January 1^st 2020

 

The first time they meet, it's with a kiss.

 

In the moments before, Chanyeol found himself staggering around his friend's apartment, the room spinning around him with every step he took. He was never one to hold his liquor well  and with each drink that was pressed into his open hand, the harder he found walking straight.

 

It's as he heard the excited shouts of his friends in the next room over that 'it was almost time!', saw the excited couples linking hands in that moment that Chanyeol remembered why he had been drinking so much.

 

His heart thumped as he took another swig from his bottle, as one of his thoughts drifted to her.

 

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, taking ungraceful steps into the main room where a small crowd had gathered around the T.V, excitedly counting down with whatever reporter in whatever city was on the screen.

 

His eyes scanned the room, vision blurring at the edges, as he leaned into the closest wall, just wishing it would eat him up.

 

"You seem down," he heard an unfamiliar voice say. It took the tall boy a few moments to register that it was being directed to him, slowly turning his head behind him and narrowing his eyes to see the person more clearly. "Something the matter?"

 

Chanyeol blinks a few times, mouth gaping as he felt his cheeks redden- though at this point, he’s not sure whether or not that was a result of the excess of alcohol in his system or the ridiculously cute boy in front of him. He looked at him with a slight tilt to his head, almond eyes twinkling like stars between slow blinks.

 

10

 

9

 

8

 

The boy before him smiles a bit, watching the giant stand in silent awe, letting out a soft chuckle that sounded like music to Chanyeol’s ears. The smaller boy’s eyes crinkled into crescents, and Chanyeol realizes he had never seen a smile so bright, so beautiful.

 

7

 

6

 

5

 

"You alright?" he asked, small smile on his face.

 

4

 

3

 

Chanyeol nodded.

 

2

 

1

 

It's with reckless abandon that Chanyeol leans his head down to capture the nameless boy's lips in a kiss. He feels the boy stiffen in his hold, only to relax when Chanyeol's hands found purchase on his hips, his own arms going around Chanyeol's neck. They stand in a comfortable embrace for a few moments before the nameless boy pulls away, lips slightly swollen.

 

Chanyeol can feel the boy’s heavy breaths on his lip, and the feeling drives him wild. He wants to lean back in, take the boy’s lips in another kiss, but the boy pulls away again, a finger placed delicately on the giant’s lip.

 

He smiled, looking over the giant’s face for a moment before putting his hand down and stepping back.

 

He said something, but for the life of him, Chanyeol couldn’t make out his words, the only sound in his ears being the racing of his own heart. The giant nods dumbly to the small boy who only smiles wider, stepping back, back, back until he’s out of sight.

 

And that’s the last thing Chanyeol can remember before he stumbles onto the couch, trying to blink the stars out of his eyes.

 

~~~~~

 

He awakens with a pounding headache. The light is streaming in through the unnecessarily large windows, causing the boy to wince, blocking out the light with his arm. He sits up from the floor, looking up at the couch he swore he fell asleep on, and tried to take in his surroundings. He almost wants to laugh at the sight of the number of people lying unconscious on the floor before he realizes that he was among them a few moments ago.

 

He sighs, holding onto the nearby coffee table, to slowly heaving himself up.

 

He treaded carefully around the bottles of beer haphazardly thrown around the room, taking careful steps until he’s in the kitchen. He heard a door being opened next to him, turning his head a bit too quickly and feeling a sharp pain in his temples as a result.

 

Jongdae scoffed as he left his room, meeting Chanyeol at the kitchen counter.

 

"You look like ," Jongdae said bluntly, opening a cupboard to pull out a pair of mugs.

 

"I feel like ," Chanyeol said, seating himself on one of the tall chairs, burying his head in his hands. "I don't know why you always organize these parties."

 

"Nothing brings a smile to my face like seeing my friends get blackout drunk," Jongdae responds with a shrug, putting a teabag into each of the cups. "There's a reason I never drink whenever I have guests over. I've found being sober gets me the best blackmail material."

 

"You're evil."

 

"At least I'm honest. So, how's the hangover?"

 

"Terrible," Chanyeol muttered.

 

"I told you it was a bad idea to drink your pain away. We both know you’re lightweight as hell, but I guess when you’ve made up your mind, you’ve made up your mind. How are you holding up?"

 

"Don't wanna talk about it."

 

Jongdae hummed as he turned his kettle on, watching as the water boiled inside. “I guess not much changed from last night huh?”

 

Chanyeol frowned.

 

“But then again, the last time I saw you conscious last night, you seemed pretty preoccupied,” Jongdae said, a smile evident in his voice though he was turned away from Chanyeol, busy preparing them tea. The giant blinked a few times, trying to recall what had happened the night before until a pit settles in his stomach.

 

“.”

 

“ indeed, Park,” Jongdae said, presenting the giant with his tea as he took a small sip of his own. “Better get your sorted before he’s done getting ready.”

 

“He’s still here?”

 

“Obviously he’s still here, stupid. The party ended too late for taxis to run and no one’s driving home in that state.”

 

Chanyeol sat in a daze, unsure of what to do. Jongdae let out a chuckle.

 

“He’s in the bathroom brushing his teeth now. I suggest you do the same before you guys go out on your coffee date.”

 

“Our what now?”

 

“He told me all about it after you passed out. Told me something about some random crazy tall cute dude who kissed him. He asked you out for coffee in the morning when you weren’t wasted out of your mind, you made a few affirmative grunts, and then you passed out.”

 

“,“ Chanyeol muttered, rubbing his temples as his hungover brain started piecing things together.

 

“Did Jongdae do something?” a voice asked from behind, causing Chanyeol to turn his head so quickly, he almost convinced himself that he had gotten whiplash.

 

A boy stood in the doorframe of Jongdae’s room with a towel around his neck, blinking innocently at the pair. His hair was messier than it had been the night before, the small boy running delicate hands through the light brown locks, but his eyes still sparkled like they had the night before.

 

Jongdae laughed. “Why do you always assume it’s something I did?”

 

“Because it always tends to be you did,” the boy replied with a chuckle before turning to look at the seated boy. Chanyeol gulped. “I’m ready whenever you are, Chanyeol.”

 

Chanyeol looked over at the boy blankly, partially racking his brain to remember the name that went to that face, partially wondering at what point he had even gotten a chance to give this boy his own before diving in for a kiss.  

 

“Baekhyun,” the boy supplied. “My name’s Baekhyun, in case you didn’t catch that last night.”

 

“I—“

 

“Though I don’t suppose we had time to formally introduce ourselves.”

 

“Um…”

 

“You know, since I only got a handful of words out before you kissed me.”

 

Chanyeol reddened, immediately looking down at his lap as the boy—Baekhyun—chuckled.

 

“Let the poor kid off easy, Baek. As if you haven’t drunkenly kissed your fair share of guys during high school.”

 

The boy ran his hand through his hair again, sporting a large smile. “You got me there, Dae. Want any coffee?” Baekhyun asks as he takes the towel off from around his neck, tossing it haphazardly at Jongdae who caught it with one hand.

 

“No thanks, I got my tea.”

 

“Alright, suit yourself.”

 

The small boy nodded the giant over, not even waiting for him to react before he was at the door, slipping his shoes on. Chanyeol gives Jongdae one last look in confusion, the latter only raising his brows.

 

“What are you waiting for Prince Charming? Your princess awaits.”

 

Chanyeol barely manages to catch up to the smaller boy at the elevator, slipping in at the last moment.

 

“Nice of you to join me. I was beginning to worry I’d be going on this coffee date alone. Wouldn’t have made for as interesting a trip.”

 

Chanyeol gulped, nervous at how bold the smaller was despite them not knowing each other.

 

“So—“

 

“I’m straight!” Chanyeol suddenly yelled, startling the smaller boy.

 

“Um… alright.”

 

“I—I just thought I should, uh… Get that out there first,” Chanyeol said, cheeks reddening as he rubbed the nape of his neck in embarrassment. “I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea after, uh… You know.”

 

The elevator doors opened and Baekhyun walked out with a soft nod, Chanyeol trailing after him like a lost puppy.

 

“Alright,” Baekhyun said, walking forward with long strides despite his shorter legs, “So what prompts Mr. Straight-man to kiss the first boy he sees at the party?” he asked with genuine curiosity.

 

Chanyeol stayed silent for a moment, unsure of how to answer, before stammering out a stiff “Cute.”  

 

“I’m sorry?”

 

“You were, uh… You were cute.”

 

The small boy’s eyes turn into crescents at that. “So you just kissed me because you thought I was cute?”

 

“Yes—I mean, no, but... You just started talking to me and you looked so pretty and my stupid brain was all like ‘wow you should really kiss him’ and then I did it and I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking straight, and I—“

 

“Slow down, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said with a chuckle. “It’s okay, you’re not in trouble or anything.”

 

The giant sighed. “I’m sorry. Can we just… start over? I promise I’m less bad when I’m thinking straight enough to introduce myself properly.”

 

Baekhyun smiled good-naturedly. “Go for it.” 

 

“Well, uh… I’m Park Chanyeol. I’m a Photography student in my third year.”

 

The small boy raised his brows. “Photography student, huh? No way, I’m in Journalism. We’re basically program cousins.”

 

Chanyeol laughed. “Well, if you ever need some half-decent photos for articles, I’m your guy.”

 

“Alright, I’m holding you to that. Do you go to the same school as Jongdae?”

 

“Yeah. I met him in some bs mandatory course we both had back in first year, but we clicked pretty well.”

 

Baekhyun grinned. “How have we never met until now? I go there too. Maybe we should meet up altogether on campus one day.”

 

“That would be nice.”

 

They make it to the coffee shop soon after, winding through small alleys to the hole-in-the-wall café. Baekhyun takes the liberty of buying them both drinks, letting Chanyeol take in the interior as they waited for their drinks to arrive.

 

“This is my favourite café,” Baekhyun said softly as the giant admired the brick walls covered in paintings. “It’s quiet and cozy. Their coffee is pretty good too.”

 

Chanyeol nodded as his gaze circled around the space until it fell upon one of the workers putting their drinks on the table. Baekhyun flashed her a kind smile and uttered a soft thanks before picking up his coffee and taking a sip.

 

“Do you drink a lot of coffee?” the small boy asked from behind the rim of his cup.

 

“Only during exam season. Otherwise it’s water and water alone.”

 

“And on the rare occasion, you just go crazy on alcohol?”

 

Chanyeol rubbed the nape of his neck, feeling tears prick at the back of his eyes as the thoughts he had managed to keep at bay suddenly came rushing back. Baekhyun gave him a sympathetic smile.

 

“Something I shouldn’t have asked?”

 

The giant shook his head, quickly wiping any tears threatening to spill with a quiet chuckle. “It’s… It’s stupid, honestly.”

 

“It might help to talk about it. Well, more than it would help to drink a whole lot to stop yourself from feeling sad. You don’t have to if you don’t want to—“

 

“It was my girlfriend. Well, my… uh, ex-girlfriend. She… broke things off last night.”

 

“Ah… So that was it,” he said, putting his cup down. “Any reason?”

 

“She said she wasn’t ready for a relationship now. Wasn’t ready to commit.”

 

“You two weren’t together long?”

 

“Almost a year, until a few days ago,” Chanyeol said, picking up his cup and taking a sip to try to get the lump from out of his throat. “It’s dumb. I shouldn’t be this caught up on things.”

 

Baekhyun furrowed his brows. “That’s not fair. If you’re sad, you’re allowed to be sad. Breakups are hard, I get it.”

 

“You too?”

 

“Well, I haven’t really dated in recent years, but I was head over heels for this one guy back in high school. I was the only one who gave a damn about our relationship, and after 2 years I had enough of it. Just broke things off. Still hurt like a , though,” he punctuated with another sip of coffee.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be. It was a long time ago. If anyone should be sorry, it’s your ex. You’re lovely company. Stupid of her to let that go so easily.”

 

Chanyeol smiled. “That’s nice of you to say.”

 

“Really, I mean it. It’ll be hard for a bit, but things’ll get better, I promise. Just keep your head up, okay?”

 

The giant nodded earnestly. Baekhyun perked up for a moment, reaching into his pocket for his phone, eyes flitting across the screen before sending Chanyeol an apologetic smile.

 

“Sorry to cut this short, but I gotta head out. It was really nice talking to you, Chanyeol. We should do this again sometime.”

 

“Yeah, definitely.”

 

“I’ll see you around?” Baekhyun asked, slipping his phone back into his pocket as he picked up his coffee cup.

 

Chanyeol nodded, watching Baekhyun’s lips split into a smile, waving goodbye first to the staff, then to the giant himself, slipping out of the café.

 

 

 

It's too late that Chanyeol realizes he forgot to ask the smaller boy for his number.