February 14^th 2020

The second time they meet, it's a complete coincidence.

School sneaks up on Chanyeol before he’s truly ready for it, and before he knows it, he’s flooded in schoolwork. From assignments to finish to midterms to study for, he barely has time to breathe.

At times, he finds the thought of Baekhyun slipping from his mind, never finding the time to ask Jongdae for the boy’s number.

But at the end of the day, he supposes the workload a blessing in disguise.

Because for moments at a time, he forgets about her too.

But Valentine’s day arrives, and the pain starts all over again.

Everywhere he goes on campus, there are happy couples exchanging gifts and kisses, and it hurts Chanyeol more than he’d like to admit. He catches himself wishing he still had her in his arms, wishing that he could still shower her in love despite the fact she had hurt him so badly.

He barely paid any attention in class that day, mind buzzing with too many other things to focus. He jumped in his seat when he felt his phone buzz on the table, sending vibrations down the row and dirty looks his way as he grabbed it quickly, hiding it behind his laptop screen.

Kim Jongdumb
hey
r u still moping around

Chanyeol glanced around before furiously typing back.

Park Chanyeol
I’m in class u idiot shut up

Kim Jongdumb
r u moping around in class
don’t mope around today
minseok’s coming over later and I can’t have ur giant texting me every 5 minutes because ur lonely

Park Chanyeol
w o w 

Kim Jongdumb
if u go straight home after ur lecture I’m gonna come after u tomorrow
don’t sit in the dark by urself u weirdo
ur banned from ur apartment until further notice
go outside
run some errands or smth idk

Chanyeol set his lips in a tight line.

Park Chanyeol
fine

Kim Jongdumb
awesome can you pick me up some snacks while ur out

Park Chanyeol
I—

Kim Jongdumb
love u yeollie~~~~

The giant rolled his eyes, putting his phone face down on the table for the remainder of the lecture, half-heartedly taking notes on his laptop before the professor dismissed them from the hall. Chanyeol remained silent as he packed his things away, slipping on his headphones as he donned his winter jacket, slinging his backpack on as he walked briskly out of the room.

He took a glance out the window, letting out a sigh as he saw the sun already setting despite the fact it was still relatively early in the day. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked down the stairs, eager to get home as soon as possible.

~~~~~

He rides the subway in silence, eyes glued to his phone in favour of the almost overwhelming number of couples in the train, expressing affection for one another so publicly that it felt like they just existed to mock his own loneliness. He silently cursed whatever higher power was out there for torturing him like this.

He rolled his eyes as he went back over the grocery list Jongdae had left him since he had gotten out of class, shaking his head softly to himself as he got off the train. He moved without thinking, almost two years of living in the same apartment leaving the path burned into his brain. He walked up the steps from the station, bracing himself for the gust of cold air that hit him once he had gotten outside.

The winter had felt colder than usual, leaving Chanyeol even sadder than he had already been, if that was even possible. He was barely willing to leave his apartment for class, much less to buy snacks for Jongdae. But still, the giant went, stopping by a convenience store on his way home, breathing out a sigh of relief as he was surrounded by warmth again.

He caught sight of a flashy sign deeper into the store, not even bothering to check Jongdae’s list before making a beeline for what the store promised were discounted chocolates, hoping there would still be some left. If he was going to spend his day alone running errands for Jongdae, he figured he might as well treat himself to something.

He stopped in his tracks once he made it to the aisle, finding none other than Baekhyun already standing there, holding the last box off the shelf. The small boy turned to leave but stopped in his tracks once he saw the giant, standing awkwardly at the end of the aisle. Baekhyun’s eyes sparkled in recognition.

The giant blinked a few times.

“What are you doing here?” he asked without thinking.

“It’s nice to see you too,” Baekhyun said with a chuckle, hugging the box to his chest.

“Sorry, I mean—it’s been a while.”

“Guess a chance meeting on campus wasn’t in the cards for us.”

“I don’t think a chance meeting in a convenience store is too far off.”

“Well, I’m only here to buy some chocolate to soothe me when I’m all by my lonesome. Why are you here?”

“Jongdae’s not letting me go home.”

Baekhyun looked at him quizzically. “Why?”

“He didn’t want me moping at home on Valentine’s Day so he sent me out to run some errands.”

“That’s nice of him.”

“It was so I wouldn’t disturb his date with my whining.”

“Ah… That definitely sounds more like Jongdae.”

“So… why are you here?”

Baekhyun waved the box in front of Chanyeol. “Chocolate, remember?”

“No, I meant, why are you here, in this convenience store of all places?”

“My apartment’s right down the road. My class got cancelled today and I figured I might as well go out and grab a snack since I haven’t left home all day.”

“Have you just been eating snacks all day?” Chanyeol asked, raising a brow.

“Mhm.”

“And you left your place… to buy more snacks… to go home and eat?”

“Hey, I’m legally an adult, I’m free to make as many poor decisions for myself as I want.”

Chanyeol smiled. “You have a point there.”

“So what are you up to while Jongdae’s banning you from going home?”

“I didn’t have plans. I was planning on buying Jongdae his snacks and heading home. Figured I could just tell him I stayed out all night.”

Baekhyun’s eyes twinkled for a moment. “Hey! We should hang out! Since the both of us were planning on staying home anyways, I mean. Plus, you get the added bonus of not lying to Jongdae about your whereabouts.”

The giant looked at the smaller in surprise.

“If you wanna do that at least?” Baekhyun tried, a sheepish smile on his face.

Chanyeol spared his phone a glance at the list that his friend had left him before looking back at Baekhyun. He pocketed his phone.

“Sure. Let’s get going.”

Baekhyun beamed, putting down the chocolates before following Chanyeol out of the store.

“What about Jongdae’s snacks?” Baekhyun asked, almost as an afterthought. “Don’t you need to get those?”

“If he’s that desperate for snacks he can go buy them himself.”

~~~~~

They take the subway back to their school’s campus, Chanyeol leading Baekhyun some ways down from the main buildings and by the back alleys of the area.

“It’s not as creepy as it looks, I promise,” Chanyeol offered, but it did little to soothe the smaller boy who seemed on edge since leaving the main street.

“I’ve been coming here ever since high school. The ladies that work here basically watched me grow up,” Chanyeol continued. “Doesn’t hurt that I get lots of discounts here.”

“Ah… so you charm little old ladies into getting cheap things?”

“Not how I would’ve phrased it.”

“Yet you don’t deny it.”

“I might not phrase it like that but I won’t correct you when you’re technically right.”

Baekhyun lets out an airy laugh, following Chanyeol to a small mom-and-pop store, ducking a bit under the low doorframe and letting out a loud greeting as the workers coo at the sight of him, one of the women quickly ushering him to a booth seat.

Chanyeol doesn’t even need to speak before the server is confirming his order, the giant nodding along before she heads back into the kitchen before Baekhyun can even react.

“Wow, you really weren’t kidding, huh?”

The giant chuckled. “Why would I lie? Being liked by store owners is one of my only redeeming qualities.”

 “I’m sure that can’t be true. You must have other redeeming qualities. You’re probably great at grabbing things from the top shelf.”

“That’s only useful when you’re coordinated enough not to drop whatever you’re holding.”

Baekhyun laughs. “Aren’t you a photography major? How do you not completely obliterate your camera every time you use it?”

“Camera straps are a godsend. I can guarantee I would’ve broken my camera at least 5 times since the semester started if it weren’t for mine.”

It doesn’t take long for the food to arrive, the server putting down plates of dumplings before giving Chanyeol’s hair a ruffle.

“It’s been so long since we’ve seen you, Chanyeollie~” she coos as the giant’s cheeks turn pink.

“I was here two weeks ago-“

“And that’s too long for us here!”

The boy laughed. “Sorry, sorry, I’ll visit more often.”

“That’s what I like to hear. You and your friend eat up now, seconds are on us.” The woman said with a smile patting a hand on the tall boy’s shoulder before turning to tend to others in the restaurant. Chanyeol’s gaze followed her for a few beats before he focused back on the boy in front of him, watching with an amused smile.

“It’s cute, how fond of you they are.”

Chanyeol’s ears redden a bit as he casts his gaze downwards, feeling shy. The action leaves the smaller boy laughing airily before leaning forward, grabbing his chopsticks off the table and picking one of the dumplings up and putting it on Chanyeol’s plate in an invitation to eat.

Conversation throughout their meal is sparse, but their time spent in silence isn’t unwelcome. Chanyeol found it interesting—there was a sense of ease that came from being around Baekhyun, even though this was only their second meeting. Exchanges were never forced, lulls in conversation never awkward.

He pokes around at his food as he gets a bit lost watching Baekhyun. If the boy noticed his staring, he didn’t make a show of it, letting Chanyeol stare as he continued eating his meal before a thought came to his mind.

“Your number.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I forgot to get it last time,” he elaborated, pulling his phone out of his pocket as if to emphasize his point. “If you wouldn’t mind giving it to me, at least.”

Baekhyun let out a small breath in amusement before fishing his own phone out of his pocket, handing it to the taller.

“As long as you return the favour.”