A/N: Chanbaek requested where BBH is a mind reader painfully aware of Chanyeol's crush? I ended up really enjoying writing this bc hey...rocker pcy and soft, crystal- wearing bbh? I never knew I loved this combo so much until now lmao and I really loved writing Sehun's character haha, but I think I totally spiraled off from what you had in mind... hope you enjoy anyways! This is about 3.6~k words. Thanks for the prompt :)

 

“One large caramel macchiato with three shots of espresso, low- fat milk only,” rattled off the tall redhead before pausing for a moment and adding, “and maybe a little whipped cream on top. Please.” The light topping probably defeated the whole purpose of swapping out the milk options, but it made Chanyeol feel better about himself. He’d had a rough day already, what with his best friend Sehun completely botching his new dye- job, and a long gig later that night. 

The tall man ran a hand through his fiery locks, wishing he’d worn a cap or beanie that day. Truthfully, it didn’t look half bad, but when Sehun had asked if he could dye Chanyeol’s hair, the older of the two had agreed, for some crazy, unknown reason. And thus, after roughly an hour and a bottle of cheap hair dye, a redhead Chanyeol was born. 

“Chanyeol?” A barista called out, holding Chanyeol’s custom drink in the air. The tall man made a noise that signalled his arrival at the front and took his drink, toes curling inside his black boots just from the sweet aroma that wafted from the opening in the lid. He made his way to an empty little booth tucked away closer to the back of the bustling coffee shop, apologizing to several people as he made his way.

And then, just before his long legs slid inside the booth, Chanyeol caught eye of a lone man sitting by the window, elegant neck on display as his chin rested almost angelically in the palm of his hand. The man was faced toward the window, but Chanyeol had caught a glimpse of him walking by and he had looked…

Chanyeol swallowed hard and was about to continue on his way when the stranger turned his head and locked eyes with him. 

The redhead blinked, a little offput by the way the other man’s hazel eyes lazily glanced once- over at Chanyeol before quirking up a corner of his mouth. 

“You should take a picture, it’d last longer,” He said cheekily and went back to typing away at a laptop Chanyeol hadn’t noticed was there before. 

And there he was, still standing with his cooling drink in one hand and mouth hanging open like an idiot, gaping at the man with the puppy- soft eyes and soft, rosy cheeks. Chanyeol schooled his face into the most nonchalant and cool expression he could after being caught checking out the stranger. 

“Well, a camera’s not the only thing I’m able to work,” Chanyeol blurted out without thinking. 

God, he really was stupid, wasn’t he? Sehun would’ve probably spit in his drink for that and his bandmates would’ve slapped him for how tactless that line had sounded. Why was it that, apart from the stage, Chanyeol could never hope to be the suave, effortlessly y, guy that had both men and women swooning?

Glancing back at Chanyeol, who was busy trying not to have his face match his hair color, the other man chuckled lowly with a - eating smile spread across his face. 

“Why don’t you sit with me?” He said suddenly patting the seat next to him as if they were two school girls in third grade. Chanyeol suddenly emerged from his thoughts and cleared his throat rather awkwardly. 

“Um. I guess- I mean, ok?” He said in a lilting, questioning tone, but the other man just grinned cutely and bounced a leg up and down. Chanyeol ignored the hand that was patting the booth seat to invite him to sit next to the stranger and, instead, opted to sit across from the man. 

A hand extended over the table. “I’m Baekhyun.”

“Chanyeol,” he grasped the small hand firmly, ignoring how it felt more warming to hold than his coffee cup (because it was nearly November, so obviously Chanyeol was going to feel a bit cold). 

Baekhyun nodded his head and played around with something on his sleek, black, laptop, and without raising his eyes to look at Chanyeol, asked, “What brings you into town? You’re not from around here, right?”

Chanyeol chuckled and looked down at himself, as if his all- black attire had somehow been a giveaway that he was only in town for a gig. 

“Is it really that obvious I don’t come here often? Nah, my band’s playing at the Monster club tonight. I actually live way across town- 30 or 40 so minutes from here,” Chanyeol explained, strangely feeling at ease with Baekhyun, despite not having known the man for more than five minutes. He couldn’t help it, though. It was something about Baekhyun’s peachy lips, soft brown hair that fell over his brow as he tapped away, and  , was that eyeliner outlining his lids because that was hot- 
Baekhyun chuckled suddenly and Chanyeol’s face grew warm when he realized he’d probably been checking the other out for way too long. But the other was still working on his laptop, so he hadn’t noticed, right?

“Ooh, a band boy? You play the drums or something?” Baekhyun said in a teasing, playful manner and Chanyeol felt the need to tease back.

“I’m drummer but I play a lot of instruments. I’m skilled,” he smirked, lifting his coffee up to take a sip of, making sure not to break eye contact from Baekhyun, whose grin grew impossibly larger. 

“Oh, let me guess,” Baekhyun tapped a ( not slender and beautiful , Chanyeol thought) finger on his chin and pretended to think, tilting his head mockingly, “you’re a bad boy drummer who flirts around and does naughty things at night, but still needs to get his sugary cup of macchiato, is that it?” 

The way Baekhyun said the word naughty made Chanyeol’s throat go dry, but he wet his lips and chuckled. 

“You’re not wrong. Our show only starts at eleven at night, and we’ll be performing for two or so hours so I gotta get my energy somehow,” Chanyeol said, pointedly ignoring the other parts of Baekhyun’s description. 

The soft brown- haired boy shrugged his shoulders noncommittally before pressing a button on his laptop and shutting it closed. Chanyeol watched as he got up from his side of the booth and reached into his oversized, auburn- colored cardigan, dangling a small, violet business card by the tips of his pointer and middle finger. 

Chanyeol took the card automatically, eyebrows scrunched together as he read the glittery, gold- colored words inscribed upon it. 

“You should stop by and get your energy restored another way. I hear they have excellent services,” Baekhyun called over his shoulder and flashed Chanyeol a toothy smile as he flounced away, laptop tucked under his left arm, the other arm tugging on his beanie to center it just right atop his brown locks. 

The redhead watched as Baekhyun’s small body was easily lost in the coming and going of people in the busy coffee shop. It almost made Chanyeol want to call out to the other and at least get his number or something when he remembered the flashy business card he’d been handed. 

The card was an elegant, dark- plum color that made the swirly, gold words pop on top. The top two lines read:

 

Byun Baekhyun

Professional Mind- Reader, Aura- Reader, Fortune- Teller

 

Chanyeol’s eyebrows knit together again as he quickly scanned the next two lines that contained a number (which Chanyeol hoped was Baekhyun’s own) and an address. It was almost as if he’d been handed a magic card which the answer to all his questions. He let out a slight laugh reading the last line, that wrote, 

You have your whole future in the palm of your hand

Chanyeol thought it was all very cute and Halloween- esque, just in time for the holiday that was right around the corner. He wasn’t a big believer in all that ghosts and magic and follow your destiny bull, because the way he looked at life was, well, you either had your together or you didn’t. And no amount of gazing into crystal balls or waving a stick around a smoking cauldron of questionable substance was going to magically shift your life back into the right lane. 

Nonetheless, Chanyeol tucked the little card into the back pocket of his ripped, black jeans, mentally reminding himself to save the number on it, or maybe even pay his little mind- reader a visit. 

As he took another sip from his now lukewarm coffee and then stood up to take his leave, he half- formed a thought that, what if- just maybe- Baekhyun actually was some kind of mind- reader?

The tall redhead stopped just outside the door to zip up his leather jacket and fix the thick, knitted scarf around his neck because hey, even rockers got cold. And then he absentmindedly ran his hair through his wild locks again before scoffing and striding through the doors and out to greet the chilly autumn air. 

Byun Baekhyun, a professional mind- reader? That’d have to mean he could read every thought Chanyeol was having about those kohl- lined eyes sitting across from him, and there was no way that was possible. Because that was just crazy, right?

Right?

---

“Dude, Jongin, slow down, you’re way off beat,” Chanyeol called out from the crashing of his cymbals to the man on his left. The tall guitarist glared at the redhead and promptly flipped him off, to which Chanyeol rolled his eyes and struck an ugly face. 

“You’re so ugly,” Jongin said matter- of- factly, shaking his head and grimacing in fake (but not really) disgust and focusing on quickly moving his fingers up and down the neck of the guitar as the song reached his solo.

Chanyeol nodded his head to the tempo locked in his head. If he closed his eyes, he could drown out Jongin’s electric guitar, Jongdae’s vocals, Yixing slamming on his keyboard, even the ugly, guffawing sounds coming from where Sehun was sprawled over a chair, phone held at eye- level as he video chatted with his adoring boyfriend. All of the background noise went away until it was just him and the two drumsticks he held in each hand, moving on both muscle memory and the rush of getting caught up in the beat, the rhythm. 

The song ended with a final drumroll from Chanyeol, which he triumphantly presented, letting the sticks bounce off the drum like the sound of pebbles hitting the pavement. With a flourish, he ended with his arms raised above his head in true drummer style, letting out a whoop and getting up from his seat to grab a drink of water. 

Sehun clapped loudly, to which everyone ignored because by the way he smiled fondly at his phone screen, it was clear his attention had been everywhere but at their music. 

Jonging clapped Chanyeol on the back as his fellow bandmate gulped down half a bottle of water in a long breath. 

“Sorry about that middle part. My finger slipped and I was trying to recover it,” Jongin said apologetically, but Chanyeol brushed it off with a shrug of his shoulders. Everyone in the band had known each other since forming EXO  in the beginning of college, which made their friendship (and band) nearly six years old. Chanyeol had known Jongin even earlier than that, since high school, and Sehun-

Well, Sehun was the ty supposed “manager” of their band, but who’d rather spend his time off his boyfriend Luhan’s face and all sorts of nasty things that he definitely let Chanyeol know too much about than actually do his job and promote their music. He wasn’t getting paid either way, so Chanyeol and the other members didn’t mind it much when the tall, hair- dye fanatic brought his angel- faced boyfriend to one of their gigs, even if they were just there to grind up against each other rather than enjoy their setlist.

Chanyeol tucked a hand into the back pocket of his jeans when his fingers suddenly hit a piece of paper, and he remembered sticking a certain someone’s business card there. He drew it out and stared at it rather wistfully, because he actually had been wanting to stop by the address just to check out the place, but seeing as their show was about to start in less than twenty minutes, there was no way he’d be able to run there and back and still make the opening song. 

The little rectangle was suddenly snatched out of his grasp by none other than Jongdae, who’d somehow popped out of nowhere and was currently cooing over the pretty little paper. 

“Byun Baekhyun, huh? Chanyeol, you never told us you were into magic tricks,” Jongdae smirked and waved the paper in front of him, teasing, before Chanyeol got fed up and snatched the card back, a bit irked at the slightly bent corner.  

“He’s just some guy I met at a coffee shop. Half that stuff’s probably not even real,” Chanyeol said breezily and waved a hand at the energetic blond. The pale shade of hair color on the shorter man made Chanyeol do a double take, because Jongdae was like Yixing and hardly ever dyed his hair, unlike Chanyeol and Jongin, who seemed to sport a new shade of the rainbow every other week. 

“, look at this selfie Luhan just sent me,” Sehun groaned and sidled up to Chanyeol’s side, shoving a blurry picture of a pastel- pink haired boy on his phone under Chanyeol’s nose.

The redhead batted the phone away in annoyance and bopped the blond with his half- empty water bottle. 

“No one wants to see your fairy Lu,” Chanyeol called out behind him as he checked the slim watch on his wrist. 

“I hope your mind- reader Baekhee or whatever turns out to be a scam and robs you of all your money!” Sehun hollered back until Jongdae poked him in the side to shut him up. 

Chanyeol flipped the bottle as he walked back to his drum set, pouting when it toppled over onto the floor instead of landing upright. There was approximately ten minutes left until they opened, so he opted to play around for a bit. 

Pulling out Baekhyun’s business card, Chanyeol copied down the number into his phone contacts and typed in a quick greeting, thumb hovering over the ‘send’ button.

Hey was a pretty normal greeting, right? But wait, shouldn’t he introduce himself first? 

And then a sudden thought dawned upon Chanyeol. But what if all this was strictly business? After all, Baekhyun could just simply be promoting his business and here Chanyeol was, acting like he was a nervous high schooler about to ask his crush to prom. 

“Hey, show’s about to start!” Jongin said to Chanyeol as he walked to his spot, pulling the redhead out of his thoughts. Chanyeol nodded once and twirled a drumstick in one hand, adjusting the collar of his loose black top with the arm slits low near his hips. The air outside the club was probably freezing by now, but Chanyeol knew he was bound to get hot and sweaty during their intense setlist. 

Chanyeol heard the club MC vaguely mention EXO was about to perform, and a good amount of people had made their way to the small stage set up in the back, but the gig was good money, so Chanyeol didn’t mind however ty their setup was. 

“Thank you all for coming out tonight! Hope you guys love what we have in store for you, it’s gonna be great,” Jongdae shouted into his mic, even his distinct and loud voice nearly getting lost in the noise of chaotic clubbers. “We’re gonna open up with this head banger Do It Together and kick it off from there!”

Jongdae looked around the stage for everyone’s thumbs up before nodding once at Chanyeol, who clacked his sticks together three times to set off the song. 

It was in the first fifteen seconds of the song, as Jongdae was already belting out his high notes and Jongin played guitar and sang backup vocals that Chanyeol looked up at the rest of the club, the view made easy due to the slightly raised platform of the stage. The rainbow strobe lights made it difficult to really make out any faces except the ones closest to the stage, where little spotlights were lit, but Chanyeol still managed to make a few eye contacts and send out a couple winks. 

His eyes slid over the crowd, faces melting into one big sea of people until-

 

No. ing. Way.

 

Chanyeol nearly fumbled with his drumsticks when he caught sight of a tousled head of brown hair and smudgy black- lined eyes. He was grinning lopsidedly at Chanyeol, and even had the nerve to give a little wave from his front- row spot right next to the stage. 

Chanyeol couldn’t do much more than stare back in shock as he ran his tongue over his suddenly very dry lips. Other clubbers probably took it as nothing much more than fan service, but the knowing look Yixing sent him from his right said otherwise. 

It was as if he didn’t know how to act cool anymore, couldn’t keep his composure on stage, like it was the very first performance he’d given, when he could barely hold both drumsticks in his awkward and fumbling hands. 

It seemed Baekhyun had that effect on him. And the way he was standing there so calmly, looking ridiculously out of place in his oversized cardigan and bedhead hair and swaying side to side as if he were listening to a romantic ballad instead of the messy mix between the rock- pop music Chanyeol’s band was playing and the EDM blaring from the club’s speakers.

Chanyeol opted to quickly avert his eyes from Baekhyun’s smiley ones and fixed his sight on his drumset.

Never had he wanted a gig to end so badly. And that was including the time EXO had first been set up and took any gig they could get and ultimately ended up playing pop- rock head bangers at an elderly nursing home. 
 

---

 

As soon as Jongdae gave the little farewell speech and everyone bowed and thanked the audience, Chanyeol bolted for the backstage, hurriedly gulping down the rest of his water in one breath. 

Baekhyun was here… Baekhyun had really showed up to his show? Baekhyun, who Chanyeol had only gotten to know for not even ten minutes, yet had Chanyeol more whipped than the cream that had been on his machiatto that morning. 

“Hey buddy, you doing alright? We’d barely even started the show and you looked ready to pass out. I was gonna say something, but you kept going so...” Yixing shrugged and Chanyeol felt a surge of warmth for his long term friend.

“Nah, I’m fine. It’s just,” Chanyeol stuttered, and then laughed to himself at how stupid he was acting, “I wasn’t expecting that Baekhyun guy to show up tonight. Because he was there, you know.” 

Yixing’s eyes widened and he smacked Chanyeol’s arm in disbelief. 

“He did? Here? Chanyeol…” Yixing smirked slyly at Chanyeol, whose face immediately turned sour at his friend’s expression, “you know that obviously means he’s interested, right? And who knows, maybe he really is a psychic and knew you wanted to jump his bones.” 

“Ha ha, so funny,” Chanyeol mocked childishly and turned to see Sehun right behind him, not even bothering to look up from his phone.

“Hey, some guy’s here to see you. Says he knows you. Baekhyun?” Sehun said offhandedly, and tapped away on his phone, probably sending mushy late- night texts to his beloved Lulu. 

Chanyeol’s mouth went dry and he side stepped Sehun to see Baekhyun, in all his adorably soft glory. 

“Hey Chanyeol,” Baekhyun grinned.

“Uh, hi. I wasn’t really expecting you to actually show up,” Chanyeol admitted sheepishly, subconsciously wiping his clammy hands on the back of his jeans. How was he supposed to act natural when Baekhyun just came up to him like this, so casually, as if they were ing friends?!

But… this did make them friends, didn’t it? Chanyeol sure hoped so. Because Baekhyun was truly the most gorgeous person Chanyeol had probably ever seen in his life.

Baekhyun laughed loudly and lightly slapped a hand at Chanyeol’s shoulder and the other tried not to lose his . 

“Chanyeol~ I thought you were really cute. How could I not come? But I was a little disappointed you didn’t stop by my place for a visit,” Baekhyun said teasingly, with a cute pout of his lips.

God, how was it that Chanyeol had just started talking to Baekhyun, and here he was, already wanting to kiss those peachy lips?

“It’s because I’m likeable like that. And our auras match quite well together. Orange,” Baekhyun pointed to himself, and then to Chanyeol, “and red.”

The redhead wasn’t quite sure what Baekhyun was talking about, but he found himself smiling goofily anyways. 

“Yeah? I read on that business card of yours that you’re a professional mind- reader. So tell me, what am I thinking now?” Chanyeol leaned on the nearest table with one elbow, making sure to edge slightly closer toward Baekhyun. Maybe it’d help mask him sweating actual bullets. 

Suddenly Baekhyun cupped one side of Chanyeol’s neck and leaned in close to whisper, “I think that it’s really cute that you’re nervous about talking to me but if you want to kiss me so bad then I’ll spare you the trouble of making the first move.”

And then Chanyeol wasn’t having to imagine what it’d feel like to kiss those lips because in that dark club, as sweaty as he was, he was kissing Baekhyun.

---

Chanyeol learned a lot that night. But mostly that he didn’t really need to voice his thoughts aloud, because Baekhyun always spared him the effort of doing that, and was always more than happy to comply to his desires.  

---

A/N: if you have an otp you'd like me to write, feel free to drop a comment or PM me! im not that familiar w aff so idek if you can PM lmao but