Chanyeol was still cleaning the glasses when he heard footsteps walking into the bar. His natural reaction was to shout “Eo-seo o-se-yo”.

And then Chanyeol froze, realising that someone had just walked into Heaven. “It couldn’t be him, right? It’s only six.”

He looked up from this spot and spotted two guys. One of them was carrying a guitar case, and was a total stranger to him (Chanyeol). Why would this person bring a guitar to Heaven on a Saturday night? There isn’t any live music performance. The guy’s companion looked familiar to him but Chanyeol was unable to recollect anything at the moment.

Putting on a smile, Chanyeol greeted the two customers when they approached the bar, “Would you like anything to eat or drink?”

“We’re looking for Joon-myun,” the boy with the guitar said.

“Just a moment. He’s probably upstairs. I’ll give him a call,” Chanyeol replied.

He reached for the telephone to make a call, and when he was done, Chanyeol said and pointed in the direction of the staircase, “He asked you guys to head upstairs.”

……

“Joon-myun-ssi,” Yixing greeted excitedly as he spotted Joon-myun.

“Hello Yixing-ssi. Hello Lu Han-ssi,” Joon-myun smiled warmly at them. “Welcome to Heaven. I’m so glad that both of you could make it today.”

“Thank you for inviting us to your home,” Yixing replied as he heart thumped with excitement. “So this is where you live.”

Joon-myun nodded. “Sehun and I live one level downstairs. The rest of us live on this level. Come take a seat and make yourselves comfortable. We would be having dinner shortly.”

Joon-myun beckoned them to the sofa in the living room. He then brought out two glasses of water for the two Chinese guests not after they had taken their seats. He sat down and chatted with them for a bit.

“Hyung, are we having dinner soon?” Sehun shouted as he came upstairs.

“Lu…Lu…Han…” Sehun stuttered as he spotted the older Chinese boy in the living room. “What…what…are you doing here? And you Yixing-ssi, what are you doing here?”

“I invited them,” Joon-myun said. “Why don’t you entertain them while I’ll go get the dinner table ready?”

“But I…but I…” Sehun protested.

“No buts. Sit down and entertain the guests for me,” Joon-myun ordered, before getting up and walking off to the kitchen.

Sehun felt really awkward being caught in such a situation as he took a seat. “I…I…Lu Han why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“I thought you knew,” Lu Han replied as he eyed Yixing suspiciously.

“I didn’t,” Sehun said.

“No one told you about our visit. Not even Joon-myun-ssi?”

Sehun shook his head.

Lu Han turned to glare at Yixing with a “what do you think you’re doing…you’re going to be so dead look”.

Just then Jongin came out from his room and spotted the two unfamiliar places in the living room. “Hi. Are you Sehun’s friends? I’m Jongin. But you can call me Kai.”

“I’m Lu Han.”

“Oh. I remember you now!” Jongin exclaimed.

“I’m Yixing but you can call me Lay. I’m Lu Han’s friend. Joon-myun-ssi invited us today. Lu Han here is Sehun’s friend. Sort of.”

Just after the boys had finished their introductions, Joon-myun came out from the kitchen. He was displeased to see Jongin. “Kai,” he called out, “Could you go man the bar downstairs and call Chanyeol up for dinner?”

Jongin knew that Joon-myun was doing it on purpose. But he also knew better than to start an argument with the older boy and cause unpleasantness, so he nodded. But fortunately or unfortunately, Sungmin happened to pass by the living room and heard what Joon-myun had just said. Saying that the younger teenagers should hang out together, Sungmin calmly told Jongin to stay for dinner instead while he would go downstairs and man the bar instead. Sungmin then introduced himself as the owner of Heaven and his role of “mother father” to the boys, and cooed at the two guests, especially the cuter Lu Han. Sungmin was about to ask whether Yixing and Lu Han were interested to work in Heaven to the chagrin of Sehun when Kyuhyun appeared out of nowhere to whisk Sungmin away before he made the guests feel uncomfortable, but not before rattling off a brief introduction that he is the other owner or Heaven, a lawyer, the father figure to the boys and Sungmin’s partner. As Kyuhyun took Sungmin by the latter’s waist to drag him off and cupped Sungmin’s mouth with his (Kyuhyun’s) hands, it left both Yixing and Lu Han feeling amused and envious at how loving the two older men are.

Sehun rolled his eyes. “Somehow I think they are a mismatch for another. One is too snarky, the other is too nice.”

Sehun then proceeded to recount the KyuMin story to both Yixing and Lu Han who were engrossed by the account. It was only when Joon-myun called them for dinner did they reluctantly tread over to the dining table to have their dinner.

By then all the boys had gathered the table and had taken their seats. But the mood was far from festive or joyful. There was an underlying tension between the boys which the sensitive Lu Han had managed to sense though he remained silent about it.

Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo and Jongin were at one side of the table and directly opposite them were Sehun, Lu Han, Yixing and Joon-myun.  Baekhyun and Chanyeol were rather subdued not their usual jovial, boisterous, playful selves. Joon-myun and Jongin avoided eye contact with one another. Joon-myun focused his attention on Yixing, whilst stealing glances at Kyungsoo who was trying his best to appear normal despite worrying deep inside that something bad might happen at dinner.

But all of them (Heaven’s boys) knew how to maintain appearances so they put on their best smiles for the sake of the guests. And so they made a round of introductions with Joon-myun finishing up and thanking Kyungsoo for preparing a wonderful Western-style spread.

“I wasn’t sure if you were able to eat spicy food, so Kyungsoo and I figured that Western style might be best. I hope you enjoy the meal. Kyungsoo does pasta very well,” Joon-myun said.

“Shall we pick up where we left off?” Sehun suggested.

“Left off?” Kyungsoo asked.

“I was just telling them the KyuMin story.”

“Oh no!” Baekhyun exclaimed. “We don’t want to hear it again. I know it too well that I could recite it backwards.”

“Then do it,” Sehun challenged.

And all at the table burst into laughter.

“But we do want to know,” Yixing said as he glanced at Joon-myun which did not go unnoticed by both Kyungsoo and Jongin. “It is so moving that it seems unreal.”

“Maybe Sehun is exaggerating.” Baekhyun said.

“No. I’m telling the story the way I know it,” Sehun protested.

“I’ll tell the story,” Baekhyun insisted.

Baekhyun finished up the story. The conversation then later shifted towards the two guests. They were both surprised to hear that Lu Han was working for SM Entertainment and Yixing was a trainee there.

And then the topic of Chanyeol going to film a PV for SNSD came up which made the tall boy all excited. Lu Han said he would drop by to give support if his schedule would permit him.

And then Joon-myun invited Yixing to perform for them. And so Yixing performed a few of his own song compositions – one of which was Airport Tears – and wowed the crowd with his talents. Although Joon-myun did not understand what the song was since it was in Chinese and had to have Lu Han translate the meaning for him, he was really impressed by Yixing’s talent and appeared to be absorbed in the song, and later applauded enthusiastically for Yixing. Joon-myun even high-fived Yixing. Kyungsoo observed all this, and he secretly hoped that perhaps this would be the happiness that Joon-myun deserves. 

Yixing then egged Lu Han to sing. Lu Han shyly declined saying that his voice was really ordinary. But at the urging of the crowd, Lu Han obliged, as Yixing accompanied Lu Han on the guitar.

Lu Han may not have a powerful big voice or fantastic vocal skills, but he had a crisp tone to it. Soon, the performance turned into a bit sing-along as Chanyeol went to grab his guitar to join in the strumming. Baekhyun, Kyungsoo also joined in the singing with Lu Han and Yixing as the other boys watched on. And the air of animosity and awkwardness disappeared under the merriment and song.

And Sehun could not help but admit that Lu Han was rather talented, and he started to see the older boy in a new light. And he was secretly glad that Joon-myun had invited them over for the dinner so that he could see this new side of Lu Han.

And it was a pity that Lu Han was just a mere employee at SM Entertainment, Sehun thought to himself. He could be much more with his looks and talent.

……

A tall figure with model like features and blond hair made heads turn and hearts flutter as he strutted across the dance floor towards the bar counter.

Chanyeol took a deep breath as he spotted that familiar figure. It was time to put the plan into action.

“Hey Kris!” Chanyeol moved from behind the bar counter to embrace the tall blond male earning Chanyeol the looks of envy from the many guys around.

Baekhyun who was nearby, seethed in quiet anger and scoffed at the sight which was caught on by Sehun. The younger boy chuckled from the amusement and amazement at the sight while Kyungsoo merely gaped in shock.

Kris leaned in closer to Chanyeol making it look as though he was kissing the younger boy’s cheek, but Kris was in fact whispering into his ear. “Are you sure you want to do this? I have to warn you though. It might backfire on us.”

“Yes. I want to do this. I’m sick of being a pushover,” Chanyeol whispered back.

“Then let’s get the show on the road,” Kris grinned wickedly as he brushed Chanyeol’s hair earning the ire of Baekhyun.

“Chanyeol hyung has done really well for himself,” Sehun sniggered at Baekhyun. “He snagged himself a tall, handsome and charismatic devil.”

Baekhyun snorted. “What’s so good about that Kris guy? He’s not good looking. He has this stern ‘don’t piss me off’ -face look. Not lovable. Not appealing.”

“But he’s charismatic and tall,” Sehun countered.

“So what! I’m cute, adorable, fun…” Baekhyun retorted.

“But you’re short,” Sehun quipped as he used his hands to emphasise the difference in height between himself and Baekhyun to drive his point. “So that Kris guy or what’s his name is quite compatible with Chanyeol hyung.” 

“But Channie likes guys with eyeliner. He doesn’t wear eyeliner. I do. And Channie always says I look good with eyeliner,” Baekhyun retaliated.

“Chanyeol hyung is just being nice and polite to you. You have to rely on makeup to enhance your small eyes,” Sehun taunted as he squeezed his eyes to that of Baekhyun’s size. “I bet that guy is a natural and doesn’t use any makeup.”

“Say what you want. I don’t think he’s suitable for Channie.”

“Then who should Chanyeol hyung be with?”

“Anyone else but not that guy.”

“So who’s that anyone else? You mean you? Someone’s getting jealous and insecure of himself because a more formidable rival has appeared,” Sehun teased.

“What do you mean by jealous and insecure? I’m not. I’m not jealous of that Kris guy. Why should I be? I’m Channie’s best friend. He can be with anyone else and I’ll support him, just not with that guy. So what if he owns a patisserie and calls himself a patissier? He’s just a baker. Channie should be with Lu Han. Lu Han is good.”

“Hey, why are you dragging Lu Han into this? They rarely even spoke to one another. What makes you so sure they’re compatible?” Sehun protested.

Baekhyun just ignored Sehun’s complaints and headed for the bar counter just as Chanyeol offered to get Kris a drink.

“Channie,” Baekhyun said sweetly as he pointed to some drinks on the bar counter. “Can you deliver the drinks to Table 6? And do you mind clearing some of the glasses away?”

“Can’t you see I’m with a friend here? Can’t you do that instead?” Chanyeol rebuffed.

“But you’re working Channie,” Baekhyun coolly said. “I’ll fix your friend a drink.”

Kris nodded at Chanyeol to go ahead as he ran his fingers through Chanyeol’s hair and caressed him lovingly, “Go ahead Channie. I’m sure your friend here would take good care of me and fix me something special.”

Baekhyun convulsed with anger as he clenched his fists. After Chanyeol had left the two rivals alone, Baekhyun finally could not contain his anger and lashed out, “Who allowed you to call him ‘Channie’? Who allowed you to touch him?”

Kris gave a confident smirk. “Well he didn’t object, did he? So he gave me the permission to do that. Who are you to object?”

Trembling Baekhyun tried his best to match Kris’ confidence as he raised his voice, “Because only I can call him ‘Channie’!”

Kris scoffed, “It’s not like you registered calling him ‘Channie’ as a trademark. Anyway I like Channie. And I intend to see him and date him.”

“I object!” Baekhyun exclaimed.

“On what grounds?”

Baekhyun stuttered, “That I’m his best friend and hyung?”

“Hyung?” Kris laughed as he rolled his eyes. “You’re only older than him by a few months. And you’re not that much more mature than him either. Seriously, that’s not a good enough reason. If you’re his boyfriend, you can object all you want because that means he’s two-timing you. You can object all you want. Although it’s still Channie’s choice ultimately. Ah. What a pity. You don’t have any grounds to say anything. You’re not his boyfriend.”

“I…I…I won’t allow it! You’re…you’re not good enough for Channie.”

“Because…?”

“You’re just a mere baker…”

“I might be a mere baker, but I own my own business which happens to be doing well. I’m financially independent. I can take care of Chanyeol. I’m good enough for him, unlike a klutz who is unaware of his feelings or a coward who does not dare confront his feelings,” Kris lectured.

“You’re not good enough for Channie. What do you know about him? Do you know what he needs? Do you know about his sad past? Do you even know how much hurt he has been through?” Baekhyun blurted on the spur of a moment, but immediately regretted his actions. 

With an air of determination Kris replied confidently, “I may not know about his past or know what he had gone through, but I’ll make sure he’ll see happiness with me so that he doesn’t need even that once to dwell with sadness upon his past. I can do that.”

“You’ll just bull…”

“I’m not. But you, what can you give him?” Kris challenged. “Always caring for him as a best friend? That’s all you can give? I can give him more than that. I can give him security. I can give him love. I can see him and love him as a man…as my equal. Can you do that? Don’t you think Chanyeol deserves someone who can take him as a lover rather than just a best friend?”

“I…I…I…” Baekhyun struggled for words, but none actually escaped his mouth.

Kris is right, Baekhyun thought to himself as he hung his head low. He only sees Chanyeol as his best friend, a boy and a peer. He had never seen Chanyeol as a man. He (Baekhyun) wants to protect Chanyeol from being hurt again and that’s just about it.

“But I understand him more than anyone else here in Heaven!” Baekhyun raised his voice in frustration. “He spent the most time with me, more than with appa, umma or Joon-myun hyung.”

“I’m sure I’ll be able to understand him as much as you with the passing of time,” Kris asserted. “Isn’t it better this way? That Chanyeol has a best friend who cares for him and a boyfriend who loves him. Aren’t you being selfish and possessive here? Using the best friend tag to keep him all to you while you go around dating other people? Chanyeol would grow out of this best friend sooner or later. You’ll have to accept it.”

Baekhyun knew that he had to concede defeat. Yes, he had spent four years with Chanyeol. But if Chanyeol started dating Kris, he would start to spend more time with Kris and less time with him. Kris would be able to catch up with him someday.

Baekhyun clenched his fists. “You’re right. I don’t have any grounds to object to both of you being together. If you think you can make Channie happy, as his good friend, I’ll be happy for him too.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll have to start preparing drinks. I’ll let Channie fix you a drink. He probably knows your tastes better than I do,” Baekhyun said flatly as he turned away with a sigh.

Kris could not believe his ears. “Is that it Byun Baekhyun-ssi? That’s all you can say? Aren’t you going to raise more objections or something? Aren’t you going to fight for Chanyeol’s happiness? Are you just giving up like that? Are you a coward?”

Kris felt like swinging a punch at Baekhyun to wake the shorter and oblivious guy up but he held himself back.

Baekhyun did not reply to any of Kris’ questions. He just sauntered over to the other end of the bar counter where Joon-myun was happily working while chatting with Yixing and Lu Han at the same time.

Kris turned around to see Chanyeol standing with a tray of collected glasses as Sehun and Kyungsoo surrounded him in the middle.

“This is not good,” Kris thought to himself as he approached Chanyeol. “Chanyeol, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay Kris.”

“No Chanyeol, it’s not okay! I’ll right everything,” Kris said as he turned around and prepared to head towards Baekhyun but he felt someone pull him back. He turned around to see that it was Chanyeol.

“It’s alright Kris. I understand. I totally get it,” Chanyeol replied with a quivering voice.

“Chanyeol…” Kris said.

“I knew this would happen. I’m fine,” Chanyeol forced a smile as his lips trembled. “I’m good. Sehun do you mind taking my tray?”

Sehun nodded as he took the tray from Chanyeol.

“Kris, let’s go enjoy ourselves,” Chanyeol said as he dragged Kris to the dance floor.

……

That night, both Baekhyun and Chanyeol went to bed with a heavy heart. It was heartbreaking for Chanyeol to finally come to that realisation that Baekhyun could give up on him so easily. As for Baekhyun, it was heartbreaking for him that Chanyeol would leave his side someday for someone else.

Meanwhile, Sehun reluctantly shared a bed with Joon-myun that night as Joon-myun gave up his bed for Yixing and Lu Han to sleep over that night. All the boys except Sehun had already fallen asleep as he carefully observed Lu Han who was sound asleep.

Lu Han looked just so beautiful and angelic. His skin was flawless and glowing. He had pretty eyelashes the arched nicely into a brow. Those pursed kissable pinkish plump lips. Sehun could not resist as he stretched his arm across the gap between the two beds to caress Lu Han, thus causing Lu Han to stir. Seeing that, Sehun quickly retracted his arm and pretended to fall asleep, opening his eyes to spy on Lu Han until Sehun himself was overcome by sleepiness that he finally shuttered his eyes for some rest.

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So did you guys like the chapter with the little sprinking of SuLay and HunHan?

Do you think the SuLay ship will finally set sail?

Do you think Sehun will give himself and Lu Han a chance?

Do you think KrisYeol's plan to make Baekhyun jealous worked or backfired? 

What do you think of Baekhyun in this chapter? Do you really hate him and deserve the harsh words Kris used on him and the teasing from Sehun?

Anyway thanks to all who subscribed and commented.

Please continue to shower me with your comments. And if you've yet to subscribe to this story, please do so. And to all my new readers, welcome. This fic is about two thirds done. 

Thanks.

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My other fan fics

KyuMin: Almost a love story

KyuMin: 60 Days 

It's You (너라고) Neorago (a YeWook fan-fic)