Flashing lights, black devices, and curious faces behind them. Baekhyun twitched nervously in his seat and couldn’t contain his fear. When asked a question, the only sound he heard was muffled voices, smiling, more snaps from the cameras, and felt as though he was in a whole different world altogether. Suddenly, a low, melodious voice cut through his trance like an arrow, pulling him back to earth.

“Baekhyun and I, we have nothing… romantic going on between us.”

Chanyeol.

Baekhyun nodded his head wearily in agreement, but leaned into Chanyeol’s grip around his waist.

The newscaster frowned, “It seems your body language says something different. We know you two have caused quite a stir in the media. We even hear that you had a stalker for some time. Is that correct, Mr Byun?”

Chanyeol’s grip on Baekhyun became stronger as he tried to contain his anger. Baekhyun looked at the newscaster as if he had grown two more heads. What was happening in front of him, it seemed as though it wasn’t at all. “I… Yes.” He managed.

“Yes, he did. Her name was Kim Ae Ri and a notorious stalker. However, we cleared that a few weeks ago, and for the sake of his sanity, please don’t bring it up.” Chanyeol smiled.

The newscaster nodded and glanced at her paper again. For a moment, she paused in contemplation before looking back down at her questions and picking a less risky inquiry. “It seems our interview is coming to a close. I would like to ask one more thing.”

“Yes?” Chanyeol’s sudden bass caused Baekhyun’s heart to flutter.

“Just tell me, what are your thoughts on the whole ordeal, and do you plan to deepen your relationship with Mr Byun?”

Eyes flashing angrily, Chanyeol replied in a slightly less composed way, “I believe I deserve an apology from the photographer of the first photograph that was misinterpreted. He had no right to photograph my personal life. What I do outside of my work is only for me, and the ones I interact with, to know. Not only that, Baekhyun deserves the biggest apology out of all. Ever since that day, the media has turned up on his doorstep, invaded his simple life, and have caused many problems.” Forcefully, Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun from the couch and put a hand on the small of his back. “And what my relationship is with Baekhyun is between us, not the media. We are done with interviews and will no longer be answering any more questions until we’re ready.”

With an angry huff, Chanyeol led a dazed Baekhyun out of the interview room, through the hallway, past shocked employees, and out the shiny glass doors into a crowd full of more reporters, photographers, and potential stalkers. All he wanted to do was get Baekhyun, who was shaking from the close contact with others, to a safe place. He, too, was shaking, but not for the same reason. No, he was shaking from anger. Who did the media think they were? His family? Certainly not! So they had no right to snoop like they had.

Both of them were exhausted from a week of interviews, questions, and publicity, so that had been his last nerve that snapped. Without realizing it, he had slammed Baekhyun’s door shut and was revving the engine. Once he pulled into the streets, he unconsciously pressed the gas harder and only realized it when he smashed his foot on the break to stop from running a red light.

Heart racing, Chanyeol glanced over to Baekhyun who was partially curled up in a ball, tears falling down his face. The latter gripped the armrest tightly, knuckles turning white. Guiltily, Chanyeol reached over and gripped Baekhyun’s hand tightly and took deep breaths. When the light turned green, he felt Baekhyun’s hand tense up, but relax when Chanyeol pressed on the gas lightly.

“I’m sorry, Baekhyun. Are you alright?”

Baekhyun nodded, “I -- I should be asking you that,” He sniffled and turned his hand over to lace their fingers together.

Chanyeol sighed deeply, “I’m fine, thanks. I just… I’m tired of this constant bombardment of personal questions. And afterwards, you end up crying, and I can’t stand it.” He squeezed Baekhyun’s hand lightly. For the rest of the ride, neither spoke and instead, enjoyed each other’s calming presence.

The following week, between Chanyeol’s hectic CEO schedule, and Baekhyun’s scramble to pull a manuscript together for his book, the two seldom saw the other. The only contact they had was through kind text messages, and heart warming calls. Fortunately during this time, the media had taken a step down after Chanyeol’s outburst and decided not to stick its nose in their more personal business. This was great for Baekhyun, for he had an easier time concentrating, and because of the lovely calls from Chanyeol, he was able to write page after page.

Occasionally, Baekhyun would stop for a break and flip on the TV to see Chanyeol on the news for an interview about the newest signed artists, the latest and greatest album, and his ideas for concerts for certain singers. Although all this activity made Baekhyun happy for his friend, he would occasionally see him interacting with other people, particularly the females, and giving them a kind smile. If only he could claim it for his very own.

With a shake of his messy bed head, he shut off the TV and pulled his laptop back in front of him and checked the word count of the last chapter. Eight thousand words, and a lot of pages. He only had to write out a few more pages, and reach the resolution before he could call it a day and print it all out. He was so close to finishing, and couldn’t keep thinking about Chanyeol and procrastinating.

About three hours later, Baekhyun sat back, exhausted, and listened to his printer print out about twenty pages of text. Halfway through, it beeped loudly and stopped printing. It was out of ink. Agitated, Baekhyun rustled through his drawers and found the last black ink cartridge and inserted it. Once again, it began to print with the satisfying sound of the ink going back and forth, putting his ideas on the white sheets.

As he was putting a binder clip on the top left corner of the thick packet, he heard a knock at his door. Quickly, he shoved the packet into the envelope and rushed to the door, flinging it open. Standing there was Chanyeol still in his suit with take-out. He stepped inside and set his briefcase down, then ruffled Baekhyun’s hair.

“Did you finish your manuscript?” Chanyeol asked and pointed to the yellow envelope Baekhyun clutched tightly.

“It finished printing a few minutes before you arrived.” Baekhyun said, and helped Chanyeol out of his jacket. “You must’ve had a pretty busy week…”

“Is it noticeable?”

“Besides the slumped shoulders, dark circles, and tired voice, no, not at all.”

Chanyeol smiled, “Your sarcasm is wonderful, Baekhyun.” he said playfully.

“Sit down and rest.” said Baekhyun, leading Chanyeol to the couch. When the taller sat down, Haru jumped on his lap and started to purr contently.

“Hey, Ru. You have it easy, cat. Just sleep, eat, get fat, and cuddle with Baekhyun all the time.”

Baekhyun chuckled as a blush crept to his ears. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Anything will do, thanks.”

Baekhyun nodded and made a pot of jasmine tea, not only for Chanyeol, but also to soothe himself. Writing was enjoyable, but not the sitting down and clacking away at the keys all the time part. Not to mention, being hunched over all the time was bad for his back.

When he finished making the tea, he handed the cup to Chanyeol and then gave him a blanket. After that, he moved towards the take-out and began to unpack. As he unboxed everything, he breathed in the wonderful scent of Chinese food. Of course, Chanyeol had bought Baekhyun’s favorite dish including the delectable green beans that, although covered in grease, were the most amazing beans he had ever tasted.

After dishing up his own portion, he took a seat next to Chanyeol, who had basically made a burrito in the polar-bear-and-penguin minky blanket. He laughed and nudged Chanyeol who fell over with a thud on the armrest. Fortunately, he had already finished his tea and was only holding it because it was slightly warm. Angrily, Haru hissed and jumped off to hide in the blankets of Baekhyun’s bed.

“So how’s the new artist?” asked Baekhyun.

Sitting up, Chanyeol said, “She needs some work done. Great voice and all, the high notes are amazing, but she doesn’t have much control over them. She’s also slightly tone-deaf, so it’ll be a while until we can release her to the public. Otherwise, her manager is excited to have her.”

“That’s good. How come you’re so tired, though. I mean, of course you’ll be tired, being the CEO and whatnot. But this is the first time you’ve come over with such dark circles.”

“Just up doing paperwork and dealing with people sueing our company for things that don’t even make sense. Like they sued us for selling our songs on iTunes at $1.29 instead of the previous $0.99, but it’s not our fault. iTunes just requires more.”

“People just like to complain.”

Chanyeol nodded and rested his head on Baekhyun’s shoulder, closing his eyes. “Mind if I sleep?”

“N-not at all!” said Baekhyun, suddenly becoming shy from the intimate touch.

For a moment, all was silent until Chanyeol yawned, “You’d make a good husband. Whoever gets you is lucky.” Then the room was filled with slow breaths and the sound of Baekhyun’s heart beating rapidly in his ribcage. He still wasn’t used talking so openly with the person he was infatuated with.

“What if it was you?” he muttered under his breath and gently took the cup from Chanyeol’s limp hands and set it on the coffee table. He too, then, fell asleep cuddled against his friend.

*

A wonderfully deep voice woke him up. He opened his eyes with a loud yawn and stretched his arms, nearly hitting someone in the face. When he heard a sarcastic complain, he turned to his left and rolled his eyes. Chanyeol was curled up in a blanket up to his neck and was glaring at Baekhyun as Haru usually did.

“Baekhyun,” he whined.

“What?” Chanyeol usually turned into a child when he woke up, and honestly, it was the cutest thing Baekhyun had ever seen since the other was usually in polite, CEO mode.

“I’m cold.”

“You’re wrapped in my warmest blanket.”

“It’s too cold.”

“Chanyeol…” Baekhyun sighed and patted his friend’s cheek. “Please snap out of it.”

Chanyeol gave him a confused look, shook his head, and started to laugh. “I’m sorry.”  Then he ruffled Baekhyun’s hair, a strange habit he got into a few days after Baekhyun was released from the hospital. Except the latter didn’t complain. He nuzzled into Chanyeol’s large hand each time.

“Well, I guess I should get out of your hair.” said Chanyeol, laughing at his own joke, and pointed to the clock -- 9.00pm.

“N-no! Don’t! I mean, I don’t mind and, and it’s -- ! Just stay the night!” Baekhyun blurted nervously.

The other cocked an eyebrow and smiled, “If you insist. What will we be doing?”

“I -- er… I didn’t really think that far.”

“That’s what I like about you.” muttered Chanyeol under his breath.

“What?”

“You’re open about all of your feelings, well, once you get the know someone.”

“I-I mean, isn’t that normal, though?”

“I guess I didn’t expect it from you, since the first time I met you, you were shy.”

“You say that every time, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol shrugged, “It’s the truth.”

“Let’s… erm, watch a movie.” Baekhyun said suddenly, desperately wanting to move the conversation away from him and his strange personality.

The movie chosen was a lot stranger, and slightly scarier that Baekhyun had originally thought. The description, though, seemed innocent enough. It was about two lost travellers in the mountains who stumble across a house that changes each night as they slept. However, as the movie progressed, he soon realized that it was an awfully dark movie and wondered how he failed to see the R in the description.

Towards the end, Baekhyun was hiding his face in tears when Chanyeol finally turned it off and wrapped his arms around the smaller. “Don’t cry, Baekhyun. It was simply a movie. Please, stop your tears.”

“I’m sorry!” sobbed Baekhyun on Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“Shhh, don’t apologize.”

“I-I didn’t know it would be so… so horrible!”

Chanyeol rubbed Baekhyun’s back soothingly and began to hum a sweet lullaby. Soon enough, Baekhyun had calmed down and was just listening to the lovely bass of his friend. “I love you.” he murmured ever so quietly.

Chanyeol stopped humming and looked at Baekhyun, “Did you say something?”

“No!” Baekhyun said suddenly and pushed away from Chanyeol with quite a bit of force, causing the taller to lose his balance and almost fall off the couch. “I’m sorry… I’m going to go get ready for bed!” Face completely red, Baekhyun scrambled off of the couch and sprinted to his room, then into the bathroom and slammed the door.

When inside, he locked the door and rubbed his face. How could he let that so easily slip from his mouth? He was almost caught! That would’ve been awful. What if Chanyeol thought differently of him and stopped talking to him all together. The whole friendship would fall apart and Baekhyun would never be able to see Chanyeol again, let alone be so intimate.

Instead of taking his normal quick shower, Baekhyun took about an hour because he wasn’t ready to face Chanyeol again. What if Chanyeol had heard him the first time and was getting a speech ready to cut off their relationship? Well, the more he stayed in the shower, the more time Chanyeol had time to get that ready. Finally giving in, he finished his shower, dressed himself and got ready for bed, then went out to face his inevitable fate.

“You took a while.” Chanyeol said, walking over.

“I would like to explain myself.”

“For what?”

“Saying what I said.”

“What did you say?”

“That --” Baekhyun stopped. Wait. That meant… Chanyeol hadn’t heard his confession of love and was off the hook! He could continue his strangely close friendship with Chanyeol! “Uh, nothing! Nevermind! I was just…” Baekhyun rubbed his wet hair and couldn’t conceal his awkwardly square shaped smile.

“What’re you so happy about?”

“Nothing -- oh Haru!” Baekhyun said, scooped up his cat, and began to dance around with glee, completely forgetting Chanyeol was there. When he was exhausted, he stared wide eyed at Chanyeol who was laughing quietly.

“That was… hilariously adorable.” exclaimed Chanyeol.

“Can-can we pretend that never happened?”

“Sure.”

With another chuckle, Chanyeol turned to the bathroom and started to walk towards it, but stopped, “I don’t have anything to wear.”

“I have something. I got them a size too big accidentally.” said Baekhyun and rushed to his room to grab sweatpants and a sweatshirt. According to the website, and his order summary, he had bought a small, but instead it came in a large and they didn’t accept refunds. So, he couldn’t do anything but keep the clothes. At least they came in handy when he had tall guys over to stay the night, and the only person was Chanyeol.

When Chanyeol finished washing up and getting ready for bed, he walked out of the shower with messy hair and a tired look about him that made Baekhyun want to melt.

“So… Sleep. I’ll be on the couch, I guess. You can sleep in there.” Baekhyun pointed to his room.

“The couch? Why? Is sharing a bed really that bad?” Chanyeol asked.

“I -- ! Well… no… yes… I don’t know.” Baekhyun muttered.

“I don’t kick, I promise,” laughed Chanyeol. “If you are really that uncomfortable, you can always move to the couch, but I wouldn’t advise it. It’s bad for your neck.”

After some more bantering, Baekhyun gave up and followed Chanyeol into his bedroom and slipped under the comforter, but it felt much more foreign when Chanyeol joined him. Although they had quite a bit of space between them, Baekhyun couldn’t help but feel like he was suffocating. Who could blame him? He was sleeping right next to Park Chanyeol, handsome man extraordinaire.

“I feel like a child again.” Chanyeol said quietly. “Isn’t this when people would tell their darkest secrets?” He laughed.

“I don’t have any.” lied Baekhyun.

“Sure, sure, but even if you did, I wouldn’t force you to tell me.”

“Good.”

“But I’ll tell you mine.”

“No! Don’t!” Baekhyun exclaimed and whipped around to find Chanyeol on his back, staring at the ceiling.

“I don’t want to be the CEO of Park Records. Sure, it’s a great job, but I never wanted it in the first place. I’d rather be a normal person who isn’t constantly followed. Well, I guess if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have met you.” Chanyeol said, and gently took Baekhyun’s hand, causing his heart to beat so loudly, the people above and below him probably heard it too. “It’s just so much for me to handle, being only 23.”

“Y-yeah. I can imagine.”

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol turned to look Baekhyun directly and took his other hand. “I have another confession.”

What.

Is.

Happening?

Baekhyun thought and began to breath heavily. He wasn’t ready for this physically and mentally. Sure, he had played out a confession of some sort before, but he hadn’t actually believed it would happen. Soon, his vision was going in and out and he was shaking.

“Byun Baekhyun,” he whispered.

Baekhyun gulped.

This was it.

He was no longer fantasizing.

It was real.

It was real life.

And he was about to pee his pants.

“I’m sorry, I have to go to the bathroom.” Baekhyun blurted in a shaky voice and fell out of bed backwards in attempt to leave.

“Oh… I’ll tell you… later.” Chanyeol said with obvious hurt that basically sent a knife through Baekhyun’s heart as he left.

When he returned, he found Chanyeol fast asleep curled up next to Haru. Frustrated with himself, he cursed mentally and was tempted to yell, but didn’t want to wake up Chanyeol. Instead, he got in bed next to the taller, but turned away, tears b his eyes. He was just about to get the confession he had been waiting for for about three, four weeks, and he ruined it by having to pee. What was wrong with him? Couldn’t he be a normal human being and hold it? What if Chanyeol took it as rejection? What if he would never get it?

Many negative questions ran through Baekhyun’s head, and each time, he cried harder. He had just destroyed any chance he had with Chanyeol, and didn’t have enough courage to say it himself. Now he would watch Chanyeol go off and marry someone else while he supported in agony.

When he looked at the clock, it said 1.00am. He had been up for hours silently crying, and still wasn’t tired. Maybe because he had Chanyeol right next to him; or maybe it was because he would have the live with the fact that he messed up a confession; or maybe it was simply because he wasn’t tired. Probably not the latter. Slowly, he turned over and found himself face to face with sleeping Chanyeol. He must’ve shifted quite a bit, since he didn’t remember purposefully closing the gap between them.

With eyes tired from crying, Baekhyun studied Chanyeol’s handsome features. from his naturally curly locks down to his beautifully luscious lips. How could such a perfect human being be sleeping right next to him? The past few weeks seemed unreal. After promising to be together forever, to opening his thoughts and feelings to Chanyeol, to sleeping next to him, Baekhyun was tempted to shake Chanyeol vigorously and interview him just to make sure it was real.

Gently, Baekhyun brushed stray curls from Chanyeol’s face and was really tempted to cuddle with the giant, but stopped himself when he realized how strange it would be to wake up to someone hugging you without permission. So, he curled up in a ball and stared at Chanyeol until he became drowsy.

“Good night, Chanyeol.”

When he woke up the next morning, he felt utter disappointment when he found himself in an empty bed and a pile of clothes with a small note on it. Taking the note, he read it with a heavy heart.

Good morning, dearest Baekhyun

I’m sorry I couldn’t be there when you woke, though I would have loved to. I have an important family meeting that I cannot miss. I’ll try to stop by, but I’m not sure if my schedule is open. Thank you for understanding.

Much love,

Chanyeol

Chanyeol used formal language. Agitated, Baekhyun crumpled up the note and chucked it across the room, tears starting to flow again. As if he hadn’t cried enough the night before, his eyes were convinced there was something to cry about.

He didn’t really know what came over him, but he started to yell profanities, chant how much he hated Chanyeol like a mantra, and poured almost all of the cat food onto the floor. If it weren’t for Chanyeol, he would live like he had before their first meeting. If it weren’t for Chanyeol, he could’ve fallen in love with a normal person. If it weren’t for Chanyeol, his heart wouldn’t be so destroyed. If it weren’t for Chanyeol, life would’ve been simpler.

It was around 12.00pm when Baekhyun decided to turn on the TV to get his mind off of how he hated Chanyeol for ruining his life. However, he instantly regretted it when he read the news headlines.

Park Chanyeol, CEO of Park Records, drops Byun Baekhyun for an arranged marriage with the daughter of Kwan Hospitals.

At that moment, Baekhyun was so tempted to throw himself out of a window from a broken heart. There was no possible way he could meticulously glue the shattered pieces of his life, his heart, his love, back together. Maybe the confession the previous night wasn’t a declaration of love, but instead, to tell him that Chanyeol was getting married. Not to him, but to a girl from another rich company.

Slowly, Baekhyun’s world cracked.

Farther.

Farther.

Until it was not longer a whole.

He started crying again, wheezing, as he dialed home. When his parents answered, all he could do was cry. Over the phone, Mr and Mrs Byun could only speak soothing words, but nothing would help their son. He was far too past the point of no return. Even when Haru came after sensing his human’s distress, Baekhyun couldn’t smile happily, he couldn’t speak, and all he could do was allow tears to fall.

Days passed and there was no contact between the two. This gave Baekhyun enough time to reflect on his life and decide it was best to try and rid himself of emotions -- which didn’t work. So when Chanyeol visited briefly, Baekhyun was curled up in his comforter, on the couch, staring blankly at the wall. Multiple times, Chanyeol tried to break Baekhyun from his trance without touching him, but it was only when Chanyeol put an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders did he recoil.

“Baekhyun, what’s wrong?”

Angrily, Baekhyun took the silver ring from his middle finger, which he had not taken off since he had gotten it back from the stalker, and chucked it at Chanyeol’s face, hitting him square on the forehead. “Take back your stupid ring.”

“Baekhyun, tell me what’s wrong, please.” Chanyeol took Baekhyun by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes, but baekhyun simply turned his head.

“Just go away. I don’t want you to come here anymore!” Baekhyun shouted, surprising himself and Chanyeol. He was glad that he was hidden in his comforter, for Chanyeol wasn’t able to see how much he was shaking. On the verge of another wave of tears, Baekhyun buried himself in his blanket and unsuccessfully tried to muffle his sobs. He wanted to be alone, he wanted to drown in sorrow, he wanted to die of a heartbreak, but instead, he felt arms wrap around the burrito he had rolled himself into.

“Don’t cry, Baekhyun. You know it hurts me to see you in such a state.”

“Don’t speak so kindly to me!” cried Baekhyun.

“Baekhyun, please, let me help you. Did someone hurt you? I’ll talk to them, ok?” Chanyeol said, genuinely worried, and only wanted to put a smile back on Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun popped up angrily from his comforter and shot a glare through tears, “You.”

“What?”

“You promised me forever!” he sobbed. “You said no matter what! You hurt me, Park Chanyeol! Now you’re going to get married to some female snob from another company, and you’ll leave me! You’ll break your promise! Not just to me, but to my parents too! I knew I couldn’t trust anyone but myself. I should’ve never been so… so gullible! My life is just full of liars, and that’s how it has always been. Of course it wouldn’t be different with you.” Baekhyun hiccuped and sniffed. “I don’t even know why I went through with you. I don’t know why I’m so… so terribly… so desperately in love with you!”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened when he realized how much he had confessed. Whenever he was angry, there was literally no filter on his mouth, and he had just let his worst secret slip through. He was always a screw up. He knew it from the beginning. It was all over.

“Baekhyun…”

“Get out!” Baekhyun screeched.

“No, stop talking and listen to me.” Chanyeol said sternly, causing Baekhyun to squeak in fear and silently willed himself to disappear. “I’m not going through this whole shouting fest, alright? First off, I had no idea about this marriage thing, alright? It was my parents doing, saying that they wanted to join our companies to become richer. You know, the whole shebang. Apparently, my father had also told the media, and it’s now all over the news. But know this, Byun Baekhyun, I only have my eyes set on one person.”

“That pretty, rich girl. Shocker.” Baekhyun muttered and looked away.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol stood up and got down on one knee and gently took Baekhyun’s left hand. “I know we haven’t known each other for long at all, and haven’t even dated… and I know how cheesy this whole thing must be, since we’re young and quite stupid… but will you, Byun Baekhyun, marry me?”

Speechless.

Utterly speechless.

Baekhyun watched in a daze as Chanyeol slipped the shiny silver ring he had chucked earlier on his ring finger.

“This ring, I want it to represent this strange thing called love. I want it to be a symbol of triumph, and one of only happiness. I understand that at this moment, while you’re curled up in your comforter, red eyes, and puffy cheeks, isn’t the most appropriate, but I want you to understand that I won’t leave you. I’ll be here for you. I’ll be with your forever. I’ll be your forever. So please, accept this for the time being.”

The only thing Baekhyun could get out at the moment was a squeak and more tears, this time, not of sorrow, but of happiness and joy. This sudden confession had hit him like a brick, but somehow he survived and whispered “Yes” as Chanyeol embraced him.

“Now, time to clear up the media once again.”

Baekhyun laughed.

“It is.”