Chapter 2: Sweet Friendship

“Who was it this time?”

Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol, expectantly. They were walking about in the palace garden, enjoying the first few days of spring. The flowers on the peach trees had just bloomed, its petals floating softly in the wind. Baekhyun pulled a stalk off and twisted it around his finger, still staring at his friend.

“Uhh… what was her name again?” Chanyeol muttered to himself.

“What the hell, Chanyeol! Next time when you decide to have with a girl, at least get to know her first! Don’t just randomly drag any girl into bed…” Baekhyun exclaimed, exasperated.

“Oh, come on. She had a nice body. You gotta admit that.”

Baekhyun shook his head unbelievingly. Okay, that girl was hot. He had to admit that. But it didn’t mean he was going to sleep with her before getting to know her name.

“Okay, look. You get to party around and everything, but I have to take care of your dirty business. Do you know how many times Kris asked about you missing class again? He’s getting suspicious of your constant absences and stupid excuses. Next time, I’m not covering up for you anymore!” Baekhyun stated firmly, still playing with the flower in his hand.

“Aww, come on, Baekhyunnie! You’re my best friend, right?” Chanyeol blinked at him cutely.

Baekhyun felt the blush creep onto his face and quickly averted his eyes to the ground. “Don’t call me that!”

“You love it when I do, though!”

“No I don’t!”

“…Baekhyunnie~ I love you~”

“Gerroffme!”

Baekhyun tried to free himself from Chanyeol’s sudden back hug, but to no avail. No matter how much he struggled, Chanyeol only tightened his grip.

“Yah! Park Chanyeol!” Baekhyun screamed, frustrated. He twisted around with much difficulty to face him, only to find his face mere inches away from Chanyeol’s. Baekhyun felt his breath hitch and his heart pounding in his throat.

“C-Chanyeol,” he murmured, ceasing his struggling.

“Hey, you lovebirds! What are you guys doing in broad daylight?”

At the sound of Jongin’s voice, they immediately broke apart. Baekhyun coughed and looked at his feet once more, knowing that his face was definitely bright red. Chanyeol stuck his hands in his pockets and stared up at the sky, avoiding Jongin’s mocking eyes.

“So… Getting it on in the middle of the Royal Garden, I see,” Jongin teased, throwing his arms around the shoulders of his two friends.

“Shut up, we weren’t getting it on,” Baekhyun muttered, jabbing Jongin in the ribs.

“Mhmm, mhmm. Totally not,” Jongin said cheerfully, ignoring Baekhyun’s glare. “Hey, Chanyeol, you should start attending class soon. Kris was going nuts today because you missed out again. And exams are coming up so you should start preparing.”

“Psh, I have Baekhyun to tutor me. Forget class,” Chanyeol said airily.

Jongin grinned. “Oh yeah, you have Baekhyunnie.”

“Y-yah! Don’t call me that!”

“Baekhyunnie~” Chanyeol and Jongin chorused.

“Yah!”

“Baekhyunnie, your face is all red~” Jongin sang.

“Shut up, blockhead!”

---

Baekhyun stared wide-eyed, as his best friend stormed about the room, knocking over and kicking anything that obstructed his path.

He had never seen Chanyeol so angry before. No, beyond angry. Chanyeol looked like the devil reincarnated. And he had been like that ever since his conference with his father, the Emperor, half an hour ago. Right after the meeting, Chanyeol had Baekhyun summoned to his chamber, but did not even greet him or talk to him. He completely ignored him and went about destroying his room.

“C-chanyeol? Are you okay?” Baekhyun asked timidly after Chanyeol had finally stopped throwing porcelain against the wall. He walked up to him and tapped him softly on the shoulder. Chanyeol shrugged his hand off and breathed hard.

“Baekhyun-ah,” he said finally, his back towards him. His voice was low and hoarse, and it scared Baekhyun.

“Y-yeah?”

“I’m getting married.”

Baekhyun froze. What? He wasn’t sure if his mind had registered the words correctly.

I’m getting married.

I’m getting married.

….Chanyeol…was getting married?

Baekhyun’s throat fell dry and he his lips, trying to find his voice so he could offer some sort of congratulations. Before he could open his mouth, Chanyeol turned around to face him.

At the sight of Chanyeol’s face, all the words swirling in his brain disappeared. He…he looked so lost. Like he didn’t know what to do anymore. So desperate.

Without even realizing it, Baekhyun wrapped his arms around Chanyeol.

“It’s okay,” he whispered softly, rubbing comforting circles on his back. He felt Chanyeol hug him back, gripping him even tighter.

“I don’t want to get married,” Chanyeol muttered, leaning his head onto Baekhyun’s shoulder, even though the latter was so much shorter than him.

“Why not?”

“I just don’t want to.”

I don’t want you to either.

“Who’s the lucky girl?” Baekhyun asked in a falsely cheery voice after they broke apart.

“I don’t know. Some stupid princess from some stupid neighboring land. Who cares.”

Baekhyun smiled inwardly. He wasn’t sure why there was some elated feeling in his chest when he heard Chanyeol’s statement about the bride, but there was. It was quickly chased away, however, by Chanyeol’s next words.

“The wedding is in two weeks. I’m meeting her next week.”

Two weeks.

“That’s…sooner than I thought,” Baekhyun said, forcing out a chuckle to accompany his words.

“That’s what I said to my father! He didn’t care though. It’s some stupid marriage for our stupid Royal Family crap or whatever. The whole thing’s just-”

“Stupid,” Baekhyun finished.

“Exactly! I’ll bet you the bride’s ugly! Trust my father to get me the ugliest girl there is in the universe.”
 

---

She wasn’t ugly at all.

One week later, there was a large ceremony at the Capital for the arrival of the foreign princess. All of the citizens gathered along the main road to the palace, craning their necks for a glance at the rumored bride.

Baekhyun was waiting at the city gates to formally greet the princess as an sent from the Emperor. He was, after all, best friends with Chanyeol, the groom.

As soon as he laid his eyes on her, his heart stopped. It wasn’t because her breathtaking beauty simply blew him away. It was because of the unnatural fear bubbling in his chest.

There was no way in hell for Chanyeol not to fall in love with this beauty.

“Hello, I’m Seo Joohyun. It’s nice to meet you. You’re the , I believe?”

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A/N: This is so short.... I don't even see the point of posting it LOL. But I found it so cute. ;__; I don't know why, but I almost always love Kai's character in fanfics. And I'll probably love his character in real life too. Aha. Um. Yeah, probably double update today... this chapter's way too short to be called a chapter. It's a filler, okay, a filler! Just to give you guys a feel of how close Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Jongin are. By the way, the timing's a bit weird, cuz obviously, there's quite a skip between the last chapter and this chapter, and probably a large skip between this one and the next too. And when I mean large, it's probably just a few weeks/months, cuz right now, it's all fluff~ Fluffy rabbits and muffins~