Most Unlikely to Get Married
Title: Most Unlikely to Get Married
Pairing: Baekhyun/Chanyeol
Genre: Fluff
Words Count: 10.5k
Warning: Slight!homophobia
Summary: Who would expect the two persons who got the "Most Unlikely to Get Married" in high school's year book will come together with matching rings and bring along cute little twins to the school reunion ten years later?
A/N: This was originally posted for Exoasparents Fest.
“You received the invitation?”
“Yeah, yesterday. It came by my office”
“Have Baekhyun received it?”
“I don’t think so. I think his would come to our house.”
“You don’t have to come, Chanyeol.”
“I really want to.”
“Baekhyun would never-“
“I could persuade him.”
“It wouldn’t be easy.”
“Kyungsoo, I’m his husband. I know that already.”
“Right. Just think about the consequences, Chanyeol. Is this worth your effort after all this years or not.”
“I understand.”
“And talk to him nicely. Don’t lose your patience. Both of you are hot-headed, and this could end badly.”
“Noted.”
“...”
“...”
“Well, I guess good luck?”
“Thanks, Kyungsoo.”
~
“Have you found it?”
“Yeah, wait a sec.”
“It’s alright, Baek. I’ll be there in 10 minutes. I’ll search it myself.”
“Gosh,” Baekhyun groaned. He gave up and just slammed his ass to the wooden chair, looking at the pile of papers on the desk desperately. “It’s just...your desk is so messy.”
Baekhyun heard the person on the other line chuckled, and there was a low rumble of I’m sorry. He could imagine that person sporting a sullen expression, sitting behind the wheel, so choked up by the tie he wore for the important meeting today with the prestigious agency he had dreamed of, yet that person managed to forget the most important thing he needed to bring today-the demo CD.
He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed heavily. It was Monday morning, and Baekhyun had a handful things to do. Thinking that this was only the beginning of the week made him feel sick in the pit of his stomach.
Ah, a vacation would be so nice, wouldn’t it?
But he probably shouldn’t think about that when his other half was dying with stress on the other side of the line. He should sympathize him and be a good spouse, he should try to look for the CD at least before this person arrived, so when he did, Baekhyun could hand it to him and he could directly go to the meeting again.
“Okay, I’ll try to find that thing again. Just hang up for now. What are you even doing, calling while driving?” Baekhyun felt irritated, but his worries took the best of him. “Don’t drive too fast. Get here safe.”
“I will. See you in a while. Love you, Babe.”
Baekhyun held the urge to smile. Gosh, his husband would probably be mad at him if he knew that Baekhyun was actually happy that he came home again, even just for a moment. He cleared his throat silently and kept his composure. When he arrived later, Baekhyun needed to at least look like he was sad for him.
“Drive safe, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun hung up, and now he was stuck with the sound of burning kettle from the kitchen, and the theme song of Tinkerbell series playing, and also high-pitch giggles from the family room.
He sighed rather loudly while he tried to scan the desk. God knows where Chanyeol put the damn CD. He rose from his seat lazily and began to search again, sprawling his hands around the messy desk, checking the drawer also. There was no CD anywhere in sight.
He suddenly felt bad because, what if the CD was gone? Damn, Chanyeol would kill himself, and Baekhyun wasn’t ready to become a widower. He began to think that he should check other rooms. But Chanyeol specifically said before that he left the CD on his desk. So it was better for him to just focus on this desk. Why was Chanyeol’s desk so messy, anyway? Don’t blame him because Baekhyun wasn’t a housewife and definitely not a wife, so he didn’t have the obligation to clean his husband’s desk.
Or should he?
He was annoyed for a moment and was thinking that he would let Chanyeol search it for himself before his eyes caught a glimpse of different color of envelope in between Chanyeol’s papers. It was a purple envelope, and was buried under other striking white papers on the desk.
Baekhyun would wave it off easily because it was not his territory to touch. But, it was when he caught the familiar symbol of eagle flying in between pillars, which reminded him of his high school’s badge, Baekhyun could not help to just stare at it with a blank expression, unaware of the fact that inhaling became such a difficult job right now.
He sometimes just didn’t get how fate and destiny played their roles in people’s life. Was it possible if fate and destiny could change in a blink of eyes? Because if it could, Baekhyun hoped that they could work their magic right now. He wanted that purple envelope to vanish, or simply the symbol on its top left could be erased.
Of course it didn't. Baekhyun shouldn’t get his hope high. The envelope was still there, mocking him to take it.
By the time Baekhyun had the courage to pick it, and read the bold black letters on it, he was stucked in silence. There was no sound of kettle and high-pitch girly song and cheery giggles in the background anymore, only the sound of hard thump of his heart. And he felt like his body and mind were brought to ten years ago, when all of things started and ended at the same time.
TO: PARK CHANYEOL
SM Entertainment, Hodong Street No. 14, Central Seoul.
BUCHEON DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOL REUNION
CLASS 2005
~
Chanyeol tried so hard to calm his thundering heart. But he just can’t.
He started to think that this was a really, really bad idea. He wasn’t thinking straight when he was planning this, which meant he had not been thinking straight for the two years and a half, since the time his eyes landed on him.
He shouldn’t have done that. God, what was he thinking? Writing a letter and put the letter into his crush’ locker and asking for the both of them to meet in the gymnasium? Really, Chanyeol?
Okay, whatever. He was Park Chanyeol. And Park Chanyeol would never back out. But before that, he thought he should probably go the bathroom and throw up first before the subject of his affection for exactly thirty months long came in there and-
“What do you want, Park Chanyeol?”
Oh, man.
This would be the end of him.
The said boy turned his head around, and dammit, his whole body was trembling, and his line of vision immediately fell on the skinny boy who was standing by the door.
Backing out became such a very much better idea now.
“I don’t have all the time in the world to deal with you, Chanyeol. What do you want? And why are you so fucking pale?”
His vision started to blur, and there was an annoying ringing sound inside his ear, or maybe in his head. Or maybe it was just the sign that he would throw up any moment.
“I…” his voice cracked, nice. He cursed under his breath and awkwardly put his trembling fists inside his pants’ pockets. His high school uniform started to feel like it was on fire. “I told you in my letter. I need to talk.”
The boy in front of him chuckled mockingly, “Yeah, the letter. That was lame of you. At first, I thought you were giving me a love letter.”
A love letter. Right. Chanyeol wasn’t even considering that. He should just send a love letter rather than confessing right in front of the person.
“Do you want to stand like a freak all day or you want me to leave you alone with your precious gym?”
“No, no-wait,” Chanyeol panicked. His legs automatically stepped forward when he saw the skinny boy start to turn around. “Baekhyun, wait!”
The said boy stopped on his track. Chanyeol could see him rolling his eyes. “Then what do you want, Chanyeol? If this is about my club messing with yours, I swear-“
“It’s not about our club. They could go to hell for all I care,” Chanyeol unintentionally shouted. “Just listen to me this one time. And after that, I’ll never bother your choir club with my basketball club.”
The skinny boy named Baekhyun raised his eyebrows. It was clear that he wasn’t understand the meaning of Chanyeol’s words just now. Because it was just impossible that their clubs weren’t clashed. Being rivals for as long as they could remember, Chanyeol and Baekhyun, as the clubs’ leaders, weren’t really that friendly toward each other. They had the whole school’s recognition as the North and South Pole. They just didn’t match.
“That’s… rich coming from you,” Baekhyun carefully stepped forward too, closing their gap. “What do you mean by that? What do you want to talk about? And, God, do you want to sit? Because you’re pale as fuck.”
Chanyeol shook his head, and he felt his head spinning. He let out a shuddered breath and tried to not let his heart came out of his ribcage.
Baekhyun was right in front of him right now, and Chanyeol felt his stomach churn because Baekhyun looked up to him with a worried expression, and it didn’t do good to his heart.
“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said, and that was the first time Chanyeol heard Baekhyun calling him with a really soft tone. “You sure you okay? I won’t carry you from here to the clinic if you faint on me. Because obviously I can’t carry your giant limbs.”
Chanyeol laughed a little. God, Chanyeol liked him so much. Baekhyun was such a smart talker. He had a good sense of humor and wittiness, and his words were never dull. It was only one of the things Chanyeol liked about him.
Chanyeol just liked all of him, and he couldn’t just play pretend like rivals anymore. It was good to get the skinny-the smaller, the shorter-boy’s attention, playing as enemy. But Chanyeol had enough.
“Baekhy-“ his voice cracked again, and Baekhyun noticed it. He looked genuinely worried now, and Chanyeol just couldn’t hold it anymore. “I like you,” he let out breathlessly. “I like you a lot, you have no idea.”
Then Chanyeol saw all of it like in a slow motion. Like how Baekhyun’s eyes gradually widened, his lips parted, his worried expression turned into shocked, a really shocked expression, then it turned again immediately to blank, then lastly turned to angry.
“This is not funny, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun hissed, and he took one step backward. By now, his angry expression turned to hurt. “That’s fucking low.”
“No, no, no,” Chanyeol shook his head. He somehow saw this coming. Baekhyun wouldn’t receive it well, if not at all. “I’m not fooling you, Baekhyun. I told you the truth.”
Baekhyun’s face color somehow had become similar like Chanyeol’s previous one. It was like blood drained out of his face, and his legs staggered a lot.
“Baekhyun, listen-dammit, could you just stop? Stop backing away every time I come closer,” Chanyeol was frustrated. He previously was so sure that Baekhyun had the same feeling for him, and he only had to confess, and maybe Baekhyun would be shocked a little, but he would accept him with open arms, then they could start dating. But seeing the smaller boy’s reaction, Chanyeol didn’t know what to expect.
“Take it back, Chanyeol. Take your words back,” Baekhyun pleaded, his eyes were blood-shot. “This is not funny. Fuck, you aren’t even gay.”
“Well, I am,” Chanyeol answered back directly, and Baekhyun became paler. “I sure am gay for you and I told you the truth, I like you. Now stop being so shocked and answer me. Do you like me too or not? So I could move on with my life whether I should just kill myself or kiss you.”
“I…you…” Baekhyun stuttered, and Chanyeol suddenly felt bad. Was he too blunt?
The taller man sighed and hung his head low. “I’m sorry,” Chanyeol said softly. “You don’t have to answer now. I just want to let you know and think about it.”
This wasn’t what Chanyeol want obviously. He expected the best scenario, Baekhyun would openly hold his hand back, and they will go home together hand in hand started from today. Not as rivals or enemies, but as boyfriends or lovers. But this had become the sad ending he dreaded to happen, the worst scenario that he had buried in his deepest mind because if he thought about that possibility, Chanyeol wouldn’t have the gut to confess.
Still with his head hung low, he slowly walked towards the door, passing by the shorter boy with every corner of his heart started to press, and it began to feel harder to breath. Chanyeol thought maybe he should start to look for a new school when he arrived at home later. As far as he could, because he couldn’t let even one single soul in his new school know that he was once rejected by his rival. Maybe he should move to Seoul, or maybe-
“You like me for real?”
Chanyeol snapped his head up, and immediately turned around. He saw Baekhyun look at him, not with a hurt expression anymore, but a scared one.
“What?” Chanyeol asked. He was afraid he heard it wrong.
“Do you mean it?” Baekhyun looked so scared, and Chanyeol wanted to hug him and send his worry away. Baekhyun didn’t deserve to be scared.
“Yes,” Chanyeol answered steadily. “A million yes, Baekhyun. I really like you, for real.”
Chanyeol saw Baekhyun bite his lower lip. Baekhyun’s troubled expression sent a wave of hope into him. Chanyeol didn’t want to put his expectation too high, but, God please.
“I swear, Chanyeol, if you’re just fooling around-“
“I’m not, okay?” Chanyeol yelled in frustration. “I’ve liked you since the first time we met. Heck, I may be already in love with you.” If he could, he was willing to let Baekhyun came inside his heart and see it by himself how every part of his heart was filled with him, just so Baekhyun could believe him, understand him, accept him.
“But you hate me,” Baekhyun said, almost yelling. “You always hate me, all this time.”
“That’s just a façade. I’m an ordinary high school guy, Baekhyun. I play as annoying naughty boy to get my crush’ attention. Do you not understand?”
Baekhyun didn’t answer. He didn’t even react. It was like he was lost in his thought, and Chanyeol felt like he was waiting in line on the judgement day.
“I…” Baekhyun said, really soft, that Chanyeol almost didn’t catch it. “…actually like you, too. I don’t know”
Chanyeol almost fainted right there and then. But he got ahold of himself, and decided to fly his way out and hug the life out of Baekhyun. And the latter was so perfect in his arm, and Chanyeol loved whatever Baekhyun’s shampoo was, it smelled amazing.
Baekhyun was amazing.
“I swear I’ll kill you if you’re just fooling around, Chanyeol.”
“I’m not,” Chanyeol said in between his laughs and sobs. “I like you. I really, really like you.”
Chanyeol heard Baekhyun chuckle so clearly, because Baekhyun’s mouth was right under his ears, so close. “Okay, okay. No need to repeat it again. You’re so embarrassing.”
Chanyeol let go the smaller boy from his embrace, but still kept him close. The boy in front of him, so cute and bashful and perfect, was liking him back. And Chanyeol hoped it was all he could ask for, but no. “So this means we’re boyfriends now, right?” he asked a little too excited.
Baekhyun nodded, but then his smiled faded slowly. “But nobody could ever know. Ever.”
Chanyeol’s smile immediately faded too. “What, why?”
“Chanyeol, we’re probably going to be dropped out of school,” Baekhyun explained. “And even if we won’t, we’re going to be miserable.”
It slowly sunk in. That was true. And Chanyeol never thought about it. Never thought about the consequences. Never thought the thing that he and Baekhyun had was something that not everyone could accept and understand.
“Promise me, Chanyeol.”
Chanyeol looked down and saw Baekhyun’s glassy eyes. He had gone through hell when he had to pretend that he hated Baekhyun, when he had to hide his feeling. And that was without knowing if Baekhyun liked him back or not. So when Chanyeol said a firm I promise, nobody would ever know to Baekhyun, he thought he could do this. He now had Baekhyun anyway. Baekhyun was his, and other people be damned.
~
Baekhyun didn’t hate his high school life. That wasn’t the best moment of his life because, well, most of the time, it sucked. But it was fine. Because he had plenty of friends he practically enjoyed to be with, he was the captain of the school’s choir and the head of art division, he had good grades and performances, and most importantly, he had Chanyeol.
High school was a nice memory to look back. But it didn’t mean Baekhyun want to go back to that time. He loathed to go back to that hell hole.
50% of his high school was happy moments. The other 50% was when he fight and argue with Chanyeol, and when they started dating and they had to pretend that they were still enemies. It was hard because not only they can't get close to each other, they also had to keep their old habits of arguing and fighting, and that was tiring.
But then, by doing all of those things, they graduated with flawless records. Nobody knew about their relationship until the end. No one even got suspicious of them. And they left school with light hearts and happy faces. They were so grateful they could finally stop doing what they did.
After coming out to their respective parents and some compromising between them, they finally settled their decision to continue their study together one year later at New York. They stayed low profile about it so nobody would realize that the school’s most legendary rivals were unintentionally taking hiatus in study for one year, and ended up going for the same university in another country together.
Everything went unbelievably smooth from there. Their university life couldn’t get any better than that. They didn’t have to put a facade anymore, no act, no rivalry. They chose different major. Baekhyun with english literature, Chanyeol with music major. Yes, music. The Park Chanyeol who happened to hate the choir team's captain in high school, chose music as his major because apparently dating the said captain made him realize something that he never knew could do. Chanyeol got the talent of making music, great music.
After they graduated, they decided to stay at the Big Apple. Baekhyun worked as a fiction editor in an independent publisher while chanyeol was able to catch the big fish, he worked as composer in a big music company.
It was a given that Chanyeol finally proposed to Baekhyun. The preparation of the wedding was messy, especially with the administration and all the knotty laws. Both of them worked and they didn’t have their family to take care of the matters there.
Sometimes their friends helped, but they can't keep asking their friends. Though in the end, everything was done, and with a blink of eyes, they were married. Only a few friends of them in New York and their closest family came to the wedding. But it was all they had ever wanted.
Now standing in the middle of Chanyeol’s studio, Baekhyun couldn’t help but wonder how could time flied so fast. Ten years had passed since Chanyeol confessed to him at the school’s gymnasium. One day Chanyeol was his nemesis, but now he was his husband and and a father to his twin.
Oh, yeah, Baekhyun and Chanyeol had kids, of course. Perfect baby twins.
“Appa!”
Baekhyun blinked a few times, feeling like he was sucked out of his reverie. He could feel his blood slowly flowed again to his head, and now he could hear all his surrounding just like before.
“Appa, Daddy is here!” Baekhyun heard his son, Sota, yelled from the living room. Baekhyun immediately grabbed the purple envelope tightly, and made his way to the living room.
“Daddy, why do you come home so fast?” this time, the other twin, Sora, was the one who spoke.
When Baekhyun arrived at the living room, Baekhyun saw Chanyeol was squatting down in front of their two little angels. It was a heavenly sight, but Baekhyun’s vision was clouded by the purple invitation in his grip.
“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun called, drawing attention of his husband as he walked toward his family.
Chanyeol raised his head when he heard his name come out from the voice he could remember anywhere. He smiled helplessly as Baekhyun stood in front of him, “Babe-“
“Don’t,” Baekhyun rose his palm to stop his husband from talking. He was the one who desperately needed to talk right now. “Get up.”
Chanyeol was taken aback. It wasn’t like Baekhyun to raise his voice in front of the kids. And now Sota and Sora looked slightly afraid.
Chanyeol got up from his position, facing his husband while their kids had their arms around Chanyeol’s bowed legs. All the three of them looked at Baekhyun expectantly, and Baekhyun slightly felt bad.
“Baek, what’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked, his hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, trying to draw him closer.
Baekhyun bit his lip to avoid letting out any harsh word out. He only rose the envelope that had become crumpled because he had held it too tight. “Mind to explain this?”
Baekhyun watched his husband’s face carefully. Ten years being together, it was scary how Baekhyun had remembered every inches of it. So it was easy for him to see how Chanyeol’s expression changed from confused to guilt.
“That’s…”
“Invitation for high school reunion, I know,” Baekhyun snapped. It wasn’t his intention to snap in front of the kids, but he can’t hold it in anymore. “This was sent to your office’s address. Are you hiding this from me?”
“Baekhyun, I…” Chanyeol stuttered. His already tired face got pale. “Let’s not fight in front of the kids.”
“You’re planning to attend this, aren’t you?” Baekhyun raised his voice. “You actually wanted to go.”
“Baek, baby, it’s been ten years, and-“
“We’re not going, Yeol, and that’s final,” Baekhyun shoved the envelope into Chanyeol’s chest, forcing him to take it. “If you really wanted to go, then go alone. I’m not invited anyway.”
Just as soon as he said it, the four of them turned their heads toward the door as the bell ringing. It was funny how the four of them could move in sync.
“Appa…” Sota called Baekhyun.
It was maybe his parent instinct that made him knew what his kids wanted from only a word spoken from them. Baekhyun scooped Sota into his hold and called a truce between he and Chanyeol for a moment to answer whoever it was behind the door.
Their twins were different. Sota always wanted to know things, including who came to visit their house. He always wanted to open the door and see who it was. Meanwhile, the sister, Sora, would probably grow up becoming a cool girl.
As Baekhyun put his hand on the doorknob, he could feel his shoulder grew heavier, not because he had Sota in his hands, but more like by a sudden aura from behind the door.
He opened the door and was faced by a middle-aged man. But Baekhyun’s vision immediately landed to the striking purple envelope in that man’s hand.
God, no.
“Is this Byun Baekhyun’s residence?” the man asked.
His mouth became dry, not being able to utter a single word.
“This is actually Park’s residence,” Chanyeol came from behind him, Sora was in his hand. “But yeah, my husband here was Byun Baekhyun.”
The delivery man blinked, “Was?”
“He’s Park Baekhyun now. Is that for him?” Chanyeol pointed at the purple envelope.
The man looked like he forgot what he was supposed to do for a second there. “Oh, yeah, yeah, this is for you.” He handed the envelope to Baekhyun, but the latter was too stunned once again but how fate playing tricks in his life.
Chanyeol was the one who finally snatched the envelope away from the man’s grasp. He smiled as he looked at it carefully, “Seems like you’re also invited, Babe.”
~
Chanyeol furiously pressed the button of his cellphone, trying to avoid the walls surrounding him, or should he say, his snake. He was 14 points away from breaking his high score record. His snake was turning left and right, up and down, eating all the dots on the screen when Chanyeol heard the door of his class was slide-opened harshfully. There were merely four people in the class at that time as it was breaktime. Chanyeol was too busy playing his small Nokia phone when the person who opened the door yelled his name.
“Chanyeol!”
“Shit!” surprised by the sudden yell of his name, Chanyeol missed a milesecond to press the key number 4, resulting his snake crashed into its own tail. “Dammit, Jongdae. I was so close!”
The boy named Jongdae was now towering over his desk. He was breathing heavily, his round eyes became even rounder. Seems like he was running here.
“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked with his eyebrows raised. His team’s manager never looked this panic unless it had something to do with the team. “What is it, Jongdae?”
After calming his breath, he could at least now speak properly, “Sehun is getting on a fight with Baekhyun.”
Chanyeol’s eyes widened, and for a second, he could feel his heartbeat stopped. He almost got up immediately and dashed out, but he remembered that he needed to pretend because there was Jongdae and other students here who were watching him. Chanyeol blinked a few times and cleared his throat, trying to calm his nerve while all he wanted to do was running to wherever Baekhyun was.
He tsked impatiently, “What does that midget want now?”
“The usual,” Jongdae answered as he rolled his eyes. “Baekhyun wanted the gym for his team recital on December 23rd, turning it into a freaking stage. Apparently, the auditorium was taken by the theater team, so he aimed the gym now. That little shit.”
Chanyeol flinched at the nickname given by Jongdae, but tried to not minding it for now. He already knew about Baekhyun wanting the gym. His boyfriend already asked him personally last night. With a little bit of kisses on the cheeks, Chanyeol complied, giving the little brunet permission. But he had yet told his other team mates about it.
Chanyeol cursed under his breath and got up, “Where are they?”
“In front of the gym.”
By the time Chanyeol got there, the entrance to the gym was packed by many students. It was always like this everytime the there was a fight between the basket ball and choir team. The students loved their quarrel drama. They were walling a pair of students in the middle, standing dangerously closed to each other, like they were ready to eat each other heads off.
“What’s going on here?” Chanyeol yelled, trying to break the crowd.
The air eventually fell silent, and the crowd slowly made way for chanyeol to get to the center. Chanyeol's vision immediately found Baekhyun. The latter was looking at him with an unreadable expression. And chanyeol tried as best as he could to put an annoying mask along with a sorry expression to his boyfriend. He forgot to tell his teammate about his request. This was his fault.
"Great, now the captain is here" Baekhyun folded his arms on his chest as Chanyeol approached him and sehun. "If i remember correctly, I already got your permission for this goddamn gymnasium."
"Hyung, Baekhyun kept repeating that he already got your permission," Sehun had flied out toward Chanyeol's side. If Chanyeol could, he wanted to kick the younger away, and took Baekhyun's side instead.
"Well, I..."
"And this teammate of yours keeps saying that it's impossible for you to give me permission," Baekhyun said mockingly. Chanyeol had long not heard that kind of tone coming from Baekhyun’s mouth since they started dating. It felt so foreign to his ears now. "Why is it impossible, huh? Should i kiss you first until you give it to me?"
"Baekhyun, let's not do this." Chanyeol stepped forward, minding his distance so they didn't stand too close. "This is just a misunderstanding."
Baekhyun scoffed, "Oh, come on, Chanyeol. I know you hate me so much, but can you at least hold onto your own words?"
"Baekhyun." Chanyeol warned him.
"Hey, don’t talk like that to Chanyeol hyung."
"Sehun, don't." Chanyeol stopped him.
"What's with you, Sehun?" Baekhyun smirked. His expression looked murderous. "Why can't you just stop talking? Didn't you drink your milk today, huh, big baby?"
And Chanyeol remember clearly every second after it. Sehun leapt from beside Chanyeol and jumped on Baekhyun and threw his shaky yet strong fist to the choir captain's nose. The chaos ensued right after. All students were cheering, Sehun still trying to choke Baekhyun up, Chanyeol had forgotten that he had to act, so he held Sehun while saying stop it, Sehun and Baek, you're okay? And then the teacher came and took Sehun with them. And Chanyeol took no time to drag Baekhyun to the infirmary.
And now chanyeol was watching baekhyun being tended by a nurse. The middle aged woman tried to stop the bleeding of his nose while murmuring a protest about today's kids who liked to get into a fight.
When she finished, she got out of the room and left the two students alone.
Looking at Baekhyun’s terrible state made Chanyeol felt like puking. Every inch of his body was boiling with rage, and he seemed had a hard time to control it. His fists were tight and he can’t help to lower his gaze. It pained him to see Baekhyun like that.
“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun sighed. He can’t really open his mouth too wide since it would hurt his nose. “I’m okay. Now could you please breathe? You scare me like that, Yeol.”
Chanyeol’s breath shuddered. Baekhyun’s ability to know and understand Chanyeol only through his vision was sometimes scary.
“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol said in an impossibly low voice.
He was so angry. He was angry at himself. He was angry because he forgot to tell his teammates. He was angry for not being able to protect Baekhyun like he should’ve done. He was angry at Sehun. He was angry at the whole school. He was angry at the universe.
From his peripheral vision, Chanyeol could see that Baekhyun got up from the bed, approaching him who was standing before the window. When Chanyeol lifted his head, his boyfriend was already in front of him, looking up with a hurt expression. There were still remnants of blood below his nose. Chanyeol looked away once again before he could feel the warm hand of Baekhyun’s on his left cheek, forcing him to look back at him.
“Look at me, Yeol,” Baekhyun firmly said. His gaze was hard on him. “I admit that I was angry at you because you didn’t tell your teammates. I supposed you forget, and if earlier you said sorry because of that, then apology accepted. But if it was for this…” Baekhyun pointed at his nose with his free hand that didn’t cupping Chanyeol’s cheek. “…then don’t. This is not your fault, Chanyeol.”
“I should’ve protected you,” Chanyeol’s voice cracked.
Baekhyun’s gaze softened. His boyfriend had a mellow heart like that. “Come on. I’m a man too. This is just a mere nosebleed, this is nothing.”
“If you were in my position, seeing your boyfriend was in danger, yet you couldn’t, when you actually could, save him, what would you do?” Chanyeol snapped. He grabbed Baekhyun’s hand on his cheek, brought it down and held it like there was no tomorrow.
“Believe me, Baek, it killed me in every way.”
~
“Psst, Baek!”
Baekhyun rolled his eyes. He kept folding his hands in front of his chest and avoiding his husband’s pleading eyes on him. “Eyes on the road, Chanyeol.”
Chanyeol sighed as he put his focus back on the road, hand gripping the steering wheel tightly. “You’re still mad at me.”
“Obviously,” Baekhyun scoffed. His voice was unintentionally loud, so he lowered it again. “You forced me to come,” he hissed.
The twins were sleeping at the back seat. Both Sota and Sora were light sleepers so a bit of noise would be able to wake them up. And with their destination still a little bit far away, and with Chanyeol needed to concentrate on his driving, it was best for the kids to sleep.
Baekhyun turned his head around, checking the kids. When he saw his two little angels were still sleeping, with their heads leaning at each other, Baekhyun let out a sigh of relieve.
“Like I said,” Chanyeol continued their conversation, or Baekhyun rather called it quarrel. “You were also invited. And you have no reason to not come.”
Baekhyun gaped, “Excuse me? I have every reason to not come.”
“Sweetheart, lower your voice,” Chanyeol reminded him while smiling. His face was amused, and Baekhyun hated it when he wasn’t taken seriously by him.
“Our friends aren’t supposed to know that we were together, married, have kids,” Baekhyun whispered loudy, his eyes were hard on Chanyeol, and he felt his heart was going to explode the closer they got to their hometown, Bucheon.
“Kyungsoo knows about us,” Chanyeol answered nonchalantly, shrugging.
Once again, Baekhyun felt like punching his husband, but ended up by only sending him a death glare. “That’s because he’s your cousin. Stop joking around, Yeol. This is serious matter.”
Chanyeol didn’t answer him this time. Baekhyun waited for a few minutes, but they just engulfed in an uncomfortable silence. This was a bad sign. They were already doomed enough for only coming there, but now they were fighting, this was just getting even worse.
Baekhyun’s throat felt too tight to swallow his own guilt. He turned his head away one more time, facing the side window. He was a bit cranky from the start of the day, and he had been throwing fits on Chanyeol. His husband didn’t deserve it, he knew. Baekhyun perfectly understood Chanyeol’s objective to bring his family to the reunion. But Baekhyun just can’t help to imagine the worst scenario.
Baekhyun took a glance at Chanyeol slowly. His husband’s jaws were hard. It was evident that he was trying to keep his anger inside because he didn’t want to argue and wake the kids up.
“Chanyeol, I’m sorry.” Baekhyun hated when there was a frown on Chanyeol’s face. He missed his goofy smile. “I was just-“
“Worried, I know,” Chanyeol cut him off, his tone was firm, making Baekhyun shivered. Chanyeol was naturally a happy person. And happy people was the scariest when they were angry. “You know that I’ll always protect the three of you, right?”
It felt like someone had squeezed Baekhyun’s heart. His tears started to brim on the edge of his eyes.
“I won’t do this if it will bring harm to any of you,” Chanyeol tore his eyes for a moment to look at Baekhyun. “It’s been 10 years, Baek. We can’t hide forever.”
“I perfectly aware of that,” Baekhyun returned Chanyeol’s gaze on him. “But they don’t need to know about us, right?”
Chanyeol shook his head dejectedly. It was apparent that he was pissed. “We have nothing to lose here, sweetheart. They might hate us, yes. It probably will hurt our hearts a little, but we can move on right away after this, right? All I’m saying is that we should try first.”
Baekhyun didn’t really want to admit that Chanyeol was right, so he just kept his mouth shut. The road was getting emptier. They were the only the car on this road, and it only made Baekhyun more nervous. Bucheon was already near.
“We need to show the kids that we’re not ashame of ourselves, Baek,” Chanyeol continued his rant, pulling Baekhyun out of his thought. “So they wouldn’t be embarrassed for having two dads, don’t you think?”
Baekhyun looked at his watch. It was one hour before they arrived at their old high school. By the time they got there, the event probably had started. Baekhyun wondered if they could survived it all.
Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun’s hand, squeezing it a little to send him a subtle reassurance. It worked.
“I promise if they threw insults to even one of us, I’ll punch them and we could go home right away,” Chanyeol smiled. His frown had long gone.
Baekhyun could feel his lips were lift upright. Chanyeol always had that kind of effect on him. “You can’t punch them in front of the kids.”
“Fine,” Chanyeol kissed the back of his palm. “Then you take the kids away, and I’ll punch them.”
Baekhyun burst out laughing, but Chanyeol put his finger on Baekhyun’s lips, reminding him that the kids could wake up by his loud voice. Baekhyun ended up snickering. “Sounds like a good idea,” Baekhyun muffled in between his laugh.
Chanyeol kissed his husband’s cheek before he changed his mind, keeping it a millisecond longer than he should be. “I love you,” Chanyeol said, before his focus was back to the road ahead of them.
“I love you, too,” Baekhyun replied, hand unwillingly let go Chanyeol’s hold. “A lot.”
With that, Chanyeol had enough endorphines to last him a long journey ahead. He didn’t need any energy drink.
~
“Sit down for a sec.”
Chanyeol looked down to the shorter boy right before him, a towel in both of his hand. Chanyeol, just going out of the shower, and seeing his boyfriend suddenly appeared now in front of him make him flustered and couldn’t really register the situation.
“What?”
“I said sit down for a sec,” Baekhyun said after rolling his eyes at the basketball player dumbness. In the end, Baekhyun needed to gently push the taller to the long bench near the locker himself, because Chanyeol seemed still cannot comprehend. “Just sit down.”
“What, why?” Chanyeol blinked. Now he was the one looking up, since Baekhyun was standing in front of him. “Baek-“
“Everyone has gone already. You’re the last,” Baekhyun cut him off before Chanyeol could throw him the million dollar question as why his boyfriend was here, so unguarded, no act, no facade, in his basketball team’s locker room.
The answer more or less made his heart calm a little bit, but still... “Why are you here?”
Baekhyun chuckled as he stepped closer to Chanyeol. He put the towel on the player’s head and began to stroke his hair with the towel.
“You come here to dry my hair?”
“God, can you shut up?” Baekhyun now had a smirk on his face. “You asked too much questions.”
“But I just-“
“I came here because I wanted to. Is that answer satisfying?” Baekhyun tilted his head. His hands were still busily messing up Chanyeol’s hair.
“But we’re at school.”
“There’s no one here, or at school, as far as I’m concern, because you took shower too long.”
They said nothing after that. Chanyeol still had many question, but he kept it to himself. This was something he never thought would happen. Baekhyun was always so careful with their relationship when they were at school. Sure they had been the grossiest lovey-dovey couple behind the closed door, and Chanyeol loved every second of it, but school area was a no-no. So this was something worth of his sudden anxiety.
“Did I do something wrong? Are you breaking up with me?”
Baekhyun stopped his hands movement, putting down the towel and looking down at Chanyeol with an amused look. “Wasn’t this something you always want?”
“What? Breaking up?”
“No,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “I mean you always wanted us to be together at school, right?”
Chanyeol blinked again. His naked upper body started to grow cold somehow. “Yes, I did.”
Sensing Chanyeol’s freezing body, Baekhyun walked around to get to the locker behind Chanyeol, and opened one of them without any hesitation. It was Chanyeol’s locker that he opened.
“You know my locker.” That wasn’t really a question, and Chanyeol was beyond surprised.
“Hmm... isn’t that a given?” Baekhyun threw him a look as he pulled out Chanyeol’s grey shirt in between his messy locker, as well as his jersey jacket. “I’m your boyfriend for almost a year.”
“Nine months,” Chanyeol corrected him.
“Three months before one year. Same thing,” Baekhyun shrugged and put the shirt on Chanyeol’s lap. “Wear it. You’re freezing.”
“Aren’t you going to help me with it?” Chanyeol had lost all his worries, and his usual smug expression was back.
“I swear you’re such a baby,” Baekhyun sighed, but ended up doing what his boyfriend asked him to. “Your fans would be gone in a blink if they knew how much of a spoiled kid you are.”
Baekhyun was probably the one who spoiled him too much, Chanyeol thought. But he could also say that Baekhyun was someone who tortured him a lot too. Baekhyun was a lot of thing to Chanyeol, and it just kept coming.
Without him realizing, Chanyeol’s hand moved over Baekhyun’s wrist, his fingers grazing it softly. Baekhyun didn’t say anything when Chanyeol slowly pulled him down to sit next to him. They were just sitting there, breathing each other presence when they could.
“This is nice, isn’t it?” Chanyeol put his head on Baekhyun’s rather broad shoulder, hand still holding Baekhyun’s. “Did I do something good, then? So you reward me with this.”
Baekhyun gave him a small hum. His hand was now reaching Chanyeol’s damp hair, and he stroked it softly. “Not really,” his whisper came out loud in that quiet room, and Chanyeol only truly realized now that they were completely alone. There was no reason for him to not touch his boyfriend here.
So Chanyeol lifted up his head and pulled Baekhyun’s closer to him. He rested his forehead on Baekhyun’s, squinting his eyes and slightly parting his lips. “Can I kiss you?”
There was a change in Baekhyun’s expression for a second, Chanyeol noticed. But then, the shorter boy smiled softly to him, and he was actually the one who plant a kiss on Chanyeol’s lips.
~
“Alright,” Kyungsoo spoke to his phone while he sipped an orange juice in his other hand. “Yeah, take care. Bye.”
He tapped the red item on his phone screen before he heard Jongdae, his ex-chairmate back then 10 years ago, ask him with a curious frown on his face. “Who is it?”
Jongdae had not changed, Kyungsoo thought. He still had his signature fun baby face. He wondered if people also thought the same about him. Did he change much after ten years ago?
“It’s Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo answered, sipping his drink once again. “My cousin. You remember him, right?”
“The basket ball captain. Of course I remember him. I was the team’s manager!” Jongdae punched Kyungsoo’s bicep, unaware that the man who he punched could actually punch him harder if he wanted to. “Where’s he? Is he coming?”
“Yeah, but he called me asking the way to the school. I swear both of them have permanent airhead,” Kyungsoo chuckled to himself.
“Both of them? Chanyeol come with who?”
Kyungsoo froze. The smile on his face was wiped off and he can’t meet Jongdae’s eyes. “Uhm, his... partner?”
Kyungsoo suprised himself by actually telling the truth. Being Chanyeol’s cousin, he had known everything for as long as he could remember. And with that, he also always did hide and seek for the sake of his cousin and his husband.
Chanyeol had called him three days ago, saying that he and Baekhyun had decided to come out from the save shell and asking for Kyungsoo’s help if something... anything-happened.
Kyungsoo had acknowledge both Chanyeol and Baekhyun as his own brothers, so protecting them wasn’t something that Chanyeol need to ask after all.
Kyungsoo had half hoped that not many people would come, but now the school gymnasium was packed by many familiar faces and it meant his job today wouldn’t be as easy as he had hoped for.
Jongdae’s whistle brought Kyungsoo’s back from his daydreaming. “I wonder who get to be the basket ball captain’s spouse,” Jongdae said, a smile on his face.
Kyungsoo glanced toward the entrance of the gym. There was a massive decoration there, and somehow the idea of both of his brothers, and their two little angels, came in together, had given him weird feeling.
He felt nervous, but strangely, he was excited.
“Soon you’ll know.”
~
Chanyeol gripped the school year-end book a little tighter. His breath came out a little harsher. His chest felt pressed a little harder.
Most Unlikely to Get Married
Chanyeol & Baekhyun
Chanyeol ripped that part of the book into million pieces.
He had reached his limit. He didn’t care that the whole class was looking at him with a curious stare. He didn’t care that he needed to put on an act. All he wanted to do right now was murdering every single person who had the guts to vote for he and Baekhyun as the Most Unlikely to Get Married couple.
You all know nothing!
Chanyeol wanted to scream. He wanted everyone to know the actual fact of he and Baekhyun. He didn’t care about anything at this point and just dashed out of the class.
Chanyeol easily spotted Baekhyun in the hallway right outside his class. He was holding the school year-end book, and based on his grim expression, Chanyeol thought that maybe Baekhyun had seen it too.
Somehow his heart felt lighter when he saw him there. It was amazing how Baekhyun could give him such effect to him.
“Speak of the devil.” Chanyeol heard Baekhyun’s friend, Junmyeon, whispered to Baekhyun. They probably talked about that stupid award thingy before Chanyeol came, and Baekhyun and Junmyeon were standing too close to his liking.
“What do you want, Chanyeol?” Baekhyun was already sporting his acting mask by the time Chanyeol stopped in front of him. But Chanyeol still could trace the sign of hurt in his eyes.
“We got an award, huh?” Chanyeol put on a smirk, the one that Baekhyun knew it was fake.
“I’m not surprised.”
Chanyeol nodded. Baekhyun’s voice just now was cracking. Chanyeol was sure that he was the only one who realized it though.
The urge to pull Baekhyun away from this place was so strong. Chanyeol wanted to hug him, whispered him reassuring words that other people’s opinion didn’t matter. But he knew he can’t do that. There were too many people, and if Chanyeol did that, it’ll hurt Baekhyun more.
So Chanyeol was forced to be satisfied by only putting his hand on top of Baekhyun’s head. He could feel Baekhyun tensed, and other students’ gasps, thinking that they will get into a fight. Instead, Chanyeol bent down a little, so their faces were only inches apart.
It was their last day as high school student, and Chanyeol put on his last act in front of the large audiece.
“Wouldn’t it be funny if we actually get married?”
With that, Chanyeol left, genuinely smiling to himself now that he had said his last line perfectly. He probably would get punched by Baekhyun later at home for doing such a risky thing, but for now, Chanyeol felt satisfied.
He wasn’t kidding when he said that sentence.
And people around them probably didn’t put any attention to how Chanyeol carressed Baekhyun’s hair softly before he left back there.
~
Baekhyun didn’t really know how to perform any breathing technique to make himself calm, and the sight of his school getting closer by seconds started to make him sick.
“Wake the kids up, Baek,” Chanyeol said as he pulled the car over the gate, a security was nodding to them, sending them permission to go in.
When the car finally put to stop in the parking lot, Baekhyun had lost all the blood in his face. “Should we really do this?” he whined. “It’s not too late to go back home.”
Baekhyun stared at Chanyeol, waiting for him to say something. But his husband kept looking upfront, to the school building in front of them. “It’s been a while, huh?”
Baekhyun can’t help to follow Chanyeol’s gaze. There, their old school building, stood scarily yet it did bring back many memories.
Baekhyun nodded. “Ten years. We’re old.”
“You’re old. I’m not,” Chanyeol joked, earning a weak punch from Baekhyun. He grabbed Baekhyun’s hand in his and stroked it for a while. “We could do this, Baek.”
Baekhyun took a deep breath and put on a smile. There was nothing to fear, right? They can do almost anything together. Dating without anyone knowing, graduating highschool, going to college, graduating college, working marvelous jobs, getting married, going back to South Korea, adopting kids, building a family, living a perfect life, they did it all.
It was time for them to step out of their comfort zone.
No more hiding.
The world needed to know they were happy together.
The world needed to know these amazing kids were theirs.
The world needed to know that they were Baekhyun and Chanyeol. Not different individuals, but one soul.
Baekhyun gripped Chanyeol’s hand firmly, “Let’s go.”
Baekhyun could hear the music as he stepped out of the car. The beat of the music revebrated through his chest when he slowly walked around to get the twins at the backseat.
There was no one at the parking lot, thank goodness. So Baekhyun could take last minutes preparation for his heart.
“Sweetheart, wake up,” Baekhyun said after he opened the car’s back door, trying to wake his son and daughter. Chanyeol had opened the opposite door, helping him to wake the twins up.
“Hey, Sora, wake up,” Chanyeol’s voice wavered. Baekhyun can tell that he was nervous too. And the thought of it made him somehow happy. He wasn’t alone in this.
Sota woke up first, fluttering his eyes opened and his pouty lips getting poutier. The older brother rubbed his eyes with one hand as his other hand reaching out to Baekhyun.
“Come here, Sweetie. Let’s clean you up before we go in,” Baekhyun said, smiling to his son. By now he completely forgot about the unavoidable event ahead of them.
Baekhyun took a quick glance at Chanyeol. Sora was awake too now. And Chanyeol was doing the same thing like Baekhyun did to Sota.
They changed the twins’ clothes in silent. Sota and Sora filled it in with their innocent rambling most of the time.
“Where are we, Daddy?” Sora asked.
“This is Daddy and Appa’s high school,” Chanyeol answered before he planted a kiss on his daughter’s button nose. “There. You look so pretty now.”
Sora giggled, and Chanyeol picked her up. “Do I look like a princess?”
“You don’t,” Baekhyun interrupted, grining to her daughter when he finished put the jacket on Sota. “Because you are a princess.”
“Nice one there, Baek,” Chanyeol smirked and Baekhyun giggled
“Then it means I’m a king?” Sota wanted the intention on him.
“No, handsome,” Baekhyun was now the one who kissed Sota’s button nose. “You’re a prince. Appa and Daddy are the kings.”
“And our house is a castle!” Sora said in a high pitch voice of her, both of her hands raising to the air.
“Trueee!” Sota joined.
Baekhyun and Chanyeol shared a look, smiling widely.
They definitely can do this.
~
Kyungsoo looked around. The gymnasiun was getting really full and the music from the band-it was the current school band-was really loud. It was hectic, and all Kyungsoo could think of was how his niece and nephew would probably freak out by this large room.
“Everyone’s bringing their wife and husband,” Jongdae said beside him. Kyungsoo almost forgot he was there. “Why am I single?”
Kyungsoo rolled his eyes slightly. He might be close with this funny guy back then, but now they barely knew each other. So he couldn’t really do anything offensive in front of him.
The thought of that made Kyungsoo flinch. All of them, everyone here, barely knew each other anymore, no matter how close they were back then. Nobody knew what would happen if Chanyeol and Baekhyun came later.
“God, please,” Kyungsoo whispered to himself. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, praying that today will go well.
It took a second later before Kyungsoo heard a collective gasp from all around the room, and all the chatters came to a halt. It was silent, and for the first time, Kyungsoo finally could here the lyrics that the band sang.
They came, Kyungsoo knew.
“No, shit.”
Kyungsoo turned his head around and saw Jongdae’s dumbfounded face. Kyungsoo smiled, seeing Jongdae’s pure surprised face and no trace of disgust on his face should be a good sign, right?
“Now you know who the basket ball captain’s partner is.”
~
Chanyeol saw this coming. It somehow felt like a deja vu. Ten years ago, in this gymnasium, his heart was also beating like crazy, but now for a different reason. He gulped hard. This wasn’t the time to be nervous. He focused on trying not to turn around and run.
“Daddy.”
Chanyeol snapped his head around, looking down to his daughter who was holding his hand. Then, his gaze moved over to Baekhyun right beside him, and Sota who were in Baekhyun’s hold. Looking at all his angels, it was enough to channel a calm feeling to him.
All the stares on them right now were nothing to him.
Baekhyun reached his hand out to grab Chanyeol’s collar shirt and pulled him down. “Do something or I’m going to kick you right here, Chanyeol.”
Chanyeol laughed. He knew that Baekhyun didn’t really mean it and there wasn’t any impression that he was nervous. He was glad Baekhyun was okay with this.
“Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo called him out. His cousin was approaching them, it must be awkward for him to walk across the hall while people were like frozen on their spot, mouth hanging open. “You guys really came. I’m impressed.”
“Well, I’m impressed that Baekhyun actually complied,” Chanyeol grinned, pulling Baekhyun by his neck.
Baekhyun shoved Chanyeol’s hand and laughed, “I’m so ready to kill you.”
“Don’t say that in front of the kids, Baek.”
“What is this?” The three grown-ups turned toward the guy in front of them. It was Jongdae and he looked hella confused. “You’re Chanyeol, right? And Baekhyun?”
“Yeah. And I’m sure you’re Jongdae,” Chanyeol realized his heart race twice its normal speed. It was the moment of truth now. The band had stopped playing, realizing that people were having their attention on something else much more mattered.
“Both of you wear the same ring,” Jongdae stuttered. “And… the kids…”
When Chanyeol glanced at Baekhyun beside him, his husband was staring at him, his eyes never wavered. They were fearless, and that was where Chanyeol got the final courage to say it. “Isn’t it obvious, Jongdae? We’re married.”
There was no response.
Chanyeol and Baekhyun could only see blank expression of their friends, and he began to wonder did they not believe him or what, or should he kiss Baekhyun first so they could believe them.
It took a few seconds before the gym was erupt by a loud gasp by probably almost every person in the room. Everything went chaos, everyone tried to get near them, wanting to see it up close.
Baekhyun backed up a little by the sudden response, absently scooping Sota into his hand. Chanyeol too, was initially shocked, but immediately focused on Sora’s tight grip on his hand.
“Ssst… sweetie, it’s okay,” Chanyeol scooted down beside his daughter, hugging her so she didn’t afraid. He patted Sora’s hair assuredly and looked up at Baekhyun who was trying to calm the crying Sota down.
“Guys, back up,” Kyungsoo, whose role today was practically the Park family bodyguard, stood shielding them, trying to hold their excessive shocked friends. Kyungsoo didn’t really blame them though. He probably would act the same way as them if he didn’t know the secret. The Chanyeol and Baekhyun they knew were the one who got the Most Unlikely to Get Married title. They were the legendary rivals in their school. They were the ultimate enemies. And now, they came with matching rings and a couple of kids?
“It’s okay, Kyungsoo. I’ll just take them outside. Sora, come to Appa,” Baekhyun reached out his other hand to Sora, and the little girl took it quickly. Her face was scrunched up already. It would be troublesome if the two twins were crying.
“I’ll come with you,” Chanyeol quickly got up.
“No, you stay,” Baekhyun glared at him playfully. “I can take care of them. You take care of this,” Baekhyun glanced at the crowd who looked like had lost their shit. The scene in front of them, Baekhyun and Chanyeol took care of kids together peacefully, wasn’t something they usually used to witness.
It was clear that Chanyeol wanted to object it. Baekhyun was giving him a suicide mission. He couldn’t do all of this alone.
“Baek-“
“I’ll get back if the kids had calm down. I promise.”
With that, Chanyeol was left. Kyungsoo was still with him but it seemed like he can’t hold the crowd any longer. Whether he wanted it or not, the ex-basketball captain had some explanation to do.
~
“Jesus, the news spreads really quick on Twitter.”
Chanyeol sighed. Kyungsoo watched how the tension had left Chanyeol by now. The latter had become more relaxed the more he talked about his relationship with Baekhyun to Jongdae.
After Baekhyun had gone with the twins, Jongdae pulled Chanyeol away from the crowd and set him down at the corner table to interrogate him. Kyungsoo followed them while other people could only stare at them with curious look, wanting to hear the truth too.
Jongdae didn’t throw any judgmental questions like they thought he would be. He acted like a gossip thirst goldfish, and Kyungsoo could tell that Chanyeol was beyond relieved. After he got all the insights from Chanyeol, Jongdae immediately asked Chanyeol's permission to spread the news on his twitter. Chanyeol allowed him.
Chanyeol kept looking at his watch and toward the door, waiting for Baekhyun and his kids to come back. They should’ve come back by now and Chanyeol was getting worried. “Where’s Baekhyun?” Chanyeol mumbled to himself as he reached his phone out of his pocket, trying to contact his husband.
Jongdae was staring at him with an amazed look. “You sure you really didn’t play any prank on us?”
“What do you mean?” Chanyeol asked as he put his phone on his ear. “You think Baek and I were fooling you guys? No, why would we? Hello? Babe, why haven’t you come back?” Baekhyun had answered the phone.
“Sehun will kill himself when he opens his twitter later and sees this news,” Jongdae said. His face was still in shocked.
“It’s okay. You can come back here. Bring Sota and Sora, too,” Chanyeol still talked to the phone. “I’m in the corner with Jongdae and Kyungsoo.”
“Remember when Sehun punched Baekhyun?” Jongdae turned to Kyungsoo. “No wonder Chanyeol was so angry at Sehun.”
Kyungsoo snickered. Seeing this scene in front of him was really funny. He was relieved that nothing they were afraid of was happening, but at the same time he was amused. Ten years surely had brought a lot of change to everyone.
Chanyeol had put his phone back to his pocket and he was smiling widely right now. Kyungsoo could feel how happiness radiating from his cousin.
“I still can’t believe you guys could act like you were rivals when you were actually lovers.”
“Our acting was top notch, right?” Chanyeol sipped his beer, finishing it before the twins came. “Baekhyun was the best at it though.”
Jongdae shook his head, “I just heard Park Chanyeol complimenting Byun Baekhyun. Miracle does happened.”
Chanyeol laughed a genuine laugh. “Baekhyun is the best person on earth, alright? That’s why I marry him.”
“Thank goodness you guys were hiding it during high school or I could never handle your cheesiness,” Jongdae groaned.
Chanyeol didn’t have the time to retort any Jongdae’s remark back as he saw Baekhyun and his kids entering the gym. He immediately ran to them and took one of the twins-he took Sota-from Baekhyun who was holding both of the twins when they came in. It was a wonderful sight, seeing the four of them walking while smiling brightly toward each other, laughing their inside jokes with their kids.
Even if someone in the room didn’t like it, they didn’t show it. People just stared at them like they used to be back then in high school. The difference was, ten years ago people stared at them because they drew attention because of their fights. But today, everyone stared at them because they looked beautiful together.
Nobody realized it back then. But nothing was never too late.
“You know,” Jongdae said to Kyungsoo. The two of them were also staring at the family who was walking toward them. “If Chanyeol and Baekhyun did come out ten years ago, I honestly think they would be a power couple. Nobody could match them. Nobody would have enough guts or power to break that smile they had when they were together like that.”
Kyungsoo only smiled. For once, he agreed with Jongdae's words. “That’s because they are Chanyeol and Baekhyun.”
~
“Alright, everyone! Put your letter in this time capsule and we will open it ten years from now. We’ll have a reunion in 2015. Mark it in your calendar. Understand?”
All the students roared, excited that today was their last day of high school. They were in the school’s gym, writing letters for themselves ten years from now. They wrote their hopes, wishes, regrets, confessions, and dreams. And they would let their ten years version from now to read it.
Everyone was busy writing their own letters. They didn’t know that a certain couple of rivals were writing their letters side by side at the corner of the gym. They wrote the same wish. The same dream for themselves ten years from now.
Nobody knew but them. And they felt content. Because they had each other.
“I want to be a novel writer. Or an editor would be alright too. And I wish I’ll read this letter with Chanyeol beside me when I come back ten years from now. I really hope this will come true. Please let this come true.” - Byun Baekhyun, class 3-7, year 2005.
“I hope I’m still alive in 2015 and I become rich and successful. Amen. And I also wish I’ll read this letter with Baekhyun beside me, preferably with our kids too. Amen amen amen! I love you, Baek! Forever!” - Park Chanyeol, class 3-2, year 2005.
Pairing: Baekhyun/Chanyeol
Genre: Fluff
Words Count: 10.5k
Warning: Slight!homophobia
Summary: Who would expect the two persons who got the "Most Unlikely to Get Married" in high school's year book will come together with matching rings and bring along cute little twins to the school reunion ten years later?
A/N: This was originally posted for Exoasparents Fest.
“You received the invitation?”
“Yeah, yesterday. It came by my office”
“Have Baekhyun received it?”
“I don’t think so. I think his would come to our house.”
“You don’t have to come, Chanyeol.”
“I really want to.”
“Baekhyun would never-“
“I could persuade him.”
“It wouldn’t be easy.”
“Kyungsoo, I’m his husband. I know that already.”
“Right. Just think about the consequences, Chanyeol. Is this worth your effort after all this years or not.”
“I understand.”
“And talk to him nicely. Don’t lose your patience. Both of you are hot-headed, and this could end badly.”
“Noted.”
“...”
“...”
“Well, I guess good luck?”
“Thanks, Kyungsoo.”
~
“Have you found it?”
“Yeah, wait a sec.”
“It’s alright, Baek. I’ll be there in 10 minutes. I’ll search it myself.”
“Gosh,” Baekhyun groaned. He gave up and just slammed his ass to the wooden chair, looking at the pile of papers on the desk desperately. “It’s just...your desk is so messy.”
Baekhyun heard the person on the other line chuckled, and there was a low rumble of I’m sorry. He could imagine that person sporting a sullen expression, sitting behind the wheel, so choked up by the tie he wore for the important meeting today with the prestigious agency he had dreamed of, yet that person managed to forget the most important thing he needed to bring today-the demo CD.
He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed heavily. It was Monday morning, and Baekhyun had a handful things to do. Thinking that this was only the beginning of the week made him feel sick in the pit of his stomach.
Ah, a vacation would be so nice, wouldn’t it?
But he probably shouldn’t think about that when his other half was dying with stress on the other side of the line. He should sympathize him and be a good spouse, he should try to look for the CD at least before this person arrived, so when he did, Baekhyun could hand it to him and he could directly go to the meeting again.
“Okay, I’ll try to find that thing again. Just hang up for now. What are you even doing, calling while driving?” Baekhyun felt irritated, but his worries took the best of him. “Don’t drive too fast. Get here safe.”
“I will. See you in a while. Love you, Babe.”
Baekhyun held the urge to smile. Gosh, his husband would probably be mad at him if he knew that Baekhyun was actually happy that he came home again, even just for a moment. He cleared his throat silently and kept his composure. When he arrived later, Baekhyun needed to at least look like he was sad for him.
“Drive safe, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun hung up, and now he was stuck with the sound of burning kettle from the kitchen, and the theme song of Tinkerbell series playing, and also high-pitch giggles from the family room.
He sighed rather loudly while he tried to scan the desk. God knows where Chanyeol put the damn CD. He rose from his seat lazily and began to search again, sprawling his hands around the messy desk, checking the drawer also. There was no CD anywhere in sight.
He suddenly felt bad because, what if the CD was gone? Damn, Chanyeol would kill himself, and Baekhyun wasn’t ready to become a widower. He began to think that he should check other rooms. But Chanyeol specifically said before that he left the CD on his desk. So it was better for him to just focus on this desk. Why was Chanyeol’s desk so messy, anyway? Don’t blame him because Baekhyun wasn’t a housewife and definitely not a wife, so he didn’t have the obligation to clean his husband’s desk.
Or should he?
He was annoyed for a moment and was thinking that he would let Chanyeol search it for himself before his eyes caught a glimpse of different color of envelope in between Chanyeol’s papers. It was a purple envelope, and was buried under other striking white papers on the desk.
Baekhyun would wave it off easily because it was not his territory to touch. But, it was when he caught the familiar symbol of eagle flying in between pillars, which reminded him of his high school’s badge, Baekhyun could not help to just stare at it with a blank expression, unaware of the fact that inhaling became such a difficult job right now.
He sometimes just didn’t get how fate and destiny played their roles in people’s life. Was it possible if fate and destiny could change in a blink of eyes? Because if it could, Baekhyun hoped that they could work their magic right now. He wanted that purple envelope to vanish, or simply the symbol on its top left could be erased.
Of course it didn't. Baekhyun shouldn’t get his hope high. The envelope was still there, mocking him to take it.
By the time Baekhyun had the courage to pick it, and read the bold black letters on it, he was stucked in silence. There was no sound of kettle and high-pitch girly song and cheery giggles in the background anymore, only the sound of hard thump of his heart. And he felt like his body and mind were brought to ten years ago, when all of things started and ended at the same time.
TO: PARK CHANYEOL
SM Entertainment, Hodong Street No. 14, Central Seoul.
BUCHEON DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOL REUNION
CLASS 2005
~
Chanyeol tried so hard to calm his thundering heart. But he just can’t.
He started to think that this was a really, really bad idea. He wasn’t thinking straight when he was planning this, which meant he had not been thinking straight for the two years and a half, since the time his eyes landed on him.
He shouldn’t have done that. God, what was he thinking? Writing a letter and put the letter into his crush’ locker and asking for the both of them to meet in the gymnasium? Really, Chanyeol?
Okay, whatever. He was Park Chanyeol. And Park Chanyeol would never back out. But before that, he thought he should probably go the bathroom and throw up first before the subject of his affection for exactly thirty months long came in there and-
“What do you want, Park Chanyeol?”
Oh, man.
This would be the end of him.
The said boy turned his head around, and dammit, his whole body was trembling, and his line of vision immediately fell on the skinny boy who was standing by the door.
Backing out became such a very much better idea now.
“I don’t have all the time in the world to deal with you, Chanyeol. What do you want? And why are you so fucking pale?”
His vision started to blur, and there was an annoying ringing sound inside his ear, or maybe in his head. Or maybe it was just the sign that he would throw up any moment.
“I…” his voice cracked, nice. He cursed under his breath and awkwardly put his trembling fists inside his pants’ pockets. His high school uniform started to feel like it was on fire. “I told you in my letter. I need to talk.”
The boy in front of him chuckled mockingly, “Yeah, the letter. That was lame of you. At first, I thought you were giving me a love letter.”
A love letter. Right. Chanyeol wasn’t even considering that. He should just send a love letter rather than confessing right in front of the person.
“Do you want to stand like a freak all day or you want me to leave you alone with your precious gym?”
“No, no-wait,” Chanyeol panicked. His legs automatically stepped forward when he saw the skinny boy start to turn around. “Baekhyun, wait!”
The said boy stopped on his track. Chanyeol could see him rolling his eyes. “Then what do you want, Chanyeol? If this is about my club messing with yours, I swear-“
“It’s not about our club. They could go to hell for all I care,” Chanyeol unintentionally shouted. “Just listen to me this one time. And after that, I’ll never bother your choir club with my basketball club.”
The skinny boy named Baekhyun raised his eyebrows. It was clear that he wasn’t understand the meaning of Chanyeol’s words just now. Because it was just impossible that their clubs weren’t clashed. Being rivals for as long as they could remember, Chanyeol and Baekhyun, as the clubs’ leaders, weren’t really that friendly toward each other. They had the whole school’s recognition as the North and South Pole. They just didn’t match.
“That’s… rich coming from you,” Baekhyun carefully stepped forward too, closing their gap. “What do you mean by that? What do you want to talk about? And, God, do you want to sit? Because you’re pale as fuck.”
Chanyeol shook his head, and he felt his head spinning. He let out a shuddered breath and tried to not let his heart came out of his ribcage.
Baekhyun was right in front of him right now, and Chanyeol felt his stomach churn because Baekhyun looked up to him with a worried expression, and it didn’t do good to his heart.
“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said, and that was the first time Chanyeol heard Baekhyun calling him with a really soft tone. “You sure you okay? I won’t carry you from here to the clinic if you faint on me. Because obviously I can’t carry your giant limbs.”
Chanyeol laughed a little. God, Chanyeol liked him so much. Baekhyun was such a smart talker. He had a good sense of humor and wittiness, and his words were never dull. It was only one of the things Chanyeol liked about him.
Chanyeol just liked all of him, and he couldn’t just play pretend like rivals anymore. It was good to get the skinny-the smaller, the shorter-boy’s attention, playing as enemy. But Chanyeol had enough.
“Baekhy-“ his voice cracked again, and Baekhyun noticed it. He looked genuinely worried now, and Chanyeol just couldn’t hold it anymore. “I like you,” he let out breathlessly. “I like you a lot, you have no idea.”
Then Chanyeol saw all of it like in a slow motion. Like how Baekhyun’s eyes gradually widened, his lips parted, his worried expression turned into shocked, a really shocked expression, then it turned again immediately to blank, then lastly turned to angry.
“This is not funny, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun hissed, and he took one step backward. By now, his angry expression turned to hurt. “That’s fucking low.”
“No, no, no,” Chanyeol shook his head. He somehow saw this coming. Baekhyun wouldn’t receive it well, if not at all. “I’m not fooling you, Baekhyun. I told you the truth.”
Baekhyun’s face color somehow had become similar like Chanyeol’s previous one. It was like blood drained out of his face, and his legs staggered a lot.
“Baekhyun, listen-dammit, could you just stop? Stop backing away every time I come closer,” Chanyeol was frustrated. He previously was so sure that Baekhyun had the same feeling for him, and he only had to confess, and maybe Baekhyun would be shocked a little, but he would accept him with open arms, then they could start dating. But seeing the smaller boy’s reaction, Chanyeol didn’t know what to expect.
“Take it back, Chanyeol. Take your words back,” Baekhyun pleaded, his eyes were blood-shot. “This is not funny. Fuck, you aren’t even gay.”
“Well, I am,” Chanyeol answered back directly, and Baekhyun became paler. “I sure am gay for you and I told you the truth, I like you. Now stop being so shocked and answer me. Do you like me too or not? So I could move on with my life whether I should just kill myself or kiss you.”
“I…you…” Baekhyun stuttered, and Chanyeol suddenly felt bad. Was he too blunt?
The taller man sighed and hung his head low. “I’m sorry,” Chanyeol said softly. “You don’t have to answer now. I just want to let you know and think about it.”
This wasn’t what Chanyeol want obviously. He expected the best scenario, Baekhyun would openly hold his hand back, and they will go home together hand in hand started from today. Not as rivals or enemies, but as boyfriends or lovers. But this had become the sad ending he dreaded to happen, the worst scenario that he had buried in his deepest mind because if he thought about that possibility, Chanyeol wouldn’t have the gut to confess.
Still with his head hung low, he slowly walked towards the door, passing by the shorter boy with every corner of his heart started to press, and it began to feel harder to breath. Chanyeol thought maybe he should start to look for a new school when he arrived at home later. As far as he could, because he couldn’t let even one single soul in his new school know that he was once rejected by his rival. Maybe he should move to Seoul, or maybe-
“You like me for real?”
Chanyeol snapped his head up, and immediately turned around. He saw Baekhyun look at him, not with a hurt expression anymore, but a scared one.
“What?” Chanyeol asked. He was afraid he heard it wrong.
“Do you mean it?” Baekhyun looked so scared, and Chanyeol wanted to hug him and send his worry away. Baekhyun didn’t deserve to be scared.
“Yes,” Chanyeol answered steadily. “A million yes, Baekhyun. I really like you, for real.”
Chanyeol saw Baekhyun bite his lower lip. Baekhyun’s troubled expression sent a wave of hope into him. Chanyeol didn’t want to put his expectation too high, but, God please.
“I swear, Chanyeol, if you’re just fooling around-“
“I’m not, okay?” Chanyeol yelled in frustration. “I’ve liked you since the first time we met. Heck, I may be already in love with you.” If he could, he was willing to let Baekhyun came inside his heart and see it by himself how every part of his heart was filled with him, just so Baekhyun could believe him, understand him, accept him.
“But you hate me,” Baekhyun said, almost yelling. “You always hate me, all this time.”
“That’s just a façade. I’m an ordinary high school guy, Baekhyun. I play as annoying naughty boy to get my crush’ attention. Do you not understand?”
Baekhyun didn’t answer. He didn’t even react. It was like he was lost in his thought, and Chanyeol felt like he was waiting in line on the judgement day.
“I…” Baekhyun said, really soft, that Chanyeol almost didn’t catch it. “…actually like you, too. I don’t know”
Chanyeol almost fainted right there and then. But he got ahold of himself, and decided to fly his way out and hug the life out of Baekhyun. And the latter was so perfect in his arm, and Chanyeol loved whatever Baekhyun’s shampoo was, it smelled amazing.
Baekhyun was amazing.
“I swear I’ll kill you if you’re just fooling around, Chanyeol.”
“I’m not,” Chanyeol said in between his laughs and sobs. “I like you. I really, really like you.”
Chanyeol heard Baekhyun chuckle so clearly, because Baekhyun’s mouth was right under his ears, so close. “Okay, okay. No need to repeat it again. You’re so embarrassing.”
Chanyeol let go the smaller boy from his embrace, but still kept him close. The boy in front of him, so cute and bashful and perfect, was liking him back. And Chanyeol hoped it was all he could ask for, but no. “So this means we’re boyfriends now, right?” he asked a little too excited.
Baekhyun nodded, but then his smiled faded slowly. “But nobody could ever know. Ever.”
Chanyeol’s smile immediately faded too. “What, why?”
“Chanyeol, we’re probably going to be dropped out of school,” Baekhyun explained. “And even if we won’t, we’re going to be miserable.”
It slowly sunk in. That was true. And Chanyeol never thought about it. Never thought about the consequences. Never thought the thing that he and Baekhyun had was something that not everyone could accept and understand.
“Promise me, Chanyeol.”
Chanyeol looked down and saw Baekhyun’s glassy eyes. He had gone through hell when he had to pretend that he hated Baekhyun, when he had to hide his feeling. And that was without knowing if Baekhyun liked him back or not. So when Chanyeol said a firm I promise, nobody would ever know to Baekhyun, he thought he could do this. He now had Baekhyun anyway. Baekhyun was his, and other people be damned.
~
Baekhyun didn’t hate his high school life. That wasn’t the best moment of his life because, well, most of the time, it sucked. But it was fine. Because he had plenty of friends he practically enjoyed to be with, he was the captain of the school’s choir and the head of art division, he had good grades and performances, and most importantly, he had Chanyeol.
High school was a nice memory to look back. But it didn’t mean Baekhyun want to go back to that time. He loathed to go back to that hell hole.
50% of his high school was happy moments. The other 50% was when he fight and argue with Chanyeol, and when they started dating and they had to pretend that they were still enemies. It was hard because not only they can't get close to each other, they also had to keep their old habits of arguing and fighting, and that was tiring.
But then, by doing all of those things, they graduated with flawless records. Nobody knew about their relationship until the end. No one even got suspicious of them. And they left school with light hearts and happy faces. They were so grateful they could finally stop doing what they did.
After coming out to their respective parents and some compromising between them, they finally settled their decision to continue their study together one year later at New York. They stayed low profile about it so nobody would realize that the school’s most legendary rivals were unintentionally taking hiatus in study for one year, and ended up going for the same university in another country together.
Everything went unbelievably smooth from there. Their university life couldn’t get any better than that. They didn’t have to put a facade anymore, no act, no rivalry. They chose different major. Baekhyun with english literature, Chanyeol with music major. Yes, music. The Park Chanyeol who happened to hate the choir team's captain in high school, chose music as his major because apparently dating the said captain made him realize something that he never knew could do. Chanyeol got the talent of making music, great music.
After they graduated, they decided to stay at the Big Apple. Baekhyun worked as a fiction editor in an independent publisher while chanyeol was able to catch the big fish, he worked as composer in a big music company.
It was a given that Chanyeol finally proposed to Baekhyun. The preparation of the wedding was messy, especially with the administration and all the knotty laws. Both of them worked and they didn’t have their family to take care of the matters there.
Sometimes their friends helped, but they can't keep asking their friends. Though in the end, everything was done, and with a blink of eyes, they were married. Only a few friends of them in New York and their closest family came to the wedding. But it was all they had ever wanted.
Now standing in the middle of Chanyeol’s studio, Baekhyun couldn’t help but wonder how could time flied so fast. Ten years had passed since Chanyeol confessed to him at the school’s gymnasium. One day Chanyeol was his nemesis, but now he was his husband and and a father to his twin.
Oh, yeah, Baekhyun and Chanyeol had kids, of course. Perfect baby twins.
“Appa!”
Baekhyun blinked a few times, feeling like he was sucked out of his reverie. He could feel his blood slowly flowed again to his head, and now he could hear all his surrounding just like before.
“Appa, Daddy is here!” Baekhyun heard his son, Sota, yelled from the living room. Baekhyun immediately grabbed the purple envelope tightly, and made his way to the living room.
“Daddy, why do you come home so fast?” this time, the other twin, Sora, was the one who spoke.
When Baekhyun arrived at the living room, Baekhyun saw Chanyeol was squatting down in front of their two little angels. It was a heavenly sight, but Baekhyun’s vision was clouded by the purple invitation in his grip.
“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun called, drawing attention of his husband as he walked toward his family.
Chanyeol raised his head when he heard his name come out from the voice he could remember anywhere. He smiled helplessly as Baekhyun stood in front of him, “Babe-“
“Don’t,” Baekhyun rose his palm to stop his husband from talking. He was the one who desperately needed to talk right now. “Get up.”
Chanyeol was taken aback. It wasn’t like Baekhyun to raise his voice in front of the kids. And now Sota and Sora looked slightly afraid.
Chanyeol got up from his position, facing his husband while their kids had their arms around Chanyeol’s bowed legs. All the three of them looked at Baekhyun expectantly, and Baekhyun slightly felt bad.
“Baek, what’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked, his hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, trying to draw him closer.
Baekhyun bit his lip to avoid letting out any harsh word out. He only rose the envelope that had become crumpled because he had held it too tight. “Mind to explain this?”
Baekhyun watched his husband’s face carefully. Ten years being together, it was scary how Baekhyun had remembered every inches of it. So it was easy for him to see how Chanyeol’s expression changed from confused to guilt.
“That’s…”
“Invitation for high school reunion, I know,” Baekhyun snapped. It wasn’t his intention to snap in front of the kids, but he can’t hold it in anymore. “This was sent to your office’s address. Are you hiding this from me?”
“Baekhyun, I…” Chanyeol stuttered. His already tired face got pale. “Let’s not fight in front of the kids.”
“You’re planning to attend this, aren’t you?” Baekhyun raised his voice. “You actually wanted to go.”
“Baek, baby, it’s been ten years, and-“
“We’re not going, Yeol, and that’s final,” Baekhyun shoved the envelope into Chanyeol’s chest, forcing him to take it. “If you really wanted to go, then go alone. I’m not invited anyway.”
Just as soon as he said it, the four of them turned their heads toward the door as the bell ringing. It was funny how the four of them could move in sync.
“Appa…” Sota called Baekhyun.
It was maybe his parent instinct that made him knew what his kids wanted from only a word spoken from them. Baekhyun scooped Sota into his hold and called a truce between he and Chanyeol for a moment to answer whoever it was behind the door.
Their twins were different. Sota always wanted to know things, including who came to visit their house. He always wanted to open the door and see who it was. Meanwhile, the sister, Sora, would probably grow up becoming a cool girl.
As Baekhyun put his hand on the doorknob, he could feel his shoulder grew heavier, not because he had Sota in his hands, but more like by a sudden aura from behind the door.
He opened the door and was faced by a middle-aged man. But Baekhyun’s vision immediately landed to the striking purple envelope in that man’s hand.
God, no.
“Is this Byun Baekhyun’s residence?” the man asked.
His mouth became dry, not being able to utter a single word.
“This is actually Park’s residence,” Chanyeol came from behind him, Sora was in his hand. “But yeah, my husband here was Byun Baekhyun.”
The delivery man blinked, “Was?”
“He’s Park Baekhyun now. Is that for him?” Chanyeol pointed at the purple envelope.
The man looked like he forgot what he was supposed to do for a second there. “Oh, yeah, yeah, this is for you.” He handed the envelope to Baekhyun, but the latter was too stunned once again but how fate playing tricks in his life.
Chanyeol was the one who finally snatched the envelope away from the man’s grasp. He smiled as he looked at it carefully, “Seems like you’re also invited, Babe.”
~
Chanyeol furiously pressed the button of his cellphone, trying to avoid the walls surrounding him, or should he say, his snake. He was 14 points away from breaking his high score record. His snake was turning left and right, up and down, eating all the dots on the screen when Chanyeol heard the door of his class was slide-opened harshfully. There were merely four people in the class at that time as it was breaktime. Chanyeol was too busy playing his small Nokia phone when the person who opened the door yelled his name.
“Chanyeol!”
“Shit!” surprised by the sudden yell of his name, Chanyeol missed a milesecond to press the key number 4, resulting his snake crashed into its own tail. “Dammit, Jongdae. I was so close!”
The boy named Jongdae was now towering over his desk. He was breathing heavily, his round eyes became even rounder. Seems like he was running here.
“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked with his eyebrows raised. His team’s manager never looked this panic unless it had something to do with the team. “What is it, Jongdae?”
After calming his breath, he could at least now speak properly, “Sehun is getting on a fight with Baekhyun.”
Chanyeol’s eyes widened, and for a second, he could feel his heartbeat stopped. He almost got up immediately and dashed out, but he remembered that he needed to pretend because there was Jongdae and other students here who were watching him. Chanyeol blinked a few times and cleared his throat, trying to calm his nerve while all he wanted to do was running to wherever Baekhyun was.
He tsked impatiently, “What does that midget want now?”
“The usual,” Jongdae answered as he rolled his eyes. “Baekhyun wanted the gym for his team recital on December 23rd, turning it into a freaking stage. Apparently, the auditorium was taken by the theater team, so he aimed the gym now. That little shit.”
Chanyeol flinched at the nickname given by Jongdae, but tried to not minding it for now. He already knew about Baekhyun wanting the gym. His boyfriend already asked him personally last night. With a little bit of kisses on the cheeks, Chanyeol complied, giving the little brunet permission. But he had yet told his other team mates about it.
Chanyeol cursed under his breath and got up, “Where are they?”
“In front of the gym.”
By the time Chanyeol got there, the entrance to the gym was packed by many students. It was always like this everytime the there was a fight between the basket ball and choir team. The students loved their quarrel drama. They were walling a pair of students in the middle, standing dangerously closed to each other, like they were ready to eat each other heads off.
“What’s going on here?” Chanyeol yelled, trying to break the crowd.
The air eventually fell silent, and the crowd slowly made way for chanyeol to get to the center. Chanyeol's vision immediately found Baekhyun. The latter was looking at him with an unreadable expression. And chanyeol tried as best as he could to put an annoying mask along with a sorry expression to his boyfriend. He forgot to tell his teammate about his request. This was his fault.
"Great, now the captain is here" Baekhyun folded his arms on his chest as Chanyeol approached him and sehun. "If i remember correctly, I already got your permission for this goddamn gymnasium."
"Hyung, Baekhyun kept repeating that he already got your permission," Sehun had flied out toward Chanyeol's side. If Chanyeol could, he wanted to kick the younger away, and took Baekhyun's side instead.
"Well, I..."
"And this teammate of yours keeps saying that it's impossible for you to give me permission," Baekhyun said mockingly. Chanyeol had long not heard that kind of tone coming from Baekhyun’s mouth since they started dating. It felt so foreign to his ears now. "Why is it impossible, huh? Should i kiss you first until you give it to me?"
"Baekhyun, let's not do this." Chanyeol stepped forward, minding his distance so they didn't stand too close. "This is just a misunderstanding."
Baekhyun scoffed, "Oh, come on, Chanyeol. I know you hate me so much, but can you at least hold onto your own words?"
"Baekhyun." Chanyeol warned him.
"Hey, don’t talk like that to Chanyeol hyung."
"Sehun, don't." Chanyeol stopped him.
"What's with you, Sehun?" Baekhyun smirked. His expression looked murderous. "Why can't you just stop talking? Didn't you drink your milk today, huh, big baby?"
And Chanyeol remember clearly every second after it. Sehun leapt from beside Chanyeol and jumped on Baekhyun and threw his shaky yet strong fist to the choir captain's nose. The chaos ensued right after. All students were cheering, Sehun still trying to choke Baekhyun up, Chanyeol had forgotten that he had to act, so he held Sehun while saying stop it, Sehun and Baek, you're okay? And then the teacher came and took Sehun with them. And Chanyeol took no time to drag Baekhyun to the infirmary.
And now chanyeol was watching baekhyun being tended by a nurse. The middle aged woman tried to stop the bleeding of his nose while murmuring a protest about today's kids who liked to get into a fight.
When she finished, she got out of the room and left the two students alone.
Looking at Baekhyun’s terrible state made Chanyeol felt like puking. Every inch of his body was boiling with rage, and he seemed had a hard time to control it. His fists were tight and he can’t help to lower his gaze. It pained him to see Baekhyun like that.
“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun sighed. He can’t really open his mouth too wide since it would hurt his nose. “I’m okay. Now could you please breathe? You scare me like that, Yeol.”
Chanyeol’s breath shuddered. Baekhyun’s ability to know and understand Chanyeol only through his vision was sometimes scary.
“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol said in an impossibly low voice.
He was so angry. He was angry at himself. He was angry because he forgot to tell his teammates. He was angry for not being able to protect Baekhyun like he should’ve done. He was angry at Sehun. He was angry at the whole school. He was angry at the universe.
From his peripheral vision, Chanyeol could see that Baekhyun got up from the bed, approaching him who was standing before the window. When Chanyeol lifted his head, his boyfriend was already in front of him, looking up with a hurt expression. There were still remnants of blood below his nose. Chanyeol looked away once again before he could feel the warm hand of Baekhyun’s on his left cheek, forcing him to look back at him.
“Look at me, Yeol,” Baekhyun firmly said. His gaze was hard on him. “I admit that I was angry at you because you didn’t tell your teammates. I supposed you forget, and if earlier you said sorry because of that, then apology accepted. But if it was for this…” Baekhyun pointed at his nose with his free hand that didn’t cupping Chanyeol’s cheek. “…then don’t. This is not your fault, Chanyeol.”
“I should’ve protected you,” Chanyeol’s voice cracked.
Baekhyun’s gaze softened. His boyfriend had a mellow heart like that. “Come on. I’m a man too. This is just a mere nosebleed, this is nothing.”
“If you were in my position, seeing your boyfriend was in danger, yet you couldn’t, when you actually could, save him, what would you do?” Chanyeol snapped. He grabbed Baekhyun’s hand on his cheek, brought it down and held it like there was no tomorrow.
“Believe me, Baek, it killed me in every way.”
~
“Psst, Baek!”
Baekhyun rolled his eyes. He kept folding his hands in front of his chest and avoiding his husband’s pleading eyes on him. “Eyes on the road, Chanyeol.”
Chanyeol sighed as he put his focus back on the road, hand gripping the steering wheel tightly. “You’re still mad at me.”
“Obviously,” Baekhyun scoffed. His voice was unintentionally loud, so he lowered it again. “You forced me to come,” he hissed.
The twins were sleeping at the back seat. Both Sota and Sora were light sleepers so a bit of noise would be able to wake them up. And with their destination still a little bit far away, and with Chanyeol needed to concentrate on his driving, it was best for the kids to sleep.
Baekhyun turned his head around, checking the kids. When he saw his two little angels were still sleeping, with their heads leaning at each other, Baekhyun let out a sigh of relieve.
“Like I said,” Chanyeol continued their conversation, or Baekhyun rather called it quarrel. “You were also invited. And you have no reason to not come.”
Baekhyun gaped, “Excuse me? I have every reason to not come.”
“Sweetheart, lower your voice,” Chanyeol reminded him while smiling. His face was amused, and Baekhyun hated it when he wasn’t taken seriously by him.
“Our friends aren’t supposed to know that we were together, married, have kids,” Baekhyun whispered loudy, his eyes were hard on Chanyeol, and he felt his heart was going to explode the closer they got to their hometown, Bucheon.
“Kyungsoo knows about us,” Chanyeol answered nonchalantly, shrugging.
Once again, Baekhyun felt like punching his husband, but ended up by only sending him a death glare. “That’s because he’s your cousin. Stop joking around, Yeol. This is serious matter.”
Chanyeol didn’t answer him this time. Baekhyun waited for a few minutes, but they just engulfed in an uncomfortable silence. This was a bad sign. They were already doomed enough for only coming there, but now they were fighting, this was just getting even worse.
Baekhyun’s throat felt too tight to swallow his own guilt. He turned his head away one more time, facing the side window. He was a bit cranky from the start of the day, and he had been throwing fits on Chanyeol. His husband didn’t deserve it, he knew. Baekhyun perfectly understood Chanyeol’s objective to bring his family to the reunion. But Baekhyun just can’t help to imagine the worst scenario.
Baekhyun took a glance at Chanyeol slowly. His husband’s jaws were hard. It was evident that he was trying to keep his anger inside because he didn’t want to argue and wake the kids up.
“Chanyeol, I’m sorry.” Baekhyun hated when there was a frown on Chanyeol’s face. He missed his goofy smile. “I was just-“
“Worried, I know,” Chanyeol cut him off, his tone was firm, making Baekhyun shivered. Chanyeol was naturally a happy person. And happy people was the scariest when they were angry. “You know that I’ll always protect the three of you, right?”
It felt like someone had squeezed Baekhyun’s heart. His tears started to brim on the edge of his eyes.
“I won’t do this if it will bring harm to any of you,” Chanyeol tore his eyes for a moment to look at Baekhyun. “It’s been 10 years, Baek. We can’t hide forever.”
“I perfectly aware of that,” Baekhyun returned Chanyeol’s gaze on him. “But they don’t need to know about us, right?”
Chanyeol shook his head dejectedly. It was apparent that he was pissed. “We have nothing to lose here, sweetheart. They might hate us, yes. It probably will hurt our hearts a little, but we can move on right away after this, right? All I’m saying is that we should try first.”
Baekhyun didn’t really want to admit that Chanyeol was right, so he just kept his mouth shut. The road was getting emptier. They were the only the car on this road, and it only made Baekhyun more nervous. Bucheon was already near.
“We need to show the kids that we’re not ashame of ourselves, Baek,” Chanyeol continued his rant, pulling Baekhyun out of his thought. “So they wouldn’t be embarrassed for having two dads, don’t you think?”
Baekhyun looked at his watch. It was one hour before they arrived at their old high school. By the time they got there, the event probably had started. Baekhyun wondered if they could survived it all.
Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun’s hand, squeezing it a little to send him a subtle reassurance. It worked.
“I promise if they threw insults to even one of us, I’ll punch them and we could go home right away,” Chanyeol smiled. His frown had long gone.
Baekhyun could feel his lips were lift upright. Chanyeol always had that kind of effect on him. “You can’t punch them in front of the kids.”
“Fine,” Chanyeol kissed the back of his palm. “Then you take the kids away, and I’ll punch them.”
Baekhyun burst out laughing, but Chanyeol put his finger on Baekhyun’s lips, reminding him that the kids could wake up by his loud voice. Baekhyun ended up snickering. “Sounds like a good idea,” Baekhyun muffled in between his laugh.
Chanyeol kissed his husband’s cheek before he changed his mind, keeping it a millisecond longer than he should be. “I love you,” Chanyeol said, before his focus was back to the road ahead of them.
“I love you, too,” Baekhyun replied, hand unwillingly let go Chanyeol’s hold. “A lot.”
With that, Chanyeol had enough endorphines to last him a long journey ahead. He didn’t need any energy drink.
~
“Sit down for a sec.”
Chanyeol looked down to the shorter boy right before him, a towel in both of his hand. Chanyeol, just going out of the shower, and seeing his boyfriend suddenly appeared now in front of him make him flustered and couldn’t really register the situation.
“What?”
“I said sit down for a sec,” Baekhyun said after rolling his eyes at the basketball player dumbness. In the end, Baekhyun needed to gently push the taller to the long bench near the locker himself, because Chanyeol seemed still cannot comprehend. “Just sit down.”
“What, why?” Chanyeol blinked. Now he was the one looking up, since Baekhyun was standing in front of him. “Baek-“
“Everyone has gone already. You’re the last,” Baekhyun cut him off before Chanyeol could throw him the million dollar question as why his boyfriend was here, so unguarded, no act, no facade, in his basketball team’s locker room.
The answer more or less made his heart calm a little bit, but still... “Why are you here?”
Baekhyun chuckled as he stepped closer to Chanyeol. He put the towel on the player’s head and began to stroke his hair with the towel.
“You come here to dry my hair?”
“God, can you shut up?” Baekhyun now had a smirk on his face. “You asked too much questions.”
“But I just-“
“I came here because I wanted to. Is that answer satisfying?” Baekhyun tilted his head. His hands were still busily messing up Chanyeol’s hair.
“But we’re at school.”
“There’s no one here, or at school, as far as I’m concern, because you took shower too long.”
They said nothing after that. Chanyeol still had many question, but he kept it to himself. This was something he never thought would happen. Baekhyun was always so careful with their relationship when they were at school. Sure they had been the grossiest lovey-dovey couple behind the closed door, and Chanyeol loved every second of it, but school area was a no-no. So this was something worth of his sudden anxiety.
“Did I do something wrong? Are you breaking up with me?”
Baekhyun stopped his hands movement, putting down the towel and looking down at Chanyeol with an amused look. “Wasn’t this something you always want?”
“What? Breaking up?”
“No,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “I mean you always wanted us to be together at school, right?”
Chanyeol blinked again. His naked upper body started to grow cold somehow. “Yes, I did.”
Sensing Chanyeol’s freezing body, Baekhyun walked around to get to the locker behind Chanyeol, and opened one of them without any hesitation. It was Chanyeol’s locker that he opened.
“You know my locker.” That wasn’t really a question, and Chanyeol was beyond surprised.
“Hmm... isn’t that a given?” Baekhyun threw him a look as he pulled out Chanyeol’s grey shirt in between his messy locker, as well as his jersey jacket. “I’m your boyfriend for almost a year.”
“Nine months,” Chanyeol corrected him.
“Three months before one year. Same thing,” Baekhyun shrugged and put the shirt on Chanyeol’s lap. “Wear it. You’re freezing.”
“Aren’t you going to help me with it?” Chanyeol had lost all his worries, and his usual smug expression was back.
“I swear you’re such a baby,” Baekhyun sighed, but ended up doing what his boyfriend asked him to. “Your fans would be gone in a blink if they knew how much of a spoiled kid you are.”
Baekhyun was probably the one who spoiled him too much, Chanyeol thought. But he could also say that Baekhyun was someone who tortured him a lot too. Baekhyun was a lot of thing to Chanyeol, and it just kept coming.
Without him realizing, Chanyeol’s hand moved over Baekhyun’s wrist, his fingers grazing it softly. Baekhyun didn’t say anything when Chanyeol slowly pulled him down to sit next to him. They were just sitting there, breathing each other presence when they could.
“This is nice, isn’t it?” Chanyeol put his head on Baekhyun’s rather broad shoulder, hand still holding Baekhyun’s. “Did I do something good, then? So you reward me with this.”
Baekhyun gave him a small hum. His hand was now reaching Chanyeol’s damp hair, and he stroked it softly. “Not really,” his whisper came out loud in that quiet room, and Chanyeol only truly realized now that they were completely alone. There was no reason for him to not touch his boyfriend here.
So Chanyeol lifted up his head and pulled Baekhyun’s closer to him. He rested his forehead on Baekhyun’s, squinting his eyes and slightly parting his lips. “Can I kiss you?”
There was a change in Baekhyun’s expression for a second, Chanyeol noticed. But then, the shorter boy smiled softly to him, and he was actually the one who plant a kiss on Chanyeol’s lips.
~
“Alright,” Kyungsoo spoke to his phone while he sipped an orange juice in his other hand. “Yeah, take care. Bye.”
He tapped the red item on his phone screen before he heard Jongdae, his ex-chairmate back then 10 years ago, ask him with a curious frown on his face. “Who is it?”
Jongdae had not changed, Kyungsoo thought. He still had his signature fun baby face. He wondered if people also thought the same about him. Did he change much after ten years ago?
“It’s Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo answered, sipping his drink once again. “My cousin. You remember him, right?”
“The basket ball captain. Of course I remember him. I was the team’s manager!” Jongdae punched Kyungsoo’s bicep, unaware that the man who he punched could actually punch him harder if he wanted to. “Where’s he? Is he coming?”
“Yeah, but he called me asking the way to the school. I swear both of them have permanent airhead,” Kyungsoo chuckled to himself.
“Both of them? Chanyeol come with who?”
Kyungsoo froze. The smile on his face was wiped off and he can’t meet Jongdae’s eyes. “Uhm, his... partner?”
Kyungsoo suprised himself by actually telling the truth. Being Chanyeol’s cousin, he had known everything for as long as he could remember. And with that, he also always did hide and seek for the sake of his cousin and his husband.
Chanyeol had called him three days ago, saying that he and Baekhyun had decided to come out from the save shell and asking for Kyungsoo’s help if something... anything-happened.
Kyungsoo had acknowledge both Chanyeol and Baekhyun as his own brothers, so protecting them wasn’t something that Chanyeol need to ask after all.
Kyungsoo had half hoped that not many people would come, but now the school gymnasium was packed by many familiar faces and it meant his job today wouldn’t be as easy as he had hoped for.
Jongdae’s whistle brought Kyungsoo’s back from his daydreaming. “I wonder who get to be the basket ball captain’s spouse,” Jongdae said, a smile on his face.
Kyungsoo glanced toward the entrance of the gym. There was a massive decoration there, and somehow the idea of both of his brothers, and their two little angels, came in together, had given him weird feeling.
He felt nervous, but strangely, he was excited.
“Soon you’ll know.”
~
Chanyeol gripped the school year-end book a little tighter. His breath came out a little harsher. His chest felt pressed a little harder.
Most Unlikely to Get Married
Chanyeol & Baekhyun
Chanyeol ripped that part of the book into million pieces.
He had reached his limit. He didn’t care that the whole class was looking at him with a curious stare. He didn’t care that he needed to put on an act. All he wanted to do right now was murdering every single person who had the guts to vote for he and Baekhyun as the Most Unlikely to Get Married couple.
You all know nothing!
Chanyeol wanted to scream. He wanted everyone to know the actual fact of he and Baekhyun. He didn’t care about anything at this point and just dashed out of the class.
Chanyeol easily spotted Baekhyun in the hallway right outside his class. He was holding the school year-end book, and based on his grim expression, Chanyeol thought that maybe Baekhyun had seen it too.
Somehow his heart felt lighter when he saw him there. It was amazing how Baekhyun could give him such effect to him.
“Speak of the devil.” Chanyeol heard Baekhyun’s friend, Junmyeon, whispered to Baekhyun. They probably talked about that stupid award thingy before Chanyeol came, and Baekhyun and Junmyeon were standing too close to his liking.
“What do you want, Chanyeol?” Baekhyun was already sporting his acting mask by the time Chanyeol stopped in front of him. But Chanyeol still could trace the sign of hurt in his eyes.
“We got an award, huh?” Chanyeol put on a smirk, the one that Baekhyun knew it was fake.
“I’m not surprised.”
Chanyeol nodded. Baekhyun’s voice just now was cracking. Chanyeol was sure that he was the only one who realized it though.
The urge to pull Baekhyun away from this place was so strong. Chanyeol wanted to hug him, whispered him reassuring words that other people’s opinion didn’t matter. But he knew he can’t do that. There were too many people, and if Chanyeol did that, it’ll hurt Baekhyun more.
So Chanyeol was forced to be satisfied by only putting his hand on top of Baekhyun’s head. He could feel Baekhyun tensed, and other students’ gasps, thinking that they will get into a fight. Instead, Chanyeol bent down a little, so their faces were only inches apart.
It was their last day as high school student, and Chanyeol put on his last act in front of the large audiece.
“Wouldn’t it be funny if we actually get married?”
With that, Chanyeol left, genuinely smiling to himself now that he had said his last line perfectly. He probably would get punched by Baekhyun later at home for doing such a risky thing, but for now, Chanyeol felt satisfied.
He wasn’t kidding when he said that sentence.
And people around them probably didn’t put any attention to how Chanyeol carressed Baekhyun’s hair softly before he left back there.
~
Baekhyun didn’t really know how to perform any breathing technique to make himself calm, and the sight of his school getting closer by seconds started to make him sick.
“Wake the kids up, Baek,” Chanyeol said as he pulled the car over the gate, a security was nodding to them, sending them permission to go in.
When the car finally put to stop in the parking lot, Baekhyun had lost all the blood in his face. “Should we really do this?” he whined. “It’s not too late to go back home.”
Baekhyun stared at Chanyeol, waiting for him to say something. But his husband kept looking upfront, to the school building in front of them. “It’s been a while, huh?”
Baekhyun can’t help to follow Chanyeol’s gaze. There, their old school building, stood scarily yet it did bring back many memories.
Baekhyun nodded. “Ten years. We’re old.”
“You’re old. I’m not,” Chanyeol joked, earning a weak punch from Baekhyun. He grabbed Baekhyun’s hand in his and stroked it for a while. “We could do this, Baek.”
Baekhyun took a deep breath and put on a smile. There was nothing to fear, right? They can do almost anything together. Dating without anyone knowing, graduating highschool, going to college, graduating college, working marvelous jobs, getting married, going back to South Korea, adopting kids, building a family, living a perfect life, they did it all.
It was time for them to step out of their comfort zone.
No more hiding.
The world needed to know they were happy together.
The world needed to know these amazing kids were theirs.
The world needed to know that they were Baekhyun and Chanyeol. Not different individuals, but one soul.
Baekhyun gripped Chanyeol’s hand firmly, “Let’s go.”
Baekhyun could hear the music as he stepped out of the car. The beat of the music revebrated through his chest when he slowly walked around to get the twins at the backseat.
There was no one at the parking lot, thank goodness. So Baekhyun could take last minutes preparation for his heart.
“Sweetheart, wake up,” Baekhyun said after he opened the car’s back door, trying to wake his son and daughter. Chanyeol had opened the opposite door, helping him to wake the twins up.
“Hey, Sora, wake up,” Chanyeol’s voice wavered. Baekhyun can tell that he was nervous too. And the thought of it made him somehow happy. He wasn’t alone in this.
Sota woke up first, fluttering his eyes opened and his pouty lips getting poutier. The older brother rubbed his eyes with one hand as his other hand reaching out to Baekhyun.
“Come here, Sweetie. Let’s clean you up before we go in,” Baekhyun said, smiling to his son. By now he completely forgot about the unavoidable event ahead of them.
Baekhyun took a quick glance at Chanyeol. Sora was awake too now. And Chanyeol was doing the same thing like Baekhyun did to Sota.
They changed the twins’ clothes in silent. Sota and Sora filled it in with their innocent rambling most of the time.
“Where are we, Daddy?” Sora asked.
“This is Daddy and Appa’s high school,” Chanyeol answered before he planted a kiss on his daughter’s button nose. “There. You look so pretty now.”
Sora giggled, and Chanyeol picked her up. “Do I look like a princess?”
“You don’t,” Baekhyun interrupted, grining to her daughter when he finished put the jacket on Sota. “Because you are a princess.”
“Nice one there, Baek,” Chanyeol smirked and Baekhyun giggled
“Then it means I’m a king?” Sota wanted the intention on him.
“No, handsome,” Baekhyun was now the one who kissed Sota’s button nose. “You’re a prince. Appa and Daddy are the kings.”
“And our house is a castle!” Sora said in a high pitch voice of her, both of her hands raising to the air.
“Trueee!” Sota joined.
Baekhyun and Chanyeol shared a look, smiling widely.
They definitely can do this.
~
Kyungsoo looked around. The gymnasiun was getting really full and the music from the band-it was the current school band-was really loud. It was hectic, and all Kyungsoo could think of was how his niece and nephew would probably freak out by this large room.
“Everyone’s bringing their wife and husband,” Jongdae said beside him. Kyungsoo almost forgot he was there. “Why am I single?”
Kyungsoo rolled his eyes slightly. He might be close with this funny guy back then, but now they barely knew each other. So he couldn’t really do anything offensive in front of him.
The thought of that made Kyungsoo flinch. All of them, everyone here, barely knew each other anymore, no matter how close they were back then. Nobody knew what would happen if Chanyeol and Baekhyun came later.
“God, please,” Kyungsoo whispered to himself. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, praying that today will go well.
It took a second later before Kyungsoo heard a collective gasp from all around the room, and all the chatters came to a halt. It was silent, and for the first time, Kyungsoo finally could here the lyrics that the band sang.
They came, Kyungsoo knew.
“No, shit.”
Kyungsoo turned his head around and saw Jongdae’s dumbfounded face. Kyungsoo smiled, seeing Jongdae’s pure surprised face and no trace of disgust on his face should be a good sign, right?
“Now you know who the basket ball captain’s partner is.”
~
Chanyeol saw this coming. It somehow felt like a deja vu. Ten years ago, in this gymnasium, his heart was also beating like crazy, but now for a different reason. He gulped hard. This wasn’t the time to be nervous. He focused on trying not to turn around and run.
“Daddy.”
Chanyeol snapped his head around, looking down to his daughter who was holding his hand. Then, his gaze moved over to Baekhyun right beside him, and Sota who were in Baekhyun’s hold. Looking at all his angels, it was enough to channel a calm feeling to him.
All the stares on them right now were nothing to him.
Baekhyun reached his hand out to grab Chanyeol’s collar shirt and pulled him down. “Do something or I’m going to kick you right here, Chanyeol.”
Chanyeol laughed. He knew that Baekhyun didn’t really mean it and there wasn’t any impression that he was nervous. He was glad Baekhyun was okay with this.
“Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo called him out. His cousin was approaching them, it must be awkward for him to walk across the hall while people were like frozen on their spot, mouth hanging open. “You guys really came. I’m impressed.”
“Well, I’m impressed that Baekhyun actually complied,” Chanyeol grinned, pulling Baekhyun by his neck.
Baekhyun shoved Chanyeol’s hand and laughed, “I’m so ready to kill you.”
“Don’t say that in front of the kids, Baek.”
“What is this?” The three grown-ups turned toward the guy in front of them. It was Jongdae and he looked hella confused. “You’re Chanyeol, right? And Baekhyun?”
“Yeah. And I’m sure you’re Jongdae,” Chanyeol realized his heart race twice its normal speed. It was the moment of truth now. The band had stopped playing, realizing that people were having their attention on something else much more mattered.
“Both of you wear the same ring,” Jongdae stuttered. “And… the kids…”
When Chanyeol glanced at Baekhyun beside him, his husband was staring at him, his eyes never wavered. They were fearless, and that was where Chanyeol got the final courage to say it. “Isn’t it obvious, Jongdae? We’re married.”
There was no response.
Chanyeol and Baekhyun could only see blank expression of their friends, and he began to wonder did they not believe him or what, or should he kiss Baekhyun first so they could believe them.
It took a few seconds before the gym was erupt by a loud gasp by probably almost every person in the room. Everything went chaos, everyone tried to get near them, wanting to see it up close.
Baekhyun backed up a little by the sudden response, absently scooping Sota into his hand. Chanyeol too, was initially shocked, but immediately focused on Sora’s tight grip on his hand.
“Ssst… sweetie, it’s okay,” Chanyeol scooted down beside his daughter, hugging her so she didn’t afraid. He patted Sora’s hair assuredly and looked up at Baekhyun who was trying to calm the crying Sota down.
“Guys, back up,” Kyungsoo, whose role today was practically the Park family bodyguard, stood shielding them, trying to hold their excessive shocked friends. Kyungsoo didn’t really blame them though. He probably would act the same way as them if he didn’t know the secret. The Chanyeol and Baekhyun they knew were the one who got the Most Unlikely to Get Married title. They were the legendary rivals in their school. They were the ultimate enemies. And now, they came with matching rings and a couple of kids?
“It’s okay, Kyungsoo. I’ll just take them outside. Sora, come to Appa,” Baekhyun reached out his other hand to Sora, and the little girl took it quickly. Her face was scrunched up already. It would be troublesome if the two twins were crying.
“I’ll come with you,” Chanyeol quickly got up.
“No, you stay,” Baekhyun glared at him playfully. “I can take care of them. You take care of this,” Baekhyun glanced at the crowd who looked like had lost their shit. The scene in front of them, Baekhyun and Chanyeol took care of kids together peacefully, wasn’t something they usually used to witness.
It was clear that Chanyeol wanted to object it. Baekhyun was giving him a suicide mission. He couldn’t do all of this alone.
“Baek-“
“I’ll get back if the kids had calm down. I promise.”
With that, Chanyeol was left. Kyungsoo was still with him but it seemed like he can’t hold the crowd any longer. Whether he wanted it or not, the ex-basketball captain had some explanation to do.
~
“Jesus, the news spreads really quick on Twitter.”
Chanyeol sighed. Kyungsoo watched how the tension had left Chanyeol by now. The latter had become more relaxed the more he talked about his relationship with Baekhyun to Jongdae.
After Baekhyun had gone with the twins, Jongdae pulled Chanyeol away from the crowd and set him down at the corner table to interrogate him. Kyungsoo followed them while other people could only stare at them with curious look, wanting to hear the truth too.
Jongdae didn’t throw any judgmental questions like they thought he would be. He acted like a gossip thirst goldfish, and Kyungsoo could tell that Chanyeol was beyond relieved. After he got all the insights from Chanyeol, Jongdae immediately asked Chanyeol's permission to spread the news on his twitter. Chanyeol allowed him.
Chanyeol kept looking at his watch and toward the door, waiting for Baekhyun and his kids to come back. They should’ve come back by now and Chanyeol was getting worried. “Where’s Baekhyun?” Chanyeol mumbled to himself as he reached his phone out of his pocket, trying to contact his husband.
Jongdae was staring at him with an amazed look. “You sure you really didn’t play any prank on us?”
“What do you mean?” Chanyeol asked as he put his phone on his ear. “You think Baek and I were fooling you guys? No, why would we? Hello? Babe, why haven’t you come back?” Baekhyun had answered the phone.
“Sehun will kill himself when he opens his twitter later and sees this news,” Jongdae said. His face was still in shocked.
“It’s okay. You can come back here. Bring Sota and Sora, too,” Chanyeol still talked to the phone. “I’m in the corner with Jongdae and Kyungsoo.”
“Remember when Sehun punched Baekhyun?” Jongdae turned to Kyungsoo. “No wonder Chanyeol was so angry at Sehun.”
Kyungsoo snickered. Seeing this scene in front of him was really funny. He was relieved that nothing they were afraid of was happening, but at the same time he was amused. Ten years surely had brought a lot of change to everyone.
Chanyeol had put his phone back to his pocket and he was smiling widely right now. Kyungsoo could feel how happiness radiating from his cousin.
“I still can’t believe you guys could act like you were rivals when you were actually lovers.”
“Our acting was top notch, right?” Chanyeol sipped his beer, finishing it before the twins came. “Baekhyun was the best at it though.”
Jongdae shook his head, “I just heard Park Chanyeol complimenting Byun Baekhyun. Miracle does happened.”
Chanyeol laughed a genuine laugh. “Baekhyun is the best person on earth, alright? That’s why I marry him.”
“Thank goodness you guys were hiding it during high school or I could never handle your cheesiness,” Jongdae groaned.
Chanyeol didn’t have the time to retort any Jongdae’s remark back as he saw Baekhyun and his kids entering the gym. He immediately ran to them and took one of the twins-he took Sota-from Baekhyun who was holding both of the twins when they came in. It was a wonderful sight, seeing the four of them walking while smiling brightly toward each other, laughing their inside jokes with their kids.
Even if someone in the room didn’t like it, they didn’t show it. People just stared at them like they used to be back then in high school. The difference was, ten years ago people stared at them because they drew attention because of their fights. But today, everyone stared at them because they looked beautiful together.
Nobody realized it back then. But nothing was never too late.
“You know,” Jongdae said to Kyungsoo. The two of them were also staring at the family who was walking toward them. “If Chanyeol and Baekhyun did come out ten years ago, I honestly think they would be a power couple. Nobody could match them. Nobody would have enough guts or power to break that smile they had when they were together like that.”
Kyungsoo only smiled. For once, he agreed with Jongdae's words. “That’s because they are Chanyeol and Baekhyun.”
~
“Alright, everyone! Put your letter in this time capsule and we will open it ten years from now. We’ll have a reunion in 2015. Mark it in your calendar. Understand?”
All the students roared, excited that today was their last day of high school. They were in the school’s gym, writing letters for themselves ten years from now. They wrote their hopes, wishes, regrets, confessions, and dreams. And they would let their ten years version from now to read it.
Everyone was busy writing their own letters. They didn’t know that a certain couple of rivals were writing their letters side by side at the corner of the gym. They wrote the same wish. The same dream for themselves ten years from now.
Nobody knew but them. And they felt content. Because they had each other.
“I want to be a novel writer. Or an editor would be alright too. And I wish I’ll read this letter with Chanyeol beside me when I come back ten years from now. I really hope this will come true. Please let this come true.” - Byun Baekhyun, class 3-7, year 2005.
“I hope I’m still alive in 2015 and I become rich and successful. Amen. And I also wish I’ll read this letter with Baekhyun beside me, preferably with our kids too. Amen amen amen! I love you, Baek! Forever!” - Park Chanyeol, class 3-2, year 2005.