As Chanyeol woke up when the clock hit number 9 and the yellow light of morning sun seeped in through the curtain, he realized one thing: that he was a freaking sap.

He had always been aware of it, judging by the fact that his heart had stayed true and faithful to one boy for more than ten years. But in this delightful morning, with his wrinkled and smelly working clothes stuck to his skin, his hands numb because somehow he hadn't moved much for twelve hours, Chanyeol had never felt more content. Because he woke up with the love of his life in his arms.

His chest was never this warmth.

Baekhyun squirmed in his sleep, and Chanyeol was completely gone. He was so ing in love with the man. He could no longer deny it.

"God," he mumbled as he buried his face on Baekhyun's hair. "I don't deserve you."

"Hmm?"

Chanyeol pulled away just to find that his sleeping beauty had finally opened his eyes. They were unfocused and Baekhyun looked like an idiot trying to find Chanyeol's eyes while he was right there . But Chanyeol still loved him all the same.

"Hey," Chanyeol's tone dripping with affection. "Good morning, sunshine."

Baekhyun groaned. "Shut up. Stop being sappy in the morning."

"Still grumpy, I see. You’ve slept for twelve hours, you know?"

"I feel like I need another twelve." Baekhyun then proceeded to bury himself back onto Chanyeol's chest.

What a perfect morning. The morning of Chanyeol's dream. The morning he thought he would never get.

"Do you feel, okay? Can you even remotely function today?" Chanyeol chuckled.

"Yeah, just give me a few minutes."

Chanyeol gave what Baekhyun wanted. After all, he enjoyed being like this, just laying on the comfortable bed, buried in fluffy pillows and blanket, with his whole world in his arms. Chanyeol always wondered how did it feel to sleep in the middle of grassy field on the top of the mountain, and he thought this was it.

A few minutes had passed, and true to his words, Baekhyun opened his eyes once again, and this time they were much clearer like the sky in the summer.

"Why were you sleeping with me?" Baekhyun snarky question didn't even faze Chanyeol. He was too blissful.

"Your mom shoved me into this room. Should I sleep on your rug instead?"

"Hmm, I guess you deserve this much."

"You're an angel."

They were drown in silent the next second. And Chanyeol thought it was ridiculous how much he loved seeing Baekhyun's eyes locked on him in such a close proximity. The urge to stare on his lips was unbearable but Chanyeol refused to give in, because he knew the moment his gaze fell onto those lips, he would be a lost cause. And Chanyeol didn't want to ruin this moment.

"Should we get out? It's your mom's birthday and I'm sure she's waiting for her son to greet her."

Baekhyun's eyes widened. ", I totally forgot."

Chanyeol let out an amused chuckle. "Seriously? Are you still asleep or does my morning look distract you so much?"

"Sigh, you could be very charming if you just shut up, you know."

"Did you just utter the word sigh rather than actually sighing?"

"Roll eyes."

"Oh my God, Byun Baekhyun, I thought I was the ridiculous one in this relationship."

"You still take the cake." 

Baekhyun didn’t realize that most of the members his big family were here in his house.

No one could blame him as he was half high, half asleep, half crazy last night. Now that he was welcomed by twenty pair of curious eyes, give or take, Baekhyun promised himself he would sleep religiously like a normal human being from now on.

The prospect to just spend the day inside his room, lounging like a panda on his bed along with his annoying fiance was far more appealing than having to answer endless questions about his nonexistent love life. But then again, he couldn’t tell that it was in fact nonexistent since no one knew that Chanyeol was only his fiance by contract.

Baekhyun almost felt bad for his relatives, but he was terribly guilty to lie to his parents. He really, really wanted to tell the truth to them, but knew it would only complicate things.

When his mom pulled Chanyeol away from the crowded backyard where everyone including Baekhyun had breakfast, Baekhyun was ready to jump into saving his fiance, but Chanyeol was giving a look that clearly said he got this .

Baekhyun didn’t know what the hell was going on, but he decided to trust him. After all, that was what he was trying to learn this past few weeks. And the guy had proved himself over and over again that he was nothing but serious when he said that he was going to earn Baekhyun’s trust properly.

So he let Chanyeol go with his mom, to wherever they were going to go, to do whatever they were going to do, to say whatever they were going to discuss. Baekhyun only hoped that Chanyeol didn’t slip and make this weekend getaway even more dreadful.

Baekhyun had a more pressing matter in his hands, in the form of his aunts, uncles, cousins, and Do Kyungsoo.

Of course Kyungsoo would be here, this was Baekhyun’s mother birthday party, and Kyungsoo never missed it because he was like the second son of his mother. Of course . How could Baekhyun not remember this before he invited Chanyeol here? How could he not warn Chanyeol about this? With their history ten years ago, Baekhyun wasn’t sure if this weekend could go on without some blood shed.

ing Do Kyungsoo. His best friend slash ex-boyfriend who was now looking at him like Baekhyun just committed the worst crime ever and he was ready to judge him with the highest punishment there was.

Dead. Baekhyun would be dead in approximately ten seconds because now his best friend slash ex-boyfriend was walking toward him, ready to kill him.

“Relax, sweetheart. We’re just gonna talk, I’m not going to torture you or anything.”

Chanyeol forced himself to smile, but it was kind of difficult when he felt like dying with his heart trying to burst out of its ribcage. Usually, Chanyeol thought himself as someone ruthless. His subordinates feared him, his step brothers was intimidated by him, his clients respected the hell out of him. But right now, right here, under the judging eyes of Mrs. Byun Sehee, he was nothing.

He knew this would happen. Since ten years ago, he once in a while wondered what he would do if in the future he would meet Baekhyun again, and how he could convince Baekhyun’s parents that what he did in the past was just something idiotic a teenager stupidly in love do. He often ran a scenario in his head of how he would fall to his knees in front of Baekhyun’s parents if it meant he could get their permission to date or marry their son.

He truly didn’t expect that his imagination would come true right about now.

Chanyeol must’ve looked like he wanted to throw up because Mrs. Byun was patting his knee, calming him while Chanyeol’s hands trembled, making the cup he was holding with the hot black coffee inside it shook. The couch he sat on felt like fire, and the empty living room started to cage him in.

“I’ll let you tell what happen. I’m not gonna ask anything,” the woman said. Chanyeol once again wondered how did an ordinary sentence could sound so daunting.

“Uhm,” Chanyeol decided to look up. If he wanted to do this, he would do it like a man. A man that Baekhyun trusted and depended on. “I don’t know where to start, Ma’am, but…”

Chanyeol searched for the right words, trying to utter lies as less as possible. He didn’t want to feel guilty more than he already was.

“I met Baekhyun again only a few months ago.” He started. No lie there. “I was looking for a business partner when my secretary stumbled upon his and his company’s profile and proposed him to me. That was when I realized that it was him, and I took no time before went to see him.”

Mrs. Byun listened, her eyes swam deep into his soul, but there were no mean judgment. She looked at him like she was genuinely curious and interested.

So Chanyeol continued. “Baekhyun kicked me out of his office the first time we met.” He chuckled, and the woman followed. “Since then, I realized that I don’t want to let go of him. So I relentlessly… courted him, until he gave in then I uttered… the question.”

Did that explanation convincing enough? Chanyeol started to sweat and his mind numbed. But he really didn’t want to lie. He only tried to omit some of the things he couldn’t tell the woman, and prayed that the story didn’t seem too strange and empty.

“How did he react to you proposing to him?” Mrs. Byun asked, her eyes twinkling with wonder as she sipped her jasmine tea.

Chanyeol remembered how red Baekhyun’s face would be everytime Chanyeol bring up the proposal. That was a time worth to be remembered. “To put it simply he was enraged.” Chanyeol laughed. “But… I don’t know, one night he just agreed, and… The fact that he was willing to trust me and put his life on my hands once again even after I hurt him badly really humbled me and I never felt more grateful, Mrs. Byun.”

Suddenly, his heartbeat slowed to a steady rhythm and his mind no longer reeling. And he realized that this probably what would constantly happen every time he merely thought or talked about his fiance: absolute peace and warmth enveloping him.

Just how sappy he could be, he had no idea. Baekhyun would surely gag if he knew, but at the same time, Chanyeol wanted Baekhyun to know how much the thought of him was enough to make him, a whole 185cm of man, weak.

Baekhyun thought he was a man with rough edges when in fact he was weak. So weak.

“You know…” Mrs. Byun put her cup down, and her hands at first looked like they were going to reach for Chanyeol’s. But she opted out to folded them on her lap. “Even from back then, I could easily tell that you liked my son and what you did to him was just some childish tantrum.”

Chanyeol broke his gaze. Somehow, he just couldn’t hold it. He lowered his head, eyes locked onto his own fidgeting hands.

“But my son was also just a kid. A dumb teenager that liked to make everything else more complicated that it should be, so he gave into his initial anger and hatred toward you, and just fled away. Without even looking back, without even listening to your explanation or your apology.”

“Both of you were just stupid teenager.” She smiled, then finally took Chanyeol’s hands. It was warmth and soothing at the same time. “But now you’ve found each other again.”

Chanyeol raised his head, the gaze from the woman kind of overwhelmed him.

“And you’re gonna take care of him.” It wasn’t question. It was uttered as if Mrs. Byun knew that it was exactly what Chanyeol gonna do from now on.

With all my life. “Yes, Ma’am.”

The woman nodded. Gone all the curious and judging traces from her eyes. All that left was inescapable fondness. “Then it’s enough for me. Just make sure that all the misunderstanding are cleared, no more secrets between the two of you, say what needed to be said. Do not wait until it’s all too late and both of you need to wait for another ten years to solve the problem.”

It felt like a mountain just lifted from his back. It was almost the same feeling when Baekhyun said that he was going to give him chance to prove himself. Because right here, right now, the woman who gave birth to the love of his life just granted him the only thing he wanted in life. Her son.

Chanyeol wanted to kiss her, but decided to just sip on his bitter coffee which now had turned slightly cold, yet oddly, sweeter.

“Besides,” Baekhyun’s mom took back her cup. “I really like your mother. Who would ever expect my ex-employer would become my in-law. Oh my God, I need to call her.”

“You bring Park Chanyeol here?”

“, Kyungsoo, lower your voice, will you?”

“You bring Park Chanyeol here?” Kyungsoo repeated, with the same appalled tone, but with slightly lower voice, albeit it was still too loud in Baekhyun’s ears. What if his relatives hear?

“Yes,” Baekhyun replied with loud whisper. “I bring him here. It’s my mom’s birthday. Nothing wrong with it, right?”

“God, Byun Baekhyun, there’s so many wrong in this situation right now.”

“Would you stop saying our full names? Calm the down.”

With that, Kyungsoo pulled him far away from the crowd. Baekhyun could tell easily that his best friend was taking him to behind the large tree they usually sat at in the time they wanted to talk privately and hide from the crowd that was Baekhyun’s family.

As soon as they were hidden, Kyungsoo immediately gripped his shoulders, forcing Baekhyun to stand straight against the trunk of tree. “You promised me to tell me what happened the last time you called me. But you kept avoiding my calls and your secretary kept saying that your schedule was too packed for you to meet me. And now I found you playing whatever you’re playing right now, and you expect me to calm down?”

Baekhyun gulped. “Okay, first, it’s true that I avoided your call, but it’s also true that I’ve been unbelievable busy this past few weeks. My company is on the verge of collapsing.”

“You’re such a ty best friend.”

“I know, I’m sorry. And I’m not playing anything right now. I brought Chanyeol here because I want to introduce him to my family since now he’s my fiance.”

Kyungsoo’s expression turned to something akin to violent, like he was a second away from picking random stone on the ground and threw it to Baekhyun’s head. “You what?” he yelled.

. Did Baekhyun not tell Kyungsoo? He was totally out of it, wasn’t he? Since he agreed to marry Chanyeol, it was like his reasonings had flew out of the window in pretty much every aspect of his life. “Chanyeol is now my fiance?” His sentence coming out like a sentence.

“How?” Kyungsoo gaped. “How can you become his fiance?”

“Because he proposed to me? I already told you that.”

“Yeah, but that… that doesn’t make sense. Baekhyun, you… you hated him. You ing ran away from him ten years ago.”

Baekhyun fiddled with his fingers. This was the moment of truth. This was where he needed to decide if he should tell Kyungsoo the truth or just kept him in the blind just like what he did to his family.

Baekhyun had nothing to say about the past, because he did run away from him. He was angry, and hurt, and embarrassed, and guilty, and mostly hurt. And now, there was no guarantee that all that happened in the past wouldn’t repeat itself. Then, what? Baekhyun would be left completely broken once again.

“I know what I'm doing, Kyungsoo.”

“Do you?” Kyungsoo's tone had turn into a gentle one, his eyes soft. “Because you don't look like you're sure.”

“He's changed. I know that this sounds insane but Park Chanyeol has changed. He… God, he cares for me. And I just…” he trailed off, unable to find the words, unable to look at his best friend either.

“I understand. You always like him and always have a soft spot for him.”

That made Baekhyun snap his eyes back to the man in front of him. “No, I didn't.”

“Oh, come on.” Kyungsoo chuckled. “Even when we were together, I could tell that you really liked him. That's why when you told me the reason you broke up with me I wasn't angry because you betrayed or cheated on me or something, but because I knew that you were hurt. Really hurt.”

Baekhyun could always trust Kyungsoo to punch him in the gut with his words. He was tired and still sleep deprived, and his best friend was an expert in knocking some sense into him. But the thing was, Baekhyun still wanted this. He wanted to be stupid and reckless for Chanyeol.

Did he say that he said yes to Chanyeol's proposal because of the interesting merit he would get for his business? Utter. ing. Bull.

Deep down, he knew that he did this because, just like Kyungsoo said, he was ing weak for Park Chanyeol. And he just got himself jumping into this mess head first, unarmed, unprotected, like he was willing to be eaten alive.

“I just don't want you to be in pain again, Baekhyun.”

“I--” his voice caught in his throat, burning. Baekhyun set his jaws tight. “I trust him, Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo sighed and gave him a look that practically said what am I gonna do with you . “Alright, then I'll trust you . Really, Baekhyun, if you were happy, I am. You're my best friend and I want the best for you.”

And that was all that matter for Baekhyun, the support of his best friend. He knew that it was incredibly selfish, but knowing that Kyungsoo would be there if he fell, was really calming. “Thank you, Kyungsoo.”

“I'm sorry I ruin your mood in your mom's birthday.” Kyungsoo finally let go of him, taking a step back.

“Nah.” Baekhyun scratched his nape, suddenly feeling shy for their previous heartfelt conversation. “I'm fine.”

“Do I need to go home?”

“What? Why?”

“Because Park Chanyeol, who is now your freaking fiance, is here.”

“Why does that have to do with you going home? You're always welcomed here.”

“Because I feel like Chanyeol gonna murder me if he see me.”

“What are you talking about? Of course, he won't.”

Kyungsoo snorted. “Don't tell me you didn't know. That fiance of yours was possessive as . Back then he always looked like he was one breath away from killing me every time he saw you with me.”

Baekhyun gaped. Kyungsoo must've been hallucinating because no way Chanyeol was jealous. He hated him back then. “No, he didn't.”

“You're just too oblivious. Honestly, now that I think about it, I'm not really surprised that he put a ring on your finger as soon as he found you again. That dude would never let you go again, Baekhyun, you're in for life.”

Chanyeol was holding a cup full of hot coffee for his fiance when he got out of the house and spotted the man he was looking for talking with another man he wasn’t really familiar with. Even though last night he had been preoccupied by the obvious things when he arrived and not have enough time knowing Baekhyun’s family, he still noticed that this guy right there wasn’t there the first time Chanyeol introduced himself last night.

Chanyeol took a seat on the nearest garden chair and put down the cup in his hold on the wooden table beside him. He flicked his gaze to Baekhyun like he was the only lit candle in the room and noticed the restless expression on him for the first time. He was still talking to the unknown man and Chanyeol realized that this man must've been really close to his fiance because the restlessness on Baekhyun's face was gone the moment the unknown man seemed like to say something while sporting a soft gaze.

Chanyeol felt his throat tighten, but he reigned it in. He wasn't about to go all caveman everytime his fiance did nothing but standing in a ten meters radius from other men.

Instead, Chanyeol waited, with the equal restless fingers fiddling on his lap. He waited like a good dog as he watched Baekhyun wrapped up his chat with the stranger. He waited like a faithful servant for Baekhyun to find his eyes. And he waited like the moon waited for the sun as Baekhyun walked toward him.

It was what he did best, waiting. Waiting for Baekhyun to meet him, to match him, to catch up to him.

"Hey." Baekhyun loomed over him, smiling with the bags under his eyes still visible and Chanyeol longed to caress them better. "How's the talk?"

"Sit here." Chanyeol tap his lap. There were no other vacant chair near them and he didn't want Baekhyun to go away from.

Baekhyun tilted his head. "Huh, why?"

"Because I want to hug my fiance, that's why."

Chanyeol expected to be downright rejected or ignored. Instead, Baekhyun relented to him. It was either he was still too sleep deprived or this was just how Baekhyun acted in the morning, touch-starved.

Chanyeol found himself took a deep, sharp breath when Baekhyun dropped himself on his lap, facing sideway. His legs dangling while Chanyeol's digged into the soft soil underneath him.

Chanyeol wanted to kiss him so much but Baekhyun hid his face on the crook of his neck, making him shiver. “What's wrong?” he asked, his voice caught. “Are you still sleepy?”

Baekhyun hummed and nuzzled his face as if he was hoping that he could bury his face further into Chanyeol's neck. “You stink so bad.”

“Well, so do you, babe. We haven’t showered, remember?” Chanyeol chuckled. “By the way, I brought you coffee.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“At this rate, you’re gonna faint before it hit midday.”

“I’m gonna kiss my mom happy birthday, take a shower, and hit the bed again.”

Chanyeol didn’t say anything since he agreed to what Baekhyun had planned for the day. He wanted his fiance to rest as much as possible this weekend before he went to hell called work on Monday.

Yanggu’s fresh breeze hit Chanyeol’s face and swept over Baekhyun’s loud hair, making it stick up all over the place more than it already had. Chanyeol couldn’t help himself when his hand moved on his own to ruffle his fiance’s hair.

“Who was the guy you were talking to earlier?” he asked.

Baekhyun didn't answer, and for a while Chanyeol thought he had fallen asleep once again. He was about to take pride of the fact that Baekhyun was comfortable enough with him to be able to sleep in his hold completely, but then Baekhyun stirred his head, still without showing Chanyeol his face.

“You didn't recognize him?”

“Huh, should I?”

“He's Kyungsoo.”

For a moment, Chanyeol's brain to dig some information buried deep in it. It didn't take long, almost everything related to Baekhyun he remembered, but this one, he'd rather never remembered it. Without him realizing, his grip on Baekhyun's waist tightened. No longer he felt the initial peace, his body taut. “Your ex? Why is he here?”

Baekhyun finally looked up to him, his eyes concerned. “He’s also my best friend. You’re not going to go on rampage, aren't you?”

“Why would I?”

Baekhyun shrugged. “It's just my guess but I figured you went all crazy kissing me back then because you were… jealous.”

“Yeah,” he cringed. “I got ugly hormones.”

“So now you blame it on hormone?”

Chanyeol's smile wobbled. He could easily say that that moment was not his proudest moment, he hated how he acted back then and he would never forgive himself, even if Baekhyun would eventually forgive him in the future. Baekhyun was kind, so he would do that easily. But Chanyeol wasn't too forgiving, even to himself.

Tilting his head, Baekhyun willed him to speak. “Chanyeol?”

“I lost my goddamn mind back then.”

Baekhyun hummed. “Kyungsoo said… you liked me even from then. Is it… is it true?”

“Yeah, I did. And I acted badly about it. I panicked.”

Chuckled, Baekhyun showed him a teasing grin. “Bad? You were a mess , Chanyeol.”

Damn if it wasn’t true. Now he realized just how disastrous he was. “Remember when you lost your history book?” he asked, then waiting for Baekhyun to nod. “Truthfully, I saw someone steal that book of yours. I could recognized it easily, and I snatched it from them, wanting to give it back to you because I knew you were gonna need it for a test, but I just… don't know… how to give it to you.”

“You don’t know how ?” Baekhyun looked at him with eyes wide, like he was genuinely surprised and amused. “So you stupidly did that stunt in the cafeteria like an idiot high school boy.”

“I was a high school boy, you know.” Chanyeol hesitated for a moment, glancing at the deep of his fiance’s bright eyes. “I'm really sorry.”

Baekhyun shook his head. “I already forgot about it.”

“You shouldn't. What I did was terrible.”

“Yeah, but you've changed now. I'm not an idiot, I could see it, how much you tried to get my trust. And I don’t have my head so far up my to not forgive you.”

Chanyeol was the taller and bigger of the two, but he could see that Baekhyun’s presence was larger than life. This moment right here, was something he had been waiting for, for God knew how long. He wanted Baekhyun in his arms, talking easily like they had been doing this for so long. Chanyeol didn’t know whether it was because Baekhyun was already comfortable with him or because they were in his house and he was feeling easy. But all in all, Chanyeol was grateful. His heart felt full.

“We should go shower before your mom’s party start,” Chanyeol started to get up, but not without releasing his tight hold. “And maybe you could introduce me properly to your ex-boyfriend.”

Next chapter: it's baekhyun's turn to meet chanyeol's family and it's not going to be rainbow and cotton candy like this dundundundun