“-And turn left at the cross road?” Baekhyun asked into his phone, observing unfamiliar street surroundings.

“Yeah and keep going for a while on that road and it’ll be on your right.” Chanyeol replied.

“Okay, great! See you soon.”

“Bye!”

And Baekhyun hung up. It was the fourth time Baekhyun and Chanyeol had met up for their weekly candy discussions. The sequence of events would usually be: Baekhyun calls Chanyeol, Chanyeol picks venue, Baekhyun brings goods and then the taste testing and serious evaluation begins.

Baekhyun was actually very pleased with the results with his impromptu idea. Chanyeol happened to be quite the candy connoisseur. He always seemed to pick the right words to describe the flavours of every piece of candy and chocolate Baekhyun brought to him.

Hmm, he’s quite skilled with his tongue. Baekhyun absentmindedly thought. He then paused in walking, processing what he thought and flushed. Oh my goodness Baekhyun, get your mind out of the gutter.

Although only meeting up with Chanyeol a few times, Baekhyun’s overall impression of him had changed drastically. Once Chanyeol became fully comfortable with him, Baekhyun found him to be one of the most pleasantly refreshing persons he had ever had the chance to be around. His was quick to laugh nature and bluntly honest words charmed Baekhyun. Chanyeol was real and loyal. And Baekhyun always admired those seemingly rare traits.

Baekhyun finally came across a small café with a cute sign up front. He rolled his eyes accordingly. Chanyeol had a thing for picking the fluffiest looking cafes for their meet-ups. Baekhyun quickly entered the shop and easily spotted the giant among the crowd of girls settled within the ornate interior of the shop. He walked over to Chanyeol and sat down.

“Hi!” Chanyeol greeted him with a big grin and waved, “I got your usual caramel latte.” He motioned to the porcelain cup placed in front of Baekhyun.

“Oh, thanks!” Baekhyun happily beamed, “And I got a classic today!”

Chanyeol blinked his eyes, “Oh really? What is it?”

“Swedish fish!” Baekhyun grabbed a bag out of his satchel and plopped it down on the table. Chanyeol rummaged through the bag and pulled out a small bag containing the candy.

“Ohh, I haven’t tried these in a while.” Chanyeol observed the bag carefully, before hastily opening the bag. Baekhyun prepared a notepad and pen, ready to take notes.

“Okay, on the count of 3.” Baekhyun eyed Chanyeol, taking one of the red candies. “1,2…3!” And they both chewed on the candy. They both closed their eyes and focused on the texture and taste of the candy. Baekhyun peek through one of his eyes and saw Chanyeol slightly pouted face.

“What is it? You don’t like it?” Baekhyun asked, tilting his head. Chanyeol usually liked gummies, especially cherry flavoured ones.

“No, it’s not that.” Chanyeol droned off, “it’s just…I feel a little sad.”

“Uh…why?”

“I killed him.” Chanyeol opened his eyes and frowned. Baekhyun raised an eyebrow, which triggered Chanyeol to break his false sad expression and break into laughter.  Baekhyun lightly chuckled along.

“Nah, you didn’t kill him. He’s just going to swim in your stomach forever, doomed to survive off your stomach lining.”

“What a lonely life. Better give him a friend.” Chanyeol chuckled and comically chomped down on another fish.

“Okay, so first impression?”  Baekhyun immediately positioned his pen, ready to write.

“Hmm, once you break through the wax-like exterior, the fish is chewy but not overly sticky. It has a strong red berry sort of flavor, though I wouldn’t classify it as a typical cherry flavour. It’s pretty unique.”

“Any pros and cons?”

“I think the flavour is a little overpowering. But besides that, I like the texture. It isn’t hard on the jaw with it being so soft and not overly chewy. An added bonus is the fish design.” Chanyeol smiled cheekily as he picked up a fish and started moving it through the air. Baekhyun nodded as he tried to conceal the small smile taking over his face. Chanyeol usually took the weekly task Baekhyun gave him pretty seriously, but he always tried to make sure Baekhyun knew that he enjoyed doing it nonetheless.

“So, your overall rating?”

“Hmm, 7.5/10? It’s a classic but there are a lot of other candies out there that have bested it since these came out.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Baekhyun placed the pen down and went to grab one of the fishes.

“No! Not Fred!” Chanyeol grabbed onto the bag and kept it away from Baekhyun.

“…Fred?” He asked.

“I was saving him for last, he doesn’t have a tail.” Chanyeol pulled a fish out and showed Baekhyun the fish that indeed had no tail.

“Ah, poor Fred. He has no chance to escape.” Baekhyun went along with the joke, frowning. Chanyeol’s expression became very pleased. “What a hard life.” Baekhyun continued, “He must have been picked last for being different all the time!”

Chanyeol’s eyes upon hearing Baekhyun’s last statement dulled and looked down to the ground in thought. Baekhyun immediately realized he brought up some poor memories for Chanyeol. Chanyeol in previous meetings had told him of his not-so-nice school days. Chanyeol had told him that he was extremely thankful to his childhood friend and current roommate, Kris, who had helped him through the majority of his bullied life. He said that he properly wouldn't have known how he would have continued on without Kris.

Baekhyun was feeling extremely guilty to be the cause of any grief to Chanyeol. So, without much thought, Baekhyun picked up two fish, “Hey, Fish #2. I feel like something bad’s a foot.” Baekhyun squeaked in a high pitch voice, moving one fish accordingly. Chanyeol looked up and watched on confused.

“Right you are Fish #2! We already nearly lost Fred today to the vicious giant Baekhyun. Thank goodness for the gentle giant Chanyeol!” Baekhyun swam the fishes through the dishware on the table. He moved them up until they were right in front of Chanyeol’s face, “Oh! It’s gentle giant Chanyeol. Hello comrade!” The fishes wriggled their tails. “Thank goodness for you! If it wasn’t for you, the evil and ugly Baekhyun would have-“ Baekhyun cut himself off and deepened his voice, “What did you call me?”

“Eeepp! It’s Baekhyun! Swim for your lives!” He squeaked again. He inhaled deeply and made it seem like he was the fish in. “Ahhh, nooo!” he squealed one more time before he popped the two fish into his mouth and chewed. He overexaggerated his swallow and gave a satisfied smile. Chanyeol’s broke into a comical laughter, lightly slapping his hands on his lap as he did.

“Shows them.” Baekhyun nodded with a scowl, “I’m beautiful!” Chanyeol continued to laugh with his teeth wealthy grin and his wrinkled nose.

“Um.” A small voice stopped their laughter in their tracks. They both looked over and saw a girl server, who was blushing profusely. She looked off to the side and placed a hot beverage on Chanyeol’s side of the table. “I-It’s on the table-I mean, house!” The girl squeaked before flushing an even darker red and scurrying off. She was met with other employee over the counter, who looked to be cheering her on. She looked over at Chanyeol quickly before breaking into a small smile and hiding behind her hands.

Baekhyun was taken aback. Never had Baekhyun seen anyone act this way toward Chanyeol…ever. Everyone was scared of him, period. So, Baekhyun leaned in close to an oblivious Chanyeol who was closely observing his gifted drink.

“Hey, did you see that girl?” Baekhyun whispered.

“What about-“

“Shh! She might hear you!” Baekhyun whispered quickly, forcing Chanyeol to lean closer to him.

“Wh-What? What about her?’ Chanyeol stuttered out, clearly hyperaware of their proximity unlike the otherwise occupied Baekhyun.

“She was cute, right?” Baekhyun wriggled his eyebrows and his lips lightly.

“I guess.” Chanyeol gulped and stared down at Baekhyun’s lips, not really taking in what Baekhyun was saying.

“Maybe you could…talk to her? She seems to like you.”

That snapped Chanyeol out of his daze, “Wait, what?” Chanyeol jumped back, startled by Baekhyun’s suggestion.

“Yeah, you should go for it. These chances don’t happen often!” Baekhyun smiled and quickly glanced to the girl.

“No.” Chanyeol told Baekhyun promptly, which took him aback.

“Why n-”

“I’m not interested.” Chanyeol cut him off with an even deeper tone than his usual and a harsh stare.

“B-But-“

“No. I’m not interested. It’s not like she can even compare to-“ Chanyeol immediately blushed and slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes widening. “I-I got to go now.” Chanyeol stood up abruptly and dashed out of the shop without even directing one last glance to Baekhyun.  

So, there sat a lone Baekhyun with his thoughts. He glanced over to the girl who was interested in Chanyeol and saw her look of defeat when Chanyeol ran out without even taking a sip of the drink she gave him. He slumped in his chair and pondered over what he could have done wrong. Was it the way he approached the topic? Maybe Chanyeol didn’t like the girl’s choice in drinks?

“It’s not like she can even compare to-” Hmm, wait…does Chanyeol maybe…already like someone? Baekhyun sat up straight and it felt like an eureka moment had slapped him across the face. That’s it! Chanyeol likes someone!

Baekhyun thought back on their previous conversations and tried to pick up any hints that would lead to the mystery person. Unfortunately, Chanyeol only seemed to associate himself with his family, his friend Kris and Baekhyun. Besides that, Chanyeol didn’t talk about anyone else.  

Baekhyun was stumped. He decided next time he’d confront Chanyeol about it. After all, they were friends, and friends helped out friends.

Well, they were friends…Right?

____________________________________________________

Oh hi. How are you <3?
Fabulous. 
Here's a small update. I've got a basic plot outline in my head for this story now. And I realized it's going to be short. I really can't go far with fluff D: Anyways, I think I'll add a chapter. What do you guys think? Or not ?

I'm still working on my chaptered fic. Though that might be done within the next 2-3 weeks...maybe even 1 week. Who knows! And when that's done, I'm gonna revamp chapter 2. It's pretty poorly written/edited and I wrote it half awake. I'm too lazy to do it now. But I'll get to whipping into better shape later. 

Kay, I don't got much to say ^^ So enjoy this picture.

Meoww <3

Much love ex-o ex-o ex-o

ps: Thank you to all the subscribers. I'm so surprised by the amount I have already. Thankyouthankyouthankyou <3