‘Excited?’ Baekhyun asked, dropping himself on the newly replaced dorm sofa. Its black leather bounced unlike the previous one, fluttering against what skin he had on display in a loose, low-cut tank top.

‘Very.’ Beaekbeom answered, his eyes glistened even from across the phone. How many people can I bring?’ Baekhyun asked, settling into his ramen while setting his phone on the coffee table. ‘Bring the whole group.’ His older brother replied merrily. ‘Really? You don’t want a low-key wedding?’ Baekhyun asked aloofly. Baekbeom shrugged, combing his fingers through his hair on the other side of the phone screen; ‘Yeah, having them there shouldn’t be a problem. They’re nice guys and they’re your teammates. Besides, mom wants them there.’ Baekhyun loosed a sigh and his brother smirked; ‘What can I say, she’s proud of you.’

‘Of us. You’re the one who’s allowed to get married.’ He replied, ears reddening while he blew on his noodles before tucking in loudly. No one had left their rooms and the dorm was finally (Baekhyun appreciated), quiet for the night.

‘And you’re the one dating Taeyon. You can bring her if you want-‘

‘-Yah you know I can’t.’ Baekhyun frowned while his brother smiled; ‘I don’t mind. I’m just happy I’ll get to see you.’ That annoying, dazzling smile Baekhyun resented so much continued to glow through the handphone screen.

Had his brother always been this way? So unrelenting? Or was it something…or someone else who turned him into this? For his Hyung; the wedding date couldn’t come any sooner.

‘I have a…question.’ Baekhyun uttered, jutting his jaw out, debating whether to say it or not. But who else could he ask? ‘Yep?’ Baekbeom yawned while laying his head against his palm. ‘…Do you two…argue?’ He asked, avoiding his brother’s gaze. ‘Of course!’

‘Really?’ Baekhyun guffawed at his brother who now chortled; ‘Yeah. Disagreements are natural; we just iron them out.’

Baekhyun frowned, holding his chopsticks tightly in his hand, despair seemed to cling to him, and he hoped his brother couldn’t see it; ‘But what if you have an argument that’s so bad…’ He bit his bottom lip, chewing on it slightly before continuing; ‘…if you said things…if you’ve done things…that you can’t take back-‘

-‘If she cares about you, she’ll forgive you.’ His brother said sincerely. ‘Yah I didn’t say this was about me!’ Baekhyun spluttered, pointing at the phone.

‘I know you can be stubborn sometimes but swallow your pride this time-‘

‘-It’s not that easy Hyung…’ Baekhyun murmured while he stared down at the bottom of his ramen cup intensely, his red cheeks turning redder.  

His brother’s asked soothingly; ‘Do you care about her?’

Baekhyun grimaced, staring at his hands instead. Regardless, Baekbeom grinned at his brother knowingly; ‘Just think about living the rest of your life without her.’

Baekhyun let those words wash over him; felt the tight squeeze of his heart at simply the thought of never seeing-

-‘Now, that makes apologising pretty easy, right?’ Baekbeom chuckled amusedly at his brother; ‘Whatever it is, I’m sure Taeyon will forgive you.’ Baekhyun looked away, clenching his jaw, forcing himself to nod.

-‘Oh and bring _____. You can even bring the other manager um…Mr Kim?’ He would have been grateful for the topic change, had it not gone in another uncomfortable direction.

‘How is _____? She always seems so polite through the phone. I hope you’re not giving your manager a headache-‘

-‘She’s not here.’ Baekhyun cut in hotly, abruptly stuffing more ramyeon into his mouth and chewing aggressively.

‘I like her.’ Baekbeom said with a happy nod before yawning again. ‘I know that, and I don’t get why.’ Bakhyun muttered in response. ‘What do you mean? She’s always been so respectful when she says Hi. Actually…’ He scratched his chin; ‘Why haven’t I seen her in a while? Is she ok?-‘

-Baekhyun made a point of slamming his chopsticks on the table; ‘Yah I’m your brother and you haven’t even asked me if I’m ok.’

‘Well then, are you ok?’ Baekbeom asked amusedly.

‘Yeah, I’m fine but that’s not the point.’ Baekhyun pointed out with a pout.

‘Well, I hope you’re fine enough to sing at the wedding. I’m guessing you’ve prepared something.’ His hyung asked happily.

‘Yeah I know; I’ve got the song picked…but my voice has been so tired from the musical practices. I’ll do my best.’

‘I know you will.’ His brother grinned encouragingly; ‘Who knows, maybe one day you’ll be duetting with Taeyon at your wedding!’

Baekhyun’s face fell; ‘Hyung-‘

-‘Oh look who it is, ______!’ Baekbeom called out, right past Baekhyun.

---------

You yawned, padding down the corridor with bare feet, heading to the kitchen to get a drink. If you’d have known it was Baekhyun and his brother Video-calling each other, heck; if you knew Baekhyun was even alone and awake at this time in the living area, you would have skipped the drink entirely.

‘______!’ Baekbeom called out and you froze mid-yawn, eyes wide like saucers before realising what just happened and who was there.

Panic stimmed in your eyes as you bent a full 90 degrees, bowing your head politely, just waiting for Baekhyun to turn and glare at you with his red ones. ‘Oh Hi! Hello Baekbeom-sshi.’ You got up and avoided looking at Baekhyun who still hadn’t turned to look at you. Your heart stuck in your throat, knowing full-well he was furious; ‘I’m so sorry, I just came in and I don’t want to interrupt so I’ll just-‘

-‘No! No don’t go. I wanted to say hi and tell you you’re invited to the wedding!’ Baekbeom sat up again (he seemed to be in or on a bed) while he spoke, waving at you through the screen.

-‘Come sit for a second! Baekhyun and I were just talking about you-‘ The blood in your veins turned to ice. What did that mean? Was he telling Baekbeom every dirty secret shared between you? Was he ranting about how you barely spoke to him during his rehearsals? But Baekbeom seemed so smiley, perhaps…perhaps he was refusing to believe his brother. Which perhaps he shouldn’t have…

-‘HYUNG!’ Baekhyun warned. ‘What?’ Baekbeom asked, confused. You remained frozen, not knowing whether to move or stay standing. Baekhyun shifted, grabbing his phone and threatening to shut it if his brother continued this way-

-‘I was just going to say, _____. We’d like you to come to the wedding!’ Baekbeom smiled cheerfully.

A spark warmed you for just a second, just a moment before realising…that ‘’We’’ didn’t include Baekhyun. Oh God. Do I refuse? What would Baekhyun want? A thousand scenarios ran through your head; saying yes or no, or that you’d consider it and more. Which one would end in pissing off Baekhyun the least?

Trying to look relaxed in front of his brother, you moved, sitting- no, perching on the couch, hyper-aware of Baekhyun’s presence beside you. His silence either meant a cold fury surged within him, or he was at least passively existing beside you.

‘B-but it’s a family affair, I wouldn’t want to intrude-‘

-‘You won’t be. Please come. Besides, ‘We need someone to keep Baekhyun in-check on our special day.’ He said, smirking at his brother through the phone. It struck you just how alike they looked. Each one of the Exo member’s siblings looked so similar to them, but it never seemed to stop being a shock.

Your eyes flashed towards Baekhyun…and lowered instantly, too scared to meet his gaze and experience the anger in them. Yeah, it really seemed like you’d taken good care of him these past few weeks…

And now you were supposed to gate-crash his brother’s wedding; Baekhyun would be enraged. Besides…seeing him and Taeyon at the wedding together would be…not much fun.

Nonetheless, looking straight at Baekbeom, you flashed a smile, choosing the path that perhaps…perhaps would anger Baekhyun the least; ‘Thank you. I’d love to come.’

Baekhyun had already put the phone down, resting it on a stand while he ate. He’d momentarily paused, just momentarily. Perhaps con