PROMISE

Code 543

Location: New House in the Gangnam District 
Time: December - 4 months later

“Well, look at that dropper,” Chanyeol said, leaning against the kitchen door frame. Baekhyun stopped washing dishes and turned around with a cheeky smile. Chanyeol glided across the room, linked his arms behind Baekhyun’s waist, and kissed him passionately.  “Ahh, my eyeballs!” Suho said with a face, “Can’t you two do that in your room?” Baekhyun groaned in frustration, pulling away from Chanyeol. “How can we Suho, when we don’t have a bedroom door! You said that you would have it fixed three weeks ago!” Baekhyun snapped back.

“Woah!” Chanyeol soothed, wrapping his arms around Baekhyun from behind, “The door will be here in a few days; calm down baby.” Baekhyun closed his eyes, leaning back into Chanyeol’s embrace. They had not been able to have a decent make out session, let alone an , in almost four weeks. Baekhyun felt like the world was against them again. Something always went wrong that prevented him and Chanyeol from having any kind of intimacy.

“I am sick of people telling us what we can and cannot do! Suho broke our door and now he’s complaining about us kissing in our own kitchen?! If I want to kiss my boyfriend in the kitchen then I damn well will whenever I want to!” Baekhyun continued angrily.

“Hey, okay, I’m sorry. Jeeze…it was an accident,” Suho said raising his hands up. “Baekhyun’s just ually frustrated sweetie,” Jiyeon said as she joined them in the kitchen, “he and Chanyeol have not had proper alone time together for a few weeks – you can understand that. We are off to the airport to pick up Sehun and Luhan. Let us know if they call you before we get there.”

Chanyeol nodded and walked Jiyeon and Suho to the door. Sehun and Luhan were coming back from a two week vacation in Ibiza that was planned as a celebration for Sehun losing his crutches. Sehun had been giggly with excitement in the days leading up to the trip. Chanyeol had never taken Sehun for that sort of man but he seemed genuinely excited about staying at the Palladium Hotel Don Carlos. Chanyeol couldn’t help but feel slightly jealous and wondered if Luhan was considering asking Sehun that question that he didn’t get to ask before the accident.

If anyone deserved to be happy it was Sehun and Luhan; Chanyeol only wished that he and Baekhyun could be happy too. They had been together for four months but had still only revealed their secret to the other members, Jiyeon, their security team, and Sooman. Neither of them had told their families yet – they were at lost for words on how to tell the people they loved the most that they had found the one person that they wanted to spend the rest of their life with and that person happened to be another man.

Hiding their secret from their fans was equally as frustrating. Every step they made outside of the walls of their home had to be consciously thought out to ensure that their secret was safe. Chanyeol ached for the day that he could just pick Baekhyun up into his arms and kiss him feverously in front of everyone.

Between the constant hiding, the lack of a bedroom door, and the constant interruptions, Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s alone time had been very limited. To go from continuous intimacy to cold turkey was like living in a dark space of hell. Which is why the moment Chanyeol closed the front door, he marched into the kitchen and picked Baekhyun up into his arms. He set him on the edge of the counter and kissed him hard.

“Hello?! Chanyeol? Are you home?!” Yoora’s voice rang out through the living room just as the kitchen door opened. Chanyeol and Baekhyun broke apart quickly, almost coming to tears in frustration. “So…what do we have going on in here?” Mrs. Park said, crossing her arms with a raised eyebrow.

“Uh…” he hesitated, trying to gauge how much his mom had seen and whether or not he could lie successfully. Both of their hearts were pounding under the expressions that were coming off of Mrs. Park’s face. “Baekhyun got some soap in his eye and I was just…” “Kissing it better?” she asked dryly. Chanyeol begin to blush as his sister walked in, “There you are!”

“Yoora, can you give us a moment please?” “Okay…I’ll just go wait on the couch…” she said, giving everyone a suspicious look. Chanyeol stared at his mom nervously trying to anticipate what her reaction was going to be. He had never even mentioned to her that he had feelings towards Baekhyun, or any man for that matter. He knew that his mother was very proud of him and loved him more than anything but he was still afraid of how she would handle having a gay son.

Mrs. Park took a step forward, uncrossing her arms, “So then, are you two together?” Chanyeol bit his lip and nodded nervously. She smiled and walked over, pulling her son into a warm embrace, “Finally!” she said loudly. Chanyeol pulled back and stared at his mom with wide eyes in disbelief, “How…” he croaked, “you knew?”

Mrs. Park nodded, “I’ve had my suspicions for a few years,” she said as she kissed Chanyeol’s cheek, “haven’t I, Baekhyun?” Chanyeol pulled back sharply, staring down at his boyfriend. Baekhyun gave him a sheepish smile and nodded.

————

The crew arrived back two hours later with Sehun and Luhan in tow shortly after Chanyeol’s mom and sister left. “It’s so cold out there!” Jiyeon said as she walked into the house, rubbing her fingers together and shivering. Suho stomped through the door and plopped his keys onto the side table. Baekhyun hurried into the living room to see Sehun and Luhan heaving their suitcases through the front door. Baekhyun couldn’t understand what it was, but Sehun and Luhan looked different. Something about their faces appeared to be more mature, more settled.

“Well, don’t we get a hug or something?” Sehun asked with a smirk.

“Not until you take your gloves off,” Chanyeol interjected quickly, joining the rest of the group.

Everyone shifted their gaze to Chanyeol in confusion. That was an odd thing to command out of nowhere but Chanyeol had a look on his face that seemed to silently speak to Sehun. Sehun’s eyes widened, “You know?” he gasped. Chanyeol’s face broke into a wide smile before pulling Sehun into a tight hug.

Kai looked toward Luhan who was now blushing, “What’s going on?” he asked. “What do you know that we don’t know Chanyeol,” Baekhyun questioned. Sehun bit his lip, sharing a quick glance with Luhan who nodded at him, before slowly pulling off his left glove. It took Baekhyun a second but he finally saw it, “Oh my god! You’re engaged?!” he yelled.

“Yes,” Sehun nodded as a smile leaked onto his face. Everyone in the room started cheering at once in delight, sharing hugs with Sehun and Luhan. Sehun and Luhan both laughed, “So you approve?” Sehun asked tentatively. “Hell yes we approve!” Baekhyun said eagerly.

“Not so fast,” Chanyeol said sternly. Everyone paused to look at him in surprise again. Baekhyun was starting to get worried by Chanyeol’s demeanor. He couldn’t believe for one moment that Chanyeol would have a problem with Sehun and Luhan being engaged. He tilted his head in confusion and saw that Chanyeol was staring Luhan down.

“Take your gloves off too,” Chanyeol demanded, crossing his arms. Everyone in the room was completely lost. They watched as Luhan his lips and very slowly pulled his glove off too. “Oh my god!” Kai yelled, “You got married?!” Luhan giggled, picking up Sehun’s hand to show off their matching gold bands. “You two are so sneaky!” Suho yelled, “How did you go from being engaged to married in less than two weeks?! And why weren’t we invited?!” Suho cried in complete shock.

“Okay, okay, everyone calm down,” Jiyeon said, stepping in, “I want to hear every dirty little detail about this vacation of yours. Why don’t we all go sit down and talk?” she said with a smile.

Everyone piled onto the couches and chairs as Sehun and Luhan began to share their story. “I proposed,” Luhan said, linking his fingers into Sehun’s. “How?” Jiyeon asked eagerly. Sehun smiled, “We went to see the Castle of Ibiza and he took me over to the edge where we could see the water, and he asked me.” Suho looked rather impressed, “That’s my boy!” he said, reaching in to high five Luhan. “Tell me more!” Jiyeon squealed, shifting to the edge of her seat.

“The views were breathtaking,” Sehun continued, “I almost got lost in the beauty when Luhan said ‘Sehun?’ and I turned to look at him and then he-” “I spilled my heart out,” Luhan interjected. “Do you mind telling us what you said Luhan?” Jiyeon asked innocently. Luhan smiled and turned to face Sehun on the couch. He looked deep into his eyes and began his speech like it was the first time he was saying it:

“Sehun, we started out as friends under circumstances that pushed our limits and tried to break us. Somewhere along the way we found each other and I never spent another day without thinking about you. I am so proud of what we are and what we’ve become. When I needed to do some navigating, you sat here patiently waiting for me. I accept you as you are and offer myself in return. When I can no longer sweep you off of your feet, I hope that your mouth will still remember the taste of my love. I will never let you fall because I will always be here to catch you. I want to celebrate your triumphs and mourn your losses as though they are my own. I promise to remain kind hearted, passionate, and patient in health and in sickness. This past year has been exceptionally difficult for us. I almost lost you. I almost had to spend the rest of my life without you knowing how much I loved you. I do not want to continue in this world without you. You take all of the pain, all of the hate, all of the sadness, and somehow make the world seem brighter. We are not promised tomorrow and we won’t know when we’ve run out of time. So let me give my life to you; let me drown in your laughter; let me die in your arms. I want you – I choose you.”

Sehun smiled, choking back his tears, “and then he got down on one knee, held out a silver ring with black diamonds, and asked if I would marry him.” Luhan gently placed a kiss on Sehun’s lips and used his thumbs to wipe way the tears from Sehun’s cheeks, “you remembered?” he whispered. “Forever,” Luhan whispered back.

Baekhyun bit his lip and looked to Chanyeol who was staring up at the ceiling with glinting eyes. Baekhyun slid his hand into Chanyeol’s and squeezed. Chanyeol lowered his head and smiled back while interlocking their fingers. “So why weren’t we invited to the wedding?” Suho asked again. “The opportunity sort of fell into our lap so we decided to do it while we had the chance,” Luhan responded, “there was a man named Juan on our tour who happened to be a minister. He overheard me proposing to Sehun and offered to marry us while we were in Spain.”

“We knew this would be our only chance to have a quiet and private ceremony without the press or fans trying to take pictures of us,” Sehun added. “That’s a good point,” Jiyeon breathed, “so who were your witnesses then?” Sehun chuckled, “Juan’s wife and our taxi driver.” “The taxi driver…really?” Kai said judgmentally. Luhan giggled, “I know, trust me we would have much rather had all of you there but he was really sweet about it. He even painted ‘Just Married’ on the back window for us. He seemed really excited about getting to come.”

—————————————————————————————

Location: EXO House 
Time: Three weeks later

Everyone was out doing last minute Christmas shopping, leaving Suho alone with Junseo. Chanyeol wanted to go out with them but Baekhyun told him no and Suho begged him to stay and help with Junseo. Suho was doing everything that he could to be a good father but he still lacked confidence in himself. Chanyeol laid on the couch scrolling through the television channels while Suho sat at the table wrapping Christmas presents.

Junseo was becoming increasingly fussy as was Suho’s frustration with not knowing what he wanted. Suho tried everything – he tried playing with him, listening to music, playing a movie, feeding him, and changing his diaper – but Junseo would not stop whining. Chanyeol knew what was wrong but he was trying to give Suho a chance to figure it out on his own before intervening. Junseo was currently tugging on his leg and whimpering. “What Junseo? I picked you up and you wanted down. Nothing that I do makes you happy so what do you want from me?” Suho said harshly – and with that, Junseo started to cry.

Chanyeol shook his head as he rolled off the couch, “let me try”, he said as he picked Junseo up into his arms. Suho sighed in relief, “Thank you.” Chanyeol carried Junseo to Suho’s room to get his blanket and bunny stuffie. He returned to the living room and stretched out onto the couch. He cuddled Junseo to his chest and offered him his stuffie. It took a few moments but Junseo finally settled down, on his thumb. Chanyeol draped his blanket over them and turned back to watch the television before drifting asleep.

—————-

“Baekhyun!” Suho whispered, “You have to come see this!!” Baekhyun kicked off his shoes and dropped his shopping bags by the door before following Suho quietly into the living room. Suho turned around and whispered, “Isn’t this the absolute most adorable thing you have ever seen?”

Baekhyun rounded the couch and instantly became weak in the knees at the Hallmark card moment. Chanyeol was fast asleep with one hand protectively over Junseo who was sleeping soundly on his chest. Something deeply carnal and paternal throbbed low in Baekhyun’s stomach and, much to his embarrassment, he was instantly hard. Why was he suddenly so desperate to have with Chanyeol? “Easy tiger,” Sehun soothed, wrapping his arm around Baekhyun, “it’s a powerful feeling though, isn’t it?” he said knowingly. “Yeah…” Baekhyun said breathlessly. “I was the same way the first time I saw Luhan holding a child,” Sehun admitted, “so just remember this,” he said, squeezing Baekhyun’s shoulder, “No matter how hard you him, you can’t get him pregnant.”

Baekhyun’s head snapped to look at Sehun in complete shock. He could not believe that those words had just come out of Sehun’s mouth and the image coming into his head was equally disturbing. Baekhyun shook his head and looked down at the floor in embarrassment, “We haven’t had yet.” “Oh…” Sehun said looking genuinely surprised, “…why not?” “We’re not ready,” he mumbled, “and I don’t think Chanyeol wants to have with me.” Before Baekhyun could even look up he felt himself being yanked down the hallway to the music room. Sehun slammed the door firmly and turned around to Baekhyun looking confused and worried.

“You don’t think Chanyeol wants to have with you?” Baekhyun shook his head, “No I meant…like in general…he doesn’t like the idea of … you know…” Baekhyun blushed. “It’s called Baekhyun,” Sehun said, rolling his eyes, “it’s not going to kill you to say the word.” Baekhyun giggled at him. “So what makes you think that Chanyeol doesn’t want to have ?” Baekhyun quickly covered his ears, “Ahh! Please stop saying that word! You shouldn’t know that word Oh Sehun! Oh Sehun is a good, innocent man who likes to make out with his boyfriend and that’s it!”

Sehun chuckled, “Haha you’re so funny Baek,” he saw the look of disbelief in Baekhyun’s eyes and gasped, “Oh my god, you’re being serious? You really think that’s all we do?!” He busted into laughter, “Baek…I hate to be the one to have to tell you this but..Luhan and I have done a lot more kinkier things than just .” “Like what?” Baekhyun asked innocently before his brain caught up to his mouth, “No wait! Don’t tell me! I don’t want to know!” Sehun shrugged, “it’s not a big deal…just some toy play…some …food…public places…”

Baekhyun let out a small yelp as Sehun snickered, “Oh come on Baek! We’re both men and we’re best friends. You’re supposed to come to me when you need to talk about . Come on,” he said, dragging Baekhyun to the set of chairs by the window. “So, tell me, why do you think Chanyeol doesn’t want to have ?” Sehun repeated. Baekhyun shrugged, unable to make eye contact with Sehun, “I don’t know…I guess because that night he pushed me away…he said it was because he was afraid to be gay.”

Sehun frowned. “Not afraid because of what people would say but more so because of what….gay men do. He never actually said those words directly but I knew what he meant and he didn’t think he could do it so he was afraid that I would be disappointed in him. He knew that I would ask eventually and didn’t want to feel like he had to do it to make me happy because he would do it. And he wants to you know…enjoy our relationship.”

Sehun looked surprised and rather contemplative, “Do you want to have Baekhyun?” he said bluntly. Baekhyun blushed, “Um…Honestly? I don’t know Sehun. I would love to feel that deeper connection with Chanyeol but…I’m kind of afraid too. I’m not sure if I could…you know…” “That’s because you’ve never tried it,” Sehun said sternly. “I felt the same way before my first time. I was so desperate to not be gay that I almost forced myself to not even enjoy it.”

“But you always seemed so comfortable with Luhan?” Baekhyun said, confused. Sehun smiled, “Baek, my first time was not actually with Luhan.” Baekhyun’s eyes widened, “What…?” “I had to learn how to accept being gay Baek by practicing being gay.” Baekhyun gasped, “Who was it?!” Sehun hesitated, biting his lip, “Kim Jihoo.” “You had with Kim Jihoo?!” Baekhyun repeated loudly, “does Luhan know?!” Sehun chuckled, “It would be kind of awkward if he didn’t since I was there when he had his first time with Jihoo.” Baekhyun’s mouth almost hit the floor, “What?!”

“Look, let’s not get sidetracked here, okay?” Sehun said, “The point is that I didn’t think that I was going to like having until I tried it. I’m not going to sugar coat it. It was quite uncomfortable in the beginning and you probably won’t the first time but once you keep at it, it will be one of the most pleasurable and sensual experiences in the world.”

“I…I…oh my god,” Baekhyun stuttered.

“You won’t understand what you’re missing out on until you’ve tried it. You have to at least try Baekhyun. So, why don’t you go wake up that cutie pie boyfriend of yours while I keep everyone downstairs for a while?” Baekhyun’s eyes widened, “You’d…you’d do that for us? Keep everyone downstairs?”

“Of course,” Sehun said with a smile, “go have some fun. Just….please keep the noise down okay? It’s one thing to know you’re doing it, it’s another to hear it.” Baekhyun grabbed Sehun’s face and planted a wet kiss onto his check, “I love you,” he said before running out of the door.

————————————————————————————-

Location: EXO House 
Time: Christmas Morning

“EVERYBODY WAKE UP! IT’S CHRISTMAS!” Kai yelled, stomping upstairs, and jumped onto the bed. Chanyeol and Baekhyun jerked awake as Kai bounced up and down, nearly standing on top of them. “Come on! Get up lazy butts! It’s present time!” He then jumped to the floor and ran out of the room, back downstairs. Chanyeol whimpered, curling into Baekhyun’s chest, “Do you think he’ll ever grow out of that?” he groaned. “Kai? Never,” Baekhyun replied. Chanyeol chuckled.

“Hey Chanyeol…?” “What?” he murmured. “There’s um…there’s something I want to give you before we go downstairs.” Chanyeol’s eyes fluttered open at the sound of nervousness in Baekhyun’s voice. He slowly leaned up onto one elbow and gently thumbed Baekhyun’s cheek. “Um…” Baekhyun bit his lip, “It’s probably a super girly gift so I can take it back if you don’t like it…”

“Whatever it is,” Chanyeol interrupted kindly, “I know I will love it.” “Well…you see…ever since all of this stuff happened with Sehun and Luhan getting married in Ibiza, I’ve just been really hung up on what Luhan said. You know how he said he was terrified that Sehun would die without knowing how much he loved him?”

“Yeah…” Chanyeol said cautiously, unsure of what Baekhyun was trying to tell him. “Well,” Baekhyun said shakily, “I don’t want to go another day without you knowing how much I love you so…I got you this." Baekhyun let go of Chanyeol’s hand and reached under the pillow. He peeled back his fingers to reveal a triple banded white gold ring studded with sapphires in his palm.

“I want this to be a symbol of my promise to you. I have no doubt in my mind that you are the one that I am meant to spend the rest of my life with. I love you so much that it physically hurts to be away from you. I would give my life to protect you. One day, I would like to ask you to marry me. But until then, I promise that I will continue to be the rope that pulls you up when you fall down. I want to wake up every morning knowing that you are lying in bed next to me. Even though I am loud and obnoxious at times you embrace my flaws and love me for who I am. It has always been you Chanyeol. From the day we met I have done nothing but start the process of falling in love with you. I want to make you happy; I want to make you feel young even when we’re seventy. You are the reason that I wake up in the morning and the reason why I can’t fall asleep at night. I will never stop fighting for us.”

————–

Suho turned at the sound of someone entering the kitchen. He started to smile at Chanyeol but stopped when he noticed how red and puffy his eyes were. “Chanyeol, is everything okay? What’s wrong?” He asked, concerned, moving towards Chanyeol. “I’ve never been better hyung,” he said with a watery smile. Suho pulled Chanyeol into a long hug before pulling back, “Are you sure everything is okay? You can tell me.”

“Everything is perfect Suho,” he sniffled, “Don’t mind me; I’m just being a girl.” “Are you sure?” Suho stared into Chanyeol’s face for a moment, trying to understand what he was feeling. Chanyeol nodded, “Baekhyun just said some very heartfelt things to me and like I said, I’m being a cry baby.” Suho chucked and hugged him again, “I’m glad that you’re okay. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Please,” Chanyeol nodded. Suho prepared a cup for everyone routinely. Coffee with foam for Luhan, two sugars for Kai, tea for Jiyeon, milk and one sugar for Sehun, just milk for Baekhyun, one sugar for himself, and Chanyeol liked his coffee black. Suho absently passed Chanyeol his cup, almost missing the reflection of the light from the window. He turned slowly, staring out of the corner of his eye at Chanyeol’s hand that was holding the cup and focused on the white gold band. Suho couldn’t help but smile, hoping that the ring would soon be moved to his left hand.

He reached out and wrapped an arm around Chanyeol’s shoulders, “by the way, Merry Christmas.” Chanyeol chuckled, “Merry Christmas hyung.” Suddenly, the door bell rang, “I guess that is Soojin. We better get in the living room. We don’t want to miss Junseo’s first Christmas!”

They grabbed all of the mugs and joined the rest of the group. Baekhyun lifted his arms as Chanyeol joined him on the couch and leaned in, smiling when Baekhyun tugged him closer to share a soft kiss. Suho glanced over at Sehun who was hugging his husband’s waist from behind and over at Kai who was helping Junseo open his presents. This is how it should have been five years ago, Suho thought sadly, but at least they were here now.

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LoveKorea13
#1
Chapter 27: This story was way too real that it hurts ...
But is really well writen and you can feel every emotion in it.
Great job! ^^
DragonTales
#2
Chapter 27: Im not crying you are crying oh hell no imma not gonna cr- TT_TT
GirlWithThePoisonPen
#3
I really love this story, Author-nim <3
Munggo29
#4
Chapter 27: The emotions this fanfic was able to portray was definitely great. Although I love EXO, I never been much enamored of any of the ships.. However this one gave me a whole new perspective and respect for the LGBT community. I did wonder where the other characters disappeared to...but all in all, I like this story and recommend everyone read it.
MrMaknae
#5
I hate to be that one person, but even though it is written professionally, I feel like the story itself could be better. (Please don't take offense to my comment, it is only my opinion and if you don't agree with it, it's okay! We're all different here.) Sadly, I had to skip to the end because at first when I started reading, I will admit that I was hooked. It seemed realistic. Chanyeol working himself to a health issue and ending up in a serious situation. It seemed like it would be a great story and I spent around 2-3 days reading ,(Was a little busy inbetween so I couldn't do it all in one sitting) but was displeased with the chain of events such as tragedy after tragedy. It seemed too overwhelming to have the coma, the second collapse, the , the car crash, the baby mama issue, the cancer, the suicide. It seemed so tragic to fit into one story. I also dislike that half of the members just disappeared like that. At least let us know how or why they left. Have them send a letter, face time, or meet up to look back at old times. I feel like you kicked the other members out to give the spotlight to the incoming children. While I feel like the members that were in critical accidents should've died, the only lead up I do find realistic is Sehun committing suicide after being without his beloved Luhan. It was sort of a turn down when Chanyeol and Baekhyun grew old together and lived happily ever after, but hey! I did mention there were things I liked! I enjoyed the amount of time it took Chanyeol and Baekhyun to confess, and some of their relationship struggles. I also favored the small segments that added onto the story, like Suho's flashbacks. But please do not take offense to this! Honestly, people write differently and I give you my thanks for taking the time to write this. A lot of people enjoy this story! Thanks for reading if you made it this far!
galuli #6
Chapter 30: This is THE BEST EXO STORY I'VE EVER READ SO FAR. And yes I shud use my caps lock. The story, feel so much real. As a hardcore chanbaek, baekyeol shipper, I've always dream about this story to happen in their real live. Hahaha GOOD JOB AUTHOR NIM.

*sehun letter, my god I grab a lot of tissue
Zoilahamster #8
Chapter 30: Wow
I don't know what to say...
I don't like reading "real life" related stories (the fact that they're EXO -real idols- ,SM , stuff like that) but I really wanted to read a long chapter fanfic. I enjoyed a lot from this one, it's very well written, the connection with other characters was perfect and the way you describe their feelings is beautiful. I would like to talk about some special things that I liked or things that made me feel something special/different, but that would include spoiler and I want other people to get to that part and enjoy it the same way I did. So I will just say that you made me feel sad, happy, worried and lots of other emotions, so thank you for this amazing story.
hannah320
#9
Chapter 27: Tbh, I skipped to the last part and I kinda expected a happy endinh bcs I really hate someone dying in a story. But this, it made me realize again that not everything is abt happy ending. that life is also full of ups and downs and not knowing as to what would happen in the future. In just this one chapter, you made me realize that and I cried a fit bcs I thought of EXO. Since 0T12 era, i've been there to support themand while reading this, i cant help but remember all those happy times and then visualize the future with them growing old.. I havent read the whole story yet and it feels like I've read it already bcs of the feelings that this chapter gives out. And by this story, I guess I could start reading angst story again bcs I know I would learn so much from them. Thankyou for writing down this story, author-nim. ^…^