"It's time for you to get married."

Chanyeol raises his eyes up at his parents. He is currently having a quiet dinner with them at a local five-star restaurant after almost two months of not being able to see each other. It has been quiet and slightly awkward, until his mother brought up a certain matter that Chanyeol has been ignoring for years.

"Pardon?"

"You're old now, Chanyeol," Mrs. Park gently says as she reaches out to place a hand on her son's hand. "You're twenty-five already, so maybe it's finally time you meet your fiancé."

Chanyeol screws his face in distaste.

"I'm okay being single," he says with kind of defensive tone to his voice. "I don't think I have time for that… Yoora's there to give you a next generation, anyway."

"We're not really thinking about heirs, son," Mr. Park speaks up matter-of-factly. "We're thinking about your happiness."

Chanyeol finds happiness in his work. He doesn't need someone else aside from maybe Kyungsoo, his grumpy assistant slash bestfriend.

"I'm fine being alone, Dad."

"You're just twenty-five but you already have wrinkle lines," Mr. Park snickers, which makes Chanyeol pout and give his father a little offended glare. He doesn't even have wrinkle lines! He goes through an anti-aging treatment, why is his father lying?

"Your father's right Chanyeol, you need a partner," Mrs. Park says. "You need someone to wake up to, to help you get ready, to bring you lunch, to hang-out with - you don't even have solid friends anymore - someone to ease your tiredness when you get home and join you in bed to do couple things. Isn't that something that you desire, even just a little bit?"

Couple things. It's a fantasy that Chanyeol doesn't really find at all that bad, just that it's not something he really needs.

"You remember Byun Baekhyun, right?" Mr. Park asks.

Chanyeol is silent for a moment, racking his brain until he realizes that it's the name of the person he's been engaged to since he was young. He hasn't met him yet because Byun Baekhyun studied abroad, in faraway England. Probably a man of refine, class and social status now with the great aptitude for speaking English.

"Yes I do," Chanyeol answers. "Well, his name, anyway. I've never seen his face."

"See, he's coming back to Korea in less than thirty days," Mr. Park says. "The Byuns would be delighted if you finally meet their son. They want you to get married immediately."

Chanyeol scrunches his eyebrows. "What, why?"

"Well Mr. and Mrs. Byun do love their son so much," Mrs. Park chuckles. "A fine man must take an even finer man as husband, and the Byuns think highly of you."

Chanyeol sighs. Well it's not like he's going to lose anything if he does get married, right? He'll probably even rake in some benefits if he strengthens his impression as a great man on the Byuns who are well-known for their wide connections among the elites in business.

"Okay then," he breathes out. "Do whatever you want."

Mr. and Mrs. Park look more happy than they should as they glanced at each other.

 

 

 

Now as a man dedicated to his work as the CEO of a well-known entertainment company in South Korea, it is normal for Chanyeol to always be submerged in load and loads of paperwork and scheduled meetings. The plans for his marriage has completely been pushed to the back of his mind as he deals with the business side of the company and also go around handling stuff within the Empire Enterprises.

"Chanyeol, Jongin, Sehun and I are going out for a drink," Kyungsoo says one day while finishing up before he goes home. "Want to come with us? They would love to see you again. It's been months."

Ah, Jongin and Sehun. Chanyeol, Kyungsoo and along with those two used to be inseparable back in highschool. But when they entered college, attending different universities seem to have taken a toll on their friendship. Especially to Chanyeol, who is engrossed in his academics and in training to inherit the family business. There hadn't been any time for him to be able to at least properly hang-out with them.

It definitely sounds like a good idea to Chanyeol. It's been awhile since he got a drink and talked to people his age. But just as he was considering it, he feels his body complaining to him, wanting to just relax under the covers.

"I'm sorry Kyungsoo," Chanyeol says as he twists his Rolex wristwatch. "I'm tired today. I can't go with you."

Kyungsoo shrugs. "Oh well, then. Jongin and Sehun will be disappointed but they will live."

"I'll make it up to them next time. Schedule a three-hour lunch for the four of us next week."

Kyungsoo grins. "Sure thing, boss."

Chanyeol sighs heavily, closing his eyes as his service drives him back home. It's already eight in the evening, and all he just wants is to eat dinner, take a shower and bury himself under his sheets so he could wake up early for another day ahead.

But it seems like that won't be how his night will go through.

Upon arriving at his condo unit, Chanyeol is attacked by a sense of foreboding.

Something is wrong.

Warily, Chanyeol punches the code into the pad. With a little beep, the door unlocks and he lets himself in. His senses tingle even more when he sees that his lights are all on when he had left them off right before leaving for work that morning as always.

Someone definitely broke in.

The air around him intensifies as Chanyeol silently moves past the threshold and into the first room, which is the living room. He notices how the neat arrangement of pillows on the sofa has been ruined, and there's a glass of orange juice in the middle of the tea table.

Instead of feeling alarmed, that only makes Chanyeol feel confused.

Someone broke in, and what they do is sit on the sofa and drink orange juice…?

Just as Chanyeol turns around to inspect the kitchen, he is startled when he bumps into someone.

"What the !" he swears as he steps back.

"Holy balls!" the other person unelegantly says in English.

Chanyeol's eyes widen as he freezes for a moment. The person is freaking pretty, with blonde messy hair, droopy brown eyes, a cute nose and and droopy pink lips. He honestly doesn't look shady - he looks cute in his big white sweater, to be honest.

"Who the are you?!" the person shouts, looking adorably scandalized and flustered with his cheeks reddening. And for how that worked, Chanyeol has no idea.

"Y-You're in my condo unit! You should be the one telling me who the you are right now!" Chanyeol yells back. "How did you get in here?! I'm calling the police if you don't explain!"

"I was told that I'll be staying here!" the blonde says. "I just came from abroad and- oh god! What is this situation?" he groans in frustration.

"There must be some kind of mistake," Chanyeol says, calming down a bit now. "You, what's your name?"

"I'm-"

"Arf!"

Chanyeol's eyes widen when he sees a fluffball totter out of the kitchen and towards the stranger. It stands on its hind legs and paws at the person's jeans. He crouches down and immediately picks it up without hesitation.

"I'm Byun Baekhyun," he introduces himself. "And this is my baby, Mongryong."

"You bore a dog?"

"Ha-ha, how funny," the guy named Baekhyun sarcastically says.

Wait.

Byun Baekhyun.

Byun Baekhyun…?

Chanyeol points an accusing finger at the blonde, his face transistioning from wonder to confusion to recognition at a fast rate once it finally dawns on him who this person is.

"Y-You're Byun Baekhyun?"

The blonde nods matter-of-factly, eyeing him haughtily as he puts his hands on his hips. "Yes, and you are?"

Chanyeol feels his temper accumulating as he turns his back to the blonde and walks over to where he placed his bag.

"Hey!" Baekhyun calls out to him, following after him with his puppy cradled up to his chest. "You haven't told me your name!"

The CEO ignores him as he takes out his phone from the pocket of his bag. Eyebrows scrunched with a frown donning his face, Chanyeol turns around to scrutinize the other man with sharp eyes as he brings his phone up to his ear. If this person really is Byun Baekhyun, then what a total disappointment. He looks so far from the person he imagined - far from the elegant, classy man who exudes poise and grace that Chanyeol had imagined.

This Byun Baekhyun looks like a… like a highschooler.

A cute one, at least.

Baekhyun glares back at him from under his long lashes, albeit quite sheepishly as he murmurs what must have been swear words in English as he rubs his puppy's back.

"Oh, Chanyeol!" his mother greets, finally answering the call. "You called?"

"Mom, do you have anything to do with the fact that my fiancé is inside my condo unit right now?" Chanyeol says, emphasizing on the term fiancé that makes Baekhyun stare quizzically at him. He watches as the same expressions that he had undergone before transistion on the blonde's face - from wonder to confusion to realization. Baekhyun cups his mouth in surprise, droopy eyes wide as he points a finger at the CEO.

"Park Chanyeol?" he mouths in shock. Chanyeol stares back at him stonily.

"Oh, Baekhyun's already there?" Mrs. Park gleefully says. "Well I expect you to treat him very well, he's not that familiar with Seoul after all!"

"What?" Chanyeol snaps. "I can't have a… a midget in my place! Is this really even Byun Baekhyun?"

"Now don't be rude, Chanyeol," Mrs. Park chides him. "He is the son of a close family friend and business partner. You best be treating him well or I'm not giving you your inheritance."

"You wouldn't do that to your son," Chanyeol says with a low grumbling tone that intimidates Baekhyun a bit and makes him look away towards the glass wall that oversees the Seoul City nightscape.

"Oh I will if you don't treat Baekhyunee well," his mother threatens. "His parents are in China and they asked us to help him out. I suggested to do this instead so you would get to know each other, and they agreed."

"Mom, I have work," Chanyeol whines, surprising Baekhyun by the sudden childish outburst. "I don't have time to take care of someone else!"

"Chanyeol, don't be such a big baby and just do what we want you to do, it's for your own good. Now good bye, take care."

"But Mom!"

The line ends with a beep, and Chanyeol groans as he throws his phone to the sofa. Baekhyun peeks up at him cautiously, flinching when Chanyeol stares back at him.

"Hey," Chanyeol says tiredly. "I just want to sleep and be able to wake up tomorrow. I'm tired from work. You can get something to eat in the fridge."

"At least tell me what's happening!" Baekhyun asks. "I'm confused!"

"For your information, this condo unit is mine. Your parents are abroad and they want me to take care of you, like you're an actual highschooler when in fact you just look like one and you're even older than me," Chanyeol explains, and Baekhyun didn't like the comment about his appearance. "You can stay of course, I have no choice. Just don't make life miserable for me."

Baekhyun pouts as he glares at Chanyeol.

"I'm a decent and civilized twenty six years old man, not a child," he utters.

"Great," Chanyeol turns around. "Now I'm going to bed."

"B-But where do I sleep?"

Chanyeol looks over his shoulder. "On the sofa."

He immediately feels guilty of the way Baekhyun's shoulders sag and how his facial features seem to droop even more.

"Or you can slip into my bed," he immediately suggests. "We're both men anyway, I don't mind."

Chanyeol misses the flustered look on Baekhyun's face as he walks down the hallway and disappear into his room.

 

 

 

That morning, Chanyeol almost forgets the fact that Byun Baekhyun had been in his unit. He would have dismissed him as another figment in one of his weirdly vivid dreams, but when he sees the large bags at the corner of his room and the loud singing from outside his room, Chanyeol is immediately reminded of his presence.

Not finding the time to analyze how his life would be right after this, Chanyeol gets out of bed and proceeds to prepare for the day. He has numerous meetings to attend this morning and even more later in the afternoon. He doesn't even know if he could get home during his usual time.

Upon emerging from his room, Chanyeol walks into the kitchen to grab some toast and to maybe even check on how his new blonde roommate is coping. Now that he's not as annoyed as he had been last night, Chanyeol is now curious about his fiancé. It's natural to feel the need to get to know the one he'd eventually have to marry, right?

But when he gets to the kitchen, Chanyeol doesn't see the blonde anywhere even when he had heard him singing out here back when he was inside his room. He shrugs it off, probably because Baekhyun must have gone into the bathroom or something.

Chanyeol proceeds to make his toast. He takes out some bread and then lathers them with butter before putting them inside the toaster.

Now he waits.

The CEO taps rhythmically against the wooden surface of the table he is leaning against, imitating the beat of a demo one of the producers in the company made him listen to. He suddenly hears the sound of light pattering against the floor. Chanyeol looks down, searching for the sound until he spots Baekhyun's little puppy walking up towards him.

"Mhm," Chanyeol stares at the tiny dog, who looks back at him with beady eyes and an overexcited tail. Maybe it's just him, but as he continues to stare at this creature, he slowly seems to resemble Baekhyun.

"Mongryong is your name, right?" Chanyeol asks.

"Arf!" the dog barks at him happily, reacting to the sound of his name.

"You know, you're really cute," Chanyeol deadpans. "Contrary to popular belief, I actually do like dogs. My friends think I hate them just because I prefer not to own one, unlike them. They're obssessed with poodles."

"Arf!" Mongryong answers.

"You're amusing," Chanyeol chuckles, momentarily lookig back at his toaster that has beeped, signalling it's finished before turning back to the dog. "What are you, though? A welsh corgi? Is that right?"

"Arf!"

"Huh, you're a smart one," Chanyeol laughs as he reaches to get his toast once he deems them cool enough. He bites into it and continues to stare at the dog.

"So what is Baekhyun like?" Chanyeol asks. He feels kind of weird talking to a puppy, and if Baekhyun catches him talking to it like this, he'd probably think he's crazy. But wherever that blondie is, Chanyeol doesn't care and continues to interrogate his baby.

"Arf!"

"You naturally think he's the greatest owner, right? You look like he pampers you all the time."

"Arf!"

"It's obvious," Chanyeol chuckles. "Look at you, you're really chubby. You look like a caterpillar when you walk."

The dog doesn't answer him. Instead, twirls around and suddenly assumes a weird position before something starts escaping his rear end.

Chanyeol blinks in shock.

"What the ."

"MONGRYONG!"

Baekhyun rushes into the scene, embarassment and dread on his face as he watches his dog poop right on the floor in front of the owner of the place they were staying in.

"I'm honestly speechless right now," Chanyeol utters. "Is your little pup not poopie-trained?"

Baekhyun turns to him, despair and humiliation scribbled across his face as he quickly says, "Mongryong is sorry! It’s not his fault! He's just a puppy. It’s natural he poops everywhere...”

“Really?" Chanyeol snickers. "Right in front of my toast?"

Baekhyun opens his mouth to apologize again, but Chanyeol is starting to pity how he looks so helpless. He finishes his toast and waves a hand dismissively, saying, "Forget about it. Just call up room service to clean this up. I've got work. You can do whatever you want and go wherever you wish. Just make it back alive."

 

 

 

Not even through with his day yet Chanyeol already feels drained. He's been through three meetings already and it's not even any close to being lunch break for him. For some reason, he wants to go home quickly and maybe even spend some time with Baekhyun and his bastardly dog.

"Hello my cute little brother!"

Chanyeol flinches when his door suddenly slams open and he hears the shrill and excited voice of his older sister echo into his spacious office.

Scowling, he calls out to her and says, "Yoora-noona, please at least knock or let my assistant notify me first."

"I'm the CEO's sister, why do I need to go through all that?" Yoora whines as she walks up to the desk and plops onto one of the guest chairs.

"To stop you from annoying me while I'm working," Chanyeol grumbles. "Anyway, what do you need? I can't keep you around for long."

"You're so stingy," Yoora pouts. "I just wanted to know how's your first day with Byun Baekhyun."

Chanyeol shrugs as he continues flipping through his documents. "He looks like a highschooler and his dog pooped on my condo unit's floor."

Yoora's eyes widen. "For real? That's eventful! But do tell me," she leans over the table, giving her little brother a suggestive little smile. "Is he your type?"

Chanyeol gives his sister a dirty look of annoyance. "I don't even have a type."

The older woman cackles loudly. "That's not what I remember back when you were in highschool. I heard how you complained that your school didn't have enough pretty little petite boys. So, is Baekhyun like that?"

Chanyeol could only roll his eyes.

"Well he does look like a highschooler," he answers grumpily. "Not exactly the kind of person I thought would come from abroad, especially from England. Shouldn't they be sophisticated?"

"Stereotype much?" Yoora snickers. "Give Baekhyun a chance. You'll have to marry him anyway."

"Do you people even consider our feelings?" Chanyeol deadpans.

Yoora chuckles. "It's not like you care."

"And how about Baekhyun?"

"He doesn't have a choice."

Chanyeol sighs. Shouldn't marriages involve actual feelings so that they would work? Two people actually have to like each other enough to spend so many years together, right? Will he and Baekhyun even get to like each other that much that they would get to the point of marriage?

"Take my advice, baby brother," Yoora says as she stands up. "You're going to thank me later."

"Whatever," Chanyeol mutters. "Where are you going?"

"I just came by to check up on you," Yoora says. "I'll have to go to my own office too. See you soon, Chanyeol."

"Take care, noona. You want me to send someone to you?"

"Nah, don't bother."

The office is once again quiet when Yoora leaves. Chanyeol sighs and dives back into his work. The papers he's currently working on are marketing proposals and partnership deals for the idol groups and solo artists under his entertainment. As he goes through them, he is suddenly struck by a strong sense of nostalgia.

You see, once upon a time Chanyeol dreamed of also become an idol singer. He loved boy groups and girl groups, their performances, their passion to please fans, their freedom to enjoy the music that Chanyeol is oh so in love with. Well, that only remained a dream because despite his parents supporting him with his degree in music, he is still expected to be in the family business. Of course, he can't say no to his family. For decades they built it up, and it's his duty to cultivate and develop it. But his love for music is too strong that he can't just simply let it go. So right after managing a branch of the family business and made it a sucess, Chanyeol immediately bought an entertainment and took position as CEO after convincing their board. He gave it his all, helping the current idol groups to develop and utilize their talents well. That's why Chanyeol's so in love with his work that he has never really become interested in other aspects of his life.

Chanyeol chuckles, chiding himself for distracting his own self as he goes back to work.

 

 

 

"Ah! Kyungsoo!"

"You don't like it?"

"I do! But- ah! Stop!"

Kyungsoo pushes harder, sending Chanyeol forward as he cries helplessly, face screwing up as the pain shoots up his system.

"What the Kyungsoo this isn't how you give a massage- ow! ing stop it!"

Kyungsoo gives Chanyeol a dirty glare when he shoves him away, straightening his blazer before leaning back against his head, breathing heavily from the trauma of Kyungsoo's massage (more like assault, Chanyeol felt like he's trying to crush his shoulder blades with his bare thumbs holy ).

"It's your fault," Kyungsoo states.

"Why can't you even give a simple massage?"

"You didn't put it in the hiring requirements," the assistant grumbles. "Go hire a proper masseur, not me."

Chanyeol groans.

"Or maybe you should go home," Kyungsoo says after glancing at his wristwatch. "Your Baekhyun is waiting at home."

"He's not my Baekhyun," Chanyeol grumbles as he starts putting his stuff into his bag.

"He eventually will."

Chanyeol looks over his shoulder to glare at Kyungsoo, but aborts mission when he sees the creepy smile he is giving him so he turns back around.

"Okay, I guess I'm going home now," Chanyeol announces as he stands up. "Let's go down together."

Kyungsoo shrugs. "Just let me arrange my stuff, meet you outside."

The two exit the building together, but separate since Kyungsoo has his own car while Chanyeol has his own too after deciding to stop using his service from now on. As he drives home to his unit, he feels kind of excited. He won't be caught alive admitting it out loud, but he's excited to see Baekhyun again. Not because he's attracted to him. No, not yet. He's just curious.

The first thing Chanyeol sees when he enters his unit is Baekhyun laughing happily while lying down on the floor, legs folded up with Mongryong perched on top as he lifts him up to the air, making the little pup bark happily in excitement.

Chanyeol is suddenly soft.

He only breaks away from his little trance at watching the father and son(?) duo when Baekhyun's eyes suddenly drift towards him. Startled, Chanyeol straightens from his leaning position at the doorway and enters the living room coolly.

"Chanyeol, you're home!" Baekhyun greets as he stands up to his feet, suddenly tensing at his presence. Chanyeol had the strong urge to run his fingers through his fluffy blonde hair.

"Arf!"

"Mongryong, shh," Baekhyun chides, making the little pup whimper. "You still have to apologize to Chanyeol for being a naughty baby!"

Chanyeol chuckles in amusement, causing Baekhyun to look up and relax the slightest when he sees a little smile across the taller's lips.

"You're not angry anymore?" the blonde asks bashfully.

The taller could only shrug. "I wasn't even mad. Well, unless you didn't call room service and let the stink the whole day in my kitchen-"

"I did! I even gave the nice lady a tip," Baekhyun says with a bright smile.

Chanyeol couldn't handle it anymore. He reaches out and ruffles Baekhyun's hair before walking to his room.

"So what did you do the whole day?" Chanyeol asks as he starts stripping down his clothes. Baekhyun yelps as he turns around, blushing a bit.

"I went out to the supermarket to buy groceries since your refrigerator is close to being barren," he answers. "But I saw your ramyeon stocks. Chanyeol, you know it's not healthy to just constantly eat those. You're really big so you have to eat stuff with actual nutrients-"

"I don't really have the luxury of time and leisure for a proper meal," Chanyeol says as he finally slips into a comfortable white shirt and pants. He walks over to Baekhyun, who makes the mistake of turning around when Chanyeol stops less than a meter distance between them. Baekhyun blinks, flustered as he immediately backs away for a more comfortable proximity.

"S-Since I'm going to stay here for who knows how long, I'll be in-charge of house duties," Baekhyun shyly says. "I actually made dinner… I'm not that good of a cook but Mom tells me I'm okay…"

"As long as it's not poisoned, it's fine," Chanyeol says, touching his nose before exiting the room with a dumbfounded Baekhyun following after him.

"Wow, you shouldn't have made so much," Chanyeol comments as he sits at the edge of the table, admiring the dishes set out in front of him. It's actually his first time to eat something that is not ramyeon ever since he moved into this condo unit, as he is more than pleased.

"I'm sorry if I went on my way doing this without asking permission to use your kitchen," Baekhyun apologizes as he stands at the side. "But I don't have your number and I really wanted to cook for you after ruining your morning-"

"You should just forget about that," Chanyeol laughs easily, missing the little smile Baekhyun makes. "I'm honestly not mad, you're overthinking."

"Okay, I'll stop…"

Baekhyun watches on as Chanyeol eats through the dishes, constantly looking at his face and he is utterly relieved to only see nothing but delight across the taller's face as he indulges into the food.

"Baekhyun, aren't you going to join me for dinner, or would you prefer to just stare at me all night?"

"Sorry!" Baekhyun exclaims as he quickly sits at the other end of the table.

Chanyeol leans on his elbows, looking at Baekhyun critically as he asks, "So Baekhyun, tell me about yourself."

The blonde looks up, eyelashes fluttering again out of fluster, clearing his throat as he says, "All you need to know about me is that I grew up in England. Went to school there, finished everything there before coming back here."

"Hmm," Chanyeol hums. "What did you finish?"

"Music and business…"

"We're practically the same," Chanyeol smiles. "Difference is that I was trained by my parents."

Baekhyun raises his eyebrows. "Really?"

"My parents wanted me to get into business, but my passion in music made me lead an entertainment company so it was a win-win."

Baekhyun nods as he picks with his food. "I… I hate business. I hate being around money-hungry and manipulative people."

Chanyeol leans back in awe.

Baekhyun sees his reaction and he immediately says, "I'm sorry, it's not what you think! I meant-"

"No, you're right," Chanyeol laughs. "Wow, you're really honest. You just met me and you're talking like that already."

"Is that a bad thing?" Baekhyun asks, scratching his temple. "I'm sorry, I was actually taught to be more careful about my words because Korea is more reserved than what I'm used to but you're surprisingly easy to talk to."

"It's okay," Chanyeol waves his hand. "I completely understand why you think that way. I think the same way too, even until now."

Baekhyun seems hesitant to continue on, but he does anyway and says, "I'm just lucky I have my brother to take on the family business. You know, Baekbeom?"

Of course Chanyeol knows Baekbeom. They've met through meetings, and although he's older and more mature, he could see the family resemblance.

"So you've just finished with your studies, right? What do you plan on doing after this?"

The blonde looks uncertain. "Well aside from marrying you, I'm not too sure… Probably help out around Baekbeom. Or maybe build my own café."

"Maybe you'd like to meet with the producers in my company some time."

Baekhyun's eyes start to sparkle at that. "Really?"

"Of course," Chanyeol says, giving him a soft gaze. "I know what it feels like to be in your shoes. If you're good enough, maybe you could be a part of the production team of the company."

Baekhyun breaks out into a full out smile for the first time. It's a pretty smile, with his eyes turning into crescents and his perfect teeth out for display.

Chanyeol doesn't think he's ever meet someone as stunning as Baekhyun.

"You're really nice Chanyeol," Baekhyun says sincerely. "I'm really lucky to have met you."

 

 

 

"Hmm, someone looks happier today."

Chanyeol looks up and sees Kyungsoo smirking at him as he places folders