They knew, of course they knew.

Luhan and Jongdae tried to talk him out of it, but what was there to get out from? Chanyeol has taken all the paths that led him away from his feelings, but all of them proved to be dead ends. He was exhausted, running away from something that lived inside him, something that he once so tenderly and carefully harbored.

He loved Baekhyun. There was no getting out of that.

“If happy is him, I’m happy for you.”

Chanyeol’s mind hated him for saying those words, but his heart melted at the smile that Baekhyun flashed him. He tensed as Baekhyun pulled him into a hug, feeling the way he had to stand on his tiptoes to rest his chin on his shoulder. Baekhyun’s hair pressed into his left cheek and memorised the way his arms circled the small torso that was, at least in this moment, his. He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed in a lungful of his scent, one that smelled strongly of love and heartbreak.

He was thankful Baekhyun didn’t have the heart to push him away, despite being in a relationship with Yixing. Whenever Yixing was away, Chanyeol fell into the role of taking care of Baekhyun, offering his shoulder in the car and his lap on the plane, ensuring he never got lost in airports when he wandered off.

He liked how the fans squealed whenever they touched, and he enjoyed how he towered over Baekhyun. He shielded Baekhyun from cameras whenever he didn’t feel good. When they went on shows he laughed the hardest when Baekhyun tried to lighten the mood, sometimes hard enough for Minseok to throw him a weird look.

He knew whenever Baekhyun’s stomach was being bothersom. He made sure he ate his meals and his pills. He kept an eye on him when they practiced and called for breaks when Baekhyun’s face took on a shade too pale. He followed Baekhyun when he burst out of the room and propped his body up as he threw up whatever little food he managed to get down that day. He rubbed Baekhyun’s back until he stopped retching and by then Luhan or Jongin would’ve caught up and helped clear up.

He knew when Baekhyun hurt his lower back. He stood helplessly by the bed as Baekhyun suffered, until Yixing returned and took over. He tried to look away quick enough, but he still saw the sparkle in Baekhyun’s eyes when he saw Yixing. And as usual when Yixing came back, they automatically swapped rooms. Chanyeol threw himself into Jongdae’s bed and tried not to cry. Jongdae clucked his tongue and made sympathetic noises that made Chanyeol want to flip the bed in his face.

He found himself doing his best to make him happy. He would go out onto the streets in the middle of the cold night when Baekhyun complained that he was hungry. He would get up to make Baekhyun his favourite sausages with tomato paste. He would pick off the leaves and stems before feeding him strawberry after strawberry. He would carefully set his face in a neutral, carefree expression, but only he knew how happy his heart would get when the pair of droopy eyes crinkled in a smile.