CHINGUX 2014: sweet disposition (1/1) for exobubz
Title: sweet disposition
Author: fashcndy
Recipient: exobubz
Pairing/Focus: baekhyun/chanyeol | bff!baekchen
Rating: PG-13 (for cursing)
Warnings: n/a
Length: 3.4 k
Summary: Baekhyun and Chanyeol are rivals, according to Baekhyun. Jongdae is responsible for a big misunderstanding. Jongin likes guys in striped shirts. (mall au)
“He’s playing dirty,” Baekhyun says, pushing a pile of receipts into Jongin’s hands. The overhead fans whirl to life, blowing the fresh smell of vanilla wafers and diabetes-inducing sugar cookies from the kitchen. Jongin is barely wearing a shirt, and customers are taking pictures of the sweaty and exposed caramelized skin poking out of his threadbare tank top. His habit of being unintentionally sexually frustrating is good for business.
Jongin hums. “Everyone loves buying random shit. Or dildos,” he says. “That’s a sad, but true, fact.” An elderly woman looks up at the word dildos, but otherwise keeps nibbling on her strawberry covered, fish shaped crepe thingy. Coming up with better names for his products is number one on the itinerary.
He’s got the perfect view of his rival shop from the register. Chanyeol’s hair is pulled up in an inappropriate ponytail at the top of his head. It’s the kind of thing the women from the JC Penney’s drool over when he passes by on his way to the food court. Chanyeol may be able to charm off the undergarments of all women -young, old, domestic and foreign -but Baekhyun always has been and always will be completely and utterly homosexual.
“I just don’t get it.” A woman with bright pink hair is buying a Magic 8 ball. Baekhyun thinks the entire establishment is stupid. What respectable adult wants a collection of Sigmund Freud Bobbleheads and a plastic flamingo to go along with the ironically large garden gnomes that are on sale for ten dollars with every purchase of a latex horse head mask?
His phone chimes with that annoying goat shriek Jongdae set at his notification alert. Jongin does that hovering thing he’s known for doing as he replies to a string of messages on a group chat he started months ago.
“I think it’s the assortment of sizes and colors,” Jongin explains. “Plus they have one for all ranges of interests and activity types.”
“Dude,” Baekhyun says. “I’m not talking about dildos. I’m talking about that.”
A group of fumbling high school band members waltz in with their matching t-shirts and overactive acne. Someone walks out wearing a rainbow colored umbrella hat. The bags are either an obnoxious caricature of Chinese takeout containers and chopsticks, cheap convenience store standard black plastic bags, or extremely plain brown paper bags with the ugliest logo printed on the inside of the bag, of all places.
Jongin gives him a contemplative look. In Jongin’s book of facial expressions, awkward smiles and paired with an uneven lift of the eyebrows usually means he wants to verbalize something he feels smugly about.
“Why are you so obsessed with Chanyeol?” Jongin asks.
Baekhyun scoffs, fussing with his nails. He pained them last night with a little clear nail polish he borrowed-slash-stole from Yixing’s beauty salon across from Zitao’s kiosk. He can’t stop staring at them.
“I’m not obsessed with Chanyeol.”
“Sure you are,” Jongin counters. “Ask anyone on the ground floor and they’d say the same thing. You two are always trying to one up each other. I don’t understand. I thought you two were friends.”
“We graduated from the same high school, but we ran in different circles,” he corrects. High school was a series of complicated Venn diagrams that all seemed to overlap at the middle of Chanyeol’s gangly limbs and pretty boy good looks. Baekhyun never overlapped with Chanyeol. He can admit that he tried once. But nothing picked up.
Chanyeol would nod at him in the hallways, but he sat as far away from Baekhyun as he could during lunch and assemblies. Baekhyun even managed to get invited to Chanyeol’s parties. That’s how he met Jongdae. He can’t complain about meeting his current best friend at a party he only dolled himself up for so he could be friends with everyone’s favorite person, Chanyeol.
People like Chanyeol just grew into well-rounded, attractive individuals. Baekhyun gave up meat for a month and finally used his gym membership -all which turned out to be futile the moment the idea for a confections shop.
“Then how did you two become rivals?” Jongin is only talkative around Baekhyun. Jongdae says it’s because Baekhyun tends to rub off on people. Like that annoying glitter from the craft store.
“And I only use the word because that’s what you two use to describe each other,” he says.
“It all started when Sweet Sweets Galaxy and Kidtrick Toys opened for business on the same day, two years ago,” Baekhyun recalls.
“Oh god.” Jongin groans. “Not a flashback.”
No one really includes working at the mall on their four-year plan.
Baekhyun applied to three schools, and after graduating, ending up going to the community college not that far from where he lived. His mother was a little disappointed, but his father only cared that he wasn’t sitting around on the couch like a freeloader. They made Baekbeom pay rent when he didn’t immediately move out when he turned eighteen. The benefits of that arrangement were that he got more allowance that way and Baekbeom never had enough money to do anything but stay home at watch TV.
He only applied for a job at the mall because everyone else he knew had part-time jobs that kept them busy enough to reject Baekhyun’s call, but not busy enough to ignore his rambles after he eventually tracked each one of them down at their jobs.
Being a public nuisance paid off.
When one of the specialty shops for old women closed down, the mall began planning to open a coffee shop. The plan failed when a Starbucks opened on the upper level. Baekhyun mentioned it would have been cool to have an old fashioned candy shop.
Mysteriously from the shadows, a man asked him to elaborate. Baekhyun can talk to someone for hours without even knowing their name.
By the end of the day, he was the co-owner of a shop that didn’t even exist yet.
Jongdae called him an entrepreneur. Baekhyun didn’t do anything but nod aggressively at Old Man Lee every time he asked for a second opinion on something business related. The name, Sweet Sweet Galaxy, was his idea.
A lanky skater kid came by when the sign went up.
“Isn’t Sweet Sweet Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy?” he asked. Baekhyun had been playing the night before Old Man Lee asked him to come up with a name. He thought maybe he was a creative genius.
“Not if I put an extra letter somewhere,” he countered. Thus, Sweet Sweets Galaxy was born. Mainly to avoid copyright.
Baekhyun bragged to everyone about his new job. He even went around offering people jobs. The thought of Baekhyun being in any way superior is what caused most of his friends to turn the offer down. Even Jongdae.
“You’re obnoxious regularly, but added with the fact that you’ll be my boss? Nope. Not doing it,” Jongdae insisted. Baekhyun was only mildly offended.
Regardless of his friends glaring lack of support -Sweet Sweets was going to be the greatest thing to hit the ground floor since The Bubble Tea Palace.
That is, until Chanyeol came along.
Baekhyun was surprised to find that the old music store that closed down was suddenly being converted into a new store.
No one else knew exactly what was happening either. One minute, the store is empty and boarded up. The next, there’s shelves going up on the walls and big comic sans neon letters going over the entrance, reading “Kidtrick.”
People were making bets to see what the store would be. Lu Han had fifty on it being a kid’s café. Minseok put fifty on an adult café, just to contradict Lu Han. Yixing was against gambling, however benign, but slyly mentions to Baekhyun that he heard it’s going to be a novelty store.
Everyone immediately ruled that out. Novelty stores went out of style with the invention of eBay.
Baekhyun asked around. Everyone assumed it would be something related to toys or games. Jongdae even stopped by to offer his advice.
“You guys are looking into the name too much,” he said. “Look at the inside. It doesn’t look childish.”
Jongdae had a point. Lu Han suggested maybe they sold sex toys. Yixing pointed out that there was an arcade and a playpen not too far from Lu Han’s bubble tea kiosk.
“Who would put a sex toy shop on the ground floor of a mall where all the kid centric areas are?”
Yixing also had a point.
Baekhyun had no idea which direction Kidtrick was going in. The only logical way to stay ahead of the game was to do some investigation.
He slipped in when movers where loading in boxes and wall art. Everything was labeled something weird. Chinese finger traps -one box said. Another was labeled ‘lava and other lamps’ with a peace symbol drawn at the end.
“Lost your way?” a voice asked, too close to his ears. He startled, and did one of those things heroines do in romantic comedies. He spun around, tripping over something that probably wasn’t even there, and fell flat on his ass.
The smile that spreads over the face of the reason for his ungraceful fall is very familiar.
“Chanyeol?” he squeaked.
“Ah, you’re Jongdae’s friend,” he said, eyes lighting up in recognition. “Baekhyun?”
Baekhyun flushed with some sort of weird, conflicting embarrassment, outrage, incredibly pleased emotion and moved to stand in front of Chanyeol.
If it was possible, Chanyeol was at least a foot taller than he remembered him being in high school. Something cracked in his neck at the abrupt tilt he made last minute.
“Um,” he said. “Yeah.”
Chanyeol’s eyebrows furrowed and he blinked at Baekhyun expectantly.
“Well, I’ll just be over there. At my store. I’m…going.”
He planned on walking as slow as he could so Chanyeol could grab his wrists and ask him to wait. Then there would be some dialogue equivalent to a confession of admiration. Then Baekhyun would add that it was mutual. Then they’d-
“Bye!”
So much for that, he thought.
Opening day came quicker than he imagined. Baekhyun designed the uniforms. Plain white t-shirts with a planet shaped like a gumball on the center. It was sort of stupid, so he added red bowties that looked like candy wrappers. But that was also stupid. Old Man Lee liked the idea. That was probably a dead giveaway.
Zitao abandoned his kiosk with designer accessories in favor of supporting Sweets’ opening. Yixing and Lu Han joined also.
“God, it smells amazing in here,” Lu Han said, practically salivating. Zitao was chatting with Old Man Lee. Baekhyun had no idea Lee was Chinese.
“Like Willy Wonka on acid.”
“Um, I’m not sure that’s a good analogy, Yixing.”
Baekhyun heard a couple of girls from outside of the store shriek and dash on the other side of the mall like there was a fire somewhere. There was music playing from the store across from Baekhyun’s. Kidtrick.
“I didn’t know they were opening today,” Zitao commented. “I don’t think anyone did.”
“Why are there so many people?” Lu Han asked. “I’ve seen what’s on the shelves in there. Weird toys from the 70s.”
“Probably has more to do with Chanyeol than the inventory.”
“Yeah. If only he wasn’t hot and incredibly likeable.”
Baekhyun laughed. “I bet it doesn’t last the rest of the day. Everyone knows those stores don’t last. Plus, I’m selling candy. That’s like, drugs for your taste buds.”
“Nice slogan,” Lu Han admired.
“I’m a genius,” Baekhyun replied.
“You guys,” Yixing said, “look, more people are going to Kidtrick. Maybe there’s something we don’t know about it. Maybe Chanyeol’s a magician.”
Lu Han gives Yixing a look that immediately cuts off the excitement in his eyes.
Baekhyun shrugged. “Well, let’s see how long that magic lasts. Can’t be any better than mine. Everyone loves me.”
“Debatable,” Zitao mumbled. Baekhyun ignored him in favor of staring at Chanyeol’s smiling profile.
It was like high school all over again.
“That’s it? That’s the story?” Jongin asks incredulously. “How anticlimactic.”
Baekhyun frowns. “Have you been hanging out with Jongdae behind my back? You’re starting to sound like him.”
Jongin scoffs. “Just admit you want Chanyeol to notice you and hold your hand and write songs about you.”
“How’d you know Chanyeol writes songs? Have you been hanging out with Chanyeol behind my back?”
“It’s official. You’ve gone insane,” Jongin says. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep your secret. But, just curious, if you like Chanyeol, why not just go talk to him?”
“Says the guy with the first grade romance with the skinny kid from Foot Locker. How long did it take you to stop panicking every time he asked for your shoe size?”
Jongin blushes. “That’s different. We’re both shy. You and Chanyeol wouldn’t know shy if it came up and introduced itself.”
Baekhyun has thought about it before. Just going up to Chanyeol and working his charm. But his charm doesn’t work on Chanyeol. Either Chanyeol is oblivious to everything around him, or he’s just really friendly. Maybe he shouldn’t expect Chanyeol to just suddenly realize that Baekhyun is amazing and that they need to date. Maybe he should start small.
“Okay fine. If I manage to successfully talk to Chanyeol, then you have to ask that kid from Foot Locker on a date.”
Jongin is silent for an extremely long time. “I got something better,” he says. Before Baekhyun can think to stop him, Jongin is running out of Sweets with his apron still on and his fly undone, heading towards the escalators.
In two minutes, he returns with the Foot Locker boy, who looks bewildered in his stripped shirt. His hair is newly bleached, Baekhyun notes, and it makes him look like an anime character.
“Jongin, what’s going on?” Foot Locker boy, asks.
“You and I both like sweets.” Foot Locker boy stares at Jongin with sparkles in his eyes. It’s terribly gross, but Baekhyun can’t look away. “And you’re really sweet. And, uh, wait. Let me start over.”
“Oh god,” Baekhyun groans. Foot Locker boy smiles with his entire body, as if Jongin told him the most exciting news in the history of exciting news.
“Taemin go on a date with me because I really like you and Baekhyun gave me an ultimatum even though he knows I don’t like pressure so how about Thursday at eight since that’s when you get off and I don’t work on Thursday and I know this really nice place where we can-”
“Jongin,” Baekhyun interrupts. “You’re rambling.”
“Right. Well. Um.” He’s never seen Jongin so red before in his life. He should take a picture.
“I thought you’d never ask, Jongin.” Foot Locker boy, er, Taemin, says. Baekhyun wants to puke up the macaroons he had for lunch. “I sort of told my roommate you were already my boyfriend. Hahahaha.”
Jongin practically snaps Taemin’s spine with how hard he pulls him in for a hug.
“Gross.” Baekhyun mock gags. “I hate when my friends are happy.”
“Stop being bitter and go ask Chanyeol out on a date.”
Taemin beams. “Oh, he likes Chanyeol?”
“Why don’t you tell the whole world, foot boy?”
“Foot boy? Really, Baekhyun?” Jongin asks. “That’s lame, even for you.”
“Whatever. I’ll hold up my end of the deal, you fucking cheater.”
Baekhyun doesn’t back down from a challenge.
Chanyeol’s is standing behind the counter, pointing out something on display in the window. He swallows that uncomfortably misplaced emotion and crosses the mall in long strides. The faster he walks, the less time he has to back down.
The doors have bells over them, so his entrance attracts everyone’s attention.
“Shit fuck,” he hisses under his breath. “Okay, just be natural and everything will fall into place,” he tells himself.
“Oh, Jongdae’s friend.” Chanyeol smiles like he’s pleased to see Baekhyun. “Hi.”
“I have a name that doesn’t involve Jongdae,” he says. “It’s Baekhyun. Latin for awesome.” He said the exact same thing to Jongin when they first met through Yixing.
“Oh, of course.” Chanyeol steps from behind the counter to stand next to Baekhyun. “I just remembered you and Jongdae were always together in high school.”
“Yeah. He’s my best friend.” Chanyeol nods looking at Baekhyun from behind of oversized glasses. They shouldn’t be flattering, but they are.
“So, what brings you to my store? Looking for something dick related?” He waggles his brows. Baekhyun laughs.
“Ah, no thanks. I prefer real dick rather than souvenirs.” He doesn’t realize how odd that sounds until Chanyeol’s face turns confused and he chuckles awkwardly.
“I’m not asking you for dick, if that’s what you think. I just meant that I’m gay and like dick. That’s what I meant. Not, like, I want you to give me dick. I mean, your dick works fine, but I’m not asking you for it. Wait, I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t know how your dick works yet.”
Chanyeol looks more than startled at Baekhyun’s rambling. He can see Jongin and foot boy watching in his peripherals. Chanyeol makes this jerky movement, like he’s not in control of his body. The next thing Baekhyun knows, Chanyeol is leaning down to press their mouths together.
“Wow, I um…” He laughs, embarrassed. “This is a funny story we’ll have to tell our children someday.”
Baekhyun pauses in his internal panic to give Chanyeol a stupefied look. “Excuse me?”
Chanyeol laughs again, louder this time. “Baekhyun, I’ve had a crush on you for like, forever.”
“Uhhhh, what?” Baekhyun can still feel Chanyeol’s lips on his, even though it was nothing more than a chaste kiss.
“Jongdae didn’t tell you?” Chanyeol asks. “I would have thought he would have. He gets off on embarrassing people.”
“No, wait go back, this doesn’t make sense.”
“I asked Jongdae about you and he said I wasn’t your type.”
“Jongdae? Jongdae said that?!” Baekhyun will kill Jongdae, slowly and sadistically. “He’s going to die.”
“He said you had a crush on Taeyeon from upstairs. The assistant manager from Girls Generation.”
“Fucking piece of shit,” he spits. “He knows I don’t like girls! I had a crush on my bus driver in kindergarten. He was hot and he let me sit on his lap. I’ve been gay since day one!”
“That’s good to know.” Chanyeol laughs. “So, you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Baekhyun nods. “Tie rocks to Jongdae’s ankles and throw him in the river.”
“Actually I was thinking about taking you out on a date.”
“Oh.” Baekhyun says. He can feel his neck flush. “Well, yeah. That too.”
Chanyeol grins, reaching out to pinch Baekhyun’s cheek. He can hear Jongin’s donkey braying laughter and vaguely see Zitao trying to peek over from his kiosk.
“Great. I’ll see you at closing.”
“See you then.”
He calls Jongdae the moment he gets back to Sweets.
“You little shit, why didn’t you tell me?” he asks the minute Jongdae picks up.
“About what?”
“About Chanyeol having a crush on me!”
“Oh. Oops? I can explain.”
“What?”
“I was mad at you. You said something really shitty and hurt my feelings. I didn’t say anything to you about it, but later when Chanyeol asked me if you were single, I said you were but that I wasn’t sure if he was your type.”
“So you told him I liked Taeyeon?”
“Well, I suggested that you had a crush in the mall. I didn’t specifically name drop. He must have gathered that himself.”
Baekhyun sighs. “Well I guess I forgive you. But just know I texted your boyfriend about those crossdressing fantasies you’ve been having.”
Jongdae laughs. “It doesn’t matter. We’ve already discussed it.”
“Ugh, you suck. I will be getting you back for this.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
Baekhyun hangs up, watching Jongin and his new boyfriend feed each other candy.
“Hey foot boy, don’t you have work to do?”
Jongin glares, but Taemin jumps up from his seat. “My break was over thirty minutes ago!”
Jongin sighs as he takes off for the escalators. “Today has been a good day.”
“All thanks to me.” Baekhyun winks, dodging the rag Jongin throws at his face.
“Whatever. I’m just glad I won’t have to hear about your stupid rivalry.”
Baekhyun hums. “His store is still stupid and I’ve had more customers than him this week.”
“Why do I bother?” Jongin slumps against the counter, taffy stuck to his fingers.
“Hey, Jongin. Have I ever told you about the first time I met Chanyeol?”
Jongin groans. “Oh god no. Not another story!”
Author: fashcndy
Recipient: exobubz
Pairing/Focus: baekhyun/chanyeol | bff!baekchen
Rating: PG-13 (for cursing)
Warnings: n/a
Length: 3.4 k
Summary: Baekhyun and Chanyeol are rivals, according to Baekhyun. Jongdae is responsible for a big misunderstanding. Jongin likes guys in striped shirts. (mall au)
“He’s playing dirty,” Baekhyun says, pushing a pile of receipts into Jongin’s hands. The overhead fans whirl to life, blowing the fresh smell of vanilla wafers and diabetes-inducing sugar cookies from the kitchen. Jongin is barely wearing a shirt, and customers are taking pictures of the sweaty and exposed caramelized skin poking out of his threadbare tank top. His habit of being unintentionally sexually frustrating is good for business.
Jongin hums. “Everyone loves buying random shit. Or dildos,” he says. “That’s a sad, but true, fact.” An elderly woman looks up at the word dildos, but otherwise keeps nibbling on her strawberry covered, fish shaped crepe thingy. Coming up with better names for his products is number one on the itinerary.
He’s got the perfect view of his rival shop from the register. Chanyeol’s hair is pulled up in an inappropriate ponytail at the top of his head. It’s the kind of thing the women from the JC Penney’s drool over when he passes by on his way to the food court. Chanyeol may be able to charm off the undergarments of all women -young, old, domestic and foreign -but Baekhyun always has been and always will be completely and utterly homosexual.
“I just don’t get it.” A woman with bright pink hair is buying a Magic 8 ball. Baekhyun thinks the entire establishment is stupid. What respectable adult wants a collection of Sigmund Freud Bobbleheads and a plastic flamingo to go along with the ironically large garden gnomes that are on sale for ten dollars with every purchase of a latex horse head mask?
His phone chimes with that annoying goat shriek Jongdae set at his notification alert. Jongin does that hovering thing he’s known for doing as he replies to a string of messages on a group chat he started months ago.
“I think it’s the assortment of sizes and colors,” Jongin explains. “Plus they have one for all ranges of interests and activity types.”
“Dude,” Baekhyun says. “I’m not talking about dildos. I’m talking about that.”
A group of fumbling high school band members waltz in with their matching t-shirts and overactive acne. Someone walks out wearing a rainbow colored umbrella hat. The bags are either an obnoxious caricature of Chinese takeout containers and chopsticks, cheap convenience store standard black plastic bags, or extremely plain brown paper bags with the ugliest logo printed on the inside of the bag, of all places.
Jongin gives him a contemplative look. In Jongin’s book of facial expressions, awkward smiles and paired with an uneven lift of the eyebrows usually means he wants to verbalize something he feels smugly about.
“Why are you so obsessed with Chanyeol?” Jongin asks.
Baekhyun scoffs, fussing with his nails. He pained them last night with a little clear nail polish he borrowed-slash-stole from Yixing’s beauty salon across from Zitao’s kiosk. He can’t stop staring at them.
“I’m not obsessed with Chanyeol.”
“Sure you are,” Jongin counters. “Ask anyone on the ground floor and they’d say the same thing. You two are always trying to one up each other. I don’t understand. I thought you two were friends.”
“We graduated from the same high school, but we ran in different circles,” he corrects. High school was a series of complicated Venn diagrams that all seemed to overlap at the middle of Chanyeol’s gangly limbs and pretty boy good looks. Baekhyun never overlapped with Chanyeol. He can admit that he tried once. But nothing picked up.
Chanyeol would nod at him in the hallways, but he sat as far away from Baekhyun as he could during lunch and assemblies. Baekhyun even managed to get invited to Chanyeol’s parties. That’s how he met Jongdae. He can’t complain about meeting his current best friend at a party he only dolled himself up for so he could be friends with everyone’s favorite person, Chanyeol.
People like Chanyeol just grew into well-rounded, attractive individuals. Baekhyun gave up meat for a month and finally used his gym membership -all which turned out to be futile the moment the idea for a confections shop.
“Then how did you two become rivals?” Jongin is only talkative around Baekhyun. Jongdae says it’s because Baekhyun tends to rub off on people. Like that annoying glitter from the craft store.
“And I only use the word because that’s what you two use to describe each other,” he says.
“It all started when Sweet Sweets Galaxy and Kidtrick Toys opened for business on the same day, two years ago,” Baekhyun recalls.
“Oh god.” Jongin groans. “Not a flashback.”
No one really includes working at the mall on their four-year plan.
Baekhyun applied to three schools, and after graduating, ending up going to the community college not that far from where he lived. His mother was a little disappointed, but his father only cared that he wasn’t sitting around on the couch like a freeloader. They made Baekbeom pay rent when he didn’t immediately move out when he turned eighteen. The benefits of that arrangement were that he got more allowance that way and Baekbeom never had enough money to do anything but stay home at watch TV.
He only applied for a job at the mall because everyone else he knew had part-time jobs that kept them busy enough to reject Baekhyun’s call, but not busy enough to ignore his rambles after he eventually tracked each one of them down at their jobs.
Being a public nuisance paid off.
When one of the specialty shops for old women closed down, the mall began planning to open a coffee shop. The plan failed when a Starbucks opened on the upper level. Baekhyun mentioned it would have been cool to have an old fashioned candy shop.
Mysteriously from the shadows, a man asked him to elaborate. Baekhyun can talk to someone for hours without even knowing their name.
By the end of the day, he was the co-owner of a shop that didn’t even exist yet.
Jongdae called him an entrepreneur. Baekhyun didn’t do anything but nod aggressively at Old Man Lee every time he asked for a second opinion on something business related. The name, Sweet Sweet Galaxy, was his idea.
A lanky skater kid came by when the sign went up.
“Isn’t Sweet Sweet Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy?” he asked. Baekhyun had been playing the night before Old Man Lee asked him to come up with a name. He thought maybe he was a creative genius.
“Not if I put an extra letter somewhere,” he countered. Thus, Sweet Sweets Galaxy was born. Mainly to avoid copyright.
Baekhyun bragged to everyone about his new job. He even went around offering people jobs. The thought of Baekhyun being in any way superior is what caused most of his friends to turn the offer down. Even Jongdae.
“You’re obnoxious regularly, but added with the fact that you’ll be my boss? Nope. Not doing it,” Jongdae insisted. Baekhyun was only mildly offended.
Regardless of his friends glaring lack of support -Sweet Sweets was going to be the greatest thing to hit the ground floor since The Bubble Tea Palace.
That is, until Chanyeol came along.
Baekhyun was surprised to find that the old music store that closed down was suddenly being converted into a new store.
No one else knew exactly what was happening either. One minute, the store is empty and boarded up. The next, there’s shelves going up on the walls and big comic sans neon letters going over the entrance, reading “Kidtrick.”
People were making bets to see what the store would be. Lu Han had fifty on it being a kid’s café. Minseok put fifty on an adult café, just to contradict Lu Han. Yixing was against gambling, however benign, but slyly mentions to Baekhyun that he heard it’s going to be a novelty store.
Everyone immediately ruled that out. Novelty stores went out of style with the invention of eBay.
Baekhyun asked around. Everyone assumed it would be something related to toys or games. Jongdae even stopped by to offer his advice.
“You guys are looking into the name too much,” he said. “Look at the inside. It doesn’t look childish.”
Jongdae had a point. Lu Han suggested maybe they sold sex toys. Yixing pointed out that there was an arcade and a playpen not too far from Lu Han’s bubble tea kiosk.
“Who would put a sex toy shop on the ground floor of a mall where all the kid centric areas are?”
Yixing also had a point.
Baekhyun had no idea which direction Kidtrick was going in. The only logical way to stay ahead of the game was to do some investigation.
He slipped in when movers where loading in boxes and wall art. Everything was labeled something weird. Chinese finger traps -one box said. Another was labeled ‘lava and other lamps’ with a peace symbol drawn at the end.
“Lost your way?” a voice asked, too close to his ears. He startled, and did one of those things heroines do in romantic comedies. He spun around, tripping over something that probably wasn’t even there, and fell flat on his ass.
The smile that spreads over the face of the reason for his ungraceful fall is very familiar.
“Chanyeol?” he squeaked.
“Ah, you’re Jongdae’s friend,” he said, eyes lighting up in recognition. “Baekhyun?”
Baekhyun flushed with some sort of weird, conflicting embarrassment, outrage, incredibly pleased emotion and moved to stand in front of Chanyeol.
If it was possible, Chanyeol was at least a foot taller than he remembered him being in high school. Something cracked in his neck at the abrupt tilt he made last minute.
“Um,” he said. “Yeah.”
Chanyeol’s eyebrows furrowed and he blinked at Baekhyun expectantly.
“Well, I’ll just be over there. At my store. I’m…going.”
He planned on walking as slow as he could so Chanyeol could grab his wrists and ask him to wait. Then there would be some dialogue equivalent to a confession of admiration. Then Baekhyun would add that it was mutual. Then they’d-
“Bye!”
So much for that, he thought.
Opening day came quicker than he imagined. Baekhyun designed the uniforms. Plain white t-shirts with a planet shaped like a gumball on the center. It was sort of stupid, so he added red bowties that looked like candy wrappers. But that was also stupid. Old Man Lee liked the idea. That was probably a dead giveaway.
Zitao abandoned his kiosk with designer accessories in favor of supporting Sweets’ opening. Yixing and Lu Han joined also.
“God, it smells amazing in here,” Lu Han said, practically salivating. Zitao was chatting with Old Man Lee. Baekhyun had no idea Lee was Chinese.
“Like Willy Wonka on acid.”
“Um, I’m not sure that’s a good analogy, Yixing.”
Baekhyun heard a couple of girls from outside of the store shriek and dash on the other side of the mall like there was a fire somewhere. There was music playing from the store across from Baekhyun’s. Kidtrick.
“I didn’t know they were opening today,” Zitao commented. “I don’t think anyone did.”
“Why are there so many people?” Lu Han asked. “I’ve seen what’s on the shelves in there. Weird toys from the 70s.”
“Probably has more to do with Chanyeol than the inventory.”
“Yeah. If only he wasn’t hot and incredibly likeable.”
Baekhyun laughed. “I bet it doesn’t last the rest of the day. Everyone knows those stores don’t last. Plus, I’m selling candy. That’s like, drugs for your taste buds.”
“Nice slogan,” Lu Han admired.
“I’m a genius,” Baekhyun replied.
“You guys,” Yixing said, “look, more people are going to Kidtrick. Maybe there’s something we don’t know about it. Maybe Chanyeol’s a magician.”
Lu Han gives Yixing a look that immediately cuts off the excitement in his eyes.
Baekhyun shrugged. “Well, let’s see how long that magic lasts. Can’t be any better than mine. Everyone loves me.”
“Debatable,” Zitao mumbled. Baekhyun ignored him in favor of staring at Chanyeol’s smiling profile.
It was like high school all over again.
“That’s it? That’s the story?” Jongin asks incredulously. “How anticlimactic.”
Baekhyun frowns. “Have you been hanging out with Jongdae behind my back? You’re starting to sound like him.”
Jongin scoffs. “Just admit you want Chanyeol to notice you and hold your hand and write songs about you.”
“How’d you know Chanyeol writes songs? Have you been hanging out with Chanyeol behind my back?”
“It’s official. You’ve gone insane,” Jongin says. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep your secret. But, just curious, if you like Chanyeol, why not just go talk to him?”
“Says the guy with the first grade romance with the skinny kid from Foot Locker. How long did it take you to stop panicking every time he asked for your shoe size?”
Jongin blushes. “That’s different. We’re both shy. You and Chanyeol wouldn’t know shy if it came up and introduced itself.”
Baekhyun has thought about it before. Just going up to Chanyeol and working his charm. But his charm doesn’t work on Chanyeol. Either Chanyeol is oblivious to everything around him, or he’s just really friendly. Maybe he shouldn’t expect Chanyeol to just suddenly realize that Baekhyun is amazing and that they need to date. Maybe he should start small.
“Okay fine. If I manage to successfully talk to Chanyeol, then you have to ask that kid from Foot Locker on a date.”
Jongin is silent for an extremely long time. “I got something better,” he says. Before Baekhyun can think to stop him, Jongin is running out of Sweets with his apron still on and his fly undone, heading towards the escalators.
In two minutes, he returns with the Foot Locker boy, who looks bewildered in his stripped shirt. His hair is newly bleached, Baekhyun notes, and it makes him look like an anime character.
“Jongin, what’s going on?” Foot Locker boy, asks.
“You and I both like sweets.” Foot Locker boy stares at Jongin with sparkles in his eyes. It’s terribly gross, but Baekhyun can’t look away. “And you’re really sweet. And, uh, wait. Let me start over.”
“Oh god,” Baekhyun groans. Foot Locker boy smiles with his entire body, as if Jongin told him the most exciting news in the history of exciting news.
“Taemin go on a date with me because I really like you and Baekhyun gave me an ultimatum even though he knows I don’t like pressure so how about Thursday at eight since that’s when you get off and I don’t work on Thursday and I know this really nice place where we can-”
“Jongin,” Baekhyun interrupts. “You’re rambling.”
“Right. Well. Um.” He’s never seen Jongin so red before in his life. He should take a picture.
“I thought you’d never ask, Jongin.” Foot Locker boy, er, Taemin, says. Baekhyun wants to puke up the macaroons he had for lunch. “I sort of told my roommate you were already my boyfriend. Hahahaha.”
Jongin practically snaps Taemin’s spine with how hard he pulls him in for a hug.
“Gross.” Baekhyun mock gags. “I hate when my friends are happy.”
“Stop being bitter and go ask Chanyeol out on a date.”
Taemin beams. “Oh, he likes Chanyeol?”
“Why don’t you tell the whole world, foot boy?”
“Foot boy? Really, Baekhyun?” Jongin asks. “That’s lame, even for you.”
“Whatever. I’ll hold up my end of the deal, you fucking cheater.”
Baekhyun doesn’t back down from a challenge.
Chanyeol’s is standing behind the counter, pointing out something on display in the window. He swallows that uncomfortably misplaced emotion and crosses the mall in long strides. The faster he walks, the less time he has to back down.
The doors have bells over them, so his entrance attracts everyone’s attention.
“Shit fuck,” he hisses under his breath. “Okay, just be natural and everything will fall into place,” he tells himself.
“Oh, Jongdae’s friend.” Chanyeol smiles like he’s pleased to see Baekhyun. “Hi.”
“I have a name that doesn’t involve Jongdae,” he says. “It’s Baekhyun. Latin for awesome.” He said the exact same thing to Jongin when they first met through Yixing.
“Oh, of course.” Chanyeol steps from behind the counter to stand next to Baekhyun. “I just remembered you and Jongdae were always together in high school.”
“Yeah. He’s my best friend.” Chanyeol nods looking at Baekhyun from behind of oversized glasses. They shouldn’t be flattering, but they are.
“So, what brings you to my store? Looking for something dick related?” He waggles his brows. Baekhyun laughs.
“Ah, no thanks. I prefer real dick rather than souvenirs.” He doesn’t realize how odd that sounds until Chanyeol’s face turns confused and he chuckles awkwardly.
“I’m not asking you for dick, if that’s what you think. I just meant that I’m gay and like dick. That’s what I meant. Not, like, I want you to give me dick. I mean, your dick works fine, but I’m not asking you for it. Wait, I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t know how your dick works yet.”
Chanyeol looks more than startled at Baekhyun’s rambling. He can see Jongin and foot boy watching in his peripherals. Chanyeol makes this jerky movement, like he’s not in control of his body. The next thing Baekhyun knows, Chanyeol is leaning down to press their mouths together.
“Wow, I um…” He laughs, embarrassed. “This is a funny story we’ll have to tell our children someday.”
Baekhyun pauses in his internal panic to give Chanyeol a stupefied look. “Excuse me?”
Chanyeol laughs again, louder this time. “Baekhyun, I’ve had a crush on you for like, forever.”
“Uhhhh, what?” Baekhyun can still feel Chanyeol’s lips on his, even though it was nothing more than a chaste kiss.
“Jongdae didn’t tell you?” Chanyeol asks. “I would have thought he would have. He gets off on embarrassing people.”
“No, wait go back, this doesn’t make sense.”
“I asked Jongdae about you and he said I wasn’t your type.”
“Jongdae? Jongdae said that?!” Baekhyun will kill Jongdae, slowly and sadistically. “He’s going to die.”
“He said you had a crush on Taeyeon from upstairs. The assistant manager from Girls Generation.”
“Fucking piece of shit,” he spits. “He knows I don’t like girls! I had a crush on my bus driver in kindergarten. He was hot and he let me sit on his lap. I’ve been gay since day one!”
“That’s good to know.” Chanyeol laughs. “So, you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Baekhyun nods. “Tie rocks to Jongdae’s ankles and throw him in the river.”
“Actually I was thinking about taking you out on a date.”
“Oh.” Baekhyun says. He can feel his neck flush. “Well, yeah. That too.”
Chanyeol grins, reaching out to pinch Baekhyun’s cheek. He can hear Jongin’s donkey braying laughter and vaguely see Zitao trying to peek over from his kiosk.
“Great. I’ll see you at closing.”
“See you then.”
He calls Jongdae the moment he gets back to Sweets.
“You little shit, why didn’t you tell me?” he asks the minute Jongdae picks up.
“About what?”
“About Chanyeol having a crush on me!”
“Oh. Oops? I can explain.”
“What?”
“I was mad at you. You said something really shitty and hurt my feelings. I didn’t say anything to you about it, but later when Chanyeol asked me if you were single, I said you were but that I wasn’t sure if he was your type.”
“So you told him I liked Taeyeon?”
“Well, I suggested that you had a crush in the mall. I didn’t specifically name drop. He must have gathered that himself.”
Baekhyun sighs. “Well I guess I forgive you. But just know I texted your boyfriend about those crossdressing fantasies you’ve been having.”
Jongdae laughs. “It doesn’t matter. We’ve already discussed it.”
“Ugh, you suck. I will be getting you back for this.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
Baekhyun hangs up, watching Jongin and his new boyfriend feed each other candy.
“Hey foot boy, don’t you have work to do?”
Jongin glares, but Taemin jumps up from his seat. “My break was over thirty minutes ago!”
Jongin sighs as he takes off for the escalators. “Today has been a good day.”
“All thanks to me.” Baekhyun winks, dodging the rag Jongin throws at his face.
“Whatever. I’m just glad I won’t have to hear about your stupid rivalry.”
Baekhyun hums. “His store is still stupid and I’ve had more customers than him this week.”
“Why do I bother?” Jongin slumps against the counter, taffy stuck to his fingers.
“Hey, Jongin. Have I ever told you about the first time I met Chanyeol?”
Jongin groans. “Oh god no. Not another story!”