Never (Sometimes Meant To Be Forever) [1/2]
Title: Never (Sometimes Meant To Be Forever) [1/2]
Author: FloweryMisha
Pairing: BaekYeol
Warning: BoyxBoy love. Enough said.
Summary: Chanyeol told himself that he would never be able to move on. Until he realized the one he needed had been beside him all along.
Author's Note: Please pardon the errors, mistakes and typos in this story, it will be edited later. This is really lame and boring, and if you're willing to read this...I hope you like this one. this will probably be my last BaekYeol...I'm sorry for being such a failed author AND PLEASE, NO TRANSLATIONS ALLOWED!
[Never (Is Just The Echo of Forever)]
Quiet.
It was fifteen minutes past seven in the evening when Chanyeol was done unpacking. There weren’t a lot of things to be unpacked, but Chanyeol had always been the type to do everything slowly. The tall male let out an exhausted sigh as he plopped himself on the couch.
Chanyeol fluttered his eyes close. His breathing was the only thing heard throughout the room. It was quiet, but he was used to this. He was used to the silence. He was used to live alone. Chanyeol cracked his eyes open and stared blankly at the ceiling. The male adjusted his head on the armrest, trying to find a comfortable position. Chanyeol covered his eyes with the back of his arms, taking a deep breath and exhaled a long, exasperated sigh.
If he was used to this...then why did he feel like something wasn’t right?
Something was missing.
It could be the new apartment. The company had picked a nice place for him-it was only a few blocks away from his new office in Los Angeles. It wasn’t as big as the one he had back in Seoul, but it was enough. Somehow the company had the room adorned with several furniture and whoever picked them had a good taste. The rent was free for the first three months, and if he liked staying there, he was going to have to pay by himself by the fourth month.
He would probably stay.
Chanyeol’s eyes shifted from the ceiling to the piece of paper on the table. He stared at it for a long moment before pulling himself to sit up up and his hand instinctively reached for the paper. Chanyeol felt something prickling in his chest as he read the written words.
Park Chanyeol, for two.
Chanyeol crushed the piece of paper in his fist and dragged a hand down his face.
He knew what was missing.
There was no Junmyeon.
***
There were times where Chanyeol was a hyperactive person. The male would bounce everywhere with a dumb grin plastered on his face that it annoyed most of his friends. Chanyeol began to change as he grew older. He was still hyper when he was with Jongin and Kyungsoo (he had been friends with Jongin since high school), but his maturity started when he met Junmyeon.
Future was carved in his mind the moment their eyes met.
If Chanyeol was honest, he wasn’t actually sure about Junmyeon in the first place. Everything about the fair skinned male was breathtaking. Everything Junmyeon did amazed Chanyeol, even the littlest things. Junmyeon was so flawless in his eyes that Chanyeol sometimes didn’t believe the former was willing to be in a relationship with him. It was like a dream came true. They had never fight. They had never argue. They were all right. It was as if everything that happened between them was at the right time and the right moment.
It only took three years of work for Chanyeol to be offered the opportunity of promotion to another department. If it was still in Korea, Chanyeol didn’t think there would be a problem, but the company was sending him to LA. He would be a fool if he didn’t take the offer, but Junmyeon...he couldn’t afford to lose Junmyeon. And that was when he had become so determined to live the rest of his life with the fair skinned male.
So Chanyeol bought couple rings and knelt on his knees to propose. He expected a happy grin or a teary expression or a disbelief sob coming from Junmyeon, anything, but no.
Junmyeon blanched instead.
Chanyeol could see right through that it was uncertainty that glimmered within Junmyeon’s orbs. A surge of fear washed over Chanyeol. What if Junmyeon said no? What if Junmyeon didn’t want to have a future with him? What if...? Fortunately, the male said yes and Chanyeol was so damn relieved. He couldn’t stop smiling to himself-even when he was going to bed. He was so grateful at that fact that he chose to ignore the signs Junmyeon had been showing.
If only he had reacted sooner.
Chanyeol realized that slowly, but surely, Junmyeon was pulling himself away from him. He tried to be positive and assumed that maybe, his boyfriend was busy. Junmyeon was going to resign from work and of course it needed a lot of preparation. Chanyeol, too, needed a lot of things to be done before he went to LA.
If only he had asked sooner.
When Junmyeon showed up at the airport looking troubled and confused, it was then that Chanyeol realized they weren’t meant to be. Somewhere along the way, he had a feeling their relationship was going to end, but still, it hurt badly when it really happened. Maybe Junmyeon wasn’t ready. Maybe the thought of leaving his family and his loved ones burdened Junmyeon. Maybe...
I cheated on you.
There was an unbearable pain formed within Chanyeol when Junmyeon cried those words. Chanyeol had the right to snap. He had the right to burst out into mixed emotions-mostly anger-and screamed at the beautiful male. But what good would it do even if he did? It hurt, of course, but what could Chanyeol do to fix everything?
Nothing.
So the male simply kissed Junmyeon and told him to be happy. Chanyeol was pretty sure there was a saying that went ‘If the person you love is happy, then you’ll be happy too’. Whoever said that needed to be strangled. Junmyeon was happy with his decision, that much Chanyeol knew, but he felt devastated. Even though he knew Junmyeon was happy, he wasn’t.
How was he supposed to be happy when the love of his life was happy with someone else?
***
It had been a month since Chanyeol moved to LA.
Chanyeol wasn’t an introvert person, but this time, he decided to be one. The male didn’t really open himself to his colleagues and he didn’t care for anything else but work. It turned out that there were lots of Koreans in the office, compared to the Americans-it was a Korean company, after all-but Chanyeol was too lazy to make friends. He frowned too much that his forehead was starting to show early symptoms of wrinkles.
Chanyeol’s life only revolved around work.
He went to work nine to five from Monday to Friday and whenever his work was done, he headed straight to his apartment. Chanyeol ignored all of the ‘let’s hang out’ offer to him. He had never been like this before, but lately, especially on Saturday and Sunday, Chanyeol would just lock himself in the apartment and do nothing but to stare mutely at his phone. The address book was opened, showing Junmyeon’s number, and Chanyeol’s fingers were itching from snatching the device and pressed call.
But the plan was always canceled.
What if Junmyeon was with his new boyfriend?
Jongin was the only person Chanyeol had ever called since he moved to LA, and he couldn’t stop himself from asking about Junmyeon. His friend took a long time before answering that Junmyeon was all right, according to Kyungsoo. Jongin immediately changed the subject and Chanyeol was grateful for him for trying to make him forget.
I should’ve asked him to move in with me, Chanyeol grimly thought to himself for the umpteenth time. Had I done so, things would probably be different... He groaned in frustration. It had been a month and he still couldn’t move on. Not that he had any plan to. Junmyeon was the love of his life and no one, he grimaced. No one would be able to replace him.
“Chanyeol-ah.”
Jonghyun’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Chanyeol looked up from his computer as he cleared his throat. Jonghyun was the only person who would speak to him in the office, but it was probably because their cubicles were beside each other. “Yes, Hyung?”
“It’s late. You should go home.”
Chanyeol frowned as he stared at the clock on his computer screen. It really was late. “Ah. Yeah. You go ahead.”
“Are you still not done? Do you want me to help you?”
“I’m fine, Hyung.”
“Chanyeol,” Jonghyun said sternly. “I’ve been observing you for the past few weeks. You’re not fine. At least not to me.”
Chanyel wanted to snort. There’s nothing you can do about it.
“How about I treat you a drink?”
Chanyeol went blank. “A drink.” He earned a nonchalant shrug in response. “On work day?”
“Excuse me,” Jonghyun retorted with an eyebrow raised. “Today is Friday, just in case you didn’t notice.”
Chanyeol blinked. “Oh.”
“There’s this nice bar that a lot of us go to and my boyfriend’s working as a bartender there,” Jonghyun shrugged once again. “He could definitely make you a nice drink to forget these stack of papers.”
Forget.
“So what do you say?” Jonghyun gave Chanyeol a small smile as he patted the latter’s shoulder. “There are going to be a lot of Koreans, too. Who knows you might feel clicked with one of them. It doesn’t hurt to try...”
“Feel clicked?”
“Don’t you want to find a girlfriend?”
“No,” Chanyeol answered instantly, like it was already programmed in his mind whenever someone asked him the question.
Jonghyun’s eyes softened. “Boyfriend, then.”
Chanyeol’s mind flew to Junmyeon and his beautiful laugh. His pretty eyesmile. His kind heart. There was a huge pang bubbled within Chanyeol that he had to clutch his chest in an attempt to make the pain go away.
He didn’t want a boyfriend.
He wanted Junmyeon.
Chanyeol was about to shake his head, but Jonghyun shook his head first and grabbed the former’s arm.
“I’m not taking no, Chanyeol-ah, let’s go,” Jonghyun said firmly and dragged Chanyeol away from his desk.
***
Chanyeol immediately regretted going to the bar.
It was Friday night, so the place was packed.
Jonghyun was right, there were a lot of Korean people. He heard almost everyone spoke his mother tongue and for a second, he couldn’t help but feeling homesick. Jonghyun went to the bar to greet a diva looking person and Chanyeol assumed it was his boyfriend.
“Hey babe,” Jonghyun said and leaned forward to kiss the bartender. Chanyeol’s heart sank at the affectionate gesture, because the last time he did it was with Junmyeon, and the latter was crying. “I brought a friend tonight. He’s a colleague. His name is Chanyeol.”
Jonghyun’s boyfriend smiled warmly and waved a hand. “Hello Chanyeol. I’m Kibum, but you can call me Key.”
Chanyeol only nodded politely in return.
“Since this is your first time here, I’ll make you the special,” Kibum winked. “And don’t worry, it’s on the house.”
Chanyeol isolated himself from the crowd the minute he accepted the drink from Kibum. Jonghyun and Kibum seemed to be engaged in a lively conversation and the male seemed to glare at anyone who approached Kibum for a drink. Chanyeol inwardly rolled his eyes (it reminded him of Jongin and his possessiveness toward Kyungsoo) and leaned his back against the bar.
No one caught his attention, but then again, no one seemed good enough for him. Every time he saw someone attractive enough, his heart told him no.
No.
No.
No.
Until he spotted the eyeliner guy.
The said male had just entered the place with a tall guy who seemed to need a lot of sleep because he had visible eyebags, but with just a single glance Chanyeol could tell that the tall guy was hot. They were laughing when they walked in, and Chanyeol had a feeling they were dating. He took a long moment to stare at the eyeliner guy.
Funny.
His heart didn’t say anything about this guy, but Chanyeol barely noticed it at the moment.
Chanyeol shifted his eyes someplace else, continuing to observe everyone in the room while sipping his drink. Eventually, Chanyeol got bored when his drink almost ran out and dropped his eyes on his cellphone, his thumb hovering over Junmyeon’s number.
What was he doing right now?
Working, Chanyeol thought helplessly to himself because of the time-zone difference and he tucked his phone back into his pocket. He gulped his drink until the very last drop and decided to call it a day. Chanyeol was about to stand up when he saw the panda eyed male was flirting obviously with someone across the room and he frowned to himself. Didn’t he have a partner?
As he stood up and gathered his things, Chanyeol spotted the eyeliner guy sitting alone by the table and his frown deepened. Something wasn’t right. Didn’t they come together? Were they just friends? Chanyeol blinked in realization.
Wait. Why am I curious?
“Are you going home?”
Jonghyun’s voice snapped him out of his reveries and Chanyeol looked at him dumbly. As if he knew what the taller male was thinking, Jonghyun smiled impishly when he gestured toward the general direction of the eyeliner guy.
“His name is Baekhyun.”
Chanyeol was dumbfounded.
“Don’t worry, he’s not exclusive with Zitao,” Jonghyun continued and his smile widened. “Everyone knows that, but Baekhyun never left. I guess it’s safe to say that he’s waiting for his knight in the shining armor?”
Chanyeol nodded despite the fact that he wasn’t that interested to hear all that and half bowed to Jonghyun. “Thank you for the drink, Hyung.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to try?”
“Huh?”
“Baekhyun.”
Chanyeol narrowed his eyes at Baekhyun, who was staring at them at the moment. Jonghyun held up a hand in mid-air to wave at him and Baekhyun smiled slightly before waving back. Chanyeol instinctively swallowed.
Beautiful.
“He’s not gonna bite you.”
Chanyeol stared for a moment longer at Baekhyun before breaking their gaze apart. His heart ached slightly because did he just think that the stranger was beautiful? Junmyeon-now he is beautiful. Chanyeol shook his head slightly before once again bowing to Jonghyun.
“No thanks, Hyung. I’m fine.”
With that, he headed straight to the exit.
***
“Chanyeol, hi!!!”
Chanyeol blinked in confusion before realizing it was Kyungsoo’s cheerful voice. “Oh. Um, hi... Is Jongin there...?”
“Jongin-ah is in the bathroom. Do you want to leave a message or will you just call again later?”
“Oh. I-I see...”
“Chanyeol? Is something wrong?”
Chanyeol swallowed. “No, nothing. I’ll probably just call later, Kyungsoo-yah. Thank you.”
“No problem!” Kyungsoo was definitely smiling. “How is LA? How’s work? I hope everything’s all right for you.”
“Yeah, everything’s...” Chanyeol trailed off. He quickly remembered that Kyungsoo was in the same company as Junmyeon. Chanyeol fidgeted momentarily. Should he ask...? Should he not...?
“Everything’s all right here,” Kyungsoo said reassuringly. “We’re...okay.”
There was a deafening silence for a few seconds.
“Is he...” Chanyeol finally spoke, because he didn’t know who Kyungsoo actually meant by ‘we’. “...okay?” He felt his heartbeat increasing dramatically when Kyungsoo didn’t answer. Chanyeol mentally berated himself for asking. No, don’t answer that, his mind screamed and he opened his mouth to say it, but it was too late.
“He’s happy, Chanyeol-ah.”
Chanyeol shut his eyes in pain.
“He’s happy...”
That was all he needed to know.
***
Chanyeol stopped calling Jongin ever since.
It wasn’t fair, because they were friends and they were supposed to communicate on daily-or weekly-basis, just to let each other know that they were still alive, but Chanyeol stopped. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but Chanyeol thought he needed some time. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from asking about Junmyeon-again. He also knew for a fact that every time Junmyeon’s name was up, Jongin would lie to him and the tan male would try to change the subject, and then they would act like nothing was wrong.
A few days had passed and Chanyeol still didn’t have the courage to call Junmyeon. He busied himself with work, doing anything that could take his mind off of the beautiful male. He was so occupied in stressing himself that it was almost two weeks later that Chanyeol found out the eyeliner guy was actually working in the same company as him. Chanyeol had been working late from the day before and he didn’t mean to oversleep, but shit happened. He ran toward the elevator with full speed and managed to dash in before the door closing. Chanyeol breathlessly leaned against the wall, opening his mouth to thank the other person, but the words never came out.
It was the beautiful guy from the other night.
Except that he wasn’t wearing eyeliner right then.
“O-oh,” Baekhyun stammered at their eye contact, acknowledging who Chanyeol was. There were only the two of them in the elevator and Baekhyun’s fingers paused hesitantly over the numbers. “Which floor?”
“Six,” Chanyeol said shortly and Baekhyun pressed the button.
“Are you Jonghyun-hyung’s colleague?” Baekhyun gave him a small smile which Chanyeol noticed from the reflection of the walls.
“Yeah.”
Baekhyun took the short replies as a hint that Chanyeol didn’t want to talk and he said nothing more after that, his fingers curled loosely into a fist on his lips. Their trip up was painfully silent.
It seemed like forever when the elevator finally arrived on the sixth floor, and Chanyeol was more than surprised when Baekhyun walked outside first. Did it mean they were also working in the same department? Chanyeol was glued to his computer most of the time that he didn’t even socialize except with Jonghyun.
Baekhyun glanced over his shoulder at Chanyeol with a kind smile and nodded. “Nice to meet you, um...” He trailed off, not knowing Chanyeol’s name, and it was probably a hint that he wanted to know his name. Instead of giving him his name, Chanyeol only nodded back before replying,
“Nice to meet you too, Baekhyun-ah.”
Chanyeol didn’t miss the way Baekhyun’s eyes widening as he walked past him.
***
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
Chanyeol craned his neck to Jonghyun at the sudden question. Both of them had been working in a comfortable silence-which was rare-until the question popped up. However, Jonghyun was still typing on his computer with his eyes fixed on the screen. Chanyeol pursed his lips in uncertainty before shifting his focus back to his documents. But before he got the chance to do so, Jonghyun spoke again.
“Do you?”
This time, Jonghyun was staring at him.
Chanyeol went blank momentarily. Girlfriend. Did he look straight to Jonghyun? Chanyeol was slightly perplexed but he shook his head. “No.”
“Ah,” Jonghyun rubbed his temple as he pulled away from the screen. “Ex girlfriend?”
“No.”
Jonghyun stared at him again. “Ex boyfriend?”
“One.”
Jonghyun sighed. “Are you always like this?”
“Like what?”
“...this,” Jonghyun replied with a wave of hand toward Chanyeol, unsure of what to say. “I’ll just go straight to the core with you. What do you think of Baekhyun?”
Chanyeol frowned. “Huh?”
“Well, you ran into him this morning, right? What did you think about him?”
Chanyeol pressed his lips into a thin line and he decided to ignore Jonghyun’s questions. However, his mind drifted to the said male. He remembered the way Baekhyun smiled at him, but it didn’t last long because the next second, it was replaced by Junmyeon’s smile. Chanyeol winced.
“Chanyeol?”
“I’m-I’m not interested in dating, Hyung.”
“Well, you saw how Baekhyun was with Zitao, I don’t think he would mind if you guys aren’t exclusive-“
“You don’t understand,” Chanyeol interrupted harshly. “I’m not going to move on.”
It was Jonghyun’s turn to frown. “What did your ex do so that you cannot move on? Was he really that precious? I mean, if he was, surely he didn’t dump you-”
“Don’t start,” Chanyeol said warningly. No one had the right to say bad things about Junmyeon. “Besides, what’s this about Baekhyun?”
“He asked for your name,” Jonghyun said with a defeated sigh and he held up his hands in the air. “FYI, Baekhyun never asked for a name. Everyone’s asking for his.”
With that, Jonghyun gave his computer screen his attention back.
Chanyeol felt something small bubbling in him, but he decided not to give a damn and continued working.
He had no idea that it would become big.
***
Another week had passed since then.
Chanyeol felt himself becoming more miserable. He wanted to call Junmyeon, to ask him how he was, how did he do, how was work, how was his dinner, anything, anything to be able to hear his soft and calming voice. But he was never brave enough. Every time he gathered his strength to dial the number, it would dissipate to heaven knew where, and Chanyeol would end up tossing the phone away.
He missed Junmyeon like crazy.
But Junmyeon probably didn’t miss him.
Before he knew it, it was Friday again. Jonghyun asked him if he wanted to hang out (the older male was surprisingly persistent to have Chanyeol socializing), but Chanyeol politely declined because he had a lot of pending works. Which was bull, because he knew he could just finish them all on Monday morning. But then again, it was better than to hang out in the bar. Jonghyun then waved a hand at him in resignation before leaving.
Chanyeol rubbed his eyes tiredly when he was done. Everyone seemed to have gone home when he looked up. Chanyeol shut his computer down, gathered his things and went to the elevator. Gosh, he couldn’t wait to go home and sleep. When the male passed by the pantry, he heard soft sobs coming from the room. Chanyeol paused, making sure if he really heard something or was it just his imagination.
The door swung open at the same moment and Baekhyun walked outside with puffy eyes. The male froze when he spotted Chanyeol. Baekhyun’s eyes were red and there were tears streaming down his face. The tears instantly reminded him of Junmyeon and Chanyeol winced as he looked away.
Junmyeon.
The name brought so many memories.
Instead of asking Baekhyun what was wrong (like a normal person was supposed to do), Chanyeol ignored the crying male and headed straight toward the elevator. He repeatedly pushed the button. Everything was just too painful to take at the moment. Why did Baekhyun have to remind him...?
After a minute, the elevator finally arrived on the sixth floor. The door slid open, but Chanyeol only stared at it mutely. He let the door closing before turning back to where he had left Baekhyun. Much to his surprise, the male was still at the same spot, and he was still crying. Baekhyun looked shocked at the fact that Chanyeol came back.
“A-aren’t you going home...?” Baekhyun asked between his tears.
Chanyeol said nothing but to drag Baekhyun to the nearest seats. Baekhyun let out a yelp when Chanyeol forced him to sit, but then the latter sat beside him. Chanyeol stared solemnly at the crying male before handing him a handkerchief. Baekhyun dumbly stared at the offered item before chuckling sheepishly.
“You’re weird...,” Baekhyun softly said and wiped his tears with Chanyeol’s handkerchief. He continued to sob for a while before finally stopping. “Thank you.”
Chanyeol still said nothing in return, but when Baekhyun leaned closer to rest his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder, his throat went dry.
***
Chanyeol didn’t ask Baekhyun what happened, but he had a feeling it had something to do with Zitao. He did nothing but to let Baekhyun rested his head on his shoulder, until the latter had completely stopped crying. Chanyeol then called a cab for Baekhyun, and as they walked downstairs together-Baekhyun didn’t want to take the elevator because he said he wanted a long walk to clear his mind-it was then that Chanyeol realized that Baekhyun smelled good.
He hadn’t met Baekhyun until the next Friday.
Chanyeol was working late as usual (and politely declined Jonghyun’s offer to hang out, again) and was heading toward the elevator when he bumped into the shorter male.
“Oh,” Baekhyun blinked in surprise. “You’re still here?”
“Same goes to you,” Chanyeol muttered nonchalantly and pressed the button.
“Are you going to the bar?”
“Nope. I’m going home.” Chanyeol walked into the elevator first and frowned when Baekhyun stayed in his tracks. “Aren’t you coming?”
Baekhyun looked hesitant for a second before nodding. Neither of them said anything until they reached the ground floor, and Chanyeol let Baekhyun walked out first before following closely. Baekhyun exchanged a warm greeting with the night security and waited patiently for Chanyeol.
“Be careful on your way home,” Chanyeol said as he adjusted the strap on his shoulder.
“Wait,” Baekhyun halted the taller male’s movement. “You’re really going home?”
Chanyeol frowned. “Yeah.”
“But this is Friday night.”
“So?”
Baekhyun looked sheepish. “If you have nothing to do, and you don’t want to go to the bar, why don’t we grab a bite before going home?”
Chanyeol stared. “Dinner?”
“Duh, of course,” Baekhyun playfully flicked Chanyeol’s arm and sagged when the latter continued to stare at him blankly. “I-I mean, yeah, if you’d like... Have you tried the Korean restaurant downtown? Or maybe you’re feeling something western tonight? Italian?”
Chanyeol said nothing for the longest time and Baekhyun was starting to feel uncomfortable.
“Um, if you don’t want to, it’s okay-“
“Okay.”
Baekhyun bit his lip to hide his disappointment. “O-okay.” He waited for Chanyeol to turn around and leave, but the taller male did nothing. Baekhyun shifted slightly before tilting his head to a side. “Be careful on your way home?”
“Huh? Aren’t we going?”
“H-huh?” Baekhyun blinked. “But-but you said okay.”
“I did, didn’t I? So where are we going?”
Baekhyun needed a few moments to register Chanyeol’s words before finally breaking into a shy chuckle.
“You sure are weird, Park Chanyeol,” he smiled genuinely and motioned Chanyeol to follow him.
Chanyeol dismissed the unfamiliar sensation that seeped into his heart.
***
“If you need Asian ingredients, go to the market over there,” Baekhyun pointed to a supermarket across the street as they walked side by side. “You saw the tall, white building with the large screen on top of it, right? There’s this department store inside with affordable clothes. Just in case you want to shop.”
Chanyeol only nodded every time Baekhyun explained something. It was new to him, because Junmyeon was never this talkative. Most of the time, it was Chanyeol who started the conversation and Junmyeon would be the one who listened. Now that he thought about it, Junmyeon never really told him anything.
And he never really wanted to find out.
“Chanyeol?”
Chanyeol turned to Baekhyun. “Hm?”
“Am I boring?”
Chanyeol’s jaw almost dropped. “Huh?”
Baekhyun looked apologetic and yet scared at the same time. “I’m sorry, did I talk a lot? I talked a lot, didn’t I? It’s probably the curse I was born with-“
“It’s nice,” Chanyeol intercepted. “Don’t worry.”
“R-really? Seriously?”
Chanyeol nodded.
Baekhyun beamed. “Wow. You’re the first person to ever tell me that.”
“Did the others usually tell you to shut up?”
Baekhyun’s expression dimmed. “Yeah.” He threw his gaze on the ground and continued walking. Chanyeol felt slightly guilty as he examined Baekhyun from the corner of his eye. He lifted up his hand to pat the shorter male’s hair and Baekhyun looked up to him in surprise. “Ch-Chanyeol?”
“You’re okay,” Chanyeol quietly said. “Just ignore them.”
Baekhyun’s expression brightened as he smiled. Chanyeol felt something churning at the bottom of his stomach at the smile, but he ignored the feeling. Baekhyun’s eyes went somewhere else and he giggled lightly when a bunch of girls walked past them. “They’re staring at you.”
“Not interested,” Chanyeol shrugged. “I’m not going to move on.”
“Eh? Why?”
“Probably the same reason you didn’t leave Zitao.”
Baekhyun turned pale at Chanyeol’s words. His steps slowed down for a moment, but then he quickened them back to catch up with Chanyeol’s pace. “S-so you’ve heard...”
Chanyeol only nodded and randomly pointed at a restaurant. “This one?”
Baekhyun followed his line of sight and nodded slightly. “If you want it.”
The conversation about Zitao was over by the time they went into the restaurant, and the atmosphere became awkward.
Even so, Baekhyun smiled a lot at him that night and it was somewhat comforting.
Chanyeol didn’t feel so hungry anymore.
[2]
it's not too late to turn back I swear ;_____;
Author: FloweryMisha
Pairing: BaekYeol
Warning: BoyxBoy love. Enough said.
Summary: Chanyeol told himself that he would never be able to move on. Until he realized the one he needed had been beside him all along.
Author's Note: Please pardon the errors, mistakes and typos in this story, it will be edited later. This is really lame and boring, and if you're willing to read this...I hope you like this one. this will probably be my last BaekYeol...I'm sorry for being such a failed author AND PLEASE, NO TRANSLATIONS ALLOWED!
[Never (Is Just The Echo of Forever)]
Quiet.
It was fifteen minutes past seven in the evening when Chanyeol was done unpacking. There weren’t a lot of things to be unpacked, but Chanyeol had always been the type to do everything slowly. The tall male let out an exhausted sigh as he plopped himself on the couch.
Chanyeol fluttered his eyes close. His breathing was the only thing heard throughout the room. It was quiet, but he was used to this. He was used to the silence. He was used to live alone. Chanyeol cracked his eyes open and stared blankly at the ceiling. The male adjusted his head on the armrest, trying to find a comfortable position. Chanyeol covered his eyes with the back of his arms, taking a deep breath and exhaled a long, exasperated sigh.
If he was used to this...then why did he feel like something wasn’t right?
Something was missing.
It could be the new apartment. The company had picked a nice place for him-it was only a few blocks away from his new office in Los Angeles. It wasn’t as big as the one he had back in Seoul, but it was enough. Somehow the company had the room adorned with several furniture and whoever picked them had a good taste. The rent was free for the first three months, and if he liked staying there, he was going to have to pay by himself by the fourth month.
He would probably stay.
Chanyeol’s eyes shifted from the ceiling to the piece of paper on the table. He stared at it for a long moment before pulling himself to sit up up and his hand instinctively reached for the paper. Chanyeol felt something prickling in his chest as he read the written words.
Park Chanyeol, for two.
Chanyeol crushed the piece of paper in his fist and dragged a hand down his face.
He knew what was missing.
There was no Junmyeon.
***
There were times where Chanyeol was a hyperactive person. The male would bounce everywhere with a dumb grin plastered on his face that it annoyed most of his friends. Chanyeol began to change as he grew older. He was still hyper when he was with Jongin and Kyungsoo (he had been friends with Jongin since high school), but his maturity started when he met Junmyeon.
Future was carved in his mind the moment their eyes met.
If Chanyeol was honest, he wasn’t actually sure about Junmyeon in the first place. Everything about the fair skinned male was breathtaking. Everything Junmyeon did amazed Chanyeol, even the littlest things. Junmyeon was so flawless in his eyes that Chanyeol sometimes didn’t believe the former was willing to be in a relationship with him. It was like a dream came true. They had never fight. They had never argue. They were all right. It was as if everything that happened between them was at the right time and the right moment.
It only took three years of work for Chanyeol to be offered the opportunity of promotion to another department. If it was still in Korea, Chanyeol didn’t think there would be a problem, but the company was sending him to LA. He would be a fool if he didn’t take the offer, but Junmyeon...he couldn’t afford to lose Junmyeon. And that was when he had become so determined to live the rest of his life with the fair skinned male.
So Chanyeol bought couple rings and knelt on his knees to propose. He expected a happy grin or a teary expression or a disbelief sob coming from Junmyeon, anything, but no.
Junmyeon blanched instead.
Chanyeol could see right through that it was uncertainty that glimmered within Junmyeon’s orbs. A surge of fear washed over Chanyeol. What if Junmyeon said no? What if Junmyeon didn’t want to have a future with him? What if...? Fortunately, the male said yes and Chanyeol was so damn relieved. He couldn’t stop smiling to himself-even when he was going to bed. He was so grateful at that fact that he chose to ignore the signs Junmyeon had been showing.
If only he had reacted sooner.
Chanyeol realized that slowly, but surely, Junmyeon was pulling himself away from him. He tried to be positive and assumed that maybe, his boyfriend was busy. Junmyeon was going to resign from work and of course it needed a lot of preparation. Chanyeol, too, needed a lot of things to be done before he went to LA.
If only he had asked sooner.
When Junmyeon showed up at the airport looking troubled and confused, it was then that Chanyeol realized they weren’t meant to be. Somewhere along the way, he had a feeling their relationship was going to end, but still, it hurt badly when it really happened. Maybe Junmyeon wasn’t ready. Maybe the thought of leaving his family and his loved ones burdened Junmyeon. Maybe...
I cheated on you.
There was an unbearable pain formed within Chanyeol when Junmyeon cried those words. Chanyeol had the right to snap. He had the right to burst out into mixed emotions-mostly anger-and screamed at the beautiful male. But what good would it do even if he did? It hurt, of course, but what could Chanyeol do to fix everything?
Nothing.
So the male simply kissed Junmyeon and told him to be happy. Chanyeol was pretty sure there was a saying that went ‘If the person you love is happy, then you’ll be happy too’. Whoever said that needed to be strangled. Junmyeon was happy with his decision, that much Chanyeol knew, but he felt devastated. Even though he knew Junmyeon was happy, he wasn’t.
How was he supposed to be happy when the love of his life was happy with someone else?
***
It had been a month since Chanyeol moved to LA.
Chanyeol wasn’t an introvert person, but this time, he decided to be one. The male didn’t really open himself to his colleagues and he didn’t care for anything else but work. It turned out that there were lots of Koreans in the office, compared to the Americans-it was a Korean company, after all-but Chanyeol was too lazy to make friends. He frowned too much that his forehead was starting to show early symptoms of wrinkles.
Chanyeol’s life only revolved around work.
He went to work nine to five from Monday to Friday and whenever his work was done, he headed straight to his apartment. Chanyeol ignored all of the ‘let’s hang out’ offer to him. He had never been like this before, but lately, especially on Saturday and Sunday, Chanyeol would just lock himself in the apartment and do nothing but to stare mutely at his phone. The address book was opened, showing Junmyeon’s number, and Chanyeol’s fingers were itching from snatching the device and pressed call.
But the plan was always canceled.
What if Junmyeon was with his new boyfriend?
Jongin was the only person Chanyeol had ever called since he moved to LA, and he couldn’t stop himself from asking about Junmyeon. His friend took a long time before answering that Junmyeon was all right, according to Kyungsoo. Jongin immediately changed the subject and Chanyeol was grateful for him for trying to make him forget.
I should’ve asked him to move in with me, Chanyeol grimly thought to himself for the umpteenth time. Had I done so, things would probably be different... He groaned in frustration. It had been a month and he still couldn’t move on. Not that he had any plan to. Junmyeon was the love of his life and no one, he grimaced. No one would be able to replace him.
“Chanyeol-ah.”
Jonghyun’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Chanyeol looked up from his computer as he cleared his throat. Jonghyun was the only person who would speak to him in the office, but it was probably because their cubicles were beside each other. “Yes, Hyung?”
“It’s late. You should go home.”
Chanyeol frowned as he stared at the clock on his computer screen. It really was late. “Ah. Yeah. You go ahead.”
“Are you still not done? Do you want me to help you?”
“I’m fine, Hyung.”
“Chanyeol,” Jonghyun said sternly. “I’ve been observing you for the past few weeks. You’re not fine. At least not to me.”
Chanyel wanted to snort. There’s nothing you can do about it.
“How about I treat you a drink?”
Chanyeol went blank. “A drink.” He earned a nonchalant shrug in response. “On work day?”
“Excuse me,” Jonghyun retorted with an eyebrow raised. “Today is Friday, just in case you didn’t notice.”
Chanyeol blinked. “Oh.”
“There’s this nice bar that a lot of us go to and my boyfriend’s working as a bartender there,” Jonghyun shrugged once again. “He could definitely make you a nice drink to forget these stack of papers.”
Forget.
“So what do you say?” Jonghyun gave Chanyeol a small smile as he patted the latter’s shoulder. “There are going to be a lot of Koreans, too. Who knows you might feel clicked with one of them. It doesn’t hurt to try...”
“Feel clicked?”
“Don’t you want to find a girlfriend?”
“No,” Chanyeol answered instantly, like it was already programmed in his mind whenever someone asked him the question.
Jonghyun’s eyes softened. “Boyfriend, then.”
Chanyeol’s mind flew to Junmyeon and his beautiful laugh. His pretty eyesmile. His kind heart. There was a huge pang bubbled within Chanyeol that he had to clutch his chest in an attempt to make the pain go away.
He didn’t want a boyfriend.
He wanted Junmyeon.
Chanyeol was about to shake his head, but Jonghyun shook his head first and grabbed the former’s arm.
“I’m not taking no, Chanyeol-ah, let’s go,” Jonghyun said firmly and dragged Chanyeol away from his desk.
***
Chanyeol immediately regretted going to the bar.
It was Friday night, so the place was packed.
Jonghyun was right, there were a lot of Korean people. He heard almost everyone spoke his mother tongue and for a second, he couldn’t help but feeling homesick. Jonghyun went to the bar to greet a diva looking person and Chanyeol assumed it was his boyfriend.
“Hey babe,” Jonghyun said and leaned forward to kiss the bartender. Chanyeol’s heart sank at the affectionate gesture, because the last time he did it was with Junmyeon, and the latter was crying. “I brought a friend tonight. He’s a colleague. His name is Chanyeol.”
Jonghyun’s boyfriend smiled warmly and waved a hand. “Hello Chanyeol. I’m Kibum, but you can call me Key.”
Chanyeol only nodded politely in return.
“Since this is your first time here, I’ll make you the special,” Kibum winked. “And don’t worry, it’s on the house.”
Chanyeol isolated himself from the crowd the minute he accepted the drink from Kibum. Jonghyun and Kibum seemed to be engaged in a lively conversation and the male seemed to glare at anyone who approached Kibum for a drink. Chanyeol inwardly rolled his eyes (it reminded him of Jongin and his possessiveness toward Kyungsoo) and leaned his back against the bar.
No one caught his attention, but then again, no one seemed good enough for him. Every time he saw someone attractive enough, his heart told him no.
No.
No.
No.
Until he spotted the eyeliner guy.
The said male had just entered the place with a tall guy who seemed to need a lot of sleep because he had visible eyebags, but with just a single glance Chanyeol could tell that the tall guy was hot. They were laughing when they walked in, and Chanyeol had a feeling they were dating. He took a long moment to stare at the eyeliner guy.
Funny.
His heart didn’t say anything about this guy, but Chanyeol barely noticed it at the moment.
Chanyeol shifted his eyes someplace else, continuing to observe everyone in the room while sipping his drink. Eventually, Chanyeol got bored when his drink almost ran out and dropped his eyes on his cellphone, his thumb hovering over Junmyeon’s number.
What was he doing right now?
Working, Chanyeol thought helplessly to himself because of the time-zone difference and he tucked his phone back into his pocket. He gulped his drink until the very last drop and decided to call it a day. Chanyeol was about to stand up when he saw the panda eyed male was flirting obviously with someone across the room and he frowned to himself. Didn’t he have a partner?
As he stood up and gathered his things, Chanyeol spotted the eyeliner guy sitting alone by the table and his frown deepened. Something wasn’t right. Didn’t they come together? Were they just friends? Chanyeol blinked in realization.
Wait. Why am I curious?
“Are you going home?”
Jonghyun’s voice snapped him out of his reveries and Chanyeol looked at him dumbly. As if he knew what the taller male was thinking, Jonghyun smiled impishly when he gestured toward the general direction of the eyeliner guy.
“His name is Baekhyun.”
Chanyeol was dumbfounded.
“Don’t worry, he’s not exclusive with Zitao,” Jonghyun continued and his smile widened. “Everyone knows that, but Baekhyun never left. I guess it’s safe to say that he’s waiting for his knight in the shining armor?”
Chanyeol nodded despite the fact that he wasn’t that interested to hear all that and half bowed to Jonghyun. “Thank you for the drink, Hyung.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to try?”
“Huh?”
“Baekhyun.”
Chanyeol narrowed his eyes at Baekhyun, who was staring at them at the moment. Jonghyun held up a hand in mid-air to wave at him and Baekhyun smiled slightly before waving back. Chanyeol instinctively swallowed.
Beautiful.
“He’s not gonna bite you.”
Chanyeol stared for a moment longer at Baekhyun before breaking their gaze apart. His heart ached slightly because did he just think that the stranger was beautiful? Junmyeon-now he is beautiful. Chanyeol shook his head slightly before once again bowing to Jonghyun.
“No thanks, Hyung. I’m fine.”
With that, he headed straight to the exit.
***
“Chanyeol, hi!!!”
Chanyeol blinked in confusion before realizing it was Kyungsoo’s cheerful voice. “Oh. Um, hi... Is Jongin there...?”
“Jongin-ah is in the bathroom. Do you want to leave a message or will you just call again later?”
“Oh. I-I see...”
“Chanyeol? Is something wrong?”
Chanyeol swallowed. “No, nothing. I’ll probably just call later, Kyungsoo-yah. Thank you.”
“No problem!” Kyungsoo was definitely smiling. “How is LA? How’s work? I hope everything’s all right for you.”
“Yeah, everything’s...” Chanyeol trailed off. He quickly remembered that Kyungsoo was in the same company as Junmyeon. Chanyeol fidgeted momentarily. Should he ask...? Should he not...?
“Everything’s all right here,” Kyungsoo said reassuringly. “We’re...okay.”
There was a deafening silence for a few seconds.
“Is he...” Chanyeol finally spoke, because he didn’t know who Kyungsoo actually meant by ‘we’. “...okay?” He felt his heartbeat increasing dramatically when Kyungsoo didn’t answer. Chanyeol mentally berated himself for asking. No, don’t answer that, his mind screamed and he opened his mouth to say it, but it was too late.
“He’s happy, Chanyeol-ah.”
Chanyeol shut his eyes in pain.
“He’s happy...”
That was all he needed to know.
***
Chanyeol stopped calling Jongin ever since.
It wasn’t fair, because they were friends and they were supposed to communicate on daily-or weekly-basis, just to let each other know that they were still alive, but Chanyeol stopped. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but Chanyeol thought he needed some time. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from asking about Junmyeon-again. He also knew for a fact that every time Junmyeon’s name was up, Jongin would lie to him and the tan male would try to change the subject, and then they would act like nothing was wrong.
A few days had passed and Chanyeol still didn’t have the courage to call Junmyeon. He busied himself with work, doing anything that could take his mind off of the beautiful male. He was so occupied in stressing himself that it was almost two weeks later that Chanyeol found out the eyeliner guy was actually working in the same company as him. Chanyeol had been working late from the day before and he didn’t mean to oversleep, but shit happened. He ran toward the elevator with full speed and managed to dash in before the door closing. Chanyeol breathlessly leaned against the wall, opening his mouth to thank the other person, but the words never came out.
It was the beautiful guy from the other night.
Except that he wasn’t wearing eyeliner right then.
“O-oh,” Baekhyun stammered at their eye contact, acknowledging who Chanyeol was. There were only the two of them in the elevator and Baekhyun’s fingers paused hesitantly over the numbers. “Which floor?”
“Six,” Chanyeol said shortly and Baekhyun pressed the button.
“Are you Jonghyun-hyung’s colleague?” Baekhyun gave him a small smile which Chanyeol noticed from the reflection of the walls.
“Yeah.”
Baekhyun took the short replies as a hint that Chanyeol didn’t want to talk and he said nothing more after that, his fingers curled loosely into a fist on his lips. Their trip up was painfully silent.
It seemed like forever when the elevator finally arrived on the sixth floor, and Chanyeol was more than surprised when Baekhyun walked outside first. Did it mean they were also working in the same department? Chanyeol was glued to his computer most of the time that he didn’t even socialize except with Jonghyun.
Baekhyun glanced over his shoulder at Chanyeol with a kind smile and nodded. “Nice to meet you, um...” He trailed off, not knowing Chanyeol’s name, and it was probably a hint that he wanted to know his name. Instead of giving him his name, Chanyeol only nodded back before replying,
“Nice to meet you too, Baekhyun-ah.”
Chanyeol didn’t miss the way Baekhyun’s eyes widening as he walked past him.
***
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
Chanyeol craned his neck to Jonghyun at the sudden question. Both of them had been working in a comfortable silence-which was rare-until the question popped up. However, Jonghyun was still typing on his computer with his eyes fixed on the screen. Chanyeol pursed his lips in uncertainty before shifting his focus back to his documents. But before he got the chance to do so, Jonghyun spoke again.
“Do you?”
This time, Jonghyun was staring at him.
Chanyeol went blank momentarily. Girlfriend. Did he look straight to Jonghyun? Chanyeol was slightly perplexed but he shook his head. “No.”
“Ah,” Jonghyun rubbed his temple as he pulled away from the screen. “Ex girlfriend?”
“No.”
Jonghyun stared at him again. “Ex boyfriend?”
“One.”
Jonghyun sighed. “Are you always like this?”
“Like what?”
“...this,” Jonghyun replied with a wave of hand toward Chanyeol, unsure of what to say. “I’ll just go straight to the core with you. What do you think of Baekhyun?”
Chanyeol frowned. “Huh?”
“Well, you ran into him this morning, right? What did you think about him?”
Chanyeol pressed his lips into a thin line and he decided to ignore Jonghyun’s questions. However, his mind drifted to the said male. He remembered the way Baekhyun smiled at him, but it didn’t last long because the next second, it was replaced by Junmyeon’s smile. Chanyeol winced.
“Chanyeol?”
“I’m-I’m not interested in dating, Hyung.”
“Well, you saw how Baekhyun was with Zitao, I don’t think he would mind if you guys aren’t exclusive-“
“You don’t understand,” Chanyeol interrupted harshly. “I’m not going to move on.”
It was Jonghyun’s turn to frown. “What did your ex do so that you cannot move on? Was he really that precious? I mean, if he was, surely he didn’t dump you-”
“Don’t start,” Chanyeol said warningly. No one had the right to say bad things about Junmyeon. “Besides, what’s this about Baekhyun?”
“He asked for your name,” Jonghyun said with a defeated sigh and he held up his hands in the air. “FYI, Baekhyun never asked for a name. Everyone’s asking for his.”
With that, Jonghyun gave his computer screen his attention back.
Chanyeol felt something small bubbling in him, but he decided not to give a damn and continued working.
He had no idea that it would become big.
***
Another week had passed since then.
Chanyeol felt himself becoming more miserable. He wanted to call Junmyeon, to ask him how he was, how did he do, how was work, how was his dinner, anything, anything to be able to hear his soft and calming voice. But he was never brave enough. Every time he gathered his strength to dial the number, it would dissipate to heaven knew where, and Chanyeol would end up tossing the phone away.
He missed Junmyeon like crazy.
But Junmyeon probably didn’t miss him.
Before he knew it, it was Friday again. Jonghyun asked him if he wanted to hang out (the older male was surprisingly persistent to have Chanyeol socializing), but Chanyeol politely declined because he had a lot of pending works. Which was bull, because he knew he could just finish them all on Monday morning. But then again, it was better than to hang out in the bar. Jonghyun then waved a hand at him in resignation before leaving.
Chanyeol rubbed his eyes tiredly when he was done. Everyone seemed to have gone home when he looked up. Chanyeol shut his computer down, gathered his things and went to the elevator. Gosh, he couldn’t wait to go home and sleep. When the male passed by the pantry, he heard soft sobs coming from the room. Chanyeol paused, making sure if he really heard something or was it just his imagination.
The door swung open at the same moment and Baekhyun walked outside with puffy eyes. The male froze when he spotted Chanyeol. Baekhyun’s eyes were red and there were tears streaming down his face. The tears instantly reminded him of Junmyeon and Chanyeol winced as he looked away.
Junmyeon.
The name brought so many memories.
Instead of asking Baekhyun what was wrong (like a normal person was supposed to do), Chanyeol ignored the crying male and headed straight toward the elevator. He repeatedly pushed the button. Everything was just too painful to take at the moment. Why did Baekhyun have to remind him...?
After a minute, the elevator finally arrived on the sixth floor. The door slid open, but Chanyeol only stared at it mutely. He let the door closing before turning back to where he had left Baekhyun. Much to his surprise, the male was still at the same spot, and he was still crying. Baekhyun looked shocked at the fact that Chanyeol came back.
“A-aren’t you going home...?” Baekhyun asked between his tears.
Chanyeol said nothing but to drag Baekhyun to the nearest seats. Baekhyun let out a yelp when Chanyeol forced him to sit, but then the latter sat beside him. Chanyeol stared solemnly at the crying male before handing him a handkerchief. Baekhyun dumbly stared at the offered item before chuckling sheepishly.
“You’re weird...,” Baekhyun softly said and wiped his tears with Chanyeol’s handkerchief. He continued to sob for a while before finally stopping. “Thank you.”
Chanyeol still said nothing in return, but when Baekhyun leaned closer to rest his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder, his throat went dry.
***
Chanyeol didn’t ask Baekhyun what happened, but he had a feeling it had something to do with Zitao. He did nothing but to let Baekhyun rested his head on his shoulder, until the latter had completely stopped crying. Chanyeol then called a cab for Baekhyun, and as they walked downstairs together-Baekhyun didn’t want to take the elevator because he said he wanted a long walk to clear his mind-it was then that Chanyeol realized that Baekhyun smelled good.
He hadn’t met Baekhyun until the next Friday.
Chanyeol was working late as usual (and politely declined Jonghyun’s offer to hang out, again) and was heading toward the elevator when he bumped into the shorter male.
“Oh,” Baekhyun blinked in surprise. “You’re still here?”
“Same goes to you,” Chanyeol muttered nonchalantly and pressed the button.
“Are you going to the bar?”
“Nope. I’m going home.” Chanyeol walked into the elevator first and frowned when Baekhyun stayed in his tracks. “Aren’t you coming?”
Baekhyun looked hesitant for a second before nodding. Neither of them said anything until they reached the ground floor, and Chanyeol let Baekhyun walked out first before following closely. Baekhyun exchanged a warm greeting with the night security and waited patiently for Chanyeol.
“Be careful on your way home,” Chanyeol said as he adjusted the strap on his shoulder.
“Wait,” Baekhyun halted the taller male’s movement. “You’re really going home?”
Chanyeol frowned. “Yeah.”
“But this is Friday night.”
“So?”
Baekhyun looked sheepish. “If you have nothing to do, and you don’t want to go to the bar, why don’t we grab a bite before going home?”
Chanyeol stared. “Dinner?”
“Duh, of course,” Baekhyun playfully flicked Chanyeol’s arm and sagged when the latter continued to stare at him blankly. “I-I mean, yeah, if you’d like... Have you tried the Korean restaurant downtown? Or maybe you’re feeling something western tonight? Italian?”
Chanyeol said nothing for the longest time and Baekhyun was starting to feel uncomfortable.
“Um, if you don’t want to, it’s okay-“
“Okay.”
Baekhyun bit his lip to hide his disappointment. “O-okay.” He waited for Chanyeol to turn around and leave, but the taller male did nothing. Baekhyun shifted slightly before tilting his head to a side. “Be careful on your way home?”
“Huh? Aren’t we going?”
“H-huh?” Baekhyun blinked. “But-but you said okay.”
“I did, didn’t I? So where are we going?”
Baekhyun needed a few moments to register Chanyeol’s words before finally breaking into a shy chuckle.
“You sure are weird, Park Chanyeol,” he smiled genuinely and motioned Chanyeol to follow him.
Chanyeol dismissed the unfamiliar sensation that seeped into his heart.
***
“If you need Asian ingredients, go to the market over there,” Baekhyun pointed to a supermarket across the street as they walked side by side. “You saw the tall, white building with the large screen on top of it, right? There’s this department store inside with affordable clothes. Just in case you want to shop.”
Chanyeol only nodded every time Baekhyun explained something. It was new to him, because Junmyeon was never this talkative. Most of the time, it was Chanyeol who started the conversation and Junmyeon would be the one who listened. Now that he thought about it, Junmyeon never really told him anything.
And he never really wanted to find out.
“Chanyeol?”
Chanyeol turned to Baekhyun. “Hm?”
“Am I boring?”
Chanyeol’s jaw almost dropped. “Huh?”
Baekhyun looked apologetic and yet scared at the same time. “I’m sorry, did I talk a lot? I talked a lot, didn’t I? It’s probably the curse I was born with-“
“It’s nice,” Chanyeol intercepted. “Don’t worry.”
“R-really? Seriously?”
Chanyeol nodded.
Baekhyun beamed. “Wow. You’re the first person to ever tell me that.”
“Did the others usually tell you to shut up?”
Baekhyun’s expression dimmed. “Yeah.” He threw his gaze on the ground and continued walking. Chanyeol felt slightly guilty as he examined Baekhyun from the corner of his eye. He lifted up his hand to pat the shorter male’s hair and Baekhyun looked up to him in surprise. “Ch-Chanyeol?”
“You’re okay,” Chanyeol quietly said. “Just ignore them.”
Baekhyun’s expression brightened as he smiled. Chanyeol felt something churning at the bottom of his stomach at the smile, but he ignored the feeling. Baekhyun’s eyes went somewhere else and he giggled lightly when a bunch of girls walked past them. “They’re staring at you.”
“Not interested,” Chanyeol shrugged. “I’m not going to move on.”
“Eh? Why?”
“Probably the same reason you didn’t leave Zitao.”
Baekhyun turned pale at Chanyeol’s words. His steps slowed down for a moment, but then he quickened them back to catch up with Chanyeol’s pace. “S-so you’ve heard...”
Chanyeol only nodded and randomly pointed at a restaurant. “This one?”
Baekhyun followed his line of sight and nodded slightly. “If you want it.”
The conversation about Zitao was over by the time they went into the restaurant, and the atmosphere became awkward.
Even so, Baekhyun smiled a lot at him that night and it was somewhat comforting.
Chanyeol didn’t feel so hungry anymore.
[2]
it's not too late to turn back I swear ;_____;