A/N: I wanted to post it tomorrow because I am really tired today and I think I haven't noticed half of the typos I made, but anyway, here it is. Thank you for all the comments, upvotes and bookmarks that you left on this story so far. It makes me really happy to know that someone's actually reading it, and is interested in the story. :)

There isn't actually any interaction between Chanbaek in this chapter, as I was more focused on showing Jongin/Baekhyun and Chanyeol/Jongdae friendships, but on Chanyeol and Baekhyun's personalities in this fic, too. I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway, and I swear there is going to be more interaction between the Chanbaek in the next chapter.

AO3 LINK

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Waking up on Saturday morning is always peaceful for Baekhyun. It’s the only free day he gets in a week and he always spends it in his bed wrapped in blanket, leaving his kingdom only when he’s hungry or needs to use toilet. It’s Baekhyun’s lazy day, and he doesn’t even feel guilty for sleeping thorough it all. Aren’t free days supposed to be like this, anyway? Baekhyun never takes a day off no matter how tired he is, so one lazy day is exactly what he deserves.

So you see, Baekhyun’s Saturdays are lazy and boring, and that’s why he is so surprised when his phone rings at nine in the morning, waking him up too soon for Baekhyun’s liking. The song he has set as his ringtone is actually one of his favorite songs, so Baekhyun doesn’t even bother with searching for his phone that should be somewhere under the pillow, and just leaves it ringing, feeling himself being pulled back into his dreams once again as he listens to the muffled melody of his ringtone. After a few seconds the room is quiet again, and Baekhyun is already half asleep when his phone starts ringing again even though Baekhyun thought that the person who was calling gave up after the first try.

Baekhyun groans and pulls his phone from under his pillow, answering the call without opening his eyes. He lets out a grumpy what and hopes that the caller gets the hint and says that they will call later, but of course he’s mistaken.

"Baekhyun, turn on your television on the 3rd channel, now,“ Jongin’s voice is too loud for an early morning like this one, and Baekhyun grimaces, pulling his phone further away from his ear to safe himself from going deaf because of Jongin. His best friend could probably foreseen that Baekhyun is going to ask why, so he repeats the word now, his voice more urgent than before, not leaving any room for Baekhyun's protests.

Sighing deeply, Baekhyun takes the TV remote from his side table and turns on his small television, changing to the 3rd channel as Jongin told him to. He stares at the television with his eyes almost closed, and it takes Baekhyun a moment before the information he’s hearing and seeing gets to his brain, but when he finally processes what exactly is happening, his eyes turn wide and he sits up abruptly.

"-in a while, but yesterday was Park Chanyeol, the CEO of Park Advertising Company, seen again and it was in a club named Twenty. An anonymous source sent us photos where Park Chanyeol is having fun with Kim Jongdae – his friend and business partner – and other friends. However, Kim Jongdae was seemingly too busy with date and didn’t pay Park Chanyeol enough attention, so the CEO found himself a company on his own. The pair was seen dancing, but in the end, Park Chanyeol went home alone. Was he turned down by the mysterious man? Visit our website for more! Now, the singer–“ Baekhyun doesn’t listen anymore, mostly because there is no need to. He’s heard enough. The phone he's holding close to his ear almost falls from his hand as it all settles in him - he's been on some celebrity news because of the little stunt he pulled on Chanyeol yesterday.  

The pictures of him and Park Chanyeol were on television, and there are even more on the internet website of this stupid morning show about famous people. When he danced with Chanyeol for a while yesterday in order to tease the bastard, he didn’t even think that he would appear on television the following day. Thank God that the photos don’t have the best quality and that his face is barely seen because of the bad lighting. Nobody is going to recognize him on the street, but Baekhyun’s closest friends would know immediately that it’s him.

"I leave you for like five minutes, and you get himself a man like Park Chanyeol?“ Jongin asks, and Baekhyun can imagine how his face looks like now, with his eyes blown wide and shocked expression. „And why the hell did you turn him down?“

"Stop making a big deal out of it,“ he tells Jongin, but Baekhyun himself knows that Jongin can make a big deal out of everything if he wants. "Besides, he isn’t my type.“

"Who are you trying to bull right now? He is exactly your type,“ he hears Jongin snicker at the other end of the line, and Baekhyun tells him to shut up as his face starts turning red at the memory of Park Chanyeol pressing his muscular body against his. Of course Jongin would know about his ideal type, why did Baekhyun even think of trying to lie to someone who has known him for years?

"He is an ,“ Baekhyun tries again.

"It would just be a one night stand, who cares if he’s nice or not,“ Jongin arguments, and Baekhyun knows that his friend just wants to hear the real reason why he turned down the infamous Park Chanyeol, but the thing is, Baekhyun not wanting to sleep with Chanyeol because the guy is a  actually is the real reason. Not like Jongin would believe him, but whatever.

Baekhyun has had a fair share of one night stands up until now, since his busy schedule was making it really hard for him to find someone special who would deal with how little free time he has, and Baekhyun – as any other person – also has his needs, so he decided to relieve stress with having with strangers that would meet his standards. If someone wasn’t his type, he would turn them down gently, but if someone was an who acted like they are the most important person in the world, Baekhyun would tell them to off right away without glancing back, no matter if the personn was Baekhyun’s type or not. Chanyeol was just lucky that he was in a playful mood yesterday, otherwise Baekhyun wouldn't dance with him even for a second.

"That’s not important right now. I’m more worried about what happens after the boss finds out about this,“ Baekhyun sighs and slumps against the wall behind him. The woman that he works for literally lives off watching those stupid shows, and she would probably recognize him too even though they aren't close in any way.

"What do you mean? If you think that she is going to fire you then you are wrong, Baek. For one, you’re one of the best employees, and she knows it. Then, this will only bring more people to Twenty, since the amazing Park Chanyeol was there too. There are no downsides,“ Jongin says, and Baekhyun wants to protest about there being many downsides, but when he hears Jongin’s muffled giggle from the other side accompanied with a quiet good morning, Baekhyun takes it as a clue to end the call. Kyungsoo must have probably woken up while the two of them were talking, and Baekhyun doesn’t want to stand in the way of morning cuddles.

"We’ll talk about this later if you want, but now go and give Kyungsoo some attention or he’ll hate me forever,“ Baekhyun smiles when he hears Kyungsoo saying he’s right in the distance, and ends the call after they say their goodbyes.

Baekhyun doesn’t feel like sleeping anymore, but he sinks back into his bed and throws the blanket on himself, burying his head in the soft pillow.

It must be nice to wake up with someone by your side, Baekhyun thinks as he stares out of the window, imagining how it would feel to open his eyes and see the face of someone he loves the first thing in the morning, or wake up with strong arms wrapped around his body that would give him the feeling of complete security.

Will I ever find someone like that? Baekhyun asks himself in his head, a sad smile tugging at the corners of his lips. 

--

Chanyeol hasn’t seen the news yet, but he heard about them from his dear mother maybe an hour ago. She wasn’t happy that her son – as she knew he would – appeared on television on Saturday morning, and she didn’t wait a second before going to his room and waking him up with a few hard slaps. Chanyeol swears he still feels his shoulder hurting from his mother's hits.

When Chanyeol asked with his voice hoarse from sleeping what’s going on, she told him to watch the news himself because she is too angry to talk to him right now and walked out of his room without another word, her angry puffs of breaths making their way to Chanyeol's ears. Chanyeol has never cared about what people say about him, so even though he told his mother that he’ll watch the news in a second and see for himself what she’s so angry about, he hasn’t watched it yet. 

An hour later, Chanyeol is showered and ready to go to work, the topic of him appearing on some stupid morning show about celebrities totally forgotten. The number one priority for Chanyeol right now is what does he want to eat for breakfast, his mind exploding as he tries to decide whether he wants to eat at home, on the way to work, or just order something simple and eat it in his office. The first option isn’t very clever, since his mother is having breakfast at the moment and he would have to eat with her. Chanyeol isn’t sure that he can eat in peace while his mother is throwing daggers at him with those big eyes of hers from across the table, so that leaves eating in some restaurant or ordering food directly into his office, where he can eat in private. He has quite a lot of work to do, mainly because of the client who visited the company personally on Wednesday and said that the ad on which Chanyeol’s best employees were working for weeks needs more changes. Four days before letting it out in the world and after saying that the ad is exactly what he’s had in mind, the er had the nerve to tell Chanyeol that there is something missing in the ad, something that would make people buy his product. Chanyeol was so damn close to throwing the client of the window, but since Park Advertising Company has a good name and is very professional, he agreed to look into it himself and present the new concept on Sunday. Hopefully the client will be satisfied with the ad this time, and if he‘s not, Chanyeol will strangle him with his own bare hands.

On the way out of the house he says goodbye to his mother who stays silent although she heard Chanyeol clearly, only waving her hand at him without looking up from her papers. He thinks that this time he’s really done it, crossed the line that he shouldn’t have and his mother won’t even talk to him, but when he is about to close the front door, Chanyeol hears her calling his name.

"Yes?“ he questions, hand holding the door handle so tight that his knuckles had turned white already. Is she gonna yell at him before he leaves? What a great start of the day.

"Don’t work too hard,“ she puts down the papers in her hands, takes a sip of the strawberry tea – her favourite, which Chanyeol buys for his mother every week because he’s a good son like that – and Chanyeol can see the corners of her lips twitch upwards in a small, gentle smile. She’s the type that can’t hold grudges for long, no matter how frustrated she was before. „And be sure to come home around seven pm. I’m making tonkatsu, your favorite, so don’t you dare be late or it’ll be cold and not as good.“

"I’ll be home at seven, sharp. Promise. Love you,“ he gives her one of his big, happy grins and closes the door. He notes to himself that he has to buy her something nice on the way home, something that would go hand in hand with the apology he has yet to prepare. His mother loves sweet things, so he can get her a cake after he’s done with work, or maybe chocolate muffins which she really likes too. Well, he has time to think about that.

After he parks his car in the garage under the company building, he remembers that his mother told him to watch the news from this morning. Chanyeol knows that if he leaves it for later again, he is going to forget about it and never watch it, so after stepping out of his car, Chanyeol searches his own name, adds latest scandal to it and opens the article that was published today. The title makes Chanyeol cringe, Park Chanyeol is losing his charm? not being a very flattering headline. He starts reading the article with minimal interest because it’s the same crap as usual, but when he sees a photo of himself dancing with Baekhyun, he stops walking immediately, his eyes narrowing as he looks on the photo. The quality of the photo is rather bad, but he can still make out his and Baekhyun’s face. He can clearly remember Baekhyun's hands that were on his chest, the touch light but it still made Chanyeol weak in knees.  

Chanyeol scrolls down, and on the next photo Baekhyun has his body pressed against Chanyeol's, looking up at the taller with a flirtatious smile. It must have been taken just seconds after the first one. He can clearly remember Baekhyun's hands that were on his chest, the touch light but it still made Chanyeol weak in knees. His eyes run over the text below the two photos, Park Chanyeol was caught dancing with an unknown male, but our anonymous source says that Chanyeol left the club only with his friends, the mysterious man nowhere to be seen. Was Park Chanyeol rejected?

The hold on his phone tightens as he re-reads the words, and Chanyeol frowns deeply. The word rejected somehow stands out in Chanyeol’s eyes, big and bold while the other words seem to be small and blurry. Chanyeol really hates the word rejected, and seeing it attached to his name is making Chanyeol want to throw his phone across the underground parking lot with full force, but he resists the urge because he loves his mobile way too much.

He takes a deep breath before reading the rest of the article, rolling his eyes at stupid remarks which are probably supposed to be funny in some way, but Chanyeol thinks they are far from amusing. The author is trying way too hard to entertain the readers with with witty comments about Chanyeol’s playboy past, making Chanyeol think that the remarks are here just because the article is so boring that people wouldn’t even waste their time reading it if the humorous comments weren’t there.

Walking over to the elevator, Chanyeol almost face-palms himself after another stupid comment and presses the red elevator button, thanking God when he sees that it’s only on the second floor, which means Chanyeol doesn’t have to wait an eternity until the damn thing comes down to the underground floor. He is ready to continue reading the crappy article so he can be done with it sooner, but his phone vibrates in his hand and the familiar ringtone echoes through the garage before he can get back to it. The caller ID is  client and Chanyeol groans as he answers the call, trying his very best to be polite to the person that’s been making his life a living hell for at least a month now.

The conversation between them isn’t long, the client calling just because he wants to make sure that Chanyeol is really working on the ad and isn’t slacking off – as if Chanyeol ever does that – and then hanging up with an okey then when Chanyeol confirms that he is indeed working on the issue at the moment. The call ends just as he’s stepping out of the elevator, and Chanyeol promises himself that the new ad will be a masterpiece just because he feels a sudden need to prove everyone – including himself and the stupid – that he can do it.

He greets every one of his employees on the way to his office as he continues to read the article, his eyes going through the words without Chanyeol actually taking in the meaning of them, but what truly catches his attention is a photo of Jongdae and Minseok laughing at their table in VIP section. The two look cute together, if Chanyeol should comment the photo himself. There is at least five other photos of his friend and Minseok, the two of them looking into each others eyes with stupid smiles like they are the only ones in the room, then laughing again in the next. Chanyeol stops in the middle of the hall when he reads the text under the photos and turns on his heel in one swift motion, running back to the elevator. He has to show this to Jongdae right now.

Chanyeol takes the stairs, since Jongdae’s office is just a floor below Chanyeol’s, and the elevator would take forever to come from the first floor all the way up here anyway. He is so excited that he runs the stairs two at once, his long limbs moving so fast that Chanyeol has a mini heart attack when he feels one of his legs slip on the last step, but he quickly grabs the railing before he falls down. He exhales loudly and puts a hand on his heart, calming the poor organ which started beating too fast when Chanyeol was just a second away from falling. When his heart beat is normal again, Chanyeol collect himself and opens the door quickly, stepping inside the hall with a bright small on his face even though he nearly killed himself just a moment ago. He greets Minseok with a cheerful hello and winks at the man whose eyes become wide after the gesture. Usually, he doesn’t greet Minseok like this – or any other person in this building beside Jongdae and his own personal assistant – but they’ve done some team bonding together on Friday night, and Chanyeol thinks of Minseok like a friend now, so he should greet him like one. The receptionist doesn’t look hungover, mainly because he didn’t drink as much as Jongdae’s friends or Chanyeol. Chanyeol isn’t hungover either though, because he possesses an amazing ability to never be hungover no matter how much alcohol he’s had. It’s really a blessing. Jongdae doesn’t have the same ability as Chanyeol, so besides showing the article to his dear friend, he is also looking forward to seeing him looking like one of the people that were casted for a role of a zombie in the Walking Dead. 

Chanyeol greets Jongdae’s secretary with a polite smile, the woman and him not really getting along, so good morning is everything she gets. He opens the dark wooden door to Jongdae’s office and closes it behind himself, opening his mouth to speak, but then he notices that Jongdae’s nowhere to be seen as he looks around the office. Chanyeol frowns and opens the door again, asking the old woman where his friend is. She tells him that Jongdae has gone to see Mr Ahn because there were some minor complications in the ad for Cancer Donations LittleHeart, and Chanyeol bites his tongue even though he wants to scold the woman for not telling him this information straight away as she saw Chanyeol walking into Jongdae’s office. He thanks the secretary anyway before shutting the door once more and walking over to the gigantic couch Jongdae bought for himself as a Christmas present last year. He jumps at it and lets himself be bounced a little before turning around so that he’s lying on his back. Chanyeol unlocks his phone and opens the instagram app, deciding to entertain himself with scrolling through funny memes and his friends‘ selfies until Jongdae comes back.

It only takes ten or so minutes before Jongdae’s opening the door and stepping inside his office, frowning the moment he sees Chanyeol’s feet on his couch. Chanyeol wants to laugh as he looks at Jongdae’s face because yes, Jongdae definitely is hungover, even though he didn’t have as many drinks as he could have had if there wasn’t work to do the following day.

"Haven’t I already told you thousand times to not,“ Jongdae pauses mid sentence before striding to Chanyeol and slapping both of his legs, hard. "Put you dirty, big feet on my precious baby?“

"It’s a ing couch,“ Chanyeol rolls his eyes, but retreats his feet from the couch. He wants to give Jongdae another long speech about how treating an object that isn’t even alive better than his own friend is rather rude, but then he remembers why he came in the first place.

"Anyway, have you seen the celebrity show today?“ Chanyeol grins as he unlocks his mobile, opening the tab with the article about Jongdae and Chanyeol’s wild Friday night.

"I heard that there is something about you getting rejected,“ Jongdae says even though he knows that Chanyeol hates the word. He sits on the couch beside Chanyeol, sighing heavily as he sinks into the couch and closes his eyes, wanting to rest while he can.

"I wasn’t rejected,“ the taller of the two pouts and hits Jongdae in a friendly manner. Jongdae just laughs because he clearly remembers that Chanyeol was indeed rejected by Baekhyun yesterday, being lied to about Baekhyun having a boyfriend already so the CEO won’t bother the short male anymore. It never fails to make Jongdae laugh.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night,“ the smile that is thrown Chanyeol’s way almost makes Chanyeol hit Jongdae again, but then he remembers that he’s got something much better in his sleeve. He clears his throat and looks down at his mobile, reading the article out loud for his dearest friend.

"On this photo, you can see the love birds Kim Jongdae and his companion who are the living examples of the heart emoji–“

"What the hell?!“ Jongdae opens his eyes and takes the phone from Chanyeol’s hand before Chanyeol is even done reading. He can see Jongdae scrolling though the article, blinking rapidly at every photo of him and Minseok together. Chanyeol just sits quietly on the couch, waiting for Jongdae to read it all. He’s grinning at his friend, thinking about how sweet the revenge truly is.

"I really like the one where you’re looking at Minseok with that adorable expression while he’s talking to your friend,“ Chanyeol says and scoots closer to Jongdae in order to scroll to the third photo, Jongdae’s love-struck face appearing on the screen in its full beauty. Chanyeol looks up to see Jongdae’s expression and bursts out laughing the second he sees that Jongdae looks like he’s about to have a heart attack every moment now.

"This is not funny, you idiot!“ Jongdae yells, making Chanyeol laugh even more as he says it is Jongdae while holding his stomach. Jongdae throws the phone at Chanyeol who stops laughing immediately and catches the device before it can fall to the ground. 

"Do you think Minseok knows about this? God, he won’t talk to me ever again if he finds out about it... A-And you! You think it’s funny? It’s not!“ Jongdae seems too worked up over a stupid article, Chanyeol thinks. It’s nothing out of the usual crap that is written about famous people on trash-talking websites like this one. And on the top of that, Jongdae teases Chanyeol about articles like this all the time, so there is nothing that could possibly anger the shorter male so much, right?

"Hey, calm down. There is nothing to be so angry about, it’s just a stupid article published by even more stupid website, so why are you having a mental breakdown right now?“ Chanyeol jokes, thinking that it would ease the mood a little, but he’s deadly wrong, and he knows it too the second Joongdae turns to him, his whole body in flames. He has never wanted to take back a joke more than now.

"Chanyeol, do you even realize that my parents are going to kill me for this? I understand that your mother and father don’t mind you being a biual, but my parents haven’t accepted my orientation just yet! They think that me hanging out with you turned me gay or whatever, and they weren’t able to look into my eyes for weeks when I told them that I like men as well as women,“ Jongdae takes a deep inhale when he used all of the oxygen he had when he practically threw the words at Chanyeol with such speed that it was kind of hard to process everything.

"And Minseok has never been with a man before, so there is a ing big chance that he is straight as well, and this article will only make him want to distance himself from me. It doesn’t even matter though, because I don’t want to have any kind of romantic relationship with him, as you seem to think, Chanyeol,“ Jongdae takes another shaky breath, trying to calm himself down. "But, okay... Let’s say that I would like to try dating him, hypothetically of course, let’s say that he accepts my – non-existent, mind you – feelings. My parents would flip and break things off sooner or later, Chanyeol, because they want me to marry a woman with a powerful name, not a male receptionist.“

After Jongdae’s done, Chanyeol just stares at his friend with his mouth hanging open, eyes open so wide that they are close to falling out of his eye sockets. Maybe Chanyeol would have something to say if he was at least a little bit ready for Jongdae’s outburst, but he wasn’t. He thought that Jongdae would throw Chanyeol out of his office with some insults at best, but this was totally unexpected.

He hasn’t been aware that Jongdae’s family situation is so bad. It was always Chanyeol who was complaining about how his mother wants him to stop fooling around and marry some pretty woman already, but she was rather accepting about him being with guys before he finds the one. To try out everything he wants til he settles down with someone. The bigger problem was with Chanyeol’s father who would look at him disapprovingly whenever Chanyeol’s biuality was brought up, saying that it’s unnatural and disgusting, and that if Chanyeol marries a guy there isn’t going to be an heir for the company because a male can’t give a birth to a child. Chanyeol would ignore him, knowing that even though his father will forever despise him for liking both genders, he will leave Chanyeol’s life be because Chanyeol is just too good of a son in every other way.

Chanyeol just now realizes that he’s been running his mouth about how horrible his parents are for wanting him to marry that he didn’t notice how many things has Jongdae been hiding behind that cheerful smile and playful remarks.

God, Chanyeol feels so selfish right now for being so oblivious.

"Jongdae,“ Chanyeol puts his phone on the couch and stands up, walking over to his friend who is biting on his nails even though Chanyeol knows that Jongdae hates it and only does it once a year when he’s too stressed out to actually think about how much he doesn't like biting on his nails.

"I don’t want to marry a woman that is picked for me, I–“

"Jongdae, breathe,“ Chanyeol grabs him by arms, forcing Jongdae to face him even when the shorter wants to turn away, hating how vulnerable he looks at the moment. When Jongdae realizes that Chanyeol won’t just let him turn his back on him, he listens to Chanyeol’s advice and tries to calm down by slowly breathing. After a minute when Jongdae seems to collect himself, Chanyeol gives him a bone crushing hug.

"I’m sorry for bringing it up like that, and I’m also sorry for being an ignorant jerk even though we are supposed to be best friends. I can’t do anything about your parents, but at least let me treat you to lunch as an apology for not noticing that you’ve been going through so much lately,“ Chanyeol offers and his hears warms up after hearing Jongdae’s loud laugh, although a bit muffled by Chanyeol’s chest.

"I hate these heart to heart conversations so much,“ Jongdae shakes his head and Chanyel lets out a short laugh, agreeing with his friend. Chanyeol doesn’t know how to deal with crying, sad, frustrated – or all three in one – people, but he knows that everybody loves food, so when someone has a mental break down in front of him like Jongdae had just now, he always offers to pay for food.

"I have work to do before lunch, so I’m gonna go, but we’re going out for lunch in exactly two hours, so be ready and choose a place,“ Jongdae steps away from Chanyeol, sad smile playing on his lips. Chanyeol hates that smile because Jongdae is a person who is too good for his own good, and he doesn’t deserve anything but happiness.

"And Minseok might be straight, but he’s sure as hell making an exception with you. Because let me tell you, that guy is hella gay for you.“

"Out,“ Jongdae points at the door while covering his face that is getting redder and redder every second because of what Chanyeol said. Mentioning Minseok always makes Jongdae flustered. 

"No, really, I took a photo myself yesterday. I can show you if you want,“ Chanyeol continues.

"Chanyeol, I’m warning you,“ Jongdae’s tone is dangerously low, but the small tug of his lips is ruining the serious act, so Chanyeol doesn’t stop.

"The quality is way better–“

"OUT!“

Two and a half hours later, the two of them are sitting in a nearby restaurant that Jongdae picked, surprising Chanyeol with his decision to eat there. They always go to the restaurant that is right across the street, and although Chanyeol told him to pick a place, he was sure that Jongdae will choose their restaurant.

Chanyeol is extremely hungry, since he skipped breakfast due to giving his attention fully to the ad that needs to be re-done, and if the food here doesn’t taste at least half as good as in the restaurant they usually have lunch at, Chanyeol is most probably going to cry.

The restaurant’s visuals aren’t exactly fancy, so he’s starting to have doubts about coming here, but Jongdae is smiling beside him happily, and that puts Chanyeol in ease somehow. He knows that Jongdae would never pick a bad restaurant.

"Oh, Jongdae! I haven’t seen you here for quite a long time,“ the petite, blond waitress says excitedly when she’s close enough to their table near the window, her grin splitting her face in half. Chanyeol looks over to Jongdae with with a silent question – do you know her? – but Jongdae completely ignores him and keeps eye-contact with the woman the whole time. Is woman even a good word to describe her? She looks like a teenage girl, college student at best.

"Sorry, I’ve been busy,“ Jongdae gives the waitress a smile on his own and tells her to only give the menu to Chanyeol because he already knows what he’s having. The girl turns to Chanyeol with a shy smile and hands him the menu, light shade of pink coloring her cheeks when Chanyeol gives her one of his most charming smiles. He thanks her and starts looking for something he would like to eat, his eyes scanning the offered food with interest.

"Are you finally taking a break from work, then?“ she questions Jongdae curiously.

"I desperately need Kyungsoo’s cooking,“ Jongdae chuckles, and Chanyeol frowns as he hears the name. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop because he’s too busy deciding what to order, but the name caught his attention for an unknown reason. He is sure that he doesn’t know a person named Kyungsoo, but the name rings a bell. It sounds familiar, so maybe it’s one of Jongdae’s friends, and Chanyeol remembers it because Jongdae mentioned him in the past.

"Are you stressed? You usually come here only when you need to think. I suppose Kyungsoo’s cooking skills can put anyone at ease,“ she laughs and Jongdae agrees with a laugh of his own. The waitress turns to Chanyeol then, asking him about what he wants to order and if she should recommend something to him if he hasn’t chosen yet. Chanyeol looks over at Jongdae with a silent plea to give him some recommendation instead of the waitress, since Jongdae knows him too well and could help Chanyeol with the hard task of choosing his lunch.

"Give us two portions of ttaeokbokki, then momofuku pork buns and jjigae. Kyungsoo already knows what side dishes I like, so just tell him to give me whatever he thinks suits the food the best,“ Jongdae says as he takes the menu out of Chanyeol’s hands, closes it and returns it to the waitress.

"I knew you would choose pork buns,“ she chuckles and with a wait a few minutes, she’s disappears behind the door that leads to kitchen.

"Who’s Kyungsoo?“ Chanyeol asks as he turns his gaze to Jongdae again. He wanted to subtly ask about the Kyungsoo guy, but his curiosity got better of him, and he was not able to hold back the question.

"The best cook I know. And Jongin’s real boyfriend, by the way,“ Jongdae laughs at the memory of Baekhyun lying about being Jongin’s boyfriend so he can turn Chanyeol down quickly. His laughter dies quickly though, when he sees Chanyeol frown. That’s right, the CEO doesn’t appreciate Jongdae bringing it up three times a day whenever he gets the chance, this being the second time today already.

Chanyeol pouts when Jongdae gives him a half-assed apology and starts playing around with tissues on the table, looking like a ten years old child and not like a twenty three years old business man. Should Jongdae play his mom and scold him, too?

"Baekhyun also works here, you know,“ Jongdae says teasingly, rising one eyebrow at Chanyeol. He wants to get back at him for making fun of Jongdae this morning so bad, and this was just a perfect opportunity.

Chanyeol starts looking around frantically, searching for the petite brown-haired boy until Jongdae says, "He’s not working today, though.“

"You little ,“ Chanyeol hisses at Jongdae and continues playing with the tissues, now even more frustrated. 

"Chanyeol, really, stop thinking about him so much–“

"I’m not thinking about him,“ Chanyeol dismisses immediately.

"You are, and I’m telling you to stop and move on. So you got turned down, big deal. That happens at least once in our lives. I told you that he way off limits, and you didn’t listen. It’s your own fault, really,“ Jongdae talks about it so casually, like it’s nothing, but it actually is a big deal for Chanyeol. The last time he got turned down was when he was ten years old with weird glasses sitting on his nose, with fat body and hair cut like barcode. After he hit puberty, he hasn’t been turned down once, but then here comes Baekhyun and ruins it all. Chanyeol simply can’t figure out why Baekhyun didn’t want him, it would just be a one night stand, after all. Isn’t he good enough as a one night stand for his highness Byun Baekhyun?

Is Chanyeol still not good enough? Should he start visiting gym more often, try out new diet, maybe a different hairstyle? What the hell was Baekhyun’s problem with him?

"Stop over-thinking it,“ Jongdae tells him after five minutes of silence like he’s reading Chanyeol’s mind. Chanyeol supposes that Jongdae can read him quite well after so many years, but sometimes he hates that his best friend knows exactly what’s on his mind, like now, because Chanyeol doesn't like being read like an open book. He doesn’t like when people see his vulnerable side, and it doesn’t matter if he shows his insecurities in front of his parents or his friends. Chanyeol wants people to think that he’s strong because that’s what he’s supposed to be. That’s what he was raised to be.

"It has nothing to do with you, personally. Baekhyun's just... tired of sleeping around, I guess,“ when Jongdae mentions that Baekhyun had been sleeping around, Chanyeol wonders how many men – or women – had the pleasure to sleep with the feisty brunet. The image of Baekhyun’s pretty face comes to his mind, and he can’t stop himself from wondering how it would look the moment he comes undone under Chanyeol. He can’t stop imagining himself touching every little bit of Baekhyun’s body, whether with his hands or tongue. How would his voice sound when he moans? And how would that smart mouth kiss kiss him? Chanyeol could get hard just thinking about Baekhyun, the guy was that handsome in his eyes. And, sadly enough, untouchable.

Chanyeol is so lost in his thoughts that he misses how weird Jongdae's voice sounds as he speaks about Baekhyun. Like he's hiding something. "Maybe you would have gotten lucky if you approached him a month ago, who knows.“

"What, does he want to settle down and have kids running around his house?“ Chanyeol rolls his eyes. Why does everybody want to settle down these days? A man can’t even get laid like this.

"If you’re so curious about why he turned you down, why don’t you ask him yourself instead of getting information from me, hm?“

"Maybe I will,“ Chanyeol mutter under his nose, impatiently waiting for the food to arrive. Chanyeol saying that he will go and ask Baekhyun himself about this matter are nothing but empty words at the time. He’s mostly said it because he hates not having the last word. But later, when he’s walking out of the restaurant with his stomach full and smile plastered on his face, he thinks that visiting Baekhyun to get some answers isn’t such a bad idea.

--

Baekhyun spends Saturday lying in his bed, watching stupid cartoons on TV and scrolling through funny pictures on his mobile. He gets out of the bed only to take a piss and grab something to eat from the kitchen, but aside from that, he’s chilling all day long. This only free day he has in a in a week, and Baekhyun is more than happy to spend it like this.

Around 7.00pm, there is a knock on Baekhyun’s door and the man groans loudly as he stands up and walks over to open the door. He wanted to play like he isn’t home, but the person behind the door would hear the loud sounds coming from the TV anyway, so there’s no point.

"I brought real food, you can thank me later,“ Jongin says as a greeting and doesn’t even wait for Baekhyun to let him in, he just makes his way inside by pushing the brunet aside.

"You stole from Kyungsoo again?“ Baekhyun questions and closes the door quietly. He follows Jongin to the kitchen counter where his friend is putting out all kinds of food from the white plastic bag.

"Of course not,“ Jongin glances at Baekhyun from behind his shoulder and narrows his eyes at Baekhyun as if saying how dare you accuse me of something like that. Baekhyun just snorts because it certainly wouldn't be the first time Jongin brought food from the restaurant because he was annoying his boyfriend so much that Kyungsoo gave up and threw the food at him, having enough of Jongin's pathetic begging. „Kyungsoo knows about how you spend Saturdays, so he send me here to give you something to eat aside from your stupid instant noodles.“

"So you wouldn’t have come if Kyungsoo didn’t order you to?“ Baekhyun questions as he leans on the counter, watching Jongin while the younger is serving dinner. 

"I had other plans, actually,“ Jongin murmurs more to himself than to Baekhyun, but Baekhyun hears it clearly and chuckles at his friend’s pouty expression. He looks like a kid that wants to eat dessert but can’t until he eats his vegetables first.

"Oh, really now? Want to share your ruined evening plans with me?“ Baekhyun teases. Jongin’s ticklish as hell, Baekhyun knows that, but it doesn’t stop him from nudging the younger in the side, which causes Jongin to almost drop the food as he jumps away from Baekhyun. Baekhyun can only imagine what Jongin’s plans were on a Sturday night when both Jongin and Kyungsoo don’t have work tomorrow. 

" you.“

"I’m pretty sure it’s not me you want to , but if you ask nicely,“ Baekhyun laughs and dodges Jongin’s leg that was millimeters away from kicking him. Thank god for his quick reflexes because Jongin’s kicks became really powerful lately – Baekhyun wonders if his evil boyfriend has anything to do with that. The first time he got kicked by Jongin was two and a half years ago when Baekhyun tried to make fun of Jongin’s crush on Kyungsoo, but the kick he earned didn’t even hurt at all.

That time it really seemed like just a huge crush on the restaurant’s cook, when Baekhyun thinks about it. Nobody actually thought that Jongin and Kyungsoo will end up dating because Kyungsoo didn’t look the slightest bit interested in Baekhyun’s best friend. Baekhyun clearly remembers Jongin pining over Kyungsoo for weeks, and then suddenly the two were dating. Baekhyun thought that Kyungsoo said yes to Jongin just because he wanted to date him a few days and then break up with him, just so that Jongin won’t say that he didn’t even give him a chance. Now, three weeks after their two years anniversary, Baekhyun takes back all of the comments about Jongin not having a chance in getting together with the grumpy cook.

"But since I’m already here, we are going to watch a movie,“ Jongin leaves not room for argument as he grabs half of the food and makes his way to Baekhyun’s bedroom, sprawling on the bed like he’s the one living here, not Baekhyun. "Grab the rest and move your over here!“

Baekhyun does as he’s told, and he feels his mouth water when the smell of Kyungsoo’s cooking hits his nose. Wow, this smells much better than instant noodles, Baekhyun thinks. He settles beside Jongin who is handing him a pair of chopsticks while changing the channels and trying to find something that would catch his attention.

"Kyungsoo’s cooking is truly the best,“ Baekhyun says as he takes the first bite of chicken, and Jongin smiles proudly. "You got yourself a good boyfriend.“

"Believe me, I know,“ Jongin grins without averting his eyes from the television, and he looks like it was him who was praised instead of Kyungsoo. Baekhyun feels the familiar pang of jealousy again as he thinks about how praising Kyungsoo is like praising Jongin because the two are practically one person after two years of dating. The fond smile that appears on Jongin‘s face is extremely adorable, to be honest, and Baekhyun low-key wishes to have a boyfriend that he could be proud of like Jongin is of Kyungsoo. 

The evening is spend with binge-watching movies and and reality shows on Baekhyun small TV that they find at least a little bit interesting or amusing. Out of maybe twenty movies and shows they come across, they watch only three until the very end. They talk about the movie then, arguing why the ending was good or bad if their opinions clash, pointing out all the amazing scenes and plotholes, and then glaring at each other when the other still doesn’t change their opinion about what they watched even a little bit.

They eat everything Kyungsoo packed for them, and Baekhyun admits that the food is much more delicious than the instant noodles he wanted to have for dinner today. Jongin tells him that he shouldn’t feel that special because it’s just the leftovers Kyungsoo didn’t want to throw out - which earns Jongin a push that is strong enough to make him fall from the bed – but Baekhyun knows that this is not only about food. Kyungsoo is good at observations and, as Jongin mentioned before, and he knows how Baekhyun spends every Saturday – alone. It’s nice that Kyungsoo sacrificed his Saturday night with Jongin so Baekhyun wouldn’t be alone all day. Jongin is truly a lucky man to have Kyungsoo for a boyfriend.

The two of them fall asleep at four in the morning while watching some modern drama, curled up together on Baekhyun’s bed and wrapped in the green blanket. The sound of the TV they haven't turned off adding to the background noise of always busy Seoul, accompanied by Jongin’s quiet snoring. The empty food boxes are lying on the floor beside Baekhyun’s bed along with Jongin’s tight skinny jeans and plain white shirt because the younger was too tired to care about where to put his clothes after undressing himself, so he just threw them on the floor. Baekhyun was already wearing only his boxers and a sleeping shirt when Jongin barged into his apartment unannounced, so he didn’t have to worry about his clothes like Jongin.

It’s getting cold again, and since he can’t afford heating at the moment, the blanket he has is the only way to keep himself – and now Jongin too – warm. The money for heating will be needed later when winter comes, he can’t waste them now. Baekhyun feels kind of bad for Jongin who decided to spend the night in Baekhyun’s cold apartment when he has a boyfriend and a warm home, but he can’t say he isn’t glad that his friend is here tonight. Everybody can be a little selfish once in a while, and Baekhyun can be too.

Falling asleep next to a warm body, even though it’s not with his lover but with a best friend, feels nice. He could get used to it.

Baekhyun changes his mind about getting used to sleeping with another person back in the morning when his alarm wakes him up, but he is unable to walk over to the table and turn it off because Jongin is sprawled not only on his bed, but on Baekhyun too. He groans and tries to push the younger off him, but it’s hard when Jongin is clinging to him like a human koala. Baekhyun feels sorry for Kyungsoo who has to deal with Jongin in the morning.

After three failed attempts, Jongin finally starts waking up, meaning Baekhyun is able to free himself from his hold. He pushes Jongin off completely when his arms are free, and Jongin groans and pushes Baekhyun off the bed. As Baekhyun scrambles to his feet, he glances at Jongin who changed his position a little, but there are no signs of him wanting to move anytime soon.

"Unbelievable,“ Baekhyun murmurs and walks over to the table, switching off the alarm with one swift swipe of his index finger. It’s 10.30 in the morning and his shift at the restaurant starts at 11.30am, but he has to be there at least fifteen minutes earlier.

He glances back at Jongin who fell asleep again after Baekhyun woke him up and sighs. Staying up with Jongin when there was a chance to have a good night sleep which he so desperately needs wasn’t one of Baekhyun’s brightest ideas, but on the other hand, he really had fun. Baekhyun won’t admit it to Jongin or anyone else, but he misses nights like these, where he’s just getting fat from the food he eats late at night and watches stupid reality shows, laughing until he’s choking on his drink. Jongin wants to spend time with Baekhyun and have nights like these, bring back the high school times when it was just the two of them together against the world, but Baekhyun declines ninety percent of time, his excuse being that he is too tired and needs sleep. Jongin understands and doesn’t push, knowing very well that Baekhyun works a lot and needs to rest when he has the time. The two of them actually spending last night together was just exactly what Baekhyun’s tired self needed, and he wouldn’t mind repeating it again sometime soon. Maybe he can invite Kyungsoo next time too, even if it would mean third wheeling his way through the night for Baekhyun.

Baekhyun walks over to his bed and collects the empty food boxes, his hands being luckily large enough to carry all of them to the trash bin in the kitchen. He returns to the bedroom after throwing out the boxes, looking around for the TV remote that must be somewhere on the floor too if Baekhyun remembers correctly. Baekhyun’s eyes search for the remote, but can’t seem to find it. He sighs, promising that he will find it later as he turns off the TV with the off button that is in the right corner under the screen.

He bends down and picks up the blanket that must have fallen off during the the night and throws it on Jongin, tucking him in to make sure he won’t be cold, before grabbing a towel and clean boxers from his wardrobe on his way to the bathroom. Baekhyun doesn’t bother with locking the doors, not caring if Jongin will burst into the bathroom while he’s showering. They have known each other for years, they have seen each other , and Baekhyun thinks they are way past being shy around each other.

He strips off his clothes and steps into the shower corner, closing the shower door behind himself. The water is cold at first and Baekhyun winces, trying to find the ideal water temperature before he freezes here. The water changes from freezing cold to burning hot in a second, and Baekhyun wants to scream in frustration because he literally moved the stupid thing one milimeter to the right. Soon enough though, the water's temperature is just right, and Baekhyun sighs contently.

Taking shower is one of the things Baekhyun really enjoys once he gets the temperature right, and he always takes his time while showering. The water bills are always higher than any others, but Baekhyun decides that it’s worth it because feeling the warm water touch his skin the first thing in the morning is making him more relaxed, the stress disappearing for a few moments as he lets the water drip on his body with closed eyes.

Baekhyun just stands under the shower for a while before reaching for his shampoo and washing his hair. The last bits of it fall on his hand, reminding Baekhyun that he needs to visit the shop again, this time not just for snacks and toothpaste.

When Baekhyun’s done washing his hair, he washes his whole body too, rubbing the shower gel into his skin. The bathroom is soon filled with the scent of Baekhyun’s coconut shower gel, and the steam from the shower is creating a thick fog. Baekhyun has always loved taking hot shower, even more now when the weather is getting colder every day.

He lets himself relax his muscles for a little bit longer even when he’s done washing himself, his body leaning against the shower door. Baekhyun doesn’t want to go to work today, he really doesn’t. On Sundays, none of the people Baekhyun likes are working, and he is stuck on his shift with the co-workers that are always bossing him around just because he is the youngest out of them, like he is their slave or something. If Baekhyun could, he would just spend the following hours in shower, melting under the warm water.

But he can’t, and with that thought, he stops the water and steps out of the shower, the cold hitting him as he opens the shower door. Baekhyun quickly grabs his towel and dries his body, then ruffles his hair with the towel, drying them too. He will have to blow-dry his hair later anyway, but he hates when the drops of water fall from his hair on his shoulder, wetting his clothes, so he tries to avoid it if possible.

When Baekhyun steps into the bedroom in his boxers, Jongin is still sleeping soundly on his bed, but in different position. He chuckles at how Jongin is hugging the pillow instead of resting his head on it, and he takes his mobile from the table and snaps a photo which he sends to Kyungsoo, adding want to pick him up by yourself? i’ll leave the door unlocked to the image.

Kyungsoo's reply comes while Baekhyun is putting on his black pants, the message announced with a vibration of his mobile and notification sound. The message is short, as expected of Kyungsoo, saying that the cook will be at Baekhyun’s around 11.45.

no funny bussines in my apartment tho Baekhyun texts and chuckles at his phone when Kyungsoo replies with a single word – die. Oh, so characteristic. What a way to show his love for Baekhyun. Baekhyun wants to text something witty back, but then his eyes fall on the time – 10:55, it says.

".“

Baekhyun swears he has never blow-dried his hair in such a short time, and he kisses the hairdryer after he's done, thanking it for working so good and not stopping working when he's in the middle of drying his brown locks. The thing is already quiet old and likes to play with him when he's in a hurry, but today it worked good. Baekhyun wants to cry from happiness. 

Then, he hurriedly puts on a jacket and grabs his wallet and keys from the kitchen table and his work uniform – the white button up that is now cleaned of coffee stains – from the chair, running out of his apartment in a speed of light. He would have put the shirt on at home instead of at the restaurant, but after the encounter with the infamous Park Chanyeol, Baekhyun’s boss forbid him to wear it on his way to work in order to avoid accident like the one that happened on Wednesday.

It usually takes Baekhyun under twenty minutes or so to get to work, so if he runs half the way and walks the remaining distance, he should be at work on time. He decides to do just that and starts running, holding his wallet, shirt and mobile tightly in his right hand as he sprints through the streets. Baekhyun used to like running during school, and he can proudly says that his stamina is good at least, but running when there are tons of people surrounding him is making him more breathless than it should.

In the end, Baekhyun makes it. He opens the door to the restaurant while panting like he’s just run a marathon, but he made it. His math was telling him that he is fine with running just half of the way, but he didn’t count in the possibility that there could be a closed street because of a reconstruction. Since he had to take a detour, it took him longer than he had expected to get here.

"Go change and stop scaring the customers,“ one of his co-workers says harshly as he walk beside Baekhyun who is still trying to catch his breath, and Baekhyun looks up to see the eating grin the man is throwing at him.

What a good sight to see one of the people he despises the most right after getting to work.

As expected, the work is hell. Baekhyun’s been bossed around since he started his shift. His co-workers decided to take a quick smoking break around three in the afternoon, and Baekhyun had to take care of all the tables without any help. Since he’s been working part-time as a waiter for quite a long time, Baekhyun manages to get all of the orders right and bring the food to the customers with a warm smile on his lips while silently killing his co-worker in his mind. The s return from their self-given break twenty minutes later, smelling of cigarette smoke, and if Baekhyun could, he would tell them that they shouldn’t come in smelling like cigarettes because of the customers, but Baekhyun knows better. He would only get more hate for trying to lecture someone who is older than him, so Baekhyun just keeps his mouth shut and apologizes to customers about the smell while throwing dirty looks at his co-workers.

His shift ends at seven in the afternoon, and Baekhyun is always happy – more than on any other day – to leave the work at Sundays, having a break from the bossy jerks for another seven days until he has to work with them again. Baekhyun says goodbye to the kitchen staff and his boss on the way out, pulling out his mobile to text Jongin about how terrible his day was.

Baekhyun pushes the restaurant door open without looking up, too engrossed in typing the message on his mobile that he doesn’t even notice the person leaning against the railing that divides the sidewalk from the road.

"Not paying attention to your surroundings again, or are you simply ignoring me?“ Baekhyun looks up when he hears the familiar, low voice. He nearly drops his phone in surprise when his eyes fall upon a tall, handsome figure of Park Chanyeol who looks like he just walked out of a photoshoot for some fashion magazine with his fancy clothes. "Anyway, glad to see you too, Byun Baekhyun."