Chanyeol was a heavy sleeper to Baekhyun's advantage. It provided the older man with the perfect opportunity to sneak out of their apartment the morning before their scheduled departure to Korea. 

Baekhyun had been visibly upset ever since he learned about the trip and the only people he wanted to talk to about it were his best friends. 

It was still dark outside when Kyungsoo and Jongdae arrived at Baekhyun's specified location. Baekhyun sat alone behind the library because the building shielded him from any nosy passerbys and allowed his friends to find him easily. 

Once he was no longer alone, he burst into tears. Like the good friends they were, Kyungsoo positioned Baekhyun's head to rest in his lap and Jongdae positioned Baekhyun's feet to rest in his lap.

They already knew what was wrong because all 10 of them had been informed of Baekhyun and Chanyeol's upcoming trip back to Korea. 

When his sobs died down, he apologized profusely to his friends who obviously didn't mind. 

"So what's really bothering you?" Kyungsoo questioned as Baekhyun sat up and rested his back against the tall brick building. 

Jongdae dug in his back pocket and handed Baekhyun a travel pack of tissues. He brought them because he had a feeling his friend would need them.

"I don't want to be selfish to Chanyeol." Baekhyun replied as he blew his nose. 

"How are you being selfish to Chanyeol?"

"This is a huge opportunity for him. If he sees how upset I am, he'll feel bad and then I'll feel bad for making him feel bad."

"Chanyeol would understand. Going back to Seoul is going to be tough for the both of you. But you can make new happy memories. Seoul doesn't have to be a place of foreboding." Kyungsoo supplied and Jongdae nodded.

"I'm afraid that I won't be able to control my emotions when we get there."

Jongdae wrapped an arm around Baekhyun's shoulders. "But you're never going to truly get over what happened there unless you man up and face the city again."

"Surprisingly, Jongdae's right. You can't get over a fear without facing it first, you know? This is the same thing."

Kyungsoo continued when Baekhyun failed to respond. "It's been 4 years since you've left. Korea's bound to have changed. And you and Chanyeol have changed. You're older and more mature now. Going back there is a huge change but you don't have to be afraid of the change. It can be a good thing."

Baekhyun nodded and stared at the ground, playing with the grass absentmindedly. 

Kyungsoo was right, it had been years ago since they left and Baekhyun needed to move on. Jongdae was right as well, he had to face the city again. Change wasn't always bad. He couldn't be afraid of it.

"I'm not afraid of change."

Kyungsoo smiled slightly. "Good."

Jongdae examined Baekhyun and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hm, how do we prove you really aren't afraid of change?"

Baekhyun looked at Jongdae in confusion as he wiped away the last of his tears. "What are you talking about?"

Kyungsoo spoke up, agreeing with Baekhyun. "My thoughts exactly."

Jongdae continued to think hard and Baekhyun and Kyungsoo continued to look at each other in confusion. 

The sky was just beginning to lighten when Jongdae jumped up. 

"I've got an idea."

Kyungsoo stood up too and helped Baekhyun up.

"If you came up with it, it's probably an awful idea." Kyungsoo muttered and Jongdae crossed his arms.

"Why are you so mean to me? Seriously, this is a great idea. It's the perfect way for Baekhyun to prove he's not afraid of change."

"What's the plan?" Kyungsoo questioned, almost fearfully. Jongdae leaned over and whispered into the younger's ear. 

Baekhyun watched Kyungsoo's expression carefully as Jongdae whispered to him. The expression was hard to read but Kyungsoo nodded like he was agreeing with whatever was being said. 

"It could be worse, Baek." Kyungsoo shrugged. Baekhyun watched Jongdae take out his phone and  text someone. He received a response as quickly as he had hoped.

"He's all for it." Jongdae said to Kyungsoo. 

"Who's all for what?" Baekhyun wondered. Jongdae grabbed his hand and began to drag him in the opposite direction of their apartment. Kyungsoo followed close behind. 

"Where are you taking me?" Baekhyun wondered as he attempted to break from Jongdae's vise like grip.

"To Luhan."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

Baekhyun let himself be dragged all the way to Luhan and Minseok's apartment out of curiosity for what was about to happen.

Luhan had apparently been waiting for them because he immediately allowed them entry into the building and unlocked the door once they arrived. He smirked when he saw a confused Baekhyun and gestured for them to enter.

"Is someone gonna tell me what's going on?" Baekhyun asked and Luhan chuckled. He ran a hand through his hair, his newly dyed pink hair, might I add?

"Do you trust us?" Jongdae questioned. 

Baekhyun nodded without hesitation. "Of course I do."

"Then just relax. It's going to take some getting used to but you said you weren't afraid of change. Right?"

"Yes." Baekhyun said cautiously. 

Jongdae no longer held onto his hand. It was Luhan who reached out and held Baekhyun's hand in his own. He led Baekhyun into the bathroom where a chair was placed in front of the sink facing away from the mirror.

"Sit back and relax, Baek." Luhan gently pushed Baekhyun into the chair. "And no peeking." He added as he placed a blindfold over Baekhyun's eyes.

"I didn't know you were into like this." Baekhyun joked and Luhan let out a small laugh.

"Don't worry, I'm not." 

Without the use of his eyes, Baekhyun tried to use his ears to figure out what Luhan was doing. The main focus of Luhan's attention was on Baekhyun's hair. The dead giveaway of what was really going on was when Luhan began to cover Baekhyun's hair with a thick, cold shampoo-ish feeling substance. 

Baekhyun grew quite afraid, when Luhan began to wash out the substance in his hair after 35 minutes, because he didn't know if he wanted to see what his hair looked like after Luhan had gotten ahold of it.

Luhan made light conversation while he dried and styled Baekhyun's hair, not once actually mentioning his hair. Then, without warning, he took off the blindfold.

It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the bright light when the blindfold was removed. When he could see again, Jongdae, Kyungsoo, and Minseok were gawking at his hair. 

He instinctively touched it. Of course it didn't feel any different but he was afraid Luhan dyed it pink or rainbow colored.

He turned around slowly and was pleasantly surprised to not see rainbow hair. Instead, he saw golden/dirty blonde hair. The previous state of his natural hair color caused the faux blonde color to have flecks of light brown.

He had gone from black hair to blonde hair in the span of an hour. He didn't know what to think.

"It's certainly different." He stated as he examined himself in the mirror. He had never had any other hair color than the one he was born with. Chanyeol was sure to be surprised. 

"You look good." Jongdae replied honestly. 

"Thanks."

"Now you're ready to go to Korea, right? New hair, new you." Luhan stated and Baekhyun nodded.

He wasn't quite sure if the new hair made him any more ready to go to Seoul, new hair didn't erase painfully powerful memories and emotions, but his friends obviously went out of their way to dye it so he appreciated it. 

"Yeah. I guess so." Baekhyun responded and hugged his friends goodbye. He wouldn't see them for a couple weeks and he appreciated one of their last efforts to make him happy. 

Baekhyun headed back home shortly after. He felt self conscious about his blonde hair and couldn't stop touching it the whole way.

When he got back, Mina and Chanyeol were still fast asleep. Like father like daughter, he thought. 

He patiently waited for them to wake up, choosing to eat a bowl of cereal whilst lounging on the couch and watching the news on television.

Chanyeol woke up first, walking out of the bedroom and yawning. From his position on the couch, Baekhyun could see Chanyeol walk into the only bathroom in their apartment. But not before calling out, "How long have you been up?"

"Not long." Baekhyun called back. Chanyeol nodded and disappeared into the bathroom without looking back at his boyfriend. 

Baekhyun sighed in relief. He had more time to mentally prepare himself for Chanyeol's reaction to the "new" Baekhyun. It wasn't as if Chanyeol was a stranger to trying out new hair colors but he had never undergone such a drastic change as Baekhyun had without warning. 

Baekhyun could hear Chanyeol moving around in the bathroom, turning on the sink, brushing his teeth and whatnot. 

When Baekhyun finished his breakfast, he placed his dirty bowl in the sink. The bathroom door opened at the same time and Chanyeol walked out. He was more awake than he had been a few minutes before.

Baekhyun turned around. He wanted to see Chanyeol's reaction with his own eyes. It was no surprise that the 22 year old was rendered speechless. 

He pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose. Still, he was unsure of what to say.

Baekhyun spoke first, "Do you hate it?"

"No, I don't hate it, it's just-"

"It's just what?" Baekhyun crossed his arms defensively.

"If you're so upset about going to Korea you could have been honest with me. You didn't have to go and change your hair."

"Well, it's done." Baekhyun shrugged and pushed past Chanyeol. The taller man grabbed Baekhyun's arm. He was really sick of being grabbed that day.

"Do you not want to go?" Chanyeol wondered. 

Baekhyun broke free from Chanyeol's grasp. "I didn't say that."

"Baekhyun, do you want me to cancel? Yes or no?"

"You're okay with going to Korea and I'm not going to hold you back. No, don't cancel."

"Don't worry about me. I'm asking you if you want to go."

Baekhyun felt hot tears spring to his eyes and he couldn't understand why he couldn't keep his emotions in check for Chanyeol's sake. But once the tears started coming, there was nothing to hold them back.

"Of course I don't want to go! I don't want to go back to the place where my parents abandoned me! I don't want to go back to a place where I'm too afraid to hold your hand in public! I thought we left Korea behind us, I don't want to go back." Baekhyun sobbed.

Chanyeol made a move to hug him but Baekhyun stepped out of range. "Don't hug me and say that everything is gonna be okay because it's not. But I don't want to be selfish, Chanyeol. I can't ruin this opportunity for you. Us going back there is never going to be okay. But this trip isn't about me. I just want to support you like you've always supported me. If that means going to Seoul, fine. I just don't want you to feel ty and screw up everything because you're worried about me. Don't worry, please."

Chanyeol chuckled slightly. "Telling me not to worry about you is like telling a fish not to swim. It just won't happen. But I can promise you I won't let it get in the way of what I'm going there to do."

Baekhyun nodded as he continued to cry. His shoulders shook with each sob and only then did he allow Chanyeol to hug him. He hated crying freely in front of him. He absolutely hated it. Still, it was much better than holding everything in.

"Ready to start packing?" Chanyeol wondered when he was sure Baekhyun had stopped crying. 

"No, but we have to do it sooner or later." Baekhyun responded. 

Like that unforgettable time 4 years ago, Baekhyun packed begrudgingly for a trip he wasn't looking forward to. Only that time, he was going to support Chanyeol. That was reason enough to keep him going. 

**

Mina's reaction to her mommy's hair was similar to everyone else's reaction to Baekhyun's hair. They all thought blonde suited him well and were all too eager to touch it and make approving comments.

Out of all the approvals he did receive, he was concerned with Chanyeol's lack of approval (or disapproval). He had yet to say whether he liked or disliked the hair but by dinner that evening, he made his opinion very clear. 

All 12 friends plus Mina went out to eat dinner the night before they left for Korea in the morning. Baekhyun wasn't in a particularly good mood that night due to the fact that they had a long day of traveling ahead of them. So, Chanyeol decided to make it all better. He would do anything to see a genuine smile graze Baekhyun's soft features before their flight departure. 

In the midst of waiting for their food after just placing their orders, Baekhyun played with the straw of his drink absentmindedly. He was disengaged from all surrounding conversations. 

Chanyeol smiled, deciding it was the right time to shed light o