Park View
Title: Park View
Pairing: Chanyeol/Baekhyun
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Break-ups aren’t meant to be romantic, Disneyland isn’t meant for one person and exes aren’t supposed to help you save on hotel expenditure.
A/N: I'm looking for friends on twitter under the same username! :D
‘When I break up with you, I’ll do it in the most romantic way possible.’
That’s what Baekhyun’s boy- ex-boyfriend told him when they got together. He should have known better, should have expected this break up sooner or later and he shouldn’t be so sad because well, his ex was, probably still is, a player.
But still, no one likes a break up in the form of a text message right? And how is that even remotely romantic?
Sitting alone in one of the chairs at the departure hall at Incheon Airport at half past seven in the morning, Baekhyun stares at his phone. Stares at the text he’s been staring at for the past half an hour. Stares at the text hoping the words would magically change. Stares at the text like he’s still sleeping and just having a really, really bad nightmare.
The intercom melody plays for a short while before there’s an announcement for Baekhyun’s flight - the gates are open and boarding begins now.
So it’s real.
Baekhyun just got ditched through a text message.
With a disheartened sigh, he gets off the seat, dragging his bag along with him and makes his way over to the gate with heavy footsteps and an even heavier heart. He could choose to miss the flight and wallow in self-pity back in his apartment but the ticket to Tokyo is already in his hand and it would just be such a waste.
That’s what he’s thinking to convince himself.
Maybe a change of scenery would be good. Away from Seoul where all the memories of his ex lingered around the neighbourhood cafes and departmental stores. Besides, the trip was already all planned out by that heartless jerk and Baekhyun has Disneyland to look forward too. Anyone would enjoy Disneyland (in Baekhyun’s very honest and humble opinion).
He smiles at the flight stewardess who greets him with a chirpy ‘good morning’ before taking a look at his ticket and telling him where his seat is. Nodding his head, he thanks her and moves towards his seat, ignoring the sick feeling in his stomach when he sees the empty chair next to his.
It’s only a short flight and after he lands, he can leave everything behind - all the bad, and even good memories of his ex. He is good at letting go anyway.
Now all he prays for is that he could enjoy Disneyland alone because who goes alone in the first place? But maybe, he just could enjoy it.
It is the land of dreams after all.
“But,” Baekhyun sobs pitifully and the receptionist gives him a sympathetic but polite smile. “But he said,” he chokes in his broken Japanese before fumbling for his phone he threw in his bag out of rage before boarding the plane back in Korea.
The receptionist merely waits patiently for Baekhyun to fish out his phone and finish pressing whatever buttons he’s pressing on his phone before he turns the screen to her, surprising her a little.
At first, she looks at the screen thoughtfully, but upon realising that the whole text is in Korean, she gives him an apologetic smile before telling him to wait a moment.
Despite not being a very fluent speaker, Baekhyun could understand Japanese perfectly well so he waits as he turns the screen back to himself to stare at that wretched message.
“Idiot,” he berates himself when he very belatedly realises that the message’s in Korean and there’s no way the poor Japanese receptionist could read its contents, let alone understand it.
After a while, a front office supervisor approaches him, a friendly smile fixed on his face as he greets Baekhyun in Korean and the latter feels his shoulders relaxing.
The supervisor then asks if Baekhyun could show him the message and the latter was about to do as requested when he remembers the words in the message and grins sheepishly at the staff member. “It’s okay. It’s not that important,” Baekhyun hurriedly explains when he sees a mild panicky look on the supervisor’s face.
There is no way Baekhyun can show anyone that message. Other than the fact that it would remind him of his ex back in Korea, it would be way too embarrassing. How is he supposed to show anyone the part of the text message that says, ‘I haven’t cancelled any of our plans in Japan, so enjoy the Disney hotel. I paid a lot for it!’ when he was told that his room was cancelled just moments before.
So much for not cancelling anything. Baekhyun is pretty certain that everything got cancelled, including the nice dinner reservation at the restaurant next to Pirates of the Caribbean.
It’s pretty stupid, Baekhyun thinks, how every single damn room has at least two beds in it. If not, just one double bed. But then again, Disney is not meant for one person.
Sighing to himself with the thought that since he’s already here, he might as well get a nice room with two or more beds. “Park view,” Baekhyun says calmly, feeling much more comfortable speaking in his native language.
“We’re very sorry,” the supervisor begins and Baekhyun winces at just how polite the guy sounds. How do the Japanese do it? “But we have no more available rooms which offer the park view.” Upon seeing Baekhyun’s crestfallen face, the supervisor hurriedly adds, “However, we still have character rooms available.”
Character rooms.
Baekhyun rubs his eyes in frustration as he considers his choices - one, leave the place and suck up the embarrassment after causing a fuss or two, smile, accept the room and suck up the embarrassment of staying in what is likely a room designed for a family, not a guy who just got ditched.
He chooses the latter. But he has to confirm something first.
“Which character room’s still available?” Baekhyun asks with a forced smile that probably looks overly fake because he swears he sees corner of the staff’s mouth twitch a little.
“Beauty and the Beast is still available, sir.”
That definitely isn’t the cheapest character room, Baekhyun is certain. Because he has checked before. It’s also way too romantic for one person. But he doesn’t have a choice. Sighing, he’s about to say okay to the room when he hears an all too familiar laughter. Turning to where the sound came from, he spots a tall man wearing a ‘LA’ snapback with his ears sticking out so obviously walking through the front door. The newcomer is grinning from ear to ear as he looks around the interior of the hotel and Baekhyun is pretty sure he knows him.
Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun tells the staff to wait a moment and to hold the room for him (because damn himself if the room gets taken away while he’s trying to verify the newcomer’s identity). “Park Chanyeol!” Baekhyun calls when he’s nearing the stranger, hoping he got the right person. Large ears, an even larger smile, tall and thin. Dorky. There can’t be so many people like that in this world, right?
Right?
Still, Baekhyun feels apprehension as the other slowly faces him and he’s met with a pair of large brown eyes piercing his own.
“Baek…hyun?” The taller man’s eye widen as he approaches Baekhyun too quickly, causing the latter to take a few steps back on instinct in fear of colliding. “Baekhyun, it’s really you, right? I’m not dreaming, am I?”
Although it was Baekhyun who called out first, he now finds himself standing awkwardly in front of this lanky guy with nothing to say. Funny because Baekhyun always has something to say. “Chanyeol…” he mumbles after several minutes of awkward silence (on his part, because Chanyeol is still beaming).
“Are you staying here too?” Chanyeol asks almost immediately and Baekhyun is once again, rendered speechless, but for legitimate reasons this time. It’s a simple question but Baekhyun doesn’t really have an answer because his ex decided to cancel the room he, or they, are supposed to stay in and he currently hasn’t decided if he wants to sleep in the Beauty and the Beast room alone. Yet. “Do you have a room?”
After a few moments contemplating if he should tell Chanyeol the whole story, Baekhyun decides to just settle with a plain, “yes, but no I don’t have a room yet.” The response he gets from the taller isn’t something he expected at all. Not even the slightest.
“Great!” Chanyeol exclaims a little too loudly, causing people to stare and Baekhyun to wince. He grins sheepishly at the smaller boy before bending down slightly to look him in the eye. “We’ll share a room then. It’ll be cheaper.”
That escalated a bit too quickly for Baekhyun’s liking.
“No,” Baekhyun instantly says, but he doesn’t know if he’s saying no to sharing a room with the other or that it’ll be cheaper to share, and Chanyeol’s face visibly falls. He looks dejected and Baekhyun thinks he’s being overly dramatic. “It’s per person,” Baekhyun says as an excuse just to get Chanyeol to stop looking so utterly depressed because it’s starting to make him feel guilty.
Chanyeol laughs and he’s grinning at Baekhyun again. “It’ll be cheaper because…” he pauses and has this look on his face that Baekhyun knows for sure that the other is trying to come up with a quick excuse on the spot. Baekhyun knows because he’s very familiar with that expression himself. “Member’s discount,” Chanyeol says slowly, looking unsure of himself.
And he should because Baekhyun doesn’t even know there is such a thing as ‘member’s discount’ for Disney Hotels. Though there are a lot of things Baekhyun doesn’t know about too.
“It’ll be cheaper,” Chanyeol repeats with a toothy smile but Baekhyun still isn’t convinced. “Come on, Baek.” Maybe he’s starting to give into the idea. “I’ll take care of everything.” And, sold. Baekhyun has never liked to go through the trouble of booking a hotel room or conversing with staff members (which he has had enough for the day), preferring to leave it to his travelling companion (because he never travels alone, but this trip is an unfortunate exception).
Still, there’s a lingering doubt in Baekhyun’s head, telling him this isn’t a good idea. It feels weird to share a room, a character room - Beauty and the Beast nonetheless, at a Disney Hotel with your ex, ex, ex, ex, Baekhyun doesn’t know how many exes there are, ex-boyfriend.
But Park Chanyeol is different. He’s always been different.
“Let’s break up,” Chanyeol says with a bittersweet smile plastered on his face.
“Me too,” Baekhyun replies automatically, having expected Chanyeol to say something else entirely. His eyes widen when he realises what Chanyeol said. “What?”
“I said let’s break up,” Chanyeol repeats firmly, as if he would take back those words if he isn’t being serious enough.
There’s a subtle shift in Baekhyun’s expression, and Chanyeol might have been mistaken if it was relief he saw.
Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun tilts his head upwards to look Chanyeol in the eye. “I don’t get it.”
Once again, only softer this time, Chanyeol whispers, “Let’s break up.”
“Baek? Baek?” Chanyeol waves his hands in front of the shorter boy, frowning when even snapping his fingers don’t work. “Baek?” Chanyeol tries again, in a gentler tone this time.
Snapping out of a trance he doesn’t know he fell into, Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol with an insincere smile. “Yeah?”
“Earth to Byun Baekhyun. Are you okay?” Chanyeol asks, trying his best to mask his worry. “Didn’t you hear me calling you at all?” The taller of the two asks, a frown marring his handsome face as Baekhyun slowly shakes his head and mutters a quick apology.
Silence falls between them until Chanyeol breaks it with his boisterous laughter - the one that Baekhyun used to love. “So,” Chanyeol starts with a wide grin, his perfect teeth showing, and it’s the same smile that Baekhyun used to love. “Should we share a room, Baek?” That voice that Baekhyun used to love. “Can we share a room, Baek?” He asks teasingly but his gaze is soft and tender as he raises a brow at Baekhyun.
Unable to find any words to speak, Baekhyun nods, convincing himself that nodding takes less effort than shaking his head and not because he feels lonely and wants someone with him at night. Even if it’s his nth ex-boyfriend.
But it still feels awkward and sharing a room with one of his exes in a Disney hotel definitely makes him feel weird all over and uncomfortable. Though actually he’d be lying to himself if he said he’d feel weird sharing a room with his other exes. On the contrary, he’d be more than happy to find a companion at least, even if it’s one of his exes. But this is Chanyeol and he doesn’t even know the number of ‘exes’ to attach to this guy.
Maybe it’s actually because the number of exes there are don’t matter. Maybe because more than an ex-boyfriend, Park Chanyeol is his first ever boyfriend. And maybe that means something to Baekhyun whether he admits it or not.
Maybe he still feels something, maybe he never stopped.
Because their breakup was just wrong.
But no one is to blame. The feelings died and so did the spark in their heart, in Baekhyun’s heart at least.
“Baek, it’s our fourth anniversary today.” The older boy doesn’t look up from his homework to face his boyfriend who’s staring at him eagerly, but his hand stops moving. “Let’s celebrate?”
Taking in a deep breath before letting it out, Baekhyun sets his pen down and intertwines his fingers together. “Has it been four years already?”
“Did you forget?” Chanyeol teases but his face falls when he sees Baekhyun biting his lower lip. “It’s okay, I got everything prepared already.”
An awkward moment of silence falls between them until Chanyeol breaks it with his loud laughter. The taller boy is trying to salvage the situation, Baekhyun knows, but he can’t help but feel normal about this whole anniversary. It’s like he doesn’t even love Chanyeol anymore, but that can’t be true, so Baekhyun blames it on his fatigue from school for his thoughts going awry.
“Let’s go now?” Chanyeol asks happily and sits on the chair in front of Baekhyun’s desk as he rests his arms on the front of the older boy’s table.
“Gimme a sec,” Baekhyun mutters and scribbles down a formula to refer to later when he can actually finish his homework before throwing his books and papers haphazardly into his school bag. “Done,” he says within a matter of seconds and Chanyeol’s immediately pulling him through the door.
“Where are we going?” Baekhyun whines when they past the school gate.
All Chanyeol does is to give an ear-splitting grin which makes Baekhyun roll his eyes affectionately.
“My ticket’s for tomorrow,” Baekhyun blurts out randomly just to fill in the silence in the lift only to realise how stupid he sounds after the words are out because why would anyone buy a ticket only to go in for half a day. Okay, so there are nighttime tickets but Chanyeol actually saw Baekhyun purchasing his ticket because the latter realised his (stupid) ex didn’t even buy them in the first place. Though of course, he hasn’t said a word about that to Chanyeol.
He doesn’t expect Chanyeol to say anything, maybe just give him a nod but Chanyeol does say something and gives him more than a nod.
“Mine too,” Chanyeol answers with a smile on his face and when he turns to face Baekhyun, his smile grows even wider. “Let’s go together?”
Years apart has made Baekhyun forget just how kind Chanyeol is.
It’s Baekhyun who doesn’t have anything to say in response and it’s Baekhyun who gives a simple nod.
The room is big, humongous in fact, for a room in Japan. Not to mention, there’s only going to be two people staying inside. Furthermore, it is well-furnished, as expected from a Disney hotel. Even the bathroom looks majestic.
All in all, it’s a very satisfying room.
Except for one thing.
Baekhyun pulls open the curtains with a sigh because he knows the view already and it isn’t that of the park but the garden. It’s the view he expected but he still feels a little disappointed, hoping somehow the view that greeted him was magically transformed into the park.
“Why the sigh? It’s a nice room.” Chanyeol picks up one pillow and squishes it before pressing his face into it and melting into the softness. “I don’t think I can wake up tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll go without you,” Baekhyun replies instantly, still standing rooted to the spot in front of the window, frowning at the garden. It’s a beautiful garden, really, but Baekhyun just really wants to see the park.
“Stop sulking.”
“I’m not sul - ”
“I can see your reflection,” Chanyeol cuts him off. “So why are you sulking?”
As Baekhyun’s about to say something along the lines of ‘because that fucker said he already reserved a room with the view of the park’, he stops himself just in time, remembering that Chanyeol doesn’t know about his situation. “I wanted a room with the park’s view.”
Expecting Chanyeol to say something to console him, Baekhyun looks at the other hopefully. But nothing comes, except Chanyeol is sporting a stupid grin on his face again and Baekhyun knows exactly why.
“Please don’t make any jokes with your name.”
“Dry your hair,” Chanyeol says as soon as he comes out of the bathroom and finds Baekhyun playing a game on his hand phone with his hair still dripping. “You’ll catch a cold. It’s winter, you know.”
“The heater’s on, you know,” Baekhyun bites back quickly and makes a noise of distress when his character gets hit, causing Chanyeol to chuckle.
“Still,” Chanyeol remarks casually and lingers over Baekhyun who’s currently lying down on one of the beds.
“Your presence is so intimidating,” Baekhyun drawls sarcastically when Chanyeol doesn’t stop looming over him.
“Come on, Baek.”
Letting out a groan, Baekhyun locks his phone and throws it against the pillow before sitting upright and glaring daggers at the taller man. “What are you? My mom?”
“Your friend,” Chanyeol corrects offhandedly and he doesn’t notice the way Baekhyun freezes for a split second. “Your friend who cares about you.”
Baekhyun’s only response is a short and curt, “right,” then he pads over to the bathroom where the hairdryer is. After a while, the blowing sound stops and Baekhyun’s hair is all dry (it wasn’t even that wet anymore when he started). “Your turn,” Baekhyun says and walks out of the bathroom only to find that Chanyeol is already standing there, waiting to dry his hair.
“Thanks,” Chanyeol says and brushes past Baekhyun who scoffs, making him turn around to give the shorter man a questioning look.
“Since when did we get so formal?”
Scratching the side of his head, Chanyeol lets out a nervous chuckle and shrugs. “It’s been a while since we met, I guess?”
“We’re friends right, Yeol?” Baekhyun smiles at him the way his eyes form little crescents.
“As long as you want us to be.”
“So why’re you here alone?” Chanyeol randomly asks when he’s lazing on the bed, already done unpacking an hour or two ago, while Baekhyun is still rummaging through his luggage for an eyeliner that he swears he brought.
“You?” Baekhyun shoots back quickly, head still buried in his luggage.
“You answer first. I asked first,” Chanyeol pressed on stubbornly.
“What are you?” Baekhyun stops searching and looks at Chanyeol with disdain. “Five?”
Huffing, Chanyeol grabs a pillow and brings it to his chest. “Fine. Then tell me when you’re leaving. Or when did you come?”
“What are we playing? Fifty questions?”
“Come on, Baek. I’m trying to make conversation.”
“I’m trying to find my eyeliner.”
“It’s on the bedside table.”
Halting all his actions, Baekhyun squints his eyes at Chanyeol, not believing the younger one. But he goes over to the small table to check anyway and it’s just right there. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”
Chanyeol shrugs and Baekhyun’s about to throw the lamp at him but he continues with a rather plausible explanation (or excuse). “I just saw it. You know, among your sunglasses, hand phone, wallet, gloves, random notes, your - ”
“Okay,” Baekhyun stops Chanyeol and glares at him. “I get it. I’ll keep that area tidy.”
“So why are you here alone?” Chanyeol asks again and Baekhyun really doesn’t want to answer but Chanyeol’s giving him the ‘I just found your eyeliner for you’ face and Baekhyun doesn’t want to be mean.
With a resigned look, Baekhyun pulls out his phone and presses the screen a few times before handing it to Chanyeol. “I think that text message can explain better.”
Baek, I know how much you’ve been looking forward to this trip, especially the Disney part. But I’m sorry. I’m sorry because I can’t go with you to Disney or Japan at all. And I’m sorry because I won’t be going anywhere else with you either from now on.
You’re lovely and funny and I love you for that. I think I still love you actually. But it isn’t working out anymore. You’re always so busy with your work and maybe I’m expecting too much, especially with your hectic schedule, but birthday celebrations are really important to me.
“You forgot his birthday?” Chanyeol asks, amusement glaringly obvious in his tone and Baekhyun glares at him.
“Shut up. And I didn’t forget completely. So technically, no, I didn’t forget.”
“Baek, you - ”
“Can you just continue reading or are you done? I’m taking it back.” Baekhyun reaches a hand out to snatch his phone back but Chanyeol easily pulls it out of his reach by standing up and holding the phone higher.
Anyway, I just want you to know that I’ve already booked a room at the Disney hotel. It’s the big surprise I’ve been telling you about (which you never seemed very enthusiastic about). It’s under my name but you can just tell the counter the confirmation code.
I’ll always love you.
“I can’t believe you fell for that confirmation code crap.”
“I got ditched. I was devastated.”
“No, you wanted that room too much.”
“Can you at least show some concern?” Baekhyun asks, annoyed, his arms crossed. “And can I have back my phone?”
Chuckling, Chanyeol passes the phone back to the shorter man. “Since you asked so politely.”
Deciding to ignore that indirect jab, Baekhyun goes back to his almost long-forgotten question. “So why are you here alone?”
“I actually came with my friends to Japan but they aren’t that into the whole Disney thing,” Chanyeol replies easily and Baekhyun hums in response.
“Your friends? Do I know them?”
Chanyeol shakes his head. “They’re college friends.”
Mouthing an ‘O’, Baekhyun chooses not to say anything more upon remembering when they lost contact - in college.
After their break up, they remained best friends until high school graduation. They were actually still friends in the first year of college but subsequently, they just stopped talking and then it just became all too natural that they fell out of contact. There’s nothing to be upset about. Baekhyun found new friends and Chanyeol evidently did too. They moved on, just as life did.
“Let’s finish our fifty questions.” Chanyeol breaks Baekhyun’s train of thought and the latter looks at him with a confused look. “How was college for you, Byun Baekhyun?”
“ - so then I told her that I’m bi and she gave me the most appalled look ever. I thought she was confused at that point in time so I decided to be a little more explicit. I said, ‘I like boys and girls, actually boys or girls would be more accurate.’ I even said I might be more gay than bi, like I might prefer boys. And then she just shouted at me that she knew what bi meant and wanted to empty her tumbler of coffee on me but I ran away even before she could open the cap of course.”
Halfway through Baekhyun’s story of encountering an elderly woman who lived (she moved out after this incident) in his apartment complex questioning him about why he was kissing a guy, Chanyeol is already in peals of laughter, clutching his stomach as uncontrollable laughter spilled from his mouth. When Baekhyun’s done, he finds himself joining in Chanyeol’s one-man laughing session for no reason at all, laughing until the corners of his mouth ached.
The laughter dies down and the room is filled with silence again. But for the first time that day, the silence isn’t awkward at all. It feels more comfortable instead and Baekhyun thinks that it can lull him to sleep.
When Baekhyun thinks Chanyeol is asleep, he gathers his courage to say something softly but stops himself because Chanyeol beats him to saying something first.
“Goodnight, Baekhyun.” There’s some shuffling noise before Baekhyun hears a click and the lamp turns off, making the room pitch black.
“Goodnight, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whispers to himself several minutes later because he’s pretty sure Chanyeol’s asleep by now.
In the middle of the night, Baekhyun hears some noise and he swears it’s Chanyeol’s voice, but with the grogginess from sleep clouding his mind, he can’t be too sure. Too lazy to get out of bed to check, Baekhyun just lies there and tries to fall back asleep until the he hears the bathroom door opening and sees a figure walking out. Bingo.
Still, Baekhyun’s too tired to feel alert at all and when Chanyeol makes his way over to Baekhyun’s bed, the older man shuts his eyes completely, not wanting Chanyeol to know that he’s half-awake. And he feels himself getting lulled to sleep when Chanyeol brushes his bangs from his forehead and rests his palm against his cheeks for a moment. Baekhyun doesn’t know how long Chanyeol stayed beside his bed but when he wakes up, the other is already all dressed and ready to go.
“We need to be early,” Chanyeol says very seriously and Baekhyun groans.
Baekhyun makes a pretty undignified noise when he sees a row of windows from where he’s standing at the park entrance. That is where he was supposed to stay.
“Stop sounding like a dying whale in the morning,” Chanyeol berates jokingly but Baekhyun scowls at him. He looks to where Baekhyun was staring at and laughs. “Still bitter over the room?”
“Quite,” Baekhyun admits.
“See?” Chanyeol says in a teasing voice. “You’re upset about the room, not the break-up.”
Scowl deepening, Baekhyun punches Chanyeol’s chest and feels gratified when the taller clutches his chest and winces.
“You got a better room anyway,” Chanyeol says while still rubbing the sore spot on his chest.
“Yeah?” Baekhyun sounds skeptical and Chanyeol feels slightly offended because he’s his roommate. Waiting for an answer, Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol expectantly, raising a brow for emphasis.
He regrets asking as soon as he sees Chanyeol’s face split into a silly smile because he knows what the answer’s going to be. He’s about to retract his question but Chanyeol beats him to a reply. “Because you now have the best park view in the world.” Stretching out both hands, Chanyeol beams down at Baekhyun and the latter doesn’t know if it’s the sun’s rays or Chanyeol’s smile that’s too glaring bright, making him squint. “You knew it was coming sooner or later. There’s no way I’m not gonna make a joke like that. Not when you’re so hung up over getting a room with the park’s view.”
Baekhyun wants to say ‘no more park jokes’ but Chanyeol randomly bursts out laughing and strangely, Baekhyun finds himself joining in. The gates to the park open just then and the neat lines start moving forward.
“Did you see that?” Baekhyun exclaims excitedly while pointing at the giant Zurg with his laser gun. “I shot him right in the chest.”
Chanyeol merely grunts in response as he continues concentrating on shooting all the other ‘Zs’ available and Baekhyun suddenly wants to shoot him with a real laser gun. He also regrets pausing to tell Chanyeol that piece of tiny information because their cart is back at the start in a few seconds and he can’t increase his score anymore.
“I shot Zurg’s chest…” Baekhyun mumbles to himself.
But this time, Chanyeol replies, “congrats,” with a sweet smile and Baekhyun feels warm all over.
The screen in front of Baekhyun flashes 326,500 and he thinks it’s a pretty impressive score until he looks to his left and sees 729,900 on Chanyeol’s screen and frowns immediately.
“I did too,” Chanyeol starts when he realises Baekhyun looking at his screen. “Several times.”
As Baekhyun’s about to say something, Chanyeol suddenly grabs his wrist when they get off the ride, making him forget everything he wanted to say.
“Let’s go to the next ride.” The eagerness in Chanyeol’s tone has Baekhyun smiling softly and nodding wordlessly, allowing the younger man to lead the way.
They queue for ‘Space Mountain’ and try out two more rides before going to Fantasyland and Chanyeol pulls Baekhyun to ‘It’s A Small World’ immediately, looking more excited than the little children around.
“No judging, Byun. You’re in Disneyland yourself.” Chanyeol narrows his eyes at Baekhyun who shrugs unapologetically.
“Not judging,” Baekhyun lies. “Just thought you fit in well with them.” He gestures to the group of kids in front of them and laughs when Chanyeol gives him a hurt look.
The ride is hardly quiet with all the little children riding the same boat as them. They are gushing and squealing while laughing amongst themselves, but not in the annoying kind of way and Baekhyun finds himself smiling at their antics. Meanwhile, Chanyeol is humming along to the music almost throughout the entire ride and even starts singing when the song changes to the Korean version. Surprisingly, Baekhyun finds himself singing along as well.
By midday, Baekhyun’s already feeling tired from all the walking. “Why is it so big?” He whines just for the sake of it.
“It’s not really that big.”
“Long legs can cover long distances,” Baekhyun says and Chanyeol bursts out laughing.
“I can’t believe you just made a dig at your own height!” Chanyeol’s simply just grinning. “You used to be so sensitive about your height back in high school.” He stops smiling as soon as the last few words leave his mouth and he thinks maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned the words ‘high school’. But Baekhyun seems fine with that and he sighs in relief.
Exhaling loudly, Baekhyun laughs. “Yeah, I can’t believe I did too. The park’s really big anyway. It has to be. And while I am tired, I don’t mind playing at a bigger theme park.”
“You should go to the one in LA,” Chanyeol suggests.
Baekhyun raises a brow at him. “You’ve been to LA?”
“Kind of.”
“It’s a yes or no question, Park.”
“Then yes,” Chanyeol replies teasingly and laughs when he finds Baekhyun giving him a scornful look. “It’s bigger there. More rides.”
Bigger only meant one thing to Baekhyun. “More people too, I suppose.”
“It isn’t that bad,” Chanyeol reasons and laughs when Baekhyun makes a face at him.
“But I’d like to go there someday.”
“Let’s go together,” Chanyeol blurts out and regrets instantly when Baekhyun stops walking beside him. He stops as well and backtracks a little to stand next to the shorter man. “I mean, let’s go together? As friends, you know. Just a trip. We could call some other people too if you’re not comfortable. I mean, not, not comfortable, just, if you want more people.”
“It’s fine,” Baekhyun cuts in before Chanyeol goes into an all-out ramble, which Baekhyun knows he would. “We can go together. Just the two of us.”
“Great.” Chanyeol shows Baekhyun two thumbs up and starts walking again because he’s too familiar with the beginning of awkward silences and one was about to start.
They continue walking in silence until Baekhyun passes a shop and sees some headbands inside. He grabs Chanyeol’s arm and without saying anything else, pulls the other into the shop and all the way to the row of Goofy headbands.
“Looks like your ears,” Baekhyun comments as he takes one headband and gestures for Chanyeol to lower his head to which he does obediently and lets Baekhyun wear the headband for him. “Yeah.”
Looking into one of the mirrors, Chanyeol laughs when he sees his reflection. “I already have a pair of big ears, Baek. I don’t need two of them.”
“I’ll pay.”
Shaking his head, Chanyeol smiles and Baekhyun has a bad feeling about it. “No need. But I’ll find you a headband too. No peeking.”
For the rest of the day, Chanyeol walks around happily in his Goofy headband, finding how the ears flop extremely amusing as he keeps playing with them or even skipping just to see the ears swing. Normally, Baekhyun would find him ridiculous. But with Minnie Mouse’s ears on his head, Baekhyun can’t bring himself to even judge Chanyeol one bit. Some people stare at him, but they look more amused than judgmental and most just walk pass him like it’s a normal occurrence.
It is, Baekhyun finds out, when he sees many guys in the park with Minnie headbands on, matching their girlfriends. Or even a group of high school boys just fooling around, making Baekhyun feel more at ease wearing the headband.
“Told you so. No judging in Disney.” Chanyeol grins at him triumphantly and Baekhyun thinks he should believe Chanyeol more often.
“The fireworks show is starting soon! Come on!” Chanyeol gushes excitedly and dashes in front of Baekhyun, not bothering to wait for the older boy and maybe forgetting how much shorter the other’s legs are and probably won’t be able to keep up with him.
Baekhyun doesn’t mind Chanyeol going ahead. The taller could go get a good viewing spot first and he’d just squeeze his way through the crowd later. But he grimaces as memories start to flood his mind. He remembers very clearly what happened the last time he watched fireworks with Chanyeol. It didn’t end pretty.
But as he looks at the black-haired boy a few meters away, jumping up and down and waving like an idiot with a Goofy headband on, Baekhyun begins questioning his memories. Maybe the fireworks that day ended prettily after all.
The fireworks shoot up above the castle and high into the night sky, streaking it with vibrant hues and bright lights. Bursting into a thousand sparkles, the view is simply breathtaking and Baekhyun remembers the first time he saw fireworks.
Excitedly, Chanyeol points to the sky every few seconds and Baekhyun somehow ends up pointing to the sky at random intervals as well. He starts wondering if everything Chanyeol does is contagious halfway into the fireworks show because he starts tugging Chanyeol’s sleeves to grab his attention just like how the latter grabs his.
Then a red heart explodes into the sky, leaving behind a wake of shimmering white glitter, and it stops Baekhyun’s breath. The people around him squeal and gush and he’s very sure that this isn’t a normal occurrence. Turning to his side, he finds Chanyeol completely calm about it. Too calm in fact and Baekhyun starts to feel butterflies in his stomach.
“I wonder if you can make hearts in the sky one day,” Baekhyun comments off-handedly moments after their break up when they’re sitting on the patch of grass, a comfortable distance between them. To others, Baekhyun might seem insensitive, but to Chanyeol, he knows very well that it’s just Baekhyun’s way of saying a very subtle, ‘I’m sorry.’
“I could try next time?” Chanyeol knits his brows together as he wonders how much gunpowder and setting up that would take.
“Next time,” Baekhyun scoffs. “What are you going to work as next time? A fireworks man?”
“I’m pretty sure there’s a proper name for that occupation,” Chanyeol retorts quickly.
“That occupation, you say.”
“I’m pretty sure lighting up fireworks is an occupation,” Chanyeol finishes calmly and doesn’t realises that Baekhyun’s staring at him until he turns to his side, simply wanting to look at Baekhyun. “What?” He asks bluntly and Baekhyun merely smiles and shrugs.
“Nothing. You’re just really silly, that’s all.”
It seems odd that they’re already falling back to their old ways of talking before they started dating. It feels like nothing has even changed. It feels like nothing will ever change.
“But yeah, you should.” Baekhyun nods his head in agreement very belatedly even though Chanyeol isn’t looking at him anymore. “Make a heart in the sky. Go impress the person you love.”
“I still love you,” Chanyeol whispers, so soft that Baekhyun wouldn’t have heard him if Chanyeol wasn’t saying it directly to his ear.
The smaller boy turns, eyes wide, as he gives the giant a confused expression.
“I never stopped,” Chanyeol continues as the last spark fades into nothing in the blanket of darkness.
Around them, people start dispersing since the fireworks show is over. An announcement tells them it’s the end too as if it isn’t obvious enough. But that isn’t Baekhyun’s concern right now. What matters now is his first boyfriend holding his wrist with one hand and encircling his waist with the other and looking at him with love in his eyes. Like the love never once left his irises.
Gulping because Baekhyun finds his throat dry, he then opens his mouth to say something only to find that no words are coming out. “That last one,” he manages to choke out as memories flood his mind.
“Yeah about that…” A sheepish grin appears on Chanyeol’s face and Baekhyun’s heart skips a beat despite how he thought it isn’t possible around this man anymore. “I had to pull some strings. Lots of strings actually.”
“The heart was - ”
“It was for you,” Chanyeol affirms, knowing what Baekhyun wants to say even without the older actually voicing it out. The taller laughs suddenly. “This is so anticlimactic but I work for Disney. I work in the head office in LA. I didn’t stalk you here, don’t worry. It was purely coincidental, in your words, fate in mine.”
“I think it’s fate,” Baekhyun interrupts smoothly and he mentally gives himself a pat on the back for being so suave.
For once, it’s Chanyeol who’s speechless but he feels his heart bursting from happiness and he can’t contain the wide smile that slips onto his face after hearing Baekhyun’s words.
“But how? Isn’t there standard procedure for this or something? And when? They don’t have this every day right?”
“How?” Chanyeol repeats with a chuckle. “I work for them, Baek. And not to boast, but I hold quite a high rank. And when?” He pauses, blushing a little. “Last night,” he admits sheepishly.
“Over the phone?” Baekhyun asks casually, trying not to seem like he was eavesdropping (even though he was).
At that question, Chanyeol’s eyes widen and his mouth hangs open a little before he licks his lips quickly. “You heard?”
Baekhyun gives him a small nod and flashes a smile. “So what do you work as?” Baekhyun asks despite already knowing the answer.
A soft smile graces Chanyeol’s face. “The fireworks man.”
“No.” Baekhyun stares dumbfounded at the various firecrackers before him. “No way. No freaking way,” he unintentionally starts gushing like a high school girl. Though really, he can’t control it. Not when a dozen or two firecrackers are before his eyes all set up, ready to be lit up, and fired into the sky. “How?” He turns to Chanyeol and points an accusatory finger. “When did you even get time to do all this? How did you even get them?”
Chanyeol’s lips curve upwards automatically as soon as Baekhyun stops talking and simply stares at him with a curious gaze. “Are you happy?”
“Answer me.”
“You answer me first.”
Puffing his cheeks up before blowing the air out, Baekhyun folds his arms across his chest and stares straight into Chanyeol’s eyes. “Are you kidding me? This has got to be the best anniversary gift. Am I happy? I’m delirious. I’m ecstatic.”
Frowning, Chanyeol bends forward until he’s eye level with Baekhyun. “You sound more sarcastic in all honesty.”
“I’m just really happy. What do you want me to say?” Baekhyun pouts. “Now answer my questions.”
“I bought them obviously. Where? Online. When did I set all these up?” Chanyeol laughs. “Last night.”
“That’s why you didn’t want to go home together?” Baekhyun connects everything in his mind easily and Chanyeol nods. “Yeol, thanks. I really don’t know what else to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything.” Chanyeol waves it off casually.
Chanyeol knows why Baekhyun has nothing else to say. Chanyeol knows why Baekhyun didn’t kiss him or even hug him. Chanyeol knows why Baekhyun doesn’t say ‘I love you’. Sure, Baekhyun’s happy about the whole fireworks thing because let’s be real, who wouldn’t? But the kind of happiness radiating from Baekhyun isn’t the kind because your boyfriend did something sweet for you. It’s more like because your best friend did something sweet for you.
Chanyeol takes Baekhyun’s hand, startling the shorter boy a little. “Let’s get them lighted, shall we?” He beams when he sees Baekhyun nod with a smile that makes the side of his eyes scrunch up and crinkle.
Deep down, he knows that Baekhyun doesn’t love him anymore.
“I need time,” Baekhyun says quietly. “I’m sorry. I really am. But it’s the best I can offer. I mean I think I do still have some feelings for you. Okay, maybe not some, maybe a whole lot, but I really don’t know. And - ”
“Thank you, Baek,” Chanyeol cuts the older boy’s rant off and places his hands on the other’s shoulders, making him shut his mouth and tilt his head upward to meet Chanyeol’s eye. “Time is all I have and time will be all you get.”
“That’s a lot to give.”
“You know the best that I’ve always given my all to the person I love.”
“Thank you,” Baekhyun whispers and Chanyeol pats his shoulders twice. The action is comforting and Baekhyun feels warm and fuzzy inside but when one of Chanyeol’s hand drops to his side to hold his hand, he pulls away immediately and offers Chanyeol an apologetic smile. He tries to ignore the pang of guilt upon seeing hurt flash across the taller boy’s face. “Let’s take things slow?”
Nodding in understanding, Chanyeol pulls his hand away and stuffs it into his pocket. “Sorry, I got a little ahead of myself.”
They stand there for a while, embracing the silence and trying to take in what just happened.
“Should we go back or?” Chanyeol gestures to the way to the entrance but Baekhyun shakes his head.
Smirking, Baekhyun grabs Chanyeol’s arm and pulls him towards the main entrance, making the taller man very confused. “Shopping at the bazaar!”
The fireworks have already stopped for a while but Baekhyun still continues looking up at the sky with his mouth open.
“Let’s break up,” Chanyeol says with a bittersweet smile plastered on his face.
“Me too,” Baekhyun replies automatically, and Chanyeol isn’t even surprised at his response. His heart breaks a little when a hurt look flashes across the smaller’s face. “What?”
“I said let’s break up,” Chanyeol repeats firmly, as if he would take back those words if he isn’t being serious enough.
There’s a shift in Baekhyun’s expression, but one so subtle that Chanyeol might have been mistaken if it was relief he saw.
Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun tilts his head upwards to look Chanyeol in the eye. “I don’t get it.”
Once again, only softer this time, Chanyeol whispers, “Let’s break up.”
For a moment, Baekhyun remains silent and when he opens his mouth again, Chanyeol already knows what he’s going to say. “Okay.”
There aren’t any more questions. There isn’t a need for Chanyeol to explain why because Baekhyun’s asking or anything like that. It was just a simple ‘okay’, not even a ‘let’s try again’ or ‘why now’. But despite all that, Chanyeol already knows the reason to Baekhyun’s answer.
The fire died and Baekhyun’s eyes aren’t burning with light or brimming with love anymore. There isn’t even a spark anymore. But Chanyeol’s glad he initiated it now, afraid that he might not have the courage at some other point in the future, and maybe, most likely, something might ruin them later. He doesn’t want that. So he’s glad he did it. Because Baekhyun’s stubborn and even if his love already vanished, he wouldn’t admit it, let alone suggest breaking up. In a way, Chanyeol had no choice but to do it.
It’s saddening, it’s heartbreaking. But it’s okay. Because Chanyeol wants Baekhyun to find happiness. And more than that, he believes the fire will be lit up again one day - someday - and he’ll be the one to light it up again.
“Can I get a goodnight kiss?” Chanyeol asks at the foot of Baekhyun’s bed.
Baekhyun rolls his eyes without any menace. “What are you? A baby?”
“Baek.” The seriousness in Chanyeol’s voice has Baekhyun stopping whatever he’s doing. “One kiss.”
Grumbling to himself, Baekhyun takes a deep breath, prays that his face isn’t red, and faces Chanyeol. “Fine. Just one kiss.”
There are butterflies in his stomach and he can feel his heart thumping against his ribcage. Closing his eyes, Baekhyun subconsciously puckers his lips a little, waiting for the kiss. Waiting for the kiss that never comes. Snapping open his eyes, he’s met with Chanyeol’s amused face. “What the hell?! What are you waiting for?”
Not saying anything, Chanyeol takes a few steps closer to Baekhyun until he’s right in front of the other. “What happened to taking it slow?”
“Wha - I - You - I - ”
The kiss that Baekhyun was waiting for comes. Though not exactly.
Bending down slightly, Chanyeol presses his lips against Baekhyun’s forehead and stays there for a while before pulling away and leaning back slightly to smile at Baekhyun. It wasn’t a kiss to his lips but it stopped his rambling all the same.
“Goodnight, Baek.” With that, Chanyeol moves to his own bed and gets under the covers.
Baekhyun slowly sits down on his bed and ruffles his bangs a little, wondering why his forehead feels so hot. He rubs his eyes tiredly and concludes that he’ll think about what all this means tomorrow. It might be the Disney magic getting to his head. Turning off the lights, Baekhyun makes himself comfortable under the blankets and blinks a few times as his eyes get used to the dark and his night vision kicks in.
As Baekhyun is lying down on the large bed for the second and last night, he turns to the side facing Chanyeol’s bed. He smiles at the way Chanyeol sleeps - limbs entangled in the blankets, mouth slightly open and a soft snore - and falls asleep with only one thought in mind.
This is the only Park view he’ll ever need.
“I wonder if you can make hearts in the sky one day,” Baekhyun comments off-handedly moments after their break up when they’re sitting on the patch of grass, a comfortable distance between them. To others, Baekhyun might seem insensitive, but to Chanyeol, he knows very well that it’s just Baekhyun’s way of saying a very subtle, ‘I’m sorry.’
“I could try next time?” Chanyeol knits his brows together as he wonders how much gunpowder and setting up that would take.
“Next time,” Baekhyun scoffs. “What are you going to work as next time? A fireworks man?”
“I’m pretty sure there’s a proper name for that occupation,” Chanyeol retorts quickly.
“That occupation, you say.”
“I’m pretty sure lighting up fireworks is an occupation,” Chanyeol finishes calmly and doesn’t realise that Baekhyun’s staring at him until he turns to his side, simply wanting to look at Baekhyun. “What?” He asks bluntly and Baekhyun merely smiles and shrugs.
“Nothing. You’re just really silly, that’s all.”
It seems odd that they’re already falling back to their ways before they started dating. It feels like nothing has even changed. It feels like nothing will ever change.
“But yeah, you should.” Baekhyun nods his head in agreement very belatedly even though Chanyeol isn’t looking at him anymore. “Make a heart in the sky. Go impress the person you love.”
Chanyeol smiles and nods enthusiastically, already anticipating that day to come. He doesn’t give Baekhyun a verbal response but the answer’s in his heart and he keeps those five words close to his heart.
I hope it’s still you.
Pairing: Chanyeol/Baekhyun
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Break-ups aren’t meant to be romantic, Disneyland isn’t meant for one person and exes aren’t supposed to help you save on hotel expenditure.
A/N: I'm looking for friends on twitter under the same username! :D
‘When I break up with you, I’ll do it in the most romantic way possible.’
That’s what Baekhyun’s boy- ex-boyfriend told him when they got together. He should have known better, should have expected this break up sooner or later and he shouldn’t be so sad because well, his ex was, probably still is, a player.
But still, no one likes a break up in the form of a text message right? And how is that even remotely romantic?
Sitting alone in one of the chairs at the departure hall at Incheon Airport at half past seven in the morning, Baekhyun stares at his phone. Stares at the text he’s been staring at for the past half an hour. Stares at the text hoping the words would magically change. Stares at the text like he’s still sleeping and just having a really, really bad nightmare.
The intercom melody plays for a short while before there’s an announcement for Baekhyun’s flight - the gates are open and boarding begins now.
So it’s real.
Baekhyun just got ditched through a text message.
With a disheartened sigh, he gets off the seat, dragging his bag along with him and makes his way over to the gate with heavy footsteps and an even heavier heart. He could choose to miss the flight and wallow in self-pity back in his apartment but the ticket to Tokyo is already in his hand and it would just be such a waste.
That’s what he’s thinking to convince himself.
Maybe a change of scenery would be good. Away from Seoul where all the memories of his ex lingered around the neighbourhood cafes and departmental stores. Besides, the trip was already all planned out by that heartless jerk and Baekhyun has Disneyland to look forward too. Anyone would enjoy Disneyland (in Baekhyun’s very honest and humble opinion).
He smiles at the flight stewardess who greets him with a chirpy ‘good morning’ before taking a look at his ticket and telling him where his seat is. Nodding his head, he thanks her and moves towards his seat, ignoring the sick feeling in his stomach when he sees the empty chair next to his.
It’s only a short flight and after he lands, he can leave everything behind - all the bad, and even good memories of his ex. He is good at letting go anyway.
Now all he prays for is that he could enjoy Disneyland alone because who goes alone in the first place? But maybe, he just could enjoy it.
It is the land of dreams after all.
“But,” Baekhyun sobs pitifully and the receptionist gives him a sympathetic but polite smile. “But he said,” he chokes in his broken Japanese before fumbling for his phone he threw in his bag out of rage before boarding the plane back in Korea.
The receptionist merely waits patiently for Baekhyun to fish out his phone and finish pressing whatever buttons he’s pressing on his phone before he turns the screen to her, surprising her a little.
At first, she looks at the screen thoughtfully, but upon realising that the whole text is in Korean, she gives him an apologetic smile before telling him to wait a moment.
Despite not being a very fluent speaker, Baekhyun could understand Japanese perfectly well so he waits as he turns the screen back to himself to stare at that wretched message.
“Idiot,” he berates himself when he very belatedly realises that the message’s in Korean and there’s no way the poor Japanese receptionist could read its contents, let alone understand it.
After a while, a front office supervisor approaches him, a friendly smile fixed on his face as he greets Baekhyun in Korean and the latter feels his shoulders relaxing.
The supervisor then asks if Baekhyun could show him the message and the latter was about to do as requested when he remembers the words in the message and grins sheepishly at the staff member. “It’s okay. It’s not that important,” Baekhyun hurriedly explains when he sees a mild panicky look on the supervisor’s face.
There is no way Baekhyun can show anyone that message. Other than the fact that it would remind him of his ex back in Korea, it would be way too embarrassing. How is he supposed to show anyone the part of the text message that says, ‘I haven’t cancelled any of our plans in Japan, so enjoy the Disney hotel. I paid a lot for it!’ when he was told that his room was cancelled just moments before.
So much for not cancelling anything. Baekhyun is pretty certain that everything got cancelled, including the nice dinner reservation at the restaurant next to Pirates of the Caribbean.
It’s pretty stupid, Baekhyun thinks, how every single damn room has at least two beds in it. If not, just one double bed. But then again, Disney is not meant for one person.
Sighing to himself with the thought that since he’s already here, he might as well get a nice room with two or more beds. “Park view,” Baekhyun says calmly, feeling much more comfortable speaking in his native language.
“We’re very sorry,” the supervisor begins and Baekhyun winces at just how polite the guy sounds. How do the Japanese do it? “But we have no more available rooms which offer the park view.” Upon seeing Baekhyun’s crestfallen face, the supervisor hurriedly adds, “However, we still have character rooms available.”
Character rooms.
Baekhyun rubs his eyes in frustration as he considers his choices - one, leave the place and suck up the embarrassment after causing a fuss or two, smile, accept the room and suck up the embarrassment of staying in what is likely a room designed for a family, not a guy who just got ditched.
He chooses the latter. But he has to confirm something first.
“Which character room’s still available?” Baekhyun asks with a forced smile that probably looks overly fake because he swears he sees corner of the staff’s mouth twitch a little.
“Beauty and the Beast is still available, sir.”
That definitely isn’t the cheapest character room, Baekhyun is certain. Because he has checked before. It’s also way too romantic for one person. But he doesn’t have a choice. Sighing, he’s about to say okay to the room when he hears an all too familiar laughter. Turning to where the sound came from, he spots a tall man wearing a ‘LA’ snapback with his ears sticking out so obviously walking through the front door. The newcomer is grinning from ear to ear as he looks around the interior of the hotel and Baekhyun is pretty sure he knows him.
Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun tells the staff to wait a moment and to hold the room for him (because damn himself if the room gets taken away while he’s trying to verify the newcomer’s identity). “Park Chanyeol!” Baekhyun calls when he’s nearing the stranger, hoping he got the right person. Large ears, an even larger smile, tall and thin. Dorky. There can’t be so many people like that in this world, right?
Right?
Still, Baekhyun feels apprehension as the other slowly faces him and he’s met with a pair of large brown eyes piercing his own.
“Baek…hyun?” The taller man’s eye widen as he approaches Baekhyun too quickly, causing the latter to take a few steps back on instinct in fear of colliding. “Baekhyun, it’s really you, right? I’m not dreaming, am I?”
Although it was Baekhyun who called out first, he now finds himself standing awkwardly in front of this lanky guy with nothing to say. Funny because Baekhyun always has something to say. “Chanyeol…” he mumbles after several minutes of awkward silence (on his part, because Chanyeol is still beaming).
“Are you staying here too?” Chanyeol asks almost immediately and Baekhyun is once again, rendered speechless, but for legitimate reasons this time. It’s a simple question but Baekhyun doesn’t really have an answer because his ex decided to cancel the room he, or they, are supposed to stay in and he currently hasn’t decided if he wants to sleep in the Beauty and the Beast room alone. Yet. “Do you have a room?”
After a few moments contemplating if he should tell Chanyeol the whole story, Baekhyun decides to just settle with a plain, “yes, but no I don’t have a room yet.” The response he gets from the taller isn’t something he expected at all. Not even the slightest.
“Great!” Chanyeol exclaims a little too loudly, causing people to stare and Baekhyun to wince. He grins sheepishly at the smaller boy before bending down slightly to look him in the eye. “We’ll share a room then. It’ll be cheaper.”
That escalated a bit too quickly for Baekhyun’s liking.
“No,” Baekhyun instantly says, but he doesn’t know if he’s saying no to sharing a room with the other or that it’ll be cheaper to share, and Chanyeol’s face visibly falls. He looks dejected and Baekhyun thinks he’s being overly dramatic. “It’s per person,” Baekhyun says as an excuse just to get Chanyeol to stop looking so utterly depressed because it’s starting to make him feel guilty.
Chanyeol laughs and he’s grinning at Baekhyun again. “It’ll be cheaper because…” he pauses and has this look on his face that Baekhyun knows for sure that the other is trying to come up with a quick excuse on the spot. Baekhyun knows because he’s very familiar with that expression himself. “Member’s discount,” Chanyeol says slowly, looking unsure of himself.
And he should because Baekhyun doesn’t even know there is such a thing as ‘member’s discount’ for Disney Hotels. Though there are a lot of things Baekhyun doesn’t know about too.
“It’ll be cheaper,” Chanyeol repeats with a toothy smile but Baekhyun still isn’t convinced. “Come on, Baek.” Maybe he’s starting to give into the idea. “I’ll take care of everything.” And, sold. Baekhyun has never liked to go through the trouble of booking a hotel room or conversing with staff members (which he has had enough for the day), preferring to leave it to his travelling companion (because he never travels alone, but this trip is an unfortunate exception).
Still, there’s a lingering doubt in Baekhyun’s head, telling him this isn’t a good idea. It feels weird to share a room, a character room - Beauty and the Beast nonetheless, at a Disney Hotel with your ex, ex, ex, ex, Baekhyun doesn’t know how many exes there are, ex-boyfriend.
But Park Chanyeol is different. He’s always been different.
“Let’s break up,” Chanyeol says with a bittersweet smile plastered on his face.
“Me too,” Baekhyun replies automatically, having expected Chanyeol to say something else entirely. His eyes widen when he realises what Chanyeol said. “What?”
“I said let’s break up,” Chanyeol repeats firmly, as if he would take back those words if he isn’t being serious enough.
There’s a subtle shift in Baekhyun’s expression, and Chanyeol might have been mistaken if it was relief he saw.
Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun tilts his head upwards to look Chanyeol in the eye. “I don’t get it.”
Once again, only softer this time, Chanyeol whispers, “Let’s break up.”
“Baek? Baek?” Chanyeol waves his hands in front of the shorter boy, frowning when even snapping his fingers don’t work. “Baek?” Chanyeol tries again, in a gentler tone this time.
Snapping out of a trance he doesn’t know he fell into, Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol with an insincere smile. “Yeah?”
“Earth to Byun Baekhyun. Are you okay?” Chanyeol asks, trying his best to mask his worry. “Didn’t you hear me calling you at all?” The taller of the two asks, a frown marring his handsome face as Baekhyun slowly shakes his head and mutters a quick apology.
Silence falls between them until Chanyeol breaks it with his boisterous laughter - the one that Baekhyun used to love. “So,” Chanyeol starts with a wide grin, his perfect teeth showing, and it’s the same smile that Baekhyun used to love. “Should we share a room, Baek?” That voice that Baekhyun used to love. “Can we share a room, Baek?” He asks teasingly but his gaze is soft and tender as he raises a brow at Baekhyun.
Unable to find any words to speak, Baekhyun nods, convincing himself that nodding takes less effort than shaking his head and not because he feels lonely and wants someone with him at night. Even if it’s his nth ex-boyfriend.
But it still feels awkward and sharing a room with one of his exes in a Disney hotel definitely makes him feel weird all over and uncomfortable. Though actually he’d be lying to himself if he said he’d feel weird sharing a room with his other exes. On the contrary, he’d be more than happy to find a companion at least, even if it’s one of his exes. But this is Chanyeol and he doesn’t even know the number of ‘exes’ to attach to this guy.
Maybe it’s actually because the number of exes there are don’t matter. Maybe because more than an ex-boyfriend, Park Chanyeol is his first ever boyfriend. And maybe that means something to Baekhyun whether he admits it or not.
Maybe he still feels something, maybe he never stopped.
Because their breakup was just wrong.
But no one is to blame. The feelings died and so did the spark in their heart, in Baekhyun’s heart at least.
“Baek, it’s our fourth anniversary today.” The older boy doesn’t look up from his homework to face his boyfriend who’s staring at him eagerly, but his hand stops moving. “Let’s celebrate?”
Taking in a deep breath before letting it out, Baekhyun sets his pen down and intertwines his fingers together. “Has it been four years already?”
“Did you forget?” Chanyeol teases but his face falls when he sees Baekhyun biting his lower lip. “It’s okay, I got everything prepared already.”
An awkward moment of silence falls between them until Chanyeol breaks it with his loud laughter. The taller boy is trying to salvage the situation, Baekhyun knows, but he can’t help but feel normal about this whole anniversary. It’s like he doesn’t even love Chanyeol anymore, but that can’t be true, so Baekhyun blames it on his fatigue from school for his thoughts going awry.
“Let’s go now?” Chanyeol asks happily and sits on the chair in front of Baekhyun’s desk as he rests his arms on the front of the older boy’s table.
“Gimme a sec,” Baekhyun mutters and scribbles down a formula to refer to later when he can actually finish his homework before throwing his books and papers haphazardly into his school bag. “Done,” he says within a matter of seconds and Chanyeol’s immediately pulling him through the door.
“Where are we going?” Baekhyun whines when they past the school gate.
All Chanyeol does is to give an ear-splitting grin which makes Baekhyun roll his eyes affectionately.
“My ticket’s for tomorrow,” Baekhyun blurts out randomly just to fill in the silence in the lift only to realise how stupid he sounds after the words are out because why would anyone buy a ticket only to go in for half a day. Okay, so there are nighttime tickets but Chanyeol actually saw Baekhyun purchasing his ticket because the latter realised his (stupid) ex didn’t even buy them in the first place. Though of course, he hasn’t said a word about that to Chanyeol.
He doesn’t expect Chanyeol to say anything, maybe just give him a nod but Chanyeol does say something and gives him more than a nod.
“Mine too,” Chanyeol answers with a smile on his face and when he turns to face Baekhyun, his smile grows even wider. “Let’s go together?”
Years apart has made Baekhyun forget just how kind Chanyeol is.
It’s Baekhyun who doesn’t have anything to say in response and it’s Baekhyun who gives a simple nod.
The room is big, humongous in fact, for a room in Japan. Not to mention, there’s only going to be two people staying inside. Furthermore, it is well-furnished, as expected from a Disney hotel. Even the bathroom looks majestic.
All in all, it’s a very satisfying room.
Except for one thing.
Baekhyun pulls open the curtains with a sigh because he knows the view already and it isn’t that of the park but the garden. It’s the view he expected but he still feels a little disappointed, hoping somehow the view that greeted him was magically transformed into the park.
“Why the sigh? It’s a nice room.” Chanyeol picks up one pillow and squishes it before pressing his face into it and melting into the softness. “I don’t think I can wake up tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll go without you,” Baekhyun replies instantly, still standing rooted to the spot in front of the window, frowning at the garden. It’s a beautiful garden, really, but Baekhyun just really wants to see the park.
“Stop sulking.”
“I’m not sul - ”
“I can see your reflection,” Chanyeol cuts him off. “So why are you sulking?”
As Baekhyun’s about to say something along the lines of ‘because that fucker said he already reserved a room with the view of the park’, he stops himself just in time, remembering that Chanyeol doesn’t know about his situation. “I wanted a room with the park’s view.”
Expecting Chanyeol to say something to console him, Baekhyun looks at the other hopefully. But nothing comes, except Chanyeol is sporting a stupid grin on his face again and Baekhyun knows exactly why.
“Please don’t make any jokes with your name.”
“Dry your hair,” Chanyeol says as soon as he comes out of the bathroom and finds Baekhyun playing a game on his hand phone with his hair still dripping. “You’ll catch a cold. It’s winter, you know.”
“The heater’s on, you know,” Baekhyun bites back quickly and makes a noise of distress when his character gets hit, causing Chanyeol to chuckle.
“Still,” Chanyeol remarks casually and lingers over Baekhyun who’s currently lying down on one of the beds.
“Your presence is so intimidating,” Baekhyun drawls sarcastically when Chanyeol doesn’t stop looming over him.
“Come on, Baek.”
Letting out a groan, Baekhyun locks his phone and throws it against the pillow before sitting upright and glaring daggers at the taller man. “What are you? My mom?”
“Your friend,” Chanyeol corrects offhandedly and he doesn’t notice the way Baekhyun freezes for a split second. “Your friend who cares about you.”
Baekhyun’s only response is a short and curt, “right,” then he pads over to the bathroom where the hairdryer is. After a while, the blowing sound stops and Baekhyun’s hair is all dry (it wasn’t even that wet anymore when he started). “Your turn,” Baekhyun says and walks out of the bathroom only to find that Chanyeol is already standing there, waiting to dry his hair.
“Thanks,” Chanyeol says and brushes past Baekhyun who scoffs, making him turn around to give the shorter man a questioning look.
“Since when did we get so formal?”
Scratching the side of his head, Chanyeol lets out a nervous chuckle and shrugs. “It’s been a while since we met, I guess?”
“We’re friends right, Yeol?” Baekhyun smiles at him the way his eyes form little crescents.
“As long as you want us to be.”
“So why’re you here alone?” Chanyeol randomly asks when he’s lazing on the bed, already done unpacking an hour or two ago, while Baekhyun is still rummaging through his luggage for an eyeliner that he swears he brought.
“You?” Baekhyun shoots back quickly, head still buried in his luggage.
“You answer first. I asked first,” Chanyeol pressed on stubbornly.
“What are you?” Baekhyun stops searching and looks at Chanyeol with disdain. “Five?”
Huffing, Chanyeol grabs a pillow and brings it to his chest. “Fine. Then tell me when you’re leaving. Or when did you come?”
“What are we playing? Fifty questions?”
“Come on, Baek. I’m trying to make conversation.”
“I’m trying to find my eyeliner.”
“It’s on the bedside table.”
Halting all his actions, Baekhyun squints his eyes at Chanyeol, not believing the younger one. But he goes over to the small table to check anyway and it’s just right there. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”
Chanyeol shrugs and Baekhyun’s about to throw the lamp at him but he continues with a rather plausible explanation (or excuse). “I just saw it. You know, among your sunglasses, hand phone, wallet, gloves, random notes, your - ”
“Okay,” Baekhyun stops Chanyeol and glares at him. “I get it. I’ll keep that area tidy.”
“So why are you here alone?” Chanyeol asks again and Baekhyun really doesn’t want to answer but Chanyeol’s giving him the ‘I just found your eyeliner for you’ face and Baekhyun doesn’t want to be mean.
With a resigned look, Baekhyun pulls out his phone and presses the screen a few times before handing it to Chanyeol. “I think that text message can explain better.”
Baek, I know how much you’ve been looking forward to this trip, especially the Disney part. But I’m sorry. I’m sorry because I can’t go with you to Disney or Japan at all. And I’m sorry because I won’t be going anywhere else with you either from now on.
You’re lovely and funny and I love you for that. I think I still love you actually. But it isn’t working out anymore. You’re always so busy with your work and maybe I’m expecting too much, especially with your hectic schedule, but birthday celebrations are really important to me.
“You forgot his birthday?” Chanyeol asks, amusement glaringly obvious in his tone and Baekhyun glares at him.
“Shut up. And I didn’t forget completely. So technically, no, I didn’t forget.”
“Baek, you - ”
“Can you just continue reading or are you done? I’m taking it back.” Baekhyun reaches a hand out to snatch his phone back but Chanyeol easily pulls it out of his reach by standing up and holding the phone higher.
Anyway, I just want you to know that I’ve already booked a room at the Disney hotel. It’s the big surprise I’ve been telling you about (which you never seemed very enthusiastic about). It’s under my name but you can just tell the counter the confirmation code.
I’ll always love you.
“I can’t believe you fell for that confirmation code crap.”
“I got ditched. I was devastated.”
“No, you wanted that room too much.”
“Can you at least show some concern?” Baekhyun asks, annoyed, his arms crossed. “And can I have back my phone?”
Chuckling, Chanyeol passes the phone back to the shorter man. “Since you asked so politely.”
Deciding to ignore that indirect jab, Baekhyun goes back to his almost long-forgotten question. “So why are you here alone?”
“I actually came with my friends to Japan but they aren’t that into the whole Disney thing,” Chanyeol replies easily and Baekhyun hums in response.
“Your friends? Do I know them?”
Chanyeol shakes his head. “They’re college friends.”
Mouthing an ‘O’, Baekhyun chooses not to say anything more upon remembering when they lost contact - in college.
After their break up, they remained best friends until high school graduation. They were actually still friends in the first year of college but subsequently, they just stopped talking and then it just became all too natural that they fell out of contact. There’s nothing to be upset about. Baekhyun found new friends and Chanyeol evidently did too. They moved on, just as life did.
“Let’s finish our fifty questions.” Chanyeol breaks Baekhyun’s train of thought and the latter looks at him with a confused look. “How was college for you, Byun Baekhyun?”
“ - so then I told her that I’m bi and she gave me the most appalled look ever. I thought she was confused at that point in time so I decided to be a little more explicit. I said, ‘I like boys and girls, actually boys or girls would be more accurate.’ I even said I might be more gay than bi, like I might prefer boys. And then she just shouted at me that she knew what bi meant and wanted to empty her tumbler of coffee on me but I ran away even before she could open the cap of course.”
Halfway through Baekhyun’s story of encountering an elderly woman who lived (she moved out after this incident) in his apartment complex questioning him about why he was kissing a guy, Chanyeol is already in peals of laughter, clutching his stomach as uncontrollable laughter spilled from his mouth. When Baekhyun’s done, he finds himself joining in Chanyeol’s one-man laughing session for no reason at all, laughing until the corners of his mouth ached.
The laughter dies down and the room is filled with silence again. But for the first time that day, the silence isn’t awkward at all. It feels more comfortable instead and Baekhyun thinks that it can lull him to sleep.
When Baekhyun thinks Chanyeol is asleep, he gathers his courage to say something softly but stops himself because Chanyeol beats him to saying something first.
“Goodnight, Baekhyun.” There’s some shuffling noise before Baekhyun hears a click and the lamp turns off, making the room pitch black.
“Goodnight, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whispers to himself several minutes later because he’s pretty sure Chanyeol’s asleep by now.
In the middle of the night, Baekhyun hears some noise and he swears it’s Chanyeol’s voice, but with the grogginess from sleep clouding his mind, he can’t be too sure. Too lazy to get out of bed to check, Baekhyun just lies there and tries to fall back asleep until the he hears the bathroom door opening and sees a figure walking out. Bingo.
Still, Baekhyun’s too tired to feel alert at all and when Chanyeol makes his way over to Baekhyun’s bed, the older man shuts his eyes completely, not wanting Chanyeol to know that he’s half-awake. And he feels himself getting lulled to sleep when Chanyeol brushes his bangs from his forehead and rests his palm against his cheeks for a moment. Baekhyun doesn’t know how long Chanyeol stayed beside his bed but when he wakes up, the other is already all dressed and ready to go.
“We need to be early,” Chanyeol says very seriously and Baekhyun groans.
Baekhyun makes a pretty undignified noise when he sees a row of windows from where he’s standing at the park entrance. That is where he was supposed to stay.
“Stop sounding like a dying whale in the morning,” Chanyeol berates jokingly but Baekhyun scowls at him. He looks to where Baekhyun was staring at and laughs. “Still bitter over the room?”
“Quite,” Baekhyun admits.
“See?” Chanyeol says in a teasing voice. “You’re upset about the room, not the break-up.”
Scowl deepening, Baekhyun punches Chanyeol’s chest and feels gratified when the taller clutches his chest and winces.
“You got a better room anyway,” Chanyeol says while still rubbing the sore spot on his chest.
“Yeah?” Baekhyun sounds skeptical and Chanyeol feels slightly offended because he’s his roommate. Waiting for an answer, Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol expectantly, raising a brow for emphasis.
He regrets asking as soon as he sees Chanyeol’s face split into a silly smile because he knows what the answer’s going to be. He’s about to retract his question but Chanyeol beats him to a reply. “Because you now have the best park view in the world.” Stretching out both hands, Chanyeol beams down at Baekhyun and the latter doesn’t know if it’s the sun’s rays or Chanyeol’s smile that’s too glaring bright, making him squint. “You knew it was coming sooner or later. There’s no way I’m not gonna make a joke like that. Not when you’re so hung up over getting a room with the park’s view.”
Baekhyun wants to say ‘no more park jokes’ but Chanyeol randomly bursts out laughing and strangely, Baekhyun finds himself joining in. The gates to the park open just then and the neat lines start moving forward.
“Did you see that?” Baekhyun exclaims excitedly while pointing at the giant Zurg with his laser gun. “I shot him right in the chest.”
Chanyeol merely grunts in response as he continues concentrating on shooting all the other ‘Zs’ available and Baekhyun suddenly wants to shoot him with a real laser gun. He also regrets pausing to tell Chanyeol that piece of tiny information because their cart is back at the start in a few seconds and he can’t increase his score anymore.
“I shot Zurg’s chest…” Baekhyun mumbles to himself.
But this time, Chanyeol replies, “congrats,” with a sweet smile and Baekhyun feels warm all over.
The screen in front of Baekhyun flashes 326,500 and he thinks it’s a pretty impressive score until he looks to his left and sees 729,900 on Chanyeol’s screen and frowns immediately.
“I did too,” Chanyeol starts when he realises Baekhyun looking at his screen. “Several times.”
As Baekhyun’s about to say something, Chanyeol suddenly grabs his wrist when they get off the ride, making him forget everything he wanted to say.
“Let’s go to the next ride.” The eagerness in Chanyeol’s tone has Baekhyun smiling softly and nodding wordlessly, allowing the younger man to lead the way.
They queue for ‘Space Mountain’ and try out two more rides before going to Fantasyland and Chanyeol pulls Baekhyun to ‘It’s A Small World’ immediately, looking more excited than the little children around.
“No judging, Byun. You’re in Disneyland yourself.” Chanyeol narrows his eyes at Baekhyun who shrugs unapologetically.
“Not judging,” Baekhyun lies. “Just thought you fit in well with them.” He gestures to the group of kids in front of them and laughs when Chanyeol gives him a hurt look.
The ride is hardly quiet with all the little children riding the same boat as them. They are gushing and squealing while laughing amongst themselves, but not in the annoying kind of way and Baekhyun finds himself smiling at their antics. Meanwhile, Chanyeol is humming along to the music almost throughout the entire ride and even starts singing when the song changes to the Korean version. Surprisingly, Baekhyun finds himself singing along as well.
By midday, Baekhyun’s already feeling tired from all the walking. “Why is it so big?” He whines just for the sake of it.
“It’s not really that big.”
“Long legs can cover long distances,” Baekhyun says and Chanyeol bursts out laughing.
“I can’t believe you just made a dig at your own height!” Chanyeol’s simply just grinning. “You used to be so sensitive about your height back in high school.” He stops smiling as soon as the last few words leave his mouth and he thinks maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned the words ‘high school’. But Baekhyun seems fine with that and he sighs in relief.
Exhaling loudly, Baekhyun laughs. “Yeah, I can’t believe I did too. The park’s really big anyway. It has to be. And while I am tired, I don’t mind playing at a bigger theme park.”
“You should go to the one in LA,” Chanyeol suggests.
Baekhyun raises a brow at him. “You’ve been to LA?”
“Kind of.”
“It’s a yes or no question, Park.”
“Then yes,” Chanyeol replies teasingly and laughs when he finds Baekhyun giving him a scornful look. “It’s bigger there. More rides.”
Bigger only meant one thing to Baekhyun. “More people too, I suppose.”
“It isn’t that bad,” Chanyeol reasons and laughs when Baekhyun makes a face at him.
“But I’d like to go there someday.”
“Let’s go together,” Chanyeol blurts out and regrets instantly when Baekhyun stops walking beside him. He stops as well and backtracks a little to stand next to the shorter man. “I mean, let’s go together? As friends, you know. Just a trip. We could call some other people too if you’re not comfortable. I mean, not, not comfortable, just, if you want more people.”
“It’s fine,” Baekhyun cuts in before Chanyeol goes into an all-out ramble, which Baekhyun knows he would. “We can go together. Just the two of us.”
“Great.” Chanyeol shows Baekhyun two thumbs up and starts walking again because he’s too familiar with the beginning of awkward silences and one was about to start.
They continue walking in silence until Baekhyun passes a shop and sees some headbands inside. He grabs Chanyeol’s arm and without saying anything else, pulls the other into the shop and all the way to the row of Goofy headbands.
“Looks like your ears,” Baekhyun comments as he takes one headband and gestures for Chanyeol to lower his head to which he does obediently and lets Baekhyun wear the headband for him. “Yeah.”
Looking into one of the mirrors, Chanyeol laughs when he sees his reflection. “I already have a pair of big ears, Baek. I don’t need two of them.”
“I’ll pay.”
Shaking his head, Chanyeol smiles and Baekhyun has a bad feeling about it. “No need. But I’ll find you a headband too. No peeking.”
For the rest of the day, Chanyeol walks around happily in his Goofy headband, finding how the ears flop extremely amusing as he keeps playing with them or even skipping just to see the ears swing. Normally, Baekhyun would find him ridiculous. But with Minnie Mouse’s ears on his head, Baekhyun can’t bring himself to even judge Chanyeol one bit. Some people stare at him, but they look more amused than judgmental and most just walk pass him like it’s a normal occurrence.
It is, Baekhyun finds out, when he sees many guys in the park with Minnie headbands on, matching their girlfriends. Or even a group of high school boys just fooling around, making Baekhyun feel more at ease wearing the headband.
“Told you so. No judging in Disney.” Chanyeol grins at him triumphantly and Baekhyun thinks he should believe Chanyeol more often.
“The fireworks show is starting soon! Come on!” Chanyeol gushes excitedly and dashes in front of Baekhyun, not bothering to wait for the older boy and maybe forgetting how much shorter the other’s legs are and probably won’t be able to keep up with him.
Baekhyun doesn’t mind Chanyeol going ahead. The taller could go get a good viewing spot first and he’d just squeeze his way through the crowd later. But he grimaces as memories start to flood his mind. He remembers very clearly what happened the last time he watched fireworks with Chanyeol. It didn’t end pretty.
But as he looks at the black-haired boy a few meters away, jumping up and down and waving like an idiot with a Goofy headband on, Baekhyun begins questioning his memories. Maybe the fireworks that day ended prettily after all.
The fireworks shoot up above the castle and high into the night sky, streaking it with vibrant hues and bright lights. Bursting into a thousand sparkles, the view is simply breathtaking and Baekhyun remembers the first time he saw fireworks.
Excitedly, Chanyeol points to the sky every few seconds and Baekhyun somehow ends up pointing to the sky at random intervals as well. He starts wondering if everything Chanyeol does is contagious halfway into the fireworks show because he starts tugging Chanyeol’s sleeves to grab his attention just like how the latter grabs his.
Then a red heart explodes into the sky, leaving behind a wake of shimmering white glitter, and it stops Baekhyun’s breath. The people around him squeal and gush and he’s very sure that this isn’t a normal occurrence. Turning to his side, he finds Chanyeol completely calm about it. Too calm in fact and Baekhyun starts to feel butterflies in his stomach.
“I wonder if you can make hearts in the sky one day,” Baekhyun comments off-handedly moments after their break up when they’re sitting on the patch of grass, a comfortable distance between them. To others, Baekhyun might seem insensitive, but to Chanyeol, he knows very well that it’s just Baekhyun’s way of saying a very subtle, ‘I’m sorry.’
“I could try next time?” Chanyeol knits his brows together as he wonders how much gunpowder and setting up that would take.
“Next time,” Baekhyun scoffs. “What are you going to work as next time? A fireworks man?”
“I’m pretty sure there’s a proper name for that occupation,” Chanyeol retorts quickly.
“That occupation, you say.”
“I’m pretty sure lighting up fireworks is an occupation,” Chanyeol finishes calmly and doesn’t realises that Baekhyun’s staring at him until he turns to his side, simply wanting to look at Baekhyun. “What?” He asks bluntly and Baekhyun merely smiles and shrugs.
“Nothing. You’re just really silly, that’s all.”
It seems odd that they’re already falling back to their old ways of talking before they started dating. It feels like nothing has even changed. It feels like nothing will ever change.
“But yeah, you should.” Baekhyun nods his head in agreement very belatedly even though Chanyeol isn’t looking at him anymore. “Make a heart in the sky. Go impress the person you love.”
“I still love you,” Chanyeol whispers, so soft that Baekhyun wouldn’t have heard him if Chanyeol wasn’t saying it directly to his ear.
The smaller boy turns, eyes wide, as he gives the giant a confused expression.
“I never stopped,” Chanyeol continues as the last spark fades into nothing in the blanket of darkness.
Around them, people start dispersing since the fireworks show is over. An announcement tells them it’s the end too as if it isn’t obvious enough. But that isn’t Baekhyun’s concern right now. What matters now is his first boyfriend holding his wrist with one hand and encircling his waist with the other and looking at him with love in his eyes. Like the love never once left his irises.
Gulping because Baekhyun finds his throat dry, he then opens his mouth to say something only to find that no words are coming out. “That last one,” he manages to choke out as memories flood his mind.
“Yeah about that…” A sheepish grin appears on Chanyeol’s face and Baekhyun’s heart skips a beat despite how he thought it isn’t possible around this man anymore. “I had to pull some strings. Lots of strings actually.”
“The heart was - ”
“It was for you,” Chanyeol affirms, knowing what Baekhyun wants to say even without the older actually voicing it out. The taller laughs suddenly. “This is so anticlimactic but I work for Disney. I work in the head office in LA. I didn’t stalk you here, don’t worry. It was purely coincidental, in your words, fate in mine.”
“I think it’s fate,” Baekhyun interrupts smoothly and he mentally gives himself a pat on the back for being so suave.
For once, it’s Chanyeol who’s speechless but he feels his heart bursting from happiness and he can’t contain the wide smile that slips onto his face after hearing Baekhyun’s words.
“But how? Isn’t there standard procedure for this or something? And when? They don’t have this every day right?”
“How?” Chanyeol repeats with a chuckle. “I work for them, Baek. And not to boast, but I hold quite a high rank. And when?” He pauses, blushing a little. “Last night,” he admits sheepishly.
“Over the phone?” Baekhyun asks casually, trying not to seem like he was eavesdropping (even though he was).
At that question, Chanyeol’s eyes widen and his mouth hangs open a little before he licks his lips quickly. “You heard?”
Baekhyun gives him a small nod and flashes a smile. “So what do you work as?” Baekhyun asks despite already knowing the answer.
A soft smile graces Chanyeol’s face. “The fireworks man.”
“No.” Baekhyun stares dumbfounded at the various firecrackers before him. “No way. No freaking way,” he unintentionally starts gushing like a high school girl. Though really, he can’t control it. Not when a dozen or two firecrackers are before his eyes all set up, ready to be lit up, and fired into the sky. “How?” He turns to Chanyeol and points an accusatory finger. “When did you even get time to do all this? How did you even get them?”
Chanyeol’s lips curve upwards automatically as soon as Baekhyun stops talking and simply stares at him with a curious gaze. “Are you happy?”
“Answer me.”
“You answer me first.”
Puffing his cheeks up before blowing the air out, Baekhyun folds his arms across his chest and stares straight into Chanyeol’s eyes. “Are you kidding me? This has got to be the best anniversary gift. Am I happy? I’m delirious. I’m ecstatic.”
Frowning, Chanyeol bends forward until he’s eye level with Baekhyun. “You sound more sarcastic in all honesty.”
“I’m just really happy. What do you want me to say?” Baekhyun pouts. “Now answer my questions.”
“I bought them obviously. Where? Online. When did I set all these up?” Chanyeol laughs. “Last night.”
“That’s why you didn’t want to go home together?” Baekhyun connects everything in his mind easily and Chanyeol nods. “Yeol, thanks. I really don’t know what else to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything.” Chanyeol waves it off casually.
Chanyeol knows why Baekhyun has nothing else to say. Chanyeol knows why Baekhyun didn’t kiss him or even hug him. Chanyeol knows why Baekhyun doesn’t say ‘I love you’. Sure, Baekhyun’s happy about the whole fireworks thing because let’s be real, who wouldn’t? But the kind of happiness radiating from Baekhyun isn’t the kind because your boyfriend did something sweet for you. It’s more like because your best friend did something sweet for you.
Chanyeol takes Baekhyun’s hand, startling the shorter boy a little. “Let’s get them lighted, shall we?” He beams when he sees Baekhyun nod with a smile that makes the side of his eyes scrunch up and crinkle.
Deep down, he knows that Baekhyun doesn’t love him anymore.
“I need time,” Baekhyun says quietly. “I’m sorry. I really am. But it’s the best I can offer. I mean I think I do still have some feelings for you. Okay, maybe not some, maybe a whole lot, but I really don’t know. And - ”
“Thank you, Baek,” Chanyeol cuts the older boy’s rant off and places his hands on the other’s shoulders, making him shut his mouth and tilt his head upward to meet Chanyeol’s eye. “Time is all I have and time will be all you get.”
“That’s a lot to give.”
“You know the best that I’ve always given my all to the person I love.”
“Thank you,” Baekhyun whispers and Chanyeol pats his shoulders twice. The action is comforting and Baekhyun feels warm and fuzzy inside but when one of Chanyeol’s hand drops to his side to hold his hand, he pulls away immediately and offers Chanyeol an apologetic smile. He tries to ignore the pang of guilt upon seeing hurt flash across the taller boy’s face. “Let’s take things slow?”
Nodding in understanding, Chanyeol pulls his hand away and stuffs it into his pocket. “Sorry, I got a little ahead of myself.”
They stand there for a while, embracing the silence and trying to take in what just happened.
“Should we go back or?” Chanyeol gestures to the way to the entrance but Baekhyun shakes his head.
Smirking, Baekhyun grabs Chanyeol’s arm and pulls him towards the main entrance, making the taller man very confused. “Shopping at the bazaar!”
The fireworks have already stopped for a while but Baekhyun still continues looking up at the sky with his mouth open.
“Let’s break up,” Chanyeol says with a bittersweet smile plastered on his face.
“Me too,” Baekhyun replies automatically, and Chanyeol isn’t even surprised at his response. His heart breaks a little when a hurt look flashes across the smaller’s face. “What?”
“I said let’s break up,” Chanyeol repeats firmly, as if he would take back those words if he isn’t being serious enough.
There’s a shift in Baekhyun’s expression, but one so subtle that Chanyeol might have been mistaken if it was relief he saw.
Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun tilts his head upwards to look Chanyeol in the eye. “I don’t get it.”
Once again, only softer this time, Chanyeol whispers, “Let’s break up.”
For a moment, Baekhyun remains silent and when he opens his mouth again, Chanyeol already knows what he’s going to say. “Okay.”
There aren’t any more questions. There isn’t a need for Chanyeol to explain why because Baekhyun’s asking or anything like that. It was just a simple ‘okay’, not even a ‘let’s try again’ or ‘why now’. But despite all that, Chanyeol already knows the reason to Baekhyun’s answer.
The fire died and Baekhyun’s eyes aren’t burning with light or brimming with love anymore. There isn’t even a spark anymore. But Chanyeol’s glad he initiated it now, afraid that he might not have the courage at some other point in the future, and maybe, most likely, something might ruin them later. He doesn’t want that. So he’s glad he did it. Because Baekhyun’s stubborn and even if his love already vanished, he wouldn’t admit it, let alone suggest breaking up. In a way, Chanyeol had no choice but to do it.
It’s saddening, it’s heartbreaking. But it’s okay. Because Chanyeol wants Baekhyun to find happiness. And more than that, he believes the fire will be lit up again one day - someday - and he’ll be the one to light it up again.
“Can I get a goodnight kiss?” Chanyeol asks at the foot of Baekhyun’s bed.
Baekhyun rolls his eyes without any menace. “What are you? A baby?”
“Baek.” The seriousness in Chanyeol’s voice has Baekhyun stopping whatever he’s doing. “One kiss.”
Grumbling to himself, Baekhyun takes a deep breath, prays that his face isn’t red, and faces Chanyeol. “Fine. Just one kiss.”
There are butterflies in his stomach and he can feel his heart thumping against his ribcage. Closing his eyes, Baekhyun subconsciously puckers his lips a little, waiting for the kiss. Waiting for the kiss that never comes. Snapping open his eyes, he’s met with Chanyeol’s amused face. “What the hell?! What are you waiting for?”
Not saying anything, Chanyeol takes a few steps closer to Baekhyun until he’s right in front of the other. “What happened to taking it slow?”
“Wha - I - You - I - ”
The kiss that Baekhyun was waiting for comes. Though not exactly.
Bending down slightly, Chanyeol presses his lips against Baekhyun’s forehead and stays there for a while before pulling away and leaning back slightly to smile at Baekhyun. It wasn’t a kiss to his lips but it stopped his rambling all the same.
“Goodnight, Baek.” With that, Chanyeol moves to his own bed and gets under the covers.
Baekhyun slowly sits down on his bed and ruffles his bangs a little, wondering why his forehead feels so hot. He rubs his eyes tiredly and concludes that he’ll think about what all this means tomorrow. It might be the Disney magic getting to his head. Turning off the lights, Baekhyun makes himself comfortable under the blankets and blinks a few times as his eyes get used to the dark and his night vision kicks in.
As Baekhyun is lying down on the large bed for the second and last night, he turns to the side facing Chanyeol’s bed. He smiles at the way Chanyeol sleeps - limbs entangled in the blankets, mouth slightly open and a soft snore - and falls asleep with only one thought in mind.
This is the only Park view he’ll ever need.
“I wonder if you can make hearts in the sky one day,” Baekhyun comments off-handedly moments after their break up when they’re sitting on the patch of grass, a comfortable distance between them. To others, Baekhyun might seem insensitive, but to Chanyeol, he knows very well that it’s just Baekhyun’s way of saying a very subtle, ‘I’m sorry.’
“I could try next time?” Chanyeol knits his brows together as he wonders how much gunpowder and setting up that would take.
“Next time,” Baekhyun scoffs. “What are you going to work as next time? A fireworks man?”
“I’m pretty sure there’s a proper name for that occupation,” Chanyeol retorts quickly.
“That occupation, you say.”
“I’m pretty sure lighting up fireworks is an occupation,” Chanyeol finishes calmly and doesn’t realise that Baekhyun’s staring at him until he turns to his side, simply wanting to look at Baekhyun. “What?” He asks bluntly and Baekhyun merely smiles and shrugs.
“Nothing. You’re just really silly, that’s all.”
It seems odd that they’re already falling back to their ways before they started dating. It feels like nothing has even changed. It feels like nothing will ever change.
“But yeah, you should.” Baekhyun nods his head in agreement very belatedly even though Chanyeol isn’t looking at him anymore. “Make a heart in the sky. Go impress the person you love.”
Chanyeol smiles and nods enthusiastically, already anticipating that day to come. He doesn’t give Baekhyun a verbal response but the answer’s in his heart and he keeps those five words close to his heart.
I hope it’s still you.