Baekhyun’s eyes grew wide in surprise. He looked back and forth between the two men, a little mystified at Chanyeol’s words. “If I’m not the target, does that mean he thought it was somebody else he followed in here?” 

Junmyeon shook his head. “No, he knew it was you. He deliberately followed you in here to try to provoke Chan.”

The orphan furrowed his brow in confusion and turned to Chanyeol. “Really? Why?”

The tall man’s affection was obvious as he looked back at the little one. “He had instructions to see how close you are to me and see what I would do to protect you. He didn’t know you hadn’t told me yet, but he made a huge mistake bragging to the other Chinese workers about how easy it would be to beat you up. They are a lot more protective of you than he realized.”

Baekhyun couldn’t help a little grin. “I guess that’s good, then.” He cocked his head in question. “But, who told him to test me?” 

The tall man sighed. “Kris Wu.”

“What??” The orphan was really confused now. “I thought he wanted LuHan. Why would he want to provoke you?"

“Kris has been jealous of Chan for a long time.” Junmyeon offered.

“Why?” Baekhyun asked. 

Chanyeol leaned with his back against the wall as he began to explain. “I first met Kris when we were both in our last year of middle school. Apparently Kris’s mother had always been sickly and his father abandoned his mother before Kris was born, so just before his birth his mother moved in with her sister, who already had a few other orphans living in her home. Kris’s mother continued to live with her sister after she gave birth to Kris, but died when he was a young boy. His aunt was busy with all those kids and didn’t always have time to keep a close eye on him, so by the time I met him he had already become a bit of a troublemaker.”

Baekhyun nodded but kept quiet, only making a small hum of understanding.

Chanyeol continued. “Right after Kris turned seventeen, his aunt took in LuHan and his mother. It was obvious that LuHan’s mother was very sick and would die soon, and his father had gotten killed years before. LuHan was sweet and caring, and apparently Kris was immediately smitten. And he seemed to have this idea that he was the one LuHan would turn to once his mother died because they had so much in common. A couple of months before Luhan’s mother died, Kris’s aunt spoke with my mother and got LuHan a job working here at the estate, helping out with small tasks and running errands. It was then that Kris started acting jealous of my family, and me in particular. He saw us as the reason Luhan didn’t consider him as a potential love interest, although the real reason was his mother’s illness and then death was still very fresh and he was in no shape to even think about romance of any sort. Kris even accused me and LuHan of being together at one point.” 

Chanyeol saw the obvious question forming on the orphan’s lips so he quickly answered unbidden. “We weren’t. We’ve never seen each other in any way other than friends.” 

Junmyeon chuckled and Baekhyun flushed in embarrassment from being so transparent. But both stayed quiet to let Chanyeol continue his story.

“When LuHan turned eighteen he went into town to celebrate with a few friends. Kris found a way to sit nearby the group at the bar and waited to make his move until LuHan was tipsy and affectionate, giving everyone kisses. Apparently Kris stepped in and took a kiss, then several more before trying to pull LuHan outside.”

Baekhyun gasped but Junmyeon didn’t give a reaction, obviously already knowing the whole story.

“Fortunately one of the more sober friends managed to convince the others to help pull Kris off LuHan, and they quickly brought him here to the estate. I could tell with the way LuHan was acting that something was wrong, and as soon as the guys told me what had happened I offered LuHan a permanent place to live instead of going back to Kris's aunt's place.” Chanyeol said.

“You, ah..” Baekhyun couldn’t keep the slight tease out of his voice. “You seem to have a thing for taking in helpless orphans..”

Junmyeon burst out laughing as the tall man choked on his indignant scoffing response. Baekhyun grinned at both men but then his look turned thoughtful. “So, you think we should just act as friends?” he asked Junmyeon. 

Chanyeol made a huff of surprise, but the older man shook his head. “I’m not telling you to act in any particular way. You just need to be aware that there may be some people outside our group that might target you once they find out Chan’s interest in you.”    

Although Junmyeon’s comment made perfect sense, Baekhyun couldn’t help lightly blushing. It was still new to be able to acknowledge that Chanyeol liked him. He felt the need to clarify his feelings, even if he had to talk slowly to form his thoughts carefully. “I’m not…embarrassed about…us.” he said, his blush deepening seeing the pleased look on the taller man’s face. “But I wanted to take it slow in telling people… so… wouldn’t that work out for the best for now?”

Chanyeol nodded. “As much as I would love for the world to know, I know this is still very new for us, and it’s only fair that we be allowed to take things at our own speed.” The pink on his ears gave away his own feelings about saying all that out loud. 

Junmyeon chuckled. “Alright you two. I’ll drop hints to the few others that might make a bigger deal about your relationship, but for now the ball is in your