Chanyeol gripped onto the photos tightly, hands shaking as he stared blankly at the wall in front of him. A myriad of different emotions swirled inside of him, overwhelming his senses and numbing his mind. He was confused, furious, and most of all, completely and utterly heartbroken. Betrayal stabbed at him like a thousand knives as he stared at the photos once again with his disbelieving eyes.

The first photo captured Sehun in front of Baekhyun’s apartment, passing the latter a wad of cash.

The second photo showed Baekhyun checking into a hotel with a taller male, whose face was unfortunately not captured due to the angle at which the picture was taken. The mystery man had his arm draped over Baekhyun’s shoulder and the two of them appeared to be rather chummy with each other. From the clothes that he was wearing, it was obvious that the man was loaded.

The third and final photo was the one that made Chanyeol feel sick to his stomach. Baekhyun was standing in an alleyway with the man who had attacked him and Irene at the club. The man was grinning widely at Baekhyun as he handed him a cheque.

Immediately, Irene’s warning flashed in his mind.

Gold digger.

The thought that Baekhyun had staged the confrontation at the club just to extort money from Chanyeol was too much for him to bear. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that Baekhyun was in cahoots with the very man who injured his arm with a beer bottle. The fact that Baekhyun was willing to put his safety on the line just for money nauseated Chanyeol.

“Do you know how crafty gold diggers can get these days?”

“I thought you were different,” Chanyeol mumbled shakily to himself. His low voice sounded broken and Chanyeol fought to keep the hot tears of betrayal and anger from rolling down his cheeks.

All his life, he had seen people flock to him because of his family’s wealth. Their fake asses were always so eager and willing to please him in hopes of gleaning some benefits. It wasn’t a bad thing, for these people often came in handy when he needed a favor or even just a quick , but he had gradually began to tire of the meaningless exchanges. They were just like leeches, slowly but surely the light and hope out of him. The world was cold and greedy, and Chanyeol could count with just one hand the number of true friends he had.

However, Baekhyun was like a beacon in the dark, brightening his pessimistic worldview. Baekhyun showed him that the world wasn’t as mercenary as Chanyeol thought it to be. But as it turns out, Baekhyun had been after his money all along. How could he have been so stupid? How had he not seen through all his lies?

“I don’t need your money, Park Chanyeol.”

He glanced down again at the photos of Baekhyun with Sehun and the mystery man. The thought of Baekhyun trading his body and companionship for money angered him beyond reason. If they were his sugar daddies, where did Chanyeol stand in Baekhyun’s mind? Was he just a side job for Baekhyun to earn some extra cash without having to commit?

“, I’m so pathetic,” Chanyeol laughed bitterly, scrunching the photos in his hands. He hurled the crumpled wad at the wall and let out a loud, frustrated roar.

How could he have allowed himself to believe that Baekhyun was genuinely interested in being his friend?

Chanyeol could not help but wonder who sent him the photos. Someone was trying to warn him about Baekhyun. Perhaps it was one of Baekhyun’s ex-victims, and they didn’t want Chanyeol to make the same mistake that they did. Now that he knew, Chanyeol could stop this once and for all. He could remove Baekhyun from his life forever. He could tear the bloodsucking leech from his skin and trample him under his feet.

He could, but he realised that he couldn’t bear to do so. In fact, he didn’t want to.

His initial obsession with the short brunette had grown and spiralled out of control, and he was sure that he was now irrevocably in love with him. Baekhyun had managed to lure him into his elaborately designed trap, ensnaring his heart and stripping him of all sense of rationality. This only served to make the betrayal sting a thousand times worse. He had bared his heart and feelings to the crafty devil in disguise, promising him a forever when the latter had only intended to make use of him.

Chanyeol clutched at his aching chest, feeling slightly lightheaded. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and drew in a deep breath. He never knew that getting betrayed by someone you trusted would hurt this intensely. It was way too many emotions and thoughts to process, and Chanyeol automatically picked up his mobile phone and dialled the first number that came to mind.

“Irene? Are you free right now? I need someone to talk to.”

--

One week.

Baekhyun did not hear from Chanyeol for one whole week.

On the first day that Chanyeol failed to show up at Baekhyun’s workplace, Baekhyun knew that something was off. Chanyeol had never ever broken his daily routine of visiting Baekhyun at work, and even his colleagues were surprised by Chanyeol’s absence.

On the second day, Baekhyun began to grow anxious. He stared blankly at his empty text message inbox and felt a sense of foreboding wash over him. Something must have happened to Chanyeol, because he would always bombard Baekhyun’s phone with a gazillion texts messages a day. This time round, it was Baekhyun’s turn to spam Chanyeol with a slew of worried texts.

He never received a single reply in return.

By the end of the third day, Baekhyun has had enough of the agonizing wait. After knocking off from work, he hopped onto a cab and headed straight to Chanyeol’s house. Usually, cab rides were like a luxury due to his meagre salary, but Baekhyun didn't even bat a single eyelid when he handed the driver a $50 bill. It was an emergency, and Baekhyun was desperate. He wanted to see Chanyeol, and more importantly, he needed to know that Chanyeol was safe.

Baekhyun was convinced that he rang the doorbell over a hundred times, but no one greeted him at the door. The house was as silent as a stone, and not a single light was on. It was as if Chanyeol had simply evaporated off the face of the earth.

Baekhyun drew in a sharp intake of breath and fished out his mobile phone to send Chanyeol yet another text message.

Where are you, Chanyeol? Please call me once you see this. I’m getting worried.

The fact that Chanyeol’s very absence caused Baekhyun to feel so cold and empty made him realise that the taller male had become an important part of his life. He missed him like crazy, and he was dizzy with worry at not knowing if Chanyeol was okay or not. Baekhyun began to wonder if Chanyeol was somehow trying to avoid him, but he could not think of a single reason why he would do so.

Baekhyun sat down in front of the gates and waited throughout the night, just in case Chanyeol returned from wherever he was.

Not a single shadow passed by that night, and Baekhyun caught a cold from spending the whole night outside.

On the fourth day, Baekhyun asked Sehun for Kai’s number, hoping that he would know of his best friend’s whereabouts.

“Sorry Baekhyun, I’m on holiday in Spain right now. I haven’t been in touch with him for a while, but I’ll try to contact him and let you know if there’s any news, ok?”

Baekhyun’s anxiety multiplied day by day, with no news from Chanyeol or Kai. Having someone whom you used to see everyday disappear for no rhyme or reason was a scary thing. On top of worrying about Chanyeol’s safety, there was another nagging fear that ate at his insides.

Was this disappearing act a way to tell Baekhyun that he was no longer interested?

Baekhyun felt abandoned.

--

Chanyeol read every single text message that Baekhyun sent his way. Chanyeol read and re-read them as he chugged down shots after shots of hard liquor. The obscure bar downtown had become his second home these few days. He sought refuge in the loud, pounding music and the mind numbing alcohol. He would sleep in Irene’s house in the day, then return to the bar at night to drown his sorrows.

Chanyeol was an absolute wreck, but Irene was kind and patient throughout all his confusion and heartbreak. She listened as Chanyeol poured his soul to her, offering gentle pats and soothing words. Chanyeol found solace in her companionship-- at least he had a true friend that genuinely cared for him and not for his money.

“Forget about the filthy gold digger. He’s not worth it.” Her advice reverberated through his mind as he opened the newest text from Baekhyun.