{Chapter 1 – Someone New}

It was another early morning of Busan. The light filtered in through half shut blinds, the yellow beams capturing little specks of dusts and creating mini disco balls out of them. The wardrobe door half opened, clothes messily spilling out if it. Empty cups with coffee stains were dotted around the room as if put in the room for a purpose but there was no purpose to it – just simple disorganisation bleached with laziness. There was nothing new. Baekhyun groaned as he realised that he had woke up. Another day. He sighed, his messy, tangled hair fell into his eyes as it did every morning but he made no attempt to correct it or push it back. His shirt had ridden up on the left side of his body exposing the thinnest of waists and most sculpted of chests and most defined abs. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t proud of his body. Reaching his hand up to his face, he rubbed his eyes roughly desperately trying to remove some of the sleep that had gathered there overnight. Baekhyun sighed one more time before sitting up, the colour of the walls (a dull grey colour) reflected his mood entirely. No way was he ready for the day.

After probably the worst shower in existence (the boiler wouldn’t work resulting in freezing cold water, he accidentally cut his chin shaving, he almost poured half a bottle of shampoo in his eye, used shaving cream as toothpaste, must have slipped at least several times) Baekhyun had managed to get himself dressed in his usual couture; black skinny jeans, thin white shirt, either black boots or dress shoes and his good old daily swipe of eyeliner. This look was also usually accompanied with either a black leather jacket or a blazer – depending on his schedule of course.

At the exact time of seven o’clock in the morning, Baekhyun stepped one foot into his favourite coffee shop – A Helping Hand. The best thing about going to a coffee shop pretty much unknown by tourists, it was always pretty much quiet and calm. As well serving possibly the best coffee in the whole of South Korea (Baekhyun had done his research) it also doubled up as a bookstore in which all of the books purchased, seventy five percent of the money would be donated to charity, thus the name ‘A Helping Hand’. And being such a soft bastard that Baekhyun was, he always made sure to buy a book every time he visited which was every day at most. By this point, the staff were already accustomed with his daily routine and welcomed him every morning – especially Xiao Luhan.

“Ah morning Baek! The usual I presume?” A man no shorter than Baekhyun smiled, sleep evident in his lips and the way how his eyes drooped lazily. His apron was slung messily around his neck, the dark green a great contrast between the expanses of his snow white skin. His hair, alike to Baekhyun’s, was swept casually over the eyelashes of his left eye, the soft brown matching with his honey eyes – it was a comforting appearance. This was Luhan. The barista who had made quite the friend with the regular customer. Luhan was stood behind a wooden counter, coffee machines and bean crushers all buzzing behind him. Milks and syrups were on visible display against a wall, labels identifying each one. Baekhyun let out a small smile, his eyes suddenly focussing towards the male. “That would be delightful Lu, mind bringing it over to me?” Luhan revealed another smile due to his nickname, the little boy inside of him excited and loved. “Of course I will, just take your seat and I’ll be over in two.” Before Baekhyun could even muster a thank you, Luhan had already began the process of making his regular – a black coffee, no milk nor sugar. Although some people would argue that a black coffee was bitter, it seemed to soothe Baekhyun’s taste buds and set the fire in the back of his throat cold and dead. With this, he moved to his usual seat; a booth at the very back of the shop tucked in one of the corners. It was quiet, discreet, private and relaxing. Just how he liked it.

Whilst Baekhyun was waiting for his soul cleanser, a boy no older than himself, tumbled into the shop, hair dishevelled and clothes creased. His long legs getting tangled which resulted in him falling over himself and onto the rough flooring. A thump came after. Baekhyun winced witnessing the events unfold, feeling his own body in pain as if it was him that smacked face first onto marble flooring. Being the only customer in the shop at the god awful time of seven am, Baekhyun felt that it was his duty to rush over and help the male. So he did.

He stood up immediately without a thought of resistance in his mind, his chair scraping back in the process which triggered a deafening sound. His shoes making squeaking against the floor but he didn’t mind. The unknown male was still on the floor by the time Baekhyun got to him, he was clutching the back of his head whilst letting out a rainbow of profanities, some even Baekhyun wasn’t aware which existed in the Korean language. Kneeling down beside the writhing male, Baekhyun rested his hand on the male’s forehead. “Are you okay?” The boy ceased all movement, his eyes opening then widening all at once. He opened his mouth to speak but it just looked vaguely like a fish blubbing away. They both held eye contact for a while, just exploring each other’s eyes for a while, trying to find something. It was Baekhyun that spoke again first. “Can’t talk huh?” The fallen male shook his head, still managing to keep that gormless look painted on his face. Baekhyun giggled and smiled, however it still didn’t quite reach his eyes. When did it ever? Looking up then back down, he rose to his feet, his hand outstretched downwards for the boy to take. Without hesitation, said boy took his hand and as soon as the contact was made, both males felt something. It ran down their veins in sparkling fizzes and left a sizzling sensation down their spines, a feeling they had both yearned for since the beginning. Baekhyun hoisted him up, careful not to cause anymore injuries. “You had quite the fall then, I’m even shocked that you managed to do it. Are you okay?” The male, now considerably taller than Baekhyun, chuckled and spoke back in possibly the deepest voice the smaller had ever heard in his life. “I’m just clumsy. But no seriously, I’m okay, thank you so much for helping. That floor really hurts like a .” He laughed softly again, his eyes creasing into little crescent moons. His voice turned Baekhyun’s blood hot on fire, the hair on his skin raising. He just couldn’t stop another small smile from appearing on his face. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. Want to sit down with me for a coffee? I just ordered but I’m sure Luhan wouldn’t mind making another one – it’s on me. It’s the least I can do for you especially seeing as there is a nice red mark on your forehead.” Tall male groaned at the mention of his glistening red forehead. “Are you sure? I don’t want you spending your money on me, I mean- I’m nobody, I could just be a murderer for all you know!” Baekhyun knew he was joking but something about the male saying the word murderer made him slightly tense up, a nervous chuckle leaving his lips. “A-ah, there’s always that possibility of someone being a murderer right?” He composed himself before continuing, tall boy already laughing at said statement. “But it’s fine, seriously. I don’t mind spending my money on a cute, tall stranger.” Baekhyun winked leaving the other male flushed and slightly took back at the compliment. Baekhyun walked back over to the counter, his arm propped up on the wood. “Luhan, make that two of my regulars please!” He shouted behind all of the machinery, the sound of whizzing and popping almost deafening him. “Sure, I’ll bring it right over!” Tall boy stood aghast near the entrance, watching the smaller boy order in such a casual manner that it felt almost unnatural to be there. “Well are you coming?” Baekhyun shouted across to the boy before making his way back to his booth, one steaming cup of coffee already there and waiting. Long limbs soon battled across the shop before slumping down opposite Baekhyun.

“So tall boy, what’s your name?” Baekhyun sipped at his coffee as if asking a hot stranger what his name was, was the most casual thing in the world. “I’m not that tall! The name’s Chanyeol. And what is your name, short cutie?” Baekhyun was sure he almost gagged at the word cutie yet made no attempt to stop his oncoming blush. “You are! You’re what just over six foot? And I’m also not that short.” He frowned before continuing again. “But my name’s Baekhyun.” Chanyeol smiled and blew air onto his coffee, a desperate attempt of trying to cool it down. “At least now I have a name to the cute boy who helped me when I stupidly fell over in a coffee shop. How romantic of us.” They both simultaneously laughed, their voices somehow creating a perfect harmony. It fell silent. And silence wasn’t something that Chanyeol was accustomed with. He was a boy of laughter, of humour, of noise. Sitting in such a silence as this made him nervous and uncomfortable, so in the depths of his mind, he mustered up a sentence. “So, I take it you’re a regular?” Baekhyun swallowed the coffee, the warmth making him relax and more alert. Chanyeol enjoyed seeing how Baekhyun swallowed the liquid, the way how his lips seemed to envelope around the cup sent his mind into an overdrive. Baekhyun began to speak. “I am. I come in here every day at seven am with my usual order of black coffee, no milk nor sugar. Luhan, the barista, is now a good friend of mine because of my consistency and our regular chats. He’s a good man.” Chanyeol nodded and picked up his cup. Unaware to Baekhyun, Chanyeol was one of the few that disliked coffee – especially black coffee. Nonetheless, being the polite, well-mannered citizen that he was (also the fact that he took a great interest in the smaller male not to mention), he took a swig of the liquid, the coffee singeing his taste buds raw, the bitterness seeping into his tongue leaving his face a mixture of a disgust and pure delight. Baekhyun didn’t let this go unnoticed but thought he’d see how long Chanyeol could go with his little act of ‘coffee loving’. “Well, seeing as I’m a regular, I haven’t seen you before.” He cocked an eyebrow before taking another sip of his drug. Still trying to compose himself, Chanyeol spoke deeply. “I actually just moved into my new apartment a month or two ago actually, I couldn’t sleep this morning so I went out for a walk at six then came across this beauty.” Baekhyun stopped. “Apartment?” There was only two apartment blocks in this part of Busan, and only one of said two would accommodate Chanyeol (the other only letting celebrities and other people with a lot of money stay, and by the looks of Chanyeol, he didn’t have that kind of money). “Yeah, Yellow Block Apartments, they’re about three minutes away from here. Do you know it?” Baekhyun had never told anyone where he lived, even Luhan or Junmyeon didn’t know. But there was something so comforting and calm about Chanyeol that made Baekhyun want to tell him everything and anything. “Yellow Block? I live there too actually. Thirty-six-B I believe.” Chanyeol’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, his eyes brighter than a lit candle. “I live at twenty-nine-b!” Baekhyun knew he wanted to see that same expression on Chanyeol’s face every day of the week, just like how a child wanted to live every day as a Christmas.

It was safe to say, that after that, conversations flowed freely, both in the comfort of each other. Both spoke with much admiration and compassion for the things they disliked and enjoyed. It got to the point that when both males started laughing like hyenas, their eyes watering and their stomach’s aching, that Luhan had to come over and ask them calm down for they were creating quite the distraction for other customers in the premises. Immediately, Chanyeol and Baekhyun quietened down yet still the feeling of euphoria and happiness left their insides alive and blood golden.

It was only when it got to eleven am that their conversation soon came to a standstill. Both of them already content of the progress of friendship they had both acquired within four hours. In that time, Baekhyun had already discovered that Chanyeol was the same age as him (twenty two) except Baekhyun was just an exact month older than him. That Chanyeol was a child of two but his sister no longer was in contact with him as well as his mother (Baekhyun only heard that his mother left him when he was younger and his sister soon left after that). He had graduated University himself with a degree in engineering as well as a certificate in completing a full semester of art courses. His favourite colour was black, favourite number was twenty one, favourite film was School of Rock, favourite food was Galbi and Tonkatsu, favourite music was hip hop and rap, favourite this and favourite that. Baekhyun was sure that he knew almost all the key factors of Chanyeol’s life and even the stupid minor details. He wouldn’t want it any other way.

“So I guess this is it huh?” The two had made it outside now, the cold air snapping their hands closed shut out of fear for frostbite. Chanyeol sent an incredulous look to Baekhyun, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Don’t say it like that Baek, we’ll see each other again, especially after being so close next to each other in our living quarters.” He sent a wink to the shorter male, his tongue lightly grazing his lips. Baekhyun saw. And he wished he didn’t. He gulped and looked down, his eyes shut closed tight before whipping his head up and flashing a smile. “Well, when you put it like that.” A blush settled on his cheeks again. Chanyeol also saw. And he wished he didn’t. To hide his own oncoming flush, he decided the next big move would be to poke fun at Baekhyun. Smart move. “You’re blushing! How adorable is that, aren’t you just a cutie?” Chanyeol poked at Baekhyun’s cheek, the heat only rising more to the surface of his face. “Yah, yah, stop it off.” Baekhyun brushed his hand against the other’s hand, another sensational feeling flooding his entire body, and yet each time it happened, he craved it more and more each time. Both stopped. “Come round to mine later Baek, you know what room I’m in. We’ll watch a film or something.” Chanyeol stuttered nervously, his palms now heated with the previous electricity. Baekhyun found it adorable. “That would be nice, I’ll see you later I guess?” He looked up to see the younger looking down him with soft eyes. And just as if they had known each other for years and years, the both collided in a hug. Not just a ‘bro’ hug, no this was something more, something much more personal and worthwhile. It seemed to be that Baekhyun’s thin frame just connected with Chanyeol’s sharply cut shoulders and that his chin seemed to rest comfortably in the dip between the neck and collarbone. Simultaneously they both breathed in each other’s scent. Baekhyun smelt like smoke and caramel and all things dark, a mix that sent Chanyeol’s senses into overdrive, leaving him craving more and more. Chanyeol smelt of coconuts and fresh fruits, a smell so thick and delicate that it seemed to resonate in Baekhyun’s blood stream and stain the insides of his nose. They both wanted more. They craved it. And just like that the two separated, one going left, the other going right. But before Baekhyun got too far, he shouted across the walkway to Chanyeol. “You know, next time, you don’t have to drink black coffee, I know you don’t like.” And with that, Baekhyun sent a wink and turned back around. This time adding a little more of a sway in his hips for he knew that his eyes were watching.