There are only two kinds of people Kyungsoo hates in this world. Those who are ever so cheerful (seriously, stop acting like you’re a ball of sunshine on earth) and those who are ever so careless. And Byun Baekhyun, is the epitome of both.

“Dr. Do, we have a patient coming in right now. It’s a bullet wound,” nurse Jongdae informs Kyungsoo just when he started eating his lunch. A bullet wound. Kyungsoo can bet the reason for that.

“Let me guess,” Kyungsoo starts, voice tight, “the leading detective is Byun Baekhyun.”

Jongdae raises an eyebrow at that. “How did you know?”

“Because I was uncharacteristically having a normal week.” Kyungsoo purses his lips as he dumps his lunch in the trash. Trust that dratted detective to ruin his first meal of the day.

Really though, Kyungsoo can guess which patients are ‘related’ to Byun Baekhyun at least 90% of the time. He had always hated the police ever since he started working in the ER. But Byun Baekhyun had to be a whole new level of hatred.

It’s not that Kyungsoo hates the man for doing his job, no. It’s just that Baekhyun does his job so carelessly. Not more than 2 or 3 days go by without a case from the man. And the injuries, don’t even get him started on them. Despite how admirable they might seem to others, Kyungsoo knows the sheer stupidity that goes into their creation. He simply cannot comprehend why someone would run after a moving car. Run… on his legs. It was a miracle the detective didn’t sustain anything other than minor injuries even after getting hit by another car.

Granted, the man brings more culprits as patients than he does his team or himself. And that, Kyungsoo almost reckons is worse than the former. Because his ER looks like a tsunami just passed by every time that happens. A very bloody tsunami.

Now, Kyungsoo is a very reasonable man (or so he believes). But when it comes to his ER, his precious ER, where he spends about ¾ of his life, he admits he could be a bit unreasonable. But who could blame him for wanting to have a little bit of peace in his cursed sanctuary?

 

“If it isn’t my favorite doctor,” comes a voice Kyungsoo loves to hate just as he starts to remove the bullet from a cop’s hand.

Not bothering to look away from his task, Kyungsoo responds drily. “Unfortunately, I can’t say I share the feeling.”

“Aww, you hurt my feelings, Dr. Do,” detective Baekhyun’s voice was taunting. Kyungsoo purses his lips, ignoring the detective as he continues to wrap up the injured cop.

Once he is done, he looks to the cop to instruct him on the wound. “It should heal in a couple of weeks. Thankfully, it was only a surface wound. But refrain from straining your arm until it completely heals.”

The cop nods gratefully and bows to him. He salutes Baekhyun who returns the gesture while reminding him to be careful, before taking his leave. Kyungsoo starts to leave but is stopped by the detective.

“Aren’t you going to treat my wounds, Dr. Do?” he asks, a slight smirk on his face.

Kyungsoo looks at the fresh scratches on his face and hands, along with the many old ones. Looking back to his eyes, he calmly responds. “The nurses can handle your injuries, detective. Now, if you don’t mind, I have some place to be.”

Baekhyun starts to say something, but gets interrupted as nurse So-min rushes to them. “Doctor, there’s a patient coming in from a car accident. She’s severely injured and seems to be pregnant.”

Kyungsoo immediately rushes along with her, leaving Baekhyun behind as he starts to instruct So-min. Baekhyun watches in worry as he sees Kyungsoo rushing to the pregnant lady’s side.

                                                                        **********************

“So…,” Jongdae starts dragging the word as he plops onto a seat in front of Kyungsoo, “it’s been only 2 months since detective Baekhyun is transferred here and you already seem to have extreme feelings towards him. Any reason?”

Kyungsoo scoffs. “If that ‘feeling’ is hatred, then yeah. I do.”

“Come on, Soo. What did he do to you? The guy hasn’t even been here long enough to know which restaurants have the best food.”

“And yet he managed to come in to the ER enough times to make me question if he’s really a detective and not a resident.” Kyungsoo grumbled, still not looking up from his book.

Jongdae chuckles, shaking his head. “He’s just a very active officer.”

“No, he’s a reckless detective. He made a mess of my ER the first day of his job! Who beats up a dozen criminals on their first day?!” Kyungsoo exclaims as he finally looks at his friend. “And those idiots ruined my ER with their… their violent fit.”

Jongdae sighs, patting him sympathetically. “Yeah, it was a pretty rough scene that day.”

“Yes!”

“But hating him for that, is pretty immature,” Jongdae continues, looking pointedly at Kyungsoo.

Offended, Kyungsoo glares at the nurse. “Falling in love after a week isn’t immature, but disliking someone after about two months of unpleasantry is?”

Jongdae pouts, looking like a kicked puppy (or a kitten in his case). “That was mean! Chanyeol is a charming young lad, what’s not to love?”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “Sure.”

                                                                        **********************

Before Kyungsoo started working in the ER, he interned in the pediatrics department. To say he wouldn’t want to go back to those peaceful days would be a lie. Besides, children are so much easier to deal with. No lies, no backstabbing, no pretension. Yes, much more easier. So, he goes back there every once in a while, when the stress gets to him. It’s in the hospital, so he could go there whenever without compromising his shifts.

“Sehun-ah, you’re not supposed to give Jongin chocolates. You know that,” Kyungsoo reprimands the 8-year old boy sneakily passing a chocolate to the boy next to him as he takes it away. Eyes widening, Sehun pouts while the other boy, Jongin, hangs his head in shame.

“I was the one who wanted a chocolate, doctor,” Jongin admits, peeping at Kyungsoo through his hair.

Chuckling, Kyungsoo rubs the boy’s messy hair before sitting on his bed. “I know, but if you eat chocolates now, you would have to stay longer in the hospital. Do you want that?”

Jongin furiously shakes his head at that.

“Then wait a while, and you will get to eat as many chocolates as you want. Okay?” Kyungsoo asks. Seeing the boy nod, he gets up and heads to a familiar room after bidding farewell to the two boys.

“Hello, princess Hae-ra,” Kyungsoo greets a girl who seems to be reading a children’s story book.

“Kyungsoo oppa, you’re late!” Hae-ra pouts as soon as she looks up to see Kyungsoo.

“Sorry, princess. I had to save my citizens. I promise I won’t be late next time,” he says as he sits next to her. “What are you reading?”

“Oh, it’s Elsa’s story! I love her so much! I wish I could see her in Disney Land,” the 7-year old says sadly.

“I like Elsa too. When you get better, I’ll take you there. Would you like that?” Kyungsoo asks to cheer the girl up.

Hae-ra’s eyes light up at that. “Really? Yes! Yes! I would love to go there with you, oppa.”

Chuckling, Kyungsoo pats her. He gets back to his ER after chatting a while with her.

                                                                        **********************

“What an unpleasant surprise, detective,” Kyungsoo drones, in a bored voice as he catches sight of Baekhyun.

Baekhyun grins at the doctor, putting his hands forward onto Kyungsoo’s table. “I might think you don’t like seeing me if you keep this up, Dr.Do.”

“Really? What gave it away?” Kyungsoo says in the same tone.

Brushing the comment off, Baekhyun leans forward into Kyungsoo’s face, making the latter jolt back in surprise.

“Personal space, detective! Personal space,” Kyungsoo sputters, glaring at the other.

“Sorry,” Baekhyun says, not looking sorry at all. “I wanted to ask you about something.” At Kyungsoo’s expectant look, he continues. “What places can someone be shot at and not die? It’d be a plus if they are the most painful too.”

Kyungsoo stares at the detective in bewilderment. “What?”

“What places can som- “

“I heard you the first time. I meant why would you want to know that?” Kyungsoo interrupts, impatiently. “Don’t tell me you plan to shoot some criminals just to cause them pain.”

“Okay, I won’t tell you,” Baekhyun shrugs, smirking again. Kyungsoo wants to wipe that stupid smirk off his face.

“I am not helping you hurt someone intentionally. I’m a doctor!” Kyungsoo snaps at him, dumbfounded at the audacity.

“Exactly, you’re a doctor. Shouldn’t you help me not kill someone accidentally?” Baekhyun argues determinedly.

Kyungsoo growls, clenching his fists. “Don’t be a smartass.”

But he ends up teaching him a few areas that can be shot at. After all, Kyungsoo doesn’t want his ER to be messier than it already is. Baekhyun leaves with a triumphant grin on his face. He swears he has never met a more infuriating human being than the pink haired detective. Did he mention Baekhyun has pink hair? How is that even allowed?

                                                                        **********************

“As entertaining as it is to hear you complain about Baekhyun, you should maybe try tolerating him,” Jongdae says as they sit in the hospital cafeteria.

Kyungsoo gives him a deadpanned look. “I didn’t kill him yet BECAUSE I am tolerating him.”

“There’s a thin line between hate and love,” was all Jongdae says in return.

“Don’t give me overused movie dialogues just because you have nothing intelligent to say, Jongdae,” Kyungsoo scoffs, nose crinkling in disgust.

“Hey, it might be overused, but it’s only overused because it’s true,” Jongdae shrugs.

Kyungsoo just rolls his eyes, deciding not to dignify the comment with a response.

The rest of the lunch time went along peacefully, with his best friend not bringing up the forbidden topic anymore. That’s one thing he likes about his work. He has his best friend to keep him sane. And with the amount of crazy he sees every day, he definitely needs some ‘sane’ in his life.

When the evening approaches, Kyungsoo is still stuck in the ER, not for the first time. He doesn’t even question it anymore, seeing as it only results in loss of precious time and energy. Some would say it’s unfair. He says it’s life. Well, his life. Jongdae says he’s either remarkably stupid or disturbingly nice for saving people at the cost of his life (from loss of sleep). Jongdae, Kyungsoo says, is exceptionally dramatic.

So, when he hears that Dr. Yixing is going to be on the ER duty for the night, he couldn’t contain his joy. It is the first time he’s getting the night off in a while. So, he picks his stuff up while humming, already planning on his first home cooked meal of the week. Bibimbap sounds so good right now. He also dreams of the long-awaited date with his bed. Just thinking about it sounds like heaven!

There was only one problem though. Kyungsoo did not count on an accident happening on his way home.

                                                                        **********************

He saw it before it happened. The red car losing its control and swiveling to the other side, his side. The black car right in front of him, unfortunately, was too close to escape the oncoming impact. Kyungsoo manages to steer his car to the right just in time to escape colliding into the two cars. Right as he stops his car, a sudden force knocks him forward onto the steering wheel. The air bag doesn’t go off and the impact triggers a sharp pain in his head. There’s also a slight ringing in his ears, making him wince as he tries to get out of the car.

He turns around once he’s out of the car and on the ground. Another car has crashed into his, which was probably when he was jerked forward. But that wasn’t what caught his attention. Kyungsoo sees at least about 10 vehicles involved in the mishap. There was even a bus, though thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be a school bus. Trying to get himself out of the shock, he walks around to see if there were any serious injuries sustained by anyone involved.

Kyungsoo had seen his share of sick and injured people, as does anyone who works in a hospital. He has seen people dying on the table as he operates. But even that doesn’t help when you see so many people injured and still in the accident zone. A cry of pain brings him out of the daze and he immediately starts to the voice.

He sees a woman who has a sharp metal object stuck on her lower shoulder, pinning her to the seat. Gasping a little, he looked around for anyone who can help him. He sees the police just arriving, along with an ambulance. The fireman and the police are too low in number to tend to all the victims at once. He looks back at the woman who’s slowly slipping from consciousness. He should hurry now. Checking for the pulse first, he finds it slowly weakening. He slowly starts to pull out the metal object from the shoulder. The woman lets out a cry of pain, which he ignores. As soon as he succeeds in pulling the object out, he puts his hand on the wound to keep pressure on it. He can’t have her suffer blood loss now.

“Do you need any help?” asks a voice he almost recognizes.

Without turning around, he directs the voice. “Call the ambulance or the firemen to help her transport to the hospital. She is losing too much blood.”

The man doesn’t reply but Kyungsoo can hear the hurried footsteps leaving. Concentrating on the woman, he checks for the pulse again while trying to keep her awake. Less than 2 mins pass by when he hears two men bringing a stretcher. They take her away as Kyungsoo stresses on applying pressure on her wound to them. Once he’s sure the woman is in safe hands, he turns to the person next to him.

“Detective, can’t say it’s nice seeing you here,” he attempts a light-hearted greeting. His voice sounds weak even to him. Baekhyun frowns, noticing the blood on his head where he hit the wheel and the door.

“Don’t you have to get yourself treated?” Baekhyun asks, nodding to the injury.

“It’s a small injury. I’ll just control it for now. No time to worry about that when so many need my help,” Kyungsoo says determinedly while looking around them. “Now, will you help me save them or are you preoccupied?”

And that’s how Kyungsoo worked together for the first time with the detective he hated since the beginning of time. Okay, that was obviously an exaggeration. But for Kyungsoo, that’s what it seems like. But in Baekhyun’s defense, he was the perfect helper. He didn’t interrupt or question Kyungsoo when he gave orders. He didn’t try to annoy him, to Kyungsoo’s mild surprise. Well, he supposes even Baekhyun is not that low to do that in a serious situation as this.

Baekhyun also proved to be useful when cops would question Kyungsoo’s credit on giving first aid to the victims by coming to his defense.

By the time all the patients are taken care of, Kyungsoo is exhausted. His head is killing him and beheading sounds very inviting just then. Thankfully, none of the patients were in a fatal condition. The colliding car owners were not that lucky, with both of them fighting for their lives. He just hopes they don’t die before reaching the hospital.

Removing the makeshift bandage on his head, he starts to go towards the ambulance when he starts feeling light headed. On the corner of the eye, he sees Baekhyun following him.

“Are you feeling okay?” the detective asks. Kyungsoo thinks he can hear worry in his voice but he chalks it up to his imagination.

“Yes, detective. I’ll be getting treatment soon. Don’t mind me. But I’m curious, what is a detective doing on an accident scene? Only the cops handle that, don’t they?” Kyungsoo asks.

Baekhyun starts to say something, but Kyungsoo couldn’t hear him. Baekhyun’s voice sounds distant and his vision seems blurry. The next thing he knows, he’s lost control of his body and heading to the ground.

                                                                        **********************

Baekhyun is a very collected person, if not anything else. He prides on his ability to stay calm even in dire situations. After all, he was in many such positions. So, it came as a surprise even to him when he panicked (kind of) watching the doctor he likes to annoy slip into unconsciousness. Thankfully, he was quick and caught the smaller man in his arms before he could hit the ground and inflict more injuries on himself. Baekhyun really thinks the doctor should at least buy him chocolates for being so considerate.

He probably shouldn’t be thinking of chocolates when the poor man is in the ambulance right in front of him, on their way to the hospital he works at. But he assures himself that he’s thinking about the sweet delicacies only after making sure Kyungsoo is not in any imminent danger. He made sure of that. Ask the nurse sitting right opposite him.

They reach the hospital in 10 minutes and Baekhyun follows the stretcher into the hospital. He has called the hospital beforehand to let them know the next patient is their own doctor. And not surprisingly, he finds the cat-like guy who always hangs around the young doctor waiting at the entrance. It was almost comical how the cat guy’s eyebrows slanted perfectly in worry while his lips still have a curl at the edges, giving an impression of a smile.

“How long has it been since he lost consciousness?” the nurse in questions asks, turning to Baekhyun.

“It’s been about 15 minutes. He was injured more than 1 hour ago,” Baekhyun informs him solemnly.

The cat guy (Baekhyun wishes he knew his name so he doesn’t have to call him that) curses under his breath as another doctor approaches them. His name card says ‘Yixing’.

“Jongdae, he seems to have lost quite some blood. You know his blood type, go get some ready in case we need to use it,” Dr. Yixing says calmly to the cat guy.

Jongdae (finally, the name) nods fervently before he runs off.

And that’s the last anyone even looked at him that evening. Baekhyun contemplated on going home. But he figured the least he could do for the doctor who helped the accident victims despite his own injury was to wait. So that’s what he did. For 2 hours before he got concerned. A simple treatment shouldn’t take so long.

He then sees Jongdae walking out of the ward.

“Jongdae!” he calls, making the other stop in his tracks and look at him. He raises his eye brows in surprise. Nevertheless, he walks over to Baekhyun, smiling his little cat like smile.

“Detective! What are you doing here? Waiting for Kyungsoo?” he asks, almost teasingly.

Baekhyun shrugs. “He helped everyone on the scene, the least I could do is make sure he’s alright.”

Jongdae’s smirk falls a little, looking disappointed. “Don’t worry, he’s alright. He’s on anesthesia so you can’t see him now. But you can visit him tomorrow after 10 in the morning.”

Baekhyun feels relieved. “Cool, I’ll visit him tomorrow then.”

Waving at Jongdae, he walks out of the hospital to finally get some rest. Until he remembers. What was he thinking? Of course, he can’t rest! The victim is still alive from what his subordinates told him while waiting. Despite the complications he has yet to face, Baekhyun sighs in relief. Looks like he gets to spend another night in the department.

                                                                        **********************

Kyungsoo has always wondered why people seem to hate the hospital smell. He has spent 1/4^th of his life in hospitals and he’s fine with it. But he realizes only now how it feels to be on the other side of the room, eating the ty patient food.

“I don’t wanna eat this!” he whines at Jongdae.

Jongdae chuckles at his rare behavior. “Well, too bad. Dr. Yixing will kill me if he finds out I fed you anything else.”

“No, he won’t.”

Jongdae laughs. “Yes, he won’t. But he does give his signature ‘disappointed in you’ look and I do not want to be on the receiving end of that today.”

Kyungsoo sighs, relenting. Dr. Yixing is too nice to kill even a fly. Maybe that’s why his ‘disappointed’ looks are so powerful. Before Kyungsoo can say anything else, there’s a knock on the door.

“I hope you like flowers, doctor. Oh wait, you’re a patient now,” Baekhyun chuckles as he enters the room with a bouquet in hand.

Kyungsoo glares at the uninvited visitor, forgetting all about the disgusting hospital food on his plate. Baekhyun saunters towards him and pushes the flower bouquet into his hands. Kyungsoo immediately crinkles his nose.

“I like flowers which don’t smell like cow manure,” he says, now glaring at the daisies in his hands.

“Okay! Why do I feel like I’m intruding when I’m the best friend?” Jongdae suddenly interrupts. “But Soo’s right, they do smell like cow manure.”

Baekhyun laughs. “Doctor Kyungsoo didn’t seem to be the type to like fragrant flowers.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “Thank you,” he says, sarcasm evident in his tone.

Jongdae gets up from the seat. “I’ll leave you two alone. My break’s almost over.” he turns back at the door. “Quit whining and finish your food, Soo.”

Kyungsoo scowls at his soon-to-be ex-best friend.

“So, how are you?” Baekhyun asks sincerely as he takes the seat beside Kyungsoo.

“Never better,” Kyungsoo answers, half sarcastically.

Baekhyun chuckles, before smiling at Kyungsoo. “Thank you. For what you did yesterday. Despite being in pain, you helped all those people. You should know that all the people you helped are doing fine.”

Kyungsoo smiles back before looking away from Baekhyun. “I was just doing my job. I’m glad they are doing well.” He looks back at the pink haired visitor. “You didn’t have to visit me, detective Baekhyun. I was never in any serious danger.”

“You can call me ‘Baekhyun’. Can I call you ‘Kyungsoo’? We’re the same age – and that means we can be friends!” Baekhyun suggests enthusiastically.

“Okay, we can be informal. But that doesn’t mean we’re friends. I don’t like being friends with insufferable detectives who make my life and my ER a complete mess,” Kyungsoo couldn’t help but quip.

Baekhyun just laughs. Why is his laughter so loud? Kyungsoo scowls as the former continues to laugh at his not so subtle grievance.

“You didn’t answer me yet. Is that why you’re here?” Kyungsoo asks suddenly.

Baekhyun stops laughing and looks at the younger in confusion. “What?”

“What was a detective doing on an accident zone?” Kyungsoo asks, staring intently at the detective.

Baekhyun laughs again, albeit nervously. “I was just there by chance. Why else would I be there?”

Kyungsoo doesn’t take his eyes off the older. “You told me you were taking the day off yesterday. But I saw you with your team at the accident site.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widen for a split second before going back to nonchalance.

“I saw your team member, Junmyeon, was it? – search through the collided cars for something when most of the victims were taken care of. He was very thorough in his search, like he knew what he was looking for.” Kyungsoo adds, shifting in his bed to make himself more comfortable.

“Now, I may not be a detective but I’m not an idiot. And I don’t believe in coincidences. So, what’s going on?” Kyungsoo asks as he ends his monologue.

Baekhyun stays silent for a minute before looking at Kyungsoo with a small side smile. “I’ll give it to you, you are uncannily observant and smart even in such a situation. But wouldn’t it be careless of me to give up information to a civilian?”

Kyungsoo snorts. “You shouldn’t talk about being careless in front of me with your history.”

“I’m just extremely active, Kyungsoo,” he winks before looking at the cold food in front of the shorter. “You shouldn’t skip meals, doctor. Even if they taste like cow manure.”

With that, the pink haired detective takes his leave, making Kyungsoo scowl again in his general direction.

                                                                        **********************

“Yo! Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun’s annoying voice calls him as he returns from a patient. Sighing forlornly, Kyungsoo turns around to stare (with a straight face) at the subject of his frustration.

“You already?”

Kyungsoo glares as Baekhyun shamelessly chuckles.

“You must be all recovered, seeing as you’re back to glaring at me so intensely,” Baekhyun jokes as he approaches closer. Seeing the other pursing his lips, he smiles. “I just need some information today. So, don’t look at me like I’m ruining your ER already,” Baekhyun proclaims, a tad cheekily.

Kyungsoo stares at the detective, contemplating whether that’s worse or not. Baekhyun just grins widely back at him. If it was anyone else, they would be squirming under his stare.

“Fine, let’s go inside,” Kyungsoo finally sighs after a whole minute.

Baekhyun follows him, very cheerfully, if Kyungsoo might say. He swears he has never seen a detective as cheerful and loud as Baekhyun.

“What do you want to know?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Straight to the point. I like that,” Baekhyun’s voice is half teasing. His face grows serious. “The accident victim, the one who woke up today, is it possible for you be in charge of him?”

Kyungsoo looks up in surprise. “Why?”

“I know you better than other doctors here. It’ll be easier for me to deal with his case,” says Baekhyun.

Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at that. “So, there IS a case.”

Baekhyun sighs and nods, not offering any more information.

“I only deal with ER patients I have treated. I was being treated when he came in. So, I’m not sure if I can be in charge of him,” says Kyungsoo.

 “But,” he continues, making Baekhyun look up in hopefulness, “Dr. Yixing is a friend. He’s the one who’s dealing with Mr. Lee, the victim. He’s a good guy. You can trust him. I’ll make sure to visit the patient when I go on my rounds, if you’re still not assured.”

Baekhyun seems to consider this, before nodding finally.

“Thank you, I would like that,” he says with a smile.

Kyungsoo nods, before shooing the detective away, cursing how he has taken up all of his break time.

To say that Kyungsoo is not curious at all would be a lie. He’s dying to know what is going on with the patient, metaphorically of course. But he also has enough sense not to pry. After all, he’s not a cop.

For the next few days, Kyungsoo visits Mr. Lee when he goes on his rounds. Mr. Lee is a scary looking man in his forties. He has a scar running from his neck to his chest. He shouts at the nurses and even Yixing sometimes. If he didn’t promise Baekhyun, Kyungsoo would have never stepped foot in his room.

Baekhyun’s teammates, especially Junmyeon, come in often to visit the patient. And every time they visit, Lee only becomes more agitated. Baekhyun seems to be the only one who can control the man in such visits.

Kyungsoo has tried speaking with the man. But every time he asks or says something, he only receives a glare. He doesn’t know how Yixing keeps up with Lee to be honest. If it was him, he would have lost his temper already.

Come to think of it, maybe it was a good thing he wasn’t Mr. Lee’s doctor. Because right now, Kyungsoo watches as Lee holds a knife – he snatched it from a nurse heading to the operation theatre, threatening to kill himself and everyone who steps near him.

It seems like Kyungsoo will never have a peaceful day in the ER.

Yixing is busy in the operating theatre. Kyungsoo somehow feels responsible as the doctor who checked on the patient. Detective Baekhyun was probably notified. But he can’t leave the patient as is till he arrives.

During the commotion, Kyungsoo sneaked out to get an anesthesia that he can use on Lee. It is in his pocket. Now he just needs to get closer to the patient and he can give it to him. 

“They’re going to kill me if you don’t let me go! Why is no one listening to me?! Let me go!” the man screams.

Kyungsoo tries to distract him while approaching slowly. “Mr. Lee, who are they? Why would they hurt you?”

Lee turns to him, looking scared and dazed at the question.

Now is his chance! Kyungsoo steps forward boldly.

Lee snaps out of his daze at the movement and catches Kyungsoo in a headlock, now pointing the knife at his neck. Kyungsoo touches the syringe in his pocket, almost contemplating on using it. But with the knife so close to his neck, he would be absolutely foolish to do anything stupid like that.

He would break away from the headlock if he can. But if there’s one thing Kyungsoo isn’t, it’s being athletic. He hated anything physical since he was a kid. Of course, on the journey to becoming a doctor, he had to endure stamina challenging schedules and endeavors. But they don’t help when it comes to real life action sequences, do they?

So, Kyungsoo remained quiet. He just hopes no one would do anything sudden that would cause the knife on his neck to cut him.

It was not long before he saw detective Baekhyun running into the room they are in. Fortunately, he slowed down when he saw that Kyungsoo is being held at a knife point. Kyungsoo doesn’t know what’s going on in the detective’s mind as he remained expressionless.

Lee, on the other hand, tightened his grip on the knife at Baekhyun’s appearance, causing it to dig a little onto his neck – just enough to sting like a paper cut.

Surprisingly, Kyungsoo feels safer now than before. After all, there’s a trained official.

Now, if only he could get the insufferable detective to look at him for more than a second, he would gesture towards the anesthesia in his pocket. But of course, that would be too easy. Kyungsoo is sure his guardian angel is a twisted sadist who enjoys watching him suffer. How else would you explain ‘Baekhyun’ and every situation involving him?

Still, Kyungsoo keeps trying. He stares at Baekhyun without blinking or looking away as the latter tries to reason with his captor.

“Mr. Lee, please calm down. I will take you wherever you want after you recover,” Baekhyun tries to pacify Lee.

“No! I am fine! I want to leave NOW! If you don’t let me go, I’ll kill this doctor,” he digs the knife deeper. Kyungsoo can feel the sting and the blood now.

Detective Baekhyun looks a little worried now. If only he looks at him instead!

“Okay! Okay, I will take you somewhere safer. But only if you let him go,” Baekhyun consents.

The knife loosens a little at that. But not enough for Kyungsoo to attempt any daring retaliations.

“No, if I let him go, you won’t let me go,” Lee brings the knife away from Kyungsoo to point at Baekhyun in frustration.

This is his chance!

Kyungsoo immediately takes out the syringe and injects it on the patient’s left hand, drawing a cry from the latter. He tries to push the patient away to escape his hold. But Lee is already bringing the knife close to his neck in anger.

Before Kyungsoo could react, he sees Baekhyun crashing into his captor’s hand, twisting it enough to avoid his neck. Instead, his right arm begins to sting and he looks at the deep cut on his arm before looking at the floor. Baekhyun lies on top of an unconscious Mr. Lee.

Jongdae and Yixing rush towards Kyungsoo while rest of the spectators still watch in shock. Yixing must have come after his surgery.

“Soo! Are you okay? Oh god, you’re bleeding!” Jongdae croaks as he looks at the wound.

Kyungsoo looks over at Baekhyun and Lee to see if they are okay. Once assured that they are unharmed, he turns to regard his injury. It isn’t that deep. Would probably heal in a week. Looking up to Jongdae and Yixing, he smiles.

“It’s not that bad. Don’t worry.”’

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Yixing states solemnly before turning to a nearby nurse. “Take Mr. Lee to his room and put him on Benzodiazepines 0.5-4 mg,” he says. Turning back to Kyungsoo, “Come on, let’s get your wound dressed.”

 

Once his wound is dressed, and Jongdae stops fussing over him, he sees Baekhyun enter the room.

“Well, if it isn’t the walking menace,” Kyungsoo smirks.

Baekhyun just laughs and looks at the dressing.

“You’re the doctor here. How are you the one who’s always getting hurt?”

Kyungsoo shrugs. “Danger likes me, I guess.”

Baekhyun guffaws at that and Kyungsoo smiles. Baekhyun turns serious as his laughter dies down.

“It was very stupid and dangerous. What you did before.”

“Well, what else was I supposed to do? Let him kill me?”

“I wouldn’t have let that happen!”

“You weren’t there when he started acting crazy. How can we not do anything?” Kyungsoo retorts.

Baekhyun bites his lip at that. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Kyungsoo smiles at the small victory.

“So, will you tell me what that was about? I think I deserve to know now.”

Baekhyun considers before nodding. “Mr. Lee is a witness. He is not exactly a model citizen. But he agreed to be the witness for something he was involved in exchange for a reduced sentence and protection. So, he thinks they are trying to kill him for that.”

“And are they?” asks Kyungsoo.

A beat.

“Recover soon, doctor. I need my weekly dose of hatred from you,” Baekhyun smirks as he heads towards the door.

“,” Kyungsoo mutters under his breath. He could hear Baekhyun cackling as he leaves.

                                                                        **********************

Baekhyun is a very happy man despite the nature of his job. He loves to laugh and making others laugh. He’s just a naturally friendly and easy-going person. Everyone loves him!

However, if you ask him why he likes to annoy the tiny ER doctor, he would just shrug his shoulders and start talking about his next hair color.

But what no one knows is that he started messing with Dr. Kyungsoo because of the first time Baekhyun saw the younger.

It was his first day in the new station and he just caught 10 thugs who were beating each other up. Well, he had to take them to the hospital after he managed to mark a few bruises on them himself. And Dr. Kyungsoo was on duty then. Just as he entered the ER, he saw a tiny man (even shorter than himself) come forward, a glare etched on his otherwise handsome face. As soon as he saw the badge on Baekhyun, the doctor’s face seemed to get even darker.

It was quite a surprise to Baekhyun because he was used to people showing more interest and respect when they find out he’s a detective. Well, apart from the suspects of course. There was no reason to suspect the doctor either because he scowled at the thugs as soon as he learnt what they did. Nonetheless, he stitched up everyone with care.

Assuming it’s in the doctor’s nature to have a permanently etched scowl on his face and a sour mood accompanying it, Baekhyun was amazed when Kyungsoo smiled at an elderly man who had just come in. He’d never admit it – but the young doctor had a beautiful smile. It reminded him of the heart shaped candy he used to eat in his childhood.

But as Baekhyun observed, Kyungsoo smiled at almost everyone who’s not Baekhyun – he later realized it’s any cop/detective who made his ER a mess. But let’s be honest, no one messes up the ER as much as Baekhyun does.

So, Baekhyun decided to get his dose of entertainment from Kyungsoo’s displeasure because he’s the only one who can elicit his scowls rather than his smiles on a daily basis.

But that was ages ago.

Now, Baekhyun catches himself wishing he would be able to evoke that candy smile from the doctor instead of his signature scowl.

So, it comes as a surprise when he visits the hospital a week later (he only got minor injuries while chasing some crooks) and finds no smile OR scowl waiting for him. All he gets is a blank stare and a wordless treatment for his arm.

Needless to say, it doesn’t sit well with him. He has tried annoying Kyungsoo. He has tried being funny. Nothing works. Kyungsoo just wordlessly finishes his job and nods politely before leaving to another patient.

Baekhyun doesn’t leave after getting fixed up. He finds Jongdae passing by and follows him.

“Hey Jongdae, can I talk to you for a minute? It’s about Dr. Kyungsoo”

Jongdae stops and turns to look at him for a second before nodding.

“Wait near my station. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Baekhyun nods back and walks to the place. Jongdae joins him after a while.

“So, I can’t help but notice Kyungsoo is very… weird today,” Baekhyun starts.

“Are you concerned about my best friend, detective?” Jongdae asks, managing a smirk on his previously somber face. His expression turns concerned again. “Kyungsoo’s favorite kid died yesterday.”

Baekhyun blinks. “What?”

Jongdae sighs. “Kyungsoo visits the pediatric department regularly because he used to work there before the ER. He bonded with this little girl. Her name was Hae-Ra. She had a con heart disease. Her operation was successful,” Jongdae pauses to continue “But she suddenly had an attack yesterday and passed away. Kyungsoo took it hard. Just give him some time. He’ll be fine.”

Baekhyun nods silently, taking it all in.

 

It was around 9 PM when he got a call from an unknown number, just as he was about to make ramen and watch Pacific Rim again.

“Hello? This is Baekhyun speaking,” he greets.

“Hey, detective. I’m Jongdae from the hospital. I need your help,” Baekhyun instantly recognizes him.

“Jongdae! Is something wrong?” he asks.

“Kyungsoo is drunk at a bar and I’m stuck with night duty. Our other friends can’t make it as well and you’re the only other being who personally knows Kyungsoo. Would you please pick him up? I don’t want to leave him alone until I’m done,” Jongdae says.

Baekhyun agrees immediately. “Of course, just text me where he is and I’ll pick him up.”

 

When Baekhyun reaches the bar, he could immediately spot the young doctor. He was at the counter, wearing all black and drunk already. He immediately goes to collect him.

“Kyungsoo? Let’s go, you’ve had enough to drink,” Baekhyun says as he tries to get Kyungsoo up. The latter swats his hand away and grabs another drink off the counter.

“No! I want to drink more!”

Baekhyun purses his lips. He has never seen the younger like this. He looks pitiful.

“Come on, Kyungsoo. You can drink at home,” Baekhyun tries lifting the other again.

“I was supposed to bring her to Disney Land…,” the younger says in a small voice.

Baekhyun stops and looks at him. “Who?”

“Hae-Ra… I promised her she would get better and I would take her there. I told her she can find her prince there. But I’m such a liar, aren’t I? I couldn’t even make an 8-year old girl’s wish come true!”

Baekhyun takes a seat beside the other, giving up on dragging the doctor home for now. “Did you want her to get better?”

Kyungsoo turns to look at him and nods.

“Did you think she will get better?” Baekhyun questions him again.

Another nod.

“Then how are you a liar?”

Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything. He turns back straight and lowers his head. “This is why I couldn’t work in the pediatrics,” he says in such a small voice that Baekhyun almost didn’t hear it. “People dying, I can take that now. But children dying? No matter how many times I see it happen, it still feels like the first time.” He chuckles bitterly. “I’m so weak hearted.”

Kyungsoo looks so small now as he crouches further in his seat and Baekhyun doesn’t even think before putting his arm over the formers shoulders. “You’re not weak. You just care too much for children. It’s not your fault. So, don’t beat yourself over it. Hae-Ra wouldn’t like that, I’m sure.” He gives a gentle squeeze to Kyungsoo’s shoulders.

When Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything, Baekhyun takes it as a cue to leave. “Let’s get you home now,” he says as he tries to pull the other up. Kyungsoo seems to be half asleep and it takes quite the energy to finally drag him back to his car. Baekhyun manages to drop him in the passenger seat and put his seatbelt easily enough after that.

Once he starts the car, Baekhyun realizes that Jongdae hasn’t given him Kyungsoo’s address and the latter is fast asleep to even try asking him. Too tired to call the nurse, he decides to take Kyungsoo home with him.

The ride home is silent as Kyungsoo is still asleep. Baekhyun likes the silence though. It’s similar to his other nights – only less lonely. He always knew the young doctor wasn’t as stoic as he pretends to be, but he only realizes now to what extent. Despite being sad for Kyungsoo, he also feels proud to have witnessed the younger’s other side. And somehow, he doesn’t feel lonely with Kyungsoo – even when he’s sleeping.

It took him a lot of coaxing, threatening and whining to get Kyungsoo into his house. Luckily for him (NOT!), Kyungsoo woke up – still drunk – just before they entered his apartment. And well, as Baekhyun observed then, Kyungsoo is not someone who goes home with strangers (Baekhyun is offended that Kyungsoo couldn’t recognize him but being the nice guy that he is, he let it go… for then).

Baekhyun is now sporting a bruise on his leg where Kyungsoo kicked him for trying to force him into the house. The things he does for his frenemies!

Getting Kyungsoo to sleep proved to be another hurdle, much to Baekhyun’s exasperation. He didn’t want to sleep on the couch. He didn’t want Baekhyun to sleep on the couch. He kicked Baekhyun out when Baekhyun tried to sleep beside him on the bed.

Baekhyun’s still hurts from the fall to his floor and if it wasn’t for the unexpected cuteness in Kyungsoo’s whining while pulling those stunts, Baekhyun would have kicked the other to the ground too. He had to wait till Kyungsoo was fast asleep to sneak back into the bed.

But Baekhyun can’t fall asleep immediately. He looks at Kyungsoo’s sleeping figure beside him and is entranced. He is hyperaware of everything. The way Kyungsoo breathes in and out, the way his lower lip juts out just a little – almost like a pout, the way his long lashes curl at the end of his eyes and the way his own hand itches to touch every part of the younger’s face.

He likes him. Baekhyun likes Kyungsoo. And the realization is bittersweet because Kyungsoo would never like him back.  

                                                                        **********************

There is something heavy pressing on his legs. It’s hot and all Kyungsoo wants is to push whatever it is off. But it doesn’t move, no matter how much he tries. Slowly, he opens his eyes to see what it is. He shrieks when he does. Detective Baekhyun’s leg is on his leg. Baekhyun is sleeping on the same bed as him. Baekhyun is breathing down his neck, still asleep.

He racks his brain trying to remember what happened. It all comes down at him – well, most of it. He remembers until he climbed into the detective’s car. He slowly tries to get Baekhyun off him, only making Baekhyun put an arm around his waist now. Baekhyun snuggles closer and Kyungsoo finds himself freezing. What is he supposed to do now? Kick him? Push him harder? Scream? Or should he fall back asleep?

After last night, Kyungsoo doesn’t think it’s nice to kick the other to wake him up. Pushing doesn’t seem to do anything. He cannot scream with his hangover, thank you. He figures there’s no harm in a few more minutes of sleep and closes his eyes.

 

When he wakes up again, he remembers where he is this time. Probably Baekhyun’s place since it’s not his house. There’s no one next to him, thankfully, which means Baekhyun is up now. He gets up from the bed and goes out to the living room. He can hear someone singing from the kitchen and silently goes towards the voice. Baekhyun stands in the kitchen, singing carefreely and moving his body to the rhythm as he makes coffee.

The scene makes Kyungsoo do a double take. Baekhyun looks so… not annoying here as he sings and dances. He doesn’t look like the detective who ruins his ER. He doesn’t look like the smug Baekhyun he knows. And it makes something change in Kyungsoo’s stomach. Before he can think on it, Baekhyun sees him.

“Oh! You’re awake! I put some extra toothbrush and clothes in the bathroom if you want to freshen up. Do you want some coffee?” Kyungsoo nods in response and goes into the bathroom.

After 15 minutes, he comes out feeling much cleaner and less confused. Baekhyun’s shorts and T-shirt are a little big on him but they are comfortable.

“What happened after I got into the car? I don’t remember after that,” Kyungsoo asks after thanking him as he takes a seat at the counter.

Baekhyun looks at him and smirks, “You confessed to loving me and begged me to take you home with me. Being the gentleman that I am, I didn’t take advantage of you and put you to bed.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and ignores him. He wants to ask why they were both on the same bed, but decides against it. Instead, he looks around and finds what seems to be a pile of instant ramen.

“You know that ruins your body, right? You won’t be as healthy as you are now if you keep eating that ,” he says, nodding towards the pile as he accepts the coffee.

“Is this another consulting session? You need to dress better if you want to lecture me, you know?”

Kyungsoo looks up from his coffee and raises an eyebrow. “Start paying me for my sessions and I’ll start dressing up.”

Baekhyun winks, “that sounds cheeky.”

“I said dressing up – not dressing down,” Kyungsoo deadpans. Baekhyun only laughs.

 

Kyungsoo thanks Baekhyun sincerely after breakfast to which Baekhyun only smiles and shrugs it off. They don’t mention the conversation in the bar and Kyungsoo is thankful to Baekhyun for not bringing it up. There seems to be a mutual acknowledgement of the conversation and that is more than enough for Kyungsoo. He is a man of few words and believes that saying something once is enough if it is heartfelt.

Baekhyun did tell him how he knew where Kyungsoo was though. And Kyungsoo makes a point to thank Jongdae for taking care of him.

                                                                        **********************

It’s been two weeks since Kyungsoo’s involuntary meeting with Baekhyun. He’s proud to say that he had successfully avoided the detective all this while. But alas, his luck is bound to run out sometime or other.

“Kyungsoo!”

Kyungsoo grimaces as soon as he hears the familiar voice. The detective has stopped referring to him as ‘Doctor’ completely – only using his first name like they were friends since that bar incident. Sure, he might have taken care of Kyungsoo when he was drunk. But that was only because Kyungsoo has no social life apart from his 4 friends who were all busy that night. He had already reprimanded Jongdae… just before thanking him. And Jongdae’s logic does make sense. Baekhyun’s the only other person Kyungsoo and Jongdae both know and him being in the police force grants him some trust. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean Kyungsoo was happy about it.

Don’t get him wrong, he came to like Baekhyun enough to consider him an ally in the sea of bars and drunk people. He just doesn’t think that it warrants a friendship. Evidently, Baekhyun doesn’t share his beliefs.

Before Kyungsoo can escape, a hand drapes around his shoulder tightly. “There you are! I’ve heard from Jongdae that you are totally free after work today. Let’s go out for dinner!”

Jongdae – that traitor!

Kyungsoo puts on his best ‘I would love to but I can’t’ face as he turns to the pink haired man. “I – “

“I know that you asked Jongdae to hang out, so don’t bother coming up with an excuse that you’re busy,” he adds with a wink.

Okay, why is Jongdae still his best friend? He should demote his status to arch nemesis.

 “If you already know that I was going to make up an excuse, you should get the hint,” Kyungsoo mutters under his breath.

Baekhyun snorts. “Jongdae also told me to ignore that.”

Kim Jongdae is a dead man to Kyungsoo.

“Fine,” Kyungsoo resigns.

Baekhyun beams at him as he recites the plan and Kyungsoo finds himself smiling a little at his enthusiasm. Only a little.

“Why are you here by the way? It can’t be just to force me out,” Kyungsoo asks before Baekhyun leaves.

“Oh, I was just visiting a victim.”

Kyungsoo nods, knowing not to ask for more.

 

Kyungsoo finds Baekhyun waiting with his car as he steps out of the hospital. He has one arm supported on the car’s hood and legs crossing. He is also wearing a pair of suspiciously bright shirt and pants. In kinder words, he looks ridiculous.

“When did you join the circus?” Kyungsoo comments, giving him an obvious once over as he approaches the car.

Baekhyun smirks, raising an eyebrow. “Didn’t you know? I juggle balls.”

Kyungsoo cannot comprehend how Baekhyun said that with a straight face. Either he’s shameless or…. nope, he’s just shameless.  

“Can you please go be stupid somewhere away from me?”

Baekhyun only laughs as they get in the car. Kyungsoo thinks he laughs too much for a detective. Aren’t they supposed to be intimidating or something?

The car ride was surprisingly pleasant. Baekhyun is thoughtful and smart, despite his initial (and regular) impressions. Well, Kyungsoo supposes he couldn’t have been dumb if he is a team leader this young. But still, the younger didn’t think he would actually enjoy the other’s company.  

They reach a tiny little restaurant that Kyungsoo loves going to at least twice a month. Baekhyun is very easy going and Kyungsoo appreciates that – seeing as he himself is a little picky. The food was good and the conversation wasn’t awkward, much to Kyungsoo’s surprise. He wasn’t sure what they would talk about over dinner, but there was never an uncomfortable moment. When it was time to pay the bill, he insisted on paying.

“If you’re paying, I suppose this is a date?” Baekhyun asks, a twinkle in his eyes.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “This is a ‘thank you’ for taking care of me that night. I hate owing people.”

Baekhyun clutches his heart dramatically. “Ouch!”

Maybe Kyungsoo was just imagining it, but Baekhyun’s smile seemed to fall a little.

The ride back to Kyungsoo’s apartment was nice. Baekhyun seemed to be back in high spirits and their bickering was fun. When they reached his apartment, Kyungsoo turned to Baekhyun. “I just remembered that I have your hankie with me from the accident. You lent it to control my bleeding. I have it washed, would you like to come in or shall I get it out for you?”

Baekhyun grins cheekily again. “You could just ask if you want me to come over that badly.” At Kyungsoo’s unamused expression, he chuckles and continues. “I’ll come in if you promise me some tea.”

“I wasn’t going to send you away without even a drink anyway,” Kyungsoo grumbles as he gets out.

“I’ll be right behind you. I need to find my phone.”

Kyungsoo nods and walks into his house. He goes to the kitchen to start making the tea for Baekhyun and himself. 

 

It’s been 10 minutes and Baekhyun still hasn’t come in. Sighing at the tea, he decides to drag the detective in himself before the tea can get cold.

He opens the door and starts towards the car. “The tea is getting cold. How long – “

Kyungsoo’s eyes widen at the scene in front of him. Baekhyun is fending off three men by himself as they attack him. He already seems to have taken more than a few hits.

“Baekhyun!” he finds himself shouting as he rushes forward.

Baekhyun only glances at him before hitting one of the guys. Kyungsoo was never good at anything physical, as mentioned already. So, he started searching for something he could use. He finds a large decorative stone near the plants. He immediately brings the stone and hits one of the men on their head with it. The guy falls, loosening his grip on Baekhyun’s neck. Taking this opportunity, Baekhyun overpowers the other two with little difficulty. Now that he sees him fight, Kyungsoo is sure Baekhyun knows some sort of martial art if the way he fights is any evidence.

The three guys get up and start to run away before Baekhyun could stop them. Baekhyun starts to chase after them but Kyungsoo grabs his shoulder before he could. “Not now, you can’t catch them in this condition.”

Baekhyun curses angrily as he listens to the doctor and gives up.

                                                                        **********************

“Are you okay?” Kyungsoo asks again as he starts to treat his injuries.

Baekhyun smiles while nodding. It turns into a grimace instead from the cut on his cheeks.  

“You have to tell me how you’re feeling and where it hurts. I can’t help you completely otherwise,” Kyungsoo tells him sternly. Baekhyun stares at him like he was trying to figure him out.

“It hurts everywhere,” Baekhyun finally says with a sigh, allowing his natural pout to appear.

Kyungsoo chuckles before continuing to patch him up. “Who are they?” he asks, voice turning somber. “Why did they attack you?”

“I can’t discuss my work with you.”

“You were attacked right in front of my apartment. I think I deserve a little explanation,” Kyungsoo says as he finishes cleaning up the wound on his back. He tries to keep his touch gentle despite the anger and worry filling him. He shouldn’t be so affected, seeing as he wasn’t attacked. But he is.

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything for a while. Kyungsoo finishes patching up the former’s back and tugs on his shoulder to turn him around.

“It’s related to the accident you were in. And the patient who attacked you,” Baekhyun admits with a sigh, looking down at the floor.

Kyungsoo waits patiently, looking at Baekhyun. He wasn’t expecting the accident to have been staged, but now is not the time to ponder on his surprise.

Lifting his head to look back at Kyungsoo, Baekhyun continues. “The accident was staged to kill Mr. Lee, the witness to a trafficking ring. Well, he played a small part in it. But we promised him some lenience if he would reveal what he knows.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything but nods to show that he’s listening.

“I suspected they were trying to kill him but it was clear after the incident in the hospital. There was a man disguised as a nurse who was about to inject him with something.”

Kyungsoo looked at him in surprise. He didn’t imagine the case to be so… intense.

Baekhyun purses his lips as he continues. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t catch him. But we moved Lee to another facility and only I know where he is. We suspect there’s a plant in the department. And that… was what they were trying to get from me tonight. Lee’s whereabouts,” he finishes with a sigh and a tight-lipped smile.

Kyungsoo frowns. “I know you think you’re invincible, but this sounds dangerous. Do be careful.”

A cheeky smile appears on the detective. “Are you worried about me, Dr. Do?”

Kyungsoo glares at him before reaching out to the first aid box again. “I just don’t want to deal with a new detective if you die.”

Kyungsoo leans in to clean the cut on Baekhyun’s face and the latter freezes. Thinking it stings, Kyungsoo mutters a ‘sorry’.

While putting on the band aid, Kyungsoo lifts his head wondering why Baekhyun’s been so silent. Only to find himself so very close to the latter. Their noses are touching.

He freezes.

Kyungsoo can count Baekhyun’s lashes from this distance. Baekhyun has pretty eyes. He can hear them both breathing. If he just moves a little, their lips would touch. He bites his lips unconsciously. Baekhyun’s eyes glance at his lips before focusing back on his eyes. 

Kyungsoo blinks, moving away from the other’s face while clearing his throat.

 “I’m hungry,” Baekhyun says loudly.

Kyungsoo drops his hand and gives him a deadpanned look. “Really?”

Baekhyun shrugs. “Hey, I just did a lot of physical activity!”

Kyungsoo snorts as he gets up to go the refrigerator. He’s glad the freezing spell is broken. He honestly doesn’t know what that was before. And he doesn’t want to think about it.

“How do you like your eggs?” he asks as he turns around.

Baekhyun followed him to the kitchen, wincing at every step. He looks into the refrigerator and lights up at something. Kyungsoo looks back to see him eyeing a cake. It was his birthday cake and was half eaten. By Jongdae.

“I’m dying. Let me eat cake instead,” Baekhyun declares, still eyeing the cake.

“You’re not dying.”

“Let me eat cake anyway.”

Kyungsoo chuckles before bringing the half cake out for Baekhyun. The older looks at the words which are now half gone and tries to piece them together.

“It was your birthday?!” Baekhyun half shrieks after a few seconds.

Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow at him. “Yes? Why are you shouting?”

Baekhyun pouts at that. “I thought we were friends! You didn’t even tell me it was your birthday! When was it?”

Kyungsoo looks at him, amused, as he cuts a piece of the cake. “Two days ago.”

“Man, I can’t believe Jongdae didn’t tell me about it!” Baekhyun complains as he takes the plate of cake from Kyungsoo.

Rolling his eyes, Kyungsoo cuts another piece of cake for the other. A minute goes by with neither of them saying anything, both immersed in their own thoughts.

“Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun calls for his attention.

Kyungsoo looks up at him with a hum.

“The men from before… they saw you. And your house,” Baekhyun hesitates as he says. “I can’t let you stay here alone for a while. They might come back.”

Kyungsoo isn’t surprised, to say the least. Despite not being familiar with the crime life, he has an abundance of common sense. So, he purses his lips as he nods. “I can stay with Jongdae till it dies down.”

Baekhyun shakes his head. “They know your face. They can find your friends. You would just be putting Jongdae in danger,” he pauses, “You…uh… you can stay with me. I’m trained to protect people from such threats.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widen. Stay with Baekhyun? Isn’t that kind of weird? Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable for them both? It’s surprising, but it didn’t leave a bad taste in his after thoughts.

Baekhyun is still looking at him, anxious and a tad hopeful. He supposes it’s the simplest option. And Kyungsoo hates complicated things. So, he supposes he just has to take the most uncomplicated option given to him. He definitely wasn’t looking forward to it, but he definitely didn’t mind it either. Or so he assures himself.

Sighing in mock resignation, he slowly nods. “Okay.”

Baekhyun blinks in surprise, like he didn’t expect it. He probably didn’t. After all, Kyungsoo himself is shocked at the lack of resistance from him.

“Oh! Okay! Great! Umm… we can go now, if you’d like.”

Kyungsoo nods again. “I’ll get my things and we can leave in 10.”

                                                                        **********************

Best friends are supposed to sympathize with you. They are supposed to worry about you living alone with a careless frenemy. Jongdae is not a very good best friend.

“Don’t even try to pretend that you hate him anymore,” Jongdae clicks his tongue. “I’m your best friend. You can’t lie to me.”

Kyungsoo is not sure how Chanyeol deals with his smug self-proclaimed best friend, but he supposes what the nurse said is true. Kyungsoo doesn’t hate Baekhyun anymore. But still, isn’t Jongdae supposed to be concerned that someone may be after him?

“It’s so encouraging to see your concern for me,” Kyungsoo glares at him.

Jongdae chuckles. “Now, now… don’t be dramatic. Baekhyun’s a competent officer. I’m sure he can protect you well.”

Yes, Kyungsoo knows that after last night. But he’d rather stab his tongue than admit it to his smirking best friend.

“That reminds me, it’s your day off tomorrow… have fun playing house with him,” Jongdae continues with a wink.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes as he stands up to get back to his duties. Jongdae for some reason thinks Kyungsoo likes Baekhyun… romantically. Or maybe he just wants it to be true.

Baekhyun is a good-looking guy. Absolutely. He’s even got a good body (which Kyungsoo came to know while dressing his wounds). And now that Kyungsoo’s distaste for Baekhyun seems to be gone, the former doesn’t feel like puking when he thinks about Baekhyun and him together. But does that mean he likes Baekhyun? Absolutely not!

He ignores the tiny flicker of doubt in his gut.

 

By the time he gets off the hospital, Kyungsoo was very tired. All he wants is to go home and have a hot shower. When he steps out of the hospital, he finds Baekhyun again, in the same position as last time.

“What are you doing here?” Kyungsoo asks as he approaches the car.

Baekhyun beams as he waves. “I came to pick you up, of course! I must stick to you at all times. I heard it’s your day off tomorrow and day after. I took the next couple of days off too.”

Kyungsoo sighs in mock frustration. “Seems like I’m stuck with you for two days.”

Their ride together to Baekhyun’s house is filled with silly banter and Kyungsoo hitting Baekhyun in annoyance. The first time Kyungsoo hit Baekhyun’s shoulder in annoyance, he froze, wondering if he went too far. But Baekhyun only grinned as he continued to .

Once he’s out of the shower, he felt much better. Kyungsoo is drying his hair when he heard a clash of utensils. He rushes out to see what the racket was about, only to find Baekhyun in the kitchen, dishes cluttered around on the floor. The pink haired man looks like a cat caught in the act, groaning immediately after assessing the mess he made.

“What are you doing?” Kyungsoo asks flatly, gesturing to the scene in front of him.

Baekhyun whips his face up to Kyungsoo and seems to still as he stares at the latter. After a few seconds of unexplained staring, he seems to remember the question.

“Uh… I was just uh… trying to cook… for you,” Baekhyun stammers, cheeks red and hands scratching his head.

Kyungsoo only raises his brow, amused. Sighing, he makes way to the kitchen. “I’ll cook. My house isn’t an option now, I can’t risk you burning down yours.”

Baekhyun sputters when Kyungsoo stands in front of him. “G-go dry your hair… it… it’s wet,” he manages to croak out.

Kyungsoo furrows his brows. Baekhyun’s acting weird. “It’s okay, I’ll let it air dry.”

Baekhyun vehemently shakes his head, a determined expression taking over his face. “You’ll get sick. Go dry your hair, I’ll clean the mess up until then. You can cook after that,” Baekhyun turns around to start cleaning up before Kyungsoo could protest.

Kyungsoo relents, going in his room to finish drying his hair. Baekhyun’s actions seem very… flustered. Like he’s flustered because of Kyungsoo. But that can’t be, right? Baekhyun doesn’t like Kyungsoo. He annoys him too much to harbor a crush on him.  And Kyungsoo doesn’t like Baekhyun too.

But why does his stomach feel funny at the thought?

 

“This is the best food I have ever tasted!” Baekhyun moans as he stuffs another mouthful of Bibimbap. “Don’t tell my mom I said that!”

Kyungsoo chuckles, rolling his eyes. “If only there were cucumbers, it would have been perfect.”

Baekhyun immediately opens his eyes and looks at Kyungsoo, terrified. “No! Absolutely no cucumbers! Promise me you will not make anything with cucumbers as long as you stay here!”

Kyungsoo looks at him, surprised and amused. “Are you allergic to cucumbers?”

Baekhyun shakes his head. “I just hate them. Please promise me you won’t make me eat cucumbers!”

Kyungsoo snorts. “Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Baekhyun seems to take this as an agreement and seems content. “And what if I do?” he asks, spilling a few crumbs as he does.

Kyungsoo crinkles his nose. “That’s disgusting. You’re lucky you’re cute.”

 As soon as the words leave his lips, Kyungsoo freezes.

Baekhyun, on the other hand, immediately breaks into a smirk. “Oh! I’m cute, am I?”

Kyungsoo blushes for the first time in front of Baekhyun. He doesn’t know why he said that. He cannot believe he said that! Now Baekhyun’s looking at him, all smiley and smug, making Kyungsoo even redder.

“I… I mean, everyone in the hospital thinks you’re cute. Don’t know why…,” the doctor attempts.

But the detective is still beaming at him and it’s making Kyungsoo nervous for some reason. He starts biting his lips unconsciously. Baekhyun’s eyes flicker towards them, the action going unnoticed by the younger.

Luckily, Baekhyun seems to have enough of Kyungsoo’s squirming. He offers to do the dishes as he gets up finally.

Thankful for the escape, Kyungsoo rushes into his room, not looking back once.

That night, Kyungsoo couldn’t fall asleep till late, mind consumed by thoughts of the older.

                                                                        **********************

The next day passes with Baekhyun and Kyungsoo being back to their normal selves – Baekhyun pestering Kyungsoo while the latter ignores (pretends to) the antics. Kyungsoo also offers to cook for the duration of his stay, seeing as Baekhyun is painfully ignorant of the skill it takes to be in the kitchen without turning it into a volcano zone. Baekhyun is all too happy to eat home cooked food and keeps praising Kyungsoo after every mouthful.

Kyungsoo doesn’t say it, but he kind of likes that Baekhyun sits at the kitchen counter and rambles as he cooks. The chatter reminds him of his parents when his mom used to cook and his dad kept her company. It reminds him of happiness and affection. Something he pushed away for so long.

As the evening approaches, Baekhyun suggests a movie marathon and Kyungsoo couldn’t refuse – he likes his movies. The only thing he didn’t count on when he agreed, was that Baekhyun would sit so close to him – practically on his lap. Kyungsoo turns his head slightly, looking through a side eye to see if Baekhyun noticed the lack of distance. But Baekhyun seems to be engrossed in the movie.

So, Kyungsoo mentally shrugs as he focuses on the movie.

Baekhyun is also a scaredy cat when it comes to horror movies, as Kyungsoo comes to find out. He jumps at every sudden sound effect and screams along with every character. It’s a wonder Kyungsoo’s ears are still working. And the grip… Baekhyun side hugs Kyungsoo for the whole movie, tightening his grip on Kyungsoo’s arm whenever he’s scared (more scared). Kyungsoo is sure he’s now sporting a red tattoo on his arm.

Once the movie ends, Baekhyun jumps to put in another movie. Although, it’s a romance now. Kyungsoo shakes his head and wonders how in the world this hyperactive man child became a detective. He does admit (mentally) that Baekhyun looked cool when he was fighting off the thugs though. But that was the only time the other even remotely reminded him that he was an officer and not an overgrown puppy.

“Baekhyun, do you wanna go to bed?” Kyungsoo asks when he catches Baekhyun nodding off on his shoulder.

Baekhyun shakes his head violently, trying to look alert. Kyungsoo stares at the sleepy man for a few seconds, lips curled upwards. He looks adorable and Kyungsoo just wants to pinch his cheeks.

He suddenly realizes what he’s thinking and mentally scolds himself before looking at the TV again.

He doesn’t know when he fell asleep, but he did.

When he wakes up next morning, he finds himself lying awkwardly on the couch. Baekhyun’s nowhere to be seen so he assumes the older is in his room. Letting out a yawn, he gets up from the couch, rubbing his neck in the process. He really shouldn’t have fallen asleep there.

“Oh, you’re up!”

Kyungsoo finds Baekhyun coming out of his room, looking fresh and alive. Kyungsoo just wants to go back to sleep again. He hasn’t gotten much sleep all week due to his ER shifts and he has not slept the day before as planned. He really should just sleep today. No matter what Baekhyun suggests.

“Yes, you should have woken me up. I would have preferred going into my room to sleep instead of the couch.”

“I’ve just woken up like 20 minutes before you,” Baekhyun replies as he ruffles Kyungsoo’s hair while passing by to the kitchen.

Kyungsoo slaps his hand away and shoots a glare at the chirpy detective, only to earn a wink.

“Go fresh up while I make us some coffee,” Baekhyun suggests.

Kyungsoo only grunts in response as he leaves to do just that, not very worried because Baekhyun can be trusted with the kitchen if it’s just to make coffee.

Baekhyun hands him his coffee as he settles down next to Kyungsoo in the couch. Kyungsoo takes it gratefully, looking forward to feeling a little more alive.

“So, how about we go out today? The weather’s nice and perfect for a day out,” Baekhyun suggests.

Kyungsoo turns his head to reply, say no, he can’t go because he’s tired and needs to catch up on sleep. But Baekhyun is too close, again. Kyungsoo gulps as his eyes are transfixed on Baekhyun’s.

They stay like that for a few seconds before Baekhyun starts to move closer. Kyungsoo should move away. He really should. But he doesn’t. Baekhyun dips his head a little, cautious and slow as if to see whether Kyungsoo would move away. But he doesn’t. Instead, he keeps staring at Baekhyun’s lips. They look soft.

And then he feels another pair of lips on his. Soft and cushiony. They move in sync, slow at first but faster as seconds go by. His lips are softer than they look, unexpectedly, for he bruises them quite often. He finds Baekhyun smiling into the kiss. Somehow, that only makes him want to kiss harder, wipe that smile off.

Kyungsoo’s completely lost in the kiss, forgetting about the coffee in both of their hands. One of them, someone’s, spills onto his pants, making him hiss in pain.

“Oh ! Are you okay?” Baekhyun asks, a little breathless.

Kyungsoo nods, now looking at the coffee stain on his pants. The coffee wasn’t as hot anymore, luckily. He looks back up to see Baekhyun’s concerned face and swollen lips. And then it hits him.

He just kissed Baekhyun.

Eyes wide, Kyungsoo pushes Baekhyun away abruptly, making Baekhyun look at him in confusion.

“Kyungsoo?”

Snapping his head towards him, Kyungsoo blurts out, “Do you like me, Baekhyun?”

Maybe Baekhyun sees the panic in his eyes. Maybe he sees the conflict in his mind. A look of determination overcomes his face as he answers confidently, looking straight into Kyungsoo’s eyes. “Yes.”

Kyungsoo lets out a breath he was holding. “I…”

Baekhyun attempts to move close and place a hand on the younger’s shoulder. But Kyungsoo pulls away.

“Kyungsoo, I – “

Baekhyun’s ring tone cuts him off. It was loud and obnoxious, just like its owner. Baekhyun looks at the caller ID and sighs before picking it up, staring at Kyungsoo pointedly.

“Yes? What? When? Okay, will be there in 15,” he speaks into the phone in breaks. As he ends the call, he looks at the still panicking Kyungsoo and sighs.

“I have to go now. Just… please… don’t run away.”

Easier said than done.

                                                                        **********************

Now that he thinks about it, going to his best friend in panic every time a potential love interest is involved is his signature move. Nonetheless, it makes him think better.

Jongdae only sighed when he retold what happened just before Baekhyun left on an emergency. He also seems to think Baekhyun’s assertive display of affection is just what Kyungsoo needs. Because Kyungsoo himself has always pushed away any kind of affection.

And maybe Jongdae is right. Deep down, Kyungsoo knows he has a love-hate relationship with affection. He loves it… but is so very scared of it. And it’s not like there’s some tragic back story associated with this fear of his. He just never knows how to control his feelings once he lets them out. It’s always either too much or too less. All his previous relationships ended for the same reasons.

I’m sorry Kyungsoo, you just overwhelm me.

I need my space, you are so clingy!

After that, he unconsciously started caring less and less about showing emotions. Even started to shy away from others’ feelings. Because people just didn’t seem to like it when he did care. But that wasn’t the right choice either, apparently.

You don’t seem to love me, Kyungsoo.

It’s like you’re a robot!

It was his fault, every single time. It was he who couldn’t moderate his feelings. And Kyungsoo doesn’t want a repeat of that.

He really does like Baekhyun… he thinks. He feels excited just thinking about Baekhyun. He really liked the kiss and the idea of kissing Baekhyun again. Everyday.

But he is so very scared of repeating the same mistakes again. He decides to talk to Baekhyun and try explaining it his best. He only hopes Baekhyun doesn’t hate him.

Which brings him in front of Baekhyun’s house again. He enters the passcode and steps in, wondering if Baekhyun’s back already.

“Kyungsoo!”

Baekhyun rushes forward as soon as he steps into the living room. Kyungsoo smiles sheepishly, before frowning as he takes a look at the other’s face.

There are new wounds, albeit small, on his face. They all seem to be patched up though.

“What happened to you?” Kyungsoo asks, momentarily forgetting about the dilemma in his mind.

Baekhyun stares at him, like he is trying to read him. Finally, he says, “You were gone for 5 hours!”

Kyungsoo bites his lower lip, ignoring the remark. “What happened?”

Baekhyun sighs in defeat. “We busted the gang. Rescued all the victims. They did look for you. Trashed your house.”

Kyungsoo looks at him, eyes wide.

“Sorry,” Baekhyun says, shrugging apologetically.

Kyungsoo lets that sink in and finally sighs in relief. “You’re not hurt badly, are you?”

Baekhyun shakes his head. “I can even run a marathon,” he chuckles, trying to lighten the mood.

A few minutes of silence passes as neither of them say anything.

“I’m sorry I left. I just – I just needed some time to think… alone,” Kyungsoo finally says, looking into Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun shakes his head, a small smile on his face. “Don’t be. You came back.”

Baekhyun looks like he wants to say something else. But Kyungsoo interrupts.

“I know you want to know where we stand.”

Kyungsoo pauses, trying to figure out what to say. He wants to say that he likes the other too. That it seems like his heart wants it as much as he denies it.

“You have so much love inside of you, Baekhyun. And you’re not afraid of that. Me? I’m the last person you should expect love and affection from. I’m not good at it,” he continues instead.

But Baekhyun seems to realize the underlying meaning. That Kyungsoo likes him but is just afraid. That he didn’t run away because he hates Baekhyun, but because he’s clueless about his own feelings. Because he suddenly beams at the younger.

“I have enough love for the both of us until you catch them. You don’t have to worry about returning the feelings at the same intensity right away – as long as I know that you do return them.”

Kyungsoo still frowns, now hurting his lower lip from biting it too hard.

“And I won’t blame you if it doesn’t work. Trust me,” Baekhyun continues.

Trust me. He really shouldn’t – if his past experiences are anything to go by. But somehow, Kyungsoo finds himself believing the other. Maybe that’s all he needed to hear. That it’s not his fault. That he wouldn’t be the reason to ruin yet another relationship.

Kyungsoo doesn’t know Baekhyun yet. He doesn’t know what ticks Baekhyun off. What scares him. What makes him want to curl up and hide. But he wants to…now.

Instead of responding, Kyungsoo just lunges forward and captures Baekhyun’s lips with his. Baekhyun immediately responds, wrapping his hands over Kyungsoo’s body. Kyungsoo breaks away after a few seconds to catch his breath. Leaning in closer again, he kisses the tiny mole above Baekhyun’s lips and tries to move away. Only to get pulled back in with a groan from Baekhyun.

They kiss for a longer time, finally pulling away as Baekhyun breaks away abruptly.

“You ate cucumbers! I can taste cucumbers! How could you!? How could you eat cucumbers and then kiss me?!”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, punches him lightly in the stomach and pulls him close again, crashing his lips onto the other’s, effectively shutting him up.

“You didn’t complain for the first five minutes of the kiss,” he says in between the kiss.

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything, only pulling Kyungsoo closer, hands grabbing onto the younger’s hair.

Kyungsoo thinks this is his new favorite method of shutting the detective up.