.Somehow, Baekhyun found himself standing in front of a glass skyscraper, furiously fixing his hair and shirt. His palms were impossibly sweaty, and his ears and cheeks were warm. Chanyeol stood next to him with a hefty camera bag. A smile was plastered on his face while he led Baekhyun inside. As they went, Chanyeol gave words of encouragement and smiled the whole way. Baekhyun watched as people bustled around the building and saw how come comfortable Chanyeol seemed in such a chaotic environment. This is where he is all the time, of course he’s be used to it, Baekhyun told himself.

After a short elevator ride, they stepped off into a plain hallway with white walls and a green carpet. A sign in front of them pointed to the left and was labeled “Set 5.” They walked in that direction and came to a black door.

“Are you sure you're okay with this?” Chanyeol asked.

Baekhyun nodded. After much contemplation beforehand, he had decided to get over his social fears if he ever wanted to stay friends with Chanyeol.

“Alright then.” Chanyeol opened the door and led Baekhyun inside.

The equipment inside the studio was quite intimidating to say the least. Large reflective petals surrounding a flashing light stood tall around the white set. In between two of them, a man with a fancy camera was taking pictures rapid fire. Personal assistants hustled around, makeup artists and stylists were furiously fixing clothes, and directors of the shoots were calling out poses. The room buzzed with action.

Baekhyun gaped in the doorway. He had never been in a place so alive. The publishing company he met his editor at was a quiet business office. It was terribly boring and dull. Behind him, Chanyeol laughed and pushed him through the door. Everyone dodged around the two as they made their way to the dressing room.

“So many people,” Baekhyun breathed.

Chanyeol cast him a sidelong glance and smiled. “You'll be fine.” He patted Baekhyun’s shoulder.

“Are you Baekhyun?” A man’s voice came to their left ears. They turned and faced him. He wore a grey long sleeved shirt that showed his collar bones and black sleeves paired with boots.

Baekhyun nodded.

“Fantastic! I'm your stylist, Oh Sehun. Since we’re running a bit late, I'm going to grab you now and allow Chanyeol to speak with Jack.” Sehun his heel and walked toward a mirror.

“What's happening,” Baekhyun asked.

“They're just getting you changed into your first outfit that Jack wanted. It'll be fine.” Chanyeol smiled and waved as Baekhyun was ushered through the door.

About an hour later, Baekhyun walked out in skinny black jeans, a black dress shirt, and a white blazer. His hair was pushed back and parted at the left.around his eyes was a light dusting of gold and his eyes were lined with eyeliner. It was probably the most uncomfortable attire he ever had the pleasure to wear. The shirt was terribly itchy and he felt like the life was being from his legs. Do people really wear this on a regular basis? He shook his head. After this day, he thought, never again would he put on another pair of skinny jeans.

Baekhyun glanced around the room and saw Chanyeol talking to Jack. He hurried over as fast as his suffocating legs would allow and moved to Chanyeol’s side, slightly behind. Both Chanyeol and Jack turned to him and Jack’s eyes lit up.

“You are absolutely stunning.” Jack turned to Chanyeol. “Wouldn't you agree?”

“Indeed. He is perfect model material.” Chanyeol smiled.

Baekhyun gave a lopsided smile and felt his stomach flip. Model material? Hardly, but if Chanyeol thought so, then he must be doing something right to get his attention. Inside, his heart did a cheer routine. If he kept this up, maybe, just maybe, he would have a chance with Chanyeol. The prospect invigorated him.

“So… what am I doing now,” Baekhyun asked.

“You, my friend, are going to stand there,” Jack pointed to the white background that a current model stood on, “and we are going to test a few poses. If we deem you have potential, then we will figure out how to get you through modeling classes.”

Baekhyun nodded and listened as various people guidée him to the set and fix the props that he was supposed to have. The first picture was with roses and baby’s breath. Then he was sent to the changing room yet again to put on an oversized sweater, which was dubbed a “grandpa” sweater, a baby blue shirt, and a pair of mid-thigh black shorts. Before he walked out, they stuck a pair of circular wire frame glasses on his face. When he walked onto the set, they gave him a journal and an expensive looking fountain pen. As he posed, he noticed Chanyeol watching him intently out of the corner of his eye. He quickly became acutely aware of every move he made, his his eyebrow lifted or how his hands dangled at his side. Everything started to feel wrong. Before he felt confident, but now it seemed like he was trying too hard or being too superficial. He cringed inwardly and was relieved when they told him he was done.

He stepped off the set and Jack and Chanyeol made their way over to him. Jack was beaming and Chanyeol gave a small smile and nod. While Jack talked about modeling lessons and acting lessons, Baekhyun caught only half of it. He was too busy trying not to notice how Chanyeol was watching him, occasionally looking at him from head to toe.

After Jack and Baekhyun exchanged phone numbers, Baekhyun changed back into his regular clothes. Then Chanyeol led the way out of the building and to the car. He hadn't said a word and Baekhyun was growing increasingly nervous. What if Chanyeol started to dislike Baekhyun because of his modeling? Baekhyun doubted that was the case. Chanyeol was kind and actively wanted to spend time with Baekhyun, so suddenly changing his mind wouldn't make sense. Still, Baekhyun’s fear gripped him until Chanyeol pulled up to Baekhyun’s apartment.

“Baekhyun, you were phenomenal,” Chanyeol breathed, as if he had been holding it for the whole ride. “Jack has a good eye and I think he chose right.”

“Really?” Baekhyun asked. A blush creeped onto his cheeks and he made sure to look anywhere but at Chanyeol.

“Yeah…” Chanyeol paused. A look of contemplation crossed his face. He chewed his bottom lip. Baekhyun couldn't help but watch and allowed his eyes to wander over Chanyeol’s perfect features for a moment. He only stopped when they made eye contact. Chanyeol gave him a gentle smile.

Baekhyun’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He groaned inwardly and pulled it out. It was from his editor. “I… I should probably go,” Baekhyun said.

Chanyeol snapped his eyes up and nodded, “Yeah…” Before Baekhyun could open the door, he took Baekhyun’s hand gently and squeezed it. “You did well today.” He let go and smiled. In that moment, Baekhyun swore he saw galaxies spinning around him. He felt absolutely weightless and on cloud nine as he stumbled up to his apartment. The hand Chanyeol had taken was still warm and he smiled as he remembered the moment that replayed over and over in his mind. If only it happened more often. Baekhyun sighed and shook his head. It was unlikely, but a guy can dream.

The next few weeks flew by relatively fast. Baekhyun was booked with meetings with his editor, modeling and acting classes, and voice lessons to help increase his confidence. He rarely saw Chanyeol and when he did, it was for a brief period before both had to leave for another responsibility. Each conversation they had left Baekhyun feeling the need for more. He wanted to just sit with Chanyeol somewhere quiet and have a casual conversation, but that was almost impossible.

After hardly any communication, Chanyeol appeared on Baekhyun’s doorstep. The only difference between this time and every other time was that Chanyeol was wasted. Baekhyun wasn't sure what had happened, but Chanyeol’s cheeks were red, his eyes were droopy, he couldn't stand up by himself, and he reeked of alcohol and cigarettes. What the heck happened? Chanyeol flopped on Baekhyun’s shoulder and started laughing.

“Chanyeol, what-what are you doing here?”

“Uh muss yuh.” He burped.

“You what?”

Chanyeol lifted his head and stumbled over to the couch and completely spread out. The cat hissed and jumped off the cushion it was occupying and scurried off into another room.

“What in the world are you doing?” Baekhyun walked over and tried to drag Chanyeol to his feet. “It’s almost midnight! You should be getting home. You probably have a big day tomorrow and--”

Chanyeol then proceeded to release the contents of his stomach onto the floor. Baekhyun jumped back in time, but looked down at his friend pitifully. Chanyeol was perfect no matter what he did, but the fact that he was in such a state was strange. Because of how popular Chanyeol was, Baekhyun assumed he went to parties all the time and could hold his liquor. Apparently not.

He stared forlornly at the pile of throw up and cringed. If he weren’t completely head over heels for this boy, he would’ve forced Chanyeol to clean it up even if he was drunk. Baekhyun groaned and grabbed a plastic bag, rubber gloves, and carpet cleaner from the cupboard and proceeded to erase any evidence of throw up from his carpet. He tossed the bag into the trash can.

When that was all said and done, he walked back over to Chanyeol, who was snoring peacefully, head buried into the couch. Baekhyun crouched near it and shamelessly stared at the empty hand that hung limply near the ground. He reached up and linked their pinkies together. Chanyeol’s hand twitched and Baekhyun snatched his away, heart beating fast. Chanyeol then turned over so Baekhyun could clearly see his face. It was beautiful as ever, even with a bit of drool coming out of the corner. The fact that someone so… perfect was in Baekhyun’s house was completely baffling. How did he even manage to know someone like that? He wasn’t even worthy of being in the presence of Chanyeol. Baekhyun sighed and stood up. When he looked at his watch, it was 12:30am and he had another busy day. He needed as much rest as he could get, so he put a blanket over Chanyeol and headed off to bed.

The next day, Baekhyun’s alarm failed to go off in the morning as a result of him forgetting to charge his phone. By the time he got up and actually plugged it in, it was 10:00am. There were at least three calls from his voice coach and one from his editor. He let out an exasperated sigh, silenced his phone, and left the bedroom. When he walked out, he was expecting Chanyeol to either be gone or sleeping. He didn’t expect Chanyeol to be putzing around in the kitchen looking for various foods and cooking supplies. Either he wasn’t hung over or he was hiding it well.

“Shouldn’t you be working? Or at least hungover?” Baekhyun asked. He walked over and leaned on the counter.

“My headache isn’t that bad, and we had a celebration last night because one of the top actors at the company was just asked to star in a Hollywood movie. Most of us get the day off.” Chanyeol handed Baekhyun a plate with toast and eggs.

“Oh. That’s great,” said Baekhyun, poking the yolk with his fork. When a response didn’t come from Chanyeol, Baekhyun looked up and found the other’s gaze. He lowered his eyes and carefully took a bite of food, now acutely aware of all his movements.

After a while, Chanyeol asked, “How busy is your schedule?”

Baekhyun finished chewing his food before responding. “I missed my vocal lesson because I overslept and my teacher may want to reschedule for another time today. My editor is probably upset because I missed his call, too. I have a meeting with Jack and also modeling lessons.”

“So that means…?”

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow. “I’m not free.”

“How much sleep have you gotten?”

“Not as much as I would like to,” Baekhyun sighed and pushed the empty plate away. He set his arms on the table and rested his head.

“Then you should take the day off.”

“I can’t. Too much stuff to do.”

“Well,” Chanyeol said. “If you need to take a break, call Jack or someone. He would be more than willing.” After putting the plate in the dishwasher, he walked over and flopped on the couch. “You don’t mind if I’m here for a bit?”

Baekhyun shook his head and turned it so he could see Chanyeol. As discreetly as possible, he examined Chanyeol’s face. The shaped features, kind eyes, broad shoulders, large hands, red hair. It was all perfect. Baekhyun couldn’t believe someone like that was actually voluntarily staying in his house. As he observed, he felt his eyelids become heavy. He tried to keep them open and even shifted his position, but eventually, he gave in. He vaguely remembered saying to wake him up in ten minutes before everything went dark.

When he came around, his head shot up and a blanket fell from his shoulders. He turned around and Chanyeol was scrolling through social media.

“What time is it?” Baekhyun breathed heavily. His heart was pounding and the world was spinning. That was the worst part about taking naps. Everytime he woke, it would feel like the world was crashing down on him. “I have stuff I have to--”

“I called Jack and told him that you’re taking a day off for health reasons.”

“But--”

“Shh. And if you’re going to sleep, do it here on the couch or your bed.” Chanyeol stood up and walked over to Baekhyun who was totally dazed. He gently helped Baekhyun off the chair and onto the couch.

“But…” he trailed off.

“It's okay.”

Baekhyun stared at the floor for a moment, trying to get his wits about him. He was still breathing pretty hard, but at least his heart rate was slowing down to abnormal rate. It was impossible to focus on anything. The more he thought about keeping his breathing steady, the harder he breathed.

“Baekhyun? Are you okay?”

Baekhyun felt light headed. “No…?” Suddenly tears started falling from his eyes. He wasn't really sure why, but he didn't do anything to wipe them. He couldn't really feel his limbs. Then he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. Baekhyun leaned into the hug, but didn't lift his arms. Chanyeol didn't say anything and rubbed comforting circles into his back.

When Baekhyun’s breathing slowed and the tears start to dry, he pulled away and wiped his eyes. Chanyeol looked at him, worry written all over his face. Baekhyun sighed and held his breath before exhaling slowly. He did this a few times until he felt okay to talk without bursting into tears.

“Sorry…” he breathed.

Chanyeol rubbed Baekhyun’s arm. “Don't apologize. I don't really know what's going on, but I'm always here for you.”

Baekhyun gave him a small smile. “It just happens sometimes. I don't know why, but sometimes…” He looked off to the side. “I feel out of touch with myself.”

Chanyeol nodded. “Well if that happens again, please don't hesitate to call when I'm not around.” Chanyeol grabbed the remote. “I think… maybe it would be best to take your mind off of things.” He clicked on the television.

Baekhyun nodded and repositioned himself to a more comfortable position.

“Anything in mind?” Chanyeol asked.

“Discovery channel?”

“Sure.”

After that, they spent hours watching the Discovery channel. They were quite engrossed in watching a documentary about elephants and how poaching is affecting the population. As the show went on, they somehow ended up sitting shoulder to shoulder. Baekhyun shifted away, trying not to invade Chanyeol’s personal space, but Chanyeol ended up right next to him anyway.

A/N: Long time no see, y'all. It's really good to be back, not gonna lie. I've been away from the k-pop scene for far too long and I've missed it a lot. Right now I'm studying abroad in China and being this close to my babes, I felt compelled to come back to k-pop. Specifically fan fiction. I always had a lot of fun writing it, and currently, I feel like I needed to return to a me that wasn't too wrapped up in what others thought about me and I realized that time was when I was writing fan fiction. So I'm back, sinning and cringey as ever. I truly hope to finish this! I hope you will join me on this journey, too!