pairing: BaekChenLay
length: 1180 words
Part Two: Three Years Later

It was well past midnight when they began reminiscing about their old performances as a group, back when the three of them were still promoting on the same stage. How exhilarating it had been to sing and dance together. How entertaining it had been to goof around in between performances. How memorable it had been to hear their names chanted, one after the other, as they gazed upon a sea of shining white lights.

And when it was all finished, how enjoyable it had been to eat dinner together and rejoice over a job well done. How therapeutic it had been to unload any worries and get encouraging feedback from people who truly understood those fears. How comforting it had been to share the best moments of their lives with their best friends.

“I wish we could spend more time together nowadays, but we’re all so busy,” Baekhyun ruefully commented as he gently swirled his wine glass. He watched the dark red liquid splash against the clear glass, like waves against the shore. “When was the last time we had a proper vacation together, the three of us?”

“When was the last time you two had a proper vacation in general?” Jongdae pointed out, noting how his two best friends sported dark circles under their eyes, contrasting greatly against their pale white skin. He knew he didn’t look much better, having had his life change drastically within the last month and dealing with the accompanied stress of the situation, but he wasn’t going to think about that. Not tonight. Tonight was for the boys only.

Yixing was quiet. He couldn’t help but feel that it was somewhat his fault that they rarely saw each other anymore. Even now, since he had a flight to catch the next day, he wouldn’t be able to properly celebrate the holiday season with his group members. There was too much work to be done, work that he had willingly piled onto his plate because of the astronomical goals he had set for himself. But he had forgotten that the others would be moving forward as well, that it wouldn’t necessarily be the same when he came back, and he wondered now if he had taken his group’s presence for granted.

Baekhyun sensed how antsy the other two were becoming and began internally berating himself for causing the mood to drop. “Actually, now that I think about it, it’s good that we’re all busy!” he said, back-pedaling to salvage the mini-celebration. “We’ve all got successful solo careers, I’ve got another group gig to fill the time, and you’re moving onto the next stage in life, Jongdae.”

“Yeah…”

“It’s a great thing, Jongdae,” Yixing softly reassured him. “It’s scary right now, but you’ll make the most of this.”

Jongdae’s eyebrows furrowed as he quickly downed his glass of wine. A deep breath then shuddered through the youngest male’s thin body. “I just… I hope I made the right choice, y’know? I… I don’t want to regret this in the future…” he finally managed to verbalize, his voice low and raspy.

Baekhyun laid a comforting hand on Jongdae’s knee and smiled at him. “Everything will be okay. The choice you made was the right one, because it’s what you believe is best for you.”

“How can you be sure? What if I’m actually making the biggest mistake of my life?” the youngest male pressed.

“You aren’t. Whatever choice you made is the right one,” Baekhyun reiterated. “Yixing and I have complete faith in you, and we’re here to support you in any way that we can,” he then promised. The Chinese male nodded in agreement, his lips turned up in a wide smile.

Jongdae smiled back gratefully and murmured a heartfelt, “Thanks,” to his best friends. He really had gotten lucky by meeting and making connections with such loyal, compassionate companions who never judged him and instead protected him from his own harsh judgment. Without them, he would have endlessly agonized over his future and endlessly berated himself for affecting their futures as well.

“Even if we can’t be on stage together in the near future, that doesn’t mean it won’t ever happen. The opportunity will present itself at the right time,” Baekhyun said, smiling brightly as he threw his arms around the other two males’ shoulders. “And we’ll always be best friends, right?”

Yixing and Jongdae both nodded.

“Great! Then there’s nothing to worry about.” He beamed brightly. “And even though we aren’t physically performing together, we’ll still be there for each other in spirit.” Baekhyun then playfully wiggled his eyebrows as he added, “I fully expect you two to be virtually body-rolling with me during my solo stages.”

Jongdae snorted loudly as he lightly shoved Baekhyun to the side, causing the grinning male to fall against Yixing who was giggling as he shifted to catch the vocalist. “I swear, you are absolutely insufferable,” the youngest male said with a lopsided smile. “Now I’m starting to feel glad that I don’t have anything scheduled for the next few months, since that means I won’t have to deal with you anymore.”

“Aw, you don’t mean that,” Baekhyun said, using his feet to poke Jongdae’s leg. “Best friends forever, remember?”

The youngest male immediately lunged towards Baekhyun and began tickling the other male’s armpits, causing the three friends to fall from the couch onto the carpeted floor. Baekhyun started kicking out but couldn’t aim well since he found himself in a fit of laughter, thanks to Jongdae’s attacks. Yixing, caught in the crossfire, quickly gauged who would be a better ally as he attempted to untangle himself from Baekhyun, who was holding onto the Chinese male for dear life. Once Baekhyun’s grip tightened around him, Yixing began tickling the younger male’s sides as well in an effort to free himself from Baekhyun’s vice-like hold.

Before they knew it, the three of them were a hysterical tangle of limbs as they allowed themselves this rare respite from their hectic lives as idols. No schedules, no worries, no expectations.

Just pure, simple happiness with life-long friends.

Minutes later, the three males were lying on their backs and looking up at the dimly lit ceiling. Soft pants escaped their lips, their chests quickly rising and falling with every short breath they took as the adrenaline gradually faded.

Once he had caught his breath, Baekhyun murmured, “I know it’s cheesy, but should we make a pledge? Just for symbolic purposes, since this is the last time the three of us will be hanging out like this in the foreseeable future?”

Jongdae laughed. “Sure, why not?”

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Yixing agreed.

So the three best friends lifted their fists into the air, their hands touching to form a triangle.

“Even when we’re thousands of miles away from each other, even when we’re busy with other duties and obligations, we’ll always support each other.”

“We’ll keep moving forward in our pursuit of happiness and run straight towards our goals with our heads held up high.”

“And we’ll be together forever, no matter what.”

♈♈♈

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! It’s my fourth anniversary of being an EXO-L, so I’ve finally returned with my annual update! I know I haven't updated for the past few months and you're probably tired of me sounding like a broken record, but I sincerely apologize for not updating sooner. And thank you so much for being patient. I really appreciate it! Like last year around this time, I’ve been going through a lot these past few months because of a big life change. A lot has also happened in the K-Pop world within this time and I honestly didn't have the energy to write, on top of needing to handle my real-life responsibilities. But things should calm down in the next few weeks. And at the very least, there will be the standard triple update for EXO’s eighth anniversary!

Now, to address the elephant in the room: Chen is getting married and becoming a father this year. I know there's a lot of fighting within the fandom, and a lot of horrible things being said and done to him that I do not condone whatsoever. I understand being shocked at the sudden news, especially because it was a lot of information to take in all at once. I know I went through a wild roller coaster of emotions when I read his letter and processed everything. I've made my peace with the news since. Writing this also helped me move forward from everything. At the end of the day, I just want Jongdae to be happy. He's given me so much happiness over the last four years, this past year especially when I finally got to meet him and see him perform multiple times. He is the reason for my happiest moments in 2019 and I'm not going to suddenly erase those precious memories because of a surprise announcement regarding his personal life that I frankly have no involvement in.

I can understand, to a certain degree, some of the reasons that Korean fans have for being upset. Because yes, Chen's reputation with the general public has taken a hit with the premarital pregnancy announcement and it takes A LOT of time, energy, and money to be a dedicated Korean fan. I have friends who aren't K-Pop fans and they know how much I love Jongdae, but they politely expressed that they were disappointed in his actions when the news broke. I, too, personally wished that it weren't a premarital pregnancy, if I'm being completely honest. But it's already happened and it's not my place to judge him. I'm not privy to that part of his life anyway, nor do I want to be. If he believes that this is what he wants, then I support his choice and I hope everything turns out well for him because he deserves to be happy. As for spending so much on him, that is a choice fans make on their own. Yes, it does take a lot of money and time to travel all around the country to attend fan events and all around the continent to attend concerts. Being a Korean fan is a huge financial commitment, especially if you want to see the idols as often as possible. However, Jongdae did not force me to spend my hard-earned money on him. That was a conscious choice I made, because it would benefit both of us. While I understand the amount of effort it takes to be a Korean fan, some of them are spinning it into a false sense of entitlement over his personal life and I do not agree with that at all. And it angers me so much whenever I see Korean fans petitioning for his removal. If Chen gets kicked out of EXO, I will be absolutely heartbroken. It's a scenario I never want to entertain. Jongdae is living his own life and we all should live our own lives as well.

As for this collection, how does this new development affect upcoming stories? I've thought long and hard about this, especially after seeing other authors make decisions on whether or not they'll continue writing about Jongdae. And I have decided that I will continue writing about him, because he is one of my muses and I enjoy it. My stories are only published here on AFF and in English, so the likelihood of him ever reading this collection is virtually nonexistent. I write him as if he's an actor portraying a character I've created, so I don't see any harm in continuing to do so. However, I am still unsure if I should continue writing non-AU stories about him. If you haven't noticed, my non-AU stories are rooted heavily in reality and I do a lot of research to make sure my timelines are accurate to events that have transpired in real life. I recontextualize actions and expressions to fit a shipping narrative, but I understand people might be uncomfortable with that now. So as my readers, if you have any thoughts on how you'd like me to proceed regarding this matter, I'd greatly appreciate hearing your opinion!

Thank you for reading this long A/N! And thank you again for being such amazing readers! I'm so grateful to have you. Anyway, subscribe, comment, and/or upvote if you're enjoying these fun little short stories! See you soon with the next update!