Chapter 1

 

“Come on, man, it’s gonna be great!”

“I don’t know, bruh… coffee ain’t really my thing…”

“Dude, you’ve never even tried coffee before.”

“Shut up! How would you know?”

“, we grew up together, I’ve been with you to every coffee shop you’ve ever visited and I know for a fact you order hot chocolate every time, even in the ing middle of summer.”

“Shut the up, Jongdae, go find someone else to take this stupid coffee class with you.”

“Okay, okay! Sorry! But, please, dude, I’m literally begging you. Jongin thinks it’s stupid and I don’t know who else I can ask.”

“…Why are you so desperate to take this class?”

“I’m a free spirit who likes to try new things, sue me.”

“…Fine, I’ll sit in with you for three classes.”

“Yay! Thanks, bestie!”

Chanyeol grumbled under his breath as his childhood best friend hugged him, already dragging him down the street to a small coffee shop at the corner. Apparently, the owner of the place preferred the traditional method of preparing coffee, and wanted to pass it on to others. He began holding classes over the weekend for whoever was interested. Jongdae, who Chanyeol had never seen drink coffee once in the 21 years they’ve known each other, suddenly decided he wanted to give it a try.

And that’s how Chanyeol found himself placed behind a small counter, apron tied around his waist, messily sorting through coffee beans. He and Jongdae were the only few males present in the class, but Chanyeol was for sure the tallest one amongst the small crowd, towering over his workstation as he clumsily sifted through the ingredients.

“Bro, you gotta go through that faster, teacher’s gonna be here soon and you have to finish sorting before he walks in,” Jongdae mumbled from the workstation next to him.

“Pardon me for not knowing how to ing sort coffee beans, I didn’t even sign up for this,” Chanyeol hissed back menacingly. Jongdae flashed him his signature Cheshire grin before turning back to his own pile of coffee beans.

Chanyeol sighed, muttering to himself under his breath as he tried to pick up the pace. “Stupid Chen,” he growled. “He owes me big time… better buy me a ing hot chocolate after this or—”

“Teacher’s here!” Jongdae gasped excitedly, organizing his workstation to show off his well-sorted beans. Chanyeol raised an eyebrow; Jongdae, who hadn’t seen the actual floor of his room for almost three years, had his station organized and clean. Something was definitely not right.

“Hello, class! I’m glad to see so many familiar faces!” A cute, petite man stood in front of the main station at the front of the class. His dark hair was carefully slicked back, nicely complementing his small face. A large smile graced his lips as his mono-lidded eyes wrinkled warmly. “To our new students, welcome! My name is Kim Minseok, and I am the owner of this coffee shop.” Chanyeol narrowed his eyes at his best friend, who looked like he was about to melt. So that’s why.

“Kim ing Jongdae, do not tell me you dragged me along to be your ing wingman,” Chanyeol hissed, pinching his friends side when the teacher wasn’t looking.

“Ow,” Jongdae complained loudly, rubbing the area Chanyeol jabbed at. “And it’s not cuz of that! I genuinely want to learn about making coffee.” Chanyeol gave him a hard, incredulous stare. Jongdae gulped, then muttered, “And I wouldn’t mind getting the teacher’s number.”

“I ing knew it!” Chanyeol exclaimed loudly, attracting the attention of everybody in the room, much to the duo’s chagrin. They both muttered an apology, then ducked their heads to continue their conversation in hushed whispers.

“I can’t believe you tricked me into coming with you to help you get laid! Some best friend you are,” Chanyeol hissed, smacking Jongdae on the back of the head.

“But, he’s so cute!” Jongdae whined back. “And I’m just gonna mess it up by myself! Come on, man, be a bro and help me out.”

“Hell ing no,” Chanyeol shook his head vigorously. “I can’t even get myself into a relationship, how the hell am I supposed to help you?”

“You can’t get into a relationship cuz you’re ing dumb.”

“That’s it. I’m ing leaving.”

“No, wait! Chanyeol!”

“ off, Jongdae, I have better things to be doin—”

A flash of silver caught Chanyeol’s eye. Annoyed, he turned his head, ignoring his best friend’s insistent complaints.

He didn’t realize how wrong he was until he felt his breath catch in his throat.

The flash of silver wasn’t from a teapot as he had originally assumed. It was from a person. In fact, it was the most beautiful person Chanyeol had ever laid eyes on. Said person was a slim boy with soft, silver hair. His narrow face was almost angelic as the lights shined down on his small figure. The angel’s lips were pursed in concentration as he poured hot water into the coffee filter, delicate fingers clenched carefully around the handle of the carafe. His droopy eyes were turned downward, focusing on his work. The sleeves of his oversized, white dress shirt was rolled up to his elbows, showing off his slender wrists.

“Holy ,” Chanyeol croaked, feeling his mouth dry up as the beautiful boy’s hands danced across the table to grab a measuring cup. The teacher, Minseok, approached his table, no doubt complimenting the boy on his work.

“What’s up, bro? What happened to ‘I have better things to do?’” Jongdae asked mockingly.

“Chen, I think I’m in love.”

“Stop calling me that, it was a stupid nickname we made up when we were like, 3.”

“No, seriously, dude, holy , that guy is hot.”

“Minseok? I know, I’m trying to get with him, remember?”

“No, you smart , the guy he’s talking with.”

“I only have eyes for Minnie~”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Says the guys that fell in love with someone he just saw.”

“…I really hate you.”

“Love you too, bestie!”

 

---

 

Despite his huge stature, Chanyeol was actually a piece of chicken that ended up not having the balls to go over and talk to the beautiful angel in class. And since it was a Sunday, Chanyeol would have to wait almost a full week until he could see him again. Throughout the rest of the week, Chanyeol would just sigh forlornly, his usual happy energy drained as he waited for the days to end. His uncharacteristic behavior didn’t go unnoticed; Jongdae and his cousin, (and the third member of their idiotic trio) Kim Jongin, grew up with the giant and immediately knew something was wrong the minute he sat down with them for lunch on Monday. Even if it wasn’t because they had known him for so long, it wasn’t like Chanyeol was a hard person to read.

“So… what’s wrong?” Jongin asked after Chanyeol sighed for the fifth time that hour.

“Oh my god, you could tell something was bothering me?” Chanyeol gasped. “Jongin, you’re such a good friend!” he cried, dramatically throwing himself into the tan boy’s arms, nearly smothering him in the process. Jongdae sighed, wondering how his friend managed to live this long.

“Get off of me, you giant oaf, I can’t breathe,” Jongin grunted, shoving at Chanyeol’s head.

“Ignore him, cous, he’s just hung up over some guy he met at Minnie’s class yesterday,” Jongdae snorted as he rolled his eyes. “And now he’s gonna be like this for the rest of the week until Friday.”

“Why Friday?”

“That’s when the next class is.”

“I never knew what love was until I saw him,” Chanyeol sobbed into Jongin’s sweater.

“God, you’re so gross. Do you even know the guys name?” Jongin asked.

“I don’t need to know his name to be in love.”

“Don’t worry, Kai, it’s just a phase.”

“No it’s not, you ! It’s all your fault this happened anyways. Just cuz you needed a ing wingman to help you get with someone way out of your league!”

“Shut up! Minnie and I would look perfect together!”

“You’re both ing dumb,” Jongin deadpanned. “Now, if you losers will excuse me, I have a date with my boyfriend.”

“We get it, you’re gay,” Jongdae said dismissively, prying Chanyeol off of his cousin’s body. “Welcome to the club, cous.”

“Shut up.” Jongin stuck his tongue out at his friends. “Don’t hate on me just cuz you bums are single.”

“Not me,” Jongdae smirked, crossing his arms in satisfaction. “Guess who got a date with a certain barista.”

“No ing way,” Chanyeol’s jaw dropped. “When did that happen!”

“When you were busy drooling over that silver haired kid.”

“Why am I the only single one now,” Chanyeol groaned, burying his face into his arms.

“Maybe Jongdae’s date with Minseok will crash and burn, like all his other relationships.”

“ off, cousin.”

 

---

 

A few painstaking days later, Chanyeol couldn’t wait to go to the coffee class and meet his silver haired angel again. Jongdae just rolled his eyes in exasperation when Chanyeol all but skipped into the coffee shop, humming happily as he tied the apron around his waist. Jongdae snorted at his friend’s actions until a large, giddy smiled slipped across his face when Minseok walked into the room. Chanyeol took it that their date went well when he saw Minseok hanging around Jongdae’s station for a majority of the class.

After the two-hour lesson, Chanyeol nervously approached the station he saw the silver haired boy standing in last week. The boy was cleaning up all the utensils they had used for class that day. Water slid down his fingers, making Chanyeol’s face heat up even more. His confident steps faltered to a stop as he watched his angel clean. Other students bustled around him, packing up their bags to go home. Chanyeol wasn’t sure how long he just stood there, watching the silver haired boy.

A hand clasped onto his shoulder, hard. He jumped, turning to see Jongdae with his other arm intertwined with Minseok’s. “Minnie and I are gonna go, see you later?” his friend asked. Chanyeol nodded absentmindedly, muttering goodbye before turning to walk towards the silver haired boy again. Minseok looked confused at Chanyeol’s abrupt exit, while Jongdae just rolled his eyes. “Ignore him, he’s in ‘love’,” Chanyeol heard his best friend say sarcastically.

As Chanyeol walked closer and closer to the boy, he felt his confidence slip lower and lower. The boy was done cleaning, now stooping over to pack up his belongings, and holy his thighs—

Wait, no. That’s not what Chanyeol was there to do.

Drawing in a shaky breath, Chanyeol tried to clear his throat, only for the quiet, half choked sound to get lost amongst the crowd of students rushing around to leave. “Um… ex-excuse me…” Chanyeol tried. The boy didn’t seem to hear him, still packing up his things. Holy , he looked so beautiful zipping up his backpack.

“Ex-excuse me,” Chanyeol tried again, a little louder.

“Yes?”

A girl standing next to him turned to look at him, eyebrows raised expectedly. . Chanyeol flushed red when the girl stared at him like he was crazy. “D-do you know when the next class is,” Chanyeol asked, deflated. The girl answered him, albeit a little confused; she helpfully told him the class schedule for the rest of their lessons. Not that it was really much help. He had already memorized the days he would be seeing his angels. He watched dejectedly as the love of his life walked out of the coffee shop.

 

---

 

The next two days ended the same way. Chanyeol would finish class, steel up enough courage to get close to the station, stop a few feet away, watch the silver haired boy clean, then lose all the courage he somehow accumulated and run back to his table with his tail between his legs.

“I can’t do it, Chen,” Chanyeol sobbed during lunch the following week. “I’m gonna ing kill myself, he’s so beautiful.”

“Oh my god, just man up and talk to him,” Jongdae sighed exasperatedly. “And stop calling me Chen.”

“You let Minseok call you Chen.”

“That’s cuz Minnie’s special.”

“Hey, guys,” Jongin collapsed into the seat next to Chanyeol, a happy, somewhat dreamy smile on his face. “Guess who I was just with.”

“Oh, gee, let me take a wild ing guess,” Jongdae replied sarcastically. “Was it your mom?”

“No, it was yours.”

“Ew, gross, she’s your aunt…”

“Both of you need to grow up.”

“Says the sorry sack of meat who can’t even say ‘hi’ to the person he has a crush on.”

“Shut up, Chen.”

“Don’t ing call me Chen.”

“…I need to leave.”

 

---

 

The rest of the week consisted of Chanyeol fighting with himself. To talk to the angel or to not talk to the angel. Jongin kept prodding him to do it. Jongdae looked like he could care less.

“Dude, I signed us up for the class so you could be my wingman, how did our positions change,” Jongdae asked during their times to go to class.

“It’s what you get for trying to make me your wingman,” Chanyeol huffed back.

“I need to find better friends,” Jongin mumbled, texting the boyfriend his best friend and cousin had yet to meet.

After another grueling week, Chanyeol finally decided, to hell with it. He was gonna do it. He was going to talk to his angel, and see if they could be friends. After all, the silver hair boy looked nice. He always had a gentle smile on his face, droopy eyes sparkling with kindness. It made Chanyeol feel all soft and mushy just thinking about them.

The next class started differently than usual. Minseok walked in a little late, apologizing for his tardiness as he adjusted his uniform. Chanyeol didn’t miss the way Jongdae slipped into the room quietly without attracting attention as he sneaked his way to his station. A satisfied grin stayed permanently fixed on his face for the remainder of the class, growing even smugger when he saw Minseok adjust his collar. Chanyeol rolled his eyes, aiming a kick at Jongdae’s shin when Minseok wasn’t looking.

“This is what happens when you have the balls to ask someone out,” Jongdae mouthed to him, sticking his tongue out at his taller friend.

“If you had so much balls, why’d you need me as your wingman,” Chanyeol retorted back. Jongdae stayed quiet for once.

Because the class started later, they ended up having to stay a little later as well. When the class finally ended, students all rushed to pack their bags, trying to leave quickly to attend plans they had. The silver haired boy still took his time to clean his utensils, making Chanyeol’s heart skip a beat at his politeness. Jongdae and Minseok had disappeared somewhere, leaving Chanyeol alone in a room with a handful of students in the corner and the angel at his station. This was his golden opportunity.

Chanyeol looked down and closed his eyes, rehearsing the speech he had prepared for the love of his life. “Hi, I’m Chanyeol, wanna be my boyfriend? Hi, I’m Chanyeol, wanna be my boyfriend? Hi, I’m Chanyeol, wanna be my boyfriend?” he chanted, ingraining his mantra into his head. With a final huff and pat on the face for confidence, he spun around, a large grin on his face—

—Only to have it melt off when he saw a short, dark haired, large eyed boy talking with his angel. His heart shaped lips were turned up into a large smile, laughing along with every word that left the angel’s lips. The two looked close, talking quietly as the silver haired boy packed his things. Chanyeol could hear the angel’s melodic laughter drift across the three stations between them; it was music to his ears. He felt himself fall deeper and deeper in love when he saw how radiant the angel looked when he smiled, his lips pulling into a cute box-like grin. He saw his angel lean closer to the large-eyed boy; clearly they were very comfortable around each other.

The silver haired boy pulled the large eyed boy in for a tight hug.

Chanyeol felt his heart drop. This thought never occurred to him.

His angel was already taken.

He already had a boyfriend.

He didn’t have a chance.

The silver haired boy laughed as he pulled away from his boyfriend’s embrace, linking his arms with him as they left the coffee shop.

Chanyeol felt as though his heart had left with them.

 

---

 

“I’ll never be happy again,” Chanyeol wailed into his arms, head down on the table during their lunch break.

He ended up skipping the last two classes, too heartbroken to see his an—the silver haired boy. He didn’t need to be reminded of what could’ve been, or at least, what he wanted to be.

Jongdae rolled his eyes, sipping on his banana milk. “Dude, you’ll get over it. You barely knew the guy.”

“You don’t understand, Jongdae. I think he’s the love of my life!”

“Bro, you’re so creepy, you met him, like, three weeks ago.”

“Those were the best three weeks of my life,” Chanyeol sobbed, grabbing the tissues Jongdae passed to him.

Jongdae sighed, patting his distraught best friend’s arm comfortingly. “There, there,” he muttered unsurely. “Wanna go get some hot chocolate?”

“Hey, losers,” Jongin made his entrance as grand and dramatic as usual. “I brought someone today.”

“Not now, Kai, Chanyeol’s not in the mood.”

“Guys,” Jongin continued, ignoring Jongdae’s warning. “Let me introduce my boyfriend, Do Kyungsoo.”

“Nice to meet you, Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol sniffed glumly, looking up to introduce himself. “My name is Ch—”

His words caught in his throat. It was him. The large eyed boy with the heart shaped lips that his angel was talking with. The boy that was supposed to be his angel’s boyfriend. Wait, he was Jongin’s boyfriend too??

“Nice to meet you, Kyu—”

“YAH!” Chanyeol screamed loudly, surprising everyone within a 20 feet radius. “You can’t do this!” he wailed, pointing at Kyungsoo accusingly. The boy’s already large eyes grew even wider in shock. Jongin threw him a look of confusion and Jongdae slapped a hand over his face. “You can’t go around playing two different people! I saw you hugging that pretty boy with the silver hair at the coffee shop the other day! You can’t date two people at once, it’s rude and mean! Please don’t do this to my best friend and my crush, they don’t deserve this!”

The usually loud cafeteria was silent after Chanyeol’s rant. Every student there stared at their table, jaws dropped in amazement. Kyungsoo was appalled, shrinking down to make himself look smaller in an attempt to avoid the gazes of others.

“Chanyeol,” Jongin finally whispered, voice strained in anger. “A word.”

Before Chanyeol could say anything, Jongin grabbed him by the ear, pulling him out of the cafeteria. He ignored his best friends complaints, holding Kyungsoo close to his side as the three of them left the cafeteria. Jongdae sighed as he prepared to apologize for his dumb friend’s actions and disturbing their lunch.

 

---

 

“Jongin, what the ! Let go!”

“Alright, you big idiot, listen up,” Jongin snapped, eyes blazing in fury when he finally let go of Chanyeol’s ear. They were a good distance away from the cafeteria, instead standing under a big oak tree near the classrooms. “Kyungsoo and I have been dating for a few months now.”

“But I saw him with—”

“Shut up and listen. Kyungsoo and I are a couple. And Kyungsoo is best friends with that crush of yours, which is why he was ing hugging him, you dolt.”

Silence.

“Oh.”

“That’s ing right, ‘oh.’ Now, apologize to Kyungsoo for embarrassing him in front of half the school.”

“I’m so sorry, Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol immediately shrieked, throwing himself onto the much shorter male.

The boy grunted at his weight, awkwardly patting his shoulder as he apologized profusely. “It’s okay, it was a misunderstanding,” Kyungsoo muttered.

“Get off of him,” Jongin snorted, smacking Chanyeol across the head.

“Anyways,” Chanyeol sniffed, glaring at his tan best friend as he rubbed his head, “you know the silver haired boy?”

“Baekhyun? Yeah, I’ve known him since we were kids.”

“Baekhyun…” Chanyeol felt a dreamy smile form across his face. “Even his name is beautiful…” he couldn’t help but giggle stupidly.

“I’m sorry for my best friend’s stupidity, Soo,” Jongin sighed, hugging Kyungsoo tightly.

“It’s alright, Nini,” Kyungsoo laughed. “My best friend is kinda stupid, too.”

Chanyeol barely registered what they were saying. A sudden sense of euphoria washed over him when he realized what this meant.

His angel—Baekhyun—was single.

He had a chance.

He wasn’t sure how slim of a chance it was, but he was going to take it, cuz it, Baekhyun is hot as hell.

 

---

 

“I signed Baek up for that class cuz he needed something to do,” Kyungsoo said as they walked back to the cafeteria. So far, the whole walk consisted of Chanyeol asking Kyungsoo for as much information about Baekhyun as possible. Kyungsoo was reluctant at first, but with Jongin’s reassurance that Chanyeol was a good guy, just really dumb, he agreed and told Chanyeol more about his biggest crush. By the time they were halfway to the cafeteria, the two were talking as though they were old friends.

“Why’s he in the class alone?”

“I would’ve taken the class with him, but—”

“But my Soo knows I don’t like coffee,” Jongin cooed lovingly, snuggling into Kyungsoo’s neck as they walked. “And he knows I like cuddling and doesn’t want the smell of coffee beans to make me grossed out.”

“Nini, stop it, you’re smothering me,” Kyungsoo mumbled, embarrassed, but didn’t push Jongin away.

Chanyeol gagged. God, they made him feel so single. And he had just met Kyungsoo that day. Technically.

“But yeah, I just drop by to say hi, or hang out with him after lessons sometimes,” Kyungsoo shrugged, resorting to ignoring Jongin instead.

“You’re a good friend,” Chanyeol stated, shaking Kyungsoo’s hand firmly. The large eyed boy just looked confused. “Way better then these two s I call best friends.”

“Excuse you, we’re great friends,” Jongdae scoffed, appearing out of seemingly nowhere. “If I weren’t a good friend, would I have taken the time to explain to the whole cafeteria why you were screaming at some poor, defenseless little—no offence, Kyungsoo—boy during rush hour?”

“You would’ve done it just so you don’t look uncool,” Chanyeol jabbed back.

“Rude,” Jongdae gasped.

“Soo and I are leaving, bye,” Jongin grumbled, dragging a waving Kyungsoo with him.

 

---

 

The week passed quickly. Chanyeol was b with excitement by the time Friday hit. He had spent the week preparing his introduction, practicing how to look cool, and even used Jongdae and Jongin (against their wills) as test practices for how he would approach Baekhyun. After a few short days of perfecting his act, he was ready.

“Alright, class, it’s been a hectic month,” Minseok greeted them all. “But I feel like everyone’s been doing really well! Now, to see how well we’re all doing, we’re gonna have a skills test today! Everyone just brew the coffee as you would, just I won’t be at the front to demonstrate. I’ll be walking around and doing taste tests. Consider this me being sentimental about our last class!”

Conservations slowly buzzed to life as students scurried around to prepare for their practical. Chanyeol couldn’t help but curse his bad luck; he was prepared to tell Baekhyun how he felt, but his angel was busy setting up his station to make a cup of coffee for Minseok. Deciding he would finish his test as quickly as possible and confess immediately after, Chanyeol hastily set up his station. He barely looked up as he sped through his sorting, picking through the coffee beans at the speed of light. He received a few strange looks from his neighbors (Jongdae just rolled his eyes in exasperation) when he started panting from the effort of keeping up his pace.

Next, measure a teaspoon for each cup of coffee you want, grind the beans, pour hot water and let it sit for 30 seconds before pouring the rest, let it stand for 4 minutes, then start pouring slowly. Chanyeol recited to himself. Easy.

Measuring the beans was no problem. Grinding the beans to a coarse, sea salt like grains took more time and effort. Chanyeol felt like his arms were about to fall off from spinning the handle of the grinder (Minseok was really old fashioned).

Everything was going great. His water was boiled; not too hot, not too cold. The freshly ground coffee beans were measured and set in his filter. The water was in the carafe. All he needed to do was pour the water and he was good.

Happily, he started pouring the warm water, imagining the conversation he would have with his crush afterwards. Best-case scenario, Baekhyun wouldn’t be completely creeped out, they could be friends, grab some food after the lesson, maybe hold hands—

“Um… excuse me?” A soft, husky voice interrupted his thought process. “You need to let the water sit for 30 seconds before pouring the rest.”

Crap.

Chanyeol couldn’t believe it.

It was him.

It was his angel.

Baekhyun.

Chanyeol wasn’t sure exactly what his face was frozen at, but whatever it was must’ve confused his crush. “You need to soak the grounds for a few seconds first, then pour the rest,” he tried explaining gently. “It makes the flavor better, and Teacher Kim will like it better.”

Chanyeol’s head went blank. His angel’s voice was as gorgeous as his face. Not too high, not too low. A perfect mix of y and cute. He didn’t think he could fall any more in love.

“Um… hello? Sir, are you okay?” The angel blinked unsurely, waving his beautiful fingers in front of Chanyeol’s face.

He wasn’t really sure what happened after that. All Chanyeol knew was, one seconds he had the carafe tipped over his coffee grounds, and the next, the carafe was empty, the remainder of the contents spilled all over Baekhyun, soaking his crush from head to toe.

Chanyeol was certain of what his face was showing at this point. He was beyond horrified. Luckily, the water wasn’t too hot, but having water suddenly thrown on you would leave anyone in shock.

And shock was the only thing present on Baekhyun’s beautiful face. Surprised gasps resonated through the room as students slowly started becoming aware of what happened. A student just poured hot water all over another student.

Immediately, every person within Baekhyun’s vicinity grabbed a towel, moving over to dry the boy off. He murmured gentle, “I’m fine”s and tried to duck away from all the hands pressing towels into his face. Minseok also rushed over, trying to clear the students away to see how badly Baekhyun was hurt. Jongdae turned around, ready to give his clumsy best friend an earful.

But nobody was there.

Chanyeol was gone.

 

---

 

“I’m such a ing idiot,” Chanyeol groaned into his pillow, hitting himself on the head for the hundredth time that day. “How could I have dumped hot water all over him?”

“Cuz you’re dumb,” Jongin stated calmly from on top of him

After Chanyeol ran out of the class, he bolted home, locked himself in his room, and cried into his pillow for the rest of the weekend. When the next week started, he couldn’t even bring himself to go to any of his classes, opting to wallow in self-hatred for the next few days. Jongin and Jongdae ended up forcing themselves into his small apartment with the spare key they had somehow gotten from who-knows-when.

“You guys are the worst friends ever,” Chanyeol had sobbed as Jongin made himself comfortable on the lump that was Chanyeol’s body. Jongdae preferred sitting on the floor, opening bags upon bags of chips as he and Jongin played a racing game on the TV set Chanyeol had in his room. They weren’t going to tell him, but they had gone to visit him because they were worried for him. And because their TV broke.

“What was the damage?” Chanyeol asked hesitantly as the cousins settled in to his room.

“Nothing too major,” Jongdae reported nonchalantly. “The water wasn’t boiling or anything, but it was hot enough to cause a burn. You should’ve seen it, man, Minnie had to strip him and everything, pressing ice packs to his chest. If it weren’t for the fact that you doused the guy with hot water, it would’ve been ing hot. It was like a strip show in class.”

“Kyungsoo said the burns weren’t too bad, but Baekhyun’s skin is kinda pink and swollen as of now,” Jongin added. “And Soo is kinda really pissed at you, too. Just so you know.”

“I’m killing myself tomorrow,” Chanyeol bawled, voice muffled by his pillow. Jongin and Jongdae just sighed; in the hour they had been in the room, Chanyeol had threatened to kill himself almost ten times already.

“You know, Chan Chan,” Jongin commented, using the stupid nickname he and Jongdae made for their giant friend when they were kids, “I’m surprised you’re suddenly so interested in Baekhyun now.”

“Why wouldn’t I, he’s ing gorgeous,” Chanyeol replied instantly.

“I mean, Soo mentioned that you and Baek have been in the same classes and major for the whole semester, and you never mentioned him once. Like, just the other day, I w—”

“Wait,” Chanyeol cut Jongin off, staring at his younger friend in disbelief. “What did you say?”

“About Soo being mad at you?”

“No, you prick, about Baekhyun being in my class!”

“Oh. Yeah, he sits like, right in front of you in almost all your classes.”

“…”

“Kai, I think you broke him.”

“Guys, I have to go. Right. ing. Now.”

“Wait,” Jongdae’s eyes widened as Chanyeol toppled Jongin over to jump out of bed. “Where are you going?”

“Where do you think?” Chanyeol nearly shrieked as he yanked a sweater over his head. “To class!”

 

---

 

Chanyeol stumbled into class just as the professor started his lecture. He collapsed into his official unofficial seat, scanning the room for the familiar angelic presence from the coffee shop. Jongin said Baekhyun sat in front of him; that was nearly impossible to tell since his seat was always in the back. He had too many experiences of people complaining of not being able to see because of his height, and just decided to permanently sit in the back.

He narrowed his eyes, carefully searching for the silver hair, petite figure, nimble fingers, the y little mole over his lip…

Wait. What was he doing again?

Oh right, looking for Baekhyun.

The lecture went on for almost half an hour and Chanyeol found nothing. Just as he let out a quiet groan of frustration, dropping his head to the table, a familiar flash of silver caught his eye. It was the same silver as the silver from the coffee shop.

It was Baekhyun. Literally in the seat right in front of him.

The boy had a cap on, hiding the silver hair Chanyeol had grown so accustomed to. Chanyeol couldn’t see his face from the angle he was at, but he could tell it was Baekhyun from the slim shoulders, that cute but y body figure, his slender neck…

Chanyeol begged for time to speed up and make their lecture end sooner.

Half an hour later the professor finally finished up his lecture, bidding the students a good day. While the rest of the class hurriedly left as soon as they were dismissed, Baekhyun took his time, much like how he did in the coffee class. When he turned his body to pack, Chanyeol realized why Baekhyun never stood out to him before. The boy wore a pair of thick-framed glasses, resting lightly on his cute, button nose. Chanyeol could feel his heart skip a beat when his crush pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose carefully with one majestic finger, when he stuck his tongue out and wet his lips…

Chanyeol wasn’t sure what came over him when he followed Baekhyun out the door, then grabbed the boy’s arm, stopping him and pulling him to the side.

Baekhyun turned around, surprise in his eyes. Recognition settled when he saw who it was that stopped him. “It’s you,” he laughed lightly, voice gentle and teasing. “Come to dump more water on me?”

“N-n-no!” Chanyeol stuttered, palms clammy as his nerves took over. “No! I-I mean, I’m s-s-so-sorry ab-about that—th-that is, y-you know, spilling water on you… I mean pouring! No, dumping! Dumping water on you! I-I mean, s-sorry…”

“You must really at talking,” Baekhyun narrowed his eyes jokingly, a playful smile gracing his lips. “But that’s cute. You’re pretty cute.”

And just like that, Chanyeol felt like he was on cloud nine. Hecalledmecutehecalledmecutehecalledmecute. Baekhyun was saying something else, but all Chanyeol could register was holy his crush called him cute.

Alright, Chanyeol, you know what to do… “Hi, I’m Chanyeol, wanna be my boyfriend? Hi I’m Chanyeol, wanna be my boyfriend? Hi I’m Chanyeol, do you wanna be my boyfriend?”

“H-hi! Ch-Chanyeol… d-do! D-d-do you, wanna b-b-be b-boy… b-b… f-friends?”

“Umm…” Baekhyun blinked, confusion back on his face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

“I-I said, h-hi, I’m Park Chanyeol, wanna be my—” boyfriend, boyfriend, BOYFRIEND, “b-b-b-b-bo-… friend?”

“…Are you asking if I wanna be friends with you, Park Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asked, one brow arched up.

No! “Y-yes.” God dammit, Park Chanyeol.

Baekhyun pursed his pretty lips, pretending to think about it. “Hmm… well, you’re pretty cute… Sure, why not.” He smiled, temporarily blinding the tall boy in front of him. “I’m Byun Baekhyun. Nice to meet you!”

Chanyeol was on ing cloud nine.

 

---

It's been so long, I kinda forgot how i formatted things LOLOL

Sorry not sorry

bUT ANYWAYS... ENJOY THIS LITTLE SNIPPET OF THE FIRST CHAPTER ;) I promise by the end of the day or within the next 24 hours the rest will be up hehe

Happy Birthday, Daughterrrr ❤️❤️❤️

and follow my other stories too :) i'll do my best to update those soon ❤️ lowkey have them ready to upload already but i'm on vacation