Everything seemed so much more peaceful as soon as Baekhyun had stepped away from the chaos that was his brother’s wedding reception. Out in the hotel’s cobblestoned garden, there seemed to be nothing to worry about, and with only the trickling fountain’s musical sounds to be heard, he was quite at peace. For once, the designer didn’t even bother to check his phone; already a little bit too drunk to care if he’d get into the office tomorrow only to be slain in cold blood by his boss. In fact, all by himself like this, he could finally hear himself think.

           “You know, I’ve never seen someone give a speech they obviously didn’t believe in as well as you before…” Well, so much for peace of mind…

          He could feel a jolt of electricity run through his over-tired veins at the sound of that velvety voice, and for once in his life, Baekhyun felt truly relaxed, hearing a soft chuckle and the padding of slow, tentative footsteps approaching him. From behind a few shrubs, he could see the same tall figure who had disrupted the ceremony make his way over to him, kindly asking to sit beside him and maintaining a decent amount of distance between the both of them when the dazed designer had numbly agreed. “What are you doing out here by yourself?” the stranger wondered, eyeing Baekhyun with such warm eyes that he could feel himself drowning in the depths of the guy’s wonderfully brown irises. “The party’s only started.”

          “Trying to catch my breath,” Baekhyun replied. “I have a 5AM flight back to Seoul to catch.”

          “You aren’t staying any longer?” Giant asked, brows furrowed. “Seems like an awful hassle to be in and out of the country in a day…”

          “How do you know I’ve come here only today?” There was a faint trace of a blush on the tall man’s elfish face as he scratched the back of his head, chuckling nervously once more.

          “I may have asked around…” he murmured, sounding way-too-shy to suit his abnormally bass-like voice. “And besides,” Another head shake, “I think I would have remembered a face like yours.”

          For a moment, Baekhyun was speechless. Was this guy perhaps flirting with him? Everything went silent again after that, but it wasn’t uncomfortable in the least. In fact, Baekhyun quite enjoyed the company and the heat radiating from the taller male’s body as both men’s gazes fell forwards to the fountain; the statues of flying cherubs holding up bows and arrows where water spurted from the tips seeming to glow underneath the garden lights. “Thanks,” Baekhyun said after a while, flashing a short-lived yet sincere smile at the stranger. “For saying that, I mean. I haven’t had a half-decent conversation with someone like you in a long time…”

          Although the giant smiled in return, Baekhyun could trace just a hint of confusion from the brunette. “Someone like me?” the guy wondered. The designer merely shrugged. He didn’t need to know that Baekhyun was more than just a little bit interested. “Well, I’ll take that as a compliment, then,” he laughed. “I’m Chanyeol, by the way. Luhan’s friend.” Baekhyun knew Luhan to be the bride’s pretty younger brother.

          “Oh. Baekhyun,” he replied, shaking the stranger’s – now known as Chanyeol – hand. “The groom is my hyung.”

          “No wonder you looked familiar,” Chanyeol nodded. “You’re the fashion designer, right? No wonder you’re flying back so soon. I heard you’re having a fashion show in a few weeks.”

          “Yeah, how’d you know?”

          “Oh, you know, photographer circles,” Chanyeol dismissively waved. “A few of my seniors worked a few of your previous events, and news travels fast so…”

          “Oh, you’re a photographer? Must be nice,” Baekhyun mused. “At least you don’t have to worry as much as I do – there’s just so much to do with so little time, it’s pretty damn insane. I’m just about ready to blow my gasket; not to mention that my boss is the Devil—”

          “Krystal Jung, right?” Chanyeol laughed, earning a nod from a now smiling Baekhyun (this is the first time in a while he’d really felt the compulsion to smile because just being near the guy was like being contaminated with some sort of virus). “Yeah, I heard she’s a handful. Her sister’s like that, too. Must run in the blood…”

          “You have no idea,” Baekhyun laughed. “Literally everyone looks like they want to hide underneath their desks when they hear her voice coming. We’re like the 101 dalmatians and she’s Cruella de Vil.”

          “Yeah, I know the feeling. I did a shoot with her sister once before and there’s a reason she’s a really good model – I’m pretty convinced that woman has no soul; her expressions were just so cold. Not to mention she almost clobbered me like She-Hulk when I mistakenly took a bad picture of her. I never thought the thing with people’s lives flashing before their eyes was real until that moment – I really thought I was going to die!”

          “The industry’s filled with them, if I’m being honest.” Baekhyun admitted, literally clutching onto his stomach now because wow, this Chanyeol guy’s pretty damned hilarious. Just the way his round eyes popped with each exaggeration was enough to have him in stitches. Not to mention the fact that his voice certainly did not suit the emotions he was conveying. “My ex was particularly like that. Such an . You probably know him, he was a photographer too – Kris Wu?”

          “Damn, you went out with Mr. Freeze?” Baekhyun’s brows furrowed in both amusement and utter confusion. “I used to work shoots with him. Never said a word to me, and his face… It was like walking through the Arctic ; he made me feel like I was freezing.”

          “You’re weird, Chanyeol. I like that,” Baekhyun couldn’t help but chuckle. Not even the bitter memory of his blasted ex could sour his mood now. Baekhyun was officially intrigued.

          “Thanks,” Chanyeol grinned. “How long were you and Kris together?”

          “A year, give or take,” Baekhyun mumbled, “I don’t remember, I kind of just blocked out memories of him since he cheated on me. Hit on my assistant when he thought I wasn’t looking. So I broke it off. He went back to Canada after that; haven’t heard from him since. Good riddance, really…”

          “Damn, I knew he was a jerk, but…” Chanyeol whistled, “But listen, if someone can’t see how great you are, they definitely didn’t deserve you, Baekhyun.”

          Holy , was that the sound of Baekhyun’s heart beating extra fast? He felt warm all over, as if he was being wrapped around in a lover’s embrace, when really, Chanyeol only patted his shoulder consolingly. It was enough though. Baekhyun knew he was starting to fall for this guy – and fast­.

          To interrupt their moment, though, the two males heard the fast-approaching sound of footsteps against stone as a honey-blond figure emerged from the direction of the hall, just as Luhan’s pretty face appeared, panting. “Chanyeol, there you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Come on, it’s time!” Before anyone really had any time to process anything, Chanyeol was yanked away towards the party. He flashed a sheepish grin at Baekhyun.

          “See you there?” he voiced out. And even though Baekhyun knew he should really retreat back to his room to get his things ready to leave for the airport later, he found himself nodding and soon following suit.

          It turned out that Chanyeol was a gifted pianist because, as Baekhyun watched from a fair distance, he was stunned into silence. Apparently, “It’s time” meant that Luhan and Chanyeol were performing a song together; Luhan singing some Chinese song with Chanyeol playing the accompaniment. The way the guy’s fingers glided against the ivory keys to produce such a lovely melody had the designer entranced, and with each note, he found himself fall deeper and deeper into his attraction for the admittedly very attractive photographer. And so, his resolve slowly built itself up as the seconds dragged on and with a little more liquid courage (ie. Alcohol), he found himself move closer and closer to the piano.

          He could not wait until the duo completed their performance just so that maybe he could approach the tall man, share a few drinks, talk a while longer and at the end of the night, maybe even ask for a number and a date once both of them were back in the homeland.  It suddenly didn’t even matter to him that his parents were in the vicinity and would likely not take too kindly to him showing blatant signs of him… well, not being what they expected. He felt rash, though, as if tonight was the night to make impulsive decisions.

          Those decisions swirling around in his mind didn’t get to be executed, though, because as soon as Chanyeol played the last key and stood from the bench, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his neck and a pair of lips collided against his. And what hurt even more than that was the fact that those arms and those lips belonged to a woman.

          Baekhyun had never felt so low.

          Feeling utterly sorry for himself, Baekhyun found himself at the garden again, but this time, he had a bottle of champagne alongside him (really, did weddings only serve champagne, he desperately needed something with a stronger kick). Still, he was intoxicated enough not to give two s about anything because he was currently actively ruining his damned expensive suit by walking around in the knee-deep water of the fountain; hundreds of coins poking the soles of his feet because he didn’t realize that this was a wishing fountain before he’d come in.

          “I bet you’re laughing at me, aren’t you?” he slurred, slanting eyes at the little cherubs. “Cupids? Seriously? How do people believe in you? They’re all dumb.”

          Clearly, the man slugging around in a fountain wearing a suit and occasionally gulping down champagne straight from the bottle was an even more ludicrous thing. “If you things did exist, why else would my love life be so ty? I mean, come on, first you made me fall head over heels in love with Kris and he turned out to be the biggest ever, and then just when I think I can move on and you shoot me while I was talking to that giant, I find out I’m barking up the wrong tree. Seriously? you…”

          Eyeing the coins underneath his feet, Baekhyun scoffed. “All of you,” he grumbled, pointing at the innocent pieces of change on the bottom, “All of you are idiots. Wishing for love at a fountain? Love , I’m telling you.” He was really hammered now. “I should just save you all right now.”

          “So let me start with you, my Korean buddy,” he said, picking up what he noticed was a 500 won coin from underneath the water. Just then, a light from nearby went out. Baekhyun giggled to himself, “See? It’s a sign. Let me save you, too…” he picked up another similar 500 won coin, humming appreciatively when he noticed that it was a trick coin with two heads, and another light went out. “Ooh, let me save you two, too! You seem fancy,” noticing two Japanese coins as two more lights flicked off.

          And then an odd one struck him, and Baekhyun said, “Yes, I’m saving you especially…” when he saw, not a normal coin, but a camera lens cover, making the last light illuminating the garden flicker off until only the lights in the fountain were on.

          “Hey! Get out of there!” He heard approaching footsteps running towards him just then, and Baekhyun laughed, running away into the night just before one of the hotel’s employees could catch him and say anything.

          In his haste, he didn’t even realize that a tall, chestnut-haired figure had been watching him from nearby, smiling to himself.

♦

          “Baekhyun-ge,” Tao’s voice rung through the intercom, startling Baekhyun out of his reverie and making his gaze fall away from the Post-it notes still pasted onto the cover of his sketch book and towards the assistant’s desk right outside his office where a black-haired Chinese male stared right back at him. “Krystal just came back from dinner with that short benefactor guy and is exiting the elevator. She wants you to meet her there. Now.”

          And that is exactly why Byun Baekhyun was now standing in the hallway in front of his boss, looking nervous and sweating buckets as he watched the blonde pace back and forth, glaring at everything in her path. The receptionist, as usual, was eavesdropping. “Baekhyun, have you found a photographer for tomorrow yet?”

          “I’m—”

          “Look here, kid—” Baekhyun had to bite his tongue back just to avoid pointing out that he was older. “—I allowed you to go to your brother’s wedding because you said you would be on top of things even from there. Not only did you not answer any of my calls while you were there, but things are a mess. The photo shoot for the show is tomorrow and you’re seriously telling me that you don’t even have a photographer for it? I explicitly told you that—”

          The elevator tinged then, briefly interrupting the ongoing rant from the Devil Incarnate. And everything stopped for Baekhyun then. “Chanyeol, what are you doing here?”  

3rd part's up ohyus!
I hope you guys are enjoying this fic, I certainly enjoy writing it haha! Anways, see y'all next time!

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