Baekhyun stands at the doorway of the kitchen, peeking at his mother who is pleasantly making their dinner for tonight. He wants to ask her permission for the little trip with Chanyeol but he did not know how to do so. He has no idea why he feels so awkward. Maybe it's because it's the first time he's spending it all alone with a friend, and even if it's already his third year in highschool he still hasn't introduced any of his friends to her at all.

"Baekhyun, I know you want to tell me something."

The brunette freezes in shock when his mother calls for him.

"H-How did you know I was here?" Baekhyun asks in awe as he slowly makes his way over to the kitchen counter.

"I felt your presence," Mrs. Byun chuckles as she turns the fire off. With arms crossed, she faces Baekhyun who is now seated at the counter fiddling with a ladle distractedly.

"What's up? Do you want to ask for money again?"

Baekhyun puffs his cheeks. "Since when did I ask money from you?"

"Joking," Mrs. Byun giggles as she pinches his cheek. "Ah, you're growing so chubby. I'm doing such a good job."

Baekhyun ignores the chubby comment and leans forward, finally having the courage.

"Mom, I have this friend-"

"You have friends?" Mrs. Byun says in surprise.

Baekhyun pouts again. "Of course I have!"

"You never brought them home though, I thought you were just pretending to have friends," she shrugs. "It's not exactly a surprise. You spend your whole time fangirling over that boyband of yours but I'm not complaining of course, you do well with your academics anyway."

Baekhyun stops himself from whining to his mother that he was fanboying, not fangirling. He sighs and says, "So yeah, I actually have friends and I have this one who wanted me to come with him to the beach for the duration of the weekend."

"One? You mean… just the two of you?"

"Yeah," Baekhyun starts sweating under the judging gaze of his mother.

"Is it a girl?"

"No!" Baekhyun wails.

"A boy then?"

"Yes, it's a boy."

The judging gaze on his mother's gaze is even more intense at the mention that he is being accompanied by a male.

"Mom, why are you looking at me like that?" Baekhyun asks warily.

"Nothing," she says nonchalantly. "Just remember to use condoms."

Baekhyun looks wide-eyed at his mother, scandalized by what she just said. His arms shoot up to his chest and he cries, "Mom! I'm not gay!"

"Are you seriously going to deny that at this point?!" his mother yells at him. "You drool over that rocker guy on your posters and you call yourself straight?! Get your together Byun Baekhyun."

"But mom!" Baekhyun whines, cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"I want to meet this boy before you go," Mrs. Byun concludes as she finally turns her back on him and continue on with her work.

"Who?!"

Baekhyun flinches at the sound of her sister's voice. She stands behind her older brother and hangs her arms loosely around his neck. "Baekhyunee-oppa, are you going to let us meet your boyfriend?"

"For God's sake," Baekhyun sighs, frustration scribbled across his face. "I'm straight!"

"Not when I hear you to Loey's videos."

"Well there you have it," Mrs. Byun says smugly.

"I feel violated," Baekhyun whines as he abruptly stands up, making Baekhee stumble back and almost topple over if she hadn't grabbed onto her older brother's shirt. "But yeah, I'll tell him to join us for breakfast."

Baekhyun acted aloof about it, but right after calling up Chanyeol to invite him for breakfast and with him agreeing to the invitation, he starts feeling nervous and jittery about it. And he doesn't even know why the hell it was like this. Probably because he has never invited anyone to meet his family, much less even invite anyone to his home. He refuses to think there's any other explanation besides that.

At exactly five in the morning the next day, Baekhyun rises up to specifically clean up the house. Not like it even needs cleaning, but just to make sure. He hates himself for acting this way, as if he wanted impress Chanyeol when in fact, that wasn't the case at all (or he tries to convince himself).

It's already seven in the morning when Baekhyun's phone rings. Picking it up, he sees Chanyeol's name across his screen. He takes a deep breath, clearing his throat before answering it.

"What do you want?" he greets in his usual spice. He could almost see Chanyeol smile, convincing himself just a bit that he has gone crazy.

"Morning too, Hyunee. Just called to tell you I'm on my way."

"You better leave a good impression, Park Chanyeol. I rarely ever bring people home."

"I'll be the best boyfriend, don't worry baby."

Baby, he called him baby.

"Hyung… you're seriously asking me to bail on you."

"Take a chill pill, Baekhyun. Anyways, gotta go. Don't want to die on the way before getting to you."

"Whatever. Take care."

"Love you."

"Gross."

The moment Baekhyun ends the call, he goes on to panic mode and starts occupying himself with house chores. He doesn't even notice the way his sister looked strangely at him as she climbs down the stairs to join them for breakfast before she breaks out into a smirk. Baekhyun only notices her smug look when he straightens up to go back up to his room to check if he had everything he needed for the weekend.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Baekhyun demands in irritation.

Baekhee shrugs as she turns back to her iPad, making the older feel even more irritated.

It was a little over twenty minutes when the doorbell finally rings. Baekhyun is too busy with making sure he hadn't brought with him anything suspicious that would hint of his fanboy identity that he doesn't notice it. You could only imagine the shock he gets when upon opening his door with his bag, he sees Chanyeol towering over him.

"What the ?!" Baekhyun shrieks as he hastily closes the door behind him, the blood rushing to his face at the close call.

"Hello," Chanyeol smiles at him knowingly, looking all levels of illegal with his white locks brushed up, a plain white shirt, tattered jeans and without his glasses.

"What are you doing here?!" Baekhyun screams.

"Well good morning to you too, Hyunee," Chanyeol laughs as he ruffles Baekhyun's locks. "Your mom let me in. What a lovely woman."

“You should have just waited at the living room,” Baekhyun snaps at him.

“Your mom told me to call you for breakfast, what am I supposed to do?” Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “Okay, whatever.”

“Hey, aren’t you going to show me your room?” Chanyeol wonders as he reaches out for the knob, but Baekhyun is quick to slap his hand away.

“Don’t be so nosy, you’re just a guest here,” Baekhyun says. He places his hands on Chanyeol’s shoulders, forcefully turning around then pushes him. “Let’s grab breakfast.”

“So you’re Park Chanyeol, Baekhyun’s friend?” Baekhyun’s mother starts. The brunette could only glance over to Chanyeol with wide, threatening eyes, silently telling him to not be an idiot and that he better impress her.

“I am,” Chanyeol says with a charming smile before taking a bite on his bacon. “I’m actually his senior. We met at the library when we were studying.”

“Really?” Baekhee jumps in. “Why would a cool senior like you waste your time with my pathetic brother?”

“Baekhee I swear to god…” Baekhyun says in a low voice, to which his sister responds to with an evil smile.

“I’m not the cool one between us,” Chanyeol glances at the brunette. “Baekhyun’s popular at school, it’s a miracle he even made friends with me.”

“Do you like my son?”

Baekhyun’s eyes enlarge and his mouth drops open as he stares at his mother in horror at her straightforward and sudden question.

“Mom!” he whines. “Why are you asking Chanyeol-hyung things like that?”

“Well of course I do, I mean, I wouldn’t be here if I don’t, right?” Chanyeol chuckles lightheartedly.

“What Mom means is if you like like our Baekhyunee,” Baekhee clarifies. “Do you?”

“I do, but we’re just friends,” Chanyeol smiles again. “He’s straight.”

“Oh god, this again?” Mrs. Byun groans.

“Can we talk about something else?” Baekhyun sighs helplessly, trying so hard to convince himself that his heart isn’t pounding so fast because of Chanyeol’s confession. It’s probably not even true.

It is an unbearable breakfast session, but Baekhyun is glad that his sister and mother finds Chanyeol very charming, even asking him to come by more often since they never get to meet any of Baekhyun's friends.

"You've got a lovely family, Baekhyun," Chanyeol comments once they were inside his car and finally starting off their trip.

"Only because they were embarrassing me and you find it amusing," Baekhyun grumbles, pouting as he slips his sneakers off and pulls his legs to his chest. "You shouldn't have told them you liked me. Why are you so cruel, now they're not going to let me hear the end of it. We’re not even gay."

"Your reactions are always cute," Chanyeol laughs, reaching out to pinch his cheek. "I wish I had a brother like you."

"Whatever," Baekhyun says as he slaps his hand away. "Mind if I turn on the radio?"

"Go for it."

The ride is relaxing. There's something about the way the air sweeps through the open windows of the car, tossing their hair, along with the feel-good song playing on the radio and being with Chanyeol that clears Baekhyun's mind from stress and alleviates the weight he always carries inside his chest. Everything is just so peaceful and serene, just what Baekhyun needs.

"Are we near?" he asks at one point through the journey.

"Still halfway," Chanyeol answers, giving him a momentary smile before turning back to the road.

Baekhyun leans to the side and stares at Chanyeol. Right now, without his glasses and his hair brushed up messily, he could see that Chanyeol is actually handsome. Really handsome. Maybe even as handsome as Loey.

Now that it got to his mind, Chanyeol does kind of resemble Loey. Eerily, so. They have the same eye shape (kind of), same high-bridged nose, lips, the height, even the gruff voice...

"Or maybe it's just the ears…" Baekhyun mumbles to himself as he reaches out to touch Chanyeol's elfish ears.

"Hey!" the other male gasps in shock at Baekhyun's sudden touch of his ear. Chanyeol quickly calms down and smiles fondly at the younger. "Don't be like that, you're going to give me a heart attack."

"You look like him."

A confused expression crosses the older's face. "What do you mean?"

"You look like Loey, that EXO member," Baekhyun says. "You should know, you're a fan right?"

"You're the first one who noticed," Chanyeol laughs lowly.

"It's because you always have your hair over your face and those ugly glasses. I doubt anyone saw you like this until today."

"You're right," Chanyeol answers.

A silence ensues for a few more moments, with Baekhyun distractedly playing with Chanyeol's ear as he stares ahead. Unlike the first time they set out, the road has now evidently start to turn more and more desolate as they head farther and farther away from the bustling town and to the edges of civilization.

"You know, I don't know anything much about you," Baekhyun says.

"I'm not an interesting person."

"I wouldn't be here with you if you're not interesting, hyung."

"Oh wow, I piqued Byun Baekhyun's interest," Chanyeol cheekily smirks. "What an honor."

Baekhyun rolls his eyes and twists his ear, earning a pained cry from the older before he finally lets go.

"You're merciless," Chanyeol says with a little pout.

"You're annoying."

"I guess so," Chanyeol shrugs. "Anyway, what do you want to know?"

Baekhyun taps his chin, humming before he finally asks, "Where do you live?"

"You're not going to plant a bomb in my apartment or something, right?" Chanyeol teases.

"No, but that's a great idea."

"My parents run a restaurant in Seoul."

Baekhyun perks an eyebrow up. "And why are you here in Bucheon?"

"Seoul isn't my favorite place," Chanyeol shrugs. "And I like living alone."

"Don't you feel lonely?"

"I used to but I met you~"

"Eww," Baekhyun fakes disgust.

Baekhyun spends the next hour interrogating Chanyeol, from the most trivial stuff to personal things. To Baekhyun, Chanyeol somehow has this transient feel. It's like he wasn't fully there, like he would leave any time soon. Now that Baekhyun knows all these stuff (some are pretty useless, Chanyeol is very enthusiastic about this), he feels more real to him now. He wouldn't be caught admitting this out loud to Chanyeol or to anyone, but it makes him feel quite happy, that the only person that ever treated him like a real friend from school isn't going to disappear when he reaches out to touch him.

"And we're here," Chanyeol announces as he pulls up next to a cream-colored house that stood right across the seashore. Excited, Baekhyun jumps out of his side of the car and immediately runs up to face the sea. With a satisfied smile across his face, Baekhyun stares out to the vast blue expanse of water ahead. He closes his eyes and inhales the salty scent that wafts him up, giving him a full-out sense of peace. He loved the sea even if he had only been to it for a few times over the course of his life, loving how its close presence makes him feel so light and carefree.

"I can see you’re excited, but we have to settle down inside the beach house,” Chanyeol says, handing Baekhyun his bag then taking his hand to lead him into the house.

It was very obvious that the house hasn’t been used for a very long time. Baekhyun scrunches his nose in distaste upon first stepping foot into the property, since he was very sensitive to dust. With a hand up covering his nose, he gives Chanyeol a look and asks, “When was the last time this place ever had a human inhabitant? The dust is unbelievably thick, I can’t ing stand it.”

“A few years, I guess,” Chanyeol says as he steps into the kitchen, where he takes a rag and starts cleaning up the countertop. “Sorry Hyunee, I should have planned this out better and actually vamped up the place before asking you to come with me. I didn’t think it would be this dusty. Even I can’t stand it.”

"Then what are we going to do?" Baekhyun wonders.

Chanyeol faces him with one hand on his hip, deep in thought as he stares at the other male.

"What?" Baekhyun probes. "What are you thiking?"

Chanyeol bites the inside of his cheek, humming. Baekhyun could almost see the gears turning inside his head.

“What are your thoughts about camping out?”

Baekhyun scrunches his face. "I told you, I don't wanna camp out. I told you this!"

"Well it's that or we can sleep in my car," Chanyeol grins.

"But Chanyeol-hyung!"

"Choose wisely."

Baekhyun sighs.

And so, that’s how Baekhyun finds himself helping Chanyeol set up their camping grounds on the beach. While Chanyeol struggles with the tent, Baekhyun grills up their precious meat for lunch. He is a bit concerned while watching the older wrestle with the tent though, his grunts and groans kind of pitiful to hear.

“Finally!” Chanyeol shouts in triumph. Baekhyun looks over to his companion, who was now half- with sweat trickling down his pale skin from having to stress over how to put up the tent. “That was ing difficult, I was about to lose my mind.”

“It would have been easier if you let me actually help you,” Baekhyun retorts as he places the meat on the grill. “Have you ever even camped out? Putting up a tent is easier with two people.”

“If we both have different stuff to do we’d finish everything much faster,” Chanyeol grins as he opens their cooler and takes out a soda. He then walks over to Baekhyun, watching the meat over his shoulder for a moment before he circles his arms around his waist.

“What the Park Chanyeol?!” Baekhyun shouts as he wraps a hand around the other’s wrist to pry his hold away from him, blushing terribly at the intimacy. “I’m straight!”

“Let me rub off my homouality on you then,” Chanyeol murmurs as he only pulls Baekhyun even more against his toned body.

“You’re gay?!” Baekhyun screams as he flips the meat. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”

“I thought it was obvious.”

“This is why I had a bad feeling about you!”

“Just kidding Hyunee,” Chanyeol chuckles as he ruffles the hair of a disgruntled-looking Baekhyun who does all he could not to look away from what he was grilling. The older moves away and starts to chatter on about other stuff, leaving Baekhyun to feel kind of weird that he actually liked Chanyeol's warmth against his back.

Baekhyun is only able to jump into the sea at around three in the afternoon when the sun has finally stopped scorching so hard.

"Aren't you getting into the water?" Baekhyun asks as he takes his shirt off, watching the older simply sitting on the sand while preoccupied by his sketchbook again. "You asked me to come here with you yet you're here sketching away."

"Don't you worry about me Hyunee and just go have fun," Chanyeol says, eyebrows furrowed over in concentration. "I know you've been itching to get in the water."

"Alright," Baekhyun sighs as he turns around and heads straight for the water.

The moment his body submerges into the cool water is also the moment Baekhyun finally feels happiness again - happiness that he sees from life itself and not just from his precious EXO. It's been years, but his body still remembers how to move with the waves. He relishes the feel of the cool water against his skin, and how his body feels lightweight in the salty sea.

It's a little over an hour later when Baekhyun decides to go back to the sea shore. He sees Chanyeol sprawled on a blanket spread out beneath him, and he immediately jogs over to him to see if he's either asleep or awake.

"Chanyeol-hyung?" Baekhyun calls out. He towers over him and sees that he's wide awake, just staring dreamily at the azure skies like he's imagining lots of things at once.

Baekhyun shrugs and decides to sit on the blanket next to Chanyeol. A few moments later, he hears shuffling movement and the older suddenly moves his head on to Baekhyun's lap.

"Who told you you can do that?" Baekhyun haughtily says as he looks down at the other. He sees that Chanyeol's gaze is now on him, eyebrows furrowed the same way when he is concentrating on his sketches.

"Are you really straight?" Chanyeol says this in a wistful tone, as if he's genuinely wondering about it.

Baekhyun suddenly feels flustered by the abruptness of the question. Of course he's not.

But Chanyeol doesn't have to know that.

"I've only been with girls so yes, I'm pretty sure with that."

"Haven't you ever looked at a guy and said, 'wow, I'd give all the kisses and s that he deserves'?"

Baekhyun gulps as he looks away.

"N-No…"

Chanyeol hums.

"What if…"

Baekhyun looks back at him to ask 'what if what?' but the words immediately caught up in his throat when Chanyeol suddenly pushes himself up and hovers his face a little too close for comfort to Baekhyun's.

"What if I do this?" Chanyeol utters as he holds Baekhyun's chin, making the latter blush. He wanted to look away, yet he simply can't. There's just something about the way Chanyeol stares at him that makes him stay put and solely in the mercy of his hands.

"Do you feel something?"

Baekhyun's default response takes over and he says, "No of course not…" yet he sounds so unsure and uncertain that it makes him cringe.

"And what if I do… this?"

Baekhyun's eyes widen when Chanyeol suddenly tilts his head up and presses his lips lightly against his. It was light, almost like a touch of a feather, yet it was enough for Baekhyun to feel how soft and plump his lips were against his. There's a hint of something sweet too, and something entirely different.

And more importantly, it ignites something inside Baekhyun. Like a burn that sends a buzz through his system and penetrates his chest and makes his heart flutter.

"Do you feel something now?" Chanyeol asks one more time.

Baekhyun sighs.

Is there any reason to try and deny it at this point?