“Thanks, Sehun” Luhan says, bringing his coffee closer to himself. Sehun likes hearing those words from Luhan every time. He smiles and goes back to cleaning the coffee machine.

Luhan visits often, ever since that first time he came looking for Baekhyun hyung. He doesn’t talk about business anymore though; he just orders coffee, like every other customer. Sometimes, he is in a hurry and he grabs his coffee quickly, calling ‘thanks, Sehun’ over his shoulder. Sehun likes the words even then. He has yet to find out where Luhan is always in a hurry to go.

Some other times, Luhan sits for a while, enjoying his coffee seated on a stool. Sehun likes those times because it’s usually when there aren’t many customers and Sehun wants company. On good hair days, Sehun might strike up a conversation with Luhan, who willingly answers his questions and keeps the conversation going. It’s not like they have discussed anything serious, but Sehun values those conversations. He does his best not to lisp.

He has found out that Luhan laughs easily, so he tries his best to make him laugh, even if it gets silly sometimes –Sehun is still young so he can afford to act a bit silly. He has a feeling that Luhan’s life is stressful, so making him laugh feels like doing a good deed. The rest of the days, Sehun watches Luhan from afar, wondering how someone who is four years older looks like he is four years younger. Luhan also looks like a girl or an angel, Sehun is not sure yet. He is pretty and graceful like a girl, but when he smiles the world brightens up a bit, so maybe he is an angel. Sehun doesn’t mind either way.

“Hey, Lulu!” a voice calls and Sehun turns out of habit, even if it is obviously not him they are calling. He is surprised to see Luhan react to the name, putting on a smile; he feels a small tug in his chest. Sehun’s eyes dart to the man who called. “I haven’t seen you in so long!” the man hugs Luhan.

Has Sehun served the man today? Probably, but he can’t remember –but he wishes he had thrown some poison into the mix. You can’t just hug Luhan. Sehun is further away behind the counter to be noticed, so he can fume in peace.

“Hey, Tao, long time no see” Luhan answers, politely yet meekly.

Ha! He’s not so happy to see you, panda, how does that feel? On a side note, there was once a conversation going on between Kyungsoo hyung and Baekhyun hyung about whether pandas or koalas are best. Kyungsoo hyung kept saying nice things about pandas and Sehun was almost convinced; but now, he decides that Baekhyun hyung was right, koalas are better. Pandas .

“You stopped coming to the Korean classes and I haven’t seen you since” the man poses like a super model with one hand on his waist and a pout. Sehun might try that pose –later, in front of his bathroom’s mirror –to see if he would look just as good. Luhan scratches the back of his neck nervously.

“I didn’t need the classes anymore, my Korean is good now. Sorry I didn’t contact you, but work has been hectic” he apologizes.

Is Sehun eavesdropping? Maybe; but he is still young and silly, remember?

“I’m sorry to hear that…Anyway, I need to get going. It was nice seeing you! Promise you’ll call me soon” the man puts on his designer glasses. Maybe Sehun should buy a pair of such glasses soon; they make you look good and he didn’t know what else to buy anyway.

“Ah, okay” Luhan waves at the man and the man blows him a kiss while getting out the door. Sehun wants to throw the spoon he is holding after the man with murderous intentions. He puts the spoon down and walks closer to Luhan, smiling inconspicuously. “Hey, Sehun” Luhan greets him with a small smile and a nod. Sehun notes proudly that Luhan looks considerably happier to see him than the panda.

“Hey. Was he a friend of yours?” Sehun asks, trying to sound polite and friendly instead of possessive and prying.

“Why would you ask?” Luhan’s eyebrows crease in confusion.

“You looked a bit sad earlier so…” Sehun shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. In fact, he was eavesdropping, but he won’t say that. He is good at saving his rear last minute.

“Oh, I hadn’t noticed. Well, I was a bit sad, but, just this tiny little bit” Luhan’s lips crack a smile but it’s a sad one. Sehun gives him five heartbeats to confess on his own before he asks more questions. It takes three heartbeats before Luhan continues “He’s a friend of my ex. We were friends too, but not as close”

“Ah, I see” Sehun nods in understanding. He doesn’t see; he has no idea what it feels like. But, oh well…

The door opens and a handsome man with aviator glasses and slightly tan skin walks in. Sehun thinks about trying out this super-model-cat-walk strides at home too.

“Hello! What would you like?” he greets cheerfully and mechanically. He has said hello, goodbye and come back soon too many times, it’s a habit by now, and the words have no meaning for him.

“Um, thank you but I found what I was looking for” the man says and walks closer to Luhan. He knows Luhan too?! Suddenly, Sehun thinks he might be one of the least graceful people Luhan has ever known. “Hyung! I came to pick you up” he announces. Luhan shoots him a death glare.

“Don’t call me hyung in public! It’s enough you call me that at the office” he chides the man who just smirks in return. “Where’s Chanyeol?”

Oh, right, Luhan works for Park Chanyeol. What was it that Baekhyun hyung was telling Kyungsoo hyung about that guy a week ago? They slept together? Sehun tries to muffle his ironic laughter at the thought –as if that could ever happen, it’s B hyung we’re talking about. He was so not paying attention when his hyung was talking…

“He’s at a meeting” the man offers. Luhan’s eyes open wide, like a deer’s.

“But the meeting was scheduled for tomorrow!”

“He moved it; he said there was something he wanted to do tomorrow and that he will be taking the day off” the man shrugs nonchalantly. Luhan groans. “Come on, hyung. He will be working until the dead of night for this day, so what if he takes the next day off? Chanyeol’s hard working” the man pats Luhan on the shoulder. Well, Sehun can see the man’s point.

“But it’s both your fathers I am reporting to, so he should be there!” he retorts.

“Meh, if you tell his father that he is still working, I am sure he won’t mind. He is not so interested in seeing him anyway” the man waves dismissively and turns to Sehun. “Do you think I could have a ristretto?” he asks. Sehun nods and starts preparing the coffee quickly.

“I thought we should get going” Luhan reminds him.

“I thought we were going to have coffee with my father so why are you here.” the man deadpans “Besides, it’s okay, it won’t take long, right…um?” the man has turned to Sehun again and he guesses he is supposed to offer his name on this cue.

“Sehun, I’m Oh Sehun” he says and the man smiles.

“I’m Kai, nice to meet you” the man says and takes his coffee. He drinks it quickly and then both he and Luhan get up from their seats. “It was nice meeting you, Sehun” the man calls, heading out the door first with a wave of his hand. Sehun waves back; there is something he likes about that man.

“Bye, Sehun” Luhan says in a friendly tone that has Sehun smiling automatically.

“Come back soon!” he calls. He has come to mean those words more and more with every time he tells them to Luhan.

--

Chanyeol needed this day off. He worked until he dropped –literally dropped, face planted on his office’s desk –yesterday, just to get a little more free time today. He has been working nonstop since his father assigned him this position in the company eighteen months ago, but he always found time to fool around with Kai or date models or play videogames (so what if he is twenty something? Videogames specify only the age above which you can play, not the age at which you should stop playing) but, lately, he doesn’t do any of that.

He doesn’t really know why he stopped living like he did. It’s probably Kai’s fault, because he hasn’t dragged him to any show or club recently, all wrapped in his love bubble for some guy named Kyungsoo. Seeing Kai in love -of all things- is one of the things Chanyeol never expected to see in this life –or maybe not even in the next life. Anyway, back to his situation, Chanyeol decided to do something by himself for himself. Only he is not so great with knowing places to go to, like Kai, and he ended up visiting a convenient, available nearby art gallery. It’s not much but that’s okay; it’s a first step.

He pays his fee, ignoring the lingering stare of the female cashier, and walks to the first exhibition room. It’s pretty much empty, except for him. He starts reviewing the photographs in his head, taking his time to pace around the room with his hands in his pockets. He rates them, based on how much he likes them; because Chanyeol doesn’t really know much about art, except for what he likes and what he doesn’t like. Does Baekhyun know things about art?

Oh, here he goes again. Ever since that rainy night incident and the wonderful morning that followed, Chanyeol hasn’t seen or heard anything about his little guy. That doesn’t stop him from thinking about him though. He has replayed those precious morning words they exchanged more than his favorite song. He knows it’s probably pointless to still hold on to his hopes and dreams of getting to know to Baekhyun, but he does it almost automatically, despite his better judgment. They probably won’t meet again, because Chanyeol didn’t establish a relationship deep enough to get Baekhyun’s number last time they met; he was too busy admiring Baekhyun’s backside while he was cooking and then he was fascinated by anything and everything the little male said and did. Baekhyun also smiled a couple of times and that made Chanyeol’s brain short circuit, resulting in even greater loss of his chances to improve their relationship to ‘one step above strangers’ status.

He thought that maybe he could ask Lay for Baekhyun’s number, but that would have made him look desperate. Desperate he is, but he doesn’t want Baekhyun to have that image of him. He wants to be a good person in Baekhyun’s eyes, primarily; and then maybe he can hope to look authentic, cool, gorgeous and fascinating, maybe?

He shakes his head at himself. Since when does he have to think about trying to be those things? They either come naturally or he doesn’t care enough to check if people think he is those things. But he really cares to be those things for Baekhyun, those and many more. Next time, Chanyeol thinks and hops a step optimistically. Next time they meet –if ever –he will be the most fascinating person Baekhyun has ever seen.

Next time is too soon. Because Chanyeol is 99.9% sure that the only other person standing in the second room of the exhibition is his little guy.

Chanyeol freezes for a moment. What should he do?! He didn’t have time to prepare his fascination plan, so maybe he should try again sometime when he will be prepared to stand in the presence of Baekhyun without stuttering or blushing like the last time. Maybe the light blue shirt under his royal blue knit is not really his color and he looks pale, so next time he can wear something better. Maybe he should hide in the first room and wait for him to leave.

But come on, he hasn’t seen Baekhyun in a century (which translates to a week in regular time metrics) and he really wants to hear his voice again! Plus, he doesn’t know when he will get the chance to see Baekhyun again! But he is Chanyeol, he can’t trust himself not to say something awkward or stupid out of the blue, because that tends to happen when his brain is otherwise occupied; and that happens especially when Baekhyun is involved. He is still having half a mind of retreating to the first room when Baekhyun turns around and solves his dilemma.

“Oh, Chanyeol, is that you?” he asks surprised and his sweet voice echoes slightly in the empty room. Chanyeol straightens his body and smiles politely.

“Hey, Baekhyun!” he greets cheerfully to hide his nervousness. Baekhyun returns a small smile. “Fancy seeing you here” Fancy? Seriously, Park Chanyeol…

“Yeah…do you like photography?” the shorter male asks, gesturing to the exhibits. Chanyeol blinks a couple of times. If he says yes, there is a good chance he will have to elaborate and that will undoubtedly end up in embarrassment. If he says no, then what is he doing here in the first place? And what if Baekhyun likes photography? On the first occasion, that will be even more embarrassing for Chanyeol and on the second occasion, Baekhyun might feel offended. He decides to go for the truth.

“I like some of the artwork. I don’t know much about the art itself though” he admits sheepishly. Answering to personal questions with the truth instead of with a carefully designed answer that will please the asker is very rare for Chanyeol; it makes him feel slightly…exposed. But it’s for Baekhyun so he doesn’t mind much.

“That makes two of us then” Baekhyun says and looks at the photograph in front of him.

Seriously?! Chanyeol wants to do a victory dance and thank the gods for gracing him in that moment. Not only the truth turned out to be a good answer, it also allowed a connection to Baekhyun, because now they know they have something in common! It’s not something important or unique they have in common, but it’s something and that is better than nothing.

“What do you think about this one?” he asks, approaching Baekhyun and the photograph he is looking at. He feels like he can conquer the world from his joy, so one question to Baekhyun is a doable task in this moment.

“Hm…” Baekhyun squints his puppy eyes at the photograph. Chanyeol adores the pout of his lips in that moment. “I don’t know. I can’t decide” Baekhyun says and looks up at Chanyeol. He doesn’t seem surprised to see him standing so close so suddenly, instead, he smiles. “What do you think?”

I think you have the most dazzling smile in the whole world, Chanyeol thinks automatically but he stops himself right before the answer comes out –because that would be awkward and it would make him seem weird to Baekhyun.

“Ah, me?” he buys himself some time to glance at the photograph, because so far all he has been looking at in this room is Baekhyun. The photograph is simple, black and white, with medium contrast. It depicts a kitten, staring at a butterfly. To Chanyeol, it’s pretty easy to pass his judgment. “I like it; it’s cute” You’re cute, too.

“Hmm, I see your point” Baekhyun agrees and then turns around and starts walking away in a slow pace. There goes his heartbreaker. Chanyeol contains his longing sigh but he is not sure his face is under control as well.

How can Baekhyun be so fascinating in every way? The way he moves his hands, the way he stands, the way he walks, it’s all so graceful and delicate. His smile and his puppy eyes are so dazzling that Chanyeol swears he is seeing stars every time they cross paths. His voice is so melodic and sweet, his expressions so childish, his soul so kind that Chanyeol wonders if Baekhyun is real. Chanyeol’s eyes trail down Baekhyun’s retreating back, noting how the white linen shirt tucked inside his light colored jeans accentuates Baekhyun’s beautiful figure, and how those jeans are not as tight as the ones Baekhyun was wearing when he was cooking breakfast but they hug his hips and legs just as perfectly.

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun’s voice snaps him out of his daze and he meets Baekhyun’s eyes “Are you not coming?” Coming where? Baekhyun makes a small nod to the door of the next room. Oh…

Wait. Oh My God! Baekhyun is actually inviting Chanyeol to stay with him. Baekhyun. Is asking. Chanyeol. To stay. With him.

“Yes! Yes, I am” he agrees eagerly –sounding almost as desperate as he is –and at that reaction a small smile escapes Baekhyun. The first time Chanyeol realized he caused that smile, he choked on his food: that’s how excited he gets. Chanyeol follows Baekhyun like a little duckling.

They finish the tour together. Chanyeol tries to be pleasant and keep his loud voice down so that he won’t embarrass Baekhyun –Kai has pointed out in the past that Chanyeol’s loud bass voice has been embarrassing in places which required them to be somewhat silent. He also tries not to jump every other step in obvious excitement and not to stare at Baekhyun for too long. His smile just won’t leave his face, and Kai says it’s a bit creepy when that happens, but Chanyeol can’t control it and all he can do is hope that Baekhyun doesn’t find it creepy –at least, not too much. His heart is fluttering constantly, just because Baekhyun is there, and Chanyeol wonders if he is close to developing a medical condition because of this; but if he gets sick for Baekhyun, he doesn’t mind.

At the end of the tour, they decide to have some coffee at the café which is part of the gallery and has a view to an open garden. Chanyeol picks a table by the window and orders his coffee –but it turns out Baekhyun doesn’t like coffee, so he orders chocolate ice cream. Chanyeol notes that fact in his ‘fact list about Baekhyun’.

They continue to chat, more openly now in the buzz of the café, about things that are not just comments about the photographs. Chanyeol had a difficult time in the gallery, controlling his mouth every time Baekhyun said something: “It’s beautiful!” you’re beautiful “The light is gorgeous” you’re gorgeous “That’s strange, but it’s so fascinating” you’re fascinating “That’s amazing” you’re amazing “The angle is perfect” you’re perfect. You get the picture. At least now he can leave his worries of sounding like a creeper behind and worry only about avoiding possible embarrassment.

“So, you like chocolate?” he asks casually while they are waiting for their order. It’s a bit obvious but, excuse him, he needs to start somewhere. Baekhyun’s puppy eyes open wide.

“Park Chanyeol, don’t tell me you don’t like chocolate! That would be a huge let down” he says, stunned. What? Chanyeol let down Baekhyun? Never.

“I like chocolate; very much” Chanyeol assures him quickly and Baekhyun relaxes into a smile. The way the sun is picking through the window and washing over Baekhyun’s features makes him look like an angel. His fair skin, his bright smile, his innocent puppy eyes…ah…

“What’s your favorite food?” Baekhyun asks, entwining his slender fingers on the table.

“Pancakes” Chanyeol answers immediately, without thinking. That sounded so obvious …ugh! He wants to disappear or rewind and change his answer. Baekhyun looks slightly surprised.

“So, did I get them right last time?” he asks with a small, nervous laugh. Last time is the reason why Chanyeol likes pancakes that much! He should have thought of something better to say, something more inconspicuous. At least, Baekhyun seems to be taking it well, since he is not completely weirded out by now. Hearing him mention last time makes Chanyeol’s stomach flutter; it creates a sense of continuation between the past and the present, which gives a hope of a future as well.

“They were great” he admits reassuringly and Baekhyun smiles widely. Chanyeol sees sparkles floating around, and he did that: he made Baekhyun smile.

They continue to talk, sharing experiences and ideas, getting to know each other a little better and deeper. Chanyeol makes a couple of jokes and he wants someone to shoot him already right after, but Baekhyun only laughs with his bubbling voice, his eyes turning into sparkling crescents. Baekhyun reacts well to Chanyeol’s kind of weirdness. That makes Chanyeol a little happier. And considerably more smitten. Baekhyun is different every time he appears in front of Chanyeol: a strictly-business heartbreaker, a sweet host, a fun friend. Every aspect of him is perfect. It makes Chanyeol wonder where he has been all his life.

“So, Chanyeol, can I ask you a question?” Baekhyun asks timidly, after another small conversation topic is closed. He was casual and carefree just a moment ago and the change in his mood alerts Chanyeol a bit.

“Sure” he allows, sitting up in his chair. Baekhyun clears his throat and looks at the table.

“Firstly, I think you are a great person so far and, don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy your company and all. But…” Baekhyun pauses for a second. Chanyeol’s heart has swelled up and it’s about to burst. “But why me?” he looks up at Chanyeol with a puppy look. Chanyeol loses his track of thought for a moment and clears his throat as soon as he regains sense of his surroundings.

“Excuse me, what?” he asks, still feeling disoriented. All he can recall from the previous seconds is that Baekhyun said he thinks he is a great person and that he enjoys his company, which send Chanyeol flying over the moon and then, with the cute puppy look, Chanyeol crush landed, hard.

“Why me?” Baekhyun repeats and his pretty lips before elaborating “I mean, we obviously made a bad start, but you keep being nice to me. And that’s not a bad thing, of course! But, you know, you are the Park Chanyeol, and I am just Byun Baekhyun, and you really don’t owe me anything, but you stayed to keep me company on Sunday morning and you share things about yourself with me. I feel like it’s very easy to become friends with you at this point, but I still don’t get it; why me?” he looks at Chanyeol with an expectant, unsure expression.

“Because you’re not like the rest” Chanyeol blurts out and then recomposes his thoughts in all seriousness to continue “I’ve been surrounded by people who liked me for my money all my life. They are being nice to me and smile at me, but they are not really as nice behind my back. They tell me what I want to hear and they do crazy things for me; no one says no to me. When they meet me, from the first heartbeat to the rest of our lives, they see the Park Chanyeol.

“But you don’t, Baekhyun. You are giving just Chanyeol a chance. You are not afraid to say no, and you are being nice because you want to, because you are innately nice. That’s why I want to be friends with you” Chanyeol closes his lips after his monologue and waits for Baekhyun’s reaction. After a moment of consideration on Baekhyun’s part, he is graced with a wide smile, and Chanyeol can’t help but smile back just as widely.

There is more. Chanyeol has more reasons to explain to Baekhyun. He wants to be friends with the short male because he is dazzling in his eyes, more graceful than a swan and more innocent than a puppy. He wants to keep company to Baekhyun on every Sunday morning, or any other morning for the rest of his life. He wants to share so many more things with Baekhyun, he wants to share his belongings, his dreams, his life with him. He wants to be friends and then much more than that. For what reason, beats the hell out of Chanyeol...

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a/n. First and foremost: I am so sorry, pandas DO NOT !!! They are very cute creatures and I love them as much as any other animal. However, there will be a “koala pattern” in the future, so make sure you stay tuned to find out what it is about! ^.^

Did you like Sehun’s pov? I like writing from Sehun’s perspective, it’s simple, naïve and straight to the point, and that makes it a bit wise, in its own way –and a bit funny. What do you think?

I wrote that Baekhyun cannot decide if he likes the picture of a kitten and a butterfly; and you believed me?! He chose not to answer –for all the reasons your smart and pretty minds suspect. And, yes, Chanyeol doesn’t know the reason he wants to get closer to Baekhyun, because he’s not smart like you (and he has a few issues, like everyone in this fic. But I’m getting ahead of myself, so I will stop now)...

Next time, we find out more about Oh Sehun, and what is Kai doing with Kyungsoo? Kisses, kitty