“Sweetheart, slow down, the food isn’t going anywhere,” Chanyeol shakes his head and wipes the pasta sauce on Baekhyun’s chin. 

“Okay,” the smaller answers briefly, not even lifting his eyes from the truffle rose pasta. He is hungry — no scratch that, he is downright starving because it’s almost 2 p.m. and they haven’t eaten anything since last night.

He has a certain giant to thank for that actually. 

They were supposed to go out for breakfast, the sun had just risen, the birds were chirping hinting at the start of a new day and though the heavy blinds had blocked all the lights out of the room, Baekhyun had awoken early to get ready for their little breakfast date.

But Chanyeol, on the other hand, had another plan — which was to stay in bed a little longer and cuddle more.

“Let’s cuddle some more,” he had said, voice still raspy from deep sleep and his eyes slowly fluttering open. He tightened his arms around the brunette’s waist, caging him inside his embrace.

“But Chanyeol, what about breakfast?”
 

“Look, sweetheart, it’s still early and we have plenty of time,” he pointed lazily to the wall, the digital clock showing a few minutes past eight.

“But—”

“One hour and we’ll get up, I promise.”

“One hour only, alright? Then we’ll go get breakfast?”

Chanyeol nodded and pecked him on the cheek before dozing back to slumber the next second.

Baekhyun squirmed in his embrace and placed his head on the latter’s chest, slowly listening to the steady heartbeat while tracing random patterns on his arms.

Bored, he grabbed his phone to play some games to kill the time.

Somehow, Baekhyun had also fallen asleep, the phone abandoned to his side and by the time they got up, it was already noon. 

Baekhyun had nagged from their home all the way to the restaurant when he learned that Chanyeol had woken up an hour afterwards as promised, but he let Baekhyun continue his sleep instead of waking him up.

“You were sleeping so peacefully like an angel— my angel, how do I even dare to bother you?” he excused.

Baekhyun grunted grumpily in response, red tint slowly adorning his cheeks before turning to face the window, hiding a smile. “Tch, sweet talker.”

Back at the restaurant, Baekhyun takes his time to finish his little cup of a Korean fusion trifle— as instead of being layered with all sorts of berries and a strawberry jam, they added dried persimmon and clementine puree, giving it a sweet and sour taste that is different but still feels familiar. It suits his Korean palate.

The trifle quickly makes its way up his favourite dessert list. 

He gradually empties the little cup and leans back on his chair, continually tapping his tummy in happiness for having the chance to enjoy such a great dessert. He should have a chat with the chef later to thank them for inventing such indulgence— maybe even ask them what their secret recipe is by chance. 

He his head to the side and blinks confusedly when a female server comes forward to put another cup of trifle in front of him.

“Excuse me, I think you got the wrong table, miss. I’ve gotten mine alrea—”

“I ordered an extra for you, Baek,” Chanyeol cuts him off and nods to the server, excusing her off.

“Wait why—” 

“I thought you’d be a little bit hungrier today so I ordered another cup for you. You couldn’t stop humming earlier, I just figured it must be really good, hm?” Chanyeol leans forward to ruffle the smaller’s hair, “— or are you full? I can finish it for you.”

Before Chanyeol could place his hands on the side of the trifle, slender fingers swiftly swat his hand away from the dessert. 

“You ordered this one for me, right? So, let me finish it,” Baekhyun crinkles his eyes at his husband innocently and brings the cup closer to him, caging it protectively with his left arm. He happily hums under his breath, grabbing a spoonful of the sponge cake before putting it into his mouth.

Chanyeol shakes his head in amusement and places his hands under his chin, silently observing the smaller, “I thought you’re full, hm?”

“But this is really good, Yeol!” the younger exclaims cheerfully and continues to dig his little spoon into the cup, closing his eyes with each bite to savour the sweet and sour taste.

Chanyeol watches the younger with tender eyes and his lips curl up into a smile when Baekhyun yelps, clumsily dropping some clementine puree onto his white sweatshirt’s sleeve. 

The smaller man looks up and eyes his husband with knitted brows, gloomily showing his orange stained sleeve and juts his lips sadly, “Chanyeol…” 

The white sweatshirt belongs to none other than Chanyeol and he had dirtied it. It’s also Chanyeol’s favourite shirt if he might add, and he’s afraid that the taller would get angry.

Chanyeol hides an amused smile, knowing that the younger would get all sulky if he knew that Chanyeol had laughed at him. 

“You clumsy little thing,” Chanyeol grabs some tissues and wipes the sticky substance off his sleeve and then proceeds to wipe Baekhyun’s messy mouth with another napkin. “There, all done.”

“It’s stained… I’m sorry,” Baekhyun mumbles and keeps his head down, feeling guilty. 

“It’s alright, we’ll put them in the washer once we’re home—”

“What if it won’t get off?”

“—then I’ll just get a new one, alright? Don’t fret over it, I’m not angry.” 

Baekhyun shifts slightly and nods though his head is still down. He knows how much the sweatshirt means to Chanyeol — it was the first ‘pricey’ item Chanyeol had gotten for himself when he first received his pay-check from acting. 

He just cannot help but feel very guilty too, no matter how much Chanyeol reassures him because Chanyeol had warned him earlier before going out and Baekhyun had ignored him, playfully sticking out his tongue at the taller before skipping towards the car.

If only he wasn’t so stubborn.

Noticing that Baekhyun is still fidgeting in his seat, Chanyeol gets up and takes his seat beside the latter. He gathers Baekhyun’s chin and brings his face up. 

He presses his lips into a thin line when Baekhyun averts his gaze away from him and plays with the hem of his stained sleeve.

“Sweetheart, I told you not to worry. I’m not mad at all, okay. Now, look at me—” Chanyeol smiles assuringly and gathers the smaller into his arms when he realises the moisture in Baekhyun’s eyes.

“Raise your head up, baby. Look at me, do I look angry? No, right? Look, as whipped as I may sound, I’m so in love with you that I can never get mad at you.” Chanyeol exclaims, his tone warm and he sighs, admitting defeat.

Baekhyun has definitely got him wrapped around his fingers.

There’s no turning back anymore.

Baekhyun slowly lifts up his head from Chanyeol’s broad chest and locks their eyes together.

“You’re really not mad?” 

“Sweetheart, I do love this shirt but— it’s because of you . If you haven’t noticed, it’s been a while since I’ve worn it and honestly, I’ve probably outgrown this...”  Chanyeol reassures and adds, “I let you wear this because you look absolutely adorable in my shirt , do you know that?”

“O-Oh really?” the smaller ask, uncertain but with a red tinge on his cheeks. His husband always knows what to say to make him feel better. 

They’ve known each other for years but sometimes Baekhyun still hasn’t gotten used to how much of a sweet talker Chanyeol is. But thanks to that mouth too, he got himself a pair of a blinding ring around his finger and a loving man he can call his husband.

“Finish up your trifle, hm?”

“I don’t feel like eating anymore.” Baekhyun tugs on his sleeves and leans on the chair, crossing his arms and bringing his eyes to scan the restaurant, almost all the seats are filled and by the 4-star Michelin certificate hanging above the counter, it is obvious that this restaurant is not cheap. 

He recalls the conversation he heard from Sua and her friends before this— at Soigné, it is requested to book a reservation at least three months prior to their dining date. No wonder, the food is totally beyond his expectation.

And if he remembers correctly, the restaurant is run by Chef Do Kyungsoo and his celebrity chef husband, Kim Jongin. 

Thankfully they are seated in a secluded part of the restaurant— Chanyeol personally knows Kim Jongin and of course he had pulled some strings to book a table last minute and ensure they get seated away from the prying eyes.

Chanyeol nods, understanding and not pushing. Baekhyun can be quite scary when he’s mad if he can admit, and he knows, though Baekhyun looks okay, the incident earlier had put a sour taste in his mouth, putting him in a foul mood.

“I’ll go to the restroom, wait here, okay?” 

Baekhyun nods and fishes out his phone from his back pocket. He checks his messages and sees his friend arguing over some characters named Lee Suho and Han Seojun — whoever those people are— perhaps some rookie actors or idols.

His friends always have the stupidest argument, Baekhyun mentally facepalms. How did he get stuck between those two idiots again?

Shaking his head, he sends a quick “Guys, tone it down, will you? I’m on a date and my phone won’t stop ringing because of you two. Anyway, Park Chanyeol is the best, not even this Lee Seojun and Han Suho can come close. Period.”

His phone dings, signalling an incoming text message but he ignores it, locking his phone and pocketing it back into his pants when he hears a distant voice calling his name. Alarmed, he scans his surroundings and spots his classmates, four of them, making their way towards his table, each dressed to impress. He identifies them as Sua, Yerim, Sooyoung and Seongwoo.

It seems like they finally secured a reservation but out of all days— why today ?!

He silently panics and unlocks his phone, wanting to send a text to his husband to stay there a bit longer when he spots the latter’s phone beside the empty plate opposite of him. Colour drains from his face and he gulps.

“Hey, Baekhyun!”

Baekhyun widens his eyes and fakes enthusiasm, “Oh, hey guys! Fancy seeing you here, it’s been a while!” He opens his arms to hug them one by one. 

Sua, the chattiest out of the bunch, nods her head eagerly, “Fancy seeing you too, Baekhyun! I made a reservation months ago and finally! I'm going to try chef Do Kyungsoo’s food today!”

“How are you doing, man? We haven’t seen you for so long— wait how long has it been since our final exams? You disappeared so quickly we didn’t even get to say goodbye!” the only male tagging along, Seongwoo asks.

“Oh, I think I was a bit in a rush back then, sorry guys,” Baekhyun smiles sheepishly and scratches the side of his head guiltily. He isn’t exactly lying, he was in a rush because coincidentally, Chanyeol had ended his shooting earlier that day and asked him out on a lunch date.

Baekhyun who hadn’t seen his husband three days prior to his last paper because of the latter’s hectic schedules, of course, without a whim agreed to the lunch date. 

He missed Chanyeol so much, what can he say? 

He took off as soon as he handed the paper in and left without looking back, only bidding a hasty goodbye to Jongdae, Yoona and Sehun because he knew he’d meet them over the weekends later.

“It’s alright, graduation’s soon, let’s forget about that!” Sua chirps. “So… what are you doing here, Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun hums, a shy smile creeping up his face. He glances at the empty plates on the table, he cannot even lie and tell them he’s alone because it’s obvious he has company. 

Moreover, how weird would it be for him to be eating alone at a Michelin star restaurant?  “Uh—”

“Aw, you’re on a date with your husband is it?” Sua interrupts with a grin and raises her eyebrows teasingly and she guesses she’s right from the way the tips of Baekhyun’s ears slowly redden.

Baekhyun chuckles, albeit awkwardly. “Ah… yes you can say that.”

“Sweet! It’s finally our time to meet this secretive husband of yours, where is he?” Sua says with sparkling eyes, her tone high in excitement as she raises her head to look around the eatery. 

The school has been discussing who might be Baekhyun's spouse— some said they saw them together sometimes at the campus but unfortunately, cannot properly see the face of the said husband. The students only know that the brunette’s husband is taller than him and that’s that.

Some even speculated that Baekhyun married their senior, Jung Yunho because the older male had always been vocal about his infatuation with the art student for as long as everyone can remember, though they never made anything official.

To add to that, after graduating, Yunho suddenly stopped appearing, never joining any reunion dinners, as if he just vanished from the face of the earth.

It was definitely suspicious, that’s why the students cannot help but give a tiny trust in the rumour.

The other three people nod excitedly at Sua’s question and raise their anticipation. This is a golden opportunity!

However, for Baekhyun on the other hand, only the heavens know how much he is silently praying inside, wishing that Chanyeol would not make his appearance right now. 

He knows that Chanyeol doesn’t mind— wouldn’t mind exposing their relationships at all but Baekhyun had planned to introduce him to his friends formally during graduation next week. 

If news got out before their graduation, he cannot imagine how badly he would get swarmed by the other students as soon as he steps a foot into the university compound later; they, of course, would want to catch a glimpse of the said husband Park Chanyeol too.

“Ah, he’s in the restroom,” Baekhyun answers briefly and pretends to look over his back in the direction of the restroom. “I guess he’s taking a while.”

Suddenly, Sooyoung chimes in, “Guys, I think we should take a seat first, the waitress is looking at us weirdly.”

“Oops, how can I forget! We’re here to eat,” Sua exclaims and chuckles quietly. “Baek, don’t forget to drop by our table later with your husband, okay!”

Though the rest cannot help feeling a pang of disappointment— they finally had the chance to find out who Baekhyun’s husband is but then… tough luck.

Baekhyun is already clapping furiously and doing somersaults on the inside. 

The heavens are totally on his side!

He quickly controls his face so that they wouldn’t notice, morphing it akin to sadness and regret.

“Later alright, guys. Take a seat and order first, the food here is really good! You have to try their persimmon trifle!” Baekhyun can’t help but slip in his recommendation.

When the four finally leaves his table and is coincidentally placed on the far right of the restaurant, away from having a direct view of his table, Baekhyun heaves a sigh and wipes the nonexistent sweat on his forehead. He stands still to catch his breath.

He can just make up an excuse to avoid Chanyeol following him when he bids them goodbye later. If there’s a will, there’s a way.

He really thought his secrets would be out by today. If the four of them knew, Baekhyun could guarantee that the rest of the university would also be informed of his very ‘secretive’ husband, especially since Sua is known as the gossip queen.

High chances are, he'll even appear on the university board. 

[BREAKING] Byun Baekhyun from Art & Design Faculty Revealed to be Married to A Celebrity

Baekhyun shudders at the thought of that. 

“Baek?” Chanyeol calls from behind and looks at him curiously, “Why are you standing?”

Baekhyun, flustered out of his thoughts, turns abruptly, almost bumping into his chair and falling.

Luckily, with Chanyeol’s fast reflex, he grabs the smaller’s arm, preventing him from falling. 

“Careful,” he lets the younger stabilise himself before letting go and taking a seat in front of him.

“Why were you standing, hm?” Chanyeol asks again once Baekhyun is safely seated too.

“Chanyeol, oh my god! My friends are here right now— they’re seating at the other corner of the restaurant!” Baekhyun tells, wrinkling his nose and flailing his arms dramatically.

“Really? How many of them?” 

“Four! Can you believe we have to bump into them today out of all days?! Out of all days?” 

“We should’ve let them know, don’t you think so? We can tell them to keep it a secret?” Chanyeol muses. When Baekhyun’s frowns become deeper, he chuckles. Maybe not, then.

“You don’t understand, Chanyeol! There’s this girl called Sua and she’s such a gossip queen! If she knows something then, the whole school will literally have to know too! Okay, I know that she’s kind and all but I swear that girl can’t keep shut to save a life! There was this one time where—”

Chanyeol places his hand underneath his chin as he watches the smaller man ramble with an adoring gaze. His smile grows wider when he sees Baekhyun scrunching up his nose, before then furrowing his brows, using all his face to express his thoughts. He looks madly adorable.

“— Chanyeol, are you even listening?” Baekhyun huffs when he notices the other man sitting idly and eyeing him with an odd smile. 

“Yes, I am,” Chanyeol says, smiling brightly. “Go on, sweetheart, I’m listening.”

“Wait, where was I again?”

“Sua eavesdropped Jackson who was practising to confess to Jinah?”

“Oh, yes, that part, as I was saying, Sua accidentally told Yerim who then told Sooyoung, who then told Seongwoo, who then told the whole class about Jackson’s plan to confess— honestly at that point everyone already knew about Jackson’s feelings for her! But it was kinda cute because everyone helped them get together. Luckily Jinah felt the same for him so the confession went alright— we even ate the cake that Jackson brought for her, that was a mess though, there wasn’t enough cake for everyone who was part of the plan!” Baekhyun giggles as he recalls the memory. 

“Oh and there’s also this one time Sua—”

After Baekhyun finishes his tales of ‘Sua a half-blood Regina George’, he grows thirsty. However, before he could order another drink, he beams when a cup of orange juice is placed in front of him.  

“What would I do without you honestly?” Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol and sighs dreamily as he sips on the juice to quench his thirst.

“Never because you’re stuck with me for life, babe.”

When Baekhyun finishes his drink, Chanyeol immediately suggests an idea on how to escape from the brunette’s classmates. They are seated close to the main entrance and either way, to exit the restaurant, they still have to pass by them. 

“I can pretend to answer a call and get out from the main door while you bid them goodbye. How does that sound?”

Baekhyun agrees with the plan and gets up from his seat. Inhaling deeply, he mentally prepares himself. Yes, he can do this. 

“Don’t be gone for too long I’ll miss you,” Chanyeol quips playfully. 

Baekhyun facepalm and shakes his head at the latter’s words. 

Chanyeol signals him with a wink and immediately starts acting. This is his area of expertise— because if there’s someone who can fool everyone with his level of acting, that would be Park Chanyeol. 

He places his phone to his right ear, covering one side of his face from being mapped out properly. When he passes by the other customers, he can feel them stealing glances at him. 

After all, his blonde undercut does look flattering— Baekhyun would wholeheartedly agree on that matter as the younger male couldn’t shut up about how good his husband looked for a week straight when he went home with the new haircut.

When Chanyeol successfully exits Soigné without drawing too much attention on himself, only then Baekhyun approaches his friend’s table.

“Hi guys, I’m about to leave now,” Baekhyun greets. He can see Sua craning her head here and there as if looking for someone— of course, he is well aware who.

“Hey,” they chorused simultaneously.

“Where’s your husband?” Sua boldly questions.

“He apologised, he had to take a call from work… He passed by here just now, I think you guys saw him.”

“Ahhh… that blonde guy?” Yerim quips.

“Yes.”

“Omo! He looks good even from the side!” Sua squeals and the others nod their heads, agreeing.

“That’s a pity, we could’ve said hi for a second!” Yerim pouts, her bright coral lipstick twinkling against her pale skin. 

“Sorry guys… he really had to take that call.” Baekhyun grins sheepishly in response. “My husband’s waiting for me outside, I have to go now.”

“That’s fine, Baek... See you at the graduation ceremony next week!”

“Tell your husband we said hi!”

“Alright guys, see you next week!”

Baekhyun hugs them one by one again and bids goodbye for the last time.

Mission escaping from Sua and his classmates; success.

From the seat near the dining room, Baekhyun can see the hustle-bustle of Seoul’s city life from the floor-to-ceiling windows impaled in their penthouse. 

Homed on the 56th floor, everything looks so tiny down there. His fingers grace the sofa, softly trailing over the expensive suede and he hums unknowingly, letting himself be lulled into dreamland, the sound of television gradually fading into the background.

Freshly out of the shower, Chanyeol puts on his robe and steps out of the room to find his husband. His hands busily work on getting his hair dry with a towel. 

Stepping down from the second floor, he can already see the small figure curled up on the sofa and with careful footsteps, he makes a bee-line towards the kitchen to grab a carton of almond milk, shutting the fridge close as soft as possible to not wake the sleeping man up.

He approaches the sleeping male after washing the empty glass and leaving it to dry. He crouches down next to Baekhyun and carefully trails his finger on the mole above the bru