In less than a month, the comeback took place, and Baekhyun’s work was finally recognised by the industry. The superiors were happy, EXO were happy, and Baekhyun was happy too. Before he knew it, projects flocked to him like ants flocked to something sweet. He’d even crash into EXO members sometimes, and they’d greet each other, or smiled at each other and bowed. The member he’d see the least, however, was Park Chanyeol. Baekhyun always scanned all directions each time after seeing an EXO member, hoping his ultimate bias was nearby, but in vain. He even asked manager hyung about it, to which he said that Chanyeol had been busy with his movie productions. Baekhyun had pouted when he heard it.

But one day, he got lucky.

Baekhyun was working on concept development and implementation in his office, when a familiar figure seemed to whiz past the blurred glass door. As if like an automated response, he gave up whatever he was doing, got up from his chair, rushed to the door, opened it, and started looking all around. It wasn’t difficult for Baekhyun to spot Chanyeol walk into the washroom, at the end of the corridor. He walked fast on his little feet, stumbling a little on his open shoelace, and stopped in front of the washroom door.

His heart beat like a train. ‘How do I go in unsuspectingly.....wait...why am I so desperate to see him, anyway?’ he thought just as he was about to open the door.

But, when the reality of Chanyeol being an idol struck him, he sighed. What was he thinking, it was impossible for an idol like him to be friends with a mediocre co-worker such as Baekhyun. Baekhyun debated on whether he should walk in, just to have a look at him, or walk away and avoid an awkward confrontation. His shoulders drooping, he withdrew his hand, and walked back, taking slow yet firm steps.

“Baek? Is that you? Long time no see!” The deep voice sounded from behind him. It seemed to shake all of Baekhyun’s existence into a livelier self. ‘He remembers me...?’ a strange feeling filled his chest. He turned around to see an exhausted Chanyeol, and had mixed feelings about seeing Chanyeol that way. 

“Oh, hello, Si-” Baekhyun smiled pretending to ignore the fact that he knew Chanyeol was here all along.

“No, no, no.” Chanyeol cut in, moving his head sideways, “Chan.Yeol. Not ‘Sir’.”

Baekhyun flushed a berry red. “Okay then, Ch-Chanyeol.” This was the second time he had stuttered. “Long time no see.” Baekhyun said fidgeting with his earlobe. Having taken Chanyeol’s name without any honorific made him feel like the ground would crack open any moment now, and take him away with itself, crumbling into dust. Instead, he received a smile and a pat on his shoulder from the taller, as he walked past him. His steps were slow and heavy, and his feet were almost dragging.

As he walked away, he said, “Anyway, I’m sort of in a rush, so I’ll be go-”

It was this moment that forced Baekhyun to speak out the words in his heart, because the previous time he had tried, he couldn't. Interrupting Chanyeol, he said, “Chanyeol-?” Chanyeol, who was near the elevator now, stopped in his tracks. “Please don’t overwork, eat properly, and get some rest, okay? Please take care of yourself, Chanyeol.” he said out loud.

Turning around, Chanyeol did something he hadn’t, in a while, and gestured at Baekhyun’s shoes and said, “Byun Baekhyun, your shoelaces are open.” All this time, he smiled very subtly. It was a genuine, real smile. He had been smiling because what Baekhyun said made him smile, and not because he had to put up with his “idol” demeanour.

But, Baekhyun couldn’t see that smile, for he had left his glasses in his office. Chanyeol’s face was a blur to him. He could only see the outline of his smile, and not the emotion behind it- the emotion which leaked a sincere sense of gratitude from the deepest part of Chanyeol’s heart.

When the elevator arrived, Chanyeol got in. Before the doors closed, he waved at Baekhyun, who still couldn’t believe he had just said something he wanted to say for a very long time. After a few more moments of disbelief, Baekhyun walked back.

Later, in his office, Baekhyun kept scrolling down his instagram feed, having finished his work early. He kept his phone in his pocket and proceeded to set up the studio for his assignment, three hours away. Just then, his phone vibrated. He clicked his tongue, slightly irritated. He hated interruptions during work.

‘real__pcy liked your post’ the post said.

“What?” Baekhyun said out aloud as he tapped on it. A thousand questions streamed through his mind. ‘Is this real?’ ‘How did he find me!’  He was now holding his phone with both his hands, and impatiently waiting for his notifications screen to appear. He had to confirm what he just saw, and there it was. Chanyeol had really been on Baekhyun’s instagram, and he had liked not one, but three pictures.

Baekhyun laughed out in frenzy. “Seriously??!” he said out again. Then, in a quick movement, he closed his phone, put it in his pocket, and crashed on the double sofa in this office room. He laughed again. When he calmed down, he took a deep breath and bent a little to rest his elbows over his knees, smiling into the palms of his hands. He feared he might get a heart attack if Chanyeol did any more of these surprise attacks. Then, he leaned back into the sofa and sighed. “Stop driving me crazy, Park ing Chanyeol.” Baekhyun said staring at the ceiling, happiness dripping from his voice.

In the elevator, Chanyeol's heart thumped like crazy. When was the last time someone asked him to take care of himself? Even so, was there ever a time before? Chanyeol had not smiled for so long, he didn't know how to not smile a fake smile. But, without even knowing, Baekhyun had made him smile, such that his cheeks hurt of it. Even in the elevator, he smiled to himself at the thought of how absolutely adorable Baekhyun had looked the first time he saw him, like a lost little puppy Chanyeol wanted to pet, and bring home. Chanyeol shook his head sideways, then sighed, and mumbled something to himself as he stepped out of the elevator, and out of the building.

"Must not get attached. Must not get attached. Must not get attached."

Kyungsoo was waiting for Chanyeol with his arms crossed. On seeing him, he said out, "Where have you been?! Why are you so lateee. You idiot." But, Chanyeol didn't hear him, for he was busy reciting things to himself. Kyungsoo kept saying things to him. Soon, he realized he wasn't listening. So, he gave up. They got into the car.

"People always leave. People always leave. People always leave. Must not get attached. Must not get attached." Chanyeol kept mumbling as the members gave him odd looks.

“Chanyeol-ah. You okay?” Jongin asked from the back.

“I’m fine. Just shaking some thoughts off.” Chanyeol flashed a smile.

But it was easier said than done. No matter how much Chanyeol tried to take Baekhyun off his mind, he couldn't. He kept thinking about the way Baekhyun sneaked out of his office and waited in front of the washroom and then ran away. He giggled to himself.

'There's definitely something wrong with him today." Kyungsoo said out loud.

In his dorm room, Chanyeol sat on his bed. He opened his Instagram and tapped on the search button. He typed in.

Byun Baekhyun.

A few profiles appeared and Chanyeol tapped on the first one which said 'baekhyunee_'. Chanyeol smiled as he read that name out loud.

Baekhyunee. Baek..ee. Baekee? Could he call him that? Chanyeol almost blushed at the thought.

He liked the first three pictures on his feed on a whim, then spent the rest of his time scrolling down his profile, till he fell asleep with his phone on his chest. 

After the filming and dubbing of the movie was complete, Chanyeol became a regular once again. However, it was still difficult to spot him because he was either working in his studio, or just....invisible. It was weird because it seemed like Chanyeol kept avoiding people, but when he crashed into someone, he couldn’t ignore them anymore, and talked to them, and smiled in intervals- everything a normal human being would do. The smile was a forced one, but a smile, nonetheless. Whenever Baekhyun saw Chanyeol, he’d greet him, and ask him about his health. They’d talk for a while, till either Sehun, Kyungsoo, or Manager hyung would call for him, and reprimand him for delaying. Once in a while, an Instagram notification would appear on Baekhyun’s phone saying "real__pcy liked your post". Reading that, Baekhyun even choked on water, one time. He'd send Baekhyun direct messages on his Instagram sometimes, asking about locations of pictures, or just complementing personally- mostly a 'wow!' or 'great '. Baekhyun was slowly getting habituated to this sense of familiarity, and his feelings were taking a form he definitely did not want them to take. He knew it'd not be good for him and he was afraid he’d fall too deep for him. But, he also knew that he wasn't too far from falling off the edge.

It was the month of May, and EXO had already planned on their comeback in June. By this time, Chanyeol and Baekhyun had had enough interaction that they had become friends of some sort. Baekhyun, though, bore strange feelings for the idol and Chanyeol was trying his best to not get attached, and failing constantly.

The dates of the photoshoots were planned, and executed. Chanyeol had been busy with the movie promotions this time, so his shoot was to be held independantly, on a completely different day.

When the day arrived, he seemed distracted. More distracted than usual. His gloom leaked out of him. So much, that even the make up couldn't hide it. One could easily understand how little sleep this man had been getting. Chanyeol didn't even concentrate on the shoot, as much. Had it been some other person, they'd have gotten a slight reprimand from Baekhyun, but since it was Chanyeol and he was biased, he couldn't help but ask him, "Is everything okay?"

What Baekhyun didn't know was that it wasn't as easy for Chanyeol to answer the question. What Chanyeol himself didn't know, was that he would be able to open himself up to Baekhyun.

And that, this was the turning point of both their lives.