Chanyeol, Sehun, and Kyungsoo sat the table in silence, Chanyeol hunched over and focused entirely on his cup of coffee in front of him. He stirred it idly while the other two seated across from him watched.

“So, why are we here?” Sehun asked, looking around the restaurant as if something around him would explain. “I mean, I’m all for free food, but weren’t you supposed to be in Japan?”

Chanyeol froze and then looked up at Sehun. “I was, yeah. That’s kind of what I wanted to talk about…” Chanyeol said, sitting back against the back of his chair.

“I thought everything was--” Sehun started.

“He broke up with you didn’t he,” Kyungsoo interrupted, leaning forward and tapping his fingers on the table.

Chanyeol looked between the two of them. “I’m not sure,” Chanyeol said. “Yoora says he was trying to avoid the press.”

“Wait, what happened? I’m so out of the loop!” Sehun yelled, throwing his arms in the air.  

“Baekhyun told the press he wasn’t dating anyone,” Kyungsoo said, tucking his arms around him.

“But...he’s definitely dating Chanyeol! I’ve seen them stare stupidly at each other like they are the only people in the world!”

“That doesn’t mean they’re dating,” Kyungsoo responded. “Chanyeol’s always looked at Baekhyun like that.”

“But---but---Chanyeol tell him!” Sehun stammered, trying to prove a point.

“Guys,” Chanyeol said, his voice low and steady. “I don’t know where we stand. I just told him I wasn’t coming.”

“Oh,” Sehun said, the word tinged with sadness. “How did you--how did--”

“Kyungsoo sent me an article about the upcoming competition,” Chanyeol responded.

Sehun turned to Kyungsoo, his eyebrows raised. “Why were you looking up figure skating articles? You hate the sport. You were trying to break them up, weren’t you! ?”

“What? No!” Kyungsoo defended. “Why would I do that? You saw how mopey he was about the note in the jacket. Why would I want to go through that again?”

“ A valid point. Then why were you looking at figure skating articles ? Don’t you even try to avoid the question,” Sehun pressed.

Kyungsoo sighed. “Fine...if you must know, I was trying to find out how they were thinking Kim Jongin was going to do at this competition, but they only ever report on Baekhyun.”

Sehun perked up. “I’m sorry. Did I just hear that you’re interested in figure skating?”

“Shut up,” Kyungsoo said, rolling his eyes. “It’s one skater and it’s Chanyeol’s fault anyway. I tried to tell him sooner, but he didn’t seem to care. Why can’t I-- ”

Chanyeol watched the two bicker but didn’t entirely pay attention to them. Memories of the first time he saw Baekhyun skate and knew he needed to know more ran through his mind as he watched Sehun pick at Kyungsoo’s new found interest. He smiled, but it quickly faded as his heart began to ache, Yoora’s words echoing in his head. What did he want?

He knew he was attracted to Baekhyun, had been for years, and the time they spent together had been fun, even if it had only been a few months. No one else Chanyeol had ever dated was like Baekhyun. His presence seeped into Chanyeol’s heart the way the cold of an ice rink seeps in and settles into your bones. It lingers even after you’ve left. He could manage being Baekhyun’s secret boyfriend, right? As long as he was Baekhyun’s, that was all that mattered, right? Is that what Baekhyun wanted?

His heart twinged with pain as he wrestled with the thoughts. Everything was just so jumbled in his mind. The text from Baekhyun had been excited to see him, but that article had just ripped his heart apart. They had talked about their relationship, labeled it, or so he thought, but he needed to know for sure. He needed to know if something had changed or would change. He took a deep breath and the emotional ribbons that had tied up his logic began to unravel.

“This is all Chanyeol’s fault anyway!” Kyungsoo yelled, bringing Chanyeol back to the conversation at hand.

Chanyeol covered his mouth to muffle the sounds of laughter. “Alright then. Well, as fun as that revelation is, that’s not really why I wanted to talk. I...I wanted to find out...well, I wanted to figure out some things…and you know what...I think I just did.”

Sehun looked from Chanyeol to Kyungsoo back to Chanyeol. “I’m not sure what we did to help you, but I’m glad we could help...You’re still paying for breakfast, right?”

“Oh my god, yes. I’m still paying for breakfast. Just shut up and order,” Chanyeol said, rolling his eyes. “I’m starting to think I could have figured this out without you.”

“You probably could have, yeah,” Kyungsoo replied. “But, that would have been the easy and logical thing to do. Not the Chanyeol thing to do.”

Chanyeol tried to reach across the table and smack Kyungsoo, but he missed. “One of these days, I’m going to actually get you doing that.”

“I want to see that actually happen,” Sehun said, chuckling. “And since Chanyeol’s sorted himself, why don’t we talk about your new skater boy?”

Kyungsoo groaned just as the waiter returned with their food.