---  ►PART I ► ----

“I’m sorry Sir but I can’t” the car rental employee stated.

“What are you saying “you can’t”? I’ve just arrived, I reserved a car a month ago and now you’re saying I can’t have what I paid for?” First Baekhyun was stressed from having to travel alone to Paris, second he was tired. He was already feeling the jet lag hitting his poor body tortured in the economic class. Between an old granny and his grandson, who yelled in Baekhyun’s ears, several times kicked his shin, jerked his elbow in his ribs and finally threw his toys in his face a couple time, Baekhyun had enough.

“Sir as I said, in rental car there are procedures that we have to follow and it happens that you don’t comply with them” The poor employee stayed very nice and calm but Baekhyun, at this time now, couldn’t hear anything.

“But I already paid for it” Baekhyun retorted with a broken English, similar to the rental car employee’s. Baekhyun was left with no options here. He has been bargaining with the staff member for over 45 minutes and they couldn’t find a solution to his problem.

“Please just give it to me. I paid for it. Isn’t it just something that I can just scan to you…later?” the so fresh tourist implored the guy but there was apparently nothing to get from him and his stern face. A thing that he never envisioned was that everything would be so strict in France. Not that he ever tried to rent a car in Seoul, he never got the opportunity to, since his dad had one that he was sometimes, willing to lend for a couple of hours only.

“Sorry sir, but I need to take care of the other waiting costumers. If you don’t have your driving license, then I can’t rent the car to you. So please can you just step aside and wait until you find a solution for yourself?” The worker obviously pretended to be nice but Baekhyun didn’t need any translation to get the guy was obviously annoyed. But according to the circumstances, the car rental guy couldn’t be more infuriated than he was himself.

“Why is my passport not just enough? I have my credit card, I have money, I can pay” Baekhyun needed to leave the airport and hit the road to go to this weeding rehearsal tomorrow morning. For a moment, he regretted not having bought another plane ticket to go there. Again, when he booked everything, going by car seemed to be the best solution at that time. He was so screwed.

Technically, he was at fault. Yes, he didn’t have his driving license but in the fact, it wasn’t his doing if the precious card wasn’t in his possession right now.  He had planned his trip in details. His flight from Seoul was supposed to land at 3.45 pm in Paris CDG, and then he was supposed to pick up the car from the rental, and drive the car to the wedding venue. It was simple - 2 days of weeding and 3 days to travel and visit the south part of France and its famous places. So, naturally, Baekhyun rented a car in what he thought was the best car rental company. He knew it wasn’t exactly the guy’s responsibility for what was happening, but Baekhyun was purely exhausted and just needed some sleep. He was cranky and that wasn’t doing any good to the conversation, heating it up more than it should be, especially when he was the one who was not complying with the required rental documents. At first, Baekhyun thought it was a joke, but when he opened his wallet, in which he kept all his documents and money, he started panicking. Looking for the driving license card everywhere, he even found his best friend’s note inside but not a single trace of this so precious paper. 

Sunny has always been bright and left him some crazy notes that usually cheered him up a lot during his flights but when he started freaking, the notes became less and less funny. Now he was in the airport, at the car rental’s counter, with no key to his issue and no key at all. He even went to the transportation information to help him but as he expected, he could only access the venue by taking the subway, then a train, again the subway, then two buses, and after all that, walking 13 miles after the bus stop. When hope disappeared and Baekhyun didn’t know what to do, he just grabbed his phone and called the only one person who could help him at the moment. He didn’t really estimate what time it would be in Seoul but honestly he didn’t care. It’s a broken voice that answered him, apparently someone was getting sleep that he wasn’t and that just made him mad furious.

“Sunny” His voice was dry and harsh as he almost yelled in the phone.

“Baekhyun? What the hell? It’s 2am” she wasn’t sure if it was him for sure but it sounded like him anyway.

“I’m stuck in Paris CDG airport. Sunny you have to find a solution girl” he said, pulling his hair at the same time.

“What? Are you serious? What did you do?” She threw the covers, stretching and yawning before facing the panic situation her amigo was having on the other side of the globe. Baekhyun could so imagine her cute yawns and doing that waking up routine thing she was always doing. They grew up together and they were best friends no matter what. Baekhyun always considered Sunny as his sister, the one he never got. He eventually knew that he could rely on her, although he was sure she was the direct cause he was stuck in this situation at the moment.

Baekhyun was seething with rage, so much he decided to move far away from the rental company.  He couldn’t stay sitting on a chair, so he walked around his luggage, explaining the short story of his failure.

“Don’t worry we gonna find a solution honey, there might be a solution. I’m gonna hang up because obviously this phone conversation is not free. Gonna give you an update as soon as I have something for you” Sunny said over the phone. There was a silence for a minute, then Baekhyun heard a voice again over the phone. “Are you sure you need to go there by car, there might be another way?”

“No there is no other way. I’m going by car otherwise it will be a complete waste of time. I must be back in Seoul in 5 days, I can’t extend my stay and a car will be the best solution in case I need an exit from all that wedding . Sunshine I don’t have time; I don’t even know what am I doing here. Why did I even accept to come here? …I can’t stay in the airport like this. What am I going to do?”

“Hey! Hey! Hey! baby don’t panic stay calm, everything’s going to be fine. You could take a night in a hotel nearby the airport and tomorrow you will be able to rent the car” Sunny was trying to reassure him he best she could. It had already taken so much time to convince him to go to that weeding. She made multiple tentative to persuade him he couldn’t just not go because he didn’t want to but he had to go as a sign of respect.

“How are you going to do it? Do you know if I can receive fast express courier in an airport?” Sunny could feel how desperate Baekhyun was right now and she was the only one who could help him.

“I’m not sure for now but babe you will have to give me some time. Try to relax. Take it the good way…your flight went well and you arrived safely with body in one piece, that’s good oaky?!” Baekhyun smiled though he didn’t want to and the little laugh he let out gave him away. At that moment, Sunny knew that he was okay and just needed to be reassured.

“Okay sunshine! I will let you go back to sleep. Let’s talk on Katalk. I’m going to look for something to do while waiting for your “lumière””Baekhyun said with the best French accent he could do at that time. Once the conversation got cut by Sunny, he found out he was again alone in a country he barely knew. Not that he never crossed half the globe to go to France, but never in those conditions. Yeah…since his mother decided to move in this country, he barely visited, maybe three times in ten years.

…

The day after, around 8am, his phone rang and in a haste, he ran from the bathroom to the bed of the room he finally decided to book after walking 3 times through all the gates of this large airport. At least, it gave him sufficient time to think. He grabbed his phone that was disposed on the king size bed. It wasn’t his usual ringtone but he recognized the kakao talk calling alert. Instantaneously, he knew it was Sunny that could only call him that early in the morning.

“Hi Sunshine, tell me you have good news” the hope filling his voice made it weaker.

“I found a solution. Trust me babe, you gonna love me after that. Do you have something to take note?” Baekhyun didn’t think twice and wrote on his no-more-valid flight ticket. When he read what he just wrote, it was a combination of numbers and letters. He figured out it was a flight number and what looked like a name “Park Chanyeol” he read out loud.

“Yeah. You’ll have to find which gate his flight is landing. He will give you your driving license” Sunny said all happy with her super idea. It took a few seconds for Baekhyun to realize what just happened.

“Excuse me… did you give my driving license to a complete stranger?”

“What solution did we have? I was lucky to find someone willing to play the mule for your ”

“Nice and now I sound like a drug dealer” he barked, holding his forehead as his head was about to explode soon. “To a complete stranger though…Sunny come on! What if I never see him and he never gives me the document” Sunny made a sigh, honestly she didn’t know either if the guy could be trusted.

“He looked really serious. I explained to him how important it was for you and he kindly agreed. I showed him your picture so that he could recognize you”

“What does he look like? Give me some details, so that I can try to find him” Baekhyun asked

“Very tall, black hair, very handsome…let see…he was wearing red superstars if I remember correctly. He basically looks like a model.” Sunny laughed but Baekhyun wasn’t so keen on having a laugh with her.

“Very funny Sunny. I need to tell you I hate you right now”

“Who knows… maybe in a few you’ll thank me”

“For what exactly? Borrowing my driving license and not giving it back to me before my trip?”

“I told you it was an accident. How many times do I need to tell you the same thing babe?” Baekhyun exhaled noisily at the girl who was over the phone.

“Okay I’m going but if I can’t find him, I’m taking the first flight back to Seoul and no weeding!” He kept yelling on the phone.

“I would be the first to tell you to come back here already but unfortunately you still have to be at that weeding. Hon…I know you can do it. Don’t let stress taking over you, okay?” He almost got sentimental, but then remembered it was about time he looks for the guy.

…

Tall, handsome, looking like a model…that shouldn’t have been something too hard to find. It wasn’t that common in the Korean population...look at himself. For the nth time he groaned and took his belongings to go back to the terminal of the airport that he was starting to know better and better. He patiently waited then checked on the screens if he could find information about the guy’s flight and on the luggage delivery. He assumed the guy was, at least, going to get his luggage before exiting the gate. He started biting his finger nails and eat some of them with nervousness. He wasn’t even stressing over the fact that he would probably never get his driving license back, his concern was now into meeting a complete stranger who had information about him. What was Sunny thinking when she decided to do that? He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice people moving around him and leaving with their luggage.

“You must be Baekhyun” It was the only sentence that got him out of his deliberation. But that was the loud voice, giving him chills, that made Baekhyun turn around. Well, certainly Baekhyun was concerned about getting his driving license back but for an instant, he allowed himself to admire what a sight he got in front of him. Apparently Sunny’s description didn’t make him justice. Not at all…

“Baekh-Baekhyun yes…that’s me.” He held his hand, trying to not trip over his tongue and to be taken for a fool by the extremely handsome guy in front of him. Instead, he tried to make the deal clean and fast. “Well did you have a nice flight?” Out of nowhere Baekhyun blurted out. However, he wanted a clean break, he didn’t know why he was spurting silly things right now. He could feel that his face muscles were all tensed. Still, he wanted to stay nice, after all, the guy had been kind enough already to accept Sunny’s request for him.

“Long… but it kind of went faster than I thought. I couldn’t wait for the plane to land” The tall stranger looked tired but Baekhyun could still notice the smile in the corner of his mouth, that he was now exposing. Awkward wasn’t enough to qualify how Baekhyun was feeling right now, he could even feel his skin reddening.

“Anyway… thank you so much for doing that for me.  It’s a given you were there to save the day. Actually my friend was lucky to find you at Incheon”

“You mean the chatty and whiny blonde hair girl?” the guy used his hand to approximatively measure the girl as he was trying to remember her size. Baekhyun scoffed amusingly still thinking it was rude of him, but for his defense, Sunny was really talkative and that since she was able to make sound in kindergarten. Unexpectedly, the Park Chanyeol leaned a bit too close to his face, ending at the same level than Baekhyun and having him realize how big was the size difference between them. “She can be persuasive though and she had really good arguments I should say” and just as he came, suddenly, he straightened up and started to walk forward.

“Hey hey, where are you going?” Baekhyun yelled as he started panicking inside. His deepest fear for this all plan was becoming reality. This guy, how cute and y he was, was certainly a psychopath who had a kink for helping people then abusing them after. Baekhyun decided he was going to kill Sunny the minute he sees her in Seoul. Oh yeah… she would definitely have a taste of those pretty hands around her neck. Yet, it didn’t know if the guy next to him was a serial killer. Maybe Baekhyun would just be dead before Sunny does. “You didn’t give me my driving license, you have it, don’t you?”

“Oh yeah right” the guy turned away and opened his bag to look inside before he stops “Sorry. I was so blinded by…” the guy stopped and watched him so intently Baekhyun wondered if it was finally his death time. Then Chanyeol’s eyes drifted and focused back on his back pack. “I forgot to give it to you” He let out a laugh so casually, it made Baekhyun regretting to have asked for Sunny’s help. When Baekhyun thought about it, the guy was kind of weird. Of course there was a catch, there wasn’t a single guy on earth that could be so handsomely breathtaking and at the same time be sane in his mind.

Baekhyun didn’t know in which trick he just had fallen for God sake. The stranger took his wallet and at that moment, Baekhyun almost reached his target. He could even feel the license card on his fingertips when the guy handed the card to him. Baekhyun greedily extended his two hands to receive his precious driving license, but the minute he tried to grab it, the guy lifted it on the top of his head, making it impossible for Baekhyun to reach for it.

“Minute butterfly… Let’s go to the car rental, shall we?!” and as he said that, he led the way toward the stand Baekhyun had spent 5 hours’ yesterday to find a solution.

“Excuse me but what are you saying exactly?” Baekhyun was totally lost and disoriented by the young man in front of him. He had honestly no clues about what the guy wanted with him but his aim was to get his driving license and get rid of the taller as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the guy was leading the way and he made it difficult for Baekhyun to even catch up with him. His poor short legs were falling behind. How the hell this guy, that he doesn’t know, could just decide to hold in capture his poor papers? Baekhyun was now certain that he was going to commit murder as soon as he stepped a foot in Incheon. Sunny would have a lot of begging to do to get his mercy.

“It was the deal!” The guy stated flatly, still walking in haste and looking for the right car rental stand. When he took a glance toward Baekhyun, he saw how lost the poor man was and decided to pull him out of his misery. “She didn’t tell you? And to say that you are the person concerned by all this, funny don’t you think?” Chanyeol quirked an eyebrow.

“What deal did she make with you?” Baekhyun sighed nervously with a tone of exasperation. Both of them finally put a halt to their course. The guy adjusted his hair, he seemed a bit annoyed by something but Baekhyun didn’t care at all. He didn’t know on which situation he ended up and he was definitely out of his zone of comfort which, by the way he hated. He was feeling dragged into something that he definitely not wanted.

“Okay let me give you the update then…I bring you your driving license, in exchange I’m getting in the car with you” Baekhyun didn’t know if his eyes could go wiser that right now, but his surprise was just flagrant and amusing for the young man who decided to keep walking. Before he realized it, Baekhyun was already in front of the car rental company that he knew a bit too well from experience.

Baekhyun painfully pulled his suitcase and his bag behind him, out of breath, trying to reach for the guy he was starting to dub as a thief. He was already picturing being threatened by some stranger, disappearing in the middle of nowhere in France and all that because of a f**** driving license. That couldn’t be happening to him. He knew that it wasn’t a good idea from the start and he had been stupid to listen to Sunny’s stupidest idea. He wasn’t like this; it wasn’t him to take this kind of decision. This was enough for him to have panic attacks and get anxious about every little thing. And right now, the only thing making him cringe was to be left at the airport without his driving license card and no car to go to that wicked wedding. Then at this moment, Baekhyun decided he had reached the limits of his already extra thin patience while the guy was still walking further. Boiling inside, he sighed in exasperation.

“I don’t even know your name” He yelled in the middle of the aerodrome, drawing attention to them that he definitely not needed right now. At least, that make the guy stop and focus for a minute on him. Then the taller closed the distance between them and held out his hand to him.

“I am Park Chanyeol” Baekhyun took a hold of his hand and got almost swept off of his feet by the strength of the hand. Yet it was warm, almost reassuring and Baekhyun suddenly felt calm again. “Nice to meet you” There was a silence.

"Really that won't do. I have a long road ahead. I'm not used to travel with people. I rather be alone so I won't panic every time I do something. I'm sorry. I'm very thankful for what you've done so far.  I think I would be screwed if you had not been there. But simply, I cannot allow you to come with me. It's already stressful enough. And I'm also thinking about you, you will be so depressed and bored, wondering what kind of weirdo you ended up with. I know how I am, I'm such a pain in the , even my parents can't bear me, I can’t even bear myself sometimes...So I’m sorry but I just can't do that” Baekhyun didn't calculate exactly when Chanyeol's face got closer at the same time, smirking at him. One twist and Baekhyun could have just ripped that smug look from his face.

"Cute … now I see why you and your funny friend are best friends...in addition of the similar height I mean" Baekhyun got stuck on the word “cute” for too long before he realized Park Chanyeol was less nice than he looked like. "Listen I need to go in that car. That's the main reason why I decided to close the deal with your friend. Do you think I am so nice I decided to do that out of kindness?  Come on... we are all human. You needed something, I provided. So now please…be nice to me." The guy explained naturally as if everything was falling onto sense. "Take it as a favor. You owe me; so now would be the right time to repay me, don’t you think?" As Baekhyun was thinking this through, he took in he was already in front of the sale person of the car rental company. Apparently, being with the tall guy had the knack to make time fly.

"Plus I know how to drive. I have my driving license. We can share driving time so you won't be wasted. It's a win-win situation…think about it. Perks of the deal...you won’t be bored at all" Somehow Baekhyun could just imagine this Park Chanyeol as a sale person. He could make people fall asleep under tons of bull so easily. That was definitely his magic.

"Where are you going?” Baekhyun asked rubbing his forehead, already silently regretting what he was about to do.

"Cannes...I believe you are going to Nice. It's very close, you won't even have to make a detour." Baekhyun took some time to answer, but doubt marred his face. He bit his lower lip, slowly chewing on it as he was contemplating what to do now. He totally missed how focused on his mouth, the eyes of Park Chanyeol were.

"Okay, I accept but give me my paper back" he sighed in resignation, feeling trapped in this situation. That was just karma on him.

"Not before we rent the car and the deal is sealed" Chanyeol flattened his hands harshly on the wooden counter as Baekhyun once again say “hi” to the car rental agent.

….

They were now heading out the suburb of Paris and going toward the south on the right highway A86 that Baekhyun had checked for the nth time on his phone. The tall guy was sitting next to him comfortably, texting on his phone. The stranger Baekhyun got to know for about 2 hours was now watching his every move. Stress was about to surround him. He hated this heavy stare on him, feeling judged was something he had a hard time dealing with professionally and privately. While driving, Baekhyun was fumbling with all the buttons to turn on the A/C that he couldn’t find in vain. Finally, his passenger came to help to push the right button and turn it at the maximum. Obviously, the guy could sense how tense he was and yet again he hated that fact.

“Do you want me to set up the GPS on my phone? Maybe it’ll be easier for you” The guy offered and Baekhyun couldn’t say it wasn’t wise to use the other guy’s phone because right now, his own phone was doing and ended up between his legs.

“Yeah thank you” Baekhyun didn’t say much after that and let the guy connect his phone to the car Bluetooth system and turn on his GPS app.

“Maybe we should have accepted the extra fees for the GPS device, at least we wouldn’t use our battery on apps. Do you have a phone charger for cars?” The guy asked.

“No, I don’t” Baekhyun said shortly. He didn’t want to be taken for a rude person but deep down he wanted to make the guy understand that at first, he wasn’t welcomed in the car.

“Okay, then we will have to stop in a gas station or a rest area to buy one or two. I’ll tell you when I start running out of battery” The guy simply said pushing back the seat and spreading his legs to infinity. Baekhyun glanced at him several times not believing it. He didn’t visualize the situation like this when the guy told him, he could rest and they will share driving time. As it was, he was going to play taxi driver with an asleep passenger. Keeping his eyes on the road and wondering about how to act next to the handsome stranger were two things difficult to do at the same time.

“Hmm... I think it’ll be better if you keep talking to me…I mean it looks disrespectful if you only sleep and I just drive. You could have taken a taxi for that…see what I mean? Not that I want to be mean to you, but this is just what I’m thinking right now and I thought I should just let you know” Baekhyun kept talking nineteen to the dozen while the guy start chuckling quietly on his side. To Baekhyun’s great misfortune, even his laugh was soft and very nice.

“Sorry but I just had a 12-hour flight and I’m a bit tired” Baekhyun realized he had missed this information and instantly felt stupid and insensitive. “I just thought it would be better if I just take a nap while you drive so I can take over when you are tired. You expressed your wish to stay alone earlier so I wanted to give you enough space possible so we can arrive sane and safe at destination. It was definitely a good decision taken for both of us.” Baekhyun felt so awkward again, he wanted to drive that car in the next highway wall but even in hell his mother would find him and kill him again for pulling that stunt on her when she needed him the most.

“Okay forget what I said. I’m sorry” Baekhyun felt foolish enough and he didn’t want to speak rubbish.

“Can you just relax? You look like a about to get his cherry popped. This is very disconcerting” The guy raised his hands questioning Baekhyun’s behavior.

“Wow thank you for the comparison, I don’t know how I should take it”

“Don’t take it, just embrace the fact you’re a ball of stress and that it can be annoying”

“I warned you.” Baekhyun said for his defense not offended at all, he had heard way worse before.

“Oh god I blame your entourage!” The guy burst into laughter, resting his elbow on the bottom of the window.

“Tell me about it” at his own surprise, Baekhyun joined the guy who was giggling at his expense. This time they fell in an easy silence.

“How should I call you? I don’t remember your name sorry, I apologize” There was another smile on the guy’s lip, it seemed like Baekhyun had been acting like a clown again, or he had probably said something stupid for a change.

“Do you apologize every time like this? For no reason?”

“No…not really…I didn’t want to be rude, that all” Baekhyun articulated as good as he could but could feel LIAR letters print themselves on his forehead.

“Trust me, I’m pretty sure there is nothing you can do that could be considered as disrespectful toward me. By the way Chanyeol that’s my name, you can call me Chan or Yeol as you want but…”

“I think Chanyeol will be enough for now” Baekhyun tightened his hands on the wheel. “So what do you for a living “Chanyeol”?

“So what? Now you want to get to know me?”

“I think we have about 8 hours left, we could use that time to get to know each other so that I won’t have that impression of driving with a total stranger next to me” Baekhyun only heard chuckles from Chanyeol and although he couldn’t see how he was actually laughing, he found the sound pleasant to hear.

“Well apart from being a mule for absent-minded compatriots, I’m a photographer and a photography teacher part- time, well still studying but working at the same time.”

“That’s sound like a pretty cool job. I always respected people living of their art.”

“What about you? I bet you have a stressful position at work”

“That would be an understatement. I’m a surgeon in a private clinic in Gangnam” Then Chanyeol straightened up, acting as if he was shocked by the information he just got and angled his body so his left side was now on the seat and he was facing Baekhyun.

“Really? I don’t believe it” Baekhyun was offended though, he knew he didn’t look like one but still, it was his job and he was pretty good at it. “I mean that’s awesome, you save life and all…. wait you work for a private clinic and in Gangnam? Don’t tell me you are a plastic surgeon?”

“I am not… what kind of stereotypes is that? Seriously” Baekhyun could have been angry at the guy but the way Chanyeol was just having fun and teasing him were enough for him to let it pass and just accept a joke or two from him.

“No really, it’s more than that…I’m a pediatric heart surgeon”

“So you are mostly taking care of babies and young children…that is awesome. You save life of children with heart disease … that’s awesome. I got it now where you got all that stress from. But it’s a beautiful profession though.”

“Being stressed is my thing, it got me working you know. Stress, maniac, irritating, precise, impatient …well that’s just me” Baekhyun snorted.

“I won’t say maniac though…well you seem to have a pretty good opinion of yourself. I won’t say obsessive either …and what kind of maniac would just forget his driving license while going on a trip?”

“That would be Sunny’s fault. She always took my things. She didn’t give it back to me before I left.”

“Why the hell would she need you driving license?” Chanyeol looked at him questionably as if there was not a single valid reason why she would need that.

Baekhyun shrugged wondering how he never asked himself the question “I have no idea and no response to that question” he laughed and Chanyeol found it so harmonious that he preferred listen to it in silence as he turned and sat correctly in his seat.

“So she is your best friend? That bubbly one? She is one of a kind. She doesn’t take no for an answer and she is really determined. Well I like her, especially her personality…”

“Are you interested in her perhaps?” At least maybe he could play matchmaker to piss his girlfriend off.

“Yeah she looks interesting as a friend”

“She is cute, isn’t he? Damn, sometimes I wonder how I put up with her, and more when she does silly things like this. See... if it wasn’t for her, you wouldn’t be in that car”

“You either, because you wouldn’t have been able to rent this car from the beginning”

“That’s true. And I do believe I will be in sticky situation if she wasn’t here. She got my back for so long that I can’t even remember how many times she helped me”

“Must be good to have someone reliable though. I believe in fate and I’m pretty sure we were meant to meet. Sometimes things happen for a reason that you can’t explain but still they happen”

“Or I can give you her number if you want to, then you can call her and meet her when you go back to South Korea”

“Or maybe you can give me your number and then I’ll call you to do just that”

“Let’s see first if we are still alive after this car trip and then I’ll consider doing that” Chanyeol smiled at that and shook his head silently, dismissing the conversation.

“Do you mind if I play some music in the car?” Chanyeol asked carefully.

“No it’s okay for me. As long as it’s not Korean pop it’ll be fine”

“Wait why? You don’t like the music of your own country?” Chanyeol faked to be shocked, enlarging his eyes, acting all surprised while he was not at all.

“Not my thing and I’m fed up of listening to it every time I have Sunny in my car…trust me this is horrible”

Once again Chanyeol burst into laughter. This time, it morphed his face as he couldn’t stop laughing, his tummy hurting at each giggle “I have the idea it’s gonna be a long trip” Chanyeol added as he pressed play on his phone and let the music blast in the car ♪. 

…

They had been on the road for about three hours and they had been chatting over subjects with no meanings or just about each other life. They even found time to complain about bad taste in music as Chanyeol finally allowed Baekhyun to play his own songs and ended up taking turns on the Bluetooth system. Chanyeol made sure there was no blank by filling each silent moment with jokes. Sometimes it was well received by the smaller and other times Baekhyun had difficulties to understand where Chanyeol was going with those gags and all the teasing. Baekhyun was still focused on the road but his muscles were getting more and more tired. Trying to massage them apparently wasn’t enough to appease him, he was just getting tired and needed rest.

Next to him, Chanyeol was quiet and although Baekhyun knew he wasn’t asleep, his eyelids were closed and he sounded at ease and calm. He didn’t know why he finally accepted to let the guy come with him but he did. Maybe he hadn't been more suspicious because Chanyeol was a Korean fellow but secretly he should have been. There was something about this guy. He was sure he was going to regret it latter. Baekhyun closed his eyes for a moment, breathing as he re-opened them and took in the music playing ♪. He was in a trip far from home and there was nothing he should feel sorry for. Here he was just nobody and it was what he wanted; get away for 5 days of this fast paced life. He knew that this trip wasn’t from his own initiative and he was forced to do it but now he was ready to accept it and just let go. He didn’t even try to connect his phone. He didn’t want any notifications and the only news he needed was Sunny’s, and she knew how to reach him if she needed him.

“Don’t close your eyes on the road. Do you want to kill us both?” Baekhyun snorted at Chanyeol’s comment and looked at the man next to him.

“Hey I’m sure I’ve been driving longer than you, so from experience trust me, you’ll live a long time” Baekhyun guaranteed.

“I wouldn’t bet on that, how old are you by the way? You can’t be older than me?”

“I’m 28 going on 29 in a few months, what about you? You can’t have more than 25 with that baby face of yours”

“You think I have a baby face?” Chanyeol asked well upset, and Baekhyun could well see it from where he was. He only nodded in response because it was the sad truth. This guy had a hell of a y body with a baby face.

“Come on” Baekhyun tried to make him forget what he just said by pushing Chanyeol’s shoulder with his free hand. At this exact moment, Chanyeol realized it was the first time they connected at this level. And to have that sensation last Chanyeol took Baekhyun's hand in his and removed it from his shoulder, so that he had plenty time to touch that hand that feel as precious as it looked. Baekhyun was quick to removed his hand, he didn’t want to be considered as the guy who invaded Chanyeol’s space. “Don’t pout okay?! you a grown man”

“Yah I’m 27 not that younger than you almost the same... so please, eyes on the road” Baekhyun smiled again not believing that the guy could be that susceptible. Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun’s hands which once again were stiffened on the steering wheel.

“You do not have surgeon’s hand at all. They are definitely not doctor’s hands” Chanyeol joked pointing at Baekhyun’s members until the smaller looked at him weirdly and huffed.

“And what doctor's hand need to look like Chanyeol?”

“I don’t know but if all doctors I’ve seen had the same hands as yours, I surely would have gone more often to the hospital” He said with a smile in the corner that apparently went unnoticed.

“You're right. Us surgeon, we need to have skilled hands” Baekhyun said turning the wheel.

“Pun intended or not?” Chanyeol’s looked at him too intensely.

“Definitely not” Baekhyun’s shocking face on display made it clear that he was meaning nothing more than that.

“Okay, I was just kidding…” Chanyeol scratched the back of his head

“God, I love this song  ♪ ” Baekhyun exclaimed as he turned the volume up.

“You do? I don’t know a lot of people listening to this kind of music in my circle of friends”

“Then you should find new friends. I love this DJ seriously. Do you know he’s French and well known here?”

“Yeah I know…I don’t know how to explain but I feel carried away. I’m like traveling to another place whenever I hear one of his master pieces”

“Same” Baekhyun’s answer was short but the way his eyes shined as he replied gave him away. He had the exact same feelings and he was glad someone was on the same page as him. Yet he did that thing that made Chanyeol appealed; the way he was chomping on his mouth though.

“I can hear the birds, I can see them fly, I can see the skyyyyy” Baekhyun hummed in the car losing himself in the car “I can see the sky it’s about to cry” and then he kept singing with a bewitched Chanyeol taken by the melodious voice of the driver. Baekhyun heard clapping noise and frowned when he looked at Chanyeol.

“I know that was bad …don’t judge” then again Baekhyun pointed an accusatory finger toward Chanyeol.

“Are you kidding? Your voice is incredible” Chanyeol clapped like a seal and he was sincere when he said that.

“I wanted to be a singer before…I always thought I had a talent before my father literally crushed it and convinced me pursuing medicine school was the best for me…Anyway I don’t think I could have been one”

“Who knows… you could have been part of one of those band singing on TV shows”

“Yeah maybe but I love my stressful job, so it’s okay. I guess you knew from the beginning that you wanted to be a photographer, right?”

“Not really. I studied first to be a trader then I just got fed up. It wasn’t what I wanted so I just decided to do what I liked. I remember how I was super exited when my mom gave me my first camera as a birthday present. I spend the all-day taking pictures of everything. It was before everything got numeric so I was always asking for developing my pictures and she was always pissed because she would say “no” but my father who was supporting me always helped me by giving me money to go the store, so I would do it myself…yeah great time.”

“I think we should stop to the next gas station and exchange seats. Are you hungry? We could take time to eat also”

“I could eat… oh and I need to buy the chargers. My phone is almost down”

…