2013.04.05, 12:09

 

"Since you're the guide here..." Baekhyun said as he closes the menu and tosses it down to the table. "I'll let you order everything we'll eat."

"Are you sure?" Chanyeol said while looking at him with only his eyes visible; the rest of his face being covered by the enormous menu he was holding and scanning.

They arrived at Benessere restaurant around 5 minutes ago after taking hundreds of pictures in the cafe and in the tree-lined streets, with Baekhyun being mesmerized and hyped by almost everything he sees around the place. Chanyeol discovered that the ash blonde boy is a picture-loving type of tourist as he takes countless selcas in almost every spot or avenue he finds beautiful. He must be savoring all the opportunities he have to take memorable pictures as much as he can, Chanyeol thought. But he doesn't really mind the other's intense energy about clicking his polaroid camera almost every minute, though; he himself doesn't only love taking pictures as well but also considers it his passion to be honest.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they settled themselves on a table near the windows and the veranda since Chanyeol figured that Baekhyun would love to take pictures from the second floor of the establishment. His intuition proved truthful, of course; Baekhyun wasted no time bringing out his polaroid camera to take pictures.

"In that case..." Chanyeol said while smiling at the other who was basically too busy fanning the polaroid films in the air to make the paper produce the image faster. "Let's go for a seafood--"

"Oh but no seafoods please," the shorter boy quickly protested as respectful as he can. He stopped shaking the pictures a bit and looked at the other sitting opposite to him. "I... I kinda have an allergy, you see..."

The other shot him a surprised and concerned look, while the waiter (who's name tag writes Minseok, Baekhyun noticed) awkwardly waits for their orders. "Really?"

"Yup." he quickly responded with a little chuckle, somehow feeling the same awkwardness the baby faced waiter standing by their table's side is currently feeling.

"Then I guess we can order a Gorgonzola cheese risotto and lemon cocktails for drinks instead." Chanyeol said while flashing the waiter one of his wide grins. He didn't even bother to look through the menu as he blurted out their order. Baekhyun concluded that he must be a frequent visitor of the place since it seems like he already memorized the entire menu list of the restaurant. "How does that sound?"

"It sounds good, but I kinda wanna try their tomato pasta too, actually." Baekhyun said while throwing all budget related concerns to oblivion after gazing on the mouth-watering cuisine placed on the very front page of the menu. It seems like the tomato pasta is the restaurant's best seller so he can't really pass up the opportunity to try it, even if it means being bankrupt the next day. "I mean, that's like the best food to try in an Italian place, right?"

"Oh, right," Chanyeol said while chuckling a little. "But can we finish all of that, though?"

"I'm a big eater. Trust me, I can finish them all by myself if I wanted to." Baekhyun replied in a playful manner. "We can even order pizza and I can still eat it all. I mean, if I have the budget for it."

"Oh, but this is gonna be my treat," Chanyeol said after the waiter beside their table bowed to take his leave. "I'm the tour guide here so let me pay everything."

Baekhyun almost choked even without anything to be choked about after hearing that from the other. "No! I can't let you! We'll pool our money and--"

"It's okay, really!" the taller guy said while grinning widely. "I insist."

Baekhyun pouted and stared at the other incredulously. "Let's cancel the tomato pasta then. I didn't mean to order more because I thought the both of us are gonna--"

"No, don't worry about it at all, Baekhyun." Chanyeol said in his usual deep but cheery voice, and the ash blonde boy has to admit he kinda fought off a smile from escaping his lips at the sound of his name being spoken by the other. "I mean, this is my last day in Seoul anyway so I really don't mind spending money for touring and stuff."

"Your last day?" the other quickly asked in confusion. "I thought you live around here?"

"I do, but..." Chanyeol said but trailed off after, as if looking for the right words to say. "I'll be leaving the country this midnight, actually. College matters."

"Oh..." was the only reply Baekhyun can muster while looking at a polaroid selca of the two of them smiling like idiots with the Bloom and Goute cafe in their background.

Chanyeol, on the other hand, picked up the seemingly awkward atmosphere again and quickly changed the topic. "Okay, enough about me. Tell me something about yourself." he said while settling his chin above his hands and staring at the other expectantly. "I mean, aside from being allergic to seafoods."

"Well..." Baekhyun said while pouting a little and staring at the roof a bit as if concentrating on what to say next. "I'm 19, I just graduated high school, and I'm going to start attending college 2 days from now."

"You're 19?!" the taller guy exclaimed with wide eyes. "I thought you're only, like, 16 or something!"

Baekhyun laughed a little with that as if he was expecting the same reaction already, then said, "I get that a lot. But hey, I'm not that short to look like 16."

"It's not because of the height though, it's the face..." the other said with his eyebrows furrowed a little and eyes winced slightly as if studying Baekhyun's facial features. "You look really young... I mean, not in a negative way of course."

The ash blonde boy did his best to fight off a blush from painting his cheeks pink after hearing that from the other, even though he wasn't really sure if it is a compliment or what.

The talkative guy in front of him continued. "I'm 19 too, by the way. In case you're wondering..."

"Well you do look like one," Baekhyun said with a little chuckle. The waiter then approached their table again to serve them their appetizers after that; a bowl of cream of mushroom soup and a plate of garlic breads.

"So where did you graduate high school? And what university are you going to attend to?" the black haired boy continued to ask with a twinkle in his expressive eyes.

Baekhyun grabbed the spoon near his plate and tasted the soup first before answering the other's question. "I attended Jungwon High School. I just graduated weeks ago actually..." he said before taking another spoonful of the sumptuous soup. "And this week-long vacation is my parents' graduation gift to me."

"That's nice." Chanyeol said in an amazed tone after biting and munching the garlic bread he quickly grabbed just after the waiter served it.

Baekhyun continued. "And this upcoming 6th of April, I'll be attending Kyung Hee university and stay in their dorms and stuff."

Chanyeol almost choked on his bread after hearing that from the other, then quickly asked, "Kyung Hee here in Seoul?"

"Ah, no. The Suwon branch in Gyeonggi, actually." Baekhyun replied. "I got a full scholarship so... yeah."

The ash blonde boy isn't sure if it's just him or what, but he thought he saw a little hint of disappointment in the other's face as he pouted a little. He then just shrugged it off.

"I see..." Chanyeol said after replacing his little pout with a wide smile again. "But you know, I myself got a full scholarship too in Beijing Institute of Technology, so I'm traveling to China this midnight to stay there for my entire college years."

"Wow. You must be really smart to achieve a full scholarship in an international university."

"No, you must be the smart one here to receive a full scholarship in Kyung Hee, you know..."

Baekhyun wanted to protest out of humbleness after that but just smiled in return instead.

-----

The food, as Baekhyun expected, was of topnotch quality. He isn't one to be considered an expert when it comes to high class European cuisines but he's quite sure that the restaurant must be receiving good feedbacks and reactions from such. The aroma and scent of the meals mixes well with the interior designs of the whole place, giving it a real, genuine Italian feel to it that Baekhyun finds impressive.

The taste of all the meals they ordered were exquisitely delicious too, and the two boys spent a couple of minutes silent and quiet as they enjoy the little feast served in their table. Even Chanyeol who seemed to have no capability to stop his talkativeness actually remained silent; too busy stuffing his mouth with spoonful of meals and soups.

But Baekhyun isn't really that comfortable with eating so much yet, especially after knowing that Chanyeol is planning to treat everything for him. While it is true that he appreciates the kind gesture since he's practically running out of allowance, he also just can't feel comfortable about being treated to an expensive restaurant by a stranger he only just met hours ago.

He decided he should probably protest some more about it and swallowed the pasta he was chewing before breaking the silence between them. "Chanyeol, let me pay everything," he bravely said while looking at the other expectantly. Although he practically can't do what he just said anyway, his pride still took a hold of him and he toughened up to propose it. "I'm already troubling you by being my one day tour guide and I can't let you be troubled more by paying here."

"Hey, I said let me pay everything, right?" Chanyeol said a little incoherently while having his mouth full with pasta. "And you're not troubling me at all. I'm actually having fun; I mean, being a one day tour guide in Seoul is really nice before leaving for China."

"But why don't you spend your last day with your family or your friends?" Baekhyun asked casually out of curiosity, all matters about paying for the food suddenly disappearing in his mind and being replaced by an urge to ask the guy why he would rather hang out with a stranger like him than spend his time with friends and loved ones. But he then quickly shot the other a seemingly apologetic look after realizing he might just crossed boundaries by asking a potentially personal question and said, "Oh, uhmm... It's not really appropriate of me to ask that. I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay, no need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong," Chanyeol assured him with a comforting smile, and Baekhyun can't help but control a smile of his own from forming in his lips because of the other's adorableness. "I already spent the day yesterday with them and I kinda reserved today for myself. But then I changed plans and decided to be your tour guide instead."

"But It's funny, though..." Baekhyun suddenly said out of the blue while chuckling a little. The taller guy shot him a confused look in return. "I mean, it's funny how we met during your last day here when it is the first day for me..."

"Yeah, you can say that..." Chanyeol replied with a little nod. "It's like an ironic coincidence or something..."

The shorter boy just smiled in return and resumed on eating his meal, enjoying his second serving of pasta and risotto.

Chanyeol continued speaking though. "So why are you in Gangnam, by the way? Have you visited other places in Seoul as well?"

"I toured on other districts in Seoul already over the past days and visited a lot of places, except here in Gangnam district and Namsan area." he replied with a little smile while looking at the other. "I thought I should save the best for last."

"You bet!" Chanyeol replied giddily while flashing the other a blinding smile. "Gangnam and Namsan are like the best places in all of Seoul in my opinion."

"My plan is to visit Namsan later this evening..." Baekhyun said while twisting his fork in a circular motion to get the pasta from his plate. "And spend the daytime in Gangnam for the time being."

"I can accompany you around here. I know a lot of places."

"Sure. If it won't be too much of a hassle for you."

"Of course it's not." Chanyeol replied with a hint of excitement in his deep and baritone voice. "But wasn't it lonely, though? Being on a tour alone?"

Baekhyun unconsciously let out another pout with that; it's been a habit of his to do whenever he thinks of something in his mind, then said, "It does get lonely sometimes, but I actually appreciate the serenity as well. I mean, this is supposed to be a week-long date with my boyfriend to be honest but we broke up and--oh!" he quickly stopped himself from speaking by clasping a hand over his mouth.

Chanyeol stared at him with wide and surprised eyes, as if he can't believe his own ears from hearing that slip of tongue from the other.

Baekhyun made no effort about hiding his blush from springing up anymore and quickly looked down on the table. "I... I just said 'boyfriend', didn't I?"

"Yup." Chanyeol said while blinking his surprise away to lessen the other's awkwardness. "But it's okay, no need to be shy about it."

"Crap." Baekhyun replied while letting out a little chuckle. Even if the other told him it's alright and there's nothing to be shy about, Baekhyun still felt a little off and embarrassed about it so he continued to nail his eyes on the plate in front of him.

"Hey, I said it's okay!" the other said while looking at him gently. "No problem about it. Don't be embarrassed at all!"

Baekhyun then shifted his gaze from the table to the other's face, doing it slowly and cautiously as if feeling scared to see the other's reaction. But when that familiar silly grin beamed at him from his front, he returned a smile of his own and forced himself to act casual and normal again. "O-Okay..."

"But sorry for disturbing you by hanging out with you when you're practically using the time alone for thinking and orienting yourself," Chanyeol suddenly said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, I assume that's what's going on?"

Baekhyun was quick to reply to that though, and said, "You're not disturbing anyone, I promise!"

Chanyeol smiled a little awkwardly with that, then remained silent to wait for the other to speak more.

Baekhyun picked up what the other was waiting though and continued to talk. "And yeah, it's true that I'm kinda using the time alone for myself to think and stuff but it wouldn't hurt to have someone along too, right?"

"Are you sure?" the other asked with a tone of anticipation in his voice.

"Yeah." he quickly replied with an agreeing nod.

"Alright then!" Chanyeol blurted out in almost a yell. "I suddenly had a good place in my mind to go to after this. Do you like art?"

Baekhyun hummed in response, setting aside his confusion about the other's sudden excitement again. "Yes. I'm kinda interested with them as well. Why?"

"Then let's go visit some art galleries in Cheongdam after this." the other said in such an excited manner, making his boyish looks beam with charm and adorableness for probably the millionth time already since this morning. "Some works of art have the ability to uplift a person's mood or feelings or something, and it might be able to help you out."

Baekhyun wanted to say that he actually doesn't need anything that will brighten his mood since he isn't specifically feeling down for the time being. It's true that he's still kinda in the process of healing but he assured himself that he already moved on and he's completely fine about it, but manners took a hold of him again and he decided not to contradict the other anymore. "Okay..." he replied instead.

"Cool!" Chanyeol blurted out with a wide and genuine grin, in which the other returned with a smile of his own.

And Baekhyun hoped to enjoy his time together with Chanyeol later.

 

(NOTE: yay 2nd chapter! Baekhyun is accidentally outed omg. and Chanyeol being such a charming dork asdfghjkl.
seriously tho. Chanyeol can easily ruin my bias list in just one snap. that freaking ball of cuteness.

lol but anyway pls comment your thoughts guys! I would love to read them all. xoxo!)