To say things hadn’t really happened the way that Baekhyun hoped for was a lie, a big one at that, because everything had turned into a disaster. His life was a huge disaster. And he would really like to blame someone but he couldn’t: it all had been his fault for not being organized and for not being able to properly take care of Sehun, had he taken care of the younger male, all of this wouldn’t have happened.

Sehun’s case just happened to turn into pneumonia, since the younger male was actually a troublemaker and taking care of himself was not one of his primal objectives in life. That tall, adorable man, had often forgotten to take his medicine and didn’t take the precautions that could evade the situation but, shame on him and Minseok too, he guessed, because as older, they should’ve known better and know Sehun is at home, sick and in need of permanent care since the disease had been enough to knock him out and debilitating him.

Minseok stood with Sehun most of the mornings, since he worked mostly at night, on the bar, nevertheless, from midafternoon and into the night, Baekhyun was to be responsible for Sehun, taking care of him and attending his needs.

However, taking care of Sehun had cost him his job at the library: since Sehun needed him, he couldn’t afford to work there as much as he would like: He had begged his boss to just let him take some days, explaining the situation, but the old man had been absolutely adamant, and fired him on the spot, leaving Baekhyun with one less income.

Fortunately, at least for him, the coffee shop work was still going strong, his employer, Kim Heechul, a flamboyant man with a heart larger than life, had given him all his support, sending him on paid vacations and assuring him that he should take care of his lover first and then come back when everything was better. Heechul was a good boss and he, among his employees had a big soft spot for the quiet and sweet man that Baekhyun was.

He had actually been a little worried about overworking his coworkers but Donghae and Miyoung, Youngji and Cheolyong too, had assure him that they would manage without him for a while. Each and every single one of them had hugged him hard and told him to only come back when Sehun was up and about.

Lately, Baekhyun had been wandering if it was time to move into Minseok and Sehun’s house. They both shared a house for a couple of years now and, up until now, Baekhyun had refused their invitation to move over because his landlord had been notifying that if he didn’t pay the rent he would be evicted.

He knew he sounded like he was only move because he might lose his apartment but he needed a roof above his head. That combined with the fact that it was three people paying the rent, might mean that he could save a little to buy his school supplies and other necessities that he needed, not to mention the big priorities: his grandpa and the tuition.

But the question remained: was he selfish for thinking about things in that light, even though he loved them? To Baekhyun, it felt he was doing it with for the wrong reason not to mention he was pretty scared about them discovering a little more about himself, of that part of him that he wasn’t that really comfortable with sharing, He had never told them about his financial situation, or lack of it, nor did he ever mention the state his grandfather was. They knew about what had happened to him but Baekhyun guessed that they assumed that his grandpa still lived with him or something.

Tonight, since Minseok was working until morning, Baekhyun was taking care of Sehun. After school, he went to his apartment fill a book with his school books and some clothes, since he would be staying the night and made way for his boyfriends’ house, bypassing an angry tenant that was shouting at him. He would like to stop and talk to the man but, really, what words could he say that weren’t already said?

When he got to Minseok and Sehun’s apartment he opened the door with the key that he had received. His older lover was in the kitchen preparing something for Sehun to eat later; a broth as he told Baekhyun. He greeted Baekhyun with a simple kiss and the younger male couldn’t help if everything was alright, since his lover was usually more enthusiastic than that.

“Is everything okay?” he asked while placing his bag on the side of the couch, moving to hug Minseok from behind, in a sweet display of affection that it wasn’t that common from him.

Minseok, however, slipped free from the embrace and looked at him over his shoulder.

“You’re late. I thought you’d be here when school was finished for the day and that was two hours ago.”

“I know, I am sorry but I texted you. My teacher wanted to see me; he offered me a chance to be part of a research he is conducting. I’ll be part of the undergrad research program now.”

Baekhyun saw how Minseok stiffen at the comment, hands gripping on the countertop tightly, as if he was angry and it kind of freaked Baekhyun out.

“What’s the matter Minseok, why are you so upset?”

“I am not mad, I am frustrated. Did you think about me and Sehun when you accepted that? Did you stop and think about talking to us first at all?”

“I…I thought it was a good opportunity for me, not all people can take part on the program and it looks good on my resume.” Tried Baekhyun a bit unsure of what the problem was.

“That is not the problem, I am perfectly fine and even proud of you for getting it, my problem was that you didn’t even talk to us first. You know that we don’t have that much time together due to different schedules, either from school, in yours and Sehun’s case, or work in mine and yours, and this will only make things even more difficult.” replied Minseok, frustration clearly seeping out his form. “When will you have time for us Baek? You’re always working, be it week days or weekends, if you are not doing that you are studying. Now, you’ll have to add up the research… when will we see you?”

Baekhyun paused, he was really elated to hear from Minseok that he wanted to spend more time with him and that he felt that he hasn’t been around them enough.

“I know it is difficult right now” he pleaded to the older man, begging him to understand. “but I really need this. It is a big opportunity for me to land myself a better job, one that will assure everyone that I don’t need to work another jobs to made do. And I also have to do this for myself too; I worked hard to achieve this. Just, please, bear with me just a little longer.”

“We have tried but you know how much this has affected Sehun?”

And there it was: the question that was really like a slap to Baekhyun’s face. No matter how hard he tried, it felt like Minseok still preferred Sehun over him. It wasn’t difficult to love Sehun, actually it was rather easy: the blond male was sweet and adorable, always up for cuddling and was very opened and vocal about his affections. That was a really dark contrast to Baekhyun’s own personality, that was far more reserved and shy, preferring to express himself in little gestures.

He gave Minseok a bitter smile and Minseok seemed to notice that something wasn’t right with Baekhyun because he stopped his speech to scrutinize the man, while turning of the fire on the stove.

“Baek?” he called, his face losing the frustration to gain a more puzzled expression.

“Hmm…” he hummed a little before shaking his head softly. “I’m gonna check on Sehun and see if he is awake or is he needs anything.”

Minseok lets a sigh pass his lips and goes into the leaving room to pull on a jacket.

“The food is done.” He announced just as Baekhyun also exits the kitchen. “I’ll be going now, since Yixing must be expecting me at ‘El Dorado’. We’ll discuss more of this lately okay? Call me if you need something, I’ll be sure to have my phone with me.”

Minseok pressed a kiss onto Baekhyun’s lips, quick and to the point, before he picked up his car keys and phone, opening the door soon after.

“I’ll see you both in the morning. Make sure to take care of Sehunnie, okay?”

Baekhyun nodded, still feeling the little pit of jealousy and bitterness at the bottom of his stomach, threatening to spill over and spread all over himself. Nevertheless, he kisses Minseok sweetly before muttering a little ‘I love you’ to the older’s mouth. Minseok smiles at him and he is out of the door rather quickly. Baekhyun doesn’t really forget that his older lover didn’t say ‘I love you back’.

Baekhyun bit his lip as he waited, in the emergency room of the hospital, for Minseok to arrive. When he talked to the man on the phone, it didn’t sound like he was in a good mood. To tell the truth, it had been better if he had screamed at Baekhyun, which he didn’t, he simply listened, rapidly breathing and then had disconnected the call with a cold ‘I’ll meet you there’.

He didn’t mean for this all situation to happen, no one ever did, much less when loved people were in the line, but it happened anyway. After Minseok had left for work, Baekhyun went to check on Sehun finding his young lover awake. He had talked to other male and coddled him, fussing with the blankets, fluffing the pillows up and stocking him up with some juice and water, for the other to be hydrated. He had even spoon fed Sehun, who happily ate the all broth, feeling loved at the attention of his shy lover. They watched TV for a while, both cuddling each other on the bed that was shared by Minseok and Sehun, Baekhyun too when he was there, and Sehun fell asleep soon after, his lack of strength still evident after being so sick.

Minseok had warned him that Sehun had some fever at the beginning of the day and warned Baekhyun to give him his antibiotic and antipyretic at precisely midnight so that the fever would stay at bay until Minseok reached home and giving him another dosage of antipyretics at least.

When he saw Sehun asleep, he made sure the tall man was wrapped up properly in a little cocoon of blankets and then he went to the kitchen to clean up things before settling into the living room, on the coffee table, determined to get some studying done since he could.

He looked at the clock at it was a little bit short to ten p.m. so he had a lot of time. He opened his books and started studying for a test that a teacher of him warned them about.

He did managed to study for a while but the truth was that Baekhyun was exhausted most of the times; between working and studying, he didn’t get enough hours of sleep and even the gentle murmur of the TV did nothing to prevent him from falling asleep, which he did, his face on top of a book and a pencil still in his hold.

The crash he heard was enough to wake him up a few hours later, panic installing itself on his body as he bolted up and ran towards Sehun’s voice who was whimpering in distress. Baekhyun found the boy on the bathroom, clutching his arm on his hand and crying that it hurt. Baekhyun knew more than enough about human anatomy to know that an arm could not bend like that, hence the realization that it was broken.

Baekhyun called an ambulance right away and Sehun was carefully led to the hospital where he was actually getting a cast right now, after the confirmation that yes, Sehun had, indeed broken his wrist, rather than his arm, due to slipping in the bathroom floor tiles while sleepily trying to reach the tap for some water on his hot face.

The nurses called him to go to Sehun who asked for him while putting the cast on his wrist but, as he got there, Sehun was already asleep, the painkillers proving to be too much for his weak body. He sobbed at the vision of his young lover looking so pale and sickly, letting the tears run down his cheeks, feeling so guilty and so much sorrow. He should’ve known better than to fall asleep, he should have fought his tiredness and look after Sehun, he should’ve postponed his studies and taken better care of his lover and now this was happening. Minseok had every right to be angry.

And he was, very, very angry, when he entered through the doors of their room, not even looking in Baekhyun’s direction, who was sitting on a chair next to the sleeping man. His hands, very gently and very softly, traced the chiseled features of the younger man.

Baekhyun watched as grief and pain appeared on the man’s worried face as he softly muttered something on Sehun ears. The lack of any reaction from Minseok towards him was scary, Baekhyun was scared and growing antsy. He didn’t know if he should have spoken to the man but he chose to do it.

“Minseok?”

“Don’t.” replied the other man stiffly, his teeth clenched and voice so full of emotion that Baekhyun shivered.

“Minseok, I’m sorry!” he tried again.

“Don’t talk to me!” barked Minseok finally turning his eyes to look at Baekhyun. “Do not talk to me and do not tell me you’re sorry.”

“But I am, Minseok, it was an accident!”

“It was an accident that could be prevented had you been paying attention to Sehun, which clearly, you weren’t.”

“I know! I know!” cried Baekhyun “But he was sleeping and I was studying and I guess the silence made me fall asleep too.”

“I gave you the responsibility of taking care of him and you go and study? That is what you do? You go and study!”

Baekhyun was unable to say anything; he didn’t know what to say to those sharp and venomous words coming from his older lover’s mouth.

“That is the problem. This is exactly the goddamn problem all the way from the beginning.” yelled Minseok, the loudness of his voice making Sehun squirm in the bed but didn’t wake him up. “You never saw us as priorities. The only things you care about are either school or work and never, not once, were you capable of putting our interests above yours. You made me suffer and you made Sehun suffer and now he is suffering on this bed, full of pain, because you are a selfish person.”

The words were like knives, brutally stabbing Baekhyun over and over again. He gasped a little, feeling overwhelmed by the cruel words that Minseok was saying. There was a sense of fear, mixed with sadness and a little bit of resentment, but he didn’t dare to voice it out; to voice that he also felt a little excluded in this relationship.

However, if there was a thing that he was sure, one little thought that he always had on his mind was the undying love he had for those two; never once he doubted his feeling nor he ever regretted having them in his life despite the obvious hardship.

He felt a tear running down on his face but made no gesture to wipe it off.

“Don’t you say that! I know that I don’t always do things like I should and that I have troubles with showing how I feel sometimes but I do love you. That was never an option. I love you both!”

“Do you? Do you really? Then why is Sehun laying on this bed?”

“It was an accident, Minseok. I did not intend this to happen. Don’t you think I regret this?”

“I don’t know…do you?” asked Minseok with a strange look on his face, one that Baekhyun wasn’t able to decipher.

“I do! I really, really do! I never wanted this to happen and I seriously just hope that Sehun wakes up soon enough so that I can apologize to the rest of my…”

“No!” interjected Minseok.

Baekhyun stopped talking and looked straight into Minseok’s eyes.

“What?”

“No. I am not letting you anywhere near Sehun again.”

Baekhyun was stunned: another slap in the face for the already down man. He opened his mouth to say something but the older, angry as they come, approached Baekhyun, making the raven haired male shrink back in fear.

“I don’t trust you with him. I learn from my mistakes and I cannot trust my love to someone who doesn’t treat his well-being as a priority.”

“But…”

“Get out of here!”

“Minseok?!”

“Get out of here!” repeated Minseok.

“You can’t do this to me, to us. Let’s try and solve this, Minseok.” pleaded Baekhyun, borderline hysteric.

“Watch me.”

Minseok grabbed Baekhyun’s arm forcefully and began to drag him out of the room, he only stopped when he heard Baekhyun’s small whimpers of ‘stop’ and ‘don’t hit me’.

“Go. I don’t want to see you and I don’t want you near Sehun.” he added coldly in the end before closing the door of the room in Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun was absolutely devastated. The people there were on the corridor were staring at him, at his tears, at his white face and the shivers that came from his body. He tried twice to open the door and called for Minseok desperately, so urgently, but the older didn’t open the door and eventually the guards asked him to abandon the building since he was causing too much ruckus.

Baekhyun did; he left the building. There was emptiness inside him, something that he could not explain; he felt hollow and weak, exhausted. He wanted to lock himself at home, lay himself on his mattress and simply sleep; erase this day from his memory and hope that his dreams would be nicer than this reality.

Minseok’s words were swimming around his head and there had been a finality to them that scared Baekhyun. It was over! He had managed to ruin the one thing that made him happy in his life; he successfully managed to exclude the people whom he loved more than anyone from his life.

There was a bitter smile on his face that mingled itself with the tears that fell from his eyes. Never to see Minseok again, never to see Sehun again! He had really screwed things royally this time.

He walked home, a long walk at that, and he was glad that it wasn’t raining, he couldn’t bear it: the rain would only have made him more miserable than he was.

When he arrived home, his breath hitched when he saw familiar boxes with all his things stuffed in them, at the door of his apartment.

“No! No, no, no, no, no.” he chanted as he realized what was happening when he read the eviction notice on his door.

He immediately ran to the ground floor, knocking wildly at the landlord’s door, even though it was already way after midnight. The tenant opened the door and his mouth shaped itself into a thin line when he saw who it was.

Baekhyun had pleaded the man to give him more time, he tried to give him the rest of his meager money, he cried and begged, wailed and despaired but the old man shook his head no.

“I’m sorry Mister Byun but I need the money too and you are already three months behind. There is nothing I can do. I tried to warn you but you didn’t listen. I am sorry that it has to be this way but there is nothing I can do.” Said the man before closing the door on his face.

Another door closed on his face today.

The tears came, he sat down on the stairs, head between his head, sobbing hardly, breath coming in short puffs, almost hyperventilating. He had nowhere to go and no money. What was he going to do?

In his hazy confusion and desperation, due to many thoughts and emotions mixed together and the feeling of hopelessness, he reached for his phone and dialed the number that Yixing had given him a few days prior and pressed dial.

A groggy, sleepy voice greeted him.

“Hello?”

“Help me!” he sobbed, convulsing slightly from the tremors that ran through his body.”

“Who is…? Wait…Baekhyun? Is that you?”

“Help me! Help me, help me, help me!” he cried desperately, muttering the words like a mantra to the person on the line.

He needed the comfort of gentle eyes and warm smiled. He needed him.

A/N: A Baekhyun centric chapter! Poor guy I never really give him a break but this time I feel particularly bad! I was horrible!
I'm sorry for being able to post so regularly but I have a bunch of projects at the side and I have to learn how to split my time better between them and work. But, rest assure, that I will continue to update and I'll try as much to post a chapter per week.
Now, tell me all your thoughts! What of you think of Minseok's reaction? And Baekhyun's? Who did you think he called? Tell me everything, I am really curious to know about your opinions.
As always, remember to stay healthy and safe, to love and be loved, and just be happy!
A big hug and lots of love to all of you!
<3