1.9k ; a/n: thank you for almost 1k reads. i really hope you guys are enjoying this.

“Why…Why didn’t you tell me you were married?”

He heard that typical soft voice that was once heaven to his ears speak that now set an uneasiness in his stomach, echo in his quiet office room. Chanyeol turned around, hands still gripping the papers that were once on his desk. He bit down on his lip nervously as he faced her.

He wasn’t sure what to say to her at first. How exactly could he even explain this without looking like a completely ?

“Yoona, Listen…” He sighed as he placed the papers down on the desk and fully faced the shorter girl. His eyes took in the sight of her. The underneath of her eyes were red and puffy, her expression wrote a mixture of feelings all over it, and she spoke to him in a tone laced with anger with hints of curiosity.

“Things with me and Baekhyun weren’t going okay for a long time. He did things and clearly, so did I. Things…that weren’t okay. We were struggling yet neither one of us spoke up about it.” He took a deep breath and continued.

“Then I met you and I just, you reminded me so much of what I had before and I just- I don’t know. I made a mistake. I ed up.” He confessed.

“You did, you did up. A lot. And you know what even more for me?” She questioned as he watched her move closer to him.

“That I fell in love with you. Hard. Harder than with anyone before.” She unexpectantly wrapped her arms around his torso, pressing the side of her face against his chest comfortably. “You’ve made me feel so happy. I felt whole when I was with you, you treated me better than all those other scummy boyfriends I’ve had before.” She continued.

“Don’t you understand? I love you, Chanyeol, I have for a while and I know deep down you feel the same.”

He didn’t know how to feel nonetheless how to even respond. Everything was still jumbled inside of him, but one thing was clear that he was serious about trying to fix things with his husband and their crumbling marriage.

“I-“He went to speak but he felt the arms around his torso tighten slightly. Yoona looked up at him with charming eyes, “Please, Chanyeol. If you weren’t happy then why stay? We can be- “

“No, Yoona.” He grabbed her arms and unhooked them from around his body and stepped back from the girl. “I explained it to you, I want to work on things with my marriage, you need to respect that.” He tried to reject as her, yet he had to admit his heart squeezed in his chest a bit when he saw the hurt reflecting in her eyes.

Then he heard a breathless laugh escape her lips, “Fine. It’ll just crumble right in front of you, no matter what you do! But okay, Chanyeol! Waste your time with such a lost cause!” He watched as she turned around making her way towards the door. “And when your ty marriage falls from underneath you once and for all, don’t come crying back to me.”

He heard the small slam echo in his office room as she made her way out. He sighed and took a seat at his desk. Chanyeol glanced over at the picture of him and Baekhyun on their one-year anniversary and one question evaded his head.

‘Am I really wasting my time?’

-

Baekhyun unlocked the front door to their apartment and walked in. He knew Chanyeol wasn’t home yet but would be very soon. He placed his bag down on the kitchen counter and decided to clean up the rest of his mess he caused last night.

Once the kitchen was cleaned up, Baekhyun and his exhausted body sat down on the couch and wrapped the blanket Chanyeol probably used last night around him.

He felt a mixture of emotions running through him. He still felt the lingers of anger and betrayal coursing through him. But now guilt played in as well. After thinking throughout the day, Baekhyun knew he contributed to their marriage crumbling. He knew him being distant, lying about losing his job, and causing problems he couldn’t even admit to causing didn’t help them.

He tightened the blanket around him and felt tears building in his eyes. He felt bad that he made out Chanyeol to be the only bad guy here. He was at fault too, of course not as much as his unfaithful husband, but it was still bad. He knew long ago he should have expressed to his husband his mental health issues, but he was afraid it would only put more stress on the couple.

On top of the bills they struggled with, he knew he couldn’t afford to get proper help but soft-hearted Chanyeol who knew they had no money for it would say otherwise, and risk his wallet even more to pay for his treatment and Baekhyun couldn’t let him risk that.

In the middle of his thoughts, he heard keys jiggling on the other end of the door and a moment later, it swung open with the exact giant he was just thinking about walking in.

Baekhyun was quick to bring up but kept the blanket wrapped around him, raising the back of his hand to quickly brush away the tears at the corner of his eyes.

He cleared his throat, “H-Hey. How was work?”

He awkwardly tried to spark up a conversation. He watched as the taller place the bag of takeout on the kitchen table and walk towards him. “It was fine. I uh...wanted to mention-” Chanyeol knew he would have to mention a few more details sparing Yoona. He didn’t want to hold no secrets back.

He walked towards him as he spoke but stopped his sentence mid-way. He noticed that familiar sadness in Baekhyun’s eyes and noticed the puffiness underneath them. “Baekhyun, were you crying?” He questioned yet saw that sadness turn to panic as Baekhyun quickly looked away from him.

“No. I just- I’m tired. I got no sleep at all last night.”

He was quick to make his excuse and Chanyeol knew prying wouldn’t work.

“I hope you don’t mind I brought take out for dinner.” The giant offered as he gestured back to the bag sitting on the table. “I figured maybe... we could talk a bit over dinner?” He figured maybe this was a softer way to drop the weight that Chanyeol actually worked with Yoona but he wanted to make it clear to his husband he got his schedule changed earlier today.

Yet, Baekhyun scrunched up his face at the thought of food. “I’m not really hungry.” He mentions as his tired eyes looked up at the giant. “Baekhyun, you need to eat.” He heard his husband protest as the blanket covered Baekhyun started making his way towards the bedroom.

“Sleep first, dinner later.” He groaned. He genuinely was tired but also couldn’t stomach the thought of having another awkward conversation with the other right now, he just didn’t have the energy.

“We have something to talk abo-” Baekhyun swung open the door and closed it behind him before Chanyeol could finish his sentence.

They had a lot to work on that’s for sure.

-

A week later;

Baekhyun sat next to his husband on the leather couch in the cold office room. Sitting across from them was cross-legged Minseok who jotted things down on a piece of paper. The two had decided to explain their current and overall situation in their marriage to the professional during their first session.

“Well, first things first I’d like to clarify that marriage counseling requires 100% of both of you. If you want to make this work, it’s the only way you’ll succeed.” Minseok looked up at them from his notebook and pushed up his glasses.

“This includes talking about your issues, doing activities, and especially, being honest.” He shot a quick glanced at Chanyeol on his last point.

He shut his notebook and placed it on the table beside him. “Now, speaking of activities. Tonight, we’ll do one.”

Baekhyun heard Chanyeol snort, “What are activities supposed to help with? This isn’t grade school, Minseok.” He questioned and Baekhyun had to agree with him there, he didn’t see the point in making up activities to do.

“Actually, they do help. They help you guys express how you feel about one another, your desires, and much more in more ways than just words. Because in the end, usually words mean nothing.” He mentions as he grabs two pieces of paper, pencils, and clipboards to bare down on, “But actions do.”

He handed the couple one of the materials each. Baekhyun scrunched up his eyebrows, “What’s this for?” He asked as he watched the therapist take his seat again.

“I want you two to write up a list of ten things you want out of your marriage.” Minseok explained, “Meaning you can list changes you want and desires you need, whether it be ual or not.”

Baekhyun looked down at his paper lifting his pencil to write until Minseok’s voice spoke once more, “Just a moment. One more thing, for your tenth point I want you to make it the overall most important thing you want to accomplish in the future of your marriage.”

He continues, “and…make it a mystery, once you’re both done I’ll cover it with colored tape. You won’t be able to uncover that last one until both of you complete every other point above it on both of your lists.”

“And the point of that?” Baekhyun questioned as he placed his pencil down for a moment,

“Because if you can accomplish fulfilling all those other needs and wants from one another especially in the tight situation you’re in now, it should make you even stronger to do the thing you want the most in the future.”

Baekhyun understood what Minseok wanted them to accomplish here and he had to admit it was pretty ing smart despite a small side of him thinking it was ridiculous but what else do they go to lose? Baekhyun decided to start his list off with small things and then he made it to number ten. He paused, biting down on his lip as he figured what he would put at the bullet point, but just the even the thought of writing it down on paper unnerved him.

But it was something Baekhyun wanted. Something he needed. So, he built up the courage to write the words on the paper and just tried to cringe on the inside only.

He noticed around the same time he finished, Chanyeol did as well. The couple handed their lists and Minseok’s eyes scanned over them before taking them to his desk to apply a small amount of tape over each of their tenth points.

“Remember don’t take this off unless you complete all the other ones first.” He reminded the couple as he handed them back.

The session ended and the two made their way back to their small Volkswagen sitting in the parking lot. Baekhyun got in the passenger seat and sighed, “Should we just- exchange it now?” He offered, and he saw the small grin on the taller, “What? You’re already that eager to be nosey? Can’t even wait till we get home?” Chanyeol snickered at him.

And for the first time in a week, Baekhyun actually managed to crack a small smile at the silly remark. “Oh, shut up.” He grabbed the list of his husband’s hand and handed him his own, “I know you’re curious too.”

His doe eyes scanned over the list all the way down to the decorative purple tape covering his very last one. He scrunched his eyebrows as he looked at the other,

“Park Chanyeol, are you ing serious?”