Chapter 4 A Soysauce Like Me

"So, who is this fine boy over here?" Dara said as she sat on the couch before Baekhyun. ‎​She was just got back from the kitchen with a cup of tea in her hand. Chanyeol emerged not even a minute after, with two mugs, one was for Baekhyun.

The boy in question smiled thankfully as he received the hot steaming mug from Chanyeol. He really needed the tea to wash away his nervousness. The small minimarket employee then disguised his discomfort grimace when Chanyeol chose to sat beside Dara with the mug on his face- pretending to take a gulp of the hot tea, 'well of course he would sit there, why did you even thinking, stupid Baek'.

"Hi, I'm Byun Baekhyun," Baek chirped shyly. Eyes only fixed on the beauty that was Dara for a mere seconds before fell down again to his pale hands on his lap.

"Hi, I'm Dara. Park Dara," the oldest one in the room said, "So, this is the famous Byun Baekhyun that Channie always told me about."

Baekhyun peeked a little to Chanyeol and saw the taller was looking at his love gently before took his eyes to Baekhyun, a small handsome smile plastered on his face while he was nodding, "Baekhyun is very kind. He helped me a lot."

The older lady didn't even blink when Chanyeol said those praises about him. Infact, she was bluntly staring at Baekhyun from top to bottom as if judging him-- or calculating something. It didn't feel comfortable at all and the small brunet really wished he can just evaporate right there and then.

"What do you do for living, Baekhyun? If you don't mind I asked,"

Chanyeol looked a little bit startled at the sudden question from Dara, but it's okay. Baekhyun didn't mind, it's not that he's a serial killer or do drugs like mafia for living. So the brunet was just smiling calmly, as if he was being asked about the weather instead, "I work at a ministore around here."

Dara looked contemplated for the second time that night, before she's firing another question, "You never came and stayed here for a long time in your uniform, right? It's just, there are so many eyes watching at this place, they surely would notice if a minimarket man came and never leave, and questions will be arise,"

"Ah, you don't have to worry, err--"

"You can call me Dara,"

Baekhyun cleared his throat, "--you don't have to worry. I seldom came to this place on my working hours," well, that didn't sounds right, "I mean-"

"Baekhyun always came late at night after his shift per my request, Noona. That's why he's so kind. Eventhough he's tired, he always make time for my childish requests. You know I tend to get lonely at night,"

Chanyeol really looked like a kicked puppy as he said those words and Baekhyun really wanted to keep the giant puppy warm inside his small embrace but there's already a perfection beside him. Just like now, Baekhyun couldn't help but looking away as Dara was comforting her much bigger boyfriend and patted his hair lovingly. Baekhyun would never had a chance to do that. He really wanted it though, really really wanted it that he would give his all three wishes from a genie if he ever had it.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. Because he's not Aladdin and there's no magic lamp in the middle of modern city of Seoul. He didn't have the wishes for anything. Not even a wish to totally walked out of there without being notice because he really felt like a third wheel right now. No, the couple didn't make out or something unappropriate, but still, it's uncomfortable.

The expensive Transformer clock on the wall suddenly went off and Optimus Prime's heavy voice was heard in the living room, "eleven p.m, fellow human". Baekhyun immediately took that as his cue to leave. "Excuse me," he chirped in a timid voice, capturing Chanyeol's and Dara's attention who were too busy staring at each other in their own world on the long love seat across his seat, "-it's late, and I don't want to miss the bus."

Chanyeol's eyes sparked in realization, "Ah, let me take you home,"

"No, you don't have to," Baekhyun's eyes widened as he stole a glance at the calm Dara.

"At least until the bus stop? I'm the one who asked you to come,"

"But-"

"Yeah, let Channie take you to the bus stop, Baekhyun," Dara suddenly butted in, making both Chanyeol and Baekhyun to looked at her simultanously, "Only until the bus stop."

Who was Baekhyun to denied her. She's the love of Chanyeol's life and a top star on top of that. When the tall rapper stood with a gentle smile on his face, Baekhyun knew that Dara's words weren't meant to be ignored. And so, without words, Chanyeol got his car keys and jacket when Baekhyun was wearing his humble black converse. He politely bow to the older lady and Dara sent them away with a promise to visit Baekhyun's ministore someday.

.........

It was an one fine day. As usual, that week Baekhyun worked his morning and afternoon shift, while Jongin got evening to dawn. The coast was pretty much clear this whole morning, except for two foreign students buying frozen kimbap and banana milk on their way to 'de-dental h-hosspitaaal'- as the foreigners said in broken korean, a place where they have their internship. Baekhyun was rearranging the instant noodles aisle when the bell by the glass door ringing, indicating a customer or two was entering the store. He stood up from his crouching position for the past ten minutes and get ready to greet the potential buyer when he saw the familiar figure along with two others.

Park Dara-- and her staffs.

Looks like the staffs were her manager and cordie. It was still felt like a dream, when three days ago Baekhyun met her for the first time at Chanyeol's, and it felt like a dream too when she said she'll visit him in his workplace. Now that she's here, Baekhyun finally sure it wasn't a dream and that she was there for a reason.  

The famous lady was the one who smiled first, "Afternoon, Baekhyun. How are you?" While she said that, the manager took an instant coffee and a plastic glass of ice cube from the fridge while the cordie took a bar of instant sausage.

"Uhm, hi?"

Dara chuckled faintly, she took a seat on one of the metal chairs by the corner of the empty ministore, "We were having a walk around the neighbourhood when my manager said he's craving for a cold coffee. Then I remembered that your ministore was nearby and here we are."

Baekhyun saw the manager drank the instant coffee with a weird face. He was perfectly sure that the chubby man wasn't use to drink cheap instant americano from a ministore but the brunet nodded nontheless.

"So, let's just cut this short and straight into the business,"

'Here we go' Baekhyun gulped. To be honest, he already knew that something like this was bound to happen. That Dara would call him and told him to mind his own filthy self and stayed away from her precious Chanyeol. That Baekhyun wasn't worth it enough to be a friend of Chanyeol the superstar. He even thought Dara would send someone to s on him because he's not worth her time. But no. She was coming herself and the effect was 10 times more nerve wrecking for the small guy.

It felt like an eternity before she continued her words and gesturing for Baekhyun to come and joined her on the round metal table.

"I have a request for you, Baekhyun,"

And Baekhyun felt his scar behind his bangs, itchy. He's not Harry Potter who've been called by Voldemort for god's sakes-- so he brushed his fingers lightly over the scar and took a seat across Dara. The brunet didn't know what made him felt so small before this lady, maybe the blinding aura that emanated from her, maybe the superstar's attitude, or maybe the maturity that came from her age. The point is, he couldn't say anything when she spilled her request,

"I want you to be a fake chaebol."

Speechless. What is word when Park Dara asked him something like this. This wasn't the thing that he ever imagined would be come out of Dara's mouth.

"And not just an ordinary but extremely sophisticated chaebol, but a mysterious loaded guy that was a bestfriend of the superstar Park Chanyeol,"

Baekhyun gulped and started to played with the hem of his bright orange apron nervously, "Eh, why?"

"The people, they need distraction."

"Distraction? From what?" Baekhyun was really lost at this point.

"From my relationship with Chanyeol," Dara answered unpatiently, she crossed her legs and had a bored expression on her face, "As you know, fans and antis all over the nation were all like hungry hyenas trying to prey into our private life. If one of them knew about this relationship that we've got, the news would spread faster than fire in the forest and it would be the end for the two of us," she ended with an attitude of: haven't  you ever think about this crystal clear matter?

"Ah.. But, how about Chanyeol's feelings about this? Did he knew or- or even agree about it?" 'Of me being a fake filthy rich person and become his bestfriend on top of that'

"Baekhyun, I'm sure you know how he is. I'm the one who ask you this, because if it's up to him, he would choose to have an open relationship with me instead of having a scandal with someone like you."

"That's very much true," 'even if it hurts', the brunet was trying hard to hide his bitter face.

Dara sighed, "But I can't, because even I don't know whether I'll stay in this relationship forever or not, while I know my career is my dream coming true," she said with such an emphasize on the 'I' part.

Baekhyun bite his lower lips. He knew that this wasn't a great idea. Chanyeol would feel burdened, he would be hurt if everything get worse. Dara is his whole life, the giant rapper's dream coming true. The brunet still looked very much unconvinced and was ready to politely say 'no' when the older female spoke again, "Moreover, the rumor won't affected him that much. You, on the other hand, might be on the spotlight because you're the attention magnet in this so called 'rumor'. I know that I might sound like the biggest egoist right now, and you might thought that this would hurt Chanyeol somehow. But believe me, this request would help the both of us,"

The hem of the apron got wrinkl