I'm sorry it took me even longer this time - too much things I want and so little time ;-; I hope it's not terrible, it feels terrible to me ^^' (something is happening this time though yay) Thank you for subscribing! 

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Baekhyun closed the door behind himself as he took the flowers with him towards the living room, putting them on the small table there. He wasn’t sure what to do or say because he felt rather down at the sight of Jongin being like that. He tried to tell himself it wasn’t his fault though because it was Jongin who hadn’t caught the hint – it was him who unexpectedly showed up at his house. He sat down with mixed feelings.

“You got flowers?” Jongdae interrupted his disturbing thoughts and Baekhyun merely looked up at his face, giving him the obviously-look. “Another secret boyfriend?” he asked with a grin, seemingly unable to catch on to Baekhyun’s mood.

“I know you mean well, but shut up, okay?” He wanted to ramble on about how he had made the kid feel – but realized in time that he had no clue how the other man actually felt. Besides, he felt the weights in his head again and was reminded of his own bodily condition and why his friends were even here in the first place. It wasn’t as bad as it was in the very beginning, but being surrounded by others did make his head pound uncomfortably because he had to think and listen.

“Do you,” there was a short pause, “want us to go?” It was Chanyeol who asked and Baekhyun knew that it was the last thing he’d want.

“No, no I don’t. Just–” he frowned, hating to feel fragile, “my head hurts and I can’t stand Jongdae’s stupid jokes right now,” he finished. The words didn’t sink in right away, but when they did and he saw the expression on his friend’s face, he pressed his eyes shut in shame. “I’m sorry Jongdae. I’m terrible, I know.” He could only hope he didn’t leave a horrible impression on Chanyeol on top of hurting Jongdae, but he wasn’t sure about the damage.

“It’s alright, Baek. I come here unannounced and make comments like that the whole time, I get it. Sorry.” There was an awkward, but friendly pat on Baekhyun’s shoulder and he was relieved, really, that Jongdae didn’t blame only him. “I expect to see him soon, so you better take care of him well,” he said to Chanyeol and while Baekhyun felt embarrassed, he was glad to be able to notice that Jongdae meant it and wasn’t angry with him – or at least not so much.

Soon after, they were alone and Baekhyun had a plate of food in front of him, Jongdae’s apple sliced next to it. They had been awfully quiet after Jongdae left and Baekhyun wanted to apologize, but he wasn’t sure what for, so he couldn’t find the right words to say. He looked up at Chanyeol, trying to do so unseen, but the tall man had been watching him all along and the words that just started forming in his mind, were stuck there.

“Don’t stop working at the bar,” Chanyeol said to him, seemingly unashamed with giving an order like that. “You can’t,” he continued, voice softer, but his eyes remained intense. Baekhyun looked back down at the skillfully prepared food and took his chopsticks to pick at it instead of eating.

“Why not?” He didn’t look back up when he asked it, already embarrassed enough as it was. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone else in his home – it was supposed to be empty like it always was – and there certainly wasn’t supposed to be anyone cooking for him, yet there was. There was someone there, trying to tell him what to do instead of letting Baekhyun choose although he had no idea what to do. And he hated how he felt like he needed someone to help him out.

“You have to keep singing.” Baekhyun felt how his cheeks heated up, felt how any hunger he felt before, was ebbing away. Although there was Jongin too, getting a compliment from the man he had liked for so long was something completely different. But there was something that prevented him from working at the bar and stopping at the museum.

“I can’t keep working there – it doesn’t pay enough.” This time, it was shame that stopped him from looking up at Chanyeol’s searching eyes. There was also anger bubbling up inside of him, although he wasn’t entirely sure who it was directed towards.

“And your other job?” Baekhyun shook his head and frowned, this time, he finally met the other man’s eyes.

“Can you stop? It’s embarrassing enough that I can’t fend for myself, if it means ending up like this,” he said and his voice weakened near the end because why was he getting angry with him? And look what he had done, Chanyeol looked hurt and it was his fault, but apologies were too late. However, the hurt seemed to wash off his face quickly to make place for determination.

“I know that.” Chanyeol shot him a fierce look after that, as if he had made up his mind about something Baekhyun didn’t know yet. “But there needs to be a solution because if it is true that you can’t keep living this life if you quit one job – you can’t just stop thinking about it and wishing for it to go away on its own because it won’t.” Baekhyun was silent because it was exactly what he had been doing until then. “I know I barely have any right to say all that but… but I wouldn’t want to see you end up somewhere you don’t belong,” he added in a much softer tone of voice.

“Then what are you suggesting?” Baekhyun asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer to that and picked at the apple with his chopsticks.

“Come live with me,” was the short reply he got and the shorter man could merely look up with a surprised look and a gentle what? “Keep on singing and live with me,” Chanyeol repeated. Baekhyun blankly stared and waited for the tall man across from him to take back the words, or burst out laughing and say it was a joke, but it didn’t happen. The only thought that roamed Baekhyun’s confused mind was why would Chanyeol even want that?

“Why would you suggest that?” he asked in a small voice and Chanyeol seemed too hesitant to reply, but finally did in a vague manner.

“I just told you that,” he said, but it sounded like there was more to it than that – but still, the thought that Chanyeol might like him seemed so implausible to Baekhyun that he didn’t dare consider it as long as Chanyeol didn’t say it. So Baekhyun pretended he didn’t think of all that and instead tried to end the conversation for now.

“I’ll think about it,” he said and though they continued their dinner, there was an awkward silence.

It took Baekhyun about a week to be honest with himself. There were many things he was still insecure about, but Chanyeol had tried hard to convince him – especially of the fact that he really didn’t mind having someone else roaming his house. Baekhyun decided he would inquire the tall man further when he was actually living there, when he would be able to be a little bit more comfortable around him.

He looked at his things that stood in a room in Chanyeol’s apartment, most of his things still boxed up because Baekhyun was too fidgety. Chanyeol’s place was stylish, organized and completely unlike Baekhyun ever imagined it to be. He thought it’d be a mess, to be honest, but it wasn’t in the slightest. The tall man had given him the code to unlock his house because he wouldn’t be home for the majority of the day due to busy schedules and Baekhyun took his sweet time wandering around. All with the terrible feeling of nerves that had every hair on his body stand up. Chanyeol had a bath – well, Baekhyun did, too, now. He could bathe whenever he wanted. And he could sit on the large balcony and look out over Seoul. He could watch Chanyeol cook in the large kitchen – although he had the idea that he would have to cook more often because Chanyeol was a very busy person.

It made him feel so weird, suddenly being in someone else’s house, but after thinking it through many times, it seemed like the ideal solution – at least to him. He insisted on sending the tall man some of his money every month though because he would not live there for free.

In his new room, there was a double bed which Baekhyun made before he lay down on it to call his manager. He had already resigned from the museum. Although it pained him to do so, he knew it would feel way worse if he’d leave the bar instead. He told Minseok he would start working again tomorrow and was happy to hear Jongdae had apparently complained that he wasn’t back yet – although he hadn’t told him in person.

He unpacked his things and realized it wouldn’t be long before Chanyeol would return home. He felt the fidgety feeling again, although he had just started to feel a little bit more comfortable. What would he do if the tall man came home? Wouldn’t it be about time that Baekhyun told him how he felt? He didn’t want to do that too soon though, he would wait until he was one hundred percent sure he was liked back. That meant pretty much he needed to be told so to his face – or maybe a kiss here or there, but that way really too much to be expecting. He was harshly pulled from his embarrassing thoughts when he heard Chanyeol unlock the door. He told himself not to panic, but that was much easier said than done.

Especially when Chanyeol came to stand in the doorframe to his new room and looked at him with that intense stare that he used on Baekhyun way too often. For a moment, the short man thought he had done something completely wrong, but then there was a smile – one that had Baekhyun weak in the knees. Not to mention that the tall man’s voice sounded hoarse for some reason.

“I’m glad you’re finally here.”