Fame, money, and power.

 

If those three things were everything then Park Chanyeol had everything and everything was in his palms. Name anything and he probably owned it. Even the intangible, that one emotion that was so unattainable but desirable. That feeling that everyone yearned to possess though it was something that no one could truly understand or own. Park Chanyeol was not everyone, but neither was he no one.

 

It was his, that elusive treasure that many sought after – love.

 

Yet ironically, Park Chanyeol did not fully believe in love.

 

Although to him, it seemed like love. Especially when he stared down at the side profile of his sleeping lover. His eyes closed, eyelashes fanned out prettily on his lower eyelid, his snow white skin smooth and unblemished under the first rays of sunlight filtering in through the open window and curtains, his little button nose, and slightly parted bow-shaped lips.

 

The curtains billowed as a gust of wind blew past and tickled the sleeping man’s face, causing him to scrunch his nose.

 

“Good morning,” Chanyeol said, voice low and scratchy from too much sleep when his sleeping companion squeezed his eyes before relaxing – a sure sign that he was about to wake up.

 

There wasn’t a reply to his greeting, not even when the other’s eyes opened, but Chanyeol didn’t mind. They remained quiet as the clock ticked, the sound disrupting the otherwise quiet room. The seconds stretched into minutes until his lover finally threw the covers off himself ungracefully and slipped one feet into a slipper that was definitely not his as he walked towards the wide open windows with only an oversized shirt on and one foot covered.

 

It might be more of an obsession than anything, even Chanyeol had once admitted it to himself, but he would like to believe that it was love, no matter how little.

 

He liked to believe it was love when he watched his lover stretch in front of the open French windows overseeing his entire garden, white sheer curtains flowing, its silken texture caressing the soft skin of his lover. He liked to believe it was love when he watched as his white shirt, too large on his lover, rose to the latter’s mid-thigh as he stretched his arms above his head and allowed the cool wind to kiss his face as he breathed in the fresh morning air. He liked to believe it was love when his lover remained unmoving in front of the window, even after he was done stretching, hands resting on the delicate frame, the sun shining partially on his face, chest moving up and down in time with the sound of imaginary crickets in Chanyeol’s head.

 

That man standing before his wide windows was the world to him. Byun Baekhyun was his everything.

 

Chanyeol always thought that Baekhyun made West Dream, especially the upper district where they lived, a more beautiful place than it actually was.

 

“What’s for breakfast?” Baekhyun asked, his voice soft, melting into the wind that blew into the room.

 

It had been years since they had started dating or sleeping over at each other’s houses but Baekhyun still asked the same thing every time. More than anything, it was probably just a habit.

 

“Anything you want, Baek. You know my chef can make anything, and even if they can’t, I’ll find a way to get it for you.”

 

Baekhyun laughed at that, but he still didn’t turn around. “You’re so dramatic. It’s just breakfast.”

 

Taking a few steps closer to Baekhyun, Chanyeol reasoned, albeit illogically, “It’s the breakfast two days after your birthday.”

 

“Doesn’t make it any more special,” countered Baekhyun, finally turning around with a sweet smile on his face.

 

Tutting, Chanyeol closed the remaining distance and curled one arm around Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Why are you always belittling my efforts at making you special?”

 

“You don’t have to do it,” Baekhyun retorted while pulling Chanyeol’s other hand up to rest on his other shoulder. “I know I’m special.”

 

“Confident,” Chanyeol mused before placing a kiss on Baekhyun’s forehead. “Breakfast?”

 

 

 

The breakfast table was a lavish spread as usual. Atop it lay an array of pastries and the smell wafting from each plate was simply enticing. Around them were neatly arranged cutlery that were polished so fine that they could reflect the sunlight invading the room.

 

Shaking his head but smiling fondly, Baekhyun sighed affectionately. “Always so extravagant,” he complained despite long being used to it by now.

 

“I need to bring you somewhere when we’re done,” Chanyeol announced before leading Baekhyun to one of the empty chairs. “I know you want to ask me where but that’s a surprise for now.”

 

There was never a single time when Chanyeol disappointed his expectations, so Baekhyun had nothing to worry about. A surprise was always a welcome.

 

 

 

“Wait in your seat,” Chanyeol told Baekhyun before he dashed out of the stationary vehicle and rushed to the other side of the door. Opening it, he offered a hand to Baekhyun with a charming smile.

 

Baekhyun returned the smile but he slapped Chanyeol’s hand away and got out of the car by himself. Ignoring the frown on the taller’s face, Baekhyun then held Chanyeol’s hand and laced their fingers together. “What’s this?” He asked curiously as he stared at the magnificent house in front of them. “A relative’s place?”

 

“My new house,” Chanyeol corrected as he started walking them towards the grand gates. “For you,” he clarified again, grinning widely when he heard Baekhyun’s melodious laughter. “Open the gates!” He shouted, seemingly to no one in particular but the gates opened immediately and Baekhyun raised a brow as Chanyeol continued leading the way in.

 

Upon passing through the gates, Baekhyun let out a small gasp, unintentionally releasing his hand from Chanyeol’s to cover his mouth in awe. What greeted his sight was simply breathtaking. The house was lovely – and so were the houses they stayed at – but this was a different kind of beauty. It looked like the kind of house that was only pretty on the outside but empty inside; the kind that was merely meant for decoration. Although Baekhyun was certain that this house had an interior that was as stunning as its exterior.

 

Without saying a word, Baekhyun dashed forward, towards the main door of the exquisite house, eager to explore every corner and open every door.

 

“Do you like this place, Byun?” Chanyeol shouted across the small distance Baekhyun had created after skipping past a small fountain with a statue of Zeus in the middle. From where Chanyeol was standing, he could practically see the radiant glow surrounding Baekhyun and the joy he was emitting from simply walking around the spacious garden.

 

“Like?” Baekhyun exclaimed in a loud voice and slipped out a hearty laugh. Spreading his arms wide, Baekhyun spun around with his face towards the sky and his eyes closed. His face shining under the sunlight and Chanyeol couldn’t help but admire the curve of his nose, the softness of his cheeks, and his pink parted lips. “Love, Chanyeol, love. I love this place!” Baekhyun announced dramatically as he enveloped himself with his arms before turning to face Chanyeol. “I'm in love!”

 

At that moment, Park Chanyeol was ready to give Byun Baekhyun anything he wanted. He was ready to give him the world.

 

“Let’s hold a party here!” Baekhyun shouted, ecstatic from being surrounded by such beauty. “This place was built for parties! Let’s have one tonight!”

 

Just like that, invitations were sent out to every single household in the upper district. Each invitation also had a small gift accompanying it like always – it was a bottle of vintage wine this time. They always acted as an incentive for people to turn up although it wasn’t necessary at all.

 

Because it was all done in Chanyeol’s name and everyone in the upper district knew that Chanyeol threw the best parties in the city.

 

 

 

“I can’t believe you really did it,” Baekhyun muttered when he saw rows of cars lighting up the road leading up to the front gates with their headlights. He hadn’t expected Chanyeol to take his words seriously but then again, he should have guessed better since Chanyeol always took whatever he said very literally. In a way, Chanyeol was a simple person like that. Though sometimes Baekhyun would wish that he wasn’t the way he was and be more attuned to his true feelings instead.

 

Beside him, Chanyeol was watching the same scene and as the sound of the engines grew louder, Chanyeol was getting more enthusiastic about the party. “You wanted a party, didn’t you?” Chanyeol asked, thrilled about the crowd beginning to form at the entrance. He loved the company and attention.

 

They were standing at one of the many balconies, where Baekhyun had thought they could simply laze at until sunrise, watching as the usual faces passed by the open gates and started to fill the space in the garden. Baekhyun stared at a small group gathering near the fountain that had Zeus’ statue, the exact same one he had ran past a few hours ago, as he slowly leaned against Chanyeol’s shoulder.

 

“I did,” Baekhyun said softly as Chanyeol wrapped a hand around his waist. “I did,” he whispered to himself, smiling into the distance.

 

“You guys need to stop with these parties. It’s not even your birthday anymore, Byun,” a voice interrupted from behind.

 

Immediately lighting up at the newcomer’s voice, Baekhyun detached himself from Chanyeol’s side and turned around with his arms wide open. “Soo, you made it!”

 

“Unfortunately,” said Kyungsoo nonchalantly, though there was a trace of amusement in his voice. “So what’s this about?”

 

“I just knew you would come! Because you love me, don’t you?” Baekhyun gushed and flung himself onto Kyungsoo’s arm much to the latter’s distaste. But it was useless to try shrugging Baekhyun off – Kyungsoo had learnt from their lifetime of friendship.

 

Irritated, Kyungsoo started to walk away from the balcony, not even bothering to greet Chanyeol, and with Baekhyun still stuck to his side. “I said – what’s this about this time? And the invitations weren’t in your name. They were in Chanyeol’s.”

 

“Ah.” Baekhyun forced a smile as he rested his head against Kyungsoo’s shoulder. It was an awkward position, especially so since they were both walking and it was only a matter of time before Kyungsoo pushed Baekhyun down the stairs, but Baekhyun felt comfortable like that. “Like always.”

 

“This isn’t love,” Kyungsoo said sternly, sounding as if he was scolding Baekhyun, but he wasn’t, not intentionally anyway. “What is it?” They were both his friends but Baekhyun was his best friend and he didn’t like how superficial their relationship seemed. To Kyungsoo, it looked like their relationship was based on parties and money, things which Chanyeol wouldn’t lack even without Baekhyun by his side, especially when it came to parties.

 

“I don’t know, Soo,” admitted Baekhyun, equally confused about what dating really meant although he had already been dating Chanyeol for years. Their relationship had never exactly been made official even though the whole city probably knew about it.

 

Chanyeol was already long gone from the balcony, mingling with his half-drunken guests and occasionally looking out for Baekhyun without the latter’s awareness. The shorter boy was still with Kyungsoo, although he had somewhat successfully pried Baekhyun off of him without resorting to any violence. They were walking around, an empty glass in Baekhyun’s hand and a permanent frown etched on Kyungsoo’s face. Chanyeol always wondered why Kyungsoo bothered turning up in the first place.

 

As he continued watching Baekhyun, Chanyeol couldn’t stop the praises that spilled so naturally from his mouth. “He just makes the whole place so beautiful, doesn’t he?” he randomly babbled to one of his guests who merely nodded, his attention elsewhere. Though Chanyeol himself was also moving on to another person and engaging in a superficial conversation, mostly about the way Baekhyun lit up the entire place, including the garden.

 

 

 

By the morning, everyone was gone and the place was cleaned up so perfectly that it didn’t seem like a party had happened at all. Baekhyun was leaning comfortably against Chanyeol’s chest, sitting between his legs, and wrapped in his arms as they watched the dawn break with each passing minute, on the same balcony they had been standing at before the party had begun.

 

“Do you want to go downtown today?” Chanyeol suggested out of the blue.

 

“I thought you didn’t like going downtown,” Baekhyun said tiredly, his voice a little croaky from the lack of sleep.

 

There was a pause and Baekhyun thought that Chanyeol would let it drop but no. “Yes, but I want to buy something for you.” Chanyeol sounded insistent and it was rare to see Chanyeol so persistent about travelling downtown since he only went there when he was needed in the office.

 

“Couldn’t you ask one of your butlers to get it?” Asked Baekhyun, clearly not keen on going to the southern part of the city because all he wanted to do at that moment was to sleep.

 

“Baek,” Chanyeol said firmly, unyielding. “I want to buy something for you.”

 

Craning his neck to look at Chanyeol, Baekhyun smiled. “How sweet of you. But I really don’t need anything, Chanyeol. Shouldn’t you go back to work instead? You’ve already given me more than enough. Even this house.” Baekhyun waved his hand around. “You didn’t have to. My birthday’s long over like Soo said. You should go back to work.”

 

“The company won’t collapse without me for a week.”

 

“Two. It’s been two weeks,” Baekhyun corrected.

 

Still, Chanyeol wasn’t going to have any of that. “I’m taking the month off. I always do that, don’t I?” Then Chanyeol chuckled softly. “Besides, you know I have enough money to last me a few hundred lifetimes even if my family’s company were to shut down.”

 

While Chanyeol had a valid point there, Baekhyun was sure that he was exaggerating about the few hundred lifetimes. Maybe fifty lifetimes.

 

“Yes. But – ” Baekhyun tried to argue regardless.

 

“Shh, no more buts. Let’s go downtown.”

 

 

 

They ended up in a store which Chanyeol loved to get his butler to buy clothes from, whether or not it was for Baekhyun or for himself. It’s the best shop in the city, they can’t get any better than this, was what Chanyeol liked telling Baekhyun. Until one day, Baekhyun had come to love the same shop as well.

 

“Do you like this one, Baek?”

 

“It’s nice,” Baekhyun complimented as he took the shirt from Chanyeol’s hand. “But I think I already have something similar.”

 

“Similar meaning it isn’t the same right?” Chanyeol countered and grinned at Baekhyun. He beamed at one of the staff, beckoning him over with a wave and gestured to the shirt in Baekhyun’s hand. “Help me wrap that up.” Walking to another part of the store, Chanyeol left Baekhyun to his own devices as he picked out what he thought suited the latter. “And this,” Chanyeol said no sooner than ten seconds later before he continued browsing the shop. He easily found another piece that looked good and called another staff over. “Wrap this too.”

 

“Chanyeol, that’s enough.” Baekhyun laughed because Chanyeol was openly ignoring him on purpose and was beginning to point to almost every single piece of clothing in the store.

 

Chuckling, Chanyeol asked, “You love this brand, don’t you?”

 

“I do, but – ”

 

“Why not I just buy everything?” Chanyeol announced unexpectedly much to Baekhyun’s disbelief. “That’s right. I’ll do just that! I’ll have everything here.” Chanyeol was already walking over to the cashier. “All to Mr. Byun’s residence, please.”

 

Some of the workers gasped and were too stunned to move while the others rushed to wrap everything up. There were other customers in the store who were shocked speechless at what had just happened, dumbfounded by Chanyeol’s generosity. All for one Byun Baekhyun.

 

Standing by one of the mirrors in the store, Baekhyun watched in utter incredulity when the racks started to empty out just because of a few words from Chanyeol. He couldn’t possibly tell Chanyeol to take his words back because the poor workers would be so upset. He also couldn’t possibly say that he didn’t want everything when the other looked so happy to give it all to him. Not when Chanyeol was giving him a ridiculously bright smile filled with what looked like love.

 

“You’re always so dramatic,” Baekhyun settled for saying, although Chanyeol didn’t hear it, too busy admiring the way Baekhyun was looking at him with what looked like love.

 

 

 

It was a typical night when Baekhyun couldn’t fall asleep and had to have Chanyeol over to keep him company. The taller was sitting on a chair by his bed, his hair and smiling down at him with affection in his eyes when a thought suddenly came to him.

 

“Baek?” It was one of the rare moments that Chanyeol sounded unsure and insecure about himself. Oh, how Baekhyun loved this side of the tall man who usually only exuded charm and confidence. “Baek, I was wondering.” There was a trace of hesitance in Chanyeol’s voice and Baekhyun couldn’t help but chuckle at that. This was the side of Chanyeol that only Baekhyun had seen before. Timid, shy, and uncertain. Nothing like the Park Chanyeol everyone else knew.

 

From the bed, Baekhyun smiled encouragingly, his eyes turning into little crescents when he tried to stop himself from laughing aloud, knowing that the tips of Chanyeol’s ears were turning red because of him.

 

“I was wondering if you wanted to go to...” Chanyeol stopped himself and his bottom lip before flashing a lopsided grin. “Would you like to go to – ”

 

“Oh, Chanyeol.” It was Baekhyun who cut Chanyeol off this time. He laughed, unable to keep it down any longer, all light and airy but still sounding like music to Chanyeol’s ears. “I would go anywhere in the world with you.” He closed his eyes before opening arms to emphasise his point, and also to beckon Chanyeol over for a hug at the same time. That was, if the giant got the clue.

 

Which he thankfully did because Baekhyun felt the bed dip.

 

Trapping Baekhyun between his arms the same time Baekhyun opened his twinkling eyes to meet Chanyeol’s dark orbs, they laughed simultaneously. Hooking his arms around Chanyeol’s neck, Baekhyun pulled him closer.

 

Chanyeol whispered against Baekhyun’s lips, “anywhere?”

 

Not giving an answer just yet, Baekhyun simply leaned up for a kiss before mouthing, “anywhere”, against Chanyeol’s mouth.

 

 

 

The sound of a helicopter’s chopper spinning woke Baekhyun up from the sleep he had so much trouble falling into just a few hours before. There was a drilling sound rattling against the wind as the blades swung round and round in circles like a broken merry-go-round, cutting through the silence of the night like a sharp knife. It would have been such an annoyance to Baekhyun if he didn’t know who the culprit was.

 

There was only one person he knew who would fly a helicopter in the dead of the night.

 

His heart thumped quicker and quicker by the second in anticipation of seeing that person again as he carelessly slipped his feet into a pair of mismatched slippers and dashed to the doors of his balcony. Taking in a deep breath, he counted to four in his head before pushing open the doors and was greeted by the sight of a navy blue chopper, its blades spinning and sending his hair into a wild mess. But he didn’t care, not at that moment, when there was an incredibly dashing man dressed to the nines in a grey suit and polished black dress shoes standing there right in front of the helicopter. His head started to feel giddy with adrenaline, making him slump against one side of the doors.

 

“Coming?” Chanyeol shouted over the noise the chopper was making.

 

“I just went to sleep, you know that. I barely got enough sleep to be awake at this hour,” Baekhyun complained loudly, though he wasn’t blaming Chanyeol and the latter knew from the way the brunette was trying to not break into a smile with his bottom lip trapped between his teeth.

 

Chanyeol smiled goofily as he started to walk over to the shorter. “You also said you’d go anywhere with me.”

 

“I’m not dressed to go on a trip, Yeol.” To make his point, Baekhyun gestured to his maroon bathrobe and mismatched slippers.

 

“You don’t care about that,” said Chanyeol when he was standing in front of Baekhyun, his hand reaching out to take the latter’s. “Let’s go. Or we’ll miss the sunrise at this rate.”

 

“The sunrise?” Baekhyun mused, arching a brow.

 

Not saying anything further, Chanyeol took hold of Baekhyun’s hand and led him to the helicopter.

 

“So where are we going?” Baekhyun tried asking casually even though his heartbeat was beating quickly against his ribcage because it was the first time he was on a helicopter. It was still a rather new invention at that time and there weren’t many of it, but Baekhyun knew that Chanyeol owned one despite not seeing it before.

 

Chanyeol seemed to be able to read his anxiety, judging by the way he held onto Baekhyun’s hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. “We’re going to the sky.” He pressed a kiss to Baekhyun’s knuckle before placing his hand down gently and then letting go. “I’ve already flown this a couple of times. You can relax. I wouldn’t bring you on this thing if I didn’t have the skills to fly it yet,” Chanyeol said in a reassuring voice.

 

Baekhyun actually needed no such assurance because he had complete faith in Chanyeol. Still, it was just a strange and scary, albeit unique experience.

 

When the helicopter took off from the ground, it was as if time stopped for Baekhyun. His heart leaped as it flew higher and higher. Afraid, but curious, Baekhyun peeked out the window and he unintentionally let out a small gasp when he noticed just how far up they were and how they were going even higher.

 

“Just look at me,” Chanyeol said suddenly, as if sensing Baekhyun’s fear.

 

So Baekhyun listened, focusing his attention on Chanyeol and not the fact that they were almost a few thousand feet above the ground.

 

The sky was turning lighter, soft hues of orange blending into the once blackened sky. Baekhyun didn’t know how long had passed but he knew that the sun was rising when streaks of gold broke through the sky. The sun’s rays passed through the clouds, shining on Chanyeol’s face and Baekhyun felt a warm sensation enwrapping him. It was amazing how Chanyeol could look so effortlessly dashing all the time.

 

“The sun’s rising,” Chanyeol said, as if Baekhyun couldn’t see for himself.

 

“Every time you open your mouth, you ruin your cool façade.”

 

Chanyeol barked out a laugh, his eyes squinted, and his teeth showing, as he took hold of Baekhyun’s hand. “You like it when I open my mouth.”

 

There was no denying that though.

 

With a heartfelt sigh, Baekhyun gave Chanyeol’s hand a squeeze before looking front, because his neck was starting to ache and because he wanted to see the sky with his own eyes. As Chanyeol maneuvered through the clouds, Baekhyun wondered just how many more surprises Chanyeol had up his sleeves.

 

“You know, Baek, I bought this helicopter because of you,” Chanyeol started. “Remember that time when you said you wanted to be closer to the sky?”

 

No, Baekhyun didn’t remember.

 

“I wanted to bring you nearer to the sky, so I bought this thing and learnt how to fly it.”

 

A prickling sensation started to form under Baekhyun’s skin and he could feel his eyes welling up with tears.

 

“Look over there,” Chanyeol said, pointing to a cloud shaped like a running dog. “It reminds me of you.”

 

Baekhyun choked because his nose was getting stuffy but he covered it up as a cough and a chuckle, turning the other way just as Chanyeol turned to face him so he could hide his watery eyes.

 

I love it when you talk to me.

 

 

 

It was hot that day, far hotter than the end of May should be. As a result, Baekhyun and Chanyeol had locked themselves in a room with buckets of ice surrounding them. Though it wasn’t helping much, it did make them feel cooler at least.

 

“If only we could go to some place colder,” Baekhyun bemoaned. “Why does it feel like summer already?” He was lying on the carpet in the center of the room, one hand in a bucket of half melted ice, and the other arm resting on his forehead.

 

Sitting just a few meters away, Chanyeol had a pail of ice in his hands as he watched the birds that were flying around his estate. “I have an island, Baek. Did you know that already?” He told Baekhyun in reply.

 

Instantly, Baekhyun sat up from where he had been lying down and stared at Chanyeol with squinted eyes. “Since when did you have an island?”

 

“Oh, the new things you discover about me every day.” There was a hint of mockery in Chanyeol’s voice that was not hard to miss, making Baekhyun roll his eyes.

 

“Exactly. So why am I still surprised?”

 

Scooting over to Baekhyun, Chanyeol moved over until their knees touched and their faces almost touching. “You know I’m only joking.”

 

“Annoying,” Baekhyun chided halfheartedly as he moved away but Chanyeol simply moved closer.

 

“So what do you say?”

 

Resting his chin on his hand, Baekhyun pretended to be in deep thought. “I say…” he paused there just to see Chanyeol move even closer to him expectantly. “I’d go anywhere in the world with you.”

 

“Then let’s go now,” Chanyeol said softly but loud enough for Baekhyun to hear before pressing their noses together for a spilt second.

 

Without waiting for the brunet’s reply, Chanyeol got onto his feet, pulling Baekhyun along with him and then proceeded to drag him out of the room and to the front porch where a car was already waiting.

 

“You had this all planned out,” Baekhyun accused without any real bite and Chanyeol merely shrugged, his eyes twinkling mischievously as he settled next to Baekhyun at the backseat.

 

 

 

When Chanyeol had mentioned that it was an island, Baekhyun hadn’t really been expecting a real island that would require them to get onto a speedboat to reach the place. But then again, it was Park Chanyeol, and he was only the richest man in West Dream so Baekhyun should have guessed better.

 

“It looks so beautiful, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun gaped in awe as Chanyeol helped him off the boat.

 

It was a small island that had a white house right in the center of it. Surrounding it were palm trees planted in artificial soil and some other bigger trees for shade. There was a lawn and a small stone pathway leading to the entrance of the house. It looked so clean and pristine that Baekhyun was starting to suspect that it was newly built.

 

Being with Chanyeol was always so magical and there was never a moment of boredom. The taller made sure to keep their relationship fresh and interesting, coming up with crazy ideas about what they should do together. Sometimes Baekhyun would think that he wasn’t putting enough into their relationship like Chanyeol was doing.

 

Though Chanyeol didn’t seem to mind being the one providing for everything. He curled his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulder, smiling proudly at the house sitting right in the middle of the island. “Doesn’t it? We’re going to stay here for a week.”

 

“A week?” Baekhyun laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. When he turned to look at Chanyeol, his eyes were filled with tenderness. “You definitely had everything planned out.”

 

Still, Chanyeol wasn’t going to admit that. He shrugged, as if he was as clueless as Baekhyun was, but the lopsided grin on his face said otherwise. “Take it as my last present to you before I go back to work.”

 

 

 

One week had passed in the blink of an eye, and Baekhyun was starting to feel reluctant about separating. It was him who had been consistently and persistently asking the other to go back to work but when the time was finally here, Baekhyun felt unwilling to let him go. Call it selfish but Baekhyun had never liked being alone.

 

“Today’s the last day we can be freely together before I have to work again,” Chanyeol murmured against Baekhyun’s soft brown locks, and the brunet hummed in response. “I don’t know why I still need to work when there isn’t actually a need to. If it were up to me, I’d give the company away to spend all my time with you.”

 

While it was true that Chanyeol didn’t have to work because he had an almost endless supply of wealth, he still needed to go to the office from time to time. At the very least, he would have to deal with paper work in his house. Such a responsibility of working in the family’s company and overseeing the business usually fell on the oldest boy. So while he had an elder sister, it was he who had to work because of societal expectations. But she had left for France after getting married anyway. On the other hand, unlike Chanyeol, Baekhyun had his older brother around to take care of the family business so Baekhyun never had that much responsibility to hold when it came to his family’s business.

 

That was why Baekhyun would get lonely at times, because his brother had to work (the Byuns weren’t as wealthy as the Parks), Chanyeol still had to oversee the whole company, and even Kyungsoo would be working. It wasn’t that Baekhyun lacked anything materialistically but he definitely lacked company at times.

 

Maybe Chanyeol had realised that one day. Every year for a month, Chanyeol would make sure to dump everything aside and spend it with Baekhyun, counting down from the latter’s birthday at the start of May. He would try to finish as much work as possible in advance and whenever he couldn’t, he would still do some work during the month off. Though he limited it mostly to signing paperwork and no more than that. He had made it clear that he wouldn’t attend any meetings or read any proposals. Some years ago, it had cost him thousands of dollars though it also hadn’t been an issue for him or his company at all.

 

Once, Baekhyun had asked him why not take a month off from his birthday at the end of November instead. But Chanyeol had simply brushed it off, claiming that there was no birthday as important as Baekhyun’s. At times like that, Baekhyun liked to believe that what they had was love despite neither party ever saying it aloud before.

 

The phone rang, snapping Baekhyun out from his trance.

 

“Baek, are you alright?” Chanyeol asked, concern lacing his voice. His eyebrows were drawn together and he was shaking Baekhyun slightly, a sign that he had been calling Baekhyun for a while. The phone stopped ringing but neither of them bothered about it. “Did you hear what I was saying?”

 

“That you didn’t want to go back to work?” Baekhyun offered sheepishly, turning red when Chanyeol shook his head with a low laugh.

 

“I said I lo – ”

 

The phone rang again, cutting Chanyeol off from saying that one word that Baekhyun wanted to hear so badly, especially since he had just been thinking about it. He didn’t know how eager he had been to hear that word spill from Chanyeol’s lips until the latter was about to say it. He knew what Chanyeol was going to say but he wanted to hear it. Knowing was one thing, but hearing it was another thing altogether.

 

The phone continued ringing.

 

“It must be important for that person to call back so soon,” Baekhyun said calmly but his heart was racing.

 

“I’ll answer it then.” Chanyeol got up to reach for the phone, but not before giving Baekhyun a worried look.

 

Halfway through the call, Chanyeol’s expression turned grimed, causing Baekhyun to look at him curiously. “I understand.” Chanyeol’s voice was solemn and his eyes serious, but when he caught Baekhyun staring, his gaze turned tender and he hung up without saying a goodbye.

 

“Is there something wrong?” Baekhyun asked the obvious, voice shaky while curling his fingers around the wooden post connecting the floor to the ceiling. If only the queasiness he felt in the pits of his stomach could be translated to the strength in his grip, the post might have been broken by now.

 

The smile Chanyeol gave was too sweet, too disarming, that it made Baekhyun curl his toes against the cold marble floor. This house had a quaint design, matching wood to marble, Baekhyun noted belatedly. But what else could Chanyeol do with all his money besides trying out different things anyway?

 

“Nothing’s wrong.”

 

A lie.

 

It was the first lie, the first obvious one at least, that Chanyeol told Baekhyun.

 

Maybe it was just an instinct but Baekhyun could sense that things were starting to spiral out of control and he could do nothing to stop everything from falling apart in his life. Or, he was just being overdramatic and one lie meant nothing.

 

But it did. Not because it was a lie, but because Baekhyun could see the way Chanyeol’s knuckles were turning white from how hard he was gripping the phone and the way Chanyeol wouldn’t meet his eyes at all. It was more than a lie, and Baekhyun knew, because Chanyeol gave him the feeling that he was going to leave him soon.

 

Suddenly, the walls felt like they were closing in on Baekhyun and the floor was eating him up. His senses were blocked, he knew, because Chanyeol’s mouth was moving and he could see it, yet he could not hear a single sound.

 

“Don’t lie to me,” Baekhyun said simply but Chanyeol just turned and walked away, leaving Baekhyun confused and helpless.

 

Something was wrong, Baekhyun wasn’t an idiot and Chanyeol knew that. But he couldn’t bring himself to tell Baekhyun the news. Not when the other had been so happy for the past one month. Not when Chanyeol was just about to tell him how much he loved him.

 

Chanyeol wanted to protect Baekhyun from this cruel world for as long as he could. He would bring Baekhyun to their own world, where it was a safe haven, protecting Baekhyun from any hurt. And if he could, he was willing to be that shelter forever.

 

But he couldn’t.

 

 

 

 

 

Happiness is elusive, or so they say.

 

It was something that could not last forever. Things always took a turn for the worst when they just got better. Happiness was never meant to last for anybody.

 

Baekhyun was no exception.

 

That day, he lost everything – his fortune, his family, his lover, and maybe even a part of his soul.

 

“What do you mean by Baekboem embezzled the company funds? What do you mean Baekboem is nowhere to be found?” Baekhyun threw the phone onto the table and pushed a stack of books off of it out of frustration before picking up the phone again. “I need answers!”

 

 

 

But he didn’t get any. He didn’t get any that day, nor the next day, and the day after.

 

There were no explanations given to him. All that he got was a notice that the house was on mortgage and that he would need to leave. All that he got were instructions that he wasn’t allowed to take anything from the house except a few personal belongings.

 

 

 

“Chanyeol doesn’t want to see me?” Baekhyun was delirious. He was stopped by one of Chanyeol’s butlers in the living room who claimed that Chanyeol was too busy to meet anyone at the moment and had made it clear that he specifically didn’t want to see Baekhyun. “He wouldn’t say that,” Baekhyun cried but he had doubts in his heart.

 

“I’ll talk to him.”

 

Looking past the butler, Baekhyun saw Chanyeol a few steps behind, looking as somber as he had at the house on the island a few days ago. When Chanyeol reached his butler’s side, he kindly dismissed him before facing Baekhyun with a grave expression. “Don’t find me anymore,” he said sternly. “Don’t come here anymore.” With that, Chanyeol turned towards the window, his fist clenched as he rested them on the windowsill.

 

An uncomfortable silence settled between them and the air felt suffocating to Baekhyun. When Chanyeol continued staying quiet, Baekhyun expected him to turn and leave. But Baekhyun waited and waited and Chanyeol just stood there, his back facing Baekhyun, his aura cold and uncaring.

 

“Yeol?” Baekhyun finally felt brave enough to call out, but his voice was shaky, afraid. “Don’t do this to me. Not you too.”

 

Chanyeol remained still, looking out the large window panes into the gardens which Baekhyun loved so much.

 

“Please,” Baekhyun begged, desperate for a reply, a sound, or anything at all.

 

“Stop it.” It wasn’t intended, but Chanyeol’s voice came out harsh, making Baekhyun flinch. The small movement which Chanyeol had caught in Baekhyun’s reflection in the window caused guilt to swell in his chest but he had to do this. It was just simply impossible to carry on. “We can’t be together anymore. I thought we would be fine, but we’re not. I can’t. You – ” Chanyeol cut himself off as he spun around to look straight into Baekhyun’s eyes. Baekhyun’s devastatingly beautiful eyes which were full of hope, which held sorrow and bitterness, and maybe a bit of resentment. “How?” His voice grew softer as he took slow and steady steps towards the now penniless man. “How do you still look so beautiful despite everything?”

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whispered. “Please. You can’t do this to me.”

 

“We can’t be together.” There was a tone of finality in Chanyeol’s voice that Baekhyun was starting to grow tired of hearing.

 

So Baekhyun gave in. “I understand,” was all he said before he turned around and walked away, slowly at first until his legs started moving on their own and he couldn’t stop.

 

“Byun,” Chanyeol called out but the shorter man continued walking away. “Byun!” Again, Baekhyun didn’t stop to turn around. “Byun Baekhyun!” The doors opened, and Byun Baekhyun walked out the mighty doors of the Park’s estate that may never open for him again. There, Byun Baekhyun left without turning back once, and maybe he might never turn back again.

 

This was Byun Baekhyun walking out of Park Chanyeol’s life. Maybe forever.

 

 

 

The day Baekhyun left his house wasn’t a very big occasion. No one told him the details of what had happened and he had not bothered finding out either. What was the use when he could not change anything anyway? He was smart, but there was never a need for him to work in the company because Baekboem had been in charge. That was why he didn’t know about anything, any trouble the company might have had been facing. It was why he probably wouldn’t understand even if anyone told him anything.

 

In society, the second child never got a say in any business matters, or anything for that matter. Although Baekboem never saw Baekhyun that way, there were unspoken rules to follow and expectations to live up to. Baekhyun never blamed his older brother but there had always been a nagging feeling in his heart that it wasn’t fair.

 

He dismissed all the servants as he should and left with one luggage containing some clothes and necessities. But that wasn’t the saddest part. The saddest part was that no one saw him off, though he did prefer it that way. This just came to show him how superficial everyone was and just how much they cared about him.

 

Not at all.

 

As the gates shut with a loud clang, Baekhyun didn’t bother turning back. He walked out of the place he grew up at with the thought that he was never going to go back again.

 

 

 

By the time everything had sunk in, it was already night time and Baekhyun had no idea where he was. From his house – his previous house – he had simply walked and walked, without a destination in mind. It was the first time he had walked such a great distance, because he usually had his chauffer or Chanyeol’s to bring him to different places. He had walked aimlessly with his sole luggage in tow and had gone to wherever his legs had brought him. Looking around, he knew that he was lost because his surroundings looked unfamiliar. Though he could guess that he was in a rather average neighbourhood. Every other part of the city besides the upper district where he was from was quite typical. But considering his status now, the neighbourhood was definitely wealthier than him.

 

His world had just crumbled down and he had been abandoned by everyone around him, even those who had been the closest to him. Now that he thought about it, Kyungsoo hadn’t even looked him up and he was certain that at least half of the upper district, including the Dos, already knew about his predicament. What kind of a ty best friend was Do Kyungsoo? Then he thought about Chanyeol and grimaced. At least Kyungsoo hadn’t stepped on his pride like he was nothing.

 

Baekhyun stopped in front of a door and stared at it for a few seconds before knocking. After a few more knocks and no answer, he gave up, slouching down against the door and burying his face in his hands. He wondered if he should be thankful that he was lucky enough to knock on the door of an empty unit or if he was actually unlucky because now he had nowhere to sleep for the night. He reasoned in his heart that if someone did open the door, it probably would have gotten more complicated than necessary because Baekhyun definitely wasn’t in the mood to offer any explanations about his state.

 

Unable to fight against his droopy eyelids any longer, Baekhyun slowly fell asleep, with his head resting against a door of an empty house. Subconsciously, he was praying that he wouldn’t get kidnapped or get robbed. With those thoughts in mind, he hugged the bag he had brought along and pulled his suitcase closer to himself before sleep took over.

 

 

 

“Excuse me…mister? Wake up. Wake up. Wake up!”

 

Baekhyun was awoken by a stranger’s voice and someone insistently shaking his shoulder. He blinked open his eyes, his vision taking a while to adjust to the sunlight. When he finally managed to open his eyes fully, he came face to face with a man with an extremely sharp jawline. His mind was still too hazy to make out any other feature of the stranger.

 

“Are you okay?” He asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

 

“I just woke up,” Baekhyun stated the obvious, unsure what else he could say. He rolled his neck and cracked a few kinks before he started feeling more awake.

 

Now that he was clearheaded, he took his time to observe the stranger squatting before him. He was rather short in stature, around Baekhyun’s own height. He had chestnut coloured hair, the shade darker than Baekhyun’s own honey brown locks. His eyes looked rather intense and his cheekbones were high and sharp, just like his jawline. All in all, he wasn’t a bad looking guy and he looked friendly too. Luck was on Baekhyun’s side that day.

 

“My name is Jongdae, Kim Jongdae, nice to meet you.” The short brunet stretched his hand out but Baekhyun merely stared at it, so Jongdae laughed awkwardly before moving his hand away. “I’m new to this town. I just moved here,” Jongdae explained light-heartedly and chuckled. “Like literally.”

 

Under normal circumstances, Baekhyun would have enjoyed Jongdae’s company because he seemed like a talkative man and Baekhyun always appreciated a good conversation. Although Baekhyun wouldn’t even have met Jongdae under normal circumstances.

 

“Oh.”

 

It was all Baekhyun offered, but Jongdae simply laughed it off again.

 

“What’s your name? What are you doing here all by yourself?” Being the nice guy he was, Jongdae tried to start a conversation, but it was clear that Baekhyun didn’t want to say anything else, judging from his next reply.

 

“Baekhyun.”

 

“Let’s um…” Jongdae trailed off, not knowing how he should tell Baekhyun to move aside very politely so that he could open the door. “Go inside the house first?” He jingled his keys in front of Baekhyun, hoping the latter would get the hint and stand up to step aside, which he did.

 

There were only a few boxes which Jongdae had to carry in and he could honestly do it all by himself, but it would be nice if Baekhyun had helped him. The other had just stood at one corner of the living room, staring out the window as Jongdae had moved the boxes in one by one.

 

When Jongdae was finally done bringing all his things in, he was actually already feeling rather tired but he had to do something about Baekhyun first. The other wasn’t a bother, not at all, Jongdae was a nice guy like that. But it was a little concerning that Baekhyun seemed homeless and alone. Seeing that Baekhyun wasn’t going to talk to him, Jongdae figured that he should make the first move.

 

He wasn’t the best at initiating a conversation but he could try. “It’s pretty small here, isn’t it? My family’s house in another city is much bigger than this.”

 

“The houses in this part of West Dream are all small but the upper district has very large houses,” commented Baekhyun lightly, surprising Jongdae at his sudden rudeness.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“I said I’m broke,” Baekhyun lied through his teeth before offering Jongdae a smile, the one that always caught people off-guard because of how innocent he looked. “I said I’m broke, so I apologise for saying that.”

 

First, Baekhyun was being all silent and secretive and now he was suddenly telling Jongdae about his financial status. In all honesty, Jongdae wasn’t sure if he could believe the guy but there was a voice in his heart telling him that it was alright to trust Baekhyun. What was the worst that could happen right? Besides, it didn’t seem like Baekhyun was dangerous or could bring him any harm, especially if he was really penniless like he claimed.

 

Jongdae didn’t have a reply to that. He didn’t know what he was supposed to say. Though when it came to situations like that, Jongdae’s mouth always worked faster than his brain. “You need a job!” He blurted out.

 

“A what?” Baekhyun gasped, sounding appalled. It wasn’t like he hadn’t worked before although Baekboem was the one in charge. At times, Baekhyun would help out as well so he knew how to work. But he also knew what Jongdae meant by work and it definitely wouldn’t involve sitting in an office and reading documents. Judging from the way Jongdae spoke and his clothes, he was definitely referring to some sort of manual labour at the very best.

 

“I have a friend here who just opened a café here and he needs some help,” Jongdae explained, already grabbing his jacket and looking all ready to go out, probably to bring Baekhyun to his friend’s café.

 

A café only meant two jobs – being the cook or being a server. They had only just met so Jongdae wouldn’t know if Baekhyun could cook or not which only meant that he was asking Baekhyun to be a waiter at his friend’s café.

 

That was manual labour alright.

 

Before Baekhyun could get a say in it, Jongdae was already pulling him out of the house, promising him that it would be fun and that this was for the best. If Baekhyun had been more doubtful, he would think that Jongdae was about to dump him on the streets. Instead, he decided to have faith in this stranger called Jongdae. For now at least.

 

 

 

“Minseok!” Jongdae chimed as soon as he stepped into a quaint little café. So he wasn’t lying about it, Baekhyun was thankful for that much. “I brought someone along, I hope you don’t mind. His name is Baekhyun.”

 

“Jongdae, is that you?” A voice said from behind the counter.

 

Chuckling, Jongdae replied, “The one and only!”

 

“When did you arrive?” Someone appeared from behind the counter and approached the pair. He was shorter than both of them but he was broad and well-built.

 

“Just this morning!”

 

After embracing each other, Minseok looked over Jongdae’s shoulder, finding Baekhyun standing near a table and looking around curiously. Minseok didn’t know but it was Baekhyun’s first time in such an establishment and he was actually just astounded at how small the place was. “Who’s that?” He lowered his voice.

 

Jongdae knew who Minseok was referring to since there was only one other person besides the two of them in the shop. “I found him sleeping outside my door when I arrived at my new place. He’s…” Jongdae thought back to their conversation and realised that Baekhyun never actually explained his situation. “Lost, I guess? He didn’t say much, except that he’s broke. So I told him that he needed a job and figured that I should bring him to you since you need some help anyway right?” Grinning, Jongdae patted Minseok’s shoulder. “You’ll give him a job here right?”

 

Minseok scrutinized Baekhyun from head to toe before frowning, sensing that there was something a little off. “He’s wearing pretty expensive clothes though. You sure he’s broke?”

 

Turning around to look at Baekhyun, Jongdae belatedly noticed that Baekhyun was decked in branded clothes. “That’s what he told me,” he answered hesitantly.

 

“What if he was lying? There’s no way – ”

 

“I can hear you guys,” Baekhyun decided to say, not wanting to be doubted and accused, especially when he had done nothing wrong. While he could understand their worries, he wasn’t in the mood to be suspected as a fraud. “And I’m not lying. Maybe it’s not out in the papers yet, but my family’s having some problems now. The house at the upper district is on mortgage and I have nowhere to live. I don’t have any money.”

 

Knitting his brows together, Minseok moved closer to Baekhyun to inspect the latter. “What did you say his name was again, Jongdae?”

 

“Baekhyun.”

 

“It’s Baekhyun,” repeated Baekhyun. “Byun Baekhyun.”

 

“Byun?” Minseok echoed, shocked. “What in the world happened?”

 

“Like I said, my family’s facing some problems now and I’m broke.”

 

Confused, Jongdae had to speak up. “You know this guy? What’s going on?”

 

Minseok ran his hand through his hair as he thought about how he should explain everything to Jongdae quickly. Seeing that Baekhyun hadn’t even told Jongdae about his identity beforehand, Minseok figured that it was something he didn’t want to say by himself. “The Byuns are one of the richest families here in West Dream and Byun Baekhyun is the youngest son of the family. He’s dating Park – ”

 

“We’re not anymore,” Baekhyun hurriedly cut in, not wanting to hear his name. He hadn’t expected himself to be so affected by the mere mention of Chanyeol’s name but his clammy palms told him otherwise. Trying to keep a cool front, Baekhyun stuffed his hands in his pockets and smiled politely at Minseok.

 

Now this was a shock to Minseok. “But he always threw those parties for you.”

 

“And he won’t be anymore,” said Baekhyun simply as he tried to prevent his tears from falling.

 

 

 

Minseok had offered Baekhyun a job without any more questions that day. As Baekhyun had never done any housework in his life before, he had to start from the basics and Minseok had to teach him everything from the beginning. When Jongdae had time off from his office job a few blocks away, he would stop by the café and teach Baekhyun or help out as well. It was he who had introduced Baekhyun this job in the first place so he felt that he had some kind of responsibility in helping Baekhyun to adapt.

 

The first few weeks had been a disaster. Baekhyun couldn’t serve the food or drinks properly. It might have been more of reluctance than anything which had resulted in Baekhyun breaking several plates and glasses but Minseok had eventually told him to stay at the cashier. Along the way, Minseok had to hire several other people because he simply could not handle going back and forth between the kitchen and the front all the time.

 

But the economy was bad and he had not been able to pay some of his workers as time passed so he had no choice but to fire some of them. Upon seeing this, Baekhyun had started working harder and being serious in what he did. Turns out that Baekhyun was actually a great help when he put effort into it.

 

Baekhyun had already felt bad enough that he was practically living off Jongdae. When he had seen how much Minseok had been struggling because of him as well, he simply couldn’t bring himself to wallow in self-pity any longer. He had to make himself useful again and he had to start somewhere.

 

Over time, Baekhyun had started opening up as well, sharing what had happened to him, telling both Jongdae and Minseok details that the newspapers hadn’t written about. Not that he had a lot to offer because he was clueless himself, but at least he could vouch for Baekboem’s integrity.

 

You wouldn’t happen to still love that guy, do you, Baekhyun? Minseok had asked one morning, paralyzing Baekhyun with doubt and confusion. He didn’t have a reply for the café owner and they simply left it at that – a question that couldn’t be answered.

 

Was it love in the first place? It was a question that Baekhyun couldn’t even answer himself, let alone give Minseok one. Their relationship was too shallow, too superficial and materialistic to begin with that Baekhyun didn’t even know what he could consider as love.

 

Days turned into weeks and they soon became months. The season changed and there had never been a summer that had passed as slowly for Baekhyun without the parties and alcohol.

 

By no means was Baekhyun used to the lifestyle but he could make it through.

 

Not once did Baekhyun fantasize about going back to his previous life.

 

He did so twice, thrice, and more than he could count. Until one day, he had started to believe that maybe this was all a cruel dream.

 

But Baekhyun wasn’t a fool, though he liked to be one. Fools lived longer because they had no worries or real struggles to deal with. They were clueless even if they did have problems. Baekhyun had felt like a fool back then when all his fortune had disappeared without knowing a reason why.

 

He knew that it wasn’t a dream because he still woke up every single day on his flat mattress in Jongdae’s small three-room apartment, a daily reminder that he was living in reality. The music, the fireworks, and the laughter were all just a faraway memory in his head that he couldn’t reach anymore.

 

 

 

“Baekhyun!” A shrilly voice called out. “Is that you?”

 

It was someone from the upper district, someone who used to attend all those parties which Chanyeol had thrown for him. Although it was a familiar face, Baekhyun couldn’t put a name to it.

 

“It’s you, isn’t it, Baekhyun?”

 

“Unless you’re blind, then yes, it’s obviously me,” Baekhyun replied smoothly. This was the first time someone was actually calling him out. There had been customers from the upper district before but none of them had acknowledged Baekhyun. Although he had been certain that when they had been talking about him, telling everyone where he was working at now. And he was right. It didn’t take a genius to find out when people from the upper district had started to flood the shop regularly.

 

That had been when Minseok had no choice but to start hiring more people again because there had simply been too much for the both of them to handle. On the bright side, it had also meant that business was doing well and that had given Minseok more cash to pay his workers as well.

 

The woman with the annoying voice scoffed. “Is that the way you should be talking to someone of a higher status, Baekhyun?”

 

It grated his nerves – the way she said his name, and he wanted to do nothing more than to throw the piece of cloth he was using to clean the table at her face. And so he did when he caught a scornful expression on her face.

 

She shrieked, drawing the attention of other customers. “How dare you!” She flung the cloth aside as she stood up and glared at Baekhyun before roughly pushing his shoulder, causing him to stumble backwards and fall when he hit the edge of a table. “You should stay down there where you belong,” she hissed viciously and her heels to leave the shop.

 

“Baekhyun!” This time, it was a familiar voice that called out.

 

Raising his head, Baekhyun saw Kyungsoo looking at him worriedly. The young magnate then rushed over to the brunet’s side to help him up.

 

“Thank you,” Baekhyun whispered as he allowed the other to bring him to an empty seat in the café.

 

Lunch time was long over so thankfully the café only had a few customers left. Kyungsoo had work that day but since he was practically the boss, he could decide when he wanted to eat, usually eating after the usual lunch crowd was gone. No one else seemed to be from the upper district besides Kyungsoo and Baekhyun heaved a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed would be more stories of him being humiliated.

 

“Baek, I wanted to talk to you sooner, trust me. But circumstances – ”

 

“Do those circumstances involve me being poor?” Baekhyun asked emotionlessly. He knew the answer but he wanted to hear it. Call it masochism but he really needed a slap of reality to his face before he would finally stop daydreaming about the impossible.

 

For a while, Kyungsoo said nothing. Then he grimaced. “Of course it does. Don’t ask the obvious.”

 

To others, Kyungsoo’s answer might seem cruel, but to Baekhyun, it was already the kindest words he could hear from the person who was once his best friend. Or were they still best friends?

 

“You work here?” Kyungsoo asked after surveying the place briefly with his eyes. “Byun Baekhyun?”

 

“The one and only.” It became a habit to pick up words and phrases which Jongdae often used so that he could assimilate better. Baekhyun faked a smile that Kyungsoo easily saw through. “How’s life, Soo?”

 

Frowning, Kyungsoo replied, “You know how life is over there, Baekhyun. Is this a trick question?”

 

With a sigh, Baekhyun tilted his head. “Maybe I’ve just forgotten.”

 

“Nonsense, there’s no way you can forget.” How could Kyungsoo sound so sure when Baekhyun wasn’t even certain himself. But either ways, Baekhyun felt comforted just by Kyungsoo’s presence. “Though if you really must know, it’s the same as always. Decadent meals, the finest clothes, mundane paper work in the office. It gets repetitive at times if you ask me but it keeps the money rolling.”

 

“And the parties?” Baekhyun asked, sounding confused, wondering why Kyungsoo would leave out the biggest and most important part. The only thing that they both knew Baekhyun was concerned about.

 

Kyungsoo scoffed. “There are no parties, Baekhyun.”

 

They didn’t talk about the lack of parties throughout the rest of their conversation. Neither did Baekhyun ask when Kyungsoo left.

 

 

 

From then on, Kyungsoo visited the café regularly, usually when it wasn’t crowded so Baekhyun could skive a little and talk to him. Most of the time, it was Baekhyun doing the talking, telling Kyungsoo how different life was and how he was actually getting used to – a white lie they both knew. He told Kyungsoo stories about him and Jongdae, how Jongdae was saving up for a car so that he could bring Baekhyun to other parts of the city. How surprising it was that there was still so much that Baekhyun had yet to see in the city despite growing up there. Sometimes, they talked about Kyungsoo’s lack of romance in his life. Rarely, did Kyungsoo tell him what was going on in the upper district.

 

Today was one of those rare days.

 

“That giant idiot has been dating.”

 

Baekhyun already knew that from reading the papers but he still couldn’t stop his hand from shaking when he was reaching for his cup. He retracted his hand quickly in hopes that Kyungsoo didn’t notice, but nothing ever escaped Kyungsoo’s eyes. Though Kyungsoo didn’t say anything when he placed his unsteady hand on his lap, clenching and unclenching it a few times until he felt that he was calm enough to lift his cup up. Reaching for his cup the second time, Baekhyun found that his hand was still shaky but not so much that he couldn’t pick it up. “Has he?” He feigned ignorance and Kyungsoo instantly gave him a pitiable look that he wished to never see again.

 

“Baek,” Kyungsoo said, sounding tired. “Chanyeol’s been dating.”

 

“You said that already,” Baekhyun replied hurriedly, not wanting to hear anymore regarding the issue.

 

“Chanyeol’s been dating,” Kyungsoo repeated and Baekhyun was about to tell him to shut up until he said the next line. “Girls. With long black hair. He’s being stupid.”

 

Now that he didn’t know. While he knew that Chanyeol had been dating, he had never bothered finding out who the other parties had been. He had never read finish the headlines of the section which reported all the gossip about people from the upper district before so he hadn’t had a clue.

 

“I always thought he was gay,” Baekhyun said with a shrug, pretending to be nonchalant about it, but he wasn’t fooling anyone, not Kyungsoo and especially not himself.

 

“He’s doing it on purpose.” Kyungsoo grimaced. “He’s dating people who won’t remind himself of you. It’s a stupid thing to do but he’s stupid and we’ve already established that.”

 

“And why would he do that?”

 

“Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo said, frustrated. “He’s still in love with you!”

 

“You always said it wasn’t love, Soo.”

 

Baekhyun’s voice sounded distant and faraway, as his gaze was while he looked outside the café, watching the empty street come to life when the traffic light changed colours and cars started driving past.

 

“I know, but I was wrong. I can see it now. He misses you, Baek. You don’t see how distracted he is when he’s with those girls. He never throws parties anymore. You don’t see his face when he’s looking at a photograph of you. You don’t – ” Kyungsoo groaned. “He’s really in love with you, Baek.”

 

Baekhyun shrugged. “Maybe he was. I don’t know about now.”

 

Exasperated, Kyungsoo clicked his tongue loudly. “Why in the world are both of you so stubborn?”

 

A bell chimed. It was from the clock sitting next to the cashier, telling everyone in the shop that it was five minutes to the hour. It was also the cue for Kyungsoo to leave and go back to his office.

 

“I’ll come back again tomorrow.”

 

Nodding, Baekhyun passed Kyungsoo his coat wordlessly and walked his best friend to the door.

 

“Chanyeol knows you work here, by the way. He’s just too stubborn to come here, but I know he wants to.” With that, Kyungsoo left the café, the bells hanging on the door jingling when the door swung close.

 

Please don’t come here, Baekhyun silently begged in his heart. Anyone but him. Because if there was one person whom Baekhyun didn’t want to see in such a state, it was none other than Park Chanyeol.

 

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol had never liked to be in this part of the city where it was crowded with people whose entire fortune was less than what he made in a day, where the roadsides were occupied with stores that could easily be replaced with a snap of his fingers, and where that one café where Baekhyun worked at existed. More specifically, he didn’t like to be near that particular café. He also had no reason to go there because while his office was in the same part of the city, the café was still quite a distance away. He also didn’t have a need to visit such an average establishment when he could have the finest food from all over the world delivered to his plate.

 

But there he was again, sitting in his car parked a few meters away from the small café where Baekhyun was working at. It was a cowardly move, to watch Baekhyun from afar like that, especially with how he had treated the other. It was also rather pathetic that he didn’t have the courage to approach the short brunet.

 

From the large transparent window panel, Chanyeol watched as Baekhyun diligently wiped down table after table. His brown hair falling into his eyes whenever he bent over a table with a cloth in hand. Wearing a plain collared shirt coupled with black slacks and an apron, he still managed to look painfully beautiful.

 

Wanting to be closer to Baekhyun and being unable to stand the distance any longer, Chanyeol got out of the car and approached the café with slow but steady steps.

 

 

 

“What would you li – ” Baekhyun stopped short when he looked at who he was serving.

 

Standing before him was Park Chanyeol with his slick black hair pushed up, intense gaze with heavy eye bags underneath, and wearing an overly expensive suit. And he still looked as handsome as ever.

 

“You. Just you,” Chanyeol replied calmly, obviously having no intent on actually ordering anything on the menu.

 

Baekhyun remained silent for a moment, having an internal conflict of finding the right words to say. It was only then he realised how much he had missed the giant and how much he had yearned to see him again. But now that Chanyeol was standing right in front of him, he found that he didn’t know to say. “I – ”

 

He was angry, definitely, but he wasn’t going to lash out at Chanyeol in public. On top of that, he was sad and heartbroken, so much so that he didn’t want to say anything to Chanyeol, in hopes that Chanyeol was feeling the same pain that was anchored in his heart. Most importantly, he was confused, about why Chanyeol suddenly showed up in front of him after so many months, about how his own feelings, and also about what was on Chanyeol’s mind.

 

“There’s a queue here. Hurry up and order what you want,” said an angry stranger behind, among the grumblings of other customers in the queue.

 

“If you have nothing to order – ” Baekhyun began.

 

“Baek, I just need to talk to you,” Chanyeol cut in stubbornly.

 

“If you have nothing – ”

 

“Baek, I – ”

 

“If you – ”

 

“Byun Baekhyun.”

 

Baekhyun sighed and rubbed his eyes in frustration. “Yeol, I thought we were over this? Please get out. And never come back.”

 

“Baek, is everything alright?” Minseok asked as he came out from the kitchen, voice laced with concern. “There’s a queue holding up.”

 

“I know. I’m sorry. Just a customer who can’t make up his mind about his order.” Baekhyun gestured vaguely at Chanyeol without meeting Minseok’s eyes.

 

Just one glance at Chanyeol and Minseok could connect the dots. The atmosphere in the air was thick. He patted Baekhyun’s back and told him to help out in the kitchen before taking the former’s place in front of the cashier. “Sir, if you have nothing to order, or have not made up your mind, could you please kindly wait at the side because there are other customers behind you.”

 

“Tell Baekhyun that – ”

 

“Sir, I reserve the right to throw you out.”

 

“And I’ll have this place shut down,” Chanyeol said through gritted teeth but loud enough for a few people to hear. Some people in the queue started murmuring among themselves, trying to guess the identity of this powerful man. The barista who had just made finish a coffee glanced over to peek at Chanyeol’s face. And a poor customer’s hand shook when he went to collect his coffee because he recognised who Chanyeol was.

 

Suddenly, Chanyeol was being dragged out of the quaint little café and suddenly, everyone could breathe again.

 

“I’m sorry about that,” Minseok apologised to the pale-faced customer standing right after Chanyeol who had the nerve to grumble before. Seeing the customer’s slightly dazed eyes, Minseok sighed and bent down to pick up the apron which Baekhyun had carelessly thrown on the ground in his haste to bring Chanyeol out of the café.

 

 

 

“Park Chanyeol!” Baekhyun heaved as he glared at the taller man. “We’re over! You said so yourself! I’m broke! We can’t be together anymore! You said it! You said that! You – ”

 

Baekhyun found his words muffled when he was abruptly pulled into Chanyeol’s chest, the other’s large hand resting on the small of his back to keep him in place. Helplessly, Baekhyun could only grab onto the lapels of Chanyeol’s suit jacket and bury his face deeper into the taller’s chest, wanting nothing more than to inhale the scent of what was once his everything, wishing that the familiar smell of pine could wash over all his rationality and senses and be ingrained in his memory forever.

 

“I just want to talk,” Chanyeol said, his own voice soft as he buried his face in Baekhyun’s hair, missing the way the latter fitted perfectly in his arms.

 

They stood like that for a long while before Baekhyun started struggling and Chanyeol very reluctantly let go. Face flushed, Baekhyun looked down, fixating his gaze on his shoelaces.

 

“Let’s talk inside,” Baekhyun suggested when he was more collected. Thankfully, the crowd in the café was going to dissipate soon because the usual peak hour was already over.

 

 

 

“It was stupid of me,” Baekhyun began as soon as they had seated down. He then stopped there, unsure about what to say next, wondering what the point of talking at all was. “To think that you would follow me anywhere in the world. Not literally, of course. And maybe follow isn’t the right word.” He pressed his lips into a thin line, hoping that he could hurry gather his thoughts because he felt that time was slipping through his fingers so quickly that he couldn’t even grasp a second. “I was stupid to think that you would want to be with me anywhere in the world. It was me who said that after all – that I’d go anywhere in the world with you. I thought you felt the same even if you didn’t say it and I foolishly believed that you loved me half as much I loved you.”

 

“Love?” Chanyeol sounded surprised and it was like a stab to Baekhyun’s heart.

 

“Now where did that come from?” Baekhyun mused to himself and looked up at the ceiling in case he started crying.

 

“I did. I do,” Chanyeol said, slightly tripping over those simple words. “Baekhyun, I do – ” He stopped himself just as Baekhyun looked straight at him.

 

It was all or nothing and Baekhyun wanted to make the most out of this meeting, since Chanyeol had refused to talk to him properly the last time they had met.

 

Taking in a deep breath, Baekhyun readied himself for the worst. “Yes, I loved you a lot. And I loved you very deeply. I’ve never said it before and now that I think about it, maybe I should have. It would have fanned your ego, wouldn’t it? Maybe if I had said it more often or even once, then you would have taken pity on me and let me stay with you when I had gone to look for you that day.”

 

Denial was written all over Chanyeol’s face but he kept quiet and he didn’t even look like he was going to say anything to refute Baekhyun’s claims.

 

“Gosh.” Baekhyun sighed and he looked so resigned that Chanyeol’s heart ached. “Can you at least say something?” The shorter let out a laugh that was hollow and absent of any amusement. “Now I’m still stupidly in love with you and you can’t even say anything. I look like a desperate idiot wanting your attention because ever since we sat down, it’s been me who’s been doing most of the talking even though you were the one who asked me to sit down and have a chat with you. Be fair to me, Yeol.”

 

Still, Chanyeol was saying nothing and Baekhyun was starting to have enough of his silence.

 

“But since when have you played fair?” At this point, Baekhyun knew that he was going to ramble off about things that didn’t make sense if he didn’t put a stop to it. “Let’s end this.”

 

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol finally spoke up, his voice hurt, matching the despondent look on his face.

 

“I thought you didn’t want to see me anymore or have anything to do with me anymore based on what you told me in your house that day. You told me not to look for you anymore, didn’t you?” When Chanyeol didn’t reply, Baekhyun continued, “Now I’m going to tell you the same.” He took a deep breath, maybe just to delay saying the next few words a second longer. Or maybe he thought that those few seconds would give him the chance to change his mind. It didn’t. “Don’t look for me anymore.”

 

Then Baekhyun stood up and without sparing Chanyeol a second glance, he walked behind the counter and into the kitchen.

 

Meanwhile, Chanyeol remained glued to the seat, trying to internalise all that had happened within the short span of time. He was trying to think about what Baekhyun had said because he wanted to believe that most of it were Baekhyun’s heartfelt words, especially the part about loving him.

 

Because Chanyeol had been as madly in love.

 

But then why did this meeting feel like a final goodbye?

 

 

 

“Baek?” Jongdae called excitedly when the front door opened. But his face fell as soon as he saw Baekhyun’s dejected expression. “Baek, what’s wrong?”

 

“Jongdae…” Baekhyun choked and his voice sounded so pained that Jongdae’s heart ached. The older boy’s eyes were glistening with fresh tears ready to burst like a broken dam yet he wasn’t allowing them to fall.

 

“Baek, it’s okay to cry,” Jongdae said kindly and that was all it took for the tears to roll down Baekhyun’s cheeks.

 

They stood there for a few minutes, maybe a few hours, but Jongdae remained silent throughout as Baekhyun cried. The pair was just standing there, in the middle of Jongdae’s cramped living room and letting time slip by their fingers as Baekhyun started to calm down.

 

“Thank you, Jongdae,” Baekhyun whispered, wondering if Jongdae could hear the sincerity in his voice because he couldn’t.

 

“Anytime,” Jongdae replied gently with a warm smile.

 

Of course Jongdae would be able to hear it. He was the type of man who saw the good in everyone and was a good person himself. If Baekhyun were to pinpoint something bad about Jongdae, it would be how the other was nice to a fault. At the same time, it was this kindness that Baekhyun loved about Jongdae because he did not know where he would be now without the other. Baekhyun owed a lot to Jongdae and he just hoped that he could miraculously repay him someday.

 

But Jongdae wasn’t the type who would ask for anything in return. He hadn’t asked for anything at all since the day they had met and he had been wordlessly providing for all of Baekhyun’s needs and this had actually made Baekhyun become reliant on the other man. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing but Baekhyun just couldn’t imagine life without Jongdae anymore.

 

Baekhyun didn’t like Jongdae in a romantic way, definitely not. Nor did he consider Jongdae someone as close to him as Kyungsoo was. They hadn’t grown up together like him and Kyungsoo had after all. But Jongdae was still someone significant in Baekhyun’s life.

 

He was the anchor that was holding Baekhyun down to this earth. He was the fuel that kept Baekhyun going. He was the support that Baekhyun could lean on in times of despair.

 

He was Baekhyun’s light of hope in the darkness that Baekhyun thought he was trapped in.

 

“Are you feeling better?” Jongdae asked, concerned. His eyebrows knitting together because he was so worried about Baekhyun.

 

“You always make it better,” admitted Baekhyun, laughing, the sound musical and refreshing, brightening up the previously dull atmosphere. “Let’s walk around the neighbourhood!” Baekhyun exclaimed excitedly. “You said you’d show me around. It’s been months but you haven’t done it!”

 

“Sorry about that.” Jongdae smiled sheepishly.

 

“Let’s go!” Baekhyun took Jongdae’s hand and pulled him out of the small apartment, acting like he could still be the carefree soul that he was once. And Jongdae indulged him without a single complain or comment.

 

 

 

“Mr. Park,” said Chanyeol’s concerned driver, standing rigidly by his side and looking uncomfortable to be out of the upper district. “You’ve been coming down here for days and it’s not because you’re going to the office.”

 

“I’m acutely aware of that fact if you must know,” Chanyeol replied casually. When he caught a glimpse of a mop of brown hair, he inched closer to the road side. The internal conflict in his heart was preventing him from crossing the road to be on the same side of the street as that café.

 

For the past few days ever since Baekhyun had rejected him, Chanyeol had been repeatedly going down to the south of the city where the café was at. And all he had ever done since then was to stand on the pavement at the opposite side of the road and watch Baekhyun through the tall glass windows for a good hour and a half before leaving.

 

Today was no different.

 

“We’re leaving,” Chanyeol announced and his butler automatically opened the back door for him before taking a seat at the front and driving off.

 

 

 

“He’s spying on you,” Kyungsoo casually told Baekhyun when the brunet served him his coffee.

 

“I got that when I saw him immediately the day after I told him not to look for me anymore and the subsequent days after,” Baekhyun drawled. “Did he really think that I wouldn’t be able to see him? He towers over everyone and his ears stick out.”

 

“I don’t think he’s trying to hide, Baek,” Kyungsoo offered thoughtfully.

 

But Baekhyun chose to ignore him. He looked out the café at the now empty parking lot and sighed before resuming his duties.

 

 

 

When the café’s business had started pick up, Minseok had expanded the shop, adding a few extra tables and chairs on the pavement outside so that he could accommodate more customers. While that had been a brilliant move on Minseok’s part to earn more revenue, Baekhyun had silently resented his decision because that had meant more work for him.

 

More work because when it rained, he would be one of the workers drying the tables and chairs after the rain stopped. When it was hot, he would be one of the workers going out of the cool air-conditioned shop and serving the customers outside. When there were too many people from the upper district on the street for some reason, they would inevitably see him working when he went outside. All in all, it wasn’t an ideal situation for Baekhyun.

 

Especially when customers were being difficult. More so if they were from the upper district.

 

It was a man whom Baekhyun couldn’t recognise when he had called him out. Maybe Baekhyun had already offended him from the start when he had given the man a confused look which had clearly said who are you and how do you know my name?. When he had introduced himself, Baekhyun had looked perplexed, unable to recall anyone he knew with such a face or name. The man turned out to be the partner of the woman with a shrilly voice who had pushed Baekhyun a few months ago. Only then did Baekhyun realised that the man wasn’t one of the party-goers but had met him on a few other occasions during more proper parties and dinner events instead.

 

“What do you mean I have to go into the shop for shelter?” The man grumbled, looking unsatisfied and intent on making Baekhyun’s life difficult.

 

“Because the sky is overcast and it’s obviously going to rain,” Baekhyun said through gritted teeth, not even caring that he wasn’t adhering to a proper server’s ‘code’ anymore and addressing customers as sir or madam as he should.

 

“What on earth are you saying!” He exclaimed as the couple occupying another table outside were rushing to finish their food and drinks.

 

In all honesty, the man sounded extremely stupid because anyone could tell that it was going to rain and Baekhyun would have enjoyed himself if he didn’t think he would potentially get caught in the rain due to this man’s idiocy as well.

 

“Look,” Baekhyun started, annoyance creeping into his tone. “If it weren’t for Minseok, I wouldn’t even be out here asking you to go in because he doesn’t want any of his customers becoming soaked pigs. But clearly, you want to become one so I am going to fulfil your wish and leave you here.”

 

Having said finish his piece, Baekhyun was about to rush into the shop to run away from the man and because there were already a few raindrops hitting his head, when he was stopped by the man pulling his hair. Hard. The action caused Baekhyun to stumble backwards clumsily. When the man released his grip, Baekhyun couldn’t stabilise himself in time and lost his footing, falling sideways onto the pavement, his foot bent in an awkward angle when he reached the ground and an excruciating pain shooting through his ankle the moment he tried standing up.

 

“Wretched brat,” the man scolded, yelping when the rain poured down suddenly and rushed to his car where his butler frantically opened the door for him to take cover.

 

Clenching his jaw, Baekhyun did his best to ignore the pain and pushed himself off the ground. He staggered a little as he stood and had to grab the pole of the street lamp to support himself.

 

Just on the other side of the road, Chanyeol was about to go inside his car when he saw how Baekhyun was struggling to stand properly. “Baekhyun,” he gasped.

 

Although he had seen what had been happening, he didn’t have the courage to stop the man, not when it was someone from the upper district. But it was now pouring heavily and Baekhyun obviously had sprained his ankle.

 

Standing in the rain, his white shirt thoroughly soaked, turning translucent under the clear liquid and the colour of skin starting to show, he looked tragically beautiful. But Chanyeol couldn’t stand the sight, not when passers-by were starting to look at Baekhyun, regardless of their reason. Completely disregarding his butler who had been so cautious and conscious in holding an umbrella for him, he strode out straight into the rain, ignoring the splutter and cries of his loyal butler.

 

He stopped in front of Baekhyun who spared him a glance before turning his gaze to the side of the lamppost. Wordlessly, Chanyeol took off his suit jacket just as he was sheltered by his butler again, and threw it over Baekhyun’s smaller frame, landing haphazardly on the other’s shoulders.

 

Before it could fall off, Baekhyun grabbed onto the coat and adjusted it properly.

 

Again, without saying anything, Chanyeol simply started walking away, back to his car. And just like that, again, Chanyeol was walking away and leaving Baekhyun behind. Cold and alone on the streets that Baekhyun had once been so unfamiliar with.

 

Holding on tightly to the lapels of Chanyeol's jacket, Baekhyun slowly brought it closer to himself, imagining that it was Chanyeol's arms instead, as the rain continued to pelt down on him. Burying his nose into soaked material, he tried catching a whiff of love and familiarity. But all he felt was wet wool pressed against his nose and it only got damper by the second as the water droplets poured down unrelenting. The smell of home long gone with the rain washing away everything, just as Baekhyun had lost everything.

 

 

 

“Baekhyun, are you okay?” Jongdae cried as soon as the other walked into the apartment. “I heard from Minseok what had happened!”

 

“What did he say?” Baekhyun asked emotionlessly as he sat down on the couch, pulling a pillow to his chest.

 

Jongdae took a seat next to him and looked at him worriedly. “He was anxious when he couldn’t find you in the shop because it had been raining so heavily. He said that he found you outside the shop, leaning against one of the street lamps and shivering under some suit jacket you had wrapped around yourself. He was already worried sick when he saw you like that and then realised that you were limping as well! He feels bad that he hadn’t gone out earlier but he couldn’t have because another worker had broken a few plates in the kitchen and he had to clean it up. But he really feels very bad about this, Baek.”

 

“I already told him that it was fine,” said Baekhyun softly. “The jacket belongs to Chanyeol,” he continued in the same quiet voice after a while. “I’m sorry for telling you that. I don’t actually want any pity or talk about him.”

 

With a thoughtful look, Jongdae suddenly knelt in front of Baekhyun and took his foot in his hands, making the other jump slightly in surprise.

 

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun exclaimed.

 

“Your feet’s all swollen,” Jongdae observed before carefully placing Baekhyun’s feet back onto the floor. “I’ll bring you to the doctor’s.” Then he turned around, still in a squatting position and told Baekhyun to get on.

 

“What?”

 

“You’re not going to walk there,” Jongdae scolded lightly.

 

As Baekhyun was slowly getting onto Jongdae’s back, he noticed how Jongdae was staying extremely still, probably because he didn’t want to hit Baekhyun’s foot by accident. It was times like this that Baekhyun felt even more indebted to Jongdae. When Baekhyun was finally settled on Jongdae’s back, the other carefully stood up and made sure to check if Baekhyun was comfortable before leaving the house.

 

“Thank you, Jongdae,” Baekhyun said to the other before burying his face in Jongdae’s shoulder, his warm breath tickling the back of Jongdae’s neck, making the other chuckle and jokingly tell Baekhyun to rest his face somewhere else instead.

 

 

 

 

 

There wasn’t much work to do. There was never a time when there was much work to do. But Chanyeol stayed in the office just to keep himself busy. Just to take his mind off of some things. Just to occupy his mind with something else other than a certain someone.

 

His family’s company was near downtown, located strategically in the center of the busiest street, and surrounding it were all the other companies. It was just more practical to have it there then somewhere in the upper district where almost all the land was used for the ridiculously huge houses. It was also easier to deal with clients from other cities when they dropped by in the business district.

 

Sitting in his office, Chanyeol watched the people walking on the street thoughtfully, wondering just how Baekhyun had become as insignificant and unimportant as one of those random people down there.

 

A few days ago, Chanyeol had sent a letter addressed to Baekhyun, asking him to pay him a visit at his office for business purposes. He had done so because he was worried about the other’s condition. After seeing him injured in the pouring rain the other day, Chanyeol hadn’t seen Baekhyun at the café for two whole weeks. So when Chanyeol had found out that Baekhyun was staying with a man named Kim Jongdae who happened to be working in his company, he knew that Baekhyun wouldn’t say no to coming down.

 

A knock on the door disrupted the silence that Chanyeol had been enjoying. It had better be Baekhyun on the other side of the door. The door opened after Chanyeol casually said come in, revealing the face of the man whom Chanyeol wanted to see so desperately.

 

The first thing Chanyeol took notice of immediately was that Baekhyun could walk properly and he heaved a sigh of relief in his heart.

 

“Mr. Park,” Baekhyun greeted, the name foreign on his tongue and to Chanyeol’s ears. “You wrote a letter to Jongdae, asking to see me?” There was a reason why Baekhyun was acting so coldly and Chanyeol had a feeling that it had something to do with how he had thrown his jacket on the other’s shoulder the other day before walking off.

 

“I actually wrote the letter to you,” Chanyeol corrected, ignoring the way Baekhyun had addressed him.

 

“It’s not my house,” said Baekhyun simply. “But to what do I owe this honour, Mr. Park?”

 

Subtlety had never been Chanyeol’s strong point and neither had been beating around the bush, but Baekhyun still found himself surprised at Chanyeol’s next words.

 

“Be mine, Baekhyun.”

 

He hadn’t meant for it to come out like that but Chanyeol didn’t know what else he could say or what else he could do to be with Baekhyun again. He just didn’t want the other to suffer like that day ever again.

 

A humourless laughter escaped Baekhyun as soon as the words had left Chanyeol’s mouth. He walked towards the side of Chanyeol’s desk and pushed himself up a little to sit on the table but Chanyeol’s expression remained serious and unfazed. Leaning in closer to the taller, Baekhyun faked a sweet smile as he grabbed the handle of Chanyeol’s coffee mug. “You want me to be yours?”

 

“You don’t have a choice,” Chanyeol pointed out coolly, eyes fleeting over to Baekhyun’s fingers wrapped around his mug.

 

“I don’t have a choice?” Baekhyun mused, feigning surprise.

 

“Just be mine,” Chanyeol insisted stubbornly even though he had an inkling about what Baekhyun was going to do.

 

That was all it took for Baekhyun to swing the coffee mug up and splash its content, the sticky brown liquid, all over Chanyeol’s face and suit that was worth more than Baekhyun’s entire life salary at the café.

 

“What do you take me for, Park?”

 

With that, Baekhyun walked out of his office, not bothering to turn back once, and leaving the door open for his secretary to see.

 

“I’m fine,” Chanyeol told his secretary when she rushed in with a clean towel.

 

When Baekhyun stepped out of the building, he thought back to what he had done just moments ago in Chanyeol’s office and grimaced. It wasn’t like he felt remorseful or regretful for doing that, but he did feel a little angry because Chanyeol hadn’t called him back.

 

Leaning against a wall, Baekhyun closed his eyes. “What am I doing?” He asked himself softly as Chanyeol’s words flashed across his mind.

 

 

 

“I’m sorry about the other day.”

 

It was the first thing Baekhyun said when he saw Chanyeol in the café a week later. The taller man was standing across Baekhyun at the counter, like he had the first time he had visited the café. Only this time, he wasn’t planning on making things difficult for anyone, especially not Baekhyun.

 

“It’s okay,” Chanyeol replied instantly before looking at the menu. “I’ll have an Americano.”

 

For a moment, Baekhyun couldn’t believe his ears but then he recovered quickly and processed the order before collecting Chanyeol’s money and telling him to take a seat anywhere. It was Chanyeol’s usual drink but Baekhyun couldn’t help but think about how he had splashed the same coffee all over Chanyeol just a week before.

 

Throughout the rest of Chanyeol’s stay at the café, he didn’t talk to Baekhyun at all and didn’t even spare him a glance. After he was done, he simply left.

 

If Baekhyun were to be honest with himself, he would admit that he was upset that Chanyeol hadn’t looked at him at all, let alone try starting a conversation.

 

Though when Baekhyun went to clear his mug, he found a hundred dollar bill slipped under it.

 

He wasn’t exactly short of money but Jongdae had been saving up for a car for some time now and Baekhyun figured that maybe he could help, even if it was just a little. Besides, Chanyeol was leaving a tip as a customer. There was no reason that Baekhyun shouldn’t accept the money. So he took it. It would be the only time anyway.

 

How wrong Baekhyun was when Chanyeol went again the next day and left two pieces of hundred dollar notes after he left. And the day after and the next and for the entire week. It had taken three visits and five pieces of hundred dollar notes before Baekhyun started to realise that Chanyeol was going to keep doing it every single day.

 

“Stop coming,” Baekhyun stated bluntly when he saw Chanyeol’s face opposite the counter at the start of the second week. “I started giving your notes away to other workers by your fourth visit just so you know.”

 

“So you took the rest?” Chanyeol mused.

 

“It was a tip from a customer right? Why not?” Baekhyun retorted with an arched brow.

 

“I’ll have an Americano,” Chanyeol ordered before placing the coins down and walking away to find a seat, ignoring Baekhyun’s futile attempts at spiting him.

 

When Baekhyun served his drink later on, he stared at Chanyeol for a while, contemplating if he should say something to get the taller to leave him alone. It was strange how Baekhyun didn’t want Chanyeol bothering him or talking to him whenever the other was around but started missing him as soon as he was gone.

 

“Just say it.” It was as if Chanyeol could read Baekhyun’s mind.

 

“I want to have a normal life, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun replied seriously. “I’m working in a small café as a waiter. I shouldn’t be making a thousand dollars in a week.”

 

“I understand,” Chanyeol said quietly and nodded before sipping on his drink.

 

That day when Chanyeol left and Baekhyun went to clean his table, there were no more bills stuck under the mug.

 

 

 

“Baekhyun, is that you?”

 

Honestly, Baekhyun had already heard that enough times and he was starting to grow tired of it.

 

“Yes, it’s Byun Baekhyun,” he replied sarcastically but when he saw the face of the person who had called him, he gasped. “Jongin?”

 

Kim Jongin, he had been Baekhyun’s junior back at Yale but that wasn’t all. One faithful day, when Baekhyun had still been in college, he had decided that he was sick of life in the upper district and so he had applied to stay on the school campus for a semester. Thankfully, Jongin had been his roommate back then because Baekhyun couldn’t imagine staying with anyone else.

 

Jongin wasn’t from the upper district but he was by no means poor. He had lived a humble life somewhere downtown with his sister before enrolling into Yale and becoming Baekhyun’s roommate by chance. There had been rumours in the upper district back then that Baekhyun had been dating a middleclass bumpkin but Baekhyun had never paid attention to any of them. Jongin had been a good friend and that had been it.

 

Baekhyun liked Jongin because he had been a sweet and caring boy. But he also liked Jongin because the other hadn’t treated him like he was some God just because he had been the only boy from the upper district living on campus. Jongin had treated him like an equal and Baekhyun had never known how nice it was to be treated like an average college student for once until he had met Jongin.

 

It had only lasted for a semester until Baekhyun had been forced to go home (though he had been starting to feel homesick as well) but he had kept in contact with Jongin after that. They had continued being good friends, even until Baekhyun’s graduation. Only after Jongin had graduated did they lose contact with one another. The younger boy had disappeared from West Dream entirely. He hadn’t gone back after graduating from Yale and Baekhyun had no means of looking for the other at that time. The only thing he had left behind for Baekhyun had been a handwritten letter and a necklace with a music note as a farewell gift.

 

For a while, Baekhyun had resented Jongin but he had understood the other’s reasons for disappearing after reading the letter. It was a short and simple letter, telling Baekhyun that he had wanted to make a name for himself and that he didn’t want to rely on any connections. That he would earn his own fortune one day for his family to live a more comfortable life and because he had wanted to impress someone and be with that person but he couldn’t with his status at that time. And that when that day came, he would find Baekhyun again so Baekhyun didn’t have to look for him at all.

 

It had been years since then and sometimes, in the midst of all the parties and revelry, Jongin would slip off Baekhyun’s mind, but never completely. There had been times when Baekhyun would miss the younger and read his letter over and over again, wishing him success in his heart and wondering how he had been doing on his own.

 

“It’s really you,” Jongin muttered in disbelief before going over to the other side of the counter and pulling Baekhyun into a tight hug. “Gosh, I missed you.”

 

“You still remember me?” Baekhyun asked, still not believing his eyes and ears as he wrapped his arms around Jongin.

 

When Jongin pulled apart, he grinned, looking as handsome as Baekhyun remembered. “The golden boy from West Dream with the voice of an angel and the face of a fairy. Who could ever forget you, Byun Baekhyun?”

 

Baekhyun laughed at the nickname he had gotten when he had still been studying at Yale. “You’re one to talk,” Baekhyun retorted playfully as he observed how Jongin looked.

 

Jongin wasn’t the typical kind of handsome that people would usually find downtown. He had the kind of face which would make anyone think that he belonged to the upper district, only that he didn’t. Though admittedly, Jongin always had an air of elegance around him which made people mistake his status even more frequently.

 

“We’ll talk when there’s lesser customers,” Baekhyun hurriedly said when he saw a queue holding up and Jongin nodded understandingly before ordering a drink and paying for it then finding a seat at a corner.

 

When the café was starting to get empty, Baekhyun asked Minseok for some time off for him to catch up with an old friend and Minseok being the kind guy he was naturally agreed to it.

 

“I went to the upper district to find you,” Jongin began. “You have no idea how shocked I was to find out that you’re…” he trailed off with his eyes downcast. “I’m so sorry about what happened.”

 

“It’s no one’s fault,” Baekhyun replied with a genuine smile. There was something about Jongin that made him feel comfortable about talking about this matter. “I still don’t know what happened exactly to be honest but I think I can live with this life.” It was the first time he sounded so sure of himself. Maybe he was really moving on.

 

“You were always different from the rest,” Jongin said, a look of admiration on his face.

 

“So how long have you been here?” Baekhyun decided to change the topic, curious about what Jongin had been up to these past few years.

 

“Just. The first thing I told myself I would do upon coming back to West Dream was to find you, Baekhyun.” Jongin flashed him a wide smile before he laughed shyly and looked away.

 

“I’m flattered.” Baekhyun chuckled wholeheartedly, finding it cute how Jongin was still as shy as he had used to be back then. “What about that special person you mentioned in the letter?”

 

A look of surprise crossed Jongin’s face. “You remember the letter?”

 

“I read it every now and then,” Baekhyun admitted bashfully, and it was Jongin’s turn to laugh.

 

There was that shy look on Jongin’s face again as he played with his own fingers. “Baekhyun, I don’t know what to say.”

 

“Tell me who that person is,” Baekhyun gushed excitedly like a curious child.

 

“That’s where I need your help,” Jongin said sheepishly and Baekhyun raised a brow.

 

“We have all day,” Baekhyun joked, although he knew that Minseok would give him the rest of the day off. He leaned back and crossed his legs as he looked at Jongin inquisitively, wondering what help the other needed.

 

 

 

“It’s not going to work,” Baekhyun said bluntly when Jongin was done detailing his grand plan to him. “I’m sorry to say that but it really isn’t going to work.”

 

“It’s worth a try,” Jongin reasoned with a shrug.

 

“You know I’ll help you regardless,” Baekhyun assured him. “So how has life been?” Baekhyun quickly changed the topic when he saw Jongin’s crestfallen face.

 

Immediately, Jongin’s face brightened up and he started talking animatedly about how he had struck gold after leaving college. He had purchased some stocks and bonds on a whim and maybe lady luck had been on his side, allowing him to make a fortune out of the stock market on his very first attempt. There had been some ups and downs through the years but he had learnt how to deal with the market and now he was the boss of a consulting firm.

 

Throughout Jongin’s story, Baekhyun had been listening very attentively, nodding his head at times and laughing at some of Jongin’s silly episodes. Halfway, he had started feeling a sense of pride and he was so, so, so happy for Jongin for making it that far. It was honestly Jongin making his dreams come true and fulfilling all of his ‘promises’ in the letter he had written to Baekhyun back then. Baekhyun also had faith that Jongin would only do better from then on. “You’ll do well.”

 

At Baekhyun’s words, Jongin grinned, a surge of confidence rushing through him. “Thank you, Baek. Really.”

 

 

 

“Baek’s been hanging out with a certain Kim Jongin,” Kyungsoo told Chanyeol when he dropped by the other’s office randomly one day because it had been awhile since he had saw the taller man or so he claimed. But it was really because he wanted to see what Chanyeol was up to since he had no idea, having spent almost all of his free time at the café to see Baekhyun instead.

 

“Kim Jongin?” Chanyeol repeated. “The one who went to Yale with us and was Baek’s roommate for a semester when he was on his rebellious streak?”

 

“That one,” Kyungsoo confirmed, a glint of amusement in his eyes when he saw Chanyeol curling his hand into a fist.

 

“Why?”

 

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “They’re friends, maybe that’s why.”

 

It was true but Chanyeol didn’t like the sound of that. Not one single bit.

 

There was another letter sent to Jongdae’s apartment later that day, inviting Baekhyun for a cup of tea at Chanyeol’s office.

 

 

 

Not wanting Jongdae to face any trouble at work (not that Chanyeol was that childish but Baekhyun could never be too certain anymore), Baekhyun decided to go down since there was also no harm anyway. That was why Baekhyun found himself standing outside Chanyeol’s office for the second time ever since he had left the upper district.

 

He took a deep breath before knocking on the door and opening it when he heard a loud come in from inside.

 

After entering and closing the door, Chanyeol was already talking, not even giving Baekhyun the time to sit down.

 

“If you’re finding yourself someone rich, you could have just come to me.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Baekhyun took a seat in the chair opposite Chanyeol. “I’m not,” he said uninterestedly. “You can believe all the rumours and gossip about Jongin if you want to. No one’s stopping you.” Chanyeol didn’t need to tell him anything for him to know exactly what Chanyeol was talking about. He also didn’t need anyone to tell him what was being written in the columns of the newspaper distributed solely to the upper district. It was just like his college days when they had written about him and Jongin. “Also, I never pegged you as the type who would read that column, but people change, what can I say?” Then he pushed himself off the seat and gave Chanyeol a sardonic smile. “Have a nice day, Park.” With that, he stood up and walked towards the door, ready to leave, but not before stopping when his hand was on the handle. “And for the record, Park,” he spat the name out with venom and Chanyeol flinched a little. “Even if I were looking for someone rich, you wouldn’t even cross my mind.”

 

“Even if I’m the richest?” Chanyeol retorted calmly. He didn’t care that Baekhyun was trampling on his pride. He just wanted to see the other, even if it was just for a few seconds longer. He just wanted to hear more of the other’s voice, even if it was just all angry words. He just wanted to be nearer to Baekhyun, even if it was just a little bit closer.

 

Baekhyun stared back with cold eyes, completely void of any emotion and it sent a chill down Chanyeol’s spine. What happened to that fire and light in his eyes?

 

“Even if you’re the richest,” Baekhyun affirmed before leaving, closing the door properly this time but leaving Chanyeol feeling helpless and alone again.

 

 

 

A week had passed since that incident but Baekhyun still couldn’t get it off his mind. He was supposed to be meeting Jongin that night though. The younger had told him that he had prepared a surprise. It was something Baekhyun was honestly looking forward to, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about a certain Park.

 

“What surprise do you have up your sleeves?” Baekhyun asked excitedly when he saw Jongin. Surprises only reminded him of Chanyeol but he wanted to focus on Jongin’s effort that day.

 

“You’ll see,” Jongin said playfully in a smug manner before offering his arm to Baekhyun who happily took it.

 

When they reached the door of one of the private rooms in the restaurant, Jongin smiled proudly before opening the doors.

 

“Surprise!” Jongin exclaimed but he was shocked himself when he saw the state of the room.

 

“Oh.” A look of amazement was etched onto Baekhyun’s face as soon as he stepped into the private room which Jongin had booked for their afternoon tea session to show Baekhyun his surprise. There were at least a dozen silver trays of strawberries by the windows. Porcelain bowls filled with strawberries and glass plates holding a dozen of them decorated every corner of the table. They were all glistening under the chandelier light, looking thoroughly appealing. It looked just like a scene from a movie. “Wow.” It was all Baekhyun could say.

 

When Jongin still wasn’t saying anything, Baekhyun turned to look at the younger man who looked equally as stunned. “Baekhyun, this is – ” Jongin began, but he stopped short when he found himself at a loss for words

 

“You didn’t do this, did you?” Baekhyun asked simply.

 

Still speechless, Jongin could only shake his head. “You said you liked strawberries so I got some of the best harvests from France for you, but not this much, no.” Jongin laughed in disbelief. “Who in the world even has so much time and money?”

 

There was one person like that. It was the only person that came to Baekhyun’s mind. It was the one person that Baekhyun was so adamant on not thinking about. It seemed like every time Baekhyun was trying not to think about him, he would find a way to sneak into Baekhyun’s mind. Baekhyun didn’t want to think about him but he couldn’t help it, not when that person’s face was still as clear as day in his foggy pool of memories. The only thing, or person, he could remember from his almost forgotten past that only seemed like a distant dream now.

 

“Always so dramatic,” Baekhyun said softly to himself. He couldn’t stop the tears that filled his eyes then gracefully rolled down his cheeks. Nor could he stop the choke from spilling from his mouth when his lungs started to feel restricted.

 

“Baekhyun, are you okay?” Jongin was terribly concerned, a hand coming out to support Baekhyun’s back. “Let’s take a seat first.” He hurriedly brought Baekhyun over to a chair and helped him sit down. “Do you feel better?”

 

“Jongin, I – ” Baekhyun choked again, tripping over his next word. He couldn’t contain it any longer and the dam broke. His shoulders shook and his vision was a blur, and all Jongin could do was to pat his back in what he thought would be comforting to Baekhyun. Other than that, Jongin could only watch on helplessly as the older’s tears kept on falling.

 

It was the first time Jongin was seeing Baekhyun like that. The Baekhyun he knew was strong and brave, and wouldn’t let a single teardrop fall no matter how hurt he was feeling on the inside. But he also knew that there was only one person who could reduce Baekhyun to such a state.

 

Angered but confused, Jongin gripped the hand rest of the chair hard. “I don’t know what you still see in him, Baek. He left you. It was him who left you! What rights does he have to do all this?”

 

“Love is a cruel thing, isn’t in, Jongin?” Baekhyun knew Jongin was going to argue with him so he continued, “that’s why you’re doing this with me too right?”

 

Jongin couldn’t deny it, because Baekhyun was right. It was one of the reasons he had decided to leave the city and try to make it big in the first place. He did succeed, and that brought him back to West Dream eventually. And he had done all that to win the heart of somebody who wouldn’t look at him when he was still an average boy. He had done all that to win the heart of somebody who wouldn’t even look at him now even though he was finally rich.

 

“Because we’re foolish enough to let it be cruel to us.” Jongin stood up and walked towards the window. Staring out into the distance always comforted him somehow. “Does he love you?”

 

“I know he does,” said Baekhyun, voice determined. Then he turned to look at Jongin and his gaze softened. “Oh, Jongin, I’m so sorry.”

 

“We know how they’re both like. It’s okay.” There was a smile on Jongin’s face when he turned to face Baekhyun, probably to reassure him but the brunet knew better. “And you’re right.” A sigh escaped Jongin’s lips. “About both of them.”

 

 

 

The bar was empty, save for a few sailors singing to songs of the sea and some women crowding around them to hear various tales. Probably all fake but the women were dumb enough to believe them. There was a bartender polishing some scotch glasses which would do better in a trashcan. It was a rather rundown and shabby place – chalk drawings on the walls and broken stools in the corner. It wasn’t the kind of place Chanyeol would be in but there he was, standing at the door and looking around in search of someone.

 

As soon as Chanyeol spotted Baekhyun, he quickly walked over. “You’re really here.”

 

The familiar voice stopped Baekhyun from taking another sip. He smiled and placed the glass down unsteadily. Had he already drunk that much? “You really came.”

 

“Kyungsoo told me.” Chanyeol took a seat next to Baekhyun.

 

Of course. That was why he had even told Kyungsoo where he would be drinking in the first place. “You don’t like it here. You don’t like this part of town.”

 

There was no deny coming from Chanyeol when he turned to face Baekhyun. “I don’t. I’m here but I still don’t. But I also don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

 

“And why not?” Baekhyun laughed, the sound bitter. “Park Chanyeol not having a choice? The great Park Chanyeol? Why don’t you have a choice? You always have a choice!” His voice grew a little louder but he was too intoxicated to care. Not like it was attracting the other customers’ attention anyway. Although this may be too embarrassing for Chanyeol and would force him to leave. But then what was the point if he left since it was Baekhyun who had wanted him to come in the first place?

 

“What choice do I have when you’re here?” Chanyeol said, his voice soft and sincere. It was enough to make Baekhyun’s eyes watery. And when Chanyeol decided to cup Baekhyun’s face to make him look at him, Baekhyun’s tears just fell. “I never have a choice when it comes to you, Byun Baekhyun.”

 

Moving away, Baekhyun shook his head and attempted to wipe away his tears with his sleeves. “It’s the alcohol.”

 

“Of course.”

 

When Baekhyun finally stopped crying, he let out an empty laugh. “I never realised how shallow we were until I lost everything.”

 

“Having money isn't being shallow,” Chanyeol reasoned but Baekhyun only shook his head again, causing the taller to frown. “Define shallow.”

 

“You wouldn't want to be with someone poor, would you?” Baekhyun gave an example, one that they both were all too familiar with.

 

“Would you?”

 

Baekhyun remained quiet but they both knew what the answer was.

 

“And despite that.”

 

“Despite that,” echoed Baekhyun.

 

Chanyeol moved nearer. “You're penniless, Baek. But I still want you no less than I did before.”

 

Halfway through Chanyeol's sentence and Baekhyun was already shaking his head, causing Chanyeol's grip on his wine glass to tighten. It was starting to grate Chanyeol's nerves - how Baekhyun simply went against everything he said.

 

“You left me,” Baekhyun sighed as he leaned back into his seat and stared straight into Chanyeol's eyes with an emotionless gaze.

 

“I called you back, didn't I?”

 

Sighing, Baekhyun shook his head again, a small smile gracing his lips although he wasn’t feeling a tiny bit of joy at all. “I’m not dating anyone, Chanyeol. If this is what it’s about. I’m not dating anyone.”

 

“Kim Jongin, he – ”

 

“Was trying to make Soo jealous,” said Baekhyun, completing Chanyeol’s sentence. “You know he likes Soo right?”

 

Chanyeol frowned, because that was a stupid move and he always thought Jongin was smarter than that. And no, he didn’t know that Jongin liked Kyungsoo. “But Kyungsoo wouldn’t get jealous over something like that. Kyungsoo never gets jealous.”

 

Baekhyun shrugged. “Maybe I just wanted to feel love, Chanyeol.”

 

“So you made use of Jongin?” Chanyeol said unkindly.

 

“No.” Baekhyun wasn’t in the mood to argue and the cheap alcohol was putting him in a better mood than usual. “I just told him to repay my kindness from all those years back when he wasn’t rich yet. Told him to thank me for my company back at Yale. I meant it all as a joke of course but he took it seriously and told me that he would do it – to repay me, even if it wasn’t going to make Soo jealous. I did tell him that Soo probably wouldn’t even look his way and even if he did, it would be because of me but he told me ‘it’s okay, Baek, I want to repay you.’” Baekhyun smiled upon remembering Jongin’s words. “What a sweet boy, isn’t he?”

 

“Then why did you decide to stop?” Chanyeol asked, his tone unfriendly, obviously unhappy about how Baekhyun was singing another man’s praises in front of him. Singing another man’s praises to him.

 

Baekhyun scoffed at that and sat up straight before leaning forward to trace the rim of his scotch glass. “I wasn’t planning on keeping this up with Jongin forever, you know? We’re good friends and that’s all. It used to be that way and it still is. Nothing’s ever going to change that. Besides.” He stopped his ministrations and raised his head slightly to meet Chanyeol’s eyes. “You were going mad. Going mad investigating me and Jongin.”

 

“I wasn’t!” Chanyeol denied and Baekhyun left it at that, but they both knew the truth.

 

“The strawberries…” Baekhyun began after a while, his voice fading near the end and a distant look in his eyes,

 

He didn’t have to say anything more because Chanyeol knew exactly what he was referring to.

 

“That was…” Chanyeol sighed, frustrated. “Can’t you see the effort I’m making for you?”

 

“I can actually,” Baekhyun replied honestly, his words slurring a bit from the alcohol. “I can see what you’ve been doing, Yeol, and you really don’t have to. We don’t have a future.”

 

“We will,” Chanyeol said firmly and Baekhyun chuckled.

 

“It’s nice to dream.”

 

Baekhyun continued drinking for the rest of the night while Chanyeol simply watched him. When the bar was finally closing, Chanyeol hauled Baekhyun from his seat before piggybacking him and bringing him to his car. While he had half the mind to bring Baekhyun to his house, he thought again and decided that he should bring Baekhyun back to Jongdae’s apartment instead and so he did.

 

When he reached Jongdae’s apartment, he didn’t call Jongdae out immediately. Instead, he stayed in the car and listened to Baekhyun breathing softly while making a soft whiny noise in his throat like he always did. He watched as Baekhyun slept soundly in his car and quietly enjoyed Baekhyun’s presence by his side.

 

Then the moment was ruined when someone tapped loudly against his window. It was Jongdae.

 

“He’s drunk,” Chanyeol told Jongdae conversationally after he rolled down his window.

 

That was all Chanyeol said before Jongdae went over to the passenger’s side of the car and carried Baekhyun out.

 

“Give him lemon water and pears the next day. He likes having them after drinking too much,” Chanyeol said before Jongdae closed the door, trying to hide how concerned he actually was, and trying not to think about how Baekhyun was in someone else’s arms when it could have been him holding Baekhyun instead.

 

“Okay,” Jongdae replied coolly. “And thank you.”

 

“You don’t have to thank me,” Chanyeol whispered to himself after Jongdae closed the door.
 

 

 

It happened one morning in winter when the autumn leaves had already long wilted. It happened when Baekhyun was just leaving the apartment to go to the café as usual. Except it wasn’t a typical morning because Baekhyun’s life was about to change again.

 

“Baekhyun!” Baekboem shouted to catch the younger boy’s attention. As soon as Baekhyun turned around, Baekboem rushed over to his younger brother and engulfed him in a hug.

 

“Baekboem…” Baekhyun breathed out shakily, his voice full of shock as he stood frozen to the ground and allowed his older brother to hold him tightly. “What are – ” He didn’t know what he wanted to ask. He didn’t have any questions ready. He didn’t want to know anything.

 

After a while longer, Baekboem pulled away and that was when Baekhyun realised that the older was decked in what looked like a brand new suit. He stood with his mouth agape as he stared at Baekboem in wonder.

 

“Baekhyun, I’m bringing you home.”

 

For a moment, Baekhyun remained silent, unable to understand what Baekboem was talking about until the older spoke up again.

 

“My name is cleared. There was no embezzlement of funds. It was all a set-up by a group of our workers. I’ve already pressed charges against them, Baek. It’s all okay now. Our bank assets have been unfrozen. We have everything back now. While I was away, I looked into it, into everything to prove my innocence. And I succeeded, Baek. We’re okay now,” Baekboem explained quickly, nearly running out of breath at the end.

 

“I don’t understand anything.” Baekhyun’s voice quivered, his expression lost and confused.

 

“It’s alright,” Baekboem whispered softly and ruffled Baekhyun’s hair. “We’re alright now. Now you just have to come home with me. Everything’s alright. It’s okay if you don’t know anything.”

 

Of course Baekhyun listened to Baekboem’s words, believing that it was still fine not knowing anything at all. But it was okay. Everything was okay now.

 

“But if there’s something you have to know Baek, it was how Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were helping me this whole time. Kyungsoo only joined in later on but Chanyeol was helping me right from the start,” Baekboem told Baekhyun conversationally with a smile and the younger didn’t know what to think.

 

That day, Baekhyun had quit his job at the café, apologising to Minseok and thanking him for his care. Minseok was happy for Baekhyun and wished him all the best in the future. He also told Baekhyun that he was welcome to visit the café anytime, if Baekhyun wanted to of course. Because now that he had his fortune back, why would he need to visit such an average café when he could be eating the finest cuisines from all over the world?

 

Then Baekhyun went back to Jongdae’s apartment at night and broke the news to the other. All Jongdae did was laugh heartily and give Baekhyun a big hug, telling Baekhyun to stay happy no matter what. He even told Baekhyun that his apartment doors would be open for him any time. It was a joke. They both knew.

 

Just like that, Baekhyun left the downtown life behind.

 

 

 

When Baekboem and Baekhyun moved back to their house in the upper district, it was a rather quiet occasion. Since nothing had even been removed in the first place, there wasn’t much shifting to be done. All Baekboem had to do was to hire back all their previous helpers and get the place cleaned up for them to stay there again. Everything happened so quickly that Baekhyun couldn’t keep up and the next thing he knew, he was already sitting on his old bed in his old room in the grand mansion and looking out at the pretty garden that looked extremely well-kept, as if they hadn’t been left untended for almost a year.

 

It was all happening so fast that Baekhyun couldn’t believe it. One moment he had nothing and the next moment, everything belonged to him again. His old friends were welcoming him home and talking to him as if they hadn’t been ignoring his existence for the past few months. His neighbours were sending gifts to his house, some even visited and asked about his wellbeing. It was strange, but definitely something Baekhyun could get used to again.

 

Baekhyun lamented about Kyungsoo not turning up which led to the latter writing to him about how he had practically been eating all of his lunches with the brunet at the café. Jongin was with him when he received the letter and he complained to the younger boy about Kyungsoo’s bad nature, jokingly telling him to chase someone else instead.

 

It took about a week before Park Chanyeol turned up at his doorstep with possibly more than a thousand roses and asked Baekhyun to be with him.

 

That was the exact moment that Baekhyun’s world started spinning again.

 

 

 

“Ah,” Chanyeol sighed dreamily as he buried his face in Baekhyun’s soft hair. He pulled away to tilt Baekhyun’s chin upwards before bending down to press a chaste kiss to the shorter’s lips. “I missed this.”

 

The declaration made Baekhyun scoff. “No. You missed me being rich.” He pushed Chanyeol away a little to look up at the giant. “You like the idea of me being rich.” Chanyeol didn’t deny it. “You like the concept of us being together. You don’t lo – ”

 

“I love you,” Chanyeol said before Baekhyun could get the word out. “I love you, Byun Baekhyun. I love you with every fiber of my body. I love you with my whole heart. I love you more than anything, anyone, in the whole world, in the whole universe. I loved you before you were born.”

 

There was a moment of silence because Baekhyun didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to think. “I was born before you,” Baekhyun managed to say shakily without much thought.

 

“I don’t care.” Chanyeol raised his voice a little, his tone firm and resolute. “I don’t care,” he repeated in a softer voice. “I have loved you since the beginning and I will love you for an eternity, even after death.”

 

When Chanyeol reached forward, Baekhyun took two steps back and turned around, not wanting to face Chanyeol as he desperately tried to keep his tears from flowing uncontrollably down his face.

 

“I will always love you, Baek.”

 

That was the cue for Baekhyun to lose all control and for his tears to fall freely. His shoulders trembled and his palms were starting to feel clammy. There was churning in his stomach that made him feel queasy all over. Baekhyun’s heart started beating rapidly against his ribcage, a loud juxtaposition to the slow but steady ticking of the second hand on the clock sitting inconspicuously on one of the tables.

 

“You were obsessed with me,” Baekhyun choked and he shivered when he felt Chanyeol’s hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently.

 

“As much as I was in love,” Chanyeol admitted sincerely and cupped Baekhyun’s cheek with his other hand, making the shorter look up at him with watery eyes.

 

An involuntary shudder shot down Baekhyun’s spine, reaching all the way to his toes and his fingertips tingled with a weird but nice sensation when Chanyeol pressed their bodies together. Slowly, Chanyeol bent down as he leaned forward and captured Baekhyun’s lips with his own. It was soft and unhurried, tamed and restrained.

 

Fluttering his eyes shut, Baekhyun kissed Chanyeol back as gently and sweetly, as if they had all the time in the world. It wasn’t rushed at all, nothing like all the other kisses they had shared in the past that definitely had more tenacity and fervour.

 

Dragging his lips to the corner of Baekhyun’s mouth, the shorter let out a soft whimper as Chanyeol continued his ministrations, tracing his jawline with his lips and planting a trial of kisses from his jaw to his neck.

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whined airily when the other on a spot just right below his ear before nibbling lightly on his earlobe, making his knees wobbly and he had to grab Chanyeol’s arms for support.

 

But Chanyeol didn’t stop, pressing open-mouthed kisses to Baekhyun’s cheek before going back to his neck, breathing harshly against his skin as Baekhyun tightened his grip, scratching lightly against Chanyeol’s skin. Slowly, Chanyeol pulled away and looked at Baekhyun breathlessly, his eyes dark with want and lust as he stared at Baekhyun’s soft and wet pink lips. He leaned forward again and kissed Baekhyun full on the lips with more eagerness this time and Baekhyun responded as enthusiastically. Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun closer to him and held him steadily with his hand around the curve of Baekhyun’s waist as their tongues clashed.

 

“I love you,” Chanyeol said in between kisses, his voice low and ragged, making the hair on Baekhyun’s neck stand.

 

“I love you too,” Baekhyun whispered against Chanyeol’s lips when they slowed down.

 

It was everything falling back into place again.

 

 

 

“Thank you for helping Baekboem. I didn’t know,” Baekhyun said softly when he was lying with Chanyeol on the latter’s bed that night, his fingers splayed over Chanyeol’s abdomen, and his legs tangled with the other’s in the soft silken sheets. How easily they fell back into their old habits again.

 

“I wanted you back, what else could I have done?”

 

“Right from the start,” Baekhyun muttered, his voice sounding distant.

 

They didn’t say any more after that, simply enjoying the silence and each other’s company after what felt like an eternity. The second hand of the clock was ticking in sync with the rise and fall of their chests as Baekhyun started circling patterns all over Chanyeol’s skin and humming a soft tune.

 

“You know I had the power to take away everything you had right?” Chanyeol asked out of the blue, making Baekhyun stop humming, as he Baekhyun’s soft brown hair, carefully carding through little strands with his fingers and occasionally massaging the other’s scalp. “I could have had that café you worked at shut down. I could have had Jongdae evicted from his place.”

 

Baekhyun remained unbearably quiet and his fingers had stopped moving, letting them rest on Chanyeol’s chest, so Chanyeol continued talking just to fill the silence.

 

“I wanted to take everything away from you so that you would have no choice but to come back to me. So that I would have no choice but to take you back.” Suddenly, Baekhyun started trailing his fingers down from Chanyeol’s chest to his stomach in light, feathery touches, making the taller’s breath hitch, but he wanted to continue talking. “Everything you had at that point in time anyway. It wasn’t much, even you have to admit it yourself, but it was also all that you had. If I had taken that away from you, you wouldn’t have a choice but come back to me right? You would have come to me right?”

 

“But you didn’t,” Baekhyun simply replied calmly, stopping his fingers right at the Chanyeol’s hip and then moving closer to Chanyeol’s side and burying his face in the crook of the taller’s neck before letting out a sigh.

 

At once, Chanyeol stopped his own ministrations and tried shuffling back a little to get a glimpse of Baekhyun’s face but to no avail as the latter refused to budge or give him any space to move. “Why the sigh?”

 

“But you didn’t,” Baekhyun repeated in a serious voice and Chanyeol could imagine the older’s lips pressed into a strict line.

 

“I didn’t.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“I only wanted you to be happy because I realised that seeing you happy made me happy,” Chanyeol admitted. “It took me so long to realise something so simple.”

 

“You didn’t want to be with me though,” Baekhyun pointed out, bitterness laced his voice.

 

“You know I couldn’t. We live in a selfish world.”

 

Indeed they did, and Baekhyun understood that better than anyone in the upper district. After all, he had been on the receiving end of everyone’s selfishness for the longest time.

 

“But we’re together now and I will do anything in my power to keep it that way for as long as possible. I will do everything in my power for you to stay by my side.”

 

“I never wanted to leave,” Baekhyun said softly. The it was you who had wanted me to leave went unsaid but Chanyeol knew what Baekhyun was trying to say.

 

“I love you,” Chanyeol whispered, just to assure the shorter man, and intertwining their fingers together before pressing a chaste kiss to Baekhyun’s forehead.

 

The touch of Chanyeol’s mouth lingering behind.

 

 

 

Fireworks exploded into the sky, the sound booming, tiny sparks littered amongst the clouds and the dark night sky, and fumes of grey smoke polluted the air. Not that it mattered to the crowd watching from below because the smell was too far from them to be affected, especially when colourful sparks continued bursting into the sky one after another. It didn’t matter to them because they were too intoxicated with wine, drunk on the adrenaline, and contaminated with decadence. They weren’t much better than the toxic filling the air high up there.

 

Another burst of bright sparks. And another. And another. And the crowd cheered, like they were spectators to a show. Waiters breezed past a narrow path, a never-ending stream of them carrying silver trays of champagne glasses.

 

And Baekhyun couldn’t take it anymore.

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said in a panicky voice but the taller was too intoxicated himself to hear the edge in Baekhyun’s voice. “Chanyeol,” Baekhyun repeated anxiously while tugging on the other’s sleeve as he watched the other party-goers down glass after glass from the wine fountain. A row of servers walked by him in a blur, all carrying trays coated in genuine silver and embellished with little gems at its side with flutes of champagne filled to the brim. The noise wasn’t dying down and it was starting to drown Baekhyun. “Chanyeol,” he whispered, almost out of breath at the feeling of being so suffocated amidst all the glitter and merriment.

 

“What?” Chanyeol slurred drunkenly, but all it took was one look at Baekhyun’s frightened face for him to sober up, though just a little. “What’s wrong?” He asked worriedly as he dropped the glass he was holding onto the floor.

 

There wasn’t a sound, not one that could be heard anyway because of all the shouting and the music, but Baekhyun heard it. He heard the glass splitting into brittle little pieces as the remaining champagne that had been inside soaked into the floor around those tiny crystals. He stared at the foam evaporating into nothing.

 

“I don’t want to stay here anymore,” Baekhyun rushed out as he grabbed hold of the side of Chanyeol’s arms. “Let’s leave. Please,” Baekhyun was begging at this point, his voice anxious and his senses in an overdrive.

 

Nodding, Chanyeol immediately took Baekhyun’s hand into his own and started pulling him past the crowd, the pool, the laughter, the screams and shouts, the madness, and the riches. Only when they were finally out of the mansion and inside Chanyeol’s Porsche did Baekhyun start breathing properly.

 

“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked again while turning to face Baekhyun. “Tell me.” Gently, he took Baekhyun’s face into his large hands, his thumb Baekhyun’s right cheek. “Slowly,” he told the older boy before placing a kiss on the other’s nose.

 

“I can’t,” Baekhyun choked out. “I can’t do this. I’m not. I’m not used to it.” He knew he was on the verge of hyperventilating but Chanyeol’s warm hands cupping his face was preventing him from doing so.

 

the side of Baekhyun’s face, Chanyeol smiled, glad that Baekhyun was willing to show him his weak side. It meant that Baekhyun trusted him. “It’s okay. We can take it slow,” he coaxed lovingly and kissed Baekhyun’s nose.

 

Taking it slow meant about a week because by the end of Friday, Baekhyun was already acting like how he had been before becoming broke.

 

It wasn’t difficult to integrate back into the life of paradise at all.

 

 

 

“You know the car that you won?” Chanyeol said randomly to Baekhyun when they were in the backseat of his car, on the way back to the Park’s estate.

 

Car that he had won? Despite not living like a rich man for the past few months, it was still a phrase which sounded strange to Baekhyun’s ears. “What about the car?”

 

“I actually bribed the organizers so that you would win it,” explained Chanyeol very seriously, his brows knitted, but not because of the sun. “But then you gave it to Kim Jongdae. I was so angry. I swear.”

 

In the next minute, Baekhyun was opening the car door of the still-moving vehicle.

 

“Stop the car!” Chanyeol ordered frantically and that put a halt to the car immediately, giving Baekhyun the opportunity to get off and slam the door for good measure. Naturally, Chanyeol followed suit, sans the last part.

 

The way the shorter was acting was simply puzzling. “Baekhyun!”

 

“No!”

 

“Baek, please!” Chanyeol begged fruitlessly. “What happened? Why the sudden outburst?”

 

“Shut up! off!”

 

“Just listen to me!” Chanyeol shouted after the shorter.

 

“No!”

 

“Will you just stop for a second!”

 

“I said off!”

 

“Will you just stop shouting for a moment!”

 

At that, Baekhyun stopped and turned around quickly, glaring at Chanyeol with menace in his eyes. “You’re shouting yourself!”

 

As soon as Baekhyun stopped in his tracks, so did Chanyeol. Which, in Baekhyun’s opinion, was very dumb of the taller because his initial objective was to catch up with him in the first place. But Baekhyun never understood the other’s logic, if he even had any.

 

“Can we talk amicably? What is this even about? I don’t get why you’re angry?” Chanyeol looked flustered but Baekhyun was unrelenting.

 

The short brunet crossed his arms and glared at Chanyeol with squinted eyes, his lips downturned in a frown. “There’s nothing to talk about!”

 

“Stop shouting will you! You’re going to wake up the entire neighbourhood!” Chanyeol motioned around dramatically with his hands as if to emphasise his words.

 

“You piece of – ” Suddenly, Baekhyun looked confused. “The what? What in the world are you talking about?” While talking, Baekhyun was walking over to Chanyeol quickly. “What neighbourhood? We’re halfway in your garden.”

 

“I just always thought it’d be fun to say that ever since I started watching romcoms on the television to learn about your peasant lifestyle to approach you.”

 

That statement was so full of bull and so insulting that Baekhyun didn’t know if he should be exasperated or angry. Or both.

 

He settled for being calm and collected but his tone said otherwise. “I gave it to Jongdae because I joined the draw for him in the first place. He was the one who wanted a car, not me.” Gritting his teeth and biting his tongue, Baekhyun had to fight the urge to throw in a few vulgarities just to give Chanyeol the shock of his live. Baekhyun may or may not have picked up some street slang when he had stayed downtown.

 

“Oh,” Chanyeol said dumbly and Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

 

“You are so ridiculous!” Baekhyun heaved and stomped towards Chanyeol, pointing an accusatory finger at him before groaning and crossing his arms instead.

 

“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol said playfully in a sing-song tone as he pulled at Baekhyun’s folded arms. “I really am.”

 

Grinning when he successfully pried Baekhyun’s arms apart, he pulled the shorter into a hug and rested his chin on his head much to the other’s annoyance.

 

Still, Baekhyun returned the hug and pressed his cheek against the soft fabric of Chanyeol’s shirt, inhaling the scent that was so Chanyeol. It was heady.

 

The next morning when Baekhyun woke up, the first thing he noticed was the distinct smell of flowers. It made sense as soon as he opened his eyes and saw flower petals scattered all over the bed and a trial on a floor leading to the door. Knowing that it was one of Chanyeol’s gimmicks again, Baekhyun decided to play along and followed the flower trial which led him out of the room where there were more flowers leading somewhere.

 

Chanyeol holding a bouquet of purple hyacinths. “They mean ‘I’m sorry’,” Chanyeol explained before handing the flowers over to Baekhyun who shook his head fondly as he took the flowers and brought them closer to his face to catch a whiff of the freshness.

 

“You’re always so dramatic,” Baekhyun murmured as Chanyeol grinned.

 

“Only for you.”

 

 

 

“A toast.” Chanyeol’s voice boomed across the large room that was filled with people, all dressed in the finest clothes and indulging in the most decadent food. “To my beloved.” He turned to Baekhyun and raised his glass to the latter, a twinkle in his eyes, his expression full of adoration. “Happy birthday.”

 

Echoes of birthday wishes resounded through the room but Baekhyun wasn’t listening to any of them. The sounds passed by him, the words meaningless and the people enthusiastic but lacking sincerity. They were only there for the party after all. There hadn’t been one since Chanyeol had broken up with Baekhyun so naturally, they had terribly missed the parties.

 

The attention was all on him but Baekhyun knew that it would only last for a few more seconds. As expected, after receiving a few more shouts of happy birthday, the party soon continued at full blast – the sound of champagne and wine glasses thrown carelessly onto the floor, the sound of plates crashing against the wall, and the drunken tossing of the expensive food.

 

Only some wishes mattered.

 

Kyungsoo and Jongin appeared before Baekhyun together and Baekhyun grinned, looking at the pair suspiciously as they wished him happy birthday one after another.

 

“Have you guys gotten together?” Baekhyun asked animatedly, bouncing on his toes, and Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, ignored the birthday boy, and walked away instead, leaving him pouting at Jongin.

 

“We’re not together,” Jongin clarified with a chuckle. “But soon, hopefully.”

 

Baekhyun nodded supportively as he patted Jongin’s shoulder, then the younger walked away in search of Do Kyungsoo.

 

“I was jealous of Jongin,” Chanyeol said suddenly as he wrapped an arm around Baekhyun’s waist.

 

“That’s because you’re stupid,” Baekhyun chided half-heartedly, looking at Chanyeol with a playful smile and love in his eyes as Chanyeol stared back, equally in love.

 

“Baekhyun!” A familiar voice shouted from below the stairs.

 

The magical moment was broken as Baekhyun turned to face none other than Jongdae. Minseok was supposed to turn up as well but he was currently in another city for business. His café had gotten so popular that he had the opportunity to expand it.

 

“Happy birthday!” Jongdae shouted, the curved arch of the marble stairs separating the two, and the stairs too crowded for Jongdae to run up and stand closer to Baekhyun. “Happy birthday, pal!” It was by far the most sincere and heartfelt greeting Baekhyun received that night. Amidst the revelry and madness, the glamour and glitter, Jongdae was possibly the only person in the room left with more than a little bit of good. The sides of Jongdae’s eyes crinkled when he scrunched his eyes and gave Baekhyun the most innocent smile nobody else in the room could give as he downed the glass of martini in his hands before raising the glass to Baekhyun and then walking away with the glass held tightly in his hands. It was obvious that he didn’t want to drop it by accident least he broke it, not at all affected by how others were carelessly throwing their own wine glasses around.

 

Baekhyun tilted his head as he watched Jongdae maneuver through the crowd and out of the room where the pool was.

 

“Really thankful to that guy,” Chanyeol said.

 

“Hm?” Baekhyun looked a little daze when he faced Chanyeol again.

 

“For taking care of you when I couldn’t.”

 

Scoffing as he regained his senses, Baekhyun took one of Chanyeol’s hands. “You’ve always taken care of me.”

 

As Chanyeol was about to say something, someone spilled red wine over the side of Baekhyun’s pristine white jacket. It wasn’t someone Baekhyun could put a name too.

 

“Sorry Baek,” she slurred as she attempted to wipe the stain off his jacket with a piece of silken cloth and failing very miserably. “I’ll buy you a new one,” she simply said before walking away with uneven steps.

 

All Baekhyun did was to shrug the jacket off and toss it over the staircase, earning himself a surprised look from Chanyeol.

 

“What?” Baekhyun asked, looking back and forth between the jacket on the floor and Chanyeol a few times. “She said she’d buy me a new one and it wasn’t that expensive anyway.”

 

Chanyeol grinned. “That’s my Baek.”

 

He sounded so proud that Baekhyun couldn’t help but roll his eyes. But at the same time, he also couldn’t explain that burst of warmth in his heart or the sudden haziness fogging his mind.

 

 

 

Birthdays didn’t matter. And neither did love or sincerity.

 

It was the money. The glamour. The riches. The fame. The indulgence.

 

And it was just all too easy to get used to it again. It was just too easy for Baekhyun to be accustomed to everything – the extravagant parties, the lavish food, and simply just the careless way of spending money – again.

 

It was so easy to be drowned in a world of money being thrown around, the drunken life of the high class society, and the excessive indulgence in yourself.

 

It was so easy to get lost and lose yourself to the sparkle and promise of paradise.

 

It was so easy to fall in love with the life of an endless dream.

 

And fall did Byun Baekhyun, just like that, back into the life of beauty, dreams, and glamour.

 

---

Written for Baekhyun's birthday last year. Cross-posting from AO3.

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