The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Baekhyun left—he told Chanyeol he had a schedule to follow, but that he’d meet up with Chanyeol at the KBS building fifteen minutes before midnight. Chanyeol tried to run the shop as best as he could, but the image of Baekhyun’s topless body kept popping up in his mind. He muddled up two customers’ orders, giving them iced Americanos instead of the drinks they wanted, just because they both had “Baek” in their names. When he tried to decorate a cake, he absentmindedly drew a large heart in icing on the top instead of the regular flower design. He tried to fix it, but the damage was done. Luckily the customers seemed to like the new design so much that he had to make another one with the same heart shape.

Closing time couldn’t come sooner. After the final customer left and Chanyeol hung the “CLOSED” sign over the door, he hurriedly packed up the food and cleaned all the equipment. The urns didn’t need another wiping today. He hastily swiped at the counter and tossed the rag into the sink. He’d do laundry tomorrow. Chanyeol rushed into the backroom and grabbed his bag. He took a cursory glance to make sure everything appeared normal. Nothing seemed out of place. So, he shifted all the boxes he had piled against the backdoor and exited the shop.

A hand clamped down over his mouth and Chanyeol reeled against the wall of the building.

“Mhhhffff!”

 Quiet laughter reached Chanyeol’s ears as the hand disappeared. He whirled around and there stood Baekhyun, wheezing and grunting. Chanyeol put his hands on his hips and simultaneously felt like shouting and cuddling Baekhyun.

“What was that for?” he demanded.

“Sorry!” Baekhyun gasped. “I finished early and wanted to come take you to dinner but you already locked the front door. So I waited in the back. I wanted to play a prank on you.”

Chanyeol pressed his lips together but couldn’t help smiling as Baekhyun doubled over, still crying with laugher.

“Well if you think giving me a heart attack is funny then you’re a horrible person,” Chanyeol said.

Baekhyun finally gulped and wipe his tears away.

“You’re right. I am a horrible person. That’s why dinner’s on me,” he cheerfully replied.

Chanyeol blushed. He fervently hoped that the evening darkness would hide the red in his cheeks.

“It’s fine, I get it. It was a prank. You don’t have to buy me dinner,” he shyly said.

But Baekhyun shook his head.

“Nah, I wanted to buy you dinner cause you gave me cake earlier! Come on, what do you want to eat?”

Chanyeol relented. He leaned against the wall of the building and thought it over.

“Galbi.”

Baekhyun grinned.

“Deal.”

Three metro stops and ten minutes of walking later, Chanyeol and Baekhyun entered a relatively quiet barbecue restaurant. Baekhyun had suggested this place—apparently the food was good but the place was something of a hidden gem, so no one would disturb them. Baekhyun had on a black beanie and face mask. Chanyeol thought he looked so cool