Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows, and then smiled. Wordlessly, he took Baekhyun’s phone and fished out his own, handing it over. Ecstatic, Baekhyun took the phone and began to type in his information. When he finished, he handed Chanyeol’s phone back and grabbed his own, unable to contain his wide smile. He actually did it! He won this battle against his social anxiety and now he had Park Chanyeol’s cell number!

“Th-thank you!” Baekhyun exclaimed, clutching his phone close. With a polite bow, he pivoted quickly and started to walk away somewhat calmly while trying to not skip and jump for joy.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol called out. Baekhyun stopped and turned. “You should smile more often. It’s more attractive.” With that, Chanyeol waved goodbye and entered his car. Then, engine roaring to life, he drove off leaving Baekhyun in quite a shock.

Shaking his head, Baekhyun stared at the spot where Chanyeol’s expensive car just was. Did that really just happen? he thought to himself. Maybe he was just lucid dreaming. It happened quite often, so it only made sense. To check, Baekhyun pinched himself and yelped. However, he didn’t wake up, heart racing in his bed, but still, he wasn’t convinced that he was awake. So, he looked at his hands, but they, too, looked normal. Then he checked his phone; he could clearly see the time was 3.00 pm. It must’ve really happened then.

Squealing, Baekhyun patted his cheeks, jumped around in circles, and covered his face once he realized how many stares he was receiving. Now feeling like an idiot and completely embarrassed, Baekhyun sprinted back to his apartment and up the stairs. When he got there, he was surprised to see that his stuff was where it was and the key was still firmly in the lock. Unlocking the door, he was greeted by his cat who rubbed up against his leg and began to paw at him. Happily, Baekhyun picked up Haru and nuzzled his fluffy body and screamed in his stomach. Disturbed by the vibration, Haru meowed and hissed. Baekhyun laughed and set his cat down before grabbing his own things and closing his apartment door.

Once inside, he dropped his bag onto the counter and took out his phone, scrolling through all of his contacts until he found Chanyeol. With a deep breath, he opened up a new message. He only typed two words before deleting them as doubt began to pour over him. So many scenarios of what could go wrong, or if Chanyeol even wanted to talk to him started to pop up into his mind. About ten times, he started a new message, but deleted every single one of them. By the time he got to the eleventh, he closed the chat and instead shut his phone off and slipped it into his back pocket.

Then, he grabbed a few juice boxes and a bag of grapes from the fridge before walking to his couch and flopping down. What a hectic day, he thought and moved his hand to the remote, but hesitated. Did he really want to look at the news? No doubt, they would have his crying face on every news and gossip channel along with assumptions about him and Chanyeol being engaged. Knowing that they weren’t in any type of romantic relationship and seeing their alleged relationship on the news only made him move his hand away from the remote; he knew it would only depress him further.

Still wanting to watch something, Baekhyun got up and retrieved his laptop, plugging it in and powering it on. When the screen lit up, there was the familiar chord it played before bringing up his profile. After logging in, he opened the browser and went to the website for streaming movies. Then, he scrolled through all of the choices until he came upon one that caught his eye. It was about a peasant in a kingdom far away who fell in love with the most beautiful princess in all the land; for some reason, it reminded Baekhyun of his own situation, except he knew the movie’s end would be that the two ultimately become lovers and there is a happily ever after -- quite opposite of his.

*

Two and a half hours later, Baekhyun had collected a whole wastebasket full of tissues and went through more than one box. There were even a few used tissues on his couch. By that time, the sun had started to set ever so slowly and it threw a warm, orange light into his apartment. After the credits finished, Baekhyun set his computer aside and stretched his cramped limbs, accidentally throwing Haru off the couch in the process. Haru meowed in protest before sulking off to Baekhyun’s room. Baekhyun stood up and walked over to the window, observing the city bustling beneath him. Then he looked up over the buildings to the last rays of the day disappearing behind the skyscrapers. Soon enough, the calm city from the day had become a bright city that was lively and colorful. The whole scene was quite calming; except when Baekhyun noticed a bright flash from the opposite building. Looking over, he noticed someone running from the window where the light came from and his eyes widened.

Quickly, he grabbed the largest blanket he could and hung it over the rods above the window for curtains. However, the blanket wasn’t large enough and he had to grab two others to cover up his whole window. Once his window was covered up, he flopped down onto his couch, heart racing fast. So that must’ve been how they had gotten the picture of me sleeping, he thought and rubbed his face. It was only the second day and he was already being stalked.

Suddenly, his phone began to ring and he snatched it from the armrest, checking the screen. The name illuminated on his phone was none other than Park Chanyeol, making him instantly forget the photographer. Heart racing, he answered.

“Hello?” He asked in a small voice.

“Hey, Baekhyun.” The sound of Chanyeol’s voice over the phone sent shivers running down Baekhyun’s back.

“Oh, Chanyeol. Did you -- did you need something?”

“I was just checking up on you. Are you alright? I know you had a pretty hectic day.”

Baekhyun took a deep breath, trying to contain a squeal of delight, “I’m okay.”

“I’m glad. So nothing has happened? The media hasn’t harassed you?”

Baekhyun shook his head, but realized Chanyeol couldn’t actually see him and spoke up, “I’m fine.” Then, he suddenly remembered what had happened a few minutes before, but refrained from telling Chanyeol, as to not put any more on his plate. Baekhyun took a deep breath and clutched his phone tighter.

“That’s good. If they ever do, don’t hesitate to call. I’ll help in any way I can.”

When he heard this, Baekhyun almost threw his phone across the room in glee. He couldn’t believe this was actually happening! The famous Park Chanyeol was concerned about him and it made his heart soar. Baekhyun put his phone on speaker and set it aside before burying his face into a pillow and squealing loudly. Curiously, Haru poked his head out of Baekhyun’s room and upon seeing his human so joyful, he ran out and jumped on Baekhyun, purring and nudging his face.

In the midst of all of this excitement, Baekhyun was pulled back to the conversation when Chanyeol called out, “Baekhyun? Is everything alright?” Still giddy, Baekhyun grabbed his phone and turned speaker off.

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun breathed. “Just -- just my cat was kind of being… yeah.”

“Oh, I see. I just was checking in. I’m relieved that no one has caused you any trouble.” Chanyeol said, and Baekhyun could already imagine the small, handsome smile on his face was he spoke. In fact, he was just imagining Chanyeol in general.

“Yeah, yeah.” Baekhyun mumbled.

“Well, I have to go have dinner now. Good night, Baekhyun. I’ll talk to you later.” Chanyeol said kindly and Baekhyun responded with a quiet “Good night” before hanging up. For a moment, he sat there and stared at the navy blue blanket hanging in front of his window, dazed. Everything that day just seemed so surreal; meeting and asking for Chanyeol’s number; having a breakdown in the middle of the sidewalk; saying “Good night” to Chanyeol. Something like this only happened in fictional stories, right? Baekhyun was still unable to get over the fact that if it weren’t for the media, he may have never had been able to keep in touch with such an incredible man.

Haru, disliking his human ignoring him, meowed and rubbed against Baekhyun’s side. He was expecting affectionate pets and words, but instead, he was swept up into Baekhyun’s arms and squeezed close; a little too close and he hissed when he could barely breath. Laughing, Baekhyun pulled his cat away from himself and smiled widely before shaking Haru side to side.

“He said ‘goodnight’ to me, Haru! He said ‘goodnight!’ Can you believe it? And then he said he would talk to me later too! This is too good to be true. Do you think he maybe likes me? I mean, he’s so kind and everything. It also seems like he wants to continue to communicate! How amazing is this?” Baekhyun cheered, hugging his cat close again. “I must tell mom!”

Setting his cat down, he grabbed his phone and called his mom. After the first few rings, the phone was finally picked up, he started talking quickly.

“Mom, mom, mom! Guess what! You wouldn’t believe what happened to me today! Chanyeol --”

“Baekhyun, this is your father, and who is this ‘Chanyeol’ guy?” Baekhyun’s dad asked and Baekhyun could clearly hear the amusement in his voice.

“Oh… Hi dad. He’s a… he’s a friend.” Baekhyun mumbled.

“Hmm? Really? That’s not what your mother tells me. She tells me that Chanyeol is the CEO of Park Records. Is this correct?”

“Maybe,” Baekhyun replied. “maybe not.”

“Baekhyun, don’t lie.”

“I -- ! Ugh. It is. So what?”

“That a boy! Going for the rich. I have raised you well.” Baekhyun’s dad laughed.

“Dad! What the heck? I didn’t -- and we’re not -- !” Baekhyun whined and rolled his eyes. Petty fighting with his dad usually ended up with him losing and having to feel humiliated as his dad laughed. So instead, he just shut up and allowed his dad to speak.

“Baekhyun, you never let your parents have any fun with you. I’m glad you have found yourself a suitable man. Just tell me you didn’t go for him just because he was rich.”

“I’m not going for him, dad, and he’s not going for me. It was a simple misunderstanding. Even if I was going for him, I wouldn’t have a chance.” Baekhyun sighed and leaned back on the couch.

“Why not?”

“He’s of a higher stature. Me? I’m a weird, obsessed writer.”

Baekhyun’s dad laughed again, “Baekhyun, this could be one of those rags to riches moments for you. Just because he’s rich doesn’t mean you can’t fancy yourself up for him, right?”

“Just saying, dad, it’s so weird to hear you giving me gay dating advice.” Baekhyun chuckled.

“I just want my youngest son to be happy. From what I heard when I answered, you really do like this guy. Speaking of which, what were you going to say earlier?”

“Oh, er, well…” Baekhyun took a deep breath to calm his heart. “Chanyeol had called to check that I wasn’t being bothered by the press and then said ‘Goodnight. I’ll talk to you later.’”

“Wait, back up. How did you get his number?”

“I asked.”

“What about your social anxiety?”

“It took a lot of courage, but I ignored it and got his number.”

“I’m so proud of you, Baekhyun.”

“Thanks, dad. Anyway, so… yeah.”

“If my senses are correct, Chanyeol is gay for you.”

“Dad! He’s not… gay....?” Baekhyun paused and thought about it. Chanyeol’s reaction to this whole ordeal wasn’t a proclamation that he was not gay and wasn’t proposing. Instead, it was simply apologies and kind gestures -- not to mention, the gestures were quite intimate.

“Is that a question?”

“Dad… I think Chanyeol isn’t 100% straight.” Baekhyun breathed, feeling even more excited than before. If he did take his dad’s advice, maybe he would have a slim chance with Chanyeol!

“Well, if he ever asks you to date, I must meet him first.”

“Dad, you’re jumping the gun.”

“Just saying.”

“You’re so weird.” Baekhyun glanced over at the clock. It read 9.00pm. “Uh, it’s getting kind of late and I’m kind of tired.”

“Alright, Baek. Sleep tight, buddy.”

“Night, dad.”

With that, Baekhyun ended the call, got up, and plugged his phone in next to his bed. Then he made his way to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, went to the bathroom, and took a forty-five minute shower while singing his favorite songs in delight. When he got out, he was greeted by his cat who mewled for his attention. Baekhyun wrapped his towel around him and picked up his cat who purred and nudged his collar before falling asleep in his arms.

Carefully, Baekhyun set his cat down on his bed and threw on his favorite cat pajamas and carefully slipped into bed next to Haru. Before turning out the lights, he checked his phone one last time to find a surprise message from Chanyeol.

I know it’s late and you’re most likely sleeping now, but I just wanted to say good night again.

Grinning from ear to ear, Baekhyun held his phone to his heart and squeezed his eyes shut. Then, he quickly typed back, “Good night, Chanyeol” and turned his phone on silent. With a yawn, he turned to Haru and hugged him tightly, curling up around him.

“Good night, Haru. I love you.” Baekhyun whispered into his warm fur and slowly fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Baekhyun woke up to Haru pawing and his face -- the indication that he was hungry and that he needed to be fed at that minute. Baekhyun sat up in bed groggily and shoved Haru away with a groan of protest. After rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he sat in his bed, hunched over and staring at his baby blue wall. Then he looked to his clock -- 9.00am. He had slept for almost 12 hours. Impatiently, Haru jumped onto his human’s lap and began to meow until Baekhyun pushed him away again and flung his legs over the edge of the bed. Before getting out, he his phone checked and found a text from Chanyeol sent an hour earlier.

Good morning, Baekhyun. I hope you slept well. I have a meeting with our newest artist at 10 that ends at 12.30, but if you’re free, I would like to take you to a wonderful restaurant I was introduced to recently. I’ll pick you up around 1.

“Oh my god!” Baekhyun shouted and chucked his phone across the room as if it had some deadly virus. Something was definitely wrong; either he was reading it wrong, or someone was playing some cruel prank on him -- the latter was most likely impossible, since no one else could have changed his contact numbers except for him. Slowly, he creeped towards his phone and picked it up gingerly, looking at the text again. It hadn’t changed since the last time he looked at it, but this time, he wasn’t as shocked. So, he held his phone correctly and replied.

I’m free. I guess I’ll see you at 1.

Then, Baekhyun’s phone nearly slipped from his hands from shock. It was really happening. He was going on a date with Park Chanyeol. He was going on a date with Park Chanyeol. HE WAS GOING ON A DATE WITH PARK CHANYEOL. He repeated this over and over in his head like a mantra and only looked up to find his cat angrily clawing at his leg.

“Ow! Haru! I’ll get you food! Stop clawing!” Baekhyun scolded and tossed his phone on his bed and walked to the cabinet for his cat supplies. Then he took out the bag of hard cat food and poured it into Haru’s bowl. The cat looked at the food in slight disgust, but proceeded to eat anyway since he wouldn’t be receiving anything else. As Haru ate, Baekhyun sat next to him and watched.

“You’re so lucky, Haru. All you get to do is eat and sleep all day long and get fat. What do I have to do? I have to deal with my social anxiety, try to keep paparazzi from being erts, and now I have to go on a date with Chanyeol. Park Chanyeol! Can you believe it? I mean, I don’t have anything against being with him, but I’ve never dated before! I could mess up the whole thing and he’ll most definitely never associate himself with me ever again. Oh Haru! What do I do?” Baekhyun whined and grabbed his, already, unhappy cat from his feeding. Annoyed, Haru gave him the let-me-go-peasant-or-you-may-not-have-eyes-afterwards look.

“You’re such a grumpy cat.” Baekhyun muttered, set Haru back down, and stood up, brushing the cat hair from his bum. Checking the clock, he realized he had two hours to himself before he had to get ready.

To fill up these two hours, Baekhyun watched more television, occasionally seeing pictures of him and Chanyeol on the news, singing many -- oh so many -- love songs until his voice became hoarse. Then he his dancing music playlist and jumped around his apartment to the point of sweating and collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. For the last thirty minutes of his two hours, he napped with Haru curled up on his stomach, happy that the loud noises from his human were gone and all was serene.

At 11.00am, Baekhyun’s phone went off, playing an obnoxious alarm. When it did, he sat up abruptly, to his cat’s annoyance, and started yelling something about how he was up. Once realizing it was just his alarm, rubbed his face, apologized to Haru, and turned it off. As he stood up, the room began to spin around him and he was forced to stand there for a few seconds as everything became still. Then it was off to the shower for the next thirty minutes.

After Baekhyun finished showering, he stood in front of his dresser, all drawers open, clothes spilling out all over his room, and it looked like a bomb went off. The next 45 minutes were spent picking out the best shirt. The first one he tried was a casual, white t-shirt with a bunny eating a carrot on the front, but thought it was too strange for a first date. Then, he tried a light grey cardigan with a purple t-shirt underneath, but decided against it. Many more combinations of shirts, cardigans, sweaters, and button ups later, he ultimately decided on a washed out, navy blue flannel with green plaid paired with jeans and white converse. It wasn’t anything too flashy, but it certainly wasn’t plain.

When he finished getting dressed, he check the time again; it was 12.20pm and that meant he only had forty minutes to get himself and his belongings together. Hastily, he entered his bathroom and began to fix his hair. He went through the whole process of different styles -- as he had with his clothes -- until he found the most suitable one; he parted his hair on the right side and allowed the rest to fall down naturally, forming a natural wave. Again, he checked the time -- 12.50pm. Before leaving the bathroom, Baekhyun quickly pushed his hair back with some water, giving it a messy, but neat look.

By the time he gathered his wallet, phone, checked to make sure Haru had enough food, and got downstairs, it was already 1.05pm! He was late by only a few minutes, but he was still nervous that Chanyeol would think poorly of him. However, his doubt completely left him when he saw Chanyeol getting out of his car and walking towards Baekhyun. Upon seeing Chanyeol, Baekhyun nearly melted; the CEO was wearing a simple black suit with a black dress shirt and white tie and his hair was slicked back, showing off all of his gorgeous features.

“Hello, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol smiled.

When he was only a few feet from Chanyeol, Baekhyun looked up, “H-hi…” He mumbled and then looked down, not wanting to look the taller in the eye, for the fear of saying, or doing, something embarrassing was overwhelming.

“Are you ready?”

Baekhyun nodded and followed Chanyeol to his slick, black car. Like the gentleman he was, Chanyeol opened the door and Baekhyun slipped in, marvelling at the clean leather seats. Everything about the car was high tech; the dashboard used red lights, so did the ones on the buttons. Where Baekhyun normally thought a radio went, was a touch screen that showed what was behind them and even had lines to guide the car out of the spot. When Chanyeol got into the driver’s side, he turned the key and the vehicle came to life with a soft hum. Curious, Baekhyun reached out and felt the cool, metal handle, then to the door itself, and then to the top of the dashboard. It was so modern, so sleek, so expensive to the touch.

Without a word, Chanyeol pulled out of the spot and they were out on the road in no time. As they drove, Baekhyun kept glancing around the car, back to his fingers which fidgeted nervously with the end of his shirt, and then to Chanyeol who bit his bottom lip in thought. Occasionally, Baekhyun would put his arm on the armrest, only to pull it back once he barely touched Chanyeol’s. The whole experience was quite nerve-wracking. Throughout the drive, Baekhyun’s heart would suddenly start to race, his breathing would become labored, and it would take a few deep breaths to calm himself only to have everything start up again; there was just no winning against his anxiety.

After what seemed like eons, Chanyeol slowed down and pulled into a parking spot in front of a high class restaurant where Baekhyun could see rich couples, business groups, and families walking in and out. Suddenly, he felt self conscious. If he had known it was going to be such an expensive place, he wouldn’t have worn such a casual attire. Well, since he was already there, he didn’t really have the option to change. So when Chanyeol opened his door, Baekhyun stepped out and pulled at the edge of his shirt.

As they neared the restaurant, Baekhyun became more conscious of his look and his anxiety began to take over. Upon hearing Baekhyun’s suddenly labored breathing, Chanyeol put a protective hand on the small of his back and moved closer. However, for Baekhyun, it only helped slightly. Although he was comforted by the fact that Chanyeol’s gesture was kind, he was also shaken up by the whole interaction. Never before had someone so attractive been in such close proximity of him.

When they walked through the doors, Baekhyun noticed how everything looked expensive -- so expensive that no one should even be touching it. Even the lights were high class; there was even a large chandelier hanging from the middle. Suddenly feeling out of place, Baekhyun began to back up, only to be stopped by Chanyeol’s hand which gently pushed him forward. Nervously, Baekhyun looked to Chanyeol who noticed and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Good afternoon, Chanyeol. I see you have someone new with you today. Is he possibly…?” The waiter scanned Baekhyun with a judgemental look. Baekhyun shied away, wanting to crawl into a hole and die; the stare was too much for him. That’s when his legs began to shake. When Chanyeol noticed this, he moved his hand from Baekhyun’s back to his waist in order to keep him upright if his knees buckled.

“That is none of your concern, Sehun. Please seat us.” Chanyeol ordered. With a frown on his face, Sehun nodded and led the two to a secluded table towards the back of the restaurant.

“Hello, and welcome. I’m Oh Sehun and I’ll be your server, so if you have anything you need, please do not hesitate to ask.” Sehun smiled, addressing Baekhyun who still wouldn’t look up from his shaking hands.

“Thank you, Sehun. We’ll both have water, thanks.” Chanyeol said as an indication for Sehun to leave before Baekhyun shook any more than he was. With a slight bow, Sehun left through the kitchen door, allowing Baekhyun and Chanyeol to have some peace.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol called out softly. Baekhyun looked up from his lap, fear evident in his eyes.

“I-I’m fine, really. Please don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.” Baekhyun murmured.

“Baekhyun, at any time, if you need to, leave the restaurant, just get up and I’ll follow, alright?”

“No, no, no. It’s -- I’ll be ok. I mean, you went through all this trouble and…” Baekhyun took a shaky, deep breath and stopped talking in order to keep himself composed.

“Baekhyun, I brought you here to enjoy your time, not to have you panicking and shaking. If I have put you in an uncomfortable position, please tell me.” Chanyeol pressed.

Baekhyun gulped and nodded, “I’ll be fine.”

“Your water,” Sehun interrupted and set two glasses on the table. Then he took a notepad and pen from his pocket. “Would you like some appetizers?”

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol looked over to Baekhyun who was looking down, again.

“I-I’m fine.” He mumbled.

Chanyeol’s expression softened, and then he turned to Sehun, “Just a salad would be great.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back.” Sehun said and left again.

Once the waiter was gone, Baekhyun looked back up to see Chanyeol looking at him with a worried look in his eyes. Embarrassed by the sudden attention, Baekhyun looked back down and began to mess with his shirt again. Then he looked down to his casual shoes and then at Chanyeol’s which were quite lavish.

“If-If I had known this restaurant was so… expensive, I wouldn’t have worn… this…” Baekhyun muttered.

“Stop being so conscious of yourself. You look more than fine.”

Baekhyun buried his face in his hands. More than fine? Was Chanyeol calling Baekhyun attractive? No, that wouldn’t make sense. He was talking about the clothes, not Baekhyun; of course.

What does that mean? Baekhyun thought.

“It means you look perfect.”