Chapter 7: Sleep

This wasn't deja vu. This was indecision.

When Chanyeol's armful of unconscious Baekhyun had refused to wake - much as he'd done a week ago at the bar - Chanyeol sighed and began ticking off his options. There was no bar to close, no responsibility to bear. He could leave him there, just like he'd threatened to leave him on the street. Now, however, he felt less inclined to do so than he had been then. It was highly likely that there were people inside the lounge who knew Baekhyun and could get him home. However that meant dragging the young man inside and seeking out his friends or colleagues - something Chanyeol wasn't going to do. Introducing himself as Phoenix where required and keeping a low profile had ensured him a degree of anonymity. Trawling the crowds for someone who knew Baekhyun would blow his cover.

He really could - and should - leave him.

Looking down at Baekhyun's face, Chanyeol felt his heart constrict. Rather than question his extremely questionable soft spot for the ever-inebriated businessman, he tugged the slight body tighter against his side. He could take him back to his office - but what were the chances that someone would come rushing out right on time to take responsibility for him? Most of Baekhyun's colleagues were here. The thought of Baekhyun asleep on a street somewhere was unsettling on several levels - the image so strong that Chanyeol had to take a moment to quell the sudden surge of negative emotions.

"Alright," he said to the soundly sleeping man, "but this is the last time, you hear me?" Hiking an arm around his back and under his arms, he gripped the slim body against his side and cut a path to the elevators, as Baekhyun stumbled uselessly alongside, yet failed to wake. To his relief, no one crossed their path or asked questions - then again, it was the norm for people to haul their drunk passed out friends home after a long night of drinking, even on this side of town. Gangnam boys, Chanyeol sighed to himself.

Chanyeol leaned against the side of the elevator and watched their reflection, while Baekhyun leaned against him, dead to the world. He wasn't entirely lacking in sentience - the occasional twitch or murmur ensured that he was, in fact, asleep and not unconscious, just as he'd been a week ago. Chanyeol kept an arm around his upper back.

When they reached the ground floor, the doors opened and Chanyeol maneuvered him through the lobby with the aid of a bellhop. A few cabs were waiting along the front drive of the hotel, and they were soon tucked inside a car, heading northbound out of Gangnam.

When the cab to the bridge over the river, Baekhyun shifted and inhaled sharply. Chanyeol watched him for signs of waking, but he seemed to simply fall deeper into sleep, with his head resting on Chanyeol's shoulder. The lights along the Han River winked past as Chanyeol dropped his head against the backrest and watched Baekhyun sleep.

That was how he discovered that thin frown lines marred Baekhyun's brow even in sleep, and how pale he was despite the heat that radiated from his body. He watched as the fine bones of his hands appeared and disappeared under his skin as tension clenched and released them. By the time they reached Hongdae, Chanyeol had come to realize that Baekhyun slept anything but soundly. As the man's hair fell across his forehead, Chanyeol lifted a hand to tuck it back. He hesitated just shy of contact, and returned his hand resolutely to his lap.

When they arrived at the quiet alley nestled between Hongdae and Hapjeong, Chanyeol fished a few crumpled bills out of his pocket and paid the cab driver. Pulling Baekhyun out of the car, he caught him around the waist and led him through the wrought iron gate, ducking as he entered. Pushing it closed behind him with a rusty screech, he stared at the narrow staircase ahead of him. Three flights of stairs presented an unforeseen challenge.

Chanyeol sighed and grumbled at his quarry with a frown. "If I carry you princess style, you're gonna get your head bashed in," he explained frankly to a still asleep Baekhyun. "And neither of us will be happy about that. So, this is the only way." Bending his knees, he hiked the young man onto his back and pulled his arms over his shoulders. Straightening, he discovered that though Baekhyun was dead weight, he weighed little more than a teenage girl. Thus went the trek up three flights up to his flat, with more than a few stops to readjust the sack of bones on his back.

When they reached the landing, Chanyeol punched the access code to his door and pulled it open. Propping it with one booted foot, he hauled his cargo inside. The door slid shut with a quiet beep, and Chanyeol toed off his shoes in the entry. "You, too, prettyboy," he muttered to Baekhyun, but when presented with fancy laced brogues, he simply shook his head and pulled Baekhyun inside. 

The small one room apartment was modest in every sense of the w