Present Day

When Baekhyun enters Chanyeol's firm, he expects all heads to turn. Interns and secretaries, basically anyone without a law degree, should go out of their way to greet him, and those with law degrees should, at the very least, spare him a respectful glance. He expects acknowledgement. He is Park Baekhyun after all.

After waving at a few people, Baekhyun marches over to Chanyeol's secretary, who's currently tapping away at her computer. When she senses his presence, she immediately stops to give him her undivided attention (as he expected). “I'm here for Chanyeol,” he states with a smile.

“Mr. Park is interviewing new law clerks for the firm, but I'll be happy to let you in his office,” she says, already getting up.

“I have the key, sweetie,” Baekhyun says as he turns around, ending their conversation.

Instead of turning the corner, where Chanyeol's office is, Baekhyun goes the opposite way and heads straight for Sehun's office. Because he has manners, Baekhyun knocks on the door once before entering.

“I'm here,” he singsongs, mindful to ignore the look of disappointment on Sehun's face. He takes a seat in front of Sehun's desk and stares at the person behind it.

“Why are you here, Baek?” asks Sehun, getting straight to the point – somewhat taking the fun out of Baekhyun's plan.

“I can't visit you?” he asks, batting his eyelashes. “I thought we were close.”

“I'm busy, Baek. Go wait for Chanyeol in his office, not mine.”

“It's boring in there,” Baekhyun admits, causing Sehun to look at him. “Besides, I'm here to give you a message from Luhan.”

Sehun puts down his pen at the mention of the sacred name. “What is it?”

“He sends you his love,” answers Baekhyun with a sweet smile that took a lot of effort on his part. He has always found it incredibly hard to smile in front of Sehun.

“Anything else?” Sehun asks when he picks up his pen again.

“He also apologizes for not being able to visit you today. A special customer came in, so he's currently entertaining him.” Baekhyun waits for Sehun's reaction, and when he gets Sehun to look at him, expression obviously intrigued, he smirks.

“Who?” Sehun asks, trying his best to sound calm and casual. Baekhyun could see through him however. Knowing Sehun for many years makes it easy for Baekhyun to read him, and consequently, easy for Baekhyun to play with his mind.

Having Sehun exactly where he wants him, Baekhyun abruptly stands up. “I think I should leave now. You look very busy, and I don't –”

“Baek,” Sehun growls. “Who's the special customer?”

Sehun has never been patient, and Baekhyun admits that he gets a kick out of that. “Fine,” he huffs before sitting back down. “It's Minseok. Kim Minseok. You remember him?”

There's a spark of recognition in Sehun's eyes, coupled with something else (concern perhaps), but he quickly waves it off. “Yes, I remember him,” he says, rather stiffly. Sehun then goes back to his papers like nothing happened, but Baekhyun knows better.

“He's a nice fellow, isn't he?” Baekhyun continues, aware of how hard Sehun is pressing down on the paper. Honestly, he thinks it's cute that Sehun would still be jealous after all these years.

“Yeah. He's a great guy,” Sehun mumbles. “You can leave now.”

Baekhyun throws his head back and laughs. “You're so transparent sometimes, Sehun.”

“Goodbye, Baek.”

“Okay, fine.” Baekhyun gets up with a satisfied smile on his face. Before he leaves, he tells Sehun, “I don't know if this will make you feel better, but I should go ahead and remind you that you get to see Luhan every night. You, my dear clueless acquaintance, are always winning. Don't –”

“Baek, I won't hesitate to call security.”

Baekhyun's eyes darken instantly. “Well then, I won't hesitate to pray that you don't get laid tonight,” he says right before closing the door. So much for trying to be nice.

It's actually disappointing that his prayer won't be answered because tomorrow is a special day for Sehun. Baekhyun doubts Luhan would be able to resist Sehun then. What a pity.

He's just about to go into Chanyeol's office when he hears an extremely familiar laugh down the hall, inside one of the meeting rooms. Before he could even decide whether or not he should walk towards the room, Chanyeol comes out and he's smiling – not at Baekhyun though.

“Thank you for coming out and applying for the position,” Chanyeols says, eyes glued to the person Baekhyun can't yet see. “I will call you to let you know whether you got the job. Although, since you have such an impressive résumé, Ms. Kwon, it's going to be hard for the next applicant to beat you.”

Baekhyun frowns. Chanyeol is actually complimenting someone that isn't him. That doesn't happen often. What is going on? Who is Ms. Kwon?

“Thank you. You're too kind,” says a sultry, female voice. And just when Baekhyun's curiosity has reached its peak, the mystery person walks out of the room, red stilettos clicking on the marble floors. Baekhyun's mouth falls open at the sight of the young lady standing in front of Chanyeol. The first thing he notices about this woman is her voluptuous body. She has curves in all the right places and her face isn't bad either – though that could be the result of her caking on the makeup and false eyelashes. She looks like a porcelain doll with a swimsuit model body. A deadly combination. It also doesn't help that she has long, wavy black hair and hazel colored eyes – eyes that seem to be undressing Chanyeol as she speaks.

Baekhyun blinks because something is not right. No one is supposed to be undressing his Chanyeol with their eyes. Who is this woman who thinks she can?

“I was so nervous. I'm not sure I even did a good job,” she says with a shy giggle. Baekhyun narrows his eyes. He recognizes flirting when he sees it, and right now, this new woman is doing just that – and with a married man!

“You did wonderful,” Chanyeol says cheerfully, unaware that Baekhyun's eyes are glaring at him and at (the now unwanted) Ms. Kwon.

“Well, I hope to hear from you soon,” she says, thirsty smile included.

Baekhyun starts a mental countdown of when he'll obliterate this woman, who was reeking with desperation.

“Have a great day.” Chanyeol offers his hand, and Ms. Kwon happily shakes it.

“Thank you, and you too,” she says before reluctantly letting go of Chanyeol's hand, leading Baekhyun to roll his eyes.

Chanyeol gives Ms. Kwon one last smile before he turns to go back inside the room. Ms. Kwon, who apparently has other ideas, stops him by grabbing his arm. Back then, Baekhyun would have already stormed over there to give Ms. Kwon a piece of his mind, but right now, he stays rooted to his spot, willing to wait and see how this would unfold.

“Yes? Is something wrong?” Chanyeol questions, puzzled.

“I – I was wondering if you would like to have lunch with me....” She bats her fake lashes and quickly adds, “If you're not busy, that is.”

“Oh.” Chanyeol's eyes widen and he looks like he knows where she's going with this. Fortunately, Baekhyun taught him well, so Chanyeol clears his throat and politely rejects the offer. “I'm sorry, I can't.”

Ms. Kwon's face falls immediately and she looks a bit confused as to why Chanyeol would reject her. Baekhyun, on the other hand, feels wonderful.

“Oh, are you busy?” she asks, trying to make sense of the situation. It's as if she's never been turned down, so the idea of Chanyeol doing just that is foreign and confusing to her. Baekhyun has never seen anything more pathetic.

“Yes, I am. I'm having lunch with a special someone,” answers Chanyeol as he holds up his left hand and wiggles his ring finger.

Baekhyun's lips tug upwards at the sight of the platinum band Chanyeol wears every day.

“Oh,” whispers Ms. Kwon, blushing in embarrassment. “I'm sorry for asking.”

“It's okay,” Chanyeol says good-naturedly.

“I'll be leaving now,” she says, wanting to make a quick exit since her plans have crumbled right before her eyes.

“Okay, drive safely,” Chanyeol says before he goes back into the room. Ms. Kwon takes a moment to collect herself, no doubt reminding herself that she is still young and gorgeous. Baekhyun wants nothing more than to crush that sense of confidence.

When Ms. Kwon walks past Baekhyun, he tells her, “You dropped something.”

She stops and looks around. “What?”

“Your dignity.”

With a satisfied smirk, he walks away, leaving her stunned. He could hear her cursing at him under her breath as she walks the other way, and instead of feeling offended, he finds it amusing. She obviously has no idea who she's cursing at.

“Are you ready for a fantastic lunch date, Mr. Park?” Baekhyun asks as soon as he steps inside the meeting room.

Chanyeol looks up and smiles instantly. “I am.” He makes his way over to Baekhyun to give him a kiss on the lips.

“Great, but before we go, do you mind explaining what just happened?”

Please log in to read the full chapter