That night, Baekhyun dreamt he was the one giving the proposal to Chanyeol.

"Park Chanyeol, I have a confession to make. I love you, and I would love to make you mine. Would you do the honor of being my boyfriend?"

But before Chanyeol could even open his mouth to speak, Jongin came in wearing a white suit.  Baekhyun looked back to Chanyeol and saw that he was wearing clothes matching the tanned guy.

"I'm sorry, Baekhyun, I'm getting married to Jongin."

Before the Baekhyun in his dream could react, though, the real Baekhyun heard this loud noise— as if someone was banging pots and pans.  Now, either of the two dorm mates weren't that much of a cook, but Chanyeol was better in it than Baekhyun so it was a surprise when the older peeked and saw Chanyeol staring intently at the supposedly kimchi fried rice he made.

"So how is Baekhyun going to taste you, dearest kimchi fried rice, if you're a little burnt like this?"Chanyeol told the pan.  Baekhyun stifled a laugh and emerged from the bedroom, supposedly just from sleep.

"Chanyeol, what happened? There was a loud noise— is that kimchi fried rice?"  The smaller said.  His friend looked at him and scratched his nape sheepishly that made Baekhyun want to stop his act and just hug the other.

"I- I woke up and thought I could make you some breakfast.  Turns out I was wrong."Chanyeol said, making Baekhyun swoon. The latter proceeded to get a spoon and taste the work of the other.

"Don't worry, it's still edible as it is.  It actually tastes good!" And it sure did; Baekhyun thought the burn intensified the taste of the kimchi, or maybe because it was Chanyeol who cooked it, but who cares.

"Really? You think Jongin would like it?"  Chanyeol said as he passed a bowl to Baekhyun.  The other's smile slightly faded and it was all he could do not to react violently. As he scooped some of the rice, he answered.

"Y-yeah, I think he will. I'm more of picky eater than him—"

"How did you know that?"

"Don't you notice what he's eating as opposed to mine?"

"Nope. I guess not."Chanyeol said, shaking his head.

Some of the fried rice ended up in three containers, one for each of them.  Some ended up in their stomachs, of course.  Baekhyun ate heartily, even though he knew that it wasn't really meant for him, it was meant for Jongin.

Even though the trio only had one class together, their breaks allow them to have lunch together at 1:00. After an hour and thirty, Chanyeol had class which leaves Baekhyun with Jongin.  After that, Baekhyun was the one with class which leaves Chanyeol with Jongin. After that, Jongin has class but they would always eat out afterwards. Also, breakfast was a daily event.  They would meet at exactly 7:30, have breakfast for thirty minutes before Jongin or Chanyeol leaves for class at 8:00.  This particular day, they ate underneath a big tree at the center of the quadrangle.

"Jongin!”  Baekhyun gaily called out, waving to the tanned guy who was busy bobbing his head up and down to music.  When he heard the voice, he craned his neck up and smiled.  Chanyeol grabbed the other's wrist and the smaller noticed he held the bag with the kimchi fried rice tighter.

"Will he really like this, Baekhyun? You think so?" He nervously asked.

If it was me I would have loved it, but then—

"It's Jongin. I'm sure he will.”  Baekhyun answered without much gusto. Grinning back at Jongin, he tried putting a skip in every step just to create distance.

Maybe staying away from Chanyeol will work.

"Hey, sup?"Jongin greeted the two of them.

"I- um-"Chanyeol stuttered, and Baekhyun sighed.

"He made us some breakfast, ‘some’ meaning kimchi fried rice for all of us!"The smallest said with fake enthusiasm.

Chanyeol merely nodded, his cheeks reddening.  He gave the bag to Jongin and scratched his nape sheepishly again.

"It's a little burnt, sorry."

Baekhyun flashed his practiced smile and nodded.

"It tastes good! Try it, Jongin." He practically shoved the container in the tanned hands, together with the chopsticks.

Judgment time came and Jongin nodded enthusiastically.

"Tastes good, Chanyeol!" The taster beamed at the cook and the latter blushed again.

This time, Baekhyun needed to control himself in order not to seriously gag.

They ate in silence, the wind rustling the leaves of the tree they were sitting under.  Chanyeol ate quickly then bade them goodbye as he needed to rush to his class; they had an exam. This left Baekhyun with his crush's crush.

He took time to look at Jongin, and immediately knew what Chanyeol saw in the tanned guy.  Aside from he had good looks, Baekhyun admitted as much as that, the guy was reserved.  He spoke when spoken to, laughed at the right times, kept quiet when not talked to; basically it was the opposite of Baekhyun.  Jongin had this mysterious aura that held for as long as Baekhyun can remember.  There were still things that the tanned guy wouldn’t divulge and only observations were the answers to those questions.

“You like him, don’t you?”Jongin suddenly spoke up as he took his last bite at the rice.  Baekhyun turned painfully slow to the speaker who was now looking at him intently, chewing his food.

“H-huh?  What are you saying, Jongin I can’t—”  Baekhyun said, surprised.

“You like Chanyeol, I can see.  Can’t fool me with that.”Jongin replied, chuckling.  He was already resting his back on the tree, looking at the time.  “I still have ten minutes, and I will waste it in telling you that you have to make a ing move, Baekhyun.”  The tanned guy looked like he gave this speech every single time. 

The smaller sighed and gave in.  “Yeah, you’re right.  I do like him.  But I know it won’t be reciprocated, so what’s the use of making a move?  I’ll just, you know, love him from afar or something masochistic like that.”

With those words, Jongin laughed.  “Knew it!”  He shouted, standing up.  “Don’t worry, I’ll be you two’s Cupid.  Okay?  Now I better rush to class; my professor’s gonna be a bit early.”  As he waved goodbye to the smaller who was left under the three, he thought of how to make the best friends fall in love and everything in between.

“Oh wow he will not stop texting.”Chanyeol jeered as he took a seat opposite Baekhyun on the cafeteria while they waited for Jongin to come.  After Jongin’s observation earlier that day, Baekhyun had plenty of time to internalize what was going on between himself and his feelings. 

Since when did I like Chanyeol?  Baekhyun asked himself.  Suddenly many memories of them came barraging in, one over the other.

First year high school.Baekhyun’s first friend in school.  The time when he got bullied?  Chanyeol to the rescue.  Third year high school; Chanyeol barely passed Chemistry, which led to late night tutorials with Baekhyun.  They got to know each other more.  Senior prom—

That’s it.

Senior ing prom.

Their school was not that strict about homoual relationships and the like which resulted to a happy prom every year.  Baekhyun got a girl as a date, and so did Chanyeol, but when the last dance came, the girl was asked out by someone before Baekhyun could barely ask.  He was sitting there; the whole night he did not have a close look at Chanyeol.  Someone suddenly walked by his side and offered his hand.

He looked to find Chanyeol standing, grinning widely and dapper in the blue suit he was wearing. 

“May I have this dance?”

Baekhyun’s heart thudded loudly in his chest.

So it wasn’t the first time he felt like this to Chanyeol; but he chose to ignore this feeling and instead treat the younger as his best friend.

And so it was.

“Earth to ing Byun Baekhyun!”Chanyeol practically screamed at his ears, causing the texter to jump in surprise and drop his phone unceremoniously.

“Wow you could have tapped me or something—“  he said as he picked up the pieces of his phone, for once reminding himself to act normal.

“Well tapping you wouldn’t change a thing—who the hell are you texting, anyway?”

Actually, he wasn’t texting; he was typing the aforementioned story in the phone, hoping to let Jongin see the chronology of him.  But well, he didn’t get to save the document.

“I was texting Jongin—“

“ Byun Baekhyun! Park Chanyeol!” Jongin shouted as he arrived, looking at Chanyeol then to Baekhyun then back to Chanyeol.

“What’s with the weird look?”Chanyeol said as the three proceeded to give each other side eyes.

“I have absolutely no idea.”  Baekhyun said, looking at Jongin in alarm.

Jongin shook his head and adjusted the straps of his bag.  Baekhyun fixed his phone and was turning it on.  Chanyeol, lost in the two, stood up and cleared his throat.  Just as he was about to speak, a whoop was heard from Baekhyun.

“Chanyeol you have got to read this! Read it read it read it read it—”  Baekhyun said, excitedly shoving the phone in the other’s face.  Jongin looked at them weirdly again and it was up to the happy guy to explain the situation.

“You do know I am part of the theater club, right?” A nod, “So I auditioned for this role in the newest play they’re having.”  Another nod from Jongin, “And I got it!  I got the role!”

Jongin congratulated him with a pat on his back while Chanyeol looked blankly at the phone.

“Should I restore this document, Baekhyun?”  He said, thumb hovering over the phone.   Baekhyun looked in alarm and snatched the phone back.

“Oh and congrats, Byun!” Chanyeol ruffled the smaller’s hair and hugged him extremely tight.  “Now your crush will finally know you’re a living soul.”

“Shut up, Park, I can say the same.”  Baekhyun said pointedly, causing Chanyeol to immediately shut up.

“Wait, Baekhyun.  Crush?”Jongin interfered, grabbing his straps and pulling his bag nearer to him, causing Chanyeol to gush there and then.

“Look he does look like a five year old kid trapped inside a five foot something body and I have every intention of helping him!” the tallest said, laughing.

“I heard that somewhere, Chanyeol.”  Baekhyun said although he cannot help but grin widely.

Chanyeol laughed and nodded to Jongin.  “Yep, crush.  See, this guy over here,” he pointed to Baekhyun now looking at the two with a raised eyebrow, “has a crush on someone in the theater club—what was her name again?  Kim Tae—what?”

“Kim Taeyeon, idiot.”  Baekhyun said, shaking his head.

“That’s the actual reason why he joined the theater club—“ This earned Chanyeol a punch in the arm, courtesy of Baekhyun.

“Nope, don’t believe him.”  Baekhyun said to Jongin as they walked outside of the university.

“This calls for a celebration, then!  Let’s eat out—I’m hungry.”Jongin offered, looking at the two.

“No.”Chanyeol said.

“Yes.”  Baekhyun simultaneously answered.

The two looked at each other and their eyes seemed to speak a thousand words a minute.  Then Chanyeol said:

“Well let’s make Jongin pick.”

Luckily they ended up somewhere not in the vicinity of the two proposals.  It was an Asian fusion cuisine restaurant and the three were only happy that Baekhyun, one, did not forget his wallet and two, was gracious enough to treat the two.

“But this is only a one shot deal, okay you two?  I do not have the budget for a nightly affair like this.”

All three laughed and ordered.

“Thank you, Baekhyun!”Jongin said, grinning widely.

“Yeah, thanks Baekhyun for not forgetting the one thing that is important in eating out: your wallet.”Chanyeol told the person sitting beside him.

“He really does forget his wallet?”  The youngest of the three asked, looking at Baekhyun.

“Yeah, he does.” Chanyeol answered for the other guy who was already biting his lower lip and glaring at the tallest.  “We had some very dire consequences because of that. Right, Baekhyun?”   The latter merely nodded and looked at Jongin. 

“What kind of dire consequences?”

Baekhyun looked at Jongin weirdly like this was the first time he heard the person speak.  When Jongin noticed this, he was about to ask why when the other answered quickly.

“Life and death situations, don’t ask more Kim Jongin or I will seriously kill you.”  Baekhyun said with a kick underneath the table.  Both looked at Chanyeol who was amusedly looking at the two.

“You two are cute.”  He said and Baekhyun felt his cheeks get hot by those words.  Jongin looked away and whistled, which caused the two to stare at him like he was the crazy one.

“What?”Jongin started to complain but the food came in which caused everyone in the table to clap hands and whoop cheerily.   As soon everything was set, they started eating while chatting heartily about the things that happened during the day.

Baekhyun could feel something in his chest as he looked at Chanyeol who was looking at Jongin with the same expression he was wearing when they do their ‘proposals’.  It was gripping him, making him not appreciate not only the food but Jongin’s presence.  He wanted it to be Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s time, but he knew that it was not bound to happen.   Whenever Jongin would lift his head, Chanyeol would drop his and smile at his food.  As a consequence, he wasn’t talking that much, letting his seatmate and the person in front of him talk away.

He stood up and grinned at the two, the smile slightly pure and slightly practiced.

“Hey, I’ll just go to the washroom, okay?”  Baekhyun bade at them.

The two nodded and continued their chatter.

He needed to get away.

Baekhyun went to the counter, paid the bill, and added two desserts for the two on table six.  He then quietly went out of the store, and looked back.

Chanyeol was looking at him wide eyed, Jongin probably eating.  Flashing a smile, he waved and mouthed, “Good luck!” then texted something to Chanyeol.

Hey, big guy.  Don’t mess this up, okay?  I’m counting on you.  Oh- and dessert’s on me.

As Baekhyun walked away, Chanyeol felt a strange sense of longing for someone beside him, even though his crush was in front of him.  Maybe because Baekhyun became the one he was getting his strength from in this dinner.  He took a deep breath and talked to Jongin, taking Baekhyun’s advice not to mess this up.

Baekhyun walked to their dorm and sighed.  His dorm mate wouldn’t be back in a while and there was nothing he could do but to sulk like a little kid, knowing his crush and his crush’s crush are probably getting closer by the minute.

The pad stank of Chanyeol and Baekhyun hated the thought.  His clothes were placed on top of the chair in the kitchen, probably for sorting in the laundry.  Shoes that were a size and a half bigger than Baekhyun’s were stacked on one side, Baekhyun’s on the other.  The couch had this huge stain which was caused by the younger’s sheer glee where he dropped an entire glass of soda on it.  Opening the refrigerator, Baekhyun was greeted by a chocolate mousse singles cake, half of which was eaten by his friend when they had an all-nighter.

Everything reminded him of Chanyeol.  Everything was Chanyeol. Especially when the smaller entered their shared bedroom.

It surprised Baekhyun that both their beds were properly folded, considering that the younger was not one with cleanliness and all.  Sitting on Chanyeol’s bed, he tried to take deep breaths and rationally think this over.

I am not in love with Chanyeol.

I am not in love with Chanyeol.

I am not in love—

Wait that’s Chanyeol’s scent right there.

He did not realize he was lying down, face first, on the taller’s bed, sniffing it. 

God, I look pathetic.

With that thought he frantically pressed out the wrinkles on the bed sheet where he sat and went to his own bed, looking at the immaculate condition of the other’s bed.

Because of the silence that enveloped him, it was natural that Baekhyun’s thoughts would scatter away and bring back something immoral.  As he lied down in his bed, he thought of Chanyeol in the most imaginative of ways, crossing the border of lust.

Chanyeol was wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.  Baekhyun looked at himself and saw that he was fully clothed, sitting on his bed and staring at Chanyeol intently.

God, Baekhyun thought, this is depressing.   With that thought and the imagination still in mind, he stripped off his clothes and entered the bathroom.  Maybe a long, warm shower will do the trick. But no.

It wasn’t the first time that Baekhyun had jerked off; every boy must have done that once they knew they were men.  There was a big but in this—this was the thing Baekhyun thought he would not do, not to Chanyeol—even just in his imagination.

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hihi heh. so i just want to take this opportunity to thank the person who beta'd this chapter: thanks pam bb! o u o heart heart. <3 

Heh. uh--a fair warning here. if you're not into THAT kind of scenes, the next chapter will probably have that so yeah. (although I fail to write it ugh why) anyway. comments, comments, comments! love you guys.