elevator, leaving Chanyeol there with his drink in his hand. He seemed to be waiting for something, and Baekhyun's heart nearly skipped a beat at the thought that maybe he was waiting for him—but probably not. The chances of that were slim.

When Chanyeol's back was still turned, Baekhyun slowly maneuvered himself off of the couch, rounding the room and pretending he had just come from the stairs.

He walked up behind Chanyeol and when the giant heard footsteps, he turned around, giving Baekhyun a smile as he swiftly moved out of the way.

Before Baekhyun could buy the same bottle of water that he got every day, Chanyeol cleared his throat, speaking up.

"Hey, do you want to come over to my place for some drinks? I don't know... to catch up, or something?" he asked, and Baekhyun had to quickly stop himself from seeming 3000% shocked. He expected Chanyeol to treat him like an acquaintance for the rest of his life.

He wracked his brain for anything that he possibly had to do, but seeing as it was Saturday, Baekhyun didn't have to go over to the company building.

Baekhyun grinned, trying to get rid of whatever the awkward atmosphere was and shrugging. "If you're going to make me drink your Gatorade, I will kindly say no."

Chanyeol laughed but it seemed only polite, shaking his head as he began walking, knowing that the smaller would follow him.

"Don't worry, I know a thing or two about drinks."

They arrived at Chanyeol's apartment soon after, the shorter toeing off his shoes and making his way inside with small steps. It didn't seem much different from the layout of Baekhyun's place, a large living room and a small hallway with a room and washroom, obviously a place that Baekhyun wouldn't be exploring anytime soon. The living room he was currently standing in had a little dip in the wall that allowed space for a kitchen, Chanyeol's place seeming more modern and clean than Baekhyun's.

Baekhyun followed Chanyeol, sitting down on one of the island stools when Chanyeol gestured for him to take a seat. The taller began rummaging through his fridge, pulling out things that Baekhyun didn't categorize as drinks.

"We're drinking bacon today, I see," Baekhyun said, a small smile on his face when Chanyeol chuckled, shaking his head without glancing at Baekhyun.

The pastel-haired man propped his elbow up onto the island's surface, resting his chin in his hand as he yawned.

Chanyeol began making what Baekhyun could only guess was breakfast, his gaze settled on the younger's back as he felt exhaustion washing over him. Chanyeol stood in front of the counter opposite to Baekhyun, seeming practiced—graceful, even—as he prepared a batter for pancakes.

It was a strangely calming experience, even if Baekhyun was over at his ex-boyfriend's house. One would expect it to be a mess; with insults and underlying tones flying about (maybe some pots and pans too), but with the soft sound of bacon sizzling on the pan, the view of the giant from behind and the sound of his humming, Baekhyun felt oddly at peace.

Before he knew what he was doing, he felt himself drifting off, having no say in the way that his eyes closed.

Chanyeol, on the other hand, should've been focused on the food that he was making because he had a career in that area after all, but he had been more focused on the person sitting behind him, hearing Baekhyun's yawn around three times.

He didn't know what made him invite Baekhyun over—but maybe it was because of the tense atmosphere that was around them every time they met. Chanyeol didn't want that. He might not have wanted to be friends with Baekhyun, but he certainly wanted to get rid of that awkward feeling lying under the surface, waiting to be addressed and put to rest.

He sighed, realizing that he had been unconsciously humming this entire time, as he placed the scrambled eggs equally onto two plates. That finished his breakfast-making, bacon, eggs and pancakes placed neatly on his two favourite dishes.

He turned around, setting them on the island along with a fork and knife, but he stopped short when he saw what Baekhyun had been up to. He expected the older to be playing on his phone or with his fingers, but he definitely didn't expect to see Baekhyun leaning his cheek in his hand, his eyes closed and his breathing even.

The sight reminded Chanyeol of how Baekhyun used to sleep at his side when he accidentally spent too long studying in the library, the sounds coming from his mouth making Chanyeol smile unconsciously.

Chanyeol's hands formed fists and he shook his head, ridding himself of the thoughts that he knew were pointless now.

He figured that he should talk to Baekhyun about it, even if it was something that he wanted to overlook completely. Problems couldn't disappear overnight.

He grabbed two cups and filled them with orange juice, forgetting whether or not Baekhyun preferred apple, and sat down once he placed them next to both of their dishes.

Chanyeol almost didn't want to wake Baekhyun, staring at the shorter as he too placed his chin on his palm, letting out a deep breath.

Maybe this was also another reason why he had invited Baekhyun over. He'd been noticing the inconsistency of Baekhyun's jogs in the morning when they used to be every single day (yes, he did notice a midget behind him since day one, but he was never curious enough to find out who it was). With that, he also noticed how sometimes the smaller was too tired to even give Chanyeol a believing smile, his movements seeming less strong when Chanyeol would stay out a little longer to watch Baekhyun do a round of the park.

He was in no place to take care of Baekhyun—he was neither his guardian nor his partner in any way, but he couldn't help it. When he remembered how Baekhyun lived his high school life, he felt the need to keep Baekhyun away from troubles.

Maybe his feelings for Baekhyun haven't completely gone, after all.

"Hey," Chanyeol called calmly, being mindful of the cups as he reached over and patted Baekhyun's cheek once.

He was surprised at how fast the shorter woke up, his eyes opening as he blinked wearily twice, seeming a little confused. The giant was further surprised at how Baekhyun sat up like he had been shocked, his posture being corrected as what could only be described as a blush flew across his face.

Chanyeol tried to hold back a smile from the funny display but he failed when Baekhyun cleared his throat, mumbling something that sounded like "let's forget that ever happened".

After a few moments of silence, Baekhyun gestured to his plate, giving Chanyeol a look that said he was confused and apologetic.

"You didn't have to make all of this, really..." he trailed off as he stared at the food, wondering how Chanyeol became a pro at making scrambled eggs.

Chanyeol grinned, recognizing the look of awe on Baekhyun's face and feeling a little proud. "I had the time and ingredients, so why not?"

After that, they lapsed into a conversation about their lives, talking about anything that came to mind one after the other. The two found out that it was still as easy to talk to each other as it had been before, casual smiles slipping on their faces and laughter not having to be forced out.

"When did you decide to become a chef?" Baekhyun asked when he finished his last bit of food, taking the cup of orange juice and taking a sip.

"After high school..." Chanyeol paused, and they both knew that the other was thinking of what had happened in their senior year, but Chanyeol continued nonetheless, "My mom's work really inspired me so I took courses and classes about that. I also learned a little about how to manage a building so that I could take over Viva Polo."

"I know all about that stuff," Baekhyun said with a sigh, "It's honestly really boring. Be glad that you didn't decide to go after a job that forces you to learn everything about management."

Chanyeol gave Baekhyun a smile of sympathy, knowing that Baekhyun was probably not on the road to his dream job, by the looks of it.

What followed was silence, with Chanyeol finishing his food and Baekhyun drinking the orange juice, both of them seemingly lost in thought. Baekhyun didn't know what Chanyeol was thinking of, but he was pondering whether or not to bring up their past. He was worried that maybe Chanyeol wasn't as afraid of where the conversation was going, because the giant seemed casual about most things nowadays.

Baekhyun decided to go for it, setting his cup down. "Chanyeol, about... About what happened—"

Baekhyun didn't know what he was going to say.

What, that he regretted the things that he did and if he could take them back, he would?

What difference would that make?

It's not like it would make a time machine magically appear.

The shorter began realizing that he didn't even know what he wanted from Chanyeol. Was it his friendship? His pardon? Something more?

All he knew was that he didn't want to be remembered as someone that broke Chanyeol's heart—scratch that, this wasn't even about his image anymore.

Over the past years, Baekhyun had come to the conclusion that Chanyeol was right about... everything, really. Perhaps Baekhyun wanted Chanyeol to know that he had been the one in the wrong the entire time, and pushing the taller away had been a mistake that he admitted wholeheartedly.

Baekhyun tried to find the right words to say, wanting to apologize but not knowing how to. He was in a bind, cursing himself because I'm an adult, for god's sake! Shouldn't he know how to sweet talk and twist words to his desire?

Although clearly, Chanyeol was better at confrontation because he spoke up when he realized that Baekhyun had nothing to say.

Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun, the shorter a little surprised at how serious his gaze became.

"Baekhyun, let's forget that 'us' ever happened."

And really, what was he expecting?