A/N: Hi, guys! Hope you liked the story till this point, and if you did I'm sure you'll like the rest! I know this story is overly fluffy and all, but it'll get better I promise! I just wanted to let you know, that this chapter is a relatively short one, encompassing just one event, but it's a sweet one, and an important one, at that! So, have fun! Also, if you have any suggestions, or comments, (or anything, really) pleasepleaseplease let me know? Your comments make me the happiest. I won't take up any more time. Happy fluffy time! 

Chogiwa danbeone neukkyeo....

Baekhyun's phone call rang up, at what seemed like "early morning" to him.

Neol hanibe chijeu choreom jibeo noeul tteda...

"Mmf. What. Who this." Baekhyun said, squinting his eyes, and frowning his eyebrows. The photographer had gotten an off day after a very long time, and thought he'd sleep it out, but alas! His sleep was interrupted from what appeared to be an unknown number. On seeing it, Baekhyun cursed at it, put the call on silent, and went back to sleep. A few minutes later-

CHOGIWA....

He ignored it again. But, when the call came a third time, Baekhyun's patience had come to a halt, and in a quick movement he picked up the call and answered whatever came to his mouth.

"Who the do you think you are calling me this early....."

Or,well. Tried to.

"Baekhyun-aah..?"

Baekhyun immediately recognised the voice, and terribly, terribly, terribly regretted what he had just said.

"Ch-Chanyeollie? OH NO, I'M SO SORRY OH MY GOD. I DIDN'T KNOW-"

"OH THANK GOD IT'S YOU. I THOUGHT I DIALLED UP SOME OTHER PERSON'S NUMBER. I ALMOST HAD A NIGHTMARE BAEKHYUNNI!"

Baekhyun quickly glanced at the clock to check the time. 'TWO IN THE AFTERNOON?!?!?!!'  Baekhyun was dumbfounded. 'TTTTTT.' Baekhyun said as he felt a little guilty of not picking up the call.

"ANYWAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU WERE RIGHT!"

"About what, Chanyeolie?"

"ABOUT TAO, YOU LITTLE PUDDING." Baekhyun’s heart did a tiny back flip at that nickname. He remembered everything from that day of the shoot. "WELL HE TEXTED ME TO SAY THANKS FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISH AND TO APOLOGIZE FOR SUCH A LATE REPLY. HE SAID HE HAD BEEN BUSY WITH HIS MUSIC AND EVERYTHING. I AM SOOO HAPPY, TODAY, SO SO HAPPY! WE CAUGHT UP IN SUCH A LONG TIME. I'M SO HAPPY, BAEKKIE."

Baekhyun felt so relieved the moment he heard about Tao’s reply. It had been nearly a year since Baekhyun and Chanyeol knew each other. By this time, Baekhyun knew three things, for sure. One, that Chanyeol was a simple man who loved to love, and loved to be loved. Two, he never received as much love as he gave, and always wondered where all his love drained down to. And third, the simplest gestures from the people he loved, were enough to make this man happy.

Chanyeol's happy voice tugged at Baekhyun's heartstrings and made him extremely emotional to the point where he felt a lump in his throat.

"I am so happy for you, Chan!" Baekhyun said, enthusiastically, trying to conceal the lump in his throat.

In a while of silence, Baekhyun could literally hear Chanyeol's smile from the other side of the call.

"Bakehyun-ah, what are you doing today?" Chanyeol asked in a tender voice.

"Eh?" Baekhyun thought he'd heard something wrong. "Me? I-um. Nothing, I guess? I'll just do a little housework and stuff."

"I meant, are you free?" Chanyeol's voice piqued, as he corrected himself. "Can we meet today?"

Baekhyun's heart thumped a little. This time, his stomach also did a back-flip.

"B-but isn't SME closed today..?"

Baekhyun had been stuttering more often, nowadays. Chanyeol laughed over the phone. "You do know that we can meet outside of work, right, Baekhyun-aah?" Baekhyun flushed like a tomato, his heart still beating fast as ever. Baekhyun didn't know what to say, for meeting his idol, outside of work seemed like a crazy, unimplementable idea. But, here was Chanyeol asking him if he'd like to meet. This was the stuff Baekhyun had daydreamt about. Was it even really happening?

On getting no reply from Baekhyun, Chanyeol continued, "So? Would you like to go with me somewhere?"

Without a glint of hesitation, Baekhyun said out, "Yes! Yes, yes, yes. Of course, Chanyeol!"

"Okay, then! Why don't you stay home, I'll pick you up?"

"But, won't that be inconvenient? Why don't I arrive at a point,and then we can go together?"

"No, that'll be slightly troublesome. It's better for me to pick you up. Just text your address on this number, okay? I'll be there at about, say, four? Is that fine?"

"Absolutely! Yes!! Sure!!!" Baekhyun said.

They exchanged bye-byes and Chanyeol ended the call.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF DEAR GOD JUST HAPPENED." Baekhyun said out aloud, then hopped out of bed, gulped down some cereal and milk, skipped all the way to the bathroom, danced and sang while taking a bath, then stood in front of the cupboard looking for what to wear.

Hmmmmmm.

Should I wear a pink tee, or black tee? Full length denim, or halfies? Glasses or contacts? Hair all down, or slightly swept up? Black sneakers or red?

He finally decided to wear the pink tee with full length light blue denim, contacts, and did his hair. He decided to pair it up with black sneakers.

By around 3:39 P.M, he was already done. He sat on the bed, swinging his feet, and then it struck him.

Wait. Did Chanyeol call me from his number? His own number? Does that mean I have Chanyeol's number? The Park Chanyeol’s number?

Baekhyun put his palms on his face, and 'kyaaaa'd into them, then fell back on his bed as he watched the fan blades turn at a uniform speed. Just then-

CHOGIWA...

The phone startled Baekhyun. He saw the number. Same one from the morning. ‘Definitely his own number.’ Baekhyun thought. Butterflies ravaged in Baekhyun's gut, and his heart boomed, almost threatening to burst out of his chest.

He picked up the call. "Baekhyun-aah. I'm on Road number 133B, which one is your apartment?"

"Right there, right there! Third one from the end of the road. I'll be right downstairs." Baekhyun excitedly tied his shoelaces, took his stuff, locked his door, and merrily springed down the stairs.

When he arrived at the gate and opened it, he saw a chocolate brown SUV standing outside. The windows rolled down and a beaming Park Chanyeol gestured Baekhyun to get inside the car. Baekhyun did as told.

"Hey, Baek." Chanyeol spoke. “Long time!” His eyes twinkled.

"H-hello, Chanyeollie." Baekhyun still couldn't believe what was really happening.

Chanyeol started the car, and they set off. "Your fans, they won’t bug you right?" Baekhyun prompted.

"No, Baek. They won't. Don't worry. I have this cap on for a reason. And this car is a new baby, anyway. They won't get in our way." Chanyeol winked.

As they drove, Chanyeol the radio, which was playing old romantic favourites. They sang along, laughing and giggling all the way. During the advertisements, they’d talk. Little stories from here and there, random complements from Chanyeol, like ‘Hey, Baekhyun-ah, I like your voice’, or  ‘I can’t believe how good a singer you are!’ or ‘I feel shy singing next to you’. Baekhyun would absolutely deny and and shy away. This would amuse Chanyeol each time because a part of Chanyeol loved to see Baekhyun blush like that.

Baekhyun kept glancing at Chanyeol once or twice. But not too much. Because then, he’d stare. And, staring would be dangerous for his health. But, in that while, Baekhyun noticed Chanyeol’s large veiny hands, and the way they strongly held on to the steering wheel. Not to mention, Chanyeol was a great driver.

The roads of asphalt were smooth, and the sky was a beautiful golden yellow. A few fleecy clouds adorned the sky. Baekhyun rolled down the windows, and enjoyed the crisp breeze, which brought with itself a beautiful smell of fresh paddy. Everywhere Baekhyun could see, were shades of green, glistening in the afternoon light. It was beautiful.

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun through the corner of his eyes- his skin glowing in the light of the golden hour, his hair flowing with the breeze, his eyes shut in pure enjoyment of the moment. Then he looked at Baekhyun's pink lips- curled up and smiling. They were the perfect shape, and looked so soft. Chanyeol wanted to touch them. Realising what he'd just thought of, he shaked his head sideways, and concentrated on the road again. 'What are you thinking, Park Chanyeol. Focus on the drive. Focus. Focus.'

Baekhyun opened his eyes and photographed the scene in his memory. Suddenly, he remembered he hadn’t asked Chanyeol where they were off to, now that green rolling hills started to peek out of the horizon.

"Hey, Chanyeol, where are we going?" Baekhyun asked

Chanyeol giggled a little. Then said, "I was expecting this question a little sooner. Did you forget?"

"No. I didn't!" Baekhyun said, trying to hide the embarrassment of having done exactly that. He sighed. “Yeaaah. I forgot.”

Chanyeol laughed out this time. His eyes seemed to laugh along with him. To Baekhyun, it was a sight he’d treasure for a long, long time. “What do you think? Where are we going?” Chanyeol said, still smiling.

Baekhyun glanced at Chanyeol, and a few thoughts ran though his head. He was with his ultimate bias, right now. And they were going somewhere together. It didn’t matter to him where they went. As long as Chanyeol was with him.

"I don't mind going anywhere as long as you're with me."Baekhyun spoke out.

Baekhyun's words left Chanyeol dumbfounded as he felt his heart knock on his chest. The knocks only kept getting louder.

"W-We're going to catch the sunset." Chanyeol said, blushing ever so slightly.

In a while, the ocean appeared in front of the two. As Chanyeol took a turn towards the ocean driveway, Baekhyun's eyes shone like a kid's. “It’s been ages since I saw the ocean, oh man.” Baekhyun yelled out excitedly.

 At a quiet spot, Chanyeol rolled his car on the beach and stopped the car.

The two got out, and Baekhyun immediately took off his shoes, folded his jeans, and rushed off to the water. "Come on!" Baekhyun impatiently said. Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun for a while, at his simplicity, and playfulness. Then, he ran to where Baekhyun was. They splashed around for a while, until they were tired. Not to mention, they were drenched too.

“Aaaaah, that was fun.” Baekhyun said.

Meanwhile, Chanyeol brought two towels out his car. One for himself, the other for Baekhyun. They were both new. “Here, Baek. Dry yourself off.”

Baekhyun was embarrassed because he jumped into the water without thinking at all, and now had Chanyeoll bring a towel for him. “B-but how do I-”

“Just take it, Baekkie. I sort of knew this would happen.”

Baekhyun was confused. “How?”

Chanyeol sighed. “I bought stuff on the way to your apartment. Because I knew I’d rush into the water. And I thought, so would you. I didn’t guess you’d do it before me. And I didn’t want to tell you about the beach, so I got two things of everything. ” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

Baekhyun smiled as he took the towel from Chanyeol and began to dry his hair. “You know, you’re really crazy.” He said, in muffled tones. When he was done, he turned towards Chanyeol. Who now, was shirtless.

 Baekhyun immediately looked away. ‘Oh , oh , oh , oh ,’ In a few seconds, Baekhyun had seen Chanyeol’s perfect form, his wide shoulders, strong arms, and toned waist. He blushed so hard, his heart beating like a train. He put the towel on his head.

“Is everything okay, Baekhyun?” Chanyeol said, noticing that Baekhyun had covered his face with the towel. Chanyeol also thought he looked funny like that. And adorable.

“Yeah. Everything’s good.” Baekhyun removed the towel off his face, and said out, “Please put your shirt back on, Mr. Park Chanyeol.” Then, put the towel back on.

Chanyeol laughed out because of Baekhyun’s actions. “But, I need to dry my shirt! In fact, you need to take yours off too. Don’t you have to dry it off?”  

“No, I’ll stay like this.” Baekhyun said.

 “You’ll catch a cold, Baek.”

“I don’t care.” His back was still facing Chanyeol, his head downcast, towel on, avoiding any possible eye contact.

Chanyeol walked towards Baekhyun, and Baekhyun knew it by the sound of his feet on sand. He kept his hand on the photographer’s head, and snatched off the towel, which startled the smaller.

“But I do, Baek.” Chanyeol almost whispered in his ear, then walked back.

Baekhyun felt like his insides were going to burst. He was sure he’d had a heart attack by the way his heart was behaving like an absolute maniac, beating like that.

“Okay, I won’t look.” Chanyeol said. “I won’t look, so take it off, okay?”

Baekhyun knew Chanyeol was right. A cold would be bad for his work, and he didn’t want to put Chanyeol through any more trouble.

“Alright.” Baekhyun took his shirt off shyly, then turned in Chanyeol’s direction to see the perfect man sitting on the sand, his hands covering his eyes. It made him want to run up to him, and hold him in his arms forever. How could an idol like him be this pure, and child-like? Baekhyun felt his cheeks turn hot. He walked up to Chanyeol, then sat down beside him, facing the ocean. “Open your eyes, Yeollie. You’ll miss the sunset.” Baekhyun softly said. His voice was coated with love.

“When did you-” Chanyeol almost said, but then he glanced at the setting sun, as it dipped into the sea.

Silence.

Clouds in shades of pink, red, orange and yellow blended like a watercolour painting parallel to the horizon. The seagulls cawed into the distance, their calls slow and mellow. The waves crashed against the shore, fizzling like soda. The cool wind gently caressed their hair.

The sun was halfway into the ocean, and at this point, Chanyeol turned to look at Baekhyun, and noticed little beads of tears in his eyes. Baekhyun, however, was smiling.

“B-Baekhyun, are you okay? Is anything wrong?” Chanyeol said in a concerned tone.

 “This might be the right-est time of my life, Chanyollie.” Baekhyun turned to look at Chanyeol, his emotions overflowing. “Thank you for this.”

Baekhyun’s heart kept doing back-flips all this while, an athletic little baby it was, but eventually calmed down. Baekhyun was starting to get habituated to Chanyeol’s presence. And now, instead of making him nervous and fidgety, it started to make him calm and at-ease. The sun had set, and the sky now held on to the last bits of light, and gradually, slowly, shrouded over itself, a dark amethyst, a bit of red still peeking from the horizon. The purple graded to an even darker colour, and in a while, it was night. The sunset had gone by in a flash.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol still hadn’t moved an inch from where they were.

“Hey, Bae-” Chanyeol was about to say when he noticed a sleepy Baekhyun- his eyes,  droopy, and dozy.

Chanyeol inched closer to Baekhyun, slowly, till their sides nearly touched. Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun, and looked on.  He saw the way Baekhyun’s long eyelashes fluttered, and his soft hair brushed over his forehead, and how his delicate, petite fingers brushed them away. He saw Baekhyun’s little nose, and would’ve almost booped it, had he no self-control. Chanyeol thought he’d never seen a more beautiful sight than this. He wrapped his arms around Baekhyun’s back, softly motioned the smaller’s head on his shoulder, and moved his fingers through his hair, and lightly patting in the middle. It didn’t take long for Baekhyun to fall asleep on Chanyeol’s strong shoulders.

“Chanyeollie?” Baekhyun’s spoke in tired, yet raspy-sounding voice. It startled Chanyeol a little bit.

“You’re awake? I thought you were sleeping, Baek.” Chanyeol spoke in the softest of voices.

“No, I’m dreaming, I guess.” Chanyeol smiled, moving his fingers through Baek’s hair once again, as Baekhyun shuffled a bit then put his arms around Chanyeol’s waist. “Hey, Chanyeollie?”

“Hm?”

“Can I tell you something?” Baekhyun asked, his voice low. Chanyeol didn’t know whether he was sleep-talking, or truly awake. Neither did Baekhyun, himself.

“Sure, Baekkie.” Chanyeol answered delicately.

“Aren’t you cold?” Baekhyun said, his concern reflecting in his voice.  

“It’s summer, you idiot. Why would I be cold?” Chanyeol smiled. “Are you cold, Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun shaked his head, for a no. Then, nuzzled closer. Chanyeol’s hold, too, strengthened.

“And another thing.” Baekhyun continued, his words sounding almost drunk. “You know I love you, right?” The words hit Chanyeol, like falling raindrops on a tin roof. Again, and again, like the sky itself was about to melt. To Chanyeol, it felt like they’ll deafen his ears, tear their way through the roof, flood everything around him, and take him along with it.

But, Chanyeol welcomed it.

All this time, he thought he’d shield himself from people. After all, people only came into his life to wring him dry, and then leave. But, this time, it didn’t matter to Chanyeol. He didn’t care. Baekhyun’s showers of kindness, and affection were getting through to him. They pierced through Chanyeol’s shield and drenched him in it- soaking his skin and bones. But, it wasn’t like the other times. Because, Chanyeol enjoyed it. He enjoyed feeling happy with Baekhyun, and he enjoyed smiling with him. He enjoyed Baekhyun, and his company. Soon, Chanyeol walked into the rain, knowingly, willingly. And, instead of feeling like the rain, it felt like a beam of warmth, bringing every bit of Chanyeol’s heart, a certain joy he had longed for, for years, and years. He knew Baekhyun wouldn’t hurt him, or betray him. He knew Baekhyun wouldn’t leave him in the dark. He knew, and so, he welcomed Baekhyun right inside his heart. And he could only do this because for the first time in a while, Chanyeol knew that Baekhyun loved him as much as he did, if not more.

“I know, Baekhyun-aah.” Chanyeol smiled as he left a little kiss on Baekhyun’s head. “I know.”