Archive of Our Own ^beta

It has become Chanyeol’s habit to wake up at 5 am every single day. It doesn’t matter if it’s the weekend or even if he’s currently in a vacation which doesn’t happen that often because he spends most of his day holed up in his office, going through paper works and conferences.

He doesn’t even remember the blur of events that led him to this present time, thinking about his life before being CEO feels like thinking about a very distant memory, a life that he lived a lifetime ago. It has been too long since he had allowed himself to let loose. It has been too long since anything remotely interesting caught his attention too.

If you asked Chanyeol to describe his life in three words, he’d say: colorless, constant and boring. If you asked him what his life was before he took the CEO role, he’d say: colorful, spontaneous and exciting. Saying that his life has turned around completely is an understatement. He was born rich, he worked hard since he was young, he made pursued to reach what he has right now but he couldn’t say that he reached the top unscathed. He lost relationships, he lost time, he lost happiness and he lost his spark.

It’s always the same thing every day, he wakes up, he takes a shower, eats breakfast and then go to work. He stays at work until 7 or when he’s too busy he stays until 10 pm, still taking home his workload. He’s that committed to work that he thinks he’s already married to it.

“Baek, what’s my next schedule?” Chanyeol calls out from the intercom.

His not-secretary immediately appears by his door and he smiles at him brightly. It freaked out Chanyeol for a second before schooling back his expression. His best friend/not-secretary really scares him whenever he smiles too bright.

He has been best friends with Baekhyun since college and the older is only working for him part time since not one of Chanyeol’s secretaries lasted for a week because of the cold, grumpy and irritated expression that’s always present on his face.

Baekhyun is about a head shorter than Chanyeol, he’s slim, bubbly, loud and he has blonde hair that irritates most of the department heads, that’s why Chanyeol keeps Baekhyun working for him. He’s the only friend that stayed with Chanyeol when the latter was isolating himself and pushing himself to work for the CEO position.

Baekhyun has pointed it a million times before that Chanyeol didn’t have to prove anything because he’s already doing much for the company but being an heir always gives people a reason to attack you just because ‘you can’t fill your father’s shoes’ and all. It’s stupid but Chanyeol pushed himself to prove them wrong, losing almost all his friends in the process of ignoring them.

“You’re off for two weeks” Baekhyun says lightly

“What?”

“Soo said he can handle two weeks without you” he answers with a smirk

Ah, Doh Kyungsoo, Chanyeol’s COO and boyfriend of Byun Baekhyun. They’ve already met a few times outside of work but the man is the complete opposite of Baekhyun, Kyungsoo is a man of small words because his gaze is enough to get his unspoken words through the person that he’s staring down.

He’s positive that the man isn’t cold and scary as he looks because Byun Baekhyun is such a ball of sunshine and Chanyeol doubts that Kyungsoo could bear ignore Baekhyun’s whines. Work-wise, Kyungsoo is very capable, he’s handling two bratty men at the same time anyway so Chanyeol can’t question Kyungsoo’s capabilities. Not with Baekhyun and Sehun as his boyfriends.

“Isn’t he busy enough with you and Sehun?” Chanyeol teases lightly.

Baekhyun walks inside the room with a smug look on his face and grabs a bottle of orange juice from Chanyeol’s fridge before tossing another one to Chanyeol who barely caught it before it landed on his laptop.

Baekhyun is a fashion designer and Sehun is one of his muse, aside from Kyungsoo. Sehun is a model, a man at least taller than the two men and who can stand in the same height as Chanyeol but he’s the youngest of them all. He hasn’t asked Baekhyun how their relationship works out but he knows that the three men are in a relationship.

All Chanyeol cares about is that Baekhyun is not dying from overworking himself by helping him out in the office and still work as a designer of a huge fashion line.

“He’s not, besides Chan. You do know that I don’t really do much here right? I just forward your e-mails and all. I am actually handing over one of my secretaries for you because it’s almost fashion week and I can’t handle your work on top of mine” Baekhyun pouts at him

Chanyeol chuckles softly because of the nickname. Baekhyun never cared whether they’re in the office or not, he addresses Chanyeol the same way as before and that’s the closest thing to normalcy as Chanyeol can get.

“Oh. Thanks, Baek. You don’t have to. I can look for a secretary” he answers quietly

The older rolled his eyes and scoffs at him. “Yeah, cause that worked out well the last time. Don’t worry Minseok hyung is the best, I swear. He also doesn’t care if you’re cold and an asshole because he doesn’t care a bit about your personal shit” Baekhyun says lightly

“Gee, thanks for that” Chanyeol says nonchalantly and waves him off

Baekhyun grins at him and plops himself at one of the chairs in front of Chanyeol’s wooden desk. “Chan, I mean it. I already reserved a house for you to stay at. It’ll be away from the city and you’ll have people there but you’re on your own. No work, no signal”

“Baek” Chanyeol sighs because the last time his best friend even tried to get him out of his routine, that ended up badly and Chanyeol getting lost.

“I know. Kyungsoo already scolded me but you can use internet if you want. There’s an internet shop somewhere around the town, you just have to walk and find it” Baekhyun smiles brightly.

Chanyeol knows that any second now, that smile will turn into a pout and his eyes would turn into a pair of puppy eyes that would look ready to beg.

“I’m no—“

“Chanyeol, just go please. Live a little, just a little” Baekhyun cuts him off, his words are full of sincerity and his eyes are so determined that Chanyeol couldn’t help but agree and nod.

Baekhyun sits up and smiles brightly at him. “Soo! He said okay!” he calls out so loud that Chanyeol had to cup his ears to avoid damaging his eardrums.

Within a second, the door opened and revealed Chanyeol’s COO. Kyungsoo is standing by the door, hair styled up, his suit perfectly tailored to fit his body and he was smiling a little at Chanyeol.  “I know he’s a bit too much but I agree with him. You deserve this break, Mr. Park. You’re too young to age that much” Kyungsoo points out, his finger pointing at Chanyeol’s face

Baekhyun breaks into a fit of chuckles making the two men laugh as well. “Well with that not-so-complement, you’re allowed to call me Chanyeol, Kyungsoo~ssi”

“Only if you call me Kyungsoo” the younger answered back.

To be honest, they’re all too young to be in this position, Chanyeol is just 26 and Kyungsoo 25. He can remember the first time Kyungsoo stepped in Park Entertainment, the younger was scouted straight from his university, he graduated top of the class and he’s also a musician. Chanyeol was handling production back then, he loves music and he wanted to make sure that only the best comes out of their agency.

Kyungsoo made it all better, he made sure that the trainees were all taken care of and that the agency only scouted the best performers. He was sure that Kyungsoo wanted to be a talent, a singer but the younger gave up his dream to pursue the top management parts.

“By any chance, are you looking to change boyfriends? I can be better than Baekhyun” Chanyeol said playfully at Kyungsoo who smirked at him.

The smirk sent shivers down his spine and now he can see a bit of Kyungsoo’s mischievousness. “You asshole!” Baekhyun yelled at him

Kyungsoo walked forward and placed a hand on his boyfriend’s arm to stop him. “Ah, I don’t think so Chanyeol. No one can be better than Sehun or Baekhyun, both are one of a kind. I’d never let one of them go” Kyungsoo says softly, his voice was honestly soothing. It’s deep and warm like melted chocolate and honey.

“You lucky bastard” Chanyeol grunts at Baekhyun who was looking at him with a smug smile on his face.

Baekhyun chuckles and waves him off. “Hey, whatever. You don’t bottom anyway and Kyungsoo’s a top in case you haven’t noticed” Baekhyun points out and he’s suddenly playing with thebutton of his dress shirt, he started to unbutton it and before Chanyeol could say anything, the glimmer of diamonds around a mesh chain and silk choker blinded him. 

“Oh” Chanyeol says in both awe and understanding.

He has seen the silk choker on Baekhyun’s neck two years ago but he didn’t think of it as anything since the latter has been wearing accessories with every outfit anyway.

“He’s not a submissive but he’s mine, just like Sehun” Kyungsoo explains softly.

Chanyeol stops for a second to think whether he has seen the youngest ever wear a choker. The model is always out on the runway or ads and Chanyeol’s pretty sure that he hasn’t seen the young one wearing a choker.

“Does…” he trails off, confused on what to ask.

Of course Baekhyun understood him without him finishing his sentence. “Sehun has his collar on his wrist. He’s the subtle one, I’m the flashy one” Baekhyun grins at Chanyeol and suddenly this is too much for his head.

“Baek, before you make Chanyeol’s head explode, hand him his car keys and let him go” Kyungsoo says quietly, patting his boyfriend on the shoulder.

“What car keys?” Chanyeol asked

Baekhyun stood up and tossed Chanyeol’s car keys on his desk and he smiled at him brightly. “You’re leaving now. You’re driving yourself. I already packed for you, put some money tucked somewhere there because credit card might not work there, you know..” Baekhyun said with a teasing tone

“Not the mountains, Byun!” Chanyeol says in exasperation.

“Don’t worry, he didn’t put you up in the mountains” Kyungsoo answers for Baekhyun.

“Did you really agree to this?” Chanyeol asked Kyungsoo

Kyungsoo gave him a small smile and a nod. “Yes, Chanyeol. I wouldn’t have allowed him to barge in here if I didn’t agree” he says lightly.

“Okay. Okay. Let’s just…I should..Am I not going home?” Chanyeol asks the two men who are in front of him.

Baekhyun shook his head, already reaching forward to close Chanyeol’s laptop. “No. Go straight there, start your two weeks and come back refreshed” he smiles.

Chanyeol sighed and shook his head, he unplugged his laptop and charger, putting them inside the laptop bag. “If this goes to shit, Byun, I’m going to—“

“Ah, ah, don’t threaten my boyfriend, Chanyeol. Don’t worry, I made sure nothing wrong will happen. You have my word.” Kyungsoo assured him and that suddenly made Chanyeol feel better and relieved.

“Fine. I’ll have your head and your job if this goes to shit, Kyungsoo” Chanyeol warns Kyungsoo but there’s no heat in his warning.

Baekhyun grins at that and smirks at Chanyeol. “Oh, he gives the best he—“

“Sure, Chanyeol. Whatever you want from me, I’ll indulge you if you don’t come back alive” Kyungsoo says firmly.

That’s how Chanyeol finds himself staring at the GPS on his dashboard, he’s already on his way out of Seoul. As promised, he saw a suitcase sitting on the back of his car and a duffel bag on the passenger seat. His car fuel was full and he even saw some batteries and flashlights under his seat.  He’s actually scared about the place that Baekhyun rented and it didn’t help that Kyungsoo sent him a short message, to remind him to buy food on the way.

He doesn’t know what to do. He left a little too early, it was only 10 am when he left work and now he’s sitting in his car, dressed perfectly for a meeting and heading to an unknown location. It’s scary. It has been a long time since he’s done this and without Baekhyun, he’s as clueless as ever.

Chanyeol drops by stop over to get something for the road and buy plenty of water. He also withdrew a large amount since he knows Baekhyun didn’t put in much, probably wanting him to suffer and beg for help. Chanyeol was a people person before he isolated himself and now he can’t seem to just talk to anyone unlike before and that’s probably what Baekhyun is trying to let him do.

After a few long hours, Chanyeol found himself relaxing as the destination gets closer. He wouldn’t have to kill Baekhyun because the latter sent him to Busan. He could’ve taken a plane or the KTX but Baekhyun made him drive all the way here.

It doesn’t look like that Baekhyun even tried to set him up in an isolated place but he wasn’t also set up in the city proper. He reached his destination in no time, it’s one of the houses in a quiet neighborhood, it had white picket fences and it really looks like a normal family home.

He parked his car outside before stepping out. Fresh air hit his nostrils and it’s really welcomed to breathe in fresh air than the polluted air in Seoul. Chanyeol is over-dressed and he’s already getting weird looks from strangers. He unbuttoned his coat before gently taking it off while he rolling his sleeves up and unbuttoning the upper buttons of his shirt.

When he was done, he turned to the house next to him and he was surprised to see someone step out. The woman looks young but she has a wedding ring already, so she’s probably married.. “You must be Chanyeol! Baekhyun called earlier to inform us”  she beams at Chanyeol

“Uhm..” Chanyeol mutters since he doesn’t know how to address the woman in front of him.

The woman opened the gate and let Chanyeol in. “Oh, I’m his sister-in-law? I’m actually Kyungsoo’s sister-in-law but since they’re together, I’m Baekhyun’s sister-in-law too?” she explained and she looked just as confused as her words.

Chanyeol chuckled softly and reached out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m sorry for bothering you” he says softly

The woman shakes his hand slaps his arm lightly. “Oh no! I’m not staying here, my husband and I are leaving for our honeymoon so you’ll be staying here on your own for two weeks!” she said brightly

Chanyeol wanted to curse Baekhyun now. It’s not that he’s clueless about living alone but, living in someone else’s house is a first time for Chanyeol.

The woman led him to the front yard garden, there was a bamboo deck of some sort and they both took a seat there. “Actually! No, there’s someone else staying here, he’s Kyungsoo’s best friend but I haven’t seen him since I woke up so, you’ll probably meet him later on. I left a note for him on his room since he doesn’t have a phone. Anyway, don’t worry. I cooked a lot so you’ll survive for two days” she said softly

“Thank you” he said sincerely

It has been a long time since someone cooked for him and he honestly misses home-cooked meals.

“Baekhyun didn’t tell me much but I assume you’re looking for fresh air. You can walk around here and just forget about everything for a while. I know it won’t help once you get back to Seoul but it’ll make you feel lighter, you know” she says with a small smile.

“I hope so” Chanyeol mutters

“Great! Get your things, I’ll show you your room. We only have two guest rooms so you’ll be staying at the room next to Kyungsoo’s best friend” she says softly before standing up.

Chanyeol nods in return and goes out to get his things from his car. He just hopes that his housemate doesn’t burn the house because he doesn’t need any more stress.

Chanyeol doesn’t know how long it has been since Kyungsoo’s brother, Seungsoo and his wife had left because he has been asleep the whole time. It has been a very long time since he last sleep in late in the morning. He’s positive he already skipped lunch.

He heads down to the kitchen to grab some lunch when he noticed a sweater draped on the back of the couch that wasn’t there this morning. His housemate has probably arrived. The house was very homey, it’s big but not that huge like those city penthouses and apartments. This house was enough to start a family, it had a huge front yard and has a vegetable garden out back.

The house was too quiet except for his footsteps. He sighs and checks the kitchen, finding no one in particular. The man was probably still out of the house and Chanyeol has to eat by himself. It’s not a new thing anymore, he can’t cook so he eats take outs from the restaurants near his house or sometimes he settles for cheap Chinese take outs.

It’s actually his first time in a long time to be able to do nothing for the rest of the day. He’s seen the hard drive that Baekhyun packed inside his duffel bag and he’s sure that it’s definitely a hard drive full of movies and porn. His best friend really doesn’t hold back when he wants Chanyeol to rest.

Waking up at 5 am isn’t a new thing for him but waking up at 5 am without nothing else to do is a very new thing and he doesn’t feel comfortable. He remembers falling asleep after watching two movies last night. He wanted to laugh at the use of his laptop, instead of finishing work, he used it to watch movies that he hasn’t watched at the cinemas.

After taking a shower, he heads to the kitchen to fix himself something to eat. Chanyeol doesn’t eat that much during breakfast so he settles for cereals and banana. After cleaning up, he heads to the door to try and walk in the neighborhood.

As soon as he opened the door, something fell in his arms. The weight was too heavy and it took him by surprise that he fell backwards, landing on his ass. He grunts and looks at the th—man who passed out on his arms. He panics for a second because he doesn’t know if the man is already dead or unconscious.

In the middle of panicking, the man stirred a little, letting out a soft sigh and that’s how he knew that the man fell asleep. Chanyeol wanted to laugh at himself and the man. This was damn stupid and it’s freaking irritating that he got up this early just to haul a man to bed.

It didn’t matter anyway because the man weighed like nothing. He picked up the man and brought him to his room. It was the first time Chanyeol went to the room and it was funny how much their rooms looked alike, especially the suitcase near the bed and the laptop on top of the bed. He’s just like Chanyeol.

Chanyeol gently laid down the man on the bed, removing the shoes before removing the headphones stuck around the man’s neck. He sighed and pulled the covers over the man before leaving the room.

Why in the world was that man out of the house this late? Or early? He hasn’t seen him the whole day yesterday so he assumes that the man only got back this morning.

Chanyeol takes his phone and wallet before heading out of the door. He tried to get some signal but just like Baekhyun said, there was no signal. How in the world did they manage to do that to him when half the town is probably running on signal?

Giving up on his phone, he placed it inside his pocket before walking out of the gate. The skies are still quite dark but the sun is definitely rising. The sun always rises earlier in these parts than Seoul. He smiles at the serenity, it’s a welcome surrounding for him. He once begged for peace in front of Baekhyun and the latter just laughed at him.

It’s not every day that he can just walk around the town or neighborhood without anyone knowing who he is. People here in Busan wake up early, they get ready to fill their stalls with products, some fishermen are already at the sea, catching the freshest seafood.

Ah, he has to try the seafood here. Baekhyun had been telling him to do so for the past few years. Chanyeol really doesn’t know anything about Busan, he hasn’t been touring Korea for a long time. He’s always out of the country that it doesn’t even surprise him that he’s a bit clueless about Korea’s most famous cities.

He comes home a little bit after 10, with fruits and breads bought and given by townspeople who apparently knew that he was staying with the Doh’s. They gave him a lot of fruits and vegetables for free even though he offered to pay for them. He’s not used to it, to the kindness of people because honestly, people in the business world are worse than vultures. You get eaten up if you don’t eat them first. It’s scary and it’s not a world Chanyeol wants to stay in.

As he was placing the fruits inside the fridge, a man saunters to the living room and for the first time, Chanyeol finally sees the face of the man he caught earlier. Sleep was still evident in the man’s face, his expression was blank but peaceful at the same time. He looked a little lost and that’s what made Chanyeol chuckle softly.

The man’s head turned towards his direction and his eyes met wide ones. “Oh. You must be Chanyeol. I’m sorry. How did I get in my room?” the man asks in confusion.

He bit his lower lip and all that Chanyeol could think of was the deep dimple that appeared on the man’s right cheek. “I carried you. You fell asleep the moment I opened the door”

The man hurried towards him and bowed multiple times, bending his back for Chanyeol. “I’m sorry for the trouble! I forgot the time and I was so tired when I was walking back” he mutters

Chanyeol could hear the distinct accent of the man, from the looks of it the man doesn’t look like a Korean too. “Please stop bowing. It’s alright. It’s no problem” Chanyeol says quietly and he helps the man straighten up.

The man pouts at him before his eyes widened “Ah! I’m Yixing! Zhang Yixing! I forgot to introduce myself!”

“You forget a lot of things” Chanyeol teased

Yixing frowns at him but nods in agreement. Chanyeol chuckles and shakes his head at him. “That was a joke, Yixing~ssi”

“Oh. Ah! Sorry!” Yixing says with a soft smile, hence the appearance of the dimple again.

Chanyeol gave him a small smile and offered him some coffee but Yixing rejected the offer, saying that coffee is bad for him. “Do you want some breakfast?” he asks, even though he can’t cook to live

“Have you had breakfast?” Yixing asks him.

Chanyeol took a seat by the dining area and he watched as Yixing roamed around the kitchen, looking for pots and pans.

“Ah. I had cereals earlier” Chanyeol answers quietly.

Yixing turns at him and shoots him a glare. “That’s not breakfast. Let me cook, I can cook” he offers.

“No need. You can just cook for yourself. I don’t want to trouble you” Chanyeol says quietly

He’s finding it hard to stop talking to this person but at the same time he doesn’t want to bother the man that just woke up.

“Nonsense. I already troubled you, didn’t I? I’ll cook. Watch the tv or do something” Yixing suggests, clearly ignoring Chanyeol’s rejection.

Chanyeol pouts and shakes his head even though Yixing was already busy cutting up vegetables. “I don’t know what to do” Chanyeol says loud enough for Yixing to hear

Yixing glances back at him and stares for a second before he smiles softly. “Uhm, play a game?”

“I don’t play games” Chanyeol answers flatly.

He should’ve begged Baekhyun to pack him something like his guitar, his keyboard or even his recording equipment but he knows Baekhyun wouldn’t have given him anyway.

“What about the game on your phone?” Yixing asks

Chanyeol doesn’t even know the last time he used his phone for something that doesn’t involve work. “I don’t…” he trails off because Yixing suddenly washed his hands and runs to somewhere.

He came out with his phone in his hand and a huge grin on his face. “Ah! I have this game on my phone, you just have to tap based on the beat, you can do that right?” he asks as if he’s talking to a kid.

Chanyeol wanted to laugh mainly because he had an idea about the app and because he’s surprised that Yixing has the app installed on his phone. “Truthfully, I shouldn’t be playing these kind of games since I’m already 28 but it’s just fun” Yixing explains as he taps on the app and places his phone in front of Chanyeol.

“You’re my hyung” Chanyeol points out

Yixing cocks an eyebrow at him and chuckles lightly. “You can call me hyung if you finish the hard level of my favorite song from my favorite artist” he says lightly as he resumed cutting the vegetables that he left earlier

“Who’s your favorite artist?” Chanyeol asks as he slides the selection of the singers on the app.

“Baekhyun, the soloist” Yixing answers softly

Chanyeol easily found Baekhyun’s songs, since he knows them by heart. “He already left the industry” he points out, tapping on the normal level for Baekhyun’s song.

Yixing shrugged at him and starts to boil water. “Whatever. We trained together before so I admire what he has achieved, he performed really well and it just sucks that he left the stage” he says quietly.

Chanyeol begged Baekhyun before to stay, mainly because his best friend is the best soloist that they had back then and he didn’t even have to train much before he debuted but Baekhyun had his heart stolen by fashion and Chanyeol couldn’t hold back his best friend so he let him go, in return, Baekhyun sings for him whenever he gets invited to represent Park Entertainment.

“You trained together?” Chanyeol asks as he misses a beat, cancelling out his 171 hits.

“Yes. He’s a good dancer too” Yixing answers softly

Chanyeol looks up as he loses the game. “Wait, are you an idol?” he asks in confusion

If Yixing trained with Baekhyun then he must be under Park Entertainment, but Chanyeol would’ve known if he was. He knows all the idols that debuted under Park Entertainment, even the models since Sehun is signed under the agency.

“Nope. I was thrown away by Kyungsoo” Yixing answers lightly

Last time he checked, Yixing is supposed to be Kyungsoo’s best friend so why would Kyungsoo throw out Yixing? “What?” Chanyeol asked in confusion.

“Kyungsoo was managing the trainees back then and he threw me back to China because I got into a fight” Yixing shrugs at him nonchalantly as if everything wasn’t a big deal anymore.

“And you just what? Gave up on your dream?” Chanyeol asks bluntly, he didn’t notice that he was already pushing but he just can’t believe that it’s as if the whole thing didn’t matter to Yixing.

Yixing looks up from his pot and cocks an eyebrow at Chanyeol. “Is that judgment that I’m hearing?” he asks with a frown on his face.

“No. It’s just that…the opportunity” Chanyeol mutters and mentally slaps himself for sounding so arrogant and stupid.

Yixing smiles at him and nods. “Ah. There’s more to it to be honest but that story is not supposed to be told during brunch” he waves off Chanyeol lightly.

“I’m sorry for prying” Chanyeol mutters

Yixing hums in return and resumes cooking. Chanyeol tries again in normal mode and a new song, Beautiful that was sung by Baekhyun too.

“So what do you do?” Yixing asks, breaking his concentration, making him miss another tap and rushing the downfall of his game.

He grunts and restarts the game, making Yixing chuckle softly. “Office work” he answers quietly

“Oh, like Kyungsoo? I heard you’re Baekhyun’s best friend”

“I’m now regretting that since I can’t fucking clear this normal level” Chanyeol grunts when he sees the red screen with big bold letters of Game over written on it.

He pushes the phone away and grunts. “This is stupid!” he grunts in frustration.

Yixing wipes his hands after putting the pasta on the boiling water. He walked towards the dining table and turns his phone towards him. He pressed the same song that Chanyeol played and started it. Chanyeol couldn’t help watch the slim fingers tap expertly, not missing any beat of the song. He watched as the same fingers slide perfectly on the screen, clearing the game easily.

“You’re just tense. You can work on it. You have two weeks, right?” Yixing teases lightly, moving back the phone towards Chanyeol who reluctantly started another round of the same song.

“I don’t like games” he mutters as he taps furiously on the phone.

Yixing chuckles as he started cooking something in the saucepan. Chanyeol’s stomach growled at the smell and he doesn’t even know why he’s hungry again.

“Too bad, Baekhyun is your best friend. We always play all the time” Yixing says lightly

“Play what?” Chanyeol asks in confusion

He knows that Baekhyun plays computer games because they played before he was all busy.

“Ah. I’m a gamer. I record game walkthroughs and sometimes I do live streams on YouTube” Yixing answers quietly

Chanyeol looks up at him, completely missing the hits and he hears the game over sound again but he doesn’t care at all. “You’re a gamer?!” he asks a little bit surprised at the revelation

Yixing glances at him and smirks a little. “The judgment, Chanyeol~ssi. I can hear it again”

“I’m sorry. I’m not judging!” Chanyeol says in panic, his long limbs were flailing because he didn’t want Yixing to misunderstand his surprise for judgment.

“I know it sounds stupid that I exchanged the stage, the fame and the money for just playing games but I’m happy, I earn well too. You don’t know how much people pay me or even sponsors me just to play games” Yixing says lightly.

“No it’s not stupid. I mean if you’re happy then that’s alright” Chanyeol points out since he wanted that happiness. 

Yixing cooked them a feast and no one complained because they both have huge appetites. Chanyeol was surprised on how tasty the food was, the dishes were a mix of Korean, Chinese and Western cuisine but they all tasted amazing. They managed to eat lunch without being too awkward because Yixing shared little things like his job and Chanyeol shared a few things too without giving away that he’s a CEO of a company.

“I’m leaving”

Chanyeol looks up and sees Yixing dressed lightly, wearing a white shirt and black jeans. His headphones was hanging around his neck and he has a cap on his head.

“Where are you going?” Chanyeol asks even though he really doesn’t want to ask.

“Gaming. I’m probably come home early morning” Yixing answers

Chanyeol was more than confused because how long does it take to play a game? Who plays a game that long? Yixing said he wasn’t recording because he’s on a break but why is he still playing?

“Uh. Okay?” Chanyeol answers

Yixing smiles at him and hands him a fully charged phone. “You can use my phone to play the game if you’re bored” he offers

Chanyeol accepts it before something clicks on his mind. “I thought you didn’t have a phone?” he asks, remembering the same thing being said by Kyungsoo’s sister-in-law

“Ah. I have a phone, I just don’t have a number. My phone is used for games and only that” Yixing shrugs lightly while wearing his shoes.

Chanyeol couldn’t ask anything anymore because the man waved at him and rushed out of the house. Another boring day for Chanyeol then, he doesn’t really know why Baekhyun thought that this was a good thing. He hates feeling lonely more than he hates being alone and now that he’s not doing anything, all he feels is loneliness because he feels the ache of the void inside him.

--

It was definitely the sixth day when Chanyeol finally gave up ran outside the door to catch up with Yixing who just left for his usual gaming schedule.  “Yixing-ssi!”

Yixing turns around with an amused grin on his face, he waits for Chanyeol to catch up with him, thinking that it wouldn’t take too long because the younger had long legs. “Oh, you still haven’t finished the hard level yet?” he teases, making the taller bite his lower lip in embarrassment

“I want to see what you’re doing. I stopped playing the game for a while” Chanyeol reasons out even though he admits he’s just bored out of his mind.

Yixing smiles up to him, showing the cute dimple deeply dug on his cheek. “Of course you can play with me too if you want. It’s just LOL, I’m sure you’ve played it at least once in your life” he says lightly.

Chanyeol followed the older since he doesn’t know where to go and he really sucks at direction. He already got lost a few times that Baekhyun took it upon himself to install 3 apps in Chanyeol’s phone. One for locating Chanyeol if he’s lost, the second for a map that Chanyeol can use and the third one was a direct app to get help from the authorities when he’s lost.

“I did and I suck at it, Baekhyun scolded me a lot while playing” Chanyeol frowns

He hears the soft chuckles of the man next to him and he’s pretty sure that Yixing was about to break out into laughter. The older shakes his head before turning to Chanyeol with a wide smile. “Ah. He did the same thing to me when we first played. Don’t worry, I’m not as harsh as Baekhyunnie” Yixing says lightly.

Chanyeol was mesmerized not only because of the smile but because another dimple appeared on Yixing’s left cheek. The man had two dimples, an innocent face and a hearty laugh. He really sounds so content and happy with his life that Chanyeol is starting to question his own life.

--

It’s more than safe to say that Chanyeol doesn’t have a talent with games but he is persistent, he tries his hardest if he wants to achieve something and that’s how they ended up going home at 7 in the morning.

Yixing stopped playing shortly after 3 games while Chanyeol still played and Yixing taught him a few tricks. “You’re really stubborn, aren’t you?” Yixing asks as soon as they step out of the internet café

The sun was already up and he’s sure that they consumed at least 3 cups of unhealthy noodles each.

“What? Where did you get that?” Chanyeol asked in confusion, his head was already light and ready to sleep.

He didn’t even bother pushing Yixing away when the man started to lean on him. Between the two of them, Yixing is the one who’s more likely to pass out and fall asleep on the ground if Chanyeol doesn’t support him. “You don’t just accept a failure, you push and push until you succeed” Yixing says with a small smile on his face.

“Isn’t that what people are supposed to do? To strive hard and pursue things that they want to get?” Chanyeol asks in confusion

“Not all people can do that” Yixing answers quietly

There were people greeting them and Chanyeol nods back at them while Yixing bends himself in half to bow at everyone who greets them. He’s so polite to everyone, even the kids. How in the world is there still a guy like Yixing??

“Why not? I didn’t know anything about managing people, I only knew music, how I loved it but now I’m in an industry full of suits and paper works. I learned because I pushed myself” Chanyeol answered Yixing.

Yixing turned to him and gives him a knowing look. “And are you happy?” he asks bluntly

Chanyeol doesn’t know but it’s easy to be honest with Yixing. It’s probably because he feels like the man can already look into his soul without asking but still, he answers. “No”

“Why did you pursue it then?” Yixing asks, this time he already laced his arms with Chanyeol’s to get more support from the taller.

“Because I wanted to prove everyone wrong, I wanted to stop hearing that I’m only in that place because of my father. I deserve the respect so I persevered and aimed higher” Chanyeol admits.

He couldn’t blame the people who see him that way instead, he just has to work hard on it to gain that respect. It’s a tough world and if you wanted to be respected, you need to prove them.

“But you’re not happy” Yixing points out

Chanyeol scoffs at him, he didn’t mean to be rude but it’s just the idea of being happy that irks him. “Happiness isn’t important. I realized it when the only person left was Baekhyun. I didn’t need happiness, I just needed Baekhyun who supported me and told me that everything will get better” Chanyeol admits.

He would never admit it to Baekhyun but he’s very grateful of the older. Chanyeol honestly doesn’t know where he would be without Baekhyun who constantly kept him grounded. Kyungsoo’s a lucky man to have Baekhyun because the older loves without bounds. Chanyeol was just a sucker that he didn’t fall in love with Baekhyun.

“Did it get better?” Yixing asked quietly.

Chanyeol knows that the man was already walking with his eyes closed because it’s not the first time that Yixing tried to do so. One time he got home with a bruise forming on his cheek because he slammed into a pole that was by the gate.

“Not yet but it will” Chanyeol answered softly

He wasn’t confident but he believes in Baekhyun. Everything will get better, he doesn’t know when but it will. It has to, right?

“You’re an optimist” Yixing points out

Chanyeol chuckles and shakes his head. “I don’t want to be called an optimist because I know too well that deep inside me I am pessimistic. I just don’t want to trouble the people around me” he explains

Yixing leaned away from him, he turns towards Chanyeol and glares at him. “You’re a fake”

The words cut deep into Chanyeol even though Yixing said it softly, it was like Chanyeol was slapped and burned. “What?” he asked with an offended tone.

He pulled away from Yixing who had to take a second to balance himself.  He didn’t get mad at Chanyeol, instead, he looked at the latter as if he was consoling the younger.

“You’re faking it. You’re not happy yet you show Baekhyun~ah that you are happy and okay. Baekhyun isn’t blind, Chanyeol~ssi. He knows even though you’re quiet and always smiling. Just like with Kyungsoo, he knows everything about me even though I don’t tell him anything” he says softly, his eyes were full of understanding that Chanyeol didn’t know what to do but look away.

“I’m not faking it” he mutters

They’re already nearing the house when Yixing spoke again. “Then tell me. Do you feel alive?” he asks.

“I am alive” Chanyeol deadpans

Yixing sighs and Chanyeol couldn’t help but look at the older. Yixing had his head hung low, his eyes were staring on the ground that he was walking at.

“That’s not my question and you know what I’m pointing out. I feel the same thing, I am living but I don’t feel alive. It’s like a slump but I’ve been in it for years now and sometimes I feel like I’m never going to get out of it” he admits.

“What is the point of accepting the reality instead of hiding it and living without the knowledge of that feeling? It just makes everything harder, it makes you vulnerable” Chanyeol points out

Yixing looked at him and his gaze felt as if he was burning Chanyeol’s soul. “The point is that when you start to accept it, you also learn that you are at the bottom of a pit” he says quietly

“That doesn’t make it better” Chanyeol answers him.

“It does”

“How?” he dares Yixing to answer mostly because he doesn’t know what the point of this conversation is.

“Because you’re already at the bottom, Chanyeol~ssi. The only way is up so all you have to do is be persistent until you claw your way out of that hole” Yixing answers

“Are you…” Chanyeol trails off, his voice softens as he figures out that Yixing is talking about himself much like he’s talking about Chanyeol.

He smiles at Chanyeol a little and shakes his head. “I’m working on it. I’m not even halfway through but I’m doing better than before. It’s just a matter of time and persistence. You’re persistent, aren’t you?” he teases.

“Yes” Chanyeol answered firmly

Yixing’s small smile turned into a wide one, showing both his dimples and a warm gaze. “Then you’d get out of that pit faster than me and maybe by then you can help me out just how I helped you today” Yixing says lightly before giving Chanyeol a nod.

Chanyeol watched the older disappear to his room leaving him with his feelings all over the place. It’s like his mind went blank for a second then it returned with a lot of thoughts scattered. Chanyeol couldn’t sort it out, he really doesn’t know where to start.

--

When morning came, Chanyeol immediately went out of his room to get ready for breakfast but just as he stepped outside his room, he noticed that the house felt too quiet. He checked the time and it was already past 2 pm so he went back inside to take a quick shower and get ready. Yixing is probably outside, playing or maybe walking around since Chanyeol figured that the older didn’t just play all day. He loved to spend his time walking around to talk to the people before actually heading to the internet shop to play until dawn.

Chanyeol headed to the kitchen to check if Yixing was there but he found no one but  there was food on the table, a phone and a note placed underneath it.

He picked it up with a frown, seeing the familiar scribble of Yixing.

Until we meet again, Chanyeol~ssi.

Take this phone because you still have to beat my top score before you can call me hyung.

Keep on fighting, Chanyeol~ssi. It’ll work out for you, I’m sure of it!

It was really nice to meet you

-Zhang Yixing

For the second time that day, Chanyeol’s mind went blank. He knew that Yixing was bound to leave but he thought that the man still had a week just like him. Why would Yixing leave without waking him up? They already established a routine wherein they inform each other before leaving.

Right. A routine. Yixing never had a routine, the man was spontaneous at best but careful as he plans. It was only Chanyeol that made everything into a routine. How silly of him.

With a heavy heart, Chanyeol ate the meal that the older cooked for him, he cleaned the dishes, watered the plants and cleaned the whole house before packing his things. He kept Yixing’s phone and note inside his bag before locking the door and leaving the spare key back in its usual place.

By 6 pm, he had already driven out of town. Trying to grab a signal, the first person he called wasn’t Baekhyun but his new secretary, Minsok. Baekhyun had sent the details even before Chanyeol got to Busan a few days but Chanyeol didn’t feel like getting on it the moment it came.

The call connected after a few rings and a man’s voice echoed the speakers of his car.

“Mr. Park, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you until next week” the man on the other side said

Usually, Chanyeol would be pissed off by the tone of his secretary but this secretary sounded so calm, almost calmer than Kyungsoo and Sehun to be exact.

“Minseok~ssi, please do something for me. Send a person to the address that I’m going to message you. I need someone to tend the garden and bring gifts for the Doh’s. I left without telling them so please inform Kyungsoo about it too” Chanyeol says quietly.

“Right away, Mr. Park. Is there anything more?” Minseok answers back

Chanyeol glanced at the bag where Yixing’s phone was and for a second he wanted to run a background check and find out where Yixing lives. What the hell happened in that one week for him to feel this betrayed and hurt by the sudden disappearance of some random person.

“Nothing more. Thank you, Minseok~ssi” Chanyeol says quietly

“No worries, sir. Drive safely” Minseok answered before hanging up.

Chanyeol wasn’t even surprised when he found Baekhyun inside his penthouse when he got back. The older had a worried look on his face when he saw Chanyeol. “What happened to you?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to go home. It was getting boring” Chanyeol answers flatly

He doesn’t know what changed, he barely knew Yixing but it felt as if someone punched him when the latter didn’t even tell him that he was leaving already.

“Chan” Baekhyun calls out to get his attention

He noticed the worried look on his best friend’s face so he smiled widely at the latter. “Baek, I’m really tired from the drive. Can you tell Minseok that I’m not coming in tomorrow. I need a day to sort out my thoughts” he asks quietly

Baekhyun looked surprised but he nods anyways. He walks towards Chanyeol and gives him a warm hug. “You look like shit but it feels like something heavy was lifted from you” he points out

“I can’t find the compliment in there” Chanyeol mutters, making Baekhyun chuckle softly

“Take it one day at a time, Chan. No one’s rushing, okay?” he says, squeezing Chanyeol’s hand tightly.

“Sure” Chanyeol answers flatly

Baekhyun narrows his eyes at him but nods at him. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll drop by at the agency on Tuesday” he says lightly before waving Chanyeol goodbye

--

Chanyeol found out the next two days that Minseok was a small man, but he wouldn’t dare say that in front of Minseok because the said man might be just as tall as Kyungsoo but he’s also as scary as the latter. They can both glare sharply and hit you without thinking twice, even though he hasn’t been hit by either men.

“So…How was the vacation?” Kyungsoo asks lightly

It was weird to talk about their lives outside work. Kyungsoo never pried and Chanyeol actually just closed of himself to other people than Baekhyun.

“Why don’t I have anything to do?” Chanyeol asks when he finds his deck empty, not one folder sitting on top to be signed or checked.

“Because you’re not supposed to be doing a lot to be honest, it’s not your responsibility, Sir. You’re supposed to be watching over the progress of your talents not get swamped with paper works” Kyungsoo points out

“Then are you doing it?”

“Some of it but most of it are given to the respective departments. It’ll be handed to you to get checked, nothing more. You know what? It’s actually good that Baekhyun pushed you to take that vacation because I managed to put everyone in their places and tell them to do their jobs” Kyungsoo says with a soft smile gracing his face

“Should I be scared?” Chanyeol asks

Kyungsoo shook his head and chuckled softly at him. “They already think too highly of you and they don’t want to touch you because they’re afraid to be fired. They were pulling on ranks and I had to intervene, you don’t mind, do you?”

“Not at all”

“Good, because I told them that if someone passes another unfinished document to you, they will be thrown out of the agency faster than they can blink” Kyungsoo says lightly

“Kyungsoo~ssi” Chanyeol calls out

“Kyungsoo, just Kyungsoo” the other corrected

“Uhm. Your friend..the one who stayed there” Chanyeol starts and he doesn’t know what to ask Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo closed the door behind him and sat on the couch at the sitting area. “Yixing? Oh, did you get to hang out? He’s really quiet, he’d rather talk to his computer than talk a lot. He talks a lot though once he’s comfortable, it’s actually scary” he says lightly

He sounded fond of the man which confused Chanyeol because he’s sure that Yixing told him that Kyungsoo was the one who threw Yixing back to China.

“We did talk, he prepared meals since I can’t cook to live” Chanyeol says lightly, sitting across Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo bit his lower lip and nodded. “Well that’s a new thing. He hasn’t cooked for me, ever. Yixing’s back in America already. He didn’t even say good bye to me when he left” he frowned

Somehow, Chanyeol saw what Baekhyun saw in Kyungsoo. His best friend has been in a relationship with Kyungsoo for a long time and now Chanyeol sees why Baekhyun and Kyungsoo fits like a puzzle. They were the same as much as they’re different.

“America?” Chanyeol asks

Kyungsoo nods and checks his watch before looking “Ah, he has been staying there since he damaged his back, his therapist lives there and he vlogs too, you know those youtubers that plays games and vlogs about their days? He’s like that. Even though he’s somehow an introvert, he still lets people see a fraction of his daily life” he explains.

“Oh. He said he was a trainee before” Chanyeol points out without asking because he doesn’t want Kyungsoo to think that he’s trying to get some information out of him.

“Ah yes, that’s actually how I met Baekhyun. Yixing and I go way back, he was studying at the school that I was studying at and he was really bad at Korean, I had to help him out plus he’s quiet like me so we hung out a lot. I saw Baekhyun hanging out with Yixing before and then poof, we happened and then I met you when I got here” Kyungsoo tells him

It was like they were reminiscing something that Chanyeol barely remembers. He briefly remembers how he met Kyungsoo here in the company. He was that of a mess when he started to work from the bottom until he reached the top.

“Small world” Chanyeol mutters

Kyungsoo hummed in response. “Yep. Baekhyun didn’t want me to meet you before even though I already knew about you” he says lightly

“Why?” he asks in confusion

“He told me ‘I want you to meet Chan when he feels better because he’s the greatest person ever, he’s still having a tough time so I won’t introduce you to him until he’s okay’ at first I thought it was silly but when I got here and met you, it was so different when Baekhyun finally introduced me to you as his boyfriend. He was right all along and I was glad I listened to him” Kyungsoo says with a small smile.

His smiles are always comforting and warm like Baekhyun’s. Chanyeol can’t believe that Baekhyun was the only reason why they didn’t meet. He knew that Baekhyun had a long time boyfriend but his best friend never bothered him to meet Kyungsoo. It was only until Chanyeol finally settled in the company that Baekhyun introduced Kyungsoo again.

Baekhyun arrived a little later with his other boyfriend walking behind him. Sehun is a beautiful specimen and Chanyeol has admitted it to Baekhyun a few times because whenever he sees Sehun he just wants to stare at the younger. The world knows about Baekhyun and Sehun’s relationship but they don’t know about Kyungsoo’s relationship with the two men. As far as everyone knows, the two men are just in a close platonic relationship with Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo doesn’t bother correcting it since he’s the COO of a big company and he doesn’t want to do anything that may damage his name or the company’s name.

“Sehun” Chanyeol greets when the younger closed the door behind him

“Hey, hyung. How was Yixing hyung?” Sehun asks straight out

Sehun is a quiet man but he can be as playful as Baekhyun and even Kyungsoo can be playful too. Chanyeol has seen these three men attack each other with food and it still surprises him until now.

“You know Yixing too?” Chanyeol frowns that everyone knew the man except for him

“Of course, he’s Kyungsoo hyung’s best friend. I also see him whenever I’m in China, appearing at fashion events” Sehun explains lightly

“So how was the vacation?” Baekhyun asks, pulling Sehun to sit in the middle of Kyungsoo and him.

“Boring” Chanyeol answers flatly

“What did you do?” Baekhyun asks while Sehun pressed a soft kiss on Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

It was fleeting but it felt so intimate that Chanyeol’s ears burned as he witnessed the small show of affection. He turned his eyes back on Baekhyun who was smirking at him.

“Nothing. I literally did nothing but sleep, wake up, eat and water the plants” he answered Baekhyun

The latter gaped at him and smacks Sehun’s thigh lightly, making the younger jolt at his seat and glare at his boyfriend. “You’re freaking boring” Baekhyun frowns at Chanyeol.

“I watched a few movies with Yixing~ssi and played a game with him before he left” he answered to make his best friend feel better.

Baekhyun’s eyes widened and Chanyeol already knew that Baekhyun would be so loud so he inched back on his seat as his best friend was already leaning forward.

“You? Playing a game? Park Chanyeol, I’ve never seen you play a computer game since years ago. Do you want to battle it out?” he asked in excitement.

Chanyeol swears he can see Baekhyun’s eyes sparkling and his smile was growing wider every second.

“Aren’t you supposed to be busy for fashion week?” he asked the older.

Baekhyun waved him off and rolled his eyes. “Nonsense! I have time to play a game with you! What did you play with Yixing hyung?” he asked

“LOL” he answers

“Let me join!” Sehun beams at them.

“Ah, kids” Kyungsoo says quietly, and just by that the two excited men backed down, leaning back on the couch, pouting at Kyungsoo.

Baekhyun frowns deeper, his lips were forming into a pout. “What, Soo? At least Chan’s not as boring as before! Let us play a game, I’m leaving for China in a few days and I’ll be taking our model with me so can Chanyeol sleep over at our place?” he says sweetly and he even batted his eyelashes at Kyungsoo

“Why are you even deciding this for him, Baekhyunnie?” Kyungsoo asks him back.

“Fine” Baekhyun pouts and looks away from his boyfriend

Chanyeol hates it when Baekhyun sulks, not only because he whines a lot but because there are times that he stays quiet, too quiet that it makes Chanyeol uncomfortable.

“Why don’t you guys sleep over at my place?” Chanyeol asks, grabbing the attention of the three men.

“Can I bring Vivi?” Sehun asks with hopeful eyes.

“Who is Vivi?” Chanyeol asks in confusion

“My dog” Sehun says lightly, pulling out his phone and showing his lock screen to Chanyeol.

There was a Bichon Frise that is as white as snow, lying on Sehun’s lap. It was so cute that Chanyeol wanted to squeal. “You have dog?” he asked, clearing his throat

“We have four, actually” Sehun answers lightly, swiping his screen. There are four dogs, two toy poodles, one Bichon Frise and one Welsh corgi. He has seen the corgi before, since he’s sure that the dog was Baekhyun’s.

“But mongryong, meokmul and huchu will be staying with Kyungsoo since he’s staying at home” Baekhyun says lightly as if he was teasing the younger.

“You can sleepover too, Kyungsoo” Chanyeol offers.

Kyungsoo shakes his head at him with a small smile. “No thank you. They’re so loud when they play a game so please by all means, take them for a night or two” Kyungsoo deadpans

Chanyeol would’ve taken it seriously if not for the fact that Sehun and Baekhyun burst out laughing and tackled Kyungsoo on the couch. “Thank you, Soo! We’ll make it up to you when we get home!”

“No playing during weekdays, let Chanyeol live please!” Kyungsoo warns them

“We’ll be there Friday night! We’ll stay until Sunday morning!” Baekhyun beams at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol didn’t have the heart to reject his best friend since it has been a long time since they hung out together. Chanyeol always excused himself from gatherings or even meeting up with their friends since he’s always busy so it’s really a new thing to get to work without having to do anything but talk to Baekhyun and his boyfriends.

--

Chanyeol knew that he overdid it when Baekhyun and Sehun arrived that Friday night. He ordered pizza, chicken, dumplings and bought beer but aside from that, he set up three gaming laptops at the dining table, changing the chairs into three comfortable ones, he even bought gaming keyboards and mouse.

“We br—“

“Chan, you didn’t have to do this but thank you for preparing it” Baekhyun cuts off Sehun

Baekhyun knows that Chanyeol probably spent too much because it was the first time Sehun came over to Chanyeol’s penthouse and they haven’t really actually played together. Baekhyun and Sehun brought their laptops but Chanyeol didn’t have to know that.

Sehun seemed to get Baekhyun so instead of taking out his laptop, he placed Vivi down and let the pup run towards Chanyeol who immediately got to his knees to welcome the dog.

“He’s so cute!”

Sehun handed his backpack to Baekhyun who was already moving their laptops at the bottom of the bag. “Is he really this playful?” Sehun asks, pointing at Chanyeol

When Baekhyun turned, he saw Chanyeol already lying on his back, letting Vivi jump on his chest to lick his face. Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile, seeing how comfortable Chanyeol is. “Yes, he was worse than that before. He used to prank me every time when we were young” Baekhyun answers lightly

“Baek, Baek look at Vivi! He’s omg!” Chanyeol squealed before bursting into laughter.

Baekhyun shook his head and chuckled at his best friend before he patted Sehun’s back lightly. “Go play with him. I’ll put our bags inside the bedroom”

“I already prepared the guest room! You know where, right?” Chanyeol called out since he was being pinned by both Sehun and Vivi.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes at the question and leaves the room without answering the man. He’s been here multiple times that he knows the floor plan like the back of his hand.

The penthouse is beautiful, it’s spacious and elegant but it’s too huge for Chanyeol. He’s offered Chanyeol to get a pet a million times but the latter didn’t want to care for a pet since he’s too busy.

When he got to the living room, he sees Chanyeol and Sehun already at the dining table, booting up the laptops while Vivi was sitting on Chanyeol’s lap.

“Chan, you’re allergy might act up, be careful” Baekhyun calls out.

“Are you allergic to dogs?” Sehun asks with a concerned look and he was ready to grab Vivi but Chanyeol shielded the dog with his large arm.

“No. I’m fine. It’s usually cats but sometimes I get allergic reactions. I took medicine before you came. Let me play with Vivi for a while” Chanyeol says softly

Sehun looked at Baekhyun with worry but the older just smiled at him and nodded. “Just make sure you take a shower later before going to bed, okay?” Baekhyun reminds him

Chanyeol chuckles softly and nods. “Yes, mom”

Sehun was drained after a few rounds with Chanyeol and Baekhyun, it surprised Baekhyun on how good Chanyeol was getting every round. They only lost twice and won the rest. They’ve finished the food that Chanyeol ordered and Sehun was already asleep on the couch with Vivi curled up by his foot.

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun asks because Chanyeol was furiously tapping on his phone.

Chanyeol looked up and turned the phone to him. He saw the game app for that the agency made, it was familiar because Baekhyun tried to beat the game, failing horribly at it. “You’re playing your own game?”

“I didn’t make it and it’s damn hard especially your songs” Chanyeol points out

It was nearing 2 am already and it was already quiet except for Sehun’s soft breathing and the soft music playing from Chanyeol’s phone.

“Baek” Chanyeol calls out quietly.

Chanyeol was still sitting by the dining table while Baekhyun was sitting at the couch adjacent to Sehun. He stood up and pressed a kiss to Sehun’s forehead before going to Chanyeol and he sat next to the man. He opened the last two cans of beer before handing one to Chanyeol.

“What is it?”

“Yixing~ssi was a trainee at Park Entertainment” Chanyeol said.

Surprise is not the right term for what Baekhyun is feeling, his best friend never showed interest to anyone except work and now he’s talking about someone, a person, Baekhyun’s friend, Kyungsoo’s best friend, Yixing.

“Yes he was” Baekhyun says lightly.

He knows that if he sounded excited, Chanyeol would immediately back off and stay quiet so he waited patiently for the other to speak again.

Chanyeol still played the game leisurely but he said something again after another round. “Yixing~ssi said that he was kicked out by Kyungsoo. I didn’t want to ask Kyungsoo but they’re best friends right? I wouldn’t kick you over a fight if that was you” Chanyeol said quietly

Baekhyun frowned and tried to remember what Chanyeol was talking about. Kyungsoo didn’t kick Yixing out of the company because of that. “Ah. Yixing hyung got into a fight but that’s not why he left the agency” he says quietly

“Then why?” Chanyeol asked

Baekhyun took a sip of his beer before turning to Chanyeol who was already looking at him.

“It’s not my story to tell but I think he was about to debut that time when he suffered a back injury. He was forced to take three months of bed rest because he really pushed himself hard, he practiced every day until 2 am and he just didn’t stop working on the routine until he got injured. Kyungsoo asked him to rest but Yixing hyung told him that he will debut after three months, with the group and he’ll work hard. Kyungsoo didn’t doubt that but three months weren’t enough for Yixing’s recuperation period. Kyungsoo was willing to push back the debut date again but Yixing fought with him, saying that he can’t let his members wait for him anymore” Baekhyun explains quietly.

He doesn’t know every detail but that’s what Kyungsoo told him.

“What did Kyungsoo do?” Chanyeol asked quietly

Baekhyun bit his lower lip and pouted at Chanyeol. “He removed Yixing from the group. He saw how determined Yixing was but he can’t let his best friend suffer a greater injury because of his determination. He had to step in and pull Yixing out of the group. All the members wanted him to stay, they were willing to wait on Yixing but Yixing said no anyway, he quit right then and left the country” he says quietly

They were both silent after that, Chanyeol took another swig of his beer before setting it down “Damn” he muttered

“I know. He used to ignore Kyungsoo because of that but after three months, he reached out to me to talk to Kyungsoo. He apologized for how he acted and he said he knows that Kyungsoo had to do it for his good. I don’t know how he got into playing games but I’m glad he’s recovering well” Baekhyun said quietly

“Does his back still hurt?” Chanyeol asks

“Sometimes but he has been always a performer, you know. He can’t leave the stage even if he wanted to, it’s just that he never really went back to dancing and singing after he left” Baekhyun answers softly

“But does he like playing games for a living?” Chanyeol asks

Now Baekhyun can’t help but be even more surprised. It’s already a big thing that Chanyeol was interested in Yixing but now he’s interested in knowing about the latter’s likes and dislikes.

“I guess so. I’ve watched some of his videos and he’s really good. I mean, one time he went to this tournament, representing China and they won. It was amazing, I watched it live with Sehunnie of course because you declined my invitation” Baekhyun points out lightly

“He asked me if I felt alive” Chanyeol said quietly

Baekhyun didn’t want to ask so he hummed in response, not knowing whether to wait for Chanyeol to continue or just leave it at that.

“It made me think and it made me angry because when I woke up that same day, he was gone. I felt cheated on. It’s like he cut me deep and then left me to handle it on my own. I didn’t understand it Baek but his words cut me so deep and everything just felt real, everything came crashing and now I don’t know how to handle all of it” Chanyeol continued.

“What do you mean?” Baekhyun asked quietly, finishing his beer before crushing the can.

Chanyeol sighed and shook his head. Baekhyun watched as his best friend clenched and unclenched his hand around the beer can.

“I feel angry. I don’t want to work all day, signing paper works. I feel sad because I realized how much time I lost, how many gatherings I rejected and how many drunken times we could’ve spent together. I felt empty after I realized his words and I hated him because of that but he was right about one thing” Chanyeol says quietly

“About what?” Baekhyun pushes lightly, afraid that Chanyeol would clam up any time if he pushed harder.

“That I am persistent, that I would do my best to change what’s happening to me. I used to be happy and I always laugh and damn it I used to love animals. Having you and Sehun with me tonight, made me see how much I’m missing out on. We used to have fun, we used to mess around but I threw it all away. I depended on you too much, I’m sorry for being a burden” Chanyeol says quietly, lowering his head

Baekhyun hurriedly reached out for Chanyeol’s hand and squeezed the taller’s hand. “Chan. Don’t think that way” he says lightly

“Why are you still with me?” Chanyeol chuckles bitterly.

Baekhyun snorts at him and pushes his arm lightly. “Silly. You’d fall apart without me. I got you, Chan. You know that all too well. I’m quite sad that it took you a long time to realize this but I’m glad that you told me and you finally opened up” he says softly.

“I hate you and your songs in this game” Chanyeol pouts and pushes the phone towards him

Baekhyun was in awe that his best friend was playing his song, it’s actually cute and he knows that Chanyeol wouldn’t stop playing the game until he beats it unlike Baekhyun who already gave up on that game.

“Oh please, you know you love me. How about I help you turn your life around after fashion week?” Baekhyun offers with a wide sheepish grin.

“Please” Chanyeol answers softly

Baekhyun smiles widely, noting that he should thank Yixing hyung later and tell Kyungsoo that he’s going to be spending more time with Chanyeol after fashion week.

--

Baekhyun didn’t even have to finish fashion week for Chanyeol’s change when he received a call from his boyfriend in the middle of a fashion show. He knows that Kyungsoo knows that he shouldn’t be disturbed in a middle of a runway show unless it’s an emergency so he took his phone from his secretary while fixing Sehun’s collar.

“Soo, what’s up?”

“Baek, you won’t believe this. I’m sending a picture. Bye” Kyungsoo said hurriedly before hanging up

Baekhyun glared at his phone and even Sehun was so confused. “What happened?” he asks Baekhyun

The older just shrugged waiting for Kyungsoo’s message when suddenly his phone pinged. He immediately opened the message and he squealed or screamed, he didn’t care but he’s pinching Sehun’s arm as they both look at the picture.

It was Chanyeol’s picture, it’s a promotional picture of Chanyeol, dressed in a velvet suit and his hair was dyed ash gray, it was almost close to silver but the thing that made Baekhyun squeal was the fact that Chanyeol’s picture was taken at a recording studio.

“Holy shit, Producer Park!” Sehun muttered as he read the description below the poster.

“You’re up!” Baekhyun says, pushing his pouting boyfriend away before he typed a quick message to Kyungsoo, informing his boyfriend to prepare a party for Chanyeol.

Park Entertainment never joined an reality boy group survival show, mainly because he wants his talents solely handles by Park Entertainment but now, Park Entertainment just released a statement that they are the ones handling their own reality show, accepting trainees from Korea and China to form one group of nine, 1 soloist and a duo that will be signed under Park Entertainment.

Baekhyun couldn’t help but beam at his phone stupidly. He has to make a celebration out of this now that Chanyeol is stepping out of his desk to be more active.

Ah, it was such a change for Chanyeol and Baekhyun is so happy. He already heard from Kyungsoo that the Chanyeol began going to work shortly after 8 instead of being there at 6 am sharp.

~ 

Chanyeol was scanning the documents about the new reality show when Baekhyun appeared at his office. “Park Chanyeol! I have a gift!” he beamed

Chanyeol looked up and cocked an eyebrow at his best friend, knowing that the latter’s gift would probably cause trouble than joy. It’s already been hard to keep up with the change that has been happening around him, mostly because his routine broke down shortly after he met Yixing. His sleeping pattern was the first one to go, next one was the fast food meals because he thought himself how to cook after a while.

“What is it, Baek?”

“Hunnie! Come on!” Baekhyun half-yelled

Chanyeol stood up because his best friend was already running towards him to give him a hug. “I’m so happy, Chan! I am so happy!” he says brightly before hugging Chanyeol too tightly.

Baekhyun leaned far away only to give Sehun some space because the younger was carrying a toy poodle, placing the small pup on Chanyeol’s arm. The dog was drowning in Chanyeol’s big arms. “He’s our gift, to you!” Baekhyun grinned brightly

Chanyeol was too speechless, the dog was whimpering, begging to be petted while Chanyeol was staring because of the man standing just right outside the door. “Yixing”

Baekhyun pouts at him completely feigning hurt because of Chanyeol's nonchalance. “You can call him Yixing if you want” Baekhyun offers in confusion

“No, there’s Yixing~ssi behind you” Chanyeol points out before he pets the dog.

Baekhyun and Sehun turned to look at Yixing who gave them a small smile. “Hyung!” Sehun called out

“Oh, I’m here for Kyungsoo?” Yixing says lightly, shyly brushing his nape with his hand.

“Of course, he’s in the next room” Chanyeol said quietly, feeling a bit disappointed that the man wasn’t looking for him.

Sehun offered to take Yixing to Kyungsoo while Baekhyun stood next to Chanyeol with a worried look. “Do you actually like Yixing hyung?” he asked bluntly

Chanyeol’s head whipped towards Baekhyun faster than a bullet train. “What!” he whisper-yelled

Baekhyun choked back his laughter and closed the door before he eyes Chanyeol full of mischievousness. “You like him! Give me your phone” Baekhyun demanded, holding his palm open.

Chanyeol couldn’t move because of the adorable black puppy that was in his arms, he panicked for a second thinking about where he placed his phone but suddenly Baekhyun was running towards his desk, holding his phone.

“OMG PARK CHANYEOL YOU WATCHED EVERY SINGLE VIDEO?! HOLY CRAP. YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON YIXING HYUNG!” he yelled too loud that Chanyeol couldn’t do anything but hide his face on the poodle’s fur.

“Shut up, Baek”

“OMG. OMG. OMG. Date him! Now! Now!!” Baekhyun yelled and before Chanyeol could stop his best friend, Baekhyun was already running out of the office.

Chanyeol’s eyes widened and he placed down his new dog before running after Baekhyun who was already almost in front of Kyungsoo’s office.

“Hyung! Chanyeol wants a date!” he yelled before he even stepped foot inside Kyungsoo’s office

When Chanyeol reached his best friend, he grabbed the smaller’s nape to stop him but the three men inside the office were already looking at him. Chanyeol could feel the dog circling around his feet and running towards the men in the room.

Yixing bent down to coo at the dog and pick it up. “So, a date?” Yixing smirks at him and Chanyeol wants to die right then.

He already knew that he was crushing on the older shortly after Baekhyun and Sehun left for China. It took him too long to accept it and he even turned to Kyungsoo to seek for advice. It was a mess, trying to figure out his emotions and feelings since he never actually had to handle it before but now was different.

Even though it was only a month after he last saw Yixing, he couldn’t believe on how the man just grew more handsome. He still had the boyish charm, especially now that he’s wearing a sweater and a pair of ripped jeans.

The room was quiet and Chanyeol could still feel the gaze of Yixing. “Aww, look at his ears. Chan, you’re so cute” Baekhyun coos before he was reminded that Chanyeol was still holding his neck.

Chanyeol removed his grip before he looked up and saw Yixing smiling at him. “I came here to ask Kyungsoo if asking you out on a date would be okay”

“Why would you ask him that?” Chanyeol asks in confusion

“He’s working for you and I’ll date you. I don’t want complications” Yixing says lightly

“I beat the game, hyung. You can now take me out on a date” Chanyeol beamed, handing over Yixing’s phone back to its owner.

“I also placed my number there in case you want to call me after the date” he adds with a bright smirk

Sehun cooed out loud and pinched Baekhyun who shouted “Oho! Park Chanyeol making moves on our hyung”

--

The lunch date was more than awkward, mainly because Chanyeol was fidgeting too much and well, Yixing was making him flushed because of his gaze. Chanyeol tried to tell Yixing a few things that happened in the month that they spent apart and the older just listened and smiled at Chanyeol.

“Uhm, can we have another date? I feel like I messed up this date with all the talking and stuttering and I’m really shy because you make me feel shy”

“Ah no. It’s the perfect first date. I’m just so happy, Chanyeol~ah. You sound really happy now” Yixing says softly as they were walking back to the office.

Chanyeol nods at him and he really feels like a teenager right now with all the butterflies fluttering inside him.

“I am! Can uhm..do you want to play with me at home?” Chanyeol asks and his eyes widened after he realized how his words sounded so suggestive. His eyes widened and he turned to Yixing who was already grinning brightly at him. “OMG! I meant, gaming! I have a set-up!” Chanyeol said in panic

Yixing nodded, linking his hand with Chanyeol. “You’re babbling. I understood you the first time and sure, I would love to play with you” Yixing says softly but then he smirked at Chanyeol

The double meaning of his words didn’t go unnoticed and it just melted Chanyeol’s insides. “I’ll pick you up later, okay? I have to drop by and meet up with a few friends but I’ll pick you up after work” Yixing says softly

Chanyeol nods in agreement, not trusting himself to talk since he feels like he will vomit all the cheesy words that he can say. Yixing smiles at him brightly, showing the younger his deep dimples. “Have a good day at work, Channie” he says softly before tugging the younger’s hand, pulling him a bit forward before he placed a soft kiss on Chanyeol’s cheek.

Chanyeol is positive that not only his ears were burning red but also his face. Yixing really knows which buttons to push, he made a nickname for him and now he kissed him goodbye after walking him back to work. He can’t help but not fall into the other’s arms, he just hopes that Yixing is waiting to catch him.

Baekhyun was grinning brightly at Chanyeol when the latter returned to his office. “I saw that” he teased before handing the dog to Chanyeol.

“I didn’t do anything” Chanyeol mutters and hides his face from Baekhyun.

“I know but I saw Yixing hyung kiss your cheek” Baekhyun teases before he hops out of the younger’s office.

---

Chanyeol has this habit of staring too much and right now instead of playing, he’s actually staring at Yixing’s form. The older was focused on playing, and Chanyeol was staring on how the older’s fingers skillfully taps the mouse and keyboard. Yixing tends to bite his lower lip every time he gets in a tough spot and a smile blooms on his face once he gets out of it. It’s actually amazing that Chanyeol is seeing this live.

He has watched every video and walk through that Yixing uploaded and he always blushed after watching them. “You’re staring, Yeol~ah” Yixing says softly

Another nickname that made Chanyeol’s eyes widened. “I’m not staring! I’m just admiring you! You really look good!” Chanyeol reasons out making Yixing’s dimples dig deeper on his cheeks.

“Beat me in a game and I’ll tell you something” Yixing offers.

Chanyeol pouts and shakes his head at once, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to win against Yixing. “No. That’s unfair I can’t beat you!” he whines

Yixing glances at him with a smirk and he winks at him. “Well you have to try your best then. Isn’t that what you’re good at, Mr. CEO?” Yixing teases.

Chanyeol knows that Yixing was only baiting him but he actually never backs down from a challenge. “Fine, you better tell me a lot” Chanyeol said, clicking on the game again.

Baekhyun and Sehun have tried to play with him even though the two guys were abroad. He knows he’s doing well but he’s not good enough to beat Yixing. He won’t go down without trying, though.

“Toben, down” Chanyeol called out

Yixing suddenly turned and looked at him in confusion. “Who is Toben?” he asks

“I named our dog after Beethoven” Chanyeol grins as he types in his username and password.

Yixing heard the slip and he just smiled at the younger. “That’s cute. Hurry up, Yeollie. Toben can sit on my lap while we play” Yixing says lightly, picking up the black puppy and setting it down on his lap.

Chanyeol is more than jealous that the Toben is sitting comfortable on Yixing’s lap. The older even changed positions to make the dog comfortable in between his legs. OMG. STOP. CHANYEOL.

“Ready, baby?” Yixing asks as he starts the game

Chanyeol turns to him and smirks back. “I’ve been ready to beat you since you left, hyung” he says confidently

--

Yixing couldn’t help but snicker because Chanyeol was losing horribly. The man was concentrating but he’s also stealing glances at Yixing. It’s amazing on how Chanyeol mastered the techniques that Yixing taught the younger before. He didn’t expect that the man would learn hard to beat him and the game.

It took him quite a while before he finally decided to come back to Korea. He wasn’t even planning to cross paths with Chanyeol again, knowing that he crossed some lines while trying to prove his point before he left.

It was just that Chanyeol really proved him right that he was able to come out of anything once he pursued it. When Yixing saw the e-mail from Park Entertainment’s subsidiary about the reality show, he thought they were joking. He was already 28 and he’s pretty sure he can’t start as an idol now but then another opportunity came and it was solely because of his skills, his gaming skills and vlogging, he immediately took the chance to be under the company.

Nothing came easy but almost everything can be achieved when you work hard on it, that’s what Park Chanyeol proved him.

He did ask Kyungsoo a lot about Chanyeol, he didn’t know who the younger was so he had to ask Kyungsoo. He was not surprised that Chanyeol was a CEO because the man looked like he can manage the whole world just by his stance and words.

Yixing knew how much of a private person Chanyeol was so he was surprised when the promotional video and posters came out. It looked like that Chanyeol is going to participate on the show as the Producer and Nation’s Representative. He’ll watch the trainees closely and help them out.

That was the reason why Yixing came back, he couldn’t stop thinking about the younger man and he knew it was only him that’s trying to keep them away from each other. He falls too easily, he fell in love with music faster than he can blink, he fell in love with how the world keeps on turning even though people just want it to stop and he fell in love with Park Chanyeol, the moment he literally fell into the younger’s arms.

He doesn’t do anything but play games so he’s quite scared if he’ll ever be enough for the younger but seeing the determination in Chanyeol’s eyes as he’s playing right now makes him think that everything will work out.

“Hyung~!” Chanyeol whines

Before he could even wonder what the latter was doing, his head already turned to look at Chanyeol who smirked at him and started clicking the mouse and keyboard fast. Yixing knew he was going to lose, he could save himself but he chose not to.

He had never watched anyone intently play a game before but he already saw Chanyeol play the first time with his phone, the second time when he thought him the ropes of the game, and now when he’s determined to make Yixing fall on his knees.

“I like you” Yixing says firmly

The sound of victory and defeat echoed both their speakers and Toben whined softly. Chanyeol’s head whipped so fast to turn to Yixing and the older couldn’t do anything but smile at the younger fondly.

“I thought I was the one who changed you but you were the one who changed me. I used to live my life as it is, I gave up on my dream and I stopped working hard to reach something. It came easy to me, gaming, vlogging and losing myself but then you and your stubborn beliefs” Yixing says softly while caressing the back of Toben’s ear.

He sees Chanyeol staring at him with wide eyes and he looked so adorable. “You found me, you grabbed onto me and you made sure I come out from where I was hiding. Everything was gray and now it’s suddenly colorful that it blinds me” Yixing adds, he sounded a little worried but that was what snapped Chanyeol out of his trance.

“I’m scared” the taller blurts out.

Yixing reached out for Chanyeol’s hand and the younger met him halfway, closing his large hand over his. “Me too” he admits.

Chanyeol smiles at him widely, showing that deep dimple that Yixing wanted to poke since the first day. “Then let’s be scared together. I’m persistent and you are wonderful. You have a talent for everything, right?” Chanyeol points out lightly

“And you work hard to get everything” Yixing answers back

The taller’s eyes were already shining brightly, he’s very hopeful of everything and Yixing just wanted to bask in Chanyeol’s brightness and warmth. “We’ll be a great couple” Chanyeol said confidently

It wasn’t a question, he stated it, declared it firmly and he’s trying to make Yixing understand how dedicated he is.

“Are you trying to make me optimistic?” Yixing asked lightly, a smirk was forming on his lips as Chanyeol squeezed his hand tighter.

“Is it working?” he asks back sheepishly

Yixing chuckles softly and rolls his eyes. “Only if you kiss me”

Chanyeol pulled him close, making Toben jump out of Yixing’s lap and their faces were so close that Yixing could already feel the warm minty breath ghosting over his lips. Chanyeol leaned in closer, with one hand cupping the older’s cheek and the other one still entwined with Yixing’s hand.

“GG”

~~