Baekhyun had a rough day. That was an understatement.

He was scolded by his boss thrice today for messing up the important end of year reports that were meant to be sent to the headquarters tomorrow, so he had to work overtime to get it done. However, because he had to work overtime, his boyfriend, or rather his ex-boyfriend, Kyungsoo, had grumbled over it. Being the overly demanding boyfriend, he fought with Baekhyun over the phone and decided to call it quits on their relationship.

Baekhyun sighed as he got into his car. It was 11 PM and he had finally finished those reports. He sat in his car, looking into the distance, too tired to start driving. His head was in a whirl, like a typhoon just decided to mess up everything today for Baekhyun. He was tired, frustrated, heartbroken and pissed off at life in general. He wanted to break down in tears, he wanted to forget everything and most importantly, he wanted to get away from it all.

His hectic life structure, the rat race of the middle class, ty boyfriends and demanding bosses.

And it didn’t help that his credit card, household utility and phone bills were just sent via his email.

He groaned loudly and grasped his own scalp of hair like a mad man, then threw his phone across the car and landed on the passenger seat with a thud. He furiously stepped on the pedal and with a screech, he drove out of the carpark and drove onto the snow-covered streets of Seoul.

Thankfully for Baekhyun, the roads were clear since it was so late at night and most workers had probably gone home to have their warm, delicious dinners. Then he thought of Kyungsoo, how he would make his favourite kimchi spaghetti for him and then he realised he would be going back home to a cold, empty home with no dinner. The bottom of his eyes welled up in tears and Baekhyun tried to wipe away those tears as they diminished his view. His shoulders began to shake and stepped harder on the gas pedal, he recklessly drove on the streets as he made turns left and right to unfamiliar streets. He no longer knew where he was but he didn’t care. He just wanted to drive.

His hands gripped tightly on the driving wheel as he made an abrupt turn into an alleyway. He realised that there was a brick wall ahead and quickly braked, making the tyres of his car screech again. Unfortunately, his car bumped into the wall with a small enough impact to make a dent on the front of his car. Baekhyun jumped out of his car in rage and swore the nastiest word he knew once he saw the dent on his car. Hot tears streamed down his cheeks as he trembled. He screamed in absolute frustration and dropped to his knees in dejectedness.

Then, a shadow lurked over Baekhyun. Even though it might have been a murderer or a kidnapper, Baekhyun found no will to even tilt his head to look at whoever was there.

A soft and gentle voice spoke, “Are you okay, sir?”

Baekhyun felt comfort when he heard the angelic voice and tilted his head up slowly. His eyes met with a sparkling and bright pair of eyes and he replied bitterly, “What does it look like?”

The blonde man chuckled and his eyes formed small crescents as he smiled. He said, “Well you look like you’re having a pretty terrible day, sir. Would you like to be… happy?”

Baekhyun blinked several times and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Happy? Did he mean taking drugs and getting high?” Baekhyun thought.

Hearing no response and seeing a puzzled expression on Baekhyun’s face, the man extended his hand out kindly towards Baekhyun and explained, “It’s nothing like what you may be thinking, sir. We own a decent business, it’s called ‘행복’ which means ‘happiness’ in Hangul. We give you happiness through a machine called ‘The Happiness Stimulator’. Basically, we allow your brain neurons to give you a dream that will make you the happiest, which will naturally boost your endorphins in your body. There are no drugs involved in the process, not to worry, sir.”

Baekhyun listened with much curiosity and he was very tempted to try it. He would do anything legal at this point to get rid of his negative feelings and have the ultimate happiness for even a while. He pursed his lips while he pondered and followed the blonde man into a clinic with the logo in LED lights. It did seem a little strange and suspicious but whoever that man was, he was very persuading. And happiness was something Baekhyun needed at the moment.

They arrived at a counter and the man officially introduced himself with a bright smile, “Hello sir, welcome to the Happiness clinic, where we give you happiness! I’m Luhan, the counter staff. For a small price of 50,000 won, you can purchase our Happiness stimulator package which includes a sleep-enhancing dream for a maximum of 8 hours and our household facilities. I think this package would be perfect for you, sir.”

Luhan’s smile seemed to maintain as he looked at Baekhyun, waiting patiently for an answer. Baekhyun rubbed his nape and considered the package, money wasn’t really a problem and the package seemed nice. He didn’t want to go home tonight anyways.

Baekhyun replied, “Sure, I’d like that very much. And you don’t have to call me sir, you can call me Baekhyun.” Luhan simply smiled and nodded, typing something on the computer and the price of the package was displayed on the cash register.

Baekhyun asked, “You don’t need any other details?”

Luhan shook his head and said, “Nope! Why would we need anything else?” Luhan then chuckled again and Baekhyun just shrugged his shoulders, took out his wallet and paid for it in cash.

Luhan grinned and said, “Great! Now time for you to receive your happiness! The room is upstairs, it should be easy to locate since it’s basically the whole level.”

Baekhyun chuckled softly and nodded, heading upstairs to his happiness.

~.~

Once Baekhyun reached the second floor, it looked completely different from the first floor where Luhan was. It was completely white with a screen that displayed HD photos of scenery and nature, with soft and calming music playing like a background. There were several other rooms surrounding the corners. And then in the centre of the room, he saw it – The Happiness Stimulator.

It had a nice single-sized bed and a tall, lanky machine stood behind it, which was wired to a big computer. Behind the computer, there seemed to be someone sitting there. Baekhyun tilted his head to try to get a peek at who it was and then cleared his throat to get his or her attention.

Then, a head popped up and Baekhyun’s eyes met with his. The man had raven black hair and he looked around Baekhyun’s age. He wore a small, yet welcoming smile and had slightly bigger than most ears. He then stood up and Baekhyun scanned him from head to toe. For a doctor, he wore odd clothes that seemed way too casual as he wore a sweater and jeans, matched with a pair of converse shoes.

The man smiled and waved at Baekhyun in a friendly manner, he greeted him with a warm smile and said, “Hello! I’ll be your Happiness doctor, Park Chanyeol, but you can just call me Chanyeol. I’ll be sure to pass my happiness virus to you!” He laughed at his own joke, but hell, was his laugh so contagious that it made Baekhyun crack a small smile and laughed along.

Chanyeol then did a little dance and exclaimed, “See?? It’s already working! Your smile is beautiful, Baekhyun, so you should always smile and be happy.”

Baekhyun was sceptical and frowned a little, muttering, “I bet you say that to everyone who comes here…”

Chanyeol replied, “Nah, I’m serious! Not everyone is lucky as you to have such a beautiful smile and I would love to see it again!”

“… R-really?” Baekhyun asked shyly as his lips twitched into another smile and his heart fluttered at the compliment.

Chanyeol chuckled and simply nodded in response, to which Baekhyun smiled back at.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, as if mesmerised by each other when suddenly, the machine beeped and the screen lighted up. Chanyeol blushed and looked away from Baekhyun, choosing to look at the machine instead. He said, “The machine’s ready, your happiness stimulator can begin!”

In all honesty, Baekhyun was already feeling a lot happier because of Chanyeol, but he figured since he had to pay for it, he might as well go for it. So Baekhyun laid on the bed and closed his eyes, waiting for his happiness to come back to him.

Chanyeol got to work immediately, placing several plugs around his head and neck that were connected to the machine. He then typed in a series of codes to begin the stimulation. Finally, he placed a face mask on Baekhyun’s face. The amnesia kicked in and Baekhyun fell asleep, falling slowly but surely into the dream.