one of my favourite chapters. special thanks to K.

p.s. for people who prefer ao3 / ao3 guarantees less mistakes because I constantly edit there, but not on aff.

When Baekhyun texted Minseok, he wasn’t expecting much. The two of them aren’t especially close, but Minseok is someone he’s comfortable with and he doesn’t feel like going back to his empty apartment. His mum is away for a holiday, too, thus he’s left with no one. So he asked Minseok if he could room with him, and when Minseok immediately replied with a OK, he was pleasantly surprised.

Baekhyun didn’t expect Minseok to offer to pick him up at the airport, either. But he was more than happy to agree when Minseok dropped him a text and asked for his flight details so he could drive Baekhyun home, and Baekhyun did just that with zero hesitation. His idol offering to pick him up? Who could resist?

So Baekhyun waits patiently at the terminal for Minseok to come and pick him up, and he sends Minseok a quick text to let him know that he’s arrived — a message that goes unread. He worries a little when he’s waited for nearly half an hour, starting to get a little impatient, but then he sees Minseok from a distance, walking towards him.

He gets up from the seat and waves at the man, hand faltering and smile fading when he doesn’t get a wave in return. But it’s 6 in the morning, so he chalks it up to Minseok being too tired. “Hi, hyung,” Baekhyun greets once Minseok is near him, smiling at him once more. 

Minseok wordlessly gives him a tired smile and reaches his hand out for Baekhyun’s luggage, but Baekhyun gently pushes his hand away. “It’s okay, I’ve got it. Sorry for making you come this early,” he adds, and Minseok waves him off. “It’s no problem. I offered to come. Come on, I don’t want to pay the crazy parking fee here. We can have breakfast at my place.”

The walk to the carpark is relatively quiet. Baekhyun wants to talk about his time in America, but Minseok was there with him for the first few months and nothing much has changed since then. There’s Chanyeol, but Baekhyun isn’t sure he wants to risk losing his head by telling him what he’s done, because he knows how protective Minseok is over Chanyeol.

“Stop thinking so much,” Minseok mutters when they get into the car. Baekhyun glances at him, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

Minseok looks him in the eye, seemingly disinterested. Baekhyun feels like he’s being interrogated under the stare. “What are you sorry for?” It feels like there’s an underlying meaning to his words, but Baekhyun just laughs nervously and doesn’t reply. He looks straight ahead and yawns, hoping Minseok wouldn’t press further.

And when Minseok starts the car, he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

The silence is slightly uncomfortable for Baekhyun, and he feels like there’s tension in the air. He tries his best to avoid looking at Minseok or even talking to him. He considers taking his earphones out to listen to some music, but he figures that would be a little rude.

“Play a song if you want,” Minseok says to him, as if he read his mind. Baekhyun stutters when he says okay and he mentally slaps himself for being so nervous. Why is he feeling so jittery? He plays a loud song to calm his nerves and bobs his head to the rhythm, humming along. And then Minseok speaks.

“So why are you back all of a sudden?”

“Just needed a breather, you know?” Baekhyun replies, not looking at him. He admires the scenery instead, suddenly feeling homesick even though he’s already back where he belongs.

“Oh yeah, I do know,” Minseok murmurs, and Baekhyun nearly misses what he said. He’s about to ask what he means by that, but Minseok continues on, “how’s Dynasty? Have they looked for any new players? It’s transfer season.”

“I guess they’ve started scouting…” Baekhyun trails off, not knowing what else is there to say. Minseok already knows Chanyeol is in their team anyway, since he joined the chat just yesterday. The coaches haven’t told him anything else either...

“Oh, yeah. They took Chanyeol in. I’m surprised Yeolie even considered the offer,” Minseok tells him, and Baekhyun ignores the jealousy bubbling in his chest. He doesn’t even get to call Chanyeol that. “I didn’t know they wanted him.”

“Didn’t Chanyeol tell you?” Baekhyun asks, curious. He looks to Minseok for an answer, and the man shakes his head. “We haven’t talked since he left for Korea. Well, up till last night.” There’s a tinge of irritation in his voice and his eyebrows are furrowed; Baekhyun wonders what’s bothering him, but he doesn’t know if he should ask.

“Oh.” They don’t speak for the rest of the ride — which thankfully, isn’t long. They reach Minseok’s apartment pretty soon after and Baekhyun drags his luggage to the elevator, Minseok not looking at him at all. He can’t help but feel like Minseok’s angry at him for something. Chanyeol pops up in his mind, and he shakes his head. It can’t be.

“You okay, hyung?” Baekhyun asks carefully when they enter the lift. Minseok turns to look at him, lips curled up in a small smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Somehow the smile feels sinister, and Baekhyun has a feeling that Minseok knows everything that’s happened between him and Chanyeol. Heart pounding loudly in his chest, he thinks that maybe, he’s ed. He doesn’t know what Chanyeol could’ve told him, but he doesn’t want to face Minseok’s wrath.

Minseok shows him his room and asks him if he wants to have breakfast or if he wants to go to sleep, and Baekhyun shrugs. He’s hungry, but he’s tired and he kinda wants to avoid Minseok for a bit. “I’ll go to sleep first,” he groans, falling onto his bed. Minseok gently closes the door with a click, and Baekhyun screams into the sheets. “This was a ing bad idea,” he says to himself, “Yeah, room with Chanyeol’s best friend! What could go wrong?”

Even here in Korea, he can’t escape Chanyeol. Overwatch is another thing, though. He left a message on his social media before leaving, letting his fans know that he would stop streaming indefinitely due to health issues, and he’s received nothing but blessings and positive comments. He’s glad that aspect of it is taken care of, but he still feels bad for leaving the team so abruptly. And he feels like for leaving Chanyeol like that.

He rolls over to his side and takes his phone out, checking his messages. The team is asking if he’s in Korea yet, and he hastily replies with a yes and takes a quick selfie to send to them. Then he opens his chat with Chanyeol and wonders if he should say anything, but Chanyeol hasn’t replied to his sorry, so… “maybe not,” he mumbles.

Chanyeol. Just why is he holding back from having Chanyeol all to himself? Baekhyun wants him, but he’s so afraid of ing up. He can’t help but feel like once Chanyeol gets him, he’ll… stop being interested. What if they start dating and Chanyeol finds out Baekhyun is not what he imagined him to be?

Baekhyun sighs. He tosses his phone aside and tries to sleep, but his mind is wide awake and it won’t shut off. After tossing and turning several times, he gives up and goes to freshen up. Might as well start his day early, anyway.

He creeps out of the room with his clothes in his hold, afraid to wake Minseok up. But when he reaches the kitchen, he sees that the man is still up and on the phone with someone, talking softly. Minseok is holding something flat in his hand, staring at it. Curious and not wanting to interrupt, he hides behind a wall and waits for Minseok to show any indications of hanging up.

“Yeah, he’s sleeping, I think,” Baekhyun can hear Minseok saying. Why is he talking about me? “Don’t worry so much, Yeolie. I wish you cared about me as much as you care about Baekhyun.” It’s probably a joke, but Minseok sounds so bitter and Baekhyun can’t help but take a peek at him.

“I know, I know, I was just kidding,” Minseok says tenderly. Baekhyun silently scoffs. Right. “It’s just… you know I love you, Chanyeol.”

There’s a gentle expression on his face and Baekhyun gapes at him. He sets the item down and Baekhyun can see that it’s a photo of a couple — he doesn’t need to see the faces to know it’s a photo of Minseok and Chanyeol. And then he realises: Minseok is in love with Chanyeol.

Minseok might have said that in a ‘best friend way’, but Baekhyun’s watched enough dramas and people falling in love to know what he really means. Then again, Minseok was always talking about Chanyeol, and Baekhyun has always thought it was just Minseok being a very proud best friend… but now that he thinks of it again, he realises he was just being very dense about it. It’s clear as day — how could he have not noticed before?

“Love you. Bye,” Minseok ends the call, and Baekhyun quickly acts as if he’s just arrived at the kitchen. He nods his head at Minseok in greeting, keeping a straight face and nervously whistling a tune. Minseok side eyes him and Baekhyun panics internally, hastily locking himself in the bathroom.

“Let me know when you’re done,” Minseok yells at him, “I want to use the bathroom too.”

Baekhyun stays in the bathroom for a very long time.

Baekhyun ends up spending his morning unpacking his stuff. It reminds him of when Chanyeol moves in with him, and he heaves a sigh. Everything reminds him of Chanyeol. He glances at the clock when he’s done, surprised to see that it’s already past 12.

“Should I sleep or go out for lunch…” Baekhyun mumbles to himself, lying in bed. He searches online for delivery services and sighs when they’re all too expensive for just one person. And then he remembers that he’s not home alone. He dials Minseok’s number, looking up at his ceiling as he waits for the man to pick up.

“You’re literally next door. Why are you calling me?” Minseok’s voice comes through.

“I’m hungry. Do you wanna call for delivery?” Baekhyun asks excitedly. Minseok sighs on the other end, and Baekhyun pouts. “Do you not want to? It’s okay…” he trails off, and Minseok tells him no.

“I’ll order. Just text me what you want,” Minseok says briskly, and Baekhyun’s pout deepens. Minseok sounds irritated at him, and Baekhyun is starting to regret asking to stay with him.

“Okay. Thanks, hyung,” he gratefully replies, and Minseok hangs up without a word. Baekhyun’s heart feels heavier than it was before. He just got here, but he wants to leave already.

+

It’s been over a week since he touched down in Korea, and Baekhyun’s been making little to no progress. His mind is still filled with thoughts of Chanyeol even though he’s trying desperately to avoid anything Chanyeol-related (and failing), and he can sense Minseok’s probable hatred for him.

It’s been an awkward stay at Minseok’s — he can tell that Minseok’s trying not to blow up at him, and Baekhyun is trying not to push his buttons. At least he’s sure now that Minseok knows what happened between him and Chanyeol, and that he’s not happy about it.

On the bright side, he hadn’t been thinking much about the League. In fact, he’s forgotten that he actually has to go back to America and play once again. He does get updates on how the team is doing though, and inevitably, Chanyeol will come up as a topic. In just a week, he’s become their new (potentially) star player.

He’s been texting Jongdae and sometimes he can’t resist and ends up asking about Chanyeol, to which Jongdae will only reply with a He’s fine and talk about something else, and Baekhyun won’t probe. He probably deserves it, but he can’t help but worry about Chanyeol.

When he leaves his room, he finds that Minseok has a luggage out and is just watching TV in the living hall. Curious, he walks to him and joins him on the couch. “Going somewhere?”

Minseok gives him a look, gesturing to his luggage. “What does it look like?”

“That you’re going somewhere…?”

“Y