“Mr Park.”

Park Hyunwoong looked up from the documents he was flipping through and his lips parted in surprise. “Byun Baekhyun,” he greeted with a nod, gesturing for Baekhyun to take a seat in front of him. “To what do I owe this sudden visit?” he smiled unsurely.

“I’m here to apologise,” Baekhyun cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for how things turned out the other day. It was a mess.”

Park Hyunwoong laughed and shook his head. “A mess it was,” he sighed. “But at least one good thing came out of it all. We got to learn about Irene’s true colours, and I must say my son really dodged a bullet right there,” he chuckled. “I never really liked her, but my wife adored that girl to bits. Their marriage was all her idea, and I was honestly surprised that Chanyeol went along with it.”

He paused to stare at Baekhyun, studying him with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. “Baekhyun,” he began. “I apologize on behalf of Chanyeol and Irene. I must admit that I do not know what exactly went on between the three of you, but I can tell that it wasn’t pleasant. My son must have done something really bad for your family to retaliate in such a way.”

“My father was too rash. I never thought that he would break off the partnership with Park Corporations. It was a childish and unjustified move on his end, and I deeply apologize for that. I never intended or wanted for uninvolved parties to be dragged into this mess,” Baekhyun replied, bowing his head. “I know a lot of feelings were hurt that day, and I don’t really expect you to understand or to forgive the Byuns, but I want to try and fix this. I’m here today to renegotiate the terms of our partnership. I hope that Byun Enterprises and Park Corporations can continue working together, just like we have been doing for the past decade.”

Park Hyunwoong’s eyes twinkled with mirth. “Does your father know that you’re here today? Or did you decide this on your own?”

“He knows,” Baekhyun responded simply, a small smile on his face. “And he sends his apologies.”

“If he is really sincere about this, shouldn’t he be here personally instead of sending his son?”

“I insisted on coming here,” Baekhyun responded quickly. “I wanted to be the one to apologize, because I am the root cause for all of the unpleasantries that transpired the other day.”

Park Hyunwoong raised his brows and let out an amused chuckle. “You’re a good kid, Baekhyun. I can tell,” he said. “So, how did someone like you get entangled with my son? I am dying of curiosity, to be very honest. What exactly happened between the three of you?” he stared at Baekhyun expectantly.

Baekhyun was caught off-guard by his sudden question. What was he supposed to tell Chanyeol’s father? He blinked blankly, searching his brain for an appropriate response.

The awkward silence in the room seemed to be too much for Park Hyunwoong to bear. He cleared his throat and crossed his arms. “I’m guessing that you used to date my son.”

Baekhyun froze in his seat like a deer caught in headlights.

“C’mon, don’t look so scared. I’m an open-minded person. So you dated my son. Big deal. Love transcends gender. I get that.”

“We were a mistake,” Baekhyun replied quickly. “Don’t worry, I won’t be seeing your son ever again.”

“A mistake? Ouch,” Park Hyunwoong chuckled. “On the contrary, I hope that you can speak with Chanyeol. He’s… he’s not in a good state. If you hadn’t shown up at my office today I would have paid you a visit myself. I was hoping that you could go talk some sense into Chanyeol. That boy is like a living zombie. He’s not sleeping or eating well, and he hasn’t uttered a single word to anyone since that day,” he sighed deeply, brows furrowing deeply in concern.

Baekhyun remained silent, his mind a turmoil of emotions. He pursed his lips and shut his eyes tightly, trying his hardest to suppress any sympathetic thoughts about Chanyeol.

He couldn’t allow himself to be weakened so easily.

“Look, I know this is unfair to you. I know you probably want nothing more to do with Chanyeol, but as his parent, my heart hurts to see him like this. So, if you are willing to, I hope you can help us out,” Park Hyunwoong continued, his tone urgent and pleading. 

“I am sorry, Mr. Park,” Baekhyun finally replied, his tone firm and resolute.

“Ah…,” Park Hyunwoong deflated visibly. “I understand, Baekhyun,” he forced a tight-lipped smile. “I apologise once again on behalf of my son. For whatever it was that happened between the two of you.”

Baekhyun nodded and offered him an equally apologetic smile. “So, about our partnership… are you willing to re-enter into a new contract with Byun Enterprises?”

Park Hyunwoong laughed. “Ask Byun Jihoon to come speak with me personally.”

--

Park Hyunwoong’s words affected him more than Baekhyun would like to admit. In the days after their meeting, Baekhyun found himself unable to sleep well. He would toss and turn at night, wondering if he had really handled the situation between him and Chanyeol in the right way. Sure, he wanted Chanyeol to feel at least a fraction of the pain that he had felt, but had he gone too far in his quest for revenge?

Perhaps he shouldn’t have turned around and left when Chanyeol called out to him. Perhaps he should have had a proper talk with him.

As usual, Baekhyun hated himself for being such a softie.

“What are you thinking about?” Sehun mumbled sleepily, pulling Baekhyun closer to him.

“I’m sorry. Am I disturbing your sleep?” Baekhyun whispered apologetically.

“Is there something on your mind? You have been acting really weirdly these few days. Wanna tell me about it?” Sehun yawned, turning on the bedside lamp to peer at Baekhyun worriedly.

Baekhyun shook his head. “No, I think it must be the coffee that I drank. The caffeine really keeps me up at night,” he laughed, but it sounded hollow even to his own ears. “You know how I’m like whenever I drink coffee.”

Sehun frowned, clearly unconvinced. “Okay then,” he sighed. “I’ll go light up some lavender candles. They help with insomnia.”

Baekhyun felt guilty for thinking of someone else when he was with Sehun.

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun mumbled softly, wondering how he was supposed to reconcile his conflicting emotions.

He really didn’t deserve Oh Sehun.

--

The next day, Baekhyun felt strangely better. The lavender candles really worked, and for the first time in days, he was able to sleep soundly without a single care in the entire world. However, that sense of calm and serenity didn’t last very long. Baekhyun’s phone had lit up with a text message, and his heart suddenly went into overdrive when he realized who it was from. With shaking fingers, he held up his phone and read the text.

Chanyeol: Can we meet? 8pm tonight, at our usual spot. I won’t leave until you show up. I really need you to hear what I have to say.

Baekhyun glanced at the time on his phone. 7.12pm. His eyes then darted over to Sehun, who was lounging on the couch and watching Youtube videos on his Macbook. Sehun had made a dinner reservation for them at Baekhyun’s favourite Japanese restaurant, and they were planning to leave the house at 7.30pm.

What was he supposed to do now?

“Sehun,” Baekhyun began unsurely. “I know this is really sudden, and I am so sorry, but can we call off dinner tonight? I just received a text message from Jongdae, and he says that he needs my help with an emergency. I don’t know what it is, but he sounded really urgent and desperate, so I think I’m gonna go check on him.”

Baekhyun felt guilty for lying, but he knew that Sehun would never agree to let him go if he knew that he was actually meeting up with Chanyeol. He understood how strongly Sehun felt against Chanyeol, and even though Baekhyun knew that he really shouldn’t be meeting with Chanyeol, the irrational side of him had already won over. Despite the revelation of the truth at the party, Baekhyun still felt like there were unresolved issues and unfinished business between the two of them. There was something inherently incomplete about the closure that he had been hoping to receive, and he realized that he really needed to speak with Chanyeol.

It was time to wrap things up cleanly between the two of them.

Sehun was silent for a few moments, as if he was in deep contemplation about something.

“No. Don’t go.”

His serious tone caught Baekhyun off-guard. He turned around to face Baekhyun fully, his gaze dark and solemn.

“Jongdae is my friend. I can’t just leave him in the lurch when he needs my help, right?” Baekhyun tried again, his tone pleading.

“Okay. I’ll go with you then,” Sehun said, standing up from the couch to collect his car keys from the dining table. “After we check out what’s wrong with him we can go grab dinner. Like we originally planned.”

“No!” Baekhyun was unable to stop himself from letting out a startled objection. Sehun raised a questioning brow at him, and Baekhyun quickly continued. “You don’t need to come with me.  He uh… he told me to go alone. Said it was something private that he didn’t want anyone else to know.”

Sehun sighed heavily and walked over towards Baekhyun, a sad look in his eyes. He placed his hands on Baekhyun’s shoulders and stared at him pleadingly. “Don’t go.”

“I’m sorry, Sehun. I have to,” Baekhyun replied apologetically, pressing a chaste kiss on Sehun’s cheek. “I promise to make it up to you. Dinner is on me tomorrow!”

Sehun watched as Baekhyun rushed out of the door, and he leaned weakly against the wall, feeling all of his energy drained from him.

“Byun Baekhyun, you are a terrible liar,” he chuckled bitterly, running his hands through his hair in exasperation. “Jongdae is not even in Korea right now.”

Sehun knew exactly who Baekhyun was rushing off to, and he wondered why he had not tried harder to stop him.

--

When Baekhyun arrived at the park, Chanyeol was already there, seated on a bench with his shoulders hunched over. The streetlamp above him illuminated his lonely figure, and Baekhyun slowly approached him, regretting every single step.

Maybe he shouldn’t have come.

Chanyeol looked up as he heard footsteps approaching, and his eyes lit up when he realized that it was Baekhyun. “You came,” he exclaimed in awe.

Baekhyun was shocked by the sight that greeted him. Chanyeol’s face was pale and hollow, the purple bags under his eyes making him look like he hadn’t slept in days. He was dressed in a black hoodie and track pants—clothes that Baekhyun knew he normally liked to wear as pajamas. His normally smooth and healthy hair now looked matted and untamable, and it was obvious that Chanyeol had lost quite a bit of weight. All in all, Park Chanyeol looked like a terrible mess, and Baekhyun had to agree with how Park Hyunwoong described his son the other day.

A living zombie.

It was incredibly painful to see Chanyeol in such a state, and he felt a wave of guilt assault his senses, even though he knew that Park Chanyeol deserved this.

Chanyeol felt hot tears well up in his eyes, and his hands began to tremble as he fought the urge to reach out and caress Baekhyun’s face. He had missed Baekhyun so ing much, and the sight of him was like a gentle salve that soothed his aching, blistering heart.

Baekhyun always felt like home.

A home that he can now never return to.

“You look terrible,” Baekhyun stated, breaking the silence.

“I am aware,” Chanyeol cracked a weak smile. “How have you been?”

“I’m good,” Baekhyun replied, rubbing his neck awkwardly. He could not bear to look Chanyeol in the eye, afraid that it would break his composure. Chanyeol always elicited strong emotions within him—emot