(1)

Echt or Faux

“So, where do we eat now?”

Baekhyun tried to pry off the huge hands that were gripping his shoulders by squirming and squiggling but to no avail.  The question made him stop momentarily and his best friend, the guy whose hands were on his shoulders and made no effort to remove it, squeezed his shoulders gently.  The smaller bit back a soft sigh of contentment with the gesture then tried his very best to lift his shoulders with the weight, signaling a shrug.  Shoulders suddenly became lighter when a taller guy stepped beside him.  The same guy grabbed his own bag straps and pulled the bag closer to his body. 

“Park Chanyeol you have got to stop doing that.”  Baekhyun suddenly blurted out.

“What?”  The guy named Chanyeol asked.

“Grabbing your bag straps and pulling your bag closer to your body.  You look like a lost 5-year old boy trapped inside a 6-foot guy and I have absolutely no intention of helping you.”

Chanyeol looked at his best friend, with his newly-colored brown hair, small eyes and thin lips plus a flawless skin to match.  He cannot help but laugh loudly, the boisterous sound reverberating in the hallway where luckily no people were around. 

“What are you laughing at?”  The 6-month older guy, irritated, asked. 

“You and your comparison of me as a five year old had me thinking –“ The sentence was cut by another bout of laughs, “– had me thinking if you ever grew taller since you were five.”  With those sentences, he started walking quickly, long legs taking long strides.  Baekhyun laughed and as they went out of their building in the university, he tried to chase Chanyeol into the setting sun.

As both traversed the streets hoping to find some stomach comfort before they go and do homework, they chanced upon a restaurant which was serving great food—well, with a golden price.

“I want to eat there.”  Chanyeol suddenly said, stopping by the door of the restaurant.  Everyone inside was having fun and Baekhyun’s stomach was churning which prompted him to drag the taller back a few steps. 

“Let's go somewhere else."  Baekhyun decided, pulling the taller by the wrist.  They ended up in a small restaurant quite far from the school and their dorms.

The only sound anyone around the two heard was the slurping of their soups and clinking of their utensils when the food came.  After finishing his share, Chanyeol leaned back and stretched then patted his stomach, satisfaction clear on his face. The other, meanwhile, looked like he was about to expel the food in his mouth.

"Baek, you okay?" Concern was etched on the younger's face, eyebrows drawn closer and lips pursed in a thin line.

"N- No, I made a mistake-"  Baekhyun answered. This guy stuttering, Chanyeol knew, meant something grave. Something along the lines of—

"You forgot your wallet. Again." The taller of the two said, disbelief in his eyes. Chanyeol only brought some a few thousand won and it looked like they've ordered the whole menu. The older looked apologetic and there was no absolute way Chanyeol could be angry at him, not with him looking like an apologetic kitten.  Or something like that.

This was the third time they've eaten out with Baekhyun forgetting his share of the payment. The first, Chanyeol luckily had some extra; the second, they were luckily known by the owners so they paid as soon as Baekhyun grabbed his wallet, and now.  Chanyeol had no patience, money and luck to pay now.

"I-I'm sorry Yeol, I'll pay you when we get home it's just—"

"Baekhyun, shut the hell up and let me think."

"I'm so sorry, Chanyeol, really—"

"What did I just say?"  The younger's voice turned cold as ice and Baekhyun immediately stopped talking. Both thought long and hard until Chanyeol snapped his fingers.

"What- what is it?" Small eyes looked expectantly at the other, hoping to find a solution.

"Will you promise to just go with the flow?"  Eyes became huge with excitement and Baekhyun was lost in the euphoria of the moment that he nodded.

The tall guy stood, his boy-next-door looks that attracted throngs of admirers, both straight and gay, clearly seen.  Taking a deep breath, he moistened his quite plump lips and smiled widely at Baekhyun, the smile so wide it made his right eye appear like it was on the verge of closing.  He went to the counter and whispered something to the cashier who dropped whatever she was doingto get the manager. After some more whispering to the manager, Chanyeol went back to their place and stood there, waiting.

"Is it- is it settled?"  Baekhyun asked.

"Just go with the flow, okay?"  Chanyeol whispered. "Oh and give me your ring."

Baekhyun nodded and did not question the intention. 

He was surprised when suddenly Chanyeol grabbed his water glass and fork then started striking the glass, making everyone's heads turn— including Baekhyun's. He slowly walked to the counter, cleared his throat, and started talking.

"Hi, everyone, sorry to disturb your very peaceful evening, but I have something to tell you."  As if the initial shock of the smaller as Chanyeol talked wasn't enough, Baekhyun noticed Chanyeol's face lit up— as if it wasn't lit enough a while ago.  His cheeks slightly reddened and there was a glow in his features, but Baekhyun couldn't point where. He smiled oh so sweetly at his older friend and it was all the latter could do not to gag.  It bothered Baekhyun to the corenot knowing where to exactly place this look.

"I would just like you all to meet the most wonderful, most charming, most beautiful and most lovable person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting."  These words triggered a wave of murmurs along the crowd, some looking in the direction where Baekhyun sat.  He tried to focus on Chanyeol's face and was surprised when the answer hit him.

This was the look Chanyeol gave to his crushas it passes by.  To conjure this up while in an impromptu thing was impressive, Baekhyun thought.

All the other people who were there that night looked expectantly at the one making the speech, some whispering excitedly while taking out their phones, hoping to capture the moment.  The manager of the restaurant immediately went and told them not to do so in the strictest request of the proposer.  The taller cleared his throat and continued speaking.

"Kim Min Han." These three syllables were all that the almost teary eyed Chanyeol said.  Everyone looked around, even Baekhyun for a second— before it hit him when he felt and saw the taller's gaze stay on him.  Everyone else followed the gaze and it fell upon Baekhyun. It was his turn to act, and so act he did. 

Baekhyun gave the sweetest smile he can to Chanyeol, trying to be teary eyed as well by trying to gag himself, which was effective as he felt he was giving out the expected result: a teary-eyed, quite surprised groom-to-be. He silently thanked his older sister, now an esteemed theater actress, who gave tips in facial muscle control. The older was impressed at Chanyeol who had really no facial control but now seemed to take hold of it.

"Baby, do you still remember when we first met?"  A slightly smiling Chanyeol said.  One blink and he continued.  "You were standing in front of the building where, quite incidentally, I was working in—" On a side note, Baekhyun thought, do they, 3rd year students, really look like working new grads? "—bumped into each other when you turned? Well, I accept my fault; I was on the phone that time-" a few chuckled, "but who knew you were holding a cup of coffee? And, may I add, it was scalding hot, honey." Here everybody laughed.

"But who knew that a cracked screen of a phone—"  Chanyeol got his phone which had this huge crack on the screen, Baekhyun knew, and showed this to the audience as evidence, "and a soiled 70,000 won polo would bring us right here, right now?"

A wave of excitement rippled through the crowd when Chanyeol walked to Baekhyun, very slowly putting his hand on the back pocket of his jeans. Baekhyun looked around to see that some were looking at him with envy while some were mouthing congratulations.  When Chanyeol finally got to their table, literally a single tear fell from his left eye. Then the tears came in more naturally for both of them; well, tears of ‘joy’.

"Kim Min Han, you have been my life, my souland my strength." He purposely staged whispered, the older noticed. "You have given me a new energy to live life- and I would like- no, it would be of my highest pleasure if I could spend my waking days beside you.  I hope that dream can come true if you spend the rest of your life with me."

People started murmuring again, but this time the girls were teary eyed and men were taking down notes on how to propose. Chanyeol went down on one knee and held Baekhyun's hand. Everybody went squealing and shouting happily, and the younger's voice was almost lost in the crowd, but it was still heard clearly—

"Kim Min Han, will you marry me?"

Baekhyun faked a gasp, his hands flew in front of his face, and his shoulders shook. It became quiet with people shushing until you could almost hear a pin drop.  Later, Chanyeol knew he wasn't crying, but was trying hard not to laugh hysterically.  When at last he could compose himself, Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol with a loving expression and while crying nodded.

"Yes, my love, I will marry you.”

There was a whooping applause and when Chanyeol finally got the ring back to where it originally belonged, he pulled Baekhyun up for a hug then murmured at the crown of his head:

"God, so humiliating, Byun Baekhyun."

Baekhyun could say the same.

When at last the excitement died, and some people approached to congratulate them, the manager went to their table and grinned widely.

"Your meal's on us, gentlemen. And please, accept this as our congratulatory gift." They were presented with a bottle of wine and both were just too kind to let the bottle pass, with fervent thanks.

Suddenly one shouted, "Kiss!"

Then everybody chanted the same.

Chanyeol, who was sitting beside Baekhyun now, tensed a little.  They weren't ready for this.  Both their cheeks reddened, and they looked at each other—

"Good lord, do you know how to stage kiss?"  Baekhyun whispered.  If no one of them budges, they might as well kiss their free meal goodbye. So Baekhyun did what he had to do: he smiled sweetly again, pulled Chanyeol by the collar and leaned in.  Luckily they were seated on the corner so no one saw that their lips aren't really touching each other.  It was just a stage kiss, and they were whispering to one another—

"Byun Baekhyun I will kill you."

"That is so sweet of you."

Finally they had their way out of the restaurant with the bottle of wine in their hands when Baekhyun pulled out his cellphone and sweetly asked the manager if they could have their picture taken by the door.  

"For remembrance", Baekhyun simply said as Chanyeol threw him a questioning look.  They had their photo taken and was walking back to their dorm, some blocks away when suddenly, Chanyeol guffawed.

"God, everyone bought it!" He was in tears now, and Baekhyun was trying his best not to get caught up with the happiness the other was apparently experiencing.  He stifled a laugh on which he choked on.  Again the taller went into fits of laughter as his friend was coughing and laughing too.

"I know, right?  So where the hell did Kim Min Han come from?"  Baekhyun said as the laughter died down to little chuckles, then to smiles.

"I have absolutely no idea, honey.”  Chanyeol said teasingly, earning a punch from the other.  “And oh god you called me 'my love', Baekhyun." Again, both laughed at the memory.

"But didn't you see their faces?  We brought them joy, Chanyeol, even just for a while."  It was true; even though the younger of the two wanted to kill his friend he must admit, they might have done something good that night.

"Well that does not erase the fact that we practically stole from that restaurant.  For example, this wine."  Chanyeol lifted the bottle that was in his hands. 

"And we will never go back there.  Their noodles were good, I must admit."  Baekhyun pouted.   Chanyeol felt this weird longing to pull the older for a hug. Which he half-did when he s an arm on the smaller's shoulders and pulled him close.

"Not if we get married—"  This earned him a pinch on the side and Baekhyun cringing slightly, but laughing.

"Come on, we still have homework to do."  The two friends walked silently to their shared dorm and called it a night.

The next day,  Baekhyun woke up with a grunt.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So how was the first chapter, guys? Heh. Comment jsy! o u o I hope you look forward to the next chapters.

Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
St-renaissance
#1
It's playing with my emotions
St-renaissance
#2
Aww this is so emotional
foryourxoul #3
Chapter 6: And yet another heart breaking chapter! Like nooooooo~ and I meant it like NOOOOOOO!!! Just when Chanyeol finally used Baek's name, cause it's most probably the last time since Chanyeol was almost certain that Jongin and him will be together in the near future, he kind of broke Baekhyun's heart in the process. Like the ending of the chapter, he didn't need a temptation now. And Chanyeol is an idiot. He promised to pay, which he really have to now, why did he have to do this? Like- sigh. It's just a big NO. I hope Chanyeol realised that the missing void when Baekhyun is not around cannot be filled by Jongin, cause it's different.
foryourxoul #4
Chapter 5: I was shocked at the opening scene of the chapter like 0______o. And everything just gets depressing and I just felt like crying cause Yeol is just so stupid I wanna kick him! And each time Yeol proposes, I was secretly hoping it'll be "Byun Baekhyun, I love you and I promise I will love you forever!" instead of whatever random names he came out with! So depressing to be at the receiving end (plus he was so hopelessly in love with Chanyeol) yet knowing that it's all a lie! CRIESSSSS cause Yeol is gonna confess to Jongin! TT I should thank you instead cause this is so beautifully depressing, I like it a lot! (lol! I torture myself a lot I guess, reading all the saddddd fics!)
foryourxoul #5
Chapter 4: Seeing how Baek is keeping everything to himself, and sort of just trying to make his best friend happy, is making me sad. I'm just glad that Jongin realised that Baek is in love with Yeol and wants to help them. And I'm probably overimagining thing when I saw you wrote "he craned his neck up and smiled", hoping that Jongin had a little something for Baek. OTL But this is just too sad and too depressing (as of now) and Yeol is being an idiot. So yeah. Love this and looking forward to the updates! ;DDD
foryourxoul #6
Chapter 3: I just want to cry TBH! I'm like...TT I came for KaiBaek actually because there are just tooooo little KaiBaek around, but I really like BaekYeol too (or everyonexBaek actually). But I feel so sad for Baek. I mean look at the three proposals. If I were him, I don't know how my heard could handle it, knowing that all these are just stories for their project (and free meals). I hope Yeol notice Baek soon or perhaps, Jongin can be the one to protect Baek or something ifffffff he is interested? Cries... I can't wait for the next chapter! TTTT