Kyungsoo’s face was always a lucid mirror of his inner feelings, which meant  Baekhyun could clearly see disappointment and sorrow in his brother’s  grief-stricken eyes before walking away.

“Look, I appreciate this gift and all, but I really have to go”

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel even slightly guilty about the curt way he had left Kyungsoo. But then again, Baekhyun was no stranger to bending the truth. He tightened the grip on the bag of food Kyungsoo had given him and walked brusquely to his apartment complex - vainly trying to dispel the nagging guilt.

                                                                                                                                             *

The only thing Baekhyun hated about living on the18^th floor was the incredibly long ride on the elevator. He despised elevators, particularly on days he forgot to take his medication. There was something very disturbing about being enclosed in an 8 by 10 ft box. It was a power struggle, one that Baekhyun never won.

He opened the front door to the sound of illicit moans echoing through the apartment.

“Ugh, Kyungsoo.”

Baekhyun’s head snapped towards the source of the noise – Jongin’s room. He curiously put his ear at the door, and heard a plethora of sensual groans, all of them dedicated to his little brother. A sick discomfort arose in him as he considered what Jongin was doing. Of course, ual desire came with romantic love but he’d never actively thought about Jongin wanting to e with Kyungsoo. It made him extremely angry, and he wasn’t sure why. He knocked on the door ferociously, “Open it now.”

A yelp, and some hurried movements were heard before the door swung open. Jongin leaned nonchalantly in the doorway, with tousled hair and flushed skin. His loose, black sweatpants only accentuated the large bulge between his legs.

“Oh hey hyung, you’re home early. I wasn’t expecting you back until -”

"What the hell, Jongin?" blurted Baekhyun, putting his hand on his hips. "Do you have any idea how loud you were?"

Jongin's cheeks heated up and he looked down, shamefaced. "I'm sorry-"

"You do know that Kyungsoo has the key to this place, right? What if he'd decided to drop by and heard you doing ... that?"

Feeling utterly humiliated, Jongin hung his head lower still in shame. "I didn't mean to be so loud,"

"Then why the hell were you?!" cried Baekhyun, feeling flustered. How could Jongin fantasize about his brother?

"I'm sorry, hyung ..." Jongin apologized, the bulge in his pants shrinking fast.

“It’s okay.” replied the older boy, grimacing at the awkward tension that lingered in the air. 

“I love your brother, hyung. He’s not just some -”

“I know, I know. It’s just weird for me.”

“I understand. I-I just thought you’d be at Park Enterprises by now.”

“I needed to pick up a few things from here.”

“Are you nervous?”

“A little bit but the cookies in the morning helped…uhm, thanks for that.”

A faint smile flitted on Jongin’s lips, and he nodded slightly, “You’re welcome.”

“Well, I’m going to get going then.”

“Alright good luck! And ... I’m sorry if I made you fee-”

“Don’t worry about it.” replied Baekhyun, perhaps a little too quickly.

*

Seoul 2007

“First day of sophomore year’s going to be blast,” thought Baekhyun, as he combed his hair to one side and straightened out his yellow t-shirt. 

"Baekhyun-ah! Wake Soo up for his first day of high school!" his mother shouted from downstairs. He mumbled an "okay" back and knocked on his brother's door; he’d been waking him up daily since elementary school.

"Kyungsoo wake up! We're going to be late, pabo!" 

​No response. 

Rolling his eyes, Baekhyun turned the doorknob slowly to find his brother in deep slumber, with something protruding from between his legs. The older boy took a few steps back in realization. How could it be? Kyungsoo was only 14 years old.

Baekhyun hesitantly walked closer to his brother, warily watching him writhe on the bed. Glistening teeth were buried deep into his bottom lip, and low throaty moans escaped this mouth as his hips were forward.

"Baekhyun! Is Soo awake yet? Come downstairs for breakfast!" shouted their mother. The older boy ignored her, and stared in utter shock at his little brother, no longer the innocent, bug-eyed boy he knew but someone foreign, someone alien.

"Wake up Do-do! Wake up!" He said repeatedly, wobbling his little brother’s shoulders. Kyungsoo refused to open his eyes and instead harder against thin air; the movements getting quicker by the second as low gasps filled the room. Baekhyun, who’d run out of ideas on how to wake the boy, slapped Kyungsoo’s face harshly.

His dongsaeng's wide eyes opened in a flash. As soon as he saw Baekhyun hovering over him; he pushed him off and crossed his legs in a desperate attempt to conceal the hardness in his crotch. His cheeks burned scarlet.

"Hyung ... I ... um it wasn't ... I-"

Baekhyun put a finger over Kyungsoo's lips. "Just get ready, okay?"

"O-okay ... but how am I going to go to school like this?" said the younger boy, pointing to his crotch, a worried look planted on his precious face.

"It'll wear off, Kyungsoo."

"I know...but I can tell this one's going to last a while," Kyungsoo tucked in his knees awkwardly, and rested his chin on them. 

"Wait, this has happened before?" asked Baekhyun folding his arms, examining his brother intently like a scientist does with specimen. The younger boy averted his eyes and nodded slowly, "It started after you went to science camp."

Baekhyun sighed, "How often?"

"Like once or twice a week."

"That's ... um," Baekhyun scratched his nose, unsure of what to say. In his sixteen years of life, he'd never experienced a wet dream, not one. "Does mom know?"

"Yeah ... She said it was a normal phase boys go through."

"I never went through it." said Baekhyun, eyelashes fluttering as he blinked.

 Kyungsoo opened his mouth to respond but then clamped it shut.

"What is it?" asked the older boy. “Say it."

Kyungsoo's large eyes avoided his older brother's. "It was nothing hyung, I promise."

"No, I want to hear it."

“It was nothing …” 

“You were going to say I’m not normal, right?” 

Kyungsoo's face flushed, "No, I wasn't going to say that."

Baekhyun exhaled loudly and replied, "But you were thinking it." 

"N-no, hyung, I wasn't-"

"Boys, what is going on up there?!" screamed their mother from downstairs. 

"Get ready, Soo." said Baekhyun coldly, his face an inscrutable mask. He darted out of the room without another word and went downstairs to appease his mother. 

At school, Baekhyun helped his brother locate his locker, which was conveniently next to his. 

"Hey, we're locker buddies," said Kyungsoo cheerfully. 

"I guess so." replied Baekhyun, a humorless smile etched on his face. 

"Hyung, are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because of this morning?” Kyungsoo’s voice dropped to a whisper,“You know, you don't need to have wet dreams to be norma-"

"I know you don't." replied Baekhyun, walking away brusquely with his physics book tucked closely against his heart.

*

Before leaving for Park Enterprises, Baekhyun took a good look in the mirror. He flattened his hair, adjusted his light yellow shirt and pulled up his dark slacks. He looked decent enough he supposed. Appearance didn't matter all that much, right?

He opened the right drawer of his dresser and stared longingly at his mother's stick eyeliner. He had "accidentally" brought it with him when he moved out. It was a tangible memory of her and he gazed it at it from time to time because some things were worth remembering - even if they brought one pain. He unscrewed it and stared at the black tip ... He'd never worn any in public before. It was a sort of a secretive thing. He'd apply it to his eye lids on lonely nights. It was a rather eccentric thing to do, but Jongin had never questioned him. It made Baekhyun look different, sort of handsome. He'd never been particularly vain but even he had a penchant for the effect eyeliner had on his normally unremarkable features. 

The urge to wear it was overwhelming. Plus, there was a little voice in the back of his head telling him that he had to look "cool" for Chanyeol. He didn't offer internships to just anyone, but why Baekhyun felt compelled to prove himself through his looks was an utter mystery.

He positioned the tip at the corner of his eyelid and drew it across carefully, creating a perfect jet-black line. He did the same with his other eye and fluttered his lashes in the mirror.

Just like she used to do.

Baekhyun nodded at his reflection, grabbed everything including Kyungsoo's care package, and headed for the door.

As the elevator descended, nerves built up inside him and fear knotted itself in the pit of his stomach, and he tried asking himself why - why was he so afraid?

The answer didn't come to him, so he told himself to relax and believe in himself, no matter how hard that was sometimes.

*

Park Enterprises was 3 subway stops and a 10 minute walk away. When Baekhyun finally arrived, he stared up at the large, golden gates and the tall building behind it.

He pressed the silver button, and within 15 seconds, a deep voice emitted from the tiny sound holes. 

"Welcome to Park Enterprises, Byun Baekhyun. My name is Wu Kris, and I am Park Chanyeol's head secretary. I'll be down to accompany you to his office. Please wait approximately two minutes."

The texture of the voice was businesslike with a hint of indifference. 

Baekhyun's hands curled inwards as he waited for the the secretary. His heart raced in nervous anticipation, as he wiped the sweat that had formed on his palms on the sides of his thighs. 

After exactly two minutes, an extremely tall man exited the building. A stylish black suit accentuated his flawless body line, and slicked strawberry blonde hair framed his ridiculously handsome face. Baekhyun suddenly felt unworthy, confronted with this vision of male perfection approaching him. When Kris was close enough, Baekhyun flashed him a smile, and the tall man responded with a blank expression and perhaps a slight twitch of the lips.

"Byun Baekhyun, pleasure to meet you," Kris said although it sounded like he derived no pleasure at all from their meeting.

"Come with me." he said next, turning on his heel. There was a firmness in his voice that told Baekhyun that he'd better follow.

*

The ride in the elevator was terribly long.

*

"Welcome to the 24th floor. This is the location of Dr. Park's main office and laboratory."

Baekhyun nodded politely, as Kris motioned to him to exit the elevator. His eyes widened as he looked at the state-of-the-art room in front of him. Thick, black and white stripes were painted on the sides of the wall and right in the middle, lay a chic ebony desk, with two ivory office chairs placed behind it. 

"Access here is restricted. Few people have seen this office, and even fewer people have seen Dr. Park's personal laboratory," said Kris as he looked Baekhyun up and down skeptically, "So I guess you’re one of the lucky ones."

Although he felt awkward, Baekhyun smiled and tried not let it show, "I really am, Mr. Wu."

The secretary rolled his eyes, “Call me Kris.” If Baekhyun wasn't mistaken, he definitely saw a trace of a smile on the those peachy lips. 

Kris walked behind the shiny, black desk and motioned for Baekhyun to sit down on one of the snowy chairs. 

"Bazinga!" a booming voice shouted from behind them.

Baekhyun's head snapped back to find a multicolored door, with a bright yellow sign above it that read, Chanyeol's Lab.

​The boy's heart skipped a beat as the realization of where he was gradually sunk in. Park Chanyeol’s laboratory was a mere foot or two behind him.

"Mr. Byun are you okay?" asked Kris, one of his eyebrows raised in question. 

"Y-yeah I'm fine. I’m just a little shocked because of the sudden noise." 

Kris chuckled, and patted Baekhyun's back. "Well you're going to be hearing a lot of that so get used to it." The intern nodded, and wiped his clammy hands on his slacks once again. He glanced at the dark computer screen in front of him and adjusted his hair and face in its reflection. The eye liner was still prominent and dark, everything was under control. 

"Okay so, let's get started. I trust you read through the folder?" asked Kris, as he swiftly reached down and pulled out a stack of papers. 

"Yes, of course," said Baekhyun, stealing a furtive look at the back door. 

Kris noticed and snickered, "Dr. Park was actually looking forward to seeing you.  But he’s got a deadline today so I suggested that it would be better if I worked with you instead."

Disappointment flooded Baekhyun's insides, until he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw he had a message from an unknown number;

Byun ​Baekhyun, it's Chanyeol. Kris probably told you not to come into my lab. And if I come out, he'll get angry. So I have a plan. I'm going to make him run an errand and then you slip into my lab. Got it?

​

"Mr. Byun, if I recall correctly, cell phones are not allowed" said Kris. Baekhyun mumbled an apology and slipped it back into his pocket, unsure of what to think of the text he'd just received when the black phone placed next to the computer started ringing.

"Good afternoon, Kris speaking, how may I help you? Dr. Park? I thought we discussed ... Yes, the intern's here ... No!  I can't, I'm supervising him. You have 300 employees, why don't you assign one of them, Dr. Park! Fine, but if you try any funny business then just wait ... Okay, bye." Kris put the phone down, and closed his eyes in irritation. 

"Are you okay?" Baekhyun asked. 

"Yeah, I suppose. Listen, I have to go do something for Dr. Park. I'll be gone for about 10 minutes. If the phone rings, just write down anything they say on a piece of paper. One more thing, Mr. Byun. If Dr. Park invites you into his lab, tell him you were given strict instructions to stay behind the desk and manage calls. Clear?" Kris' eyes pierced into his soul. 

The boy shifted in his seat uncomfortably and nodded, "C-crystal."

"Good." The secretary's lips curled slightly, before he left.

Within 30 seconds, Baekhyun's phone vibrated again:

Come into my lab. Don't be afraid of Kris, he works for me. 

Baekhyun stared longingly at the multicolored door, and walked towards it, eyes glued on the yellow light flashing above.  As he entered, his eyes widened in response to the large science playground laid out in front of him. Beakers of pink, blue and yellow substances were scattered everywhere along with columns of sterling equipment. Multicolored Bunsen burners, glass cupboards of elements. In one corner, there was a small aquarium with exotic fish, and in another was a scaled model of the Great Wall of China made of lollipop sticks. The ceiling was painted black, mimicking the expansive sky with bright yellow stars and miniature planets hanging from the top. Baekhyun gawked, and stood with his jaw slack, completely mesmerized.

“Like my lab?” a baritone voice asked from behind him.

Baekhyun immediately turned around and bumped his head against a tall man’s chest. He looked up to find the smiley and frizzy-haired man himself – Park Chanyeol. He looked so big in real life and not just in height. He emanated an aura of greatness, of profound vivacity. Square glasses were perched on the tip of his nose, revealing large, inquisitive eyes. A pair of timeworn black corduroys clung to his long legs, and a water blue sweater hugged his chest tightly.

“Nice to finally meet you!" he said, extending a hand forward.

Baekhyun looked up at him in sheer wonder, and tried to think of the right words to say.

 "Wow ... I mean nice to meet you too Dr. Park," replied Baekhyun. As his hand met his, an electrifying shudder went through him - not because Chanyeol's skin was cold, which it was, but because in that moment reality hit him.

He was standing in Park Chanyeol's office and he'd just touched his hand. The scientist he'd admired so long was looking right back at him with possibly an equal amount of amazement, although it could just be the natural expression of wonder Park Chanyeol possessed. Perhaps the truth was too exciting to bear, because Baekhyun's eyes closed as lethargy possessed his body. 

"Whoa there," said Chanyeol, grabbing him by the shoulders to make sure he wouldn't fall. "Sit here," he said placing him down on a bright pink loveseat before rushing off somewhere. 

Baekhyun watched him through heavy-lidded and confused eyes. "Where are you going?" his words were slurred; he did not want to be alone in the state he was in. He felt somewhat nauseated, but mostly just tired.  

"Hold on a second," replied Chanyeol before he returned and kneeled in front of his hyung, a bowl of vanilla ice cream in his hands. 

Baekhyun groaned, "What's that?" 

"An anesthetic I made."

"I'm sorr'  wha'?"

"Just relax and take a bite," said Chanyeol, putting a spoonful in his hyung's mouth. Baekhyun's taste buds tingled at the icy sensation of creamy vanilla in his mouth. He moaned in satisfaction and tilted his head back as a comforting feeling of sleep swept over him. 

The last thing he remembered before drifting off was Chanyeol's eye twitching with glee.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hi guys, omgomgomgomgomg sorry this is so ing late. I've been cra-zay busy with school, and tumblr is so freaking distracting. Haha, well you guys have finally met Chanyeol and so has Baekhyun. You also got some more peeks into Baekkie's past, yay? LOL. Thank you for sticking with this story even though I'm a slow .

Last but not least, thank you to my fabulous beta LotusK. She's helped a lot and gah, i love her. 

okay enough sappiness. have some channie:

~electricsherlock