The next few weeks, Chanyeol went to work, reluctantly leaving Baekhyun at home again. On a Thursday in the third week of August, he found Kyungsoo sitting at his usual place at the cash register, blowing on steaming noodles.

Hey Chanyeol. Kyungsoo smiled drowsily and Chanyeol noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

You ok Kyungsoo?

Yeah, of course. Why?

Well… You kind of have dark circles under your eyes.

Oh, these? Kyungsoo reached up and traced under his eyes. I-It’s nothing. I’m perfectly fine.

Whatever you say. Chanyeol frowned, not convinced. Shrugging, he went to the storage room and grabbed a pile of books to sort on the shelf.

Like usual, at 3 o'clock, Kyungsoo waved goodbye to Chanyeol but to his surprise, Chanyeol asked Kyungsoo to have dinner with him.

I couldn’t, it’d be too much.

I insist Kyungsoo. Everytime I come in, you’re eating cup noodles. You can’t keep eating them every morning.

Chanyeol, goodbye.

Please Kyungsoo! Chanyeol made puppy eyes which Kyungsoo just scoffed at, but he was smiling inwardly.

Fine, fine, just let me close the shop, alright?

Yeah, yeah! I’ll wait outside. Happily, Chanyeol waited outside and glanced at the alleyway he had found Baekhyun in that day. Now, Chanyeol couldn’t imagine if he had left Baekhyun there to freeze. It broke his heart to think about Baekhyun shivering in just a tattered hoodie.

Sorry, I’m ready. Kyungsoo said, snapping him out of his thoughts and he smiled.

Let’s go. Don’t be surprised if something jumps out.

What?

Nothing. Chanyeol smiled and lead the way to his apartment.

Baekhyun sat at the door and waited patiently for Chanyeol. It was always the best part of Baekhyun’s day when Chanyeol came home from work. In the meantime, Baekhyun usually brushed his teeth (Chanyeol had bought him a toothbrush on the way back from work one day), went to the bathroom, or just sat at the door. He didn’t mind waiting. While in that box in the alleyway, Baekhyun had waited for quite a while for someone to come and bring him home.

After fumbling with his keys for a while, Chanyeol finally grasped the door key and unlocked it. He could hear Baekhyun whimpering behind the door, impatiently wanting him to open the door to tackle him. So, that’s what Chanyeol did, he opened the door, and, like usual, scooped Baekhyun up in his arms.