The ride was actually short but for Baekhyun, it was a long one ─ and silent. Baekhyun couldn’t start a topic for him and Chanyeol to talk about as he was busy trying not to look at the happy virus in front. Every time Baekhyun would look at Chanyeol, he would immediately look away to somewhere, at the window or he would look down but his eyes would keep on moving towards Chanyeol. Baekhyun then would say “Okay. This will be the last look I’m going to give him. One more and I’ll jump off this cab” in his mind and would look at Chanyeol for the ‘last time’ and then he would look away and his eyes would move again to Chanyeol. The cycle just repeated for the whole trip however, Baekhyun was also wondering why Chanyeol hasn’t talked yet. Was Chanyeol also thinking about something? If so, what could it be? Baekhyun was currently in the ‘looking away’ part of the cycle when Chanyeol finally talked.

“Baekhyun…”

“AHHHHHHHH!”

Baekhyun was surprised by Chanyeol’s sudden talking that resulted to a shriek from him. Chanyeol was surprised and stepped on the brakes as he thought something bad had happened to Baekhyun. He immediately turned around to look at Baekhyun if he was alright but Baekhyun’s body flew to the front at the same time. Baekhyun’s eyes widened as he realized what was happening.

They were hugging each other.

Baekhyun’s heart paced up. He then realized that he was hugging the person he liked. Baekhyun actually wanted to let go but his body seemed to be paralyzed. He was also surprised because Chanyeol wasn’t letting go either. Taking the chance, Baekhyun hugged the giant tighter. He thought they were going to die early and realized that it was his entire fault. Just then, a teardrop fell from his eyes.

“I – I’m sorry Chanyeol. I w-was s-surprised…” Baekhyun said between sobs. He felt Chanyeol occupy the remaining space between them as the taller guy’s arms wrapped him even more. He felt the giant’s left hand rub his back. “Ch - Chan─”

“Shh...Shh… It’s not your fault. Everything’s alright, Baekhyun. Don’t cry.” Baekhyun felt Chanyeol’s hand at the back of his head as he cried, placing him near the giant’s shoulder. He also felt Chanyeol’s chin at the top of his head. Baekhyun jerked slightly when Chanyeol suddenly spoke.

“We’ll go get our dinner now, okay? We’re already close. Just relax, alright Baekhyun?” Chanyeol said as Baekhyun nodded afterwards. The taller one helped him to take his seat again and smiled. Chanyeol then returned back to the front and started to drive once more. After an even more silent 5 minutes, they have finally reached the fast food store. Baekhyun saw Chanyeol turn towards him as they enter the store.

“What do you want, Baekhyun? It’s on me.” The giant asked him. Baekhyun was hesitant to answer at first but when he felt his stomach ache for food, he decided to take Chanyeol’s offer.

“Uhm… I would like Jajangmyun and Fried Chicken…” He answered as he looked for a place for them. Baekhyun was about to go to an empty table when Chanyeol held him at his wrist.

“No. Stay with me.” And there, Baekhyun’s world stopped rotating. He felt like everything has stopped; only Chanyeol was moving. He was just looking at Chanyeol as the taller one moved in the line. Everything returned to normal when he finally saw Chanyeol in front of him, smiling. Yes, everything returned to normal except for his heart. It keeps on pumping blood faster and louder that he can only hear thumping sounds of his chest. All he could hear was his heartbeat.

Do I like Chanyeol that much?

“Hey, Smurf! Hello? I said I already have our dinner.” Chanyeol chuckled. Baekhyun shook his head as he dismissed the thought.

“Oh. I am sorry. Let’s go get a t─” Baekhyun stopped. He was going to the empty table for the second time but then again, Chanyeol stopped him. He turned around to face the giant and gave him a confused look.

“No. We are not going to eat here, Byun Baekhyun.”

Chanyeol held his hand and started walking towards the exit. Baekhyun was trying to pull away but Chanyeol gripped tighter as they head to the place where the taxi cab was parked. As they reached the right place, Chanyeol turned to look at him. Baekhyun could feel the heat rising up to his cheeks as Chanyeol spoke.

“Baekhyun, I’m gonna have to blindfold you. Is it okay? Actually, my plan was to really not to tell you that I’m gonna blindfold you but I guess you might panic and hurt yourself if I did that so, yeah. May I?” Chanyeol said while rubbing the back of his head. Baekhyun smiled. He found it cute when Chanyeol did that.

“Uhh… o-okay… th-thanks…” Baekhyun stuttered as he turned around. Chanyeol scooped a black scarf from his pocket and blindfolded Baekhyun. Baekhyun breathed deeply as he felt his soul wanting to separate from him. He felt Chanyeol guide and assist him to get into the car. As Baekhyun was already inside, he heard the front door open and felt that the car was already moving after 10 seconds. All Baekhyun did was fidget as he could not see anything and waited for something to happen. He was still fidgeting when he jumped slightly from the seat as he heard a deep voice inside the car.

“You alright there, Baekhyun?” It was Chanyeol’s.

“Yeah… I am just… Nervous.”

“Don’t worry. We’re almost there.”

When Baekhyun heard Chanyeol said it, his shoulder lowered and his fingers stopped fidgeting as time passed by. After 3 minutes, Baekhyun felt the car stop and heard the front door open. He then heard the door beside him open which was followed by big, smooth hands which guided him as he step out of the car. As Baekhyun stepped out of the car, he felt the cool breeze of the wind blow against him. He felt Chanyeol hold his hand.

“Follow me, Baekhyun. I’ll show you something.” He heard Chanyeol said as they started walking slowly. He was shaking as they walked as Baekhyun felt that they were walking in a grass field and anytime, he would fall down.  “Don’t worry, I’ll guide you. Don’t be scared.”

Slowly but surely, after 24 baby steps, they stopped. Baekhyun felt Chanyeol’s hand let go. He tried to search for the hand but he felt the blindfold loosen.

“Okay, Baekhyun. Here it is, in 3… 2… 1…” Chanyeol removed what was blocking his eyes. Baekhyun saw the dim light from the setting sun and the vast green grass field with a big and wide tree at the middle. Chanyeol signaled Baekhyun to follow him and asked him to sit under tree.

“We will eat dinner here.” The giant said as soon as Baekhyun sat beside him.

“This place is great, Chanyeol. It is really beautiful.” Baekhyun said as he happily moved closer to Chanyeol.

“I know.” The taller one chuckled. “You were the first person I brought here. Only the two of us know this place.”

Only the two of us?!

Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol with wide eyes. He couldn’t believe it. Only the two of them knew about the place.

“I come here whenever I am happy or sad. This tree over here is the witness of all those happy and sad moments that happened.” Chanyeol said as he lied down. Seeing Chanyeol, Baekhyun also lied down sideward so he was facing Chanyeol. Somehow, he was curious of what was Chanyeol like before.

“Uhm, I hope you don’t mind but will you tell me more about you? Since we are already here and we are alone, might as well we…” Baekhyun trailed off. He looked at Chanyeol who was just looking above at the dark orange sky. He looked down and breathed deeply as he shook his head.

Baekhyun couldn’t take the awkwardness and the embarrassment so he took his food from the plastic bag. Before eating, Baekhyun wrote in his diary while his back was facing Chanyeol. He glanced at Chanyeol who was still lying down, staring at the sky. He just finished writing his entry and was about to eat when Chanyeol suddenly spoke.

“I don’t have friends back then.” Chanyeol started while Baekhyun jerked in surprise as Chanyeol suddenly spoke. He looked at Chanyeol and saw loneliness and sincerity in the giant’s eyes.

“I─ Is that so? I─ I don’t believe you. You’re so fun to be with and you’re always happy whenever ─”

“I am not like this in the past. I don’t have friends. I don’t interact with people unless it is needed.” Chanyeol interrupted him. Hearing all of this from the giant, Baekhyun became even more curious of what was Chanyeol before. It was then when he realized that Chanyeol was starting to open up to him and maybe, just maybe, he should start opening up too. He then saw the taller guy sit and get his food from the plastic bag.

“Ch─ Chanyeol, there’s something I want to tell you.” Baekhyun said while Chanyeol munched on his kimbap.

“What is it?” Chanyeol managed to speak even though his mouth had kimbap in it.

“Remember our first meeting in the pet clinic?” Baekhyun asked Chanyeol and saw the taller one try to stop his laughter. He gave Chanyeol a glare.

“Well, of course. I wouldn’t forget that. You blurted out words that were random and even accused me of liking Kyungsoo while in fact; I didn’t know him that time.” Chanyeol received a punch on the arm as he laughed

“Well since you opened up, might as well I do that too. Remember I blurted out random words and spoke fast? There is a reason.”

“What is it?”

“I was heartbroken and the way you introduced yourself, it’s similar to the person that left me. The moment you said those words, memories of him filled my mind.” Baekhyun said as he looked down. He felt Chanyeol move closer.

“Wait, you were ─”

“Yes, Chanyeol. I was hurt and still hurting.” Baekhyun felt fat tears on his cheeks.

Dammit.

Chanyeol couldn’t believe it. A person like Baekhyun was left by a guy. He thought that if someone was lucky enough to be with Baekhyun, that man would surely be the luckiest person in the world and if he was that lucky man, he wouldn’t let the boy go.

‘If I were that man.’

Chanyeol shook his head and looked at Baekhyun who was currently sleeping on his shoulder. Baekhyun did nothing but cry as the boy told Chanyeol everything and probably, he must have been tired of crying. Chanyeol saw that Baekhyun was really hurt as the boy didn’t stop crying until he unconsciously fell asleep. Chanyeol stared at the sleeping Baekhyun on his shoulder. As he continued to stare, he suddenly felt something. He felt the need to protect Baekhyun.

He couldn’t understand why he was happy whenever he saw Baekhyun but what he understood was that Baekhyun changed him. He had thought that the tree would witness only the sad moments in his life until Baekhyun came. Chanyeol looked up to see the dark blue sky and saw many stars above. He just continued to look up to the beautiful night view.

“Stars, listen to me. I know I sound crazy but just listen to me. The same goes for you tree. You see this little man who is sleeping on my shoulder? His name is Byun Baekhyun and the reason I talked to you is that I want you all to be witnesses as I promise to protect Baekhyun that whenever I see you all, I will remember my promise. I promise to all of you that I will try my utmost best to protect Baekhyun from being hurt again. You see, this little man changed me. I thought I won’t smile again. I thought my tree would witness only the sad times. I thought I would be lonely again. I thought I would end up being stuck on company matters again but Baekhyun proved all of this wrong. He was the reason for my smile. He was the one who made me happy and made my tree witness a happy event. He became my companion during this past 2 weeks. See? Baekhyun changed my life. I am thankful for having Baekhyun as a friend. I am thankful that he came into my life. I am thankful because ‘Byun Baekhyun’ happened. Therefore, I promise to repay him by this promise I told you.” Chanyeol held the sleeping boy’s hand. He smiled as he saw the adorable face of Baekhyun. Chanyeol swiped his fingers on the boy’s forehead, freeing it from the boy’s hair.

‘Thank you, princess.’

Chanyeol looked at his watch and noticed that it was already 7 ‘o clock in the evening. He gently removed Baekhyun’s head from his shoulder and gently placed the boy’s head on his bag. He started to clean the place and then sat beside Baekhyun. Chanyeol noticed a notebook from Baekhyun’s open bag. The notebook caught Chanyeol’s attention as it doesn’t look like a notebook for school. He decided to get it and as his fingers reached the notebook, Baekhyun moved. Chanyeol aborted what he was doing and help Baekhyun sit up as the boy was already awake.

“My oh my! How many hours have I slept? Oh my! I am so sorry Chanyeol. I didn’t notice the time. Shucks, I am terribly sorry. You should have waked me up. It would be al─”

“Relax, Baekhyun. You just slept for 30 minutes. It’s nothing, okay? It’s good that you slept.” Chanyeol chuckled as he saw Baekhyun all tensed up. He then saw Baekhyun breathe deeply.

“Okay. Phew. By the way, I don’t know how to get to this place…”

“Memorize it as we head back.” Chanyeol ruffled Baekhyun’s hair as they head back to the taxi cab and drove back. He was about to speak when he saw Baekhyun holding the notebook which he saw earlier. Chanyeol chuckled as Baekhyun was taking down notes.

‘Must be his reminders notebook.’

“Tell me where your house is. I’ll drive you home.” Chanyeol glanced at the mirror, looking at Baekhyun.

“You sure? I don’t know this place so I’ll start directing you when I already know where we are.” Baekhyun answered and returned immediately in taking note of the places they passed by. The smaller boy started giving off directions to Chanyeol when they reached the fast food store where they bought dinner. After 25 minutes of turning left, right and forward, they finally reached Baekhyun’s place.

“So this is what your house looks like.” Chanyeol said as he roams his eyes on the exterior of the house.

“Well, yeah. Sorry Mr. son-of-a-businessman, because it is 10 times smaller than yours.” Baekhyun sarcastically said.

“Hey, it’s not that big.” Chanyeol laughed. “Who’s living with you?” He then saw Baekhyun stiffen.

“My best friend”

“Oh, okay.” Chanyeol’s face went weird. He doesn’t know what to feel.

Why was Baekhyun like that?

Instead of thinking about it, he thought about what he was feeling earlier when the two of them were alone and this made his face weirder.

"Hey, what's with the face? It ." Baekhyun joked.

"Oh. Nothing. By the way, do you know how it feels like when everything feels right?" Chanyeol changed the topic.

"Uhh... You are creeping me out. But anyways, I think it would be hard to reach but hey, I bet it feels like heaven."

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

Yeah. You are right Baekhyun. Heaven.

“Well then, I’m off now. Good night, Baekhyun.” He turned to his taxi cab and walked to it but immediately stopped when he heard Baekhyun’s voice.

“Chanyeol, wait!”

Chanyeol turned around and saw Baekhyun in front of him.

“Thank you for today. I did enjoy it. Take care. Good night, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and quickly ran away to his house. Chanyeol stood there, frozen. Everything hasn’t sank in yet. He felt his chest thump.

‘My princess just kissed me.’

~~~~~~~~~~~

a/n

Yeeey! I updated a day earlier. Hihihi. You know why?

Because I am hoping that I could update on Christmas Day. Hehe

I want to thank all of you who subscribed and viewed and upvoted my story :)) For those who haven't done it yet, please do so if you want to :D I am not forcing you but subscribing and upvoting is much appreciated :D

Advanced Merry Christmas to all of you >:)))<

potatopuppy

P.S. I recieved gifts from my classmates and I feel so loved. Kekekekkee just sharin'. Hope all of you recieve many gifts too :D Also, this is a Baekyeol chapter. Kaisoo chapter is up next after the next chapter :D