Chanyeol watches the river in front of him, admiring how the water reflects the bright lights of the city. He picks up a small pebble, sliding his thumb over its cool, smooth surface. He lets his mind wander as he takes in the tranquility of the night river.

At night, the Han River is a totally different place. There is no one but Chanyeol and he watches a boat sail by quietly as he puts the pebble back down.

His shoulders droop as he remembers why he isn’t back at the dorm. Another fight with Baekhyun. And this time, Chanyeol doesn’t want to say sorry first. It was Kyungsoo who made him jealous - coming into their room and intruding on them and everything.

Chanyeol knows he isn’t as close with anyone in EXO as he is with Baekhyun, and he knows that Baekhyun is close with a lot of other members. And in that room, even though he was with two other people, he felt so alone. He guesses Baekhyun didn’t like how he was acting. Baekhyun had snapped at him, and Chanyeol had barged out of the dorm, clearly hurt. He is still hurt, actually. He remembers his past fights with Baekhyun and finds out he has always apologized first. Even if it was mostly Baekhyun’s fault, Chanyeol had said sorry (with an apologetic grin plastered on his face).

And now he notices he isn’t smiling. On camera, he always is. With the other EXO members, he always is. That’s why he is called the happy virus, right?

But when he is alone he realizes he doesn’t seem very much like a happy virus.

Chanyeol is too deep in thought to hear someone behind him. “Hey, Chanyeol, why are you here?” A voice breaks the silence and Chanyeol looks up to see... Baekhyun. Right. Baekhyun was the only one who knew Chanyeol liked to spend time near the river alone. “I haven’t seen you here since we were trainees.”

Chanyeol doesn’t know why he feels the ends of his lips twitch. Turning his face away from Baekhyun, he replies, “It hasn’t been that long since we debuted, you know.” He tries to focus on a leaf floating on the water. He doesn’t want to smile like a dork. He’s hurt. People who are hurt aren’t supposed to smile.

Something pops up in his mind and he feels a pang in his heart - were his smiles fake? He didn’t want to be fake. He ponders the possibility in his head. No. They can’t be fake. He is genuinely happy with s and in front of his fans. He’s pretty sure.

Chanyeol feels Baekhyun sit next to him on the grass, and Chanyeol hugs his knees to himself. Baekhyun’s mere presence makes him a little bit happier. This convinces him more that his dorky smiles were in fact genuine ones.

Baekhyun chuckles softly. “Chanyeol, do you ever stop smiling?” He asks. He means it. Thinking back, rarely as Baekhyun ever seen his friend without a huge grin on his face. Oh wait - maybe a few hours ago when he snapped at him in their room.

“What?” Chanyeol realizes he has a huge grin on his face and he quickly purses his lips together, staring at his feet. “I-I don’t know.” He suddenly becomes self-conscious and picks at his sneaker.

“Hey.” Baekhyun speaks up, and he can’t help but feel awkward. “You know about yelling at you and... and stuff in the dorm... I’m... sorry.”

Baekhyun notices Chanyeol’s eyebrows rise and his head turning to look at him. Avoiding his gaze, the shy boy continues. “Kyungsoo says he’s sorry too. He says he’ll give you an extra serving of his specialty grilled cheese sandwich tomorrow morning. I’m sorry Chanyeol, I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

He bursts into a smile when he notices Chanyeol has that grin on his face again. “Really?” Chanyeol laughs, his right eye closing slightly. Baekhyun feels his heart flutter.

“Yes.” Baekhyun stands up and offers a hand to Chanyeol and he takes it, standing up. “Now let’s go back, hmm? Joonmyun hyung is worried as hell.”

Chanyeol nods happily, and Baekhyun doesn’t let Chanyeol’s hand go. Instead, they walk back to their dorm, their fingers still interlocked.

Chanyeol now thinks he knows the reasons behind his smiles.

He smiles because he is with EXO.

Or more like, because he is with Baekhyun.