The small gathering at Chanyeol's is on a holiday, because Chanyeol's almost always busy and it's really a relief that Baekhyun and Kyungsoo could comply. Chanyeol promptly texted Baekhyun the address when the lad has thought about it completely and agreed and Chanyeol couldn't be happier, because finally he's doing something in return for Baekhyun. It's not because he thinks that for every favor there should be a replacement. If anything, he thinks it's because Baekhyun deserves it and he's doing this because he wants to. 

The last time he met with Baekhyun at the grocery store, with that little notice as well that he was buying rather unhealthy food options, Chanyeol decided to turn his grocery list in a well-rounded 360 to stock on what he thinks Jungsoo should eat. It's not that it was like that ever since he moved to another house with Jungsoo, because if anything he was still buying rather healthy options for the past years. If he's not mistaken, he may have just started buying rather cheap, McDonalds and fast food options when Jungsoo turned 4, because he got tired of cooking and trying to make-do with eating up all the vegetables because Jungsoo refuses to eat them! So imagine the horror Chanyeol needed to go through as well, not purposely letting food get spoiled, and because no one else eats them he has to make do because he gets so bored of them as well after repeatedly eating them for weeks—(he's not a vegetarian, after all). So anyway, he bought strips of meat, discarded the crab imitation sticks, and just really bought more quality products that assure health. He also stocked on lots of vegetables, even if Jungsoo on his side then was making faces and saying he wouldn't ever eat them because they're bitter, and that he remembers eating them back at home with his grandparents. But anyway, it's a 360 change from the usual ramyun, crab imitation sticks, and chips they usually bought ever since Jungsoo turned 4. It's not to say, that Chanyeol didn't buy them anymore, because he still did, just in a reasonable amount.

So Chanyeol cooks dishes and lots of them healthy some hours before lunch, because they also agreed that lunch would be good. He let Jungsoo on the side help him out in the kitchen with simple tasks such as placing the placemats and setting the utensils—spoon and chopsticks on the sides of the plates on the dining table. Chanyeol on the other hand worked at the island counter, neatly cut up vegetables, boiled meat, prepared ingredients, and selected condiments needed for the dishes he had cooked.

Jungsoo and Chanyeol spend some time in the living room watching shows after which and just really father-son bonding. It doesn't take so long when they hear the doorbell ring twice simultaneously and Jungsoo's squealing at the top of his lungs that, "Baekhyun hyung's here! Baekhyun hyung's here!" as he skips along by Chanyeol's side to the front door.

They're both greeted by the two male volunteers, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun, clothed casually right at the front steps of the house. Chanyeol doesn't waste time and lets them in, asking them to sit in the living room for a while just to settle in as he leaves them with Jungsoo for a few to sort out the last few arrangements in the kitchen.

As Baekhyun sits down on a La-Z-Boy, he notices Chanyeol's living room with sets of matching couches across each other and two la-z-boys (one he's seated on) adjacent to them, and a TV set accessible anywhere you're seated. There's also an Xbox neatly placed in the glass-paneled drawer beneath the TV, and columns of CDs and DVDs lining up beside the TV. The design is really impressive with color hues of mostly black and red with white walls. It seems minimalist and for the first time, out of all the negative impressions he's had of Chanyeol for a while, Baekhyun feels like starting a mental list on his mind of all Chanyeol's good qualities. The first one of that would have to be good looks and of course his second now is his sophistication of style. But Baekhyun still contradicts that, because he thinks of course that maybe Chanyeol had gotten an interior designer for this. Haha! But then again, Chanyeol must have approved if anything and that still counts, right?

And has Baekhyun mentioned the arch separating each room? Because he's looking through the kitchen now just beside the living room, island counter and a round dining table with a turntable on top and all of it screaming extravagance with hues of green and white with warm and cozy yellow-green walls. He could also smell the aroma coming from it and just the thought of it in his mind, he couldn't wait to dig in and take a bite out of Chanyeol's cooking too.

“His house is rather impressive, huh," Kyungsoo nudges. He's seated on a couch nearest Baekhyun's comfortable La-Z-Boy seat.

“You're quite right actually," Baekhyun whispers, still roaming his eyes almost everywhere, scrutinizing and classifying if there might be any flaw in this house interior after all. "I was half expecting clutter everywhere."

"I expected a lot worse," Kyungsoo counters mischievously, earning a judgmental look from Baekhyun. "But let's save that for his cooking, because I'm the best cook you'll ever meet."

"I don't know, Kyung," Baekhyun laughs, "I kind of want to watch you eat your words."

And to watch Kyungsoo eat his words Baekhyun anticipates as he takes a spoonful of and tastes Chanyeol's bibimbap.

They're now all around the round dining table. The arrangement is Baekhyun beside Kyungsoo who's beside Chanyeol who's beside Jungsoo who's beside Baekhyun, evenly spaced in between. Baekhyun doesn't know exactly when they had transported places from the living room to the dining area, but he remembers it had something to do with Jungsoo's stomach grumbling with hunger and Chanyeol's short introduction about not being the best cook and that he hopes they'd enjoy the dishes anyway and well... here they are now, just that the youngest one in the table is profusely exclaiming complaints about how hard it is to pick the vegetables off his plate.

Baekhyun at the side takes a moment and looks at all the food laid out and thinks for a moment that maybe Chanyeol has heeded his advice regarding healthier options and he inwardly smiles at Jungsoo seeming to be complaining a lot. It’s not that he’s taking Jungsoo’s whining as a sign to rejoice, but that the younger ought to eat what he must.

Kyungsoo on the side is snorting at that. He still hasn't touched anything, because he's waiting for Baekhyun to give him a sign or that he should go eat already. If Baekhyun expresses delight in what he’s eating, then that’s it. Or even if he wouldn’t, then Kyungsoo still shall try just for the experience of eating the cooking of someone irresponsible that he must also be irresponsible by the way he cooks. Irresponsibility does show in the little actions, after all.

"So...?" Kyungsoo whispers and leans to Baekhyun's side as he watches the latter eat, as though it’s his cooking being tested. 

"It's really good!" Baekhyun exclaims. The food on his mouth looks like it's threatened to fall off because he grins so wide and attempts to point it out to Chanyeol's direction.

Kyungsoo's honestly nervous. His invisible medal of the Best Cook hasn't worn off pinned on his sleeve and that remark from Baekhyun isn't helping to retain it at all. It surprises Kyungsoo even more that when he decides to finally eat and spins the turntable with the dishes slightly, he spots a plate full of kimchi spaghetti glaring at him. He takes all his time to contemplate and gulps and finally picks up the serving spoon for said dish and scoops a helpful amount onto his plate.

Kyungsoo's not really sure as he picks up his chopsticks, his hands slightly shaking because no, he couldn't be better than me but instead he exclaims a minute after which putting it in his mouth, "You can cook!" over to Chanyeol who's sitting beside him.

"Thank you?" Chanyeol says, half in alarm and half in question, because he couldn't quite distinguish if it was a compliment Kyungsoo just threw his way.

"This is really good!" Kyungsoo exclaims amidst slurping the noodles as fast as he could because the kimchi spaghetti's just so tasty he swears he couldn’t get enough. Until, "Well, my version's still better but—ow!"

Maybe Baekhyun's not as fast as a speeding bullet, but at least he got Kyungsoo to shut up by kicking him sideways underneath the table.

"You okay?" Chanyeol asks in concern, looking over the two lads. 

"It's nothing," Baekhyun offers and both he and Kyungsoo is smiling. "You just really cook real well and I couldn't even cook for myself," he pouts. 

"Which one did you like best?" Chanyeol casually asks, chopsticks left midair in his hands.

"The bibimbap!"

"Ah, that one's relatively easy to make," Chanyeol says. "I could teach you some time if you want," and as soon as that statement left his mouth, it's too late to take it back because Baekhyun is nodding and Chanyeol's thinking what even triggered him to say it.

"Anyway," Kyungsoo cuts in. "I have some ways in which you could improve your kimchi spaghetti. “You see..."

Kyungsoo proceeds to pass over to Chanyeol his tips for a better kimchi spaghetti that may have potential to parallel to his, realizing once and for all that maybe they could share something decent to let all of Chanyeol's negative qualities (for example, Chanyeol's irresponsible ways and many more to mention that could be replaced by an etc.) in his mind dissipate. And just like that, Baekhyun's left out to converse with Jungsoo for even a while.

"Baekhyun hyung," Jungsoo whispers. "I just noticed and I've been thinking what animal resembles you."

At the mention of animal, Baekhyun thinks that Jungsoo's imagination is running wild. ‘Just what animal could I be like?’ he thinks.

"But I won't tell you for now," Jungsoo says. "You should come back and play until I tell you."

"You should do something for me in exchange, though," Baekhyun counters.

"Name it!" Jungsoo encourages enthusiastically.

"Eat your vegetables!" Baekhyun exclaims.

Jungsoo frowns at that and sighs, but agrees anyway as he spoons three limited strips of carrot off the side of his plate and takes it to his mouth. He doesn't breathe in those seconds he was doing it and almost only gulps them down, resisting all necessity of having to chew because eww.

This earns Jungsoo a pat on the head and, “Good boy.”

Throughout lunch, they also talk about the outreach program Kyungsoo and Baekhyun attended, because Chanyeol asked (for lack of a better topic discussion, anyway) and Baekhyun says it was great and that the kids were really participative—that it's sad that some parents leave their children in the shelter—and that if only he could adopt them all and make them go to school and live life as a normal child with parents, he would. Chanyeol smiles just hearing that, at Baekhyun's charming crescent-eyed smile and inner voiced out thoughts. He momentarily even notices Kyungsoo noticing this and the look of suspicion that registers in the latter's face, so Chanyeol reduces the amount of radiance his smile toward Baekhyun seems to emit.

When Baekhyun and Kyungsoo leaves, they walk side by side together to Kyungsoo's house a kilometer away. It's a fair enough distance to walk, so they talk as they do.

"So Baek, who do you think cooks better between us?"

Baekhyun looks at Kyungsoo for a moment and silently laughs. Truth be told, he couldn't identify either way because both their cooking is good and that if it keeps his tummy full, it's good to go and Kyungsoo hits him in the arm for the silence, his inner thoughts he refuses to say.

"Hey, tell me it's me!! That at least my kimchi spaghetti is better," Kyungsoo forces, almost hitting Baekhyun again on the arm but Baekhyun's reflex is fast and he catches Kyungsoo's fists.

"Okay, sure," Baekhyun offers instead.

"But you're only saying that!"

"Maybe, Kyung. Maybe," and Baekhyun runs toward the porch of Kyungsoo's house now only meters away.

It's normal when Baekhyun hangs out at Kyungsoo's often. There are lots of reasons he does: one, for food when he thinks he couldn't stand living off ramyun alone when his mother doesn't come; two, for Kyungsoo being his best friend; and three, well... Kyungsoo's mother loves having him around to the point that she could joke about having him exchanged for Kyungsoo (but of course it’s just a joke); not to forget four, for free electricity when he wants to play video games and because he's got his saved files in Kyungsoo's Wii anyway; and really, five would have to be because it’s still early and that leaves for them time for small snacks when afternoon comes around.

And no, Baekhyun doesn't mean to freeload. He just takes what he thinks he deserves and in this case Kyungsoo as his ever supporting, partner in crime with really cool parents, adorable doe-eyed best friend. Even if he's secretly snarky and sarcastic, shh.

Back at the Park's house, Chanyeol tells Jungsoo that Baekhyun's really funny and has a really nice personality that makes him really easy to like.

In which Jungsoo says, "Of course, that's why he's my favorite hyung!" so proud that Chanyeol feels a little jealous, if not outright envious.

Chanyeol acts disgustingly childish at that, pouts, and asks, "What about me?"

Of course you're the best appa out there!!" Jungsoo squeals, stretching his arms out wide saying, "And I love you this much," before hugging Chanyeol tight.

And somehow almost for the whole remainder of the day, Chanyeol spends so much of his time just thinking of Baekhyun and his smile. It spontaneously flashes in his mind sometimes, too, that sometimes he doesn't get to recoil and pacify his thoughts. He doesn't know what this is if this isn't panicking, because the last time he ever panicked was when all responsibility of Jungsoo was passed on over to him and him alone.

But now, this overwhelming feeling at the pit of his stomach and Baekhyun's overwhelming smile paired with crescent eyes is what makes him confused.

So what are the chances that Park Jungsoo leads Park Chanyeol to Byun Baekhyun?

I don't know for sure.

You decide!