Chapter 2

***

Name: Oh Sehun

Age: 17 years

Occupation: Student

Likes: Hugs, bubble tea

Dislikes: Being alone

Marital status: Single as

“Mr Byun, here are the papers you asked for.”

Baekhyun looks up from his work and thanks his secretary, Bae Joohyun. She had started working for him the last three months but he’s already taken a liking to her. For his position, Baekhyun didn’t really need a secretary but since he was offered one, he wasn’t going to refuse. She’s cute and hardworking, knowing where to establish the line between Baekhyun’s friendliness and his authority. He had to admit that when he was first introduced to her, he was apprehensive about whether he would be able to get along with her since she seemed very introverted. However, as the weeks went by, he came to understand her boundaries and how to approach her. Sometimes he even saw, who he assumed was, her boyfriend coming into the building to take her out for lunch during her breaks, or sometimes even bringing her a boxed lunch.

“Um, I’ll be out for a bit for my break so if you need to contact me, please do so through my phone,” she adds. Baekhyun grins as he takes the papers from her.

“Another date?” he asks. Joohyun repsonds with an unamused smile before turning away to leave his office to return to her desk.

Baekhyun chuckles in amusement as she walks away from him. He knows his playful personality doesn’t fit with everyone, but at some point, everyone eventually breaks and they get used to him. Looking at all the work on his desk, he mentally calculates how long and what time he will finish it if he went out to grab something to eat as well. Determining that he’ll have enough time to finish all the work on time, he stands and is about to grab his coat when Joohyun pops her head through the door, coat slung over her arm.

“There’s Mr Kim Junmyeon here for you, Mr Byun,” she announces before letting Junmyeon in. Baekhyun stares blankly at the man in front of him, a little crushed that he can’t go out to grab something to eat. That is, Junmyeon holds up a plastic bag to show Baekhyun.

“Got you some food,” he says and Baekhyun’s face immediately lights up. He looks past his friend and waves at Joohyun as she turns away to leave. She returns him a wave of her own, a small smile on her face before she joins her boyfriend who is waiting at her desk.

Junmyeon glances back before turning his attention back to Baekhyun. “Jealous?” he asks. Baekhyun sits back down in his chair and raises an eyebrow.

“Of?”

“The cute, young romance you’ve yet to get a taste of.”

Baekhyun scoffs and takes the plastic bag from Junmyeon and opens it, revealing a few take away boxes filled with different dishes. Moving his work out of the way to create space, Baekhyun sets out the boxes and hands Junmyeon some utensils before digging in.

“So, what did you come here for?”

“Need you to sign these off before they can be handed in,” Junmyeon says as he passes Baekhyun a few pages stapled together. Baekhyun takes it from him and stares at the first page. Oh. Right.

“Uh, hyung, are you sure you want to send him here?”

“Oh yes, of course. It’s rare for a person in your position to even go anywhere near the consideration of accepting students for work experience. It’s great, honestly. And I know that you’ll take good care of my dear brother, so I’m completely fine with it,” Junmyeon answers, a smile on his face. Baekhyun lets out a shaky laugh and reaches to grab a pen.

“Actually, Sehun really admires you too. He never stops talking about you, always asking if you’ll be invited to certain parties. It’s not often he warms up so much to someone,” Junmyeon adds, “Sehun really likes you.”

Baekhyun’s hand freezes before he can even place it on the paper to sign. “I’m just the amazing older figure that he’s never had. You know, someone actually cool and not lame,” Baekhyun laughs it off. Junmyeon joins in with his own heart laugh, completely unaware of Baekhyun’s inner turmoil. Handing back the paper with his signature on it, Baekhyun suddenly feels like he’d just agreed to sign his soul away to the devil.

“I don’t think work experience is until next month or so, though,” says Junmyeon as he checks the papers. “Yeah, it’s not till another three months’ time. It’s right after their midterms. What is the school thinking?” Junmyeon frowns. Baekhyun hums in agreement, playing around with his food absentmindedly.

“Do you know what you’ll be getting Sehun to do when he’s here?” Junmyeon asks. Baekhyun shrugs. “Haven’t really though much about it yet. I’ve got three months to think about it.”

They’re able to catch up a little bit before Junmyeon says that he should return to his office, having used up his break time to stop by. Baekhyun nods and stands up to show Junmyeon out the door, not forgetting to thank him for the food he brought.

“By the way, do you have time on the Saturday two weeks from now? That’s when my parents are holding their anniversary party,” Junmyeon says when they reach the door. Baekhyun glances over at Joohyun, who had just returned and in the process of putting her stuff away. She glances over at his calendar and nods. “If you’re going at the rate you’re going, then you’ll be fine,” she tells him.

Baekhyun then looks at Junmyeon and nods. “Seems like I can. Is it held at your place?” he asks. Junmyeon nods.

“And formal wear. I’ll message you any extra details later, if any pop up. But you just need to bring yourself on the day… unless you have a date?” he asks, wriggling his eyebrows.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes and shoves Junmyeon out the door. “Bye, hyung. Please show yourself out of the building,” Baekhyun chuckles, waving goodbye. Junmyeon smiles and leaves towards the elevator.

Once he’s disappeared, Baekhyun lets out a sigh and leans against the doorframe. He turns his head to Joohyun, who is looking at him with an expectant look on her face.

“Should I have made something up…?” she asks. Baekhyun shakes his head. “No, it’s fine, Joohyun. Thanks,” he replies before retuning inside his office. He can deal with all this. He’s an adult. He’s mature enough to deal with this.

***

As it turns out, being an adult is absolutely meaningless and is of no help in how he plans to deal with what’s being thrown at him. Somehow, he’d gotten home and found Sehun waiting outside his apartment building by the stairs.

“Sehun?” he calls out in surprise, “What are you doing out here? It’s freezing!”

The boy looks up when he hears his name being called. He stands up and looks at the older male sheepishly.

“Well, you see…” he begins to explain, but Baekhyun stops him and pulls him into the building.

“Explain later. For now, let’s just get you inside and warmed up. School uniforms are hardly ever warm enough.”

They head into the building, Baekhyun leads them into the elevator and they make their way up to his floor. Baekhyun’s arm around Sehun, his hand rubbing up and down his arm in an attempt to warm him up. Sehun takes the opportunity given to him and leans in closer to the older. Baekhyun doesn’t think twice about shifting his body to pull him closer and wrap his arms around the boy.

“Does your brother or your parents know you’re here?” he asks once they reach his floor. Sehun shrugs and trails behind Baekhyun. Punching in his security code, Baekhyun opens the door and ushers Sehun inside immediately. “Well, I should probably give Junmyeon hyung a call then,” he says to himself as he takes off his coat and places it over the arm of the couch. He then reaches into his pocket for his phone.

Sehun remains quiet and walks over to the couch, eyes following Baekhyun as he paces around.

“Hey, hyung. No, everything’s fine, I think. Just called to let you know that Sehun’s at my place,” there’s a pause as Baekhyun listens to the response, “Uh, I’m not sure. I just came home from work.”

Baekhyun enters his room and grabs some clean clothes from his closet. He grabs a long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie, and a pair of sweatpants. Most of his clothes are about five sizes too big for his body anyway, so it should fit Sehun fine.

“It’s all good, hyung. I’ve got him in my apartment right now,” Baekhyun walks out and hands Sehun his clothes, who nods in thanks before standing up to walk to the bathroom to change.

“You want to come over and get him?” Baekhyun repeats. He stares at Sehun as he walks past him, who grimacing slightly when he hears. Baekhyun takes a deep breath and answers, “You know what? It’s a weekend tomorrow anyway. Why not let him stay over? Let him relax a little from all the studying.”

There’s a pause in Sehun’s step that doesn’t go unnoticed before he quickly moves on his way towards the bathroom. Once the door closes, Baekhyun lets out a sigh and runs his hand through his hair. Walking towards his kitchen, he leans against the counter and speaks in a lower voice, just in case Sehun hears.

“Is everything alright, hyung?” he asks. Baekhyun shuffles around his kitchen and decides to boil some water so he turns on the kettle.

“No, he was literally waiting outside my building, sitting on the stairs. He hasn’t told you anything? Oh… I’m sure he just doesn’t want to bother anyone. Yeah, well, we’ve all been through that. It’s a tough time to go through, the awkward stage between adolescence and adulthood.”

“Alright, I’ll take him in for the night. Don’t worry about it, hyung. Yes, I’ve got spares of whatever that’s needed. No worries. Bye, hyung.”

When he ends the call, Sehun speaks up from behind him.

“So, what did he say?”

Baekhyun whirls around and flashes Sehun a smile to reassure him. “You can stay here tonight, if you want,” he says. “Hand me two glasses.” Sehun nods and grabs them before walking over to Baekhyun and placing it beside him.

“I’m glad the clothes fit you so well. Finally, there is reasoning behind my purchasing of oversized clothes,” Baekhyun adds. Sehun watches in silence as Baekhyun pours some water into the glasses from the usual jug before pouring some of the boiling water in.

“I figured it’d be better to have something warm water instead, since you were outside for god knows how long,” Baekhyun mutters, placing a cup in front of Sehun.

“Don’t people usually offer tea or coffee?” Sehun mutters and wraps his hands around the cup.

“Yeah, but do you like drinking tea or coffee?” Baekhyun raises an eyebrow. Sehun presses his lips together and grimaces. “Thought so,” Baekhyun says with a chuckle.

They both stand in the kitchen for a while in silence. Sehun fidgets in his spot, playing with the cup in his hand. Baekhyun watches move the empty cup around in his hand before he reaches out and places them down on the counter before he accidently drops it.

“Are you hungry?” he asks. He walks over to the fridge and opens it.

“Kind of.”

“Well, I’ve got nothing. You want to order take out? Or you want to go out?” Baekhyun asks as he shuts the fridge again.

After living alone for so long and coming home late from work for so many years lead to him to lead a life of eating out at restaurants or ordering take out. It was much more convenient and he didn’t have to worry about washing up. That’s not to say that he doesn’t know how to cook up a killer dinner, though.

“I’m fine with anything,” Sehun answers. Baekhyun nods and plucks a pamphlet from his fridge and grabs his phone. Baekhyun rests the front of his body against the kitchen counter this time as he orders some take out. With a hand holding his phone up to his ear, the other hand rests on the edge of the counter. Sehun begins to shuffle closer to the older, carefully, as if not to spook him.

“Good evening, how are you? I’m good, thank you. Yes, it’s me! Glad you can recognise me,” Baekhyun laughs, “I don’t know if that’s a good thing on my part, though.”

From the corner of his eye, Baekhyun sees Sehun’s movements and senses him coming closer. Immediately, he moves away and walks over to the living room and plops himself on the couch. He pretends not to notice how Sehun stills in his steps and shoves his hands into the pocket of his sweatpants.

“Yes, I’ll get what I usually get, but could you add another bowl of jajangmyeon and maybe half a serving of fried chicken?” Baekhyun asks as he glances over at Sehun, who nods at the order. “Yes, same address. Ok, thank you very much.”

Baekhyun ends the call and says that their food should arrive in about 15 to 20 minutes, since the place isn’t too far from his apartment. Sehun nods and silently makes his way over to the couch and sits down. The couch is a 3-seater, and both males occupy both ends, leaving one spot in the middle.

There’s not time for Baekhyun to try and break the silence because Sehun turns his body and lays himself across the couch, his head resting on Baekhyun’s lap.

“Sehun… what are you doing?” Baekhyun asks, his body completely still, now completely aware of the weight and warmth of Sehun’s head.

“Resting,” Sehun replies simply. He rests his hands on his stomach and closes his eyes, ready to drift off for a little nap.

“I never agreed to be your pillow, kid,” Baekhyun mutters, but he doesn’t have the heart to push him off when he looks down at the boy’s relaxed features. He’d known Sehun since his awkward, rebellious, and confused teenage phase, and it’s rare for him to see Sehun looking so relaxed.

Baekhyun always makes it a point to remind him, the way his eyebrows tend to furrow a little. He doesn’t mean to, but it seems to be a habit, which is why Sehun tends to look a little cold to others. That, paired with his height and very good looks, it’s no wonder why some people might find him intimidating.

Heaving a sigh, Baekhyun rests his hand on Sehun’s forehead and brushes his hair out of his face. He knows that Sehun is a good kid and he always means well. He’s one of the most loyal people that Baekhyun’s ever met, and would at times surprise him with how remarkably mature he is for someone his age.

Which is why Baekhyun feels like a complete every time he and Sehun cross paths. There is only so much he can brush off as a phase before he knows Sehun will snap. Because he’s been there before. He knows what it’s like to have your feelings unrequited and doubted.

Looking down at the boy now sleeping, relaxed and free from the stress of assessments, Baekhyun can’t help but wonder. Are Sehun’s feelings really unrequited, though?

***

When their food arrived, Baekhyun felt guilty having to disturb the boy from his sleep when he got up to answer the door. Sehun had let out a soft whine and buried his face into the couch. It took all the resistance in Baekhyun’s body to not coo at the sight.

It took him a few tries to convince Sehun to get off the couch so they could eat their food. He let Sehun come to his sense while he went into his room to change out of his work clothes and into something more comfortable. When he comes out into the living room again, the food had been taken out of their bags and neatly spread across the table. Baekhyun had grinned and walked over, ruffling Sehun’s hair in thanks.

Now, they’re seated in front of the couch, food spread out on the coffee table, Baekhyun and Sehun enjoy their dinner with the TV playing in the background.

“So, would you like to stay here or do you want your brother to come and pick you up?” Baekhyun asks.

Sehun finishes chewing his food before answering, “Here. Please. If that’s alright with you.”

“Of course, it’s alright. But I would like to be enlightened as to why I found you outside my building earlier.”

“It was... just stress with schoolwork. I know it’s probably nothing in comparison to the day to day stress you have to go through at work–”

Baekhyun reaches across the table and presses his finger against Sehun’s lips to quiet him. “Hush, child. Anyone who says that ought to have a attached to their head. Don’t listen to them. It’s what you’re experiencing and you find it a little overwhelming, then I have no problem helping you however I can,” Baekhyun tells him seriously. “Don’t draw comparisons. It’s just a recipe for disaster, understood?” he adds as he leans away and resumes eating.

Sehun nods slowly. He wipes his hands clean after he finishes eating and lets out a big sigh. There wasn’t a particular reason for it. He just felt like it. And glancing over at Baekhyun, he knew that the older understood when he simply grinned in response.

Baekhyun stretches and rests his back against the couch. “You done eating?” he asks Sehun, who nods. “Alright, let’s pack this mess away and get showering.”

Once they’ve put everything away, Baekhyun tells Sehun to go and shower first after he hands Sehun some towels.

“Uh, should I just… wear everything again?” asks Sehun.

“Why? Did you make a mess of yourself whilst eating dinner?” Baekhyun laughs.

“No…”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Well, I was just wondering. About. Uh. Underwear situation.”

Baekhyun pauses what he was doing and raises an eyebrow at Sehun. “Do you want me to give you a fresh pair?” he asks. Sehun doesn’t answer. “Just do whatever you want, kid. You’re old enough to figure it out yourself,” says Baekhyun.

Sehun shrugs and walks into the bathroom without another word, leaving Baekhyun by himself. Waiting for Sehun to get out of the shower, he goes into the spare room he has and sets it up.

At the age that he is, he’s lucky to have such a well-paid job to live a little more luxurious than he’d ever hoped for. After working what seemed like endless hours, he was able to save up and afford his own place, which had two bedrooms, a nice view, was in the good part of the city, and had great neighbours who all minded their own business.

The spare room used to be his work place at home, but years of a bachelor and late nights drinking, he often had friends who would crash at his place. Eventually, he bought a bed to decorate the room, in case of times like this when he had an unexpected visitor.

Once he was done, Sehun announces that he’s done showering and Baekhyun ought to go in. Baekhyun goes into the bathroom and strips, wanting to get in and out of the shower quickly so that Sehun wouldn’t be left alone for too long. He’s rinsing off his body when his eyes spot something hanging on the side of the hamper. Turning off the faucet, Baekhyun steps out of the shower and realises that it’s underwear. Not his.

“Where…?” he mutters. Realisation dawns upon him. Baekhyun heaves a sigh and dries himself off, not wanting to think too much about it. Sehun had decided to go commando. Of course, he would.

Stepping out of the bathroom, now freshly showered, Baekhyun finds Sehun on the couch, flipping through some channels on the television.

“Anything interesting on?” he asks. Sehun shakes his head and turns it off. Baekhyun joins him on the couch and decides it’s time to get a little serious.

“Is it getting too much at school?” he asks. Sehun remains silent and simply shrugs. “If you need some extra help, like needing a tutor or anything, just ask your brother, heck, even me, if you need some help, alright?”

Sehun looks over at Baekhyun this time. “You’re sure it’s not too bothersome? I know I can be quite a handful at times. Especially at the café…”

“Yeah, well. There’s a time and place, as well as a certain level of urgency required to into my break time, kid. But if it’s you, then I’ll be willing to give up my free time, just remember that,” Baekhyun assures him, resting his hand on Sehun’s head, combing his fingers through his hair.

“Thank you,” Sehun says with a small smile.

“No worries, kid. Anything for Junmyeon’s younger brother, right?” Baekhyun smiles. Sehun’s smile drops a little and he nods. “Did you need any help with work? We have time to spare, I can help a bit before we hit the sack.”

They spend the rest of their evening at the dinner table, where Baekhyun helps Sehun with his work. He isn’t sure if it really qualifies as relaxing and taking time off studying, like he’d told Junmyeon, but Sehun seems to be fine with it, so he doesn’t question it. He does point out the irony, though.

“I figured I’d let you stay here to relax and get away from all the studying, but you’re doing the exact opposite,” he says with a grin. Sehun pauses his work and glances up at Baekhyun for a moment before continuing with his equations.

“Well, it’s fine if you’re here, I guess,” Sehun mutters. “It’s not too bad, if it’s here, I mean.”

The grin on Baekhyun’s face falls and he wants to slam his head against the table for being an idiot. He knows he needs to be more careful with his words and actions, but he always lets his guard down when he’s around Sehun. And with every slip, it creates more of a problem for the both of them.

It’s just past midnight when they decide to stop and put everything away. Well, Baekhyun’s the one to stop them. Sehun didn’t seem to mind continuing his work, oddly enough.

“You need your rest. If you want, we can just continue tomorrow, how about that?” Baekhyun tried to persuade him.

Sehun nods and agrees, “Sure, thanks, hyung.” He starts to pack his things up to place back into his bag when Baekhyun stops him.

“Just leave it out on the table. Don’t worry about it. We’re getting back to it tomorrow, anyway,” says Baekhyun with a pat on Sehun’s back. He leads Sehun to the spare room, which now has a decent looking bed with blankets and pillows. “I know you like your pillows to cuddle with, so I gave you my one from my bed.”

“Thanks…”

“No problem, kid. Sleep tight.” Baekhyun bids Sehun goodnight and turns away to head to his own room. Opening up those textbooks were like a mountain hike through his past and he was not completely exhausted. His evening had taken a different turn from what he usually had planned, but he didn’t mind.

After all, he was helping out a friend’s brother.

***

It’s barely 2am when Baekhyun’s bedroom door is carefully opened. Baekhyun is just barely awake when he realises his blanket is lifted up and he feels a body slide into bed next to him.

“What in the world?!” he exclaims, lifting his head up to glare at the culprit. Not that it would be very intimidating, especially when his eyes are still mostly closed.

“It’s too cold, hyung. And the bed isn’t comfortable enough.”

“So, you think you can just come and join me in my bed? With me still in it?” Baekhyun huffs and drops his head back onto his pillow. He’s exhausted and he can barely comprehend what’s going on.

“What are you doing here?” Baekhyun asks.

“I just told you.”

“Told me what exactly?”

“I want to sleep here. With you,” Sehun answers, already making himself comfortable. The bed is definitely big enough for the two of them. It’s queen sized bed, after all. Baekhyun had splurged a little extra on his bedding, especially for something he loved to do so much – sleep.

“You could have just told me, Sehun-ah. You take this bed. I’ll go sleep in the other room, then,” Baekhyun sighs. He’s about to remove the blanket off his body to get out of bed when Sehun’s arm wraps around his torso, preventing him from moving away. “What are you doing, Sehun?”

“I need a bolster,” Sehun mumbles, already starting to drift off to sleep, “Please, just stay.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I even gave you extra pillows. Was there something wrong with the room?” Baekhyun asks. When he doesn’t get a reply, he turns around to find Sehun already asleep, his arm still wrapped around Baekhyun’s body.

Sleep weighs heavily on his eyelids and Baekhyun can feel himself wanting to drift off to sleep again. With the added warmth of Sehun’s body, Baekhyun lets himself fall asleep, despite every logical part of him yelling at him to get out of bed. One night wouldn’t hurt.

“Goodnight, you sneaky little .”

A/N: What's this, an update? Yes, i'm still here. Uni has just been taking up a lot of my time and I haven't had any motivation to continue any of my stories. Worry not, though, I will pick up fom where I left off after my exams are done (which start next week hahaha h ah ah ;__;).

As always, thank you for reading! Until next time,

Much love, aekcso