Warning: This story does have infidelity and mentions of infidelity in future chapters. Infidelity is not an integral part of this story nor do I support infidelity but if it bothers you in any way, you have now been warned.

**

Baekhyun didn't blame anyone for the events that took place or the way things transpired. How could he? Life was simply a domino effect. One thing led to another and it seemed all wrong with the way things should have been, the way he imagined things to be.

The birth of their baby girl, Mina, was one of the few good things to come out of all the bad. And his relationship with Chanyeol, of course. Growing up as next door neighbors from childhood, not a day went by where they didn't see each other and didn’t come to love one another. 

It evolved from solid friendships, their parents quickly becoming best friends as well as the two young boys. Time went by until Baekhyun knew he was falling hard for Chanyeol at the young age of 15. Chanyeol felt the same way at 14.

Whenever Baekhyun went over to Chanyeol's house late at night, they talked, hoped, and made plans. They talked about how things were and how things could be. Baekhyun would lie on the couch in the dark and Chanyeol would lie on the floor. Their hands found each other's in the dark and Baekhyun would usually be the first to speak.

"Our parents would never approve of us."

"I know, baby." Chanyeol murmured softly. 

He was betraying his parents' trust. They never suspected their sons were in love. Maybe that was the first mistake to lead to all the rest.

Suddenly, Baekhyun the floor lamp in Chanyeol's living room. He had to see the younger's face clearly.

Chanyeol sat up while Baekhyun crawled down to sit next to him. They were not situated in the living room because Chanyeol's parents had problems trusting them to be alone in his bedroom. They were situated in the living room because Baekhyun hardly trusted himself to be alone with Chanyeol in a room with a bed. He was afraid of giving in to temptation when it seemed socially unacceptable to do so.

"I love you." Chanyeol stated, regardless, as he pressed a kiss to Baekhyun's lips. They were only 16 and 15, what did they know about love? 

Baekhyun flinched slightly at the kiss, not because he didn't enjoy it but because the setting made him uncomfortable. He could see hurt in Chanyeol's soft eyes. He was tired of hurting Chanyeol because he was afraid of getting caught. Anyone could have walked in at that moment. Then what?

"I can't keep looking over my shoulder, afraid that someone will see us." Baekhyun mumbled. 

Chanyeol nodded, he understood. Silence fell over the both of them while they were lost in thought. That is, until a probable solution to all their problems came to Baekhyun out of nowhere. He smiled slowly. Prompting Chanyeol to an eyebrow. 

"Chanyeol, maybe we can be together. I think I know a way."

The taller man chuckled. "How? It's impossible for us not to sneak around."

"We just need time." Baekhyun held Chanyeol's hand again. He bit his lip before speaking once more. His idea was far fetched and maybe a little crazy but he needed to be with Chanyeol without a care in the world.

"Please don't think I want us to take advantage of our parents' money." Baekhyun started out hesitantly and Chanyeol nodded. 

"Of course not, go on." He urged the older.

"We've both been learning English heavily as a second language. Would it be so bad for us to study abroad and attend university in America?"

"No. But how would that help us?" Chanyeol shook his head, more than a little confused. Baekhyun laughed at his naive younger boyfriend.

"People are so accepting there. We can hold hands in public, go on dates, kiss freely. Better yet, our parents won't be able to check up on us. Chanyeol, we'll be free. Don't you get it?"

Chanyeol never thought he would be escaping to America in order to publicly hold hands with his boyfriend. It was worth a shot though. He, too, was sick of sneaking around. 

There was just one big problem, university was a good 3 years away. Two years for Baekhyun. 

"You'll be there for a year without me." Chanyeol pouted. Baekhyun, joyful at the prospect of a future with his boyfriend, couldn't help but kiss the pout away. He was temporarily unconcerned about his parents catching them. 

"Your parents always tell me to look after you in school and make sure your grades are steady."

Chanyeol nodded slowly. He wasn't nearly as smart as his boyfriend and Baekhyun had become his tutor on countless occasions. Without the older boy, he didn't think he would have passed any classes.

"So, all you have to do is suggest the idea of studying abroad to your parents. Your parents will worry about sending you there alone and ask me to tag along. I can help you graduate early. We'll start out as freshman together."

Chanyeol blinked in confusion simply because his boyfriend was so ing smart. Had it been so easy all along? Had the answer been right in front of them all that time? He didn't care at that moment who might walk in, he grabbed Baekhyun around the waist and planted a long kiss on his lips.

Baekhyun shrieked in surprise but wasted no time kissing back. He wanted to, no, he needed to spend the rest of his life with Chanyeol. Nothing could stand in their way, not even their families. 

They were risking exposure, kissing in the living room so passionately. For some reason, they just couldn't stop.

", Baekhyun. Bedroom." Chanyeol groaned. The taller teen was partly expecting rejection. He and Baekhyun had never gone farther than kissing in the year they'd been dating. 

He was pleasantly surprised when Baekhyun pulled back, lust filled eyes set upon his own. "Let's go."

Chanyeol had only a second to compose himself which included snapping his jaw closed after it had fallen open in shock. 

Baekhyun chuckled slightly before turning off the living room light. He was a little shocked himself that he was so willing to give in to the urges he had suppressed for an endless amount of time. With newly restored hope for the future of their relationship, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to celebrate the love he and Chanyeol had. With the living room suddenly bathed in darkness, he hurried to Chanyeol's room in anticipation of what was to come. Funny enough, he could hear his boyfriend stumbling along behind him.

He stifled a loud laugh when Chanyeol knocked something over and cursed in frustration. If his parents woke up, there was no way he was getting what he wanted. It was his first chance to finally be with Baekhyun in the one way he hadn't, Chanyeol couldn't blow it because of his awkwardness and uncoordination.

Chanyeol was the first to admit that he was an awkward teenager, the overly tall class clown who was always messing around and cracking jokes. In another life, he wouldn't have had a chance with Baekhyun, the overly popular and extremely likable teenager. 

But when they were both together, stereotypes didn't matter. At the end of the day, Chanyeol loved Baekhyun and Baekhyun loved Chanyeol. 

Chanyeol was finally able to show Baekhyun just how much he loved him. 

Safely behind his closed bedroom door, Chanyeol was gentle with his boyfriend, his s unpracticed and sloppy. He even fumbled a little along the way, apologizing with a slight embarrassed flush on his face. Baekhyun didn't mind the little mistakes or the small bouts of uncertainty because he was eternally grateful that they could share their first time together. More than once, he had to bite down on a pillow just to muffle his moans.

Regardless of the fact that Chanyeol's parents were right across the hall. Regardless of the fact that both of them had to be as quiet as possible. Regardless of everything else, in that moment, it was perfect. 

Afterwards, Chanyeol disposed of the used and collapsed next to Baekhyun, allowing himself to become engulfed with bliss and contentment.

For the first time ever, Baekhyun fell asleep embraced in the strong arms of his boyfriend. He wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

**

The next morning, the two boyfriends were awakened by a loud knock at the door. There was no time to welcome the morning with a sweet kiss, no time to reflect on what had happened last night, no time to say I love you as much as they wanted. Baekhyun had imagined what the next morning would be like after his and Chanyeol's first time together but he never imagined it to be full of panic and commotion.

"Wake up! Breakfast is ready."

"!" Baekhyun hissed, beating Chanyeol to it.

"Coming, dad!" Chanyeol yelled back. There was no time for Baekhyun to enjoy an extra moment in Chanyeol's arms nor to enjoy the satisfying warmth of bare skin against bare skin. Instead, it was a mad dash to find their clothes due to the articles having been strewn everywhere last night.

Baekhyun desperately looked for his pajama pants while Chanyeol struggled to find his shirt. While they searched for their clothes, Chanyeol's dad became extremely impatient because Chanyeol always ate breakfast with his family and they couldn't start without him or Baekhyun.

The knocking increased while Chanyeol grabbed a pillow and blanket and placed them on the floor. Baekhyun raised a curious eyebrow. 

"We can't look like we slept in the same bed. It's not what guy friends do."

Baekhyun nodded while quickly slipping on his pants. Chanyeol put on his shirt and gestured for Baekhyun to open the door. He obliged, instantly face to face with a suspicious Mr. Park. The middle aged man crossed his arms in annoyance and curiosity.

"What took so long?"

"Oh, we stayed up late watching movies. It was hard to wake up." Baekhyun supplied and Chanyeol nodded quickly in agreement. 

Mr. Park chuckled, no longer suspicious or annoyed. He remembered staying up late with his own best friends when he was young and knew he had no reason to be mad at his son and his best friend. 

"I understand. Come on, boys."

They followed Mr. Park to the kitchen where the table was set for breakfast. When it came down to picking one of the 4 dining chairs, Baekhyun picked the one right next to Chanyeol as he always did. They stayed at each other's houses so often that they each had a place at the other's kitchen table.

The conversation at the table started off light and friendly, allowing Chanyeol to gather the courage to bring up what Baekhyun had brought up last night. He was halfway through his breakfast when he caressed Baekhyun's hand underneath the table and cleared his throat. The air in the room became as serious as Chanyeol suddenly felt. And he had everyone's attention on him.

"Mom, dad, you've been telling me to think about university and lately, I have. I know it's 3 years away but with Baekhyun's tutoring, I feel like I'm ready to seriously talk about it."

"Oh?" Mrs. Park leaned forward in curiosity.  

Baekhyun smiled slightly. Only Chanyeol caught the twinkle in his boyfriend's eyes as he silently urged him to continue. 

"What Korean university are you thinking about, son?" His father wondered with an equal amount of curiosity as his wife. 

"I don't think Korea has what I'm looking for."

"Please explain." His father said sternly. 

"I want to be a lawyer and I've done some research. I think I want to go to Harvard." Chanyeol stated. Baekhyun's eyes widened in surprise. Chanyeol seriously wanted to go to Harvard? That was a really difficult school to get into and not at all where Baekhyun had been expecting him to want to go.

"Harvard?" His mother sputtered. 

"That's in Massachusetts, isn't it?" Mr. Park questioned.

"Yes." Chanyeol answered. It wasn't a lie, he had wanted to be a lawyer since he was 8 and had stumbled upon Harvard on the internet a long time ago. He hadn't thought much about the school in years but because the situation desperately called for it, it was the first thing to come to mind.

"Well, if that's what you want, okay." His father said. His mother gasped. 

Chanyeol had no time to be relieved that his dad was so willing to unknowingly agree with his and Baekhyun's scheme because his mother spoke suddenly out of shock.

"Shouldn't we talk about this?" She asked her husband.

"Harvard is one of the best schools in the world for lawyers. If he wants to go, why stop him?"

"Harvard is a tough school." Mrs. Park turned back to her son.

Before Chanyeol could answer, Mr. Park turned to Baekhyun and spoke. "Only if you agree to go. There's no way Chanyeol could make it without you."

Chanyeol didn't know whether to be insulted at the fact that his father didn't think he could be successful on his own or happy that Baekhyun's plan was working. He chose the latter.  

"Mr. Park, I would do anything for Chanyeol. If this is what he wants then I'd be more than happy to help."

"You would attend university with him?" Mrs. Park asked for confirmation. 

Baekhyun nodded.

"Alright." She sighed. "We'll talk to your parents, Baekhyun. I would feel so much better about my son being in a different country if you were with him."

Chanyeol smiled as did Baekhyun. Things were finally going their way.

When Chanyeol's parents talked to Baekhyun's parents later that day, they all came to an agreement. Baekhyun would continue to tutor Chanyeol to help him g