a light that never goes out [2/5]

[paradisist]

Two

Everything related to art reminds Baekhyun of Joonmyun. Every turn in the gallery, every piece of work that Jongdae points out to him, he thinks of Joonmyun. And every time, Baekhyun is reminded of how the last time they spoke, they’d gotten into a tiny fight, where Baekhyun hurts Joonmyun because he’s still not comfortable with being gay and having a boyfriend. As usual. How is it that other people can deal with things so quickly? How can others find out they’re gay and go on like things haven’t changed? Baekhyun remembers being friends with Amber for a year before she ever came out to anyone that she liked girls more than boys and yet, she’d gone through life as if it’s perfectly okay.

“Amber has dealt with her sexuality far longer than you have,” Taeyeon had consoled him. “She’s known for a while that she just wasn’t attracted to guys. It’s only been a year for you. People cope in different ways, in different timelines. And seeing someone, like what you’re doing, is a step forward.”

Baekhyun wasn’t really sure what pushed him to agree and get to know Joonmyun after he’d been asked out for coffee. Sure Joonmyun was handsome, sweet and was such a gentleman the first time they went out, but Baekhyun was only a little bit more than one year fresh from a break-up, as well as from coming out. There was just something about Joonmyun that made Baekhyun agree for another date and another and another until they were officially together.

There are several things, but one thing that Baekhyun likes about Joonmyun is his patience. He doesn’t just mean his patience when it comes to Baekhyun; that is a part of it because if there’s one thing Baekhyun hates, is being forced to do something or be something in an unreasonable amount of time. Joonmyun is naturally patient. It shows with how he deals with his work, which has a lot of moving deadlines and has a lot to deal with demanding clients and unreasonable bosses. He doesn’t fly of the handle, always letting his anger go before talking to anyone. Like with Baekhyun. Baekhyun supposes it will always come back to that.

“You’re so quiet,” Jongdae nudges him.

“It’s an art gallery,” Baekhyun returns, rolling his eyes. “I can’t exactly talk your ear off.”

“Exactly,” Jongdae laughs. “It’s an art gallery, not a museum.”

Baekhyun opens his mouth to retort but finds that Jongdae’s comment is very valid. People aren’t required to be quiet in art galleries. It’s not even wrong to talk in museums when he thinks about it further. Art always puts him in this sort of reverence though, like he should just shut up and admire. He turns to Jongdae to tell him exactly this when there’s a tap on his shoulder.

“Joonmyun!” Jongdae greets him before Baekhyun can even turn around.

When Baekhyun does turn around, Joonmyun is standing there, handsome in a black blazer over a dark gray shirt and fitted black slacks. Baekhyun starts to smile but he sees the way Joonmyun is looking at him, like he’s been betrayed, and he remembers that he’d declined to go out with Joonmyun because he said he was busy with work. So this was where Joonmyun wanted to take him.

“What are you guys doing here?” Joonmyun asks, smiling at Jongdae.

Baekhyun opens his mouth to say something, to maybe defend himself or maybe save face, but Jongdae answers with, “I had free tickets and yesterday I asked Baekhyun to go with me.” Baekhyun closes his eyes for a second. When said like that, it’s almost like Jongdae had asked Baekhyun out.

“It’s not really-” Baekhyun starts.

“Free tickets, huh,” Joonmyun comments, still smiling.

“Yeah,” Jongdae continues. “Baekhyun’s easy to drag into things like this. He rarely ever says no, probably because he has no love life.” He laughs as Baekhyun slaps his arm. “What? It’s true.”

“I could have a love life,” Baekhyun mutters, not meeting Joonmyun’s eyes. “I could have and just not tell you about it because you’re nosy.” This is just perfect. He’s not entirely sure how he can get out of this one.

“Ah really?” Jongdae turns to him, all interested. “You’re seeing someone?”

Baekhyun fidgets. This is not how he planned to tell anyone he was seeing Joonmyun if he ever came to that point. This is definitely not that point and he doesn’t want to just surprise anyone with this information the way he’s surprised into admitting it.

“Let’s not force Baekhyun to say things he clearly doesn’t intend to share,” Joonmyun jumps in.

“That’s not true,” Baekhyun immediately replies, looking at Joonmyun with wide eyes. “You know it isn’t.”

“Well then, are you going to answer his question?” Joonmyun asks, gesturing towards Jongdae, who’s giving them confused looks.

“Just because someone doesn’t want to answer questions doesn’t mean he wouldn’t share those things to other people eventually,” Baekhyun defends himself the way he’s always defended his fear of telling people about him and his relationship with Joonmyun. “Sometimes it takes time.”

“Time runs out, too,” Joonmyun retorts, making Baekhyun freeze. Joonmyun smiles at Jongdae and shakes his hand. “Well, it was nice seeing you both but I have to go.” He turns and walks away without any preamble.

“What was that? You and Joonmyun sounded like you were fighting about something. I didn’t know you guys were close,” Jongdae is saying when Baekhyun excuses himself and goes after Joonmyun.

Baekhyun makes a note of talking to Jongdae later on as he rushes out of the gallery. He looks left and right and runs when he sees Joonmyun getting into his car. Without even asking for permission, he opens the passenger door, gets inside and straps himself in.

“I’m not getting out,” Baekhyun states firmly when Joonmyun opens his mouth. “We are going to talk whether you like it or not so just drive.”

The car ride back to Joonmyun’s place is quiet and unnerving. Baekhyun is so angry about what happened that he couldn’t bear to even think about letting it go. The fact that Joonmyun has let his anger go every time they fought doesn’t escape him, but Baekhyun doesn’t care. Joonmyun practically forced him to come out to Jongdae back in the gallery. While that may have been a reaction to Baekhyun’s doing, it still doesn’t sit right with him and he will not let this pass.

As soon as Joonmyun’s apartment door closes, Baekhyun follows Joonmyun into the kitchen. The latter is getting a glass of water from the fridge.

“Would you care to tell me what that was all about?” Baekhyun demands.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Joonmyun asks, his voice a forceful calm.

“I was working,” Baekhyun starts to explain. “But Jongdae just dragged me out and I couldn’t do anything-”

“He asked you yesterday, Baekhyun,” Joonmyun interrupts him, slamming the glass down on the counter. “I asked you to come with me last week and you couldn’t even free up your schedule for me.”

“So what, you decide to put me on the spot and tell Jongdae that we were seeing each other just so you could get back at me?” Baekhyun snaps.

Joonmyun takes a deep breath. “That wasn’t what I intended, but I’m sorry that it came out that way,” he says after a moment. His eyes meet Baekhyun’s flashing ones. “But you can’t keep doing this,” he carries on. “You can’t see me and then pretend that we don’t exist, that I don’t exist, that I’m not important to you when we’re in public.”

“I know that,” Baekhyun says. “I know that, believe me. But haven’t I asked you for time? Haven’t I explained to you that I’m not comfortable-”

“And I’ve given you leeway,” Joonmyun answers. “We’ve been dating for three months and never have I forced you into anything ever since we talked about it the first time. I’ve never asked about it and I’ve been patient. But, Baek, there’s only so much I can take.”

“Of course it is about you,” Baekhyun scoffs.

Joonmyun fixes a fierce gaze at him. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m in this relationship, too. So yes, sometimes it will be about me, because so far it’s always been about you. It’s always been about your fears, about your insecurities, about your secrets, about the things you don’t want to do. But let me tell you something, I have feelings, too.” He pauses and takes a deep breath, smiling almost mockingly. “Baekhyun, I’m in love with you,” he declares.

Baekhyun stands there like he’s been slapped. Baekhyun likes Joonmyun because it’s all he would ever allow himself to feel for anyone at this point in his life, but Joonmyun loves him.

“I’m in love with you,” Joonmyun repeats. “And I can’t do this. I can’t keep on doing this. I can’t be in a relationship where what I think and feel don’t count.”

It feels like Baekhyun’s been put in his place. He stands there like he’s been hit and shaken at the same time. Joonmyun is in love with him. How he managed to do that despite everything they’ve been through is beyond Baekhyun. How can Joonmyun be in love with him? How dare he!

“So you’re breaking up with me?” Baekhyun replies, feeling his stomach churn. “Is that what you meant by time runs out, too? My time with you has run out, is that it?”

Joonmyun runs a hand through his hair in frustration. “No, that’s not it. I don’t want to break up with you,” he corrects him. “I’m just-I’m trying to make you understand that there is a limit to how much of myself I can give you without getting anything in return.”

“You’re asking for too much,” Baekhyun tells him, shaking his head and taking a step back. “You’re asking for something that I’m not ready for, which I’ve told you right from the beginning.”

“I thought it would pass and-”

“Well it hasn’t,” Baekhyun almost yells, taking another step towards the door. He chuckles sardonically. “I have put myself out there when I agreed to go out with you. I did it again when I agreed that we could date officially and this is what I get. You’re leaving me because I can’t be what you want.”

“Baekhyun, I’m not asking you to be anything but yourself,” Joonmyun tries to make him understand.

Baekhyun doesn’t understand and shakes his head. Without another word, he walks out of the apartment, ignoring Joonmyun’s calls for him.

÷

Clubs really aren’t his scene. The music is too loud, the drinks can be suspicious and people tend to be touchier than usual even with strangers; probably because of the alcohol. Baekhyun finishes another bottle of beer and orders another one from the bartender. Normally he wouldn’t touch beer, but he can’t be bothered to watch his drink being made. He’d rather focus on the ladies on the dance floor, grinding against each other. He still can find girls attractive, can he? Being gay doesn’t mean going blind. His new bottle of beer is served and he takes a swig just as one particular girl catches his eye. Baekhyun sends a smirk her way, the alcohol thrumming through his veins, tipping the bottle towards her in acknowledgement. She returns it with a smile of her own.

Baekhyun sighs when his mind flits back towards Joonmyun. He’s heard Joonmyun’s argument loud and clear: change for the better, give me my due or let’s break up. It’s like Baekhyun’s been told that he isn’t being responsible for his side of the relationship. But Baekhyun has been very clear in the beginning that he isn’t comfortable enough. Obviously Joonmyun thought that that was something that was going to be done in a couple of months. He gets that Joonmyun wants to tell people, wants to get to know Baekhyun’s friends, be in a more intimate relationship, but intimacy also means more complicated. Baekhyun may be willing to do that, but in his own time. He will not be bullied into doing things he’s not comfortable with, most especially not by someone he thought understood him.

His arm is jostled when someone slides onto the empty seat beside his. He turns and sees that it’s that girl from the dance floor. She’s pretty as she sweeps her side bangs away from her eyes, smiling at him with her pink lips, her pretty lashes fluttering to her rosy cheeks.

“Buy me a drink?” she asks, her voice melodious.

Baekhyun agrees to her request and hails the bartender over towards them. He watches as she orders her drink herself, specifying exactly the way she wants it made, before turning to him with another smile.

Baekhyun has always been attracted to the cute ones, petite, with pretty eyes and a pretty smile. When he first met Taeyeon so many years ago, he was immediately attracted to how tiny she was, giving him this feeling of wanting to take care of her. It was a while before Baekhyun really got the courage to act on the attraction because he wasn’t sure he wanted to and because Taeyeon had become a good friend after a while. When they got into university, that’s when he decided to pursue her. Just before they turned sophomores, Taeyeon kissed him. This girl is very cute, pretty and seems to be coming on to him.

“Hey,” Baekhyun lamely greets her.

“No personal information,” she dictates, holding her hand up to stop him from saying his name or anything else before downing her drink in one go. She orders another one. “However, do you want to go somewhere else after I finish my drink?” she asks, sending him a coy smile.

Baekhyun drinks half of his nth beer that night. He knows what she is asking. There is no secret to what that invitation means. He should say no because it’s what a person in a relationship should say. But right now, he’s not really sure if he still has a boyfriend. He nods his assent at her, clinking their drinks together.

÷

Baekhyun’s lashes flutter as his blurry gaze tries to focus. The room is dark and the surroundings unfamiliar. He looks up. There’s a small chandelier on his ceiling. Since when has he-he hurriedly sits up and looks around. Definitely not his place. He looks to his side and groans quietly in disappointment when he sees a girl he doesn’t really remember or recognize sleeping under a tangle of white sheets. Baekhyun had been hoping it was a dream. He’d been hoping that he didn’t do anything rash and stupid after leaving the club. But he did. Tears prickle his eyes as he thinks of Joonmyun.

He quietly gets off the bed and dresses himself as quickly as he can. Closing the bedroom door, he looks around, slightly amazed at the size of the apartment, and wonders whether he should leave a note or something. That is probably the proper thing to do, so even if Baekhyun knows that this isn’t something he wants to get back to him, he does leave a note with his full name in an effort to be even the slightest bit honorable in the midst of the whole situation.

The streets are cold in the wee hours of the morning. Baekhyun isn’t really sure where he is but he hails a cab and goes to a place where he knows he will feel safe and cared for even in his stupidity.

“Baekhyun, it’s three in the morning.” Taeyeon pulls in him inside and closes the door. She fusses the way she does when she worried and makes Baekhyun sit on the couch while she fetches him a glass of water and a jacket.

Baekhyun feels more and more wretched as the time passes. This shouldn’t have happened. He shouldn’t have done what he did, shouldn’t have slept with that girl; he shouldn’t have slept with anyone else period. He and Joonmyun had fought but that was no reason to… Baekhyun pushes himself further into the couch and curls into himself.

Taeyeon finds him lying on his side, eyes closed, fists clenched and his knees to his chest.

“Baekhyun, what happened?” she gently asks, placing the water and wrapping the jacket around his shoulders.

What happened? He turned gay, got into a relationship with someone he would never deserve, hurt that person and screwed up even further. How can he answer that question without wanting to disappear?

“Baekhyun.” Taeyeon coaxes him into opening his eyes. She reaches for one of his hands and unclenches it, lacing her fingers with his. “You’re making me worried,” she tells him softly.

“I screwed up,” he chokes out. He pulls Taeyeon closer, making her kneel on the floor, as he tucks her hand close to him. “I screwed up so badly.” He doesn’t even think screwed up covers it but he doesn’t want to elaborate on the severity of his mistake.

“Is this about Joonmyun?” she lightly presses. When he doesn’t answer, places her other arm on the edge of the couch and leans her chin on it. “Baekhyun, I’m sure you guys will work it out. You and Joonmyun always seemed to have.”

Baekhyun shakes his head as much as lying on the couch would allow him. “Not this time,” he bites out. “Not with…” He cuts himself off with a sob that he holds back. “I just…” He takes a deep breath and squeezes his eyes shut to compose himself. “I think… I don’t want to lose him.”

Baekhyun admits and believes he doesn’t merit Joonmyun and his patience, consideration and now, love. But why would Joonmyun be with Baekhyun and stay with him in the first place? There must something he saw in him, something that Baekhyun still has yet to find. But what if Joonmyun’s patience has run out? Joonmyun was so upset when they’d fought. He had slammed the glass on the counter and had raised his voice, things that he’s never done. It wasn’t just that Baekhyun had made Joonmyun angry. It was also that Baekhyun had disappointed him. He can remember how Joonmyun looked at him in the art gallery and can’t begin to describe how that made-still makes-him feel guilty. How can Baekhyun ever make up for all the hurt he put him through? And after what he’d just done…

“Talking always does wonders,” Taeyeon suggests encouragingly.

“What if he doesn’t listen? What if he’s done with me?” Baekhyun voices out his insecurities and Taeyeon frowns at seeing her best friend like this.

“Hey.” She squeezes his hand to make him look at her. “Remember when we fought all the time back in the day?” Baekhyun smiles a little at the memory. “You always, always pestered me so that we could talk about it rationally. You wouldn’t even allow the thought of us breaking up. What ever happened to that?”

“That’s different,” he says.

“How is it different?” she challenges him. “How was our relationship different from the one you have with Joonmyun now?” She fixes him a knowing gaze. “Baek, it’s a relationship. It’s the same. Just because you’re dating a guy now doesn’t make it any less real.” She pauses thoughtfully. “Maybe that’s the problem; maybe you should start treating your relationship with Joonmyun more seriously.”

Baekhyun bites his lower lip in uncertainty. Commitment is what Joonmyun wants from him, what he’s always wanted, and giving him that would make him happy. Except Baekhyun doesn’t know how to do that. He doesn’t even know if he can. What if he says he would commit and then falter halfway? Wouldn’t that hurt Joonmyun more?

“Baek, no one knows how relationships will work out at the offset,” Taeyeon shares. “The important thing is that you try to make it work; you try your hardest. I think that’s all Joonmyun’s asking from you, that you meet him halfway.”

÷

It’s daylight. Joonmyun is probably asleep, bundled up in his blankets even if his air-conditioning is probably turned down so low. Baekhyun stands outside of his apartment, clothes rumpled and face tear-stricken. He’s not entirely sure what he’s doing here at this hour. He could have gone home to change and come back but he finds that he couldn’t put this off.

Taking a deep breath, he takes out the key from his pocket. Joonmyun had given him a key to his apartment the moment they hit two months, with a disclaimer. Joonmyun knew that he wasn’t all for commitment so he had immediately said that it was just for emergencies, for when Baekhyun needed a place to crash or a place to go to where he can feel safe. Baekhyun knows that Joonmyun is a safe place. If there was anyone aside from Taeyeon whom Baekhyun knew he could count on, it’s Joonmyun. He’s just that kind of person that makes you trust him.

He had taken the key, but has never had the need or the urge to use it.

Baekhyun slots the key in and goes inside. It’s quiet and warm. He makes a beeline for the bedroom, opening and closing the door quietly. Joonmyun is buried underneath his thick dark red blankets. Baekhyun can see the tufts of his messy dark brown hair peeking at the top and he takes a deep breath as he pads across the room and climbs on.

Baekhyun wraps his left arm around Joonmyun’s waist and presses himself close to his back. Joonmyun is so warm and so comfortable. He shifts slightly as Baekhyun snuggles even closer but doesn’t wake. Joonmyun can be a deep sleeper when he’s really tired. Baekhyun only hopes he doesn’t wake up right now. He leans his face and places an almost reverent kiss to Joonmyun’s nape. As soon as he does, he bursts into tears.

He clings onto him tighter. Baekhyun is so scared. He’s only just started really being comfortable in his own skin again. He can’t even really say he’s all that comfortable yet, but he’s settling and his fears are slowly getting allayed even though he hasn’t really told anyone else. Taeyeon has been a great support throughout the whole thing and he’s glad he has someone like her, one whom he knows he’s hurt in the process, to hold his hand. But this is one thing Taeyeon can’t hold his hand through.

This whole thing has made him realize that he likes Joonmyun a lot more than he thought. Joonmyun isn’t just some guy that he’s decided to date and experiment being in a gay relationship with. He is someone whom Baekhyun has chosen to have a relationship with, just like how his relationship was with Taeyeon. Granted that he never really expected this to go anywhere because it is his first relationship after such a big change, but Taeyeon is right. It isn’t any different. He didn’t judge going out with Joonmyun other than the fact that he is a decent person.

Now Baekhyun is scared, because is so close to driving him away and he’s not sure if he can live with that. When he thinks about what Taeyeon has said, he hasn’t really given this relationship it’s due. He hasn’t tried hard enough to make it work. No wonder Joonmyun got so angry, no wonder he wanted to break up. But Baekhyun wonders if he can still make it work.

“Baekhyun?” Joonmyun rouses in his sleep and tries to turn around. “Are you crying?”

“No,” Baekhyun croaks, tightening his hold on Joonmyun’s waist so he can’t move.

“Baekhyun, what-?”

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun sobs into his back, drenching Joonmyun’s shirt with his tears. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m going to try harder. I’m going to do my best. I’ll do a lot more, just please say you’ll let me and won’t break up with me.”

Joonmyun tries to turn and face him again but Baekhyun just squeezes him tighter, burying his face in his face. “Baekhyun, let me,” he requests. “Please let me comfort you.”

Baekhyun slowly loosens his hold and Joonmyun shifts on the bed to face him. He traces Baekhyun’s tears with his fingers before pulling him towards him and wrapping his arms securely around his frame. Baekhyun starts crying even more.

Baekhyun doesn’t understand how Joonmyun can still hold him like this, how he can still be so kind and concerned for him after everything he’s done. Their relationship has been rocky all because of Baekhyun’s doing. He’s singlehandedly ruining what can possibly be a good thing. He has also managed to break into one man’s patience. It makes Baekhyun feel horrible that Joonmyun still cares and still worries about him after all that.

“Sshh,” Joonmyun tries to soothe him, rubbing his hand up and down Baekhyun’s back. “Sshh. It’s okay. It will be okay.”

“Joonmyun, I’m really-,” Baekhyun starts again, but Joonmyun hushes him.

“We can talk about it tomorrow,” Joonmyun assures him, despite the sun glaring rather hotly outside. “Later,” he whispers, kissing Baekhyun on the forehead.

Baekhyun fights sleep for quite some time, allowing himself to revel in Joonmyun’s soothing voice, hoping to hum him to dreamland. But after a while, he permits himself to fall asleep, fists clenched into Joonmyun’s sleep shirt.

÷

Baekhyun makes sure that Joonmyun wakes up to the smell of breakfast. Or late lunch, he thinks when he checks the clock. Baekhyun had taken a while to calm down and stop crying and he’s pretty sure that Joonmyun stayed awake long after his sniffles had quieted down.

Baekhyun is by the stove, his back towards the doorway, not noticing that Joonmyun has woken up and has come to the kitchen. He sighs when he takes a look at all the food that he’s made. He originally just decided to make pancakes, but then he decided to make more of an effort and had gone out to buy waffle mixes, bread, as well as eggs and other groceries. So now he also has waffles and spam and eggs and bread. Granted that everything looks burnt (it doesn’t make sense that even the bread would be burnt, but it is), Baekhyun hopes that Joonmyun wouldn’t mind.

“What are you doing?” Joonmyun laughs.

“Trying to make you something edible,” Baekhyun answers, brows in a furrow, mouth in a pout. He takes the waffles left on the pan and dumps them on a big plate. He makes a face when he sees that none of those can possible be eaten. “Sorry,” he says with a sigh, finally looking at Joonmyun. “I thought I could make it work. I mean, I went to the grocery and bought stuff. I even bought recipe books and instruction guides and just…” He slumps back on the counter, throwing his hands up in the air. “I tried.”

Baekhyun turns and grabs the big plate of waffles and moves to dump it into the sink. However, Joonmyun stops him. He takes it from Baekhyun’s hands and puts it on the counter. With a knife, he takes out the burnt parts. There are a lot of them, big chunks, mostly the whole of the waffle. Still, there are some left that can be eaten.

“Not everything has to be thrown away,” Joonmyun speaks softly, attention on the slicing of waffles. “There are always parts that are good, like silver linings.” He looks up and meets Baekhyun’s eyes. “Something good always comes out of trying. The important thing is you tried.”

Baekhyun opens his mouth, sucking some air in, before talking. “Joonmyun, I…”

“I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that,” Joonmyun interrupts, shaking his head and looking away. He puts the knife down and wipes his hands on his shorts. “I’ve known that you aren’t comfortable and I shouldn’t have pushed the issue.” He chuckles mockingly. “When I saw you with Jongdae, I just couldn’t help but feel jealous about the fact that you can go out with him freely and we never even…” He shakes his head. “It’s fine,” he finishes, taking a deep breath. He meets Baekhyun’s eyes again. “I was only thinking of myself. I’m sorry.”

Baekhyun purses his lips to keep himself from bursting into tears again. Crying like a baby earlier was enough to last him several lifetimes and he wasn’t going to go do it again any time soon. But it hurts his heart to see Joonmyun so apologetic and so concerned about Baekhyun’s feelings when it’s Baekhyun who’s done something unforgivable. He moves towards him and kisses him. It feels like it’s been a while, so he pulls Joonmyun closer, wrapping his arms around his neck, just to show him how sorry he is.

“You shouldn’t be the one apologizing,” Baekhyun tells him, cupping his face. “This is my fault, remember? I’m the one who declined your invitation to go out. I’m the one who went to the gallery with Jongdae and denied something was going on between us. I’m the one who-” He chokes on his apology and kisses Joonmyun again. “I’m going to try. I’m going to really try this time, Joonmyun,” he promises.

“Baekhyun…” But Joonmyun can’t find anything to say against that.

“Let me start by telling you something about me,” Baekhyun insists. He pulls Joonmyun to the table and they take a seat beside each other. “I was in high school when I thought my chemistry teacher was handsome. I didn’t think it was anything important. I thought it was okay to be attracted to people with the same sex because, well, my teacher was really handsome. Everyone thought he was.” He chuckles and Joonmyun reaches for his hand with a smile.

“What happened then?” Joonmyun encourages him.

“Nothing. I just ignored it,” Baekhyun laughs. “Taeyeon was my best friend then and we’ve been friends until we got into university.” Sobering up, he takes a deep breath. “Joonmyun, Taeyeon became my girlfriend in college.” Joonmyun squeezes his hand. “We were together for three years. Until I came out.”

“Baekhyun,” Joonmyun starts.

“I didn’t tell you because…” Baekhyun takes a deep breath. “I don’t know why I didn’t. But I’m telling you now.”

Joonmyun is quiet for a while. He thinks about what Baekhyun said and decides that the more important thing is that Baekhyun trusted him with something he wouldn’t have normally told him otherwise. He then smiles, reaching to brush Baekhyun’s hair away from his eyes. “I appreciate you being honest,” he sincerely says, leaning forward and kissing his cheek. “Take your time with the rest.”

“I haven’t really come out to anyone else,” Baekhyun blurts out. “I haven’t, but… I’ll try.”

“Take your time,” Joonmyun kisses his smiles to Baekhyun’s lips.

“I’m scared, Joonmyun,” Baekhyun unsurely says, watching as Joonmyun pulls away and stands.

“Of what?” Joonmyun asks, turning away from all the burnt food they were going to have to throw out.

“Just…” Baekhyun shrugs and gestures awkwardly at nothing.

Joonmyun sits back down and pulls Baekhyun onto his lap. “I can’t say that there is nothing to be scared of,” he starts. “Being yourself can be scary. But you’ve been so brave, Baekhyun.” He kisses his cheek. “This is brave,” he tells him proudly, kissing him on the lips this time. “I’ll be brave along with you.”

Baekhyun throws his arms around Joonmyun in happiness.

÷

There’s a song stuck in Baekhyun’s head. It’s one of SM Entertainment’s boy group songs. He doesn’t really remember their name but their song is so addictive that he can’t help but sing them under his breath. Even if he sounds dumb repeating growling over and over again. He goes to the living room to check that everything is in order before moving to the kitchen to make sure that the popcorn is ready to be heated. He’s just placing the packet in the oven when the doorbell rings.

Baekhyun opens the door with a flourish when he sees that it’s Joonmyun through the peephole.

“Hi,” Joonmyun greets him.

Joonmyun takes a step forward to kiss him. Baekhyun flinches for a bit, his eyes moving to the empty hallway before they land on Joonmyun, who has noticed his discomfort. This is one of those moments and Baekhyun has to make more of an effort. He makes a quick decision and tugs Joonmyun back and kisses him.

“Hi,” Baekhyun greets him back with a smile, pulling him into the apartment. “You can put in the movie. I’ll just make the popcorn.”

Joonmyun is seated on the couch, remote on hand, ready to play the movie, when Baekhyun comes back with a bowl full of popcorn. Joonmyun wraps his arm around Baekhyun as they settle into watching the movie.

“This is nice,” Joonmyun comments, almost halfway through the movie. He shifts his arm down around Baekhyun so he can reach to his forearms. He’s been running his fingers up and down Baekhyun’s arm that Baekhyun keeps getting distracted.

It hasn’t been long since Baekhyun’s promise but it already feels like this has been the best their relationship has been ever since they started dating. Baekhyun definitely feels like he’s in a relationship for the first time since then. He sees Joonmyun almost everyday, even if it’s just for a few minutes. They talk all the time with Joonmyun sending him messages that always cheer him up when he gets stressed at work. He doesn’t know what he’s been doing not paying attention to how sweet Joonmyun is.

“It is,” Baekhyun hums in agreement, snuggling closer to him. “What are we watching?” he asks after a moment, making Joonmyun laugh.

“You haven’t been paying attention.” Joonmyun squeezes him and Baekhyun squirms, ending up facing him instead of the television. “What if we were watching my favorite movie?”

“Your favorite movie is Dead Poets Society,” Baekhyun scoffs. “You always like those really warm and lesson-filled ones.” Maybe that’s why Joonmyun’s always so warm. “Besides, I would know and pay more attention if we were watching one of those movies that you really liked.” Touching, Joonmyun’s chin, he makes him look at him. “Right now, I’d rather pay attention to you.”

Joonmyun smiles and kisses him. Baekhyun makes himself comfortable, leaning his head back, resting it on the couch as he wraps his arms around his neck and plays with Joonmyun’s hair. He really likes it when Joonmyun kisses him. His lips are really soft and tender and perfect against his. Baekhyun thinks this is a part of their relationship that he enjoys rediscovering the most.

“If you wanted to make-out,” Joonmyun whispers as Baekhyun’s fingers find the buttons of his cardigan, “you could have just said so, instead of asking me to come over for a movie marathon.”

“Well now I’m not asking,” Baekhyun replies with a giggle. Shifting on the couch, he manages to lie down and pull Joonmyun on top of him. “Less talk, more action.”

“So bold,” Joonmyun laughs, his kisses becoming fuller. “I like it.”

“I’m glad,” Baekhyun says, unbuttoning Joonmyun’s cardigan fully and taking it off for him. Of course Joonmyun is wearing a button up underneath but he’ll enjoy taking that off as well. “I like you.”

Joonmyun pushes himself up to look at Baekhyun. He’s never said anything like that before. Baekhyun has never expressed outright how he felt about Joonmyun.

“Eventually I’ll get there,” Baekhyun promises him, mistaking Joonmyun’s stare for disappointment. He knows that Joonmyun feels more than just like for him.

Joonmyun just smiles and kisses him and Baekhyun is all relieved to kiss him back.

÷

Being buried in paperwork is one of those things that Baekhyun really dislikes about his job. The paperwork always piles up even when he’s finishing one after another constantly. He sighs, leaning back on his chair, as his secretary places another sets of folders on his desk before giving him some documents to sign. He waves her away, saying he’ll buzz for her when he needs her to get them. The documents needing his signature are approvals for a new project that has come in. He sets them aside to finish the current work he’s been doing.

Doing his job has become seemingly easier in the past weeks. He’s not sure how it’s happened, but it’s become easier to wake up in the morning and not dread to go to work. Baekhyun wonders if it has something to do with the fact that he’s fixing a part of his life.

“Mr. Kim is here to see you,” his secretary buzzes him. “Should I show him in?”

Baekhyun stares at his door. This conversation was bound to come sooner or later. He’s actually pretty surprised, but grateful, that it hasn’t come sooner. Jongdae’s been a good friend and has definitely made his stay in the company easier and more fun. Baekhyun owes him at least some honesty and insight into his life.

“Show him in,” Baekhyun responds.

Baekhyun blows out a breath when Jongdae walks in and closes the door behind him.

“Hey,” Jongdae greets somewhat uncertainly, taking a seat in front of the desk.

“Hey,” Baekhyun replies with a small smile. He takes a deep breath, not quite sure how to begin because he’s pretty sure that he has the one who has some explaining to do. “Look, I apologize for what happened at the art gallery and I’m sorry for leaving without an explanation.”

“I figured it was important,” Jongdae carefully responds.

“Joonmyun and I…” Baekhyun starts, taking another deep breath. “We’ve met up a couple of times after you introduced us.” Jongdae doesn’t say anything as he processes this information. “He asked me to meet him for coffee and I said yes and we went out a couple more times after that. On dates.”

“But that would mean…” Jongdae furrows his brows in confusion. “But Baekhyun, you’re not-”

“I’m gay,” Baekhyun tells him candidly. It only takes him a second to realize how liberating it feels to say that. “Joonmyun and I, we’ve been together for three months, and what you saw in the gallery was him getting upset because I wanted to keep us a secret, while he wanted to tell people about us.”

Jongdae is quiet and Baekhyun fidgets in anxiety. This is the first time he’s come out and said that to anyone other than Taeyeon and it’s both scary and relieving at the same time. But if Jongdae decides that Baekhyun isn’t a good enough friend for him anymore, he would accept it. A lot more people may be accepting, but there are still people who aren’t because society still doesn’t completely condone it. Jongdae could be one of the latter.

“I know that this may be something that you’re not comfortable with,” Baekhyun continues but is interrupted.

Jongdae starts laughing, and laughing quite hard. Baekhyun doesn’t say anything and just leans back in his seat, trying not to feel too hurt by his reaction. Obviously, Jongdae isn’t taking this seriously. He probably thinks that Baekhyun is joking, making up a whole story about what happened.

“Jongdae-”

“It’s lunch break,” Jongdae suddenly says, glancing up at the clock. He stands up and walks to the door and Baekhyun is resigned to the fact that Jongdae may never go through those doors again, unless not if he can’t help it. “Come on,” he then calls him.

“What?” Baekhyun blinks.

“Come and let’s have lunch,” Jongdae invites him with a wave.

Baekhyun confusedly and wordlessly follows Jongdae to the cafeteria. This is certainly behavior he didn’t expect, especially since Jongdae didn’t seem to hear what he had just said. When they’ve found seats and have bought food, Baekhyun stays quiet and just watches as Jongdae texts someone.

“Jongdae, I’m not sure if you’ve understood what I told you earlier,” Baekhyun tries to explain again. “I’m-”

Jongdae rolls his eyes at him dismissively before waving at someone. Baekhyun turns in his seat and finds a rather cute male with black hair, pretty eyes and full lips. He slides into the space beside Jongdae and smiles at him before turning to Baekhyun.

“Baekhyun, meet Kyungsoo,” Jongdae introduces them.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Kyungsoo says genuinely.

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Baekhyun says, confused about this sudden introduction. There is a bit of a pressing matter than he wants Jongdae so badly to understand and something that Baekhyun wants to know what Jongdae thinks of.

Jongdae meets Baekhyun’s eyes. “Kyungsoo is my boyfriend,” he shares.

It almost feels like he’s having an out of body experience. Baekhyun stares at Jongdae in confusion before looking at Kyungsoo and then looking back at his friend. He does this a couple more times before it really settles in.

“But you’re dating Sunyoung, the receptionist,” Baekhyun tries to understand.

Jongdae chuckles and shakes his head. “I told you I was going out with the receptionist,” he corrects him, “not that I was dating Sunyoung specifically.”

Baekhyun opens his mouth and then closes it again when he finds that he can’t think of anything to say. Jongdae is gay? How could he have missed this? And they have two receptionists? He didn’t know this either.

“I wasn’t sure you would be comfortable so I never corrected you and never really talked about it much,” Jongdae explains, looking rueful. “And I was going to tell you, but I wasn’t sure how because I didn’t think… Just, I’m glad that I can tell you now.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Baekhyun confesses.

“Do you see, Baekhyun?” Jongdae reaches for his hand across the table. “It’s okay. I know it must have been hard for you to tell me due to a lot of circumstances, but you’re not alone in this.”

“I…” Baekhyun is still at a loss for words as he looks between Jongdae and Kyungsoo. Being so focused on himself, he didn’t realize that there could be other people around him who were going through something similar as he was. “For the record,” he speaks when he finds his voice, “I was going to tell you eventually, when I felt that I was comfortable enough.” He takes a deep breath and looks at Kyungsoo then Jongdae. “But thank you,” he adds gratefully, “for telling me and for introducing Kyungsoo to me.” He smiles and Kyungsoo grins back at him.

“I hope you and Joonmyun are okay,” Jongdae says.

“Yeah,” Baekhyun assures him distractedly.

Baekhyun hasn’t really known anyone personally who had the same struggles as him. He’s always grown up in a straight and normal environment, with girl friends who liked boys and guy friends who liked girls. It was worrying learning that he was gay and having to go through it alone was terrifying. Knowing that Jongdae, a friend of his, knows how he feels really makes him feel so much lighter.

Jongdae and Kyungsoo clearly have it bad for each other. They’re not afraid to show affection even when they’re in public. Jongdae smiles at Kyungsoo like he’s the sun, while Kyungsoo keeps on fussing over Jongdae and indulging all the little touches here and there. Jongdae grins at Baekhyun when he catches him watching and he smiles back. Baekhyun’s thoughts go to Joonmyun. He wonders when he’d be able to be as comfortable being seen with him in public.

÷

It’s the last day of, what Baekhyun calls, Joonmyun’s painting. It’s the first thing that’s said to him by one of the staff members as he enters the museum. It still looks as imposing as the first time, but when he looks at it, he sees it in a different light. Art to him is subjective and people can see it in ways that are affected by their personal experiences. Baekhyun has definitely become more open since the last time he was here.

Voices from the hallway make Baekhyun turn away from the painting. Jongin is shaking hands with someone, who heads towards the exit afterwards. Jongin smiles when he sees Baekhyun. Jongin is tall, handsomely tan, and sculpted like a god. Joonmyun sometimes teases him, calling him Adonis, and it has caught on with Baekhyun. He doesn’t think it wrong anyway.

“Hey!” Jongin greets him. “What are you doing here? Are you looking for Joonmyun?”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun says with a small smile that he hopes isn’t too uncomfortable. He’d known that it would be tricky but this is something he’s decided to do. There’s no backing out now. It’s not like he hasn’t visited Joonmyun in the office before anyway. “Is he around? Or is he in a meeting?”

“He’s in the office,” Jongin tells him, shaking his head. He leads Baekhyun towards the offices. “We’re only slightly busy because of the transfer of the painting, as well as some field trips, but other than that there’s not much work.”

Baekhyun just smiles because Joonmyun is actually a lot more stressed than he lets on. He’s had to discuss the transfer of the painting to several people in the past week, as well as writing out a lot of the paperwork to make sure that all goes well. They enter the office and Baekhyun follows Jongin towards Joonmyun’s desk. There aren’t a lot of people around, just another one of the staff, who seems to be filing a lot of documents.

“Look who’s here,” Jongin announces their arrival.

Joonmyun looks up from the paperwork on his desk and peers at them through black circular frames that Baekhyun has only seen Joonmyun wear once at home. Baekhyun smiles and waves shyly when Joonmyun’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Hi,” Baekhyun says quietly, suddenly a lot more self-conscious. He may have visited before but he has never come without notice. Now he wonders if maybe he should have. Surprises aren’t always a good thing. “I, uh brought you lunch.” He diffidently holds up a black lunch box and Jongin’s eyebrows shoot up.

“That’s sweet,” Jongin comments and Baekhyun blushes against his will. Maybe he shouldn’t have done this at all.

But then Joonmyun is standing up and taking the lunch box, carefully shuffling his work out of the way. He’s opening the lunch box and taking out the food when Jongin takes his leave, a smirk on his face.

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun quietly tells Joonmyun as soon as Jongin was gone. “I should have told you I was coming. I just thought that since you’re so busy that I could-” He cuts himself off with a worried pout. “Do you think he…?” he starts but shakes the thought away. It doesn’t matter if Jongin thinks something of the fact that he brought Joonmyun lunch. It doesn’t matter. He takes a deep breath and looks at Joonmyun, who’s watching him.

“Did you make this?” Joonmyun asks, looking down at the Vietnamese rolls with a fond smile.

“Yes?” Baekhyun uncertainly answers as Joonmyun takes a bite. “Do you like it?”

Joonmyun swallows and then takes another bite before grinning at Baekhyun. “You’ve been keeping something from me,” he tells him with a light chuckle.

“I may have been learning how to make food from my friends,” Baekhyun admits with relief when it’s obvious that Joonmyun isn’t going to throw up any time soon. He has been pestering Lu Han to help him with learning how to cook. Lu Han was so appalled at his skills that he started Baekhyun off with handling things like salads and wrapped food before anything else. It took Baekhyun around ten tries to get his Vietnamese roll looking like a Vietnamese roll. “I’m happy to know that you’re not dying,” he adds.

Joonmyun laughs and pulls Baekhyun towards him. “Thank you,” he sincerely states. “I know this isn’t easy for you.” He presses his lips against Baekhyun’s forehead. “Thank you.”

“Stop,” Baekhyun swats him, feeling embarrassed. “This isn’t a big deal. Go and eat.” He shoos him back to his seat so he can finish his food. “You’re going to make my forehead smell like chicken,” he continues, rubbing his fingers against his forehead but fighting back a smile.

Joonmyun does as he’s told and eats while working at the same time. Baekhyun, meanwhile, just looks through the books on the shelves. Pretty much all of them is about art, which makes sense since Joonmyun works in a museum. Baekhyun wonders if he can borrow one just for some leisure reading.

“What time are you off from work today?” Joonmyun asks, taking his glasses off. Baekhyun bites his lip because he thinks he really likes Joonmyun wearing glasses.

“I can leave at around six probably,” Baekhyun answers. “Why?”

Joonmyun finishes signing some documents before looking up. “Do you want me to pick you up?” he asks. “We could buy some take-out and eat it at your place.”

They don’t do this often, picking each other up to go to the other’s apartment to eat. Normally, it’s Baekhyun who just shows up at Joonmyun’s place or invites him to come over. Now that he thinks about it, they haven’t even really gone out for dinner or for any proper meal before. Baekhyun’s pretty sure that’s his fault.

“How about we go out to dinner?” Baekhyun suggests nonchalantly, picking at his fingers. “There’s that new French restaurant in town. You like French food, don’t you?”

“Are you sure?” Joonmyun asks, mouth hanging open. “We don’t have to.”

“Yes,” Baekhyun says, turning to look at the books again.

“Baekhyun,” Joonmyun calls and only proceeds when Baekhyun looks at him. “Are you sure?” he repeats.

This is one of those turning points, he supposes. He’s made changes all around, more for himself, to be more comfortable with who he is than anything else, but it’s affected his relationship with Joonmyun, too. They’re happier together and Baekhyun is definitely glad that they didn’t break-up. But they haven’t really progressed from hiding their relationship in public, although Baekhyun has been less shy about showing his affection.

Baekhyun takes a deep breath and nods. “Yes,” he confirms. “Yes, I’m sure.”

÷

Baekhyun dumps another bag of chips in the cart, only to be taken out moments later by Joonmyun. He peruses the shelves and when he sees another thing that he likes, which is basically categorized under junk food, he picks it up and puts it in. Joonmyun stares at it for a second before taking it out.

“Baekhyun, I don’t need any of those,” Joonmyun reminds him as Baekhyun grabs another bag of Cheetos.

“Yes, you do,” Baekhyun interjects. “Everyone needs to have a bag of Cheetos in their home. Besides, you need something to munch on when you watch DVDs.” He smiles winningly at Joonmyun and he immediately knows he’s won when Joonmyun just sighs and continues pushing the cart.

“We’re supposed to be buying stuff you need because you said you wanted to cook for dinner,” Joonmyun reminds him with a small smile on his face. “I don’t think Cheetos is a requirement.”

“Wine is,” Baekhyun tells him with a grin as he takes a bottle of red wine and brandishes it towards him. “I promise it will be good,” he tells him with the sincerest hope that it will be. He runs through everything he needs and checks the cart. They’re all set.

“Just to be clear,” Joonmyun responds as he pushes the cart and follows Baekhyun down the aisle. “Are we burning your kitchen down or mine?”

“No one’s kitchen is going to get burned,” Baekhyun states, affronted, as he grabs a pack of marshmallows and a box of hot chocolate.

Baekhyun laughs as Joonmyun continues staring at him questioningly knowing that it’s all good. Joonmyun likes it when Baekhyun cooks for him, despite all the mishaps and bitter tastes that he’s suffered. Baekhyun supposes it all comes with the fact that Baekhyun is finally acting like a real boyfriend to him. He’s now getting a taste of what it’s like to actually be going out with Byun Baekhyun, and it’s quite a ride. He’s about to assure Joonmyun that everything’s going to be okay when his phone rings.

“Taeyeon,” he answers the call the moment he sees that it’s her. “Hey!” Joonmyun walks ahead of him and he follows him to the next aisle, comprising of coffee and tea. “I’m out,” he tells her. “Yes, with Joonmyun.” Joonmyun looks up and smiles at him. “We’re picking up some things at the grocery,” he replies. He stops in his tracks and looks at Joonmyun, whose brows are furrowed as he decides between chamomile and lavender tea. “Uh yeah, sure. Okay, see you.”

Joonmyun turns to him at this. “Are you meeting Taeyeon?” he asks, looking like he’s decided on getting lavender.

“Uh, yes,” Baekhyun says. “She’s, well…” He chuckles. “We’re meeting her.”

“Oh,” Joonmyun responds. “Does she know…?”

“Yes, of course,” Baekhyun answers with a smile. He grabs the chamomile tea and puts it in the cart, which he starts pushing towards the checkout counter himself. “I hope it’s okay with you that we’re meeting her suddenly.”

“Well I’m always glad to meet your friends,” Joonmyun assures him. “As long as you’re comfortable with it.”

Baekhyun enjoys being with Joonmyun like this. He’s happy when they go out of the confines of their apartments. It really isn’t as bad as Baekhyun thought it would be. Granted that they aren’t very touchy when they’re outside, but it’s nice to be comfortable to be seen with Joonmyun in public. He loves it when they’re together no matter where they are.

Boldly, he reaches out and squeezes Joonmyun’s hand. Joonmyun almost forgets to squeeze back in shock.

“Of course I am,” Baekhyun promises him. “I’m more than comfortable with it.” And for the first time, he isn’t lying.

÷

It’s another one of those nights where friends invite to drink out and Baekhyun welcomes the prospect. With work and spending time with Joonmyun, he really hasn’t been able to go out with them as much and he knows he’s going to get some harsh questioning when he arrives.

He follows Soojung out of the cab and freezes when he sees where they are. It’s not the same bar, but it is a bar and Baekhyun has been very diligent in not going into one ever since. Soojung stops at the front of the steps and crosses her arms.

“What are you doing?” she calls. “We’re late. They’re waiting for us.” She waves at him to follow after her before going inside.

The guilt of what he’d done continues to eat away at him. He hasn’t once forgotten about it. It continues to serve as a reminder of what he had done and how he had almost lost something good in his life, one that seems to be improving. In a way, it also makes him grateful because without it, he wouldn’t have gone forward and tried to fix things with Joonmyun.

He’s brought into a headlock the moment he walks into their private room. The rest of the group laughs as Amber pulls him towards the sofa, not easing up on him for a second.

“Where have you been?” Amber demands when she finally deems it fit for him to breathe.

“What do you mean?” Baekhyun tries to play innocent, smiling at Taeyeon when she hands him a drink.

“We haven’t seen you in a while,” Amber complains. “You’ve been too busy.”

“Taeyeon and Lu Han have seen me,” Baekhyun corrects her, “and I never really desire to see Soojung and Taemin in any way so…” Soojung slaps him and then takes his drink away from him to have it for herself. “Maybe you’re the one who has been too busy,” he maintains, while glaring at Soojung.

Amber grumbles, finishing the rest of her beer in one go. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were seeing someone,” she says. “People only ever disappear on their friends when there’s romance in the air.”

“Baekhyun’s been learning how to cook,” Lu Han enlightens everyone before Baekhyun can even open his mouth.

Everyone whips their attention towards Baekhyun. This is definitely new and interesting information for all of them because Baekhyun’s a disaster in the kitchen. They have all been a witness to this at some point in their lives. It’s like a rite of passage. He squirms under their gazes and knows that this isn’t something he can get out of easily. Taeyeon merely takes a sip of her drink to hide her smile when he turns to her for help.

“What do you mean, learning how to cook?” Soojung demands from Lu Han.

“As in he’s been coming to the restaurant so I could teach him,” Lu Han relay and Baekhyun shoots him a betrayed glare. “Of course I wouldn’t invite him at home in case he burned anything, but surprisingly he hasn’t burned a single thing.” He pauses thoughtfully. “Except for that time when he blew up a pot.”

“What’s up, man?” Taemin nudges him. “Are you seeing anyone? The last time you made this much of an effort was when you were trying to woo Taeyeon?” He glances at her before looking back at him.

“That’s not the same thing,” Baekhyun corrects him. “I tried to bake a cake for her. Of course that didn’t work out so well.”

“It was very endearing of course,” Taeyeon pipes in with a twinkle in her eye. “If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have agreed to go out with him.”

“The cake was black,” Soojung reminds her, wrinkling her nose.

The cake was black. When Baekhyun had decided that he liked Taeyeon as more than a friend and wanted to show her how he felt, he did everything he could think of so that she would agree to go out with him even just once. One of those things was baking a cake for her. He didn’t really want anyone else to know what he was doing so he didn’t ask anyone for help. It was supposed to be a Banoffee cake, and when Baekhyun had followed all instructions and took it out from the oven, he thought it looked close enough with the picture. He thinks he was just really lucky that Taeyeon was really nice.

“Maybe the fact that she was your best friend also helped,” Lu Han snickered.

“No,” Taeyeon says, shaking her head. “When Baekhyun likes someone, he goes all out.” She smiles fondly at Baekhyun, who blushes.

“So who is the lucky girl that’s enduring all your cooking?” Taemin teases. “Will we ever get to meet her?”

Taeyeon is looking at Baekhyun, obviously wondering as well. Baekhyun knows that his friends will accept him no matter whom he decides to date. He’s always known that it won’t matter to them if he introduces a guy instead of a girl. Maybe he will bring Joonmyun along next time.

“I didn’t say I was seeing anyone,” Baekhyun says, chuckling. He meets Taeyeon’s eyes. “But I don’t think I’d be able to keep it from you guys for long if I was. Maybe when Soojung and Taemin finally get engaged,” he jokes.

Soojung scoffs. “Yeah right. Well I suppose we will all grow old single then.”

The rest start ragging on Taemin for still not proposing to Soojung and Baekhyun sighs in relief. Next time, he thinks. Next time he’ll bring Joonmyun along.

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