Chanyeol heads down to the Exo Pit an hour before opening. This meant he was bound to see Baekhyun or someone in charge to talk to. When he arrived, he did indeed find Baekhyun, who was sat at the ratty front desk, counting up notes of money. He didn’t acknowledge Chanyeol as such, but glanced at him for a second. It seemed thats how he said hello.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Chanyeol asked, the dull pain of a headache singing in the corners of his mind.

“Good. You’re pretty popular, you know.” Baekhyun grins and waves the wad of notes he’s holding. The redhead smirks ever so slightly; everyone always loves a underdog.

“I wanted to talk about that actually.” The dark haired man stops in his ministrations and slowly looks up at the lanky wrestler.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. I thought about it and… I wanna’ be full time. Permanent, whatever.”

Baekhyun looks him over with a gleam in his eye, it makes Chanyeol nervous. This guy is so weird. Then, he quickly shoves all the notes away in a locked box which he then placed under the desk. With his elbows on the surface and his hands linked, he gave Chanyeol his full attention. “The boss is very excited to have you on the team.”

Would it be out of place to ask about this ‘boss’? He was very curious about the man who was running this whole thing. The man who, it looks like, is going to be his employer. Chanyeol decided to go for it. “Who is this boss anyway?”

Baekhyun’s face lit up. “Do you want to go meet him? He’s upstairs.” Suddenly, the raven haired man was on his feet and dragging Chanyeol along by his wrist. “Come on! I’ll take you to him.”

Chanyeol snarled and ripped his hand free of Baekhyun’s grip. The other didn’t seem fazed, and smiled happily as he trotted along taking Chanyeol through a corridor and up a flight of stairs.

Chanyeol knew absolutely nothing about this boss guy. He didn’t even know there was a boss until recently. He guessed it made sense that there was actually a head honcho behind all of this. If he was honest though, he was worried that this boss turned out to be some violent ex-convict or something. Or maybe a drug dealer. Or maybe even a member of the mafia! But that’s ridiculous, he should be more realistic. They’re probably an ex-wrestler wanting to keep in touch with his passion. That’d be cool. Chanyeol wouldn’t mind an ex-wrestler as his boss. He could probably teach him a thing or two.

Posters of past matches and star fighters were stuck to the wall. Not too well however, as many were dog eared and torn, and some were barely hanging onto the wall itself. But the higher they climbed, the nicer the ascetics got. The walls became more evenly painted with fewer cracks, and hard plain concrete floor became shining marble tiles. Soon enough, they reached a plain black door at the end of the hallway. When they were stood in front of it, Baekhyun gave Chanyeol a toothy grin and raised his fist to knock at the door. He knocked in a strange pattern and waited a beat before turning the handle and pushing it in. Chanyeol wasn’t sure if he should follow so he stood awkwardly in the hall, trying his best to decipher the muffled conversation.

The shorter then poked his head around the door, smiling at Chanyeol. “You can come in now.”

The redhead wasn’t exactly sure what he was expecting, if he was expecting anything, but it certainly wasn’t this! Silver lined dark furniture that was surrounded by monochrome marble. Dark glass windows spanned across one wall and sat in front of it was a modern desk with more silver accents. Off to the side were sofas and other things but Chanyeol didn’t pay them much attention — or rather he couldn’t. The man stood in front of him took up all of his attention.

He wasn’t much taller than Baekhyun but his presence made up for his height. His hair was bleached blonde and slicked back away from his face. He wore a black suit with a white tie which oozed confidence and sophistication. Chanyeol wasn’t sure if he was looking at a model or a businessman.

“Hello Chanyeol-ssi, welcome to my office,” he smiled sweetly and bowed. Chanyeol suddenly remembered his manners and bowed back, chuckling nervously. “I’m Joonmyun.”

He made sure to bow again, quickly spouting how nice it was to meet his boss. “You’re a very popular fighter Chanyeol-ssi, I look forward to you joining our team.”

“So do I, sir.” He smiled, picking at the hem of his sleeves. This Joonmyun guy was so smiley and sweet and yet Chanyeol still felt intimidated and he didn’t know why.

“Let’s work well together, okay?” Then the blonde turned to Baekhyun, still smiling. “Could you wait outside please?” Baekhyun nodded and quickly left, leaving Chanyeol feeling awful and awkward.

Joonmyun moved to sit behind his desk in a tall, plush velvet chair and leant back so he was comfortable. Chanyeol’s body was jittering with nerves. What was he going to say now Baekhyun wasn’t here? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. He knew nothing about this guy and what he was capable of. He could be a mass murder for all he knew!

“Now Chanyeol-ssi,” Joonmyun tilted his head which should’ve been an innocent move but it looked ing sinister. “How much do you need?”

“Huh?”

Joonmyun seemed to smile wider with amusement. “How much money do you need?”

“I don’t—”

“For university, for your apartment, how ever much it is, I can give it to you.”

Chanyeol was completely stunned. What was this guy saying?! Was he actually being serious?! Why on Earth was this guy offering him so much money? The last thing Chanyeol needed was to get tangled up in a loan shark! There had to be a catch. He eyed Joonmyun suspiciously, the blonde’s smiling mask was not letting an inch. This was an enigma if he ever did see.

“Why?”

“You need the money and I need… You.” Chanyeol almost turned as red as his hair. What on Earth did he mean by that? “Don’t look so upset. I’m truly happy to pay for your tuition, in fact, I insist.”

It would be nice to not have to worry about money.

“Do you need time to think about it?”

Chanyeol shook his head. “No. I’ll… I’ll take the money.”

☄

Later that night, Chanyeol had a match which he was grateful for. He really needed the chance to forget about his worries and let go for a bit. His opponent didn’t stand a chance, especially when Chanyeol was feeling like this. He threw everything he had at him, not giving a inch. The guy had a fresh look in his eye but went down easy. And when the crowd roared in glee at his victory, Chanyeol felt right again. His heart was still beating and his blood was still pumping and he was the only one left standing. That’s all he needed. He needed to stand tall after trashing his opponent. That’s when he felt human - felt alive. No tall brunette boys could break his heart in the ring.

He briefly tidied up his wounds in the locker room before his routinely cigarette out in the crisp night air.

“Long time no see,” came a drawl from behind him. Followed by an arm over his shoulders.

“Sehun-ah,” for some reason, he felt like he should’ve been expecting the blonde to slink up to him. He handed Sehun his packet of cigarettes and lit his own. Sehun only smirked as he took out a straight. Then he leaned even closer, and tipped his head up towards Chanyeol. The redhead was surprised into stillness as the younger lit his cigarette from the end of Chanyeol’s. Had Sehun always had such long eyelashes? Why does a guy need long eyelashes anyway?

“How have you been?” He asked, exhaling a stream of misty smoke into the sky.

“Better,” Chanyeol admitted grimly. The shorter turned to him with an curious eye but Chanyeol looked away. He wasn’t about to bare all to Sehun. But the blonde shifted to nuzzle himself against Chanyeol’s neck. He visibly stiffened under the touch.

“You’re really strong, you know.” There was a soft, barely there kiss; like it was more a suggestion of lips but it still made Chanyeol cringe. Fingers shifted along his shoulder and into his hair. Normally, Chanyeol wouldn’t mind but for some reason, today he didn’t like it. He shoved Sehun off leaving the blonde aghast in shock. “What the hell, man?!”

He angrily on his cigarette before throwing it onto the floor and stamping it out. “Just — not today, Sehun.” He hissed, stomping off into the city.

“Well you then!” Sehun bellowed after him but Chanyeol ignored him with his hands in his pockets.

☄

Back at home, Chanyeol doesn’t feel any better. His phone beckons him with alerts with missed calls and texts from Kris. It makes him feel worse. He can’t believe he was so stupid as to kiss his friend without a second thought. Maybe he should say sorry and beg for another chance of friendship. Would that make him look weak?

No. He can’t have that. He will not be weak in front of Kris — never.

Anyway, with Joonmyun giving the money for uni, he could focus on coursework and get some sort of qualification, make his parents proud and then… and then… He didn’t really want to think that far ahead, it made his head hurt and he’s already got another headache building.

Chanyeol lied back on his bed, breathing smoke up to the ceiling. Another flick through his phone told him he also had a text message from uni itself, or rather, his tutor. She said he should come in and talk about his work. He sighed greatly. He’ll have to go in and see her tomorrow and he knew what she was going to say. But now he had the money, he wasn’t about to give up.