Baekhyun packed slowly, and meticulously. His pants were folded perfectly and placed first, then shirts, laid carefully to prevent wrinkling. Finally, underwear and pajamas were stacked on top, because they are the first to be worn. 

Finished, he reviewed his handiwork, nothing was out of place, and everything was absolutely perfect. Except that it wasn’t. Baekhyun sighed, dumping the contents of his suit case onto the bed. This will be the third time Baekhyun has packed in a row.

His suitcase was too small for his items, only fitting two outfits, causal and professional, and one set of sleeping clothes. He would use his husband's much larger one. Except that he can't, because Baekhyun would never be able to return it.

"Baek we need to talk."

Baekhyun's eyes lifted from the small DIY Christmas gift magazine he was reading to look at his husband.

"What is it?"

"I got promoted today."

Baekhyun's eyes lit up and he smiled genuinely for his husband’s good fortune.

"That's wonderful Chanyeol!"

He pulled him in for a tight embrace, wrapping his thin arms around the taller's neck, but surprisingly the action was not returned. Chanyeol recognized the confusion on his lover’s face.

"Well you see, the thing is, I'll be working much longer hours. We won't get to see each other much."

Chanyeol frowned in contemplation. He looked as if he were trying to decide whether he should be happy or not. Baekhyun refused to let him worry about nothing.

"Nonsense, we can make it work. I'm so proud of you Chanyeol"

He nuzzled his face into the crook of Chanyeol's neck reassuringly and he could feel the smile of his husband and he kissed him sweetly. Yet, despite his words Baekhyun had an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach.

The suit case was finally zipped up and placed by the door. He decided to do a quick tidying of the house, returning the few dishes left out to dry in their rightful places, rearranging the decorative pillows on the couch in a more fashionable manner, and smoothing out the covers of their- no Chanyeol's bed. 

Satisfied, he thought it was time to take his leave. However, he remembered something important. He quickly retrieved the long golden gift box from underneath the sofa. Shimming the box open, he pulled out a deep red scarf. It was messily made, accompanied by loose threads, undone knots, sloppily counted rows of stitches, but beautiful nonetheless. It was the epitome of effort and thoughtfulness, and the feelings of love were clearly evident.

Baekhyun had decided to make Chanyeol a scarf for Christmas. He couldn't knit, but he used to crochet with his grandmother when he was younger, and he figured that after watching a few tutorial videos, he could start where he had left off.

It ended up being a much more difficult task than he had figured. He kept getting the stitches wrong, and losing count, but he continued. Chanyeol would look handsome with a red scarf.

It was 10:43 pm and Baekhyun was getting worried, Chanyeol was almost a full hour late. He was beginning to get antsy, and his nervousness showed through his work at hand. Placing the "under construction" Christmas present back into his sewing box, Baekhyun found his cell phone and gave his husband a phone call.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring...

"Hello."

Baekhyun was relieved to hear the sound of a recognizable deep voice.

"Oh thank goodness. Yeol, where are you? I've been worried sick and..."

"Whoa Baekhyun, calm down. I'm fine. I thought we went over this already, my new position requires me to be out later."

"I know. I know. I was just worried, because it's already 11:00, and you've never come back this late."

"Sorry about that, I'll make sure to call you next time okay?"

"Okay. I love you Yeollie."

"I love you too, Baek."

Baekhyun went to hang up the call, but he was distracted by what sounded to be accented Korean.

"Who was that?”

"Nobody."

It was Chanyeol this time. He had never hung up the phone.

"Good. Let’s finish what we started then."

He was penetrated with the sound of a very familiar voice . The phone's screen cracked when it hit the floor. He wondered if his heart had as well.

Tossing the box and other wrappings into the trash bin, Baekhyun folded the scarf in half and placed on top of the dining table. His fingers shook as he caressed the fringed edges one last time.

The tears ran down Baekhyun's cheeks for the second time.

Baekhyun wouldn’t believe it. He couldn't believe it, except Chanyeol never came home that night... or the next day.

Any useless thoughts or feelings of betrayal were blocked out by the concentration he put into crocheting each and every stitch from that point on perfectly.

Chanyeol finally returned that next night. He apologized fiercely for his absence, to the point that it became unbearable. Maybe it was because Baekhyun knew he was apologizing for more than just simply being late.

Baekhyun went to bed extra early. Chanyeol never heard his sobs or noticed the tear stains on the pillow.

He slid the ring off of his finger for the very first time since putting it on. He rubbed away at the red mark left by the snug fit of the metal. It didn't go away. It just got worse and stayed there, the mocking mark of his misery.

The ring was set on top of the scarf, where it would be both safe and visible, a note placed beside it. This had been the hardest part for Baekhyun, because he didn't want to give the precious yet meaningless circle of metal up.

The scarf was finally finished. Baekhyun placed it into the gift box he found to be the most beautiful and hid the box under the couch, to make sure it would be a surprise on Christmas.

Having finished his project earlier than planned, he had some spare time, and thought it would be nice to surprise his hubby with lunch.

Making his way through the office, he smiled when he was met with the gold plated name tag reading "Park Chanyeol- Assistant Director". He began to open the door, but stopped in his tracks when he recognized the voice of a man speaking in a familiar style of accented Korean.

"Chanyeol, I need you."

"We can't do this anymore Kris. I'm married... and ... and"

"And what?"

"It kills me to see him smiling every day, knowing I’m cheating on him!"

"Do you love him?"

"What?"

"I said do you love him"

Chanyeol said nothing; his face was unreadable, at least for Baekhyun. Kris could obviously see something that he couldn't"

"Leave him. Leave him, and be with me."

Baekhyun had only ever had the wind knocked out of him once before. It was in first grade and his brother pushed him a little too hard on the swing set. He fell, and hitting the ground full force made his lungs feel like they had collapsed.

Baekhyun felt that sensation all over again, except this time, funny enough, he had never fallen.

He ran the full six miles home. He didn't know how though, because he had already forgotten how to breathe.

His left ring finger burned agonizingly, so he held it up to the light. The engraved "B+C forever" seemed to be much duller than when he had last checked.

Chanyeol stumbled into his apartment, not expecting all of the lights to be off. He had come home early to talk to Baekhyun. After finding the light, he set the roses, along with the necklace he had bought for his husband down on the kitchen counter.

He was going to confess everything to Baekhyun, beg for his forgiveness, and shower him with all the love and affection that he had, to make up for the last couple months. Taking a deep breath, Chanyeol braced himself.

"Baek love, are you here?

He began drifting through all the rooms looking for his little husband, until he noticed the scarf on the dining table. Getting a better look, his heart sunk at the sight of the wedding ring. Hands trembling he reached for the note, unfolding it shakily.

He read it and fell to his knees, choking on a sob.

Dear Yeollie,

My soul mate, happy virus, and husband...

I'm sorry I wasn't good enough for you. I wanted to make you happy, just like you made me happy every day, but it seems that I only drove you away. I'm a coward, Yeol. I know you want to divorce me, leave me for that man named Kris, and that you don't love me anymore, but I can't let you do that. I'm a coward and selfish and I just love you too much, so instead I'm running a way. This way, you won't have to see me ever again, but I will always be the only husband of Mr. Park Chanyeol. I'm so very sorry and I love you.

-Park Baekhyun