i'm finally here! omg i apologize to keep you all waiting huhuhu butthisstorydoesnotdeserveyourpatiencetho. :(

anw this one is actually for steph! i couldn't write a birthday fic for her so this is all i could do. /sobs/ this is so late but happy birthday steeeeeeeeeeeppphh! nawa'y pagpalain ka ng mga magagandang bagay dito sa mundo. ingat lagi! mahal ka ni chanbaek~~~~ <3 xoxo! everyone please wish her a blessed year ahead! ;D

p.s: i revised this part so that this would be suitable for a birthday fic lmao. no severe angst okay. peace!

p.s.s: this part is too long so i cut it into two parts (you see it was supposed to be in 3 parts hence .../3 but now it's .../4).

p.s.s.s: i'm so prepared for the coming bricks. i know i can't write.

enjoyyyy!

“I am like a ghost that cannot be seen only in your eyes.”

Baekhyun has just finished accompanying his father at a business meeting with Nam Corporation when he remembers that his refrigerator would appreciate some food and his bathroom supplies are running low so instead of driving straight back to his office, he turns left and enters Homeplus’ parking area. An impromptu shopping by himself would not consume too much of his time, he is certain of that.

He is about to take a cart and start looking for what he needs when someone’s cart bumps onto his right leg.

A gasp is soon heard, followed with continuous I am sorry in both Chinese and Korean.

 “It is o—” he turns his body and instantly freezes, eyes slightly dilating in shock because there in front of him stands Luhan, his best friend’s crush, looking more matured and more beautiful and just simply more perfect than what he last remembered. Yes, he saw Luhan that night at Jongin’s studio café, but he did not have the chance to study his new appearance closely after being gone for six years. But now, as they are standing face to face, Baekhyun can see just how breathtakingly gorgeous Luhan has become over the years. No wonder Chanyeol likes him even more. “—kay.”

An awkward silence engulfs both of them for a moment, before Luhan opens his mouth and tentatively asks, “Baek… hyun?”

“That is me.”

Luhan emits a set of light chuckles, eyes crinkling in amusement. “That was exactly what Chanyeol said when we met again after six years. You guys are really an item, perfectly in sync, I see.”

Baekhyun just flashes a smile out of politeness (because Luhan needs not to know how much his last sentence hurts) before taking a cart and pushing it to the food section with Luhan doing the same next to him. They just walk side by side in silence, getting whatever it is they need, because both men did not expect to meet each other in such situation. They could have just separated ways, but neither of them thinks it is the most appropriate thing to do when you meet your highschool friend after six years.

After adding four bags of honey butter chips to the pile of snacks in his cart (because tonight is his movie night with Chanyeol, he suddenly remembers), Baekhyun opts to break the ice between them because, one, he dislikes having someone with him yet they are not talking due to awkwardness, and two, Luhan is the love of his love so he has to treat him good. “So, how have you been, Luhan? How was your family?” You are doing good, though, I know.

“They were fine. I had to work extra hard for my family but that was what I had to do as the one and only son in the family,” Luhan answers as he takes a big bottle of grape yoghurt from the rack, clearly missing the proud smile on Baekhyun’s face. He fishes out his wallet from his jeans’ back pocket and counts the money before nodding to himself and continuing to push the cart to another aisle. He stops by the rack consisting of various brands of instant noodles and ponders about something for a bit, before tiptoeing to get five packs of ramyun from the top shelf. “And I have been doing good, finally moving back to Seoul for a job. Not really the best job, but at least I make enough money.”

“Yeah, Chanyeol informed me that,” Baekhyun replies as they head to the bathroom supplies section.

At the mention of the towering soon-to-be CEO’s name, Luhan pauses in his track to suddenly laugh, causing a big question mark to pop out in Baekhyun’s head. And much to the latter’s disappointment, Luhan does not explain anything as to why he laughed and just resumes walking through the aisles.

It is not until they have ringed their purchases out that Luhan finally says the unexpected. “Chanyeol still has feelings for me, right?”

There is something unreadable, something Baekhyun cannot really pinpoint what it is, from Luhan’s question—or maybe statement, he is not sure. He took Business Major, for God’s sake, not Psychology, and of course school did not teach him to read emotions hidden in a sentence. But at least he knows that Luhan is up for something, which has the chance to be not good, from the way Luhan’s eyes become hard and the way his lips form a thin line after firing the question.

₪₪₪

Chanyeol may never admit it out loud, but he believes that love will only bring happiness to those involved. He believes that being in love makes you feel wonderful, ecstatic, and all that jazz. He believes that falling in love will make you feel delighted, like when you see the rainbow in the sky.

He believes those all, because those are what he feels whenever he thinks of Luhan.

A cheerful call of his name coming from Luhan can make his heart beat million times faster than normal, a small smile from Luhan can make his brain pause its activity for a moment, and just Luhan being near him is enough to make him forget everything existed in this world and only focus on Luhan, Luhan, and Luhan.

Falling in love with Luhan makes him see rainbow everyday.

Sadly, he forgets that rainbow only comes after the rain.

₪₪₪

Luhan will never understand what the future holds in store for him.

He was absolutely surprised when Yifan, a classmate of his in Joongdong High School, phoned him and offered him a job in his five-star hotel’s restaurant. They have not met each other for about six years, so he really had no idea why Yifan even thought of him in the first place—ha, he did not even know how the taller man got his new number. Maybe from Tao, who knows. But, whatever, maybe he was just lucky.

Luhan did not go to university in Beijing, so he expected nothing higher than a position as a room boy. Nevertheless, voila! The Chinese-Canadian man said he would be helping in the kitchen, and he was so thankful he could not ask for more. Yifan also helped him to find a place to live, too. His old house in Apgujeong was long sold, so he was more than grateful when Yixing offered his apartment. Later did he know that Yifan and Yixing were in love and they planned on moving in together to a small penthouse in Gangnam so, in the near future, Luhan would automatically be the sole owner of Yixing’s apartment.

How lucky of him, right? He hopes he is lucky in the other departments too, particularly in the love department.

Ah, love. Luhan does not know if he should laugh or cry at his own love story.

He knows, dammit he knows it very freaking well, that someone likes him, someone under the name of Park Chanyeol, the son of, let’s say, one of the richest people in South Korea. He was not blind back then, and he surely is not now. He remembers how shy Chanyeol was when they were as much as greeting each other in the school’s hallway during their highschool years and he definitely could see the way the taller man’s eyes sparkle with much adoration as they chatted that night at Jongin’s studio café.

But he also knows that his love life is similar to the love life of the main characters in many sappy dramas his mother likes to watch, in which he does not like back the person who likes him, because someone else has claimed the special spot in his heart.

And that someone, as cliché as it can be, does not know that Luhan likes him.

He never expected to meet the person who has successfully stolen his heart, but they did meet, anyway. He missed him, yes, always even, but he just never thought that there would be a day when fate would let the two of them meet again.

He thought that six years of not seeing him would not make his heart do somersaults if they ever met again, but boy was he wrong.

That person is still as tall as before, as breathtakingly handsome as he was back then in high school, still does not talk much, and still… makes him a little breathless whenever their eyes meet.

He met him again at the reunion and, yes, his heart skipped a beat too many times that night. The undying love he has for that tall man is still as strong as before.

₪₪₪

Baekhyun is studying the financial report of his father’s company last year when suddenly a pair of big hands stops him from doing so anymore. Sighing when his intuition tells him who it is, he blindly reaches for all the papers on his table and puts it in a clear file. He softly taps the hands covering his eyes. “What do you want, Park Chanyeol?”

“Tsk, you are no fun, princess” Chanyeol playfully gets Baekhyun in a headlock before pulling him out of his seat. He then grabs the beautiful man’s hand and drags him out of his office, past Byun Corporation’s employees’ cubicles, and to the sky park on the rooftop.

“Chanyeol, what—”

The said man opens his arms wide once he pushes the metal door open. “Surprise!”

Baekhyun’s hands fly up to his mouth as his widened eyes take in what is displayed before him. The usual sky park of Byun Corporation has been magically transformed into such a romantic place for lunch. Maple leaves are scattered to cover the wooden floor of the park and in the middle of the place is a square, middle-sized wooden table, covered in a white tablecloth with pale yellow stripes, with two wooden chairs on the opposite sides. A set of food is already prepared around a vase of pretty David Austin roses and, upon slowly approaching the table, Baekhyun sees plates and bowls filled with twisted tuna salad, mini spinach quiches, baked scotch eggs, and creamy celery and potato soup—all his favorites. His eyes then shift to the dahlias and tibouchinas which somehow are moved so they now serve as the borderlines around the dining area (the flower containers are usually pressed against the walls). Lastly, he cannot help but wonder why Chanyeol’s guitar is present as well, resting against the leg of the chair he guesses is Chanyeol’s.

But what he will never miss is the faint sound of You’re with Me by August Rigo playing in the background (which definitely is coming from the taller man’s phone lying on the table). He mentally scoffs. Chanyeol, you cheesy bastard.

An arm is suddenly draped over his shoulder and he thinks he makes a big mistake of looking at the doer because Chanyeol is looking down at him with that look, the one that can lure both men and women to do whatever he wants in a heartbeat. Baekhyun seriously thinks his poor brain is going to stop working real soon. “Have lunch with me, my princess?”

Screw universe.

Who is Baekhyun to say no?

“What is the occasion, though?” Baekhyun asks as Chanyeol pulls his chair out for him like a gentleman would. The latter just walks around the table and sits on his own chair, all while biting his lower lip to stop his smile from widening. “C’mon, Yeol. I know something is up. I am not your best friend for nothing. Especially with my favorite song playing in the background, that must be saying something.”

It takes a few seconds for the tall man to open his lips. “Are you impressed?”

So much. “With this?”

A nod. “With this.”

“Well,” Baekhyun leans back on his chair and eyes the set like a boss, a dainty finger tapping his chin. “You cannot even cook to save yourself, so I know someone must have been in charge for the food. Kyungsoo, perhaps? Since he is the only one other than you who knows about my favorite food. Oh, wait, Jongdae and Sehun know too, but even their dogs know they cannot cook the ramyun properly. So for the food, I am not that impressed on you. But I should give thumbs up to whoever it was who told you to make flowers fence like this. It is… calming. Okay, well, more like heartwarming.”

“Appreciation accepted, princess.”

Baekhyun playfully snickers. “You must have read too many romantic novels, right?”

“Hey! I am not Jongdae.”

“At least Jongdae has gotten himself a partner, remember?”

As if having received a hard slap, Chanyeol immediately looks down at his lap, hiding his expression, and Baekhyun hates it when he cannot tell what his best friend is feeling. “I… absolutely have no idea what to do to make Luhan love me. I do not know if this is even right.”

The shorter man creases his forehead at the sudden mention of Luhan’s name, but then he puts two and two together—

“I was thinking that if I could get you impressed by this,” Chanyeol gestures to their surroundings. “then I could make him feel the same. I do not know what his favorite food and his favorite song are, though, but I can always ask around.”

—his guess is right. So this was actually planned for Luhan. “Oh.”

“Umm, do you think Luhan will like this? If you were Luhan, Baek, tell me, would you fall for me if I did this?”

Baekhyun’s heart does not waste its time to drop straight down to the pit of his stomach. I have fallen for you even without you doing anything special like this. “I am not Luhan, excuse you, but I think he will like this. I mean, food always wins everyone’s heart.”

“Baek.”

“Right, right. Okay, sorry,” Baekhyun apologetically grins, realizing that his best friend is being drop dead serious. He clears his throat and pretends to think hard, while in fact he is trying to not let the urge to cry he is feeling be shown on his face. “Sure, Chanyeol. Luhan will love it, because, really, this is perfect.” He knows you still like him, too.

Heaving out a sigh that does not really tell what he is feeling right now, Chanyeol then locks eyes with Baekhyun’s to see if the man in front of him is just joking again. Baekhyun’s pretty brown orbs sometimes deceives him, but most of the time they cannot, courtesy of practicing and experiencing for years.

And for now, for this very moment, all he can see is just sincerity; he just does not have any idea what is hiding behind that.

Chanyeol is about to make sure once again if Baekhyun really means it when suddenly the latter’s ringtone breaks the silence. His big eyes miss to see who the caller is, but judging from the way Baekhyun’s lovely eyes suddenly turn moist and how he stutters his reply to whoever is calling him right now, he knows he will not like the reasons.

Because the thing is, Byun Baekhyun never stutters.

So when his best friend ends the call with a broken I will call you back later, Chanyeol spends no time to take his small hands in his big ones. “Hey, Baek, what is wrong?”

Baekhyun just remains silent, his gaze focused on nothing. He is torn in between the options popping out in his head. Heck, he should not give the answer right away—no, he cannot. He cannot just casually tell Chanyeol that something big is going to bring major change to their friendship because of that phone call.

“Baek?”

Baekhyun bits his inner cheek. God, what do I do?

“Byun Baekhyun?”

It is when a dead worried Chanyeol gives a light squeeze to his hands, a sign of encouragement to make him speak up, does he finally gasp and let his tears fall down.

“Oh my God,” Chanyeol, in his panic mode, only takes a millisecond to be by Baekhyun’s side and pulls him into his chest. “Baek, oh God, why are you crying? Who was that? Or did I hurt you?”

Chanyeol, no. Please, no. Stop. Baekhyun attempts to break free from Chanyeol’s calming hug, but his best friend is not willing to let him go. Please, let me go.

“Tell me what is wrong, Baek,” Chanyeol softly says, but Baekhyun still catches the strong authority in it. “Please.”

Knowing that he has no other option, the crying man takes a deep breath first before answering against the fabric of the giant’s work shirt in an almost inaudible voice. “Baekbeom hyung is hospitalized. He got another heart attack today, and this is the second time this month.”

“Oh God,” Chanyeol gasps, tightening his hold in reflex, but not hard enough to suffocate the man in his arms. He then crouches down next to Baekhyun, hands cupping the other’s wet cheeks. “If you want, we can fly to London tomorrow morning to visit him? Or tonight? Anytime is fine with me.”

Stop. That only makes Baekhyun’s heart ache more.

“Or do you want to go now? I will just call—”

“NO!” Baekhyun shuts his eyes at the harsh tone of his own word. He did not mean to yell at his best friend, no, he swears. You are so stupid, Baek! Feeling guilty, he quickly covers his face with his hands and lets more of his tears to roll down his cheeks. “I—I am sorry, Yeol. I d—did not mean to snap at you.”

“Baby, hey, it is okay. Really,” Chanyeol gently pries Baekhyun’s hands away from his face before kissing his closed eyelids tenderly. “Just, please, tell me what I can do to make you feel better. Please.”

There will be no ways to make me feel better. Baekhyun mentally laughs in bitterness at how things have turned out for him. So, this is destiny.

“I will accompany you to London, okay?”

“Yeah.”

The call seems to answer his prayer on how to execute his plans of doing his best friend a favor. He is, honestly, still not ready to leave Chanyeol but, now that the things have turned out like this, what other options does he have?

And not to forget that he is the one willing to leave Chanyeol in the first place.

₪₪₪

Luhan unpredictably meets him again for the second time in one windy morning at a small yet well-known bakery near Yixing’s apartment after his six years of absence. He is too focused on picking what to buy for his breakfast (today is his day off, thanks to Yifan) that he does not catch the call of his name leaving someone’s lips.

“Luhan?”

The third time the man standing next to him calls his name, his voice reaches his consciousness and he turns his head to the left and— “S—sehun?”

“Hi,” the smile given is so tiny that one would barely notice it, but Luhan sees it nonetheless. “It is nice meeting you again.”

“Y—yeah, me t—too,” Luhan inwardly berates himself for not having full control over his speech articulatory any longer. With too many things running in his head—well, more like those of what should I do or do I look good now and even I hope I do not have dried drool on my chin, he puts on a smile that hopefully covers his nervousness of standing near the man he loved—and still does. “What are you doing here?” Smart question, Luhan.

“Just wanting to buy something for Baekhyun. He has fever and is staying at his house, so I am planning on visiting him with a box of croissant or something. I know porridge should be better choice, but he does not like it much.”

Luhan’s heart freefalls at the sudden mention of Baekhyun’s name. It is still a bit past seven in the morning yet you are already thinking about Baekhyun? “You are not going to work today?”

“I am. I am just going to visit Baekhyun first, then I will head to work after that.”

Of course, Baekhyun always comes first. “Oh,” is all Luhan says in reply. Back then when Luhan was in high school, he had heard the rumor about Sehun liking Baekhyun. He did not believe it, of course, thinking that what the students saw as romantic affection or whatever the students labeled it was just Sehun genuinely caring for Baekhyun because they were close friends. But as the years went by after he left Seoul, Tao (his Chinese best friend slash deskmate during high school) sometimes informed him everything about Sehun, including whatever he did with Baekhyun. And from what Tao said, Luhan has hastily concluded that Sehun got feelings for his short friend.

So with what is happening right now, with Sehun sparing his time so early in the morning just for Baekhyun, the same Byun Baekhyun whom he has been secretly hating on since high school, he cannot tell—not that he cares, anyway—what is true anymore.

Dammit, Byun.

But what irks him more is that he has finally met Baekhyun in person again, and he would be the biggest liar on the planet if he said that Baekhyun had nothing to win against him now. He lost against Baekhyun in their invisible war during highschool—well, more like Luhan was the only one seeing his struggle to beat Baekhyun in academic and talent fields as a war—and it seems like he is not going to win this time, too.

Byun Baekhyun still very much has more than Luhan does. His charm, his looks—his everything is far better than Luhan’s and the Chinese man thinks that if people do not admire (and even fall for) someone like Baekhyun, then they are utterly stupid.

And Luhan hates how Sehun is included in those people who are smart.

“What are you buying, hm?” Sehun’s sudden question startles Luhan a bit, making the Chinese man take a step backward.

“Uh? Ah, just something simple