Baekhyun’s someone who’s always been on the go. There is always something that occupies his time, whether it be medical degree or his job at the café outside of university or making sure that his bills are paid at home and that his cousin that was entrusted to him gets to eat three meals a day. This is why he doesn’t bother with trivial stuff. He doesn’t waste time with friends during lunch, preferring to stay in the library to get some additional study time in, much less go out with them in the evenings. He doesn’t say no when he’s handed extra shifts at the café because money doesn’t grow on trees and prefers working even over school activities or even outings with his classmates. There are always more important things to do than have fun or relax.

So when his best friend starts setting him up on blind dates because he feels Baekhyun needs time away from his books and coffee, it irritates him.

“I don’t need a relationship right now,” Baekhyun snaps at Jongdae who is in the middle of describing his really hot Chinese classmate. “I have my hands full with you as it is.”

“But he’s beautiful, Baek,” Jongdae whines and pouts as he watches Baekhyun move around in the kitchen. “Like his lashes are so long, that when he closes his eyes it fans down his smooth cheeks. His lips are pink and looks positively stunning when wrapped around something, like a straw, and I’m pretty sure it would feel good wrapped around your—“

“No,” Baekhyun turns around and away from the stove, slapping his phone away from Jongdae’s grasp. He glares down at his phone and immediately deletes Lu Han from his contacts list. He doesn’t care whether this Lu Han is a creature sent from heaven, he is not going to date him. “I don’t care about how his lips feel around…things.” He slaps Jongdae’s hand when he makes a move to grab his phone again. “Will you stop adding numbers on my phone!”

“You need to go out, Baek,” Jongdae insists. “You read way too many books, you’re starting to look like a book yourself.”

“Good,” Baekhyun retorts. “That way I can produce answers for my exams better.”

He places a plate of pancakes on the table and shoves it towards Jongdae, whose smile immediately brightens.

“Thanks so much for letting me have breakfast here,” Jongdae mutters through a full mouth. He looks around. “Isn’t Jongin coming to eat?”

“It’s 10 in the morning, Jongdae,” Baekhyun makes a face at him. “He’s in school.”

“Oh right,” Jongdae says. “I always forget he’s still in high school. I always think he’s older because, well, he looks older.”

“Well he isn’t,” Baekhyun reminds him. “So you can stop corrupting him with and bribing him to make me go out. Going out isn’t going to help with bills or make me graduate.”

Jongdae stops eating greedily for a second. “Baekhyun,” he frowns. “Hey,” he calls again when Baekhyun doesn’t even look up. “You’re allowed to have fun and have time for yourself. You deserve a break, too, you know.”

“I know,” Baekhyun sighs, taking a seat across from him. “It’s not that I don’t want to go out,” he then hedges just so Jongdae doesn’t feel too bad, which will probably be something he’ll regret. “It’s just…I don’t have time right now.”

“But when you do have time, you’ll go out?” Jongdae asks, hopeful.

“Maybe,” Baekhyun slowly answers, watching his best friend carefully.

“Hmm,” is all Jongdae says.

Baekhyun is sure that there’s something brewing in the back of Jongdae’s mind, but he decides not to think about it and turns to his textbook.

-

Baekhyun should have known that something was up when, all of a sudden, he was having less and less shifts in the café. He frowns at Minseok’s back as he’s left alone by the pantry, where Minseok has just told him that he can have Tuesdays and Thursdays off starting tomorrow.

“You look like you’re dying. Aren’t you supposed to be happy that you’re going to spend less time at this place?” Junmyeon chuckles.

“I like this place!” Baekhyun whines. Being at the café is comfortable and makes him feel secure that things are going to be okay because he has paychecks coming in. “I don’t mind being here all the time.” He narrows his eyes at Junmyeon. “You don’t like me being here, do you? Is it because I got Employee of the Month for the third time in a row?”

Junmyeon is a bit older than him and has been working in the café longer than he has. Before Baekhyun had started working there, Junmyeon was the star employee, the one that the staff and customers liked a lot. He supposes it makes sense because Junmyeon is handsome with his always-smiling face and kind words.

“Of course not,” Junmyeon chuckles, patting his shoulder. “Besides three months is nothing compared to 24 months.” He winks at him before making his way out to the counter, leaving Baekhyun sputtering.

When Baekhyun gets off his shift that afternoon, Jongdae is waiting for him outside. Baekhyun frowns and immediately crosses his arms across his chest because he just knows something is up. Jongdae never really visits him at the café.

“Come with me somewhere,” Jongdae says, tugging at Baekhyun’s arm without so much as a greeting.

Baekhyun just inwardly sighs and gives in because when Jongdae’s mind set to do something, nothing, not even Baekhyun’s punches, can stop him. He still remembers the black eye he’d given Jongdae.

They reach another café across town and Jongdae smiles sheepishly when Baekhyun shoots him an annoyed look.

“If you wanted to have coffee with me, we could’ve just done so where I work,” Baekhyun sighs. “We have discounts, you know.”

“A change of scenery is nice, don’t you think?” Jongdae tells him with a cheeky grin as soon as they enter the café.

Jongdae ushers him to a table and immediately scampers off to get them their drinks. Baekhyun leans back on his seat and takes in the place. He has to admit that Jongdae is right. A change of scenery is nice, even if that scenery still contained coffee grinders and mugs and coffee beans.

He searches for Jongdae in the small sea of students crowding by the counter, waiting for their drinks. There was a time when Baekhyun was one of those kids, who hung out with friends in cafes after school to study or just to chat. He remembers going on mini-dates with girls and boys, just getting to know each other, enjoying each other’s company and relaxing. If he were honest with himself, he’d say that he misses those times. He misses being carefree, only thinking about passing school and friends and crushes.

Now all he thinks about is how medicine is his lifeline. He can’t just pass medical school; he has to ace it if he wants to get anywhere. Because his life isn’t just about him anymore. It’s about Jongin, too, whom his family had taken in just because his dad left them, and just before his mom died.

“Can you stop thinking for one second?” Jongdae places his coffee on the table and slides into the seat across from his. “I could hear you all the way there, in the middle of the annoying university chatter.”

Baekhyun fixes him with a stare. “You are a part of that annoying university chatter,” he reminds him.

“I am a grad student,” Jongdae corrects him, making a face. He then smiles and claps his hands as he glances around. “So… how are you?”

“Jongdae,” Baekhyun rolls his eyes at him. “Where is he?”

“Who?” Jongdae blinks innocently.

“The guy you brought here to meet with me,” Baekhyun prompts. He looks around. “Where is he?”

Jongdae frowns. “I brought you here because I wanted to spend time with you away from somewhere too familiar,” he earnestly says. “We haven’t been spending a lot of time with each other, you know.”

“Depends on your definition of a lot since I’m pretty sure you’re always at my apartment,” Baekhyun quips good-naturedly. “You even have your own toothbrush in the bathroom that Jongin sometimes uses to clean the toilet.”

Baekhyun watches in amusement as Jongdae spits coffee out on the wooden table. He garners looks of disgusts from the patrons seated beside them but he couldn’t care less, not when the instrument that he uses to take painstaking care of his teeth has been tainted. For all he knows, his mouth smells like actual crap.

Jongdae continues to sputter for a couple of minutes before he takes a deep breath and decides that he’s not even going to dignify that statement with an actual response. Instead he smiles that wide smile of his that he knows annoys Baekhyun, which it does because his lips twitch.

“Isn’t it nice to hang out outside of your apartment, though?” Jongdae carries on as if the insinuation that he brushes his teeth with the same thing that cleans Baekhyun’s toilet hasn’t been made.

Baekhyun just rolls his eyes. “You brought me here because you’ve been insisting that I date,” he goes straight to the point. He glances around once more. “So where is he?”

Jongdae visibly deflates. He gets his phone from his pocket and dials a number. Shortly after, Tinkerbell walks into the café. Or it would’ve been Tinkerbell if she were actually a he.

“I’m Lu Han,” Tinkerbell introduces himself as Jongdae smirks by way of his exit. Lu Han extends a delicate hand with nicely manicured fingernails.

“Baekhyun,” he manages to get out as they shake hands. He then leans back on his seat, less than impressed. “So you’re Lu Han.”

Lu Han’s eyes shine at the knowledge that Baekhyun actually knows who he is. “Jongdae has told you about me,” he confirms with a smile.

The impromptu date seems to go well enough.

They sit there and go through the basics of dating question and answer, all while drinking their coffee. Lu Han talks a lot so Baekhyun just lets him. He laughs a lot, too, and Baekhyun starts finding him annoying because anyone who laughs that much probably has something wrong in the head. Or maybe it’s because Baekhyun’s just not really in a laughing mood at the moment.

But he does listen. He learns that Lu Han is in Jongdae’s Chinese language class, something that Baekhyun’s always thought was useless because Jongdae can still barely speak any Mandarin. Lu Han tells him all about the stuff he and Jongdae does in class, like write love letters in Chinese. Baekhyun smirks because it would be very interesting to find out to whom such letters are addressed.

When Lu Han gets to talking about random things, like the rainbow or unicorns, Baekhyun interrupts him.

“Are you sure you’re out of high school?” Baekhyun asks abruptly. It’s a question that’s been burning through him since they met. Jongdae wasn’t wrong about his lashes and pink lips. But he looks so much younger than he expected and it bothers him. “Because you look...” He laughs awkwardly.

Lu Han blinks at him and, subsequently, punches him on the face.

-

“How are you feeling?” Jongin asks, a frown marring his handsome young face. “You’ve been asleep for like two hours.”

“Just two?” Baekhyun rasps as he sits up from lying down on the couch because he feels like he’s been knocked out for far longer than that. He makes a face that makes him wince when he sees that Jongdae is there. “What are you doing here?”

“I made him stay,” Jongin answers instead. “This is his fault.”

“I’m not the one who got punched in the face,” Jongdae stoutly defends himself. “I say that the one who got punched is the one at fault in this whole thing.”

Baekhyun then wonders what Jongdae would think about that whole argument if Baekhyun punched him on the face. But instead of giving in to his sadistic desire, he gives an assuring smile to Jongin, who then shuffles to the kitchen to do his homework.

“He hates being called out on his baby face,” Jongdae then sighs in explanation as he slaps an ice pack on Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun’s left cheek is swollen, his eye forced half-shut. He really didn’t see Lu Han’s fist coming right at him. The next thing he knew he was awake in his bed with Jongin frowning at him, as well as Jongdae’s laughter echoing in the background.

“You call him that, too,” Baekhyun grunts in annoyance. Who punches people for being called young? He shoves Jongdae’s face away just because, and leans his head back on the couch. “I don’t see the difference.”

“Not to his face, I don’t,” Jongdae corrects him, forcing back the second bout of laughter bubbling up in his throat. “It’s something that he’s very sensitive about. Last month, he beat up this guy who is like a Wushu god and even he couldn’t stop Lu Han when he’s on a rampage about his baby face.”

“Great,” Baekhyun groans. “Thank you for telling me that piece of information. It’s very useful to me right now after getting beat up already and all.”

“You’re welcome,” Jongdae chirps back at him, shaking his head, still clearly in awe of Lu Han and his sudden strength when someone comments about his lack of age and manliness. “Tao had to resort to defending himself.” He shifts on the sofa to watch Baekhyun gently ice his face. “You’re really lucky all he did was punch you because he really went at it with Tao. It was a good thing he knew how to defend himself.”

“Maybe that’s the guy I should be dating,” Baekhyun weakly jokes. “That way he can defend me when Lu Han decides he wants round two.”

When Jongdae doesn’t respond, Baekhyun removes the ice pack from his face and looks at his best friend. There’s a look of wonder in Jongdae’s face that Baekhyun doesn’t like. Because when Jongdae gets that look he does things like setting Baekhyun up with friends who punches people when they’re called young.

“Whatever it is that you’re thinking, stop it right now,” Baekhyun demands as firmly as he could, except it’s quite hard because his face aches every time he so much as twitches.

“Tao is actually a really good guy,” Jongdae tells him, his catlike smile back on his face. Baekhyun’s hand jerks as if it has the sudden urge to slap that smile off his face. “Like a really good guy. When I had trouble with my Mandarin, he was the one who was patient enough to go through it with me.”

“Is everyone you know Chinese? Are they the only people who put up with you now?” Baekhyun snarls at him. Jongdae pokes his tongue out and Baekhyun wants to do something like cut it off. “I do not care whether he’s a good guy or not. I really don’t. So please, stop your mental vomit. No one is benefiting from it.”

“But you just said that he’s the kind of guy you should be dating,” Jongdae reasons. “And he really is. Because he really can protect you. Plus, he’s sweet, romantic, and likes long walks by himself. He also—“

“He likes to take long walks by himself?” Baekhyun questions that man’s sanity because what the . “Maybe he shouldn’t date anyone. He seems to be doing alright dating himself.”

“I’m sure he’d enjoy it better if he had someone to walk with,” Jongdae brushes that tiny weird detail off. “So! What do you think? Do you want to meet this guy?”

Baekhyun bristles with irritation, but he really can’t pummel Jongdae to death when he’s looking at him with that pouting smiley expression that he does when he’s pleading for Baekhyun to do something for him.

“Oh my god why am I friends with you!” Baekhyun agrees even though his whole being is begging for him not to.

“Because you love me and because I have ice cream,” Jongdae triumphantly brings out the pint of chocolate ice cream that he bought especially for Baekhyun, “and I have that Running Man episode that you missed because of your exam.”

Baekhyun’s eyes light up. “The Girls’ Generation episode?”

Baekhyun smiles fondly as Jongdae sets the DVD and TV up. Jongdae always seems to remember details that no one really cares about; like how he wants his kitchen arranged or his clothes folded, stuff that Jongdae knows to do in his apartment even when Baekhyun’s not around. He never has to ask his best friend for anything because Jongdae just does it.

Jongdae hands him the pint of ice cream with a spoon as Baekhyun scoots closer to him.

“Ow,” Baekhyun whimpers when his left cheek comes into contact with Jongdae’s bony shoulder.

Jongdae absently leans down and kisses Baekhyun’s cheek while turning on the television and the DVD. “All better?” he asks.

Baekhyun nods with a contented smile on his face just as Yoo Jaesuk starts the opening spiel of the show. Jongdae chuckles as Baekhyun squeals in happiness when the Girls’ Generation members come out.

“You guys are gross,” Jongin calls out towards them.

“Do your homework, Jongin,” Baekhyun and Jongdae chorus as if in practiced precision.

-

Baekhyun finds himself in a fancy restaurant two weeks later. The swelling on his face is gone and the bruise has lightened to a yellowish lavender tone. With Jongin’s knowledge of taking care of bruises (being in dance club and all), combined with Jongdae’s words of encouragement (because he really is a useless human being), Baekhyun’s managed to retain the perfection that is his face. At the very least, he’ll still get to be called McDreamy in the wards, as has been his dream ever since he saw an episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

He’s in the midst of making himself comfortable, sipping wine that the maître d' had so kindly poured for him when a tall, slim guy with dark clothes, dark hair, dark eyes, and dark aura arrives at the table. He looks down at Baekhyun like he’s deciding how to cook him for dinner.

“Y-yes?” Baekhyun chokes out. He’s gripping the butter knife tightly just in case he needs to use it. Although he’s fairly certain that it would be used on him after this ninja assassin is done with him.

“Are you Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun had expected a low, gravelly voice to go with the whole dark personality going on for him and not a cottony soft one. It throws him off-guard.

“Yes…” Baekhyun slowly responds. “Are you Tao?”

Ninja assassin’s face breaks into a smile that almost makes Baekhyun topple off his chair. It is that jarring.

“Huang Zitao,” Tao introduces himself with a handshake that practically makes Baekhyun’s arm pop out from its socket. He thinks he’ll make Jongdae bring him to the hospital later on. “And you’re Byun Baekhyun,” he shyly adds.

Tao is pretty much everything Jongdae mentioned him to be, and more. Aside from being sweet and romantic, Tao is also a straight A student and is very athletic, being the number one Wushu player or person or something in China. He is also funny. Baekhyun finds himself laughing at all his jokes, whether they’re actually funny or not. Maybe it’s because he’s had practice with Jongdae’s lameness.

“So…” Baekhyun hums curiously in the middle of dessert. “Jongdae’s mentioned to me that you like to take walks.”

Tao eyes widen slightly before he nods. “Yeah,” he confirms. “It’s a thing… that I do.” He apprehensively leans back on his seat. “Is that a problem?”

“No,” Baekhyun immediately responds. “Not at all. I just… I like taking walks, too.” He chuckles when Tao smiles, which is something he’s starting to take a liking to. “Maybe… we can take a walk some time, you know together. There’s this really nice place by the Han River where it—are you crying?” Baekhyun watches incredulously as Tao sniffs and wipes a tear sliding down his cheek.

“Sorry,” Tao snuffles.

“Why are you crying?” Baekhyun asks uncomfortably.

“I just…no one’s ever said that to me before,” Tao explains, cheeks still wet with tears. “I really enjoy taking walks and a lot of times I wonder what it would be like if I had someone taking those walks with me.” His face crumples as more tears come. “And then you come along and tell me you want to walk with me and I—“

Baekhyun has nothing against tears. He’s not some stiff dude who thinks that real men don’t cry, because everyone who is human cries. The thing is, he’s not sure how he feels about such a manly guy crying over him offering to take a walk with him like he’s just asked him to get married.

“It’s nothing serious,” Baekhyun tries to pacify him. “I mean, we’re not getting married. It’s just a walk.”

“But a walk is important to me!” Tao practically howls and Baekhyun cringes. “I really, really like taking walks and the thought that you want to—“

“Uh, Tao,” Baekhyun interrupts him and uncertainly reaches out for his hand across the table. “I’m sorry. Please stop crying.”

Tao reaches for his hand and kisses it, which is something that Baekhyun would normally find incredibly romantic if it weren’t for all the snot coating his hand. Smiling, he pulls his hand back.

“Should we get the bill?” Baekhyun suggests.

Tao nods dolefully and Baekhyun’s really sorry that he’s never going to see him again.

-

Baekhyun plops right on top of Jongdae’s sleeping form. Jongdae, not the most nimble person that he knows, merely yelps before Baekhyun’s pinning him down.

“What are you doing here?” Jongdae muffles through his pillow. When Baekhyun doesn’t respond and doesn’t even move, Jongdae does his best to scream through all the cotton in his mouth. “I’m dying here!!!”

Baekhyun kindly rolls off him and stares at the ceiling. “I was so excited to get out of class for the day because I was going to this fancy restaurant to meet a guy that you said was great!” He tries his hardest not to show how disappointed he is because he’s still not agreeable with the whole dating thing.

Jongdae blearily sits up and rubs a hand on his eye. “What happened?”

“He cried, Jongdae,” Baekhyun wails, covering his face with his arm. “Over me asking him to take a walk with me! I have nothing against crying but—I couldn’t stand it.”

“Yeah, Tao’s kind of a crier,” Jongdae says, lying back down.

Baekhyun lifts his arm off his face and turns to him. “You knew he’s a crier?”

“Yeah,” Jongdae slowly replies.

“And you didn’t think to tell me about it?!” Baekhyun’s voice is reaching hysterical levels, which makes Jongdae think of getting off the bed and making a run for it.

“He only cries when he’s really touched about something,” Jongdae defends his friend. “So it’s actually a good thing that he cried about going on a walk with you! It means he likes you and—“

“He looked like he was sent to assassinate me when he first arrived,” Baekhyun cuts him off sharply. “And then he cries like that.” He groans and half-buries his face in the bed. “I hate you. Why do I let you talk me into doing these things? I’m busy. I could’ve finished my homework with all the time I spent calming Tao down.”

“At least it’s over and done with?” Jongdae chuckles tentatively. Baekhyun merely continues to bury his face in Jongdae’s bed. “Aww, c’mon, Baek. I’m sorry. I really thought that you two would hit it off.” He wraps an arm around him and pulls him close.

“We did hit it off,” Baekhyun tells him, voice now muffled because of Jongdae’s bare torso. “Until he started spreading snot all over my hand.” He cringes again and impulsively bites the skin just below Jongdae’s collarbone. Maybe in that way Jongdae will understand just how uncomfortable he is about what happened.

Jongdae winces and tightly grips Baekhyun’s waist. “Damnit, Baek! I know you hate me, but you can’t just bite me!”

Baekhyun sighs and gently pats the bite mark in apology. “Will you let me stay over? You have to let me stay over. This is your fault!”

“Fine,” Jongdae answers. He can almost hear the pout in his best friend’s voice. “What about Jongin, though?”

“He has an overnight study thing with that ugly, gangly kid, Sehun,” Baekhyun yawns as he buries his face further in his best friend’s chest. “Will it be okay with Kyungsoo?” he asks softly.

“He’s out of town,” Jongdae answers drowsily, rubbing his hand up and down Baekhyun’s back. “Your toothbrush is in the bathroom and you know where my clothes are.”

“Too tired,” Baekhyun mumbles, his breath fanning Jongdae’s neck.

“Okay,” Jongdae says through Baekhyun’s hair, and they fall asleep like that.

-

“Ouch! That looks nasty!” Minseok comments when Jongdae walks into the café with a bruise below his collarbone. “Rough night?” he teases.

Baekhyun turns around and slaps the cup of vanilla latte that Jongdae regularly orders on the counter. He eyes the bruise and smiles. “He deserved it,” he states. Jongdae glares.

“Kyungsoo’s coming home tonight,” Jongdae tells Baekhyun, dutifully ignoring Minseok’s curious looks at them. “Want to come over? He’s making that Kimchi spaghetti that I despise, but you love.”

Baekhyun shakes his head. “Can’t,” he tells him. “I have a paper due in two days. I’m camping out in the library.”

“Who’s staying with Jongin?” Jongdae asks, concerned. Jongin’s like a younger brother to him as much as he is to Baekhyun. There have been days when he’s been tasked to look after the kid.

“Sehun, is staying over with him,” Baekhyun says with a deep breath. He can already feel the stress of his paper on his shoulders. He’s almost done with it, but he’ll never really feel relieved until it’s actually finished.

“You don’t need anyone looking after them?” Jongdae presses. “Are you sure they won’t burn the apartment down?”

Baekhyun laughs. “It’ll be fine,” he assures him. “Spend time with Kyungsoo.” He points at the bruise on his collarbone. “Tell him I pinched you really hard because you’re dumb.”

Jongdae makes a face at him as Baekhyun makes his way to the back.

“Isn’t this the first time he’s coming home in two weeks?” Junmyeon asks, overhearing the conversation. He leans against the counter as Jongdae takes a sip of his coffee.

“Yeah,” Jongdae shrugs. “He had this work thing in Japan.”

“So why were you inviting Baekhyun over?” Minseok wants to know.

“Because it’s what we do,” Jongdae answers promptly. “When Kyungsoo comes home, I always invite Baek over because Kyungsoo cooks. And it’s better that Baek’s there because, trust me, it’s better when someone actually enjoys Kyungsoo’s cooking.”

“Huh,” Junmyeon muses, a small smirk on his face.

“What?” Jongdae asks, looking from Junmyeon to Minseok.

“Nothing,” Junmyeon smiles that perfect smile of his, while Minseok attends to a customer.

“What are you still doing here?” Baekhyun demands when he goes back out to see Jongdae still standing there.

“Am I not allowed to hang out here?” Jongdae demands, affronted.

“Your class is starting in like five minutes, you ,” Baekhyun states.

Jongdae glances at his watch and rapidly sprints out of the café.


-

Baekhyun frowns at his watch. He’s been in the stupid sports store for 10 minutes now and Jongdae’s still nowhere in sight. He actually got out of his study period when Jongdae called half an hour ago stating that it was urgent that he meets him.

“Baek!” Jongdae rushes into the store, out of breath.

“Where have you been?” Baekhyun immediately chides him.

“Sorry, I got held up,” Jongdae runs a hand through his hair and Baekhyun immediately notices that something’s wrong.

“What happened?” Baekhyun asks, taking in the tired aura that Jongdae’s emitting. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, fine. Just Kyungsoo,” Jongdae dismisses it. He scans the store, but Baekhyun stops him.

“Did you two fight?” Baekhyun frowns.

Jongdae and Kyungsoo have been dating for almost four months now. They met through some business organization in university, which Kyungsoo is an alumnus of. Baekhyun thinks it’s kind of a miracle how Jongdae and Kyungsoo hit it off because Jongdae is a bit of a weirdo. But he’s really happy for his best friend because Kyungsoo seems patient enough to handle all the quirks that Jongdae has.

“He’s having another business trip for like a week this time,” Jongdae tells him with a sigh. “I told him it was okay, that you’re here anyway.”

“Oh,” Baekhyun says seriously. He watches as Jongdae stares at the ground with a frown on his face, which is something that he rarely ever sees on his best friend’s face. Jongdae’s such a smiley and happy person that it’s immediately strange when he doesn’t smile. “When is he coming back? Maybe you can prepare a surprise for him when he does.”

Jongdae smiles at him. “That’s a good idea,” he agrees, seemingly much happier than he was moments ago. “Maybe I can make my version of Kimchi spaghetti. You can taste-test it!”

Baekhyun puts an arm around him and laughs. “Let’s not get carried away,” he gently squeezes him. “Lives are at stake here.” Jongdae shoves him. “So, what are we doing here? You said there was a crisis?”

He looks around. He’s not sure what kind of crisis can happen at a sports store. Well, maybe if that tall, blonde-haired store attendant toppled over, it would be considered a crisis.

“Okay, don’t get mad,” is Jongdae’s introduction, and immediately Baekhyun knows that Jongdae did something that would make him exasperated again.

“What did you do this time?” Baekhyun wants to throw a basketball on Jongdae’s face, but he really doesn’t want to be arrested.

“Do you see that tall guy by the counter?” Jongdae turns him towards the direction of the said counter and all Baekhyun sees is that tall, blonde-haired disaster waiting to happen. “He’s in my class and—“

“Oh my god, did you set me up again?” Baekhyun elbows Jongdae hard on the ribs, making Jongdae cough.

“I’m still really sorry about what happened with Tao,” Jongdae rushes with an explanation. “I feel bad and I’ve been wanting to make it up to you ever since. But you’ve been busy with your papers and I figured I’d just tell you after they were over.”

“I really hate you,” Baekhyun says it like it’s the tragedy of his life. He eyes the mentioned male and watches as he plasters something that can resemble a smile if he didn’t look like he was in pain while doing it. “Actually, I’ve hated you all my life. Why are we still friends?”

“His name is Yifan,” Jongdae ignores him, smiling happily because he knows that Baekhyun’s going to go through with this. “He’s—“

“Chinese,” Baekhyun finishes, shooting him a look. “Yet again.”

“Canadian,” Jongdae proudly corrects him. “He was born in China but grew up in Canada, so he’s Canadian and has been in Seoul for only a year. He’s been looking for more friends so he can practice his Korean more and I thought of you!” He gestures towards Baekhyun like he’s just announced that he’s won the lottery.

“Still Chinese,” Baekhyun insists. He sighs and shakes his head at Jongdae. “I really don’t know why I put up with you.”

“Because you love me,” Jongdae smugly declares. “And because you know I only want you to be happy.” He gently nudges him. “One last shot? If this doesn’t work out, I promise I’ll leave you and dating alone. You can be a hermit or become a priest for all I care.”

“Stop being dramatic,” Baekhyun pinches his cheeks. Then he takes a deep breath as he looks at blondie. “So his name is Yifan?”

“Wu Yifan,” Jongdae supplies. “He’s two years older and incredibly handsome. But, of course, not more handsome than I am.” He nods in satisfaction.

“Please,” Baekhyun scoffs. “Well, then I guess I’m going to go and just introduce myself or something.” He faces his best friend. “How do I look?”

Jongdae chuckles as he fixes the collar of Baekhyun’s shirt and fixes his hair. “Like a puppy,” he tells him satisfactorily. “A really cute puppy,” he corrects himself when Baekhyun makes a face at him.

Jongdae smiles as he watches Baekhyun approach Yifan.

“Hi,” Baekhyun looks up as he greets the giant.

“Hey,” Yifan returns, glancing up in time to see Jongdae giving him a two thumbs up sign before leaving the store. “Ah, you’re Baekhyun.”

“And you’re Yifan,” Baekhyun returns.

“Jongdae’s told me a lot about you,” Yifan genially states.

“All good things, I’m sure,” Baekhyun says. “But I’m sorry to say that he’s never mentioned you so I pretty much don’t know anything about you.”

“I’m sure we can find a way to change that,” Yifan states, a small smirk on his face. “How about coffee? I get off in like 10 minutes.”

“Great,” Baekhyun agrees with a smile.

-

“Hey,” Jongdae absentmindedly greets Baekhyun as he comes home that evening. His gaze is fixated on the TV screen where a bunch of kids are singing Since You’ve Been Gone in acapella fashion.

Baekhyun plops down on his couch and grabs the popcorn that’s in Jongdae’s hands. “I can’t believe you started without me,” he grumbles, munching on popcorn.

“You were taking forever,” Jongdae says. “I wasn’t sure what time you were coming home. Jongin’s in his room.”

Baekhyun sighs and leans his head on Jongdae’s shoulder, Jongdae scooting closer to him so he can slide his arm around him.

They’re quiet for a couple of minutes, absorbing the fact that Anna Kendrick’s voice-and-hand coordination is impeccable, before Jongdae speaks again.

“Well? How did it go?” Jongdae quietly asks, inattentively moving his hand up and down Baekhyun’s arm.

“Good,” Baekhyun answers.

“She’s easily the best singer in the group,” Jongdae then states, gesturing at the television. “Of course she’d get in.”

“She’s also the lead, so…” Baekhyun chuckles.

Jongdae laughs and pulls Baekhyun closer to him. “I’m glad you had fun,” he says, pressing a kiss on Baekhyun’s forehead.

Baekhyun quietly giggles, wrapping both of his arms around Jongdae’s waist. “Me too.”

-

Baekhyun enters the apartment, stretching his neck this way and that. He feels so tired. His classes have been really gruelling these past few weeks. He’s tired all the time, most of the time falling asleep even when he’s studying. He really wonders sometimes why he continues to do this to himself. He loves the course, but there are moments when he stops to think if this is still really something he wants to pursue.

“Hey hyung,” Jongin greets him from the couch, where he’s watching TV.

“Hey,” Baekhyun greets him as he takes his coat and shoes off. “How was school?” he asks, ruffling his hair and taking a seat beside him.

“Good,” Jongin answers. “Got an A on my math exam.” He grins when Baekhyun proudly beams at him. “Sehun helped me.”

“Ah, the ugly, gangly kid, Sehun,” Baekhyun repeats, and he thinks that Jongin is exactly the reason why he’s still in Medicine.

“Hyung,” Jongin half-heartedly reproaches him.

Baekhyun doesn’t dignify that with a response and just yawns. “Did Jongdae call?”

Jongin shrugs. “But Yifan hyung did,” he says.

“Oh right,” Baekhyun says, sitting up and standing to go to the kitchen. “He’s coming over.”

He and Yifan had hit it off better than Baekhyun ever expected, because Jongdae’s choices really have been questionable in the past. But Yifan is actually nice. He is a mix of Lu Han and Tao, although less violent and less fluffy, and Baekhyun finds that he quite likes that. They’ve been going out for more than a month and he has been enjoying every minute of it.

Yifan is a business graduate student like Jongdae. He’s in Seoul because he’s interested in the culture, and because his family is thinking of putting up a branch of their retail business there. He plays basketball well, is smart and is actually really sweet. He always brings Baekhyun food and sometimes visits him in his classes. He’s also very handsome when he doesn’t try so hard to smile.

What Baekhyun likes more is that he understands that he’s busy with his work for school and never pressures him to go out all the time. Instead, he comes over his apartment and they watch movies and Running Man, all the while feeding each other ice cream.

“Why are you going out with him?” Jongin asks suddenly, making Baekhyun stop and face him.

“Yifan? What do you mean?” Baekhyun asks, brows furrowing. “I like him.”

“Yeah, but,” Jongin hesitates. “What about Jongdae hyung?”

“What?” Baekhyun laughs. His laughter fades when Jongin continues looking expectantly at him. “You’re serious.” He sits back down on the couch and pats Jongin’s knee. “Jongdae’s my best friend, Jongin. You know this.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Jongin frowns.

“What do you mean?” Baekhyun asks, confused. “Jongdae’s my best friend,” he repeats with a shrug.

Baekhyun honestly thinks that the term best friend is too shallow for what he and Jongdae share. They’ve known each other since high school, met through the music club, both with a passion for singing. Somehow they stuck together all through university, where they’d seen each other in every sticky and awkward situation there is. They have been with each other through hook-ups, hang-ups, break-ups and even break-ins. Baekhyun can’t honestly see his life without Jongdae. He thinks there’s no one else who understands him better than he does.

“Is it wrong to be in love with your best friend?” Jongin presses.

“Of course it isn’t,” Baekhyun assures him. He studies Jongin carefully. “Is this about ugly, gangly kid, Sehun?” Jongin doesn’t say anything. “Are you saying you’re in love with him?”

Jongin clears his throat in embarrassment. “Maybe,” he croaks.

Baekhyun smiles and pulls Jongin in a hug. All he really wants is for Jongin to have a good life, for him to be happy, and if it takes that ugly, gangly kid to contribute to that then it’s all fine with him.

“Do you think he’s in love with you, too?” Baekhyun inquires.

“He says he is,” Jongin whispers.

“It’s not wrong to be in love with your best friend, Jongin,” Baekhyun tells him softly as he slightly tightens his hold on him.

“Then why aren’t you and Jongdae hyung together?” Jongin insists.

Baekhyun merely laughs, because he realizes he doesn’t have an answer to that.

-

The café is packed and noisy with the rush of students just coming out of their afternoon classes. Everyone is busy with the preparing and serving of coffee with Minseok manning the cashier and Junmyeon managing the orders.

Baekhyun hums Hawak Kamay under his breath as he wipes one of the tables that have just been vacated. He’s about to move on to clean another table when he feels arms wrap around his waist. Smiling, he turns around and looks up just in time to meet Yifan’s kiss.

“Hi,” Yifan greets him.

“Hi,” Baekhyun greets back with a smile. “How was business theory?”

Yifan lets him go do some more cleaning. “Stressful,” he answers. He pauses. “How do you know I have business theory as my last class today?” A smile starts creeping up his face until Baekhyun answers.

“You have the same classes as Jongdae, right?” Baekhyun says, attention concentrated on the table with the milk stain. “He made me memorize his schedule like the back of my hand.”

“Oh,” Yifan’s smile swiftly disappears. “Yeah, it was a bit tiring. That’s why I was thinking…” Baekhyun looks expectantly at him as they make their way towards the counter. “Maybe we can grab some dinner, maybe see a movie? I know you’ve been wanting to watch Les Mis for a while now.”

Baekhyun sighs and shakes his head. “I’d love to, but I’m closing shop today and I have a ton of homework,” he pouts as he leans up to kiss Yifan. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, of course,” Yifan says understandingly. “I was just wondering.”

“Are you going to order anything?” Minseok asks Yifan.

“He’ll have a vanilla latte,” Baekhyun calls from the back.

“Uh, no,” Yifan shakes his head at Minseok. “I’ll have black coffee. I don’t drink anything vanilla.”

When Baekhyun comes back out, he sees Yifan’s coffee and swallows uncomfortably. Vanilla latte is Jongdae’s drink. “Will you be staying home tonight?” he asks. “I can call you later when I’m in between studying.”

“Yeah, sure,” Yifan says with a smile. “I’d like that.”

Jongdae comes bounding in shortly, his hair and shirt in disarray. He immediately looks for Baekhyun and pulls him aside. Junmyeon promptly shows Yifan to a table at Minseok’s urging.

“Jongdae, what’s wrong?” Baekhyun asks, fixing the collar of his shirt and trying to fix his hair for him. Jongdae hesitates, fiddling with his hands. Baekhyun grabs his hands and makes him meet his eyes. “What happened? Is it one of your classes?”

“It’s Kyungsoo,” Jongdae quietly breathes. “He… we broke up.”

Baekhyun wraps his arms around Jongdae, cradling his head between his hand and his shoulder. Jongdae doesn’t cry because he never cries.

“What do you need?” Baekhyun asks after a while, pulling away from their embrace.

“Will you come over?” Jongdae quietly pleads. “We can—“

“Of course,” Baekhyun agrees without hesitation. “I’ll bring the movies and the ice cream. Do you want cake?”

A smile flits to Jongdae lips. “You’re the best, Baek.”

“Of course, stupid,” Baekhyun presses a kiss to Jongdae’s forehead before hugging him again. “I’ll come over in about an hour or so. Okay?”

“Okay,” Jongdae nods. He waves goodbye at Junmyeon, Minseok and Yifan and is out of the café in a few seconds.

Yifan makes his way back to the counter. Junmyeon and Minseok exchange a look before going to the back.

“Everything okay?” Yifan asks, reaching for Baekhyun’s hand and squeezing it. “Looks like there’s trouble.”

“He broke up with his boyfriend,” Baekhyun distractedly tells him.

Yifan looks surprised then frowns. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he sincerely says. “But he’ll be okay.”

“Of course,” Baekhyun says, smiling at Yifan. “Jongdae always bounces back. Even if he doesn’t, I’ll make him bounce back.” He sighs. “Which is why I’ll have to ask Minseok if I can get off early. I have to buy ice cream and cake and get the DVDs from my apartment. Oh and I have to make sure that Jongin has dinner.”

“Are you going to Jongdae’s?” Yifan clarifies, his brows furrowing, leaving him looking more menacing than he usually does.

Baekhyun nods. “He needs me right now,” he bites his lower lip in worry.

“But what about your studying?” Yifan gently reminds him.

“I can do that when I’m there or maybe I’ll just study tomorrow morning,” Baekhyun vaguely shares.

“I’m sure Jongdae will be fine by himself,” Yifan calmly says, pulling his hand away from Baekhyun. “He’s a big boy.” Baekhyun lifts his eyes from the counter and stares at Yifan. “I’m just saying, you don’t need to come to his aid every single time.”

“This isn’t just every single time, Yifan,” Baekhyun expresses. “His boyfriend just broke up with him.”

“Yes, well, you’re busy,” Yifan states with a half shrug. “You have homework, you said.”

Baekhyun narrows his eyes at him. “Are you jealous because I said no to you and said yes to Jongdae?” he questions. When Yifan merely averts his eyes, Baekhyun laughs in disbelief. “Yifan, Jongdae is my best friend. He needs me right now. I’m not coming over to his apartment to relax or have fun.”

“I’m your boyfriend, Baekhyun,” Yifan prompts him. “And I’ve been very patient with you and your relationship with Jongdae.”

“You’ve been patient with me and my relationship with…” Baekhyun trails off, shaking his head in amazement. “You do realize that if it weren’t for Jongdae, we wouldn’t even have met, right? You owe him at least this, to be his friend, too.”

Yifan shakes his head. “I’m not stupid, you know,” he snaps. “You and Jongdae, you’re—“

“Get out, Yifan,” Baekhyun interrupts him. “I don’t even care about what you have to say anymore. If this is how you’ve been feeling about my friendship with Jongdae, which is something I should never have to explain to anyone, then I can’t be with you.”

Yifan clenches his jaw, looking like he wants to say something else, but leaves the café instead.

Baekhyun closes his eyes as he sags against the counter; he’s surprised that it’s with relief.

-

Jongdae is in bed when Baekhyun arrives at his apartment. He clambers on and gets under the covers. Automatically, Jongdae moves towards him, wrapping his arms around Baekhyun’s waist and snuggling to him.

“I have cake and ice cream,” Baekhyun tells him through his hair.

“Later,” Jongdae says, his mouth on Baekhyun’s neck.

“Okay,” Baekhyun whispers.

He closes his eyes and thinks; about Yifan, Lu Han, Tao and all the other guys and girls he’s dated in the past. Then he thinks about Jongin and what he said about being in love with your best friend.

“Jongdae,” Baekhyun speaks softly. Jongdae murmurs. “I broke up with Yifan.”

Jongdae stills for a second before pulling back to get a good look at him. Baekhyun wants to laugh at the fact that he’s not surprised that Jongdae doesn’t even look like this is news to him.

“Are you okay?” Jongdae asks tentatively. Baekhyun nods.

They’re quiet after that. They stay that way, their arms and legs tangled with each other’s, their faces inches apart, eyes meeting in a telling gaze.

There’s another beat or two before Jongdae opens his mouth to speak.

“Baekhyun, I think I’ve always—“

“You think?” Baekhyun wrinkles his nose.

Jongdae makes a face at him. “You’re insufferable, you know that,” he says as he pokes his side.

“Oh please, you love me,” Baekhyun chuckles. His eyes widen slightly when Jongdae gives him a knowing smile.

“Baekhyun, I’ve always—“

Baekhyun closes the distance between them and kisses him. He holds his breath as he waits for Jongdae to respond. He doesn’t wait long because, in a heartbeat, Jongdae is kissing him back.

When they pull away, Baekhyun’s eyes are shining with something that he sees, has always seen, in Jongdae’s eyes when he looks at him.

“I know,” Baekhyun whispers with a smile. “Me too.”

-

Baekhyun leans against the counter as he watches Jongin and the ugly, gangly kid, Sehun, giggle as their share a drink with two straws. They’d come in to café that afternoon because Jongin wanted to officially introduce Sehun to everyone as his boyfriend.

“He and Sehun have known each other for a while now, right?” Junmyeon asks, joining Baekhyun behind the counter.

“Yeah,” Baekhyun says. “A couple of years now.” He rolls his eyes when Jongin decides to remove the whip cream on Sehun’s upper lip with a kiss. “I’ve never seen him this happy.”

“Well they are finally done dancing around each other after all,” Junmyeon says. “People always end up happier when they finally see what’s been in front of them all along.”

“Those are two different things,” Baekhyun says, raising his eyebrows at him.

“Two things you identify well with,” Junmyeon teases. He nods towards the café entrance.

Baekhyun looks up and sees Jongdae walk in. Jongdae’s eyes meet his eyes and, simultaneously, they smile at each other.

Baekhyun understands what Junmyeon is talking about. Someone from the outside may have interpreted all those years of him and Jongdae being best friends as dancing around each other and not seeing that the other was there all along. But it isn’t that. It’s not that he and Jongdae were assessing each other’s feelings or that they never saw each other. Because Baekhyun’s always seen him.

He and Jongdae… they just are.

Maybe the reason why he’s never been interested in dating anyone is because of Jongdae. He did mean what he said that he already has his hands full of Jongdae when his best friend first brought up the idea of being set up on dates. He doesn’t need anyone else; he has Jongdae.

He smiles as Jongdae leans towards him for a kiss. He doesn’t need to get used to this. He’s had it all his life.