XXI

It was the sunset when Chanyeol and Baekhyun arrived to the cabin. Baekhyun got out of the car before Chanyeol had even turned off the engine, and took a deep breath, the smell of the forest and snow filling his nose and bringing him instant calmness. The cabin was tiny, but looked cozy even from the outside.

Baekhyun walked up the small stairs and fished the key out of his pocket to open the door while Chanyeol got their bags out of the car’s trunk. The inside of the cabin was very clean and neat. Facing the fireplace there was a dark red soft rug, with a vintage couch in front. A tiny dining table with two chairs was placed besides the kitchen, all in the same room. In the back there was a glass door leading to a small patio.

“It’s adorable,” he heard Chanyeol’s voice behind him. Baekhyun moved away from the entrance so Chanyeol could bring their luggage inside.

“It is,” Baekhyun smiled. He walked across the room and opened the glass door to look outside. Chanyeol followed him. They enjoyed the view of the forest covered in white for a few minutes.

“Let’s check out the bedroom!” Baekhyun said suddenly. They went upstairs and opened the first door they found. “Oh, no,” the omega said after they turned the lights on.

The room was as nice as floor below, the problem was that there were two individual beds instead of one. “Damn,” Chanyeol said. “They must have made a mistake. Let me give them a call and see if they can do anything."

*

The other cabins in the area were full, so Baekhyun and Chanyeol had to stay with the two beds in the end. Baekhyun assured Chanyeol he didn’t mind, that the place was very beautiful anyways.

Baekhyun had decided to take a break from work, his family, Chanyeol’s family, and everyone. He had been too overwhelmed with his pregnancy, the promotion, Chanyeol himself- his life had taken a few drastic turns in the past months. Not ever a year had passed since he knew his alpha (their anniversary was in May, and it was now mid-January). He wanted to put his thoughts in order and spend as much time with Chanyeol as he could before the baby came.

He had hated to disappoint Suho by using his first month as manager to take a vacation, but since he had never taken one before, the alpha hadn’t been too mad about it.

“I found cocoa mix!” Chanyeol said. Baekhyun, who had been relaxing on the couch looking at the fireplace, looked towards the kitchen. “Do you want some? There are marshmallows too!”

“Yes, please.”

After their cups were done they dimmed the lights to appreciate the light of the fire and sat together in the couch. 

 “I love the sound of the fire,” Baekhyun said after a relaxed sigh. “I can’t believe I hadn’t been on a vacation in so long... It’s been like five years.”

“I can’t believe it either,” Chanyeol said after taking a sip of his cup. “I mean, not even a weekend to the beach in the summer?”

Baekhyun shrugged. “My dad was always very busy with the company so we never went on many trips when I was younger. It’s just something I don’t think about, I suppose. Last trip I took was to the forest, to hunt, because the guys at college invited me.”

“Were those by any chance the alphas you wanted to go out with that other time?”

“Yes. And no, none of them ever said or did anything to make me uncomfortable.”

“Was your father seriously fine with leaving you alone with alphas?” Chanyeol asked a little skeptically. “I mean, I can’t be the only one thinking that was dangerous, can I?”

Baekhyun chuckled. “I don’t know. I never told him,” he clarified with his signature mischievous smirk.

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol said reproachfully.

“They were nice guys! Two of them were mated already, and the other one was always my date to parties. Not romantic date, he just went with me so he could stand beside me threateningly and discourage any flirting.”

Chanyeol sighed. “It’s lucky you found people who were so nice. People weren’t that nice at my college.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve never told you this because I didn’t want you to think less of me but...” Chanyeol started, hesitantly, his eyes on the fireplace. “When I was a member of the basketball team the guys had... A pretty disturbing tradition.”

Baekhyun looked at him curiously.

“There were only like six or ten new omega freshmen every year. So they chose the cutest one and then invited them to a party. And it was always short notice, so there was a higher chance of them falling for it. But they didn’t invite anyone else. They started being very nice and telling them they were early and then offer them a spiked drink-”

“Oh, my God, I don’t know if want to hear this story,” Baekhyun whispered.

“It was never more than making out.” Chanyeol murmured. “And sometimes they took pictures.”

“That’s disgusting,” Baekhyun declared. “You... you were part of that?”

Chanyeol shook his head. “But I never did anything to stop it, either. I still regret I didn’t.”

Baekhyun bit his lip. “I don’t know what to say.”

“They were toxic people, so I left the team eventually.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”