The knock on the door was loud and precise. It startled Chanyeol. The last time he had been awake before the sun had risen, he was flying to Nice with Yoora for her last World Championship. She had come home with first place, which had been expected, and he expected Baekhyun to win gold as well. He smiled to himself at the thought.

He opened the door to find Baekhyun, his hair slightly mussed from sleep, yawning and leaning against the door frame.

“Good morning to you too,” Chanyeol said, hurrying to leave as the sound of paws clicking on the apartment’s wooden floor approached.

“As often as I am awake before the sun comes up, I don’t usually wake up until I’ve been on the ice for about an hour,” Baekhyun replied. He looked Chanyeol up and down, taking in the way Chanyeol’s hair stuck up on one side and the Korean Figure Skating hoodie Chanyeol had pulled over his head moments after he answered the door. Then he noticed, the small ball of fur eagerly huddled against Chanyeol’s leg. “And who is that?”

Chanyeol smiled, dropping down to the floor to pet the dog on his head. “This...this is Baekhyunnie.”

Baekhyun laughed. “You named your puppy after me?”

“I did...obsessed fan, remember?”

“I’m seeing that quite clearly now,” Baekhyun laughed. “He’s cute.”

Chanyeol stood back up. “No, Baekhyunnie, you don’t get to go,” he said to the puppy who whined as Chanyeol gently moved him further into the apartment with his foot. “Minho will be by later today to feed you and play. You’ll have fun.”  

“Got everything?” Baekhyun asked, his smile soft as he watched Chanyeol and his puppy.

“Yep,” Chanyeol responded, pulling his suitcase behind him as he pulled the door to his apartment shut behind him.

“Great. Let’s go, handsome,” Baekhyun said with a wink as they headed for the elevator and then the waiting van in the parking lot. Finally, they were off to Four Continents.

Driving out to the Gangneung Ice Arena felt like it would never end. Though they spent it cuddled together and sleeping on and off, Chanyeol and Baekhyun arrived at the hotel exhausted. Joonmyun and Jongdae were waiting at the reception desk as Chanyeol and Baekhyun made their way to the desk.

“I see you made it,” Jongdae said clapping a hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Thanks for making sure he got here.”

“Was it a concern that he wouldn’t?” Chanyeol responded.

Jongdae shrugged. “Usually it wouldn’t be. I’m not so sure now.”

Baekhyun glared at Jongdae and then grabbed Chanyeol’s arm, pulling him away. “Come on Chanyeol.  We have to check-in.”

After they had checked in and settled themselves into their room, they made their way back downstairs to find the lobby busier than it had been an hour before. Other skaters were checking in and press had arrived to take photos and catch quick interviews with skaters before the competition got underway.

“Just keep walking through them. They’re going to stop me and I have to talk with them,” Baekhyun said as they exited the elevator. “I’ll meet you outside. I promise I won’t be long.” He reached up and kissed Chanyeol on the cheek.

They walked together for as long as they could until the reporters realized that Baekhyun had appeared. Almost instantly Baekhyun was swarmed with at least twenty reporters and their camera crews desperate to talk to the Korea’s hero, the man who everyone estimated would win Four Continents, the Asian Winter Games and go on to win the World Championships.

Chanyeol watched as Baekhyun put on his professional smile and began answering questions as microphones and cameras were his direction. The scene looked familiar, almost a replication of the moment Chanyeol had stepped off the plane with Yoora. He hung back for a few more moments and waited in the background, but then made his way outside the hotel as Baekhyun had instructed.

“This is how it always is,” Jongdae said to Chanyeol clapping a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Jongdae was sitting on the bench outside, scrolling through his phone. “You’ll get used to it. They could be there for a while.”

Chanyeol nodded. “Yeah,” he responded, taking a seat next to Jongdae, who had pulled out his headphones and put them in his ears. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Yoora. ‘Carnation,’ it read. Immediately, his phone rang.

“What’s up Chanyeol?” Yoora said, her voice providing a calming effect.

“I...I wasn’t expecting you to call,” he stammered.

“You never use that code unless you’re sad,” Yoora sighed.

“I’m not sad,” Chanyeol defended.

“No? Then what’s up?”

He inhaled, letting the silence hang on the line for a while. “I’m...I’m at Four Continents…”

“Oh. I didn’t know you were planning to go to that competition. Usually, you just watch the stream.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t...I’m kind of…”

She laughed. “You’re dating him, aren’t you? Your plan actually worked.”

“Yes.”

“Idiot,” she chuckled. “So, you have your boy, why are you sad?”

“I told you, I’m not sad. It’s just being here reminds me of your last World Championship and...I missed you.”

“Ah,” she said, her voice gentling. “I always miss you Chanyeol. You know you can come and visit. I’m not dead, just living a little further away.”

“I know. Maybe I will,” Chanyeol said. He looked around and saw that Baekhyun and Joonmyun had finally made their way away from the reporters and Baekhyun was making his way over to Chanyeol.

“Hey!” Baekhyun called before realizing Chanyeol was on the phone. “Oh. Sorry. Who are you on the phone with?” His voice dropped to barely above a whisper.

“My sister,” Chanyeol replied. “Want to talk to her?”

“Really?” Baekhyun said. “That’s really Park Yoora? I can’t. No. I just-- ”

Chanyeol nodded. “ Come say hi and then we can go.”

“Sure... ok ,” Baekhyun responded, steadying his voice . Chanyeol handed him his phone and Baekhyun slowly brought it to his ear, his hands shaking. “Hello?”

Yoora giggled. “Byun Baekhyun. Well then,” she said, teasing. “Take good care of him and win gold for Korea tomorrow. Do you hear me?”

Baekhyun’s face stretched into a full teeth smile. “Yes. Yes, of course.” He handed the phone back to Chanyeol.

“I have to go Yoora,” he said. “I think you might have broken him.”

She laughed. “Ok. Talk soon Chanyeol. Bye.”

He hung up the phone and looked at Baekhyun. “You ok, Baek?”

“No, no I’m not. That was...that was…”

“Yes, it was. She wished you good luck,” Chanyeol said, nudging Baekhyun. “Don’t let her down.”

Baekhyun stared at him. “Thank you for the pressure,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Come on, let’s go check-in at the rink and grab dinner.”

They both turned and walked back toward Jongdae and Joonmyun, Baekhyun’s hand reaching out for Chanyeol’s.

“Are you excited?” Baekhyun asked, swinging their hands back and forth.

“I feel like I should be asking you that,” Chanyeol said, squeezing Baekhyun’s hand.

“It’s not too exciting for me anymore. It used to be, but it’s just a competition. They’re work. Knowing that you’re going to be here and that Park Yoora is rooting for me makes it more exciting,” Baekhyun said.

Chanyeol smiled. “Yes, I am excited. I haven’t been behind the scenes of a competition since…and definitely not with you!”

“You should be excited about that! I’m a delight to be around!”

“Oh yes,” Chanyeol said. “You are just so delightful. I can’t describe how delightful you are.”

“Keep that up and I’ll make you stay with Jongdae and Joonmyun.”

“I think that will be punishment for both of us.”

“Exactly.”

“Fine, fine.” He leaned down and placed a small kiss to the top of Baekhyun’s head, ignoring  Jongdae, who was making kissy faces in his peripheral vision. Within moments, they rejoined Jongdae and Joonmyun and finally headed on their way for the evening.