Three days after he tells his best friend he wants to sell his shares of their company, Baekhyun finds himself standing in the hallway of the apartment Chanyeol shares with Soojin. Seulki’s next to him and fidgets with the collar of his vest, straightening it and plucking some lint from the dark fabric.

“Will you relax? It’s just Chanyeol, we’ll be lucky if he bothered to put on pants for us.” Baekhyun says.

His wife ignores him and pushes away a few stray hairs from his forehead. “I want you to look nice. It’s an important evening for us.”

He shrugs her off and rings the bell. His stomach clenches when he hears Chanyeol’s booming voice reverberate through the walls of the apartment. Seulki, always in tune with him, senses his apprehension and threads her fingers through his.

“It will be okay, Baek. This doesn’t have to change anything between the two of you.”

He recognises Chanyeol’s trademark shuffle quickly approaching the front door of the apartment and squeezes Seulki’s hand. Her hand feels warm, fitting in his own like a puzzle; the touch helps him produce a tight smile when the door opens.
Baekhyun is scared to give up what he and Chanyeol have built together, but he’ll do whatever it takes to make her happy and give her the family they’ve always dreamed about.

“Seulki, Bacon, welcome!” Chanyeol’s smile is dazzling as he invites them inside.

Baekhyun makes a face when he hears the nickname. “That joke got old 19 years ago, Chanyeol.”

“Yes, well, we’re not getting any younger and I like to think it only got better with age, kind of like me!” Chanyeol pulls Seulki in for a hug. “It must be hard to live with a sourpuss like him. Did you keep the receipt? It’s been a while but you might be able to return him.”

Seulki laughs and returns Chanyeol’s hug before playfully tapping his shoulder. “Don’t insult my man, Chanyeol.”

“I would but sometimes… he just insults himself by existing, you know?” Chanyeol sighs.

“I think it’s a rather charming quality of his.” Seulki grins back.

Chanyeol pretends to wipe away a tear and clutches at his heart. “I’m so touched by your charity work. It’s a good cause, sacrificing yourself to keep our Bacon off the streets where he would only spread misery and-”

“I’m right here, you guys.” Baekhyun grunts. He’s used to Chanyeol and Seulki conspiring against him, but Chanyeol is acting a little too chipper and Baekhyun doesn’t buy it. He knows Chanyeol’s upset about him leaving the company, he knows his friend well enough to see through that front of fake smiles and boisterous laughter.

“Chanyeol, would you please just get their coats and let our guests in!” Soojin yells from the kitchen.

“Right away, darling!” Chanyeol shouts back.

“I still can’t believe you’ve found yourself a woman whose voice matches yours in volume.” Baekhyun whispers.

“I still can’t believe you’ve found yourself a woman, so we’re even.”

“Oh, knock it off boys.” Seulki interjects. She hands her coat to Chanyeol and walks to the kitchen at the back of the apartment. “I’m going to see if I can help Soojin. Play nice.”

Baekhyun struggles with the buttons of his vest. “God, I’m glad I can take off this thing.”

“Yeah, why are you dressed like you’re going to a funeral?” Chanyeol asks as he takes the jacket from Baekhyun and hangs it next to Seulki’s coat in the wall closet.

“Seulki wanted us to look nice.”

“Why, are we celebrating something tonight?” There’s a cold edge to Chanyeol’s voice and Baekhyun inwardly groans as he sees the smile on the taller man’s face water down, diluted with a mixture of sadness and disappointment.

Baekhyun hates disappointing Chanyeol.

“Chanyeol, I’m sorry, but you have to understand-”

“Don’t,” Chanyeol closes the door of the wall closet with a bit more force than necessary. “Not now. We can talk after dinner.”

Chanyeol starts walking to the living room but senses Baekhyun’s hesitation, the other still rooted to the spot under the cold lights of the hallway’s LED’s.

He turns back to face Baekhyun, the smile on his face a little less wide than usual, but sincere. “Come have a drink with me, you look like you could use it as much as I do. But go say hello to Soojin first or you might not get dinner tonight.”

Chanyeol squeezes Baekhyun’s shoulder when he walks past him towards the kitchen. The touch is soft and fleeting, but Baekhyun knows what it means: It’s all right, Baek; we’re going to be okay. It doesn’t completely appease his guilt about abandoning his best friend, because no matter how often he tells himself that it’s the right decision, he can’t help but think that after nearly 2 decades with Park Chanyeol, this might be the choice that is the beginning of the end for them.

But for now, they’re okay. They’ll make it through dinner, through the night and, if it’s up to Baekhyun, through all the other days that are yet to come.

When Luhan joins S.M., it takes him only a few weeks to fall into the relentless rhythm of a trainee’s life: long days stretching into longer nights, with few breaks and hurried meals of cheap street food. Luhan has always been popular and well-liked and he’s been in Korea long enough to cross the language barrier that keeps most other Chinese trainees isolated among the large group of trainees. He isn’t the type to force himself on others - he never needs to because people seem more than happy enough to seek him out themselves, appreciating his modesty and how easily he smiles.

For Luhan, being recruited has brought his dreams of being a pop idol suddenly within reach. He knows there is still a long way to go for his skills to develop - long hours of gruelling dance practice, emotionally exhausting vocal lessons and roleplaying exercises for variety purposes standing between him and his debut. It would be a long and tough road, but it will lead him straight to a future of concerts and fan chants and recognition.

Luhan’s a hard worker and it doesn’t occur to him he might never make it to that magical finish line of a debut date.

At least not until he meets Sehun.

Sehun is one of the few trainees that Luhan hasn’t been able to charm right away. They were introduced to each other in Luhan’s first week, but Sehun didn't return the warm smile on Luhan’s face, opting for a stiff nod instead. It didn't bother Luhan at the time – their 4-year age difference makes any conversation awkward and Luhan doesn’t expect too much from such a young trainee. Sehun looks so childlike and small, almost half a head shorter than Luhan. He doesn’t seem to be very sociable either, always sticking to his own teammates. They have been in the same dance class a few times, but Sehun never speaks to anyone but Joonmyeon or Jongin.

To Luhan, Sehun is just a face among many others, so when he finds him in the back of the S.M. parking lot, he wants to walk past him without saying a word. But there is something in the way Sehun is crouched against the brick wall with his head hanging low, long slender fingers shaking as they hold onto a cigarette.

He looks small and lonely, a far cry from the confident boy with powerful moves Luhan has seen in the practice rooms.

Sehun slowly lifts his head when Luhan walks up to him. Blotches of pink taint his cheeks and his red-rimmed eyes are glistening with tears.

“Are you okay?” It’s a stupid question with an obvious answer and Luhan cringes internally when Sehun scoffs at him.

“Yeah, can’t you tell?”

“I mean… What’s wrong?”

“Why do you care?” Sehun bites back.

Leave. Turn around and leave him. It’s none of your business. Luhan sighs and decides to ignore the voice in his head, opting to sit next to Sehun instead. He might not have cared much for the boy before, but Luhan has a protective nature and it doesn’t sit well with him to leave the younger boy alone when he is clearly upset.

“Do you want me to call someone? Jongin, maybe?” Luhan knows they’re close, being placed in a group together 6 months earlier.

“No. I don’t need you to do anything.”

Sehun quickly wipes the tears off his cheeks and keeps staring straight ahead of him. But he doesn’t ask Luhan to leave either. So he stays.

It takes another few minutes for Sehun to finish