Chapter 3:

“Chanyeol, you comin’?”

“Gimme a sec, Jongdae, I’ll head over in a bit. Let me just finish turning in my applications—”

“Who would’ve thought,” his best friend chuckled. “Park Chanyeol, failing student turned honor in less than a year. What made you have such a huge turn around, bro?”

“Shush,” Chanyeol snapped jokingly. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

After hanging up, Chanyeol glanced at his laptop. His application for an internship at a big business flashed back at him.

A few months ago, Chanyeol never would’ve dreamed of having a chance to apply to such a high-end company. The mere thought of it was laughable. His grades were , his GPA was barely clinging on, and he was lucky get a job at a McDonald’s once he graduated.

What made him have such a huge turn around?

One person.

Baekhyun.

Since their last conversation, Chanyeol obliged with Baekhyun’s promise and didn’t call him once. He contemplated breaking his promise more than once, just to call him, to hear his voice, to see if he was okay, but his dedication to keeping his word to his one true love kept him from straying.

It was almost a year.

He was gonna see Baekhyun soon.

Baekhyun never called. Not a single message. Chanyeol expected that, but it doesn’t mean it hurts any less.

Finishing up the last parts of his application, Chanyeol nodded in approval and submitted it. In the months Baekhyun was gone, Chanyeol wanted to improve himself. Make himself someone worthy of Baekhyun. Baekhyun, who was impossibly clever, smiled as brightly as the sun, gentle as an angel…

And Chanyeol was just a loser with no future standing next to him.

If Baekhyun came back and saw how hopeless Chanyeol was, he might not want to date him anymore.

And after all the work it took him to get Baekhyun to somewhat finally reciprocate his feelings, Chanyeol was not going to let that opportunity slip by.

So, he studied.

And studied and studied and studied.

He took extra classes to make up for all the other classes he failed (which was a considerable amount), went to tutors for help (an unsettling amount of them knew Baekhyun), even studied on the weekends.

He even went to Junmyeon’s office hours for help.

And got extra lessons from the professor.

He may have used Baekhyun to guilt trip the teacher, but he wasn’t feeling as guilty as he should have.

After almost a year of nonstop work, Chanyeol was set to graduate with honors, almost double the GPA he had from his first three years, and references from a large number of professors.

Now, all he needed was a steady job within the next two months, move out of his small, crappy apartment, and he would be someone worthy of Baekhyun.

His life was going great.

Sitting up to stretch, he jumped at the sudden barrage of knocks at his door.

“Kim ing Jongdae, you have no patience,” he muttered to himself.

“Chen, I said I was comin—” Chanyeol started as he opened the door, only to have his words catch at his throat.

“Baekhyun.”

His crush stood at his doorsteps, a large smile plastered across his beautiful face.

“I’m back, Yeol.”

“So, how’s everything been?”

Chanyeol just continued to stare at Baekhyun, mouth hanging open.

Baekhyun hadn’t changed. Much. He gained a little weight; his jeans fitted around his thighs just right, rather than hanging off his waist like it did a year ago. His silver hair was gone. Instead, it was a soft, light brown. Chanyeol could see the black roots growing out from the top of his head.

And he looked… comfortable. Relaxed. Happy.

“Did you forget how to talk in the few months I was gone?” Baekhyun asked sassily, one brow arching up.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol whispered hoarsely.

“Well, you remember my name, so that’s a start.”

“B-Baekhyun!” Chanyeol gasped, jolting upright. “Oh my god, Baekhyun!”

“Yes?”

“You… you’re here! In my apartment! Drinking ty tea at my ty table!”

“Oh, come on, Yeol, you made the tea, it’s not that ty—”

“WAIT!” Chaneyol shrieked, jumping onto his feet. “You’re supposed to still be in China! I’m not ready yet! I-I still need a job! And I haven’t graduated yet! Or moved out, or gotten that big, fancy house for us to live in, figured out how we’re gonna live and who’s gonna do what and—”

“Aww,” Baekhyun cooed, shutting Chanyeol up immediately as he sat back down like a puppy told to sit. “You thought about all that? That’s so sweet,” he smiled, reaching over to Chanyeol’s face.

“I’m dreaming,” Chanyeol deadpanned.

“What?”

“I studied so hard, I fell asleep. This is just one big dream. The best dream ever, but it’s still a dream.”

“Chanyeol, no.”

“Then I’m dead.”

“What??”

“Oh man, if I died, that would hella , I didn’t even get to walk for graduation, or hold Baekhyun’s hand and kiss him and tell him I love hi—”

Baekhyun grabbed Chanyeol’s face and silenced the rambling giant with his lips. He kissed Chanyeol furiously, peppering kisses on every part of Chanyeol’s face that he could reach.

Chanyeol kissed him back, wrapping a hand tenderly behind Baekhyun’s neck to pull the smaller in closer. He tipped his head to the side, slotting their lips together perfectly.  They moved their lips effortlessly. It was like they were made for each other.

This was the best damn dream he’s ever had.

“Wait, wait,” Chanyeol stuttered, gently pushing himself away from Baekhyun (he was still pretty sure he was dreaming). “Shouldn’t we talk first? Fill you in on all the stuff you missed. And I have some questions.”

“Kiss first, talk later,” Baekhyun pouted, leaning forward in hopes that Chanyeol would follow his lead. He sighed in frustration when the taller chuckled, pressing a hand to his chest and pushing him back lightly.

“Fine, fine, talk… So,” Baekhyun sighed, lacing his fingers with Chanyeol’s. “What did I miss?”

“What did you miss… let’s see… Well, Jongdae dropped out of school.”

“What?” Baekhyun gasped. “But he was in his last year!”

“Yeah, that’s what we told him, too. But he said he wasn’t feeling the school gig anymore, and insisted that there was nothing sitting in a classroom all day could possibly teach him.”

“Hmm… that’s fair, I guess,” Baekhyun agreed reluctantly.

“Don’t worry, he’s doing fine. He and Minseok just had their tenth break up, but their back together again. Also, Minseok’s considering closing up the coffee shop.”

“Why? Is business not doing well?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s more like there’s too much competition. Too many Starbucks and other unique coffee shops opening. Minseok was losing his mind just trying to break even. Running the shop was one of the reasons he and Jongdae keep breaking up.”

“What are they doing now then?”

“They’re working things out. Jongdae got an offer to be a radio talk show host. I always knew his loud mouth would come in handy some day. And Minseok’s trying to work things out with the coffee shop, but they’re both happy. And together.”

“That’s good… what about Soo?”

“Kyungsoo and Jongin are still together. Stronger than ever, actually. Jongin moved out of Jongdae’s place and got a small apartment with Kyungsoo. And since Kyungsoo is a year younger than us, and Jongin’s a year younger than him, they’re still studying hard. Jongin might be set to graduate with Kyungsoo cuz he’s such a bomb dancer. Kyungsoo’s proud enough for Jongin’s whole family.”

“Aww… that’s cute. Did… did Soo say anything about me leaving?”

“He was pretty angry the first few weeks.”

“Weeks?”

“…Months… every time someone tried bringing you up, he would get super passive aggressive and bitter, but Jongin helped him get through it. You should probably call him and give him a heartfelt apology, though.”

“I told you,” Baekhyun smiled brightly. This had to be the most Chanyeol’s ever seen the smaller smile in the time span they knew each other. “You’re the first person I’ve met since I came back. Didn’t even go home yet, just took my luggage and came straight to your place.”

“Baek… I’m—”

“I know, right? Aren’t I the best boyfriend ever?”

Chanyeol’s mouth dried up. “Boy-boyfriend?”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Yes, you giant idiot, boyfriend. I’ve gotten better, haven’t I?”

“There was nothing to change, you’re perfect the way you are,” Chanyeol replied instantaneously.

Baekhyun looked down. Was he blushing?

Chanyeol didn’t think it was possible, but he was falling even more in love with Byun Baekhyun.

“So, how was China?” Chanyeol asked quickly. “Learn any Chinese?”

“No,” Baekhyun wrinkled his nose. “Sehun kept insisting on translating even though his Chinese is even worse than mine. He was way too controlling. Kept telling anyone who tried to talk to me that we were dating. Made me think of leaving more than once.”

“That doesn’t sound fun.”

“Not at all. Other than that, it was pretty fun. Met this kid with some serious under eye bag problems. We became shopping buddies.”

“What happened to Siwon?”

“Sehun.”

“Yeah, him.”

“Dumped his the second month,” Baekhyun shrugged. “Even though he was an honor student, he was still stupid enough to openly cheat on me with some deer faced Chinese kid. The irony is he was the one who kept saying we were an item.”

“…Yikes…”

“Don’t worry, I’m over it. Wasn’t that into him anyways. Plus, cuz of that, I learned something.”

“What’s that?”

“He and Junmyeon were really similar. They were both smart as hell, I mean, Sehun was an honor student and Junmyeon’s a professor. But even though they were both smart, they both did really stupid things. So I guess, at the end of it all, they were really ing stupid.”

“Wow, you really just have the worst taste in guys.”

“Used to,” Baekhyun corrected him sweetly. “I used to have really ty taste in guys. More like I was into the wrong type of guys. But my preferences changed. I changed.”

“What’s your type now?” Chanyeol asked, worriedly. , was he being led on?

“Hmm,” Baekhyun tapped his chin, pretending to think. “I think… my type is dense es with giant ears.”

Chanyeol blushed, from his neck to his large, elf ears.

“I really missed you, Yeol,” Baekhyun confessed.

“Me, too,” Chanyeol murmured back. “Did you figure out your feelings?”

“Hmm… kinda,” Baekhyun mused. “I still don’t know if I’ll ever be someone that deserves someone as great as you, but I do know one thing.

That night… before I left. I kept thinking to myself… that I just kissed you cuz I was thinking of Junmyeon. Or that I was drunk and I wasn’t in my right mind.”

“Is that… is that what happened?” Chanyeol swallowed thickly.

“Yes… and no.”

“Huh?”

“Well, we were pretty drunk that night. But I know for a fact you’re not just a replacement for Junmyeon.”

“What do you mean?”

“Every time I think back to that night… I just see you, Yeol. Not Junmyeon, not Sehun, not any of the others. Just you. Even now, talking about Junmyeon, I don’t feel hurt at all. And it’s because I’m with you.”

“Do you mean…”

Baekhyun smiled again. “Yes. I like you, Chanyeol.”

Baekhyun expected some big reaction. Maybe the giant would pass out, or start crying.

Instead, the giant just sat there. In shock.

Baekhyun waved his hand in front of Chanyeol’s face. No reaction.

…Oh dear…

“Yeollie?” Baekhyun said quietly.

“Say it again,” Chanyeol muttered shyly.

“Hm?”

“Say it. Again. Please.” The tall student covered his face immediately after.

“Oh my god, you’re precious,” Baekhyun cooed. “I like you, Chanyeol.”

“Again.”

“I like you.”

“Again.”

“I like you!”

“Again.”

“Chanyeol.”

“I love you,” Chanyeol said sincerely, clasping his hands over Baekhyun’s.

“I remember hearing that at the end of our call last year,” Baekhyun teased.

“And I still do. I love you, Byun Baekhyun.” Chanyeol poured every ounce of his being into his words, praying Baekhyun would receive his sincerity.

He did. Baekhyun cupped Chanyeol’s face softly, leaning in to Chanyeol’s ear. “I love you, too, Park Chanyeol.”

If this was a dream, Chanyeol never wanted to wake up.

“Well, now that formalities are over,” Baekhyun purred, lacing his slender fingers into Chanyeol’s hair, “shall we pick up where we left off?” he breathed against Chanyeol’s lips.

Chanyeol was more than happy to oblige.

“What do you think?” Chanyeol asked happily.

“It looks perfect,” Baekhyun grinned up to tall boyfriend, pressing a kiss into Chanyeol’s jaw.

“Lucky Minseok hadn’t sold the place yet. Otherwise, we would’ve been outta luck.”

“You cleaned it up really nice,” Baekhyun complimented. “Considering he had the shop closed for over a year and a half, I’m kinda surprised how quickly you got rid of all the dust.”

The couple was standing in front of what used to be Minseok’s old coffee shop. The very shop they first met. Their friend was more than happy to give them his old shop after officially deciding to close it a few weeks after Baekhyun came back from China. Several months later, Baekhyun and Chanyeol walked and graduated. After working odd end jobs for a few months afterwards, the two piled enough money to buy the shop off of their friend (ironically, Minseok said he would’ve given it to them without having the full price). Almost a year after Baekhyun came back, they were ready to open their newest coffee shop.

Bittersweet.

“That’s a weird name,” Jongdae had commented while they were working on the paperwork. “Why Bittersweet?”

“Cuz,” Chanyeol shrugged. “Life can be bitter, life can be sweet. There’s always gonna be a bit of bad to balance out the good.”

“Bro, that’s so deep,” Jongin commented in awe. “But dude, it’s just a coffee shop.”

“I like it,” Baekhyun defended his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol’s waist. “It’s very… poetic.”

“That’s not fair, you two are dating.”

“And we’re the new owner’s of the shop, so shut up, Kai.”

“Soo, Baekhyun is bullying meeee.”

“What’s the appeal of your store?” Jongdae asked. “I mean, the whole reason Minnie closed shop is cuz he couldn’t keep up with all those new, cutesy creative shops. What’s gonna make yours special?”

“…Thanks…” Minseok mumbled.

“You know it’s the truth, babe.”

“The theme is love,” Chanyeol said excitedly. “So heart shaped designs and heart lattes.”

“That’s so ing cliché.”

“Shut up, Jongin.”

“Children, stop arguing,” Baekhyun and Kyungsoo both sighed.

“What if they’re right?” Chanyeol asked worriedly.

“Hm?”

“What if we end up having to close the shop cuz we don’t sell well? Oh my god, what if we become like Jongdae and Minseok and break up. And what if we don’t get back together?? Oh my god, oh my god, oh my—”

Baekhyun yanked Chanyeol’s shirt to bring the giant’s face to his level so he could shut him up with a long, passionate kiss. “Relax, Yeol,” Baekhyun waved his hand. “If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. Besides,” Baekhyun smiled and hugged Chanyeol’s arm. “We’ll be fine. As long as we have each other.”

Chanyeol still looked uncertain. Baekhyun sighed and playfully smacked the arm he had been clinging on to. “I love you, you dolt. Don’t think you can get rid of me that easily.”

The worry faded from Chanyeol’s face immediately.

“Never,” he grinned, resting his chin on top of Baekhyun’s head as the smaller cuddled into his arms.

Bittersweet.

Only fitting that the place they met would be dedicated to how they started dating.

Now, it was just sweet.

Just the way they liked it.

YAY IT'S DONE it wasn't supposed to be hella long anyways the only reason it's not a one shot is cuz i write too much

i'm considering doing a special Baek pov but we'll see ;)

Happy Belated Bday again hope you enjoyed all the souvenirs you spoiled

❤️❤️❤️