To Chanyeol, love is all about sacrifices. He’s been called dumb countless of times, crossing oceans for people who wouldn’t even jump a puddle for him. But Chanyeol shrugs it off and tells them, “That’s love isn’t? As long as they’re happy, I’m willing to give anything up for them.”

But what really is the meaning of love?

Chanyeol finds out what love is all about when he was sixteen. When he meets the petite but feisty Byun Baekhyun. The short male wasn’t a pushover. Baekhyun wasn’t everything what Chanyeol had in mind for an ideal partner. But he fell in love anyway.

Baekhyun has dreams he wants to fulfil, to be a singer. Into their third year of relationship, he got accepted into SM’s training school and 99% of the trainees there got accepted into big recording firms. He was excited and Chanyeol was too, supporting him all the way.

Chanyeol has his own career too. He was handpicked by the CEO of a modelling agency while he was out cap shopping on the streets with Baekhyun. To date, Chanyeol has already walked twenty runway shows despite being a rookie in the modelling world.

Their relationship was more or less of an give and take situation. Baekhyun no longer comes home for dinner and Chanyeol often goes abroad for fashion weeks and training sessions. Into their fourth year, the love they had for each other, was running out.

Baekhyun may not see Chanyeol in his future but Chanyeol does. He wants Baekhyun to be the first thing he sees when he wakes up. He wants Baekhyun to be the one waiting for him while dinner is being served on the table. He wants Baekhyun to be the one in tears when he goes down on one knee, asking him to spend eternity with him.  

He wants Baekhyun to be the one there for him when he completes his thousandth runway. He wants Baekhyun to be one there for him when he makes a name for himself. He wants Baekhyun to be there with him through thick and thin.

After three months of not seeing each other for more than three hours a day, Chanyeol managed to ask Baekhyun back for dinner. “It’s important Baek, we need to talk,” he tells him over the phone and Baekhyun mumbled an okay over the phone before showing up at their shared apartment two hours later.

“So? What’s up?” He took of his coat and slumped it over the armrest of the couch, tiptoeing to give Chanyeol a peck on the cheek. He missed this. “Long time no see by the way.” Baekhyun smiles and Chanyeol gets reminded of the reasons he fell in love with Baekhyun in the first place.

Dinner was eaten at the dinner table together for the first time in a long while. Chanyeol could see Baekhyun’s eyes lit up when he talked about how his instructor praised him when he hit a falsetto note perfectly last week.

“So how’s the modelling going?”

“Great? I was thinking...let’s go on a holiday. I got the green light from the company to take a break for two months. Let’s travel around the world.”  There was so much hope in Chanyeol’s voice, Baekhyun smiled apologetically at the taller man.

“I’d love to but I can’t. You have a career Yeol and I’m just a trainee waiting for someone to appreciate my talent, to sign onto a huge company and debut as a singer.”

“I’m not asking you to leave your dreams behind. Two months, that’s all I ask for.” Chanyeol’s stood up,  fist clenched tight his knuckles turned white. He just can’t understand. If he was willing to sacrifice two months of his time to travel with the love of his life, why can’t Baekhyun do the same.

After all, love is all about sacrifices right?

Baekhyun let out a huge sigh, shaking his head. “Let’s take a break Yeol. I think the both of us needs some time away from each other.” He said, before grabbing his bag and entering into their shared room, taking enough clothes to last him for at least a week and exiting out from the door without looking back.

Chanyeol stood rooted to the ground, eyes fixed on the unfinished dinner. It’s over isn’t it. He knows it. Baekhyun wasn’t willing to give up two months of his training for him whereas for Baekhyun, Chanyeol’s willing to give up anything and everything for him.

He waited for Baekhyun to be back, to come back running into his arms in tears, apologizing for everything but really, what’s there to apologise about? Weeks after weeks Chanyeol had waited. He goes to bed with an empty space beside him and wakes up to the same empty space, left for the smaller male just in case he returns for the night.

Chanyeol still cooks for two and it ends up in the refrigerator as leftovers for the next day. He misses Baekhyun and he misses the warmth Baekhyun had given to him. He wondered if Baekhyun had brought enough clothes, a cardigan? A coat? It was getting cold and Baekhyun hates the cold.

Chanyeol just wishes that the man he loves is happy with whatever he’s doing right now. But love has a limit and Chanyeol thinks he had just reached the limit. He’s tired of waiting, he’s tiring of being the one who’s always sacrificing. He’s tired so without a word, Chanyeol says goodbye.
 

If only he had waited for while longer.. A week after Chanyeol’s departure, Baekhyun came running back, bearing good news of how he had been accepted into one of Korea’s top recording company. He brought cake and wine to celebrate this piece of good news. But he stops at the front door...and home no longer smells like Chanyeol.

He placed his things down onto the floor, shoes unremoved, he ran into their room, opening the closet that was once filled with their clothes, only to find out that the space where Chanyeol clothes occupied, was now empty. He opened all the drawers within seconds and gone, everything was gone. Chanyeol’s caps, sunglasses, passport,  his extra bills, accessories, watches, gone...everything was gone.

Baekhyun tried to fight back the tears, hoping that Chanyeol was just doing some cleaning and clearing out his things but he knows that that’s not the truth. He makes his way to the kitchen, hoping to see Chanyeol in his red apron, cooking his favourite dishes, welcoming his return but there was nothing there.

He shifts his eyes over to the fridge and found that there was a note stuck there. Hurriedly, he made his way there, tearing the note off so roughly that the magnet holding on to it fell to the ground, shattering into pieces. The magnet Chanyeol had bought for him all the way from Paris was now nothing but useless ceramic.
He blinks back the tears, in hopes to read the written text on the piece of scrap paper a little more clearly.

Hey Baek, I’m not sure when you’ll get to read this...maybe you never will because you’ve decided to leave this place for good. But I’m sure I’ll be gone by then. It doesn’t it? Saying goodbye this way. I admit, I’m a coward but I’m tired. Tired of waiting, tiring of being the one who loves more and most of all, tired of being the one who’s constantly sacrificing when I get nothing back in return. I’m selfish, I shouldn’t have tried to take you away from your dream and I’m sorry. So go, go and be the world’s best singer out there and who knows I’ll get to see you shining on stage one day. And be happy Baek, you’re beautiful when you smile. Maybe ten years down the road I’ll see you once again? Till then Baek, I want you to be happy, to be successful, to fulfil your dream of becoming the world’s best singer. Promise me?

I love you Baek. I really do.

Love,
Chanyeol

That night, Baekhyun laid on the kitchen floor, hands clutching tightly onto the shattered pieces of the magnet and Chanyeol’s letter, drowning himself in the tears that refuse to stop flowing and the memories he had with Chanyeol. That night, Baekhyun learns that he loves Chanyeol more than anything in the world. That night, Baekhyun learns that Chanyeol was his world, his everything.At twenty, Baekhyun loses the love of his life, his world, his everything.
 

A/N: And sooooo, I have a new story update? It's most probably going to be a two shot fic and I'm really bad at it sigh. Anyway I hope you'll like it /crosses fingers and toes and arms and legs. 

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