A/N: 

I decided to update Saturday instead of Friday because it's Baekhyun's birthday today - at least in my country it's still 6.5. Happy birthday to our beautiful Baekhyun!

Thank you for your support in the form of comments/kudos/bookmarks. And sorry to keep you waiting one day longer.
and lol look it's actually a chanbaek chapter and not chapter full of interactions between main characters and their friends without none chanbaek interaction. 

MY TUMBLR  for those who want to ask questions about the story or something like that idk 

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When Baekhyun suddenly faints, everyone starts to panic, but mainly Jongin and Jongdae. Fortunately, Kyungsoo is there to calm them down and think rationally when everyone else is freaking out. While Jongin is holding Baekhyun in his arms and whispering pleas for his best friend to wake up and Jongdae is busy with doing the same but instead of whispering he’s screaming at the poor unconscious man who surely doesn’t even hear him, Kyungsoo starts asking people to call an ambulance.

One of the customers speaks up, saying that he’s a doctor and immediately runs to Baekhyun. Jongin and Jongdae are dragged away by the petite cook as the man in his late fifties crunches beside Baekhyun, checking his pulse, breathing and temperature.

The whole restaurant is watching the scene, whispering to each other theories about what could be wrong with the poor waiter while the doctor’s treating Baekhyun. While Kyungsoo is telling Jongin and Jongdae not to lose their heads and let the doctor do his job, Chanyeol is left alone among the crowd of curious customers. He just stands there and watches the way Baekhyun’s chest raises and falls much faster than it should, his heart hurting at the sight of Baekhyun’s pale face.

"Has the boy mentioned something about feeling unwell in the past days?“ the doctor asks without looking away from Baekhyun.

"He’s been sick since Monday,“ Jongin says hurriedly, biting on his nails from nervousness.

Monday? Chanyeol asks himself in his mind. Clenching his fists, Chanyeol tries not to feel guilty, telling himself that Baekhyun catching a cold just one day after their dinner has got nothing to do with him. How could he be responsible for something like that, right?

"Can you give me a more detailed description of his recent condition?“

"Uhm... He’s been looking really tired a-and.. I don’t know, I–“

Kyungsoo holds his hand up in front of Jongin’s face, signalizing to him to stop talking and the white-haired man obeys instantly, closing his mouth shut. Then, the cook kneels beside the doctor and starts talking calmly, "He has two part-time jobs and works long late night shifts at his second workplace, so he doesn’t get a lot of sleep. Since Monday, he’s been feverish, but refused to take a single day off.“

"I see,“ the doctor nods. "Does he get sick often?“

"Once or twice a year,“ Kyungsoo answers the next question easily without stuttering.

"Has he ever fainted before?“

"No, never.“

"Any serious health problems?“

"No.“

"Has he been in any stressful situations lately?“

"A few.“

Chanyeol just watches the exchange with his mouth slightly opened and eyes wide, not believing how smooth and calm Kyungsoo is. The complete opposite of the two men behind his back who are probably thinking that Baekhyun’s dying. The worry Kyungsoo feels is clear in his eyes, but his voice is steady. He knows that panicking won’t solve anything, and Chanyeol admires the cook for being the smart one among them.

Just as the doctor opens his mouth, probably to ask another question, Baekhyun lets out a quiet, pained whimper and shifts, catching everyone’s attention. The silence in the room is deafening as every single person in the restaurant watches Baekhyun and waits for what happens next.

Slowly, Baekhyun opens his eyes and turns his head to the right. Although his eyes are open, he doesn’t seem to be fully awake. Baekhyun looks more like he’s day-dreaming. Jongin can't stop himself from speaking up when he sees that Baekhyun is awake again. "Baekhyun, are you–“

"Be quiet,“ Kyungsoo is quick to shush his boyfriend, who frowns but listens when the doctor also shoots him a dirty glance, probably having enough of all the screaming.

Baekhyun’s eyes don’t stay open for long, and the male lets his eyelids fall once again after just a few seconds, but his breathing becomes more even now. The doctor sighs and says, "As I thought... The boy fainted from exhaustion. There is no need for him to go to hospital, the only thing he needs is to go to bed and rest. Due to the cold, his imunity has been very low and combined with lack of sleep and stress, it’s possible for a person to faint, since the body needs rest in order to function. Don’t worry, he’s just sleeping now and he probably won’t wake up til noon, and after he does wake up, he shouldn’t even move from bed for at least twenty-four hours.“

Everybody in the room sighs in relief, the customers returning to their seats while talking about what happened. Jongin with Jongdae start hugging while Kyungsoo continues talking to the doctor, getting more information about how to take care of Baekhyun after he wakes up, and Chanyeol just stands there, looking at sleeping Baekhyun.

They thank the doctor then, and Jongin picks Baekhyun up bridal style, carrying him to the staff room. Jongdae, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol follow quietly behind him.

"Jongdae, can he stay with you?“ Kyungsoo asks when they are standing in the middle of the small room. „My family is over, and I don’t think Baekhyun will be able to rest when there are two five year olds running around the flat.“

"You know my parents, they would make a huge deal out of this,“ Jongdae says sadly, and Kyungsoo sighs, but doesn‘t blame Jongdae for not being able to take care of Baekhyun. Everyone knows that Jongdae’s parents are a little... different, and have a problem with every single one of Jongdae’s friends.

"He can’t be left alone, though. And his apartment is a ing ice box, so he can’t stay there while he’s sick,“ Jongin joins in, tightening his grip on Baekhyun as he tells Jongdae which locker belongs to the brunet so Jongdae can get Baekhyun’s jacket.

"He can stay with me,“ Chanyeol suggests, and all three heads turn to him in unison. It’s kind of scary how their heads snapped to the side in order to look at Chanyeol at the same time, if anyone asked him.

"Not a chance,“ Jongdae snorts, turning away from Chanyeol and completely ignoring the option of Baekhyun staying with the CEO. Kyungsoo and Jongin don’t say anything, but it’s clear that their opinions are the same as Jongdae’s.

"My parents aren’t home, and the house is really warm because of the air-conditioning. I would take care of him–“

"Baekhyun’s not staying with you,“ Jongin interrupts him harshly, which surprises Chanyeol enough to stop talking. The white-haired man is glaring at him with so much hatred, and Chanyeol has to look away from those fierce eyes. "It’s your fault in the first place that this happened.“

"What?“

"If you weren’t such a –“

"Jongin, don’t,“ Jongdae cuts Jongin off, throwing Baekhyun’s jacket over the sleeping male. He would put on the jacket for Baekhyun, but he’s afraid that Baekhyun would wake up, and as the doctor said, he needs to rest now. "Arguing won’t solve anything right now.“

The short silence that stretches, full of tension between Jongin and Chanyeol who are killing each other with their eyes, is interrupted by Kyungsoo. "I think that Baekhyun can stay with Chanyeol.“

"What?!“ both, Jongdae and Jongin yell in unison, looking at Kyungsoo with confusion and shock written all over their faces. Even Chanyeol is surprised that Kyungsoo agrees with his idea.

"But under a few conditions,“ Kyungsoo adds and walks over to Chanyeol, violating Chanyeol’s personal space as he stops only a few centimetres away from his face. Kyungsoo‘s expression is clear of emotions, but there is dark aura surrounding the petite cook. Chanyeol doesn’t like it.

"I-I’m listening,“ Chanyeol gets out, stumbling over his words.

Kyungsoo grabs him by his tie and pulls him down to his level forcefully, startling Chanyeol for a moment. The deadly stare from Kyungsoo is telling him that pulling away would be a bad idea, so Chanyeol just gulps and stays still. "You have to really take care of him. He has to stay in bed for a whole day, and you’ll be his slave and grant his every wish, so he doesn’t have to move an inch. Understand?“

"Yes,“ Chanyeol answers immediately.

"And you are going to keep your hands to yourself. If you touch him just slightly inappropriately, I’ll cut off your , cook it and serve it to you for lunch. Are we clear?“ Kyungsoo asks in a dangerously low voice, and many people would think that what the cook is saying just empty threats, but looking into Kyungsoo’s big eyes, Chanyeol doesn’t dare to question that if he really broke one of the conditions – especially the second one – Kyungsoo wouldn’t think twice about making his threats come true.

"Y-Yes,“ Chanyeol stutters, his terrified expression perfectly matching Jongdae’s. And then there’s Jongin, who is looking at Kyungsoo fondly, like he overheard the whole conversation about Chanyeol’s being cut off.

"Cute,“ Jongin remarks, his eyes meeting Kyungsoo’s when the small cook lets go off Chanyeol and turns to his boyfriend. What the ? Chanyeol thinks. There wasn’t anything cute about it!

"Jongin, Jongdae, take Baekhyun to Chanyeol’s place. I’ll stay until the boss returns to inform him about what happened, then I’ll call you,“ Kyungsoo says, walking over to Jongin and giving him a short kiss as he stands on his tiptoes in order to reach Jongin’s mouth, careful not to hurt Baekhyun who is still in Jongin’s arms.

"Okay,“ Jongin smiles.

Chanyeol watches the two of them saying their goodbyes to each other awkwardly until Jongdae grabs his arm and starts dragging him toward the back door of the restaurant. "My car is parked right there.“

True to his word, Jongdae’s car is parked right in front of the back entrance of the restaurant. Unlocking the car, Jongdae opens the back door to his BMW for Jongin and walks to the other side, taking his place in the driver’s seat. Chanyeol makes himself comfortable in the passanger seat while waiting for Jongin and Baekhyun who come a few seconds later, along with Kyungsoo who opens the passenger seat door and throws Jongdae’s and Chanyeol’s work bags to the CEO’s lap, and then he’s gone. Just like that.

He wants to ask what about our coats?, but then he notices that both of their coats are used as blankets for Baekhyun.

"Ready to go?“ Jongdae asks as he starts the car.

"Yeah,“ Jongin says without looking away from Baekhyun, watching his best friend as if afraid that if he takes his eyes off him, Baekhyun will disappear.

"Let’s go, then.“

The whole ride to Chanyeol’s house, the CEO can’t stop looking at Jongin and Baekhyun through the rearview mirror, his eyes following every movement of Jongin’s fingers as the younger man Baekhyun’s hair gently.

--

Arriving to Chanyeol’s house, Chanyeol starts walking in the direction of his room just to be stopped by Jongdae. "He’s not going to stay in your room.“

"I have work to do, and my work room is also my bedroom,“ Chanyeol explains, his eyes flickering to Jongin who is looking at him with distrust. "I can’t watch over him when he’s in a different room, right?“

"Jesus, just lead the way already,“ Jongin rolls his eyes, and it’s enough of an approval for Chanyeol to continue walking toward his room.

Chanyeol opens the door to his bedroom and holds it open for Jongin who doesn’t spare him a glance as he walks in, heading directly for the bed. He carefully lays Baekhyun down and hands Jongdae all of the coats that were serving as the protection from the cold weather for Baekhyun.

"Can you lend him a sleep shirt, or something? I don’t think he’ll feel comfortable in these clothes,“ Jongin asks, and he sounds like asking something from Chanyeol physically pains him. Chanyeol doesn’t comment on it, not wanting to start another argument with Baekhyun’s best friend, and instead of throwing some sarcastic remark at Jongin, Chanyeol walks over to his wardrobe and pulls out a plain white t-shirt as Jongin takes of Baekhyun’s shoes. He throws it to Jongin who catches it easily, and mumbles an almost inaudible thanks.

Then, he starts slowly undressing Baekhyun, starting with his jeans, pulling them down and putting Baekhyun’s long legs on the display. Chanyeol’s breath hitches in his throat at the sight, and even though he wants to look away, he can’t. He simply continues starting at Baekhyun while Jongin’s doing his work, the dirty thoughts that shouldn’t be there appearing in Chanyeol’s mind.

Throwing Baekhyun’s skinny jeans on the floor along with his socks, Jongin starts ing Baekhyun’s uniform one button after another with skilled fingers while Jongdae’s folding Baekhyun’s jeans, and Chanyeol visibly tenses when Baekhyun’s bare chest is revealed, his fingers twitching with the strong desire to touch the brunet’s toned stomach. Not so long after, Baekhyun’s button up is completely gone, and Chanyeol’s throat dries at the sight of Byun Baekhyun lying almost on his bed. When he imagined Baekhyun in his bed, he imagined it differently, though.

"Try not to get a ,“ Jongin glances at Chanyeol from the corners of his eyes, probably feeling Chanyeol’s eyes on Baekhyun, and the CEO looks away immediately, feeling embarrassed that he was caught staring like that. The younger man just smirks and grabs the t-shirt Chanyeol provided him with, putting it on Baekhyun with the utmost care.

When Baekhyun’s dressed in an appropriate clothing for sleeping, Jongin covers his body with a real blanket this time, tugging him in.

"That should be it,“ Jongin mumbles to himself. Then, he turns to Chanyeol and narrows his eyes. "If you try to–“

"I won’t!“ Chanyeol assures Jongin before the guy can even finish his sentence, his voice a pitch higher than intended. He shudders at the memory of Jongin’s evil boyfriend warning him about not touching Baekhyun in the staff room just a few minutes ago, and Chanyeol has already decided that he won’t touch Baekhyun unless necessary, too scared that Kyungsoo would actually stay true to his words.

"Good,“ Jongin turns back to Baekhyun, sweeping a few strands of hair away from his forehead. His lips move as he says something to Baekhyun that Chanyeol can’t hear, and then Jongin stands up and with the one last look at Baekhyun, he starts walking toward the door followd by Jongdae.

Chanyeol walks them out of his house, Jongdae handing him the documents Chanyeol needs to go through along the way. They talk about what happened in the company while Chanyeol was away, and Jongin stays quiet the whole time, not having anything to say regarding this topic.

He only speaks up when they are at the front door, stopping on the doorstep and turning to Chanyeol while Jongdae continues to make his way toward his car, leaving the two of them alone. "Listen, I don’t know what’s going on in your mind or what your true intentions are, but we are talking about my best friend here, and I need you to promise me that you are going to take care of him while he’s here.“

Jongin’s tone lacks any sort of anger or hatred toward Chanyeol, his voice laced with desperation instead. Chanyeol can’t even imagine what Jongin is going through, leaving his best friend in the hands of a person he doesn’t know. From what Baekhyun’s probably told him, Jongin doesn’t even trust him, and yet, he’s leaving Baekhyun in Chanyeol’s care because there isn’t any other choice. Imagining that Chanyeol would be the one in this situation and would have to leave Jongdae alone with someone he thought of as untrustworthy, he would want even the smallest reassurement in form of promise, too.

"I’ll take care of him,“ Chanyeol says seriously, looking straight into Jongin’s eyes. "I swear.“

"You better,“ is all Jongin tells him before he turns around and starts walking toward Jongdae’s car as well, leaving Chanyeol standing on the doorstep alone. Chanyeol catches Jongin’s eyes one more time as the younger man slides into passenger’s seat, and they don’t break the eye-contact they share until the car drives away.

"I’ll take care of him,“ Chanyeol repeats to himself one more time, determined to keep his promise.

--

Chanyeol is going over documents Jongdae gave to him today before he left Chanyeol’s house with Jongin, when he hears rustling of the sheets behind him, and the CEO turns around on his chair to look at the person lying in his bed.

"You’re finally up,“ he says when he sees Baekhyun cringing as the light from the lamp hits his eyes. The brunet lets his eyelids fall once again as he buries his head in the pillow in order to get rid of the annoying light that is terrorizing his eyes, curling into a ball and wrapping the covers around himself tighter.

Chanyeol wonders if Baekhyun decided to continue sleeping, since his expression softens as he gets more comfortable in Chanyeol’s bed, the creases between his eyebrows disappearing as he lets out a quiet, content sigh. Telling himself that Baekhyun needs to sleep now more than ever, Chanyeol is ready to turn back to his work and let the brunet get more rest, but then suddenly Baekhyun’s eyes snap open and the man shoots up into sitting position in a second. Their gazes meet, and Chanyeol is met with a terrified look in Baekhyun’s brown orbs. "What are you doing here?“

"This is my house,“ Chanyeol chuckles as he puts the pen he was holding in his hand down on the table and gets up from the chair, walking over to the queen-sized bed and sitting on the edge. He makes sure not to get too close to Baekhyun, now wanting to scare the brunet.

"Then what am I doing in your house?“ Baekhyun questions, visibly clutching the covers tightly in his hands. Their eye-contact breaks when Baekhyun looks away to scan the unfamiliar room he’s in, taking in his surroundings. He looks rather uncomfortable and nervous, but Chanyeol can’t blame him. Waking up in a stranger’s house without remembering how has he gotten here must be stressful.

"You–“

"And this isn’t my shirt–... Where the hell are my pants?!“ Baekhyun exclaims, horrified to find that he indeed isn’t wearing anything but his black boxers and a plain white shirt that surely doesn’t belong to him, since it’s way too big for his body. Chanyeol opens his mouth to explain, but Baekhyun doesn’t let him, already throwing the blanket away and standing up from the soft bed. "Are you really some erted serial killer or–“

Chanyeol watches as Baekhyun stumbles with just one step and loses his balance, his legs giving out and the petite man almost falling down on the floor if it wasn’t for Chanyeol who was quick to catch him before Baekhyun could hurt himself.

"Did you drug me or something?“ Baekhyun whispers his question as his whole world spins, his vision unclear. Although his limbs feel too heavy, Baekhyun tries to push the CEO away from him, but Chanyeol doesn’t even bulge. Baekhyun starts to panic as the taller man lifts him up and puts him back on the bed, covering Baekhyun with the blanket once again.

"Don’t move just yet, you’re still weak,“ Chanyeol says, ignoring Baekhyun’s protests as he tugs him in. "The doctor said you have to stay in bed at least twenty-four hours.“

"What doctor? You– What kind of sick game are you playing?“ Baekhyun asks, fear easily detectable in his voice as rolls to the other side of the bed, making the distance between him and Chanyeol bigger. It’s true that he doesn’t feel strong enough to stand up again, nor run away from here because his legs seem useless now, but he still needs to get as far away from Chanyeol as possible.

Seeing how terrified the brunet looks, Chanyeol supposes that Baekhyun must really think that Chanyeol is a serial killer with an intention to kill him, which is truly ridiculous. Chanyeol wants to laugh at Baekhyun’s foolishness, but it would only scare the male more, so he fights the urge.

"I’m not a serial killer, and I didn’t drug you,“ Chanyeol says, clearing things up for Baekhyun who visibly relaxes, but just a little bit. He still keeps looking at Chanyeol with suspicion, and so Chanyeol decides to add. "You fainted at the restaurant. We wanted to call an ambulance for you, but fortunately, one of the customers was a doctor and took care of you.“

"That still doesn’t explain why I’m at your house,“ Baekhyun remarks, not satisfied with the brief explanation Chanyeol has provided.

The CEO sighs and continues, "The doctor said that you don’t need to go to hospital, you just need to rest a lot. So I took you here–“

"Was it you who underessed me?“ Baekhyun interrupts, remembering that this isn’t his clothing and that someone must have stripped him off his jeans and button-up in order to get him into this shirt, and since nobody else is here, it has probably been Chanyeol.

"No, it was Jongin,“ Chanyeol answers.

"But where is he? He wouldn’t leave me alone with you,“ says Baekhyun and shakes his head, not believing that after everything Baekhyun has said to Jongin, his best friend would just leave him alone with Chanyeol.

"He would, and he did,“ Chanyeol states, but doesn’t mention how he managed to get Baekhyun’s friends to agree that he wouldn’t do anything inappropriate to the brunet while they are alone, and he hopes that Baekhyun won’t ask him about it. He’s still trying to forget Kyungsoo threatening him.

Baekhyun is still looking at him with suspicion, and clearing his throat, Chanyeol decides to change the topic. "You must be hungry, since you haven’t eaten anything for quite a while. So... uhm, what do you want to eat for late dinner?“

"I’m not hungry,“ Baekhyun replies stubbornly, even though the truth is he’s dying to eat something. The only thing he has eaten since morning was Kyungsoo’s chocolate cake.

"Well, it doesn’t really matter if you’re hungry or not, you have to eat something,“ Chanyeol explains. "You need energy that comes with food.“

"I’m not hungry,“ repeating the same sentence, Baekhyun sinks further into the bed, burying himself in the covers until only his eyes are visible. He looks like a child like this, and his actions are like a child’s as well. Chanyeol doesn’t know how to deal with kids.

"Come on, Baekhyun,“ Chanyeol pleads. "Jongin will kill me if I don’t take care of you.“

"Well, let him,“ Baekhyun throws at Chanyeol and turns around so his back is facing Chanyeol now.

So childish, Chanyeol thinks as he runs a hand through his hair in frustration. Although, he probably deserves this kind of behavior for what he’s done. Baekhyun most likely hates him after Sunday, and being alone with Chanyeol in his house doesn’t seem very appealing to him.

"I’ll just make something simple. I’m not the best cook, though,“ Chanyeol gets up from the bed, waiting for Baekhyun’s reaction, but the smaller male doesn’t even stir under the covers, compeletely ignoring Chanyeol’s presence.

Sighing, Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun’s phone from the table and walks over to him from the other side of the bed. Baekhyun tries to roll away from Chanyeol, but seeing his mobile in Chanyeol’s hand, he stops. Before he can say something, Chanyeol hands him the phone and tells him, "Call Jongin so he knows you’re alright.“

Without saying anything, Baekhyun takes the phone from Chanyeol’s hand and turns away from him once again, not sparing him a glance.

"I’ll be back in a few minutes.“

No reply.

"Call me if you need something.“

Again, Baekhyun doesn’t reply. Chanyeol hates the feeling of being ignored, but he knows that he deserves the silent treatment, so he leaves his bedroom without another word, giving Baekhyun some privacy.

--

Baekhyun follows Chanyeol with his eyes as the CEO walks out of the room, letting out a deep breath when the man is out of the room. Suddenly, it’s so much easier to breathe when Chanyeol’s not here, and Baekhyun is all alone in a room that is too big for one person, in Baekhyun’s opinion.

For a while, Baekhyun’s just taking in his surrounding, looking around the room with curious eyes. Although this is Chanyeol’s bedroom – at least, Baekhyun thinks so – it doesn’t look like it. Baekhyun doesn’t know Chanyeol or what type of person Chanyeol is, and thus he can’t say if Chanyeol’s personality matches the image of his bedroom or not, but the room feels more like an apartement in a hotel rather than someone’s bedroom. Aside from the photos that are put on display, adorning the shelves and Chanyeol’s table, there is nothing else that could tell a stranger that this room belongs to Chanyeol. There is nothing personal about this room besides the photos, them being the only thing that gives off a bit of warm vibe to the otherwise cold room.

Baekhyun feels rather uneasy here, even though Chanyeol’s bed is much more comfortable and soft than his own. It feels like he’s lying on feathers, not just on a bed. He buries himself deeper, unconsciously breathing in Chanyeol’s scent as his face gets lost in the velvety smooth pillow. The thought about how good Chanyeol smells is pushed to the darkest parts of Baekhyun’s mind, ready to be ignored forever and eventually forgotten. These kind of thoughts are dangerous, after all.

Remembering the mobile in his hand, Baekhyun rolls on his back and unlocks the phone, speed-dialing Jongin. After the phone rings for four times and Jongin still isn’t picking up, Baekhyun is ready to hang up with a frustrated noise coming out of his mouth, but at the last minute, a voice greets him from the other side of the line. It‘ not Jongin who picks up, though.

"Hey, Baekhyun,“ Kyungsoo says. "I’ll get Jongin for you in a minute. The twins are all over him again, that’s probably why he didn’t hear the phone ringing.“

Oh, of course. Baekhyun completely forgot that Kyungsoo’s family is visiting this week, even though Jongin has been stressing about it the whole week. Baekhyun didn’t understand why would Jongin be nervous about Kyungsoo’s aunt, her husband and their kids visiting, since Jongin has already met them before. His best friend tried to explain to him that it was different before, because at that time, Jongin and Kyungsoo weren’t living together, but Baekhyun can’t understand why would it be important.

"No, no, you don’t have to. Just tell him that I’m feeling better, and that he doesn’t have to worry,“ Baekyhun says, not wanting Jongin to leave the company of the twins because of him, knowing very well how much Jongin likes kids.

"Are you sure?“ Kyungsoo asks.

"Yeah,“ Baekhyun answers after remembering that Kyungsoo can’t see him nodding his head when they are talking through the phone. "I’ll call tomorrow, so–“

"Wait,“ Kyungsoo interrupts him before Baekhyun can say goodbye and hang up just like that. "If you’re angry at Jongin, don’t be. It was me who said yes when Chanyeol suggested that you‘ll stay with him until you get better. Jongin was against it the whole time.“

"Why, though? He’s practically a stranger. Plus, Jongin has surely told you everything about... my situation with Chanyeol. So, why?“ Baekhyun questions, sounding more harsher and angry than intended.

"He‘s Jongdae’s best friend, Baekhyun, so he’s not a stranger,“ Kyungsoo continues quickly, knowing that if he gave Baekhyun a chance, the brunet would start arguing immediately. "Where else would you stay? You can’t stay with me and Jongin because my family is here, and my place isn’t big enough for all of us. Jongdae’s parents would most probably kill you in your sleep, and your flat is a synonym for North Pole.“

"I would rather freeze in my flat–“

"Baekhyun, it’s just for two days tops. You’ll be sleeping the whole time anyway. And Jongin plans on visiting you tomorrow, see if Chanyeol is taking care of you properly. Just bear with it for the time being, alright?“ Kyungsoo’s voice is dripping with desperation, the pleading tone making Baekhyun calm his nerves down. As always, Kyungsoo is indeed right – Baekhyun feels really tired and will most probably sleep the whole time, finally being able to rest. Chanyeol has been a pain in the from the beginning, and Baekhyun aways ignored him. It doesn’t have to be any different this time too, ignoring Chanyeol’s presence should be easy enough. And Jongin is also visiting him tomorrow, so it’s not like he will have to spend the upcoming hours only with Chanyeol.

"Fine,“ Baekhyun gives up with a deep sigh. "But I’m still angry.“

"I know, I’m sorry,“ hearing Kyungsoo saying sorry without any hint of sarcasm sounds weird, and it’s totally uncharacteristic. Baekhyun supposes that Kyungsoo must really feel bad for leaving him with Chanyeol.

"Just come tomorrow, please.“

"We will, and– Jesus Jongin be–“ Kyungsoo’s voice gets lost in a loud crash, the sound similar to something breaking. A kids‘ laughter follows, and Baekhyun doesn’t have to think too hard to figure out what just happened. "–careful.“

Baekhyun can’t help but laugh at Kyungsoo’s defeated tone. The poor guy has it hard, right now he has to deal with three children at once, not only with the one big baby going by the name of Kim Jongin.

"I’m going to kill him,“ Baekhyun can hear Kyungsoo mumbling under his breath.

"Don’t. I need him to come tomorrow.“

"I’ll kill him later, then,“ they make a compromise in the end. "Eat something and go to sleep, okay? We’ll visit you soon.“

"Fine, mom,“ Baekhyun teases the cook, saying his goodbye afterwards, this time uninterrupted. He can hear Kyungsoo’s frustrated voice calling Jongin’s name before he hangs up, and Baekhyun can only imagine Jongin’s scared face when he sees Kyungsoo’s angry expression.

After ending the call, Baekhyun spreads his arms and lets the phone fall from his hand on the bed. Staring at the white ceiling mindlessly, his eyes begin to close once again, sleepiness coming back to him. Baekhyun wants to sleep, but falling asleep when his stomach is hurting so much because of the lack of food in it proves to be difficult. Right now though, he is even more tired than hungry, and that’s why he finds himself half-asleep after having his eyes closed for maybe fifteen minutes. The sweet embrance of what could be a peaceful slumber is taken away from Baekhyun though, when Chanyeol steps into the room with a tray full of food.

Baekhyun would have pretended to be asleep just so he doesn’t have to face Chanyeol, but hearing the quiet cursing, Baekhyun’s curiosity gets the better of him. As he opens his eyes and turns his head to the side to see Chanyeol, Baekhyun witnesses the way Chanyeol enters the room, rather ungracefully.

"I was afraid you’d fall asleep while I’m gone,“ Chanyeol says, like Baekhyun wasn’t trying to do exactly that before Chanyeol stumbled into the room.

Chanyeol makes his way toward Baekhyun, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting the tray with food down. Clearing his throat nervously, he speaks up again. "I didn’t know what you like, so I called Jongdae and asked.“

"You called Jongdae just because of that?“ Baekhyun questions before he can stop himself, his intention of not talking to Chanyeol and completely ignore the giant’s presence momentarily forgotten.

"Well, you said you weren’t hungry, but you still need to eat... so, I thought that if I bring something you like, you might give in,“ Chanaeol explains, scratching the back of his neck nervously. When Baekhyun just stares at him without moving, Chanyeol pushes the tray closer to Baekhyun awkwardly and then looks away again.

Baekhyun sits up, careful not to bump into the tray and leans his back against the headboard. His eyes flicker to the tray, and Baekhyun sees a lot of different kinds of fruit and a two pieces of cakes there. The fruit is cut and arranged perfectly on the two plates, and it really looks like Chanyeol put some effort in making this.

"It’s all I have at home at the moment because I wasn’t meant to be back until Saturday, and I gave a week off to our maids, so nobody was there to go shopping, either. And it’s all healthy and ,“ Chanyeol hurriedly says, desperate to explain himself to Baekhyun. "But I can still order something if you wa–“

"You don’t have to, I’m okay with this,“ Baekhyun stops him despite kinda wanting to see the CEO struggling with words. Besides, he really loves fruit, and he doesn’t think his stomach would be able to wait until the delivery arrives.

"Which one do you want?“ Chanyeol points at the two different cakes on the tray. "I wanted to eat a cake for dinner, but I thought you would like to have one too. I didn’t know which one, so... choose. One is chocolate and the other is strawberry.“

Baekhyun looks at the two cakes, and then back at Chanyeol who is still looking anywhere but at the brunet. It’s making Baekhyun kind of angry, how Chanyeol can’t look him in the eyes while talking. „I’ll take the strawberry one.“

"Okay,“ Chanyeol nods and takes the plate with chocolate cake in his hands. „I was kinda hoping you’d choose the strawberry one. I like this one more.“

"Chocolate is too mainstream,“ Baekhyun says flatly. Not like Baekhyun doesn’t like chocolate. He loves it, actually. And he espiecialy loves the chocolate sweets made by Kyungsoo. 

"But it’s delicious,“ Chanyeol argues, cutting off a piece and putting it into his mouth. He finally looks up at Baekhyun and makes eye-contact.

"Unlike pineapple pizza,“ Baekhyun mutters under his breath, remembering how Chanyeol bragged about how pineapple pizza is the best thing in the word a few days ago. Which is bull.

"Excuse you.“

"Excuse your horrible taste in pizza toppings,“ Baekhyun says and reaches for a piece of apple, putting it into his mouth while holding eye-contact with Chanyeol. After a few seconds though, Baekhyun turns his attention back to the food, going for a strawberry this time.

The silence follows, and Baekhyun busies himself with eating, wanting to get food in his stomach as fast as he possible, so that he can go back to sleep. Chanyeol doesn’t say a single word either, though Baekhyun catches the other man staring at him occasionaly. They sit on Chanyeol’s bed with the tray full of food between them, but Baekhyun still feels like Chanyeol is too close. He wants to get away, distance himself, but there is nowhere he can go, and Baekhyun can’t just tell Chanyeol to get out of his own room.

After ten minutes of complete absence of words, Chanyeol finally speaks up. "Baekhyun?“

"Hm,“ Baekhyun hums to let Chanyeol know that he’s listening, but he doesn’t raise his head to come face to face with him. Instead, he keeps looking at the fruit in front of him, appearing like he doesn’t know what to eat next, but the truth is that the brunet’s just avoiding Chanyeol’s eyes.

"About Sunday...“ Chanyeol trails off, pausing before he continues, carefully watching Baekhyun’s reaction.  When Sunday is mentioned, Baekhyun visibly stiffens and gulps, not expecting this topic to come so quickly. Of course, Baekhyun knew that Chanyeol will bring up the evening they had spent together at some point, but this is too soon.

"Let’s not talk about it,“ Baekhyun tries to sound casually as he says it, but he’s freaking out inside. To soothe his nerves, he reaches for the strawberry cake and cuts off a rather big piece, stuffing his mouth with it to the fullest. Maybe if Chanyeol sees him in a state in which Baekhyun is unable to answer a single question – since his mouth would be full with cake – he will just drop the subject.

Baekhyun thought wrong.

"Please, listen–“

"No,“ Baekhyun cutts him off mid-sentence, the cake almost falling out of his mouth as he opens them to stop Chanyeol from talking. It’s more than clear that Baekhyun doesn’t want to talk about Sunday, but the CEO – as always – doesn’t get the hint, or is simply ignoring Baekhyun’s protests.

"Baekhyun, I just want to–“

"You just want to what?“ Baekhyun gulps down the rest of the cake, spitting the words out of his mouth like venom. Not expecting Baekhyun to snap like this, Chanyeol almost drops the plate with the chocolate dessert, surprised by the sudden harsh tone. "Know why I turned you down after all your efforts?“

"No! That’s not it,“ putting the plate down on the bedsheets carefully, Chanyeol instinctively reaches out for Baekhyun’s arm. Since Chanyeol has always been a person who is very affectionate and expresses his feelings through skin to skin contact, it seems so natural to take a hold of Baekhyun’s arm and pour his emotions into the touch. However, Baekhyun doesn’t appreciate the contact in the slightest.

"Don’t touch me,“ Baekhyun grits his teeth and swats Chanyeol’s hand away, frowning deeply at the younger man. He abandons the cake on the tray just so he can go as far away from Chanyeol as possible, pushing himself to the opposite end of the bed.

"Sorry,“ Chanyeol quickly apologizes and retreats his hand, bringing it to his lap. "I’m just used to it.“

"I bet,“ it’s only after Baekhyun’s remark and a loud snort accompanying the two words that Chanyeol realizes how bad the wording of his sentence sounded.

"It wasn’t meant like that,“ Chanyeol’s desperately trying to save the situation, but it only seems like he’s digging his own grave with every word that falls out of his mouth. God knows what Baekhyun must think of him.

"I don’t care,“ Baekhyun shakes his head, the frown not leaving his face. He’s looking at Chanyeol with fierce eyes, not actually angry but irritated nonetheless. "Just stop talking.“

"If you‘ve just let me explain–“

"So it’s my fault now?“

"No! Jesus,“ Chanyeol groans and closes his eyes as his head falls back. Dealing with Baekhyun is so hard, how do his friends handle such a kid? „I only want you to listen to me, nothing else.“

When Baekhyun lets out an annoyed huff but actually shuts up, Chanyeol takes it as a good sign. The problem is, right now when Baekhyun is willing to hear him out, Chanyeol loses track of all the words he wanted to say to Baekhyun. The apology and an explanation he had in his mind are both gone, and Chanyeol just stares at the pouting brunet in front of him with, loads to say but his mouth still hanging open wordlessly. 

Baekhyun turns his eyes at him after a few seconds and sees Chanyeol opening his mouth and closing it again as if he forgot how to talk. Baekhyun takes it that Chanyeol doesn't have anything to say in the end, even though he fought so hard for the chance to explain himself. 

With a quiet snort, Baekhyun returns to his food, eating the cake while feeling the tense atmosphere surrounding the two men. It almost makes him lose his appetite. Almost being the keyword because Baekhyun would never turn down something sweet, and the cake is literally perfection.

"You got it wrong," Chanyeol whispers suddenly, voice so quiet that Baekhyun almost hasn't heard it. It makes him look up at Chanyeol, since he has never in this short time they've spent together heard Chanyeol sound so small. Having such a strong presence and being so tall, Baekhyun would never think that Chanyeol can look smaller than Baekhyun himself.

"I don't understand," Baekhyun says, looking at Chanyeol with confusion.

"The whole time, I had been enjoying myself in your company. I wasn't putting up an act just so I could seduce you, or whatever," Chanyeol explains, playing with the cut off piece of his cake, but not bringing it up to his mouth. 

Baekhyun frowns after hearing it, though what Chanyeol has said was meant to shoo the brunet's worries about Chanyeol pretending to have fun while he was just trying to get Baekhyun to sleep with him away. "Don't you dare try telling me that you didn't plan to make a move on me when you invited me out."

"I didn't!" Chanyeol exclaims.

"If you keep lying then it's best if we just drop it," Baekhyun shakes his head, angrily eating another piece of the cake, thinking that feeling that delicious strawberry cream in his mouth would soothe his nerves, at least a little.

"I'm not lying," defending his good intentions, Chanyeol adds. "I didn't plan anything beforehand. I just wanted you to feel better, you seemed frustrated at that time."

"Okay, I believe you" Baekhyun says, but there is a strong vibe of sarcasm. It's clear that Baekhyun doesn't believe a single words that escapes Chanyeol's lips, and honestly, it's pissing Chanyeol off to the extreme. He's being completely honest right now, and the man in front of him isn't even bothering to listen. 

"Fine," Baekhyun startles when Chanyeol growls at him, sensing the anger in Chanyeol's voice and tensing at the intensity of the tone. "Do you want me to tell you the truth?"

"Yes."

Taking a deep breath, Chanyeol starts. "I want you, and you know I do. You can't even begin to imagine what's going on in my head when I see you in my bed, wearing my shirt," seeing the shocked look on Baekhyun's face, Chanyeol thinks that he should stop, but then again, it's Baekhyun who wanted Chanyeol to be honest, so instead of stopping, Chanyeol continues. "But I won't try anything because I know you don't want it, and I'm also not taking care of you so I can use it against you in the future. I'm doing it because I want to, and because I'm sorry for trying to kiss you on Sunday. You can think that I planned it all - took you out for dinner, laughed at your jokes, argued about stupid things with you, paid for you and drove you home - but it isn't true. I wanted to cheer you up, nothing more. Of course I had inappropriate thoughts during the evening, you can't blame me for that when you look the way you do, but don't assume that I'm enough of a jerk to spend the whole evening pretending to be interested in you just because I tried to kiss you. It was just in the spur of the moment, for which I'm sorry, really."

The room is quiet once again, with the exception of Chanyeol's heavy breathing. He didn't mean to get angry and say all those things without really thinking them through, but Baekhyun's ignorance fired him up way too much. Which is strange, since Chanyeol has been taught to hide his frustration at all costs, the calm posture being important in a cruel business world. Somehow, Baekhyun makes him lose his calm posture with just a few words. For being so stunning and catching people's eyes with his beauty, Baekhyun's personality sure isn't as flawless as the man's appearance is. 

Too deep in his thoughts, Chanyeol hasn't noticed Baekhyun's small eyes widening as the CEO kept going on and on, the honesty surprising Baekhyun so much that he was rendered speechless when Chanyeol has gotten everything out, ending his speech with an apology. While he was talking, Chanyeol looked really intimidating, but now when he's waiting for Baekhyun to say something, he is back to looking like a kicked puppy, small and vulnerable. 

And Baekhyun truly wants to say something, anything, but his mind is still processing Chanyeol's words. Although he doesn't know what to tell Chanyeol, Baekhyun can already feel the immense guilt coming with the realization that he wronged Chanyeol - again - just because he chose to believe in what Siwoon said instead of what Chanyeol's been trying to explain for the past few minutes. 

Nobody would want to spend their free time with you if it wasn’t for a promise of a  later. Even now, when he remembers this sentence, he still has doubts trusting Chanyeol that what he has said is true, but looking at the taller's man slouched form, all of his doubts are slowly but surely disappearing. 

"So.. uhm, I'm gonna- wash the dishes... yeah," Chanyeol nods to himself and stands up, putting the plate with the unfinished chocolate cake on the tray. Before Baekhyun can even say something to stop him from running away - yes, this is exactly what Chanyeol's doing and Baekhyun knows it - Chanyeol is already at the door, opening them with one hand while holding the tray in the other. 

Baekhyun finally finds the courage to speak up, but then Chanyeol cuts him off before Baekhyun can get the first syllable out. "I'm sorry for the article too," he says, no need to specify, they both know which article Chanyeol means. And then, Chanyeol's gone, leaving Baekhyun alone in the room. 

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Baekhyun puts the remains of the cake on the bedside table, losing his apetite completely after the conversation. He stares blanky at the wall in front of him for a while, but then the sleepiness from before comes back and his eyelids start to feel heavy once again. As he lays down and tugs himself in the soft covers, Baekhyun can't help but think of Chanyeol. 

It's not new that Baekhyun falls asleep accompanied by an enormous feeling of self-hatred and guilt, but somehow, the feeling is more intense than usual.