“Are you alright?” a deep but soft voice near his ear asked, affectionately kissing his cheek. He leaned back into his boyfriend's arms placed around his waist, looking up to him.

 

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Baekhyun answered, smiling weakly.

 

Chanyeol smiled back warmheartedly and let go of Baekhyun's waist, grabbing his hand instead, guiding him to the couch in the living room and pulling him next to him. The smaller boy immediately leaned against his lover, who put an arm around his shoulders while trying to join the conversation.

 

Most of the other members were gathered in the living room, except Wufan and Zitao who went to the cinema. They were spending quite a lot of time together lately and most of the members already knew that they were going to be together very soon. In fact, they were all happy to see Zitao finally opening up to someone. He was usually shy and quiet; he could even be pretty emotional, even though he didn't look like that most of the time. One could see that Wufan really cared about Zitao; he always helped him out if the younger one had problems with communicating in Korean, and they usually spent their free time together.

 

Minseok and Jongdae were in the kitchen, preparing dinner for all of them and probably practicing their Chinese from time to time.

 

Chanyeol and Baekhyun had one of the two couches for themselves. Kyungsoo was sitting on the floor, playing a video game, while Joonmyun watched him, occasionally shouting at him to do this or that in order to win the game.

 

Luhan, Sehun and Yixing were also seated on the floor. The latter two were trying to discuss something, even though they had problems with the communication from time to time. Luhan clearly wasn't interested in the topic and didn't even think about helping translate some words or phrases the other two didn't know how to express. Instead, he was playing with Sehun's fingers, trying to get his lover's attention.

 

After a while, Yixing got up and sat down on the big couch next to Chanyeol, who smiled at him and they began to chat about random things.

 

The atmosphere calmed down when Luhan finally managed to get Sehun to look only at him. They were now playing around, laughing and kissing from time to time. They obviously were in their own little world now and didn't even seem to notice anyone else anymore.

 

Joonmyun got the second controller and started to play against Kyungsoo, who seemed to be pretty happy about it.

 

The only members who were silent throughout the whole time were Baekhyun and Jongin, who was sitting on the other couch across the one Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Yixing were seated on. The black haired boy didn't notice how Baekhyun kept staring at him all the time. He knew what was going on. It wasn't the first time that Jongin kept eyeing Chanyeol with a glassy, dreamy gaze.

 

No one else seemed to notice anything; they were all too busy with whatever they were doing. Jongin didn't seem to notice Baekhyun's stare at first, but Baekhyun kept his eyes on him, leaning closer into his boyfriend's arms, who only held him tighter, still chatting and laughing carelessly.

 

Jongin seemed to get back to reality because of the movement. For a moment he was staring at Baekhyun with an unreadable expression, before getting up and leaving for the kitchen.

 

Baekhyun followed Jongin with his gaze, not knowing how to feel or what to do. He felt a bit helpless.

 

He remembered when he saw Jongin look at Chanyeol for the first time. It was a short glance during dance practice. Baekhyun didn't know why but even such a short glance was enough to make him feel uncomfortable. After this incident, Baekhyun tried to shrug it off and forget about it, though he couldn't help but feel a bit strange and awkward whenever Jongin and Chanyeol were talking to each other. He kept an eye on the younger one, feeling stupid for doing so, but right now he was glad that he did, or else he might not have noticed that Jongin actually liked Chanyeol.

 

It was some weeks ago that Baekhyun found out about Jongin's feelings. They were watching a movie, but Baekhyun suddenly felt the urge to be alone, so he went to take a shower, telling Chanyeol that he had already seen this movie and that he remembered now. He couldn't think of any other excuse and he just wanted to be alone for a bit, only to cry his heart out with the sound of the water covering up his tears. He didn't know why, but he was suddenly afraid of losing Chanyeol. What if Baekhyun got too boring? Was he even worth being compared to Jongin, who seemed to get everything he wanted? Jongin, who was surely more interesting than Baekhyun. What if Jongin ended up confessing to Chanyeol, and Chanyeol would actually realize what he was missing out all this time?

 

Bakehyun was actually never the type to criticize himself. Not that he thought he was the most attractive person ever, but he didn't think he was ugly. He only thought that he was a bit too ordinary, especially when he was next to Chanyeol, who seemed to be just perfect, amazing and stunning without even trying. The taller one had this special aura around him. Everyone liked him; he was the most cheerful person ever, though he did fall into his thoughtful phases, too, where he wanted to talk about the origin of the universe and more, especially with Baekhyun. He was absolutely beautiful, inside and outside, and Baekhyun was sure he wasn't the only one who noticed this.

 

During the last weeks Baekhyun had noticed how Jongin's stares got longer, more intense, even kind of longing. It wasn't a nice feeling to see someone who you actually considered a friend looking at your boyfriend like that. In fact, he didn't want anybody to look at Chanyeol like that.

 

From the day when Baekhyun knew that Jongin liked Chanyeol, he couldn't help but to feel anxious and insecure, especially when he was alone and his thoughts seemed to eat him up, like now, even though he was next to Chanyeol. He felt especially low when Jongin was talking to Chanyeol, ignoring Baekhyun completely, who was just standing there, watching both of them carefully.

 

Chanyeol didn't seem to notice anything at all. That Jongin wanted to spend more and more time with him, that Jongin always came up to Chanyeol after practice, asking him to go shopping or to get some dinner. Sure, Chanyeol always asked Baekhyun if he wanted to come with them, but the smaller one didn't really want to. At first he would always say yes, because he didn't want to leave his lover alone with Jongin, but later on he said no almost all of the time, explaining that he was tired or wanted to take a bath or read a bit before going to bed. Since he liked being alone from time to time, Chanyeol didn't wonder or say anything and just nodded, smiled, and went with Jongin to whatever place they wanted to go.

 

Baekhyun didn't want to point out to Chanyeol what he thought was obvious anyway, because once the taller one noticed Jongin's stares, too, who knew what might happen? He felt bad for wanting Jongin to leave, for thinking in such a way about his boyfriend, for wanting to stay by Chanyeol's side for as long as possible.

 

The brown haired boy hadn't even noticed that Chanyeol had gotten up and that the room was empty, except for sounds that were coming from the kitchen.

 

“Hyunnie?” Chanyeol asked, grabbing Baekhyun's hand and pulling him up to a standing position, chuckling quietly.

 

“You look so confused. Were you daydreaming just now?” the taller boy asked, brushing through his lover's soft hair.

 

Baekhyun felt the sudden urge to hug Chanyeol. He just put his arms around his waist, hiding his face in Chanyeol's chest.

 

“I love you,” Baekhyun almost whispered, trying to keep his voice steady.

 

Chanyeol was surprised, though he immediately smiled even brighter, hugging the smaller one back and holding him tightly.

 

“I love you more,” he murmured into Baekhyun's ear, pressing a kiss to his neck. He could smell Baekhyun's scent and allowed himself to close his eyes for a second, to make the moment linger a bit longer, before slowly pulling away, still smiling. He softly took the smaller one's hand and led him to the kitchen, where everyone was already sitting around the table, enjoying Minseok's and Jongdae's food.

 

Chanyeol sat down across from Jongin, placing Baekhyun next to himself. Smiling, he began to put food on his plate, humming a melody while doing so. When he noticed that Baekhyun hadn't moved at all, he looked at him, tilting his head.

 

“Aren't you hungry?” he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he started to put food on Baekhyun's plate as well.

 

The older one blinked in confusion and looked at his boyfriend, who seemed to think that he hadn't eaten in ages due to the amount of food on his plate.

 

“Enough, Yeolli,” he said, and the other one stopped, laughing quietly.

 

Baekyhun couldn't help but stare at Chanyeol's cute expression, his dimples, his soft lips. He had to smile to himself, at least a bit, before the taller one broke the eye contact and started eating, listening to the other's conversation. Baekhyun didn't even have to check to see that Jongin was looking at Chanyeol again, like he did before in the living room. The smaller one sighed while picking up his chopsticks, slowly starting to eat, but in reality he didn't really feel like eating at all. He just pushed his food around the plate most of the time, re-arranging it again and again, and didn't notice how he zoned out for a while, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Huh?!” he gasped in confusion, only to look directly into familiar, warm, chocolate brown eyes.

 

“Why aren't you eating, Hyunnie?”

 

He could almost hear the pout that was sent towards him. Without willing to do so he had to smile again, though his smile faded very soon when he felt someone watching them. Of course he knew who this someone was.

 

All of a sudden he felt like crying. He just couldn't stand to be near Jongin anymore. He wanted to take Chanyeol's hand and disappear with him, wherever was fine, as long as Jongin wasn't there.

 

“Hey, baby!” he heard Chanyeol say. He sounded a little bit worried. “Come on, eat something,” he begged, taking Baekhyun's chopsticks out of his hands and picking up some food. He held it in front of the older one's mouth, patiently waiting for him to open it. Baekhyun slowly opened his mouth and forced himself to chew and swallow the meat Chanyeol had given him. He couldn't see fast enough as Chanyeol suddenly put a second piece of food in front of his mouth. Faking a smile, he let his boyfriend feed him three or four times before he just couldn't eat anymore.

 

The taller one looked up at him in surprise when he got up all of a sudden.

 

“I-I'm sorry, I just... I'm not hungry.”

 

Chanyeol watched as the brown haired boy left the kitchen with fast footsteps, before putting the chopsticks down and getting up to go after him.

 

As soon as he reached their shared room, he heard quiet sniffles coming from inside. Surprised, he opened the door and entered the room, closing the door behind him. He could feel his heart sink immediately when he saw the older boy sitting on his bed, crying his heart out. Slowly he stepped towards Baekhyun's bed and sat down next to him. He couldn't see his face, since Baekhyun covered it with his hands.

 

“Baby...” he whispered before slowly putting his hands on Baekhyun's wrists, softly pulling them aside.

 

His heart ached when he saw the tears running down Baekhyun's cheeks. Chanyeol didn't even think about it; he just put his arms around the smaller one, pulling him into his arms. Baekhyun's sobbing only got louder, while he gripped Chanyeol's shirt.

 

It took him a long time to calm down. Chanyeol still hugged him and he wouldn't let go very soon, instead he kept on Baekhyun's back slowly and softly.

 

Both remained silent. Baekhyun, because he didn't know how to explain his outburst. Chanyeol, because he didn't want to pressure his boyfriend. He wanted to wait for him to speak up.

 

When Baekhyun finally seemed to be able to say something, a knock on the door was heard, and slowly afterwards Jongin entered the room. Chanyeol felt Baekhyun stiffen up and he noticed how tense he was all of a sudden.

 

“What's wrong?” Jongin asked curiously. This time he eyed Baekhyun instead of Chanyeol.

 

“Go! Just leave!” Baekhyun cried out loud before anybody could say something.

 

Both Jongin and Chanyeol were shocked and stared at each other in confusion. Jongin shrugged after some seconds and turned around, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

 

Baekhyun was crying again. He hugged Chanyeol even tighter, not able to say anything. He couldn't believe how Jongin dared to enter their room. He also didn't know why he screamed at the other one. As if it would change anything. Jongin didn't seem to care, anyway.

 

“Stay with me…” Baekhyun managed to whisper after a while into the other's chest. He didn't want to be left alone. He didn't want Chanyeol to go outside, where Jongin would surely be waiting for him. Maybe he was paranoid or maybe he was just exhausted, but he couldn't take the thought of Chanyeol and Jongin being in the same room anymore.

 

The younger one nodded while slowly sitting up a bit, loosening his arms from Baekhyun's shoulders, just to be able to put both hands on the wet cheeks. Softly he the tears away, brushing Baekhyun's hair from his forehead before placing a kiss on the soft skin.

 

“Let's rest a bit,” he suggested in a quiet tone and Baekhyun nodded in agreement. Chanyeol crawled on the bed, grabbing Baekhyun's hand and pulling him to his side. He put his arms around him and kissed his face over and over again: his forehead, his nose, his cheeks, his lips, until the smaller boy finally fell asleep in his arms.

 

Several hours had passed when Baekhyun finally woke up in the middle of the night. He needed a while to realize where he was and to remember what happened earlier that day. He could feel the warmth coming from his sleeping boyfriend next to him, who still had his arms wrapped around him, as if he was scared that Baekhyun might disappear if he would let go. He couldn't help but smile. Very carefully, trying not to wake the other one up, he turned a bit around and moved even closer to the taller one, putting his arms around his waist. Right now he felt happy and content. He knew that this feeling wouldn't last long, because his thoughts were already working against him.

 

And he was right.

 

Baekhyun remembered how Jongin was staring holes into his lover. He even had the nerves to enter their room, asking what's wrong, acting all innocent. As if he didn't know.

 

He knew he should just talk to Chanyeol about it, but he felt so stupid. What was he supposed to say? That he was jealous? That Jongin liked Chanyeol? That he was paranoid?

 

Sighing, he held the taller one even closer, trying to distract himself from these dark thoughts that didn't want to vanish completely. He concentrated on the other's heartbeat, and after a while, he really calmed down and fell asleep again.

 

 

Days had passed after the incident, and to Baekhyun's own surprise, Jongin didn't look at Chanyeol anymore. He didn't try to get close to him or to talk to him. It seemed like he had moved on, like nothing ever happened, and like it was just all fun and teasing to Jongin.

 

But Baekhyun should've known better, that it would've been too good to be true if Jongin had given up on Chanyeol. You can't push feelings aside just like that.

 

It was a Friday evening when some of the members, including Chanyeol and Jongin, were sitting in the living room, spending time in front of the TV. Baekhyun decided to stay in his room since he already knew the movie and he wanted to read a little bit.

 

“Hey, Chanyeol-hyung,” Jongin said, poking the other's side who was sitting next to him on the couch.

 

“Hmm?” the taller one replied, still focusing on the TV. He wanted to know how the movie would end.

 

“Wanna go out and grab something to eat?” he asked, sounding as casually as possible, also still looking at the TV. “After the movie, at least…” he added, knowing that the taller boy wouldn't want to miss anything since he seemed to be pretty focused on the TV.

 

“Yeah, why not,” Chanyeol answered cheerfully.

 

When the movie finally ended, Chanyeol got up and stretched.

 

“Be right back. I'm gonna ask Baekhyun if he wants to come with us,” he explained before turning to head to his room.

 

“Wait, no,” Jongin spoke up, following the taller one and gripping his wrist.

 

Frowning, Chanyeol looked at Jongin's hand holding his wrist.

 

“I... I actually wanted to talk to you about something... private, so… it would be better if we could go alone,” Jongin explained nervously. He really didn't want to have Baekhyun stuck to Chanyeol for the whole evening. Not that he didn't like Baekhyun, but, well, he liked his boyfriend way more. Much, much more. He wanted to be alone with Chanyeol.

 

The older one just shrugged and freed his arm from Jongin's grip.

 

“Fine,” he said, before heading towards his room to change his clothes.

 

“Hey, enjoying your book?” he greeted Baekhyun who was lying on his bed comfortably, smiling when he saw Chanyeol. He sat up a bit when the younger one sat down at the edge of his bed, glancing at the book in Baekhyun's hands.

 

“Yeah, I am,” he answered, smiling, straightening up a bit to peck Chanyeol's lips.

 

“How was the movie?” he randomly asked, before lying down again.

 

“Good, really good,” Chanyeol answered and got up. He walked over to his dresser and took off his shirt.

 

“Are you going somewhere?” Baekhyun asked in surprise, lifting an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah, Jongin asked me to go and eat something with him.”

 

Baekhyun felt his heart ache when he heard those words. It was like someone just slapped him in the face really hard. He couldn't move for a few seconds. He couldn't hear the rest of Chanyeol’s sentence, but he heard enough for his heart to sink even lower.

 

“...-ken you with me, but he wanted to talk to me about something,” Chanyeol explained while putting on a fresh t-shirt. He wasn't someone to put on make-up or dressing up specially. He just liked a casual look. Besides, he wasn't going on a date or anything.

 

“Why don't you go out with me instead?” Baekhyun asked. He was now sitting on his bed with the book now lying next to him. He looked kind of pale.

 

Jongin wanted to talk about something, huh?

 

//I bet I know what he's going to tell him…//

 

“Huh? Now?” Chanyeol looked over at him, frowning. He sounded a bit hesitant. “But Jongin asked me already...”

 

“So? Am I your boyfriend or not?” Baekhyun asked, a bit offended. He really didn't want to fight with Chanyeol. They almost never argued, but he felt left out; he felt jealous and helpless, and he didn't know what to do. He just wanted Chayeol to stay here with him.

 

“What kind of question is that?” the taller one replied. He looked very confused and didn't know why they were even having this kind of conversation.

 

“Just answer it,” Baekhyun demanded, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

 

“Well, yes, of course you are my boyfriend. You should know that,” Chanyeol answered. He let out a small laugh. “We've been together for almost three years now, remember?” He shouldn't have said that, and he kind of regretted it immediately.

 

Baekhyun got up from his bed and walked over to him, now standing right in front of him, arms still crossed.

 

“Yes, I remember. But I wonder if you remember?” the smaller boy asked. He hoped that Chanyeol couldn't hear how hurt he really was. He didn't want to seem so weak. He felt childish because of his jealousy and the way he acted, but he couldn't hold it in any longer.

 

“Baekhyun, what's wrong? I'm just going to have dinner with Jongin. I don't really see your problem.”

 

“My problem is that you're spending all of your free time with Jongin. Most of it, at least. Jongin here, Jongin there. You two go out to eat, you two go shopping, you two go to the cinema, you two play video games, it's always just about you and Jongin. I mean, seriously, when was the last time we went out on our own? Without the others? The only time we spend together as just the two of us is when we're going to bed, or when we're sitting next to each other while eating or watching TV, and then you talk with the others most of the time.” Baekhyun hadn't expected to give such a speech, but once he had started, he couldn't stop himself anymore.

 

“Are you jealous?” It was all Chanyeol could ask. He was surprised by Baehyun's words, but he didn't understand him, not at all. From his point of view, they both spent almost every minute together, so he really didn't see the problem.

 

Baekhyun stared at his boyfriend, unable to say anything, swallowing the lump in his throat that was about to grow even bigger.

 

Chanyeol got impatient as he realized that Baekhyun wouldn't be answering anytime soon.

 

“Look, I'm in a bit of a hurry, we'll talk when I come back, alright?” he suggested. He knew it was wrong to leave Baekhyun behind just like that, but he didn't know what to say anymore, and he didn't want to fight. He hated arguments, especially with Baekhyun. He wanted to always make him happy, and right now, the smaller one didn't seem too happy.

 

Sighing, Chanyeol grabbed his jacket and approached the door, before glancing back at Baekhyun, who seemed lost and somewhat scared. Chanyeol really didn't know what was going on, but before he left, he walked back to the smaller one whose back was facing him now, leaning over his shoulder to peck his cheek, before turning around and exiting the room.

 

When the door closed, Baekhyun felt the tears running down his cheeks. He felt like a complete fool, like the biggest idiot in the world. Why couldn't he stop Chanyeol? Why couldn't he just talk to him instead of confusing him even more? Maybe he annoyed him already.

 

//He didn't even kiss me good-bye…// he thought, sadly, and wiped away his tears with the back of his hand. All he could think about was how much he wanted Chanyeol to come back to him, right now. He wanted to hug him and tell him how sorry he was, and how afraid he was of losing him to Jongin, even if he would feel embarrassed about it. He just wanted to be carefree and happy again, not having to worry about losing his boyfriend anytime soon.

 

But he knew that Chanyeol wouldn't be coming back so soon. Reality hit him hard as he slowly made his way back to his bed, crawling into it, curling up into a ball and silently crying into his pillow. He grabbed the stuffed animal that lie in the corner of his bed, pulled it closer and hugged it like it was Chanyeol himself. The taller one had given this plush panda, which was holding a heart in both hands, to him on their one year anniversary, explaining that he gave his heart to Baekhyun and that he had to take care of it from now on. Remembering this perfect evening brought even more tears to his eyes.

 

Sooner or later the exhaustion overcame him and he fell asleep. His cheeks were still wet.

 

 

Meanwhile, Chanyeol tried to think about something else, but he couldn't really clear his head and block out a certain someone who basically meant the whole world to him.

 

He was walking next to Jongin, who talked all the time, and thankfully he didn't seem to care that Chanyeol was mostly listening instead of talking, too. Though it was a bit of a surprise to Jongin, since the taller boy usually wasn't that quiet.

 

“Is everything okay?” Jongin asked for the third time. They were still searching for a place to go and eat something. Since the weather was nice, many people were walking around. A lot of them recognized them and wanted to take pictures or get autographs. Chanyeol wasn't really in the mood to do any of these things, but of course he faked a smile and acted as the happy guy that everyone wished him to be.

 

“Can we go somewhere else?” Chanyeol asked after a while when the group of girls had moved on. “Somewhere more... quiet?”

 

Jongin knew exactly where to take him. He knew a very small restaurant on a tiny street almost nobody knew about. It wasn't in a main district, so they needed quite a while to get there, but none of them cared since they just wanted to eat something and chat a bit.

 

When they finally reached their destination, Chanyeol was happy that there weren't many customers, and if so, mostly older people who wouldn't recognize or care about them. They sat down at a smaller table and ordered their food.

 

Jongin's eyes followed every movement Chanyeol made. Once again he noticed how pretty the other boy was. How he wished he could just reach out for his hand, touch his cheek, kiss his lips. Tell him how much he liked him. But he couldn't. After all, they were in the same band, and he didn't want to cause drama. He knew that Chanyeol didn't like him back, he wasn't a fool. Everyone knew about Chanyeol's and Baekhyun's relationship, and that they loved each other deeply. Of course Jongin was jealous, more than that. He wished he could just tear them apart and claim Chanyeol as his boyfriend, but he couldn't. Maybe if he and Baekhyun weren't in the same band, maybe if he weren't considered to be something like friends. Maybe if he didn't really care about Chanyeol, but he did, and he didn't want to make him unhappy. And tearing him and Baekhyun apart would make him the unhappiest person alive. So he kept on liking him from afar, keeping his eyes on him and dealing with jealousy from time to time. But he would never tell anyone that he liked Park Chanyeol. Never. Even if he wished he could.

 

Jongin flinched a bit when he saw Chanyeol's hand in front of his eyes.

 

“Are you okay?” the older one asked, tilting his head.

 

“Y-yes... of course I am,” Jongin said, looking down at the food in front of him. Oh, the food was already here?

 

Chanyeol laughed and shook his head before he started eating, and soon Jongin joined him.

 

Surprisingly, they were kind of quiet throughout the whole dinner. They chatted about random topics from time to time and enjoyed their food. It was a nice atmosphere and both had the chance to relax a bit, even if Chanyeol had to fight against his own thoughts most of the time.

 

Suddenly he remembered something and looked up from his already empty plate.

 

“Hey, you said you wanted to talk to me about something?” Chanyeol reminded the younger boy.

 

“U-uhm... oh... yeah... uhm… about that...” Jongin stuttered, looking down at his bowl.

 

“Come on, you can tell me! What is it about?” he asked curiously and smiled reassuringly. Jongin could see those cute dimples and he could hear his own heart beating faster all of a sudden.

 

//Damn it//, he thought desperately and cleared his throat.

 

“Uhm... I kind of... don't really have something to tell you, to be honest,” Jongin admitted, bowing his head in a light way.

 

“Huh? But you said so before? You even wanted me to come alone,” Chanyeol said, surprised.

 

“I know... I... I'm sorry, hyung. I just wanted to be... alone with you. I like spending time with you,” he explained, hoping that Chanyeol wouldn't be mad.

 

The older one was surprised, but he shrugged just a little bit and laughed.

 

“I also like spending time with you,” he said, emptying his glass of water.

 

“You do?” Jongin asked and looked up with surprise. He couldn't help but feel something like hope pumping through his veins.

 

“Of course I do, we're friends, right? Good friends,” Chanyeol explained and leaned back. Suddenly his expression got sincere and he sighed audibly. “But… you know... I really have to spend more time with Baekhyun,” he added and bit his lip. “I feel a bit bad because... because I didn't really spend a lot of time with him lately.” He knew that his boyfriend was right when he accused Chanyeol some hours before. He never realized how much time he had spent with Jongin and probably some of his other friends. Sure, they were seeing each other all the time, but when he thought about it, he had to admit that the last time he spent some time with Baekhyun all alone was really long ago.

 

Chanyeol hadn't realized that Jongin had stayed silent.

 

“Jongin-ah…?” he asked, staring at the other in confusion.

 

The smaller one needed some minutes to process the rejection he had just received. What was he actually thinking? Of course Chanyeol wouldn't like him back. It wasn't anything new, he already knew it. But as so often, he had felt hopeful. Stupid, but also hopeful, and he couldn't do anything about it. Of course Chanyeol liked to spend time with him, they were friends after all. And even Jongin knew that they had spent a lot of time together. Of course sooner or later Chanyeol would want to spend more time with Baekhyun again.

 

When he heard the older one cry out his name, he finally looked up.

 

“Hmm?” he replied, sitting up again.

 

“You're kinda weird today...” Chanyeol admitted.

 

“I'm sorry, hyung. I... I'm just tired,” Jongin explained and forced himself to smile. “Shall we leave?” he asked. Suddenly he felt the urge to be alone. He pulled out his wallet and paid for both meals and drinks. He wanted to get up, but Chanyeol grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

 

“Hey, you don't have to pay for me!” he complained, pouting.

 

“It's okay. I wanted to invite you anyway, and besides... who knows when we will go out for dinner again?” Jongin explained and couldn't help but feel a bit sad.

 

“Alright, but next time it's my turn, even if it's only in a few months!” Chanyeol said, letting go of Jongin's wrist. He got up from his seat and followed the younger one out of the restaurant.

 

They walked next to each other in silence. Both were full and a bit tired, but the air felt good and fresh. Chanyeol put his hands in his pockets and looked at the sky. There were a lot of stars to be seen, and suddenly he felt lonely. He just had one wish right now. He wanted to be wherever Baekhyun was.

 

He felt a bit bad, because he didn't know if Jongin wanted to go somewhere else or not, and besides, the younger one had invited him, but he just needed to see his boyfriend right now. Badly.

 

“Uhm... Jongin-ah?” he said, trying to get the younger one's attention. “Would it be okay for us to go home already? I'm really full and a bit tired,” he explained, hoping that the other one wasn't mad or disappointed. To his surprise, Jongin nodded immediately and smiled weakly.

 

“Yeah, let's go,” he suggested while they made their way to the subway to get back to the dorm.

 

When they arrived, everyone else seemed to be asleep already. Chanyeol hadn't noticed how late it already was – past midnight. He was a bit shocked when he looked at the clock while taking off his shoes and his jacket.

 

“I'm sure he's waiting for you,” Jongin said, though he sounded a bit sad. Or maybe Chanyeol was just tired and imagined things.

 

“Yeah... Sure…” The taller one sighed audibly and held his hand up to wave at Jongin. “Good night,” he said, before going to his room.

 

“Sleep well…” Jongin murmured and watched Chanyeol as he entered the room he shared with Baekyhun. Sighing, he went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, changed into his pajamas and went straight to his room, which he shared with Kyungsoo, to go to bed. He just wanted to sleep and forget everything. Maybe he'd dream something nice, something that would make him focus on different things. Though he somehow doubted this.

 

Chanyeol closed the door as silently as possible behind him and leaned against the cold wood. He saw the smaller figure lying on its own bed. Of course they had two beds in their room, but since they both were rather big and they didn't want to sleep alone, they shared one bed most of the time and used the other one for clothes and such things. He could only remember two times when they didn't sleep in the same bed.

 

The first time was when they let Sehun sleep in their room because he missed Luhan so much that he would cry throughout the whole day and night when the older boy had left for China. Neither Baekhyun nor Chanyeol were able to see their youngest one suffer so much, so they decided to take him to their room. Chanyeol shared his bed with Sehun that night. He comforted him and talked with him through half of the night, while Baekhyun was sleeping in his own bed.

 

The second time they didn't share one bed was when they had a real bad fight. Chanyeol still remembered how depressed and desperate he was. For some reason, Baekhyun thought that Chanyeol didn't really want to be with him and that he wasn't good enough for Chanyeol. The taller one needed days to convince Baekhyun from the opposite and that he truly cared about him. Those four nights where they didn't sleep in one bed and barely talked were really hard for both of them, and Chanyeol didn't want this to happen again, especially because of such a stupid reason.

 

He still didn't know why exactly they were kind of arguing earlier, and what the reason behind Baekhyun's words was. He knew that their relationship wasn't perfect, but who had a perfect relationship anyways? Chanyeol was happy. He was happy because of Baekhyun, and because of him only. He wanted nobody else but him, and he wanted the other one to believe him.

 

All these thoughts were driving Chanyeol crazy. He felt so sad while walking silently over to his own bed, where he slowly took off his clothes and put on pajama pants and a worn out t-shirt. When he was done, he stood next to his bed for a few minutes and didn't move. He just stared at Baekhyun's back, asking himself if he should go over or if he should just crawl into his own bed and maybe even cry himself to sleep.

 

He didn't want to wake the older boy, but he needed him so desperately right now. He suddenly found himself walking over to Baekhyun's bed, slowly sitting down at the edge. For a couple minutes he was just sitting there, looking down at his lover's sleeping form. After a while, he noticed that the smaller one was holding something. Since only one small lamp next to Chanyeol's bed was , he needed a while to see exactly what Baekhyun was holding. When he got it, he immediately started to smile like crazy.

 

//The panda, holding a heart.//

 

The taller one clearly remembered the day he gave this big plushy to his boyfriend. It was their first anniversary, and he wanted to show him how much he loved him, how much he needed him and that he was willing to give him his heart. He wanted to show him that he couldn't survive without him. Since he didn't want to do so in a very melodramatic way, he chose to say it somewhat smoother and softer, and Baekyhun seemed to love it. Almost as much as he loved Chanyeol himself.

 

Without thinking, the younger boy rested his hand on Baekhyun's arm, bowing down a bit until he could hear his breathing sounds. Unfortunately the other one didn't seem to be sleeping really deeply, because he immediately opened his eyes when he felt the touch and turned around a bit, facing Chanyeol, who could now clearly see that his boyfriend had been crying.

 

“Yeollie,” he whispered and sat up a bit.

 

“Hey, baby…,” he replied immediately, not even thinking about what he was saying. He definitely wasn't mad at Baekhyun, though he didn't know if the older one was. “Look, I'm really sorry becau—,” he started, but as soon as he began to talk, he felt a hand on his neck that pulled him closer.

 

“Don't talk,” Baekhyun whispered back, before closing the small distance between them and pressing his lips softly against Chanyeol's. Both of them closed their eyes at the same time and Chanyeol moved his lips softly against the other's, tilting his head in the opposite direction to be able to reach them even better. He always thought that their lips fit together in a perfect way, from the first kiss until now.

 

Chanyeol moved a bit closer and rested his arms on both sides of Baekhyun's legs, while leaning into the kiss a bit more. He let Baekhyun take the lead, who gently his neck with the soft touches of his fingers. The older boy let his tongue slip into the other's mouth and moved it against his tongue in a soft way. It felt like they hadn't kissed in years. They both needed to be near each other, and they couldn't think of a better way to show how much they'd missed each other.

 

They only parted when they were in need of air, breathing against each other's lips, eyes still closed. Chanyeol rested his forehead against the smaller one's, while lifting up one of his hands and putting it on Baekhyun's side, holding him even closer, caressing him softly.

 

“I didn't mean to wake you, but I didn't want to sleep alone…” Chanyeol whispered, knowing how selfish this sounded. But right now he didn't care, because he knew that Baekhyun had the same wish, which he showed immediately, because he was pulling back a little bit, placed the panda plushy at the back of the bed, where he actually belonged, and held up the blanket so that Chanyeol had a chance to slip in next to his lover.

 

When the taller one finally lied next to Baekhyun, he immediately wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him as close as possible.

 

“I missed you so much tonight...,” he whispered into Baekhyun's ear, closing his eyes again.

 

“I missed you more,” Baekhyun whispered back, though he could feel the tears coming back. He let out a quiet sob and hid his face in Chanyeol's chest, who brought one hand up to the smaller one's head, through his hair to calm him down. “I didn't mean to start an argument. I just... I just wanted to be with you,” Baekhyun explained.

 

Right now he didn't care about Jongin and the way he looked at his boyfriend. He even felt stupid because he got jealous and felt like Chanyeol didn't care about him anymore. Now that this perfect boy was lying next to him again, holding him tightly in his arms, telling him that everything was okay, he washed away all his sorrows and trusted Chanyeol immediately.

 

“I love you so much,” Baekhyun whispered, looking up at the taller one, who softly wiped his tears away and smiled down at him before kissing him affectionately once again.

 

“I love you, too, baby,” Chanyeol whispered against his lover's lips, before placing another kiss on his forehead and closing his eyes. They both fell asleep in each other's arms. It was what they both wanted, what they both needed. Nothing more and nothing less.

 

 

During the next days, Baekhyun was surprised to see that Jongin didn't spend his free time watching every move Chanyeol made. In fact, the younger one seemed to always be busy since he was barely present anymore. Sehun once asked him during dinner why he was gone so often and Jongin explained that he was busy with his school work and especially practice. They all noticed that he took more and more practice lessons than actually necessary, but Jongin didn't really care. He was happy and grateful about the chance to distract himself and improve in something he was already good at.

 

“Take care, Jongin-ah,” Chanyeol had told him when the younger one was leaving for practice again, and this time Jongin smiled at him brightly, nodding his head in agreement.

 

“I will, hyung. I will.” Jongin had noticed that the taller one seemed much happier these days, his carefree self seemed to come out more and more, which was good for him. For the first time Jongin was happy because Chanyeol was. Even if he was happy because of Baekhyun, not because of him. Maybe that was what love was about? Making the other person happy, even if you're not exactly the person who is responsible for their happiness. Jongin surely had a lot to learn, but he was willing to do so as long as he was allowed to watch over Chanyeol from afar, making sure that the other one was happy. They were close friends, after all, and that was something Jongin surely didn't want to give up. Even though they didn't hang out that often anymore, he knew that it was best for both of them.

 

 

Chanyeol had planned something for his boyfriend. He knew that they hadn't been able to go out lately, especially since they were on such a tight schedule, and there were fans basically everywhere, so it was hard to just go out and eat something or have a nice time together. But they needed some time alone, just the two of them. So Chanyeol had a plan. He had talked with Joonmyun and Wufan about it, since both of them were the leaders and therefore the only people who could help him get the other members out of their dorm.

 

Baekhyun had no idea, of course. He was in their shared room, together with Luhan and Sehun, playing cards, talking and having fun. Bakehyun wanted Chanyeol to be there, too, but he told him that he would join later on because he needed to do some things for school, which was a lie, but Baekhyun would soon find out about it anyway.

 

While Luhan and Sehun had to make sure that Baekhyun stayed in his room, Wufan and Joonmyun told everyone else to leave the dorm for tonight. The members were surprised, but after hearing the reason behind it, they all smiled and found it incredible cute. Since most of them wanted to visit their families or friends anyway, it was no problem to find a place to stay for anyone.

 

Chanyeol was busy preparing dinner for him and Baekhyun in the kitchen. He wasn't the best cook in the world, but he knew how to make a simple, nutritive meal on his own. He even decorated the table with candles and red roses, since he knew about Baekhyun's romantic side.

 

When everything was ready, he went to the bathroom to change into one of his better looking shirts and black pants. Since they weren't really going anywhere he didn't actually need to change his clothes, but he considered this a date, so he had to look at least good enough to be able to enter a restaurant, even if it was only their kitchen in the end.

 

He had already cleaned up the living room and prepared some of Baekhyun's favorite movies and candies for later that night. Everything seemed to be perfect. Chanyeol smiled, knowing that a certain someone would definitely be happy when he saw all of this. After checking everything again and making sure that the food was ready, he texted Sehun that they could leave now. He wanted the dorm to be completely empty before he took his lover to the kitchen.

 

Soon after he sent the text message, he could hear the voices and the laughter of the other three. Luhan and Sehun came walking into the kitchen, holding hands, both pretty amazed about what they saw in there.

 

“Hey, when will you be doing something like this for me?” Luhan asked Sehun, obviously pouting. Sehun laughed and pulled him closer.

 

“Who said I didn't prepare something for you tonight, hm?” he asked in return, smiling when Luhan looked up at him all curiously and started to ask questions.

 

“Well, Chanyeol hyung, you should go in soon. We told him that we would get something to drink and come back in a few minutes,” Sehun explained, trying to ignore his now more than excited lover.

 

“Alright, thanks a lot! And... have fun tonight,” Chanyeol replied, laughing when he saw how Sehun took Luhan's hand and pulled him out of the dorm.

 

As soon as both of them were gone, Chanyeol took a deep breath and walked over to the room he shared with his lover. For some reason he was a bit nervous, though he didn't really know why.

 

When he opened the door, his eyes met with Baekhyun's curious ones. The smaller one was sitting at their bed, actually waiting for Luhan and Sehun, though he didn't really mind when he saw Chanyeol instead.

 

“Yeollie, why are you dressed up so nicely?” he asked in surprise, eyeing the taller one from the bottom to the top.

 

Chanyeol smiled knowingly, and walked over to the smaller one. “Come with me,” he told his boyfriend, gently taking his hand and softly caressing the warm skin underneath his own fingers.

 

“Hmm? Where to?” he asked in confusion, clearly not knowing what Chanyeol was talking about. “Where are Luhan-hyung and Sehun?”

 

Chanyeol chuckled, shaking his head.

 

“That's not important. Just come with me, will you?” he asked once again, and when Baekhyun finally got off his bed, he led him to the door, suddenly stopping the older boy.

 

“Wait. I don't want you to see anything before we reach... our destination,” he murmured thoughtfully, suddenly placing his hands above Baekhyun's eyes to cover them up.

 

“Wai-... what? Yeollie, what are you doing? I can't see anything!” Baekhyun whined, trying to get rid of the younger one's hands.

 

“Don't you trust me…?” Chanyeol asked quietly, and Baekhyun immediately stopped. He let his hands fall down and sighed.

 

"Of course I do, you know that,” he replied, also in a quiet tone. Chanyeol smiled and nodded, even if Baekhyun couldn't see it.

 

“Alright then, let's go. It won't take that long,” he told the smaller one. “I'll lead you, obviously...” he pointed out and told the other one to just start walking slowly. When they had to turn to the right, he told Baekhyun so, who did what Chanyeol told him to, slowly and insecure, but he followed his lead.

 

“We're almost there,” Chanyeol said, leading him towards the kitchen. When they finally arrived, the taller one told his boyfriend to stop, which he did, and after a few seconds of taking another breath, Chanyeol took his hands off of Baekhyun's eyes while still standing right behind him and waiting for a reaction.

 

Baekhyun couldn't believe his own eyes. They were definitely still in their dorm, in the kitchen, though everything seemed so different. Everything was so special. The table was set so beautifully. He could smell the scent of delicious food coming from the cooker and hear soft music playing in the background. There were even some candles and roses. Everything was just perfect. Simple, but perfect in their own way. At least for Baekhyun.

 

“Yeollie…” he breathed out, still stunned by what he saw in front of him. Suddenly he felt two arms wrapping themselves around his waist, pulling him closer to the taller boy behind him.

 

“You were right,” Chanyeol stated, resting his chin on Baekhyun's shoulder. “Our last date was actually really long ago. Too long ago. We didn't have the chance to be to ourselves for such a long time, and I missed you so much. I just wanted to be alone with you again, at least for one evening. So I asked the others to leave the dorm until tomorrow, and they all agreed,” he explained in his deep and soft voice, pecking Baekhyun's cheek. “I hope you like it…? I know, it's not much, and you know that I'm not the best cook out there, but I really trie—”

 

He wasn't even able to end the sentence, because Baekhyun turned around in his arms all of a sudden, cupped his cheeks with his hands and pulled him close, just to kiss him softly on the lips.

 

“It's perfect. You're perfect. I love it. I love it almost as much as I love you,” he replied with a shaky voice, and Chanyeol immediately knew that the older one was crying.

 

“Baby, don't cry... Please…” he begged with a soft tone in his voice, pulling the smaller one closer and hugging him even tighter. “I'm happy that you love it. And you better not love it more than me.” He tried to sound alarming, which ended in earning a small laughter from his lover, who rested his forehead against his chest. Chanyeol placed a kiss in Baekhyun's hair and rested his chin against the smaller one's head.

 

“I'm sorry for almost starting a fight a few days ago. I'm sorry for… being jealous. I'm sorry for making you feel like you were the one who needed to apologize. I'm just so sorry, honestly.” Baekhyun cried even more than before, finally releasing all of the thoughts that almost drove him crazy.

 

“Don't be sorry. From now on, let's just be happy, alright? I want to make you happy as much as you make me happy. Besides...” he softly put a hand on Baekhyun's chin and made him look up, so that they were looking into each other's eyes. “I already told Jongin that I wouldn't be able to spend as much time with him anymore, because I want to spend it with you.” Chanyeol smiled and Baekhyun's heart almost stopped beating for a second, just to beat even faster afterwards. The tears he was shedding now were tears of relief and happiness.

 

He knew he didn't need to talk to Chanyeol about Jongin anymore. What he just said was more than enough for Baekhyun. He even felt a tiny bit sorry for Jongin, who would surely be sad because of the rejection he had received, but right now nothing else besides Chanyeol mattered to him.

 

“I love you, Yeollie. I love you so much. So, so much.”

 

“And I love you, baby, more than anything. You're all I need.”

 

Their lips finally met in a soft, affectionate kiss, and they wouldn't let go of each other throughout the whole night.