Previously On…. THE BOSS!

Baekhyun’s backstory reveals how he came to associate thunder and lightning with all the bad parts of his life, and how his father’s mentality took over who he was as a person. However, we also learned about what led him to seek out Chanyeol in the first place and what he truly thinks of him. In the present: After the blow out, Chanyeol leaves, only to be reminded by the thunder and lightning of what’s truly important. When he races back to Baekhyun’s side they decide to hash things out and settle on being friends...for now. In another part of town Tao and Kris have their own spat, where – in Tao’s eyes – Kris comes up on top, telling Tao he doesn’t deserve someone like him. However, little does Tao really know of Kris’ real mentality – he thinks Tao is too innocent, too pure, to be with someone as broken as he is, and he decides to cut ties before anything happens…

Thunder and lightning brings people together and tears people apart that day. But little does everyone know that danger lurks just on the horizon, looming around the corner, and it will take more than a little weather to stop the plans that are in the works…

End synopsis.

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It was hot – not just hot, but humid apparently. Sweat dripped from his temples and the room swam with heat as Chanyeol slowly opened his eyes. But the curtains were barely cracked and the room was bathed in darkness. Only the faint stream of light breaking into the room told him it was morning. Facing the ceiling, he ripped the incriminating covers off his body and tried to cool down. But it was only a moment after he shifted that suddenly a face appeared before him.

Baekhyun, hair tousled with sleep and face fresh from the morning, knelt at his side and hovered over him. If Chanyeol hadn’t been so taken aback by how hard his heart suddenly pounded then he would have screamed in shock. He had totally forgotten where he was.

Wordlessly, Baekhyun’s hand reached towards Chanyeol’s face, gently smoothing his bangs back from his forehead and resting his hand there.

Chanyeol must have been delusional, he thought, so he let his eyes close and let his imagination run free, until he heard Baekhyun sigh.

“You’re hot,” he whined.

Chanyeol’s eyes sprung back open and saw Baekhyun comparing the temperature to his own forehead.

“What?” he asked stupidly.

Baekhyun only stared back with an expression of disbelief. “You’re running a fever, not to mention sweating all over my pillows… and my back, I might add.”

“Your… back?”

Baekhyun swiveled his shoulders around and revealed a fairly heavily soaked t-shirt that now clung to his skin translucently.

“You wrapped yourself around me early this morning and started breathing in my ear, which wouldn’t have been the totally worst thing had you not started sweating like you were next to a ing furnace.”

Were it possible, Chanyeol would have caught fire himself with the shade of embarrassment that crossed his face. He groaned and covered his eyes with his arm, and then suddenly he felt a chill run up him from the bottom of his toes. When he opened his eyes again the length of Baekhyun’s body was leaning across him, but before he could even make a peep the body had withdrawn and Baekhyun was pulling the covers back over Chanyeol’s torso.

He put his hands to his hips and with a resigned downward turn of his lips said, “There’s nothing left to do but to sweat it out, and you’re doing a great job so far.” He wrinkled his nose, “You stink.”

Chanyeol pouted. “Well, what about you?”

“Me?” Chanyeol had the rare pleasure of seeing him look extremely taken aback. “What about me? Do you really think I smell? Me?”  He indignantly took a whiff of his t-shirt. “If anything, it’s because you were-“

Chanyeol cut him off, “I meant, weren’t you sick yesterday?”

Baekhyun shut his mouth very suddenly and then the lilt to his voice took a very sudden and quiet turn. “Oh... Yeah. But it was a trivial thing… it passed.”

Chanyeol immediately felt his stomach turn with regret. “Look, if it was because of me, I just want to say again that I am so stupid. I’m sor-“

This time Baekhyun cut him off by pressing one perfect finger to his lips, a hint of red tinging his ears. “The time for apologies is over. We did all that sappy yesterday and I’m sure I can’t take much more, so let’s just forget it, okay?”

Chanyeol nodded his agreement after a moment.

“Good,” said Baekhyun, clapping his hands together and finally springing from his seated position. “Well then, if you don’t mind, I have a meeting today so I’ll be getting ready now.”

He peeled the sticky shirt from his back and threw it to the floor and very suddenly Chanyeol was aware of his position, lying helpless on a bed watching his boss – his now friend – undress for a shower. He could feel the heat spreading to his cheeks and in an instant he tossed the covers and went flying from the bed for the door. But no sooner had he taken a step that his legs gave out from under him. The room swirled and his limbs went weak and numb. But before he could fall all the way to the ground Baekhyun appeared out of nowhere under his arm and hoisted him back onto the bed. Had Chanyeol not felt like the world was falling out from underneath him he would have taken a closer look at the bare body that had helped him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Baekhyun huffed, his arms automatically folding across his chest and his hip cocking to the side.

“If you’ve got a meeting then I should get ready too!” Chanyeol sputtered quickly, eyes turned away from the other’s torso.

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so. Even Tao and Kris won’t make you do anything in your condition. They’d say anything less than one hundred percent is dangerous for me anyway, but never mind them. All you have to do is listen to me. I am the Boss after all.”

Chanyeol sunk back into the bed feeling a bit confused. “Then, what should I do?”

Baekhyun crossed the room to his drawers, rifling around until he pulled out several items of clothes. Then he tossed them next to Chanyeol. “Change into these at least so you’re not covered in sweat. And get back into bed. I’m going to shower now so you better be laying down and resting properly by the time I get back.” Baekhyun pointed a menacing finger in his face, then his heels and closed the bathroom door.

With all the strength he could muster Chanyeol changed into the clothes Baekhyun had picked out for him, which were roomy enough in most places, but the sleeves and legs were still too short. It made Chanyeol laugh until he started coughing, and only then did he remember he was supposed to be lying in bed. Once he crawled into the heavy covers it was like someone turned off the lights. He was very suddenly asleep and only awoke again when he heard knocking coming from the door.

A weight from his side shifted and left, but he couldn’t be sure it was what he thought it was because by the time he gathered the strength to open his eyes Baekhyun had already opened the door. The only stream of light in the room now came from the crack in the doorway, and from it he could see Tao’s face peek in for just a moment. He could hear them muttering lowly.

“Is he asleep?”

“Mm,” nodded Baekhyun. “He woke up with a fever. He’s in no condition to ride along with us today.”

Tao said nothing in regards to it so Chanyeol assumed he must have also nodded – his own eyes were slowly shutting and he began to slip from consciousness again.

“Kibum’s arrived, hasn’t he?”

“He got into contact with us earlier this morning. He’ll be expecting us soon. We should go.”

Baekhyun clicked his tongue in annoyance. “He can wait… Give me just a sec and we can go.”

He heard the door click shut, and then in no time at all he felt a cool hand press to his forehead. He struggled to open his eyes and when he did the world swirled in his vision, but finally it landed on Baekhyun, starkly beautiful in his dark pressed suit, ebony hair still wet against his forehead.

Chanyeol opened his mouth to day something – he didn’t know what – but nothing came out.