Part 2

“workdays are endless, look how you made me”

_________

“You have reached a new level of need-to-get-laid,” Kyungsoo had told him in a deadpan when Baekhyun had first cautiously brought up the fact that he had a crush on a girl he’d never met, never seen, and whose name he didn’t even know. “She could be a forty year old man catfishing you, you know?”

“She texted me by accident because she was drunk-texting her ex. By accident, Kyungsoo.”

“The ex that she told you she’s not over yet? That ex?” The once-over he got from Kyungsoo was nothing short of exasperated. “I know you’re sick of modeling and all and can’t find love—your words, not mine—but you gotta admit, this sounds like a new level of sad. You developed a crush on a stranger you’ve been texting for a month after a wrong number accident. Even if she’s not a catfish, she’s still not over her ex of two years. She doesn’t know who you are. You don’t know who she is. What part of this works out well for you?”

Baekhyun can’t even remember what sort of protest he came up with. That had been two weeks ago, and it’s only gotten worse.

Kyungsoo’s right, he thinks, on the days that he tried to convince himself that he doesn’t have a crush. But then she says something stupidly funny and he’s struggling to school his face into a neutral look before the stylists tell him to stop grinning, and Baekhyun thinks wow, I’m really ed.

“It’s like e-dating,” he tells Kyungsoo the next time he brings it up. “You know. People do that these days.”

“You’re not e-dating because she’s not over her ex,” Kyungsoo points out. “You’re e-friendzoned.”

… Well. He’s not wrong. Baekhyun shuts the conversation down again.

It doesn’t stop his heart from skipping a beat when he pulls out his second phone from his backpack during breaks to check if she’s responded, and it doesn’t stop the excitement when he sees she has. At some point, Baekhyun decides it’s better to just stop pretending he doesn’t look forward to the texts.

Sometimes, Baekhyun considers the possibilities of asking her to meet. Or asking her name. Or telling her his. Then he sees his face plastered on a bus stop and he’s reminded once again why he had been the one to request that they don’t share any identifying details about each other, because he had wanted so badly to talk to someone who didn’t know he was Byun Baekhyun. Now, a month and a half later, miraculously she still doesn’t know, and he’s beginning to regret it a little.

He can also picture her response to, by the way, I’m actually Byun Baekhyun. He’d probably get something like, yeah and I’m BoA in return.

“We need you over here, Baekhyun,” one of the stylists calls before he can open the message.

Baekhyun gives his phone one last longing glance before slipping it into his backpack again.

***

[2 months ago] baekhyun
what if we just like … didn’t tell each other our names?

[2 months ago] drunk ex girl
why, u did smtg more embarrassing than me? LOL

[2 months ago] baekhyun
tbh yea you could probably say that. i just kinda always wanted to be friends with someone who doesn’t know who i am and can’t judge me for that.
if you’re ok being friends, that is

[2 months ago] drunk ex girl
ya why not i’ve always wanted a penpal

[2 months ago] baekhyun
u call this penpaling?

[2 months ago] drunk ex girl
why, u want pigeon mail?

[2 months ago] baekhyun
fine… penpal :/

***

“What you’re dietician can’t see, what you didn’t eat,” Kyungsoo has once told Baekhyun, which is complete and utter bull, but also conveniently the motto Baekhyun now lives by.

The new apartment he’s moved into is quite nice—convenient, and better yet, there’s a bakery just a block away. It’s a quiet neighborhood and Baekhyun’s pretty sure everyone living on his floor is well over their fifties, meaning that he’ll get at least some peace.

The bakery opens at eight every morning, which means if he gets there right at opening, grabs breakfast, then heads straight to his schedule, he can make it on time. It also means he’ll have to eat whatever he buys on his drive there and make sure nobody knows he had a danish instead of an apple.

He’s early on the third morning, so the open sign hasn’t been switched on. Baekhyun pulls his cap low over his face, hovering by the door, and takes out his phone.

[7:37am] glucose
do you ever wonder how people love their jobs
lol

[7:48am] baekhyun
don’t know why you’re asking me bc you already know i absolutely adore what i do for a living and wouldnt trade it for the world

He’s still trying to formulate a more serious reply when his phone chimes.

[7:48am] glucose
Screenshot_7:48_AM

It’s a picture of him saying: help i want to die i don’t want to work anymore please save me before i wither awy

[7:49am] baekhyun
miss maam i know sarcasm doesn’t translate well over text but i was clearly being sarcastic

[7:49am] glucose
well yesterday somebody told me they were a very genuine person and therefore always mean every word he says so whose fault is that huh?? NOW u know sarcasm? sounds suspicious you’re lying one way or another

[7:49am, draft] baekhyun
well to answer your question by asking a question of my own, do you know what kind of job you would lo

The bakery door swings open before he can finish. “Hi!” someone calls, and Baekhyun nearly jumps out of his skin at the same time he drops his phone.

A girl is peering at him, eyes wide. Seri, Baekhyun recalls from her nametag. A bit chagrined, he reaches for his phone, pockets it, then straightens into a respectable position.

“I’m so sorry,” she blurts. “I didn’t—oh my God, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He offers her a smile. “It’s fine. I’m just a bit jumpy.”

She goes for a smile back, though it look