[brace yourselves for the massive chapter ahead <3]

"Baekhyun hyung!" 

Walking in through the entrance of the building, Baekhyun stopped at the sound of his name being called, and turned around to see Jongin waving at him with a smile. He stopped to wait for the latter, and smiled back while Jongin made his way to Baekhyun's side. 

"Good morning, Baekhyun hyung." Jongin greeted with a sly smirk. "I suppose yesterday went well?"

Baekhyun's eyes instantly widened when he remembered he hasn't told Jongin anything yet.

Jongin's smile widened even more, and he threw his arm around Baekhyun's slowly crouching shoulders.

"I see you know what I'm talking about. Good, because I was seriously alarmed when Chanyeol asked..how did he say.. if I was out of inspiration?"

Baekhyun closed his eyes shut in embarassment and pressed his lips together tightly.

Damn it.

"The message says," Jongin said, clearly enjoying the shorter male's misery with a glint of amusement in his eyes. "You should have told me you're not in the shape for creating advertisement plans, Jongin ah. But you know, weird thing. I actually thought I was in shape when I wrote those plans. Were they really that bad, or did you make them seem bad, Baekhyun hyung?"

Can you do anything right, Byun Baekhyun?! Baekhyun bit his lip and looked up at Jongin with his puppy eyes. Maybe being cute will get him out of this embarassment alive and well. 

"I might have given Chanyeol the idea.. "

Jongin nodded with a chuckle, and quirked his eyebrows playfully.

"I figured."

"But it was all for the sake of helping me to get close to him!" Baekhyun whined, cheeks turning rosy already. "I didn't plan to steal your position or anything..." he murmured.

Well, he didn't intend or didn't even think he was capable of making better advertising plans than Jongin. So technically he was not lying.

"Chill, Baekhyun hyung." Jongin laughed as he led Baekhyun into the elevator and pressed the button of the needed floor. "I actually called Chanyeol to ask what he meant, and he told me everything you talked about yesterday. So don't stress over it, it's fine. I actually think the idea is quite brilliant."

"Y-you do?" Baekhyun's face brightened instantly. 

Jongin nodded and patted his shoulder with a friendly smile.

"I have a lot of responsibilities as it is, taking care of the whole marketing team and organising their work. If you manage to get the advertising planning off my back  Baekhyun hyung, I'll only be grateful."

Baekhyun sighed in relief. Since yesterday, he was actually worried that Jongin might think he was plotting something against him with this. But it seemed like the younger really trusted Baekhyun to be honest, and didn't think any of that. Even if he could, Jongin didn't doubt him, and it felt nice to know that.

"Well then, have a nice day getting on my best friend's nerves, Baekhyun hyung." the taller wished with a playful smirk and waved at Baekhyun, who chuckled at his words.

After the younger was gone behind the corner, Baekhyun's smile slowly disappeared. Yeah, he was worried again. Worried as hell. 

All the way till Chanyeol's office, Baekhyun was asking himself what was going on with him. He wasn't like this at all. Normally he was someone who wasn't afraid to show his emotions openly, even to be rude at unavoidable occasions, and he was never embarassed of anything he did. Baekhyun was brave and he knew it, it was his thing. So why now, when his courageous and shameless self was needed the most, it suddenly disappears leaving behind this freaking epitome of awkwardness? The blushing idiot Byun Baekhyun?

No, he was having none of it. His mind did weird things when Chanyeol was around. But Baekhyun wouldn't be Baekhyun if he didn't get a grip and start to control his mind, and give others the image he wanted them to see. And Chanyeol was going to see a cool, collected Baekhyun. Definetely. Yeah.

Feeling brave, Baekhyun knocked on the general manager's door, and entered.

Well damn him.

Chanyeol wasn't sitting behind his desk as Baekhyun expected him to. He wasn't reading documents, serious and adorable at the same time, with a small frown on his handsome face perhaps. No, he was not doing any of those things, because Baekhyun was ready to deal with that, ready not to show that he found the taller male extremely attractive. 

But no, Baekhyun was that (un)lucky, and walked in right when Park Chanyeol was actually in the middle of taking off his suit jacket.

And, of course, as if he was meaning to kill anyone who came in with just the view, Chanyeol had his back turned to the door, and let the jacket fall off of his shoulders. It slid off his white shirt clothed arms softly, and stopped by Chanyeol's elbows.Then, probably not even knowing himself how graceful and y he was being, the man had stretched out his faintly muscular arms to slip out of the jacket completely . And then, as if he was a model, Chanyeol finally shed the unneeded piece of clothing, and neatly hung it on the back of his seat. 

Baekhyun felt that his cheeks had just reached a world record in body heat.

There goes his coolness.

"Oh, good morning, Baekhyun sshi." Chanyeol greeted him as he sat back into his chair. "How are you?"

Baek, let's be cool, let's be cool, let's be cool.

"Not bad, general manager." Baekhyun managed to hide his frustration under a smile, and stepped further into the office, hands and legs still a little shaky. "And you?"

"I'm fine." Chanyeol answered, lifting a stack of papers and flipping through them casually, gentle sound of paper brushing against paper filling the background. "So, do you have any questions already? Or did Jongin send you again?"

Stop being so y right in the morning. How can someone be so attractive while flipping damn papers?!

"I-It's the first one, general manager." Baekhyun said and sat down on the other side of Chanyeol's table, lacing his fingers on his lap so that they wouldn't shake.

"Ask away, then." Chanyeol nodded at him while looking at one of the documents before him.

Baekhyun inhaled. He could do this.

"When did you start working here?"

The question hung in the air, and Baekhyun dared to raise his head and see Chanyeol's reaction after a few seconds passed. The general manager was looking at him, eyes widened, so he was a little surprised. But it didn't look like he was ofended or freaked out, and Baekhyun took it as a good sign.

Maybe he won't fly out the door just yet.

"After I graduated? I think." Chanyeol decided to answer, and tilted his head. "Before I would just come to learn about the company of my father, but I'm pretty sure I started working as soon as I graduated. At the same time as I entered university."

Baekhyun nodded, mentally giving himself a note. Things he will learn about Chanyeol today must be remembered, piece by piece. And so every day from now on.

"And which university did you go to?" he tried his luck again.

Chanyeol looked genuinely surprised by the way this questioning was going, and Baekhyun didn't blame him. He knew it was weird for the advertising plans' maker to suddenly ask stuff about the general manager's life, and more so when he just started working here days ago. But Baekhyun was eager to learn, so he just played with fire. And it seemed like it was working.

"SNU." the taller answered finally hesitantly, looking right into Baekhyun's eyes. 

As their gazes were locked, Baekhyun couldn't help but feel a sudden rush of gentleness in his heart. Chanyeol looked so confused by his questions that he suddenly reminded him of a lost child. 

Chanyeol's huge, beautifully brown eyes were so innocent. He didn't even think Baekhyun asked those questions for any reason other than the advertising plans, although he definetely found them a little unusual. But then again, Chanyeol wasn't like other business men, who were suspicious and scared of everyone and anyone around. So he just decided to answer.

And Baekhyun wanted to help him, he wanted so bad to take care of Chanyeol at that moment. It wasn't because he wanted to stay in PKO or even because he wanted to repay Jongin for helping him. It was because Chanyeol and his wonderful heart just didn't deserve to be locked here, in this dark office. In this company and even in his own world, where he probably was slowly drowning. 

"Why do you love PKO so much?" Baekhyun heard himself ask, and inhaled, nervous for the answer.

As soon as that question left Baekhyun's lips, Chanyeol leaned back in a startle. His face was no longer surprised, it was startled. As if Baekhyun asked something impossible to understand, something completely unexpected. Something Chanyeol had never ever thought about before.

"W-what?" he asked faintly.

Baekhyun noticed the strange tone of the taller, but decided to push his luck either way. He was now dead curious. It looked like he had just touched something that was important. Something that triggered a reaction out of usually emotionless Chanyeol.

"Why do you love this company?" he asked again, more bravely. "As I've heard, you spend here almost all of your day, general manager, six days a week. You must love this company a lot, if you chose to practically give it your life."

"Love it?" Chanyeol repeated almost inaudibly.

His eyes were on Baekhyun's, but he wasn't looking at him. Baekhyun had just said something that made him feel unbelievably strange. Shaken. 

At the same, Baekhyun leaned forward, watching the man before him finally let out some kind of an emotion. He was afraid to miss even a second, because that was Chanyeol opening up, showing something that might have been the reason of his problems. And that was his, Baekhyun's, path to Park Chanyeol's world.

A second later, Chanyeol remembered that Baekhyun was still in the room, and that he was watching him. 

"I-I'm afraid I'm a little busy for your questions today, Mr. Baekhyun." he then suddenly said with a shaky voice. "Come back tomorrow, okay? I'm sorry.' 

He turned away from Baekhyun and locked his eyes onto the computer screen, pretending to seach through some folders on his dekstop in order not to look so shaken. But Baekhyun saw it. He was good at reading people.

Knowing that it wouldn't get him anywhere now, Baekhyun didn't push Chanyeol any further, and instantly stood up to leave. He bowed at the still typing general manager in goodbye, turned around, and left his office.

That was it.

Baekhyun now knew where to begin.

***

Kyungsoo had always been surrounded by hatred. For as long as he could remember.

Ever ince he was very little, there was just this something about his appeareance that made him become the target of bullies instantly. He was oftenly pushed and pinched by other children in the backyard, and even in the kindergarten, Kyungsoo was avoided and hated by all the other kids. Maybe it was because of his abnormally big eyes, skin so white that it reminded of snow, or the silence that followed him everywhere he went, because Kyungsoo rarely spoke. He was afraid of talking to people. And all of that made him a freak in the others' eyes.

So whenever his mom would kiss him goodbye, leaving him at the kindergarden for another day, Kyungsoo would be ready for yet another day of lonely playing in the corner, talking to nobody. With everyone avoiding him like the plague and not even sparing another glance, there wasn't even a reason for him to talk. So Kyungsoo spent all of his kindergarden days in the corner of the room, playing with the toys he brought from home and silently wishing for the days to end quicker.

Then middle and highschool came, and the story repeated once again, like a circle that had no end. Kyungsoo was always sitting, eating lunch and going home alone, avoided by everyone like he was used to. He had no friends, and not even acquantainces in the entire school. But now he accepted this as his reality - Kyungsoo had already grown accustomed to his loneliness.

At the ending of the eleventh grade, suddenly, Kyungsoo's mother told him they were moving. They didn't move far, just to another district of Seoul, but Kyungsoo still was told that he had to change his school. And then came the best, and at the same time the worst time of his life. Before, Kyungsoo was just ignored and left alone. He was invisible in the classroom, someone that was there, but was never heard or payed any attention. Just like a ghost, but even less important. 

And in this new school he came to, he was "the freak" as soon as he wa