(I decided to update chapter one cuz I already had it and I love you guys)

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PART ONE
"I R E G R E T Y O U"
I : I

It wasn't normal that Baekhyun was out shopping—grocery shopping—on a Saturday, but what could he say?

His older brother, who usually did the shopping, was gone for a month, which left only him and his parents.

The only thing left in their kitchen was old ramen packets, and Baekhyun wasn't going to risk breaking out just because they didn't go grocery shopping. And it wasn't like they were some poor, broke family... They were quite the opposite.

So, naturally, he stole his mom's money and made a list of what to buy.

He entered the store and grabbed a basket, walking past the initial area with the sales containing cookies and other stuff that people liked to eat these days, ignoring the stares that he got from other people.

Baekhyun took the crumpled paper out of his pocket, unfolding it and squinting at his writing.

The first thing that he could make out was tomatoes (it was 7 AM when he was writing this, okay?) and he made his way to the fresh foods, looking desperately for his needed groceries.

"What the hell?" Baekhyun asked himself when he couldn't find the tomatoes, "Where are the signs?"

He stood there staring blankly at the vegetable area, questioning why they couldn't make huge signs for every item in their store.

The people originally staring at him had obviously noticed that he had no idea what he was doing, yet no one was brave enough to approach him and help him.

Finally, Baekhyun decided to seek help, walking up to a nice looking girl.

"Hey," Baekhyun greeted. She was immediately red, and Baekhyun wondered if he had mistaken tomatoes for a girl, or if she was just seriously overheating.

"Hi!" she replied in a squeak and Baekhyun raised an eyebrow.

"Can you tell me where the—"

"I don't want your number!" she exclaimed and basically ran away.

Baekhyun didn't know if he should be offended that someone had brushed him off, or laughing because someone thought he was hitting on them.

He shook his head and decided that no one could help him but himself, combing through the lanes one more time and internally groaning when he couldn't find the damn tomatoes.

"What are you looking for?" a voice suddenly asked, and Baekhyun turned to the sound, feeling immediately grateful.

That is, until he saw who it was.

"Chanyeol," Baekhyun said, clearly surprised.

He grinned at Baekhyun and the shorter gave the other a once-over, having to hold back his laugh.

In Walmart's blue worker clothes, Chanyeol looked absolutely ridiculous. With the thought of Chanyeol being on one of those billboards with some tacky sentence saying "Us helpers are here to help you," Baekhyun couldn't help being amused.

"You work here?" Baekhyun asked, trying not to make anything awkward.

"Yeah, I've been working here for two years already. How come I've never seen you here?"

Baekhyun laughed, trying to seem casual when he was actually a little embarrassed. "This is actually one of the first—well, the first time I've gone grocery shopping."

Chanyeol's eyes widened and Baekhyun was tempted to turn and leave, because it wasn't his fault that he only ever shopped for clothes and other necessities.

"Then I guess..." Chanyeol trailed off, gesturing to the crumpled list in Baekhyun's hand, "You want some help with that stuff?"

Baekhyun nodded, seeming more eager than he anticipated, and he pursed his lips as he prayed that Chanyeol didn't notice that childish action.

It was weird, because around Chanyeol, he should never be embarrassed. The kid himself was an embarrassment, so why should Baekhyun feel a little dumb for never going grocery shopping?

Chanyeol lead Baekhyun through the aisles, pointing to stuff and telling him what categories they're placed in.

"And, the first thing on your list, tomatoes, is over there." He pointed to a spot and Baekhyun turned, his jaw nearly dropping when he noticed that it was in plain sight.

Chanyeol laughed and Baekhyun found himself losing his mind when the sound wasn't anything like Jongdae explained it: "he sounds like Shrek, I tell you!"

It was actually a pleasant sound, although it was a little too loud and he looked even worse when he laughed, Baekhyun found himself not nearly as bothered as he expected to be.

"And next, you need... baby crackers?" Chanyeol questioned and Baekhyun immediately took the list out of his hands, clearing his throat and already trying to forget that this ever happened.

"Yeah, I guess..."

"Do you have a little brother or sister?" Chanyeol asked, assuming something other than the truth.

Baekhyun laughed nervously as Chanyeol made his way to the baby's section, walking past the various jars of food and hangers filled with clothes.

"No, I just..." Baekhyun trailed off, wondering if he should reveal his biggest secret to someone he barely even knew. After a couple of seconds he decided, it, it wasn't like Chanyeol was going to judge him or anything. "I like eating baby crackers as a snack."

Chanyeol made a choking noise—Baekhyun guessed that he was trying to hold back his laughter—and in the next second he burst out laughing, having to stop in the middle of the aisle.

Baekhyun smacked him and hissed, "Stop, you're causing a scene!"

Which wasn't entirely true, because there weren't many people at the store yet, and next to none of them were in the baby section.

"You're being unprofessional," Baekhyun pointed out, not entirely caring for Chanyeol's job but using that as an excuse to stop being made fun of.

"Sorry, sorry... It's just funny how you seemed all nervous about it."

"Well people usually find it weird," Baekhyun grumbled, crossing his arms as well as he could with the basket still in his hold.

"I mean, I own three ferrets. What could be so weird about you eating baby crackers?"

Baekhyun's lip twitched into a smile at this, and he nodded. "You have a point."

"Hey, do you maybe, want to get coffee sometime?" Chanyeol suddenly asked, and Baekhyun's throat went dry, the tables turning quicker than Kyungsoo whenever he was running away from Jongin.

"What? Coffee? Like... how about tomorrow?" Baekhyun suggested, and he wanted to immediately stab himself.

He hadn't expected Chanyeol to be the one asking for a date. He himself was supposed to ask, because that was a part of the entire "experience" thing, but Baekhyun figured he could chalk this up as experience of being asked out.

Chanyeol smiled brightly and his eyes twinkled, thus making Baekhyun's mind blank when Chanyeol replied with, "Sure, where to?"

"Target?"

, totally uncool, Baekhyun.

The other laughed at this and Baekhyun wondered how he was starting to like the sound.

Baekhyun smiled sheepishly and Chanyeol suggested an actual café, making some offhanded joke about how he didn't exactly feel like eating or drinking clothes—and yup, cue the embarrassed blush.

Dating wasn't as easy as it seemed.

~

"Hey Baekbeom, I'm going on a date tomorrow," Baekhyun spoke into the phone, and he heard a surprised gasp from his brother. He laughed as he turned off his room's light, jumping into his bed.

"Seriously? And here I thought you'd be single forever," his brother replied, and Baekhyun scowled. "I mean, realistically, you never would've gotten Sehun."

The younger snuggled into his blankets with a frown on his face, objecting to Baekbeom's words.

"That's mean. And well, I'm going on a date with a nerd."

"Ah, figures. Only people like that would accept you."

"Gosh, shut up. I'm only dating this person for dating experience, so I can be perfect for my true partner," Baekhyun stated, sighing dreamily as he wondered what it would be like to properly date Sehun, or some super hot dude that he met coincidentally.

"Wait... what? You don't actually like this person?" Baekbeom asked confusedly and Baekhyun confirmed his thoughts. "What? Baekhyun... you're going to break this person's heart."

"Do you think I care? Baekbeom, he only cares about his ferrets or whatever. I'm sure he doesn't even like me either. He's only dating me because I'm popular."

"This is going to bite you in the , and there's going to be no one who cares for you at that time."

"This, is going to work. And I don't give a damn if Chanyeol ends up hating me. I don't really care about his opinion." Baekhyun laid on his back and stared at his empty ceiling, thinking about Baekbeom's words.

Sure, there was some truth in them, but Baekhyun was never one to admit fault and when he starts something, he doesn't stop.

Baekbeom was silent on the other side of the line, before he sighed exasperatedly. "I mean, sure... do whatever you want. Just try not to break this Chanyeol person's heart terribly, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Goodnight."

Baekhyun hung up and plugged his phone into his charger, landing back in his bed with a huff.

To be honest, he couldn't see this relationship with Chanyeol ending well, and all he could foresee is a terrible date tomorrow... because well, Chanyeol may be a little fun, but he was still a nobody. He's probably never dated anybody, and he probably has no clue what a date even means—he probably asked Baekhyun out as friends.

But it was okay.

Baekhyun had the situation handled.

Chanyeol was only dating Baekhyun because he was popular—that's how it always is; in movies, in books, in real life.

There was no way that he actually felt something for him.

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