hey guess which s back... me

PART TWO
"I W A N T Y O U"
II : XIII

"How's work going?" Chanyeol asked as his arm wound around Baekhyun's waist, the two of them facing the washroom's wide mirror. Baekhyun leaned his head lightly on Chanyeol's shoulder as he continued to brush his teeth, shrugging instead of answering verbally—not that he could, without making a mess.

Ever since their little romp in the sheets (or, out of the sheets), nothing had particularly changed in the physical aspect of their relationship—but there was no denying that the was high in the air.

Chanyeol leaned his head down so that he could nip on Baekhyun's ear, determined to mess with the shorter because he was taking so long (Chanyeol was frankly impatient in the mornings). And in a hushed tone, his breath fanning on Baekhyun's ear, Chanyeol said: "If you hurry, we could go shopping for those toys that you liked so much."

Baekhyun coughed so abruptly that he swore some toothpaste went up his nose, doubling over as he spit the blue substance into the sink, coughing up his lungs.

"Holy , Baek," Chanyeol said in between laughter, patting his boyfriend on the back as if he was throwing up after inhaling alcohol; something vastly different from what he was doing now. "I was just talking about those toys you wanted to get for Mongryong last time."

After rinsing his mouth with water and wiping his lips on the back of his hand, Baekhyun glared at Chanyeol through the mirror, washing his hands.

"One day, Karma will bite you in the ," Baekhyun announced and Chanyeol grinned, grabbing Baekhyun's arm and dragging him out of the washroom when he had turned off the tap.

"I hope Karma is you—" Baekhyun turned beet red, "—Now hurry up so that we can go," the taller finished as he shoved Baekhyun's clothes into his arms, having chosen the shorter's wardrobe earlier when he was waiting for the brunet to finish cleaning his face.

Baekhyun grumbled under his breath, turning his back to Chanyeol as he stripped his shirt off, pulling on the sweatshirt Chanyeol had chosen for him and smiling a little when he recognized that it was the one Chanyeol had said was his "favourite". Really, there was nothing special with the piece of clothing, it was turquoise with white bunnies placed on it, but Chanyeol said that it made him look really cute so who was he to complain?

"Where are you planning to go?" the shorter asked as he struggled to pull up some skinny jeans, buttoning them before turning back to Chanyeol, who—Baekhyun swore—was staring at his . "My eyes are up here," he grinned, biting his lip when Chanyeol smirked.

"Well," the taller began, answering the earlier question, "I was planning to take a walk near the river but now that I think about it, I could be doing much better things." He stood up from his perch on the edge of his bed, walking up to Baekhyun and towering over him for a maximum of two seconds before he was taking Baekhyun's face in his hands, his lips pressed over the shorter's in no time.

Baekhyun's hand rested on the back of Chanyeol's neck, their lips separating as he brushed his nose against Chanyeol's jaw, taking in the mixture of his aftershave and the dab of cologne that he had yet to find the name of. "I swear, you picked out my clothes just so that you could take them off."

"Damn right."

Baekhyun smiled against his skin, pressing an affectionate kiss under his ear before he was suddenly being hauled off of the floor, his back making contact with the bed in the next second. Chanyeol was on top of him before he could even sit up to stare at him, connecting their lips again.

"Let's not do it yet," Chanyeol said in between his kisses and Baekhyun nodded, humming when Chanyeol trailed kisses down his neck. "'Doesn't mean we're not going to have fun though."

"Definitely not."

~

Baekhyun tilted his head back, resting it on the edges of his bathtub as he let out a deep sigh, the smell of lavender bubbles and vanilla candles filling his senses.

He didn't feel like going out to Wendy's party tomorrow, but after consulting Luhan about it, there was no way he wouldn't go. The guy was scary when he wanted to be.

He wondered if Kyungsoo would be there, and if he'd bring Jongin along with him. Baekhyun was both terrified and anticipating for that to happen. He wanted to properly apologize to Jongin, but he wondered if the man would ever allow him to do it.

The brunet sank lower into the water, letting it rest just under his nose as he closed his eyes for a brief moment, his mind flitting over to Kim Jongdae in the next second. He wondered how Jongdae had gotten there; what had changed the route of his journey so drastically. Was it simply because he hadn't gotten good enough grades? Did he not try hard enough? Or was it because something or someone closed that route off for him?

Baekhyun suddenly felt a little guilty, realizing how much he was taking his life for granted. Sure, he didn't have his dream job, but at least he had somewhere incredible to stay and great food to eat whenever he wanted.

Baekhyun had always looked at his life without any gratefulness—or perhaps it wasn't necessarily his fault, but rather, it was simply the fact that all humans weren't grateful. They could have everything they needed yet still want more. They could have everything they wanted but still want more. Baekhyun guessed that it would just continue that way, with people absorbed into their greed and repeating the cycle over and over again—something that he admitted to doing himself.

It's impossible to be selfless, Baekhyun had decided that a long time ago. There would always be one way or another for someone to be selfish, whether it be for the sake of others or for the sake of themselves. It didn't matter, because the bottom line was that they'd be pushing something away for another. Nobody could have everything.

Sometimes, he wondered if he was being selfish for taking Chanyeol back when the taller could be with someone else. He didn't think he deserved this kind of luxury after all of the things he had done—all of the people he had hurt. All he really thought he deserved was a place to stay and necessities to keep him alive, whereas the rest should've been given to someone else.

Yet, even with those thoughts, he took what he could anyway because he acknowledged that he was an incredibly selfish person, and although he should not indulge in that fact, he knew he'd never escape it.

Baekhyun bit his lip as a memory just after high school resurfaced, hugging his knees closer to himself and allowing the water to go up over his shut eyes. He stayed under the surface for a few moments, listening to the ominous, muddled noise of water slipping through the drain that didn't exactly fit the stop he had purchased. It was calming to be underwater, yet a little scary when he truly thought about it.

Baekhyun resurfaced when his lungs began burning, deciding that he would finish his bath before he started to prune. He drained the bath and had a short rinse, making sure that none of the soap from his bath was still on him. Stepping out of his bath and onto his soft mat, he grabbed his towel and began drying himself efficiently. After assaulting his hair with a smaller towel, he dressed in his usual sleep clothes and stared at his reflection in the mirror.

Though the room was dim, the candles were just bright enough to show the shadows on Baekhyun's face, reminding him of every deed that followed behind him like a curse, flickering in his mind akin to the flame illuminating the room.

He was ready to forget all about what he had done, but that wasn't his call to make. He knew that it would stick close to him like a parasite until it was replaced by something worse or he died along with it.

Baekhyun leaned down and blew out the first two candles, the lone one working so hard in stead of the three, but it was evident that it wasn't working for the corners of Baekhyun's bathroom were already dark. With one last exhale, the room turned dark and Baekhyun could no longer see his reflection.

Maybe this was where Baekhyun belonged: in the dark alone.

Jongin and Chanyeol weren't the only people he had hurt.

~

"Baekhyun, Chanyeol! So glad you could make it," Wendy said, as more of a joke than anything else.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes as he slipped off his shoes, placing them neatly on the mat and doing the same to Baekhyun's (which were carelessly tossed in opposite directions).

"The hell is this party for, again?" Chanyeol asked as he stepped further inside of the girl's penthouse, staring at everything in appreciation. There was music in the background, some of the hits this month, and the people already here were chatting to each other friendlily.

"Can't I just have a party sometimes? When I have a crazy beautiful place, I gotta use it for something."

Chanyeol clucked his tongue and watched as Baekhyun roamed the place with Luhan. "Fair point."

To be blunt, Wendy's place was amazing. Chanyeol was in awe the entire time, but he tried not to show it or else Wendy would take that as the taller wanting to go over to her house to party more—which was not the case.

He noticed that there were multiple people that he didn't know, including this one emo looking kid sitting beside Kris who was already drinking from Wendy's wine stash.

"Oh, and we have no beer because wine drunk is better than all drunk!" Wendy yelled, over exaggerating things to the point where it seemed like some college party. The strangers all cheered, Chanyeol doing nothing but following Baekhyun and Luhan where they were currently experimenting with Wendy's hair dryer. He'd rather spend the entire evening with Baekhyun, cuddled up on the couch.

"Eight different choices? How many different ways can you dry hair..?" Luhan questioned as he clicked on random buttons, the two of them standing in the doorway of Wendy's washroom.

"At least thirteen, from what I've experienced," Baekhyun mumbled, grabbing the machine and fiddling with it.

Chanyeol wrapped an arm around his boyfriend's shoulder, amused that Baekhyun didn't even so much as flinch. He remembered when he first did that, Baekhyun nearly jumped out of his pants.

The taller began teasing Baekhyun, pressing slow kisses onto the side of his neck, Luhan's presence completely ignored (the guy couldn't even see what was going on anyway, being on the opposite side of Baekhyun and too focused on the machine).

Just as Chanyeol poked his tongue out to Baekhyun's neck, he felt a strong blast of hot air hit his face, shocking him so much that he nearly stumbled backward, yelping.

"Whoops, sorry," Baekhyun said unapologetically, "I just felt like my neck was wet or something. Needed to dry it."

Luhan glanced at the exchange weirdly while Chanyeol recovered, pouting soon after because he felt offended that Baekhyun would use a hair dryer to ward him off. Baekhyun couldn't hold back the small smile on his lips, trying to hold back his laughter from Chanyeol's reaction.

The shorter glanced back at the hair-dryer, promptly ignoring Chanyeol just to get him back for teasing him all of the time. Really, Baekhyun was sure that they were at 300-02 now. It wasn't fair how much Chanyeol messed with him (and he was good at it, too).

Luhan, having finally realized what had happened and why Chanyeol appeared out of the blue only to suspiciously lean down beside Baekhyun, scrunched his nose and told the two that he would go hang out with some of his friends that weren't  all of the time. Baekhyun denied those words when Luhan began to leave, but his complaints fell on deaf ears and he was left with a sulking Chanyeol and a complicating hair dryer.

"You could have burned my eyes out," Chanyeol said, his tone giving Baekhyun an image of a kicked puppy.

Baekhyun sighed and placed the hair dryer back onto the counter he found it on, turning to Chanyeol. He could never resist him for long, and mostly when they were alone together. "I made sure not to make it that bad..." Baekhyun said, deciding to wrap his arms around Chanyeol's neck while lightly hanging off as he grinned. "Forgive me?" he suggested, batting his eyelashes.

Chanyeol pushed his bottom lip out another fraction before he eventually leaned in and pressed a kiss onto Baekhyun's mouth. "Fine."

Baekhyun chuckled and pulled Chanyeol close, having to stand on his tip-toes to properly hug him, swaying both of them a little. Chanyeol wrapped his own arms around Baekhyun's waist, giving him a tight hug that reminded Baekhyun of the earlier moments spent in Chanyeol's kitchen.

The shorter sighed wistfully this time, feeling much warmer with Chanyeol's arms around him. Wendy didn't seem like she liked the warm, or she assumed that the amount of people in her penthouse would make up for the lack of heater. "You're like my personal heater," Baekhyun mumbled, the taller catching it and laughing fondly.

"Are you guys done? Or will I have to use the washroom in the lobby?" someone suddenly interrupted and the two separated, facing a beautiful girl. "I'm Irene if you're wondering. Wendy's friend. Nice to meet you two."

She briskly walked past them, basically kicking them out as she closed the washroom door right on their noses.

Baekhyun chuckled under his breath when Chanyeol grumbled something about the moment being ruined, the brunet retorting with the fact that they could have moments like these anytime that they wanted.

"Maybe it's a good thing that we decided to go to this party," Baekhyun said, smiling as Chanyeol grabbed his hand, slowly leading the two of them out of the hallway and into the living room.

Although Chanyeol would rather be spending his afternoon with Baekhyun, he couldn't deny that he'd have fun at this party—if it wasn't that same day, where he was tired and wanted nothing more but to cuddle. Wendy's party couldn't be compared to one at a club, nor at a birthday party. It was somewhere in between, the wine making everyone speak louder even when they had no need to, the lights a little dimmer than normal.

"I haven't partied with strangers in a while. I never really went to clubs... after that incident," Baekhyun confessed and Chanyeol nodded in understanding, the two of them going over to the kitchen counter that held all of the goods (wine, cheese, and grapes). "But I think I can let myself go today. After all, you're here, and well, you saved me last time. So I'm putting that same responsibility in your hands," he smiled cheekily and Chanyeol laughed, watching as Baekhyun poured a drink for himself.

Chanyeol denied the drink that Baekhyun offered, not in the mood for getting drunk—and Baekhyun had a point. He didn't know everyone in the room, which meant he couldn't trust all of them even if they were Wendy's friends. He didn't want a repetition of what had happened years ago.

Baekhyun definitely let himself go—maybe a little too much, because an hour in, his lips were as red as the wine and his cheeks were not any better, hiccuping through his words when he introduced himself messily to people who were drunk but not drunk enough to not realize that Baekhyun was really drunk.

Chanyeol watched Baekhyun's little escapades with a smile on his face, his seated on a couch where he could watch whatever his boyfriend was doing, occasionally straying to see what Wendy, Kris, and Kyungsoo were doing. Kris had went into a room with the emo kid and Wendy was laughing loudly with a group of girls, the shortest in the room talking to Jongin and making friendly talk with people who couldn't care less (no offense, but they were probably drunk).

He probably seemed like a party pooper, but Chanyeol was having enough fun just observing the scene in front of him, glad that the people weren't savage enough to make out in the middle of the room. Watching Baekhyun was extremely amusing, and Chanyeol briefly wondered if he could make a show named exactly that and gain millions from it.

Baekhyun leaned on people when he talked; he randomly grabbed their hands to say something that Chanyeol couldn't catch; he even went as far as kissing this one girl on the cheek—but it was all okay, because around three hours into the party, Baekhyun came stumbling over to Chanyeol. Without any prompting, he straddled Chanyeol and mumbled something about being tired, leaning into the taller and turning his head to lay it on Chanyeol's shoulder, his hair tickling the giant's neck. Chanyeol had only wrapped his arms around Baekhyun's waist, knowing Baekhyun's body enough to realize that the boy went to sleep the moment he got comfortable. It seemed that even with alcohol, Baekhyun returned to Chanyeol.

It was a comforting thought, and Chanyeol just sat there for the rest of the party, nonintentionally—but probably intentionally—inhaling the scent of Baekhyun's apple shampoo, hidden underneath a few layers of perfume and sweat that he had gotten from other people.

Chanyeol was rubbing small circles into Baekhyun's back and really, it was incredibly cute how Baekhyun sighed happily in his sleep, his head eventually turning to rest in the crook of Chanyeol's neck. The weight of Baekhyun was comforting, and Chanyeol felt as if he could fall asleep too, but soldiered through the feeling because of the fact that when he stopped his hands, Baekhyun would shift (which was, in itself, a protest).

Wendy, being the blessing angel that she was—and becoming a little bored of her friends' drunk talk—decided to stop the party when she saw how long Chanyeol just sat on the couch with Baekhyun on top of him.

It was around 12:30 when she got most of the people out, telling them to save their lives and take the elevator down.

By then, Chanyeol had set Baekhyun down on the couch, allowing him to curl up on his side as he helped Wendy clean up the minor mess.

"I'm gonna go check that everyone made it down fine, I hope I don't come back to see you and Baek doing crap on my couch," she said, warning more than hoping. Chanyeol laughed and watched her walk out, moving over to the washroom to splash some water on his face.

When he made it to the small hallway, he saw the lights on in a room, the door cracked open a smidge. That's when he remembered that Kris and the other dude had stepped into this room earlier, grimacing when he thought of what they could be doing. Knowing that Wendy would want them out, he approached the room and stopped in front of the door, listening to make sure he wouldn't walk into something that would scar him for life. The only thing he heard was talking, and he never meant to listen to their conversation, but it was hard not to.

"And... he..." the stranger was saying, the taller only knowing because it didn't sound like Kris' voice. He peeked in and saw their backs facing the door, the two of them sitting at a desk. There were discarded glasses of wine next to them, nearly empty and forgotten, but the two seemed sober enough to hold a proper conversation, their voices unwavering. With his new placement, he could hear them clearer, the words now fully forming sentences. "He's an ; that guy. He didn't even recognize me when we met again."

Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows, focusing harder so that none of the stranger's words were drowned out.

"He's like that. He seems sweet one moment and the next, he's ing up your life and turning everyone's backs on you. You should be glad that you broke up with him."

"Tao... he didn't seem that bad... from what I saw," Kris piped up but was quickly cut off.

"Yeah, because you've only seen a little. I bet he's going to break your boss' heart or whatever. Probably cheating on him already. Did you know they dated back in high school?"

"Seriously?"

"If that dude is seriously Park Chanyeol, then yes. But Baekhyun broke up with him because he was unpopular, poor and unattractive. ing shallow." Tao grabbed the cup of wine and downed the rest, setting it down with a sigh. "And now that this Chanyeol guy has his own business and looks like he was taken out of a magazine, Baekhyun wants him back... You see it now?"

"I... um... Wow," Kris said, a little taken aback that this was what was the "truth" all along.

"Exactly. The nerve of that guy, I swear. Back in the day, he was complaining about how he had to date that nerd, and now he's falling at his feet. If it isn't obvious that he's a gold digger, then I don't know what is."

"I didn't really see him that way... he seemed pretty dedicated to someone," Kris mentioned, and Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what he was on about. "He said he was only dating me as a distraction or something."

"Well , Baekhyun's even sicker than I thought. He probably wondered if he could mess with Chanyeol a second time to find some amusement while waiting for a guy like Sehun to sweep him off his feet."

Kris didn't acknowledge Sehun's name but Chanyeol certainly did, the memories only coming back and stabbing him multiple times in the heart, reminding him that Baekhyun had done exactly what Tao had said.

The silence was the only thing that filled the room next, leaving the space just as empty as the one growing in Chanyeol's heart. The giant stumbled away from the door when he stayed there for too long, making his way back to the living room before any of them could notice that he was listening in.

Chanyeol couldn't believe what he had heard, but at the same time, he felt as if he should've expected this.

All this time he thought that he was overreacting, but now, not only Wendy thought something was off, but even this Tao guy saw something weird.

It was suspicious.

It was always there in the back of his mind. Why did Baekhyun break up with him only to take him back years later?

The answer always pointed to the fact that it was revealed that he wasn't actually poor, and that with a few changes to his appearance, he could look very handsome.

Chanyeol leaned against the wall closest to him, all of the insecurities regarding their relationship tumbling into his mind. He had been trying hard to forge on and fight those thoughts, but now that his worries had been so obviously placed in the open—and by some damn stranger too—they attacked him without mercy.

If Baekhyun was really only in it for Chanyeol's looks and his income, then why the hell should they have bothered at all? Why did Chanyeol try so hard to start up a relationship with him again?

He ran his hands through his hair, cursing himself for following his heart—which still had feelings for Baekhyun after all of this—and wondered why he hadn't just ignored Baekhyun all those months ago.

The guy had tossed him away like a piece of trash, what was Chanyeol thinking when he suggested that they try again?

He shouldn't have believed that it would work.

He hadn't even noticed that Wendy was back, staring at Chanyeol with furrowed eyebrows when he noticed how distraught he looked, standing on the opposite side of the room from Baekhyun.

"Are you alright—"

"I need some air," he spoke up quickly, pushing off the wall, "Thanks for the party, I think I'll leave now," Chanyeol said in a jumble of words, brushing past Wendy and to the door.

As he was slipping on his shoes, Wendy spoke up. "But what about your boyfriend?"

It wasn't like Chanyeol to so carelessly leave Baekhyun back here, sleeping on the couch. Wendy stared, waiting as Chanyeol paused, as if contemplating something before turning back around. He picked up Baekhyun's shoes before going over and picking up the owner with ease, feeling his heart clench at the way Baekhyun pushed into his warmth. His best friend watched the entire scene with an expressionless face, all the way to the point that he was out of her place, wondering what had happened.

Chanyeol went down one floor, finding Baekhyun's room and pressing the combination in with a little bit of difficulty. The door swung open and he efficiently made his way over to Baekhyun's bedroom, having already memorized the place by heart. He set Baekhyun down on the bed and left his shoes on the floor, draping a blanket over him and turning before anything could convince him to stay back.

He needed a little space from Baekhyun. He didn't know how much space, but this would do, for the night.

Chanyeol willed himself to leave without glancing back at Baekhyun's bundled up figure, gritting his teeth as he pulled on the door's handle, the little click sounding far too loud in the dead of the night.

The next morning, Baekhyun woke up without his personal heater.