17: Baekhyun opened an ice cream parlor because he wanted to feel like a kid again. But he most certainly didn't intend for Luhan and Sehun to keep showing up there and acting like kids, too. Pairing!HunHan, IceCreamParlor!AU, Baekhyun!POV

On any given day, Baekhyun's favorite ice cream flavor was prone to drastic change from what it had been the day before. That's why he'd opened an ice cream parlor: so that he could eat as much ice cream as he wanted, whenever he wanted, like he'd wished he could do as a kid. He liked the autonomy of working for himself, liked that he didn't have to answer to anyone for his choices, and liked that he could eat his own wares until he was sick and no one would care a whit.

But owning an ice cream shop had some adult benefits too. For instance, Baekhyun now knew the struggles of near bankruptcy since he'd initially assumed that people's appetite for ice cream didn't change with the seasons; he'd been wrong and his business had almost gone under because of it. He also liked that he could hire high school students as part timers and hopefully help some of them in a way that someone had once helped him.

Most relevant, though, was the fact that his appreciation of ice cream's various flavors became almost a diary for Baekhyun. He ate Butter Pecan and remembered the first time he met Sehun, when the latter was a prospective employee who needed that job even more than Baekhyun liked ice cream and had served up a perfectly round ball of the flavor as his audition for the position.

Sehun was one of Baekhyun's first hires, and he'd soon felt confident enough in Sehun's abilities to leave him in charge of part-timers. It was thanks to Sehun's efforts that Baekhyun's store stayed running smoothly, and this was something that came to mind every time Baekhyun had Butter Pecan.

~~~

On days when he felt like Cake Batter, Baekhyun was reminded of his shop's soft open and the comforting sight of all his friends as they showed up to support him. He'd grabbed a cup of that day's favorite flavor and then left the serving to Sehun so that he could socialize; but when the line was backed up 20 minutes later, Baekhyun had to wonder if he'd chosen the wrong person as manager.

It turned out, though, that Luhan had been first up and had been so demanding of Sehun's attention that he'd held up the line. Baekhyun had succeeded in moving Luhan along after a stern word with his employee, but when Luhan had discovered that his order had been done incorrectly, it took all of Baekhyun's convincing to keep Luhan from going back to the front of the line and making everyone else wait another 20 minutes.

~~~

Mint Chocolate Chip was one that Baekhyun reserved for particularly special occasions, so it made sense that he'd been eating that flavor the next time Luhan had come by. He remembered sitting at one of the back tables, pretending to savor each icey bite with vested interest, while in reality he'd been creeping so hard on the other two that he'd probably eaten more than one spoonful of nothing but air. There was no one else in the store at that time so Baekhyun didn't care that Sehun stopped working to flirt with Luhan; besides, Tao was in the back somewhere and he could have easily taken over Sehun's station if necessary.

Baekhyun bit into a chocolate chip as he listened intently to their playful conversation, trying not to laugh as he counted time after time of Sehun trying to ask Luhan out, but to no avail.

1. "So are you busy this weekend?" "Yes."
2. "I got two tickets to this awesome band next week. Do you like their music?" "Depends on my mood, but their new stuff kind of ."
3. "I'm so glad I get off work in an hour. I don't have anything to do after so I'll be free!" "That's nice. You should take advantage of that downtime while you have it."
4. "Wanna go out with—" "Oh look! Baek's here. I didn't even notice! Hi, Baek!"

As Luhan's friend, Baekhyun felt obligated to at least wave, but he did end up feeling pretty bad about being part er. Especially since Luhan collected his cone, came to exchange a quick greeting with Baekhyun, and then left without so much as a parting glance in Sehun's direction.

~~~

Another one of Baekhyun's favorites, Cherry Garcia, wasn't special like Mint Chocolate Chip, but it was a little hard to find, so that made its memory connection a rare and sort of random occurrence, too. For once, Sehun had been smooth as he asked out Luhan and Baekhyun had watched it all from over the edge of his ice cream bowl.

"Luhan," Sehun had said, "I really like you. Will you go on a date with me?"

Except in reality, Luhan was really just a broom in Sehun's hand and Baekhyun had nearly choked when Sehun tried imitating Luhan's voice with a high pitched cheer and an excited "Yes!"

Even now, eating Cherry Garcia still made Baekhyun giggle.

~~~

Sometimes Baekhyun went for Pistachio because that one was Sehun's favorite and Baekhyun felt like he should give it a chance. Whenever he ate it, though, Baekhyun couldn't help thinking of the horrible green color Luhan had turned when Sehun mentioned maybe the two of them going out for seafood together after Sehun got off work. Baekhyun's employee hadn't known that the mere thought of seafood made Luhan ill, but Baekhyun was well aware and managed to intervene before Pistachio ice cream wasn't the only green thing on display in Baekhyun's ice cream parlor.

Sehun was lucky, though, because Luhan ended up being just fine after a few gulps of water and a brief breath of fresh air. What made him even luckier was the kindness of his boss—Baekhyun, of course—who let Sehun go early so that he could take Luhan out for something less exotic, like fried chicken and beer. Baekhyun gave Pistachio a chance just like Luhan ended up giving Sehun, and that's the memory which surfaced whenever Baekhyun was feeling adventurous enough to eat a non-mint ice cream that was green.

~~~

The only flavor of ice cream that Baekhyun definitively did not like was banana. He'd disliked it before he opened the shop, and he'd been pretty sure he would still hate it now, but another part-timer, Kai, had been adamant, so the flavor was sometimes sold in Baekhyun's shop even though the owner himself never actually ate it. As a result, Baekhyun could not, in all fairness, say that the flavor of banana ice cream was imprinted with a memory for him; instead, he remembered the day of that flavor's debut as the day Sehun and Luhan had finally gotten together.

As far as Baekhyun knew, the two hadn't really progressed past one or two dates, but then he'd received a call about the banana delivery to the back room and had walked in on his friend and his employee making out in his storage freezer.

"Yah!" He'd yelled at them in irritation; Sehun was supposed to be working and they weren't supposed to let customers in the back, but Baekhyun was actually annoyed for a different reason. "Find somewhere else to do your kissing," he commanded, "because if you steam up the room and melt my merchandise I will neuter you."

Luhan and Sehun had both gulped, and his threat was apparently taken seriously because Sehun adjusted his apron before fleeing the scene and leaving his new boyfriend to deal with Baekhyun's wrath on Luhan's own.

"I expected more from you," Baekhyun's disappointment was evident from the shake of his head. Luhan looked completely guilt-stricken at being caught, for not saying anything in the first place, and for wanting to date his friend's employee and trying to do it without permission.

Except Baekhyun's next words surprised them both. "You know how I feel about my ice cream."

~~~

On any given day, Baekhyun's favorite ice cream flavor was prone to drastic change from what it had been the day before. That's why he'd opened an ice cream parlor: so that he could eat as much ice cream as he wanted, whenever he wanted, like he'd wished he could do as a kid.

He hadn't, in fact, opened his ice cream parlor so it could be a built-in dating service between his employees and his friends. Luhan and Sehun ended up being pretty cute together, so Baekhyun didn't mind their relationship too much; but Tao and Kai were still just seniors in high school, and Kris and Kyungsoo did not need to be hanging around Baekhyun's shop like it was the mall.

If those two wanted boyfriends, they could find them elsewhere, because Baekhyun was not having a couple get together in his shop—not again. Once was enough for Baekhyun, and besides, he wasn't sure if the rest of the ice cream in his storage freezer could take the heat.

There is a not so small part of me that's sorry you had to read this. Thanks for doing it anyway.