Five Years Later

When Jongdae heard about Chanyeol’s decision to propose, he had expected it to come in the next month, or at least the next year. But after two years, and then three, he got tired of waiting and the man refused to reveal when he wanted to do it. Five years have gone by now, and Chanyeol has successfully replaced his father in their company, but there was still no news of an engagement. 

Chanyeol thought that they were so happy everyday, was there really a need to get down on one knee and make it official? He kinda liked how things were now, they were still living in the same house, eating breakfast and dinner together, taking turns to send Minjun to school. Everything was perfect.

-

“Team, why is the draft so messy? Fashion week is in seven days. Seven Days!” 

The employees flinched at Baekhyun’s voice. Baekhyun had every right to be mad. They knew they had made a huge mistake, and no one had bothered to even check for errors. With Seoul Fashion Week drawing nearer, it was foolish of them to continue being so negligent. 

After graduation, Baekhyun worked at different design companies before eventually deciding to create his own brand. With friends that had such reputable brands in the industry, Minseok and Jongdae were glad to teach Baekhyun the ways and to guide him in becoming his own boss today. It was hard, and many tears were shed, but all his effort had paid off when people began to recognize his brand.

One of the staff in the room excused herself, before running out to the reception.

“CEO Byun is mad, can you call someone to buy some strawberries, or get his brother to come here, please!” The staff panicked, prompting the receptionist to quickly get on the line with Baekhyun’s secretary.

“Taeyong? Where are you? You’re with Minjun? Thank God, we need you here right now. Bring the boy and buy some strawberries on the way here. Now. CEO Byun is angry.” 

10 minutes felt like an eternity, until the door softly clicked and halted Baekhyun’s rant.

“Minjun?” The CEO spoke slightly confused, but his eyes immediately softened seeing his 10-year old brother in his uniform looking at him excitedly.

“Hyung! I missed you.” Minjun dashed forward, hugging his brother and crawling onto his lap. Minjun was getting heavier with every birthday, but Baekhyun didn’t mind, he loved babying his brother.

“Silly boy, we were only apart for 6 hours!” Baekhyun ruffles the boy’s hair and adjusts him on his seat. The employees began to coo, the rosy scene in front of them was too adorable, and they felt all the tension leave their body noticing how the CEO is smiling brightly and back to his adorable self again.

While Baekhyun was distracted with Minjun, the secretary hurried to open boxes of strawberries and cream puffs on the table. 

“Oh! Strawberries!”

Baekhyun gasped, eyes twinkling at the array of sweet treats on the table. He quickly grabbed one, and immediately smiled at how sweet the strawberries are. The mood in the room immediately turned sweet, and the stern faced CEO was quickly replaced by a happy expression.

“CEO Byun, about the draft?” One of the employees asked, hesitating a little. She pushed the file closer to Baekhyun, requesting for him to review the designs.

Baekhyun opens it, with a strawberry in one hand and Minjun clinging onto him like a koala. He flips through the pages, nodding a little and frowning at times, but overall the CEO looked pretty content. Maybe it was the effect of the strawberries, all Baekhyun needed was something to eat.

“Hmm, everything seems fine. But for this design, replace the material to silk instead. It will stand out more on the runway. Okay, if that’s all, please make all the changes you need.” Baekhyun smiled, and the employees heave a sigh of relief, considering themselves lucky for ending the meeting on a high note. They really need to be aware of deadlines from now on.

The employees try their best to hide their happiness, secretly thanking Minjun and the strawberries for saving them. They quickly go back to making adjustments for the designs as Baekhyun had requested.

“Hyung, is fashion week coming soon?” Minjun asked, still clinging onto Baekhyun’s blouse.

Baekhyun hugged his brother closer, “Yup, it’s next week.”

“Oh...Chanyeol hyung must be nervous then.” Minjun mumbled, but enough for Baekhyun to hear. He scrunched his eyebrows a little, wondering how Chanyeol came into the conversation.

“Chanyeol hyung? What is he doing next week?”

Minjun widened his eyes before trying to compose himself. He had almost let out a big secret that his Chanyeol hyung had been telling him for weeks. 

“Nothing, I just remembered Chanyeol hyung telling me about a client next week. He seemed nervous.” Minjun flatly lied, hoping his Baekhyun hyung would believe him.

“Oh, I guess he isn’t coming for fashion week then.” Baekhyun pouted, sulking a little.

Baekhyun ended up sharing his workspace with Minjun, the little boy’s colored pencils and homework scattered everywhere while Baekhyun worked on finalizing the designs. Somehow, a food coma took over him from eating all those strawberries, and he slowly dozed off to sleep.

-

“CEO Byun~”

Baekhyun rubbed his eyes and squirmed in his office chair, his eyes slowly opened, wondering who was calling for him. Baekhyun smells a very familiar cologne and notices a very handsome man looking at him fondly.

“Chanyeollie…” 

Baekhyun whispers, still feeling a little sleepy, but shifts closer to be enveloped by the man’s embrace. Chanyeol presses a kiss on Baekhyun’s head, hands going around Baekhyun’s waist.

“Why is CEO Byun sleeping at work? Did he get paid to sleep?” Chanyeol teased, and the smaller immediately threw a glare at him.

“Shut up CEO Park, I’m tired.” Baekhyun murmurs, resting his head on Chanyeol’s head with his eyes closed. It felt warm and safe.

With both becoming CEOs in a short period of time, and both creating a name for themselves in the media, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were quickly labelled as the power couple in the business industry. Chanyeol dominated electronics, houseware, food supplies and even hotel chains and shopping malls, while Baekhyun’s designs were dominating the street style fashion industry. The two were so powerful, but when together, their hearts just melt for each other.

When Chanyeol first began visiting Baekhyun at his office, the employees were shocked that the powerful and mighty CEO Park was their boss’s boyfriend. Nobody had expected it, but whenever they left the building while holding their hands, there was no doubt that it was true. They were happy for their boss though, the two looked great together.

“Come on, it’s 8pm. Let’s go for dinner.” Chanyeol pinched Baekhyun’s cheeks, trying to get the smaller to wake up. Baekhyun finally agrees, tidying up his workspace and clinging onto Chanyeol as they left his office.

When they walk out of Baekhyun’s office, Baekhyun and Chanyeol see Minjun being babied by all the employees. But once Minjun sees his Baekhyun hyung, he runs and clings onto his leg, with no intention of letting go.

“Baekhyun hyung, I’m hungry.”

Baekhyun grabs onto Minjun’s hand and kneels down to help Minjun put on his jacket. “It’s cold outside, let’s go have some soup.” 

They wave goodbye to the people at the office and soon leave for dinner.

“CEO Byun and CEO Park are so cute! They look like a little family.” One of the employees whispered, and the rest immediately nodded to agree, it was so true.

-

The trio were back at their favourite dinner spot, a soup restaurant humbly settled in a corner of Seoul fish market. Baekhyun found the place one day and fell in love with the dish, since then he had dragged Chanyeol and Minjun to go there with him as well. With a friendly price of 6000 won, they enjoyed a bowl of delicious beef bone broth soup, with huge chunks of tender meat in it.

“Ah, you’re back with your husband and child, I see.” 

The owner smiled, scooping more soup into Baekhyun’s bowl. They have been coming to this place for years, but the old lady still forgets that Baekhyun and Minjun are just brothers. They gave up explaining in the end, since they didn’t mind it. It felt good to be like a family.

Baekhyun smiled at the owner and thanked her once more for the generous portions. Minjun already had his face immersed into his soup bowl, savouring every drop of soup that went into his mouth. The owner smiled in glee, it was like watching one of her grandsons grow up.

“Child, you have to be good to your parents, alright?” 

Minjun nodded obediently, causing Chanyeol and Baekhyun to laugh.

Chanyeol pauses to admire Baekhyun’s smile, it was beautiful, and he wanted it to stay that way forever. It’s crazy how Baekhyun had changed him so much over the years, his grandmother had always said that Baekhyun was her angel in disguise, transforming the rebellious bad boy Chanyeol into the man he is today. Chanyeol always felt a warmth spreading in his chest whenever he looked at Baekhyun.

He’s certain that Baekhyun’s the one he wants to spend the rest of eternity with, and it’s time that he makes it absolutely clear.

-

Baekhyun paced nervously backstage, only a few models are left and the runway will be over. It has been good so far, many celebrities have snapped photos of the designs, he’s sure that some will sell quickly today.

When the final model finally walks back in, Baekhyun hears loud clapping and he finally breathes a sigh of relief. All his hard work had paid off after all. 

“CEO and lead designer Byun Baekhyun will now make his entrance.”

Baekhyun takes that as his cue to walk out. He takes confident strides, walking down the runway while waving his hands and bowing to thank all the guests for coming.

But before he could leave, someone rushed to the centre, surprisingly all the attendees. The lights begin to dim, and Baekhyun becomes thoroughly confused. He tries to walk backwards but from the corner he sees Jongdae shaking his head, mouthing for him to just stand there.

“Byun Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun looks up, and his eyes widened when he sees Chanyeol standing in front of him in an amazing cream coloured blazer and styled up hair. Baekhyun’s confusion immediately turned into a smile, noticing his boyfriend standing before him.

But what Chanyeol does next shocks the daylight out of him.

The room grows silent at the tension, and without saying anything, Chanyeol suddenly gets down on one knee and opens a box from his pocket. The box revealed a beautiful ring that had Baekhyun spilling tears out of his eyes.

“Chanyeollie, what are you doing?” Baekhyun held onto Chanyeol’s hands, still feeling out of touch with the situation.

“Byun Baekhyun, we have been together for almost eight years now, and it was enough to know that I would like to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you do the honor of being my husband?”

The crowd becomes silent, only camera flashes could be heard.

“Yes, of course, Chanyeol. I love you so much.” The designer sobs, feeling like his heart could burst. Never in his life would he imagine that the person who he used to hate would turn out to be his soulmate, bringing him through his hard times and assuring him that everything would be okay.

As the crowd screams and Chanyeol slips on the ring, Baekhyun couldn’t help but recall the promise Chanyeol had made to him before. 

The promise to a better life.

Chanyeol stands back up and dries the tears in Baekhyun’s eyes. The crowd was going insane, but all that they could see and hear was each other.

“No more tears, alright?” Chanyeol assures gently, Baekhyun nods in between hiccups, their head leaning closer to touch their lips.

The Park Family watched from afar at the beautiful scene. Chanyeol’s mother was the first to burst out in tears, rambling about how it was finally time to officially call Baekhyun her son-in-law. Mr Kim soon followed, the always stoic and emotionless man had actually let out his first tear.

But the old lady of the house, Mrs Park, simply stood there with a satisfied smile. When she had seen how discreet the two were in their college days, she somehow hoped it would lead to something as beautiful as today. Seems like Mrs Park is a pretty good matchmaker after all, these two lovebirds were meant for each other.

They have been through so much together, nothing will tear them apart.

-

“Chanyeollie! The movers are here!” Baekhyun whined, trying to hurry the taller. Chanyeol was terrible at packing, he took hours to get one shelf complete, since he was always busy looking at everything.

Now that they’re married, the couple decided to move into a new house with Minjun, giving the 10 year old the freedom to choose how he wanted his room to be like, whereas Chanyeol and Baekhyun will be expanding the master bedroom to cater to the both of them.

“Alright, I’ll be there in a minute.” Chanyeol mutters quickly, before going back to clear the cabinets.

Chanyeol throws all the random stuff into the box and opens the next cabinet. But when he opens it, he finds the leather journal that he hasn’t seen in ages.

“Wow, I totally forgot about this…” Chanyeol flipped through the pages in awe, it was the journal that he always brought around when he was in college. Chanyeol laughed at the random scribbles and notes, until a picture slipped out and caught his attention.

It was a picture of Baekhyun sleeping peacefully, taken almost eight years ago with a very chubby toddler by his side. Chanyeol remembers this night vividly, almost like it was yesterday.

Chanyeol gently opens the door to Baekhyun and Minjun’s room, still feeling really bad about landing him into the hospital after his crazy party at home. Baekhyun ended up with a fever and sprained ankle, and it was a few days before the chairwoman’s decision to move Baekhyun into her own home. It was only when Baekhyun was taken away from Chanyeol that he realized how horrible he had been to him.

Chanyeol kneels by Baekhyun’s bedside, noticing how the boy is frowning in his sleep with tear stained cheeks. It hurt Chanyeol to see Baekhyun in this state, he looked so miserable and it reminded him of all the stupid things he had done to him.

“Mom...please don’t leave me...please, I don’t have anyone.” Baekhyun whimpered in his sleep, eyebrows scrunching even harder. Baekhyun’s lip trembled and his knuckles were turning pale.

Chanyeol wanted to stop the pain. He wanted Baekhyun to have a good sleep.

With a shaking finger, he tries to do what his mother had always done when he complained of a nightmare as a child, he lands his finger in between Baekhyun’s brows, massaging the spot gently.

Chanyeol smiled a little when he saw that Baekhyun’s features had begun to soften, the whimpering subsiding. With another finger, he used it to dry Baekhyun’s tears, making sure that he wouldn’t wake up with puffy eyes the next morning.

“Cute.” Chanyeol whispers. Baekhyun looked so peaceful now, his features have softened and it looks like he was dreaming of something sweet. Baekhyun looked like an angel, his moles like constellations. 

It was so adorable that Chanyeol couldn’t help but run into his room to grab his polaroid, secretly snapping a picture of the sleeping angel. He was satisfied with how the picture turned out, the picture even had a little bit of Minjun too.

Chanyeol sat next to Baekhyun’s bedside, looking at the picture apologetically. “I’m sorry, Baekhyun. I promise to give you a better life in the future, if you will let me.” 

“Chanyeol! The movers are here!”

That quickly snapped Chanyeol out from reminiscing old memories. He kept the leather journal close to him, carrying the few heavy boxes from his own room.

“What were you doing inside? Even Minjun said that you didn’t hear him.” Baekhyun asked, curious as to what Baekhyun had in his boxes. 

Chanyeol simply shook his head and kissed the tip of the smaller’s head. “Nothing, looking at all the old stuff just made me a little nostalgic.” 

They quickly loaded all their boxes onto the truck, and looked at the house once more before they made their way to their new home, just a stone’s throw away. On the way there, Baekhyun couldn’t help but look back at the old house. So much had happened while he was there, it made him a teeny bit emotional saying goodbye.

Baekhyun never believed in fairytales. Throughout his childhood, he had only experienced all the pain and suffering that no child should ever go through. Having to come home to parents who are constantly arguing, being bullied badly in school and eventually being abandoned with his baby brother, these were such dark times and it always felt like his wounds would only get deeper. But Mrs Park had been like his fairy godmother, she saw the potential in him and gave him the second chance he needed in life. It wasn’t easy at the beginning, but look how beautiful it turned out in the end.

Embraced by the man he loves and having a little family to call his own, Baekhyun thinks he could say, 

they lived happily ever after.