“Jongdae-ah? Didn’t I specifically tell you not to bother me today?” Baekhyun pouted as he turned off his vacuum and pulled off his face mask so he could speak clearly into his phone.

“Yeah, yeah. Something about being a 40-year old housewife at 23.”

Baekhyun put his hand on his hip, thinking that a nice spring (it was summer) cleaning of his apartment that has practically never been cleaned in the past two years of his occupation of the space, didn’t mean that he was a 40-year old housewife at 23.

Sure he had on a bright pink frilly apron and matching colored bandana on, but that was only because Chanyeol had gotten them as a gift, on April Fool’s Day of all days. He has yet to get him back for the girly presents, but goddammit he wasn’t going to let them go to waste before he goes to burn them.

He sighs as he leaves his vacuum standing next to his tv so he could plop down on his couch. He also props his feet up on the coffee table as he turns on the tv, keeping the volume down, knowing that if he’s talking to Jongdae, he should expect no productivity whatsoever for the next hour or so.

“Do you remember back in high school, when you and Chanyeol dated for like a month?”

Baekhyun cringed as he remembered that one month in high school where he dated his extremely tall best friend for some unknown reason.  

“Why are you bringing that up? That was a very dark time for all of us and we all agreed to never talk about that ever again.”

“Because,” Baekhyun could hear the annoyance in his voice and he frowns as he flipped through the channels on tv. “Remember that one kid who asked you out when you so happened to date Chanyeol? You know, the one with the lisp.”

He scratched his head with the tv remote as he thought. “I think I do,” he said hesitantly. Baekhyun snapped his fingers as the boy popped up in his head. “Yeah I do. The lisp was kinda cute. His face was also kinda cute.”

“Turn on the tv and go to channel 7.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes at the command, but nonetheless changed the channel. Only to see a news report on which brand of laundry detergent was the best.

“Are you trying to say I smell or something? Because I do my laundry.” Despite his complaints, he lifted the collar of his tee shirt to his nose and sniffed. He didn’t think he smelled that bad. Sure, the shirt hadn’t been washed in a few days, but it wasn’t like he was planning on leaving his apartment in the shirt.

“No, no. You smell like rainbows and unicorns.” Baekhyun quietly mumbled ‘Shouldn’t you say that to your boyfriend instead’ and Jongdae either ignored it or didn’t hear. “Just wait and watch.”

Baekhyun slumped down on his couch as he learned that this new brand from Europe was amazing at getting rid of stains. He also made a mental note to try out that brand someday.

“I’m still not seeing why I had-Oh.”

Baekhyun stopped his complaint and sat straight up with his full attention on the tv, as the news report on detergent ended and the focus turned back to the news anchors. One of them was the usual 40-year-old-anchorwoman-that-looks-like-she’s-still-25, but the one sitting next to her. That was not the usual greying haired 60-year-old-anchorman-that-looks-older-than-he-actually-was.

Oh no. It was a young, but mature looking young man who was definitely no older than 25. With his dark black locks gelled up and out of his face, accompanied by equally dark youthful eyes as they watched the woman next to him reporting on political bullcrap that Baekhyun never paid any attention to.

“You still there Baek? Don’t die from hot-guy syndrome please. I would like my best friend alive, even if you did die from seeing a hot dude.”

“I’m so close to dying from hot-guy syndrome. Someone drown me, he’s too hot,” he mumbled as he untied the pink bandana and pulled it off of his head to let it fall onto the couch. He let out a shaky breath as he ran a hand through his chestnut colored hair.

“But no, seriously dude. Lispy boy is no longer lispy and you said his face was cute? Well cutesy faced boy is now hot-damn-faced-boy.”

Baekhyun vaguely remembers that Jongdae has a boyfriend and questioned if he should be checking out hot tv news anchors likes this, but any thoughts about Jongdae’s boyfriend flew right out of the window and straight to New York when he noticed the slight bob of the boy’s adams apple and Baekhyun wanted to sue his tv provider right then and there. How dare his tv provider give him such good hd quality of something that could possibly kill him.

“Hot damn on a stick,” Baekhyun breathed out as he leaned back on his couch, eyes glued to the boy on the television as he reported on some ‘breaking news.’ Forget that breaking news, this boy was breaking news.

He heard Jongdae crack up through the phone and he snapped out of his reverie for a second to glare at his phone and frown.

“Yah, Baekhyun, bet you regret rejecting that kid now.”

His frown grew deeper as he watched the boy who had once liked him speak again.

“That was the six o’clock news, I’m Oh Sehun-“ A pause for the anchorwoman to say her name. “And we hope to see you again tomorrow evening.”

And Baekhyun swore a part of him died and went to heaven, while another part of him fangirled like nobody’s business when he a saw Sehun give the camera a smile. A smile.

The camera slowly panned out as the two news anchors began to sift through the papers on their desk when a toothpaste commercial popped up and Baekhyun could only lay down on his side, letting his phone sit precariously on his cheek as he hugged a pillow to his chest.

“This is all your fault.”

“What? How is it my fault?”

“You’re the one who made me watch the news. I don’t even watch the news, I could’ve lived the rest of my life not knowing watching the news and not knowing about him. Not to mention, you were the one who set me and Chanyeol up! If you didn’t do that, I could’ve been dating lispy boy here.” Baekhyun let out a high pitched whine into his pillow, kicking his legs about as well.

“Were you really going to say yes to an underclassman? Especially since we were seniors and he was a sophomore. There was no way that relationship was going to last. Plus, what were the chances that you were going to say yes to lispy boy.”

Baekhyun grabbed his phone off of his cheek and sat up straight. “But still,” Baekhyun whined as he stomped his feet, not caring for the whiny old man who lived in the apartment below him. “You never know what could’ve happened.”

“Do you seriously think you guys would’ve lasted? And it’s not like you and Chanyeol had to date. I only said that you two should date, cause hey, you looked good together. Then you two went and started dating, that was your own doing.”
 
Baekhyun’s frown etched deeper into his face as Jongdae’s statement sunk in. “Okay. My fault. Your fault. Also Chanyeol’s fault. It’s all our faults.”

He heard Jongdae snicker and then him clearing his throat. “You just don’t wanna say it was your fault. Well, it’s not like any of us could have predicted any of this. But~ I’ll just leave you to your thoughts about your nonexistent love life and your new found cutie slash hottie.”

Baekhyun heard the dial tone as Jongdae hung up on him. He tossed his phone to the other side of the couch and buried his face into one of his pillows.

As he was left with his thoughts, all he could think about was how stupid he was for rejecting Sehun in the first place and for dating Chanyeol for some strange reason.

However, Baekhyun wasn’t someone who would jump into a relationship based off of looks. He knew that very well himself, but it never stopped him from getting 5 minute crushes on every good looking guy he saw, which included Sehun as of right now.

From what Baekhyun could remember about Sehun and it really only amounted to three things.

1. He had a lisp.

Had is the key word here.

2. He was two years younger than him.

Two years wasn’t that big of a deal. He’d just have to deal with being the older one. He shudders at being called old. Although, being called hyung would be something he’d be more than happy to hear.

3. He’s a news anchor on the six o’clock news on channel 7.

That’s something that Baekhyun never expected. His image of Sehun, from what his foggy memory can bring up at the very least, was a very quiet boy who didn’t seem to want to be in the spotlight out of his own free will. But Baekhyun was only assuming and he could always be wrong.

And wrong he was. After all, who would be a news anchor if they didn’t like the spotlight? Or at least some attention on them.

Well, it’s not like Baekhyun knows the kid. He wished he did. He really wished he did.




Baekhyun could only sulk as he wrote Jongdae’s name on the paper cup for his order of a caramel macchiato with an extra dose of caramel, because if you are going to get caramel, go hard or go home. At least to Jongdae.

“Is your still hurting over last night?” Jongdae asked as he gave Baekhyun the payment.

He put the ten dollar bill in the cash register and handed Jongdae his change. “That’s one weird way to put it. But no. I’m not still not hurt over last night. I thought it over and realized: I know absolutely nothing about Sehun. And because I know nothing about him, the possible relationship that I could have had with him, might not have worked as well as it could in my imagination.”

“You sound mature,” Jongdae noted as he stuck his change into the tip jar. “Sit with me once you finish my drink.”

His friend left to sit in a booth in the corner of the store, right in front of the windows looking out into the street.

Baekhyun only sighed and quickly made the drink for Jongdae, also making himself a cup of coffee the way he likes it. 30% coffee and 70% milk, what can he say, not a fan of the bitterness. Despite the bitterness he feels in his heart at this moment in his life.

He puts both of their drinks onto the table that Jongdae sat himself at.

“Early break?” Jongdae questions him as he puts his phone away.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes as he takes a sip of his coffee. “Minseok can handle himself perfectly fine for ten minutes.”

Jongdae nods as he takes the cover off of his drink and takes a sip like that. He smiles, content with the amount of caramel in his drink and he leans back to make himself comfortable.

“Anything else you would like to vent about?”

Baekhyun raises an eyebrow at Jongdae before taking a deep breath.

“I’m just really curious about him. Like he never seemed like someone who would like people staring at him. He just seemed like that quiet kid in the back of the class that just silently judges everyone, like what Kyungsoo did back in high school, I mean he still does that, but you get what I mean.” Jongdae agreed with that statement. “I never would have thought he would become a news anchor. He never gave off of that kind of aura of ‘I-like-to-talk-so-please-pay-attention-to-me’ it was more like ‘I-don’t-really-care-but-don’t-bother-me’ kind of aura. Do you understand?” He nodded.

Baekhyun took a sip of his coffee before he continued.

“I thought I was good judge of character. I didn’t think I was that off when I first met him. Although I am basing it all off of one conversation that just consisted of him saying ‘I like you.’ With me saying ‘Oh sorry. I’m dating someone right now. Bye.’ Plus it did happen in high school, like what? 5 years ago? Oh my god Jongdae we’re old.”

Baekhyun covered his face with his hands and let out a fake sob as he went through mini existential crisis.

“Well you’re doing better than what I expected, despite the little crisis you seem to going through at the moment,” Jongdae noted as he set his cup down on the table. “I was expecting more of ‘Ohmygodhe’ssohotwhatdoIdoJongdaepleasepleasepleasaehelpmeohgodIcan’ttakeitanymore.’ So this mature approach you’re trying is definitely new.”

Baekhyun laid his head on the table with a small thud. “But he is hot and on hd tv. Now all I can do is to start watching the six o’clock news religiously now.”

Jongdae shrugged and downed the rest of his drink. He took a quick look at his watch and stood up. “Sorry I can’t watch your little performance today. Yixing and I are meeting up for lunch.”

He left without waiting for Baekhyun’s response, only knowing he’ll whine about Jongdae bragging about how he has a boyfriend and that he doesn’t. Only for Jongdae to respond using the ‘dark time’ in high school and how he tried to help his singleness. And they both knew Baekhyun didn’t need that conversation right now.

Baekhyun picked up the cups from the table and threw them away, wiping down the table before he left to set up the mini stage in the café.

The café was owned by a good friend of his, Minseok. Minseok made pretty good damn coffee and plenty of people knew. Baekhyun knew and he didn’t even like coffee that much. But he was still able to appreciate the craft and passion of his dear friend.

Also, he was the one who gave him the job at the café. So it’s not like he could badmouth him, if even if Baekhyun could, he wouldn’t.

Minseok was one the reasons why Baekhyun had managed to start up a singing career. Even if his singing career only consisted of irregular gigs at various bars and cafés around the city whenever people managed to listen to his singing at Minseok’s café.

Singing was fun and working at the cafe was fun too, Baekhyun had little room to complain about his jobs. He lived comfortably and was never behind on bills.

The small stage in the café had only a keyboard with a chair and a microphone stand with a microphone. Baekhyun tried to get Minseok to buy an actual wooden piano, rather than an electric keyboard. But Minseok said that Baekhyun would have to pay for that himself and he shut up rather quickly.

Occasionally, Chanyeol would accompany him with his guitar, but that was only when Chanyeol was bored and had no work to do. Which was rare, but it was always nice whenever Chanyeol joined him.

Baekhyun was busy adjusting all of the equipment when someone walked into the café.

He watched the guy who walked in as he adjusted the height of the microphone so that he could play the piano and sing at the same time.

The guy had on a white button up rolled up to his elbows with black dress pants he also was wearing thick black rimmed glasses and holding a piece of paper.

Baekhyun thought he looked a bit familiar, but ignored the nagging feeling as he played a few notes on the piano to focus on his song.

He gave a small bow from his seat behind the keyboard and adjusted the microphone to ease his slight nervousness from gaining attention from the people in the café.

“Good afternoon. I’m Baekhyun and I hope you all enjoy the song I’ll be singing.”

He straightened his back and his hands hovered over the keyboard as he let the notes come to him like they always do, naturally and slowly.

He played out the beginning of the song, letting the notes flow through his fingertips. He raised his head to begin singing and as he did so; he made eye contact with the stranger who had walked in earlier.

His eyes widened and his breath hitched slightly as time seemed to slow down when he realized that the stranger wasn’t really a stranger.

 

A/N: Remind me to never write at 2am in the morning cause all the mistakes I found when editing were all so cringy. 

I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 1 :)