Word Count: 1249

Lounging around the penthouse, Baekhyun took his time looking around. He didn’t snoop, that was invasion of privacy, but simply looked and admired at whatever is within his eyesight—Chanyeol leaving him for a while to take a shower; the cats now finally resting.

Currently, he’s standing in front of a plain white wall a few meters away behind the couch in the living room. It was blank with no hint of decoration, not even a plant on the side nor any form of decorative furniture. The whole wall was just.. white, a huge contrast to the beautifully decorated other walls. It was the only part of the penthouse that had nothing and he wondered why that is.

Walking around more, he spotted small picture frames by the table that stood directly behind the couch. There weren’t many pictures, or rather.. barely at all; only three picture frames. He looked at the first picture; it was Chanyeol’s high school graduation photo showing a radiating bright smile that Baekhyun did not know he had. So he did smile.

He moved on to the other photo, a picture of yet again a smiling Chanyeol hugging a young girl who looked a lot like him. Sister?

The next photo, he took a hold of. It was a picture of the same smiling Chanyeol from the last two photos with an arm around a pretty girl with the same smile. Is this his ex-girlfriend? The ex-girlfriend associated in the rumors? Furrowing his eyebrows, further thoughts filled his mind—this girl saw Chanyeol smile; she heard him laugh; saw him at his best. What about him? He barely knew anything. After a few months of friendship he’s only seen him smile for the first time this morning, it wasn’t even big. The sudden thought brought an unusual pang of pain to his chest. It wasn’t the usual pain he was accustomed to but.. is this how jealousy feels like?

Before he was able to question the pain he felt more, he felt a presence behind him and the picture frame he was holding was taken out of his hold and placed back on the table; this time however, faced down. He looked at Chanyeol in question but only received a hard stare.

An arm came circling around his waist and he was gently brought closer against the taller, startling him. For a moment, they simply stared at each other.

Gulping at the suddenly heavy atmosphere, Baekhyun blurted out the first words that flashed in his head.

“Was that girl… your girlfriend?” He asked with a hint of fear but overshadowed by curiosity as he looked at Chanyeol.

Instead of simply replying as is, Chanyeol drew himself closer and looked him straight in the eyes as he answered with a firm tone. “Ex-girlfriend.”

“Is she why.. you stopped smiling?” He couldn’t help himself. He knew he was stepping on unknown sensitive ground but his curiosity ate him. The next words that came out of Chanyeol’s mouth though almost caused him to choke whether out of surprise or panic.

“Mmm. Now the reason I’ll smile again would be you.”

The last time Chanyeol expressed his want for Baekhyun (or was that a subtle confession?), he was never really able to answer. So out of shock and the sudden mental breakdown of his mind at not knowing what to do, he just stood still in the taller’s embrace.

After a moment of silence, Chanyeol's eyes softened and spoke again. “Baekhyun.”

“Would you teach me?” Chanyeol’s arms around him tightened. “How to smile again?”

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