On a harsh Monday morning in the heart of Seoul, Byun Baekhyun woke up quite early, and without the need of an alarm clock to jolt his senses. By 6 am, he had his coffee and had already taken a shower, steamed the wrinkles out of his dress shirt and had black jeans gripping his thighs. His hair was left untouched, and he sat at his kitchen table, watching the news as he munched on buttered toast. The male made sure that he would not be late on his first day of work.

Upon arrival, he checked in at the front desk of the building. His job as an intern was to do as the staff told him to do, whether that was running across the street for coffee and donuts, or picking up a shipment of art supplies for the artists. At this point, Baekhyun was a graduate from college, trying to work his way up the art industry and hopefully become known for his sketches and oil paints. It would be a struggle, but he believed it would all pay off.

As he stepped into the elevator, he saw a note taped to the opposite wall with his name on it.

“As expected, you are probably very early for your shift Mr. Byun. But then again, this is the expectation we hold at SMEnterprises™. You will be Kris’ intern every other week, and D.O’s on the weeks you are free. Your shifts are from whenever your higher up arrives and decides to leave.

Please refrain from calling the artists by their real names unless if given permission, thank you.”

Baekhyun folded the note and placed it in the pocket of his messenger bag. He decided it would be best to abort the idea of going to the upper levels yet, since Kris apparently hadn’t arrived. According to the lady at the front desk, Kris liked to arrive in the afternoon, and assured him that on future days to not show up as early. With that, Baekhyun left the office for a bit to buy some snacks (chocolate covered pretzels, chips, and of course, chocolate bars) and returned to the office shortly afterwards.

 

 

 

When Kris finally arrived, it was lunch time. Baekhyun had seen the other artists who chose to do work in the management building hours before Kris had. The artists either had a laid-back style, with a simple shirt and joggers or sweatpants, sometimes wearing a beanie and fake glasses. Others were dressed semi-formally, with jeans and a polo or flannel and styled hair. Kris on the other hand was a different style. He wore sunglasses inside (who does that?) wore expensive Prada fashion and even had piercings lining his ear. He had simple, accent tattoos on his neck and the inside of his wrists, and his left eyebrow had two shaved lines at the edge. Baekhyun stood up as he saw him and greeted him right away.

“Hello Mr. Kris, I’m Byun Baekhyun and I’ll be your assistant from now on.”

“Why so formal?”

“Huh-? Um, well, because you’re my higher up and really well-known-”

“You shouldn’t kiss the floor to someone you know from headlines. You do know that we’re payed to say some of that stuff right? You never know. I might be the rudest person you’ve ever met.”

Kris grinned at the obviously smaller male and held out the bag that slung over his shoulder.

“Anyways, here’s my bag. There’s nothing too special in it other than a Canon camera and sketchbook essentials.” Baekhyun took the bag with care and slung it on top of his own. Kris began to explain his way of working as they made their way to the tenth floor using the elevator, Baekhyun truly fascinated by Kris’ descriptions. “I start off with a random subject, say… a horse. Then, I make out the basic body shapes and encircle them, then connect them with lines and such.”

“I’d love to see your work. Your style is really unique.”

“I like to call it, ‘Galaxy Style’. My greatest inspiration is the Milky Way.” He grinned and opened the door to his office. It wasn’t an ordinary ‘office’ per say. More like a penthouse almost. The main focus of the room was a large window on the opposite side of the door. Against the glass panel was a modern white desk with different types of pencils and paper scattered about. There was a kitchenette as well and an open loft with white couches and a glass coffee table. To the side of the main room was an easel with a blank canvas, with paints and brushes lining the tray.

“I wouldn’t call this an office. I’d live here if I could.”

“Buy an inflatable and we can have a sleepover someday.” Kris went straight for the couch and Baekhyun closed the door behind them. “That hallway leads to a bathroom, and the other one leads to a balcony or something. You can put my bag on the countertop.”

The intern nodded and did as he was told, but with nothing else to do, he awkwardly stood there in the artist’s presence, feeling weird as-

“Don’t just stand around. Relax, it’s not like I’ll leave a bad note for you if you slouch.” Kris lifted the shades off his eyes and placed them on his head. “There’s some food in the fridge, plus I don’t usually start working until night starts to hit anyways.”

“Why? More inspiration?”

“Nah, more light.”

Baekhyun nodded slowly, not understanding at all what Kris meant by ‘more light’. He decided, however, that it was best to let him relax and to eat the snacks he bought for himself earlier that day.

 

 

 

It was around seven in the evening when Kris finally stirred from the couch. The lights of the city illuminated the dim lighting of the complex, red and yellow phosphines decorating the dark structures and roads. The apartment was lit by a lamp and the kitchen lights; a few electric accent candles lit the darker corners of the office. The six foot plus man was now at his desk, a 2B pencil hanging loosely between his fingertips. He turned his head and called out for Baekhyun, only to receive a groan in return.

Baekhyun was sleeping on the countertop, his head hidden under his arms. His hair was messed and his sleeve had traces of slight drool. Kris called him once more and he finally rose after reality surged towards him.

“Um, yeah?”

“Could you get me my camera?”

“Yep-”

The male stood up from the stool and stretch his back as he yawned. Then, he turned to face the countertop he was just sleeping on and took the Canon from the leather bag before walking over to the artist. Baekhyun’s hands rubbed the sleep away from his eyes as Kris took the camera from his grasp.

“This is what I mean by more light.”

Kris switched the camera on and Baekhyun noticed the flash was on as well. The artist then proceeded to take a picture of the city lights. In the picture, the flash was easily seen due to the window reflecting the light back, but it dulled the phosphines in a way where it seemed as if evening was only beginning to set. The sky was still black, with dark blue clouds now visible over the city. It was a beautiful shot, but now Kris handed the camera back to Baekhyun and asked him to download the picture to his laptop.

Baekhyun nodded and yawned for the last time before reaching into the leather bag. He pulled out the laptop and turned it on, only to be greeted with a log in screen.

“What’s your password?”

“Galaxy_fanfan,” he replied under his breath, pretending to sketch on the blank page.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Actually, um, it’s getting late. You should probably go home.”

“But-”

“Should I take this down as disobeying instructions or-”

“Ahhhaaa just kidding. I’ll see you at noon tomorrow Kris.”

 

 

 

When Baekhyun arrived home, the house was cold. He moved to the thermostat after locking the door and adjusted the temperature to his liking.

After taking a shower and changing into sleeping clothes, the 23-year-old male debated on whether or not to order pizza for dinner. Eventually, he retired to his bed with an empty stomach and his sketchbook.

On the first page, Baekhyun had written the name of an artist he was quite a big fan of as a reminder as to what his goal was in this career.

Park Chanyeol

Baekhyun fell in love with the way the overlapped and how the colors blended. He looked up to all his artworks: rough sketches, oil paints, acrylic paints, drawings, portraits ― Byun Baek even fell for the male’s new original song. Park Chanyeol was Baekhyun’s greatest aspirations in all aspects art, the smaller male basing early works on the famous artist’s.

Flipping to a new page, the man began to sketch out the outline of a face, (portraits were his specialty) deciding to base his new project on his superior Kris.

He tried to recall the strongest features of his face, only using memory for this sketch.

“Eyebrows,” he whispered under his breath, his pencil moving to begin the process of rough sketching. He remembered to leave out two lines on his left brow for the shaven parts.

“Nose… Did he have a nose ring?” He tapped the pencil against his chin and shook his head. Baekhyun set himself to outlining the basic structures of the nose and decided to add the smaller details later on.

Eventually, a rough, yet detailed outline of his boss’ face was on his sketchbook. Just another work of art to add to his portfolio when he’s ready to show it.

 

 

When Baekhyun arrived at the office, the lady at the desk had said that Kris was already in his office. The lady probably noticed his face grow pale at the thought of him being late, so she smiled and told him that Kris only arrived a few minutes ago. Baekhyun nodded and thanked her before stepping into the elevator in a bit of a rush. In the moments that followed, disaster hit in three strikes.

1. Baekhyun bumped into a way taller dude he thought was Kris at first, but noticed the absence of douchey looking sunglasses.

2. Papers were everywhere in probably .05 seconds because the man was holding a folder that Baekhyun realized were a mix of contracts and laminated art.

3. Baekhyun also realized that the man before him was none other than his only inspiration after further staring.

“Well?”

Baekhyun just continued to stare at the giant. His voice was so much smoother and low than when he saw him on interviews on the web. He was also quite taller than he imagined and his fashion was way simpler than what he wore during art shows. The smaller male was put back to reality when he heard Chanyeol’s harsh tone.

“What kind of intern are you? Jesus…”

“Oh- I’m sorry. I should’ve watched where I was going-”

“You’re obviously one of Kris’. Ugh, at this point I’ll be late for my flight.”

“I said I was sorry. I’m sorry I ruined your plans for today.”

Baekhyun was beginning to understand Kris’ words from when they first met. Chanyeol was a stuck up artist, someone who developed an annoyance for anyone they thought wasn’t worth their time.

The smaller picked up the scattered papers as Chanyeol watched almost impatiently. He tapped his foot and rolled his eyes whenever Baekhyun took a while to pick a sheet off the ground. Baekhyun on the other hand was pissed by now, cursing under his breath with every sheet he collected. Park Chanyeol was a douche, why on earth did he give him so much respect.

“Here you go, sir.” Baekhyun handed the stack of papers to the giant, to which he was greeted with a folder.

“Put them back in here. I’ve already told Kris that you’ll be riding with me the rest of the day to organize the portfolio you ruined.”

“Wow, thanks for telling him for me.” Baekhyun mumbled under his breath, not sure if he had the guts to let the male hear his words.

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing.”

 

 

 

The car ride to the airport was filled with unspoken tension. Chanyeol and Baekhyun sat on opposite sides of the minivan, the smaller trying to figure out the scrawled writing on the back of each document to try and put the portfolio back in order. Chanyeol on the other hand, was staring at the smaller, mind red with impatience and intolerance. Was it that hard to not see a six-foot-two man? How could the smaller be so ignorant to his surroundings?

When Baekhyun finished putting the folder together, he looked up to lock eyes with a staring giant. His eyes were an intimidating dark brown, the absence of warmth concerning Byun Baekhyun for a moment. His hair was a brownish-black, styled up lightly. Although Baekhyun, at this moment, hated the artist’s guts, he had to admit he was quite pleasing to look at. Park Chanyeol’s nose was a compliment to his soft features and his ears peeked a bit from his sides. His lips were full and pink with lip balm. He wore a white shirt with a varsity jacket and ripped jeans. Simply stunning― Wait, he was supposed to hate the man, not compliment him.

“I finished.”

“Obviously.”

Baekhyun frowned and held back a growl. His superior held out his hand to notion that he wanted the folder back. The smaller placed the object in his hands, pulling away at the touch of Chanyeol’s sleeve.

“The driver will bring you back to the office. We’re almost at the airport.”

“Oh, okay.”

…

There was a silence between then that they couldn’t quite sit comfortably with. They both attempted to look out the tinted windows, but ended up staring at each other’s feet.

“Hey, look-”

“I’m sorry-”

The two looked at each other and cleared their throats. Baekhyun nodded his head, giving way to the man across from him. Chanyeol adjusted his tie unconsciously, clearing his throat before speaking.

“I shouldn’t have treated you that harshly.”

“And I should’ve looked where I was going, sorry.”

The two nodded and accepted the apologies easily. Silence washed over them again, but this time, it lingered till they reached the airport. Baekhyun remained seated in the minivan to Chanyeol’s request. The driver helped the taller unpack the back as Baekhyun watched. There was a new person outside the van now as well, a luggage cart positioned in front of him. The seated male heard that at SM, their artists always traveled in first class; they had security floating around them like clouds. Rumors had it that larger art was shipped on a totally different plane with first class written all over it.

Before he knew it, Baekhyun was driving away from a scene of paparazzi that surrounded Park Chanyeol and the man with his luggage.