Baekhyun tapped nervously on the closed menu of the restaurant and sipped his glass of water. His boyfriend was already forty minutes late, breaking his own record and making Baekhyun even more embarrassed than usual. He had tried to call him and had left him several voice messages, but still no answer.  Baekhyun was used to wait for him for at least fifteen minutes, and even once he had to wait twenty five minutes before his boyfriend hurriedly appeared at the restaurant, apologizing profusely and kissing him.

 

                But this time it was too much. The waitress had started to look at Baekhyun with pity about fifteen minutes ago, and now the whole restaurant was feeling sorry for him, they even had started whispering. He looked at his watch. Forty five minutes was too much, and a hurt Baekhyun figured out what not showing up or even calling your boyfriend at your one year anniversary dinner meant. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he was about to call the waitress to inform her that he was leaving, when the door of the restaurant opened and a man entered.

 

                To say the guy was breathless was an understatement, he looked like he just had run a marathon that ended at the very door of the place. He looked around, apparently looking for someone and when his eyes met Baekhyun’s, he fixed his gaze on him. Baekhyun shivered under the intensity of the stare, but he was dumbfounded when the guy suddenly smiled at him with the biggest and brightest smile he had ever seen and waved, closing the distance between them and sitting down on the opposite chair after pecking his cheek, which shocked Baekhyun until no end.

 

                ‘Sorry, I’m late, babe. Traffic’s a ,’ the man apologized with a smooth and deep voice.

                Baekhyun blinked, trying to get out of his shock. ‘N-no need to apologize,’ he responded, which made the other to widen even more his smile.

 

                Baekhyun blushed, and hurriedly hid his face behind the menu. Who the hell was this guy and how did he know Baekhyun had been dumped? He peeked over his menu to observe the other guy. He was tall, way taller than Baekhyun (he knew that even though he had been seated the whole time) and he was handsome, his baby-faced features contrasting with that deep, velvety voice and funny shaped ears that Baekhyun couldn’t avoid finding cute.

 

                The guy must have felt his eyes on him, for he looked up and caught Baekhyun spying on him. Baekhyun hid again behind the menu, cursing under his breath, but he did manage to see the other guy smirking at him. Well, since he was already there, his boyfriend at this point wouldn’t show up and this handsome man had somehow silently volunteered to act as his date, he could as well go along with it. He didn’t want to be alone and he could always leave if the guy turned out to be a creep.

 

                ‘Do you already know what you want to eat?’ the guy asked, snapping him back to reality.

                ‘Ehm,’ Baekhyun scanned the page rapidly, searching for a dish that seemed appetizing.

                ‘Don’t push yourself, you waited for me long enough so I can wait for you to pick what you want to eat,’ he addressed him calmly while flashing him a charming smile.

 

                Baekhyun blushed and nodded, looking at his menu intently this time. There was a dish he had always wanted to try, but his boyfriend always said it was too pricey and since he was the one paying, he didn’t want to pay more than needed. Baekhyun had often argued that he was a working man and perfectly able to pay for himself, but his boyfriend had never let him and, in the end, he had never tried it. And today he wanted to try it as revenge.

 

                ‘I want the pasta with bacon and truffles,’ he claimed, looking at the other man to evaluate his reaction.

                ‘Nice choice!’ he raised his eyebrows, apparently impressed with Baekhyun’s taste. ‘I think I will go with the classic lasagne.’

 

                The other guy called the waitress and ordered their food, as well as some water for himself (‘I can’t possibly drink alcohol if I have to drive home’) and started chatting about his day as if Baekhyun knew who were the people he was mentioning or what he did for a living. He was only half listening to what the guy was saying, because he was admiring him. He was absolutely charming. He filled Baekhyun’s glass of water when he noticed it was getting empty, he was well mannered and he also had something in the way he talked that made Baekhyun somehow attracted to it. He wanted to stop his monologue and ask him questions, but the moment he opened his mouth he realized he didn’t know the guy’s name.

 

                ‘But, you know,’ the guy looked at the troubled Baekhyun, ‘Yoora was really annoying today, with her “Park Chanyeol, you ungrateful brother” and stuff just because I said I couldn’t drive her to the shopping mall today…’

                ‘That’s so… like her,’ Baekhyun ventured, both happy and confused. How could the guy know what he was thinking? Now he not only knew his name but also that he had a sister named Yoora.

                ‘I know, right?’ he huffed and pouted, and Baekhyun found it adorable. ‘But anyway, I told her I already had an appointment with you and I couldn’t do it,’ Baekhyun blushed for the nth time and cursed himself to hell for reacting like a silly schoolgirl just because some handsome stranger was complimenting him. Sort of.

                Baekhyun tried his best in telling the other one his name as well. ‘I’m sure Yoora didn’t find it funny that you put the Byun Baekhyun over her,’ smooth, Baekhyun, really smooth, he thought. But the other guy smiled brightly at him.

                ‘You bet she didn’t.’

 

                Baekhyun smiled, amused. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest way of telling him his name, but that Park Chanyeol seemed not to be bothered by it, in fact, he looked like he was having fun himself. They kept on talking during all dinner until they finished the desserts, and Baekhyun discovered that he was actually having fun when he found himself laughing way too loud for a restaurant that elegant. Never had he laughed as much on a date, not even with his boyfriend. The sudden thought about his boyfriend brought him back to reality and his laughter quickly died on his lips. Park Chanyeol seemed to notice it, and asked the waitress for the bill, paying for it as soon as it arrived.

 

                ‘Wait!’ Baekhyun exclaimed. The waitress stopped dead on her tracks, but Chanyeol motioned her to keep going and complete the payment.

                ‘What happens, Baekhyun?’

                ‘You… you didn’t have to pay…’ he shyly said.

                ‘I know, but I wanted to treat you.’

                ‘But my dish was extremely expensive,’ Baekhyun tried to reason.

                ‘It was what you wanted to eat, and I will gladly pay its price,’ the other man smiled.

 

                That smile sent Baekhyun off the game. This stranger didn’t hesitate for a moment to pay for his food, even though it was expensive while his boyfriend… Baekhyun shook his head. He would have time to think about that jerk later, but now he was having a good time and didn’t want it to go to waste.

 

                They stepped out of the restaurant to the cold air of February, white smoke escaping their nostrils as they awkwardly stood next to each other. Well, to be completely fair, it was Baekhyun who was standing awkwardly next to the tall guy (he was even taller than he had imagined) while the latter was simply smiling at him with an endearing look on his eyes.

 

                ‘Thank you,’ Baekhyun muttered, making the guy smile wider. God, he liked that smile.

                ‘No need to thank me.’

                ‘No, really, thank you… I was having a hard time and you kind of rescued me.’

                ‘Like a knight in shining armour?’ Chanyeol laughed softly.

                ‘Don’t be silly,’ Baekhyun pouted, punching him lightly on the arm. ‘But really, thank you, I owe you.’ Baekhyun thought that he had seen Chanyeol smile a bit devilishly.

                ‘Well, if you really want to pay me back, there is this thing…’

 

---------

 

                Baekhyun was wondering if this was a good idea. He stood next to the clock at the park Chanyeol said they will meet, but the time was approaching and he was having second thoughts.

               

                After exiting the restaurant, Chanyeol said he needed help and that Baekhyun would come in handy. So he made the shorter promise that they would meet the upcoming Saturday at 1PM, and there Baekhyun was, questioning his decisions in life when he saw the tall man appear on the other side of the street, waving enthusiastically as he approached him.

 

                ‘You are early,’ the taller said, toothy smile directed at him. Baekhyun blushed.

                ‘I am normally early, don’t overthink it’, he stated, still blushing.

               

                Chanyeol just laughed and took his hand, starting to walk. The gesture took Baekhyun by surprise, and he was about to pull away when he remembered the conversation they had after leaving the restaurant.

               

                ‘Do you need to take my hand for whatever thing we’re doing?’ he tried to sound upset, but in fact Chanyeol’s hand felt nice against his.

                ‘I do, in fact’, the taller nodded and smiled. ‘You are going to pretend to be my boyfriend so I can escape the blind date my sister has arranged for me today.’

                ‘I’m going to WHAT??’ Baekhyun stopped dead on his tracks, making Chanyeol huff and tug at his hand, forcing him to keep walking.

                ‘I pretended to be your date the other day, it’s more or less the same,’ he explained. ‘My sister wants me to meet a co-worker of hers and I’m really not fond of the idea.’

                ‘Why not?’ Baekhyun asked, not being able to restrain his curiosity.

                ‘Well, I’m not going to get involved with someone when I already have someone I like,’ Chanyeol simply stated, not looking in his direction.

                ‘And why don’t you ask your boyfriend to come with you?’ the shorter was getting annoyed, why was he needed in the first place?

                ‘Who said I have a boyfriend? I like someone, that doesn’t mean that person likes me back’, and there was a sad smile on Chanyeol’s face that made Baekhyun want to bite his tongue.

                ‘Oh.’

               

                They kept on walking in silence, still hand in hand, until Chanyeol sighed and stopped, turning to face Baekhyun.

 

                ‘I just need you to enter the cafeteria with me, say you’re my boyfriend and then I’ll treat you lunch’, he sighed, begging at the shorter with his eyes. ‘Please?’

                Baekhyun bit his lower lip, feeling himself getting weak under that stare. ‘Okay, I’ll do it.’ Chanyeol smiled brightly at him, squeezing his hand and starting to walk again.

 

                They arrived at the place no more than five minutes later, being greeted by Chanyeol’s sister Yoora as soon as they entered, signalling the free seats in front of her. By the look on her face as they approached the table, Baekhyun could tell that Yoora wasn’t expecting to see her brother with someone else.

 

                ‘You are late, Chanyeollie,’ she said once they sat down and took off their coats, eyeing Baekhyun suspiciously before turning to her brother. ‘Kyungsoo and I have been waiting for ten minutes already.’ She pointed at the man seated beside her, who then shyly waved to Chanyeol with shiny eyes. Baekhyun found himself stupidly thinking who was that guy to look at Chanyeol like that.

                ‘Nice to meet you at last, Chanyeol,’ the short boy said, an adorable heart-shaped smile adorning his face and blatantly ignoring Baekhyun sitting across him. ‘Your sister talks a lot about you, I really wanted to meet you personally.’

                ‘Well, thank you,’ said Chanyeol, clearly embarrassed, ‘but I assure you I’m not that interesting.’

                ‘Don’t be so modest, having your own business at your age is impressive,’ Kyungsoo said, flailing his hand and staring at Chanyeol with shiny eyes. Less than five minutes and Baekhyun thought he had had enough.

                ‘Excuse me,’ he said, standing up, ’my boyfriend and I just came to tell his sister and yourself that he is not interested in meeting anyone anymore since he already has me,’ he tugged at the taller’s sleeve, making him stand up and grab both of their coats. ‘So if you could now excuse us…’

 

                With that, he grabbed Chanyeol’s hand and exited the café, not even sparing the shocked pair a second glance. He did not let Chanyeol’s hand go, even though they kept walking and now they were out of sight from inside of the café. Suddenly, Baekhyun felt the taller putting his coat around him, so he stopped and turned around to face him, visibly angry.

 

                ‘Why the hell didn’t you say anything back there?’ he almost yelled at him, making his coat slide down one of his arms. Chanyeol tried to put it on place before answering.

                ‘I didn’t know how not to be rude to them,’ he stated, still fixing Baekhyun’s coat. ‘But I didn’t expect you to burst out like that,’ he added, looking at him in the eyes, making the shorter blush.

                ‘You didn’t seem to be making a move anytime soon and I was hungry. I still am,’ he puffed out his cheeks and looked sideways to hide his reddening face. ‘You still owe me lunch.’

Chanyeol looked at him suspiciously, but he had a big smile on his face when he nodded. ‘Okay, let’s go. Where does my boyfriend want to go to eat?’ he teased.

 

                Baekhyun punched him on the arm and dragged him to a fast-food restaurant, claiming that he felt the need to intoxicate his system after that stressful encounter. Still laughing lightly, Chanyeol prepared himself to pay, but this time the shorter was faster and paid for both meals (‘Since you paid at the restaurant’), taking the tray away and sitting down before Chanyeol could realise it.

 

                Shaking his head, Chanyeol followed him and sat down, thanking Baekhyun before eating his meal. After a while of awkwardly munching away their hamburgers, Baekhyun started to chat again, talking animatedly about something he had watched on TV the previous night, and Chanyeol had a face that seemed to give away that he thought it was cute that Baekhyun could not be quiet at all. Baekhyun pretended not to have seen that, making him questions so the taller would stop to just stare at him. The heavy atmosphere left them rapidly as they went further in their conversation, chatting and laughing with easiness until Chanyeol asked him a question.

               

                ‘Don’t you think we could be friends?’

                Baekhyun stopped laughing at whatever thing he was to look at him. ‘Yeah, probably.’

                Chanyeol smiled brightly. ‘Then, give me your phone number so I can text you to hang out sometime.’

                ‘You know you sound like a creepy stalker, right?’ Baekhyun laughed, but entered his phone number on the taller’s phone anyway.

                ‘Well,’ Chanyeol smiled, saving the contact, ‘it seems to be working.’

 

                And Baekhyun blushed like a teenager.

 

-------------------------------------

 

                Chanyeol was still trying to process that he was having a date with Baekhyun. After lunch, he ventured that he wanted to go to a park and enjoy the splendid sunny day while drinking a take away coffee and that Baekhyun could go with him. He didn’t even dare looking at the other while he was thinking his response, but surprisingly he agreed.

 

                And there they were, walking around the park while searching the coffee mobile stand that Chanyeol could swore was playing with him since it was nowhere to be seen.

 

                ‘I swear there is one coffee stand in this park,’ he said to Baekhyun after ten minutes of searching for the damned thing, and he looked at him out of the corner of his eye, smiling.

                ‘Yeah, sure.’

 

                And Chanyeol wanted to pull his hair out because he knew the shorter was teasing him and at the same time, the damn stand was playing hide-and-seek with them and he was losing his nerves. Finally, another ten minutes after, they spotted the vendor and Chanyeol had to restrain the urge to run to him to avoid a possible escape. Baekhyun seemed to be enjoying himself, though, smiling nicely at him, but Chanyeol could see a hint of teasing in that smile.

 

                ‘I told you there was one,’ Chanyeol said out of the blue a couple of minutes after silently sipping their drinks, and Baekhyun had to stop and think what he meant by that.

                ‘I never said there wasn’t one to begin with,’ Baekhyun said, seemingly offended, but the teasing spark of his eyes told Chanyeol otherwise.

                ‘Your eyes speak for you, Byun,’ the taller smirked, watching with pleasure how the blonde’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. Cute.

                ‘Don’t play with me, Park,’ he huffed, sitting down in a bench to avoid looking at Chanyeol’s eyes. ‘I still think you’re a stalker.’

 

                Chanyeol simply smiled, sitting beside him and looking ahead, although he could feel the shorter’s eyes on him from time to time, which he found amusing. He couldn’t believe he was there, sitting in a park bench fighting the biting cold outside sipping hot coffee next to his long time crush.

               

                Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun who was caught staring and turned his head away, blushing. The taller chuckled lightly, looking at his side profile and admiring how his golden locks shone under the winter sun. It made him look younger, he thought, remembering how black Baekhyun’s hair was when he first saw him.

 

                ‘So,’ the blond started, startling him and making him jump a little on his seat, ‘does your sister try to pair you up with random guys normally?’

                Chanyeol blinked first and laughed second, making the other pout. ‘I don’t think it’s that funny, Park.’

                ‘It is,’ the taller said when he had calmed down. ‘I have to say it’s the first time she has attempted it.’

                ‘Did you ask her to do it?’

                ‘Why would I ask her to do it and then ask you to accompany me to get rid of them, Baekhyun?’ Chanyeol was smiling too much and he knew it, but he couldn’t avoid it, the whole situation was just hilarious.

                ‘That’s true,’ the shorter admitted, getting back to sip his coffee.

                ‘Why do you want to know?’ Chanyeol teased the other, the smile plastered on his face still not fading.

                Baekhyun blushed profusely. ‘Why, well, I was just curious, I think it’s normal since you dragged me to save you from that owl-like guy.’

                Chanyeol couldn’t help but laugh loudly, almost spilling the coffee that was still inside the cup in his hand.

                ‘I don’t think Kyungsoo was going to murder me, Baekhyun.’

                ‘Oh, so you’re already on a first-name term basis with him?’ the shorter pouted.

 

                The taller thought that he could die in that very moment and he’d die happy, for he could see something like jealousy lying underneath Baekhyun’s joking tone. He explained softly that his sister had already sent him pictures and information about the guy (he tried to omit that his sister was almost like the FBI and he had to tell her to stop telling him things about Kyungsoo or he’d turn her down to the police), and even though he told her repeatedly that he was, in fact, not interested on meeting Kyungsoo, she had argued that he was still single and that meeting her co-worker didn’t mean he had to marry him.

 

                ‘So, just to not hear her again, I agreed,’ he finished, looking sideways to the man beside him.

               

                Baekhyun didn’t say a thing as he finished drinking his coffee, and got up to throw the empty paper cup in a nearby bin.

 

                ‘I have the feeling you are too kind-hearted for your own good, Park Chanyeol,’ he said, smirking to the tall man still seated. ‘At least, this time you found a gorgeous man like me to pretend you were already dating someone.’

                Chanyeol smirked back at him. ‘Some confidence you have there, Byun Baekhyun,’ he replied, but chuckled as he also got up. ‘But yes, I guess my sister will leave me alone for a while. Thank you.’

 

                The shorter smiled brightly at him this time.

 

                ‘It’s ok, it wasn’t that bad and it was fun to see you embarrass yourself while looking for the coffee cart.’

                ‘I knew you were laughing at me internally.’

                ‘Come on, you have to admit your face was funny,’ he laughed lightly. ‘I should have taken a picture, actually,’ he added absentmindedly.

 

                Chanyeol internally thanked whatever god it was for Baekhyun’s forgetfulness.

 

                ‘Anyway,’ he said to the blond man, still in his own world, ‘we should get going.’

 

                The shorter man checked his watch and gasped.

 

                ‘Is it already this late? Man, I didn’t even notice…’

                ‘Does that mean you had a good day?’ Chanyeol smiled widely, his heart thumping at the thought that Baekhyun had truthfully enjoyed their time together.

                ‘Yes, of course. I was nice being with you,’ he smiled, but suddenly blushed furiously and started mumbling. ‘I-I mean, you were a nice company. Like being with you, not being with you, you know. Not that it would be bad! I, err, I think I should shut up.’

 

                Chanyeol bit his tongue to avoid laughing, Baekhyun was too cute for his own good and he didn’t even know.

 

                ‘I understood, Baekhyun, don’t worry,’ he tried to calm him down.

 

                Baekhyun nodded and then let Chanyeol accompany him to the bus stop. When the bus came, Baekhyun waved Chanyeol goodbye awkwardly and got into the vehicle, sitting next to the window and waving to him until the bus got out of sight.

 

                Chanyeol was already on cloud nine, and on his way to meet his best friend, Sehun, to tell him about how the blind date his sister had set him had gone, when the sound of a new notification reached his ears. Puzzled, he took his phone out of his pocket, thinking it should be the idiot of his best friend, hurrying him to reach the bar. He almost let the phone fall to the ground when he read from whom he had a message.

 

Baekhyun

I had fun todayJ  We should meet again soon.

 

                Smiling like an idiot, Chanyeol rapidly replied with an equally happy message and assuring Baekhyun he would contact him again.

 

Baekhyun

You really are a stalker, you know? >v<

 

                Chanyeol didn’t care as he approached the bar Sehun had chosen for their meet-up. Because now he knew Baekhyun wanted to meet him again.

 

---------

 

                This was it, Baekhyun thought, facing the tall and dull-looking building in front of him. He was going to work at a new place, starting this moment, and he was both excited and nervous. The past months hadn’t been too pleasant, but at least he was starting to find a new way to walk on the path of his life.

 

                He needed to quit his old job, since his now ex-boyfriend worked there too and he was not going to tolerate the jerk’s face swaying up and down the office. Also because he could or could have not threaten him with the stapler when said Jerk approached his desk the morning after he dumped him to say he was sorry, and Baekhyun could or could have not elbowed his stomach before leaving the cubicle, heading for his boss’ office to tell him he was going to quit his job that very moment.

 

                The Jerk insisted in talking to him while he packed his things, and even had the guts to ask if they could still be friends. That time, it was sure that Baekhyun kneed him right on his crotch and punched him. It was sure because he counted at least five people looking at them while he did it.

 

                It was almost ridiculous how he found a job so easily. It was also thanks to Chanyeol that he got the job, not in a direct way but still. If he hadn’t suggested staying to search for that coffee thing that seemed nearly impossible to find, he wouldn’t have taken the bus later than expected and he wouldn’t have received the evening edition of the free newspaper where he found the job advertised. The now old thing was in his magazine rack, and Baekhyun found it nearly a month and a half after it was given to him. He had to overlook the astonishing amount of advertisements to find that one of the job offer (who advertised a job on a newspaper nowadays, anyway?), but he e-mailed them his CV and details, hoping they hadn’t still found a suitable person, and surprisingly got the job.

 

                He was still thinking about his luck when he exited the lift that had brought him to the fifteenth floor and bumped into someone, making them threw all the paper they were carrying to the floor while his own suitcase landed somewhere nearby.

 

                ‘I’m really sorry, I was spacing off,’ he quickly apologized, kneeling to help the other person gather their papers.

                ‘Oh, no need to be sorry, this happens more than you would think it does… By the way, do I know you?’

 

                The feminine voice echoed in Baekhyun’s ears, who thought that he also had heard that voice before somewhere else. To his terror, when he finally lifted his face he was met with Park Yoora’s dark eyes gazing intently at him.

 

                You are him! Yeollie’s boyfriend!’

 

                Oh my god. Oh my god. OH MY GOD.

 

                ‘I didn’t know you worked here!’ she said, completely astonished.

                ‘I… didn’t. I am starting today,’ he explained in a soft voice.

                ‘Oh, but what a wonderful coincidence! Now I can get to know you more,’ she smiled brightly, picking his suitcase and giving it to him. ‘I am dying to know what kind of guy stole my little brother’s heart for so long.’

 

                She snatched him, linking their arms and dragging him through the corridors, chattering and blabbering cheerfully until she suddenly remembered something.

 

                ‘I’m sorry, what was your name? I don’t recall my brother introducing you at all at the café last time.’

                Baekhyun blushed, recalling the scene, before answering. ‘Byun Baekhyun.’

 

                And Baekhyun could have sworn he saw a twinkle of acknowledgement in Yoora’s eyes.

 

                ‘Yoora, what are you doing? Have you forgotten you already have a boyfriend?’ said an unfamiliar voice, making his head turn to find a tall, slender man with a beautiful face looking at them.

                ‘Ah, Sehun, I was just about to take him to your office! He’s our new employee, and he’s my Yeollie’s boyfriend!’

 

                Baekhyun had to admit that Chanyeol was right when he voiced his concerns about what his sister told everyone about him at her office.

 

                ‘Then,’ he man looked at him, smiling softly, ‘nice to meet you, Yeollie’s boyfriend. My name is Oh Sehun and I’m in charge of this department. Shall we get to my office?’

 

                Baekhyun nodded and detached himself from Yoora’s grip, although the woman made him promise to have lunch with her later that same day.

 

                ‘Don’t let Sehun seduce you, Baekhyunnie!’ she exclaimed happily before dashing off to hand in the documents she still had wrapped in her arms.

                ‘I’m not going to seduce you, I assure you,’ Sehun said, guiding him inside his office. Once there, he signalled a chair for Baekhyun to sit on, and he circled the desk to sit in the much comfortable office chair after it. ‘So, I guess Yeollie’s boyfriend is not your name, so should we start there?’

                ‘Yes, sir, sorry about that,’ Baekhyun blushed profusely, adjusting his glasses before continuing. ‘My name is Byun Baekhyun, and it’s my first day here.’

                ‘I can see that you are new here, Baekhyun, you just called me sir,’ he chuckled, shaking his head slightly and then looking at him again. ‘We are a small company, and although I can be a real pain in the when deadlines approach, I assure you that we don’t think about hierarchies much and that I work like everyone else.’

                ‘Ehm…’ Baekhyun didn’t know what else to say.

                ‘Just call me Sehun, we both are the same age anyway.’

                ‘How do you know?’ asked him before thinking it twice and biting his tongue.

                ‘Don’t tell me you thought I wouldn’t have at least looked at your CV before hiring you, right?’

 

                Baekhyun gaped. Well, it really was normal that his boss would check his profile, but thinking of Sehun who looked even younger than him, as a boss was kind of difficult to do.  

 

                He didn’t let him question his words, though, as he promptly made Baekhyun follow him outside, showing him his new cubicle with his desk, computer and phone (‘Just for work, Baekhyun, no personal calls’, his boss had added jokingly) and left him there after dropping some documents he had to check on his desk, assuring him he’ll be fine.

 

                Baekhyun wasn’t as sure as his boss that he would be fine, but hung his coat on the backside of his chair and sit down. However, he did not start reading the papers in front of him. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled the number saved as ‘Giant Stalker’. He and Chanyeol were now friends, having spent some afternoons together and Baekhyun having introduced his best friend, Jongdae, to him; but he still liked to have his number saved under that name as an endearing nickname. Chanyeol said that was plain bullying.

 

                ‘Come on… pick up the damn phone, Chanyeol,’ he muttered, gripping his phone has if his life depended on it and peeking above his shoulder. He didn’t want to be surprised using his personal phone within the same hour he had started working at the company.

 

                Chanyeol didn’t pick up his call. He didn’t pick any of his two calls, actually, and Baekhyun was about to call him a third time when Yoora’s head popped from the next cubicle, giving him the scare of his life.

 

                ‘Hello, Baekhyunnie, seems we are cubicle neighbours!’ she said cheerfully. ‘I wanted to ask if you wanted to have lunch with me, you know, to get to know each other better.’

                ‘Sure, ehm… ‘

                ‘Just call me Yoora, we are now almost family after all,’ she waved her hand gleefully before retreating to her cubicle.

 

                Baekhyun sighed heavily. It was barely 9.30AM and he was already stressed. He decided not to call Chanyeol again, and hoped that the giant would call him when he saw the two missed calls and at least ten messages the shorter had sent him.

 

                Unexpectedly, lunch wasn’t as awkward and uncomfortable as Baekhyun expected it to be. Yoora had a bubbly and pleasant personality, leaving apart the fact that she treated him as though they were childhood friends, and only had a minor altercation when they encountered the owl-like boy, Do Kyungsoo, at the cafeteria. It seemed that the building had many different companies operating, but all of them shared the same cafeteria. Yoora explained this to him before telling him that he had approached Kyungsoo one day as she thought he would fit his brother’s taste.

 

                Baekhyun had to supress his smile when he imagined Yoora approaching the guy out of the blue and asking him if he was gay and if he was interested in meeting her tall and handsome younger brother.

 

                ‘So, Baekhyunnie,’ she said nonchalantly as he attacked the dessert of the day, vanilla pudding. ‘Are you free on Saturday? Not this one, but the next one.’

               

Baekhyun had just put the piece of sweet jelly on his mouth and could just nod.

               

                ‘Perfect!’ clapped her, looking satisfied.

                ‘Why? Anything special happening?’

 

                She was about to answer when her phone rang. She looked at him with an apologizing look at accepted the call and walked away after muttering something that sounded like it’s my fiancé. Lunch break was nearing its limit time and Yoora wasn’t back, so he just decided to go back; he would have time to talk to her later. They were cubicle neighbours, after all.

 

                As soon as he exited the lift, an incoming call reached his phone. He took it out of his pocket to see Giant Stalker flashing at him. Finally.

 

                ‘Why didn’t you pick up this morning?’

                ‘Hello to you too, Baekhyun,’ the low voice of Chanyeol greeted him, sending chills to his spine. ‘Well, I do have work to do. Do you with I’m jobless?’

                Kind of. ‘That’s not the point,’ Baekhyun huffed, trying not to sound like he actually did. ‘I got a new job just today and it turns out that now I’m working with your sister, the one who thinks we are dating!’

                ‘Wait, you are now working with Yoora?’ at least he had the decency to sound surprised.

                ‘Do you have any more sisters?’ Chanyeol muttered a negation and Baekhyun sighed. ‘I don’t know what to do, what if I say something wrong?’

                ‘That’s not the problem, actually,’ the other man sighed.

                ‘Then what is the problem, Chanyeol? Could it be worse?’

                ‘Yes,’ and the certainty with which Chanyeol had spoken made Baekhyun tremble. ‘My sister called me that night after the, well, blind date, and made me explain everything. I made up many things, like where did we meet for the first time, that we always went to the same restaurant to have dinner and that I normally picked you up after work.’

                ‘You WHAT?’ Baekhyun nearly screamed, making one of his co-workers, Zhang Yixing, look strangely at him. He flailed his hand and entered his cubicle.

                ‘I have to go pick you up after work, I don’t want my sister messing up with my romantic life anymore. At what time do you finish?’

                ‘At… eight,’ he stated, not even processing what was happening.

                ‘Good. I’ll be there. With a bit of luck, we’ll even avoid my sister’s third grade.’

                ‘But…’

                ‘See you at eight, Baekhyun,’ and thus, Chanyeol hung up.

 

                Baekhyun stared blankly at his phone, still in his hand. He didn’t get what had just happened, but it seemed like he was seeing Chanyeol again today and that he would have to pretend he was the taller’s boyfriend for a long while.

 

                And that thought didn’t bother him at all.

 

-----------------------

 

                Chanyeol hurried up the street, it was nearly 8 and he had planned to arrive by the office way earlier, but a last-minute client held him past his closing time and now he was almost running to arrive on time to pick up his ‘boyfriend’.

 

                The very thought of it made him smile. His boyfriend. Not in his wildest dreams he could have imagined that his small trick was going to work so efficiently. He only wanted to start talking to Baekhyun, approach him and be his friend… He wasn’t expecting that the shorter would start working at his sister’s office and they would have to pretend to be a couple.

 

                He arrived at 8PM sharp, almost breathless, and he was happy to see that no one was outside of the building yet. He stood right at the bottom of the stairs that led to the building and normalized his breathing just in time to see Baekhyun going out of the building and chatting animatedly with Sehun, who saw him.

               

                ‘Hey, Chanyeol,’ the tall guy greeted him, making the shorter jump a little.

                ‘Hello, Sehun,’ he greeted him as well, approaching them and standing next to Baekhyun, to who he gave a peck on the cheek and making him go a bit stiff. ‘Hi, Baekhyun.’

                ‘H-hi,’ he replied, smile soft and quivering on the edges.

              ‘Baekhyun, don’t be shy with your boyfriend,’ Sehun smiled a little devilishly, ‘I told you to not see me as your boss, and this idiot here happens to be my best friend.’

                ‘Your what?’ Baekhyun’s eyes shot in Chanyeol’s direction, asking him for answers.

                ‘Yes, I forgot to mention…  Sehun also works here.’

                ‘Don’t you tell me,’ Sehun rolled his eyes, but he had to time to add anything else as Yoora exited the building.

                ‘Yeollie!’ she exclaimed, almost jumping down the stairs to join them. ‘How perfect to find you here, I thought you might’ve already left!’

                ‘Why exactly did you want to see me?’ it gave him shivers, nothing good came from Yoora’s I-wanted-to-see-you.

                ‘I asked Baekhyun if he was free on my birthday, and he is! You two can come together to my party and I saved you the tough part of asking him, so you’re welcome!’

                ‘You agreed to going to my sister’s birthday?’ he looked at Baekhyun, astounded, but the shorter didn’t seem to be any less surprised.

                ‘She just asked me if I was free that weekend…’ he started to explain, but Yoora interrupted him.

                ‘I was going to tell you but Jungshik suddenly called me,’ she defended herself, blushing slightly. ‘Anyway, I will expect you both to attend, I’ll tell you the details later.’

 

                She hugged them both and kissed their cheeks, waving goodbye to the three of them before dashing away to a car that was waiting for her.

 

                ‘We should leave too,’ said Chanyeol to Sehun. ‘Say hi to Luhan for me.’

                ‘Yes, yes, go away already,’ Sehun shooed them with a smile plastered on his face.

 

                They waved to Sehun and started to walk away. Chanyeol was expecting being bombarded with questions once they were out of sight, but Baekhyun was abnormally quiet and he didn’t know if it was a good or a bad thing.

 

                They walked in silence, Baekhyun so lost in his thoughts  that he nearly crashed into a streetlamp if it weren’t for Chanyeol, who took his hand and pulled the shorter towards him.

 

                ‘Be careful, Baekhyun!’ he said, concern audible in his voice.

                ‘I’m sorry… I was thinking,’ he looked at the taller in his eyes, apologetic. ‘Thank you.’

 

                Chanyeol sighed and started walking again, not letting go of Baekhyun’s hand. In his mind, several variations of ‘you can hurt yourself again’ excuses were floating, but in truth, all Chanyeol wanted to do was to have an excuse to hold the blonde’s hand, small and delicate in his own one. He wanted to break the silence somehow and the opportunity appeared when they entered one of the main streets, very close now to Baekhyun’s apartment.

 

                ‘Ah, look,’ Chanyeol called the shorter’s attention. ‘This is where I work.’

 

                He was signalling to his left, a small shop with a dainty-looking shop window and a glass door with a ‘Closed’ sign hanging. It was a florist’s.

 

                ‘You work here?’ Baekhyun stated a bit stupidly, pointing to the closed door.

                ‘Well, yes, I work here and I also am the owner.’

                ‘You own your own shop?’ the shorter just gaped at him, dumbfounded.

                ‘You say it like it is such a big deal,’ the taller laughed awkwardly.

                ‘First Sehun, now you… I seem to be the only one who has had no success in his life,’ he moaned, faking a tear.

                ‘Who said that?’ Chanyeol laughed, tugging at his hand to motion him to keep walking, the florist’s left behind.

                ‘I did,’ the shorter pouted, not even trying to feign maturity at this point.

                ‘Baekhyun, you are barely twenty-six,’ Chanyeol tried to reason.

                ‘Almost twenty-seven,’ Baekhyun refuted, but blushed when Chanyeol smiled at him.

                ‘Baekhyun, you still have plenty of time to succeed in life, and not only in your job.’

                ‘Are you implying that I will succeed in love? Because I don’t think I have to remind you that my ex-boyfriend dumped me at the restaurant we first met and that I am actually single.’

                ‘Excuse me, Baekhyun, but I think you’re wrong,’ Chanyeol said solemnly, making Baekhyun stop and look at him in awe. ‘You are my boyfriend now.’

                ‘You moron,’ he replied, punching him lightly on the arm but laughing with him afterwards, starting to walk again and reaching his apartment block. They waved each other goodbye, letting go of their hands, but when Baekhyun was about to enter the building, Chanyeol called him again.

                ‘Hey, Baekhyun,’ Chanyeol caught his hand again, preventing him of leaving. ‘I was serious, you know,’ he paused for a second before continuing. ‘You will succeed soon.’

 

                He smiled brightly to the short man before him, making him blush. But Chanyeol wasn’t really expecting Baekhyun to close the distance between them and the soft kiss he left on the corner of his lips almost as if it was unintentional. The shorter mumbled a something that sounded much like Goodnight, Chanyeol and rushed inside.

                                                                                                                                                                   

                Chanyeol stayed there, mouth agape, still feeling Baekhyun soft lips next to his own ones, until the facts sank on him and he smiled. He couldn’t wait to attend his sister’s birthday.

 

---------

 

                Baekhyun wanted to punch himself hard right on his face. That moment of hesitation on Chanyeol’s part had made him believe that the guy was being serious about being his boyfriend and that he wanted to ask him. Maybe it was the disappointment or the anger with himself because he was expecting things that he shouldn’t, he had kissed Chanyeol. He had wanted to kiss him on the lips, but decided otherwise midway and ended pecking the corner of his lips. The bad thing was that it only left him wanting for more.

 

                The next morning, Baekhyun woke up earlier than he usually did on purpose. He followed his usual routine: breakfast, shower and clothes. He took his suitcase and left his apartment in silence. It was still pretty early, since he didn’t start working until 8.30AM, but he wanted to go somewhere else before.

 

                He hurried up the street, smelling in the air the essence of freshly made doughnuts and stopped to buy two of them, thinking it would be nice to eat them. He approached his destination, smiling like an idiot when he saw the sign ‘Open’ hanging on the door.

 

                Tiny bells jingled when he entered the small florist’s shop, making his presence known. He looked around, it was really a small shop, but it had some plants Baekhyun had never seen in his life, so he deduced it was somehow exclusive. There was a ruffle and a curtain at the back of the shop opened, revealing a too y for 8AM Chanyeol wearing an apron.

 

                ‘Hello, what can I do for you?’ Chanyeol suddenly focused his gaze on him and opened his mouth, surprised. Baekhyun had to supress a satisfied smile. ‘Baekhyun! What are you doing here?’

                ‘I was just passing by, my office is this way,’ he explained, lifting the paper bag with the doughnuts inside. ‘Plus, I brought breakfast.’

                ‘I don’t get you,’ Chanyeol sighed, but approached the shorter man with a smile plastered on his face.

 

                Baekhyun let him choose the flavour he wanted and make him tea with a kettle and some tea bags he had in the store for when he felt like drinking something. They sipped their tea in silence, being it only broken when one of them munched on the sweet bun. Baekhyun was curiously looking around, it was his first time inside a florist’s as weird as it may sound, and he was trying to absorb it, he wanted to know why Chanyeol was a florist, the name of the plants, everything, but he was too shy to ask.

 

                ‘You know,’ Chanyeol started, breaking the silence and getting Baekhyun’s attention again, ‘it’s the first time I’ve ever eaten inside the shop.’

                ‘Really? ‘ Baekhyun asked curiously. ‘You should do it more often.’

                ‘Well, I am normally alone and I live just above the shop,’ he signalled to the ceiling, shrugging afterwards. ‘But I have to admit this feels good.’

                ‘Right? You don’t need to close the store to go upstairs and eat, you can eat here,’ Baekhyun replied happily.

                ‘I think it’s more because of the company than of the food,’ Chanyeol smiled.

 

                Baekhyun felt himself going redder and redder, his cheeks burning and his whole body trembling. Why was so hot inside the shop suddenly?

 

                ‘Well, I, err, I should leave,’ he said abruptly, throwing the leftover in the dust bin behind the counter.

                ‘Oh, right, you start in fifteen minutes,’ Chanyeol agreed, checking his watch. ‘You might have to run if you aren’t fast enough.’

                ‘I am fast enough,’ Baekhyun replied, sticking his tongue out. ‘See you.’

                ‘I’ll pick you up again at eight,’ the taller informed, making Baekhyun dart his eyes to him and feel those butterflies in his stomach again. ‘Have a nice day at work.’

                ‘Same for you,’ the shorter whispered.

 

                In the end, he did have to run to get in time in the office because he spaced out too much walking there thinking about Chanyeol’s words, Chanyeol picking him up after work, Chanyeol’s messy hair in the morning, Chanyeol, Chanyeol, Chanyeol.

 

                His day passed as normally as a day in the office can pass, and as promised, Chanyeol was there at eight to pick him up and walk him back home. Now that he knew that the man lived midway through his apartment, he argued that Chanyeol could just stay at home and let him go alone, but something sparkling in the taller’s eyes told him that he was not going to accept any of that, so he just let the brunet walk him home. When they said goodbye, Chanyeol pecked his cheek even though there was no need to pretend they were a couple, and Baekhyun found himself smiling back at him before entering the building.

 

                The same pattern repeated itself through the next two weeks, him going to the florist’s first thing in the morning so they could share a cup of tea and whatever Baekhyun found appetizing at the baker’s that morning; followed by some texts shared on their lunch break and Chanyeol picking him up to walk him home. There was some silent agreement that one of them would peck the other goodnight on the cheek or on the corner of their lips, but never full on the lips and Baekhyun surprised himself wondering that Friday night, already in bed, how would Chanyeol’s lips taste like.

 

                Saturday dawned and Baekhyun was already awake. How could he not be, it was the day of Yoora’s birthday party, and the day before, she had been giving away the birthday invitations. All seven people working with her got it, Baekhyun and Sehun included, and even a couple of girls from the company on the third floor. The invitation was prettily decorated and had all details and information on how to reach her house (‘Even though you’ll come with Yeollie and he already knows how to get here,’ she had said to him, winking).

 

                Baekhyun spent most of his morning trying to decide on what to wear, even asking Chanyeol for help by sending him several messages, and discarding his phone with a bright red adorning his cheeks when Chanyeol answered that he would look pretty with whatever thing he chooses. He finally decided to wear some formal jeans and a black jacket over a white shirt, he was not sure but he thought he could take the jacket off if it turned out to be too formal.

 

                Chanyeol rang his phone to tell him he was near and that he should come down. Baekhyun was not expecting to find the brunet atop a heavy-looking motorbike, smiling, and offering him a spare helmet.

 

                ‘I didn’t know you had a motorbike… Well, I didn’t know you owned a vehicle at all,’ Baekhyun said mesmerized, accepting the helmet.

                ‘I don’t use it much since I work right under my house,’ Chanyeol laughed, fasting delicately Baekhyun’s helmet and smiling to him once he was done. ‘Shall we go?’

 

                Baekhyun nodded and climbed the vehicle, his thighs hugging Chanyeol’s own ones and his hands gripping strong but nervously the taller’s jacket. Chanyeol chuckled and took his hands, making them let go of the fabric and circling his own waist with Baekhyun’s arms.

 

                ‘You’ll fall otherwise,’ he explained with a charming smile.

 

                Baekhyun could just nod, feeling his body going hot. He hugged the taller’s waist tightly as they speeded through the streets of the outskirts of Seoul. They arrived soon enough to a residential area, full of two-story houses and children playing outside on the street.

 

                Yoora greeted them animatedly, showing them inside and telling them to hang their coats wherever they found suitable and to join her and her guests in the living room. Baekhyun just followed Chanyeol around, hanging his coat on top of the other’s and greeting the people he knew, some of his co-workers, and introduced himself to Sehun’s boyfriend, a handsome Chinese man called Luhan and to Jungshik, Yoora’s fiancé.

 

                They were the last ones to arrive, so Yoora started to uncover the dishes full of food for them to eat while talking with each other. Baekhyun took some food and was about to go back to his seat when Yixing intercepted him and started to chat about nothing with him.

 

                The party was mostly pleasant and without incident, he had even thought that it would be stressing having to pretend to be Chanyeol’s boyfriend in front of everyone, but it turned out to be quite easy. Chanyeol was someone pleasant to be with, he was comfortable around him and when a big hand went to rest on his waist when they were talking with Yoora and Jungshik, Baekhyun had the strange feeling that it belonged there.

 

                Half of the guests left after the birthday cake, but they stayed for the drinks Yoora served them. Chanyeol refused, arguing that he had to drive back, making Yoora scrunch her nose, but she accepted his point, shoving the beverage in Baekhyun’s hands, who has unable to refuse.

 

                He sipped the drink slowly, knowing he was not a good drinker, but Yoora wasn’t either and she was drinking soju like it was water. Baekhyun thought it might be dangerous, Yoora normally talked much and alcohol wouldn’t help her to restrain her tongue. Unsurprisingly, after two and a half glasses, Yoora started talking way too much, at first talking just with no one but then, she fixed her gaze on Baekhyun and sat beside him, hugging him tight before speaking.

 

                ‘Ah, Baekhyunnie, I’m so happy you’re finally dating my brother~.’

                ‘I’ve been dating your brother for months now, Yoora, since we first met,’ he laughed awkwardly, maybe the alcohol was already affecting him.

                ‘I knooooow, but it was hard for Yeollie to see you with other man…’

                ‘Yoora, you’ve drank too much,’ Chanyeol interrupted, his ears slightly red.

                ‘No, but I want to know what she means,’ Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol before turning again to Yoora.

                ‘Did I say something wrong, Yeollie?’ she giggled. ‘You have to be honest with your man.’

                ‘Yoora, I think it’s time to go to bed. You want to go to see that place near the river for the wedding, remember?’ Jungshik said kindly to her, to what she nodded enthusiastically and waved goodbye to everyone.

 

                Baekhyun was silent all the way back to his house, lost in thoughts and hoping the dizziness caused by the small amount of alcohol he had had would disappear. When they arrived his apartment Chanyeol parked the bike, dismounting and putting Baekhyun’s helmet in the boot. He looked at him like he wanted to say something, and against his better judgement, Baekhyun invited him inside.

 

                He heard the taller’s steps following him inside, stopping next to him in front of the lift while they waited for the thing to open its doors.

 

                ‘Baekhyun, what Yoora said…’

                ‘We can talk inside my apartment, you know?’ his voice sounded neutral even to him.

                ‘I know, but I prefer telling you this in neutral zone or something like that,’ Chanyeol sighed. ‘The restaurant… is in front of my store. I noticed you a year and  half ago, when you went there just to eat alone sometimes, but suddenly you started turning up with a man with whom you shared more than your dinner table,’ the numbers on the lift were still going doing, it was arriving within seconds. ‘The day he dumped you, I saw you alone and thought it was my chance to meet the man with whom I was in love for a long time.’

 

                The lift dinged and opened its doors, but Baekhyun wasn’t looking at it anymore, but at Chanyeol. Some small part of his brain was thinking jokingly that the guy was actually some type of low-key stalker, but the most of his mind was occupied with the thought that Chanyeol had been in love with him for almost two years now.

 

                ‘Wait, you were in love? That means you don’t love me anymore?’

                ‘Really, Baekhyun,’ Chanyeol rolled his eyes and let out something between a sigh and a chuckle, grabbing his hand and pushing him inside the lift, pressing the right number on the panel before turning to him again. ‘I practically admitted to have been watching you for a year and a half before talking to you.’

                ‘But you still love me?’ despite his small size, he cornered Chanyeol against the wall of the small cubicle, his hands gripping the other’s shirt and making him lower his face. ‘Because I think I love you now.’

 

                And he tiptoed to crush his lips against Chanyeol’s, sighing in content when he reciprocated the kiss and grabbed his hips while Baekhyun’s own hands went up to circle his neck. They kissed for what seemed like minutes to Baekhyun, most likely being a few seconds, but he had longed for that kiss without knowing it and now he was finally enjoying the feeling of Chanyeol’s soft full lips against his. It was Chanyeol who broke the kiss when the lift dinged again, signalling they were already in the shorter’s floor.

 

                ‘I still love you, Baekhyun.’

 

-------

 

                Chanyeol woke up next morning hugging a fast asleep Baekhyun. He had to restrain a cry of happiness because he couldn’t believe it was happening. He and Baekhyun. Together at last. He pecked his cheeks softly, then his nose, his forehead, his chin and when he started to flutter his eyelids, signalling he was waking up, he kissed his lips, gaining himself a soft moan escaping the older’s mouth that made him smile in the kiss.

 

                ‘Good morning Chanyeol,’ the blonde said, smiling and hugging him closer, nuzzling his chest.

                ‘Good morning, Baekhyun,’ he responded, smiling like an idiot. ‘How does it feel to wake up next to your stalker boyfriend?’

 

                Baekhyun laughed lightly and pinched his arm, but pecked his lips before going to the bathroom. They had breakfast together and talked about throwing a party in Chanyeol’s house with all of their friends soon, but Chanyeol had to go back to his shop, even though he was not going to open it on a Sunday the plants needed to be taken care of, and he had no other employees so the duty was on him.

 

                Just like if he was monitoring him thought CCTV, Sehun called him as soon as he had finished tending to the plants.

 

                ‘Hi, Sehun.’

                ‘Hello, you stalker. How are you? Yoora messed up yesterday.’

                ‘I’m fine, I’m not a stalker and my sister just helped me get over the matter.’

                ‘You told Baekhyun? How did he react? Luhan and I have a bet and that money would save my life.’

                ‘Then, I hope you bet we would end up together, because we are dating now.’

                ‘You are dating him now?’ some loud cheers could be heard in the background, and Sehun moaned. ‘I can’t believe he didn’t ditch you.’

                ‘That’s what you get for not betting on your best friend,’ he laughed. ‘Anyway, we should meet next week, Baekhyun wants me to invite you and Luhan, so now you know.’

                ‘Ok, ok. Did you tell him about Kim Jongin?’

                ‘Why should I? It would just hurt him and it’s not really that important. Anyway, I have to go now, say hi to Luhan.’

 

                He hung up before Sehun could protest. He was such a crybaby out of the office, Chanyeol sometimes wondered how Sehun could keep the cool façade at work. He smiled at his phone and decided to send Baekhyun a cheesy message. He received an instant reply, first complaining about the cheesiness but then he replied with en equally cheesy text.

 

                He informed Baekhyun that he had officially invited Sehun and Luhan to their party, and Baekhyun said that since Jongdae was going to visit him later that day, he would invite him, as well as Yixing, from his office.

 

                ‘Won’t it be weird to have your co-worker at your party?’ he texted the blonde.

                ‘Sehun is my boss, Chanyeol, it can’t be weirder,’ Baekhyun replied, to which Chanyeol laughed and agreed.

 

              That week passed in the blink of an eye for Chanyeol. He was in charge of her sister’s wedding flower arrangement, both for the ceremony and for the banquet afterwards, and even though the event was almost a year further on, he had already started planning it. Apart from that, he had other two wedding arrangements, one graduation party and just pass-byers that wanted to buy some pots or bouquets.

 

                It was Friday and he had just attended an elderly couple when someone entered. It was a tall man, not as tall as him but his fine figure and tanned skin where attractive enough. He looked a bit out of place with his model-ish pose, but he took his glasses off and smiled at him like Chanyeol was his best friend or something. All Chanyeol could feel was disgust.

 

              ‘Hello, Chanyeol, how long without seeing each other,’ he greeted him. Chanyeol faked his work smile and nodded. ‘I need a bouquet for my lovely Jessica, remember I told you about her? It took a while but she’s mine now.’

 

                He laughed at this, but Chanyeol only could smile a bit wider. Kim Jongin was not the type of person that he would befriend, and every time he opened that pretty mouth of his, he was surer of it.

 

                He gave him what he wanted, a classy and clichéd bouquet of twelve red roses, and was left alone with the promise of the other man’s comeback in a month. He sighed, he had expected as much, but he had secretly hoped that Kim Jongin would find another florist’s.

 

                Luckily for him, that night came fast enough. Baekhyun was staying over at his place after work so they could prepare everything for the party on Saturday. As usual, he picked him up at the office and they walked back, buying dinner in one street vendor that was selling tteokbokki and ate it in a nearby park before heading home again. When they finally went to bed, Chanyeol had put Kim Jongin out of his mind.

 

                The party turned out to be really good. In Chanyeol’s opinion, it had been a very bad idea to introduce Jongdae and Sehun to each other, but they were very pleased. They were in sync, bad jokes directed at Chanyeol from time to time, most of them referring to either him being a stalker or to his apparent luck of ual life even though Baekhyun and he were dating.

 

                Luhan and Yixing were speaking in really fast Chinese, and no one dared to interrupt their conversation. Baekhyun was happy that Yixing didn’t feel out of place, so he let them be and went to talk with Kim Junmyeon, one of Chanyeol’s friends.

 

                ‘So, Yeollie,’ Jongdae started, sitting next to him.

                ‘I will kill Sehun for teaching you that,’ he said, half joking. ‘What do you want?’

                ‘I just wanted to know you better, Chanyeol.’

                ‘We already know each other, Jongdae.’

                ‘I need to find out if you are good enough for my friend,’ he explained, as if it was the easiest thing to understand in the world.

                ‘Didn’t you send me a questionnaire already? I filled it in and sent it back to you.’

                ‘I know, I appreciate your dedication,’ he said solemnly, ‘but I wanted to talk with you about one matter.’

               

                It was not normal for Jongdae to look this serious, so he gulped and nodded. Jongdae pointed at Baekhyun, still talking with Junmyeon, laughing and clapping because the other seemed to have told him a particularly good joke.

 

                ‘Baekhyun has been hurt badly before. I don’t know why, but he always attracts the wrong type of guy: playboy, flirts much with other people and treats him like a garbage bag. But last time, the day you met him, the Jerk as he calls him had dumped him and instead of being heartbroken as I expected him to be, he was fine. Furious, but not broken,’ Jongdae paused for a moment, trying to find the right words and Chanyeol didn’t dare to say a thing. ‘It was because of you. You made him feel like he was special and worth to be treated as a human being, not as a toy. I wanted to thank you.’

 

                Chanyeol was petrified. He had never expected playful and joker Kim Jongdae to become all serious and thank him for helping Baekhyun.

 

                ‘I… didn’t do anything special…,’ he muttered, not being able to say something more intelligent.

                ‘You did, even if you thought you didn’t,’ Jongdae smiled, patting him on the shoulder before getting up and leaving to join Baekhyun and Junmyeon.

 

                The rest of the night passed in the blink of an eye. Luhan had to drag a drunken Sehun down the stairs, arguing that if he dared to be sick in his car, he was not going to clean the mess. Yixing thanked them and bowed politely before being escorted out by Junmyeon. Jongdae was the last one to say goodbye, having received a called from who he called ‘my sweet bun’ and leaving them the pleasure of cleaning.

 

                ‘You know, Jongdae thanked me today,’ he commented, cuddling with Baekhyun in bed later that night, everything clean and lights off.

                ‘Was he drunk?’

                ‘I will pretend you didn’t say that,’ he chuckled. ‘He thanked me for helping you.’

                ‘Helping me?’

                ‘Yes,’ Chanyeol turned his head to look at Baekhyun, smiling. ‘He believes that I make you happy.’

                ‘He believes right, for once,’ he smiled, slipping his hand under Chanyeol’s T-shirt to bring him closer, his lips locking in a tender and lazy kiss.

                ‘I’m glad I make you happy,’ he confessed, voice low and smiling. He pecked his lips once again and shuffled to find a more comfortable position for both of them. ‘Good night, Baekhyun.’

                ‘Good night, Chanyeol.’

 

                In the back of his mind, Chanyeol knew it was too good to be true. He hadn’t expected everything to explode so early, but it was still not surprising. It was a bit more than a month afterwards. It was a Saturday again, and Baekhyun was helping him tend to the shop so he had told him to go to the backstreet to receive the flower pots and the fertiliser he had ordered. Baekhyun had just got out of sight when Kim Jongin entered the shop.

 

                ‘Ah, Chanyeol, long time no see!’ he greeted him as usual. ‘It’s going to be my lovely Jessica’s birthday, so I need something special… She loves red roses, but since I normally get her that, what would you recommend?’

                ‘I think she would love to receive anything if comes from you,’ he stated, he wasn’t really in the mood to choose, but Jongin insisted. ‘I can put the usual red roses with some pink Asiatic lilies, so it seems more feminine,’ as he talked, the started picking out the flowers with utmost care, almost as if they were his own children. ‘I can put them in a crystal vase and wrap everything with pink tin foil and a white ribbon,’ he finished the bouquet and presented it to the other male. ’Is it good?’

                ‘I swear you are some sort of a flower genius,’ Jongin said, pleased. ‘ At least now you don’t have to make two bouquets.’

                ‘If you hadn’t cheated on your ex, I wouldn’t have had to,’ he marked, the bitterness of his words not matching the smile on his face, but the tanned man didn’t seem to take notice.

 

                Chanyeol smirked and went behind the counter to fetch the vase and wrap everything. Just as he was taking the money and thought he would be Jongin-free, the other man stopped to talk to him a bit more before leaving.

 

                ‘You always know what is best for everyone, I already told you that you are a genius, but I remember you had a special touch with the ones you made for my ex… It was even some kind of connection between you two,’ he smiled devilishly to  Chanyeol and then erupted in laughter. He walked to the door and opened it, but looked at him right before exiting. ‘Baekhyun always loved your bouquets.’

 

                There was a crash sound at the same time that Kim Jongin exited the store. Jumping in scare, Chanyeol turned to find a pale-faced Baekhyun. There were some pieces on the ground before him, he seemed to have dropped a vase.

 

                ‘Baekhyun! Are you alright?’ he reached for his hands to see if he was hurt, but Baekhyun retreated as if Chanyeol had some sort of very contagious disease.

 

                ‘You… you knew,’ he muttered, looking at Chanyeol, who gulped.

                ‘Yes,’ he admitted with trembling voice. ‘He always talks way too much… He said he was going to dump you.’

                ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

                ‘I thought it would only hurt you more… I didn’t think it was necessary…’

                ‘You tricked me,’ Baekhyun pointed at him, tears now running down his face. ‘You used me and I believed you.’

                ‘No, Baekhyun, I didn’t…!’

 

                But Baekhyun had already left, throwing his apron to Chanyeol’s face.

 

----------

 

                Stupid. You are stupid. It was too good to be true.

 

                Baekhyun couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was obvious to him that Chanyeol and Jongin were friends, and that the Jerk, a.k.a. Jongin had convinced the taller to go out with him so it would be easier for him to get his ‘lovely Jessica’.

 

                He was at home, alone. He had kicked Jongdae out of his house when he came to talk to him without even listening to whatever thing he wanted to tell him. He didn’t need comfort, he didn’t need anything, nor anyone. He just wanted to be alone.

 

                He was mad at Chanyeol for tricking him, but he was even madder at himself for being so stupid he let the other deceive him. It seemed to be so real, though, every time their lips would meet, Baekhyun felt shivers down his spine, his stomach full of butterflies; when Chanyeol touched him his touch was delicate and full of tenderness, making him feel… loved.

 

                That was what hurt him most. Because he fell for him, he fell hard for it and even now he still loved Chanyeol, even with his heart torn into pieces. He wasn’t crying, he could not cry anymore after a week.

 

                He had called his job and said he had the flu. He suspected Sehun hadn’t really believed his excuse, but his voice was broken and didn’t sound well at all, so he gave him the whole week and wished him a prompt recovery. If only a broken heart needed just a week to put itself together again.

 

                He had been crying the first three days, not even leaving his bed, hugging his knees and turning his phone off, even locking his door from inside so Jongdae could not enter with his spare key. He had been ordering food, he hadn’t been in the mood for cooking or thinking of making food, so delivery and ramen had been his only sustenance.

 

                The fourth day, he had finally accepted Jongdae’s call. He had been ignoring his presence at the door, and he was not happy about it.

 

                ‘Baekhyun, you need to go out.’

                ‘I don’t, Jongdae,’ he said, tired.

                ‘Baekhyun, if you listened to Chanyeol…’

                ‘Can we not talk about it?’ he wanted to sound firm, but he sounded desperate.

 

                In any case, after a silence, Jongdae accepted and talked about other things, reminding him to eat properly, take long showers and that he was supposed to turn up at work next Monday.

 

                Baekhyun knew. He was scared of going to work, though. His boss was Chanyeol’s best friend, his sister worked with him and he felt unable to look at these people day after day without thinking about Chanyeol. He needed to quit his job, again. The thought of it also saddened him, he really liked working there despite it being a small company in a shared building, but he really felt like he wouldn’t stand being there.

 

                As the week passed by, he felt more and more depressed. Chanyeol had been turning up at his door every day, calling him to his phone, but he had blocked his number and just ignored the knocks at his door. On Sunday, though, Chanyeol had not appeared and that day Baekhyun felt like crying again. Chanyeol coming for him made him feel like he was being honest, that he really cared about the shorter, but not even a week after, he has disappeared. No note, no calls, nothing.

 

That night, Baekhyun ordered food, he didn’t bother planning what to eat and just called the first phone that appeared when he typed ‘food delivery’. He opened the door when the delivery guy arrived, looking around for a few seconds, hoping that Chanyeol would pop out somewhere to apologise to him. When this didn’t happen, he just went back inside, trying not to cry.

 

About half an hour later, he thought it was about time to go back to bed. He turned off the TV and got up when he heard his front door being unlocked. He cursed under his breath, he had forgotten to lock the door when the delivery guy left and Jongdae, the only person who had a spare key, seemed to intrude his privacy at almost 11PM.

 

‘Jongdae, I already know I have to go back to work tomorrow,’ he said, approaching the door, ‘you don’t need to remind…’

 

The rest of the sentence died on his lips, because it was not Jongdae who was standing at the door.

 

‘Jongdae lent me his key when I told him you didn’t open the door,’ Chanyeol explained, showing him the key.

 

Baekhyun was speechless, he didn’t think Jongdae would give Chanyeol his key.

 

‘Please, let me explain,’ he pleaded him. ‘I will leave you alone afterwards, but let me explain why Jongdae trusted me his key.’

 

Silently, Baekhyun nodded. They entered the living room, leftovers of his dinner scattered atop of the table. They sat on the sofa, Chanyeol giving him space and sitting in the furthest corner.

 

‘First, I want to apologise again for not telling you about Jongin,’ he started, clasping his hands together. He seemed to be trembling. ‘I think I will start from what you already know.’

 

Baekhyun just waited while the taller tried to find his words.

 

‘I have been liking you for around two years now. As I told you, I first noticed you when you went to eat at that restaurant every week, alone. I liked your hair, which was black at the time, I like your face, and I liked how, even though you didn’t seem to mind eating alone, you seemed lonely. Just when I thought I would man up and talk to you, you started dating Jongin. I didn’t know who he was then, but he started visiting my shop, asking for the bouquets you received,’ he paused for a second. ‘I liked to create those bouquets as if it was me the one who was going to give them to you,’ he laughed bitterly before continuing. ‘You know Jongin, he likes to talk a bit too much, almost like Yoora. When he started having interest in Jessica, he told me. He would ask for a feminine and a masculine bouquet. The day he dumped you, he only asked for the feminine one. Since I already knew your customs, I expected him to dump you, and when he actually did I just rushed up my house and changed to have dinner with you. I know I have no excuse, but I love you and I thought that bringing this up will only cause you pain… Believe me, please, I never meant to hurt you.’

 

There was silence then. A long silence in which Chanyeol seemed on the brink of fainting and Baekhyun just stared at his hands, how they were trembling in spite of being clasped together.

 

‘If you want proof that I am telling the truth, Jongdae lent me his key instead of cutting me into pieces,’ he tried to joke, but his voice broke at the end of the sentence and didn’t had the effect he was looking for.

 

But it was exactly that what made Baekhyun look at his eyes, discovering with great surprise that he was on the verge of crying. It moved something inside of him, his heart willing to forgive and forget, but his mind told him otherwise.

 

‘Jongdae didn’t cut you into pieces,’ he repeated slowly. ‘But we talked about how we can’t trust Jongdae.’

Chanyeol let out a strangled laugh, letting a single tear run down his face. ‘I admit that he’s weird but he cares a lot about you.’

 

Baekhyun scooted closer, taking softly his bigger hands into his own ones, still dubious. Chanyeol grabbed them as if holding for dear life.

 

‘I love you,’ the brunet whispered.

 

And Baekhyun just forgot how to think and threw himself at the taller, hugging him close and kissing the tears that had started to drop from his eyes.

 

‘I love you too, Chanyeol,’ he said, looking into his eyes, smiling and feeling his own tears running down his face. ‘I love you, you giant stalker.’

 

And with the salty taste of tears in their mouths, he kissed Chanyeol intensely, this time not planning to let him go.

 

------------

 

                ‘Is my tie crooked?’

                ‘You look fine, Chanyeol, stop worrying.’

                ‘You seem to forget that I am the best man and my sister is a freak of control.’

 

                It was Yoora’s wedding day, a year after the ‘Great Revealing’, as Sehun had christened it, and Chanyeol was in the middle of the street, panicking because he had just discovered that his tie wasn’t as straight as it was supposed to be. He was glad there was no Sehun or Jongdae around to make bad jokes about straightness.

 

                ‘You panic more than the bride herself,’ Baekhyun laughed, fixing his tie and tugging on it to make the taller bow a bit and peck his lips. ‘Let’s go.’

 

                The ceremony went without further problems, Yoora didn’t even notice that the tie was still a bit crooked, and some hours later, they were still at the restaurant she had chosen to celebrate her wedding, dancing together to some old and extremely romantic ballads.

 

                ‘Yoora has a supreme taste in decoration, but her taste in music is questionable,’ Baekhyun giggled after the third consecutive Céline Dion song.

                ‘Thanks, can you go tell her that? I’ve been arguing with her about this for ages,’ Chanyeol replied, making Baekhyun laugh out loud.

 

                When they were tired enough, they went to their table to sit down. They were alone, most of the guests have gone home already because of the hour. This is it, thought Chanyeol.

 

                ‘I’ve been thinking lately…’ he started, but Baekhyun interrupted.

                ‘I hope you did not hurt yourself.’

                ‘You know? Maybe I did, because why else would I want to propose to a man that laughs at me?’

               

                Chanyeol smiled at Baekhyun’s face while taking out of his pocket  and opening the small black box with a silver and black ring, masculine wedding jewellery he had been told by the lady at the jeweller’s.

 

                ‘I guess you don’t want this either, then, I can take it back and ask for my money back, but think how pitiful I would look like returning a wed-‘

 

                Baekhyun’s lips shut him, kissing the living daylights out of him while whispering yes, yes, yes.

 

                And at that moment, with Baekhyun in his arms crying and laughing at the same time with the ring now adorning his finger, Chanyeol thought that it had been worth being a stalker.