It's been four weeks since Lucas has started to work at the company. Lucas has been doing a magnificent job, he was a quick learner and always did his work on time. He has also grown to be more than an acquaintance, always joining him for lunch with Minseok and Jongdae. He was an interesting character to have around, always enlightening everyone's mood. Baekhyun was glad to have someone like Lucas around, he always left a big smile on his face. 

And as the time went by, work has also been getting heavier for the group. During the week, Baekhyun received some unpleasant news. Their textile manufacturer had informed them about having issues, so they had to delay their production. Thus, it was now up to Baekhyun to attend an arranged meeting to discuss possible solutions. 

Baekhyun loudly sighed as soon as Lucas had relayed the information to him. This placed a big setback, as now he had to wait for the problem to be fixed so he could receive the material he needed in order to start with his own designs. Furthermore, this also meant longer days at the studio. He was at least glad to have Lucas assisting him, it lifted some burden off his shoulder. 

~~~

Baekhyun and Lucas had spent most of their afternoon shift with the manufacturing company, so by the time they left the building, a clear blue sky was replaced by hues of red and orange. The meeting had been longer than what they both anticipated. Beside discussing the now solved problem, they provided them with a tour to make sure everything else was going accordingly, already preparing for the next season. 

Nevertheless, Baekhyun felt relieved to have called his mom beforehand to pick up Byul just in case he wasn't going to be able to make it to the daycare on time. 

"Baekhyun?" Baekhyun hummed in response as they continued to walk down the busy street. Formalities were now long gone, of course, only when they were off working hours. They were now heading towards the office to drop off some important documents and also so they could pick up their personal belongings. 

"Would you like to go out for dinner?" The indirect question pulled Baekhyun to a stop. 

"Oh…umm" 

"It's totally okay if you don't want to! It was just a suggestion, I completely understand...you must be pretty busy" Baekhyun looked at Lucas, who quickly turned away due to his subtle rejection. He must have made him feel embarrassed, since he could see the point of his ears red. 

He held in his snicker, when it reminded him of Chanyeol. Except, Luca’s ears weren’t as protruding as Chanyeol’s. Still, Baekhyun found Lucas very endearing. 

Baekhyun did not mind going out for a quick dinner. Overall he was tired and hungry from working all day, but at the moment he couldn’t. He had to pick up Byul from his parents… or maybe he could ask them for a small favor, he really needed some food in his stomach. 

"Let me make a call first" Baekhyun gave Lucas an assuring smile. 

"Of course, of course go ahead. I'll wait for you over there" Lucas pointed towards a tree at the corner of the street and walked away. 

Baekhyun watched as Lucas leaned on the tree and busied himself on his phone, so he took the opportunity to reach for his phone. 

"Honey! You must be done with work already" a sweet voice greeted him from the other side 

"Hi mom, yeah I just left the meeting. How is Byul? I hope he's not causing any troubles"

"Of course not. He’s outside right now, playing with your dad. Are you on your way to pick him up?" 

"I was actually calling to ask if it's okay with you and dad, if I can pick up Byul a little later. A colleague suggested we have dinner."

"Of course sweety, no rush. In fact, Byul can spend the night with us. Me and your dad would be delighted to have him over for the night." 

"I can pick him up later, you-" Baekhyun was not able to finish his sentence, when he was suddenly interrupted by his son

"Papa, papa!" Baekhyun heard his son squeal from the other side of the phone 

"Hi baby, having fun?" he smiled hearing his son’s melodic voice. 

"Yess, appa! Grandpa is playing with me on the swings!” 

Baekhyun's father built a swing on their garden for Byul before he was born. He said he wanted to do something where he could bond with his grandson, and Baekhyun was more than happy to see the unconditional love Byul was receiving from his parents. He wanted to help his dad with the project but Chanyeol, being overprotective, helped his dad instead. 

“Baby, grandpa and grandma, want you to spend the night with them. Is that okay with you, baby?” 

“Yes, yes! I want to play more with grandma and grandpa” Byul excitedly cheered. 

“Okay, baby. Remember, always listen to grandpa and grandma. Stay out of trouble and play carefully with them”

He knew his son was a good kid, but sometimes he also had the habit to run wild all of a sudden. It was like a sudden boost of energy that alway ended running after Byul. It was his son after all, his mom had exclaimed. It was something that she had always made fun of how Byul had picked that up from him.

“I’ll protect grandpa and grandpa!” Byul proudly howled. He was just as overprotective as Chanyeol.  

Their conversation ended with saying goodbye to his parents and son. Ensuring them to call him if they needed anything. 

He put his phone away and exhaled in relief. He’ll make sure to take some food for his parents tomorrow as a form of gratitude for tonight. He hastily took some steps towards Lucas, who was patiently waiting for him. 

When Lucas saw Baekhyun walking towards him, he quickly stood up and dusted his suit. 

“Ready?” he smiled towards a fatigued Baekhyun. 

“Yeah, let’s go” he smiled back. Luca’s contagious smile really brought a ray of light on his gloomy days. 

Baekhyun felt like himself that night. With Lucas, he could talk about his worries without judgment, he always listened to what he had to say and even sometimes provided some advice when he could. They had spent all their dinner time chattering, they almost left their food running cold. 

Even after dinner they decided to walk around the city, enjoying the time. Eating more late night snacks courtesy to Lucas. He made a mental note to buy snacks for him next time. 

Baekhyun wished he could stay out longer, since it has been a while he has hung out with a friend. But as soon as he saw the clock approaching midnight he thought it was better to head home. They both had to work to attend tomorrow and he did not feel like waking up with deeper eye circles. 

Lucas, being the gentleman that he was offered to drive him home. Even the ride back to his house was filled with laughter and growing inside jokes. 

When Lucas parked in front of his house, he felt his energy dimmed, as if he did not want to leave. 

“Thank you Lucas, I had a great night” Baekhyun smiled in gratitude

“I’m glad you enjoyed tonight, we should do this another time” his mood lightened at the suggestion

With twinkling eyes, he watched as Lucas drove off. 

~~~

Baekhyun opened the door to be welcomed in silence. Chanyeol had informed him the day prior that he was going to be staying late today. He thought that after their little getaway things would get better, but in reality things seemed to be more awkward than ever for the past month. Chanyeol has started coming home till night, so the only times they get to talk or see each other is in the morning when they’re dressing up Byul for school. Even when they get the golden opportunity to spend time together, conversations become short. It hurt Baekhyun to notice a growth in distance in their relationship. He wonders if Chanyeol thinks the same.  

Baekhyun, feeling exhausted, decided to prepare himself for bed. He took a warm shower to help his aching muscles and went to untuck the duvet. 

He was about to climb on the bed when he realized he left his phone on the bathroom, so he went to retrieve it. When he came out from the bathroom he was surprised to see his husband in their room, since he didn’t hear the door opening. 

“You’re back early,” Baekhyun stated as he went back to the large bed. 

“We finished earlier than expected” 

“Hmm…”

The moment he laid his head on the soft pillow and wrapped himself with the duvet, he drifted off to sleep. He was falling asleep deep into a slumber when he was abruptly awoken by Chanyeol who was shaking him while calling out his name in distress. 

“Baek, Baek wake up”

“What happened? Is something wrong” Baekhyun immediately woke up when he saw his husband’s eyes full of panic. 

“I can’t find Byul. I checked his room, he wasn’t there. I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find him” 

Baekhyun froze, realizing he never told Chanyeol about Byul's whereabouts. ‘’

"Chan-" Baekhyun stuttered, anxious of his reaction “Chan, Byul is staying over at my mom’s tonight” 

“Baekhyun, why didn’t you inform me about this earlier?!”

Baekhyun panicked when he heard Chanyeol’s voice get louder as he ran his hand through his hair in distress. 

“I-I’m sorry...I just forgot…” he shakily answered 

“How can you forget to tell me something like this?!” 

“I-I’m-” He wasn’t able to completely apologize before he was interrupted by Chanyeol, who at this moment looked inexpressive. 

“Forget it.” Chanyeol coldly dismissed him 

He just watched his husband's figure disappear behind the bathroom doors. Baekhyun cursed himself for forgetting to tell Chanyeol. He couldn’t blame him for being mad at him, imagine coming back home and not seeing your son anywhere. He would panic as well. 

He laid himself back on the bed, back facing the bathroom door. Realizing his mistake, he couldn’t fall back asleep, especially after how Chanyeol had coldly dismissed him. It created an unsettling feeling in his chest. 

‘I’ll apologize properly tomorrow’

~~~

Baekhyun woke up due to the strong smell of a warm meal. He squinted his eyes, when he laid his eyes on the digital clock. He still had 2 more hours before he had to leave for work, but the indication that Chanyeol was already awake caused him to get out of bed. 

He gradually made his way to the kitchen, following the sound of clattering dishes. The first thing that came to view was the kitchen table that was covered with food. Followed by a tall figure, who at the moment was preoccupied washing the dishes. Chanyeol was already dressed up for work. 

“Good morning” Baekhyun greeted Chanyeol as he took small steps towards the cabinet to grab a dish. But was only greeted back with a muffled hum from Chanyeol, which left him with a pang of guilt. 

He knew this was a chance to talk about yesterday night but somehow he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. The words were lingering at the edge of his tongue but he didn’t know how to relay them. This suddenly made him realize there was a sudden shift in their relationship. They were like any other couple, they had their own share of arguments and differences, but they always ensured to talk about it. This was something important they learned throughout their relationship, that communication was important...but at the moment Baekhyun felt a barrier between them.   

Baekyun felt a sudden sting in his chest at the sudden realization.

“Baekhyun, I’m sorry” his thoughts were interrupted the moment Baekhyun heard those words- he felt his eyes tearing. Maybe he was just overthinking things…’yeah, that must be it’.  

“No Chanyeol, I’m the one who should be sorry. I should’ve informed you.”

“I still shouldn’t have raised my voice at you like that. I just lashed out on you. I’m sorry” Chanyeol expressed himself with a restless face.

Baekhyun was startled when Chanyeol wrapped him in a hug, resting his chin on top of his head. He clenched his fists on Chanyeol’s dress shirt, burying his face deep on Chanyeol’s neck, trying to chase away these negative thoughts. 

Things felt like they were crumbling. They barely talk or spend time together, they were both too busy with work to notice the changes in their marriage. He wished he knew what Chanyeol has been thinking these past days. For he felt his thoughts were running wild. 

Was Chanyeol feeling dejected, like he was? Or were they just trying to make things better for the sake of it.

All Baekhyun knows that things have never felt this bitter than before. He tried to hold in his tears; tears of guilt for feeling this void in his heart.