Everything you do drives me crazy, Baek! 
Then what do you want?

What do I want? I don’t even ing know anymore. You wanna know what I don’t want? I don’t wanna fight anymore.

Really.

Yeah… I wish I never met you.

You wish you never met me…

You’re insufferable, childish… God, I’d give anything just to get rid of all of this.

Anything…

Yeah. Anything. 
- 
-

Chanyeol wakes up the next morning in an unfamiliar room. His head hurts like a and there’s an aching at the back of his neck. Groaning, he sits up on the bed and rubs his neck. He slowly looks around the room and curses to himself.

He must’ve left the house, gone out to a bar, and got drunk. The place looked too good to be a hotel room. Chanyeol knew himself well enough to know that he wouldn’t spend an extravagant amount of money on a hotel for a one night stand.

It’s not until he sets his feet on the floor that he realizes that he’s dressed in satin pajamas. Not that wearing satin was uncommon, but Chanyeol’s almost one hundred percent confused. Why would he bring one of his satin pajamas to a bar… for a one night stand… with some stranger who wasn’t his boyfriend.

Then again, how’s he even sure that he had a one night stand? No matter how many times Chanyeol looks around, he doesn’t see any packs or lube or underwear belonging to another person. There was nothing in that hotel room (really, really fancy hotel room?).

Suddenly, knocks are pounding on the dark wooden doors. Chanyeol doesn’t know what to think. What kind of room service knocks on the door of hotel guests at--Chanyeol glances at the clock--eight in the morning. 
Begrudgingly, he gets up and trudges to the door using the comfy slippers that were by the bed. Without looking through the peephole, Chanyeol opens the doors and is immediately met with a team of people barging in with racks of clothing and hair supplies.

Most of the younger females bow to him. The head of the team merely utters a good morning before looking at him in disappointment.

“Mr. Park. Please don’t tell me you just woke up.”

Chanyeol looks at her. The hair fringe and the dark rimmed glasses mad the woman in front of him look…bossy to him. “What?”

“The launch party. This afternoon. You’re not ready yet. In fact, you haven’t even taken a shower.”

“I don’t remember having a launch party… in my schedule.” His head’s still in a blur. Who were these people again? “Sorry. What party?”

“Dear god. Krystal!” the woman calls behind her. “Give me some, what do you call them. Things for hangovers. Seems like Mr. Park drank too much at last night’s party.”

“.” Chanyeol groans, running a hand down his face. “Where’s Kris? I need to call him about my schedule.”

Snorting, the woman motions for staff to begin ing Chanyeol’s pajamas. “Kris? Your subordinate? You fired him, remember?”

“What?”

“You said you saw him flirting with your house cook and decided to sack the man.”

Blinking, Chanyeol’s mouth gapes. “I fired him for flirting with Kyungsoo?”

“God, I don’t know, Mr. Park. You ramble on when we’re trying to make you look presentable to the press. I don’t know your entire life story.”

Chanyeol lets the girls shrug him out of his shirt. “Baekhyun.” He remembers. “I fought with him.”

“Byun? I didn’t know you knew him personally.”

“He’s my fiance. How the hell wouldn’t I know him?”

All of a sudden, the woman laughs, throwing her head back in her fit. “Where’s Krystal! Mr. Park may need more than one pill. I’d say he’s having major delusions.”

Christ, who was this woman? What the was going on?

Tightening his jaw, Chanyeol throws her a glare. “What the hell are you laughing for?”

“Mr. Park, you are Seoul’s most eligible bachelor… In case you forgot, you’re not seeing anyone. Byun Baekhyun? He’s married. He’s been married for the last two years.” She pauses, staring at Chanyeol’s blank expression. “I’m almost tempted to ask if you were drugged last night...Ah. Krystal’s back.” 
- 
-

While he was being driven to the launch party for something that Chanyeol doesn’t even know what for, the giant felt empty. It was weird. Everything was out of place, but it felt normal to him. It felt like he was always going to parties. When that woman and her team of dressers barged into his room, he wasn’t even the least bit alarmed to have a bunch of strangers swarm him. It felt normal. And that was scary to him. 
- 
-

Chanyeol’s surrounded by unfamiliar people that felt familiar. He even remembered some of their names which surprises him on the inside.

Taking a champagne glass from a waiter's tray, Chanyeol scouts the area with his eyes. He recognizes some business partners, some interns from his own company, and his family. It’s not until he’s looking down the balcony above everyone else that he sees a familiar face. Baekhyun.

Racing down the steps, Chanyeol excuses himself through the crowds of people until he’s near the table of full of fruit where he last saw Baekhyun. Once he spots a familiar head of brown (fluffy, god it was always fluffy) hair, the giant makes a beeline, grabbing the brunt by the elbow without thinking.

“Ah!”

Chanyeol curses when he sees the bubbly drink in the smaller male’s hand suddenly go on his black suit.

“I’m sorry. Are you fine?” Chanyeol stops when he realizes he’s talking...stiffly. He wasn’t supposed to be talking stiffly. This is his fiance for crying out loud. “Baekhyun--”

“Mr. Park, you shouldn’t have surprised me like that,” Baekhyun mutters, displeased. He accepts a wipe being offered to him and begins trying to dry himself. “A simple tap on the shoulder would’ve been fine.”

Drawing back, Chanyeol stares at him. He notices that Baekhyun’s not smiling or being overly cheery as he usually was. “I need to talk to you.”

The words surprise the brunet. “Talk to me?” When Chanyeol nods, Baekhyun sighs, excusing them from the people he was speaking to. “Follow me.”

Nodding, Chanyeol follows. 
- 
-

Baekhyun closes the door to the study behind him before turning around and rolling his eyes at Chanyeol’s cluelessness. “Are you going to take a seat, Mr. Park?”

“I’m fine.” Standing’s helping him get his together. If he sits down, Chanyeol’s sure he’s going to lose his ground and end up standing anyways.

“Well, what do you need to talk to me for?” Baekhyun asks. “My husband’s going to ask where I am and if this is about business, you can’t use me to get to him.”

“Baekhyun, who’s your husband?”

Giving him the the oddest look, Baekhyun slowly sits down in a seat. “Kris Wu? Has been for two years. Where’ve you been?”

Where has he been? He’s been there. Everything else around him hasn’t been there until he woke up that morning. Looking down at the brunet, Chanyeol tries to not burst. “Kris? As in, guy-who-used-to-work-for-me Kris?”

“Don’t talk about him like that,” Baekhyun snaps. “Not in that tone.”

“What’s your problem?”

“Excuse me?” Shocked, Baekhyun gapes. “You make me spill my drink because you want to talk to me and then you talk down on my husband like he’s still your subordinate. Mr. Park, in case you’ve forgotten because your informal attitude seems to point that way, we’ve never spoken before. Ever.”

“What?”

“Yeah. This is the first time we’ve actually talked and I can’t say it’s a pleasant experience. I should leave…” Getting up, Baekhyun tries to make his way to the door, but Chanyeol side steps him, blocking his way. “Look, if you wanted something about the lawsuit--”

“What lawsuit?”

“Uh, the lawsuit you filed against my family after we released a product that you thought looked so damn close to something your lab was working on at the time? That’s why you fired Kris. You thought he stole the info and sold it to my father’s company, and, well… When I married him, this somehow confirmed your conspiracy theory.”

Chanyeol grabs the brunet’s hand before he can get away. “Did you marry him because it was arranged?”

For a moment, Baekhyun stops, looking at him with blank eyes. “No, I married him because I wanted to. Funny thing though,” he says, pulling his hand away from Chanyeol’s. “I wasarranged to have a marriage meeting with you but you kept canceling...and canceling… and rescheduling...and postponing….and then my father finally got fed up. So, I had my way. Coincidentally, I met Kris over and over again whenever I went over to your company for you. It’s funny how life works, I guess.”

“Baekhyun--”

“I have to go, Mr. Park. He’s going to be worried.”

There isn’t much he can do to a married man, especially when the married man isn’t married to him. Chanyeol watches Baekhyun leave the study, shaking. What the hell is all of this? It seems like a joke, but it was far too much.

His Baekhyun would’ve cracked a laugh. The Baekhyun he just met was… too mature and a little lifeless. Not childish at all…

A feeling of guilt washes over him. He called Baekhyun childish the night before. And he watched him cry. Chanyeol doesn’t know how to leave the study. He’s too wrapped within his own mind trying to get a bearing of reality to rejoin the party outside those doors. 
- 
-

The dog. Whatever happened to the dog?

Chanyeol’s sitting in his office desk thinking about the dumb thing.

His office is different, too. It’s bigger, brighter, sleeker, higher… There’s also a bunch of awards in a glass shelf in a corner. Something about being the business man of the year.

Spinning around in his chair, he thinks about what he is in thatlife. He’s pretty much a workaholic… That’s what the awards suggest. It’s what it all suggests. 
- 
-

What is he doing in the city? He usually works in the beach villa.

It doesn’t seem like a big detail until he takes the phone in his office and dials the house number that he has memorized. He waits and waits only to hear that the number isn’t in service.

Panicked, Chanyeol hits the speed dial button to his secretary, which he apparently has. After a few seconds, the woman picks up.

“Yes, Mr. Park?”

“Hello, yes, um…” He decides that calling her by her name was only a waste of time. “What’s the number to my beach house?”

“Sir?”

“What is the phone number...to the villa… I own… by the sea…south of Seoul.” He makes sure to be absolutely clear.

“Sir, I’ve been working for you for over two years now. You sold that house a long time ago.”

“I sold it…”

“You said that you preferred to work closer to the company. There wasn’t a reason for you to keep it, anyways. You told everyone you were bored there.”

“Then what about Sehun?”

“Who?”

Chanyeol freezes. “Sehun. He’s blonde, a little tall like me. College kid?”

“As far as I know, there’s no one in your contacts by that name.” 
- 
-

Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo…

Chanyeol charges into his condo, the one his driver took him to, which is the same one he woke up in. It’s, no doubt, beautiful and clean. The place radiated the words “single bachelor” perfectly, but Chanyeol was too busy freaking out to notice.

He finds the cook placing a single plate with a set of utensils on a table big enough for six. It looks so empty.

Looking at the cook, Chanyeol heads straight for him. “Kyungsoo. We need to talk.”

“Chanyeol, please. Manners. Hands to yourself. We talked about this.”

Blinking, Chanyeol talks a step back, taking his hands off the man’s shoulders. “Sorry.”

“Did something happen because you’re usually not this… eager to talk about something.”

Following the male into the kitchen, Chanyeol his head. “Don’t I always talk to you?”

“Are you, I don’t know, on any medication? You don’t talk much.”

“Why not?”

“You’re being weird,” Kyungsoo mumbles. “You’re always saying I won’t understand because it’s business.”

“I’m sorry if the me now is an ,” Chanyeol says quickly before waving a hand. “Anyways. Less on this matter. I need to ask you why I’m… here.”

“Because you were born.”

“Kyungsoo!”

“I don’t understand what you’re asking, Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo sighs. “You’re here… Where’s here? Is it in this kitchen?”

“No, I mean…” Chanyeol pauses. “Why am I not married to Baekhyun? Where’s Nugget? And where the hell is Sehun? Jongin? Luhan, even. Did I really sell the house? Also, did I--”

“Are you sure you’re Park Chanyeol?”

“Yes!” He’s exasperated.

Kyungsoo stares at him for the longest time before shaking his head. “Sit down at the dinner table, Chanyeol. I’m serving.”

“But--”

“I’ll answer your questions when I finish doing my job. Now sit down.”

Chanyeol has no other choice other than to listen. He walks over to the nice, but empty table. He’s so used to it being full and loud with Baekhyun’s talking, Nugget’s barking, Jongin’s loud chewing, Sehun’s mumbling, and Kyungsoo’s lecturing that all of a sudden, it was like being slapped on the face. It’s too lonely… and it isn't his life.

After Kyungsoo finishes putting all the dishes and bowls in front of him, Chanyeol begins to chew mildly on a few things. His appetite isn't there, however.

Taking a seat in one of the chairs, Kyungsoo crosses his legs as he carefully watches and examines the giant. “You sold the beach house because you said you wanted to be in the city. Truth is, I think you wanted to get rid of it because it was too lonely. You were the only one living there since you wanted me to only come during the evenings.”

“And Sehun?”

“You don’t know anyone by that name,” Kyungsoo says softly. “I don’t know who that is… As for, uh, ‘Nugget’, I don’t know what that is either.”

“He’s a dog.”

“You don’t have a dog, Yeol. In fact, you kind of hate animals.” Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Kyungsoo inhales slowly. “Jongin? I don’t know him either. Same with this Luhan person.”

“Jongin’s Baekhyun’s friend and Luhan’s his other friend.”

“Why’re you mentioning Kris’ husband all of a sudden?” Kyungsoo asks. “They’re married.”

“Baekhyun’s supposed to be engaged to me.”

Kyungsoo raises a brow. “Is this some affair I don’t know about?”

“It’s not an affair. His parents and mine agreed on a marriage between us and--”

“You didn’t want that marriage, remember?” Kyungsoo gives a small chuckle. “You kept avoiding it. Said you had to work all the time. The Byun’s son even made an effort to see you a bunch of times, but you kept refusing him.”

“He didn’t run away?”

“He did…” Kyungsoo says. “But then he went back home when he ran out of money that didn’t involve his credit card. The police would’ve tracked his purchases.”

Chanyeol scoffs softly. “He couldn’t find a job…”

“Jobs don’t pop out of nowhere.” Kyungsoo looks away. “Anyways, he’s married to Kris now. I don’t know what this entire fiance thing is about.”

“Does he still read romance novels?”

Kyungsoo stops. “What?”

“Baekhyun. Does he still read romance novels?”

For a moment, Kyungsoo’s silent. Then he laughs. “That’s hilarious. Why would he? Baekhyun’s an absolute...I don’t know how to say this, but…” Chanyeol leans in. “He’s kind of...boring.”

With his mouth gaping, Chanyeol’s speechless. “Boring…”

“All he does is take care of the house while Kris is gone and does his nightly duties, if you know what I mean.” Chanyeol does know what Kyungsoo means and he’s not very fond of it. “I was at a party at their house for Christmas once. Kris gave him a gift. You know what the guy got his husband? An encyclopedia. And Baekhyun’s likedit. In fact, he loved it. I was baffled. Really...really...baffled.” 
- 
-

So the dog doesn’t exist--or at least with them. Chanyeol feels slightly guilty just thinking about where Nugget might be. In the shelter where he wanted to put him in the first place? Maybe. Or maybe the dog died in that parking lot because Baekhyun never picked him up…

.

Chanyeol sits on the bed. His nice bed. His really big bed. His empty bed.

He looks at the bedroom door, expecting (maybe hoping) that Baekhyun was going to burst out in some stupid pajama that he got on sale at some stupid market with stupid sellers and… 
But nothing happens. He’s still there alone.

Kyungsoo already went home. There’s no one with him in that condo. Just him.

He wants to crawl into bed and have it all go away. Maybe Baekhyun’s obnoxious self wasn’t so obnoxious. He was loud, but... at least he was loud so that no one would ever feel lonely or awkward in silence. And the dog? God, that stupid, fat dog. Chanyeol actually wants to see that fat thing trudge around the condo, hating him. He wants that dog taking his things and burying them under Sehun’s bed and he actually wants to seeSehun, too. He wants it all. He wants the annoying fiance and the dog that’s not potty trained. He wants the college kid living under his roof and the cook who stays at the house twenty-four seven. And the house… He wants the house back.

The beach, everything. All those nights he ran outside to get Baekhyun out of the water without his stupid light-up floaties (for safety reasons) and all the afternoons he had to lecture his fiance and the college student to wear sunscreen… Chanyeol wants all of it back.

Being successful as a CEO...and the expansion of his business… None of it felt right. At least, not alone.

Suddenly, the fight they had before was irrelevant. Baekhyun asking him to come home more often... Him telling the brunet that he didn’t understand anything at all because he didn’t work.

The look on Baekhyun’s face is still etched in his mind. Sad. Struck. Worst of all, Baekhyun looked disappointed. Not in Chanyeol, but in himself. The look that Chanyeol saw was Baekhyun feeling disappointed that he couldn’t help his own fiance deal with the stress of work.

Baekhyun blamed himself and he still had the audacity to tell the brunet that he wished he never met him… 
He realizes that he’s wrong… In this world, Baekhyun doesn’t love him. He doesn’t read romance novels, he’s mature, civilized, and married. He’s nothing like the one Chanyeol knows--the one who craves going to the bookstore, loves being childish and immature, and most importantly, notmarried because things always come up for him and he has to keep pushing the date back. His Baekhyun was a beautiful, disorganized mess…

It was wrong to wish for him to be otherwise. He might’ve never fallen in love with him if Baekhyun didn’t always pulling his attention left and right.

Chanyeol sighs, closing his eyes.

He’s sorry for everything. It was a stupid fight over work and deadlines. It wasn’t worth losing everyone that made his life into a colorful, loud, dysfunctional episode every day. 
- 
-

Chanyeol wakes up again, but this time, in his own bed--his actual bed. The one he shares with Baekhyun, the one they spent nights talking and playing on… Immediately, he sits up, looking at the digital clock on the side and seeing that it’s two in the morning. With the sound of the ocean waves crashing the shore softly, Chanyeol gets out of bed and races out the bedroom.

He almost trips on Nugget who’s outside the bedroom door. The dog must’ve fallen asleep on the spot, thinking that his dad was sleeping on the other side. Chanyeol almost curses when the pup awakens, but then he feels the sudden urge to kiss him.

The dog’s alive! He’s not dead in some parking lot because Baekhyun didn’t exist and never took him into the house. Nugget’s there, by his feet, yawning. . The fat dog’s alive and the giant has never felt more happier.

Chanyeol makes his way down the hall, turning on the lights as he’s doing so. He goes downstairs and checks the living room. Baekhyun’s not sleeping on the couch which meant only one thing. He was outside. 
- 
-

The giant finds his small fiance sleeping in a hammock, curled up in a single blanket. Chanyeol feels a stinging in his chest. He caused this. He pushed Baekhyun outside. Not literally, but Baekhyun always had the tendency to isolate himself whenever they fought.

Cursing, Chanyeol bends over and carefully picks him up into his arms.

It isn’t until they’re inside the house that Baekhyun gains enough consciousness to realize what’s happening. However, the first thing he does is bury his face against Chanyeol’s chest, almost whimpering.

“I’m sorry if I made you mad…” The words were barely audible, but it still manages to break Chanyeol’s heart. “I didn’t mean it when I called you stupid… or when I mentioned Kris…”

“Baek--”

“I was thinking that maybe…maybe we can break off the engagement. You don’t have to marry me.”

“No, Baekhyun, that’s not what I want.”

Baekhyun goes silent. “You said you wished you never met me…”

“And I wasn’t thinking when I said that. I’m sorry…”

“You don’t have to lie to me.”

Chanyeol looks down at him. “Baekhyun, stop. I’m sorry. I’m sorry a million times, so just... Stop crying, okay?”

Baekhyun sniffles. “Sorry…”

“When you cry, I feel like as because I know it’s my fault.”

“Yeah…”

“I’m sorry for being one…” Chanyeol holds a breath. “I was just too stressed and angry at the moment. I’m sorry. I should’ve kept my temper.”

“If you didn’t meet me, you could’ve met someone else. Maybe someone better--”

“No,” Chanyeol’s quick to say. “I wouldn’t have. I’d be a mess if I didn’t meet you.”

“You don’t know that. Maybe--”

“Baekhyun, if I didn’t meet you, I’d be a successful single bachelor living in a condo in one of the most expensive areas in Seoul.”

Baekhyun looks at him. “That doesn’t sound bad.”

“Yeah? Well, that’s the thing. I’d be lonely as without any friends because I fired them all. Kyungsoo only sees me for an hour or two. Sehun doesn’t even exist to me. And you? You wouldn’t be mine. If I never met you, you’d be married to Kris.”

The information pulls Baekhyun from his drowsiness. “Kris? I’d never marry him! What’re you talking about?”

The words sound so sweet in Chanyeol’s ears. He smiles. “I’m telling you about how things would be if you never fell out of your second story window and came to work for me.”

“You say things to make me feel better.”

“I say these things because sometimes, I forget, okay?” Chanyeol says softly. “Sometimes, I need to be reminded about what I have and why I should be happy with everything. When I woke up to an empty bed, it kind of felt like half of my heart was missing.”

“You’re really corny, Yeol…” Baekhyun gives a small, quiet laugh. “Maybe you should try being a romance novelist.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

They arrive at their bedroom door. By this time, Nugget is completely awake, following the two inside. Usually, the dog never sleeps with them, but after Chanyeol tucks Baekhyun in and the brunet begins to fall back asleep, the giant picks up the pup and places him on the foot of their bed.

He settles next to Baekhyun with an arm hugging the brunet by his waist. As he’s getting comfortable, he hears the brunet mutter, “I love you”. Struck, the giant holds onto him even tighter. Before Chanyeol lets himself fall asleep to the sound of (his) Baekhyun’s soft breathing, he smiles, feeling Nugget climb over his thigh just so that the pup could settle nicely in his dad’s arms where he belonged (because he didn’t die on the parking lot; Baekhyun was there; Baekhyun existed).