Chanyeol breathed out in exhaustion, finally having managed to escape from the persistent group of young female chaebols wanting to 'chat' with him. 'They're terrifying,' he shivered mentally, cringing in horror as he thought back to all the high-pitched giggling and eyelash batting that had taken place before. 'I would rather face an entire  platoon of soldiers alone than go through that again.' 

It'd also been more than 10 minutes since he'd last seen Chaeyoung, and he felt guilty for leaving her all alone for such a long time. 

When he'd gone to find her, he wasn't surprised to see she was no longer where he'd left her. Using his tall height to his advantage, he craned his neck and searched through the crowd, hoping to find a small, pale blue-clad figure among all the other brightly dressed inhabitants. 

After not too long, he spotted her. But what he saw made him falter and his heart drop. 

Chanyeol knew his cousin was not an expressive person, and as a result, he'd learnt to read even the tiniest hints of emotion on the stony man's face. It wasn't easy, but Chanyeol knew Sehun better than most, and therefore could read him fairly well. 

But at that moment, even the blindest man would be able to see the tenderness and fondness in his gaze as he smiled softly down at the woman he was dancing with. The very woman he was searching so eagerly for - Park Chaeyoung.

Chanyeol smiled sadly. He wasn't angry, he knew Sehun didn't mean it, but it didn't mean it didn't hurt either way. 

"Their outfits even match," he mused bitterly. It was true - The stark contrast between Sehun's all black attire and Chaeyoung's pale satin blue caused the two to match perfectly - almost a bit too perfectly. Chanyeol sighed and shook his head. 

"I'm too late," he mumbled. He knew he had no chance - just the look on both their faces explained everything clearly. He watched as slowly, the dance ended and the two slowed to a stop. Stepping away slowly, Sehun gently took her hand and raised it to his lips as he bowed, causing Chaeyoung to flush and laugh as she curtsied back. 

Already, people were beginning to disperse around the room. Chanyeol watched as Sehun leaned in and said something to Chaeyoung, his words lost among the noise of the room. The woman nodded back before pausing, as if a thought suddenly occurred to her. She muttered something as she began scanning the room, eventually falling on Chanyeol's own figure across the room. Her eyes brightened as she made her way over, Sehun trailing her a few steps behind. 

Clearing his throat, he forced a smile as he waved them over. "Hey. Sorry for leaving you for so long. I got held up," he grinned, ignoring the small stabs in his chest as Chaeyoung shook her head. 

"It's fine," she smiled sweetly. "We're going home now. Do you want to come?"

Chanyeol's eyes flickered up to meet Sehun's. The latter's face was unreadable once again, but the small tilt of his head told Chanyeol he was completely welcome. At that, the same rueful smile from before appeared on his face. 

"No, I think I'll stay for a bit longer," he said, looking back down at Chaeyoung. He registered the surprise on her face. 

"Are you sure?" she furrowed her eyebrows. 

He hummed, ruffling her hair. "Mm. You go on ahead. Have fun without me," he winked, smiling as Chaeyoung wrinkled her nose as he messed up her hair. He looked up to meet Sehun's eyes again. He noticed the confusion, followed by the brief concern. He smiled, shaking his head ever so slightly. An unspoken message passed between the two and Sehun's eyebrows furrowed. 

Sehun, even though he would never admit it, really did care for other people. And that was why Chanyeol could never be angry at him no matter how hard he tried. 

'It's ok,' he tried to convey. But Sehun's frown didn't leave. 

'You sure?' His eyes asked. 

'A hundred per cent. Now stop worrying about me and go have fun with Chaeyoung.'

With that, Sehun's lips tilted up ever so slightly as he acknowledged it with a nod. Chanyeol felt satisfied with that.

"Well... if you're sure," Chaeyoung mumbled uncertainly, completely oblivious to the mental conversation the two were having. She eyed him carefully for a moment before her lips turned up into a fond smile. "Well, see you soon!"

With that, she turned to Sehun, who gestured with a nod of his head towards the entrance. With one last wave from Chaeyoung, the two left. 

Leaving Chanyeol with the sad, bitter smile on his face once more. 

(A/N: it's ok chanyeol, i still love u ˓˓(ᑊᘩᑊ⁎) )

**

It was quiet on the way back. Neither of them spoke as Sehun drove and Chaeyoung stared out the window, lost in her thoughts. The silence was peaceful, both of them content with the gentle tranquillity that had settled over them. The streets they drove down were empty and dark, with occasional cars swishing past them at random intervals. 

Suddenly, Chaeyoung's eyes lit up. "Park here," she turned and told him, an excited glint in her eye. Sehun raised an eyebrow, eyeing her warily. 

"Why?"

"Just do it. Trust me," she urged, grinning. Sehun blinked, narrowing his eyes, but he was unable to garner any more information. So, with a shrug, he turned the wheel and skillfully reversed into an empty parking spot on the side of the road. He noted warily at the back of his mind that there seemed to be an unusual amount of cars parked in what otherwise should have been an empty public carpark. Then he turned to Chaeyoung, who was grabbing her phone and wallet out of her clutch. He frowned suspiciously. 

"Yah, what are you planning," he asked, only to receive a mischievous smile instead. 

"Come on, there's a midnight pop-up market nearby and I want to go," she replied, opening the door. She turned and grinned at him. "Come on."

He stared at her blankly. "Park Chaeyoung, it's 11:24 PM, and you want to go to a night market?" he asked incredulously. She paused, as if considering his question, before shrugging. 

"Well it's not like I can go in the middle of the day, can I?" she replied innocently, but the amused glint in her eye gave her away. "Coming?"

Battling internally for another moment, he sighed. 'This woman...' He removed the key from the exhaust and stepped out of the car to join her. "Honestly. How old are you, five?"

"If I'm five, then you're at least fifty," she retorted, before grabbing his wrist. "Come on!"

Sighing again, he allowed her to drag him down the street. Now that they were out in the crisp night air, he could hear the sounds of chatter and music in the distance. He glanced down at their joint hands, before his gaze trailed up to the back of Chaeyoung's head. A small smile made its way onto his face before he removed his hand from her grip. 

"Hey, what are you-" She turned around to see why he had let go, but was cut off as Sehun replaced it with his other hand, intertwining them so that he could walk comfortably next to her. 

He raised an eyebrow as he glanced down at her. "It's more comfortable this way," he said casually