Chanyeol's phone was buzzing insistently. He wasn't sure if it was the alarm or the phone ringing or even what time it was. He'd had a big night the night before and had no intention of waking up with the early morning light blistering through his eyelids.

He grabbed the phone. 4 missed calls from Kyungsoo, his handsome actor boyfriend, on location in Dubai shooting a movie. 2 missed calls from his Manager Suho. One from his mother. He didn't want to deal with any of them. His hangover was destroying him and his head pounded. The phone rang again and he had to answer.

"Hi babe." He said as he saw Kyungsoo's face flash up on the screen. "It's too early for FaceTime." Kyungsoo looked fantastic. Chanyeol knew he looked like . "Well it's 6am here and it's the only time I have today." The shoot was entering its 4th week and Chanyeol couldn't admit to himself he hadn't missed Kyungsoo as much as he thought he would. "You look great." Chanyeol smiled through half open lids. "Nice army uniform." Kyungsoo panned the camera up and down his body before grinning his bright and beautiful smile at his boyfriend. "You like it? Maybe I can bring it home as a souvenir." Chanyeol chuckled and rubbed his eyes as someone called out to Kyungsoo in the distance. "Gotta go. I'll try and catch you again tomorrow but I might be out of any sort of phone service." Kyungsoo said. "It's fine. Call when you can." And Kyungsoo was gone. Chanyeol sighed and put the phone down. He really loved Kyungsoo and couldn't wait until he came home.

The launch party for his second album had gone well. His first was critically acclaimed and did reasonably well on the charts. His second had a high number of presales and was tipped to be the big hit of the summer. Which is why this family reunion couldn't have come along at a worse time. He bit the bullet and phoned his mother. She was insistent that he come. "Take a week off Chanyeol. Take two even. We haven't seen you for a year." He sighed into the phone. "I'll talk to Suho about it." He said before hanging up.

"You've got to be kidding." Suho groaned into the phone. "Your album drops tonight at midnight and you're asking to take a week off? Or more?" The reaction wasn't unexpected. Chanyeol sighed. "I only have promotions this week. Then I can go for a week. I'll do phone interviews. I'll come back into the city if things come up. Come on Suho it's only a week, ten days maximum, and I kind of need to do this." The sigh of resignation was Suho's indication of permission. Chanyeol hung up the phone and tried to go back to sleep. A gnawing feeling grew in the pit of his stomach. He lied and told himself he was only doing this for his family but deep down inside he knew there was a part of himself that wanted to go back.

A few days later Chanyeol packed two huge designer suitcases and his old duffel bag into the back of his luxury grey SUV. He pulled his dark sunglasses down and settled in for the two hour drive down the highway. He cranked the radio loud and sipped at his huge takeway coffee and prepared himself to go home.

He pulled up in the driveway of a big white house at the end of a long dirt road. He silently cursed the layer of dust and dirt covering his pride and joy. Before he could even knock at the door he was set upon by his family, mum and dad and brother, grandparents and cousins and even some people he didn't know. "You're here at last!" His mum covered Chanyeol in kisses while his dad shook his hand. Chanyeol hugged everyone and went back to the car to get his cases. 

As he dragged them towards the house his brother came to help. "You brought a lot of stuff!" Chanyeol's brother, Sehun, eyed the expensive cases judgementally. "So?" Chanyeol snapped back. It wasn't that the brothers didn't get along. They just didn't have anything in common. Where Chanyeol was outgoing Sehun was quiet. Where Chanyeol hated school and anything academic Sehun was happy at University doing a double degree in Ecology and Conservation Biology. As brothers they couldn't be more different.

As their mother rushed through dinner Chanyeol got a feeling something was up with everyone, like there was some sort of secret being kept from him, an air of something lingering in the atmosphere. "So Chanyeol. You must be happy. Your song is climbing up the charts." Chanyeol swallowed his rice. "Yeah. I'm happy. Ive also got an offer to model for Vogue and it may end up being a cover." Sehun choked on his drink and Chanyeol shot him a dirty look. "What?" Sehun laughed. "You? Modelling? They going to photoshop your ears out?" Their dad stifled a laugh as their mum frowned at both boys. "Can you just try to get along while we're all together. Its ten days." Chanyeol sighed and went back to his food. He missed his mums cooking. Living in Seoul, being busy all the time, the constant pressure to maintain his physique took its toll on his diet. He silently envied Sehun who was going for a third serve of rice without even thinking about it.

When the dinner was done Chanyeol stood up and began to help clear the table. "Can I go?" Sehun asked their mum quietly and she nodded yes. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and headed towards the hall to grab his jacket and keys. "Where's he going?" Chanyeol asked as the door slammed behind him. Chaneyol's mum shuffled awkwardly in the kitchen. "He's got a date, sweetie, but he didn't want you to know." "Why?" Chanyeol was instantly irritated. His brother was so annoying, everything he did pissed him off, and now he was hiding things? "Because he knew you'd be mad. He's taking out Baekhyun"

Baekhyun...

"Really? Sehun is going out on a date with Baekhyun? My best friend Baekhyun?" Chanyeol was incredulous. The nerve of his brother. He could have at least said something. "Honey, don't be mad at him. You and Baekhyun haven't spoken in years." She said as she tried to soothe Chanyeol's irritation. "But he's married now!" The last time Chanyeol had seen Baekhyun it was a picture of him smiling in a suit with Taeyon by his side in a long white dress. His mum had saved the clipping from the local paper. Chanyeol had been hurt when he wasn't even invited but he understood why. Things had gone wrong between them so long ago. And so Jongdae had stood by his side as Baekhyun married his childhood sweetheart and Chanyeol sat alone in his luxury apartment in Seoul.

"Divorced." Chanyeols mum said. "He's been divorced for six months. Taeyon left him when he gave up his law practice to take over the nursery when his Dad got sick." Chanyeol's head was spinning. His dad was sick? He was divorced? He felt like he had missed out on so much by not coming home. But Baekhyun didn't want him around anymore anyway. He had made that pretty clear the last time they spoke.

That night as Chaneyol lay awake and waited for the sound of Sehun coming home all he could think about was the damage that had been done. All the hurt and the pain, the broken friendship, the loss of his best friend from his life. Something long forgotten inside him began to reignite, the flame of something barely there, a memory of a time when they were always together.

Finally, just after midnight, Chanyeol heard the front door close. Sehun was home. But Chanyeol still tossed and turned as sleep eluded him. And when he finally closed his eyes and began to relax he dreamed of roses and lavender and soft brown eyes that haunted him every night for the last 8 years.