“When are you going to go home?”

“Has Baekhyun called yet?”

“Chanyeol, for the last time, he hasn’t called me or the office yet. Now, when will you just--”

“Then I’m not going home. Close the door behind you.”

Sehun’s jaw clenched. For half the day, the idiot had been sleeping in his private bed space located conveniently right beside his executive office. It was ridiculous. “Chanyeol, just talk to him.”

“Do I WANT to go talk to him? Not really. Pretty sure he won’t talk to me, because that’s just how he is. Stubborn as and won’t tell me anything like who the hell he’s been busy with.” Chanyeol turned over on the small bed. He made a mental note to buy a bigger office bed. “Take over for me today. I’m not feeling it.”

“Chanyeol, he has to have a reason.”

Scowling, Chanyeol didn’t buy it. “Then it better be a damn good reason if he needs to keep it from me.”

“Okay, well, you have a meeting in thirty minutes and I’m not filling in for you. I’m taking my lunch break early.”

“Sehun!”

“Baekhyun didn’t call but he dropped off your lunch for you.”

Turning his head, Chanyeol gave the latter a surprised expression. “Really?”

“Yeah and he said to not drop by the cafe today.”

That killed the bit of happiness he felt just a second ago. Sitting up on the bed, Chanyeol gripped the edge of the bed. “Is he honestly ing serious? I’m not allowed there today?”

Shrugging, Sehun turned to the door. “You weren’t planning on talking to him anyways. Why does it matter?”

That was a good question. It shouldn’t matter but the fact that there was something in the world that he COULDN’T do bothered Chanyeol.

“You know what?” he said bitterly, though sounding immature. “Fine. He doesn’t call. He doesn’t want me at the cafe. That’s just great. I don’t care.”

“Chanyeol, Baekhyun’s not being as mean as you’re trying to make him seem.”

“Oh, you don’t know him.”

“I don’t know. I feel like I know him better than you. We did kiss. Twice.”

Before the pillow hit him, Sehun ducked and closed the door behind him. Angering the boss with high school memories that were better off forgotten might’ve been a scary thing to even think about for the other employees, but Sehun had his privileges as a close friend, and he didn’t care what got the giant irked.

-

-

Eyes drifting from the busy line, Luhan smiled at his boss’ boyfriend as he entered with a sour expression. “Hi, Chanyeol. What can I do for you?”

“Where’s Baekhyun.”

“Oh.” Luhan’s face froze for a second. “He’s not in.”

Of course, he wasn’t. Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “Then where can I find him?”

“I don’t know the answer to that either.”

Holy --

Pinching the bridge of his nose, it took a great deal of will-power to calm down. “Luhan. He can’t just leave without telling you where he’s going.”

“Um, isn’t that what you did last night? Leave without telling him where you were going?”

Chanyeol stared at the blond. Did everyone in that establishment catch Baekhyun’s sarcastic and hurtful personality?

“See, it’s not the same case.” Putting a hand on the counter, Chanyeol leaned in. “It’s different.”

“From what Sehun tells me, it’s really not.”

“Oh, that brat tells you everything, does he?”

Luhan shrugged. “Does it matter to you? Anyways, I already told you Baekhyun’s not here, now go back to your big corporation. He won’t be happy to hear you actually came here today.”

“So you DO know where he is.”

“Chanyeol, leave.”

“Wha--”

“Stop being stupid and go back.”

“Wow! You’ve really been spending too much time around him, you know that, Lu? Rude--just like him! Wherever the ing hell he is!”

“Good-bye, Chanyeol,” Luhan bid, smiling as he waved at the giant’s back as he stomped out the cafe.

-

-

Honestly, how many hiding places did Baekhyun have? The vixen wasn’t at the cafe, supposedly.

Goddamn it.

He should’ve checked the back room. Scratch that. Moving on. There was an important document on his desk that he needed to review and finalize, but he couldn’t concentrate.

Baekhyun hadn’t called. He never called, anyways. Whenever they fought, it was always him calling the brunet, not the other way around. Why though?

Chanyeol stopped in the midst of signing.

Granted, Baekhyun was kind of shy. He didn’t like to admit that, but Chanyeol knew otherwise. If “shy” wasn’t the word, then what? Prideful? Baekhyun was ten times more prideful than he was. Maybe that was it. But couldn’t he just bite it down and call for once!? A day before their anniversary and they weren’t even talking to each other. It wasn’t exactly how Chanyeol imagined their first anniversary since getting back together. Actually, it was happier in his imagination, so what the hell?

-

-

He hadn’t planned on it, but Chanyeol went home that evening. It was weird, but at the same time, not so much. They had fought before, more times than he could count. Standing in front of that door was nothing knew, but that feeling of depression knowing that on the other side was an unresolved conflict was something that shook him every time.

Punching in the code, Chanyeol let himself in and immediately took notice to Baekhyun’s shoes in the foyer. He paused, listening for any movement, but heard nothing. Drawing his brows together, he put his briefcase down after slowly taking off his shoes and carefully walked toward the hallway after catching a faint sound of humming.

It came from the bathroom in the hall, and Chanyeol silently crept as he tried to peer into the small crack of the unclosed door. In between the humming was Baekhyun talking, and from what Chanyeol heard, the other was on the phone.

“Alright, alright. Thanks for meeting me earlier...yeah. I’ll talk to him...well, soon...Okay...That’s fine. Thank you. Bye.”

Pulling back, Chanyeol felt a mix of emotion rushing inside of him. There was no doubt in his mind that it was that guy... whoever that might be. Cursing, Chanyeol took a step back, accidentally making a sound. Freezing, he waited for--

“Chanyeol? Chanyeol, is that you?”

Clenching and unclenching his hand, Chanyeol stiffly pushed the door open. The brunet was laying in the tub so casually as Chanyeol walked in, it almost pulled at the giant’s strings. He was talking to that guy? On the phone? While being in a tub full of bubbles? More specifically, the same tub where they took more than just baths in.

“Hi,” Chanyeol said, trying to keep his voice controlled.

“I didn’t think you’d come home,” Baekhyun said. His facial expression was too neutral for Chanyeol’s liking, making him uneasy. “Did you eat your lunch?”

The lunch was great, but bitter in the sense that Chanyeol was still angry as hell when he ate it. It was a bittersweet afternoon, basically.

“It was fine.”

Baekhyun’s lips dropped ever so slightly. “Okay...well, listen. Um, we need to talk about something…”

For ’s sake, just spit it out.

But then again, Chanyeol didn’t want the vixen to just spit it out.

“I don’t know how you’re going to react, to be honest, but you’ll get over it as soon as I tell you.”

. Was he going to confess to cheating?

No. He wouldn’t cheat. Never. Baekhyun wouldn’t. He wasn’t that type of person, but then again, Chanyeol was never the best when it came it judging people and--. 

Stop. 

Chanyeol stopped himself from second guessing Baekhyun’s personality.

He wouldn’t cheat and that was final.

But what if someone better than him came along? Could anyone outdo a six foot tall CEO? Maybe if they had a bigger--

“Chanyeol, are you listening?”

“What?”

He missed something big. . Chanyeol just knew it by the way Baekhyun was looking at him. What if that was a good thing, though? Baekhyun breaking up with him while taking a bath in his tub in his apartment was definitely a good thing to miss. Awkward, but good.

There was something telling him that it was important in a good, no-breakup type of way, however. Before Chanyeol could ask the latter to repeat what he just said, Baekhyun shook his head and looked away.

“Never mind. Obviously, you’re still mad about last night to care enough to listen. You can leave.”

God, this really wasn’t how he imagined the day before their anniversary. “Baekhyun, will you just give me a break? For ONCE?”

“Chanyeol?”

“What?”

“I’m upset with you and I need you to get out.”

Curse the stupid day they decided to be honest with one another, because that just hurt Chanyeol’s feelings. A lot. Especially when he found himself standing in the dark and quiet hallway.