Baekhyun jolts awake, his eyes taking in the color of white above him and a sigh comes out from his mouth as he sits up his bed, leaning his back against the headboard.

It was just a dream.

Baekhyun looks through the rack of clothes, feeling bored and exhausted as he waits for his friend. Kyungsoo called him and asked him to accompany him today on looking for the perfect gift for the perfect person, as Kyungsoo unsubtly likes to call Jongin as.

“Kyungsoo, I don’t think you would find the perfect gift for your perfect person here in a clothing store,” Baekhyun says, trailing behind his friend who was going around the store for the third time, figuring he might have just ‘missed seeing’ the perfect gift.

“But Jongin likes this brand and I always got him clothes from here.”

“Maybe you could’ve thought of the possibility that maybe Jongin wanted something much more special? I mean, buying him clothes is all right but for a special occasion? I don’t think so. Not buying him clothes wouldn’t make him love you less. Giving him something from the heart, now, makes everything sweeter don’t you think so?”

Kyungsoo stops his browsing through clothes as a thoughtful look comes on his face. “Actually, you do make a point.” He gives a tender smile to his friend and continues, “Wow, Baek. This is why you’re my best friend.”

Baekhyun laughs and swings an arm around his friend’s shoulder. “I know. Now, let’s go get something to eat.”

When Kyungsoo pulls him all the way to this affordable restaurant that just opened, Baekhyun gets a funny feeling in his stomach. The floor-to-ceiling windows were familiar to him, the interior was contemporary and gray as he had expected, there was that burnt butter ice cream Baekhyun’s hands twitch at, and the familiar looking employee manning the cashier booth, his mouth drooping as Baekhyun certainly remembers it.

Funny, Baekhyun thinks. I have never been here before but I swore I’ve seen this place from somewhere.

Their server leads them to a booth not far away from the entrance. It was by far, noon, and families and couples were slowly filling the place.

Kyungsoo orders noodles, Baekhyun orders some meat and ramen. He was so hungry he doesn’t notice the weird looks he’s getting and the amused look he’s especially being given from the boy sitting not just far away from them.

“Baek,” Kyungsoo starts, darting his eyes from side to side. “I know you’re hungry but you could at least calm down and try to control it. You’re eating too fast, don’t you know that?” Baekhyun waves him away with a hand and Kyungsoo gapes.

“Hyung!” Kyungsoo hisses. “People are staring!”

“Just stop staring back.” Baekhyun says, taking a sip of water. “I’m hungry, we’re in a restaurant, and the food is delicious. Everything is well.”

“Not until you get a stomach ache.” Kyungsoo grumbles. He mutters under his breath while playing with his noodles, still uncomfortable with the stares their table is receiving. His eyes lock on a particular boy a few tables away from them and the boy smiles, white bright teeth and a twitch of the eye taking him aback. He cautiously nods back and returns to his meal.

Kyungsoo hums in amusement. He looks like someone Baekhyun hyung would like.

Baekhyun’s full.

His stomach has bloated and he thinks he may have a hard time standing and walking home but the burnt butter ice cream has been on his mind ever since he saw it.

Not that he was still hungry, it was something in him that urged him to order one. Something in him that’s pulling him towards the display, with the regret bubbling at the surface if he didn’t, a loss, for what—Baekhyun didn’t know.

However, it was strong and tingling Baekhyun’s nerves. He’s got to buy one.

“Kyung,” Baekhyun says. “I’ll just buy ice cream. Do you want some?”

“Mint, please.”

Baekhyun makes his way towards the ice cream, leaning down to look at the other flavours. He stands back right up and sees the boy at the cashier walking to him.

“Would you like some ice cream, Sir?” There’s a lisp in that blunt voice of his and Baekhyun nods pointing at his desired flavours.

“Have we met somewhere before?” Baekhyun asks him while the boy scoops up the ice cream on a glass.

“No, I don’t think so.” The boy says.

“Oh. I swear I saw you before.”

“Was it probably at the university just three blocks away?” The boy asks. “I study there and always stay until late for org. You might’ve seen me there.” Baekhyun shakes his head.

“I’ve never been to that university before. I study in the next city, you see.” The boy nods.

“We probably haven’t seen each other before then.” Baekhyun nods.

The boy hands him his ice cream and before Baekhyun could ask more questions, the boy quickly returns to his spot at the cashier.

Baekhyun sighs and turns around only to bump against someone’s chest, bringing the two cups of ice cream to the floor. The ice cream leaves a trail on his black shirt and Baekhyun gasps at the cold seeping through and at the shirt now sticking to his skin.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” The stranger repeatedly says, flustering over Baekhyun and attracting attention from the other customers. Baekhyun’s unsurprisingly not mad because he’s seen this happen in his dream and if he were to tilt his head up to meet the stranger, he would see a pair of gorgeous brown eyes, a pair of ears that are a little too prominent but endearing, a set of pearly white—

and he did see exactly that.

Baekhyun’s short on breath and the stranger looks down at him with worry. He’s so tall that Baekhyun’s neck was starting to sting a bit. In his dream, he couldn't see the stranger's face clearly and now that he thought of it, the stranger's face was the only thing he couldn't remember. He could only remember glimpses of his eyes, his ears, his teeth and now that Baekhyun's seen him, he is short of words.

He is so gorgeous.

“I’m sorry about the ice cream and your shirt.” The stranger says again in a deep voice Baekhyun’s only notice now and it sends shivers down his spine. Baekhyun only continues to gaze up at the stranger, prompting the stranger to trail off. “Are you really okay?”

“Hyung!” Kyungsoo appears, tugging at Baekhyun’s arm. “Hyung, your shirt!” The boy at the cashier comes to clean up the mess, all the while Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, and the stranger look at each other.

“I’m really sorry about your friend.” The stranger speaks up again, a sheepish smile on his face.

“It’s okay.” Kyungsoo says, bowing a bit to the stranger. This was the same guy who was looking at Baekhyun a few tables away in pure endearment just minutes ago. “We’ll go now.”

Before Kyungsoo drags Baekhyun farther away from him, the stranger calls out. “Wait, let me buy him a new shirt. It’s the least I can do.”

“No, it’s okay.” Kyungsoo says.

“No, it’s not.” The stranger says in finality. “I bumped into him. I was the one who spilled the ice cream all over him. It’s only right I do something.”

The stranger looks at Baekhyun, this time with a look Kyungsoo swore Jongin and he would always share, across tables, in each other’s arms, and with declarations of love. “I’m Chanyeol. Please let me buy you a shirt.”

“I’m Baekhyun.” Baekhyun says, a bit shaky. “And okay, I’ll let you buy me a shirt if it makes you sleep at night.” Chanyeol laughs and Baekhyun’s heart beats weakly at that.

“It’s funny, everything that’s going on right now. Because it’s going exactly as I’ve seen it.”

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo look at Chanyeol, confused now.

“Seen where?” Baekhyun asks. Chanyeol smiles warmly at him once again and Baekhyun’s face feels warmer than ever and he wants to look away but he can’t.

“In my dreams.”