pairing: BaekChen
length: 1614 words
Part Two: Date Two for Two
Part Three: Challenge Accepted
Part Four: The Other Side

“You absolutely cannot skip out on this,” Minseok ordered as he jabbed a finger at Jongdae’s chest. “It took me forever to set this up, so if you miss this, our friendship is over.”

“Isn’t that a little too harsh?” Jongdae asked, raising an eyebrow as he pushed Minseok’s hand away from him.

“Do you know how awkward it was for me to make excuses to three guys that you stood up this last month? Not one, not two, but three?” Minseok fell face-first onto Jongdae’s bed, groaning in irritation.

Jongdae lifted up Minseok’s legs to make space for himself on his bed while rebutting, “Those blind dates were your idea, not mine. All I said was that you could do whatever you wanted. I never said that I would actually meet with them.”

Minseok lifted his head up and angled his neck to shoot a glare at the nonchalant male. “You could at least make it easier for me and just reject them yourselves, you know.”

“Sorry, bud. I have other things to worry about.”

“C’mon, Dae, can’t you just please meet this one guy?” Minseok begged, flipping around and placing his hands on Jongdae’s thigh with a beseeching stare at the younger male. “I promise this is the last one. I won’t set you up on a blind date ever again if you go to this one.”

Jongdae looked down at the baby face of his extremely annoying older cousin, before exhaling noisily and saying, “This better be the last one. I can find my own dates, just so you know.”

“Yeah, sure, that’s why you’ve been single for the past five years,” Minseok pointed out while waving his hand, as if brushing away Jongdae’s seemingly insignificant comment.

“That was by choice!” Jongdae answered indignantly. Ever since he broke up with his ex-boyfriend, he had focused completely on his schooling and becoming an orthodontist. And now, he was preparing to open up his own office after being an associate for two years at another dental office. Jongdae didn’t have time to go out and date, but Minseok misunderstood that the cause of his nonexistent dating life was due to Jongdae’s alleged inability to find good-looking single men. The orthodontist had taken great offence to that when Minseok first brought up the topic of blind dating.

“Whatever. Just make sure you’re not late. This guy is a good friend of mine, so you absolutely cannot ruin this,” Minseok warned as he turned away to snuggle under the covers of Jongdae’s bed.

“Way to keep the pressure off,” Jongdae answered sarcastically. That bed-stealer was going to owe him big-time for this one.

--

Jongdae glanced down at his wristwatch for the umpteenth time this evening. He had gotten to the restaurant ten minutes early, priding himself on punctuality. But now, it had almost been fifteen minutes since the arranged meeting time. Jongdae cursed his older cousin in his mind, fully aware that this could be some sort of trick to get back at the younger male for standing up all of his previous dates. And if it was, Jongdae knew he was going to have to pay his cousin a little visit and rearrange the perfect teeth in that small mouth for the wonderful price of free.

The minutes continued ticking by and just as Jongdae was about to leave the restaurant in a huff of frustration, a dashing young man walked up to the table while apologizing profusely for his tardiness. “You must be Kim Jongdae, correct?”

“Yes, that’s me,” Jongdae answered as he looked over the small, well-dressed young man who was pulling the empty chair back and sitting down at the dinner table. He didn’t want to admit it, but Minseok's friend was very handsome. If all of his previous blind dates were as good-looking as the gentleman sitting across from him, then he probably should’ve gone just to get a glance instead of refusing to show up at all.

“I am so sorry for being late. Traffic was quite terrible on the way here due to several accidents. By the way, my name is Byun Baekhyun.” The attractive man smiled widely as he held out a slender hand.

Jongdae admired how pretty Baekhyun’s fingers were as he warmly shook the other man’s hand. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t waiting that long,” he fibbed after they finished their handshake.

--

“So, how did you meet Minseok?” Baekhyun inquired as he delicately cut through the juicy steak in front of him.

“He’s my cousin,” Jongdae answered, lightly swirling his glass of red wine. “I’ve been stuck with him since we were young. I’m surprised you didn’t know we were related.”

“Oh, I asked him not to tell me anything about you,” Baekhyun clarified in his smooth, velvety voice. “I wanted to get to know you myself instead of having a pre-conceived notion of you before we even met.”

Jongdae’s annoyance from having to wait so long earlier and from being forced on a blind date was slowly vanishing as he talked to Baekhyun. The man was polite, genial, and quite high-class. He was a stark contrast to Minseok, which Jongdae was grateful for. “How did you become friends with Minseok?” the orthodontist asked, curious to know how his kid-like cousin found company in someone as posh as his date.

Baekhyun let out a lilting laugh, which Jongdae thought sounded like music to his ears. He never knew how desperately he wanted to hear that laugh again until that moment. “He was a friend of mine in high school,” Baekhyun explained fondly. “We managed to stay in touch for all of this time, despite the five years I lived in Paris for work-related reasons.”

Well, that somewhat explained why this striking young man was so refined. As Jongdae listened to Baekhyun regale him with tales from his time abroad, he found himself being drawn more and more towards this eye-catching fellow. He hadn’t realized he had hungered for such stimulating human interaction as the two discussed current world events, debated politics, and made fun of the entertainment industry. And it felt so nice to have Baekhyun’s large, beautiful eyes trained solely on Jongdae, who felt himself falling more and more for this fine-looking young male sitting with him. It was like love at first sight.

Jongdae had always been more of a cynic when it came to romance, but being here with Baekhyun was changing him right then and there. He knew there was a unique connection between the two of them, even if it was possible that he was just imagining it all. It was almost too soon when they finished eating the miniature custard tarts they had been served for dessert and the waiter passed by with their check.

“Allow me,” Baekhyun started, reaching for his wallet.

Jongdae quickly swiped away the small black tray before placing his credit card on top. “Please, Baekhyun, let me. You’ve already paid me enough with your stellar company.” He internally cringed at how cheesy that line was. If Minseok heard him say that, Jongdae knew he would never hear the end of it from his teasing older cousin. Before Baekhyun could protest any further, Jongdae waved over the waiter and handed him the tray.

As the two stepped out of the restaurant and headed to the parking lot, Baekhyun said casually, “You know, Minseok had me worried that you might not enjoy my company.”

Jongdae whipped his head around to see the barely discernible smirk on the elegant man’s face. “What did he say?”

“That you were quite unapproachable,” Baekhyun recounted, tapping a slim finger against his sharp chin. “After he said that, I asked him to refrain from speaking about you since it seemed as if I would be getting a twisted representation of you. And I was correct in assuming so.” The two stopped beside Baekhyun’s silver Mercedes Benz AMG S63.

“Minseok, that idiot,” Jongdae muttered under his breath, causing Baekhyun to chuckle in that melodious tone once again.

“Do not worry. It was lovely getting to meet you tonight, Jongdae,” Baekhyun quickly reassured the embarrassed younger male. He flashed Jongdae another dazzling smile, showing off his perfect pearly white teeth. “It would be a pleasure to see you again in the future.”

Jongdae nodded in agreement. “I’m not opposed to that.” He shyly stood off to the side, temporarily star-struck by Baekhyun’s kind words. He waited for the charming man to enter his car, but Baekhyun made no move to step inside his vehicle. Jongdae was confused, since the two of them were just standing in silence in the parking lot now. “Um, are you waiting for anything?”

“Not really.” Jongdae’s gaze was directed to Baekhyun’s mouth as the charismatic gentleman lightly his luscious, pale pink lips.

That small, inconspicuous movement set Jongdae’s heart alight and he placed his hands on Baekhyun’s shoulders, swooping towards him to plant an ardent kiss on those tempting lips. When the kiss finally ended, Jongdae stepped back and looked away in embarrassment. He hadn’t kissed anyone in five years and a series of worrying thoughts entered his mind. Maybe Baekhyun would think he was a creep for being so forward. Maybe he wasn’t a good kisser anymore. Maybe Baekhyun wasn’t even into him and these were just some unrequited feelings on Jongdae’s part. Maybe—

“Cute.” And then Baekhyun softly pecked Jongdae’s cheek before saying, “Call me when you would like to meet again.” He smoothly winked before entering his car and driving away, leaving Jongdae gaping at the disappearing car while clutching the cheek that had been kissed.

“Minseok, you’ve just become my best man.”

♈♈♈