this is what happened in the previous chapter, but the baekhyun ver.

Baekhyun may have cried a little when Minseok left.

Now alone in the empty house, he wonders if he should even continue staying there. Minseok doesn’t even like him — so why should he stay? He was hoping for someone he could eventually talk to about his problems, and he was hoping that someone could be Minseok.

Minseok has always been someone he looks up to, someone whose opinion he values. Even though Baekhyun said those words to him out of spite and anger, he knew he was wrong the moment those words left his mouth. He of all people should’ve known better than to accuse Minseok of leaving them for his own sake when the man left for them. So that he wouldn’t tarnish their reputation any further.

But Baekhyun ed up again and made Minseok mad — and Minseok basically told him he would fight him for Chanyeol — so going to him for advice on Chanyeol? Not gonna happen. He doesn’t even know how he managed to stay a week here with Minseok acting cold towards him most of the time.

Packing his stuff back into his small luggage, he sighs regretfully. He shouldn’t have asked in the first place. He should’ve just it up and gone home to his empty apartment because it wouldn’t have made a difference.

When he reaches his apartment, he stops in front of it and groans. He doesn’t want to go in, but he has to. It’s cold and lonely and brings back bad memories of his time in Korea, but it will have to do for now.

He decides to cook up a meal that Chanyeol has taught him before, but he opens the fridge to realise that he needs ingredients for it. Looks like I have to do some shopping.

He doesn’t know how long he’s expected to stay here, but he doesn’t plan on staying for long. One week feels like more than enough for him to recuperate, and he doesn’t like doing nothing. He’s itching to leave already—and he won’t deny that it’s because Minseok is going to see Chanyeol.

What if Chanyeol decides that he likes his best friend instead? What if Chanyeol decides that he never actually liked Baekhyun? He doesn’t want to think about those possibilities, but they’re already ingrained in his mind and it hurts to know he might be replaced.

But isn’t that what you wanted? Baekhyun sighs. It was, but now, he’s not so sure. Can he really handle seeing Chanyeol with someone else? Chanyeol, doing the things he used to do with Baekhyun, with someone else?

He thinks about it all the way to the supermarket.

Baekhyun’s already gotten everything he needs, but he’s starting to regret wanting to cook because he’s ing starving. He doesn’t think he can wait to get home to eat, and he’s about to turn to get instant noodles instead when someone calls out for him.

“Baekhyun! Is that you?” The cashier exclaims in disbelief, her eyes going wide. Baekhyun looks up at her as he his head to the side, puzzled. She seems familiar, but…

“Oh my god, are you Joohyun?” Baekhyun asks as she scans his items, and she nods enthusiastically. “Long time no see. You look a little different.”

“Maybe it’s the absence of glasses?” She says, gesturing to her eyes. She goes back to scanning Baekhyun’s items and bags them for him, smiling at him. “Anyway, last I heard, you were pursuing an e-sports career. How are you? Your total is 33,890 won, by the way. That’s a lot of food you got there.”

Baekhyun reaches into his pocket and passes her a couple of crumpled notes, and he shrugs. “Same old. I’m still in the e-sports scene, but I’m currently based overseas. I came back for a short break. How about you?”

He looks behind to see if he’s holding up the line, but there’s no one in the supermarket except them and the other workers, so he sets his things aside and leans against the counter. Joohyun sits down and rests her cheek on her palm, sighing.

“I’m waiting for my last semester of uni to start. Nothing much has changed. I missed you, though. Could’ve kept in touch, you idiot! I thought we were close,” she pouts, looking really upset. Baekhyun feels guilty for not keeping in touch even though he’s always considered her to be one of his closest friends. “We were,” Baekhyun reassures her, looking down at the ground. “Still could be, if you’d let me.”

“Tell you what. I get off at 6pm, we can go for dinner then. That okay with you?” Joohyun asks, getting up. Baekhyun turns to see someone walking to their counter, and he grabs his bags.

“I’ll see you later, then,” Baekhyun tells her as he makes a move. “I’ll come back here.”

Baekhyun ends up making the instant noodles he found in his kitchen cabinet.

+

They decide to go to a nearby restaurant for some chicken and beer. Joohyun leads the way and fills the silence with updates on her life, things that Baekhyun missed out on after they lost contact, and current affairs. Baekhyun listens quietly, nodding his head as she talks.

“What about you, dar- Baek?” Joohyun slips, and Baekhyun looks at her with a small smile, happy that Joohyun still feels comfortable with calling him pet names. They used to do that a lot when they were in high school as a habit, and Joohyun would laugh whenever people asked if they were together. How could they be a couple when Joohyun has always liked girls?

“It’s okay. You can call me that, babe,” he teases her, and he adds in a small voice, “thank you.”

Joohyun her head to the side, a smile playing on her lips. “What for?” She asks, stuffing her face with food. Baekhyun knows by the tone of her voice that she already knows why he’s thanking her, but he answers her anyway.

“For being so comfortable around me even after so long,” Baekhyun says, shrugging. He picks out the best parts of the chicken and places them on her plate. “It’s been more than two years. I would expect you to be awkward and wary, or something like that, but it feels like we’ve never grown apart at all.”

“It’s only been a little over two years,” she muses, chewing on her food. “Okay, not to sound like a creep, but I saw you in the news a couple of times. E-sports is big here, you know that.”

“Oh,” Baekhyun mutters, touched that she’s looked out for him. “Thank you,” he says again, but this time with more sincerity. He places a hand over Joohyun’s, and her jaw drops. His smile falters and he thinks maybe he’s crossed a line even though it’s something they used to do all the time.

“Darling, I’m still very much gay. I have a girlfriend,” she seriously says to him, but she doesn’t retract her hand—and Baekhyun realises she’s just messing around with him. For the first time in a while, Baekhyun laughs heartily. “Introduce her to me sometime.”

“Oh, I’m kidding. I do have someone I’m interested in, though,” Joohyun replies, blushing a little.

“Well, introduce her to me sometime,” he repeats, chuckling. He looks at the time and clicks his tongue in annoyance. It’s late and he should probably send Joohyun home, but he doesn’t want the night to end. He’s wondering if he should ask Joohyun to stay over, but she beats him to it.

“Can I crash at your house tonight?” She asks, eyes pleading. Baekhyun pretends to think about it even though he already knows his answer, and she pouts. “Of course,” Baekhyun says, and her eyes twinkle with happiness.

It feels like they were never apart.

“How the hell is your house still so clean?” Joohyun asks when they reach the apartment. It’s mostly empty because he never understood the need to decorate the place, and he shrugs to himself.

“Uh, housekeeping? I hired someone to do it every month while I was away,” he explains, grabbing two bottles of milk from the fridge. He tosses a bottle to Joohyun, who catches it with one hand. They plop down on the couch, and Joohyun asks the question that he’s been dreading to hear. “So, any love interests?”

“Um…” Baekhyun considers lying, but he knows he needs Joohyun’s opinion on this.

“I heard things about a certain Park Chanyeol,” she prods, swirling the bottle of milk. Baekhyun shoots up, turning to her to see that she’s smirking at him. “How the hell  do you hear about like this?”

“I follow Overwatch TMZ accounts,” she shrugs, her smile growing wider. “I check up on you every now and then. I’m basically your number one fan. Got into the game, by the way. Because of you. I’m pretty bad at it though.”

“Wow, I feel like a ty friend,” Baekhyun breathes, and Joohyun places a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. I know how you’re like. So tell me more about this Park Chanyeol. I know him, don’t I?”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun grumbles, sinking in his seat and crossing his arms like a petulant child. “It’s Park Chanyeol from high school. Long story short, I like him, and he says he likes me as well.” Joohyun observes him before speaking up.

“So what’s the problem?”

“The problem is,” Baekhyun pauses, thinking. What is the problem? “...is that we can’t be together,” he finishes lamely.

“So the problem is you,” Joohyun says knowingly as she slowly nods her head. Baekhyun splutters in disbelief, but he isn’t offended, and Joohyun continues. “The problem has always been you. We’ve been through this,” she adds. “Come on, tell me the whole story. I’ll help you.”

By the time Baekhyun is done recounting the past events, Joohyun is already yawning and struggling to stay awake. He