#192: You Know We Love You
b>Prompt: #192
Title: You Know We Love You
Pairing: Chen and Baekhyun
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Self Worth Issues
Word count: 5,232 words
Summary: Jongdae’s birthday is a couple weeks away and the members want to do something to celebrate the man who works so hard for them. How, though do you plan a secret for someone who is as helpful as Jongdae is?
Author's note: First I want to thank my prompter, the mods, and the one and only lord Chen himself. The fan board part of this story was really hard for me to write because I tried to find actual comments left by real people. Finding some of the words that were written really hurt my heart. So I dedicate this fic to anyone that has ever had self-doubt as a reminder that there are always people out there who love and support you and there is always a positive side to every situation.
“So I’m going out to buy a new tub of ice cream for Sehun, an Americano for Minseok, and a container of cinnamon sticks for Kyungsoo.” Jongdae said standing at the front door. “Is there anything else someone needs” he offered.
“Nope” Chanyeol’s booming voice filled the room from his spot in front of his laptop.
“Baekhyun, Yixing” Jongdae asked looking around the room.
“We are all good, thanks Jongdae” Joonmyun said.
A collective sigh of relief filled the entire room once the door clicked behind Jongdae.
“I didn’t think he would ever leave” Minseok said as he looked out the window to watch Jongdae walk down the street.
“Okay so what was so important that we had to get Jongdae out of the house to discuss” Joonmyun asked looking over at the two youngest members of the group who were sitting beside the other on the couch.
“Well Sehun and I were fighting over who would leave the house the other night to go buy a new jug of milk once we realized we were out. We were in the middle of a round of rock, paper, scissors when Jongdae picked up his wallet and asked if we needed anything else while he was out getting milk” Jongin said.
“This got us thinking” Sehun interrupted the other, “about all the little things that Jongdae does not only here at home, but while we are traveling or preforming, that we sometimes take for granted. We thought that with his birthday coming in a couple weeks it would be nice to throw him a surprise party to show how much he truly does mean to all of us” Sehun finished.
“Wow, wait who was that that just talked” Chanyeol said.
“Who are you and what have you done with our Sehun” Baekhyun asked pointing over at Sehun who just rolled his eyes in response.
“I like the idea, but what did you guys have in mind” Joonmyun asks.
“We just thought it should be a surprise party, we thought you guys would have more ideas to add” Jongin says looking around the room, waiting for someone else to say something.
“I could make his favorite cake” Kyungsoo offers.
“We could each buy him something special” Chanyeol offers.
“We could decorate the dorm” Minseok adds.
“Guys I think you are all forgetting one very important part” Baekhyun says interrupting the boys who are still offering up ideas.
“What’s that Baekhyun” Yixing asks with a slightly confused look upon his face.
“We are planning this party for Jongdae” Baekhyun says pausing and looking everyone in the eye.
“Um, that’s kind of the point here Baekhyun” Sehun said again rolling his eyes.
“Have you just been daydreaming for the last five minutes” Kyungsoo asked with a surprised look on his face.
“No, I think I understand what he is trying to say” Minseok said standing up, causing all the other individuals in the room to quiet down. “We are planning a surprise party for the Kim Jongdae; the person who offers to help without knowing what he is volunteering for, the person who will hand you a cup of warm coffee before you realize you were thirsty for one, and the same person who pushes himself every day to become better at every aspect of his art form so that he doesn’t drag us down. I think Baekhyun is trying to ask how we are going to plan a surprise for Jongdae without him finding out about it or doing any of the planning and preparing portions himself.” Minseok said looking over at Baekhyun for confirmation that his assumption was correct.
“Well it’s simple isn’t it” Sehun says suddenly snapping his fingers together and drawing every other person in the room’s attention to him.
“Please enlighten us of your brilliance” Kyungsoo said sarcastically causing Chanyeol to burst out laughing.
“We pick apart everything that he does for us, we make it so that he doesn’t want to help any more” Sehun said with a smug look on his face like he had just solved the trickiest riddle.
“Like not take a coffee he gives us” Minseok asks slightly confused.
“Or take it, but say it’s the wrong one after taking a sip and giving it back” Chanyeol offers back to Minseok.
“Well that might make it so that he doesn’t want to help as much, but how would we make it so that he isn’t around the dorm as much. How do we keep him from coming out with us when we go shopping for supplies or gifts” Joonmyun asked bringing some reason back into the room.
“Complain about him dancing poorly during practice” Jongin suggests with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Tell him that he should really practice a certain part of one of our songs” Yixing offers.
“Are you sure that this is really how we should treat him until his birthday” Baekhyun asks, “how do we even know that it’ll work” he adds. At that moment the front door opens and a silence falls over the room.
“Am I interrupting something” Jongdae asks after taking off his shoes and extending an arm with a warm coffee cup to Minseok who takes it with a small utter of thanks.
“Yixing wanted us to listen to him sing a couple new lyrics he’s been working on” Chanyeol said with a straight face.
“Oh that’s awesome, I can’t wait to hear” Jongdae said with a smile as he handed a container to Kyungsoo.
“Watch and learn” Sehun whispers to Baekhyun as Jongdae walks towards him with a carton of ice cream.
“Eww, Jongdae, this isn’t the right kind” Sehun whines as he takes the carton out of Jongdae’s hands.
“Really, I’m sorry Sehun” Jongdae says moving back over to the boy’s side. “I saw this one in the freezer the other day and thought it was the kind that you wanted I’ll go get you a different kind” Jongdae offered.
“No, I don’t want it anymore” Sehun said before picking up the remote to the television and changing the channel.
“I’m sorry Sehun” Jongdae said, but the other ignored him keeping all of his attention glued to the television. “Yixing I would love to listen to that song you were working on” Jongdae offered.
“I don’t think it’s ready yet” Yixing said standing up off the ground.
“I could listen and give pointers” Jongdae offered.
“No, thanks anyways” Yixing said before excusing himself out from the room.
A couple of the boys shared a small victorious smile between one another as Jongdae sat down alone in one of the chairs along the wall with a small frown on his face. One boy in the room however, watched the way the other sulked for a couple minutes before switching back to his normally cheerful self. I’m not so sure that this is the right thing to do, Baekhyun thought to himself as he watched Jongdae, a small seed of doubt forming in the back portion of his mind.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
Jongdae gulped down a mouth full of water beside one wall of the dance room once the instructor allowed them a couple minutes break from learning their new choreography. I think I’m getting better, he thinks to himself as he wipes the back of his hand across his mouth to gather up any water drops. As he leans down to grab his towel he notices Joonmyun and Chanyeol conversing on the opposite side of the room. While wiping at all of the sweat that has gathered on the back of his neck Jongdae walks towards his two conversing group mates.
“After practice” Jongdae hears Joonmyun telling Chanyeol as he walked closer.
“What’s going on after practice?” Jongdae asks not wanting to be left out.
“Oh ummm” Chanyeol says rubbing at the back of his neck. Jongdae notices how the other doesn’t seem to be able to meet his eyes.
“I was just telling Chanyeol to wait until after practice” Joonmyun says with a shrug of his shoulders before walking over to stand beside Minseok and Baekhyun who are deep in conversation.
“What are you waiting till after practice to do?” Jongdae asks Chanyeol.
“Chanyeol we told you to wait until after practice” Jongin and YiXing say coming up to Chanyeol’s side.
“I..I was trying” Chanyeol stutters out. Jongdae can’t help but think that the entire situation is very odd. “Why don’t you tell him now” Chanyeol says before running over to stand beside Kyungsoo who is drinking off to the side away from everyone else.
“Okay will one of you please tell me what is going on” Jongdae asks Jongin and YiXing who both are looking at each other.
“Well..” Jongin starts to say.
“We are just a little worried that the new choreography may be a little too hard for you” YiXing says with a genuine look of concern on his face.
“Well, umm, I thought I was doing okay” Jongdae says looking between Jongin and YiXing until a laugh pulls his gaze over to Sehun who is lazing on his back while scrolling through his phone.
“If that is you doing okay then I would hate to see you doing bad” Sehun says happily tapping on his phone. Jongdae feels his heart drop at the other’s words.
“I’ll try harder, thanks for telling me guys” Jongdae says with a weak smile before going over to get another mouthful of his water. I’ll work harder so that I’m not dragging the team down, Jongdae promises himself as he tries to follow every move the instructor shows.
“Let’s go back to the dorm I’m beat” Minseok says once the instructor leaves for the day.
“You guys go ahead, I’m going to stay for a little longer” Jongdae says with a wave of his hand. As Jongdae stares at his reflection in the mirror and tries to practice along to the music on his phone he misses the high five that Jongin and Sehun exchange as they leave the room.
“Don’t push yourself too hard” Baekhyun says before leaving the room. Jongdae is so busy trying to make sure all his moves are perfect that he doesn’t notice the look of concern that Baekhyun throws his way.
Later that night at nine in the evening, after practicing for an additional seven hours Jongdae finally returns to the dorm. He finds the dorm empty and hopes that the rest of the group is being safe, however he can only drag his tired body into the shower before swiftly falling asleep. I promise to work harder every day so that I don’t bring the others down, Jongdae promises before getting some rest.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
Jongdae rolled out of bed a couple days later and felt his muscles ache slightly from all the extra dance practice he had been putting in. Jongdae accepted the pain with a hug because it meant that he was working his hardest to be stronger. After stretching out slightly Jongdae looked around his shared room to find YiXing’s bed empty, not surprising considering the other had so many activities in China. With a grumble from his stomach Jongdae started making his way towards the kitchen.
He hears music flowing from Chanyeol, Jongin, and Kyungsoo’s shared room and assumes Chanyeol must be busy mixing some tracks together. He hears shouts and laughter coming from the living room and after peeking his head in he sees Sehun and Jongin playing a video game together. Turning back to the kitchen Jongdae starts going through the cupboards. Chocolate chips, Jongdae thinks excitedly as his eyes scan through the cupboard and land on the ingredients to make his favorite chocolate-chip cake. If I change how I make it just slightly I could make cookies for everyone, Jongdae thinks excitedly thinking that the boost of sweetness would help boost the morale of the other members, especially with everyone’s busy schedules recently.
After mixing up the batter Jongdae began to spoon globs onto a cooking sheet.
“What in the world are you doing” a loud voice demands causing Jongdae to knock over the spoon in his fright.
“I found all the ingredients I needed inside the cupboards and thought everyone could use a chocolate chip cookie pick me up” Jongdae says holding his hand against his racing heart as he turns to see a fuming Kyungsoo in the middle of the kitchen.
“Yeah right, like you need to eat chocolate chips right now” Kyungsoo says with a snort as he grabs the spoon from Jongdae’s hands.
“Wh..what do you mean” Jongdae asks watching as Kyungsoo finishes spooning the cookies onto the tray.
“Just that sweets are the last thing I think you need to be eating right now” Kyungsoo says shrugging his shoulders.
“Because they will slow down my dancing” Jongdae prompts hoping that Kyungsoo will just get to the point of his statement.
“That and I saw you when we tried on our outfits for our next concert. Your pants and shirt were already a tight enough squeeze don’t you think” Kyungsoo asks before walking away to put the tray in the oven. “Cookies will be done in fifteen” Kyungsoo says with a smile before he walks from the room, leaving Jongdae with the mess and a nasty feeling in his gut.
When the bell on the oven rang, Jongdae pulled the tray out of the oven and set them aside to cool before walking back to his room.
Once in his room Jongdae closed the door and pulled up his shirt to stare at his reflection in the full length mirror. Am I really gaining weight, Jongdae wondered to himself as he moved around to view his body at different angles. If Kyungsoo noticed then that means that all of the other members are bound to, if they do then all the fans will as well; Jongdae thinks in a panic pinching at his stomach. I actually thought I was gaining some muscles, Jongdae thinks dejectedly pulling his shirt back down. A grumble from his stomach brings him back to the reason he went into the kitchen to begin with.
After trying to put it off for a couple minutes he can no longer convince himself that he isn’t hungry. Slowly he makes his way to the kitchen to find a couple of the other members munching on some of the cookies he made.
“Thanks Jongdae” Baekhyun says with a smile as he licks some gooey chocolate from his fingers before walking from the room.
The scent of the cookies is so alluring, but Kyungsoo’s words play over in his mind. Instead of reaching for a cookie Jongdae picks up a box of corn flake cereal and a yogurt cup. I can’t bring the others down, he reminds himself as he watches Sehun joyfully pop an entire cookie in his mouth.
That evening after all the members leave the dance practice room Jongdae stays for two hours longer. After that he goes to the gym and pushes his already tired body to do an hour and a half long workout. Late that night or early the next morning Jongdae finally drags his tired body home, only eating fifteen crackers and drinking a bottle of water to appease his growling stomach before hoping into the shower and falling into an exhausted sleep.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
“Five, six, seven, eight” the dance instructor called out as the music blared through the speakers. “Stop, stop, stop” he called cutting the music. Jongdae held his hand against the wall to keep his balance as the room swayed around him slightly. “It’s a heel there not a toe Sehun” the instructor says looking at the other boy Jongdae takes in slow breaths trying to will the blurriness out of his vision. “And Jongdae, you are about three whole counts behind, if I didn’t know any better I would say you were intentionally trying to fail” she says.
“I’m sorry” Jongdae says. As much as I try to become better, I’m only becoming worse I really am letting the other’s down; Jongdae thinks to himself feeling shame fill him up.
“Take five, get a drink, I can’t stand to look at you lot right now” the instructor says before storming from the room. Jongdae allows himself to sit down leaning against the mirror as his whole body aches. Tiredly he brings his water bottle up to his lips and takes a swig noticing the entire time how the water sloshes around, some falling on his face and shirt, as his hand shakes from the effort of holding up the bottle.
“Jongdae are you okay” a three headed Baekhyun asks looking concerned. Jongdae shakes his head to clear his vision giving Baekhyun five heads before there is just a single Baekhyun standing before him.
“Yes” he assures as three headed Baekhyun comes back into view.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
Jongdae woke up around three in the morning with stomach pains. You aren’t hungry, he told himself trying to move into a more comfortable position. However, the persistent pains kept making themselves known so Jongdae reached over to his bedside table and grabbed his phone.
After unlocking his screen he opened up the internet browser and began looking for some fan messages. A particular message caught his eye because it had his name in the title.
There was a birthday message for EXO’s Chen on a bus that drove past me this morning and I couldn’t help but think to myself who really cares it’s not like he is that important to the group as a whole. Personally I feel that Baekhyun has a way better voice then Chen and pretty much any other member of the group could cover his vocal parts. Don’t even get me started on his dance moves like seriously can’t he try harder, that’s his job for Pete’s sake, he just brings everyone else down when he dances near them. Maybe I’ll get some hate for this post, but who are you kidding there really aren’t that many Chen stans out there anyways.
Jongdae felt sadness well in his heart as he read through the post that pointed out the many flaws that he had been picking apart within himself for such a long time and been focusing on for the last two weeks. A small flicker of hope encouraged him to scroll down to the comments section, in search of a possible defender to his case.
I totally agree with you! I seriously don’t understand why they keep him around every other member is like ten times better than Chen in every way The first comment said.
I know I saw one of his birthday signs in the train station and I noticed how he has put on at least ten pounds. Like seriously he should be in the practice room twenty-four seven trying to get up to the standards of the other members not sitting around eating chips and twirling his thumbs. Jongdae read a second comment. He almost shut the phone when a third comment at the bottom of the screen caught his eye.
I LOVE EXO CHEN!!!!! Said no one ever, haha. Like seriously why did they even let him join to begin with? Jongdae couldn’t hold back the tears any longer and let them cascade down his face.
They’re right, he thinks to himself setting his phone back down on his night stand and shakily rising to his unstable and tired legs. He cast a careful glance YiXing’s way not wanting to interfere with the other’s happiness any more than he obviously was.
“I’m sorry” Jongdae whispered to YiXing’s sleeping form. He moved the pillows down the bed and covered them with his comforter so that it would appear that he was still sleeping. You all deserve more than me, he thought before quietly leaving the room. He left the dorm only stopping to look back as he stood in front of the building. “You will all be better off without me” Jongdae whispered up to the boys still sleeping inside the dorm.
After wandering around for an unknown amount of time Jongdae sat down on a small bench in the middle of a park. The date on an electronic billboard flashed as Jongdae watched the sunrise bloom across the sky. Happy Birthday self, he thought as he watched one color morph into another.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
Baekhyun woke up around midday, having taken fill advantage of the day off that the whole group was gifted with. He trudged his way to the kitchen and spotted Kyungsoo rushing around.
“What are you doing” Baekhyun asks the other while rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He holds back a laugh as a startled Kyungsoo turns around to face him with wide eyes.
“Gosh Baekhyun you started me, I thought maybe you were Jongdae” Kyungsoo says with a small laugh before turning back around.
“Why would it be bad if I were Jongdae” Baekhyun asks totally confused.
“I’m trying to make his cake, and I don’t want him to see it till later. My biggest fear is that he will wake up and walk in as I’m pulling it out of the oven” Kyungsoo says.
“Wait, Jongdae is still asleep” Baekhyun asks turning around from the cupboard with a bowl in his hand. That’s not like him at all, Baekhyun thinks fully concerned.
“Yeah, I thought it was weird, but YiXing says Jongdae was still asleep when he left the room this morning” Kyungsoo says with a shrug. Setting his bowl on the counter Baekhyun rushed into Jongdae and YiXing’s shared room, the whole situation not sitting right in his stomach.
He noticed the lump on Jongdae’s bed and immediately felt himself calm down. Quietly he walked over to the other’s side.
“Dae” he called softly setting a hand on what he assumed to be Jongdae’s shoulder only to have his hand come in contact with something much too plush. “Jongdae” Baekhyun said slightly louder pulling the comforter back only to reveal two pillows contorted to appear as if an individual were sleeping. “No, no, no” Baekhyun said feeling panic well up inside him as he turned and ran from the room. “Jongdae’s gone” Baekhyun yelled for the whole dorm to hear.
“What” Chanyeol’s booming voice asked as the other came bounding from his room.
“Maybe he is practicing dance moves, Jongin’s there I’ll call him” Kyungsoo said.
“Minseok’s at the gym I’ll have him check for Jongdae” Joonmyun said pulling out his phone.
“Don’t worry Baek, I’m sure he is okay” YiXing said with a smile.
“You don’t understand” Baekhyun started to say.
“I’ll just call Jongdae and see where he is” Sehun said cutting Baekhyun off as he brought his phone up to his ear.
Baekhyun’s heart dropped down to his toes when he heard Jongdae’s familiar ringtone coming from his bedroom. He noticed the way that the faith slowly drained from Sehun’s face as he brought his phone down to his side and ended the call.
“Minseok says he’s not there” Joonmyun says coming back into the room and taking in the distraught looks on everyone’s face.
“Jongin says it’s just him in the practice room” Kyungsoo says in a whisper. Everyone’s words and the missing Jongdae made Baekhyun think back on the last couple weeks. He thought of the times that the other members had encouraged Jongdae to stay late and practice under the pretense that he wasn’t doing so well even though he was looking great. The way that they tried to leave Jongdae out of trips to the store in case someone found a gift that just screamed the other’s name.
“This is all our fault” Baekhyun says as a tear escapes the corner of his eye. “I knew that this was a bad idea and we drove him away” Baekhyun screamed feeling anger bubble in him as he ran back to the other’s room and searched for clues.
“Chanyeol and I are going to walk down to the practice rooms and see if we can find him anywhere” Sehun says, however Baekhyun ignores him.
“We will find him” Joonmyun says softly placing a comforting hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder.
“We need Jongdae” Baekhyun says softly feeling a hole inside him at the thought of Jongdae’s loss. “We need him” Baekhyun repeats after Joonmyun leaves the room.
The quite of the dorm felt suffocating after the other members closed the door behind them. Baekhyun’s eyes spotted Chen’s phone sitting on the other’s bedside table and picked it up, hoping for clues as to the other’s location.
He pressed the unlock button to see an image of the group logo and his heart hurt even more. He slides his finger across the screen expecting a password prompt, but gains access to an opened web browser instead. As he scanned over the words he felt bile in his throat.
He sprinted to the door, grabbing his coat on the way and just ran. Everywhere he went he searched for Jongdae, knowing the other didn’t have a plan as to where he was going when he left. He saw many people point at him, but didn’t care he only had the thought of finding Jongdae in mind.
The sound of a bus’s breaks releasing letting out a sharp hiss pulled his gaze in its direction. A large smiling picture of Jongdae caught his attention from the bulletin board of the bus stop; however someone sitting staring at the image stole his entire attention.
“Jongdae” he said in relief as he ran across the street and captured the other in his arms. “Dae” Baekhyun said in relief holding the other close.
“Ba..Baek..Baekhyun, what are you doing here” Jongdae asked.
“What are you doing here Jongdae” Baekhyun asked instead tilting the other’s face up so he could look directly into the other’s eyes.
“I..it..it’s better this way Baek” Jongdae said and Baekhyun watched a few tears fall from the other’s eyes.
“Don’t say that Dae, you know we love you” Baekhyun says brushing his finger underneath Jongdae’s eyes to dry his tears.
“I just bring you down” Jongdae says in a whisper that Baekhyun has to strain to hear.
“No you don’t” Baekhyun counters. “Is this because of those mean posts that you were reading last night” Baekhyun asks.
“Kind of” Jongdae admits and Baekhyun feels the other shivering slightly in his arms. Baekhyun looks down and notices that Jongdae is still in his pajama bottoms and thin tank top so he shucks off his own jacket and drapes it on the other’s shoulder.
“Well I disagree with everything on that stupid fan board” Baekhyun says rubbing his hand against Jongdae’s arms to warm the other up. “I think your voice is amazing, I can never cover the range you can” Baekhyun says dismissing the first comment he had read earlier while looking at Jongdae’s phone.
“You are nowhere near fat in fact I think you are too skinny, and no one can compete with your guns” Baekhyun says enjoying the small kitten like smirk that twists onto Jongdae’s face. “We are one and we would definitely not be better off without you” Baekhyun says running his fingers gently through the other boy’s hair.
“But I dance terribly and I eat too much” Jongdae says softly and Baekhyun feels the other lean his head down against Baekhyun’s shoulder.
“You are getting better every day, your hip thrusts force me to work harder to be more eye catching” Baekhyun says before he hears a small chuckle leave Jongdae’s lips. “You have a high metabolism, plus you are always dancing or working out, so no one holds that against you, heck I think I eat more on a daily basis anyways” Baekhyun says squashing the other’s worries. “We love you Dae” Baekhyun says softly.
“I love you guys too, but I feel like I’m bringing you down. These past few weeks I haven’t been able to do anything right. No one wants to spend time with me.” Jongdae murmurs and Baekhyun feels the other playing gently with his fingers as he talks.
“I know it looks like that now, trust me I know we went about this all the wrong way, but if you come back we can prove the truth to you” Baekhyun says squeezing Jongdae’s hand softly in plea.
“Alright” Jongdae says softly.
“Give me one sec, I’m going to let the other’s know I found you” Baekhyun says pulling his phone out.
I found him!!! We are heading back home now, but have the room ready. He is really upset Baekhyun text quickly sending it off as Jongdae rests against his shoulder.
“I’m hungry” Jongdae says softly.
“I saw a street vender a block away I’ll grab you something on our way back” Baekhyun says before rising to his feet with Jongdae
“Thanks” Jongdae whispers still clutching onto Baekhyun’s hand like a life line.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
Jongdae sat on the couch in a comfortable new sweater given to him courtesy of Chanyeol with his head leaning against Baekhyun’s shoulder as he watched one of his favorite movies gifted to him by Joonmyun play on the television. The warmth of Baekhyun beside him caused Jongdae to move the warm blanket Minseok had given him off of his feet which were incased in the brand new piglet socks YiXing had given him as a replacement of his favorite ones that he had warn a hole through.
“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Jongdae, Happy Birthday to you” Sehun and Jongin yelled as Kyungsoo entered the room holding his favorite chocolate chip cake on a platter in front of him.
“Make a wish” Baekhyun whispers in his ear once the cake is sat on the small table in front of him.
Jongdae thought about the day and the many events that had transpired. I wish that we, EXO, can stay together forever and always be there for each other when they are in need, Jongdae thought before leaning down and blowing the candles out.
After the cake was eaten Jongdae leaned back against Baekhyun, his stomach finally satisfied and the loss of sleep catching up with him. “Thank you” he said to everyone with a smile before he let his eyes slowly drop. The warmth of Baekhyun beside him and the knowledge that he was loved lulling him into a calm and pleasant sleep.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
“I think it was a success” Sehun says with a smile as he switches the television to a different channel.
“Well if you look past the part where we almost lost him” Minseok says sarcastically. Baekhyun couldn’t help but role his eyes at the other’s banter.
He looks away from the television and gazes down at Jongdae’s sleeping face. He pulls the other gently down so that Jongdae’s head is nestled in his lap instead of propped up on his shoulder. He pulls the blanket around the other’s exposed shoulder and tucks it in to make sure that Jongdae stays warm. “Happy Birthday love” he says softly carding his fingers through the other’s soft locks.
Title: You Know We Love You
Pairing: Chen and Baekhyun
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Self Worth Issues
Word count: 5,232 words
Summary: Jongdae’s birthday is a couple weeks away and the members want to do something to celebrate the man who works so hard for them. How, though do you plan a secret for someone who is as helpful as Jongdae is?
Author's note: First I want to thank my prompter, the mods, and the one and only lord Chen himself. The fan board part of this story was really hard for me to write because I tried to find actual comments left by real people. Finding some of the words that were written really hurt my heart. So I dedicate this fic to anyone that has ever had self-doubt as a reminder that there are always people out there who love and support you and there is always a positive side to every situation.
“So I’m going out to buy a new tub of ice cream for Sehun, an Americano for Minseok, and a container of cinnamon sticks for Kyungsoo.” Jongdae said standing at the front door. “Is there anything else someone needs” he offered.
“Nope” Chanyeol’s booming voice filled the room from his spot in front of his laptop.
“Baekhyun, Yixing” Jongdae asked looking around the room.
“We are all good, thanks Jongdae” Joonmyun said.
A collective sigh of relief filled the entire room once the door clicked behind Jongdae.
“I didn’t think he would ever leave” Minseok said as he looked out the window to watch Jongdae walk down the street.
“Okay so what was so important that we had to get Jongdae out of the house to discuss” Joonmyun asked looking over at the two youngest members of the group who were sitting beside the other on the couch.
“Well Sehun and I were fighting over who would leave the house the other night to go buy a new jug of milk once we realized we were out. We were in the middle of a round of rock, paper, scissors when Jongdae picked up his wallet and asked if we needed anything else while he was out getting milk” Jongin said.
“This got us thinking” Sehun interrupted the other, “about all the little things that Jongdae does not only here at home, but while we are traveling or preforming, that we sometimes take for granted. We thought that with his birthday coming in a couple weeks it would be nice to throw him a surprise party to show how much he truly does mean to all of us” Sehun finished.
“Wow, wait who was that that just talked” Chanyeol said.
“Who are you and what have you done with our Sehun” Baekhyun asked pointing over at Sehun who just rolled his eyes in response.
“I like the idea, but what did you guys have in mind” Joonmyun asks.
“We just thought it should be a surprise party, we thought you guys would have more ideas to add” Jongin says looking around the room, waiting for someone else to say something.
“I could make his favorite cake” Kyungsoo offers.
“We could each buy him something special” Chanyeol offers.
“We could decorate the dorm” Minseok adds.
“Guys I think you are all forgetting one very important part” Baekhyun says interrupting the boys who are still offering up ideas.
“What’s that Baekhyun” Yixing asks with a slightly confused look upon his face.
“We are planning this party for Jongdae” Baekhyun says pausing and looking everyone in the eye.
“Um, that’s kind of the point here Baekhyun” Sehun said again rolling his eyes.
“Have you just been daydreaming for the last five minutes” Kyungsoo asked with a surprised look on his face.
“No, I think I understand what he is trying to say” Minseok said standing up, causing all the other individuals in the room to quiet down. “We are planning a surprise party for the Kim Jongdae; the person who offers to help without knowing what he is volunteering for, the person who will hand you a cup of warm coffee before you realize you were thirsty for one, and the same person who pushes himself every day to become better at every aspect of his art form so that he doesn’t drag us down. I think Baekhyun is trying to ask how we are going to plan a surprise for Jongdae without him finding out about it or doing any of the planning and preparing portions himself.” Minseok said looking over at Baekhyun for confirmation that his assumption was correct.
“Well it’s simple isn’t it” Sehun says suddenly snapping his fingers together and drawing every other person in the room’s attention to him.
“Please enlighten us of your brilliance” Kyungsoo said sarcastically causing Chanyeol to burst out laughing.
“We pick apart everything that he does for us, we make it so that he doesn’t want to help any more” Sehun said with a smug look on his face like he had just solved the trickiest riddle.
“Like not take a coffee he gives us” Minseok asks slightly confused.
“Or take it, but say it’s the wrong one after taking a sip and giving it back” Chanyeol offers back to Minseok.
“Well that might make it so that he doesn’t want to help as much, but how would we make it so that he isn’t around the dorm as much. How do we keep him from coming out with us when we go shopping for supplies or gifts” Joonmyun asked bringing some reason back into the room.
“Complain about him dancing poorly during practice” Jongin suggests with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Tell him that he should really practice a certain part of one of our songs” Yixing offers.
“Are you sure that this is really how we should treat him until his birthday” Baekhyun asks, “how do we even know that it’ll work” he adds. At that moment the front door opens and a silence falls over the room.
“Am I interrupting something” Jongdae asks after taking off his shoes and extending an arm with a warm coffee cup to Minseok who takes it with a small utter of thanks.
“Yixing wanted us to listen to him sing a couple new lyrics he’s been working on” Chanyeol said with a straight face.
“Oh that’s awesome, I can’t wait to hear” Jongdae said with a smile as he handed a container to Kyungsoo.
“Watch and learn” Sehun whispers to Baekhyun as Jongdae walks towards him with a carton of ice cream.
“Eww, Jongdae, this isn’t the right kind” Sehun whines as he takes the carton out of Jongdae’s hands.
“Really, I’m sorry Sehun” Jongdae says moving back over to the boy’s side. “I saw this one in the freezer the other day and thought it was the kind that you wanted I’ll go get you a different kind” Jongdae offered.
“No, I don’t want it anymore” Sehun said before picking up the remote to the television and changing the channel.
“I’m sorry Sehun” Jongdae said, but the other ignored him keeping all of his attention glued to the television. “Yixing I would love to listen to that song you were working on” Jongdae offered.
“I don’t think it’s ready yet” Yixing said standing up off the ground.
“I could listen and give pointers” Jongdae offered.
“No, thanks anyways” Yixing said before excusing himself out from the room.
A couple of the boys shared a small victorious smile between one another as Jongdae sat down alone in one of the chairs along the wall with a small frown on his face. One boy in the room however, watched the way the other sulked for a couple minutes before switching back to his normally cheerful self. I’m not so sure that this is the right thing to do, Baekhyun thought to himself as he watched Jongdae, a small seed of doubt forming in the back portion of his mind.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
Jongdae gulped down a mouth full of water beside one wall of the dance room once the instructor allowed them a couple minutes break from learning their new choreography. I think I’m getting better, he thinks to himself as he wipes the back of his hand across his mouth to gather up any water drops. As he leans down to grab his towel he notices Joonmyun and Chanyeol conversing on the opposite side of the room. While wiping at all of the sweat that has gathered on the back of his neck Jongdae walks towards his two conversing group mates.
“After practice” Jongdae hears Joonmyun telling Chanyeol as he walked closer.
“What’s going on after practice?” Jongdae asks not wanting to be left out.
“Oh ummm” Chanyeol says rubbing at the back of his neck. Jongdae notices how the other doesn’t seem to be able to meet his eyes.
“I was just telling Chanyeol to wait until after practice” Joonmyun says with a shrug of his shoulders before walking over to stand beside Minseok and Baekhyun who are deep in conversation.
“What are you waiting till after practice to do?” Jongdae asks Chanyeol.
“Chanyeol we told you to wait until after practice” Jongin and YiXing say coming up to Chanyeol’s side.
“I..I was trying” Chanyeol stutters out. Jongdae can’t help but think that the entire situation is very odd. “Why don’t you tell him now” Chanyeol says before running over to stand beside Kyungsoo who is drinking off to the side away from everyone else.
“Okay will one of you please tell me what is going on” Jongdae asks Jongin and YiXing who both are looking at each other.
“Well..” Jongin starts to say.
“We are just a little worried that the new choreography may be a little too hard for you” YiXing says with a genuine look of concern on his face.
“Well, umm, I thought I was doing okay” Jongdae says looking between Jongin and YiXing until a laugh pulls his gaze over to Sehun who is lazing on his back while scrolling through his phone.
“If that is you doing okay then I would hate to see you doing bad” Sehun says happily tapping on his phone. Jongdae feels his heart drop at the other’s words.
“I’ll try harder, thanks for telling me guys” Jongdae says with a weak smile before going over to get another mouthful of his water. I’ll work harder so that I’m not dragging the team down, Jongdae promises himself as he tries to follow every move the instructor shows.
“Let’s go back to the dorm I’m beat” Minseok says once the instructor leaves for the day.
“You guys go ahead, I’m going to stay for a little longer” Jongdae says with a wave of his hand. As Jongdae stares at his reflection in the mirror and tries to practice along to the music on his phone he misses the high five that Jongin and Sehun exchange as they leave the room.
“Don’t push yourself too hard” Baekhyun says before leaving the room. Jongdae is so busy trying to make sure all his moves are perfect that he doesn’t notice the look of concern that Baekhyun throws his way.
Later that night at nine in the evening, after practicing for an additional seven hours Jongdae finally returns to the dorm. He finds the dorm empty and hopes that the rest of the group is being safe, however he can only drag his tired body into the shower before swiftly falling asleep. I promise to work harder every day so that I don’t bring the others down, Jongdae promises before getting some rest.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
Jongdae rolled out of bed a couple days later and felt his muscles ache slightly from all the extra dance practice he had been putting in. Jongdae accepted the pain with a hug because it meant that he was working his hardest to be stronger. After stretching out slightly Jongdae looked around his shared room to find YiXing’s bed empty, not surprising considering the other had so many activities in China. With a grumble from his stomach Jongdae started making his way towards the kitchen.
He hears music flowing from Chanyeol, Jongin, and Kyungsoo’s shared room and assumes Chanyeol must be busy mixing some tracks together. He hears shouts and laughter coming from the living room and after peeking his head in he sees Sehun and Jongin playing a video game together. Turning back to the kitchen Jongdae starts going through the cupboards. Chocolate chips, Jongdae thinks excitedly as his eyes scan through the cupboard and land on the ingredients to make his favorite chocolate-chip cake. If I change how I make it just slightly I could make cookies for everyone, Jongdae thinks excitedly thinking that the boost of sweetness would help boost the morale of the other members, especially with everyone’s busy schedules recently.
After mixing up the batter Jongdae began to spoon globs onto a cooking sheet.
“What in the world are you doing” a loud voice demands causing Jongdae to knock over the spoon in his fright.
“I found all the ingredients I needed inside the cupboards and thought everyone could use a chocolate chip cookie pick me up” Jongdae says holding his hand against his racing heart as he turns to see a fuming Kyungsoo in the middle of the kitchen.
“Yeah right, like you need to eat chocolate chips right now” Kyungsoo says with a snort as he grabs the spoon from Jongdae’s hands.
“Wh..what do you mean” Jongdae asks watching as Kyungsoo finishes spooning the cookies onto the tray.
“Just that sweets are the last thing I think you need to be eating right now” Kyungsoo says shrugging his shoulders.
“Because they will slow down my dancing” Jongdae prompts hoping that Kyungsoo will just get to the point of his statement.
“That and I saw you when we tried on our outfits for our next concert. Your pants and shirt were already a tight enough squeeze don’t you think” Kyungsoo asks before walking away to put the tray in the oven. “Cookies will be done in fifteen” Kyungsoo says with a smile before he walks from the room, leaving Jongdae with the mess and a nasty feeling in his gut.
When the bell on the oven rang, Jongdae pulled the tray out of the oven and set them aside to cool before walking back to his room.
Once in his room Jongdae closed the door and pulled up his shirt to stare at his reflection in the full length mirror. Am I really gaining weight, Jongdae wondered to himself as he moved around to view his body at different angles. If Kyungsoo noticed then that means that all of the other members are bound to, if they do then all the fans will as well; Jongdae thinks in a panic pinching at his stomach. I actually thought I was gaining some muscles, Jongdae thinks dejectedly pulling his shirt back down. A grumble from his stomach brings him back to the reason he went into the kitchen to begin with.
After trying to put it off for a couple minutes he can no longer convince himself that he isn’t hungry. Slowly he makes his way to the kitchen to find a couple of the other members munching on some of the cookies he made.
“Thanks Jongdae” Baekhyun says with a smile as he licks some gooey chocolate from his fingers before walking from the room.
The scent of the cookies is so alluring, but Kyungsoo’s words play over in his mind. Instead of reaching for a cookie Jongdae picks up a box of corn flake cereal and a yogurt cup. I can’t bring the others down, he reminds himself as he watches Sehun joyfully pop an entire cookie in his mouth.
That evening after all the members leave the dance practice room Jongdae stays for two hours longer. After that he goes to the gym and pushes his already tired body to do an hour and a half long workout. Late that night or early the next morning Jongdae finally drags his tired body home, only eating fifteen crackers and drinking a bottle of water to appease his growling stomach before hoping into the shower and falling into an exhausted sleep.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
“Five, six, seven, eight” the dance instructor called out as the music blared through the speakers. “Stop, stop, stop” he called cutting the music. Jongdae held his hand against the wall to keep his balance as the room swayed around him slightly. “It’s a heel there not a toe Sehun” the instructor says looking at the other boy Jongdae takes in slow breaths trying to will the blurriness out of his vision. “And Jongdae, you are about three whole counts behind, if I didn’t know any better I would say you were intentionally trying to fail” she says.
“I’m sorry” Jongdae says. As much as I try to become better, I’m only becoming worse I really am letting the other’s down; Jongdae thinks to himself feeling shame fill him up.
“Take five, get a drink, I can’t stand to look at you lot right now” the instructor says before storming from the room. Jongdae allows himself to sit down leaning against the mirror as his whole body aches. Tiredly he brings his water bottle up to his lips and takes a swig noticing the entire time how the water sloshes around, some falling on his face and shirt, as his hand shakes from the effort of holding up the bottle.
“Jongdae are you okay” a three headed Baekhyun asks looking concerned. Jongdae shakes his head to clear his vision giving Baekhyun five heads before there is just a single Baekhyun standing before him.
“Yes” he assures as three headed Baekhyun comes back into view.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
Jongdae woke up around three in the morning with stomach pains. You aren’t hungry, he told himself trying to move into a more comfortable position. However, the persistent pains kept making themselves known so Jongdae reached over to his bedside table and grabbed his phone.
After unlocking his screen he opened up the internet browser and began looking for some fan messages. A particular message caught his eye because it had his name in the title.
There was a birthday message for EXO’s Chen on a bus that drove past me this morning and I couldn’t help but think to myself who really cares it’s not like he is that important to the group as a whole. Personally I feel that Baekhyun has a way better voice then Chen and pretty much any other member of the group could cover his vocal parts. Don’t even get me started on his dance moves like seriously can’t he try harder, that’s his job for Pete’s sake, he just brings everyone else down when he dances near them. Maybe I’ll get some hate for this post, but who are you kidding there really aren’t that many Chen stans out there anyways.
Jongdae felt sadness well in his heart as he read through the post that pointed out the many flaws that he had been picking apart within himself for such a long time and been focusing on for the last two weeks. A small flicker of hope encouraged him to scroll down to the comments section, in search of a possible defender to his case.
I totally agree with you! I seriously don’t understand why they keep him around every other member is like ten times better than Chen in every way The first comment said.
I know I saw one of his birthday signs in the train station and I noticed how he has put on at least ten pounds. Like seriously he should be in the practice room twenty-four seven trying to get up to the standards of the other members not sitting around eating chips and twirling his thumbs. Jongdae read a second comment. He almost shut the phone when a third comment at the bottom of the screen caught his eye.
I LOVE EXO CHEN!!!!! Said no one ever, haha. Like seriously why did they even let him join to begin with? Jongdae couldn’t hold back the tears any longer and let them cascade down his face.
They’re right, he thinks to himself setting his phone back down on his night stand and shakily rising to his unstable and tired legs. He cast a careful glance YiXing’s way not wanting to interfere with the other’s happiness any more than he obviously was.
“I’m sorry” Jongdae whispered to YiXing’s sleeping form. He moved the pillows down the bed and covered them with his comforter so that it would appear that he was still sleeping. You all deserve more than me, he thought before quietly leaving the room. He left the dorm only stopping to look back as he stood in front of the building. “You will all be better off without me” Jongdae whispered up to the boys still sleeping inside the dorm.
After wandering around for an unknown amount of time Jongdae sat down on a small bench in the middle of a park. The date on an electronic billboard flashed as Jongdae watched the sunrise bloom across the sky. Happy Birthday self, he thought as he watched one color morph into another.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
Baekhyun woke up around midday, having taken fill advantage of the day off that the whole group was gifted with. He trudged his way to the kitchen and spotted Kyungsoo rushing around.
“What are you doing” Baekhyun asks the other while rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He holds back a laugh as a startled Kyungsoo turns around to face him with wide eyes.
“Gosh Baekhyun you started me, I thought maybe you were Jongdae” Kyungsoo says with a small laugh before turning back around.
“Why would it be bad if I were Jongdae” Baekhyun asks totally confused.
“I’m trying to make his cake, and I don’t want him to see it till later. My biggest fear is that he will wake up and walk in as I’m pulling it out of the oven” Kyungsoo says.
“Wait, Jongdae is still asleep” Baekhyun asks turning around from the cupboard with a bowl in his hand. That’s not like him at all, Baekhyun thinks fully concerned.
“Yeah, I thought it was weird, but YiXing says Jongdae was still asleep when he left the room this morning” Kyungsoo says with a shrug. Setting his bowl on the counter Baekhyun rushed into Jongdae and YiXing’s shared room, the whole situation not sitting right in his stomach.
He noticed the lump on Jongdae’s bed and immediately felt himself calm down. Quietly he walked over to the other’s side.
“Dae” he called softly setting a hand on what he assumed to be Jongdae’s shoulder only to have his hand come in contact with something much too plush. “Jongdae” Baekhyun said slightly louder pulling the comforter back only to reveal two pillows contorted to appear as if an individual were sleeping. “No, no, no” Baekhyun said feeling panic well up inside him as he turned and ran from the room. “Jongdae’s gone” Baekhyun yelled for the whole dorm to hear.
“What” Chanyeol’s booming voice asked as the other came bounding from his room.
“Maybe he is practicing dance moves, Jongin’s there I’ll call him” Kyungsoo said.
“Minseok’s at the gym I’ll have him check for Jongdae” Joonmyun said pulling out his phone.
“Don’t worry Baek, I’m sure he is okay” YiXing said with a smile.
“You don’t understand” Baekhyun started to say.
“I’ll just call Jongdae and see where he is” Sehun said cutting Baekhyun off as he brought his phone up to his ear.
Baekhyun’s heart dropped down to his toes when he heard Jongdae’s familiar ringtone coming from his bedroom. He noticed the way that the faith slowly drained from Sehun’s face as he brought his phone down to his side and ended the call.
“Minseok says he’s not there” Joonmyun says coming back into the room and taking in the distraught looks on everyone’s face.
“Jongin says it’s just him in the practice room” Kyungsoo says in a whisper. Everyone’s words and the missing Jongdae made Baekhyun think back on the last couple weeks. He thought of the times that the other members had encouraged Jongdae to stay late and practice under the pretense that he wasn’t doing so well even though he was looking great. The way that they tried to leave Jongdae out of trips to the store in case someone found a gift that just screamed the other’s name.
“This is all our fault” Baekhyun says as a tear escapes the corner of his eye. “I knew that this was a bad idea and we drove him away” Baekhyun screamed feeling anger bubble in him as he ran back to the other’s room and searched for clues.
“Chanyeol and I are going to walk down to the practice rooms and see if we can find him anywhere” Sehun says, however Baekhyun ignores him.
“We will find him” Joonmyun says softly placing a comforting hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder.
“We need Jongdae” Baekhyun says softly feeling a hole inside him at the thought of Jongdae’s loss. “We need him” Baekhyun repeats after Joonmyun leaves the room.
The quite of the dorm felt suffocating after the other members closed the door behind them. Baekhyun’s eyes spotted Chen’s phone sitting on the other’s bedside table and picked it up, hoping for clues as to the other’s location.
He pressed the unlock button to see an image of the group logo and his heart hurt even more. He slides his finger across the screen expecting a password prompt, but gains access to an opened web browser instead. As he scanned over the words he felt bile in his throat.
He sprinted to the door, grabbing his coat on the way and just ran. Everywhere he went he searched for Jongdae, knowing the other didn’t have a plan as to where he was going when he left. He saw many people point at him, but didn’t care he only had the thought of finding Jongdae in mind.
The sound of a bus’s breaks releasing letting out a sharp hiss pulled his gaze in its direction. A large smiling picture of Jongdae caught his attention from the bulletin board of the bus stop; however someone sitting staring at the image stole his entire attention.
“Jongdae” he said in relief as he ran across the street and captured the other in his arms. “Dae” Baekhyun said in relief holding the other close.
“Ba..Baek..Baekhyun, what are you doing here” Jongdae asked.
“What are you doing here Jongdae” Baekhyun asked instead tilting the other’s face up so he could look directly into the other’s eyes.
“I..it..it’s better this way Baek” Jongdae said and Baekhyun watched a few tears fall from the other’s eyes.
“Don’t say that Dae, you know we love you” Baekhyun says brushing his finger underneath Jongdae’s eyes to dry his tears.
“I just bring you down” Jongdae says in a whisper that Baekhyun has to strain to hear.
“No you don’t” Baekhyun counters. “Is this because of those mean posts that you were reading last night” Baekhyun asks.
“Kind of” Jongdae admits and Baekhyun feels the other shivering slightly in his arms. Baekhyun looks down and notices that Jongdae is still in his pajama bottoms and thin tank top so he shucks off his own jacket and drapes it on the other’s shoulder.
“Well I disagree with everything on that stupid fan board” Baekhyun says rubbing his hand against Jongdae’s arms to warm the other up. “I think your voice is amazing, I can never cover the range you can” Baekhyun says dismissing the first comment he had read earlier while looking at Jongdae’s phone.
“You are nowhere near fat in fact I think you are too skinny, and no one can compete with your guns” Baekhyun says enjoying the small kitten like smirk that twists onto Jongdae’s face. “We are one and we would definitely not be better off without you” Baekhyun says running his fingers gently through the other boy’s hair.
“But I dance terribly and I eat too much” Jongdae says softly and Baekhyun feels the other lean his head down against Baekhyun’s shoulder.
“You are getting better every day, your hip thrusts force me to work harder to be more eye catching” Baekhyun says before he hears a small chuckle leave Jongdae’s lips. “You have a high metabolism, plus you are always dancing or working out, so no one holds that against you, heck I think I eat more on a daily basis anyways” Baekhyun says squashing the other’s worries. “We love you Dae” Baekhyun says softly.
“I love you guys too, but I feel like I’m bringing you down. These past few weeks I haven’t been able to do anything right. No one wants to spend time with me.” Jongdae murmurs and Baekhyun feels the other playing gently with his fingers as he talks.
“I know it looks like that now, trust me I know we went about this all the wrong way, but if you come back we can prove the truth to you” Baekhyun says squeezing Jongdae’s hand softly in plea.
“Alright” Jongdae says softly.
“Give me one sec, I’m going to let the other’s know I found you” Baekhyun says pulling his phone out.
I found him!!! We are heading back home now, but have the room ready. He is really upset Baekhyun text quickly sending it off as Jongdae rests against his shoulder.
“I’m hungry” Jongdae says softly.
“I saw a street vender a block away I’ll grab you something on our way back” Baekhyun says before rising to his feet with Jongdae
“Thanks” Jongdae whispers still clutching onto Baekhyun’s hand like a life line.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
Jongdae sat on the couch in a comfortable new sweater given to him courtesy of Chanyeol with his head leaning against Baekhyun’s shoulder as he watched one of his favorite movies gifted to him by Joonmyun play on the television. The warmth of Baekhyun beside him caused Jongdae to move the warm blanket Minseok had given him off of his feet which were incased in the brand new piglet socks YiXing had given him as a replacement of his favorite ones that he had warn a hole through.
“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Jongdae, Happy Birthday to you” Sehun and Jongin yelled as Kyungsoo entered the room holding his favorite chocolate chip cake on a platter in front of him.
“Make a wish” Baekhyun whispers in his ear once the cake is sat on the small table in front of him.
Jongdae thought about the day and the many events that had transpired. I wish that we, EXO, can stay together forever and always be there for each other when they are in need, Jongdae thought before leaning down and blowing the candles out.
After the cake was eaten Jongdae leaned back against Baekhyun, his stomach finally satisfied and the loss of sleep catching up with him. “Thank you” he said to everyone with a smile before he let his eyes slowly drop. The warmth of Baekhyun beside him and the knowledge that he was loved lulling him into a calm and pleasant sleep.
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
“I think it was a success” Sehun says with a smile as he switches the television to a different channel.
“Well if you look past the part where we almost lost him” Minseok says sarcastically. Baekhyun couldn’t help but role his eyes at the other’s banter.
He looks away from the television and gazes down at Jongdae’s sleeping face. He pulls the other gently down so that Jongdae’s head is nestled in his lap instead of propped up on his shoulder. He pulls the blanket around the other’s exposed shoulder and tucks it in to make sure that Jongdae stays warm. “Happy Birthday love” he says softly carding his fingers through the other’s soft locks.