A/N: Unedited ,unbeta-ed. Neha, here you go!

When you ask people about things they loved about “The Love Between Us”, their answers would involve all the seemingly ‘cliché’ scenes in the show. That one heart-stopping time when Kyungsoo almost eavesdropped Chanyeol getting frustrated and confessing that he loves Kyungsoo to Luhan. Also, that heart-wrenching scene where Luhan’s painful past was revealed, it was almost like a shadow of gloom had passed over the whole nation. And a scene that everyone loved, when Jongin faced his personal struggles head-on and emerged as an inspiration to everyone.

If you asked Baekhyun, it would be that scene in the very first episode where Kyungsoo was introduced. He would want his favorite scene to be something more emotional or deep, but he couldn’t help being shallow just this once, for it always brought butterflies to his stomach. He had just turned 17 back then, and had tuned in for the show just because of plain old curiosity. He was instantly hooked on to it by the first 10 minutes, but by the time Kyungsoo’s introduction as a character had come on, there was no turning back. To put it simply, heart-shaped lips and a pair of doe eyes were enough to make Baekhyun understand that, his uality might not be what he thought it once was.

As Baekhyun was lost in his thoughts, he was harshly brought back to reality as the bus he was riding with Chanyeol jerked forward. Before he could succumb to gravity and hurt himself, he was quickly caught by strong arms holding his shoulders in a tight grip. He gave a grateful smile to Chanyeol, and straightened himself. They were currently on their way to meet Chanyeol’s friends, for lack of anything else to do. Chanyeol had shown anything worth to be seen to Baekhyun the whole day, and much to Chanyeol’s slight confusion, Baekhyun had been utterly fascinated in the small town. It was evening by the time they had finished, and Baekhyun had readily agreed to Chanyeol’s suggestion of meeting his friends. He was nervous though, because being near Chanyeol had him quite wonderstruck. He had to control himself from asking too many questions, just in case he thought something was suspicious. It could be safe to say that Baekhyun hadn’t come to the terms with the fact that he was really doing this, in a parallel world.

As their stop came, Chanyeol gently urged Baekhyun to move out with that kind smile he’d had on all day. In a way, Baekhyun felt horrible because Chanyeol definitely believed everything he’d told him. He quickly shrugged it off, because it wasn’t like he’d done it on purpose and had no intentions of hurting him at all. It was unnecessary for Chanyeol to be so polite and take him around everywhere, but nevertheless he was grateful for it.

“So, how is it up north?”

“Same as it always was, just a tad bit more modernized,” Baekhyun said, in calculated words.

“I’ve always wanted to go back there some day, maybe I’d come back for a few days when you go back, it would be fun.”

“Yeah, definitely, we’ll see to it when the day comes.” The shorter said while panicking internally, with an uneasy laugh.

Their conversation continued with them talking about their interests, as Baekhyun desperately tried to change the topic from his alleged home.

They finally arrived on a building that Baekhyun could instantly recognize. It was the university that all of them went to.

“This is the place that me and my friends go to, it’s actually one of the best ones this side of the country.” Chanyeol said proudly, “It’s called University-“

“Of S and M, I know,” Baekhyun said in a dreamlike voice as he walked past the gates into the deserted campus, looking around in wonder. He had never thought he’d actually be able to enter this place in person. It did look just that more prestigious and majestic up close. He stood there looking around, lost in his thoughts again.

“I’ll take you here on a tour, if you’re really so…. Captivated like you look, some day,” Chanyeol said, amused at Baekhyun’s reaction.

“Oh, if you’re not here to show me around, then what are we really for?....” Baekhyun asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

“Well, as cute as you are, I’m not here to kidnap you unfortunately,” Chanyeol told in a casual tone, noticing a blush blooming on Baekhyun’s face. “My friend Kyungsoo takes up extra Japanese classes here, and as he’s going to be out anytime now, I figured that it’s a nice time for you to meet him? And maybe we could go for some ice-cream after this, my way of being sorry for not recognizing you completely.”

Baekhyun nodded mutely, as he registered all the information in his brain. So… Kyungsoo’s going to be here any moment. And Chanyeol wants to treat him to ice-cream, for something that was not his fault at all. Damn, why’s he so…. nice? Baekhyun thought as he felt guilt creeping back into him.

Before he could ponder over it more, Baekhyun had returned to being star-struck.

There he was, Kyungsoo in blood and flesh, coming right towards their direction. He wore an understated black shirt, with khaki pants, basically his usual attire. There were glasses perched on his nose, and his watch glistened in the dark. Baekhyun thought he looked simply breath-taking.

“Yeol-ah, I thought I told you to stop waiting for me here everytime I have classes here, it could be dark by the time you reach your house,” said a melodiously rich voice in a stern tone, whose hands were ruffling Chanyeol’s hair in an affectionate manner. “Don’t do it next time, okay? I’ll be worried about you.”

“Y-yes Kyungsoo, I understand, I just thought I’d drop by here to introduce you to someone,” Chanyeol uttered in a flustered manner, eyes rapidly blinking. It was inevitable for anyone to not see how absolutely whipped the boy was. Baekhyun thought it was a wonder that Kyungsoo had not realized anything beforehand.

“Oh, who is he?” Kyungsoo asked, widening his eyes adorably when he noticed Baekhyun standing there.

“This is Baekhyun, he’s like my childhood friend, he lived near my grandmother’s house,” Chanyeol said, his normal tone coming back. “And Baekhyun, this is Kyungsoo, one of my oldest and closest friends, who’s also apparently my mother, just nagging always.”

Kyungsoo elbowed Chanyeol’s ribs, muttering something along the lines of ‘do you want to die?’ before turning towards Baekhyun smilingly and introducing himself formally.

Baekhyun tried to stop himself from absolutely gushing over the interactions between Chanyeol and Kyungsoo that were happening in front of his very own eyes, and kept a normal upfront. If he was alone in his home right now, he’d be leaving out a rather unmanly squeal at the pair being so close to each other.

Soon enough, after some pleasant talk between all three, the duo parted ways with Kyungsoo, promising to meet again soon to hang out.

Once they were well on their way to get the promised ice-cream, Baekhyun couldn’t help himself from asking a question just to see Chanyeol’s reactions.

“You like him, don’t you?”

“W-What?” Chanyeol gasped out as he choked on nothing but air, and coughed a bit.

Baekhyun let out a laugh and smiled smugly, “It’s pretty obvious, that’s all.”

“There’s nothing like that, I don’t like him that way, we’re just f-“, Chanyeol stopped, as he noticed Baekhyun nodding and raising his eyebrows in disbelief. He tried convincing him further, but gave up when he realized that Baekhyun wasn’t buying any of it. He had to admit, he did sound rather unconvincing, but what else could he do when someone asked him about that so bluntly? “Well yeah, I do, but only a little!

Baekhyun smirked and looked around while saying a ‘Yeah, Sure’ nonchalantly.

“Okay okay, I guess I like him a bit more than a little…” Chanyeol sighed, as he trailed off. “I mean, how did you even know? No one’s noticed it until today, and you just met him today! I did try to tell Luhan all about it, he’s another close friend of mine by the way, who actually turned out to be putting in earphones the whole time I told him about it.”

“It was pretty obvious, and it’s fun to see you getting all bothered by a mere brush of your hands…..” Baekhyun trailed off, seeing Chanyeol’s ears turn redder by the minute.

“B-But it’s not like I can do anything about it! I mean, Soo is too oblivious towards anything I do,” the taller pouted.

“Looks like I’ve finally found something interesting to do! How about I guide your helpless self towards confessing once and for all? It pains me to see such compatible people wasting their time away,” Baekhyun says, internally squealing on the implications he’s giving through his suggestion.

“You’d do that for me?” Chanyeol looked towards the shorter gratefully.

“Of course,” Baekhyun smiled not-so-innocently.

-

They walked around the town until dusk fell, roaming around the town. As per Mrs. Park’s orders the duo was back home before it turned dark. Baekhyun was shown a room where he could reside for the rest of his stay.

Yet again, he was left alone in the house as the family members were all out doing something. Baekhyun lazed around on the sofa, after checking that Yixing wasn’t available yet. He got up as the doorbell rang, happy that he didn’t have to be alone anymore. He immediately tensed up as he saw the person standing on the other side- Kyungsoo.

“Hey, is Chanyeol home?” Kyungsoo asked with a soft smile.

“N-No, he’s gone out somewhere” answered Baekhyun, star struck now that he’s talking with the man one-on-one rather than with the presence of Chanyeol.

Kyungsoo let out a small ‘Oh’ while cutely nodding his head. There were a few moments of awkward silence between them before Baekhyun finally snapped out of his trance. “Why don’t you come in? We could hang out until he’s back.”

“Hm, that sounds good.”

And just like that, the two talked for a long time, not noticing the time passing by. Baekhyun was careful on not arising suspicion from the other by asking personal questions, but instead used all the information he knew as an advantage to keep the conversation going. Before long, the door opened as a familiar voice came in greeting them.

“Ah, Chanyeol you’re back! What took you so long?” Kyungsoo asked before looking at his watch, “ I’m late. I’ve gotta go.” Kyungsoo stood abruptly and dusted his pants.

“It was great being with you, Baek, never expected to have so many mutual interests! Would you like to hang out soon?”

“Definitely, Soo. Just text me,” smiled Baekhyun waving at him.

With a quick wave at Chanyeol, Kyungsoo rushed out in the blink of an eye.

“Baek? Soo?? “ Chanyeol gaped at the shorter with his eyes comically open.

“The only time Kyungsoo’s ever called me something apart from my name was when he scolded me. Difference was he used my full name that time. And now he asked you to hang out within your first meeting.” Chanyeol deadpanned as he sat on the couch beside Baekhyun. “Mr. Byun, you’re magical.”

“Well, What can I say, I do take my job as a wingman seriously.”

Chanyeol just nodded with his mouth gaping open, breaking out into slow claps. Baekhyun was definitely one of a kind.

“Alright big guy, we’re going to go over some stuff with you,” the shorter quipped, with a mischievous glint in his eye that made Chanyeol worry.

-

Day 1-

Step 1: Make eye contact and Listen attentively

“What do you mean? I’m probably the only person who listens to Kyungsoo so much,” Chanyeol says, looking offended.

“Yeah, but you’re usually doing something else too. Like eating, removing your guitar for no apparent reason and plucking at the strings, reading literally anything written at a nearby surface, you get me right?” Baekhyun exclaims passionately, “You definitely give him a lot of attention, but you don’t SHOW it.”

Chanyeol looks like he’s experiencing an epiphany.

“……You’re right. How do you even know all of this?”

“I just know,” Baekhyun says, hiding his face with a suspicious cough.

The rest of the day was spent with Chanyeol trying his best to follow this step, practicing it by giving lots of attention to anyone who talked to him, eye contact never faltering.

“You creep, close your eyes! Are you practicing eye contact with the wall?” Baekhyun asked Chanyeol, who was lying on the couch with only the whites of his eyes visible.

Baekhyun kept trying to tell him to quit it, until he belatedly realized Chanyeol was asleep. Why does he have such weird habits? He wondered, before going forward and gently closing his eyes shut.

-

Day 2-

Step 2: Touch them incidentally

“THIS one is pure nonsense. I’m usually all over Kyungsoo, the guy doesn’t even blink.”

“Being all over him like a sloth isn’t exactly romantic,” Baekhyun sighs deeply, shaking his head. “The key is to be subtle.”

Immediately Baekhyun slumps down on the sofa, seemingly having forgotten what he was doing a minute ago. He takes a magazine lying on the table in front of him and proceeds on reading it. Before Chanyeol could question him on what happened suddenly, he felt the brunette’s left hand trailing up his arm towards his neck, fingers playing with the baby hair on his nape. He could feel the soft patterns the fingers traced on him, sending tingles up his spine, although Baekhyun looked quite unbothered reading his magazine.

“We want this,” Baekhyun smirked, magazine forgotten, bringing up Chanyeol’s arm covered with goosebumps.

Chanyeol gulped audibly. He couldn’t figure out if he was just inexperienced, or if Baekhyun was an entity with an extensive knowledge of romance.

Chanyeol struggled practicing it initially, until he managed to find an easy trick, which he claimed was genius. Read: help Baekhyun with anything he was doing, and involve physical contact. The shorter didn’t really catch on at first, until he noticed Chanyeol butting in even at the smallest of actions.

Baekhyun walked towards the bathroom, and Chanyeol came from literally nowhere and opened the door for him, their hands touching in the process.

“Talk about quick action, eh?”

“You want to come undress me and scrub my back too?? Geez, Chanyeol, you’re an idiot.”

Chanyeol smiled sheepishly, his face instantly flushing to a bright red.

Day-3-

Step 3: Run a Trial to Make Sure the Executor Doesn’t Up

“Shouldn’t we wait until you’ve gotten an answer to your confession? You’re beginning to come off as an overconfident prick.”

“If he rejects me… I’ll cry, that’s fine, I can handle it. Nothing new. But if he accepts me, I have no idea how to behave, and this pseudo-date would really help me.” Chanyeol muttered, looking dispirited and blue. “I don’t want to screw it up.”

That expression softened Baekhyun and he felt himself get renewed with new-found enthusiasm. All the countless dates he’d gone on would be useful in some way now.

“For today, I am Do Kyungsoo. If you go wrong today, I have the right to hit you hard by all means as your mentor.”

Chanyeol smiles and gives a salute to him as an answer.

“Hey Chanyeol, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Baekhyun said, in the worst imitative voice Chanyeol could’ve ever imagined. The two look at each other, both trying to not let the laughter slip their lips, until they gave up and broke into literal guffaws.

“T-That is NOT how,” Chanyeol gasped, in the midst of his laughter, “He talks-“ hitting Baekhyun in the process.

“OK I GET IT, JUST SHUT UP,” Baekhyun held his belly, as his laughter became all the more uncontrollable.

It took them 15 more minutes to finally settle, until Baekhyun felt that his left arm must definitely be bruised by now.

“Just be normal, Baekhyun. If I manage to impress you, then I’d be more than ready for tomorrow.”

Baekhyun agreed to it, and both of them decided that heading out would be the best option for now.

They walk for a bit, with Baekhyun constantly grumbling about how Kyungsoo would never like him if he made him walk.

They arrive on a quaint street, where a familiar café lies, its royal blue paint glistening in the first golden rays of the day. As they entered, Baekhyun noticed that the interior of the café was warm and cheery, with bright lights and colorful walls. The cafe itself looks inviting, with the soft jazz playing in the background.

“This is the place that’s owned by my close friends’ family. I’ll introduce you to him, I’m sure he’ll love you!”

Oh, Baekhyun knew who it was. And he was freaking out a bit.

They got a table by the huge windows, giving them an excellent view of a group of cherry blossoms.

“Hey Chanyeol!”, exclaimed a bright voice, and they turned towards the owner of it. It was Luhan, looking slightly confused as he glanced at where Baekhyun was sitting.

As if Baekhyun wasn’t already fanboying enough, Jongin came up behind Luhan too.

Calm the down, Byun Baekhyun. Don’t creep them out.

“Who’s this cutie here?”

AH-AH-AH-AH

Baekhyun just transcended into heaven, with a smile permanently stuck on his face.

“……. And that’s how we met. It’s weird, but he’s honestly the best!”

Did he just call me the best?

“You okay?” Jongin asked, with a frown marring his face.

“Yeah. No. Um, yeah, totally.”

“Are you feeling okay? Do you want to go home?” Chanyeol asked in a tone laced with concern. Baekhyun was pretty sure anyone could get swept right off their feet because of the man in front of him. He gave a small nod and smiled for reassurance.

The rest of them continued conversing for some time, until both Jongin and Luhan excused themselves after finally taking their order.

“That was awesome. They’re such cool guys” Baekhyun spoke up the second they were gone.

Chanyeol scoffed and rolled his eyes, “You barely even opened your mouth? You’re really strange..”

“Yeah, yeah whatever. Am I not supposed to be your date’? If I really was I’d have stood you up for sure.”

Chanyeol realized it too and within a blink was back to sporting a sweet smile and an upright posture. He sat in silence for a few moments before groaning and burying his face in his lap.

“How am I even going to keep a conversation with him?” Chanyeol whined, his voice muffled, “What the hell should I ask him? His favorite color? I’ve known him for years.”

“… You know what, I don’t think subtly flirting is your forte. Actually, you aren’t the type to subtly flirt with anyone, period.” Baekhyun sighed, and looked at Chanyeol with determination. “Confess to him. Make out with him, and make sure that’s memorable. Once you’re done with that, I promise that everything else will be smooth. Besides, Kyungsoo seems like a true gentleman. Which means, he’ll probably take care of you, all that you’ll be doing is blushing like a high school teen. He just seems the type, you get me?”

Chanyeol seemed to be blushing just at the thought of it all. “How, for god’s sake, do you even know so much about romance? Did you major in it? What even?”

“Experience,” Baekhyun drawled, “This puppy-love isn’t new to me. She was a popular one. High school senior. We went great for two years, until I realized aren’t really my thing.”

“Then, it’s final. I’ll do it tomorrow. Que sera, sera.” He took Baekhyun’s hand in his, and squeezed it firmly, both of them smiling to each other. “I won’t disappoint you. And I’m going to practice the confession once, that’s it.”

For any outsider, it must’ve looked like two lovers happily enjoying their date, hands intertwined. And on that particularly warm day, there were certainly many.

-

Once the duo was back home, Chanyeol was well on his way to finish his freshening up routine.

(“You don’t think Kyungsoo is going to feel up your legs the second you confess to him, do you?”

“Shut up! Waxing my legs makes it softer and nicer. And I feel more confident too”

“Call me when you need someone to pick out a nail color for you.” Baekhyun was chased out with several pillows thrown on him.)

Baekhyun looked around to make sure there was no one who would notice him, before making his way to the shed beside the house.

He’d been sneaking around at night to update Yixing about whatever had been happening, adding in a few insults at him here and there. The older had been supportive the entire time, supplying reassurance when needed. Although hesitant at first, Yixing had finally agreed that Baekhyun interfering a bit wasn’t a bad idea. The only reason he agreed might be because Baekhyun guilt-tripped him heavily, but oh well. It was nearing 9 pm there, and the show would be aired with the recent developments included. Baekhyun was inevitably going to be introduced as a character, and he was equal parts terrified and thrilled. What would everyone’s reaction be?

He slowly tuned the old television, patiently waiting for the familiar living room to be seen on the screen. Yixing was sitting on the couch as he always was, waiting for Baekhyun, papers scattered around him as he worked on something.

“Earth to Yixing! Wait, is this planet called as Earth in another universe too?”

Yixing laughed and turned his full attention towards the screen, “It actually is.”

“So what happened? I need details!”

“To sum it up, they loved you.” Yixing started, with a smile gracing his face. “Your appearance did bring a zing to it, and I have to say, I was quite impressed with how you handled everything. The fans are obviously going wild. In fact, I just saw the Jongin-Baekhyun keyword trending this morning. The theories are wild, but nothing that wasn’t expected.”

Baekhyun was surprised, to say the least. He had wondered if he’d end up being seen as a suspicious person or worse, a villain. Sure, he was going to be questioned a lot once he’s back, but he’s just going to brush it off saying it’s a doppelganger. He’d worked it all out.

“That’s, that’s.. Unexpected.”

“Well you won’t have to worry much about this, seeing that there’s only two days left for your stay there to end. Make the most of it; are you ready to be back?

“I definitely am.”

Yixing wished Baekhyun a good night as he turned it off, telling Baekhyun to go sleep. Baekhyun trudged back to the house, mind racing with thoughts.

As he entered, he spotted Chanyeol slumped on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and two cans of coke set on the table, and Baekhyun felt a surge of happiness at the sight. Chanyeol beckoned him over with a smile and scooted over to make place for him with an “I binge watch dramas when I’m stressed” for explanation.

“I hope you like politics and thrillers,” Chanyeol says simply, eyes trained on the screen. Before Baekhyun could even begin to comprehend about the physics or basically science of it all, he began understanding what was going on in the screen. It was about the South Korean President’s office and all its staff members, their feud with North Korea and a lot of other things.

“One look at your face and I know that you’ve never seen this hugely popular drama before,” Chanyeol chuckles and shoves some more popcorn into his mouth before continuing, “It’s about this near-dystopian world where the North and South of Korea are at constant war with each other, and all the complications that follow. Can you believe it? Also all the men are required to fulfil a mandatory military service for two years. It’s something really unheard of before.”

Baekhyun should have expected this kind of a dynamic here too, but it still caught him off-guard as he internally screamed about how absurd all of this was. His reality was this universe’s fiction! He prepped himself to give a normal sounding answer to Chanyeol and sneak in a few more questions that he was dying to know the answers to.

As he turned his face, he noticed Chanyeol had scooted very much closer to him, and the bowl of popcorn was practically on his lap too. The latter’s very cute, 10/10, handsome face was uncomfortably close to him as he smiled a bit and shoved some popcorn into Baekhyun’s slightly open mouth. “I made this for two.”

Baekhyun simply swallowed the popcorn along with his questions, and his budding feelings too.

-

D-Day

Baekhyun regained consciousness slowly, blinking his eyes lazily at soft rays of light filtering in through the windows. Both him and Chanyeol were asleep in a weird yet comfortable seated posture. Chanyeol’s moisturized, long- legs were laid across his lap as his head was laid upon Baekhyun’s shoulder, he was properly curled up against him. He giggled as he realized both of them were naturally messy sleepers. Chanyeol’s eyes blinked open with that slight, teeny movement, and he stared right at Baekhyun’s face that had formed a soft smile.

The strangely intense eye-contact stretched to more than a few seconds, Baekhyun began quickly wondering on how to stop the awkwardness.

“Today’s the day! Get up!” Baekhyun chirpily blurted out as he slightly pushed Chanyeol away, who immediately scampered up from the couch too.

“Get ready, use the heavenly blueberry scented body wash your mom likes!”

And with that, Chanyeol was fully equipped with a towel and pushed into the shower. Baekhyun `took deep breaths once he was alone, walking to Chanyeol’s closet as he expelled all unwanted thoughts from his mind.

-

“If I see another black hoodie, Park Chanyeol, I’ll personally make sure to burn them in front of your eyes.”

“But they’re my style!”

Baekhyun did a gesture of putting fire to all the sweatpants and hoodies, which shut Chanyeol up. They had been sorting through all the clothes in the wardrobe, finding the perfect outfit that says I’m-confessing-to-someone-but-I-don’t-want-to-look-too-obvious.

“Holy leather jacket! You should really were these more often,” Baekhyun marveled, tossing it to Chanyeol. The latter still doesn’t understand how Baekhyun knows he doesn’t wear those a lot, or many other facts that he just knows.

“Now take these and style yourself well. I’m giving you half an hour.” And after giving a pile of clothes to Chanyeol, he was out on his merry way to the living room, where he’d be waiting.

After some time of fiddling around with magazines, Baekhyun looked up as he heard footsteps coming towards him. Chanyeol’s wavy bangs were combed back neatly, making him look older and mature. The whole ensemble looked so.. right. He had on a plain white shirt with a pair of black pants, and a holy leather jacket to tie it all together. There was the expensive golden-coloured watch Baekhyun recognized as the one Chanyeol wore to important events. Eventually, he realized the latter was awaiting a response from him. What should he tell?

You look like you just walked out of my fantasies. Anyone would love to date you, without a doubt. Wow, the sun just graced the earth. Hello Angel?

“Not bad, I’d tap that,” Baekhyun said instead, trying his best to not start spluttering. Before he could regret telling such a dumb answer, Chanyeol’s laughter broke him out of his reverie.

“You always know what to say, don’t you?” Chanyeol looked considerably more relaxed now, his body losing its stiffness.

Baekhyun shrugged and quickly ran across the room and brought out a few roses he’d saved in a vase for him. He ed it towards him with an ‘Always better with flowers’, and a cheeky smile.

In return, he was engulfed in a tight hug by the taller.

“You’re so damn amazing. I’m glad you’re here.” Chanyeol muttered, not letting go of the hug. Baekhyun calmed himself down, and tried his best to not take the words in a wrong way.

“Are you trying to thank me by choking me-“

Chanyeol chuckled and pulled away with a wide smile, looking all ready to face any obstacle in his life. After a farewell that consisted of mostly innuendos by Baekhyun, he was gone.

-

A/N: Men's fashion is so boring.

Next part up soon! Lots of love <3