Beautiful Bride [1/2]
Title: Beautiful Bride [1/2]
Author: FloweryMisha
Pairing: BaekYeol
Warning: BoyxBoy love. Enough said.
Summary: Chanyeol let go of the bride and realized it was the best decision he had ever made.
Author’s Note: Me and my marriage fic obsession. KILL ME ;;;; AND PLEASE, NO TRANSLATIONS ALLOWED!
Park Chanyeol was famous as a wedding organizer.
It was a wonder how everything ran smoothly in his hands, no matter how complicated the requests were.
He never knew he’d be successful in doing the wedding related business. It all started as a hobby in college, where he liked to organize parties and stuff. The results were unexpectedly good. He was the brain of the concept, Kyungsoo was the decorator and Yixing was the photographer. Chanyeol had to admit that without Kyungsoo and Yixing’s parts, it would have been impossible. That was probably why when they graduated, he had asked them to work with him.
Chanyeol worked on so many weddings that he barely managed to work on his own.
His friends were luckier than him. Kyungsoo met a man named Jongin at one of the wedding parties they organized and they hit it off. Yixing had then lost his mind at the sight of a best man named Junmyeon. They had dated several times and it seemed like both were serious with the newly established relationships.
Chanyeol was (still) alone.
Maybe it was because he was too focused on his work that he didn’t even bother to think about anyone. All he worried about was how should the weddings should go on flawlessly without any disturbance. Fat cheques aside, Chanyeol truly found joy in his work. Seeing the happy faces of the newlywed couples or the bride’s families were priceless. It was worth it.
His business had expanded due to the amount of money they made in such a short time that he had hired more persons.
Sehun, who worked part time since he was still in college, was in charge of the food catering. Jongdae became Yixing’s assistant to help him with the videos and photos. Minseok and Zitao helped Chanyeol in managing the guest lists while Kris took care of the wedding orchestras. They were all working in such good harmony and Chanyeol felt proud of them.
But in their work, there was one thing that should not happen.
The bride must not run away.
It could not happen or it would be fatal.
That was why Chanyeol and the others would check on the bride in the dressing room a lot. They sometimes deliberately locked the windows from the outside if it was possible, just to prevent any escapes. Weddings were delightful but at the same time, it could also be a burden. It was about living the rest of your life with someone and it was not exactly a picnic.
Chanyeol had seen a lot of brides changed their minds at the last minute, but thankfully none of them ran away.
It was a bright, breezy Saturday as Chanyeol and the others arrived at the designated place for the wedding ceremony they were currently working on.
They had arrived early to prepare and make sure everything went smoothly as planned. Sehun was constantly checking on the food and drinks while Yixing took some snapshots at the aisle and pursed his lips as he looked at the photos, leaving Kyungsoo to instruct the workers where and how the decorations should be fixed.
Chanyeol worked really hard on this particular wedding because it was one of the biggest weddings he had ever worked on. The father of the bride was the CEO of a well known company in town.
Even though he said ‘bride’ but it was actually a male bride. He heard from rumors that the son of his client was really pretty but Chanyeol had never seen him in person. Whenever he contacted him regarding decorations or anything else, he would only meet the father and the mother, never the bride-to-be. It was kind of funny because usually most brides or grooms would love to give their opinions about decorations and such. It was their wedding, afterall.
“Hyung, do you copy?”
Minseok spoke at the end of the line from his earphone.
Chanyeol adjusted the piece on his ear and nodded. “Loud and clear.”
“The families have just arrived... Kris-gege, it’s your turn.”
“Got it,” Kris replied and a moment later the small orchestra they hired started to play their violins and accoustic guitars.
“Is the bride safe?”, Chanyeol asked as he keenly observed the guests who had just entered the room.
“Oh my God, he sure is pretty,” Yixing breathed. “Um, I mean... The bride is escorted safely to his room. Couldn’t get a good angle on him for now but I will take a lot of pictures later.”
“Suho-hyung told me to kick you in the shin if you even so much as take a glance at the bride,” Kyungsoo mumbled.
“What? And how am I supposed to take pictures without glancing at him?”
“Use your feeling?”, Sehun snorted and everyone snickered.
Everything was going according to plan. After greeting the guests and giving some light snacks, it was time for the ceremony to begin. Mr. Byun signaled Chanyeol and the latter nodded.
“Kris-ge, inform the band that when the bride comes in, the wedding march is on. Sehunie, stop snacking. They’re for the guests and we’ll get our portions later, alright? Kyungsoo-ah, please make sure nothing stands in the way.”
“Get the pretty bride, Hyung,” Zitao said, obviously smiling.
Chanyeol didn’t need to be told twice as he walked to the room that was reserved for the bride. He was a bit astonished to find the hallway to said place was empty. No one was around, not even a bridesmaid or a family member. A panic rushed through his vein as Chanyeol grasped the door knob roughly. He paused for a moment before knocking.
“Is everyone in position?”
“Yup,” Minseok answered.
“Funny, didn’t I say to leave someone behind with the bride? No one is here.”
“Eh? I told one of the bridesmaids to accompany the bride. Hold on. She’s here. So does that mean-“
“Great.” Chanyeol then voluntarily opened the door. “Excuse me, I’m here to take you away-“
He never got to finish the sentence.
Of all the panic brides he had ever seen, this one was the worst.
The bride was crying silently and tears streamed down heavily on his cheeks. His sobs were muffled into his hands and he looked disastrous. Judging from his appearance, even if he looked (really) good in the white tuxedo, but his face didn’t. The male’s shoulders were moving up and down and his eyes were red. He lowered his trembling hands and was about to cry out something when Chanyeol, instinctively put a finger on his lips and he immediately bit back whatever it was that he tried to say.
Chanyeol closed the door softly and looked around in slight panic.
He checked for the windows and bad luck, they were locked. Chanyeol didn’t give up, he tried for another window and finally, the one at the end opened with a swift push.
“I-“, the bride whispered.
Chanyeol motioned him to stay quiet and gave him a look. Instead of feeling happy, the male looked depressed on his wedding day. His eyes were puffy due to excessive crying. The tuxedo he wore would surely catch a lot of attention and Chanyeol took off his blazer. He handed it to him and the male confusedly accepted it. Chanyeol impatiently took off the male’s white blazer and covered him with his black one.
At least people won’t think of him as a bride now when he’s strolling down the street.
“Hyung, is the bride okay?”
The male widened his eyes in fear at the voice coming out of the earpiece and Chanyeol deadpanned for a second before pointing at the window.
Go, Chanyeol mouthed.
He looked scared and confused but he finally climbed to get outside.
Chanyeol waited for three seconds before speaking. “The bride is gone,” he breathed. “I repeat, the bride is gone.”
His friends yelped in shock and the curly haired male quickly yanked the earpiece off.
“That isth goodth to hear,” Sehun mumbled with his mouth full. Obviously he was munching. “The groom’s like, thirty five.”
***
Panic wasn’t even the right word.
The family freaked out when they noticed their son was gone.
The father blamed Chanyeol for being so careless about letting a window unlocked, and Chanyeol defended himself by blaming the father that he had requested one of the bridesmaids to accompany the bride-the bridesmaid squeaked in fear as she said it was the bride’s request to be alone so she had left.
Kyungsoo gave Chanyeol a weird stare as he noticed the taller male lost his blazer, but he brushed it off because he was sweating and maybe it was why he took it off (Chanyeol did quick push-ups in the room to make himself covered in sweats so he would have reasons to take the blazer off). Kyungsoo gave him another weird stare as he saw Chanyeol held a white blazer in his hand and frowned to himself. He didn’t really examine what color had Chanyeol used earlier.
It ended up with the parents crying in regret, saying something about how they shouldn’t have forced their son for the marriage and they settled everything in peace-they said they would still pay but at the price in half since the wedding didn’t exactly happen. The groom looked furious but he seemed to accept the fact that he was not going to get married today after Mr. Byun had apologized to him numerous times.
They went home after that with Sehun bringing a lot of leftovers and a very confused Kyungsoo.
“Are you okay?”, Kyungsoo asked worriedly at Chanyeol.
Chanyeol turned to him with a blank expression. “What?”
“I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo said softly. “I know how hard you worked on this.”
“Oh. It’s not a big deal.”
“Oh?”, Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows, not expecting that kind of respond. “Oh...well...are you-are you going home?”
“Not yet. I think I’m gonna drop by at the office to take care of the papers.”
“Oh. Alright then. See you tomorrow, Hyung.”
The others decided to go for karaoke-Kris said it was a good way to release the tension. Chanyeol was the only one who didn’t come along, but they thought it was because he felt terrible about what had happened. This was the first time the bride ever ran away. If it was other problems like running out of food or the guests were making a ruckus at the party, it could be solved easily, but this? No bride, no wedding.
No income.
Chanyeol went to their office with his mind clouded. Something was off, but what was it? Chanyeol felt strange. It was like a part of him withered away and there was nothing he could do about it. Chanyeol took the keys from his pocket and paused.
To think that he had always told the others about how they couldn’t let the bride run away.
And he let him go.
Chanyeol hung his head desperately. He was not drunk, he was sober, but yet he did it. He was definitely out of his mind.
And what the hell am I doing here? I should just go home.
The tall male sighed and looked down to his white shirt. It was all drenched in sweats. He should really get changed soon or he could catch a cold. Chanyeol finally decided to just go home and was about to walk away without realizing someone was approaching him.
“Park...ssi?”
Chanyeol turned around and held his breath. His lungs must be refusing to work all of a sudden because he had a hard time breathing.
It was the bride.
The male bride who cried on his wedding day.
The bride he had helped to escape.
Chanyeol’s brain finally gave him a signal to breathe and he quickly inhaled for air.
Silence descended upon them and Chanyeol wondered what to say. Should he say his parents freaked out? That the wedding was obviously canceled? That Yixing was also disappointed for not being able to take his pictures? Or that the food tasted great and Sehun was happy?
“Are you alright?”
It was the one which came out of his mouth and Chanyeol felt slightly surprised at himself.
The male wiped his eyes with a hand and smiled awkwardly. “I...I guess...?”
“Oh.”
A sigh. “When you told me ‘go...’, I didn’t even exactly know where to...”
Chanyeol tilted his head to one side, waiting for more, but the male didn’t continue. He cleared his throat to change the subject. “How did you know my office?”
“Your namecard was in the pocket,” he said sheepishly and held out his namecard. “Park-ssi...”
“Chanyeol.”
“Um, Chanyeol-ssi...,” the male awkwardly said his name.
But it felt nice to have the male said his name.
There it went again. That strange sensation. It seeped slowly into his entire body.
Chanyeol dropped his gaze. “I should go home. Do you have somewhere you can go to?”
The male looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure... I can’t go home right now. I can’t go over to my friend’s house too because I know my parents will look for me there. I just-I don’t want to face them at the moment...” He twiddled with his fingers nervously. “Maybe-maybe I’ll sleep in a hotel.”
Chanyeol glanced at the male. He looked tired and the blazer was a bit too big on him. Chanyeol then remembered that he still had a spare jacket in his office room and motioned the male to wait there. He went into his office, grabbed the thing and gave the jacket to him. The male stared in confusion.
“Do you want to wear the blazer all day?”
The male blinked and reluctantly took the offered jacket.
Chanyeol waited patiently until he was done and thought he must be really, reallyout of his mind. What the hell was he doing? He slowly walked back to his car and looked over his shoulder, the white blazer now in his hand. He was not going to let the male sleep in a hotel.
“Get in.”
“Eh?”
“I have a spare mattress.”
“Where?”
“In the store. In my apartment, of course.”
The male’s eyes widened. “N-no, it’s too much, I mean, I can’t...”
“Do you want to sleep here? Kyungsoo usually comes first in the morning. Do you want him to find you sleeping with your wedding tuxedo? And are you brave enough to sleep here all by yourself? It’s pretty quiet around here at night. And definitely not in a hotel. I’m not letting you.”
The male shuddered and slowly made his way to the car.
***
Byun Baekhyun was his name.
Chanyeol didn’t catch the groom’s name, not that he cared anyway.
He let Baekhyun walked into the apartment first and closed the door behind him. Baekhyun looked around in silence, jaw slightly dropped at the paintings and wallpapers with his fingers laced tightly on his stomach.
“It’s not fancy, I know.”
Baekhyun turned to him. “It’s-it’s not that. It’s...minimalist. I love it.”
“Thank you. But I’m sure your house is much better than this.”
“It’s just a house,” Baekhyun murmured. “It’s not...home.”
Chanyeol frowned at his statement but let it slide as he went to get a towel. Baekhyun looked tired and he needed to wash up and have a rest. He gave him the towel and pointed at the bathroom. “Go take a shower.”
“Sho...”, Baekhyun trailed off and stared at the towel blankly. “I-I don’t have a change of clothes.”
“I hope mine fit,” Chanyeol then went again to his bedroom to find some loose clothes. The clothes should fit because Chanyeol was definitely bigger and taller.
Baekhyun remained standing in the middle of the living room awkwardly when Chanyeol shouted from his room as if he noticed his nervousness.
“Lock the door.”
Baekhyun blinked and blushed to himself. With the clothes Chanyeol gave him, Baekhyun then took a shower. He took a look at himself in the mirror after he was done and smiled. The tee and the baggy pants fit. Baekhyun inhaled the strange scent-Chanyeol’s-and he felt something warm crept inside him.
When he got out of the bathroom, Chanyeol was already asleep on the couch. Baekhyun was hesitant at first before deciding to poke him, trying to wake him up. He should be the one who slept on the couch. But Chanyeol looked really exhausted and didn’t even flinch with the slightest touch. He bit his lip in guilt. Of course Chanyeol was tired. He planned everything for this day while Baekhyun did nothing except to wait for the doomsday to come.
Baekhyun did not want to get married, of course, but it was for the sake of his parents. They told him his soon-to-be-husband was the perfect guy for him, for the image, for the Byun family. Baekhyun had finally gotten enough with all the crap. Ever since he was a child, he had been told on how to do everything. How to talk. How to eat. How to behave. Baekhyun couldn’t tell them no, not when they brought family’s pride and how important their high rank society class was at stake.
It was not fair, but there was nothing he could do.
So Baekhyun cried, and cried, and when he was taken almost by force to exchange the vows, he felt his world shattered. Taeyeon, who was one of the bridesmaids and his cousin, encouraged him just to run instead of giving in and be unhappy for the rest of his life. Baekhyun thought that it was futile, that it was all too late. Taeyeon had insisted on staying with him but he shoved her away, he wanted to be alone to regret his decision.
That was when Chanyeol walked in.
And it was like Baekhyun was given a second chance.
But ...maybe it was too soon to celebrate.
Even if he didn’t get married, it was impossible for Baekhyun to go back to his home. He was scared. He had some money in his account, but what was he going to do about it? Where would he go? What would he do? Eventually the money would run out and then what? He couldn’t possibly go to Taeyeon’s house, her parents would definitely send him back home to his parents.
Baekhyun sobbed silently in his hands. His eyes hurt from all the crying, but he felt helpless and lost at the moment. Baekhyun sat on the carpeted floor and unconsciously lost his strength as he drifted to sleep.
It was almost midnight when Chanyeol woke up abruptly and found Baekhyun on the floor near him. He batted his eyelashes furiously before he remembered what was going on and took a deep breath. Chanyeol carefully lifted Baekhyun into his arms and carried him to the bedroom. He then covered the sleeping male with his blanket.
Chanyeol brushed a strand of hair away and was lost in thoughts.
Byun Baekhyun was definitely pretty.
***
Chanyeol seemed perfectly fine for someone who had just failed.
People made mistakes, but this was Park Chanyeol they were talking about. The same Park Chanyeol who insisted on them to check at least three times at whatever it was that they were working on. Sehun had to call the caterer at least three times to make sure the menu was not wrong. Yixing had to check his lenses multiple times so there would not be any photo failures. Minseok had to contact the clients numerous times to check that no guests were added or removed from the lists.
Chanyeol craved for perfection and hated a flaw in his plan.
Kyungsoo looked up from his laptop and exchanged wary glances with his friends.
The Chanyeol they knew, the Chanyeol that was just mentioned above, spaced out with his chin rested on the palm of his hand.
Park Chanyeol had never spaced out. He was always active, even if he was not as loud as the others when he worked, but he always had something to do. Checking his emails. Contacting the clients. Making schedules.
He didn’t even notice the monkey gestures his friends made at each other. Jongdae threw a small ball of paper at Yixing who decided to throw the paper at Minseok who almost hissed as he slapped the paper away to Kris’ table. Sehun laughed in silence as he shook uncontrollaby at his desk, clutching his stomach. They all stared at Kris with puppy eyes and the latter sighed.
“Chanyeol-ah,” Kris spoke while the others waited with bated breathes.
“Hm.”
“Are you alright?”
It was such a straightforward question that made Kyungsoo gestured a big X with his hands from the side.
Zitao had facepalmed at this display of subtlety or lack thereof. Never again would they ever assign Kris when it came to something like this, he mentally noted. He went to the core of the problem too fast for comfort.
“What he meant by that,” Kyungsoo hastily added. “Was um...have you checked the emails? Maybe there are a lot of wedding planner requests that we can hopefully start working on?”
“Oh,” Chanyeol looked at his screen. There were actually ten emails, but he didn’t bother to open them. “Not at the moment.”
“So we’re jobless,” Sehun frowned. “At the moment.”
“Why don’t we take a rest?”, Chanyeol suggested and everyone cracked their heads to him in the split miliseconds that followed. “Like...a week? That sounds great.”
“A...a week?”, Kyungsoo couldn’t believe his ears.
“I’m still gonna give you your paycheck, if that’s what you are worried about.”
“N-no, I mean...a week? A week of not working? You? I mean, us?”
“Yeah.”
Kyungsoo was at a loss for words as he put his pen on the table.
Chanyeol was sick. Chanyeol was definitely sick. He held the urge to lean forward and smack the taller male, half hoping he would laugh and told them it was a cruel November mop and of course, they were going to have to work their asses even harder. And duh, November was like the month of weddings. But he didn’t, instead he looked very serious and waited for their responses.
This was not Chanyeol at all.
“Are you going somewhere?”, Yixing asked.
Chanyeol sagged in his seat.
“No,” he replied calmly. “I just wanted to stay home.”
***
Chanyeol came home later that day to a sleeping Baekhyun.
The shorter male curled into a ball on the couch, hugging himself. Chanyeol took off his coat and covered Baekhyun with it. He stepped into the kitchen to make something, but then he noticed there were already two plates on the table.
Chanyeol stopped. The food had gotten a bit cold but it still seemed delicious. His stomach growled loudly, asking to be filled. Chanyeol then heard a rustling coming from the living room-Baekhyun must have woken up.
“Chanyeol-ssi...?”
“In here.”
Baekhyun’s soft steps could be heard as he reached the kitchen. He still looked sleepy and Chanyeol’s coat was still wrapped on him. “I’m sorry, I wanted to ask you what time you usually go home, but I don’t have your number, so... Um, let me reheat the food...”
“It’s okay,” Chanyeol said. “You can reheat yours if you want. I’m fine with mine.”
“Really?”, Baekhyun sounded worried.
“Yeah. You should have eaten first instead of waiting for me.”
“Oh,” Baekhyun blinked. “I’m sorry. I guess-I guess I just want to eat together with you...this is your apartment, afterall.”
Chanyeol blinked back. The answer somehow almost made him smile.
They sat by the table after that, both eating in silence. The meal was delicious, and Chanyeol wondered where Baekhyun had learned to cook. Usually the son of a CEO wouldn’t bother, people of his station were usually used to the presence of maids who cook for them in their house. It gave him a different perspective of Baekhyun and...surprisingly, Chanyeol liked it.
“Did any of your family try to contact you?”
Baekhyun shook his head. “I turned off my phone...”
“Right,” Chanyeol frowned. “So you wouldn’t be able to contact me either even if you have my number.”
“I’ll...uh, use the payphone across the street?”
“Right. But what if someone notices you?”
Baekhyun froze as he was about to sip his drink. He looked down to his unfinished food and swallowed thickly. “...you’re right. I can’t go out...”
Chanyeol felt like he had said something terrible because Baekhyun looked really gloomy after that.
The next day, Chanyeol went out to buy a new phone for Baekhyun. The model of the phone Chanyeol bought for Baekhyun was the same as his-it was the latest model. When he trailed his finger on the list, choosing which number would he buy for Baekhyun, Chanyeol spotted two pretty numbers which only differ by the two last digits. It was purely unintentional but when he saw the similar numberings, he had the urge to get the other line for himself. “I’m getting bored with mine, anyhow,” he argued with himself.
And so he took them without thinking.
Baekhyun widened his eyes in surprise that night, as Chanyeol handed him the new phone. His hands shook so badly as he held the phone.
“I-I can’t take this, Chanyeol-ssi-“
“You don’t want your family to be able to contact you, right? And you can’t go out and use the payphone. So this is the only way.”
“B-but-“
“You can text me anything. I won’t be bothered.”
Baekhyun’s eyes were glimmering as he bit his bottom lip. Chanyeol had been too kind. “I-I’m gonna pay it back someday.”
Chanyeol smiled sincerely and ruffled the pretty male’s hair. “Until that time comes then, just stay near.”
Baekhyun felt his heart beating faster than a racing car.
[2 ]